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The Democratic Strategist

Political Strategy for a Permanent Democratic Majority

Political Strategy Notes

Matthew D. Lassiter, author of “The Silent Majority: Suburban Politics in the Sunbelt South.” has a New York Times op-ed, “Who Speaks for the Silent Majority” arguing that “Mr. Obama’s challenge in 2012 is not the ideological fervor of Tea Party conservatives, but rather the recognition by many working-class and middle-class voters that both parties favor Wall Street over Main Street. While activist groups on the right and left compete to portray big government or big business as the enemy, the silent majority is still out there in the volatile political center, up for grabs.” Since not all Dems “favor Wall St over Main St.,” Lassiter’s point would be more credible if he said “perception” instead of “recognition.”
Peter Beinhart’s “The GOP’s War Hypocrisy” at The Daily Beast puts to rest any worries anti-war Dems may have entertained about the GOP presidential candidates coming up with a coherent alternative to the Administration’s Afghanistan policy.
The fate of same-day voter registration in Maine is on the line next Tuesday, when voters will cast ballots affirming or rejecting the restoration of the measure. Chris Bowers reports that it’s a close call, with 48 percent rejecting a measure to require voters to register at least two days in advance, and 44 percent supporting it, according to a recent Public Policy Poll. As you might guess, supporters of same-day registration are being outspent by the voter obstruction crowd. Those who want to help correct the imbalance can contribute here.
Marco Rubio (R-FL) is down, but not out, as a possible GOP veep candidate, according to George Bennett’s Palm Beach Post report on a new Suffolk University/WSVN-TV poll.
But Rubio’s “anti-Latino record” is far too problematic for him to do the GOP ticket any good, according to Democratic strategist Maria Cardona’s well reasoned post at CNN politics.
There are encouraging numbers for President Obama in the new Quinnipiac Poll, reports Kyle Leighton at Talking Points Memo, with “big gains among the groups with whom he has had the most problems – whites and men. Women also shift from a five-point negative to a four-point positive,” according to Quinnipiac Institute spokesman Peter Brown…The President leads all his possible GOP challengers outside the poll’s margin of error…Romney is the only GOP candidate that pulls more support from independent voters than Obama, although Cain comes within one point. The key against Romney is female voters — Obama gets 50 percent against Romney’s 38, while they evenly split males.”
Apparently not all rich guys are financial wizards. Mayor Bloomberg popped off on Tuesday, loudly parroting the conservative meme that Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Community Reinvestment Act caused the financial meltdown. Krugman shreds the meme, noting that Fannie and Freddie accounted for “very little subprime lending” and adding “this is cheap, politically motivated stuff, motivated by a deliberate desire to mislead. And if Bloomberg actually believes this stuff, he has very bad judgement, not just about the facts, but about who he should trust.”
Dems who want to get a better understanding of the living standards and concerns of young voters should check out a new report posted by Demos, “The State of Young America: the Databook,” especially its splashy Charts and Graphs.
Chris Isidore reports at CNN Money that Harvard student supporters of Occupy Wall St. walked out of an Intro Econ class being taught by Bush economic advisor Greg Mankiw. A student statement said that the protest was being conducted “to express our discontent with the bias inherent in this introductory economics course.” Perhaps it’s time for OWS to hold teach-ins on income inequality on America’s campuses — with strong Democratic support.
Redistricting is serious biz for political junkies, but ProPublica gooses a little levity out of the topic in their catchy ditty “The Redistricting Song.”
Kim Geiger of the L.A. Times Washington Bureau reports that a third party advocacy group funded by secret donors, ‘Americans Elect,’ has just announced that it has secured 1.9 million signatures needed for a spot on the Ohio presidential ballot for 2012. The group has already qualified in Florida, Michigan and Nevada, Arizona, Alaska and Kansas — “and is awaiting certification in California, Utah, Hawaii and Arkansas.”

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