“Conservatives govern without shame and liberals shame without governing.”
By Mark L. Taylor
The Commoner Call (6/12/18)
I don’t always agree with Bill Maher’s often overly snarky tone but on Friday he delivered a much-needed dose of political reality to liberals. While, Mahrer noted, liberals score some victories getting Roseanne Barr’s program canceled for her racist tweets larger — far more significant battles are ignored.
“I’m often surprised how often liberals I talk to think that we’re winning. We, who control nothing. Winning?” he asked.
Instead of formulating and moving forward a platform of true progressive reform Maher nailed liberals for “vaporizing people and making every offense a hanging offense” while doing little to change the larger political reality.
While Democrats talk of a midterm blue wave, Maher warned of Trump, “I wouldn’t put it past him to try and cancel the next election.”
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Poll: Economic Satisfaction Under Trump Isn’t Helping His Party’s Chance In Midterms
By Mike Murray
ABC News (6/7/180
By a whopping 25-point margin, voters say they’re more likely to back a congressional candidate who promises to serve as a check on President Donald Trump, according to a new national poll from NBC News and the Wall Street Journal.
And by a similar margin, they say they’re less likely to vote for someone who has supported the president on most issues.
Despite that economic optimism, however, the poll shows that Democrats enjoy a 10-point advantage on congressional preference, with 50 percent of registered voters wanting a Democratic-controlled Congress, versus 40 percent who want a GOP-controlled one.
Democrats held a 7-point edge on this question back in April, 47 percent to 40 percent. …
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Dem Divisions Haven’t Slowed Momentum Ahead Of Midterms
By Lauren Gambino
The Guardian (6/9/18)
Kara Eastman, a progressive who campaigned on a “Medicare for all” healthcare system and free college, stunned Washington Democrats last month when she beat Brad Ashford, a moderate former congressman backed by the party, in the primary for a Nebraska House race. Her upset victory was cheered as a resounding win for the activist left – and a repudiation of centrist politics.
But Eastman says that’s not how Democrats in Omaha viewed the race.
“People were just excited to have someone stand up for their values,” Eastman said. “While those values are tagged as progressive, I think people here see it as common sense.”
Despite talk of a civil war between the party’s progressive and centrist wings, observers see unity against Donald Trump.
In the aftermath of the 2016 election, the rivalry between supporters of Hillary Clinton and those of Bernie Sanders consumed the debate over the future of a party still shell-shocked by defeat. The ideological tug-of-war was a defining feature of the contest to lead the Democratic National Committee(DNC) and it animated a number of political races last year.
But as the 2018 midterm primaries play out across the country, the “civil war” that once threatened to undermine Democrats’ path to power appears to be little more than a skirmish in the all-consuming battle they are waging against Trump. That fight has produced a historic number of Democratic female candidates and set the stage for what analysts believe could be a “wave” election for the party in November.
“Democrats remember how miserable they felt on election night and how they have felt every day since then,” said Larry Sabato, the director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics. “That feeling – ‘the Trump effect’ – is helping to cap the volcano. Were it not for Trump, however, I think the volcano of Democratic fractiousness would erupt all over the nation.”
He added: “I do think Democrats are relearning that old lesson that a bird cannot fly on one wing, and neither can a party.” …
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California’s Primary Results Offer Some Hopeful News For Progressives Nationwide
By Theo Anderson
In These Times (6/7/18)
California is setting the agenda for the next generation of Democratic Party politics. And while Tuesday’s primaries saw mixed results for left challengers, and some races won’t be decided for days, that is a big win for the progressive movement.
Last year, the battle between progressives and establishment Democrats for the “soul” of the Democratic Party focused largely around universal health care. That fight goes on, and Medicare for All has become a rallying cry for progressives, but it isn’t the only issue that’s reshaping Democratic politics in California and across the nation.
In California we can see the outline of an alternative vision to neoliberalism and Trumpism shaping political debates—and the Democratic Party—on a statewide scale.
The Brookings Institution, which has been tracking Democratic campaigns this year, recently published a list of the issues most often talked about by both establishment and progressive Democrats. Healthcare is at the top of both lists while pre K-12 education sits in the top-five for both groups.
The common ground on education is hardly surprising. But there is a twist in California, where the debate has gone beyond the usual, pro forma nod to the importance of early childhood education. It was actually a central issue in the Democratic primaries, gaining strong support from across the spectrum of the Democratic Party.
For example, Gavin Newsom, the establishment Democrat who easily won the most votes in the gubernatorial primary, made support for universal pre-K, along with prenatal care, one of his key campaign promises. …