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John Delaney says hes a different kind of Democrat.

I work to pursue goals that I think the Democratic Party shares broadly, but I think about how you do that differently, Delaney says.

Delaney is a member of Congress from Maryland and the first officially declared Democratic candidate for president in 2020.

It bears reminding that the 2020 presidential election is more than three years away, and even Iowas first-in-the-nation presidential caucuses are roughly 2 years off.

Yet here was Delaney, making his way around the 2017 Iowa State Fair this past week, holding multiple media interviews and meeting with people interested in his campaign over the span of a couple of days in Des Moines.

The 54-year-old Delaney said he is not a typical Democrat because he believes the best government work is done when both major political parties work together, and that he has a different view on economic issues because of his experience as an entrepreneur.

Assuming he stays in the race for the long haul --- during the interview he assured he would --- Delaney will be among what almost assuredly will be a large crowd of Democratic candidates. (CNN political analyst Chris Cillizza recently estimated more than 20 possibilities --- and that list did not include Delaney.) So Delaney will need a message that differentiates himself from the crowd.

A key element of Delaneys message is that he thinks federal officials are, as he said it, having the wrong conversation. He said too much political debate is about re-litigating battles of the past, and not enough about looking toward the future.

And a critical piece of that forward-looking debate, Delaney said, is technology and the disruption it will have on the global workforce.

Technology, automation, global interconnections, these are changing everything, Delaney said. These things are going to have profound effects over the next 20 or 30 years, and theyre going to create large-scale opportunities and challenges, and were doing nothing to prepare our country and our citizens.

Delaney said the federal government should be doing more to prepare for those profound effects by creating a more competitive and entrepreneurial business climate, creating a better educated and more well-trained workforce, investing in communities, and make smarter investments of government resources to create a healthier budget and environment.

That, to me, is a blueprint for the future, Delaney said.

Delaney founded two companies: a finance company for health care providers and a commercial lender. Both went public within three years of their founding, according to Delaneys biography.

He was first elected to Congress in 2012 and serves on the financial services committee.

Delaney said his business background gives him a different economic perspective that is different that some Democrats, that he does not view the private sector as the enemy.

And that message, Delaney said, is what will help Democrats regain voters they lost in 2016 --- including in Iowa, which went twice for former President Barack Obama but flipped for Trump.

I dont think its the policy goals of the Democratic Party are wrong. But I definitely think that we are not talking to people about what they care most about. We tend to talk to people about what we care most about. And those are very different things, Delaney said.

Obviously what most people care about is their job and the economy in their local community. Because really at the end of the day everything flows from that: a persons sense of dignity, their ability to raise a family, their ability to support their kids, the ability to make sure the community has the resources it needs so its vital and vibrant. And Democrats arent talking enough about that.

As for his early entry into the race, Delaney said part of the reason is his desire to be straight with voters, who he thinks are tired of all the b.s. in politics.

We all know there are a lot of people running for president right now, Delaney said. Theyre just not saying it.

Erin Murphy covers Iowa politics and state government for Lee Enterprises. His email address is erin.murphy@lee.net.

More here:
Murphy: A 'different' Democrat comes to Iowa - Mason City Globe Gazette

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A growing number of prominent Republicans are imploring President Donald Trump torepudiate his mixed messages in reaction to a violent white-supremacist rally, with one Senate Republican questioning his competence and calling for radical changes in his administration.

On Friday, Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential candidate, issued a blistering statement warning that Trumps rhetoric may provoke an unraveling of our national fabric and called for him to apologize to the nation. James Murdoch, the chief executive of 21st Century Fox Inc. and son of conservative media mogul Rupert Murdoch, pledged to make a $1 million donation to the Anti-Defamation League.

Were at a point where there needs to be radical changes take place at the White House itself. It has to happen,Senator Bob Corker told reporters in his home state of Tennessee. I think the president needs to take stock of the role that he plays in our nation and move beyond himself -- move way beyond himself -- and move to a place where daily hes waking up thinking about what is best for the nation.

Corkers remarks are some of the strongest Republican backlash to Trumps suggestions that both sides bear blame in the Charlottesville, Virginia incident last week. Several other Republicans have called on Trump to make a clearer denunciation of white-supremacist groups, but many GOP leaders have remained silent on the presidents remarks. Business leaders left the first CEO-presidents advisory panels, causing the president to abandon several.

"Whether he intended to or not, what he communicated caused racists to rejoice, minorities to weep, and the vast heart of America to mourn," Romney said in a Facebook post Friday morning. "He should address the American people, acknowledge that he was wrong, apologize."

Murdoch, in a letter obtained by the New York Times, wrote, I cant even believe I have to write this: standing up to Nazis is essential; there are no good Nazis. Or Klansmen, or terrorists. Democrats, Republicans, and others must all agree on this, and it compromises nothing for them to do so.

Another Senate Republican, Tim Scott of South Carolina, said Trump had compromised his moral authority with his response to the recent violence. Im not going to defend the indefensible, Scott, the only African-American Republican in the Senate, told Vice News. What we want to see from our president is clarity and moral authority. And that moral authority is compromised.

Former Vice President Al Gore, a Democrat who unsuccessfully ran for president in 2000, was askedin a video published by British media site LADbible if he could offer one piece of advice to Trump, what would it be? Resign, Gore responded.

Corkers criticisms are particularly notable because he has previously been a Trump ally and met with him before his inauguration to discuss the possibility of becoming secretary of state.

The president has not yet been able to demonstrate the stability nor some of the competence that he needs to demonstrate in order to be successful, Corker, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said. And we need for him to be successful.

Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

He also recently has not demonstrated that he understandsthe character of this nation. He has not demonstrated that he understands what has made this nation great, he added. Without the things that I just mentioned happening, our nation is going to go through great peril.

Earlier Thursday, Trump jumped back into the roiling controversy over hisremarks blaming both sides for the violence as he decried the foolish removal of Confederate monuments and attacked two other Republican senators who criticized him.

In a series of tweets Thursday, Trump said it was sad to see the history and culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments. He wrote that history cant be changed but you can learn from it and that the beauty that is being taken out of our cities, towns and parks will be greatly missed and never able to be comparably replaced!

He also accused one Republican senator of a disgusting lie and plugged a primary opponent of another GOP critic.

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Publicity seeking Lindsey Graham falsely stated that I said there is moral equivalency between the KKK, neo-Nazis & white supremacists and people like Ms. Heyer, Trump said on Twitter. Such a disgusting lie. He just cant forget his election trouncing. The people of South Carolina will remember! He also called Republican Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona toxic and a non-factor in the Senate.

Trumps defiant rebukes came as House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell tried to distance themselves from Trumps remarks blaming both sides in the violence by issuing statements condemning white supremacy.

Neither mentioned the president.

On Thursday, in response to Trumps attack, Graham said in a statement, Because of the manner in which you have handled the Charlottesville tragedy you are now receiving praise from some of the most racist and hate-filled individuals and groups in our country. For the sake of our nation -- as our president -- please fix this.

History is watching us all, he added.

Trump said at a combative news conference on Tuesday that both sides were to blame for the violence and that there were very fine people on both sides, including among the neo-Nazi and white-supremacist groups. He also accused what he called alt-left protesters of charging at the neo-Nazi groups with clubs.

The reluctance of GOP leaders to confront Trump directly is the latest sign they remain unwilling to challenge even the presidents most controversial remarks and comes despite growing concern among Republicans that their partys brand could suffer permanent damage from the backlash.

But Corkers public lashing of Trump suggests growing concern that his presidency could tarnish Republicans more broadly.

Corkers relationship with Trump goes back to the election, when the senator campaigned with the president and was said to have been vetted as a potential running mate. Corker also served as a member of the presidents national security advisory committee. He has continued to offer Trump advice on foreign policy.

This isnt the first time Corker has expressed frustration with the president and his administration. In May, after reports that Trump repeated classified information about the Islamic State during an Oval Office meeting with Russian officials, Corker said the White House was in a "downward spiral" and needed to "bring itself under control and order."

On Thursday, Corker also defended Flake following Trumps tweets criticizing him.

Senator Flake is one of the finest human beings Ive ever met, Corker said. The White House would be well-served to embrace the character, the substance of someone like Senator Flake. Hes one of the finest people I serve with.

With assistance by Justin Blum

The rest is here:
Trump Faces Rising Tide of Republican Dismay Over Charlottesville Response - Bloomberg

Republicans in Congress have tried to stick with President Trump in hopes that despite politically damaging outbursts from the White House, his pen would ultimately be able to sign their legislative agenda into law.

But in the aftermath of Trumps controversial response to the neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville, Va., that promise seems ever more distant.

Congressional Republicans are now coming to grips with the reality that they are increasingly on their own, unable to rely on the president to helm their party, but without having powerful enough congressional leaders to bring bickering factions together.

