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In its autopsy of those losses, the task force is calling for a new "national narrative project" to develop a simple explanation for a basic question: What do Democrats stand for?

"No area of this review caused more debate or solicited more ideas than the belief that there is no single narrative that unites all of our work and the issues that we care about as a community of Democrats," the 10-person task force says in the preliminary report it issued Saturday, ahead of a longer version expected in May.

"It is strongly believed that the Democratic Party is loosely understood as a long list of policy statements and not as people with a common set of core values (fairness, equality, opportunity)," the report says. "This lack of cohesive narrative impedes the party's ability to develop and maintain a lifelong dialogue and partnership with voters."

The Democratic National Committee released the report during its winter meeting Saturday. It was seven pages long, prompting Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus to sarcastically chide that it "sounds pretty serious" on Twitter.

The autopsy comes after Republicans commissioned a similar report in the wake of their failure to oust President Barack Obama in 2012. That report called on the party to improve its position with Latino voters by embracing immigration reform, as well as new year-round, state-level outreach efforts and fewer debates during its presidential nominating process.

The panel that put together the Democrats' report included Google chairman Eric Schmidt, Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear and DNC vice chairwoman Donna Brazile, who is also a contributor at CNN. Its findings were based in part on a poll of 100,000 of the party's supporters.

The report lays out brutal losses since Obama swept into office in 2008: Democrats have shed 69 House seats, 13 Senate seats, 910 state legislative seats, 30 state legislative chambers and 11 governor's offices.

Part of the problem, the report acknowledges, is that Republicans gained so many seats in recent years that they controlled the redistricting process and allowed their party to make massive gains that Democrats can't easily challenge. It calls for a "three-cycle plan that targets and wins back legislative chambers" in order to reverse that tide.

The report recommends stronger relationships with state parties, and also points to a weak Democratic bench, saying the DNC needs to help find and train talent.

"This includes potential candidates, campaign staff and advisors, and activists and volunteers with ties to different communities," according to the report.

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Democrats seek new identity after autopsy of 2014 midterm losses

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Democrats say they wont support a war authorization against ISIL if Obama agrees to Republican demands to expand his power.

By Burgess Everett and Manu Raju

2/23/15 5:39 AM EST

Updated 2/23/15 5:39 AM EST

Before he can get Congress approval for his war against ISIL, President Barack Obama may have to win an ugly battle with his own party.

A wide range of House and Senate Democrats many of whom, like Obama, rose to prominence opposing the Iraq War are warning they wont support any war-powers measure that gives the president even greater latitude than hes already asked for. But the Republicans who control Congress insist that any war authorization must offer broad authority to combat Islamic militants, saying the White Houses three-year draft would do too much to tie the hands of Obama and his successor.

Story Continued Below

That will leave Obama with a critical decision: He can stick with his proposal to limit the war against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, fighting the GOP-controlled Congress over a draft that many liberals already dislike. Or he can acquiesce to Republican demands and prompt a revolt from his own party, something the president has rarely done during his six years in office.

The result could be the largest Democratic rebellion in years, which could send an embarrassing message to U.S. allies just as the United States tries to show unity against a serious national security threat.

Read the rest here:
Obama's war push faces rift with left

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Report: Voters trust Republicans more to protect them from terrorism.

By Adam B. Lerner

2/23/15 5:35 AM EST

Updated 2/23/15 5:35 AM EST

Now, more so than at any other time in the past 12 years, voters trust Republicans more than Democrats to protect them from terrorism. A new report by Ben Freeman and Michelle Diggles from Third Way, a center-left think tank, claimed to have identified the Democrats antidote: Hillary Clinton.

Focus groups conducted in October and November 2014 with white college-educated swing voters in Colorado and Iowa indicated that Clinton was an exception to the Democrats otherwise lackluster performance, the researchers found. Respondents said she exhibits strength without being pushy and is quicker to make decisions than President Barack Obama without being too proactive like former President George W. Bush.

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In Gallup polls dating back to 2003, Republicans have consistently led Democrats on national security except for an approximately 18-month period from 2007 to mid-2008. Republicans now have a 23-percentage-point lead, after hovering in the teens and single digits through the rest of the period.

It remains unclear whether Clintons personal favorability on national security will last into a national campaign, the researchers found; respondents praised the current Democratic front-runner in vague terms but their skepticism of her party and the president for whom she worked as secretary of state could sully her brand as she takes more public stances.

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National security still a perception problem for Democrats

Democrats need to offer a cohesive "national narrative" instead of just a long checklist of policy pitches, according to a task force created to help the party bounce back from its shellacking in 2014's midterm elections.

