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Happy Saturday! 1/9/20 Open Thread

The Progressive Wing Posted on January 9, 2021 by magsviewJanuary 9, 2021

With the Capitol riot the Trumpists have become a de facto third party

Wednesday’s invasion of our “temple of democracy” constituted an “insurrection” only in the sense of dark comedy. What was essentially a flag-wrapped biker gang wielding staves stormed America’s ultimate country club, chased senators into the Capitol’s catacombs, squatted on Mike Pence’s throne, trashed Nancy Pelosi’s office, and shot endless selfies to send to the dudes back home in white people’s country. Otherwise, they were clueless and when the serious cops finally arrived, filed out clutching souvenirs to show to Daddy Trump. Monty Python with four dead bodies.

Meanwhile, several hundred evacuated solons sweated together in their hiding place. Some of the Republicans, steadfastly loyal to their death cult, refused the face masks offered by police. One outraged Democrat described it as a “super-spreader event”. Hours later, Representative Jake La Turner, a Trump diehard from Kansas, punctually tested positive for the virus.

Predictably liberal pundits are now telling us that the far right has committed suicide, that the age of Trump has ended, and that the Democrats are free to build their shining city on the hill.

In fact the riot was a deus ex machina that lifted the curse of Trump from the careers of conservative war hawks and rightwing young lions whose higher ambitions have been fettered by the presidential cult.

This take rings true for me. Trumpers aren’t going anywhere in the short term. I’m hearing anecdotal accounts of people signing up for Parler just to show support for Trump.

Josh Hawley Faces Blowback After Capitol Riot

But while Mr. Hawley’s role in the riot may have left him shunned — at least for now — in official circles, it may only have improved his stock with his party’s base in his home state, which remains deeply loyal to Mr. Trump.

Btw, have you noticed that far too many people are throwing the term ‘radical leftists’ out every other sentence these days? I’ve been wondering how we can counteract that nonsense, effectively. Perhaps using humor? I think we need to push back on that. Where’s our Luntz?

I had a great time this morning catching up on last night’s thread (thank you Benny!), you are all wonderful people whom I’ve learned a lot from.

I hope you all have a great day! Please share below.

(Benny or anyone else with the power, can you please edit this post so it shows properly?

Posted in Open Thread | 167 Replies

1/2/21 Open Thread

The Progressive Wing Posted on January 2, 2021 by magsviewJanuary 2, 2021

Bernie fought the good fight.

Bernie in the air port flying commercial today on his way to fight for the $2,000 survival checks.

I wonder how many senators voted against the people today after arriving on their private jets…

This man should have been President! pic.twitter.com/ZggeP1Dg3Q

— Terrence Daniels (Captain 🍀 Planet) (@Terrence_STR) January 2, 2021

Thune pointed to GOP concerns that under the House-passed bill higher income households who were not eligible for a payment under the $2.3 trillion coronavirus-government funding bill passed last month would be eligible because the House bill increased the amount of the checks but kept the same phase-out structure.

When Sanders asked if Thune had seen a Tax Policy Center analysis, which shows that a small percent of the checks would go to top earners, Thune responded that he hadn’t but “I know math.”

And when Thune said that all he was saying was Democrats shouldn’t “misrepresent the facts,” Sanders responded: “All I’m saying is that according to a very reputable tax organization center … less than 1 percent of the benefits of the entire program go to the wealthiest people in this country.”

Sanders also cut in as Thune rehashed a months-long stalemate over coronavirus relief, saying that he was reclaiming the Senate floor but that senators were having a “great debate.”

“In one moment I am going to bring — because I know Republicans think I don’t do much for them, that I’m not concerned about them. … I am going to bring your bill to the floor to show you what a nice guy I am,” Sanders added.

Please “cut in” on Thune as much as possible going forward Bernie.

Happy Saturday Birdies! I hope you all have a wonderful day and please stay strong!

 

Posted in Bernie Sanders, Open Thread | 146 Replies

11/14 News & Open Thread

The Progressive Wing Posted on November 14, 2020 by magsviewNovember 14, 2020

Happy Saturday birdie friends!

