The Politics Thread

[DRW50]

 

Of course he would, because he's a pathetic and deluded man who will never be happy. 

 

As long as the focus is on "rigging" claims and on Tom Perez and the DNC responding to this (which just further spreads the belief among people who don't pay a lot of attention that it must have been rigged because why else is it being talked about so much), it just hurts Democrats in their plans to move forward.  

[marceline]

 

They are rendering themselves irrelevant because they abhor compromise. For all the talk of the power of these voters they've accomplished nothing. Bernie decisively lost the primary and his surrogates like Tulsi Gabbard and Nina Turner are more irrelevant for their involvement with him. They have no interest in downballot races so they are no use in trying to harness them for local races. Ellison is basically co-chair which *is* a win for the "revolution" but their entitlement makes it impossible for them to accept that. Bernie doesn't really have all the juice he's being credited with because his followers come from a place of ideological purity. They want to spread the gospel of Bernie. They aren't interested in listening.

[Wales2004]

Trolling Trump is fine since it takes very little effort to do.  As long as it isn't their only or main strategy then troll away.  His idiotic tweets are an invitation but unless directed at them, elected officials should be about their jobs and not scoring meaningless points.

 

Trump is low-level transparent on the DNC vote.  He and his two crazies would have preferred Ellison so they could make him their boogeyman with veiled references to his being Muslim and by proxy a terrorist.  And of course, he's not who they mean when they talk about "real Americans."

 

This is one of the things that irks me most about the Democrats.  They pretty much sit back and let Republicans define everything about America and Americans and then fight back instead of being proactive.  It's not complicated--people want to belong.  The Democrats need to learn how to open up their arms and let people in and not just pay lip service to inclusiveness.  They need new messaging as well.

 

Instead of making it seem like some big chore and obstacle to overcome respecting people despite our differences, flip the script positively and learn to appreciate people because of our differences.  I mean I seriously love me some me, and I would have a ball with me-clones for maybe a day.  But then it would get boring and I wouldn't grow in my way of thinking if everyone echoed my own thoughts.

 

This thread is amazing including the troll, because I learn a lot from the opinions expressed here and I learn a lot about people.  I appreciate the opportunity to share with you and thank you all.  And no, I'm not going away or anything--I just want to acknowledge how special everyone is.

[marceline]

@Wales2004 it's funny you say that because I found myself wondering how this subthread turned into one of the richest, deepest political discussions I've seen.

[DramatistDreamer]

Despite having to sometimes sidestep the trolls, I look forward to the thoughtful discussions we have on this board, especially this political thread. It is surprising that on a board that is ostensibly know for discussion of serial drama aka soaps, there is this gem of a political discussion thread where open, profound and sometimes humorous back and forth can be had. 

If only there were more people in positions of power who gave as much thought, weight and consideration to their actions as most of the posters on this board, what a world it would be!

 

Speaking of people I wish would give consideration and weight to consequences of their actions (but we know it's never gonna happen) if only for the sake of people like these.

 

Slain SEAL’s dad wants answers: ‘Don’t hide behind my son’s death’

 

 

[marceline]

For all the talk about marches and rallies, this is the kind of activism I'm more interested in.  I've occasionally donated money to races in other states. It would be nice to know the best places to target. They were successful in winning the Delaware special election.

 

"So in late November, Bosworth launched Sister District, a website that helps activists in safe blue areas support candidates in red states and swing districts who could use the help. Sister District, which boasts about 5,000 members and has been recruiting at anti-Donald Trump protests and on social media, is in the process of filing for tax-exempt status as a 527, allowing it to raise money and donate directly to candidates for state office. It recently joined forces with another organization with a similar agenda, Flippable, on a race they hope will demonstrate the power of the suddenly energized grassroots left: a special election for a Delaware state Senate seat that will determine the balance of power in the state Capitol."

 

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/02/swing-left-sister-district-flippable-delaware

[JaneAusten]

This is why these grassroots efforts matter. The election in Delaware yesterday, Hansen won by 17%. IN 2014 the seat was won by 2%. These efforts can matter. As a blue state voter I am hosting a group that is planning on working with the closest swing district, which is not in my state, to help swing it, through SwingLeft. There are red districts here  but not districts that are right now considered swing districts. That could change of course, but right now we are focusing our efforts on a district out of state where the candidate won by less than 10,000 votes.

