OK so what's going on?
Yesterday I received an email pitch from the Sanders campaign:
When we began this campaign a little over a year ago we were considered to be a fringe campaign. But over the last year, I think that has changed just a little bit.
As of last night, we have won 22 state primaries and caucuses with more than 11 million votes.
What we understand, and what every one of us has always understood, is that real change never occurs from the top on down, always from the bottom on up.
That is the history of America. Our fight is to transform our country and to understand that we are in this together. That is what OUR movement is about.
The struggle continues. We are going to fight for every vote in Tuesday's primary in Washington, DC, and then we will bring our political revolution to the Democratic convention in Philadelphia.
Say that you will continue to fight for the progressive future our country needs by adding a contribution to our campaign today.
Meaning no disrespect, Senator Sanders, but what's the money going toward? Shouldn't we get to know that BEFORE we pitch our hard-earned dollars at you? In the NYT we are told:
Senator Bernie Sanders plans to lay off at least half of his campaign staff Wednesday as his battered presidential bid continues despite Hillary Clinton’s being declared the presumptive Democratic nominee, two people close to the campaign said Tuesday.
Many of those being laid off are advance staff members who often help with campaign logistics, as well as field staff members who have been working to garner votes for the senator, according to a campaign official and a former campaign staff member, both of whom spoke on condition of anonymity.
So if they're pitching me for money, who's being hired? (We already know who's being fired.) Lawyers? Sanders' projected team to pitch for Clinton in the upcoming election? We can only wonder. Here's a curious news bulletin from left field:
The Justice Gazette reporters and others are conducting an investigation into voting irregularities and the theft of Bernie Sanders’s apparent California landslide victory by those supporting Hillary Clinton. According to popular actress Frances Fisher, a lawsuit is being prepared to require the counting of all the provisional ballots. If this lawsuit is successful, the actual vote count is expected to become known and Sanders will likely have a landslide victory in California.
There it is, folks. News so hidden from the public view that we need Frances Fisher to tell us what's going on. Is there a real lawsuit?
Meanwhile according to ABC news Sanders is set to meet with Obama, who says: "Battle With Bernie Sanders Made Hillary Clinton 'a Better Candidate'." This is, of course, nonsense -- as a candidate, Clinton won through influence-trading and election fraud while operating safely within the confines of the Democratic Party, and the question at hand is one of whether or not Trump, who only defeated fifteen rivals on the way to the Republican nomination, is any worse. So why's Sanders meeting with Obama? Congratulations, we cheated, you lost, welcome to the team?
Oh and then we can read Bill McKibben on the pointless platform-drafting effort:
Climate activist and Vermont author Bill McKibben, one of the Sanders supporters on the drafting committee, said he'll push the Vermont senator's ideas as the committee crafts the platform, which will get a vote at the convention.
“I think it’s got to be one of the vehicles for uniting people in a common effort against Donald Trump,” said McKibben. “There are millions and millions and millions of people who (Sanders) brought into this process. So it’s good to see those views represented so far here.”
I can hardly wait for the next five months of Bill McKibben touting the vast benefits of having a President who will do nothing to mitigate climate change, over a possible President who's a climate change denier. Yep, let's all unite for Hillary against the Donald, and never mind the pointlessness of the whole affair. Why did we do this anyway?
I'm beginning to feel good that I didn't bother with phonebanking or door-to-door pitches for Sanders. I'd have felt like just another liar, touting the benefits of a democracy that isn't there. (I did donate money, and I did vote for Sanders. Somehow that felt less embarrassing.) But there's still the bigger question to be answered: how do the Sanders folks run a motivating campaign for more than a year, and then completely forget about the public's reasons for participating?
Comments
Hey sorry the graphic's on the big side.
Mods: can you shrink it a bit?
The ruling classes need an extra party to make the rest of us feel as if we participate in democracy. That's what the Democrats are for. They make the US more durable than the Soviet Union was.
I can't shrink it but you can.
Hit edit. You will see the embed code. In there adjust the W & H.
My guess is that it is for down ballot candidates,but yes, it should have said. Maybe he couldn't say anything because it would have been picked at and interpreted as a concession or blah, blah, blah.
"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon
Well I went into Photobucket and edited the image.
Hope it works!
