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Showing posts with label Democrats. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Democrats. Show all posts

Saturday, February 29, 2020

The Fear Chart

Take a look at this chart.







































It's fascinating from the standpoint of what drives voters to the polls in the age of hyperpartisanship. No doubt this is a good sign for the Democrats as they will be highly motivated to go to the polls in November.

A deeper analysis shows that conservatives are more concerned with terrorism and high medical bills than I thought. That tells me that Medicare For All might play more significantly with these voters.

Thursday, October 18, 2018

Democrats Need Their Die Hard Issue

Now that some time has passed since Brett Kavanaugh has been confirmed, it's time for Democrats to reflect on how they lost...again. In order to get a good read on how this happened, let's go back to 2008.

Barack Obama won massively in his bid for president. Congress was all blue. Even the state houses looked solid for the Democrats across the country. People were talking about a permanent, democratic majority. Yet while this was all going on, the GOP quietly began to realize they could erode any gains by the left if they were just patient. After all, conservatives have far more reliable voters and knew that if they just bided their time and let the anger/hate/fear propaganda machine fully flow, democratic voters would assume victory forever and not turn out at the polls while conservative voters would vote every year no matter what.

More importantly, the picked one key issue that they knew would get voters out to the polls: JUDGES. 

Flash forward to today and we have a GOP that runs all three branches of government and 30 state houses. This has happened primarily because conservative voters want conservative judges running SCOTUS and all the federal courts below it. This die hard issue drives them to the polls. Donald Trump could be filmed sodomizing a 5 year old boy and then shooting him in the head but voters will forgive him because....

JUDGES.

The Democrats look good to take back the House three weeks and might have a shot at the Senate, although that is looking less likely. If they want to build a permanent majority, and they easily can because there are more liberal voters than conservative voters, they need to find that one key issue that people will rally behind no matter what. I think that issue is #MeToo.

The uptick in voter registration is largely a reaction to Donald Trump's misogyny. More women are running for office than ever before. Young voters are turning out and getting more people registered because of the mistreatment of women from the top of our power structures all the way down.

This issue could be the Democrats' die hard issue just as judges are with Republicans. People, especially women, have had enough. They want equal rights. Their anger will not go away after this election cycle. They will not rest until more women are in power at the federal and state level. It's time for Democratic leadership to seize this issue and make it their centerpiece.

If they want to win on November 6th and in every election in the future, this is all they should be talking about from now on.

Saturday, October 06, 2018

Monday, May 07, 2018

No Boiling Pit of Sewage, I Guess

California just became the fifth largest economy in the world, surpassing Great Britain. California's gross domestic product rose by $127 billion from 2016 to 2017, surpassing $2.7 trillion, the federal data said.

Certainly this is no surprise to me as Democrats (who have run the entire state for the last decade) do capitalism better than Republicans do. Yet it must come as somewhat of a shock to all of those doomsayers and pantsshitters on the right who loudly claimed (from their parent's basement) that the best economies are the ones built by Ayn Rand. Of course, they can never find examples of this, past or present, which makes it yet another example of their tantrum against some sort of authority figure from their past.

I wonder how the all the douchey right wing bloggers and commenters are going to explain this one away. All that money...made by a government with high taxes and high spending. Where's all the stifling they foam at the mouth about? The government intrusion? The excessive regulation?

Seems like it's all working out just fine in deep blue California...

Saturday, February 03, 2018

The Memo Was A Giant Yawn

After a week of breathless hand wringing, the GOP and Donald Trump finally released the Congressional Memo that supposedly illustrates how biased the FBI is towards Donald Trump. Before it came out, I was most amused at the notion that this was some sort of smoking gun that Devin Nunes uncovered in the deep, dark bowels of the FBI on a super secret agent spy mission.

THEY WROTE THE FUCKING MEMO!!

By this same measure, I could write a memo about how Donald Trump secretly formed ISIL back in 2011. Then I could release and claim that it was so. Sheesh...

After reading through the memo, I was please to see confirmation that the investigation into Donald Trump and his ties with Russia began with George Papadopolous and his drunken night of bragging. It did not begin with the FISA warrant on Carter Page based on the Steele Dossier. Carter Page was also under scrutiny long before the Steele Dossier.

So, the whole thing was full of sound and fury signifying nothing. Honestly, it's not surprising given the fact that Republicans are madly scrambling to somehow blunt what's sure to be coming this year: an indictment of President Trump for money laundering. 

