Blue Dog Dems concern trolling the left again

"Just opposing Trump isn't enough" is simple common sense.
However, we are starting to accumulate evidence to back up this statement.

For instance, let's consider the article of faith behind #McResistance.

Amid signs that special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian election interference may be near its conclusion, a new USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll finds that trust in Mueller has eroded and half of Americans agree with President Donald Trump's contention that he has been the victim of a "witch hunt."
...Twenty-eight percent say they have a lot of trust in former FBI director Mueller's investigation to be fair and accurate. That's the lowest level to date and down 5 points since December.
In comparison, 30 percent express a lot of trust in Trump's denials, the highest to date.

Trump being trusted more than Mueller doesn't square with #McResistance dogma.

Then there is the problem of keeping your base in a permanent state of partisan frenzy. Republicans are simply better at it.
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Simple common sense will tell you that people will stay motivated when they have something to believe in, rather than just something to oppose. Yet "moderate" Dems will tell you that watering-down your agenda and compromising your core values is the way to electoral victory.

“As we run up to this presidential [election], we need to show that Democrats, as a whole, are not socialists.”
- California Representative Katie Hill

“while Steve King’s views don’t represent the entire Republican Party, those on the far left of the Democratic Party do not represent the mainstream caucus.”
- representative Harley Rouda

“I think there’s tremendous agreement and awareness that getting the majority and running over the left cliff is what our Republican opponents would dearly love.”
- Ellen Tauscher, chairman of the New Democrat coalition

What Blue Dog Dems call the "far left agenda" is what allowed the Democrats to control both houses of Congress for 44 out of 48 years (1932-1980).
Since the Dems went full neoliberal in 1992, they've only controlled both houses of Congress for 4 years out of 26 years.

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Quite simply, Blue Dog Dems can't do basic math.

Recently Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was criticized for threatening to primary far-right Blue Dog Democrats. Pearls were clutched.

On Wednesday, the House passed a major gun control bill that is sure to die in the Senate, but which laid down an important marker of the party’s priorities. Before that, however, a Republican amendment to the bill that would notify ICE when an undocumented person buys a gun was offered up and shockingly passed, due in part to the votes of 26 House Democrats—many of them members of the conservative Blue Dog Coalition caucus.

This wasn’t a trade for “bipartisanship.” Only eight Republicans voted for the final bill itself. Twenty-six Democrats just gave them a racist amendment for free. And as the Post notes, Democrats never managed to pass a “motion to recommit” amendment during the last eight years of a Republican majority in Congress; so far this year, the Democrats have already lost two.

So 26 Dems went pointlessly further to the right than all but eight Republicans were willing to go.
Blue Dogs aren't "moderates". If they vote with conservatives, they are conservatives.

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Meanwhile, so-called liberal Dems are hypocritically going after outspoken leftist Dems (all of them women).
Rep. Ilhan Omar:

Local Democrats are seriously considering the prospect of supporting an unprecedented primary challenge to Minnesota Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar in 2020, following a bipartisan condemnation of several of her remarks as anti-Semitic, according to officials and state representatives.

Activists and officials interviewed by The Hill said that although they have not yet recruited a viable alternative candidate to the 37-year-old Omar, frustrations are mounting.

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard:

Three former Hawaii governors are supporting Democratic state senator Kai Kahele in his primary race against Gabbard, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports. Ben Cayetano, Neil Abercrombie, and John Waihee have endorsed Kahele and will serve as honorary co-chairs for his campaign.

Abercrombie and Waihee headlined a fundraiser for Kahele last week, according to an invitation obtained by Politico.

The left-wing Daily Kos endorsed Kahele in a piece slamming Gabbard and arguing she has "repeatedly shown how out-of-step she is with mainstream progressive values" during her six years in Congress. The endorsement called Kahele a "vastly superior alternative" to Gabbard.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez:

If New York Democrats don’t gerrymander the seat held by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., into oblivion in 2020, they’ll pit her against a serious primary challenger, and all because she helped torpedo the Amazon HQ2 deal.

The fight is on, and playing defense is not on the agenda.

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Wally's picture

Thanks. This is why I came here and stick around.

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Wally's picture

@gjohnsit

Pretty smart on their part.

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@gjohnsit High school requirement.

One Soviet Union raised woman said they were learning firearm handling in middle school.

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Wally's picture

@MrWebster [video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMgdZVU2lbU]

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Pricknick's picture

Your essay only reinforces my belief that there is only one party and it doesn't give a shit about ordinary people.
I'm already tired of the nonsense and the squalor is starting to gag me.

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Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.

@Pricknick
there are two brands.

any group that can seize control of one of those brands can dictate what that brand stands for.

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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.

