Yesterday's winners and losers
First and foremost this election was a victory for Trump.
It will take a few days to process the meaning of this year’s election returns, but the instant analysis is clear: Democrats may have won the House, but Trump won the election.
Trump Republicans did better than mainstream Republicans, showing that the establishment Democrats' strategy of running against Trump (as opposed to running for something) continues to be a failure.
One Trump winner was this guy.
Proving the old adage that America is the land of opportunity where anything can happen, Dennis Hof, a Trump-loving brothel owner, won his race for Nevada state legislature on Tuesday night — despite the fact that he's been dead for three weeks.
The NY Times declared the election a victory for moderate Democrats.
The Democrats’ broad gains in the House, and their capture of several powerful governorships, in many cases represented a vindication of the party’s more moderate wing. The candidates who delivered the House majority largely hailed from the political center, running on clean-government themes and promises of incremental improvement to the health care system rather than transformational social change.
...Yet the theory — embraced by hopeful liberals in states like Texas and Florida — that charismatic and unapologetically progressive leaders might transmute Republican bastions into purple political battlegrounds, proved largely fruitless.
It's true that progressives lost a bunch of very close races in deep-red districts, but many of the biggest losses of the night were center-right Democrats. Senator Joe Donnelly of Indiana, Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri and Senator Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota were just some of those so-called "moderate" losers.
I say good riddance.
Marijuana continues to be a winner.
Voters in Michigan approved a ballot measure to legalize recreational use of marijuana on Tuesday, and two other states — Missouri and Utah — endorsed medical marijuana laws. Voters in North Dakota didn't partake, rejecting a measure to legalize recreational marijuana use.Now 33 states have legalized marijuana to some degree, and recreational pot use is now legal in 10 states, along with Washington, D.C. But possessing, selling or using marijuana remains illegal under federal law.
Coming into the Nov. 6 vote, both Michigan and North Dakota already had medical marijuana laws in place. Utah and Missouri didn't have far-reaching legislation on the books, though Missouri had lightened the potential penalties for first-time offenses.
Marijuana legalization advocates welcomed the news from Michigan, the first Midwestern state to approve recreational marijuana.
You can expect this trend to continue until Washington finally gives up.
In related news.
Gov.-elect Gretchen Whitmer will pursue executive action or legislation to free inmates and expunge criminal records for those convicted of marijuana crimes that will become legal under the state's pending recreational marijuana law, she indicated Wednesday.“I think that the people of Michigan have said that for conduct that would now be legal, no one should bear a lifelong record for that conduct,” Whitmer said in her first press conference since winning election over Republican Bill Schuette on Tuesday night.
Which brings us maybe the biggest winners of the night, and the only good news out of Florida.
Florida has approved an amendment that will automatically restore voting rights to more than a million people previously convicted of felonies.
Felons who finish their full sentences, including fines, probation and parole, will now be allowed to vote in the state. The new law does not apply to anyone convicted of murder or sex offenses.
When it goes into effect, an estimated 1.5 million people in Florida who have completed felony sentences but have not been able to vote could show up to the polls, according to the nonprofit Sentencing Project.
1.5 million new eligible voters, almost all of them poor, could have dramatic effects on Florida politics going forward. This may also be the start of a new trend of enfranchisement.
And speaking of enfranchisement, voters are getting tired of gerrymandering and voter suppression, which also may make a huge difference going forward.
In the ballot measures that passed Tuesday, voters in at least three states took the power to determine political boundaries away from state legislatures, while a similar proposition in Utah was too close to call. Voter registration deadlines could become a thing of the past in three states that are making it easier to take part in elections.
Colorado voters overwhelming supported the two proposals, which will allow independent commissions to draw electoral districts for legislators and members of Congress after the 2020 census.
...Voters in Maryland voiced their support by 67-33 percent to allow residents to register to vote on Election Day.
