Slouching Towards Oblivion

Showing posts with label Democrats. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Democrats. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 12, 2020

Outa The Chute

The first ad for Biden-Harris 2020


The big take-away is "consent". He asked straight up and flat out - is your answer "yes"?

When government derives its just power from the consent of the governed, getting someone's consent - for whatever purpose - getting their consent is a big fuckin' deal.

I'm hoping that's a guiding principle - up front and on top - for their campaign and for their administration.

On Biden's Pick

1976 Democratic National Convention.

Barbara Jordan, Keynote Speaker.

(excerpts, via NYT):

One hundred and forty-four years ago, members of the Democratic Party first met in convention to select a Presidential candidate. Since that time, Democrats have continued to convene once every four years and draft a party platform and nominate a Presidential candidate. And our meeting this week is a continuation of that tradition.

But there is something different about tonight. There is something special about tonight. What is different? What is special? I, Barbara Jordan, am a keynote speaker.

A lot of years passed since 1832, and during that time it would have been most unusual for any national political party to ask that Barbara Jordan deliver a keynote address, but tonight here I am. And I feel notwithstanding the past that my presence here is one additional bit of evidence that the American Dream need not forever be deferred. . . .

Many fear the future. Many are distrustful of their leaders and believe that their voices are never heard. Many seek only to satisfy their private work wants, to satisfy their private interests.

But this is the great danger America faces. That we will cease to be one nation and become instead a collection of interest groups: city against suburb, region against region, individual against individual. Each seeking to satisfy private wants.

If that happens, who then will speak for America?

What are those of us who are elected public officials supposed to do? I'll tell you this: we as public servants must set an example for the rest of the nation. It is hypocritical for the public official to admonish and exhort the people to uphold the common good if we are derelict in upholding the common good. More is required of public officials than slogans and handshakes and press releases. More is required. We must hold ourselves strictly accountable. We must provide the people with a vision of the future."

Saturday, August 08, 2020

The Coming News

Biden will eventually get around to naming his Veep choice. He was supposed to have made that announcement already, but how do you pick a good time when everything else - every item that comes out - will more than likely bigfoot your news right off the stage?

Anyway, he'll get around to it, and when he does, Democrats, let's at least try to stay focused on beating the fuck outa the GOP, and not do anything too awfully stoopid. OK?


Sunday, June 02, 2019

Mayor Pete

One part of the exchange between Pete Buttigieg and Chris Wallace on DumFux News:

Buttigieg: I think the dialogue has gotten so caught up on where you draw the line that we’ve gotten away from the fundamental question of who gets to draw the line and I trust women to draw the line when it’s their own health.

Wallace: So just to be clear, you’re saying you would be okay with a woman, well into the third trimester deciding to abort her pregnancy.

Buttigieg: Look, these hypotheticals are usually set up in order to provoke a strong emotional --

Wallace: It’s not hypothetical, there are 6,000 women a year who get abortions in the third trimester.

Buttigieg: That’s right, representing less than 1 percent of cases. So let’s put ourselves in the shoes of a woman in that situation. If it’s that late in your pregnancy, then almost by definition, you’ve been expecting to carry it to term. We’re talking about women who have perhaps chosen a name. Women who have purchased a crib, families that then get the most devastating medical news of their lifetime, something about the health or the life of the mother or viability of the pregnancy that forces them to make an impossible, unthinkable choice. And the bottom line is as horrible as that choice is, that woman, that family may seek spiritual guidance, they may seek medical guidance, but that decision is not going to be made any better, medically or morally, because the government is dictating how that decision should be made."

To reiterate:

Wednesday, November 07, 2018

A Poem

We took a pretty big step last night, turning the House back over to the Dems, but don't forget what we're trying to do here - "...to form a more perfect union..."

Justin Blackburn lays out of a few things that I think we should try to keep in mind:



We're up against a very stubborn (and very natural) resistance to change.

So we stay focused and we keep fighting. We can't revert to the usual - where we automatically start whining about how the Dems didn't get us every last thing our pea-pickin' little hearts desired.

I'm not saying we have to fall in line and march lockstep towards somebody else's false dreams of utopia. Be critical; hold the Dems to account, but understand there's a difference between a healthy skeptical critique and self-destructive carping.

We can't afford to indulge ourselves in the kind of pinch-faced puritanism that requires constant bitching about Pelosi and how the Dems aren't living up to our granular expectations because really, they're just GOP Lite and blah blah blah. When we fall back into that pattern, we're doing the GOP's work for them.

Stop doin' that.

Here's the working metaphor:
When your first flight was delayed to where you missed your connection, don't stand there screaming at the poor slob at the Passenger Service counter. All you're doing is taking a giant shit on the only guy in the whole fucking airport who can do something for you.

If we wanna help, then we chop the wood and we carry the water.
If we win, we chop the wood and we carry the water.
If we lose, we chop the fucking wood and we carry the fucking water.

Tired? Feeling a little worn out and frazzled? OK, take a break. 15 minutes - then it's back to work.

We've got some pretty important shit left to do here.


Saturday, October 20, 2018

Vote Ya Little Bastids

Leslie Cockburn VA-05



The basics:
  1. Get money outa politics
  2. Get carbon outa the air

Sunday, February 18, 2018

Fine, But


Hillary was such a lousy candidate it only took the entire RNC and the FBI and Wikileaks and the Russian government and 25 years of shit dropped on her by the Wingnuts to "beat" her even though she got 3 million votes more than the guy who came 2nd.

And look, kids - I'm not crazy about her either. But my first choice didn't get the nomination, so I went with the least bad. Which is what you do.

And please don't give me shit about how great Bernie is. He was my first choice because he was the least bad during the primaries.

When the Democrats "conspire" to nominate a Democrat, you can color me unsurprised.

  • Bernie got played
  • He knew it goin' in
  • He registered as a Dem
  • He played 'em back
  • He lost
  • You don't get everything you want

Can we just get past all that shit now?

Tuesday, September 12, 2017

Today's STFU

This one from BET:

Dear Famous Liberals Who Refused To Vote For Hillary Clinton,

It’s time to call bullshit on your so-called social-political revolution — one that only a person of extreme privilege has the luxury to champion. Susan Sarandon, let’s start with you. I know you were “so excited and encouraged by the idea that maybe if everything is falling apart so obviously,” we would come together as a people. But spare me your sympathies now that Judgment Day has come.

But here’s what your privilege didn’t allow you to see: we had already come together. You were just too consumed with your own righteousness to see it.


Where, pray tell, was your hashtag outrage when we were screaming at the top of our lungs that we needed your vote to secure our rights and protect our lives? Oh wait, you were screaming over us that they — Hillary and Trump — were one in the same.

So, in case you're still complaining about the "evil duopoly", and how the parties are exactly the same etc, keep this in mind: pimping the fracas internal to the Dems goes a long way to making all that true.

"Take our party back" - now why does that sound so familiar?

Sunday, August 06, 2017

Today's Quote

"There has always been a section of the left, which I call the Whiny Party - the party that really doesn't wanna win. They just wanna be pure. And if they go down swinging purely, then that's fine. Well, the problem with that is it leaves behind the people who really need their help. If we're gonna have a single-payer or Medicare For All or whatever we're gonna have in healthcare, then we all have to pull together. And people who sit out or crank on some candidate because they did this or that that wasn't to their purity test are basically turning their back on the very people they pretend to represent. So I don't have a lot of patience with this wing of the progressive party." 
--Howard Dean

Friday, July 28, 2017

McCain's Big Moment


Grampy McDumfuck has a moment in the sun as he does the right thing (also the revenge-fuck-you-45* thing) by voting no on Skinny Repeal.

