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The high-profile stars of the Democratic Party's populist wing have steered the agenda their way on Capitol Hill this year, but the fight over the party's direction is far from settled.

As the party faces great expectations of big gains in the 2018 midterms, Democratic centrists are increasingly worried that the disproportionate share of attention shown to Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and the agenda pushed by his anti-establishment allies will do more harm than good.

That direction, the thinking goes, will energize liberals in places that Democrats are already winning by big margins. But it might drive away the voters needed to win inland races that will shape the House majority and determine which governors and state legislators are in charge of redrawing federal and state legislative districts early next decade.

Enter a group called New Democracy, a combination think tank and super PAC trying to reimagine the party's brand in regions where Democrats have suffered deep losses.

Leaders of the group want to focus on rebuilding in states where, during the Obama presidency, Democrats lost nearly 1,000 legislative seats and more than a dozen governor's mansions.

"Our most important work will be done outside of Washington," Will Marshall, founder of New Democracy, said in an interview.

The effort is publicly being labeled as sand"supplemental" to the emerging agenda being crafted on Capitol Hill, including the highly populist "Better Deal" proposal touted by party leaders in the House and Senate last month. But the new group's leaders do not see that agenda, including a push for lower prescription-drug prices, as particularly helpful to Democrats in exurban districts or key Midwestern states where President Trump won last year.

"That is an accurate reflection of many Democrats who represent deep blue districts. But it has limited appeal beyond the coasts," Marshall said.

To be sure, Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., have been trying to offer the sort of economic agenda items that can appeal to voters in Iowa as well as California, targeted at working class voters who abandoned Democrats for Trump.

But some centrists fear this populist message will get tuned out by heartland voters if it is accompanied by the party's increasing embrace of staunch liberal positions on cultural matters, from abortion rights to transgender issues.

Marshall helped launch similar efforts as Democrats lost three straight presidential elections in the 1980s, under the auspices of the Democratic Leadership Council and its offshoot, the Progressive Policy Institute.

Back then, operating under the New Democrat banner, the centrists helped create the ideas behind the 1992 presidential campaign of Bill Clinton, who became the first two-term Democrat in the White House since FDR.

New Democracy is taking shape under the failure of another Clinton - Hillary - whose loss to Trump helped solidify the already growing divide between Democrats and voters beyond large urban centers. Several dozen Democrats have signed on with New Democracy, including Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, former Iowa governor Tom Vilsack, Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto and Rep. Stephanie Murphy, Fla., a freshman rising star.

The two Democratic wings could be headed for a fierce clash over what the party needs to stand for in the wake of the stunning 2016 defeat. Sanders, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and other liberals have been making gains in getting congressional Democrats to support ideas such as a $15-an-hour minimum wage, some form of free college and demanding a full-frontal assault on big banks and big corporations.

So far, however, the college plans pushed by Sanders have not been in the "Better Deal." Senior Democratic advisers say that their effort has been to embrace economic populism without focusing on less politically popular liberal ideas.

The early portions of the "Better Deal" agenda tilt in the populist direction, with calls for stronger antitrust regulations and its tough talk on trade deals. Their belief is that white, working-class voters - millions of whom voted for Barack Obama but then switched to Trump - felt left behind in an economy with fewer manufacturing plants and those jobs went offshore or disappeared through automation.

Marshall and other Democrats fear that the populist tone is built around a negative message of casting blame and lacks the optimistic tones around which Bill Clinton and Barack Obama built their successful presidential bids.

Combine that negative tone with what critics say is a cultural elitism among urban liberals on social issues, and the centrist wing feels that voters in the heartland simply do not embrace the Democratic message anymore.

"The party's gotten a little too comfortable with its urban and coastal strongholds," Marshall said.

New Democracy's mission statement is even more blunt, warning that both parties have engaged in "a civically corrosive form of identity politics" and Democrats should "avoid vilifying people whose social views aren't as 'progressive' as we think they should be."

"For many working class and rural voters, the party's message seems freighted with elite condescension for traditional values (especially faith) and lifestyles," the group says.

