Discussion for article #230099
Sometimes, life just don’t make no sense…
2 Likes
Number one, I will repeat what I have been screaming about since the election. THE DEMS NEED FRESH BLOOD IN LEADERSHIP! Reid is horrendous, and if you want to see someone clinging to power that is dragging down the rest of the party it is him. I heard last night that he is going to finally do what his base wants and reluctantly give Sen. Warren some leadership role, but it remains to be seen what power she will have, as I suspect that Reid does not like that strong, persistent woman getting in his way.
He rarely is out front setting the narrative for our party, thus allowing the right to already be doing it again, which of course the media is going to run with, with barely a peep in opposition from the Dems. He is however behind the curtain already getting ready to piss off the base again, with this crap about voting on the KXL, to help Landrieu, who is going to lose anyway, but he will risk the drinking water of millions of Americans like me in the middle of the country, and hand the right and the Kochfascists another victory, while wasting precious little time they plan on working for the rest of this year, when they could be confirming all of Obama’s nominees at least. Our party is no better at taking out the old, stale trash that is our leadership, than the right is with the likes of McChinless.
20 Likes
Even leaders can only do so much if the base does not turn out. One could argue motivation, but many of the Dems up for election this cycle actively spurned the top movers from getting involved with helping them. In hind sight, probably would not have hurt.
In the redder states going to the right does not really help Dems it seems. Even those who back the NRA and vote in line are turned on in these elections for someone who is a true conservative.
8 Likes
Hmmm, Not a peep about Citizens United…
9 Likes
Well if what we see coming with the take over of the Senate and Congress by the repubs and the things they are talking about and there refusal in some cases to embrace reality ,Climate Change as and example and Jim Inhofe that committees chairman.If something like that dosen’t give folks who put these people in charge “buyer remorse” nothing will help,IMHO.
2 Likes
The plate is so full j,it’s like a pick em.
Pine, I knew that the tidal wave was coming. I work at Social Security’s 800 number. Lots of callers absolutely HATE Obama. And they use the “N” word like the dam is broke.
3 Likes
I am sorry, but obviously you have no clue how old Harry wields his power. He has been a thorn in Obama’s side, and he is running an old game in the 21st century. What do you have against new leadership? They are already saying that if the Dems do not get some fresh blood in those roles, that we are going to be in trouble in 2016. How good do you think the old wood has been in setting the narrative, instead of spennding every two years between elections, allowing the other side to set that narrative, and then playing catchup, which they will never win at. Sorry, but Sen. Warren has been deemed the most popular Dem for a reason, THE BASE, who do not vote, because they are sick and tired of being stabbed in the back by the leadership of their own party. The right panders to their base, while our party leaders spit in our faces and screw us. Is it right that people do not vote because they are sick of getting screwed by their own party? NO, but human nature is what it is, and repeating the same crap over and over again, is after all the definition of insanity, and here we go immediately pissing off the base. Corporations do not keep failed leaders who lose money for them, so why should a political party keep the same leaders who keep screwing their own people. Don’t tell me that leaders can’t do much, as that is not what I see from the other party.
16 Likes
Bottom line: nobody, including Kilgore, has anything like a causal explanation. Or any idea how to test one.
Every election, the same kinds of stories float up and flitter about about for a few weeks. It’s a kind of seasonal art form — if endlessly repeating what others have said is an art.
1 Like
Pine:it didn’t phase them when Michelle Bachman was put on the “intelligence” committee, why would it phase them for Inholfe to be put on the committee for climate change?
10 Likes
Of course it’s no fun when your base consists of the least reliable voters. It’s nonsense to say that young people stayed away from the polls to protest some aspect of Obama Administration policy. Most of them are at most weakly connected to politics. It is almost impossible to engage enough of them in an off-year election.
Indeed, it isn’t easy in a presidential election, either – we can’t exactly coast to victory in 2016. It takes a tremendous amount of work.
7 Likes
Maybe if Democrats pandered to their base, the base would show up? “Pander” how do Democrats do that? How about doing what it takes to produce results for the people.
A big opportunity was missed this last election when Obama decided not to go forward with his executive order on immigration. That would have roused the Democratic base.
We should never forget the Democratic congressional leadership works for big companies. There isn’t a bomb thrower in the bunch, not even Warren. The Democratic party needs its own Ted Cruz. Somebody who is unafraid.
4 Likes
We lost and pretty much per the usual is the best I got. Rotten memories and dirty politics contributed and a failed news media that no longer cares about publishing information but loves gossip and manufactured controversy.
The good news is that the next one favors us just like this one did the Repubs. And, they actually have to show some results in the next two years besides just obstructing “LIBERALISM”. And no, obstructing themselves too doesn’t count.
Like Oreilly said, the waves come in and the waves go out, no one understands it.
1 Like
Can anyone explain what exactly the “Bannock Street Project” was? I mean, I know it was a supposed secret project to boost Democratic voter turnout, but what were they actually doing?
Citizen’s United is turning into a slow disaster for the GOP, actually. As more Democrats realize that they can get away with the unethical practices of the Republicans of yesteryear, they’re taking advantage of it.
The big problem for the Democrats is that they haven’t been willing to counter the propaganda and the Southern Strategy of the Republicans vocally and actively so that people believe that the Republicans’ plans actually work and make sense despite the collapse of Kansas.
What they need is leadership who will not whither in the face of GOP accusations and attacks. Get out there and demand to know why the GOP is wasting tons of money on witch hunts. Vocally demand the GOP cut subsidies to corporations if they truly believe in the Free Market. There’s a lot that the Dems can do…including running ads attacking the GOP starting right now.
4 Likes
I doubt there is a single cause for the GOP sweep. No doubt, there are a combination of reasons. The economy is doing great for the wealthy, and if you have a sizable 401K, you’re doing great. Many of the poorer working class either don’t have much for retirement or have cashed most of it out during the great recession for expenses. The soaring market does not effect everyone in the bottom 95 percentile equally. Obama motivated people to vote in 2008, and 2012. Most other Democratic candidates don’t have that charisma. Personally, I think that our great economic recovery not floating all boats this time around played a significant role in keeping people home. Most of the jobs created have not made anyone feel secure:
Updated figures by the National Employment Law Project, a labor-advocacy group, show that about 40 percent of the private-sector jobs created in the last five years have paid hourly wages of $9.50 to $13, and 25 percent have paid between $13 and $20. Those findings are underscored by the new jobs report, which shows that nearly all of the private-sector job gains were in restaurants, retail stores, temporary work, health care and other low-to-moderate-paying fields.
4 Likes
I think its extremely negligent of the national press to totally ignore the low voter turnout, only 36.4 percent of the electorate voted. Throw in the fact that 37 percent of those that voted were 60 years old or older, and you can see how misleading it is for the news media as a whole to give the impression that there was a republican mandate from the American people.
8 Likes
Colorado, Maine Wisconsin had among the highest voter turnout, all three were well over 50%. The Democrats still lost by huge margins. It was not even close. I believe in some states races voter turnout was a factor, but not the only reason the Democrats did so poorly. Amazing that California had such a low turnout, well below the national average. California has made huge improvements in their economy, still they stayed home.
Democrats did not turn out in NC, FL, or Wisconsin. If they would have turned out like they did in 2012 or even close to what they did we would have two new democratic governors and kept Hagan as a senator. There is just not the same loyalty for voting for the democratic party in every election like there is for the republican voters for their party. I don’t think there is any answer except for older democrats to convince their children to vote. The democratic party is the party of what have you done for me lately, and the republican party is we don’t care how much you stink as a party we will vote for you anyway.
1 Like