Bruni: I hear Omaha in August is, um, bliss
-----------------------
Ah, that's not condensation in the spring air, just some of the regular condescending that regularly comes from the East Coast westward...
This attitude, Frank, is why you (the media) and your party (the new Democratic identity party) is going to continue losing votes... Don't count on the women to save you either.
(You really just can't control it, or mask it even, can you? It's like the condescending to the Midwestern, non-urban coastal areas is second-nature. We can smell your New York in the air from here.)
1
There really weren't contests to inspire Democrats to vote in the primary in Ohio. So I wouldn't read too much in that.
It could be that Democrats are clear and united about who the enemy really is while the Republicans could be showing that they are worryingly fissiparous.
3
Promises that Democrats should make now to increase their chances of winning the 2018 election.
Pass the ERA.
Make Israel our 51st State. It effectively already is. Israel, of course, must retain it place as a sanctuary for Jews threatened anywhere. (There would be a great many details to work out, and many opponents in both places, but the benefits to both the U.S. and Israel would be enormous. They are too numerous to list here, so I hereby pass that job on to others.
Announce the intention of Democrats to pass a law making it no crime at all to stand up, lie down, kneel or fall sleep during the playing of the National Anthem. This is already the law, but it needs to be re-emphasized. (And while we’re at it, let’s get a new National Anthem. The old one is hard-to-sing, contains verses that nobody knows and is about Old Glory, not about the glories of our people. I would replace it with one about American heroes of all colors and the beauty of the land. (A million dollar prize should be awarded to the man or woman or rap artist who writes it.)
Promise that by 2025, no more SUVs and pickup-trucks will be sold in the land, except to 5000 people in each state who can demonstrate a real need for them, with the final winners to be chosen among them by lottery.
Make it illegal for prenuptial and other contracts to contain provisions barring the dissemination or truthful information about other people.
Make Fridays a holiday for everybody, they already are for many people.
3
Mr. Bliss speaks with great confidence about the future of the Republican Party and, specifically, this November. Ironic, isn't it, that he charges the Democrats with the same over confidence? If he thinks for a second that people in this country are so ignorant they don't know who Scot Pruitt is, he is very sadly (for his corrupt party) mistaken.
2
"The Democrats's Russia obsession" - I acknowledge that electoral politics is Bliss's specialty, but it seems to have morphed into: winning is the only thing. Is Trump an agent of a hostile foreign power? Who cares? As long as we have our tax cut, what kind of out-of-touch Democrat snowflake would care about that stuff?
2
The Democrats should be promoting a simple calculator that helps the average citizen calculate the overall effect of the taxcut: i.e., (Amount of Taxes Saved) - (Amount of Benefits Lost). Make it simple, but real. Any voter who understands that $3K - $100K = $= -97K will understand that Republican policy isn't a good deal.
1
Republicans aren't fighting Russian involvement because they know that Putin is never going to support Democrats, and they welcome his assistance in convincing Americans to vote against their own interests. Since the Republican agenda is all about helping the top 1%, that's the only way Republicans can remain in power. The Russians will increase their involvement in the next election on behalf of Republicans because nothing has really been done to stop them. That's what Donnie and the gang want.
2
This could be an elaborate disinformation effort by Mr Bliss but I don't think so. Even if he is being overly optimistic, Democrats are ignoring the importance of the economic recovery, which is the most important thing for most voters. They could and should point out that income growth is not keeping pace with jobs growth and most of the benefits are going to the 1 percent while employed people are also losing their health insurance and that Trump's trade wars are risking more jobs than they will save.
And yes, the Democrats still need to give people a reason to vote for them, not just against Trump.
5
Trump's voters have fused their identities with his. Any mockery of him is received as mockery of them. It's counter-productive. Mr Bliss is generally right. But what was not discussed -- and is really central to the discussion -- is the "dog whistle" politics of the Republicans and the "Identity" politics of the Democrats. The Republicans have become a "white" people's party, and the Democrats that of "people of color." Bernie Sanders, although he eventually accommodated the Democratic Party's catechisms, was getting through to those left out of our current economic transformation with his economic critique. I don't know about his therapeutic recommendations (some good, some not so good; some possible, others not), but his diagnosis was able to bridge the racial divide. The Democrats better listen to that for everyone's sakes.
1
Mr. Bliss is only mediocre in his PR skills. He didn't answer the questions, but he did deliver the message he wanted to. Definitely Democrats have work to do and we need to insure the energy translates into votes. But the supposed benefit of the tax cuts to the middle class are simply untrue. Further Trump has shown that his only compass is jealousy of Obama's achievements and a desire to dismantle. Even his base at some point will realize he's just using them, as he has construction workers, hospitality workers and pretty much everyone else. with Trump you are either helping him achieve his objective or you are the target of his invective. Hopefully the still unemployed and under served will not support Republicans in the coming elections when the Republicans have made it utterly clear they only play for pay.
2
Listen to that conniving threat: "there is opposition research on everyone, especially first-time candidates". Of course, he has it, because first-timers are just assigned every foul odor from the 'reliable' sources box.
Don't worry, Mr Bliss. Your party's president has set the gold standard for outrageous. Most importantly, America can judge "future" conduct based upon the Trump Axiom: If you told me one thing, then it's another.
Mr Bliss simultaneously detailed Republican strategy and poo-pooed the idea of losing the House. That's the kind of imploding bravado that we see everyday on "Trumpzilla and Friends".
I'll concede that the Republican base doesn't "care" about corruption, but they know who Scott Pruitt is. He's one of them.
2
Bliss sounds reminds me of Karl Rove. Remember him? The guy they called "Bush's brain"?
Rove always "knew" who was going to win or thought he did. Remember his meltdown on Fix News during election coverage? He refused to concede long after everyone else did. His absolute certainty about winning one particular state prompted rumors that he thought the votes had been rigged.
3
We needed a question about the trend of supporting candidates who do not take PAC money. Are there any Republican candidates who have pledged not to take money from Mr. Bliss's PAC or any others? Does Mr. Bliss think PAC money in elections is good for democracy?
2
Bliss personifies the current problem. He only cares about whether Republicans win, he does not care about the greater good of the country. He ignores the treasonous behavior of Trump et.al. , the money trail article reported today shows that we ALL should be concerned and appalled that Trump was able to become and is still able to be President . Even if 9 out of 10 middle America voters are not aware of these criminal actions, Bliss is aware, and yet he does not care. That tells me he is a coward , also a creature of the swamp, and un-American.
8
I found it quite amusing that Frank B. kept returning to Scott Pruitt again and again. Pruitt is actually one of the *highlights* of the Trump administration, for those of us who pay attention to politics and who are familiar with science.
I would suggest it might benefit Mr. Bruni to look into the horrible, terrible, ugly, awful, tyrannical, corrupt, overreaching record of the EPA under Obama. It will enlighten him about many relevant realities, and free him from being blinded by popular Democratic Party myths.
Mr Bruni is one of our best voices here at the august NYTimes, our paper of record.
And yet even he apparently cannot manage to get it up to provide even the slightest pushback to deceitful Publican narratives.
At least three times, Corry Bliss mentioned the one thing that it was obvious he'd have to mention (as it's the only significant bill the feckless, divided, and extremist Publican Congress managed -- just barely -- to pass last year), their unpopular tax cut.
A tax cut that increased the deficit that Publicans spent 8 years (the Obama years, funny how that works) pretending to care about.
A tax cut that will, as Paul Ryan has announced (McConnell's deceitful denial notwithstanding), soon provide the excuse for Publicans to cut the Social Security and Medicare on which their voters disproportionately depend.
Did our Mr Bruni mention bring up either of these questions to challenge Bliss's blissful presumption that the voters wouldn't notice these problems?
Did he challenge Bliss’s blithe (and ludicrous) claim that Trump has made the world safer, just days after he increased the probability of a nuclear Iran, and higher oil prices?
No, he did not.
And then you wonder why EVERYone in America, left and right alike, no longer has any faith in our "news" media.
What does it take, finally, to get you people to do your jobs?
The Publicans already have Fox, the WSJ, Sinclair... and now you wish to join them, and leave us with nothing at all?
Is this really a wise business move?
2
After reading this article, anyone with a modicum of judgment will realize this man has no integrity and no credibility, and will stop at nothing to fool, distract, and disorient people.
Frank, you should have pushed back harder, especially on Trump, Russia, lies, ethics/corruption.
4
Sadly, this piece is not about the merits of policies. not about selecting legislators who can and will work to make life better for all Americans. but about how, by pouring money into propaganda campaigns that exploit human fears and weaknesses, a few clever selfish cynical amoral people are trying to con voters, whom they despise, into ceding power.
6
Few things more disdainful than a smarmy, snarky Republican—ACK!!
2
I have to wipe the slime off my computer after reading comments from Bliss. How do so many people fall for guys like this? And... how did the GOP end up becoming the nesting place of so many sociopathic liars and frauds? It's all so sickening.
4
Ignorance is Bliss.
7
Ridiculous waste of time with this one-note-one-answer fool named Bliss.
4
If an idiot like this is one of the Republicans great strategists, Democrats don't have to worry. But again, much of the electorate isn't any brighter than this guy, so that is the down side.
3
Anyone in West Virginia who would vote Republican for anything is what is known as a "Darwin Award Winner", and will deserve whatever misfortune later occurs at the hands of the GOP.
3
What a clueless buffoon. The Democrats don’t focus on things that matter in people’s lives? What was it that the Republicans did for eight years? Oh that’s right they spent eight years shrieking about Obama’s birth certificate. LOL. They don’t get much dumber than this.
3
63 million people voted for Donald Trump.
That such a disgraceful, despicable, awful human being could be voted into the highest office of the land is appalling. And after continuing to display just how disgraceful, despicable and awful he is that the vast majority of those who voted for him continue to support him suggests to me that these 'who's up, who's down' pundit ruminations are besides the point.
We've either got to begin to understand -- and harness -- the lesser angels of our nature or more bloviating, fear-mongering, self-aggrandizing morons will be our future. At least until we have no more future.
Which may be sooner than we think.
3
Why is the NYT giving precious ad space (which of course is what this is) to Cory Bliss? How is this news -- that a Republican operative hates Nancy Pelosi (boring) and thinks the Demos will lose bc no one cares about Russia or obstruction or collusion or sexual assault (unless of course they win, which would have noting to do with the issues, just the odds). This is exactly the kind of "feature" that is making me reassess the value of my NYT subscription. And if you're going to promote a Republican operative, where's your equally full-on promotion of a Demo operative saying exactly the opposite? The Times seems anxious to debunk anyone who goes in that direction. Very tiring. Or as the autocrat-in-chief would say, Sad.
3
Why did the nytimes give this guy a microphone to promote his agenda? He came to a data fight with unsupported opinions.
Frank, I am not sure how much the NYT pays you, but it is not nearly enough for sitting through that interview! And you volunteered for it? I expect you won’t make that mistake again. My head would have exploded from the contradictions and spin.
1) GOP has kept Americans safe (go to talking point for the GOP for decades) yet.....
2) Dems are out of touch with everyday Americans (another favorite expression) because they care about Russian interference in our elections.
Huh?
The sad thing is .... the GOP propaganda works. If you have no agenda once you control Congress, you have plenty of time to fine-tune your propaganda. Seriously - what is the GOP agenda other than remaining in control and serving the 1% ?
2
If Republicans are going to be given the NYT venue, there must be accompanying fact checking.
2
How does Mr. Bliss or the hypocritical Republicans in Congress sleep at night knowing they they have placed Trump, an ignorant, incompetent narcissist, in the White House and have placed the security of the entire world at risk? Have they no shame?
2
Great work NYT for giving a GOP propagandist a huge platform to work with.
1
Good lord, if you're trying to accommodate the right, pick someone less noxious than this clown. What a waste of space.
1
I don't know if there is such a thing as self-plagiarism, but Mr. Bliss repeats almost word-for-word the points he made in an April 26 Meet the Press "1947" podcast--including his "non answers" to questions with canned, and pretty stale talking points.
What a waste of time and space on your website.
Mr. Bruni,
We expect more of you. Pull up your socks and get in the game.
1
Why give a forum to an amoral propagandist with an axe to grind?
Don't just give this guy a propaganda platform. Ask him exactly what divisive things Pelosi has said (nothing. She's just a woman from San Francisco). Ask him whether it's actually Trump who is the most hated politician in America, a president who has NEVER cracked a 40% approval rating. Ask him why he'd say the "Sanders wing" has "momentum" when not one of his endorsed candidate has done much of anything. Does the NYT do journalism anymore?
2
I find some of Bliss's points spot-on: I don't think moderates care *that much* about the Russia investigation (it's not important in the midterms to them) and surprisingly few know who Scott Pruitt is.
That being said, the Democrats have a very clear overall strategy, which is easy to deliver: Republicans in Congress are increasingly corrupt. Why do you think your local GOP candidate will be any better? Pruitt, the tax cut, etc. But then, they also need to focus on *material policy improvements* - whether it's EPA-related, foreign-policy related, or local jobs-related.
1
What exactly has the GOP done to cut the taxes of the middle class?
Nothing actually. While we got a pittance back in our pay checks, that pittance expires in a few years.
Plus, to get that pittance, it's going to cost us $1.5 Trillion over the decade. The rich aren't going to pay that.
In reality, the middle class will pay extra so the rich can get a tax cut.
1
Yes, everywhere I go people cannot stop talking about the latest outrage by that politician, the damage they do daily to our democracy, the embarrassment of their every ignorant, moronic action, the ongoing corrosion of our image as a nation and a people.
People even make a conscious effort to not talk about what an ongoing horror it is to have such a person represent us, and get sucked back into the present hideous debacle.
Oh, and Mr Bliss; it is not the leader of the minority party in the House we're talking about.
Talk about whistling past the manure pile.
3
Now I REALLY can't wait to vote in competent, logical democrats! And I can wait to vote to save democracy! Taxes? Worried about abortions? Pelosi? Hey, republicans, worry about paying off your last affair and knowing that your base thinks it's ok!!
4
Thanks for playing, Corry.
1
Message from California: Which is better, you choose: taxes and a job; no taxes, no job?
3
Why give this smug propagandist a platform? He can afford to be this way only because of the HUGE war chest the GOP can muster with just a few phone calls to a handful of deranged billionaires.
Give me some Q and A’s with some democratic strategists showing if they recognize the challenge and how they are countering. If Dems lose the midterms (and, astonishingly, they could) it will because they still don’t have a ground game and still choose to put zombie leaders up front to speak for them.
3
I want to see the postmortem on Nov. 7th and the picture of you with Champagne bottles scattered and calling this F student who has been thrown out of the L.B.Johnson Graduate School of Electoral Politics.
3
Predictors are not in vogue and for good reason, the debacle of 2016. And so there is no cause or reason to believe in them this time around. The only true prognosticator is the poll taken on the only day that matters, election day. That is the rare snapshot of the electorate which counts. All others can take their polls and surveys and either tout their accuracy and expertise, or toss the the inaccurate ones into the dustbin of history. What is truly unpredictable is the fickleness of the public. Any nation that could elect a complete dolt like Trump is apt to do almost anything no matter how crazed that action might seem. Might as cast your fate to the wind.
DD
Manhattan
Before the 2016 election, I told friends that I could abide living in a country where Trump was president, but questioned whether I could live in one with people who who harbored the attitudes that would elect him president. I feel the same way now, after reading Mr. Bliss' drivel. His belief that "not ten people in America know who Scott Pruitt is" is proof of the fact that he and the GOP want nothing more than to appeal to the same oblivious portion of the voters who elected Trump and continue to ignore, or swoon over, his lies, corruption, moral bankruptcy, misogyny, and racism, to name only a few of his deficiencies. If the Dems can't win in November it won't be because they don't have better policies or candidates. It will be the result of the Trump acolytes putting their fingers in their ears and going "nah nah nah" to avoid hearing the truth about the disaster they have unleashed on America by electing and enabling Trump and his ilk. And, yes, they ARE deplorable.
5
If Democrats can't put together a series of pointed ads showing the lies of Trump, the 180 turns by his sheep who were against him before they were for him, etc., then we don't deserve to win elections.
What are the Dems waiting for? Start reminding voters NOW. Our values are being swept over by a deluge of sewer (not even swamp) water and we need to stand up against this onslaught immediately.
1
Not a word about access to health care, which the GOP is very weak on. It's hard to believe that white rural voters won't care about this.
2
Mr. Bliss is clearly a person who puts his party before his country. Which is to say - he is a traitor. It is high time to begin calling spades spades.
6
Unfortunately, Bliss seems right about everything it takes to win over an electorate, which is why the country is headed in such a horrible direction. Democrats know how to engage in reason and facts to win arguments, but Republicans are know how to win hearts and minds (especially the feeble-minded), which is how you win elections.
1
Just 10 people know who Scott Pruitt is? I suggest that maybe 20 people knew who Pelosi was until Rove and various other PACs political operatives defined and demonized her making her a household name in the process. So, Mr. Bliss thanks for the heads up. I don’t see how it is that difficult to show Pruitt in dark lighting with scary voices taking about how Trump has FILLED the swamp with ‘sweet deals’ with lobbyists on taxpayer dime!
2
I'm so glad you wrote this opinion article, Frank. It gives me even more incentive to vote democratic, for the democracy, for love of country, or just because Mr. Bliss is exactly why we are in this mess of believing it's ok to grope, to lie, to accuse, to belittle and bemoan, to bully, to cheat, to be rude and condescending, to name-call, to hate. It is not ok. I'm voting, Mr. Bliss, because what you accept and approve is exactly what my parents taught me not to do or associate with.
7
Bliss’ view seems to be that elections are about money spent to sway an ignorant, greedy electorate.
After reading I feel like I need a shower.
6
Well, it's about lunch time and before reading this, I was pretty hungry. Now I'm just completely nauseated.
3
I'm not sure why all this wasted space. This was just nonstop GOP spin that anybody who was suddenly drafted to play a Republican on TV could have recited without even seeing the script. Sadly, Bruni went for the bait, or maybe he felt like he had to since he's inviting this guy to share his column with him. Still--nothing new here, and no food for thought either (which would, in fact, be useful for all of us) because this kiddo is simply pounding on the usual keys.
I was going to just leave my remarks there, but let me make another point. Nancy Pelosi the most polarizing politician since time immemorial? Oh pleeze, are people still pushing that one? But let's just take it seriously a minute. Bliss is saying, basically, not just the base but the middle will vote for the GOP because of Pelosi, and nevermind that man with the orange hair behind the screen? Well let me tell you--if that was even remotely close to being possible, we'd have a much bigger problem on our hands than we already do.
Guess I'm just another of those Nancy-Pelosi-loving-New-York-Times-reading-arrogant-elite-wealthy-librarians-in-the-lowest-40%-of-earners-destined-to-define-retirement-as-one-job-instead-of-several-until-I-drop (whoops . . .)
1
Hope this smug little GOP factotum likes the taste of crow... he`s going to have a plateful come November.
2
A 30-second Trump blooper reel will be the standard issue ad for any Democrat running in Congressional general elections. The punchline - my opponent supports *this?*. Democrats don't need to promise impeachment — Trump and his merry band of fools (I won't insult The Keystone Cops) led by Cohen will provide all the needed evidence to put the lot of them in orange jump suits picking up garbage on the side of the road real soon.
2
Bliss comes across like a slimy salesman who knows exactly what he's peddling but thinks you're too stupid to realize it until after the sale is complete.
Sadly, half of the country continues to fall for it time and time again.
7
The title “Republican Midterm Mastermind Tells All!” is misleading. A more appropriate title would be “Republican Midterm Mastermind Gives His Party’s Spin and Diverts-- Instead of Answering Reporter’s Questions.” Nevertheless, the title as is does serve a purpose. As the Times reader anticipates the “mastermind” “telling all,” the reader can notice more clearly strategist Corry Bliss's spin, his avoidance, and his diversion.
1
The last line says so much about why Democrats don't win the elections they should. To win, you need to be in Omaha and yes, you need to be there in August, without a sneer on your face and absent condescension in your voice.
2
Frank, I think you are a great and smart individual but I think you might have lost the debate. Intelligents can never defeat ignorance.
1
Cesspools don't drain Swamps
1
Wimpy interview, Frank. No surprise there.
2
Bliss is whistling past the graveyard.
2
Mr Bruni, I love your writing style and your intelligence addressing various topics. But entertaining propagandists and political hacks who earn their $ dissembling and filling up the air with dubious, misleading claims puzzles me. I value the importance of acknowledging different views, but since Mr Trump's victory, it seems as NYT goes a bit farther than other news sources at normalizing the indefensible. We already know their talking points; we're bombarded with the administration's apparatchiks mantra day in and day out, and this piece hardly adds anything new to the national conversation. I don't see right-leaning papers providing unbiased points of view to those on the left as much as NYT does. I'd be more interested in hearing what common folks on the ground are paying attention to, than to go through another round of indefensible, inch deep prattle from well-paid propagandists.
1
The guy is a pig! And you deserve an award for subjecting your self to this outrage. I had avoided read Jane Mayer's "Dark Money" for quite some time. It was on my nightstand, and then relegated to a bookshelf and then moved around on the bookshelf until early this spring when I started going through books to decide what to keep or donate to my local library's summer book sale. I found it again, looked at it and put it back on the nightstand, and then I read it. I knew it was bad Frank, but it is a lot worse than I thought and this guy proves it.
2
The stink of fear on this guy is palpable.
2
The discussion about taxes should not be are taxes too low or are taxes too high. The discussion should go like this:
1. What problems facing America today are within the jurisdiction and power of the federal government to ameliorate?
2. What are America’s priorities to use available revenues to address those problems?
3. Is current federal government spending addressing those problems?
4. After realigning current spending, how much additional revenue is needed to address those problems?
5. How can we increase federal government revenue to reach that funding level?
The race is between Robber Baron money and the honor of OUR United States of America.
Some extrememly misinformed - or purposely stuipd people like those who voted for Blankenship - will still support The Con Don and other Robber Baron operatives.
Smart people will choose Socially Conscious Women - and men - to manage OUR United States of America.
They will cut off funding to Israel as long as Netanyahu and other war -mongers are in charge, drastically cut military/defense funding, put a viable health care for all citizens in place with severe penalties for fraudsters at all provider/manufacturer levels, make excellent public education a national priority and strengthen OUR social structure in other ways.
Time to end the Robber Baron power wars. Time to stop paying for them with OUR hard-earned taxpayer dollars and the lives of our loved ones.
4
Corry Bliss is very good at begging the question, and other lies, such as Democrats have never done anything for people. Obamacare? Oh, I forgot, it's broken.
2
No truth in this interview, is all Republican talking points. Waste of ink if you wanted to hear two sides.
6
First rule of an ambitious political consultant is exaggerate the advantage you seek. The second rule (which should be named after Trump) is insist on your reality, which is to say it's imaginary. Third is: you're always speaking to your clients, even during a press interview. Fourth is differentiate yourself by being contrarian, which is also catnip for political pundits.
