Mediaboss Marketing

DETROIT The Democratic National Committees future forums four public meetings ahead of the partys vote to pick new leadership, set this year for Feb. 25 are largely friendly affairs. Over a few hours, the candidates for top DNC jobs field questions and decline to take cheap shots. More often, they take time out to praise each other for running.

That made it easier to see the wincing when Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Ind., spoke up at Saturdays forum to declare his solidarity with the protest movements that have sprung up since President Trumps election.

I am the only candidate on this stage who joined the Womens March, Buttigieg told the gathering at Detroits Wayne State University.

The audience cheered; the mayors leading rivals stayed poker-faced. It benefited none of them to point out that they had missed the Womens March only because they were in Miami, at a long-scheduled meeting of progressive donors, organized by Democratic activist David Brock. They had agreed to do it before anyone realized the largest mass mobilization since the Vietnam War would be happening that day.

The DNC race, the partys firstreal internal contest since 2005, was originally scheduled to be over by now. It was delayed until the last week of February so that the party, ostensibly, could debate what it stood for and what went wrong while its representatives in Washington figured out an opposition strategy.

But the speed with which protests have built against an unpopular Trump has given the race the feeling of an endlesss directors cut, with less public engagement than Democrats hoped.

I look at those marches, and all I can think is: Theres millions of pieces of data well never get, grumbled one candidates strategist on Friday night.

Ostensibly, the first three future forums allowed DNC members from the West, South and Midwest to meet their candidates in person and for local activists to feel some buy-in to the party.

In reality, the three forums have attracted around a quarter of the DNCs 447 voting members, and the turnout by local activists for all-day Saturday meetings has been wan in part, because those meetings overlapped with protests. In Houston, the host of the second forum, dozens of activists showed up still angry about the pre-2016 rules that allowed Hillary Clinton to build and pad a lead with superdelegates.

Meanwhile, the unity commission that will rewrite delegate rules existed in the form of a table manned by chairman Larry Cohen, a Bernie Sanders supporter and former Communications Workers of America president who is waiting for the DNC race to end so that the commission seats can actually be filled. The party still has 20 days to go before it can join the protest movement, already in progress.

The shape and form of this new movement has no real parallels in history because we have never seen anything like Donald Trump in modern American politics, said interim DNC chair Donna Brazile.

The leading candidates for DNC chair and vice chair have made the most of the forums, with each week prompting reactions to the latest Trump administration outrage. Theyve filled the space outside the forums with campaign literature and swag and have brought along supporters meant to serve as previews of the energy they could harness.

In the chairs race, former secretary of labor Thomas Perez has changed the most in relation to Trump. The race began before he left the Obama administration, but at the forums since, Perez has become a fount of outrage. At Houstons forum, which came right after Trumps executive orders on immigration and refugees and a threatened (but as yet nonexistent) order on voter fraud, he raised his voice and accused the president of peddling bulls***. In Detroit, he paced around the hospitality suite rented by his campaign, raging at how Trump had undone a Labor Department rule designed to prevent fraud by financial managers.

Hes got a degree from MSU Makin S*** Up university, said Perez.

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), who was born and raised in Detroit, has been accompanied at forums by members of National Nurses United, who have tried to evoke the feeling of a presidential campaign by waving signs and singing pro-Ellison songs. (To the tune of Chain of Fools: Change change change/ unity. Change change change/ experience.) Buttigieg has asked young supporters to join him at forums and dispatched them in the hours before the gatherings to conduct voter-registration drives another line that always gets a cheer.

Little has affected the race itself, which is being decided out of view in phone calls and visits with the 447 voting members. This weeks high-profile endorsements put former vice president Joe Biden and the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers behind Perez, while former vice president Walter Mondale, the Teamsters and a crew of Michigan legislators endorsed Ellison.

None of those backers, of course, are voting members of the DNC. Less than a quarter of DNC members have made public endorsements. Privately, both the Ellison and Perez campaigns see themselves in a close race, with most DNC members still undecided. Ray Buckley, the chairman of the New Hampshire Democratic Party, is seen as a safe first ballot choice for undecided members, as is Jaime Harrison, the chairman of the South Carolina Democratic Party. Sally Boynton Brown, the executive director of Idahos Democratic Party, and Democratic strategist Jehmu Greene, have benefited from the in-person forums but not broken through.

