Wolf urges Democrats: Stay strong in your values

Gov. Wolf - one of Democrats' few bright spots last Election Day - urged House Democrats to remain confident in their values Wednesday as they gathered in Philadelphia for days of meetings aimed at building a strategy that better connects with voters.

"I acknowledged that we Democrats and members of Congress are probably doing a lot of soul-searching, given what happened in November," Wolf said in an interview after his address to House Democrats meeting at the Society Hill Sheraton. "What we believe makes sense. I think we have to have confidence in that."

He spoke as the lawmakers gathered for three days of closed-door meetings that will include speeches Thursday from President Obama and Friday from Vice President Biden.

The strategy session comes months after a drubbing at the polls that left Republicans in control of the Senate and with an even larger House majority, and as both parties turn their eyes to 2016 races.

The event also coincided with local Democrats' leading a tour of the city for the party's national chairwoman, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, as Philadelphia tries to win the 2016 national convention.

Rep. Robert Brady, chairman of the city's Democratic Party, said the tour focused on "technical stuff" such as security and logistics. Wasserman Schultz "loved it," Brady said, but gave no indication of which city is in the lead.

Other finalists are also getting another look: Wasserman Schultz visited Columbus, Ohio, on Monday and is scheduled to see New York City on Friday.

Wherever the convention is held, Wolf said, the party needs to show confidence in a message based on "fairness," despite its recent losses.

"You can tell when somebody's faking it, and you can tell when they mean it," Wolf said. "My message is, we need to mean it, because it works."

He opened the event with Mayor Nutter and national AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka.

At a news conference at the Hyatt Regency Philadelphia at Penn's Landing, House Democratic leaders said they would aim over the next two years to show that they are the party that cares about the middle class, and to ensure that average people feel the benefits of an improving economy.

"We're going to be the party that offers not just a recovery, but for growth of paychecks," said Rep. Steve Israel of New York, one of House Democrats' top message-makers.

A placard reading "Grow America's Economy, Grow America's Paychecks" hung behind him.

Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California characterized Democrats' strategy as a specific focus on middle-class economics rather than a change of course.

"The public didn't see the clarity and the focus of the message" last election, she said.

Rep. Brendan Boyle of Northeast Philadelphia campaigned on the concerns of the middle class to win his first term in November. Now, he said, the message will be even more prevalent among his colleagues.

"There is a laser focus that has been placed on those issues now that maybe was not there two years ago," he said.

Republicans pointed out that they crushed Democrats at the polls months ago. Democrats are "rudderless and lack a message or policies Americans support," said Raffi Williams, spokesman for the Republican National Committee.

Lawmakers in both parties hold policy retreats at the start of every new Congress, but for House Democrats, the meetings Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday come at a particularly dire time.

Republicans have their largest majority since after the 1928 elections, and fissures have emerged among Democrats over how to improve their tactics and whether the time has come to give younger voices a chance.

The meeting is a chance for the caucus "to organize its policy focus," said Rep. Chaka Fattah of Philadelphia.

"It's kind of like a huddle before the football game," he said.

For some lawmakers, it is also a chance to get to know some of the new members who joined Congress this month.

The retreats are usually in rural settings near Washington, though several Democrats said there had been requests for a city setting.

Philadelphia is close enough to Washington that it's easy to get to, but far enough away that it is free of the day-to-day distractions of Capitol Hill, said Xavier Becerra of California, chair of the House Democratic caucus.

Republicans also came to Pennsylvania for their policy retreat. They held their meetings in Hershey this month.

Local Democrats hope to show off the city while all are here. Boyle has planned a group tour of Independence Hall on Friday.

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