Oh absolutely. Sometime I just want to see how something plays out, or I think “lets fly it all the way into the crash”.
They’re all tools of the Archons and need the Invisible treatment
2 Likes
This is not correct:
No current candidate in either party is anywhere close.
(This was a mistake I made in 1980: I thought that Reagan was a creepy old fascist, and assumed most people shared my perception. Turns out, most Americans thought he was their kindly, good-natured uncle.)
6 Likes
Warren seems plausible. Gabbard strikes me as Trump Lite when it comes to foreign policy, and to my mind Sanders is–as I’ve detailed elsewhere–clownshoes. Wouldn’t prevent me from voting for either of them if the alternative were Trump, but of those three I’m only considering Warren in the primary.
5 Likes
Polls seem to disagree with this sentiment. Chuck Todd was saying this very evening that Biden polls the best against Trump head-to-head vs all the other Democratic candidates currently. Although almost all of the main Dems running at least tied Trump, if not stayed a few points above him.
By the way, it is worth mentioning that he wasn’t always the lovable uncle. During the 1988 campaign he was generally thought of as being a bit of a snarkmeister. Here he is defending himself against charges about a law school paper:
(Though once he leaves the question of how smart he is and talks about policy, it is hard to argue with him.)
1 Like
He’s basically a clone of Clinton, as far as I can tell. I can’t think of a single thing they’ve disagreed on this century. He’s pretty much a perfect candidate to lead the liberal wing of the Eternal War Party.
5 Likes
I ranted about this just today. Fallon lost any respect from me at that moment: way to normalize the abnormal, Jimmy.
2 Likes
Sanders worse than Biden? What metric are you using?
I see Sanders as being a grouchy old dude who needs a comb but who has been fighting for the disadvantaged, workers, and middle class his entire life. Who takes climate change seriously. Who keeps corporations and billionaires at arm’s length. Who is pro-legalization, who wants to protect consumers against shady lenders…
I see Biden as a superficially friendly old dude who may not need a comb but who has been fighting for the corporations and the rich his entire career. Who had a fundraiser with the head of Comcast to kick off his campaign. Who literally developed the concept (and name) Drug Czar and ranted against Bush Sr for being too soft on drugs and letting too many drug users avoid prison time. Whose energy was spent making it harder for consumers to declare bankruptcy while prioritizing credit card companies. Who thinks its a good idea to call Anita Hill decades after he sidelined her harassment claims (gifting us all with Clarence Thomas) just before he announces his candidacy to say he could have done better. She didnt buy it, neither do I, and hopefully neither will other primary voters.
I see Tulsi as being an intelligent woman who served in the army. Who was on the wrong side of LGBT issues early in her career but who has long since been not only on the right side but solidly progressive, pro-active in her LGBT support, and with high ranking from leading LGBT organizations. Who is solidly anti-war and a welcome voice for peace in a media environment so war-mongering that even the View spent most of the time during her appearance complaining that she’s not pro-war. Whose visit to Syria is consistently misrepresented in an effort to distract from her antiwar message. Who has the guts to call out Trump for his collusion with Saudi Arabia and his dangerous saber rattling. Who I’m looking forward to seeing at the debates, since when given the chance to present her own positions in context is very different than how the media try to portray her.
14 Likes
Glad to hear it. We differ. The people I know who have worked with Sanders think he’s a kindhearted buffoon at best and an ineffectual crank at worst. I’ve seen nothing that makes me doubt those views.
And Gabbard comes across as a dictator-fondler. It’s possible to be anti-war without cozying up to war criminals, but she hasn’t managed it.
Again, either of them would be better than Dirty Donald, but I’ve seen enough of both of them to be certain neither one will get my vote in the primary. Your mileage clearly varies, but it’s going to take a lot of work by the candidates–not their defenders on internet message boards–to convince me otherwise.
3 Likes
2 Likes
I know I’ll get ca-ca for this, but the “lesser of two evils” philosophy gets zero traction with me. I’ll not write down my name next to another imperialist war monger.
If Biden (or any candidate) wants my vote, it is a simple path: End the Patriot Act. End rendition. End extra judicial killings. Retract our all our armed forces from all countries other than the US. Sure there are other thngs I care about, but sooner or later I feel I will be held to my views. And this is where I am drawing the line.
Whether it is being measured against a feather on the scales of Osiris, or a regret in the tunnel leading to the light, or just facing the void, I cannot help but feel the things I stood for will matter in the end. Asking me to choose between Saron and Saruman is not really a choice at all.
5 Likes
I’m really glad that Tulsi’s numbers mean that she can participate in the debates, but as a long-time Democrat in Hawaii I find her rebranding this campaign, especially the way the antiwar left has embraced her, to be fascinating.
2 Likes
Your comment brings to light the strong possibility that sometime since 1979, the DNC morphed into Hydra. 
6 Likes
The inflection point was the 1968 Chicago Convention. The DNC explicitly kicked Labor Unions out of the Inner Party and began courting billionaires. Carter began the language about the New Democratic Party, and Later Bill Clinton whipped the Party to the Right economically and socially.
3 Likes
I felt exactly the same.
2 Likes
The Democratic Party is probably more liberal overall than it was in the 1950s and 1960s, as all of the conservative Democrats have since left the party to become Republicans. Seriously,18 Democrats tried to filibuster the 1964 Civil Rights Act. And the Social Security Amendments of 1965, which created Medicare? More Democrats voted against that than against the ACA (in the case of senators specificallly, that’s 6 vs. 0).
2 Likes
More liberal on some issues but vastly VASTLY more regressive on economic, labor, social welfare, industrial policy, and a whole host of other things. Once you begin sucking billionaire cock for a living you become a great advocate of “free” trade, rat-fucking Unions, mass incarceration, picking away at the safety net, regressive tax policy, so on and so forth.
And that’s exactly what the Democrats started doing. Clinton destroyed our industrial economy and took Unions, which had been hurt terribly by Reagan, and destroyed them as an economic and political force. He also “ended welfare as we know it.” The Democrats kicked minority-targeting mass incarceration into high gear. He didn’t even bother getting marginal tax rates back to what they’d been under Reagan. Obama made Bush’s debt-quintupling tax cuts permanent and turned the “stimulus” into nearly half tax cuts for the rich. The Dems became great believers in austerity for the nasty little poors.
And remember, none of the advances for LGBTQ people were because of national level Democratic politicians. They were all Court decisions (which will be reversed in the next few years) or State initiatives that took off. The #libturd #Demoncraps gave us DOMA and Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.
5 Likes
For one glorious moment in 2015 Scott Walker was polling as the top Republican candidate. His campaign didn’t last until the end of the year.
I think this is a bit premature. If you want a better candidate, though, start supporting them.
3 Likes
