Democrats still Crying Cartoons

Iowa Dems hope anti-Trump sentiment will help them win GOP House seat

Iowa Democrats apparently ran out of gas between Caucus Day and Election Day in 2016, but nine months later, that’s changed.

The party is hoping it can parlay soured support of President Trump into the capture of Republican Huse seats.

“We’ve had more enthusiasm since the election results than we had prior to Nov. 8,” Linn County Democratic Party Chairman Bret Nilles told Fox News.

“We’ve had more enthusiasm since the election results than we had prior to Nov. 8."

Linn County sits in Iowa’s 1st Congressional District, which delivered double-digit wins for Obama twice, before breaking for Trump by three over Clinton.
That makes this a swing district, and a top target for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in its effort to flip the House of Representatives in 2018.
Rep. Rod Blum, R-Iowa, represents the 1st right now, and isn’t letting the Democratic machine present a distraction.
“I’m not afraid of losing elections, I’m not even thinking about the next election,” Blum told Fox News.
Earlier this year, Blum hosted town hall meetings that were disrupted by demonstrators, who he believes were “organized by leftist groups.”
Blum also casts doubt on the impact of Trump's flagging approval ratings on this race, saying he thinks the president still appeals to his blue-collar constituents in a Reagan-like way.
Still, Democrats will try to flip the seat by tying Blum to Trump.
“Congressman Blum showed tremendous support for Donald Trump, I think that’s going to be in our favor,” Nilles said.
One of the locals trying to get on the ballot as a Democrat just hopes her party doesn’t repeat the last cycle’s mistakes.
“I think that the Democratic party did a very poor job of presenting that they cared about the problems in this district,” said Courtney Rowe, an engineer from Cedar Rapids.
Rowe, a supporter of single-payer health care, says a chord struck by both Obama and Trump in this state should be sought out.
“In 2012, they felt that Obama that was giving them hope and letting them know he cared about the issues in their life,” Rowe said.  “In 2016, they felt that was Trump.”

GOP retirements could signal trouble for midterm elections

The beginning of September inevitably brings a wave of Congressional retirements, especially in non-election years, as members return from their August recess to a thankless helping of gridlock, unrelenting criticism, and public approval ratings of 15.8 percent, according to the latest Real Clear Politics average of polls.

Pennsylvania moderate Republican Charlie Dent is one of seven House Republicans to recently announce his retirement.

"A lot of this was personal but also the polarization around here is pretty severe," he told Fox News.
TRUMP NOMINATIONS SET UP MORE SPECIAL ELECTIONS, CHANCES FOR DEMS TO UPSET
He joins soon-to-be retirees Rep. Lynn Jenkins (R-Kan.), Sam Johnson (R-Texas) Dave Reichert (R-Wash.) Jimmy Duncan (R-Tenn.), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) and Dave Trott (R-Mich). Ten other GOP seats, mostly considered safe, are open as members run for higher office.
It could all signal trouble ahead for the GOP in the mid-terms, when the president's party traditionally loses seats. Former presidential adviser and Breitbart publisher Steve Bannon is promising to back conservative and economic populists to root out moderates in Republican primaries.
GOP REP. REICHERT OF WASHINGTON STATE RETIRING AFTER 7 TERMS
Yet, the far-right Freedom Caucus remain resistant to compromise.
"Both of these groups, whether it's Bannon or the Freedom Caucus still believe they can take over the Republican Party and dominate it," says Karl Rove, former senior adviser to President George W. Bush and a Fox News contributor.
Conservative primary challenges didn’t work out well in the 2010 election cycle, as untested GOP Senate candidates like Sharon Angle in Nevada, and Christine O'Donnell in Delaware faded in general elections with self-inflicted rookie gaffes.
Already in this new election cycle, former chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, Roy Moore, who's running against Sen. Luther Strange for Jeff Sessions’ seat, made an embarrassing misstep as he was queried on the local Dale Jackson radio show about "Dreamers" and the DACA program.
ALABAMA SENATE PRIMARY: MOORE'S POPULARITY SHAKES GOP ESTABLISHMENT
"You're not aware of what Dreamers are?"
"No," said Moore.
"This is a big issue in the immigration debate," Dale Jackson responded incredulously.
"Why don't you tell me what it is Dale and quit beating around and tell me what it is," Moore responded.
Republicans are heartened that seven retirements and 10 other open seats are fewer in number than in an average election cycle.
"I'm not overall concerned right now. Seven is well below the 22 average retirements that would normally happen," Rep. Steve Stivers (R-Ohio), the chairman of the National Republican Campaign Committee, told Fox News. "Second... Democrats have retirement problems of their own."
Stivers also maintains Republicans have a distinct advantage in redistricting.
The 100 Congressional districts that were once considered in play at any given time, has been whittled down to about 70, making it much more difficult for House Democrats to win a majority.

