Democrats: are they finally realizing they are on the Titanic?

Should I give you the short answer, or will you have to read through this, or do you already know? A considerable constituency of our community believe that the Blue Party is beyond resuscitation, to which faction I also belong. Why? They are the party of Hillary Clinton. They are the party of No Changes Needed Nancy. They are the party of NotTrump. They are the party of no issues, other than to get re-elected, even if it means to lie, cheat and steal. I could go on but won't.

So why discuss the Titanic, which most of us Berners knew before the convention was the voyage of the Establishment Dems? First, how about some of the crew members:

Now some of the crew has been jumping ship before the main deck reaches the waterline, leaving some of the crew to do double duty in the orchestra:

The reason for this blindness has been partially revealed by steering away from the Russian fog.

Key Democratic officials are clearly worried about the expectations that have been purposely stoked and are now trying to tamp them down. Many of them have tried to signal that the beliefs the base has been led to adopt have no basis in reason or evidence.

...Perhaps most revealing of all are the Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee — charged with investigating these matters — who recently told BuzzFeed how petrified they are of what the Democratic base will do if they do not find evidence of collusion, as they now suspect will likely be the case.

For so long, Democrats demonized and smeared anyone trying to inject basic reason, rationality, and skepticism into this Trump/Russia discourse by labeling them all Kremlin agents and Putin lovers. Just this week, the Center for American Progress released a report using the language of treason to announce the existence of a “Fifth Column” in the U.S. that serves Russia (similar to Andrew Sullivan’s notorious 2001 decree that anyone opposing the war on terror composed an anti-American “Fifth Column”), while John McCain listened to Rand Paul express doubts about the wisdom of NATO further expanding to include Montenegro and then promptly announced: “Paul is working for Vladimir Putin"

Is the Lamestream Media still pounding the pathways already being abandoned by the in-the-know- politicos? Apparently CNN has still not received the message:

More from Glenn Greenwald's Intercept article:

But with serious doubts — and fears — now emerging about what the Democratic base has been led to believe by self-interested carnival barkers and partisan hacks, there is a sudden, concerted effort to rein in the excesses of this story. With so many people now doing this, it will be increasingly difficult to smear them all as traitors and Russian loyalists, but it may be far too little, too late, given the pitched hysteria that has been deliberately cultivated around these issues for months. Many Democrats have reached the classic stage of deranged conspiracists where evidence that disproves the theory is viewed as further proof of its existence, and those pointing to it are instantly deemed suspect.

[Bolding is mine.]

Aha! Perspective. What an amazing blessing. Too bad many of the Dem elites are not tuning into this new turn of events. Jimmy Dore has a very meaningful analysis of the trending (love that word) pivot (another great word) in official DemonRATic propaganda:

[video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTsch129Zwg]

Matt Taibbi lays it out in a Rolling Stone article: Democratic minefield.

There is a lot of smoke in the Russia story. The most damning item is General Michael Flynn having improper discussions with Russian ambassador Sergei Kislyak prior to taking office. There is the much-discussed Republican platform change with regard to American assistance to Ukranian rebels, and the unreported contacts between officials like Jeff Sessions (and even Trump himself now) with Kislyak.

If there's any truth to the notion that the Trump campaign colluded with the Russian state to disrupt the electoral process, then yes, what we're seeing now are the early outlines of a Watergate-style scandal that could topple a presidency.

But it could also be true that both the Democratic Party and many leading media outlets are making a dangerous gamble, betting their professional and political capital on the promise of future disclosures that may not come.

And here is more about Democratic backtracking (the older word "retreat" is more precise):

Similarly, Democrats in congress have been littering their Russia speeches with caveats like, "We do not know all the facts," and, "More information may well surface." They repeatedly refer to what they don't know as a way of talking about what they hope to find out.

Here is the clincher to Matt's thesis:

If that's the case, there are big dangers for the press. If we engage in Times-style gilding of every lily the leakers throw our way, and in doing so build up a fever of expectations for a bombshell reveal, but [if] there turns out to be no conspiracy – Trump will be pre-inoculated against all criticism for the foreseeable future.

Riddle: why does the top need to spin?

Answer: to keep from falling down.

The DemonRATs now begin to realize that they may be giving a vaccine to Trump which will neutralize all the new batches of anti-Trump rhetoric they would like to unleash. There are two problems with that approach:
1. Unlike Bernie, they still refuse to talk about issues. Just look at the wonderful results obtained by the not-quite President Killary. Only 25% of her TV ads spoke about ISSUES (being NotTrump is not an issue) which is the lowest percentage of issue-laden political adds for the last 5 presidential cycles, including 2016. Of course Medusa couldn't divulge her private opinions to the public or she would have performed even worse, if that is possible. Instead she got beat by an orange-faced baboon.

2. The Hillbots have a very poor response time. It's in their very nature:
2.1 email scandals? What?
2.2 selling RUSSIA 20% of our uranium
2.3 winning nomination through lying, cheating and stealing
2.4 lying to Congress
2.5 lying to her robots followers
2.6 undergoing criminal investigations during this campaign and from 30 years ago.

There is documentary evidence with which to prove factor 2.0:

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Lookout's picture

aren't worth mourning. Other than Glenn's article I didn't even cover them in the weekly watch.

Dem party.png

I still have friends that think they will help us. I don't agree. They will help themselves and their corporate overlords. I appreciate those try to rescue the democraps, but I just don't see it.

Cenk at TYT is trying to lead an effort. I wish him the best jousting at windmills (7 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzmGPcCUyug

Ralph also did a good job asking why the dems aren't supporting a single payer bill that currently has 60 something dems signed on in the house, and why hasn't Bernie introduced a single payer bill in the senate? The corporate overlords say no.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l868Ibzu79o

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

Alligator Ed's picture

@Lookout Cenk is enthusiastic (which is good) about firing up "Justice" Democrats [Democrats bad Sad ]. The initial figures presented are hopeful but it's a long time till primary time. Like the donkey in the picture, the Democrats are the walking dead.

Ralph Nader (the infamous "if he didn't run" Nader) points out the impotency of the current ruling Democratic elite> 60 house members signing up for single-payer but cowardly not speaking very loudly in public about it. And Bernie, "Bernie-where-art-thou", hasn't proposed single-payer to the Senate. WTF?

This is not a strategy to win. In fact, this is a strategy to lose. That's why riding on the Titanic was the title of this essay. Unlike the Who's Tommy, the deaf, dumb and blind kid, these jackasses have no redeeming qualities.

Lot's of us dismounted the mule 8 months ago, or earlier, seeing the buzzards or turkeys circling the moribund but still gasping Dumbocrats. They, the buzzards will "persist" (Thanks Hillary for the encouragement) until the demise has been confirmed. Already, they are flying lower. Wave your flashlights people, so they don't lose track of the target.

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dervish's picture

@Alligator Ed was evident in electing Perez as the DNC chair. They are determined to go down with the ship. I think it's by design, they'd rather lose than betray their oligarch masters. The Democratic party should be renamed the Saban party, because they promote the interests of Saban, not democracy.

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"Obama promised transparency, but Assange is the one who brought it."

Alligator Ed's picture

@dervish Diablo

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Oldest Son Of A Sailor's picture

@Alligator Ed The DemonRAT Party decide to run their own Billionaire against Trump in 2020...
How could you go wrong with a businessman who is more successful than Trump?

Or so the stupid logic goes...

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"Do you realize the responsibility I carry?
I'm the only person standing between Richard Nixon and the White House."

~John F. Kennedy~
Economic: -9.13, Social: -7.28,

@Lookout @Lookout cenk has no political courage, so any effort with him at the helm will necessarily fail. Here's a man who argued in favor of voting for clinton in California for christ's sake. Worse yet, he offered the asinine- as soon as we elect her we have to start fighting her- line. If we're expecting progress from the likes of cenk, we're already beyond redemption.

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Alligator Ed's picture

@orestes is an exercise in stupidity. Supporting Justice Democrats is an exercise in futility.

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@Alligator Ed I think Justice Democrats has the possibility of attracting decent candidates. But I agree that I think the movement (if you want to call it that), is nothing much. But if some good people get some backing, I'm all for that. Of course, the test is what minimal requirements JD applies. With Cenk involved, I wouldn't expect much there. I think one or a bunch of us should start to analyze why it is that former republicans have assumed prominent places in the left and center-left, while real leftists remain marginalized. Is it a difference in personality type? The value of a strain of authoritarianism? or the fact that real leftists are collectivists (the greater good is the guiding principle), but self-interestedness is actually more effective at achieving a position of note?

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Alligator Ed's picture

@orestes

real leftists are collectivists (the greater good is the guiding principle), but self-interestedness is actually more effective at achieving a position of note

Leftists, the REAL left, are often unwilling to take bold steps because of not wanting to offend others, such as rival candidates or even rival political beliefs. Self-interestedness is especially the hallmark of those who tout "individual responsibility" [translation: individual rapacity]. One need look no further than the Klintons.

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Oldest Son Of A Sailor's picture

@orestes

"I think one or a bunch of us should start to analyze why it is that former republicans have assumed prominent places in the left and center-left, while real leftists remain marginalized."

A bunch of "Ex? Republicans" came in and "Hijacked" the Democratic Party with their "Turd Way" "NeoLiberal" bullshit...

Meanwhile the loyal ship's crew has Stockholm Syndrome and can't muster up enough of an effort to regain control of the ship, while the hijackers incompetently bounce it off every iceberg in the sea...

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"Do you realize the responsibility I carry?
I'm the only person standing between Richard Nixon and the White House."

~John F. Kennedy~
Economic: -9.13, Social: -7.28,

@Oldest Son Of A Sailor I would modify that to say that we really were naive. We had not experienced cooption at that level before. And some did buy the line that we needed to pull back to weather the conservative storm. I know that my experience from the 80's on was finding each supposed leftie group I joined was overrun with comfortable class people who were petrified of rocking the boat. I was always one who advocated capsizing it. It was very disheartening.

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Oldest Son Of A Sailor's picture

@orestes Were the one who was correct in their assessment of right and wrong...

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"Do you realize the responsibility I carry?
I'm the only person standing between Richard Nixon and the White House."

~John F. Kennedy~
Economic: -9.13, Social: -7.28,
Cassiodorus's picture

16807261_1343780209013411_7765204782561087912_n.jpg

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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

Lily O Lady's picture

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"The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now do you begin to understand me?" ~Orwell, "1984"

They appear to be needing re-arranging.

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edg's picture

You wrote: 'the older word "retreat" is more precise'. That's unduly harsh. Rout would be a more appropriate choice for the party that has lost the House, Senate, Presidency, Supreme Court and 2 out of 3 state legislatures and governorships.

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CB's picture

democracy at it's very roots by confusing and befuddling the American electorate. They no longer know what or even how to think. Watch the heads starting to explode with cognitive dissonance in every corner of America.

Putin forged the phony reports that "proved" Russia was behind the DNC and Podesta hacks as well as the Golden Showers dossier and placed them where the ever gullible western media, mentally impaired US senators and paranoid CIA operatives could find them.

He knew fear of a Russian attack on the American way of life and mom's apple pie has been instilled in the American psyche since birth for four generations and he cleverly and masterfully played to that ingrained fear. Over 60% the population took the bait and whipped themselves up into an absolute frenzy of neoMcCarthyism. All of a sudden there were Russians under every bed, in every closet, an excuse why Her lost to T-Rump and a reason why the weather has been so shitty lately.

Putin is a judoko master. He knows how to faint an opponent into making a move and then countering that move with another pre-planned one that uses the induced momentum of the opponent to take him to the mat. America has now been taken to the mat.

I discussed this here in c99: http://caucus99percent.com/comment/250155#comment-250155

The plan worked to perfection just like Putin knew it would. Some call this ability the Jedi Mind Trick because it works especially well on the weak minded. Her's Democrats and Her's media backers were thus the perfect target. I tried to warn them but to no avail. They refused to listen to reason. They continued to march right over the cliff in unison, each with their nose firmly stuck up the preceding's ass.

The final proof is when Putin reduced the Russian defense budget to a paltry $45 billion while Trump raised the US defense budget to $639 billion. Putin is giving America it's very own USSR collapse.

Karma - you reap what you sow.

Maybe not quite snark? Diablo

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@CB

All of a sudden there were Russians under every bed, in every closet

I found two Russian agents under my bed, and another in my closet just this morning!
I had to shoo them out of the house with a broom.

The neighbors are starting to complain that Russian agents are collecting on the sidewalk and in the gutter in front of my house, but my garbage bin is too small to fit all of them.

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CB's picture

@gjohnsit
the recycling center and exchange them. The current exchange rate is two CIA agents for one Russian FSB agent. I'm currently storing the Russian agents I find in the garage. I figure the rate will go up to 3 for 1 in the near future. There's currently an increasing market for CIA agents in Ukraine, Poland, Montenegro and the Baltic States so I should make out like a bandit.

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@CB
Do the math. The cost of driving that CIA agents to Latvia make it a losing proposition.
Or better yet, watch Seinfeld.

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CB's picture

@gjohnsit
I had originally considered shipping the CIA agents to Central America. Unfortunately, Hillary had destroyed that market when she was SoS. CIA agents are now a dime a dozen there so even with the large discount by shipping on the empty returning banana boats it would not pay.

I suppose I'll just have to keep the FSB agents I find. I can use them in the garden and lawn to scare away pests, vermin and DNC canvassers when Her runs again in 2020.

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@CB This string not only makes me giggle, it, in free association, makes me think of the Kim Darby TV movie, Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, where her house is infested with little goblins. I always had a huge soft spot for Kim Darby.

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Alligator Ed's picture

@CB Putin = master at Judo and Sambo
Trump = master of mud wrestling.

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@CB Putin, unlike the democratic party establishment, knows how to win American elections.

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native

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native

@native thanks Biggrin today is a good Python day for dead politics.
"...but it's the single most popular cheese in the world!"
"Well I'm afraid we don't get much call for it around these parts sir."

Thanks Democrats!

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Tamanny Hall writ large, a vast corrupt influence peddling and patronage scheme. It may have used to be a political party at one time, maybe even as recently as the 70s. It saddens me to watch the ugly and unedifying demise of a party founded by Jefferson and Madison (as I believe it was) and one of the world's oldest political parties, but I suppose all things must pass.

Lookout, it is highly rude and offensive and politically incorrect to say as much out loud, but in addition to corporate overlords, the Hispanic Caucus has also vetoed single payer because that caucus wants the bilingual jobs in insurance and HMO offices for its members. Like I said, patronage. Don't get me wrong here, I don't begrudge anyone a good job, but I also don't appreciate me being excluded from access to affordable medical care for going on 20 years now.

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Mary Bennett

Alligator Ed's picture

I try hard, really I do. But sometimes you have to admit that someone else has done a better job at telling the story of the Dumbocrats.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9ieb1Y1VCY]

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... The DemonRATs now begin to realize that they may be giving a vaccine to Trump which will neutralize all the new batches of anti-Trump rhetoric they would like to unleash. ...

Isn't that exactly what the right-wing did to the Clinton side of the corporate wing in making many easily disprovable accusations without, unfortunately, mentioning the many horrendous real things that she did and supported?

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Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.

A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.

Alligator Ed's picture

@Ellen North but are too stupid to know there are better issues. The problem is that there is no shortage of stupid people even while good arguments abound.

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