Election Fraud is real. Time to #DemExit

I did not support #DemExit before tonight. But I just got off the phone with my 24 year old daughter. She's depressed as hell by what we all see, because they are not bothering to hide it anymore. I could not promise her things will get better, because they won't. We do not have a democracy, we have an #oligarchy and when shit hits the fan (as it will sooner than later), our nation will become another dictatorship or military junta. So, I'm done with the party system, because we only have one party - the party for and by the rich. I'm abandoning the Democratic party because it abandoned us for corporate cash decades ago. That's all I have to say. End of story.

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53 users have voted.

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snoopydawg's picture

Democrats just told us to bend over and hold the Vaseline. But if these polls are true then my sigline is true more than ever.

Hey people your candidate dropped out over a week ago.

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27 users have voted.

Was Humpty Dumpty pushed?

boriscleto's picture

@snoopydawg Said results won't be available until tomorrow. We still don't have full results from California...

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23 users have voted.

" 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 "

Shahryar's picture

@boriscleto

reporting that 82% is in. If so then Biden would need to get 67% of the remaining votes. He's currently at 27%. What are the odds that such a huge number of Biden votes would now come in? Zero, of course. There's no chance of it and Bernie has won California. But CNN, for one, is still refusing to call it for him. They had no problem calling Michigan, though, with something like 18% in.

Perhaps Bernie will hold on and win Washington. We'll see. Tulsi has over 8,500 votes so far. If we were to emulate the Hillbots we'd be screaming at her, saying she hurt Bernie!!!! But we don't do that because we're more aware.

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29 users have voted.

@Shahryar @Shahryar Meanwhile, Bernie shows at 14.8%, below the 15% threshold. I did not have an instant of anger at Tulsi, only sadness. Sadness that the mockery of democracy that holds sway in this country would repeatedly set us up for those ridiculous attacks that someone has been a "spoiler".

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7 users have voted.
Anja Geitz's picture

@snoopydawg

Smile

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1 user has voted.

There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

boriscleto's picture

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19 users have voted.

" 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 "

Lily O Lady's picture

Georgia primary, but the Vote Blue No Matter Who people will probably carry the day by fair means or foul. Most likely foul.

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28 users have voted.

"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"

@Lily O Lady I recently had an exchange with a VBNMWer. I asked how I should vote if Biden picks a Republican VP. The response in no way answered the question. Of course.

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8 users have voted.
snoopydawg's picture

.

If even half of the young voters stay home or vote third party Biden's toast. But will he even have to run against Trump? If they cancel the upcoming debate then why wouldn't they rig the general ones so Joe just doesn't get the chance to show what's happening to him?

Clyburn is telling democrats to just cancel the primary altogether. Go for it.

ETA

Ya think?

General strike for those who can afford it. But what can the older generation do to help? Yellow vests?

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28 users have voted.

Was Humpty Dumpty pushed?

Daenerys's picture

@snoopydawg I know, stuff we've been saying for a long time now, like don't buy anything you don't absolutely need, shop local/small businesses, cut your cable, etc. Walk or ride a bicycle if you're able to and it's safe for you to do so. It would be so easy to cripple the economy; right now is a good time because people are already stockpiling things.
Hubby is on spring break this week and wondering if his university will even be open next week. Kinda hard to do lab work online.

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36 users have voted.

This shit is bananas.

Creosote.'s picture

@Daenerys
on that idea, going into more detail.
I was impressed, when Greta appeared, that it became more difficult to get past caring parents (hers and others) to harm her message. How would you enforce no non-appearing?

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2 users have voted.
Daenerys's picture

@Creosote. by no non-appearing. Can't force people to comply, as the Dems will soon find out again, to their detriment.
I really don't know what else I could say that hasn't already been said dozens of times. It's an idea, maybe the best we've got right now. The problem is how do we get enough people on board for it to actually be an effective tactic? Being forced through economic collapse isn't ideal.

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2 users have voted.

This shit is bananas.