I found some good news:

Michigan Gov. Moves to Shut Down Line 5 Pipeline to Protect Great Lakes

Environmental and Indigenous activists celebrated Friday after Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer took action to shut down the decades-old Enbridge Line 5 oil and natural gas pipelines that run under the Straits of Mackinac, narrow waterways that connect Lake Huron and Lake Michigan—two of the Great Lakes.

Citing the threat to the Great Lakes as well as “persistent and incurable violations” by Enbridge, Whitmer and Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Director Dan Eichinger informed the Canadian fossil fuel giant that a 1953 easement allowing it to operate the pipelines is being revoked and terminated.

The move, which Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel asked the Ingham County Circuit Court to validate, gives Enbridge until May 2021 to stop operating the twin pipelines, “allowing for an orderly transition that protects Michigan’s energy needs over the coming months,” according to a statement from the governor’s office.

Please add your news below and I hope you all have a great day!!

 

 

Posted in Oil/Gas Pipelines, Open Thread | 121 Replies

11/6 News Roundup & Open Thread

The Progressive Wing Posted on November 6, 2020 by magsviewNovember 6, 2020

Coming from Bernie, it rings true.

Undermining the legitimacy of an election—what Trump is doing now, and in fact has done for months—is how demagogues destroy faith in democracy and move us toward authoritarianism. pic.twitter.com/SSEbxf5KDd

— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) November 6, 2020

I’ve been up for hours, lots of nervous energy, thought I’d put up a morning thread.

Maybe they’ll be a good reason to have another thread later.

Biden has gone ahead in Georgia, at least partly due to late votes from John Lewis’s district, from what I can understand.

What effect will the runoff(s) in Georgia have on calling Georgia?

Have a great day Birdies!

p.s. if anyone has the skills, please edit my post so that you can see Bernie on the front page (and so not have to click on the post to see him). Thanks!

Posted in Bernie Sanders, Open Thread | 184 Replies

10/25/20 Open Thread

The Progressive Wing Posted on October 25, 2020 by magsviewOctober 25, 2020

Good Morning Birdies!

I decided to dive into a recent Jacobin article this morning by Matt Karp:

Bernie Sanders’s Five-Year War

How he lost and where we go from here.

While sobering, I found the piece thought-provoking, and entirely worth the read.

In fact, I ultimately found it to be somewhat healing, a kind of emerging from the smoky battlefield, damaged, but still mostly intact, and still willing and able to fight the next fight.

The article is extensive and full of nuggets that ring true. Like this one:

All by itself, Bernie’s five-year war did not succeed in reanimating twentieth-century class politics. But if there is any hope for a return to the electoral alignment that produced every major social-democratic reform in history — uniting a diverse working class around pressing demands for redistribution — it lies with the cohort of Sanders voters under age forty-five.

Not only do two-thirds or more of these younger, poorer Americans support Medicare for All, wealth taxes, and other significant reforms — they have shown, in two different primary campaigns, that those fundamental redistributive commitments are strong enough to guide their voting choices. This is not yet a socialist majority, but it is, perhaps, a socialist majority in embryo.

And even as the US population ages, this embryonic majority grows every year, and within every demographic. Despite the folklore about voters growing more conservative as they age, the academic consensus is that ideological preferences are, in fact, quite stable over time. Older millennials, locked out of an increasingly unequal economy, do not appear to be moving to the right. The supermajority that demands national health insurance today, we can bet, will demand national health insurance tomorrow, too.

The impact Bernie made on young people may end up being his most enduring.

(Bernie’s) campaigns assembled a different coalition, centered on younger, lower-income voters from Brownsville to Duluth. In 2020, that working-class coalition was not enough to win the Democratic nomination. And no, Sanders did not manage to turn history on its head and bring the vast reservoir of alienated, apolitical workers back to primary politics.

But by 2032, today’s Bernie voters under fifty will likely represent a majority, and certainly a plurality, within the party electorate. What sort of left will be there to greet them? Will it be a thoroughly post-Sanders progressive movement, whose priorities are defined by social media discourse, billionaire-funded activist NGOs, and a friendly working relationship with the corporate Democratic Party?

Going forward I hope I can help keep the Democratic establishment from co-opting the movement, and do what I can to help keep our eyes on ‘the ball’.