Wally's picture

@UntimelyRippd

“Real generosity towards the future lies in giving all to the present.”
― Albert Camus, Notebooks 1935-1942

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@UntimelyRippd
@Pricknick

Here's an FEC bookmark while waiting upon new end of quarter, because 2020 so different: Bernie Disbursements
Nothing says non-corporate like a bunch of fucking corporations, eh? lol Different! Blue Wave not Blue Dawg, but still... new thing looks a lot like old thing to me. carpe diem
Respect they West Coast Uni-tay: Blue Wave Political Partners LLC

Based in Seattle, Blue Wave Political Partners, LLC was founded in 2014, evolving from H+P Political Compliance in order to accommodate the firm’s expansion into political fundraising. Lora Haggard and Jay Petterson have worked together since 2003. They were joined by Sue Jackson in 2007. Each brings a breadth of experience in accounting, budgeting, and federal committee compliance developed through treasury management on dozens of Democratic campaigns, committees, and organizations. With Kevin Geiger’s outstanding background in political fundraising, Blue Wave now offers fundraising services to Democratic campaigns and initiatives. Having each served in senior capacities on campaigns and committees, the partners of Blue Wave offer more than thirty years of cumulative political campaign fundraising and compliance experience. Blue Wave is also located in Georgia, Oregon, and North Carolina.

someone has to "do" the books, amirite

Nobody 2020
no Ds no Rs
Dump Plutocracy eat the rich

peace and thanks

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Wally's picture

@eyo I think Bernie gets it better: They don't taste very good.

The old hippie saying also concerns me: "You are what you eat."

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@Wally gee, some people have never heard of The French Revolution I guess. I thought the phrase was a comment about the results of austerity.~shrug~

Bernie is a big club millionaire, show me all the great bills he has seen through to become actual laws. jeopardy theme while waiting. Someone here challenged me a couple years ago, and I came up pretty pretty empty. good luck

I guess you have a full belly every day or so. right on There is not point in electing Bernie if you ask me, other than "We're Not Trump!" which is better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.

Thanks archive.org, and other copies exist elsewhere too: The history of the French revolution. By M.A. Thiers ... Tr., with notes and illustrations from the most authentic sources

Jean-Jacques Rousseau -- whose philosophical writings provided the underpinnings for much of ideals of the French Revolution -- was the originator of the phrase,

"When the people shall have nothing more to eat, they will eat the rich..."

The phrase has been cited by others as originating at a speech given by Rousseau. You can see an example of this in this book published in the 1800's, "The history of the French revolution", by M. A. Thiers:

"I heard rich people taste like pork." LOL that comment was a meme I saw on reddit once. soylent future

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Wally's picture

@eyo

Make sure you post a photo of you eating the Kagens when it actually happens.

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numbers for independents. those folks are not going to turn out just because the Dems are running around screaming "TRUMP!! TRUMP!! TRUMP!!". they're looking for something to vote for.

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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.

@UntimelyRippd
that the Democrats neither need nor want independent votes.

I do think it's worth noting that there is a significant difference between a congressional party where less than a quarter of members support something and a party where virtually everybody does.

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And it was a goper who said this originally.

The gop fears their base; democrats hate their base.

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@MrWebster

are two branches of the same bush

TG, BS, AOS, IO, CM, JA

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dervish's picture

@QMS are two cheeks of the same butt.

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

The Liberal Moonbat's picture

And THANK THE GODS for that! That's some consolation, at least, that Blue-base is still, by and large, more rational and decent and less malinformed than Red-base.

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In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is declared mentally ill for describing colors.

Yes Virginia, there is a Global Banking Conspiracy!

@The Liberal Moonbat

Republicans hate non-white people.
Democrats hate white people.

Republicans hate gays.
Democrats hate straights.

Republicans hate illegal immigrants. The extremists hate ALL immigrants.
Democrats love immigrants, the more illegal the better. The extremists hate the native born.

Republicans think gold is money and the supply of money is fixed.
Democrats think their is no problem with an infinite money supply.

Republicans think the rich are job creaters and banks are are a pillar of government.
OK, Democrats think the same.

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I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

The Liberal Moonbat's picture

@The Voice In the Wilderness You'd think, were that true, that they'd be at least amenable to the logic of redistribution - even Kingfish-style caps!

Democrats don't hate any of the groups you mention - you don't see Joe Biden getting treated the way they treated Bernie (and are even trying on TULSI, now!) despite his "straight white male" qualifications being second only to George W's. They've just taken to hatemomgering for the other half. Nothin' personal, just business.

And I'm talking about the base (and/or those presumed to be it), not the brass (who ought to be subordinate to the base, BECAUSE THAT'S FREAKIN' HOW A DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC'S SUPPOSED TO WORK!).

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In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is declared mentally ill for describing colors.

