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SBY #39;s Democrats Clamor for New Party Congress to Elect Leader

By: BeritaSatu English

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SBY's Democrats Clamor for New Party Congress to Elect Leader - Video

Democrats are taking a strikingly cautious approach to the controversy surrounding House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) and his speech to a white supremacist group in 2002.

The vast majority ofDemocrats are not calling for Scalise to resign, or for leadership to drop him. But they are tying Scalise to other Republicans and arguing the issue is emblematic of a party Democrats argue is at odds with minority groups on a range of policies.

Democrats dont want to get too far in front of the story, particularly since it is unclear whether Scalises 2002 address to the European-American Unity and Rights Organization is an isolated incident.

Its also possible that Democrats are quite happy to see Scalise continue to be a part of the GOP leadership, since it will allow them to return to the story about his address to a group founded by David Duke repeatedly between now and Election Day 2016, when Democrats hope a broader electorate will help them win the White House and take back House and Senate seats.Only Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (N.Y.) has called for his resignation as majority whip.

They probably believe that hes more useful to them if he remains a leader in the Republican Party, said Bob Mann, a professor at Louisiana State University and a former Democratic aide.

If he resigns, problem solved, the Republicans have banished this embarrassing person from their midst, and the Democrats cant use him as a symbol for intolerance.

The statement from Pelosis office framed Scalises address as symptomatic of a larger GOP problem.

Actions speak louder than whatever Steve Scalise said to that group in 2002, Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill said.

Just this year, House Republicans have refused to restore the Voting Rights Act or pass comprehensive immigration reform, and leading Republican members are now actively supporting in the federal courts efforts by another known extremist group, the American Center for Law and Justice, which is seeking to overturn the presidents immigration executive actions.

Peter Fenn, a Democratic strategist and contributor at The Hill, said that it would be pretty Machiavellian for Democrats to want to keep Scalise in leadership for personal gain. He believes that Pelosi and other Democrats are holding back in fear of jumping the gun before all the facts come out.

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Democrats take cautious approach with GOP, Scalise

By Jeremy Diamond, CNN

updated 5:37 PM EST, Wed December 31, 2014

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Washington (CNN) -- As national Democrats are jumping at the chance to sink Rep. Steve Scalise, Louisiana Democrats are throwing the House majority whip a buoy.

Democrats from the Bayou State, including a current congressman and two former statewide elected officials, are giving Scalise some much needed cover after his position in the Republican leadership was suddenly thrown up in the air Monday when his office confirmed an eyebrow-raising speech he gave to a David Duke-founded white supremacist group in 2002.

Former U.S. Senator Bennett Johnston, a Democrat who beat back a challenge from Duke in 1990, said even he didn't know that EURO as "a racist organization."

"I may disagree with Representative Scalise but a racist he is not. Nor would he have been stupid enough to knowingly address a racist group," Johnston said in a statement published in the Times-Picayune. "While it is sometimes fun to see Republicans in trouble, you'd be wrong to blame Representative Steve Scalise for being racist on account of addressing a (EURO) meeting."

Johnston is now a lobbyist in Washington, D.C. and a strong supporter of oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.

RELATED: Louisiana pols offer bipartisan backing for Steve Scalise

And former Louisiana governor Edwin Edwards, a Democrat who beat out Duke for the governorship in 1991, also ran to Scalise's defense.

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Louisiana Dems defend Scalise

Two weeks before New York Senator Charles Schumer once again delivered for Wall Street with the omnibus budget deal, he gave amajor speechin which he sounded like a progressive champion. Schumer offered a stirring defense of government as the only force that can stand up to the private sectors attack on the middle class, and argued that for Democrats to roll to victory in 2016 First, we must convince Americans that government can be on their side and is not just a tool of special interests.

