Never underestimate the stupidity of the American voter or the people they send to the congress!! And remember the consequences of this tragedy will be a slow quite process. People will get sick and die and it will not be collectively acknowledged as a consequence of bad healthcare. The bankruptcies will increase but as long as it’s not “me” no problem. Children will die but as. Long as it’s not “mine” no problem! The selfishness of the citizens of this country knows no bounds
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I used to live in Dave Brat’s district. They put up a very forgettable candidate two years ago and, lo and behold, she is running again (I think, I heard, you know … it’s hard to find this information as the Dems like to keep it secret). But we all know the problem: who the hell wants this damn job? Especially the House, where I imagine all you do is fundraise for 7/8ths of your time there.
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The DCCC is responsible for state legislative races too? That would explain a lot.
But here’s the thing. I get priority of fire and opportunity cost and limitation of resources. I’m all about those things. Everyone here knows that. But I’m just talking about making sure there’s a damn name on the ballot with minimal name recognition–a city councilman or a local business person or what have you–so the Republican isn’t either unopposed or opposed only by the mentally unstable old hippy lady who changed her name to “Rainbow Pax Butterfly” during that Haight-Ashbury sojurn in '67.
I don’t care if they spend a dime in campaign funds in the really hard state districts, though some generic party in local cable markets would be nice. I just want there to be a damn name on the ballot in case something happens that turns a wave into a tsunami a week or six months after the filing deadline or the week before the election.
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Never trust McConnell when it comes to legislation or the process. He is a lying scumbag who will lie cheat and steal to assure his victory. The Senate will fall in line. And you could take bets that the coward Manchin will at fist say no way… Then he’ll waiver then he’ll say we are getting closer then …voila !!! He will reluctantly vote for the senate bill.
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Every time I see this shit and find myself gloating, something in the back of my mind says “oh shit.” This is the critical instant. We CANNOT rely on the unpopularity of Trumpcare and rest on our laurels…or perhaps rest on its glaring anti-laurels…but Dems/liberals have an overriding tendency to do so. We think people will have the necessary epiphany all on their own when it comes to things we ourselves perceive as self-evident. The Dems need to be on top of this immediately, CREATING backlash, not just touting Cook Report or polls or other evidence of backlash occurring naturally or running around believing that simply citing the CBO’s scoring of it will be sufficient. The message has to be packaged, branded and delivered like a slap to the fucking face.
Frankly, I’m disappointed already. Why the FUCK am I not seeing articles popping up first thing this morning that are all about merciless bomb throwing from the Dems, getting facts out, strongly characterizing the nature of what the GOP just did, stirring outrage and trying to tap into peoples’ better natures, senses of fairness, justice, basic humanity. Why were political ads not already done, cued up and ready to run with the push of a button? This is a world-class opportunity to readjust the selfish, self-centered, me me me inward focus on fear, anger and cultural resentment that the GOP runs on and has been gaining traction with. HOLD UP THE DAMN MIRROR! What they’ve done is the height of avarice. We talk about culture wars all the time, but this time it’s real. This is a REAL first salvo. This is a cultural Fort Sumter. This isn’t “fraying” any more. The GOP just took a chainsaw to the fabric of our society. This is a deliberately malicious, self-serving, intentionally destructive, INHUMANE act they’ve committed in their effort to tear everything down so they can rule over the rubble. There is no time to lose in responding to that with everything it deserves, making sure people understand this not just with their heads, but with their entire beings.
NO. QUARTER.
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Today the outrage is clear. The republicans voted for a bill that only 17% of their constituents approved.
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Sorry to only be able to give one like. Because you actually are involved in the trenches, you are aware that resources–money, people, experienced people–constrain the process. I wish more people understood this.
Edit: especially the timing of activity.
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Same here
But we have the issues on our side that may be able to swing that
My grandpappy voted Republican
My pappy voted Republican
and Ahm Votin’ Republican
Mentality
We have the conservative entertainment complex running against us…
but when those Republican State legislatures start to drop the ball and people start dieing …maybe just maybe
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I mean it is good, but there are articles with more substance about similar things. Just given what we have seen so far, it seems likely that a fair number of seats will switch hands because of historical trends and also because of Trump. How many are up in the air. This hopefully just keeps folks going.
There are a fair number of Republican members in districts won by Clinton, not enough to switch control, but a start. Not to mention there are swing districts still. Not as many as there should be but there are.
