Tag: Democrats

Trump antagonizes both parties on trade

President Trump is facing fire from all sides following his decision to impose new tariffs on exports from Mexico unless that country curbs illegal immigration into the United States.

Republicans caught off guard by the surprise move said it went beyond Trump’s authority and warned it would imperil the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) on trade that the White House is pressing Congress to approve.

“Following through on this threat would seriously jeopardize passage of USMCA, a central campaign pledge of President Trump’s and what could be a big victory for the country,” Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said shortly after the announcement on Thursday.

View the complete May 31 article by Niv Elis on The Hill website here.

Dems face challenges to beating Trump in court

The Democratic states fighting President Trump’s emergency declaration face a rough road as they try to convince the courts that his order was unlawful.

But experts say the lawsuit won’t be a slam dunk for the president either.

“This is a hard case,” said Michael McConnell, director of the Constitutional Law Center at Stanford Law School. “It’s going to be a hard case for California to win and a hard case for Trump to defend.”

California is leading the coalition of 16 states suing Trump over an emergency declaration they argue was manufactured by a president who didn’t get what he wanted from Congress.

View the complete February 21 article by Lydia Wheeler on The Hill website here.

Democrats and activists punish Trump with a new strategy: Ignoring him

The Washington Monument and President Trump are silhouetted on a snowy Monday as the president stops to talk to reporters at the White House. Credit: Jabin Botsford, The Washington Post

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, once one of President Trump’s biggest antagonists on Twitter, isn’t engaging the president these days — even after he went after the Massachusetts Democrat, her husband, and her beer. Trump didn’t come up in the Golden Globe Awards this year, a departure from the past two years where he was maligned repeatedly from the stage. A satirical cable show about him has been canceled. A group of rank-and-file House Democrats turned down Trump’s invitation to have lunch at the White House on Tuesday.

Trump, who recently pined about being lonely in the White House, is lately finding himself in a position he’s rarely been in over the past few years: Ignored.

His political cachet has been driven by an unerring ability to goad other people into fights that benefit him. The metric he cares about is owning the television ratings and national attention, more than polling or anything else.

View the complete January 17 article by Matt Viser on The Washington Post website here.

Republicans Run On Fear, Democrats Run On Protecting Health Care, Medicare & Social Security

Democrats have a clear message for Election Day: they are running to protect health care, Social Security and Medicare from Republican attempts to gut these vital programs. Republicans, on the other hand, have turned to a campaign strategy of fear and outright lies in order to get votes. The contrast couldn’t be clearer.

Democrats are running on protecting health care, Medicare, and Social Security from Republican attacks.

Yahoo News: “Democrats 2018: It’s the health care, stupid”

NBC News: “Democrats find new ways to talk about entitlement cuts in campaign’s closing days”

Washington Post: “As midterms near, Democrats accuse GOP of plotting to cut Medicare, Social Security”

Washington Examiner: “Democrats warn voters: The GOP is coming for your Social Security, healthcare”

Vox: “Half of 2018’s Democratic campaign ads are about health care”

Trump and Republicans are using fearmongering and lies to get votes.

CNN: “Trump’s midterm campaign of fear”

Washington Post: “Trump and Republicans settle on fear — and falsehoods — as a midterm strategy”

New York Times: “Trump and G.O.P. Candidates Escalate Race and Fear as Election Ploys”

MSNBC: “Trump, GOP look to stoke fear in base to goose election turnout”

Toronto Star: “Donald Trump’s strategy as midterms approach: lies and fear-mongering”

Health Care Top Issue & Those Voters Trust Democrats Over Republicans By 24 Points

There are 19 days until the midterm elections, and according to a new poll, voters trust Democrats more than Republicans on health care by a 24-point margin. It’s clear why: Republicans are trying to take away protections for people with pre-existing conditions and want to try to repeal the Affordable Care Act again.

Health care is the top issue, and voters prefer Democrats to handle it.

  • 58 percent of voters say health care is their top voting issue, and those voters prefer the Democratic candidate by a 24-point margin.

  • A majority of voters disapprove of how Trump is handling health care.

Continue reading “Health Care Top Issue & Those Voters Trust Democrats Over Republicans By 24 Points”

Democrats Defend Pre-Existing Condition Protections That Trump Wants To Gut

Democrats filed a discharge petition to force a vote in the Senate today to overturn Trump’s junk insurance plans, which do not provide protections for people with pre-existing conditions. While Democrats want to protect people with pre-existing conditions, Trump continues to lead the charge to gut these vital protections.

Democrats are standing up to protect people with pre-existing conditions against Trump’s health care sabotage.

Senator Baldwin: “Today I filed a discharge petition to force a Senate vote on overturning the Trump Administration’s expansion of junk insurance plans that can deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions. #NoJunkPlans”

In response, Trump issued the first veto threat of his presidency, which would expand plans that don’t guarantee coverage for pre-existing conditions.

USA Today’s Gregory Korte: “The White House has just issued the first veto threat of the Trump administration. It’s on a resolution of disapproval for regulations that would expand short-term health insurance that was touted as an alternative to Obamacare.”

Continue reading “Democrats Defend Pre-Existing Condition Protections That Trump Wants To Gut”

Obama comes off sidelines, thrilling Dems

The following article by Amie Parnes was posted on the Hill website September 8, 2018:

It was a speech Barack Obama had held off from delivering.

For months, the former president refused to come off the political sidelines, even as some activists said that they wanted him to publicly take on President Trump.

Obama grumbled privately to close allies about Trump, but said he did not want to become even more of a foil to his successor, who frequently criticizes him on Twitter and in remarks to friendly audiences.

He said he wanted to create space for new leaders to emerge, and that he didn’t want to suck up all the oxygen.

View the complete article here.

Five biggest surprises in midterm fight

The following article by Lisa Hagen, Max Greenwood and Reid Wilson was posted on the Hill website September 7, 2018:

Two months before voters head to the polls in a midterm election increasingly shaped by President Trump, the political landscape is far different than it was when he took office.

Democrats are showing up to vote in record numbers, but so are Republicans. Trump’s approval rating has remained dismal, but consistent. And the states and districts in which the two parties are fighting for control of Congress are markedly different than what strategists on both sides expected.

Here are the five biggest surprises defining the 2018 midterm elections:

View the complete article here.

After Years of Quiet, Democratic Candidates Can’t Stop Talking About Health Care

The following article by Margot Sanger-Katz was posted on the New York Times website August 1, 2018:

Sen. Joe Donnelly, center, with members of the United Mine Workers of America at a campaign event in Boonville, Ind. Credit: Aaron Borton for The New York Times

In June, Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri asked voters at a big political dinner to stand up if they had a pre-existing health condition.

She’d been hearing from voters at town hall meetings that they were worried about health care. “I just thought of it frankly at the podium,” she said. “I was just betting this is not that different from my town halls.”

The room was suddenly filled with standing voters. “Even I was stunned just how few people kept their seats,” she said.

View the complete post here.