Schumer is not just any Democrat. He led the successful election efforts for Democratic senators in 2006 and 2008, is number three in the Democratic Senate leadership, where he is responsible for policy and communications, and he sits on several of the most powerful Senate committees. His speech at the National Press Club on November 25 was billed as a major analysis of why Democrats did so badly in the midterms and how they should chart a path to victory in 2016.

Unfortunately, Schumer embodies the contradictions that will tear the Democratic Party apart over the next two years. He understands the need to embrace a populist, progressive narrative and program, but his ties to Wall Street and big money lead him to blunt any real moves by Democrats to take a bold stand for working people against corporate power.

The budget proposal to allow more government bailouts of banks that gamble with their depositors money was a hugelost opportunityfor Democrats to paint Republicans as being on the side of the big banks that wrecked the economy. That opportunity was negated by President Obamas pushing for the budget and Senator Schumers stealth maneuvers (widely known in Congress) to keep the Wall Street deal intact. As a result, the leaders of both parties demonstrated, as theyve done before, that government is in fact on the side of the rich and powerful.

Schumer knows that this is a problem if Democrats hope to win at the polls. While his speech at the National Press Club got a lot of attention for his negative comments about the Presidents strategy on the Affordable Care Act, those remarks were only a small part of a long analysis that has a lot in common with progressive views of the economy and the role of government. Some highlights:

The most salient factor in our political economy is that for the first time in American history, middle-class incomes have been in decline for over a decade The powerful have much more access and influence over government and specific and strong actions must be taken to curb that influence so government can really represent the average person We must illustrate that government can provide solutions by delineating specific concrete programs that if enacted would actually improve lives and incomes We must convince the middle class that the only way out of their morass is by a stronger and effective government, not by demeaning or running from it

When large forces harness power and push you around, you need a large after force to stand up to to stand up for you. The only force that can give you the tools to stand up to the large tectonic forces that can mitigate the effects that technology creates on your income is an active and committed government that is on your side.

Schumer highlights the same key economic fact that progressives emphasize: wages have not kept up with productivity. But it is in his explanation of what is behind stagnant wages that he departs from progressives. For Schumer, it can be described in one word technology. Technology allows capital to garner [a] far greater share of increases. He goes on to note globalization as another factor.

Schumer leaves out the powerful political forces that drove down wages. The biggest omission is his total failure to discuss the role of Wall Street in wrecking the economy and, more broadly, in driving down wages at the expense of corporate profits. Schumer, who as much as anyone in government isresponsible for unleashing Wall Streetis incapable of making that case. Schumer, a leading champion of banking deregulation, has collectedmore than $20 millionin campaign contributions from the financial sector, more than any other senator who hasnt run for president.

And its not just Wall Street that Schumer leaves out of the story. It is also the corporate attack on labor unions and on labor standards. He makes no mention of the slashing of taxes on unearned income, so that the rich pay lower taxes than the rest of us, or of the gutting of corporate tax collection. Where are the corporate villains abetted by both political parties who have enriched themselves at the expense of American families while driving down taxes and government investment in the public structures that are foundations of a powerful economy?

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Democrats middle-class hypocrisy: Why omnibus will haunt them

Sheriff John Layton takes the oath of office Thursday, Jan. 1, 2015 (WISH Photo/Ron Nakasone)

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) Marion County Democrats swept the November elections and New Years is the first day in office for the winners.

Six Democrats took the oath of office at the Indiana History Center Thursday. . They include Prosecutor Terry Curry and Sheriff John Layton, who are both entering their second terms in office.

They were joined by two newcomers, Kate Sweeney Bell, who is the new County Recorder, and County Clerk Myla Eldridge, who thanked the late Julia Carson and others for paving the way for her.

To stand right here today on this stage, she said, as the first African American Marion County Clerk.

When asked if she feels like a pioneer, Eldridge said, Yes, I do feel like a pioneer and somewhat a trailblazer.

A number of township elected officials also took the oath of office at the morning ceremony.

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Democrats sworn in as Marion County officeholders