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Tonight Is The First Democratic Debate Of 2016 – Not That The DNC is Doing Much To Tell Anyone

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Trump gets thousands of hours of free advertising called cable news stories, the GOP has had twice as many debates as the Democrats have – why is the DNC not working hard to energize Democrats and promote democratic candidates?

You’ve heard the criticisms before, that Debbie Wasserman Schultz and the DNC are trying to hand the election to Hillary Clinton by not scheduling many debates and scheduling them at times most people aren’t around to watch. 

Who knows if that’s true. But whether you’re a Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton or Martin O’Malley supporter, you have to agree that while the intent of the DNC is anyone’s guess, it’s clear the Democratic National Committee has done far too little to promote its presidential candidates.

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Personally, this isn’t about picking winners or losers, this is about getting as many people as possible excited about where progressives want to take this country, and about advancing important liberal ideas and policies that will advance the nation. And, quite frankly, as a matter of pride, it’s about showing the country as a whole that any Democratic presidential candidate is a far better choice than any Republican to lead America.

Today, Sunday, January 17, at 9:00 PM is the first Democratic presidential debate, and yet, you might not even be aware of it.

The DNC has “promoted” the event over the past 24 hours with all of two Facebook posts and four tweets.

Sadly, even the few social media posts the DNC has put out are ho-hum, boring:

Sure, Democrats are the adults in the political sphere, by far especially this presidential cycle, but there are so many important issues Democrats are passionate about. Why hasn’t the DNC does much to mention them? It’s like they’re not even trying. 

And the network that’s carrying the debate tonight, NBC, has done far less than Fox News does when it hosts a GOP debate. 

Even Fox Business – not even the main Fox News channel, but Fox Business – which hosted the last GOP debate this past Thursday, worked much harder in TV ads and on social media to attract an audience than NBC News and MSNBC have.

And the numbers from previous debates certainly show.

“Missed last Saturday’s Democratic debate?,” PBS asked nearly a month ago, about the December 19 debate – that was, yes, the Saturday before Christmas, traditionally one of the busiest holiday shopping days. “You’re not alone: 6.7 million people tuned into the New Hampshire face-off, according to Nielsen ratings. By contrast, 18 million viewers watched the Republican debate, which was held four days earlier in Las Vegas.”

NEW: Watch Live Here – Plus Everything You Need To Know About Watching Tonight’s Democratic Debate

It wasn’t only those two debates where viewership – a credible measure of interest in candidates, issues, parties, and campaigns – were dramatically, if not exponentially different.

“The first two Republican debates of this cycle – in August and September of this year – each topped 23 million viewers, a new high,” PBS reports, adding that the October Democratic debate hit 15 million viewers.

On Tuesday, November 10, the GOP debate drew 13.5 million viewers. By contrast, the Saturday night, November 14 Democratic debate drew 8.5 million viewers.

This tweet from political pundit Gottalaff perfectly puts these numbers in perspective:

You might think, given these pathetic viewership numbers, the DNC (and the networks carrying the debates, for that matter) would pull out all the stops to get voters interested and maybe even excited in watching the debate.

Sadly, you’d be wrong.

UPDATE: As several of our readers on Facebook have noted, there’s an NFL game that could run over and take away viewers, and tonight is the premiere of the final season of Downton Abbey, just to make it even harder to get viewers to watch the debate.

 

Image via The Democrats/Twitter

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‘He Sued to Block Kids From Getting SNAP’: Trump Torched for Biblical Defense of Children

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President Donald Trump came under fire on Thursday after using the Bible to call for protecting children during an event with First Lady Melania Trump.

The event, an executive order signing, was “aimed at expanding opportunities for education, career development, housing, and other resources for young people transitioning from foster care to adulthood,” according to the White House.

“The Bible tells us that one of the measures of any society is how it cares for vulnerable children and orphans,” President Trump told the assembled audience in the East Room of the White House.

“So important, it is so big in the Bible, so, as we make America great again, we are going to protect American children in foster care.”

READ MORE: ‘Concepts of a Plan’: White House and GOP Under Fire for Health Care Cost Crisis

Critics were quick to chastise the president, whose administration has been fighting all the way to the Supreme Court to block funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

“You literally fought in court to strip families of food assistance,” declared California Governor Gavin Newsom.

“Your ICE agents pepper sprayed a baby last week,” charged House Homeland Security Committee Democrats.

“He sued to block kids from getting SNAP benefits just days ago,” wrote The Lincoln Project.

The Friendly Atheist’s Hemant Mehta posted a headline that read: “USAID cuts may lead to more than 14 million deaths globally, including 4.5 million children under 5 by 2030, researchers say.”

READ MORE: Trump Stumbles Over ‘God Bless America’ Lyrics at Veterans Day Ceremony

 

Image via Reuters 

 

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‘Concepts of a Plan’: White House and GOP Under Fire for Health Care Cost Crisis

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It took congressional Democrats more than a year of work — plus several years of prior policy development — to create the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. Now, Republicans are scrambling to fix it after passing President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which stripped away the subsidies that helped make buying insurance on the exchanges affordable.

