Political Roundtable Part XXIX

[pancakes3]

TGW, pass me some kool-aid.

[Ruzious]

Ever since the switch to electronic voting, the polls don’t match the tally. Predictive polls or exit polls. Chump wanted mail in votes to be stifled so badly. There’s a reason for that. The billionaires and Chump’s Russian handlers assured him they can hack the vote if there’s no way to trace it. If it’s on paper, they can’t. Maybe there’s enough mail in votes yet to be counted to turn the tide. But these numbers simply do not look right. As usual.

If Trump somehow wins Wisconsin, there will be no doubt in my mind that the vote was hacked, and I'll welcome a government investigation. Trump should be careful what he asks for - he just might get it.

[dckingsfan]

Hoping the GOP at least starts taking COVID seriously. Can we at least do that.

Not holding my breath...

[Zonkerbl]

Ugh, the ACA is toast now and there's nothing the Dems can do about it. Dammit, what a disaster.

[Ruzious]

Ugh, the ACA is toast now and there's nothing the Dems can do about it. Dammit, what a disaster.

Republicans will take it, put a slightly different coat of paint on it, call it something else, and claim it as their own. Oh, and they won't fund it.

[dckingsfan]

Ugh, the ACA is toast now and there's nothing the Dems can do about it. Dammit, what a disaster.

Yeah, not much hope for forward progress on Healthcare, Climate Change or (my favorite) the Deficit.

[dobrojim]

HW Bush was an incumbent who lost since after Carter lost.

I’m guardedly hopeful re POTUS. The senate is not good.

[pancakes3]

Biden should pull out Michigan, and that plus Nevada and Wisconsin (which he only wins by like 20k) should get him to 270.

Michigan's senate seat is within reach. NC potentially, but further from reach. Georgia's seats are also mathematically attainable, though longshots.

The pipe dream of having both house and senate is likely dead, and the margin of victory is as narrow as it gets, but Dems seem to be able to drag Joe's carcass across the finish line. Hopefully Dem establishment takes a look at the billions spent, the political capital expended, in the midst of an absolute botching of a global pandemic, and the complete and utter zero on the other side of the ballot, and take stock as to just how incompetent of a political party they really are.

how dems are only able to win this race through the narrowest of margins is flat out embarrassing. and you can't hide under the guise of "half this country is beyond saving" because racism only explains part of this. Obama was able to win bigger. How? Why? (hint: it's because he ran on a platform of change - not a "return to norms").

[Zonkerbl]

I don't think you can blame the Dems. They're selling a product - decency, accountability, rationality - that America doesn't want. They want fear and hate and the GOP gives it to them. That's what was on the ballot and that's what America chose. We live in a nation of proudly racist, misogynist, xenophobic, smugly arrogant aholes. Donald Trump Jr. is America right now.

[queridiculo]

I don't think you can blame the Dems. They're selling a product - decency, accountability, rationality - that America doesn't want. They want fear and hate and the GOP gives it to them. That's what was on the ballot and that's what America chose. We live in a nation of proudly racist, misogynist, xenophobic, smugly arrogant aholes. Donald Trump Jr. is America right now.

Imagine the DNC tried ideas for a change, rather than peddling moral superiority...

Looks like Biden is going to pull it out, but the outcome of this election has been an abject disaster.

Mitch McConnel is rock hard right now imagining the countless way he's going to **** the democrats until the next election cycle.

Lameduck prez, what a **** **** show.

[TGW]

I don't think you can blame the Dems. They're selling a product - decency, accountability, rationality - that America doesn't want. They want fear and hate and the GOP gives it to them. That's what was on the ballot and that's what America chose. We live in a nation of proudly racist, misogynist, xenophobic, smugly arrogant aholes. Donald Trump Jr. is America right now.

Imagine the DNC tried ideas for a change, rather than peddling moral superiority...

Looks like Biden is going to pull it out, but the outcome of this election has been an abject disaster.

Mitch McConnel is rock hard right now imagining the countless way he's going to **** the democrats until the next election cycle.

Lameduck prez, what a **** **** show.

THIS.

