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Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

TheDemocratic Partyis set to unveil their new slogan early next week: A Better Deal: Better Skills, Better Jobs, Better Wages. Its derived from an op-ed that Clintons running mate Tim Kaine wrote for USA Today in May 2017. In it, he wrote, And how do Democrats plan to grow the economy? If the Republicans are about less taxes and less regulations, we should be about better skills, better jobs and better wages.

However, the slogan unfortunately resemblesPapa Johns Better ingredients. Better Pizza. It doubles down on Democrats useless, played-out trope that they are simply better than Republicans. The Nation contributor Adam Johnson tweeted, Dems vomit out shitty slogans because they cant name that which is afflicting peoples lives without upsetting their rolodex of donors.

Washington Post columnist Dave Weigel tried to fend off criticism of the party bytoutingthat one of the consultants who advised Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer on theDemocratic Partyseconomic agenda was Sen.Bernie Sanders adviser Stephanie Kelton. Its a hollow attempt to try to portray cooperation with progressives;voters dont trust that Schumer will take progressive policies into consideration for the final legislative agenda. After all, Schumer has been Wall Streetstop allyin the Senate for years. In 2014, heargued thatDemocratsshouldnt reform health care because the uninsured dont vote, further revealing that he values political expediency and donors over voters.

If the policies behind the Democratic Partysnew slogan resemble the ones Kaine outlined in his op-ed, the Democratic Party is sure to continue its losing streak. In the op-ed, Kaineargued that regular folks cant relate to Democrats economic message partly due to broad anti-business rhetoric that is directed toward Wall Street or multinationals but manages to scare off entrepreneurs and small businesses too. According to Kaine, thepartys criticism of Wall Streetis why the partys establishmentwhich actively courts Wall Street and receives huge sums of money from themis out of touch with voters. This line of reasoning fails to address a shortfall in Obamas presidency: He failed to hold any top Wall Street executives accountable for the 2008 economic recession. Instead of pursuing legal action, Obama bailed out the banks, given them more funds to grow and increase their profits while working, middle class and low income Americans were left to fend for themselves. Voters deserve a lot better from theDemocratic Partythan empty promises.

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Not Better: Democrats Hopelessly Adopt New Establishment Slogan - Observer

SEYMOUR >> The Democratic Town Committee endorsed its slate of candidates this week for the November ballot, but fell short of nominating a challenger to face Republican First Selectman Kurt Miller, who is seeking a fourth term.

The DTC held its nominating caucus Thursday night at the Seymour Community Center. While DTC Chairman Stephan Behuniak, who also is a member of the Board of Selectmen, was disappointed to not have someone to fill the top spot, hes focused on bringing forth a strong underticket.

I am proud of our slate, Behuniak said. We worked very hard putting together our best group of individuals who were willing to step up and run this year. I am a little disappointed that we couldnt fill the entire slate, but when you are in a minority party, it is hard to get people excited in the same way as the majority party can. With that in mind, we went into the process with the strategy to fill all of the positions that we were likely to win with the best people that we had to offer. Our people up and down our slate bring the perfect mix of youth, new ideas, experience, and expertise.

Behuniak said finding a first selectman candidate this year proved to be a tough task.

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We discussed our options and looked at data and came to the determination that we were very unlikely to win this year regardless of who ran, Behuniak said. In an ideal world, even if we dont think we can win, we would like to offer an alternative choice, but finding the right person willing to put themselves out there didnt happen.

Behuniak said the DTC, however, has found success in attracting newer and younger members to get involved.

We have brought in a talented bunch of folks, who while not necessarily ready yet, will be by the time the next two elections come, Behuniak added. Our focus is on the future and it starts with working on capturing the Democrats in Seymour who have become disenchanted with the political climate and putting them in positions to be successful.

Behuniak is confident in the slate of endorsed candidates, saying each one of them is the right fit for each of the offices theyre running for. The following is the slate of Democratic candidates who will appear on the November ballot:

First Selectman: None.

Board of Selectmen: Stephan Behuniak, Robert VanEgghan, Karen Stanek.

Board of Finance: John Stelma (four-year term), William Sawicki (two-year term), Kristyn Hanewicz (alternate).

Board of Education: Laurie Robinson, Fred Stanek, Ed Strumello.

Planning and Zoning: (4 year term) Jamie Brennan, Jeffrey Hanewicz.

Board of Police Commissioners: Frank Conroy, Colleen Fries.

Board of Assessment Appeals: Thomas LaPaglia, Kwame Dunbar.

Library Board of Directors: Audrey Lenhard.

The Republican Town Committee is scheduled to hold its nominating caucus at 7 p.m. Monday at the Seymour Community Center, 20 Pine St.