Or will it be a political left that continues the work, to borrow from Lincoln at Gettysburg, that Sanders has thus far so nobly advanced? A left grounded in class politics, and aimed fundamentally at majority-building demands for material redistribution — health care, education, jobs, and family support for all, paid for by the rich? The future is still unwritten.

Happy Sunday! I hope you all enjoy your day.

Posted in Bernie Sanders, Open Thread | 95 Replies

2/29 News Roundup & Open Thread

The Progressive Wing Posted on February 29, 2020 by magsviewFebruary 29, 2020

Happy Saturday!

I just wanted to start a thread to share a couple of items before I have to head out to work. Still can’t figure out how to post things the way I want to!

 

Just three generations of #BernieBruh getting lunch after voting for @BernieSanders in the #SCPrimary. #Bernie2020 pic.twitter.com/cbTVJn0uXP

— Cruella De Trill 🔥🌹 (@porchemae) February 28, 2020

 

 

Posted in 2020 Elections, Bernie Sanders, Open Thread

1/26 Evening Open Thread

The Progressive Wing Posted on January 26, 2020 by magsviewJanuary 26, 2020

Am watching the Grammys, something I haven’t done for a long time. What are you up to? 🙂 I did enjoy Alicia Keyes’ callout to Cardi B (in song): “Commander-in-chief impeached, y’all get out, let’s bring Cardi B, Cardi! Can you please show these people what to do? Cuz music changes the world, just like Beethoven said, old dude in a wig, but I still give him some cred, It’s just too many lies, too much hate, too much spin. It’s when good people do nothing that the bad guys win” How did Bernie do today with those five engagements? … Continue reading →

Posted in Open Thread

Winter Solstice 2019 & Sat 12/21 Open Thread

The Progressive Wing Posted on December 21, 2019 by magsviewDecember 21, 2019

Happy Saturday Friends!

Bernie Sanders calls out Buttigieg’s billionaire fundraising: ‘exactly the problem with politics’

Bernie Sanders on Friday doubled down on criticism of fellow Democratic presidential candidates Pete Buttigieg and Joe Biden over the support they’ve received from billionaire donors, arguing his 2020 rivals’ fundraising was “exactly the problem with American politics”.

Sanders noted that the South Bend mayor, Buttigieg, had accepted support from 40 billionaires throughout his campaign and was “closing in on Biden”, the former vice-president who has received donations from at least 44 billionaires. The Vermont senator told the Guardian: “They will tell you, ‘It doesn’t impact me. It really doesn’t mean anything to me.’ That is clearly nonsensical. Why would billionaires and wealthy people be making large contributions if it didn’t mean something to them?”

Sanders appeared cheerful and spoke confidently about the state of his presidential campaign as he sat down with the Guardian and the not-for-profit publication Capital & Main before a climate town hall in Moreno Valley, just outside of Los Angeles.

I’m glad that the interviewer brought up the UK election, might as well get that out of the way asap.

Sanders also brushed aside concerns from some Democratic pundits, who have drawn comparisons between him and Jeremy Corbyn, the British Labour leader who experienced a stunning defeat in that country’s recent elections. “Our opponents will throw every reason in the world against us,” Sanders said, arguing his rise is making the Democratic establishment “very, very nervous”.

He continued, “The United Kingdom, last I heard, is not the United States. Brexit is not a major part of what this campaign is about. The issues that I am campaigning on, in fact, are precisely the issues the American people support. Talk about raising the minimum wage to 15 bucks an hour. Four years ago when I introduced that concept, it was a radical idea. Not radical anymore.”

Sanders noted that there was also polling showing broad support for many of his more progressive proposals, including Medicare for All, student debt cancellation and wealth taxes.

And I’m kind of glad Bernie brought up the fact that, in addition to being old, he’s happens to be fair-skinned. Another issue tackled head on to hopefully defuse attacks from his opponents and the media.

Among the toughest questions Sanders faced during the debate were several on race and identity. When asked about concerns regarding too many older men in power, he interjected, “And I’m white as well!” adding, “The issue is not old or young, male or female, the issue is working people standing up taking on the billionaire class.”

I hope you all have a fabulous Winter Solstice Saturday!

 

Posted in 2020 Elections, Bernie Sanders

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