Michigan also passed a law significantly changing the way the state's political lines are drawn for congressional and state legislative districts.The amendment will take the power to draw those lines out of the hands of state lawmakers, as the Detroit Free Press explains, and put it into the hands of an independent redistricting commission made up of four Republicans, four Democrats and five people who identify with neither party.
The state also approved a wide-ranging amendment that will allow people to register to vote on Election Day and will institute automatic voter registration. It will also allow voters to request an absentee ballot for any reason.
Another effort meant to change the redistricting process, this Missouri amendment passed with more than 60 percent of the vote. The "Clean Missouri" proposal will eliminate the current system of drawing state legislative districts using a bipartisan committee.Instead, a new, nonpartisan state demographer will propose maps that a bipartisan commission will then vote on.
Utah also passed a redistricting commission while Nevada passed same day voting.
Comments
Hope I'm wrong
but I imagine the Dems will now move further to the right based on this:
I just don't see them actually committing to being "for" anything. They've had two years to figure this out and still refuse, even though it shouldn't be that hard. Which makes me very afraid for 2020.
Hell is empty and all the devils are here. William Shakespeare
They will move right if the base can't stop them
The progressive base can win if it keeps agitating.
Three conservative Dem senators losing kind of took the wind from the sails of the Blue Dogs.
Must have been Russian hacking
Isn't that the standard excuse?
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
They'll move to the right until they fall on the R's toes.
At least the leadership will. One good thing, Elijah Cumming's hands will be untied, unless Pelosi gets out the duct tape. That man has some honest rage.
@moneysmith Dems will always move
Dems will always move farther to the right.
"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
it's
hard to credit the bonesaw-lobbyist's assertion the election was a "victory for Trump" when so many of the candidates the shithole endorsed were beaten like gongs.
Trump doesn't feel that way
It's all about him
Trump is a true sociopath.
Claudia Tenney all but publicly fellated Trump
Don Jr. campaigned for her the night before the election. She is behind by 1000+ votes...
" In the beginning, the universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry, and is generally considered to have been a bad move. -- Douglas Adams, The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy "
Tenney has been toast
for the last few weeks after she publicly insulted Italian-Americans, who happen to be a large presence in NY22. In Utica the establishment is pretty much divided between Irish, who hate anyone who isn't Catholic, Poles, who hate anyone who isn't Polish, and Italians, who run the place and, IMHO, do rather well at it.
Mary Bennett
actually,
he's a psychopath.
Thanks! That tweet sure puts
things in perspective. Of course, a lot of people won't see it.
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
It's not exactly true
I can think of several Trumpian politicians that won. Unfortunately.
Of course, some won.
There were many places that had weak Dems and for the Senate, in particular, no good map for Dem wins. However, this is not the blowout that many are trumpeting it as. Once everything calms down a bit, looking at the spreads between winning and losing percentages may help put things in perspective.
That tweet though highlights the fact that Trump's "must win" rhetoric was not as effective as many may think.
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
unfortunately, it's those senate seats that
matter the most.
the house is largely irrelevant.
and pelosi will just go along anyway. powder dry and all that.
The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.
I would politely request that anyone
who believes that the House is irrelevant take a civics class refresher. However, I will mention one: The House originates revenue bills.
Have you written to your representative yet and told him/her to vote NO on Pelosi?
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
sorry, i only meant that the house is irrelevant because
the dems in the house aren't going to do anything that matters, not because they can't, but because they just won't.
The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.
It may be a whole new ballgame.
Do you think those new progressives are just going to sit on their thumbs? I don't. Sure, they lack seniority and the RepoDems will try to shoo them away like bitemes, but do you really think they will find a quiet corner and act like good little boys and girls?
The progressives had to work twice as hard to get where they are now. Most got little to no support from the establishment during their elections (primary and midterm). I am sure the progressives are aware that they will continue to get little or no support in office either. But these are very smart people and they didn't buy their way into politics.
They are also generally much younger than the current House reps and have a lot more stamina. Maybe they just need to keep trying to pass progressive legislation until the oldsters are exhausted and have to give in. = )
Can the Senate obstruct everything the House passes? Sure they can, but then there is another election in two years, isn't there? Can Trump veto all progressive legislation? Sure he can, but there is an election in two years, isn't there?
