The article should have pointed out that Lamb is anti abortion and supports gun rights. A rare Democrat to that extent. An examination of similar Democratic candidates this cycle would have been interesting. This weak, simplistic analysis was not. Dig deeper.
3
"Lamb the Sham."
Ah so. Now consider.
We've had forty four presidents so far. Men capable of resounding eloquence (Lincoln). Scholarly discourse (Wilson). An engaging folksiness (FDR). Clarion calls to our better nature (JFK).
But you, Mr. President, are poised to enter this august company. You too, sir, have MADE YOUR MARK--a mark that will endure in the archives of American eloquence.
You excel, sir--you EXCEL--in making up little opprobrious epithets which you sedulously attach (like Christmas tree ornaments) to the names of your opponents. Or people who (in some way or other) rile you.
"Crooked Hillary" is old hat. So much so that (in those innumerable tweets you lavish upon the American public and upon the world)--Mrs. Clinton has won her very own abbreviation. "Crooked H."
There are so many, sir, I forget most of them. "Liddle Bob Corker"--the two t's of "little" carefully replaced by d's. Loud yuks rang out all over America as your fans got a load of THAT one. "Liddle Adam Schiff"--tsk tsk! Mr. President--you're REPEATING yourself. Are those mighty powers failing?
But now, ladies and gentlemen--but NOW! "Lamb the Sham." I spoke of failing powers. Bite your tongue (and believe me! I'm biting it.) As good as ever! I'm betting an appreciate crowd roared with laughter. Marvelous!
Though I suppose some crank--some Democrat might conceivably mutter:
"Grow up!"
Ignore it, sir.
We like you just the way you are
1
Re: The Resistance
Conor Lamb noted in his late night to early morning victory speech all the "activists" who told him to get going or they were going to get going without him. Call it what you want, but this is what the Resistance is working for- massive engagement - and Conor Lamb took advantage. Every vote wrapped in no matter what counts.
3
Untruthful Republicans have been shown how the people feel. Now the "lyin'"
will lie down with the Lamb.
2
You know what they say about March, in like a lying Trump, out like a Conor Lamb.
5
It may be noted Lamb ran away from the Democrat left.
2
So, March comes in like lyin', and will go out liking Lamb? Is that about it?
Huge win for Dems. 600 votes plus the 20+% who should have voted for Saccone, but didn't. Sure beats Trumps 3 million vote loss.
4
"Trump the Sham" is more like it. Let's just hope the turnover at the White House and the Russian coverup continue proving what an incompetent lunatic he really is. If we Dems recapture 1 Congressional body in November, we'll be well on our way to retaking the White House in '20.
If these recent elections, combined with today's student protests are any indication of the pulse of the nation, then prepare for a blue tsunami in November.
5
Congratulations, Conor Lamb. Ironically, your performance also raises a bitter question: Is your victory too little and too late. Our country has been on the verge of David Dennison's fifth business bankruptcy. If Dennison can stay until the end of his tenure, it's hard to predict what catastrophe will be.
Our hope, beside from young talents as Conor Lamb, rest on the Senators and Special Counsel Robert Mueller team. But Snake know how to intimidate and frighten the feeble. Even Stormy Daniels had lost the first round against DD. The mainstream media like the NYT, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, CNN, NBC, MSNBC, ABC, CBS have not successfully unmasked DD's masks.
Quo-va dis?
Lamb didn’t roar - he squeaked out a win. He didn’t campaign on a ‘resist’ platform; he didn’t pass out pink genitalia hats at rallies; he didn’t campaign for free college tuition; he didn’t campaign on supporting a wide-open border; he didn’t campaign on gutting defense spending; he didn’t once say he wants to impeach Trump. He didn’t campaign on these positions because if he had, he would have lost in a landslide. These are not the positions of the majority of Americans. If you heard his endless TV commercials and didn’t know his political party, you would have concluded he was a moderate Republican. The ‘resist’ platform remains a loser.
3
I think he won a conservative district because he is pro-gun, anti-abortion, and denounced Pelosi. I hope the liberal Democrats are happy with their candidate.
1
Conor Lamb. A lamb that roars. A wolf in lamb's clothing. More power to you, Mr. Lamb.
2
Lamb did something that many Democratic candidates need to emulate.... he was his own man who felt free to endorse second amendment issues, break with Nancy Pelosi (who needs to GO by the way), and be amoderate on abortion.
Best of all, he mailed the GOP on the tax bill....helping the rich and big business, and also clearing the way to cut social security, and medicare.
The big issues were infrastructure, transportation, and social security medicare....
Listen and learn, Democrats.
2
Wow! You mean a Democrat can actually win when he doesn't call half the voters in his district "deplorable" and doesn't imply that people who make over the median national income are somehow smarter and more virtuous than those who don't? Better tell Hillary Clinton in case she plans to grace us with another run for the White House.
2
Are Dems in Congress clear that their voters expect an IMMEDIATE start of impeachment hearings after we give them control of the house? We will have ZERO tolerance for anything resembling weasel words on this issue.
1
The Democrats put up a serious candidate in Conor Lamb and his defeat of the incumbent Saccone should send a strong message to both Democrats and Republicans that Democrats with excellent candidates will do well against Republicans in Republican districts where the Democratic candidate is disciplined, hardworking and can deliver the right message by paying attention to the important issues for all the voters in the district where they are running.
3
This election has nothing to do with Trump or Republicans vs Democrats.
The comments show how little anyone truely knows about politics & Conor Lamb in particular.
Conor Lamb should have received 98% of the votes.
He was bred for this position. He was born with the intention on being President.
THE TRUTH IS HE SEEMS LIKE A GREAT GUY & WE SHOULD HAVE 500 SENATORS & CONGRESSMAN LIKE HIM.
His family is at the center of Pennsylvania politics.
He never went to public school. He went to Penn undergraduate & Law.
He became a lawyer in the Marines...not to pay off his student debt , but to groom him for office.
He did put drug dealers in jail !! A dangerous thing to do.
Buy it shows that you have to be part of the US political machine, have connections and be wealthy.
Hopefully he puts public employees on a 401K, cuts taxes and doesn't force taxpayers to pay the education & medical care costs for illegal immigrants. The number of illegal immigrants is climbing and will continue to climb.
I'm no Repub, but a win of sich a small margin is nothing to cheer. We need to win with bigger margins. Let's not get too cocky.
4
If anyone should learn a lesson from this election, it is the far Left, who would likely have primaried someone like Lamb out of the election. Lamb opposes abortion personally but has no intention of challenging Roe v Wade, a throwback position of Democrats of years past that kept that issue off the backburner in local contests. It is pragmatism like that which is abhorred by the far left, that has handicapped progressive initiatives for the last forty years. As we speak the Far Left continues to demand that more moderate Democrats capitulate to every demand of every microgroup, fracturing the party along identity lines that give moderate Republicans (who are, lets be honest, moderate almost always only in tone) the leeway they need to convince genuine swing voters. If the far left doesn’t continue to allow districts like Lamb’s to nominate moderate liberals, this opportunity will be squandered.
5
Have you seen a national voter registration effort by dems yet? no one has
How about a national get out the vote effort? no one has seen that either
I didn't see or hear of them in 2016
I must ask, do dems want to win?
Judging by the effort put forth they are happy to whine instead of win
Lamb's victory, as slim as it is, is clearly a personal rejection of President Trump and his form of "governing". Trump won this area easily in 2016. If it's not the economy, and it's probably not really Saccone (personally) that the voters have turned against. It has to be Trump, his style (or lack thereof), his behavior, his antics, and the way he conducts himself in the Oval Office.
Conor Lamb is a good candidate that reflects the basic values of that area of Western Pennsylvania. Conor's fresh, bright, seems to be honest, and will undoubtedly serve as the type of Democratic candidate who can win in "Red" districts. There are some comments in this column that suggest Mr. Lamb may not be "liberal" enough. That's ridiculous, of course, since he represents a conservative district that appreciates the core values of a Democrat: Family, Health, Education, Jobs, Training, Diversity, and Environmental Protection. That's good enough for me!
2
Another crack in Trump and the GOP's"Wall?"
An interesting point. Lamb must have received the support of at least some prior Trump supporters. Let the momentum continue.
1
Thanks, Frank. I want to have faith, and am glad that you do, but I'm nervous!
I think a message that can be gleaned from Lamb's probable victory is Democrats must fit the right candidate to each particular district. As a number of left-leaning commenters noted, Lamb isn't their ideal Democrat. That doesn't really matter. What matters is that he was the right candidate for Pennsylvania's 18th district. Would he win in West Hollywood? Not a snowball's chance. The right candidate for the district should be the Democrats' new SOP. Another thing that we learned from this election is that citizens on both ends of the political spectrum are tired of the lying, vicious demonizing, and misrepresentation of facts. Lamb won without mentioning Trump's name once. He ran a positive campaign. Soccone proudly stated that Democrats and, by extension, Lamb supporters, 'hated Trump, their country, and God.' Thankfully, the people of the 18th turned their back on this lie. We have had enough of negative politics. If you can't win by telling truth about what you support, then you shouldn't be in politics. I hope Lamb can retain his uncorrupted purity once he takes up his duty in Washington. One of the greatest takeaways was seeing someone who was honest and, well, good headed to Congress.
4
It is disheartening that no one (at least the media) sees Conor Lamb for what he really is. He is a moderate, middle of the road, agreeing with some Democratic principles and disagreeing with others. He just happens to be running as a Democrat.
He is what I believe more people want to see in Washington, a centrist. He is (in my opinion) what the majority of Americans are, moderate. Yet moderates have no political party to represent them. His success tells me we need more moderates and not hearing from all of the talking heads about how this reflects on Trump. Someone please acknowledge this is a reaction to everyone in DC and not only Trump!
4
Yes. It would be nice to have a political home with the likes of Gerald Ford as the rightward boundary and the likes of LBJ (as to domestic affairs) as the leftward boundary of my party. Perhaps we could have managed to make both Colin Powell and DiFi president by now.
This is the kind of guy the Democrats need to run for president in November: White, Christian, military, knows how to use a gun. If they want to appeal to the great American middle, and they have to get a guy like this-- no oddball liberal urbanites will do.
It doesn't even matter whether the guy is a liberal. In these days of identify politics, get the identity right and you win. Trump's lunacy has given you this chance. Take it.
1
You want to know where a Democrat in the mold of Conor Lamb would strike fear, if not outright panic? Right hear in northeast Texas. The current incumbent enjoyed a coast to re-election last year when not a single Democrat rose up to challenge him. Still, a Libertarian with no name recognition and less funding got 12% of the ballots cast.
We're tired of being represented by a man who kisses what he's told to when he's told to do it. Texans, regardless of party affiliation still look for courage and, more important even, courage and independence in their representatives.
2
Thanks Frank. There is indeed reason for hope in November.
You indicated that Lamb never asserted himself as part of the resistance, never railed against anything Trump. In the district he is in, that was a smart strategy. Instead, he spoke on policy issues, especially healthcare, i.e., where Repubs are especially vulnerable. I'd like to see more Democrats do this. The regressive, mean-spirited, and divisive policies of the GOP make it pretty easy to effectively argue against. And depending on the makeup of your constituents, it can be done with more or less of a feisty edge. But the important thing is to show some Democratic solutions that will work.
I am delighted by the win. Since Mr. Lamb clearly and publicly stated he did not support Nancy Pelosi, here's hoping the House minority leadership will not punish him for the sin of representing his constituents over embracing party ideology they don't agree with.
A very welcome victory for a moderate - there are too few these days, in either party.
3
Bill Buckley used to say that you vote for the most electable conservative option against the democrat. If you replace conservative and democrat with progressive and republican, this is good advice.
2
So the author thinks we don't have a unifying message and I say his is wrong. We do have one. We want things to be equal for all not just a select few.
2
Please, please! Democrats, it’s a big tent we need to raise. The Russians and the republicans would be very happy if we split over ideological purity for our candidates. Remember, if we do not hang together we will all hang separately, and the fate of the free world may be at stake. Conor Lamb is a small step towards flipping the house. Let us all take the lessons learned and go forward.
3
Every election is new. Every candidate is important. They are all liable to be lost unless we go out and vote. We can't assume that Lamb's win is a portend of things to come. The Democrats can lose every election from here on. So go and vote. Your ballot does count.
2
This was a very slim win, not a decisive knockout punch that's being stated. Yes Mr. Lamb fought hard, but I caution Democrats from believing a "blue wave" is about to strike. interesting to not the reduced role the DNC played however.
You do understand that his win represents not just the 600 more votes he received, but also includes the 20+% of voters who normally wouldnt vote for a Democrat who either sat out the race or pulled the lever for Conor.
1
You really do need to read the article--the first sentence will do. And of many comments I have read, not one considers this definitive as democratic success in any broad sense, much less a knockout punch.
1
His victory speech seemed note perfect. Particularly the point about how it’s called the House of Representatives and that’s what people want him to do - represent them. The message to Congress is “do your jobs.”
And yeah. I’m an Eisenhower Republican who hasn’t voted R for federal office since the 1970s, except a time or two for Kay Bailey Hutchinson. Because when you wed the Southern Strategy to the ideology of the Wall Street Journal editorial page you come up with something far away from my politics. Yet I’ve never been able to think of myself as a Democrat, and lately I’ve been thinking about going back to what I did in the 80s and vote third party in federal elections. There’s a home in the Democratic Party base for ill-considered hatreds; I think the people who hold those views affect how Democrats campaign and behave in office and they’re not giving up their influence without a fight.
So I’ll be interested to see whether the Democrats who think the lesson from Jon Ossoff’s defeat in suburban Atlanta is that the Democrats need to go further left will carry the day, or whether Democrats who are proud Conor Lamb is in Congress as a D will prevail.
1
A win but not a decisive one. Much needs to be done to communicate to workers, retirees and young people that the government has a role to play in the stability and prosperity of the American people, and that our Constitution and our rule of law are the basis for a dynamic economy and a fertile environment for entrepreneurship and the responsible exploitation of our natural resources. It is even harder to explain that parts of the recent tax bill will need to be reversed, as it is tying the hands of future administrations and putting the US on dangerous terrain with ballooning deficits ahead.
5
With misgivings i celebrate Lamb's victory in the 18th however, as a general rule I don't support antichoice candidates. I actually had sent him money not realizing he was not prochoice. So hopefully he's a sign of fewer GOPers being elected. That at least is a positive.
2
Lamb is not anti-choice. He is himself pro-life, but he believes that Roe v Wade is the law of the land and that the decision -- the choice -- is a woman's right.
7
Beter him than the alternative
I've been unaffiliated with a political party since I first registered to vote 34 years ago. My views are distant from the extremist ideologies both parties currently and proudly represent. Come the midterms, the Democratic party would be wise to field a slate of more moderate candidates like Mr. Lamb who are likely to appeal to independent voters. We need leaders willing to govern for the benefit of our society rather than those dogmatic to the party line. Congratulations Mr. Lamb.
16
The tide is turning
a tsunami is forming.
16
600 votes is hardly a mandate,
Gig is for 9 months.....voting record will be established. And district will disappear.
Pelosi will banish him to the worst commitees if he does not toe her line.
Watch out Mr. Lamb, you may eat your campaign words!
1
Nice try. Trump carried this conservative district by 20 points. This is a huge repudiation.
2
The fact that it was competiive at all is the point. #45 won it by 20 points. So, that is 20+ points that a Democrat came from behind.
2
Neither is losing the popular vote by three million.
1
I lived in PA for more than 55 years. I went to jr. high, high school and college in PA and raised my children there. I also owned several businesses in PA for 27 years at one point employing almost 400 people. I am very, very pleased to finally see the Democrats offer a candidate with integrity. Lamb is also unafraid to confront Pelosi and the old party line.
For more than 30 years the Democratic party betrayed the citizens of PA. Jobs, industry and education systems were dismantled. Trade policy did more harm than good. Former Democratic officer holders at both the state and federal forgot about the working men and women of PA.
I hope that Connor Lamb so far seems to be attuned to needs of the people. He is not a far left progressive and not a milk-toast. He's not the mild mannered Senator Casey either.
Conner Lamb accomplished his win without vulgar language and without mentioning Donald Trump. Democrats desperately need more candidates with Lamb's credentials and style. There is real hope for November and even more hope for 2020 if the Democrats can learn from this important win.
19
Let’s hold up on the gloating, people! First, he hasn’t won yet. More importantly, we have eight months to go before November. Declaring victory now lulls everyone into the complacency that got us into this mess. And none are more complacent than the democratic “leadership”. Instead of taking a victory lap, let’s hunker down and figured out what worked here and how we mobilize and adapt to make it work in other races. Then mobilize the troops. The battle has just begun - lets not quit before we’re really ahead.
11
In the comments for “The Missing Obama Millions,” many progressives, as they call themselves, claimed that blacks opted not to vote for a continuation of Obama’s policies—meaning, for Hillary Clinton—because they were disappointed by those same policies. The assumption is that more government (with progressives, it’s never less) would have produced greater prosperity for blacks and thus provided incentive for them to support the Democratic nominee promising a continuation of the blessings therefrom.
See, Obama’s neoliberalism (read: non-socialism) disappointed blacks. Is this right? Well, note that the states where Bernie Sanders was clobbered most thoroughly were mostly in the Deep South, where black support for Hillary Clinton was key to said clobbering. This is inconvenient for the above narrative, no? For many non-political blacks, Obama was “their guy” in if not exactly then close to the same way that Trump was many rural whites’ guy.
Many progressives are incapable of seeing that few people vote on policy particulars. That just is not what motivates voters. This isn’t to say in-office performance doesn’t matter; but barring economic collapse (and even then …), people are unable to determine the causes of their problems (which for progressives must always be something external), nor are they capable of parsing policy proposals.
Only a fool would imagine that many people are voting on how they feel about the TPP, say. Personality, trust, and Other-loathing matter most.
3
Forget quaking! I hope the Republicans drop dead. Legit.
12
I have thought for years that the Democratic Party was the 'big tent' party that made room for a range of views. There is no lock-step march, no one mantra that could include all members of the Democratic Congressional Caucus. Conor Lamb shows that to be true even before taking office. Also, he is not unique. Other members of the Caucus, including leadership, represent their districts and states. I hope this remains true, and that the reporting doesn't fail to make note of these variations.
8
Pelosi should start to open herself to the possibility it's time to step aside. As a life-long democrat, I recognize her contribution and thank her for her work, but like HRC, her time is past and she has become a drag on our party. Ms. Pelosi, please be there to guide them, bu let the new-blood rise before November 2018.
20
Congratulations, Democrats won in a “Democrat leaning” state with a conservative, pro-gun, pro-life candidate! As a conservative, I fully embrace this election as a victory for conservatives! It’s doesn’t matter that he’s a Democrat, what matters is that he is not part of the liberal madness that has for years monopolies the political agenda of the Democratic Party. We need him in Congress if we are to have bi-partisan cooperation passing immigration reform, trade deals, funding our military and a host of other issues that have floundered for years in congress.
Democrats, your path to victory is now clear! Pick candidates that have conservative values and still believe in the founding principles of this country!
4
It's "monopolized." And clearly, you have never set foot in Western Pennsylvania.
So many people in this country are furious, horrified, and despairing about the GOP tear-down of our beloved country--its people, institutions, legal system, and leadership around the world. I believe the the GOP candidates' comeuppance in November is being sorely underestimated.
8
The cliche "all politics are local" is proving to be true. That means a conservative white Democrat like Jon Tester can hold a Senate seat in Montana; 36-year-old African-American moderate Democrat Randall Woodfin could in 2017 become the youngest mayor of Birmingham since 1893; and moderate Democrat Ravinder S. Bhalla could in 2017 become the first Sikh mayor in New Jersey (Hoboken). They all targeted no-nonsense issues of their various constituencies, as did Conor Lamb.
That's why the Sanders progressives who are trying to take over the Democratic Party are a danger. They have no room for the Conor Lambs of the world - and yet: notice these Sanders "progressives" remain oddly focused on white candidates - but they have to be *their* kind of white candidates.
These progressives spout off about so-called "identity politics" so much you'd think the alt-right's Richard Spencer had taken over their bodies - and they would have nixed Woodfin and Bhalla from candidacy for their skin color, though they were the right candidates for their areas. This is the upcoming danger: if this wing clings to their outdated idea that white males (and a few white women) should always be the Democratic candidates.
IMO Lamb's victory is great and my preferred 2020 Democratic presidential candidate is a white male (Eric Garcetti) - but I have enough sense to understand that an all-white government isn't needed all over this country. Some of these so-called Democrats should remember that, too.
8
Conor Lamb is not a typical Democrat.
If the Democratic party does not come back toward the middle
but let's itself be run by the Elites - it wills struggle to win.
4
Certainly the Republicans are running AWAY from the middle as fast as they can
1
Politics is about the Practical
and these Zebras can change their stripes
faster then you or I can blink.
As more info comes in, a clearer picture emerges. 538 covered this well. It's looking more and more like Lamb turned out the Clinton voters in the Clinton parts of the district, while he avoided riling the Trump voters in the sticks. It was a good strategy, and it allowed him to scrape by.
Ossoff did the opposite in GA's 6th - he had an army of Progressive p-hat wearing suburban housewives going up and down the same streets everyday, riling the moderates and conservatives to vote against him. It backfired.
The big question is, how replicable was Lamb's approach? How many districts actually look like the 18th? Not even the 18th looks like the 18th, because the whole district goes away come November, and Lamb disappears into his home district, where he won't stand a chance against a more doctrinaire progressive.
5
He won by agreeing with Trump on just about everything. Not sure this is a valid test.
5
And if Lamb has lost by the massive margin once predicted, would that have been a valid test? Victory isn't in the eye of the beholder- it's a fact - and this one is a good fact however you want to spin it.
1
Not sure he agreed at that level. His main pitch was pro union. I do t see much help to unions from Trump
1
Au contraire. Both candidates ran as Trump Republicans. What Lamb exposed: Running on the Pelosi progressive agenda will be lambs to the slaughter.
5
Funny the GOP doesnt seem to consider a win for themselves or Trump.
If it is all the same then let's let the Dems win all these races. Fine with me.
9
doesnt seem to consider this a win
2
Kay, Either the winner is a DINO, in which case it is a pyrrhic victory, or the winner defrauded the voters, making the scheme a one-off.
3
The Republicans madly spinning online are saying the meanest things about the GOP candidate, Rick Saccone, including discussing his looks. In reality, Saccone is perfectly pleasant-looking and was far from a terrible candidate.
As a Democrat, I find this nasty attitude of Republicans typical of their party. If Conor Lamb had lost the election, you would not find Democrats disparaging him. We are better than that.
13
I agree. I may not care for Mr. Saccone's politics but in the clips I've heard, he seems like a nice person. Trashing him is not necessary.
2
Just a blip. He will lose the next one, coming soon.
The one after redistricting makes the Pa. map even more favorable for Dems?
1
Lamb is anti-choice and pro-NRA!
By what stretch of rhetoric who'd he be considered a "progressive" Democrat?
5
The purpose of his being the candidate in that area of Pennsylvania is that he is not nor ever considered himself a Progressive and his views matched those of many of the voters.e people of the area. A Progressive would never have won.
9
He's not anti-choice. He's personally opposed to abortion but doesn't support law changes. Read the article.
1
"Many Democratic voters want someone less mild and muddled than Lamb."
Yes Frank they do. They want universal healthcare as a right (like ALL other developed nations have). They want Trump`s tax cut of $800 billion for the 1% repealed and the military budget pared back.
They want their country to face climate change head on rather than preventing the USA from acting to alleviate the drowning of US coast lines/cities. eg Half of Florida , 1/3 of Louisiana & many of the Eastern seaboard cities will suffer huge $ loses due to the oceans rise & storm surges.
The party of denial is making this coming disaster bigger than need be.
10
All those silly ideas is why democrats are in the mess they are in now! Embrace the new conservatism that democrats are flocking to in Pennsylvania!
Raul , why is the rest of the world wrong about having universal healthcare and the silly Republican voters (suckers) voting against their interests to make the USA "Exceptionally" stupid.
Were you taken in by the Neocons who spun the lies about Iraq`s WMD and imminent threat to the USA ? The UN`s WMD inspector told the world there were no WMD 3 months before the Neocons got the Iraq invasion started in part due to the lie that somehow the 9/11 terrorists were connected to Iran.
Eg "There were about 700 inspections, and in no case did we find weapons of mass destruction," said Hans Blix, the Swedish diplomat called out of retirement to serve as the United Nations' chief weapons inspector from 2000 to 2003.
Being conservative in the way you seem to be implying is denying science & illustrates the silly nature of voting Republican when you are not part of the 1% or that you are not male.
Since Trump was elected we've seen a wave of "hopeful" stories about the "next best thing" that will lead the resistance and beat Trump. Now comes Conon Lamb, and Dems are beside themselves. The problem is that this lamb will be carved up by Dems in more liberal states, who don't believe he's even close to being far left enough. And therein lies the dilemma for Dems, who won't be able to circle around a single platform. So enjoy this one win. It will be Trump and the GOP for another seven years.
2
As they tend to say in Congress, "Here comes the Marines!"
2
Let the Republicans spin all they want. What they are doing is ignoring the 800 lb orange topped gorilla in the room. As long as they do that they will not address the real problem they have and the Democrats can take control back in November.
9
This guy is Joe Biden, bless his heart. Personal convictions while respecting existing law is honorable; I'm stunned that more people haven't tried it, rather than insisting that their personal beliefs give them permission to legislate wombs other than their own.
The Democratic Party better get a bigger tent and welcome the Conor Lambs of the world into it. The GOP has managed to gather fake evangelicals, racists, sexists, and country club wives under its tent, so uniting a disparate group of good people should be a walk in the park for the Democrats.
14
There you go.
Dems just gotta nominate more gun-rights candidates.
I can see that happening.
1
Why not educate yourself.
There are plenty of responsible gun owners in the West who do
not support the lunacy of the NRA.
19
Congratulations to Pennsylvania. In response to your paragraph:
"Indeed, Democrats’ euphoria over how he fared on Tuesday will give way to sharp internal tensions and sustained quarreling over which sorts of candidates — soft-spoken or bold, centrist or liberal, eclectic or pure — the party would be wisest, from a pragmatic standpoint, to promote. Many Democratic voters want someone less mild and muddled than Lamb."