The ruling classes need an extra party to make the rest of us feel as if we participate in democracy. That's what the Democrats are for. They make the US more durable than the Soviet Union was.
dkmich was referring to the image tag:
This image
is produced using this code
<img src="/sites/default/files/user%20images/Rav4Prius2.jpg" width="300" height="235" alt="Our Two Toys" />
And this image
Is produced using this code
<img src="/sites/default/files/user%20images/Rav4Prius2.jpg" width="300" alt="Our Two Toys" />
And this image
Is produced using this code
<img src="/sites/default/files/user%20images/Rav4Prius2.jpg" width="200" alt="Our Two Toys" />
Helpful hint: Just change the width. Eliminate the height.
The photo will self adjust to be the same proportions as the original.
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The image size...
looks OK to me, Cass, did you adjust it?
I went into photobucket, edited the image, posted the new one.
There weren't any parameters on the image address I posted.
The ruling classes need an extra party to make the rest of us feel as if we participate in democracy. That's what the Democrats are for. They make the US more durable than the Soviet Union was.
You can add size attributes...
to the code yourself. Right after the last quotation mark that wraps the URL, skip a space and then type
width="whatever size you want here"
width="500" usually works fine.
You can also add a height attribute by skipping another space and type
height="whatever size you want here".
Usually just adding the width attribute will be enough.
Preview the image until you get it the way you want it. That's easier than editing and reposting the image
If you specify
width="100%"
and don't specify height at all, then the software fits the image & preserves the original aspect ratio. And it fits whatever screen you're viewing it on.
“We may not be able to change the system, but we can make the system irrelevant in our lives and in the lives of those around us.”—John Beckett
Yep, thanks, was going to say
that same thing. Easiest way to get the proportion right
"When the powerless are shut out of the media, we will make the media irrelevant" ~Anonymous~
I thought this was her theme song.
Quite possibly!
I was guessing this one:
The ruling classes need an extra party to make the rest of us feel as if we participate in democracy. That's what the Democrats are for. They make the US more durable than the Soviet Union was.
My humble opinion is that...
...it's not over until November 9, because anything can happen between now and then...
I want my two dollars!
I'm still hoping something good happens.
Bad is the default setting.
The ruling classes need an extra party to make the rest of us feel as if we participate in democracy. That's what the Democrats are for. They make the US more durable than the Soviet Union was.
It looks like this article on CounterPunch...
...was written just for you:
The Show’s Over, On With the Show
I want my two dollars!
One thing should be clear from this farce --
We can't be saying "okay, fraud, whatevs, time to move on and beat Trump y'know."
The ruling classes need an extra party to make the rest of us feel as if we participate in democracy. That's what the Democrats are for. They make the US more durable than the Soviet Union was.
I don't disagree at all...
I want my two dollars!
Agreed, next step
Enjoy your spin Cass. Next step is to help churn some change. Let's try to direct our energies toward the idea of sharing, making life better for all. Pick up on the Bern message and carry it forward.
question everything
One solution might be to (dare I say!) work within the Dem
party to: 1) Eliminate the supers; and 2) Have agreement on one national standard for how a primary should be run - preferably open primaries everywhere.
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No offense, but that is about the worst thing we can do IMHO....
That has been being tried for far too many decades and has only led to a further drift to the right. Sure, it could probably be done with the modern infrastructure we have as far as social media and whatnot goes, but it would take time.
Time we and the very existence of many of the life forms on this planet just don't have anymore.
The only really viable option in the time frame we have available is a new party.
I think we can lay the foundation for a new party by 2018 if someone with Bernie's credibility leads the charge, take some seats and then mount a viable 3rd party run in 2020.
We have the ability, look at all the incredible work done by free volunteers for the Sanders campaign.
We have the money, look at the phenomenal amount of cash we managed to raise for a candidate that nobody barely even heard of a year ago.
Now all we need is the will and a figurehead to rally behind, and if Sanders ends up not being "The One" than there are lots of others that are fired up by this years events and who knows, the new leader of the movement will likely be someone that again most people have never heard of. (I know many people have problems with the latter, but lets face it, no movement ever went anywhere without someone out in front blazing the trail.)
"I used to vote Republican & Democrat, I also used to shit my pants. Eventually I got smart enough to stop doing both things." -Me
I'm not wedded to the idea. I wish we could find some data
regarding what's easier and therefore quicker - pull the Dems to the left or build a party from scratch or make the Green party into the full-on progressive party we want to see. Because I think you're right, we have to make changes AQAP. I imagine that as things will end up, some will stay to try to make the Dem party better while others will go and try to build something new. As has been said, we're like herding cats.
But for those who stay within the Dem party, I think job one is to never allow this level of primary effery again. Let everyone indicate what candidate would be most popular in the GE. Have one set of rules nationwide so that the confusing changes from state to state no longer exist. Those and the supers are designed for the establishment's preferred candidate. Had these improvements been in place this year, Bern would have won.
