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Meanwhile, in Kansas...
Kansas governor to veto bipartisan tax hike meant to fix state's budget
/dead
Meanwhile, in Kansas...
Kansas governor to veto bipartisan tax hike meant to fix state's budget
/dead
Meanwhile, in Kansas...
Kansas governor to veto bipartisan tax hike meant to fix state's budget
We'll never have any Democrats in SC elected to congress except for Clyburn, but it's nice to see people motivated. Hopefully it lasts until 2018.
Going through the article, I'm at least seeing hope in unexpected places. Here's to hoping the Dems can capitalize. Since anyone whose sane is going to go blue.Not that I'm delusional enough to think this would flip a place like South Carolina on its own, but how many more elections would we win if left-leaning voters in red states/districts didn't sit them out because they think it's hopeless? So long as 60% turnout (at best) is the norm, it's a fool's errand to try and gauge the partisan lean of various parts of the country.
Like I said, I don't even think it would change that much, but our current president was elected by what, 20% of the country? Less? It's pathetic.
INDIANA
At the last meeting of the womens caucus of the Monroe County Democratic Party ― normally a sparsely attended affair ― people spilled out the door onto the street. For the partys upcoming reorganization meeting, county chairman Mark Fraley said theyre looking for a new venue, because the courthouse room that had always been more than sufficient is now too small. If they cant find a new room, he said, theyll put speakers outside the door so the spillover crowd can still hear. Democrats here have seen such an outpouring of new members, theyre on track to raise enough money to hire an executive director for the first time.
Right after the election, we were just inundated with emails [asking], What can I do? said Fraley, 37, who works at Indiana Bloomington University.
Fraley said the county party has restructured and added five deputy chairs and created six new committees. The influx of new people is making the party younger, he said: About two-thirds of them came through Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) campaign, many of them encouraged by his organization Our Revolution to do so.
If we can maintain 30 percent of this energy, thats a huge increase in our local Democratic capacity, he added, arguing that Republican House seats that were 9-point wins in the past could soon become competitive.
The white working class is also an identity under the pejorative version of the term identity politics. And pandering to them at the expense of minority voters is just trading one identity politics for another.
Under a more narrow view that it refers to politics aimed at minority and/or marginalised groups that suffer institutional inequalities, then the idea of abandoning "identity politics" does essentially amount to throwing minorities under the bus.
I'm confused about your confusion over the term "identity politics" and why it's problematic to minorities.
I am black gay man. As a long-standing member of the Democratic party, I will not stand for issues that pertain to me as black and gay to be shelved in the name of perceived political expediency.
That's the problem with "identity politics." It's a dogwhistle. A trivialiation of minority issues. Of civil rights issues.
GRAHAM VYSE said:He didn't really suggest that Democrats forget about race and gender. Or did he?
The Talking Points Memo headline on Monday morning was guaranteed to raise liberal hackles: ”Sanders Urges Supporters: Ditch Identity Politics And Embrace The Working Class." Soon a dozen nearly identical headlines were screeching from a wide variety of media outlets, picking up on remarks Bernie Sanders had made about the Democratic Party's future on Sunday in Boston. At first blush, they made the Vermont senator's message sound unambiguous. When it came to identity politics, he was telling Democrats to ”move away," ”deemphasize," or just plain ”stop." The man who'd been accused of tone-deafness about gender and race during the Democratic primaries was now, in the wake of the election, downplaying the importance of racial and gender inclusion in the party.
Unless, of course, he wasn't.
The trouble had begun when Sanders—who was promoting his book, Our Revolution—entertained a written question from a woman named Rebecca who said, ”I want to be the second Latina senator in U.S. history. Any tips?"
Sanders began his response, captured on a smartphone camera, with a warning: ”Let me respond to the question in a way that the questioner may not be happy with." And then:
It goes without saying that as we fight to end all forms of discrimination, as we fight to bring more and more women into the political process—Latinas, African-Americans, Native Americans—all of that is enormously important, and count me in as somebody who wants to see that happen.
So far, so good ...
But it is not good enough for somebody to say, ”Hey, I'm a Latina. Vote for me." That is not good enough. I have to know whether that Latina is going to stand up with the working class of this country and is going to take on big-money interests.
And then, after backing up to stress the need for diversity in politics—”We need 50 women in the Senate. We need more African-Americans."—he hammered home his point about ”where there's going to be a division in the Democratic Party":
”It is not good enough for somebody to say, ‘I'm a woman. Vote for me,'" he said. ”What we need is a woman who has the guts to stand up to Wall Street, to the insurance companies, to the drug companies, to the fossil fuel industry."
