|
"Insanity in individuals is something rare - but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule." - Friedrich Nietzsche Welcome to the US politics thread! Our country is in shambles as the rich continue to pillage it and our generation is completely screwed no matter what your political beliefs are. Here we post to talk about the latest stunt and discuss the appropriate liquor to drink when they manage to further sabotage the country and the planet. Big Stuff in 2014: Military Spending: COLA cuts to pensions were partially reversed. After the Dems overcame a filibuster in the Senate, Boehner tried to get it through the House as part of the debt ceiling package and failed. He had to grab enough Dems to pass it. Pension cuts have been reversed if you are already retried, but remain in place if you are yet to retire. Sen Sanders (I-VT) and 10 Democrats entered a bill (SB1982) to reverse the rest of the cuts, expand intra-family transfers of the GI Bill, and increase funding for the VA for both health procedures and processing. It is currently filibustered by Sen Grahamn (R-SC). SecDef Hagel has proposed cutting the military's personnel while increasing military spending by $115 bln over 5 years with a focus on hardware. This is vigorously opposed as "gutting defense" by republicans and has them sneering that Obama would rather spend on food stamps than the military, going to show that up is down and left is right. Legalized marijuana Colorado is reporting millions more in tax revenue that was originally anticipated, which has gotten a lot of attention from other states. Publicly it is at a majority for support. Same sex marriage: Or, you know, just "marriage". In the wake of last years ruling we have seen a huge number of state level bans struck down, including in Kentucky, Utah, and Texas. So far Appellate courts are upholding those rulings, typically citing Justice Scalia's contributions to the ruling (which is also what is cited in striking down the bans, in some cases quoting him word for word). Through his ruling Anthony Scalia has literally, not at all figuratively, done more to bring about marriage equality in this nation than any other individual. Thinking about that warms my heart. Ryan Ideas: Ryan dropped a big pseudo-academic report that was a "summary" of government anti poverty programs and their effectiveness. He declared them ineffective citing studies. The authors of those studies came out and pointed out he was completely misrepresenting them to support his ideas. He got beat pretty heavily around the head with them so one month later when he released his budget which was supposed to lead the charge in reforming social welfare, that part was absent from the pitch. Good thing too, in order to achieve his goal of a balanced budget in 10 years with no tax reform and no changes to social security while expanding defense, he has to lay in deep cuts to the social safety net. ~86% of the costs in the Ryan budget would be born by the poor. gently caress this guy. Elections: Rough timeline, varies with state – California immigration: Cali looks like it will grant work rights to undocumented immigrants. Obama administration will have to decide how to respond, similar to Colorado legalizing marijuana. If he accepts it, it will basically be backdoor immigration reform, and expect a major fight. Iran: More negotiations to follow the previous deal. Expect GOP hate. The House leadership has said they won't pass any new sanctions, so at least they aren't going to jam up foreign relations. Hatred of working with the Senate Dems to do anything overcame their hatred of Iran. Senate GOP is using it as cover to torpedo bills that would be problematic - officially the reason Sen Graham filibustered the veterans care bill was because it couldn't be amended to include sanctions against Iran. Pink Crow: Mississippi Senate passed it most recently, Kansas it passed the house and died in the senate, Arizona it got through the legislature and was vetoed by the governor, Tennessee, South Dakota, Georgia, Idaho, Arizona, and Kentucky are all pushing the bills as well. Identical bills written by the American Religious Freedom Program popped up everywhere. If that sounds like the model ALEC uses, it's because they are joined at the hip through the Ethics and Public Policy Center and Heritage Foundation, with people in all 4 of those organizations performing secondment to another. Anyways, while all the focus is on the attempt to bring back Jim Crow laws against LBGT people, the legalese they are really trying to slip through is a redefinition of what constitutes an organization's rights, and what constitutes government interference in those rights. Under these bills if a private individual took a discriminating agency to court, the fact that it was in court would constitute government interference and allow them to invoke constitutional protections. Yes, I am focusing more on the legal corporate bullshit of it than the horrible repressiveness of it because if I actually need to explain why that stuff is bad just get the hell out of the thread right now. Food Stamps: Finally got pushed through, with deep cuts (8 bln over 10 years). Millions suffering. Economy