Keep in mind, they are not alone either. They have Bernie Sanders and others there with progressive voting records who will be quite welcoming and willing to help with any questions.
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
my standing policy is not to stomp on other people's
optimism (it's why i don't tell my christian relatives that, no, i'm sorry, this or that dead person we all loved is actually gone completely, wholly, irrevocably, and forever from this and all other universes) so i'm not going to even try to take issue with what you've written.
nothing would please me more than to see the newly-elected rookie progressives actually make something happen.
The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.
She has already said so.
On the eve of the election that there will be no Congressional investigations of Trump and they will not obstruct like Ryan did to Obama but instead will cooperate.
Can someone send her back to Transylvania?
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
It's only a matter of time,
and probably not much, before that bitch is telling us to 'embrace the suck' and 'its the best we can hope for because reasons'.
Hey, you know how it goes.
You RESIST with the House of Representatives you've got, not the House of Representatives you want.
Bleargh.
The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.
Yep, Ron DiSantis in Florida
Is a full bore Trump man.
Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy
That was the election that shocked me.
I know Gillum has a boatload of baggage, but I didn’t think he’d lose to De Santis. I don’t know why I did. I just figured De Santis was too ugly a candidate even for Florida. But I haven’t been able to pick a five-teamer this season either. Guess my psychic powers are on the fritz.
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
I was shocked too
and I like Gillum and worked with him. It is like he sold his soul to the Dem. establishment. He went from being a Berniecrat to a Hillary lover overnight. IMO, the Gillum I knew from working with him at the city of Tallahassee is somewhere between.
Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy
That's when, and why, he lost
There is still a lot of loathing of Her out there, and it's still a shitty idea to suck up to Her.
There is no justice. There can be no peace.
But DWS keeps holding her job by a
comfortable margin. Go figure. A proven liar, a self-centered opportunistic cheat. For some dumb ass reason I thought the whole Imran family kerfluffle would be serious enough for her constituents to take another look at her. Wrong again.
As for Gillum: The Creature’s got an uncanny ability to turn everything she touches into shit. The Clinton Curse strikes again?
Edit: added “As for Gillum;” for clarity
EDIT EDIT: fixed highlighted text
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
@Amanda Matthews canova
canova allegedly getting only 5% is all the proof you need the elections are rigged.
@Amanda Matthews My family feels
My family feels sure it was fixed.
"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
Well here it is 8:20 pm CST Friday and
They’re STILL counting ballots.
You have to wonder.
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
Agree. This election was
as much about tRump
as it was about me. True, tRump won all the major races that "defined" this election - Beto, the GA Gov, Canova - all losers - but nobody in their right mind thought Dims would take back the Senate, and The House was seriously in doubt too. So, I'll have what the M$M is smoking if they think this election was a victory for tRump! The numbers clearly suggest otherwise... 7.2% win margin for baggers in 2010 vs. 9.2% win margin for Dims in 2018. I'll take the 9.2% win margin, tyvm.
And, yeah, those were mostly moderate Dims beating moderate Repubs.
So... don't expect a whole lot to change. Unless we hold feet to fire, Primary challenges in 2020 if they cave to tRump. But without this House win this Holiday season would look a whole lot different, tRump on the warpath to "save" Social Security. This may not have been the blue wave we were hoping for. But it was a blue wave. One that likely truly saves S.S.
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.
I dunno
It seems to me that SS "reform" to save the budget is a lot more likely now with bi-partisan support. Before, it would all be on the (R)'s heads. Now, Nancy Pelosi will aid them. Oh, not with a majority. They will still say they opposed, but enough (D)'s voting for it to pass. And maybe the young radical ones. I hear more and more talk from the young about how boomers are hogs and they can't have free this or that because SS takes up too much f the budget.
And wasn't it Dems (Reagan-enabler Tip O'Neill) who put it on the budget? When it was supposed to be an independent trust fund operation?
