Tag: Politics

Sally Boynton Brown: “We Don’t Have the Next Two Years to Rebuild Our Party”

Idaho Reports recently did a lengthy interview segment with DNC chair candidate Sally Boynton Brown. The whole thing is worth watching, but here are a few key quotes:

  • “One of the things I think is really important is that we walk out of this election raising up women’s voices. We almost broke the glass ceiling, which was really exciting for a lot of us in this country. The last thing that we need to do is go backwards. As I was watching the race shape up and I was seeing man after man after man announce, I thought it was really important that we had a woman’s voice.”
  • “I think this is a great opportunity for our party to take advantage of creating a 21st century organization that is poised to attract a lot of new members. One thing that I really would like to see is having a conversation about the 50 percent of the folks who chose to stay home and not vote, and asking ourselves, ‘Why? Why was it a better option to stay home?'”
  • “Time is of the essence. We don’t have the next two years to rebuild our party. We need to be preparing for 2018 now. We need to be looking at 2020, but we also need to be looking at 2040.”

I should also point out that the hosts asked her thoughtful, substantive questions about her experience and the potential issues she might have to deal with as DNC chair, which Boynton Brown responded accordingly.  The fact that they had 18 minutes to record a segment intended for online viewing probably had a great deal to do with it, as opposed to the usual 4-6 minutes you might get during a regular live TV hit. You rarely see an interview with this much substance and depth on the usual talking head political pundit shows, so kudos to the on-air talent and production staff at Idaho Reports for a job well done.

NARAL President Won’t Run for DNC Chair

NARAL Pro-Choice America president Ilyse Hogue has decided not to run for DNC chair, according to a scoop from Politico, which obtained the email she sent out to DNC members this morning informing them of her decision:

“I wanted to formally write and tell you I will not be seeking election for DNC Chair. I so deeply appreciate those of you who have spent time with me discussing this prospect and explained to me what you are looking for in a leader and I so deeply appreciate your willingness to serve our party at this critical moment,” Hogue wrote in the email, obtained by POLITICO. “I am happy that the field of candidates reflects so many capable people and different perspectives within the party and I look forward to continuing to work alongside all of you to make our party and our values grow strength in the coming years.”

The story also notes that Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, is also considering a run for DNC chair.

Florida Democratic Party Official: “We Failed to See, or Simply Refused to See, the Voters”

Check out this interesting quasi-postmortem by Florida Democratic Party executive director Scott Arceneaux. Some excerpts worth pointing out:

In any election, victory has a thousand fathers but defeat is the Party’s fault. Or so they say.

The Democratic Party has begun the time-honored tradition of self-examination and self-immolation that comes with electoral defeat. As well it should. While believing in the righteousness of our cause, and the wrongness of our opponent, we failed to see, or simply refused to see, the voters.

Voters lived in a different world and understandably, saw this country and the candidates differently than the national Democratic Party and its leadership. They lived in large swaths of the country where we never went. We missed the mark and we missed it badly.

Voters believe it is their constitutional right to be heard by their elected officials and not the other way around. Voters want to hear their concerns addressed rather than what we wished got them out to vote. The best political leaders have always acknowledged the voter’s fear and anger, recognized their daily struggle to provide their families with the best opportunity possible, and projected confidence in their ability to lead the entire nation.

Democrats, perhaps by the nature of our heterogeneous coalition, have been a classic all trees, no forest party when it has come to strategic vision. We seem always focused on the next election like it was the most important election of our lifetimes. Democrats have essentially depended on two political superstars, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, for the last 35 years to lead our Party. But depending on a Cam Newton to come along every other year is not a plan.

California Is the New Texas

There are two stories worth reading about the role California might play in the years ahead as an opposition foil to Donald Trump. Democrats control the state – the governor’s mansion, combined with supermajorities in both chambers of the state legislature. Essentially, California will – possibly in tandem with other states like New York, Massachusetts and Illinois – assume the role that states like Texas played during the Obama presidency.

First, this story from NPR:

There are several ways the state may challenge Trump and congressional Republicans. It may simply choose not to not enforce some federal laws it disagrees with and enact stronger state laws around environmental and consumer regulations. The state is also likely to aggressively file lawsuits against the federal government.

To that end, Brown’s pick to be California’s next attorney general, Congressman Xavier Becerra will play a high-profile role. Becerra said the state isn’t looking to pick fights but won’t be afraid to go to court either.

