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Key Points

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Introduction

Whatever else he may be, President Donald Trump has proved to be a remarkably polarizing figure. Thus far, he has shown little inclination or ability to sway centrists. In particular, the support for his domestic agenda, ranging from health care to his proposed budget, has mostly amounted to a subset of the Republican coalition.

Therefore, assessing baseline trust in Republican and Democratic leadership is useful when contemplating the prospects for Trump proposals. This is certainly true when it comes to education, as Trump has boldly declared his support for federal school choice legislation and named Betsy DeVos, an impassioned school choice advocate, to serve as US secretary of education.

During the nomination process, DeVos was harshly critiqued by Democrats, teacher union leaders, journalists, and even late-night comics. DeVos ultimately edged into office on a 50-50 vote, when Vice President Mike Pence tipped the tie in her favor, but this was just an early look at how heated the debate became around Trumps education efforts.

Trumps proposed skinny budget, which called for cutting $9.2 billion in federal education spending, encountered fierce criticism. The New York Times editorial board stated the budget would impose pain for pains sake,1 and Senator Bernie Sanders decried it as morally repugnant.2 The debate is hardly surprising given that Trump has already sketched out some controversial changes to federal education policy. These include plans to promote school choice, sharply reduce federal education spending, alter Washingtons approach to regulating for-profit colleges, and revamp Obama-era directives on civil rights enforcement.

All of this raises timely questions: How does the public feel about Republicans and Democrats when it comes to education? Which party has the upper hand in the publics mind, and how has that evolved over the past two decades?

As Republicans pursue Trumps exceptionally sharp-edged education agenda, just how deep a reservoir of public support are they drawing on? Especially given the backlash against many Obama-era education initiatives (most famously, the Common Core) and steady support for school choice, is public sentiment on education perhaps more favorable to Republicans than it may have once been?

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Notes

Excerpt from:
Republicans, Democrats, and Schooling: What the Public Thinks - American Enterprise Institute

WASHINGTON (AP) U.S. consumers filed nearly 300,000 complaints last year about their dealings with banks, credit card issuers and other financial services companies. Most of those complaints were compiled and made available for anyone to see as part of a database administered by the federal government.

But Republicans working to overhaul the financial regulation law known as Dodd-Frank want to bar publication of information from that database, which industry groups have long criticized as potentially misleading and incomplete.

Is the purpose of the database just to name and shame companies? Or should they have a disclaimer on there that says its a fact-free zone, or this is fake news? Thats really what I see happening here, Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., said at a congressional hearing this month.

Once the damage is done to a company, its hard to get your reputation back, responded Bill Himpler, executive vice president of the American Financial Services Association, a trade group representing banks and other lenders. Something needs to be done.

The exchange reflects what House Republicans are thinking as they try to make changes to Dodd-Frank, the law passed in the aftermath of the 2008-2009 financial crisis. Initially, GOP lawmakers wanted to require that consumer complaints be verified as accurate before they were published. Now, members of Congress want to prohibit publishing the complaints entirely.

Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, has scheduled a hearing for Wednesday to begin discussing the Dodd-Frank replacement. The legislation would relax some of the laws financial rules and give Congress and the White House more control over the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which runs the complaints database.

That agency has published more than 730,000 complaints since launching the database nearly five years ago. Complaints are streaming in at a rate of more than 20,000 a month, but not all make it into the database. Some people dont fill out all the required information. Also, many complaints are referred to other government agencies for jurisdictional reasons.

The information published includes the date, the consumers ZIP code and the company involved. It includes how the company responded, whether it did so in a timely way and whether the consumer disputed the companys response.

The database has more than 130,000 complaints in which consumers shared a narrative of their experience. Companies select from among nine responses, such as Company disputes the facts presented in the complaint or Company believes complaint is the result of an isolated error.

The bureau does not verify whether the complaint is valid before making it public. Complaints are added to the database after the company responds or after the company has had the complaint for 15 days, whichever comes first.