Yes Virginia, there is a Global Banking Conspiracy!

snoopydawg's picture

Dodd Frank to go away soon. They have already voted for legislation that weakens other banking regulations reforms.

The democrats are also voting for Trump's right wing judges including DiFi and Schumer is doing everything he can to help McConnell put them on federal courts.

The democrats voted to give Trump more power to spy on us.

As far as I know the democrats have voted for every one of the republicans bills except rolling back the mandate.

Democrats were afraid that Trump would start a nuclear war, but every time he met with Putin and Young Kim they criticized him.

Trump is too dangerous to leave in office because he's in Putin's pockets and he's helping Vlad destabilize our country, but Nancy once again has taken impeachment off the table. She has said all along that she is not interested in impeaching him. But people still think that she is just collecting evidence and throwing Trump off and she will eventually impeach him. Yup. She's just biding her time.....

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

@snoopydawg "in Putin's pockets", he sure has been acting like a rebellious, angry Putin puppet of late. And it looks like Bobby Mueller is going to report back a big fat Nada on collusion. I understand a recent poll shows half the country thinks Trump is the victim of a witch hunt, and on this one, this time, that half is probably right.

Russiagate is the Dems' Birther issue. I always knew they were cowardly wimps and trimmers at the margins, but I never thought they could be this stupid.

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@wokkamile
So are Bernie, Berniebros, Jull Stein, less than fully committed DNC members, imaginary or not, and others too numerous to list. It takes a lot of balm to to cover infinity.

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detroitmechworks's picture

Out and about, I'm noticing most people just don't care about politics.

As the rhetoric gets ramped up, they turn off.

And I know what the response is...

"Don't you care?"
"You're so selfish!"
"Think of the children who are protesting!"

You know what? Been hearing that for the last forty years. Everybody my age has. Doesn't work any more. We're done with that shit. These days I have one guiding principle, which is the one TPTB follow.

"What's in it for me and mine?"

The only answer the Democrats are willing to give us is "Because if you don't you're evil'.

There's only one proper response to that.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FjWe31S_0g]

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I do not pretend I know what I do not know.

The Aspie Corner's picture

@detroitmechworks I've spent the last 13 years running the educational and internship/volunteer rat race and have next to nothing to show for it. Sure, my mother-in-law likes to tell me I've grown as a person but in terms of trying to make any sort of living that doesn't do anything.

It's infuriating.

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Modern education is little more than toeing the line for the capitalist pigs.

Guerrilla Liberalism won't liberate the US or the world from the iron fist of capital.

detroitmechworks's picture

@The Aspie Corner These days it feels like all you can do is tread water. Been going back to the times in my life and the things and activities that make sense and make me happy. Being at peace with my place in the universe and all that hippy dippy crap, which actually does seem to work, when you're in the right mindset for it. Yeah, just because it works doesn't mean I ain't gonna call it what it is, man...

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzpPy9hJYA8]

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I do not pretend I know what I do not know.

Wally's picture

@detroitmechworks @detroitmechworks

I know which one I favor, so I'm not exiting just yet.

The Kagens will be delighted if lefties sit out the Dem primaries.

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detroitmechworks's picture

@Wally @Wally They'll still get to blame the left, AND not have to spend as much money cheating.

Because As the Democrats tell us, the Polls don't reflect elections. And besides, I also believe they've told me that my vote isn't important, and that they don't want it because I'm not the future of their party, and all my ideas are old and stupid.

Which frankly, I'm also fine with not having to refute. They don't want to listen to me, I won't bother to talk.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdqoNKCCt7A]

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I do not pretend I know what I do not know.

Wally's picture

@detroitmechworks @detroitmechworks

. . . if Biden wins the nomination and then beats Trump which looks more and more likely. He and they'll blame the Russians for everything and won't give a rat's ass about no hippies and lefties.

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detroitmechworks's picture

@Wally I mean, that's kinda like the MSM policy handbook,

Section One, Paragraph One, Bullet Point A: Fuck the Left

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I do not pretend I know what I do not know.

Wally's picture

@detroitmechworks I really can't say anything else I guess.

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The Aspie Corner's picture

@Wally and Russiagate, there are no differences between the two at their core. At this point, he's nothing more than controlled opposition for the chosen pig candidates. Ocasio-Cortez is the same. Actual left-wing opinion and policy is deliberately kept out of the mainstream by both brands of the Capitalist Party through propaganda, voter suppression and the electoral college. Until that shit is dealt with along with ending imperialism, we won't go anywhere.

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Modern education is little more than toeing the line for the capitalist pigs.

Guerrilla Liberalism won't liberate the US or the world from the iron fist of capital.

