Democratic leaders across both the legislative and executive branches are generally older than leadership on the other side of the aisle, leading to some restlessness among the lower ranks who have been patiently awaiting their turn at the top.

The most recent blow to those hoping to climb the ranks? Dianne Feinstein, 84, the oldest senator currently serving in the chamber, just announced a bid for re-election to the seat she's held for two and a half decades.

The presidential field also looks like an uphill climb for young Democrats: apart from a couple of standout young senators, names like Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden still loom large among the potential hopefuls.

Part of the problem for Democrats is one of recruiting. Historic losses over the last decade in statehouses across the country have not helped create a bench of energized new lawmakers. Further Democrats have had difficulty winning new seats in the House since the tea party wave of 2010 and redistricting in the wake of that year's census


http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/10/politics/democrats-age-problem/index.html?CNNPolitics=fb

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Data and more info at the page. Limited by 4 paragraph copy rule.

Posted in GD as I don't think this qualifies as news. This is not a slam on anyone so much as an attempt to help folks understand what it's going to take to stop Trump in 2020.

Saturday Night Live breaks its format only rarely. The cold open sketch, which addresses one of the week's big news stories, is one of its immovable objects. But from time to time, they do change the structure — perhaps most famously when the show returned after September 11, when Paul Simon opened it singing "The Boxer" surrounded by New York City firefighters and police, as well as then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

This Saturday night, SNL broke format again. The show opened on Jason Aldean, who was on stage at the Route 91 Festival in Las Vegas on October 1 when the attack began that left 58 people dead and injured nearly 500. Aldean introduced himself and spoke about solidarity with everyone who was hurting in the wake of the shooting. "When America is at its best," he said, "our bond and our spirit, it's unbreakable." He then performed "I Won't Back Down," from Tom Petty's huge 1989 album Full Moon Fever. Petty died Monday night, the day after the shooting, from cardiac arrest.

A song like "I Won't Back Down," actually not unlike "The Boxer," delivers a general message of perseverance that will be read in a variety of ways by a variety of audiences. And in that way, it echoes the difficulty of responding to tragedies: It's clear that there's a challenge to persevere against, but it goes unstated what that challenge is.

But while Aldean didn't address it, the show didn't avoid the gun control debate that has raged since the shooting. Later, "Weekend Update" began with host Colin Jost saying, "The investigation into the tragedy in Las Vegas this week has sparked a larger debate in America between people who want common-sense gun control and people who are wrong."

http://www.npr.org/sections/monkeysee/2017/10/08/556479829/jason-aldean-covers-tom-petty-as-snl-responds-to-las-vegas

... For documents and evidence post January 20?

... that someone had the gall to ask a question.

I was listening to a Sam Harris podcast and he talked about how limited his social circles are. He made a joke that Christopher Hitchens was the last person he knew who smoked regularly.

Made me think...

I'm an Army guy and I don't know one officer who smokes regularly and maybe 1 or 2 above specialist who still smoke ...

(Copenhagen doesn't count)

Is your experience similar? Some? Many? none?

Is your social circle diverse or limited?

If an autopsy could show that an undiagnosed mini-stroke or tumor had damaged his frontal cortex (for example) and removed his ability to consider ethics in his actions... Could you accept it?

In short, if the switch were "flipped" and he went from upper-middle-class realty guy with no history of violence, crime, or guns to what we saw in Vegas could you ever see him as a victim, not in control of himself?

Side note: I'm not suggesting that this is actually the case. I have no idea. I doubt we'll ever know if he blasted his brains out either.

This is just a thought experiment based on some interviews I heard with brain scientist Robert Sapolsky and others.

Bolded for cwydro

Source: CNN

Everyone seems to have a strong opinion about why Hillary Clinton lost.

Clinton herself -- as explained in her new memoir "What Happened" -- puts blame on her campaign, the news media, former FBI director James Comey and WikiLeaks. Donald Trump tweeted this morning that "Crooked Hillary" was simply a "bad candidate."

And now Stan Greenberg, the man who served as the lead pollster for Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign (and Al Gore's 2000 campaign) has written a long essay titled "How She Lost" that slams Clinton (and her campaign) for a series of messaging, tactical and broader strategic errors.

Greenberg concludes: "For me, the most glaring examples include the Clinton campaign's over-dependence on technical analytics; its failure to run campaigns to win the battleground states; the decision to focus on the rainbow base and identity politics at the expense of the working class; and the failure to address the candidate's growing 'trust problem,' to learn from events and reposition."

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/23/politics/stan-greenberg-hillary-clinton/index.html?sr=fbCNNp092317stan-greenberg-hillary-clinton0323PMVODtop&CNNPolitics=fb


The video is worth a look as well...

Reposted from LBN because I was outside the 12 hour mark.

Source: CNN

Everyone seems to have a strong opinion about why Hillary Clinton lost.

Clinton herself -- as explained in her new memoir "What Happened" -- puts blame on her campaign, the news media, former FBI director James Comey and WikiLeaks. Donald Trump tweeted this morning that "Crooked Hillary" was simply a "bad candidate."

And now Stan Greenberg, the man who served as the lead pollster for Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign (and Al Gore's 2000 campaign) has written a long essay titled "How She Lost" that slams Clinton (and her campaign) for a series of messaging, tactical and broader strategic errors.

Greenberg concludes: "For me, the most glaring examples include the Clinton campaign's over-dependence on technical analytics; its failure to run campaigns to win the battleground states; the decision to focus on the rainbow base and identity politics at the expense of the working class; and the failure to address the candidate's growing 'trust problem,' to learn from events and reposition."

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/23/politics/stan-greenberg-hillary-clinton/index.html?sr=fbCNNp092317stan-greenberg-hillary-clinton0323PMVODtop&CNNPolitics=fb

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The video is worth a look as well...

Most Democrats still like both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, but few want to see either run for president again, a new HuffPost/YouGov survey finds.

...

Democrats and Democratic leaners say by a 10-point margin, 49 percent to 39 percent, that Clinton was not the party’s best option for a nominee last year. Fourteen percent say she was mostly to blame for Trump’s victory, with 37 percent calling her somewhat at fault, 24 percent saying that she’s not very much at fault, and 16 percent saying that she’s not to blame at all.

Looking forward, just 20 percent want to see Clinton run for president again, but 47 percent say they’d like to see her remain active in politics in other ways, while 23 percent want her to retire. Thirty percent want to see Sanders take another stab at the presidency, with 46 percent preferring him to engage in other facets of politics, and 12 percent wishing he would retire.

Both the “Clinton wing” and “Sanders wing” of the party ― defined as those who view one of those politicians positively, but the other negatively ― are relatively small. A 54 percent majority of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents view both Clinton and Sanders favorably, according to the poll. Sixteen percent like Sanders but not Clinton, while 12 percent like Clinton, but not Sanders. Another 6 percent hold a negative view of both.

More at link... but not much. Posted here as it is outside the LBN time limit.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/clinton-sanders-president-democrats_us_59c16e6ce4b087fdf508ba6a?utm_campaign=hp_fb_pages&utm_source=politics_fb&utm_medium=facebook&ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000013§ion=politics#

Just saw her on Fox and it looks like she's suffering from some sort of partial face paralysis.