Creosote.'s picture

@Daenerys
but the idea others have mentioned here about staying home (if possibe) and buying nothing (especially from corporate owned interests) still seems worth strengthening.
No-action as action might be more difficult to shut down.

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0 users have voted.
Pricknick's picture

@snoopydawg

General strike for those who can afford it.

The majority can not. That's the plan.
We will all see exceptionalism wither and die as it should.
All greater and lessor nations succumb to the belief that they are the greatest.

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24 users have voted.

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

@Pricknick I would help organize donations.
I would give everything I had to them, since I won't need it that much longer (age is the thing!)and I have no children or family, other than a crazy fun brother.

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25 users have voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

RantingRooster's picture

@on the cusp I could use a YellowVest, and art supplies (maybe a few smoke grenades too wink wink snark) And new battery for my truck lol

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11 users have voted.

C99, my refuge from an insane world. #ForceTheVote

snoopydawg's picture

@Pricknick

I bet there are some people who can afford to strike. Or do some of the things Danny mentions.

Of course this generation is going as planned. From Reagan destroying unions, Clinton's deregulation of banks, NAFTA etc.., Biden's bankruptcy bill that made it so people couldn't discharge debts especially student ones, Bush doing what he did and Obama doing what he did it's all been planned for decades. The new deal is almost totally rescinded.

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32 users have voted.

Was Humpty Dumpty pushed?

Daenerys's picture

@snoopydawg Do freelance work for cash.

In regard to the bankruptcy bill, an amusing comment I saw on FB: Take out a personal loan, pay off your student loan with it THEN file bankruptcy! Lol

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22 users have voted.

This shit is bananas.

Pricknick's picture

@Daenerys
I refuse to supply a corrupt government with taxes.
Some I can't avoid like property and sales taxes. But why should I give them a cut of my income?
Barter is better baby.

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12 users have voted.

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

Daenerys's picture

@Pricknick But not for things like housing, education and health care. Not unless we do it on a massive scale. And if no one wants what you're offering you're SOL anyway.

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12 users have voted.

This shit is bananas.

Pricknick's picture

@Daenerys
for housing, education and health care are already SOL.
Many have something to offer but nobody is offering.
I do.
I even trade for eggs.

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9 users have voted.

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

Daenerys's picture

@Pricknick no one wants cake. SOL.

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4 users have voted.

This shit is bananas.

@snoopydawg Deal?

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12 users have voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

snoopydawg's picture

@on the cusp

If so you're on.

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7 users have voted.

Was Humpty Dumpty pushed?

mimi's picture

@snoopydawg @snoopydawg
for free, should I UPS them to you?

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5 users have voted.
Unabashed Liberal's picture

you Guys, 'cause we did that (Demexited) in 2004. (in response to the Dem Party PtB scr*wing over Howard Dean)

Seriously, just heard that Bernie won't be speaking this evening. Makes me wonder if the Dem Party Leadership isn't pressuring him to drop out, immediately, or, soon after the upcoming Debate.

Since Bernie and Tulsi signed a Dem Party Pledge, I'm 'wondering' if they'd risk being sued by the DNC if either/both of them decided to lodge a third party run. If only they would get together, and form their own Independent Party ticket.

What do you, or, other attorneys think? I posted a PDF copy of 'the Pledge' here a couple weeks ago, and thought it sounded relatively stringent. (to a non-legal mind, that is) Sorry, just searched, and couldn't turn it up. Obviously, it's somewhere in my comments, but, it's a bit late for me to dig it up this evening. Maybe tomorrow. (Or, maybe no one would even need to read it, to know.)

Sorry about your young daughter's deep disappointment. Hope she plans to stay in the movement, to fight another day. It's young people like her that are our best, if not only, hope.

Mollie

“This above all: to thine own self be true
And it must follow, as the night the day
Thou canst not then be false to any man . . ."
~~William Shakespeare

“Every time I lose a dog, he takes a piece of my heart. Every new dog gifts me with a piece of his. Someday, my heart will be total dog, and maybe then, I will be just as generous, loving, and forgiving.”
~~Author Unknown

“The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it.”
~~George Bernard Shaw
Irish Dramatist & Socialist (1856-1950)


WhiskerDocs

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20 users have voted.

Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

@Unabashed Liberal 1)A number of states have "sore loser" laws that prevent someone who loses the primary from running in another party, and 2)the duopoly has done a thorough job of making it difficult for other parties to even get on the ballots in some states. There are steep requirements to be met, and I think I've seen those often have to met many months ahead of an election. So last minute switches to 3rd party seem pretty much non-starters.

If Sanders had wanted to run 3rd party he should have started right after the 2016 Dem convention, and I'd expect that even if he had there'd be no shortage of roadblocks thrown up in 50 states plus territories, all of which get to have their own rules on who gets on a ballot.

Sanders bet on the Dem party, and if that turns out to be a rigged game, he'll lose with it. Of course, if he had run as 3rd party this time what are the chances of there being even more of a media blackout/attack than he faced as a Dem?

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24 users have voted.
Steven D's picture

@MichaelSF What this primary season reveals is just how deep the rot runs. I expect Biden to lose, but even if he wins, he'll have to step down. It's clear he has dementia or ALS. Whoever gets the Veep spot is who the Dens want to be President.

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35 users have voted.

"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott

Shahryar's picture

@Steven D

what is the worse possible pick? I'd say Bloomberg. Well, Hillary of course, but then Bloomberg. With the thought in mind that the VP would become President...man, they better pick someone we can stomach? live with? won't make us take arms?

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21 users have voted.
Centaurea's picture

@Shahryar

whether we can stomach their pick.

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10 users have voted.

"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

Raggedy Ann's picture

@Centaurea
or Bernie would be winning.

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8 users have voted.

"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

@Raggedy Ann
don't know which is why Bernie is losing.

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2 users have voted.
Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@Steven D

And they'll parachute someone else in.

Why waste an opportunity to train Americans to accept party fiat?

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5 users have voted.

"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

Cassiodorus's picture

@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal They've been pretending for the past year or so that there's a real race for the nomination, and to go back on all that now would look really awkward. Better to have a rigged election, at least for the time being. 'Course, Trump is going to look unpopular after the coronavirus kills millions. But maybe nobody will be alive anymore to vote against him.

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4 users have voted.

“The loyal Left cannot act decisively. Their devotion to the system is a built-in kill switch limiting dissent.” - Richard Moser

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@Cassiodorus

There's a number of things they're trying to get us used to.

Exit polls meaning nothing. Polls in general meaning nothing. Election fraud meaning nothing. Campaigning for an unapproved candidate meaning election fraud.

I would be surprised if they pass a chance like this up. But they may, of course.

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3 users have voted.

"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

Pricknick's picture

@MichaelSF
he would have had a chance.

I'd expect that even if he had there'd be no shortage of roadblocks thrown up in 50 states plus territories, all of which get to have their own rules on who gets on a ballot.

Now he has closed the book on that possibility. I sincerly doubt he will support a third party run against the dem establishment in 2024. He is, after all, now a democrat. His independent signature is finished with myself and many.
Enjoy the suck.

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13 users have voted.

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

@MichaelSF @MichaelSF I think Sanders was between a rock and a hard place. I don't think he or his staff are fools with no clue about what they were getting into. There must have been serious discussion about Dem vs 3rd party that took place. But I wasn't there so I don't know what factors they considered when deciding to cast their lot with the Dems. With the amount of time and energy needed to build a new party my guess is that it was never seen as a very likely option, or they'd have jumped in years ago to get the ball rolling.

After all, things were looking very promising for Sanders as a Dem just a few short weeks ago, but talk about stopping on a dime and getting 9 cents change it all went downhill (or was pushed downhill) very quickly.

The Dem Establishment is full of rats, and I suspect they were starting to feel cornered. There's an old saying about dealing with cornered rats, and it looks like it applies here. Like Sanders, the Dems will do what they think they have to do.

I find it interesting that with about 80% reporting it looks like Biden has gotten about 80% of the Mississippi votes. I'd think that the typical MS D-voter would probably benefit a lot from what Sanders was proposing, but I guess they didn't see things the way I did.