And they have just weeks to make it happen, before the new premiums go into effect on January 1.

The House is back in session after Speaker Mike Johnson kept Republicans in their home districts for almost two months during the federal government shutdown. Now, Republicans and the Trump White House are starting to decide what, if anything, they will do to keep premiums — already published — from doubling or even tripling in certain cases.

“President Donald Trump’s Domestic Policy Council and senior health officials have been meeting privately for preliminary conversations on how to address the expiration of health insurance tax credits, according to a White House official and another person familiar with the talks,” Politico reported on Thursday. “Conversations about a White House alternative to Affordable Care Act subsidies, which will expire at year’s end, are in the ‘early ideation phase,’ said a third person familiar with the talks.”

READ MORE: Congressman Conway? Top Trump Critic Reportedly Eyeing House Bid

Capitol Hill is in a similar state.

Noting that “the clock is ticking,” NBC News reported that “Republicans, under pressure from Democrats after the government shutdown revived the health care clash, have not coalesced around legislation or even an abstract idea, and are only now starting serious discussions about putting proposals together.”

“As the party scrambles to craft an alternative, multiple Republicans are vying for Trump’s endorsement of ideas that could alleviate skyrocketing costs that are just around the corner,” NBC added.

Democrats want a three-year extension of Obamacare subsidies and tax credits, Speaker Johnson has said that is a nonstarter.

Some Republicans are starting to speak out.

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U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ), a former Democrat, “warned, ‘not only is it morally bankrupt, it’s political suicide’ for Republicans to let the subsidies expire without an alternative in place.”

U.S. Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) prefers a vehicle like health care saving accounts that he claimed will lower costs by driving up competition. President Trump appeared to favor that approach, when he attacked health insurance companies in a social media post earlier this week.

Some are warning that bypassing the Obamacare exchanges could damage or destroy them.

“A tweet is not a health care plan,” Larry Levitt, executive vice president for health policy at KFF, told NBC. “If people could use these Trump health care dollars to buy insurance not regulated by the ACA, it would likely cause the ACA to collapse and upend protections for pre-existing conditions.”

Meanwhile, critics are blasting Republicans on Capitol Hill as well as the Trump administration for waiting so long before starting to try to create a plan.

Responding to the NBC News report, journalist Justin Baragona observed, “we’re still on ‘concepts of a plan’ here.”

“They’ve had 10+ years to work on this and have nothing,” wrote Laura Belin, a reporter for a progressive website. “Time to stop taking their supposed health care policy work seriously.”

The White House is in ‘early ideation’ phase on ACA subsidies,” wrote The Bulwark’s Jonathan Cohn. “An issue already hitting millions of insurance buyers And that Democrats (not to mention analysts, journalists etc) have been saying needs attention for more than a year.”

Michigan Democratic State Senate Majority Whip Mallory McMorrow, a candidate for the U.S. Senate, wrote: “After Republicans refused to extend ACA subsidies, 4 Michigan insurers are dropping out of the ACA marketplace altogether. That’s 200,000 Michiganders who just lost their plans. Others are just going to cancel their plans. Which means more uncompensated care. Which means *everyone’s* healthcare costs will be higher.”

READ MORE: Trump Stumbles Over ‘God Bless America’ Lyrics at Veterans Day Ceremony

 

Image via Reuters 

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Congressman Conway? Top Trump Critic Reportedly Eyeing House Bid

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George Conway, the prominent attorney, Trump critic, and ex-husband of former Trump White House senior counselor Kellyanne Conway, may be considering a run for Congress.

According to a report at CNN and a post by New York Times congressional correspondent Annie Karni, Conway is eyeing a run for retiring Democratic U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler’s New York district.

CNN reported that Conway, 62, is “actively considering running for Congress from New York City, a source familiar with the matter tells CNN.”

Karni reported, “the Conway pitch being — what the House will need next year is an aggressive lawyer with an investigative background just going after Trump.”

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Conway is a former Republican who became an independent in 2018. He has a law degree from Yale, and successfully argued a case before the U.S. Supreme Court, obtaining a unanimous ruling. He is a co-founder of The Lincoln Project and currently co-hosts a podcast at The Bulwark.

Should Democrats retake the majority in the House of Representatives, it’s likely there will be numerous investigations into President Donald Trump and his administration — not to mention possible efforts to impeach the unpopular and controversial Commander in Chief.

Conway would have good company in a primary.

“Jack Schlossberg, former President John F. Kennedy’s grandson, entered the race this week,” CNN noted.

The Daily Beast adds that “much of the buzz around Conway stems from his personal life. While he and his 58-year-old ex-wife, Kellyanne, tried to make their marriage work amid his dramatic political realignment, the couple frequently made headlines. As Kellyanne served as senior counselor to Trump from 2017 to 2020, her husband routinely sounded off on her boss and advisers—including Stephen Miller, whom Kellyanne referred to as one of her ‘best friends’ in the current administration earlier this month.”

READ MORE: White House Eyes Major Blitz as GOP Voters Blame Trump for Failing Economy

 

Image by Presia Debauch via Flickr and a CC license

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