The party has also maneuvered to include late-declaring fringe candidates, who have not disrupted the race.Sam Ronan, a 27-year old Air Force veteran who ran for Ohios state legislature in 2016, has been a self-effacing and generous presence at the forums, dressing in jeans and talking about how to make millennials feel included. Peter Peckarsky, a Wisconsin attorney, has talked dryly about voting rights. A third candidate was cut from the forums after insulting Ellisons religion; a fourth has not showed up to the forums.

And with one exception this week, the party has changed the story line about the race from the one it espoused in December, when the rise of Ellison and entry of Perez prompted analysis of the race as a rematch between supporters of the Obama administration and supporters of Bernie Sanders. The Vermont senator leaned back into that story after Bidens endorsement, reiterating his advice that the party could choose a failed status-quo approach or reform itself.

Asked on CNNs State of the Union on Sunday to explain the criticism, Sanders largely repeated himself.

The Democratic Party has got to say: Yes, were going to take on the greed of Wall Street, the greed of the pharmaceutical industry, the greed of corporate America that throws American workers out on the streets and moves to Mexico and China, Sanders said. We are on the side of the elderly and the workers, not on the side of big business.

But freed from the Obama administration, which had defended the Trans-Pacific Partnership, Perez has taken no position to the right of Ellison or Sanders. The future forums have focused more on party strategy than policy, and outside of the forums, the Democrats who warn that the party might swing too far to the left to compete are nearly invisible.

The conversation, instead, is dominated by activists, by Sanders who will appear on CNN on Tuesday night to defend the Affordable Care Act in a debate with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) and by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who told a meeting of the Congressional Progressive Caucus on Saturday that Trump had won only by plagiarizing radical rhetoric from politicians of the left. His failure to deliver on that rhetoric would be the partys opening to win.

There are some in the Democratic Party who urge caution, Warren said. They say this is just a tactical problem. We need better data. We need better social media. We need better outreach. We need better talking points. Better talking points? Are you kidding me? People are so desperate for economic change in this country that Donald Trump was just inaugurated as president, and people think we just have a messaging problem? What planet are they living on?

Excerpt from:
DNC race grinds on as progressives and protesters strategize - Washington Post

Radical progressive Democrats have resorted to their old playbook: If you lose at the voting box, you then protest, demonstrate, sue in court, hold up the president's Cabinet picks, do everything to divide people, and stifle Donald Trumps presidency.

When the country looks for unity, the radicals drive a wedge between progressives and those who believe in America First.

Radicals want open borders, and if you disagree, they label you anti-immigrant, racist or worse. It's the same way with the radical approach to climate change; anyone who does not adhere to their theory is labeled a denier. Whatever happened to debate? The radical approach is: The debate is over!

Radical progressives lost an election. Get used to it with the power struggle over the borders, climate change, health care, judicial nominations and much more. In the name of unity, progressives should now do what they can to hold on to what power they have left by reaching out to President Trump. Do what's good for the country and leave the radical element of the party behind.

Tom Ploski, Mount Prospect

More:
For progressives, the debate is over - Chicago Tribune

Bradenton Herald

Progressives soft on Muslim terrorism Bradenton Herald The Democratic/Progressive party preys on emotion, which serves them well because nave people of all stripes don't seek out the facts and ponder the consequences when presented with inflammatory and emotional arguments. Statements such as: We ...

Read the rest here:
Progressives soft on Muslim terrorism - Bradenton Herald

posted at 10:01 am on February 4, 2017 by Jazz Shaw

Yesterday, the legendary Andrew Malcolm published a piece here which speculates about other Supreme Court seats which may come up for grabs while Donald Trump is in office and what the fallout from such a turn of events might be. This is a grim game at the best of times because pondering an opening on the Supreme Court is frequently only thought of as meaning one thing, and it involves six people carrying a casket. But thats not the reality in most cases. Many of us tend to think that accepting a seat on that court winds up turning into a life sentence thats nearly as certain as the one Charles Manson received. However, as Zachary Goldfarb and Lydia DePillis wrote shortly after the death of Antonin Scalia, its actually a rarity. Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist died in office in 2005, but the last time it happened before that was in 1954. All the other ex-justices in the intervening half century left the building under their own power.

