Democratic Party – News Stories About Democratic Party - Page 8

OPINION

Jan 22, 2010 9:00 AM CST

Obama Can't Ignore This Public Anger

If he gets aggressive on health care reform, it's at his own peril

(Newser) - Post-Massachusetts, the Democrats should be more worried about "health-reform fundamentalists" than the GOP, writes Michael Gerson. The legislation has been gathering "criticism and opposition like dirty slush on a snowball" and any Democrat with a smidgen of political smarts should now be backing away from it instead of...

New, Less Creepy
GOP is Emerging

PEGGY NOONAN

Jan 22, 2010 3:52 AM CST

New, Less Creepy GOP is Emerging

Brown's victory shows America's now permanently in play

(Newser) - Scott Brown's victory may signal the beginning of the end of the standoff between the free-spending, big government nuts and the free-spending, hypocritical creeps, writes Peggy Noonan. Voters thought President Obama was a moderate before they saw his governing attitudes and what they would cost, and decided he was a...

Big Mistakes
of Obama's
First Year

OPINION

Jan 21, 2010 12:20 PM CST

Big Mistakes of Obama's First Year

President's miscalculations include scale, momentum

(Newser) - Scott Brown’s Senate victory in Massachusetts is the final nail in the coffin of the Obama administration’s first-year political strategy, John F. Harris and Carol E. Lee write for Politico . The miscalculations cover “three major counts":

Believing 2008 was a game-changer: The Obama team thought the "

...

Panicky Dems
Switch Tack

It's the Economy, Stupid

Jan 21, 2010 3:30 AM CST

Panicky Dems Switch Tack

Party prepares to dig in for brutal midterm battles

(Newser) - Democrats shaken by the Massachusetts defeat are scrambling to find a strategy to avoid being swept out of office on a wave of populist anger this fall. Lawmakers agree that the party should switch its focus to jobs and the economy—but there's little consensus on the particulars. "Every...

Kennedy Son:
Voters Wanted 'Blood'

Jan 19, 2010 10:24 PM CST

Kennedy Son: Voters Wanted 'Blood'

'Unorganized' Dems did poor sales job in Mass. race

(Newser) - The Republican victory for Ted Kennedy's seat proves voters are "out for blood," said the late senator's son. Voters want a "whipping boy" to blame for the lost jobs and foreclosed homes of the economic crisis, said Rhode Island Rep. Patrick Kennedy. "It's like in the...

Obama Turns Up
Heat in Mass.
Senate Race

Jan 14, 2010 2:26 PM CST

Obama Turns Up Heat in Mass. Senate Race

New video urges support for Coakley, president's agenda

(Newser) - With less than a week to go before the special election for Ted Kennedy's Senate seat and Democratic nominee Martha Coakley slipping in the polls, President Obama is appealing directly to voters. In a video released today, Obama ties his agenda to Coakley's prospects, saying the Massachusetts AG will "...

Health Care
Victory Will
Cost Dems
Pound of Flesh

PEGGY NOONAN

Jan 8, 2010 1:44 AM CST

Health Care Victory Will Cost Dems Pound of Flesh

GOP now needs to ensure their 2010 victory is justified

(Newser) - If the Democrats are able to cheer the passage of a health care bill in time for the State of the Union address they'll be "cheering their own demise," writes Peggy Noonan. The victory won't be worth the loss of support the party has suffered by pushing through...

Dems Desperately
Seeking North Dakotan

OPINION

Jan 7, 2010 3:31 AM CST

Dems Desperately Seeking North Dakotan

Byron Dorgan's resignation leaves party in bind, writes Collins

(Newser) - Two senator retirements do not a Democratic crisis make—especially when Chris Dodd's stepping aside is actually great news for the party—but the party may have a dilemma in North Dakota, writes Gail Collins. Byron Dorgan's retirement has taken everybody by surprise. Unlike in Connecticut, nobody seems ready to...

Colorado Gov. Ritter Retiring

Jan 6, 2010 5:25 AM CST

Colorado Gov. Ritter Retiring

Democrat to step down at end of first term

(Newser) - Colorado's Democratic governor won't be running for re-election this fall, sources tell the AP. Bill Ritter was elected for his first term in 2006 in a pivotal swing-voting state and has been widely considered a rising star in the Democratic Party. Ritter has called a press conference today to announce...

He's Baaack: Dean Leads Lefty Charge Against Obama

ANALYSIS

Jan 4, 2010 10:22 AM CST

He's Baaack: Dean Leads Lefty Charge Against Obama

Almost looks like he's running for something...

(Newser) - Howard Dean’s return to the national stage with stinging criticism of the compromises Democratic leaders accepted on health care reform has thrilled disaffected progressives—and even sparked talk of another run for president. One liberal blogger says his dusted-off bona fides make Dean “perfectly positioned” to challenge Obama...

Pa. Dem
Chris Carney
Rejects GOP
Overtures

UPDATED

Dec 23, 2009 9:14 PM CST

Pa. Dem Chris Carney Rejects GOP Overtures

Despite McCain call, he'll remain with Dems

(Newser) - Despite a Republican full-court press that included a call from Sen. John McCain, Pennsylvania Rep. Chris Carney won’t jump ship from the Democratic Party, he tells Roll Call . The GOP has gotten “nibbles” from Carney, a source told Politico earlier, leading to the call from McCain, a fellow...

Sniveling Lefties Should Just Take the Health Care Victory

EJ DIONNE

Dec 21, 2009 12:46 PM CST

Sniveling Lefties Should Just Take the Health Care Victory

Screwy Senate has a flawed, but good bill

(Newser) - The health care bill is as good as it’s going to get, and progressives whining about it—or worse, trying to kill it—are being ridiculous. “In a normal democracy,” EJ Dionne writes, the majority support would quickly pass a public option or Medicare expansion. But the...

Upheaval Looms as
White Majorities Fade

Dec 18, 2009 5:21 AM CST

Upheaval Looms as White Majorities Fade

Voting districts morph as minority power grows

(Newser) - A sea change in American politics looms as white majorities are fading in a burgeoning number of voting districts across America. Nearly half of House members represent districts with at least 30% minority populations, double the rate in the 90s, and a fraction of what's bound to occur in the...

Obama
Approval
Slumps
Below 50%

Dec 17, 2009 2:10 AM CST

Obama Approval Slumps Below 50%

Widespread pessimism means worrying poll numbers for Dems

(Newser) - President Obama's approval rating held steady for most of this troubled year but it has now slumped below 50% for the first time in a Wall Street Journal / NBC poll. His approval rating now stands at 47%, with 55% of respondents believing the country is heading in the wrong...

Democrats
Are Lost
Without Bush

OPINION

Dec 17, 2009 1:23 AM CST

Democrats Are Lost Without Bush

Party needs to stop feuding and find a direction

(Newser) - George Bush was the best unifier the Democrats ever had, and now that he's out of the picture, they're collapsing into infighting, writes EJ Dionne. The party has to govern America through this difficult time, but they "are being held hostage by political narcissists and narrow slivers of their...

Dems, Not GOP, Are
Party of Big Business

JONAH GOLDBERG

Dec 8, 2009 11:55 AM CST

Dems, Not GOP, Are Party of Big Business

Anti-free market reform is the only thing keeping fat cats alive

(Newser) - The idea that the GOP is the “party of big business” is a convenient fabrication, Jonah Goldberg writes, that handily deflects blame from the progressives who have historically been in bed with the fat cats—particularly the health care industry. Just look at GE during the Great Depression, when...

Beck to Unveil
'Big Plan' at
Saturday Rally

HE'S GOT A BOOK OUT, TOO

Nov 20, 2009 8:07 PM CST

Beck to Unveil 'Big Plan' at Saturday Rally

Righty pundit OK with destroying Dems and GOP

(Newser) - Glenn Beck has got a “big plan” for 2010, and he’s going to let us in on it tomorrow at a Florida rally that coincides with the beginning of his book tour, insiders tell Politico . The Fox News host’s new direction is likely to involve his 9....

Disaffected Right, Left Close Purse Strings to Parties

Nov 12, 2009 9:42 AM CST

Disaffected Right, Left Close Purse Strings to Parties

Miffed at election behavior, partisans boycott DCCC, NRCC, etc.

(Newser) - Frustrated voters are letting Congressional Democrats and Republicans know how they feel—by opening their mouths and closing their pocketbooks. One Dem blogger, miffed at the DNC for perceived inaction in the Maine gay marriage fight, has proposed a boycott on donations to the national committee: “Clearly, money talks....

Dem Agenda Hijacked by Christian Conservatives

analysis

Nov 11, 2009 11:59 AM CST

Dem Agenda Hijacked by Christian Conservatives

Shadowy 'Family' behind Stupak-Pitts abortion amendment

(Newser) - The US Council of Catholic Bishops is getting credit for the 11th-hour inclusion of the Stupak-Pitts Amendment in the House health bill last weekend, but the real force is the shadowy alliance of evangelicals and Democratic lawmakers called the Family, Jeff Sharlet writes on Salon. Though Stupak—a Dem and...

Time for Gays
to Go Nader
on Democrats

OPINION

Nov 11, 2009 1:46 AM CST

Time for Gays to Go Nader on Democrats

Fundraising boycott a good idea but doesn't go far enough

(Newser) - The two-party system gives gay Americans a terrible deal, and the proposed gay boycott of Democratic National Committee fundraising is a big step in the right direction toward changing the situation, writes Emma Ruby-Sachs . Cutting off funds to the party will push Democrats toward eliminating discrimination against gays and could...