A friendly reminder that the 2020 election is about more than just the presidency: there's also the down ballot elections for the Senate which are just as important, if not moreso than whoever wins the White House come November. If a Democrat wins the presidency, it would be all but useless if Republicans hold onto the Senate and Moscow Mitch is still around to block any and all bills that land on his desk, something he's already on record as having said he'll do if Trump loses. It's not just the presidency that's at stake here, everyone needs to be aware of that, especially whoever the Democratic candidate ends up being as he (or she) will need to be able to bring everyone to the voting booth to make their voices heard about ALL the races this year.
Avatar: Here's to the late, great Steve Dillon. Best. Punisher. Artist. EVER!
He also had significant establishment support. Reid encouraged him to run, and Pelosi encouraged house members to avoid early endorsements.
A younger African American professor/ former community organizer who had been in the Senate from the biggest state next to Iowa for a long enough time to get a national profile but short enough to avoid some controversial positions also had a background that worked very well in the Democratic primaries.
Sincerely,
Thomas Mets
I didn't say it to be flattering, Bloomberg's simply another kind of terrible then Trump is. I don't want to have to vote for him if he becomes the nominee, but between him and Trump there is no choice. "Some would say" is something I expect from Fox News, what do you say?
What irony? The supposed conventional wisdom that was supposed to keep Sanders from winning was the same conventional wisdom that was supposed to keep Trump from winning, the conventional wisdom has failed.
Trump won by running against the GOP establishment and Bernie is running against the Dem establishment, because these political establishments are not well liked.
I think you are misreading what I said "came up the middle" describes Trump's out the blue wins by divided opposition, not that he was a middle of the road moderate.
And why is Warren not doing better at this point?
Why is everyone treating trumps victory like it doesn't have a thousand asteriks next to it ?
Sanders lost all on his own, conventional wisdom won out on that election by a wide margin. Have you seen how hard he was decimated by Hillary? It can fail, of course, but it's certainly got more victories than the left has with their strategies. I don't see the left having any presidents of their own or taking over wide swaths of congress. Do you?
Trump won by doing that, Sanders didn't. Sanders has his own weaknesses to contend with, it's strange how people conflate Trump and Sanders as though they're identical people with the same capabilities when only one of them succeeded. This ignores the context for how Republicans think and that despite winning he's been failing at many things smarter politicians wouldn't be because he's unable to keep congress in line. You're not doing Siders any favours by comparing him to Trump, Trump is a disaster. The fact both face different challenges with their leadership, Democrats don't bow to the winners just because they won like the GOP does, for instance, they require compromise. Look what happened with Obama.Trump won by running against the GOP establishment and Bernie is running against the Dem establishment, because these political establishments are not well liked.
Ok.I think you are misreading what I said "came up the middle" describes Trump's out the blue wins by divided opposition, not that he was a middle of the road moderate.
There are many reasons. Is this going anywhere specific?And why is Warren not doing better at this point?
Last edited by Steel Inquisitor; 02-24-2020 at 05:43 AM.
Last edited by WestPhillyPunisher; 02-24-2020 at 06:11 AM.
Avatar: Here's to the late, great Steve Dillon. Best. Punisher. Artist. EVER!
There came a time when the Old Gods died! The Brave died with the Cunning! The Noble perished locked in battle with unleashed Evil! It was the last day for them! An ancient era was passing in fiery holocaust!
Twitter is testing new ways to fight misinformation — including a community-based points system
At least they are trying.
Twitter is experimenting with adding brightly colored labels directly beneath lies and misinformation posted by politicians and other public figures, according to a leaked demo of new features sent to NBC News.
Twitter confirmed that the leaked demo, which was accessible on a publicly available site, is one possible iteration of a new policy to target misinformation. The company does not have a date to roll out any new misinformation features.
In this version, disinformation or misleading information posted by public figures would be corrected directly beneath a tweet by fact-checkers and journalists who are verified on the platform and possibly by other users who would participate in a new "community reports" feature, which the demo claims is "like Wikipedia."
"We're exploring a number of ways to address misinformation and provide more context for tweets on Twitter," a spokesperson said. "Misinformation is a critical issue and we will be testing many different ways to address it."
Original join date: 11/23/2004
Eclectic Connoisseur of all things written, drawn, or imaginatively created.
Except why did Trump beat Hillary? Why is Sanders currently the front runner? Why isn't say Biden the front runner?
It just seems like conventional wisdom is a self-justifying excuse to maintain a status quo that is not working for a lot of people.
The failures of the political vision the Dems have been putting out since the 90s is why we are at this point.