Tuesday, July 25, 2017

A Better Deal

The Democrats rolled out their new brand yesterday in Berryville, Virginia in the hopes of wooing back those voters that flipped from Obama to Trump and cost Hillary Clinton the election. They are calling it "A Better Deal." I like the message. It's one most US citizens support. My issue is not with the policy but with the bearers of that message. Schumer is OK. Warren is fine but getting long in the tooth. Pelosi is a disaster and has to go.

Where are all the young Democrats out there? Heck, they don't even have to be young. Where is my age cohort, the Gen Xers? The Democrats keep rolling out these fossils to push policies that are going to affect millions of young people. Barack Obama was a very effective communicator because he was YOUNGER than previous nominees. I realize this can sound ageist but do we want to win or do we want to lose?


Saturday, February 18, 2017

The Magic R

When you are a Republican, a different set of rules applies to you. You get away with shit that Democrats would be destroyed for. Worse, the very thing that you spend years ripping Dems for, you get to do with zero repercussions.

Last night on Real Time, Bill Maher most eloquently expressed something that has frustrated me for years. Democrats are held to a different standard because they are the adults while Republicans (the adolescents) are given a very wide degree of latitude of words and behavior.

It must stop. Yesterday.

Thursday, November 10, 2016

What Wave?

I've been reading a lot today about the Trump wave and Trump's America and how the disaffected white man came out to finally vote for the first time. What a bunch of nonsense.

A key thing to remember in all of this is that Hillary and the Democrats blew it...Donald Trump did not win it. With the popular vote still coming in, we have Hillary at 60.1 million and Trump at 59.8 million. John McCain got 59.9 million in 2008 when enthusiasm for Republicans was at an all time low. Romney got 60.1 at a time when Barack Obama's approval rating was below 50 percent.

My point is that Trump didn't awaken droves of voters that have been pissed off at the elites. Hillary FAILED to awaken those voters and bring them to her side. She needed the same levels that the president had (69.4 and 65.9, respectively). Trump's "enthusiastic" voters are still less than McCain's unenthusiastic voters. That says FAIL on the part of Democrats to put up a candidate to beat a shrinking party.

And that's what they should be focusing on for the next four years. Who is out there who is young and can speak to a broad coalition (heavy on the younger side) as Barack Obama did? I've Monday morning quarterbacked the idea that Bernie Sanders could have beat Trump as many of my liberal friends have told me. He probably would have won Michigan and Pennsylvania. But the south? Doubtful. People of color? Much less than Hillary.

What really should have happened is this....Barack Obama doesn't run in 2008 and Hillary wins easily at a time when the Dems had a lock on the race. She takes out bin Laden and likely does a better job than the president did with Congress. Maybe she wins a second term, maybe not. With no Obama, Trump never really comes on the scene so he's not a factor in 2016. In comes the skinny guy with the funny sounding name and we elect our first black president this year when people are even more hungry for change...

Saturday, October 15, 2016

Quoran Quickie

It's weird how things can go viral on Quora. My answers that I think will generate many views and upvotes invariably don't. The ones I think are just throwaways, like this one, get thousands of views and upvotes.

I guess now that extends to comments. A recent answer on who won the first presidential debate led me to this comment on it.

My hope is that Trump loses by a large margin and the GOP returns to the party of Reagan and Bush 1. Even though I am a Democrat, I want an opposition party that can keep the left in check on some of the more outlandish ideas (all corporations are evil, globalization is always evil etc). They have to get rid of all that anger, hate and fear, though, and I’m not sure how that happens.

As of this morning, it has 129 upvotes, the most I have ever had for a comment and the most I've seen on Quora in a while. It took me less than a minute to write but I guess it had an impact.

Sunday, August 07, 2016

Really Fucking Bad

Remember a few months back when some pundits were hand wringing over how Hillary Clinton could get Donald Trump? After all, the guy was impervious, right? He bested a "strong" GOP field of 16 other candidates and was all set to take down the Hilz in similar fashion. There was no earthly way she could stop him.

Except she did.

And it was magnificent.

We're still three months away from the election and a lot could happen. In fact, I'm expecting a few bad things to happen to Hillary along the way. Maybe even a really bad one or two. That's politics and no doubt her team is expecting it now that we have the revelation that Julian Assange wants to be the teenager who burns the house down just for kicks. But one thing has became very clear in the last week.