Political consultants are self-sustaining myths who only work for the most important clients, always win, and always exude irrational exuberance, specially if your clients are nervous. Republican political consultants are chimeras and border on hysterical optimism. That's what they're obscenely paid to do.
He's like a lawyer who's representing a relative: he has a fool for a client. And his client has a bigger fool for a lawyer.
Politics is 90% psychological warfare and 10% turnout.
Bliss is blathering nonsense. If the Republicans he works for are in trouble, think he'd say so in The New York Times?
Of course the Democrats will lose because of Pelosi. Anything else and Mr. Bliss returns to being an anonymous Republican hack.
Consume this column with a pound of salt.
6
"Nancy Pelosi is the most unpopular, divisive politician in America. Period." 37 years of all wealth to the top and the most unpopular and divisive politician in America is the one who can most clearly state this fact. The most popular and unifying politicians, naturally, are the ones who can whitewash over this fact. Amazing.
2
Sorry, Corry. You're way off base. Donald Trump is the most unpopular, divisive politician in America, not Nancy Pelosi.
5
Mr Bliss has no idea how ridiculous he sounds when his propaganda nonsense is read out loud
Hopefully the good people of West Virginia who are all on SS, Medicaid and disability and Medicare and food stamps realize that these programs are at risk because of the GOPTaxScam
4
Hillary could do us all a favor and run for office as a Republican.
Bliss says the Trump Administration does "not have an impact on people's lives." And Bruni did not call him on that.
Outahere....
3
I read the interview hoping that Corry Bliss might offer some insights into the campaigns beyond the typical Republican talking points. I was wrong and those are minutes I’ll never get back. So now I’m wondering what was the point of this waste of space? I can get GOP propaganda anytime and anywhere about their wonderful tax cuts and how Democrats are too liberal and only want to raise taxes. Is this another attempt by the New York Times to show how open minded their editorial section is and receptive to thinking outside the bubble? If so, they failed.
6
"...there are not 10 voters in America who know who Scott Pruitt is."
Ignorance is Bliss.
2
This is a remarkably uninformative column. Mr. Bliss isn't just drinking the Kool-Aid, he's making it. Despite Mr. Bruni's attempts to pin him down and support his arguments with facts, he's just reading from the GOP script that he wrote. We'll see him at the polls in November.
6
Bliss lies like all greedy Republicans do. I hate to tell him but nothing will hurt this post-Obama economy like $4.00 a gallon gasoline which is coming as Trump sets the mideast a blaze.
4
I love it "very rarely wrong" your new byline
So the Republican strategy of distracting poorly informed voters with smoke and mirrors is going to take the day. Maybe it is . . . so, wake up Democrats. How about a strategy of telescopes and periscopes focusing in on the reality of GOP promises. Maybe a series of simple phrases such as "Tax relief; it costs you more every day." Then send out a bunch of arrogant, fervid talking heads to sell, sell, sell. Now that would be a campaign worth watching.
50% tax on all SuperPACs, PACs, Lobbying Groups, Think Tanks, DC Consultants......no loopholes.
Problem Solved.
I am less optimistic than most progressives. I think we have to remind ourselves continually that Trump, despite being a walking, racist, incompetent, corrupt, disaster, still holds an approval rating above 40%. Yes, it is historically low but my point is that in a sane country, he would have a 2% level of support.
I think Mr. Bliss is doing what he is paid to do - drink the kool-aid and spin like a maniac. He hammers down expectations citing history etc. then tells us how they have the election in the bag. My prediction is that he is right in that Republicans will exceed expectations. The nation is divided which goes back to my first point - it is so divided that Republicans can look at Trump objectively and see how harmful he is in both the short and long term.
Setting all this aside, this election forecasting strikes me as wildly premature. It is often said that 24 hours is a lifetime in politics. With Trump in the Whitehouse and the Mueller investigation, I think we can shorten the 24 hour lifetime quite a bit.
If you look at the information publicly available on Trump, it is dark and dirty. Watergate followed a similar pattern. Plenty of facts were out well before the whole thing came crashing down on Nixon.
It takes time for the public to put it all together along with a catalyzing event. We don't know when that will happen or what it will be. However, Trump's desperation is a sure sign that it is coming.
1
Re "Think Rob Portman model" Portman is a smart, savvy politician who manages to hide an extreme record with a moderate persona. He ran an effective 2016 campaign. But I don't buy that he is or can be a model, or than anyone can be a model candidate. Ted Strickland didnt raise money, ending Ohio's 2016 race before it started. Ted also had the bad fortune to be governor in 2009-2010 when a whole lot of governors on both sides suddenly got a lot dumber. And Ohio has been trending more red for some time, with a GOP stranglehold on state government. Portman's smart and successfully deceptive, with a voting record closer to Ted Cruz's than many would think. He was also in the right state at the right time, and he has enjoyed coverage so fawning it would embarrass a Lab Retriever.
2
"I hear Omaha in August is, um, bliss." And with that, Mr. Bruni encapsulates the entire anti-deplorable, anti-flyover attitude amongst the press and the left that will allow Republicans to hold the House in November. Well done, Frank!
2
Darn, we lost Nebraska now, one of the reddest states in the union. Let's just give up.
After reading this and Thomas Edsall's piece in today's Times, I've concluded what I've suspected for a long time: Mr. Bliss has got it right. Educated Dems -call them the well-informed clueless of which I am a member- are tilting at windmills; their manifest hallucinations, i.e. Scott Pruitt, provide meaning and passion to our cause, but are, as Bliss asserts, invisible to all but nine other voters.
I've been teaching political science in a purple section of Ohio for 20 years. My "blue" students typically exhibit textbook egocentrism. They literally cannot understand how their fellow "red" students think, or specifically could vote GOP. The "red" students don't seem to suffer the same affliction. They have a handful of issues they prioritize -abortion, military readiness, the Second Amendment- and without guile or fixations on psycho-babble, vote reliably.
There's a nauseating amount of talk about Trump's bubble -Trumpworld, the Trumpsphere, Trumperica, etc.- but the bubble blinding the well-informed clueless is like the imaginary Blue Wall that was believed a redoubt to protect their presidential hopes and simply exchange two letters of Blue Wave into L's.
Wake up. Turn off Rachel Maddow, and be afraid. Be very afraid.
44
If the shoe was on the other foot and Hilary's campaign had worked with Russians to destabilize the election the Republicans would be talking "all Russia all the time." And not just talking, they would be trying to impeach her.
22
No question you're right about that. Equally unquestionable, Dems would be dismissing the Rep's attempt to put it front and center. Dems have to improve their messaging and grratly benefit by spending some time with Reps to understand what fly-over America really thinks.
Why is it the blue students who are in a bubble? To my mind, the red students' issues are the poorly chosen or egocentric ones. What is more egocentric than trying to control someone else's body? What is less necessary than having guns in every hand?
On the other hand, what can be more important to all of us than safeguarding the health of our planet? I fail to see why caring about the things that really count makes anyone clueless.
21
Our household did notsee any taz cuts. And my Medicare contributions from my Social Security went up. Many thanks, corporations!
2
Tip ONeil is famous for positing,"All politics is local."
However, in 21st Century America, linked to the Internet, "local" now means "national".
The only election strategy I observe happening in America since 2016 is this...."Impeach Trump candidate versus Dont Impeach Trump candidate".......a very simple-minded, narrow strategy imposed on a diverse number of very local communities...to the detriment of their unique self-interests.
We are now subjected to endless propaganda(all edited news is in fact.... propaganda) about local statehouse special elections based on which candidate might be a "Trump-supporter" and which one favors DNC sponsored Impeachment.
Roy Moore is the most visceral example. A senator represents the interests of a STATE..... Roy Moore has problems, its true...unlike all the other corporate sponsored Senators who have spotless records(Teddy)....but he lost the election due to a DNC corporate sponsored smear campaign(now vanished), funded specifically because Roy Moore supported Trump.
Now we have Don Blankenship....again then entire corporate structure turned on him and mounted a massive national smear campaign. Through some strange logic Blankenship is guilty of besmirching the reputation of Mitch McConnell, who had previously been the most hated Senator in DC....but Mitch is part of the Establishment, so now Mitch is a hero....and Blankship is guilty of "mining coal" and "racism" for pointing out Mitch's obvious conflict of interests.
When your job is to raise money for Republican candidates you have to sound very positive. No one wants to waste money in a losing cause. But Bliss is not feeling blissful, depsite his clinging to Ohio primary numbers like a drowning man to a liferaft.
1
Mr. Bliss is obsessed "with all things" Russia and impeachment. These are talking points the Republican Party is hoping will stick. But the Democrats in my state are running on common sense gun safety laws, women's reproductive rights, a fair taxation system (not corporate tax cuts for the mega-wealthy), health care for all, improved education, environmental protections, and common decency.
This is not to say Trump isn't a disaster, he is. He's a racist demagogue accused of groping and forcibly kissing women. He does not have the moral character to lead our country, and the Republicans in Congress have enabled him in every way.
2
So lets see...how about a few basic democratic ideas that [surprise!] would appeal to nearly all voters:
-Better healthcare [no one in the US should ever declare bankruptcy due to medical bills]
-Fair wages for all = raise the federal minimum wage
-Real progress on creating affordable child care
-Protect women's right to choose
-Keep military style weapons out of the hands of angry, dangerous [mostly] men
-Fix our infrastructure, and create new 21st century infrastructure
Is that enough for you Chairman Bliss?
Mr. Bliss, news flash for you: You will lose in November.
3
Don't we put up with enough smug flippancy from Mr. Trump? His assertions are insulting. Although it is sadly true that many voters are knee-jerkers, in my neck of the woods, we pride ourselves on informed choices at the poll. But Mr. Bliss wouldn't care about a state that he probably couldn't identify on a map - not enough money in the NW.
1
OK, I had to stop reading the article after this:
"Democrats are incapable of producing one positive idea to help people’s lives."
That is so categorically untrue, it's clear that Mr. Bliss is just a partisan hack. I wish Bruni would have challenged him on it.
That said, I agree we are overestimating the blue wave but who cares if it's a wave in November, just so long as it's a win.
3
Mr. Bliss
Thank you for telling us what we voters think. Please let me know what numbers to choose in the next PowerBall.
1
After reading this column and many of the comments, I am left with one impression: The typical US voter is uneducated, uninformed and has no interest in an even cursory analysis of key issues. This sad development is exacerbated by the population split over the past couple decades that has resulted in deep blue enclaves in urban centers on each coast contrasted with wide swaths of uncontested red territory nationwide that have been smartly exploited by the cynical and misanthropic Republicans and their donor class, courtesy of the Citizens United decision in the Supreme Court.
The results were borne out in 2016 in the election of an utter imbecile and narcissist, one whose daily buffoonery is gladly cheered by the same uneducated electorate. So while I would like to think positive thoughts about a blue wave in November, I fear the reality is quite different. The most notable quote from Mr. Bliss was that "...there is the big disconnect between what we hear in the media and what’s going on in the real world." That was certainly true in 2016 and will probably happen again this year.
43
It absolutely will. Dems don’t know how to sloganize and repeat. No attack mode. They are WEAK AND PATHETIC and can’t produce a counter narrative. I don’t blame stupid voters. I blame Democrats who don’t understand what’s needed to grab the attention of th voters they need. Chuck Schumer is a pathetic public speaker and whoever writes his pathetic passive tense complex sentence structure speeches and tweets should be FIRED. Watch McConnell’s staging: it’s like MOUNT REPUBLICAN RUSHMORE: Thune, Cronyn, Brasso (whatever his name is) standing solemn faced behind him.... and the there’s harried Chuck... THEY ARE CLUELESS LOSERS. Maybe Chuck “smells a wave” but it’s coming from the Gowanus canal.....
2
There are small blue enclaves throughout all of America. How else do you explain Bozeman, Montana or Great Falls, Idaho. Austin, Texas is another one. Basically every major urban economic center in the entire country leans left. There's something about urban density that promotes mutual understanding. The coasts simply abandoned the rest of us to fend for ourselves. No wonder liberalism is a tough sell in middle America.
Not for nothing, California and New York are not exactly bastions of unity either. California has probably the most controversial property disputes in the nation. New York is number one on transportation issues. The subjects overlap in both places on deeply partisan levels. You should take a step off the high horse before generalizing so much. Just because you don't live in middle America doesn't mean their world is any less real. The Democratic failure to grasp this concept is what places us all in our current discomfiture.
Personally, I'll take democratic, socialist, libertarianism way before Democratic, Clintonian, liberalism. There's really no question. I happened to appreciate Obama because he was intelligent, rational, and largely selfless. Clinton was a poor follow up. America mostly agreed.
3
@ Vistor, California "'...there is the big disconnect between what we hear in the media and what’s going on in the real world.' That was certainly true in 2016 and will probably happen again this year."
Wallow in despair and defeatism if you wish.
Meanwhile, millions of us -- recalling that close to 3 million more voters preferred Hillary, and that Spanky's margin of "victory" was a paltry 78k votes in three swing states, and even at that was accomplished only with foreign interference, a heavy corporate-media thumb on the scales, and an out-of-control FBI chief violating longstanding protocols, orders, and possibly the law -- are working hard and effectively against that outcome.
And the results of most of the special elections over the last 16 months support us.
A Democratic Senator from infra-red Alabama?
A mere +5 Publican victory in +25 Publican Arizona?
Virginia remaining in Thuglican hands only by massive gerrymandering and a draw from a bowl?
If you don't want to join us in making this happen, at least have the courtesy not to obtrude.
3
Well it is up to women (voters & candidates), California going 100% blue (dumping Nunes & McCarthy & 12 others) , the less gerrymandered Penn. districts plus several other seats scattered around the country in which 40+ Republican incumbents (eg P. Ryan) have declined to defend.
The Never-Vote-Dem tribe are unreachable , winning the lions share of independents (now a huge chunk of voters) but the real bonanza for the Dems is to get the 1/3 of illegible voters who do not vote out to the polls. The Blue Tsunami will have a Black & Brown component that the Trumpsters can not divert although they will try to prevent them from voting.
Get the non-voters signed up to vote and to the polls in November. Make this a tide of biblical proportions.
Mr Bliss is commenting on national issues and strategy. I'm surprised you let Mr. Bliss off the hook on women voters. Republicans have not made things better for women. They are turning out in record numbers. No comment on the #metoo effect.
I am troubled about the reference to opposition reseasrch. Isn't that what the Steele Dossier was? Seems it's ok for Rs but bad for D's?
Stringing together rational sentences don't suggest rational thought.
When the overwhelming number of state legislative seats have gone Democrat since the election and a recent election in an Arizona district that is staunchly Republican was won by the Republican candidate by 5% over a political novice that was underfunded. I would say there is a lot of whistling past the graveyard in Mr. Bliss's pronouncements. Like Joe McCarthy, the antics of Trump and his circus of an administration will not wear well over time for those outside his 38-40% of true believers.
1
If the Dems had put up Bernie Sanders as their candidate and Hillary as the VP they would have won the 2016 Election - period.
1
You got to be kidding me! Bernie, the non-Democrat 76 year old socialist, could not be elected in 2016 America. Maybe after the Millenniums are older and can vote, but not today. And Hillary, the only Democrat, other than Bernie, that could lose to Trump. Keep up this kind of thinking and the GOP will be in charge for decades.
1
Given what republicans have done to this country I do not see how anyone would consider voting for them.
Shall I make a list:
Citizens United
The inability to address income inequality.
Stalling DACA
Endless war
Regressive taxation
Privatized and profitize public education.
Corporate citizenship over people citizenship.
Trickle down economics.
Science denial
Broken health care system (there is no plan B)
Pruitt, DeVos, Zinke and Mulvaney, if you don't give us money we don't talk to you.
Feckless congress and the tea party do nothing caucus.
I could go on.
1
Ignorance is Bliss.
He prattles on endlessly about achieving results on issues that voters care about, but the only substantive achievement he can point to is the GOP tax cut for their wealthy donors — the only issue the GOP leadership cares about, but not one that matters to voters.
"...the Russia thing..."
I'm 70 years old, and since before I was born Russia has been our single greatest, most hostile enemy. Their leaders hate everything we stand for, and still want to "bury us".
Khruschchev once bragged that capitalists would manufacture the rope that communists would use to hang them. Today Russia is using (American-invented) computers and Internet to attack our democracy. Even if they failed to affect the outcome of the 2016 election, they tried, and the crime is in the attempt not in any success.
There is evidence -but not yet proof- that the Trump campaign cooperated with Russia in this effort. That would be treason, plain and simple.
There are no "alternative facts" to this narrative.
For most of my life Republicans have been chiding Democrats about not taking the Russia threat seriously. Where are they now?
I predict continued disappointment for Democrats. There are many things Trump and Republicans can and will point to in the upcoming elections and midterms (and they have superior messaging and discipline than democrats). Not that these are accurate, but many people will believe:
- Tax cuts put extra money in people's pockets
- Bringing North Korea to the table
- Protecting the American worker withdrawing our support for the Trans-Pacific Partnership
- Booming stock markets
- Uptick in manufacturing, including coal jobs
- 3% economic growth
- Bringing China to the table (on trade)
- Record low unemployment
- Addressing border security and illegal immigration
Versus the Democrats, who have no policy platform to speak of:
- We're not trump
- Trump is a really bad guy. He's says mean and stupid things
- Trump is embarrassing us globally and our prestige
- What's our pro middle class and pro small business tax plan, and plan in general? Don't have one; don't ask.
- What's our plan for making medicare and SS solvent? Don't have one; don't ask
- What's our plan to address the outrageous cost of insurance, drug prices, health care, etc; don't ask or continue more of the same
- What's our infrastructure plan? Don't ask, don't have one.
Etc. Meanwhile, Democrats don't even have good attack messaging to hammer home how Trump and the GOP have been nothing more than surrogates for the wealthy donor DC lobbyist culture, and refuse to denounce the donor DC lobbyist culture themselves.
2
Pulling out TPP was a win for China, and a loss for US. Bigly. 82% of the tax cuts went to the rich. Coal jobs have not appreciably risen. The economic boom started under Obama. Net immigration was ALREADY at zero when tRump took office.
1
Good give-and-take, glad you all did this. Mr. Bliss doesn't answer direct questions very well, but that's not a surprise.
2
Sure Mr. Bliss, you're an operative for the GOP and apparently not objective about the trouble your party faces from the top down. How could the GOP put forward candidates like Roy Young? Or be proud of the "tax reform act" that gives huge rewards to the very tip of the top income earners in this country? The money and concentration on winning is obviously the big game like hunting for wild animals in other countries. Not so much the real welfare of the country, be it clean water in Flint and other cities, or the crumbling infrastructure needs throughout the nation, nor the ending of treaties internationally that have represented the position our powerful country must have. Why bring up Pelosi? She and Hillary represent some sort of very unusual enmity for grown men who one would think have other issues to discuss. Too much pride from Bliss from such deplorable actions by the GOP, from the top to the EPA, among the many. What in fact has led to this most toxic time for our country? Citizens United? All the institutes devoted to policy like Federalist, Cato, thinking from the Bolton types, to Bannon and Grover, who seem to have taken steps behind the curtain. Of course the Kochs and Mercers are surely close by.
From my chair, Mr. Bliss’s comments resonate fairly well. The Democratic Party offers very little of value. They think they are smarter than the rest of us and want to control more of our lives and resources. They entangle our national conversation and government on the unimportant, preventing progress on real issues. They are a resistance movement that, regardless of merit, is against everything the administration does and says. And they obfuscate the important like the economy, taxes, immigration and national security.
1
Bliss is right that the Democratic Party needs to avoid its mistake in 2016 of concentrating all of its efforts on Trump. Just saying, over & over again, that Trump is worthless and is not capable of being president has no effect on many independent voters. These are the voters that determine most elections and they want someone in Congress working for them, not seeking impeachment votes.
Nancy Pelosi may be loved by the corporate media but she does not register well with the average independent voter. Maybe she is or is not as unpopular as Trump, but this is a midterm election and the chance that she may be the next House Speaker does not play well with moderate voters.
Finally, what issue (besides Trump) have the Democrats publicized nationally thus far? It appears that they are adopting the 2016 strategy of not saying what they will do and just saying that they are not the GOP. The moderate voter, who will determine who wins the House, wants to know about issues, not just personalities, and what issues do the Dems have to make their case? Tax repeal, Russian sanctions, immigration amnesty, chaos in Washington, truth in government, diversity, free trade, lobbying reform? These are not winning issues with anyone other than the already persuaded progressives. Dems need to remember that they are not seeking just the votes of the NYT readers; they are seeking the votes of middle America.
1
Some thoughts for Democratic midterm strategies.
One, Nancy Pelosi has to step aside as House leader. I respect her work, I admire her, but she is a lightning rod for Republicans. I live in Indiana and I've already seen plenty of negative ads in the primaries that used Pelosi. For the good of the party, Pelosi needs to give up her House leadership.
Two, Democrats need some name recognition and energy to
bring the party together. Joe Kennedy III is young, but he would be a good candidate for leader of the House Democrats. The Kennedys have been off-stage for long enough to seem new, but well-known.
Three, cut the impeachment talk by 75% or more. Yes, I think Trump should resign or be impeached, but we have to wait for the Mueller investigation to conclude. In the meantime, Republicans are using "Democrats just want to impeach Trump. That's all they care about" to some effect.
Why reinforce what they're saying? (Thank you for your service, Tom Steyer. Kindly focus on Republicans' attack on health insurance.)
Four, focus on the need for significant wage and salary increases. Employer suppression of wages/salaries. Over-time protections. Focus on the threats to public health due to environmental deregulations. Don't yammer about climate change as the big umbrella topic. Get specific about what deregulations are doing or will do. Focus on health care COSTS.
2
Citizen's United has made this all possible. No, Ben Franklin, we were not able to keep our republic. Our congressional representatives reflect the interests of big-money oligarchs instead of the folks who elected them.
1
FYI: The Congressional Leadership Fund survey that Bliss refers to (and linked in this piece) covered 69 Congressional districts. According to the Cook Political Report, for the upcoming elections 21 of those are leaning Republican, 12 are likely to go Republican, and 3 are solidly Republican. Corresponding number for Democrats are 6, 2, and 2. The remaining 23 are listed as "toss ups," with 21 currently having a Republican in the seat.
So, obviously we can trust this survey as representative of the nation.
After reading this interview, as well as Thomas Edsall's article today on hyper-identity politics, I am struck by the Democrats' need to re-evaluate their tactics for the 2018 midterm elections. Edsall's article states that many people will even vote against their own interests IF they strongly feel that they are part of a group. Trump's core supporters are a great example of this, and what drums up this inclusiveness best for them and for Trump? A Trump rally. There you can be yourself and Trump can truly be himself.
I'm a well-educated Democrat, but I see myself as a moderate on most issues. Trump's campaign, however, his election, and his conduct as president have stoked my anger and my partisanship beyond anything I have experienced before. I can see this happening everywhere. Last night, whenever I flipped to CNN, the discussion and "news" was about Michael Cohen and his bank accounts. It was news, true, but the real news in the Middle East was about Iran's reaction to Trump dropping the joint nuclear treaty. A lot of different stories could have been covered within this subject, but CNN chose to rush back to Cohen and Trump. I chose the NBA.
