Ted Strickland: Democrats Suffering From 'Intellectual Elitism'

Fightin Ted Strickland
Outgoing Ohio Governor Ted Strickland was one of my favorite elected officials to lose office last month.  And I loved 95% of his comments in an interview he gave to Sam Stein today. “I think there is a hesitancy [among Democrats] to talk using Populist language,” the Ohio Democrat said in a sit-down interview with The Huffington Post. “I think it has to do with a sort of intellectual elitism that considers that kind of talk is somehow lacking in sophistication.” ...

Ted Strickland: Democrats Suffering From 'Intellectual Elitism'
Source: Huffington Post Democrats suffer from an "intellectual elitism" that prevents them from adopting the type of Populist tone to relate to voters, he said. And while President Obama had made a series of monumental legislative advancements -- any one of which would have been "historic" in its own right -- he fails to recognize that he is being "slapped in the face" by his Republican critics. "I think there is a hesitancy to talk using Populist language," the Ohio Democrat said in a sit-down ...

Irony: Intellectual Elitist Tells Own Party Democrats Suffering From Intellectual Elitism
It takes one to know one in this case. From the Huffington Post via memeorandum: Ted Strickland: Democrats Suffering From ‘Intellectual Elitism’ Democrats suffer from an "intellectual elitism" that prevents them from adopting the type of Populist tone to relate to voters, he said. And while President Obama had made a series of monumental legislative advancements -- any one of which would have been "historic" in its own right -- he fails to recognize that he is being "slapped in the ...

Democrats Have an 'Intellectual Elitism' Problem, Says Democrat (The Atlantic Wire)
WASHINGTON, DC – In an interview with The Huffington Post this week, Ted Strickland, the Democratic Governor of Ohio, offered some pointed criticism of his own party, saying that Democrats suffer from "an intellectual elitism" and an inability to argue their policies on merit. Strickland is a lame-duck governor, having lost the November race to his Republican opponent John Kasich, which may account for his unusual candor here. During the 2010 campaign, Strickland bucked larger Democratic...

Armchair Populism
One reason I remain skeptical of advice that Democrats should sound more “Populist” is that the audience for this advice always seems to be well-off Liberals, and the people who tend to give this advice either aren’t in a position to practice it, or when they are, they flinch. Case in point: Today’s hero, Ted Strickland, the former Governor of Ohio who was defeated in his bid for re-election last month. In an interview with the Huffington Post, he gave the site’s readers exact

Former Ohio Gov. Calls for Dissolution of Democrat Party
At her swank new gig at the Washington Post, Jennifer Rubin has a little fun with Ohio’s Ted Strickland: Former Ohio Gov.Ted Strickland declared, in reference to the argument on extending only the Bush Tax Cuts for middle-income Taxpayers, “I mean if we can’t win that argument, we might as well fold up.” Well, I couldn’t agree more. And, in fact, the Democrats have not been able to engage the public or round up a congressional majority for their class warfare gamb...

Political Corruption: GOP Embraces the Ken Lay Way
The GOP has adopted the Ken Lay principles—that is obfuscation, false statements and feigned innocence. Republicans are obfuscating about the real reason for their opposition to extending Unemployment Benefits, the way Enron CEO Ken Lay concealed the truth about billions in losses his corporation racked up. Lay assured Enron workers the corporation was strong—five weeks before it failed. When the nation’s seventh largest corporation collapsed into Bankruptcy in 2001, Lay walked away, by

Outgoing Governor Strickland Urges Congress to Extend Unemployment
"At a time when Republican leaders in Washington are only concerned with giving Tax Breaks to the Richest people in our country without paying for them, I am urging Congress to stand with our struggling Middle Class and extend Unemployment Benefits for working people." Strickland criticized his own party yesterday saying Democrats suffer from "intellectual elitism". In an interview with the Huffington Post, Strickland expressed his frustration over the debate by Republicans in congress to extend...

