Democratic (Party) Direction

Some of you will hate this, but hey (also Tombot seems to be taking a sabbatical)

The way to get people to vote is to offer them candidates who actually give people hope that politics could make things better for them—which is what Obama did for many people of my generation (how wrong we were). If voters have reason to believe that the person they’re voting for might do something to erode the system that makes them feel so alienated—voter suppression; intimidation and oppression of immigrants, people of color and the poor; the outsize influence of corporate dollars on politics—then you won’t have to lecture them.

Let’s just look at the candidate Obama was campaigning for last night, Jacky Rosen. She’s better than the Republican, who’s a snake demon, as they all are, and I desperately hope she wins because of that. But, you know, she’s just fine. She’s alright. What does she have to say about, for example, about healthcare? From her campaign site:

Jacky knows our healthcare system has real problems that we need to work together to fix. That’s why she is working to develop bipartisan solutions to improve health care access and bring down costs by stabilizing the marketplaces, lowering premiums, and addressing Nevada’s doctor shortages. She signed on to and helped pass bipartisan legislation in the House to repeal the medical device tax. Jacky has also introduced forward-thinking legislation to cap the rising costs of life-saving prescription drugs and limit monthly out-of-pocket costs for individuals and families.

Who on Earth is inspired by this shit? “Bipartisan solutions” brokered with a party that wants to stomp out your healthcare entirely—how exactly are you going meet them halfway? By only killing half as many poor people? “Lowering” and “limiting” costs sounds like an ad for a debt consolidation loan, not a bright vision for the future. “Real problems that we need to work together to fix” is exactly the kind of focus-grouped, message-tested, Washington consulting firm-ass, tossed-off bullshit that means *nothing* and tells voters *nothing* and has *no effect on anyone*....

https://splinternews.com/barack-obama-still-doesnt-get-it-1829934747

And yeah I'm she paid real close attention to the 2008 election as someone in British grade school.

— All Hallow’s Eve Not All Hallow’s Steve (@agraybee) October 23, 2018

Damn they sure got her for being an age

It fits in w her defining characteristic of seemingly not followed politics before 2016.

Who, Hilary Clinton?

He said wistfully, remembering the memes.

Obama drew thousands of people in Germany as a candidate, I'm suspicious other Europeans might have been paying attention to 2008. Just a hunch.

that splinter news article was ridiculous

There was another really embarrassing one she wrote that people breathlessly shared about how “Hillary is helping Mike Pompeo” the entire basis of which was a tortured misreading of a quote.

Just the fact that there are self important and defensive “anti-anti-voting” takes instead of “hey please vote the republicans out” is a great way to identify enormous pieces of shit.

Ok...I'll bite (ILX seems one of the few places where this can be done in good faith). Whats the problem with the splinter article, Dan?

it's cool how hipster leftists started using "hopey changey stuff" to make fun of obama as if that phrase hadn't been coined by sarah palin

Kind of line in with using “liberal” as pejorative.

The best part is where she gives a litany of reasons why you should treat it as an imperative to vote the GOP out without realizing she’s doing that.

Do you think she doesn't believe it's "imperative to vote the GOP out"?
Everyone agrees on the necessity of that, Libby appears to disagree with how one voices that and how it can be done. Hectoring people to vote Democratic doesn't work (see also: 2000, 2016) - giving them a reason to vote (like "hopey changey stuff") appears to work.

No she doesn’t believe it’s an imperative because otherwise she wouldn’t have mischaracterized Obama’s statement in that way.

Libby: Tell voters, hey, I understand why you feel like there’s no point...it’s these guys who don’t want you to vote, who want you to feel like there’s no point, because that’s how they win.

Obama: pic.twitter.com/3NFHfF5fQq

— 🍟4All (@Free_Fries_) October 24, 2018

Also it’s important to note that she (and the online people who she follows the lead of) would never urge people to vote the GOP out in a straightforward non-“wah Dems are bad” way because personal branding and her lame careerism greatly supercedes...you know stuff like this

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/trump-administration-was-warned-of-traumatic-psychological-injury-from-family-separations-official-says

It’s not accurate to say “hectoring” was part of the message in 2000 and 2016 as much as that being how we describe the reaction to “both sides are the same narratives” that got traction and that we should probably be somewhat embarrassed by. Libby generally tends to just reiterate the “very online left” takes after they’ve been made a thousand or so people before her and in this specific case the anti-anti-voting thing is a manifestation of her how bubble processes the guilt of having down played the threat of Trump/the GOP.

Jacky Rosen got 77% of the vote in the Dem primary, number two was 'none of these candidates' at 7%. If she is this awful at getting people to vote for her, and there is this other message that would have been a sure-fire vote-getter, then how on earth did her challengers do so pitifully?

it's cool how hipster leftists started using "hopey changey stuff" to make fun of obama as if that phrase hadn't been coined by sarah palin

like even using that shit sarcastically poisons the water

a lot of voting is done after trudging to the polls

Nerdstrom may actually be surpassing Fred as the #1 drag on the politics threads

but i'd like both of you to offer possible 'bipartisan' healthcare solutions

whats the argument against halfing the number of ppl dying morbs

Kind of line in with using “liberal” as pejorative.

― Nerdstrom Poindexter, Wednesday, October 24, 2018 1:25 AM (seven hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Imagining this to be some kind of “hipster” thing shows a complete lack of historical and ideological awareness.

But hey it’s the Democratic Party thread

people overestimate the impact of the online left (most of the time I wish it was actually much greater). I understand why, when you have it in your Twitter feed all day long, but these people are not even a drop in the bucket in terms of actually influencing the electorate.

I'm not sure who it is that thinks the Very Online Left has much sway over anything, especially considering part of its own shtick is a rueful recognition of how small/fringe it is. It seems as though s significant chunk of the Dem voter base is moving left, at varying speeds on varying issues, but I don't think anyone reasonable would chalk that up to shitposters

The hardcore online Clintonista liberals tend to overestimate their own influence though.

Also, are these tweeters that Nerdstrom is quoting reading challenged? Because Libby literally says that Obama was GOOD at doing the things she is suggesting, she just thinks he was a letdown on policy. And then everyone responding is pointing to Obama doing the things she is suggesting. Which is exactly her point.

"The way to get people to vote is to offer them candidates who actually give people hope that politics could make things better for them—which is what Obama did for many people of my generation (how wrong we were)."

The discussion is about a specific rally speech.

Oic. Didn’t realize that was a quote from the same rally.

As for using "liberal" as a pejorative, the American liberal is the most right-leaning iteration on the planet, and its quintessence right now is Chuck Schumer. So yes, fuck em.

I couldn’t 100% swear to it, but I think the left was using it as a pejorative decades before the right. Certainly decades before now in any case.

Phil Ochs to thread

I can absolutely see Rob Reiner turning lefties in.

Hey what’s the third worst King Vidor movie?

Who is a Libby, is she famous?

Yeah imo Marua's otm in that there's no denying the right's superior jiu jitsu, and it's partly well explained by the hack gap, and in some respects long echoed by the left (would you believe it's been used so for longer than Libby Watson's been alive, my sweet heavens), which means it's more popular these days. But I'm not sure why y'all are spleening about a blogger clickfarming about a former President as if that's a meaningful puzzle piece in skirmish over power in the party.

Lol Rush and Fox stole liberal as perjorative from the leftists and the funny podcast guys and I are stealing it back

I love how the shift goes from
defending anti-anti voting takes to downplaying how influential people online are.

you really are beyond help, i don't know why i bother

maybe instead we should talk about david brooks "here's some free advice, democrats" column today which says "democrats should stop making the election about healthcare, they should instead give voters something inspiring they care about, like saying trump is bad and a racist liar, but not in a "social justice warrior" way that suggests minorities and queer people are discriminated against in our society"

i don't aspire to live in a world where very online left bloggers had more influence over the democratic party, but i do think it would be OK if david brooks had as little influence over the democratic party as very online left bloggers

But I'm not sure why y'all are spleening about a blogger clickfarming about a former President as if that's a meaningful puzzle piece in skirmish over power in the party.

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, 24. oktober 2018 16:51 (twenty-six minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Morbs posted it, and a lot of hijinks and misunderstandings ensued.

Libby generally tends to just reiterate the “very online left” takes after they’ve been made a thousand or so people before here

― Nerdstrom Poindexter, Wednesday, October 24, 2018 9:41 AM (five hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

like yeah dude i'm 100% with you on this and i don't think it's a take worth defending

the anti-anti-voting thing is a manifestation of her how bubble processes the guilt of having down played the threat of Trump/the GOP

what is this collective psychoanalysis horseshit

i just wish Obama would go back on the boat with that Branson guy; his "hope" turned out to be nearly as full of shit as Billy Blythe's

Imagining this to be some kind of “hipster” thing shows a complete lack of historical and ideological awareness.

man alive 100% correct this is actually an idiot 1930s USSR thing - social fascism

It wasn’t in response to you Hoos

oh the whole antediluvian Dem gang is here

It’s the 1918 WW1 comedy “Bud’s Recruit” isn’t it?