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
Trump has no respect for the rule of law
Today he doubled down on rule by decree
He thinks the Supreme Court will back him.
" In the beginning, the universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry, and is generally considered to have been a bad move. -- Douglas Adams, The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy "
I happen to agree that the Democrats themselves
should not spend their time "investigating" Trump. Leave that to real journalists (there are still some around).
If they play it right, the Dems could triple Trump's anxiety and paranoia levels by keeping relative silence over his corruption, rather than starting a war of words with him. He wins if they let him weasel his way out of things. Besides that, the Dems will do a lousy job of trying to go after Trump. They need to spend their time going after Trump's policies period.
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
So u think
that maybe Maxine and Shiff and Nadler are going to lay back? What about Cummings?
Ain't happening and Pelosi can't control them imho.
Prof: Nancy! I’m going to Greece!
Nancy: And swim the English Channel?
Prof: No. No. To ancient Greece where burning Sapho stood beside the wine dark sea. Wa de do da! Nancy, I’ve invented a time machine!
Firesign Theater
Stop the War!
How about the PEOPLE start doing their job.
The tendency of some of these RepoDems will be to go after Trump. and while some of these politicians will not listen to anything but the sound of their own voice, some may be dissuaded if their constituents let them know loudly and clearly that they will not support them.
Vote NO on Pelosi! would be a start.
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
I voted for a Republican
Maybe for the first time in my life.
It was whoever was running against Pelosi. I didn't even care who his name was.
it
was a her. Lisa Remmer. She believes brown people should be howitzered at the border, Benghazi was worse than Pearl Harbor, net neutrality is communism, there should be Nuke Bombs and Navies at all times, and can be heard on the streets of San Francisco screaming till her lips bleed about "political correctness."
Do Your Job
Has worked pretty well for Bill Belichick as mandate to his Patriot players...
Prof: Nancy! I’m going to Greece!
Nancy: And swim the English Channel?
Prof: No. No. To ancient Greece where burning Sapho stood beside the wine dark sea. Wa de do da! Nancy, I’ve invented a time machine!
Firesign Theater
Stop the War!
You made me go look LOL
Sports are not my strong suit.
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
@WindDancer13 The people don't
The people don't get to vote on who becomes House leader. Not even when we were living in a republic.
"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
Warner is already making noise and
threats...
He really needs to shut up. He’s got some ‘collusion’ problems of his own.
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
Losing strategy.
They have no policies of their own. Will they just continue saying that they're not as bad as trump?
Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.
Yes and no
The corporate Dems have no policies that represent the people who elected them. However, they are no longer completely surrounded by like thinkers. While the number of progressives may still be smaller than the numbers of establishment Dems, those progressives DO have an agenda and the people who want progress MUST support them and let the old guard know that they will not support obstruction of progressive policies.
Start by telling your congress critter to vote no on Pelosi.
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
It's fool's folly
The Democrats should be doing everything they can to build up themselves by aggressively pursuing policies that benefit the people. The Democrats need to stand FOR something. Otherwise they are just like the old guy shaking his fist at the sky. They can investigate Trump all they want, but it is waste of time, money, and there will be no impeachment hearing in the Senate. Besides many of them have so big skeletons in their closets too.
Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy
And that's why they are doing it
Investigating Trump for the rest of his tenure will keep them from having to do their jobs for Americans. The republicans came out with their balls on fire and rescinded and passed legislation right and left and now that the democrats have the house they're going to look at Trump's tax returns. For gawd's sake why? Okay.. they find that he did something wrong on them. Then what? Do they think that if they show he cheated on them then he'll be kicked out of office? Nope
Look at how many people who Obama tried to appoint were guilty of not paying theirs. Daschle who came from a medical lobbying firm was supposed to be his secretary of health, but he hadn't paid his taxes for a decade. Did he go to prison over it? Why no he didn't. Why? Two Americas. Only little people go to prison for doing .... fill in the blank.
Pelosi is also spouting bipartisanship. Gack! WTF again Nancy? Don't forget pay as you go.