With that optimistic outlook in mind, its still worth considering whether any of the current crop are considering spending their golden years doing anything more relaxing. We would generally expect that sort of decision from the oldest members which means the Notorious RBG (83), Kennedy (80) or Breyer (78). The oldest conservative justice (Thomas) is still in his sixties. This has progressives and their liberal allies in the media in a panic at the moment. Two examples cropped up at the WaPo this week, with the first being a plaintive cry from Ruth Marcus for Anthony Kennedy to stick around until the last dog is hung or risk seeing his legacy go up in smoke.

Justice Kennedy, if youre reading this, my message is simple: Please dont retire. It could put your legacy at risk; even more, it would be terrible for the country at a moment that demands healing, not another bitter fight ripping at the seams of national unity.

Its natural, of course, that stepping down would be on your mind. At 80, you are the courts longest-serving justice 29 years this month. Appointed by a Republican president, you might decide that a Republican president should have the chance to name your successor.

Please dont.

That one is actually fairly tame when compared to a stunning offer made by Rachel Manteuffel to Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Rather than appealing to the tiny cancer survivors better angels in terms of retirement, Manteuffel cuts straight to the chase and lets Ginsburg know that shes ready to go under the knife and donate her bodily organs if it will keep RBG on the bench until Trump is gone.

I just wanted you to know that I admire you very much and have some tokens of my esteem that you might enjoy. Such as blood. If you have any need for blood, you can have the eight or so units of A-positive that are right here in my body. Theres also a gently used liver in here, lobes of it just lying around if you need them

My kidneys function well. I have two. Either one is yours for the taking. Both, if need be. ..

I have scads of nerves that you can have. Just take them. My skin would graft onto you beautifully. Bones, stem cells, a whole eyeball I dont need, feet of intestines, feet. Just a ridiculous amount of health, way more than should rightly belong to someone with my standing in the world. It is not just. And I know you like justice

I am somewhat bigger than you are, so my heart might not be a perfect fit. Have it cut to size.

I realize that Manteuffels essay is ostensibly written tongue in cheek, but these are not the thoughts of a rational person. That last line in particular about having her heart cut to size summons up images of an Aztec high priest plunging an obsidian blade into the chest cavity of a sacrificial captive on an ancient pyramid. This isnt comedy its a desperate plea from the truly unhinged, convinced that a monster (Trump) has risen up from the depths of Mordor to take over the world and there are no hobbits with magic rings of power to be found anywhere. It is, in short, thinly disguised religious fervor.

I suppose thats understandable to a certain degree. Younger political activists are facing the very real possibility of witnessing something which has almost never happened in their adult lifetime the swing of a SCOTUS seat from the far left to the far right. Kagan and Sotomayor replaced Stevens and Souter respectively both were reliably liberal. (Souter was appointed by Bush 41, but wound up voting almost exclusively with the liberal block.) Roberts replaced Rehnquist, a Nixon appointee who was considered a conservative federalist. Breyer replaced Harry Blackmun who was another Nixon appointee but went on to become one of the most liberal justices in the modern era, eventually authoring Roe v. Wade. And RBG (appointed almost a quarter century ago) replaced Byron White, a JFK appointee. In fact it could be argued that the only real ideological shift of note which younger liberals have witnessed was Alito replacing Sandra Day OConnor. Even there, OConnor was viewed as more of a swing vote and was a Regan appointee.

Now, the three members most likely to retire (or, God forbid, expire) are the current swing vote and two of the most reliable liberals on the court. If one of them is replaced by someone on Trumps current list of possible nominees it will be a seismic shift to the Right which liberals are simply not prepared to witness. And that shift would most likely continue to resonate until the current crop of liberal protesters are ready to collect Social Security. (Assuming the program lives that long without going broke.)

With all that in mind, perhaps Manteuffels offer wont bee seen as such a crazy bargain after all. And Im taking her at her word that she has a simply lovely liver to offer. Lord only knows that nobody would want mine.

Excerpt from:
Progressives are finding religion as they pray for the health of liberal SCOTUS justices - Hot Air

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) vowed steadfast resistance to President Donald Trumps agenda in a speech at the Congressional Progressive Caucus retreat in Baltimore on Saturday.

Warren argued that it was Democrats job to both fight back against the president and to address the increasing inequality and public disempowerment that laid the groundwork for his rise to power.

Our moment of crisis didnt begin with the election of Donald Trump, she said.We were already in crisis.We were already in crisis because for years and years and years, Washington has worked just great for the rich and the powerful, but far too often, it hasnt worked for anyone else.

