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On Wednesday night, eight freshman Democrats in the Vermont House played a key role in the most dramatic act of the 2017 legislative session.

Along with eight other Democratic representatives, they broke ranks with their party leaders to support Republican Gov. Phil Scotts proposal to negotiate a statewide teachers health insurance contract.

The reason we were in the position we were in was because of the freshmen Democrats, said Rep. Heidi Scheuermann (R-Stowe).

Most wayward freshmen class of all time, said Rep. Sam Young (D-Glover), sounding somewhat exasperated.

The GOP coup was short-lived. As Republicans were about to triumph by a 74-73 margin, House Speaker Mitzi Johnson (D-South Hero) cast a rare vote,resulting in a tie that killed the proposal.Still, all anyone could talk about Thursday was the Democratic defections. Under former House speaker Shap Smith, Democrats were a disciplined unit and the outcome of votes was almost always preordained: If a bill made it to the floor, Smith had made sure it had the votes to pass.

Johnson has either lost control of her caucus or deliberately given lawmakers a longer leash, depending on whom you ask. Intentional or not, it created an awfully close call.

I probably have just a more collaborative style than people are used to here, Johnson said Thursday. I dont want to make them choose their loyalties.

I dont get pressure from them, said Rep. Linda Joy Sullivan (D-Dorset), a first-year legislator who voted for Scotts proposal because, she said, it was fiscally responsible. Rep. Jessica Brumsted (D-Shelburne), also a newcomer, said she wasnt pushed to vote with the Democrats either.

More seasoned lawmakers, including Rep. Maureen Dakin (D-Colchester) and Rep. Kathy Keenan (D-St. Albans), agreed that Democratic leaders had given them free rein. They knew what I was doing, said Keenan. Our caucus allows individuality.

EvenRep. Matt Trieber (D-Rockingham), who isclose friends with both Johnson and House Majority Leader Jill Krowinski (D-Burlington), felt comfortable voting against the majority. He said he texted Krowinski over the weekend to tell her he where he stood, and she thanked him and told him shed be in touch Monday, but they never ended up talking.

Not everyone, however, felt so liberated. In at least one case, the Democratic leaderships efforts at persuasion backfired. They didnt take no for an answer, said Rep. Jay Hooper (D-Brookfield). It pissed me off, to be frank.

He said he voted for Scotts proposal because it would address his constituents concerns about property taxes. I think that my party, the left, hasnt done enough to embrace the most important issue to all voters, even liberal Democrats: affordability, said Hooper, who, at age 23, is the second youngest lawmaker in the building. His seat mate, Ben Jickling (I-Brookfield), is the youngest, at age 22. The latter also voted with the Republicans.

As Hooper spoke, seated on a couch outside the governors statehouse office, Rep. Jim Harrison (R-Chittenden) walked by and gave the young rep a sympathetic pat on the shoulder.

Im paying for it dearly, Hooper said. I can tell that there are certain individuals of authority in this building who are really not happy with me right now, he explained. And I am slowly becoming more OK with that because I dont believe in this process being so scripted.

Scheuermannis among the many Republicans encouraged by that sentiment.Ive been here 11 years and last night gave me a fresh perspective. For the first time in a long time, I felt we were having an open debate and honest debate that was not in the back rooms, she said.

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Freshmen Revolt: Why did 16 Democrats Break With Their Party? - Seven Days

House Democrats think theyve finally found their path back to power: Republicans voting to repeal Obamacare.

Yes, the best thing to happen to House Democrats since they pushed through the sprawling health care law and lost the majority as a result could be the Republican drive to dismantle it.

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I think the Republicans are playing Russian roulette with this vote, said Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.). Theres no question in competitive districts where youve got a potentially vulnerable Republican incumbent, this could make or break you.

Democrats dont actually want the law repealed. Under their dream scenario, House GOP leaders would muscle through their controversial health care bill only to watch it die a long, painful death in the Senate, where it has already received a lukewarm reception from Republicans. Obamacare would stay intact while the House Republicans who voted to gut the law have a big shiny target on their back heading into the 2018 midterms.

