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CenturyEye Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign? from I don't know where the Yith sent me this time... Since: Jan, 2017 Relationship Status: Having tea with Cthulhu
Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign?
#175801: Feb 25th 2017 at 6:54:00 AM

Well, that is originalism. The whole "Aristocracy of Merit" fit the ideals of the Continental Congress better than democracy.

And speaking of (dis)unity... Democrats aim to define struggle against Trump in Atlanta

The uneasy clash between grass-roots activists and establishment figures at the Democratic National Committee meeting in Atlanta isn’t hard to spot. It’s on display at caucus meetings, panel discussions and the maneuvering behind Saturday’s vote to elect a new party leader.

And for a party struggling to find a balance between the liberal wave of outrage at Donald Trump and its leaders trying to corral that energy into electoral action, the attempts to strike a tentative truce will define their fight against the president.

It won’t be easy. Democrats of all stripes have united in a Trump “resistance” movement, but even the most outspoken elected officials struggle to match the ferocity of the Trump opposition that’s filled the streets with protesters and town hall meetings with newly energized activists.

And the same divisions that cleaved the party during last year’s election ...continues to dog Democratic leaders who desperately want to put the 2016 election behind them.

“We didn’t win, but the revolution is very much in this room,” said Winnie Wong, who co-founded the People for Bernie group and helped create the #Feelthe Bern hashtag. “And you folks need to pick up the mantle. We can’t stop now, we have to do everything that we can in this party to be a part of this political revolution.”

The groundswell of frustration undercuts the other dominant theme of the three-day conference that started Thursday — a constant drumbeat of calls to unify behind a common opponent. Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed made a personal plea to Democrats to stay focused on Trump — and not their own internal fissures.
“This is going to end up being unity weekend in the city of Atlanta and unity weekend in the state of Georgia and unity weekend in the Democratic Party,” Reed said. “It’s going to be the end of that presidency of Donald Trump.”

Democratic leaders are intent on turning the explosive protests into votes, but they also risk the same wave of primary challenges and infighting that the tea party movement triggered in the GOP after Barack Obama’s 2008 election as president.
“There are people who feel like the Democratic Party has stopped listening to young people. Especially us young people,” Nelini Stamp said. “We have ideas and we’ve changed the country in the last six years. We need to work together and we need to push each other better.”
Stamp is a founder of the Resist Trump Tuesdays movement, and her organization is one of a surge of new groups that have sprung up after the November election.
Strikingly, though, one of the first targets of the group’s protest was a Democrat: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. Thousands of protesters wound up on the doorstep of his Brooklyn office, urging him to defy Trump at all costs.

Rita Bosworth has also not endeared herself to party leaders. After starting Sister District Project, which matches donors in deep blue districts to help candidates run in more conservative areas, she said a California Democratic official pressed her on whether she was secretly coordinating with Libertarians.

“We are trying to reconnect with the people,” said Christine Pelosi, another California activist. “People do not trust us to fight for them. They do not trust us to put their interests first. That’s what every single listening tour that all of us have gone on shows us.”

The winner [of the DNC race] will try to bridge the divide between veteran operatives more accustomed to the halting progress of politics and newfound activists who demand immediate action and results. Xavier Becerra, California’s new attorney general, urged Democratic veterans to act more like the grass-roots demonstrators.
“Get in the way — be a hitter and be authentic and be real every day,” Becerra said. “Continuously prove to every hardworking American that we have your back.”

Look with century eyes... With our backs to the arch And the wreck of our kind We will stare straight ahead For the rest of our lives
Luigisan98 A wandering user from Venezuelan Muscat Since: Oct, 2013 Relationship Status: I <3 love!
A wandering user
#175802: Feb 25th 2017 at 6:55:32 AM

Say guys...not sure if this something to relate with to the topic but, in case if aliens visited Earth in some capacity, how would Trump and his cabinet react to it? Could it be like in the movie Arrival? Or something more extreme?

The only good fanboy, is a redeemed fanboy.
IFwanderer use political terms to describe, not insult from Earth Since: Aug, 2013 Relationship Status: Wishfully thinking
use political terms to describe, not insult
#175803: Feb 25th 2017 at 7:00:46 AM

[up]Nuke 'Em

1 2 We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be. -KV
TerminusEst from the Land of Winter and Stars Since: Feb, 2010
#175804: Feb 25th 2017 at 7:01:25 AM

Wouldn't matter, there would no more Earth.

US government memo on the danger of leaking to media has been leaked

A US government memo setting out strategies for preventing leaks of classified information, has been leaked to the media.

The four-page document details how Donald Trump’s new secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, might be able to prevent the public disclosure of sensitive information, including issues affecting ongoing policy discussions within the department.

“When such information is leaked … It chills the willingness of senior government officials to seek robust and candid advice, which ultimately is to the detriment of informed policymaking and the reputation of the institution from which the leak emanated,” it states.

Si Vis Pacem, Para Perkele
DeMarquis (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#175805: Feb 25th 2017 at 7:02:27 AM

By the way, it's worth knowing that Snopes.com is actively trying to counter fake news. Click on "Fact Check". For example: "Democratic Congressmen Busted Planning to Assassinate Trump? A fake news site concocted a story blaming two non-existent lawmakers for a plan to attack the president."

(Snopes is one of my favorite sites, second only to this one)

I'm done trying to sound smart. "Clear" is the new smart.
tclittle Professional Forum Ninja from Somewhere Down in Texas Since: Apr, 2010
Professional Forum Ninja
#175806: Feb 25th 2017 at 8:27:31 AM

James O'Keefe is threatening to leak hundreds of hours of unaired CNN footage.

