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LUMBERTON Robeson County Democrats hope to save their floundering party by reorganizing and choosing new leadership.

A re-do of precinct organizational meetings and another county convention have been scheduled for later this month, said Brooke Clark, acting chair of the county party. The North Carolina Democratic Party ordered county party restructuring after it found that local Democrats did not follow party procedure when they elected their chairman and executive committee members during the April 8 county convention.

The local party still exists, but no business can be conducted until officers are elected at the county convention, said Clark, who was appointed temporary Robeson County chairman by state party Chairman Wayne Goodman.

The county convention is scheduled for 10 a.m. Aug. 26 in Room 2A of the Robeson County Courthouse, located at 500 N. Elm St. in Lumberton. Registration will take place at 9 a.m.

There will be some state Democratic Party personnel present at the convention, Clark said. They will be responsible for ballots and tallying votes.

Precincts that are not organized must do so in accordance with the N.C. Democratic Partys Plan of Organization on Aug. 12 between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m., Clark said. Precincts will be allowed to send voting delegates to the county convention only if they organize on Aug. 12.

Only 13 of the countys 39 precincts are organized, Clark said. Although anyone can attend the convention, only delegates from organized precincts are eligible to vote for party leaders.

People are needed to help organize the precincts.

I hope that people will be interested and participate, Clark said. Ive already talked to some people who have helped in the past.

Clark, who has been a precinct chairman and county vice chair, said she has no interest in serving as the county party chairman except in the interim.

I was asked to serve as the acting county chair and I accepted, she said. I want to see the party get on the right track and progress.

Anyone with questions can contact Clark by phone at 910-674-3650 or by email at blockclark@gmail.com.

The state partys 13-member Review Committee ruled on July 1 that a new convention must be held after holding a hearing in response to a petition filed by several county Democrats charging that the process used to elect local party officers at the April 8 county convention violated the state partys Plan of Organization.

After several hours of testimony, the 11 members of the Review Committee present at the hearing in Raleigh voted 10-1 to uphold the charge that rules were violated when Robeson County Democrats other than elected convention delegates were permitted to vote for party leaders. Approximately 50 Democrats at the April 8 convention voted for party leaders, rather than only delegates from the 10 of about 39 precincts that were organized when the convention was held. The result was Ed Henderson, a Red Springs town commissioner who is black, was not re-elected to another two-year term as chairman. He was defeated by Pearlean Revels, an American Indian.

The county Democratic Party for the past 46 years has operated under a gentlemans agreement that the party chairmanship would rotate by race to guarantee equal representation among the countys white, black and American Indian communities, said John McNeill, a former Robeson County Democratic Party chairman and the current mayor of Red Springs. The agreement stipulates that a member from each race can serve a two-year term as chairman and another two-year term as chairman if they choose to seek re-election. At the April convention, Henderson, who had just finished his first two-year term and sought another term, was voted out of office.

The petition challenging the convention results was filed by several black elected officials from Red Springs, Maxton and Fairmont.

Revels said Wednesday that she is not sure if she will seek the partys chairmanship during the upcoming convention.

McNeill said organizing the precincts and holding another convention is the way to correct the errors made during the April convention. However, not all of the precincts will be organized by the day of the convention, he said.

I dont think more than 20 precincts will be organized, he said. Its hard to organize some of the smaller, rural precincts.

Brooke Clark

http://www.robesonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/web1_IMG_5254201782175932367.jpgBrooke Clark

Bob Shiles can be reached at 910-4165.

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Democrats reboot, set convention date - The Robesonian

Of course, most Iranians themselves also did not expect the revolution to succeed. They did not know that the shah had terminal cancer, or that he would handle the response to protests as poorly as he did. Iran had periodic bouts of mass protests, after all.

Many of Khomeinis followers took him at his word that he sought reform, not personal power. For example, in 1978, the exiled ayatollah told the Associated Press, Personal desire, age, and my health do not allow me to personally have a role in running the country after the fall of the current system. He told the Parisian newspaper Le Journal, I cant accept any special role or responsibility. Once he grasped the reins of power, though, he held on tight. The revolution was already spinning itself out when Iraqi President Saddam Hussein launched a surprise attack on Iran. For Khomeini, it was a gift because it allowed him to distract from his own failings and rally people around the flag. By the time the war ended, he had consolidated power.

The Islamic Republic of Iran remains, however, an anomalous historical phenomenon and an unstable one at that. Throughout its history, there have been sparks that have rocked the regime. In 1999, the defenestration of students at a Tehran University dorm by plainclothes security men sparked unrest that shook the regime to its core. In 2001, Irans 3-1 loss to Bahrain in a World Cup qualifier also sparked nationwide protests when diaspora television broadcast that the Iranian team threw the match on government orders to prevent mixed gender celebrations. Most recently, in 2009, there was the fraudulent re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, which once again sparked nationwide protests. In short, Iran is far from stable.

