So much for the idea that there might be cooperation on something.
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In his Medium post, Sanders also mentioned Trump’s plan to allow corporations with profits stored overseas to re-patriate that profit at a lower tax rate. In August, Trump said that rate would be 10 percent.
“Trump would allow corporations that have stashed their profits overseas to pay just a fraction of what the companies owe in federal taxes,” Sanders said.
This is very ironic. Ronald Reagan and his wave of congress and senate people, pushed for the elimination of Section 936 of the Internal Revenue Code, a section which allowed funds by US Companies operating plants in Puerto Rico, to repatriate their profits at a lower tax rate after the funds had remained in Puerto Rico for a certain number of years. The elimination of this section, deemed a “loophole” by Reagan, lead to the closing of many manufacturing and production plants in Puerto Rico in the 90s and directly to the economic crisis there now. Trump is going to reinstitute that same loophole for people who have kept their money in offshore tax havens, where they created no jobs or manufacturing benefit.
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emphasis added
I would have been happy if she were a good a retail pol as Dukakis or Mondale. And tell me again why the Democrats thought it was a splendid idea to clear the field for her, a candidate who had never won a seriously contested election? Because it was her turn?
Yeah, well we’ll never know if he was in a “McGovern trap” or not. Every poll showed him doing better against Trump than HRC. But savier political minds assured us that Sanders was toast against the Republican attack machine. Or course, those same minds assured us that HRC was innoculated against Repub attacks and was sure to beat Trump “like a rented mule”, as @darcy might say. They were wrong about the latter, so it’s logical to ask if they were wrong about the former.
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There’s also this data coming out today, and while I can only speak for myself, it’s bound to be a downer.
With the last remaining ballots being counted, Mrs Clinton so far has 63.6 million votes compared to 61.9 million for her Republican rival – meaning she has received more votes than any other US presidential candidate in history except Barack Obama.
The Democrat has received 48 per cent of votes counted so far compared to Mr Trump’s 46.7 per cent, according to figures compiled by the Cook Political Report.
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That’s why Sanders is doing this. And he is getting to be news now.
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II posted this somewhere else and, since I haven’t been on the main boards recently, I also haven’t seen this Sanders/Clinton crap going on here too. Take it anyway you will,
We have to get past this framing as a Bernie/Hillary divide and compare because there is too much baggage attached which just inflames the issue. If we sort things out as policies to be pursued in the future, I don’t believe that there is shred of difference in what all of us would like to see happen.
Using either person as a stand in for an ideology seems to me to be a sure way piss someone else off and turn a conversation into another re-litigation of family grievances.
The issues of economic inequality, resentment politics and identity politics are all intertwined.
We are being moved around like pieces on the board game Divide and Conquer which is similar to musical chairs where someone keeps taking money off the table and we form factions and fight among ourselves for what is left instead of getting together and taking it back.
I don’t want to talk about Bernie again except as an ally.
I don’t want to talk about Hillary again except as an ally.
Because we need all the allies we can get now.
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Hillary lost in an usual way, by actually winning. From the Independent of the UK:
With the last remaining ballots being counted, Mrs Clinton so far has 63.6 million votes compared to 61.9 million for her Republican rival – meaning she has received more votes than any other US presidential candidate in history except Barack Obama.
The Democrat has received 48 per cent of votes counted so far compared to Mr Trump’s 46.7 per cent, according to figures compiled by the Cook Political Report.
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But unlike Obama, she didn’t break 50%.
Of course, it’s tragic that the person who will be President got 46.7%. Sad.
No, really.
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There’s a search party out there right now for the next Barack Obama. Hope they find him before 2020 (or 2018 when campaigning begins). Myself, I am well and truly heartbroken.
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The sooner we quit arguing among ourselves about how this election got lost and just accept the fact that the dems lost a lot more than just the presidency, the sooner we can start applying our anger in a positive direction. I welcome anyone who is against Trump and the Repubs, I don’t care if they voted or what they did - it is over. I am just praying we get some smart and young progressive leadership to start channeling us in smart long game ways and that the corporate funded centrists start fading out of leadership roles in a painless way. We are not going to beat the Repubs by being Republican light. We need strategy and we need inspiration - NOW
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Wish I could like this 100 times
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I think that is too strong a condemnation of commenters here. Yes, I had some reservations about Bernie’s candidacy and wasn’t sure he could ever win a national election. I may have been wrong, but I did my research and gave the issues a great deal of thought. Bernie is absolutely right here, and I will gladly say that with no need to “trash” him. I hope his message about Trump’s phony infrastructure plan gets wide exposure.
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Excellent post.
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Well said. Hope there will be a next time in two and four years.
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Perfect.
Whether he would have won or not is a matter of opinion. It is certainly plausible and not simply dismissed.
At this point it is just being confrontational to drop it into the comments. (From either side)
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Agreed… a bit of autopsy is good though. We should discuss, and learn lessonsa of each election.
But it is wise to remember what Jesus once said…
“Do as you do, just don’t be a dick about it”
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Oh FFS, please get over HRC v Bernie and pay attention.
Trump’s “Infrastructure Program” is a privatization program. This means everything will be a toll…roads, bridges, whatever…that goes to a corporation, maybe a foreign corporation (like the managers of our ports). This is not a jobs program for the economically distressed. It is a way to siphon money to the 0.2%. Corporate welfare of the most distasteful kind.
We have to get together and fight this shit tooth & nail.
Starting now.
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Bernie talks a good talk but can’t legislate worth a damn. Keep him out front rallying the troops and keep people like Schumer in the back working the deals. It needs to be tackled from both sides (and those are only 2 of the sides) and each Dem has his or her own talents that have to be put to their best use.
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Ugh.
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He echoes what we’ve been saying here. Spread the message, Bernie.
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