tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856837.post1181277343511317033..comments2023-10-24T09:06:30.200-04:00Comments on No More Mister Nice Blog: The Dogs Bark, But the Caravan Moves OnSteve M.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11963290427258439242noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856837.post-61642735231439648032016-06-21T18:33:29.752-04:002016-06-21T18:33:29.752-04:00I can't bring myself to comment on the train w...I can't bring myself to comment on the train wreck over at LGM, so I'll just leave a virtual salute and many thanks for this post and your comments. Seriously great stuff!<br /><br />Also, how did I miss that you'd resumed blogging here (if you'd ever left)?<br /><br />Patrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01022116453187626140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856837.post-25749604807240519002016-06-20T19:00:30.081-04:002016-06-20T19:00:30.081-04:00So, in terms of the Democratic party and Bernie su...So, in terms of the Democratic party and Bernie supporters: loyalty/exit/voice. Loyalty is low to non-existent- already independents or alienated during the campaign. Voice is low- the only concessions seem to be symbolic or designed to be easy to ignore in practice, like the party platform. So, exit becomes the way that bernie's people get any agency, constrained by Trump. I guess what i'm saying is that I don'the see much reason for bernie's people to work with or for the Democratic party, besides tactical voting. What am I missing?Alatohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17679209474557120068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856837.post-40039948676096601222016-06-20T09:36:16.557-04:002016-06-20T09:36:16.557-04:00The caravan will move on faster if people stop bea...The caravan will move on faster if people stop beating the dead hoarse. Jeezus, let it go already.<br />petrillihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17889489779105405703noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856837.post-75961212318086648432016-06-20T09:09:13.295-04:002016-06-20T09:09:13.295-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Kathyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10651455277401911296noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856837.post-66478160667177472052016-06-20T09:09:01.951-04:002016-06-20T09:09:01.951-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Kathyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10651455277401911296noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856837.post-25911595648874862652016-06-20T03:47:18.217-04:002016-06-20T03:47:18.217-04:00"the people are found wanting and need to be ..."the people are found wanting and need to be dissolved"<br /><br />Brecht, okay?<br /><br />Thanks for mentioning Fred Clark, an essential resource for understanding our antagonists and ourselves, and contrasting Rachel Carson with Edward Abbey (whom however we must forgive, since he couldn't forgive himself).Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01629559601528774936noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856837.post-19356588935862773592016-06-19T15:25:47.584-04:002016-06-19T15:25:47.584-04:00TL;DR: four thousand more butthurt words on why th...TL;DR: four thousand more butthurt words on why the opinions of a majority of Democratic voters under age 45 "don't matter". Lolz. That's not gonna end well.Chai T. Ch'uanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10956478299220539612noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856837.post-7775792201777479152016-06-19T10:22:21.731-04:002016-06-19T10:22:21.731-04:00Thanks, Aimai. You give such eloquent voice to my ...Thanks, Aimai. You give such eloquent voice to my own thoughts on Bernie and his campaign.Kathyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10651455277401911296noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856837.post-44922218365714029322016-06-19T01:19:23.790-04:002016-06-19T01:19:23.790-04:00God willing, the Democratic Party is a winning par...God willing, the Democratic Party is a winning party.Sweet Suehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06356702664203685197noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856837.post-43481880175578497172016-06-19T00:55:46.112-04:002016-06-19T00:55:46.112-04:00Is the Democratic Party supposed to be a mass part...Is the Democratic Party supposed to be a mass party? Or a vanguard party?<br /><br />We go round and round on this... to our everlasting detriment.William F. Glennonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10557342274820875239noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856837.post-42486258215747612882016-06-18T23:01:56.952-04:002016-06-18T23:01:56.952-04:00Speaking with (R) colleagues lately, I'm incre...Speaking with (R) colleagues lately, I'm increasingly convinced that the recent 49-37 Bloomberg poll is not only possible, but likely. Although my colleagues will show up and vote down-ticket, I do think that Republicans will have a turnout problem...