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My favorite bar DJ's was where I90 and 151 intersect.... saw so many good bands there.....The Big Thing......Chicago before they were big played 7 niters there, Baby Huey and the Babysitters were incredible, Hollywood Argyles lol....Lived on State St during the protests.....never went anywhere without my wet rag.
Wow, 1969 in Madison was some pretty crazy times. When did you leave?
Bill Maher.... It's been almost a month, will I ever get used to Trump? Fuck no. It's like watching a toddler playing with a gun - you're always nervous.
OT, question for the board.... Best stocks for Christmas gifts for kids????? please no hype
Steve Winwood - English Soul (BBC 4 Documentary)
The Heavy - What Makes A Good Man? / How You Like Me Now? (Late Show with David Letterman)
I think it's adorable that conservatives are complaining that THEY never protested Obama and showed the office of POTUS the kind of disrespect Trump is receiving as if the internet does not save EVERYTHING they've ever done. The "liberal" press will surely forget about that in short order when they start calling it "unprecedented obstruction" from the Democrats.
Now we know how Trump can lie and get away with it: Conservatives and the "liberal" press have the memories of goldfish.
I will continue to wear mine as a small show of support, it isn't much but I do believe in what it stands for.
dammmm, missed it.
sweeeet!
my bet is you also fall for every pump n dump that comes along.
how does it feel to be too stupid to know you've been conned by the dumpster.
whose That Lady - Isley Bros
The Sound of Silence - Disturbed
Don't Cry My Love....The Impressions
One of my favorite things.....NPR's Chapter a Day...please continue
Am I missing something here, James Brown was nothing without his band
Ha, That one might just be the one that pushed me over the edge into musicland, never to return
look forward to hearing that story!
Day, Thomas, Si Woo Kim, Garcia, Grace, Fowler, Mcilroy Willett, Stricker, & Kelly
Thx
nugget!
The problem became that Trump’s racism and xenophobic rhetoric became popular with the low-hanging fruit of America and the stupid began coming out in droves to support him.
http://winningdemocrats.com/trumps-top-strategist-just-quit-and-wrote-an-open-letter-admitting-hes-a-liar-and-a-fraud/
Donald Trump’s campaign was never meant to be more than a second-place wake-up call for America; a “hey, we’re tired of the establishment” movement. Trump’s communications director Stephanie Cegielski has officially resigned from the campaign and penned an open letter to those who support him explaining exactly what the campaign was supposed to be and how absurd it has become.
She sat in Trump tower and helped strategize how The Donald would manage 12 percent of the vote and a strong second place showing that would convince the establishment that the American people were tired of the status quo and ruffle some feathers for the good of the country. The problem became that Trump’s racism and xenophobic rhetoric became popular with the low-hanging fruit of America and the stupid began coming out in droves to support him.
Trump’s ego took over when he learned that bully tactics, fear and hate were easy ways to control the masses of imbeciles the right had amassed over the past decade with Tea Party politics and, go figure, bully tactics and fear.
This very telling letter is rather long. Winning Democrats contemplated using excerpts to make it more reader-friendly, but we decided it needs to be distributed in its entirety. Being that the letter comes from the woman hired to craft The Donald’s message makes it a noteworthy event that if properly disseminated could mean the end of Trump for good.
An Open Letter to Trump Voters from His Top Strategist-Turned-Defector
Even Trump’s most trusted advisors didn’t expect him to fare this well. Almost a year ago, recruited for my public relations and public policy expertise, I sat in Trump Tower being told that the goal was to get The Donald to poll in double digits and come in second in delegate count. That was it. The Trump camp would have been satisfied to see him polling at 12% and taking second place to a candidate who might hold 50%. His candidacy was a protest candidacy.
It pains me to say, but he is the presidential equivalent of Sanjaya on American Idol. President Trump would be President Sanjaya in terms of legitimacy and authority. And I am now taking full responsibility for helping create this monster — and reaching out directly to those voters who, like me, wanted Trump to be the real deal.
My support for Trump began probably like yours did. Similar to so many other Americans, I was tired of the rhetoric in Washington. Negativity and stubbornness were at an all-time high, and the presidential prospects didn’t look promising.
