SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
With Eyes on 2018, Dems Prep Sanders-Style Populist Economic Agenda
Infrastructure and trade are expected to be top components
Apr 12, 2017
Democrats are working on a populist economic plan, a la Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), to be unveiled as soon as early summer, Politico reported Wednesday.
Top party members are crafting "a strong, sharp-edged, bold economic message," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said during a conference call with reporters on Tuesday.
Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) have met twice, in addition to other staff meetings, to hammer down a "populist" economic agenda that is meant to "unite both wings of both caucuses," one aide told Politico.
Infrastructure and trade are expected to be top components.
Democrats' pursuit of a populist agenda reflects the lasting impact of Sanders' presidential campaign, Politico's Heather Caygle and Elana Schor write. Many lawmakers saw the party's inability to put forward an enticing economic message as one of the fatal blows to Hillary Clinton's 2016 run. Schumer reportedly told newly-elected Democratic National Committee (DNC) chair Tom Perez in March that if Sanders and Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison--also a populist icon--are happy, "then I'm happy."
"We're spending a lot of time on this," Schumer said Tuesday, adding that Democrats will make their new proposals a central part of the 2018 midterms. If all goes according to plan, next year's elections will mirror the 2006 midterms, when Democrats took back the House and Senate after criticizing then-President George W. Bush over issues like national security and healthcare.
In addition to honing their message, Democrats are hoping President Donald Trump keeps taking missteps on the economy, an issue that became central to both his and Sanders' campaigns. Trump has since gone back on many of his economic promises--among other things.
"On every issue the president talked about--on the wall, on tearing up the Iran deal, on immediate healthcare repeal--[Republicans] are coming face-to-face with reality in a very painful way," said Connecticut Rep. Jim Himes, current chairman of the New Democrat Coalition. "And we don't want to slow down that learning process."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
Democrats are working on a populist economic plan, a la Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), to be unveiled as soon as early summer, Politico reported Wednesday.
Top party members are crafting "a strong, sharp-edged, bold economic message," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said during a conference call with reporters on Tuesday.
Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) have met twice, in addition to other staff meetings, to hammer down a "populist" economic agenda that is meant to "unite both wings of both caucuses," one aide told Politico.
Infrastructure and trade are expected to be top components.
Democrats' pursuit of a populist agenda reflects the lasting impact of Sanders' presidential campaign, Politico's Heather Caygle and Elana Schor write. Many lawmakers saw the party's inability to put forward an enticing economic message as one of the fatal blows to Hillary Clinton's 2016 run. Schumer reportedly told newly-elected Democratic National Committee (DNC) chair Tom Perez in March that if Sanders and Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison--also a populist icon--are happy, "then I'm happy."
"We're spending a lot of time on this," Schumer said Tuesday, adding that Democrats will make their new proposals a central part of the 2018 midterms. If all goes according to plan, next year's elections will mirror the 2006 midterms, when Democrats took back the House and Senate after criticizing then-President George W. Bush over issues like national security and healthcare.
In addition to honing their message, Democrats are hoping President Donald Trump keeps taking missteps on the economy, an issue that became central to both his and Sanders' campaigns. Trump has since gone back on many of his economic promises--among other things.
"On every issue the president talked about--on the wall, on tearing up the Iran deal, on immediate healthcare repeal--[Republicans] are coming face-to-face with reality in a very painful way," said Connecticut Rep. Jim Himes, current chairman of the New Democrat Coalition. "And we don't want to slow down that learning process."
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
Democrats are working on a populist economic plan, a la Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), to be unveiled as soon as early summer, Politico reported Wednesday.
Top party members are crafting "a strong, sharp-edged, bold economic message," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said during a conference call with reporters on Tuesday.
Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) have met twice, in addition to other staff meetings, to hammer down a "populist" economic agenda that is meant to "unite both wings of both caucuses," one aide told Politico.
Infrastructure and trade are expected to be top components.
Democrats' pursuit of a populist agenda reflects the lasting impact of Sanders' presidential campaign, Politico's Heather Caygle and Elana Schor write. Many lawmakers saw the party's inability to put forward an enticing economic message as one of the fatal blows to Hillary Clinton's 2016 run. Schumer reportedly told newly-elected Democratic National Committee (DNC) chair Tom Perez in March that if Sanders and Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison--also a populist icon--are happy, "then I'm happy."
"We're spending a lot of time on this," Schumer said Tuesday, adding that Democrats will make their new proposals a central part of the 2018 midterms. If all goes according to plan, next year's elections will mirror the 2006 midterms, when Democrats took back the House and Senate after criticizing then-President George W. Bush over issues like national security and healthcare.
In addition to honing their message, Democrats are hoping President Donald Trump keeps taking missteps on the economy, an issue that became central to both his and Sanders' campaigns. Trump has since gone back on many of his economic promises--among other things.
"On every issue the president talked about--on the wall, on tearing up the Iran deal, on immediate healthcare repeal--[Republicans] are coming face-to-face with reality in a very painful way," said Connecticut Rep. Jim Himes, current chairman of the New Democrat Coalition. "And we don't want to slow down that learning process."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.