"We're all paper, we're all scissors, we're all fightin' with our mirrors, scared we'll never find somebody to love."
TotemicHero No longer a forum herald from the next level Since: Dec, 2009
No longer a forum herald
#175807: Feb 25th 2017 at 8:33:20 AM

Which should be regarded as nothing but a joke, because he said Wednesday that he would "leak" part of it the next day, Thursday.

It's now Saturday. Where's this "leak" again?

Expergiscēre cras, medior quam hodie. (Awaken tomorrow, better than today.)
Kostya (Unlucky Thirteen)
#175808: Feb 25th 2017 at 8:35:12 AM

How do you leak unaired footage? Does he mean CNN edits interviews or something?

DingoWalley1 Asgore Adopts Noelle Since: Feb, 2014 Relationship Status: Can't buy me love
Asgore Adopts Noelle
#175809: Feb 25th 2017 at 10:23:36 AM

[up] James O'Keefe is that ass that ruined ACORN with his altered Video that made it look like they supported Prostitution. I don't trust O'Keefe at all on anything.

According to the Washington Post, Trump went further with trying to discredit News Reports of Russian ties after the FBI refused to do so: He asked Congressmen, especially those on Intelligence Committees, to do so.

Kostya (Unlucky Thirteen)
#175810: Feb 25th 2017 at 12:10:14 PM

This is not something that an innocent person would do. I wonder if they realize this just makes them look even more guilty.

Perian Since: Jun, 2016
#175812: Feb 25th 2017 at 12:25:46 PM

Tom Perez has just been elected DNC chair. Seems like the Dems really love president Trump.

rmctagg09 The Wanderer from Brooklyn, NY (Before Recorded History) Relationship Status: I won't say I'm in love
The Wanderer
#175813: Feb 25th 2017 at 12:29:43 PM

Keith Ellison got named Deputy DNC chairman.

Hugging a Vanillite will give you frostbite.
Kostya (Unlucky Thirteen)
#175814: Feb 25th 2017 at 12:31:05 PM

God dammit. Couldn't they just pick Ellison? I know there's no substantial difference between the two but they could at least try to appeal to progressives.

Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#175815: Feb 25th 2017 at 12:33:58 PM

I'd hold off and wait until they release any policy statements and a new platform. I doubt that this choice of a DNC chair means that the Democrats are giving up on the progressives.

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
Kostya (Unlucky Thirteen)
#175816: Feb 25th 2017 at 12:35:21 PM

It does to the Bernie or Bust idiots. I'm already seeing people saying they're not voting for anymore Democrats until they learn their lesson.

IFwanderer use political terms to describe, not insult from Earth Since: Aug, 2013 Relationship Status: Wishfully thinking
use political terms to describe, not insult
#175817: Feb 25th 2017 at 12:35:48 PM

Of course, /Pol_Revolution is not taking it well. Meh, two five good candidates, an asshole (Ronan) and some lawyer from Milwaukee, they chose one of the two best options, and the other best option is deputy chair, I think they should've gone with Ellison, as an attempt at unity but this doesn't seem so bad to me.

edited 25th Feb '17 12:39:39 PM by IFwanderer

1 2 We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be. -KV
Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#175818: Feb 25th 2017 at 12:40:07 PM

And its not like Deputy Chair isn't a powerful position in its own right.

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
Mio Since: Jan, 2001
#175819: Feb 25th 2017 at 12:43:28 PM

I'm not too surprised by the selection, but I really hate that the optics of the situation are going to look so bad.

I get the feeling that both Perez had already decided on working together regardless of who became chair, which is certainly a good thing, but they really need to work quickly or the left wing of the party's constituencies might go completely AWOL in the coming elections.

Perian Since: Jun, 2016
#175820: Feb 25th 2017 at 12:45:27 PM

Just shows you how out of touch these people are. If anyone truly believes that a candidate who only entered the race because the Obama people couldn't let a Sanders democrat win can be a unity candidate, I've got a bridge to sell you.

There were no substantive policy differences between Ellison and Perez, but the DNC chair doesn't dictate policy anyway. There are, however, some very substantive differences in terms of fundraising strategy (Perez loves his corporate donors), experience (Perez is ridiculously unqualified, with no electoral experience at all), progressive support, Perez being up to dirty campaign tactics etc.

edited 25th Feb '17 12:46:30 PM by Perian

FFShinra Since: Jan, 2001
#175821: Feb 25th 2017 at 12:52:22 PM

Letting perfect be the enemy of the good (for those who support Ellison) is only going to doom the Dems.

The race in the Georgia 6th is looking similar. 5 people, all of whom seem fine, but they don't understand the problem of splitting the vote.

Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#175822: Feb 25th 2017 at 12:53:10 PM

Until you get serious campaign finance reform in place, corporate donations are a necessary evil for a national party.

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
Mio Since: Jan, 2001
#175823: Feb 25th 2017 at 12:53:53 PM

[up][up][up]Where exactly did you get all that about Perez? I've never seen any news website or other source say anything like that about him.

edited 25th Feb '17 12:54:05 PM by Mio

CenturyEye Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign? from I don't know where the Yith sent me this time... Since: Jan, 2017 Relationship Status: Having tea with Cthulhu
Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign?
#175824: Feb 25th 2017 at 12:54:25 PM

I'm already seeing people saying they're not voting for anymore Democrats until they learn their lesson.
There's still people like this? We're all learning their lesson right now. I think Ellison was the one who tweeted that refusing to vote wasn't protest. 'Twas surrender.

Look with century eyes... With our backs to the arch And the wreck of our kind We will stare straight ahead For the rest of our lives
Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#175825: Feb 25th 2017 at 1:01:37 PM

If he did say that, he needs to hammer it home and keep saying it until the idiots (who undoubtedly follow him on Twitter) don't cause the US to become a one party state.

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.

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