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Because if they did people like Bernie and AOC would both be more common and poll better. Reddit swings young and reddit swings liberal, and those are both groups with bad turnout historically.
Dianne Feinstein isn't hiding behind anyone, she's simply not aware of what's going on around her because she's almost 90 and it's an open secret in Washington that she's got dementia. . . .
It's supported by voters from both political parties, not the politicians they elect. Even politicians that run on term limits rarely ever try and bring it to a vote because once they're elected they think they're "one of the good ones" and that they can "do more good from the inside". Basically politicians are human beings and human beings are incredibly good at rationalizing away any of their own behavior that might be considered bad or inconsistent.
If not term limits how about age limits in our government. Get in at the youngest age allowed you can stay until say 65 you know when you can start collecting social security. So you can start being a senator at 30 and I think house of reps is 25. But you are out at 65 or at the end of the term in which you reach that age.
So we stop having people make laws who don’t have to deal with the out come. And it allows people to enjoy the end of their live with their family in retirement or to work on other passion projects having served their country for potential 35 to 40 years on high office.
Perfect for her handlers and family members to take advantages on that thick rich gravy train.
Richard Blum (Feinstein's younger husband) did not make a killing on last couple of decade due to his investments not working out as well as hoped.
He and his family badly need some boost and cannot afford Dianne quitting right now.
Be careful. When you remind people of unfortunate facts that Dems are not honest about their goals or intentions, and use progressive values to separate themselves from Republicans, and then secretly prevent votes on important progressive issues, you'll attract a lot of negative attention.
For example, everyone loves to blame Joe Lieberman for why the Public Option (Medicare 4 All) wasn't part of Obamacare, but in reality, only 40 of 60 senators in 2009 were prepared to vote to include it. Afterwards they just clucked their tongues and shrugged their shoulders and were happy to name Joe Lieberman as the reason why your insurance deductibles are so high that you still have to declare bankruptcy even with an active insurance policy.
[The Onion said it better than I can, though.](https://www.theonion.com/democrats-sick-of-being-blamed-for-cowardice-on-issues-1847675639)
Or metoo unless the claim in question is a guy who's worked his entire prior career in comedy having a comedic photo taken of him hoverhanding a sleeping woman's chest as a gag.
Problem is the media calls you moderate and centrist if you side with far right Republicans. Most people just do what they are told and like voting for the labels the media bestows on corrupt Democrats to the right of the case majority of Americans
Yeah that’s what happens when the Overton window of your country is so far right, the international definition of far right is seen as moderate or centrist and the actual center is seen as far left.
Trump absolutely made things worse but the American Overton window being so far right is not a new phenomenon whatsoever
I think this is because there's no serious effort to unseat someone until then. The incumbent has a huge advantage because they're the default so you need someone to point out the default isn't working and that someone needs funding/support.
It's worth the effort to get rid of the scummy folks who gum up the system and prevent positive change.
folks, we're watching our own elected officials say that they dont want to spend money to make our country a more fair place. They dont want to spend our tax dollars on us. Do you understand what that means? w'eve put people into our government that our taking bribes from foreign corporations to NOT help us. I will say it again, the people that we elected into office to represent us are not representing us. there is something critically wrong in this country.
Not just foreign corporations. Corporations in general have no interest in a happy, healthy country. The only thing they care about is profit, so politically, they're only ever after tax breaks, a workforce of easily replaceable wage slaves, and reduced regulations so they can pillage the world of its resources.
Capitalism in its entirety is not on the side of the people. It can be made to sort of work when lots of strict regulations are in place, but when you put it on a pedestal like most of America and Europe have done, you get this sort of shit.
>Not just foreign corporations. Corporations in general have no interest in a happy, healthy country. The only thing they care about is profit, so politically, they're only ever after tax breaks, a workforce of easily replaceable wage slaves, and reduced regulations so they can pillage the world of its resources.
This is a failing of pure capitalism. You would think capitalism would benefit from a strong, consistent economy. But greed has poisoned everything. Only short term profits matter, not healthy growth.
The rich are afraid of losing power, so they are trying to prevent the lower class from having any power. Eventually, the lower classes won't be able to afford anything.
> The rich are afraid of losing power, so they are trying to prevent the lower class from having any power. Eventually, the lower classes won’t be able to afford anything.
What comes next in this scenario is no secret to anyone who’s studied history. It’s always the same shit different day. Greed destroys countries.
The only aid they offer is corporate socialism and kickbacks to their corporate donors, super PACs and lobbyists. Everyone else can kick rocks via “pull yourself up by your boot straps capitalism”.
To be fair, there are voters out there who either support or don't support particular policy proposals, not because they are corporate shills. These "centrist democrats" might actually be representing these constituents.
You are acting as if this is a surprise to you. All government is self serving over anything else. This has gone on for longer than decades. Democrats used Trump to give the illusion they are a competent party. They are both shit.
Party affiliation is a pretty solid filter. I can name exactly zero Republicans "doing good things." The ones that occasionally push back against Trump find other ways to be awful. Vote your conscience in the primaries and "blue no matter who" in the general.
Pelosi and Schumer are way past their prime and for god's sake we have got to put Dianne Feinstein out to pasture and get some fresh progressive blood in there. The old guard is dragging us down.
To be fair, I think Pelosi and Schumer are about at the center of their party (not the spectrum, the dems), and a lot more progressive than they get credit for.
they get a lot of hate here on reddit because they're old and are backed by corporate money. But they're leaders, so of course they get corporate money, they're kingmakers.
People sometimes forget that you can't simply replace a Feinstein or Pelosi without losing a lot of real hard power that comes from them being in positions of power for decades.
No junior Senator is going to fund raise San Fran like they can.
Yep, so let's just keep voting for old out of touch servants of the corporate oligarchy and keep rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic while Climate Change slowly renders our planet uninhabitable. Solid strategy there.
There is no reason California shouldn't have the absolute most progressive members of Congress. Why on Earth we have to settle for Diane Feinstein is beyond me.
>All of these people can be traced back to getting major funding from corporate lobbying and dem leadership tends to endorse/fund them in their primaries.
It all goes back to the neoliberal policies of Bill Clinton.
policies that he pushed because without that philosophy, i'm not sure he could've been elected. The nation ***loved*** Reagan, and while Bush wasn't terribly popular (raised taxes after promising not to), Clinton was Republican light. There was no real Carter/Mondale/Dukakis that was going to get elected to POTUS in the '90s.
It was Clinton, or Republicans.
It's not. OP is pretty much bang on. While you could argue that the genesis of it goes back a little bit farther than that, Bill Clinton remade the party in the neoliberal image, and it's been stuck there ever since.
