If you didn't learn the hazards of mainstream media polls in 2016 when they convinced Democrats that HRC had the election in the bag and many stayed home after swallowing the complacency pill, you never will. Right now, we need to avoid the MAGA mafia by VOTING them out. Right behind this and IMMEDIATELY after, we need to clean the corru…
If you didn't learn the hazards of mainstream media polls in 2016 when they convinced Democrats that HRC had the election in the bag and many stayed home after swallowing the complacency pill, you never will. Right now, we need to avoid the MAGA mafia by VOTING them out. Right behind this and IMMEDIATELY after, we need to clean the corruption out of our own Democratic Party. Both are critical to our survival.
Thank you -- but I'd add that "corruption" probably isn't the big problem in the Democratic Party, at least at the upper levels. It's incompetence, lack of vision, and apparatchik-ism (is there a word for that?). The state party organizations in swing states like Wisconsin seem to be in much better shape than mine (I'm in MA), where the complacent apparatchiks rule, intelligent activists get discouraged by the lack of movement, but other, younger activists are working hard to get in the door.
Example: A few short years ago, the MA Democratic Party voted that state committee members who'd been elected five times to four-year terms would become lifetime members. Their argument was that this would open up their seats to new, younger, more diverse members. Term limits would have done the exact same thing, but of course they didn't think of that. Last I looked, MA had the second-largest state Democratic party in the country. It is not the second-largest state. Nowhere close.
When I arrived in FL in 2002, I really wanted to be active in FL Dem Party. Then I saw that it was essentially run by a power-couple who continued to lead the state down the road to ruin.
Bernie Sanders was our last best hope to bail out the sinking party.
EVERYTHING in the Democratic Party at the national level is about MONEY. In Texas, the Party operatives united to support grifter Henry Cuellar over Jessica Cisneros, a progressive woman with ethics. If I deleted all of the rhetoric on the Democratic Party sites I frequent that (1) does not focus on addressing a SPECIFIC issue that is critically needed by the citizens and the nation, (2) that is solely finger-pointing at "the other party" and crafted to promote fear and (3) is a fund-raiser disguised as a poll, a survey, or a petition, there would be NOTHING left except posts put there at the initiative of citizens' advocacy groups, NOT by this Democratic party. If you try to point to what this Party is FOR by united action around a platform, there is nothing there except "Affordable Health Care" which is the elephants in donkey suits' commitment to keeping the insurance cartel's money flowing into the party. "
Universal Health Care?" When have you EVER seen that on a DCCC fund raising mailer? In this Democratic Party "Universal Health Care" is like "climate change" in Ron DeSantis' Florida. It constitutes words that cannot be uttered. This Party cut the legs out from under Universal Health Care in California after the citizens did the leg work to get their representatives to pass it. The PARTY, not Trump and not MAGA prevented the bill from coming to the floor. This party is led by operatives who are corrupt to the core.
I registered as a Democrat after the 2016 election, got involved with the local Dem group, and attended several state (MA) conventions. That was enough. The state party solicits grassroots input for its platform, which of course is big and bloated and totally ignored. I stepped down and out at the beginning of last year. Long time ago I learned about the "illusion of inclusion." The Democratic Party is very good at it.
I did same in 2016 in Colorado. It's like the cliche' warning about not going into the kitchen of a nice restaurant if you want to keep enjoying the food. I wish progressive Democrats in Congress would resign the Party in mass and start their own party after we unite to stop Trump. I'd join that new party. Corporate Democrats would rather see Republicans elected rather than any progressive.
Lol about the kitchen -- like the observation attributed to Bismarck on laws and sausages. However, I'm not optimistic about the chances for a third party. The prognosis in the U.S. has never been good, and IMO it's worse since Citizens United released the floodgates on money, dark and otherwise. Something like the Working Families Party in NY might work in big blue states. But the progressive Democrats in Congress are, almost by definition, the least able to raise enough money to get a national third party off the ground. If only such an entity could rake in the small donations like Trump's Screw America PAC.