The whole "decency" angle is complete ****.

The democrats are not decent nor moral. They are only slightly less corrupt than the Republicans, and that's debateable. Maybe offer actual policies and not this "restore the soul of the nation" or whatever nonsense Biden repeats ad-nauseum in his putrid ads, and you would see Democrat domination in the polls.

[Ruzious]

This is sickening beyond words, and just the fact that I feel I have to say that is part of the problem. People are accepting the unacceptable - or not even reacting to it. https://www.yahoo.com/news/his-hopes-of-winning-growing-dim-trump-looks-to-halt-vote-counting-in-pennsylvania-212951639.html

And the article even leaves out the fact that the PA governor pushed to get a ruling passed to start the absentee ballot vote count before Tuesday - which was successfully thwarted by PA Republicans who were more than likely doing it because they knew their crime boss wanted them to. Effing too much is happening because the Trump troglodytes do what they think will get approval from the thing temporarily in the WH. The fact that people are actively trying to have votes not counted... I mean, what the flying f? We need far tougher voter suppression laws, so this shyte doesn't happen ever again.

Thwarted? Oh, sorry for the bad language.

[Zonkerbl]

well if the primaries were any indication, not even the Dems want change. Because change is SOCIALISM

there is literally no political product the dems can sell that

1. they themselves want and
2. Republican voters also want

because Fox News has successfully painted every single Dem priority as communism

Obama's "transformational" victory set the stage for Fox News to do this

[Pointgod]

well if the primaries were any indication, not even the Dems want change. Because change is SOCIALISM

there is literally no political product the dems can sell that

1. they themselves want and
2. Republican voters also want

because Fox News has successfully painted every single Dem priority as communism

Obama's "transformational" victory set the stage for Fox News to do this

Listen just because something is a change doesn’t mean it’s a smart change. Imagine if Biden had fallen for the Court packing trap and bled independent support in key states. Dems need to do some soul searching and figure out a national party policy or focus. As far as rural and red state voters, they need to talk to them and see what their concerns are. All politics is local. Personally I think the Dems need to move away from the extreme ends of their Party, AOC can’t be the face of your party. I see an angle as the party of unions, workers and labor focused on rebuilding infrastructure but that means you actually need to pass legislation that helps workers and unions.

[I_Like_Dirt]

well if the primaries were any indication, not even the Dems want change. Because change is SOCIALISM

there is literally no political product the dems can sell that

1. they themselves want and
2. Republican voters also want

because Fox News has successfully painted every single Dem priority as communism

Obama's "transformational" victory set the stage for Fox News to do this

Obama was an exception that caused people to think the world was changing for the better. The reality is that the entire world is moving more phobic and totalitarian. People want certainty in a changing world and the first thing they look for is to be sure that those they believe to be worse off than them stay that way. Being told what to do makes things even easier because it absolves a person of actually having to think of anything or personally owning any of their opinions beyond a superficial level.

Sent from my SM-G970W using RealGM mobile app

[pancakes3]

so if people like being told what to do, then dems should just be benevolent republicans. sell a bill of goods, take power, then undermine its constituents and implement what they view to be best for the country.

if trump can spout BS and not be held accountable to stump promises, then neither do dems.

Joe can say "Read my lips, no new fracking/packing" pre-election but good luck enforcing that. IT"S FOR YOUR OWN GOOD, PEOPLE, AND IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT? TOUGH. YOU SECRETLY LOVE IT WHEN DADDY TELLS YOU WHAT TO DO."

the slow, plodding drip of incremental change that leaves millions living in captive mediocrity is not the answer - especially since it's painfully obvious that the last 50 years of American amazingness is not keeping pace and people aren't even living in mediocrity any more, relative to bankers and billionaires.

[Pointgod]

so if people like being told what to do, then dems should just be benevolent republicans. sell a bill of goods, take power, then undermine its constituents and implement what they view to be best for the country.

if trump can spout BS and not be held accountable to stump promises, then neither do dems.

