Better How?

The Potemkin facade of the Democrats being the higher minded and more ethical Party has toppled over and revealed the shoddy framework and underpinnings of the structure that claims it represents the best interests of the citizenry. 2016 is a pivotal year since this is the year that we finally learned:

1. The Democratic PTB don't feel the actual voter has any part in selection of the candidate -

By lining up virtually all the super-delegates ahead of time in Hillary's camp, they sent a large signal to any potential contenders that anyone else who had an interest would be simply wasting their time, money and energy and the primary process was but a formality whereby the voters who bothered to show up were simply rubber-stamping the already determined selection process.

I have never seen or imagined that any political Party could be so contemptuous of its own voters. Also beyond belief is that the Party weakened its own back bench and roster of both up and comers and old stalwarts by denying them the opportunity for greater national exposure for future elections. All of this was sacrificed so that Sure Thing Hillary would be the sure thing. This speaks to a lack of confidence that she could carry the race on her own merits. Since we are in the Derby season, it's akin to the party making any competing horses wear 200lbs of extra weight. Because it was HER TURN and because the VOTERS DON'T MATTER.

2. Democratic poobahs and insiders don't give a rat's ass about previously touted virtues of transparency in government and legitimate oversight and review by Congress and/or citizens and/or Fourth Estate (just pretend we still have one).

They are completely comfortable with HRC conducting all her public business on a private server under her direct control and retaining all those official government records until she was forced, kicking and screaming all the way, to turn them over by the Benghazi Committee and various civil lawsuits. The Party has FOREVER given up grounds for complaining about actual or potential corruption by any other individual or party due to the opacity and furtiveness of their conduct. Sunshine as a disinfectant has been removed from the Democrats cleaning cart.

3. Democrats don't really care about the technical requirements of maintaining national security, since they are giving a pass to someone who whether intentionally or unintentionally opened up the highest levels of the Department of State to foreign and/or domestic eavesdroppers and hackers because Convenience.

4. Democrats (DWS) ADMITTED that the function of the DNC is to protect incumbents from grass roots competition. It's a big club, etc. etc.

5. Democrats are OWNED by PACS, Super-PACS and special interests and that's the way they want it despite any lip-service to the contrary.

*********

Let's talk about the concept of Lesser Evil for just a bit.

Democrats have maintained for quite a while that simply because they are inherently the Party of Lesser Evil, that should count for a vote.

I have a new theory which is that the recent iteration of Democrats, specifically the DLC New Democrat model ushered in by Bill Clinton, is the purveyor of Lesser Overt Evil but may be in reality the vehicle of Greater DELIVERED Evil.

When Republicans are in power, Democratic legislators are forced to pretend to be Democrats in opposition to awful Republican constructs like privatizing Social Security, as one example, and most of the more horrendous Republican initiatives are beaten back due to citizen outrage plus social media and mainstream media pushback. The Democrats like to convert the outrage to their own advantage in any upcoming elections. Their best traction in attracting new voters or converts is as an opposition Party. Ironically, once in office themselves, they then often turn most of their energies towards alienating their own supporters.

Whether Democrats are in a majority or minority position, a significant number of them cannot wait to "compromise" (also known as complete capitulation) with Republican positions. Bill Clinton DELIVERED the largest, most complete slate of Republican legislation ever as President. President Obama DELIVERED the Republican healthcare model of keeping for-profits as the linchpin and also became the first President ever to offer up cuts to Social Security (chained CPI) in budget negotiations. Democrats DELIVERED the Iraq War by being compliant and cowed. The Lesser Evil Democrats are often the hand-maidens and facilitators for Greater Evil Republicans or Republican Policy.

It's for this reason that I am actually conflicted whether which vote, Clinton or Trump, would result in greater damage to the average Joe. Trump's proposals might be so outrageous that they are all or mostly all beaten back successfully and he becomes a one term Presidential aberration. Clinton on the other hand will be so anxious to "get things done" that she will work hand-in-hand with New Democrats of her own ilk and Republicans to emulate the administration of her husband and deliver us with a full slate of safety net reductions, military misadventures, crony Clinton Foundation Capitalism, and Free Trade serfdom.

I am on the side of those who are coming to a conclusion that Democrats don't serve progressive goals because the power structure of the Party DOESN'T WANT TO. Liberal or Progressive voters who are tired of incremental lengths of rope being thrown towards them as they drown economically may be finally be at point where they realize a completely new party could be the more efficient way to obtain results. The Democratic Party is an old wheezy fixer-upper with a cracked foundation on a landfill. Time to move to a sounder home.

(Edited for 2 syntax/grammatical errors)

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thanatokephaloides's picture

First order of business: Primo Essay there, Phoebe! Tells it like it is, too!

