All purpose news and politics thread part v: The quickening

[Tami]

Curious

Sanders Continues Attacks on Trade but Concedes Biden Could Beat Trump

Asked about Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s endorsement of Mr. Biden on Thursday, Mr. Sanders sounded miffed. “Well, that wasn’t her thoughts when I came here to help her get elected, as a matter of fact,” he said.

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Bernie Sanders endorses Abdul El-Sayed for Michigan governor - July 26, 2018

El-Sayed is hoping to pull of a similar upset next month. He is running third in recent polls of the Democratic gubernatorial field, which includes former state Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer of East Lansing and Ann Arbor entrepreneur Shri Thanedar.

Sanders, in a statement, said he was “proud” to endorse El-Sayed, a 33-year old Rhodes Scholar who lives in Shelby Township.

Whitmer remains an odds on favorite for Democratic nomination. The East Lansing resident has locked up support from most labor unions that have traditionally propelled Democrats to primary wins. She is also backed by Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and several congressional Democrats.

Thanedar, who like El-Sayed has positioned himself to Whitmer’s political left, has pumped nearly $6 million of his own money into the race and is flooding voters with television ads, billboards and mailers.

Then there is ....

Sen. Bernie Sanders endorses Gretchen Whitmer for Michigan governor - Oct 11, 2018

So Sanders supported her primary opponent, then only supported her after she won the primary.

[TheDarman]

Here is a hypothetical question

If Sanders, Biden, and Bloomberg hadn't entered the race ...

Who would have been the last two standing? [Gabbard is not included since she should have dropped out long time ago].

I'm guessing some combination of Warren, Klobuchar, Buttigieg, and/or someone else.

I would guess Warren and Buttigieg would probably the two standard-bearers of their respective movements up through South Carolina, but I think both would’ve been weak in key demographics in the South. I think without Biden, Booker or Harris would’ve been broken out more and maybe waited until South Carolina and consolidated strength. I’m not sure if Buttigieg ever had a path outside of his small part of the mid-west and super white, upper-class states like New Hampshire.

[Kirby101]

Here is a hypothetical question

If Sanders, Biden, and Bloomberg hadn't entered the race ...

Who would have been the last two standing? [Gabbard is not included since she should have dropped out long time ago].

I'm guessing some combination of Warren, Klobuchar, Buttigieg, and/or someone else.

I think it would have been Warren and Buttigeg.

[TheDarman]

Curious

Sanders Continues Attacks on Trade but Concedes Biden Could Beat Trump



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Bernie Sanders endorses Abdul El-Sayed for Michigan governor

Mental degradation! Look how cenile this 79-year-old man who had a heart attack is! He can’t even remember his endorsement of the primary opponent against a governor in a state he desperately needs to win on Tuesday!!

[Gray Lensman]

Here is a hypothetical question

If Sanders, Biden, and Bloomberg hadn't entered the race ...

Who would have been the last two standing? [Gabbard is not included since she should have dropped out long time ago].

I'm guessing some combination of Warren, Klobuchar, Buttigieg, and/or someone else.

Warren for the left assuredly. One of her issues is that she was trying to bridge the gap between the left and the center, making her the second choice for many and the first choice for too few. If she had the left lane to herself that wouldn't have been a problem, although the fact that she appeals to reason rather than emotions likely would have still hurt.

Without Biden it becomes difficult to say who the black vote (a very large bloc for the Dems) would have centered on, if anyone. Would Booker or Harris have been able to get any traction there without Joe?

White moderates would likely have gone for Mayor Pete rather than Klobuchar, I think, and Hispanics aren't as reliable a voting bloc (in terms of coalescing around a single candidate) for me to even begin to guess where they would have lined up.

[SquirrelMan]

Are we forgetting the death of Senator Ted Kennedy and the election of Scott Brown?

Remember how long it took to get Al Franken to take the seat he had rightfully won?

[TheDarman]

Are we forgetting the death of Senator Ted Kennedy and the election of Scott Brown?

I think people forget that while the Democrats had the super majority, their priority was far and away to prevent an economic collapse. The world economic system was about to sink into a depression and the United States was at the center of this world financial crisis now. It wasn’t just our economy at stake—it was the whole of the international system looking to try to correct their systems after we did ours. This interconnectedness exacerbated the length of recovery too, giving Republicans the ability to argue the crisis they caused through their refusal to act was really Obama’s fault—and that focusing on health care at the same time was not giving this crisis the priority it deserved. We can’t forget these circumstances when we look back at the time they actually had this super majority.

[Tami]

Erik Prince Recruits Ex-Spies to Help Infiltrate Liberal Groups

WASHINGTON — Erik Prince, the security contractor with close ties to the Trump administration, has in recent years helped recruit former American and British spies for secretive intelligence-gathering operations that included infiltrating Democratic congressional campaigns, labor organizations and other groups considered hostile to the Trump agenda, according to interviews and documents.

One of the former spies, an ex-MI6 officer named Richard Seddon, helped run a 2017 operation to copy files and record conversations in a Michigan office of the American Federation of Teachers, one of the largest teachers’ unions in the nation. Mr. Seddon directed an undercover operative to secretly tape the union’s local leaders and try to gather information that could be made public to damage the organization, documents show.