That has dimmed prospects of passing big-ticket items such as tax reform, an infrastructure package or a new healthcare law.

At best, when lawmakers return to work next month, they hope to agree to keep the government funded past the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30 and not provoke a financial crisis with a prolonged standoff over raising the limit on federal debt, which the government will hit sometime in early October.

"The president has not yet been able to demonstrate the stability nor some of the competence that he needs to demonstrate in order to be successful, Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) told reporters Thursday after a meeting at the Chattanooga Rotary Club.

I do think there need to be some radical changes," Corker said. We need for him to be successful.

The latest Trump outbursts solidified the gloomy assessment from many Republicans.

It codified it: This administration has no hope of accomplishing any major policy goals, said longtime Republican strategist Rick Tyler, a former top advisor to Newt Gingrich and to Sen. Ted Cruzs presidential bid.

We dont have to wonder about it. Its like driving your car past empty the motors going to stop, and its not going to go forward anymore, Tyler said. These are the laws of physics, and legislations very much the same."

Trump has emerged less a partner to the Republican majority in Congress than an unpredictable bystander, welcoming lawmakers to lunch one day, bashing them on Twitter the next.

Several senators got the latest taste of that Thursday, when Trump swiftly turned on them after they critiqued his response to the neo-Nazi demonstrations in Charlottesville, Va.

Trump attacked both Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) on Twitter Thursday morning assigning a derisive nickname, Flake Jeff Flake, to the Arizonan and praising one of the candidates lining up to run against him, Kelli Ward, a former state senator who last month predicted that John McCain, the states senior senator who is being treated for cancer, would die soon and said that she should be appointed to replace him.

The praise for Ward marked an extremely rare presidential intervention into a primary against an incumbent of his own party a move almost certain to increase tensions.

Grahams response was swift.

You are now receiving praise from some of the most racist and hate-filled individuals and groups in our country, Graham tweeted, referring to the congratulatory messages Trump received from former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke.

For the sake of our Nation as our President please fix this. History is watching us all.

Rank-and-file Republicans, and other party leaders, are less likely to be as sharply critical. Many remain hopeful Trump or his legislative team members, who are close to Vice President Mike Pence can still help push parts of their agenda to passage.

But the payoff Republicans counted on when they backed Trump for president large-scale legislative victories with GOP control of the House, Senate and the White House has not happened.

Trump has blamed Congress. He said the collapse last month of Republican efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act was the fault of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and other Senate Republicans. He lashed out several times at McCain for his no vote.

But Republican lawmakers and their staffs say the presidents own performance was lacking. Trumps shifting views on the legislation and his unwillingness or inability to convince lawmakers and the public to rally around a preferred option was as much, if not more, to blame, they say.

A similar dynamic is unfolding on a tax overhaul bill. Republicans in the House and Senate are struggling to draft legislation that can meet the demands of both conservative and centrist Republicans. Trump has said taxes are a top priority, but has made no effort so far to sell the public on a proposal.

On Wednesday, he was supposed to tout his infrastructure plans, but instead, blotted out any discussion of that topic by his defense of the marchers in Charlottesville, who, he said, included many very fine people.

On Thursday, the White House said that plans to form a White House advisory council on infrastructure were being shelved.

Presidents and congressional leaders always have some tensions. But the current rift is extreme. To make things harder for Republicans, McConnell and House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) have not shown they are able to muscle through their priorities as effectively as the Democratic leaders, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco and Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, did during the opening period of the Obama administration.

Trumps 30% approval rating isnt helping either. It leaves the president without the political capital he needs to move Congress to action.

When the countrys on board, the Congress moves. Thats the way it works. Its not a mystery, said Tyler.

Despite their unhappiness, however, the Republican Congress is unlikely to take the sort of action against Trump that Democrats and outside groups on the left are demanding, such as a resolution to censure the president for his statements.

Theres an imperative right now in the country to make clear Trump is not speaking for the country when he defended Nazis and supremacists, said Jesse Ferguson, a former top aide to Democrat Hillary Clinton. The only way to do that is to have the co-equal branch of government say it.

But even with Trumps sagging approval nationwide, the president remains popular in many states and congressional districts that elected Republicans to Congress. Lawmakers remain reluctant to put themselves crosswise with voters many will need in next years midterm elections.

Moreover, Republicans in Congress know that for better or worse, their political fates are hitched to Trumps popularity, which stems in part from his disruptive and racially tinged tone. That hitch was fixed in place last year when GOP lawmakers rallied around Trump as their nominee for president.

