"So I sez to her, I sez, Mabel!" (VI)

My, my, my.

I occasionally go to Daily Kos to read if one person in particular has made either comments or recommendations. If there's a comment, I read it. If there's a recommendation of a diary, I just read the title.

While I'm searching the name, I do read some of the rec list titles and I noticed Markos is railing again about Progressives Who Are Not Falling In Line.

I find this instructive only in the sense that one of the DNC mouthpieces chooses to publicly vent this way. After all, no Progressive in their right mind will be persuaded by this kind of rhetoric. And as red meat to the Clintonites, eh.

The change over from electoral partisan to issues oriented citizen has been and still is quite the bumpy ride.

How do you fight a rigged system?

Bernie is correct in saying that we need "millions and millions" of our brothers and sisters standing up to this rigged system - for what we lack in power, we make up for in numbers.

Electoral politics are broken - yet electoral partisans from both parties have yet to realize this and cling to that broken system, lashing out at anyone who tries to pull back the curtain.

And if power alone were invested in electoral office, then why are the corporate lobbyists and bankers and such so politically powerful? They weren't elected. They took over our elected representatives.

How many times have we seen politicians elected who had very good ideas and whose heads were in the right place get eroded after time by having to play the fundraising game, little by little ceding more and more time and attention to their donors rather than their constituents?

So electing "better" or "more" is meaningless if the rigged system remains rigged. Even the best politician, if they want help from the Party, has to play the game. And that game inevitably leads to corruption. That's the "rigged" part.

I see a glimmer of authenticity when I watch the Dem Platform Committee deal with the issues brought up by Bernie's picks. Even the votes are instructive, even they pull back that curtain a little more.

I have no plans to remain in the Democratic Party unless Bernie is the nominee. But that's the game in town right now, so I'm paying attention to how each step Bernie and his team make pull that curtain back even more.

I donated to Bernie's fund to help his delegates get to Philly. Those people have my great admiration and respect for fighting so hard in these difficult times to make all our voices heard.

Here's some lagniappe - one of my new faves, Tim Black, on Bill Clinton's meet-up with Loretta Lynch:

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldsRTiPsz-Q]

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Mark from Queens's picture

than almost anything else has been a most revelatory epoch.

Almost across the board the media and Democratic Party insiders have been exposed in a way that I can not un-see. That goes for clowns like Bill Maher, the duplicitous Rachel Maddow, NPR, PBS, and all the rest of the odious douchebags in the MSM, especially that I had before this election considered them sort of liberal. I noticed also how Mother Jones and Raw Story have been changing their tune, and even the Nation (there's probably more). Every single day it seems another player or institution springs forth as a fraud. It's been eye-opening to say the least.

Personally once this kind of deep betrayal sets in I don't look back. I stopped going to TOP altogether, officially changed my party affiliation to unaffiliated, cancelled NPR, didn't renew the Nation, wrote many scathing email responses back to fundraising or action emails from MoveOn, WNYC, Eric Schneidermann (who I like), the DNC, etc. Instead I donated to WBAI, Socialist Alternative (Kshama Sawant) and will to The Young Turks, BestoftheLeft podcast, Counterpunch, Truthdig, etc. As others have said it is liberating.

It feels vindicating in some ways to have been on this path for some time, having jettisoned cable tv and daily newspapers for years, to know now that my instincts were right on. To be betrayed by those you thought were fighting with you for the right things is an epiphany.

One of the biggest votes we have, if not the most powerful, is how we choose to spend our money. I've thought for a long time of how my purchases should support small and local businesses over corporate chains, and be toward those who are doing the right thing environmentally, politically and socially, and so forth. I'm taking that philosophy to the next level now. For a lot of this to me there's no turning back.

Dead on, NPK, there's an existential crisis when it's clear the whole process in its current state is rigged and broken. We can no longer in good conscience have fealty to it.

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"If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:

THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC"

- Kurt Vonnegut

elenacarlena's picture

vote with your feet. MoveOn? They endorsed Bern. When did they go to the dark side? Mother Jones too?

