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As Democrats take stock of their grievous losses in the 2014 elections, party leaders are confronting a challenge perhaps even more daunting than their defeats in the House and Senate: the virtual wipeout of the Democratic talent pool across the country.

After the Republican waves of 2010 and 2014, the party is depleted not just in its major-league talent, but also in its triple-A recruitment prospects. It amounts to a setback, Democrats say, that will almost certainly require more than one election cycle to repair.

At the start of the 2014 campaign, Democrats envisioned an election that would produce new national stars for the party in at least a few tough states Georgia Sen. Michelle Nunn or Kentucky Sen. Alison Lundergan Grimes, for instance, or maybe even Texas Gov. Wendy Davis. Even if the party fell short in those reach states, Democrats hoped to produce new heavyweight blue-state Democrats Maryland Gov. Anthony Brown, the countrys only black state executive; or Maine Gov. Mike Michaud, who would have been the first openly gay candidate elected governor.

(Also on POLITICO: Obama: Midterms? What midterms?)

Any of them could have landed on a vice presidential short list in 2016.

Instead, all of them lost.

Joining them were numerous down-ballot Democrats widely viewed as future contenders for high office: attorney general candidates in Nevada and Arizona who looked like future governors; aspiring state treasurers in Ohio and Colorado who could have gone on to bigger things; prized secretary of state candidates in Iowa and Kansas as well as countless congressional hopefuls around the country.

Arizona Rep.-elect Ruben Gallego, a state lawmaker who will be one of the few Democratic freshmen in the next Congress, said the party will need to redouble its efforts at recruitment and voter registration in order to bounce back. Along with other state and local Democratic leaders, Gallego predicted that city- and county-level officials would be the best place to look for ground-level Democratic recruits in the years ahead, thanks to the partys strength in urban America and these officials relative insulation from national trends.

(Also on POLITICO: Obama, McConnell shaky ceasefire)

The way we rebuild is really by having a deep investment in our local city council races and state races, by really starting to recruit and pipeline strong local candidates, said Gallego, a 34-year-old Marine Corps veteran. Thats where your good congressional candidates in the future are going to come from.

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The Democrats lost generation - Alexander Burns ...

After their defeat at the polls, a crucial question confronts Democrats: Deep dish or thin crust? (AP/Caryn Rousseau)

If you and your friends order a medium pizza and there aren't enough slices to make everybody happy, someone will probably state the obvious:it would have been a good idea to order a large. Among Democrats looking back at Tuesday's results, though, there isn't much talk about a bigger pie.

Analysts hadbeen pointing out for several months that economic growth has not led to wage growth, and that the working classhasn't really experienced the recovery for themselves yet.As a result, the reasoning goes, they're frustrated with President Obama. Since the election, liberal Democrats have reprised this theme. Sen. Elizabeth Warren's supporters are arguing that her styleof egalitarianpopulism would have helped Democrats reach white, working-class voters. Harold Meyerson excoriatesDemocrats for failing ordinary Americans. "What, besides raising the minimum wage, do the Democrats propose to do about the shift in income from wages to profits, from labor to capital, from the 99 percent to the 1 percent?" he asked.

Anote of despair is audible in questions like these, a sense that while a rising tide might once havefloated all the boats, America's tide is going out. Maybe that despair is justified, but Christina and David Romer don't think so. Their recent paper argues that some developed economies recovery quickly, even from relatively serious financial crises. Ours did not, but thingsdidn't have to turn out the way they did. "Maybe the policy response was just bad," Christina Romersays. In other words, policymakers considereda menu of options, and they ordered amedium recovery with no toppings.

Her argument amounts to a serious critique of the Obama administration's economic policyfrom someone who was crucial in planning the response to the financial crisis. There was more the White House shouldhave done, even though Republicans in Congress insisted on austerity rather than fiscal stimulus.

To be sure, the policies considered in the paper, such as providing financial relief to underwater homeowners, would have both reduced inequality and contributed to growth. Sometimes,the size of the pie changes depending onhow it's sliced. The point is making sure there's plentyto go around.

Correction:Thursday's newsletter misspelled the name of a scholar at theUrban Institute. It is "Brian Elderbroom," not "Brian Elderbloom."Our sincere apologies, but don't misswhat he has to say about sentencing reform.

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Wonkblog: Next time, Democrats should just order a large pepperoni

Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu faces the run-off of her political life next month to keep her seat after nearly 20 years in office. But more than just a hard-driving Republican opponent, she faces the reality that Democrats -- particularly white Democrats -- are a vanishing breed in the Deep South, and she might be one of the last.

It looks like we are entering a new era, said Ed Chervenak, professor of American politics at the University of New Orleans, where she is the last of the Southern Democrats.

Landrieu got barely 42 percent of the vote Tuesday, followed by Republican Bill Cassidy, with nearly 40 percent, and Republican Rob Maness, who came in third with 14 percent. According to state rules, the two top vote-getters will compete in a run-off scheduled for Dec. 6.

On election night, faced with the prospect of another 30 days of brutal campaigning, the 58-year-old Landrieu took a positive tone that has since become a mantra for her supporters: that the run-off is about Louisiana and not about the unpopular president in Washington.

And now we have the race that we have wanted, for months," Landrieu said during a speech in New Orleans. "Cassidy can no longer just spout President Obama's name at debates and think that's enough." She promptly called for six debates in the next month. So far, Cassidy has agreed to only one.

But election observers say Landrieu faces difficult odds on two key fronts: the sheer numbers are against her, and the Democratic Party appears to be losing interest now that the majority in the Senate has been lost. According to media reports Thursday, Democrats' Senate campaign arm is pulling its planned advertising spots for Landrieu in the state through Dec. 6, indicating a lack of confidence. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee responded by saying they support Landrieu 100 percent.

A recent NBC/Marist poll showed that in a head-to-head matchup, Cassidy would get 50 percent of the vote while Landrieu would draw just 45 to 46 percent.

She is going to have a hard time explaining to people why she voted with Obama over 90 percent of the time, and convincing enough voters Republicans and Independents that they should send her back there (to Washington), said Henry Barbour, RNC committee member and GOP strategist in Mississippi.

According to exit polling and analysis after Tuesdays election, Landrieus numbers problem goes way deeper than one race.

She is basically confronting the long-term loss of Democratic identifiers throughout the state, and the entire Deep South, said Chervenak. What we have seen is a realignment in a region that was once dominated by the Democratic Party, which is now solidly Republican. He said in 1996, two-thirds of Louisiana was Democratic, today that number is 47 percent.

The rest is here:
Democrats Last Stand? Party foothold in Deep South at stake in Landrieu run-off

Willie Brow, San Francisco Chronicle

Everybody keeps asking me, Why did this happen?

Beats me. When it came to the elections, I was a dreamer who thought the Democrats were going to retain the Senate. Instead, we got walloped.

I didnt realize any one person could be as hated across the nation as Barack Obama. Or that someone who had risen so far in politics could have so few friends, even within his own party.

Mostly, the Democrats who were on the ballot away ran from Obama. It couldnt have gone any worse if theyd run into his arms at least that might have energized the Democratic base a bit. After all, the guy did manage to get elected to the highest office in the land, twice.

But the Democrats treated him as a pariah, which simply played into the Republicans strategy of portraying him as a failure.

And then the Democrats ground game got stuffed. In particular, they did nothing to bring out young voters, without whom Democrats just cannot win.

Topping it off, the Republicans were totally out of character they got smart. No Tea Party witches or NRA whack jobs running for the Senate. Their candidates sounded sane.

Hillary Rodham Clinton must be wondering whether she really wants to run for president. Unless there are some serious readjustments to the Democratic operation, she is going to lose.

But Ill tell you who did run a great campaign: Libby Schaaf.

Go here to read the rest:
Dont say Obamas blocking caused Democrats weak running game

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) House Democrats are frustrated with their leader.

Nancy Pelosi, the House minority leader, isnt facing a public challenge right now. But Politico writes Democrats are saying behind the scenes its time for new blood at the leadership table ahead of 2016. Senior aides cited by Politico said they hope Democrats big losses Tuesday would encourage Pelosi to expand her network of allies and advisers to include a broader set of voices for crafting election messaging and congressional agendas. There is great unrest, a senior Democratic aide said.

Reid pathetic majority leader: The Senates most-senior Republican isnt afraid to publicly criticize outgoing majority leader Harry Reid. Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah called Nevada Democrat Reid a pathetic leader in an interview with the Hill. Reid is one of my friends, but hes been a pathetic majority leader as far as Im concerned, Hatch said. He thought he was doing right by protecting his side, but I think the American people resented him because he got nothing done.

Reconciling Obamacare: The top Democrat on the House Budget Committee is predicting that Republicans will use the budget reconciliation process to try to roll back President Obamas signature health-care law. Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland told The Wall Street Journal: The signals that they are sending seem to be that they want to use the reconciliation process to try to push through a lot of their agenda. Reconciliation requires just 51 votes in the Senate, not the 60 needed to break a filibuster. Obama has said hes willing to listen to ideas about reforming his health law, but full repeal and the individual mandate are off limits.

Filibuster-proof majority for Keystone: The Keystone XL pipeline won big in Tuesdays elections. As National Journal reports, the oil-sands pipeline project now appears to have at least 60 supporting votes in the Senate. That means legislation forcing approval of the long-delayed pipeline project may be headed to President Barack Obama. Obama has said he will only approve Keystone if it doesnt add to carbon emissions in the atmosphere. A State Department review in January found it would not. On Thursday, the White House declined to say if Obama would veto a Keystone bill.

Meet the freshmen: National Journal has a handy list, with photos, of the incoming members of the 114th Congress. A profile accompanies each members listing. The list covers both the House and Senate.

Continued here:
Capitol Report: Frustration with Pelosi simmers among Democrats