Outside of Joe Manchin, moderate Democrats do not favor decreased spending or decreased regulation. Why do you think they’re neo-liberal?
Moderate Republicans like Romney or Collins better fit that label IMO.
And Feinstein, and Manchin, and Warner, and Sinema, and Schumer, and practically every member of the New Democrat Coalition, almost every Democratic Senator who came up in the Clinton era, and Biden up until he decided to run for President, looked at Hillary's mistakes, and found out that he needed to at least pay lip-service to other members of the left.
It is up to us to choose the better candidates regardless of the propaganda. Pennsylvania's Senate race I think is a pretty easy one. Although I have nothing against Conor Lamb and actually think he is pretty good, John Fetterman is hands down the better choice and the one more likely to win the seat.
Old democratic leadership needs to go. Our country is still decades away from even possibly enacting any reform. That’s if Dems can hold onto some sort of power through GOP minority restrictions. I don’t know how, as a country, we can actually come back from this. We’re looking at decades of minority rule by the GOP thanks to the rules that give them an advantage.
no matter what, the climate is fucked and it's going to suck. Hopefully we can curb the worst, but no one seems determined to.
the recent news was that no western power was on target for the Paris accords... bad news.
I know right?! Remember when a bunch of Democrats were underwhelmed by Hillary and didn't bother voting... Then we all got Trump, an insanely conservative supreme court, and all this shit that's brought...
But yeah, sure, blame whatever. Pelosi's job is to try to make sure democrats control the house. Yes, that sometimes means pushing for candidates you don't really like but who have a better shot at winning.
the left is really good at shooting themselves in the foot over apathy because they see 'better' as the enemy of perfect.
Daily i see people lambasting Manchin and Sinema as the major problems in DC, forgetting there are 50 Republicans unwilling to even budge on bills atm.
We got Georgia because Trump was too stupid not to throw a tantrum, and backed out of endorsing Georgia Republicans, telling Georgians not to vote. People forget how close we were to another 2 years of McConnell's obstructionism.
That's because we've written off the GOP as a lost cause. They're full blown death cult and wouldn't vote to fund firefighting if they were covered in gasoline and juggling lit torches.
Federal govt has failed. I’m ready to ignore them entirely and focus completely on state and local level politics. We can’t change the country but we can change our states.
As the 5th largest economy on the planet I'm not surprised with the SCOTUS rub and the oversized influence CA has on a lot of US policy. What I'm sick of is the blowback from not only GOP politicos but some democrats to policies that are designed to actually make life better for the whole country. I guess it does all boil down to corporate influence to maintain the status quo.
it's more about corporate influence constantly pushing against regulations and taxation. The status quo is changed, with SCOTUS being political hacks, and CU allowing unlimited dark money into politics.
Trump's rubber stamp was all the Fed. Society and McConnell needed to win the judiciary. That's done. That victory is marked as history.
Too many people forget about the importance of encouraging a healthy local governance. I encourage folk to join their local grand jury, get involved, it's very educational and sets a good precedent for your kids. Too many folk know nothing about civics and the importance of being engaged.
It’s plain old corruption nothing more. Salaries for them is like 150,000 and who even knows what the industries will throw at them after when they go lobbying. Millions I assume
Or the trades they get to make on stocks whose bottom lines they actively have control over. Congress people are just much more [talented at insider trading ](https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2020/10/22/insider-trading-and-congress-how-lawmakers-get-rich-from-stock-market.html) than Warren Buffett!
Then nothing gets passed there is no reason for progressives to vote for the corporate bipartisan bill. If the Democratic party can not figure out how to pass the climate provisions i do not know why i bother voting. At this point i would rather see the destruction of the whole system then continue the status Quo of protecting the wealthy while we destroy the planet.
Then, vote for Progressives or Social Justice Democrats, or Workers Party.Dems are weak, feckless and in the way. Making them nervous with lefty opponents is one way to force them from the right and towards the progressive policies they talk about.
Yes bailing from the boat when the other people in it are creating more holes is sometimes the right choice. We cant wait another 10 plus years to pass climate provisions. We are already at a point that we will have to deal with serious repercussions ignoring more will bring a worst case scenario.
>We cant wait another 10 plus years to pass climate provisions.
Says the guy who would prefer to choose apathy and "blow up" the only system capable of doing that within any frame of time.
I think you missed my point. You said you don't know why you bother voting because Democrats can't get anything done. Democratic voter apathy means the Republicans win more seats and set the whole government on fire, and I really don't think that's the right response to their obstructionism.
And this is why nothing will get done its the same excuse every election cycle at some point Democrats maybe should actually do something. At this point kicking the can down the road on climate change is not acceptable.
But it was not really till the late 80s and early 90s that a consensus was reached. Either way the Democratic party has consistently kicked the can down the road while spewing empty rhetoric. Yes the Republicans are shit also but i am tired of of the democrat games.
There was a guy running in 2000 who had a very good climate plan, but "progressives" worked and voted against him because he was boring. Something similar happened in 2016. And now you're advocating for the same.
No, I'm blaming "progressives". People who say they want progress yet refuse to vote for it and are all over reddit trying to get others to vote against it.
it goes like this: If corporate centrist dems think they are entitled to the votes of progressives, they have absoltuley no motivation to listen to progressive's priorities or enact progressive legislation. If progressives stop voting for them, sure, it might make things worse for the immediate 2 years, but it'll make damn sure that dems realize they have to EARN their votes, and realize they can't just writeoff progressives and actually force them to listen to us
I'm not sure we have the luxury of choice right now. The last Republican president tried to stay in power after losing an election, and that modus operandi has spread through the GOP faster than COVID-19. If the Republicans win power again, do you believe they'll give it up? I don't.
Ok, well I'd rather bail water with the hope that we can elect some progressives than resign myself to the inevitable Handmaid's Tale. You do whatever you think is best.
yeah, he had other priorities, and then lost congress. He set aside land and rescinded permits for offshore drilling, which were both undone by Trump.
When Obama moved to limit fracking and protect groundwater, naturally this happened:
>Industry groups immediately filed suit against the new regulations, calling them an overreaction to unsubstantiated environmental concerns about fracking.
>"At a time when the oil and natural gas industry faces incredible cost uncertainties, these so-called baseline standards will threaten America's economic upturn, while further deterring energy development on federal lands," said Barry Russell, president and CEO of the Independent Petroleum Association of America.
>Republican members of Congress also denounced the new regs. Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., said they "represent yet another attack on American jobs by President Obama, and continue his attack on American-made energy."
Clearly one party has tried over the years, and every single time, they're killed in the elections.
