Tuesday was a good day for anti-establishment Democrats
I pointed out how the DSA had another good election on Tuesday, but it's also worth noting how Bernicrats had a better day than mainstream Dems.
Let's start with Virginia.
Democrats who ran on newly-progressive platforms, like the Green New Deal, and made major gains in the Virginia state government on Tuesday credit those approaches as part of the reason for their successes at the close of expensive and ultra-competitive races.
...
"Tonight showed that running on the Green New Deal is a key part of how Democrats can win elections. The polls and election results tell a clear story: the Green New Deal is a winning issue," said Varshini Prakash, the executive director of the Sunrise Movement, which advocates for grassroots organization surrounding the passage of the Green New Deal and legislation related to climate change."When Nancy Pelosi and corporate Democrats try to argue otherwise," Prakash said, "it's nothing more than a thinly-veiled attempt to shut down progressive policies and protect the interests of corporate donors."
If real leftist policies can win in Virginia, in an off-year election, then the Trump strategy of yelling "Socialism!" is headed toward failure.
Unless the Dem establishment bails them out.
Joshua Cole, a Bernie Sanders endorsed dem socialist candidate in Virginia's conservative District 28 just won & FLIPPED the seat away from a Republican. https://t.co/7KjAzqBJ4A
— Michael Sayman (@michaelsayman) November 6, 2019
Remember the viral photo of the woman on her bicycle who flipped off Trump's motorcade?
That's @julibriskman and she just won a Virginia election. https://t.co/8ruEyb8tuI
— Jennifer Bendery (@jbendery) November 6, 2019
But the Dem machine isn't very popular right now.
An independent who changed her party affiliation after sparring with the local Democratic Party became the first elected female mayor of Scranton, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday, taking the helm of a city known for its deep blue ties.
Paige Cognetti, a native Oregonian who worked on Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign and later had a stint in his Treasury Department, handily won her special election over the endorsed Democrat and other candidates in the crowded field.
BREAKING: Jack Stollsteimer will be the new DA of Delaware County, a populous county in the Philadelphia suburbs. Stollsteimer, a Democrat, ousted the incumbent GOP DA.
A core issue that Stollsteimer campaigned on: deprivatizing the county jail.
— The Appeal (@theappeal) November 6, 2019
You smell that? It smells like hope.
Comments
Another Berner victory? Mayor of Tucson
OT: Only Bernie can turn out the base
Ooh, my brother’s gotta hate that.
He’s a long time Republican and a Trump voter, living in Tucson. I’d call him up and gloat, but I’m no longer able to kid around when it comes to his mindset.
What we were all waiting for
are you excited?
Bad news for Biden
Mayo Pete too
" 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 "
if he were reading your comment...
Mayo Pete: I don't need you to tell me this is bad news for me.
on second thought...
he wouldn't acknowledge it. It'd be more like...
Mayo Pete: I don't need you to tell me what kind of news it is
No more billionaires
but he takes some of the heat off the issue of Bernie's age.
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
Bad news indeed
for Biden, Boot, Klob and all the other centrists. It will further dilute their vote share. Good news for progressive Dems though, in an unintended way.
I wonder if Mikey was talking to fellow billionaire Bill Gates who said the other day that he was worried that Liz Warren's wealth tax plan would take "$100b" from him. He said he was OK with paying $20b, but not $100b. Sure.
Bill would only have to pay $6b under her plan. Still would have over $100b left to spend on whatever.
And I do think his move into the race was more about worries over the centrist contingent looking weak (Biden showing his age, Boot just a small-town mayor, Kamala disappearing) as well as Liz and her gaining ground in recent months and her wealth tax. Would be amusing if his entry actually helped make the path to the nom easier for wealth tax proponents Liz or Bernie.
Lovely.
Rich people will save us! Not.
The ruling classes need an extra party to make the rest of us feel as if we participate in democracy. That's what the Democrats are for. They make the US more durable than the Soviet Union was.
Kind of like the way
the rich people saved the poor passengers in steerage on the Titanic, instead of grabbing the lifeboats for themselves.
"Don't go back to sleep ... Don't go back to sleep ... Don't go back to sleep."
~Rumi
"If you want revolution, be it."
~Caitlin Johnstone
not
Not deliberately, silly goose! I think gjohnsit foresees Bloomberg pulling one of these, which could easily save us from more than him:
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTGmTrQXrwg]
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
"... this source said, he’s doing this to keep his options open"
I think he's doing it because the 937 losers that the DNC encouraged to run in the primary in order to splinter the votes are dropping like flies, and there is slight chance that Tulsi or Bernie might surge and get more than 50% of the votes in the first round.
More bad news for Bernie
When Bernie Wins
The CNN headline will read Buttigieg almost wins. Hahahah!
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
It smells like hope, all right.
It also looks and sounds like people are paying attention and taking action. It seems to me that Bernie's impact is finally taking hold. He said he needed the down ballot folks to help him with his agenda. This is a start - a definite start.
Here we go, folks!
"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11
More importantly, how are the Clintoncrats doing?
They are sweeping the nation, right?
Hahahahaha, I'll show myself out!
Seriously, this is great news. This is exactly how a campaign for president should look: other candidates taking the platform and using it in their local campaigns.
Seriously, that is being claimed by the MSM
"The vindication of Hillary Clinton"
"Voters finally realize they made a mistake not voting for Clinton"
ad nauseum
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
Uh... hahahahahahaha
vindicated indeed! I need to do some reading up on these mental gymnastics, this is completely crazy yet totally believable and expected from the MSM. Can't wait for the day when Rachel Maddow endorses Donald Trump because supporting Hillary traitor Bernie Sanders is too much.
Crazy Mike Bloomberg
I'm all in.
Nothing says 'shaft the establishment', than a staid, billionaire approaching 80.
Let the good times roll.
Gëzuar!!
from a reasonably stable genius.
What's the deal with Kshama? She's the best we have,
but she's down in the results?
Fucking Amazon pumped tons of money into a lame, IdPol gay businessman Neoliberal, and liberal Seattle fell for it? Would be a sheer travesty to lose her fighting voice.
Sorry, haven't been paying such close attention to elections lately.
"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
Latest results I
can find are encouraging: She has closed the gap from about 7% pts behind to just 2.5 pts, only 739 votes behind. Cannot find what pct of votes left to count but this is starting to look like her first win when she came from behind with late-counted votes from about the same deficit.
Even Orion concedes the election is too close to call. So there is still hope.
Perhaps
if I might make a slight correction to your comment, the answer will become apparent of itself:
"Don't go back to sleep ... Don't go back to sleep ... Don't go back to sleep."
~Rumi
"If you want revolution, be it."
~Caitlin Johnstone