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When Republicans lost big in the 2012 election, the party commissioned a post-mortem analysis that arrived at a blunt conclusion about the way it communicated: The Republican Party needs to stop talking to itself, said the report, informally known as the autopsy.

After the elections last week, in which Democrats across the country lost races they expected to win or narrowly escaped defeat, some are asking whether the Democratic Party is suffering from a similar problem of insularity in its messaging.

Critics and some prominent liberals like Ruy Teixeira, a left-of-center political scientist, have argued that Democrats are trying to explain major issues such as inflation, crime and school curriculum with answers that satisfy the partys progressive base but are unpersuasive and off-putting to most other voters.

The clearest example is in Virginia, where the Democratic candidate for governor, Terry McAuliffe, lost his election after spending weeks trying to minimize and discredit his opponents criticisms of public school education, particularly the way that racism is talked about. Mr. McAuliffe accused the Republican, Glenn Youngkin, of campaigning on a made-up issue and of blowing a racist dog whistle.

But about a quarter of Virginia voters said that the debate over teaching critical race theory, a graduate-level academic framework that has become a stand-in for a debate over what to teach about race and racism in schools, was the most important factor in their decision, and 72 percent of those voters cast ballots for Mr. Youngkin, according to a survey of more than 2,500 voters conducted for The Associated Press by NORC at the University of Chicago, a nonpartisan research organization.

The nuances of critical race theory, which focuses on the ways that institutions perpetuate racism, and the hyperbolic tone of the coverage of the issue in conservative news media point to why Democrats have struggled to come up with an effective response.

Mr. Teixeira calls the Democrats problem with critical race theory and other galvanizing issues the Fox News Fallacy.

These issues are ripe for distortions and exaggeration by Republican politicians and their allies in the news media. But Mr. Teixeira says Democrats should not dismiss voters concerns as simply right-wing misinformation.

An issue is not necessarily completely invalid just because Fox News mentions it, he said.

In an interview, Mr. Teixeira said his logic applied to questions far beyond critical race theory. I cant tell you how many times I analyze a particular issue, saying this is a real concern, he said. And the first thing I hear is, Hey, this is a right-wing talking point. Youre playing into the hands of the enemy.

Fox News is not the only institution capable of producing this kind of reaction from some on the left it was just the one Mr. Teixeira chose to make his point as vividly as possible.

What to Know About the 2021 Virginia Election

The conservative news media is full of stories that can make it sound as if the country is living through a nightmare. Rising prices and supply chain difficulties are cast as economic threats on par with the stagflation crisis of the 1970s, a comparison that is oversimplified because neither inflation nor unemployment is as high now. Stories of violent crime in large cities are given prominent placement and frequent airing; the same is true of coverage about the record number of migrants being apprehended at the southern border.

The Biden administration has struggled to address concerns about all of these issues. Critics pounced when the White House chief of staff, Ron Klain, posted a tweet that cast inflation and supply chain disruptions as high class problems, seeming to dismiss the anxiety that Americans say they have about their own finances.

And despite border crossings hitting the highest number on record since at least 1960, when the government began tracking them, the Biden administration has resisted referring to the issue as a crisis. President Biden has faced persistent questions about why he has not visited the border.

C.R.T. is not new. Derrick Bell, a pioneering legal scholar who died in 2011, spent decades exploring what it would mean to understand racism as a permanent feature of American life. He is often called the godfather of critical race theory, but the term was coined by Kimberl Crenshaw in the 1980s.

The theory has gained new prominence. After theprotestsborn from the police killing of George Floyd, critical race theory resurfaced as part of a backlash among conservatives includingformer President Trump who began to use the term as apolitical weapon.

The current debate. Critics of C.R.T. argue that it accuses all white Americans of being racist and is being used to divide the country. But critical race theorists say they are mainly concerned with understandingthe racial disparities that have persisted ininstitutionsandsystems.

A hot-button issue in schools. The debate has turned school boards into battlegroundsas some Republicans say the theory is invading classrooms. Education leaders, including the National School Boards Association, say that C.R.T. is not being taught in K-12 schools.

Then theres crime. After a year and a half of calls from the progressive left for drastic policing reform, voters across the country last week rejected candidates and policies aligned with the defund the police movement. In two of the most striking examples, Minneapolis voters said no to a referendum to dismantle their citys troubled police department. And New Yorkers elected as mayor a former police captain, Eric Adams, who strongly opposes defund efforts.

One liberal who apparently recognized the broader problems that Democrats have had explaining their platforms to voters was Maya Wiley, who ran against Mr. Adams in the mayoral primary as a proponent of sweeping police reforms. In an opinion essay for The New Republic this week, Ms. Wiley, a civil rights lawyer, wrote that while Republicans distorted the debate over critical race theory in Virginia, they also offered a more compelling message on education.