[rhinohide]

Well as a Bernie supporter, I can only speak for me. You're right to an extent. I don't care about the party in it's current configuration. I disagree that it's a coalition. It's more like a cadre.  And that's why I remain an independent.  As for the rest of your observations about Bernie supporters, I don't feel particularly wounded or disillusioned that the Democrats are going about business as usual even though they got their asses soundly kicked. The party needs to change. With or without Bernie supporters.  Again speaking only for myself, I don't care so much that Bernie was defeated as I do that the Democratic Party refuses to acknowledge its failure. The party loyal blame everyone but the party leadership. That the party could not, or did not, field a candidate that could defeat the orange smear in America's underpants is on the party. Not Sanders.  And that lack of awareness and ownership spells difficulty for the party moving forward IMO.  

 

And as far as the millions who choseHillary, it wasn't lost on me that the concentration of her supporters was in urban areas. I drove 11 hours this past summer from West Virginia to Omaha Nebraska, and did not cross one county/district that was carried by Clinton. It's becoming very alt Hunger Games as I've said before. The Democrats can complain that those voters are racist, ignorant and voting against their own best interest, but that's mainly self pacifying. They will still need to find a way to get more of those votes. 

[JaneAusten]

Since when don't the democrats realize they have a problem and because Perez is the chair they are going back to same old same old?. I agree some self evaluation is needed but every person I heard talk on that stage talked about going back to the lowest level and rebuilding from the ground up, execute a 50 state plan, every postal code strategy, every precinct strategy, each person had a different term but they were all saying the same thing. The messaging needs to change, they need to spend more time on reaching out to disengaged people(and not just white by the way) and get back to representing working class people and that can happen if they re-engage strongly with Unions again. At least as a starting point since Unions are being obliterated. But that also needs to come with some hard truths like those jobs that have left those areas over the past 40 years are not coming back. But you are also not ever going to bring jobs back until those areas become more welcoming to those not like them. Foreigners and immigrants have created a tremendous amount of jobs in this country. Pittsburgh lost the steel industry but bounced back by focusing on being a technology hub of sorts by attracking those companies, many started and run by Asians, Indians, and Middle Easterners. Buffalos refugees have helped that area rebound also. West Virginia is now pushing heavily in tourism,  But much of that effort needs to start in those communities as well. I also feel that there is a lot of work being done FOR the democrats now also without any oversight or help from them.

 

But can we not pretend how much this election was about those poor white working class men. It's been done to death and WE ALL KNOW by reading the hundreds of articles about them. And not one about how Blacks and Latinos(including worklng class members) had their names removed from voter rolls, millions by the way, about how it's harder to get an id to vote in those states Clinton lost in in the upper Midwest, how they eliminated polling places in minority areas to discourage minorities from voting, early voting cut back, but what did we hear. How minority Voting, black and latino, was down this year. Not one word about why other than saying they weren't excited about Clinton. Really?

 

And on a side note, not picking on you, but why is URBAN now treated as a 4 letter word. It's like people who live in urban areas are not "Real Americans". People have been flocking out of those rural areas to urban areas for years now why? JOBS.

Edited February 27, 2017 by JaneAusten

[NothinButAttitude]

Marco Rubio fears town halls b/c activists will heckle and scream at him on camera...

Please register in order to view this content

 

http://www.politico.com/states/florida/story/2017/02/marco-rubio-town-halls-109889

 

 

[JaneAusten]

Snowflake.

 

By the way made a visit to the local holocaust museum yesterday. Very enlightening. Guess what Hitler's campaign slogan was in 1932. Make Germany Great Again.

 

Edited February 27, 2017 by JaneAusten

[DRW50]

 

I saw that. Same old media darling Marco. No matter how much the press hypes him he's a coward. That article has a lot of bite that Politico rarely has so I wonder if some are finally waking up to his worthless ass. 

[Soapsuds]

[ReddFoxx]

At this point the overall political climate is going to do a lot of work for the Democrats and that is how it played out under Bush. Democrats took control of Congress in 2006 because Bush's approvals were low. Lots of those Trump voters are going to be voting Democratic in 2018 after they have learned their lesson the hard way and they won't be supporting him again in 2020. Politics is about 40% cause and effect, so pretty much all Democrats have to do is be prepared to take advantage of the coming wave in 2018.

[NothinButAttitude]

 

He's getting a lot of heat from his voters on Twitter (via Politico) over this admission. I hope this is the end of his political career.