I think there will be a political price to pay at the ballot box in 2018, Rep. Linda Snchez of California, vice chair of the House Democratic Caucus, told reporters Tuesday.

Democrats know a thing or two about the political price of Obamacare. Republicans channeled anti-Obamacare fervor in 2010 to take back the House, costing Democrats a whopping 63 seats and the majority along the way. Republicans have found success campaigning on repeal of the law in the seven years since, dashing Democratic efforts to take back House control.

Now, with the laws support ticking up and Republicans without a popular alternative of their own, Democrats are hoping to flip the tables in their favor.

The House GOP bill in its current form would allow states to opt out of key Obamacare protections for people with pre-existing conditions and requirements that insurers offer coverage for maternity care and mental health benefits.

The attack ads write themselves, Democrats argue. And they are betting the House on it.

After seven years in the minority, rank-and-file members, many of whom were elected after House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosis tenure as speaker, are restless. There are even whispers of a push for wholesale leadership changes if Democrats dont post big wins in November 2018.

Taking back the House majority is an enormous lift, even in a midterm year when voters tend to favor the party not in the White House. But Democrats think Republican efforts to repeal Obamacare even if theyre not successful could be the galvanizing message they need to bring people to the polls.

I think theres no doubt we can take back the majority of the House in 2018 if the election were today, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said. The challenge, he added, is maintaining that enthusiasm for the next 18 months.

There are already positive signs for Democrats.

Democratic candidates, in part buoyed by fierce resistance to President Donald Trump, ran competitive House races last month in traditional Republican strongholds in Kansas and Georgia. And there are 23 Republicans sitting in districts Hillary Clinton won last year, giving House Democrats campaign arm a good starting place to carving a path back to the majority.

Right now, there are no guarantees the House will even vote on a bill. High-profile defectors like former House Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) have put the latest Obamacare repeal effort on life support.

On Tuesday, Republican leaders were still shy of the 216 votes they need to pass the bill and scheduled a members-only meeting Thursday to reassess the bills status before a weeklong recess scheduled to begin later that day.

Democrats know that if Republicans cobble together the votes still a big if theres nothing they can do as the minority party to stop the repeal from passing. And publicly, few House Democrats will say theres an upside to House Republicans voting to repeal the law.

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Our job is to not let this see the light of day or the Senate chamber, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), a leadership ally, said in an interview. Democrats will hold a news conference Wednesday with people with pre-existing conditions to spotlight the GOPs divide on the issue.

But privately, several Democratic lawmakers readily acknowledge a repeal vote would provide a silver lining. In fact, they plan to make sure the latest push will haunt even those GOP members who oppose the proposal.

You cant run away from this vote because its your leadership, said House Democratic Caucus Chairman Joe Crowley of New York. Even people who vote no if this bill comes to the floor.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has already hit Republicans who voted for an earlier version of the health bill in committee. And just last week, before many Republicans had even weighed in on the latest proposal, the DCCC launched digital ads in 30 districts held by vulnerable Republicans.

That drumbeat will be even more relentless if Republicans actually bring the bill to the floor.

I think we feel increasingly that public opinion has swung to our point of view. And that accountability is going to be a big factor in next years election because of this vote, Connolly said. Theres a cadre of 35 to 40 Republicans who are staring death in the face if they give their vote.

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Why Democrats secretly want an Obamacare repeal vote - POLITICO

Former Vice President Joe Biden spoke at the annual fund-raising dinner for New Hampshire Democrats.

MANCHESTER, N.H. As former vice president Joe Biden addressed New Hampshire Democrats last weekend, he acknowledged his appearance would kick-start conversation about the 2020 presidential race.

So he made his intentions clear, at least for now, saying, Guys, I am not running.

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But Biden was right about the start of the next presidential race. And whether or not hes a part of it, Democrats are starting to consider what kind of candidate would be an ideal opponent for the president.

