Replies to post #237628 on Tornado Alley (PROG)

[StephanieVanbryce]

Their top three Presidential candidates are a corporate sophist, a deluded neurosurgeon, and Carly Freaking Fiorina
.........................and YOU THINK Bernie and Hill are toxic?

Dear Dem Officials-We Don't Need A Rescue By You, But FROM You!

by Vrob
Thu Sep 10, 2015 at 07:57 AM PDT

Enjoying the mornin' interwebs I found my my back here where I saw psychodrew
s post about Bernie taking the lead from Hillary in Iowa. I suppose if one actually campaigns rather than just makes think tank speeches-that makes a difference in a campaign..

No matter, I see a good woman and strong leader being given bad advice, or just being bad at politics. Spouting a foreign policy that I will refer to as "$200 a Barrel Oil," she is not connecting with me anymore. But this is about policy. For me this election has always been about policy. All elections are. And I will not badmouth a woman personally who has made significant contributions to the betterment of our nation. That said..

It is not just Mrs. Clinton’s weakness in the polls that has generated talk of other alternatives, but also the strength of Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who is routinely drawing huge crowds at campaign events. That has been disconcerting to Democratic officials who believe that Mr. Sanders, a socialist, is so liberal that his presence at the top of the party’s ticket in 2016 would be disastrous.

The Democratic Party is built on frankly, FDR New Dealism. Oh fuck it, it is built on socialism. That lovely Scandinavian principle that calls for guaranteed base incomes, equal opportunity, free college, and the highest fucking standards of living in the world. So the above quote, from the NYTimes, [ http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/10/us/politics/big-name-plan-bs-for-democrats-concerned-about-hillary-clinton.html?_r=1 ] is basically saying "Party afraid of running on own platform seeks candidate." (h/t psychodrew)

This is the truth. Now it is highly insulting to suggest that we voters can not successfully choose our own candidate. But another truth is that the word socialism has to be laundered and pulled out of the closet. Nothing other tan a full Scandinavian-like economic reform will cut it at this point. Of course the idea is that Bernie is too extreme to win..

Or that Hill has too much baggage to win..

Or that O'Malley doesn't really exist, and if he does exist something about furniture for cheap..or something.

We can make our own decisions. We don't need the paternalistic attitudes of the party apparatus, an apparatus that has brought us Nightmare on K Street 2010, and its sequel Nightmare on K Street 2014, to "rescue us from ourselves."

Fact is we have to make a full-throated progressive argument right now, RIGHT THE FUCK NOW before-

My Brother is needlessly sent off to fight in a sandbox..

Eggs go higher per dozen than minimum wage..

Homelessness spreads deep into what was left of the middle class..

College becomes unreachable beyond the associate level..

Atlanta becomes Venice, Italy..

Your Brother is sent needlessly to fight in a sandbox..

Operation Steal Their Oil Part Three fails, we lose control, and American cities are threatened with nuclear assault..

Neo-liberals finish off what was left of a great nation.

And if we lose? So what. At least we fought at least we go down together with our boots on knowing that we did everything we could to keep the country from going Jim Jones and there was just too many people into the kool-aid. At this point I would rather lose with my values than win in someone else's uniform.

But I don't think a full-throated fight loses. I think you would be shocked at the states we carry running on a platform of more salary, more opportunity, more college, more hope. I think I am quite confident in making the bastards explain how less salary means more in your pocket. Make them explain that fuzzy math.

Whether it is Hill, or Bern, or Marty, go vote for who best represents our values. And then hold them accountable if they fail to represent them. The time is now people, we the people have to act now or forever have our held peace held against us.

No, Debs, No Shrummie, No Harold, No Rahm, we do not need YOU to rescue US.

We need someone to rescue US from YOU.


http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/09/10/1420059/-Dear-Dem-Officials-We-Don-t-Need-A-Rescue-By-You-But-FROM-You

[StephanieVanbryce]

The New York Times: When it comes to Clinton, it's all the speculation that's fit to print

Laura Clawson
Thu Sep 10, 2015 at 07:49 AM PDT



Two things it's never hard to find are Democrats who think the sky is falling and friends of prominent politicians who'd like their friends to run for president, and the media is doing its damnedest to turn this into a major story about the 2016 Democratic primary. The New York Times, of course, wants to be sure it's a leader in this field, and so we get [ http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/10/us/politics/big-name-plan-bs-for-democrats-concerned-about-hillary-clinton.html ] "Big-Name Plan B's for Democrats Concerned About Hillary Clinton," by Patrick Healy. The big names in question? Former Vice President Al Gore, who has been out of electoral politics for 15 years and shows no interest. Secretary of State John Kerry, who shows no interest. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who has been extremely clear she is not running. And Vice President Joe Biden, who actually seems to be flirting with the idea.

It's not clear who should feel more insulted by such speculation: Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders. After all, the explicit idea behind all this is that if Clinton can't get the job done, the Democratic Party needs to be rescued from Sanders.

“If party leaders see a scenario next winter where Bernie Sanders has a real chance at the Democratic nomination, I think there’s no question that leaders will reach out to Vice President Biden or Secretary of State Kerry or even Gore about entering the primaries,” said Garnet F. Coleman, a Texas state lawmaker and Democratic national committeeman.

Because nothing says strength and democracy like a last-minute scramble to insert the nominee of party leaders' choice. To say nothing of the logistical challenges of creating a state-by-state campaign in places where Clinton and Sanders have been organizing for months and have staff on the ground.

Healy follows the secret Times stylebook for writing about the presidential election, and Hillary Clinton in particular, by slipping in the occasional well-buried dose of reality:

Still, Mr. Biden, Mr. Kerry and Mr. Gore have lost presidential bids before and are hardly guaranteed party saviors — or more popular than Mrs. Clinton among important demographic groups like women, African-Americans and Hispanics.

Gee, you think? Here's an idea for any Democratic Party leaders who may be indulging such thoughts and for any media outlets that think stupid speculation is more important than actual coverage of issues and campaigns as they are: Let's let the primary play out. If Biden gets in, he gets in, and he takes his chances. If he doesn't, Democrats have multiple choices, including one longstanding frontrunner and one unexpectedly strong challenger. The sky is not falling.


http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/09/10/1420039/-The-New-York-Times-When-it-comes-to-Clinton-it-s-all-the-speculation-that-s-fit-to-print

[BullNBear52]

Good luck with that one. That is why we have primaries and conventions. To let the voters decide. It's a long way off to the convention.