People dont just wake up one day and elect leaders like Donald Trump because hey, everything is awesome, but what the hell, lets roll the dice and make life interesting, she added.

Democrats frequently enabled or participated in these trends, Warren said.

Republican politicians have pushed one policy after another that has favored the rich and powerful over everyone else, and far too often, Democrats have gone right along, she said. And no matter how extreme Republicans in Washington became, Democrats might grumble or whine, but when it came time for action, our party hesitated and pushed back only with great reluctance. Far too often, Democrats have been unwilling to get out there and fight.

The progressive wing of the Democratic Party is uniquely positioned to end this weak posture, she argued.

And Warren rejected the argument that Democrats must be willing to accommodate Trump.

We are not the minority party. We are the opposition party, and we need to talk about the key difference between us and them every day, she said.

We will resist every single effort to make America into a small and spiteful place. We will resist every injustice, she concluded. We will resist every effort to divide us. We will resist every effort to disgrace our Constitution. We will resist every single step toward the takeover of our government by billionaires, bankers and bigots.

Warren, beloved by progressive activists for her unwavering criticism of Wall Street abuses and other principled advocacy, drew rare liberal criticism when shevoted to confirm Ben Carson as secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Saturdays speech represents an attempt to assure these critics that she stands with Democrats progressive base in their all-out opposition to Trumps agenda.

RYAN MCBRIDE/Getty Images

Below are Warrens prepared remarks in their entirety.

ELIZABETH WARREN:Im going to cut to the chase: Were gathered today in Baltimore during a moment of crisis for us as progressives, for us as Democrats, for us as Americans.

Were in a moment of crisis, and I want to talk honestly about it.

Lets start with a simple fact: Our moment of crisis didnt begin with the election of Donald Trump.

We were already in crisis.

We were already in crisis because for years and years and years, Washington has worked just great for the rich and the powerful, but far too often, it hasnt worked for anyone else.

We were already in a moment of crisis because for years and years and years, the economy has worked just great for those who have already made it, but far too often, it hasnt worked for anyone else.

We were already in a moment of crisis because for years and years and years, weve been living in a nation where opportunity is quietly disappearing. A country that is giving fewer and fewer kids a real chance to succeed.

We all know that this country was never perfect. That systemic racism, sexism, homophobia, and bigotry meant opportunities werent spread equally. But over the past generation, we made a shift a shift from a country bending in the right direction to one where the door to a better life to a middle class life has been getting further out of reach with every passing year.

For a long time, I have shouted from every rooftop I could find about how the middle class was on the ropes. How it was evaporating. How if we werent careful, it could be like the Arctic ice melting every year, until its gone completely, never to return. And make no mistake, as the middle class melts, the opportunities for the poor shrink to the vanishing point.

People dont just wake up one day and elect leaders like Donald Trump because hey, everything is awesome, but what the hell, lets roll the dice and make life interesting.

People dont elect leaders who break all the rules who violate all the norms when things are going pretty well.

They dont elect leaders who campaign for office by attacking communities of color, or religious groups, or immigrants, or women when things are just swell.

Men like Donald Trump come to power when their countries are already in deep trouble. When the economies of their countries are deeply flawed. When people in those countries start to lose hope for a better future and start looking for someone to blame. And men like Donald Trump rise when those with money and power get a little worried about their own privileges and decide to help out one of their own who promises to look out for them.

In November, America elected Donald Trump.

Yes, the Russians helped.

Yes, the FBI director helped.

Yes, he lost the popular vote by three million.

But we cannot let ourselves off so easy. Not as progressives, not as Democrats. The excuses end now right here in Baltimore. We hold ourselves accountable.

And we need to figure out what comes next.

There are some in the Democratic Party who urge caution. They say this is just a tactical problem. We need better data. We need better social media. We need better outreach. We need better talking points.

Better talking points? Are you kidding me? People are so desperate for economic change in this country that Donald Trump was just inaugurated as President, and people think we just have a messaging problem? What planet are they living on?

This is bigger than talking points and tactics, and yes, even than Twitter.

This country is in an economic crisis. For more than 30 years, working families, middle class families, poor families, students, seniors have been squeezed harder and harder, and now they are at the breaking point. Republican politicians have pushed one policy after another that has favored the rich and powerful over everyone else, and far too often, Democrats have gone right along. And no matter how extreme Republicans in Washington became, Democrats might grumble or whine, but when it came time for action, our party hesitated and pushed back only with great reluctance. Far too often, Democrats have been unwilling to get out there and fight.

