11/08/2022, The Midterms, aka build on 2020 aka The Election Thread

[allegro]

Mayor Pete reached the 65,000 individual donor goal so he’s officially invited to the DNC debate.

[theimage13]

Trump and his team are terrified of Joe Biden. (Vanity Fair)

I really wish Sanders wasn't running. I think the majority of voters - especially non-GOP voters - are really tired of the loud, shouty-type demeanor of some politicians. I think people want someone calm, eloquent, and rational. Someone campaigning on extreme ideas on the left is not going to win the White House; at least not now. The only way a Democrat wins in 2020 is if the EC is suddenly abolished or they run a more moderate candidate who will appeal to true independent voters and GOP voters who are sick of Trump. I think Biden - as much as I have reservations about his age - would be one of the best shots at that.

[allegro]

Amy Klobuchar on MTP today, asked by (host) Chuck Todd about slave reparations.

She provides the standard white-person-in power answer: oh, well, we fix the problem by putting money “into their community” and sending them to college and community college and increasing the minimum wage.

Interpretation: Sure, we gave people who were held in Japanese internment camps reparations, and Jews reparations, but descendants of people we kidnapped and kept like livestock and abused and raped for generations? Let’s keep them segregated in their “communities,” keep them in minimum wage jobs, or send them to college to accumulate a ton of debt that enriches white people but their chances of getting hired are way lower (never mind that maybe they just want to own a nail salon). But, money for reparations? God, no, they would just waste it on stupid stuff. We have to direct where that money for them goes and how and where they live, like we’ve been doing for hundreds of years.



MEANWHILE, Joe Biden slipped up and accidentally admitted that he’s running.

[allegate]

[allegro]

Still miss my favorite Chicago President, Barack O’Bama.

[ltrandazzo]

Harris, Warren and Gillibrand are warming to the idea of packing the court with liberal justices since Mitch McConnell decided he could set a new precedent by holding up a nomination for over 400 days to prevent someone who could get appointed with near-unanimous support in exchange for two guys he had to nuke the filibuster over

[allegro]

A Democrat just needs to win in 2020. Ginsberg and Thomas are going to retire.

FDR tried to pack the Court.

Read this to see what happened: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judi...m_Bill_of_1937

BETTER legislation would be one that would REQUIRE the Senate to hold hearings on the justice nomination within 90 days.

Also, in the RBG documentary, RBG (who turned 86 on March 15) indicates that when she was seated on the SCOTUS in 1993, she was a moderate swing justice. She deliberately chose to interpret from a liberal view when the Court lost some of the liberal justices. NOTE that Chief Justice Roberts appears to have moved to be the moderate swing justice, no longer a reliable conservative.

Here is one article about Roberts as the swing justice.

[ltrandazzo]

I see your Clarence Thomas retiring and raise you a Clarence Thomas could retire much sooner than thought so a 40-50 year old conservative justice can take his place - https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily...ce-ready-to-go

[allegro]

Yeah I’ve been reading that, too, from many other sources.

But I’d also been reading that RGB is going to retire.

If a Democrat has the Presidency for 8 years, then it’s a guarantee.

Either way, NOBODY could be worse than Thomas. The guy is WORSE THAN SCALIA. Ugh he’s a judicial TURD.

[ltrandazzo]

Yeah I’ve been reading that, too, from many other sources.

But I’d also been reading that RGB is going to retire.

If a Democrat has the Presidency for 8 years, then it’s a guarantee.

Either way, NOBODY could be worse than Thomas. The guy is WORSE THAN SCALIA. Ugh he’s a judicial TURD.

What I'm getting at though is that the hope that Thomas retires AFTER Trump is out office and thus realigning the court into a 5-4 liberal majority is for naught if he just retires before then (and his wife is a conservative activist who has been to the White House a few times during this administration, so you know this has likely come up). You just extend his conservative seat another 30 years instead of replacing him in the next 2-5. RBG is a wash if she retires during a Dem president.

So, you either hope that Clarence Thomas isn't a giant asshole, or you pack the court.

