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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM
It's been mentioned before, and one or two instances have been cited. I recall a film clip that showed Trump being quizzed on some policy issue. He was provided with the relevant info on a printout right there in front of him, and even when prompted ("page X, paragraph Y") he just shuffled randomly through the papers and stared dumbly at them, as if they were written in a language completely unfamiliar to him (like, say, English.)
He may not actually be functionally illiterate or dyslexic or what-have-you, but he's got the attention span of a gnat, and is definitely not the reading type. He has freely admitted that he gets his information primarily through television.
This Space Intentionally Left Blank.Do you know what angers me? That the side who has been the most outspoken about healthcare for everyone, for people being able to study whatever they want without needing to pay off enormous loans, for fighting extreme wealth inequality, for enacting no half-hearted measures against climate change, etc., constantly gets marginalized in a system in which corporate interests are the only winners. So no, this is not about some petty feud. This is about the fact that the DNC thinks that 'the Sanders wing taking over' is somehow a bad thing. And yes, in a sense this vote was only symbolic, but it is a pretty powerful symbol showing that the hills have become so steep that they're almost impossible for any of such Democrats to climb anymore. I'm simply acknowledging this reality, not saying that it's wise to not vote anymore, but that it's understandable that people have become disillusioned.
I mean, I agree that Ellison would've been the better choice from an optics perspective, but if people are acting shitty, the fact that said behavior was predictable and preventable does not mean it's not shitty behavior.
All I'm saying is 'how about you save that outrage for something that actually f*cking matters'. And 'which side of the anti-Trump side won this particular purely symbolic battle' is not a thing that matters.
edited 25th Feb '17 4:51:25 PM by Gilphon
Perez and Ellison wanted to jointly be dnc chair but couldn't due to reasons so they both privately agreed that whoever won would make the other deputy chair and be done with it.
Too bad it still backfired on them-they're clearly happy to work together yet petty infighting is trying to paint them as two enemies.
Obviously Ellison and Perez didn't really see the race in such terms, but both of them had to be aware of the tensions under the surface; Labor in the UK has been tearing itself apart since Brexit, and the same is happening on a smaller scale here, and in center-left coalitions around the world that have been shoved aside by right wing demagogues.
edited 25th Feb '17 5:12:13 PM by CaptainCapsase
I like how some economic justice warriors thinks that Tom Perez, a guy who is pro-labor rights and pro-union, is a corporate shill.
Fucking purity tests. Even when the guy actually passes it, it still doesn't count.
And honestly, who actually heard either of these two before this mess anyway?
edited 25th Feb '17 5:13:14 PM by NoName999
Ouch.
https://mobile.twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/835610917568200705![]()
Remember, Trump also praised Schumer (the Current Senate Minority Leader) before he actually took office: Now Trump is constantly belittling him.
This is worthless, just like all of the other praises from Trump to anyone else.
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No I did not.
edited 25th Feb '17 5:17:27 PM by DingoWalley1
Some of the discussions surounding the DNC vote
The centerists are arguing that the upswell in grassroots support floats all boats, so to speak.
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I knew of both of them. I don't really mind Perez as chair, but people really want to see new faces in party leadership positions, and Perez is, by virtue of being part of Obama's cabinet, not a new face.
@Dingo: You do realize that's one of his typical backhanded compliments right?
Yeah, that's not going to work; people will just get more and more disillusioned, and more and more convinced that we have no option but to sit down and take whatever Trump's clique decides is going to happen. Fortunately a significant number of high ranking democrats seem to realize that.
edited 25th Feb '17 5:18:01 PM by CaptainCapsase
x5 Labour is in the opposite position though - they responded by voting a more left wing politician in as the party leader and they're now losing even harder than before because while he could engage well with the Labour member base, the Parliamentary Labour Party (many former Blairists) tried to restore their faction to power.
At the same time Corbyn has revealed himself to be a completely incompetent communicator outside of the Labour base and this + his lukewarm Remain support and subsequent embrace of 'soft Brexit' has started to erode his popularity significantly.
You can't compare the two just because they're the opposition.
edited 25th Feb '17 5:18:32 PM by math792d
Still not embarrassing enough to stan billionaires or tech companies.In a two party system, not voting for the guy you largely agree with means effectively voting for the guy you largely disagree with. That's the way the system works. You don't have to like it, but you have to live with it, because it's what we got (until and unless someone changes it).
From where I'm standing, most of the Bernie Bro crowd are just high on being the "outsider", which is great for them because it lets them blame others for failing without actually having to do anything themselves. Remember how quickly they turned on Sanders for "selling out" once he finally conceded the primary and endorsed Clinton in the general? The main draw for these people isn't Sanders himself, or even his policies, it's being able to yell at Democrats so they can feel good about themselves for being real liberals, not like those bums running the Democratic party.
Note that I'm not saying everyone who preferred Bernie to Hillary is like this, or anyone who wants to see the Democrats shift left. Just the people screaming their heads off about really dumb shit, like declaring the death of liberalism in America because their guy ended up deputy DNC chair instead of being voted in as DNC chair.
Really from Jupiter, but not an alien.Question: I'm going through earlier pages and the attitude towards Perez's win as DNC chair, and my question is that, "my guy didn't win" griping aside, is there actually any concern that he won't be able or capable of performing his new job? Because, I'll be honest, I care far less about some minor policy differences than I do about having someone who's actually a fit for the job in the position. Trump's cabinet is displaying well why that's an important factor to consider.
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Yeah, it's much less of a problem in multiparty systems, which is why it's quite likely Le Pen WON'T become the president of France, though sadly it's far from impossible.
Which is why Perez running was kinda baffling; Ellison's support was from all wings of the party.
edited 25th Feb '17 5:27:55 PM by CaptainCapsase
So hubris bordering on stupidity. I guess they really did learn nothing.
Did they not get the memo that Sanders supporters are perfectly willing to stay home and not vote if no one catches their eye even if Sanders pushes people towards the establishment Democrat candidate?
Two Ellison supporters on Friday admitted they felt the same way. If Ellison lost, said Krupesh Patel, a 30-year-old clutching a green “Keith Ellison for DNC Chair” sign, “it would just look terrible because they're trying to burn the left again.” Scott Brown, 31, nodded in agreement. “There’d be no good reason to say, ‘Hey, the Democratic Party cares about Bernie Sanders’s primary voters,’” Brown says. “This is maybe only our second chance to bring the party together.”
And even Ellison supporters open to the possibility of unity under Perez admitted it would be difficult to achieve. “There's going to be a silent undercurrent that will stay away because they'll feel their voices were not heard,” said Denise D. Adams, a city council member from Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Calling that faction “silent” might have been too hopeful. When outgoing Chair Donna Brazile announced that Perez had won, a chant broke out among a few dozen Ellison supporters, drowning out the chair at the front of the room: “Party for the people: Not big money! Party for the people: Not big money!”
A handful of Ellison supporters left the room in anger. Others tried to quiet down their own side, while a Perez supporter yelled across the room for them to be quiet.
Indeed, the country’s two biggest socialist organizations — the Democratic Socialists of America and the Socialist Alternative — immediately moved to use the news of Ellison’s loss for recruitment.
Alexandria Ellison, the candidate’s 22-year-old niece, said that many of her friends were talking about leaving the Democratic Party if the Minnesota congressman lost. But Alexandria Ellison, like her uncle, said she’d work within the party — and said that she thought it was likely many would do the same.

edited 25th Feb '17 4:39:47 PM by CaptainCapsase