dailykos--2020-02-28--Bloomberg May Have Inadvertently Helped Biden's Chances

Candidate Joe Biden was coming off a really bad month after losing the first three primaries , donations were down and the future wasn ’ t looking to bright .
Then something happened , Michael Bloomberg arrived on the debate stage in Nevada and suddenly Joe Biden looked a whole lot more progressive .
The dividends will start paying off tomorrow with a robust win in South Carolina and I suspect they will carry over in to Super Tuesday .
We will likely be hearing the “ Joe is Back !
” refrain from all corners and at least some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mike Bloomberg .
That is the effect of providing something much worse for contrast , at least in the mind of Democratic voters who watched Bloomberg in the debates , Biden ’ s perceived position in the remaining group of candidates was that of the establishment leader in the field .
When Bloomberg ’ s record and arrogance were revealed , thanks in large part to Elizabeth Warren ’ s dismantlement of him in Nevada , he became the object of progressive ire that previously had been focused on Biden .
Compared to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have been enhanced with more liberal voters .
Bloomberg scares them like Bernie scares the rank and file .
In time a Biden nomination may start to look like the compromise , he may also be seen as an option to be the unifier between different factions of the Democratic Party .
If Bloomberg wasn ’ t running there would be no possible opening for Joe to take this role if it comes to that .
The way things are going , it is looking like there will be three , maybe four @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the convention where a compromise may be necessary if we are to avoid an ugly public floor fight .
That kind of chaos would only help Trump .

Candidate Joe Biden was coming off a really bad month after losing the first three primaries, donations were down and the future wasn’t looking too bright. Then something happened, Michael Bloomberg arrived on the debate stage in Nevada and suddenly Joe Biden looked a whole lot more progressive.
The dividends will start paying off tomorrow with a robust win in South Carolina and I suspect they will carry over in to Super Tuesday. We will likely be hearing the “Joe is Back!” refrain from all corners and at least some of that is due the appearance of Mike Bloomberg.
That is the effect of providing something much worse for contrast, at least in the mind of Democratic voters who watched Bloomberg in the debates, Biden’s perceived position in the remaining group of candidates was that of the establishment leader in the field. When Bloomberg’s record and arrogance were revealed, thanks in large part to Elizabeth Warren’s dismantlement of him in Nevada, he became the object of progressive ire that previously had been focused on Biden. Compared to Mike ole Joe’s appeal may have been enhanced with more liberal voters. Bloomberg scares them like Bernie scares the rank and file.
In time a Biden nomination may start to look like the compromise, he may also be seen as an option to be the unifier between different factions of the Democratic Party. If Bloomberg wasn’t running there would be no possible opening for Joe to take this role if it comes to that.
The way things are going, it is looking like there will be three, maybe four candidates making it all the way to the convention where a compromise may be necessary if we are to avoid an ugly public floor fight. That kind of chaos would only help Trump.


dailykos--2020-03-01--The Red-Blue State Divide May End Up Being a Large Part of the COVID-19 in USA Story

In my last post , I wrote about how Trump ’ s downplaying of the Wuhan Coronavirus is likely a serious problem , and going to make things worse .
Donald Trump ’ s public statements largely downplaying the threats of coronavirus makes this all the more problematic .
Now , he should not be inciting panic and a run on badly-needed resources , but without communicating the adequate level of threat that the public faces , a large proportion of his fervent followers will take him at his word , and not take action to help prevent the spread @ @ @ @ @ @ @ type of devotion Trump and the GOP have cultivated within their base , who are they going to listen to more , the experts and doctors of the CDC and NIH trying to best protect Americans , or what is coming straight out of Donald Trump ’ s mouth ?
Unfortunately , I think we all know the answer to this question .
and his recent appearances since that Thursday press conference have not been much better .
Trump Says Coronavirus Response Should Be Nonpartisan , Attacks Democrats , Kisses Flag With news @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the US , I think the divide between the Red and Blue states in this country will start to take a larger space in the spotlight .
With news of the first death , it happened in the state of Washington , with the possibility of a larger outbreak .
And the state has subsequently declared a state of emergency .
San Francisco and other California localities have declared states of emergency over the coronavirus .
The state of New York has announced $ 40 million in emergency appropriations .
On Friday , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ announced that the state would be activating its emergency operations center to prepare for the virus .
What you have are states and state governments that have reasonably assessed a high risk of the effects of COVID-19 , and activating a coordinated , serious effort in response .
But the coronavirus does not care what your party affiliation is .
And it is already in key Republican-controlled states , as well .
Texas has confirmed at least 10 positive cases .
Florida currently has about 150 being monitored .
While the increase in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , it is still a likely scenario that with a strategic , serious government response , the impact of the virus can still be contained , lives saved , and people most at-risk from contracting or dying from the disease being properly protected .
On the other hand , what we are seeing is a key part of our nation ’ s government — namely Trump and the Republican Party that has already done so much to facilitate has machinations — not taking the virus as seriously as these other more responsible local @ @ @ @ @ @ @ problem for us all .
Add to that , the minority-yet-still-significant population of fervent Trump followers , who will likely take Trump ’ s calling the coronavirus a hoax at face value , and not do what they can to protect themselves and those around them from contracting or spreading the disease .
For many reasons , these are just as likely to be people who face the most risk from the disease — less access to effective healthcare , more likely to face exposure to people who are potentially infected , less @ @ @ @ @ @ @ threat seriously .
The potential scenario then becomes this : what happens when you have more Democratic states like California , New York , and Washington , taking the outbreak more seriously and doing everything they can to contain it — while other more Republican states , like Texas , Florida , Georgia or the Carolinas , are slower to respond , or never mount a significant response at all , either out of believing rhetoric like Trump ’ s or simply not wanting to appear to go against it ?
Even if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ finally overcomes the partisan divide , this does not instill any fantasy that Trump would at any point admit that he was wrong and that the threat is more serious than he initially claims .
The question then becomes if his followers would just morbidly go along with his lies just as with most every other mishap .
If there ends up being major loss of life , a plummeting stock market , and perhaps even signs pointing to the fact that the Trump administration largely bungled the response , Trump would still @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all the blame on Democrats , despite being the ones who did their best to address the problem .
And if the vast majority of Republicans still buy into Trump ’ s Bizarro world , despite perhaps having loved ones in the hospital , or even burying bodies , then perhaps there really is no turning back .

In my last post, I wrote about how Trump’s downplaying of the Wuhan Coronavirus is likely a serious problem, and going to make things worse.
The people most likely to believe Trump, and not take coronavirus seriously, will also very likely be the ones most hit hard if (or when) an outbreak occurs.
Donald Trump’s public statements largely downplaying the threats of coronavirus makes this all the more problematic. Now, he should not be inciting panic and a run on badly-needed resources, but without communicating the adequate level of threat that the public faces, a large proportion of his fervent followers will take him at his word, and not take action to help prevent the spread of an outbreak. Because of the type of devotion Trump and the GOP have cultivated within their base, who are they going to listen to more, the experts and doctors of the CDC and NIH trying to best protect Americans, or what is coming straight out of Donald Trump’s mouth? Unfortunately, I think we all know the answer to this question.
and his recent appearances since that Thursday press conference have not been much better.
Trump Says Coronavirus Response Should Be Nonpartisan, Attacks Democrats, Kisses Flag
With news today of the first COVID-19 death in the US, I think the divide between the Red and Blue states in this country will start to take a larger space in the spotlight.
With news of the first death, it happened in the state of Washington, with the possibility of a larger outbreak. And the state has subsequently declared a state of emergency.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, meanwhile, declared a state of emergency in response to new cases of COVID-19, directing state agencies to use all resources necessary to prepare for and respond to the outbreak. “This will allow us to get the resources we need,” Inslee said. “This is a time to take commonsense, proactive measures to ensure the health and safety of those who live in Washington state."
San Francisco and other California localities have declared states of emergency over the coronavirus. The state of New York has announced $40 million in emergency appropriations. On Friday, Michigan’s Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced that the state would be activating its emergency operations center to prepare for the virus. What you have are states and state governments that have reasonably assessed a high risk of the effects of COVID-19, and activating a coordinated, serious effort in response.
But the coronavirus does not care what your party affiliation is. And it is already in key Republican-controlled states, as well. Texas has confirmed at least 10 positive cases. Florida currently has about 150 being monitored.
While the increase in the number of positive cases is alarming, it is still a likely scenario that with a strategic, serious government response, the impact of the virus can still be contained, lives saved, and people most at-risk from contracting or dying from the disease being properly protected.
On the other hand, what we are seeing is a key part of our nation’s government — namely Trump and the Republican Party that has already done so much to facilitate has machinations — not taking the virus as seriously as these other more responsible local governments. And that can be a problem for us all.
Add to that, the minority-yet-still-significant population of fervent Trump followers, who will likely take Trump’s calling the coronavirus a hoax at face value, and not do what they can to protect themselves and those around them from contracting or spreading the disease. For many reasons, these are just as likely to be people who face the most risk from the disease — less access to effective healthcare, more likely to face exposure to people who are potentially infected, less likely to have local officials taking the threat seriously.
The potential scenario then becomes this: what happens when you have more Democratic states like California, New York, and Washington, taking the outbreak more seriously and doing everything they can to contain it — while other more Republican states, like Texas, Florida, Georgia or the Carolinas, are slower to respond, or never mount a significant response at all, either out of believing rhetoric like Trump’s or simply not wanting to appear to go against it?
Even if there ends up being an outcry that finally overcomes the partisan divide, this does not instill any fantasy that Trump would at any point admit that he was wrong and that the threat is more serious than he initially claims. The question then becomes if his followers would just morbidly go along with his lies just as with most every other mishap. If there ends up being major loss of life, a plummeting stock market, and perhaps even signs pointing to the fact that the Trump administration largely bungled the response, Trump would still more likely than not try to put all the blame on Democrats, despite being the ones who did their best to address the problem. And if the vast majority of Republicans still buy into Trump’s Bizarro world, despite perhaps having loved ones in the hospital, or even burying bodies, then perhaps there really is no turning back.


dailykos--2020-02-29--Are Flights From China Really Banned?

