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This article originally appeared on The Conversation.

Democrats in Congress are struggling to keep up a unified front.

As the minority party, Democrats have spent the past six months standing by, mostly powerless, as President Donald Trump has madehaphazard progresstoward dismantlingmany of former President Barack Obamas key accomplishments.

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Last week the party suffered another blow: a bitter defeat in a special election inGeorgias Sixth Congressional District. That made four special elections out of four they have lost since Election Day in November.

Bill Clark / Roll Call-Getty Images

These losses all occurred in Republican strongholds, but Democrats were hoping for victories that would signal dissatisfaction with Trumps presidency and bolster their momentum. Helping the GOP win in these hard-fought elections were ads attacking House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosis San Francisco liberalism. Looking ahead to the 2018 midterms, Pelosis long tenure as leader also poses a challenge to Democrats trying to make the case that they are the party of change.

As a political scientist who focuses ongenderandparty disciplinein the House of Representatives, I have studied Pelosis long leadership. I think it is especially interesting to compare Speaker Paul Ryansrecent struggle to persuade enough Republicans to support the American Health Care ActwithPelosis significant rolein building a coalition to pass the Affordable Care Act.

In the past week, some frustrated House Democrats have suggested that Pelosi step down, calling into question her leadership, the partys agenda and even theDemocratic brand.

A defiant Pelosi reacted by calling a press conference and declaring: I think Im worth it.

Is she? Lets look at her record.

Rising to Power

Pelosis rise to power and leadership are characterized by her intense partisanship, fundraising prowess and intraparty coalition-building.

Elected to the House in 1987, she won her first leadership race as party whip in October of 2001, defeating Steny Hoyer of Maryland by avote of 118-95. As minority leader, Pelosi established a reputation as a pragmatist who enforced party discipline.

Fast forward to the 2006 elections, with Democrats gaining 30 seats and majority party control. Taking the gavel at the start of the 110th Congress, Pelosi became the first female speaker of the House, presiding over an 84 percent male chamber.

Centralized Power

Serving as speaker from 2007 to 2010, Pelosi benefited from the centralization of party leaders power that occurred during the previous 12 years of GOP control of the House.

As she stepped into the leadership role in 2007, Pelosi had more tools and prerogatives than her Democratic predecessors, Tip O'Neill, Jim Wright and Tom Foley. Thats because under Republican speakers Newt Gingrich and Dennis Hastert, the shift of power away from committee chairs to party leaders a change that had been taking place since the Democratic reforms of the 1970s picked up speed. For example, Republicans institutedsix-year term limits on committee chairs in 1995that remain in effect. Selected by a party leadership-led steering committee, Republican committee chairs are not always the most senior majority member on the committee. They are typically members who display their party loyalty with their voting records and fundraising.

As speaker, Pelosi maximized her influence, setting the legislative agenda, pursuing partisan policy initiatives and fundraising for her colleagues. As I argue in my book, Democratic committee chairs, grateful to return to the majority, were willing to cede power to party leaders.

For the most part, Pelosi worked hard to build consensus within her party and shut Republicans out of the process. Shefrequently metwith freshmen and more moderate and conservative Democrats to find common ground on the party agenda. Under her leadership, House Democrats voted on average with the majority of their caucus 92 percent of the time in 2007 and 2008,setting a record for party cohesion.

A Different Challenge

When Obama was first elected in 2008, the Democrats gained unified party control of the White House and both chambers of congress. Pelosi had a new challenge: building coalitions to pass the presidents ambitious agenda items like health care and financial regulatory reform rather than the easier job of simply attacking a Republican presidents proposals.

Pelosisrole in the passage of the Affordable Care Actcan hardlybe overstated.

She brought Democrats together to start the process in the House before Obama became deeply involved. Three House committees marked up the bill which Pelosi then assembled. When key HouseDemocrats threatened to withdraw their supportover disagreements related to abortion funding, Pelosi appeased them and built consensus to attract enough votes to pass the bill. And when it seemed that the House and Senate would not be able to reconcile their versions after Senate Democrats lost their 60 vote filibuster-proof majority withthe election of Republican Scott Brown of Massachusetts, Pelosis leadership was critical in crafting and executing a complicated legislative strategy that resulted in the bill that Obama ultimately signed into law.

