it's not the Democrats. It's the unreasonable impatience of the American people who think Presidents and other lawmakers can wave a magic wand and just fix things instantly. It's also blaming the Federal Government for issues not being addressed at the State level. The poorest-least educated States are Red states, go figure.
Also, as usual, Bernie is full of great suggestions and has ZERO - ZERO suggestions for getting them implemented. Look - I agree with almost ALL of his goals and ideals. My question is - in your ideal world, Bernie, how would you get this done? You want to blame Democrats? I'm super fucking impressed that Biden got the IRA passed, particularly. Divided government, he got that, medicare drug cost reductions, the infrastructure bill, and he would have had a solid border bill had Trump not sabotaged it.
DIVIDED government, Bernie. Filibuster block in effect by Republicans. What's your plan? You actual plan, not concepts of a plan.
Got it, Bernie. So they voted for someone who had the backing of the ultra-wealthy tech bros and billionaires all over the world, and who will further enrich anyone in the 1% while throwing a few breadcrumbs to the peasants, assuming they don't take away their healthcare.
You do realize that voters are not necessarily rational, right? The fact that the Democrats keep losing working class voters should say a lot, and the *wrong lesson* to take from this is that somehow it's not the Democrats' fault.
I'm 55. I know all about voters voting against their best interests. But you have to play the game you're dealt. You can look back at Obama cozying up to big finance and big banking and say that was the start - when no one was held to account for the 2008 crash. But even with juicing a post-trauma economy with DOUBLE or TRIPLE the amount of free money, it STILL wasn't enough for people. I thought Biden learned the lesson of austerity following 2008. He did, Americans didn't. We're just too fucking greedy and think the world owes us every fucking thing.
Democrats promised to start taxing the rich. Democrats cut medical expenses for millions of Americans. Democrats pushed through business incentives that led to wages rising and unions becoming stronger and that led to investment in the very rural counties (especially the southern states) that hate Democrats by and large.
Policy didn't matter. American's decided they couldn't wait for some imaginary $2 per gallon gas price that happened when the entire world was on lockdown.
Sure, the Democrats have issues, but if anyone thinks for a second that Bernie Sanders' policies will sell across the country, they're delusional. The cries of "socialism" are particularly effective among the demographic that Trump gained with in this cycle.
I want money out of politics as much as the next person. The fact that a judge granted Elon's transparent attempt to buy votes is abhorrent. The fact that corporations have free speech rights is a curse on our country. The fact that a handful of tech bros committed to NOT policing disinformation on platforms where a majority of Americans now get their news is reprehensible.
But which of these policies could be changed with an evenly divided House and Senate?
The rules only apply to Democrats.
Do you recommend Democrats taking a sledgehammer to our institutions? Maybe they should have. They should have eliminated the filibuster and forced every bit of populist shit and protection of equal rights for all down America's throat. "We'll protect you whether you want it or not," right? Maybe. They should have packed the Court.
I don't know.
I think if they had done that, we'd have the same result tonight.
re: Selling Bernie's policies across the country - the majority of his policies have wide support. This is obviiously an incomplete list, but:
free college - 58% support
wealth tax - 68% support
universal health care - 57% support
$15 federal min wage - 62% support
paid family+medical leave - 80% support
legalizing marijuana - 66% support
re: people scared to death of socialism, I would contend those are not the votes to go after. Those people are lost causes and permanently dug in. I think there are more rational voters out there than literal morons who can't actually define the thing they are scared of.
Of course, you are correct. For instance, firearm regulation is another great example, with something like 90% supporting common-sense firearm legislation?
I wrote in haste about his policies when I really meant "his message." I said above, "policy didn't matter," and that's really what I was talking about. The policies he talks about - which, when given a chance to vote on in ballot initiatives - are supported by most Americans. The message from Bernie only sells in some districts. Is it enough? Maybe. There certainly seem to be a number of Trump supporters that also love Bernie. Witness AOC's recent post about why people who admire her split their ticket and voted for Trump.
The issue is - how do we package these policies in such a strong wrapper that they aren't so vulnerable to attack from the right? Maybe you don't. And you're right that once again this was a mobilization election, and progressives weren't mobilized.
In 2015/2016 Bernie published a full plan to RAISE taxes and had the support of many people who are now trumpkins plus the attention of the swing/occasional voters democrats just lost.
Why? Because he showed what they intended to do with the money to make a real difference in people’s lives.
The American people will never agree on numerous cultural issues. But what probably 80% of Americans can agree on is that in the wealthiest country in the world many Americans are not getting their just share of our prosperity.
People should be able to live with dignity during retirement, illness, and family crisis. We should all have a place to live and food to eat without worries that a random circumstance could wipe out everything we worked to build for our families.
People of all race and religions could band together to take on the wealth gap in the US. But we fell victim to the distractions the two parties continue to put in front of us. And many people are starting to feel there is simply no party that cares.
it's not the Democrats. It's the unreasonable impatience of the American people who think Presidents and other lawmakers can wave a magic wand and just fix things instantly. It's also blaming the Federal Government for issues not being addressed at the State level. The poorest-least educated States are Red states, go figure.
