Monday, July 25, 2016

Here we go...



Bernie will speak tonight.

                       ~ Getty images

24 comments:

  1. I do not watch either Convention. My blood pressure won't take it. I wish I could talk to Bernie and tell him that whatever unspoken moral contract makes him feel obliged to urge people to vote for Hillary was already broken by the bad faith of the DNC and the Hillary campaign. In his place I would feel that the proof of their corruption would absolve me from supporting them. At any rate, Trump is beating Hillary in far too many polls and her hiring DWS on to her campaign was a really stupid move. As I said elsewhere, Trump calls Hillary "Crooked Hillary" and then Hillary confirms it by her actions. With every move Hillary makes she increases the chance that Trump will win the Presidency. Bernie could save us if he would run with Jill Stein, but I doubt that he will. And if he urges his supporters to vote for Hillary the majority of them will refuse, especially now that we have actual proof of her corruption in this election.

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    1. I agree with you, Susan. They don't even give us time for our resolve to waver before shoring it up with some new absurdity. DWS stepping down makes good sense; and it's the least they can do. But for Hillary to have IMMEDIATELY commended her and hired her is such a slap in the face to progressives. Hubris and Cluelessness apparently know no bounds.

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    2. Being put in charge of HRC's fifty-state strategy is rather like being named the Hell's Angels' official health and life insurance broker. Five-state, or *maybe* even ten-state strategy I could see. Fifty? Ludicrous.

      Watching an entire convention is far too much for me, but this morning I saw some news notes that I want to follow up on. Like the California delegation booing calls for "unity" (AKA "you do it our way"), and the Florida delegation jeering DWS. There is probably more. Our overseas watchers should approve. And being from California I know the establishment Dems don't give a hoot how I vote.

      --Alan

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  2. "There are all kinds of courage," said Dumbledore, smiling. "It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends. ~ J.K. Rowling


    As if to illustrate the first photo out front, the Dems are holding up "Love trumps hate" signs. I can't help thinking they really ought to have chosen a different verb. (Why all that free advertising?)

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    1. I am bracing myself for hearing Bernie Sanders stand up to his friends tonight.

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  3. A delegate from Maine gave a WONDERFUL speech about changes being made to the Rules, because so many people are demanding it. This is good news…assuming it is carried out. I think it will be in time. But apparently not in time for this convention. Since the bottom line is clearly that they have chosen Hillary.

    The Bernie people are there in full force, chanting Bernie! Bernie! Bernie! very audibly quite often.

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    1. Oh, nice! Not according to the Establishment's plan, eh?

      Alan

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  4. Pretty words at the Convention, indeed. It is a far more upbeat message than the Republicans offered.

    If only it didn't ring so hollow.

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  5. Bernie is expected to speak in the 10pm ET / 7pm PT hour, between Elizabeth Warren and Michelle Obama.

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  6. The best speech of the Convention so far, IMHO, was the first speech, given by 39 year old Diane Russell of Portland, Maine, a strong Bernie supporter and member of the Maine House of Representatives. She is the person who offered the first amendment, regarding superdelegates. The committee that worked to change the superdelegate rules going forward has reduced the number of superdelegates by two-thirds!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMIvp5hVV_A

    puddle, this article, from her hometown paper, speaks well to what she said:
    http://www.pressherald.com/2016/07/25/rep-russell-takes-center-stage-at-democratic-national-convention/

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    1. From the Press Herald story:

      “Whether you support Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton, we are all in this together and we will all have a voice in the Clinton administration,” Russell said.

      That seems terribly far-fetched to me. (Actually, "far-fetched" is way more generous than what I honestly think.)

      --Alan

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  7. Okay, before reading the thread I've gotta say: Listened to Bernie's speech tonight at the convention. He was magnificent, as usual. And now I'm terribly confused and conflicted. If Bernie says to vote for her, shouldn't I vote for her? Wouldn't it be better to wait to get the new movement or party or whatever going once the election is over and people can concentrate on it? Like people were saying on Robert Reich's FB page today, there's never a good time. This election is always the most important one of our lifetime. And on and on. So, if we're going to do something, it had better be now. And I agreed with that. I do agree with that. But...damn it all to Hell!I'm sooooooooooooo confused and conflicted and upset now!