I'd settle for moral. The other characteristics are all secondary as the country tries to fill the moral vacuum created by the Trump GOP.
10
"To get through their party’s primaries, they’ll have to stake out more progressive ground than he did, and adopt a more combative, fiery tone. "
And what are the chances of that? Pretty slim. The Dems (although I'm registered as one) have been been Republican lite for years. Obama was willing to put social security and medicare on the table in budget discussions with a Republican Congress. And he and Pelosi took the public option off the table in formulating the AFCA (Obamacare). And don't forget the DNC sandbagging Bernie Sanders. Were I in Pennsylvania I'd have voted for Lamb, a Republican lite holding my nose as I did when I voted (and contributed to both their campaigns) Clinton.
3
We seem to be an "all or nothing" country. What's wrong with the representative actually REPRESENTING the people he represents? Otherwise, he's just another dictator - and he will be a one-termer. He will probably vote most often with the Democrats on important issues, but crossing over to support the will of his constituency is the only way to guarantee he will hold the seat for long enough to break the republican spell.
11
In reality, Lamb is basically a moderate Republican / conservative Democrat. Perhaps he will be a moderating influence to both sides of the aisle.
6
I’m a centrist left democrat who has never voted republican. I think the ultra left progressive part of the Democratic Party should also be quaking in their boots. Those who wish to oust Dianne Feinstein and anyone over 40 years old need to get a grip that in order to capture the Senate and the House, the party needs to appeal to the largest segment of the party - the middle left, middle class, pro-labor, and fiscally responsible. As long as the democrats have a progressive litmus test, they will continue to be the party out of power.
3
In other words, Republican Lite. That's what got us Trump. No thanks.
3
Here we have a charismatic candidate, friendly, full of energy and right on the issues, running against a charisma challenged, glued to Trump, jurassic candidate, and coming this close to losing. Anyone who thinks that Democrats will have any easy time of bringing any sense to the political scene is missing the obvious.
26
But remember that this was a district that Trump carried by 20 pts.
2
In a district lost to the GOP by 20 points, that is 93% white, and your President and VP went all in to win. Call it a draw if you want but I would be very afraid once the GOP gerrymandering dominos fall.
1
Nice to see there are still moderate Democrats up and coming. Similar to Virginia Governor Ralph Northam
4
DEMS should devise a bumper-sticker sized argument focusing on the unfairness of the GOP tax "reform." True reform should start with one tax rate for all types of income (not all amounts of income). Taxpayers who do not work for their income should not be taxed at a lower rate than those who work for their wages. The top 10% and especially the top 1% get most of the unearned income in this country -- it is only fair that they pay the same rate of tax that schoolteachers, factory workers, and other working Americans do.
4
Uh, no. It's only fair they should pay a higher rate than school teachers and factory workers.
4
So I guess Trump can reverse the tariffs now that Steel Country wasn’t sufficiently loyal.
21
Let me see if I have it straight: The Democrats have found a winning message and strategy and know how to talk to all voters and the GOP has no message and doesn't know how to speak to voters.
Is that what the MSM is going with now, after creating the frame that the Bernie vs. Hillary wings of the Democratic Party were engaged in the equivalent of a cage match civil war?
That's not even a bad summation of what the article says.
"But if the Pennsylvania results put Democrats in an awkward position, they leave Republicans in an even worse place. What exactly is their best strategy for the midterms?"
read the article next time.
Regarding Mir's comments about people having more money Tell that to a worker at McDonalds, BurgerKing, KFC, Wal-Mart, etc . There is a lot of money out there, but so many have not persons. Contrast Trump to Joe BIden (did you see the photo of him with the homeless man) ?
2
The only reason he won is because he acted like a republican and distanced himself from the Democrat party. Silly man. And unlike liberals, conservatives dont care if democrats are elected if they act like republicans.
3
Heavens, what a flurry of labels. "Democrat," "Republican," "liberal." At what point does it all become echoing hollowness? Lamb won because he came from his district and talked to its members like one of them. Hillary's tactic in 2016, on advice from Sen. Schumer and the Brooklyn brain trust, was to just ignore western Pennsylvania. Now we see which approach works.
6
From another story on this race:
“He’s a God-fearing, union-supporting, gun-owning, job-protecting, pension-defending Democrat.”
So, all Democrats need to do to win is to get pro-life, pro-gun, God-Fearing, proud-Catholic Marines to run for Congress.
The left's worst nightmare is electing enough "Democrats" who think like this to actually make a difference in DC. Can you imagine the reaction of the SF/NYC leftists if a guy like this became Speaker? A lot of Republicans wouldn't mind all that much.
The trick, of course, is to get enough of these folks elected so that Pelosi can resume power, then utterly ignore them.
2
You mean like how the tea-partiers felt about Boehner when he was speaker?
And please, why does everybody think that democrats are so monolithic? Oh right, because the media tends to play up the importance of the fringes of both parties to boost ratings.
1
As an NYC/CA “leftist” who grew up in PA, I’d cheer it- LOUDLY! Good lord, enough with all the ridiculous labels and categorical nonsense.
3
I think The New York Times should do a story about how those adoring people sitting behind Trump at those rallies are chosen. It is obviously a trumped up procedure.
6
Compare that to the way people were chosen to stand behind President Obama or Hillary at rallies. Probably the same process.
2
The critical factor in Lamb's apparent victory was his focus on economic issues and his avoidance of abortion, guns and identify politics. His disavowal of Nancy Pelosi has less to do with Nancy Pelosi than with the Fox news types' association of Pelosi with Democratic identity politics, abortion and gun control. The lesson should be crystal clear. It's the economy stupid. Indeed, it's the concentration of wealth (or, if you prefer, economic inequality). This is the way Democratic candidates can win. Avoid the cultural issues that the fat cats' running dogs use to distract the voters and focus on the economic realities. E.g.: Fight the bill to weaken Dodd Frank and run against the fat cats.
7
Another commenter ranted about Democrats choosing another anti-choice candidate. Her statement is not correct. Conor Lamb personally opposes abortion but is pro-choice--a position held by numerous Catholic Democrats in elected office.
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/3/14/17119896/conor-lamb-on...
7
"Conor Lamb Roared!" Mr. Bruni's, let's not get carried away! He seems to have won by less than five hundred votes. Plus, the Democrats don't have a coordinated national message!
2
or a national get out the vote effort or a voter registration effort just as in 2016
the dems clearly don't want a win
Saccone accused Lamb's supporters of hating our Country and hating God. I would have been very disappointed if that kind of rhetoric carried him to victory.
6
Congratulations, Conor Lamb and the PA voters who supported you! Do a good job in Congress. We need you and others like you to turn the tide of the Trump stench!
6
What a joke. Democrats win when they nominate a decent, honest candidate who is to the right of the progressive intelligencia. Democrats can win even in Trump country when they nominate a decent, honest candidate who is not owned by big money donors, when they don't have Krugman and Blow trashing their opponent. Most importantly, it shows that Democrats lost in 2016 because they nominated the worst, most miserable candidate in history, who couldn't even beat a vulgar barbarian named Trump. Every Democratic victory in Trump country is a statement about Hillary, and I hope Democrats finally get the message.
5
You know she lost, right? You can move on now.
5
that miserable candidate got 3 million more votes.
7
Don't count you chickens, guys...
First of all, as I see it, Lamb may have run on a Democratic ticket, but he actually voiced pretty Republican opinions and iedeas. Secondly, no-one, literally no-one knows what Donald the Magnificent will do between now and November, not even he himself.
I understand the joyous reflex and the draw of interpreting this one swallow as a sign of a breaking spring, but bear in mind what would need to happen for the Democrats to sweep the House and the Senate and to then take on the unpredictable and wildly veering behemoth that is this White House.
I wish you well, but this sort of victory is one of the things that will incite "moderate" Republicans, the ones who have begun to doubt Trump, to rally behind him.
2
Rick Saccone suggested that one reason to vote for him over Conor Lamb was that he didn't think Democrats believed in God. Maybe this election result was God's way of punishing politicians who use his/her name in vain, or in a transparent and despicable lie.
7
More conservative Democrats—who don't attack Trump?
2
See those beautiful smiling women in the photograph? That is glee and happiness at the thought of getting this repugnant Congress and administration out of office as soon as possible.
4
For a country like ours that is still not prepared to have a woman president ( yeah .. Islamic Pakistan & Bangladesh did get one long time back ..) and elects a person boasting in appropriate behavior to woman and clumsy as using a Twitter to sack his Secretary of State we have to get more centrists like Lamb.
We have already lost the WH for 4-8 years and the supreme court for 40 years or more.
Utopian liberal candidates will not even get the votes in cities forget about the little towns in Midwest.
We have to tread carefully when we choose our candidates .. we cannot afford to lose the Congress for another two years .. the fear of seeing Trump as president for a second term really scares my soul.
1
Conor Lamb is:
Pro-life
Pro-gun
Pro-fracking
Pro-tariffs
Pro-defense
With Democrats like this, who needs Republicans?
4
Democrats need Democrats who win.
4
But Conor Lamb is also:
1) Pro-Medicare
2) Pro-Affordable Care Act
3) Pro-Social Security
4) Pro-Union
and
5) Anti-Tax-Reduction-For-The Wealthy
Doesn't sound like at all since the Republicans' goal is to destroy items 1-4 and push even further with item 5. Lamb may not be YOUR perfect Dem, but he's a Dem nevertheless and one that can win in conservative-leaning districts.
7
lamb is pro choice for others
he knows how to keep his
religion out of politics
7
"Trump and Republicans Should Quake"?
Well, maybe Trump should quake. Since all these repudiations signal that the people of the USA have had (more than) enough of his lies, demagoguery, and terrible "leadership"! (The world awaits his removal from office and trial on election-tampering, collusion with Russia, and corruption charges!)
And maybe the likes of McConnell, Ryan, Nunes, Issa, Pruitt, Brownback, Walker, etc, should quake too, since their brand of 'support Trump 100%' and lie and smear in the process and attack anything that's good for the 99% is also being discredited.
But maybe some of the REAL Republicans (if any still exist) can come out of the woodwork and try to reassert the tattered values of their discredited party?
2
Are there a lot of Republican candidates who praise unions as much as Lamb did last night?
2
Thanks Pennsylvania for voting the way you did and thanks to Frank Bruni for the article. I hope all is well with you!
3
Lesson for democrats: Actually running a democratic candidate helps your chances of winning!
Before Doug Jones ran in Alabama, Sessions ran unopposed for over a decade..which may be part of the reason he always won....
3
Frank,
The one newspaper I must read to understand America is the Israeli daily Haaretz. It is the one paper that understands America and the divisions that roil America and was willing to tell its readers who Nikolas Cruz is and why he attacked the specific high school in Parkland Florida.
I use the dictionary definition of middle-class and with specific emphasis on what it means to be middle class in America.
The children of Parkland are my children , they are my grandchildren. They talk like my children , they look like my children and they behave like my children. The are the children of Lake Wobegone and they were the citizens who made the USA the greatest country on Earth after WWII.
America's middle-class may be far larger than the traditional middle class of the top 10% between the elite and the 90%. America's middle class is probably between 30-40% but it is still a minority and right now it is under heavy attack.
Haaretz knows and understands America and understands "Never Again" is not a statement of fact but a prayer.
3
Every vote counts. Register yourself and others and see to it that on various election days over the next 6-7 years people get out and vote.
All politics is local, don't fret that this guy has positions that won't work in another district. He won. He says he won't vote for Pelosi for Speaker, I'm confident he won't vote for Ryan as Speaker either. This is part of what it takes to send the Hassertt Rule to the dustbin of history.
1
Compared with the last time this seat was contested (2012) there were 9000 fewer votes for the Democratic candidate and 103,000 fewer votes for the Republican candidate. If the Democrats want to take control of the House, they had better figure out how to mobilize voters for their candidates in a non-presidential year election. On the other side of the coin, the Republicans need to figure out why their supporters stayed home in this election while the other side did not.
Democrats at present have a lack of leadership and a clear counter message. The economy is doing good people are earning a bit more, they have to point out with force that all this started under Obama and send a clear message where the economy was when Obama took over and where it was when he left. Compare the progress between Obama and Trump.
2
It was gratifying to see Lamb specifically thank "organized labor" in his quasi-victory speech last night. I hope union workers come back to their senses and vote for Democrats, and hamstring President Trump in every way possible. And I hope that the Democratic leadership come to their senses and start concentrating more on economic issues, local issues, and local offices, with candidates deeply tied to the community running in every single district in the country. We'll lose more than we win at first, but you can't fight if you don't show up.
5
The Democrats will do well if and only if they can muzzle the identity politics wing of the party, or at least restrain it from attacking more traditionally oriented voters. A "deplorables" outburst would flush all of the Democrats' hopes, and rightly so.
3
You write, "with each passing week — each passing day — the Trump administration’s turbulence intensifies and the scandals and scandal-ettes pile up." Shouldn't you add that with each passing day Trump's administration becomes more right-wing and more bellicose? We may see a trade war, an attack on North Korea, the firing of Mueller and a steep drop in the stock market by November.
3
All these people claiming that Lamb offered Republican voters another Republican to vote for: The track record is that if right-leaning voters are given a choice between a real Republican and a Republican on the Democratic ticket, they go for the real Republican every time. The fact that the GOP is now so hard to stomach that a solidly Republican district would shun the actual Republican is not a good sign for GOP fortunes.
Trump has become toxic. As his antics and unhinged behavior cost ever more Republicans their seats, the remaining office holders will be finding ways to run from him. Impeachment won't seem so outlandish after all.
4
I grew up in a conservative state.
What resonated most with voters I spoke with (not people in PA...just future voters looking at this), is that Lamb came out against Pelosi.
the reality is that last night's stories ("Pelosi poised to take back over as Majority leader") would turn actual voters towards voting Republican for this very reason.
I"m not saying how it should be. I'm saying how it is.
2
That Conor Lamb had these results deep in the heart of steel country in the wake of Trump’s tariff announcement on steel and aluminum imports makes it all the more shocking, Lamb’s stated support thereof aside. ‘I’m With He Who Passed Tariffs’ wasn’t even enough for the GOP in this area.
Clearly, House races are LOCAL. The Democratic party needs to recognize that and support (with money and enthusiastic endorsement) the right candidates for their districts. That will range from far-left in some places to near-republican in others (like Lamb). As long as they caucus and vote with the Democrats, they are who we need to take back the House (and Senate, Statehouses, Governorships, the Presidency, the USA itself) from Trump, McConnell, Ryan, and the rest. It's not about ideological purity, it's about people who can represent their districts and states, then join together as a party to repair the damage that Trump, et.al., have dome to our country.
2
The notion that to win in red districts, Democrats have to be more conservative than their progressive "base" can stand is sheer nonsense. Just look at Christine Pellegrino, a Berniecrat who won a special election last year (not long after Trump took office) in a district that hadn't voted Democrat in 100 years. Solid red. She won, because like a true progressive, she defended working class interests like strong unions and support of public schools. For those elitists like Frank Bruni who are sternly advising Democrats to shun progressive values -- well, that's what Dems have been doing since Bill Clinton came into office with his so-called "Third Way". What's the result? Loss of over 1000 legislative seats in the last 20 years and a Congress and presidency in Republican hands. The way to win is to defend the interests of We The People against the predatory corporate elite that Bruni so ably represents.
The fact that there isn't a national revolt in the usa with the public demanding some other president, even if it were some other republican, & the fact that the constituencies of states & districts aren't demanding their own elected Trump enablers dissent him, means Republicans have succeeded beyond their dreams.
They have already won. It will be at least a generation before Trumpist republicanism begins to fade.
The 'resistance' seethes in futile fury the way the neoconfederacy seethed for decades since Civil Rights & desegregation.
Republicans are getting all they ever wanted, they are far from quaking, they own the USA.
Progressivism is derailed & will need to start over from scratch. The tide has been fundamentally turned against liberalism, republicans aren't going away any time soon.
1
I'd feel a lot better if most of the Democratic leadership in the house were to announce that they will be leaving their positions and open it up to a new generation. Not giving the Republicans Pelosi, et al to run against will be worth several seats. And Lujan needs to be removed from the DCCC immediately, or go back into the past and remove him.
Totally agree, and I hope your next column will extend the political logic of Lamb's victory: time to retire Pelosi.
1
GOP spinners might well suggest that "what happened in Pennsylvania was peculiar to Pennsylvania." Fair enough, but was it also peculiar to Alabama, Virginia and several other regions where Democratic victories have been cascading at the State level?
4
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, ...............hope reigns.
6
Lamb’s apparent victory is among the best tonic I have enjoyed since the despicable Scalia bought the farm.
7
A 33-year-old Marine veteran, former federal prosecutor, pro-gun, pro-union "Democrat" who opposes abortion and despises Pelosi means "Republicans should shake"? It actually just proves Republicans' point.
And it means to Democrats, the winning model is go out and find a lot of Democrat White men who are pro military, hard on crime, pro-gun, pro-union, pro-lifers that hate the current Democratic leadership. Yeah, good luck with that strategy.
What is the Democrat motto anyway? "We're kicking out all the White People. One hardworking, tax paying, voter at a time!"
3
No, your motto remains just yours.
3
Hello ? Donald ?
Is it sinking in yet - Most people DO NOT LIKE YOU.
11
Stormy Daniels for President !
2
Lamb trumped Trump.
The President thought he was leading Lamb to slaughter but the Democrat has exposed the disgust of voters to Trumpian dalliances with porn stars and Russia.
November elections will slaughter Trump supported GOP congressmen and senators.
6
So between the victory of Doug Jones and Conor Lamb, two straight, white men who support gun rights, do you suppose that the Democrats will ever reckon with their Identity Politics rhetoric, which over the last ten years has decimated the Party? Will the NY Times?
Drifting Towards Deplorables....if only to win?
1
May be our party, unlike the Republican party, is more inclusive because it recognizes that Americans are diverse, depending on their experiences, geographic and cultural circumstances, with different needs and priorities. Lamb and Jones being white, male and straight doesn't mean anything to Democrats, because we're not demagogues. It doesn't mean "identity politics" is now a dirty word for Dems, There's room for Kamala Harris and Conor Lamb. And we don't drift toward teenage sex predators for Senate if only to win.
2
The GOP/Trump tactic of demonizing your American opponent is truly despicable.
Mr. Saccone and Mr. Trump harkened back to McCarthy-ish slurs. Mr. Trump took time from his troubles with porn-babe Stormy Daniels and canning his own Secretary of State by "tweet" to come out and try to slur the US Marine running for office. It's high time the hammer came down on these guys. They deserve to lose- from here on out.
8
Settle down Frank-
It's inconsequential! We already have what we needed, a tie breaking repub
Supreme Court Justice. Dems might pick up 10-15 seats max. Nothing changes, veto power still in place.
I think you're missing the point that the Supreme Court is supposed to be apolitical.
4
Right. 10+ million and Trump looking like the Fool he actually is = "inconsequential".
2
That charade was exposed when the totally unqualified Clarence Thomas was put in place with the idea that he would never even have to think or open his mouth. He would just vote far right on anything that comes before him. The Supreme Court has become a farce. Bernie Sanders supporters were too ignorant to understand this and withheld votes.
1
Here's the best strategy for Democrats to win elections. Field candidates who represent their districts and who want to help their constituents. This means that in very liberal areas, field liberal candidates. In areas like PA 18, field candidates that are more moderate, that are representative of the area from which they hail. And field candidates who are forthright and are not focus grouping their tag lines. It must feel authentic, not rehearsed -and there is a difference. Authenticity is what voters are craving. I also believe a lack of perceived authenticity and a smattering of sexism is what defeated Clinton.
3
The Dems desperately need more Conor Lambs, and Nancy Pelosi needs to go! What the Democratic party doesn't seem to understand is that to appeal to the mainstream America, concessions need to be made. We can't all be to the far, far left, when most of America is middle of the ground. Compromise, and we WILL win. Conor Lamb is a study in how we should approach the November elections. Change is coming and the Old Guard at the Democratic Party better get on board.
1
He asks, "What exactly is their best strategy for the midterms?" Might it be good to remember the phrase "All politics are local"?
2
You all got played. Lamb is no more a Democrat than McCain is a Republican. His stances are those of what I would can a moderate, My guess is he will govern more like a "republican" than democrat. The Dems didn't gain anything.
1
Less than a day after saying Lamb is a clone of Nancy Pelosi, the Republicans are now gloating that he's really a clone of Trump. Spin, spin, spin.
2
Whistling past the boneyard.
1
Right.
Slapping the Trump Lie-Factory upside the head is definitely "something".
McCain is a republican and Lamb is a Democrat. It is Trump who is the freak.
2
When Trump ended his 'humorous' bit mocking presidential style with an
'and God bless the United States of America' that was dripping in sarcasm he ended all pretence that he doesn't believe himself to be greater than than his country; greater, even, than God. And the reaction from his chosen crowd! Nervous laughter and shocked expressions. Trump, at that moment, dropped in value like some vastly overhyped cyber currency - and he knew it.
4
Let's see, a right-of=center Democrat basically ties a race in a majority Dmeocratic district with a huge spending advantage. And this should make us be terrified. Try again.
Huh? I know this district well; staunchly conservative, pro-life, heavily Catholic, and GOP flooded $10M into the race. And a "majority Democratic district" voted for Trump by 20 points? Please.
2
No he didn't have a money advantage. He got most of his money from small donors and not from PAC money.
And Trump won the district by 20 points and the district has trended Republican for over 15 years. Would still have a GOP Rep had Murphy, the "family values" Congressman who urged his mistress to get an abortion not stepped down. I read that the district was so drawn so that Murphy could have a job for life.
2
We will, and we'll win again too.
2
The Democratic strategy is very simple and hearkens to the old adage that all politics is local. Each district's candidate should be of the character to fit that population. You can believe in the working class, poor, immigrants, and all the basic tenets of the Democratic platform with a more or less progressive stance. Life is not black or white but shades of grey.
2
"They said that Democrats would be hard-pressed to find many more Lambs with which to slaughter the G.O.P. in November."
That's always been a key problem with the GOP - underestimating the power, strength, and determination of a lamb. Aside from the fact that THIS Lamb is "33, a handsome (and clean-shaven) military veteran, was straight from central casting and had no extensive political record to contradict stances so moderate and squishy that he could be mistaken, well, for a Republican" the Right doesn't even know how to respond to a candidate like Mr. Lamb because they don't seem to have the ability to identify with those qualities.
First, Democrat Patty Schachtner beat Republican State Rep. Adam Jarchow in a special election to fill a vacant state Senate seat in January. Now we have Conor Lamb beating Republican Rick Saccone. Republicans shouldn't only be quaking, but also be shaking to the awakening of the Democratic Party. We will be bah bahing all the way to election night come November and then on to November in 2020. We are finally figuring out how to sharpen our hooves.
3
I welcome all comments about Democratic candidates not being liberal enough when this fever dream concludes and we have some guard rails restored on our democracy. Until then applaud Conor Lamb for finding a way to represent this constituency with a D next to his name.
2
Well, a little perspective and circumspection might be in order. The Eastern Elites were feeling pretty smug back in 2016. They'd all misread the tea leaves leading up to the Trump win, so let's not get too far out on a limb, eh.
1
Who are the “eastern elites”? Is it OK for us to make up pejorative names for people in other parts of the country?
2
This is no reason for Dems to get complacent; rather, it is proof that every vote counts and on-the-ground, door-knocking politicking matter.
Plus, all politics is local. Lamb was the right candidate for this district, just as Jones was the right candidate in Alabama. Both were blemish-free and centrist. They were candidates that Republicans could cross over to when they didn't like what the GOP had on offer.
Moore was obviously an awful candidate, and Saccone (being the local incumbent, which normally carries advantages) had a record that disappointed some R voters. In sum, these races were more lost by the GOP as they were won by the Democrats. Learn carefully.
4
Here's a winning strategy for Trump and Republicans: Fulfill Trump's campaign promises to help the working and middle classes at the expense of big international corporations and Wall Street. So far, with tax cuts and banking "reform," Trump and Republicans have done the opposite. All Trump needs to do for his popularity to soar is become the working and middle class president he promised he'd be.
That should scare Democrats. They should realize that they need to be the advocates for the working and middle classes, instead of the "centrist" big corporation promoters they tend to want to be. Democrats need to do that before Trump realizes that fulfilling his campaign promises to help the working and middle classes is his best winning strategy.
1
Why do progressives forget that they are not the majority in this country.?As a liberal and a Democrat, I’m convinced that the only path to the White House is with someone like Lamb.
Let’s not make the perfect the enemy of the good.
3
Why is it surprising to discover what has been widely known my entire life: the Dems are a big tent party with room for most.
1
David, I get your point. I’d rather have a standing hut than a collapsed tent.
The way forward for Democrats is to turn back to their roots, the populism that fueled Huey Long, and then in turn FDR, but which Trump successfully used to get himself elected, despite having a lifelong record that stands in stark opposition to populism. The Dems need to rebuild their once-solid base of working and middle class voters, and listen to what they want: a return to the days when anyone who wanted one could find a dependable job that paid a living wage. Forget the identity politics of Clinton's "Third Way", and return to working on behalf of ALL people. Prosperity is the Great Equalizer, and crosses all demographic boundaries. Win back the people who were mesmerized by Trump's snake oil promises by crafting a platform that will deliver prosperity to the 99% instead of the 1%. Do not make this a referendum on guns, or race, or gender, or religion - all of these are important issues, but in the end they're less important than being able to put food on the table and gas in the car and clothes on the back.
To find your way back, it's often helpful to retrace your steps.
1
Has anyone posited that it’s the candidates who make the race? Trump one because he spoke to the voters, and Clinton did not. Same goes for Lamb - he was a better candidate. It’s statistically insignificant and just plain difficult to extrapolate a direction for the election as a whole while looking at one race and two candidates.
2
The Donald has shown that he has no coat tails - he is all for one and one for himself. His rally the other night was pure pandering to his deplorable base. He has no ability to convert non believers to his side.