Next: You said:

Fourth Estate (just pretend we still have one).

We do indeed still have one. "You're soaking in it now!" -- Palmolive Madge

Wink

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

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

Phoebe Loosinhouse's picture

but I really miss the days when the heads on TV and the bylines in print were actual, bonafide journalists who went wherever the facts took them. There are still some out there, but their ranks are pitifully thin.

As a corollary to publicly funded politics, we also need publicly funded journalism without corporate ownership dictating what gets covered and what gets ignored.

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" “Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough.” FDR "

Lily O Lady's picture

has been dubbed "fanboy" over at the GOS.

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

Phoebe Loosinhouse's picture

I credit him with convincing me personally that hope will always triumph over cynicism even when met with repeated disappointment - the belief in the ability to create a better future is the only thing that will ever make it happen.

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" “Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough.” FDR "

I really miss him on PBS.

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IdealistCynic's picture

The folks dissing Bill Moyers over at the other site can go to hell. Moyers is a gem. On that note I need to vacuum up whatever content I have posted there. I have been a member at GOS for over 11 years, and was gifted a lifetime membership. I think I'll just let my account go dormant. Plus my GOS username doesn't go with the GOS anymore. Time to move on...

Idealist Cynic (NoMoreLies at the GOS)

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terriertribe's picture

December's Children was the first album I bought with money that I had actually earned myself (bailing hay). Glad to see someone else remembers it too.

I just wonder if Philly will turn out to be another Stones' tune: I hear the sound of marching charging feet, boys...

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Now interviewing signature candidates. Apply within.

Many of us have come to that conclusion. It is like taking the red pill. All of a sudden you wake up and see and realize how your own party, which has fed you a fantasy, is really sucking the life out of you, and has no intention of stopping, since they have built their power on this.

I am seriously thinking of not voting in the general, because I simply could not vote for Trump. And there is nothing on the face of this earth that could make me vote for Billary. My concern in voting for a protest candidate, is that some of these 'fancy fixes' that have been put in the voting machines for the Billary Campaign, will steal my vote. I really mean that.

So, I am thinking of having urgent other business that day. Like cleaning out the basement or garage. As a symbol of cleaning out the detritus of being a life-long Democrat. That is now done. Just done.

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Sea Turtle

Phoebe Loosinhouse's picture

write-in vote?

IMO getting rid of exit polling is rather sinister, since that is supposed to be the first line of defense against election fraud. There is no reason on earth why a voter should not be given a receipt to physically review that their vote is correct with the correct day time and location and why those receipts should not be secured as a back-up physical count to the electronic count.

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" “Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough.” FDR "

detroitmechworks's picture

or discounted in a million perfectly legal loophole ways.

I'm sure there were times that it was possible to get elected on a write in vote... Nowadays, there's always a nice reassuring lie.

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

You are spreading gloom: her math psy ops is working on a lot of you and you ignoring the campaign in these postings: feeding the beast: is it a long shot, YES: it will be a hell of a lot longer shot if we don't get working.

I think Bernie has shown real leadership, and we could win this. NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE BERN!

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Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

Nonetheless, I'm with you.

As rules for living go, "Always fight the dementor" is a good one.

EXPECTO PATRONUM!

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"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

You are spreading gloom: her math psy ops is working on a lot of you and you ignoring the campaign in these postings: feeding the beast: is it a long shot, YES: it will be a hell of a lot longer shot if we don't get working.

I think Bernie has shown real leadership, and we could win this. NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE BERN!

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QMS's picture

Write-in looks like our best option at this point. Question is will they be counted? I'll have to research. Last time I voted and asked for a receipt, I was treated to odd stares from officials. They thought I was joking, but I am serious. I don't trust black box machines to properly record my vote any more than I trust the PTB to work in my best interest. One person, one vote with proof. Democracy.

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Do you really know your voting options for November?

http://www.caucus99percent.com/content/do-you-really-know-your-voting-op...

There is no one size fits all. It is a decision that is made based on your state's rules. Assuming you want you vote to county, you have to look at your options. They are in the diary linked.

So I went over to dkos to tip and rec. gjohnsits diary. Seriously? woo? WTF! They make it sound like there was a lovers quarrel because the toilet seat was left up and someone didn't look before they sat. Freaking flowers is all that is needed so everybody can kiss and make up. That place is seriously fucked up. They don't even know what a principle is let alone have one.

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"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon

Lily O Lady's picture

"But you made me hit you, baby! Now come back and do as I say."

It's an abusive relationship.

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

Religion is the largest scam in the history of the world. It allows the masters to tell the slaves that while your life may suck now, behave yourself and you will be rewarded with an eternity of bliss or in the case of the Muslims 99 virgins (ok that is so fucked up on so many levels).