In 2015, I fell in love with the idea of the protest candidate who was not bought by corporations. A man who sat in a Manhattan high-rise he had built, making waves as a straight talker with a business background, full of successes and failures, who wanted America to return to greatness.
I was sold. Last summer, I signed on as the Communications Director of the Make America Great Again Super PAC. It was still early in the Trump campaign, and we hit the ground running. His biggest competitor had more than $100 million in a Super PAC. The Jeb Bush deep pockets looked to be the biggest obstacle we faced. We seemed to be up against a steep challenge, especially since a big part of the appeal of a Trump candidacy was not being influenced by PAC money.
After the first debate, I was more anxious than ever to support Trump. The exchange with Megyn Kelly was like manna from heaven for a communications director. She appeared like yet another reporter trying to kick out the guest who wasn’t invited to the party. At the time, I felt excited for the change to the debate he could bring. I began realizing the man really resonates with the masses and would bring people to the process who had never participated before.
That was inspiring to me. It wasn’t long before every day I awoke to a buzzing phone and a shaking head because Trump had said something politically incorrect the night before. I have been around politics long enough to know that the other side will pounce on any and every opportunity to smear a candidate.
But something surprising and absolutely unexpected happened. Every other candidate misestimated the anger and outrage of the “silent majority” of Americans who are not a part of the liberal elite. So with each statement came a jump in the polls. Just when I thought we were finished, The Donald gained more popularity.
I don’t think even Trump thought he would get this far. And I don’t even know that he wanted to, which is perhaps the scariest prospect of all.
He certainly was never prepared or equipped to go all the way to the White House, but his ego has now taken over the driver’s seat, and nothing else matters. The Donald does not fail. The Donald does not have any weakness. The Donald is his own biggest enemy. A devastating terrorist attack in Pakistan targeting Christians occurred on Easter Sunday, and Trump’s response was to tweet, “Another radical Islamic attack, this time in Pakistan, targeting Christian women & children. At least 67 dead, 400 injured. I alone can solve.”
Ignoring the fact that at the time Trump tweeted this (time-stamped 4:37 p.m.) the latest news reports had already placed the number differently at 70 dead, 300 injured, take a moment to appreciate the ridiculous, cartoonish, almost childish arrogance of saying that he alone can solve. Does Trump think that he is making a cameo on Wrestlemania (yes, one of his actual credits)?
This is not how foreign policy works. For anyone. Ever. Superhero powers where “I alone can solve” problems are not real. They do not exist for Batman, for Superman, for Wrestlemania and definitely not for Donald Trump.
What was once Trump’s desire to rank second place to send a message to America and to increase his power as a businessman has nightmarishly morphed into a charade that is poised to do irreparable damage to this country if we do not stop this campaign in its tracks.
I’ll say it again: Trump never intended to be the candidate. But his pride is too out of control to stop him now. You can give Trump the biggest gift possible if you are a Trump supporter: stop supporting him.
He doesn’t want the White House. He just wants to be able to say that he could have run the White House. He’s achieved that already and then some. If there is any question, take it from someone who was recruited to help the candidate succeed, and initially very much wanted him to do so.
The hard truth is: Trump only cares about Trump. And if you are one of the disaffected voters — one of the silent majority like me — who wanted a candidate who could be your voice, I want to speak directly to you as one of his biggest advocates and supporters.
He is not that voice. He is not your voice. He is only Trump’s voice. Trump is about Trump. Not one of his many wives. Not one of his many “pieces of ass.” He is, at heart, a self-preservationist.
In fact, many people are not aware of the Trump campaign’s internal slogan, but I will tell you. It is stolen from a make-believe television presidency on The West Wing where Martin Sheen portrayed President Bartlet. The slogan on the show amongst the idealistic group of Bartlet’s staff was “Let Bartlet Be Bartlet.”
Inside the Trump camp, the slogan became “Let Trump Be Trump.”