Some groups are alarmed at the potential changes. Consumers Union said the database is a vital tool that can help consumers make informed decisions.

Its not as if the CFPB is taking information and putting it on the database without some due diligence, said Pamela Banks, senior policy counsel for Consumers Union. Everything is transparent. Everything is out in the open. People can reach their own conclusions.

She said consumers should not be kept in the blind about trends that can emerge from listing the complaints, and that companies concerned about serving the public should find the information of great use. In my mind, if youre treating consumers fairly, you would be eager to see if there is a problem, Banks said.

Detractors note that the Federal Trade Commission maintains a database of consumer complaints regarding data security, deceptive advertising and identity theft. The FTC does not publish those individual complaints but makes them available to law enforcement to assist in fraud investigations. It publishes an annual summary of top complaints without getting into their details.

Kate Larson, director of the Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said it was a bit of a departure from other regulatory agencies for the bureau to publish the complaints and consumer narratives. She said the Chamber has asked the bureau on occasion to take down complaints the Chamber considers inaccurate and to provide an appeals process, but that didnt happen.

It shouldnt be kind of a gotcha game, Larson said.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau views the database as a tool to bring consumers and companies together, not to arbitrate their disputes.

For the first time, individuals now have a place to turn to get the timely responses they deserve and the database gives consumers an important voice in the marketplace that they otherwise might not have, said Darian Dorsey, a deputy assistant director at the agency. Complaints help us identify and prioritize problems, and we are seeing this valuable information being used by companies to identify pain points and inform the marketplace more broadly.

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Online:

Complaint database: https://tinyurl.com/zrvpc9p

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On Twitter, reach Kevin Freking at https://twitter.com/APkfreking

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Republicans want to muzzle database of consumer complaints - The Seattle Times

Republicans have more seats to defend in special elections after a close shave in a dependably GOP Kansas district.

A higher-profile election April 18 in Georgia produced no majority-vote winner and is going to a second round in June. DemocratJon Ossoff, a former congressional aide, and RepublicanKaren Handel, a former Georgia secretary of state, were the top two finishers in an 18-candidate scrum.

Special elections are on tap in Montana next month and in California and South Carolina in June. There probably will be one more, in a Pennsylvania district, and were keeping our eye on two possible additions, in Oklahoma and Utah.

Republicans would be the defending party in every district except in California.

Alabama this year will have an unusual, odd-year Senate special election, scheduled by the states brand-new governor.

As of April 25, whenRon Estesof Kansas is sworn in, the House will have 238 Republicans and 193 Democrats.

Heres what you need to know about the upcoming contests:

After the close races in Kansas and Georgia, watch to see how much national party organizations and activist groups intervene in the contest between Republican businessmanGreg Gianforteand Democratic musician Rob Quist. Theyre seeking the statewide congressional district RepublicanRyan Zinke vacated to become Interior Secretary.

Montana votes Republican in presidential elections but can split its tickets. It backed Donald Trump by more than 20 percentage points in the 2016 election while also re-electing Democratic GovernorSteve Bullockover Gianforte by four points.

Vermont SenatorBernie Sanders, an independent who sought the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination, will campaign with Quist next month. Gianforte raised $1.6 million compared with $904,000 for Quist through the end of March, according to Federal Election Commission reports.

In an all-Democratic runoff, state Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez and lawyer Robert Lee Ahn are seeking a Hispanic-majority, downtown Los Angeles district thats one of the most strongly Democratic areas in the nation.

In the first-round election on April 4, Gomez had 25 percent and Ahn had 22 percent to lead the 23-candidate field and advance to the runoff. The winner will succeed DemocratXavier Becerra, who resigned in January to become Californias attorney general.

Gomez is the preferred candidate of California Democratic leaders, including Becerra and Los Angeles MayorEric Garcetti. Ahn, who was born to South Korean immigrants, advanced to the runoff with strong support from Korean-American voters and donors. Californias 34th includes more Korean-Americans than any other congressional district.