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QMS's picture

I followed your link and found our state does allow write-ins without prequalifying paperwork. Only one of 7 Sad

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a woman won the mayor position in San Diego as a write in. However, so many ballots were discounted for phony reasons, she lost. Slight misspellings of her name and the ballots were declared "cannot interpret the will of the voter." That sort of thing. I would never count on a write in being properly counted.

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Grannus's picture

measures and races. Vote for the good and let the bad rot.

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Have you considered voting absentee? That's how I'll be voting though do wonder if the ballot will be counted.

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I'm not saying a candidate has to be prefect, but they have to be someone you wouldn't mind inviting over for supper or leaving alone with your piggy bank.

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

detroitmechworks's picture

The Democrats are NOT fun evil.

Fun evil doesn't take itself seriously and comes up with grandiose schemes to take over the world.

Democrat evil is very sorry about their NEED to steal from the poor to give to the rich.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4z8GK-Ikwbo]

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

Not Henry Kissinger's picture

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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?

Mark from Queens's picture

I hear you, man. Well put, and a fun tune.

I've always been a sucker for good ole, clean, mischief. A good burst, antic or bellow against the status quo's suffocating stillness, homogeneousness, and boring conformity. Hunter Thompson, AC/DC or Ramones, Abbie Hoffman, Little Rascals, The Yes Men or Oliver Twist-style. Always gets the blood flowing and makes life worth living.

In this regard the evil of the Neoliberal Democratic Party/Global Financial Elite/Wall St Economic Terrorist/Greedy Oligarch-kind makes me sick to my stomach. These guys wouldn't know true pure unadulterated fun, or art, or culture, or community, if it smacked them in the head. They have handlers who advise them on these things, YesMen who prop up their small, ugly and fragile egos, and are like overgrown schoolboys fixated on what the other person has and outdoing their rivals. More dangerously however, they're crack-addicted to power, believing themselves to be divined by their own "hard work" and get off on the inverse suffering caused by their bloated portfolios. These people are afflicted with serious sociopathic diseases. No fun at all there. They're degenerate.

Here's one for you. Think you may fall into a similar category of music fan - rock fan at the core but partial to hard rock/heavy metal - but I could be mistaken. In any event, if you are (or anybody else is), this record never fails to leave my howling out loud in hysterics, based entirely on an intimate familiarity with the two bands. These guys came up with an idea to fuse the Beatles with Metallica to create a brilliant comical take of how Metallica would sound covering them, cleverly playing around with the song titles, lyrics, melodies and musical passages.

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"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

The party of the rich working for the rich is bad.

The party of working people working for the rich -- is that a lesser evil or a greater evil?

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Thaumlord-Exelbirth's picture

At least the party of the rich is making their intentions clear. They generally don't pretend to be concerned about your interests at all, and have no intention of treating you kindly.

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good to see many veterans of TOP here...

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Sea Turtle

Phoebe Loosinhouse's picture

Pretending to be for those you harm
Pretending to be against those you aid

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" “Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough.” FDR "

At least most voters know Republicans are going to fuck over poor and working people. People are just starting to figure out Democrats will too.

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Phoebe Loosinhouse's picture

Definitely an admittance ticket to the Ninth Circle.

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" “Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough.” FDR "

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Bollox Ref's picture

Progressives are just hired help.

The Democratic (LOL) Party is beyond redemption.

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Gëzuar!!
from a reasonably stable genius.

and says if he wins, he's firing her ass. (He didn't say it like that, I did Wink

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Hell If Bernie wins most if not all of the current DNC is toast

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to me there's no distinction between the 2 parties anymore. Today, I feel less threatened by trump than I do by clinton. That said, should Bernie not be on a ballot and clinton could possibly win Ohio in the general, I may have to vote for trump. I do see him as the lesser evil of 2 very evil people.
Bernie or Bust...

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Unabashed Liberal's picture

and therefore, cuts to COLA for federal transfer programs, such as Social Security, during the Clinton Administration.

Results: Cut of 0.2 percentage points per year [in CPI], which is the measure that Social Security and other federal transfer programs use for their annual COLA adjustments.

Incorporating a geometric mean formula into the CPI

Beginning in January 1999, a new geometric mean formula will replace the current Laspeyres formula in calculating most basic components of the Consumer Price Index; the new formula will better account for the economic substitution behavior of consumers.

. . . The geometric mean formula will be used in index categories that make up approximately 61 percent of total consumer spending represented by the CPI-U. The remaining index categories, which are shown in exhibit 1, will continue to be calculated as they are currently.

On the basis of BLS research, it is expected that the use of the new formula will reduce the annual rate of increase in the CPI by approximately 0.2 percentage point per year.