is worsening as aggregate demand slackens. Businesses cautiously complaining. Republicans defiant that their making GBS threads on the poor makes the poor better and they should be grateful for it. Debate is now about how much more to cut. Some states found away around the cuts but adjusting the levels of heating oil they give the poor, qualifying them for food stamps. Boehner is furious and looking for a way to reverse that and punish those states for "thwarting the will of Congress and the American People". State's Rights! (to poo poo on the poor) Unemployment Insurance: Millions suffering. Economy is worsening as aggregate demand slackens. Businesses cautiously complaining. This has finally got the Senate to move into action, and they have gotten together a deal to renew it. Boehner is strongly opposed to it, and won't get a hearing in the House, defiant that their making GBS threads on the poor makes the poor better and they should be grateful for it. Infrastructure: Obama has proposed $302 bln in new infrastructure spending to repair roads, bridges and the like. Even post stimulus out infrastructure is in huge need of repair after decades of neglect (thanks Reagan), and this winter really did a number on roads across the nation. Republicans are of course opposed to it. Big Names for 2016: Christie released a report that, having investigated himself, found himself clear of all wrongdoing. Despite being "fully transparent and through", it did not cover the Port Authority or its activities at all. Funny that. Scott Walker's book has been a flop, he just wrapped up trying to get Aldeson to back him except Aldeson skipped Walker's speech. Sen Cruz toured Iowa to meet with organizers and district chairs and signed a "MEGA book deal". Donald Trump is claiming he may decide to run for Governor of New York. There is a move to draft Jeb Bush for 2016 just like there was to draft Christie in 2012, which is proof positive that these fools really do believe they did nothing wrong when they were last in power. Affordable Care Act: The ACA hit a little over 7 million by its deadline of March 31st. In addition, there are the state exchanges that were delayed in reporting until April 1st, the off exchange QHP (Qualified Health Plan) purchases, Medicaid, and the under 26ers which puts it at about 22.1 million people covered. Numbers on age breakdowns, how many were previously covered, and state by state are still being consolidated and crunched, but it looks like 2/3rds of them are new, and the demographic breakdown is enough that we won't see a cost death spiral. The GOP has a few claiming the numbers are lies, and Dean Chambers is "unskewing" the signups, but so far it is working. New challenge that the Feds can provide subsidies to plans bought through federal run exchanges instead of state exchanges was signed off by a Republican dominated Appellate court after being thrown out under the absurdity challenge by two previous courts, keep an eye on that. Republican Health Care Plan: Jindal has made the usual bleatings, flat out repeal of the ACA, then eliminate employer tax breaks, scrap licensing requirements, allow across state lines, block grant Medicaid, premium support Medicare, tort reform. Which if you care about providing health care or controlling costs or anything other than grifting as much money from the government as possible into donor pockets is pretty useless. This is the source of the thread title, unfortunately it was too long. Remember the core mantra of Conservative "intellectuals" "We need to accept the principle that sometimes poor people will die just because they are poor." Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.: SCOTUS heard the arguments. Kennedy seemed receptive because he took it as a challenge to abortion. Really no way they can rule on this short of "No, obey the law or forgo the tax credits" that won't massively upend some precedent, so brace yourselves. SCOTUSBlog summary McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission: SCOTUS struck down personal caps on campaign donations, though caps remain for corporations and unions. Welcome to the reason why we drink. SCOTUSBlog summary Immigration: Speaker Boehner tried to cobble together a meaningless soundbyte of "principles" so they would have talking points that made it sound like they were the ones trying to get things done, and even empty platitudes and spin was a bridge too far. Tax Reform: Rep Camp (R-Midland, MI) is chair of the House Ways and Means Comittee and he finally came out with something. Unlike Rep Ryan's empty bluster this is fully articulated policy. Rather than raising the burden on the middle class through hikes and lies about who would be paid how, this placed most of the burden on the upper crust by closing loopholes and impsong a tax on the banks. It has also led to him being ripped to shreds by his fellow Republicans for breaking their core vow to never do anything but direct more wealth to the rich, and from Wall Street which basically froze donations to all Republican groups as soon as this went public. It isn't a great plan, but it is more than rigged numbers and carving out new economic rents to be handed to the rich which makes