Doug Heye, a former spokesman for the Republican National Committee and GOP leadership in Congress who opposed Trump for president, said that dynamic isnt likely to go away.

As long as Trump remains popular with their primary voters, he said, I dont see things changing.

lisa.mascaro@latimes.com

@LisaMascaro

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With Trump and Congress increasingly at odds, hopes for Republican legislative agenda fade - Los Angeles Times

Last year, a young Chinese citizen and I were trying to connect for a conversation. Skype seemed to be the most convenient medium, although once our chat commenced, she started apologising. That was not just for the quality of the connection, which kept dropping as during a cellphone conversation in Delhi. It was also because she had to use a virtual private network since she was in Beijing and foreign-owned instant messaging services are considered illegal there. The virtual private network (VPN), anonymising her local network, bypassed that block. This year, we wouldnt be able to re-connect on Skype, since VPNs are now blocked by China. Obviously, VPNs with their ability to circumvent the Chinese checkers and gatekeepers of the Great Firewall, allowed access to content that the Communists find abhorrent, like those about same-sex relationships.

Silicon Valleys behemoths that have been at the forefront of social justice combat in the United States, have happily capitulated before Beijing as is their collective track record since the advent of the Web. Freedom of expression, in their corporate calculus, is an optional extra, one, that at times is unaffordable.

But in coddling the Chinese censor, they compensate by getting a little more strident where free speech is protected. These are, obviously, democracies, like the US, Canada and India, three countries where Ive spent the majority of my life. As a journalist, Ive found each of their leaders has attracted less than laudatory lines, though the current US President, Donald Trump, has taken that to another level.

As India celebrated the 70th year of its freedom, it has largely maintained the part of its destiny that relates to being home to particularly argumentative people. Social media have amplified that noisy contest for duelling ideas, even if trolls go to war with weaponised words. In the US, Trump attracts historic opprobrium. Even Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, a global liberal darling, isnt exempt from extreme opinions, both of the fawning and flaming varieties.

Which is great, actually. The thing about democracy is that its an equal opportunity offender; it often leaves half, sometimes more, of the population miserable. And the volume of that angst has been pumped up recently. This right to debate and dissent exists in exactly one system.

As British author EM Forster wrote in What I Believe: Two Cheers for Democracy: one because it admits variety and two because it permits criticism. Two cheers are quite enough: there is no occasion to give three. And it offers plenty of latitude for jeers, as with the righteous chorus of outrage against the neo-Nazi extremists storming Charlottesville, Virginia.

This, then is a pause for praise before returning to our regularly planned panning. And relief that residents of democracies dont often require VPNs to get their messages across. Today, I will take a deep breath and thank a system that allows me the space to vent; tomorrow, I can do just that, if I so wish.

Anirudh Bhattacharyya is a Toronto-based commentator on American affairs

The views expressed are personal

The rest is here:
Democracy is an equal opportunity offender - Hindustan Times

USA Today NetworkRochelle Riley, Detroit Free Press Opinion Published 7:00 a.m. ET Aug. 18, 2017 | Updated 7:57 a.m. ET Aug. 18, 2017

From Trump Tower in New York City, President Trump told reporters that both sides were to blame for the violence that occurred in Charlottesville, Virginia. USA TODAY

President Trump(Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais, AP)

We have reached that point in American history where one must take sides.

It happened at the beginning when Americans had to choose England or America.

It happened in the New World when the colonists had to choose union or separation.

It almost happened during the U.S. civil rights struggles of the 1960s, but people remained too conflicted or sat on the sidelines watching as one side fought for the America of the past while the other side fought for the America of the future.

And now it has happened in 2017 as the President of the United States has taken the side of white supremacists and Nazis.

It is up to the rest of us now.

There are no sidelines in this battle now.

What happened in Charlottesville, Va., was not about the removal of a statue ofConfederate Gen.Robert E. Lee, who surrendered to Union Gen.Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox in 1865.Even in death, Lee, whose cause was wrong, and whose side lost, is not someone America should be forced to celebrate with public dollars on public land. Let those who wish for those times, who want those times, celebrate him in private on their own. Lee is just a poster child for the wishes of self-appointed white nationalist leader Richard Spencer (I will never use the term alt-right). Spencer isthe Joseph McCarthy of the 21st Century, trying to convince people that diversity is the boogeyman at the door.

How silly. Nothing about increasing diversity or making the pursuit of happiness possible for more than one race of people is keeping white Americans from what theyve always had: a leg up. Even his argument is racially specious: Theyre taking our jobs. Theyre taking our seats in classrooms. It reeks of thebelief that everything belongsto white people first.

Why are we surprised by what happened in Charlottesville? We've seen it coming for some time. It is the latest stage in a cancer that has afflicted America for more than 150 years, a cancer now being fed by apresident taking us to the brink of world war abroad while empowering racists, intentionally or not, to foment civil war at home.

His decision to initially blame the victims of an act of domestic terrorism as much as the terrorists was not where the problem started.

His decision to campaign on the mantra of taking the country back and making America great again were not where the problem started (although most black people in America knew what he meant, and apparently so did many Nazis and white nationalists).

No, the problem didnt start with Donald Trump. The problem has been with us since 1619 when Americas founding as a white supremacist nation was cemented with the free, tormented labor of stolen lives from Africa.

More: Charlottesville unmasks Trump. Stop expecting him to denounce white supremacists.

More: Trump's Charlottesville disgrace: White supremacists aren't just another 'side'

... since 1863, when those souls were turned out from plantations and metobstacles at every turn as they sought to succeed

... since 1954 when America tried to use black children to equalize society in a failed experiment that now has black children so behind they may never catch up

... since 1967 when cities like Detroit erupted in rage after decades of mistreatment that some white people werent even aware of

... since 1968 when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated because he was about to join black, brown and poor people in a single battle for justice (that could not be allowed)

... since 2008 when America elected a black president and Congress fought to ensure that he wouldnt be successful because (that could not be allowed again).

Since last November when America elected a man who actually told a TV interviewer that he didnt understand what hemeant by white supremacy.

What happened in Charlottesvillehas been coming since 1863, a runaway train on a track that finally has reached places where people can no longer ignore it.

The problem started at the point the Rev. Dan Hauge, pastor ofGrace Bible Church in Bellevue, Neb., cited on Twitter this week:

I think one issue is we whites imagine the endgame of anti-racism as harmonious relationships rather than equal power to shape society, he wrote.

And there you have it.

The goal of life after emancipation was not for black folks to get along with white folks. It was to be full citizens of America, with the same rights to vote, live and pursue happiness.

Weve spent 150 years trying to get in to fit in, sit in the same classrooms, work in the same jobs, live in the same neighborhoods while many white folks felt their job was to tolerate us, that if they did that, they were fulfilling their duties as great American citizens all the while putting up gates, blocking financial capital to increased success and making sure that we were just second-class enough to ensure that they and their children could still be considered superior.

POLICING THE USA: A look atrace, justice, media

More: Charleston shooting could be defining civil rights moment: Column

We are here now, really here. There are no more sidelines. All those other times in history (where people watched what happened, either shaking their heads, shedding private tears or cheering hate) are past. There is no place for complacency anymore.

There are no sidelines. Everyone CEOs, chefs, comics, mail carriers, mayors, magicians, principals, pet store owners, power brokers, actors and zookeepers needs to stand up and be heard and fight for America.

When the comedian Jimmy Fallon opened his show Monday night with a powerful and serious monologue about what happened, he said:

"Its my responsibility to stand up against intolerance and extremism as a human being.

What happened over the weekend in Charlottesville, Va., was just disgusting. I was watching the news like everyone else, and youre seeing Nazi flags and torches and white supremacists, and I was sick to my stomach. My daughters are in the next room playing and Im thinking, How can I explain to them that theres so much hatred in this world? Theyre 2 years old and 4 years old. They dont know what hate is.

But as kids grow up, they need people to look up to to show them whats right, and good. They need parents and teachers, and they need leaders who appeal to the best in us. The fact that it took the president two days to come out and clearly denounce racists and white supremacists is shameful. And I think he finally spoke out because people everywhere stood up and said something. Its important for everyone especially white people in this country to speak out against this. Ignoring it is just as bad as supporting it.

That is where we are now. To ignore what ishappening is to support it.

WhenTrump said last year that he and his ilk wanted to take the country back, Fallons answer is mine and should be ours:

We cant go back. We cant go back.

Rochelle Riley is a columnist for the Detroit Free Press, where this column first appeared. Follow her on Twitter:@rochelleriley.

You can read diverse opinions from ourBoard of Contributorsand other writers on theOpinion front page, on Twitter@USATOpinionand in our dailyOpinion newsletter. To respond to a column, submit a comment toletters@usatoday.com.

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Trump chose bigotry over democracy. It's time to act: Rochelle Riley - USA TODAY