Like any right wing blogger or commenter, it's mere child's play to get to a guy like Trump.

The trap she laid for him with Khans was beautiful. It totally threw him off his game and he spent the week pitching a fit that has now put Georgia, Arizona and possibly Missouri in play for the Dems. Down ballot, GOP candidates are scrambling to saw themselves loose of the dead hooker (Trump) to which they are handcuffed. Consider this handy checklist of Trump's behavior as a result of being pwned by the Khans.

-Foamed at the mouth about fire marshals from Colorado to Ohio.

-Kicked a baby out of an event after saying the baby was OK to stay.

-Took a purple heart from a veteran that he said was real but wasn't and made jokes about it.

-Said that if a woman was being sexually harassed in the workplace, she should get a different job.

-Refused to endorse Paul Ryan or John McCain and then grudgingly did so.

-Called Hillary Clinton the devil (ah, that ol' chesnut..:))

-Called the election rigged (see also: taking ball, going home after ass whupping)

-Claimed that a video existed of the US paying off Iran. He later retracted this statement.

-Claimed that the NFL sent him a letter complaining of the debate schedule. The NFL said they never did so.

Given all of this, here's my latest map...


Click the map to create your own at 270toWin.com


Now that we have all seen how easy it is to get a guy like Trump, Hillary's debate strategy should be pretty clear. The guy can't resist taking the bait and then making shit up based on the insanity in his head. So, give him the bait.

More importantly, though, I think we are finally seeing just how well the mentality, emotional balance and ideology of right wing bloggers and commenters would do under the spotlight.

Really fucking bad.

Wednesday, July 13, 2016

Good Words (2016 Election Edition)

"Right now, the G.O.P. is not a healthy center-right party. It is a mishmash of religious conservatives; angry white males who fear they are becoming a minority in their own country and hate trade; gun-control opponents; pro-lifers; anti-regulation and free-market small-business owners; and pro- and anti-free trade entrepreneurs."

---Thomas Friedman, in his recent Op-Ed, "The (G.O.P) Party's Over."

I am completely with him in terms of the sentiment of the whole column. Hillary Clinton can't merely win. She has to crush him with the Democrats taking back both the Senate and the House. The latter will likely not happen given the reality of congressional districts but even a shift to put the Dems over 200 in the House would be symbolically significant.

The anger, hate filled mouth foamers that are afraid of their own shadow (aka the Trump voter) need to be sent a message. Fuck your guns, bigotry, racism, ignorance of science and economics, and desire to return to the Antebellum South.

We are moving on without you.


Friday, June 24, 2016

Thursday, June 23, 2016

Real Leaders

House Democrats, lead by civil rights icon John Lewis, are staging a sit-in on the floor of the US House of Representatives demanding a vote on new gun legislation that will expand background checks and prevent terrorists from acquiring firearms.

A live feed of the sit in is available here.

This is what real leaders do. They fight for what is right despite any minor discomfort they may feel. Poor leaders, like Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan, chicken out, refuse to call a vote, shut down the cameras, and go on summer vacation...while continuing to allow terrorists access to whatever firearms they choose.

Do Republicans really think they can fuck with this guy?
















He's the one about to be cracked across the head on the Edmund Pettis bridge in Selma, 1965. Today, in 2016, he's doing it again.

Monday, October 05, 2015

Friday, February 06, 2015

President Grandma

While the Republicans fill up their clown car with another round of presidential candidates (exception: Jeb Bush) for the 2016 election, ready to spout wacky, ideological nonsense (copyright: Barack Obama), Hillary Clinton calmly waits to announce her candidacy. She will have virtually no opposition from the Democrats and is running far ahead of all GOP Candidates (exception, again, Jeb Bush) in the early polls.

She is certainly not a done deal for the White House and will likely make some gaffes along the way in addition to being hit hard by oppo research. Yet most of this will wash away and it won't be merely be because she is a woman and will draw many women to vote for her. It will be due to one inescapable fact.

She is going to be President Grandma.

And the hate, fear and anger brigade on the Right won't be able to get any traction against her like they did with Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. Sure, they'll still have the die hard members of the Cult that will be believe anything they say but a good chunk of the cranky, old white people will take severe umbrage against attacking someone's grandmother. In many ways, this negates any discussion of Ms. Clinton's age.

