Daily Archives: March 8, 2020

Layla Moran has revealed she plans to run for leadership of the Liberal Democrats, saying the party needs to move on from the last decade.

The former teacher, who has been an MP since 2017, would mark a break from the partys years in coalition with the Tories from 2010 to 2015.

Speaking on Skys Ridge on Sunday, the MP for Oxford West and Abingdon said she would put climate change and electoral reform at the heart of her agenda.

I want to lead and empower the Liberal Democrats to fight for this future and to grow our support, so that we can make peoples lives better. I want the party to be in a position to win power within a generation, so that we can bring about the change our country so desperately needs, she said.

Moran, who recently came out as pansexual, has previously been critical of former leader Jo Swinson, saying the 2019 election campaign was arrogant.

She had been expected to run for the leadership in 2019 but withdrew after it emerged she had slapped her then boyfriend in 2013 at the partys conference.

Her rivals are likely to include Ed Davey, the former energy secretary, who is currently acting leader and lost out to Swinson in 2019. The first candidate to declare was Wera Hobhouse, the MP for Bath since 2017, who entered the race saying she wanted a clean break with the coalition era.

Other potential candidates include Daisy Cooper, the St Albans MP, who has only been an MP since December.

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Layla Moran to stand for Liberal Democrat leadership - The Guardian

At the risk of stating the obviousand the even greater risk of stating it a little too obviouslythe most likely reason that Bernie Sanders is losing has nothing to do with his strategy or his toxic followers or Elizabeth Warren refusing to drop out. Its because hes too liberal. Thats it.

Even among Democrats, theres not a majority who identify as liberal, let alone mega liberal. Maybe there will be someday when Millennials and Gen Z take over, but not today.

I know Im a bit of a broken record on this, but the whole Bernie phenomenon is very much a part of the Twitter bubble. Or maybe its just the online blatherer bubble. In any case, I belong to a few progressive listservs and support for Joe Biden in those places is approximately zero. On Twitter, youd think there were no human beings in the country who supported Biden. Even in the more traditional media, theres an assumption that Biden is just sort of a default choice for some people, but that nobody actively likes the guy.

Maybe so. But out in the real world I think theres more grass roots support for Biden than he gets credit for. Its not as loud or as enthusiastic as Sanders or Warren get, but neither is it establishment support, as Bidens weak fundraising shows. Rather, it comes from Bidens experience; his general likability; his optimism; and yes, some Obama coattails. Polls show pretty clearly that its always been there, but it was hidden for a while during the boomlets for other candidates.

I know the red rose crowd doesnt want to hear this, but America is simply not a super liberal country. Even self-identified Democrats arent that liberal. I mean, take a look at who the Democratic nominees have been for the past 30 years: B. Clinton, Gore, Kerry, Obama, and H. Clinton. Id say this progression shows a party thats becoming more liberal, but its happening damn slowly. Its just not in Bernie territory yet.

And the country as a whole? Hoo boy. Its nowhere even close.

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Sometimes the Obvious Thing Is True: Bernie Sanders Is Just Too Liberal - Mother Jones

Cisneros conceded Wednesday morning but struck a defiant tone, saying her race was proof "a brown girl from the border with a whole community behind her could take on the machine."

"This is just the beginning," she said in a statement. "The first thing we had to defeat was the culture of fear and our movement was victorious in proving we're within striking distance of bringing fundamental change to South Texas.

Throughout the campaign, Cisneros knocked Cuellar as Trumps favorite Democrat and made a generational argument against the eight-term incumbent. Taking on Cueller, who opposes abortion rights and once had an A-rating from the National Rifle Association, Cisneros quickly became a cause celebre for the left.

She championed both "Medicare for All" and the Green New Deal and notched endorsements from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Ocasio-Cortez.

"As someone who was also outspent 10 to 1, she can absolutely pull it off. But if she doesn't pull it off, I don't think we've seen the last of her," Ocasio-Cortez said in an interview shortly before the election.

The high-profile endorsements gave Cisneros a national network of grassroots donors and ample earned media, but Cuellar and his supporters maintained that it would not translate into local support in a district that is heavily rural and dependent on oil.

Her near-miss is likely to embolden a score of liberal primary challengers hoping to take out House Democrats, including two later this month. In Illinois, Democrat Marie Newman is making another run at Rep. Dan Lipinski who, like Cuellar, also opposes abortion rights. And in Ohio, Rep. Joyce Beatty faces a stiff challenge from consumer advocate Morgan Harper.

Cuellar, perhaps spooked by the rash of Democratic incumbents who fell last cycle, assembled a formidable campaign apparatus. Former staffers of Joe Crowley, who lost to Ocasio-Cortez, reached out last year to Cuellar's team to offer advice.