it a sharp break from any policy the GOP has laid out since at least the 90s. David Camp has since announced he is retiring, in no small part thanks to the huge blowback on the plan. Patent Reform: Made it through the House 325 to 91 in December. Repeatedly pushed for by the President, civil liberty groups, and corporate interest groups. Sen Leahy (D-VT) has a bill to get it through the Senate, Sen Schumer (D-NY) has a similar bill with a few tweaks that are agreed would be even better but would need a return to the House; both are stalled out by senate Republicans. State level shutdowns: After the amazing success that was the GOP shutting down the federal government over the ACA, they have decided to take the act on the road, with multiple state level governments looking at shutdown over the fight over the Medicaid expansion. Missouri and Virginia are the ones that will hit the brink first, but several other states are in a similar position. China: Their latest economic reports apparently look ominously like the ones from America in the fall of 2007 when the collapse of the housing bubble spread to the banks. Specifically the cause of concern is their TED Spread which is the gap between two interest rates, and used as a marker of the financial strength of banks. TED stands for Treasury Eurodollar and is calculating subtracting the interest rate on treasury bills from the three-month dollar LIBOR. Brief note from Krugman on it and here is a Bloomberg piece on it. China imploding would be so bad it isn't really worth thinking about, much like it isn't worth thinking about if an dino-killer sized asteroid was falling towards Earth. There isn't anything you can do about it, so just pour a whiskey sour and hope the central bankers get it right this time. Ukraine: The Crimeans voted and have rejoined Russian. Russia under heavy economic sanctions, mainly targeting Putin and his closest fellows. Their stock market looks like it got hit with a baseball bat. Russia was bounced out of the Wall Street: The DoJ has announced an investigation into the practices of High Frequency Trading. Michael Lewis has a new book out on this topic. The news coverage about HFT as a result of these two things has been met with eye rolling and stating it is old news by Wall Street, and shock by Main street. Which is pretty much why it is a problem. If that looks like a lot of critical stuff that is absolutely within the purview of the government but for some reason is getting no traction, welcome to the thread. Useful Reads:  America's class system across life cycle - in case you were under the misapprehension things might get better Media: Watch Alpha House on Amazon. If you are a regular in this thread it is right up your alley. It has been renewed for a second season. Mitt on Netflix is a documentary of the Romneys during the campaigns, focusing on the family rather than the politics. Inequality for all is a documentary, now on netflix instant. Watch it House of Cards Season 2 came out February 14th, holy poo poo watch it. Threads is a BBC movie about nuclear war and its aftermath, watch it if your will to live has become too strong. The Battle of the Somme is on youtube, it was an early attempt at propaganda to get people to join the war effort and had the exact opposite effect. Do Not Ask What Good We Do by Robert Draper. Good summary of the insanity after the 2010 midterms Collision 2012 by Dan Balz covers the 2012 election (including some of the GOP primary) and written like it was a thread regular. Highly entertaining. Fiasco by Thomas Ricks. If you ever start to fade on how bad the naughty aughties were, here is a reminder of just one sliver of the gross malfeasance. I.O.U.: Why Everyone Owes Everyone and No One Can Pay by John Lancaster. Decent explanation of securities, debt, finance, and why its all a mess. Mainly a decent fast reference for us if you get confused about how economics, finance, and politics move together. Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty. New book on wealth and economics making huge waves with people. Probably worth a look. Reporters: Ta-Nehis Coates In America politics has been intertwined with race since the beginning, and as much as we may wish to deny it it is still a core part of who we are as a nation. There is no better writer on race in America than Ta-Nehisi Coates. He covers it all, from historical research to modern commentary. Read him if you want great insight to how things are and why. Robert Costa formerly of the National Review, newly of the Washington Post has amazing insider reports on dirt and action being done in congress. His op-eds are right wing, as to be expected, but his twitter is a play by play of the insider game, and a great source. Other stuff IRC is in #poligoon on synirc Find us there during live streams of random poo poo Drink of the Month Clynelish 14 Year Old. A Highland single malt, goes for $45-60 depending on your local prices. A sipping scotch, not for getting hammered in response to bad news. For that, this link will help Thread Title Credit to poster Redeye Flight for it, in response to the Jindal health plan. Fried Chicken fucked around with this message at 02:12 on Apr 3, 2014 |
#
?
