Trump In A Hole... But So Is The Democratic Party

A sink hole-- no doubt a message from God that Americans wake up-- has opened on the White House lawn. It may be more than just the swamp inside draining too. And Politico reported another hole in Trump World yesterday-- a poll showing that Trump's reelection bis begins in a hole. Just 36% of voters say they would vote for Trump over a generic Democratic candidate in 2020, compared with 44% who would pick the Democrat, the poll shows. One in five voters, 20%, are undecided. The poll shows that while 86% of Democratic voters would support the Democratic candidate, just 79% of GOP voters would vote for Trump. Among independents, the Democratic candidate has an 8-point lead, 36% to 28%.

“While nearly four in 10 GOP voters say Donald Trump should face a primary challenge in 2020, no clear challenger has emerged, and Mike Pence’s appeal appears to be declining,” said Kyle Dropp, Morning Consult’s co-founder and chief research officer. “Today, 64 percent of Republicans say that they would prefer Trump as president, compared to 19 percent who pick Pence. That gap has grown since August 2017, when 58 percent picked Trump and 28 percent picked Pence."

Some other interesting points asked of registered voters: "If the election for U.S. Congress in your district was held today, which one of the following candidates are you most likely to vote for?"

• Democrat- 43%
• Republican- 37%

Let's see why. First let's see which issues motivate voters choices. The first question: "thinking about your vote, what would you say is the top set of issues on your mind when you cast your vote for federal offices such as U.S. Senate or Congress?"

• Economic issues- 30%
• National Security issues- 19%
• Health care issues- 15%
• Senior's issues- 17%
• Women's issues- 4%
• Education issues- 6%
• Energy issues- 4%

The pollster then asked which congressional party the voters trusted on each of the following issues: The economy:

• Democrats- 36%
• Republicans- 41%

Jobs

• Democrats- 37%
• Republicans- 40%

Health care

• Democrats- 44%
• Republicans- 33%

Immigration

• Democrats- 39%
• Republicans- 39%

The environment

• Democrats- 47%
• Republicans- 25%

Energy

• Democrats- 41%
• Republicans- 31%

Education

• Democrats- 44%
• Republicans- 30%

National Security

• Democrats- 33%
• Republicans- 44%

Sexual Harassment and misconduct in the workplace

• Democrats- 40%
• Republicans- 24%

Gun policy

• Democrats- 39%
• Republicans- 36%

Later in the poll these ten questions were asked:

1- How important of a priority should passing legislation placing additional regulations on gun ownership be?

• A top priority- 45%
• An important but lower priority- 20%
• Not too important a priority- 10%
• Should not be done- 17%

2- Do you support or oppose stricter gun control laws in the United States?

• Strongly support- 45%
• Somewhat support- 22%
• Somewhat oppose- 10%
• Stronly oppose- 16%

3- Do you support or oppose requiring background checks on all gun sales?

• Strongly support- 81%
• Somewhat support- 9%
• Somewhat oppose- 3%
• Strongly oppose- 2%

4- Do you support or oppose banning assault-style weapons?

• Strongly support- 57%
• Somewhat support- 13%
• Somewhat oppose- 9%
• Strongly oppose- 12%

5- Do you support or oppose making private gun sales and sales at gun shows subject to background checks?

• Strongly support- 70%
• Somewhat support- 15%
• Somewhat oppose- 5%
• Strongly oppose- 5%

6- Do you support or oppose preventing sales of all 􏰁firearms to people who have been convicted of violent misdemeanors?

• Strongly support- 68%
• Somewhat support- 16%
• Somewhat oppose- 5%
• Strongly oppose- 4%

7- Do you support or oppose banning fi􏰁rearms from schools and college campuses nationally?

• Strongly support- 54%
• Somewhat support- 13%
• Somewhat oppose- 10%
• Strongly oppose- 14%

8- How much do you blame Democrats in Congress for mass shootings?

• A lot- 12%
• Some- 21%
• Not much- 17%
• Not at all- 33%

9- How much do you blame Republicans in Congress for mass shootings?

• A lot- 23%
• Some- 20%
• Not much- 14%
• Not at all- 27%

10- How much do you blame the NRA for mass shootings?

• A lot- 32%
• Some- 13%
• Not much- 10%
• Not at all- 33%

The pollsters then asked about favorability for individual politicians. First up was Mitch McConnell (R-KY)