Also, as usual, Bernie is full of great suggestions and has ZERO - ZERO suggestions for getting them implemented. Look - I agree with almost ALL of his goals and ideals. My question is - in your ideal world, Bernie, how would you get this done? You want to blame Democrats? I'm super fucking impressed that Biden got the IRA passed, particularly. Divided government, he got that, medicare drug cost reductions, the infrastructure bill, and he would have had a solid border bill had Trump not sabotaged it.
DIVIDED government, Bernie. Filibuster block in effect by Republicans. What's your plan? You actual plan, not concepts of a plan.
I'm all ears.
Maybe we make a deal, and start here. I could get behind this: https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/chuck-schumer-resign-democrats/
Got it, Bernie. So they voted for someone who had the backing of the ultra-wealthy tech bros and billionaires all over the world, and who will further enrich anyone in the 1% while throwing a few breadcrumbs to the peasants, assuming they don't take away their healthcare.
Brilliant, Bernie. Tell us more.
You do realize that voters are not necessarily rational, right? The fact that the Democrats keep losing working class voters should say a lot, and the *wrong lesson* to take from this is that somehow it's not the Democrats' fault.
I'm 55. I know all about voters voting against their best interests. But you have to play the game you're dealt. You can look back at Obama cozying up to big finance and big banking and say that was the start - when no one was held to account for the 2008 crash. But even with juicing a post-trauma economy with DOUBLE or TRIPLE the amount of free money, it STILL wasn't enough for people. I thought Biden learned the lesson of austerity following 2008. He did, Americans didn't. We're just too fucking greedy and think the world owes us every fucking thing.
Democrats promised to start taxing the rich. Democrats cut medical expenses for millions of Americans. Democrats pushed through business incentives that led to wages rising and unions becoming stronger and that led to investment in the very rural counties (especially the southern states) that hate Democrats by and large.
Policy didn't matter. American's decided they couldn't wait for some imaginary $2 per gallon gas price that happened when the entire world was on lockdown.
Sure, the Democrats have issues, but if anyone thinks for a second that Bernie Sanders' policies will sell across the country, they're delusional. The cries of "socialism" are particularly effective among the demographic that Trump gained with in this cycle.
I want money out of politics as much as the next person. The fact that a judge granted Elon's transparent attempt to buy votes is abhorrent. The fact that corporations have free speech rights is a curse on our country. The fact that a handful of tech bros committed to NOT policing disinformation on platforms where a majority of Americans now get their news is reprehensible.
But which of these policies could be changed with an evenly divided House and Senate?
The rules only apply to Democrats.
Do you recommend Democrats taking a sledgehammer to our institutions? Maybe they should have. They should have eliminated the filibuster and forced every bit of populist shit and protection of equal rights for all down America's throat. "We'll protect you whether you want it or not," right? Maybe. They should have packed the Court.
I don't know.
I think if they had done that, we'd have the same result tonight.
Bernie's just wrong. This is who we are.
re: Selling Bernie's policies across the country - the majority of his policies have wide support. This is obviiously an incomplete list, but:
free college - 58% support
wealth tax - 68% support
universal health care - 57% support
$15 federal min wage - 62% support
paid family+medical leave - 80% support
legalizing marijuana - 66% support
re: people scared to death of socialism, I would contend those are not the votes to go after. Those people are lost causes and permanently dug in. I think there are more rational voters out there than literal morons who can't actually define the thing they are scared of.
Of course, you are correct. For instance, firearm regulation is another great example, with something like 90% supporting common-sense firearm legislation?
I wrote in haste about his policies when I really meant "his message." I said above, "policy didn't matter," and that's really what I was talking about. The policies he talks about - which, when given a chance to vote on in ballot initiatives - are supported by most Americans. The message from Bernie only sells in some districts. Is it enough? Maybe. There certainly seem to be a number of Trump supporters that also love Bernie. Witness AOC's recent post about why people who admire her split their ticket and voted for Trump.
The issue is - how do we package these policies in such a strong wrapper that they aren't so vulnerable to attack from the right? Maybe you don't. And you're right that once again this was a mobilization election, and progressives weren't mobilized.
Bernie is correct as usual!
In 2015/2016 Bernie published a full plan to RAISE taxes and had the support of many people who are now trumpkins plus the attention of the swing/occasional voters democrats just lost.
Why? Because he showed what they intended to do with the money to make a real difference in people’s lives.
The American people will never agree on numerous cultural issues. But what probably 80% of Americans can agree on is that in the wealthiest country in the world many Americans are not getting their just share of our prosperity.
People should be able to live with dignity during retirement, illness, and family crisis. We should all have a place to live and food to eat without worries that a random circumstance could wipe out everything we worked to build for our families.
People of all race and religions could band together to take on the wealth gap in the US. But we fell victim to the distractions the two parties continue to put in front of us. And many people are starting to feel there is simply no party that cares.
The democrats need to get back to grass roots.