{"id":80096,"date":"2017-08-06T11:35:00","date_gmt":"2017-08-06T15:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/?p=80096"},"modified":"2017-08-06T11:35:51","modified_gmt":"2017-08-06T15:35:51","slug":"democrats-fear-russia-probe-blowback","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/?p=80096","title":{"rendered":"Democrats fear Russia probe blowback"},"content":{"rendered":"

‘We need to talk about what people think about when they wake up in the morning, and it\u2019s not Russia,’ said one strategist.<\/h3>\n

By DAVID SIDERS
\nPOLITICO<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

ALISO VIEJO, Calif. \u2014 Democrats are increasingly conflicted about how forcefully to press the issue of possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.<\/p>\n

Fearful of alienating voters who appear more concerned about the economy and health care, Democrats campaigning in districts across the country are de-emphasizing Russia in their rhetoric \u2014 and some are warning that a persistent focus on the Russia investigation could backfire.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the races where I\u2019m working, I think voters think that Russia is important and that the questions need to get answered,\u201d Bill Burton, a veteran Democratic consultant, said at a political convention this past weekend. \u201cBut they\u2019re mostly sick of hearing about it, and they want to hear politicians talk about things that are more directly important in their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a state that is critical to the party\u2019s efforts to retake the House, Darry Sragow, a Democratic strategist whose California Target Book handicaps races in California, called Russia a \u201cdistraction\u201d and said Democrats \u201care going to be in deep, deep trouble if they don\u2019t start talking about what voters care about.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to talk about what people think about when they wake up in the morning, and it\u2019s not Russia,\u201d Sragow said. \u201cThe more we talk about stuff that voters don\u2019t truly care about in their daily lives \u2026 it confirms that the Democratic Party\u2019s brain has been eaten by the elites in Washington who have been sitting fat and happy for a lot of years while working Americans have lost their jobs and lost confidence in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Public polling suggests the electorate is deeply suspicious of Trump\u2019s ties to Russia \u2014 but also tired of the months-long inquiry into possible collusion between the president\u2019s campaign and Russia. According to a Quinnipiac University Poll released this week, 63 percent of American voters believe Moscow interfered in the 2016 election, and in a POLITICO\/Morning Consult poll last month, more than half of voters said it was inappropriate for Donald Trump Jr. to meet with an attorney linked to the Russian government.<\/p>\n