look into his views on why wealth is in the wrong hands ( quite sophisticated argument), health care for undocumented, low wage workers, paid vacations for private sector workers, plus he's tall, nice looking, has a non White wife, and is likely clever enough to find ways to cover up any fuck-ups during his tenure as NYC mayor.

Thanks!(f)

before anyone jumps on me for the "non White wife" reference, take a shot at why i might have included that.

Not sure why any gay/queer person would want to vote for Tulsi Gabbard ( never mind all her other stuff )

She’s out as far as I’m concerned.

I’ve always been a bit of a “homosexual extremist”.

People can evolve and grow, but her deep dislike of homosexuals, well that is hard to hide.

I kind of get it...he probably isn’t a racist, he probably is more inclusive?

Isn’t that a little bit like saying “I have a black friend, so I can’t be prejudiced”?

Am I missing your reasoning? I often miss the point, so............

Just covering all the bases. It helps him? It doesn't help him ? Is it the best thing about him?

Mike Pompeo to Saudi Prince : "The murder of Khashoggi was outrageous and unacceptable (wink wink )"

Boy you really hit the nail on the head with this one COLLETTE.........:hangloose:

take a shot? this reminds me of covert racism..why does her, in your opinion, color give him an additional advantage? because he can use her ethnicity as an added incentive to people of color to vote for him? Why see color at all? She's a great asset because she is a wonderful support to her husband and helps him in his work. Her color has nothing to do with it.

thanks, couldn't agree more

verb:To take a shot at is to try to do something. An example of take a shot at is when everyone is trying to solve a hard puzzle and you decide you'll take a look and see if you can solve it too.

I'm Canadian, maybe we just "take a shot "differently and peacefully.

This is the rhetoric of colorblindess. Diversity education has evolved past this theory. I am not calling you a racist, i am just suggesting an update to your thoughts on this.

LIFE magazine: How Colorblindness Is Actually Racist, By Dani Bostick:

Colorblindness is a common response to racism. More specifically, it is a common response from white people attempting to reject racism. "I am colorblind. I see people, not color. We are all the same." You might even teach your kids this perspective with the best intentions.

Here are ways colorblindness is actually racist:

Colorblindness foists whiteness on everyone. It is another way of saying, "I view everyone as if they were white." Your default color for sameness is white.

Colorblindness strips non-white people of their uniqueness.Your default culture for sameness is white culture. When you encourage your child to be colorblind and view everyone as "the same," you are projecting white on people of who aren't white, negating their experiences, traditions, and uniqueness.

Colorblindness suppresses critically important narratives of oppression. Once you view everyone through a colorblind, white lens, you deny the reality that non-white people face.

Colorblindness assumes everyone has the same experience here in America. When you fail to see color, you fail to recognize injustice and oppression.

Colorblindess promotes the idea that non-white races are inferior. When you teach your child to be colorblind, you are essentially telling them, "If someone isn't white, pretend they look like you so you can be friends." Stripping people of a fundamental aspect of their identity by claiming not to see color is dehumanizing.

Race is not the only factor that defines people. Gender, sexuality, religion, ethnicity, ability, trauma history, and socioeconomic status (to name just a few) are factors that can result in marginalization, injustice, and oppression.

Promoting colorblindness is easy. In such conversations with children, colorblindess eliminates the need to recognize and discuss extremely uncomfortable realities while perpetuating a culture of racism, injustice, and oppression. Be brave. Have the tough conversations. Acknowledging differences is not racist; it is the opposite of racist.

A couple of months ago thee was a controversy about a puppeteer claiming Bert and Ernie were always meant to be read as a gay couple. There were a lot of people who were saying "I don't care if you are gay or straight" and the lesbian comic Rhea Butcher tweeted :"please care. There are a lot of other people who care, and not in the good way"

Thanks. Couldn't agree more.
I'm an equal opportunity thanker.

stop assuming dark, i'm Hawaiian, Japanese, and Danish. I was raised in a multi-ethnic home and experienced racism every single day as a child when i moved to the mainland. I was bullied because i was different and a different color so please save your white splaining about how you know all about it. Your un-evolved covert racism is wrong. I really could care less how you would like to minimize the emotional pain i suffered as a child because of white privilege. Someone's color or lack of color doesn't even register with me anymore in my daily life except when i come here and see it from people who should know better. So yes, i will speak my mind.

As a life-long New Yorker I think it's a big mistake to promote yet another New Yorker! Americans have had enough of us, I think. My personal experience is that deBlasio is a prickly, not particularly effective control freak. He also let himself get into a dick swinging contest with our Governor, and nothing about that was/is pretty. If we're thinking strategically, the Mayor's wife, Chirlaine McCray, would be a mixed bag. She's genuine and a pleasure to be around, but her history may be waaay too hard for the average American to support. She was an out lesbian before she met her husband. I think that's fantastic, but I have a low opinion of the average American voter.