Congress Says "No" to Jobless, "Aye" to Wealthy
Can you help me understand this? Our elected representatives allowed the extended Unemployment Benefits to expire on Tuesday. This directly hurts 800,000 unemployed Americans who rely on the extension to tide them over. It also drags down growth, since every $1 of Unemployment Benefits puts $1.47 into The Economy. Why? Because Republicans state these benefits add $30 billion to the Budget Deficit. At the same time, these same Republicans won't vote to extend the Bush Tax Cuts for families making...

Cat Food Commission and Tax Cuts
Lord, could it ever be more clear? Even the WaPo sees the contradiction: …how can anyone take a Deficit-reduction proposal seriously when the main order of business in Congress is to make sure we widen the deficit by keeping all of the Bush Tax Cuts? , you know that the Dims are going to cave. The real question is, What will they get for caving? “I mean, if we can’t win that argument we might as well just fold up,” he said. “These people are saying we are going to i...

Boehner: House vote on Bush tax cuts is chicken crap (Daily Caller)
House Speaker-designate Rep. John Boehner blasted House Democratic leadership for holding a vote to extend only the Bush-era Tax Cuts for households earning up to $250,000 annually, calling the vote “chicken crap” and “nonsense.” “I’m trying to catch my breath so I don’t refer to this maneuver going on today as chicken crap, alright?” Boehner said Thursday. “But this is nonsense.” Republicans, and a bloc of Democrats, want to see the ...

'Chicken crap' by the numbers
Why did the Democrats falter on the Tax Cuts? Soon-to-be-House Speaker John Boehner is not happy to see the House Democrats pushing a bill that includes only the tax cuts for income under $250,000. “I’m trying to catch my breath so I don’t refer to this maneuver going on today as chicken crap, all right?” There are 238,781 households in John Boehner's district. There are 2,824 of them with an income above $200,000. That's 1.1 percent. And that 1.1 percent is too large, as...

Pelosi rips 'grossly unfair' GOP approach to taxes, jobless benefits
Outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi lambasted the Republican approach to the expiring Bush Tax Cuts and a stalled extension of jobless benefits in a rare floor Speech Thursday.  Speaking in support of a Democratic bill that would extend the Bush Tax Cuts for only the middle-class and not the wealthy, Pelosi (D-Calif.) said that Republicans have taken hypocritical stance by demanding that Unemployment assistance be paid for while supporting Tax Cuts for high income earners that cost $700 billi...

"Intellectual elitism" -- a (defeated) Democrat speaks the truth
What's wrong with the Democrats these days? How much time do you have? But outgoing (not by choice) Democratic Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland pretty much hit the nail on the head here; he didn't name names, but you could clearly list Sarah Palin or Glenn Beck as people who know how to connect emotionally with broad swaths of the Working Class, and Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, and so many other leading Democrats as people who clearly do not. (And note: I personally am not a newcomer to this...

"Intellectual elitism" -- a (defeated) Democrat speaks the truth
What's wrong with the Democrats these days? How much time do you have? But outgoing (not by choice) Democratic Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland pretty much hit the nail on the head here; he didn't name names, but you could clearly list Sarah Palin or Glenn Beck as people who know how to connect emotionally with broad swaths of the Working Class, and Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, and so many other leading Democrats as people who clearly do not. (And note: I personally am not a newcomer to this...

Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland: Dems should fold up if we cant win tax cut debate
Stumble This! Befuddled by his party's struggles to end the Bush Tax Cuts for the wealthy, outgoing Gov. Ted Strickland of Ohio jested that the Democratic Party may as well "fold up" if it loses this battle. "I mean, if we can't win that argument we might as well just fold up," Strickland told Sam Stein of the Huffington Post in an interview. "These people are saying we are going to insist on Tax Cuts for the Richest people in the country and we don't care if they are paid for, and we don't thi...

House Dem leaders reject amendment to extend tax rates for wealthy
House Democratic leaders rejected a bid by four rank-and-file Democrats to offer an amendment to the middle-class Tax Cut bill that would temporarily extend current Tax Rates for the wealthy. Reps. Gerry Connolly (Va.), Jim Himes (Conn.), Gary Peters (Vt.) and Jason Altmire (Pa.) sent a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Thursday morning registering their complaint that their amendment would not be allowed. The House was set to vote on a permanent extension of tax cuts for incomes up...