Michelle Wolf was right. Journalism is making money off of Trump, and that is one big reason Trump and his various dramas are in the news 24/7. Yes, these are important stories that need to be followed rigorously, but they don't need to be front and center all day and all night. This feeds hyper-partisanship.
1
On one point I think Mr Bliss is right, voters will notice what their politicians are doing for them. They'll probably notice their health care costs going up as Republicans keep sniping at the ACHA. They'll also notice that the tax cut didn't help them but instead got their bosses' bosses' boss a nice break. They'll notice gas prices going up thanks to Trump pulling out of the Iran deal. They'll notice that and so much more and vote accordingly.
6
Not once did Mr. Bliss mention voters that care about what's best for the country. He believes all only vote for their selfish interests. Is that voters, or the GOP?
6
That's the problem with Democrats. They refuse to deal with the world as it IS (i.e.; "free" government services actually cost real money, which taxpayers know will come from their pockets) rather than how they wish it could be. Another example: Obama lived in an imagninary world where our foreign rivals played nice all the time, and we could simply roll over and expect a like response on every issue. How did Colonel Jessep put it in "A Few Good Men"? You can't handle the truth!
2
To paraphrase Mr. Bliss, the Republicans are talking about issues that really affect voters' lives.
Okay, sure, they always have done that: Talk about CULTURAL issues - wedge issues - their voters feel strongly about, but about which there is little they can or will do legislatively.
Will Republican voters never see that they voted for people based on one set of reasons, but got a government that largely cannot change any of those? Apparently! Especially if the only voices they hear are those on Fox "news."
4
"Other than talking about Russia, raising taxes and impeaching the president, Democrats are incapable of producing one positive idea to help people’s lives."
Dang. And here I thought Democrats brought us Medicare, Social Security, expanded health coverage, and a zillion other things Americans couldn't imagine doing without, but take for granted every day.
And today Democrats are talking about reversing the accelerated growth of income inequality, reducing the risk of shooting massacres, cutting the overall costs and increasing the availability of quality health care, reducing the crushing weight of college debt, tackling corruption in government at every level (and especially in the federal executive branch), expanding voting rights, reducing our prison population, and, well, I could go on and on.
Mr. Bliss would love it if voters bought his mindless drivel, as would DT and his cronies. Unfortunately, too many do. So it is the responsibility of all caring Americans, no matter their party affiliation, to counter this poisonous narrative with hard, cold facts.
Snake oil and its implicit promise of happiness & longevity is a powerful temptation. We have to resist if we are to maintain our democracy.
172
Bliss is exactly the Republican prototype that makes me depressed. He REFUSES to see truth. He can't see beyond his own unfounded prejudices. All he wants is to win. No wonder I can't stand Republican pundits. No wonder I don't trust any Rupublican to be honest.
15
Amen to everything you said. GOP=Bankrupt of ideas.
7
Why the cheap shot at Omaha at the end of your piece? Seems out of place, unwarranted and perhaps born of east coast arrogance? Isn't NYC brutal in August?
I’m focused on the story we have to tell — both about what Republicans have done to cut taxes and keep our country safe,
Without a doubt, the stupidest comment I have heard from a political expert all year. I have heard some dumb stuff since America elected a Klown to the Whitehouse. But this one takes the cake!
8
I think I'm middle class but my average tax benefit is a lot smaller than $2,000 and I'm now being taxed on job perks like my parking pass. Meanwhile, I read that Bank of America's effective tax rate was cut from 27% to 18%, accounting for a third of its increased profits. Screwed again by those GOP tax cutters. And I wonder how they will feel when Trump's trade wars start to bite.
7
Frank, you should have asked him for the name of the longest river in Africa.
2
This guy has absolutely no idea what the Democrats have been doing and saying on the campaign trail so far. He should read Greg Sargent's excellent columns on how Democratic candidates have been bringing up local pocket book issues like health insurance and wages and not bringing up Russia at all - and winning everywhere. Actually, check that, I hope Republicans are dumb enough to listen to this guy's advice.
7
Corry Bliss is clearly smart, enthusiastic, well-informed, and knows how to turn on the charm. The obvious question is, why is he supporting a party represented by someone as odious, dishonest, corrupt, and downright creepy as Donald Trump?
Mr. Bliss, you sound like a great 'middle' man. Think about what you're doing. Then please leave the Dark Side and work for the good of your country. It needs people like you.
2
Oh Jesus really? "Democrats are the ones who are going to raise your taxes."
Yeah, Republicans are going to cut services, bankrupt the government, and enrich the rich.
9
" Incumbents who work hard, raise money, and achieve results on issues their constituents care about can and will win."
I can see why Corry Bliss is paid the really big bucks.
Not because he lists the obvious, but because he won't touch the real secrets of Republican success....racist dog whistles, fear peddling, and finding a 1% patron and doing what he says.
And of course, he's mystified about finding a democratic plan for America. “It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it,” said Sinclair, so we are told by the man who is paid to be ignorant that voters are ignorant for free, because nobody remembers the GOP health care debacle, nobody remembers who really got all the money in the tax boondoggle, and of course, nobody knows who Scott Pruitt is or Ronny Jackson is or Mark Cohen is or Paul Manafort is or Robert Gates is or Mike Flynn is or …..
6
"About what Republicans have done ... to keep our country safe". Like finding some sort of gun control so kids don't get shot in schools? I will take the Swiss version of "safety" any day.
8
So the Republican strategy is to smear Dems who say they want to impeach. Easy way around this is to first, not bring it up and second, if asked directly if you would vote to impeach the President, answer as follows: “If the evidence presented shows an impeachable offense was committed, of course I would vote to impeach. The real question is would my Republican opponent vote to impeach, or just ignore that impeachable offenses took place. Would you reporter, as a grand juror, fail to indict a possible criminal, when evidence suggests they committed a crime, simply because it was a Republican who committed it? That would be shirking your duty and damaging to society.”
7
I don't understand the point of this article. It was just a republican strategist shilling for his party. It wasn't interesting and I didn't learn anything new.
7
Yes, Mr. Bliss is right: the Democrats will lose in November. And this is not because of Ms. Pelosi or Hillary, it’ll be because they have become the party of Puritanism, mean moralizing, Twitter crowds, hostility to freedom and narrow identity politics. In other words, they have lost their broad narrative that can attract well-off, rational, educated middle class. Look at the pretend horror and real prurience with which they pursue “the porn-star” scandal! Who cares? If Trump were a good president, I would not care if he had a whole retinue of porn stars attending him, and neither should you. Look at the railroading of people like Al Franken on the say-so of some vaguely worded and unproven sexual allegation! Look at the inability to acknowledge Trump’s real achievement - North Korea, while informing the rational public of the potential dangers of scuttling the Iran deal. Unless Democrats stop clutching their pearls in the pretend moral outrage over irrelevancies and start talking real policies and economic issues, they will lose - and deservedly so.
1
What strikes me most is Mr. Bliss' contempt for the intelligence of the average voter. He holds that there are not ten voters who know the name Scott Pruitt. Two years worth of news involving Trump and Russian influence can be written off as the Democrat's Russia obsession.
If his evaluation of the electorate's ignorance is on the mark then our democracy is indeed in dire straits.
115
Contempt?
I agree with your Comment Mr. Bradley, but let’s not get carried away and shoot the messenger. Corry not only sings for the choir – he’s the Choir Director. I assume he believes what he’s saying. Someone must sign the super PAC checks for the Congressional Leadership Fund. Why not Corry?
1
Mr Bliss is paid to gaslight the public. it's been very effective, and there's no reasons to believe it won't be in the future, as repetition powered by every-increasing Donor Class bucks is very effective.
The rise of Right-Wing Radio is one of the most frightening developments since 1996 when media company concentration rules were relaxed. I listen to it. It is one uninterrupted commercial for extreme hatred of the other, owned by the Donor Class and supported by countless advertisements for debt relief schemes, sketchy investments, male enhancement products, and security services.
4
"...there are not 10 voters in America who know who Scott Pruitt is....the majority of voters will reward anybody who cut their taxes and will punish anybody who wants to raise their taxes."
And now we see why the Republicans work to keep American citizens stupid and not simply uninformed but misinformed. Betsy DeVos makes sense in this light; high-quality, involved education, critical thinking skills—that would be the end.
7
Politics has always been a dirty business. For idealist Democrats seeking election to either chamber of congress — or even at the state and local levels — they have to, as the saying goes, get into the mud with the pigs while only the pigs are having fun.
Ever since the so-called "Reagan Revolution," the GOP has become the party of over-promising and under-delivering, unless of course you are rich. The media representing the Republican Party has been assigned the tasks of creating distortions, lies, fabrications and conspiracy theories ever since.
Mr. Bliss is just another version of Karl Rove, Roger Ailes, Grover Norquist and many other right-wing GOP strategists who created the likes of Newt Gingrich, Paul Ryan, Ted Cruz, Orin Hatch, and Mitch McConnell; all ideologues pushing concepts of tax cuts for the rich with reductions in spending for education, healthcare, the environment, and public safety.
Without exception over the past 40 years, when the Republicans take power in the White House and the Congress, failure at every turn is the result; and economic crisis with rising unemployment, increasing stress on our healthcare systems, and long-term suffering for the most vulnerable among us while the rich laugh all the way to the bank.
Today, what the GOP has given us is a rise in white nationalism, a tax cut that benefits only the rich with false platitudes of tax relief to all, while also sending our national debt into crisis mode for years to come.
6
Mr. Bliss claims that "America’s most unpopular, polarizing politician [is] Nancy Pelosi!"
In fact, America's most unpopular, polarizing politician is Donald Trump!
6
Dems have to start barking louder and prouder and repeat repeat repeat a message over and over again. When I was a child in middle school I had a French teacher who taught us that if we repeat a phrase or word or name at least 3 times it helps to remember it. She was right - her technique worked!
Well, see how they GOP do this all the time? Trump does it constantly and people remember what they say and forget the one off focus. They start to even forget that what they remember is not fact, just something that was drummed into them.
DEMS: Start drumming and don't stop. Also, liberals need to grow a thicker skin and stop chastising each other when someone flubs or makes a mistake. The GOP don't do that to each other and their base is more united because of it.
5
God what a smart aleck this Corry Bliss is. Is there any Republican strategist that can get thru an interview without some smart remark about Democrats?? Oh right, its Trump's party now. I should have remembered.
6
The shallowness of the Republican agenda, as well as the continued reliance on misrepresentations, does not come as a surprise. Bruni allowed him to coat over one of the most crooked, indecent and embarrassing administrations in our history. Where were the penetrating questions that would have pierced the facade of the automaton spouting a bunch of talking points? Why bother giving this party hack a stage?
4
America's most unpopular, polarizing politician is Nancy Pelosi?! I'm sorry, but that is just delusional. I'll give you a hint: starts with T, ends with P, 5 letters.
I'd bet that a majority of Americans don't even know who Ms. Pelosi is.
3
This interview was as infuriating and frustrating for me to read as it clearly was to many other NYT commenters, and also to Mr. Bruni while conducting it. But here's the thing - there it is, the entire florid, mindless, cynical, arrogant GOP "ideology", laid out in black and white. The entire platform is based on the all-too-accurate recognition that millions of Americans can be thoroughly played. demagogued into voting contrary to their own position. And it has worked like a charm since at least Nixon, and ramped up even further under Reagan. Facts do not penetrate, immorality and corruption hold no sway with the core of GOP voters. And so we're left, those of us who still cherish our founding principles, to hope that there are enough "in the middle" who now recognize that the GOP agenda is a con, and hope that the Democrats will focus on facts, getting the truth in its lurid detail before the electorate. Then we will just have to see where the chips fall. As depressing as that is, it's really where we are. The cynical GOP has thought of everything - the courts, the districts, etc. - and they recognized long ago that appealing to raw emotion wins over reason every time. It is extremely painful to consider what that says about our country.
8
Thank you Mr. Bliss for your thoughtful and insightful answers to Mr. Bruni's questions.
Thanks also for plunging me - unwillingly a few minutes ago - headlong into the worst case of cognitive dissonance I have ever experienced. I'm still a bit woozy but it seems to be clearing up.
2
This is someone trying to predict a horse race after the first 100 meters. Except with a great deal more self-promotion toward, it must be said, his clientele. It is instructive to see just how disconnected the process is from actual people. You know. Voters. But then that's not really news.
It is however the worst way to cover an election. It feeds into people's anxieties about how their horse or team is faring. That's good for ratings. But it doesn't tell us much of anything about the stakes of the election (for democracy, war, poverty, humanity, the planet), the increasing tendency to vomit talking points in place of unscripted interaction, the inability of the press to get candidates off message and make them show what they actually know, not what they think. Trump for instance has lots of strong opinions, but below that thin veneer he can't even pass for an articulate ignoramus, and his contempt for tradition leads him to denigrate the integrity of the office and foul the nest for future aspirants.
What this interview reiterates is how the political process at the national level has been captured by wealthy individuals, lobbyists, national party elites, and industry reps. And Mr. Bliss, like the press, does very well without undue limits on campaign finance. He shills for a corrupt two-party system that drives wealth inequality, which then places blame mostly on those paying the price, suckers whose loyalty is closely correlated to their vulnerability to propaganda.
63
So, when does a Democratic spin doctor with a tenuous-at-best relationship to facts get to spew his talking points irrespective of the questions asked? Hey, equal time and all.
4
He might be right about how things turn out, but you really don't have to coddle him. This was one insipid interview.
2
Pure propaganda from Corry Bliss. Would he say anything else on the record?
4
Democratic candidates are not homogeneous drones. The ones who Mr. Bliss and his cheerleader team paint as Pelosi/Clinton disciples are from the 24/7 Republican propaganda machine, i.e., Fox News. If he really believes issues like Russia, treason, money laundering, womanizing and lying aren't issues in play, he may wake up on a November Wednesday morning wondering why, despite gerrymandered House districts, his party was so out of step with grass-roots America. The Scriptures promise a reckoning, Brother Bliss. The sins of the party of old rich white men glow like mullet in the moonlight.
1
This guy has either forgotten, or just doesn't know, that women get pretty quiet before they snap and come after you with a pitch fork.
4
It makes me sick to read such an article on the NYT site.
Make Reps stick to Fox.
This is supposed to be our liberal MSM we're reading about - not some stupid Rep thinking we're vastly dumber than him and that all of us can be bought off with that crazy tax bill they pushed through (that only really cut taxes for the zillionaires).
Personally I think the Dems need to go for someone like Joe Kennedy III - someone younger but still experienced in politics.
I'd like to see a younger, decent and knowledgeable male with a female VP with the same experience and smarts (one battle at a time).
Pick a side, NYT - please.
2
I agree 100% with this guy about the MN senate seats. The incredibly stupid Kirsten "Big Witch" Gillibrand and her "Franken frenzy" will cost the Dems a Senate seat. It is possible, if the Rs run the table, that the Ds may drop below 40 seats. If that happens, and if they keep the House (which is highly likely), then Social Security and Medicare are going to be taken out.
1
This article and discussion shows EVERYTHING that is wrong and disgusting about our political process. It has nothing to do with real issues, just how can voters be manipulated by the voter manipulation industrial complex. Mr Bliss, whether he worked for a Republican or Democratic PAC, is basically a paid shill for whoever pays him. He's representing those interests who are in the business of steering voters' attention away from real issues into the neanderthal part of the human brain. As Colonel Kurtz is quoted in "Apocalypse Now", he is just an errand boy sent by clerks. Who could be proud of that? He seems to be.
6
That dude is whistling past the grave yard.
And that's a scared whistle.
The hubris more desperation than confidence.
5
I think the comments that follow this column are instructive. I recall reading the exact same comments in 2016. These people who only read NYT, WaPo and watch CNN are shockingly ignorant of how the country in between the Hudson and Hollywood feel. To be sure, they actually believe anyyone who disagrees with them is a bumpkin. Yet, it is they who live in a bubble which is exactly why Trump won. The local races are local. A blanket statement cannot credibly be stated about local races. Anyone who tries to do that is simply blowing smoke. But, I wholeheartedly agree with the comment about Democrat strategists making local elections about Trump. If they do this, the Democrat will lose.
3
Those questioning this article also questioned similar analysis going into previous elections. They still haven't figured out what happened to the Democrats in 2016 and why HRC lost.
There is an entire country out there between the Hudson and Hollywood that does not follow NYT rules.
Suggestion: save this article to compare with election results after the midterms. The GOP will likely hold the House and pick up a couple of seats in the Senate. Maybe you can finally start to understand why.
1
It seems to me that the purpose of liberal columnists is to make sure that they can speak to conservatives as a show of tolerance of different ideologies. This will inevitably lead to Republican victories and damage to Democrats. Liberal suicide is becoming an academic exercise in futility. In 2018 it looks as if that will happen and in post mortems the Democrats will rend their garments and act like fools.
2
Your parting shot re Omaha succinctly summarizes the disdain the "Left Coasts" have for the people of the "fly over" part of the country.
3
Oliver Wendell Holmes said, "I like to pay taxes. With them, I buy civilization." The de-civilizing effects of tax cuts are apparent everywhere from decaying infrastructure to thuggish police forces who make up for budget cuts with asset forfeiture. Tax cuts have been the mantra since Reagan soothed the nation with his nonsense about the wonders of the private sector. This nation needs an anti-Reagan in the worst way.
3
Valuable insights into how Republicans are approaching the elections this year. Mr. Bliss, however, underestimates the white hot fury of Democratic voters--and he ignores the fact that most ordinary people understand that the tax cut reaped billions for corporations and very, very little for the working person. From what I can tell, voters care enormously about healthcare costs. And they care that their president is corrupt and disgraceful, whether or not they know every detail of the Russia investigation. But I hope Mr. Bliss' comments reflect what Republicans are telling themselves.
2
Bliss -"Nancy Pelosi is the most unpopular, divisive politician in America. Period." What happened to HRC? The Republicans have worked on stop for 30 years on hating HRC and now they want us to switch to hating Pelosi. Sounds like the Republicans are banking on the fact that their "women are the problem" philosophy will help motivate the base and not focused on the problems with Republican policies. The bait and switch may work. But remember voters will have been hit with the increase in their health insurance premiums, gas price increases, food price increase, stagnate wages and the lack of benefits from the tax cut just may drown out the Pelosi commercials.
76
I doubt many Republican voters think much about Nancy Pelosi, who is less noisy and perhaps more savvy than Chuck Schumer. But Republican strategists dream of demonizing another uppity Democratic woman. They did it to Hillary. There’s profit to be made in strategic conservative misogyny.
But again, if many voters in the US didn’t know that “Obamacare” was, in fact, exactly the same thing as the Affordable Care Act, and they didn’t read or watch enough news to have heard of the Women’s March, I doubt they’re feverishly tracking Nancy Pelosi’s legislative record or statements.
Republicans/Trump are destroying our environment by pulling out of the Paris Accord and appointing coal industry swamp creatures to high level positions in the EPA.
Climate change is very real and very frightening. Every American who breathes or eats food should be concerned about the condition of our natural world, not just Sierra Club members.
Basically, “Republicans Hate Your Children” should be the Democrats’ motto, because a Republican America will be one giant sludge heap.
4
Bliss offers nothing insightful or new, just “tax cuts, Pelosi, and Hillary”. Standard issue Republican mantras - repeat ad nauseum.
Bruni was not able to obtain any facts behind the verbal smokescrern.
But as a Democrat, I am skeptical of a blue wave. I think Drms will pick up seats but not enough to win a majority.
1
Don't drink the Kool-Aid, Frank!
Bliss wants above all to have voters believe that Democrats are fixated on impeaching Trump. And if we let him and his ilk repeat this ad nauseum, voters will believe it. To take his bete noir, Nancy Pelosi, she has explicitly renounced impeachment as a goal. To the contrary, Democrats are intensely focused on local races, local constituents and local issues.
Bliss is just another huckster trying to control the news cycle and get Independents and Obama-to-Trump switch voters to believe his lies.
Why didn't you call him out? Instead you provided a column that was focused on GOP lies. Thanks a lot!
5
What does it say about confidence in YOUR President and party when you "started knocking on doors" as soon as Trump took the oath of office? Bliss is whistling in the dark.
Here we see a skilled GOP liar and a journalist who is not prepared to challenge the lies. Mr. Bliss throws out an amount for the average middle class tax cut as $2,000. This is not supported by the facts. The Tax Policy Center pegs the average middle class tax cut at $900.
American journalists need to be better prepared to challenge fake facts used by the GOP.
4
I suppose I'm in a minority, but this is the sort of conversation which still shocks & disgusts me. Supposedly democratic elections discussed ad nauseum without one single reference or acknowledgment of the reasons why people vote or the things that politicians advocate. All strategy, all speculation, all mechanics. It's like a couple of guys talking about seducing a woman without reference to who she is, only talking about how much they'll spend on dinner & how much they can get her to drink. The only reference to political "content" is what the party operatives have created: personal animus toward Clinton & Pelosi. Of course they've spent billions of dollars over the decades demonizing Pelosi & Clinton, so either they are idiots who've wasted their money, or the voters are idiots who believe what they're told. If politics is just about strategy, not ideas, you might at least discuss the ethics of the strategy. But then that might empower voters to think, rather than keep them glued to the proverbial horse race.
1
"Democrats talk non-stop about Russia"
Well, someone has to mind the store.
And if the GOP does not care about our elections being hacked, then that is nothing to be proud of. Frankly I find it sickening.
5
If that's what truly happened, it put them in the driver's seat. So what do they care?
Pay attention to Bliss: "While they are talking about issues that don’t impact voters, the Congressional Leadership Fund is spending our time in the field across the country talking about important issues that impact voters’ lives."
GOP strategists understand American Democracy better and how to play the game. This is their effective thinking: when they go high we go low.
When they (the liberals, thinking politicians, media pundits, political junkies) go high (focus on issues that have big long term impact on the country, its future, i.e. the abstract concepts), we (conservatives, political hired-guns, marketing type) go low (mundane day-to-day worries about jobs, tax, the immigrants next door, fear of riots & violence from aliens, etc)
Bliss made a valid point (regardless of the bit that high-concept issues have no impact to voters), because American Democracy is about winning over the voters who are clueless about important but complex government issues.
3
DNC needs to rein in Pelosi, Warren, and HC. They are alienating to many voters, fodder for the GOP, and undermine DNC efforts to win the centrist voter. We are in a culture war; the myth of the 1960s and all its nostalgia versus the reality of a global, changing, tech world. Those who want the 'good old days' voted to Make America Great Again; the antithesis of what these women represent to that voter. DNC; tout your successes and muzzle these three and you might stand a chance.
1
The Deems did create the ACA. They have fought for the decent pay for jobs, helping eradicate discrimination, fighting for the environment and Pelosi passed 5 major pieces of legislation during her tenure as Speaker.