(BTW, PBO's proposed cut is an additional 0.3 percentage points, called the Superlative, or Chained CPI.)

Here's a Reuter's Tweet that came down earlier this week. I'm sure that the Republican Establishment has been attempting to sway Trump on this issue, but perhaps, to no avail (yet).

Of course, I would take it with a boulder of salt, as I would everything that FSC's campaign puts out.

Wink

Hey, great to see you posting again!

Mollie


In Tribute To 'Barabas'
Please Visit Save Our Street Dogs [SOSD]

Barabas The Brave, Dearly Missed, SOSD

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

Phoebe Loosinhouse's picture

in real life and devoting more energy to my non-political writing. I was enjoying the disconnect, to be honest - smelling the roses, etc. but was driven back into the fray after hearing and reading the Bernie voter slandering/smearing one time too many.

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" “Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough.” FDR "

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Phoebe Loosinhouse's picture

marginalizing Sanders voters so crudely and overtly and then expecting those same voters to tug their forelocks apologetically and creep sheepishly back into the tent and be held responsible for pulling the correct lever and ensuring the victory of the same people who marginalized them as racist, sexist thugs is a bit much.

Imagine if that became an actual winning strategy.

I guess there are a million breaking points in the Naked City. I've hit mine.

(Edited for pronoun agreement)

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" “Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough.” FDR "

stevej's picture

are in blind panic mode. They know that all Trump has to do to win is say nothing - and they know that Trump knows this. Clinton's numbers always tank during a campaign and she is incapable of coalition building.

Karma.

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“To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize.” -Voltaire

WindDancer13's picture

(Pull the lever for HRC and the Demoncratic Party) So it is a winning strategy.

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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

reward the dnc and clinton's stealing of elections/voter suppression by voting for her in the general. I could give less than a shit what her wormy followers are saying. The stealing of elections is immoral and criminal. To vote for her in the general is to condone these actions.
Bernie or Bust...

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MsGrin's picture

I don't *quite* end up where you do (at least not yet), but you nailed the biggest of my complaints right there.

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'What we are left with is an agency mandated to ensure transparency and disclosure that is actually working to keep the public in the dark' - Ann M. Ravel, former FEC member

Phoebe Loosinhouse's picture

Disillusionment becomes Disgust. When you hit Disgust, there's no turning back.

I think most people can overcome disillusionment, because we're mostly kind and optimistic and prone to think the best of people and circumstances - "maybe that's the best they could do, maybe next time they'll do better " etc.

But then one day you realize that there was never any intention to do any better, the only goal was to do just enough to keep you invested in them - that much and no more.

I always remember an article by Matt Taibbi about healthcare reform which was a watershed moment for me - he wrote that we got all the healthcare reform we were allowed to have.

Once you see the staples in the masks, you can't stop seeing them.

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" “Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough.” FDR "

Pluto's Republic's picture

You've written it with delicacy. Thank you. I could never accomplish that using the underlying truths.

For me, taken as a whole, your essay is the gentlest possible explanation of why I regard voting in a US election (particularly a Federal election) as a shameful act of self-betrayal — and how voting, while conscious of the deadly civic lie it represents, contaminates the soul and distorts the moral compass. At this point, every vote in a Potemkin election is a material crime that robs each new generation of their sovereignty.

In my opinion, of course.

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IMAGINE if you woke up the day after a US Presidential Election and headlines around the the world blared, "The Majority of Americans Refused to Vote in US Presidential Election! What Does this Mean?"
Pluto's Republic's picture

…that the US is a failed state..

It signals a vote of no confidence.

Extremely low voting rates would certainly undermine US authority in the world, and it would help block the US' murderous assault on the world to achieve Global Empire for the Neocons.

There is certainly nothing to lose for Americans, since every election, regardless of the "winner" brings them more of the same, but slightly worse, plus a slice of gay wedding cake or some other ubiquitous domestic "victory" so the people will think they scored a victory.

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IMAGINE if you woke up the day after a US Presidential Election and headlines around the the world blared, "The Majority of Americans Refused to Vote in US Presidential Election! What Does this Mean?"
WindDancer13's picture

to whatever they want to do. It gives them the non-voter's permission to carry on business as usual.

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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

Phoebe Loosinhouse's picture

That's why I think unsatisfied registered voters should make their voices heard

I think that writing in your preferred choice, regardless of who it may be, will somehow have to become memorialized in the voting records., even if you wrote "none-of-the-above"

PLUS - think about how this could act as a renegade check/ exit poll on voting accuracy - suppose you and ten friends in the same district swore to each other to write in Bernie Sanders and then in your voting district there was no record of ANY write in Bernie vote - couldn't you sue for some kind of forensic follow-up?