Pelosi: Tax Cut Debate 'Grossly Unfair'
Democrats are pushing ahead with a vote on their plan for the Bush Tax Cuts, despite GOP resistance, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi took to the House floor today to call the Republican stance on tax cuts "grossly unfair." "This is so grossly unfair," Pelosi said. "It is so grossly unfair. I can't imagine my colleagues on the Republican side don't want to give a tax cut to the Middle Class." What's so unfair about the GOP's bargaining? Pelosi attacked Republicans for wanting to extend the tax cuts on ...

GOP Wants the Best of Times for the Rich, the Worst for the Poor
In the Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens wrote, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” Why in Washington is it the best of times for wealthy Americans, and it is the worst of times for poor people and unemployed Americans? Why is it so easy for Republicans to throw millions of unemployed Americans out on the streets and Under the Bus so Bankers and Billionaires don’t have to pay their fair share of taxes on their incomes? Why does the media pay so much atten...

Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland: Dems should fold up if we cant win tax cut debate
Stumble This! Befuddled by his party's struggles to end the Bush Tax Cuts for the wealthy, outgoing Gov. Ted Strickland of Ohio jested that the Democratic Party may as well "fold up" if it loses this battle. "I mean, if we can't win that argument we might as well just fold up," Strickland told Sam Stein of the Huffington Post in an interview. "These people are saying we are going to insist on Tax Cuts for the Richest people in the country and we don't care if they are paid for, and we don't thi...

Senate Republicans Standing Firm On Budget Issues
Bipartisanship is critical to getting Legislation passed, unless you're a member of the Republicans and want Tax Cuts for people who make more than $250,000. Then it's kind of a side note, even if you don't have a majority in the Senate. In fact, a letter signed by 42 members of the GOP specifically said that all of those in the Senate would refuse to vote on any Legislation that didn't include a Tax Cut maintenance program or reduced the Debt, according to CNN. Brinksmanship aside, it seems to be sendin

How GOP Could Steal Xmas
Thu Dec. 2, 2010 10:03 AM PST Here's some holiday gloom for you: Two million out-of-work Americans will lose their safety net this month if Congress fails to extend temporary Unemployment Insurance. Another seven million will lose their benefits within the year. And The Economy could shed 0.6 percentage points in gross domestic product if jobless benefits aren't extended. Those are the grim highlights of a new report (PDF) by the White House's Council of Economic Advisers. The White House's lat...

Dems too quick to internalize that losing feeling
Outgoing Ohio Governor Ted Strickland erupts in an interview with Sam Stein, blaming Dems for failing to win the argument over the Bush Tax Cuts: Strickland said he was dumbfounded at the party's inability to sell the idea that the rates for the wealthy should be allowed to expire. "I mean, if we can't win that argument we might as well just fold up," he said. "These people are saying we are going to insist on tax cuts for the Richest people in the country and we don't care if they are paid f...

Fat and Stupid is no way to you know the rest
Here’s Matty, again. Matthew Uglyass- Economist Mom has an excellent head-banging-against-the-wall account of the insane Tax Cut debate unfolding in Washington today: The fiscal policymaking in this town seems totally schizophrenic right now. What a juxtaposition to have President Obama’s Deficit-reduction commission release its final report while the Administration “negotiates” with Congress on whether all of the Bush tax cuts, or just most of them, should be permanently extended

Taxes and Blame
Jonathan Chait writes, “The fact is, blame for failing to extend the popular elements of the Bush Tax Cuts should be placed on Republicans. They’re the ones who won’t extend a bill like that without getting something (unpopular) in exchange.” This claim would have more force if House Democrats had passed a bill extending middle-class Tax Cuts that had then fallen Victim to a Senate Republican Filibuster. At any point since January 2007, House Democrats, if they had really...