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23 users have voted.
Steven D's picture

@Unabashed Liberal @Unabashed Liberal it's an enforceable agreement. They can sue him if they like but it will be a bad loom for the Dems if they do.

Either way, I expect a Trump win in the General. GOP will hack the machines in the states they need to win. They did it in 2004.

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21 users have voted.

"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott

thanatokephaloides's picture

@Steven D

Either way, I expect a Trump win in the General. GOP will hack the machines in the states they need to win. They did it in 2004.

In 2020, they won't need to. If Joe Biden gets the nomination, Trump won't even need to campaign much, just have the campaign staff glean embarrassing cuts from Biden's campaign clips. We'll get "four more years", no problemo.

Bad

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27 users have voted.

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

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

mimi's picture

@Unabashed Liberal
in this comment from you:
here

Here you go,

". . . I am a member of the Democratic Party. I will run as a Democrat, accept the nomination of my Party, and I will serve as a Democrat, if elected."

". . . as Democratic Candidate for the Office Of the President Of The United States, . . . record of public service, accomplishments, public writings and/or public statements affirmatively demonstrate that the Candidate is faithful to the interests, welfare, and success of the DP of the United States, and will participate in the Convention in good faith."

.
It triggered a comment from me I won't repost, but basically I have still the same thoughts about it.

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7 users have voted.
enhydra lutris's picture

@mimi
that they haven't been working to rig the primaries. They couldn't use that sorry previous court case to hide behind, because enforcing the above nonsense requires that they upheld their side of it in good faith, which they clearly haven't and never intended to do.

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6 users have voted.

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

Cassiodorus's picture

@enhydra lutris was intended to show that America is not a democracy so please shut up and go home. It's a far more effective message than any other they could have concocted. It's in fact the only message left -- the CDC echoes it.

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8 users have voted.

“The loyal Left cannot act decisively. Their devotion to the system is a built-in kill switch limiting dissent.” - Richard Moser

then it could be shown that they breached the terms of the contract first, not Bernie. Plus, the discovery process would be fun.

@enhydra lutris

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8 users have voted.
Pricknick's picture

We need a new one yesterday.
Times run out. You either believe that things must change quickly, or you eat dust.
Mother Nature waits for none.

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18 users have voted.

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

Can someone enlighten me about the media ads that Biden's pacs and super pacs have been running in the primary states? Frequency, content, etc. How much have they been spenging?

Bernie has jumbo rallies and Joe can barely fill a classroom. Bernie speaks for an hour and Joe reads a teleprompter for seven minutes.

Why are 34% of Washington State voters voting for candidates that have dropped out? And why the hell are any Democrats voting for a man that has advocated cuts to Social Security for decades and championed the Iraq War before, during, and after, along with praising GWB for "getting it done?"

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21 users have voted.
Shahryar's picture

@Marie

a friend of mine voted for Warren two weeks ago.

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12 users have voted.

@Shahryar
than the early voting states. It's an all mail-in ballot state.

For a very long time, absentee ballots were used by the most conservative CA voters or they were the easiest ballots to rig in various ways. This was never tolerable imo, but way back then, only a small minority used absentee ballots and voters needed a legitimate reason for needing to vote absentee. Most voters preferred to vote after the campaigns were completed.

Governments like early voting, absentee ballots, and all mail-in ballots because they're too freaking cheap to hold elections. IOW, we can't afford even this small aspect of democracy.

Unlike an mail-in primary ballots, at least caucus voters can move to a second or third choice when their first choice isn't viable. Perhaps WA voters will now recognize that all mail-in primary ballots are a very bad idea unless it's a ranked choice ballot.

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8 users have voted.

@Marie I think you are a little out of date or misinformed about all mail-in balloting. We do it here in Oregon and it is IMHO much more democratic. No 4-6hr wait in line to cast your vote, no issues with alternative ballots, there is a hard-copy record of your vote, etc.
Most folks I know wait until voting day and hand deliver their ballots for the other reasons you mentioned. It is a good system. I think if the whole country voted like Oregon, we would probably be looking at a very different outcome tonight.