If you only heard evening news sound bites, you would think all he talked about on the campaign trail was critical race theory, Ms. Wiley said of Mr. Youngkin. Not so. In fact, he sounded like a moderate Democrat, with the notable exception of C.R.T.

Despite the dog whistling, Wiley said, the message was effective because it was empathetic. He was saying he understood their pain, she said.

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Do Democrats Have a Messaging Problem? - The New York Times

In my political circles, the socialist and activist left, the recent defeat of India Walton, a democratic socialist candidate for mayor of Buffalo, seemed all too familiar, even if she lost in an unusual way to the incumbent Democratic mayor, Byron Brown. Ms. Walton prevailed against Mr. Brown in the Democratic primary, but for the general election, he ran a write-in campaign to retain his position.

That outcome saddens and disappoints me. Like many admirers of Ms. Walton, I believe she was terribly mistreated by the New York Democratic Party, which largely fell in line behind Mr. Brown, even though he was not running as a Democrat. Its not fair that Ms. Walton had to run against him twice, with the weight of a lot of centrist Democrats and Republicans behind him in the general election, and that he enjoyed the support of several prominent labor unions and much of the citys and states larger party infrastructure. (Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand did endorse Ms. Walton.)

Nevertheless, I am willing to say something far too few leftists seem willing to: Not only did Mr. Brown win, but he won resoundingly (the race is not officially over but stands at roughly 59 percent for Mr. Brown to 41 percent for Ms. Walton); its time for young socialists and progressive Democrats to recognize that our beliefs just might not be popular enough to win elections consistently. It does us no favors to pretend otherwise.

What too many young socialists and progressive Democrats dont seem to realize is that its perfectly possible that the Democratic Party is biased against our beliefs and that our beliefs simply arent very popular.

They frequently claim that Americans want socialist policies and socialist politicians but are prevented from voting for them by the system. Or they argue that most American voters have no deeply held economic beliefs at all and are ready to be rallied to the socialist cause by a charismatic candidate.

This attitude toward Ms. Waltons defeat specifically and toward the political landscape more broadly is part and parcel of a problem that has deepened in the past five years: So many on the radical left whom I know have convinced themselves that their politics and policies are in fact quite popular on a national level, despite the mounting evidence otherwise.

As New York magazines Sarah Jones put it over the summer, Should Democrats mount a cohesive critique of capitalism, theyll meet many Americans where they are. We are held back, the thinking frequently goes, not by the popularity of our ideas but by the forces of reaction marshaled against us.

But the only way for the left to overcome our institutional disadvantages is to compel more voters to vote for us. Bernie Sanderss two noble failures in Democratic presidential primaries galvanized young progressives and helped create political structures that have pulled the party left. They also helped convince many of a socialist bent that only dirty tricks can defeat us. In the 2016 primary, the superdelegate system demonstrated how undemocratic the Democratic Party can be. Mr. Sanders won every county in West Virginia, for example, but the system at the time ensured that Mr. Sanders did not receive superdelegates in proportion to his vote totals (many superdelegates defied the wishes of the voters and supported Mrs. Clinton). In 2020, it was widely reported that after Mr. Sanderss victory in Nevada, former President Barack Obama had an indirect role as the minor candidates in the primary rallied behind Joe Biden to defeat the socialist threat. There is little doubt that the establishment worked overtime to prevent a Sanders nomination.

But the inconvenient fact is that Mr. Sanders received far fewer primary votes than Mrs. Clinton in 2016 and Mr. Biden in 2020. He failed to make major inroads among the moderate Black voters whom many see as the heart of the Democratic Party. Whats more, he failed to turn out the youth vote in the way that his supporters insisted he would.

Whatever else we may want to say about the system, we cannot shut our eyes to the fact that the voters of the liberal party in American politics twice had the opportunity to nominate Mr. Sanders as their candidate for president and twice declined to do so. If we dont allow this to inform our understanding of the popularity of our politics, well never move forward and start winning elections to gain more power in our system.

This may be seen as a betrayal of the socialist principles I stand for, which are at heart an insistence on the absolute moral equality of every person and a fierce commitment to fighting for the worst-off with whatever social and governmental means are necessary. But I am writing this precisely because I believe so deeply in those principles. I want socialism to win, and to do that, socialists must be ruthless with ourselves.