Sanders's big finish: ”One of the struggles that you're going to be seeing in the Democratic Party is whether we go beyond identity politics."
On Twitter, the backlash to Sanders's statements was swift. ”I am so done," wrote Guardian columnist Jessica Valenti. Ms. magazine's digital editor Carmen Rios concluded Sanders wants ”the left at-large to take up the mantle of the white working class—erasing in the process the unique marginalization faced by women and people of color, who more often live in poverty than their white and male counterparts."
This is a valid concern. But when you hear Sanders's comments in full, it's not quite so clear: What did he really mean by ”go beyond identity politics"?
Ever since Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton, the senator has called for refocusing the Democratic Party on outreach to the blue-collar whites who gave the president-elect his narrow victory in the Rust Belt—and went more than two-to-one for Trump nationwide. Appearing on CBS This Morning, Sanders had lamented, ”I come from the white working class, and I am deeply humiliated that the Democratic Party cannot talk to where I came from."
The real problem for Sanders is that his recent calls for courting the white working class have been just as ambiguous—and open to misinterpretation—as his remarks on Sunday night. If ”go beyond identity politics" signals that he believes Democrats should pursue an economic populism that doesn't address the unique challenges faced by women, people of color, LGBTQ Americans, and other marginalized groups—if what he's calling for really is the abandonment of identity politics—then the criticism of Sanders is on-target. It would be further evidence of what the writer Kathleen Geier, herself a Sanders supporter, called ”Bernie's Greatest Weakness" in The Nation earlier this year: ”For all his political virtues, Sanders has had difficulty connecting his message of economic populism to the other major social justice concerns of the modern left, such race, gender, and sexuality."
If, on the other hand, ”go beyond identity politics" is a call for Democrats to layer a big dose of economic populism on top of these social-justice concerns—if Sanders is making a statement about building upon the existing political framework, not tearing it down—then he's being misinterpreted.
The New Republic's Clio Chang endorsed the latter interpretation, writing that ”criticism that diversity on its own does not necessarily translate into lifting up the working class is a fair point and not, as [Talking Points Memo] implies, a condemnation of diversity itself." The Intercept's Lee Fang similarly tweeted that what Sanders opposed wasn't actually ”identity politics" but ”shallow identity-first politics."
That probably is what Sanders really meant. The problem is that he's never fully explained how he sees his populism pairing with identity politics. He needs to clarify that he is in fact talking about all Americans, and make it clear that he understands the distinct challenges faced by various groups. Any leader of the left needs to understand the importance of that, and Sanders has shown in the past that he does. If his aim is to re-energize the Obama coalition and broaden it, rather than returning to the 1990s, when Democrats shaped their message around appealing to white ”Reagan Democrats" and shunted feminist and racial-justice issues aside, then Sanders has something important—rather than just controversial and chiding—to say to the party.
Sanders's office didn't respond to The New Republic's request for an interview Monday. But Democrats need to hear from him. If he's figured out a way to speak to blue-collar whites again, while simultaneously broadening the Democratic Party's economic message for Latinos, African-Americans, Asians, and white Millennials, let's hear it. And when he more fully explains what he meant by ”going beyond" identity politics, we'll also know whether his harshest liberal critics were right all along.
So how far in the hole is Kansas right now?
Did that help at all?
Taxes aren't low enough is the problem. Cut further, that infinite revenue will kick in any day now.
His point about 9-point wins becoming competitive is on the mark. We're talking about contests where the winning margin was in the hundreds, even tens.Going through the article, I'm at least seeing hope in unexpected places. Here's to hoping the Dems can capitalize. Since anyone whose sane is going to go blue.
The last time we had higher than 65% voter participation half the population wasn't allowed to vote and a good chunk of the rest was heavily disenfranchised to where only minorities of the population could vote in some states.if not outright passing a Voting Access Act that sets the bar for states at something like "you must have 90% voter participation or your voting requirements are too severe."
Unless you're just running up the score in 20% of the games.Yeah, I feel like a big component of winning these House races will just to galvanize the liberal voting base. Convince enough of them to vote and the conservatives will be overwhelmed.
This is why I hope Ossoff wins the Congressional race - the energy behind winning a Trump district in Georgia would be a nice boost to activists, even if 23 isn't really that less daunting of a number than 24. It would prove however that for the 23 Clinton Republican districts, and those that Trump won by only a smidge, anything is possible.Yeah, I feel like a big component of winning these House races will just to galvanize the liberal voting base. Convince enough of them to vote and the conservatives will be overwhelmed.
