Want to get excited about this but I’m old enough to know they’ll probably revert to their fetish for watered down bi-partisan legislation and “taking the high road”. I’m willing to lose the pessimism if there’s a major change in leadership but not super hopeful about it.
People keep talking about citizens united. And sure it needs to go. But it doesn’t really solve more than a small part of the problem because it just reduces what /corporations/ can spend.
Wealthy people like Elon Musk can still go ahead and spend hundreds of millions on campaigns like they just did. There is no cap on that.
There is a personal cap at $3500, Musk uses the PAC organization that arose after CU. The big money is not giving directly or personally; it goes through PACs which CU enabled
CU let companies donate to campaigns and PACs. This talk about state by state changes to put a stop to that is nice (Montana, Hawaii). But Elon Musk is not a company, he actually is a person.
You can give unlimited to a super PAC. Ok, next you get rid of super PACs, which came after CU, fine.
But now still, how does that stop an Elon Musk going out and spending $100m on political advertising as a private individual? That’s what the Musks of this world can still do after you get rid of super PACs.
AFAICT the distinction is if it is “in coordination” with a campaign. Same with PACs. Your super PAC can’t coordinate with a campaign. It’s part of what differentiates them and why they can raise unlimited money.
All he has to do is spend the money himself, as a private, real person, without any coordination with a campaign, and he can spend as much as he likes.
Yeah that watered down boring giving people SNAP benefits, bringing insurance exchanges that helped millions, not going to the supreme court and making it the law of the land that people can be pulled over simply for their race. Ensuring women have the right to choose. Stopping government agencies from being like ICE and murdering people on the streets. Just that stuff. But both sides the same/Dems do nothing.
Schumer recruited Talarico to run for the Senate. What leadership person are you promoting who has both grown talent and demonstrated actively herding cats like the Dem leadership does every day within the big tent party?
Yeah, Schumer's and Jeffries' job involves herding cats and taking the blame to let members and presidential candidates look good.
They've got a unique opportunity over the next couple of years -- I'm willing to bet there are now a handful of Republican members that are willing to vote against Trump on specific bills to help their general election prospects. And they only need a handful to assemble a filibuster-proof or even veto-proof majority.
That'll involve pissing off the progressives, since bipartisan bills will necessarily be moderate. But don't let perfect be the enemy of the good.
Schumer and Jefferies were directly involved with the biggest Democratic win in generations, with Schumer in particular picking the candidates with the biggest upsets, personally, and directing fundraising to weaker candidates like El-Sayed. EVERYBODY who thinks they need to be replaced, are fucking morons, who might be correct that somebody else could do it better, but do not understand that somebody else could do A LOT WORSE.
Who do you propose could do it better? Not vagueness, give me a person. We need real world candidates because these things are real world considerations not just internet talking points.
The Democrats did not win as much as the Republicans have been rejected. Don't read too much into it (like the DSA is), this was a rebuke of elites and do nothing politicians, the same reasons Biden lost and Trump got a 2.0
I do credit Schumer with staving off the far left. We still need to see if these new representatives are actually up to the task of governing effectively. But Schumer is still part of the old guard, he played a big part of making America what it is today.
Is the implication the only path is to design the economy around keeping landlords as happy as possible? Its similar to the fear of a wealth tax driving the rich to move, you can just say out loud who our true masters are.
Germany, not even comparable lol.
Affordable healthcare, clean living spaces, decent wages for the majority of people. Also, Mississippi has the highest gun death rate in the US.. Not sure how much feeling safe should factor into QoL for you but that's a pretty significant one in my book
I have lived in Germany for five years and your parent poster is right. Scandinavian countries and The Netherlands are generally better. But Germany is a great country to live in with high living standards.
It looks like the strait is still closed, the Taliban is back in charge and Syria is run by a former ISIS fighter. I think maybe the point is that the US has put in a lot of effort and resources into these areas with no outcomes benefitting our country, or the the world even
People sharing similar values does not make them an organization. “Why do they wear masks?” because they don’t want nazis to interfere with their jobs, friends and families? You’re asking questions there are very obvious answers to. Seems like a disingenuous comment or you’re unable to do the most basic research
You do realize the US was fighting Uyghur terrorists alongside China 20 years ago in ago in Pakistan’s and Afghanistan for their support and cooperation with Al Queda? Like I know everyone is supposed to hate China now or whatever but can you guys show a little consistency?
"Yet" is the keyword. it won't be long before we arent' any different from china at the rate we are going at and I think a lot of us would be better off preventing the west from turning into an oppressive autocracy instead of judging china.
You can talk about it, but the hidden social credit system operated by the 3-letter agencies in conjunction with techno-feudalism oligarchs designed explicitly to bypass constitutional rights is very real and has very real long term consequences for your privacy and freedom.
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