I guess we have to keep moving on. As our favorite progressives become popular, they get bought.

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riverlover's picture

Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.

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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.

flowerfarmer's picture

Yes, yes, yes.....thanks, MarkfromQueens, for your comment.
Seeing Maddow and Mother Jones fall in line has been a large disappointment that just documents the invasive power of the oligarchs.

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big differences on social policy, however, the differences on economic and foreign policy are muted -- even more so with a candidate like Clinton.

Really struck by the degree of distance and self-preservation between the political and media establishment. You can see it here in the U.S., but a parallel case is playing out in the UK right now too. The elites are largely insulated from the consequences of their decisions -- Iraq, and financial crisis -- have been touchstones. Zero accountability. In both cases, other people stuck with the bag and paid the price. For 99.99 percent of the population if we had those monumental screw-ups there wouldn't be promotions and more rewards. It's a measure of the massive disconnect between the 0.01 and everyone else -- the sense of entitlement is pretty remarkable.

In Markos's case he was outside the gates looking in in 2004. But now he comes across as part of the Clinton's PR machinery.

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after all, markos was cutting paychecks to shaun king, who now has a better employer, a bigger paycheck, and more twitter followers than eery dailykos FPer combined.

and shaun king is still staunchly pro-bernie. so, that means Little Markos is aghast at.......his own fucking hires.

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did 9 months in California prison, because Neoliberal Democrats and GOP maggots work together to profit off the drug war

riverlover's picture

The morale must be wonderful. A typical crappy midlevel overbearing boss.

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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.

mimi's picture

that wasn't such a good idea. I scanned Senior Markos piece of a potty mouth rant and was glad I could go on and leave it behind.. But then I found this diary with the title Obama Must Intervene in the Brexit Mess. I could have punched my laptop's screen.

Oh my gosh, may be Obama can now leave the Presidency behind, enjoy his library and "legacy", and stop intervening. I have heard enough of him, Clinton and all the bunch of traitors in the Democratic Party. I am ready to just put them on mute.

Now I am mad and can't sleep. Please, can you stop referring to TOP? What for? It's really, really not worth it and it pains many people to be reminded about how much they have been mislead and betrayed.

Actually I think Markos writes so crazy, I ask myself if that can really be true or if he has been forced to write like this. I mean it's really unbelievable unprofessional. May be behind the curtains the gangsters have shown their real colors and "made him obey"? Ain't I a nice person to try save the face of even the most unfaithful characters? Oh, how do I love my conspiracy musings.

Sigh, now I have to get this out of my system.

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elenacarlena's picture

I know kos is bad for my BP, I don't read his rants any more. I already know the gist.

Check out the Caucus Critters essay queue (if I do say so myself). Have a little chuckle.

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mimi's picture

response before? Ahh ... how could I forget...
Thank God I have slept over this.

Good Morning, all. It's a new day. May be one where you don't refer to what anybody has said rightly or wrongly at the place you supposedly have left behind you?

I am going to read the "Lügenpresse". At least they lie openly and do not pretend to tell you the truth and nothing but the truth.

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elenacarlena's picture

(You don't have to look.) At the site of a train wreck?

Then again, not much difference between the two, is there?

You made me go look up lugenpresse. Another good word. I love how reading here makes me learn new things!

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mimi's picture

At least not the history of the word. But I "got" it somehow even without that specific knowledge...
[video:https://youtu.be/M6hFxeACgrU]

Published on Jan 13, 2015
A German linguists' panel has chosen a Nazi-era term "Luegenpresse" (lying press), which anti-immigrant protesters have revived and shouted at the media, as the country's non-word of the year. Chancellor Angela Merkel has condemned the demands - an end to multiculturalism - of the grassroots "Patriotic Europeans against the Islamisation of the West" (PEGIDA) at weekly rallies as "reprehensible" and said her conservative-led government would use all constitutional means to fight intolerance. "Luegenpresse", first used in Germany by critics of the free press during World War One, earned the dubious "Unwort des Jahres" (Non-Word of the Year) honor in the eyes of a panel of experts out of 730 terms submitted by 1,250 contributors.