<br /><br />But who knows. I may underestimate party loyalties.<br /><br />Thought experiment for the dead-enders out there: What do you think HRC would do with a full- or two-term Dem House and 60-vote majority in the Senate? Nickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06370070580510778655noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856837.post-649662772671995752016-06-18T22:14:00.815-04:002016-06-18T22:14:00.815-04:00Great post, Aimai. As other's have said I too ...Great post, Aimai. As other's have said I too have been reading you for a while and really like what you write. Thanks for another great post.JoyousMNhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16754809233806402705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856837.post-85748800566735864092016-06-18T20:51:40.574-04:002016-06-18T20:51:40.574-04:00Aimai, I've been reading your comments and tho...Aimai, I've been reading your comments and thoughts on things for years now, with admiration. You really knocked it out of the park here. Well done. Belvoirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18434724232693713684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856837.post-85862864407671595412016-06-18T20:44:51.373-04:002016-06-18T20:44:51.373-04:00I've always liked Bernie from afar, as it were...I've always liked Bernie from afar, as it were, so I'm sorry to say that I've lost a lot of respect for him during this campaign. <br /><br />Looking back, I think the actual turning point happened when he released his proposal for health reform - a document so riddled with handwaving, underpants gnome thinking and hugely embarrassing errors that it was impossible to take it seriously. That made me go: "Hang on! Bernie has been advocating for universal healthcare since the dawn of time - one of the things his followers praise him for is the way he never abandons his principles. In other words, he has had years, if not decades, to think about how this could be achieved. Yet when journalists ask him what his plan is, he stalls for weeks before producing something that was clearly slapped together in haste by people with dubious expertise. This is simply not how a serious politician works."<br /><br />I'm afraid that impression has only been strengthened since then. And it doesn't help that he's now behaving like a petulant spoiler, refusing to even acknowledge his defeat.Unsalted Sinnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07388516480935688151noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856837.post-89859913462975530872016-06-18T20:44:16.074-04:002016-06-18T20:44:16.074-04:00When Johnson beat Goldwater by over 22 points, the...When Johnson beat Goldwater by over 22 points, the spread in the House race was 57.1% to 42.4%, and Democrats picked up 37 seats. Of course they already had a majority anyway. Anyway the eight-point swing is not at all inconceivable. In the "shellacking" of 2010 the spread was 51.7% R to 44.9% D. That was an off-year, so turnout was just 40%.<br /><br />Given the unique awfulness of Trump as a candidate, which will mean particularly low turnout on the discouraged GOP side, a 1964-style blowout is indeed possible.<br /><br />Yes, turn out!<br /><br />Aimai, I don't have any standing to lecture you on how to write about Sanders. I've been virtually pretending he doesn't exist for the last couple of weeks, which is certainly not the ideal approach. I just thought the bit you wrote about the movement was a nice and appropriate gesture.Yastreblyanskyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08335868257729063363noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856837.post-31555811709152938472016-06-18T19:31:15.464-04:002016-06-18T19:31:15.464-04:00I read that article,Nick. It is very exciting but ...I read that article,Nick. It is very exciting but an eight point win is, I think?, an enormous lift. Didn't Obama win by just a few points? aimaihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03956073425680585780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856837.post-31937740372318627382016-06-18T19:21:18.399-04:002016-06-18T19:21:18.399-04:00"...eight-point win would put Republicans in ..."...eight-point win would put Republicans in the danger zone [for losing the House]."<br /><br />Turn out, one and all!