Watch Chuck Schumer (grey suit, center aisle, down front) tell his troops to STFU when they start to applaud.

Saturday, June 10, 2017

Balls

I'll go ahead and call this Leadership - cuz that's what it is.


And hey "conservatives" - if you still think guys like 45* are the ones talkin' plain English and gettin' down to bidness wid it, then you're admitting to being the rubes I've been saying you are for a very long time now.

Stop volunteering for The Big Bamboozle.

Today's Tweet


And BTW - why does it seem like the Lady Dems are the ones with the real balls?

Friday, November 18, 2016

My Fantasy Is As Worthless As Yours

A rant:
I’ve got one major thing to say to you. HILLARY CLINTON DID NOT FAIL US, WE FAILED HILLARY CLINTON. Now I know, I know, she won the popular vote by almost two million votes, and I know that a lot of you were a part of that so yay go ahead and pat yourselves on the back. You done? Okay. You say she was flawed? Y’all motherfuckers didn’t DESERVE the candidate you got, and every day I watched as "progressives" posted on Facebook about how much they hated corrupt Clinton, talked about how imperfect she was as a candidate, posted articles that were flat out lies, or wrote things like #ImWithHerIGuess. Your enthusiasm for the former First Lady, Senator of New York, Secretary of State and first ever possible female President was shameful when you compare it to the enthusiasm the other side had for their “flawed” (racist homophobic tax evading possible rapist who has to make his undocumented Mexican maids wash the orange out of his bedsheets every fucking morning) candidate. If you would have just swallowed your pride and given Hillary half of the love you gave Obama, then we might not have woken up on November 9th worrying about families being torn apart, marriage licenses being taken way, guns getting into the wrong hands and women having to stay pregnant after getting raped. Does that sound too harsh? Too bad! This reality show is now our reality and we need to accept it and own our shit. We stepped in it and now its going to take at least four years to clean it off.
And to you people out there saying “Don’t blame me, I voted for Bernie”- suck a dick. Oh noooo- I’m so sorry you didn’t “like” Hillary. That’s so saaaad! I guess that’s worth this result. Your “I told you so” is so worth the millions of people who will suffer because of selfishness and pride. We all act like our nominee has to be the perfect representation of us regardless of how many years they’ve spent working tirelessly for the people. I didn’t give a shit about John Kerry, but I voted for the rest of my country. Every candidate has an email/Swift boat Veteran/Born in Kenya/Benghazi/Reverend Wright/Gennifer Flowers bullshit scandal that gets played over and over again, and for some reason we thought Hillary’s private email server (WTF is even a server?) was more damaging than Trump ADMITTING TO SEXUAL ASSAULT AND CALLING MEXICANS RAPISTS. Who’s talking about those damn emails now? NO ONE. Think about how the world must perceive us.
--snip--
And to those of you that say Bernie would have won? Suck two dicks. We look back and say that the Democrats should have focused their campaign on the white middle class and criticize Hillary for focusing on racial and gender equality. FUCK YOU!!! I am sick and tired of people making the white middle class the biggest victims in this election. Oh the Caucacity of it all! The real victims are the Black and Latino kids out there living in a trailer park eating canned food for the 4th day in a week. That was me. I know how it feels. I’m sorry, Becky, for hurting your white feelings and for being upset by your privilege, but your pain and guilt are a small price to pay for the millions out there who are struggling in this country. And we are thankful to you for trying to help - that goes without saying. White people lost limbs and lives fighting against slavery, but they knew it was caused by them and probably didn’t complain when they received criticism. If they can accept that, I’m sure you can handle it when people point out inequality and racism amongst white people in general.
Make your case for whatever you think we need to do to Make The Dems Great Again - but let's try to be sure we're not building on a foundation of unicorn farts.

