The Politics Thread

[DramatistDreamer]

 

I hope I didn't come off as bearing down on you, Khan.

From what I've experienced from working for groups like The United Way and The Urban League, working class and middle class people are more generous with what they have than the wealthy, who used to give because they knew they'd get it back as a tax write-off anyway.  

IMO, I think that public policy is the only way the U.S. can help people achieve something like a living wage (which only a few states now have), which would provide a living standard with basic dignity.  Maybe if we had a living minimum wage, there would be a wider tax base and funding things like Special Needs wouldn't be considered a wish-list item. 

(Maybe I'm a bit sensitive to this-- I just read a 'feel good' story about some people who crowdfunded for a woman who works full time, yet is homeless.  Maybe it's me but someone who works shouldn't have to resort to sleeping outside.  She should be paid enough to have a roof over her head and live with a measure of dignity).

[Juliajms]

Message boards can be so hard.  I only mentioned Khan because when I said it "was classic Republican thinking", I didn't want Khan to think that I was accusing him of that way of thinking. I definitely did not mean to imply in any way that you were coming down on him.

[Khan]

 

Nah.

 

And you're right, Julia, it IS a Republican way of thinking.  Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't even suggest it.  But it looks as if the GOP wants to cut everything and leave it up to the rest of the country to keep it going.  

 

I simply can't figure out what else to do.  It's either we keep organizations such as SO alive through donations and the like, or we watch as the GOP turns off its life support forever.

 

Man, this government can really depress the hell out of you.

Edited March 27, 2019 by Khan

[DramatistDreamer]

 

Today felt like a very depressing day for me.  I really hope tomorrow will feel different.

 

I know but it was a good reminder for me to give my post a once-over just to make sure my words said what I meant them to say.

[JaneAusten]

It's definitely taken me longer to get there but done. I bent over backwards to give her a chance because I knew it would be an uphill battle,  but she needs to stay off twitter and learn. If she's going to spout things off at least get the facts correct. AIPAC supported the Oslo Accords.

[Khan]

If she doesn't follow your advice, Jane, she'll end up being a "one and done" Congresswoman.

[Juliajms]

Although after I made the comments about her ego, I wonder if I would have said the same about a man? I really can't be sure. As much as I try to root the patriarchy out of my mindset it was ingrained at a young age.

 

On Israel, she has to step back, get her facts straight and then level her criticism straight at the policies of the Israeli government, while being careful not to use a double standard.  If I were her I would take the word "Jew" out of my twitter feed all together. It's not needed for what she is trying achieve or at least for what I hope she's trying to achieve.

[DRW50]

 

I think she's going to go the Cynthia McKinney route. 

[DramatistDreamer]

I wonder what Omar's constituents think of her Twitter posts.  Eventually, they will be the ones to decide whether she gets bounced or gets reelected.  I'm often confounded by some of the congress people who get reelected term after term by their constituents but as they say, politics is local.

This is currently trending on social media.

 

[DramatistDreamer]

[DRW50]

I think my issues (and everyone else's) with Barbara Bush are documented in this thread, but still, that article gave me a chill, especially the part about the clock.

[DramatistDreamer]

ICYMI

 

[Khan]

Mother Waters seems to be getting some [!@#$%^&*] done.

[Juliajms]

Can The Wire be trusted?  If so here is an article.

https://www.dailywire.com/news/44807/rep-ilhan-omars-constituents-are-unhappy-her-emily-zanotti

But if CNN — hardly a right-leaning publication — is to be believed, it isn't just fellow politicians who are growing tired of Omar's public cause against the right of Israel to exist. Her constituents — including Somali and Muslim constituents — aren't happy with how Omar has handled her first few weeks in public office.

“When David Duke of the Ku Klux Klan agrees with you,” Mohamed Ahmed, one of Omar's constituents, told the network, “you’re not doing something right.”

The four constituents interviewed by CNN also agreed with moderate Democrats and Republicans who qualified Omar's statements about "dual loyalty" and AIPAC as hateful toward the Jewish people — not mere criticism of Israel itself, or "Zionism."Omar Jamal, Steve Hunegs, Mohamed Ahmed and Avi Olitzky agree on the characterization of language Omar used. When Omar talked about Israel 'hypnotizing' the world, they said it was anti-Semitic," CNN reported. "And when she questioned whether American lawmakers and lobbyists had loyalty to Israel, they said it was anti-Semitic. Local leaders want her to understand why her words were causing so much pain."

 

Muslims and Jews are often closer than you might expect in the Midwest. The synagogue we go to here in Omaha is on the tri faith initiative campus.  Look out the window and you see the Mosque. Jews used to do a lot of resettlement work here, until the refugees dried up.  It seems to be the same in Minnesota.

 

That said, I don't think any of this means much for her potential reelection, if she gets her $hit together soon and does some good for her district. 

[DramatistDreamer]

I'll just say one more thing and leave it at that: at some point Ilhan Omar (and AOC, for that matter) will have to return to their home districts and explain exactly what they are doing specifically for their constituents because their political fates will be directly in the hands of those voters in their districts. 

At least with AOC, she recently gave a speech in the House about the Green New Deal and how kids in the Bronx had the highest rates of asthma in the country, (she also spoke about the health problems that kids in Flint will carry with them due to high levels of lead in their blood) so perhaps, at least one of them has been reminded that they were put into their positions in the House by their home constituents.  I guess we'll see whether that holds or whether the siren song of national/international attention continues to distract her.

Edited March 27, 2019 by DramatistDreamer