Democratic (Party) Direction

people interested in how far-left political theory and the concept of intersectionality can support each other (a little off-topic from the main thread subject, I recognize) might find this piece worthwhile.

Answer as always seems to be 'nearest iceberg'

Depressing institutional obstacles too nauseating to talk about for long:

From Bernie to Biden, anybody who wins the Dem nomination in 2020 is going to be well to the left of the median votes in the House and Senate. Exactly how far is relevant for issues within the purview of the executive branch, but in terms of major legislation the distinction is trivial.

And if the answer to this is “better median votes,” well, given the way the House and Senate are configured, how? You can have congressional nominees in marginal jurisdictions the left of the party will trust more that Cory Booker (who, again, whatever his faults is well to the left of the median Democratic vote in the Senate), and you can have Democratic congressional majorities, but you can’t have both. If people on the left of the party thinks that winning the presidential nomination is most of the ballgame, they’re going to be bitterly disappointed.

http://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2017/08/breaking-american-institutions-overrepresent-rural-conservatives

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/08/07/bernie-sanders-democrats-medicare-primaries-241388

House and Senate Democrats have wondered for months whether Bernie Sanders’ supporters might choose to focus their energy on launching primary challenges to party moderates in 2018. They’re about to get an answer.

Sanders has decided the moment is right to launch his proposal for the single-payer health insurance system that helped form the backbone of his presidential message. And Democrats who don’t get behind it could find themselves on the wrong side of the most energetic wing of the party — as well as the once and possibly future presidential candidate who serves as its figurehead.

The Vermont senator himself has not explicitly said he’ll support primary challenges to those who won’t support his push for a so-called Medicare-for-all health care plan. But there are plenty of signs that Sanders and his allies view the issue as a defining moment for Democratic lawmakers.

“Our view is that within the Democratic Party, this is fast-emerging as a litmus test,” said Ben Tulchin, the pollster for Sanders’ White House run.

...

yesssss

sounds good to me

I support it for sure because I think it's the right thing to do, but it won't be easy to get everyone to buy in, and I don't just mean the donor class. From Vox:

And even if average wages do rise, that’s not a guarantee that your wages in particular will rise. This is a particular problem for union workers whose pay and benefits are set in collective bargaining agreements, which in turn is a huge political problem since it’s difficult to imagine ambitious new social welfare legislation being enacted without union support.

I suspect that as someone who works for the state my costs would actually increase because I'm already paying very little for premiums and my deductible isn't too terrible (though it's gone up quite a bit in recent years). Personally I'm willing to take that hit provided it's not too drastic, in order to ensure all Americans have coverage. But I don't know how many of my fellow state employees would agree. And really that goes for anyone currently working at any job where the benefits were a significant enticement in their hiring. I know there are a lot of people in the private sector whose coverage blows mine out of the water.

Thing are going awful for the Dems. They can't even win on ocial issues!!

Iowa Democrats pulled off an impressive and important victory in a Southeast Iowa special election this evening, boosting the party’s hopes that 2018 could be a bounce-back year. Democratic veterinarian Phil Miller of Fairfield comfortably defeated Republican farmer Travis Harris of Davis County, 4,021 to 3,324 (about 55% to 45%), thanks largely to a massive victory in his hometown of Jefferson County. That means Democrats will hold on to a key rural swing district that Donald Trump won in November by 22 points.

Miller will fill out the remainder of Curt Hanson’s term in the Iowa House for District 82, which includes Jefferson, Davis and Van Buren counties. Hanson passed away in mid-June, who himself won the seat in a 2009 special election. He was one of the few Democrats to still represent a rural district in the Iowa Legislature, and today’s special election was seen as an important test for whether local Democratic candidates could still win in Trump-leaning areas of the state.

social issues even!

buncha risible libs and centrist dems mocking Nina Turner today over the Buzzfeed piece mentioned here

http://observer.com/2017/08/bernie-sanders-nina-turner-our-revolution/

"they tried to seduce us with donuts and water" happens to be funny. There's no way around that. Also it sounds like she arguably exaggerated a bit as described in thread below.

How Nina Turner described the DNC police barricades VS reality pic.twitter.com/X5AAcMcq15

— Centrism2020 FanAcct (@Wilson__Valdez) August 10, 2017

It reminds me of the video from the California Bernie delegates at the convention who thought their chants were being cancelled by white noise machines above them and it was shared all over as proof of DNC oppression but literally nothing happens in it and you see no examples of anything they are complaining about.

Turner is a little too invested in casting Dems as villains. And it's a little annoying when people bring up that she wasn't allowed to speak at the convention like that's any kind of transgression when she wouldn't endorse the nominee. People should be madder about that than how she was treated, especially if you're following the news.

