Democratic Party

Klain Says His Job Is to Make Sure Progressive Voices Are Heard

February 22, 2021February 22, 2021 Buck Banks

“Progressives are a big part of our party and making sure their voices are heard here at the White House is a big part of my job.”

— White House chief of staff Ron Klain, in an interview with the Daily Beast.

Dems’ Long-Term Structural Issue with Rural Voters

December 17, 2020 Buck Banks

“I think there’s a long-term structural issue. And by the way, I’ve had this conversation with Chuck Schumer several times — that we have to do a better job developing a message so that rural Americans can say, ‘Yeah, those guys, they think like I do.’ Because that’s what Trump has right now.”

— Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), quoted by the New York Times, on Democrats and rural voters.

Gallup: US Party Preference Has Shifted Dramatically to Democrats Since January

July 16, 2020July 16, 2020 Jon Ponder

Gallup: “Since January, Americans’ party preferences have shifted dramatically in the Democratic Party’s direction. What had been a two-percentage-point Republican advantage in U.S. party identification and leaning has become an 11-point Democratic advantage, with more of that movement reflecting a loss in Republican identification and leaning (down eight points) than a gain in Democratic identification and leaning (up five points).”

AOC Claims She and Biden Don’t Belong in the Same Party

January 7, 2020 Buck Banks

“In any other country, Joe Biden and I would not be in the same party.”

— Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), in an interview with New York magazine.

Alabama Democratic Party Being ‘Destroyed from Within’

September 16, 2019 Buck Banks

“It’s being destroyed from within.”

— Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL), quoted by the Montgomery Advertiser, on the Alabama Democratic Party.

National Political Environment Is Trending Blue

September 12, 2019 Buck Banks

5.5%

The Daily Kos Special Elections Tracker shows that Democrats are outperforming Hillary Clinton’s margins by an average of 5.5% across 39 federal and state legislative special elections since November 2018. This is roughly the same as the 6.5% spread shown in the generic congressional ballot averages.

More Americans Identify as Independent

January 7, 2019 Buck Banks

42%

Gallup: “Significantly more U.S. adults continued to identify as political independents (42%) in 2018 than as either Democrats (30%) or Republicans (26%). At least four in 10 Americans have been political independents in seven of the past eight years, including a record-high 43% in 2014.”

Steyer to Spend $110 Million to Create a Parallel Democratic Machine

August 1, 2018 Buck Banks

$110 million

“Tom Steyer has set plans to spend at least $110 million in 2018, making the billionaire investor the largest single source of campaign cash on the left and placing him on a path to create a parallel party infrastructure with polling, analytics and staffing capabilities that stand to shape and define the issues the party runs on in November,” Politico reports.

The New Democratic Party

June 29, 2018 Buck Banks

“I am absolutely proud to be a Democrat but it also means that the Democratic Party is a big tent and there are so many ways to be a Democrat.”

— Congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D), interviewed on CNN, about calling herself a Democratic socialist.

Dean Calls for His Generation of Dems to ‘Get the Hell Out of the Way’

December 29, 2017 Buck Banks

“I think my generation needs to get the hell out of politics. Start coaching and start moving up this next generation who are more … fiscally sane. Neither Republicans or Democrats can claim they are fiscally responsible anymore. … This young generation is going to pay for that if we don’t get the hell out of the way and have somebody who is 50 running the country.”

“Progressives are a big part of our party and making sure their voices are heard here at the White House is a big part of my job.”

— White House chief of staff Ron Klain, in an interview with the Daily Beast.

— Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), quoted by the New York Times, on Democrats and rural voters.

“In any other country, Joe Biden and I would not be in the same party.”

— Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), in an interview with New York magazine.

“It’s being destroyed from within.”

— Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL), quoted by the Montgomery Advertiser, on the Alabama Democratic Party.

5.5%

42%

Gallup: “Significantly more U.S. adults continued to identify as political independents (42%) in 2018 than as either Democrats (30%) or Republicans (26%). At least four in 10 Americans have been political independents in seven of the past eight years, including a record-high 43% in 2014.”

$110 million

“I am absolutely proud to be a Democrat but it also means that the Democratic Party is a big tent and there are so many ways to be a Democrat.”

— Congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D), interviewed on CNN, about calling herself a Democratic socialist.

— Howard Dean on MSNBC.

Poetic Justice

Verbatim

“I imagine we’ll have a conversation at some point. He can do whatever he wants. Any citizen can do whatever he wants. But I’d tell him it’s better for us that we keep these people and have a majority that can be sustained going forward.”

— ”Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN), the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, said that is not helpful to the GOP’s goal of winning back a majority in the House to have former President Trump targeting incumbents in primary races, The Hill reports.

“I don’t think anybody does a better job than mothers in the home, and any bill that makes it easier or more convenient for mothers to come out of the home and let others raise their child, I don’t think that’s a good direction for us to be going.”

— Idaho state Rep. Charlie Shepherd (R) argued against a bill which would use $6 million in federal grants to increase early childhood education, KTVB reports.

— Perry Bacon Jr.

“There is nothing more dangerous than a reckless asshole who thinks he is smarter than everyone else.”

— Former House Speaker John Boehner, describing Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) in his new book, On the House.

“I take them one at a time, if there is someone I think will be good to Missouri, that I can defend to my voters, somebody who I think is going to be good for the job, I’ll vote for them.”

— Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) defended his role as the only US senator to oppose every one of President Joe Biden’s Cabinet nominees, insisting that he evaluates each pick individually, CNN reports.

Numerati

3:19

William Walker, commanding general of the D.C. National Guard, will testify that it took three hours and 19 minutes for the Pentagon to approve a request for National Guard assistance during the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

3X

The Trump Hotel in Washington, D.C. has tripled its room rates for tonight — in line with the latest QAnon conspiracy theory that March 4 will mark the second inauguration of Donald Trump, the Washingtonian reports.

$2.9 trillion

63%

Although Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) says he doesn’t support a federal minimum wage hike to $15 an hour, a new poll suggests that 63% of West Virginians support raising the minimum wage to that level by 2025.

22%

Vice President Kamala Harris is favorite to win the next presidential election with 22% implied probability, ahead of Joe Biden at 20% and Donald Trump at 14%, according to betting odds from British bookmaker Ladbrokes, Reuters reports.