Results 1 to 14 of 14

Thread: Dems expand 2018 message to ‘draining the swamp’

  1. #1

    Dems expand 2018 message to ‘draining the swamp’

    http://thehill.com/homenews/house/38...ning-the-swamp

    05/21/18



    Democrats are turning their campaign message to the many scandals swirling around the Trump administration, betting that vows to “drain the swamp” will attract voters to their side in November.

    The strategy marks an expansion of the Democrats’ midterm agenda, “A Better Deal,” which up until now has focused almost exclusively on kitchen-table economic issues in lieu of the controversies surrounding President Trump and a growing list of people in his orbit.

    In extending their message to include an anti-corruption component, the Democrats are painting the Trump administration — and its Republican supporters on Capitol Hill — as an unscrupulous group that’s using power to pad its own pockets while peddling policies to the highest corporate bidder. The Democrats are promising voters they’d be an alternative: The party that would clean the place up.

    “President Trump has embraced the most egregious establishment Republican norms and appointed the most conflict-of-interest-ridden Cabinet in my lifetime,” Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Monday at a press briefing on the steps of the Capitol.

    “The swamp has never been more foul, or more fetid, than under this president.”

    The message is something of a shift for the Democrats. Last summer, they launched their “Better Deal” platform in rural Virginia by unveiling a series of proposals that were laser focused on the economy — and made no mention of the president.

    The Democrats had been burned at the polls in 2016, when they’d hinged much of their national campaign on an anti-Trump message, and didn’t want history to repeat itself this year, when they’re hoping to win back control of both chambers.

    Yet internal poll results, Democrats say, show that voters respond more favorably to the party’s economic platform when it’s coupled with promises to weed out corruption and the influence of money in Washington. Their response, unveiled Monday, is their “Better Deal for Our Democracy,” which features a series of specific proposals designed to encourage voting, limit the sway of lobbyists, bolster ethics standards for Washington policymakers and reform the nation’s campaign finance laws by barring unlimited and anonymous donations.

    “American democracy shouldn’t have a price for entry,” said Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.).

    It's also a return to the "drain the swamp" message employed by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calf.) in 2006, when Democrats retook the House and Senate.

    The Democrats feel they have the ultimate cautionary tale in the current administration. Not only is Trump’s campaign team under investigation for potentially colluding with Russia to swing the election, but a number of Cabinet secretaries and other top officials are also facing allegations of ethics violations or other misconduct.

    Scott Pruitt, head of the Environmental Protection Agency, for instance, is under fire for enjoying lavish travel arrangements and securing a seemingly sweetheart lease agreement from the wife of an energy lobbyist with business before the agency.

    Ben Carson, who leads the Department of Housing and Urban Development, churned headlines earlier this year when it was found he’d ordered a $31,000 taxpayer-funded table for his office at the request of his wife.

    Trump’s budget chief, former Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.), raised eyebrows last month when he told a group of banking executives that his policy had been to meet only with those lobbyists who’d donated to his campaign.

    Tom Price, the former Health and Human Services secretary, resigned last September after revelations that he favored costly charter flights at taxpayers’ expense.

    And Democrats are attacking Michael Cohen, Trump’s personal attorney, for accepting millions of dollars from large corporations in return for promised access to the president.

    “Instead of delivering on his promise to ‘drain the swamp,’ President Trump has become the swamp,” Pelosi said at Monday’s messaging event.

    “We want Republicans and their corrupt, big donor-driven agenda to get out of the way. It has given the American people a raw deal.”

    Republicans quickly responded with charges that Democrats were being hypocritical. Both Schumer and Pelosi, they point out, frequently tour the country raising millions of dollars in campaign contributions for their party, much of it from the same type of well-heeled interests the Democrats decried Monday.

    And one GOP operative noted that Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), who was recently cleared of criminal wrongdoing after facing charges of trading political favors for private gifts, might not have gotten off so freely if the Democrats’ promises to crack down on “pay-to-play” arrangements were adopted.

    “I’d be curious to hear what Schumer thinks about Menendez in light of this proposal,” said Sarah Dolan, communications director of the America Rising PAC.

    Democrats vow that if they win the power in Washington, they’ll enact new campaign finance laws that would overturn the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision by putting caps on donations and outlawing anonymous contributions in the name of accountability and transparency.