Are Flights From China Really Banned?

In bragging about his oh so quick response to the coronavirus Trump has repeatedly bragged that he quickly acted , against supposed opposition from Democrats , to ban flights from China .
I was curious to see if Trump ’ s ban on flights from China was as broad as he suggests .
I quickly found cases of many airlines , on their own , cancelling flights to and from China .
However , I did not find any broad government imposed ban on flights to and from China .
I decided to test the question more directly .
I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from one Chinese airport ( Beijing ) to one American airport ( Los Angeles ) , for one day ( tomorrow , March 1st ) .
Scores of hits came up .
However , I soon realized most those hits were for flights with at least one stop .
Still , if you want to fly from Beijing to LA , it appears Travelocity will sell you tickets to fly here tomorrow .
Tickets start at $ 531 and you can hit Disneyland Monday morning .
I limited the search to direct , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ such flight , on Air China , leaving at 6:30 pm Beijing time and landing at 2:30 pm Los Angeles .
It ’ s Flight 983 on a Boeing 777 .
Travelocity offers to sell me that ticket for $ 742 .
I went to the Air China website to more directly confirm this flight .
Sure enough , it popped up .
It also offered a total of four direct flights from Beijing to LAX in the upcoming week on Sunday , Tuesday , Thursday and Friday .
I picked the Tuesday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Flight 983 is scheduled to land in LAX at 2:30 Tuesday afternoon .
The coach ticket is $ 766 .
The airline provides only the standard warnings for passengers , stuff like travel identification needed and baggage restrictions .
I did find a notice from the CDC advising that foreign nationals may not come from China to the United States .
However , American citizens can .
Any Americans who visited Hubei Province will be quarantined for 14 days before being released .
Americans who did not visit Hubei Providing , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be released to the general public and asked to self monitor their health for 14 days .
While many airlines have cancelled flights to and from China , some Chinese operated airlines have not .
Further , any suggestions that flights from China have been banned by the President are false .
You are free to fly to Beijing China tomorrow , and directly return on Tuesday .
You can be in the crowded , long lines of Disneyland Wednesday morning .
No matter what crowing you hear from this President about his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s the truth of it .

In bragging about his oh so quick response to the coronavirus Trump has repeatedly bragged that he quickly acted, against supposed opposition from Democrats, to ban flights from China.
x The Do Nothing Democrats were busy wasting time on the Immigration Hoax, & anything else they could do to make the Republican Party look bad, while I was busy calling early BORDER & FLIGHT closings, putting us way ahead in our battle with Coronavirus. Dems called it VERY wrong! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 28, 2020
x So, the Coronavirus, which started in China and spread to various countries throughout the world, but very slowly in the U.S. because President Trump closed our border, and ended flights, VERY EARLY, is now being blamed, by the Do Nothing Democrats, to be the fault of Ã¢ÂÂTrumpÃ¢ÂÂ. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 28, 2020
x CDC and my Administration are doing a GREAT job of handling Coronavirus, including the very early closing of our borders to certain areas of the world. It was opposed by the Dems, Ã¢ÂÂtoo soonÃ¢ÂÂ, but turned out to be the correct decision. No matter how well we do, however, the..... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 26, 2020
x CryinÃ¢ÂÂ Chuck Schumer is complaining, for publicity purposes only, that I should be asking for more money than $2.5 Billion to prepare for Coronavirus. If I asked for more he would say it is too much. He didnÃ¢ÂÂt like my early travel closings. I was right. He is incompetent! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 25, 2020
I was curious to see if Trump’s ban on flights from China was as broad as he suggests. I quickly found cases of many airlines, on their own, cancelling flights to and from China. However, I did not find any broad government imposed ban on flights to and from China.
I decided to test the question more directly. I went to travelocity.com and searched for flights from one Chinese airport (Beijing) to one American airport (Los Angeles), for one day (tomorrow, March 1st). Scores of hits came up. However, I soon realized most those hits were for flights with at least one stop. Still, if you want to fly from Beijing to LA, it appears Travelocity will sell you tickets to fly here tomorrow. Tickets start at $531 and you can hit Disneyland Monday morning.
I limited the search to direct, or non-stop flights. I found one such flight, on Air China, leaving at 6:30 pm Beijing time and landing at 2:30 pm Los Angeles. It’s Flight 983 on a Boeing 777. Travelocity offers to sell me that ticket for $742.
I went to the Air China website to more directly confirm this flight. Sure enough, it popped up. It also offered a total of four direct flights from Beijing to LAX in the upcoming week on Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. I picked the Tuesday flight clicking through to see its details. Flight 983 is scheduled to land in LAX at 2:30 Tuesday afternoon. The coach ticket is $766. The airline provides only the standard warnings for passengers, stuff like travel identification needed and baggage restrictions.
I did find a notice from the CDC advising that foreign nationals may not come from China to the United States. However, American citizens can. Any Americans who visited Hubei Province will be quarantined for 14 days before being released. Americans who did not visit Hubei Providing, and who arrive with no symptoms, will be released to the general public and asked to self monitor their health for 14 days.
While many airlines have cancelled flights to and from China, some Chinese operated airlines have not. Further, any suggestions that flights from China have been banned by the President are false. You are free to fly to Beijing China tomorrow, and directly return on Tuesday. You can be in the crowded, long lines of Disneyland Wednesday morning.
No matter what crowing you hear from this President about his cancelling flights and closing borders, that’s the truth of it.


dailykos--2020-02-29--Elizabeth Warren Said We Have One Shot – It’s Not Just about Beating Trump