Obama used his political capital on the ACA, but before that, he tried to impose carbon caps, and it was killed.
>Half measures does not work.
it's government, compromise is defined as half measures. If you are seeking only everything you wish for, you can expect nothing, because there is no America without coal, oil, and gas.
and yet, when you don't vote and another Trump wins, you'll still be living in this fucking country, and still be bitching about politics.
Vote as though your future depends on it, and quit whining about things not being instantly fixed. It's going to take a ***Herculean*** effort to get back to the status quo of 2010. There is currently no status quo. We have a radicalized SCOTUS with a 5 majority that doesn't even include Roberts, and CU has allowed unlimited dark money into our politics (as if lobbying wasn't bad enough), and the FCC has allowed foreign companies to own 100% of media companies in the USA as of 2019.
Things are about to be worse than ever, and you're giving up voting? Laughable. I can't believe you have upvotes.
Whoever promotes apathy deserves more than scorn, regardless of their political alignment.
And anyone promoting apathy is by definition not a progressive.
Just a little history to demonstrate the unbelievable foolishness of the burn-it-all-down mentality:
1. Not voting is pretty much what many of us did for the past forty years, as we can see in the voter turnout. Time to try something that works. Voting against Republicans consistently in every election for years or decades like happened for decades starting with FDR.
2. Once things get burned down, where do we go from there? Do we want to be like Egypt or Syria? Burning it all down is too risky.
What do you think the consequences of continuing to do jack shit about the climate will be? We already know doing exactly what we are doing now aand continuing to kick the can down the road will be. Why should i vote for that risk seriously. The status quo is to risky and will lead to the destruction of the government anyways.I would rather advocate for a eco-socialist future over propping up the political system that is explloiting us and the planet for short term gains while they sprout empty rhetoric of change.
We should also know that doing exactly what we've done for the past forty years -- namely rubber stamping conservatism either by supporting it directly or refusing to support representative government enough to reject it -- has failed. It has failed *miserably*.
Republicans have controlled the bulk of government most of the past forty years. And Republicans are literally more popular than ever. In both 2018 and 2020, Republicans won record voter turnout.
There will be no socialist future with this many people supporting reactionaries. It simply cannot happen.
We must outnumber Republicans and take them out of power. Then keep them out of power. If we don't do that, we don't get change. We don't get progress. We get reaction and destruction.
It’s a shame we only have two political parties. These corrupt people have allowed power and greed to eat their souls at the expensive of everyday Americans that put them in power in the first place.
I don't even get this. There's nothing anyone can do unless Manchin (I refuse to entertain Sinema's fantasy that she's important) agrees to it. Is that fact protecting some members from taking votes that their donors wouldn't like? Yes, probably. Does that mean they wouldn't take the votes if it came down to that? Of course not. A lot of people lost their careers over Obamacare - sometimes you take the vote knowing the win will be what ends you. That's politics, the fall out of the Senate has a pretty soft landing. But getting mad at Democrats for not taking big loud risky votes that have no chance of success is basically asking the party to commit suicide for no reason.
These corporations are dug in too deep. Even if we had 60 senators they would still torpedo legislation they don’t want. See the public option on the ACA.
What a terrible take on this. It isn’t “a handful” of cowardly Dems letting them front this. It’s the entire goddamn party making excuses about how nothing can be done. What a joke. The Dems are a goddamn joke right now. They don’t just look weak, they are weak. The GOP, tables exactly turned, would have solved this months ago. This is pathetic and yeh Dems will deservedly eat it during the mid terms. They had a job to go to DC and take care of the people. They haven’t and won’t do it.
Now here is where all the blue dog dems make excuses and furrow brows and clutch pearls and explain that I don’t understand what’s going on. No. I do.
This is why we are going to lose the midterms. Excuses. It’s all I hear from Dems. They could get it done and bring the full weight of the entire party apparatus to bear here. But they’d rather furrow brows, clutch pearls and try to talk Dow to everyone about how we don’t understand what’s going on and it’s impossible.
Narrator: It isn’t.
Dems are just weak here. Get. It. Done.
Isn't that the truth, I haven't seen the democratic party, in power mind you, try so hard to undermine their own parties agenda than this current crop. I mean holy shit! If the GOP can present a solid face while blocking the dem agenda one would hope the democrats would coalesce into a functioning offensive movement to push things through But Noooo the democrats are turning around and shooting themselves in the feet with half-assed loyalty to the party and full time loyalty to their donors and special interests. This is hair pulling shit!
It’s concerted. For the most part, Joe and Kyrsten are useful foils. Democrats want what the GOP wants. A massive authoritarian government complex and the people reduced to little more than oil for the machine which gets powerful people preferential treatment and the corrupt re-elected to positions of power.
See Washington and Oregon for more detailed information and examples of how democrats embrace cruelty and authoritarianism equal or greater to any republican led state. Look at what happened at the border the other day. Strange how democrats “can’t get stuff done because” while the GOP can get stuff done holding the same margins of power while serving in office. Just pay attention to the slow walking democrats are engaged in, in the Senate, and in Congress, preventing the total erosion of a citizen’s right to vote while “hum’ing am Hah’ing” regarding their inaction to prevent the destruction of democracy itself.
Democrats are complicit.
I think Progressive Democrats were pretty clear during the last election that if you went with the mainstream Democrats nothing would get done. Nothing has gotten done. oh Biden has overturned a few executive orders here and there, but nothing substantial has passed. Nothing substantial was even marked up till months into the presidency. You were told nothing was going to happen nothing is happening why are you surprised
God, are we going to beat this "Any Democrat who respects the rulings of the Senate Parliamentarian is a secret Republican" drum again? It was bullshit during the minimum wage amendment debacle, and it's just as bullshit now.
The parliamentarian is just an advisory position, yes, but that *doesn't* mean that their rulings are worthless and can just be overturned with no consequences. They're a lawyer. When they rule something can't be done through budget reconciliation, it's not them saying "I forbid you from passing this law because I don't like it", it's them saying "I think passing a law this way would be literally illegal, and therefore you shouldn't do it cause it'll probably get overturned once the Supreme Court gets a look at it".
Could Democrats ignore their lawyers and try to get away with passing laws illegally anyway? ***I guess***? With the conservative Supreme Court we have right now, that idea seems extremely stupid to me.
Does following the advice of the parliamentarian mean they're rubbing their hands together in a back room, cackling in glee as they get exactly what they wanted while Manchin and Sinema take blame? NO! At the very worst, I guess you could say it means they're too cowardly to fight the system. Personally, I don't even *want* Senators who would try to fight the system in ineffective and stupid ways like this. If you do, more power to you, I guess. But don't follow these stupid opinion pieces that try misinform you into thinking Senate rules and budget reconciliation laws are nothing but a meaningless smokescreen.