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" “Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough.” FDR "

WindDancer13's picture

have the numbers show that a minimal number of people voted for the two candidates who were offered. That could not be missed by even the most casual observer.

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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

Big Al's picture

provides consent to be governed. And some think not voting is better than voting if one votes for the wrong politician, i.e., Trump or Bush. Why would voting for Bush be better than not voting?

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WindDancer13's picture

established candidate. People could write in Mickey Mouse or None of the Above. It is the vote itself that matters. People can make whatever statement they want, whether it is to be governed by someone other than who is offered or to not be governed at all...at least have a say in it. Not saying anything at all is the danger.

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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

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

Here, we absolutely do.
If I vote, it's like I'm signing off on whatever crap they decide to do.

That's why I'm upset about my one vote for Obama (08) and ashamed of my two votes for Clinton (92/96). Especially 96.

There's no fucking way I'm going to vote for somebody responsible for that shit in Honduras.

I began as a protester against Reagan's foreign policy (if you can call it that) in Central America. There's no fucking way I would knowingly get behind the death squad candidate.

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"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

Big Al's picture

We're told that's what counts, that as long as we vote we're doing our civic duty. But what about the people that vote for a war criminal that takes the country to war and murders a million people. Was that their civic duty?
It's all relative.

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Voting for Hillary is telling the oligarchy that no matter how corrupt the candidate and the system may be, even if it means holding our nose, we will vote for her, if you scare us enough. Why would they ever concede power if we fall in line?

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WindDancer13's picture

Voting for anyone but HRC is still voting. = ) It is a statement that we need to bludgeon them with.

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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

lotlizard's picture

what causes maximum discombobulation to the Powers That Be.

As far as possible while still compatible with true morality, ideals, and health, of course.

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WindDancer13's picture

most of them are more than a tad shady. = )

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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

Does low US voter turnout get reported
internationally? Just curious, because I have to pay very close attention to find it reported domestically.

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Only connect. - E.M. Forster

Pluto's Republic's picture

Theoretically, a US president can be elected with as few as 211 votes nationwide. Heh.

The Low Vote Signal would require an initial publicity push, framed as a crisis. A push at the UN would put it on the map because it's a juicy story. In my scenario, the UN would offer to send election observers to monitor the next few US elections to discover and report what's going on. The xenophobic Americans would freak out, especially on the right, and respond in a way that threatened the UN, and perhaps the world.

The people of America could then take over the messaging on the Internet, and explain why voting is pointless when you have compromised candidates in a corrupt pay-to-play election system. This fact would actually shock citizens of the developed nations and most of the emerging nations because they have modern constitutions with regulated campaign funding, usually Public funding. They will be well aware that a democracy can't function in a system of inverted totalitarianism — which defines the US system of government.

That would probably change things quite a bit. Americans might first be perceived the way the people of North Koreans are: helpless and submissive to a government that does not represent their interests. This would have geopolitical repercussions that challenge US foreign policy. The financial repercussions could be quite serious, because the US dollar has just been yanked off the PetroDollar standard that has backed its value since 1973. For first time, the USDollar is now backed only by the willing surrender of American workers to an indentured life. If they don't vote, they might not look all that willing.

So, yeah. If it is promoted, the world would know that the people of America are sending a "No Confidence" signal directly to them. The rest of the world would probably find out that the American people have no Human Rights. It would shake things up for sure.

But I have no idea how it would resolve.

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IMAGINE if you woke up the day after a US Presidential Election and headlines around the the world blared, "The Majority of Americans Refused to Vote in US Presidential Election! What Does this Mean?"

They are trying to manipulate and restrict public access . . . bascially do to the internet what the Clintons did to telecommunications: that will be the first thing to go: then no way of organizing or even reporting abuses.

TRUMP/CLINTON

equally dangerous. We didn't do the U.N thing in time, but they have never had much backing from oligarchy: and the united states closed its office of human rights this year.

In case you haven't figured it out, we are being lead by folks who are siphoning off our nation's wealth, while being set up to be annihilated by an angry world. We no longer have much of a functioning government when it comes to voting rights.

Mook's psyops is already being conflated with Trump's. They are basically functioning as one party, where either way means we the people lose.

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TheOtherMaven's picture

Vote D, get ignored, oppressed, ripped off, abused, and betrayed.

Vote R, get ignored, oppressed, ripped off, abused, and betrayed.

A false "choice" that leads to the same result no matter what you choose.

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There is no justice. There can be no peace.

Pluto's Republic's picture

The oppressed are allowed once every few years to decide which particular representatives of the oppressing class are to represent and repress them.

It's something….

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IMAGINE if you woke up the day after a US Presidential Election and headlines around the the world blared, "The Majority of Americans Refused to Vote in US Presidential Election! What Does this Mean?"
Steven D's picture

We have fake reality shows which pretend we are being given a choice in our fate. And they have way too many bad episodes.

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

Pluto's Republic's picture

That message goes in one ear and out the other.

Even if it was synaptically possible for the people of American to process the information in a cognitively useful way — the constant, monopoly-coordinated blast of propaganda, false narratives, hunger-game choices, and pavlovian responses easily override reality itself.

It would be an achievement to convince people to vote only if their own interests are met, and to filter out the political claptrap. They might get lucky.

The idea that people vote because they fear Trump depresses me. As if presidents were allowed but a narrow spectrum of power. The current generation of voters may have been damaged by the government's overuse of applied boogymen threats. Not that the fallout doesn't hurt all sides….

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IMAGINE if you woke up the day after a US Presidential Election and headlines around the the world blared, "The Majority of Americans Refused to Vote in US Presidential Election! What Does this Mean?"
Lily O Lady's picture

to herd us in their direction. It won't work this time.

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

WindDancer13's picture

We live in a bubble here (c99 and other progressive blogs) with a lot of fairly like-minded people. The majority of people who are being told to be afraid--very afraid-- of Trump, including by Sanders, will hold their noses and vote for the oppressor of Democrat flavor.

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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

Lily O Lady's picture

Medicare and Clinton could be the one to do it. That's what I find scary.

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

Unabashed Liberal's picture

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

Lily O Lady's picture

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

WindDancer13's picture

Obama took the first step in that direction, and I fully expect HRC to complete the pass.

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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

Yes, and between now and November, I think he will spew much more crazy rantings to ensure people are even more afraid of him. I think this is by design.

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WindDancer13's picture

He has made a run twice before. He may have figured out how to get an early lead was to take the stances and use the rhetoric that he has. I think he will run to the left of Clinton (IF she is the nominee) and will retain his base at the same time because they have invested emotionally in him.

I don't think this is a set-up/conspiracy, but if it is, burning both parties to the ground is the answer.

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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

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

43% of the electorate is indie. If they vote for either of those candidates, they will vote for Trump. There's no way in hell they're going to capitulate to some Democratic party propaganda. Why would they? They haven't been so far, or they wouldn't be indies in the first place. Then there's the fact that every poll shows that they pretty much hate Hillary Clinton--and that's getting worse, not better.

Everyone keeps thinking that Hill's problem is progressives and leftists. Her problem is far greater than that, and can only be addressed via election fraud and voter purges.

America thinks she's a corrupt, elitist, snotty, condescending fraud who doesn't give a shit about anything except herself. That's her problem. Or it would be, if she didn't have the election nicely rigged.

I expect, if the election is between Hillary and Trump, to see turnout among white people crater.

The only caveat I'd make to this is that I don't know what Black people and Latinos will do.
I'm not qualified to say whether Black people and Latinos will vote for Hillary out of fear of Trump. I see some serious cracks in her support among Latinos, but not sure how far that's going to go.

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"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

WindDancer13's picture

I was thinking more about the people who still identify as Democrats. There will be some Independents who vote Sanders though. For example, in my current state, people do not declare a party preference until (for primaries) they ask for a specific ballot, so we are not registered in any party. The voter registration card does not even ask for any party identification. I think Vermont is the same, and I think there are a couple of other states, so for some being an "independent" is based on whatever state they are in.

It is not likely that the southern states will turn blue. You know all the ones that put HRC where she is now. The last I saw, Trump was ahead in a match against her in Ohio. I think I saw something recently that Trump has been making nice with Latinx, so who knows. I expect Trump's rhetoric is going to change a lot for he general.

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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

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

back to their deaths spreads far enough, I expect Latinos would stay home rather than vote for either of those choices--but while part of my family is Latino (or was, they are all dead now), I wasn't raised as a Latina, and don't identify as such, and can't say what they will do. There is some evidence that that particular ground is shaking below her feet, but I don't know how far the fault line goes.

You're totally right about the Solid South. Hillary has a good chance in VA, some chance in NC. It will be a huge slobberknocker in FL, but I expect Trump to take it. The rest of the South? Good luck, Hillary.

This is assuming, of course, that Trump is not working with her.

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"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

WindDancer13's picture

working with her as he has made two other attempts to run for the presidency.

We have something in common in regard to heritage. My mother is from New Mexico and Spanish. I was about 18 before I figured out that I am Hispanic. = ) You would have thought that going to NM every other year on vacation (we lived in CA) and hearing everyone speak Spanish would have been a clue, but it wasn't. And we have a huuuuggggeee family. Ten aunts and uncles are still living. My grandparents, both now dead, had around 60 grandchildren, and I have no idea how many great-grandchildren.