This is an appeal that goes to the very heart of Americana. The image of "grandma" keeping us all safe and warm is inherently universal. Grandma is the one that bakes you cookies, tucks you in, and showers you with love and affection every time she sees you. Even some of the cranky, old white men that hate Barack Obama will be swayed by future President Grandma.

So, my message to Ms. Clinton and her people is simple: every single thing that you do after you announce your candidacy should be geared around President Grandma. Speaking events, townhalls, debates, social media communiques...all of it! Don't fret about getting the young vote. They like grandmas too, remember! Think about the voting bloc you can create...women, old white people, young people, all the non white people who continue to be alienated by the Right...they will all come home to President Grandma!


Wednesday, February 04, 2015

Are White Republicans More Racist Than White Democrats? (Part Eleven)

Here's a poll conducted recently by the Washington Post and AP regarding implicit racism between Democrats and Republicans.


























Certainly, this shows a problem with implicit racism in both parties yet when two thirds are showing a problem (nearly 10 points ahead of the Democrats) that is more significant. Again, this isn't surprising considering that the bulk of the GOP base is in the South.

There is also this Pew Poll which mirrors the GSS data regarding interracial marriage.





















Note the uptick again right around the time the president got elected.

So, what exactly is implicit racism? Well, take the survey and find out! Here were my results.

Your Result Your data suggest a slight automatic preference for European American compared to African American.

This comes as no surprise to me whatsoever. I'm curious as to how my five commenters would do on this survey...if they even agree to submit to it. That first screen will likely send them into fits of paranoia:)

Friday, January 23, 2015

Are White Republicans More Racist Than White Democrats? (Part Ten)

The question of which political party is more racist was recently addressed on Quora. This answer was by far the best one given. Several key takeaways emerge from it. First, a summary timeline... 

-From 1828 to 1948, the Democratic Party was clearly the party favored by Southern whites who supported slavery and then Jim Crow & segregation. In 1948, Democratic President Harry S. Truman ordered the integration of the U.S. Armed Forces. Things start to get murky. 

-From 1948 to 1968, it was a period of great flux with regard to race in politics in America. This was the period of Strom Thurmond's presidential campaign, the Dixiecrats and George Wallace. Again in play was The American South. 

-From 1968 until 2005, the Republican Party had a clear pattern of exploiting racial resentments in the South over the provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In what has become known as the "Southern Strategy," the Republican Party – first with Barry Goldwater and then more successfully with Richard Nixon – sought to exploit racial anxieties of Southern Whites. In 2005, then RNC Chair Ken Mehlman apologized for the Southern Strategy and repudiated it at the annual conference of the NAACP.

With the last segment, we see an admission from the highest ranking member of the GOP at the time that they employed the Southern Strategy to win the white conservative vote. Interestingly, his apology drew criticism that illustrates the point I have been making all along: the GOP has a problem with race, particularly black people.

But what about from 2005 to 2015? In his answer on Quora, Mr. McCullough offers a detailed look at the racial implications of voter ID laws followed by this:

Bottom line: whichever party appeals to and builds upon the voting bloc of Southern White Conservatives owns the legacy of slavery and institutionalized racism in the United States. These days, that party is the Republican Party. ...look away, look away, look away Dixieland.

I completely agree. "Owning" is not a word conservatives do really well at all. Their first reaction is to DARVO (Deny, Attack, and Reverse Victim and Offender) and blame the liberal media. It will never cease to amaze me that the party that preaches responsibility completely fails to take any of it on a myriad of issues today.

But own it they must because Southern White Conservatives are a substantial part of their base.

Thursday, January 22, 2015

Are White Republicans More Racist Than White Democrats? (Part Nine)

In looking at the index of all of the graphics I have put up thus far, it's quite clear that white Republicans tend to be more racist than white Democrats.


























The good news is that the trend is downward for both parties. Still, it's far too high for 2015.

Part of what is driving all of this is "the old ways" of the South. Take a look at this.




















The above graphic is from Humboldt University's Geography of Hate map and which tracks where the most tweets with the word "nigger" originate. The primary cluster of red globs are located around and below the Mason Dixon line.

Which party overwhelmingly dominates these states?


Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Are White Republicans More Racist Than White Democrats? (Part Eight)

Here is the last question culled by 538 from GSS data in our continuing series on racism and political parties.
























I'm not terribly impressed by the question as the word "close" is pretty ambiguous although I am glad to see the numbers lower than some of the other questions. Note that there is still an uptick after the president was elected and that more Republicans rate themselves as not being close to black people.