Only about ten percent of Iranians believe that the Islamic Republic is working well; these are the so-called hardliners. And additional 15 percent think Khomeini had good ideas, but that the revolution went off its rails and can still be righted; these are the so-called reformers. The remaining three-quarters believe that Khomeinis system failed and cannot be fixed. Most of these Iranians are not revolutionary but apathetic. Outrages such as those in 1999, 2001, and 2009 can bring them to the streets. In short, Iran is a tinderbox.

Every so often, a spark ignites. The question then becomes whether the regime is better at smothering the embers than the opposition is at fanning the flames. What is certain, however, is that in such an unpopular system, there will always be new sparks. What might be the next one?

A good bet is that it might revolve around the death of imprisoned Iranian politicians. The two most prominent Iranian politicians now under house arrest are Mehdi Karroubi and Mir-Hossein Mousavi. Karroubi has been a stalwart of post-revolutionary Iranian politics. He twice served as speaker of parliament, and he twice sought the presidency. In 2005, he went to sleep the winner as ballots were counted only to wake up in third place. After he publicly alleged raised questions about irregularities, Supreme Ali Khamenei chided him for questioning the integrity of the system. In 2009, after coming in last, he conceded gracefully and became a symbol of relative integrity when he condemned detainee sexual abuse in the wake of post-election unrest. Against the backdrop of Arab Spring unrest and regime concern that the similar demands for government accountability could find fertile ground inside Iran, the regime placed Karroubi under house-arrest in order to ensure his silence.

Around the same time, they also rounded up both Mousavi, a former prime minister and unsuccessful 2009 presidential candidate, and his wife Zahra Rahnavard. Charged initially with Mofsed-e-filarz, being corrupt on earth, a capital crime in Iran, Karroubi, Mousavi, and Rahnavard were eventually sentenced on lesser charges.

While Rouhani promised to free his former colleagues from house arrest, he did not do so; the three remain detained. On July 25, Karroubis daughters visited him and subsequently reported that their 79-year-old father was in ill-health, suffering both from kidney disease and high blood pressure. He was subsequently hospitalized, but the Islamic Students News Agency reported on July 28 that he had been released in perfect health. On July 30, however, his son reported to the reformist website Kalameh that his father had been re-hospitalized with a dangerously low heart rate.

Iran should be very, very worried. While reformists and democrats are not synonymouseven the most liberal reformist is a hardline theocrat when placed on the broad spectrum of Iranian political thoughtimprisoning Karroubi and Mousavi may have painted the regime into the corner. If they release one or both, not only does the regime look weak but, after six years of house arrest, both men may be slightly antagonistic to those who ordered their harassment and detention. If they die while in detention, popular outrage could amount to a spark that spreads.

Either way, the Islamic Republic is in for a challenge. The faade of acceptance and acquiescence is only thata superficial image that cannot mask the frustration and outrage festering just the beneath the surface.

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Democrats Have an Activist Problem - Commentary Magazine

Then-Senate candidate and now Sen. John Kennedy speaks at a get-out-the-vote rally on December 9, 2016, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. DON EMMERT / AFP - Getty Images

"Until we can fix it, we cant let the system collapse and, I think, if you dont fund the CSRs, the system will collapse," said Sen. John Kennedy, R-La.

While the outlines of a bipartisan bill are becoming easier to spot, its still not clear the new moves will produce actual legislation. The White House is weighing its options and Sens. Bill Cassidy, R-La. and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., are pushing an alternate bill that would provide health care funding to states in the form of block grants.

House Speaker Paul Ryan has also indicated hes not willing to give up on health care yet and conservative groups are expected to resist any deal that further entrenches Obamacare and makes it more difficult to repeal down the line.

"I dont know how this Problem Solvers plan goes anywhere," one Republican House aide said, suggesting it was more of a messaging effort for its organizers than a viable plan.

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Republicans and Democrats Suddenly Want to Fix Obamacare - NBCNews.com

Democrats are calling for harsh new punishments on companies that outsource jobs and a crackdown on currency manipulation, embracing a more populist economic agenda as they seek to win back control of Congress in next year's midterm elections.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York is slated to announce the plan Wednesday morning with fellow party Rust Belt lawmakers such as Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan and Sen. Joe Donnelly of Indiana.

It represents the second phase of Democrats' new platform dubbed "A Better Deal" aimed squarely at the blue-collar workers that helped propel President Donald Trump to victory.

"This plan would level the playing field for American workers by ensuring our workers aren't competing in a race to the bottom on wages and labor protections," strategy documents state.

Democrats' proposals include penalizing businesses that move jobs or their headquarters out of the United States. Companies would have to pay a corporate tax rate of 35 percent on any profits held overseas before relocating. Currently, businesses are able to defer those taxes until the money is brought back to the country.

Companies would also be prevented from deducting the expense of moving those jobs. On the other hand, businesses that bring jobs back to America would receive a tax credit for 20 percent of those costs.

Government contractors would face more stringent requirements under Democrats' plan, including a public "shame list" for those that regularly send jobs overseas. In addition, the proposal would require companies that outsource to add as much as 10 percent to their estimated costs, making them less competitive.

"U.S. companies need incentives to in-source production that has already been lost and be forced to pay an exit tax when outsourcing" the documents read.

The proposal also tackles one of Trump's favorite targets: China. Democrats are calling for a new law that would allow the federal government to impose duties on countries that undervalue their currency a move essentially directed at China. Under the existing system, only the Treasury Department can designate a nation as manipulating its currency.

Schumer has long been a vocal critic of China's currency and trade policies, and Democrats have traditionally been skeptical of the benefits of globalization. But Trump appealed to working-class voters particularly in typically blue states by breaking with Republican orthodoxy and verbally pummeling America's largest trading partner.

Some of the proposals in Democrats' new platform echo not only Trump's campaign promises, but efforts already underway in his administration: renegotiate NAFTA, create a "jobs security" council and tighten rules requiring the federal government to buy American. The plan would also establish an independent trade prosecutor.

Democrats are set to announce the new trade agenda amid reports in The Wall Street Journal and Axios that the White House is readying aggressive new enforcement actions against China for intellectual property theft.

Trump has also recently stepped up his rhetoric against the country as progress appears stalled on a hundred-days plan on trade and economic issues while North Korea ramps up ballistic missile tests.

"I am very disappointed in China," Trump wrote in two tweets last week. "Our foolish past leaders have allowed them to make hundreds of billions of dollars a year in trade, yet they do NOTHING for us with North Korea, just talk. We will no longer allow this to continue. China could easily solve this problem!"

Democrats began rolling out their "Better Deal" agenda last week with vows to scrutinize big corporate mergers and bring down prescription drug prices. The platform is also expected to include proposals on the cost of higher education and infrastructure.

Link:
Democrats call for new 'outsourcing tax' - CNBC

Its true that the left will have to choose (and soon) between absolute ideological purity and the huge numbers required to seize the rudder of the nation and avert global catastrophe. But abortion is not valid fodder for such compromise, nor is racism, nor is L.G.B.T.Q. equality, nor is any issue that puts peoples fundamental humanity up for debate. Abortion is not a fringe issue. Abortion is liberty.

I hear from some people on the left that Donald Trumps victory was at least partially the fault of identity politics of feminists pushing too hard, of Black Lives Matter being too aggressive, of trans people needing to go to the bathroom as though the violent suppression of a movement points more toward its irrelevance than its necessity. What the Democrats need to do, I often hear, is to move away from issues of identity and toward purer, broader issues of economic equality.

But there is no model of economic equality that does not reckon with identity politics. There is no economic equality without the ability to terminate a pregnancy. There is no economic equality without the overthrow of white supremacy. What good is an economic opportunity if large swaths of the population cant access it? Telling minority groups that its their responsibility to sit back and wait, to subordinate their needs for the good of the party that implies that the party is not theirs as much as everyone elses. And it sounds a lot like the people were trying to defeat.

Abortion is normal. Abortion is common, necessary and happening every day across party lines, economic lines and religious lines. Abortion is also legal and, contrary to what the pundit economy would have you believe, not particularly controversial. According to the Pew Research Center, nearly 70 percent of all Americans oppose overturning Roe v. Wade, while 75 percent of Democrats believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases. These are not numbers that indicate controversy.

Yes, abortion does draw certain groups to the polls. Trumps success among evangelicals can almost certainly be attributed to their belief that he will appoint justices who will bring about the end of Roe v. Wade (a promise that, it seems, with the appointment of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, he intends to fulfill). But that is why Republicans vote; its not why Democrats vote.

Abortion is not controversial on the left. So what does it say that so many lefty men are willing to scrap it in an attempt to pander to some vague fantasy of a vast, disgruntled, anti-choice center? What kind of cringing, bewildered invertebrates roll over and capitulate to the losing side of a debate at a time when theyve never had more leverage? What contortionist of logic came up with the proposal that alienating 75 percent of ones constituents, and declaring half to not deserve control over their bodies, can strengthen a partys numbers? This is not broadening our coalition; its flagrantly shrinking it.

There has never been a more opportune moment for the Democratic Party to demand compromise not from the left but from the center. What are anti-choice Democrats going to do? Become Republicans? Now? Jump into the abattoir of clown meat whose top policy priority seems to be poor people deserve to die of preventable diseases?

Come on, Democrats. Be something. Unite and move left. The center will follow or lose.

The rest is here:
Of Course Abortion Should Be a Litmus Test for Democrats - New York Times