What do the GOP stand for or run on in 2018? Continue destroying the environment, lying about the coal country coming back; never, ever proposing any kind of decent health care, destroying the Iran agreement, fighting with Europe (our heritage and allies in global democracy) and appeasing Putin?
So run on the constant lies of trump and see where it gets you?
6
Mr. Bliss provides valuable input to Democratic candidates, especially in the absence of a re-visit of the Connor Lamb election. Leave all of the Trump/Pruitt/et al nonsense as subliminal, and talk about what you will do for the middle class, including expanding it from its underside. Russia, Cohen and so on will be on the news, except for Fox, and if you watch Fox, you're not voting for a D any way. Talk about real conomic growth and national pride without nativism. And tell Hillary that she's only allowed to talk positives. She's already proven that her fear tactics didn't work even compared to Trump's.
3
Gee, I feel extremely informed and brilliant. I am one of the fewer than 10 voters in America who not only know who Scott Pruitt is, but what scandals he's involved in (including those from OK) and what he's trying to destroy in this country. This Bliss guy obviously loves the sound of his own voice.
7
Corry Bliss, that is. As "the young Republican strategist at the very heart of the party’s effort to hold on to its congressional majority in November," I'm now feeling more confident than ever about the Democrats' chances in November.
I'll give him this . . . He's very good at sticking to Republican talking points and drinking the Kool-Aid. And also delusional. Blue Wave coming.
4
Mr. Bliss is exactly right. The Democrats aren't going to take back either the House or the Senate in November. The new CNN poll has Democrats only leading a generic congressional ballot by 3%. Reuters has them leading by only 1%, with six months to go until November.
All the Republicans have to do is show footage of Nancy Pelosi holding the country hostage while babbling about protecting illegal aliens from deportation.
1
Well if the thought had ever crossed my mind to vote for a Republican (it hasn't), reading Mr. Bliss's comments certainly would have put that thought to bed. He's so combative and, well, rude. Not that being polite is an attribute that's common among politicians, but this man's whole agenda during the conversation seemed to be to make points against the devil, i.e. Democrats and to spin every argument that way. Sigh. You know what, Mr. Bliss? Facts do count, even in the times we live in. Ability to converse counts, not just sound like a wind-up toy. Broad perspectives count, not just adolescent pugilistic pronouncements that we are wrong and self-deluded and you are right and clear-headed. How many times have I heard your tired spin each day of my life since the election? Truly mediocre on every level.
7
I admire Frank Bruni for publishing a dialog that shows how superficial his knowledge on the subject is. I'm a Democrat who's horrified by the country's present state of affairs, and Bruni and I probably agree on 99% of issues, but for him to express surprise when Bliss maintains that, if elections were held today, Republicans would keep the House, displays the blinkered self-delusion that Bruni and his Op-Ed page colleagues can't seem to rid themselves of. Wake up! The United States isn't like New York City, never has been and never will be. Toto, it looks like we're in Kansas after all!
1
Bliss, like so many Republicans is an expert in distortion. The Republican Tax "reform" is dismal so it's not likely to be used, healthcare for all, not going to be mentioned, Russia involvement in a U.S. election with no attempts to stop it moving forward won't be addressed and neither will Mexico paying for a useless wall. But they'll use Nancy Pelosi over and over again for as long as it works.
I agree with Bliss that Democratic messaging has to be better and all of the issues referenced above should be used in their respective campaigns, but ignore Trump's perfidy? That's a Republican dream and they'll keep pumping out the propaganda and distortions as long as they believe their base and under informed voter's will buy into it.
Every single denial used by Trump about no one in his orbit being involved with Russians should be plastered all over every form of media as is possible. Especially Sessions, Don Jr., Manafort and Flynn's involvement and then their sudden loss of memory about it. An explanation of the tax law should be included and the healthcare issue, the de-regulation of everything from the environment to Dodd-Frank and student loans should be in the mix. Republicans are again depending on the ignorance of voters to know who Pruitt, Price, DeVos and Mulvaney are and it could work. If the Democrats don't use the failed policies to their advantage especially now, the nation is doomed.
6
There was a time when "reaching across the aisle" visiting and engaging with people who have differing/opposing views to warm relationships in a "divided America".
This article has a certain air of mutual respect enjoyable repartee but in the end displays undercurrents of the seething temptation of power. The issues were not discussed. Surface detail at best. Taxes or no taxes, protection from the big bad evil axis OUT THERE or no protection, revealing moral and ethical hypocrisy or letting the man do his job. Nothing new or telling. Yet, in these comments from NY Times readers, I see common sense and real FACTS that will hopefully trickle down to every working person in the country.
1
"Frank, there are not 10 voters in America who know who Scott Pruitt is."
"I think the majority of voters will reward anybody who cut their taxes and will punish anybody who wants to raise their taxes."
If these statements are true in principle look fwd to more Republican dominance.
1
I am an independent, I am not counted in your poll! I am small business owner whose taxes went up 20% so I guess I am paying for the loss of revenue form the large Doner class to both parties.
My Health care is the worse in the develop world. I see the effects of Climate change every day and shudder to think what that will mean for my children and grandchildren. I read with interest the article about Jared Kushner's brother the so called progress. Oscar is his baby. Oscar is a terrible national joke heralded by the media as being like Obama Care. This is what Obama Care was destine to become the minute he put Max Baucus in charge. I do see a lot of good news which should start scare both parties. The end of Gerrymandering is near. That is the wave could change some things soon. I will most likely vote for the democratic option this year Mr. Bliss. I was not counted but you really shouldn't ignore me yet.
Chuck from Ohio
4
In contradiction to Bliss, impeachment DOES affect my daily life! The sitting president has through action and words, embolden many to act on their racist attitudes thereby making many people around me feel unsafe. Safety is one of our most basic needs...so electing congress officials who will demand a high standard of legal behavior from the president is definitely a top priority.
2
The comments by Corry Bliss about about Pelosi and Clinton hit home. I've noted that Republicans, at least in Tennessee, seem to vote based on party loyalty, which is as much a religion to them as their church. But many 'church people' profess love but thrive on hate, and turn out en masse to vote against someone they despise.
Frank Bruni brought up McConnell and Ryan, but bad behavior by forceful old men is tolerated and even expected in cultures where males get a pass. Too bad Republican women don't value the futures of their daughters.
2
As ongoing and popularly supported teacher protests lead to higher pay AND raised taxes, I question whether tax cuts are as appealing to the average voter as Republicans would like to think.
But Bliss is right about one thing... the Democrats are in trouble. Running against a nincompoop, Democrats have given voters no reason to vote FOR them.
Yes Trump is bad, thanks for pointing that out, Dems. What, precisely, are you going to do to make America a better place if elected? Please don’t reference Trump in your response.
The policies of the Democratic Party of the past generation aren’t appealing anymore. We all know they are just neo-liberal pandering to the donors, specifically the military industrial complex and Wall Street.
And we know that the national party is doing everything it can to crush candidates who want to take a more Sanders (or FDR) approach to economics.
So why am I voting for Democrats, whose appeal seems to be killing me slowly rather than killing me quickly?
It’s funny that Bliss brings up Sanders as a bogeyman. He knows that Sanders is currently the most popular politician in America. He knows Sanders is dangerous. Establishment Democrats do too. That’s why they both slag him off as identity as possible.
31
Please write this down. Here's what Dems are fighting for: affordable health care for all, protection of social security and Medicare, infrastructure investment, college affordability and student debt restructuring, protecting our air and water and reducing effects of climate change, sensible gun safety rules, DACA, revocation of tRump tax cuts for the wealthy, and YES, resistance to the insanity, prevarication and lunacy of the current occupant of the WH.
14
Democrats are against Bernie because he has a proven record of being unable to move his agenda forward. That is all.
4
Yes, "killing me slowly rather than killing me quickly" are the only choices we have. That's what I've learned from voting for the last 45 years. Fox News rules. Nancy Pelosi is their female devil figure to replace Hillary. We were lucky to get Obamacare....for however long we keep parts of it.
If Sanders is "dangerous" to other Democrats, it is only because he would have lost worse than Hillary. Sanders is "dangerous" to other Democrats only because if you listen to him speak, you quickly realize that he is only able to reach people like you and me who already agree with him. He's right about taxes, healthcare, education, corporate profits and the 1%, and I understand him whenever he says it. I think he's a great list maker, but sadly, he's a bad explainer. He seems to start every speech at the 4th paragraph. When I suggest master-explainer Elizabeth Warren as a replacement, people wince, because they don't like her other qualities. Finding a leader is not easy.
One our most progressive Senators, Sherrod Brown may be defeated in November. It's not because Democrats are stupid. It's because the well funded, hard working, propaganda-savvy Republicans are really good at dog whistles and distractions.
9
I agree that many Americans don't care much about Russia or even constant lying. But the Mueller investigation isn't about Russia; it's about crime. If the law and order president is proven to have committed serious crimes, that might be a wakeup call.
And then there are things no one can predict. A big shooting triggering a flood of thoughts and prayers could move the needle as well.
2
The tax cuts are real, the savings are not. With gas prices, and other commodities up, simply filling your car one a week, takes care of any "feeling" of "bliss" with the "gigantic tax cuts." No one's pay is increasing. The $2,000 tax cut never sat in anyone's pocket long enough to notice. This is why the Republican Party has to be more racist now. They have nothing left, but contempt for their fellow Americans, and the nation. In Trump world, nothing gets better, except their whiteness. Everything costs more. And, the bridges and roads and schools still need repair. Of course, everyone's boss, who received the 20,000 or 200,000 tax cut, pays the same amount for gas and the same amount for commodities, but they can afford the increases, and still send their kids to college with their "raise." Tout the tax cut fairness all you want, it is still a failure. The Republican Party has nothing to offer anyone, unless you are rich. But, Mr. Bliss sounds very happy and excited hating Democrats. He was nearly breathless in his Republican platitudes. But Russia hit a nerve, which was interesting. I like my fellow Americans. I am tired of the division, day in and day out. Good riddance to Bliss in November. He still has no idea what's coming.
2
Mr. Bliss states all Dems do is talk about Russia and impeachment. Yet he goes on to say Pelosi is the most divisive politician in America, and will run ads with that “theme”. What’s the difference? Just complaining about a politician doesn’t sound to me like results oriented.
And a statistic. Since 1946, when presidents are above 50% approval, their party loses an average of 14 seats in the U.S. House in the midterm elections, compared with an average loss of 36 seats when presidents are below that mark. Trump is floating around 40%.
And an example. Democratic candidate’s here in GA never say the words, Russia or Impeachment. You do hear about core issues like healthcare insurance, jobs and the like.
And the voters will decide not the political pundits or political operatives.
1
Mr. Bliss, how cynical you are. The Republican way is to leverage people's greed, and their ignorance--and in many cases--and sadly--their need, although you will surely harm the neediest in the end. $2,000--not much to a guy like you, and a pair of shoes to those you actually represent--and what do the voters give up in exchange for this amount that would not pay their healthcare deductible? Their healthcare, their public education, their housing, their public land--and as soon as you can swing it--their Social Security and Medicare. And the wonderful economy, with the stock market propped up by first, quantitative easing, then tax cuts and stock buybacks--even a nervous Warren Buffet. Most of the world's wealth is debt, and nobody knows how that will play out, including you my friend. How many times will your party tank the economy before the public figures out who the enemy is?
And as your party denies global warming, you push for neoliberal economics to span the world, producing more and more things to poison the environment and deplete the planet. You give people $2,000. in tax cuts while you fight to drive the value of their labor down and down.
The only political and economic view that makes ANY sense any more is one that puts the planet first, and human capital second. And I am sure, Mr. Bliss, a clever and cynical man like you knows that well.
3
I dislike much of what Bliss says, especially his blatant lie about Pelosi and raising taxes. But he's on the mark in identifying some DEM campaign strategy weaknesses.
2018 cannot be about impeachment and Russia. We need local candidates intimately tied into their communities, focused on local needs. That's the way to build the majority necessary to put the breaks on Trump until 2020.
He's right that the national committee is continuing to back its inner clique of candidates instead of taking a ruthless approach of backing the candidates most likely to win, regardless of their party connections.
He's also right that we should not be crowing about how great things are going and how the 2018 election is going to be some kind of landslide. Counting the chickens before they hatch... this is exactly what we did in 2016. We need to view every poll with skepticism for the next 2-3 election cycles until the pollsters have proven they've figured out and corrected their mistakes of 2016.
And yes, please, someone please convince HRC to take a long vacation out of the spotlight.
Bliss - "convince voters that you 1) care about them, and 2) are achieving results on the issues they care about."
YES! This is why HRC lost the swing states Obama had taken handily. This is why we are now saddled with Trump.
37
The polls were pretty correct actually.
3
I agree with most of this post, especially stop talking about impeachment and Russia. (If anyone impeaches Trump it should be the Republicans.)
But Obama won states Hillary didn't because he's Obama: blessed with a star quality few people have. Conversely, she lost because she doesn't have it. Ideologically they are the same.
4
Good points, and you should be pleased to know that Dems are creating an effective ground game at the local level without the resources of the DNC. There is no mythical 'blue wave' - there is a guerilla war campaign happening district by district, and that how victory will be earned. There is an excellent article on how this is happening in David Leonhardt's roundup today.
5
Corey Bliss comes across in this interview like one of those crooked financial advisors who tries to sell you a stock that he himself is short-selling.
From my little corner of the world, Mr. Bliss is not dealing with the fact-based world, but instead he is living in Kellyanne Conway's world of "alternative facts".
I'm a liberal Democrat, and I can't wait for the midterms.
2
"...Pelosi is the most divisive politician in America..." This is why talking to Republicans such as Bliss is an utter waste of time. Trump has this role sewn up and the Republican Party refuses to acknowledge it. Attacking Pelosi is a tired old ploy, but with Obama and HRC gone it's all the Republicans have to work with in the on-going slander game that has replaced replaced policy debates for Republicans.
1
Frank, I'm surprised you gave a microphone to someone so wrapped up in his partisan agenda he didn't answer a single question sincerely. I learned nothing from this interview except that Da Nile Is Not a River in Egypt. Which I already knew!
Will be great to send Mr. Bliss and his party packing in November.
2
Bliss brings to mind Yogi Berra's: "It's déjà vu all over again." Everything Trump now does is a direct result of Ann Coulter's recent interview in the Times. Coulter made sure her interview was here, not on a Fox outlet. Coulter's interview was for an audience of one. Coulter caustically attacked Trump saying Trumpers would stick with him only if he returned to his nativism and foreign policy warmongering, so he did. She laid it on thick saying, "he'll be the Emperor God again." American democracy is holding on by a thread because Republicans couldn't care less about it and treat Trump like an Emperor God.
Who is Bliss speaking to? It's not Times readers, it's not even Bruni. Bliss talks past Bruni to set up Republican talking points. Bliss didn't even mention Trump until Bruni repeatedly did. Bliss then used his name only twice, saying obligatory nice things Republicans must say about the most unpopular politician in the world. As Bliss shows, the Republican strategy is pure diversion: say Democrats have no message other than Trump's disasters, never mention things like "Single Payer" (Democratic message), and flood the media with an endless stream of attacks on a congresswoman from San Francisco so no one deals with things like "Single Payer" or any of the terrible things Trump and the Republicans have done, like undermining American democracy and the rule of law, stealing all of our money and giving it to billionaire donors, and destroying Social Security and Medicare.
1
Talk about an arrogant interviewee - but despite his interminable smugness (and they say only liberals are smug - false, conservatives are equally insufferable) he’s right on a few things.
For the Dem establishment, simply hyping up the “blue wave” has stood in for actually working to make it happen - just as in 2016 when forecasting Trump’s defeat stood in the way of actually making it possible. Nor am I convinced they’ve drawn the right lessons from Sanders (people are open to a broadly redistributive agenda if it’s framed in an accessible way) or Conor Lamb (moderates and hardcore leftists alike need to address the needs of the district and its constituents, and can/must do so without making the campaign a referendum on Trump)
I think if the Dems focus on how because of Trump the oil prices are eating up any tax benefit they are getting and that the GOP (whether Trump favors this or not) are going to try to dismantle Social Security and Medicare and an idea of a living wage AND free education then there's the message right there.
Beat the drum on how the Dems would handle revising the Tax cut to provide the same benefit to middle and lower, but raise some or eliminate some of the cuts the rich and corporations who have done NOTHING to bring back jobs are getting and instead use that money to provide free/lower education costs, better medicare starting at 55 and older and social security strengthening. That would make me VOTE.
3
I think Mueller will have much more impact between now and November than Mr.Bliss.
And I'll take Nancy Pelosi any day over Roy Moore and Joe Arpaio.
3
If the Democrats somehow manage to take the House or prevent the Republicans from gaining eight seats in the Senate, it will be a shocking and astonishing surprise that will make Trump's 2016 victory seem perfectly normal and predictable by comparison. The truth is that Democrats and old-fashioned McCain-style Republicans are relics of a forgotten America. The new America has embraced Trump, and by November his approval will be well above 50% even in the non-Rasmussen polls. Soon Democrats won't even have the power to manage a filibuster, and the dismantling of the old America can begin in earnest.
There really isn't anything Democrats can do in terms of messaging or policy. The fact is that Trump's message works. All the hatred, bile and stupidity that he beats into the heads of Americans every day is bringing out the worst in us, and there is no defense against it. The media is on his side, repeating and amplifying his words 24/7 and making his caveman mentality an inescapable touchstone of our culture. We are all living in his made-up fantasy world and there's nothing we can do about it. America is gone, and we as a people have proven through our complacence and sheltered ignorance that we do not deserve the great nation that our founding fathers built.
52
I hate to agree with you, but I do. There are many Evangelical Republicans in my life who are educated and well-off, yet they believe in Trump and what he is doing. For them, up is down and no is yes. Nothing about their politics is fact-based. They dismiss science, common sense, and refuse to collaborate. I feel like we are unwilling observers in the demise of our civilization. I hope I'm wrong.
6
Well all I can say after reading your post is thank God I am a dual citizen with Canada! Thanks Mom!
"America is gone,"
Well all empires crumble and fail. Trump and the GOP are just greasing the skids on the slide down the drain. A drain that they do not plan to go down ; that`s for the silly people who vote against their own & the nations interests.
2
I'm a Democrat. GOP political operate Corry Bliss is joyous in gaining victories for a party that wants to take away my health care, eliminate my protections from pollution, gerrymander our democracy, and increase income inequality.
I'm sure that my failure to understand how anyone can take those positions, let alone find pleasure in them, is part of why we Democrats fail to capture majorities in the House and Senate.
At this point, I think America is simply hopeless. If I were younger, I'd move to Scandinavia.
4
The rise in gas prices is eating up whatever is left of the tax cut for most Americans, if, that is, the reduction of the SALT break hasn't already done so.
The Tax Cut should be a non starter if democrats could get the word out. Unfortunately, people have to be reminded that just because the republicans tell them they have more money in their pockets doesn't mean it's true.
1
Bliss is right that Republicans always preach cutting taxes. How has that worked in Kansas?
3
So, the "average" tax benefit for the middle class is $2,000 a year. Since "average" is called the mean, which is heavily influenced by extremes (outliers), a more honest and useful metric is the median. Like the median strip in the highway, half of the values are on one side or the other. So, what is the median? Gee, no one is saying. Certainly, no one on the Republican side is going to tell you.
We saw this type of distortion with statistics in 2002 with the Bush rebate. We were told that the average rebate check would be $2,000, but the average person got $300. How did that happen? Most of the benefit went to the same place it is going this time - to the top of the income ladder.
The takeaway? Don't hold your breath waiting to see $2,000 or anything close to it. We are being bamboozled again.
46
Agreed , and if you live in a Blue state the loss in tax deductions for state taxes , etc will not cover any tax cut benefits. More $ for the Red states and especially the 1%.
Voter short sightedness in giving the 1% (including Trump) an $800 billion tax cut at the expense of everyone else is the GOP`s plan.
Many voters are selfish and not well informed, so they think a tiny tax break for themselves in and of itself is worth supporting Republicans. If Democrats talked Obamacare, Social Security, and Medicare and informed the voters (briefly) about these, then they can win. Explain how much Social Security actually will provide them , guaranteed (especially if Democrats won and tweaked its glitches). Remind people about the benefits of having health insurance. And how tax breaks for the wealthy are threatening these.
Then there's security -- domestic and global (political and environmental). "Scott Pruitt" should be mentioned, but clean water and air, no lead, etc. are easily understood.
Unfortunately, and especially with an all volunteer military, most voters are not informed about and do not care about troubles in the rest of the world, except if a foreign terrorist comes here. They do care about America's reputation -- but not about its moral stature, only about whether we appear weak (forgetting how we used to praise the superman image of strength hidden behind a calm and modest demeanor). We need to learn to be strong and reserved, and take action only when it can be effective and right.
Explain how Obama kept us safe, improved the economy, brought many health care, and began putting together a grand global alliance, only to be hindered by Republicans. Scandals are back burner stuff, meaningful, but of limited effect on votes if real issues are not made clear.
43
I agree that many voters are selfish and uninformed. They vote for candidates who promise to give them things. They vote for candidates who promote identity politics over problem solving. They vote for candidates who claim fellow Americans are evil because they want to enforce laws on the books. They vote for candidates who chastise Americans in the top 1% when the candidates themselves are in the top 1%.
Obama is history. The attention span in this country is approaching a nanosecond. You need real policy choices, not references to the past to get people engaged.
And will someone PLEASE tell Hillary to take a trip to an island without an internet connection. She is helping nobody, not even herself.
@Just Thinking
I meant to say Scott Pruitt's name should NOT be mentioned -- few other than the already convinced know of him. But what he has done that will pollute our water and air should be discussed -- especially in terms of its effect on children (all children).
"But the way to win in this environment — the way to break through the cynical electorate — is to convince voters that you 1) care about them, and 2) are achieving results on the issues they care about." The disconnect is profound. Bliss's entire narrative is focused on money, manipulation, and power. The idea of serving people that you care about is a footnote on the last page. Of course, the donor class of the GOP has little interest in such naivete. And the Citizens United decision of the Supreme Court confirmed it. The swamp is created and sustained by humans not nature.
50
Mr. Bliss did not offer constructive analysis, he was campaigning. On a National level the politics will break out as Trump: Boo! and Trump: Yay! But all politics are local and I may vote for my Republican congressman because I know who he is and appreciate his record of constituent service despite my misgivings about Mr. Trump. There will be 435 individual races for the determination of the House this fall. Many will follow the patterns of national affiliation; but others with weaker nondescript incumbents facing energetic challengers will not. "Impeach Trump," may be a red herring for both sides.
8
A disclaimer should have been made at the beginning-this is a campaigner on a rant. I quit reading when I got to that point.
"Isn’t there a danger that ads using her become a broken record and maybe come across as sexist to boot?"
Every day I get at least three e-mails "from Nancy Pelosi." They all say they don't want money, just my opinion. In fact, they all ask for money.
They utterly ignore any opinions sent back, and keep repeating the same theme multiple times per day -- Russia, Russia, and Outrage at Trump. There is usually also one hyperventilating at the outrage of the day, as greatly exaggerated as possible.
Republicans are not alone in making this about her, and about Russia and Trump. Republicans are not alone in exaggerating wildly far into the realm of only-a-fool-would-believe-this.
15
I’m voting against my moderate (in this environment) Republican representative in November. A vote for a Republican is a vote for Trump and Republican committee chairs like the execrable Devin Nunes.
80
"Republicans are the establishment. What are Democrats doing wrong?"
There are plenty of Democrats who are establishment through and through, and they are doing their best to ensure those are the candidates, they call "centrists."
What the Democrats are doing wrong is more of what failed. They are not listening.
15
Mr. Bliss would have us believe that Ohio voters are satisfied to continue Republican dominance of its House delegation. If so, then why did 74.8% of more than 1.5 million voters on May 8 approve an anti-gerrymandering amendment to the state constitution that addresses congressional re-districting. It will somewhat, and maybe substantially, undo the current gerrymander, a Republican creation.
47
Bliss is right to this extent: where the Democrats field moderate candidates like Jones and Lamb, who focus on local issues, they can win. Where they field far-left candidates, who focus on national issues like Trump, Russia, and impeachment, they will lose. I'm talking, of course, about red and purple districts, those potential swing districts the Dems need to retake the House.
Unfortunately, most Democrats live in coastal enclaves, in safe blue districts, and they have no idea how the heartland thinks. Nor do they want to know. To them, it is fashionable and cute to call heartland voters "dumb" and "deplorable." That’s why the so-called blue wave may wash them out to sea, and leave behind a one-party, fascist state, controlled by the Koch brothers and their billionaire allies.
20
It is an error to think that right wing is local and left wing is out-of-touch with local.
The essence of left wing is local, that voter's health care, his paycheck, his social security, and repair of the roads he drives on, the electric lines that keep falling down to his house.
36
Mark,
Tell that to the DNC and DCCC. They are not listening. With a record of nearly 1,000 seats on the state and national level and 14 state houses lost nationally between 2009 - 2016 they still believe they know best. They do. They know how to lose elections like nobody's business. That is not a talent we need right now.
Reply to Mark Thomason,
"It is an error to think that right wing is local and left wing is out-of-touch with local."
I hope you’re not attributing that to me, because that is not at all what I said.
It's always amusing to listen to Republican "strategists." Their only chance is to convince people to continue voting against their own interests with a constant barrage of lies. The Democrats have reality on their side, if they chose to use it:
1. Healthcare: The Republicans passed a bill in the House that would have taken health insurance away from 23 million people over a decade relative to a baseline without it. What they eventually got was a Tax law that "only" takes away insurance from 13 million people, 4 million so far. Those 4 million represent about 5,000 avoidable deaths, 10,000 if you count Republican failure to expand Medicaid in 18 states, representing another 4 million people.
In a sane country, that would be sufficient. But oh, there's more.
2. The budget deficit trajectory is $3.6 trillion worse over a decade, roughly 35% (that's the CBO Alternate baseline which reflects continuation of current policy). This despite a booming economy, when we should be cutting the deficit.
3. The trade deficit is up, income inequality is worse, real wage increases are less than the Obama era,
4. Republicans weren't even able to ban bump stocks, despite the Vegas massacre. They've basically allowed crazy people to turn lethal assault rifles into machine guns.
And the Dems can't even break through the Trump circus to get that word out, so the Republicans are catching up.
Where's the weekly news conference with the PowerPoint so everyone has the facts?
73
I agree; this is a powerful platform of talking points that I have yet to hear a Dem candidate articulate.
4
David Doney, the Democratic National Committee should hire you. My friends talk about nothing except Trump's (lack of) character, impeachment, and "resistance." The last term was used by the Free French forces against the Nazis. Somehow I don't read our situation that way. We need to keep the focus on the issues, as you have here.
2
Well that was Republican self talk if I heard it. Basically, lets ignore the elephant in the room which is Trump and his behavior. The economy? if that was going to save the Republicans, Trumps approval rating wouldn't be mired at 40%. At 3.9% unemployment where exactly is the 4% growth they promised going to come from? Have the coal miners and steel plant workers got their jobs back yet? I don't see any stories of the big economic come back in Trump country. The Republicans outperformed the Democrats in the primary? Not a predictor of November at all. Tax cuts? Most people haven't seen it. That's why they are running against Nancy Pelosi and Hillary. What is the best predictor? Republicans retiring from powerful positions in Congress, Paul Ryan quit the Speakership for chrissakes. The chairman of the House Ways and Means committee quit. You simply don't walk away from those jobs.
48
"The economy? if that was going to save the Republicans, Trumps approval rating wouldn't be mired at 40%. At 3.9% unemployment where exactly is the 4% growth they promised going to come from?"
Yeah, but didn't President Obama leave office with something like a 60% approval rating? Yet the Democrats were still unable to elect another Democratic president. I suspect you shouldn't put too much stock into Mr. Trump's low approval ratings. They might have no real meaning during an actual general elections.
4
Mr. Bliss is clearly sticking to the party line—literally the Republican Party line. Nevertheless, I think he makes some strong points that I sense Democrats and the commenters to this column are in denial about. First, clearly Republicans are doing the hard work required to localize elections in a year when their president is unpopular. Second, I think the primaries are producing stronger candidates for the Republicans than for the Democrats in many districts that really matter. Third, I have seen no credible rebuttal to his claim that Democrats lack a positive message. They ARE obsessed with Russia and impeachment. I know, I know, most Times readers think the republic is at stake here, but I suspect that Corey Bliss is closer to the truth about most voters not really caring. Whatever happened to the Democrats mantra about “kitchen table issues?” Democrats claim that the tax cut is deeply unpopular, but that is not true. If it were, there would be Republican candidates calling for its repeal or its amendment. The tax cut is not as popular as the Republicans had hoped, but it is a better message than impeachment.
Frank should have Bliss agree to another interview after the election, regardless of the results. If Bliss is wrong, he will have to eat crow. If he turns out to be right…well, the comments section will go into meltdown.
13
Corry Bliss was extremely confident in his belief that the Republicans will hold the House and Senate in November. The problem is that he talked all the time about the Democrats and not what the Republicans are accomplishing (or have done, which is close to nothing). Oh, I know, he said that the economy is the best it's been in 20 years and that peace is breaking out all over the world because of Trump. But, that's hyperbole and expected from a party strategist.
I think the most important 'tell' from his comments is that the Republicans are hoping that they will win by demonizing the Democrats (Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, 'fire breathing' liberals, etc.). The problem is that a negative strategy like that rarely wins elections.
I'm convinced now, more than ever, that the Republicans have serious political problems and that November will bring a reckoning.
16
Meanwhile, the Republicans have established a record over the last 40 years that they are more effective at winning elections using lies than Democrats have been by relying on whatever they have been relying on.
In other words, if the Democratic party continue to allow the Republicans to lie and thereby define the debate, and even take control of the debate, they will continue to lose. I don't see any coherent process in place whereby the Democratic Party overcomes that Republican "advantage".
1
Sorry, but I am laughing after reading this. Demonizing the Democrats has absolutely won elections for Republicans, viz. Hillary Clinton, and I just never see any counter-strategy from the Democrats. Maybe that's why the demonization is so effective. Heck, they even convince many Democrats, viz. Nancy Pelosi. The hyperbole and spin are very effective - in fact, the PR offensive in combination with aggressive gerrymandering are what drive Republican success at the polls.
1
My advice in Florence was always -- When they go low YOU go LOWER. Period. The Democrats are outFoxed (get it?) by the GOP.
"The entire Republican Party owes Majority Leader McConnell and Steven Law, the president of the super PAC American Crossroads, a big debt of gratitude for taking him out."
Corry Bliss unintentionally acknowledges that elections no longer have anything to do with, uh, voters.
41
It would have been nice to hear more about what the Republicans actually stand for other than tax cuts. Bliss spent a lot of time talking about how unpopular Nancy Pelosi is and how out of touch Democrats are, but he didn't tell us why we should vote for Republicans.
In the 2016 election, voters could reasonably assume that if Trump was elected President and the Republicans kept control of the House and Senate, Obamacare would be repealed and replaced, there would be a major infrastructure program started, a wall would be built on the Mexican border paid for by Mexico, and major revision of the tax code. None of those have happened, other than a reduction in tax rates, which is not the same as the revision that was campaigned on.
What are Republicans campaigning on this time?
16
What the Republicans "really stand for other than tax cuts" cannot be said aloud. They stand for ending labor rights and safety regulations. They stand for allowing corporations to run roughshod over consumers. They stand for endless war to transfer money from the treasury to the military-congressional-corporate cabal. They stand for ending - not just cutting - social safety net programs, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, public schools, SNAP, SSI, and disability. They stand for eliminating environmental protections, the endangered species act, national monuments, Public Health, federally funded research, and the privatization of our infrastructure. They are willing to do it at gunpoint.
Okay, Dems, take the list and run with it.
7
I would like to think I belong to that select group of ten voters who know who Scott Pruitt is, but I'm not that special. I am actually only one of millions who know who Scott Pruitt is and what damage he is doing to this country and to the EPA.
93
As much as Mr. Bliss fantasizes about keeping the House, the Senate races are much more important. If the GOP keeps the Senate, Trump can appoint judges (and other government officials) to his heart's content. If the Democrats take the Senate, Trump's presidency is basically over; confirmations of any kind will come to an end until 2021, when a Democrat probably takes residence in the White House.
27
It's our obligation to the future of the country to see that this happens. Vote, and get those you know to do the same.
1
Having to deal with GOP operatives for the past half century you soon learn they are generally smug, over self confident, very assured and frequently wrong.
Corry Bliss knows voter suppression and gerrymandering have given him an edge which in nearly unsurmountable. Frank never brought that up.
It will take a blue tsunami for the Dems to take the House. The Senate will likely stay red.
On a fair playing field the Dems would win in a walk.
It's not however, and Mr. Bliss knows that.
56
By his own admission, “What voters really care about is what is my member of Congress doing for me? Not my neighbor, but me.“ If that’s the case, how should the family that got an extra $25 a month from the vaunted ‘tax cut’ feel when they hear about the millions that have been lavished on the über-wealthy? Or maybe the farmer who can’t sell his soybeans because of Trump’s trade war with China? Or the family whose health insurance premiums are going up because the GOP torpedoed the individual mandate? While I know that Mr Bliss is just blowing smoke in saying that fewer than 10 people know who Scott Pruitt is, they can certainly believe their own eyes and connect the dots when these catastrophes befall them.
26
good lord, Frank. You engaged in what you thought was an open and frank dialogue, and rather than being a journalist/interviewer and challenging Mr. Bliss, you simply gave him a platform to spin his pre-rehearsed talking points. What was the point of that? There was not one word that left his mouth that was not a poll and field-tested GOP talking point spin. And most amazing of all, you let him pass on the Pelosi being the most polarizing political figure in America without once pushing back that, just perhaps, it might be Trump.
54
Bliss expresses well the Republican attitude towards voters: utterly cynical. But he also throws in our faces the fact that he may be right.
Is he right? Are we this ignorant, self-centered, at ease with autocracy?
"The Democrats have no ability to control the narrative or their candidates. Just ask the D.C.C.C. how well they are doing in controlling their preferred candidates —
1. Control the candidates
What voters really care about is what is my member of Congress doing for me? Not my neighbor, but me.
2. Care only about yourself
Frank, there are not 10 voters in America who know who Scott Pruitt is.
3. Remain ignorant, even of what most effects the well-being of our children and all future generations.
I think the majority of voters will reward anybody who cut their taxes and will punish anybody who wants to raise their taxes.
4. Be selfish and ignorant. Want to be selfish, but be too ignorant to achieve it.
The Democrats’ obsession with all things Russia is just another example of how out-of-touch they are with the electorate.
5. Once again, the electorate are dunces, blocks of bleating stupidity and ignorance.
Please don't prove this guy Bliss right. I don't think you are who he says you are and wants you to be.
38
Bliss says, "It’s a party that wants America’s most unpopular, polarizing politician (Nancy Pelosi!) to be in charge of all of this."
Really? I think Donald Trump is the one "in charge of all this." And he is both unpopular and polarizing.
Are voters going to think: Donald Trump is president. He controls the executive branch and appoints the judges. It looks like Mitch McConnell will still be in charge of the Senate. But we can't have anyone but a Republican -- who we don't know yet -- in charge of the House?
Next January, Trump will still be President, his cabinet will still be in office, his judges will still be on the beach, in all likelihood the Senate will remain Republican.
Are people in the U.S. so happy with our country now that they can't tolerate even half of one-third of the federal government being in different hands?
Paul Ryan is so unpopular he retired.
18
He is aiming right for the base and that’s exactly what he will get. We’re beginning to see some spin off from Trump, lower job creation numbers, increasing debt, rising gas prices. There’s people who would never vote for the other party even if Jesus was on the ballot. That’s who he is aiming for. The Pelosi Clinton thing should be handled by the DNC with one simple message. “Hey Trump, you won, get over it.”
And the DNC should have no qualms about bringing up Scott Pruitt, and Louise Litton getting off a government aircraft with all her fashion hashtags. All is fair in love and war, don’t forget that.
15
I have questions. Does it bother Bliss that the last two Republicans got elected president when the majority of Americans opposed them, because of the electoral college? Does it bother him that Republicans control the Senate, when a majority of Americans don't vote Republican for Senate? Does it bother him that Republicans can control 60% of the House with 40% of the vote, due to gerrymandering and vote concentration? Does it bother him that Republicans control the Supreme Court and use it as a partisan blunt weapon because they won't allow any other party to appoint judges now?
We are ruled by a minority because of obsolete structures put in place to appease slave states. For all of the gloating, Bliss and his party do not represent a majority of Americans or what we want. He talks about winning - beating the Democrats - but not about a society where the losing side has a voice or rights.
Does Bliss realize this? Has he noticed that his party definitely realized it? Did he notice that the base is madly, sieg-heilingly in love with the guy who promises to jail his political opponents and shut down the free press? Who advocates extrajudicial violence against ethnic minorities? Did he notice the rallies? Is that what he wants for America? Just for his side to win? Does he think it's better to win an election in a pseudo-democratic ethno-nationalist autocracy than to lose an election in a modern free society?
Because that's what it sounds like.
52
Bliss realizes all the things you mention and doesn't care. That's because like most Repubs he's all about winning, meaning power is the only goal. Except for maximizing the incomes of the 0.1 %.
3
LF,
All great points. But those are the rules of the game and the GOP has been playing them, and the spaces between those rules, really well for the last few decades. The Dems, led by the DNC, have not understood the rules of the game other than when Howard Dean did his 50 state strategy and they dissed him for it. They really like the cash, however.
Dems in power believe Russians, $metoo, impeaching Trump and all the shenanigans in DC are enough to get folks out to vote for their 'moderate, corporate Democrats' in the fall. This proves, as in the fall of 2016, that the Dems don't get it. Let's cram HC-like candidates down the throats of the public and maybe, this time, we will peel enough Trump voters off the GOP.
Folks seem to understand in their guts that they are getting screwed. Susan Houseman's research shows that the manufacturing statistics were misinterpreted and the lost manufacturing base is huge. Not getting that right benefited all those in power. GOP and not. Offering those folks the same platitudes will get Dems another poke in the eye: GOP success in 2108.
Unless and until the Dems realize they need to offer real solutions to problems they have ignored, the GOP, as Bliss says, is safe by saying they lowered your taxes, kept the country safe and are sticking it to the elites, regardless of what they actually did. So let's hope the Dems don't succumb to all that corporate money and stay the course. But, sadly, past is prologue.
Money talks. Send your money directly to the candidate, anywhere in the country, that you want to see in Congress. And get out the vote. https://www.usa.gov/register-to-vote.
That's action. All else is noise.
11
I dislike Trump with a passion and can't say the Republican party excites me, but what do the Democrats have to offer?
Bliss knows what he is talking about.
"Other than talking about Russia, raising taxes and impeaching the president, Democrats are incapable of producing one positive idea to help people’s lives."
That is a pretty good summary for a great many in the fly over lands. For every person who votes Democrat because of Scott Pruitt , there are a thousand who are far more interested in the bump they got from Trumps tax reform.
There is a small band of swing voters in the middle who will decide most of the races. They will vote based on their pocketbook and local interests. Strong local candidates will win.
The Democrats better make sure they have them.
6
I don't understand this US fixation on taxes. I'm a middle class guy with 2 kids and live in Switzerland. The public school alone is worth 4 times as much as we pay in taxes (free college, almost free universities). All other services like police, military, jurisdiction, roads are basically free. Because the rich and companies pay a little bit more in taxes. Every tax reduction hurts the middle class and below, because we're net profiteering from public service. The poor need public transport, social security, affordable health care (especially with your absurdly high healthcare cost, which are even higher than in Switzerland, but our system works).
13
He's right about Pruitt.
Ask random people in those "man in the street" interviews and I'm willing to bet big money that no one will know who Pruitt is.
4
Then why did Pruitt feel disrespected on airplanes? Some people knew who he was and had an opinion about it.
2
Why are my fellow Democrats so resistant to hearing out Mr. Bliss?
You should listen to him because the polls appear to be heading in his direction:
https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/09/politics/cnn-poll-generic-ballot-narrows/...
You can yell all you want about Russian interference and collusion, Trump and corruption, Sanders, winning the popular vote, this and that, that and this and all may be true, but it is just as apparent and obvious that my fellow Democrats simply do not want to accept and hear the most obvious and important truth; that we lost to Donald Trump!
Please let it sink in already, WE LOST TO DONALD TRUMP!
Yes, he could very well be all of our collective nightmares come to life, but he still won!
Thus, for what possible reason would you want the Democratic Party to stand pat after it lost to such a person?
There is no self reflection whatsoever and absolutely no lessons learned and I am furious with the leadership!
Why would you want the very same leadership structure since the country clearly rejected it for Donald Trump?
Pelosi and Schumer may be clever and battle worn politicians, but the key word here is politician and they represent the past, rather than the future.
Bliss is talking about winning elections and he is right, they are talking points.
Worse, can anyone tell me what our platform is besides impeachment?
We are making the very same mistakes we made in 2016 and if you want to win, then change was the only real answer.
9
Trump won by 70,000 votes scattered over three states, Hillary won by 3 million and another 3 million Democrats stayed home. Democrats can win if we just show up to vote. Trump is the best motivator for Democrats to turn out. Democrats do need a message to attract what used to be Republicans, follow the Connor Lamb model. Ask for the votes, don't mention Trump, just appear competent and likeable.
13
Wow. I feel like I just took a bath in sleazy swamp oil. They are remarkably slick liars, these republicans. The party of the billionaire tax cuts is in touch with the common people? Nancy and Hillary are targets again, simply because their fox channel-watching brainwashed base voters are well programmed to react to those names and start salivating. They have nothing to offer, so they accuse democrats of offering nothing. The play book is so old and obvious. 'Everyone's out for their tax cuts and only cares about themselves' does not describe democratic voters I know. It describes the republican ones. For Bliss to dismiss the investigations about Russia as just some democrats' obsession, he is either a lying or he has a serious misunderstanding of how explosive that whole investigation is and will be. Good luck with that, when the report comes out.
Coming elections aren't about convincing these conservative people about how their thinking is uncivil, mean, immoral, racist or self-centered. It's simply about all eligible voting democrats, disgusted with Trump and his penultimate version of belligerent militaristic, corporate republicanism, registering and getting out to vote.
Thank God, there's many more of us than them, so let's Participate, Organize, Donate and VOTE, and change the way this is going. Looking at the special elections so far, republicans are whistling past the graveyard with their wishful thinking that it'll be close.
16
The Republican Party handed over the reigns of power to the ultra-right Tea Party faction. Ryan and McConnell willfully assisted in this abandonment of our democracy. The GOP lost its way as a cohesive credible political force focused on financial conservatism. They have grabbed power at the local and state level through the flow of massive amounts of dark corporate money supporting the expansion of the extreme right. They have been aided and abetted by the Big Lie Fox/Breitbart/hate radio propaganda machines. The Republican Party is now owned and controlled by billionaire far-right wing donors like the Kochs, Mercers, Adelsons and Wynns...etc. Their greed has replaced respect for our our country's Constitution and the rule of law. They brought us the ignorant racist and sexual predator Trump.
However, only 24% of the electorate went to the polls and voted for Trump. The majority of Americans want to restore decency and democracy to America. They will register and vote against tyranny in massive numbers. We face the same political crisis the Germans and Austrians faced in the 1930's when they failed to stand up to rising fascism . Mr. Bliss hopes this will happen again in the United States. It will not.
15
Bliss won this debate, hands down, not that he said anything believable.
1
There was no debate. Bruni wants another interview with Bliss, so he was nice to him.
I'm surprised that I read this in the Washington Post First. I'm thinking the DNC needs more outlets.
2
Sorry, the GOP salesman must be “Dorothy” and this is not Kansas. There will be a tornado for the election.
5
You lost me at "Mr. Bliss is the head of a super PAC that raises money for..."
4
I don’t want trump impeached... I want him humbled at the ballot box twice in the next two and a half years
18
A very interesting yet ultimately disheartening piece by Bruni that shows just how base and cynical the elected, the electorate and the press have become.
For the base part, this by Bliss: "An example of how to win a race is what the Congressional Leadership Fund is doing Nebraska’s Second District. We’ve identified around 40,000 voters who say their biggest priority is protecting the local Air Force base."
It is appalling that the Republicans, a party that once stood for fiscal austerity, is using the military budget as a pawn in its quest to hold on to power by keeping open an AFB that should probably be closed. Shameful!
As to the cynical, this from Bruni: "I hear Omaha in August is, um, bliss."
Ha Ha Ha - not. This double entendre by Bruni just has enough of the coastal elite stench of looking down on the people in flyover country to make it offensive. Disappointing!
5
Nobody knows because it’s way too early to tell anyone that anything can happen. Yes you heard that right. Gibberish. Politically flavored.
From the famed 2016 election where most pun-dips got it wrong, you can bet that by election eve it will be anyone’s guess. The democrats should do well but can also shoot themselves in the foot before then. Trump should be the anchor that went through the bottom of the boat, may by that time, actually look like a stable genius. Back away from the computer and go outside. Spring hath sprung.
3
Republicans are going to do well in suburban Republican districts in California if they emphasize that Democrats want to take away their health insurance in favor of single-payer health care. In this case, Republicans should be chanting, "Go, Bernie, go!"
Another major issue is that Democrats want to float a $2 billion bond issue to build homeless housing in your city even if your city council doesn't want it. Guess who's going to repay the bonds?
Democrats want to raise your taxes to provide free healthcare and tuition-free college to undocumented residents and create more benefits for open borders immigrants.
The amount of attack advertising Republicans can mount this fall is amazing; the Republicans are in a target-rich environment. And we didn't even get to the dirty stuff.
You are quite mistaken. After November there will not be a republican left in SoCal. Look around how many kids of immigrants do you see? Insulting their parents is not a great electoral plan. Not to mention the rest of us who are going to pay more in Taxes with the Trump plan.
Thanks for such a clear illustration of the Republican playbook. One vicious lie after another. Mis-characterize the other sides position, lie, repeat until you run out of lies.
Noticed the avoidance of dt’s toxic character impact. That’s the plan for those republicans in tight races. Looking at you Brian Fitzpatrick.
1
Mr. Bliss assumes that the average American voter is a dolt who believes everything he/she hears on Fox News. He is really talking about Trump's base, not the electorate at large. He completely discounts the informed voter; maybe he's unfamiliar with that group, since so few of them are Republicans.
19
"Bliss: Frank, there are not 10 voters in America who know who Scott Pruitt is."
This is what Trump meant when he expressed love for the poorly educated. Look! $5-10 more in your paycheck every month! Just pay no mind to that burning feeling in your lungs...
13
I was impressed with how monumentally vapid this conversation was. It was filled with cliches, slogans, cookie cutter flak talk. Utterly useless for understanding the electoral landscape for November. The headline should read: "Republican Midterm Mastermind Tells Nothing."
12
This so-called "tax cut" was timed so you won't even know the real effect of it on you until the Republicans can thumb their noses at you after you re-elect them and tell you "Gotcha!" again.
8
“Democrats are incapable of coming up with one idea that helps people’s lives.” Bliss just outed himself as coming from an alternate reality.
6
Thanks for nothing, Mr. Bliss. You saved money on that ad.
6
Trump is going to start a war. There will be some excuse for it and the main reason for it is for Trump to paint himself as the patriotic leader who loves our military heroes. Republican candidates will fall in line with this
I’ll never forget 9/11, 2002. It was supposed to be a solemn affair of reading the names of the dead. George Bush got up there and began attacking Iraq. I said, “Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11. Everyone knows that. Americans aren’t stupid enough to associate 9/11 with Iraq. They’ll never agree to a pointless war over there.”
How wrong was I, huh?
History is about to repeat itself.
5
1. Democrats don't have polices that positively impact Americans' lives.....umm, excuse me? How about health care? That's kind of a biggie, as is marriage equality (and equality in general), women's right to sovereignty of their own bodies, sound environmental policies, funding for the arts, gun control...
2. I personally haven't forgotten that those "tax cuts" are not going to be any favor to the middle class in the long run.
3. Isn't it more alarming that Republicans are so blasé about Russian election interference, than that Democrats are "obsessed" by it? I mean we know Republicans are capable of obsession (Benghazi, anyone?).
4. Oh, I know who Scott Pruitt is.
13
Someone please explain to me how this exchange is supposed to enlighten us. Bruni asks for analysis and some kind of rational thought process from Brill to back up his arguments, and instead we get regurgitated talking points from the RNC. That Brill thinks Nancy Pelosi is going to be a bigger factor in the midterms than Trump tells us all we need to know as to why this piece is a huge waste of time.
8
And in addition, the GOP has Dark Money on their side.
6
He's not entirely wrong. If Democrats make this election about Trump or the Russian interference investigation they will lose. Those Democrats who have been successful have focused on the issues that will improve the lives of their constituents.
Yes Trump's corruption should be taken seriously but people mostly care about the day to day cares. Right now that's healthcare costs, education, affordable housing, our crumbling infrastructure, and traffic. As always it's the economy stupid, the recession isn't over for everyone and many more are still psychology impacted by it.
This election is the Democrats to lose. Nancy Pelosi gave an 8 hour speech about dreamers and illegal immigrants and that didn't sit well with people who are concerned about their daily expenses. You can be morally right and still be wrong in the voters eyes.
8
Wishful thinking for the right wing.
3
A blissfully enervated chat between two playful sparring partners outlining our degeneration. Endorphin rushees. They and the people of these United States have contorted themselves into being presided by a lowlife who started his presidential race wellknown as a Trump University ripoff artist, and as a known welcher of subcontractors he didn't want to pay. And where are we now??? Do we really want to know? When ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise
2
The scariest part of Corey Bliss is how influential people can be with haircuts and clothes like that. Yikes! Seems like a very poor attempt to follow in Trey Gowdy's footsteps - at least his seem genuine...
Expecting some insight, instead tired Gooper talking points. I'd like to make Bliss the Toby bet that the House turns blue.
1
Bliss just handed the DNC the playbook. If they really want to win, here's what to do.
1. Tell HRC to stay home, stay off TV and keep her mouth shut. Ideally permanently.
2. Promise Nancy Pelosi anything to hold her seat but keep her out of view and marginalize her after the election.
3. Stop playing gender and identity politics.
4. People don't understand abstract issues like Russia, Stormy Daniels, campaign finance violations and the like. So don't focus on them.
5. Focus on issues people do care about.Oftentimes it really is local. Steal the Roger Stone classic "If he wins, you lose..." attack line and adapt it to every single incumbent. Every single sitting Republican has a weak spot so find it and attack relentlessly.
6. Read how Corry Bliss twists his response to every question into an attack on both the questioner and his opposition. It's smarmy but it works. So use it.
Above all, stop whining and wingeing about how awful the Republicans are. They are worse than that. But the only way to govern is to win elections, and lots of them. So get into the gutter with them, fight dirty, but above all win.
There's a lot more at stake than some political careers here.
18
I agree with Mr. Bliss: I'm a Democrat and everyone I know is obsessed with the Russia investigation and with fantasies of impeachment. Yes , Trump and his cronies are ignorant, corrupt and appalling. A lot of Trump supporters think his behavior is awful too! But they agree with his policies. They wanted tax cuts and they wanted to put the brakes on globalization. They'll put up with him for that reason.
Let's continue to try hold the liars and crooks accountable. Let's pursue the Russia investigation. But let's focus on other things also!!
Mr. Bliss didn't say anything about student debt or health insurance. Americans are still full of anxiety about the cost of education and healthcare and the Republicans have shown no interest in either issue.
13
Mr. Bliss....To be clear....Your definition of "keeping the country safe" does NOT include all of the mass shootings so far?
12
Beware of the man in the checkered suit. Like our president, he is not tethered to a moral platform, just political power at any cost. Bliss is so mired in numbers and focus groups he's looking up at what they mean for the majority of Americans. His hero McConnell will go down as the worst Senate leader since John C. Calhoun.
7
"Frank, there are not 10 voters in America who know who Scott Pruitt is."
And that is the moment he accidentally tells the truth about the GOP strategy.
7
Corry Bliss is correct about one thing. Nothing good for Democrats will come of Hillary Clinton's whining. Hillary Clinton and those who supported her in spite of her known surface area for attack bear full responsibility that we are required to call Donald Trump President. Hillary you have done enough damage now please just go away.
4
Very much enjoyed this conversation, and credit to Bruno for giving Bliss an unbiased forum. It’ll be interesting to see what happens come November. I think Bliss is spot on about pathetic Mr. Pruitt, and Frank plays his East Coast Elite role in the GOP playbook to perfection by taking a dig at flyover country in the last line.
3
There really is nothing worse than a lobbyist.
3
I can see how blind Bliss may be to the blunders Republicans have committed, the tax cuts for the rih being one of them, and out of sync with the countries' need, and our profligacy payable by future generations. But ever since, republicans have remain mum, if not complicit, with Trump's unscrupulous behavior. If the American people are alert to all the demagoguery, and the meager benefits for the country, watch out, as they'll vote democrat.
45 is BY FAR the most unpopular politician in America. Ryan and McConnell are at least as unpopular as Pelosi.
3
What is the point in having a "discussion" with a partisan that's using every word to try to spin these contests to Republican advantage.
Is this how a head of a super PAC talks in an interview? Why does he sound like he's doing a PowerPoint presentation for you, Frank? If he had slides, I'd like to see them. Seriously, if there's something wrong with him, you should let us know, so we can understand whether working at a super PAC causes it.
1
As far as I can tell, Republicans are all "short term," immediate gratification; and Democrats are thinking "long term," deferred gratification. Guess which one the American 5 year old prefers?
5
Conor Lamb. And lots of special elections for local offices.
4
Why would one imagine that Bliss would tell the truth about either Republicans or Democrats?
1
Thank you Frank. DEMS like me, listen hard. The GOP strategist is spelling out how Dems lose elections. I split time between Red and Blue districts and all my SF eye rolling can’t fight these CD districts Dems should win but may very likely lose like in Orange County/Mimi Walters. Our top 2 system is splitting the Dem vote.
For once, unite. Consider who is most likely to win a general election. Not the huge tax and spend super progressives. I’m also obsessed and horrified with Russia and Pruitt and Trump but that the same as active organizing. Make calls. Call your GOP relatives. Let’s us please have a boring dem administration where we discuss the issues!
4
The demise of the Republican party is imminent. Stay tuned and vote.
1
So the GOP put more than $1 trillion on the nation's credit card and will for many more years. That's called buying the electorate. Someday that is going to come due... but the GOP could care less....
4
over and over, R's want to claim they're the party of "real Americans", which is so jarring.
where are the R's on fighting for a living wage? family leave? affordable health care? safe air, clean water? a decent retirement? public schools? meaningful education protected from crippling debt? better infrastructure to get to a decent job? protecting hard-working immigrants and their families, where so many of us have our roots? equal protection for voting rights? protection from bans on a religion? safety for women in the workplace? safety for people of color in their own neighborhoods? safety for kids from gun violence, auto accidents, and drug overdoses?
they've obviously picked a *very* specific kind of person they consider real.
I'd love to have a serious right-of-center party with thoughtful ideas on fiscally responsible solutions to our problems. without the rich old white guy exploitation and white nationalism, thanks.
4
Mr. Bliss just gave the Democrats a wake-up call.
Not only have they no message but they don't know how to deliver it. They stand for nothing at all.
Running against Trump is exactly what's needed to gin up fear and revenge to motivate turnout (can't win without it) - but it's not enough.
And voters, including Democrats, know they still have no message, just like before - so they've learned nothing from 2016 and come off exactly like Clinton, again. There has been no change at all! Pelosi and Schumer and Feinstein are still the wrinkled faces of the party.
Along with all the other oldsters.
Until the Democrats get rid of every Democrat politician that considers themselves a Democrat they will have no viable party worth voting for. No one wants to vote for a low-energy party that hasn't a clue.
It's obvious that the Democrats have yet to realize why Trump won and why Bernie almost won. The People have left the Democrats behind.
The Blue Wave has motivational fear and revenge and outrage but that's not enough. The Democrats will be swamped by a Red Wave just like before. Every single Republican will vote.
And like before the Democrats will blame everyone except themselves. "But we should have won!"
They offer the pap of incremental change, when the People want revolution. "A Better Way!" is equivalent to "Jeb!"
And so Trump will get a second term. All he has to say is "Low energy Democrats" and no one will vote for them.
1
This sounds completely ridiculous. "Get rid of every Democrat(sic) politician that considers themselves a Democrat"? That's an absurdity. You'd be left without a party - which is of course what you conservatives want.
Before the 2016 election, despite being solidly liberal, I could not rule out voting for a republican if they seemed the right fit (most don't make the cut obviously) but now, I don't care if you're my best friend and I've known you for my entire life: If you have a R next to your name, I will be voting for the Democrat running against you!
4
Democrats just keep talking about Russia. Yes, we do. And we will be on the right side of history. You may hate Nancy Pelosi, who like every other politician is not perfect, but she has acted out of her beliefs of what is right for the country. Trump, Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell, et al, have not.
4
Democrats have to rally around a message that resonates with the voters, but is TRUTHFUL. Highlight the failures of the trump team and the terrible policies they are implementing to undo so many good things about America. And then hammer the message into the national conversation so that the uninformed hear IT so much that they believe it as much as they believe the lies they have heard the past 2 years. But whatever the message, they have to have one that rallies the voters and gets them to participate in the process.
People need to understand that, regardless of your candidate, if the Democrats don't regain control, you won't get anything changed for the better.
3
Bliss said, "The average middle-class family of four is going to get an extra $2,000 back." Lie number 0ne
Bliss also said, "The world is a much safer place since Donald Trump became president." Lie number Two
There are other things in life we call #1 and #2. Bliss and Trump wish them on the American people, no doubt.
3
Nancy Pelosi is someone that the Republican Party hopes never disappears. The abortion issue is another. Republicans don't want to end abortion or not have Nancy Pelosi to hate. It gives then gratuitous votes in every elections. It's get their base all fired up. There always has to be someone or something to hate in the Republican Party. It's never about issues.
4
Republicans like to think and say, twisting our words to make them sound familiar as they get it wrong that Democrats don't have anything to offer, whatever. We are the party of the people, the people of all colors and creeds. The Republican party is the party of the white man, corporate investment class! I get that in this economic reality, one begets another. Masses pushed too far, we outnumber them, will push back! Let's not forget what Republicans did to get their candidates voted in, they lie about the issues, lie about the facts, deny the facts and then gerrymander districts to prevent the masses from rising up to lean their weight, their full weight on the course of history. Republicans live in the past!
3
Mr. Bliss is a one trick pony. Cutting taxes is his mantra & indeed, that will appeal to those voting to deny government, starting at the local level from keeping the street lights illuminated in town, to funding law enforcement in the boondocks.
This will fit nicely into conservatives efforts to give thieves & burglars the cover they need so law abiding citizens packing heat can protect themselves without recourse to police "never available" when needed. Of course those same tax denying conservatives will vote to provide law enforcement with tanks & half tracks to combat Muslims & leftist insurgencies.
Take this to the national level & the same thinking prevails. Infrastructure is denied & the defense establishment is fattened at the expense of the "takers", which ultimately will include many of the afore mentioned conservatives, as fortune is dictated by "market forces".
No wonder that Boeing exec said the tentative Iran aircraft deal really wasn't so important. He's ready for the Appalachian Trail anytime early retirement calls.
3
Bliss says "[t]he world is a much safer place since Donald Trump became president."
So true! And the sun shines more brightly now, and there are fewer clouds ... I could go on and on!
There was nothing in this interview that was in the least revealing. The one truth, and it's no secret, is that turnout will win the midterm elections for Democrats. Really, nothing else matters. The rest of what Corry Bliss had to confess was a combination of utter supposition and wishful thinking.
8
While I disagree with Cory Bliss about the euphoria over tax cuts, that the country is safer with Trump and the lack of knowledge of the nonsense Scott Pruit, Tom Price and Ben Carson have been pulling, I do agree with his points that the Democrats aren't going to win if they are perceived to focus more on Russia and impeachment and not on bread and butter issues.
I think most voters grudgingly agree that taxes are an evil necessity to be able to receive benefits and government services, properly fund our infrastructure and the military, and that tax cuts are not the be all and end all solution - look at Kansas. Instead, to quote Michael Bloomberg, they should be raised or lowered when it is prudent to do so, and not for ideological reasons. Doing it for the sake of ideology is no different from what ISIS is doing.
6
This is remarkable. We have smart Republicans claiming treason is not a 'bread and butter issue.' Democrats have to do a much better job at pointing this out.
3
Bliss is so clearly a pure political hack. There's nothing nuanced in his take, he merely spouts wishful GOP party line thinking. There's not a single factual assertion he makes that holds up to scrutiny. The fact, for example, that Ohio GOP primary turnout was higher than Democratic turnout could very easily be simply due to the dynamics of that individual race. It's hardly a referendum on the big picture. This is simply predicate partisan cherry picking.
8
This was a good interview.
The Democrats need to be scared. They were complacent last November and see where that landed us.
Scared Democrats might be able to start working to improve their odds.
Urgently:
-Replace their leadership, as they have not guided the Democrats to any political positions.
-Adopt an immigration policy that people can understand and support. Right now, because the Democrats are scared of defining their position, the Republicans are defining it for them. This is one of the main reasons Trump won.
-Adopt a Health Care plan that people can understand and support. The current Health Care situation is untenable. Single payer is not viable because there is no political will to lower spiraling costs.
-Adopt a position on trade. This should be easy for Democrats, but they are not doing it. The US is still losing jobs to offshoring, not even a trade issue, and the politicians are not doing anything about it.
Bliss might be right, or he might be wrong, sitting around hoping for him to be wrong is not going to elect any more Democrats next November. Get to work.
4
As long as unemployment is 3.9 percent, the blue wave won't be as big as it should be. But on the bright side, if the Ds fail to take back the House, then they won't be in a position to overplay their hand by seriously pursuing impeachment. (And don't worry, the crash will come, hopefully in 2020 rather than 2021.)
Anyway, it's incumbent on every thinking person who gets what I'm saying here to help manage expectations. We should absolutely fight back, starting with the upcoming midterms. But this is a three year fight, not a six month fight. And there's too much at stake to misplay our hand.
4
I don't believe unemployment is only 3.9%.
We need to know how many people have simply stopped looking for work or using DOL sites to search for work.
The number is likely closer to 12%. Ask anyone who is employed part-time or who is homeless if that is his/her choice......
7
Corry Bliss seems to be the kind of guy who can sell you down the river and have you thank him for buying you the ticket. It must be lovely to be able, not only to believe so much nonsense against all evidence, but to be absolutely enthusiastic about it. It must be doubly lovely to use this talent to become a very successful man, despite having the face of a 19-year-old boy.
Be all that as it may, when I read this I think about the fact that the election is almost exactly six months away. To me, that means that we have about five-and-a-half months for Mueller's investigations to reveal enough of Trump's monstrous lies, or for some Trumpian disaster to befall the country, to cause a tipping point that will put Trump, along with the GOP, into the gutter.
Cosby went from being "America's Dad" to a man whose numerous awards and honors have been stripped one by one. Weinstein's company is in bankruptcy. Nixon, you may recall, won every state in the Union except for Massachusetts. Nineteen months later he was persona non grata.
The GOP has hitched itself to a man who could not get hired as a middle manager in any publicly traded company in America. He will either destroy the GOP, or he and the GOP will join forces to destroy democracy in America.
18
"What voters really care about is what is my member of Congress doing for me? Not my neighbor, but me."
This concept may apply to GOP voters but the other side of the electorate actually believes in the concept that what is good for my neighbor is good for me. This appears to be the fundamental difference between voters who lean right and left in this country - me and mine vs the common good.
37
Bullseye Carla. That is the essence of our political and social division: we or me?
1
Mr. Bliss is a formidable political spokesman. He has a pretty good pitch, and, come November, it may work better than the pundits predict.
He says, “What voters really care about is what is my member of Congress doing for me?” It is a fair question, but there are others. What is my member doing for the country, both in terms of its citizens and in terms of its international standing. Mr. Bliss contends the voters just don’t care. He says, “there are not 10 voters in America who know who Scott Pruitt is.”
“What voters really care about is what is my member of Congress doing for me,” he adds for emphasis, “Not my neighbor, but me.”
Let that sink in. We are being asked to think only of ourselves, not of others, not of our country. If we persist in this, the country will simply cease to be.
20
I live in one of the two open CD’s in Minnesota that Bliss is talking about. The dems failed to endorse a candidate and so wont have one until the four way primary contest ends in August. Non-ferrous mining issue has split the party into environment vs. labor. After the endorsing convention failed to endorse, the political novice frontrunner, who had won much of the Sanders wing’s support, up and quit the race.
The republicans just united around a hockey-star retired cop who is way ahead in fundraising. So yeh, Bliss has definite reasons to hope in northern Minnesota.
1
Has Bliss read the polling on the tax cut? Most polling I've seen shows that a majority of voters are unexcited about it at best. It doesn't have a big enough effect for most people to be the flagship achievement that Republicans use to make the case for themselves.
9
I’m guessing Mr. Bliss has read many polls.
I'm surprised you didn't challenge him, Frank. "But doesn't Russia indeed have a direct impact on voters' lives, in that Russia's proven interference in our elections, increasingly it appears in cahoots with Trump's entourage if not Trump himself, is about as direct an impact on voters' lives as there can possibly be?"
9
Omaha is going blue Frank, with a majority of women, and August, aside from producing food for much of the world in the rolling hills surrounding us, is as sensual, fun, slow and lovely as it gets.
7
If Democrats are unable to engage minority voters they will fare poorly. So in that sense, Mr. Bliss is right. The White suburbs need to know how Democrats will help them. The story of how Republicans ripped education such that teachers needed to strike may point to an answer. The ongoing story of immigration fairness and law and order harshness and racial unfairness is another.
14
Nice to hear from another Republican spewing the same set of lies (cutting taxes is a win for the middle class, Republicans are doing great things for and "protecting" voters).
Helps keep my blood pressure up.
14
Yeah, he even kind of undermines his argument when he points out middle class families are only saving $2,000 from the tax cuts. Sure that's not a small amount of money, but I doubt its going to make a huge difference in a middle class family's life and, if they are salaried employees getting paid twice a month, its not going to be that noticeable.
6
'Bliss: Frank, there are not 10 voters in America who know who Scott Pruitt is.'
What a classic (and sadly, quite accurate) statement about how uneducated the rank and file diehard Red State voter is perceived as being, even by his own party leaders. The same leaders who cynically exploit him by singing the tune of god, guns, and gold while they refuse to guarantee his right to see a doctor without going broke afterward. "I love the poorly educated" ought to just be the party slogan at this point, rather than a moment of loose-lipped honesty from our dear leader.
26
Apparently all 10 on those voters must be flying coach every time pruitt flys. How else can one explain pruitt's need to fly 1st class to avoid people who recognize him?
Now please provide the other perspective by interviewing a Democratic strategist who is far far away from Mr. Bliss in ideology and demeanor.
33
I never heard of this guy and think most of his statements are consultant-speak. However, this is a useful wake-up call for Democrats who continually exult about the coming Blue Wave. I desperately want Democrats to win big, but they won’t if they blather on about the loathesomeness of Trump. It’s true, but not enough. Don’t make Hillary’s mistake. Come up with a pithy program!
19
Bliss thinks that Democrats are all dummies.
When Democrats run against a Republican incumbent they need to point out that the Republicans are not doing what the Constitution requires, performing the oversight function of the Executive Branch. Republicans are all lap dogs who enable Trump. When one party controls both Houses of the Congress and the presidency, there is an opportunity for all manner of corruption, because nobody is "minding the store." That is what we have now.
Democrats can talk about the tax bill, and how it adds $1.5 TRILLION to the deficit just to give fat cats HUGE tax breaks.
Democrats can talk about the fact that the Republican Congress is not doing anything about infrastucture (roads, schools, hospitals, water systems, etc.).
Democrats can talk about the fact that the Republican Congress is not doing anything about gun safety.
Democrats can talk about the fact that the Republican Congress is not doing anything about health care.
Democrats can talk about the fact that the Republican Congress is not doing anything about DACA and other social issues on which Trump is out of touch with the public.
Democrats can talk about local issues, just the way Conor Lamb did.
When the POTUS is unpopular, the other party can make big gains. After Richard Nixon RESIGNED on August 9, 1974, the Democrats won 291 House seats in the November 1974 election. Yeah, 2-9-1. Two Hundred Ninety One. Look it up.
34
Thank you, Joe From Boston, for your excellent talking points. It's time for Democratic leadership to press for Medicare for all, saving and expanding the safety net, stop tax giveways for the 1% and super-rich corporations. Democrats and independents, save the nation -- vote Democrat!
8
Why should the Democrats pour out in November? They have yet to hear what exactly the party believes in, except that they're not Trump. OK, then what? It's the difference between being a roadblock and a road. The GOP, though it lies through its teeth, at least is willing to take that risk.
The Democratic strategy, formulated by Schumer and Pelosi, is unchanged since 2016 and still dictated by their large donors: Don't propose anything that might cost us more in wages or taxes, but instead concentrate on those feel-good issues like immigration and LGBT rights. To that brew, add a healthy dose of Trump-disgust, again, something that costs us nothing. How many of these Dem mega-donors are secretly thrilled with their Trump tax cut? Plenty.
9
Mr.Bliss certainly did not heap compliments on Mr Trump.He talked about what the party had done and ignored the head of the party.His chastising Democrats for their focus on Russians is absolutely scary.This must mean that Republicans have normalized the interference of the Russians in the last election.I predict that before the mid-terms Mr.Mueller will let us know the extent of Russian meddling and that it will be a sobering story.
12
There was precious little of value in this interview. Corry Bliss did his song and dance as a powerful supplier of financial support for the Republican propaganda machine's greatest hits and revealed little that was unexpected.
Until he said this:
Bliss: Frank, there are not 10 voters in America who know who Scott Pruitt is.
And that was a good reminder that Bliss considers the people he's preaching to, who are the target of his machinations, are the ignorant. He knows that the people whose minds he seeks to fill with platitudes, misdirection, half-truths and complete falsehoods are ignorant. And that is Bliss' bliss.
The last thing Bliss wants to do is make his base knowledgeable. The last thing a pitchman wants is a critical audience. Keep 'em dumb, fat, and happy.
The tax cut for individuals is temporary - Corry didn't mention that.
Corry weighed in about "raising taxes" but forgot to mention "raising debt" which is a specialty of "borrow and spend" Republicans. Debt which wipes out savings - Corry didn't mention that either
Nor did Corry mention Trump and the GOP's COMPLETE FAILURE to improve affordable healthcare. Gotta keep his ignorant constituents ignorant - Bliss' bliss.
But it's not Bliss' well paid job to tell people the truth. His job is to deliver Power to the entities that pay him.
23
Actually, it's the fact that Bliss and the GOP love ignorance==in fact, they depend on it--that their fate is ultimately sealed. Stupidity is not good even for capitalism, in the long run, and if it gets too much power in the short run, it self-combusts. True, it takes everybody else down with it. Which is why people with brains are fired up.
1
I agree with Bliss. The Democrats are going to lose big in the mid-terms.
I think they will lose because of their obsession with illegal immigrants.
For the first time in my voting life I am seriously considering voting Republican over immigration.
The Democrats have done NOTHING to help the country. They have done NOTHING to end the wars. They have done NOTHING about climate change. They have done NOTHING to help working class citizens. They only care about illegal immigrants and criminals.
They don't even try to present policies that help everyone anymore. It is all slice and dice policies based on race. They hold people like me, white working class males, in contempt. We are just 'privileged' garbage to them.
Well I am going to take the only true privilege I have, my vote, and go elsewhere.
3
How will electing Republicans help you and your family in the long run? What will you do if Social Security gets cut? How about Medicare? Is any family member disabled and receiving benefits?
Can you cite any ways that Republicans have helped you since they took control of the government in January 2017? Did you get a big tax cut? You had better not spend it because you will be paying it back in a few years when your rates go up.
Please list the ways that Republicans have done anything that truly has helped the “working class citizens” that you mentioned in your post.
Surely you jest. You are certainly not garbage but you are privileged even to whine about these things.
Don't you have a mom or sister or female in your life? The GOP ideas for women are from another century. Having to explain why Planned Parenthood is a good thing, having to defend healthcare in America, having gay people not picked on, educating kids, having them not die at school- those are issues most of America cares about.
@Kay,
We all have the right to express our views. I am no more 'privileged' in that regard than any other citizens.
The Democrats take positions I like but lack the courage or ability to transfer those positions into policy.
Words without actions are just words. I am tired of words.
And along with those lofty, empty, statements of purpose come some policies that I abhor. And those are the policies they actually act upon.
Mr. Bruni, never expect to get an honest answer from anyone, particularly political flacks, whose entire livelihood is dependent upon responding in strict accordance with the beliefs and aspirations of those monied interests who generously stuff his own pockets!
7
Bliss: What voters really care about is what is the government doing for me. Not my neighbor, me.
Gotta hand it to him: he knows the GOP base pretty well.
6
Those who claim that they are 'helping' people are, for the most part, feeding their own vanity.
It is about them too.
1
I hoped that this article would provide some insights, but instead it is the same old rhetorical nightmare: a highly partisan paid actor from one establishment side or the other reciting lines rather than engaging in dialogue. What's the point? There are many other people out there who provide a much more intellectually honest and interesting view of what is going on. why give this person another platform? How is this news?
11
I'm a liberal Democrat but Bliss seems right-on. The pundits of the media were wrong in the 2016 election and they're probably wrong now in expecting a "blue wave". Nancy Pelosi IS incredibly lame and we need to ditch her as well as a number of positions on which opinion has shifted in America: ditch the Teachers' Union and support school choice, support science-based limits on abortion based on fetal brain and nervous system development. Given the Republicans' budget-busting splurge, the Democrats should become the party of fiscal responsibility and go after the sacred cow of military spending and renewed effort on a healthcare system that brings down costs based on proven approaches from other countries. The Democrats could also throw their trial lawyer backers under the bus and support tort reform to bring down healthcare costs. Need to learn lessons from the Republicans but keep traditional Democratic causes like environmental protection and financial regulation in the platform. 2016 should have taught them that the old rules don't apply
4
Well I will say one thing. This November is going to show us whether America is over or not.
Does it still have a heart, still have a soul? Do its citizens still care enough about the country to turn out and vote when faced with evil? Or are they just going to click to the next Netflix show?
We shall see.
25
House Democrats had better take this conversation seriously and not do the usual and customary wishful-thinking thing Democrats are so good at. If I want it to be so, it surely must be so. And Bliss is surely correct about Pelosi. She has poisoned the well for Democrats for the last several election cycles.
4
Bliss talks a good game and comes across as an polished salesman, but as we found out in 2016, early polls can be w-a-y off come election day. I do think voter turnout will be much higher in 2018 (thank Trump for that) and historically, Democrats do better when voter turnout is higher.
I don't think Pelosi and Hillary will be much of a factor, except to rile up Trump's base, who will vote Republican anyway. And it is certainly a "tell" that so many moderate and right-leaning Republicans are retiring and choosing not to run in districts that Hillary won in 2016. (Why didn't you ask about THAT trend, Frank?) If things are looking so rosy for the GOP, why are so many rats leaving the ship?
Keep your eye on women running for office and voting come November. That's the real story, along with the fact that states like Pennsylvania just redistricted (favoring a pickup of seats by the Dems). Another trend that Frank should have asked about. What happened in Virginia, Alabama, and Pensylvania isn't a fluke, Corry...or did you see those results coming?
5
Interesting to read about Bliss' delusions on why the Republicans are going to win in November. I hope next week Bruni will interview a Democratic strategist based in reality who'll explain why the Republicans will lose.
4
RussiaGate is turning into a story of far greater Trump corruption than mere treasonous collusion.
Trump's pockets have been filled regularly through Michael Cohen's shadow company by Novartis, ATT, Russian corporate oligarch Vesselberg, Korean arms maker Korean Aerospace all with the direct intention of influencing Trump "policy". It is more likely extortion that has taken place since Cohen is not a registered lobbyist. Trump acts like the US government is merely a part of his family businesses. The GOP agrees with him since the Republican Party has turned the United States government over to the Trump crime syndicate .
These recent disclosures arising from the RussiaGate investigation are certainly the tip of the massive iceberg that Mr. Mueller must continue to explore and reveal. The majority of American voters will not continue to back Republicans in the face of this blatant GOP hypocrisy supporting the Trump Crime Family. Democrats must speak truth to power and help restore our democracy.
7
What’s the problem here? Republicans are damaging the environment. They’re making health insurance more expensive for many and inadequate for many others. They’re letting crooked lenders rip off borrowers. They’re costing people paying high state and local taxes thousands in higher Federal taxes, punishing us for wanting good public schools well-maintained highways. They’re threatening Social Security and Medicare. They’re attacking science and putting the next generation at risk for more natural disasters. The current regime would be a nightmare even if Trump were a saint. The policies are very bad for our country.
Democrats should be mum about guns, abortion, and Trump until they get back the House. And get some nice-looking white guy from the Midwest - a decorated veteran - to be the future speaker. It’s not about specific people or cultural issues, it’s about POLICY. Democrats should not let themselves be played.
Republicans should lose every seat in California and New York. They RAISED most people’s taxes in those states.
5
In Ohio, anyone can vote in any primary. I would caution a conclusion about "GOP turnout being up 48% in Ohio"--likely many Democrats voted in the GOP primary in order to nominate less electable candidates
2
"But the way to win in this environment — the way to break through the cynical electorate — is to convince voters that you 1) care about them, and 2) are achieving results on the issues they care about" ..
Really .. so tax cuts that overwhelmingly benefit the wealthiest and even further concentrate wealth while blowing another hole in the deficit and failing to stimulate investment ... is achieving results on issues they care about?
Well, given how fertile the Trump electorate has been to being conned, I have no doubt that they'd gobble down that formulation like manna from heaven.
3
Unfortunately, Bliss is mostly right in his description of the electorate and the Democratic Party. Voters are mostly interested in themselves, and the Democrats usually tell them what they should be interested in and care about rather than listening to what they say they care about.
Many of the comments here focus on Republican iniquities, but that is largely beating a dead horse. More sleaze revelations will not cut it, and Bliss is right when he says no one who is not dug in one way or another knows who Pruitt is. Basically what Bliss is saying is that the Democrats are out of touch with the Obama/Trump voters and the 2016 non-voters. Unless the Democrats manage to produce charismatic candidates who know how to listen and not just preach, they will gain little in November and possibly nothing in 2020.
No-Trump is not a campaign strategy that will change anyone's mind. That may be unfortunate or worse, but that is reality, and unless the Democrats learn to deal with reality instead of bemoaning it, they are toast.
3
"What is today’s Democratic Party? It is a party that talks nonstop about Russia. It is a party that says please vote for me so I can raise your taxes. It’s a party that wants America’s most unpopular, polarizing politician (Nancy Pelosi!) to be in charge of all of this. And let’s not forget about the crowded, nasty, divisive primaries going on around the country that are going to produce nominees who are to the left of Bernie Sanders and want to do nothing but impeach the president."
What is today's Republican party? It is a party that talks nonstop about "illegal immigrants" and "border wall". It is a party that says please vote for me so I can increase deficits and the national debt, and give it all to the rich. It is a party that welcomes America's *real* most polarizing politician - Donald Trump, who is not in control of anything, really. And let's not forget about the nasty, divisive primaries going on around the country that are producing nominees vying to "out-Trump Trump" for bigotry, racism, hatred, and divisiveness, and want to do nothing but giveaway money to the rich, build walls, isolate America, and start wars.
4
Bliss keeps rerunning the very effective Republican mantra. Be negative and have no ideas to improve the lives of the 90%. They'll keep telling the masses that the big tax cuts are helping or will soon trickle down. If that doesn't make you happy, we'll cut entitlements so you can amuse yourself watching the old, infirm and needy suffer.
5
I would consider buying Bliss' rah rah shpiel if not for two things: 1) it's imbalanced - he has absolutely nothing negative to say about his party, his party's candidates or their chances & 2) the evidence of the blue wave in elections over the last 12+ months, including not just the Democrat wins/flips but the swings in % of blue vs. red voters compared to the '16 election, wasn't covered in this interview. I would have liked to see what he had to say about that clear trend. Also, I wouldn't point to fundraising as a bellwether considering Hillary outraised Trump. And his inability to recognize disgust with Trump as a motivator of some + de-motivator of the undecideds who swayed the '16 election also undercuts his credibility.
3
These GOP phonies all said Trump would lose to
a) lower Democrat turnout via complacency
b) increase GOP turnout in Senate races, using the "checks and balances on Hillary" argument
In short, these people are not honest and they are always playing an angle.
As a fiscal conservative that deeply opposes Trump and current pandering Republicans, I have to agree with Corry Bliss. Trump is so offensive, so cruel, so demeaning of everything we hold dear, yet... He has delivered tax cuts, his views on immigration (which I oppose with all my being) resonates with far more people than polite conversation allows, he runs ramshod over identity politics and his foreign policies failures are a matter for wonks not voters. The Democrats on the other hand are the gang that can't shoot straight. Why on earth can they not get rid of Pelosi? On what planet is a tax increase your headline policy initiative? How can the #2 in the party Keith Ellison wear a "Yo No Creo En Fronteras" - I don't believe in borders tee shirt. When the party is fielding a national field of Kamala Harris, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and policies are a frankenstein of identify politics and euro-socialism, they will lose
3
Just let him go on with partisan talking point nonsense? How about special elections? +17 points D on average? How about complete fiscal hypocrisy by Republicans; a huge debt funded tax cut heavily skewed to the rich and an explosion in debt funded spending. All while not achieving Trump promises #1 and #2; the Wall and Obamacare repeal and replace.
1
Bliss paints a very ad picture of the American voter, a person that according to him cares about nothing except money and who is so afraid of their own shadow that they think the US is now safer. This is a fat cat's dream of a fat cat's dream about a world where the general public is an idiotic mass waiting to be exploited.
1
Trump's trade policies are going to eat up all of the extra money the working class Americans are gaining from the miserly tax cut they received. And, his health care policies are going to put them all into the red trying to pay for the increased premiums.
With Iran now looming as a potential war and the North Korea negotiations we are much less secure than anytime since 9/11. Economic pain for the working class with the threat their kids are going to be sent off to war won't win very many voters for the GOP.
1
I know who Scott Pruitt is. I look forward to Republicans explaining why he is still in office in November, if he is, or why it took so long to get him out, if he is not. This administration is Tammany Hall without the charity.
5
Compared to the weak conversations Bret and Gail have presented recently, this one gets high marks. Perhaps a rematch after the rest of the primaries are over is in order.
1
Sorry Bliss but every single voter I know is more concerned about Russia interfering in our election, then they are about gaining a temporary tax cut (1%'s permanent).Voters are concerned about character, especially when that character is the president and he is engaged in gaining every advantage he can to his brand and those around him are competing for all that they can gain with little consideration for us peasants (or the other 99% of Americans). You don't think this is going to effect voter turnout? Do you think every American is like those Republicans in leadership who just look out for what they can gain? I'm sorry to tell you that the majority of people I know want everyone's child to be well fed, have health insurance, and go to sleep in a safe environment. They want to know that at the end of their life, people will still care that they're well fed, have health insurance and sleep in a safe environment. We'd much rather have the assurance that our government is there for others in crisis, then think we might be next to lose a job, health insurance and our life savings, while billionaires keep getting richer and care little about anyone else but themselves.That isn't America to me.That isn't the America my grandfather fought to preserve in WWI, nor my Dad and uncles in WWII, nor my friends in Vietnam. No, I choose to believe that the majority of people recognize they've been blessed to live in America and have the freedoms we possess, and hope to be a blessing back.
11
These spin docs never answer questions, never give any support to their assertions, they just master talking points. So I can’t say I learned anything from reading this interview. However, Dems should not take for granted their victory in November. The GOP is a lot smarter than them and they dominate the field of communication.
5
"We have the best economy we’ve had in 20 years. The average middle-class family of four is going to get an extra $2,000 back. The world is a much safer place since Donald Trump became president."
And all of this is because of Obama.
As for Nancy Pelosi being the most unpopular politician right now Bliss completely ignores the majority of Americans who loath Trump.
23
Notice what Bliss does not talk about, health care. He is a simple machine here and there is no reason why either Republicans should be reassured or Democrats threatened by his line of conclusions made without arguments. I would also note that there was a reason why the "tax and spend" label wasn't used by Trump in 2016. Hilary Clinton was careful to nullify this as an issue, as Sanders would not have been able to, and a baseless accusation no longer manages traction. I would also note that after the Bush tax cut, that was actually more widely distributed than Trump's overwhelming number of voters in 2002 did not know they had received a cut even when they did.
7
This is way tax cuts are needed to starve the beast.
From an NYT article last week on California:
But the fire chief in San Ramon has been doing pretty well, too, with total pay and benefits of $516,344 in 2016, according to the website Transparent California. And nearly 200 police officers across the state make more than $300,000 a year, when overtime and benefits are included.
2
Cutting federal taxes isn't going to effect how much it costs to hire Firefighters and Police Officers in California.
7
The Bliss (i.e., Koch/Mercer) worldview in a nutshell:
Bliss: I think the majority of voters will reward anybody who cut their taxes and will punish anybody who wants to raise their taxes.
22
Bliss says the things about Democrats and Republicans that, if believed, will help Republicans win. He will make his own opinions public only if that will help Republicans win, and there is no way to know which opinions he really holds and which he is giving because saying them often enough helps make them true in the minds of more people.
18
This is nothing but free Republican PR, and ranks right up there with Fox. My belief is that the Democratic turn out with astound even the Democrats. On all social media, the feeling is more like "If it is the last thing that I do in this life, it is vote out the current Republicans!" There is no higher drive.
109
Only read the first few paragraphs before I was too disgusted to read more. What I got from Corey Bliss is that it’s all about money— how candidates raise and spend on getting voters support as well as instilling fear about Democrats raising taxes on the wealthy. What about issues and policy? What about caring for children, the elder and underserved communities I hope Frank Bruno, whom I admire greatly for his insights and communication skills, washed his hands thoroughly after shaking them with the Corey creep. Yes, I know this column is a transcript of a telephone conversation, but I had to get in my metaphor!
91
As one who genuinely enjoys having my beliefs and opinions challenged by a thought-provoking contrary argument based on facts and reasonable inferences, I too find myself turning from the column to the comments after a few paragraphs much too often for comfort.
It's in part self-preservation of everyday sanity in a head-exploding era, so I will admit to that bit of human frailty.
But it's also of a part with not being inclined to sit through a bloodthirsty sermon, heavy-metal "concert", or virtually anything on Fox "News" or media sewage like Alex Jones. Being well-informed and open-minded need not entail masochism.
1
It seems to me Bliss, just plans on selling garbage, while Trump may be due some small acklnowledgement on the economy, in such a short time it's hard to measure the real effects of the supped tax reform. Because the GOP is going to have a hard time selling a temporary tax cut which is a minor one at that. Versus what the rich, super rich and foreign investors get of our money.
And jobs, yes those high paying manufacturing jobs, where are they. If your talking about the ones that were in the works long before Trump, then those don't count. The jobs data,tell you what jobs are being "created" and what jobs are going away. As it turns out the service sector adds the most jobs, while manufacturing is laying people off. And we have yet to see the deficit(s) that the GOP is adding to the nation.
I don't see where all the good news Bliss is referring to is coming from. Since the tax reform will hurt the electorate the worst. So I don't see how repeating tax reform, tax reform helps. I mean for a family of 4 getting back an assumed $2,000 isn't much, and he seems to over look those deductions have a sunset date. More working class Americans net income will be available for taxation, not less as the GOP would have you believe. As opposed to the 1% and the 0.5%, they will pay less. Companies will pay less, in most cases nothing, since they paid on average less than the new tax rate some will get hundreds of millions in tax refunds. I think the GOP has more to worry about.
22
"Bliss: I think the majority of voters will reward anybody who cut their taxes and will punish anybody who wants to raise their taxes."
Yep, that pretty much nails it. And explains a great deal about why we are in so much trouble in this country. An educated electorate we have not.
198
Mr. Bliss is pretty scary and probably pretty accurate.
17
Corey Bliss seems to be utterly unimpressive and did not once articulate how the GOP has helped voters aside from their joke of a tax cut which is deeply unpopular. If people like Mr.Bliss are running campaigns, I feel very confident there will be wave this fall
33
If he thinks they're going to win on tax cuts, he'd better think again. Whoop-de-doo, $2k a year - now let's talk about how many billions the (American) oligarchs are taking in of *our* money, and how our tax cut is temporary while theirs is permanent? Short conversation.
5
Hmmm. It’s hard to understand why Mr. Bliss is so optimistic about how the Republicans will fare in the midterms (other than it’s part of his job description), when House Speaker Paul Ryan doesn’t have enough confidence in his party’s chances to run for re-election himself.
145
Expectations are so high for a Democratic sweep in the fall, that there is significant risk of anything less than a tidal wave will be seen as underperforming. The other problem is that historically while Democrats may get exorcised, Republicans are more reliable at actually getting to the polls and voting.
20
Hopefully that changes this year. Many more people are fed up with this farce than Mr. Bliss thinks.
There isn't much to talk about with people who believe that government simply burns the money it takes in taxes, so tax cuts are fee money.
22
Gonna vote in PA Dem primary next Tuesday for some progressive and women candidates. But , make no mistake, if they don't win I will back for the Democratic nominee.
106
Basically, the GOP nailed their talking points:
--Economy
--Taxes
--Foreign policy (could be the tipping point)
--The end justify the means (pack the courts with conservatives) because Trump and his administrations's ethics and morals don't matter.
Every argument the Democrats have against these points need nuanced, reasoned rebuttals and require critical thinking on the behalf of the voters. ("Behalf" is the key here -- half don't care and half don't care.)
16
Well...Dems could start with the rising price of oil, now at $70 a barrel. Gasoline around here is pushing $3.00 a gallon. So there's a cost of living issue they could use against the GOP; one that hits home with every voter.
If the U.S. is producing so much oil, why is the price so much more than a year ago? Oh, wait - maybe it has to do with Trump backing out of the Iran deal....
2
1. I know who Scott Pruitt is. And I am old enough to remember what things were like before the EPA. I have absolutely no wish to return to the conditions Pruitt is working so hard to bring back.
2. As a voter and a poll-worker, I am _very_ concerned with "the Russia thing", which Mr. Bliss seems to forget is at base about a foreign country trying to interfere with our election, and getting at least access to voter registration rolls in something like 20 states. I can't believe Republicans aren't fighting mad about this. Perhaps you should remember that while Putin liked the Republicans better in 2016, he may decide it's better for him to undercut them next time around? Don't assume that because his interests and yours aligned this time, that he is actually your ally.
247
I keep wondering why so many, many people in the GOP, people who certainly are old enough to remember, have forgotten when Russia/Communism was the bane of democracy, patriotism and the American Way. Now, republican voters from Orange County, CA to backwoods Maineiacs are okay with Russian election interference, election meddling and manipulation, and Russian money influence spread through all layers of the swamp, top to bottom. It's okay with so very many of the current crop of GOP politicos and red-state yard sign fanatics, that a sovereign country, which operates from an ideological opposition to a free and open society, is successfully unbalancing the stability of the United States. Hey China! Hey India! Hey all other foreign states with a big plan, come on over and play too! Reagan, Eisenhower and even Joe bloody McCarthy must be rolling over in their graves.
10
You and the rest of the Dems that are foaming at the mouth over Russia are equivalent to the Obama birther nuts - a small, fanatical fringe group that will marginally impact any election results.
That is unless one of your adherents is "a big, fat dynamo" that has the audacity to run and be elected President like DJT. (The quote is from Homer Simpson - cartoon Everyman.)
1
Bravo, Bruni, for keeping the conversation going without correcting the dozens of errors he made. I don't even know where to begin, so I'll focus on the biggest shiny object that the GOP is shoving against my eyeballs: The Tax Cut. It's baloney. And this cannot be repeated enough. It's not simply a matter of giving more to the top than to the middle or bottom. I've done the work. My family of three, probably bringing home income that puts us in the top 40-45%, are in fact experiencing a tax hike. Sure, our biweekly checks are up between 1 and 2 percent. But unless we redo our W-4s, eliminate all exemptions, and withhold additional funds, we're looking at paying $2,000 MORE this year than last. One achievement. And it's baloney.
But heck, if they're still whining about two elderly Dem women, neither of whom currently have and whiff of power, then all they can do is deny reality if they want to sleep and night.
187
Yes.
Those people who are happy about the "tax cut" who are seeing modest upticks in their take home pay are going to be very surprised in April 2019 when they wind up not only not getting refunds but owing money.
Of course, this, by design, will happen after the November Congressional elections.
13
That is the party line. I heard David Brooks on the radio the other day talking about how phenomenally successful it is -- how rivers of jobs are being created, and how the dire predictions about stock buy-backs have been proven wrong.
2
I don't think Cory Bliss is giving Democrats bad advice to undermine the Democrats.
I think he is sincere in his beliefs and is being honest.
Most Americans of every persuasion are concerned about
national security and their own financial security.
I am not convinced Nancy Pelosi is an positive asset
for the Democrats, net net.
I would suggest Democrats try somebody else more from
middle America and with a better track record of actually winning elections.
Not too clear she understands what motivates the average voter.
The Democrats used to totally dominate the House of Representatives on a consistent basis, but not during Nancy's
tenure.
Try somebody new.
13
Mr. Bliss is tossing out that 'red herring', that all that the Democrats talk about and want to do is impeach the president. I don't think they do. However, they had better start talking about what matters to their constituents (including lower taxes), and how they are going to get things done. If not, they don't stand a chance.
And, yes, Pelosi needs to go! Sure she can raise lots of money, but that doesn't necessarily buy elections for you unless you have something to offer!
13
Lower taxes for who, how is education, roads, bridges etc, etc, supposed to get done. How do we pay for the military, everyone talks about low taxes, yet taxes is what drives the government, get s roads fixed, educates our kids. Just look at Kansas, and West Virginia, and other red states, the idea of small government just doesn't hold water. Kansas was in such fiscal trouble they had to vote to RAISE taxes. Why cant taxes be progressive instead of regressive, why can't the rich pay more. That's why they hated the ACA, because there was a tax directed at them. So the very citizens that provide the rich with the standard of life they've become accustomed to, we get less from our own government, what? not t to mention foreign investors getting more out of the tax reform than the citizens of this country, don't forget that corporations will pay foreign governments more in taxes than they will their own government. And to you point about money, doesn't win elections, notice the number(s) that bliss blurted out, sure thing money doesn't count.
18
-Pelosi isn't going anywhere since Hillary lost. So Nancy is going to stay put.
-There's no incentive to lower taxes when voters haven't paid for anything. The Country is $20 trillion in the hole and the States most live in aren't exactly debt free. These folks are going to have to learn to pay for things!
-Candidates running ARE talking about what matters to their constienuts--we got Ralph Northam, Doug Jones and Conor Lamb because of it...that and the GOP is toxic, so personally, I think we're going to be OK in November.
3
I think that the Republicans will hold on to the Senate and the House.
Trump's base is strong, loyal, and impervious to the scandals surrounding Trump. They will continue to vote for Republicans over Democrats to keep the Tump bandwgon rolling.
Democrats will come out in greater numbers than usual, fueled by the resistance movement, but not in enough numbers to overcome gerrymandering, the dominant right wing media narrative, and the Democratic Party's lack of vision and leadership on issues that Americans care about.
Democrats won't get enough votes from independents, because they still can't make the break from the Clinton wing of the party that has taken neoliberalism too far and abandoned traditional liberalism too much, while still being unable to demonstrate that they care about the concerns of the electorate.
This country was transformed over the last 30 years by a relentless right wing movement that trampled liberal values as it bullied and propagandized its way to the top. And the Democratic Party still hasn't demonstrated that it understands this, understands how complicit it was in allowing it to happen, or knows what it has to be and to do in order to lead the country towards a new and better future for Americans than the one that the hard right wing, embodied in Trump, is ushering in.
Until it understands these things and act accordingly, it will continue to be a minority party.
61
Nah. I heard that kind of strange pessism before the elections in Virgina, Alabama and Pennsylvania and then those people got quiet but silence isn't a virtue, so now we're getting, "what does the Democratic Party stand for? What's their message? What's their vision?" Those are bizarre things to say after 2 terms with a Dem President, a progressive platform that Bernie AND Hillary approved of and that was covered on television and a presidential campaign in which the Democrat got nearly 3 million more votes than their GOP opponent.
The electoral college, and an angry, declining white electorate gave us Trump and nothing more.
That aside, the Dems only need 24 seats...that's not the biggest order to fill. Trump won by 77,000 across 3 states; that's what got him to 270, the Party can register mulitple voters for every one of those that went for Trump.
The Senate is harder, but Trump will happily help the Dems get that.
12
The Dems can’t afford to alienate their large donors (or so they think - Sanders showed otherwise) so they can’t afford to see what’s right before their eyes.
1
“Bliss: Frank, there are not 10 voters in America who know who Scott Pruitt is.”
——
TRANSLATION: Idiots, morons and Know Nothing’s are the core of our nationally-assisted-suicidal success, Frank. An uneducated and uninformed voter is our best customer.
Nice GOPeople.
Vote out the Party of Dumb and Dumber, America!
530
Problem for you is there are a lot of them and this is a democracy. Gotta feed the ducks where they quack or you lose. Your disdainful attitude about the electorate is representative of perhaps the Democratic party’s biggest problem.
The young Republican strategist is right. Dems need to stop looking down on the people and start trying to understand what they want and advancing initiatives to respond to them, instead of maligning them.
Or they can just keep doing what they’re doing and score their points in the comments section of the NYT opinion pages.
As a Democrat, I’d much prefer the former. Trump bashing, and especially Trump-voter bashing, is not going to win the Dems any elections.
3
'No wonder they say that ignorance is "Bliss"
339
A winner, Scott k.
1
Bliss says, "The energy is with the Sanders wing of the party, not the Clinton wing."
He would like to believe that and perhaps he does, but he is WRONG. Cordray's huge victory over Kucinich is just the latest evidence that Democrats can and will put up moderate candidates where they are the most competitive. Other equally important examples are Lamp in Pennsylvania and Jones in Alabama.
The Democratic Party is still a center-right party, despite Republican's attempt to paint it into a left-wing corner. Democrats want to win more than ever and we have the good sense to offer viable alternatives to the crooks now in control of our government.
288
Actually, I think he's correct, just as it was in 2016. But energy or ideas amount to little when battling money and organization.
10
I don't think Bliss actually believes that, but it's something that members of the GOP have to tell themselves. They want comfort, and they find it in telling themselves fairytalkes. They're in real denial about what's happening to them and their "movement."
I have to admit, I'm still a little mystified at people who refer to the Democratic Party as "center right." The platform wasn't center right, Hillary ran to the left, Obama wasn't center right and the socialist who ran in the Party's Primary won 43 percent of the vote.
How is that a center right Party?
22
If the Democrats think that they can win as a center right party, they are sadly mistaken.
How did that work for them in 2016?
They need a new vision, a new brand, and new leadership fast, and it needs to include those Sanders voters, among others on the left and center-left.
The Democrats need to forge a new base, divorced from the Clinton wing of the party, that sees the Democrats as a viable, exciting, and relevant alternative to right wing "populism," not as the lesser evil of two right wing parties out of touch with reality.
They need to embrace several issues and embrace them as relentlessly as the right wingers embrace illegal immigration, because they care about the Americaan people and they know how important addressing these issues are for the well-being of this country.
Me, I'd choose supporting onesself and one's family in the increasingly technological/robotic world that is upon us, health care, privacy and control of our personal data, and environmental protection. I would demonstrate how the right wing has given their base the shaft on these issues in order to funne money and power to corporate America, and how voting for the Democratic Party will lead to more freedom, economic security, and
a healthy environment for *all* to enjoy, not just one race, or class, or demographic.
But whatever the Democrats come up with, they had better do it soon. If not, America will be trapped in the Republican-Trump Alternate Reality Show for the forseeable future.
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Let's hope Republicans continue to talk about how they are going to win in November. It didn't work for Dems last time so maybe the Rep electorate will be lulled into a false sense of security.
But Bliss has a great point, where is the message of hope and optimism from the Dems? Let's not waste everybody's time with the anti-Trumpism - if voters aren't aware of the corrupt and generally despicable actions of the liar-in-chief they are catatonic.
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Hope and optimism appear not to win elections nearly as well as fear and Nativism. Trump’s campaign theme was “be scared, very scared” and “I, alone, can fix things”. I’m not sure how Bliss can claim that the Republicans have made us safer, when it is clear that the opposite is true.
I think that Americans want a government that works, which isn’t Trump and his Republican enablers.
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Running AGAINST Trump is not going to work; the Dems need to stand for something and run on a platform that appeals to their constituents!
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I have the good fortune to live in a progressive part of the country so maybe the message doesn't get beyond the enlightened coasts. Out here it's education, infrastructure and health care. I don't think the dems need more than that and its far better than the sinister and paranoid vision of Mr. Bliss.
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Sounds like Mr. Bliss-fully Ignorant thinks the single Trump achievement (tax cuts for the wealthy) will save the House for Republicans.
Maybe that's so. But it's already clear that the tax cuts are doing little for anyone besides the rich and if the Dems can't drive that message home, they deserve to lose.
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The single thing that will save Republican seats is electronic vote fraud. It’s worked so astonishing well that even Russians have been able to hack into America’s voting systems. We’re now in an era when hacking can occur and not leave a trace. Why aren’t the majority ruling party Republicans doing enough to protect America’s voting systems? Advanced countries choose paper ballots and transparent voting systems.
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They can’t; they will. I despair.
Jesus, Frank. I feel like I've just had a root canal, without the Novocaine.
THIS guy is a master propagandist, as befitting his position and undoubtedly huge salary. It would take at least four questions AND answers for Him to tell you the exact time. I really don't know how you do it, I'm guessing charm, experience and maybe alcohol. Thanks.
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Love your reaction. I think he is trolling us to discourage our enthusiasm about funding and voting for Democratic candidates. Hate is a powerful motivator and Trump’s every word and distructive actions make Dems furious now. Every day a new horror from him and his grifter cabinet. I am counting the days to Election Day.
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Phyliss:
You may know that a consultant is defined as a person who borrows your watch so that he or she can tell you the time.
I gues that also applies to propagandists like Bliss.
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Frank let him propagandize to his heart's content.
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Outside of the Acela corridor and S.F. metro, Mr. Bliss is right. Those Republican incumbents who have good rapport and name recognition will outpoll Trump's numbers and maintain their seats. Nancy Pelosi may be as unpopular as Paul Ryan but she ignites anti Left wing passion and will help keep the Republicans in the majority. While the tax cut is probably a nonissue what will also keep the Republicans in power is an unemployment rate of 3.9%, a good stock market and slowly rising wages. Sorry Democrats but climate change, corrupt cabinet and presidential associates, bad treatment of illegal immigrants and weird/horrendous tweets are not going to convince enough voters to switch the House. If you believe the polls about the blue wave, just remember how Hillary had a 91% chance of being elected as the polls closed in 2016.
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I agree, and it gives me no pleasure to say so. The Democrats do not have a narrative. Either get one, or get used to losing.
Nonsense from an alternative Fox news universe. News flash genius! Hilary lost because of Russian interference, Comey's stupidity, Sanders 'everything for free' promises, Wikileaks meddling and a host of other factors including the stupidity of trump voters. We can no longer carry the mantle of democracy when the popular vote by millions loses an election.
Frank deserves an all-expense paid vacation compliments of The Times for having to endure this interview with Mr. Bliss.
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Bliss is ignorance. I trust by November, we will know a whole lot more about Donald's venalities and the way Republicans in the House gave him a free pass. If attacking the president for criminal behavior motivates Republican voters, the party has a bigger problem than Speaker Pelosi.
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More importantly, OUR COUNTRY has a bigger problem than Speaker Pelosi!
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Fox News doesn't report Trump's venalities, so much of his base won't hear about his criminal behavior.
Loved the point about Pelosi being the most reviled politician in the United States. How long would it take her replacement to become exactly the same thing? Republicans love to vilify Democratic Party leadership. They do it with Chuck Schumer. They did it with Harry Reid. So, I guess Democrats should just dump their leadership until they can come up with someone acceptable to Republicans. Give me a break.
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The Republicans revile her because she is effective. And if it weren't for Nancy Pelosi, the Affordable Care Act would have been DOA. She is personally responsible for getting any reluctant Democrats into line, and voting for it. For that alone, she has earned the Repubs enmity.
What annoys me is that, as Republicans frequently do, they talk negatively about her every chance they get, and they have convinced many (I.e., the ill-informed) that she is the devil incarnate. She is a leader, and a credit to her party.
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Vilifying Pelosi is just an up-dated version of vilifying Hillary Clinton. Unfortunately, Democrats don't seem to be any more willing to defend her than they were willing to defend Hillary Clinton. Plenty of misogyny on both sides of the aisle.
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How about if Pelosi doesn’t announce she is running for Speaker until AFTER the election.
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I’m special, one of fewer than ten voters in the country who know who Scott Pruitt is.
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I am too. Wonder who the other eight are.
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Sure, but you probably sell soundproof booths. Unfair advantage to say the least.
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I'm a foreigner horrified at the suggestion that Americans don't know about Scott Pruitt.
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Can you interview someone who won't just talk past you, next? Very little engagement in the actual questions. Still, it's a good insight into what reasonably sounds like the best path for House Republicans: keep riling up the base by scapegoating foreigners ("safety") and thank God they're still ignorant ("tax cut").
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It's always interesting to watch someone whistling past the grave yard. I'll bet he was making the same arguments the day before the 2017 Virginia elections, the Alabama Senate and the Pennsylvania House races. Come back in November and let's see how his arguments stack up.
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Ok, this is really depressing but true. Everyone I know is begging the Democrats to run on a message - pocketbook issues and stop with the Trump nonsense. Yes, he needs to be held accountable but he won't be until the boneless chicken farm that is the stand in for the Republicans is voted out.
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The 2018 USA interim elections could decide the world's fate.
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Mr. Bliss, as most Republicans, you seem to believe if you repeat lies often enough they'll stick.
Look to your own party for unpopularity--starting with Trump.
And I'll give you one word why Russia is important: Collusion.
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The GOP repeats lies because they work.
24/7 over every medium, in "interviews" like this one, and in campaign events, the same script is recited.
Recited often, and so consistently that it becomes true, and the listener can't remember anything else.
The GOP's main strength is messaging their propaganda, and they support this effort with tens of millions of dollars.
As but one example, which slogan was more effective: "Make America Great Again", or "Stronger Together"?
Even Bill Clinton noted that it's better (politically) to be strong and wrong, than weak and right.
As a Democrat, I am very skeptical that the "blue wave" will occur.
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The problem is that in this moment, repeating lies often enough does make them stick, at least with a large part of the Republican electorate! I don't know who coined the term 'post-truth era', but I wish we would get back to truth being important!
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Fox (non) news du joir.
Ho hum, U.S.-style democracy. Focus groups to tell the candidates what to say, for example, "drain the swamp", but once elected, they fill the swamp up with the slimiest of creatures.
And on the Democratic side, it's "the economy is doing great", meanwhile the country more and more resembles a third world nation - increasing opioid use, decreasing wages, increasing numbers living in poverty (including one in five children), decreasing life expectancy.
Note that this interview is between a representative of each of the two hugely unpopular parties, both of which are now far behind registered independent voters.
That kind of puts things in perspective, no?
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I only have been in one focus group, but from that experience I would say focus groups are hocus-pocus. They are brow-beaten into giving the results the sponsors want.
I would be leery of any polls that support one candidate over another. Like in 1948, how many people answer a phone from any caller? In 1948 the polls ignored the voters without phones. In 2016 or any current year, can any poll determine the votes of people with cell phones or caller ID who do not answer unknown callers.
No matter your political leanings, never answer an unknown call but always vote.
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Just as the democrats didn't understand how mad blue collar conservatives were in the last election, the GOP doesn't understand how mad dems are for this upcoming election. The tides are a changing.
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You are a very gracious man, and Mr. Bliss is not, but he is very clever. But if he really wants to look at the two parties preparations for November, he should note that viable, moderate Democratic candidates won their primaries across the boards last night, most notably Richard Cordray in Ohio. He’s the kind of democrat who gives people like Bliss night sweats. And there are only about 150 more of him out there, running kind and sane campaigns. And even the democratic kooks are people like cute little Davy Kucinich—the Republican’s rant and rave with Alex Jones.
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Creative exchange on complex issues/races facing the country in 2018.
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So this was just a piece to give a conservative carte-blanche to make blankets statements without really needing to support them with anything beyond his own publications?
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Exactly what I was thinking.
Listening to Mr Bliss, sounds like all Americans care about is taxes. Perhaps he his emphasizing taxes, to the exclusion of all other issues, is that the tax cut is all that the GOP has accomplished in its 18 months of control. While Pruitt may not be a household term, I believe that most Americans are aware of the stink of corruption emanating from Washington these days, from the president on down. I also think most Americans are embarrassed by this administration and by the failure to the Republican-controlled Congress to take any action to enforce norms of honesty and transparency. This administration has trashed the office of the presidency with the support of the GOP.
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He certainly was at pains to emphasise, again and again, that Americans DON'T care about multiple instances of corruption.
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Hmm... so the biggest issue for 40k prospective voters in Nebraska seems to be the fate of an Air Force base in the district and the fact that candidate Bacon used to run the base. How is this a "local issue" when it is in fact a line-item in the Federal Government's Defense Department budget?
Pardon the pun, but in the old days we'd call this a preoccupation with "bringing home the pork."
So much for the Trump-wing of the Republican Party's campaign to drain the swamp.
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I have heard that the Democrats have formulated a detailed set of proposals on jobs, unions, day care and other matters - but it's hard to find out about it, because strategy, ad hominem attacks, gossip, and Twitter take up all the column inches. As for Russia, Russia, Russia, well, Republicans such as Mr Bliss are obviously not concerned about that, despite the Senate Intelligence Committee report, which personally I find very alarming.
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Here are the questions and comments I wish Frank Bruni responded with to Mr. Bliss:
1. The Republican tax cut is actually the most unpopular piece of legislation in modern history, and has provided the Democrats with a compelling message about how the 1% and corporations have been rewarded at the expense of the middle class. Many Republicans are in fact avoiding taking credit for the tax plan, worried about it's negative polling. How is this positive for Republicans?
2. Democrats that have won in special elections did so precisely because they focused on voters' problems and local issues (see Conor Lamb), whereas Republicans have been focusing on their own brand of identity politics. Which is the party focused on the issues, one more time?
3. You conflate candidates with a progressive agenda with candidates seeking impeachment. Any "Bernie-lite" candidate that deserves the label would care more about policy responses to inequality than impeachment.
I suppose I should have lowered my expectations before reading this piece, understanding that while Bliss is an expert, he's also a pundit with a narrative. It's disappointing to hear that the reason he thinks Democrats will lose is because "they want to raise people's taxes", a tired attack ad quip that seems more relevant to the political conversation of 4 years ago than that of today's.
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Tax cuts go to those who pay taxes. Top 10% of taxpayers pay 70% of the taxes.
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More relevant to the conversation of FORTY years ago...
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nowhere near that when payroll taxes are included.
"Bliss: I think the majority of voters will reward anybody who cut their taxes and will punish anybody who wants to raise their taxes."
-------
"Take two tax cuts and call me from the morgue" : GOP 2018
Taxes are the patriotic cost of civilization.
You want a 1st world country or a 3rd-world unregulated Trump Toilet, America.
Register to vote and donate to democracy.
https://www.voterparticipation.org/support-our-work/donate-to-vpc/
This nation is in deep Republican trouble.
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Taxes are necessary. Waste and fraud are not.
Pay poor women to have babies. Paying civil servants outrageous salaries. Playing police for half the word. Support people who did not save for old age. Country club prisons. Tons and tons of fat and waste.
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"Pay poor women to have babies."
Are you referring to the personal exemption?
Why should a married couple filing jointly who both work and earn a combined $50,000 per year be taxed more than a married couple filing jointly, also both employed and earning $50,000 per year, who have four minor/dependent children? The personal exemption is a subsidy for child-bearing and -rearing, much like the mortgage interest deduction is a subsidy for home "ownership" through indebtedness that will take 30 years to pay off.
As for "paying civil servants outrageous salaries"... I wonder who you mean.
I earned a doctoral degree at one of America's world-class private universities. I have done additional training at two others. I spent 15 years as a professor at a major state university conducting advanced scientific research & teaching everyone from freshmen through Ph.D. students. That makes me a state employee — a civil servant, if you will. After decades of education and professional experience, my highest annual salary is $50,000. This is an "outrageous" amount? Really?
Socrates - it seems many don't realize that the additional pennies they'll see in their Fed tax refund will disappear as states struggle to make up the shortfall of reduced Fed spending and go on to raise local taxes and fees.
Someone's got to fix the potholes.
Just yesterday I had a conversation with a gentleman from Alabama who moved to Portland a few years ago. He was raving about the quality of the roads here, lack of potholes, adequate street lighting, etc. I haven't been to AL but I'm getting an impression that matches your comment.
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With regard to the approval ratings of Pelosi and Ryan, according to Huffpost, Pelosi's approval ratings are 48.7% unfavorable and 28.6% favorable, while Ryan's numbers are 49.3% favorable and 29.9% favorable. These numbers are really virtually identical, but if one is picking nits, while Ryan's favorable number is trivially higher, his unfavorable number is somewhat microscopically less trivially higher as well. And, of course, his numbers are up somewhat. The real answer to Mr. Bruni's question was that Ryan has taken himself off the docket of election issues by resigning. And Mr. Bruni's real answer is that if Republican's are reduced to campaigning on not being Pelosi, they will do even worse than Democrats who campaign only not being Trump.
Mr. Bruni may sometimes be wrong, but this was not obviously one of those times.
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