“My obligation is to protect my state, to promote the interests of my state,” said Becerra.

It may sound unusual for a liberal state like California to resort to an appeal to states’ rights. For the past eight years, conservative states have argued for their autonomy with respect to the federal government.

But states are opportunistic about their use of states’ rights arguments and tend to employ them when their party doesn’t control Washington, says Carlton Larson, a law professor at the University of California, Davis. Still, Larson says California may want to be careful about how much it uses that argument.

“If we were to push back very, very heavily against federal law, there’s a real danger,” that environmental and civil rights laws that depend on a broad reading of federal law could be endangered, said Larson.

Democrats have already introduced one bill to better train defense attorneys on immigration law and another to fund legal representation for people facing deportation. Both are “urgency measures” meaning they would take effect immediately if they muster a two-thirds vote. The programs are expected to cost millions of dollars.

Second, this Los Angeles Times story about a bill proposed by California legislators – hard to see this as anything other than a direct slap at Donald Trump after his refusal to release his tax returns – requiring presidential candidates to disclose their tax returns as a prerequisite to appear on California’s presidential ballot in 2020, based on a similar proposal circulating in the New York state legislature.

The precedent of presidential candidates releasing their tax returns to the public goes back to George Romney, who released a decade’s worth of returns in his unsuccessful run for the Republican nomination during the 1968 presidential campaign. This practice – not a legal requirement – was observed by candidates from both parties in every election since 1976. Mitt Romney only released two years’ worth of tax returns in the 2012 election, which he was harshly criticized for by Democrats and transparency advocates. Donald Trump didn’t release any of his tax returns, though pages from a 1995 state tax return were eventually leaked to the New York Times by an anonymous source.

These bills would make disclosure of tax returns a binding legal requirement for presidential candidates. Because election laws and ballot access issues are largely left up to the individual states, California and New York may be able to do this legally. The only potential downside is the fact that Donald Trump won the election without California or New York in his column, so hypothetically he might decide to disregard the law and try organizing a write-in campaign for his supporters in those states.

Priorities USA Regroups

There’s a good article in the Washington Post about Priorities USA – the leading Democratic super PAC during the last two presidential elections – readjusting itself in anticipation of Donald Trump assuming the presidency.  From the story:

Priorities USA Action is merging with a nonprofit voting rights group called Every Citizen Counts to form an expanded organization with an ambitious agenda, according to veteran Democratic strategist Guy Cecil, who ran both organizations and will lead the merged group.

The group — which already has the backing of allies such as Planned Parenthood Action Fund, the American Federation of Teachers, the Human Rights Campaign and the Latino Victory Project — could serve as a major center of gravity on the left as Democrats seek to regain their footing in the Donald Trump era.

…

Cecil said Priorities USA will seek to amplify rather than compete with other efforts, noting that the organization intends to partner with the rapid-response war room run by Center for American Progress Action and similar projects. Priorities USA expects to pair up with at least 25 organizations and will convene regular strategy sessions with allied groups, Cecil said.

“We’re trying to build the overall capacity of the progressive infrastructure,” he said.

To do so, the organization is taking on a broad portfolio, assuming tasks that traditionally are in the purview of the national party.

It will continue the voters rights work started by Every Citizen Counts, which financed lawsuits in states such as North Carolina and Wisconsin and registered 425,000 voters. And it aims to be an incubator to help spread local Democratic models, such as the work of Georgia House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams, who has sought to expand the party’s reach in that state.

Priorities USA is also launching a research initiative called the BluePrint Project, which will focus on voters who backed both Obama and Trump and on Democrats who did not turn out at the polls last month, seeking new ways to engage them.

Obama Foundation Hires White House Political Director as CEO

The Obama Foundation announced the hiring of White House political director David Simas as Chief Executive Officer. According to the foundation’s press release, Simas will join the foundation’s leadership team and help work on the creation of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago. According to Simas’s biography in the announcement:

A Taunton, Massachusetts native, David Simas received a bachelor’s degree in political science from Stonehill College and a doctor of law degree from Boston College Law School. In 2007, he was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff to Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick. In 2009, Simas joined the Obama Administration as a Deputy Assistant to the President, working with senior advisors David Axelrod and David Plouffe. He then served as Director of Opinion Research for President Obama’s re-election. Simas most recently served as Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Political Strategy and Outreach. He lives in Washington with his wife Shauna and two daughters, Payton and Rowan.