We ’ ve got 1 chance to fix our democracy , and it ’ s not just about beating Trump .
To understand this , we have to understand why our democracy has been in trouble for decades .
Trump & our current crisis have been totally predictable .
And we didn ’ t get here by accident .
Why ?
Get Out the Vote Was Crucial in 2016 & It ’ s Crucial Now First , we have to understand that Trump is a symptom of much bigger problems .
I predicted Trump would win if Hillary couldn ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that ’ s what happened .
( Please don ’ t waste time talking about Russia and the FBI .
Those issues just mask the systemic problems . )
She made quite a few very big mistakes , like not putting a person of color on the ticket .
Instead , she selected another bland , white centrist .
That left a lot of people out .
She didn ’ t understand who the base is .
Forty percent of our base are people of color , and Black women are our most @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of color and women to vote for her .
The majority of white women with college degrees voted for her , but the majority of the other white women didn ’ t .
( I don ’ t have the breakout of white women evangelicals that voted for her , but here are some 2016 statistics .
The number of non-college graduates are important and show up in a quote by Rorty , an expert , below .
The majority of college graduates and post graduates went for Hillary , but the marjority @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) Because Hillary didn ’ t try to unite the party across a spectrum , she failed to excite the voters .
In fact , Hillary and Kaine were so uninspiring that we had the lowest voter turnout in 20 years .
https : //www.cnn.com/2016/11/11/politics/popular-vote-turnout-2016/index.html It would have greatly helped if she had campaigned in many states rather than spending most of her time in 4 of them .
https : //www.nationalpopularvote.com/campaign-events-2016 Regardless of the 2016 problems , because Trump is a symptom , we have to go back decades to to see @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seen our democracy headed for disaster more than 20 years ago .
And I warned people about it back then .
And I ’ m not the only one .
Since I ’ m not a well-known author , I want to start with someone who was ( he died in 2007 ) and who predicted a strongman like Trump .
( Sadly , I only read his work in 2020 . )
He was looking at this from a different angle , yet he and I came to the same conclusions .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ course , we would end with the destruction of democracy , leading to its overthrow and giving us an authoritarian regime .
Richard Rorty Warned Us about Someone Like Trump Back in 1998 , Ricard Rorty , a Leftist philosopher , wrote the book “ Achieving Our Country , ” explaining what would happen on the trajectory we have been on .
He described the dispirited left-wing coalition fracturing , which would bring about its own collapse , giving us a strongman .
According to The New York Times , Rorty ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ astute law professor , ” albeit “ very slightly condensed , ” just 3 days after Trump was elected .
The New York Times posted the retweeted paragraphs : This was spot on .
Rorty didn ’ t even know we would have a Black president , so Trump is more than just a backlash against Obama .
It would have happened regardless , but that doesn ’ t mean we should ignore the racist component .
Racism is systemic , and we all have to be anti-racists to eradicate it .
Racism @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Left , due to Vietnam , fractured and became shameful of our participation in the war .
However , our shame runs very deep in this country for many other reasons , especially the crimes against humanity committed against Native Americans , Black , and other Brown folks .
Rorty truly understood human behavior because this shame has de-energized us into being spectators , as he predicted it would .
Therefore , we , for the most part , just watch things happen in this country , instead of getting out and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Civil Rights marches of the 1960s as examples of what we should be doing .
We have to get out and march , use civil disobedience , become activists , and demand change .
Democracy is not a spectator sport .
It won ’ t work if we don ’ t participate and fight for what we want .
Building National Pride – Create National Policy for a Better Future for ALL Rorty warned the Left not to put cultural and identity politics over the real politics of economic justice and the politics @ @ @ @ @ @ @ equality .
His problem with identity politics was that the Left would leave out class issues , in particular the white working class .
He foresaw how that would lead to a tsunami of resentment because both the Right and the Left had abandoned them .
They would turn to a strongman who promised change , and their resentment would turn on people of color and others .
This is exactly what has happened , hence the loss of civil rights and women ’ s rights .
Rorty didn ’ t just give @ @ @ @ @ @ @ He actually gave Democrats a recipe for success , too .
He said we needed pragmatic idealism with a big bold vision of what this country can be .
This is how we generate national pride , seeing something better for generations to come and working toward the greater good for ALL of us , no matter color , gender , class , etc .
We the People have to stick together .
Why do we need this big bold vision if we can ’ t achieve everything right away ?
A great @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Let me give you an analogy .
If you want to sell your car for $ 1500 , do you start the bidding with the buyer at $ 1500 ?
Of course , not !
You have a higher starting price that most likely you will never get .
However , it ’ s an ideal price .
Your pragmatic price is $ 1500 .
If we don ’ t have an ideal price , we start at the pragmatic price and will never reach our pragmatic goal .
Strive for Those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ realize that there is always more to strive for , which is our big , bold vision .
Just because we can ’ t achieve it all at once doesn ’ t mean we shouldn ’ t have a big , bold vision .
As Rorty pointed out , we will fail if we don ’ t have national pride , giving us the energy to fight for that vision .
It has to include generational changes .
That ’ s what people get excited about and vote for .
Social justice is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to destroy democracy .
These forces will always be there , whether they are foreign or domestic .
We have to learn from mistakes .
I love Obama , but he wanted to work with the ( bad faith ) Republicans , so he always started at the “ pragmatic price.
” Obama , while running on progressive values became a centrist in office ( and took money from billionaires ) , and this is one of the problems , too .
He put the super-rich foxes that crashed the economy back in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hen house .
In fact , he and Warren clashed over this .
She warned him not to do this .
Then , John Boehner , Republican Speaker of the House , toward the end of Obama ’ s first term said that the Republicans had gotten 98 % of what they wanted after a negotiation and called that compromise .
That wasn ’ t compromise .
Obama should have had an “ ideal price , ” but he always ( up to that point ) started negotiations at the “ pragmatic price.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ I sent him an email .
I ’ m sure I wasn ’ t alone because it was right after that when Obama finally learned that hard lesson and moved the party somewhat left .
However , it cost us in the midterms the previous year by losing the House .
The Democratic & Republican Parties Vs. the Median Voter He did pull the Democratic Party back toward the median voter in 2012 ( see the figure below ) .
I doubt most people realize how far to the right of the median @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Sadly , this graph starts in 2000 , so you can ’ t see the full extent .
This figure also shows how close to the median voter the Democratic Party is while the Republican Party is very extreme , even more extreme than major European right-wing parties .
Once Reagan lowered taxes and destroyed unions , the Democrats – to keep up with Republicans – turned to rich donors , who forced the party to the right .
As Bill Clinton cozied up to the rich , this is what happened @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up doing a lot of long-term policy damage that undermined democracy , like NAFTA and cutting regulations .
Those helped big corporations and hurt regular Americans , helping to give us Trump .
Funny thing , a lot of people want big , structural changes but want moderates .
The whole definition of moderates is more of the status quo with few to no big structural changes .
There ’ s a reason why Dr. King called for progressive reforms .
I believe a lot of the old Democrats in the establishment developed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ destroyed unions .
I ’ m dubbing them the Old Left in the tradition of Rorty who said they had fought the fights and are tired .
We need to be the New Left , the activist wing of the party with the energy to demand change .
Why I Saw Democracy Headed for Destruction 20 Years Ago It has been heartbreaking for me to watch the Democratic Party the past 2 decades .
They have been lost without any vision , which has also been so maddening .
To me , it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ party wandering in the forest .
Hanging out with rich folks maintains the status quo .
For me , this has been a curse to watch because I ’ ve seen it coming and couldn ’ t do anything about it .
Only when we unite can we effect change .
I saw – what I thought at the time – was massive inequality , but that pales by today ’ s standards .
Massive inequality destabilizes democracies .
The party had abandoned people of color , the working class , unions , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ racism is still inherent in most of the policies in this country and the reason we have so much inequality .
Many people vote against their own interests because “ those people ” might get something “ they don ’ t deserve.
” How Many Pie Slices out of 10 Would the Middle Class Get Today ?
Here ’ s a game to play with other people .
Guess how many slices of pie out of 10 pieces that the middle class would get today .
First , make your guess .
CBS @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the American Wealth Pie vs .
Mall Shoppers Can you do better than people in a shopping mall at guessing how many pie slices to put on each of 5 plates : top 20 % , upper middle class , middle class , lower middle class , and the bottom 20 % ?
There ’ s even a bonus question : How much of the pie does the top 1 % get ?
Here ’ s a great video using a real pie to visualize how many slices each bracket gets .
( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ found , sorry . )
How did you do ?
CBS This Morning ( @ CBSThisMorning ) on January 31 , 2020 , posted this along with the video on Twitter : https : //twitter.com/CBSThisMorning/status/1223224310413905921 Twenty years ago , this all was terrible enough ( so much worse now ) , but there was another evil lurking on the Right .
The Republicans have had a plan to overthrow democracy for many decades .
In fact , we just had to listen to Karl Rove .
Karl Rove Gave Us the Goal of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
During George W. Bush ’ s administration , Karl Rove said there would be a permanent Republican Party in charge .
That ’ s not a democracy , that ’ s a dictatorship .
When these people talk , we should believe them and be alarmed .
There was talk by people in W ’ s administration to change the Constitution to allow W to have a third term .
They might have tried that , except they crashed the economy because they were/are following Ayn Rand ’ s philosophy of selfishness @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , former Speaker of the House , pushed hard for those tax cuts for the rich because he , too , is a Randian – a radical .
The next crash has been in the making , even without the coronavirus .
Trump rolled back most of the protections Obama put in place after the previous crash , so we are basically in much of the same position before the 2008 crash .
Besides the massive wealth inequality of 20 years ago , I saw a huge threat from the right-wing propaganda machine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to avoid impeachments of Republican presidents .
This was a signal of where they were going – illegal activities .
( Worked great for Trump . )
While Limbaugh had been the big voice of this evil machine , I didn ’ t take notice until shortly after Fox News was created .
Not only was it spreading lies , racism , sexism , and other bigotries , it was demonizing Democrats .
When one major party demonizes the other major party , there is only one way this will end up… Dangerous @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Civil War .
Initially , I thought this would result in a civil war between the Left and the Right or a race war , but I quickly evolved on this to an overthrow of democracy , leading to authoritarianism .
We are in a cold civil war .
Steve Bannon , himself , said that this is war .
He also believes it ’ s part of the coming apocalypse .
We can ’ t underestimate the power of this propaganda machine .
In fact , I wrote about it as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ us Trump and why his base won ’ t budge .
https : //www.dailykos.com/story/2019/12/4/1903617/-Re-A-Theory-for-Why-Trump-s-Base-Won-t-Budge Authoritarian governments rely on propaganda to pump out lies and cover up bad news , so people don ’ t know the truth .
Therefore , we shouldn ’ t be surprised that Trump ’ s administration is trying to squash the news of the coronavirus , so he can get re-elected .
Setting the Stage for the Overthrow of Democracy One other thing I didn ’ t mention about Rorty .
He said we would all get distracted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ doing now .
Rorty saw this as part of the plan of the super-rich , who would then aid the overthrow of democracy .
People ’ s Power Against Corporations Comes from Unions I ’ m going to back up here in time to 1980 to give some context to how we got here and why billionaires and other super-rich people are very dangerous to democracy .
Republicans were tired of losing .
Democrats had a long streak of control because people had united in large numbers in unions to balance the power @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unions , inequality was fairly low and salaries were high for the working- and middle-class white folks .
People of color have always been worse off due to systemic racism .
Many unions , too , would not except people of color .
The Destruction of Unions , Tax Cuts , the Koch Brothers & Dark Money Not only did Reagan become president in 1980 , but also the very rich brothers Charles and David Koch began plotting how to “ buy their way to political power.
” Of course , Reagan helped @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the unions .
In a NYT book review about Jane Mayer ’ s book Dark Money , the review says Since the donors are in charge of Republicans in Congress , “ We the People ” doesn ’ t matter .
We see why the Republicans are doing everything to hurt the country for all but the super-rich .
Folks , these people undermined President Obama .
They wanted him stopped because he was so popular and a Democrat , which is why they went so hard after Bill Clinton .
Also , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Black raised their alarm through the roof .
The Republicans blocked everything Obama wanted – precisely to harm the country .
They knew if people felt the pain of the recession with the government not helping , those folks would vote for change .
This is a fact of human behavior and how Rorty and I could see this coming .
It was an Evil strategy .
By the way , people voted in huge numbers for Barack Obama for several important reasons .
( I heard someone tonight on MSNBC say we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , we do .
Read Davin Phoenix ’ s book The Anger Gap : How Race Shapes Emotion in Politics . )
First , many of us wanted to have the first Black president .
Second , the recession had happened , and people were scared and angry .
The wanted change .
Third , Obama was great at giving us hope .
People get out and vote when they have fear of one thing and hope for another .
The fear here is fear of losing our democracy and hope for what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ work together .
The Koch brothers have other super-rich conspirators , whom the book talks about .
The Kochs and other robber barons have been paying universities and schools to indoctrinate young people into their ranks .
They have radical libertarian views .
These people are anti-government and have “ helped to finance and organize an interlocking network of think tanks , academic programs and news media outlets that far exceeded anything the liberal opposition could put together.
” Why Can ’ t We Get Action on the Climate Crisis ?
If you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ anything done in this country , this is why .
Worried about the climate crisis ?
“ The Koch-sponsored advocacy group Americans for Prosperity has been at the forefront of climate-change opposition over the past decade.
” These people want military and police funding , but that ’ s about it .
No Medicare/Medicaid , no Social Security , no welfare , no food stamps .
No safety nets of any kind .
They steal all the money , and the rest of us have to fend for ourselves .
Without safety nets @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Koch brothers and other radical libertarians hate regulation of any kind , so if you wonder why Trump is rolling back regulations on the EPA and elsewhere , the Kochs are a big reason .
They have been huge polluters and contributors to the climate crisis .
They Are Stacking the Courts with Radicals Also , the super-rich have been grooming radical libertarian lawyers to become judges and filling the courts with them .
The Federalist Society is giving us people like Brett Kavanaugh , one of these radicals .
Do We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Under the Super-Rich ?
Buying elections and subverting the will of the people amounts to overthrowing democracy .
We only think we have democracy .
Wake up folks !
If Bloomberg wins , it will prove that “ We the People ” won ’ t matter .
The super-rich can just buy elections .
Our democracy will be over .
Therefore , Trump isn ’ t the only threat here , although Trump is the ultimate threat .
Anand Giridharadas wrote a great new article the other day “ The Billionaire Election : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to us ?
” These rich people have amassed wealth at the expense of workers ( like sweat shops – Microsoft ; or no health benefits – Walmart ) and at the expense of society because they pay little to no taxes and undermine democracy .
Also , many of these rich people and their businesses prey on the most marginalized , standing on their backs .
We are ALL being stood on with the people at the bottom feeling the most weight .
These super-rich have created a whole network of non-profits @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the ways we need the most .
They use them mostly for their own selfish interests and to avoid paying taxes .
With so few people deciding where most of the money is going , that too undermines the will of the American public .
Needed charities shut down because little money goes to them .
For example , the Red Cross had to merge with another non-profit for their blood-testing labs to survive .
Blood has to be tested at one of these national labs before it can be used , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over the country to these facilities .
I know someone who works at a former Red Cross lab , now part of this other non-profit .
They told me that they will be quitting due to ethical reasons .
The stringent quality assurance and safety procedures that the Red Cross followed will not be used .
A lot of the problems this person is seeing are due to cost-cutting .
Folks , this could put our blood supply at risk .
The Nation has a good article on the problem with billionaire philanthropy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is being abused , which includes Therefore , there is a real dark side and a hidden cost to billionaire philanthropy .
Just a few words here , but folks need to be aware .
Extremist Christians ( like Barr – see his remarks ) are in control of the government , along with white nationalists like Stephen Miller with his immigration policy .
Think Nazi Germany .
These people coupled with the super-rich and their right-wing propaganda machine create a very dangerous intersection .
( The media is both wittingly and unwittingly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , most of these people have no idea what they are talking about with the election and polls .
They are creating chaos , which undermines democracy . )
Regarding these Christians and white nationalists , keep in mind that there are purity tests here , folks .
Many of these Christians believe in Christ , the Warrior .
Not Christ , the Crucified .
( This is what Hitler believed in , too .
He saw Christ , the Crucified , as weak and disgusting .
I ’ ve read Hitler ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ created in 1943 . )
Many of these Christians don ’ t see other Christians as true Christians .
Also , many believe in reprobation : the poor and sick deserve it because they have sinned .
Of course , those aren ’ t the only purity tests .
White nationalists have another .
These types of purity tests were used in Nazi Germany to mass murder Jews , Jehovah ’ s Witnesses , LGBTQ , sick , disabled , gypsies , and others .
Six million Jews and 5 million others .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ We are in the late stages of the German Weimar Republic ( 1918-1933 ) .
The Left fractured , and the Nazis cheated and won .
Also , consider that Trump ’ s people put out a tweet that any coronavirus vaccine would not be cheap because , you know , these companies need profits .
There will be mass death with all that is happening in the U.S. and with climate change .
There is no world leader to take charge and lead the fight on all of this , including the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the One Shot We Have ?
I ’ ve been saying we have one shot for several years ( and I mean more than just Trump ) , so I was very happy to hear Elizabeth Warren say it at the debate .
Obviously , we have one shot to beat Trump .
Otherwise , this country will be in full authoritarianism/fascism .
However , let ’ s move beyond that .
Let ’ s say a Democrat wins .
If we don ’ t first control the corruption and ensure voting rights @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the really big stuff and make generational changes .
That ’ s true regardless of whether we take back the Senate and maintain the House or not .
There are some things a president can do , at least , that don ’ t require the Senate or the House .
Attacking the climate crisis has to be the next priority .
Here ’ s the one shot .
Democrats have to make big structural changes in the 1st year that make considerable differences in people ’ s lives .
That and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lose in the midterms , just like Obama did , and democracy will be lost .
This is why Elizabeth Warren is right that we have to get rid of the filibuster .
It ’ s not part of the Constitution and is actually anti-democratic .
If we don ’ t make big structural changes right away , people ’ s frustration will more easily boil over with each failure .
There are a lot of people in America who are actually experiencing life like they are in a terrible recession or depression @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The only 2 candidates that have plans for big structural changes are the progressives : Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders .
Without big structural change , we ’ ve lost our democracy .
It really is this dire .
No candidate who is tied to billionaires will be able to make big structural changes for all the people because most billionaires don ’ t want the people to rule .
This is how we got Trump in the first place , and Bloomberg and others bought offices for Republicans in Congress who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Super-rich folks are antithetical to democracy because they have all the power .
If you are waiting for any of these candidates to save us , we will lose .
They can ’ t do anything without our help .
Candidates have to generate enthusiasm , and we have to help them get out the vote .
Otherwise , people just won ’ t come out to vote in the numbers we will need .
The worst thing to do is to vote out of fear .
Panicking people make lots of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In FDR ’ s First Inaugural Address , he said ( bolding is my emphasis ) : Vote for the person who you like best .
FYI , I ’ m voting for Warren .
I believe she is the only one who sees how corruption is tied to everything .
She ’ s studied this throughout her life and understands how dark money is tied into this .
Most important , she has plans to fix this .
Republicans are dismantling the government as we speak and looting it , just like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the Soviet Union , creating the oligarchs .
Whoever you vote for , just don ’ t do it only because you think that person can beat Trump .
None of these candidates is perfect .
No matter who wins the nomination , they won ’ t win without our help .
And we ALL have to vote for that person .
If we ALL vote for the nominee , we can win .
Keep in mind that 100 million people sat out the last election .
We literally are in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hostile forces and the climate crisis bear down on us .
If we are all sitting home doing nothing , we will lose .
Democracy is not a spectator sport , so get involved .
Help fund candidates , including down-ballot races , if you are able .
Get out the vote ; make phone calls ; text ; talk to friends , family , and co-workers .
Those of us who have more have a moral responsibility to do more .
There are plenty of people who are just surviving in this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this fight and work extra hard because they can ’ t .
One more thing , demand change for the better for ALL of us .
Hold elected people accountable , even Republicans .
Many Indivisible people showed up at their offices repeatedly , and many of those Republicans quit .
We only can make positive change when we all work together toward a common vision .
( I want to thank JesusLover , who left a great comment below .
Please do read it because it provides additional insight into Dark Money @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I also owe them a great thanks for their insight on the book , which we discussed on a different platform .
While I ’ ve been looking at dark money for a long time as a huge threat to our democracy , I just ordered the book .
Also , I want to thank kevmong1966cassian for their great comment on the military-industrial complex .
Please read it , as it provides additional information .
I used to work in the military-industrial complex . )

We’ve got 1 chance to fix our democracy, and it’s not just about beating Trump. To understand this, we have to understand why our democracy has been in trouble for decades. Trump & our current crisis have been totally predictable. And we didn’t get here by accident. Why?
Get Out the Vote Was Crucial in 2016 & It’s Crucial Now
First, we have to understand that Trump is a symptom of much bigger problems. I predicted Trump would win if Hillary couldn’t get out the vote. And that’s what happened. (Please don’t waste time talking about Russia and the FBI. Those issues just mask the systemic problems.) She made quite a few very big mistakes, like not putting a person of color on the ticket. Instead, she selected another bland, white centrist. That left a lot of people out.
She didn’t understand who the base is. Forty percent of our base are people of color, and Black women are our most reliable voters. Hillary got mostly people of color and women to vote for her. The majority of white women with college degrees voted for her, but the majority of the other white women didn’t. (I don’t have the breakout of white women evangelicals that voted for her, but here are some 2016 statistics. The number of non-college graduates are important and show up in a quote by Rorty, an expert, below. The majority of college graduates and post graduates went for Hillary, but the marjority of everyone else went to Trump.) Because Hillary didn’t try to unite the party across a spectrum, she failed to excite the voters.
In fact, Hillary and Kaine were so uninspiring that we had the lowest voter turnout in 20 years. https://www.cnn.com/2016/11/11/politics/popular-vote-turnout-2016/index.html It would have greatly helped if she had campaigned in many states rather than spending most of her time in 4 of them. https://www.nationalpopularvote.com/campaign-events-2016
Trump Is a Symptom
Regardless of the 2016 problems, because Trump is a symptom, we have to go back decades to to see the root causes. I’ve spent my life in search of how to achieve peace (no joke). In doing so, I’ve studied history, human behavior, philosophy & religion, science, and more. There are patterns to history, like why democracies fail, and they have fairly predictable patterns of human behavior. I’ve seen our democracy headed for disaster more than 20 years ago. And I warned people about it back then.
And I’m not the only one. Since I’m not a well-known author, I want to start with someone who was (he died in 2007) and who predicted a strongman like Trump. (Sadly, I only read his work in 2020.) He was looking at this from a different angle, yet he and I came to the same conclusions. If the U.S. didn’t change course, we would end with the destruction of democracy, leading to its overthrow and giving us an authoritarian regime.
Richard Rorty Warned Us about Someone Like Trump
Back in 1998, Ricard Rorty, a Leftist philosopher, wrote the book “Achieving Our Country,” explaining what would happen on the trajectory we have been on. He described the dispirited left-wing coalition fracturing, which would bring about its own collapse, giving us a strongman.
According to The New York Times, Rorty’s prophetic warning was retweeted by “an astute law professor,” albeit “very slightly condensed,” just 3 days after Trump was elected. The New York Times posted the retweeted paragraphs:
[M]embers of labor unions, and unorganized unskilled workers, will sooner or later realize that their government is not even trying to prevent wages from sinking or to prevent jobs from being exported. Around the same time, they will realize that suburban white-collar workers — themselves desperately afraid of being downsized — are not going to let themselves be taxed to provide social benefits for anyone else. At that point, something will crack. The nonsuburban electorate will decide that the system has failed and start looking around for a strongman to vote for — someone willing to assure them that, once he is elected, the smug bureaucrats, tricky lawyers, overpaid bond salesmen, and postmodernist professors will no longer be calling the shots. … One thing that is very likely to happen is that the gains made in the past 40 years by black and brown Americans, and by homosexuals, will be wiped out. Jocular contempt for women will come back into fashion. … All the resentment which badly educated Americans feel about having their manners dictated to them by college graduates will find an outlet.
This was spot on. Rorty didn’t even know we would have a Black president, so Trump is more than just a backlash against Obama. It would have happened regardless, but that doesn’t mean we should ignore the racist component. Racism is systemic, and we all have to be anti-racists to eradicate it. Racism has helped to destroy our democracy.
National Pride
Rorty’s book opens with these words
NATIONAL PRIDE is to countries what self-respect is to individuals: a necessary condition for self-improvement. Too much national pride can produce bellicosity and imperialism, just as excessive self-respect can produce arrogance. But just as too little self-respect makes it difficult for a person to display moral courage, so insufficient national pride makes energetic and effective debate about national policy unlikely.
Shame & Spectators
The Left, due to Vietnam, fractured and became shameful of our participation in the war. However, our shame runs very deep in this country for many other reasons, especially the crimes against humanity committed against Native Americans, Black, and other Brown folks.
Rorty truly understood human behavior because this shame has de-energized us into being spectators, as he predicted it would. Therefore, we, for the most part, just watch things happen in this country, instead of getting out and fighting for them.
He saw the Civil Rights marches of the 1960s as examples of what we should be doing. We have to get out and march, use civil disobedience, become activists, and demand change.
Democracy is not a spectator sport. It won’t work if we don’t participate and fight for what we want.
Building National Pride – Create National Policy for a Better Future for ALL
Rorty warned the Left not to put cultural and identity politics over the real politics of economic justice and the politics of change. He called for racial equality. His problem with identity politics was that the Left would leave out class issues, in particular the white working class. He foresaw how that would lead to a tsunami of resentment because both the Right and the Left had abandoned them. They would turn to a strongman who promised change, and their resentment would turn on people of color and others. This is exactly what has happened, hence the loss of civil rights and women’s rights.
Rorty’s Recipe for Success: Pragmatic Idealism & Big Bold Vision
Rorty didn’t just give a warning of what would happen. He actually gave Democrats a recipe for success, too. He said we needed pragmatic idealism with a big bold vision of what this country can be. This is how we generate national pride, seeing something better for generations to come and working toward the greater good for ALL of us, no matter color, gender, class, etc. We the People have to stick together.
Why do we need this big bold vision if we can’t achieve everything right away? A great example is Elizabeth Warren and her plans.
Start with Our Ideals
Let me give you an analogy. If you want to sell your car for $1500, do you start the bidding with the buyer at $1500? Of course, not! You have a higher starting price that most likely you will never get. However, it’s an ideal price. Your pragmatic price is $1500. If we don’t have an ideal price, we start at the pragmatic price and will never reach our pragmatic goal.
Strive for Those Ideals with Incremental Progress
Folks need to realize that there is always more to strive for, which is our big, bold vision. Just because we can’t achieve it all at once doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have a big, bold vision. As Rorty pointed out, we will fail if we don’t have national pride, giving us the energy to fight for that vision. It has to include generational changes. That’s what people get excited about and vote for.
Social Justice Is a Constant Struggle
Social justice is a constant struggle against forces that want to destroy democracy. These forces will always be there, whether they are foreign or domestic. We can’t take democracy for granted.
We have to learn from mistakes. I love Obama, but he wanted to work with the (bad faith) Republicans, so he always started at the “pragmatic price.” Obama, while running on progressive values became a centrist in office (and took money from billionaires), and this is one of the problems, too. He put the super-rich foxes that crashed the economy back in his administration to once again watch the hen house. In fact, he and Warren clashed over this. She warned him not to do this.
Then, John Boehner, Republican Speaker of the House, toward the end of Obama’s first term said that the Republicans had gotten 98% of what they wanted after a negotiation and called that compromise. That wasn’t compromise. Obama should have had an “ideal price,” but he always (up to that point) started negotiations at the “pragmatic price.” It made me angry, and I sent him an email. I’m sure I wasn’t alone because it was right after that when Obama finally learned that hard lesson and moved the party somewhat left. However, it cost us in the 2010 midterms as we lost the House.
The Democratic & Republican Parties Vs. the Median Voter
He did pull the Democratic Party back toward the median voter in 2012 (see the figure below). I doubt most people realize how far to the right of the median voter that Democratic presidents pulled the party. Sadly, this graph starts in 2000, so you can’t see the full extent.
This figure also shows how close to the median voter the Democratic Party is while the Republican Party is very extreme, even more extreme than major European right-wing parties.
Once Reagan lowered taxes and destroyed unions, the Democrats – to keep up with Republicans – turned to rich donors, who forced the party to the right. As Bill Clinton cozied up to the rich, this is what happened. As a centrist, he ended up doing a lot of long-term policy damage that undermined democracy, like NAFTA and cutting regulations. Those helped big corporations and hurt regular Americans, helping to give us Trump.
Funny thing, a lot of people want big, structural changes but want moderates. The whole definition of moderates is more of the status quo with few to no big structural changes. There’s a reason why Dr. King called for progressive reforms.
As a moderate, Biden cozies up to the rich and protects the financial industry. In fact, “The first duty of any senator from Delaware is to do the bidding of the banks and large corporations.” The article says that the bill Biden pushed through (Warren opposed it):
It may very well be the single piece of legislation most responsible for putting the U.S. in the current student debt crisis.
I believe a lot of the old Democrats in the establishment developed learned helplessness after Reagan lowered taxes and destroyed unions. I’m dubbing them the Old Left in the tradition of Rorty who said they had fought the fights and are tired. We need to be the New Left, the activist wing of the party with the energy to demand change.
Why I Saw Democracy Headed for Destruction 20 Years Ago
It has been heartbreaking for me to watch the Democratic Party the past 2 decades. They have been lost without any vision, which has also been so maddening. To me, it’s been like watching a lost party wandering in the forest. Hanging out with rich folks maintains the status quo. For me, this has been a curse to watch because I’ve seen it coming and couldn’t do anything about it. Only when we unite can we effect change.
Massive Inequality
I saw – what I thought at the time – was massive inequality, but that pales by today’s standards. Massive inequality destabilizes democracies. The party had abandoned people of color, the working class, unions, and the poor. Also, systemic racism is still inherent in most of the policies in this country and the reason we have so much inequality. Many people vote against their own interests because “those people” might get something “they don’t deserve.”
How Many Pie Slices out of 10 Would the Middle Class Get Today?
Here’s a game to play with other people. Guess how many slices of pie out of 10 pieces that the middle class would get today. First, make your guess.
Now check your work…
CBS Morning Video: Test Your Knowledge of the American Wealth Pie vs. Mall Shoppers
Can you do better than people in a shopping mall at guessing how many pie slices to put on each of 5 plates: top 20%, upper middle class, middle class, lower middle class, and the bottom 20%?
There’s even a bonus question: How much of the pie does the top 1% get?
Here’s a great video using a real pie to visualize how many slices each bracket gets. (This is the best YouTube version I found, sorry.)
How did you do?
CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) on January 31, 2020, posted this along with the video on Twitter: https://twitter.com/CBSThisMorning/status/1223224310413905921
WEALTH INEQUALITY: The richest 1% controls more wealth now than at any time in more than 50 years. But what does wealth inequality really look like? @TonyDokoupil turned America’s economic pie into a real one and asked people a simple question: Who gets what?
Twenty years ago, this all was terrible enough (so much worse now), but there was another evil lurking on the Right.
The Right-Wing Conspiracy
The Republicans have had a plan to overthrow democracy for many decades. In fact, we just had to listen to Karl Rove.
Karl Rove Gave Us the Goal of the Plan – Did You Believe Him?
During George W. Bush’s administration, Karl Rove said there would be a permanent Republican Party in charge. That’s not a democracy, that’s a dictatorship. When these people talk, we should believe them and be alarmed.
There was talk by people in W’s administration to change the Constitution to allow W to have a third term. They might have tried that, except they crashed the economy because they were/are following Ayn Rand’s philosophy of selfishness.
By the way, Paul Ryan, former Speaker of the House, pushed hard for those tax cuts for the rich because he, too, is a Randian – a radical. The next crash has been in the making, even without the coronavirus. Trump rolled back most of the protections Obama put in place after the previous crash, so we are basically in much of the same position before the 2008 crash.
The Poisonous Right-Wing Propaganda Machine
Besides the massive wealth inequality of 20 years ago, I saw a huge threat from the right-wing propaganda machine. Fox News was created in 1996 to avoid impeachments of Republican presidents. This was a signal of where they were going – illegal activities. (Worked great for Trump.)
While Limbaugh had been the big voice of this evil machine, I didn’t take notice until shortly after Fox News was created. Not only was it spreading lies, racism, sexism, and other bigotries, it was demonizing Democrats.
When one major party demonizes the other major party, there is only one way this will end up… Dangerous partisanship, just like we had before the Civil War.
Initially, I thought this would result in a civil war between the Left and the Right or a race war, but I quickly evolved on this to an overthrow of democracy, leading to authoritarianism. We are in a cold civil war. Steve Bannon, himself, said that this is war. He also believes it’s part of the coming apocalypse.
We can’t underestimate the power of this propaganda machine. In fact, I wrote about it as a key factor in helping to give us Trump and why his base won’t budge. https://www.dailykos.com/story/2019/12/4/1903617/-Re-A-Theory-for-Why-Trump-s-Base-Won-t-Budge
Authoritarian governments rely on propaganda to pump out lies and cover up bad news, so people don’t know the truth. Therefore, we shouldn’t be surprised that Trump’s administration is trying to squash the news of the coronavirus and his complicity by blaming Democrats, so he can get re-elected.
Setting the Stage for the Overthrow of Democracy
One other thing I didn’t mention about Rorty. He said we would all get distracted with issues, like what Trump is doing now. Rorty saw this as part of the plan of the super-rich, who would then aid the overthrow of democracy.
People’s Power Against Corporations Comes from Unions
I’m going to back up here in time to 1980 to give some context to how we got here and why billionaires and other super-rich people are very dangerous to democracy. Republicans were tired of losing. Democrats had a long streak of control because people had united in large numbers in unions to balance the power of corporations.
When we had strong unions, inequality was fairly low and salaries were high for the working- and middle-class white folks. People of color have always been worse off due to systemic racism. Many unions, too, would not except people of color.
The Destruction of Unions, Tax Cuts, the Koch Brothers & Dark Money
Not only did Reagan become president in 1980, but also the very rich brothers Charles and David Koch began plotting how to “buy their way to political power.” Of course, Reagan helped these people by cutting taxes and destroying the unions.
In a NYT book review about Jane Mayer’s book Dark Money, the review says
What the Kochs and their allies have created, in her view, is a private political bank capable of bestowing unlimited amounts of money on favored candidates, and doing it with virtually no disclosure of its source. They have established a Republican Party in which donors, not elected officials, are in charge. In 2011, when House Speaker John Boehner was desperate for Republican votes to prevent the government from defaulting on its debt, he went to see David Koch in Manhattan to plead for help. “It had taken years,” Mayer writes, but the brothers “were becoming a rival center of power to the Republican establishment.”
Since the donors are in charge of Republicans in Congress, “We the People” doesn’t matter. We see why the Republicans are doing everything to hurt the country for all but the super-rich.
Folks, these people undermined President Obama. They wanted him stopped because he was so popular and a Democrat, which is why they went so hard after Bill Clinton. Also, I’m sure that Obama being Black raised their alarm through the roof. The Republicans blocked everything Obama wanted – precisely to harm the country. They knew if people felt the pain of the recession with the government not helping, those folks would vote for change. This is a fact of human behavior and how Rorty and I could see this coming. It was an Evil strategy.
By the way, people voted in huge numbers for Barack Obama for several important reasons. (I heard someone tonight on the news say we don’t know why. Yes, we do. Read Davin Phoenix’s book The Anger Gap: How Race Shapes Emotion in Politics.) First, many of us wanted to have the first Black president. Second, the recession had happened, and people were scared and angry. They wanted change. Third, Obama was great at giving us hope.
People get out and vote when they have fear of one thing and hope for another. The fear here is Trump AND authoritarianism. The hope is for what this country can become if we all work together.
The Kochs & Their Friends – Radicals Undermining Democracy
The Koch brothers have other super-rich conspirators, whom the book talks about. The Kochs and other robber barons have been paying universities and schools to indoctrinate young people into their ranks. They have radical libertarian views.
These people are anti-government and have “helped to finance and organize an interlocking network of think tanks, academic programs and news media outlets that far exceeded anything the liberal opposition could put together.”
Why Can’t We Get Action on the Climate Crisis?
If you wonder why we can’t get anything done in this country, this is why. Worried about the climate crisis? “The Koch-sponsored advocacy group Americans for Prosperity has been at the forefront of climate-change opposition over the past decade.”
These people want military and police funding, but that’s about it. No Medicare/Medicaid, no Social Security, no welfare, no food stamps. No safety nets of any kind. They steal all the money, and the rest of us have to fend for ourselves. Without safety nets, millions of people will die.
The Koch brothers and other radical libertarians hate regulation of any kind, so if you wonder why Trump is rolling back regulations on the EPA and elsewhere, the Kochs are a big reason. They have been huge polluters and contributors to the climate crisis.
They Are Stacking the Courts with Radicals
Also, the super-rich have been grooming radical libertarian lawyers to become judges and filling the courts with them. The Federalist Society is giving us people like Brett Kavanaugh, one of these radicals.
Do We Want Democracy for All OR a Dictatorship Under the Super-Rich?
Buying elections and subverting the will of the people is overthrowing democracy. We only think we have democracy. Wake up folks!
If Bloomberg wins, it will prove that “We the People” won’t matter. The super-rich can just buy elections. Our democracy will be over. Therefore, Trump isn’t the only threat here, although Trump is the ultimate threat.
Anand Giridharadas wrote a great new article the other day “The Billionaire Election: Does the world belong to them or to us?”
These rich people have amassed wealth at the expense of workers (like sweat shops – Microsoft; or no health benefits – Walmart) and at the expense of society because they pay little to no taxes and undermine democracy. Also, many of these rich people and their businesses prey on the most marginalized, standing on their backs. We are ALL being stood on with the people at the bottom feeling the most weight.
What about Billionaire Philanthropy?
These super-rich have created a whole network of non-profits that don’t typically profit us in the ways we need the most. They use them mostly for their own selfish interests and to avoid paying taxes. With so few people deciding where most of the money is going, that too undermines the will of the American public. Needed charities shut down because little money goes to them.
For example, the Red Cross had to merge with another non-profit for their blood-testing labs to survive. Blood has to be tested at one of these national labs before it can be used, so blood samples get shipped from all over the country to these facilities.
I know someone who works at a former Red Cross lab, now part of this other non-profit. They told me that they will be quitting due to ethical reasons. The stringent quality assurance and safety procedures that the Red Cross followed will not be used. A lot of the problems this person is seeing are due to cost-cutting. Folks, this could put our blood supply at risk.
The Nation has a good article on the problem with billionaire philanthropy and calls out ways in which it is being abused, which includes
Self-serving policy advocacy
Corruption of higher education
Distortion of K-12 public education
Self-dealing foundations
The article notes
As Anand Giridharadas observes in his new book, Winners Take All, billionaire philanthropy is funding hundreds of solutions to social problems, while defining the terms of the debate to exclude such strategies as progressive taxation and expanding worker rights.
Therefore, there is a real dark side and a hidden cost to billionaire philanthropy.
The Intersection with Extremist Christians & White Nationalism
Just a few words here, but folks need to be aware. Extremist Christians (like Barr – see his remarks) are in control of the government, along with white nationalists like Stephen Miller with his immigration policy. Think Nazi Germany. These people coupled with the super-rich and their right-wing propaganda machine create a very dangerous intersection. (The media is both wittingly and unwittingly undermining democracy, too. For example, most of these people have no idea what they are talking about with the election and polls. They are creating chaos, which undermines democracy.)
Regarding these Christians and white nationalists, keep in mind that there are purity tests here, folks. Many of these Christians believe in Christ, the Warrior. Not Christ, the Crucified. (This is what Hitler believed in, too. He saw Christ, the Crucified, as weak and disgusting. I’ve read Hitler’s psych report that the U.S. OSS created in 1943.)
Many of these Christians don’t see other Christians as true Christians. Also, many believe in reprobation: the poor and sick deserve it because they have sinned. Of course, those aren’t the only purity tests. White nationalists have another.
These types of purity tests were used in Nazi Germany to mass murder Jews, Jehovah’s Witnesses, LGBTQ, sick, disabled, gypsies, and others. Six million Jews and 5 million others.
The handwriting is on the wall. We are in the late stages of the German Weimar Republic (1918-1933). The Left fractured, and the Nazis cheated and won.
Also, consider that Trump’s people put out a tweet that any coronavirus vaccine would not be cheap because, you know, these companies need profits. There will be mass death with all that is happening in the U.S. and with climate change. There is no world leader to take charge and lead the fight on all of this, including the climate crisis.
So, What Is the One Shot We Have?
I’ve been saying we have one shot for several years (and I mean more than just Trump), so I was very happy to hear Elizabeth Warren say it at the debate. Obviously, we have one shot to beat Trump. Otherwise, this country will be in full authoritarianism/fascism.
However, let’s move beyond that. Let’s say a Democrat wins. If we don’t first control the corruption and ensure voting rights, we can’t do much of the really big stuff and make generational changes. That’s true regardless of whether we take back the Senate and maintain the House or not. There are some things a president can do, at least, that don’t require the Senate or the House. Attacking the climate crisis has to be the next priority.
Need to Combat Corruption & Implement Big Structural Changes Right Away
Here’s the one shot. Democrats have to make big structural changes in the 1st year that make considerable differences in people’s lives. That and tackle corruption. Otherwise, we will lose in the midterms, just like Obama did, and democracy will be lost. This is why Elizabeth Warren is right that we have to get rid of the filibuster. It’s not part of the Constitution and is actually anti-democratic.
If we don’t make big structural changes right away (Including many within the first 100 days), people’s frustration will more easily boil over with each failure. There are a lot of people in America who are actually experiencing life like they are in a terrible recession or depression. Trickle-down economics doesn’t work.
The is only 1 candidate who has plans for combating corruption and implementing big structural, progressive changes. Elizabeth Warren. Without these, we’ve lost our democracy. It really is this dire.
Warren Studied Why People Go Broke & Set Up a Federal Agency to Hold Businesses Accountable
(I updated this section and took out some information about Bernie.) If we want to save democracy, Warren is the best choice. She is the only one who sees how corruption is tied to everything and has plans to fix it. Not only that, but also she’s studied this throughout her life and understands how dark money is tied into this. She’s been working to help American families for most of her career. In fact, she is the only candidate who has set up a federal agency.
On September 17, 2010, President Obama announced the appointment of Warren as Assistant to the President and Special Advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to set up the new agency.
CFPB has returned over $12 billion to American consumers, as it fights the big banks that have cheated people. This article is old (from 2017); the amount is more than the article states. But it talks about the Republicans wanting to kill it. By the way, there was another win for CFPB just the other day vs. Well Fargo.
Republicans are dismantling the government as we speak and looting it, just like they did in Russia during the fall of the Soviet Union, creating the oligarchs.
Vote for the Best Candidate — Warren Has the best Cross Section across All Voters
Warren is the best candidate to handle the job. However, that is not all. She has the best cross section across all voters to bring in the most.
We have to stop looking at polls and vote for the best candidate. The polls have been very wrong with Hillary and in 2020.
Back in 2008, people were trying to talk me into voting for Hillary because Barack Obama would have more chances. That was a terrible argument. They also told me he couldn’t win. I had faith and voted for the best candidate, Barack Obama. That he would become the first Black president was a huge bonus.
Obama won because he brought hope and enthusiasm to voters of all ages, including Democrats across the political spectrum.
The great news is that Warren is much the same type of candidate as Obama. She brings hope and enthusiasm to voters of all ages, including Democrats across the political spectrum. Here is a great diagram that agrees with other data that I’ve seen.
G.Elliott Morris from The Economist magazine tweeted this out on Feb 26, 2020:
I took 2k responses to our polling on the Dem primary with YouGov and told my computer to place candidates in a 2-dimensional space depending on how likely they are to share voters. It spit this out. Note Gabbard/Steyer's extremity, Warren's centrality.
Warren is at the cross section of voters. Exactly who we need.
Have faith in the best candidate.
Otherwise, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. And we lose.
No candidate who is tied to billionaires will be able to combat corruption and make big structural changes for all the people because most billionaires don’t want the people to rule. They love status quo. This is how we got Trump in the first place, and Bloomberg and others bought offices for Republicans in Congress who support Trump and the overthrow of democracy. Super-rich folks are antithetical to democracy because they have all the power.
If you are waiting for any of these candidates to save us, we will lose. They can’t do anything without our help. Candidates have to generate enthusiasm, and we have to help them get out the vote. Otherwise, people just won’t come out to vote in the numbers we will need.
A Winning Strategy – Overwhelm the Ballot Box
The worst thing to do is to vote out of fear. Panicking people make lots of mistakes. We will likely lose. In FDR’s First Inaugural Address, he said (bolding is my emphasis):
So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is...fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and of vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory. And I am convinced that you will again give that support to leadership in these critical days.
While Warren is the best candidate, none of these candidates is perfect. No matter who wins the nomination, they won’t win without our help. And we ALL have to vote for that person. If we ALL vote for the nominee, we can win. Keep in mind that 100 million people sat out the last election.
We literally are in the fight for our lives as all these hostile forces and the climate crisis bear down on us. If we are all sitting home doing nothing, we will lose.
Democracy is not a spectator sport, so get involved. Help fund candidates, including down-ballot races, if you are able. Get out the vote; make phone calls; text; talk to friends, family, and co-workers. Those of us who have more have a moral responsibility to do more. There are plenty of people who are just surviving in this country who need us to get in this fight and work extra hard because they can’t.
One more thing, demand change for the better for ALL of us. Hold elected people accountable, even Republicans. Many Indivisible people showed up at their offices repeatedly, and many of those Republicans quit. We only can make positive change when we all work together toward a common vision.
(I want to thank JesusLover, who left a great comment below. Please do read it because it provides additional insight into Dark Money and the destruction of our democracy. I also owe them a great thanks for their insight on the book, which we discussed on a different platform. While I’ve been looking at dark money for a long time as a huge threat to our democracy, I just ordered the book.
Also, I want to thank kevmong1966cassian for their great comment on the military-industrial complex. Please read it, as it provides additional information. I used to work in the military-industrial complex.)