Using a different alias the next year, the same undercover operative infiltrated the congressional campaign of Abigail Spanberger, then a former C.I.A. officer who went on to win an important House seat in Virginia as a Democrat. The campaign discovered the operative and fired her.

[Jack Dracula]

All I'm getting from this is the American Progressive makes perfect the enemy of good and is willing to throw anyone under the bus if he doesn't get what he wants irrespective of who it hurts thus betraying their own goals

You're getting it right more or less. The prevailing idea seems to be "all or nothing".

Money REALLY needs to stay out of office

This is the main reason I'm not thrilled with the prospect of a Biden Presidency. I have doubts he'll do anything to promote campaign finance reform which I see as being the main problem with American politics.

[Tami]

I'd suddenly find myself in the uncomfortable position of being pro-virus.


You're getting it right more or less. The prevailing idea seems to be "all or nothing".


This is the main reason I'm not thrilled with the prospect of a Biden Presidency. I have doubts he'll do anything to promote campaign finance reform which I see as being the main problem with American politics.

Biden elected President, in my opinion, is a band-aid. He'll begin the process of stabilizing the government and undo some of the damage caused by Trump. But he'll only be in office for 4 years.

With any luck, in 2024 another Democrat will be elected to office. One that can continue to repair the damage, fix what is broken, and make the country work again for everyone.

I don't have any high aspirations that Biden will do amazing things while in office. If he does, great. If not, then he's there to give the country time to heal and regroup.

It's those in Congress, the House and Senate, who need to do the real work. They need to work on an improved healthcare system, deal with the issues of immigration, and so on. All Biden needs to do is to sign these bills into law.

All Biden needs to do is bring in a competent, qualified Cabinet of experts who can fix the damage done by Trump.

It's like Trump = Covid-19, and Biden is the bed rest, medicines and treatment need to recover from it.

[Malvolio]

I'd suddenly find myself in the uncomfortable position of being pro-virus.


You're getting it right more or less. The prevailing idea seems to be "all or nothing".


This is the main reason I'm not thrilled with the prospect of a Biden Presidency. I have doubts he'll do anything to promote campaign finance reform which I see as being the main problem with American politics.

When someone demands "all or nothing," they usually get nothing.

I'm not exactly thrilled with Biden either. But with the exception of Obama, I've never been thrilled with the Democratic nominee for President. But most of the time, I've sucked it up and voted for the "good enough" candidate over the absolutely horrible candidate.

[Jack Dracula]

Erik Prince Recruits Ex-Spies to Help Infiltrate Liberal Groups

This is deeply disturbing. At this point, it's difficult to piece together all of the dirty tricks going on in the background and whether they're all part of a concerted, organized effort on behalf of the Republican party or if there's something deeper going on.

[Jack Dracula]

When someone demands "all or nothing," they usually get nothing.

I'm not exactly thrilled with Biden either. But with the exception of Obama, I've never been thrilled with the Democratic nominee for President. But most of the time, I've sucked it up and voted for the "good enough" candidate over the absolutely horrible candidate.

Yes, I get the frustration expressed by progressives at the so-called "Centrists" in the Democratic party and the limited choices of candidates to choose from. I also understand the common sense behind ousting Trump by whatever means available.

[Kieran_Frost]

Bernie Bros on Twitter. Lord give us strength. I mean the number of Tweet comments I'm seeing that are (along the lines of) "oh look, a Biden supporter said a bad word/oh look, a Biden supporter said this person is mean, when will Biden apologise". Damn, they still don't get it. They have possibly (probably) destroyed Sanders chance of getting the nomination, and yet still... a) missing the point guys, completely b) No. Just no. You don't get countless articles and interviews specifically talking about how noticeably nastier you are then ALL the others put together (minus Trump supporters) and then get to cry wolf. You guys lost too much support because of how obviously unkind and unproductive the online hate was; and you won't win back support with "whatabout-isms".

[Kieran_Frost]

I love Rachel Maddow. Also I DID NOT write that headline, don't blame me for it.

Elizabeth Warren’s exit interview is a warning for the dirtbag left
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-polit...ow-bernie-bros

Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s campaign exit interview with Rachel Maddow, aired Thursday night, is a clarifying moment in this conversation. In the interview, Warren showed palpable anger with the online Sanders army’s treatment of her and other progressives.

“I think there’s a real problem with online bullying and online nastiness. I’m not just talking about who said mean things; I’m talking about some really ugly stuff that went on,” she said. She expressed particular concerned about threats, citing the publication of phone numbers and home addresses belonging to two women who worked for the Nevada Culinary Union after it produced a fact sheet critical of Sanders’s health care plan.

Warren’s reaction illustrates that these tactics make it at least somewhat harder for Sanders to build allies in the Democratic Party. And this failure of elite backing has real repercussions.

Maddow asked about Sanders’s disavowal of his supporters’ attacks on her, and Warren seemed not to find it very persuasive. “We are responsible for the people who claim to be our supporters and do really dangerous, threatening things to other candidates,” Warren said. Then when asked if “it’s a particular problem with Sanders supporters,” the senator replies bluntly: “It is. And it just is. It’s just a factual question.”

It’s worth watching the clip to get a sense of how deeply frustrating this is for Warren. She starts off by talking about her long friendship with Sanders, how much respect she has for him. And then she pivots to an emotional discussion of online harassment; you can hear that it’s clearly shaped her perception of the race: