Democrats

Politico: “Over the first six months of 2017, the Republican National Committee pulled in $75 million—nearly twice as much money as the Democratic National Committee, which raised $38 million. The predicament isn’t simply that there is a funding gap between the parties; it’s what kind of money they attract. Republicans have quietly taken a decisive edge over Democrats when it comes to small-dollar fundraising.”

“During that same six-month time span, the RNC raised $33 million in small contributions—money from people who donate $200 or less over an election cycle—while that same class of donors gave the DNC just $21 million.”

“That has had a big impact. If you leave out a whole political party, and then you chasten them for not helping, well, that unites that party.”

— Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), quoted by the New York Times, on how Sen. Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) decision to cut Democrats out of the legislative process has unified them.

House Democratic Caucus Chairman Joe Crowley (D-NY) hesitated when asked about his party’s core message to voters, the AP reports.

Said Crowley: “That message is being worked on. We’re doing everything we can to simplify it, but at the same time provide the meat behind it as well. So that’s coming together now.”

“The admission from the No. 4 House Democrat — that his party lacks a clear, core message even amid Republican disarray — highlights the Democrats’ dilemma eight months after President Donald Trump and the GOP dominated last fall’s elections, in part, because Democrats lacked a consistent message.”

Former President Obama is involved in discussions about the future of the Democratic Party, sources close to the former president tell The Hill.

“Since leaving office, he has held meetings—on a by-request basis— with a handful of House and Senate lawmakers in his office in Washington’s West End and over the phone.”