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    1. Someone on that thread was taunting and jeering that those of us who refuse to vote for HRC aren't truly Bernie supporters if we won't do what he asks. That cut a bit near the bone, since that's exactly what I thought of Mum and Patty when, despite their near worship of HRC, they violently refused to vote for Obama in '08 when she asked her supporters to do so. I must confess to feeling rather contemptuous and perhaps a touch self-righteous since I voted for who Howard asked me to, even when doing so was distasteful. That is after all, I thought to myself, what being a supporter means.

      And now the shoe's on the other foot. But the HRC supporters are just as arrogant and bullying now as they were then. You know, when you come right down to it, there's not much to choose between HRC supporters and Trump supporters...except, I suppose an HRC supporter is probably less likely to shoot you.

      I don't like her, I don't like the people she attracts, I'm tired of lesser evils, and I don't want to vote for her. But Bernie says to. And now I don't know.

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    2. Today I got another Malcolm Roberts compilation CD. I'll put it on when I turn in. Maybe his sweet, soulful tenor will help calm me. Though I'll probably have to put on a familiar Engelbert album afterwards. Or maybe I'll go back to the Home Repair Is Homicide mystery I'm reading.

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    3. For me, there is absolutely no conflict between voting for Hillary and remaining committed to Bernie's ongoing revolution. When the new organization gets underway, I'll be there for it. And I see no reason it shouldn't get underway now.

      But Bernie isn't a dictator. Supporting him doesn't mean doing everything he says. In general, I trust his judgement. But that doesn't mean suspending my own.

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    4. Cat, remember that in our electoral system one doesn't get to vote against anyone, only for someone. It's up to that someone to earn your vote.

      I have only one relevant experience to draw on; Howard Dean asked me to vote for Cruz Bustamante for Governor of California in 2003; I did, but it was the hardest vote I ever cast. I immediately dropped my ballot into a Postal Service mailbox so I couldn't retrieve it. Even after all these years I still feel dirty when I think of it. The psychological effect is like being robbed or burgled. But that's me; your mileage may vary. Really, though, is Trump likely to win in the Bay State? Even Nixon couldn't, and Trump is no Nixon. Neither is he an Eisenhower nor a Reagan.

      --Alan

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    5. Do you think it really will get going? And, if it does, will it be any different from DFA?That seemed to thrive for a while and then fade away.Will Bernie's organization be any different?

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    6. Yes, Bernie's organization will get going. And it will last as long as it needs to. Here in Illinois, DFA as a local organization lasted as long as it needed to. That is, until everybody turned their efforts to the Obama campaign. And it's still going and having an influence nationally.

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    7. Here it is, folks. [Click] And I think it may well be a lot more influential than DFA.

      --Alan

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  8. I remember, living in China, being startled by how MUCH the cadres hate Roosevelt. They felt that by "saving" the country, fixing things, bettering things, he prevented a revolution, which of course they saw as the desiderata.

    In my voting lifetime, every time the virtuous left gets up on its hind legs, things get worse. McCarthy gave us Nixon, McGovern did, too. Anderson gave us Reagan, and Greens took corporate $ to give us Bush. Twice.

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    1. Things will continue to get worse anyway. As power is consolidated in fewer and fewer hands those of use without power are rendered ever weaker and less able to defend ourselves. If we don't fight now - when? Whether Clinton or Trump are elected we are going to be hurting and it's not logical to think we won't. Trump will do burn-the-house-down damage and Clinton will do oops-termites-ate-the-floor-and-it-collapsed damage. Cannot vote for either of them. But I've never missed a vote so I'm voting for Jill Stein. She probably won't win but I'll be damned if Hillary gets my vote.

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    2. "us" not "use". I do my best proofreading after hitting *publish*.

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    3. Nah, that wasn't an error, Susan--it is an obvious type louse, something that snuck in AFTER proofreading showed things were perfect.

      I have never missed an election either; my father missed one, when my elder brother was born on election day. Back then absentee voting was far less common. The response to "Ha--who else are you going to vote for?" that surfaces in my mind is "Don't worry, I'll find someone." I expect I will probably vote for Jill Stein, but I am not at this point ruling out Gloria La Riva. Well, off to work.

      --Alan

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