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15 users have voted.
TheOtherMaven's picture

@peachcreek @peachcreek

like this one, where most of the candidates held hands and jumped ship at a word from the DNC.

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15 users have voted.

There is no justice. There can be no peace.

@TheOtherMaven Also, I forgot to mention: Oregon now has automagic registration of voters. When you turn 18, you're in.

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10 users have voted.

@peachcreek sat on my desk for 10 days at least before I filled it out and mailed it in. No need to be hasty, things can change, and no need to act, imo, until it's time to act.

Voters who rushed to mail in their ballots and voted for a now defunct candidate can learn from their mistakes about taking a few extra days to think things over. Mail in is not perfect, but it has fewer downsides than most other methods. And cost effective. No stupid voting machines to figure out or which could break down (see CA this year). No waiting in long lines.

And it's far better than the stupid, clunky caucus system, which was fine back in the day when it was a small-scale affair held in people's living rooms. Nowadays, it's a form of voter suppression -- how many people have 2-3 hours to spend hanging around in a gym to vote or would want to spend their time that way?

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9 users have voted.
thanatokephaloides's picture

@Marie

Is the MSM THAT powerful?

Yes.

Most Americans still get their news from print and broadcast (or online sites owned by the same monopolies). Independent broadcasters, when and where they exist, are nearly all virulently right-wing propaganda outlets like Rush Limbaugh's "Excrement Excellence in Broadcasting" or fully owned Bible thumping subsidiaries of the Religious Reich. And genuinely independent print outlets are extinct for all practical intents and purposes.

Bernie has jumbo rallies and Joe can barely fill a classroom. Bernie speaks for an hour and Joe reads a teleprompter for seven minutes.

Why are 34% of Washington State voters voting for candidates that have dropped out?

Because they are the same kind of unthinking neoconservative/neoliberal boneheads that the rest of the Democrapic Party are nationwide.

And why the hell are any Democrats voting for a man that has advocated cuts to Social Security for decades and championed the Iraq War before, during, and after, along with praising GWB for "getting it done?"

At the risk of repeating myself, Biggrin

.....because they are the same kind of unthinking neoconservative/neoliberal boneheads that the rest of the Democrapic Party are nationwide.

Bad

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18 users have voted.

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

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@thanatokephaloides

They are that powerful in relation to those who watch them. Most people under 50 don't watch them. Most of their viewers are 60 and over. That leaves most of America out.

The other power they have--and it's, to coin a term, YUGE--is that they get to "call" elections. Or not.

But if you're talking about "How on earth did all those people vote for Joe Biden? Why did all those people vote for candidates who are no longer in the race?" the answer is "They didn't."

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9 users have voted.

"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

@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal

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7 users have voted.
Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@entrepreneur

Do we believe in the system, or not? That is the question.

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3 users have voted.

"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

around him was making money. And he had everyone fooled into believing that he was a revered authority and that he was looking out for their financial best interests.

Until the mask comes off these assholes I am at a loss.

@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal

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5 users have voted.
thanatokephaloides's picture

@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal @Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal

They are that powerful in relation to those who watch them. Most people under 50 don't watch them. Most of their viewers are 60 and over. That leaves most of America out.

The online sites most of the under-50 crowd use for news -- MSDNC, Fox, RedState, Daily Kos, and anything having to do with Facebook or Twitter in any way -- are just as bad as broadcast, if not worse. They're just as MSM as ABC News is.

The other power they have--and it's, to coin a term, YUGE--is that they get to "call" elections. Or not.

Were online news outlets meeting their vaunted promise of fairness in reporting, a certain Joe Shikspack and gjohnsit would be "calling" those elections. Wink

But if you're talking about "How on earth did all those people vote for Joe Biden? Why did all those people vote for candidates who are no longer in the race?" the answer is "They didn't."

Sure they did. The Traitor States delivered for the fscking conservas in 2020 just like they did in 2016. HerHeinous then, Biden now. And it was older Black Evangelicals who did it; they'd vote for David Duke himself before allowing any Jew (emphasis on the "eww!") anywhere near the Oval Office.