Ossoff and Democrats almost succeeded in their campaign to win without a runoff and "flip the 6th," a Republican-leaning area north of Atlanta packed with highly educated suburbanites. Ossoff took 48 percent of the vote in the first-round election, more than Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama won in the district when they were the Democratic presidential nominees.

Though Georgias 6th is an atypical host for a competitive and consequential House election, its electorate barely opted for Trump in the 2016 election after decades of domination by other GOP candidates includingTom Price, who left to become Trumps health and human services secretary.

Handel, who won 20 percent of all votes in the first-round election, is working to replenish her campaign treasury and unify Republican base voters against Ossoff. She won 39 percent of all Republican votes cast, while Ossoff amassed more than 98 percent of all Democratic votes.

An Ossoff-Handel contest "starts out very competitive," political analyst David Wasserman wrote in the Cook Political Report. He rates the race as a tossup.

Trump is paying attention. "It is now Hollywood vs. Georgia on June 20th," the president wrote on Twitter. Ossoff raised more than $8.3 million from donors including Rosie ODonnell andJane Fonda.

Georgia House Race Heads to Runoff

Seven Republicans and three Democrats are seeking a Republican-leaning district that includes Rock Hill and other territory in north-central South Carolina. The party primaries will be held May 2, followed by runoffs, if necessary, on May 16.

The Republican nominee will be favored to succeed RepublicanMick Mulvaney, who resigned in February to become Trumps budget director. Republican candidates include state representative Tommy Pope, former state legislator Ralph Norman, and former state party chairmanChad Connelly.

Connelly aligned with Trump in a campaign commercial featuring praise from two men, one wearing a red hat with the presidents "Make America Great Again" slogan and the other calling Connelly a "big-time Trump guy." A Pope TV spot played up his background as a former police officer and prosecutor. Norman, who lost a bid for this district in 2006, released an ad featuring his 15 grandchildren and highlighting a commitment to "making sure their future and yours is safe and full of opportunity."

Republican GovernorKay Ivey moved the special election for the seat formerly held by Attorney GeneralJeff Sessionsup 11 months, rescinding the November 2018 election set by her predecessor,Robert Bentley, when he appointed state Attorney GeneralLuther Strangeto temporarily fill the vacancy. Bentley just resigned amid scandal and impeachment hearings.

"This special election will remove any cloud of doubt that might have been associated with the previous process used by the former governor" and "returns the authority to select their representative back to the people," Ivey said.

Given Alabamas strong Republican lean, the decisive election may be the GOP primary on Aug. 15 or a runoff Sept. 26. Strange, whos running to serve the rest of the unexpired term won by Sessions, may face multiple challengers in the primary, given his association with Bentley. One of them may be RepresentativeRobert Aderholt, who was in the running for the Senate appointment. Aderholt wouldnt have to give up his House seat to compete.

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RepublicanTom Marinoplans to resign to become Trumps "drug czar," leading the Office of National Drug Control Policy,CBS News reported. Marino, in office since 2011, hasnt publicly commented on the matter. His district in parts of central and northeastern Pennsylvania is rock-ribbed Republican territory, giving 66 percent to Trump and 62 percent to Republican SenatorPat Toomey in 2016, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

RepublicanJim Bridenstinewould vacate a Republican-friendly Tulsa district if Trump taps him to lead the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

RepublicanJason Chaffetzannounced his retirement lastweek and then said he may resign. The district is so strongly Republican that Clinton came in third there in 2016 behind Trump and Utah-born independent Evan McMullin, who is weighing a campaign to succeed Chaffetz.

Original post:
Here Are the Next Seats Republicans Will Have to Defend in Special Elections - Bloomberg

Democratic nominee Rob Quist

After their close call with a first-round knockout in last Tuesdays Georgia 6th District special election, national Republicans are sounding the alarms ahead of Montanas own May 25 special election for its lone House seat.

The NRCC has added $1.2 million in TV ad reservations, while the House GOP-aligned Congressional Leadership Fund super PAC is airing a new ad that attacks Democrat Rob Quist as part of an $800,000 buy. CLF tries to tie Quist to Nancy Pelosi, skewering him for wanting government-funded health care and supposedly supporting cuts to the defense budget, while they also hit him for his past debt troubles.