Donald's 37% carried the day for him, but cannot translate into a local election with good numbers of undecideds.
3
Half of the voters there still support the cruelties and craziness of the current Republican administration. I would not call that much of a victory, if it turns out to be a victory, for the Democrats. Certainly no reason for bragging, dancing in the street, or proclaiming some new wave. Half like things the way they are. Half.
1
In my opinion the Democrats have a great deal to offer America and they can win almost anywhere in the country. BUT they will not win if they act smug, self-satisfied, and superior. I sincerely believe that it was the projection or perception of arrogance that kept Hillary from the White House.
Take nothing for granted. Work for every vote. You are entitled to nothing. Be truly humble. If Dems can keep that attitude they will win big.
1
Trump can also render himself and his enablers even less attractive.
Not Trumps style. He is Chaos and for better or worse the GOP is stuck with Chaos and the voters do not like it.
Like with an empty gas tank, Republicans are working on the remaining fumes of the anti-Clinton machination. For 25 years, this strategy served them well. They have nothing else to offer the masses and people are waking up to that.
3
What this election reminds us is that there is no one-size-fits-all platform from which all candidates from a party can run on. This should be obvious, given the tremendous diversity of this nation, but politics has been steadily trending away from the idea of regional needs and ideals.
Candidates can and should figure out what is needed to best serve their constituents, campaign for it, then go to Washington and do it. Anything less is a failure.
America would do well if there was more crossing the aisle versus straight party-line votes in Congress. The only way for a future-oriented agenda to flourish is if the party lines are broken and and issue like, say climate change, becomes more science-based and less political. Ditto health care costs. Ditto everything else.
One can dream!
4
If anything, Lamb's success in PA should remind democrats that they should NOT swing far to the left. Every successful President had been a moderate. You must be to win support from both sides. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren are valuable voices in the Senate, but are not candidates for national office. we need someone who can speak to ALL of the US, not another fine group.
3
This is absolutely correct. Most of the country is not that far to the left, and democrats need to meet people where they are.
Those who are questioning whether it is better to elect a candidate who will give Democrats access to the power of Speaker of the House or "pure" candidates who espouse a "one-size fits all" policy position on every issue are correct to pose the question. in this age where money comes from big donors and individual PACs the power of party organization seems to be decreasing.
The issues which Democrats consider "litmus tests" are actually few. Democrats have a long tradition of being "personally" against abortion" but willing to vote to respect the rights of individuals to control their own reproductive health care. Democrats have a long tradition of including candidates with various positions on the 2nd amendment. As Republicans have moved to an extreme position on guns which allows for no deviation from the NRA's demands, Democrats in the center have become targets. On other issues such as the role of unions, the protection of human rights including LGBTQ, ethical campaign financing, the protection from voter suppression, immigration, free trade and the need for a strong diplomatic corp as well as a strong military positions are nearly the same among Democratic candidates.
The Democratic party accepts Independents who caucus with Democrats but remain Independents. A significant percentage of Democrats want(ed) Sanders to be the national face of Democrats as the Presidential nominee despite his position on gun regulation. Lamb's positions in the 18th are not unusual.
3
Paul Ryan trying to spin this as Lamb won because he ran as Republican. News to Paul Ryan, if Lamb thinks facts and competency matter, he's not a Republican.
Trump has no doubt changed politics. I have strong opinions on the environment and gun control. But I am willing to allow for other opinions, if the source of the opinion is an intellect who looked at the data honestly and arrived at another end point.
Much was made of Lamb being "personally against abortion" though vowing to vote pro life. Time for Democrats to start accepting this as a reasonable stance on a national level. Its pragmatic. It also, in my opinion, happens to be a reasonable stance.
17
Let's all hope Lamb can pull this off with the final ballots. Send out "win, win" karma.
5
It's heartening to see that a Democrat can beat (or come so close to beating) a Republican candidate in such a red district, even when they aren't running against a child molester!!! Today I am celebrating the small victories.
7
Speramus, speramus, speramus! We hope.
A Democratic wave is the best hope to save America from Trump.
6
The Democrats are America-loving patriots who will do their best to defeat the traitorous Republican Party as it tries to destroy this great nation.
9
I have been deeply depressed since the "election/selection" of Trump. Then came the most morbid Inaugural speech I've heard. Since that day, I have been following the daily exploits of this ignoramus-in-chief as he plods his way through a job he is most unqualified to hold. I have watched with horror Trump's claims of hiring the "best people" to his Cabinet. My oh my, you could not picked more unqualified people if you threw a dart on the wall. Trump filled his Cabinet with saboteurs, contrarians. They were put in charge of departments they are too incompetent to handle. They were put there to exact the most damage they could.
What kind of person is Trump? He was given the responsibility of holding the most powerful office in the land, and this is how he handles it? He can't be bothered reading up on policy, not even a how-to "president for dummies" manual. I imagined this is what any normal person would do were they elected president having had no previous experience at all in government. Being in business does not count, and people should stop that canard about saying it does.
Over a year in, here we sit. Trump has nothing to show for it except a terrible tax plan. He is being investigated for collusion with the enemy. Thank God for Robert Mueller. I believe Trump is a stooge of Putin's. But I also believe this Blue tidal wave approaching will wash away the stain Trump has put upon US. Yesterday, America made me proud, again.
DD
Manhattan
18
Whether a public servant is a Lamb, a Flake, a Foxx or a Fudge, whether hansome, shaven or shaggy, all that matters is what he will do in office. Good for Pennsylvania. Good for us.
2
The GOP's already claiming "centrist" Lamb plagiarized their heartfelt policies as a bromide for their tough battle ahead. If true, how come twenty GOP candidates for president w/ same "heartfelt policies" couldn't topple a once abortion-supporting / 5-deferment "outsider" whom their party nominated for 2016's general election for POTUS? Meanwhile, all the Democrats need is some new audaciously hopeful young one riding on a gun-shy policy of a timid Republican just like our Blue Hawaiian had taken Massachusetts' RomneyCare to the races!
1
Youns had a good election out there in Western Pa. Time to red up the mess the Republicans have made in Congress..
1
Please tone down the Fox “News”-style hyperbole and ironic overreach. No lambs (or Lambs) roared, and no Republicans quaked. This was an important but narrow and rather tentative win in what will be a very long, and probably increasingly mandarin, drama. We need, more than ever, the Times to maintain analytical rigor in its assessments, and measure in its opinions.
6
This is an editorial. Not reporting. But I agree that analytical rigor is important.
1
In the Age of trump, the only viable Democratic candidates will -
1. Oppose Nancy Pelosi at every turn
2. Agree with Trump on tariffs and trade
3, Agree with the tax cut enriching workers already
4. Oppose any new restrictions on firearms purchases
5. Be willing to discuss access to abortions
Why be a progressive robot when the only way to win now is to sound like Donald Trump?
4
4. Except for reinstating the ban on assault weapons, ban bump stocks andage restrictions.
6. Not touch Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid and strengthen the ACA instead of sabotaging it.
And in general: Do what benefits the country and its constituents most on the other points, being flexible where needed.
only in very red districts. your comment is intended to suggest voters will not support candidates in less red districts who espouse progressive ideas. You will be proven wrong.
And now Dems know how to win in ruby red districts!
3
Yes. Run a Trump Republican.
1
NOOO Marian, please remember that Conor Lamb is also:
1) Pro-Medicare
2) Pro-Affordable Care Act
3) Pro-Social Security
4) Pro-Union
and
5) Anti-Tax-Reduction-For-The Wealthy
Doesn't sound like at all like the GOP since the Republicans' goal is to destroy items 1-4 and push even further with item 5. Lamb may not be YOUR perfect Dem, but he's a Dem nevertheless and one that can win in conservative-leaning districts.
2
Medicare and SS are academic, i.e., they are the third rail. And Lamb strikes me as not very ideological. He will be persuadable
My point is not Lamb, but the general scheme suggested by Lamb. Either the winner will be a DINO, in which case it is a pyrrhic victory, or the winner will have defrauded the voters, making the scheme a one-off.
1
How is this such a coup? How many Democrats are planning to fire AR-15s in their campaign ads at the mid-term elections? The Democrats should be just as terrified as Republicans. The with-him/against-him dilemma facing Republicans is no more profound and unpredictable a line to walk as the center-left/progressive-left choice Democrats face. Both parties are rudderless and leaderless.
I’ll believe in a Democrat resurgence when they A) beat strong GOP candidates and B) win with a modern and progressive economic agenda that can achieve buy-in from centrists.
3
I wouldn’t get too excited about a victory (maybe) by a candidate who had to disavow his party’s leadership in order to (maybe) win it. Besides, looks like the Republicans didn’t learn anything about what happens when you take election wins for granted.
Why NOT disavow the Democratic leadership? It has led to the disastrous candidacy of Hillary Clinton and the loss of BOTH Houses of Congress. Its time to let more diversity of thought in the Democratic Party. I'm a Democrat and I am all for change. Pelosi should resign for the good of her party and the nation. Time to move on.
1
Not the least bit clear that the Republicans took this race for granted. They sure poured a lot of money into it, and trotted out Trump, his son, and Pence. Their brand has simply become toxic when they can't hold a gerrymandered, lily white district that they overwhelmed barely over a year ago.
1
I'm not sure Democrats should be jumping for joy just yet. Lamb effectively ran as a Republican, and there wasn't a primary race that would likely have pulled him further toward to the left.
4
Lamb ran as pro-union and pro-labor and a socially conservative in a unionized blue collar socially conservative environment. Not much different from old school Socialist Sanders...
1
Yesterday the right was accusing Lamb of being a Pelosi Democrat, today he's a Republican in disguise. Spin, spin, spin.
3
Wishful thinking, Connor Lamb is a sham. Voters will see him siding with Pelosi and Schumer in the coming months. That should be enough to convince moderate and conservative voters not to vote for a democrat in November. Or voters will see Lamb disagreeing in votes with the party, only to be proven in effective. No take over of the house by dems in November.
1
This was a meow not a roar. Come on we can do better!
How can the Republicans quake when Lamb quacked Republican? Both sides of the aisle have been challenged, but more deeply, as in the '16 elections, the Democrat presumptions.
1
Yes, the circus act is indeed beginning to wear thin on anyone who doesn’t identify with Trump’s “red meat” consuming, pitch fork wielding, angry mob base. Cult is more accurate. It doesn’t seem to have dawned on the GOP that the crowds who gather at Trump rallies represent the sum total of his supporters. There aren’t legions who were unable to secure tickets to his events. This is it.
Also wearing thin is the clown in chief’s decimation of our standing on the world stage, and his bellicose rhetoric that threatens whatever peace remains around the globe. As to the “cut, cut, cut” tax bill, even some of his supporters have awakened to the “oh, you didn’t mean you would cut MY taxes in any meaningful way” reality that epitomizes the GOP fraud. Connor Lamb may not be a member of the resistance, but these results are a harbinger of what the resistance will bring. Get ready. We’re coming.
8
They say Lamb is a moderate and he says he wants to solve everyday problems for people not like the politicians in Washington that call each other names, but if he does start addressing problems such as healthcare, climate change, militarism, education, jobs... they will call him a progressive and if he doesn't he will just be another tool of the arms industry, insurance companies, banks...so lets see what he is when he actually starts making decisions.
Dems should never, ever forget that during the 2016 election, Senator Schumer told Hillary that they could do without western Pa. because there were enough votes elsewhere. Never, ever, ever listen to Brooklyn again.
4
And now let's move on to Wisconsin in November. Senator Tammy Baldwin is facing millions of Koch brothers' money coming in to defeat her. And in the 1st Congressional District, Randy Brice is leading an exciting campaign against Paul Ryan which has excited the party base. If the Democratic Party gets behind these two candidates, we could have a terrific Thanksgiving!!!
8
Bring back the Blue Dogs. Should Dems put up more Blue Dog candidates like this, I would vote Blue until the cows come home.
Sincerely, a middle American living in middle America.
6
A vote for Blue Dogs is a vote for Republicans, and a vote for Republicans is a vote for Trump. If you think Trump will help middle America vote Blue Dog. Otherwise, if you want progress on healthcare, wage stagnation, pay inequality, religious freedom, support for unions, jobs programs - in other words, anything a middle American might care about - vote progressive.
1
Democrats need to understand that if they want to get back to governing majorities they will have to become a 'big-tent' party once again. There's nothing wrong with moderate or even right leaning candidates in districts and States that will only support these kinds of candidates.
The current version of the Republican party has become so extreme that it seems intent on destroying the ability of the Federal government it even function. We need to have Democratic majorities so we can get back to real debates and real actions to deal with the problems of the modern world. Even if the debate is between liberal Democrats and conservative Democrats it would be far better than the dysfunction we have today.
6
No caveats are needed. Lamb won because he listened to his constituents and REPRESENTED them. Republicans have been claiming to do that for decades but general fell back on the religion and guns cards to win. Not this time.
I totally disagree with the National and even State and Congressional Democratic leadership that they need to present a "model" of what their candidate should be. That is how they have been losing for decades, because their candidates have been Pablum.
As Hubert Humphrey famously said, "all politics is local". Heeding that mantra is how to win as Lamb just did.
8
Humphrey didn't say that. Tip O'Neil did. BTW, he was willing to work with Reagan for the good of the country--something the insane left would never do.
I agree with Conor Lamb. Nancy Pelosi has to go. She has retained her leadership position because of her fundraising ability, but as this election made clear, the Democrats cannot spend the money she attracts in the tight races they need to win because doing so just makes it easy for the Republicans to rally around the rubberstamp-for-Pelosi rubric while, which energizes their base and turns off independents. Removing Pelosi as the face of Democrats in the House would remove the Republicans' tried and true propaganda point and would give those with an actual platform (what do the Democrats stand for under Pelosi?) a chance to articulate it.
4
If Nancy Pelosi really cares about the party and the country she should announce that she will not seek the Speakership if the Democrats take back the House. It has nothing to do with her record or capabilities, it’s about taking away the Republicans’ strongest rallying point. She has been demonized to the point of no return.
1
"She has been demonized to the point of no return."
As was Hillary, because the Republicans know that misogyny plays even better than race to an even bigger audience.
The Narcissistic Gasbag showed up twice, number 1 son was there as was the VP. The Republicans threw an ocean of cash at the district and they still couldn´t come up with the "W". Each local and state election is different but there are important similarities--genuinely presentable candidates, clear resolute messages and a mobilization of the voters to vote get the job done.
6
Republicans are, once again, deluding themselves when they think that Democrats won’t run moderate candidates if that’s what fit the district. Here in blue, blue California, the Democratic Party just endorsed Jessica Morse, the more middle of the road Democrat in the recent statewide Party caucus. Ms. Morse is a young, sensible, fifth generation resident of our CD4, a district that encompasses the Sierra mountains, including Yosemite and Lake Tahoe. She served as a State Department rep in Baghdad and is very pro environment, believes in climate change and completely fits the district. She will beat the do nothing, fossil fuel Koch-funded incumbent Republican, Tom McClintock.
It’s the Republican Party that requires strict adherence to a rigid right wing orthodoxy — Democrats are the inclusive party.
Another district that no one expected to flip, will come November turn from red to blue.
Catch the wave....
10
Now lets hear it for that great moderate Kamala Harris and her calls to disband ICE.
Living deep in rural America, where Trump is believed and evidenced-based thinking is hard to come by, the GOP is in no danger of losing ground.
The questions for midterms are:
Will urban Americans vote?
Will minorities vote?
The questions down the road:
Will the electoral college be destroyed by amendment?
Will gerrymandering be dismantled?
If the answers to these four questions are yes, then Trump's time in office and the GOP's time in power will be short.
5
The founding fathers did not believe in democracy but in representative government. That's why every state has two senators regardless of population. Would you abolish the Senate, too? Our Supreme Court is not elected, but appointed. Would you change that, too? Or is it merely that you don't like the result of the last election and would like to change the rules just because you lost?
I would like for the popular vote to count for president, like it does for every other office. Or, at the very least, I would like the electors to do their job and protect us from unfit presidents, which they refuse to do in this day and age the way the founders wanted them to do.
2
The only party which has ever benefitted from electoral college reversals of the popular vote is the GOP. And it was the GOP, when they lost elections, who changed the rules by redistricting and gerrymandering, and with unconstitutional voter suppression laws. But of course you failed to notice or mention those GOP-sponsored warps in the fabric of democracy.
When congressional districts actually and equally represent the voters in each state congressional representation will more accurately mirror the founder's vision. Donald Trump was the demagogue Thomas Jefferson warned you about and created the electoral college to keep from office even after election by a deluded and duped electorate. It failed miserably in its mission in 2017. It favors rural votes over urban votes. It is time for it to be removed.
One last thought: after Mitch McConnell's trampling of the constitution to deny even a hearing on President Obama's nominee to the Supreme Court, NO Republican gets to cite the sanctity of the court to further their argument about upholding the constitution. Republicans have permanently forfeited that privilege, so drop it. Your argument here is just so much the pot calling the kettle sooty.
2
i think the penny dropped. you mentioned his looks three times in the column. I always thought that's how people choose candidates anyway.
that's why congress is so pretty.
Elections have become, as Nixon found, a cult of personality. Certainly that is what fueled Trump's otherwise inexplicable rise. Obama was also propelled by it, where it was a huge negative for HRC. Every "third party" candidate, from Ross Perot to Ralph Nader to Gary "what's Aleppo?" Johnson and Jill Stein, had virtually nothing propping them up but a cult of personality. Bernie Sanders's intractable cult following most likely handed Trump the presidency. So you are correct. Congress is pretty and petty because Americans vote on personality rather than quality, on hype rather than competence. Unfortunately, we all get stuck with the government the cult of personality voters deserve.
2
The recurring consensus on the panel shows last night was that the surest path to victory for the Democrats is to nominate the candidate that who best reflects the concerns and needs of the voters in that district rather than the one preferred by DNC.
9
Rick Saccone said that Lamb's supporters, "hate the President, hate America, and hate God."
I am honored to incur his scorn. The last thing I'd want is praise from the likes of him.
Also--Democrats in PA18 need to keep vigilant. Specifically, monitor absentee ballots very closely. Republicans have shown that nothing is beneath them and there are no limits to what they'll do to cheat their way into office.
33
Trump has 'promised' that he will be out on the stump A LOT leading up to the midterms (whether or not the republican candidate wants him there). Judging by how that's worked so far, I say keep on truckin' DT!
Conversely, I'm pretty sure that Ms. Pelosi is smart enough to keep a low profile from now until November.
10
Everyone should check to verify they are registered to vote.
17
As long as a Democrat runs toward Trump and away from Democrats they have a chance of winning an odd ball election. Lamb said he is pro life, pro guns, pro America, anti regulation, anti illegal immigration and anti Pelosi.
2
Oh, please. We're all pro America! It's becoming clear though that about 30% of Americans are also pro Russia.
7
This Lamb could not be silenced. It's the slaughterhouse for Trump and the enabling Republicans. Adults and teens are marching in unison against the NRA and the nefarious Trump administration. They will not stop until they gain control of Congress. Trump has a bunker state mentality. He will deny the onslaught of public opinion and try to enforce draconian laws. California stood up to him and Sessions. It's time for the rest of the country to do the same, and take back our democracy.
15
The title of this article should be "The lamb barely squeaked by" since in a district with roughly 230K people he got in with less than a thousand votes---assuming that his lead holds. It may be a "victory" but HALF the voters still think drumpf is mr wonderful, after 14 months of near total destruction of the nation, and one step closer to nuclear war due to his BIGLY mouth. PLEASE, folks calm down. The democrats just convinced 50% that they were not serious trump supporters from the beginning.
4
He won because he listened to the voters--something most tin-eared Democrats are incapable of doing as they move on with their tone-deaf leftist agenda.
4
If (as Conor Lamb suggested) HE is the future of the Democratic Party, while the decrepit and corrupt Nancy Pelosi represents the Democratic Party's past...
Roar, Conor...ROAR!
1
Class will always win out over crass.
9
I’m middle aged white guy and I can say we don’t need to send any more middle aged white guys to Washington. It time for the old timers to make way for younger minds of any gender, sexuality, or race.
Congress is proof old age does not equal wisdom.
20
Frank,
I certainly wish Conor Lamb victory but don't count your chickens before they're hatched.
2
You don't get it, do you? -- These "chickens" are already hatching, which is why it's such a tight race.
Compare pictures of the two groups supporting each candidate. Tells you everything you need to know!
9
I hope Democrats learn a lesson from this. The Democratic party should be a big tent. There must be room for centrists and progressives. With that attitude, the House could be taken back. There would be leadership to take on Donald Trump.
15
I'm concerned our celebration is premature.
Conor Lamb is anti-gun control and anti-abortion. He wasn't challenged by a real Democrat in a primary.
He may as well be named Conor Trump. Trump's ideology was victorious last night.
2
You're wrong about his stance on abortion. He's personally opposed to it, but has stated publicly that he is strongly pro-choice.
4
Narratives peddled by Republican pundits are untrue. Trump has not expanded his base, he has substantially shrunk the Republican base. Tribal party identity in Republican districts, what is wrongly called "Trump Country," is not that strong, an anti-Trump Democrat cannot win there. Conor Lamb showed, as have other Democrats, that Trump is toxic in much of America. We'll see a Republican postmortem trying to spin this, just as we saw in Alabama, where Republicans pretended Roy Moore was the exception that proved the rule. Republican reasoning was since Moore was flawed (yes, a pedophile is flawed) Republicans stayed home and Democrats voted for Doug Jones. There's some truth to it, but Jones prosecuted the Klan, is pro-choice, and won statewide in Alabama, meaning some Republicans voted for him despite arguments that Alabamians should vote for Satan as long as he ran as a Republican. Lamb is a classical centrist Democrat. To those who say he's no different than a Republican, think again. If there were 30 more Democrats like Lamb in the House much of the damage Trump has caused would have been prevented. While Lamb says he personally opposes abortion, he strongly backs abortion rights: "It's a right. And it's like that for a reason." Lamb opposed the Republican tax plan saying it hurt the working and middle class while being a huge "giveaway" to the wealthiest. Lamb is strong defender of the ACA, of Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and SNAP. Democrats need more like him.
10
"The district has voted so reliably Republican over the last decade that in the 2014 and 2016 House races, Democrats didn’t even bother to field a candidate."
Perhaps one of the lessons for Democrats is not to capitulate. And the Republican strategy is and will be the single issue voter (religion, immigration, abortion, guns) and a ton of social/media propaganda.
4
I'll vote for any Democrat who gets on the November ballot here in Texas. However, if we wind up with a majority of Congress that would force a woman to carry a fetus to full term that had a major physical or cognitive defect, what does it matter which party they represent?
Once before I voted for a (repub) Lican. The Democrat was so conservative that I felt it was better to vote for a true Lican than a fake one.
4
I am not sure that this is really a win for Democrats, especially for those of us considered "progressive", "liveral" or "left wing", as I think of myself. Lamb is anti-gun control, which means more deaths from mass shooting (600,000 people have died since Congress prevented the CDC from study gun violence 20 years ago, or 30,000 deaths/year on average, nearly equivalent to the number of deaths from car accidents in the same period, whose safety is studied and regulated). Also, I am concerned about his stance on a woman's right to an abortion. And how does he feel about climate change and the environment? If he joins the Democratic caucus in Congress but votes conservatively with Republicans on these issues, how does that really help move a democratic agenda forward?
54
In a district such as the 18th in Pennsylvania, it’s unlikely that a candidate for whom progressives can check every box stands a chance of winning. How would Lamb’s election help move a Democratic agenda forward? He would vote party line on many issues important to progressives: taxes, preserving Medicare and social security and others. When the alternative is a Republican who boasts that he was “Trump before Trump was Trump,” Democrats should take what they can get. A moderate.
13
It's a win for centrists, and in my book that's an excellent thing. Note, there are many, many centrists all over this country, making up what is most probably the true silent majority.
12
This is a lesser of two evils world, and I'd much rather have someone who votes with me 60% of the time than 0%. Amazing how many Republicans are eager to declare Lamb is one of their own.
8
At last, people realize that the Emperor is naked. His new clothes were imaginary, just like the jobs in closed coal mines and steel factories. His administration's keynote is chaos. It has been marked by self-dealing and dishonesty and backed up by politicians like Devon Nunes who blatantly skew the process for Trump and leaders like Ryan and McConnell who got the tax cuts they wanted and ignore the rest. The GOP has always wrapped itself in the flag, and yet ignore their complicity in Putin's tipping the scale in their favour. If this were done by a Democratic president and party, they would be crying treason. Trump and his coterie and family are there to market their names and profit from their influence. He has no real interest in the work, just in the attention, no understanding of governance or the constitution, just photo ops and rallies. His voters are beginning to understand the scam. Dem voters are energized. There will be more GOP retirements as they shy from real competition as the tide is turning against them. One can only hope that the Dems will take lessons from these recent wins and take back the middle class vote. Fingers crossed for the mid-term election in the fall and that the Dems retake the House and work on the Senate for 2020 as well as the presidency. Message to Trump and GOP incumbents: be afraid, be very afraid.
3
Neither Saccone or Lamb were put on the ballot via a primary. Both were chosen by their selective parties. The establishment GOP of Pennsylvannia decided to run a candidate who built his name on being fiercly anti-blue collar union.....in steel country!
The Dems wisely ran a pro 2nd amendment, anti abortion, pro tariff candidate who ran just as closely to the President as the Republican did.
can democratic primaries accross the country produce more Conor Lamb's? Doubtful. Equally doubtful that Republican primaries will produce more establishment re-treads like Saccone (no matter how "original Trump" they claim to be)
1
While I am encouraged that many (but not all) people are finally seeing the mess that the Trump Presidency has wrought, I am still discouraged that the potential for the damage was not recognized prior to November of 2016. He is who we said he was, and the spots on that leopard have not and will not change. May enough of the electorate wake up and render him as ineffective as possible.
1
Lamb won an election but its hardly a victory to sit in office and do nothing til November when he won't even be running for the new seat. But congrats to the Dems, they fought hard for this change and if the Repubs don't retake the new district seat then its their fault. Saccone wasn't a strong candidate but in the Trump era Dems now call a 600 vote margin a 'landslide'. At least Trump won the popular vote.