(Needless to say, if you have direct evidence of actual skulduggeries, do please direct us to such, subito!)

And you're correct; disagreements between us are rare! Biggrin

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1 user has voted.

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

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@thanatokephaloides

I would have already posted it.

What I have is my logic and experience as a campaign staffer.

I don't mean that to be snippy. I'll be writing about this later.

We're shifting into bunker mode down here. Be as careful as you can, those of you who can't stay in. Dr. John Campbell is a godsend.

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1 user has voted.

"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

@thanatokephaloides Google has given top priority to mainstream outlets for search results. Sites such as World Socialist and others notice a dramatic decrease in traffic to their sites. It is getting more frustrating at least for me when google returns results that don't even have any of the search terms.

Duckduckgo sometimes returns the same results, but often they do not and typically return results which are closer to may request.

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3 users have voted.

@Marie stories of this primary season is how Biden doesn't need to spend a lot or make a lot of campaign stops in a state to do very well. It's as if a switch was flipped sometime around SC, and word was sent out across the land, especially to many low-information voters and throughout the AA community, that Biden is the correct selection. And there is the common bandwagon effect post-SC. People want to vote for someone who seems to be a winner.

I doubt if many voters are aware of Joe's long track record on SS/Medicare cuts or favoring bad trade agreements costing US jobs, or his record of blatantly lying about his record, and so on. They get one or two headline pieces of information about him, or watch a snippet of coverage on the teevee, and that is the extent of their knowledge.

There was a telling Status Coup video a couple days ago where two local MI women, both former military, were interviewed at a Biden rally and told a few things about Joe -- e.g. his lying about being arrested over apartheid, and SS/Medicare cuts -- and both were unfamiliar with those facts that are well known to everyone on this board. This I'm afraid is a good example of what I see as the all too common typical voter out there. We are in our little bubble here, with our elite knowledge level, and there's probably a tendency to extrapolate that high information level to the rest of the populace, but that is a big mistake.

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13 users have voted.

@Marie @wokkamile
those on the left, myself included, took our eyes off the bouncing ball. In 2015 as most people kept saying that Trump won't get the nomination, I kept pointing out that he'd been leading in all the polls since July and was doing very well in the debates. If he kept slogging it out, he would defy all those professional and blogger pundits and win the nomination. (After that those same people began chanting that he can't win the general election unaware of the fact that conservatively Trump was only short by one state as early as September 2016.)

Biden had been leading in the polls for several months longer than Trump did in 2015. I puzzled over that and his weak fundraising and limited campaigning among the general public and limited ground operation. That differed from Trump who had been all over the place and held large rallies and in the early going was self-funded, but like Biden, he didn't have a ground operation. Lack of boots on the ground led to Trump falling short in Iowa, but Biden fell far short there this time and further short in NH. I and maybe others took this as confirmation that we'd been right to take our eyes off the ball -- Biden's poll numbers.

We were dead wrong. And should have known better because the NV DP can pull a trigger for a favored candidate and that the SC DP machine is really solid and strong. Should have known that the DP wasn't going to coalesce around any one of their own that had weak polling numbers (single digits with no consistent upticks) or obvious handicaps, apparently that doesn't include dementia. From September on, the DP only had three horses in the race, and in a worst case for them scenario, they could find their way to accepting Warren (and it's plausible that her Clinton retread staffers told her that if she cut further into Sanders support). It was never going to be Pete and Amy had but one bounce out of single digits (NH) and immediately dropped again. Outside of IA and NH, Joe still had polling leads in many places and was competitive with Sanders in others.

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3 users have voted.
Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@Marie

Maybe I'll write an essay on this--from a former campaign staffer's perspective.

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3 users have voted.

"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

Not Henry Kissinger's picture

Ugh.

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24 users have voted.

The current working assumption appears to be that our Shroedinger's Cat system is still alive. But what if we all suspect it's not, and the real problem is we just can't bring ourselves to open the box?

@Not Henry Kissinger I remember I once like Sirota.
sigh...