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I agree, more data would be nice but based on past experience
I see little reason to expect otherwise.
So let's try right now to establish some basic data for ourselves.
I am doing this totally off the cuff and with zero research to back my assumptions so take that into account if or when holes in my statements that are probably gonna arise. (My wife brought me home a "Good Hubby" mixed 6 that I am 5 into, so that is absolutely a factor, lol!)
Ok, say we decide we need to take over the party with progressives.
I have tried to wade through the rules and it is incredibly difficult to find a concise description of the process but the first thing we would need to do is get a majority of people in the DNC Committee to agree with our agenda, that would push to enable and prioritize it, and that means replacing them or winning a primary and then a general with a candidate that shares our views such as Sanders. (Technically the President is the head of the party, but doesn't get to "decree" who is the chair based on my understanding but does have a lot of influence in determining it.)
So absolute best case scenario is that in order to replace them we would need to win every election with one of our candidates for at least 50% +1.
Just replacing some of the senators, will take at least 8 years as Senators are up every 6 years, and only 1/3 of them are up for re-election on any given cycle and the cycles only occur on even years.
The house we could conceivably replace them in faster, but most of them that are in the house are in solid blue districts that historically tend to stick with the safe choice, I.E. the incumbent.
These two facts alone lead me to believe that it will take a minimum of a decade in the absolute best case scenario for us just to take control of the party, and that is only if we don't suffer a setback in between the start and the finish.
I am not optimistic that we could do it even that quickly.
Now on the other hand look at what we have done with the Sanders campaign in just 6 months.
If we can keep that momentum up even at half strength, that will be enough activists to start laying the groundwork for a 3rd party to challenge the other 2 in the 2018 midterms.
Now, when you factor in how low mid-term turnout tends to be, an active group of organizers operating at the scale we are now can make a HUGE impact in the midterms.
I think we can take at least a dozen, maybe more, seats if we hit the ground running now.
That puts us in a solid position to mount a credible 3rd party campaign for 2020 I would think.
Granted, their are a lot of if's in both scenario's but I think that if we did an in depth analysis it will likely yield the same results. (But then again, like everyone else, I tend to think I am right most of the time.
)
Heck, that was a lot longer of a response than I intended and only a part of my reasoning. Maybe I should flesh it out further as it's own essay?
"I used to vote Republican & Democrat, I also used to shit my pants. Eventually I got smart enough to stop doing both things." -Me
We are still thinking within the box.
Break the box! Look, most of little-us agree this whole system (government, economy, law&order, more I can't come up with right now) are broken, not the best idea anyway, not fit for what we have wrought upon this Earth. Screw the system, it did not work, got co-opted by system failures as Don might say, and needs to be completely destroyed and rebuilt AQAP. The foundation is broken. Start from recognizing that and think fast about an agile replacement that is NOT carved in stone. A few basic keystones: No killing of other humans. Least harm to all. Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee!
Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.
The Dem party doesn't even exists anymore
it's now controlled by corporations and their puppets who masquerade as politicians. As a Democratic Socialist, Bernie kept pulling the mask off and reminding the DNC what the party should be, reminding them what the majority of the people really want and that's just not going to happen with a pretend DNC. Especially when there is so much money to be made with their endless wars fighting Phantom-Ideology-Enemies.
It's time to start over and build something new with the platform that Sanders has given us.
"So it goes."
Kurt Vonnegut
My opinion, FWIW
There is absolutely no point in doing this, because even if you can get a majority of the liberal wing of the Democratic party to agree the Democratic party is worth saving, you won't, after this election, get the electorate to say so. It was bad enough after the people figured out Obama wasn't going to bat for them. Hillary Clinton and her surrogates have spent the last 10 months steamrolling back and forth over the party's reputation.
1/2 of Americans believe these elections are rigged.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-primaries-poll-idUSKCN0XO0ZR
[Video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mT95hFH2-yY]
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
If anything
we should probably be working to make sure that she never becomes president.
Unfortunately, few to none of them are in government.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Bad is the new good.
Hillary Clinton 2016: I'm a proud progmoderate!
Ha. I contributed 50 bucks.
I don't know of anyone, from any party, ideology, group, anything, who has done more for the American electorate than Bernie. He has said, using a national platform, things that have needed to be said for decades and he has said it well.
If he endorses Hillary (which I'm not sure he will) I won't go along with that, but I'll still feel the same way about him.
I'm satisfied with every penny I have contributed to his campaign.