The winners in these recent elections were MODERATE DEMOCRATS, appealing to the true, great middle. I fervently hope in 2020 the Democrats come up with such a candidate.
5
He appealed to his local constituency which is appropriate. Hillary couldn't have been more in the middle. She lost because of misogyny and Russia.
5
I'm a liberal Democrat. I'll take Lamb over any apologist for 46.
21
I think you mean 45. Or perhaps he should be dubbed '45 1/2'.
1
I love the news punditry but as a group you never get it right.
It’s completely incomprehensible why the lopsided results of the 2016 election (popular vote versus Electoral College) isn’t the reason for the ‘big blue wave’ that is crashing on our shores.
Millions more people wanted and voted for a Democratic-controlled congress and yet we don’t have one. Why isn’t that one of the reasons?
Mitch McConnell stole a Supreme Court seat from Obama and yet I’m to believe that none of these events are playing a part in this election cycle.
It is also incomprehensible that despite historic precedence for the incumbent party to lose control of the Congress, I am supposed to believe that somehow this political calculus isn’t going to play a part this year and the Republicans have a chance to hold onto control. A wonderful narrative to get clicks from fearful progressives.
Furthermore, Benedict Donald is this country’s worst president ever, he does not understand that the constitution supersedes all of the power that he has as president and he is mentally and emotionally unfit to be president.
There was a candidate, who was not a republican, who was the first to warn America that Trump was unfit for office, who did not believe that he had the temperament to be President and that Trump would be Putin’s puppet.
She’s an American hero and I’m still with her.
19
"Millions more people wanted and voted for a Democratic-controlled congress and yet we don’t have one."
Nonsense. Don't be a low-info voter.
There isn't a Democrat-controlled congress because U.S. voters preferred the alternative:
"And when all of the congressional votes were tallied, Republicans got 3 million more votes than the Democrats and won a majority of both the popular vote and of the seats in Congress."
http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/the-administration/331038-why-the-...
The Russians, with the willing assistance of Fox News et.al. managed to convince many Americans that Hillary Clinton was the devil incarnate. Her husband’s sexual escapades were permanently strapped to her back. Her accomplishments in government were buried beneath the vitriol and lies. Trump, a known con man and provocateur, publicity seeker and lousy businessman (the short list), to those in the N.Y. Metro area, roundly rejected him at the polls. The naive folk in the heartlands and poorer, less educated areas of the country were mesmerized by this snake oil salesman. The majority of us looked on in horror as he took office and began destroying everything good in our country: decorum, honesty, decency etc. We are committed, as we were from Day One, to remove him and his sycophants from office, one by one, election by election.
3
You're right, but you're missing the small picture of how these districts voted in 2016.
In November, if the vote in each currently red House district swings 10-20% from where it was in 2016, cumulatively they'll make the 3 million popular vote differential for potus in 2016 look like a squeaker.
1
I think all of this is as much a defeat for the DNC as it is for the Republicans. The issue with the 2016 election for the Dems was the candidate put forward to lead the national ticket. Trump should not have won, but Hillary was not the candidate to beat him.
7
Hmmmm. Not sure where to start here so I"m just going to say: NOPE.
3
@Rich P
Hillary did not win....and a portion of that can be laid at Putin's feet (and his willing sycophant, trump).
It's been a proven fact that Russians and their bots posted lies on facebook, twitter, discus, and other sites. This didn't need to influence that many people to swing Pennsylvania, Michigan or Wisconsin.... a few thousand votes, that's all that was needed.
Hillary had her issues, I agree. But she "lost" because of foreign influence in our election.
5
Thank god it didn't snow yesterday in Western PA like it did in VT!
1
I listened to some of the news from Western Pa yesterday. Having grown up on the fringes of this district I was interested in the election and voters. Thank God Trump's firing of Tillerson was in the news when it was. It was mentioned by one of the women as another example of the Trump chaos. It wasn't a good time for Trump to remind people of that. With a margin of possibly single digits this woman's vote certainly made a difference. Trump could have waited two more days to fire Tillerson but it does seem as if the only thing on his mind is him.
I am amused by the posters who assert that Mr. Lamb is "virtually a Republican" since they clearly are hoping to undermine his win by trying to paint him as a faux Democrat. Nothing could be further from the truth. These posters apparently believe that every Democrat must be a clone of each other, with no ability to independently think or vote. While that appears true of Trump voters, it is NOT the norm for Democrats. Lamb is a classic Democrat - pro-Union, pro-healthcare, pro-education funding. He grew up in PA in a Democratic family who also believed in these principles. He knew that the voters in his district feel the same way, and he focused on the issues that truly matters. All of those Republicans who want to kid themselves into thinking he is just a Republican calling himself a Democrat are in for a truly rude awakening in November, and I for one am looking forward to that.
Congratulations Conor Lamb and welcome to the House!
34
Actually the ones who should be quaking are Liberals. Mr. Lamb is anti-Pelosi, pro-gun and very much a moderate. After losing the presidential election in 2016 you would think like Mr. Lamb that the Democrat party would move back to the center which they have refused to do. PS Lamb did not " roar" he squeaked out a very close victory and won by several .0000000 decimal points of a percentage. That is not roaring.
3
A Democrat "squeaking out" a win in a reliably Republican district *is* a roar. As for your other points, this very liberal firmer Democrat (The national party is way too conservative for me) agrees with just about all of Lamb's positions except guns. That most definitely includes his opposition to Pelosi remaining in leadership.
3
Thanks for the concession speech, but it may be helpful to point out that Conor Lamb won in a district specifically gerrymandered to favor Republicans, that hasn't elected a Democrat in decades, and that Trump carried by 20 points, much like the two Presidential candidates before him.
By the way, "pro-gun," is a very odd phrase. It's like saying that you're "pro-abortion," which nobody rational is. One is pro-rights.
3
In that district it was a roar. A roar that followed visits from Trump and many of the members of his evil cabal to a district that sometimes never even runs a Democratic candidate.
1
“Lamb never slams Trump,” she observed. “He is not part of the resistance"
This is an extremely important point in the battlegrounds that are too close to call right now. Lamb did not talk down to "the Deplorables". He was not divisive. Learn from this. This will work in a lot of districts.
24
Hopefully Congressional candidates in 2018 will be able to shut Clinton up and decline any offers of her help on the campaign trail. Well, not that she was ever much on the campaign trail. She is still out blaming everybody for her loss and scolding women for the voting the way their husbands do. Keep her away from your district.
Donald Trump and the Republicans need to take notice and remember. Mr. Trump did not win the Popular Vote in the 2016 Election... not by a long shot. Any and every POTUS is elected to SERVE the AMERICAN PEOPLE! They are NOT ELECTED to ACT as a pseudo dictator or royal monarch. Trump needs to stop telling us how brilliant he is and start listening to the American People. He needs to give up his Twitter Act and get to work. Many of the answers to the challenges our country faces require more than a 120 character response. I do not agree with Conor Lamb's stand on some political issues but I admire and deeply respect this young man who reached out to the people of Pennsylvania with honor, integrity, honesty and a lot of hard work. He and many of the young people who are peacefully demonstrating today help to restore my faith that WE THE PEOPLE will dissolve the drama, chaos and greed that has impaired many of our nation's leaders ability to be effective leaders. I believe that it is possible that we can heal the challenges we face. Conor Lamb has convinced me that it is never too late and WE THE PEOPLE should never forget or take for granted the gifts offered by a democratic society.
4
Democrats are now the party of effective, responsible governance. There are public policy debates, but they are conducted in good faith and rely on facts and expertise.
Republicans are now the party of inexperience, scandal, corruption, oligarchy, racism and authoritarianism.
For more and more Americans, it's more important to have a representative democracy than to win a public policy at the price of authoritarianism.
10
Last time I looked, the state of Pennsylvania is saying that Conor Lamb leads Rick Saccone by .0026% of the vote in PA-18...in other words, by twenty-six ten-thousandths of the vote.
Is that a "roar"...really?
How many other candidates will Democrats run for Congress in 2018 who are Marine Corps veterans critical of Nancy Pelosi, and reluctant to criticize President Trump?
Who knows?
Not many, I'd guess.
2
For many hours the gap has been about narrow for sure. The reason this result is considered a "roar" is that the district voted so heavily for Trump less than 2 years ago. In fact, it was a race without a democratic opponent in the last two election cycles. It is true that Lamb is not a "leftie" but seriously, look across America. MANY Democrats are not "lefties" and many feel it is time for Pelosi to move on. Lamb is openly pro-union, opposed to the recent tax legislation, strongly support of protecting Medicare and Social Security, and open to choice despite his personal opposition to abortion. I call that a reasonable, thoughtful guy who stood in stark contrast to the Republican candidate whose only platform was his 100% support for whatever Paul Ryan and Trump propose.
6
The Pa. 18th was a Trump +20 district. If this is the result there, then what of Paul Ryan's measly +4 district? Oh yeah, this is a roar.
10
The more pertinent question is how many Democrats will need to overcome a 20 percent partisan disadvantage to win. Not many, I'd guess.
At least smart GOPers will read the writing on the wall. Meanwhile, clueless bubble-trapped coastal Dems will continue to insist that a hard-left turn with Warren and Sanders clones is the only way forward. It's still not clear to me whether the Brooklyn crowd grasps that pushing Hillary on districts like the Pa. 18th was their own blundering misstep.
1
After reading this comment, if anyone appears to be "clueless" and "bubble-trapped", it's you.
Another thing.
Leave Brooklyn out of this.
Hubris is dangerous. We won a classic Democrat (not progressive) district, and we won by only 1000 votes in a race overshadowed by the most toxic president of this century. This is not a major victory.
Huh? My husband is from that district and I visit often. There hasn't been anything Democrat there, classic or otherwise, for years. Many viscerally loathe the Clintons. In fact, it's a staunchly conservative, pro-life, almost hysterically Catholic region that voted for Trump by 20 points. But he couldn't deliver this time.
8
You meant classically Republican District. The win was Yuuuuuuge.
A classic Democratic district where no Democrat was on the ballot in 2014 or 2016. That's true, sure. Most classic Democratic districts have no Democrats on the ballot in congressional elections.
Frank Bruni for President, 2020.
2
I'm a progressive Democrat who's thrilled with the result in PA-18, and I hope that one of the takeaways for my party is that, as has been noted repeatedly, all politics is local. We must field candidates in every district and they must be chosen to appeal to the people in that district. We'll have to work hard for a lot of candidates whose views don't align perfectly with our own in order to achieve the true goal--returning control of Congress to a party that doesn't suborn treason and madness. One sure way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory is to resume the internecine Dem battles of 2016.
9
So much for the adage about March coming in like a lion and going out like a "lamb". This thoughtful, accomplished, young man ROARED! :-)
3
Only the complete destruction of the Republican Party saves America.
9
From what I can tell this guy is basically a Republican. But since he apparently believes in science and seems open to the possibility that government has a role to play in providing for the collective security and well-being of the country there’s no room for him in the Trumpconnell cult. In other words, at this point the only qualification for being a Democrat is living in a fact-based world.
So this illustrates our bizarre reality: for the good of the country Democrats can’t actually be the party that strictly advocates progressive values. Not right now. For the time being, liberals better find room in the tent for the Connor Lambs of the world and all other people of good faith with whom they can expect to have massive disagreements on policy substance.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad that progressives generally stand for gun control, universal healthcare, quality public education and so many other important priorities. And in normal times, the political process would lead to compromises between Democrats representing community-based solutions and Republicans representing the role of individual responsibility to address our shared issues. But these are not normal times and for the moment those compromises will have to be struck within the Democrat party itself.
You hear me, Bernie or Busters? You need to cut all the sane people out there some slack. Because the alternative is looking more and more like fascism.
16
I am a life long Republican who didn't vote for Trump. I know it is cliche but I am hoping that people don't forget about the fire the incumbent movement as they have not gotten it done. Trump is no longer the enemy in upcoming elections he is an anchor on the Republicans who have sided with him just to keep their job. Times up your fired Republicans. Vote them out especially the NRA takers. Shame on all of all of them I fully support the students walking out today.
9
Lamb ran as more of a republican than a democrat against a weak candidate. If he should win, he will find himself to be a lonely congressman amongst all the progressive democrats. It is difficult for me as an 87 year old former Marine officer to understand how this young fellow could be a democrat in today's democrat party.
1
I'm a 60 year former Air Force officer and I easily see Lamb as a member of the Democratic Party, as am I. Fact based, evidence based, reality based, and highly patriotic without the phony jingoism. There's little, if any, room in today's Republican Party for people like that.
3
I'm sure he'll vote right on the motion to impeach, which is one of the main things...
Not every Democrat is going to be right on every issue. Those from true Democratic districts had better be, but allowances can be made for the Connor Lambs and the Doug Joneses as long as they deliver on the key votes for the progressive agenda. Right now the Ds are playing defense and every warm body helps.
1
Yes, Republicans should quake but they won't! They are convinced that their friend, Putin will save the day!
Thanks to all who voted! The only way We,the People will oust Donald and his deplorables out of DC is to ....VOTE!
Thank you, Pennsylvania!
5
When you see the accomplished, articulate and impressive former Marine and prosecutor Conor Lamb, from my own hometown area, and you compare him to Donald Trump......I am so gratified I sent an absentee ballot!!!!
This president, with his continued visceral incoherence and instability. It's quite sobering he's in charge of our foreign policy/ war machine. Somehow he lifted sanctions on Russia. And continues to antagonize the Muslim world with incendiary talk.
All the while alienating our allies in Europe with poorly thought-through unilateralism and an absent diplomacy. As you consider the amazing life of Stephen Hawking, the genius, who just left this universe. And then you recall how Trump ridiculed a disabled journalist. It's all so stunningly head-shaking.
5
Tip O'Neill said, "All politics are local." Conor Lamb proved the truth of that.
5
Every vote counts as demonstrated by this election. Talk to all your family and friends and urge them to make a difference.
8
I'm as anti Trump as it gets but here is a thought.
Had Lamb come out with the intense rhetoric we hear about Trump in the most liberal congressional districts, he would have lost badly.
The voters didn't reject Trump so much as they liked a fresh face who could tweak Trump ever so tactically. An ability to garner those voters for whom Trump leaves something to be desired. They desire that he would act normally.
It's amazing there are so many like that in that Republican district.
The lesson is this: beating Trump in certain districts may come down to a matter of subtle plays on his weirdness and disappointment more than his policies.
An almost subliminal appeal to the yearning for straight talk and a return to orderly practice in government. Exactly what many Trump voters crave.
Voters, this year, want a return to normal.
A fresh, clear, smart, plain-spoken, clean Marine kind of normal in this case.
In the many swing districts ripe for a Democrat this year, maybe less Trump bashing and more Trump contrast that is demonstrated rather than shouted.
I think Americans are VERY TIRED of shouting.
5
Maybe some of Republicans, like my 100-year-old father who lives in Pennsylvania, have already done their taxes and learned that they owe the government over $1000 more this year under the so-called tax cut!
3
Anyone who is doing their taxes now is unaffected by the "so-called tax cut" because it went into effect this year. Taxes are done for the prior year. But your comment is enlightening because it proves how much negativity surrounding the tax cut bill is false and made up.
I hope that if Democrats are given control of the House and Senate, they will use their majority wisely, beginning with Trump's impeachment. Just as important is the righting of our democracy and slowly restoring some of what was before Trump's reign of terror. Only then should they move on to the many other injustices in our country and the world.
3
I hate these Blue Wave predictions. Democratic voters will come to see it as a fait accompli and fail to appear come election day.
1
Or they will use it to keep the momentum going.
1
@Fliegner
Sorry. But unless your name is Cassandra, there's no reason to believe any prediction you might make for the future.
Lamb can be expected to support all of the policies that this constituency voted against in 2016. Posturing can go a long way on public ignorance... just look at the popularity of President Obama.
I think that most intelligent people have long ago given up on the two party "mafia" that passes for democracy in America, Inc. Let's not sugar coat the fact that big business calls the shots America. Working people slave away for crumbs while the one percent greedily consolidate all real wealth for themselves. Our representatives and senators have no spines to call them out and most resort to taking their donations and turning a blind eye to the sordid truth that they are complicit in the fleecing of the working people of America.
1
What is the lesson here? That 1/2 of voters respond to common sense, while 1/2 respond to a mindless Trump dog whistle? Is the idea that common sense has triumphed, or is it that there is a mass of voters beyond all hope?
5
Oh, everything will be fine, don't worry about it republicans and just stay home.
3
Actually, there are many congressional districts where a democratic candidate like Conor Lamb can win. I hope that the Democratic Party will analyze every congressional district in the country, and depending on the political makeup in each case, pick a candidate who can win. My only requirement is that a candidate believe that he needs to represent all of the people, that all men are created equal and deserve equal rights under the law, that every child should have a chance at success and more specifically that health care is a right. This is not the time for one faction to take over the party or another to retain control of it. Let the Democratic Party be a delicious stew of ideas, and let's be willing to compromise wisely and work together.
7
There is a lesson of overriding importance for Democrats in Connor Lamb's stellar result in the special House election in an historically red district in which the party sometimes did not even bother to field candidates. Democrats should run candidates who reflect the tenor of the local district or state not those who strictly adhere to some fixed ideological template.
Given Trump's unpopularity and how well Democrats have done in recent elections it looks increasingly likely that Democrats can recapture the House in 2018. Retaking the Senate will be a much more difficult challenge because several Democratic Senators are running for reelection in red states. But the stakes here are of enormous historic importance. Trump and Senate Republicans are zealously intent on stacking the federal judiciary--including the Supreme Court--with right wing judges. It is the Senate that confirms these potentially lifetime appointments.
Let the wingmen of Trump Republicans follow their kamikaze leader. It is crucial that the Democrats adopt a strategic battle formation.
9
The folks down there in "red" America have come to realize that a Yankee city slicker carpet bagger came through town and pulled the wool over their eyes. He demonized Hillary because she was an easy target. Those same folks are now saying to themselves that Hillary with all her flaws is still better than the traitor they got bamboozled into voting for. And not only that, he is a liar, a cheat, a womanizer, a back stabber and an idiot.
12
It's a little late for that sort of clarity now.
1
Can I get an, ‘Amen!’
If the Democrats think this is a turning point, they are gravely mistaken, the Republicans still remain firmly in control
1
Really? Just WHO is in "control"? trump is a bump-in-the-road. He got elected ONLY because of the racist backlash against our first black president. 8 long years for these dis-enchanted whites in the rust belt--who ate up his lies about restoring that area to it's once economic greatness---long passed now.
In 2020--IF trump makes it that long ---the Dems will re-claim the presidency and the Congress. most Americans are disgusted by his terrible leadership----his revolving-door cabinet (as he strives to find like-minded 'clones' to filll the posts--not so easy). and a huge majority of young folks are solid liberals. fact. so bath in your "super bowl win" and ignore the reality of the USA going to seed. Putin stands unchecked----Reagan would despise trump--that's for sure.... and trump is hardly a republican....in case you have not noticed....
5
Ahhh for the moment, even stupidity has its end date
3
Except it is Republicans who are getting voted out and retiring in droves rather than face re-election.
I don't think I'm missing anything here.
1
It's all about restoring sanity.
5
Frank Bruni, who had this article written days ago, not only spins how awesome this victory was, (even if he loses), but THEN goes on to spin how the Republicans will offer up all of the TRUE variables in place that contributed to the election results. Of course, their will be another election in this district 8 months from now, when the REAL representative will be chosen. I'm glad Frank has faith in the decaying and moldy leaders of the Dem party, like Pelosi, Schumer, even big-mouth Hillary, who will continue the pathway to their extinction. Lamb is an outlier, so enjoy while you can.
So the average swing to Democrats from the partisan lean in the 8 special elections in 2017 is +17. Lamb is a +22. How is this an outlier? I'm sure you can spot the trend, and it doesn't look good for the party of Trump.
2
I fear this win will trigger something even more vengeful and despotic in our leader.
5
So much for the steel tariffs.
I hope the winds of change are going to blow with hurricane force in November.
Sadly, we can't turn back time and have Hillary Clinton as our president, with progressive judicial picks, a sane executive branch and the respect of the rest of the world. However, with a Democratic majority, we can prevent some of the Trump administration's worst plans and we can start to get to the bottom of the malfeasance and treason which the Republicans have swept under the carpet. It will still take decades to undo the damage wrought in the last two years, but at least we can stop digging the hole.
6
Toxic Trump anchors were hurled from the campaign deck and they are still soaring to THE DEEP. The slack in the Trumptanic's chains gives way on Tuesday, the 6th of November.
Over the next 236 days, people will be preparing for "the spectacle". The extent of the destruction may be a cliffhanger to some.
REMEMBER the Final Debate, when Candidate Trump promised moderator Chris Wallace: "I will tell you at the time." and "I will keep you in suspense." to the question of accepting elections results.
REMEMBER Candidate Trump's flippant follow-up at his next rally in Delaware, Ohio: “I would like to promise and pledge to all of my voters and supporters and to all of the people of the United States that I will totally accept the results of this great and historic presidential election – if I win!"
He claimed that he’s doing this for "the future of our country." "It’s so bad. It’s so bad," Trump said, calling Clinton "the most corrupt and dishonest person ever to seek the office of President."
http://deadline.com/2016/10/donald-trump-accept-election-results-if-he-w...
2
Conor Lamb's success (whether he prevails in winning the election or not) is exciting and more encouragement for my friends and me to continue reaching out to Democratic voters in other districts. Our Sister District group from CA3 wrote hundreds of heartfelt postcards to Dem voters in PA18 about the power of voting and urging them to cast ballots in this special election. Tonight we'll gather at my home to celebrate in solidarity with the voters of PA18 and to write hundreds of postcards to voters in Arizona's 8th Congressional District in support of Democrat Dr. Hiral Tiirneni. Hundreds of other grassroots groups will also be connecting to Dem voters throughout the country this year. The blue wave is coming.
https://www.davisenterprise.com/local-news/yolo-activists-connect-with-v...
#GrassRoots
#SisterDistrictProject
4
There is something at work in the US and even Canada to a lesser extent. That so many people would support a party led by Trump and his congressional enablers shows that the alternatives offered aren't seen as that much better if at all. There is obviously a great deal of frustration with the status quo and supporting Trump and his minions is likely a protest vote. Both sides have ignored the frustrations of the other and a lot of these frustrations have been fanned by irresponsible disinformation and here we are. We are rich countries at peace and people are angry. There are no simple answers but level headed discourse, if possible, is a start.
1
It was good strategy for Lamb not to go after Trump, although it would have been easy to respond with "Trump the Chump!"
Just let Trump be Trump. He is such a buffoon at his "rallies" that his incompetence and boorishness speak volumes. Nothing will shake the 33% who still believe in him, but his behavior IS shaking the moderates and independents who held their noses and voted for him, especially in PA.
No, the Dems should just let the Trump presidency implode under its own weight, and instead, field candidates like Lamb while at the same time, revamping their party's platform to once more include the Middle Class.
8
Lamb ran as a Republican. Pro-Gun, Pro-Trump Tax Cut, Pro-Life (his stated position is he is personally against abortion), but also Pro-Union. He understood the district and ran on local issues and values. The National Party sent help and money, but stayed out of the messaging.
Overall lamb did a little less than average. The last Democrat to run in PA-18 was in 2012 and got 122000 votes with little party supprt. Lamb got 10000 fewer despite major support and the media trying to create the myth of the "Blue Wave."
The Republican was also a political novice who ran only because with the new redistricting map, this district goes away in 5 months and no one in the republican Political Class wanted to put the time, money, and energy into a race, only to have to refile in a new district a week later and start all over again. Saccone got 50000 fewer votes than the average off-year election for this district (166000 Republican votes in 2016).
In the final analysis, Republicans stayed home from an off election with zero meaning. Democrats put a lot of time money and effort into a candidate who ran against the Party Platform...and ended up with an average turnout anyways.
Despite all reporting (and wishful thinking) to the contrary, their is no evidence of a "Blue Wave" of resurgent Democrats.
1
Saccone glued himself to Trump, running a campaign whose slogan might as well have been, “I’m With Him.”
"I'm With Her" was a favorite sign at the 2016 Democratic Convention.
1
Lamb knows he has to defend Social Security and Medicare. The Republicans are drooling to destroy both programs by "privatizing" them, and then destroying them by redistributing our money into the hands of the predators who constitute most of the richest people in America. The Republicans are stealing money from me, and most of the retired, (and increasingly still working), people in their 60s, and 70s many of whom (like myself) put far more money into into those programs for decades than we will ever see in the way of benefits. These are the "pocketbook" issues that Democrats can unite on, and win on.
American citizens are too poorly informed, too poorly educated, and too divided to understand much else. I suspect it was the spirit of FDR after all, that gave the victory to Conor Lamb.
11
This should, but probably won't, be a wake-up call to the DNC about the importance of fielfinv candidates even in districts that are presumed to be solidly red (Lamb's accomplishment came with little help from the party.) Although Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the originator of the utterly misguided strategy of ignoring races in red districts, is out of the picture, the faction she represented remains firmly in control of the DNC, and has apparently opted to continue her losing strategy. In the 2016 election, this was rationalized as "keeping the powder dry" for the presidential race. Fat lot of good that did.
But, if I know my party, most likely it will continue doing the same and expecting a different result. There's a word for that...
2
Democracy, like America, has many faces. I am a longtime democrat and progressive liberal. I like change, even though I am so close to 70 I can feel the dotage setting in. I am inspired by this win because the Democratic Party let Lamb run. (In Colorado we had a great governor named Lamb.)
In New York and Los Angeles a democrat needs to understand the dangers of firearms; in Appalachia a democrat needs to understand the usage and benefits of firearms.
It is much more important to be pro choice in a big city than in a small town. The issue of abortion has crippled our Nation because it has become such a National litmus test. To hell with that. If a pro life democrat wants to run in Fremont County, CO let's get behind him/her.
Once a democrat is elected we can train them. Especially in today's climate. A republican is only trainable by the bankers and oil men. And gun/bomb manufacturers.
