Also, our country is BIG. Like, the size of most of Europe- Most of our states are the size of most countries, and almost as different- we have several regional cultures. There are places in this country where $75k is barely enough to stay out of poverty, and places where that kind of income would make you the richest man in town. It’s literally like comparing Moldova to France (which is about the same distance between them as Boston from Atlanta, BTW).
Again, the problem is that we’re thinking in terms of dollar amounts or job titles instead of actual quality of life reference points.
Can you afford a car?
No- You’re impoverished.
An old one, but barely- You’re poor.
A decent used car- Working class / blue collar
We buy a new one every couple years- Middle class.
I always buy this year’s Mercedes- Rich
I’m sure I have several, but I have people who manage those things- Wealthy
If you use those kind of metrics, you find that the middle class has shrunk to about 5% of the population- And I guarantee you, those aren’t Trump’s base.
The new revelations of Russian intervention in the election (hacking the DNC in June and leaking DNC emails prior to the DNC main event, Donald Trump’s Russian funding and comments about NATO) make me worry that the election will be swung by Russian shenanigans on election day itself. I wonder how blatant the screwing around with electronic vote machine totals will be this time around.
Sure, we learned that the world didn’t end. From my point of view, even if we “win”, we lose. We need to fix our system, and no president will, or can, do that. Certainly not the ones put before us as candidates.
OK. After Hilary is elected. Stop just voting; it’s only every couple of years. Join your state Democratic party., take it over. Vote in more progressives at every level. Rinse and repeat. Bernie Sanders was close to winning the nomination, basically taking over the party from outside without getting all this organization in place; the next person needs that if they are going to win.
In the UK, Tom Watson said the same thing a few years back and then Jeremy Corbyn happened. Now we have the Blairites trying to get rid of him, despite it looking like the majority of the party membership don’t want another Tony Blair as leader.
I can totally see that happening, because it’s happened: when I was taking politics with a friend back when we were having our primary here in NC, the only reason that my friend was able to give to vote for Clinton over Sanders was, in her own words, “but lady president”. That was even before all the scandals we’ve been having recently came along.
Yes, but they won’t succeed. Even in the unlikely event that Smith beats him, Smith is hardly a Blairite.
Unfortunately, in a head to head debate between Corbyn and May, May will chew him up and spit him out. Labour needs to find a leader with the politics of Corbyn but with stronger presence and leadership skills, and elect him him some time in the future (not now, when a united Labour could make some inroads).
…and the really sad thing about saying “but lady president” is that your friend is kinda saying “…even though the other candidate is better”.
A much better response would have been: “Oh, she’d be a lady president? I hadn’t thought of that.” Her reply really reveals how little attention is paid to Clinton’s policies and her history.
Humans on this planet are ultimately one organism, so what happens politically in pockets at first will spread to cover large areas of the globe…as it always has.
Yeah, that was what was annoying me about it. Not that her vote would’ve made any difference if she cast it differently, but it was a bit frustrating. Least now we both get to vote for a lady president now, since I’m probably casting for Stein.
And I’ve not been impressed with Owen Smith during his time as shadow secretary for Work and Pensions (I’m disabled, on DLA and in the process of applying for PIP). I see Corbyn as the better choice in my circumstances (Yes, I know it was him who appointed Owen Smith to Work and Pensions, but I also understand that an entirely left wing cabinet would have only pushed the Labour right to attempt a coup as soon as they could).
Jeremy Corbyn’s political views are not mine, but they are better than Owen Sith’s Smith’s who I don’t trust to be prime minister any more than Theresa May.
Interesting (depressing?) to see the same thing playing out in the US and the UK at the same time, pushing that ‘lesser evil’ line as far as possible.
I don’t think Corbyn is a good leader. Yes, he was thrown into a job none of his colleagues wanted him to have, so it’s not surprising it isn’t going well, but I think there must be at least a modicum of truth behind other MP’s criticism of him. But it’s clearly not just an argument over style.
