Democrats 2020

[lpetrich]

Michelle Obama to lend star power to Biden | TheHill - the latest celebrity.

What AOC Gets that Bernie Didn’t - POLITICO

In 2017, progressive activist Sean McElwee came up with the slogan "Abolish ICE". It wasn't very successful.

McElwee, the founder of the polling and policy group Data for Progress, is one of those young lefty insurgents, a proud limit-stretcher from the AOC-Bernie Sanders wing of the Democratic Party. But he’s a data guy as well as a progress guy, and he has some thoughts about why Sanders lost so handily to Joe Biden, an avatar of the old-school centrist Democratic thinking that McElwee yearns to disrupt.

SME thinks it a big mistake not to support Joe Biden, and he thinks it best to work within the Democratic Party.

He then criticizes Bernie Sanders's campaigners for expecting to win with 30% of the vote. They expected a crowded field that would stay crowded up to the convention, and that that 30% of the vote would carry them into victory. But when the less-successful candidates dropped out and lined up behind JB, that strategy was doomed.

SME:

It was smart of AOC to identify as a Democrat, because most Democrats do believe the things that progressives believe. And most Democrats have quite intense party loyalty. One of the biggest misunderstandings on the left is the idea that the Democratic brand is bad. In fact, the Democratic Party brand is one of the strongest brands in the country. It’s something millions of Americans trust. That includes the African-American and Latino voters who are sympathetic to progressive ideas, and are voters we need to persuade to support our candidates. Running as an independent outsider would have helped Sanders in a general election, but it was definitely a problem in the primary.

Look, the Democratic party is a coalition party with five partners: African-American groups, Latino groups, women’s groups, unions and progressive groups. If you’re only one of five factions, maybe one fourth of the party, you should only expect to win about one fourth or one fifth of the victories. You need to work with other groups in the coalition to achieve political success. Sometimes you’ll win, sometimes you’ll lose, that’s how life works. Ocasio-Cortez has figured that out, but not all progressives have.

I agree. AOC wouldn't have gotten *anywhere* as a third-party candidate. So unless the US gets proportional representation, I'm sure that she'll stay a Democrat.

 

[lpetrich]

SME thinks that JB won on electability, not on his platform. He notes that Democratic voters tend to have a lot of progressive positions. He then noted that Blue Dog Democrats don't campaign on how they think that Wall Street and Big Pharma should be allowed to do whatever they want.

His idea of a platform? "I’d propose a focus on paid family leave and childcare; ambitious climate action and clean energy; and lowering drug prices."

About young people, "I think a strong climate agenda that emphasizes job creation as well as equity issues can be a central element of a persuasion agenda."

About suburban women, "A paid leave and childcare agenda could really speak to the rising economic costs they’re facing."

About older "persuadables", "Trump has absolutely failed to deliver pharmaceutical reform or reduce drug prices, and Democrats could make inroads on those issues."

About third-party candidates, "You also have far less compelling third-party candidates than you had in 2016. Jill Stein and Gary Johnson were both effective politicians, whether or not you liked them."

I also think progressives need to focus on building power down ballot. We always complain that Obama failed to do this, but we seem to forget it the second we start thinking about our own movement: This year, a progressive came within four points of beating [conservative Democratic congressman] Henry Cuellar. Every progressive who’s doing an autopsy of the presidential primary should be doing an autopsy of why we didn’t invest more in that race. There’s been an utter neglect of down-ballot work.

I agree. The Presidency is not enough. AOC didn't win by running for President.

"My view is that the Democratic Party is moving every day towards a place where young progressives should feel comfortable. AOC is going to be the moral center of the party in a decade, and it’s not just her."

"It’s going to take some time. You saw how long it took movement conservatism to take over the Republican Party. And we’re going to have to do the hard work of reaching out to non-ideological Democrats who don’t see the world our way."

Then there's the issue of delivering for one's district.

I mean, look at [conservative Democratic congressman] Dan Lipinski, we finally beat him, and that’s great, but he still got nearly 50 percent of Democratic voters—not because he’s pro-life, but because he sits on the transportation committee and works with local unions to represent their interests. We can’t forget about that kind of basic politics. Bernie Sanders always made sure to deliver for Vermont. [Wisconsin Senator] Tammy Baldwin is a great progressive, and she’s got a big interest in single-payer health care, but she also has a big interest in cheese. It’s OK for progressives to care about cheese.

 

[lpetrich]

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Progressivism and the Pandemic - The New York Times

“Senator Sanders did very well with Latino electorates and Latino voters. You know, I think his campaign made a very strong effort to understand us,” she said. Still, this strategic bet did not translate into intersectional support.

“I do think, clearly, there wasn’t enough work done with outreach in the black electorate — Southern black electorates in particular,” she said, noting that “obviously, South Carolina was a huge tipping point” for Mr. Biden.

On that sort of subject,

New American Leaders on Twitter: ""There's a very strong emphasis on affluent suburban voters when it comes to winning elections. I understand they’re important for winning ... they’re also a constituency that’s uniquely protected from the life & death consequences of a Trump admin." -@AOC https://t.co/XgN3nlg9OR" / Twitter

I wouldn't say "uniquely", because people richer than them are even more protected, though they are not much of a voting bloc.

She then stated that everybody is flawed - Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, herself. She also considers JB much better than Trump, even if he was not the candidate that she had wanted.

 

[lpetrich]

The Surge: Biden endorsements, ranked.

1. Bernie Sanders - It’s like he’s keeping his word - he said that he'd support the winner, and he is now doing so.
2. Barack Obama - Oh great, another hipster communist trashing Obama - he “wouldn’t run the same race or have the same platform as I did in 2008.”
3. Elizabeth Warren - In which the earlier nonendorsement was more valuable than the endorsement. - she didn't endorse BS when it was him vs. JB. Will the Bidenites consider that a favor?
4. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez - Uh uh uh, you didn’t say the magic word! - she seems to be endorsing JB without explicitly saying that she does. Like saying that she'll endorse the Democratic Party's candidate.
5. Cardi B - Finally, an endorsement that matters. Though she won't “really rock with Joe Biden because he’s conservative,” she will support him, “because I cannot see the next step of America being ran by No. 45.”
6. Tammy Baldwin - A little too late, for her and her state. - she may be wanting to stay put in the Senate.
7. Stacey Abrams - Is an endorsement implied if you’re applying for vice president? - in a recent interview, she said that she'd make an excellent running mate, though she didn't endorse JB in it.

Biden assembling White House transition team | TheHill

 

[angelo]

There's a million of these out there.

All clearly fake. Unlike Trump supporters, none of us are brain dead morons. What isn't fake:

View attachment 27137

It's never going to go away angelo. Trump will, but his words and actions won't.

You are peddling fake news to support a grossly incompetent amoral sociopath that wouldn't use you as a cum rag.

Good choice!

This isn't fake! One picture is worth millions of advertising dollars.

 

[Elixir]

This isn't fake! One picture is worth millions of advertising dollars.

Yeah... millions and millions. But not as many millions as his own idiotic words.

 

[Patooka]

I wonder if angelo is ever going to grow a pair and explain why he thinks Biden is creepier than Trump.

 

[Derec]

I wonder what you think is wrong or creepy about posing with some Hooters girls.
Also, I fixed that pixelated mess you posted.

 

[Elixir]

I wonder what you think is wrong or creepy

I wonder if you'll figure out what's wrong or creepy about Trump.

View attachment 27148

 

[Derec]

I wonder if you'll figure out what's wrong or creepy about Trump.

I was asking specifically about the Hooters photo. Not the Borat chram photo.

 

[angelo]

I wonder if angelo is ever going to grow a pair and explain why he thinks Biden is creepier than Trump.

Perhaps this may explain it, but I doubt it...................................

 

[Elixir]

I wonder if you'll figure out what's wrong or creepy about Trump.

I was asking specifically about the Hooters photo. Not the Borat chram photo.

I'd try to explain it to you Derec, but your posting history would indicate that you might feel the same sense of disgusting entitlement that makes Trump proud to go into a Hooters restaurant, grab a couple of their employees and pose in a position of entitled sexual ownership. So I don't expect you to get it. I wonder if he tipped the waitresses any better than he tipped Stormy, having degraded them to her level.

 

[Koyaanisqatsi]

I wonder if you'll figure out what's wrong or creepy about Trump.

I was asking specifically about the Hooters photo.

And he was asking you specifically about this:

On the heels of the damaging videotape on which Trump and former Access Hollywood host Billy Bush salivated over Days of Our Live actress Arianne Zucker, and joked about sexually assaulting women, came allegations that Trump entered the Miss Teen USA changing room where girls as young as 15 were in various states of undress.

Mariah Billado, Miss Teen Vermont 1997 told BuzzFeed, “I remember putting on my dress really quick because I was like, ‘Oh my god, there’s a man in here.'” Three other teenage contestants from the same year confirmed the story. The former pageant contestants discussed their memories of the incident after former Miss Arizona Tasha Dixon told Los Angeles’ CBS affiliate that Trump entered the Miss USA dressing room in 2001 when she was a contestant.

“He just came strolling right in,” Dixon said. “There was no second to put a robe on or any sort of clothing or anything. Some girls were topless. Others girls were naked. Our first introduction to him was when we were at the dress rehearsal and half-naked changing into our bikinis.”

Dixon went on to say that employees of the Miss Universe Organization encouraged the contestants to lavish Trump with attention when he came in. “To have the owner come waltzing in, when we’re naked, or half-naked, in a very physically vulnerable position and then to have the pressure of the people that worked for him telling us to go fawn all over him, go walk up to him, talk to him, get his attention…”

The Trump campaign did not offer a response to either story, but in a 2005 appearance on Howard Stern’s show, Trump bragged about doing exactly what the women describe. “I’ll go backstage before a show, and everyone’s getting dressed and ready and everything else,” he said.

His position as the pageant’s owner entitled him to that kind of access, Trump explained, seemingly aware that what he was doing made the women uncomfortable. “You know, no men are anywhere. And I’m allowed to go in because I’m the owner of the pageant. And therefore I’m inspecting it… Is everyone OK? You know, they’re standing there with no clothes. And you see these incredible-looking women. And so I sort of get away with things like that,” he said.