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Seymour Democrats put focus on the future with mix of youth, new ideas, experience, and expertise - New Haven Register

If she runs for president in 2020, Sen. Kamala Harris will be more similar to Hillary Clinton than Bernie Sanders. That's not exactly new information, but the California Democrat's weekend plans further crystallize her entanglement with the conflicts that drove many Democratic voters to support Sanders over Clinton.

Harris, who once called income inequality the "defining economic challenge of our time," is headed up to the Hamptons this weekend to schmooze with wealthy influencers from Hollywood to Wall Street.

Page Six reported this week:

The popular California pol will have a private meeting, we hear, with Hollywood liberal kingmaker Harvey Weinstein and his wife Georgina Chapman, as well as a separate dinner Friday with guests, who will include New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and former US Attorney General Eric Holder. Also on Friday, we hear she'll meet with a group in Bridgehampton, including ex-Ambassador to the UN Susan E. Rice and business honchos such as Citigroup's Ray McGuire and PepsiCo's Tony West. On Saturday, Harris will attend a reception for 300 people at the East Hampton home of her friend, Infor CEO Charles E. Phillips, as well as a fund-raiser at the home of Lisa Rosenblum.

Page Six also reported that Harris is set to meet with Clinton's "biggest backers":

The California senator is being fted in Bridgehampton on Saturday at the home of MWWPR guru Michael Kempner, a staunch Clinton supporter who was one of her national-finance co-chairs and a led fund-raiser for her 2008 bid for the presidency. He was also listed as one of the top "bundlers" for Barack Obama's 2012 re-election campaign, having raised $3 million. Guests there to greet Harris are expected to include Margo Alexander, a member of Clinton's inner circle; Dennis Mehiel, a Democratic donor who is the chairman of the Battery Park City Authority, even though he lives between a sprawling Westchester estate and an Upper East Side pad; designer Steven Gambrel and Democratic National Committee member Robert Zimmerman.

"Washington lobbyist Liz Robbins is also hosting a separate Hamptons lunch for Harris," Page Six revealed as well.

The schisms over establishment Democrats' entanglements with corporations and lobbyists, embodied by Hillary Clinton, pitted the party's grassroots against itself during the presidential primary. Now, Harris is perceived as a fresh face to lead Democrats into the future, generating rumors that she'll follow Barack Obama's lead and run for president as a first term senator come 2020.

Given her decision to spend the weekend in a location more familiar to the Real Housewives of New York City than any lifelong Democrat in rural Iowa, courting powerful corporate figures from companies such as Citigroup and PepsiCo, meeting with lobbyists and Clinton donors, Harris, who's said she has no plans to run for president in 2020, may not be poised to heal the gaping wounds from which the party continues to bleed. She appears to be headed in a direction that could exacerbate those divisions, were she to seek higher office in the near future.

Emily Jashinsky is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.

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Kamala Harris schmoozes with Hamptons elite as Democrats try to bridge gap with working class - Washington Examiner

Letters such as the lengthy one by Robert Wilkinson ("Proving my point," July 2) disturb me, partly because they spend much time denigrating the writer who disagreed with his letter, partly because the gist of his argument is that Democrats havent tried to fix the Affordable Care Act -- more on that later.

The tone of the letter distresses me for this reason: my best friend and roommate during our first collegiate years is a life-long Republican and University of Chicago-educated economist trained by Friedman, and was a member of every Republican administration from Reagan through Bush, holding such positions as second in command of HUD, and the economist in charge of writing the national budget under George Bush. Yet though we disagree greatly concerning political issues, weve never denigrated the others viewpoint. (Our fundamental disagreement is that I believe in a larger government role then he does.)

In our most recent meeting, the only mention of Trump from him was that he was concerned about the hundreds of government positions unfilled -- he didnt see how the U.S. Government could run under these conditions.

Though there are many statements Mr. Wilkinson makes that I disagree with, Ill focus on those concerning The Affordable Care Act. He describes it as a crashing and failinghealth-care program. The gist of his argument is that Democrats have failed to work with Republicans to fix it. Before responding to that, I think it useful to look at its history.

The initial health care program was developed by The Heritage Foundation --one of the two leading Republican think tanks in Washington D.C. (My best friend has held fellowships in both institutions.) In 2006, Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney introduced and led passage of a health care reform law that mandated that nearly every resident obtain a minimum level of health insurance, with free health care for residents earning less than 150 percent of the federal poverty level, along with other measures that made sure that nearly everyone had insurance. This legislation was based on the Heritage Foundation healthcare program.

When President Obama decided to provide healthcare to the nation, the Democrats held numerous meetings -- well over 100 hours -- in Congress, trying to work with Republicans on the details of this program. They took the Massachusetts healthcare reform law as the basis for the legislation and tried to work with Republicans on the details. Most unbiased observers would agree that the Republicans did not try to work with Democrats on the details of the legislation. The legislation passed with no Republican support.

