All purpose news and politics thread part v: The quickening

[4saken1]

It's "coming together" at the expense of the progressive movement under the same centrist strategy that failed Democrats in 2016.

So your logic is thus?:

Democrats embraced a centrist strategy in 2016.
Democrats lost in 2016.
Ergo, Democrats lost because of their centrist strategy in 2016.

That about sum it up?

[aja_christopher]

So your logic is thus?:

Democrats embraced a centrist strategy in 2016.
Democrats lost in 2016.
Ergo, Democrats lost because of their centrist strategy in 2016.

That about sum it up?

Or Democrats moved to the left because of Sanders and lost as a result.

Either option could work.

[TheDarman]

I'm writing a single sentence because its pretty clear your focused on drinking as if its personal, why I don't know. But you also seem to be so hideously focused on "Uh not all drinkers are rapists you know" that your ignoring Reades ever evolving story featuring teleportation and incredible ooc behaviour. You also somehow....SOMEHOW can't fathom that a rich fratboy JUST MIGHT sexually assault someone at a party during the 80s.

Again, the issue was Kavanaugh's behavior after being accused. I expect better from judicial nominees than to engage in fiery demonstrations of entitlement and engage in the exact same kind of political discourse that we lament we don't want from Justices. It is plausible that Kavanaugh didn't do what he was accused of. However, he clearly lacked the temperament necessary to be a Justice. He clearly did not want investigations into this behavior.

Sure, Biden hasn't been confronted directly with these allegations. However, his campaign has maintained that they want a thorough investigation. And Reade getting as much coverage from as many sources as she has been has once again proved that sunlight is the best disinfectant. Her story unravels by the day.

One can argue that Ford's allegation had too many inconsistencies (frankly, that is something that I disagree with--it was at least consistent enough to warrant a more thorough investigation, especially given that Kavanaugh's calendar even had on it an event similar to what Ford described), but we have a case where the story has changed numerous times, she wasn't wearing proper attire, and she can't even get us within a month of the actual day of the assault. She is also making all the right moves to shield herself from a suit on Biden's behalf. These are very different circumstances and to ignore the differences and to try to paper over it is to suggest that too many sexual assault cases are alike.

[4saken1]

The thing about politics is that you don't win unless you build coalitions. The broader your coalition, the better off you are.

Progressives have consistently shrunk their coalition. Sanders could've won this primary if he had made inroads with black folks and older voters. He did not and continued to say things and do things that made them feel uneasy. But I wouldn't even say Sanders is the biggest culprit.

Folks who voted for Sanders were insistent that there was no place in their movement for folks who didn't meet the purity tests. If you disagreed with Sanders on any one thing, you weren't a true liberal and were either a corporatist or a centrist and wanted poor people to die.

Like it or not, moderate Democrats form larger, broader coalitions because they get progressives to lament that "at least they are better than the other guy" and vote for them and they get the people who were left uneasy by the more progressive candidate in the primary. The only stories of real success by progressive candidates, like AOC and Ilhan Omar, are stories of success within an ultra-progressive district. Without a district that is packed with a lot of left-leaning voters (meaning you can lose some of those who feel put off by the more progressive ideas), it is difficult to win.

I think progressives can be successful at the national level. But they have to make inroads with key constituencies within the party AND attempt to make inroads with folks in the primary who voted against you. Sanders is savvy enough to know that is what he needed to do, at least on the latter point. The issue is that a lot of Sanders voters did not seem to understand this. They thought they could bully people into voting for Sanders by stating that other candidates were "obviously" awful and that Sanders was the only true liberal fighting for a just cause. Disagreement, especially within a primary, has to be handled properly. It hasn't been handled properly by Sanders folks for a while. Hopefully the next progressive candidate can acknowledge these mistakes and keep their supporters in line.

Yes. Democrats do need to see Progressives as a demographic that needs to be courted in order to win their vote. I think a Progressive VP candidate would go a long way towards winning over all but the most stubborn hardliners.

[aja_christopher]

Yes. Democrats do need to see Progressives as a demographic that needs to be courted in order to win their vote. I think a Progressive VP candidate would go a long way towards winning over all but the most stubborn hardliners.

The more I see this the more I feel Democrats have already done enough on that front.

You don't adopt the strategy of a losing platform if you want to win a national election.

At this point it seems many of them just want Biden to fail so they can continue to claim that "centrist" politics don't work.

Even if they are the ones whose political goals will suffer the most as a result.

Everyone else who backed other candidates has simply acknowledged that Biden is who we need to vote for to remove Trump from office.

Apparently Sanders supporters are the only people who can't put their egos away long enough to try to help everyone on the planet by restoring at least some semblance of stability and ethical leadership to the White House.

[Tami]

Detroit Free Press on Twitter The scene in Lansing right now as protests over GovWhitmer.jpg

Twitter Link

[Malvolio]

I received my stimulus check today via direct deposit, so I don't have to look at Trump's polygraph readout signature, but due to a bank error, my g/f won't be able to receive hers via direct deposit. I'll have to tell her to brace herself when she looks at the check.