It is a repurposed slogan that seemed spot-on for the candidate. He is an intelligent, charismatic man who is involved in every aspect of his organization and would rather speak from the cuff than read briefing notes and recite them. I, in fact, admire Trump for this. But saying this qualifies him to be president is like saying that Seth Rogan is suited to be president. Another extraordinary improviser, not an extraordinary presidential candidate.
Trump has undoubtedly lived up to the slogan, right down to his main public-relations liaison. Rather than go for a focus-group Washington insider, his communications person had previously taken press calls for the Trump Organization and directed them to the appropriate Trump child. She joked that before joining the campaign she thought “Common Core” was a class at Equinox.
The primary problem with this? What I’ve seen the longer I’ve helped prop him up along with the millions who are helping Trump is that we got the slogan wrong. A more accurate internal slogan would read, “Let Trump Help Trump.”
I don’t dismiss any single Trump constituent, which is why I believe it’s important to let you know that the candidate does.
I, too, think our country has gone off track in its values. I, too, think that we need a dramatic change of course. But I am, in my heart, a policy wonk and a believer in coming to the table with necessary knowledge for leading the free world.
The man does not know policy, nor does he have the humility to admit what he does not know — the most frightening position of all.
I remember watching the second Trump debate and thinking, After this, he is going to have to start hammering it home on policy; the country needs substance to make an informed decision.
I wished for it six months ago and am still waiting for it today. He had an opportunity after the terror attacks in Belgium and instead he used the opportunity to talk about closing the borders and what a mess that country had become. I was appalled that he offered no condolences or words of support; he merely gave his “build a wall” stump speech and talked about his greatness.
I felt sad for him at that moment.
And now, with the latest horrifying terror attack in Pakistan, my sadness has turned into anger.
I consider myself a part of the silent majority that led to Trump’s rise, which is why I want you to know that I am with you — I wanted Trump to be real, too.
He is not.
He even says so himself. His misogyny? That’s the character.
His presidential candidacy? That’s a character, too.
The problem with characters is they are the stuff of soap operas and sitcoms and reality competitions — not political legacies.
Trump made me believe. Until I woke up. And he has no problem abusing your support the same way he cheated hard-working men and women out of millions of dollars, for which he is now being sued.
I came into this eager to support a savvy businessman who received little outside funding. I loved Trump’s outsider status. But a year has now passed since I was first approached to become part of Team Trump.
While the pundits pontificated about what type of PR stunt Trump had up his billion-dollar sleeves, I met with people who convinced me he was serious about changing the political conversation. I wanted to raise millions for him. I wanted to contribute to millions of votes.
And as part of that support, in October, I supported the internal decision to close the Super PAC in order to position him as the quintessential non-politician. I still supported him with great passion after that. The decision to close the Super PAC was part of that devotion to his message of outsider change.
But something was shifting.
Without intending to do so, I began to hear and evaluate him more critically and skeptically as a member of the voting public rather than a communications person charged with protecting his positions.
I no longer felt that he was the leader the country was looking for, and I found myself longing — aching, really — for policy substance that went beyond building a wall and making Mexico pay for it. What were once bold — although controversial — statements now seemed to be attempts to please the crowds, not direction to lead this country to a better place. I began to realize his arrogance and isolation had taken over and were now controlling his message.
And here’s what he tapped into: the unprecedented, unbelievable anger.
Because we are all angry — and we all have a right to be. But Trump is not our champion. He would stab any one of his supporters in the back if it earned him a cent more in his pocket.
Unfortunately, the more vitriolic Trump has become, the more the people responded to him. That drove him to push the boundaries further and further.
I also started seeing a trend of incompetence and deniability.
When there was a tweet that contained an error, he would blame it on an intern; when there was a photo containing a World War II Nazi Germany background, he would blame it on an intern; when he answered questions in an overtly controversial fashion, he would claim that he did not properly hear the question. He refused to take responsibility for his actions while frequently demanding apologies from others.
Imagine Trump wronged you, even in the smallest possible way. He would go to the grave denying he had ever done anything wrong to you — ever.
Trump acts as if he’s a fictional character. But like Hercules, Donald Trump isa work of fiction.
No matter how many times he repeats it, Trump would not be the “best” at being a president, being in shape, fighting terrorism, selling steaks, and whatever other “best” claim he has made in the last 15 minutes.
