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Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is trying to break though with Trump voters in her state by warning them that the Republicans have an agenda that will hurt them. On top of that, shes trying to get Democrats to join her revolutionary pitch: passing single-payer health care (via WSJ) [emphasis mine]:

We talk about how the middle class has just taken one punch after another for nearly 40 years now, she told the Lowell crowd. Understand that Donald Trump and these Republican majorities are poised to deliver the knockout blow.

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While Democrats across the country wrestle with the question of how to win back voters who rallied to Mr. Trump, Ms. Warrens aides say her outreach to parts of the state that favored the president is strictly to hear from Massachusetts voters. She isnt likely to face a serious challenge next year, when she is up for a second term in the Senate.

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Ms. Warren says her immediate focus is on fighting the Republican health-care legislation and mounting her 2018 re-election campaign. But she hasnt been shy about seeking to pull fellow Democrats and those running in next years midterm elections to the left.

Blocking the GOP rollback of provisions in the Affordable Care Act, Ms. Warren said, is not enough. She said Democrats on the ballot in the next two federal elections should back a national single-payer health-care plan.

Well, I guess I can respect that Warren is actually meeting voters who probably disagree with her on almost everything, but its outside the liberal northeast that Democrats need to focus their white working class voter outreach. Massachusetts is going to be a stronghold for Democrats in national elections. The real areas of concern rest in the Ohio River Valley, Michigan, and Wisconsin. The whole Rust Belt flipped in 2016. Second, single-payer health care advocacy is one way to a) unite the GOP base; b) provide perfect cannon fodder for Republicans since single-payer has led to people dying. Veterans Affairs has a system thats closest to single-payer, which has embroiled the department in scandal. Secret wait lists and veterans dying while waiting for their appointments have dotted this inexcusable and atrocious scandal. To nationalize it would actually led to deaths, unlike the dubious claims Democrats are lobbing at Republicans over their health care legislation. Single-payer, as seen in other European countries, have led to reduced access to care and treatments to keep costs under control. Thats something that Americans arent willing to sacrifice in exchange for higher taxes to fund a system where everyone gets government-run health care. Oh, and did I mention its incredibly expensive? Even The Washington Posts editorial board noted the crushing costs, while Californias deeply Democratic state legislature hit the brakes on their single-payer proposal. A rational choice since there was no mechanism to pay for the $400 billion program. Is single-payer health care pro-middle class? I would say the answer would be a resounding no. And then theres the minimum wage fight, which also shows how the Left is just illiterate on basic economics. In Seattle, the citys $15/hour law has screwed over workers by reducing their hours and wages.

Thats two huge pieces of the Democratic agenda that have proven to be detrimental to workers and bone-crushingly expensive. So, if this is how the Democratic Party really wants to save the middle class, reclaim Trump voters, and start winning elections againplease do. And be sure to make Nancy Pelosi the point of the lance in this push. Shes been a real asset for your party brand.

See the article here:
Please Do: Fake Indian Leftist Democrat Wants Party To Get On Single-Payer Health Care Train - Townhall

Posted: Tuesday, June 27, 2017 9:00 am

Democrat Announces For Congress

Kathy Ellis, a psychotherapist and addiction counselor from Jefferson County, announced her candidacy for the Democratic Party nomination for Missouris Eighth Congressional District on Saturday at Jefferson College.

What is going on in Washington has got to stop, Ellis said, People are dying from the lack of healthcare, and Washingtons answer is tax cuts for the wealthy.

Ellis, a Democrat, proposes healthcare for all and investment in jobs in Southeast Missouri through improvements to infrastructure, increased access to quality education, protect and defend Social Security and pass a long-term farm bill.

Republican Jason Smith has represented the district since winning a special election on June 4, 2013. He was reelected in 2014 and 2016.

The district comprises 30 counties, including Ste. Genevieve.

(Information in a release from Ellis for Congress and Wikipedia.)

Posted on Tuesday, June 27, 2017 9:00 am.

Read the original:
Democrat Announces For Congress - Ste. Genevieve Herald

Republicans backed off a plan to vote this week on legislation rolling back much of President Obamas signature healthcare law, the Affordable Care Act. But Democrats dont think this is the end of Trumpcare.

Its far from over. McConnell said hes going to come back to it soon, Democratic Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois said in an interview at the Capitol. Were not taking anything for granted.

Senate Republicans Put Off Health-Care Vote

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced on Tuesday afternoon that the Senate would not be on the bill this week, as Republican Senators continue discussions within our conference on the differences that we have. But he added that were still working toward getting at least 50 people in a comfortable place. McConnell only needs 50 Republican senators to pass the legislationassuming Vice President Pence breaks a tie because Republicans are using a process known as budget reconciliation to evade a Democratic filibuster.

A number of Republican senators, however, have balked at the bill. Some conservative have argued it does not go far enough in repealing Obamacare, while moderates have expressed concern that it would too far in cutting Medicaid, the program that provides health insurance for low-income Americans. The Congressional Budget Office concluded on Monday that the Senate bill would leave 22 million Americans without insurance over the course of a decade.