Wally's picture

@The Aspie Corner

Sanders will not be kowtowing to the Kagens. He has criticized our military budget for being too damn high. He will engage in diplomacy with Russia. He opposes military operations against Venezuela. etc., et., etc. And at least there is the hope of our survival vis-a-vis the 12 year threshold where we can contain climate change if Bernie pulls it off. Until you can show me that you can develop a critical mass like Bernie has and get it done in the next few years, you simply don't have much to offer in terms of any hope as far as I can see. If you think Russia and China will able to present some kind of counterveiling opposition to US hegemony, I'm sorry, but I really think you are ignoring the internal problems in those countries. And with the Kagens in there if Biden gets elected, and I think he will if he gets the Dem nomination, those problems will be exploited to the highest degree. And war is probably right on their table as a means to that end in their calculations to obtain total world hegemony. But do what you feel is the right thing,

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@Wally and also AOC not being at their core Kaganite neocons. I think they've chosen to pick their political battles, mostly domestic issues, and have elected to tread lightly (and not very courageously) on the FP front. So I would conclude any similarities with the Kagans are on a very superficial level, not at their core.

As to US hegemony going forward, the trend line is against it, as the US overreaches and Euro allies begin to rethink sanctions and generally being the US's poodle. Meanwhile Russia and China are greatly strengthening their military capability, Russia especially in the high-tech areas of missile delivery. And they are doing it for a fraction of the US cost. Together of course, united, they currently would present a formidable foe for the US military. And Russia/China domestic problems? How about our internal divisions? Of the 3 countries, Russia, China and the US, which one seems more likely to end up in civil war in the next few years?

And Aspie, where is the mass left-led movement in this country challenging our military/corporate imperialism and regime change war habit. Not much. Among our leaders, only Tulsi Gabbard speaks out, and is currently struggling to get enough donors just to be invited to the debates. There is, sadly, no major left movement in this country, as we had in the VN War years, to lead our leaders into restoring sanity to our FP. This is very sobering.

Meanwhile, with the bogus Russiagate for 2.5 yrs leading us into the abyss in relations with Russia, and a corrupt, incompetent prez trying to prove to the national security state that he is not Putin's puppet, Vlad is quietly elevating the threat level from the US from roughly annoying to threatening, and is taking appropriate military steps to deal with it. I don't think WW3 is going to break out tomorrow, but slowly the pieces are being put in place for just such an event in the near term, which should be everyone's greatest concern at the moment.

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dervish's picture

@Wally

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

Wally's picture

@dervish @dervish @dervish She's married to Robert Kagen who got together a bunch of neocons to support Clinton in 2016. There's another family member, too, who is a honcho in the Institute for the Study of War. I think it's a pretty safe guess that they would have been very influential and then some in a Clinton State Department, Dept of Defense and probably more. There's even more Kagens interlaced in think tanks and governmental institutions like the American Enterprise Institute. Their e take on Russia is imo a bit overdone to say the least.

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dervish's picture

@Wally The Cookie Lady and her friends.

Who the hell makes cookies with blood?

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

@Wally Kagans throughout the govt in key positions, along with like-minded neocon hawks.

Pains me somewhat to have to consider that, had we had a normal election system and the person with the most votes been allowed to take office, Hillary might well have got us into a Cuban Missile Crisis situation over Syria with her no-fly zone obsession. Six months into her presidency perhaps. And no level-headed, cool and highly intelligent JFK-type president to pull us back from the brink.

Meanwhile, the Doofus gets in instead, someone who knows nothing about Syria, geopolitics or history, and we manage to dodge the bullet. For the moment at least. I think he may still feel a need to show the PermaGov how tough he can be vs Russia -- and we will all pay the price.

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@detroitmechworks the elections don't reflect the polls, which are far more accurate.

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boriscleto's picture

@detroitmechworks

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" 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 "

detroitmechworks's picture

@boriscleto The 80s. When comedy wasn't all about who could insult someone else in the most clever way.

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I do not pretend I know what I do not know.

@detroitmechworks
Republicans have duped people into thinking their wallet is inside some millionaire's wallet.

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I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

Shahryar's picture

@The Voice In the Wilderness

Repubs will kill you so they can take your wallet.

Dems will kill you so they can take what's in your wallet, then return your wallet to your family.

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@Shahryar

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I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

The Liberal Moonbat's picture

@detroitmechworks A lot of us have been acting strictly out of the goodness of our hearts, and yet somehow, they don't expect any consequences for abusing us. It's...inexplicable, like they think we can't walk away somehow. Again, it's an argument that only works if it ISN'T valid. They may be good at winning arguments, but I must wonder how good they are at tic-tac-toe, given their apparent inability to think a single step ahead.

Speaking of, anyone else here played The Legend of Kyrandia, Book III: Malcolm's Revenge? There are worse analogies to how it feels to help Blue-Team win an election (3:50 - 6:30):

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In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is declared mentally ill for describing colors.

Yes Virginia, there is a Global Banking Conspiracy!