A barricade is a barricade and it's sure as hell not a welcome mat. Personally I'd consider it good optics to publicly accept and take seriously a petition with 130k signatories (iirc?) but what the hell do I know

yes, all infomercials require smiling unanimity

Man all those times I had to resist the donuts and water so I could stay pure

whenever possible I try to avoid sharing a sense of humor with Jen "Bernie is a (((Russian plant)))" Kirkman

The DNC didn't put up the barricade, though

But admittedly, it was a barricade that was a barricade, you're definitely right about that

People just use "pure" and "purist" online, right? IRL would present too great a risk of getting kicked up the ass.

(I do mean up and not in)

Yeah Kirkman is completely nuts. I don't know what that has to do with this. Connection her dumb conspiracy to anti-semitism is a stretch though.

But the crowd was welcomed and addressed by the DNC political director. The explanation that barricade was a building security measure for large crowds sounds reasonable (confirmed by Turner herself) and odd to distrust. And no literal welcome mat but they were given refreshments which should probably be seen as analogous to one maybe. Don't you think it's more likely that Turner was going to characterize this as adversarial vs DNC no matter what because that's her always being on brand?

A barricade is a barricade and it's sure as hell not a welcome mat.

barricades are often statutory requirements at places where there might be gatherings - the one in this picture is something you see in any 500+ capacity club, it's there to prevent people from getting crushed. it's up even when turnout is low. this doesn't even pass the smell-test, anybody who thinks THIS BARRICADE IS A HOSTILE GESTURE FROM THE DNC is being v silly.

I would love to see you try to kick my ass, whatever direction or preposition you want to run with, Michael Morbcock

I'm inclined to take Turner and her concerns seriously despite the (pretty standard among politicians) tendency towards hyperbole.

i would pay good money to see Tombot v. Morbz PPV

I'm inclined to take Turner and her concerns seriously despite the (pretty standard among politicians) tendency towards hyperbole.

I'm not, because what she's saying seems like nonsense.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bumfights tbf

Yeah Kirkman is completely nuts. I don't know what that has to do with this. Connection her dumb conspiracy to anti-semitism is a stretch though.

She's one of many with donuts in her Twitter handle now. And I tend to assume the dumbest Sanders conspiracists are also anti-Semites, just makes life easier

What if neither Turner NOR Kirkman are worth listening to because none if their shit has anything useful to tell us about 2018+ ? What then?

sexist

(I'm kidding, btw)

one is the head of a major left org fighting for things probably everyone in this thread wants and the other is an insane comedian, maybe I wouldn't lump them together even if you don't like her

(I'm sorry for mentioning JK at all itt - brain pollution is bad for us all - but I first heard about this due to her bad tweets getting RT'd into my feed)

I suggest improving your feed to have less Jen Kirkman in it

I'm sorry for mentioning JK at all itt

yeah i was wondering why tf she came up

don't worry I already FP'd myself

I like Tombot IRL fwiw, I was not addressing him as an individual

(I'll leave M**dy's ass out of this)

Hey all IDGAF about Jen Kirkman as a person, comedian or political opiner but given that she's spoken extensively and honestly about her struggles w/mental illness can we avoid using "insane?" Thanks!

Also could you guys stop calling Trump's policies "absurd" because one time when I was six I drew a duck with springs for legs with crayons and my teacher called it 'ab***d' but with a really hurtful inflection and it still triggers me. Thx

I will keep that in mind Phil

meanwhile, re: Dems, small donations, and communication strategy

The Democratic Party should be completely freaked out that they're being crushed by Trump in small-dollar donations https://t.co/Xpta4RQUkQ pic.twitter.com/OkxYbFWAWW

— Michael Whitney (@michaelwhitney) August 10, 2017

Is there any chance that articles like this will nuance the perceived moral superiority of relying on small-dollar donations? Probably not.

You don't need to think small donations are superior (morally or strategically) to think that that's a really bad sign.

eh I'm not particularly worried that small donations are not currently flooding the DNC

was Trump the first time the candidate that raised the most money *didn't* win the presidential election?

x-post: I agree. I'm just not that surprised. So much of the right-wing echo chamber has been basically a grift based on offering empowering messages in exchange for cash.

Are you guys arguing for the Democrats to be the party of oligarchy?

Or that money doesn't matter anymore? IDGI...

Like Democrats need a reason to be completely freaked out amirite

Even if you don't care about the relative paucity of small donors (which...nevermind) you should at least care that their messaging is atrocious. (I roll with Marxists so I know terrible messaging when I see it.)

I agree w points about the language employed in emails but people tend to donate to individual candidates more than the party. Also DCCC out raised its GOP counterpart.