This next midterm is the most important election in American history. If t rump and his republican sycophants keep total control of our government then our Nation and our Democracy and our Constitution are done.
5
Be careful about that training of a Democrat who wins an election after running as a pro-life and pro gun candidate. Once seated he then votes against bills put forward in Congress to advance the will of those constituencies whose votes put him in office. He will be fulfilling the prophecies about Lamb and other conservative Democrats that they run to the right and veer to the left once elected. Many of these Democrats won't be elected to a second term if they if they allow themselves to be trained by the Wassermann-Schultz wing of the party, or whatever name it goes by today.
What seems clear to me living north of the 49th is that Connor Lamb is no Liberal Democrat. He's what we would likely call a Red Tory. Being somewhat more left than a Democratic Socialist were I a Pennsylvanian voter I would still have voted for him. I have watched the left disassemble itself in both England and Canada by adhering to desire and doctrine rather than thinking strategically. If the Democrats are going to have a hope in Hades of re-taking the House they would do well to dispense with the right, centre, left wrangling that is threatening to tie them up. The choice of a candidate has to be done on a seat by seat basis where decisions are made based on what kind of candidate is likely to win. A progressive may win in Portland but perhaps less likely in Palm Beach. It hardly seems strategic to gnaw off your arm so you can scratch your nose. Sober judgment and a willingness to put your desires aside, whether on the right or left of the party, is the only thing that will bring the Democrats back in control of the House and stop the bleeding out of democracy that has surely been taking place by the hack physicians currently occupying the White House.
3
Ok Dems, want my vote? You got to earn it with a platform written in stone- end gerrymandering, unregulated money and religion in politics, access to weapons of war, inequality for all and tax cuts to the wealthy. Everything else is background matters. That’s where I and my vote stands. What do you stand for?
5
Now Democrats will face the same test that Republicans are failing miserably... Do we put up ideologically "pure" candidates who check every box in liberals litmus tests and lose? Again? Or do we win back the house and actually DO something to reverse the loathsome policies being enacted by Trump and the Republicans? Ideals are great. Consensus building and enacting policies that help the country are better.
4
"No honor among politicians" - all politics are local and all politicians are self serving. The only Republicans (or Democrats) who care one whit about Trump are in the handful of districts where the local politician doesn't have a gerrymandered advantage. Politicians rage and stomp but if one is in a protected district, the national stage, state of our nation, and the vulnerability of party is sadly irrelevant. Politics is not about the nation or it's people, it's about me, me, me.
Democrat Conor Lamb has possibly been elected in a highly gerrymandered Republican district that hasn't even run any Democratic opposition in the last several elections. All politics is local.Eventually the longtime party hacks start to lose their shine and locals are ready to try a. new model.
As much as I want the Democrats to take back America from the incompetent Trumpistas, Lamb's vote count - so far - is barely one or two tenths of 1 percent more than his opponent. If it holds, Lamb will certainly win, but it doesn't meet the definition of a "roaring" success.
In this district even if he loses by a point or two it will be seen as a success at is has rarely if ever voted Democratic. It is one of those districts that puts the Mississippi between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.
This is hopeful news for Democrats and for the country, provided Progressives realize that in this moment of crisis, with democracy itself under threat from forces "foreign and domestic," the Democratic party must function as a kind of national unity party, making room for conservative Democrats and even what were once called "moderate Republicans" who have been betrayed, along with the nation, by the Trump-Putin-White-Nationalist takeover of the GOP.
2
I wish the Dems would stop moaning about how they don't want to vote for a Dem candidate who is merely "Republican lite." There was a time when there were honorable, sensible, MODERATE by today's standards Republicans that I voted for when I lived in NY. I am remembering Rockefeller and Lindsay quite fondly these days. They would be purged out of the GOP today by the Freedom Caucus or the Tea Party. I wish all the GOPs in congress, especially those who are not going to run again, would take a real stand for common sense and decency, ad declare themselves as Independents and vote with the Dems. It would shine up their legacies, and maybe help save the country from the madness of the oligarchs. Please, Dem voters, grow some common sense. Remember McGovern and how we gave the country to Nixon because we stood on party purity. It's the economy, stupid. And it is voting rights, gerrymandering, Federal court appointments, the environment, healthcare. If everybody in PA who voted for Lamb had only "held their noses" and voted for Hillary....th
1
The elections in Alabama and Pennsylvania should serve as a wake up call both for Republicans and Democrats.
For Republicans probably no more than 35% of the population is so ignorant to be distracted by a few temporary dollars in their paychecks that they ignore everything else their party stands for. Even more conservative people care about things like having affordable access to quality medical care for themselves and their families. They probably also prefer that their President conduct himself with some level of dignity, so they are able to justify voting for him to their children.
For Democrats, the same democratic candidate that will be competitive in Seattle will very likely not be at all competitive in more conservative districts. This is reality, it needs to be embraced. We must to do a better job of running democratic candidates who better represent the districts they will serve. We ignore this at our peril.
Both parties need to look more to the future. I am a 55 year old Democrat who is growing weary of which 70 year old will I vote for next cycle. I would like have the opportunity to vote for more candidates my own age or (gasp)even significantly younger than myself. New ideas and perspectives are good! The oldest boomers in both parties need to start passing the baton, it's time.
1
While I don’t totally agree with CLs politics I am glad that he won. While I don’t totally agree with Bernie’s politics I hope he doesn’t run. The Democrats need new and under the age of 70 leadership and as a Senior I have no problem in saying so
5
I hope that among the lessons Democrats learn from this victory is to keep the DNC, Donna Brazile, Pelosi, Clintonism, and DACA hysteria out of (many) campaigns. And yes, I wholeheartedly support DACA, but to help DACA people, Democrats need to win elections.
9
OK Democrats, it looks like you're going to get your chance. We have some intractable problems, and you need to come up with solutions that actually work, and that people believe will work.
Economy: We need an economy where middle and lower middle-class Americans have to pay a smaller percentage of their pay for necessities like housing, education, and medical care. While you're at it, Wall St needs to help make the economy move, not just skim off trillions of dollars for themselves while making it harder for working people.
Immigration: OK, but WE control the pace and we decide who gets to stay. We can have a robust argument about who we allow in, but no more creeping across the border.
Trade: We have good trade relations with many countries. Keep, and improve those. We are being used and abused by other countries. Fight back. In the aggregate, we should make as much stuff as we buy.
OK, you have your marching orders. If you want the job, show us your solutions.
Sincerely: The People.
5
Regardless of anything else Trump said at his rally, one rang true to me..that Conor Lamb would never vote with us..so all the caveats in the world that Republicans are voicing, I.e. he's against Nancy Pelosi, for the Second Amendment, etc, my bet is if he wins, he will not vote with the Republicans in the House. How quickly we have forgotten the coalition that Raymond Emanuel put together in 2006 when Nancy Pelosi became Speaker of the House - there were Blue Dog Democrats - and they were the ones who pushed the ACA over the finish line. A friend who is a progressive Democrat said to me yesterday "Well Lamb is not my kind of Democrat but if he can win in Western Pennsylvania, it's fine with me". So perhaps we are learning all over again what Tip O'Neill said years ago..that all politics really is local!"
2
Republicans try to deceive and comfort themselves thinking only left-leaning or progressive voters want to vote them out. But the truth is Trump has not only alienated loyal democrats but independent voters.
Let's face it---no thinking men/women or reasonable men/women with a brain can approve of Trump's chaotic, unethical reality-show presidency and its negative effect on our democracy. Everyone is resenting our country being mis-led by a conman.
Those who still approve of Trump are either wealthy citizens or only watch Faux propaganda machine or brain-dead.
5
If Lamb ends up winning, then congratulations to him and to the weight of this commentariat. If he performs in the House as he campaigned, then he could be an effective bridge between the extremes on both sides and represent hope for moderates. If he does win, then Democrats put forth a better candidate.
But if he wins OR loses, it's altogether too soon to predict November outcomes, since we don't know what's going to happen with North Korea OR the Iran deal, and Republican hopes for the economy based on the tax bill, diminished regulation and help on trade remain to be hatched yet -- although at this remove they're looking good.
I don't listen to Fox News, so all that fellow Republicans say to minimize such a victory doesn't affect me much -- certainly no more than Democratic crowing months before the economic and foreign policy results of Trump's brinkmanship and Congress's legislation are understood.
But one way or another, congratulations to Lamb for a hard-fought battle.
3
Just a word...
Dems are painting themselves into a corner focusing all guns on the Prez. GOPers are stuck with him, but only through Nov (if they distance from him his 35%, or about 70% of GOP voters, will distance themselves come election day).
After that...
If T is gone next year and the Dems are only set up to bash him, well, a bit like Lucy and the old football, no?
Back to the issues, the top "centile", minimum wage, healthcare, SS, taxes, etc. There's the future success beyond 2018.
1
Conor Lamb tantalized. Democrats should tremble.
Hillary Clinton roared. Donald Trump is President of the United States. Paul Ryan is Speaker of the House. Mitch McConnell is Senate Majority Leader. James Comey interfered. Julian Assange released. Vladimir Putin smiled.
This House district is doomed to destruction. While every House district will have an election in November 2018. Vladimir Putin is still smiling.
2
Democrats across the country need to harness the energy now present and put forth candidates who share, not only the energy, but also an understanding of the concerns of each district/state and a plan to move everyone forward. It cannot be merely anti-the current occupant of the Oval Office.
Lamb used this tactic and look at the results.
6
This victory by the moderate Lamb elevates the candidacy of more centrist Democrats for the presidency in 2020, including Colorado's Gov. John Hickenlooper and former Deputy Attorney General Sally Q. Yates of Georgia.
4
Heartening to know that the President still has time to diminish his popularity before November, and that of his amazingly dishonorable Party in Congress. On the other hand, this parlor game is already ruinously damaging to the nation and our position in the world, even our reputation. To have to rescue the United States with the energy of only one political Party portrays a condition which is not only revolting and pathetic. It is possibly, impossible.
3
"Republicans Should Quake" is the kind of inflammatory and self-congratulatory headline that will provoke anger, fury and resentment among Republican voters, donors, and perhaps independent voters to. Of course, you have a First Amendment right to write whatever you want. But waving a red flag before an angry bull is very likely to end up with someone getting gored.
1
"Republicans Should Quake" is the kind of inflammatory and self-congratulatory headline that will provoke anger, fury and resentment among Republican voters, donors, and perhaps independent voters to (sic)"
Good.
Really? Are you saying that Mr. Trump and his Republican cronies have not been “inflammatory and self-congratulatory” over the past year? They have insulted so many people and “provoked anger, fury and resentment” among many Americans.
Last night’s event in Pennsylvania is an appropriate reaction to the hatred that Trump has fomented. The headline you reference is mild in its message and, I might add,only the beginning.
3
Don't count your chickens before they hatch. As usual Republican criminals will contest the election, and figure out ways to discredit and steal it. You can count on it.
3
And that's all the more reason to keep counting those "chickens", so that it doesn't go the way of the popular vote.
Things can only get worse. Trump cannot handle dissenting voices.Strong opinionated views in cabinet are unwelcome if they challenge Emperor Trump.Government by instinct and not thoughtful analysis is the new order.Buckle up for a bumpy and dangerous future.
1
Lamb's roar was to campaign like a Republican. I doubt that many Progressives will
My prediction: when Lamb has to campaign later this year in the Democrat primary in a reconfigured congressional district, he'll lose to a Brnie bro. Who, in turn, will lose to the Republican candidate, whoever he or she be.
Enjoy the win while it lasts, Mr. Lamb.
“Steel is back,” Trump bleats continually. Well, once his voters figure out that steel is simply not coming back like it's the 1950's, and neither is coal nor most of the manufacturing sector, pockets of that base will start to sour on the Great Con. And once tariff retaliation hits American farmers hugely, more base souring. I'm not counting on a blue wave this fall, but I sure wouldn't bet against it.
1
I will believe we Dems have a good chance when I see Peter Roskam and Randy Hultgren fall behind their Democratic opponents (to be determined on Tuesday) in the polls.
Hopefully, our hedge fund governor just sealed his fate by vetoing a bill requiring gun shops to be licensed. Apparently, they are more trustworthy than beauty salons and barber shops.
Let 2018 begin the dismantling of the do-nothing know-nothing Republicans. Vote!
2
While I hope I can congratulate Mr. Lamb in this still somewhat undecided race, I hope the Democratic Party will not lose sight of the very telling analysis of the 2016 vote that was published in the New York Times only days ago.
It is certainly good to go after those blue collar voters who went from Obama to Trump in the last election. This election is in an area where such an approach is viable.
But as the analysis made clear, the reason why Ms Clinton lost was that young voters, especially those of color, and who voted for Mr Obama in 2012 and before, did not vote in 2016.
Getting those votes back is the single most important thing the Democratic Party can do.
2
Wonder how Trump will spin this. Just as firing one of the most important Cabinet members on Twitter, his cowardice and small mind will excuse him for any responsibility for the event in Pennsylvania last night.
2
Conor Lamb was a good candidate for the district in which he ran. That should be the Democrats objective, and their unifying message for 2018: find the right candidate for each and every Congressional District across the country. Local individuals know what is best for each local district...do not try to use a cookie cutter approach.
2
"It’s hard to imagine a message for the G.O.P. scarier than the one..."
Lamb ran essentially as a Republican. Add in his good looks and impressive background - and Saccone as a terrible candidate (did you see his speech to his supporters last night (ugh!) - and it's no wonder he won.
It's important to remember that Lamb is weak on gun control, personally opposes abortion, supports Trump's tariffs, and opposes Pelosi as Speaker. True, he says he supports Social Security and Medicare, but that position was also part of Trump's campaign.
So maybe the message for Democrats this fall is run a good-looking candidate who holds some key Republican, anti-left wing views - and who knows, maybe you will win the House.
1
If anything this race has shown is that going door to door
and actually listening to the voters and actually seeming
to care works. And for God sakes Democratic party leaders,
give your darling pal Nancy the heave ho. If she had
any honor she would step down. She is not worth it.
She is one of the elites and a corporate Democrat.
We do not need Republican light in congress. Many
people voted for Trump because they were sick
of wages not keeping up with the economy and
the grass roots being over looked once again.
Hubris Hillary was not attractive and only
promised more of the same. Corporate Democrats
your days are ending as well. Your party cannot
come first before the voters, the gravy train must
derail. Stop voting how your donors pay you to do,
Stop interfering with the primaries to get your
corporate person elected. Notice how that backfired
lately? Get honest, clean, and actually help the voters.
I will only vote for candidates who have promised
not to sell out and take big donor money. Chuck
you had better stop taking Corporate money here
in NYC. Listening Andrew C? And Nancy for God sakes
for the good of America Step Down! Do the right thing!
1
As long as Democrats don't get overconfident they may do well. However, they do seem to become comfortable and forget to vote in November. In any election turnout is the key. Make sure everyone is registered, everyone has the proper ID, and everyone has a way to get to the polls. It's not rocket science. It's hard work.
1
The 2016 election was a vote AGAINST both established parties -- none more so than the GOP party of McConnell. Let's hope this election is a foretaste of the 2018 election in which the GOP is tossed out of power as it rightly should be. The GOP is the party of corporate wealth and donor dollars; not the party of family values. (Poor DACA children, their mistake is that they are no longer in the womb -- the only stage of a child's life the GOP cares about.)
Dems VOTE: The GOP tax bill set a new record -- the first bill in which a number of Congressmen apologized as they voted yes -- to pay back their donors, to save DACA (Flake), to save the ACA (Collins). In the meantime the GOP is doing everything they can to destroy the ACA, gut the safety net (Medicare, Medicaid and SS) and let the infrastructure fall into ruin. Do I even need to say "Start new wars?" Go into Syria, attack Venezuela, go against our allies and end the Iran treaty (just as we try to get a similar treaty with N. Korea) and of course, attack a nuclear country to give them a bloody nose not caring how they respond.
1
Who would have believed a Democrat running against a republican who wasn't a "Roy Moore" style candidate could have won in a heavily Trump/GOP leaning house district?
Not me.
I'm not even close to starting my end zone dance, but this is encouraging.
Apparently Trump has put up for grabs that mysterious, mythical and amorphous 7% of "free agent" voters who always insist that they are open to listening to the candidates, not just the party line.
Well, OK, I have always thought their existence was something akin to the likelihood of finding a one eyed Unicorn, but let's raise a glass to them today.
1
A lot of democrats are missing the point here, including Mr. Bruni. Yes, republicans should take note of this event, but so should democrats. Lamb is not an ordinary democrat. He's what we might call a "conservative" democrat. He's pro-gun and pro Trump's tax plan. These are two big reasons why he's doing as well as he's doing here in Pennsylvania. If he were a far left liberal like a lot of other democratic candidates out there right now, he would not be seeing the success he is having here. So my point is that his success is due to as much as a backlash to Trump as it is to his moderateness as a democrat. This should be the biggest takeaway that most talking heads seem to be missing. Lamb is a "conservative/moderate" democrat, and winning in a red state. If democrats wish to make more sweeps like this going forward, they might want to look towards these more moderate democrat candidates, and not a far left, radical candidate, which are the kind of people the DNC is putting forward elsewhere in a lot of other races.
How many times in the last few months have we heard that a district was so Republican that the Democrats didn't run anyone against the Republican who was running.
Can you imagine if there were a hockey game that pitted the best team, the Tampa Bay Lightning, against this year's sad Rangers, and the Rangers decided not to show up?
Seriously, can you picture the storm that would cause?
The people are desperate, and they are whipsawing between one party and another. Obama-mania did not pay off. So, they voted for someone who promised to "make it great again." That promise is not anywhere in sight. So, they're trying something else again. This is not a shift to the democrats. It is just further evidence of continuing political unrest and wide-spread dissatisfaction. Not a victory for anyone.
I heard Lamb’s remarks last night. He spoke of the importance of Social Security and Medicare and saving pensions. He gave a shout out to unions. He invoked FDR and said we’re all in this together. That sounds like a Democrat to me.
37
Thank you, that's good to know! I have trouble with his pro-AR15 pro-fossil views, but this is why we supported him. There are so few decent Republicans around any more!
1
It proves the system works. A centrist democrat won, as opposed to the left leaning Nancy Pelosi type. These centrist democrats will win election in November, and begin the necessary work of pulling the democratic party back to the center. This is just how our political system is suppose to work. Amazing to see it happening right in front of our eyes.
2
Those centerist Democrats now need to come up with a plan to help restore confidence and economic power to the American middle class. The lack of such a plan is what (IMHO) put Trump in the White House.
Good things happen when citizens actually show up and vote. So show up and vote!!
12
Seems March came in like a Lamb! May we soon have a Democratic spring.
2
How did that work out for the Arabs?
(I jest... hopefully America's institutions are more robust than theirs)
As a conservative it is heartening for me to see that for this democrat to possibly eek out a victory, he had to take on the form of a republican. This is should inform democrats of their need to change their current brand of radical left-wing identity politics. Lamb got it. My guess is that democrats will not do this, and the GOP will hold the house.
4
@Good,
Please don't make the mistake of homogenizing every single one of the 435 districts in the House, and how their constituents think.
The reason Lamb did so well as a moderate democrat in this district is **because of the nature of this particular district**
If he had run in a democratic primary with these views in the typical urban blue district, he would've been run out of town - and the district would stay blue, represented by a much more left-leaning candidate. This concept also applies in reverse for the handful of red districts in overwhelmingly blue states, in places like New York, New Jersey, California, etc... although these types of red held seats are becoming more rare, and will likely be rarer still after this November.
"All politics is local" - Tip O'Neill
My guess is that DJT's behavior will energize the masses to vote Democratic.
I am glad you feel that way, thanks
It is local, and radical Leftism is not working, except in a few CA districts
November can't come too soon!
3
Republicans should quake.
If the Democratic Party gets a Congressional majority this country will change dramatically.
They will grant amnesty and citizenship to 20 million illegal immigrants. Those 20 million will bring in every person they have ever known. The illegal immigrant industries have a saying: 'All or None.' They will never settle for just allowing the Dreamers to stay.
About 129 million people voted in 2016. 20 million new voters, and the tens of millions of friends they import once they are legalized, are going to be the king-makers from here on out.
Is this the way our democracy works? Cannot win elections so just create new voters? Dilute the voting power of certain kinds of people who you feel are unworthy?
I cannot support turning foreign criminals into voting citizens simply to get the Democrats in power. Remember: when the Democrats do have power they DO NOTHING FOR WORKING PEOPLE. NOTHING.
Remember: The Democratic Party does not have policies that help everyone regardless of race. They have micro-policies designed to help individual groups of people (based solely on identity).
Did they end the wars? No. Did they regulate Wall St.? No. Did they go after the torturers? No. Did they champion working people? No. Did they fight for the environment? No. Did they work towards gun control? No.
3
"Did they ... ?" (fill in the blank).
Nobody seems to be doing that. That's how we got where we are now. These problems need to be solved, and while Trump talks a good show, he's going backwards on regulating Wall St, fighting for the environment, and (actually vs talking about) championing working people.
These problems do need to be solved, and no one seems to have solutions. Expect chaos until someone does.
Dems finally learning from the republicans playbook. Run in the race. Say what you have to say. Do what you have to do. Fit the district. Don’t try to shape the district to you. And don’t forget the fifty state solution. Run everywhere. And follow all the steps needed to be competitive. Dems have the more popular ideas , the republicans have nothing besides tax cuts and those were an illusion, a gift mainly for the wealthy, an idea which people are now waking up to. Run the races. The results will be the reward
5
People may be starting to get a little tired of Trump's bad behavior. He does things that even the most lightly educated laborer knows are wrong. I am thinking of 3 things, his firing of Tillerson via Twitter, his payoffs to the pornographic film actress and a while back his flinging of paper towels at hurricane victims. He is not acting like a man. He is acting like a nasty self-centered adolescent. Trump as a phenomenon is a recoil from the professional Obama. Well the recoil is just about complete. Let me suggest that in 2020 the Democrats nominate a decent acting, decent talking garbage man.
4
Those wanting ideological purity would be wise to see that Democrats will be best positioned to ride any November wave where their candidates fit the areas they run in. Conor Lam was a very strong fit.
2
Me too Frank I also have faith. The path for the Democratic Party is easy. More conservative candidates in more conservative districts and more liberal candidates in more liberal districts. Hasn't anyone read The Making of the President 1960? I did in 6th grade and I could still run the party better than its being run right now.
4
Okay, so Lamb is against abortion. I suspect he is very much in favor of birth control for all. Pro-gun? I also suspect he is for reasonable restrictions there as well. Anyway, I have hope!
3
Works for me!
1
The Art of the Squeal. What say you, Donald??? Lamb got your tongue??? SAD.
7
If the DNC doesn't again screw up in their choice of presidential candidate, there will be a landslide in 2020.
5
Biden would have won easily.
For this Canadian looking from across the border, the question is how much more Trump can I take. We all knew that he was monumentally unprepared for the job. There was hope that he could pivot to being presidential or that he could learn from those around him who had experience. Now it’s clear that he is incapable of change, that he’s a needy, sleazy, loud mouthed blowhard. . Every day brings a new outrage
and we can all see them lining up on the horizon. But I am not outraged any more,just disgusted. This seems to be the message from Pennsylvania, where the Republicans have profited from extreme gerrymandering for years— and where legislators are trying to impeach the judges who declared such gerrymandering unconstitutional. Whether Lamb wins or not, there has been a 20 point turnaround, in spite of vicious attack ads, pork barreling and a huge war chest, I am hoping that my own extreme Trump fatigue becomes a general condition. I am tired of watching this truly appalling person strut around and try to suck all the air out of the planet. It’s bad enough watching from the outside. It must be much worse to be right in the middle of it.
8
Thank you for your dead-on comments and observations from across the border. I share them as well. Hopefully we can elect someone in 2020 who is a real leader and not the poseur Trump is. In the meantime, a Democratic majority in one or both houses of Congress would be great.
As Mr. Bruni observed:
"He [Lamb] further blunted Republicans’ favorite weapon against Democratic candidates for the House — they’re just would-be pawns of the dreaded Nancy Pelosi! — by running an ad that made clear that he would not support her as his party’s leader in that chamber."
This is not only the Republicans' favorite weapon. I just listened to NPR's David Greene repeatedly badger Tom Perez with this GOP talking point, citing this as evidence of "tensions" within the Democratic Party. This was the equivalent of the type of "but her emails" crap much of the "liberal" media pushed in 2016 at the expense of what was truly important.
This Pennsylvania election result is huge. It is continuing evidence of the disintegration (never mind tension) of Trump's and the Republican Party's smoke-and-mirrors pretense of strength, and the American electorate's recognition of the con-job that both Trump and the GOP have been pulling.
Note to NPR's David Greene: there's your story.
3
I'm very pleased for Mr. Lamb. I hope his party finds another 50 candidates in swing districts equally charismatic. As a registered Democrat for more than 40 years though I am a realist. There is no party more capable of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory; of uninspiring the inspired. I don't yet know how the Dems will screw up such a tremendous advantage but they will.
Sadly, that's what I have faith in.
1
It's funny to listen to the back and forth here about whether Lamb is a "real" Democrat. The reality is that there is an enormous gap in politics right now where both parties essentially shout past the 40% (?) of the population that is truly in the middle. Lamb caters squarely to that group, Obama spoke clearly to them even if he may not have governed that way completely, and I think any truly moderate, party in name only, politician that actually gets through the primaries will take their race against a hyper progressive or hyper conservative opponent.
At least the 40% watching the ends of both parties scream at everyone else (to the detriment of the country as a whole) can breathe a little easier for a day.
2
Here's some electoral math:
There are 120 republican held districts in the House that went for trump by LESS than the 20% that PA-18 did in 2016. And some of those red districts actually went for clinton.
Even if only HALF of those seats break blue this November, it will still be a bloodbath for the GOP.
The blue wave is powerful, but a lot can happen politically in the next 8 months. Let's hope this wave doesn't break.
5
Garbage.
The national Dems will NEVER allow young conservative Dems to take over their party. There are firmly ensconced in radical liberation, Marxist, Uber progressive nonsense. The new Dems are social justice warrior radicals who love wealth redistribution.
