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JACKSONVILLE, Ala.

If the Democratic Party is ailing after losing the presidency to Donald Trump, state parties are on life support.

Here in the long-ago Democratic stronghold of Alabama, the party is all but dead, say some of its disheartened members. Consider: Not a single statewide office is held by a Democrat; the state legislature is dominated by Republicans with just 33 Democrats out of 105 House seats and eight of 35 Senate seats.

Democrats havent won a U.S. Senate election in the state since 1992 or the governorship since 1998. There are no Democratic appellate judges, nor any Democratic members of the states Public Service Commission. Democrats also are becoming scarcer in county offices.

The Democratic Party in Alabama is on a crash-and-burn track unless something drastic happens to stop this runaway train, said Sheila Gilbert, chair of the Calhoun County Democrats, who hand-delivered a letter outlining the partys problems following a speech I gave at Jacksonville State University as the Ayers lecturer.

The letter was signed by Gilbert as a leader of the Alabama Democratic Reform Caucus (ADRC) and 17 other members in attendance. The group, which formed two years ago to try to help revive the state party, wasnt coy about its reason for approaching me.

We need a spotlight on Alabama and some outside effort to avoid becoming a totally one-party state, Gilbert said.

I didnt bother to mention that the current U.S. attorney general, former Alabama senator Jeff Sessions, was shining quite a spotlight on their home state. Whether Sessions is forced to resign after already recusing himself from investigations related to the 2016 election campaign, including Russias possible role, remains to be seen. The fall of such a high-profile Republican could be useful to Democrats back home trying to defibrillate the party.

But Gilberts group has been critical of state Democratic Party officials for missing an opportunity to recruit candidates when other Republican politicians were in trouble, including the governor and House speaker. A recent meeting of county and state party leaders reportedly became heated when state Chairwoman Nancy Worley offered to call police to escort one county chairman from the room and may be emblematic more broadly of the partys disintegration from within.

The GOP went through this same sort of infighting and navel-gazing on the national level several years back. After losing the presidency to Barack Obama in 2008, it regrouped, reformed itself and became disciplined. Now it has taken the House, Senate, White House and most of the nations governorships, while also successfully gerrymandering congressional districts that have given Republicans the advantage in many states at least until the next redistricting after the 2020 Census.

Democrats are readying themselves for that fight, but theyll need to do more than try to redraw the map. While Democrats were basking in Obamas sunny smile, Republicans were busy building benches of future leaders, especially at the state attorney general level, where they are now in the majority. The strategy has been to recruit and help elect strong attorneys general who could be groomed to become governors, senators and possibly presidents.

What, meanwhile, can Democrats do, a fellow in the audience asked me. There was a plaintive tone in his voice and I wanted to help, though the truth is, Im not accustomed to Democrats asking my advice. But in the spirit of it takes two to tango and the fact that Id rather not live in a country exclusively run by either party Ill give it a fresh, morning-after stab.

Whats really ailing Democrats is theyve fallen in love with abstract principles, as reflected on an ADRC handout, without building a foundation where such goals as fair pay, transparency, diversity and such can be played out. Trump may have been coarse and loose at times during the campaign, but he spoke in plain language with plain meaning: jobs, jobs, jobs.

Whether Trump could fix trade, create jobs and make money for the rest of us was a gamble people were willing to take. Fixing the economy was Obamas mandate, too, but he decided to focus on health care instead. This is where lust for legacy interferes with good governance. Obama did manage to help turn the economic steamship around the market bounced from just under 8,000 when he took office to nearly 20,000 but Wall Streets recovery didnt trickle down to the middle class, where Trump planted his flag.

When in doubt, look to the victor.

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It's the Democrats' turn to take a tip from Republicans - Washington Post

SHARONVILLE, Ohio -- Republicans and Democrats rallied in Sharonville Saturday, though at two separate events.

At Sharon Woods Park, supporters of President Donald Trump wore pins, flew flags and cheered in support of what they called "the president's America-first ideals." It was one of numerous pro-Trump events across the country.

"He's an economic nationalist," Nathan Shroder of Fairfield said. "I really like how he wants to keep jobs in America. He wants to put America first, rather than outsource jobs to the Third World."

Outside the Sharonville Convention Center, demonstrators gathered in hopes of catching the attention of local GOP leaders as they met for an annual breakfast hosted by the Northeast Hamilton County Republican Club.

Michaela Little of Hamilton voiced her support for the Affordable Care Act, which her family uses for healthcare coverage.

"We can talk with them about our concerns -- our concerns about healthcare, our concerns about immigrants, our concerns about trans rights, our concerns about peoples' rights in general," she said.

Little said they hoped to get face-to-face town hall meetings with representatives from Ohio.

"I dont think things work in a democracy without open communication," she said.

Demonstrators are both rallies said they plan organize to gather more support for their positions.

See the original post here:
Republicans, Democrats rally at separate Sharonville events - WCPO

Two House Republicans endorsed a Democratic effort on Friday calling on the House and Senate committees with oversight of the Internal Revenue Service to request copies of President Trumps tax returns.

Reps. Mark Sanford (R-S.C.) and Walter Jones (R-N.C.) signed a letter urging the chairmen of the House Ways and Means Committee and Senate Finance Committee to ask for copies of Trump's tax documents from the last decade.

The letter was spearheaded by Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.) and signed by most of the 193-member House Democratic Caucus. It argues that letting members of Congress see whats in Trumps tax returns would clear up any questions about whether his business ties offer conflicts of interest.

Disclosure would serve the public interest of clarifying President Trump's conflicts of interest in office, the potential for him to personally benefit from tax reform, and ensure that he is not receiving any preferential treatment from the IRS, the letter states.

We believe the powerful and respected Committees on Finance and Ways and Means have the responsibility to ensure oversight of the executive branch by requesting a review of President Trump's tax returns and moving toward a formal release of these documents to the public.

Earlier this week, Pascrell forced a House vote on a resolution requesting the last ten years of President Trumps tax returns. It failed on a party-line vote, but Sanford and Jones both voted present.

Sanford has called for Trump to release his tax returns, including in a New York Times op-ed last year.

Pascrells resolution specifically would have directed the House to request Trumps tax returns and have the House Ways and Means Committee review them in a closed session. The panel would then vote to send the information contained in the returns to the full House.

The House Ways and Means and Senate Finance committees, along with the Joint Committee on Taxation, have the power to request individual tax returns from the Treasury Department.

But the chairmen of those committees have dismissed the idea.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin HatchOrrin HatchTwo Republicans sign on to effort demanding Trumps tax returns Senate panel approves pick for Medicaid and Medicare chief Democrats vow that GOP will take more Trump votes MORE (R-Utah) rejected a request from Democrats to ask for copies of the presidents tax returns.

And House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin BradyKevin BradySenate Dem: Border-adjustment proposal would be a 'gut punch' for working families Two Republicans sign on to effort demanding Trumps tax returns GOP takes heat for ObamaCare secrecy MORE (R-Texas) has cited privacy concerns in explaining why he wouldnt set a precedent of requesting Trumps tax returns.

"My belief is that if Congress begins to use its powers to rummage around in the tax returns of a president, what prevents Congress from doing the same to average Americans," Brady told reporters last month.

See original here:
Two Republicans sign on to effort demanding Trump's tax returns - The Hill

New York Times

Against Protests, Republicans Must Stand Strong New York Times Those are the exact words I told my fellow Republicans in the State Legislature in 2010, after we made big promises on the campaign trail. It was time to govern, and we did just that by taking on public-sector unions that had too much control over the ...

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Against Protests, Republicans Must Stand Strong - New York Times

Andy Colwell, Special to The Denver Post

In February 2013, in the wake of a mass shooting atan Aurora movie theater in my district, the Colorado legislature debated and then passed several measures to promote gun safety in our state. It was one of the most controversial and divisive periods in our states political history.

As a mother living with the memory of a son gunned down along with his fianc by killers connected to a gang, I carried some of the bills we passed that year.

We debated that legislation in an atmosphere of violence and intimidation. Threats of rape and violence against myself, my daughter and my granddaughters took place in an environment of hysteria and paranoia engineered by the gun industry and their political enablers. I received numerous death threats, was stalked by mentally unstable individuals and for a time was under protection by the Colorado State Patrol because of specific and heinous threats on my life.

With my life in danger, attending one town hall was deemed too risky by those protecting me.

Last week I was reminded of that traumatic period while watching many Republican members of Congress not only actively hide from their constituents, but insult and demean the people for whom they were elected to work to excuse their unavailability. In Colorado, we watched Republican U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner use elaborate strategies to dodge constituents concerned and upset about the fundamental impacts on their lives that will come from his votes. Even worse, Gardner had the audacity to dehumanize, without evidence, his own constituents by labeling them paid protesters.

We deserve better. When a congressman like Colorados Mike Coffman isnt fleeing out back doors and into waiting cars to avoid vocal senior citizens, he and his Republican colleagues around the country attempt to justify their own frailty in the face of their constituents by saying their voices dont deserve to be heard.

I did my job despite unbalanced individuals threatening me and my family with rape, pain and death. Republicans in the U.S. Congress are simply being asked to listen to the voices of those they serve. It shouldnt have to take a profile in courage to look a cancer patient in the eye and hear what she has to say it only takes a little bit of compassion and an ounce of respect.

The real threat to these Republicans is not the violence of extremists, but the mere sound of the honest voices of regular, hard-working Americans. These politicians simply dont want to hear about the daily reality of struggling citizens who shouldnt have to sacrifice their health and economic security on the altar of right-wing ideology. That is why they turn to these pathetic conspiracy theories about paid protesters. We also witnessed the self-pitying victimhood of politicians like Sen. Marco Rubio andCongressman Jason Chaffetz the latter even describing his own constituents as bullies for daring to stand up and speak truth to power.

It is disgraceful. It is simply cowardly to say that the pain and despair of the people they work for are not really authentic and do not deserve to be heard. It is also a cynical strategy meant to rob citizens of their voices.

We cease to be a government of the people, by the people and for the people when the Republican majority in Washington, who now have great power over our futures, will not listen to or respect the voices of those of us who will have to bear in our day-to-day lives the consequences of their political agenda. At the barest minimum, at least have the courage to listen to those who stand to die for its sake.

Sen. Rhonda Fields, a Democrat, represents District 29 inthe Colorado Senate.

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Republicans' cowardly failure to face their constituents - The Denver Post