I agree with you completely about the rest of your essay, especially the nonsense that Bernie or anyone else has pushed Hillary to the left. She's hopeless, imo.
I understand your feelings, Cass, but it's been a different experience for me and I've learned so much, experientially as opposed to intellectually, from Bernie's campaign, which has completely exposed the corruption in the Democratic Party and caused me to end my association with it.
Beat in the USA.
I agree, NPKitty
I've given a little more than I can comfortably afford, and I'll continue to do so as long as he is bringing this message to the country.
I don't regret a penny of it.
The one thing I DON'T see him doing is wasting our money. No, I don't think she'll be pushed to the left, but I do have enough faith in Sanders after this election to trust him to know what he's doing, even if its only bringing these issues to a wider audience, or supporting progressives downticket. Much more has been accomplished than people realize right now. It will get worse, maybe much much worse before it gets better, but I think he has helped the wheel start turning.
I'm fine with the campaign too.
But, seriously, what's going on here?
The ruling classes need an extra party to make the rest of us feel as if we participate in democracy. That's what the Democrats are for. They make the US more durable than the Soviet Union was.
I don't know what's going on.
I suspect there are plans being made that can't be said straight out, but I have nothing to base that on other than my opinion of Bernie and the campaign he has run.
I don't know. I'm okay with that for right now. I'm hanging in until the Convention to see how it all plays out.
If they get strong platform changes, that great - it won't make me stay a Dem, and it sure won't influence Hillary's actions, but sure, it's still good to have it on the platform in writing. But I strongly suspect that Bernie knows she's not going to work from the platform, so I have hopes there's more going on than just that.
Bernie Can Demand The Moon
Bernie will decide who is president. He should give Hillary a long list of appointments and ACTIONS she must take as president. Maybe he should demand to be VP with powers to monitor her administration. If not he can tell the Clintons, Obama and congressional leaders Hillary will not be president. He can go to Trump and make the same demands. Progressives need to use their power.
Debt?
One possibility that they wouldn't want to go public with before the convention is that the campaign has gone a bit into debt in the last round of primaries. CA is especially expensive. Contributions did fall off, no doubt partly because of an active campaign to discourage contributions to Bernie. When I still visited TOP there was a steady stream of comments in which Hillary supporters castigated the Sanders campaign for raising money under false pretenses, claiming he could still win.
One of the complaints in the politico hit piece
The other day is that folks said he refused to let the fund get below $10 million, which cramped their style when things got tight and limited some options. So if he dipped below, I doubt it was a free fall. It is bloody expensive and still over a month til the Convention. At the end, he doesn't pocket the money, what's left over can be donated to state level candidates...and you know he will support good ones.
"Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change." Stephen Hawking
NEW: http://www.twitter.com/trueblueinwdc
Is this essay part of that campaign?
smells that way from here.
Since obviously I don't *know* what's going on here
I assume what you want is my ideas. Here they are:
What I hope he's going to do:
He's going to pull a Dean and repurpose his campaign infrastructure to form the skeleton of a persistent movement. It's very helpful to have funds to do that.
OR
A second option which is less useful, but not objectionable:
He could be pulling money together to fund a legal challenge to this fraudulent crap puppet show we're being pushed through.
OR
Any number of selfish, greedy, lying politician options:
He could be trying to take your money for a nefarious purpose, such as flying him and Jane on a trip to Bora-Bora, or donating to the Hillary Victory Fund.
I think it's unlikely it's the latter.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Or, I thought of another one:
He could be turning himself into a People's PAC, intending to use his fundraising list, which is all the Democrats care about in his movement, to gain leverage with them, and to fund candidates of his liking.
I kind of hope it's not that, or that that isn't *all* it is.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
I wouldn't want that to be the sole tool in our belt.
However it does sound like it would be a damn useful tool to have!
A peoples pac, that would fund candidates that WE like sounds pretty damn good to me, and it would bring a lot to the table as far as enticing politicians to come over and refuse corporate money if they already had "The Peoples" endorsement.
The more I contemplate it the more I like the idea. This wouldn't be "Big Money" it would be our money, and it would be pretty easy to set up a democratic system for which candidates we should fund I would imagine.
"I used to vote Republican & Democrat, I also used to shit my pants. Eventually I got smart enough to stop doing both things." -Me
CSS
Signal sounds unlike Bern's intentions. He's riding a wave of change. Kinda wanna swim with that, as do many...
question everything
I'm not sure what I heard is what you said. :-)
Could you restate it in a dumb-stupid simple way?