Comments from Simas himself, via Twitter:

Firefighters Union Endorses Perez for DNC Chair

Tom Perez pulled off a hat trick with organized labor today, following up his endorsements by United Farm Workers and United Food and Commercial Workers by earning the endorsement of the International Association of Firefighters for his campaign to become chairman of the Democratic National Committee. The statement reads in part:

In the race for Chair of the Democratic Party, our union believes Tom Perez is the person who has the right mix of personal background, progressive values, experience and total commitment to all workers, in all regions and states across the country to do just that.

…

To have Tom as the Chair of one of our nation’s two major political parties would be a significant victory for workers across America.

This endorsement represents a break from the AFL-CIO – which the IAFF is a part of – which endorsed Keith Ellison on December 8.

Tom Perez Picks Up Two Labor Union Endorsements

Outgoing Secretary of Labor Tom Perez picked up two big labor union endorsements in his run for DNC chairman. From United Farm Workers:

Tom Perez is a civil rights leader, a labor champion and an organizer who has successfully run large organizations. That is why the United Farm Workers endorses him to lead the Democratic National Committee. This is the first time the UFW has ever backed a candidate for chair of the DNC, but these are different times and Tom Perez is a different kind of candidate.

…

We need a leader who can get things done, not one who will divide our country. We need a unifier who has stood for the very values for which Cesar Chavez fought. That person is Tom Perez.

From United Food and Commercial Workers:

The Democratic Party is at a crossroads, and it needs leaders with strong progressive voices as well as unique skills and experiences to lead the party forward. While there are a number of very good candidates in the DNC chair race, Tom Perez offers the party what it so desperately needs – bold leadership and ideas, strong experience managing an organization at the state and federal level, and someone singularly focused on rebuilding the party across the country.

…

In light of the challenges the party faces, Secretary Perez has the experience and vision for the changes the DNC must make, and is the right leader who can make these changes happen. We enthusiastically support his candidacy.”

 

Donald Trump Picks a 2018 Senate Candidate to Join His Cabinet

The DSCC should send Donald Trump a thank-you card. From the New York Times:

WASHINGTON — The courtship of Ryan Zinke began months before the end of the presidential race. A Republican congressman from Montana and a former Navy SEAL commander, Mr. Zinke was approached over the summer by Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, about running for the Senate in 2018.

To Mr. McConnell, Mr. Zinke (pronounced ZIN-kee) was an ideal candidate to defeat Senator Jon Tester, a two-term Democrat, and bolster the Republicans’ slender majority.

Then President-elect Donald J. Trump intervened.

Mr. McConnell learned early this week that Mr. Trump had grown interested in Mr. Zinke to be secretary of the interior. Mr. McConnell quickly contacted both Vice President-elect Mike Pence and Reince Priebus, the incoming White House chief of staff, in an effort to head off the appointment, according to multiple Republican officials familiar with the calls.

Mr. Trump’s defiant selection of Mr. Zinke, 55, dismayed Republicans in the capital and raised suspicions about how reliable an ally he will be for the party. Even as Mr. Trump has installed party stalwarts in a few cabinet departments, he has repeatedly shrugged off the requests of Republicans who have asked for help reinforcing their power in Congress.

And having flouted the party establishment throughout the 2016 campaign, Mr. Trump now appears determined to go his own way in office, guided by personal chemistry and the opinions of his family members.

Based on these political dynamics, Zinke will probably sail through his confirmation hearing without breaking a sweat. If he is confirmed, that means that Montana governor Steve Bullock will have to call a special election to fill the seat, which represents the entire state in the House of Representatives.

Zinke was just re-elected to his seat 56-40, in a state that Donald Trump won by 21 points but also re-elected Democrat Steve Bullock by 4. Democrats have won in state and federal races in Montana, so this House race should be seen as winnable by the Democratic National Committee, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and the Montana Democratic Party.  This race gives Democrats an opportunity to test message and strategy ahead of Jon Tester’s re-election run in 2018, and will likely be their first attempt at winning a congressional race since the November election.

The Montana Democratic Party flagged a story about Whitefish resident and white nationalist leader Richard Spencer saying he was “very seriously” considering running for the Republican nomination. In a separate story by The Missoulian, Montana Democratic Party executive director Nancy Keenan issued a statement saying, “To be clear, Richard Spencer’s views are not Montanans’ views. We’ve called on the Montana GOP to denounce this kind of racism in their party this year and we will continue to hold Republicans accountable for this fear-mongering behavior as we move toward a special election to fill this U.S. House seat.” Montana Republican Party chairman Jeff Essmann is quoted in the same story saying, “In most corners of Montana, a Spencer candidacy would be viewed skeptically.”