[allegro]

What I'm getting at though is that the hope that Thomas retires AFTER Trump is out office and thus realigning the court into a 5-4 liberal majority is for naught if he just retires before then (and his wife is a conservative activist who has been to the White House a few times during this administration, so you know this has likely come up). You just extend his conservative seat another 30 years instead of replacing him in the next 2-5. RBG is a wash if she retires during a Dem president.

So, you either hope that Clarence Thomas isn't a giant asshole, or you pack the court.

If Thomas retires TOMORROW, the justice who replaces him can no way be as big of a dick as Thomas. Because Thomas is that big of a dick. He sleeps through oral hearings and has like six law clerks and should have recused himself like TWENTY times. My husband keeps hoping Thomas has a fatal grabber, but that’s bad karma so I don’t go that far.

Thomas cited LOVING VS VIRGINA - the very case THAT ALLOWED HIM TO MARRY HIS WHITE WIFE - as NOT being the basis of equality for gay marriage. Thomas voted against the Voters Rights Act and Affirmative Action, and he sexually harassed Anita Hill and blamed “uppity blacks” for harassing him.

The guy is a TURD who should have been IMPEACHED years (decades) ago. My house will be throwing a PARTY when he’s no longer on the Court.

If Thomas retires tomorrow, Roberts remains the swing and Thomas Hardiman takes Thomas’ place.

But ANY Presidential candidate telling you that he/she will somehow change the number on the SCOTUS is bullshitting.

No offense, but ...

IT
WON’T
HAPPEN

Sounds fun. Won’t happen. It’s up to Congress. And Congress didn’t do it before and they won’t do it now. When FDR tried to push such legislation onto Congress, he was accused of attempting a dictatorship.

[theimage13]

I swear someone here said they wanted Bernie partly, if not primarily, because he was crushing it in the polls and super popular.

So...um....about that.

Polls show Bernie Sanders popularity among all voters is plummeting

[Demogorgon]

Bernie is already bracing himself for a loss anyway, he said flat out that if he doesn't win the nomination he'll 100% back the person who does. Compare this to last time where he held out endorsing Hillary until the absolute last minute. He doesn't expect to win. He wants to make sure his voting base doesn't abandon the party, though.

[Aladdinsanity]

I swear someone here said they wanted Bernie partly, if not primarily, because he was crushing it in the polls and super popular.

So...um....about that.

Polls show Bernie Sanders popularity among all voters is plummeting

This poll leaves out everyone under the age of 50 entirely.

[Jinsai]

I wonder if a lot of these people out there sharing anti-Beto and anti-Sanders memes and stuff.... I wonder if they ever get the feeling, y'know, like they're being tricked?

[ltrandazzo]

I wonder if a lot of these people out there sharing anti-Beto and anti-Sanders memes and stuff.... I wonder if they ever get the feeling, y'know, like they're being tricked?

Beto contemplates this as he jumps on his 17th coffee shop counter and finally steps on someone's danish.

I'd be more worried about the anti-Beto stuff if he actually had an answer for something instead of just saying he'll think on it. Bro - you're running for president. You better have a good fucking idea about what SOME of your positions are. Meanwhile, Elizabeth Warren has a 15-point plan on something that could actually improve your life because she's been thinking about it a LOT and Nate Silver is out here pointing out that the men are getting way more media coverage than the women.

[theimage13]

I'd be more worried about the anti-Beto stuff if he actually had an answer for something instead of just saying he'll think on it. Bro - you're running for president.

Well if we're using the current official as a guideline, thinking on it is already wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy ahead of anything 45 is doing.

[ltrandazzo]

A post shared by on Jan 01, 2017 at 12:00pm PDT

Anyway, polls are polls. I know there's some analysis out there about how they have some impact right now, but the important thing to remember is that it's still early and the field is incomplete.

Also somewhat-Crooked related: Cory Booker is now open to eliminating the filibuster in the Senate after saying as early as last month that it should be kept in place. He cites talking to voters who made "practical arguments" -

[allegro]

Meanwhile, Elizabeth Warren has a 15-point plan on something that could actually improve your life because she's been thinking about it a LOT and Nate Silver is out here pointing out that the men are getting way more media coverage than the women.

Amen to THAT.

-----

You know, I'm gonna go ahead and say what I'm thinking, here, critics be damned.

The image of New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern wearing a hijab and comforting women at a mosque (after the recent tragedy where a Trump-fueled white supremacist murdered 50 Muslims) really sealed how I feel about our own upcoming 2020 election.

This is what a real leader looks like:



This NYT piece got it right: Why Jacinda Ardern Matters: New Zealand’s prime minister is emerging as the progressive antithesis to right-wing strongmen like Trump, Orban and Modi, whose careers thrive on illiberal, anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant rhetoric.

I'm TIRED of the piece of shit that occupies the White House, pushing his patriarchal nationalistic propaganda poison via the sewer that is the internet and social media.

Ms. Ardern is a shining example of why it's WAY past time for the United States to have a strong female / woman leader. No more excuses.

I'm sick of these males who won't get the fuck out of the way, who won't support the women candidates, who instead continue to push the same patriarchal status quo that keeps them in charge, has kept them in charge for over 240 years. This includes MSM.

Fuck that.

In the primaries, I'm voting for a woman.

I'm putting all of my efforts towards women candidates. Trump’s probably going to win in 2020, anyway, because too many to the left are either too lazy to vote or are waiting for the perfect Radical Messiah Unicorn.

This all just feels like we are in the Stone Age compared to every other modern industrialized nation in the world. We elected a black man as President BEFORE we elected a woman.

[theimage13]

[Jinsai]

I wonder about the viability of an openly gay man running for president. I'd like to believe "America is ready" for the idea, but I live in Los Angeles. If there's one thing this Trump cultish support has proven to me, I am wildly out of touch with the prevalent "values" of large portions of this country. And then I remember seeing Cruz and Huckabee fighting each other for who would grace the stage alongside Kim Davis, and the loud celebration of "religious values" when a cake-maker refuses to bake a cake for a gay couple. I really don't know, and it pisses me off that the concern comes to mind even... I'd like to think that I should be completely unconcerned with the voting inclinations of bigots, but then there's the reality of the situation, and the likelihood that if Trump is reelected, we'll see civil rights rolled back and regressions ramped up to a degree I don't even want to think about or seriously consider.

[allegro]

I wonder about the viability of an openly gay man running for president. I'd like to believe "America is ready" for the idea, but I live in Los Angeles. If there's one thing this Trump cultish support has proven to me, I am wildly out of touch with the prevalent "values" of large portions of this country. And then I remember seeing Cruz and Huckabee fighting each other for who would grace the stage alongside Kim Davis, and the loud celebration of "religious values" when a cake-maker refuses to bake a cake for a gay couple. I really don't know, and it pisses me off that the concern comes to mind even... I'd like to think that I should be completely unconcerned with the voting inclinations of bigots, but then there's the reality of the situation, and the likelihood that if Trump is reelected, we'll see civil rights rolled back and regressions ramped up to a degree I don't even want to think about or seriously consider.

I follow some (funny) gay #resist activists on Twitter. And now the black gay activists are fighting with the white gay activists over Pete Buttigieg. Because the black gay activists are behind Kamala Harris and the white gay activists are pissed that they're not all voting for the gay guy. But the black gay activists say yeah Buttigieg is gay but he's still too white and out-of-touch with minorities.

[allegro]

[ltrandazzo]

@Jinsai & @Cat Mom -

[Jinsai]

As long as there’s no singularly concerned one-issue-voter Buttigieg-or-bust thing... I’m not going to tell people how to feel or how they should vote, and I’m down to reach for the stars... I personally feel like we need to climb out of the gutter first, but hey, that’s me. The best news Trump can get is “the liberals are at each other’s throats trying to out-progress each other, meanwhile there’s a unified MAGA-hat crowd that is lining up to suck your balls.”