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12 users have voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

Not Henry Kissinger's picture

@on the cusp @on the cusp

he's just weak.

They all have their beltway connections to think about if they lose, so therefore a pissing match with Neera Tanden about Club D loyalty is still more important right now than rallying the morale of the movement they are purporting to lead.

Same goes for Bernie.

The BIGGEST issue right now is the collusion of the party establishment and the rigging of the primary in EVERY state. But apparently the stripping of hundreds of thousands of his supporters' fundamental right to vote isn't as important as hurting his good Buddy Joe's fee fees or calling out the Dem establishment for the crooks they truly are.

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23 users have voted.

The current working assumption appears to be that our Shroedinger's Cat system is still alive. But what if we all suspect it's not, and the real problem is we just can't bring ourselves to open the box?

thanatokephaloides's picture

@Not Henry Kissinger

But apparently the stripping of hundreds of thousands of his supporters' fundamental right to vote isn't as important as hurting his good Buddy Joe's fee fees

.....or, more importantly, stop the uber-rich class's remission of their fee-fees to their wholly owned state and federal officials ......

or calling out the Dem establishment for the crooks they truly are.

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19 users have voted.

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

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

Not Henry Kissinger's picture

@thanatokephaloides

that the Bernie campaign is about to do something really stupid.

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17 users have voted.

The current working assumption appears to be that our Shroedinger's Cat system is still alive. But what if we all suspect it's not, and the real problem is we just can't bring ourselves to open the box?

Centaurea's picture

@Not Henry Kissinger

Same thing he did last time. Only worse. I hope I'm wrong.

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9 users have voted.

"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

Centaurea's picture

@Not Henry Kissinger

with Sirota, et al, too. So much for principles.

They all have their beltway connections to think about if they lose,

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8 users have voted.

"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

thanatokephaloides's picture

@Not Henry Kissinger

He's obviously a sheep.

Wink

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12 users have voted.

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

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

Cassiodorus's picture

@Not Henry Kissinger "Not me. Us."

Our task, then, is to identify the points at which people we might otherwise respect are basically saying "not us, me." Thus when Sirota says, "I helped elect a Dem congressman & governor and am married to a Dem legislator," that's his "not us, me" moment.

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26 users have voted.

“The loyal Left cannot act decisively. Their devotion to the system is a built-in kill switch limiting dissent.” - Richard Moser

RantingRooster's picture

@Cassiodorus excellent point!

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10 users have voted.

C99, my refuge from an insane world. #ForceTheVote

Not Henry Kissinger's picture

@Cassiodorus @Cassiodorus

that's his "not us, me" moment.

And we'll see at the debate whether Bernie has his.

He needs to gut his old pal Biden like a fish on Sunday. If Bernie is personally unwilling to do that, he will be doing his campaign and the movement a grave harm.

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18 users have voted.

The current working assumption appears to be that our Shroedinger's Cat system is still alive. But what if we all suspect it's not, and the real problem is we just can't bring ourselves to open the box?

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@Cassiodorus

We need a new slogan.

Not Bernie. Us.

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6 users have voted.

"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

Anja Geitz's picture

@Not Henry Kissinger

Or is he keeping his livelihood alive?

Edit: I see someone already brought that up with the Not Us, Me point.

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3 users have voted.

There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

snoopydawg's picture

Someone nailed it here by saying that if Trump wins it only sets us back 4 years, but if Biden wins it'll set us back decades because it will kill the progressives.

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22 users have voted.

Was Humpty Dumpty pushed?

@snoopydawg When the progressives bail, it will also kill the Democratic Party. Without us they lose elections, every time.

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4 users have voted.
Shahryar's picture

I'm at their Washington results page. For some reason they arbitrarily added 2,000 votes for Biden to put him ahead.

Then they removed them so now Bernie is showing at about +1900. But what would get them to add those votes in the first place? I'm trying to understand if someone just put their elbow on the keyboard accidentally...or if they're just "fooling around" or what.