Un-Words of the years since 1991

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Shockwave's picture

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The political revolution continues

Alex Ocana's picture

A comment you made was hidden by the community for being outside of site rules. The text was:

Because acting like an egomaniacal narcissistic sore winner electing a madwoman is something that human nature condones?

All I did was reply to a post by changing 'sore loser' to 'sore winner' and 'madman' to 'madwoman'. LOL

I also posted a history of the 1860 Republican Convention... and managed two of my infamous anti-bully offensive-to-all literary flames, neither of which were flagged.

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From the Light House.

elenacarlena's picture

I took it to the help desk, charged flag abuse, and then a few days later saw a comment thread with multiple Hillbot whines about losing ratings status. So sad. Wink

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thanatokephaloides's picture

I took it to the help desk, charged flag abuse, and then a few days later saw a comment thread with multiple Hillbot whines about losing ratings status.

[video:https://youtu.be/nCQGQ5qBQTA width:480 height:360]

Wink

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"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

elenacarlena's picture

On the one hand I think they'd want to go for it, spending so much time begging for donations can't be much fun. OTOH, I think they'd hate competing on a level playing field.

One solution, for those who haven't heard, is Wolf-PAC.com, TYT's proposal.

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Bluesee's picture

..was his line about Howard Dean making progress in the direction Bernie would go, after his defeat.

Mabel, I'm thinkin' "yeah, Howard Dean was completely captured by the Dem machine and then tossed aside and used at will once he became a reliable shill." Him, Krugman, Barney Frank.. the list does go on. This is part of their MO.

Also, reading (I could only wade through the top four or so) the replies, I was amazed at the obsequiousness of them. As if they had learned a uniquely Republican game: the ability to bend your mind around twisted logic to support obvious lies.

I do not believe that, as reported, "80% of Sanders supporters already went over to Clinton".

If that isn't a lie, i don't know what is. It's a NARRATIVE. It bothers me that people can't discern the difference.

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Bernie is a win-win.

elenacarlena's picture

but this is actually a somewhat good rant! http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/06/29/1543634/-The-primary-is-over-Wh...

OK, snotty about us, but he's objecting to a diary from yesterday or the day before that said "Bernie is delusional and a mean SOB". Yes, Kos ranted against this! This is one of the diaries where I commented that even Hillary would not want people smearing Bern and his supporters this way, this is no way to achieve unity. I admit, I am pleased.

It doesn't make up for the rest of his rants, or even the rest of this one. But I prefer Bern being ignored to being smeared.

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Bluesee's picture

I thought the rant against Bernie that he referred to, which I also read the day before (odious!) was out of line, and that goes to my point. They are falling over themselves to please the owner.

I disdain groupthink. But neither party know which way the wind blows at this point. How can you, when you betray your own professed values and ideals? When you say you're going to crash the gate, and then you turn around and guard it?

Y'know, I don't really rankle at Hillary, at hearing her voice, but this dude I do. He's up to something, I'm sure.

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Bernie is a win-win.

elenacarlena's picture

loyalty has been bought, because it sure has hurt his traffic.

But I was serious when I posted that these rants hurt her. So I can see where he would say for people to cut it out, too. Because these rants do hurt her.

Bern talking about his issues like always does not hurt her. Her taking on a few of his issues helps her because she takes a better, more popular position. But smearing all of us so the ones on the fence say "I'm not with them," that hurts her.

During the primaries, when attacks on Bern may have a few more people voting for Hill, sure, but now? All the Bern attacks can do is drive us away. Hill doesn't need that, Kos doesn't need that.

So he's just looking out for #1, as before, I think.

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It was only the title I was referring to.

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Beat in the USA.

elenacarlena's picture

supporters he wanted to fall in line. Then he does say nobody should be continuing the primary wars on either side. And then he specifically links to the previous "delusional" diary as an example of writing he does NOT want to see. I was semi-pleasantly surprised.

