NBC News: The Pragmatic Progressive Versus the Idealistic Socialist

Source:NBC News- with their 2016 Democratic Party presidential debate.

Source:The New Democrat

"Join NBC News' Lester Holt, Andrea Mitchell, Chuck Todd and YouTube creators Connor Franta, Marques Brownlee, MinuteEarth and Franchesca Ramsey as Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and Martin O'Malley debate in Charleston, South Carolina. 

Pre-Debate coverage begins at 8pm ET" 

From NBC News 

Unlike in the Republican Party, the Democratic Party is down to just 3 presidential candidates at this point, because so much of the party, especially the center-left and center-right, is already in favor of Secretary Hillary Clinton and want her to be President of the United States.

Source:NBC News- Bernie Sanders, Martin O'Malley, and Hillary Clinton 

If you’re familiar with what I wrote about Hillary versus Bernie on Friday, you should know where I’m coming from here. 

Hillary, wants to be the pragmatic Progressive in this race who knows how to get things done, because she’s already done them. The pragmatic Progressive is someone with progressive goals, but is willing to settle for less than the perfect if it means the compromise moves the ball forward on the issue and makes things better than they already are. That is basically her message so far. 

Secretary Clinton wants Bernie Sanders to be seen as a Far-Left, idealistic, Socialist, who sees things as he wants them and whose not in touch with reality. And because he doesn’t see the world for how it is does not know what is possible and what can actually get done. That is Hillary’s message in this debate.

Watching the two-hour debate which I thought was very good and NBC News’s Lester Hold and Andrea Mitchell, other than the Bill Clinton’s and women’s issues, I believe did a very good job. After watching the debate I saw it as a draw with Hillary scoring big on gun control. With Bernie still being unable to answer why he believes voting for the Charleston loophole which you could make a case was a reason for the tragic shootings in Charleston last year. Not Bernie himself, but the loophole and he’s still unable to answer why voting for that loophole was a good idea. 

Bernie, came back on health care to a certain extent. But Hillary now being a very effective counter-puncher (similar to Muhammad Ali) hit him back with: "The Affordable Act, was the best that we can get right now. Let's not scrap it and try to start over especially when we might fail. Instead let's build on the ACA, like with a public option for Medicare and prescription drugs and make it better."

Bernie, scored again on Wall Street and Wall Street reform. Mentioning that Hillary has received a lot of money from Wall Street. But again Hillary, is the only one up there with a plan to reform Wall Street that left-wing economist and columnist Paul Krugman, has endorsed. Professor Krugman, hardly a right-winger, (and the sun is hot and water is wet in the world of obvious) who has a lot of support with both Progressives and Democratic Socialists. 

The debate then moved to foreign policy and national security, where I believe they all do well when it comes to civil liberties. At least in this debate, but of the three Democratic candidates, Senator Sanders comes out number three behind Secretary Clinton and Governor Martin O’Malley. And he’s been in Congress now for twenty-five years and unless he wins the presidency, will be a member of the next Congress as well. I mean calling the King of Jordan, whose a dictator, a hero, is hard to back up and explain to put it mildly. Putting Cuba in the same class as Iran, which is a state-sponsor of terrorism, is also hard to back up.

So on second reflection, this was not a draw, but a clear victory for Hillary Clinton. Not a blowout, but maybe 10-14 points, (hey it’s NFL Playoff season) because again she knows where both the Democratic Party is and where general election voters are. And is putting herself in the position of a mainstream Progressive very similar to President Barack Obama, who knows where the country is what she and the Democratic Party can do and get done. Who has both the Congressional and foreign policy background to be President of the United States, because she knows how the real world works in Washington. 

Hillary versus an idealistic, Vermont Democratic Socialist, who apparently believes the rest of the country is as Far-Left as he is. And believes the country as a whole wants what he wants and will pay the taxes for it. And I think she did an excellent job of framing the debate as a pragmatic Progressive who understands how government works. Going up against an idealistic Socialist, who sees things as he wants them and doesn’t know how to work in the real world.

CNN: Mark Preston: Can This Democrat Really Beat Hillary Clinton?

Source:CNN political reporter Mark Preston, interviewing Governor Martin O'Malley (Democrat, Maryland)

Source:The New Democrat

No one is saying that Martin O’Malley is going to win the Democratic nomination for president in 2016. Governor O’Malley knows that he’s a long shot. But so was Governor Jimmy Carter in 1975, Governor Bill Clinton in 1991 and Senator Barack Obama in 2008. Jimmy Carter probably had the least name ID of any of these Democrats and he won the Democratic nomination for president going away in 1976. Bill Clinton had the Democratic nomination locked up by February or March of 1992. With Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in 2008, it went to June. But Senator Clinton was a well-financed frontrunner in 2007-08 who lost to Senator Obama.