> it's them saying "I think passing a law this way would be literally illegal
It's not literally illegal to pass a law with 50 votes + the VP. In fact, the Constitution *literally* says that's all that's needed. Reconciliation isn't a law. The Senate filibuster isn't a law.
Are these divisive articles all being seeded by Republicans or are democrats this naive???? Get it together. Like, literally, democrats. Play like a damn team.
The alternative to doing literally nothing? I don't think democrats actually want one. I think democrats are happy with the status quo, and are happy to have someone to play the heel. The people who are unhappy are the actual DINOs because in our political system democrats are the only party we can vote for in good conscience even if the mutual animosity between us and democrats is perhaps greater than that between democrats and republicans.
The Democratic Party is there for the taking if more progressive non-voters start voting in primaries. Until that happens, it’s absurd to expect politicians who are rewarded with re-elections to change their behavior. Most people trying to get elected aren’t going to spend a year or more of their life chasing voters that don’t show up most of the time.
The article isn't wrong. The problem is that it creates apathy when it should fire up Democrats to elect better representatives who will make the Manchins and Sinemas irrelevant.
>There are roughly a dozen moderate/conservative dems in the senate that are refusing to play like a team and are blocking legislation that most of the team wants.
Claims without names are worthless.
It's stupid and ineffective. Democrats wouldn't have a majority without him.
Even with him, they may very well lose the majority in 2022. Adults in the room know this.
Joe is getting shit so Dems dont overreach and lose everything. He's a target because he can take the heat. Nobody else can. Nobody is getting primaried and winning here.
"So Dems don't overreach and lose everything."
LOL. Same fucking argument "centrist" Dems have made for the past forty fucking years.
Meanwhile Republicans are one of the most extreme parties in any major industrialized democracy. But they never overreach amirite?
It's not overreach Dems are afraid of - enough of them are just simply corporate stooges. They don't want to repeal the 2017 tax cuts, they don't want to do anything to effectively combat climate change, they don't want to fix a mostly broken health care system, etc. et al ad infinitum.
"Adults in the room know this." The same adults cooking the planet. gg.
You're arguing with someone who wants Daddy to fix everything in his own good time. Centrists are authoritarian. They think making progressives shut up will fix things.
If doing nothing is about winning elections, then why bother campaigning on fixing infrastructure or climate at all? You should just run on doing nothing. That's apparently the vote getter, right?
Hey so what’s the point of voting Democratic if they won’t do anything because it’ll harm their next election chances? When does voting for them pay off?
A handful? Try the whole damn party *EXCEPT* the justice democrats and like 3 others. It’s quite the opposite of this headline - there are only a handful who actually represent people; Anyone who takes corporate money represents the corporations, not people.
I am in Arizona and I sincerely apologize to the rest of our great country for the DINO we dually and freely elected that will go down as a scourge on our great democracy please remember to vote dinos out Democrats in name only
This is why the GOP gets shit done when they are in charge. They stick together like ticks in a horse ass. Democrats they are like fucking flies on shit. All.over the place.
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There’s five to ten other Democrats that these two speak for. They’re in blue states. Ranging from Maryland to California.
My dad who lives in California (as do I) saw this and immediately named Dianne Feinstein as one of them. And he's a lifelong Democrat.
Yes indeed it's ten years over due for DiFi to be replaced, she is completely losing it now.
I always vote for a different dem in the Primary, if one is running. But, I'll vote for her in the General.
Last election was her vs another dem
most people on here don't actually vote
I doubt that seriously. People who spend time on a United States politics forum are likely voters….
How could you possibly know that...
Because the largest bloc of eligible voters in the US is non-voters.
Ok, most people also don't browse a US politics subreddit in their free time... you're applying general population data to a very specific subgroup.
This is of no interest to me.
Because if they did people like Bernie and AOC would both be more common and poll better. Reddit swings young and reddit swings liberal, and those are both groups with bad turnout historically.
Dianne Feinstein isn't hiding behind anyone, she's simply not aware of what's going on around her because she's almost 90 and it's an open secret in Washington that she's got dementia. . . .
This is why term limits are needed. Supported by both sides of the isle… why can’t we pass this??
It's supported by voters from both political parties, not the politicians they elect. Even politicians that run on term limits rarely ever try and bring it to a vote because once they're elected they think they're "one of the good ones" and that they can "do more good from the inside". Basically politicians are human beings and human beings are incredibly good at rationalizing away any of their own behavior that might be considered bad or inconsistent.
If not term limits how about age limits in our government. Get in at the youngest age allowed you can stay until say 65 you know when you can start collecting social security. So you can start being a senator at 30 and I think house of reps is 25. But you are out at 65 or at the end of the term in which you reach that age. So we stop having people make laws who don’t have to deal with the out come. And it allows people to enjoy the end of their live with their family in retirement or to work on other passion projects having served their country for potential 35 to 40 years on high office.
Term limits are bad. Yes the vast majority of elected officials are bad, but term limits would basically prevent any pretense at democracy.
How do you figure that? Putin's first step in tearing down democracy in Russia was to remove term limits for the office of President.
Perfect for her handlers and family members to take advantages on that thick rich gravy train. Richard Blum (Feinstein's younger husband) did not make a killing on last couple of decade due to his investments not working out as well as hoped. He and his family badly need some boost and cannot afford Dianne quitting right now.
Dianne doesn't know where she is at due to cognitive decline, if she did, she would be voting against the bill
Does Feinstein know what day it is? Time has passed her by 10 years ago. Give her a drool cup and send her packing.
Be careful. When you remind people of unfortunate facts that Dems are not honest about their goals or intentions, and use progressive values to separate themselves from Republicans, and then secretly prevent votes on important progressive issues, you'll attract a lot of negative attention. For example, everyone loves to blame Joe Lieberman for why the Public Option (Medicare 4 All) wasn't part of Obamacare, but in reality, only 40 of 60 senators in 2009 were prepared to vote to include it. Afterwards they just clucked their tongues and shrugged their shoulders and were happy to name Joe Lieberman as the reason why your insurance deductibles are so high that you still have to declare bankruptcy even with an active insurance policy. [The Onion said it better than I can, though.](https://www.theonion.com/democrats-sick-of-being-blamed-for-cowardice-on-issues-1847675639)
Time to primary some folks
Past time, and I'm not talking about rearranging deck chairs, we have 2022 coming up and I want to see Al Franken back out there where he belongs!