In its autopsy of those losses, the task force is calling for a new "national narrative project" to develop a simple explanation for a basic question: What do Democrats stand for?

"No area of this review caused more debate or solicited more ideas than the belief that there is no single narrative that unites all of our work and the issues that we care about as a community of Democrats," the 10-person task force says in the preliminary report it issued Saturday, ahead of a longer version expected in May.

"It is strongly believed that the Democratic Party is loosely understood as a long list of policy statements and not as people with a common set of core values (fairness, equality, opportunity)," the report says. "This lack of cohesive narrative impedes the party's ability to develop and maintain a lifelong dialogue and partnership with voters."

The Democratic National Committee released the report during its winter meeting Saturday. It was seven pages long, prompting Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus to sarcastically chide that it "sounds pretty serious" on Twitter.

The autopsy comes after Republicans commissioned a similar report in the wake of their failure to oust President Barack Obama in 2012. That report called on the party to improve its position with Latino voters by embracing immigration reform, as well as new year-round, state-level outreach efforts and fewer debates during its presidential nominating process.

The panel that put together the Democrats' report included Google chairman Eric Schmidt, Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear and DNC vice chairwoman Donna Brazile, who is also a contributor at CNN. Its findings were based in part on a poll of 100,000 of the party's supporters.

The report lays out brutal losses since Obama swept into office in 2008: Democrats have shed 69 House seats, 13 Senate seats, 910 state legislative seats, 30 state legislative chambers and 11 governor's offices.

Part of the problem, the report acknowledges, is that Republicans gained so many seats in recent years that they controlled the redistricting process and allowed their party to make massive gains that Democrats can't easily challenge. It calls for a "three-cycle plan that targets and wins back legislative chambers" in order to reverse that tide.

The report recommends stronger relationships with state parties, and also points to a weak Democratic bench, saying the DNC needs to help find and train talent.

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Democrats seek identity after midterm autopsy

TIME Politics 2014 Election Democrats Call for Focus on Narrative, White Voters After 2014 Losses 11:33 AM ET Updated: 12:34 PM ET Alex WongGetty Images President Obama speaks as Democratic National Committee Chair and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Vice Chair for Voter Registration and Participation Donna Brazile share a moment during the General Session of the 2015 DNC Winter Meeting, Feb. 20, 2015 in Washington, DC. The party chair calls a new report "tough love"

The Democratic Partys autopsy of its devastating defeat in 2014 calls for a renewed focus on the partys message and winning back white Southern voters.

In preliminary findings unveiled Saturday at a meeting of the Democratic National Committee, a task force studied the partys defeats in 2010 and 2014despite its victories in the 2008 and 2012 presidential years. It called for the creation of a National Narrative Project to help the party develop a message that can survive in midterm election years.

This morning were going to hear some tough love, and frankly we need to hear it, said Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who chairs the DNC.

It is strongly believed that the Democratic Party is loosely understood as a long list of policy statements and not as people with a common set of core values (fairness, equality, opportunity), the report found. This lack of cohesive narrative impedes the partys ability to develop and maintain a lifelong dialogue and partnership with voters.

The report, developed by party leaders and operatives, encourages Democrats to develop a three-cycle plan to increase representation in state legislatures for the purposes of the 2020 redistricting cycle. Republican gains in states in 2010 led to gerrymandering in their favor in the last decennial redrawing of congressional district lines, and further gains in 2014 made the Democrats challenge to reverse the trend all the greater.

The Task Force recommends that the DNCalong with the Democratic family of organizations, state parties and allied organizationscreate and resource a three-cycle plan that targets and wins back legislative chambers in order to prepare for redistricting efforts, the document states.

The report also calls on the party to continue pushing for right-to-vote legislation, as well as step up efforts nationwide to recruit candidates at local and state levels to build the next generation of party leaders. Additionally, it calls on the party to continue to study why voters drop-off from presidential years to midterm elections, resulting in a more favorable playing field for the GOP, as well as ways to prevent the hemorrhaging of white voters .

In order to win elections, the Democratic Party must reclaim voters that weve lost including white Southern voters, the report states. The topic was a subject of discussion Thursday during a meeting of state party chairs, led by South Carolina Democratic Party Chairman Jaime Harrison. On Saturday, Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear, who chaired the task force, faulted the party for having a single-minded electoral strategy focused on White house and said, the Democratic Party has lost its way.

Republicans reacted skeptically.

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Democrats Call for Focus on Narrative, White Voters After 2014 Losses