I like his take on history.
Ouch 5
I think he makes a lot of very good points, but I think he is very, very wrong about AOC and the Progressives in the Democratic Party.
Sure, there are no doubt people on the far Left who don’t care whether democratic moderates lose to Republicans, but I don’t see them being a significant faction within the party. And - at least from over here - it looked like the Democratic party in general ran a very disciplined campaign - united behind Biden when it came to the Presidential election. I don’t see how one can expect much better than what they did, under the circumstances - for everyone to fall in total lockstep behind a Presidential candidate is not a healthy sign.
Well, the argument from those people is that they are the Democratic Base.
When the reality is the Democratic Base is black and mostly women.
There is an internal fight between the Progressive Wing and the Black Wing of the party and has been for a while. Personally, I’m on the Black Wing. They’re far more pragmatic and have a hell of a lot more to lose for the most part. They’re the only reason the American Experiment is still going at this point.
AOC has some good points on digital outreach and the like, but the reality is if we listened to Twitter, Trump would be President again. Biden’s team mostly ignored Twitter and won the election. Too much digital is as bad as not enough imo. It skews one’s viewpoint. If you listen to social media Biden is just the same as Trump anyway, so none of it matters, also run AOC for President the second she’s of age, run on socialism by name in FL, PA and IA, etc, etc.
Pragmatic and effective. It’s not exactly a hot take (or an original one) to say that S.C. churchladies and Jim Clyburn picked the Dem nominee, and that Biden was probably the best shot at beating Trump. I’m on board with the narrative that 76-year old Jannie Jones was 2020’s most important individual voter:
Can someone remind me when NC is going to report more totals?
True, but those things very often go hand in hand.
NC is Monday
Yup, put me on that side also. I’ve thanked the stereotypical church-going older black woman in the South more than a few times for making sure that Joe got the nomination. I wish to hell we had one on P&R, cause I’d truly love to know what she thinks of BLM, and defund the police.
A couple things that give me great hope. Joe Biden is pragmatist to his bone, he is going to do what makes the most political sense. Joe is even more of an optimist than I am about working with a “few” sane Republicans to get stuff done. Finally, it is going to take Biden probably most of the year to undo all the regressive stuff that Trump . Things like rejoining the Paris accord, or stopping coal plants from dumping their waste into rivers, getting kids out of cages . There is no party division on any of these actions.
“Look, if the Lord made anything better than sex in this world, he kept it for himself,” Louis D’Alessandro, the owner of an auto body shop next door, told the Inquirer.
If the man wasn’t responsible for the death of so many, I would say this little disaster would be a perfect end to his reign. Since he is, still hoping for handcuffs.
What a crazy end to a bat shit crazy presidency.
Perhaps - but what does that have to do with AOC? She’s not the Far Left, which is who I was talking about.
And…? A lot of the Progressives are black/latino and women. Most of their front figures are women. I’m not sure I see the disconnect. This wing of the party is evidently a major part of the Democratic party’s base - if they weren’t, Sanders would not now twice have come second in the primaries. But they are not far left, and they are not uncompromising. If they had been, they would not have thrown their support whole-heartedly behind Biden after Sanders lost, or soldiered for him during this election.
I guess I’m just more used to watching our parliamentary parties quarrel internally, because I don’t really see much drama or irreconcilable differences in the divisions within the Democratic party. To the extent differences exist, I would say they are expected, and natural.
If what AOC says about the DNC is right, though. then I think she has more than a good point about the way the party campaigns. Note she doesn’t claim that traditional campaigning (knocking on doors, tv, etc) are pointless, her point is that you have to “fire on all cylinders”. I don’t see how that can be controversial at all.
The Black Caucus is fairly conservative for the most part. Yes, the Progressives run a lot of black/latino candidates, but most of their voting power is young and white. Most of the BC’s voting power is older and black.
Remember, Bernie was 'going to win" the nomination until black folks in the South said otherwise. Bernie and Biden voters might have overlap, but they’re not the same group, as my Progressive friends loved to remind me every single day, often multiple times, since Bernie dropped out.
We’re talking about those two camps. They overlap in some areas, but are not the same camp.
I think you’re confusing rank and file with candidates. Black church ladies aren’t nominating AOC or anyone like her. They’re generally going for old, white dudes who don’t say anything outlandish.
I think there is a potential for AOC to get the black vote one day, depending on what path she takes. Bernie has some issues that he couldn’t overcome, hasn’t really overcome throughout his entire career. He was pretty consistent in the problem areas that cost him the black vote.
AOC is still pretty new in her career. She is obviously not a black woman, but her experience is worthwhile, a shared experience by many women… she has a chance to bring two camps, as you put it, to the same table and who knows, magic could happen.
I am hoping for a lot changes before that time though, and that certain pressing issues will be not as prominent when the time comes.
Agreed. Now isn’t her time. Which is fine, she’s young and has plenty of time to solidify things and learn.
In many ways she’s just Bernie, only younger. So she has plenty of time to avoid his mistakes/faults.
Has anyone in the press got a hold of the owners of Four Seasons Landscaping yet?
It’s keeping me awake at night.
Wait, is this the renamed Aphorisms thread?
You’re lost. Unless something just flew over my head.
You want to go here: