Dems to unveil populist agenda showing Sanders' sway

[Donkees]

Excerpt:

Licking their wounds after an embarrassing showing in November, Democrats vowed to charge into next year’s midterms with a proactive sales pitch to voters. While many, including party leaders, have fallen right back into the same anti-Trump pattern they say cost them 2016 in the first place, top Democrats now say they’re working on “a strong, sharp-edged, bold economic message,” as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer put it Tuesday.

Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi have met twice, according to aides, in addition to multiple staff-level meetings, to flesh out a broader economic agenda that’s expected to emerge as soon as early summer.

The package will be “populist” and designed to “unite both wings of both caucuses,” one senior Democratic aide said. Infrastructure and trade are expected to be key components, another aide confirmed.

Though Democrats have long diagnosed their failure to put forth a compelling economic message as a root cause of their crushing 2016 losses, their pursuit of a populist package this year reflects the lasting influence of Bernie Sanders’ presidential bid on their longer-term agenda. And after initially sending different signals about their plans, with aides expecting a cohesive campaign message would not emerge until next year, House and Senate Democrats now insist they are moving on the same track.

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/04/dems-populist-agenda-sanders-trump-237114

[JHan]

1. If the plan acknowledges Automation, and doesn't succumb to the siren song of protectionism...

then they're on the right track.

[NCTraveler]

2. While we just lost on an excellent progressive platform...

I like that they aren't backing away from where Clinton left off.

[LisaM]

26. I know. I am sick of hearing that our progressive platform

wasn't progressive and that a party with 3 million more votes and many more lost through suppression was clobbered in an election.

[NCTraveler]

29. Seems pretty clear who is trying to write that narrative. nt.

[Beartracks]

30. Clobberings happened down-ticket.

Hillary swept up the popular vote at the top, but Dems lost ground almost everywhere else. But yeah, suppression and gerrymandering are how the GOP does it.

============

[LisaM]

31. We picked up House and Senate seats but frankly

With all the crap going on with Comey and other things there was a lot of lost opportunity to allocate resources down ticket.

[Beartracks]

33. We weren't "clobbered" so much as "knee-capped"!

[Amishman]

38. You could also say we picked up.votes where we were already winning and lost them everywhere else

We need to remember that in the current system geography matters. A populist economic message should have a wider appeal. And we need to make it abundantly clear that this isn't just about the poor, that the whole middle class will benefit as well. Everyone from out of work coal miners to successful computer programmers need to get the message that they are being short changed to the 1%'s benefit.

[MineralMan]

3. Interestingly enough, the title doesn't really reflect the content

of that story in Politico. Sanders name is mentioned only twice in the entire article, and only in passing reference. The article is not about Bernie Sanders.

I always find it interesting when headlines don't match an article's contents.

[SharonClark]

4. Yes, isn't that interesting. Can't imagine how that happens on entries from some DUers.

[MineralMan]

5. Well, that's opinion pieces on clickbait blogs for you.

Their headlines don't necessarily have much to do with the content. I've noticed that from that particular site frequently.

I suspect, sometimes, that people post links like that without actually reading the article, itself.

[Tom Rinaldo]

10. Don't blame DUers. That is the title given to the original story

Last edited Wed Apr 12, 2017, 04:47 PM - Edit history (1)

"Dems to unveil populist agenda showing Sanders' sway
Party leaders believe they can only rely on Trump messing up for so long."

That is straight from Politico. Maybe it reflects stuff they heard but didn't include in the story, maybe not.

There is no DU spin in the OP, just quoted excerpts from the article itself.

[KPN]

21. That's right.

[elleng]

27. THANKS, Tom.

Nothing like FACTS!

[KittyWampus]

35. Here's another FACT. DU doesn't require posting exact headlines. And when they mislead...

or don't match the content one would think a conscientious DU'er would remedy that.

Unless maybe they prefer to drop misleading, clickbait into GD?

[KittyWampus]

34. Ah, so someone who posts in GD is REQUIRED to post a misleading headline????

Hm?

Oh, wait. You and I both know that is not true.

[Tom Rinaldo]

37. No. Just like they are not required to run a focus group beforehand

...to reach a DU consensus on what is and is not misleading about a mainstream media source headline, and if so to what degree, and based on that exactly how it should be rewritten before it can be liked to.

Oh, wait. You and I both know that is not expected.

I'm sorry Kitty, but it really seems at times that some folks promote a double standard. Some posts only become controversial to some, it seems, because they can be viewed as favorable to Bernie Sanders. In my opinion that is going on with this OP. Your opinion can, and most probably does, differ.

[tallahasseedem]

39. It's that distinct pine smell...

that gives it away.

[keepthemhonestO]

7. yeah I

find that quite annoying, they know "Bernie" will have the love or the hate clickers. I find this aggravating when the title has nothing to do with the actual article.

[KPN]

20. It doesn't have to mention Sanders more than once or twice

does it? I know Bernie's a lightning rod around here, but just saying.

There's no question in my mind that Bernie has helped the party be more aggressive in its positions/agenda relative to the economy. He certainly did regarding the campaign platform.

That's a good thing and will serve the party well both in 2018 and 2020 provided it holds to that "agenda".