    “In this election, phony front groups with names like ‘Rhode Islanders for Puppies and Peace and Prosperity’ are going to show up on our televisions and pour their smear ads into our living room. And all of it is anonymous,” said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.).

    “People in this country feel like they’re not being listened to by government,” he added. “It’s because they’re not.”



  2. Remove this section of ads by registering.
  3. #2
    One spends all kinds of money on focus groups, about the "draining the swamp," and "not a politician" slogans.

    ...and then the other party just steals those slogans.

    That must be irritating.

  4. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by r3volution 3.0 View Post
    One spends all kinds of money on focus groups, about the "draining the swamp," and "not a politician" slogans.

    ...and then the other party just steals those slogans.

    That must be irritating.
    Fake news.
    “The nationalist not only does not disapprove of atrocities committed by his own side, but he has a remarkable capacity for not even hearing about them.” --George Orwell

    Quote Originally Posted by AuH20 View Post
    In terms of a full spectrum candidate, Rand is leaps and bounds above Trump. I'm not disputing that.
    Who else in public life has called for a pre-emptive strike on North Korea?--Donald Trump

  5. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by kcchiefs6465 View Post
    Fake news.
    Hey, it's rev 3.0

  6. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by timosman View Post
    Hey, it's rev 3.0
    It is hard to figure you out.

    At times you seem to make a decent point (twice, by my count).

    Why stick around a mostly dormant liberty oriented forum for emoji usage and discontent?

    Bump.

    Get a job.

    Or a real one.
    “The nationalist not only does not disapprove of atrocities committed by his own side, but he has a remarkable capacity for not even hearing about them.” --George Orwell

    Quote Originally Posted by AuH20 View Post
    In terms of a full spectrum candidate, Rand is leaps and bounds above Trump. I'm not disputing that.
    Who else in public life has called for a pre-emptive strike on North Korea?--Donald Trump

  7. #6
    ..
    Last edited by timosman; 05-21-2018 at 11:10 PM.

  8. #7

  9. #8
    I think the evil dems draining the swamp an excellent idea . When am I to expect the announcement that no incumbents will be running or taking jobs as lobbyists ?
    Do something Danke



  10. Remove this section of ads by registering.
  11. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by oyarde View Post
    I think the evil dems draining the swamp an excellent idea . When am I to expect the announcement that no incumbents will be running or taking jobs as lobbyists ?
    That's the next point in our agenda. Right after we get rid of the super delegates.

  12. #10
    They will need to come up with something better.
    Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.

    Robert Heinlein

    Give a man an inch and right away he thinks he's a ruler

    Groucho Marx

    I love mankind…it’s people I can’t stand.

    Linus, from the Peanuts comic

    You cannot have liberty without morality and morality without faith

    Alexis de Torqueville

    Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
    Those who learn from the past are condemned to watch everybody else repeat it

    A Zero Hedge comment

  13. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by oyarde View Post
    I think the evil dems draining the swamp an excellent idea . When am I to expect the announcement that no incumbents will be running or taking jobs as lobbyists ?
    Setting the bar awfully high for Republicans. Out of money, if the Dems just quit, they would be legends.

  14. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by Swordsmyth View Post
    They will need to come up with something better.
    Universal swamp care.
    All modern revolutions have ended in a reinforcement of the power of the State.
    -Albert Camus

  15. #13
    "Just Kill Whitey."Clear. Succinct. Emotionally appealing. Lots of easy variations: Nazis, racists, etc.

  16. #14
    I envision them flushing themselves down the $hitter.

    Don't need a weather man to know which way the wind blows



Similar Threads

  1. Replies: 2
    Last Post: 03-20-2017, 07:05 PM
  2. Replies: 4
    Last Post: 01-12-2017, 07:00 PM
  3. Libertarianism is Emotionally Draining
    By Vessol in forum U.S. Political News
    Replies: 45
    Last Post: 04-30-2011, 01:13 PM
  4. Message to Dems please help edit
    By GunnyFreedom in forum U.S. Political News
    Replies: 31
    Last Post: 07-12-2010, 08:44 PM
  5. Replies: 8
    Last Post: 03-11-2010, 06:03 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •