Post AwphiSTWaVymu5zNDM by firebreathingduck@social.vivaldi.net
(DIR) More posts by firebreathingduck@social.vivaldi.net
(DIR) Post #AwhZSPBQhoNRAAgEAC by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-07-31T19:14:21Z
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@PallasRiot I'm mad because they get NOTHING for this horse trading. The voter who is like "oh I was going to vote for a democrat but if only they just hated trans people just a little (but not too much) then I would be OK with it" is not a real person. So, even if you want to be cynical and say "we must make sacrifices" all they are doing is sacrificing me and my trans friends and STILL not even winning. "You know at least the Democrats aren't bigots" was all that was left.
(DIR) Post #Awjqrv7zA2uX0tk1Ro by foolishowl@social.coop
2025-08-01T21:38:55Z
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@futurebird @PallasRiot I've thought Buttigieg had some good moments, and then he'd go out of his way to show how he highly values bipartisanship.He's just fundamentally not on our side.
(DIR) Post #Awjr7HWiAILopGdD9s by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-08-01T21:41:45Z
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@foolishowl @PallasRiot I kind of question the political instincts and the ability of that person to learn from recent history of *any* Democrat who is still trying to do bipartisanship. Listen.They are just not that into you, OK?I could bring up lucy and the football but that meme about Democrats is older than some kids who can vote now. And bipartisanship has been blown up with no hope of repair.
(DIR) Post #Awk1V0lZ89ePKtX7qa by cy@fedicy.us.to
2025-08-01T23:37:42Z
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Oh, they get a lot for it. Under the table, by smirking men in suits, who assure them of their reelection whether we like it or not. They just don't get any voters. Who needs voters, when smirking men in suits can give you a happy prosperous shielded family life, never knowing want? And we'll just tell our news empires to overlook those uncomfortable things you get off to, as long as you don't do something foolish like seek popular support.CC: @PallasRiot@treehouse.systems
(DIR) Post #AwkPj9l2tWEYB2ZGdc by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-08-02T04:09:34Z
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@foolishowl @PallasRiot Have we forgotten that two Democrats in Minnesota were targeted for assassination and one died with her husband just a few weeks ago?And none of the Republicans had anything kind or "bipartisan" to say in that moment. Some even made jokes.
(DIR) Post #AwlUebwJNkCV3uRufg by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-08-02T16:39:28Z
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@PallasRiot @foolishowl IDK. When people like MTG or Hawley stumble through their vague populist impulses towards possibly good bills such as banning congress from trading stocks it makes sense to help them in the most narrow possible way to pass those bills I think.Very important: You don't need to be nice to them as you do this.Is that bipartisan? Or just a broken clock colliding with good legislative ideas?(Public support for banning stock trading is huge and we should do it.)
(DIR) Post #AwlW8gy9LWrJIqDUe0 by JessTheUnstill@infosec.exchange
2025-08-02T16:56:06Z
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The problem, of course, is that any of those almost never make it through as a narrowly scoped single issue bill. They get other awful things attached to it, so then any Dems have to weigh: do we vote for this pile of awful with one good thing and let the primaries attack ads write themselves, or do I just vote against it and hope the Rs don't strip it out at the end anyway.@futurebird @PallasRiot @foolishowl
(DIR) Post #AwlXwwFSuccr7kq5Hk by log@mastodon.sdf.org
2025-08-02T17:16:21Z
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@futurebird @PallasRiot @foolishowl I'd advocate that legislators could only invest in a single algorithm-managed mutual fund, including every publicly-traded company domestic to their jurisdiction, that does not allow trades while the legislature is in session. For all recesses, all buys have to take place during the half before the next session starts, and all sells during the half after the last session ended. Want number go up? Pass laws good for your state or nation.
(DIR) Post #Awpcz7EoIkoQBoEJn6 by JessTheUnstill@infosec.exchange
2025-08-04T16:31:39Z
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Neolibs have been continually trying to make the Bill Clinton "triangulation" strategy work for 30 years now. And it never really works. The only way they still manage to win occasionally is when the Republicans are especially awful recently or they have an incumbent advantage so they can laze around, change nothing, and wait for the pendulum to swing back. And it kinda sorta worked in the era of the neocons. But now that Rs have swung extreme right populist, the "middle ground" they want to try and triangulate on simply doesn't exist, because that's simply going to be fash-lite. And if someone is willing to vote fash anyway, they'll just vote ACTUAL fascists.https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangulation_(politics)@futurebird @foolishowl @PallasRiot
(DIR) Post #AwphH7tT0AajFi5epE by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-08-04T17:19:45Z
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@JessTheUnstill @foolishowl @PallasRiot This is one of a few words that I have a very deep negative reaction to hearing. I feel like it's ruined everything.
(DIR) Post #AwphYg8IxCvmMnOs0O by WhyNotZoidberg@topspicy.social
2025-08-04T17:22:52Z
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@futurebird @JessTheUnstill @foolishowl @PallasRiot The Democrats have never understood why they win. When Bill and Obama won it was thru vibes, mostly, but they never manages to recreate them.Instead they constantly (as shown above) move the "middle" to the right to stay "in the status quo" to catch the theoretical "undecided conservative" that has never existed.
(DIR) Post #AwphiSTWaVymu5zNDM by firebreathingduck@social.vivaldi.net
2025-08-04T17:24:37Z
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@futurebird @PallasRiot 💯 💯 💯 The right has their base indoctrinated that anyone as far left as Reagan might as well be Satan himself. There is no middle ground to seek to appeal to those voters.The way to win is to appeal to the colossal base of Americans that want lower housing costs, lower medical costs, and higher minimum wage.But almost all Democrats at the national level would quite literally rather lose than fight for any of those things. Sanders, AOC, Ilhan Omar - outliers.Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, Joe Biden, John Fetterman, Cory Booker would all rather see Trump in office than AOC. That's where we are.
(DIR) Post #AwpjdSjEQ0QE9M561I by LinuxAndYarn@mastodon.social
2025-08-04T17:34:55Z
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@JessTheUnstill @futurebird @foolishowl @PallasRiot I think we need trianglulation more like this. And it works because Democratic leaders are deliberately obtuse anyway.
(DIR) Post #Awpk6brXXNkusOrkLQ by CurtAdams@urbanists.social
2025-08-04T17:47:39Z
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@JessTheUnstill @futurebird @foolishowl @PallasRiot This is about 20 years out of date. The Democratic party since the Iraq war has consistently tried to do major left policies like Biden's original Build Back Better act, a statutory right to abortion, blocks on gerrymandering, or a public option in Obama's ACA, and been blocked by Democrats in Name only like Lieberman, Manchin, and Sinema. Manchin and Sinema eventually even dropped the pretense and switched to independent.
(DIR) Post #Awpk6ck8GPQNbiPLRA by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-08-04T17:51:25Z
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@CurtAdams @JessTheUnstill @foolishowl @PallasRiot I agree that those are motions in the right direction, furtive ones. However then you have:"Listen, I do not agree with Zoran on many issues, and I think we have some important conversations to have about the future of this city, but the voters have spoken and I am proud to endorse him for mayor as our Democratic nominee"- The Thing I Did Not Hear From Cuomo and Others After The Primary.
(DIR) Post #AwpkKSyJOEZjM9dmeu by CurtAdams@urbanists.social
2025-08-04T17:53:56Z
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@futurebird @JessTheUnstill @foolishowl @PallasRiot Cuomo is another DINO. He spent his whole time in office trying to prevent the Democrats from controlling the NY statehouse. And, like the other DINOs, he's just thrown over his (fake) Democratic affiliation to run as an independent.
(DIR) Post #AwqDUAjewbdoMcle9A by johnzajac@dice.camp
2025-08-04T21:10:59Z
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@CurtAdams If you think ACA and Build Back Better were "major left policies" I have some shocking and disturbing news for you.@JessTheUnstill @futurebird @foolishowl @PallasRiot
(DIR) Post #AwqDUC3C3SrQRUulEW by CurtAdams@urbanists.social
2025-08-04T23:03:40Z
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@johnzajac @JessTheUnstill @futurebird @foolishowl @PallasRiot Can you name a bill, anywhere, in any country, that did more to stop climate change than Build Back Better?Do you think 20 million people getting insurance, and *everybody* insured actually getting to use their insurance when they get sick, is small? And, of course, Obama wanted even bigger, with a public option and bigger subsidies. But DINOs, especially Lieberman, stopped that.
(DIR) Post #AwqDUCZo6Cws4eAo4G by johnzajac@dice.camp
2025-08-04T23:12:50Z
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@CurtAdams Friend, I'm telling you that neither of those bills was leftist, or sufficient. You're saying "well, they made our extraordinarily brutal and evil system slightly less brutal and evil", and that's true-ish.Like most Democratic "compromises", they gave away the long term for very minor and transient short term wins. I can't name a bill that did more, because the US is notorious for not doing *anything*. So kudos, I guess?@JessTheUnstill @futurebird @foolishowl @PallasRiot
(DIR) Post #AwqDUDMjAK52WN3sJs by CurtAdams@urbanists.social
2025-08-04T23:17:02Z
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@johnzajac @JessTheUnstill @futurebird @foolishowl @PallasRiot Can you answer the question? When, any wherre, any time, was any bill passed that did more to fight climate change than Build Back Better? The answer is "never". It was the largest by far. If you're saying the biggest policy ever to address IMO the biggest issue in the world is too little to justify support, then your standards are unreasonable.
(DIR) Post #AwqDUECU3tTr6tHCzY by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-08-04T23:20:31Z
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@CurtAdams @johnzajac @JessTheUnstill @foolishowl @PallasRiot I think this question is changing the subject. John's point is Democrats have not done enough, did not use their time in power to good effect. You have highlighted some of the things that they did do which were very difficult. But what if part of what if it's difficult in part because it's not enough?Frankly I get mixed messages from Democrats. Voters when polled think they are as corrupt as Republicans. Why is that?
(DIR) Post #AwqDUKlndVILU9qUs4 by johnzajac@dice.camp
2025-08-04T23:14:38Z
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@CurtAdams I have literally written essays on why the ACA was, in the end, a net negative for healthcare in the country, but this will have to do for this forum:1) The ACA made assumptions about good faith on the part of the insurance companies that have proven to be naive2) The resultant regulatory framework looks like it was written by industry consultants, and probably was3) So today, millions "have" health insurance, but...@JessTheUnstill @futurebird @foolishowl @PallasRiot
(DIR) Post #AwqDUU7OsYvATl1NI0 by johnzajac@dice.camp
2025-08-04T23:17:55Z
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@CurtAdams ..claim denials have skyrocketed, to the point where "having" for-profit health insurance just keeps you from actual healthcare. Special categories of deductible have proliferated so that literally everything has the max allowable under the law, and unlike pre-ACA, getting one procedure or device *doesn't lower any of the other deductibles*. Co-pays and Rx tables swarm people's bank accounts and deny them the medication they need@JessTheUnstill @futurebird @foolishowl @PallasRiot
(DIR) Post #AwqDuIvj6DrxJAs9rs by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-08-04T23:25:22Z
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@CurtAdams @johnzajac This isn't, in my view, a problem of messaging or of voters "not knowing all the good things Biden did" I did my best to push that too! No. They would just say "but what about Pelosi trading stocks?" or "why is our foreign policy like that?" or "but what will they *do* about immigration?"Last one is interesting because it *wasn't* that they wanted harsh enforcement. Just a real change from this quasi-legal black market labor nonsense.
(DIR) Post #AwqDvuXkju6wFmQQNs by CurtAdams@urbanists.social
2025-08-04T23:25:35Z
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@futurebird @johnzajac @JessTheUnstill @foolishowl @PallasRiot The public thinks the Democrats are equally corrupt because the media spent VASTLY more time talking about Hillary Clinton using email the same way every previous Secretary of State did than they did talking about the hundreds of millions in fraud Trump did - including fraudulent charity operations *during the 2016 campaign* https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-37547094
(DIR) Post #AwqE5wrmxNieM2aCy8 by CurtAdams@urbanists.social
2025-08-04T23:20:35Z
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@johnzajac @JessTheUnstill @futurebird @foolishowl @PallasRiot Just the ACA Medicaid expansion alone saved 19,000 lives over 3 years. https://www.cbpp.org/research/health/medicaid-expansion-has-saved-at-least-19000-lives-new-research-finds. And would have saved 15,000 more if the Republicans on the Supreme court hadn't rewritten then law.It's now been 11 years since implementation, and I think a law that was written to save about 100,000 is a very good thing. Do you disagree?
(DIR) Post #AwqE5y12gSiPv1v720 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-08-04T23:27:26Z
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@CurtAdams @johnzajac I don't know if many people here are even suggesting that we wouldn't be "better off" with democrats now and in general?My concern is that I am terrified that their lack of vision will mean that they do not win. I don't think trying to tell people they are amazing worked well at all. Because they are not amazing. They are simply "much better than Republicans, technically" that is a hard sell.
(DIR) Post #AwqECeNM6UYV27XmHw by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-08-04T23:28:42Z
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@CurtAdams @johnzajac @JessTheUnstill @foolishowl @PallasRiot People who don't care about right-wing fake scandals also think they are corrupt. I'm talking about people who always vote for democrats and don't care about the emails. This isn't about media.
(DIR) Post #AwqEDbfTel6kvPTaE4 by CurtAdams@urbanists.social
2025-08-04T23:28:52Z
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@futurebird @johnzajac We *did* have an immigration bill. Trump blocked it.The important point is that when the policies aren't good enough, the problem is almost always that the Democrats don't have a large enough majority.
(DIR) Post #AwqENLs7F06UpW2CmW by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-08-04T23:30:37Z
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@CurtAdams @johnzajac An immigration bill but also so much backing for more border security. Which is like admitting that the border was ever really a problem. If the thesis is that immigrants don't cause crime (because they don't) why do they keep doing things that suggest republicans are correct?
(DIR) Post #AwqEOUyGtaDNLAScjY by CurtAdams@urbanists.social
2025-08-04T23:30:44Z
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@futurebird @johnzajac @JessTheUnstill @foolishowl @PallasRiot Except is *is* about media. I know a number of Democrats who falsely thought Hillary had done something significantly wrong, even though they couldn't name it (because she didn't), and the reason was the relentless drumbeat of criticism in the media.
(DIR) Post #AwqEYUCAdQ8DpWixpw by CurtAdams@urbanists.social
2025-08-04T23:32:36Z
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@futurebird @johnzajac Well, because the Democrats had to have some Republican support to pass the bill. When Dems are really in control, like here in CA, we get sanctuary policies and healthcare for undocumented immigrants.
(DIR) Post #AwqFAdDLYDJWo2SnVw by johnzajac@dice.camp
2025-08-04T23:39:29Z
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@futurebird @CurtAdams I think this is a distraction because political leadership is about so much more than legislation, which is something Republicans have understood since Reagan and something Democrats haven't understood since JFK and RFK were assassinated.The real missed play here isn't "immigration legislation"; it's calling out GOP lies about the impact immigration has on the country. It's acknowledging and celebrating our reliance on migrant workers. It's supporting their unions.
(DIR) Post #AwqFJg2QQAukAcfUsS by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-08-04T23:41:09Z
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@CurtAdams @johnzajac Do you think that if Democrats keep doing what they have been doing they will win?Frankly, as a very practical matter, that's my top concern. How do they wrestle back enough power to move us away from this cliff? And further, if they do get power will they be able to use it effectively?I have been trusting the democratic leadership "knows what they are doing" and I think that's a big mistake now.For example: They could stop trading stocks. They could do that today.
(DIR) Post #AwqFP3EfbJZVZ1xThA by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-08-04T23:42:07Z
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@CurtAdams @johnzajac They keep saying "democracy is in danger" and I believe them. Yet some of their actions don't tell that same story.
(DIR) Post #AwqFlTJhJRVUp907Vo by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-08-04T23:46:12Z
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@johnzajac @CurtAdams "It's supporting their unions."The union angle is the perfect one IMO. Because people who have had their wages depressed by immigrant labor are just people we pretend don't exist. Republicans also don't talk about this exactly, they just do racism. If the line were "everyone should be able to unionize. no one should have to compete against off the books labor" I think it'd make a real difference with the kind of voters who have drifted away from democrats.
(DIR) Post #AwqGG6JKtiZQRwR960 by johnzajac@dice.camp
2025-08-04T23:51:14Z
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@futurebird @CurtAdams I agree with this.IMO, the real issue then is one of credibility: Biden breaking the railroad strike harmed the Democrats far more than they acknowledge. That New Palestine happened weeks later, and they spent weeks trying to bury the story (despite the *black mushroom cloud* lol) just highlighted how wrong Biden was.Democrats need consistency, and they need to enforce loyalty in the party ranks. WE know they can do that, because they *routinely* do it on the left.
(DIR) Post #AwqGfHvErdPLhXAxOa by johnzajac@dice.camp
2025-08-04T23:53:05Z
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@futurebird @CurtAdams It's kind of our earlier discussion: a scheme to eliminate big donors doesn't work if you fudge it just a *leeeetle* bit for these specific big donors.A loud support of unions doesn't matter if it comes and goes depending on what the consultants say.EDIT: I think Democrats are addicted to default votes and have literally forgotten how to get affirmative ones. That's why absent a completely re-do of their leadership, I struggle to see the party doing any of this.
(DIR) Post #AwqGfJHbnwtbvCeKu0 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-08-04T23:56:15Z
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@johnzajac @CurtAdams "Are you a real one?"If this is a battle against the corrupt it's important to ... not be corrupt. And I don't mean "corrupt" as in breaking laws, I mean not being beholden to special interests of big business or foreign governments. There is this idea that if the Republicans are "just as bad" on an issue we can ignore it. I think that's a mistake. Yes, they should win because they are "better" but nobody believes them anymore and that is a problem.