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Dueling Narratives

Matt Taibbi, Rolling Stone:
Trump made idiots of us all. From the end of primary season onward, I felt sure Trump was en route to ruining, perhaps forever, the Republican Party as a force in modern American life. Now the Republicans are more dominant than ever, and it is the Democratic Party that is shattered and faces an uncertain future.
And they deserve it. The Democratic Party's failure to keep Donald Trump out of the White House in 2016 will go down as one of the all-time examples of insular arrogance. The party not only spent most of the past two years ignoring the warning signs of the Trump rebellion, but vilifying anyone who tried to point them out. It denounced all rumors of its creeping unpopularity as vulgar lies and bullied anyone who dared question its campaign strategy by calling them racists, sexists and agents of Vladimir Putin's Russia.
But the party's willful blindness symbolized a similar arrogance across the American intellectual elite. Trump's election was a true rebellion, directed at anyone perceived to be part of "the establishment." The target group included political leaders, bankers, industrialists, academics, Hollywood actors, and, of course, the media. And we all closed our eyes to what we didn't want to see.
On Friday, I almost assaulted a fan of my work. I was in the Philadelphia International Airport, and a man who recognized me from one of my appearances on a television news show approached. He thanked me for the investigative reporting I had done about Donald Trump before the election, expressed his outrage that the Republican nominee had won and then told me quite gruffly, “Get back to work.” Something about his arrogance struck me, so I asked, “Who did you vote for?”
He replied, “Well, Stein, but—” I interrupted him and said, “You’re lucky it’s illegal for me to punch you in the face.” Then, after telling him to have sex with himself—but with a much cruder term—I turned and walked away.
A certain kind of liberal makes me sick. These people traffic in false equivalencies, always pretending that both nominees are the same, justifying their apathy and not voting or preening about their narcissistic purity as they cast their ballot for a person they know cannot win. I have no problem with anyone who voted for Trump, because they wanted a Trump presidency. I have an enormous problem with anyone who voted for Trump or Stein or Johnson—or who didn’t vote at all—and who now expresses horror about the outcome of this election. If you don’t like the consequences of your own actions, shut the hell up. 

And now, South Park explains the Liberal Elite:


Knowledge, and the ability to demonstrate that knowledge, is considered snobbish. A willingness to take an active (or activist) position on any issue requiring others to change their thinking and/or their behavior is "Elitist" and will not be tolerated by the rubes Real Americans.

"We demand you make it better - at the expense of people who aren't us"

Sunday, November 13, 2016

Keep Fighting - Maybe

My inclination right now is to tell Michael Moore and Susan Sarandon (eg) - and everybody else who sat on their asses complaining about Hillary instead of chopping the wood and carrying the water - my first inclination is tell y'all to fuck off.

Show the fuck up or shut the fuck up.


I'm nowhere near as calm or as gracious as either Hillary (or Kate pretending to be Hillary).

It may be a while before I'm at all pleasant to be around.  And I'm not begging your indulgence here. I'm not asking anybody for anything - not your patience, not your understanding, nothin'. Ya pays your money and ya takes your chances.

I'll try to suck it up; rub some dirt on it; walk it off and get back in there.  Just know that if you say anything that sounds like "Told-Ya-So" or the fantasy bullshit about Bernie and unicorns and rainbows and free puppies, I'm likely to tell you to take a flying fuck at a rollin' donut.

Large percentages of American voters believe in angels and talking snakes. They think Creationism isn't much different from Evolution. Half or more of the US population can't name the 3 branches of government. 40% can't identify North America on a map. And about a third don't know that the Earth orbits the sun.

They were convinced Hillary would abolish the 2nd amendment, outlaw Christianity and convert the US to Sharia law by importing millions of Muslims from Syria to slaughter her Christian enemies. And just because she could, she'd go ahead and suspend the rest of the Constitution because Presidents don't really need that shit anyway. (I'm not making any of that up, btw - that's all from actual conversations with actual rubes over the last several months - and there's plenty more where that came from)

I think I finally get what driftglass has been saying for quite a while.

Get over the idea that a well-reasoned argument will bring the "conservatives" over to your side. You can tell 'em your Democrat or that other Democrat or this Socialist or that Independent thinks just like they do, and that if they could just listen for a minute, maybe we could make some common cause and blah blah fucking blah.

"Conservatives" have become Informationally Isolated.  Guess what happens when part of a species is totally isolated from the rest of that species? 

In a small simplistic nutshell, here's what it comes down to, Lefties: - You Are The Liberal Elite as far as the rubes are concerned. You can make as much noise as you want. You can stomp and stumble and trash the jungle, but there it is - they believe you're no different from Hillary, so You.Are.The.Liberal.Elite. 

You wanna tell everybody what they can eat and what kinda exercise they hafta do and what cars they can drive and what light bulbs they're allowed to own and on and on and on.

It doesn't matter that you're not trying to dictate anything to them - it doesn't matter that all you wanna do is convince them to give it a shot and see for themselves...what did I just say?!

They don't fucking care what's true - they only care about what they believe

Here's the kicker - as far as I'm concerned, you just handed it all over to them because you were too busy breathing your own farts, and so you didn't show up. 

I'll keep hoping the really shitty parts of this nightmare don't materialize, but now the GOP is one simple-majority vote away from changing the filibuster rule in the Senate - and then the game is fucking over. The Republic dies. And if that's how it works out, then all we're doing right now is arguing over who gets to do what with the corpse.

'Course, I'm sure you'll have a grand old time finally getting your chance to lie down in front of that tank.

Like I said, I keep hoping - and if there's any chance down the road, I suspect I'll be right back chopping wood and carrying water again, but yeah - not gonna be very pleasant for a while.

Sunday, July 31, 2016

Hillary's Big Deal

AlterNet:

1. Make economic and social justice issues 'front and center'.
Clinton made that pledge when praising Sanders and his campaign, saying that’s “where they belong… I want you to know I have heard you. Your cause is our cause. Our country needs your ideas, energy, and passion. That is the only way we can turn our progressive platform into real change for America.”

2. Comprehensive immigration reform—not Trump’s border wall. 
“We will not build a wall… When we have millions of hardworking immigrants contributing to our economy, it would be self-defeating and inhumane to try to kick them out. Comprehensive immigration reform will grow our economy and keep families together—and it’s the right thing to do… And we’ll build a path to citizenship for millions of immigrants who are already contributing to our economy.”

3. End targeting and racial profiling of Islamic Americans. 
Replying to Trump’s proposal to stop Muslims from visiting from overseas and increasing police surveillance at home, Clinton said, “We will not ban a religion. We will work with all Americans and our allies to fight and defeat terrorism.”

4. Believe in government public service and be competent. 
“So it’s true. I sweat the details of policy, whether we’re talking about the exact level of lead in the drinking water in Flint, Michigan, the number of mental health facilities in Iowa, or the cost of your prescription drugs. Because it’s not just a detail if it’s your kid, if it’s your family. It’s a big deal. And it should be a big deal to your president, too.”

5. Make it a top task to revive America’s economically stagnant regions. 
“My primary mission as president will be to create more opportunity and more good jobs with rising wages right here in the United States… Especially in places that for too long have been left out and left behind. From our inner cities to our small towns, from Indian country to coal country. From communities ravaged by addiction to regions hollowed out by plant closures.”

6. Reform campaign finance as the key to changing the economy. 
“I believe our economy isn’t working the way it should because our democracy isn’t working the way it should. That’s why we need to appoint Supreme Court justices who will get money out of politics and expand voting rights, not restrict them. And if necessary, we will pass a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United.”

7. Hold corporations accountable and have them pay a fair share of taxes. 
“I believe American corporations that have gotten so much from our country should be just as patriotic in return. Many of them are, but too many aren’t. It’s wrong to take tax breaks with one hand and give out pink slips with the other. And I believe Wall Street can never, ever be allowed to wreck Main Street again.”