The Freedom Caucus and their ilk are safe unless they step down or redistricting occurs.
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Just as long as it’s not Chick-fil-A.
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When you hear the stories from constituents who have been “promised” or “assured” by a congress critter that he will no harm, that’s where the possibility to toss them out is seen. Predictions about midterm losses are so far very tentative, but they’re not isolated in the face of trumpp’s incompetence. Let’s not eat our own party this far out even with the obstacles the Rs, the Kochs, and all the rest have put in the way of change.
there’s a lot of reason to think that the House vote to replace the Affordable Care Act has put Republicans on a risky path heading into next year’s midterm elections.
The midterms were already looking challenging for House Republicans. The president’s party almost always loses big in off-year elections, especially when it has full control of government and a president with weak approval ratings.
@bd2999 This might be the more substantive reporting you mentioned, not predictive, but a glass half full take.
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No…the DLCC is responsible for state legislative races. And they have less money and have to cover an even bigger pool of candidates.
Again, I will use my county as an example. We have 4 elected officials across the entire county…3 council members and a mayor (who stays under the radar regarding her party affiliation). That’s out of about 50-60 council/mayor positions. We have zero people on the school board, zero people on the County Commission…etc.
Now, we have been doing the work (at least since I got involved)…I’ve worked as campaign manager to get 2 of those officials elected since January, tried last night to get another appointed, and am trying to get yet another appointed next week( the one last night was a hail mary we had less than 4 hours to find a candidate, and less than 24 hours to get her up to speed for the interview. Next week’s is much more solid). But there simply isn’t any bench to go to here. (And that’s why I am so passionate now about winning municipal elections…to build a bench). Its a similar story on the business front. We’ve recently started joining some of the local Chambers…and they all act surprised to even find out that there is a Democrat organization here. We are working on changing that, but its not an overnight thing because the House passed one crappy bill.
And, not to pat myself on the back too much, I am willing to bet that a lot of deep red counties in this country don’t have an asshole like me pushing and pulling to build up this type of infrastructure. The general pattern one sees in deeply red areas, is 1) people think they are the only Dems there 2) Those they are meeting, are mostly meeting to cry on each other’s shoulders. So usually, you have to combat that sort of general malaise internally to even get things moving. Its hard work, but its also good work, and rewarding when you can chalk up a minor victory. And its work that everyone concerned needs to be engaged in. We won’t take back the House, or state legislations or anything, by simply hoping the DCCC and DLCC can pull it off, and cursing them when they can’t.
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Ouuuuch!
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Yes, I know that mentality too well. We also have the additional layer that we get lots of retirees…particularly military officer retirees constantly funnelling into our demographics, which keep things with a red tint.
But the one corny cliche I am finding out to be only too real is…if you don’t try, you won’t ever succeed.
So my advice to everyone is, definitely try to get involved with your local Dems and start organizing your own grassroots. Its going to be our surest way to change things around in a more lasting manner.
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Neither Dems nor Rs taste particularly good, so don’t let’s eat them for breakfast
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Trump: If Democrats had voted for me, this(20 House seats) would have been over 50. Hillary couldnt have done that. I am moving Red States to D. Very Smart of me!
A little perspective is in order here. Of those 20 changes:
3 were moved from Lean Rep to Toss Up
11 were moved from Likely Rep to Lean Rep
6 were moved from Safe Rep to Likely Rep
It’s nice to move the needle a little, but this does not mean that those 20 seats will be held by Dems after 2018. In fact, only three of those races are currently projected to be close.
That’s where it starts…
School boards, town councils, tax collector, dog catcher
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It seems like we heard from Priebus every single day for 6 years, whereas right now it’s hard to remember who is DNC chair. Maybe Rheinhold was real smart about how to get into the papers, but I don’t remember his saying anything that wasn’t remarkably inane, most of it obviously untrue. I’m not sure that he’s any better at his job than Perez. The media just seems to be Republican. It was McCain, Graham, Priebus all the time, but now the shoe doesn’t seem to get put on the other foot.
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On a minor note… We had a local city council election this past Tuesday in a solid R city. One of the Republican incumbents filled the mailboxes with and fliers, and I saw tons of his yards signs. He lost. Instead, two Dems replaced two Rs–including a first time Democratic candidate. Our city is only 300k, but it’s the best news I’ve heard this week.
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