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Since long before the time Hillary Clinton wrote that "it takes a village," she has been advocating a belief that we, as a country, are all in this together. That, just like in your own family, our American family takes care of each other. In your family you take care of your aging parents. Period. In our American family, we take care of all of our parents, through strong policies like Social Security and Medicaid.

In your family, you raise and protect your children. In our American family, we believe that every child should have access to a quality education and a safe home, whether we gave birth to her or not.

I'm not talking about sentimental gush or bleeding-heart softness. I'm talking about fierce duty and loyalty to family. I'm talking about powerful protection of family members.

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In your family, you lend your brother a hand if he gets laid off. You don't cut him off; you help him. In our American family, we make sure that all of our brothers and sisters are given a bridge to something better through unemployment insurance, if they find themselves without income.

That's what we do. That's who we are. As we say in the faith community, that's whose we are.

Yes, we believe that people should pull themselves up by their bootstraps. But we also know this truth: many children were not issued boots upon arrival. These are all our children. We are a family. And in a family, no one gets left behind.

And you know what? It turns out that when we believe that way, and act upon that belief, our economy does better too. If our children are better educated, our brothers and sisters make a better living, and our parents are taken care of, we will all be better off.

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This is exactly what Hillary Clinton has dedicated her life to what she calls "the basic bargain of America," that "no matter who you are or where you come from, if you work hard and play by the rules, you'll have the opportunity to build a good life for yourself and your family." This is the same opportunity that young middle-class Hillary Rodham had, and the opportunity that she wants for everyone in the American family.

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The message Democrats need to hit for 2016

Democrats will pick a nominee Monday to replace state Del. Joseph D. Morrissey in a Jan. 13 special election. But the salacious political circus surrounding the seat may not end with the primary, as allies of the lawmaker plan a lawsuit to challenge the nominating process.

Morrissey, currently serving a six-month sentence on a misdemeanor charge, will not be participating in the evening caucus after party leaders severely limited participation. However, he could still run in the general election as an independent, a move that would once again force Democrats to contend with a member they would rather see disappear from political life.

After a conviction on the charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, the Richmond Democrat announced last week that he would resign from office but run again for his seat in the special election. He contends that he is innocent of all charges stemming from his relationship with a 17-year-old receptionist and that he pleaded guilty only to avoid a possible decades-long prison sentence. He and the teenager were framed, he said, by her jealous ex-girlfriend.

A work-release agreement allows Morrissey both to campaign and, should he prove victorious, serve in the legislature by day and jail by night. However, the future of that arrangement is in doubt after the lawmaker violated its terms by arranging a news conference without alerting the sheriffs office. A hearing on the issue will be held this week.

With only a few days between Morrisseys announcement and a Tuesday deadline to choose a nominee, Democrats limited the Monday evening caucus to party committee members. Only about 100 such voters exist in the district. Morrisseys law partner, Paul Goldman, has said a lawsuit will be filed challenging the constitutionality of the event.

They [would] do anything to stop Joe Morrissey from getting nominated, he said, and advised his partner not to participate. The lawsuit, he emphasized, will be filed on behalf of disenfranchised residents of the district, not Morrissey. Should a federal judge require a new election, Goldman said, one could still be held in time for the legislative session, which begins Jan. 14.

Party officials have countered that Virginia law allows them to decide their own nomination process. Justin Levitt, an election law expert at Loyola Law School, said that courts generally agree that the Constitution gives the party leadership a great deal of flexibility.

Morrissey can still get on the ballot as an independent by filing 125 petition signatures by 5 p.m. Tuesday. After winning a four-way primary in 2007, he has been sent to the House of Delegates four times, always with more than 70 percent of the vote. Should he return to the capitol, however, he will likely face an expulsion vote by his colleagues. A vote of two-thirds of the members of the House of Delegates would be required to force him out of office.

The caucus is being held in two locations in the Richmond area, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Three Democrats are running to replace Morrissey: Henrico County School Board member Lamont Bagby, retiree Kevin Sullivan and former state delegate Floyd Miles Sr. Only one Republican is running in the overwhelmingly Democratic district: Matt Walton, a Glen Allen high school teacher.

Rachel Weiner covers local politics for The Washington Post.

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Democrats to pick new candidate for Joe Morrisseys seat

In the final days of the 113th Congress, Nancy Pelosi was seen shredding the Capitol Hill steps with BMX-style tricks and lashing out at the White House over the contentious bill to keep the government open.

Okay, the former might have been a stunt double (part of a Stephen Colbert skit). But the point is, Pelosi isn't heading into 2015 -- when Democrats will be in the minority in both chambers for the first time in almost a decade -- quietly.

After losing a significant number of seats last month, Democrats have a lot to figure out. Divisions over strategy and policy, particularly pertaining to the economy, have been made plain in the weeks since the election. At the same time, the party is coming to terms with its new minority status and the possibility that Democratic lawmakers will be left on the sidelines as a president thinking about his legacy cuts deals with Republican leaders thinking about theirs.

And thus the party's challenge in 2015: trying to stay relevant and maintain what leverage is left for its diminished -- and arguably more liberal -- ranks while avoiding being seen as the new "party of no."