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
sorry, ok, I meant
I would rather think Bern would not use his following to sell out to the dnc.
question everything
Thanks!
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
There was an article a while back asserting that there was a
good sized chunk of change he still had to refund to overzealous donors who violated campaign contribution laws, so he may be looking for bread for that.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
This would be the reason for the layoffs:
The campaign no longer needs a huge number of people as there is only one primary left. He said something recently about the convention and beyond, so I am thinking that part of any money he gets now is to help support some of the activities scheduled for Philly during the convention that will leave with plans on how to proceed with his/our agenda.
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass
Thank you, Nightprowlkitty,
I could not have put it this eloquently.
'Well, I've wrestled with reality for thirty five years, Doctor, and I’m happy to state I finally won out over it." Elwood P. Dowd "
I agree.
If Bernie has done nothing else, he's opened so many eyes to just how dirty the dems play now. And he's done a whole lot more than that. The questions he's raised about economic justice will not go away, no matter who the party thinks they're going to crown the winner. So, no, I don't feel unhappy in any way about Bernie.
I shave my legs with Occam's Razor~
Then how can Bernie tell us
Then how can Bernie tell us that Trump is so scary that we must back Hillary? Bernie touting the tried and true scare tactics of lesser of two evils is disheartening. I say no mas. Taking my toys and going home.
Saywha?
When did he do that?
Do you have a link to him saying that?
A verified quote? A video from his concession speech?
I'd really like to know.
The more people I meet, the more I love my cats.
he made these exact comments
in his little speech following his meeting with Obama.
It was disheartening.
And I also was a little worried that he mentioned many issues that are important to fix, but he omitted medicare for all. I hope it was just a matter of forgetting, or simply keeping the speech quick. I will be worried tho until I hear that he is still pushing for medicare for all. That is really really critical to get included sooner rather than later.
Make no mistake tho, I am still behind him 1000%.
We need to be. We cannot survive under the current oligarchy dynamic.
I'm in it all the way to the convention! #Bernie16
He didn't say he was supporting Hillary.
He said he would "work with" Hillary to keep Trump from being elected.
I think he was pretty clear that his campaign is still alive.
What will happen in the future is anyone's guess, but for now, he is not getting behind Hillary.
Beat in the USA.
If he will work with Hillary
If he will work with Hillary to stop Trump, what do you think he is saying? Just like Elizabeth has just been trying to stop Trump. The worst part for me is that Bernie appears to be joining the fear mongering about Trump.
missing the point
the Bern is on for a bigger get-go than the presi-dents. He's supporting down ticket as well as keeping the fire alive.
question everything
I've got this sick feeling...
All day I've heard clips of Bernie saying that Trump must be stopped. I think he's going for the lesser evil and that means I've wasted my time and money. If I'm right, I will never trust a politician again. This coupled with rumors of Warren's pending endorsement of Hillary and possible VP candidacy, makes me want to vomit. I've voted in every election since 1966 but I don't even want to bother in November. If my worst fears are true, I might just go in, vote for Trump (only) and walk out for the last time.
Most of all I hate liars.
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
He has said all along that he hates Trump, that he would like
to run against Trump, that Trump would be a disaster.
A Jewish man who has a serious gut reaction against a wannabe Fascist. Quelle surprise.
Why is he lying? I have a feeling that Bern may run third party if the convention does not go well. But he recognizes that if he were to win as an independent, it would be the first time in history. So he wants to drag the Dem party far enough to the left that he can endorse with a clear conscience. The race for a new progressive party to shoot for is probably 2020, when we would have more time to spread the word farther and also make sure we dot the i's and cross the t's to get on the ballot in all 50 states.
I have pretty much decided that if the convention does not go well, I will support a third party. But if Bern disagrees with me, I'm not going to be mad at him, I'm going to listen to him. Whether or not he will be able to change my mind remains to be seen.
I won't feel I've wasted my time and money. Bern came within a whisker of winning despite the party's shenanigans. It was a valiant fight and it is not over yet. Good for him, whatever the outcome! He told you all along his candidacy was unlikely. There were no guarantees.
Please check out Pet Vet Help, consider joining us to help pets, and follow me @ElenaCarlena on Twitter! Thank you.
I couldn't agree with this more...
I don't fault him for doing what he thinks is right simply because I know he knows he will just be saying what he thinks, and not what he expects ME to do.
He has already made it abundantly clear that it is up to Clinton to sway his voters over and that we are not his to command. That is good enough for me.
But as I said earlier, I doubt he will actively campaign for Clinton, I think he will just campaign against Trump, something I don't blame him for in the least.
If it was anyone but Clinton running I would probably be campaigning against Trump too, but since at this point I actually consider him the less politically dangerous choice that if it comes to it I will just ignore him for the most part and spend most of my energy endorsing Stein and other candidates that are Bernicrats in the general.
"I used to vote Republican & Democrat, I also used to shit my pants. Eventually I got smart enough to stop doing both things." -Me
Election fraud, not voter fraud
See paragraph right before the Rall cartoon. It's easy to slip on that one, but in this case, all the voters wanted to do was vote and have it count!
OK I'll adjust it.
Thank you for catching that!
The ruling classes need an extra party to make the rest of us feel as if we participate in democracy. That's what the Democrats are for. They make the US more durable than the Soviet Union was.
vote theft...
is perhaps the term. They stole the peoples vote in many ways. I haven't given up yet. Six weeks till the convention is an eternity in politics. Let's see what happens before we throw in the towel. My 2 cents.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Hi Lookout,
Your comment and your signature are perfect! Together even!
I know, easily amused. But still.
'Well, I've wrestled with reality for thirty five years, Doctor, and I’m happy to state I finally won out over it." Elwood P. Dowd "
Thanks magicsister
I belong the the society of the easily amused...or at least they tolerate my presence.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Really?
So, you admit to do nothing to persuade voters or really participate in the election, other than clicking a link to donate, and you have the chutzpah to complain about a "democracy that isn't there," and ask "how do the Sanders folks run a motivating campaign for more than a year, and then completely forget about the public's reasons for participating?"
Democracy doesn't happen from your couch. You can't order it up like a Domino's pizza. You want a differnt country, or a better Democratic Party, you have to get involved. And, I don't mean blogging.
Representing the 99% at the Dem Nat'l Convention in Philly.
I'll admit to being dispirited by election fraud.
What I really wanted, and want, to see is a challenge to said fraud that effectively dissuades the fraudsters from continuing the practice.
The ruling classes need an extra party to make the rest of us feel as if we participate in democracy. That's what the Democrats are for. They make the US more durable than the Soviet Union was.
Come on, Cassiodorus,
Wanna keep your eye on the prize with me? There is a great deal of strangeness about, anything at all could happen. There is quite a bit of positive news out there. I 'm sure you know where it is.
[video:https://youtu.be/f4x53O6kvHU]
To me, this feels like a revolution. I feel it everywhere.
I'm an old lady, I could use a hand up every once in awhile. How about you?
Good things are still possible. Look at what Bernie is doing. He is inspired. He seems to have a lazer focus on what to say and what to do next. This is history! Nobody can prove Bernie can't win. This is unprecedented, this has not happened before. I'm along on this ride all the way until the carney flips the bar up and makes me get out. Wanna go?
'Well, I've wrestled with reality for thirty five years, Doctor, and I’m happy to state I finally won out over it." Elwood P. Dowd "
The prize was stolen.
"Keeping your eyes on the prize" means actually noticing that.
The ruling classes need an extra party to make the rest of us feel as if we participate in democracy. That's what the Democrats are for. They make the US more durable than the Soviet Union was.
yep, exactly. n/t
the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.
Whoa.
I understand wanting that. As a Floridian, I understand better than you could imagine.
But you must know, after two fraudulent presidential elections already *this century* which were nearly completely unchallenged and which the legal structure, if anything, aided and abetted--
Well, let me put it this way. How many judges do you think there are who are willing to oppose the aims of the Clinton and Bush machines, and their backers? Enough to successfully punish and end the fraud?
There are people making legal challenges to this crap, but should Bernie lead with that? It didn't help Kerry any when he challenged in court. It certainly didn't help Gore. The legal challenges should and must go forward, but they might not be the best way to gain the power we need.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Whoa.
I understand wanting that. As a Floridian, I understand better than you could imagine.
But you must know, after two fraudulent presidential elections already *this century* which were nearly completely unchallenged and which the legal structure, if anything, aided and abetted--
Well, let me put it this way. How many judges do you think there are who are willing to oppose the aims of the Clinton and Bush machines, and their backers? Enough to successfully punish and end the fraud?
There are people making legal challenges to this crap, but should Bernie lead with that? It didn't help Kerry any when he challenged in court. It certainly didn't help Gore. The legal challenges should and must go forward, but they might not be the best way to gain the power we need.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
This might work for you then...
Check it out, there is some promising stuff going on.
The people are awake, and the only way they will go back to sleep is if we hush up and let them...
