Democratic (Party) Direction

i know nothing about ojeda other than what's been posted in this thread and i would be unlikely to vote for him in the primary. based on the quotes from him here, though, i can immediately see why he's such an appealing candidate. he's the trump voter i wanted to see but by and large haven't - one who is willing to admit they made a terrible mistake. he appeals to the dream of bipartisanship, the delusion that america is still democratically governable. since it isn't, it doesn't matter whether he wins or not, doesn't, in fact, matter much who the democrats run in 2020 or whether or not they win, but regardless he's probably one to watch.

the idea that placating trump voters is the only way to win is untrue and dangerous but it underscores the “let’s talk to every person in this waffle house” mindset of big media outlets so it persists despite its wrongheadedness. democrats and republicans do not exist in equal proportion and the latter are dying off.

(btw there’s at least one waffle house in pennsylvania so spare me your “don’t be anti-south”’sanctimony)

btw https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/22/us/white-americans-minority-population.html

This isn't the reason I would vote for him (if i were to do so), I would vote for him because he runs to left on policy

I was saying I don't think the fact he voted for Trump in 2016 should (or necessarily will be) a disqualifyer, not that it was a 'good' in and of itself, or the only way (or even a way) to win. 2020 is there for the taking for 'justice democrats' and not an election for pivoting to centrism. Time to start looking past Trump and just being "not trump"

the idea that placating trump voters is the only way to win is untrue and dangerous but it underscores the “let’s talk to every person in this waffle house” mindset of big media outlets so it persists despite its wrongheadedness. democrats and republicans do not exist in equal proportion and the latter are dying off.

― maura

i guess that depends on what "winning" looks like. sure given enough time and dedication we can probably gain as much of a hold on government as republicans have now, and we could run that government about the way the republicans do, "fuck you if you didn't vote for me". we could, instead of actively working to disenfranchise republicans, complain loudly about "UGH why won't you DIE already".

and of course, no matter what we do, at some point republicans will violently revolt. all "politics" at this point is waiting for that to happen.

swinging further right isn’t the answer. doing so results in placating white men in a way that hurts everyone else - including further generations (seriously, coal???)

Yeah why does this thread have a boner for some coal-boosting Trump voter all of a sudden

I don’t think anyone on this thread would be happy to vote for him.

He isn’t going to win the nomination.

He’s one of 2 people who’ve declared their candidacy so we could talk about the other guy I suppose.

caek otm, no one would care except that he's a genuine oddball and there are v few official candidates

my highest hope for him is that he ends up decking martin o'malley or something

"What if Jim Webb but a social democrat?"

I think Marianne Williamson is absolutely the ticket

https://marianneforamerica.com

Prominent elected and public officials endorsed her campaign, including: Frmr. Governors Jennifer Granholm and Jesse Ventura; Frmr, Congressmembers Dennis Kucinich, and Alan Grayson; and Van Jones, among many others.[39] Alanis Morissette wrote and performed her campaign theme song, entitled Today

I hope she brings Alanis back to the team.

I can think of someone who might want to write her a new jingle

Yeah why does this thread have a boner for some coal-boosting Trump voter all of a sudden

― I have measured out my life in coffee shop loyalty cards (silby), Friday, 23 November 2018 15:37 (one hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

wow kinkshaming itt

fuuuck these nerds

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/23/psc-pelosi-1012626

Democratic members of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus are warning Nancy Pelosi she won't win their votes for speaker if she doesn’t back their proposals.

sometimes the easiest problems to solve, are the ones you create

420

They watched the Freedom Caucus leverage a minority position and gain disproportionate power over the legislative agenda. Now they're playing monkey-see monkey-do, but without understanding the deeper rules of the game.

🎶 No, no es amor/
Lo que tú sientes, se llama obsesión 🎶 https://t.co/hQOlEbt26t

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Ocasio2018) November 24, 2018

Apparently, the song she's quoting is a bachata song, so I'd hate it, but this is still a quality jab.

She’s really good at responding to the right wing. .

It kind of reminds me of Obama in the sense that her reasoned response to their version of who she is sounds so removed from reality unless you’re a true believer of Fox News type world.

I mean their version of who she is is removed from reality.

fuck off

Everyone please join me in flagging that

nah

I’m a good person. He’s being rude without justification.

In the interests of compromise, I'll flag you and k3v.

I've flagged k3v so much it doesn't matter anymore, but yeah...

it doesn't matter whether he wins or not, doesn't, in fact, matter much who the democrats run in 2020 or whether or not they win

fwiw I powerfully disagree with this and feel like it really matters which of the two major parties wins both federally and at the state and municipal level, in a thousand small and not-so-small ways.

democrats and republicans do not exist in equal proportion and the latter are dying off.

I hear this a lot but the thing about young people is they turn into old people.

my advice is to ignore rushomancy's politics posts, nothing but doomsaying and ennui

this is only a problem if you think that old people are simply inherently reactionary/conservative, and that this observable correlation hasn't been the product of social and material conditions. (I would need to be convinced of the first hypothesis.) xp

false flag

this is only a problem if you think that old people are simply inherently reactionary/conservative, and that this observable correlation hasn't been the product of social and material conditions. (I would need to be convinced of the first hypothesis.) xp

this is only a problem if you think that old people are simply inherently reactionary/conservative?

Inherently? I don't know. It seems pretty structurally baked in that older people are going to keep having more money than younger people, and barring a really seismic realignment, it is going to keep being the case that the Republican party is the party more strongly aligned with the interests of more financially secure people, so ... yes, I feel pretty confident that the 18-25 year olds who vote strongly Democratic now are going to be more Republican (and more frequent) voters in the future than they are now.

good

https://thehill.com/homenews/sunday-talk-shows/418128-top-oversight-dem-i-wont-restore-subpoena-rights-to-republicans

Politico: “More than a dozen” prominent Democratic donors say they’ll never donate or fundraise for Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand because they’re upset with her for pushing Al Franken to resign when he faced groping allegations: https://t.co/j6GYiTcmFi

— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) November 26, 2018

These fucking babies.

wow. did franken ghostwrite that? what a suck-up job.

This should be a giant point in favor of Gillibrand. With all the talk about corporate donations and how they distort politics, she is the one candidate who has done something that truly angered the donor class.

It doesn't make her my favorite candidate, but go Gillibrand in this battle.

this provides a great example of something a dude credibly accused of shitty behavior could actually do towards making amends. Franken releasing a statement calling off the dogs against Gillibrand would go a long way I think.

I mean I fully expect them to fall in line if she does end up getting the nod but it's still incredibly galling

who, dare I ask, *is* your favorite candidate Fred

wow we just really hate women here i guess

I wonder if he knows hadrian had a wall named after him but nothing else we remember, so he wants trumps wall to be his legacy

disclosure, I knew of Franken grabbing ass during photos because it was on a friend's fb feed years ago before metoo. Hopefully his year of looking inward will let him admit he fucked up.

if there's one thing comedians are traditionally great at it's sober self-reflection

louis_ck_comeback_trail.htm

Remarkable how the grumbling at Gillibrand continues even after Sen. Tina Smith won by a bigger margin (10.4 points) and more total votes than Franken ever did.https://t.co/wfZLJ3Ah4t

— Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) November 26, 2018

who, dare I ask, *is* your favorite candidate Fred

― resident hack (Simon H.), 26. november 2018 16:31 (fifty-seven minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Elizabeth Warren or Kamala Harris, I think. Not that it matters.

Good piece

So what should progressives do in this moment? They should be doing what they have been doing already: pursuing an inside-outside strategy for exerting power within the Democratic caucus.

http://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2018/11/political-cross-currents-house