That ends today. Its time for Democrats to grow a backbone and to get out there and fight.

Its up to usthe progressives. We need to make very clear that we, as progressives, as Democrats, as Americans, stand for a BOLD, progressive agenda. Stand for REAL solutions to this crisis. Stand for changes that will make a difference in the lives of millions of people. We need to make clear we will fight.

We fight for basic dignity and respect for every human beingeverybody counts. All people are entitled to be treated with respect.

We fight for economic opportunity not for those at the top, but for everyone. We believe that every one of our children deserves a fighting chance to build a real future.

We are not the minority party. We are the opposition party, and we need to talk about the key difference between us and them every dayand we need to say it in the plainest possible way:

Donald Trump has stirred ugly racism, sexism, and hatred in this country, and the Republican politicians smiled and climbed right into bed with him. That stink will be on them for decades to come. The national party that embraced bigotry. To every person in America, we need to say loud and clear: You dont like how women are treated? Or Latinos? Or Muslims? Or African Americans? Always remember that the bigotry stirred up by Donald Trump is perfectly ok with the Republicans in Washington. They will confirm his Attorney General, they will look the other way on religious bans, they will shuffle their feet over a Supreme Court nominee who thinks employers should decide what kind of birth control women get. Republicans are afraid to stand up for what is right. Afraid to stand up for basic American values.

Well they can nurse their fear. We are not afraid. Democrats are the party of all the people every single one. We believe everybody counts and everybody gets a chance. Nobody nobody gets cast aside. Thats the difference between Republicans and Democrats in Washington.

And one more: Donald Trump and the Republicans in Washington are on the side of the rich and powerful, and they are using every tool of government to help them get richer and more powerful. To every person in America, we need to say loud and clear: You think Wall Street has too much power in Washington? You think giant corporations call too many shots in government? You think billionaires get all the breaks while your family has to watch every nickel? Always remember: the Republicans are not on your side. Theyre rushing to unleash the big banks. Theyre rushing to gut the consumer agency that has forced banks to give $12B back to customers they cheated. They just pushed a backroom deal for giveaways to big oil companies and another for giveaways to investment advisers who cheat seniors. Theyre ramming through a cabinet of ethically challenged billionaires with long histories of grinding working people into the dirt. And the corporate CEOs and the Wall Street bankers and the lobbyists are so happy they are doing little money dances in the halls of Congress.

The so-called leaders of the Republican Party can keep their rich friends.

Thats on them. But whats on us? We need to be the party of hardworking people every single one. We need to be the party of every family and every small businesses and every person who hasnt made it yet. We need to be the party of every person who believes we should all get a chance to build something for ourselves and our families.

We need to say what we believe in, then we need to fight for those beliefs.

The world has changed a lot over the past few months, and lets be honest theres no hotline number we can call to learn how best to deal with rising right-wing extremism in this country. Like a lot of you, Im still finding my way, finding my footing, day by day, step by step. We make mistakes. But with each passing day, we learn.

The lesson of history is that when faced with a danger like Donald Trump, opposition needs to grow. Opposition needs to be focused. Opposition needs to be bold. Most of all, opposition needs to be willing to fight.

Things are moving fast, and time is running out for us to grasp what has happened, and for us to make clear in every way, from every mountaintop we can that we will fight back.

You bet we will fight back! And you better believe well keep fighting for our progressive agenda.

Next week, many of us in this room return to Washington. Eyes will be on us. We do not control the government. Many times, our side wont win. But we have our voices.

And we will add our voices to the voices of millions of people in this country who are standing up to say that the character of this nation is not the character of its President.

No. In our democracy, We the People decide the character of this nation.

When we protest, when we make phone calls, when we carry signs and ask questions, when we make our voices heard that is when we affirm our uniquely American character. We will resist every single effort to make America into a small and spiteful place. We will resist every injustice. We will resist every effort to divide us. We will resist every effort to disgrace our Constitution. We will resist every single step toward the takeover of our government by billionaires, bankers and bigots.

This is not the moment we asked for, but it is the moment we have been called to. This is our test.

The hour to fight is upon us and we are ready. We will fight back, side by side. We will fight back.

See original here:
Elizabeth Warren Gives Progressives In Congress A Rousing Call To Arms Against Trump - Huffington Post