2020 Democratic presidential primary

torn because on the one hand obv huge depressing obama/beto vibes from that kind of talk but on the other hand

asking listeners to focus on the commonalities they share rather than the differences that separate them

is otm? provided you're not pitching the commonalities between me and jeff bezos.

don't think this guy should run for president this year.

can if he wants to obv.

It kind of goes along with what he has said about public service. It's something that brings people from different backgrounds, races, classes etc together to work for a common purpose. A lot of people don't tend to have those types of experiences especially if you stay in the same locale that you grew up in.

public service. It's something that brings people from different backgrounds, races ... etc

yeah, as is a political movement. (a subcategory i guess.) agree that such experiences are too rare; they rewire yr perspective overnight. as tired as we are of purple-state unity talk and as useless as it is unaccompanied by material analysis, it's also possible(+necessary) to offer people (partic nonvoters) an enormous intersectional coalition that obliterates the tv image of america as 51/49 lib/fash.

"offer people" is the wrong construction. "build".

And even AOC has talked about how much benefit there is in having elected officials having worked regular service industry jobs. It's a common joke that all people should be forced to work as a server or in retail for a couple of years in their lives so maybe we would have fewer assholes.

well yeah working-class people are way underrepresented in American politics

But it also gives one a different set of skills. She talks about it.

all people should be forced to work as a server or in retail for a couple of years in their lives

fortunately for us this is exactly where most people are forced to work

Granted, some people do want to work in these areas and aren't just forced.

Universities serve pedagogical Happy Meals these days.

Biden addressing Anita Hill controversy head on. "To this day i regret I couldn't give her the kind of hearing she deserved."

— Mike Memoli (@mikememoli) March 26, 2019

I"m sure he's lost sleep.

Biden is such a sack of shit right there, of course he can't tell where the smell is coming from.

"To this day I regret I couldn't give her the kind of hearing she deserved."

Couldn't?! Fuck you, Joe Biden. You were the chairman of the Judiciary committee. Are you really expecting us to believe the will was there, but your hands were tied? Again, fuck you.

Anita Hill’s family literally has a running joke about Joe Biden pic.twitter.com/eGuDIWMhkB

— Sarah Lerner (@SarahLerner) March 26, 2019

all the good will he seems to inspire at the moment seems like 50% something that rubbed off from obama and 50% those onion articles. he's a sack of shit.

He said “this is a big fuckin deal” on a hot mic at the ACA signing ceremony, that’s like 4% right there

there won't be an ACA left by the time the next president takes office so the very concept of incremental fixes to it are irrelevant nonsense https://t.co/wVZyrCHqKv

— Bill Humphrey 🌳 (@BillHumphreyMA) March 27, 2019

squishy moderation on healthcare should not be tolerated for lots of reasons, but this is an especially solid and pragmatic one.

not sure about that

I had an ACA plan for a couple of years. I don't think it was ever supposed to be a longterm solution. Why keep fixing something that kind of sucks when there is a much more obvious, better solution. So I get Bernie there.

i'm on it right now, and may be living in my sister's spare room by 2021 as a result

It turned into a completely ridiculous, convoluted shitshow.

And there is no reason the catholic church should be allowed to buy up so many hospitals and clinics in the US and be able to deny services. It's so messed up.

RIP

Beto O'Rourke's wife works for an education reform organization that aims to expand charter schools in El Paso. Teacher unions didn't press him on charters when he ran for senate, but say things will be different now https://t.co/zkXbVHiNXO

— Rachel Cohen (@rmc031) March 27, 2019

I've been wondering about this because it's mentioned in every recent longform profile of him.

Beto married into a family that is extremely wealthy. He can stand on a dirt road but at the end of the day he comes home to a world where the first reaction to getting into a fender bender would be “oh let’s just buy a new car”

rich people thinking they are inherently qualified to "remake" public education, smdh.

Anyone else think Mayor Pete looks straight off a Kraftwerk sleeve?

Autobutt

Autobuttigieg for the People, surely

Seems canny of Buttigieg to be building a profile before announcing officially, means the announcement might get covered as something other than News of the Weird

Beto married into a family that is extremely wealthy. He can stand on a dirt road but at the end of the day he comes home to a world where the first reaction to getting into a fender bender would be “oh let’s just buy a new car”

― Karl Malone, Wednesday, March 27, 2019 10:09 AM (five hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Inequality is a huge problem in the US and I stand with you in that I have no trust Beto is going to vastly improve the lives of the middle and working classes of the US. However I don't think his wealth should be a disqualifier, both Roosevelts were filthy rich and they helped the cause of the poor in tremendous ways.

eh alternately: wealth is disgusting

wealth shouldn't necessarily be "disqualifying" but it should definitely be a source of much more direct derision and mockery

Not when properly redistributed.

doubling down, inherited wealth is disgusting.

FDR had the lord of the manor's compassion that comes harder to a piece of beef jerky like Beto.

The people of Egypt were divided into 3 classes: the Priests, the
Warriors and the work people. The land was divided between the
Warriors, the Priests and the Kings and each had a 3rd of it. The
working people had nothing. They lived in the porches of the temples
or in little straw huts. The kings made them work so hard and gave
them so little that by wingo! they nearly starved and by jinks! they had
hardly any clothes! So they died in quadrillions!

(fdr age 9)

fdr was widely reviled as a class traitor

quadrillions of rich people hated him!

doubling down, inherited wealth is disgusting.

― Yerac, Wednesday, March 27, 2019 3:44 PM (twenty-one minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I learned of this the other day:

One example that Leonard Burman of Syracuse University and the Urban Institute has suggested is to eliminate a provision of current law in which assets that increase in value can go essentially untaxed across generations.

If you start a company and its value appreciates over your lifetime, then it is transferred to a family member upon your death, no capital gains taxes are collected on those decades of appreciation. The family member gets to start over at its current valuation for capital gains purposes.

This “step-up” provision is one of numerous ways that families can accumulate great wealth with minimal taxation. It could be eliminated. Laws could be changed to make it harder to avoid the estate tax, which currently kicks in at about $11 million for an individual and about $23 million for a married couple

Needs to be eliminated asap.

exception proves the rule iirc
beto's exceptionalism quickly waning

It wouldn’t be disqualifying if the number of wealthy populations was anywhere near the rate of wealthy people. But as it stands, almost all politicians are very wealthy compared to the people the represent. If Beto was just an outlier (among politicians) it would be one thing, but instead he’s just yet another super wealthy guy who is supposed to care about the economic problems of people he’s been out of touch with since he got married

Being rich doesn't give you any insight into public life or policy; I would argue the opposite. in terms of political engagement, it would make roughly as much sense if the only people who could take part in the process were 6'10" or taller.

we could have a yearly political draft based on their ability to get shit done. it couldn't be worse than the current system, except new york would still be run by de blasio.
SELL THE TEAM

I thought Beto's own family was definitely upper middle class (if not wealthier)?

I’m sure they are. Otherwise he wouldn’t be in a position to marry someone with even more of a shit of money

a shit ton. Gotta get my units right