Dems fight to wrest veterans mantle from GOP ahead of 2018 midterms

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi speaks during fellow House Democrats' news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., March 24, 2017.  (Reuters)

Democrats are on a wide-ranging mission to wrest the veterans vote from Republicans – courting them with the promise of better jobs and running dozens of returning military service members in the 2018 midterms. 

The effort reflects the party's determination to retake control of at least one chamber of Congress next year. While Republicans' ideals of a powerful military and a boot-strap work ethic have long appealed to active and retired military – Donald Trump won 60 percent of their vote last fall, exit polls showed – Democrats think they can make inroads.

“We have seen an incredible amount of inspiring Democratic veterans step up to run for Congress this cycle. And that has absolutely helped us expand the midterm map and put Republicans further on their heels,” Tyler Law, a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesman, said.
While the DCCC’s recruiting efforts have yielded roughly 30 military veteran candidates, House Democrats have also begun a separate effort to pursue better employment opportunities for veterans, part of their larger “Jobs for America” initiative.
“Our agenda cannot just be against Donald Trump, alluring as that may be,” New York Rep. Joe Crowley, chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, said Sept. 13 in announcing the Reinvesting in Our Heroes Task Force.
Trump, a Republican, in large part won the presidency by appealing to soldiers and veterans with promises to spend more on defense to confront foreign enemies while improving their healthcare in the Department of Veterans Affairs, whose previous conduct he called a “national disgrace.”
"I'm going to build a military that's going to be much stronger than it is right now,” Trump said weeks before winning the White House race. “It's going to be so strong, nobody's going to mess with us.”
And within weeks of taking office, he created a White House veteran-complaint hotline, signed a VA whistleblower protection law approved by the GOP-controlled Congress and proposed roughly $700 billion in additional Defense Department spending.
So Democrats have their work cut out in appealing to the same, powerful bloc.
Among the veteran candidates looking to knock off a sitting House Republican in 2018 is former Marine fighter pilot Amy McGrath, who has flown 89 combat missions and has an admitted chip on her shoulder.
“When I was 13, my congressman told me I couldn't fly in combat. He said Congress thought women ought to be protected and not allowed to serve in combat,” McGrath, a Naval Academy graduate, says in a video announcing her bid to unseat two-term Kentucky GOP Rep. Andy Barr.
2018 MIDTERMS: DEMS TARGET 80 HOUSE SEATS
David Wasserman, who analyzes House races for the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, acknowledged Wednesday that Republicans have had the edge with veterans.
“But the dynamics have changed with a lot of liberal-leaning veterans. And a number of them could have a really good chance next year of winning,” he said.
Wasserman also warned that winning candidates need more than a muscular military resume, including a command of policy -- but cited Brendan Kelly, in Illinois’ 12th Congressional District, and Pat Ryan, in New York’s 19 Congressional District, as candidates to watch.

'We have seen an incredible amount of inspiring Democratic veterans step up to run for Congress this cycle.'

