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12 hours ago, dudeguyy said:

I get the concept that pols need to prove their chops & show that they're actually good for something instead of merely marginally better than the other side of the coin, but I feel we can be both walk and chew gum at the same time.  We can both change the fervently anti-union composition of our political class as it is now AND push Democrats to be better. After all, if we can get to a place where Dems are routinely very explicitly pro-labor, it will make Republicans seem more unreasonable in their anti-union zealotry. 

 

I think it's good to have one side be pro union/labor and the other side be pro business/anti-union.  I think that's a healthy thing to have.  I would more times than not land on the anti-union/pro business side.  But, I can see times where I wouldn't be.  If either side wins out completely, there is an imbalance of power politically which is unhealthy for the country and economy.  There is a need for pro business people and there is a need for pro union people.

 

The trick is to somehow make those sides be reasonable with each other and try to listen to the other side.

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1 minute ago, BigRedBuster said:

 

I think it's good to have one side be pro union/labor and the other side be pro business/anti-union.  I think that's a healthy thing to have.  I would more times than not land on the anti-union/pro business side.  But, I can see times where I wouldn't be.  If either side wins out completely, there is an imbalance of power politically which is unhealthy for the country and economy.  There is a need for pro business people and there is a need for pro union people.

 

The trick is to somehow make those sides be reasonable with each other and try to listen to the other side.

 

I agree. I think balance is good and necessary in an ideal society.

 

However, as with most issues, I believe Republicans have lurched way too far in one direction and we need to begin moving the needle back in the other direction.

 

The center-right GOP of Bush that just merely pushed conservative economic doctrine & got us into unwinnable wars is spiraling way further right under Trump and there's not a ton that's checking them on it.

 

My thoughts on shifting the Overton window leftward sum it up quite well. For instance, it used to be the case that a Muslim ban or mass deportations would be grossly unacceptable. Now people clamor for those things & they've been integrated into our everday lives.

 

I want to make those type of things grossly unacceptable again.

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This is an interesting article - Newsmax selected what they considered to be the top 10 governors -  using this criteria:

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Newsmax selected these 10 current chief executives who are doing the best job of running their states by keeping their economies fundamentally sound, with low taxes and less regulation, while providing quality services and keeping crime down. We also looked at poll approval numbers as one indication that a governor is creating a governing majority.

 

https://www.newsmax.com/bestlists/best-governors-america-list/2018/03/06/id/847044/

 

At a first casual glance I could support this Dem for president

 

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John Bel Edwards, D-Louisiana — As they try to beat Trump in 2020, many Democrats are putting early money on Edwards, the only current Democratic governor in the Deep South. Indeed, no Democratic governor holds office in a state where Trump got a greater share of the vote (58 percent). Edwards currently enjoys approval ratings near 60 percent in Louisiana, all while pursuing a decidedly centrist agenda. While he supports gun rights and opposes abortion rights, he also has backed Medicaid expansion for the working poor, joined environmentalists to fight oil and gas companies over wetlands, and raised Louisiana’s minimum wage.

These two are worth considering.  The Dem party might be wise to find a more centralist nominee.

 

It seems that Hickenlooper and John Kasich, Ohio have connected and some have thought of them as a possible 3rd party 'unity ticket'.

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John Hickenlooper, D-Colorado — A former Denver mayor, geologist, and brewpub owner, Hickenlooper is finishing his second term as Colorado governor with a string of successes under his belt. He’s also an early favorite for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. His state has undergone a rapid economic growth as he somehow managed to unite business with environmental activists. He has drawn a national spotlight by supporting the use of recreational marijuana in his state. While controversial, marijuana legalization has generated millions in tax revenue, which helped Colorado close budget gaps and create jobs.

 

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9. Roy Cooper, D-North Carolina — The DNC began eyeing Cooper when he was a popular attorney general for 16 years. Re-elected to a fourth term without opposition, the centrist Democrat made headlines in 2016 when he unseated Republican Gov. Pat McCrory. While clashing with the Republican-dominated legislature, Cooper was named by President Trump to co-chair a national commission on opioid addiction with Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. He has also fought legislation he feels would lead to the gaming industry gaining power in North Carolina.

 

Edited by TGHusker
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2 hours ago, TGHusker said:

It seems that Hickenlooper and John Kasich, Ohio have connected and some have thought of them as a possible 3rd party 'unity ticket'.

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John Hickenlooper, D-Colorado — A former Denver mayor, geologist, and brewpub owner, Hickenlooper is finishing his second term as Colorado governor with a string of successes under his belt. He’s also an early favorite for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. His state has undergone a rapid economic growth as he somehow managed to unite business with environmental activists. He has drawn a national spotlight by supporting the use of recreational marijuana in his state. While controversial, marijuana legalization has generated millions in tax revenue, which helped Colorado close budget gaps and create jobs.