When someone starts off as high as Hillary Clinton for president like she is now, there’s only one way for her to go, which is down. Doesn’t mean she’ll go all the way down, but Democrats have wanted a strong challenger to her since at least the summer of 2014. And with her latest controversy that makes even more sense. And that the fact that she’s not campaigning and has kept quiet about when she’ll officially announced just gives Democrats that itch about wanting an alternative to her even stronger. They want to know where she is and where she is on the issues, right now and what type of campaign she’ll run.

Lack of name ID is certainly a weakness and can be a problem. But if played right it can also be a strength. Because it gives the candidate the opportunity to introduce themselves to the people who they’ll need to vote for them. Tell them all about them self and what they are about, what they’ve done in the past, what they’ll do in the future and why people should vote for them. That is where Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama and now Martin O’Malley all were before they became Democratic nominees for president and then won the presidency the same year.

Martin O’Malley has everything that voters I believe especially Democrats at least say they want in a presidential candidate. Youth, energy, outsider, newcomer to the national scene, intelligence, experience, likability, charm, humor and vision. He connects to everyday people very well and also appeals to lets say yuppy Democrats, wine and cheese Democrats who have a tendency to look down at working-class Americans. He’s a Democrat that is liked by women, young people and minorities. Young Democrats and perhaps minorities are, Secretary Clinton’s weakness’s right now. And if Governor O’Malley is successful in getting his name and message out in the next 8-9 months, we’ll have a real Democratic contest in 2016.

The Daily Iowan: Martin O'Malley: The Nation's New JFK?

Source:The Daily Iowan-

Source:The New Democrat 

I don’t think there will ever be another John F. Kennedy, Bill Clinton or Barack Obama. These are great politicians and I use the term accurately and positively that don’t come around very often. Which of course that might sound cheesy, but its true. Politicians that not only have a strong grasp of the issues and knowledge of the subjects they deal with and are especially interested in, but can communicate them in a way that makes people think, “you know what, that’s very interesting. I’ve thought about that issue myself, just not in that way.” Don’t come around very often.

As well as giving people the feeling that the person whose campaigning for their votes also understands how they feel and what they are going through. But is interested in not only helping them out, but also has a plan to do that. As well as having good ideas, whose likable, can make people laugh, intentionally. Martin O’Malley has all of these great qualities. He represents the best of Jack Kennedy and Bill Clinton, but without the negatives of Hillary Clinton. You don’t have to worry about Governor O’Malley running just on his name ID. Because frankly he doesn’t have much to run on. Or running straight for the middle and not taking strong positions on key issues. Because he has a track record of making tough decisions.

You don’t have to worry about Governor O’Malley running simply for the women’s vote and simply wanting to be the first female President of the United States. Without any real clear agenda and vision for where he would take the country. And giving people an idea about what a Hillary Clinton Administration would look like. And would she actually be doing the job as President and not her husband Bill Clinton. Whose always wanted to run for President again. Because in case Martin is not a big enough clue, he’s a man. Governor O’Malley is a Democrat who’ll appeal to all factions of the Democratic Party. Just as soon as they discover him, if that happens at all.

Americans are and will be looking for something different in 2016. Democrats and Republicans and most importantly Independents. Who’ll decide who the next President of the United States is. And running for President with the message of, “vote for me because of my last name, resume and oh by the way, I’m a women”, won’t be good enough. Americans also aren’t looking for another Bush. Someone who on policy grounds will probably look very similar as President George W. Bush, but perhaps a bit smarter with better experience and better track record. They want someone who tell them like it is, at least how they see things. And tell them where they want to take the country and what their presidency would look like.

Martin O’Malley would be that Democrat. Senator Rand Paul would be that Republican. Not that I’m endorsing Senator Paul for President, but at least he would be different and you would have a pretty good idea of what type of President he would be before he got the job. Governor O’Malley is someone who believes in both economic and personal freedom. Using government to expand the opportunity, middle class and even upper class. Making government work and not just bigger and making more people dependent on it. He not Far-Left and won’t scare Independents and their wallets away from them. And he’s not Dead-Center and not being able to expire anyone behind him. He’s a Center-Left Liberal Democrat in the Jack Kennedy sense. Who believes in opportunity and freedom for everyone. And deserves a long look from Democrats and Independents as the next President of the United States.