[bobbie solo]

I wonder about the viability of an openly gay man running for president. I'd like to believe "America is ready" for the idea, but I live in Los Angeles. If there's one thing this Trump cultish support has proven to me, I am wildly out of touch with the prevalent "values" of large portions of this country. And then I remember seeing Cruz and Huckabee fighting each other for who would grace the stage alongside Kim Davis, and the loud celebration of "religious values" when a cake-maker refuses to bake a cake for a gay couple. I really don't know, and it pisses me off that the concern comes to mind even... I'd like to think that I should be completely unconcerned with the voting inclinations of bigots, but then there's the reality of the situation, and the likelihood that if Trump is reelected, we'll see civil rights rolled back and regressions ramped up to a degree I don't even want to think about or seriously consider.

Anyone who wouldn't vote for an openly gay man, part. this dude if you just listen to him for a few minutes, wouldn't vote for any Dem anyway over a Republican, so fuck em. And there's no way that any of the Dem candidates will inspire the amount of people to stay home & not vote as Hillary did, so you don't have to worry about overwhelming voter apathy bc of someone like Buttigeig as well (imo of course).

[allegro]

Joe Biden is toast. Burnt toast.

I wouldn’t vote for him if a gun was pointed at my head.

If Biden announces a run, now, he’s a total moron.

This issue has been around him for a LONG time and nobody until now has had the courage to address it. Everyone sums it up to Joe being an Old Man Who Didn’t Get The Memo.

Time’s Up means stop explaining away and / or accepting unacceptable behavior. Time’s Up. Get Out and support OTHER candidates but stay away from the candidacy, yourself.


Edit: In case you are not yet aware.

See also this.

[Demogorgon]

There have been stories about Biden for a long time, and it's been hard to say what was potentially true and what was attack propeganda. It's about time something was put out into the open.

[Jinsai]

It just seemed obvious to me that there was some skeleton in Biden’s optics closet at the very least, and people who knew about it were seeding this idea that he’d just be great, and that perhaps he alone has what it takes to take on Trump. Word is guys, Trump is terrified of Biden!!!

oh, no, anything but the briar patch Mr Fox.

[allegro]

There’s a WHOLE BUNCH of dudes in the “older” generation who think it’s okay to treat any women as if we are all family members, doling out “affection” and touching in the workplace and in professional situations, and it puts us women in terribly awkward situations where we don’t know how to react, our gut knows it’s inappropriate, it feels creepy, but we know we aren’t protected; we know a trip to HR will likely just make us targets. You’d be hard pressed to find any female who hasn’t experienced this.

But people are blaming this Biden thing on Lucy Flores: She “should have told him at the time” (she explains why she didn’t in her essay), she must be some kind of “political operative” etc. Or they’re doing the “not as bad as” comparison game, “well he didn’t SEXUALLY ASSAULT her!” “He didn’t do what JUDGE KAVANAUGH did!”

Google “creepy Uncle Joe Biden” a month ago and you’d see all the shit that’s been floating around social media for a few YEARS.

This isn’t a “Me Too” moment. This is a “Time’s Up” moment.

Joe needs to stop doing that shit to women and little girls. This is the Memo he evidently never read.

Now, a lot of people are clutching their pearls, “okay so Joe Biden is destroyed and WE ARE GONNA END UP WITH FOUR MORE YEARS OF TRUMP. I HOPE Y’ALL ARE HAPPY, NOW!!”

As if Joe Biden was the sole Jesus hope, just like the MSM and (cough) “polls” were telling us.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth Warren: Oh, no, Republicans don’t like her because of Pocahontas.

And Harris, Republicans don’t like her because she slept with a married man.

And Klobuchar, Republicans don’t like her because she is a bitch at work.

And Buttigieg has a husband so no.

And Bernie is a COMMUNIST.

So Democrats choose their candidates, now, by what Republicans think of them, according to MSM.

Anyway ...

I’m REALLY glad the Biden stuff was outed, because it sparks discussion about how this shit ain’t okay, anymore. It hasn’t been okay in DECADES.

One of my former bosses was like that, giving neck massages to secretaries and female attorneys and shit. And behind his back, most women said he “meant well” but we all said, “doesn’t he know you’re not supposed to do that?” Nobody had the guts to tell him. Mostly I think because they didn’t want to HURT HIS FEELINGS. This was in the NINETIES.