washington, dc

The Democratic Strategist

Political Strategy for a Permanent Democratic Majority

Political Strategy Notes

At Wonkblog, Evan Soltas has “A policy primer for the 2013 SOTU,” including a good collection of quotes from the top rags, including this from Colleen McCain and Peter Nicholas at The Wall Street Journal: “Mr. Obama’s speech on Tuesday before a national audience and both houses of Congress will keep a sharp focus on job creation, a White House aide said. Hoping to boost the economy and shore up the nation’s middle class, he will lay out initiatives in energy, education, manufacturing and the nation’s network of aging roads, bridges and ports.”
Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich has some salient suggestions for President Obama’s SOTU address.
A new Quinnipiac University poll finds that 47 percent of respondents trusted President Obama more to “handle the economy,” vs. 41 percent favoring congressional Republicans.
When even George Will agrees with Sen. Sherrod Brown that it is time to break up the big banks, it’s time.
If the president is looking for support for a little more balance in our economic policy toward China, Mike Hall’s “New Report: End China Currency Manipulation, Create Jobs” at AFL-CIO Now is a good place to begin.
The Big Dog warns Dems not to rely on negative attacks vs. Republicans going forward toward the mid terms. “Make no mistake, the Republicans are going to try very hard to make it not as easy for you to win [on negativity] … we are now going to have to have an affirmative agenda for jobs and innovation.” Clinton also underscored the importance of Dems being boldy pro-reform to reduce gun violence: “I see this whole gun issue as an opportunity and not a toxic landmine. But it really depends on how you do it…It’s important not to give up on anybody, to talk to them. The worst thing that can happen is they can see we’re not crazy,”
Kos highlights a worthy cause for all Americans who want stronger opposition to the NRA — electing Robin Kelly as a congresswoman from Chicago. From his recent e-blast: “Two of the three top candidates in this race have received “A” ratings from the NRA. They filled out questionnaires in 2010 pledging to stand in the way of sensible reform, from banning high-capacity magazines, to requiring background checks for all gun sales…Chicago and our nation deserve better, which is why we’re blessed to have Robin Kelly in the race. Not only is she a great progressive through and through, but wears her “F” rating from the NRA with the pride it deserves.” Dems who want to support Robin Kelly can do so at her ActBlue web page right here.
The “Buffett Rule” is apparently poised for a comeback as a cornerstone of democratic tax policy, reports Tony Nitti at Forbes.
At Larry J. Sabato’s Crystal Ball, Alan I. Abramowitz, Kyle Kondik and Rhodes Cook assess Democratic prospects for winning House seats in 2014 in separate articles. Abramowitz and Kondik agree that “incremental gains” for Dems are likely but reclaiming a majority is unlikely at this point, given the gerrymandered realities. Cook is only a smidge less pessimistic about Dems’ prospects.
Nate Silver crunches some interesting numbers to arrive at a skeptical conclusion regarding prospects for Karl Rove’s new Super-PAC, which is designed to contain the crazier tea party candidates with more “electable” Republicans. “Mr. Rove’s efforts could backfire, therefore, if they result in the insurgent candidate receiving more sympathetic treatment through these channels; the amount of so-called “earned media” that the insurgent receives could outweigh the extra advertisements that the establishment candidate is able to afford.”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.