Clarifying my stance on this is harder than I thought it would be. It doesn't help that I'm woefully bad at expressing my thoughts. The best I can do for now is to post a relevant article from New Republic, and bold the parts that basically explain my viewpoint:
What Bernie Sanders Meant to Say About Identity Politics
Did that help at all?
.Civil rights is a legal concept. It is based on outlawing discrimination based on race, sex, etc.
Identity politics is a marketing concept for politicians. It has to do with appealing to people based on race, sex, etc and making promises to those groups.
You left out the best part. A wall was ordered built to keep the citizens of Ogdenville from immigrating to Springfield and they actually talked the Ogdenvillians into building it for them. So they pulled off the very move that eludes Trump.I picked a random simpsons episode to watch and out of all the episodes of 28 seasons... I picked an episode where Springfield bans immigrants.
So to Trump's immigrant ban I say... Simpsons already did it.
Gah well I guess having any seats at all would be a victory then. I just hope all this activism leads to real results.His point about 9-point wins becoming competitive is on the mark. We're talking about contests where the winning margin was in the hundreds, even tens.
Even if Democrats maxed out their potential in states like Indiana or South Carolina, they probably wouldn't come close to flipping any chambers, but Christ, even if you hold 40% of the districts that at least gives you a seat at the table in most states. That doesn't mean we can't prioritize, but the goal going into the next round of elections should be to run a warm body in every seat who's willing to run a real race. Give someone for people to rally around even if the odds are slim.
That's a pathetic fence. Trump's fence is going to be much yooger and bigly big league. That's why it's taking so long, they have to translate the blueprints into Spanish.You left out the best part. A wall was ordered built to keep the citizens of Ogdenville from immigrating to Springfield and they actually talked the Ogdenvillians into building it for them. So they pulled off the very move that eludes Trump.
It's called the Minuteman Project, they still do it, started in 2003 or something. Except they got into a legal fight over the name and it's now like five groups or something.Simpson's episode is from 2009, lol
This had to be around when people who claimed to be private militias and "neighborhood watch" decided they should patrol the Mexico border in their free time, as they were convinced the Feds weren't getting the job done. I vaguely remember some footage of random armed people in pickups driving the border. As they were white, they got away with it. Duh.
I'm sticking to my theory that he hadn't actually done any of the book yet and they're using this as an opportunity to bail out first.
His advance for it was $250,000 so I can't imagine what stupidly overpriced payment they had lined up for when he turned it in.
I've seen more than one writer suggest it would have been stupid for them to kill the book this close to release if it was actually ready to be published in the midst of full publicity.
Somebody else is going to get his new book about this whole affair.
Going through the article, I'm at least seeing hope in unexpected places. Here's to hoping the Dems can capitalize. Since anyone whose sane is going to go blue.
Kiss of death for Ellison?
Donald J. Trump‏ @realDonaldTrump
One thing I will say about Rep. Keith Ellison, in his fight to lead the DNC, is that he was the one who predicted early that I would win!
7:20 AM · Feb 22, 2017
wouldn't you rather have a chair who knows what the hell is happening as opposed to the people who ran the dnc up to last yeaR?
wouldn't you rather have a chair who knows what the hell is happening as opposed to the people who ran the dnc up to last yeaR?
Given all that has transpired since Friday's show, how do you feel now about your decision to have Milo Yiannopoulos as a guest, and how those segments transpired?
Well, let's recap. About a week ago, I went on Van Jones's show, and somebody asked me about the booking. I hadn't really gotten into the details of Milo yet. He was just getting on my radar. I said, specifically, sunlight is the best disinfectant. Then we had Milo on, despite the fact that many people said, ”Oh, how dare you give a platform to this man." What I think people saw was an emotionally needy Ann Coulter wannabe, trying to make a buck off of the left's propensity for outrage. And by the end of the weekend, by dinnertime Monday, he's dropped as a speaker at CPAC. Then he's dropped by Breitbart, and his book deal falls through. As I say, sunlight is the best disinfectant. You're welcome.
You think his appearance on ”Real Time" helped lead to his downfall?
That's what I was just saying. And by the way, I wasn't trying to get him removed from society. I'm somebody who, many times, people have tried to make go away. They were successful that one time, for six months in 23 years, because that's how long it was between the two shows [”Real Time" and ”Politically Incorrect," Mr. Maher's previous talk show, which aired on Comedy Central and ABC]. It just rubs me the wrong way when somebody says, ”I don't like what this person is saying — he should go away."
Do you feel that way even about the kinds of things Milo was saying on your show, or in the other platforms he was given?