This is an aberration. This young man campaigned his heart out. The Dems threw him money as they are wont to do. The republican candidate is an old bull, do nothing type of guy.
If this young man does win, he better not be aligned with Schumer and Pelosi. They will throw him out on his head if he betrays their trust.
1
Wealth distribution? I have to say that as a Democrat I am for wealth redistribution at this point largely because over my adult life I have seen the loss of the middle class as the 1% prospers.
I have always felt the Democratic rhetoric that all the Republican Party wants is tax breaks for the wealthy was a bit tired and overblown. But guess what? It seems to be right.
The tax bill was not at all focused on middle class tax relief but was more a bill that rewarded Republican donors. I would be surprised if there was any legislation that did more for wealth redistribution to the top than anything I can remember.
Even their health bill was more about tax breaks for the wealthy at the expense of those who couldn’t afford health care without the ACA.
I am for policies that reverse the trend I have been seeing most of my life where we are losing our middle class while the rich get richer.
I am always struck when conservatives warn about wealth redistribution from Democrats all the while promoting policies that funnel our wealth upward.
Let the lesson here going forward be: don't trash Trump. Ignore Trump. He's doing enough damage on his own. Please, just tell the electorate what you will do. Then let them decide.
6
Someone perhaps Rex Tillerson should tell trump the moron, that where ever he goes the Republicans will lose.
The President 45 is vacant in mind and empty in head and totally insecure in body and people are finding that out.
4
With $10M being spent to support Mr. Saccone and 435 House seats and 33 Senate seats in play in November, that's $10M x 468 or roughly $4.7B for the Kochs to pour down a rathole. Just as some rats have resistance to warfarin, more and more Americans are developing resistance to the poison the Republicans/Russians are distributing to politics. Good for us.
5
Losing the tax deduction for student debt means every blue collar family's kid has less chance to move into the future job market. Academic Pittsburgh and suburban Moms will be very receptive to voting against those who wrote that part of the tax bill. Amazed how many are not aware of the big tax payment from the loss of that deduction. Democrats should be pounding on that big pocket issue.
5
Largely ignored in the national media is that Lamb, a Marine, is a supporter of gun rights and appeared in a campaign ad shooting an AR-15. Unfortunately, few other Democrats will be willing or able to replicate this.
2
#1. Lamb WON. What's with the false narrative.
#2. The Manchurian Candidate hasn't;t won an election this year.
#3. Impeachment begins January 2019, if the criminal grifter hasn't been indicted and removed already by then.
#4. Wouldn't it be funny if the Dems made Hillary Clinton House Speaker, so when Trump and Pence are impeached, she became president!!!
5
Wouldn’t it though?!
It’s a real possibility because one does not have to be an elected member of the House to be elected Speaker.
It’s completely constitutional.
Looks like those founding fathers knew what they were doing after all.
If the win stands up, congrats to the voters in that district who had buyers remorse and saw Trump for what he is, a bigot, rabble rouser, pathological liar, admitted sexual predator, philanderer, Russian WH plant, ego maniac demagogue.
Don't blow it in November democrats. Run progressive candidates that fit the district ie Bernie types in those district, conservative types like Lamb in those districts and Hillary types in ultra liberal areas.
3
Every time I hear Democrats gloat about their surefire November mid-term wave election, I cringe. It reminds me of their giddy overconfidence two years earlier about another can’t-possibly-lose proposition, President Hillary Rodham Clinton. As I recall, not only was she favored in the polls, she had a lock on the election, and she even came with bonafide firewalls.
Democrats should heed President Lincoln’s wisdom about surefire outcomes. Uneasy about Gen. Hooker’s incessant boasting that he would soon defeat Gen. Lee and his army — especially declarations that began with “ ... when I destroy Lee ...” — he nervously remarked, “The hen is the wisest of all the animal creation because she never cackles until the egg is laid.” Hooker, of course, went on to lay an egg himself, at Chancellorsville.
4
November Is Coming.
6
The NYTimes editors and their staffers completely miss the big story.
In days of old, Tip O'Neill famously quipped , "all politics is local."
But society has been overwhelmed by the Internet.
And just as Marshall MacLuhan predicted, the Internet has turned that adage on its head.
Now...."All politics is National".
In the case of PA Congressional District 39.....a place so Rust-Belt it hurts, 110% union, an local economy transformed from smokestack industry to service industry...and thus Heavy Duty status quo loyal FDR democrat.....becomes the focus of all the National Media Headlines......all because of an otherwise insignifigant short term election......
Worse, most of the obscene amounts of cash sloshing around in this race comes from Natl HQ of WashDC Lobbyists, NYC campaign consultants, Corporate Hollywood, CA, A foreigner named George Soros and others like him currently domiciled in Silicon Valley, CA......
Absolutely no interest in the locals.....all desparately attempting to buy back power.....POWER.....in Washington DC.
2
March comes in like Lamb and Trump goes out lyin...
6
There is no way yet to know what a shot in the arm appointing a proud committed torturer as head of the C.I.A. will give him.
2
It’s a bit odd to rejoice over 1/2 of voters supporting the crud and cringe of a Trump lackey & vassal.
6
And this was before the porn star debacle. Ad for November: woman at home alone with a newborn, cut to the husband in a rowdy party with strippers - question for the evangelicals: what would Jesus do?
7
Another ray of hope in the bleak national landscape. If there is one thing I love, it's a ticking clock thriller. And I think we have one. Zero hour on the clock being the day indictments are issued for the WH inner circle and Himself, His Titanic Majesty, El Presidente for Life, our very own Sexual Predator in Chief.
3
Lamb is pro-Second Amendment, pro-gun, anti-gun regulations.
Lamb is a religious Catholic, who is personally against abortion based on his personal religious beliefs.
Lamb is anti-free trade, pro-union (the pro-union part is huge)
Lamb is anti-big corporations, pro-worker.
Lamb is anti-Nancy Pelosi (ran ads to declare his opposition to Nancy Pelosi).
Lamb is a lawyer, former Marine prosecutor, assistant US attorney.
Lamb ran a grass-roots, local campaign and did not try to become a hero for the National Democratic Party or Trump-Resistance movement.
Lamb fails many or most of the litmus tests of the progressive wing or the corporate wing of the Democratic Party.
If Lamb wins (apparent win pending legal challenges/Republican cheating) in a Republican (once Democratic), overwhelmingly white, strongly pro-Trump House district, it’s specifically because he defied both Democratic progressive and corporate wings (which battle each other) orthodoxies and was true to himself and his local voters.
That’s how Democrats can win in “Trump-country” and win back House, Senate, Presidency, State Legislatures and Governorships in 2018 and 2020.
Democrats need to go back to being a big-tent Party that welcomes a truly diverse set of candidates and views and new leaders.
5
In all the ruckus about a Democratic win, let's take note that Saccone accused Democrats of hating their country and hating God. Have Republicans, at long last, no sense of decency? That is the sort of evil, twisted poison that could inspire some dimwitted crazy with his legally obtained weapons of mass destruction, their head filled with Fox "news" to go out and defend God and country by shooting at Volvos. When the blue wave comes in Nov and Trump gets the blame, will he give a nod to his cultists, and turn them loose to create the chaos he craves? Sociopaths do some pretty awful things. I hope Mueller's report comes soon and contains dozens of indictable criminal offenses with airtight documentation. America will not be safe until Trump and his revolting spawn are disgraced and imprisoned. Even then the slime trail left behind will take time and effort to clean up, but a least future tin-pot fascists will think twice before scooping up all the racists and fools and forming another hideous coalition with which to intimidate the GOP jellybags in Congress.
3
Euphoria might be premature, but voters ARE "pulling back the curtain" and discovering the obvious: the "wizard" in the White House is a loudmouthed piece of trash who doesn't know anything and surrounds himself with toadies. They are also beginning to realize the party that brought this piece of garbage to the ball cares NOTHING about the country, the voters, and the Constitution.
Vengence shall be theirs--at the ballot box!
4
"They noted that Lamb, 33, a handsome (and clean-shaven) military veteran. . ."
Great that Lamb is the seeming victor in PA, and that people suffering from the Trump Disease seem to be recovering. But what the heck does the parenthetical "and clean-shaven" observation have to do with anything? Is is some slur on Democrats? I haven't noticed very many "unclean-shaven" or even many "unshaven" members of Congress. Does the writer mean that Lamb doesn't have a beard? And why would that even matter?
Sloppy, "unclean" writing. Needs an editor (or a barber).
1
"Lamb the Sham" said draft dodger Donald Trump about an ex-Marine. No wonder Trump has cost the GOP yet another seat. Americans will vote in plenty of Democrats this November, and again in 2020. Trump and his worthless Republican Party deserve defeat, and the American people deserve better than a treasonous Trump leading an incompetent GOP.
3
Systematic cheating not to be mentioned in the Times bubble;
https://www.google.com/amp/amp.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/feb/26/laws...
I sent an email message to the White House this morning urging Trump to campaign everywhere this Fall to urge that the Big Blue Wave will destroy him!
3
Lamb is pro-life and pro-gun rights. He promised not to vote for Nancy Pelosi for Speaker. This is the path to winning the House for the Democrats. Hard to say whether it will work or not. It worked for four years from "06 to '08....
And it will allow the Dems to go forward and impeach Trump for the crime of winning. Should be interesting.
It’s easier for democrats to win if they abandon their liberal ideals and embrace conservative doctrine!
If you are a rich person, then you should vote for the Republican Party. The Republican Party does everything for the rich and the super rich. Recently the rich got a big tax break and the ordinary people got the dog bones. But if you are a ordinary middle class or poor person, why you vote for the GOP? When and what the GOP did anything for the poor and middle class other than lip service? The GOP is against your affordable health care, against your free and affordable education, against your environment and against your affordable housing. The living standard of the people in Red States are much worst off than the condition in the Blue States . Some of the red states are bankrupt by giving tax breaks to the rich. Lately, the Republican Party of Ronald Reagan has become a party of Vladimir Putin. SAD.
6
If we are to honor the idea of working from grassroots, then, the important thing is to let candidates who know the issues of their districts, their states run as candidates for their constituents. Somehow, in general, Dems find the pathway that does embrace social program responsibility and if people, who are sensitive to the feelings and needs of their own folks, can get elected, then there is room for everybody to work together. "Us against them" has driven politics, especially since the inception and seeding of political division sowed by Gingrich and the Tea Party among other factions. Let's hope we can get more folks like Lamb who are attentive, willing to listen and learn so that we can return to governance that is indeed, for the people and by the people and not money and special interest groups determined to enact their own agendas at the expense of greater good.
1
The big lesson for Dems is that in spite of gerrymandering designed to cripple the voice of the people, getting out the vote is still the only way to get your voice heard.
People get discouraged from voting in gerrymandered districts. They assume their vote will not count. Pennsylvania is the poster child for Republican gerrymandering. It has had the desired effect for decades.
People need to know they must vote in every election. High turnout might negate the effect of partisan gerrymandering.
Pa. is redrawing gerrymandered districts by the court. Of course, the GOP is suing to prevent that.
The only reason Lamb has won is that each and every vote counts.The race was very tight but that was to be expected in such a red, gerrymandered district.
All races depend on turnout at the end of the day.
2
Maybe the nation will now realize that Trump is but a clown in a dunking booth, spewing insults, taunting us, prompting us to throw things at him to dunk him in the water. The voters in the 18 PA district just dunked him. More need to.
11
Republicans from states that lost state local tax exemptions are are next to Quake. One has to wonder why The Right is not promoting their recent tax cut? When the reality of the tax bill hits the Burbs I suspect many more Republicans will be planning to retire. Trump may turn out to be the best thing for the Democratic since FDR. If Trump doesn't make a Democrat want to vote nothing will.
8
The reality of the tax bill has been analyzed up and down, by think tanks across the political spectrum. 80 + % of taxpayers will get relief, 15 % will pay the same and 5% will pay more. Pretty much all analyses have concluded that no matter whether they lean left or right.
Lamb is pro-life, anti-gun control and promised not to vote for Pelosi.
If you live on the either coast you are not benefiting from the tax cut. State,Local and property tax has a 10,000 dollar cap. The Burbs are going to cause many problems for the Right.
1
Hope endures.
Perhaps, after all, most Americans simply want a democratic government that works and that is fair, above all. Perhaps most Americans prize their ability to place someone in the oval office who is worthy of it and that right, left, and center, Americans now realize the pure accident that is the Trump administration. Perhaps the days are numbered of the cynical congressional Republicans who, day after day, sit on their hands while the country is afire.
Thank you Pennsylvania 18th! You made my day.
3
Win lose or draw, Lamb is dead-on about Pelosi. Time for the Dems to move on to new leadership.
4
Do you think Trump is humming the 60s hit “Stormy” today ... or everyday?
1
be afraid, GOP, be very afraid.
2
It isn't either/or: A person can be soft spoken and radical, progressive, reactionary, whatever.
You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar?
or, maybe it's just a matter of Right Speaking. No harsh language, but language backed up with principles that the Democratic Party can get behind.
try it, you'll like it.
After all the millions of donated dollars, FINALLY one Democrat defeats one GOPer. I assume there will be a move to reset our numbering of years now.
Lamb ran as a Republican. Maybe both parties should take notice.
2
“Many of (my opponents) have a hatred for our country. I’ll tell you some more — my wife and I saw it again today, they have a hatred for God.”
--- Rick Saccone at a campaign rally on Monday.
“House Race in Pennsylvania Is Too Close to Call Winner”
--- NY Times, yesterday.
“The American people, taking one with another, constitute the most timorous, sniveling, poltroonish, ignominious mob of serfs and goose-steppers ever gathered under one flag in Christendom since the end of the Middle Ages.”
--- H.L. Mencken, “On Being An American,” 1922.
2
By political standards, November is at least one light year away. Alas, the fickle American voters elected and unelectable serial liar, bully,racist, and womanizer. Nothing, absolutely nothing is certain in American politics following the Trump election.
4
And this is spite of extreme gerrymandering. Encouraging indeed. But the right candidate matters, just as it did in 2016. I still believe that just about any other Democrat would have beat Trump. Hilary was weighed down with baggage and decades of hate thrown at her (deserved or not) and the stupid DNC didn't even see that.
3
Lamb ran as a Republican.......
Someone call Hillary and make sure she approves.
"clean shaven"! What does that mean? Does he brush his teeth every day too?
1
Trump's rambling, unhinged rally for Saccone was probably the best political add for Lamb.
2
There are two immediate messages from this outcome, one for the legislative branch and one for the executive branch.
Speaker Ryan: Voters can't be bought any longer with a tax cut...especially one where you brag that the tax cut now pays for a year's membership to Costco.
President Trump; Don't fire Cabinet members on Election day...especially via Tweet.
Your mouth to God's ear, Frank!
There is a wave of indignation at the chaotic mess the White House has become under Trump’s presidency. Do voters need any more evidence that Trump is unfit and incapable as POTUS? Do voters need any more evidence that Republicans have put party over Country once again?
The power of your vote come November will right the ship of state. A vote for decency, a vote for accountability, a vote for competence and gravitas, a vote for honesty, a vote for integrity. Why must America continue to tolerate this narcissistic and traitorous fool and his family of grifters? Why?
2
Americans in general are sick and tired of crazy. Yes, the public was clamoring for change---but not chaos. We all wake up in the morning thinking about getting kids off to school, getting ready for our job, running those errands after work, and while eating breakfast, listening to the news in the background. Having these normal routines disturbed every morning with payoffs to porn stars, another cabinet member resigns, the removal of some medical care benefit, a stupid tweet ---no what the public wants now is a new slogan---make America calm again.
2
We have a rigged system!
;)
1
You can fool some of the people all the time and you can fool all of the people some of the time. But you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.
3
People having America First in mind should always vote for Democrats. After all, Hillary tried to stop Putin in Ukraine and Syria. That is why Russians meddled into the election.
4
The Dem's don't need to clone Conor Lamb in order to win across the country. What they need to do is pay attention at the local level, and craft candidates and policy positions that appeal to the voters in those districts. That is what Conor Lamb did in the PA 18th --- he listened and took positions that probably would not have gotten him elected in Manhattan, but certainly were the right tone for western Pennsylvania.
This is what Democrats, hopefully, are beginning to understand, that if you run a campaign based on a 16 point policy program that can be read on the candidate's web site, you're wasting your time. Getting elected must be priority one, and tailoring candidates to the districts they will represent is the way this is done. There is room, there absolutely MUST be room, within the Democratic party for a candidate who supports the 2nd Amendment and doesn't back Nancy Pelosi, because the alternative is a man who claims he was Trump before Trump was Trump, or a man who openly defies the U.S. constitution.
Democratic --- and I mean this as both noun and adverb --- control of congress is essential if we are to reverse the disaster that Trump is visiting on our country. That means getting elected, and getting elected means appealing to the voters first and always.
414
Jim in placitas, I absolutely agree. Winning a majority is the goal. I might add that the key word in the House of Representatives if representative.
6
Exactly. All of this. We can't dismiss candidates because they don't fit our belief in what the perfect looks like on every issue. A 'good' Democrat in central Pennsylvania probably will look a little different than a 'good' Democrat in Seattle or New York City. And that's OK.
4
All true. Basically that's what we did in 2006. It worked. Of course hardcore progressives weren't at all satisfied because, for example, they'd rather lose while pushing single-payer than win with Obamacare. I'm trying to contain my disdain for such folks.
To be clear: a well designed single-payer plan might be great but it would mean moving 150 million people off their current, employer-provided insurance onto a new, untried, government-run plan. A really tough sell. Much better to push for a public option in the hopes that folks will like it so much that it will evolve into a single-payer situation. If the insurance companies really are just so many leeches then it should be easy.
4
Watch out for squishy. Squishy on trade and other economic matters is what cost Hillary Clinton Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin, in other words, the presidency. Stay squishy and you'll probably get squashed.
Conor Lamb ran to represent the 18th district in Pennsylvania. He wasn’t running for president of the United States.
Hold each and every candidate to identical standards of ideological purity and Democrats will never regain the majority in Congress.
1
I read through this waiting to find out what Lamb actually stands for — instead of just being anti-Trump — and besides being anti-Pelosi as well, Bruni doesn’t name a single position on the issues. Not one.
This didn’t surprise me.
The NYT’s neoliberal columnists seem to treat politics as a game — it’s not what the candidates plan to do once in office, it’s whether the Blue Team gets in office at all. What they do there is an after-thought. And usually what such “moderates” (read: neoliberal, or even conservatives such as Sen. Manchin) will then focus on satisfying their corporate and wealthy benefactors, voting for endless war and only voting the moral choice on social issues.
Social issues are important — but they’re not enough. It’s pocketbook matters that are on most struggling Americans’ minds — how to survive on subsistence wages, how to afford egregiously expensive healthcare or childcare, how to pay off their leviathan student loans, etc.
Bruni predictably denigrates progressive (or “pure,” in his parlance) positions, yet he fails to point out that such stances — Medicare for all, free or subsidized childcare, a $15 minimum wage, raising taxes on corporations and the super-rich, getting money out of politics, ending our forever wars — consistently garner healthy and sometimes huge majorities in blue and red states alike. The tired notion that only bland, middle-of-the-road messaging works in conservative areas has no factual basis at all.
3
Lamb is the new face of the Democratic Party. Maybe he can restore normalcy to our scared and damaged country.
3
Trump has great influence.
No one but Trump could elect a Democrat from Alabama to the US Senate or another Democrat from this Pennsylvania district.
Heck of a job, Donnie !!
4
Let's avoid the "bring 'em on" rhetoric. It's better to speak softly and win. Win in the towns, in the cities, in the suburbs, among whites, among blacks, among yellow, brown, and red, win among women, men, trans, among rich, poor, and middlin', win among the educated, the uneducated, among those who work with their hands, with their minds, with a combination, among bots, among the dead -- everyone get out and vote to win for humanity!
2
So Saccone loses by running on "I'm with Him". Lamb wins by running on "I'm not with Her (Pelosi)". Upshot - swamps still need draining in both parties.
Not a single republican elected should feel his seat is safe.
In fact, not a single republican should be reelected.
Remember how nearly all voted to kill Obamacare.
Remember how all voted for Trump's tax cuts.
Remember how they allowed corruption and greed to flourish at the WH.
Remember how happy they are to dismantle the EPA or CFPB.
Remember the SCOTUS nomination of Gorsuch instead of Garland.
Remember how they bow to the NRA.
Remember all the cheating, lying and denying.
Remember and vote accordingly.
5
No Lambing in Pennsylvania today as the GOP got plucked like a turkey. Lamb might be a little too steel town naïve but he is better than anything Trump-like.
You are now gonna see, at least in purple districts the rats (republican Congress members, who supported Trump) start jumping the sinking ship and possibly see the rebirth of republicans like Corker and Flake.
1
I have faith, too. Trump is working hard to keep the Russia investigation out of the news.
1
Democrats need to be very careful not to rest on false laurels.We failed the country in losing to the Trump crowd in 2016.It is vitally important that we wrest back control of our United States from the charletons we permitted to take power.No false premature swagger permitted
1
"Poco y poco," as is said in Spanish, little by little we shall wear down the lying, arrogant fool we have as president.
Let's go Dems!
Let's get busy and trump (pun intended) the Republicans, in spades!
I believe!
2
Our country through sloth and apathy has let itself be brought to the door of authoritarianism and racism by an ignorant, self involved, mean spirited clown. Now let's put our shoulders to the wheel to see it born again to what it can be, an altruistic, brilliant leader of our species and all species for the days and years that lie ahead.
Nothing to disagree with here, but there's nothing here we couldn't read in a hundred other easy to find places on the internet. Indeed, this commentary could have been written a week ago and published with minor changes.
One thing to point out, here. Mr. Lamb received more than $130,000 from the left wing Daily Kos's Red to Blue campaign. For years, liberals have been supporting moderate candidates in conservative constituencies. Mr Bruno's warnings to the Dems about ideological inclusiveness are little more than weak concern-trolling. This is a lazy piece of commentary, which at best, cribs from others' better informed and better written commentaries.
I guess #45 can now cancel the idiotic tariff. It didn't work, it didn't fool enough voters. By now the Carrier jobs and coal industry revival ploys are well known, known to be politically motivated, defied reality and common sense, were a bad joke, and were also idiotic. Enough of the voters in western PA were not so totally gullible to fall sucker to the tariff ploy. Thank Thor. After the years of 2016, 2017, I was beginning to believe America was a hopeless cause, too dumb to save itself. After the multi-decade decline starting with Reagan, maybe the silver lining with #45 is that the guy is so unfit, so ignorant, so thin-skinned, possesses all the warmth and charm of an unflushed toilet, that finally the Titanic that is America is finally going to turn away from the iceberg.
1
I cant wait to see and hear the reaction from all these smug, self absorbed wealthy powerful outsiders.....when politicians like Doug Jones(senator-AL) switch party allegiance in order to get re-elected!
The DCCC must avoid the binary trap of either going full-on progressive everywhere, assuming that all voters want a clean sweep reboot with fresh new faces; or "playing chalk" by trying to lure those temporary Trump voters back into the fold with candidates so close to centrist that they might as well be Republicans.
No, the only way to take back the House is district-by-district--with surgical precision and candidates tailored to the voters in each district. Don't run DINOs in areas that are already ideologically & demographically turning leftward; nor doctrinaire ideologically-pure progressives in blue-collar white-ethnic "Blue Dog" districts (especially where the GOP is fielding candidates to the right of Attila the Hun).
Just such a contest is shaping up next week on Chicago's far SW Side & adjacent suburbs. Incumbent Dan Lipinski is only barely a Democrat--but so are the vast majority of voters in his supposedly safely-blue district. They vote Dem. because Lipinski, their shop stewards. and their ward heelers tell them to. But most IL Dem. luminaries are backing progressive Marie Newman, who in any other district would be a shoo-in but whose pro-choice/pro-LGBT stance is anathema to that district's voters. The danger is the sole GOP candidate is Art Jones--a self-declared white supremacist and admirer of Hitler. And I fear that given a choice between Newman and Jones, these blue-collar white Dem. voters will go hard alt-right. If so, God help us all.
1
A union household that supports right to work Republicans should consider driving off a cliff collectively and just get the job done quickly.
How can people at political rallys wearing hard hats with local stickers on them be so stupid.
Every local in every state has to work a get out the vote action if they don't want to be receiving flipping burgers wages with no benefits. Paid in company script. It appears that the unions did work this election.
Perhaps you could interview Joe and Josephina Lunchbucket at a Trump rally and enlighten us on how their thought process works?
1
THANK YOU Pennsylvania!
And Virginia and Alabama.
5
“When your message is simply I am for new leadership and cleaning up Washington, and you look like you just walked out of an Orvis catalog, you are going to connect with voters on both sides of the aisle,” wrote Saleno Zito in the Washington Examiner late last week.
If Lamb can relate to those within his state concerned with preservation of it's natural beauties and, yes, I've met a transplanted Pennsylvanian who said her place in that state was God's country, we're all ahead. If Lamb can balance pursuit of business & industry with preservation of his state's chalk streams, he can indeed connect with voters on both sides of the aisle.
The Democratic Party should & can be, a big tent.
1
"They said that Democrats would be hard-pressed to find many more Lambs with which to slaughter the G.O.P. in November."
Oh, the wit! Mr. Bruni, I am in thrall to your genius. Your columns keep so many of us going through these dark times.
I remain very cautious about Democratic chest thumping. Dems and millennials are less likely to vote, and smugness produces losses. Carry on with energy, vigor and straight talk, no need to discuss the President, we all know who he is and what he represents.
3
This election isn't about Seccone; it isn't about Lamb; and it isn't about Trump. This election is about what kind of nation we are. The election of lamb maybe a small ray of sunshine, but that there is even one person left in the nation still voting for Trump or what he represents is a black mark on our soul.
Trump supporters' reason for optimism about 2020 is that the Democrats will nominate an extremist. That will hand the White House back to Trump, and we'll be in the soup for another four years. The author, Frank Bruni, has put his finger on this problem with perfect accuracy.