Trumps candidacy was unprecedented, and his win was unexpected, so would Democrats be wise to match someone with similar celebrity power? Or should they go with an entrepreneur who has never run for office? Or is the party looking for a new face, particularly a woman or a minority?

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Daily updates and analysis on national politics from James Pindell.

Biden, in many ways, is the opposite of Trump. He served for decades in public life, knows most world leaders, and says he has never owned stock. In fact, required financial disclosures showed Biden was consistently one of the poorest members of the Senate.

Could Democrats win the White House with an unexciting but known entity who can argue that he or she will quietly just do the job without tweeting, er, making too much noise?

Democrats are just beginning to get their head around which direction they want to go, said Jim Demers, who led Barack Obamas campaign in New Hampshire in its infancy. It might come down to the boring candidates you know versus the new up-and-comers.

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Without a Clinton, Bill or Hillary, looming over or running in a presidential race for the first time in nearly 30 years, the potential field of Democratic candidates could be very large. Typically, candidates want a clear shot at the contest, so thats unusual for a presidents reelection race.

So far there appears to be a generational divide, with potential candidates like Biden, Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, and Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. All of them will be over 70 years old by the next presidential election.

At the same time, and as The New York Times pointed out this week, theres a younger generation of Democrats, including Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey, Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut, or Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, who could vie for the nomination.

In 2020, the Democratic base wants someone with courage, [and] new voters will want someone with vision, said Jamal Simmons, a former Democratic National Committee aide who has worked on presidential campaigns. But uniquely in this election, I think the right candidate will need to demonstrate that they are also competent and can do the job.

Another way to think of the 2020 contest is to look back to the situation Democrats faced in 1984. In that year, the party faced a former Hollywood actor and first-term president. Ronald Reagan had a rocky start to his administration, but he eventually found his way.

To challenge him, Democrats put up a field with a few different types of candidates.

In one corner was John Glenn, a US senator and national celebrity who was the first American to orbit the planet. Then there was Senator Gary Hart, a candidate known for his fresh ideas and, four years later, his extramarital affair. There was an old-school liberal, former senator George McGovern. In the end, former vice president Walter Mondale won the nomination.

Mondale went on to lose the presidential race by a landslide, winning only Minnesota and Washington, D.C.

To win the nomination, Mondales aides said they focused on his experience. Speaking after the 1984 campaign at Harvard, his pollster, Peter Hart, said a focus group during the primary showed them this strategy could work.

Hart had the new ideas that could help the economy, but when asked which candidate was better on foreign policy and doing the job, 15 hands shot up for Mondale, Hart said, according to a transcript of the event. They answered that Mondale knew what he was doing, hes experienced, hes been there.

When Hillary Clinton picked Tim Kaine as her running mate, he was criticized as being an unexciting choice for the ticket. Kaine even made self-deprecating jokes about it. But for the Clinton campaign, the choice was seen as another way to reinforce a message that the Democratic ticket was more serious about governing than was Trump.

Keeping in mind what happened with Mondale, and also with the Clinton-Kaine ticket, its a question whether Democrats will make the same decision in 2020.

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The Democratic Party's big choice in 2020 - The Boston Globe

New York Times

Democrats Taunt Republicans With 'Hey, Hey, Hey, Goodbye' During Health Vote New York Times When it became clear on Thursday that Democrats in the United States House of Representatives could not defeat a bill to repeal and replace major parts of the Affordable Care Act, they turned to a time-honored American tradition: taunting the other side. House Democrats Sing 'Na Na, Hey Hey, Good-bye'New York Magazine House Democrats sing 'na na na na, hey, hey, hey, goodbye' after GOP health plan passesThe Boston Globe Democrats' bizarre response to passing of ObamaCare repealNew York Post U.S. News & World Report -Washington Post -CNN -Talking Points Memo all 60 news articles »

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Democrats Taunt Republicans With 'Hey, Hey, Hey, Goodbye' During Health Vote - New York Times

In his heroically doomed 48-year campaign to promote the Washington Monthly, Charles Peters hit upon one especially apt (if un-catchy) slogan: If youre not afraid of being right too soon.