Putin isn’t going to make you homeless or kill you or deny you health care.
Your government will allow it to happen though.
Same reaction from me here.
Like really? They're going to spend millions of dollars and better yet, millions of hours babbling on and on about Taxes and Trump. But they'll only go so far as that mess effects all of them and they good and well know it. But it keeps the divide going and the utter fallacy of someday sticking it to Trump. They'll come up with nothing and stone wall anything that threatens their status quo. With Sessions now out they're already screaming again about Rosenstein and Mueller for Gods sake. And they'll keep that up right until Nov 2020.
Only a fool lets someone else tell him who his enemy is. Assata Shakur
Pelosi is talking bipartisanship
Oops. Too late. This ship has sailed.
Putin isn’t going to make you homeless or kill you or deny you health care.
Your government will allow it to happen though.
I don't mind them investigating Trump's corruption
Someone in government should be doing it.
They are capable of doing that AND developing their own policies.
The problem is
they continue to avoid developing their own policies. Where were they when they had both the House and Senate? Damn Nancy Pelosi believes in PAYGO.
Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy
Yep
You can do that when you refuse to confront your previous failures.
Delegate
Good leaders know how to delegate. Let the representatives of the people work their arses off doing the will of the people and let investigative journalists handle Trump investigations. It's not like they cannot give hints of where to look, but their time needs to be spent where it will do the most good.
Take a look a the progressives those newly elected and Bernie Sanders. They do not spend their time lamenting Trump's crimes. They work on making changes in people's lives.
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
How about Trumps appointees?
They've been busy destroying the departments they're in charge of. If squeezed, will they sing like canaries? Cry like babies? Youth wants to know.
And just what will
Youth do with their knowledge?
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
Just an old tag line
It seems that the people surrounding Trump would be low hanging fruit. Trump can keep pardoning, but for how long? The d's can keep investigating even if there is no possibility of conviction. They can release findings, and can always hold back on charges until Trump is out of office. Trumps appointees are all loyal soldiers until their ass is on the line, but they also know Trump will throw them under the bus if he feels like it.
I can see this . . .
as Trump's rallying cry in 2020. And 2024 if he can make suspending elections due to national security work (I think he will try if he is wins 2020).
I don't think he has pardoned many people lately. He is saving all those pardons up to use on himself as he has said he can (in error, I hope), but then he always has Kavanaugh there now to protect him.
I do not think his appointees are loyal now. They are just clinging to power, that old sell your soul thing.
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
Totally agree.
Over on FB my timeline
is filled with "progressives" cheering on a new tRump investigation!
smh
"we've got the bastid now!" Can't remember how many times I've heard that one.
So, instead of taking care of business, it's all about tRump and how we're gonna fuck tRump, and we can't get enough of Rachel fucking tRump, and...
Two years of this bull$h!t and they still haven't learned. {sigh}
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.
Short-term memory loss
(although some may not have been born then) but anyone who was around should remember just why Reagan was called the Teflon president. Fight the battles you can win, then start on the ones that you might win; skip the battles that are lost before they begin.
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
Bingo!
I have always believed in this.
I also believe that the Democrats should look real hard at what the people want and fight like hell to push for legislation that benefits the people. Even if they fail at first in Congress, they will win at the polls. And yeah, I can dream.
Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy
Only if they control the narrative.
I have been thinking (gasp) for some time that there needs to be a clearinghouse for laypersons to be able to see passed, failed and pending legislation with who voted how and for what. The government has something similar but it is first hard to find things and second makes you read the entire bill with all the bs and nuanced language written for lawyers and insiders only.
What I am thinking of is something like:
This bill proposes the following
1. A raise in taxes for the middle class
2. A cut in taxes for those making xx amount
3. A cut in the following services to pay for such cuts.
etc.
Now that would be transparency.
Keep dreaming! (that is meant in a positive way, not sarcastic) = )
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
@gulfgal98 Who defines what
Who defines what can be won and what can't?