One of my aunts wrote to me recently and along the way, she mentioned that her and her husband were voting for HRC. I wrote back and (very politely) asked which policies of hers did she like. I have not heard back. = ) She thinks I should even at my age address them as Aunt and Uncle, and she is actually only about 10 years older than I. anyway, if she ever answers my email, I will work on her, but they are an old Santa Fe family, so feel a bit privileged.

Lol, if Trump takes Florida and Ohio, she is sunk. I still am holding on to hope for Sanders, so thinking about her getting wiped out across the country is a bit premature.. = )

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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

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

And a lot of Latinos watch Univision.
Dolores Huerta isn't helping either.
That one hurt a lot. She was one of my heroes for years.

Isn't it weird to be Hispanic, but also, sort of, NOT be Hispanic?

For me, since it was my grandma, who married an non-Hispanic white man, who produced my mom, who married a non-Hispanic white man, it's basically invisible. They didn't speak Spanish to me while I was growing up; I learned it in school. I've been socialized to be non-Hispanic white--yet the people who took care of me when I was little were almost all of them Latino & Latina, and you can't NOT absorb the culture of those who feed you and care for you. Yet they also tried to keep that from happening--probably trying to protect me and advance the family. You should have heard them going on about my blond hair when I was a kid. I was the family's ticket to assimilation. It's a very weird place to be.

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"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

WindDancer13's picture

questions prior to the Univision debate. There was a video that they used against Sanders that totally took out of context what he had said, and she knew something that was not shown in that snippet and topped off their attack with her own. That particular debate infuriated me. I had seen the entire video prior to the debate, so I knew instantly what they did.

I have Hispanic blood but definitely not the heritage. My mother refused to teach us Spanish. We grew up in Southern California just north of Tijuana, and she said did not want people to think we were Mexican (yes, there are degrees of discrimination within the races). I think she also wanted to talk to her family without us knowing what she was saying. Her main excuse for raising us completely white bread was, I think, that my mother claimed my grandmother (father's side) was prejudiced against her for being Hispanic. I suppose it was possible, but I would venture it had a lot more to do with my mother's ultra superior attitude.

We always had family--mother's or father's--available to watch us, or me. The first time I baby sat one of my siblings, I was five years old. I didn't do a very good job of it and earned some marks to prove it. Ah the joys of being the oldest. (on a good note, though...After almost 20 years, I got an email a couple of days ago from the brother behind me by three years. He told me that women are always complementing him on the way he treats them. He said that they always say that his mother trained him well. He told me that it was me who trained him that way, and he said Thank You. I was totally floored.)

I learned my Spanish in high school and college, but cannot really speak it because I am too self conscious of a terrible accent. I read and write it pretty well though. However, I have very slow hearing, so it takes me a while to translate it when it is spoken to or around me. = )

Family dynamics can be so strange.

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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

The Seduction of Hillary Rodham, by David Brock, published in 1996.
I got the damn book out of a trash bin.
She pumped Bill to go all lib for governor, then, when he lost re-election, she steered him towards the right in order to win as the comeback kid. She steered his campaign for president. Gotta be all things middle, but "cool" in so doing. She tormented his lady friends even before they came forward. She was the one everybody in his many campaigns had to satisfy, and she came up with the magic words and phrases.
I am almost done reading it, and will gladly pass it along when I am finished.

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

Muddy Boots's picture

The soul of the democratic party is to advance the worker, the leadership has abandoned that since the Clintons in the 90's and Hillary has not changed her tune. Maybe a teeny bit, but I don't trust her. The conflict between the soul and the leadership has allowed the corporate powers to run wild with glee and all the money. This is the core failing in the US - the massive amount of influence of corporate entities. The rest follows from that.

If Hillary wins the primary I would hold my nose and vote for her and aim to get a Democratic senate. That should mitigate the damage Trump would do to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is a huge part of why corporations have so much power and are key to getting them back in line.

As soon as the election is over I think there needs to be a new party of progressives. I would want Bernie and Elizabeth Warren both on board. I would expect Elizabeth Warren to be given a major role in a Clinton administration, even if she switched allegiance.

The point of the new party is to give voice to the wage earner and the dwindling middle class and to present legislation to rein in corporate influence. It needs to push single payer (Hillary only wants to tweak Obamacare which is so flawed it can't be fixed with tweaking). At the least get Medicare starting at age 62, and available to kids to age 18. Massive changes to regulations on financial industry - this is why we need Elizabeth Warren. Debbie Wasserman Shultz and etc have proven the current Democratic party is incapable of delivering. This is how Elizabeth Warren gets recruited.

The new party will caucus with the Democratic party. In this way unity is sustained as a matter of power plays with the Republicans.

The Democrats can respond by continuing to be corporate friendly and they will become the conservative party that replaces the extreme nutjob Republican party that would implode quickly if members started breaking ranks. Personally I see this as a healthy move as it restores the two party system to balance and conservatives need a voice.