Apr 3, 2014 02:03
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 26, 2024 10:39 |
|
|
Paul MaudDib posted:The big money has gone to PACs in the past because of individual and aggregate limits on how much could be directly given to the candidate (or given to the party for distribution to candidates). This ruling kills the aggregate limits, so you can give the individual maximum to every candidate, and since the limit on giving to parties was aggregate-based there's now also no limit on how much can be given to the party (who can turn around and give it to the candidate). This is incorrect. There's a separate limit on party giving (32,400 per committee of which there are three.) It's still a problem but it's more a harbinger than the apocalypse.
|
|
#
?
Apr 3, 2014 02:08
|
|
|
Hey, named the thread! That's kinda cool. So, what's the good news? I figure we might as well start off a new month with some good news first.
|
|
#
?
Apr 3, 2014 02:16
|
|
|
I think a wapo comment just broke my brain:quote:One assumes Zingermans pays their people at least $10.10 / hour. BUT, and this is a big BUT, how much is the least expensive sandwich there? Everything there is purchased with yuppy food stamps - those $20 bills that come zipping out of the ATM. POTUS is so out of it that he uses Zingermans as his example of what happens when you pay your people a living wage. NO! People being paid $10.10 an hour for 30 hours still could not afford Zingermans. Frank Luntz has truly created a monster, no wonder he went into hiding. When the bad people who I don't like spend their money accuse them of being on the moral equivalent of public assistance
|
|
#
?
Apr 3, 2014 02:27
|
|
|
Redeye Flight posted:Hey, named the thread! That's kinda cool. That's about all I've got right now.  Also, the ACA thing is a bit tainted by rear end in a top hat Republican governors blocking the Medicaid expansion. Seriously, go gently caress yourself Perry, there are a shitload of uninsured Texans at or just above the poverty line who need that Medicaid expansion.
fade5 fucked around with this message at 02:37 on Apr 3, 2014 |
|
#
?
Apr 3, 2014 02:30
|
|
|
Peven Stan posted:I think a wapo comment just broke my brain: I actually saw Luntz on Fox the other day doing one of his panels of 'randomly selected Americans' (spoiler all of them but like one black chick who got mean mugged by the old guy behind her were super right wing) where he asked if America was going to be ok after all the damage done to it by SOME PEOPLE, and my oh my the answer was yes but only if we all vote Republican whoda thunk?
|
|
#
?
Apr 3, 2014 02:32
|
|
|
Peven Stan posted:I think a wapo comment just broke my brain: Plus they're really good sandwiches, who the gently caress would speak ill of them.
|
|
#
?
Apr 3, 2014 02:34
|
|
|
Fried Chicken posted:Good thing too, in order to achieve his goal of a balanced budget in 10 years with no tax reform and no changes to social security while expanding defense, he has to lay in deep cuts to the social safety net. ~86% of the costs in the Ryan budget would be born by the poor. gently caress this guy. I don't think you understand how Ryan is the only one in Washington who is being serious about debt. After all, that is why his budget made the headlines for a few days and why you never heard a peep about the Better Off Budget released by the House Progressive Caucus on anything other than Counterspin on NPR. Maybe if they were willing to be SERIOUS about cutting our unfunded entitlements the press might actually give them some airtime!
|
|
#
?
Apr 3, 2014 02:48
|
|
|
Peven Stan posted:I think a wapo comment just broke my brain: US Politics: Those $20 bills are yuppie food stamps.
|
|
#
?
Apr 3, 2014 02:51
|
|
|
Fried Chicken posted:Food Stamps: Finally got pushed through, with deep cuts (8 bln over 10 years). Millions suffering. Not just suffering. Dying. Guess our country is run by flat-out murderers.
|
|
#
?
Apr 3, 2014 02:57
|
|
|
An Angry Bug posted:Not just suffering. Dying. Guess our country is run by flat-out murderers. You mean the drone strikes didn't tip you off?
|
|
#
?
Apr 3, 2014 03:01
|
|
|
An Angry Bug posted:Not just suffering. Dying. Guess our country is run by flat-out murderers. And always has been.
|
|
#
?
Apr 3, 2014 03:12
|
|
|
An Angry Bug posted:Not just suffering. Dying. Guess our country is run by flat-out murderers. Obviously they'll all get jobs now! Ignoring that a) they mostly have jobs and b) there's barely any jobs to be had. I've been joking that when we were young, it was "Go to college! What, you want to end up working at McDonald's?" So we went, and now there's no jobs, and it's "What, you're too good to work at McDonald's?"
|
|
#
?
Apr 3, 2014 03:30
|
|
|
Pope Guilty posted:Obviously they'll all get jobs now! Ignoring that a) they mostly have jobs and b) there's barely any jobs to be had. It's easier to get into Harvard than get a job at MacDonalds at a Micky D's job fair.
|
|
#
?
Apr 3, 2014 03:38
|
|
|
Xibanya posted:It's easier to get into Harvard than get a job at MacDonalds at a Micky D's job fair. Which you know brings us to world-endangering financial bubble 2: tuition boogaloo...
|
|
#
?
Apr 3, 2014 03:40
|
|
|
Pope Guilty posted:Obviously they'll all get jobs now! Ignoring that a) they mostly have jobs and b) there's barely any jobs to be had. I've gotten this and I'm halfway through my third degree. Yes goddamnit I am too loving good to work at mcdonalds, I have almost 15 years of training in my field(which is not mcdonalds) so give me a job assholes.
|
|
#
?
Apr 3, 2014 03:54
|
|
|
McDonald's is the go-to example of broken conservative thought. Go to college so you don't work at McDonald's -> I went to college and there are no jobs -> What are you, too good for McDonald's? -> Okay, now I work at McDonald's and don't make enough money for food and shelter -> Why are you working at McDonald's, that jobs for teenagers! -> Start Over
|
|
#
?
Apr 3, 2014 04:01
|
|
|
Stew Man Chew posted:Which you know brings us to world-endangering financial bubble 2: tuition boogaloo... I need to read up on that so I can do a decent writeup on it for the OP
|
|
#
?
Apr 3, 2014 04:04
|
|
|
Redeye Flight posted:Hey, named the thread! That's kinda cool. The good news is that the GOP thinkers can't stop saying tone-deaf things about the younger women they desperately need as voters. quote:The conservative minds of the Heritage Foundation have found a way for Republicans to shrink the gender gap: They need to persuade more women to get their MRS degrees.
|
|
#
?
Apr 3, 2014 04:04
|
|
|
Are poligoons liking House of Cards? I just started watching it and really like it, but the actual stunts Underwood pulls really strain my suspension of disbelief.
|
|
#
?
Apr 3, 2014 04:29
|
|
|
Is there really any hope at all. Like is there anything a progressive could possibly look forward too? It seems america and the world is just two steps away from doom.
|
|
#
?
Apr 3, 2014 04:56
|
|
|
SedanChair posted:Are poligoons liking House of Cards? I just started watching it and really like it, but the actual stunts Underwood pulls really strain my suspension of disbelief. This is generally how I feel about it. The show is entertaining, but half the time incredulity is the only reaction I have to some of the plot lines and/or actions of the characters. The BBQ joint guy is the only person who doesn't talk like a stereotype of a conniving Beltway wonk, and is therefore the only character I never really have an urge to punch in the face.
|
|
#
?
Apr 3, 2014 05:00
|
|
|
Xeom posted:Is there really any hope at all. Like is there anything a progressive could possibly look forward too? It seems america and the world is just two steps away from doom. Liquor is still legal, and weed is coming to a state near you. So sit back, relax and say: "gently caress it." Well, until you lose your job, home and reason to live. Then you start riots.
|
|
#
?
