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The Democratic Strategist

Political Strategy for a Permanent Democratic Majority

Political Strategy Notes

There are good reasons why running as a third party candidate should be a non-starter for an astute business leader, even one richer than Trump. Brendan Nyhan explains at The Upshot. Conservative columnist George Will agrees, albeit for different reasons.
What can American workers learn from worker organizing in other countries? Eric Dirnbach addresses the issue in is Labor Notes article reviewing “New Forms of Worker Organization: The Syndicalist and Autonomist Restoration of Class Struggle Unionism,” edited by Immanuel Ness. See also Ness’s newer book, “Southern Insurgency: The Coming of the Global Working Class.”
For an in-depth look at the thinking of angry white working-class voters, read “Why I’m voting for Trump: CNN talks to more than 150 people in 31 cities to explore what’s driving the Trump phenomenon.”
Americablog’s Jon Green reports that “Virginia Republicans take aim at absentee voting in latest voter suppression push.”
Carl Hulse explains at The New York Times how Dems plan to leverage the GOP’s Planned Parenthood fiasco.
AP reports that “More white Americans now share the view, long held by minorities, that racism is a national problem and should be confronted, according to an analysis of recent public opinion polling…The review, compiled by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation in conjunction with the Northeastern University School of Journalism, concludes that a majority of Americans across racial groups think more should be done to end racism.”
In RawStory’s “Trump’s battle with the GOP pits ‘silent majority’ against conservative establishment,” University of Oregon political science professor Joseph Lowndes has an insightful take on the devolution of the Republican Party.
In addition to the horrific human cost of the Flint water crisis, the economic costs and scope of needed repairs are astounding. Rachel Maddow continues her superb reporting on the Flint water debacle with an illuminating interview with a master plumber on what it will take to restore safe drinking and bathing water to the city.
Both Trump and Megyn Kelly have to be thinking that tonight’s GOP presidential debate ratings will be higher still if he changes his mind and shows. Either way, Trump has played the MSM again, despite Kelly’s assertion that “the truth is, he doesn’t get to control the media.” If Trump shows, credit him, once again, with clever ratings manipulation. If he skips out, he will be roundly lambasted as a wimp. Hey didn’t John McCain lose cred for a no-show threat late in the ’08 campaign? Trump’s critics, particularly cartoonists, are already having a glorious snarkfest (see here, here and here).

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