OR the Democratic party can respond by moving left in which case the new party proceeds even more left working to supply free college education blah blah. I don't like this so much, even though it might get a lot of legislation I like in place fast because it will ultimately fail in the same manner as the Republicans. It is two party's chasing the same demographic and another demographic getting under represented. Somewhere I can't see the corporate powers allowing this option to get off the ground as they are the ones who would get shafted hardest and the do hold a lot of cards.

What I do NOT see happening is the current Democratic party winning with Hillary and then moving left. There is no incentive, no need no reason no push no shove for it. Left alone it will be a disaster.

The ONLY way forward that I can see is for a third party to present the voice of the workers.

The Green party is not that party. They have been around too long without getting hands on the power. It has to come through defection from the existing Democratic candidates. I suspect it could be started through loyalty oaths and the like as the Tea Party was done - it never operated its own actual party. But it can't stay inside the Democratic party as its goal is to make the Democratic party the opposition. Ultimately it has to split and be the power on the left.

The Republican party is simply a joke. Conservatives have no voice at present as Trump can't speak above the 4th grade level. He also can't be controlled the way they did Shrub. They are scrambling and some are already talking of voting for Hillary. She and a bunch of Democrats would make a fine voice for conservatives.

But all this happens after the election and the only real option I see is a Democratic president and I want a Democratic Senate. The House would be wonderful as well, but I don't see that as yet. As I said the main goal is to protect the Supreme Court from Trumps insanity. Then get to a stable place where everyone has a voice. Workers haven't had a voice since the 70's.

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"If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back" - Regina Brett

Meteor Man's picture

"The Democrats have a problem and it's not the Sandernistas"

Over at Counterpunch:

Today the Democrats are the pro-war mob, with their full idiocy on display, throwing rocks from above, just like the Republicans.

We all know what the kids are really pissed about. It’s the system, stupid. So the Dems should quit with their weak denials and their own very personal kind of subterfuge.

Okay, fat chance. But it would behoove all to start to think.

http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/05/20/mob-politics-the-democrats-have-a...

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"They'll say we're disturbing the peace, but there is no peace. What really bothers them is that we are disturbing the war." Howard Zinn

don mikulecky's picture

"Hey hey LBJ how many kids did you kill today?"

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An idea is not responsible for who happens to be carrying it at the time. It stands or it falls on its own merits.

Cassiodorus's picture

They've put all of their trust in a candidate who really doesn't deserve it, and doubled down against all cautionary advice to do otherwise. What kind of candidate racks up celebrity supporters and billionaire funders while being investigated by the FBI? It's amazing how many people are "with her." This is, more than anything, a grand opportunity to show how the Democratic Party is built. "The Democratic Party is an old wheezy fixer-upper with a cracked foundation on a landfill. Time to move to a sounder home." Of course. But where?

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“When there's no fight over programme, the election becomes a casting exercise. Trump's win is the unstoppable consequence of this situation.” - Jean-Luc Melanchon

Steven D's picture

Amen!

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

and they support war

this primary has outed the system

Bernie has changed the game, and many, many people were ready for his message

Just today I got the sense that Bernie might just win it and the establishment is freaking out and planning events like the Nevada caucus to create a swift boat story line to make the Bernie movement illegitimate

The Dems and Kos have gone over the deep end and they are floundering - or worse, they don't even know it

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DM I think its the latter they don't know

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and they support war

this primary has outed the system

Bernie has changed the game, and many, many people were ready for his message

Just today I got the sense that Bernie might just win it and the establishment is freaking out and planning events like the Nevada caucus to create a swift boat story line to make the Bernie movement illegitimate

The Dems and Kos have gone over the deep end and they are floundering - or worse, they don't even know it

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featheredsprite's picture

and put up a good fight there, but he won't go any further.

We will probably have to build our own party. The Greens are basically a federation of local groups and ill-equiped for a national campaign. Other parties are geographically isolated in one way or another.

I have no problem with a Grand Coalition, as that's probably the only effective way of getting anything done.

So far, I'm watching Brand New Congress and the People's Summit.

If Bernie were to snag the nomination, of course I would work for him in the general and then look into another party.

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Life is strong. I'm weak, but Life is strong.

I have been saying this very thing. If Trump tries to pass the same legislation as Hillary, there will be protests. President Obama just opened the Arctic to drilling. I believe there would be outrage if Trump were to do the same. That is why the oligarchy is fighting so hard for Hillary. So much more of their neoliberal/neocon plan will get implemented with little resistance. And the system will not change. Look at what the UN is planning for online censorship in the name of fighting terrorism worldwide. This is the time to say no mas.

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