<br /><br />http://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2016-06-17/republicans-should-worry-about-losing-the-houseNickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06370070580510778655noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856837.post-14016029958924860542016-06-18T18:54:37.354-04:002016-06-18T18:54:37.354-04:00I do like Bernie, but to not even concede to Clint...I do like Bernie, but to not even concede to Clinton after losing California by such a huge margin signals to me that he doesn't really like losing to a woman. Hillary might be corporate, might appear a bit impersonal, but for fucksakes she is the only thing between us and that fascist jackass from that other party getting into power and ruining everyone's life once and forever. Also, I don't really give two hoots about the young Bernie supporters. They don't know shit about life and or anything in general. They can make like a tree and get the fuck out of here.Roshanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18121950646654539482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856837.post-78386523035417865892016-06-18T18:34:47.127-04:002016-06-18T18:34:47.127-04:00The latest argument I'm reading from Sanders s...The latest argument I'm reading from Sanders supporters is that he should be the nominee because more independents favor him than either Trump or Hillary. Quite why a political party should pay more heed to the wishes of independents than to its own members is a mystery, but it's of a piece with the peculiar, self-righteous, "we're here to clean up your corrupt party for you and we expect your support in return" attitude of the Bernie fans. It's as if they believe no ethical person could ever bring themselves to join either political party, and independents are the only ones who can claim any moral authority.Ken_Lhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11709548046018362581noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856837.post-69994825498604814832016-06-18T18:22:42.054-04:002016-06-18T18:22:42.054-04:00If Sanders had graciously conceded to Clinton, sus...If Sanders had graciously conceded to Clinton, suspended his campaign, and was revving up to go out on the road as her surrogate during the general election my thoughts on Sanders the man, his supporters,and the campaign he ran would have been entirely different. Like many women, and many Clinton supporters, I am still absolutely gobsmacked that Sanders was unable to manage conceding and complimenting Hillary on her historic run. The acrimony, ugliness, and sheer boorishness of his late campaign has really poisoned it for me, and I was disinclined to waste any time giving his supporters or Sanders any more sympathy than they gave Hillary's voters.aimaihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03956073425680585780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856837.post-43673881880195065252016-06-18T17:57:03.785-04:002016-06-18T17:57:03.785-04:00Excellent post, aimai.
Funny thing about Sanders ...Excellent post, aimai.<br /><br />Funny thing about Sanders urging people to run for office as (in many cases) their second act of political involvement (skipping steps like years of volunteer drudgery, mastering a set of issues, building a broad-based network of relationships): Sanders himself didn't vote until he himself was on the ballot.Tom Hiltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17575511424823512042noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856837.post-84439074327936952672016-06-18T17:43:25.799-04:002016-06-18T17:43:25.799-04:00It had a lot of greatness in it--and I can see tha...<i>It had a lot of greatness in it--and I can see that people were very moved by it. I was very moved by it and, as I have said many times, almost voted for Sanders myself. If he had won the nomination I would have worked my heart out for him, and kept my snark to myself, because I don't really expect to get a perfect president...</i><br /><br />Almost wish you'd put that in the original post. The passion was real and for a while it was really thrilling, and I hope it doesn't just dissipate into crabbiness. It would be nice if the young ones especially could understand that they did achieve something big and could keep doing more. Even if they're wrong about a lot of stuff, because who isn't?Yastreblyanskyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08335868257729063363noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856837.post-9444861920376376412016-06-18T17:02:28.401-04:002016-06-18T17:02:28.401-04:00I think that people who are more familiar than I a...I think that people who are more familiar than I am with politics, and I have some familiarity, will tell you that people who respondto an online plea like this are really very unlikely to be serious about submitting to the rigors of a campaign. I think its very, very, unlikely that Sanders's list contains even 100 people who are actually willing and able to run for any kind of campaign--and of those 100 I'm pretty sure that you would find they were already on their way to reaching out and touching the Democrats, or the Greens, to run for office already.