Tony Katz Tonight Radio - 4/21/14 - Democrats Deal With It and Teaching To Race
Melissa Harris-Perry thinks people should shut up, stop complaining about how Obamacare is hurting them and "deal with it." Then again, that #39;s the mantra of ...
By: Tony Katz
Originally posted here:
Tony Katz Tonight Radio - 4/21/14 - Democrats Deal With It and Teaching To Race - Video
They are Democrats, yet their votes in the Capitol have helped big business continue fracking in California and defeat a bill dictating pay and benefit levels for Wal-Mart workers.
As Californias Republican Party shrinks, the influence of moderate Democrats in the Capitol is growing. But pinning down exactly who belongs to the group is not easy.
Unlike caucuses organized around political parties or ethnic identity, the so-called moderate caucus has no government-paid staff, and the group is not officially recognized by the Legislature.
The question I always get when I go give speeches about the mods is, Who are you guys? Is there a website? A roster? said Assemblyman Henry Perea, the Fresno Democrat who leads the loosely defined caucus. The answer is no.
Instead, the center of operations is an art-filled office in midtown Sacramento, where two political entrepreneurs have created a hub that fosters ties among major corporations including energy companies, drugmakers and insurers and lawmakers who cast swing votes affecting the industries bottom lines. These business-friendly Democrats can serve as a balancing influence against the liberal wing of their party and its historic ties to environmentalists, trial lawyers and unions.
The two consultants David Townsend and Chris Tapio have created a multifaceted operation in their I Street office to build the moderate caucus. They work behind the scenes to raise money from corporate interests, pour it into political campaigns and run an industry-funded nonprofit group that pays for policy retreats on business issues. Together, they serve as the fundraising and policy arms of the Legislatures moderate caucus.
The setup has never been challenged by Californias political watchdog. Few lawmakers or lobbyists are willing to discuss it publicly. Yet the operation has triggered hushed complaints from those left out of the loop that outside interests have found an influential path around the traditional legislative system.
What you dont want to have is a situation where private interests are underwriting de facto staff or the political operation of elected officials. The whole idea for elected officials is that they are beholden to taxpayers, not special interests, said Meredith McGehee, policy director at the Campaign Legal Center in Washington, D.C.
When you have these caucuses and special groups, the problem crops up that the lines become very murky.
Townsend and Tapio are not registered as lobbyists. They say they dont urge any action on specific bills. But they have used money from businesses that do lobby the Legislature to build a political infrastructure that puts the two consultants close to key decision-makers. Through campaign donations and gifts of meals and travel, their operation has touched about half the Democrats in the state Assembly and about one-fifth of Senate Democrats.
View original post here:
The Public Eye: Big business channels money to Californias moderate Democrats
(Scott Sommerdorf | The Salt Lake Tribune) Delegates vote in the runoff election for the 1st Congressional district candidates Donna McAleer and Peter Clemons at the Utah Democratic Convention, Saturday, April 26, 2014.
Democrats Peter Corroon is elected state chairman, and Doug Owens is nominated to run against Mia Love.
Democrats chose a familiar face Saturday as their new state chairman: former Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon.
The Utah Democratic Convention also nominated Doug Owens the attorney son of former Rep. Wayne Owens, D-Utah to face Republican Mia Love in the 4th U.S. House District race to replace retiring Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah.
Democratic Convention Results
State Chairman: Peter Corroon with 68% of the vote
Richard Davis, 32%
1st Congressional District
Donna McAleer on second ballot with 66% - NOMINEE
See the original post:
Utah Democrats elect Corroon as chairman, tap Owens in 4th District
McClatchy Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON Democrats are finding that their path to keeping control of the U.S. Senate this year is getting bumpier.
At least four states where Democrats hold Senate seats that once were seen as fairly safe are now considered in play Iowa, Colorado, Michigan and New Hampshire.
They join seven states with Democratic incumbents where analysts see decent bets for Republican pickups Alaska, Arkansas, Louisiana, Montana, North Carolina, South Dakota and West Virginia. Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney carried all seven in 2012.
The new four are now battlegrounds for the same reasons that plague Democrats elsewhere:
l The Affordable Care Act is detested in many circles.
l Anyone associated with Washington, D.C., is often toxic.
l And popular Republicans who are running for other offices are often on the ballot.
The common thread is that theres a Democrat in the White House whos not that popular, said Kyle Kondik, the managing editor of Sabatos Crystal Ball, a nonpartisan research group at the University of Virginia. It wouldnt be surprising if any of those states went Republican.
Republicans also appear more motivated.
Excerpt from:
Experts see trouble ahead for Democrats in Iowa, nationally
Former Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon was elected as chairman of the Utah Democratic Party at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City on Saturday, April 26, 2014.
Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
SALT LAKE CITY Utah Democrats elected a familiar face to lead their party Saturday.
Former Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corrron defeated BYU political science professor Richard Davis in the race for state Democratic Party chairman.
"I'm excited to be back in the game again after a year," Corroon said after winning the vote 68 percent to 32 percent at the state Democratic Party convention. "If we want change in Utah, I have to be part of that change and help make a difference."
About 1,300 delegates gathered at the Salt Palace Convention Center to hear speeches and nominate candidates. In addition to the party chairmanship, Democrats had contested races in the 1st and 4th congressional districts.
Corroon succeeds colorful state Sen. Jim Dabakis, D-Salt Lake City, who resigned as chairman last month for health reason after nearly three years on the job. He said he has big shoes to fill but would take a more understated approach to the job.
"You won't have as big a personality running the show," Corroon said.
Corroon said he has a 29-county plan to make the Democrats more effective statewide.
"We can pat ourselves on the back in Salt Lake County, but until we have organizations in each of the counties, we will never be successful throughout the state," he said. "There are some counties in the state where the Democratic Party doesn't exist."
See original here:
Utah Democrats pick ex-S.L. County Mayor Peter Corroon as party chairman