The first big public event for New Democracy will come at an October summit hosted by Vilsack, who grew increasingly disenchanted last year with what he felt was the Clinton campaign's unwillingness to court rural voters.

In the 2008 elections, Obama won the Hawkeye State by nearly 10 percentage points, giving Iowa Democrats a 32-to-18 edge in the state Senate and a 56-to-44 edge in the state House. The governor, Chet Culver, was a Democrat. Four of the state's seven members of Congress were Democrats.

In 2016 Trump won Iowa by nearly 10 percentage points, Republicans now hold a comfortable nine-seat majority in the state Senate and a 19-seat majority in the state House. Trump appointed the state's popular Republican governor, Terry Brandstad, to be ambassador to China.

Iowa now sends just one Democrat to Congress.

That kind of shift happened across many states far away from the Atlantic and Pacific coasts over the past eight years.

It remains to be seen how much efforts like New Democracy really will supplement the party's efforts to reach new voters - and how much of this turns into a deep fight with the liberal wing.

New Democracy is reserving the right to wade into primaries to support moderate candidates, which could foreshadow the type of expensive primary battles Republicans have had the past eight years.

"Obama's success has masked the narrowing of the party's appeal," Marshall said, fearing that Democrats are not reaching beyond liberal elites. "Dogma seems to be in the driver's seat."

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Centrist Democrats pushing back against Bernie Sanders, liberal wing - Chicago Tribune

Cities struggling to house their homeless are asking the federal government to rethink its cornerstone homelessness program amid concerns about burdensome reporting requirements and inadequate funding.

An internal government report calls for the so-called Homelessness Partnering Strategy to provide different levels of funding to rural communities, which must house people over vast areas, and to urban centres struggling with skyrocketing real estate prices.

The issue of red tape bogging down the funding also came up repeatedly in meetings last year that were detailed in a briefing note to a senior official at Employment and Social Development Canada.

Cities asked the government to simplify reporting requirements about how money was being used, or provide extra cash to cover administrative costs, said the note, obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act.

The homelessness strategy isnt up for renewal until 2019, but Social Development Minister Jean-Yves Duclos has asked officials to begin work now in order to have it ready sooner, said spokesman Mathieu Filion.

Those in the anti-poverty sector expect funding will stay the same under the revamped strategy, which will likely emphasize prevention, something experts have promoted during the Liberals time in office.

A separate briefing note to Duclos suggests that officials wanted the strategy to help fund clinical supports for so-called housing first clients, including teams of doctors, nurses, psychiatrists and substance abuse specialists.

The federal government cant directly fund such supports because they fall under provincial jurisdiction.

The Liberal governments first budget in 2016 set aside $111.8-million over two years for the strategy to give cities more flexibility in battling homelessness.

Those municipal strategies will be reshaped next year following the second federally organized point-in-time count of the homeless population in 59 cities, up from 32 that took part in the first count last year.

An internal government report says some cities had problems spending the 2016 money during the last fiscal period, which ended in March, because the cash wasnt available at the start of the fiscal year.

At a mid-year meeting about the money, cities big and small told federal officials that the strategys focus on housing first find housing and services for people right away, rather than requiring them to seek treatment first was becoming more difficult to meet.

Larger urban centres reported that a lack of available affordable housing options, including market rental units, was a major hindrance. In rural and remote communities, the challenge was housing people over large geographic areas.

Funding was also a problem in Aboriginal communities.

Indigenous leaders said the housing first approach didnt recognize the unique needs of their communities, including the need for multi-generational housing and communal homes.

Jenny Gerbasi, president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, said the report illustrates the challenges with the federal strategy, which is also likely to play a key role in the national housing strategy the Liberals will release later this year.

Cities need to be given the maximum flexibility needed to use federal funds on local needs, including deciding the extent to which they deliver programs with a housing first approach, Gerbasi said.

Three decades after the approach was first introduced, an international body of research suggests it works. In 2008, the federal government funded the largest such study a five-year examination of more than 2,200 previously homeless people across five cities.