Looks like Bernie might run -- https://www.politico.com/story/2019/...ection-1098795

Candidates courting Wall Street
 

Thank you for your post. The last thing I want to see is more men with that "pissing contest" ego in office!

He could win if he can get past Beto O'Roarke in Texas, but it'll take some hustle. When he was mayor of San Antonio he pulled off raising city taxes to create free kindergarten for any kid who lives there, which has been a resounding success. He was also instrumental in creating "Cafe College," which I believe is a resource center that helps high school kids get into college. Both Castros are unrepenting liberals who value education, individual rights, they don't take PAC money, and the NRA gave them both F's.
Before she retired, his mom Rosie was an administrator for a large community college district in San Antonio. She managed to earn a master's degree while rearing the twins.
I also think, with all of Trump's hatred for Mexicans, Julian is the living embodiment of a second generation Mexican American, whose single mother and immigrant grandmother worked their asses off to put those twins through Stanford and Harvard Law.
Having a Mexican American candidate would, IMO, serve as a sharp contrast to Trump, or any man in the GOP who may replace Trump in 2020. Julian can run circles around Trump in debates; in history, political science, public works and sanity.
I wonder if the demographics, which depict Latinos as America's most rapidly growing population, will be enough to help this guy win?
What are your thoughts?

You’re right, it’s only appropriate for me to challenge my own people.

As a WOC yourself you certainly have the right to draw on your experience to challenge current rhetoric, whereas I only know what I’m told.

Looks like it will be a crowded running field for Democrats and probably the others, too.

I’m looking forward to the debates where some of these jokers will be weeded out.

I’m thinkin’ Senators Harris will come out ahead and will probably be the next nominee.

I read somewhere, rather recently, that Stacy Abrams is possibly seeking to become a senator for her home state, and that brought joy to my heart. I see her as a methodical individual, who is highly esteemed by constituents in the state of Georgia. I am rooting for her successful bid to become a senator in 20/20.


At this point in time, I am interested in learning more about Julian Castro. I recently was talking with a colleague from my former work campus who is from Guatemala and another friend too, who is Mexican, and both individuals find that Castro's bid for US President, is something they can get behind and support.

So I am watching with great interest, with regard to Beto O'Rourke and Julian Castro, and continue to explore background information concerning the two and remain willing to support any person who ends up being the Democratic nominee for US President.

Btw, I can see Stacy Abrams as US President. She's got a heart for helping to liberate those oppressed in her home state and I find her track record appealing --- both for a bid to be Senator and if one day too, US President. I see the spirit of Kwanzaa about her and appreciate her conduct and decorum in all things known about Stacy Abrams.

I listened to Chapo Traphouse this morning and the first thing they did was roundly mock Julian Castro for supporting meritocracy with his "Brain power is currency" remarks.

Then, Amber A'Lee Frost read her article "It's Bernie, Bitch" out loud, verbatim.

The article basically declares that if the Democrats do not nominate Bernie it is going to be 2016 all over again.

Anti-Trump forces will splinter into capitalist Dems, socialist Dems, and disenchanted Republicans, and Trump's 30% will be enough to beat all three.

I feel that Ms. Frost is encouraging the same tactic for the Democratic nomination that Trump is using for the wall: do it my way or i'll tip the whole apple cart.

As I've said, I vote as A Gay: I want socialism, too, i just don't want to live through a theocracy to get it:

another lukewarm Democratic presidency will not only further impoverish and destabilize the working class and its suffering institutions, it will also all but guarantee that 2024 brings us POTUS Hamburglar in an SS uniform. No, it’s Bernie or bust. I don’t care if we have to roll him out on a hand truck and sprinkle cocaine into his coleslaw before every speech. If he dies mid-run, we’ll stuff him full of sawdust, shove a hand up his ass, and operate him like a goddamn muppet.

If we have to tank another election and live though another four years of stochastic terrorism to get the party Ms. Frost wants, me and mine will not survive it. I guess we've been selected as martyrs?

Yes, there are guileless and gentle souls who voice concern about Sanders’s prospects, policies, or appeal to women and minority voters, and with those people we have conversations. Kindly, confidently, and thoroughly we explain that Bernie Sanders is the best candidate for the working class—and we then spell out, with the same saintly patience, that this means all of the working class. But as for the liberal media, and for those who would disingenuously invoke identity politics to attack the socialist, just remember the magic words: “I know what you’re doing right now, and it doesn’t work on me.”

This irritates me because i feel the scorched-earth progressives have been just as disingenuous with "Bernie's minority problem" as neoliberal handwringers (or Joe Bidens)-- who have nothing to offer except social justice-- have: Bernie is great for minorities and Bernie's policies are great for minorities.

What's bad for minorities is splintering the Democratic party.

if indeed you are a socialist first, then you must be a contrarian pundit second, and this is your one opportunity to drop the professional artifice of “constructive criticism from the left” and choose socialism over media strategy. There are no “impartial” spectators on this one; only partisans and compradors.

That's splintering.

If you have strayed, all is forgiven, but you better come to Jesus right now because memory is long, and history judges the cowardly squish far more harshly than the honest enemy. And you can’t say that no one was there at the time to tell you that this was it—this was the pivotal moment where you had to make the right choice.

I'm not mad, i'm terrified. i'm not interested in fighting this, i want the rest of ya'll to just do as Ms. Frost says bc i'm still (as mentioned in the OP) too traumatized from #NeverHillary to go through it again.

Free college and Medicare for All are still free college and Medicare for All whether or not you're led at the point of a gun.

As a bonus we would also get President Bernie.

Increasing Trend of Democrats to Identify as Liberal
 

I wonder what effect that most Democrats now tend to identify as "liberal", as per:

• "Most Democrats now identify as liberal rather than moderate or conservative, a Gallup poll released Tuesday found, marking the first time since the polling giant began asking the question in the 1990s.
  
• "Monday's poll found that 51 percent of Democrats self-identified as liberal in 2018, up slightly from 50 percent in 2017. The percentage of liberals has sharply climbed in recent years, Gallup noted, with 38 percent identifying as liberal in 2008.
  
• "Roughly a third of Democrats -- 34 percent -- identified as moderates in 2018, according to the new poll.
  
• "Members of the Republican Party have remained more staunchly conservative, pollsters found, with 73 percent identifying as conservative in 2018 and just 22 percent calling themselves moderate.
  
• "At least 70 percent of Republicans have identified as conservative since 2008, according to Gallup.
  
• "Monday's poll was based on telephone interviews with 13,852 random adults in 2018. The margin of error is 1 percentage point.
  
• "The poll results come as Democrats have retaken the majority in the House with a caucus that contains a number of high-profile progressives, such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who have pushed for policies like Medicare for all and a Green New Deal.
  
• "GOP pundits and critics have questioned whether the Democratic caucus, which contains numerous more moderate members as well, will be able to push a unified agenda."

(my emphasis on the word "liberal")

https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-brief...st-time-gallup

I don't think it's gonna go that way. I am glad for the voices on the left. They remind us of reality in this surreal political landscape. I am not totally neverhillary because I voted for her, but I hated her as a candidate -- with a white hot heat.

I don't know if you can go by me, but I will vote for any not totally sold out Dem. I guess I am a little ideosyncratic in how I determine that. I dislike and would not vote for Corey Booker, but would vote for Biden.

I think there are a lot of lefties like me who don't feel the anti-mainstream Dem heat as strongly after two years of Trump.

i will vote for a moderate democrat in primaries even though i am very left leaning..because i want a candidate that will appeal to a wider variety of midwest voters and those in red states. This is the smarter choice.

I am concerned about Russia. Whether or not people are currently feeling the anti-mainstream heat, Russia will make sure sentiments like these grow legs.

Chapo Traphouse stated multiple times that interest in the Russia investigation was a litmus test for who NOT to support among the Dem candidates.

It's like they are Russian Meddling deniers, despite extensive proof that the Russians used them last time.

This will make just make the left a better weapon.

Kamala now, which I guess we knew. I like her.

NOW it's official!

Kamala v Trump would be very satisfying to watch.

Kamala is not worried about if she's likeable. She seems like she's very natural in her personality and comfortable speaking with authority and not likely to be terribly patient with buffoonery.

Also we've seen every trick the GOP has in their bag against a female candidate and a POC one.

Trump has met his match!

Nobody said anything of the sort. My point was, talking politics often includes people making statements with a premise that is untrue. Gone unchecked, it's like the game of "gossip" where it starts with one statement, gets passed on and ends up being something entirely different.


If you keep up these personal barbs, I'll refuse to send you even one more pair of my used underwear. :|:|:|

I was listening to the Washington Post news brief today, where they mentioned Kamala Harris and what she says about 2 of her primary campaingn points...

1. Medicare for all

Doable, but a cost of $30 Trillion a year (that was the amount quoted)

2. $3 TRILLION tax cut for the middle class

Is it just me, or would she have to do some pretty fancy footwork to both SPEND $30 Trillion, and CUT $3 Trillion?

WheatToast, your post was reported... for good reason.

MODERATION

Whoa... this don't fly here. You took things to a whole 'nother level. We will write it off to poor judgment this time but your "get out of jail free" pass has now officially been used. Next time you will be timed out. If you wish to discuss in more detail why this is not ok, PM me and I will explain.

My sentiments exactly.
If Bernie decides to run, more power to him, but he is not a Democrat and if he runs he should proudly run as the Independent he constantly says he is.
He siphoned off votes from Clinton, partly because he refused to leave the race once the Democratic leadership felt he had overstayed his welcome.
It is my understanding he was given permission to run as a Democrat because he agreed to certain terms--like quitting the race when asked to do so, after being allowed to introduce his "radical" ideas to the wider Democratic audience, and to the entire nation.
The problems began as Bernie started ragging on Hillary, then he started complaining that the Democrats were favoring Clinton. When his rhetoric got so intense he threatened a contested DNC convention, it was too much for the Democrats who had given him permission to run under their flag.
While some may say the Democrats broke their initial agreement to treat him fairly, when he became aggressive and antagonistic, Democrats maintain it was he who was being unfair and violating their implicit agreements.

When Putin-backed WikiLeaks published the DNC's stolen e-mail, where HRC's Campaign Chair John Podesta and DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman-Schultz were trash talking Bernie...IT WAS PRIVATE e-mail.
Imagine if you had a house guest who begged you to allow him to stay, then when he started eavesdropping, cutting his toenails on the couch, farting all over the house, complaining about the cooking, starting arguments with the hosts and otherwise being an ungrateful mooch who had clearly overstayed his welcome, so you and your partner started plotting via private e-mail to get him out of the house.
That e-mail might contain a lot of fanciful plans to oust him. It would probably also contain some unfiltered insults that were part of the private brainstorming.
In life, it seems only the most obnoxious guests fail to get the hint when it comes to keeping their end of the bargain and not imposing.
When it becomes a he said/she said--most would agree the owner of the house should prevail.

Back then, once the Democrats realized Trump was a loose cannon and would say or do anything to win, the last thing the Democrats needed was a contentious interloper to distract them from the task at hand. They did not need him to provide the GOP with talking points against Hillary, which he did in spades. His open, vituperative criticism of Hillary and the DNC siphoned votes and created massive in-fighting-- that surprisingly still prevails today between Democrats and those of his fans who are not Russian Bots.
The fact* that the Mueller investigation uncovered proof that the Russians interfered with the electoral process in order to help Trump, Bernie and Jill Stein beat Hillary makes me wonder if Bernie knew that ahead of time. Given his lifelong fascination with the Soviet Union and his irascible nature, who knows?

Note--I may wonder, but I have no desire to sword fight any of his die-hard fans on this site. Like him if you want--but I don't. Like many, I used to love him and valued his leftist agenda as a Senator. To this day, I have no burning desire for him to leave that job.
I just think he fucked the Democrats in the 2016 race, and he thereby contributed to the clusterfuck that gave us Trump.
That makes him dead to me.

Bottom line, I'm a yellow dog Democrat--if the Republicans run the risen Jesus Christ and the Democrats run a yellow dog, I'm going for Old Yeller.



*easy to vet--be my guest

yes Trump was bad but then so was Bernie..he helped get Trump elected, which i will never forgive him for. He did so much damage to the Democratic party with all his snipes and outright attacks against Hillary and the party, when he had promised he would act with decorum. What a liar. He's a russian loving, non Democrat a LOT like Trump only sneakier about his real agenda. Honeymoon in Russia to visit Kremlin, how cozy..ick...i wouldn't vote for him in a million years. He's reminds me of Trump. He is every bit as nasty as Trump and is totally eaten up with how cool he is and what a large following of willing minions..Where is the difference??!? I didn't see any in 2012 and i don't see any now. He needs to go home and stay out of it.

I keep hearing that single payer will save money, but I don't know how it works.

Assume

I would assume it is very similar to the payment system for Medicare that Seniors are held hostage to without exception. By that I mean the $100 plus per month that comes out of my check that I never see. If I spend nothing else, I am eligible for a decent plan which is similar to an HMO...but my Kasey spends an ADDITIONAL $150 a month so that she can see anyone she wants, anywhere in the country.

I will again assume, that there would be reasonably priced healthcare for everyone else, with the federal government collecting all of our payments, and then paying the bills from the doctors and hospitals. In which case, in MY opinion, we are all screwed, because we have seen just how badly the government runs the VA.

Or, we could get lucky and they follow the current Canadian system.:tea:

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