The idea that most Americans quietly agree with our positions is dangerous, because it leads to the kind of complacency that has dogged Democrats since the emerging Democratic majority myth became mainstream. Socialists can take some heart in public polling that shows Americans warming to the abstract idea of socialism. But socialism is an abstraction that means little without a winning candidate. And too much of this energy seems to stem from the echo-chamber quality of social media, as young socialists look at the world through Twitter and TikTok and see only the smiling faces of their own beliefs reflected back at them.

Socialist victory will require taking a long, hard road to spread our message, to convince a skeptical public that socialist policies and values are good for them and the country. Which is to say, it will take decades.

Americans have lived in a capitalist system for generations; that will not be an easy obstacle for socialists to overcome. If you want socialist policies in the United States, there is no alternative to the slow and steady work of changing minds. My fellow travelers are in the habit of saying that justice cant wait. But justice has waited for thousands of years, and we all must eventually come to terms with the fact that we dont get to simply choose when it arrives.

Fredrik deBoer is the author of The Cult of Smart: How Our Broken Education System Perpetuates Social Injustice and publishes a daily newsletter.

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Opinion | Democratic Socialists Have a Long Road to Electoral Victory - The New York Times

House Democrats are racing this week to pass President BidenJoe BidenBiden restates commitment to 'one China' policy on Taiwan in call with Xi Biden raises human rights with China's Xi during four hour meeting Biden, Xi hold 'candid' discussion amid high tensions MOREs$1.75 trillion social and climate spending package, which would give the party a burst of momentum heading into the Thanksgiving recess.

Debate over the packagehas been filled with drama throughout the summer and fall, with progressive and centrists battling over the measures contents,pushing an embarrassing intraparty fight into the national spotlight.

Those battles will continue in the Senate, which is unlikely to take action on the measurebefore December. Centrist Sens. Joe ManchinJoe ManchinBiden signs trillion infrastructure bill into law The Hill's 12:30 Report - Presented by Facebook - Trump officials face legal consequences over defying subpoenas The Hill's Morning Report - Presented by ExxonMobil - Will Biden's big bill pass the House this week? MORE (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten SinemaKyrsten SinemaBiden signs trillion infrastructure bill into law The Hill's 12:30 Report - Presented by Facebook - Trump officials face legal consequences over defying subpoenas Democrats expect to pass .75T Biden package this week MORE(D-Ariz.) whose arguments have helped whittle the once $3.5 trillion package in half have yet to formally back the measure, and more changes are possible.

All the same, Democrats feel they are on the verge of a huge milestone in the House, where passage would be a big victory for the party.

House moderate holdouts have vowed to support the bill when it comes to the floor this week, even as they continue to wait for new numbers from the Congressional Budget Office to see if the package will add to the deficit.

Biden on Monday will sign into law the $1.2 trillioninfrastructure bill, a favorite of the centrists, whichwill make it easier for reluctant moderates to swallow the massive tax-and-spending plan. Many, including Rep. Josh GottheimerJoshua (Josh) GottheimerOn The Money Biden caps off infrastructure week CBO to release Build Back Better score by Friday Democrats expect to pass .75T Biden package this week MORE (D-N.J.), will be at the presidents side for the ceremony.

Despite the possibility of new drama in the Senate,senior Democrats say they are confident Congress can send the package to Bidens desk by the end of the year.

I think we'll get it passed before Christmas, one senior Democrat, Rep. G.K. ButterfieldGeorge (G.K.) Kenneth ButterfieldDemocrats expect to pass .75T Biden package this week North Carolina legislature approves new US House map House GOP campaign arm expands target list after brutal night for Dems MORE (N.C.), former chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, told The Hill.

The debate arrives at a fraught moment for Biden and the majority Democrats, who are under fire for a host of disturbing economic trends, including a spike in inflation, a private sector labor shortage and a supply chain bottleneck thats hindered retail markets all while the COVID-19 crisis continues to frustrate federal efforts to keep it in check.

The combination has taken its toll on the president: A recent poll conducted by USA Today and Suffolk University found that just 38 percent of voters approve of Bidens performance.

The Democrats troubles were reflected in state elections across the country earlier in the month, when Republicans outperformed even their rosiest predictions. That was true particularly in Virginia, where GOP businessman Glenn YoungkinGlenn YoungkinInfrastructure updates only get us halfway we need Build Back Better bill, too Kemp makes pitch to conservatives, independents in new campaign ad GOP looks to expand state legislature candidate tracking program ahead of midterms MORE surpassing President TrumpDonald TrumpHouse Freedom Caucus elects Rep. Scott Perry as new chairman Meadows 'between a rock and a hard space' with Trump, Jan. 6 panel On The Money Biden caps off infrastructure week MOREs 2020 numbers in every county upset former Gov. Terry McAuliffeTerry McAuliffeInfrastructure updates only get us halfway we need Build Back Better bill, too Kemp makes pitch to conservatives, independents in new campaign ad Democrats expect to pass .75T Biden package this week MORE (D) in a state Biden had won by 10 points just a year earlier.