It found those who received housing first help retained housing at much higher rates than those who received what investigators called treatment as usual, and scored higher on measures of quality of life.

As a result of the study, housing first became a focus of the Homelessness Partnering Strategy.

A follow-up study last year found a significant gap between current federal and provincial funding and what was provided in the original study period.

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Cities urge Liberals to rethink homeless strategy - The Globe and Mail

Updated August 11, 2017 13:20:07

Labor has turned to its most powerful union for cash ahead of the South Australian election in March, while the Liberal Party is relying on financial support from two MPs and an eccentric Chinese mining magnate.

The latest disclosure returns released by the Electoral Commission show the SA Division of the Liberal Party received $1.9 million, more than double Labor's $969,000 in receipts for the six months to the end of June.

Labor's biggest donor was the Shop Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA), with $238,295.07, almost twice the combined donations and affiliation fees which came from the rest of the union movement.

The SDA is the dominant union in the right-wing of Labor politics in SA, spawning the careers of Cabinet ministers such as Tom Koutsantonis, Jack Snelling, Zoe Bettison and Peter Malinauskas.

Both major parties require their state MPs to tip part of their salaries into political campaigns.

But two Liberals have made significant personal donations, beyond their MP levy.

Deputy Leader Vickie Chapman appears to have donated $20,000, in addition to the $7,493.34 contribution from her parliamentary salary.

Liberal deputy leader in the Legislative Council, Michelle Lensink, appears to have made a $10,000 donation, on top of her $5,854.20 salary contribution.

MP levy contributions from some Liberal MPs, including retiring members, have not been disclosed, indicating they are below a $5,091 disclosure threshold.

For the Liberal coffers, retired Codan founder Ian Wall and his wife Pam made a $210,000 donation in June, while AusGold Mining Group, headed by Chinese mining mogul Sally Zou, gave the party $143,664, including a single donation of $88,888 in April.

Eight is considered lucky by the Chinese.

Ms Zou has been a regular donor to the Liberals, even setting up a company called the Julie Bishop Glorious Foundation without the Foreign Minister's knowledge.

Her company ran two full-page ads in The Advertiser on Friday, including one on page three to welcome Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to Adelaide.

He is expected to attend the Liberal Party's annual general meeting on Saturday.

"Fellow Australian, Friend and Prime Minister of Our Nation," the advertisement read.

"Life is a journey down a river a current can sweep you into the path of others or take you on branches you never expected.

"Meeting people by chance can be one of serendipity, a happy surprise.

"In our years on Earth, we cannot foresee who we'll be privileged enough call our friends; such is the excitement of life."

In contrast to the Liberals, Labor's corporate sponsors were more modest.

The ALP collected $76,052.40 from its corporate fundraising arm, SA Progressive Business, which charges business for sponsorship and raises funds from event attendances.

Bank SA, a part of Westpac, gave $10,000 to the ALP just days before the Labor Government announced in the state budget the biggest banks would face a levy, expected to raise $370 million.

The money was sponsorship for a post-budget lunch featuring Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis, which bank executives later boycotted because of their fury about the planned tax.

Other Labor donors included Beach Energy, Fairmont Homes Group, SA Power Networks and Employers Mutual (EM) each $12,000.

EM manages workers' compensation claims on behalf of ReturnToWork SA, which also gave $12,000.

The Australian Hotels Association donated to both major parties $13,000 to the Liberals and $12,000 to Labor.

Neither the Greens nor the Dignity Party reported any funds above the disclosure cap.

The Australian Conservatives and Nick Xenophon's SA Best were not required to submit returns because they were not registered as parties in time to be included in that half-year.

Topics: states-and-territories, government-and-politics, political-parties, alp, liberals, adelaide-5000, sa

First posted August 11, 2017 13:15:54

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Liberals' donations double Labor Party's ahead of SA election - ABC Online

Members of a leftist group backed by deep-pocketed unions loudly protested outside of Republican Congressman Jason Lewiss home in Woodbury, Minnesota on Wednesday, spurring frightened neighbors to call the police.

