If the Democratic Party shifting right could actually marginalize the Republican Party to a fringe Libertarian style party and allow a new progressive party to grow on the left, that would probably be the best thing for the country. Unfortunately, I don't think that happens. Party labels seem to mean more than actual party policies these days.
that being said Jon Ossoff, who is quite progressive in his personal beliefs, has kept a rather strict media message pandering to the 'Romney-Clinton' voter; for obvious reasons. Content primarily focused on waste/abuse with some tech job growth sprinkled on top. But the crux of every Ossoff ad is an appeal to govt oversight, fiscal responsibility (not necessarily limited governance). Its been a disciplined message. Think that its at least a start to get those White College voters entertaining the more academic-grounded, progressive ideas the Democrats have to offer.
The point of the article is keeping the people that are already open to democratic policies. You're not trying to capture the college educated hard core GOPers but the ones that have already "flipped". How to you keep them interested and in the fold.
His debate tonight should be interesting, I'm sure Handel will try to nail him to harder line progressive topics.
I've often wondered how a three party system would (or if it could) work where there's the governing middle flanked by the "extremes". But I don't see that developing either
It just won't happen. People will continue to cling to these two parties even as they abandon everything but their names. Also first past the post makes more than two major parties a temporary state for this country.
Ultimately, Democrats have to pick and choose where they run candidates that fall into this category. If you're running in a pretty red district, you can't just run a Bernie-crat and hope for the best. Presidential candidate is the only thing slightly different.
That's missing. The right has played to wedge of God guns and gays. Terrible imo but worked for them and their idiot base
Yall are suggesting bolter parties. How the Republican party formed. Haiti and Ireland have more parties than us, but thats because we have a two party system and self fullfilling cycle of pushing down third parties since we think they cant win, so we only vote dem or rep and third parties never win. Republicans today are more like the Know Nothing/American Party of 1850s. They were anti-slavery only because blacks werent Catholic. Less than 15 minutes
looking forward to the democrat/socdem fight intensifying as the democrats chase the "enlightened moderate" vote
ha bwahh fucking French /s Emmanuel Macron’s first scandal threatens parliamentary majority Allegations of nepotism against a key aide are taking some of the shine off the new French president’s first weeks in office. Spoiler By Nicholas Vinocur 6/2/17, 2:32 PM CET Updated 6/2/17, 7:00 PM CET Emmanuel Macron sailed to power on a wave of euphoria and anti-far right sentiment — but the honeymoon could be over | Damien Meyer/AFP via Getty Images Emmanuel Macron sailed to power on a wave of euphoria and anti-far right sentiment — but the honeymoon could be over | Damien Meyer/AFP via Getty Images Spoiler PARIS — A scandal involving one of French President Emmanuel Macron’s closest allies, Richard Ferrand, is casting a shadow over his first steps in power and his ability to achieve a majority in parliament later this month. Riding high from the president’s almost dream debut in office, the new government at first tried to play down accusations of nepotism against Ferrand, who is a cabinet minister and secretary-general of La République en marche (“The Republic on the move”), the centrist movement founded by Macron that has been transformed into a political party. The minister had not broken any laws, officials said. But that line of defense started to collapse Thursday when a regional prosecutor launched a preliminary investigation into the case. Hours later, Macron’s justice minister, François Bayrou, dodged questions about his colleague while presenting the administration’s first bill — on “moralizing” the practices of public officials. “Magistrates are there to rule upon such things,” he told journalists at a press conference about the bill, without referring directly to the scandal. “You are the ones saying these are known facts.” The Ferrand affair is bringing up memories of recent scandals, namely the one that sunk the presidential candidacy of former Prime Minister François Fillon. The Canard Enchainé weekly has alleged that Ferrand, the minister for territorial cohesion, received a discount on renting office space from his partner’s real estate company while he was the head of a health insurance fund. Le Monde has claimed he has used public office for personal gain, hired a deputy’s partner as his assistant in parliament and channeled the health insurance fund’s legal contracts to a former partner. ‘Jupiter’ brought to earth Just weeks after the 39-year-old Macron sailed to power on a wave of euphoria and anti-far-right sentiment, the Ferrand scandal is now taking some of the shine off his debut. On Sunday, Le Monde praised Macron’s handling of Donald Trump and other world leaders as “flawless.” By Wednesday, the same paper was running a headline about the Ferrand scandal above the fold on its front page. As right- and left-wing parties called for Ferrand to step down, Macron