Think Progress: John Halpin- ‘The Obama Coalition, The Working Class, And RFK

Source:Think Progress- the Obama Coalition is a beautiful portrait of America.

“The potential of the new Obama coalition is truly impressive, given its 2012 performance and how many of its constituent parts are likely to grow in numbers over the course of the decade. But the word “potential” should be stressed. There is no guarantee that turnout and support levels will stay as high as they have been going forward. And there is definitely no guarantee that these constituencies will remain active and involved in the legislative battles that must be fought to turn progressive policies into law. Thus, implementing a progressive agenda will, to a large extent, be dependent on the mobilization level of the Obama coalition both in future elections and between those elections.

This is a big challenge, but Obama and his team have taken some significant steps to address it. These steps have been driven by the recognition that the best way to maintain enthusiasm and support is to deliver for the groups that put you in office. Thus, the administration has been aggressively pushing a number of policy priorities that resonate with the concerns of different groups in the coalition: immigration reform, curbing gun violence, same sex marriage, climate change and universal pre-K.

This strategy is a good one. These fights are all substantively important in policy terms and may, with luck, result in some important victories. And they should indeed pump up enthusiasm levels as different groups in the coalition see how strongly Obama is willing to fight for their priorities. Nor does it seem likely that a big political price will be paid for touching on issues that have a social dimension; the country has moved rapidly in a progressive direction on most of these issues and these issues lack the power they once had to elicit a backlash.” 

From Think Progress 

I think the main advantage that the Republican Party has over the Democratic Party has do with with their voters. I’m not talking about race, ethnicity, gender, etc, but cultural and generational. Republicans tend to show up and show in big numbers and when they lose, it’s generally not because their voters didn’t show up, but Democrats had record turnout, at least when you are talking about competitive elections in swing districts or states, or at the presidential level.

Republicans tend to get stereotyped as people who are all or nothing voters:

“You do exactly what I want you to do and say exactly what I want you to say and believe in the exact same things that I do, or I won’t vote for you.” When the fact is Republicans tend to vote for the candidate in the Republican primary who has the best shot at beating the Democrat in the general election. And the Republicans who didn’t vote for the most mainstream Republican in the primary, turn out and vote in the general for the Republican that they didn’t vote for in the primary, because that person isn’t the Democrat and is to the right of the Democrat, and they probably at least tend to agree with that Republican on economic issues.

Democratic voters are just very different. They tend to be younger and less politically active, more ideological, and tend to vote for candidates based on personal issues. They want someone who they like, who they have personal and cultural connections with. And they’re also voters who won’t show up in the general election to vote for Democrats just to beat the Republicans. But they have to like the Democrat personally and ideologically before they can vote for them.

So if you are a leader in the Democratic Party right now, especially at the Democratic National Committee or at the state level, you should be focusing on Democratic turnout. How do you get Democrats to show and vote during every primary and general election, even if the Democratic candidates or incumbents aren’t ideologically pure (according to the left-wing) and get those folks to turnout and vote for the Democrats anyway. Because at the end of the day, political parties are in the business of winning political elections. Not advancing partisan, ideological, political movements. 

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The New Republic: Adam Winkler: Franklin Roosevelt: 'The Father Of Gun Control'

Source:The New Republic- President Franklin D. Roosevelt (Democrat, New York) 1933-45.

"Just as many southern Democrats opposed gun control, many Republicans from the west and northeast supported it. In California, Republican Governor Ronald Reagan pushed lawmakers in his state to adopt new laws making it more difficult for radicals like the Black Panthers to walk around carrying guns openly.  “There’s no reason why on the street today a citizen should be carrying loaded weapons,” Reagan said at the time. Less vocal than Reagan was his fellow Californian Richard Nixon, who would be elected president later in 1968. “Guns are an abomination,” he told his speechwriter, William Safire.

Yet the NRA and gun owners were once again able to scale back the most ambitious proposals for gun control.  As finally enacted, the Gun Control Act of 1968 banned the possession of firearms by felons and drug users, prohibited the import of cheap handguns known as “Saturday Night Specials,” and required licensed gun dealers to report gun sales. National gun registration was dropped. A testament to the complex partisan lineup, every member of the mostly Democratic delegation from Texas voted against the law, except one. Republican congressman George H. W. Bush voted for the law, bemoaning that “much more” should be done.