[Malvolio]

Trump’s Name Will Appear On Stimulus Checks

The Treasury Department ordered the IRS to add President Trump’s name to the paper stimulus checks, which is likely to cause a delay in their delivery. Christ on a crutch. But hey, her emails!

**********

Trump Shifts Blame For Coronavirus Crisis To World Health Organization

The president faulted the WHO and again praised his administration’s response, despite the U.S. having the highest number of cases and COVID-19 deaths. For Trump, he wants all the praise but none of the blame. But hey, her emails!

**********

Anthony Fauci: ‘We’re Not There Yet’ On Key Steps To Reopen Economy

President Trump has floated the possibility of reopening some areas by May 1 and said he could announce recommendations as soon as this week. Which leads to this....

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GOP Lawmaker Goes Full Death Cult: ‘Always Choose’ Economy Over Lives

Rep. Trey Hollingsworth says lawmakers have to “put on our big boy and big girl pants” and end the shutdowns. Oh, WBEEEEEEEE....!

**********

Trump’s Cabinet MIA As Coronavirus Pandemic Rages

It’s supposed to be “all hands on deck,” but it’s really not. Show of hands of you're surprised.

**********

Yemen Is Fighting The Coronavirus With A Health Care System America Helped Destroy

President Trump slashed U.S. aid to the country days before its first confirmed COVID-19 case. Watch the Middle East become a dangerous hot spot if it isn't already.

"Put on our big boy and big girl pants?" That's rich, coming from a child refusing to eat his vegetables.

[Malvolio]

Not entirely fair. Richie Rich was a good kid who often helped out the other kids in his town. And didn't Slugworth turn out to be not so bad a guy at the end of the picture?

So I would have added Lex Luthor and maybe J. Jonah Jameson.

[Malvolio]

Detroit Free Press on Twitter The scene in Lansing right now as protests over GovWhitmer.jpg

Twitter Link

Idiots! If they were only going to get themselves killed, I'd say "good riddance!" But since these schmoes won't self quarantine after this stunt, they're putting the rest of us in danger as well.

[worstblogever]

WBE, you've got Deanna Lorraine in the queue, yeah?

https://twitter.com/DeAnna4Congress/...57858686656512

And:

At some point, yes. She supports the Qanon conspiracy theory, so, it's kinda gotta happen.

[KNIGHT OF THE LAKE]

Detroit Free Press on Twitter The scene in Lansing right now as protests over GovWhitmer.jpg

Twitter Link

These people in all their wisdom don’t realize stunts like this are only going to delay the start up of the economy. Seriously you would think these idiots actually believe that the governor wants to have this order

[Kusanagi]

Idiots! If they were only going to get themselves killed, I'd say "good riddance!" But since these schmoes won't self quarantine after this stunt, they're putting the rest of us in danger as well.

These were the same morons who were breaking onto golf courses last week, and bitching they couldn't take their boats out.

[4saken1]

The more I see this the more I feel Democrats have already done enough on that front.

You don't adopt the strategy of a losing platform if you want to win a national election.

At this point it seems many of them just want Biden to fail so they can continue to claim that "centrist" politics don't work.

Even if they are the ones whose political goals will suffer the most as a result.

Everyone else who backed other candidates has simply acknowledged that Biden is who we need to vote for to remove Trump from office.

Apparently Sanders supporters are the only people who can't put their egos away long enough to try to help everyone on the planet by restoring at least some semblance of stability and ethical leadership to the White House.

I wasn't speaking in terms of actual policy. Vice President is more of a symbolic gesture.

[Lightning Rider]

Right.

Because moderate Democrats never win elections and progressive Democrats always do.

Different political ideas gain traction at different times depending on societal conditions and popular narratives.

Moderates have lost the last two decades on the national level pretty handily. Gore and Kerry lost. Obama won as a symbol of progressive change, sharply pivoted to the center, and lost the house during his second term, with many former Obama voters abandoning Clinton for Trump subsequently.

With the constant rightward shift in American politics, with so many economic policies championed by Democrats looking far-right compared to Republicans of decades past, incrementalism is clearly losing the ideological battle big. The status quo is completely unable to stop right-wing populism.

Hillary, 3 million votes. minus voter suppression, Russians and Comey. But moderates don't win.

And why are Sanders supporters completely ignoring what he is now saying about Biden. I guess Sanders doesn't even meet their purity test anymore.

Sanders is a Senator within the Democratic party, with a base consisting largely of independents. He has obligations and strategic considerations to take into account that are altogether different to voters, who will be looking to hold the party accountable.

Although to be accurate, the ardent "Bernie Bros" showed up for Hillary. It won't be their vote alone that abandons Biden, should he lose. It's the disaffected, alienated working class that stays home because they don't feel elections offer them anything.

https://theintercept.com/2020/04/09/...e-two-parties/

Or Democrats moved to the left because of Sanders and lost as a result.

Either option could work.

That is a terrible conclusion. Hillary could parrot last-minute left-wing promises all she wanted, most of them were based in surface-level identity politics, and she had a credibility problem that rendered them moot in any case.