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Alabama: Joe L. Reed, 77

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Im wearing a Kuspuk; its a traditional Alaskan jacket that they wear in the wintertime, so we made a summer version. Its held up in the heatits cotton and has this beautiful bric-brac trim. Its gorgeous.

Ironic that youre wearing this jacket when youre from a state thats the most impacted by climate change.

Exactly, I know. Our summers have gotten hotter and hotter every year. Weve gotten less and less snow. A couple weeks ago, Fairbanks, Alaska was hotter than New York City. I dont remember exactly how hot it was, but it was, like, mid-90s.

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Theres a lot of excitement this election. Arizona is a battleground state. Its always been leaning red, but its starting to turn around. We have an exciting race where our very own congresswoman Ann KirkpatrickCongressional District 1, from the Navajo nationis running against the highest-ranking Republican in the Senate, John McCain. We are mobilizing throughout Arizona; all of the delegates here are pushing many of our Democratic candidates to win.

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Hes not acceptable. Hes not even acceptable to people in his own party. People who find him unacceptable, they should come with us.

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

That was very good for Bernie to do, but some of his people . . . I dont know if you saw our delegation, but there are a lot of rows missing. Three rows. Im not supposed to really dwell on that, because they said that the medias going to try to make a big deal of it.

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Theyre using this platform to talk about the issues that we just talked about, because there are hundreds of Flints across the country. And if we dont pay attention to these issues in terms of infrastructure, water quality, and environmental injustices, all of these places will experience what Flint is going through.

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Im with the NAACP, and Im here as a delegate for Hillary Clinton. One of the strong issues in Mississippi is the Confederate flag, because we feel like it symbolizes hate. Its currently part of the state flag, and we are of the opinion that the flag should be changed, or if its being flown, it should be taken down. I was happy to find that that position was taken here. There was a demonstration to have that flag taken down here in Philadelphia, and it was successful here, and that flag was taken down. Were trying to get the flag down in the state of Mississippi, and were hoping to get that conversation to the national forefront.

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

I am very much alarmed, as are all of the Native [American] delegates, and most of the delegates from around the country. [Trumps] use of very racist terminology, especially with his reference to our women, bothers all of us. It bothers me, particularly. And I am going to work hard to defeat this bully, harder than I have ever worked, in any campaign over many years. Interestingly enough, this is my eighth national convention. I have been here every convention since 198835 to 40 nightsand I have never been as moved as what I saw last night, and I have never had more resolve than I have right now about defeating this bully Donald Trump. Indian Country has to take our rightful place in this process, and we have to complement the efforts of the Democratic party, and we have to get the job done.

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Shes my wife. Im a superdelegate.

Can I assume that youre a Hillary supporter?

Ive been supporting Hillary since 2008, and Im still supporting her.

Whats it like being married to Jeanne Shaheen?

Well, youre going to have to ask her what its like being married to Bill Shaheen! Im kidding. Weve been married 47 years. Its been great.

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

I have worked for the election of every Democratic president since Lyndon B. Johnson. This is my fourth national convention.

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

I was very inspired by what Bernie Sanders was talking about, and when I was of age to be a delegate, I was very inspired and decided to run.

Have you decided to support Hillary?

Yes I have. I prefer Bernie, but Im still a democrat at the end of the day, so Ill support whoever the Democratic nominee is.

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

They know that. Totally know that. As a matter of fact, Utah is now being looked at as a swing state. And the reason is, its because of Trump. Though a lot more of the Republican people are looking toward the Libertarian candidate, and somevery fewlooking toward Jill Stein. There are a few months before the actual election, in which people are going to analyze, really, who more represents their values. And I think that Hillary, by being more religiousand they are a religious statewill appeal more to the Mormon base.

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Do you think Bernies contributions to the race have brought people into the Hillary fold?

Oh absolutely. Hes brought a lot of things up in the issues. We brought em up, and we put a lot of them in the platform. Not all of them, but we got 90 percent, so Im happy.

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Read more:
Are Democrats Having Their Tea Party Moment? - Vanity Fair

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Kellyanne Conway broke the law on live TV. Punish her. Do it now. No, I didnt say that and neither did anyone in the Trump administration in regards to White House Counsel Conways plaintive plea on behalf of Ivanka Trumps fashion line. Thats from Slate; and if you ever find a need to assess the state of psychic inertia and muddled ideology that plagues the Left, you need look no further than the equally muddled, dogs breakfast of a lay-out homepage that passes for an internet periodical.