He would be the best at something, though. He is the best at looking out for Donald Trump — at all costs.
Don’t let our country pay that price.
Rory, Sergio, Fowler, Holmes,& Stricker.............280
One of my favorite blogs.....
http://www.stonekettle.com/2016/07/the-decider.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+StonekettleStation+%28Stonekettle+Station%29
Saturday, July 23, 2016
The Decider
So, it's Tim Kaine.
You know, that's a fascinating choice.
Hillary Clinton announced today that her running mate will be Virginia senator Tim Kaine.
That is a fantastic choice.
More, it’s a testament to her character and it says a great deal about how Hillary Clinton not only sees the world, but Americans in general.
In particular the choice of Tim Kaine tells you what Hillary Clinton thinks of her supporters.
And it’s a hell of a compliment.
You see, Donald Trump picked Mike Pence specifically because Pence appeals viscerally to the worst elements of the Republican base.
It’s obvious.
There's nothing even vaguely complicated or nuanced about Mike Pence at all.
There's no risk whatsoever for Trump in Pence.
Pence was the safe choice.
Pence is anti-everything. He's Anti-immigrant (including birthright citizenship), Anti-Federal Reserve (and all the Glenn Beck conspiracy nuts cheered), Anti-tax (he's a flat-tax guy and the conservative libertarians just wet themselves in glee), Anti-Education, Anti-EPA and a climate change denier, Anti-renewable energy (fossil fuels all the way and drill baby drill), Anti-Iran Deal, Anti-healthcare, Anti-abortion, Anti-stem cell research, Anti-evolution, Anti-Science, Anti-sex education, Anti-LGBT.
About the only thing Mike Pence is for is God, Guns, and War and not necessarily in that order.
Mike Pence wasn't a complicated decision, there’s nothing subtle or nuanced about his selection. Which figures, given that Trump is about as subtle and nuanced as a drunk at a frat party dancing on the table with a bra on his head.
Mike Pence is the clanking mechanical heart of the Party of No.
Trump picked Pence specifically because when he looks out at the chanting crowd Trump sees a simple, uncomplicated black and white world, us and them.
There are Stormtrumpers and there are enemies and there ain’t nothing else.
He picked Pence specifically because he doesn't think very much of his supporters' ability to grasp complex issues.
They're the howling mob, they’re the people who think Celebrity Apprentice is highbrow entertainment. Trump knows it’s not. He knows what kind of people watch his TV shows and visit his casinos and golf clubs. Those people are cash cows, marks, not his friends.
Trump’s base understands one thing: no. No. No. No. No immigrants. No abortion. No evolution. No big government. No Taxes. No deals with Iran or Russia. No liberals. No compromise.
They understand single syllable words, wall, war, gun, God and not necessarily in that order.
And Mike Pence is that guy.
Donald Trump picked Mike Pence specifically because he is that guy.
He is that guy. No. No. And no.
He's a more dignified (if that word has any meaning here) and well spoken version of Sarah Palin and he was picked for the same reason, because he appeals viscerally and emotionally to the very worst and most extreme elements of the Republican Party.
Trump isn't stupid, he just plays stupid on TV because that's the demographic he's aiming for. That’s who he thinks his supporters are.
And Tim Kaine?
Kaine is the anti-Pence.
Tim Kaine is why you should vote for Hillary Clinton – even if you hate her. Even if you hate everything about her.
You see, the Presidency is about choice.
The Office of the President, more than anything else, is about decisions.
George W. Bush was right, he was The Decider.
He just made shitty decisions.
The President is the decider.
And choice of running mate is a potential president’s very first major decision.
Who a candidate chooses tells you a lot of what you need to know right up front.
Trump’s selection of Mike Pence shows you exactly how his future decisions will go. They’ll be simple. Us and them. Black and white. You’re either with us or you’re against us. And made specifically because they appeal to the people keeping President Trump in power and for no other reason. There’s nothing else behind his decision. Nothing. He’s a guy who rose to fame on popularity and he doesn’t have any other move. None.