• Favorable- 16%
• Unfavorable- 47%
• Never heard of/no opinion- 37%

Paul Ryan

• Favorable- 27%
• Unfavorable- 48%
• Never heard of/no opinion- 25%

Nancy Pelosi

• Favorable- 26%
• Unfavorable- 50%
• Never heard of/no opinion- 24%

Chuck Schumer

• Favorable- 22%
• Unfavorable- 36%
• Never heard of/no opinion- 42%

Mike Pence

• Favorable- 40%
• Unfavorable- 42%
• Never heard of/no opinion- 18%

Señor Trumpanzee

• Favorable- 43%
• Unfavorable- 52%
• Never heard of/no opinion- 6%

Republicans in Congress

• Favorable- 31%
• Unfavorable- 56%
• Never heard of/no opinion- 13%

Democrats in Congress

• Favorable- 37%
• Unfavorable- 50%
• Never heard of/no opinion- 13%

I guess the Democrats would be doing better if they had some discernible economic policies that voters identified with them... and dumped Pelosi as the face of the party. That isn't that complicated, is it? Certainly not for Alan Grayson. Yesterday he pointed out to me that "Polls show that voters-- not just Democrats, voters-- overwhelmingly favor a minimum wage increase, paid sick leave, universal healthcare, Social Security and Medicare increases, lower taxes on working people, etc. You have to wonder how long Democratic 'leaders' are going to continue to wear the hair shirt."

"I feel like I’m being completely unoriginal" Paul Clements told me, "but still it should be said: people don’t know what the Democratic Party stands for. I’ve heard it time and again at house parties and Democratic events around the district. I’ve given my stump speech so many times: (besides Trump) economic inequality is the issue, money in politics the cause, yes fix taxes and raise the minimum wage but we need to fix the basics: health care for all, education, and criminal justice. Then I fudge a fourth one, calling it a forward looking economic policy, and include renewable energy, energy efficient technologies, agricultural research, and major infrastructure investments. Then, oh, of course, we have to deal with climate change or all of this is off the table. The details matter, but you can probably pretty much fill them in. I know that these planks and more are in the last Democratic Party platform, but, seriously, so what? The Democratic Party does not have a clear agenda and people don’t know what it stands for. I think the agenda should address the basics. It should speak to economic inequality. But at least there should be a vision, there should be a program, so in house parties and such we don’t have to do all the work."

James Thompson is the progressive Democrat running in the Wichita-centered 4th Kansas district. His primary is August 7. And then he'll be facing right-wing Republican Ron Estes. He's all about the issues that Democrats need to speak to the voters about. Here's what he told me today:

When I was homeless and struggling to make ends meet I didn’t give a damn about the stock market, I was worried about putting food on the table and keeping a roof over the heads of myself and my baby brothers. The stock market and trade agreements are important parts of our economy, but until Democrats get back to protecting the kitchen table economy it will be hard to pull people back into the Democratic Party. Before people can care about things outside their own circle, they must feel confident in their own financial situation, which means they must have a stable job with a livable wage. That means a guaranteed jobs program and affordable healthcare and education. It means expanding Medicare and Social Security not cutting it. It means taking care of the farmers who feed us. It is the basic hierarchy of needs. Democrats as a party need to return to being FDR Democrats looking out for working people rather than corporate shills for Wall Street. We must remember that this is a government not of corporation interests, but a government of the people, by the people and for the people. We can get there, we just need to keep moving forward with electing progressives.

Sam Jammal, running in Orange County against a pack of carpetbagger multimillionaires trying to buy the seat, is also a progressive trying to talk with the CA-39 voters about issues. He goes everywhere-- even goes to the Republican debates that his fellow candidates avoid. "Democrats win," he said, "if we have a positive economic message focused on lifting up the middle class. This means focusing on the cost of prescription drugs, student debt, housing affordability and creating good-paying jobs so families can enter the middle class. We won't win by just being anti-Trump. We also won't win if our campaigns are not focused on people's pocketbooks. The reality on the ground is that families are still struggling. We need to be identitied as the party that actually has a plan for lifting people up."

Kara Eastman, the progressive Democrat who won her primary against a Blue Dog last Tuesday, won, in large part, because she campaigned on issues that real people are excited about. "It is time," she told me, "for policy makers to put people first. Common sense policies that prevent illness, ensure families can make a living wage and provide jobs should be at the core of what elected officials want to accomplish. Raising the minimum wage (which is actually supported by 74% of Americans) is one federal policy that would have a huge ripple effect in the nation. Universal healthcare (also supported by more than 60% of Americans) would also boost the economy by freeing employers from the shackles of being in the healthcare business. In addition, investing in infrastructure such as replacing lead service lines and creating green and healthy housing would create jobs while making our children healthier and safer."

Over in Maine Jared Golden, a proud working class progressive who understands what solidarity means, is running for Democratic nomination in a June 12th primary. "If America had its priorities straight we could fix our economy," he told me today. "We need to fight for a fair tax plan that doesn’t give away trillions to the wealthy-elite and multinational corporations that aren’t investing in America. Take that revenue back and put it to work rebuilding American roads, rails and bridges. We need to stand with unions for better pay, and healthcare and retirement benefits. And renegotiate and reject bad trade deals that undermine wages and safety for workers. We need to stop allowing corporations and billionaires to waste so much capital on buying elections, so they can instead put that money to work on Main Street, creating jobs and paying people their real worth."

This is Jarred's convention speech where he talked with the party delegates about the issues that are fueling his campaign. This is how Democrats need to talk to the voters, not all mealy-mouthed like the DCCC and their overpriced consultants insist they do: