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softlynow

Certifiably Surly
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Everything posted by softlynow

  1. So they're OK stealing from Star Trek for an operation name and for the design of the flag for the new armed services branch, but we're stuck with SPACE FORCE as it's name? This administration is the worst.
  2. She wouldn't reach the question because there aren't 50 Dem votes for M4A. On healthcare, it has almost always been true that you will get no GOP compromise. Your missing the part where a Dem majority necessarily means that there are red state Dems. Call them anything you want, they're not likely to back many progressive bills. This is correct. Work needs to be done on the people's attitudes to get us to the point that progressive candidates in swing districts actually have a fighting chance. We just had confirmation that this isn't true. The fight continues, and I hope (though do not expect) for a better strategy to emerge soon. That typed, while we may be on a tangent, this is a thread about governing after the 2020 election. With a couple races left, in which Dems are not the favorites let alone progressive policies, it's obvious that progressive steps will not be taken by the incoming government. It's time to consider the best way for that government to actually improve the lives of its constituents. And a final aside: M4A has an enormous hurdle to clear in that even quite liberal people would be hesitant to see their own health insurance torpedoed for the uncertainty of what universal Medicare would become.
  3. Just need 50 + Harris for either filibuster reform or reconciliation. Manchin is a no-go on filibuster reform, so, file that away for later Congresses. Considering the VP is the gatekeeper for what gets through reconciliation, if Biden's plan can get 50, I'm sure his VP would allow it. I'm not sure whether it'll happen, should the Georgia races produce a couple of miracles, but the chances are higher than the zero that is M4A in this Congress.
  4. Not generally, no. But as you pointed out, the left is less than proficient at this. What starts as an attack on what is generally accepted as clearly racist and readily seen as "bad" can easily become an attack what is arguably racist and maybe not so bad to some, and then maybe a bit racist and "oh, come on, really?" The statue removal movement is an obvious example of that dynamic. Although not exactly on point, the #metoo phenomenon exemplifies why it's harder to just tell the left "ATTACK!" It gets out of control real fast. That people had to apologize for saying that an offensive shoulder touch wasn't as bad as rape shows how easily a leftist offensive pattern goes from pincer to mobius. Anyway, they're my people and they're often right, but very exhausting.
  5. I would tend to agree, however Dems need to be fairly targeted in the parts of the far right they go after. Trump has exposed the ugly racist divide, and that part of the far right clearly 1. does not scare swing voters all that much and 2. drawing attention to them appears to have drawn more of them into the voting ranks. Dems absolutely need to stop worrying about AOC and the like, and, at the very least, keep criticisms of them out of the public eye. But consider a moment Bill Maher. He's exactly why Dems will never get their shit together. As bad as the Trump era got, he was always up for attacking the PC left. He'd even end a joke about campus silliness and go right into questioning why Dems couldn't protect their own when silly shit happens like in the case of Al Franken. He was the target of his own criticism and doesn't see it. They have no party discipline and never will, and show little awareness that they don't, why they don't and why they should fix that shit.
  6. You're really bad at this. Unless you can get 60 Senate votes, no M4A (getting it through Reconciliation is a pipe dream). Your question was "how would we know this" in response to my assertion that the ideal plan could not pass. We know this, and you just admitted you know this, and knew this before you asked you idiotic question, because . . . Republicans. So quit trying to gaslight me about your centrist boogeyman. You suck at it. I didn't even have to go to a previous page.
  7. You think there's even 1 Republican vote for M4A in the Senate?
  8. This is a cold way to view helping people with problems. If the ideal plan could never pass to begin with, should those that could be helped by incremental improvements be told that simply helping them but not everyone is "failure," so fuck it? As to the larger (side) conversation. This hammers home that the right just does every aspect of politics better, this aspect being radical flanking.
  9. No. Yes, this move would be politically advantageous for Dems, and can be done unilaterally. And we can type "shit" here. Reform requires control of both houses and the presidency or cooperation from Pubs. We will not likely see the latter except on reform that enriches the already rich, and the former is at least one election cycle away.
  10. The political moment we'll be in come January will weigh heavily in favor of, at the very least, some targeted loan forgiveness. The Republican controlled Senate will be in full obstruction mode again/still, and no doubt McConnell will either say it aloud, like he did at the beginning of Obama's first term, or he'll operate that way quietly. Their goal will be a one-term Biden. Combine that with an economy in need of economic stimulus, and tools entirely under executive control will be vital. This is one, and he simply must use it. Do it right, and money the fisc would be gobbling up gets redirected to economic channels that should help our recovery. Pubs can whinge and whimper about moral hazard all they want. Besides the fact that they've lost the standing to complain about all forms of morality, the game the next few years will be about actually helping people, not corporations, economically. Do that, and Biden will have sturdy coattails in the midterms and a strong case for a second term. Fail to do it, and be prepared for Dem carnage.