(Billado told BuzzFeed she mentioned the incident to Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, who shrugged it off, saying, “Yeah, he does that.”)

It has been conclusively proved--and explicitly confirmed by Trump himself on a number of occasions (and by the daughter he publicly sexually humiliated also on a number of occasions)--that Trump is an amoral sexual predator with a long history of abuse of women.

He raped his first wife; cheated on all of his wives; had to pathetically pay thousands of dollars to get pornstars to fuck him and even then some refused; has admitted to sexual predation numerous times, including the above reprehensible behavior that is tantamount to live child pornography; has allegedly sexually abused/raped upwards of 20 women or more; and there is still the open question of whether or not his pathetic and desperate sexual predation significantly factored in his blatant and on-going puppeteering by Putin; etc., etc., etc.

So even you can see that a picture of, say, the Pope with a bunch of Hooters girls would not nearly be as creepy as a picture of a proven sexual predator of Trump's despicable caliber with a bunch of Hooters girls.

 

[angelo]

I wonder if you'll figure out what's wrong or creepy about Trump.

I was asking specifically about the Hooters photo. Not the Borat chram photo.

I'd try to explain it to you Derec, but your posting history would indicate that you might feel the same sense of disgusting entitlement that makes Trump proud to go into a Hooters restaurant, grab a couple of their employees and pose in a position of entitled sexual ownership. So I don't expect you to get it. I wonder if he tipped the waitresses any better than he tipped Stormy, having degraded them to her level.

I have two words for that............Tara Reade.

 

[Patooka]

I wonder if angelo is ever going to grow a pair and explain why he thinks Biden is creepier than Trump.

Perhaps this may explain it, but I doubt it...................................

You're right. It doesn't explain it at all. Largely because you weren't in the clip. The question is why *YOU* think Biden is creepier than Trump. For you to answer, it's going to involve you to sack up and put into your own words why that is the case. Laura Ingraham can't answer for you.

So do you have a answer, or are you just going to do another ctrl-c/ctrl-v post?

 

[angelo]

I wonder if angelo is ever going to grow a pair and explain why he thinks Biden is creepier than Trump.

Perhaps this may explain it, but I doubt it...................................

You're right. It doesn't explain it at all. Largely because you weren't in the clip. The question is why *YOU* think Biden is creepier than Trump. For you to answer, it's going to involve you to sack up and put into your own words why that is the case. Laura Ingraham can't answer for you.

So do you have a answer, or are you just going to do another ctrl-c/ctrl-v post?

They say one picture is worth a thousand words. What's changed about that rule? Oh, sorry, I know. It's because a creepy, senile, nearly 80 year old candidate is the best the Dems can do. And even if a Democrat Goofy would be supported as long as it's not the Donald!

 

[Patooka]

You're right. It doesn't explain it at all. Largely because you weren't in the clip. The question is why *YOU* think Biden is creepier than Trump. For you to answer, it's going to involve you to sack up and put into your own words why that is the case. Laura Ingraham can't answer for you.

So do you have a answer, or are you just going to do another ctrl-c/ctrl-v post?

They say one picture is worth a thousand words. What's changed about that rule? Oh, sorry, I know. It's because a creepy, senile, nearly 80 year old candidate is the best the Dems can do. And even if a Democrat Goofy would be supported as long as it's not the Donald!

What's so fucking hard? Why do you think Biden is creepier than Trump? You appear to be against creepy, senile nearly 80 year old candidates, so what is the difference between Trump and Biden in your opinion? Because you say a lot about Biden's creepiness and yet you say fuck all about the molester in chief. So either you are fucking clueless about US politics or you are not arguing in good faith. Which one is it?

 

[Patooka]

I'd try to explain it to you Derec, but your posting history would indicate that you might feel the same sense of disgusting entitlement that makes Trump proud to go into a Hooters restaurant, grab a couple of their employees and pose in a position of entitled sexual ownership. So I don't expect you to get it. I wonder if he tipped the waitresses any better than he tipped Stormy, having degraded them to her level.

I have two words for that............Tara Reade.

Jesus fucking Christ your arguments are pathetic. Yes Tara Reade should be listened to and elements of the Metoo movement have proven to be hypocritical fucks in their handling of this. The depressing truth is Biden is still the second creepiest candidate on the ballot. Creep number one has had a couple (or twenty) allegations raised against them and if you had a shred of integrity, you'd address that as well. But your argument essentially boils down to:

 

[Elixir]

I'd try to explain it to you Derec, but your posting history would indicate that you might feel the same sense of disgusting entitlement that makes Trump proud to go into a Hooters restaurant, grab a couple of their employees and pose in a position of entitled sexual ownership. So I don't expect you to get it. I wonder if he tipped the waitresses any better than he tipped Stormy, having degraded them to her level.

I have two words for that............Tara Reade.

I have 50 words for THAT. I'll let you try to figure them out.

Here's a hint:


Good luck!

 

[thebeave]

Aren't those Harvey Weinstein's accusers, not Trump's? Or did both men go after the same women??