Apr 3, 2014 05:03
|
|
|
Xeom posted:Is there really any hope at all. Like is there anything a progressive could possibly look forward too? It seems america and the world is just two steps away from doom. Sanders is most likely running for President. At least you can look forward to voting for an Actual Socialist (really just a social democrat but might as well be Marx for all Americans care). Probably just in the Democratic Primary but hey, maybe he'll force Clinton to pretend to be slightly less neoliberal for a month or two!
|
|
#
?
Apr 3, 2014 05:05
|
|
|
Xeom posted:Is there really any hope at all. Like is there anything a progressive could possibly look forward too? It seems america and the world is just two steps away from doom.
|
|
#
?
Apr 3, 2014 05:09
|
|
|
Xeom posted:Is there really any hope at all. Like is there anything a progressive could possibly look forward too? It seems america and the world is just two steps away from doom. 
|
|
#
?
Apr 3, 2014 05:10
|
|
|
Things are arguably the least terrible they have ever been! I wouldn't bet on winning that argument, but you could certainly make it!
|
|
#
?
Apr 3, 2014 05:16
|
|
|
paragon1 posted:Things are arguably the least terrible they have ever been! I wouldn't bet on winning that argument, but you could certainly make it!
|
|
#
?
Apr 3, 2014 05:19
|
|
|
quote:Some states found away around the cuts but adjusting the levels of heating oil they give the poor, qualifying them for food stamps. Boehner is furious and looking for a way to reverse that and punish those states for "thwarting the will of Congress and the American People". State's Rights! (to poo poo on the poor) Any chance I can have more detail on this? How does that work, give less oil they become more officially poor to qualify for programs or what? Or is it more oil?
|
|
#
?
Apr 3, 2014 05:23
|
|
|
Raenir Salazar posted:Any chance I can have more detail on this? How does that work, give less oil they become more officially poor to qualify for programs or what? Or is it more oil? The food stamp cuts did so by raising the level of heating assistance you had to be receiving in order to be eligible for stamps from $1 a month to $20. The idea being that if you're only receiving $1 of heating assistance you're obviously wealthy enough not to need food stamps, you scrounger. What the GOP was not expecting was that (currently) seven states would decide to just raise the minimum level of heating assistance money handed out to $20 across the board, thereby completely negating the new cuts and reinstating the full level of aid. Boehner has described this as "cheating", which has really not looked good for him in the press. I should note that several thoroughly Republican governors were in on this "cheating", including Pennsylvania. I don't remember which ones specifically though.
|
|
#
?
Apr 3, 2014 05:26
|
|
|
Rap Record Hoarder posted:This is generally how I feel about it. The show is entertaining, but half the time incredulity is the only reaction I have to some of the plot lines and/or actions of the characters. The BBQ joint guy is the only person who doesn't talk like a stereotype of a conniving Beltway wonk, and is therefore the only character I never really have an urge to punch in the face. And conveniently, he's a Magical Negro.
|
|
#
?
Apr 3, 2014 05:27
|
|
|
Xeom posted:Is there really any hope at all. Like is there anything a progressive could possibly look forward too? It seems america and the world is just two steps away from doom.
|
|
#
?
Apr 3, 2014 05:47
|
|
|
SedanChair posted:And conveniently, he's a Magical Negro. What?  I don't remember Steven King being one of the writers, is he uncredited or something?
|
|
#
?
Apr 3, 2014 05:52
|
|
|
SedanChair posted:Are poligoons liking House of Cards? I just started watching it and really like it, but the actual stunts Underwood pulls really strain my suspension of disbelief. The policy stuff is largely implausible, and the show relies on almost everyone being cynical but almost nobody being savvy. It's fun, but it's not as clever as it thinks it is, and has less to say about stuff than, say, The West Wing.
|
|
#
?