With little control over the levers of power in Congress, Democrats have attempted to draw attention to what they say will be the harmful impacts of the Senate GOP health care legislation.

Senate Democrats convened a flurry of press conferences this week to denounce the bill, while Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who is technically not a Democrat, but is nevertheless part of Senate Democratic leadership, held rallies in Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania to rally opposition against the bill.

Now the message from Democrats is that the fight isnt over.

They werent able to pass their cruelest, and most hurtful version of the bill, but that doesnt mean theyre not going to come back with a bill that is still cruel, and hurtful, Democratic Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts said. I do not believe that we are going to be able to preserve Obamacare unless we work every day, 24-hours a day, until the Republicans finally give up, he added. We have to keep our energy level high Thats the only way we are going to win.

Senate Democrats may be particularly wary of declaring victory too early after watching House GOP legislation to dismantle the Affordable Care Act stall out, only to be revived weeks later and passed.

The challenge now for opponents of the healthcare bill will be to keep the pressure on Republican senators during the July 4th recess, where they will return to their districts.

If we survive this week with the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid intact, the lesson anyone who cares about health care has to learn is that its dangerous to take your eye of the ball even for a day, Ben Wikler of the progressive advocacy group MoveOn.org said in an interview before McConnells Tuesday announcement. If Trumpcare isnt passed, isnt defeated, but is merely delayed this week, it is absolutely vital for anyone who cares about the healthcare system to dial up their pressure over the fourth of July recess.

Of course, Republicans will be making their case for the bills passage too.

The schedule may have changed a little but, but one thing hasnt changed and that is that Obamacare is collapsing, Republican Senator John Thune said on Tuesday during a press conference. It is a failed system that needs to be replaced, and we believe the legislation that were trying to get up on the Senate floor and consider there will take America in a better direction.

But even for their apparent reluctance to declare victory, some Senate Democrats evidently believe the road to passage for Republicans will be more difficult now that McConnell has delayed its vote.

This bill is like a stinking fish, its just going to get worse, Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut said in an interview. Were going to bring this to every state across the country. This is what we wanted. We wanted to be able to bring this debate out of Washington and back to our states. I think thats going to be the death knell for this bill.

Democrats also hope the delay will create an opportunity for constituents opposed to the bill to convey their objections directly to Republican senators.

I think its going to be a very tough two weeks for the Republicans to be hearing from their constituents at home who have now been educated as to what the impact of these cuts will be on the services their families receive, Markey said. I think its only going to complicate dramatically the complexity of their political dilemma.

Read more here:
Democrats Don't Think Trumpcare Is Dead - The Atlantic

Last week alone, Michigan Democratic congresswoman Debbie Dingell said "I don't know where I belong" and "I'm not sure where I fit in" over the course of two different media interviews, ruminating on her place in a party she believes is splintering in too many different directions.

Dingell, who believes Democrats are alienating the working class voters they once represented, is disillusioned by her party's impulse to segment itself into the categories of identity politics. "We've become this identity politics. The Women's Caucus, the Black Caucus, the Hispanic Caucus," Dingell observed on MSNBC after Jon Ossoff lost his bid for a seat in Georgia's 6th District. "We've lost the sense of we,' that our strength comes in community."

In an interview with the Washington Post published one day earlier, Dingell said that her party was in "disarray," pointing to its failure to connect with the working class voters who once saw Democrats as their voice in government. "We took people for granted. We, for a long time, thought we had that worker, men and women, that union worker. We've lost them because we stopped talking to them." The congresswoman also relayed in the interview that voters in her Michigan district "don't think we understand them."

"Nobody listened to me in the last election when I told them they weren't talking about the issues that really mattered in the Midwest," Dingell lamented, adding later, "I sometimes feel like I have no home even in the Democratic Caucus here."

After losing the presidency and the Congress in addition to a host of down-ballot races over the course of the Obama years, Democrats are pledging to do better. But with a base split between progressives fixated on intersectionality and the #Resistance defining liberal opposition to Donald Trump as eagerly obstructionist, it will be difficult for Democrats to unify around solutions to the problems Dingell understands better than most in her party.

Leaders like Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and DNC Chairman Tom Perez have resorted to a bizarre and insulting schtick of peppering their speeches with curse words in a transparent bid to appeal to blue-collar voters with whom the canned rhetoric of Hillary Clinton or the lofty language of Barack Obama never resonated.

For her part, Dingell recognizes the value of connecting with voters based on their backgrounds. "We need to understand each of these groups have issues. I'm a woman, I've been discriminated against," she conceded, continuing, "But I know my power and strength is being part of a broader community where we all pull together and fight for an issue."

Especially in the wake of Ossoff's loss last week, Democrats are paying a lot of lip service to the notion of reforming the party and getting serious about speaking to working class voters. But unless they are able to reconcile their increasingly radical, and increasingly vocal base of fervent anti-Trump resistors with Dingell's constituents, a monumental task by any standard, she may never be able to find her place in the party again.

