Delaware Dem

Friday Open Thread [6.19.15]

Today is Juneteenth — a commemoration of the day that General Granger got to Galveston with his soldiers (including a Colored Regiment) troops to remind the citizens there that Lee had surrendered and that the slaves were free. It is important to remember this day — good reading on this at TPM and the NYT. […]

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Thursday Open Thread [6.18.15]

Paul Waldman: “It’s tempting to feel a little sorry for the Republican Party. Here they were, trying to have a perfectly civil and sober primary campaign to determine their candidate for the presidency, when along comes Donald Trump.”

“Here’s the problem, though: Donald Trump is the essence of contemporary Republicanism. It’s a distilled essence, boiled down to a viscous and sour consistency. But if you want to know what Republicans believe and who they are, you don’t need to look much further. He’s a walking caricature, but it’s a caricature created from everything Republicans believe.”

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Wednesday Open Thread [6.17.15]

Margaret Carlson wants Joe Biden to run for President. I personally think it is the furthest thing from his mind.

It’s hard to see how they could look at Biden and not see [a viable candidate]. In some ways, Biden is the anti-Obama, and maybe his perfect complement. The vice president has an ample gift for the kind of politics Obama can’t stomach — the shooting the breeze, the backslapping and, yes, even the shoulder squeezing. …

Not one Republican presidential candidate has his experience or his heart — nor, for that matter, does the presumptive Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton.

We got a ton of polling results in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and Florida, as well as nationally, so click through to check it out.

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Tuesday Open Thread [6.16.15]

Paul Krugman thinks Democrats are being Democrats again:

On Friday, House Democrats shocked almost everyone by rejecting key provisions needed to complete the Trans-Pacific Partnership, an agreement the White House wants but much of the party doesn’t. On Saturday Hillary Clinton formally began her campaign for president, and surprised most observers with an unapologetically liberal and populist speech.

These are, of course, related events. The Democratic Party is becoming more assertive about its traditional values, a point driven home by Mrs. Clinton’s decision to speak on Roosevelt Island. […]

On one side, the success of Obamacare and related policies — millions covered for substantially less than expected, surprisingly effective cost control for Medicare — have helped to inoculate the party against blanket assertions that government programs never work. And on the other side, the Davos Democrats who used to be a powerful force arguing against progressive policies have lost much of their credibility.

I’m referring to the kind of people — many, though not all, from Wall Street — who go to lots of international meetings where they assure each other that prosperity is all about competing in the global economy, and that this means supporting trade agreements and cutting social spending. Such people have influence in part because of their campaign contributions, but also because of the belief that they really know how the world works.

As it turns out, however, they don’t.

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Monday Open Thread [6.15.15]

Philip Klein: “When Republicans lost two elections to Obama, it was easy to explain away as a special phenomenon. In 2008, Obama was a rock star running against a boring old senator who represented an incumbent party that had presided over an unpopular war and financial crash. In 2012, he ran for re-election against a weak candidate who had trouble winning over his own party. But in 2016, Republicans have the ability to nominate a formidable candidate to put up against a Democrat with lots of baggage. If they blow it, then it may be time to throw in the towel.”

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Saturday Open Thread [6.13.15]

National Journal:

House progressives may have just had their tea-party moment. They went toe-to-toe Friday with their own president, the business community, and moderates of all stripes—and they won big.

In overwhelming numbers, Democrats torpedoed a bill that would have moved President Obama closer to the landmark trade deal he’s been seeking. And they did so hours after he visited Capitol Hill to make a personal appeal to their caucus. “It’s more than 2-to-1,” said a giddy Rep. Alan Grayson, watching the vote. “That’s incredible. Nobody expected that.”

The trade drama was only the latest skirmish in a broader intraparty war, with organized labor and economic populists such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren on one side, and a dwindling corps of business- and Wall Street-friendly Democrats on the other. Increasingly, the political momentum and passion within the party is moving toward the first group.

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