Now, take a minute and extrapolate…
…to the Supreme Court
…to foreign relations
…to the economy
…to healthcare, education, religion
…to war and peace.
You are unlikely in the extreme to see the reasoned and careful decisions of the last eight years under a Trump Administration.
Which brings us to Tim Kaine.
Unlike Pence, Tim Kaine is many shades of grey.
His choice as running mate shows careful, in-depth, strategic analysis on Clinton's part.
The kind of careful, deliberate, in-depth, strategic analysis you want from a president.
Kaine is a democratic Senator from Virginia. A state of military bases and conservative ideals. Think about that, think about what it takes to get elected as a democrat in Virginia. Kaine has a reputation as a decent forthright honest upstanding guy, bi-partisan, willing to work with conservatives and liberals with equal enthusiasm – those traits make Kaine well liked by his colleagues in the Senate, on both sides of the aisle.
And that is a damned rare thing nowadays.
Imagine a Senate, a Congress made up of guys like Kaine. Imagine how different our world would be today. How much better.
Strategically, Kaine is from Virginia. If Clinton wins the White House, Virginia’s democratic governor will appoint Kaine’s replacement in the Senate. If Clinton had chosen Elizabeth Warren or Sherrod Brown, their replacements would have been Republicans – in a Senate with a Republican majority. Did you think about that? It’s not enough to win the White House, not if you really want to do all those things Bernie talked about. You have to win back Congress too and starting out another point down isn’t the smartest way to go about that.
Clinton and her team are playing the long game, making strategic decisions that will win the war, not just the current dust up. She could have picked Warren or Sherrod or even Bernie Sanders. But she didn’t. Leadership isn’t about giving people what they want, it’s about doing the right thing for the right reasons.
Tim Kaine is the right thing. For all the right reasons.
This morning I’m seeing Bernie supporters saying things like, “Guess Hillary doesn’t want our votes after all, screw her.”
I’m seeing progressives saying the same thing. They’re telling me, hey, look at this, see? Tim Kaine is pro-bank deregulation and supports the Trans-Pacific Partnership and, holy shit, he’s a Catholic and therefore he’s obviously anti-abortion!
And I can see their point of view. I can.
But Tim Kaine is not Mike Pence.
And you have to look beyond the surface.
Kaine has spent his entire professional and political life fighting for civil rights.
In a lot of ways he’s done the things Bernie Sanders has only talked about.
Don’t get me wrong here, I’m not bashing Sanders. I’m not. I’m asking you to look a little deeper, hell, a lot deeper.
What I’m saying is if you actually look at Kaine in depth, as Clinton obviously did, you’ll see that she is very much listening. Perhaps that’s why Bernie Sanders himself endorsed her.
Maybe, if you look at Tim Kaine, you’ll see Bernie didn’t sell you out after all. Maybe, just maybe, you were right about him all along.
Look here, as a lawyer, Kaine spent two decades representing poor people who had been discriminated against in housing and employment based on race and disability. He won landmark cases and changed the law regarding fair housing, employment, and representation for minorities – and a lot of that was pro bono.
That’s the kind of thing Sanders talks about regularly, isn’t it? Kaine didn’t just talk about it, he did it.
He changed the world for the better.
He made the world a better place for a hell of a lot of people. Down in the trenches and the tenements where it counts.
Kaine took that experience and taught others. Literally. He taught legal ethics at the University of Richmond School of Law for six years. He was a founding member of the Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness. Again, these are very things Bernie talks about. Kaine is out there doing them.
As Mayor of Richmond Kaine was the first white man in that position in more than ten years, chosen by the majority black city council in no small part for his record fighting for equality and civil rights. Because Kaine didn’t just talk about civil rights and equality and race, he leads on all fronts by example – as Bernie does. Kaine turned Richmond around, he renovated schools in poor neighborhoods and built new ones, he gave tax breaks to projects that directly benefited the city and opposed tax increases that didn’t, he brought back business and jobs, and his policies reduced gun crimes by more than 55%. Under Kaine, Richmond went from poverty and crime to being named one of the 10 Best Cities in America to do Business by Forbes – and the key to all of that was Kaine’s commitment to and leadership on racial reconciliation.