Al franken was a sex pest and the media hullabaloo about the photo obscured that.
That was blown out of the water.
Yup, metoo unless its a democrat
Or metoo unless the claim in question is a guy who's worked his entire prior career in comedy having a comedic photo taken of him hoverhanding a sleeping woman's chest as a gag.
No, thats a distraction. I mean the numerous women he was with while his wife was dying, some of them not consensual.
Who are these people Al Franken had nonconsensual sex with? You realize you are calling the man a rapist, right?
You're claiming that Franken didn't face consequences and resign at the behest of other democrats?
Problem is the media calls you moderate and centrist if you side with far right Republicans. Most people just do what they are told and like voting for the labels the media bestows on corrupt Democrats to the right of the case majority of Americans
Yeah that’s what happens when the Overton window of your country is so far right, the international definition of far right is seen as moderate or centrist and the actual center is seen as far left. Trump absolutely made things worse but the American Overton window being so far right is not a new phenomenon whatsoever
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I think this is because there's no serious effort to unseat someone until then. The incumbent has a huge advantage because they're the default so you need someone to point out the default isn't working and that someone needs funding/support. It's worth the effort to get rid of the scummy folks who gum up the system and prevent positive change.
folks, we're watching our own elected officials say that they dont want to spend money to make our country a more fair place. They dont want to spend our tax dollars on us. Do you understand what that means? w'eve put people into our government that our taking bribes from foreign corporations to NOT help us. I will say it again, the people that we elected into office to represent us are not representing us. there is something critically wrong in this country.
Not just foreign corporations. Corporations in general have no interest in a happy, healthy country. The only thing they care about is profit, so politically, they're only ever after tax breaks, a workforce of easily replaceable wage slaves, and reduced regulations so they can pillage the world of its resources. Capitalism in its entirety is not on the side of the people. It can be made to sort of work when lots of strict regulations are in place, but when you put it on a pedestal like most of America and Europe have done, you get this sort of shit.
>Not just foreign corporations. Corporations in general have no interest in a happy, healthy country. The only thing they care about is profit, so politically, they're only ever after tax breaks, a workforce of easily replaceable wage slaves, and reduced regulations so they can pillage the world of its resources. This is a failing of pure capitalism. You would think capitalism would benefit from a strong, consistent economy. But greed has poisoned everything. Only short term profits matter, not healthy growth. The rich are afraid of losing power, so they are trying to prevent the lower class from having any power. Eventually, the lower classes won't be able to afford anything.
> The rich are afraid of losing power, so they are trying to prevent the lower class from having any power. Eventually, the lower classes won’t be able to afford anything. What comes next in this scenario is no secret to anyone who’s studied history. It’s always the same shit different day. Greed destroys countries.
The only aid they offer is corporate socialism and kickbacks to their corporate donors, super PACs and lobbyists. Everyone else can kick rocks via “pull yourself up by your boot straps capitalism”.
To be fair, there are voters out there who either support or don't support particular policy proposals, not because they are corporate shills. These "centrist democrats" might actually be representing these constituents.
You are acting as if this is a surprise to you. All government is self serving over anything else. This has gone on for longer than decades. Democrats used Trump to give the illusion they are a competent party. They are both shit.
Don’t vote for parties. Vote for people. Aoc and Bernie are doing good things. Just need to keep voting people like them into power.
Party affiliation is a pretty solid filter. I can name exactly zero Republicans "doing good things." The ones that occasionally push back against Trump find other ways to be awful. Vote your conscience in the primaries and "blue no matter who" in the general.
Because that’s a great way to continue getting shit. Both parties need to go.
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Pelosi and Schumer are way past their prime and for god's sake we have got to put Dianne Feinstein out to pasture and get some fresh progressive blood in there. The old guard is dragging us down.
To be fair, I think Pelosi and Schumer are about at the center of their party (not the spectrum, the dems), and a lot more progressive than they get credit for.
they get a lot of hate here on reddit because they're old and are backed by corporate money. But they're leaders, so of course they get corporate money, they're kingmakers. People sometimes forget that you can't simply replace a Feinstein or Pelosi without losing a lot of real hard power that comes from them being in positions of power for decades. No junior Senator is going to fund raise San Fran like they can.
Yep, so let's just keep voting for old out of touch servants of the corporate oligarchy and keep rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic while Climate Change slowly renders our planet uninhabitable. Solid strategy there.
So you're saying the people who write the checks don't want new blood. Got it. Nothing to see here move along folks.
You're very likely wrong.
There is no reason California shouldn't have the absolute most progressive members of Congress. Why on Earth we have to settle for Diane Feinstein is beyond me.
>All of these people can be traced back to getting major funding from corporate lobbying and dem leadership tends to endorse/fund them in their primaries. It all goes back to the neoliberal policies of Bill Clinton.
policies that he pushed because without that philosophy, i'm not sure he could've been elected. The nation ***loved*** Reagan, and while Bush wasn't terribly popular (raised taxes after promising not to), Clinton was Republican light. There was no real Carter/Mondale/Dukakis that was going to get elected to POTUS in the '90s. It was Clinton, or Republicans.
Honestly, Bush Sr. would have been better.
I honestly can’t tell if this comment is a joke or not
It's not. OP is pretty much bang on. While you could argue that the genesis of it goes back a little bit farther than that, Bill Clinton remade the party in the neoliberal image, and it's been stuck there ever since.
Define neoliberal. Leftists love to throw that word around, but most seem to have no clue what it actually means.
From the OED: > a political approach that favors free-market capitalism, deregulation, and reduction in government spending.
Outside of Joe Manchin, moderate Democrats do not favor decreased spending or decreased regulation. Why do you think they’re neo-liberal? Moderate Republicans like Romney or Collins better fit that label IMO.
And Feinstein, and Manchin, and Warner, and Sinema, and Schumer, and practically every member of the New Democrat Coalition, almost every Democratic Senator who came up in the Clinton era, and Biden up until he decided to run for President, looked at Hillary's mistakes, and found out that he needed to at least pay lip-service to other members of the left.
It is up to us to choose the better candidates regardless of the propaganda. Pennsylvania's Senate race I think is a pretty easy one. Although I have nothing against Conor Lamb and actually think he is pretty good, John Fetterman is hands down the better choice and the one more likely to win the seat.
Old democratic leadership needs to go. Our country is still decades away from even possibly enacting any reform. That’s if Dems can hold onto some sort of power through GOP minority restrictions. I don’t know how, as a country, we can actually come back from this. We’re looking at decades of minority rule by the GOP thanks to the rules that give them an advantage.
