DEMS ELECT NEW PARTY CHAIR
The new team, Perez and Ellison(Photo: ABC)
Democrats elected former Labor Secretary Tom Perez as their new national chairman Saturday over a liberal Minnesota congressman, capping a divisive campaign that reflected the depths of the party's electoral failures as well as the energy from resistance to President Donald Trump.Perez, the first Latino to hold the post, edged Rep. Keith Ellison in the second round of voting by Democratic National Committee members gathered in Atlanta. The new chairman must rebuild a party that in the last decade has lost about 1,000 elected posts from the White House to Congress to the 50 statehouses, a power deficit Democrats have not seen nationally in 90 years. (Chicago Tribune)
Here’s the thing about this development. There was fear that the party would split. Many traditional Democrats have said they might walk if Ellison won the nod given his past ties to Louis Farrakhan. But Ellison has been a very good, eloquent spokesperson for the progressives and backed by Bernie Sanders. The fact that Perez picked him as his deputy immediately was a clear signal that the Democrats are going to rebuild.
Perez’s task will be hard but he will adopt at 50 state strategy much like Howard Dean did after 2004. Plus both wings will not fight each other against the dual enemies of Trump and his REPUBLICAN Congress.
Will this be easy? Uh no but every day Donald Trump stays in office and does his thing, that’s one more day for those who voted for change realize they voted for chaos.
If I heard this once about Trump, I’ve heard it a million times. He’ll shake things up.
But sometimes when you shake things up too much, they break.
TRUMP SAYS NO TO WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS DINNER
DARRELL ISSA TELLS BILL MAHER HE’S OPEN TO A SPECIAL PROSECUTOR TO LOOK INTO PRESIDENT TRUMP’S TIES TO RUSSIA
Congressman Darrell Issa (ABCNews.com)
California Congressman Darrell Issa who has been a supporter of Donald Trump said something pretty interesting on “Real Time’s” Bill Maher program Friday night. This was in regard to the President’s ties to Russia.
“We need an independent prosecutor,” Maher said, responding to the California Republican’s call for “the intelligence committees of the House and Senate to investigate within the special areas they can see.” Maher continued: “And Jeff Sessions should recuse himself, the same way Loretta Lynch recused herself, because he was part of the Trump campaign.”
Issa agreed with Maher’s call for a special prosecutor. “There may or may not be fault,” Issa said, “We need to investigate their [Russia’s] activities, because they are bad people.”
Unless Issa backpedals, (and why should he?) this is huge news. Issa won his last race by 7 points and has begun to put some daylight between his career and that of the man he supported for the highest office in the land.
Smart move.
THE LINCOLN DAY BREAKFAST THAT NEVER WAS
Abe Lincoln incognito, just like the Luzerne County GOP? (Photo: University of Michigan Digital Collections)
There is still no word why the Luzerne County Republican party cancelled its Lincoln Day Breakfast this year. After riding a huge Trump win as well as helping pull Pat Toomey into another term, you’d think the party would be more visible. The event was set for The Woodlands this morning but was called off. Vice Chair Lynette Villano told me to contact the party Chair Ron Ferrance. Tried messaging him on FB. No answer yet.
Just wonder if the local GOP has decided to either not make the most of a political opportunity or just might be afraid of some people maybe calling them out publicly for who they put in the White House. Congressman Lou Barletta was always a mainstay at these meetings so that has everyone guessing.
The main speaker was supposed to be State Senator Scott Wagner from York who is running for the GOP nomination for Governor in 2018.