Tell me, is that not something Bernie Sanders would enthusiastically support?
You know what the biggest controversy of Kaine’s tenure as Mayor of Richmond was?
He spent $6,000 in public funds on buses to send citizens to the Million Mom March against Gun Violence in Washington D.C.
When pro-gun elements funded by the National Rifle Association tried to make something of it, Kaine raised money privately and paid the city back with interest for use of the buses and took the wind right out of the NRA’s sails. That’s right, Kaine himself paid to send citizens concerned about gun violence to Washington so their voices would be heard. Sounds like something Bernie would do, doesn’t it? And for all the right reasons.
As governor of Virginia, one of the largest and oldest tobacco producing states, Kaine banned smoking in public venues – Making Virginia the first Southern state to do so.
Now you think about that.
This guy faced down the NRA and the Tobacco Lobby on their own home turf and won.
Kaine isn’t a guy who does a thing because it’s popular, he does it because it’s the right thing to do. Who’s that remind you of?
And then Kaine went to the Senate.
And one of his very first acts on Capitol Hill was to deliver a speech on the Senate floor in support of the bipartisan "Gang of Eight" immigration bill. Kaine gave the speech entirely in Spanish. The first time in the history of the United States that a speech was given by a Senator on the Floor in any language other than English.
As a senator Kaine has spoken out strongly against Citizen’s United. He supports strong regulation of the financial industry and he supports Dodd-Frank – while at the same time acknowledging banking industry concerns and suggesting that a vibrant economy requires balance. He’s a vocal supporter of immigration and has been one of President Obama’s biggest supporters in this area.
And then there’s abortion:
"I have a traditional Catholic personal position, but I am very strongly supportive that women should make these decisions and government shouldn't intrude. I'm a strong supporter of Roe v. Wade and women being able to make these decisions. In government, we have enough things to worry about. We don't need to make people's reproductive decisions for them."
Here’s a man who, for religious reasons, cannot himself support abortion, but who believes – and openly says so – that his beliefs should not be forced upon others. This is a man who believes in actual liberty, the actual right to choose, and actual freedom of religion.
This is an example for every American to aspire to.
On nearly every topic near and dear to liberal and progressive hearts, and many moderate conservative ones as well, Tim Kaine sets the example. Gay rights, war, the economy, the environment, energy, climate, education, civil rights, gun violence and gun rights, crime, taxes, this guy leads the way in every case.
Yes, Kaine has expressed pro-business and pro-trade ideas. Business and trade are part of America and as an American you should want both to be strong and vibrant. But if you look at Kaine’s statements in detail you’ll see that the difference between Kaine’s pro-business stance and that of Trump/Pence is that he doesn’t believe business should come at the expense of people and his record in every detail proves that all the way back to Richmond. Liberals, Progressives, Conservatives, and Libertarians can all find something to agree on in there.
Hell, if Tim Kaine was running for President instead of Clinton or Trump, I’d vote for him.
Kaine is the anti-Pence.
Tim Kaine is a brilliant choice by Hillary Clinton.
Tim Kaine shows you that she is listening to your concerns.
She is listening to Bernie supporters and taking them seriously, but she’s also the kind of leader who is going to make the right choice for the right reasons and not because it panders to popularity. And that matters.
She’s also listening to conservatives who hate and despise Trump and Pence and she’s going to have to win over those people not only to win the White House but because it’s the only way to move the country forward again.
And she’s listening to herself. To reason. To strategy. To long term goals. To doing what’s right instead of what’s popular.
Trump listens only to the cheers of the mob.
The Supreme Court.
Foreign relations.
The economy, healthcare, education, religion, civil rights, war and peace, the role of government, the role of religion, race, gender, identity, climate, science, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Those are the things in play here.
With the Supreme Court alone, the next president will decide the nature of America for decades to come.
With Kaine, Clinton has shown you what kind of Decider she’ll be.
With Pence, Trump has shown you the very same thing.
The choices – and the consequences – could not be more clear.
It is now time for you to decide for yourself want kind of Decider you are.