The makers of a documentary "Healing US" did an initial screening in Colorado that also featured a discussion by the film's producer, director and several key people involved with the film. Since most were from CA, I asked the last question of the discussion session---about what happened after they had the plan in the bag and they answered.
The national Democratic Party is largely for the big donor class. Some of the state level parties are more under their control than others. Their national leadership will reduce it into a gang of kleptocratic authoritarians like the MAGA folks did with the former Republican Party unless we vigorously hold our own electable accountable. Party stooges try to shush those of us who do that. Don't cave in and be silent.
Personal account. Last vote I cast until 2016 was in 1964 for Goldwater. I was then a vehement anti communist, I knew nothing about nor care about anything else.
But I quicly figured out that the two parties were two sides of the same coin, and did not even register to vote until Trump came down the elevator and opened his filthy mouth, then I couldn't register, as Democrat, fast enough, now I am seeing the same thing I saw in 1965, the steeple chase for donor cash.
I voted in 2016 against Trump,not for Hillary,same in 2020,same in 2024.
I would like to vote for, instead of against, but that is a forlorn hope.
Voting "against" is all we people in the USA can do in a major election. Ask a partisan stooge what their Party is FOR and it's like watching a deer caught in the headlights. The partisan brains can only reach for the list of what they are against.
Political perspective is a wide spectrum. Finding someone with just your view is like finding a unicorn. Voting against the even worse person is how 2 party systems work. I've voted 3rd party many times, and hope to get back to it someday, but not when the even worse option is Trump.
BTW I agree and have been complaining endlessly about the DNC's addiction to donor cash, they completely ignored the lesson learned from Bernies campaign.
When is the last time here ANY reader received correspondence from a Democratic Party candidate that wasn't a "poll" or a "survey" disguise for a fund raiser?
When did one of these fake "polls" communicate a single official plank that the Party is FOR? It is not as if there are no issues with a critical NEED to have addressed! Being FOR just one of the major ones could swing voters to vote blue, but if the Party priority is to just seize power and not engage in governance, this is what we get.
They surely did learn their lesson from Bernie's campaign! It was that grassroots could provide sufficient funding for a citizen referendum to demand governance. Why do you think the Party is trying to end that popular move toward responsible governance by drying up that grassroots source with every email solicitation?
A sad truth, but you have to play the game with the rules and tools in front of you.
Fund raising disguised as polling , was pioneered by the Republic party and it worked. Democrats have no choice but to imitate the Republicans.
It was during Reagan's 1980 Campaign that my mail box overflowed with mailers seeking money, most of them from Jerry Falwells, Moral Majority, and they were effective.
In fact the Republicans have been very effective at producing mass mailers and disseminating propaganda. The essence of which was to stoke fear. Fear of atheistic communism, fear of "feminazi's" fear of queers, fear of this, fear of that
Democrats don't play on fears, and Democrats lose. This is evident in the culture war being waged in our country from community level on up, be it Mom's for Liberty or the Heritage foundation.
We are at war, period. If you aren't on the offense, if you allow the other to put you on the defense, you will lose., period.
I don't agree that the priority of the Democratic party is to grab power and not govern.
I do think that when they do have power, they are afraid to govern. Afraid to piss off the donor class, afraid to piss off the other side.
The way to rectify that is to put on pressure to appoint street fighters in control of the party. Schumer is not one, neither is Pelosi.
All of those 1,500 Federalist Judges, the three Right wing Catholic supreme court judges, handing our country to the theocrats, the fascists sit in their seats because of Schumer and the Democrats in the Senate.
Not one of them could have been seated if the Democratic Senators had objected. Not one of them.
Now that the horse has fled the barn, Schumer wants to close the barn door.
There was 21 or 22 days in the last congress where the Democrats could have passed a lot of legislation, but didn't. They did pass the Respect for Marriage Act, but they could have passed an act that legalized abortion in all states, but didn't, there were other legislation that could have been passed, including reigning in the Supreme Court, but they didn't..
After the 2016 Election the Democrats had a chance to reform the DNC, but they hunkered down and selected a loyal party hack, Tom Perez, as head of DNC.
And here I am again, with no choice, and this time facing an existential threat from the Right to be defeated at the polls, if I wish to remain a free person.
"Democrats don't play on fears, and Democrats lose. This is evident in the culture war being waged in our country from community level on up, be it Mom's for Liberty or the Heritage foundation.
We are at war, period. If you aren't on the offense, if you allow the other to put you on the defense, you will lose., period.
I don't agree that the priority of the Democratic party is to grab power and not govern.
I do think that when they do have power, they are afraid to govern. Afraid to piss off the donor class, afraid to piss off the other side."
Fear is not governance, and bedwetters too afraid to govern offer the same outcome as a group trying to stay in power without governing. A Democratic Party designed by operatives like Perez to serve a ruling wealthy class without any serious platform to communicate what they are FOR on behalf of the governed offers nothing but being against Republican operatives that are doing the same.
Staying committed to that kind of "war" brings no "win" unless you consider the citizens losing as a "win." Yes. Avoiding Trump is an essential battle to win, but it does not bring a "win" to a war of a nation trying to emerge from rule by oligarchy, not democracy. We need a changed system that busts the two cartel party monopoly and replaces it with several parties and proportional representation. Enough living in LaLa land with all its myths created about "the founders."
We need a lot of things Ed. And if wishes were horses and all of that stuff.
But we are forced to deal with the reality that is in our face and we have a stark choice. A fascist theocracy or some semblance of a secular democracy, whether it is genuine or not.
Me I prefer the latter. At least we can work on improving it, but if Trump wins, that's the end of the story...period.
If you didn't learn the hazards of mainstream media polls in 2016 when they convinced Democrats that HRC had the election in the bag and many stayed home after swallowing the complacency pill, you never will. Right now, we need to avoid the MAGA mafia by VOTING them out. Right behind this and IMMEDIATELY after, we need to clean the corruption out of our own Democratic Party. Both are critical to our survival.
Thank you -- but I'd add that "corruption" probably isn't the big problem in the Democratic Party, at least at the upper levels. It's incompetence, lack of vision, and apparatchik-ism (is there a word for that?). The state party organizations in swing states like Wisconsin seem to be in much better shape than mine (I'm in MA), where the complacent apparatchiks rule, intelligent activists get discouraged by the lack of movement, but other, younger activists are working hard to get in the door.
Example: A few short years ago, the MA Democratic Party voted that state committee members who'd been elected five times to four-year terms would become lifetime members. Their argument was that this would open up their seats to new, younger, more diverse members. Term limits would have done the exact same thing, but of course they didn't think of that. Last I looked, MA had the second-largest state Democratic party in the country. It is not the second-largest state. Nowhere close.
When I arrived in FL in 2002, I really wanted to be active in FL Dem Party. Then I saw that it was essentially run by a power-couple who continued to lead the state down the road to ruin.
Bernie Sanders was our last best hope to bail out the sinking party.
EVERYTHING in the Democratic Party at the national level is about MONEY. In Texas, the Party operatives united to support grifter Henry Cuellar over Jessica Cisneros, a progressive woman with ethics. If I deleted all of the rhetoric on the Democratic Party sites I frequent that (1) does not focus on addressing a SPECIFIC issue that is critically needed by the citizens and the nation, (2) that is solely finger-pointing at "the other party" and crafted to promote fear and (3) is a fund-raiser disguised as a poll, a survey, or a petition, there would be NOTHING left except posts put there at the initiative of citizens' advocacy groups, NOT by this Democratic party. If you try to point to what this Party is FOR by united action around a platform, there is nothing there except "Affordable Health Care" which is the elephants in donkey suits' commitment to keeping the insurance cartel's money flowing into the party. "
Universal Health Care?" When have you EVER seen that on a DCCC fund raising mailer? In this Democratic Party "Universal Health Care" is like "climate change" in Ron DeSantis' Florida. It constitutes words that cannot be uttered. This Party cut the legs out from under Universal Health Care in California after the citizens did the leg work to get their representatives to pass it. The PARTY, not Trump and not MAGA prevented the bill from coming to the floor. This party is led by operatives who are corrupt to the core.