(DIR) Post #AwqGlPAwoEAVw0RM00 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-08-04T23:57:22Z
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@sidereal @johnzajac @CurtAdams You know what makes it worse? In the long run he did come around. Like I do think this issue was blown up more than it should have been. And he tried hard to course correct. But his initial issues were way off. Way off.
(DIR) Post #AwqGzI7rogIO7mcYEa by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-08-04T23:59:53Z
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@CurtAdams @johnzajac In this post I make a suggestion for one thing they might be able to do right now:https://sauropods.win/@futurebird/114961683755777882
(DIR) Post #AwqHRWYdkjWyzabdvU by timrichards@aus.social
2025-08-05T00:04:54Z
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@futurebird @CurtAdams @johnzajac Are they actually doing anything? From this distance they seem inert.
(DIR) Post #AwqHh28gcGNFHfrV20 by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-08-05T00:07:47Z
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@timrichards @CurtAdams @johnzajac It is very hard to get much done as a minority party and they have been a few actions-- but nothing that helps to define who they are other than "not Trump" (do get me wrong for some of us that's enough, but not for everyone)I have a possible suggestion since I don't think they will unite behind any left wing ideas, not all of the democrats. But one thing they could all do is clean up the roots of corruption than no voters like. https://sauropods.win/@futurebird/114961683755777882
(DIR) Post #AwqJP84C2TJQMcLnHc by CurtAdams@urbanists.social
2025-08-05T00:26:56Z
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@futurebird @johnzajac I don't think there's much the Democrats can do, because the problem is mostly that the Republican have taken control of the media and constantly push anti-Dem messages. They flood social media with people saying the Democrats are "useless" and "not enough".The actions of the billionaires prove that's not true. If the Dems really were useless, Musk wouldn't have spent 40 billion dollars to make Twitter into a right-wing propaganda machine,
(DIR) Post #AwqLBdCDhfTelRnRS4 by CurtAdams@urbanists.social
2025-08-05T00:46:55Z
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@futurebird @johnzajac I very much like a "Contract with America" proposal, and no Congressional/Presidential stock trading belongs at the top of the list.Except - they've already proposed such a bill!
(DIR) Post #AwqLH3SpT2PNgG9RzM by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-08-05T00:47:56Z
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@CurtAdams @johnzajac I know. But why not just do it without the bill now?Then ask why the Republicans won't?
(DIR) Post #AwqMQsCUIeEPb5kmFU by geonz@mathstodon.xyz
2025-08-05T01:00:51Z
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@futurebird @timrichards @CurtAdams @johnzajac I am deeply afraid that they share those roots. Why not stop trading stocks? Because ... insider trading makes them rich and that's important.
(DIR) Post #AwqWzJtepaiasp0gG8 by f800gecko@mastodon.online
2025-08-05T02:59:03Z
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@futurebird @CurtAdams @johnzajac Top Dems and top GOP are the same these days: it’s all about the money, now more than ever.What the GOP understands better is the money depends on image and clicks, not values or facts. That is the environment, like it or not. Things will not change before some calamity or the Dems catch up—and manage to do that without sliding into their own form of extremism.
(DIR) Post #Awqk8EPTtmePsQTVLs by johnzajac@dice.camp
2025-08-05T05:26:26Z
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@futurebird Let's be fair: you can't "course correct" a betrayal. It's a betrayal. He didn't just mess up; he did something politically suicidal during a time of extraordinary requirements on our political leaders.He was the wrong person for the job, foisted on us by a scared and ideological DNC leadership, including Obama.And yet, none of them have taken responsibility; they'd rather whistle past the graveyard than try to regain people's trust.@sidereal @CurtAdams
(DIR) Post #AwqkfEXiQSw1qS3yF6 by johnzajac@dice.camp
2025-08-05T05:32:24Z
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@futurebird It seems like when Democrats are the minority party, "it's very hard to get much done as a minority party", but when Republicans are the minority party *they literally set the agenda, define the conversation, and hound Democrats until they walk into the sea*.I don't think this is a "minority party" problem; it's a *Democratic* party problem.@timrichards @CurtAdams
(DIR) Post #AwrOCNk18yHg8rc9mS by johnzajac@dice.camp
2025-08-05T12:55:23Z
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@futurebird At some point, this question has to evolve into a statement about intent. And when it does, we need to be ready to chuck the DNC into the Potomac and replace them.I respect people who aren't there yet, but the clock's ticking on a host of issues, and the timelines we're working with are natural, merciless, and not political. We don't have another generation to ease the Dems out of their torpor and send the "party elders" off to the Undying Lands in a boat.@CurtAdams