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Basically an acknowledgement of two things: âI canât stand being laughed at, and I lost my sense of humor back in kindergarten.â
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But itâs even more reason for folks to go to Sam Beeâs âNerd Promâ thing insteadâŚ
Good for her.
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insert chicken mp3 here
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Agree, but the left has never made a dent like that in the DNC in a long time and cannot be ignored. I look forward to Ellison and Sanders continuing to push things forward.
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Unpresidented
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Dems continue to loudly declare that theyâd prefer to stay as the loyal âoppositionâ to a fascist plutocracy if the alternative is to actually represent working Americans.
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Yep.
Greenwald called it just right before the installation of Perez.
it seems Democratic leaders prioritize ensuring that the left has no influence in their party over strengthening itself to beat the Trump-led RepublicansâŚthe Democratic Party continues to venerate loyalty to its oligarchical donors above all else
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The âwhy talk to my constituents, I donât have to face an election for 6 yearsâ approach?
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Does Rubio think that a mysterious organizing force is giving all activists instructions?
Gosh, Marco, maybe every single answer you give is deeply unpopular and angers the constituents who youâre actively hurting. That couldnât be the reason theyâre heckling you.
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Everyone knows Sean Spicer was born in Kenya and is a secret Muslim enemy agent.
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Hmm.
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This guide is the âInstructionsâ that Rubio is saying that theyâve been given.
Specifically:
AT THE TOWN HALL
- Get there early, meet up, and get organized. Meet outside or in the parking lot for a quick huddle before the event. Distribute the handout of questions, and encourage members to ask the questions on the sheet or something similar.
- Get seated and spread out. Head into the venue a bit early to grab seats at the front half of the room, but do not all sit together. Sit by yourself or in groups of two, and spread out throughout the room. This will help reinforce the impression of broad consensus.
- Make your voices heard by asking good questions. When the MoC opens the floor for questions, everyone in the group should put their hands up and keep them there. Look friendly or neutral so that staffers will call on you. When youâre asking a question, remember the following guidelines:
Stick with the prepared list of questions. Donât be afraid to read it straight from the printout if you need to.
Be polite but persistent, and demand real answers. MoCs are very good at deflecting or dodging questions they donât want to answer. If the MoC dodges, ask a follow-up question. If they arenât giving you real answers, then call them out for it. Other group members around the room should amplify by either booing the MoC or applauding you.
Donât give up the mic until youâre satisfied with the answer. If youâve asked a hostile question, a staffer will often try to limit your ability to follow up by taking the microphone back immediately after you finish speaking. They canât do that if you keep a firm hold on the mic. No staffer in their right mind wants to look like theyâre physically intimidating a constituent, so they will back off. If they object, then say politely but loudly: âIâm not finished. The MoC is dodging my question. Why are you trying to stop me from following up?â
Keep the pressure on. After one member of the group finishes, everyone should raise their hands again. The next member of the group to be called on should move down the list of questions and ask the next one.
- Support the group and reinforce the message. After one member of your group asks a question, everyone should applaud to show that the feeling is shared throughout the audience. Whenever someone from your group gets the mic, they should note that theyâre building on the previous questions â amplifying the fact that youâre part of a broad group.
- Record everything! Assign someone in the group to use their smart phone or video camera to record other advocates asking questions and the MoCâs response. While written transcripts are nice, unfavorable exchanges caught on video can be devastating for MoCs. These clips can be shared through social media and picked up by local and national media. Please familiarize yourself with your state and local laws that govern recording, along with any applicable Senate or House rules, prior to recording. These laws and rules vary substantially from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.
âThey are instructed to boo no matter what answer I giveâ is a gross mischaracterization of the âBe polite but persistent, and demand real answersâ point (unless every answer you give falls into the ânot a real answerâ category, which, with Rubio, I wouldnât be surprised).
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Sounds awful.
Everyone knows only people who voted for the person who won is allowed to speak to them, and even then, only to tell them how great they are.
Politicians being held accountable to their constituents? Sounds awful.
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Also from that guide:
HELP, MY MOCS ARE ACTUALLY PRETTY GOOD!
Congratulations! Your Senators and Representative are doing what they should to fight racism, authoritarianism, and corruption. Theyâre making the right public statements, co-sponsoring the right bills, and voting the right way. So how does this change your strategy? Two key things to keep in mind:
Do NOT switch to targeting other MoCs who donât represent you. They donât represent you, and they donât care what you have to say. Stick with your own local MoCs.
DO use this guide to engage with your MoCs locally. Instead of pressuring them to do the right thing, praise them for doing the right thing. This is important because it will help ensure that they continue to do the right thing. Congressional staff are rarely contacted when the MoC does something good â your efforts locally will provide highly valuable positive reinforcement.
DO use this guide to engage with your MoCs locally. Instead of pressuring them to do the right thing, praise them for doing the right thing. This is important because it will help ensure that they continue to do the right thing. Congressional staff are rarely contacted when the MoC does something good â your efforts locally will provide highly valuable positive reinforcement.
How anti-democratic, a guide telling you to praise your representative when they do something you like, and hold them accountable when they donât!
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