I registered as a Democrat after the 2016 election, got involved with the local Dem group, and attended several state (MA) conventions. That was enough. The state party solicits grassroots input for its platform, which of course is big and bloated and totally ignored. I stepped down and out at the beginning of last year. Long time ago I learned about the "illusion of inclusion." The Democratic Party is very good at it.
I did same in 2016 in Colorado. It's like the cliche' warning about not going into the kitchen of a nice restaurant if you want to keep enjoying the food. I wish progressive Democrats in Congress would resign the Party in mass and start their own party after we unite to stop Trump. I'd join that new party. Corporate Democrats would rather see Republicans elected rather than any progressive.
Lol about the kitchen -- like the observation attributed to Bismarck on laws and sausages. However, I'm not optimistic about the chances for a third party. The prognosis in the U.S. has never been good, and IMO it's worse since Citizens United released the floodgates on money, dark and otherwise. Something like the Working Families Party in NY might work in big blue states. But the progressive Democrats in Congress are, almost by definition, the least able to raise enough money to get a national third party off the ground. If only such an entity could rake in the small donations like Trump's Screw America PAC.
Cuellar is the typical Republican in Democratic clothing, he is anti abortion, misogynist,anti immigration,
You are correct about Universal Health Care in California, the citizens passed an initiative but the majority leader, a Democrat, shelved it.
The makers of a documentary "Healing US" did an initial screening in Colorado that also featured a discussion by the film's producer, director and several key people involved with the film. Since most were from CA, I asked the last question of the discussion session---about what happened after they had the plan in the bag and they answered.
The national Democratic Party is largely for the big donor class. Some of the state level parties are more under their control than others. Their national leadership will reduce it into a gang of kleptocratic authoritarians like the MAGA folks did with the former Republican Party unless we vigorously hold our own electable accountable. Party stooges try to shush those of us who do that. Don't cave in and be silent.
In a nutshell.
Personal account. Last vote I cast until 2016 was in 1964 for Goldwater. I was then a vehement anti communist, I knew nothing about nor care about anything else.
But I quicly figured out that the two parties were two sides of the same coin, and did not even register to vote until Trump came down the elevator and opened his filthy mouth, then I couldn't register, as Democrat, fast enough, now I am seeing the same thing I saw in 1965, the steeple chase for donor cash.
I voted in 2016 against Trump,not for Hillary,same in 2020,same in 2024.
I would like to vote for, instead of against, but that is a forlorn hope.
Voting "against" is all we people in the USA can do in a major election. Ask a partisan stooge what their Party is FOR and it's like watching a deer caught in the headlights. The partisan brains can only reach for the list of what they are against.
Political perspective is a wide spectrum. Finding someone with just your view is like finding a unicorn. Voting against the even worse person is how 2 party systems work. I've voted 3rd party many times, and hope to get back to it someday, but not when the even worse option is Trump.
FDR didn't win by people voting against, the voted by people voting for.
Trump's idiots are voting for his agenda, not against Biden.
People voted for Nixon. I voted for Goldwater. (I was a an anti communist single issue voter)
The 1965 election had people voting against Goldwater, the Daisy ad did the trick.
BTW I agree and have been complaining endlessly about the DNC's addiction to donor cash, they completely ignored the lesson learned from Bernies campaign.
When is the last time here ANY reader received correspondence from a Democratic Party candidate that wasn't a "poll" or a "survey" disguise for a fund raiser?