"Politics is the art of what is possible."
Who defines what is possible?
"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
A politician would define it differently
than I would. Yes, I know about the sausage making in DC. Here is my off the top of my head answer which may not be totally adequate.
What I believe is impossible (and impractical) is the impeachment of Trump. It will never get through the Senate. I have many other reasons for opposing it too. Democratic politicians are using this as a means to avoid addressing the real issues that face the American people today.
What is possible is anything that will bring the majority of the people together. By that, I believe is pushing for funding for programs that will directly benefit people. I want to see people marching in the streets for a livable wage, universal healthcare (not insurance), safe living conditions which includes the environment, and quality public education.
Politicians will say these things are impossible, but that is only because they are not a high priority for the majority of politicians and their donors. At some point, the politicians must be made aware that the people will not stand for the current state of affairs, which is where social movements come in.
They must realize that without addressing the pressing public needs, they may be facing a violent revolution. We are at a tipping point with nearly 50% of our population in or near poverty. People with nothing left to lose are the most dangerous people of all.
Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy
Neither does Clinton, Pekosi, DWS, Schumer ...
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
Trump's victory dance is off beat.
He did not "win," not by a long shot. Neither did the corporate Dems. It was never really expected (except maybe by some totally unrealistic people) that the Dems would take the Senate. The seats that were up for grabs were too limited and in some very, very red areas. However, we need to pay attention to just how close many of those races were. Some major dents were put into Rep armor and have left some wounds.
I too was very happy to see McCaskill and Heitcamp defeted. They were both totally worthless. This could be viewed as the start to cleaning out the "bad" Dems, even if we have to put up with a few Republicans to do so.
Suppression played a huge role in the results (especially governorships), and that must not be forgotten. In fact needs to be a focal point for the next two years along with getting corporate money out of the election system.
Another issue that needs to be dealt with is stopping Trump from dominating the news cycle. Anyone else notice just how many non-news stories popped up regarding Kavanaugh in the last week? The public does not need to see Dems foaming at the mouth in response to or in imitation of Trump. If they do, let the culprit from your voting district know how displeased you are with their actions (get a few friends to also comment).
In many cases, the people have won. The fresh blood going into the House in particular and some new governorships are more important than people realize yet. For diversity alone, there were huge strides made yesterday. Seeing so many progressives take a seat in the House will encourage others for 2020 who will have a lot better chance now to remove some of the riffraff.
There are now over 100 women in the House--a first. This means that we are still less than half way to parity. This needs to be worked on for 2020 along with more progressives. (No, not all women are equal--I remember Phyllis Shaffly only too well, and there is still HRC to silence, but overall, women and certainly progressive women have different priorities most of which align with what people really want and need.) Message to all...less time writing and contemplating and more time taking action.
In short, I see this as a victory--albeit not as large as we would like--for progressives.
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
it's all so crazy.
we celebrate, more or less, new women in the house, at the same time that we celebrate two women getting the boot in the senate. and i guess tennessee elected a real katie-bar-the-door trumpinista to the senate, so ...
i dunno.
i've never been confronted by such a contradictory set of election results.
The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.
Part of the answer is in looking at who
those two particular women are. Claire McCaskill went way out of her way to smear Bernie Sanders in the 2016 primaries and beyond. So I have had absolutely no use for her. Heidi Heitcamp dithered on her opposition to Kavanaugh when she should have just voted No. If she had shown some backbone, maybe this would not have happened. In addition, she knew very well that the native American vote was crucial to her winning and she did nothing since her last election to protect that voting group (and probably nothing to help them as people either). Both are basically Trump Dems so it is good they are gone. If we are going to have a Republican in the Senate then let him/her wear the label officially.
Contradictory is a good word for this election. Progressive votes like the Florida one for restoring the vote to people who had been in prison (over 60%) should have also propelled Gillium to victory. I guess HRC and Debbie were just too heavy an anchor.
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
me, too. and bigger than
the M$M would have us believe.
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.
Not too very surprising that the MSM
is downplaying the very real effects these changes foreshadow as well as almost totally ignoring important victories in races other than House/Governor races (e.g., 59 judgeships flipped to Dems, 367 legislative seats flipped to Dems, massive number of liberal propositions passed).
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
Hopefully winner is social security and medicare survival
I hope the dems stand firm on protecting both programs plus not raising the retirement age. But with Pelosi who knows. I would like to think that she would get major push back if she tries an Obama grand bargain bullshit. But she lives in a such a bubble though.
Speaking of Nancy and her agenda
Listen to her about legislating and stuff. I wanted to reach into the video and wipe that silly grin off her face. Gah. Her eyes.
Learn to Swim: This is Why People Don’t Vote for the Democratic Party
Nancy Pelosi: Democrats Don’t Want a New Direction
[video:https://youtu.be/NP4-2bItxY8]
There's text of this video, but let's focus on this one part shall we?
DICKERSON: I guess my question is, the Republicans reacted to their losses with a big revolution and a change. They have a very new president at the top of their party now.
You have somebody like Agricultural Secretary Tom Vilsack saying that the Democratic Party is like a tree that — quote — “looks healthy on the outside, but is in the throes of a slow and long-term demise.”
PELOSI: Well, I have enormous respect for the secretary, but I’m more optimistic about the strength of the Democratic Party.
And what I would say, because you talked about these numbers, some reasons to be hopeful, because it’s necessary, because this is about policy. It’s not about politics. It’s about politics for some, but, for us, it’s about protecting Medicare, Social Security, good- paying jobs for America’s workers, protecting a woman’s right to choose, issues that unify us.
But let me just say this. In any time that a presidential — the change in president from one party to the next, the states receive an infusion of talent. President Obama going out of the office, sadly, not having President Clinton come in, but those Democrats will go back, run for governor, run for Congress, state legislatures and the rest. And we will build up the numbers that you’re talking about there.
.
Good grief!
Putin isn’t going to make you homeless or kill you or deny you health care.
Your government will allow it to happen though.
Whatever meds she's on
She needs to change them.
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.
Social security and medicare will hopefully be
protected, but even Obama put it on the table. So who knows?
Pelosi is not yet a done deal. People need to write, email, call their reps and tell them NO!
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
Who did win what and what did they lose?
[video:https://youtu.be/5LPqrylDkY4]
We will see Trumps tax returns ... isn't that lovely?
https://www.euronews.com/live
EDITED. So, a lot of ugly stuff went down last night,
(nevermind, over the last 10 years), but in the face of all that, I'd like to present you with the face of indomitable resistance. No, not the faux post-Trump resistance, but the resistance of people who have refused to pretend that what's been happening in Madison for the past 8 years is "politics as usual", loathsome though may be "politics as usual".
Every single working weekday (AFAIK) for the last 7 and a half years, a group of musicians have gathered in (and on Friday, outside) the Wisconsin Capitol to sing and play songs of defiance and hope. In that time, the Solidarity Singers have become a folk culture institution, inevitably popping up in any and all coverage of the Capitol.
Over the years, the singers have faced down stochastic terrorism as well as illegal and abusive crackdowns. Every damned day, they've gone down there to remind the minions of evil that the people are watching, and are undaunted.
EDIT: a corrective note from the smithsonian article that I linked. Oopsy!
So, yeah. That's something.
The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.
Thanks for the story on the Solidarity Sing Along in Madison.
Very cool.
Those "Don't Tread On Me" thugs need their asses kicked.
"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
I just learned that Donna Shalala, one-time UW-Madison
chancellor (who was cruelly mocked by local humor rag, The Onion, mainly for her physical appearance), was on the Congressional ballot in Florida. I hadn't even realized that she was a one-time "President of the Clinton Foundation".
Presumably she won, it was apparently a very safe district (vacated by one of DWS's obnoxious cronies, I forget which one).
The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.
I thought Shalala flipped a red district
I thought I heard that on the radio.