dailykos--2020-02-29--It's Not Too Late Most Places: Register to Vote in the Primaries! Updated with More Dates!

Make your voice heard !
If you are not yet registered as a Democrat , then understand that you need to do so in order to vote in the Democratic primary in your state .
Some deadlines have passed , but many others have not .
Some states even allow registration right up to the day of their primaries !
So please check your registration ( remember some messing around goes on and you might find yourself unregistered , but you might have time to fix it ! )
, and register if you are not currently registered .
Especially @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vote in your primary !
The Democratic Party needs young blood and new life .
It can benefit greatly from your participation !
In all states , all citizens can vote when 18 years old .
That means you can register when you are 17 years old , if you will be 18 by the time you vote .
In some states , you can vote in the Primaries when 17 , if you will be 18 by the time of the General Election .
In other states , you can only vote @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the time of the primary .
If there is any question , i.e.
, if you are 17 , since all rules are subject to change , check with your local party office .
Should you be able to vote as a 16 year old ?
Yes , but it hasn ’ t been made legal yet in the U.S. You can get involved in politics even if not eligible to vote , and you could make lowering the voting age your issue !
More info at the above link .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is listed as they can vary according to method of registration — online , by mail , or in person .
However , several states allow for same-day in-person registration , so that column is listed separately where it occurs .
Please do NOT wait until the last day , whenever possible : Give yourself plenty of time in case of unforeseen complications with your registration !
And recheck your registration often ; contact authorities right away if it disappears before primary day !
Business Insider was cross checked against USA Today .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , I checked with each state and changed the table accordingly .
For those , the source of information is linked right in the table .
In summary , those states whose registration deadlines have not ( entirely ) passed include : For more information — to check my accuracy !
— and for contact links for every state , please click the Business Insider link !
You can also Google it ; for most locations , you want to contact your Secretary of State .
*Despite their own state websites giving July @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other sources insist that their presidential primaries are being held April 4 , such as this one .
If you live in Alaska or Hawaii , please call your local election offices !
If you find that there is indeed an April deadline , please tell them to change their websites and let me know as well !
* So Srsly : Whether you ’ re an enthusiastic online supporter of Bernie Sanders or Liz Warren or Pete Buttigieg or any other Democratic candidate , if you really want to support them , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And in order to vote for them , you have to be registered , often a bit in advance !
So please check that you are registered , check that you stay registered .
Also check that you have proper ID , know where you go to vote , and otherwise follow all da Rulez .
You will then also be ready for November .
After you vote , you will be glad you did !
Please Note : Your humble diarist is NR , but please consider yourselves +1 as long as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ above , there ’ s not only an issue of registering , but of registrations being lost .
So more details here : And if you are already registered and ready to do more !
:

Post-Super-Tuesday March Update
Several more states hold their primary votes on Tuesday, March 10, and these allow same-day registration on that date: Idaho, Michigan, and Washington state. Furthermore, more states vote the following Tuesday, March 17, and Illinois allows same-day registration on that date. Furthermore: If you live in Wisconsin, you can register until March 18! If you live in Wyoming, you can register until March 20. If you live in Rhode Island, you can register until March 29. And if you live in Pennsylvania, you can register until March 30!
more information
Make your voice heard! If you are not yet registered as a Democrat, then understand that you need to do so in order to vote in the Democratic primary in your state. Some deadlines have passed, but many others have not. Some states even allow registration right up to the day of their primaries! So please check your registration (remember some messing around goes on and you might find yourself unregistered, but you might have time to fix it!), and register if you are not currently registered.
Especially if you are a young person, vote in your primary! The Democratic Party needs young blood and new life. It can benefit greatly from your participation!
minimum age requirements to vote
In all states, all citizens can vote when 18 years old. That means you can register when you are 17 years old, if you will be 18 by the time you vote. In some states, you can vote in the Primaries when 17, if you will be 18 by the time of the General Election. In other states, you can only vote in the Primaries if you are 18 at the time of the primary. If there is any question, i.e., if you are 17, since all rules are subject to change, check with your local party office.
Should you be able to vote as a 16 year old? Yes, but it hasn’t been made legal yet in the U.S. You can get involved in politics even if not eligible to vote, and you could make lowering the voting age your issue! More info at the above link.
She might not be old enough to vote. But you might be.
voter registration deadlines by state
In the table below, the earliest deadline is listed as they can vary according to method of registration — online, by mail, or in person. However, several states allow for same-day in-person registration, so that column is listed separately where it occurs. Please do NOT wait until the last day, whenever possible: Give yourself plenty of time in case of unforeseen complications with your registration! And recheck your registration often; contact authorities right away if it disappears before primary day! Business Insider was cross checked against USA Today (where there are discrepancies, the earlier date is listed; “Maybe” indicates one source said yes voters could register in person on the day of the primary and one source said no voters could not, so be sure to check with your state) . Update: For all entries with discrepancies, I checked with each state (Update 2: and/or the state’s Democratic party) and changed the table accordingly. For those, the source of information is linked right in the table. In summary, those states whose registration deadlines have not (entirely) passed include:
registration deadlines after march 1 state deadline register in person day of? alaska alaska April 4 — president July 19 — state YES No california Feb. 17 YES (March 3) colorado Feb. 24 YES (March 3) connecticut April 23 No district of columbia May 12 YES (June 2) delaware April 4 No guam April 22 No Hawaii hawaii April 4 — president July 9 — state YES No idaho Feb. 14 YES (March 10) illinois Feb. 18 YES (March 17) indiana kansas kentucky April 6 April 11 April 20 No YES (May 2) No louisiana March 4 No maryland April 7 YES (April 28) maine michigan Feb. 11 Feb. 24 YES (March 3) YES (March 10) minnesota Feb. 11 YES (March 3) montana May 4 YES (June 2) north dakota Day of only! YES (June 9) nebraska April 24 No new jersey May 12 No New mexico new york May 5 April 3 No No oregon April 28 No pennsylvania March 30 No rhode island March 29 No south dakota May 18 No utah Feb. 2 YES (March 3) virgin islands May 7 No vermont Day of only! YES (March 3) washington state March 2 YES (March 10) wisconsin March 18 YES (April 7) west virginia April 21 No wyoming March 20 YES (April 4) For more information — to check my accuracy! — and for contact links for every state, please click the Business Insider link! You can also Google it; for most locations, you want to contact your Secretary of State.
So Srsly: Whether you’re an enthusiastic online supporter of Bernie Sanders or Liz Warren or Pete Buttigieg or any other Democratic candidate, if you really want to support them, you have to vote for them! And in order to vote for them, you have to be registered, often a bit in advance! So please check that you are registered, check that you stay registered. Also check that you have proper ID, know where you go to vote, and otherwise follow all da Rulez. You will then also be ready for November. After you vote, you will be glad you did!
Purrticipate! (h/t PinotBlue)
Please Note: Your humble diarist is NR, but please consider yourselves +1 as long as you behave! :-D
Update: h/t belinda ridgewood and mettle fatigue:
As noted above, there’s not only an issue of registering, but of registrations being lost. So more details here:
CONFIRM YOU ARE REGISTERED, REPEAT REGULARLY,
AND GET YOUR FAMILY AND OTHERS TO DO THE SAME!!! FIGHTING VOTER SUPPRESSION STARTS AT HOME! Many folks here have been surprised to find that their or a family member’s registration has mysteriously disappeared, even though it had been active. Don’t wait until too late to catch and correct this bullshit.
HEADCOUNT.ORG will direct you to your state’s Department of State/Division of Elections (or similar) webpage, which is the horse’s mouth, as it were.
will direct you to your state’s Department of State/Division of Elections (or similar) webpage, which is the horse’s mouth, as it were. Or, google something like “am I registered to vote” plus your state, and go to your state government’s page directly.
And if you are already registered and ready to do more!


dailykos--2020-03-01--Buttigieg pulling out of the race

Buttigieg pulling out of the race

According to Jake Tapper on Twitter : “ Campaign aide tells me Pete Buttigieg is suspending his campaign this evening @ @

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dailykos--2020-03-02--Sanders Run Has Elements Of Goldwater’s In 1964 - His Candidacy Will Change The Democratic Party

I was watching a mini documentary on CNN last night about Barry Goldwater ’ s Presidential run 1964 and was struck by some similarities between it and that of Bernie Sander ’ s candidacy .
Senator Goldwater , like Senator Sanders represented the most ideological faction of his party ’ s voters , just as Bernie does for Democratic progressives .
He had broad support among young voters and was considered the only real hope to stop what then was considered a threat to the American way of life in the form of Lyndon Johnson .
His rallies were huge @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of a pure form of conservatism that caused problems for the party standard bearers .
His main rival for the nomination after a large field was defeated in a contentious primary process turned out to be consummate party moderate , New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller .
The Governor lost a narrow victory to Goldwater in the winner take all California Primary and this propelled him to the nomination for the Republican Party and a run against the incumbent Lyndon Johnson .
After watching this CNN special I did a little research on what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and the long term ramifications for both parties in the coming decades .
There was agreement among most historians that Johnson would have been difficult to beat that year , however a consensus thought that Rockefeller would have fared much better in a head to head against Johnson .
The Democrats were a well oiled machine coming off the election of John Kennedy and were effective in their efforts to sufficiently scare the public that the extreme ideology of Goldwater was a danger to America and to them personally .
You may remember @ @ @ @ @ @ @ playing with a daisy flower in a field followed by a countdown and an actual nuclear explosion .
This ad , that only ran once , was seen by tens of millions of voters and had the effect of shocking the senses of the American public .
Goldwater never had a chance after that .
Goldwater went down to one of the greatest defeats in Presidential electoral history .
So , what lessons can we possibly take away from the 1964 election ?
For one , when people are frightened they tend to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ familiar , even when not ideal , is the safer choice for the limbic brain .
We may aspire to change , but we are more inclined to be influenced by our fears than our aspirations in perilous times .
Our Neo Cortex , the modern brain , loses out to the Amygdala and the reptilian brain when survival is threatened .
Bernie Sanders represents the better angels of our nature , the aspirations of the higher brain .
The threat of Donald Trump , now combined with Covid-19 will give people additional @ @ @ @ @ @ @ upcoming primary states .
This benefits Joe Biden ’ s candidacy .
We saw the first indications of this in South Carolina where Biden over performed the polls by 30 points .
I suspect this trend will continue in the coming weeks as more states get in line with the notion that Biden , while flawed , is the safer choice .
Bloomberg ’ s candidacy will also fall victim to the same forces .
He looks like the more vulnerable extreme choice and ironically places Biden in the role of the compromise @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , who four months ago predicted here on Kos that Bernie would win the nomination , must now reverse my stance to predict Biden will be the nominee .
It will be tight at the convention , but Biden will prevail .
I say “ will ” and not “ likely ” because as I look at the contests ahead there is more opportunity for Joe .
Especially now as three more moderate candidates have dropped out .
Most of their support will migrate to Biden .
Sanders will still benefit from early @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will be rethinking their preferences going forward .
Get ready to hear the word “ pragmatism ” a lot in the media .
There is a historical precedent from the Goldwater candidacy that Bernie and progressives like myself can look forward to .
Bernie Sanders will enjoy the legacy of having moved the Democratic Party left , though he is not really a member , in the same way that Goldwater almost single handedly moved the Republican Party in to being more the more conservative version today .
Those young people that supported @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for he party when Reagan ran .
I suspect we will see the alumni of Bernie ’ s Revolution doing the same for the Democratic Party .

I was watching a mini documentary on CNN last night about Barry Goldwater’s Presidential run 1964 and was struck by some similarities between it and that of Bernie Sander’s candidacy.
Senator Goldwater, like Senator Sanders represented the most ideological faction of his party’s voters, just as Bernie does for Democratic progressives. He had broad support among young voters and was considered the only real hope to stop what then was considered a threat to the American way of life in the form of Lyndon Johnson. His rallies were huge and boisterous and his supporters rabid followers of a pure form of conservatism that caused problems for the party standard bearers. His main rival for the nomination after a large field was defeated in a contentious primary process turned out to be consummate party moderate, New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller. The Governor lost a narrow victory to Goldwater in the winner take all California Primary and this propelled him to the nomination for the Republican Party and a run against the incumbent Lyndon Johnson.
After watching this CNN special I did a little research on what historians had to say about that election and the long term ramifications for both parties in the coming decades. There was agreement among most historians that Johnson would have been difficult to beat that year, however a consensus thought that Rockefeller would have fared much better in a head to head against Johnson.
The Democrats were a well oiled machine coming off the election of John Kennedy and were effective in their efforts to sufficiently scare the public that the extreme ideology of Goldwater was a danger to America and to them personally. You may remember the Daisy ad featuring a small girl playing with a daisy flower in a field followed by a countdown and an actual nuclear explosion. This ad, that only ran once, was seen by tens of millions of voters and had the effect of shocking the senses of the American public. Goldwater never had a chance after that.
Goldwater went down to one of the greatest defeats in Presidential electoral history. So, what lessons can we possibly take away from the 1964 election? For one, when people are frightened they tend to migrate to the status quo. The familiar, even when not ideal, is the safer choice for the limbic brain. We may aspire to change, but we are more inclined to be influenced by our fears than our aspirations in perilous times. Our Neo Cortex, the modern brain, loses out to the Amygdala and the reptilian brain when survival is threatened.
Bernie Sanders represents the better angels of our nature, the aspirations of the higher brain. The threat of Donald Trump, now combined with Covid-19 will give people additional pause as they head to polls in upcoming primary states. This benefits Joe Biden’s candidacy. We saw the first indications of this in South Carolina where Biden over performed the polls by 30 points. I suspect this trend will continue in the coming weeks as more states get in line with the notion that Biden, while flawed, is the safer choice. Bloomberg’s candidacy will also fall victim to the same forces. He looks like the more vulnerable extreme choice and ironically places Biden in the role of the compromise candidate.
Using this rationale, I, who four months ago predicted here on Kos that Bernie would win the nomination, must now reverse my stance to predict Biden will be the nominee. It will be tight at the convention, but Biden will prevail. I say “will” and not “likely” because as I look at the contests ahead there is more opportunity for Joe. Especially now as three more moderate candidates have dropped out. Most of their support will migrate to Biden. Sanders will still benefit from early voting in California, but other states will be rethinking their preferences going forward. Get ready to hear the word “pragmatism” a lot in the media.
There is a historical precedent from the Goldwater candidacy that Bernie and progressives like myself can look forward to. Bernie Sanders will enjoy the legacy of having moved the Democratic Party left, though he is not really a member, in the same way that Goldwater almost single handedly moved the Republican Party in to being more the more conservative version today. Those young people that supported Goldwater ended up being the standard bearers for he party when Reagan ran. I suspect we will see the alumni of Bernie’s Revolution doing the same for the Democratic Party.