 

FYI, Hickenlooper did NOT unite business and environmental activists. There's a lot of debate in Colorado over whether the fracking and natural gas usage are environmentally responsible. Also, Hickenlooper was very much against marijuana legalization until well after it had been passed and the large tax returns started rolling in.

5 hours ago, dudeguyy said:

Interesting.
 

 

This is a much needed first step to repair trust in the Dem primary process.

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1 minute ago, RedDenver said:

FYI, Hickenlooper did NOT unite business and environmental activists. There's a lot of debate in Colorado over whether the fracking and natural gas usage are environmentally responsible. Also, Hickenlooper was very much against marijuana legalization until well after it had been passed and the large tax returns started rolling in.

Ah, yoU  live in Co and know the REST OF THE STORY

 

So you don't think he is that great  - is that what I hear you saying. Maybe more posturing then anything else??

 

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1 minute ago, TGHusker said:

Ah, yoU  live in Co and know the REST OF THE STORY

 

So you don't think he is that great  - is that what I hear you saying. Maybe more posturing then anything else??

 

Hickenlooper is alright - he's just a centrist Democrat in the Clinton/Obama mold. That link was just giving him more credit than he really deserves for environmentalism and legalization.

 

Of course, I'm a progressive, so I'd prefer candidates further left than Hickenlooper, but he's probably a pretty good candidate for moderate conservatives looking at Dems.

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Dems proposal to raise taxes if they take over Congress in 2018.  I'm sure that will be a winning strategy. 

 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanellis/2018/03/09/democrats-release-tax-hike-plan/#3dfe0e317b9e

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This week, Congressional Democrats released a detailed tax hike plan that they promised to implement if given majority control of the House and Senate after the 2018 midterm elections. So much for the crocodile tears about the deficit--Democrats want to raise taxes not to reduce the debt, but rather to spend that tax hike money on boondoggle projects.

 

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All of this is very confusing given that the new tax law is supported by a majority of the American people and is growing in popularity. A good chunk of people haven't even yet realized they've received a tax cut, so the favorable numbers should continue to grow. Maybe that's why a Democrat pollster and strategist recently wrote:

Since the passage of the Republicans’ tax bill, and even before it, Democrats have been losing the messaging war. Now that many Americans are seeing the results in their paystubs, it’s even harder for Democrats to make this a winning issue. Voters are seeing the bill’s positive impact and are not likely to oppose it because we tell them they’re not benefiting, and many voters who aren’t seeing the impact still support the bill. If Democrats want to continue using this bill as a major issue for November, we need a new messaging strategy.

 

 

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It's important to do the right thing regardless of whether it's popular. The popularity of lowering taxes is irrelevant if it causes problems for the U.S. economy in the long term. And many of those people probably don't realize their rates are going back up when the tax plan expires for them but not for the super wealthy.

What I read of the plan wasn't doing enough. They should either raise corporate tax rates all the way back up to 35% or remove loopholes (which the GOP used to pretend to want to do).

 

All of that said, they should probably not be talking about taxes right now. I can agree on that.

Edited by Moiraine
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It's very easy to sell tax cuts. "Here, have some money." Of course they're popular.

 

What's less popular is what the people who sold the tax cuts propose to do to pay for them & not explode the deficit (surprise, they lied & they're not going to pay for themselves. This selling point was and has been absolutely idiotic the entire time it was used.)

 

This is where the GOP runs into trouble. Their plans to suppress the massive deficits they create generally suck. And get very low approval. Because no one wants to see Medicare or Social Security diced up or privatized.

 

But since they're not willing to spend less on the military, that's their only option.

 

If Dems run on raising taxes on the right people, they should be just fine talking taxes. Tax the wealthy, stop handouts to corporations. Close the loopholes. I don't know why that wouldn't be popular. Under FDR the top tax rate rose to 94% and things chugged along pretty dang well. 

 

For instance, I saw a story the other day that Bernie wants to propose Medicare-for-All by undoing Trump's tax cuts. That's a tradeoff, but I think it would be pretty popular.

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This is very cool. The reason Republicans dominate state-level politics at the moment isn't because their politics are better. It's because groups like the Koch Brothers have figured their dollars go a LOT further in state & local races than they do in federal ones that get more attention.

 

Shifting more resources to these races is a necessary shift if liberals want to regain a foothold in non-blue states.

 

Not my favorite 2020 candidate but this is awesome. Go Liz!

 

 

Edited by dudeguyy
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2 minutes ago, BigRedBuster said:

Not sure why your link is apple.news, but here's the direct link to that article:

Pennsylvania nail-biter offers midterm lesson for Democrats

 

EDIT: I think the opinion espoused in the article is misleading. It's basically saying the Dems shouldn't go left but instead go moderate. However, a better take-away is that the Dems should match candidates to the districts, and the best way to do that is have primaries and let the voters decide who best matches their own district.

Edited by RedDenver
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