I for one am on my way to buy a years worth of Megaphone batteries, they ain't falling back asleep if I have any say in it.
"I used to vote Republican & Democrat, I also used to shit my pants. Eventually I got smart enough to stop doing both things." -Me
no one
here is required to get on a phone or knock on a door. To pitch in pennies or go out and persuade. No one here is required to support any candidate or participate in any election. Period. I really don't think JtC is into handing out duncecaps or merit badges depending upon how many spins somebody takes 'round the electoral hamster-wheel.
When you think about it, elections are pretty goofy. So is blogging, obviously. But that doesn't mean elections aren't, too.
You know, William Blake, he never did any of those things. Worked the phones. Walked door to door. Chanting, "and will ye vote for Antichrist Creeping Jesus this election season?" And yet, he's more evolved the humans, than all the politicians of his time. Politicians I'll wager that most people, without looking them up, would be hardpressed to name.
How righteous of you. Really,
How righteous of you. Really, if Bernie starts to endorse Hillary and suggest to us that we must rally behind her to defeat the big, bad Trump how is that anyone's fault for not phone banking? That would be on Bernie's shoulders regardless of how poorly or well he performed in California or for that matter anywhere else. Playing the tried and true scare mongering card, that will always be used against us if we continue to fall for it, would be betrayal of everything people now know about the depth and breadth of corruption of the DNC, Hillary and Bill, their Foundation and US electoral politics in general.
if's and but's
have little to do with the efforts to retake democracy..
question everything
Did getting a phone call from a stranger telling you to vote
ever do anything but get you mad? I think they are counterproductive. Like those scam phone calls from strangers selling you something.
Now walking around, politely talking to your actual friends and neighbors, that does something. Kicking in money to keep the offices running and paying for radio and TV ads, that does something. Shoving your face into a stranger's home phone and telling him what to do, may well get you the opposite of what you were hoping.
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
I'm caucasian, too
I don't know too many blacks and Latinos who dismiss the seriousness of seeing an out-and-out racist with the GOP nomination. Sucks to be them, huh -- because they have to deal with that instead of just railing about the corruption of the DNC. Look, I"m a confirmed Sanders backer. He lost. She had more than 4 million more votes (without knowing the final Caliifornia toatls it's hard to be more specific). Yeah, Sanders seems to be more popular -- outside the Democratic Party. That's democracy. Sucks to lose, but part of democracy is building coalitions between elections. Winning elections is nice, but that's always just the starting point in governing. If you give the Democratic Party the finger, you're not going to accomplish anything. It's not about "falling for" anything. It's about participating in governing the country.
I had a conversation yestereday with someone who testified to the DNC platform committee. His testimony was amazing -- the smartest three minutes you can imagine -- but I was delighted to see him the subwya afterwards. Had hte most stimulating conversation I've had in years. I mentioned a story I haven't told in years. I had a girflfriend in college who didn't understand my obsession with politics and especially foreign affairs. Then, in her graduate work in biology, she went off to the Soviet Union. And as that started coming down around her, she wrote to me and said that she finally got it. It's a big world out there, and we have to live in it. We can't live in our small little worlds.
Same with American politics. We may think we're bloody superior holding some magic powers to perceive rank corruption or stupid timidity -- so much above the majority of Democratic sheep. Notwithstanding the amazing arrogance of that attitude, it's actually much stupider than those we might think we're smarter or more nelightened than. Because they understand you can't get anything done if you're stuck in a small minority that refuses to build majority coalitions. If you just want to wait for the majority to come around to your view, you're going to go to your graves waiting.
Representing the 99% at the Dem Nat'l Convention in Philly.
my $.02 ...
You know, it's ok to mourn.
Yeah, we lost this one. Maybe even had it stolen.
Like that's the first time it's ever happened in the history of American politics.
I'm old. I've probably been on the losing side more than I've been on the winning side. I'll take this loss, like I've taken the others.
The issues haven't changed. All those things you fought for, they're still out there.
Bernie isn't going to be president? Fine. Who here can say a year ago they thought that was even a possibility? I sure didn't.
There are down ballot people who need support. Down ballot people who will eventually take Bernie's mantle and run it all the way into the Oval. I know after observing what I just did, I'm no longer in the "first more, then better". From here on out, it's "better". And I have a much, much better idea of just who the opposition is.
You win by electing more people who think like you do. You can laugh at the tea party all you want, but they coalesced around an agenda and got people elected (using a major party's apparatus) on that agenda, and they will have their way until someone knocks them off.