The group, Take Action Minnesota, which is funded by SEUI and other unions and progressive groups, chanted and protested outside of Lewiss home, where his wife and two daughters live, over proposed cuts to Medicaid and other entitlement programs that are driving the United States deeper into debt.

After attempting to deliver a letter to Lewis in person at his home, Take Action protestors then stood on his porch and his driveway as two elderly women explained how they rely on Medicaid for about five minutes. They then began to chant and yell rallying cries as they waved signs.

When care givers are under attack, what do we do? The young woman prompted. Stand up! Fight back! the other protestors responded.

As they walked away, protestors yelled: Well be back!

The group streamed their protest via Facebook Live.

In a statement posted on his Facebook page, Lewis said the demonstration prompted his neighbor to call the police.

Appalled to find out my home and private property were invaded today by protestors while I was working in my congressional district. Suffice it to say it is more than a bit disturbing to get a call from your neighbor saying his daughters were afraid and called him to contact the police.

In a statement, Take Action said they showed up at his home because Lewis hasnt done a town hall event to talk about the proposed cuts.

For months, constituents have asked for a town hall, Take Action said in a statement. His constituents would rather have a conversation at a town hall, than deliver a letter to his door.

Town hall events featuring Republican congressman have become increasingly dangerous. In May, police escorted two attendees at a North Dakota town hall event after they got physical with a Republican congressman.

Earlier this year, the Utah Republican Party issued a statement urging GOP Congressmen to delay town hall meetings after numerous violent actions took place at previous events.

This isnt just immature anymore; this is a dangerous ramping up of rhetoric that already has one of my House colleagues in rehab from a vicious attack, Lewis said, referring to Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.), who nearly died from a gunshot wound inflicted by a crazed Bernie Sanders supporter. Beyond increasing security measures, we are investigating what action to take. But this dangerous targeting of people, staffs, associates and now families must stop. And stop now.

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Watch These Liberals Protest Outside Of A Congressman's Home Where His Wife, Daughters Live - The Federalist

We knew it would be an interesting show, and had a pretty good idea that Keillor would be taking a "victory lap" over the win. We listened politely to the opening monolog and the "Amazing day for everybody" comment and later disparaging remarks about Bush and Cheney.

We did not hold up signs, protest, or shout down Keillor; they won and we lost, we accepted that is how the peaceful transfer of power happens in a Constitutional Republic.

All the people across this land who did not vote for Obama, did not riot on Wednesday after the 2008 election, nor Thursday, the next week, next year, destroy businesses, burn buildings, or shut down liberal speech on campuses. No, they went back to work doing what they were doing the day before the election.

We who live in "flyover" country endured the left's sanctimonious remarks and lived our lives for the eight years of Obama's administration, with increased regulations, the Affordable Care Act, where "if you like your plan, you can keep your plan," "if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor," and "you will save $2,500 on average per year." All untrue, but still we did not riot or destroy property, we continued to work to pay our bills, save something for retirement, and to pass something onto our children and grandchildren.

So, us "deplorables" as we have become known, protested at the ballot box in 2016, and elected a "non-politician" who was saying many of the things we believed in, "repeal and replace Obama Care, roll back regulations, secure our borders, fix the VA, increase jobs and get the economy growing at a faster pace."

Now it is your turn, and the people on your side, to allow our duly elected president to move the country in the direction he and his voter believe is the correct direction. If you don't like the direction the country is moving, just as we who voted Trump in didn't like the direction of the last eight years, you can vote him out in three and a half years. You didn't win at the ballot box and now you are trying to use Russian collusion, a special counsel and obstruction to undo the will of the Trump voters.

I'm not quite sure what President Trump had to do with your high school reunion article, other than his name didn't come up, but you used the opportunity to denigrate the President and his family. Maybe you should have another tomato.

Butts lives in Bismarck.

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Letter: Liberals are the ones acting deplorable - INFORUM