McAuliffes defeat sparked a new round of internal calls for Democrats to revamp their messaging tactics heading into a difficult 2022 midterm cycle, when House GOP leaders are predicting they will flip dozens of seats and win back the majority.

Democrats need to reassess their strategy, said progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-CortezAlexandria Ocasio-CortezMcCarthy says he called Gosar before anime tweet video taken down: report House ethics wars redux? Juan Williams: A guide to combating right-wing lies MORE (D-N.Y.). We need to have legislation that actually, forcefully delivers for working people.

Vulnerable moderate Rep. Abigail SpanbergerAbigail Davis SpanbergerGroup aligned with House GOP leadership targeting nine Democrats on spending vote If voters did give Biden a mandate, it wasn't to pander to progressives Democrats expect to pass .75T Biden package this week MORE (D-Va.) is supportive of several key elements of the Biden package tackling climate change, extending the child tax credit and lowering prescription drug prices but she said Democrats have failed to explain how the legislation will help struggling American families.

People are busy, they have jobs, they have lives, they have worry, they have kids, they have joys. If someone turns on the news and [hears] We really need to make these major investments in human infrastructure, and they say, There they go again. What the heck are those Democrats doing? Spanberger said during an appearance on the New York Times podcast The Daily.

Now, if we're saying, I want to invest in the next generation of America's children, and I want to do it by ensuring every kid goes to pre-K like, that's a different discussion, right?

Part of the Democrats messaging challenge stems from the fact that the Build Back Better bill is still in flux. With inflation recently hitting a 30-year high, Manchin will have fresh leverage to demand cuts to the Houses $1.75 trillion package, which features several provisions hes consistentlyresisted, including paid family leave and a Medicare expansion.

Manchin, a former coal broker who has made millionsof dollars from the industry, has also opposed certain provisions promoting a shift to cleaner energy sources a position thats prompted a backlash from more liberal Democrats pushing an aggressive green energy agenda as part of the massive spending package.

Fueling that debate was this months global climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, where Speaker Nancy PelosiNancy PelosiChristie: Trump rhetoric about stolen election led to Jan. 6 attack Biden signs trillion infrastructure bill into law Defiant Bannon warns of 'misdemeanor from hell' for Biden MORE (D-Calif.) led a delegation of environmentally minded Democrats who are returning to Washington with a new zest for going big in the fight against climate change.

Our grandchildren are not going to praise us for doing what was politically possible, Rep. Sean CastenSean CastenDemocrats expect to pass .75T Biden package this week Newman announces she'll challenge fellow Democrat Casten in newly drawn Illinois district Illinois redistricting proposal creates new Hispanic seat, sets up member-vs.-member races MORE (D-Ill.), a participant in the summit, said Friday. They're only going to praise us if we did what was scientifically necessary.

The family leave provision and several others could be stripped out of the House bill once it hits the floor of the Senate, which is prepared to hold a vote-a-rama to see which policies can secure 51 votes and survive.

So, its all but inevitable the Senate will send an altered package back to the House next month, when it will compete for floor time with two huge but separate fiscal fights: one to fund the federal government and stave off a shutdown, the other to prevent a first-ever default on the nations debt, which the Treasury Department has warned would happen after Dec. 3.

I think this bill will make it over the finish line, Spanberger told The New York Times. But she added: Ultimately, this bill may not be identical to what we pass in the House when it does make it over the finish line.

Knowing they will need Manchins support, key Biden officials are gently pushing back on centrists concerns over inflation and the bills price tag. The package will reduce the deficit, according to White House estimates, thanks to a corporate minimum tax, tax hikes on the wealthiest households and cutting the cost of prescription drugs under Medicare. Officials also said the cost of not passing the package will mean that poor and middle-class families will continue to pay more for things like child care, housing and prescription drugs for seniors.

If we don't act on Build Back Better ... we won't be able to cut child care costs. ... We won't be able to make preschool free for many families starting in 2022, saving many families $8,600. We won't be able to get ahead of skyrocketing housing costs ... and we won't be able to save Americans thousands of dollars by negotiating prescription drug prices, White House press secretary Jen PsakiJen PsakiBiden raises human rights with China's Xi during four hour meeting Biden, Xi hold 'candid' discussion amid high tensions White House dismisses talk of Harris-Biden rift MORE said Friday.

So our view is this makes a strong case for moving forward with this agenda, she said.Because what we're really talking about is the cost to American families.