Joe can say "Read my lips, no new fracking/packing" pre-election but good luck enforcing that. IT"S FOR YOUR OWN GOOD, PEOPLE, AND IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT? TOUGH. YOU SECRETLY LOVE IT WHEN DADDY TELLS YOU WHAT TO DO."

the slow, plodding drip of incremental change that leaves millions living in captive mediocrity is not the answer - especially since it's painfully obvious that the last 50 years of American amazingness is not keeping pace and people aren't even living in mediocrity any more, relative to bankers and billionaires.

I’d 100% support this approach. People don’t give a **** they just want to be made promises and lied to. Only problem is nothing is getting done without the Senate.

[Zonkerbl]

Yeah. Dems need to learn how to play the game, like the Republicans already have. None of this "oh but we have *principles*" garbage. Principles won elections in 70s. Not anymore.

[dckingsfan]

I am deeply disappointed that we did not win in Texas.

Despite record turnout and an extraordinary effort on the part of our volunteers, Texas voters chose Donald Trump and Republican incumbents at nearly every place on the ballot.

For whatever it’s worth, it looks to be part of a larger, national trend. No matter the devastation wrought by this administration — hundreds of thousands dead from Covid and tens of millions out of work — our fellow Americans in state after state have voted to reduce the Democrats’ majority in the U.S. House, to keep control of the Senate in Republican hands and to deliver an uncomfortably close Presidential race.

As we continue to follow the national results, I wanted to leave you with a look at the work we’ve accomplished this year. It may offer only cold comfort in the wake of these losses, but these achievements are worth keeping in mind as we begin to think about the work that lies ahead.
Over the course of this year Powered by People's volunteers and supporters like you are responsible for the following:
• We made over 76 million contact attempts to Texas voters (57.8 million texts and 18.3 million calls);
• We helped register nearly 200,000 likely-Democrat Texas voters;
• During the beginning of the pandemic, before the CARES Act was passed by Congress, we filled over 17,000 food bank shift hours across Texas;
• We brought in more than 10,000 volunteers to call, text or knock on the doors of Texas voters;
• We helped raise $2,034,165 for Democratic candidates and organizers in Texas (in addition to what we raised to run Powered by People);

And this one doesn’t have a measurable number to it, but I know it to be true: we gave it our best and we gave it our all.
I can’t help but imagine what we could have done if we were not restrained by the pandemic from knocking on doors and meeting voters at their homes, in their communities, across the state.

We’ve built a powerful grassroots volunteer organization and I’m hopeful that what we’ve learned this past year can be put to use in winning elections in future years. Remember, this state last voted for the Democratic nominee in 1976; last sent a Democrat to the Senate in 1988; last elected any Democrat statewide in 1994. We’re bound to get knocked down a few times (maybe a lot of times) before we finally win. The question for you, for me, for all of us, is: are you willing to get up again?
As awful as the Texas results are, as hard as it is right now, we must move forward and try again. Because, what’s the alternative? Can you accept conceding the future of this state to permanent GOP and Trumpist control? There’s much to learn from this election. Many people to whom we must humbly listen, to better understand what’s happened and what we can do better. But let’s commit ourselves now to doing whatever it takes when we get back up and get back after it.

I was watching the returns last night, and, exhausted from the day and dispirited from the results, I walked upstairs early, got in bed and passed out for 9 hours. I haven’t slept more than 5 hours straight in months. But I think my body and my mind knew that it was over, we’d done all we could, we pushed as hard we knew how, we left it all on the field and it was time to acknowledge there was no more that could be done for this election.
Now, like you, I’m watching the remaining states declare their winners for President as we approach a clear victor in the Electoral College. I remain ready to do whatever I can in the coming days for our democracy.

But for now, I am overcome by my deep gratitude for you and this team. I can’t tell you how inspired I am by all who contributed to the work, knowing the sacrifice entailed and the willing suspension of cynicism and fatigue that is required to believe in Texas. It leaves me feeling hopeful still, and only strengthens my dedication to Texas, to this team and to the work of helping this state fulfill its potential and promise. I hope to once again have the chance to do that work with you.

With love and gratitude,
Beto

[doclinkin]

Beto, sure, but thanks DCK, doing the good work on the ground where it is most needed. Much respect.