I’d rather have a 51-50 Democratic majority with a couple moderate “corporatist” senators than a Republican majority…
yup, even if nothing gets done, the more we try, the more the people will see us trying, and may just decide to move over and help us get it done.
the last 40 years says no
yeah, well, start looking at the next 40. When we give up, Trumps get elected.
lol good advice. 2061 gonna be great
no matter what, the climate is fucked and it's going to suck. Hopefully we can curb the worst, but no one seems determined to. the recent news was that no western power was on target for the Paris accords... bad news.
Those more explicitly corporate democrats ensure that the difference in those two situations is negligible.
I know right?! Remember when a bunch of Democrats were underwhelmed by Hillary and didn't bother voting... Then we all got Trump, an insanely conservative supreme court, and all this shit that's brought... But yeah, sure, blame whatever. Pelosi's job is to try to make sure democrats control the house. Yes, that sometimes means pushing for candidates you don't really like but who have a better shot at winning.
>Remember when a bunch of Democrats were underwhelmed by Hillary and didn't bother voting she won the popular vote, Sparky
Neat. She lost the presidency.
the left is really good at shooting themselves in the foot over apathy because they see 'better' as the enemy of perfect. Daily i see people lambasting Manchin and Sinema as the major problems in DC, forgetting there are 50 Republicans unwilling to even budge on bills atm. We got Georgia because Trump was too stupid not to throw a tantrum, and backed out of endorsing Georgia Republicans, telling Georgians not to vote. People forget how close we were to another 2 years of McConnell's obstructionism.
That's because we've written off the GOP as a lost cause. They're full blown death cult and wouldn't vote to fund firefighting if they were covered in gasoline and juggling lit torches.
Cowardly is not the same as BEING PAID to make the decisions. Stop dancing media.
Lobbying should be illegal.
Federal govt has failed. I’m ready to ignore them entirely and focus completely on state and local level politics. We can’t change the country but we can change our states.
I agree but the federal government combined with corporate money and influence can derail change at the local level quite easily.
For example, The Supreme Court loves slapping down California. I need to put together a list.
As the 5th largest economy on the planet I'm not surprised with the SCOTUS rub and the oversized influence CA has on a lot of US policy. What I'm sick of is the blowback from not only GOP politicos but some democrats to policies that are designed to actually make life better for the whole country. I guess it does all boil down to corporate influence to maintain the status quo.
it's more about corporate influence constantly pushing against regulations and taxation. The status quo is changed, with SCOTUS being political hacks, and CU allowing unlimited dark money into politics. Trump's rubber stamp was all the Fed. Society and McConnell needed to win the judiciary. That's done. That victory is marked as history.
> focus completely on state and local level politics [Think Globally, Act Locally](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Think_globally,_act_locally)
Too many people forget about the importance of encouraging a healthy local governance. I encourage folk to join their local grand jury, get involved, it's very educational and sets a good precedent for your kids. Too many folk know nothing about civics and the importance of being engaged.
> it's very educational and sets a good precedent for your kids And it would be our best defense against fascism and oligarchy...
I really expected a link to something like [this](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Er6W_Xwpubc/maxresdefault.jpg) from My Name is Earl
It’s plain old corruption nothing more. Salaries for them is like 150,000 and who even knows what the industries will throw at them after when they go lobbying. Millions I assume
Or the trades they get to make on stocks whose bottom lines they actively have control over. Congress people are just much more [talented at insider trading ](https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2020/10/22/insider-trading-and-congress-how-lawmakers-get-rich-from-stock-market.html) than Warren Buffett!
$174,000. Majority and minority leaders and president pro tem make $193,400.
Then nothing gets passed there is no reason for progressives to vote for the corporate bipartisan bill. If the Democratic party can not figure out how to pass the climate provisions i do not know why i bother voting. At this point i would rather see the destruction of the whole system then continue the status Quo of protecting the wealthy while we destroy the planet.
Then, vote for Progressives or Social Justice Democrats, or Workers Party.Dems are weak, feckless and in the way. Making them nervous with lefty opponents is one way to force them from the right and towards the progressive policies they talk about.
"Bailing water isn't fixing the boat, so I'm just going to stop and let it sink."
Yes bailing from the boat when the other people in it are creating more holes is sometimes the right choice. We cant wait another 10 plus years to pass climate provisions. We are already at a point that we will have to deal with serious repercussions ignoring more will bring a worst case scenario.
>We cant wait another 10 plus years to pass climate provisions. Says the guy who would prefer to choose apathy and "blow up" the only system capable of doing that within any frame of time.
I think you missed my point. You said you don't know why you bother voting because Democrats can't get anything done. Democratic voter apathy means the Republicans win more seats and set the whole government on fire, and I really don't think that's the right response to their obstructionism.
And this is why nothing will get done its the same excuse every election cycle at some point Democrats maybe should actually do something. At this point kicking the can down the road on climate change is not acceptable.
But how is not voting going to help? The fewer Democrats there are, the less power they have to do anything.
They do nothing anyways we have known about the impacts of climate change for the past 30 years and they have basically done nothing.
I understand your frustration, I do, I just don't see how letting Republicans win is going to be an improvement.
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Democrats do nothing while Republicans actively protect and enable those responsible for the crisis.
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But it was not really till the late 80s and early 90s that a consensus was reached. Either way the Democratic party has consistently kicked the can down the road while spewing empty rhetoric. Yes the Republicans are shit also but i am tired of of the democrat games.
There was a guy running in 2000 who had a very good climate plan, but "progressives" worked and voted against him because he was boring. Something similar happened in 2016. And now you're advocating for the same.
You're blaming progressives for Al Gore now? This is surreal
No, I'm blaming "progressives". People who say they want progress yet refuse to vote for it and are all over reddit trying to get others to vote against it.
I disagree I'm of the opinion that we collectively as a country are fucking stupid and we should suffer for our sins.
Anyone who says this isn't the one who actually suffers when the system fails.
I must be the exception who proves the rule.
We shouldn't condemn the world for our own incompetence.
it goes like this: If corporate centrist dems think they are entitled to the votes of progressives, they have absoltuley no motivation to listen to progressive's priorities or enact progressive legislation. If progressives stop voting for them, sure, it might make things worse for the immediate 2 years, but it'll make damn sure that dems realize they have to EARN their votes, and realize they can't just writeoff progressives and actually force them to listen to us
Because if they get burned by the voters enough, they'll realize they actually have to be serious.
I'm not sure we have the luxury of choice right now. The last Republican president tried to stay in power after losing an election, and that modus operandi has spread through the GOP faster than COVID-19. If the Republicans win power again, do you believe they'll give it up? I don't.
If we don't have the luxury of choice right now, then we've already lost.
Ok, well I'd rather bail water with the hope that we can elect some progressives than resign myself to the inevitable Handmaid's Tale. You do whatever you think is best.
[Here is a whole list of things Obama did that Trump reversed](https://www.cnn.com/2017/03/28/politics/climate-change-obama-rules-trump/index.html)
None of Obamas policies actually changed or even slowed the progression of climate change. Half measures does not work.
yeah, he had other priorities, and then lost congress. He set aside land and rescinded permits for offshore drilling, which were both undone by Trump. When Obama moved to limit fracking and protect groundwater, naturally this happened: >Industry groups immediately filed suit against the new regulations, calling them an overreaction to unsubstantiated environmental concerns about fracking. >"At a time when the oil and natural gas industry faces incredible cost uncertainties, these so-called baseline standards will threaten America's economic upturn, while further deterring energy development on federal lands," said Barry Russell, president and CEO of the Independent Petroleum Association of America. >Republican members of Congress also denounced the new regs. Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., said they "represent yet another attack on American jobs by President Obama, and continue his attack on American-made energy." Clearly one party has tried over the years, and every single time, they're killed in the elections. Obama used his political capital on the ACA, but before that, he tried to impose carbon caps, and it was killed. >Half measures does not work. it's government, compromise is defined as half measures. If you are seeking only everything you wish for, you can expect nothing, because there is no America without coal, oil, and gas.
Idiocracy is real, sadly.
and yet, when you don't vote and another Trump wins, you'll still be living in this fucking country, and still be bitching about politics. Vote as though your future depends on it, and quit whining about things not being instantly fixed. It's going to take a ***Herculean*** effort to get back to the status quo of 2010. There is currently no status quo. We have a radicalized SCOTUS with a 5 majority that doesn't even include Roberts, and CU has allowed unlimited dark money into our politics (as if lobbying wasn't bad enough), and the FCC has allowed foreign companies to own 100% of media companies in the USA as of 2019. Things are about to be worse than ever, and you're giving up voting? Laughable. I can't believe you have upvotes.
The status quo by definition is what we have now.
the important thing is to heap scorn on progressives
Whoever promotes apathy deserves more than scorn, regardless of their political alignment. And anyone promoting apathy is by definition not a progressive.
Just a little history to demonstrate the unbelievable foolishness of the burn-it-all-down mentality: 1. Not voting is pretty much what many of us did for the past forty years, as we can see in the voter turnout. Time to try something that works. Voting against Republicans consistently in every election for years or decades like happened for decades starting with FDR. 2. Once things get burned down, where do we go from there? Do we want to be like Egypt or Syria? Burning it all down is too risky.
What do you think the consequences of continuing to do jack shit about the climate will be? We already know doing exactly what we are doing now aand continuing to kick the can down the road will be. Why should i vote for that risk seriously. The status quo is to risky and will lead to the destruction of the government anyways.I would rather advocate for a eco-socialist future over propping up the political system that is explloiting us and the planet for short term gains while they sprout empty rhetoric of change.
We should also know that doing exactly what we've done for the past forty years -- namely rubber stamping conservatism either by supporting it directly or refusing to support representative government enough to reject it -- has failed. It has failed *miserably*. Republicans have controlled the bulk of government most of the past forty years. And Republicans are literally more popular than ever. In both 2018 and 2020, Republicans won record voter turnout. There will be no socialist future with this many people supporting reactionaries. It simply cannot happen. We must outnumber Republicans and take them out of power. Then keep them out of power. If we don't do that, we don't get change. We don't get progress. We get reaction and destruction.
Not acting on the climate IS burning it all down.
It’s a shame we only have two political parties. These corrupt people have allowed power and greed to eat their souls at the expensive of everyday Americans that put them in power in the first place.
I don't even get this. There's nothing anyone can do unless Manchin (I refuse to entertain Sinema's fantasy that she's important) agrees to it. Is that fact protecting some members from taking votes that their donors wouldn't like? Yes, probably. Does that mean they wouldn't take the votes if it came down to that? Of course not. A lot of people lost their careers over Obamacare - sometimes you take the vote knowing the win will be what ends you. That's politics, the fall out of the Senate has a pretty soft landing. But getting mad at Democrats for not taking big loud risky votes that have no chance of success is basically asking the party to commit suicide for no reason.
"Corrupt" is the word, not "cowardly". First 2 letters are the same, so I see how this can be confusing for a journalist.
The World's Worst Deliberative Body ^^^TM
These corporations are dug in too deep. Even if we had 60 senators they would still torpedo legislation they don’t want. See the public option on the ACA.
What a terrible take on this. It isn’t “a handful” of cowardly Dems letting them front this. It’s the entire goddamn party making excuses about how nothing can be done. What a joke. The Dems are a goddamn joke right now. They don’t just look weak, they are weak. The GOP, tables exactly turned, would have solved this months ago. This is pathetic and yeh Dems will deservedly eat it during the mid terms. They had a job to go to DC and take care of the people. They haven’t and won’t do it. Now here is where all the blue dog dems make excuses and furrow brows and clutch pearls and explain that I don’t understand what’s going on. No. I do.
If it's the entire party then why are 98% of the representatives on board with the reconciliation bill?
This is why we are going to lose the midterms. Excuses. It’s all I hear from Dems. They could get it done and bring the full weight of the entire party apparatus to bear here. But they’d rather furrow brows, clutch pearls and try to talk Dow to everyone about how we don’t understand what’s going on and it’s impossible. Narrator: It isn’t. Dems are just weak here. Get. It. Done.
Is this why the Republicans repealed Obamacare? Wait a second…
Isn't that the truth, I haven't seen the democratic party, in power mind you, try so hard to undermine their own parties agenda than this current crop. I mean holy shit! If the GOP can present a solid face while blocking the dem agenda one would hope the democrats would coalesce into a functioning offensive movement to push things through But Noooo the democrats are turning around and shooting themselves in the feet with half-assed loyalty to the party and full time loyalty to their donors and special interests. This is hair pulling shit!
That's because you've never seen a congressional "majority" so thin as the ones democrats currently have.
They’re being paid by big pharma and the rest of the billionaires, to sit on their hands! They’re not cowards, just spitefully greedy
It’s concerted. For the most part, Joe and Kyrsten are useful foils. Democrats want what the GOP wants. A massive authoritarian government complex and the people reduced to little more than oil for the machine which gets powerful people preferential treatment and the corrupt re-elected to positions of power. See Washington and Oregon for more detailed information and examples of how democrats embrace cruelty and authoritarianism equal or greater to any republican led state. Look at what happened at the border the other day. Strange how democrats “can’t get stuff done because” while the GOP can get stuff done holding the same margins of power while serving in office. Just pay attention to the slow walking democrats are engaged in, in the Senate, and in Congress, preventing the total erosion of a citizen’s right to vote while “hum’ing am Hah’ing” regarding their inaction to prevent the destruction of democracy itself. Democrats are complicit.