Can he do damage? I suppose he can. To a degree. Not a great degree, I don't think. Could he offend people? Could he even inspire a borderline person to do something violent? I guess so. But nothing is free in life. People seem to want to live in this world where everything is a win-win. That's not how life works.
Could there have been more accountability in your segments with him? For instance, it seemed like he was allowed to grossly understate his role in harassing Leslie Jones on Twitter.
It's not my job to hold him accountable to everything he's ever said or done. I had eight minutes with him, on the show itself. Sorry I don't have time to go over everything everybody else would want to do. We just had time to, sort of, start a discussion of the broad view of who he is. I don't think he frankly knows what he's going to say half the time, or knows what his philosophy is. But to see him as this monster is a little crazy. You know what he is? He's the little impish, bratty kid brother. And the liberals are his older teenager sisters who are having a sleepover and he puts a spider in their sleeping bag so he can watch them scream.
So how does someone deal with a personality like Milo, who is going much, much further than other guests, saying things that are demonstrably false?
The president says 10 things a day that are provably wrong. If I threw everyone off my show who says things that are provably wrong, I'd never book a conservative and probably half the liberals.
When he said that transgender people have a ”psychiatric disorder," do you just move on from that?
Move on? It dominated the entire [online] segment. The other guests attacked him. When I say, ”That's not unreasonable" [to not want to share a bathroom with a transgender person] it's because women have said that to me: ”I want to know," or ”I'm not comfortable with someone in the bathroom, even if they, in their minds, have decided they are a woman." Doesn't that opinion count at all?
But you don't agree that transgender people have a psychiatric disorder.
No, I don't agree with that. But I don't know that much about the situation. If somebody feels like they're a woman, fine, then you're a woman. I'm O.K. with that. If they've studied that, and they say it's not a psychiatric disorder, I'm O.K. with that too. If that's what scientists decided, that it's not any psychological disorder, it's fine with me. I agree.
The sole good thing about Booker running (if he does) is that we'll likely get a really great pastor-esque inspirational speech after he wins the SC primary.
I feel comfortable, after this last straw, ignoring anything Bill Maher ever says or does ever again
Too real.tfw your tax refund and paycheck come in at the exact same time
Cry more Liberals. Mahers interview was important in escalating his profile which lead to the cpac booking which lead to his life falling apart.
More than half of voters believe Donald Trump has done something illegal or unethical as he faces potential conflicts of interest by continuing to own his businesses while serving as president, according to a new McClatchy-Marist Poll.
Even more voters nearly six in 10 say Trumps conduct as president makes them feel embarrassed, according to the poll.
Those who think Trump has done something illegal, unethical or embarrassing include large numbers of independent voters.
Only 41 percent of registered voters say they approve of the job Trump is doing as president, compared to 49 percent who disapprove. Those numbers are weaker than other presidents at comparable time in their presidencies, according to national surveys.
Independents approve of the job Trump is doing by 40-51. Not surprisingly, Democrats approve by 11-81 percent. Republicans approve by 85-7 percent.
..
A month into his presidency, 41 percent have a favorable impression of him while 53 percent have an unfavorable impression of him. Again that includes large blocs of independents.
Independents approve by 37-56. Just 12 percent of Democrats approve while 83 percent disapprove. By 87-10, Republicans approve of the job Trump is doing.
Yet voter opinion of Trump has generally risen over the last eight months, from 30 percent in July, 33 percent in September and 31 percent in November. In December, after his decisive electoral college victory over Clinton, his favorable impression spiked to 43 percent.
Forty-one percent of voters say they agree or strongly agree that Trump is honest and trustworthy while 55 percent say they disagree or strongly disagree. Fifty-six percent say Trump is doing more to divide the country while 39 percent say he is uniting it.
Even if they dont like him, they believe he is fulfilling his campaign promises. Forty-seven percent agree and 24 percent strongly agree he is doing what he pledged. Only 14 percent disagree and 11 percent strongly disagree. Only 4 percent are unsure.
But many think he is doing too much too soon. Fifty-seven percent agree or strongly agree he is acting too fast while 41 percent say he isnt.
Americans think the country is going in right direction by a rate of 39 to 55. That includes 62 percent of independents. It is the lowest rating for wrong direction since December 2012 after President Barack Obama was re-elected.
Yeah I was kidding. Lol. I don't think Cpac cares about who goes on bill maher. But I think the Berkeley thing actually did raise his profile. I was at school when we invited Ahmadinejad to speak. He got his ass beat. The president called him a petty and cruel dictator. Someone needed to do that with milo. Instead he got elevated.He was booked at CPAC long before he did Maher's show. He was booked specifically because of the UC Berkeley protests.