<br /><br />This kind of faux online activism, and "click this box to have an organization that does not yet exist contact you to vet you for a run for office under our brand" has to be the fakest of fake forms of activism, is just not relevant. In the real world, the bricks and mortar world, HRC has been signing people up to phone bank, requesting people submit resumes for "fellowships" and "internships" around the country in this election. Those real jobs will probably translate into a certain number of younger people becoming both interested in,and skilled in, ground level campaigns. You meet ex Obama volunteers all the time in local politics around here--they are either running campaigns or gearing up to run for office. <br /><br />I agree that the Democrats could use a lot more outreach. But the vast majority of people, and that includes progressives, ask not what they can do for their country but what their country can do for them. Its extremely costly to run for office, its difficult, its exhausting, and except for some small local jobs it takes a huge time commitment. I know that locally ward leaders and other people are always beating the bushes for people to come and work for the party, and run for office. <br /><br />I see Bernie's thing as a stunt--just like his claim to support down ticket races was a stunt. He didn't have enough information, or interest, in races a ll around the country, he wasn't willing to support the most progressive person in a given race (they had to meet his extra purity standards) and he didn't actually raise much money for people or share the money he had raised for himself. I am pretty sure this "list" of people who want to run for office is going to be just more vaporware. ( I read, though I can't trace it to its source, that Bernie is asking that the people who volunteer through this form have never run for office before. I get why they think that is a good idea but people learn a lot from running for office and losing--look at Hillary Clinton. )<br /><br />aimaihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03956073425680585780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856837.post-80498786525532072972016-06-18T16:48:47.404-04:002016-06-18T16:48:47.404-04:00Disagree on one major point:
I would love to see ...Disagree on one major point:<br /><br />I would love to see the DNC do something similar - provide a link that asks if you, as a Democrat, are willing to run for office or volunteer. I think it is brilliant, if followed by a directed and earnest effort to vet those who answer that call and get them engaged. <br /><br />Winning the White House is important - critically important in this cycle when the failure to elect Clinton means a true madman in charge. But two other important pieces of business are; 1) to win back the 30 or so statehouses and governorships now on the red side of the ledger, 2) to motivate Democrats to vote in the elections two years from this November. <br /><br />Nothing is more important to both of those efforts than to enlist rank-and-file members who are activists - right now - who would be willing to knock on doors, make calls, use their spare time to make a difference, or in the best case become energetic standard bearers in future elections. <br /><br />If the November elections go the best case scenario for Democrats, they'll win the WH, take back the Senate, and erode the Republican majority in the House. If elections follow recent form, the Democrats could give back that Senate majority in two years, lose House seats, and also lose more ground in statehouses from sea to shining sea. <br /><br />Getting every Democrat - Clinton or Sanders supporter - whose political attention has been heightened by this historic election, signed up, engaged, activated, and keeping that attention at its boiling point is critical to avoid the one-step forward, two-steps back, vicious cyclical we've seen in elections for too long. <br /><br />That means reaching out, that means inclusion, that means telling everyone your opinion matters. Just because there may be a vocal and vicious minority of Sanders' supporters that deserve criticism doesn't mean that the millions of other Sanders' voters shouldn't be embraced, encouraged, and brought into the fold. Not just put into the fold, but put to work in the party. <br /><br />And the DNC should do the same thing. Instead receiving 15-20 emails a day begging for money to every Democrat, there should be 30-50 emails a day tapping into the human resources available. Ask if they'll run for office. Ask if they will volunteer, then follow up with financial and organizational support. Dedicate resources to outreach on the state level, connect those who can help with Democratic organizations, who want to help, on the state level. Begin now to help organize Democrats in all 50 states a get-out-the-vote effort for 2018. Make the off-year election important, and start that effort now. <br /><br />Sanders' list of 6,700 may contain the names of 100 people on the same campus, but that is 6,700 more warm bodies willing to do more than just send in $100 or $200 bucks - willing to do more than just put their money out there, but to put themselves out there. Bill Scofieldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13836313013666242312noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3856837.post-91678494037588016992016-06-18T15:11:55.738-04:002016-06-18T15:11:55.738-04:00OOOPS!
Ms. L B!
Sorry...OOOPS!<br />Ms. L B!<br />Sorry...Victorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06609452382111686086noreply@blogger.com