The candidates who will run in the special election will be chosen by their respective state parties rather than through a normal primary process. Because of this, Republicans can probably breathe a sigh of relief in that this scenario virtually guarantees Spencer will not get the nomination.  After the experience of 2012 where Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock cost the Senate GOP two races it should have won because they said outrageous and controversial comments which torpedoed their campaigns, Republicans have learned their lesson. On the other hand, Donald Trump just got elected president in spite of the many outrageous and controversial comments he made before and during the campaign.  Perhaps some Republican candidates will try emulating that tactic to win an election in the future.

Obama Says He Will Help Democrats Rebuild After Leaving Office

This comment came up during President Obama’s press conference on Friday. From the White House transcript:

What I’ve said is, is that I can maybe give some counsel and advice to the Democratic Party.  And I think that that the thing we have to spend the most time on — because it’s the thing we have the most control over — is how do we make sure that we are showing up in places where I think Democratic policies are needed, where they are helping, where they are making a difference, but where people feel as if they’re not being heard and where Democrats are characterized as coastal, liberal, latte-sipping, politically-correct, out-of-touch folks.  We have to be in those communities.  And I’ve seen that when we are in those communities, it makes a difference.

That’s how I became President.  I became a U.S. senator not just because I had a strong base in Chicago, but because I was driving around downstate Illinois and going to fish frys and sitting in VFW halls and talking to farmers.  And I didn’t win every one of their votes, but they got a sense of what I was talking about, what I cared about, that I was for working people, that I was for the middle class, that the reason I was interested in strengthening unions, and raising the minimum wage, and rebuilding our infrastructure, and making sure that parents had decent childcare and family leave was because my own family’s history wasn’t that different from theirs, even if I looked a little bit different.  Same thing in Iowa.

And so the question is, how do we rebuild that party as a whole so that there’s not a county in any state — I don’t care how red — that we don’t have a presence and we’re not making the argument.  Because I think we have the better argument.  But that requires a lot of work.  It’s been something that I’ve been able to do successfully in my own campaigns.  It is not something I’ve been able to transfer to candidates in midterms and sort of build a sustaining organization around.  That’s something that I would have liked to have done more of, but it’s kind of hard to do when you’re also dealing with a whole bunch of issues here in the White House.

And that doesn’t mean, though, that it can’t be done.  And I think there are going to be a lot of talented folks out there, a lot of progressives who share my values who are going to be leading the charge in the years to come.

In recent history, the norm has been for the outgoing president to stay quiet (or at the very least, keep a low profile) after leaving office. In addition to the lingering effects of the Monica Lewinsky scandal, Bill Clinton left office under a cloud after a controversial series of presidential pardons at the end of his presidency. George W. Bush’s poll numbers were in the low 30s by the time he left office due to a combination of the Iraq war, Hurricane Katrina, and the collapse of the housing market – all three of which happened during his second term. (Caveat: the Iraq war began in Bush’s first term, but the political and security situation on the ground started going south during his second term).

Obama is in a unique position in that he is in a much better situation than his predecessors. President Obama’s approval ratings are in the high 50s – he will leave office with Reagan-esque poll numbers. He is also popular and respected within the Democratic Party, somebody who can appeal to most of the factions vying for control and direction right now as he prepares to leave office four weeks from now. The fact that he was so successful in both his presidential runs means that he has created a model for others to follow – one that Hillary Clinton was not successful at replicating.

He will probably have some say in the form and shape the party take as the opposition for the next few years, though he will probably allow Democrats running for DNC chairman now and the primaries three years from now to let them sort things out for themselves.  He also has a vested interest in rebuilding the party, because Donald Trump and the congressional Republicans’ agenda will consist in large part on trying to undo or erase much of Obama’s legacy – Obamacare, Dodd-Frank, the Paris climate change agreement, etc. Republicans will complain that Obama should give Trump the same courtesy of silence that George W. Bush gave him, but that argument ignores the fact that Dick Cheney was one of his most blistering critics in the opposition.

Keep an eye out for Obama around sometime next spring, after he has presumably taken a long vacation and settled into life as a private citizen again.