House Democrats were largely unified on other votes as well, with the average member voting with the majority91 percent of the time in 2009 and 89 percent in 2010.

Backlash

ButObamas legislative successesheld a cost during the 2010 midterm elections. Democrats lost 64 seats. Republicans gained a242 to 193 majority, their best showing since 1946.

Back in the minority,Pelosi was reelectedas Democratic leader in 2011, defeating North Carolina centrist Heath Shuler by a caucus vote of 150-43. In a sign of dissatisfaction, 19 Democrats did not support her in the vote on the House floor.

The Trump Era

On Jan. 3 of this year,all but four Democratsvoted to reelect Pelosi as their leader for the eighth time. However, this show of Democratic unity on the House floor masked the uneasiness on display during the partys internal contest between Pelosi and relatively unknown seven-term Democrat Tim Ryan of Ohio in late November. Pelosi prevailed,134 to 63 hardly a ringing endorsement.

As the 115th Congress got underway, Pelosi pledged to seek common ground with President-elect Trump on job creation, trade and support for working families. She alsowarnedthat If there is an attempt to destroy the guarantee of Medicare, harm Medicaid, Social Security, or the Affordable Care Act, Democrats will stand our ground.

Not surprisingly, with deep policy divides and intense competition between the parties, finding that common ground has been elusive. Without the votes to advance the Democrats agenda in the House, criticizing Republican policies is the best way for Pelosi to get attention.

In the upcoming midterms, Democrats will need a united front and theyll need money to win seats in the House. They are unlikely to forget how Pelosi can draw upon her vast connections to raise record amounts. According to The New York Times,Pelosi has raised nearly US$568 millionfor her party since entering the House Democratic leadership in 2002. Just in the 2016 election cycle, she raised over $141 million.

Viewed through that lens, I would argue she may be worth it.

Yet House Democrats in swing districts may decide that it is too challenging to make the case for change with Pelosi as their leader. If Pelosis vote-counting history is a guide, she will know if and when that time has come.

Kathryn L. Pearson is an Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Minnesota.

Read more:
How Much Trouble is Nancy Pelosi Worth for Democrats? - Newsweek

Democratic lawmakers took to Twitter to once again condemn President Trump's tweeting habits after he spent seven consecutive days using his account to criticize media outlets.

On Sunday, President Trump tweeted a video of himself tackling WWE owner Vince McMahon with a CNN logo superimposed over McMahon's head.

Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., an outspoken critic of Trump, said the president is encouraging violence and the tweet was "beyond unacceptable.

Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., called on all House GOP members to condemn his behavior, saying they were put in place to do just that and if they don't, they are condoning it.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., praised journalists as "guardians to our democracy" and called for a rejection to violence against them.

Rep. Adam Schiff, D- Calif., joined his colleagues by calling the president's behavior "beneath the dignity of the office."

Trump blasted the "fake media" just 12 hours prior to his Sunday morning tweet during a Saturday speech honoring veterans at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

While Trump has been sparring with the media for months, the rhetoric has ramped up in recent days, including a personal attack on MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski on Thursday about a supposed "face-lift" she had before seeing him at Mar-a-Lago in December.

That attack quickly spiraled out of control and Trump has been sparring with the "Morning Joe" host and her fiance and co-host Joe Scarborough on Twitter ever since.

However, Trump pivoted back to attacking CNN over the weekend, which was reportedly a concerted strategy on the part of the White House.

Read the original here:
Democrats unleash on Trump after CNN clothesline video: 'He has violence and blood in his mind' - Washington Examiner

Former President Barack Obama is conducting select meetings to begin a process of rebuilding the Democratic Party as leaders and elected officials in both Washington and across the country are still debating how to go forward.

After the 2016 elections, besides losing the White House and not having control of either chamber of Congress, Democrats were faced with new lows of seats they held in state legislatures.

A report by The Hill says Obama has been making regular calls with Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez. According to an anonymous source in the DNC, Obama jokingly told Perez, "Hey man, it's only the future of the world in your hands."