avoided any comment, in keeping with his view that the president needs to be a “Jupiterian” presence — a remote figure above the fray of day-to-day politics. Handling of the scandal was left to members of his administration, who responded by calling on the media to wait for justice to take its course. Richard Ferrand is a cabinet minister and secretary-general of La République en marche | Stephane De Sakutin/AFP via Getty Images On Wednesday, government spokesman Christophe Castaner lectured reporters on how they should not act like judges but stick to presenting the facts. Then he muddled through a question about whether Ferrand’s behavior was in the spirit of the “moralization” law being presented the next day. “The French people are frustrated by a sense that elites are distant and privileged … That frustration predates this issue,” he said. As the scandal grows, Macron’s steadfast support for his top campaign ally is starting to bring up some of those old frustrations, including among his supporters. In Washington this week, Benjamin Haddad, a foreign policy expert who helped Macron’s campaign, said Ferrand needed to go. “I hope he resigns quickly,” he said. ‘All rotten’ In other circumstances, such a scandal could easily be brushed off as the growing pains of a new governing team. But Macron’s party is running in a parliamentary election this month that will determine whether he rules as an all-powerful president, or has to rely on political partners for support to pass his bills. So far, polls show La République en marche winning an absolute majority in the two-round election on June 11 and 18. Two agencies, Harris Interactive and Opinionway, said the party would obtain between 335 and 355 seats in the 577-seat chamber, well above the threshold for a majority. But such polls were conducted before the Ferrand scandal built up a head of steam. The risk is that voters who wanted to give Macron a chance might be turned off by a whiff of the old sense of impunity for public officials, and stay away from polling booths. According to an Opinionway survey conducted between May 30 and June 1, as the Ferrand scandal was growing, abstention could reach 45 percent in the election’s first round, way above the level at the last parliamentary election in 2012. “There are a lot of voters out there who were prepared to say, ‘OK, let’s give this guy a chance. He’s young. He seems to be winning on the international stage. Let’s let him get on with his agenda,'” said Jérome Fourquet, an analyst at the Ifop polling agency, which is carrying out polling on the Ferrand issue to be published next week. “Some of those people could be discouraged. They may decide that ‘they are all rotten’ … For Macron, that could mean the difference between a clear majority in parliament, or being 10 seats short.” Reforms at stake The new president wants to press ahead rapidly with an overhaul of rules on hiring and firing to breathe life into a moribund labor market. Then he wants to reform a deeply indebted jobless benefits system, job training and pensions. Without a clear majority, those goals aren’t impossible to achieve — but they could be achieved more slowly and have a greater chance of being watered down. In other words: more of what ails France. François Fillon’s presidential bid was fatally tainted by scandal | Yoan Valat/EPA Already, the Ferrand affair is bringing up memories of recent scandals, namely the one that sunk the presidential candidacy of former Prime Minister François Fillon. Seen as a dead cert to win the presidential election in January, Fillon had hit a wall by mid-February, his momentum broken by reports that he had paid his wife nearly a million euros in public funds to work as his assistant — and that she had done little work in return. Whiff of Fillon Fillon’s defense at the time — that what he did was not illegal, but was merely out of step with today’s moral views — is similar to the one being used by Ferrand and his defenders now. “Fillon made the mistake of thinking politicians could get away with being immoral as long as they were on the right side of the law,” said Fourquet. “What his campaign showed was that the French people are no longer ready to grant their politicians free passes on such notions. They really want change.” “The best thing would be for Macron to fire Ferrand as soon as possible” — Anonymous En Marche candidate “Macron ran on the notion of exemplarity, which goes beyond purely respecting the law. He cannot ask voters to think and behave like lawyers.” Fourquet added that polls would not start to show any effect from the Ferrand scandal until mid-next week, due to technical constraints and the time it takes for ideas to seep into public opinion. But already, a candidate for Macron’s party who is running in a highly competitive constituency in northern France said that voters were looking at her differently. “I hear it in the marketplaces: ‘So, what about Ferrand? That’s what the renewal was all about? It’s all the same,'” said the candidate, who asked not to be named. “The best thing would be for Macron to fire Ferrand as soon as possible.” We should be so lucky. I'd trade in a heartbeat
the democrats are gonna go full third way again to court affluent white never trump republicans like GA-6 and that is why hope is for fools
Doubtful thats the play in 2020. Or there is no sign trying that again, yet. Perhaps adhoc depending on district-level.
