National Democrats
Do a poll
Carter and I disagree on most every issue, but we agree on one big thing: Good polling is essential in a campaign. Which is why I’m obsessed with why Hillary Clinton’s campaign stopped state-level polling in the final weeks of 2016. I think about that decision every time Trump does something dumb, despicable or dangerous…
Read MoreGays, Skinheads and a Photographer
There’s a photographer in Minnesota who happens to believe gay marriage runs counter to his religion so when a gay couple asked him to take pictures at their wedding he declined. And landed in court. At his trial he argued he had a right – a religious freedom – to say no but the federal…
Read MorePictures
I opened the newspaper, saw the headline, and thought, Oh, Lord – in black and white right in front of me the New York Times headline roared: Trump threatens to ‘totally destroy’ North Korea. Then, a moment later, further down into the article I read exactly what Donald Trump had said to the United Nations:…
Read MoreWho’s to Blame?
The headline read ‘Independents Pass Republicans’ meaning there are now, for the first time, more Independents than Republicans in North Carolina – which sounded dismal. But there’s a missing piece. When Ronald Reagan was elected President in 1980 voter registration in North Carolina was Democratic 71%, Republican 25%, Independent 4%. In the last 37 years…
Read MoreWhy Hillary lost, continued
Bill Clinton’s old pollster Stanley Greenberg joins the pile piling onto Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign. Greenberg’s most striking point is the campaign’s overreliance on “data analytics” and under-reliance on polls, focus groups and good old political gut. In other words, the campaign abandoned the very same techniques that made Bill Clinton a winner in 1992…
Read MoreThe Crossfire
It’s the crossfire dozens of Republican Senators and Congressmen are facing – it happened to a Congresswoman in Alabama like this: The Republican State Legislator challenging her in the primary said, ‘It’s a choice between me, the first guy to endorse Trump, or a Congresswoman who said Trump was unfit to serve’ and make no…
Read MoreTrump Versus the Base?
Down in Alabama there’s an election – a Republican runoff – today and the Washington Republicans led by Mitch McConnell have moved heaven and earth to elect Luther Strange (who was appointed to Jeff Session’s Senate seat) while the Anti-Establishment-Trump-Populist Republicans (from Steve Bannon to Sean Hannity) want to elect Judge Roy Moore but there’s…
Read MoreTweet back
Stop saying Trump should stop Tweeting. Why should he? It works for him. He has 38.8 million Twitter followers, and he can talk directly to them. That’s real communication power. Instead of whining, Democrats need to get tweeting better. And there’s no better role model than 91-year-old former congressman John Dingell of Michigan. Mashable wrote…
Read MoreWhat happened? One word: Race
Hillary Clinton’s book scrolls through a long list of reasons why she lost. But the real reason may boil down to one simple fact: race. Specifically, the fact that the President she wanted to succeed – the President who endorsed her and enthusiastically campaigned for her – was black. Plus the fact that her opponent…
Read MoreCivil wars
Some Democrats are popping corks over two stories. First, Steve Bannon promised a civil war in the Republican Party. Second, in North Carolina, the number of Unaffiliated voters exceeds Republicans for the first time: Democrats: 2,640,470 Unaffiliated: 2,055,548 Republicans: 2,055,493 Hold the champagne. First, we’ve got our own civil war – between Clinton Democrats and…
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