[...] How can Democrats maximize their chances? First, they need to get the basics right. They should target widely because it’s impossible to know where the floor is for Trump. They don’t want to be in a situation where new terrain opens up and they’re unprepared. They need to start winning back state-level and county-level positions that feed into higher office. They’ll need money and an aggressive recruitment strategy to get good candidates to run. But, ultimately, the 2018 election, like all others, will be determined by who shows up.
Mark Huelsman is a senior policy analyst who focuses on higher education at the think tank Demos. “In an era of entrenched inequality and lack of upward mobility,” he told me, “the same things that would ding a borrower’s credit — a bout of unemployment, an inability to pay a student loan, an unlucky medical history — are the same things that any private lender would be looking at in approving a new loan.”
With the court split 4-4 on this and other issues, the stakes couldn’t be higher. Mr. Gorsuch’s record suggests he’s not the person to shift the tide toward building a democracy in which the size of our wallets doesn’t determine the strength of our voices. Senators must press for clear answers.
What do people mean by “money in politics” or “campaign finance reform”? Running for office requires money—for staff, travel, TV ads, etc. In many countries, much of the cost of public elections is paid for by public funds, so the voters control the process and candidates are only accountable to their constituents. But in most places in the U.S., election campaigns are funded only with private money, most of it coming in the form of large checks from wealthy donors.
Trump’s Nominee Must be Pressed on Money in Politics
For four decades, the Supreme Court’s flawed approach to money in politics has gutted common-sense protections against the power of special interests and wealthy individuals, and shaped a system that 85% of Americans believe needs fundamental changes.
[...] According to a new report by the progressive think tank Demos, “student debt is particularly damaging for individuals who struggle to repay their loans. Delinquent borrowers are saddled with fees, penalties and rapidly accumulating interest; borrowers who default on their loans face ruined credit and a debt often several times their original loan balance.”
[...] Democratic policymakers should prioritize long-term success by easing voter registration and empowering unions. Democrats need to become more comfortable stretching the limits of their power and less inclined toward unrequited bipartisanship. [...]
Trump and his Republican allies are supportive of eliminating funds for cities and "sanctuary" counties, but a recent report from the progressive group "Demos" noted that sanctuaries have protections under the Constitution and local laws.
We are concerned that given Ms. DeVos’ track record to privatize public education and her lack of a clear position concerning the affordability crisis in higher education, the committee cannot properly assess whether Ms. DeVos is fit to run the U.S. Department of Education.
In the first few days of President Trump’s administration, our nation has already seen a direct assault on our democracy. This week, President Trump issued two anti-immigrant Executive Orders, including one on “Interior Enforcement,” which sets forth provisions punishing sanctuary cities that refuse to use their local police to enforce federal civil immigration laws. Let’s be clear: this week's orders are discrimination policies and some of them are unconstitutional.
Americans are working longer and harder than ever, yet in recent years the gains from economic growth have gone disproportionately to the very highest income earners.1 Working people are left out in the cold, denied their fair share of pay for the work they do.
The steep increase in college tuition and student debt over the past decade has led our country to engage in a serious debate about the need to reduce college costs and student borrowing. Yet many misconceptions remain about the scope or magnitude of the problem that student debt poses to our national economy and student debtors’ financial security.1,2 More than 44 million Americans, or nearly 1 in 5 adults, now carry student debt.
Women workers can keep the pressure on city- and state-level legislators ahead of the 2018 midterm elections.
"Find out what your city council is doing in terms of a fair working wage, paid leave, and paid sick days. Get those on the agenda. That is a lever that is much easier to influence."
Dear Chairman Grassley and Ranking Member Feinstein,
Dēmos, a national, non-partisan public policy organization working for an America where we all have an equal say in our democracy and an equal chance in our economy, submits this letter in strong opposition to the confirmation of Senator Jefferson B. Sessions (R-AL) to be the 84th Attorney General of the United States.
New York could join the ranks of states likes of Tennessee and Oregon (in addition to dozens of cities) that have enacted some version of tuition-free public college.
The greatest challenge facing President-elect Trump is following through with his campaign promises to raise the living standard for working-class Americans and bring back manufacturing jobs.
In late August, just as Donald Trump was making his improbable pitch to black voters (“What the hell do you have to lose?”), an unusual and tender video began to make the viral rounds. It showed Heather McGhee, the president of the progressive think tank Demos, responding to a caller on C-span’s “Washington Journal.” McGhee is black. The caller was white, and, he said, prejudiced against black people, because of things he’d seen in the news. But he didn’t want to be.