Over the next twenty years, the country underwent a historic political realignment. Conservative southern Democrats switched to the Republican Party and liberal Republicans increasingly identified as Democrats. The partisan breakdown of support for gun control was also transformed.

Cognizant of the growing strength of the emerging gun lobby, Democrats, who had long called for stricter gun control in the party platform, softened the language in 1976 to acknowledge “the right of sportsmen to possess guns for purely hunting and target-shooting purposes.” This didn’t satisfy anyone, however, especially the many gun owners who believed guns were about personal protection in an era of rising crime and decaying cities. Gun enthusiasts knew that if the right to bear arms was simply about recreational activities, it might not last long. Ever since, the Democratic Party has fumbled around trying to find language that both calls for gun control and recognizes the Second Amendment.

The NRA, now committed to a more extreme view of the Second Amendment hostile to nearly any gun control, became a key partner in the New Right coalition that lifted Reagan to the presidency. Reagan, who understood the politics of gun control in this new environment better than anyone, gave up his support for gun laws. His turnaround was so complete that even after being shot in 1981 he refused to support new restrictions on guns.  Once freed from the constraints of office, he changed his tune once again, coming out in support of the Brady background check law that was named after his press secretary and enacted in 1993." 

From The New Republic 

What Adam Winkler seems to be implying here is that if you are front the South, you tend to be on the Right, regardless of which party you are affiliated with and if you are from the North, you tend to be on the Left, again regardless of which party you are with. 

I think it's more like if you are from a metropolitan area, whether from a major, if not big city, or you live in a major metro center, you are more likely to even be center-left, than center-right. And if you are from a rural community, north, south, east, west, or in the central, you are more likely to be center-right, than center-left. If you are highly educated, more likely to be center-left. And if you just have a high school diploma, more likely to be on the Right. If you have a couple years of college, more likely to be on the Right.  

My point is, depending on what polls you look at today, there's still roughly 3-5 or 2/3 of the Democratic Party that still supports the 2nd Amendment, but don't view it as absolute and would like more regulations to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and the mentally incompetent. 

The base of the Democratic Party is certainly not the rural South, or the rural Midwest, rural North, like upstate New York or Central Pennsylvania, or even the rural West Coast. The base of the Democratic Party is in the major cities and metro areas in the country, the suburbs It's not like the Democratic Party is overwhelmingly against the 2nd Amendment and wants to see it repealed.

The Democratic Strategist: William Galston- 'Democrats Play Better on Defense'

Source:FRS FreeState- U.S. Senate Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Source:FRS FreeState 

"Dec. 30 (Bloomberg) -- William Galston, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, and Veronique de Rugy, senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, talk about the outlook for Congress once it convenes in 2011.
     They speak with Carol Massar on Bloomberg Television's "Street Smart." (Source: Bloomberg)"

Source:Bloomberg News- Brookings columnist William Galston, talking to Bloomberg News.

From Bloomberg

The Democratic Party strategy from the White House and Congress for the 112th Congress looks like to me to be a defensive strategy. “Let the House GOP go first on major legislation and then attack them and try to make them look bad. And bringing that legislation up in the Senate just to force the Senate GOP to go on the record.” If the Senate GOP votes in favor of House GOP legislation, then Senate Democrats have something else they can use against the Senate GOP. If the Senate GOP blocks or votes against the House GOP legislation, then that shows a divide between the House and Senate GOP. And just something else Democrats can use against the House GOP.

It’s all about politics right now for Democrats. “How to get President Obama reelected, how to keep control of the Senate and how to retake control of the House. And once again have all the power going into the 113th Congress.” The White House and Congressional Democrats don’t believe they have an agenda that they can sell to the American public, or that they can get out of Congress right now. With a GOP House and a large Senate GOP minority that can block anything. And neither party believes they can compromise, because they are worried about offending their fringes in their parties. And risking a primary challenge in 2012.

So the reason why the White House and Senate Democrats aren’t pushing any major legislation right now, is they don’t believe they can pass anything or get the sixty votes in the Senate to prevent the Senate GOP from blocking it. And they are expecting the House GOP to self-destruct on their own and don’t feel the need to counteroffer. House Democrats were whipped in the 2010 mid-term elections, losing over sixty seats and are no longer in power in the House. Senate Democrats, still in the majority, but no longer have a large majority. House Republicans feel they have the wind at their backs now and can force the Senate and President Obama to at least take stands on their policies. And we’ll see how far they’ll try to push their agenda that isn’t very popular even outside of the Tea Party. And at what cost to them.