I think trump's rally in Pa. offended a lot of Republicans as well it should have and made them think twice about voting for a candidate who tied himself closely to this vile and offensive man.
Your title, Mr. Bruni, is all hyperbole and hot air. My mother used to say, "if wishes we're horses, we'd all take a ride". Even if a conservative Dem wins that seat ultimately in a recount, there is no tsunami effect, just your Leftist drum beating that ....if you say it enough maybe you'll believe it too.
Nothing gives me more satisfaction than punching a hole in the bag of wind that is our President.No mater if in the final count the democrat lost , it’s still a victory for the Democrats, & a major defeat for Trump.The election has given me hope that the Democrats may take the Congress & Senate at the midterm election, & change the destructive course that Trump has developed.
2
On last night's news, there was a clip of Saccone spouting that "democrats hate America." What??? Is this the current level of political discourse in this country? Is this what Trump and his enablers have brought to this country. As an old white guy, independent voter, and farmer, I'm absolutely appalled.
3
I take it you missed Hillary Clinton's comments as she is in India promoting her recent book. She certainly hates America.... or at least much of it.
1
In 1946, the Republicans rode the campaign slogan, “Had enough?” to victory in the mid-terms. Now it’s their turn in Alabama and Pennsylvania (so far) to reap what Trump sows. Trump has shown that when he campaigns for his ideological brothers (interestingly all men), he poisons his party’s chances. Payback rhymes with rich.
It took fourteen years of FDR and the New Deal (and a Depression and WWII) to get people to answer that question by electing Republicans.
It hasn't taken two years of Trump to get them starting to elect Democrats again.
1
The GOP should be afraid, very afraid.
It's a good article. Would be better without the last 3 words.
In the shouting between the most vocal Liberals and the hard Right, there is a large, less noisy segment of the population who held their noses and voted for Trump because they thought a businessman would do a better job in Washington. Some voted for Hillary but accepted Trump with a wait-and-see attitude, hopeful that he would deliver in spite of his tacky demeanor and seedy, corrupted character. We now see the outcome of the 'Businessman Goes to Washington' experiment; chaos, turmoil and the fraying of everything that has held this country together and made it a global powerhouse. We are now a pathetic laughingstock of a country with a grifting clan in the White House and constant scandals by an unstable President whose daily agenda is dictated by a third-rate morning television show. I am hoping the Blue Wave continues so we can right the ship and minimize the damage done by this ridiculous man, along with ridding the administration of the loyalist vermin he has installed.
Thank goodness Trump was true to form when he visited Pennsylvania to support Saccone. He mentioned him twice and spent ther balance of the time preening and praising himself. Those looking on could only say, "We can do better."
Yes, it is very exciting that the Democrat looks like the winner in PA, but in recent contests around the nation the elections have been way too close for my comfort level. We will see very tight races in November. Let's hope the Democrats will fight harder to keep their wins and not give up like Gore and Kerry did. Those elections were rigged by the GOP, Florida, Ohio and the Supreme Court. Gore and Kerry conceded way too early after the elections. They gave up fighting so the country would not devolve into chaos. Wow. How noble of those guys. We would still have a functioning, respected country without the current chaos if they stood their ground.
A little premature on your part Mr. Bruni; no winner has been determined. So perhaps waiting for a winner to be decided would have been the better option on your part. So what if the democrat, who ran as a republican, ran up the vote? Due to redistricting this particular district will go away in January 2019, all the prognostications by the media are meaningless as their is no comparison here to a presidential election.
1
Lamb ran as a Blue Dog Democrat— an endangered species.
This has literally no bearing on the health of the coastal Democratic Party. Lest you forget, Republicans have won five specials since Trump.
The Republican strategy for the November mid-terms will be their usual. They will cheat. They will suppress the vote where they can. They will scour voter rolls of minorities in states they control. They will gerrymander and pour millions into political ads accusing Democratic candidates of, oh, what, supporting sensible gun regulation, supporting a women's right to choose, supporting expanding Medicaid so the poor can afford health care, opposing the Orwellian 'right to work laws' that make worker rights in the workplace an empty promise. And they will chant Nancy Pelosi, Nancy Pelosi, Obama. But they cannot account for Trump.
Tax cuts don't help much if you don't have a job and, as The Times pointed out this past weekend there are lots of folks in the Midwest who are still unemployed even despite the upward turn of the nation's economy. Imposing tariffs on foreign steel may prove helpful in the Rust Belt but that decision alone isn't going to solve the problem. Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin put The Donald in the White House. Hopefully, their votes will eventually force him to vacate the premises.
1
When they run as a fake conservative; e.g., pro-2A, pro-life, etc., they win. Then they go to Congress and vote confiscation and pro-abortion, as well as rolling back the recent tax cuts, and spending more money on failed social programs.
1
Bravo for Connor Lamb and the work he and his supporters have done in western Pennsylvania. This is a clear message that Democrats represent the honest, hard working people of Pennsylvania and that message can transmit across the country. Let's work for less divisive politics and more integrity in working for all Americans. Connor Lamb may be a moderate Democrat, but he is a Democrat and what we need in this country is an operational Congress, with Representatives who will work for the people, not hacks of the corrupt President.
1
Could you please stop already with the victory laps before the count is over?
There was this narrative for a couple of weeks now about how Lamb was going to upset Trump's "wingman" in deep red Western Pennsylvania. It feels like the columns were already written last week.
The story last night was that Lamp started with a big advantage and that slowly withered away. Sure, he did much better than Hillary. But almost winning is very different from actually winning. Please don't jinx this.
Also, beyond superstition. I get the same feeling as in November 2016 - the entire (mainstream) media decided that was the story, and all these "told you so" columns. They should publish a book with all the "why Trump lost" articles from the week before.
If Lamb's campaign has a lesson for Democrats, it is that hard work *may* deliver a win, but phoning it in definitely doesn't work. People in the Allegheny County part of the district went all out, I have never seen so many high school kids involved. They deserve a win, but it is not at all certain. Let's hope the enthusiasm will be there when it really matters in November.
I do not like Trump and do not support him.
But I cannot support the Democratic Party position on illegal immigration. The party is captured by the 'all or none' illegal immigration industry.
'All or none'- let that sink in. No immigration reform or amnesty, and citizenship, for 20 million people plus every person they have ever met.
That is roughly one sixth of the total voting population in the last election.
The Republicans are awful but the Democratic Party has nothing to offer- hence their need to import and create new voters.
2
While the result of the election in Pennsylvania;s 18th district is one to linger on and enjoy whether Lamb wins or loses, it provides only a respite from what has been a very turbulent 14 months when the country has veered seemingly out of control and the very planet we live on seemed to be given over to the powerful, the oligarchs, the con-artists at the expense of the masses. Many of us in this country wondered whether the truth would ever have another chance. The scariest part of it all isn't just that no one really seems in control. Leaders who have gained favor through convincing people that they are the right ones to lead us out of decades of political turmoil are only one half of the huge problem.
The other half of the problem is that "we the people" voted for and have allowed these " leaders" to do their own thing and not the will of the people.. The people of Alabama started the stirring in the US along with Virginia and now Pennsylvania and Conor Lamb. We were looking into the "abyss" with this presidency and on our way toward falling into it and losing our country and banishing as insignificant our founding, our constitution, our humanity. We fought a civil war and numerous wars to preserve those freedoms. Does all of that mean so little to us now?
Are we expected to sit back as a country and let the likes of our president and the party in powe move us in a direction that will virtually eliminate the freedoms we have come to cherish?
It would probably be better for democrats to pick a candidate before the primaries or two. Let's not lose in the primary fight of your life.
The Democrats aren't still out of their own woods yet - they still have Nancy Pelosi.
2
Saccone gets slaughtered by Lamb at the polls, though the Republican cheating machinery is in full operation to nix this win.
Saccone's statements of the rest of us as God hating and America hating. What decent Christian person would vote for that? Oh yea, trump voters.
I hope this becomes a trend - 10 to 1 spending by Republicans to still lose. That is the best way to get money out of politics, making it expensive and for naught.
As all votes are - it is temporary. Voters need to get out and vote in as many elections as they possibly can.
1
Let us hope this is the beginning of the end for Trump and his acolytes in the GOP. The current chaotic state of the White House and of the GOP is a sign that the whole political monstrosity that they have devolved into can, must, and will be removed from office in the coming mid-terms and then 2-years later in the general elections.
1
From James Akin, in RCP,"Democrats will be looking closely at Lamb’s campaign for signals about how to run successful races in the fall. Given his significant fundraising advantage over his opponent, the fact that he didn’t face a Democratic primary and the unique circumstances surrounding the race with the potential change to Pennsylvania’s congressional maps this fall, it may be a difficult to replicate his campaign’s success."
Way to go Democrats. Who knew there was a pro-gun, anti-abortion American politician, in the Democrat Party?
Are Minority Leaders Schumer and Pelosie going to be seen with Mr. Lamb, hugging and smiling and saying out loud, "There's plenty more where that came from."? Did Mr. Lamb say anything about bringing Obamacare back? Or, re-instating those tax breaks?
Is Hillary going to amend her statement that she won all of the good places, where the good people live, to include mountainous regions where the American Teaban are holding out?
1
I continue to wonder by how much Trump would have won in many of these rural, previously democratic districts, had the democrats picked a different candidate, say Joe Biden, a populist moderate, who could connect with this demographic.
Trump’s win was due to Hillary’s unpopularity with these voters for many reasons, many not of her own doing.
Of course what happened in this election won't be replicated across the country. Just like what happened in Alabama in December won't be replicated. As the great Tip O'Neill said all politics is local. So every election will be unique.
The common thread through many elections will unhappiness, and disdain, over Trump. And if the past year of elections shows, and this PA election shows, that unhappiness and disdain for Trump is wide and deep, even in areas that voted for Trump in 2016. And Republicans know this, and fear this, even if most wont say it publicly
220
All politics are local and Lamb knew his district. May other democratic candidates also know their districts.
2
And what I really liked about Conor Lamb is that, while Trump and Soccone stooped to name-calling, maligning and negativity, Lamb won without even once mentioning Trump's name. It seems, at least for the people of the 18th, that they're sick of the "Jurassic" brand of political campaigns.
1
A very moderate Democrat won a seat by appealing most to the local concerns. I’d hold the champagne if you essentially have to run as a Republican to beat one by less than half a percent.
This lesson should be instructive for Democrats—pick candidates whom voters will connect with. Avoid the urge to install purity tests like Republicans use on guns and abortion
Pretty amazing! A big win in a district Trump won by 20 points, a district that's 94% white. I'm starting to hope, and I'm not sure my fragile heart can take it. I still worry about the 35% of Americans who approve of Trump. That 35% perfectly spread over gerrymandered America worries me. November looms as either a time of reckoning or a time of disparue. And no one knows which it will be.
Lamb ran a campaign where he had the audacity to tell his constituents that he would represent them first and always, and not the Democratic Party. A lot of Democrats and Independents in Southwest Pennsylvania are pro-life, pro-gun, anti-Pelosi, pro union, pro social security, pro medicare and medicaid. This is who Connor Lamb said he is and will support. Connor Lamb gave the Democratic and Democratic leaning voters in Southwest PA a reason to vote For a candidate, not just against the other guy. Now, the question is whether the National Democratic Party will make room for all the Connor Lambs.
1
This election demonstrates (again) the chronic deep divisions in this country. And the outrageous sums of money spent to promote hatred and venom by the likes of the Koch Brothers and their lackeys. The results here and in Alabama serve to illustrate trying to maintain a "United" States of government is ludicrously wasteful and certainly no model for anyone's future around the world. "Split it up!"
as far as I could tell, Conor Lamb was a republican. He was pro-life, pro-gun, anti-illegal immigration, supported the tariffs, anti Nancy Pelosi, and despite his rhetoric, said he would have supported the Tax cut. He ran as a republican.
Of course, he will probably be like Manchin. Talk conservative in his district and be a reliable democratic vote in congress. Just a new "blue dog" democrat
I hope this is a harbinger of the return of the rational American voters to the voting booth. No more crazy protest votes for a TV nut job - let's bring in serious people (who don't serve the billioinaires) to our government, & set about fixing the wreckage that Trump has created. Congratulations to Conor Lamb, and a giant THANK YOU to everyone who worked, volunteered, & donated to help him win that seat. Thank you!
I guess Connor Lamb is better looking then Trump. If you recall Trump saying that he (Trump) was better looking.
In all seriousness, the American people are taking the country back from the lunacy of Donald Trump and the Republican Party. The Republican Party has gone so far right that they are not recognizable.
The country has been under siege by the Alt Right and yes the deplorable. And the head deplorable is Donald Trump and his cronies.
Considering he appears to have won by about 600 votes I have to wonder how many of those 600 votes decided to vote against Trump yesterday following his firing of Secretary of State in the morning and all of the embarrassing news stories that followed throughout the day. Perhaps if he weren't so completely incompetent he could've waited even 12 hours to fire Tillerson the election may have come out differently.
1
Still too close to call, but let's remember: not one of those mom and pop Trump voters changed their mind and voted for Lamb. Like Alabama, the Democrat's win will be decided on an outpouring of dispossessed Democratic voters. Alabama was the African American vote. Penn will be the union voter. We need to focus more outreach on the forgotten voters who want to be inspired, not turned away and forced into voting for a vile man who cares only about himself.
1
How anyone in their right mind could support Trump after over a year of his sad and erratic behavior is beyond me. He is and always has been an entitled child in a man's clothing. I can't imagine what is was like to deal with him in a business situation but I bet is was a nightmare.
1
Could the continuing and sordid saga, "Affair Daniels", be causing some lasting damage for Congressional Republicans as the electoral clock ticks down to November, particularly amongst that white, suburban women demographic? Chances are that this scandal will be festering for months, with still additional prurient revelations coming. Who knows, perhaps Melania will initiate divorce proceedings in the near future against her amoral, dissolute spouse.
1
The headline to your op-ed, Mr. Bruni, sent shivers through me. After Hillary’s surprise defeat I now take nothing for granted. The headline should have read, “Democrat’s Hubris Must Stop, There’s Too Much Work Still to Do.”
3
As a Republican, I'm quaking all right. But I'm quaking with laughter.
You people just ran a candidate who ran ads against Pelosi, who campaigned at gun shows and for gun rights, who never once mentioned Trump, and who tows the Trump party line of economic growth, protectionism, and tariffs.
In other words, winning as a Republican isn't so important when the Democrats run Republicans for us. It's almost like we had two great candidates to choose from in this race. More of this please!
And please get the word out to the rest of the Democratic Party! If they lean right, they'll win. If they lean left, they'll lose.
39
It's not all about leaning right, Butch. It's about having a pathological liar in the White House who puts Vladimir Putin above Americans. That includes you. Are you a traitor? Are you compromised by our adversaries for money? Your president is.
20
One step at a time.
For another fresh face take a look at Josh Welle in NJ’s ‘ Fighting Fourth’.
Watch out Chris Smith !
5
Certainly, that is true in some places. But not in others. As Republicans have found out.
7
"...stances so moderate and squishy that he could be mistaken, well, for a Republican."
He's anti-Choice.
This is the second time that Dems have waxed giddy over a "Dem" win and the "winner" is against legal abortion.
Doug Jones was the other win last fall, squeaking out a win over a pedophile.
Be careful, Democrats.
Once you could be counted on to support women's rights. Or unions. Or the poor. Or condemn war.... or fight increases to the military budget (and, yet, since this administration, the military budget has now been RAISED three times since Jan. 20, 2017, and now approaches, literally, one trillion dollars! and the Dems voted for it every time!) or anti-NRA.... or anti-torture.....
Now your message is so passive, so muted and obscure, that I can find gaping holes in what was once a clear program of domestic and foreign rights.
It's as if the Democratic Party has osteoporosis, the honey-combing of the bones, where the calcium has been so eaten away that one little fall and their hip shall shatter. This hollowing out of the party must stop!
So - how many, Dems?
How many anti-Choice candidates are you going to support, give money to, and rah-rah?
We have 2 newbies to go with a half dozen oldies. Will there be 10 more? 20? 50?
I want to know because I'm a progressive and if I'm in the wrong party, I want to know right now so I can make alternate plans..... like not voting for the first time in 50 years...
We need to talk, Democratic Party.
150
There are 435 “neighborhoods”. Your neighborhood can elect whoever makes the best fit with your views.
10
Sorry if your world idea doesn't work in Penn. The voters decide - the people who sit out, don't.
10
I agree with you Rosa, but please vote. Not voting won't help. Let us take baby steps forward rather than giant leaps into downfall.
10
Bravo America!
There are so many wins yesterday that have nothing to do with just a Democratic House seat.
First there is Mr. Lamb. He and others like him are the antidote to what poisons the Democratic Party.
He is young and has an appealing demeanor.
He is intelligent and reserved.
He "represents" his constituents aspirations in that he has served his country and has placed his name on the line in an effort to continue that service.
He is not shy about relating his own personal views regarding right-of-center issues that 18th district voters relate to.
He clearly made people who vote by party lines, think deep enough to pull the leaver the other way.
But most of all, he shows respect for America.
I give credit to the DNC for finding him and supporting him. More leaders like him are needed and perhaps that is the greatest singular win here. His pending victory may inspire others like him, which the Democratic Party desperately need, to give up their life in service for our nation.
We all won yesterday. Because as a nation, we need to have members in Congress to lead our nation, unite our people and work together. The GOP hasn't a clue here. Perhaps the Democratic may have found the answer in this election. Leadership is needed and it is best when done in an open tent.
10
My political career started with a win in a special election in 1978 in a constituency that had been solidly government supporting for a decade and a half. My nominal opponent was the very popular Mayor of my city; but my "real" opponent was the Prime Minister whose popularity was low at the time. As in last night's election, I was a "moderate" opposition candidate.
Less than a year later, I won narrowly in a general election against the same Mayor.
What did I learn? First, it is much easier to mobilize voters and election workers against the country's leadership than it is to mobilize voters in favour of an opposition candidate."Throw the rascals out!" resonates with disgruntled voters. Second, enthusiastic volunteers are a huge asset in any election. Almost 2 thousand people volunteered to help in my first 2 campaigns.
While I was defeated in my third campaign, I was re-elected in my fourth campaign and played a signifiant role in soundly financing Canada's social programmes.
What do I conclude? Special elections can be a "gift from heaven" to an opposition candidate because opposition voters in special elections can be much more motivated than government supporters. And, once elected, a member can build a reputation that can serve as a "launch pad" for a lengthy political career.
I now realize that, despite whatever abilities I possessed, I would never have had any political career without that special election opportunity.
1
Majority Democrats will include both progressives and centrists. Always have; always will. The percentages of each--that can be contested.
3
Why is this surprising? You have to remember a few things about politics today. The first is many voters, particularly Democratic voters, are not agonizing now whether to vote for Hillary, stay home, or vote for Trump. Oh you can try and equate Pelosi with Clinton, but I don't think the attack ads will stick to Pelosi like they did to Clinton. Ask yourself: What do I really know about Pelosi? How different is she really, from the political playbook aspect, from Paul Ryan? And her days in position of power are numbered. Secondly, many of those who stayed home or voted Trump in protest of Clinton are seeing exactly what their vote and/or their apathy has produced. Voters are not stupid. When you tell them you are putting money back in their pockets but leaving out the part that it is a "temporary loan" at best, deep down inside they know they are being had. And when you tell them the jobs are "coming back", they know that, for the vast majority of them, that is just not the case. They are all well aware that higher corporate profit will mean little to them long term. And, lastly, every single day, not here or there, but every single day they are confronted with the fact that Trump is a terrible human being. And you can only use lies and "fake news" retorts so much. Sooner or later you have to realize if it sounds too BAD to be true, it must be. You just can't make this stuff up. But you do get awfully tired of it. And want it to go away. So they go vote.
5
Fellow Democrats.We must put forward what America looks like in the Middle:Common Human Decency. Nancy Pelosi,It’s time for retirement.
10
Don't put Nancy Pelosi down. She is a good politician and pro America. The reason people are against her is because of the Republican hate rhetoric. She is a strong woman and people have a tough time with strong women. Just look at Hillary Clinton, Eleanor Roosevelt, Susan B. Anthony and many others. Women are suppose to be passive and sit back. Not any more. The MeToo movement let us (the women) loose.
1
I cant help but notice the ads for BAM's production of King Lear featured prominantly throughout this article
1
In this regime, that's " King Leer ".
First, let me concede that this race is good news for the Democrats. However, as a Republican--a real Republican, not a Trump Republican--I am not worried. The Democrats have a fair shot at taking the House, but my guess is that the Republicans will lose about half the seats that Democrats lost during Obama's first mid-term. The party in power typically loses seats at this juncture. But you can bet that the media will not put Republican losses in perspective. Do you think they will consistently comment how much better the Republicans did than the Democrats did in 2010? If--and it is still an if--the Democrats win the House, I'll feel bad for Paul Ryan, whom I admire, but that will be the extent of it. Part of me hopes that the Democrats have the power to make fools of themselves chasing Russian collusion conspiracy theories. Go ahead, make my day, impeach Trump. He will only be removed if he deserves it, because Democrats will need Republican votes in the Senate (you should all start apologizing for all your smears against Mitt Romney; he's your best hope). And we know how it worked out when the Republicans impeached a president who actually deserved to be removed for being a sexual predator, lying about it under oath, and obstructing justice. I look forward to watching the hypocrisy of all of the Clinton defenders. And in the unlikely event Trump is removed, we get a much better president in the person of Mike Pence.
1
He hurts to lose, doesn’t it.
What Democrats need to do is to tailor their candidates to the population they'll represent. That doesn't mean Republican-lite or supporting Trump, quite the opposite. The unifying message should be that an overly zealous, unfit "president" needs to be in check and the only way that happens if Democrats retake both Houses of Congress. Republicans want to make Nancy Pelosi an issue, let them stick with that losing campaign. When she was Speaker, she got things done; Paul Ryan has proven time and time again how inept and incompetent he is. Ditto for Senate Majority Leader McConnell. Democrats should regain the narrative and expose Ryan, McConnell, and Trump for what they are, failed leaders who represent the wealthy elite and corporations, not Americans. It took a tariff to wake up some Republicans to futile resist Trump, they could care less about his support of racism. sexual assault, vulgarity, putting Russia's interest ahead of hours, and just destroying America's representation, you could argue that this Congress is the "CEO Congress." There's a unifying message there as to how Democrats will be different such as ending the income disparity in this country, supporting public schools, the environment, infrastructure, jobs, and calling for transparency in government so Cabinet officials and others don't use their offices to exert their own vanity, This can be done and it's time for Democrats to stop being nice and expose the Republicans for the damage they cause to us all.
5
Congratulations Congressman Lamb, you honor us. The one thing you can count on as an American,as a Pennsylvanian, is that if you betray us ,you will lose. Mr. Murphy lied & betrayed his wife, the President lies & betrayed his & our wives, even Mr. Saccone claimed to beTrump before there was a Trump. With all the negative news I woke up to this morning, I hope this is the beginning of the end of President Trump. We are waking up to the old maxim " it is not whether you win or lose,it is how you play the game." Honor is redemption.
5
Every day is another day that Donald J Trump can instinctively, uncontrollably behave in a way that disgusts normal Americans… even those who voted for him.
And, every day is another day that all the investigations of his behavior in business and his political life can reveal things no normal person can stomach.
I love every day.
6
Local boys...and girls....and those who have yet to make up their minds, can win on the democratic ticket. Emphasis on LOCAL. Local affiliations, local issues, local appeal, local savvy. Dems will sweep unless that forget that essential adjective.
5
"No con, but Lamb," the voter said.
"No tariff sham, we won't be had."
"No empty State, it's all so sad."
And voted for the Democrat!
Election results may be snappy.
Yet still can make me halfway happy.
There's one thing though that makes me vent:
The perennial U.S. accent!
It swallows sense in a black hole:
Hysteria and hyperbole!
I join the stance of Hawking, Stephen:
The overdrive is really deaf'ning!
2
What is most sad, futile and shameful in this piece is that no one is looking past the worn-out two-party paradigm that has itself dumped us unceremoniously into the mire of fascism. Neither the venerable GOP nor the even older Democrats have a clue how to listen to their constituents or govern in any way effectively. What both parties are leaving as their legacy is vulgarly referred to as a cluster. When, oh when, are we going to see some development into a more responsive and responsible system that gives these tired, clapped-out parasitical institutions the heave-ho?
3
Mr. Bruni uses the phrase "Trump’s style of governing" in this excellent op-ed, but in reality Trump does not govern - he lurches from crisis to crisis, spewing nonsense from the center of a cesspool filled with his corrupt cabinet and underlings. I think much of the country has tired of Trump's schtick. If the Democrats can run candidates such as Mr. Lamb going forward, they can be the perfect antidote to Trump's poisonous presidency.
5
Well, wait til November. That will be the deserved crumbling of Republican power.
Then who will Trump fire? And his excuse?
3
It is neither mild nor muddled to say that in a democracy, no one gets left behind. The Marine named Lamb walked the walk of our founding fathers, who established that the general welfare, domestic tranquility and the state of the common good for ourselves and our posterity is the spirit of our democracy. To actually care about the plight of others, to understand that we are all connected is neither socialist nor wishy washy, it is as powerful as the vote result for Mr. Lamb.
4
To save our Democracy--in America, it should have been a landslide.
4
Given the amount of right-wing propaganda blanketing the airwaves— pretty much all talk radio is “conservative” (AKA far-right wacko), and Fox has always been the dominant cable “news” channel— its amazing that more people haven’t fallen under its evil spell. Yes, Conor Lamb should have won by a landslide... but one could easily say that about Hillary Clinton (or Al Gore, or Michael Dukakis, etc)
Come November, if you are embarrassed by the sad and perverse reality TV show that is our White House, remember how it feels to see our reputation in the world community die by a thousand cuts, and vote Trump's enablers off our island to begin the slow process of Making America Proud Again.
6
Frank Bruni's reminder that Conor Lamb didn't style his campaign as anti-Trump should be heeded by all Democratic candidates in districts that voted heavily for the president. Let Trump do his own self-destruction (which he's very good at). Let that speak for itself and deliver policy proposals that will truly benefit the Trump-gullible.