Among the other candidates getting attention are Josh Butner, a 23-year Navy veteran and former SEAL whose family's military history dates back to the Mexican-American War.
He’s challenging three-term GOP Rep. Duncan Hunter, who won reelection last year in his San Diego-area 50th Congressional District with nearly 64 percent of the vote.
Democrats have to gain 24 seats to take control of the House, with veteran candidates part of the party’s ambitious effort to compete next year in as many as 79 of the chamber’s 435 races.
Their odds of winning the Senate appear more of a longshot, considering Democrats have to defend 25 seats, despite needing only a net win of three to take the majority.
Republicans have fewer veteran candidates in 2018, but point out they already have a large number in Congress, with fortifying incumbents a priority.
“A large portion of our Republican congressional conference is veterans, and we have others this cycle looking to join their fellow servicemembers in Congress,” National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Jesse Hunt said.
Among those running in 2018 are Steve Ferrara in Arizona’s 9th district; Dan DeBono in New York’s 3rd district; Andrew Grant in California’s 7th district; and Eddie Edwards in New Hampshire’s 1st district.
Ferrara is a retired Navy captain and doctor who pioneered life- and limb-saving surgical techniques on the battlefield.
Moving forward, jobs for veterans will be a focus for both parties.
The veteran unemployment rate continues to decline, at 3.7 percent in August compared to 4.3 percent at the same time last year.
But California Democratic Rep. Julia Brownley, co-chair of the House jobs task force, told Fox News more work is needed for veterans.
“Finding a high-quality job that meets their qualifications and potential is what most concerns those in the military. Servicemembers want to support their families and provide some stability, often after having to move so much,” she said.
Brownley, whose district includes Naval Base Ventura County, also argued that veterans, as a result of their military training, possess “intangibles” like leadership skills and team readiness that they occasionally undersell.
“Sometime a sailor might say, ‘My job was to swab the deck.’ But his job was really to be part of the team that makes sure planes land safely," she said. "That’s a really important skill.”

North Korea could test hydrogen bomb in Pacific, top diplomat says

North Korea's foreign minister has said the Communist nation may test a hydrogen bomb in the Pacific Ocean after dictator Kim Jong Un vowed he would take the "highest-level" action against the United States, South Korean media reported Thursday. 

The Yonhap news agency reported on comments made to reporters by Ri Yong Ho on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

"We have no idea about what actions could be taken as it will be ordered by leader Kim Jong Un," Ri was quoted as saying by Yonhap.
Such a test would be considered a major provocation by the U.S., South Korea and Japan. Ri was scheduled to address the U.N. General Assembly on Saturday, a day later than previously scheduled.
Ri's comments followed Kim's extraordinary statement lashing out at President Trump, calling the American leader "deranged" and vowing that Trump would "pay dearly" for his threat to destroy North Korea.
Kim's first-person statement was published by North Korea's state propaganda arm in response to Trump's fiery speech at the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday. South Korean media called it the first such direct address to the world by Kim.
Kim said Trump was "unfit to hold the prerogative of supreme command of a country." He also described the U.S. president as "a rogue and a gangster fond of playing with fire."
Some analysts saw Kim's statement as a clear announcement that North Korea would ramp up its already brisk pace of weapons testing, which has included missiles meant to target U.S. forces throughout Asia and the U.S. mainland.
On Tuesday, Trump mocked Kim as a "rocket man" on a "suicide mission," and said that if "forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea."
Kim characterized Trump's speech to the world body as "mentally deranged behavior."

He said Trump's remarks "have convinced me, rather than frightening or stopping me, that the path I chose is correct and that it is the one I have to follow to the last."

Kim said he was "thinking hard" about his response and that Trump "will face results beyond his expectation."

Kim Dong-yub, a former South Korean military official who is now an analyst at Seoul's Institute for Far Eastern Studies, said Kim's statement indicated that North Korea would respond to Trump with its most aggressive missile test yet. That might include firing a Hwasong-14 intercontinental ballistic missile over Japan to a range of around 4,349 miles to display a capability to reach Hawaii or Alaska.

In recent months, the North has launched a pair of still-developmental ICBMs it said were capable of striking the continental United States and a pair of intermediate-range missiles that soared over Japanese territory. Earlier this month, North Korea conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear test to date, drawing stiffer U.N. sanctions.