Posted by Jim Wright at 8:33 AM
at a time when I'm searching for reasons to like this pick I think my cousin makes some good points......again FWIW....
Cory Knobel
18 hrs · Long Beach, CA ·
Tim Kaine as VP pick...is one of the most strategically smart choices Hillary Clinton could have made with respect to Elizabeth Warren. People in my network are posting a lot of "Kaine isn't exciting. Warren would have impassioned me." sentiments. Fair enough, but I think there's a larger, longer-term set of issues at play here. The VP pick may not excite or entertain (and I'd suggest that the fact that we expect our candidates to fulfill our insatiable need for entertainment bends toward the pathological), but the job of a VP isn't particularly exciting.
The US Constitution itself limits the powers of the VP to (1) assuming the role of president, should the president be rendered unable to serve, and (2) presiding over the Senate, casting a deciding vote in the event of a tie. That's it. That's all. And while Vice Presidents have taken on other responsibilities at the behest of the President, the office has a history of working in the background.
That would be an extreme waste of Elizabeth Warren's visibility, potential, strength, and notably, her economic acumen.
Not being chosen as VP leaves Warren available for something far more powerful - Secretary of the Treasury. You want progressive transformation to the way Wall Street is regulated? Warren has the potential to wield the power of the Treasury in ways unseen in contemporary times. She's a fierce economic mind and financial policy genius with an advocacy streak cut from the same cloth as Alexander Hamilton.
Hillary Clinton, for whatever virtues or vices we want to highlight, has shown herself to be a long-term strategist with pieces on the board everywhere. Warren in a transformative financial and policy role potentially sets her up to be a stronger Presidential candidate in the future than letting her languish offstage as VP for four or eight years.
Now it's up to Clinton to pick her cabinet smartly if elected. I suspect several of the people vetted for VP that excited people - Warren, Booker, Perez, Castro - may be named to a new cabinet in roles that allow them to shine far brighter than a term or two as VP would.
Alabama Shakes - Don't Wanna Fight (Official Video - Live from Capitol Studio A)
THE CALIFORNIA HONEYDROPS - "Don't Let the Green Grass Fool You" (Live in New Orleans) #JAMINTHEVAN
FWIW......
The Progressive Case For Tim Kaine As VP
Like a lot of Virginians, I’ve had to chuckle a bit at the way Virginia Senator Tim Kaine has been portrayed since rising to the top of Secretary Clinton’s VP short list. Apparently, the gods of conventional wisdom have decided Kaine is a “boring,” “safe,” “centrist” pick whose “DINO” positions may make him anathema to the Sanders base. Oh really? Because I can assure you as a native Virginian, this caricature doesn’t at all fit the man I’ve watched over nearly 20 years. In fact, the consistent knock on him in every election in Virginia has been that he was too liberal! This was such an issue that when Kaine was elected Lieutenant Governor under Mark Warner in 2001, Warner used their first joint press conference to distance himself from the controversial, left-leaning Kaine. So before you allow the national media topline and Kaine’s status as a white Southern man to lull you into a quick judgment, here are a few things you should know about why this Bernie broad loves Tim Kaine.
Kaine is the son of a welder who graduated from a Jesuit high school, flew through University of Missouri and then landed at Harvard Law. While his classmates were hanging out in Cambridge fielding offers from big firms, Kaine took a year off to do mission work in Honduras where he worked with young boys growing up in brutal poverty. The year abroad left him fluent in Spanish and with a deep commitment to using his Harvard law degree for the public good. After law school he made good on his commitment to service and rather than cashing in on his degree, spent much of his legal career fighting against housing discrimination. Now you just tell me, does that sound like the bio of a chamber-backed, blue dog, corporate Dem?
