Rifts Develop in Democratic Party

“Long-muted tensions within the Democratic Party over policy and strategy are beginning to surface publicly, a sign of leaders looking beyond President Obama’s tenure in the aftermath of the party’s midterm election defeat,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“A prominent example came this week, when Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) gave a rare public rebuke to Mr. Obama over the centerpiece of his presidency: the health-care overhaul of 2010… On the same day, the White House surprised Democratic leaders in the Senate by threatening to veto a tax package negotiated by both parties.”

“The twin developments were among fissures within the party that, at their broadest level, show Democrats at odds over what economic message to present to voters ahead of the 2016 presidential race. Worried that they lacked a compelling position in the midterms, Democrats are split over whether to advance a centrist message or a more populist economic argument that casts everyday families as victims of overly powerful corporations and benighted government policies.”