While Cisneros raised over $1 million and had sizable help from an EMILYs List affiliate Cuellar still dwarfed her in spending. Buoyed by a massive campaign war chest bolstered by years of uncompetitive races, he dropped $2.3 million as of mid-February and still had $2 million left in the bank for the final stretch.

Cuellars allies said he took the race seriously from the start, deploying television, radio, digital and newspaper ads. The campaign hired paid canvassers in December and said it has knocked on 100,000 doors.

For much of the race, Cuellar scoffed at the idea that Cisneros could gain traction. The campaign polled several times, according to Cuellar strategist Colin Strother, and maintained a strong lead throughout.

Cuellar refused to debate Cisneros during the race but he did blast out negative mailers and one contrast television ad, knocking her as a New York transplant. One mail piece showed a picture of Cisneros in front of the Brooklyn Bridge. (Cisneros was born in Laredo and attended law school in Austin before completing a legal fellowship in Brooklyn.)

His campaign suggested that at least some of his spending was to protect his South Texas brand. The Cuellar family is an institution in Laredo, which makes up a bulk of the electorate. His brother is the Webb County sheriff, and his sister is the countys tax assessor-collector.

Part of Cisneros strategy was to significantly change the electorate, bringing in young and low-propensity voters. She campaigned on college campuses throughout the district.

Establishment forces banded together behind Cuellar. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi both endorsed him and campaigned with him in the district. And he no doubt benefited from a policy change at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee that essentially blacklists campaign consultants who work to oust a sitting member of the conference.

His campaign also received support from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the oil industry and the conservative Koch network a donor list that Cisneros said was further proof that Cuellar is out of touch with such a Democratic-leaning district.

Cuellar was one of three members who faced credible primary challengers on Tuesday.

In California's Central Valley, Rep. Jim Costa, a fellow Blue Dog Democrat, appeared on track to stave off Fresno City Council Member Esmeralda Soria. He held a 20-point lead over Soria with 100 percent of precincts reporting, though the AP had yet to call the race.

And in North Texas, GOP Rep. Kay Granger easily dispatched primary challenger Chris Putnam, delivering a boon to the GOP establishment as well as the forces within her party working to combat the dwindling ranks of Republican women.

Granger led Putnam, a technology executive backed by the conservative Club for Growth, by 16 points, with 100 percent of precincts reporting.

Three former GOP members attempted comebacks Tuesday night. One has advanced to a primary runoff in May, while the fate of the other two was still uncertain as of Wednesday afternoon.

Former Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) spurned the suburban Dallas seat he lost last cycle to Democrat Colin Allred to run in a Waco-based district 100 miles south that is more GOP-friendly. He notched a spot Tuesday in the May 26 primary runoff, but the AP had not determined his opponent as of Wednesday afternoon.

In a vacant southern California seat, former GOP Rep. Darrell Issa was locked in an intraparty fight for a spot in the general election to replace former Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.). Issa retired last cycle rather than run for reelection in a neighboring district, which Democrats ultimately flipped by a double-digit margin.

After a bruising race, Issa and fellow Republican Carl DeMaio were still fighting for the second spot in California's protracted vote count. Democrat Ammar Campa-Najjar was the top vote-getter, but he will be at a disadvantage in November when the Republican vote is not splintered.

Meanwhile, former GOP Rep. Steve Knight was struggling to advance in the special election for the northern Los Angeles seat he lost last cycle to Democrat Katie Hill, who resigned late last year. Knight currently trails Navy veteran Mike Garcia, though the AP has not called the race. Democratic state Assemblywoman Christy Smith took first place but finished shy of a majority, prompting a May 12 runoff.

National Democrats spent upward of $500,000 in an attempt to nudge Knight into the general election, a sign that they believe Garcia would be a more formidable Republican foe.

Pierce Bush, the latest member of the Bush clan to run for office in Texas, fell short in an open, suburban Houston battleground district on Tuesday. Bush, a nonprofit leader and grandson of George H.W. Bush, failed to qualify for a GOP runoff, finishing behind Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls and GOP megadonor Kathaleen Wall.

Bush tried to stake out a compassionate-conservative message in a massive 15-candidate field, but he got a late start and struggled somewhat with his family's messy history with President Donald Trump.

The winner of the May 26 runoff will face Democrat Sri Preston Kulkarni, the 2018 nominee for the seat, in the general election to replace retiring Rep. Pete Olson (R-Texas).

House Democrats and Republicans tapped nominees in some districts targeted by both parties in November. Army veteran Wesley Hunt and businesswoman Genevieve Collins will take on freshmen Democratic Reps. Lizzie Fletcher and Allred, respectively.