Ahh but perhaps Kaine abandoned all his lofty principles in a quest for political power in a conservative Southern state! If that’s your concern, perhaps you should just ask the NRA how they feel about Tim Kaine. Here’s how his elections in Virginia typically go: the NRA gives him an F rating, fear mongers about how he’s going to take everyone’s guns, spends massively against him, and then Tim goes on to win anyway. Keep in mind, the NRA is literally headquartered in Virginia. If they are powerful anywhere they are powerful in the Old Dominion but that didn’t stop Kaine from signing an executive order following the Virginia Tech massacre to keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill. It also didn’t stop him from pushing additional gun control measures as governor like eliminating the gun show loophole and it hasn’t stopped him as Senator from continuing to lead the charge for sensible rules like increased background checks. As someone who ran for Congress, in Virginia, I can tell you that perhaps the definition of political courage for a Southern Dem is willingness to buck the gun lobby. Tim Kaine has been unflinching.
Maybe though, Kaine was able to be bold on guns because he was right of center on everything else. Yeah, not so much. In Virginia, Kaine raised taxes, spearheaded efforts for universal pre-K, made Virginia the first Southern state to ban smoking in public places, and consistently opposed the death penalty. Let me repeat that last one. Tim Kaine consistently opposed the death penalty in a state that trails only Texas in number of executions. As governor, he bucked the prevailing law and order winds and vetoed eight different bills that would have expanded capital punishment. The issue was front and center in his gubernatorial race but he stuck to the Catholic values that have guided his life and never backed down.
Speaking of Catholic values, shouldn’t pro-choice progressives be terrified of Tim Kaine on the ticket? After all, he has said he is personally opposed to abortion. If you didn’t look any further, then a pro-choice feminist like myself might have cause for concern. Continue digging just one inch deeper though and you’ll find that Kaine has consistently supported Roe v Wade. In the Senate, he actually enjoys a 100 percent rating from Planned Parenthood. Based on Kaine’s record, it seems he would be entirely comfortable backing Hillary Clinton’s strongly pro-choice positions and in the unlikely event he would find himself President and making Supreme Court picks, there is every reason to expect Kaine would seek out Justices who would uphold Roe. He has been quite clear that while he may have his own personal objections to abortion, he has no interest in policing the lives of others. I, for what it’s worth, have no interest in policing the thoughts of others. Kaine doesn’t want to control my body and I don’t want to control his mind, so we’re all good there.
But, but, but Kaine is so boring! Surely he won’t bring the energy the ticket needs to win, right? If you think so, here’s something to consider: Tim Kaine has won every single election he’s ever run in. He’s won everything from Mayor of the majority African-American city of Richmond, to governor of a conservative Southern state. In fact, Kaine was a big part of turning Virginia into the state we see today which went twice for Obama and currently has a Democrat in every single statewide office. Bernie Sanders has himself said that we’ve got to do everything we can to defeat Donald Trump. Tim Kaine could be a real asset in that regard. Obviously, he’s from an important swing state but the way Kaine won in Virginia is important too. He precisely targeted and outperformed in the kind of suburban and exurban counties where Republican leaning voters may be feeling the most uncomfortable with the charlatan who has won the Republican presidential nomination.
Look, anyone who has served as long and in as many ways as Tim Kaine is going to have taken positions you don’t agree with. I’m not saying the guy is perfect. But having watched a long time and gotten to see the man up close, I can tell you he is courageous, principled, and value driven. I can also tell you that this progressive who begged HRC not to run and drove 12 hours to be able to vote for Bernie would be delighted to see him on the Dem ticket. He won over skeptical Virginians when it was supposedly impossible. I’d love to see what he can do to help Secretary Clinton win over America.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/krystal-ball/the-progressive-case-for-_2_b_10773840.html
Boz Live 2004)
Little Green Apples By Paul Williams Of The Temptations
DJ, Scott, Garcia, Fitzpatrick, Cabera-Bello....270....gl all
Marvin Gaye.."What's Going On"...Motown 25..1983
St. Paul and the Broken Bones "Everybody Knows (The River Song)"
Ray Lamontagne - Three More Days
Got To Give It Up Marvin Gaye
Stubborn Kind Of Fellow Marvin Gaye
The Tams / What Kind Of Fool Do You Think I Am
Whos That Lady? - Donald Fagen, Michael McDonald, Boz Scaggs - The Dukes of September - Live 2014
Boz Scaggs - I just go ( live version )
Mcilroy, DJ, Willet, Reed, Rose....280
thx for the game...gl