Edit to add: Not to worry, you didn't give him my clicks because of what you wrote here. I was there for another purpose, saw it on the rec list, decided to brace myself and read.

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Not worried about clicks!

To me, the primary isn't over until the convention. The floor fight over the platform is just one of the many things that isn't "over." I'll never see eye to eye with Markos on the stance he's taken, and no longer care what he does or doesn't want to see. He's gone too far for that to matter to me.

Glad, though, that you were "semi-pleasantly" surprised!

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Beat in the USA.

elenacarlena's picture

But there are no more votes from the average voters to fight over. Thus during the primaries, you might say "my candidate is good and your candidate is bad" and there's a purpose to that. But now Hill wants unity. So what does "Bernie is still bad" do toward that goal? The exact opposite. It does not serve her purpose. In that way, the primaries are over. I agree with you about how much more we have to do, though.

Kos did do the false equivalency, "both sides do it" thing. Thus "semi-pleasantly". But the diary he linked to that he hated was the one I hated. It's a small win, but I'll enjoy it.

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Amanda Matthews's picture

***
So what’s the common theme here? The primary is over! Who gives a shit if Sanders endorses Clinton or if he’s going to vote for her or whatever? His supporters are already flocking to Clinton. Few are stupid enough to sit around and wait for Sanders to send them marching orders. They are quite adept at thinking for themselves. So frankly, if someone is still holding out at this point, it’s doubtful that even Sanders can get them to back Clinton. There are always dead-enders. Remember the PUMAs? 2008 was no different. And in the end, their numbers are so small as to be inconsequential.

Elizabeth Warren was always Plan A, and she’s now on the trail firing up the base. By refusing to concede, Sanders has squandered all the goodwill he had accumulated and has now been replaced. Hillary Clinton doesn’t need him anymore. He’s almost irrelevant this presidential cycle.

Almost. You know who is keeping him relevant? Those of you haters who furiously blog every word he says. Kapish? If you hate Bernie so much, the best way to get back at him is to not give him the attention he desperately wants. Just stop paying attention! He no longer matters this presidential cycle. Let it go. And if his supporters want to write about him, so what? Let THAT go as well! As long as it doesn’t cross into third-party activism or Fox News-style attacks on our nominee? Who cares? Let people be excited about their favorite politicians without you shitting on it.

***

Yeah, he really told them. And what's he bitching about the PUMAs for? Who the hell does he think is posting on his website now?

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I'm tired of this back-slapping "Isn't humanity neat?" bullshit. We're a virus with shoes, okay? That's all we are. - Bill Hicks

Politics is the entertainment branch of industry. - Frank Zappa

elenacarlena's picture

"loyal followers," this is a breath of fresh air. To Hillbots about Bernie diaries:

Let people be excited about their favorite politicians without you shitting on it.

I'm not recommending people go read him. Just saying this particular time, he was better than usual. I don't expect it to continue.

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Cassiodorus's picture

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"The war on Gaza, backed by the West, is a demonstration that the West is willing to cross all lines. That it will discard any nuance of humanity. That it is willing to commit genocide" -- Moon of Alabama

VenusFT's picture

For all of you who do keep going to DKos and fighting, that's how I found this site and Common Dreams. People are seeing you.☺

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WTF???

"So electing "better" or "more" is meaningless if the rigged system remains rigged". TOP kept talking about electing more and better Democrats, but now that Kos has become part of the system, is it any wonder he's pounding sand about not falling in line for an establishment candidate, no matter how bad a candidate she is? Karma's a beeotch.

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Thaumlord-Exelbirth's picture

I first saw Tim Black when he was a guest on the Drunken Peasants podcast. Seemed like a cool guy back then, but I never followed his channel. Good to see he's still going, and hope he can get a louder voice and a larger audience in terms of news channels.

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HoundDog's picture

shame if something was to happen to them."

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He can go rig the election for her. She will not be getting my vote. I won't even be a Democrat by the time the election rolls around, and if being a progressive means falling in line, I'll leave that behind, too.

He has radically overestimated the number of fucks I give about his opinion.

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