And now that Republicans control both the Senate and the House, as well as hold the presidency, their efforts are to repeal and replace it. When the Senate got the bill that failed to pass in the House, Senator McConnell held secret meetings with a small number of members (most of the Republican senators knew no more than the Democrats the details of the bill). No attempts were made to let Democrats meet with Republicans to discuss details of the legislation.

So Mr. Wilkinsons final statement that Democrats havent offered one concrete idea to fix The Affordable Care Act is moot -- theyve not been given an opportunity to, though Congressional Democratic leaders have offered to meet with Republicans on ways to fix its flaws.

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Democrats weren't given a chance - Napa Valley Register

Senators Lindsay Graham (R-SC) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) introduced a new Dream Act in Congress Wednesday, reminding Americans that there is strong bipartisan support for Dreamersimmigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children and are seeking citizenship. According to a recent Morning Consult and Politico poll , 78% of American voters support giving Dreamers the chance to stay permanently in America, including 73% of people who voted for President Donald Trump.

The Dream Act is a strong legislative solution that would allow young immigrants to continue living their American dream with a path to permanent residency and eventually citizenship. But until a long-term solution such as the Dream Act or comprehensive immigration reform is enacted, we need to continue protecting the nearly 800,000 immigrant youth currently living with Deferred Actions for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). In doing so, they would not only protect these peoples futures, but also the very economic health of our country.

Young immigrants today are scared and confused. The president has demonized us as rapists and criminals, then celebrated us as incredible kids who will be treated with heart.

The DACA program, which allows certain undocumented youth to work legally in the U.S., and provides protection from deportation, has made these immigrants feel safer in a country they consider their home. But politicians have put their livelihoods in jeopardy by making political and legal moves to rescind the programand Trumps flip-flopping has given them the political cover to do so. My home state of Texas has taken the lead in this particular race to the bottom, with Attorney General Ken Paxton calling on other states to join him in demanding that the administration end the program he has nine with him so far.

These young people arrived in the U.S. with stories similar to mine. They came here as children with their families and have lived here most of their lives. We all grew up watching the same TV shows, playing the same games, studying American history, and eating hot dogs and ice cream. We have the same dreams as so many Americans: going to college, getting a job we love, and spending time with our families and friends.

So how are we different? For most of our lives weve had to live in the shadows. This has kept many of us from going to college and getting good jobs, living with dreams and aspirations that could not be realized. But DACA changed this for thousands of Dreamers. The program has given immigrant youth the chance to come out of hiding and to live their full potential, contributing to their communities and their country. With DACA, young people can work, get a drivers license and go to college; they can live free from the constant anxiety and fear of being ripped from the only real home they know.

I never had DACA, but I know many bright young people who do. In fact, my organization, the Ascend Educational Fund, provides scholarships for young immigrants, many of whom have DACA and rely on it to be eligible for college admission. One of our scholars is a young man named Israel who emigrated from Mexico and graduated from one of the top high schools in the nation. He is a CUNY Excellence Award winner and attends Baruch College in New York. He has also been a loyal volunteer with the Big Brother Big Sisters of America program in his community, working to beat back the stereotypes and hateful rhetoric around the immigrant community.

Maintaining DACA is not only right for young immigrants like Israel, it is also smart. The economic benefits of DACA are clear. With DACA in effect, recipients are getting higher levels of education and using their skills and training to get better jobs. This means higher wages and more tax revenue. According to a 2016 Center for American Progress study , recipients are also buying cars and houses and starting new businesses, all of which means more tax revenue to cities and states across the country.

Should the program be terminated, however, the losses would be devastating. The same study estimates that ending DACA would reduce the nations GDP by $433.4 billion over a decade. Another study by the Immigrant Legal Resource Center states that 685,195 young immigrants would become unemployed immediately, causing employers to incur $3.4 billion in costs associated with the termination and replacement of employees. Without DACA, tax revenue would be seriously impacted. Over the next decade, $24.6 billion in Social Security and Medicare contributions would be lost.

Ending DACA and targeting immigrant youth for deportation will come with serious political consequences. Politicians on both sides of the aisle would be wise to focus on issues that strengthen our economy and not undermine it. The program contributes significantly to the American economy and grants young people the chance to thrive and succeed. To throw DACA away is both bad policy and a broken promise to our youth. President Trump: Were counting on you to treat our incredible kids with heart and ensure that DACA is here to stay.

Julissa Arce is the author of My (Underground) American Dream . Arce made national and international headlines when she revealed that she had achieved the American dream of wealth and status working her way up to vice president at Goldman Sachs by age 27 while being an undocumented immigrant from Mexico. Follow her on Twitter @julissaarce .

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Ending This Immigration Program Would Devastate the Economy - Fortune