Meanwhile, Republican Greg Gianforte released an ad that warns Quist wants a national gun registry in a big government computer, which Gianforte claims could lead to federal bureaucrats [grabbing] your guns. Gianforte then fires a shotgun at a computer monitor flashing the word confiscate and destroys it, promising hell stand up for the 2nd Amendment.Gianfortes spot is hammering Quist over an earlier interview where Quist suggestedregistering assault weapons like one registers a car, a common-sense gun safety proposal that sends the NRA into a frenzy.

Can you give$3 to help Rob Quist to shock Republicans and turn Montana blue?

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Worried Republicans pour money into Montana House special election following near-loss in Georgia - Daily Kos

Khalid Kamau, a very progressive activist lawyerendorsed by Our Revolution,earned a city council seat in South Fulton, Georgia, a newly incorporated municipality outside Atlanta. He won bya landslide with a grassroots message. He engaged average Americans on their turf. High-priced ads did not get him elected:engaging with people did.

Progressives from around the country invested more than$8 millionin getting Jon Ossoff into a runoff. How many additional dollars will be spent trying to take the seat? If he wins, it will bea symbolic victory. But win or lose, it willhave been a waste of resources that could otherwise get spent in local elections to bring more progressives into office in races throughout the country.

Most Americans are progressive in the majorityof their values. When asked about policies like Social Security, Medicare, the right to health care, or public education, they support these by overwhelming margins.So why is it that progressives, the folks who by definition will materially make the lives of the middle class and the poor better, have a hard time winning? The answer is: afailure to communicate.

Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. How many times do we hear consultants tell Democrats that theyjust need to bring out the base for a win? What happens when many in that base come out but instead vote against their interests, as they did in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin during the last presidential election? When will Democratic leaders realize what Republican consultants know but do not say? Party affiliation when folks enter the confines and privacy of the voting booth is fungible. And the party or group thatreaches voters on the carnal level ultimately wins.

The corporate establishment always knew that. Over the last several decadesthey've executed the Powell Manifesto, written by Democrat Lewis Powell, with abandon. The Republican Party and corporate Democrats have not deviated from its tenets. It is the reason we have an Affordable Care Act that benefitsinsurance companies that pilfer the average American citizen. It is the reason pharmaceutical companies are allowed to charge us exorbitantprices for drugs originally developed with taxpayer dollars. It is the reason we do not havesingle-payer/Medicare-for-allhealth care and universal health care, which is in effect in some form in every democratic industrialized country in the world.

So how does one stopthe insanity? Remember that party affiliation is fungible. People vote for those they connect with in their gut. One can demonstrate that Republican policies materially hurt most Americans. But the GOP wrap themselves in the flag andAmerica First rhetoric, and they instill a fear of the other. Progressives must use those same impulses, with the truth framed in similar terms.

Progressives must understand that it is about more than bringing out the base. It is about expanding and educating the base. The right counts on ignorance, and we must remember that ignorance defines our original state of being. The process of growing and teaching must start locally. We build trust locally.

All Americans want a good education for their children. That is one place where people can work together to elect school boards that are looking out for children. Parents working together will soon realize that the funding and laws they need to do better by their kids need legislation and financial support from the state. If the state politicians do not oblige, those same politicians get booted out. If the federal politicians do not support the requests of the state andlocal politicians, they are voted out. The common interest, with people working together, can create an actualwe, the people government.

The aforementioned scenario may be overly simplistic, but the process is definitely on point. It requires hard grassroots work to bring people together while fighting the misinformationdistributed bymany Washington think tanks like the Heritage Foundation and others. But it can be done. We must do it. If progressives win locallyby winning the hearts and minds of their friends, neighbors, co-workers, and acquaintances throughworking together on issues of shared concernthe national wins will follow.

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If progressives win locally, the national wins will follow - Daily Kos