Wendy Davis, the 2014 nominee for governor, will face GOP Rep. Chip Roy in a central Texas district.

And in a safe red seat in the Texas panhandle, Ronny Jackson, Trump's former physician, advanced to a Republican runoff with Josh Winegarner.

Laura Barrn-Lpez contributed to this report.

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Cuellar edges out liberal challenger in Texas, and other Super Tuesday House results - POLITICO

The recent Delhi riots have shown that liberalism is under threat today. This is the case not only in India but in many countries of the world. The ultra-right is on the ascendant, stridently questioning the relevance of the liberal lobby. In India, liberals are pejoratively dismissed by the ruling establishment and its hangers on as libtards, part of the Khan Market gang or the Lutyens elite.

Uday Deb

Liberals may be under attack, but liberalism, as a worldview, is enduringly relevant to the ethos and civilisational legacy of our country. Its belief in pluralism, respect for all faiths, a just social order, equitable economic progress, tolerance for different opinions, acceptance of dissent, social peace and harmony, a civilised discourse, and avoidance of shrill, extremist views, resonates with the spirit of our Constitution, and the essential idea of India.

But for a variety of reasons, liberals do not capitalise efficiently on the ideological strength of their platform. This comes out clearly in their approach to secularism, and the importance of religion in our country. There is often a selectivity in their opposition to the illiterate aggression of the ultra-right that weakens their credibility and, in fact, strengthens those whom they are opposing.

I believe, for instance, that liberals should have emphatically and unitedly opposed the overruling by the Congress government in 1986 of the Shah Bano judgment. It was a blatant act of minority appeasement for vote bank politics. Equally, liberals should have far more forcefully condemned the purging of the Pandits from Kashmir in the 1990s. Again, the valid condemnation of the open incitement to violence in Delhi by BJP leaders should be accompanied by an equally strong denunciation of the incendiary speech made by AIMIM leader Waris Pathan and others like him.

Secondly, liberals are often confused over the very idea of secularism in the Indian context. I have great respect for Jawaharlal Nehru, but it is unfortunate how much his personal agnosticism influenced by Western notions of modernity, in which overt religious practice was somehow considered anti-secular still holds sway over the liberal landscape. The secularism that is really relevant is that of Mahatma Gandhi, who uninhibitedly immersed himself in all religions, made no secret of his own Hindu piety, and then emerged with the inference that we must respect all faiths.

Liberals must understand that there is no contradiction between an assertion of personal faith and a secular vision. There is no place, therefore, for sterile intellectual sophistry on soft Hindutva. That is an allegation of the ultra-right. Liberals make a fundamental mistake by responding in a manner that seems to put them on the back foot for following their own religion with pride. Their real task is not to be reticent about personal religious belief, but to re-appropriate religion itself from the bigotry, hatred and distortion of the ultra-right.

Thirdly, many liberals are not sufficiently rooted in the culture of the soil. India is a deeply cultural nation. You cannot condemn the deplorable distortion of the use of the slogan Jai Shri Ram unless you have some knowledge of Valmikis Ramayan or Tulsidass Ramcharitmanas, which bring out the maryada purushottam character of Lord Ram as the very epitome of ethical and caring conduct. It is imperative for liberals to have an idea of Kabirs remarkably eclectic vision. It is essential for them to know the sheer wisdom of Thiruvalluvar. It is vital for them to be familiar with the inclusive Sufi tradition, and the many other examples of earthy good sense that is part of our cultural heritage.

Fourthly, liberals are mostly not very good at organised activism on the ground. It is not possible to counter the lumpen ultra-right while sitting in drawing rooms or making the occasional tweet or Facebook post. I am afraid that there is no option for liberals but to wade into the muck to aggressively assert their vision of India. The ultra-right is fanatical and committed, and forever ready to hit the streets. Liberals must respond by taking them on peacefully and strengthen their direct outreach to the masses at large.

Finally, liberals must stop being hopelessly divided in terms of tactics. They are prone to ideological hair-splitting, and of remaining in individual silos of self-righteousness. The ability of identifying the main political opponent, and of subsuming minor differences to jointly oppose it, eludes them. We thus have a cacophony of different voices, saying much the same thing, but none of this translating into an efficacious common front. Extreme left wing ideology often hijacks the entire debate. Unfortunately, responses just peter out at the condemnation and critique stage, with no concrete follow-up, in terms of coordinated political strategy on a pan-India scale.

The time has come for liberals to stop living in an ivory tower of assumed superiority, and take up the battle on the ground. For this, they must consciously rectify past mistakes, and devise a new action plan in the idiom of the people. That plan must have the key elements of credibility, consistency, objectivity, unity and activism. The country is crying out for sanity and decency in the national discourse. Liberalism, however decried, is the right answer to this need, if only it rises effectively to meet this challenge.

