Dems Rebuild

[TGHusker]

TG, it'd be great to see you a former GOP'er support Kamal Harris. I do think she's one of the rising stars in the Democratic party. It could be a very promising campaign.

I still don't know enough about her. But there is time to research and see who else jumps in the ring. If she is a far left progressive, I won't go there but if she is more moderate - I am open.

[BigRedBuster]

I'm willing to listen to her. I don't know anything about how she stands on various issues.

[Danny Bateman]

Here's a Bloomberg poll showing Joe Biden only 1 point less favorable.than Obama right now, with record high favorable and record low unfavorable.

 

If they don't wind up going young in 2020, and Joe still has that fire, I could see him being the antidote to Trump.

[knapplc]

They are still collecting polls on Hillary, and the results are... not good.

LINK

The former secretary of state has always been a polarizing figure, but this survey shows she’s even lost popularity among those who voted for her in November.

More than a fifth of Clinton voters say they have an unfavorable view of her. By comparison, just 8 percent of likely Clinton voters felt that way in the final Bloomberg poll before the election, and just 6 percent of Trump’s voters now say they view him unfavorably.

“There’s growing discontent with Hillary Clinton even as she has largely stayed out of the spotlight,” said pollster J. Ann Selzer, who oversaw the survey. "It’s not a pox on the Democratic house because numbers for other Democrats are good."

The former first lady and New York senator has made a few speeches and occasionally tweaks Trump on Twitter, but has mostly kept out of sight since a defeat in November that shocked the political establishment and surprised markets.

In follow-up interviews with poll participants, Clinton voters denied that their negative feelings about her had anything to do with her losing the election and, therefore, helping Trump move into the White House.

Read the poll questions and methodology here.

Instead, their comments often reflected the ongoing angst among Democrats about how best to position themselves against Trump and Republicans in 2018 and beyond. Many said they wished Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont had won the Democratic nomination, or that they never liked Clinton and only voted for her because she was the lesser of two bad choices.

“She did not feel authentic or genuine to me,” said Chris Leininger, 29, an insurance agent from Fountain Valley, California. “She was hard to like.”

 

 

That bold is where I'm at with her. She always seemed to be playing a role, not being herself. She is not a warm or engaging person. She may be qualified for the job (and certainly moreso than Trump!) but it's hard to be enthusiastic about a vote you have to hold your nose for.

 

This image alone probably cost her a million votes.

 

[Landlord]

While I agree with knapp's assessment on Hillary, I think it still speaks to how we have room to grow as a society, because how many male politicians have you thought were warm or genuine or completely themselves? For some reason it generally doesn't register as as much of a strike against them.

 

I am no fan of Hillary Clinton, but I am also no fan of most male politicians for the same reasons of inauthenticity and manufactured like-ability. I don't know how many anti-Hillary people can say the same?

[BigRedBuster]

While I agree with knapp's assessment on Hillary, I think it still speaks to how we have room to grow as a society, because how many male politicians have you thought were warm or genuine or completely themselves? For some reason it generally doesn't register as as much of a strike against them.

 

I am no fan of Hillary Clinton, but I am also no fan of most male politicians for the same reasons of inauthenticity and manufactured like-ability. I don't know how many anti-Hillary people can say the same?

No....not with me.

 

If Hillary had been President for 8 years and they both had been in the political lime light as much as them, I would have the same attitude right now towards Bill as I do Hillary.

 

It has nothing to do with her being a woman. Quite frankly, I'm tired of people claiming dislike for Hillary is because she's a woman or dislike or disagreement with Obama is because he is black.

[Landlord]

You shouldn't be tired of that, because it clearly still exists for a lot of people. Imagine how tired Hillary and Barack are of it!

[Moiraine]

I believe it does exist. Both for Clinton and Obama. That doesn't mean there aren't idiots out there who think anyone who dislikes them does so because they are female/Black. Which clearly isn't the case.

[RedDenver]

67% of Americans think the Democratic Party is out of touch with the concerns of most people. While 62% think Republican Party is out of touch with the concerns of most people, and 58% think Donald Trump is out of touch with the concerns of most people.

 

I'm pretty down on the Dems, but that poll is shocking. Maybe the most shocking is that 44% of registered Democrats think their own party is out of touch. There's a lot in that article to unpack.

[Moiraine]

 

 

Summary of what RedDenver posted.

IMO this shows that Democrats are more willing to see problems within their own party. There are huge problems with both parties - being out of touch (or just not giving a crap) about their constituents is one of them. It's a shame more Republicans can't see that (thanks Fox News). All 6 bars should be above 75%.