Originally posted here:
Democrats expect to pass $1.75T Biden package this week | TheHill - The Hill

Little Falls Herald

The Little Falls Herald was a weekly newspaper published every Friday in Little Falls, in Morrison County, Minnesota, beginning in 1889 and ceasing in 1950. Little Falls was also served by the Morrison County Democrat, the Little Falls Weekly Transcript, and the Little Falls Daily Transcript. The Herald covered local news in Little Falls and served as a news source for other nearby towns in the county, such as Fort Ripley, Cushing, Motley, Royalton, and Swanville. The paper also included state, national, and some international news within its eight-page, six-column format.

Located along the Mississippi River in central Minnesota, Little Falls is one of the oldest established settlements in Minnesota. The surrounding area was originally inhabited by the Dakota and Ojibwe tribes and was home to the Ojibwe leader, Bagone-giizhig or Hole-in-the-Day the Younger, who from the 1840s until his death in 1868 was instrumental in fostering a relationship between the tribe and the U.S. government. However, tensions between the Ojibwe and the government continued. In 1904, the Herald began covering the removal of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe to the White Earth Indian Reservation. One article in the January 15, 1904 issue reads Chief Dissatisfied Mille Lacs Indian Doesnt Like White Earth Land[Chief Wah-we-ye-comig] said that hes not pleased with the land offered his people, that one acre of Mille Lacs land was worth twenty acres of the White Earth land.

When the Herald began, it was edited and published by J. H. Seal and William H. Workman. In 1895, editing duties were taken over by J. H. Streets, and the paper was published by the Little Falls Printing Co., owned by the brothers Peter, Stephen, and Charles Vasaly. Two years later, the Vasaly family began managing the Herald as well, first with Charles E. Vasaly acting as editor until 1914. Vasaly was very involved in local politics, serving as the chairman of the Democratic Party in Morrison County and mayor of Little Falls. Following his role as editor, Vasaly was appointed superintendent of the St. Cloud state reformatory. His brother Peter Vasaly took over the role of editor thereafter and held the position until 1934.

The Herald regularly featured court notices, marriages, births, deaths, society news, financial transfers, and mortgage foreclosure sales. The region was home to many farmers, so farm advice and the market rates of various crops were routinely included. Local politics, including reports of the city council and Board of County Commissioners, were published. As a Democrat-affiliated paper, the Herald often butted heads with the Republican Weekly Transcript. The Heralds February 18, 1898 issue fumed, The Transcripts attempt to show that the Heraldhas attacked the present city administration is as absurd as its attempt to show that this paper has personally attacked Charles A. Lindbergh-- Little Falls being home to Charles August Lindbergh, noted lawyer and Republican congressman, and his son, the famous pilot Charles Augustus Lindbergh.

Peter Vasaly continued to own the Herald until 1949, when he sold the title to the Transcript Publishing Company, which published the Daily Transcript. The Herald ceased publication shortly after, leaving the Transcript as the only major newspaper in Little Falls.

Provided by: Minnesota Historical Society; Saint Paul, MN

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About Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls ...

Democrats insist that unique factors will make the 2022 elections history defying. Mr. Trump, the Capitol attack of Jan. 6, the pandemic and the fate of democracy itself will share the ballot with the usual issues of economic growth and the performance of the president.

While voters see Democrats rebooting the economy and getting folks back on the job, Republicans are campaigning on junk science that is endangering peoples lives and false election claims that threaten our democracy, said Chris Taylor, a spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Redistricting will make the Democratic road steeper. David Wasserman, who tracks new district maps for the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, said so far, Democratic fears look somewhat overblown Republican state legislatures have already gerrymandered their maps so severely that they can only go so much further. Republicans appear more intent on shoring up their vulnerable incumbents than destroying Democratic seats, he said.

In contrast, Democratic legislatures, especially in New York and Illinois, may actually produce more partisan maps than their G.O.P. brethren. In all, Mr. Wasserman said, Republicans could net up to five seats from new district lines, possibly enough to win the majority but far fewer than the 10 to 15 seats some Democrats fear.

Nonetheless, the new maps are pushing Democrats toward retirement. Mr. Doyle said he expects his district, which was once dominated by the city of Pittsburgh, to expand into more Trump-friendly counties to allow some of his Democratic voters to shore up the swing district now held by Representative Conor Lamb, a Democrat who is running for the states open Senate seat.

He could still win, he said, but he would have a whole new set of constituents, staff to hire, offices to open and hands to shake. After 26 years in the House, retirement was logical.

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House Democrats Are Retiring as Party Fears Losing Majority - The New York Times