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22 users have voted.
Not Henry Kissinger's picture

@Shahryar

they started reporting the vote count and when it hit 20% of precincts it reset to 0% and started again.

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12 users have voted.

The current working assumption appears to be that our Shroedinger's Cat system is still alive. But what if we all suspect it's not, and the real problem is we just can't bring ourselves to open the box?

@Shahryar
decided that counting approximately 69% of the ballots is good enough. No updates reported for more than thirty minutes.

Liberal central - King County has Bernie leading by less than 5,000 votes.

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11 users have voted.

@Marie and they meddle in every election from bottom to top.

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11 users have voted.

@Marie The reporting on this has been majorly biased since the beginning.

Bernie has cause to revoke whatever agreement he made to stump for the corporate shill the DNC ultimately selects.

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8 users have voted.
Raggedy Ann's picture

@Shahryar
Scratch one-s head

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5 users have voted.

"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

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@Shahryar

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3 users have voted.

"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

Cassiodorus's picture

Places where they have a military junta are places with traditions of dictatorship. The US is pretty much an oligarchy that has always been an oligarchy. Our tradition is to "have elections," then rich people move in and buy everything up.

We're unlikely to have a Führer like they had in Germany after 1/30/1933. The people who created Hitler's first government (especially Franz von Papen and Kurt von Schleicher) did not respect democracy at all, and longed for the days of the Prussian monarchy. They worked with the Weimar Constitution, which offered plenty of opportunities for rule by decree. The US constitution is a blueprint for oligarchy, to be sure, but it's far less flimsy than the constitution Hitler abolished. Dictatorship, then, was a relatively easy thing for these people to establish, and Adolf Hitler was just the man to do just that.

Hitler, for his part, had already revealed his plans in Mein Kampf, published in 1925. Papen, Schleicher, Hindenburg and the gang ignored these plans because they were arrogant idiots. Donald Trump, by contrast, is merely full of Republican boilerplate, anti-immigrant, and anti-environmentalist hysteria. It's going to get really bad, but there's no parallel in the US with the sort of dictatorship which has proliferated elsewhere.

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17 users have voted.

“The loyal Left cannot act decisively. Their devotion to the system is a built-in kill switch limiting dissent.” - Richard Moser

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28 users have voted.
Raggedy Ann's picture

I suspected, even commented numerous times, that they would NEVER allow Bernie to be the nominee. I hoped to be wrong, but, alas, here we go.

I'm out. Not paying attention anymore. Last night, Mr. RA looked at results and said flatly, I'm not voting. Welcome to the club, said I. Fuck this shit.

As Daenerys commented above - let's resist via our own boycotts. Don't buy what you don't need. Use cash, make cash to avoid paying taxes, etc.

If Bernie doesn't drop out, I suspect he is waiting to see if Joementia will make it to the convention. If Joementia makes it, he might be replaced by her heinous. Perhaps Bernie will wait to see what happens. If that happens, I do suspect we will see some sort of revolution.

Van Jones was spot on - where will the supporters go? He knows.

I demexited many years ago - 2006 or so. The corporate party lost me.

edited to add: I'm currently on my Sec of State web site removing myself from the voting rolls. I'm REALLY done.

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16 users have voted.

"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

They won the court case last time, walking away with the right to run a fraudulent election all they want. And then, Perez was elected chair. Of course there is going to be fraud.

The only way out of this is with a new party that progressives control.

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10 users have voted.
Raggedy Ann's picture

I was 32 and married a man 18 years older than me. He had been around - even worked for the State Department of Education in DC and went all over the world. Anyway, when the 1986 mid-term elections came rolling around, I asked him who he was going to vote for. He said he didn't vote. I asked him why. He said because it doesn't do any good - they do what they want anyway and put in who they want. I rejected his analysis.

He died in 1987 and I went on blindly voting. No more. My dearest Tom Chastain was right - they do what they want and put in who they want. I'm done.

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9 users have voted.

"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

QMS's picture

@Raggedy Ann

disbelieving in the american dream
has become our route to sanity.
Sucks more people can't wake up
from this nightmare.

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10 users have voted.

question everything

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