[Danny Bateman]

Women still make up less than 20% of the seats in Congress. For all her problems, Clinton certainly wasn't helped by being a woman. How many times have you heard a male politician described as "shrill", "robotic", "cold" or "fake?" It just seems to me women running for office are held to a different standard on several measures that men are not.

 

Not to say being a woman is why she lost, but it didn't help.

 

Red, I know you're more interest in actual policy on the part of the Dems. Here's a piece on specific policy proposals Schumer thinks could fix some of our healthcare problems and bring stability back to markets (especially the places that don't have insurers):

1. Continue federal CSR payments to insurers to help lower co-pays and deductibles for those with lower incomes

2. Create permanent reinsurance fund for individual market to offset more expensive claims for companies in state/federal exchanges

3. Allow rural Americans from areas lacking an insurer to purchase from the DC exchange from which lawmakers get their insurance

 

#1 is already law. I included links to copies of the last two proposals.

[zoogs]

That graphic is worrying to me. It shows one coalition much closer to fracturing than the other, which is maintaining a healthier unity.

 

However, it's the wrong coalition.

[RedDenver]

That graphic is worrying to me. It shows one coalition much closer to fracturing than the other, which is maintaining a healthier unity.

 

However, it's the wrong coalition.

Wrong coalition unless, like me, you think both should fracture. (Or preferably, be replaced.)

 

OTOH, this is a poll of the citizens' opinions, but the Repub politicians can't get together themselves, which may be a sign that they aren't in any better shape.

 

EDIT: A Republican Party at war with itself hits the wall on health care

Edited July 19, 2017 by RedDenver

[RedDenver]

Women still make up less than 20% of the seats in Congress. For all her problems, Clinton certainly wasn't helped by being a woman. How many times have you heard a male politician described as "shrill", "robotic", "cold" or "fake?" It just seems to me women running for office are held to a different standard on several measures that men are not.

 

Not to say being a woman is why she lost, but it didn't help.

 

Red, I know you're more interest in actual policy on the part of the Dems. Here's a piece on specific policy proposals Schumer thinks could fix some of our healthcare problems and bring stability back to markets (especially the places that don't have insurers):

 

1. Continue federal CSR payments to insurers to help lower co-pays and deductibles for those with lower incomes

2. Create permanent reinsurance fund for individual market to offset more expensive claims for companies in state/federal exchanges

3. Allow rural Americans from areas lacking an insurer to purchase from the DC exchange from which lawmakers get their insurance

 

#1 is already law. I included links to copies of the last two proposals.

Having a healthcare proposal is a good start. Now let's see how the Dems campaign and push their policy. (Or if the other Dems even embrace Schumer's proposal.)

[Danny Bateman]

 

That graphic is worrying to me. It shows one coalition much closer to fracturing than the other, which is maintaining a healthier unity.

 

However, it's the wrong coalition.

Wrong coalition unless, like me, you think both should fracture. (Or preferably, be replaced.)

 

OTOH, this is a poll of the citizens' opinions, but the Repub politicians can't get together themselves, which may be a sign that they aren't in any better shape.

 

EDIT: A Republican Party at war with itself hits the wall on health care

 

 

 

Instead, those tweets underscored the futility of trying to make what happened on health care anything other than what it was: a self-inflicted wound by a party that succumbed to the easy appeal of campaign slogans without doing the hard work of policymaking over the past seven years.

 

William Galston of the Brookings Institution noted Tuesday that the health-care debate showed anew that Republicans have not bridged the gap between campaigning and governing. This has been a longtime problem for a party that is at best ambivalent about the federal government and at worst openly anti-government, at least rhetorically. This condition existed before Trump came on the scene. It has worsened because of his political success.

Trump’s rise and his victory in the presidential campaign intensified a point of internal conflict for the Republicans, one that pits hard-line, anti-government conservatives against many of those working-class voters who believe in the federal programs that deliver services to them and don’t want them eliminated.

“The Republican Party is grappling with the fact that conservative orthodoxy is one thing and populism is another,” Galston said. “Populists are not anti-government. Populists are in favor of government that helps people like them.”

 

The bolded is the best, most direct takedown of the GOP on the healthcare debacle. They wanted their victory without the hard work.

 

The rest is a summary of the divide Red was talking about. It's what brought down their healthcare attempt, and it's something they'll have to grapple with moving forward. Sometimes having a big tent can be a bad thing. By contrast, having a more uniform ideological makeup will appeal to fewer Americans but makes reaching consensus easier. Striking a balance between the two is key.