there was a lot of hand wringing about whether that mayoral candidate could be a democrat if he wasn't fully pro choice and yet chuck schumer still holds a leadership position
To me it's what the Dems have been doing for 30 years and the biggest problem we have in American politics but let's just act like the Democratic Party hasn't been cucking and eating the moderate cream pie forever
old but i liked it ayn rand's harry potter http://the-toast.net/2014/05/27/ayn-rands-harry-potter-sorcerers-stone/
very good watch Spoiler http://www.spiegel.de/international...-hitler-of-his-posthumous-power-a-406268.html Brooks: Yes, as he convinced many millions of Germans. Its not without good reason that comedies about Hitler often concern actors who should play him. Just think about Charlie Chaplins The Great Dictator (1940) or Ernst Lubitschs To Be or not To Be (1942). Theres no doubt about it, Hitler worked in the same branch as we do: he created illusions. SPIEGEL: In a documentary film about the downfall of the German battleship the Bismarck, US director James Cameron referred to Hitler as the greatest pop star of his time." Brooks: There's something in that. Hitler must have had a magnetic attractive force, like a rock star he used his voice to spellbind umpteen thousands of listeners. So its only fitting when comic actors make him the limelight hog of world history. We take away from him the holy seriousness that always surrounded him and protected him like a cordon.
I think you have to see that happen on a region by region basis. In the South, that would work. In the Midwest, I really think that Sanders-style economic populism is where things need to move. The coasts are solidly blue. There is no one who has any sliver of hope to make it out of a GOP primary who conceivably could take the NE of West Coast in the next two cycles. Not sure there is any candidate for 2020 that can meld that together.
What is it with accusing users of being false accounts, Farva, parody accounts, etc here? I got it from DQ when I made my first few posts on the Trump thread, now here. I don't shit on anyone, I like just about all yall posters, I most only post in this here thread and the Trump thread, I give people likes and try to inform yall sometimes. What's the problem?
New Oklahoma democrat party chair http://www.elle.com/culture/career-...na-langthorn-democratic-party-chair-oklahoma/
Kansas State legislator reminds fellow legislator he's carrying a gun before she casts her vote. Spoiler Representative John Whitmer (R-Wichita), is many things, but hardened conservative is certainly a term that fits. The Kansas house debated a measure to limit gun access inside of facilities, specifically hospitals and mental health facilities and Rep. John Whitmer stood opposed. Displeased with what looked to be an obvious outcome — the bill passed with 91 votes, enough to sustain an override of the governor if need be — the Representative took time to send a friendly message to his fellow Republican, Stephanie Clayton, who voted with the majority in favor of the bill: The tweet, aimed at a fellow legislator was in response to an ongoing debate regarding notifications on the doors about gun free zones. The message was also a lot more profound: a man physically larger than a female legislator reminding her he and others are carrying a gun, and she’s on what they view as the wrong side of a piece of legislation. Talk about intimidation. Laura Kelly, the Democratic senator from Topeka, had this thought: Legislators, of course, have immunity and face no legal action over the threat, but Whitmer could still be sanctioned or reprimanded by his leadership. No word on whether that could happen. Friday, Jun 2, 2017 · 11:26:24 AM CDT · Chris Reeves For those who thought this seemed familiar, Rep. Clayton, an Overland Park Republican, had prior been threatened with potential rape and death by gun rights advocates: www.dailykos.com/… warning dk pussies