Apr 3, 2014 05:58
|
|
|
JT Jag posted:Things are loving fantastic right now! For a very small, ever-shrinking percentage of Americans. Globally as well. I mean, they are about to get WAY worse than we have seen in a long time in the next few decades when climate change kicks into overdrive, but right now violence, hunger, disease, and lack of clean water are at the lowest point they have ever been in world history.
|
|
#
?
Apr 3, 2014 06:02
|
|
|
Evil Fluffy posted:US Politics: Those $20 bills are yuppie food stamps. That's not actually a new thing? I've heard that stupid phrase since the 90s.
|
|
#
?
Apr 3, 2014 06:04
|
|
|
The debit card: the yuppie EBT card
|
|
#
?
Apr 3, 2014 06:05
|
|
|
A Winner is Jew posted:What? I guess you have a point, he's just a wise, black outsider who delivers folk wisdom with a knowing smile. And ribs.
|
|
#
?
Apr 3, 2014 06:40
|
|
|
Negative Entropy posted:Demographic change as Millennials and minorities grab a larger share of the electorate, which could shift the Overton window. But not before this decade closes with possibly majority GOP in both houses and another Clinton, like we all time warped to 1994. Is there a way to put an end to this response? The whole "wait til the baby boomers die off" thing? Because I feel like it's ultimately self-defeating on so many levels; if nothing else it encourages voter apathy and civic disinterest or disengagement. I mean, I'm not attacking you, personally, but I hear this repeated so, so often. Liberals, progressives, et. al shoot themselves in the foot with this stuff. Yes, changing demographics will shift the political landscape slightly, but that won't do much if people aren't engaged (for example: http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/03/31/us/hopes-frustrated-many-latinos-reject-the-ballot-box-altogether.html?hp&_r=0&referrer=). It seems like the Left side of the aisle in this country loves to pat themselves on the back in regards to how great our policy ideas are, ignoring that rarely do those policies ever get implemented in a form which will actually affect real, lasting change, and when they get pushback it's always the response of "well, eventually they'll come around to our side and realize that we've got logic/science/whatever on our side". No, they won't. Conservatives are constantly rallying the wagons and doing everything they can to enact their agenda or at least stymie the opposition and I hate to break it to you, but not every person under the age of 50 is a Liberal. Yes, Millennials trend left, but I know a poo poo ton of "fiscal conservative, social liberal" people my age who are one bad experience or one misinformed discussion away from voting for a Republican candidate and feeling like they did the right thing. Where hope lies is that if half the people who are "waiting for the baby boomers to die" got involved in a local political organization or campaign, things would begin to change very quickly. Hell, if they even went to community meetings once a month that'd be a drastic shift. Not saying I'm any better than your average citizen because I read the news and volunteer a few hours here or there, but really, waiting around is part of the reason we're as hosed as we are right now. It seems like everyone is waiting for some inspired leadership from on high to start organizing some kind of movement or at least give people a direction, but if you haven't noticed already, that ain't happening. We all have to start doing more than just waiting for demographics to be in our favor.
|
|
#
?
Apr 3, 2014 06:53
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 26, 2024 10:39 |
|
|
Rap Record Hoarder posted:Is there a way to put an end to this response? The whole "wait til the baby boomers die off" thing? Because I feel like it's ultimately self-defeating on so many levels; if nothing else it encourages voter apathy and civic disinterest or disengagement. I mean, I'm not attacking you, personally, but I hear this repeated so, so often. Liberals, progressives, et. al shoot themselves in the foot with this stuff. Yes, changing demographics will shift the political landscape slightly, but that won't do much if people aren't engaged (for example: http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/03/31/us/hopes-frustrated-many-latinos-reject-the-ballot-box-altogether.html?hp&_r=0&referrer=). All of this I agree with, really the left could do a lot by nurturing parallel organizations, for instance the healthcare cooperatives are a great idea, they encourage non egotistical thinking as everyone is in it for the long haul. Likewise help nurture real credit unions as a alternative to the banks. Likewise create a culture that could tolerate unions by creating worker support group, have them give money to families of workers who are injured on the job. Thiswill help create solidarity.
|
|
#
?
Apr 3, 2014 07:19
|
|