DISCLAIMER : Views expressed above are the author's own.

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Where Indian liberals err: We need liberal values badly, but liberals must stop scoring these self-goals - Economic Times

OTTAWA Opposition parties are firing the first major shot across the bow of the Liberal government with a move meant to remind them they didnt win a majority government last fall.

On Monday, the House will vote on a Conservative motion meant to give all of the opposition parties one more opposition day, special days on the House calendar when they control the agenda.

Usually, even in a minority parliament, it is the governing party that decides what bills get debated on which days.

Conservative House leader Candice Bergen said the Liberals havent adapted to their new minority status.

That motion was specifically a response to what the Liberals have been doing, habitually, over the last couple of months, not quite realizing that theyre in a minority parliament, she said.

With some restrictions, the government decides when opposition days fall in the sitting calendar, and in this case the Liberals decided to put the Conservative opposition day on a Friday, which is a shorter day in the House and also coincides with when many MPs leave Ottawa to return to their ridings.

They were trying to punish us by giving us a Friday, said Bergen. We had to send a signal that they couldnt do that kind of thing.

The Liberals have a strong minority and will be able to pass their budget or any other confidence motion with the help of any one of the three major opposition parties, but on committee votes, motions and private members business, they may not have the control over Parliament they did in the past government.

The motion, which is expected to pass, would give the Bloc, NDP and Conservatives one additional opposition day in the next three sitting weeks and would prevent the government from putting any of them on a Wednesday or a Friday, the two shorter days.

With fewer days left for debate, the government will be forced to slow down its own legislative agenda. The Liberals are trying to pass the new NAFTA agreement through the House and have several other bills they would like to make more progress on.

A minority government, often in Canadian history, has become the time when we achieved the most

Deputy government whip Ginette Petitpas Taylor raised the problem in the House during debates on the Conservative motion.

Let me remind the House that this motion will delay several important bills, such as Bill C-4, the bill to implement the historic trade agreement between our great country, the United States and Mexico, she said during debate on the issue. Let us remember that the United States, Mexico and all premiers want this bill to be passed, and passed quickly.

The Liberals havent announced a budget day yet, but they would have a limited set of options in that three-week window to choose from with the opposition getting so much time.

Bergen said the government should be managing its legislation better and the Conservatives have given them an opportunity to move NAFTA forward.

It is the governments responsibility to manage the business of the House.

Despite having few ideological allies, Bergens motion is one of several the Conservatives have managed to get through the minority parliament.

The first vote in the new parliament was on a Conservative motion to establish a new committee on Canada-China relations that has already led to some difficult headlines for the Liberals. They have also successfully moved to have the Liberals $187-billion infrastructure program audited.

Bergen said the Conservatives are being deliberate in the motions they put forward, aiming to have something achievable with their demands.

We are absolutely looking for motions that can pass and will deliver concrete results, she said. We anticipate now we will have a few more opposition days, so you will see that the motions we put forward are designed to deliver real results.

NDP House leader Peter Julian agrees the government hasnt fully adapted to its new reality.

It took time for the government to understand that it could not just come in and make all the decisions itself, he said.

He said pushing opposition days to the sidelines is the sort of move the Liberal and Conservative majority governments make, but this isnt a majority government.

The government is using the tools that majority governments have and I dont believe that is appropriate, he said. That is historically what both the Harper government and the Trudeau government did, but it is a disregard for Parliament.

We are absolutely looking for motions that can pass and will deliver concrete results

Julian said minority governments have consistently delivered good results for Canadians and he is hopeful this one will be no different, but that is up to the Liberals.

A minority government, often in Canadian history, has become the time when we achieved the most.

As a smaller party, the NDP has received only one opposition day in this parliament so far, though it will get another if Bergens motion passes. It used its one day for a broader goal, calling on the House to support a national dental-care plan.

How the parties make use of the minority parliament is up to them, Julian said, but he believes Canadians will judge the parties on how they use this opportunity. He said the Conservatives are making their own choices, about quick wins, but he is happy to push for something bigger.

Our sense is that there is an appetite from Canadians for building a better country.

In a statement sent after the Posts story was published online, Mark Kennedy, a spokesperson for the government house leader said the Conservatives were playing political games.

They have a track record in recent years of holding Parliament hostage with political tactics and maneuvers, repeatedly obstructing MPs from debating important legislation, said Kennedy.

He said despite the Conservatives complaints now they often scheduled opposition days for Fridays and Wednesdays when they were in power.

Unfortunately, the Conservatives have chosen to play political games.

Email: rtumilty@postmedia.com | Twitter:

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'We had to send a signal': Opposition parties want Liberals to wake up to their minority status - National Post