Tobin Smith, Former Fox Paid Contributor, Confirms What We Always Suspected About Fox. By azindy Sunday Jun 04, 2017 · 10:05 PM CDT 2017/06/04 · 22:05 In his article, FEAR & UNbalanced: Confessions of a 14-Year Fox News Hitman, Tobin Smith spills the beans. He feels free to do so because Roger Ailes is dead. Back in 2000, when he was first hired at Fox, he had a few questions. “So Roger tell me…who is your Fox News target audience and what turns ’em on?” “Toby . . . I created a TV network for people 55 to dead,” Ailes said. “What does our viewer look like? “They look like me…white guys in mostly Red State counties who sit on their couch with the remote in their hand all day and night.” “What do they want to see” “They want to see YOU tear those smug condescending know-it-all East Coast liberals to pieces . . limb by limb . . . until they jump up out of their LaZ boy and scream “Way to go Toby…you KILLED that libtard!” Spoiler It was always and only about money. But what mattered most at Fox was to create an entertainment product out of political/military/economic news and opinion that By careful design and staging Fox News manipulated (and ultimately addicted) the most vulnerable people in America to the most powerful drug cocktail ever: Visceral gut feelings of outrage relieved by the most powerful emotions of all . . . the thrill of your tribe’s victory over its enemy and the ultimate triumph of good over evil. In deed and effect, Fox News turned politics into performance art and efficiently sold the soul of America to the highest bidder in return for 2 minute ad sequences aired during the performance intermissions. The fix was always in. Facts and Truth were the lowest priority. But what the mostly older, trusting, small city/rural living Fox News fan never seem to understand about Fox’s partisan performance art programming was this: The outcomes for Fox’s “panel debates” have ALWAYS been carefully fixed by the producers so that the home team (i.e, the conservative panelists like me) ALWAYS won. MORE simply: The staged gladiatorial-like rhetorical fight to the death the Fox viewer loves to watch are ALWAYS fixed by the show producers for the conservative actor to win…always. Any contributor with the least little bit of integrity found their contributing days were over. Linda Chavez, a long time Fox conservative contributor, basically became a nonperson when she took the position in favor of more legal immigration — even though her position had been consistent for 30+ years and is based on her belief in markets over central planning. As Linda tells the story “One producer basically told me that it was “confusing” to have me on to discuss the subject because conservatives were supposed to be for less immigration and liberals for more. Fox practically guaranteed their high ratings because they were feeding an addiction. Key Point: the viewer’s rage set their brain’s pleasure giving dopamine delivery system into high gear . . .and when their fellow conservative protagonist tribal hero (aka me the hitman) turned the liberal’s own words against them and vanquished the sniveling apostate into living hell on live TV…WOW…the pleasure chemical rushed through the Fox viewer's brain like a deep hit of crack cocaine (btw its the dopamine system in the brain that cocaine stimulates and makes it so addictive). I tried to save my own mother, but I could not break through. She pooh-poohed my facts,and told me that Bill O’Reilly was the only person she trusted. I was incredulous. “Even more than me, Mom?” Yes, because my once excellent” critical thinking and judgement had been clouded by the media I chose to consume. ...one part of the Fox News strategy is the tried and true conservative media narrative to insulate their audiences from opposing views — in part, by continually denouncing the mainstream media(i.e., other news sources) 24/7/365 as “liberal, biased, and not to be trusted.” I haven’t even begun to mention the exploitation of sex, and the demonizing of non-white people. There’s a bit of buyer beware. Smith was fired in 2013 for promoting dubious and worthless stocks, but he says it was because he refused to obey O’Reilly’s commands. Well…[O’Reilly] was dead wrong and I told him that and his answer was “Is this the Tobin Smith show? If it is, say what you want. But if this is the O’Reilly show you give what I want.” OK Bill…and that was the last time I was on The Factor after 40+ appearances. Conservative cannot complain that Tobin smith is an anonymous source. Even better, they and we can review old Fox News videos and see for ourselves the veracity of Smith’s claims. Finally, a caution Kossacks should seriously consider before hitting the Rec button. Neuroscience has known for years that “news junkies” or “political junkies” were in fact addicts…junkies…who got their addictive dopamine hit from the emotional roller coaster of unbridled outrage followed by the dopamine releasing experience derived from the thrill of watching the victory/denouement of the ideological apostate.
Posts about science and recommending you readings in the Trump thread are bullshit? Posts about lefty jokes and tweets about our shit president in chief a liberal retired guy finds on the internet bother Chicago Seminole. That's his problem with me. Grow up and hit the ignore button.