And her voters won't either.

Emily Jashinskyis a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.

More here:
Michigan Democrat Debbie Dingell: 'I don't know where I belong' in the party of identity politics - Washington Examiner

(1 of ) Matt Stevens, SMART's community education and outreach employee, uses the new Airport Blvd. station to take photos of a SMART railcar, Wednesday June 29, 2016 in Santa Rosa. (Kent Porter / Press Democrat) 2016 (2 of ) A SMART train passes through Rohnert Park at Southwest Boulevard in 2016. (JOHN BURGESS/ PD FILE) (3 of ) A SMART train passes by the bicycle rack at the Railroad Square SMART rail station, in Santa Rosa in 2016. (ALVIN JORNADA/ PD) (5 of ) A SMART test train pulls into the Rohnert Park platform, south of Rohnert Park Expressway in Rohnert Park in 2016. (CHRISTOPHER CHUNG/ PD) (6 of ) Scott Mitchell, one of 11 train engineers for Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit system, takes the public on a test ride in August 2016. (ANGELA HART/ PD FILE) (7 of ) SMART's train number 2 heads for San Rafael, Monday June 26, 2017, crossing Sixth Street in Santa Rosa. (Kent Porter / Press Democrat) 2017 (8 of ) SMART's train number 2 heads for San Rafael, Monday June 26, 2017, after stopping at the Railroad Square station, Santa Rosa. (Kent Porter / Press Democrat) 2017

MARTIN ESPINOZA

THE PRESS DEMOCRAT | June 26, 2017, 12:13PM

| Updated 6 minutes ago.

What better way to generate buzz about a new transit service than to offer free rides? Thats exactly what Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit will be doing starting Thursday.

Offering the public an early look at the North Bays newest transportation system, SMART has scheduled three days of free rides June 29 and July 1 and 4, with more free ride schedules expected to be announced later this week.

Were really excited to be able to finally let people on the trains to experience them, said Debora Fudge, chairwoman of SMARTs board of directors.

Fudge, the mayor of Windsor, said SMART has been granted permission by the federal government to allow limited passenger use while federal officials do their final review of SMARTs positive train control, or PTC, an advanced safety system that automatically shuts down a train in the event of an emergency such as derailments caused by excessive speed.

She said SMART has fully tested the trains PTC system and will be offering free rides until the federal government approves paid passenger service.

When we get that final permit, then we run 34 trains a day and start commuter service, Fudge said.

SMARTs soft-launch begins Thursday, with three free round-trip rides from between Rohnert Park and Marin Civic Center stations. Trains depart southbound from SMARTs Rohnert Park Station at 8 a.m., 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m. Trains will depart northbound from the Marin Civic Center at 4, 6 and 8 p.m. Riders can get on and off at any stop.

Then on July 1 and 4, SMART has scheduled a type of excursion service for Sonoma County residents planning to go to the Marin County Fair in San Rafael. Free rides will be offered between all stations between Sonoma County Airport Station and the Marin Civic Center station, which is near where the fair will take place. Riders on these trains also can get on and off at any stop.

The train will start at the Sonoma County Airport Station at 5 p.m. and arrive at the Marin Civic Center at 6:01 p.m. On both days, the train will be held at the Marin Civic Center until after the fireworks, departing back to Sonoma County at 10:36 p.m.

The train arrives at Sonoma County Airport Station at 11:37 p.m.

Free rides will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis, said SMART spokeswoman Jeanne Mariani-Belding, who encouraged people to arrive early.

The specific schedules and station locations offered during the public review period are based on thousands of responses from the pubic, SMART said.

On Monday, one North Bay resident watched with curiosity as a SMART made a test stop at the Santa Rosa Downtown Station at Railroad Square.

Emily Porter of Mill Valley said shes been considering commuting between Marin County and her job at a winemaking supply company in Petaluma.

I was wondering if it was going to be a viable commute but the commute is not that bad, she said. I reverse commute to Petaluma when everyone else is going to San Francisco.

Rick James, who lives in Santa Rosa and works at Keysight Technologies, said he has no reason to use the new transit system as a commuter but wouldnt mind taking it for fun family trips. On Monday, James and his daughter, UC Santa Cruz student Kelsey James, spent part of the afternoon visiting Railroad Square.

Both joked theyd definitely ride the rail system if it went all the way to Santa Cruz.

I hope it takes off, though. Weve invested so much, said the elder James. It would be good to get people off the road.

Kelsey, who is getting a graduate degree in cognitive psychology, said she had a chance to study abroad in Italy and loved riding the train. She said she admired how the various Italian public transit systems of buses, taxis and trains were connected. Theres something nostalgic about riding the train, she said, adding that even a modern train feels right.

Mariani-Belding said the preview rides are aimed at getting local residents more familiar with the new transit system and how it works. She said later this week SMART will announce additional schedules for upcoming preview rides.

You can reach Staff Writer Martin Espinoza at 707-521-5213 or martin.espinoza@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @renofish.

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SMART train begins free preview rides this week - Santa Rosa Press Democrat