Like I said, mourn if you want. But don't mourn forever. Just because you just took a fastball under the chin doesn't mean you don't pick yourself up, dust yourself off and take the next one out of the park. Or, you can slink your way back to the clubhouse because that mean pitcher just plunked you.
Your choice. But make one.
Now, back to your regularly scheduled program, already in progress ...
Really well said
Put the words right into my mouth.
Representing the 99% at the Dem Nat'l Convention in Philly.
tnx, fisch ...
for some reason, my original reply didn't appear under yours ... you inspired it. thanks for moving the struggle forward!
BTW: for proof that the seed was firmly planted and that various efforts are beginning to move, check out this article on The Nation.
http://www.thenation.com/article/whats-next-for-bernie-sanderss-grassroo...
the democratic party establishment has never been weaker. you can ignore a lot of things, but you can't ignore young people forever. that demographic structural advantage they've been talking about against Rs ... well, who owned that demographic this cycle?
If he had done all that he would have been a fool.
Been there. Done that. For Dean, who would up boosting the establishment.
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
You seem to have the chutzpah to claim we live in a
democracy. We don't. Voting for politicians in a corrupt political system does not equate to democracy, never has, never will. You want democracy, make your own decisions, don't let the millionaires and billionaires do it for you.
Already the focus of the Clinton campaign is
#ShesNotTrump.
I'm not Trump either.
Vote for me!
The ruling classes need an extra party to make the rest of us feel as if we participate in democracy. That's what the Democrats are for. They make the US more durable than the Soviet Union was.
You vs Trump vs Clinton?
You have my vote.
I'll vote for you Cassidorus!
I know what you mean about phone banking and canvasing. I worked 3 mos. grassroots local for Obama in 2007-8. Even before his inauguration I felt I should go back to the houses where I registered people and sold them on a pocket full of hope, and apologize. One skateboarder in a household of young un's balked at voting for Obama he said 'I vote for pizza'. You'd be a better president then pizza or Obama, so would the skateboarder.
I sent Bernie money but it was a case of once bitten twice shy, for good reason after taking the Obama bait. The Democratic party has been exposed for what they are. Bernie engendered a movement that's been forming for a long time. It will continue with or without Bernie. I just hope he doesn't try to sheep dog his supports into unity by scaring the pants off people with The Hairball is going to kill us all. I hope he uses the money to expose the fraud in this rigged primary.
I'm just waiting for the "Omigod REPUBLICANS!" shoe to drop.
It's like when Dennis Kucinich met with Obama, to discuss the ACA. Pretty soon thereafter Kucinich's career was over. Is this what's going to happen to Sanders too?
You know, if enough good people joined the Republican Party we might stand a chance of taking it over. It should be pretty clear at this point that the only reason the Democrats are any better is because so many good people have been hanging onto them (without prospects, for the most part) for so many years.
The ruling classes need an extra party to make the rest of us feel as if we participate in democracy. That's what the Democrats are for. They make the US more durable than the Soviet Union was.
Who knows what Obomber
said to Kucinich up in air force one. Maybe they put a horses head in his bed? Whatever they threatened they neutered him and then got rid of him with gerrymandering. Who knows what Bernie will do once they put the screws on him. He is a wily old guy and I hope he doesn't knuckle under now that he's an ex-candidate of the state. I never did understand why he caucused with the slimy Dems. but then again I'm not a pol. Don't follow leaders and watch the parking meters has always seemed like good political advise to me. For me Bernie's not the issue. The people that after decades of this crap who turned out and dared to oppose the inevitable one are not going away as it will get worse regardless of who wins this bogus election.
Take over the tainted Republican Party?????
That would be like founding a church in a former strip club. The idea sounds nice, but the smell persists. Forever, historically.
Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.
Hillary bumper sticker ...
" They got nuthin' " h/t A. Capone
We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.
Hi!!!!!
So glad you came over here.
Been that way for months
As in '08, her campaign ran with "she vill be de nominee" early on and this time may have pulled it off. That set her up with the bogeyman GE opponent strategy, with which Trump is cooperating admirably. Keeps eyes off her wretched foreign policy record (that great "experience" y'know)--all of her public record--and off the FBI investigations. Off everything but "historic, woman, glass ceiling, confetti!" And the servile media, who work for the same folks she does, oblige. Clinton, Trump, and the complicit MSM have turned US elections into a reality show conducted for ratings--circus for the masses and bread for the corporate media. Been heading that way for years; together, they crossed the finish line into theatre of the absurd.
"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." --Jiddu Krishnamurti
#I don't suck as much
Peace-
Murph
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