"I'm being sincere when I say I want to work with this new Congress to get things done,'' President Obama said at his end-of-the-year press conference Friday. "We're going to disagree on some things, but there are going to be areas of agreement. We've got to be able to make that happen, and that's going to involve compromise once in a while."

House Democrats are used to being in the minority, and they have been mostly united on big-ticket issues since Republicans took over in 2011. But they also had a backstop in the Democratic-controlled Senate. Bills they didn't like that passed the House weren't likely to be picked up or passed by the upper chamber. That dynamic changes when Congress comes back in the New Year.

Now, House Democrats see themselves as the president's backup.

"We strengthened our position to achieve common-sense solutions for the American people in the 114th Congress. We hope to do so in a bipartisan way, but stand ready to sustain the President's veto when necessary," Pelosi wrote in a memo to colleagues after the spending bill vote.

That budget measure cast a spotlight on Democrats in Congress, as it put the White House at odds with many in the party, including Pelosi. Democrats were riled up over two provisions in the bipartisan legislation, one tweaking the financial reform law and another changing campaign finance rules, but they were out of options and faced being blamed as the cause of a government shutdown. Some wondered whether the minority leader might be over playing her hand. In the end, the bill passed, though numerous Democrats and Republicans voted against it. A government shutdown was averted, but not without some drama, this time generated by Democrats.

Pelosi never whipped against the bill -- a signal she didn't necessarily want it to fail and understood the implications if it did -- but staked a claim for her caucus next year.

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Will Pelosi, Democrats Become "Party of No' in 2015?

WASHINGTON Rep. Joaquin Castro has a long list of priorities for the new Congress.

The San Antonio Democrat wants to tackle immigration, fill judicial vacancies in Texas and boost enrollment in health plans under the Affordable Care Act.

But Castro and his Texas Democratic colleagues face long odds in making progress on any of these issues. House rules allow the majority to set the chambers agenda, leaving Democrats who have been in the minority since 2010 searching for ways to make an impact away from the House floor.

Ive always been in the minority party, said Castro, who served in a GOP-led Texas House before winning his congressional seat. But you still have to make a strong push to advocate on the issues that are important to the people you represent.

Years in the minority could leave some lawmakers demoralized, but Texas Democrats insist they can influence legislation, even if House rules are stacked against them. And theyre confident that its only a matter of time before the pendulum swings back in their favor.

I always tell my Republican friends to treat us nicely because sometime in the future were going to be in the majority, Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, said.

Republicans have sketched an ambitious agenda for the next Congress, vowing action on trade, taxes and the Keystone XL pipeline. They also plan to roll back the presidents health care law and take him to task for his executive actions on immigration. Texans will be key players on several of those issues, since the state sends more Republicans to Washington than any other.

Democrats have to set more modest goals.

Cuellar said hed continue to use his powerful perch on the Appropriations Committee to tweak spending bills, attaching amendments to create public-private partnerships on infrastructure, for instance.

Other Texas Democrats also capitalize on influential committee positions. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Dallas has served in Congress since 1993, propelling her to the highest Democratic post on the House Science Committee. Shes spent just six years in the majority party.

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Long in the minority, Texas Democrats in Congress look beyond legislation for impact

Less than 24 hours before Tuesday's nomination deadline, Democrats tonight will pick their candidate to run for Del. Joseph D. Morrisseys seat in the 74th House District in a process that has sparked a controversy for its exclusiveness.

The firehouse primary, which is held at two locations in Henrico County and Charles City County tonight, is only open to about 100party members "in good standing but not to the general public, according to the rules posted Friday by the Democratic Party of Virginia.

Morrissey, who resigned his House seat last week following a misdemeanor conviction on a charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor but was seeking to run again in the Jan. 13 special election, announced Saturday that he would not seek the Democratic nomination in what he called "a sham process."

Of the four additional Democrats seeking the bid, one also decided not run run, leaving three on the ballot tonight: Lamont Bagby, a member of the Henrico School Board; Floyd Miles, who served as the 74th District delegate from 2002 to 2006; and Kevin Sullivan, a former political coordinator for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

Republicans and some Democrats - including Paul Goldman, Morrissey's law partner and a former chairman of the Democratic Party of Virginia - have criticized the nomination process, alleging it was designed to "shut out the public."

Goldman briefly considered a lawsuit to stop the primary, but because of time restraints, he advised Morrissey not to seek the Democratic nomination. Morrissey, who will hold the seat until the day of the special election, followed Goldman's advice and is now considering a bid as an independent candidate.

Del. Gregory D. Habeeb, R-Salem, said in a phone interview Monday that by choosing to limit ballot access, Democrats have forfeit their right to accuse Republicans of doing the same.

"Access to the polling place in a nominating process and in a General Election is very important. Anytime you take a process that narrows this access, you ought to look at that closely. In this case, they have taken a step I have never seen before," Habeeb said.

"They had time for organize a real firehouse primary. Why limit it to people who have the money and time to join the committee?" Habeeb asked.

Under the rules, a member in good standing is someone who has filled out their membership application, fulfilled their dues requirement and been voted in as a member before the primary was announced.

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Democrats pick nominee for Morrissey's seat tonight