  11. Do the same for the Senate. Other than #1 in the OP, the same reasoning applies. To come up with a population parallel, let's say 2 senators per state is good for every 50 million in total population. Each state should get 12 senators going forward. When we pass 350 mil. in a few years, every state gets 2 more.
  12. I doubt they'll feel any pain. This is how I imagine his family as his end nears:
  13. I've seen enough w/r/t B&P and orangecat92 and the 57 States! FCHorn Memorial Idiot List. Production of more evidence would just be needlessly cumulative and a waste of time.
  14. Addiction, usually, between those two. Top reasons for revocation, IME, are 1. new offense while on prob, 2. Drug testing failure/fails to submit (usually get a rehab option the first time they’re brought back to court) 3. not reporting to prob offices. A lot present with a combo of those three. Financial problems/failure to pay fees, fines, etc. by itself isn’t really a permissible reason to revoke, but obviously show up in the other areas (new theft charges, failing to drug test for lack of phone/transportation, failing to report.
  15. Lawsuits mean nothing to him. Gonna need a seal team to get shit back.
  16. I’m not sure we will learn that much and may have to wait 4 more years to really know what ‘16 and ‘20 were about. Trump may be a truly unique candidate. If Ted Cruz in ‘24* more or less holds onto the Trump coalition, then I think you can discern something about the electorate independent from Dotard. If not, though, then maybe the celebrity grifter, reality tv star and rapist trifecta is the lottery ticket Pubs need to keep buying. *Check the history of Pub nomination runner-ups succeeding to the nom the next time. Reagan in ‘76, H.W. in ‘80, Dole in ‘88, McCain in ‘00, and Romney in ‘08 before you dismiss this. It’s their tradition.
  17. So dumb even Monty Python couldn’t get away with this sketch.
  18. Are you talking about federal prison / detention? If not, you’re way off. Of my cases in the last year about 35-45% are for drugs and most of those simple possession. A good portion of those folks received jail/prison only offers, and several could not post tiny bail amounts and waited for plea/dismissal in our jail. COVID brought plea offers down considerably, yet I still have guys/gals pleading to jail time if they don’t want to wait for trial, of which there have been zero since March. Plenty of folks do 15-45 days for a dime. A shitload do 30-90 days for trace amounts of meth. They come hard for THC wax/oil/edibles (COVID really helped here), and the state often wantS state jail prison time. Because a lot of my clients are dirt ass poor, not pleading means waiting 7+ months for trial. Some of them stupidly take probation without a shot in hell of completing it and end up doing double the jail time and revocation. Prisons and jails aren’t bursting at the seams with accused persons stuck with simple possession convictions, but there are still plenty on those rosters.
  19. Get a youngish black guy to do it next time. Or Gavin Newsome.
  20. Every time I think I'm about to leave this thread and do some work . . .
  21. Considering this thing might not be final (pre-recount and lawsuits) until Friday, I like it.
  22. This attitude is silly. You can pout in the corner, and mumble "elections are hard," or you can work the problem. Considering social justice paired with a tepid pocketbook platform has gotten Dems where we are, it's time for a rework. You have to at least re-package an re-brand your economic relief. Lot's of the folks you write off don't prioritize health care, maybe because they're relatively healthy. Plenty don't care that you want a more robust safety net, may because they're prideful about assistance, they simply want to work good jobs. Sure some are unreachable because of god and gays. But the folks written off as simply racist, may just look at the party that goes out of it's way on black issues, and says, "great, but I'm in poverty and the other guys says the plant is coming back." The "Dems are stupid" reaction is partly correct. They have compromised who they are too much. The need for Third Way Dems has passed. It's time for progressive economic ideas to come to the fore, and pair that with a muted messaging on social issues. Support the latter, but emphasize raising up ALL of the lower and middle class over issues that, in reality, the march of time will take care of.
  23. Because they don't know what to fear. They think socialism means less stuff for them I think Florida gave Dems the path to future victory: buy people's votes the way Trump did. Put pocketbook issues front and center. Not "health care," not "job training," not "social safety net." Whether it's direct payments Yang-style, or making Amazon have a processing center in every county or incorporated city, or promising contract military jobs to EVERYONE.oldman.gif, promise the economic moon. If Pubs are going all in on racism from here, go overboard on what you should be good at. If they're calling you socialist, and the rurals see you promising them economic relief/benefit, maybe that word won't be so scary after a while.
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