Peters founded his little magazine in 1969. From the start, he needled mainstream liberals about issues that werent getting enough attention at the time: income inequality, entrepreneurship, Wall Streets money culture, gay rights, the downside of meritocracy, the importance of reforming and supporting the military. Peters made a career of being annoyingly prescient.

Now, as the Democratic Party struggles to remake itself after a catastrophic loss to Donald Trump, I hope Peters again serves as a leading indicator. In a new book summarizing his once-iconoclastic ideas, he weaves a synthesis of mainstream and progressive, centrist and populist thought that would re-anchor the Democratic Party, both in its own traditions and in outreach to the restless, angry swath of the country that elected President Trump.

The fact that Peters is from West Virginia helps him get the big thing right: He knows that Democrats win when they embrace the aspirations of what country singer Jason Aldean calls the fly over states. They lose when they become seen as the party of the coastal elites and special-interest groups.

I should confess here that Peters has been my mentor, guilty conscience and friend for 45 years. I was one of several dozen journalists who were lucky enough to hear sermons from his political gospel and get raindanced as he edited my articles for his magazine. In a journalism world made up mostly of unmemorable characters, Peters is an American original.

Peters titled his book We Do Our Part, choosing the slogan of Franklin Roosevelts National Recovery Administration. His core argument is that the Democrats are doomed unless they seek to rebuild the United States as a fairer country, less obsessed with money and status but still respecting the wealth-creating power of our entrepreneurial capitalist economy.

Peters is blunt in describing how the Democrats let FDRs New Deal coalition and his legacy of fairness slip away. The unraveling started during Lyndon Johnsons presidency, in a shift that Peters characterizes in one chapter as From Doing Good to Doing Well. It accelerated with the Vietnam War, which Peters saw as creating class cleavages between those who fought and those who didnt. A classic Washington Monthly piece on this theme was Let Those Hillbillies Go Get Shot by Suzannah Lessard.

What Peters saw earlier than any commentator I know was that meritocracys rise would create a United States more unequal in its division of income and nastier in its class and status divides. You could be indignant about not being born a Roosevelt or a Rockefeller, but it was harder to complain about not getting high enough SAT scores for the Ivy League.

Peterss chapters about The Snob Factor and The Price of Glamour are devastating, and no less powerful for his own mild status obsession and name-dropping. (The reader will discover that our Huck Finn was pals with Allen Ginsberg, Katharine Graham, Warren Buffett, Jay Rockefeller and other luminaries.)

The saddest figure in this story of the implosion of the old Democratic Party is former president Bill Clinton. On his way to the White House, Clinton was passionate about politics, in touch with his Arkansas roots and, as Peters says, among the first to detect where the Democratic Party was going wrong in the 1970s. He created a new political center stitched with ideas from Peterss canon of neoliberalism that would keep faith with working people even as it built a bridge to the future by modernizing the economy and helping workers find their place in it.

But the Clintons, after leaving the White House, came to represent the loss of the Democrats connection with the ordinary American. As Peters writes, they entered a world where it seemed natural that Chelseas apartment in New York would cost $10million and that Hillary would be paid $225,000 for a speech to Goldman Sachs executives.

Peters applauded President Barack Obama in principle but saw him as more comfortable with Wall Street than with the working-class voters of FDRs coalition.

Its grotesque that the aspirations of working-class Americans came to be represented by a braggart billionaire from New York who masks his shameless elitism with rhetoric about making the country great again.

But as Peters illustrates, the Democrats loss of connection with the country is largely their own fault. The interdependence that was captured by FDRs slogan We Do Our Part got lost along the way. Peterss book explains where to find it again.

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How Democrats lost their way and how they can find it again - Washington Post