Working out of his D.C. office, Obama is said to be conducting one-on-one meetings with other legislators, like Maryland's freshman Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen. Still, sources that spoke to The Hill stopped short of divulging a more complete list of the meetings Obama has had.

The meetings come as the party is still scoreless in a series of contested special elections between Republicans and Democrats to replace members of the House of Representatives who were selected to serve in President Trump's administration. The most recent of those losses even cast doubt on the future of Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi's ability to continue in that leadership role.

Citing several anonymous sources, The Hill story says Obama doesn't want to be the face of the changes, and so will try to keep a low profile, but also said the former president "will begin emerging on the fundraising circuit and on the stump for candidates including Ralph Northam, the Democrat running for governor of Virginia, in the fall."

Obama kept a relatively low profile in the first two months of the Trump administration, but has crept back into the debate, especially as the healthcare battle has progressed in Congress.

Just two weeks ago, Obama put out a statement that slammed the GOP health bill under consideration in the Senate, saying, "Simply put, if there's a chance you might get sick, get old, or start a family this bill will do you harm."

Read the original post:
Obama working behind the scenes to rebuild Democratic Party - Washington Examiner

It's been nearly 8 months since the Democrats propped up a losing presidential candidate and still have not learned anything about the temperature of middle America. In fact, Democrats have gone 0-4 in special elections for House seats which were left vacant after Republicans were selected to be in Trump's cabinet.

In continuation of how the Democrats ran the presidential campaign, the drum beat of bashing Trump and blaming Russia for every problem under the sun still doesn't seem to be working for the Dems. Their elections continue to be lost and out of touch Democratic leadership sticks to the same losing strategy. Even just announced today, a group of 25 House Democrats, including disgraced former DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, have been working for the last few months on a bill that would remove Trump from office. Perhaps instead of spending a substantial amount of time writing a useless bill, maybe they could've been writing a progressive policy platform that could excite millions of Americans. But that's crazy talk if you suggest this to any Democratic official.

The worst part about watching the Democratic party repeatedly shoot themselves in the foot is how simple it is to point the gun away from themselves. As we've witnessed in the presidential election and special elections, pushing blame upon Trump simply won't win elections. Congressman Tim Ryan of Ohio might be onto something as he recently stated "Our brand is worse than Trump. We can't just run against Trump." If the Democrats want to start winning elections, they have to present progressive ideas to the American people. Frankly, stop the blaming and announce bold, progressive party platforms which will get people excited about much needed change. However, with the 'politics as usual' leadership with Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi in charge, its hard to see the strategy changing from a top-down perspective. But there is still hope!

Changing the Democratic strategy to focusing on progressive policy ideas seems to be bubbling up from some of the candidates in the base of the Democratic party. Candidates like union iron worker Randy Bryce, who is running to unseat Paul Ryan in Wisconsin, has taken the state and nation by storm by running on platforms like single-payer health care and a $15 minimum wage. Or Cathy Glasson, a union leader who is running for Governor of Iowa, has based her platform on a $15 minimum wage, universal healthcare, and improving the public school system. These types of unapologetic candidates who state bold, progressive ideals, stand behind the issues, and present an attractive alternative are exactly what the Democratic party needs if they want to start winning elections. Until the Democratic leadership wakes up and starts taking clues from candidates like Bryce and Glasson who are presenting progressive ideas, count on Trump and the GOP to keep raking in the wins.

The Morning Email

Wake up to the day's most important news.

Read more:
Democrats (0-4) Still Don't Have A Message Beyond Yelling At Trump - HuffPost

Im not sure that voters could be easily fooled by candidates who pretend to be what they are not. People may hear a politicians words, but most need to see evidence before casting their vote. That has never been more true than today, as people of faith see and are saddened that secularism is promoted in our schools and society. We want our leaders to truly represent us and our values.

BONNIE ONEIL NEWPORT BEACH, CALIF.

To the Editor:

The Democrats do not have a religion problem. Religion as practiced by the Republican Party is the problem. It has reduced religion to the primary issue of abortion. If you are against abortion or claim to be, as Donald Trump conveniently proclaimed during the campaign, that is enough to claim the mantle of religion. True, it also helps to be against selling wedding cakes to homosexuals and contraceptives to women.

The Republican Party cant seriously claim the mantle of social conservatism when its current standard-bearer, never known to be a churchgoer, publicly lived the playboy life and extolled the values of greed, rather than charity. Has the Republican Party heeded Pope Francis call for social justice, to care for the poor and the disabled, refugees and the environment? The answer is no. The Republican Party is, to be sure, pro life, but it is against the living.

ALAN KUSINITZ, NEW YORK

To the Editor:

Daniel K. Williams errs in criticizing Jon Ossoff for his reluctance to advance his religious beliefs during his campaign. Mr. Ossoff is an adherent of Reform Judaism, perhaps the most progressive faith in the United States. The Sixth District has a strong conservative Christian orientation, which is at odds with core tenets of Reform Judaism. The Sixth District includes Cobb County, where in 2002 high schools placed stickers saying evolution is a theory not a fact on biology textbooks.

Mr. Ossoffs opponents questioned his legitimacy because he lived outside the district and had an ethnic-sounding name. He rightly assumed that proclaiming his Jewish heritage might further undermine his viability.

ELLEN G. RAFSHOON BROOKHAVEN, GA.

To the Editor:

Daniel K. Williams accurately maps out the Democrats problem with religion, except for one thing: They do have a religion. Its called liberal-progressivism. Increasingly, modern, college-educated white Democrats worship at the altar of historical grievance, political correctness, censorship and seeking any evidence (no matter how remote) of having been oppressed. They even seek to identify with others oppression when they themselves have suffered little. (Talk about cultural appropriation.)

Their liturgy is stigmatizing the unconverted by calling them nasty names: Youre sexist, racist, homophobic, xenophobic. The Democrats cant win elections because most people reject the core values of liberal-progressivism. Why? Because at the heart of any great religion is a core belief in our common God-given humanity. The Democratic Party has become the party of division, name-calling and alienation.

THOMAS OHARE, BOSTON

To the Editor:

While I agree with Daniel K. Williamss assessment of the Democrats religious problem as a rhetorical device, I wonder when the vast majority of Americans are going to wake up to the fact that the Democratic Party and its candidates are actually living up to the tenets of every religious faith by caring for the poor and the destitute, pushing for health care for all, promoting a living wage, and advocating for civil rights and a clean environment. Its all too easy to spout religious platitudes, but by their fruits ye shall know them (Matthew 7:16).

JOANN D. CLAPS, RANDOLPH, N.J.

To the Editor:

Re Democrats Fume as Georgia Loss Deepens Discord (front page, June 22):

I understand the frustration in Democratic ranks after a disheartening eight months, but I disagree about the partys near-term prospects. A badly damaged Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by almost three million. Her losing the presidency hinged on only about 80,000 votes in three key states. Since then, motivated Democrats have outperformed the norm in congressional races in deep red territory, which bodes well for 2018.

My biggest concern in the next few years isnt the partys brand, although that needs work. Its the deepening rift between the partys left flank and the partys mainstream. Lets try to remember, Democrats, that were all in this together.

CASEY CONLEY, DOVER, N.H.

To the Editor:

There is a disheartening reality to the Democrats special election defeat in Georgia: There is seemingly nothing that can move President Trumps rabid base away from him and his Republican surrogates. It is simply unrealistic (and wishful thinking) to believe that people who were duped by Mr. Trumps false promises, oblivious to his ignorance and willing to overlook his glaring personal shortcomings will suddenly wake from their stupor and realize what they have done.

And the hope that there were at least a few Republicans in the House and the Senate principled and courageous enough to resist this disastrous presidency fades with each passing day.

One cant blame Democrats for desperately reaching in all directions, from changing their leadership to trying to relate to the fears of working men and women, to crystallizing their message on jobs, whatever that entails. The answer to the Democrats problems is elusive, but one thing should remain clear: The attacks on Mr. Trumps agenda, his ethics and his lack of fitness for the office of the presidency must be intense and unrelenting.

JAY ADOLF, NEW YORK

A version of this letter appears in print on July 2, 2017, on Page SR10 of the New York edition with the headline: Are the Democrats Too Secular?.

Link:
Are the Democrats Too Secular? - New York Times