Beware the bullshit factories.
what
you heard is correct.
turns out we're both correct.
it's the seat vacated by the "moderate" Republican Friend of DWS, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, and was presumed to be an easy pick-up for the democrats, due to demographic shifts and the lack of a GOP incumbent.
Longtime followers of the DWS Third Way Parade of Shame will remember that she declined to give support to Ros-Lehtinen's opponent, Scott Fuhrman in the 2016 election.
The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.
Net loss for the progressives,
or the progressive wing of the Dim Party anyway.
More Corporate Dems won than Progressive ones.
The lesson ? Progressives can't win, All Hail Nancy Pelosi!
We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.
Was this supposed to have a /s tag on it? n/t
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
No.
We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.
@WindDancer13 No.
No.
"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
@Azazello On the other hand,
On the other hand, Azazello, the lesson is always that progressives can't win. The only time that wasn't the lesson they led with was 2008, because the wave was so huge and so centered around the idea of change, that they couldn't really push the idea that the important thing was to continue doing the exact same things they'd done for the past twenty years. They simply, quietly, continued with Bush policies and pushed farther right without comment, leading to the 2010 shellacking. THEN they started up the same old talking points again. Progressives lost us the election. Bad progressives.
Over on Daily Kos, a gentleman whose name I've forgotten put up a diary where he had done actual statistical analysis of voting numbers which proved mathematically that progressives had not stayed home and caused the shellacking. I linked to that diary so many times that I began to develop a relationship with the one other person on DKos who also linked to that diary every time the talking points came up. It didn't matter. The same story kept repeating itself. Propaganda is not often deterred by facts.
Meteor Blades himself told me he'd been pushing back against the story--and eventually gave up.
Control of the media ensures that the same stories can be repeated as often as the powerful want them to. The same goes double for online operatives and bots. Just keep repeating the story. Ignore the fact it's been disproved.
"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
@Azazello Given that progressive
Given that progressive Dems, even when they are actually progressive, obey their party leadership once they get into office, it doesn't matter that they get in as long as they don't have sufficient numbers for control. There are plenty of structural things in place (including superdelegates, of course) to make sure that doesn't happen. Also, of course, the party can pre-choose a nominee or simply ignore someone running against an incumbent Republican, any time they want to. It's their private club. They can do what they want.
"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
The Repugs are evil with or without our 6 yo president
Here in Minnesota we elected Dimocrat governor, 2 US Senators, attorney general, sec of state, and flipped the state House to dem. The republicans don't govern well. The national deficits are exploding again and the burden is on the 99%, etc. I think the Dem voters turned out and said no more. Trump was a good motivator but it's not all about him. Minnesota R's are nasty pieces of work and we're sick of them all. I know I am. I actually followed the election on network tv. I also think that our national govt is gone to corruption but state's not so much. I am relieved a Dem is in the governor's mansion. Minnesota has a balanced budget and healthy economy because it's a good liberal state.
Now we just need legal weed! Cheers all!
San Francisco Success
Measure C, which taxes companies with over $50 million in revenues (or about the top 300 companies in San Francisco from what I understand) to help with the homeless situation, passed with 60% support. It was backed by Salesforce CEO Mark Benioff, and opposed by just about every other company. The measure should make permanent housing available to about 6,000 homeless residents. They implemented very similar measures in Los Angeles awhile back and it has been a good success and reduced their homeless issues a lot. Santa Clara county has instituted something similar with success.
So, of course, Measure C was opposed by most of the Democratic establishment, including new mayor London Breed, and even the incoming governor Gavin Newsom. Go Democrats!!!
Breed has a problem, however, because between 6 and 8 of the 10 person city council (still being counted) will be lefty progressives who don't like her corporatism. One place, at least, where progressives made some headway.
There is a likely lawsuit pending against Measure C, and that may derail it for 1 or 2 years. But the court it will go to is the same court that voted against entrenched interested when they sued to have it taken off the ballot.
So, generally good news all around in SF. Rich companies will pay to help the homeless. A progressive majority city council to keep Breed in check.