5
Will Republicans realize that even gerrymander tricksterism failed to help them. I can't wait until November!
3
This election is a perfect example to hold up to people when they say "my vote doesn't matter." Oh he// yeah, it does! Note for Dems: A good example of finding a candidate that fits the district!
4
Pro Second Amendment (wanted to be photographed with an automatic weapon for campaign ads) and other social issues; pro-tariff; a Democrat who has promised to run against the party. He's a Republican (my current day standards) in Democratic clothing. Yes - the Democrats won....what?
There’s a big message for Dems as well. Tim Ryan (Rep fro eastern Ohio) tried to deliver this to Nancy Pelosi in 2016.
2
My new slogan for the Dem's: "We Are Better Than This!".
2
Mr. Bruni, I share your joy at Conor Lamb's grand showing last night but I'll be much happier when the race is officially called in his favor. In today's toxic political climate, I'm hoping for much more than a close race and a good showing but ultimately a loss for the Democrats. Only a win by Lamb will make me happy.
Yes, there's no credible way the Republican party can effectively spin a near victory by a Democrat in a district that should never have been in play in the first place, but a Lamb win will keep the momentum going.
The only thing the GOP will respect and fear is a blue wave this year. Perhaps then they'll see the harm that they and the president have done to the country. It will be nice if the American voters can shut down the Republicans at the polls the way the House Intelligence Committee shut down their farcical investigation of the president's Russian collusion.
3
"Trump’s style of governing — bereft of truth, lavish with chaos, crude and divisive — has diminished his standing and given his rivals an enormous window of opportunity." And to beat the Tumpists in an election you just have to be the opposite. Truthful(including transparency and good character), leadership with a finger on the pulse of America, eloquent, respectful, inspiring and uniting. C'mon Democrats, The Better Deal is better schools, better infrastructure; affordable, quality healthcare. We are all in this together. Liberty and Justice for All.
1
Bruni mentions conservative Salena Zito. Known for anecdotal person-on-the-street writings, Zito did a 2016 piece before the South Carolina primary in which she interviewed a handful of African Americans who didnt like Hillary and suggested she was in trouble there. Clinton won the primary by a landslide. Expert? No thanks.
2
I'm much less interested in what Republicans do that with what Democrats do.
In review: Republicans, conservatives, evangelicals, billionaires and others promoted, elected and support Trump. Trump is a bully, liar, serial-adulterer, serial-bankrupt-er, hateful billionaire that avoided the Vietnam War, laughed that 'women' were his war, and said POW's weren't his kind of hero.
This toxic, venal man that the right-wing elected President is America at it's very worst. Democrats must save this country.
We can't be shy about talking about working people, average people, Americans that need our help, that have been moving downward financially for decades. We must talk about them; US. The America First people are less racist and anti-immigrant than they are struggling, desperate, scared that they will either join the ranks of those in poverty, or never get out of the poverty they are already in. Spare me the compassionate talk about immigrants until we've been compassionate with the Americans that are already here. Compassion is a real, deep need here.
Raising taxes on the rich (maybe back to the rates before Reagan) will help. Committing to some good and decent and safe public housing will help. Limiting the number of rentals billionaires and hedge funds & foreigners can own will help. Single-payer health care, like the military's, will help.
Stand up. Stand up for us all, which requires equality. We either love this country/each other or we love money. Republicans love money.
4
Mr. Lamb is like a light at the end of very long tunnel-the door is cracking open and I am hopeful the light will come flooding in-He is a refreshing face for change that can’t come soon enough-YEAH!!!!!!!
2
I'm a really ticked off former Republican (now an independent) who's thrilled that voters are finally waking up to what Trump is doing to this country. He's ruining our institutions, our reputation and, ultimately, our economy with his ignorance and his posse of toadies in this administration. God help us if he's not gone well before 2020.
3
Here's another thought: There is an entire class of high school kids across the country that has just seen how much the president and Republican Party don't value them in the wake of the Parkland, Florida, mass shooting. These kids aren't going to fade away and disappear; they're going to register by the millions and vote for the very first time.
If I were a Republican (And I'd rather be dead.), I'd worry.
2
Sadly, I think one of the keys to Lamb's success, even if he loses at this juncture, is his rejection of Nancy Pelosi. Look, she's a very accomplished, intelligent, powerful woman, but Republicans are old school rascist and misogynist and have villified and demonized Pelosi the same way they did Hillary. They just can't stand a woman in power.
For the sake of the Democratic Party and the entire country, to take back the house and Senate, Nancy should step away and let someone else be the minority leader of the house so mid-term candidates won't be tied to what's perceived by Republicans as an albatross.
4
Just like his ratings for the last few seasons of The Apprentice and its spin-off, support for Trump will rapidly fade as his utter incompetence, mean-spiritedness and stupidity is revealed every time he reacts to an international incident or a domestic problem. There are only so many 'alternative facts' people are prepared to accept, and Trump’s decision to surround himself with hand-picked yes men and women will only highlight his own deficiencies.
1
Keep the races local, local, local. Run candidates who reflect/represent their district. Then let them all fight it out intra-party in DC.
2
Democratic candidates' chances of winning will increase wherever Trump takes the President's Burlesque Show. But It will take young, thoughtful candidates like Conor Lamb to bring voters to the polls. Good thing Trump loves to do the disgraceful bragging and boasting he demonstrated in Saturday's Pennsylvania performance.
3
If Stormy is allowed to unleash her story -- ideally supported by photos or videos -- more women will drop out of the Trumposphere. If Democrats field candidates who appeal to a more conservative voting demographic, they retake the House.
1
Imagine a world where ALL the republicans lose in 2018. The only ones voting for them could be Ivanka, Jared, Mike Pompeo, Betsy Devos and Stormy Daniels. Javanka because they are trying to keep their jobs. Pompeo will be the only cabinet member left and in charge of all the departments. Betsy will vote IF her local polling place isn't in a underperforming school. And Stormy, because it so specifies in her hush agreement. And I forgot the ever forgettable, Mike Pence, who will vote loyally because he got a message from upon high.
2
Hooray. March comes in without a lamb and goes out with a Lamb. Beats the weather.
1
Not to rain on Conor Lamb's parade - but the election for the PA 18th CD seat hasn't been called yet. And the Republicans should quake (from your lips to God's ear, Frank Bruni), as young Lamb's victory portends catastrophe for Trump in November (if not before). As usual, the President slammed Saccone's opponent with an epithet - "Lamb the sham!" at his crazed ranting western Pennsylvania rally two days ago. But Lamb's not the sham, and shame of America, Trump am! Already, the G.O.P. and their leaders are spinning madly like spiders, hoping to mend their webs for a Trump victory in November. Conor Lamb's youth was beautiful to watch as he gave his victory speech for the Congressional seat in the outrageously gerrymandered Republican district where hand of Democrat hasn't set foot in decades. It's a long way to our 2018 mid-terms, but Conor Lamb is wearing the Democrats' manycoloured dreamcoat today.
1
Democrats’ euphoria over how [Lamb] fared on Tuesday will give way to sharp internal tensions and sustained quarreling over which sorts of candidates — soft-spoken or bold, centrist or liberal, eclectic or pure — the party would be wisest, from a pragmatic standpoint, to promote.
I don't understand. Democrats overcomplicate these races over and over again. They need to read the room, as Lamb did. If you are running in Deep Red districts, be more centrist. If you are running in a Purple district that favors Democrats, be more liberal. Promote turnout. Speak honestly. If you build it, they will come.
1
Now, next item on the agenda: shutting up Hillary Clinton. It's bad enough when the propensity of Clinton gaffes leads to their shooting themselves in the foot politically, but it could have tragic consequences if they shoot the Democratic effort in the foot simply to maintain their limelight. It's not all about you. Get it? For once?
2
The Democrats need YOUNG candidates who can relate and serve their constituents. It’s not just white, working class men, it’s the entire two decades from our 30s to 50s.
Think about our struggle. We are trying to raise our kids, keep our jobs, pay off student loans and take care of elderly parents. And we only have old guys and ladies who are elected over and over who are COMPLETELY out of touch with our needs and pretty much this entire decade.
We don’t want what little safety net our parents have stripped away. We don’t want our backyards polluted. We don’t want our diminishing educational system. We don’t want our teachers armed or mass shootings.
And as far as the tax cut ? So easy to shut that down. Simply say “you got the tax cut” let’s talk about the rest of the GOP platform.
Shut it down simply by saying they got their tax cut. Many economists think it’s a bad idea so we’ll just wait and see.
Betsy DeVos, Pruitt, Nunes, the whole lot is what they should be campaigning against. Trump voters are clinging onto Trumplike it’s their last Kool Aid.
Own the narrative.
1
I see the intentional demonizing of powerful women politicians. The ready vitriol for Hillary and Pelosi is both awful and groundless.
If they have specific policies or values with which one disagrees, that's fine. But a blanket condemnation based upon nonexistent or vague, amorphous 'reasons' is only showing the rot in our discourse. If we cannot have intelligent, civil conversations about the country's direction, free of confabulated hate, the land is doomed.
Conor Lamb is a DINO (Democrat in Name Only) - anti abortion, pro gun/2nd Amendment. Certainly not a progressive, and won't follow Nancy Pelosi. If the midterms produce a lot of Conor Lambs the Democratic Party will tear itself apart.
Lamb is personally opposed to abortion, but supports the precedent of Roe v. Wade.
He’s also in favor of universal background checks for gun sales.
He’s unequivocally pro-union, opposed to the GOP tax cuts for the rich.
1
The Dems best learn the one key lesson from this race: you can tailor your message to your district; what matters is to GET OUT THE VOTE.
1
So a conservative Democrat winning isn't a liberal Democrat party problem? A lot more went on in that race than R vs D.
Let’s hope my Democratic Party of nearly 50 years finally learned a lesson. Lamb is a former federal prosecutor and a moderate Democrat who will protect the working class and the border. He was an excellent selection by the local party and did not have to fight his way out of a primary by moving to the left and giving his general election opponent a bunch of liberal sound bites.
The Republicans selected for this special election the worst of three interested possible candates, yet the national Democratic Party failed to support Lamb financially, I assume saving the money for more liberal politicians elsewhere.
Conor Lamb was the anti-identity politics candidate that the Democrats must clone elsewhere to take control of Congress. There is a working middle class out there yearning for such candidates.
353
Universal health care and free education are progressive liberal ideas that can win at the ballot box. We have a majority of citizens that would want those programs. I would hope the country is ready for liberal programs and I believe we have evolved.
6
You are exactly on point. I consider myself progressive which to me means All Lives Matter, but the black lives are being shot in disproportion. Don't like abortion, but wonder why pro-life doesn't apply after they leave the womb. Christian and believe I'm right, but if you don't or believe in something else, have a day, get your bills paid, your kids raised, live and let live. Want undeserving to be off welfare and food stamps, but because it takes away from people who really need it; but also it means hiring a whole lot of federal employees so deal with that.
I could go on all day but my point is we all need to quit being a bad stereo (left and right heard but no center), find common ground, help drag each other across the finish line and be happy the whole world isn't a clone of ourselves.
3
Well said!
“Lamb never slams Trump,” she observed. “He is not part of the resistance.”
That's too bad. We''ll see how often he votes with the worst president in American history.
1
Seems to me that in 2018 if the Democrats keep running candidates like Lamb in districts that voted for Trump they'll easily take back the house in NOV. . It would seem to be foolish to do otherwise.
Rick Saccone was an utterly unimpressive candidate, as lack luster as they come while Connor Lamb ran a superb on-the-ground campaign that enabled him to connect with the electorate. Trump's appearance in the district may have helped Saccone a bit. But Saccone's comments the day before the election — that Lamb and his backers hate America and hate God — did not help him at all. In all, this is big win for the Democrats, given that Trump won the district by 20 points. Let the blue wave roll all over Trumpland.
1
The GOP is too far gone down the road of authoritarianism to change course now.
Trump is reshuffling his cabinet to include warmongers, torturers and traitors. All moderate voices are gone. His next step is to shut down the Mueller investigation which the GOP will support as they and their enablers such as the NRA are already up to their necks with the Russians and completely compromised.
The last truly democratic election took place in American in November 2016. Everything after that will be inconsequential or rigged or a charade - this election is inconsequential - the district won't even be around in a few months.
Before the mid-term elections Trump and the other traitors will find an excuse for a massive authoritarian crackdown on the civil liberties of American citizens in order to prevent the mid-terms taking place.
Their excuse for this crackdown could come externally - such as a terrorist attack or some other Trumpian variation on the Reichstag Fire - or it could be manufactured by Trump, most probably starting a war with North Korea or possibly China or Iran. This is the only way that Trump and the GOP can try and cover up their crimes and keep in power.
The American democratic experiment lasted over two centuries. Now it's over.
Sad that it end with such a sickening, ignorant, repulsive figure as Trump, but at the end of the day that's what millions of American's voted for in their last proper democratic vote last year.
1
Decency wins. - there is hope
1
Take heart, Frank!
After voters find out that the Hillary/Obama wing of the Democratic party (your wing?) won't do a thing for them ("Bernie Sanders isn't even a Democrat! Super-Delegates and Neo-liberalism forever!) they'll be out of office again.
1
Democrats need to worry less about winning districts where Trump had a 20 point edge, and concentrate on the dThose are the kinds of districts where Democrats from the Democratic wing of the party WILL win in November, thanks to anti-Trump sentiment. What Dems don't need are more Conor Lambs -- the kind of candidate who, on day one of his campaign, posed with an AR-15. Dems need to stand for something, and "gun nut" is not a good look for them.
Oh don't worry Republicans, there's still plenty of time for President Trump to instigate a war with North Korea to solidify the county around him and give him the War Congress he'll be clamoring for.
Umm. He is pro-life.
Democrats are going to beat Republicans by becoming...Republicans?
Anyone who says their vote doesn’t counts need look no further than this race where it appears that the winner will be decided by less than 1000 votes
It’s a great victory but don’t forget that this lamb doesn’t support gun control, and his ad where he’s shown shooting an AR-15 ran last night on the eve of the walk out for solidarity with the students slaughtered in Parkland.
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/3/12/17061712/gun-control-d...
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First, in Deep Red Alabama. Today in PA, the other shoe dropped and the prognosis? Toxic Trump is a disease!
Last year, when legislators went into hiding or were massacred at their townhalls, you'd think that they'd re-examine the 'wonderfulness' of the Republican Healthcare Plan. However, since "repeal Obamacare" was never a plan nor could it be shaped into one, 'the best' that the GOP could muster is "Let it implode, err .. Democrats' failure".
What was learned by all, is that a difficult task - is made impossible by Mr Genius.
Now every Republican running in 2018 faces the Trump Wishbone - go all in or hedge on allegiance? It doesn't matter! Either way, it's the short turkey bone and no wish is granted on election day.
Toxic Trump has been courting mega-donors since his proverbial DAY ONE on the job. Trump 2020 is inescapable; President Backtrack lost Generation Z when he followed the NRA's battle plan to arm teachers; and the GOP's national debt relief to corporations and wealthy estates will become the face of 'Middle Class' tax cuts.
The GOP's Trumptanic is going down with all hands aboard.
The 2018 midterms are unlike any other election in our country’s history. Fascism is on the ballot. The GOP - the party that has enabled it and actively supports it - needs to be not merely defeated at the polls, but massively, overwhelmingly rejected.
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Frank, could the scandals and scandalettes keep piling up to become a moveable feast of corruption? Would this produce stormy weather and coliform toxicity for downstream GOP candidates?
“Selling America down the river and leaving it down the drain.” - Donald Trump
Democrats will run people who will appeal to the majority of people in each district and they will not abandon the core democratic values of inclusion, equality, and helping people with the fundamental issues that affect all of us: food to eat, shelter, access to medical care and the fundamental decency of treating fellow human beings as we all wish to be treated which means not marginalizing, bullying, and name-calling and belittling - all trademarks of the ignorant Trump.
Rick Saccone said that Lamb's supporters, "hate the President, hate America, and hate God." He's two-thirds wrong.
Before the Trump ear, no politician would have said such a thing. That quotation -- by itself -- should disqualify him for elective office.
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Completely agree. He and his president are scoundrels and unfit to hold any office!
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But for the radical, holier-than-thou Catholic culture of Pittsburgh, anything less than their brand of religiosity does, in fact, amount to God hating.
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Now to get rid of Keith Rothfus. He was on TV a couple of weeks ago whining about how he'll be out of a job in the redistricting. I used to live in Sewickley and could never understand his appeal to any voter.
As they say, all politics is local. The primary lesson to be learned here is, find the best candidate who will connect with the people of his/her particular district/state. There is no one-size-fits-all strategy that is going to work. The best candidate for CA will not necessarily be the best type of candidate for GA. And the only relevant job of the DNCC should be to provide financial backing for candidates, not to in any way try to influence who those candidates should be. Stand back and let the local people do their thing. If we allow real democracy to work, I don't think we can lose.
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The framing of this column, Democrats and Republicans as enemies, is what is fundamentally wrong with American politics.
That Mr. Lamb did well is a reflection of what constituents want in an elected representative: responsiveness to their needs and concerns, respect for our governmental institutions, processes and norms, and a return to good governance.
We SHOULD be all on the same side: American citizens engaging in civic life in a peaceful, respectful and tolerant manner. As more and more people discover that what's leading Congress and what's squatting in the White House are the polar opposites, expect election outcomes to reflect the rejection of the same and a return to decency and good governance.
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Thanks for the analysis. Connor Lamb represented what many many Americans of both parties want and need. His message of the need to strengthen medicare, social security, affordable healthcare and pensions is about social justice and economic well being. Regardless of party, if your middle class and do not support and vote for candidates that support these basic earned benefits your voting against your, your parents and your children's well being. Go Lamb and go democrats.
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I really thought that Saccone would come from behind and eke out a victory with 2-3 percentage points as the margin of victory. The fact that he didn't do that should be sobering to republicans but I doubt that it will be instructional. They will double down on their Trump first, Trump forever fetish and proceed apace. The possible Lamb victory should educate democrats, however, The voters are not monolithic. One has to study which issues are important in a region and develop a campaign that provides plausible solutions to those problems. And, the democratic elites must let them find those threads of connection without worrying about party orthodoxy and allow these candidates to fashion an appeal that is broader than the mainstream. If democrats are the big tent party, they need to make good on that notion. If they do, they should do well in the era of Trump.
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It shouldn't be difficult for Democrats to field candidates who reflect their own district's values and understand their challenges who ALSO honor common decency, objective truth and science, investment in jobs, infrastructure and a livable environment, and who will work to protect our democracy -- including voting and civil rights -- from foreign influence and attack. That agenda is neither wishy washy nor radical, but is, sadly, the obverse of the current Republican agenda, which must be resisted by Democrats in every election at every level.
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Connor Lamb did as well as he appears to have done for several important reasons:
—He is a well qualified candidate and has all the right credentials for Congress
—He has a calming rather than disrupting essence
—He effectively spoke to a large varied segment of voters (union members, women, minorities, Trump supporters) without shrillness
—I suspect a large segment of voters were older folks who are upset by the chaos Trump has created in DC. This ongoing condition scares this important group of voters who remember and respected a Federal government that didn’t throttle the public with upsetting news every day.
Lamb understood these factors and performed as well as he did because of them.
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Since the R's will probably demand a recount, does anyone know if there are paper ballots to count, or was this one of the many possibly hackable electronic elections?
Since I am asking. to anyone reading, if you are going to vote in November and your local voting precinct doesn't use paper ballots, are you worried about that?
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Democrats are going to have to run campaigns that are tailored to where they are running. If they impose ideological purity tests on their candidates then they will lose. Economic issues will play well in the mid-west. Truly protecting Medicare and Social Security along with supporting higher minimum wages are winners in Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Obsession with abortion is a loser.
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“In the upcoming hours and days, you will hear otherwise. Republican leaders will spin like mad.”
Republicans must realize that throwing red meat to their base will not work any more, because good folks in the U.S. realize that that red meat they are being served by Trump is, in fact, rancid and putrid. The red meat of boarder walls, deregulating environmental protection, destroying health care and student loan are no longer appealing to the majority of Americans because, like the chemicals that make your meat look red in the grocery store, they are superficial, tired and worn out strategies.
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November is a long way away...
All Trump needs is a false terror threat on Election Day, rumours of secret service at the polls and a campaign of intimidation to keep a lot of districts. Also his numbers are going up. Way too early for prognosis.
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Lamb's win is a win for the American people. Republicans represent a foreign power and should be eschewed by any voter with an ounce of patriotism.
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I'm sure some of the primaries will be messy for the Democrats. They will have to choose between various political shades from full bore socialists to conservative leaning moderates. There will be some hurt feelings. There will be some disappointment. And no doubt, there will be Russian bots working to sow and harvest in the fields of dissatisfaction.
Republicans have it worse. They are having to figure out what to say other than, "Tax cuts!" and "Nancy Pelosi!" and "Obama!". They have been pushing only the negative for the past decade. They have brought us unbalanced tax cuts, rising debt, deregulation, disarray in healthcare, and stalemate on immigration, infrastructure, opioid addiction and nearly anything else you can name.
Now it appears they have lost an election that should have been a walk-in these relatively good economic times.
To me, there is an underlying message: For the past two years, Republicans have behaved as if Trump is their savior because they've had nowhere else to go.
In Pennsylvania Tuesday, Republicans were loudly told it is not enough.
Trump and his ugly style of politics took beating. They won their still-devoted base and little more.
Democrats will be arguing over what solutions to pursue in their upcoming primaries. Republicans have Trump, tax cuts, and whatever terrors they can find.
I expect this will be an ugly election. The GOP has nowhere else to go.
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#resist, #impeach45, etc.
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Well, the GOP found that the tax cut message did NOT resonate. $1.50 a week really doesn't buy many votes as long as votes still count.
And policy? What is the GOP policy?
--Issue guns with teachers' licenses.
--Gut safety nets to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy.
--Gut the State Dept because wars are more fun than sitting around a table negotiating.
--Let the rich cabinet pay millions to fly first class and have 24 hr security guards (which says volumes about both how out-of-touch they are with the electorate and how right they are to fear our anger.)
---Lie, lie, lie to us...blatantly, daily, and needlessly
--accept no responsibility but claim outrageous credit
--destroy the US place in the world ethically and economically
--votes? Gerrymander and set up partisan/unfit judges instead
--gut the ACA, let thousands die and suffer....but provide no alternative
After all, we are acting on our choice of guns over diplomacy. Presently in 70% of the world's countries with military forces ... we seem to be trying for 100%. Infrastructure? Medical care of the citizenry? Safety nets for the unfortunate? Democracy? Transparency in government? Nah!
McConnell set a path of scorched-earth partisanship and we are now reaping its sour and poisonous fruit: power to a small elite who now legislate for their donors and enrich themselves.
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What is that saying, "A wolf in lamb's clothing"? Lamb is a new generation of lifelong politicians that Americans simply do not need.
It's his first run for office. How is he a lifelong politician?
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Well, that's how it might look to you, sir, in a place like Denton, Texas.
I think you've (deliberately?) missed the entire point of Frank Bruni's column: Conor Lamb took everything we were absolutely certain about and turned it completely upside down in this shocker of an election, including the old adage about the weather in March.
Conor ENTERED this March election looking like his surname, with poor odds of surviving the GOP Wolves that were pouring money into this race from every corner of the nation.
Now, despite all that money spent against him and this district's history of voting for Trump in 2016 by a 20 point margin, the apparently victorious Lamb will EXIT March as The Lion, quietly but firmly triumphant.
November can't get here soon enough for We The Majority of voters. I just hope it isn't too late for the country.
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I agree that Democrats have an uphill battle in defining themselves prior to 2020, but now is the time for voting simply against Trump. While he dangles shiny objects of distraction, the rot is taking over across the country, behind the scenes and under the radar. First dump Trump. It is critical or there will be no more democracy to defend.
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As the government becomes more trumperior more bad things are going to happen and there will be more proof of treason and coverup, and the public in November, will be desperate to vote against Republicans who are protecting Trump. He will do nothing to protect our elections and is a mortal threat to our democracy. We did not vote for a king and the public will be getting more and more furious each passing month. The GOP sees the tidal wave of votes and whistling Dixie will not help.
Iran will be developing a nuclear bomb, we will have a trade war with Europe and Putin will be pulling the stings and the majority will know it. The mafia is running the country and the GOP does not do its job.
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This validates the theory that the Republican's had better change their course, and radically, else they will be politically killed by the vote. Hallelujah for republic styled democracy in action, eh? But by the same token this also says the Democrats need to change their tack, too. It's the 21st Century after all, not the 20th, and the needs of this era's citizenry need to be reflected in the character of the parties, and not of that of the now long dead 20th.
John~
American Net'Zen
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'The mantra of “tax cuts, tax cuts, tax cuts” is obviously no panacea.'
Perhaps that's because voters on both sides notice that tax bill Republicans forced down America's throat actually COSTS them MORE in lost write-offs and lost income:
https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/12/the-7-myths-of-the-...
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Good on the Democratic party ! Roll the un-democratic party back into nothingness. The Republicans will be so defeated by November, that Trump will end up being stabbed in the back by his own supporters because of his poor performance. Their push back will have to start now if the Republicans want to make any chance of maintaining their seats.
I just cannot imagine the kind of U-turn any Trump supporting Republican will have to make to remain credible after such defeat.
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Well, at least there's one certain lesson from this election: no matter where you stand on the political spectrum, from Sanders Democrat to fire-breathing Trumpster, you run against Nancy Pelosi, and you win.
Nancy Pelosi, bringing us together.
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Maybe the US electorate is smarter and more motivated than it was in 2016. Then, Republicans turned out, they don't have as much "leverage" as Democrats to with regard to non-voters in 2016. And I think that suburban women will rise up and say "NO" to the antics of this President and his cruel administration.
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Just what are the republicans up to in Westmoreland County that they are not releasing the count there yet?
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women's rights are human rights. gun reform is the only possible future.
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Who else helped Lamb in this Trump district? Joe Biden. Had Biden been the nominee for president in 2016, Democrats would hold the White House and America would not be living this nightmare that is the Trump presidency.
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