[LiberalLovinLug]

23. As someone who appreciates Sanders hard work with the party

and his taking advantage of the populism of his message in the last election primaries to garner support for Democrats, I also do not want him to get unfair coverage and singled out amongst a group effort. (If its something he is leading, sure.) One big reason is that the word "Sanders" is like a bad trigger for some folks in here. He will never get their respect no matter what he does. Its like poking a tiger.

Sometimes I think that the writers of papers like Politico and others, like to poke the tiger, and do it purposely because they know it is a divisive angle. Its true as the article states, " their pursuit of a populist package this year reflects the lasting influence of Bernie Sanders’ presidential bid on their longer-term agenda." That is the truth that for some reason some have trouble coming to grips with.
But he doesn't have to always be propped up as the headline, I agree.

[R B Garr]

36. Ah, so it's just more fake news, then.

How tiresome.

[George II]

6. It will be showing Schumer's and Pelosi's sway.

[keepthemhonestO]

8. OK I can't get

passed the first line, I get soooooo annoyed when people say this. I don't think I have to spell out all the ways in which the election was stolen here on DU though. Does this bug the crap out of anyone else.

We won the frickin popular vote!!!! What about all the other things they did to steal the election. What I think is that OUR MESSAGE WAS ON POINT!!!! and that if everything that had not happened to sway in in Trumps favor, we would have Clinton. Now I will try to continue reading the dang article.

[progressoid]

12. We lost a lot of seats at the local, state and federal level.

This wasn't just about the Presidential election.

[keepthemhonestO]

25. true

I still don't trust electronic voting machines. So there's that.

[DownriverDem]

9. Super

Now that the country is moving left (hard to tell with trump), we should get things done. My Dem Senators (Peters & Stabenow) and my Dem Rep Debbie Dingell do me proud 24/7. Being involved with the Dem Party for years, I can say for sure that the Dems have been waiting since Reagan for the country to move our way.

[Donkees]

11. With Eyes on 2018, Dems Prep Sanders-Style Populist Economic Agenda

Schumer reportedly told newly-elected Democratic National Committee (DNC) chair Tom Perez in March that if Sanders and Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison—also a populist icon—are happy, "then I'm happy."

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/04/12/eyes-2018-dems-prep-sanders-style-populist-economic-agenda

[klook]

14. This article mentions Sanders only 4 times.

Thanks for the link. This is encouraging news! I hope they will hammer hard on preserving Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid as part of this campaign. The GOP has once again shown its true colors by threatening these popular programs, and Dems have a lot to gain by shining a light on Republican cruelty, deception, and myopia.

[Orsino]

32. Thank goodness.

As grateful as I am for his leadership, whether or not the Democratic Party can hold onto progressive principles probably has less to do with him than with money and votes.

[zentrum]

13. I'm fine with Sanders

...being the face of it. Just so long as the job gets done. I'm sure the party will take pains to credit everyone once they hit the road.

How counterproductive would it be for any Dem to hold back because this or that person didn't get full frontal credit for general party policies?

[Tom Rinaldo]

17. These are just talking/writing heads giving Sanders this credit - pundits so to speak

No doubt he deserves some and so do others - but the Democratic Party will find suitable language to describe their initiative that doesn't link it to one or another politician. And that is how it should be. We are the people's party, that's the point. We will not rise or fall on the popularity of any individual politicians. In a sense the Obama years drove that point home. By and large he gets credit from most for doing a great job and being a compelling leader, but that didn't work it's way down to enough victories at State and local levels. So kudo's to all the great Democrats and progressive Independents who labor on all of our behalf - but it is the Democratic Party that needs to articulate a powerful path forward for the vast majority of Americans. And that is what this seemingly sets out to do.

[BumRushDaShow]

15. "a root cause of their crushing 2016 losses"

Ummm.... Democrats gained seats in both the House and Senate and won the popular vote in the Presidential contest by almost 3 million votes. I wouldn't call that "crushing 2016 losses". But then this is Politico.

[Tom Rinaldo]

19. Understood (and correct). But the results still were god damn crushing

We needed to keep the Presidency and win back the Senate - and we didn't end up with either and the real effects of that are devastating.

I agree though that the facts you speak off bear frequent repeating. Voter suppression and gerrymandering (the latter in House races) also eroded the true will of the people.

[BumRushDaShow]

24. This is why the state parties need to be ready

to ensure that we can elect as many governors and/or state legislators as we can before the 2020 census. Democrats can't keep sitting out these off-year elections including those elections going on THIS YEAR in some states.

[malaise]

16. About time

Rec

[IronLionZion]

18. Trump's screwups are built in now with historically low expectations

Even many Republicans know they are at a disadvantage when tied to him.

Economic populism is what Democrats used to be about. This is good that Dems are organizing a strong offense to win in 2018. I hope we get both houses and some state legislatures and can un-gerrmander some districts in the 2020 census.

For those interested in the long game, 2020 needs to destroy the GOP as we know it.

[ZX86]

22. Is it just me?

I think it's very sad that we as a nation have gotten to the point where spending money on "infrastructure" is considered "strong, sharp edged, and bold".

Hey, I'm going to do something really strong, sharp edged, and bold, like replacing the bald tires on my car.

[beam me up scottie]

28. K & R

This is very encouraging.