When did one of these fake "polls" communicate a single official plank that the Party is FOR? It is not as if there are no issues with a critical NEED to have addressed! Being FOR just one of the major ones could swing voters to vote blue, but if the Party priority is to just seize power and not engage in governance, this is what we get.
They surely did learn their lesson from Bernie's campaign! It was that grassroots could provide sufficient funding for a citizen referendum to demand governance. Why do you think the Party is trying to end that popular move toward responsible governance by drying up that grassroots source with every email solicitation?
A sad truth, but you have to play the game with the rules and tools in front of you.
Fund raising disguised as polling , was pioneered by the Republic party and it worked. Democrats have no choice but to imitate the Republicans.
It was during Reagan's 1980 Campaign that my mail box overflowed with mailers seeking money, most of them from Jerry Falwells, Moral Majority, and they were effective.
In fact the Republicans have been very effective at producing mass mailers and disseminating propaganda. The essence of which was to stoke fear. Fear of atheistic communism, fear of "feminazi's" fear of queers, fear of this, fear of that
Democrats don't play on fears, and Democrats lose. This is evident in the culture war being waged in our country from community level on up, be it Mom's for Liberty or the Heritage foundation.
We are at war, period. If you aren't on the offense, if you allow the other to put you on the defense, you will lose., period.
I don't agree that the priority of the Democratic party is to grab power and not govern.
I do think that when they do have power, they are afraid to govern. Afraid to piss off the donor class, afraid to piss off the other side.
The way to rectify that is to put on pressure to appoint street fighters in control of the party. Schumer is not one, neither is Pelosi.
All of those 1,500 Federalist Judges, the three Right wing Catholic supreme court judges, handing our country to the theocrats, the fascists sit in their seats because of Schumer and the Democrats in the Senate.
Not one of them could have been seated if the Democratic Senators had objected. Not one of them.
Now that the horse has fled the barn, Schumer wants to close the barn door.
There was 21 or 22 days in the last congress where the Democrats could have passed a lot of legislation, but didn't. They did pass the Respect for Marriage Act, but they could have passed an act that legalized abortion in all states, but didn't, there were other legislation that could have been passed, including reigning in the Supreme Court, but they didn't..
After the 2016 Election the Democrats had a chance to reform the DNC, but they hunkered down and selected a loyal party hack, Tom Perez, as head of DNC.
And here I am again, with no choice, and this time facing an existential threat from the Right to be defeated at the polls, if I wish to remain a free person.
"Democrats don't play on fears, and Democrats lose. This is evident in the culture war being waged in our country from community level on up, be it Mom's for Liberty or the Heritage foundation.
We are at war, period. If you aren't on the offense, if you allow the other to put you on the defense, you will lose., period.
I don't agree that the priority of the Democratic party is to grab power and not govern.
I do think that when they do have power, they are afraid to govern. Afraid to piss off the donor class, afraid to piss off the other side."
Fear is not governance, and bedwetters too afraid to govern offer the same outcome as a group trying to stay in power without governing. A Democratic Party designed by operatives like Perez to serve a ruling wealthy class without any serious platform to communicate what they are FOR on behalf of the governed offers nothing but being against Republican operatives that are doing the same.
Staying committed to that kind of "war" brings no "win" unless you consider the citizens losing as a "win." Yes. Avoiding Trump is an essential battle to win, but it does not bring a "win" to a war of a nation trying to emerge from rule by oligarchy, not democracy. We need a changed system that busts the two cartel party monopoly and replaces it with several parties and proportional representation. Enough living in LaLa land with all its myths created about "the founders."
We need a lot of things Ed. And if wishes were horses and all of that stuff.
But we are forced to deal with the reality that is in our face and we have a stark choice. A fascist theocracy or some semblance of a secular democracy, whether it is genuine or not.
Me I prefer the latter. At least we can work on improving it, but if Trump wins, that's the end of the story...period.
Your choice.
You are now shooting at your own troops, and I am done putting up with it.