8. Oppose trade agreements that privilege corporations above everyone else. 
“If you believe that we should say no to unfair trade deals; that we should stand up to China; that we should support our steelworkers and autoworkers and homegrown manufacturers, then join us.”

9. Climate change is real, and the solution is a new energy infrastructure. 
“I believe in science. I believe that climate change is real and that we can save our planet while creating millions of good-paying, clean energy jobs.”

10. Achieve a higher standard of living, starting with higher minimum wage. 
“If you believe that companies should share profits, not pad executive bonuses, join us. If you believe the minimum wage should be a living wage, and no one working full-time should have to raise their children in poverty, join us.”

11. Expand Obamacare and a health care safety net. 
“If you believe that every man, woman, and child in America has the right to affordable health care, join us!"

12. Raise Social Security benefits. 
“We should expand Social Security.”

13. Protect reproductive rights. 
We should “protect a woman’s right to make her own heath care decisions,” Clinton said.

14. Make sure women get equal pay for equal work. 
“If you believe that your working mother, wife, sister, or daughter deserves equal pay, join us. That’s how we’re going to make sure this economy works for everyone, not just those at the top.”

15. Make the biggest infrastructure investment in decades. 
“In my first 100 days, we will work with both parties to pass the biggest investment in new, good-paying jobs since World War II. Jobs in manufacturing, clean energy, technology and innovation, small business, and infrastructure. If we invest in infrastructure now, we’ll not only create jobs today, but lay the foundation for the jobs of the future.”

16. Make public universities tuition-free for most. 
“Bernie Sanders and I will work together to make college tuition-free for the middle class and debt-free for all.”

17. Cut and restructure student debt. 
“We will also liberate millions of people who already have student debt.”

18. Expand job and trade skill programs. 
“Sure, college is crucial, but a four-year degree should not be the only path to a good job. We will help more people learn a skill or practice a trade and make a good living doing it.”

19. Open up lending options for small businesses. 
“We will give small businesses, like my dad’s, a boost, make it easier to get credit. Way too many dreams die in the parking lots of banks. In America, if you can dream it, you should be able to build it.”

20. Tax the rich to pay for these public programs. 
“We’re going to pay for every single one of them. And here’s how. Wall Street, corporations and the super-rich are going to start paying their fair share of taxes. This is not because we resent success, but when more than 90 percent of the gains have gone to the top 1 percent, that’s where the money is.”

21. Track down tax evaders and make them pay. 
“We are going to follow the money. And if companies take tax breaks and then ship jobs overseas, we’ll make them pay us back. And we’ll put that money to work where it belongs: creating jobs here at home.”

22. Get military-style weapons off the street through new gun controls. 
“I’m not here to repeal the Second Amendment. I’m not here to take away your guns. I just don’t want you to be shot by someone who shouldn’t have a gun in the first place. We will work tirelessly with responsible gun owners to pass commonsense reforms and keep guns out of the hands of criminals, terrorists, and all others who would do us harm.”

23. Work to heal divides on race and bigotry. 
“That starts with listening—listening to each other, trying as best we can to walk in each other’s shoes. So let’s put ourselves in the shoes of young black and Latino men and women who face the effects of systemic racism and are made to feel like their lives are disposable. Let’s put ourselves in the shoes of police officers, kissing their kids and spouses goodbye every day and heading off to do a dangerous and necessary job.”

24. Enact criminal justice reform and address abusive policing. 
“We will reform our criminal justice system from end to end, and rebuild trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve.”

25. Protect civil rights and liberties, including LGBT rights. 
“We will defend all our rights: civil rights, human rights, and voting rights; women’s rights and workers’ rights; LGBT rights and the rights of people with disabilities. And we will stand up against mean and divisive rhetoric wherever it comes from.”