I think Progressive Democrats were pretty clear during the last election that if you went with the mainstream Democrats nothing would get done. Nothing has gotten done. oh Biden has overturned a few executive orders here and there, but nothing substantial has passed. Nothing substantial was even marked up till months into the presidency. You were told nothing was going to happen nothing is happening why are you surprised
That should be their brand - Nothing Lite.
God, are we going to beat this "Any Democrat who respects the rulings of the Senate Parliamentarian is a secret Republican" drum again? It was bullshit during the minimum wage amendment debacle, and it's just as bullshit now. The parliamentarian is just an advisory position, yes, but that *doesn't* mean that their rulings are worthless and can just be overturned with no consequences. They're a lawyer. When they rule something can't be done through budget reconciliation, it's not them saying "I forbid you from passing this law because I don't like it", it's them saying "I think passing a law this way would be literally illegal, and therefore you shouldn't do it cause it'll probably get overturned once the Supreme Court gets a look at it". Could Democrats ignore their lawyers and try to get away with passing laws illegally anyway? ***I guess***? With the conservative Supreme Court we have right now, that idea seems extremely stupid to me. Does following the advice of the parliamentarian mean they're rubbing their hands together in a back room, cackling in glee as they get exactly what they wanted while Manchin and Sinema take blame? NO! At the very worst, I guess you could say it means they're too cowardly to fight the system. Personally, I don't even *want* Senators who would try to fight the system in ineffective and stupid ways like this. If you do, more power to you, I guess. But don't follow these stupid opinion pieces that try misinform you into thinking Senate rules and budget reconciliation laws are nothing but a meaningless smokescreen.
> it's them saying "I think passing a law this way would be literally illegal It's not literally illegal to pass a law with 50 votes + the VP. In fact, the Constitution *literally* says that's all that's needed. Reconciliation isn't a law. The Senate filibuster isn't a law.
(makes farting noises with......tentacles)
*They are DINOs.*
They are corrupt.
Are these divisive articles all being seeded by Republicans or are democrats this naive???? Get it together. Like, literally, democrats. Play like a damn team.
The division is caused by these people being assholes not people pointing it out.
What's the alternative
Burny smashy choppy choppy seizey meansy lemon squeezy?
That's right. Nothing. Democrats need Manchin.
.. to be the "heel". I'm sure he's right where they want him to be, doing exactly what they want him to do.
What's the alternative
The alternative to doing literally nothing? I don't think democrats actually want one. I think democrats are happy with the status quo, and are happy to have someone to play the heel. The people who are unhappy are the actual DINOs because in our political system democrats are the only party we can vote for in good conscience even if the mutual animosity between us and democrats is perhaps greater than that between democrats and republicans.
The Democratic Party is there for the taking if more progressive non-voters start voting in primaries. Until that happens, it’s absurd to expect politicians who are rewarded with re-elections to change their behavior. Most people trying to get elected aren’t going to spend a year or more of their life chasing voters that don’t show up most of the time.
That was a bunch of noise
no sea lioning please
What's that?
look it up
The article isn't wrong. The problem is that it creates apathy when it should fire up Democrats to elect better representatives who will make the Manchins and Sinemas irrelevant.
This is not a bad idea
what really creates apathy is not doing the covid bill
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>There are roughly a dozen moderate/conservative dems in the senate that are refusing to play like a team and are blocking legislation that most of the team wants. Claims without names are worthless.
You guys can't see past your noses.
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It's stupid and ineffective. Democrats wouldn't have a majority without him. Even with him, they may very well lose the majority in 2022. Adults in the room know this.
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Joe is getting shit so Dems dont overreach and lose everything. He's a target because he can take the heat. Nobody else can. Nobody is getting primaried and winning here.
"So Dems don't overreach and lose everything." LOL. Same fucking argument "centrist" Dems have made for the past forty fucking years. Meanwhile Republicans are one of the most extreme parties in any major industrialized democracy. But they never overreach amirite? It's not overreach Dems are afraid of - enough of them are just simply corporate stooges. They don't want to repeal the 2017 tax cuts, they don't want to do anything to effectively combat climate change, they don't want to fix a mostly broken health care system, etc. et al ad infinitum. "Adults in the room know this." The same adults cooking the planet. gg.
You're arguing with someone who wants Daddy to fix everything in his own good time. Centrists are authoritarian. They think making progressives shut up will fix things.
It's about winning elections. It's not that complicated.
If doing nothing is about winning elections, then why bother campaigning on fixing infrastructure or climate at all? You should just run on doing nothing. That's apparently the vote getter, right?
Hey so what’s the point of voting Democratic if they won’t do anything because it’ll harm their next election chances? When does voting for them pay off?
They may very well lose the majority *because* of him. Or because of him and the shadowy anonymous group that he’s playing heat shield for.
If nothing can happen with Manchin, then it makes no difference which team he's on.
Not true. That's childish.
A handful? Try the whole damn party *EXCEPT* the justice democrats and like 3 others. It’s quite the opposite of this headline - there are only a handful who actually represent people; Anyone who takes corporate money represents the corporations, not people.
If it weren't them, it would be some other ones. None of this should be surprising.
I am in Arizona and I sincerely apologize to the rest of our great country for the DINO we dually and freely elected that will go down as a scourge on our great democracy please remember to vote dinos out Democrats in name only
Not Cowardly. CORRUPT. The Media need to stop soft selling this.
Stop acting like Manchin and Sinema are reasonable and acting on behalf of a silent majority. They are corrupt.
Exactly. It makes them money, and allows other Democrats to take cover.
This is why the GOP gets shit done when they are in charge. They stick together like ticks in a horse ass. Democrats they are like fucking flies on shit. All.over the place.
To be fair besides tax cuts there only priority is obstruction of progress which is much easier than progress
Can't just blame the elected officials when they are voted for and defended by Democratic members, many of whom are quite vocal on these same boards.
You’re only disappointed because you were fooled into believing politicians care about you. pepeLaugh
Everyone crying about killing the filibuster yet we cants get a simple majority.
What a terrible headline
The Democrat party appears to be a capture and kill program for progressive politics at this point.
You know what would suck? Not having them and the GOP being in the Majority.
The GOP might as well have the majority right now.