Mediaboss Marketing

WASHINGTON (AP) The Democratic National Committee's rulemaking body is recommending a 2016 presidential voting schedule that begins with the Iowa caucuses on Feb. 1 and follows with voting that month in New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina.

Under that calendar, Iowa retains its first-to-vote status while New Hampshire continues to hold the nation's first primary. The full DNC is expected to decide on the details of the calendar in August.

The Democrats' rules and bylaws committee met Friday in Washington. Its proposed calendar sticks closely to the framework laid out by the Republican National Committee. The GOP plan allows for those four states to vote in February but doesn't specify dates.

Democrats recommended that the New Hampshire primary be held on Feb. 9, the Nevada caucuses no earlier than Feb. 20, and the South Carolina primary on Feb. 27. Other states would be allowed to hold their contests from March 1 through the second Tuesday in June.

The recommendation hardly carves in stone the 2016 schedule. In the past two presidential election cycles, the major parties have scheduled the early contests for February but then allowed them to take place in January after such states as Florida and Michigan violated the party's rules and moved up their voting.

"You never know what you're going to get into in the pressure of an election season," committee co-chairman James Roosevelt Jr. said.

The committee discussed allowing people to participate without being physically present in Iowa's caucuses, the precinct-level political meetings held on a winter evening. Nothing on the issue was decided.

The Iowa caucuses, which have launched presidential voting for more than 30 years and are operated by the parties rather than state election officials, have come under increasing criticism because they include only those who attend a specific meeting. Democrats in the state are investigating whether the state party could allow more people to participate, including voters stationed out of state with the military or confined to hospitals or nursing homes.

"Our goal is to increase participation but maintain the spirit of the caucuses," Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Scott Brennan said.

The Democratic caucuses require participants to form groups of candidate supporters. Supporters of candidates who receive less than 15 percent support in an individual precinct disperse, giving other supporters the chance to argue for their support.

See original here:
Democrats Propose Feb. Voting To Begin 2016 Race

MANCHESTER A rupture in the ranks of Democrats could spill into the party's endorsement of a candidate for the 12th House District.

The discord heading into the May 20 convention centers on the board of directors' consideration of a compromise that Republican and board Minority Leader Cheri Pelletier offered.

Prompted by the expected resignation of Mayor Leo Diana, Pelletier proposed that Republican board members would back Democrat Jay Moran as mayor if Democrats supported Republican board member Tim Devanney as deputy mayor.

Democratic Town Committee Chairman Mike Pohl was adamantly opposed to the deal, saying Pelletier had people "buffaloed" into believing a political power play was a compromise. But at a special meeting Tuesday after Diana's resignation, enough Democrats, including Moran, joined Republican board members to elevate Moran to the mayor's seat and Devanney to deputy.

At the meeting, Pelletier criticized Pohl and other Democratic leaders while praising Moran as "a man who puts his community first, who takes his leadership role seriously and who leads by the courage of his convictions."

"I know your town committee is not happy with your decision," Pelletier said. "I know they engaged in some reprehensible behavior... I am also acutely aware of a few characters on your side of the aisle that are now demanding that Attorney [John] Sullivan's name be removed from consideration of the 12th District's state representative's race because he dared to build consensus towards our compromise."

Sullivan, an assistant town attorney, is one of three Democrats who have maintained interest in the 12th District seat. The others are Kelly Luxenberg, former school board member and wife of the current district representative, and Robert Shanbaum, a business owner and chairman of the Cheney Brothers National Historic Landmark District Commission.

Sullivan said Wednesday that Pohl had initially backed him for the seat. In fact, Pohl approached him to run after current state Rep. Geoff Luxenberg, D-Manchester, announced in March that he would not seek re-election, Sullivan said.

But Sullivan also supported Pelletier's proposal on board of directors leadership, and he acknowledged Wednesday that Pohl was not pleased.

Pohl is now publicly backing Kelly Luxenberg for the 12th House seat. Asked Thursday why he was no longer supporting Sullivan, Pohl wrote in an email, "Both John Sullivan and Robert Shanbaum are great people who have worked for the town and the party.

Excerpt from:
Manchester Democrats Squabble Heading Into 12 t h House Convention

Democrats embrace economic populism
Mike Gousha says changing tax policy to address income inequality is an idea picking up steam among Democrats.

By: WISN 12 News

Read more:
Democrats embrace economic populism - Video

What #39;s The Deal Neil? - Democrats Scared Of "Recovery" - Cavuto
What Do You Say If You Can #39;t Use The Word "Recovery" What #39;s The Deal Neil? - Democrats Scared Of "Recovery" - Cavuto =======================================...

By: Mass Tea Party

Read more here:
What's The Deal Neil? - Democrats Scared Of "Recovery" - Cavuto - Video

Mike Allen: Democrats Say GOP Has 60% Chance Of Winning Senate
Mike Allen: Democrats Say GOP Has 60% Chance Of Winning Senate (April 30, 2014)

By: GOPICYMI

The rest is here:
Mike Allen: Democrats Say GOP Has 60% Chance Of Winning Senate - Video