“No, no. When they go low, we kick ’em. That’s what this new Democratic Party is about.”
— Former Attorney General Eric Holder, quoted by the Washington Post.
The Resistance Builds an Attack Machine
Joshua Green: ““Some Resisters march or knock on doors; others raise money or run for office. John Burton felt his gifts lay elsewhere: namely, in tearing down political opponents.”
“Over the past year, backed by mysterious donors, he’s organized what may be the most audacious grass-roots project in the age of Trump. Burton has amassed an army of 16,000 amateur sleuths who, with professional guidance, have spent months ferreting out damaging material on scores of vulnerable Republicans in Congress and state legislatures. Now he’s ready to unleash it just in time for the midterms.”
“Oppo works best when its target is unaware, so Burton’s project, dubbed Citizen Strong, has operated by stealth, waiting until just now to publicly declare its existence as a 501(c)4 ‘dark money’ group with three affiliated political action committees.”
Voters Like A Political Party Until It Passes Laws
Matt Grossman: “When Democrats historically have tried to enact a spate of liberal policies, Republicans have made gains and public opinion has moved in a more conservative direction. Likewise, when Republicans have passed more conservative policies, Democrats have made gains, and public opinion has moved in a more liberal direction. It might not sound intuitive, but policy victories usually result in a mobilized opposition and electoral losses.”
“Or, put another way, voters usually punish rather than reward parties that move policy to achieve their goals.”
Ellison May Step Down as Deputy DNC Chairman
Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) told WCCO that he’s considering stepping down from his role as deputy DNC chairman to focus on his bid to become the Minnesota’s attorney general.
Said Ellison: “I need to put 100 percent of my time, energy and resources into the race and into my office, and so it’s something I am taking consideration on. I’ll put it like this though, I’ll be 110 percent for Minnesota all the time every time without fail, so that’s something that we are beginning to evaluate right now.”
Is the Democratic Party Healthy?
Democratic pollster Mark Mellman shared his perspective with the Washington Post:
Said Mellman: “Internally, I think it’s very healthy. We have more people running for office as Democrats than we’ve had in a long time. Tremendous surge in interest. Tremendous surge in participation. … There are just vast numbers of people putting themselves out for the Democratic Party in ways… that they had not done before. That’s a sign, I think, of extraordinary health.”
He continued: “If you look at it from the outside, it’s not so healthy. The Democratic Party is not very popular today with a lot of people, and that is truly a problem. If you look at it in absolute terms and just look at where the Democrats stand today: not very good. You look at where our leadership stands, you look at where our party stands in terms of the public, it’s just not good. There’s no way to call it good. On the other hand, if you look at it in relative terms and say where are we compared to the Republicans? Well, not so bad. They’re there to save us.”
Democrats See Houston, Milwaukee as Convention Finalists
Five Democrats with knowledge of the site selection process for the Democratic National Convention tell Politico that the race is between Houston and Milwaukee.
“Heat, humidity and hurricanes were already among the factors weighing against Miami Beach. Some members worried about traffic and Miami Beach’s hard-partying reputation, which might muddy convention messaging. They’re also not crazy about the consideration of cruise ships as options for housing some delegates. Finally, there’s sensitivity to hosting yet another convention in the Eastern time zone while trying to portray a party that’s not anchored on the coasts.”
Said one DNC member: “Houston and Milwaukee are the only viable candidates right now. The weather, the logistics. Also, the imagery. What does the party want to portray from its convention? Do you want bikinis on the beach? Or do you want people in the heartland or a diversity of people in Texas?”
Inside the Remaking of the Democratic Party
Associated Press: “With just a few primaries remaining before the decisive midterm elections in November, voters have dramatically reshaped the Democratic Party to become younger, more diverse and unquestionably liberal.”
“For now, Democratic leaders are embracing the enthusiasm of their base — even as it’s unclear where it will lead.”
Democrats Strip Superdelegates of Power
“Democratic Party officials voted Saturday to strip superdelegates of much of their power in the presidential nominating process, infuriating many traditionalists while handing a victory to the party’s left flank,” Politico reports.
“Under the new rule, superdelegates – the members of Congress, DNC members and other top officials who made up about 15 percent of delegates that year – will not be allowed to vote on the first ballot at a contested national convention. The change could dramatically re-shape the calculous of future presidential campaigns, rendering candidates’ connections to superdelegates less significant.”
Washington Post: “The new party rules undo decades-old reforms that empowered hundreds of party activists and elected officials, often referred to as ‘superdelegates,’ whose presidential convention votes were not bound to the results of primaries or caucuses. They also affirm the decision of six states to move from caucuses, which have favored insurgent candidates, to primaries, which tend to have higher turnout.”
Houston Makes Big Play for the Democratic Convention
Politico: “As the Democratic National Committee gathers in Chicago for its annual summer meeting, the three cities competing to host the 2020 Democratic National Convention are putting on the hard sell.”
“None had as robust a presence as Houston, which appears to have nudged ahead in the early running, mostly because of the city’s large number of hotel rooms, according to several DNC members and officials close to the selection process. But Milwaukee has made a compelling political case for the Midwest, and no site holds a lock on the convention.”
DNC ‘Hacking’ Attempt Was Actually Just a Test
“What the DNC this week thought was an attempted hack of its valuable voter file turned out to be a security test organized by a state party, unbeknownst to the national organization,” the Washington Post reports.
“The committee on Tuesday alerted the FBI to a fake online portal it thought had been set up as an elaborate attempt to trick DNC staff into giving up their log-in credentials — through a hacker technique known as ‘phishing’ — as a way to gain access to the party’s VoteBuilder database.”
DNC Detected Attempt to Hack Voter Database
The DNC contacted the FBI “after it detected what it believes was the beginning of a sophisticated attempt to hack into its voter database,” CNN reports.
“The DNC was alerted in the early hours of Tuesday morning by a cloud service provider and a security research firm that a fake login page had been created in an attempt to gather usernames and passwords that would allow access to the party’s database.”
“The page was designed to look like the access page Democratic Party officials and campaigns across the country use to log into a service called Votebuilder, which hosts the database… adding the DNC believed it was designed to trick people into handing over their login details.”
Democrats Pour Money Into Longshot Races
Associated Press: “The November midterms are on pace to shatter records for political spending. While more than $1 billion raised so far nationally is helping finance battlegrounds that are poised to decide control of Congress, restless donors aren’t stopping there — they’re also putting cash into races and places they never have before to help underdog Democrats.”
“All are places where Democrats are outraising their Republicans opponents — a feat that while perhaps not changing the conventional wisdom about their chances, is succeeding in giving their campaigns unusual viability.”
Grassroots Upheaval Shaking Maryland Democrats
“A grass-roots upheaval in Maryland’s Democratic Party has made it an unexpected showcase for national efforts by liberal activists and unions seeking to revitalize the party and push it to the left,” the Washington Post reports.
“Primary victories by progressives in three premier races — governor and county executive in Montgomery and Baltimore counties — have created a prominent testing ground for a new brand of Democratic politics, featuring ambitious and potentially expensive policy proposals and greater outreach to the working class.”
“Fueled by anger at President Trump and a sense that Democrats have lost touch with their base, the insurgency is stirring strife within the party, with some moderates already abandoning ship.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“We must be a party that fights fire with fire. When they go low, I say hit back harder.”
— Michael Avenatti, quoted by the New York Times, speaking at a Democratic fundraiser in Iowa.
Who Democrats Are Nominating?
FiveThirtyEight: “Overall, Democratic primary voters in 2018 are jumping at the chance to nominate women and experienced politicians. Being an Obama alum seems to help too. No variable we looked at appeared to seriously harm a candidate’s chances in a primary (except maybe STEM training), although several — military service, race, LGBTQ status and self-funding — don’t appear to help.”
Democrats Warned Not to Use ZTE, Huawei Devices
“The Democratic National Committee warned party candidates running in November elections not to use devices made by Chinese telecommunications companies ZTE Corp and Huawei Technologies because they pose a security risk,” Reuters reports.
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