What I am saying is that large parts of the voting public prefer populism to the middle of the road centrist politics, because they think that has failed. Its why Trump is President and why Sanders is the front runner. Its why Biden's promise to return to an Obama era status quo is not gaining traction. I think a lot of people would want Bernie to try to change the status quo, then pick Biden who says he will not even try to change the status quo. Maybe Bernie will fail in that task, but people want someone to try to change the status quo, rather than not try to change it.
I think left-wing populism is the best way to counter Trump's right-wing populism, middle of the road centrism has done nothing to stop Trump.
You keep on saying Warren is being ignored, but she has not proven herself to be a much of a factor in these primaries, I am not saying that to be mean, its just a fact at this point. Warren may be the number 2 choice for many Bernie supporters, but as long as the number 1 choice remains in play, they have no reason to switch over.
Last edited by The Overlord; 02-24-2020 at 06:35 AM.
I don't know if anyone had already mentioned this, but I haven't heard so much as a peep out of Trump or Republicans about Hunter Biden and that dreadfully insidious Ukraine corruption he was supposedly up to his eyeballs in since Joe started tanking in the primaries. I guess the GOP smear machine did it's job in wrecking his chances at winning the presidency and can't be bothered with him anymore.
Avatar: Here's to the late, great Steve Dillon. Best. Punisher. Artist. EVER!
Dearest Maine, please retire Susan Collins. Also, the bolded is just about likely to send WBE on a bender:
https://mainebeacon.com/collins-welc...s-for-wealthy/In a closed-door speech to Republican Party faithful in Lewiston Saturday night, Sen. Susan Collins griped about criticisms of her record, made false claims about the effects of the 2017 federal tax breaks and publicly welcomed former Governor Paul LePage, who has been mulling another run for the Blaine House, back to Maine politics.
“Gov. LePage is back,” Collins announced to “cheering and applause,” according to Lewiston Sun Journal reporter Steve Collins. The journalist was barred from the event by party leaders but managed to listen to the senator’s speech from a hotel hallway.
Collins endorsed and fundraised for LePage during his successful 2010 and 2014 runs for governor.
During her speech, Collins also claimed that the 2017 tax breaks, for which she cast a decisive vote, spurred economic activity and growth. The non-partisan Congressional Research Service has found exactly the opposite, however, concluding that overall economic growth has remained level with pre-tax cut projections.
Republicans: How would this all look under President Sanders?
And yes, this is unlikely. More like a 'What if?' Scenario.
Democrats, independents and NeverTrump Republicans have screamed warnings from the rooftops that Republicans are blowing up the guardrails of democracy, countenancing and cheering an assault on the media and other sources of objective reality, allowing the instruments of government to be converted for President Trump’s enrichment and personal vengeance, and dangerously ceding power to the executive branch. The right has sneered, guffawed and turned a blind eye toward the polarization of society and the transformation of the presidency into an authoritarian cult.
Not only have Republicans failed to put the country’s interests above their own and demonstrated a degree of moral cowardice that would horrify our Founding Fathers, they also have been excruciatingly short-sighted. They now chortle at the prospect that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) will win the Democratic nomination. But before they pop the champagne corks, they should chat with Hillary Clinton’s campaign staff. The unimaginable can happen. Radicals can get elected, and the old tactics whereby one side could point to the other and holler “See! See how terrible!” do not necessarily work.So let us imagine President Sanders, whose cheering crowds holler, “Lock them all up!” Let’s imagine an attorney general specifically tasked with prosecuting (not merely investigating) every senior member of the Trump administration. Imagine a White House that weighs in on cases in which its cronies are caught up in illegal schemes. Imagine a president who throws note takers out of meetings with foreign leaders, raids half the defense budget to set up a single-payer health-care scheme, and seeks help from the Kremlin for his reelection run in 2024.Whatever wrongs Trump has committed, whatever executive power grabs Republicans have ignored, now become weapons in the arsenal of a Sanders administration. By executive order, imagine what gun regulations and border security rules could be changed. Then think about the administration’s arguments to the Supreme Court that such actions are not reviewable because Article II lets the president do anything he wants.I do not know if a Sanders administration would engage in such actions, but if it is as radical as Republicans imagine, they should expect nothing less. Perhaps then it will dawn on them that setting fire to our institutions and eradicating accountability for the president was a fatal error — fatal to democracy and to the rule of law. By then, of course, it will be too late.
Original join date: 11/23/2004
Eclectic Connoisseur of all things written, drawn, or imaginatively created.