The Politics Thread

[Vee]

 

 

[Faulkner]

Interesting thread. Drama.

 

 

[ChitHappens]

 

It's really pitiful!  

[Vee]

Pelosi disagreed with her. I see both points of view; she's right that that rhetoric hurt a lot of moderates and has to be reworked and rebranded in how we talk about de-militarizing the police, etc. But what gets Spanberger elected in a red state is not the issue or chosen cause of every Dem across the nation in very different places, and Spanberger needs to recognize that. I'm very glad she held her seat, but I'm tired of moderates demanding the party always hew to them first and last. They have to meet us halfway too. That doesn't mean I'm remotely interested in hewing to the goals of, say, the Squad, because I think only Pressley and AOC have made strides to mature, but I still think the party needs to be prepared to take names and kick ass.

 

Fight for our issues, don't run from them just because of our red state members. Give them room to moderate locally. But the only thing the GOP and their less committed swing voters respect is strength or the appearance thereof. When Trump and Bush won with numbers like what we're now facing, they called it a mandate and walked tall, and the media believed it. We have to do that. We have to be forceful and we have to take it to them.

 

 

Pelosi did also say it flat out: "Joe Biden has a mandate." Good.

 

Meanwhile:

 

 

 

 

Edited November 5, 2020 by Vee

[Skin]

 

I really think this is a problem due to the infrastructure of the US. It's hard to say that a President has a mandate, if they just squeaked by and won the election. I would feel more comfortable with a Biden mandate if we won the Senate, or received at least 300+ electoral collage votes. We need those in order to truly action a "mandate". That's easier for Republicans to do than Democrats. 

[Vee]

Trump and Bush both called these numbers a mandate, sometimes without the Congress or the Senate. We can too.

[Skin]

Different times. McConnel can block pretty much anything if he has the Senate, even if Joe has Congress. 

[Khan]

 

Yes, we can.

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[Vee]

Doesn't matter. Perception is reality with some of these things.

 

Another good point made on the Dem call: Pascrell said Schumer is a problem for them, leaving Pelosi doing a good job but "with one hand tied behind her back". IMO that's right. Schumer is a good man but weak.

 

[marceline]

Spanaberger is right. Progressives keep pushing unpopular policies and hanging them around the necks of red and purple state Dems with lousy talking points. Then they turn around and claim Dems are bad at messaging. Stop using the word socialism. Don't try to explain it. Just stop using it. Stop using a word that makes it harder to get what we want. Why is that so hard?

 

"Defund the police" actually harmed the BLM movement. After George Floyd's murder the support for BLM hit a record high of 67 percent. Then came "defund the police" and that horrible scene of BLM protestors surrounding that woman outside a Georgetown restaurant and support dropped by 20 points. 

 

 

 

Yeah, Schumer isn't the right man for this moment.

[amybrickwallace]

 

I have the feeling that none of Trump's kids (excepting Ivanka) really love him. It's obvious that especially Don Jr. and Eric are terrified of him. 

[victoria foxton]

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[Vee]

 

On that I agree. We keep telling these people the language and approach are wrong and they don't want to hear it. I think a lot of progressive initiatives are worthwhile and worth pursuing, but if you can't sell it you can't make shít happen. Anything approaching the word 'socialism' is radioactive in this country and will remain that for at least a couple more generations. Police de-escalation, demilitarization is a lot better to work with than acting like you want to abolish the cops. We can deliver policies on par with shared liberal goals and call them different things.

 

Incredible:

 

 

 

Edited November 5, 2020 by Vee

[marceline]

I can confirm that the backlash against Fox is real. I have a friend who married into a MAGA family and we were just talking today and he confirmed that they are all saying that Fox News has "gone over to the dark side."

[Khan]

 

Because, in the eyes of most progressives, that means compromise, which a lifetime of pouting and stamping their feet to get whatever they want has taught them never to do.  (Of course, I could be wrong, but it's been my experience that a progressive is one who has never been told "no.")

Edited November 5, 2020 by Khan