Where was the Lefts solicitude for the sanctity of the law when favorite presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was recklessly using a private email server to send and receive classified documents. How did we not see liberals demanding punishment for the Benghazi debacle where we were talking about people actually dying and not catwalk politics.

And as for doing any thing now, Democrat apologists just couldnt get their ideological heads around the severity of Hillarys misdeeds as secretary of state and that these were not isolated and obtruded events but chronic and habitual to the core of Clintons political being.

In addition to the casual hypocrisy that usually characterizes left-wing politics, there is a new phenomenon haunting Democratic politics in the three weeks since Trumps inauguration. It is the specter of a desultory, rambling, uncertain political force that appears absolutely rudderless and bereft of leadership. This is probably a direct factor of the party lacking control of the presidency, House and Senate; but it is also a consequence of having personalities like Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Nancy Pelosi in minority leadership positions that are evidently far beyond their intellectual and emotional reach.

I knew there was something horribly wrong with Schumer on inauguration day when he chose to read the famous letter from Maj. Sullivan Ballou, a Union soldier from the Civil War who wrote an eloquent and poignant letter home to his wife, Sarah, just days before he died in the First Battle of Bull Run. The correspondence was popularized by the Ken Burns documentary that virtually rediscovered the War Between the States for an entire generation and anyone who has ever enjoyed the series, is aware of Ballous legacy.

Wonderful letter. But why would you read it immediately before a new president was about to be sworn into office? Is Schumer anticipating another civil war or could he not think of any other thoughts to offer that day? And the tears that he shed for refugees stranded at the airport was really beyond belief. Was he crying every time travelers had to wait 12 hours to get through security?

As for Pelosi she increasingly resembles a sleepwalker whom everybody is afraid to awaken, lest she hurt herself. Not only is she clearly way past her political prime, Pelosi has become the Norma Desmond of American politics, you almost expect her to announce that Im still big: its the politics that got small, in a rather bizarre approximation of the Billy Wilder line from Sunset Boulevard.

This political power vacuum has provided ample opportunities for the really unhinged fringe of the Dems to emerge in efflorescent moments of banality. Witness Elizabeth Warren this week on the Senate floor: was she having a coronary or just trying-out another political skit for a captive audience when she freaked out over the confirmation of new Attorney-General Jeff Sessions. Well, Sessions at least was used to her antics, having just left the Senate himself, so he didnt call for either the cops or a medic.

The Democrats dont seem to know what to do about the violent protest in streets or on the campuses as if there should be any cause for indecision. Should they condemn this anarchy, be mildly opposed to it or heartily endorse the nonexistent right to break the law and destroy property.

Hard choices.

But these are hard times for Democrats.

Follow David on Twitter

Read more from the original source:
Hard Times For Democrats - Daily Caller

We can argue about whether America has an immigration problem. But it seems pretty clear that Democrats have an immigration problem, one theyll have to fix if they want to oppose Trump effectively, much less regain control of the government.

Josh Barro, a senior editor at Business Insider, laid out at length exactly what that problem is. Briefly: The party has relied on opposing Trumps more outrageously exaggerated claims about the criminality and all-around character flaws of immigrants. Thats fine, as far as it goes but as November showed, it doesnt go far enough.

The core problem is that Democrats didnt really make an affirmative argument for an overhaul to U.S. immigration policy that might appeal to voters. Instead, they talked a lot about what great people immigrants are, and how much they benefit from migration. Unfortunately, the clearest group of beneficiaries people who want to migrate, but havent yet gotten a green card cant vote.

Its easy to explain how immigrants benefit from an open door. Explanations of how the rest of us benefit tend to rely on the trivial or on abstract economic arguments that most people dont find particularly intuitive or convincing. Those arguments look even more suspicious because they are generally made by the one group that visibly does benefit from a lot of low-skilled immigration, which provides the nannies, lawn care and food services that high-skilled professionals rely on to allow them to work longer hours.

There is one other group of people who strongly benefit, of course: recent migrants who have relatives they would like to join them. The most recent U.S. Census Bureau data indicate that thats perhaps 6 percent of eligible voters. More importantly, we have to account for the fact that naturalized citizens vote at significantly lower rates than the native-born.

Democrats may have large numbers of people polling vaguely in favor of high immigration levels, but relatively low levels of voter intensity for their position. You can see how these gaps work when you consider what happened on gun control in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook massacre: nothing. Strong majorities polled in favor of tighter restrictions. This support was broad but shallow: When it came to the ballot box, most people were more likely to vote on other issues. Gun owners, on the other hand, were apt to make this one of their top issues and vote accordingly.

Immigration may have a similar asymmetry. Distrust of strangers is a universal human phenomenon, tapping into some pretty deep evolutionary instincts. Once those instincts are aroused, you need very powerful emotional arguments as to why its worth taking the risk.

Democrats seem to appreciate that this is a problem, but instead of solving it, they mostly speak in vague generalities and to avoid concrete questions: What percentage of our society should be foreign-born? How should we choose the people we allow to migrate? Instead of formulating a clear policy, they relied on institutional inertia and lax enforcement to swell the foreign-born population to nearly 15 percent of the country. And Republicans, whose donor class likes generous immigration rules, were happy to go along.

That was fine as long as those groups were in charge of the status quo. Once Trump took over, however, that became infeasible. Trump, and anti-immigration Republicans in Congress, are going to be pushing specific policies to step up enforcement against people who are here illegally, and otherwise curtail legal immigration.

Successfully opposing these moves will require more than saying He called Mexicans rapists! Democrats are going to have to put forward a specific vision of their own for how many people should be allowed into this country, and what kind. And they will need to back up that vision with emotionally salient arguments that convince American voters immigration is as good for them as it is for the newcomers to our shore.

Megan McArdle is a columnist for Bloomberg View.

Published Feb. 11, 2017, midnight in: Democrats, Donald Trump, enforcement, Immigration

See the original post here:
Megan McArdle: Democrats have own immigration problems - The Spokesman-Review

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If the Democratic Party is truly interested in expanding their base, they need to change their rhetoric.

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Dennis L. Wegner, Ottumwa, Letter to the Editor 6:20 p.m. CT Feb. 10, 2017

On Jan. 21, 2015, anti-abortion rights activists are connected with a red piece of cloth as they stage a "die-in" in front of the White House in Washington.(Photo: AP)

I agree with most ofthe analyses of the media, punditsand the Democratic leaders as to why the GOP won heavily in the November election. However, it's often overlookedthat by constantly emphasizingabortion rights, the Democratic Party scares off many people of faith. While many people of faithendorse the Democrats' social agenda, they are led to believethat Democrats thinkabortion is the only way to deal with an unwanted pregnancy.Therefore,as a matter of conscience, such people who would otherwise vote Democratic organizeand vote for the GOP because they believe that the Democrats are "baby killers."

The Democratic anti-baby image is enhanced because they fail to talk about either closed or open adoption as an option. Many women opt for abortion because they fear having their baby adopted by abusive or unfit parents,not realizing that in open adoption,they would have the right to interview and vet prospective adoptive parents and arrange for visitations. Other pregnant women, who might consider adoption,choose abortion because they lack the money and otherresources to carry their babies to term.

If the Democratic Party is truly interested in expanding their base, they must announce loudly in their campaign rhetoricand party platformsthat theyare truly pro-choice. Pro-choice in thatif a woman decides to carry her baby to term, financial and other resources will be made available for her to do so. I am verydepressed becauseDemocratic Party leaders, to whom I have spoken, have been totally unresponsive to me on this "think outside the box"modification of the party platform.

Dennis L. Wegner, Ottumwa

Read or Share this story: http://dmreg.co/2kvoDnb

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Democrats should think outside the box - DesMoinesRegister.com

The Hill (blog)

Massachusetts Democrats waging resistance to President Trump Fort Worth Star Telegram Beacon Hill is replete with images of Massachusetts' revolutionary past a past that is feeling much closer to Democrats waging their own resistance to Republican President Donald Trump. Since the election, state Democrats have passed through several ... Trump unfairly critiqued as Democrats' behavior goes unpunishedThe Hill (blog) Democrats have a focus and a strategy, but do Republicans?Washington Times all 53 news articles »

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Massachusetts Democrats waging resistance to President Trump - Fort Worth Star Telegram