The Politics Thread

[Roman]

no. you hit it right on the head. not out of touch in the slightest. many of us just keep our heads buried in the sand until things affect us. but many more were just sick and tired of what happened. it's a great start, and in a way, I'm glad we didn't take over the senate.....because many would have rested on their laurels and not did the hard work that begins anew this morning.

now, today, Democrats need to start looking for more Dems like O'Roerke for two years from now. Rafael will get into some serious trouble here soon, and if Repubs think they will act more Trump-like in the Senate....look at the House and see where that got them.

as for McCaskill here in Missouri.....she deserved to lose. people, democrat voting people, hate her guts here. and her making that statement on FN might have sunk her chances, even though she was picked to lose this seat anyway.

[ReddFoxx]

Democrats taking the House means that ACA repeal is off the table and that is extremely good. Moving forward into 2020 the good news is that Democrats performed well in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin which are states they need to win to take the electoral college.

[DramatistDreamer]

[JaneAusten]

I think Beto did a great job and it showed democrats can be competitive as did Gillum in Fl and Abrams in Ga. My biggest complaint with both is the laziness of the party. Dems need to come in a build the ground game in both states.  And they better start now.

 

What is the deal with McCaskill. My brother who lives in St. Louis area has been down on McCaskill but he as a republican said he would reluctantly vote for her.(He voted Kander in 2016 also). I am a huge Jason Kander fan and was hoping he might run for state office there again or try again for the senate. I know his PTSD issues forced him out of the mayoral race in KC. But why is McCaskill so hated?

[Khan]

 

IA.  Being the "anti-Trump party" got them this far.  However, if the Democratic Party wants to cement last night's victories and move forward, they need to begin work now on rebuilding "from the ground up," with fresh faces and voices, and truly progressive ideas on how to heal the economic and other wounds that continue to fester throughout this country.  Last night and the run-up to it were just the start; now, the real work must begin.

 

 

Yes. It. Is.  The ACA ain't perfect, but dammit, it's better than what we had before, which was (old joke, I know) a package of band-aids and that bottle of Robitussin that your mama kept even when y'all moved thirty years ago.

 

 

I think that has to be the unkindest cut of all for Trump.

 

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Edited November 7, 2018 by Khan

[JaneAusten]

I think healthcare is a good starting point but they need a policy to agree on. The bipartisan popularity of Medicaid expansion shows that ALL Americans want affordable healthcare and perhaps even governmental control.  It's now been voted to move forward in states like Idaho, Utah, and Nebraska.

 

Impartial redistricting is also popular and bipartisan. I know it's a hornets nest in some areas for democrats. I'm wasn't keen on seeing a republican control redistricting in Illinois and thank goodness that won't happen, But I also hate the idea of our own state gerrymandered for democrats. But I want to see a few more republican states move this forward also. It won on the ballot in Michigan last night.

 

Legalizing marijuana. Get with it. Most Americans want this. And it can be packaged as part of criminal justice reform/

 

Money out of politics. Beto lost but look what he did for fundraising. (his race also propelled downballot democrats to victory in Texas).

 

AND TAXCUTS for the middle class, while restoring the tax breaks the 1% got. That is not unpopular with anyone other than the 1%

 

I think they should build their platform on all the things Trump promised that sounded good - better healthcare, protecting social security, medicare, Medicaid, infrastructure, and push these issues.

 

And get a decent bipartisan immigration plan passed that includes strong border security with NO WALL. I mean seriously there has to be one democrat who can sell this.

[Roman]

well, her and her husband are very very rich, which doesn't bode well for a state which runs Republican from rural areas. also, she voted to protect payday loan businesses and has received money from the lobbyists here in Mo. to do just that. the reason why she didn't lose the last two times was that a Republican (like Todd Akin) said something so foul that she ended up keeping her seat, being the lesser of two evils. I think people have had enough of her here....and her getting on FN and backing Trump with the caravan this past weekend may have sealed her fate, on top of not coming back to the state or our city of St. Louis (where I live and was born and raised) until election time rubbed people in KC and here the wrong way. that was where the majority of her votes came from, and she garnered enough of the rural vote to stay in.

she changed. she was not the person I voted for for Gov. or her first Senate victory. she fell in line with Republicans for the most part and lost this state along the way. 

[DramatistDreamer]

Good that CT didn't fall for the myth of the businessman who drives business business business and corporate perks as a cure all.  Especially when that businessman dodges pertinent questions requesting specifics.

 

Edited November 7, 2018 by DramatistDreamer

[JaneAusten]

Thanks I knew about the payday stuff but I have been disconnected from the MSM and press for the past couple of weeks intentionally for the most part. I didn't know about this caravan  BS from her. Yeah she deserved to go. 

 

Democrats or activists I should say have gone the smart route in some cases with Minimum Wage increases and Medicaid expansion. I see both Arkansas and Missouri voted for min wage increases yesterday. And Missouri legalizing medical marijuana use and Michigan recreational use.  There are plenty of issues democrats can run with or insert into their platform to be universally popular. And have any state public servants in 
 legislature   talked about expanding Medicaid? Mo chose not to - seems like a popular issue even in red states.

Edited November 7, 2018 by JaneAusten

[DramatistDreamer]

[JaneAusten]

Thanks for posting . Lord the damn whining from some progressives is pathetic. Beto for example lost yes but his running helped some important downballot wins. Gillum lost, but Florida restored voting rights to 1.4 million felons. The list goes on.  And this

 

 

Edited November 7, 2018 by JaneAusten

[DramatistDreamer]

I truly am trying to take in the positives of this election but I'd be lying if I didn't admit that it's still disappointing that rabid racists and Nazis can get so far in America in 2018. 

Also a dead pimp winning a congressional seat is never a good look.

[Juliajms]

^ Yes, I do relish getting rid of some of the worst ones. I also celebrate some of the firsts, even though I don't agree with all of their positions. There were some real victories last night. I was seriously worried that the elections would be hacked, so in the big picture it's a relief to me that doesn't seem to have happened.

 

I remember as a child my mother telling me that felons lost their right to vote with the implication that this was the way it was and the way it should be. It's not something I questioned much until the last few years.  I didn't realize it was rooted in Jim Crow either. Anyway, I'm glad Florida restored people's votes because it seems to me that once people do their time they should have their rights back.

 

Closer to home, I'm thrilled and amazed that Kara Eastman came within three points of Don Bacon.  Carl, this tells me that you were right and a more progressive candidate can motivate people to come out, more than trying to play to the center.  Plus Nebraskans voted to expand Medicaid for all, which I did not expect to happen.

[JaneAusten]

Jon Ralston explained this. Most republicans would have had to really stretch for vote for him when he was still alive and likely would not have but since he's dead, they know that a republican will be appointed in his place. That was the strategy I guess that was used in Nevada by the state GOP to get GOP voters to vote for for the dead pimp.

[Juliajms]

Yes. Me too. It's sickening. Plus blatant cheaters still win and there is so much corruption.  One thing about 2018 is you can't hide the dirt as well anymore.  We could all see these cheaters and their voter suppression tactics in real time.  Hopefully, the people with power can do something about that in 2020.