The Dems in Disarray Media Narrative Continues

Posted on April 13, 2021 by jilldennison under Election 2020, Environmental Issues, Free Press Issues, Law and justice, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Re-blogs, Social commentary, voting rights

I was so exhausted last night that I missed Jeff’s spot-on post. The media is condemning the Democratic Party for putting its shoes on the wrong feet, while turning a blind eye to the Republican Party who is trying to steal others’ shoes, even if it means chopping off their feet! Great post, Jeff! Thanks!

On The Fence Voters

One of the more prevailing narratives over the past several years by the mainstream media is how the Democratic Party is always in disarray. To hear some of them, you’d think Democrats can never agree on anything.

A recent article by Jeff Stein in The Washington Post drives home the idea by pointing out that there are differences in opinion between Senator Bernie Sanders in the Senate and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on how Democrats should move forward on health care.

Sanders has been a vocal advocate of Medicare for all, a government-run health care system where every citizen in the country is covered from birth to death. Pelosi is advocating for an expanded version of The Affordable Care Act (ACA).

Pelosi would like to make the ACA subsidy enhancements included in the American Rescue Act permanent. Sanders, for his part, would like to lower the Medicare eligibility age requirement…

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Robert Reich: Make America Decent Again

Posted on December 16, 2019 by jilldennison under Election 2020, Environmental Issues, Law and justice, Political commentary, Social commentary

When I first read Robert Reich’s latest column, I wasn’t sure I agreed with him, but the more I’ve thought about it, what he says makes a great deal of sense. Take a look and let me know your thoughts …

Donald Trump fears only one Democrat: Warren Sanders

By Robert Reich

There aren’t 20 Senate Republicans with enough integrity to remove the most corrupt president in American history, so we’re going to have to get rid of Trump the old-fashioned way – by electing a Democrat next 3 November.

That Democrat will be Warren Sanders.

Although there are differences between Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, I’m putting them together for the purpose of making a simple point.

These two have most of the grassroots energy in the 2020 campaign, most of the enthusiasm and most of the ideas critical for America’s future.

Together, they lead Joe Biden and every other so-called moderate Democrat by a wide margin in all polls.

That’s because the real political divide in America today is establishment versus anti-establishment – the comparatively few at the top who have siphoned off much of the wealth of the nation versus everyone else whose wages and prospects have gone nowhere.

Warren and Sanders know the system is rigged and that economic and political power must be reallocated from a corporate-Wall Street elite to the vast majority.

This is why both Warren and Sanders are hated by the Democratic establishment.

It’s also why much of the corporate press is ignoring the enthusiasm they’re generating. And why it’s picking apart their proposals, like a wealth tax and Medicare for All, as if they were specific pieces of legislation.

And why corporate and Wall Street Democrats are mounting a campaign to make Americans believe Warren and Sanders are “too far to the left” to beat Trump, and therefore “unelectable”.

This is total rubbish. Either of them has a better chance of beating Trump than does any other Democratic candidate.

Presidential elections are determined by turnout. More than a third of eligible voters in America don’t vote. They go to the polls only if they’re motivated. And what motivates people most is a candidate who stands for average people and against power and privilege.

Average Americans know they’re getting the scraps while corporate profits are at record highs and CEOs and Wall Street executives are pocketing unprecedented pay and bonuses.

They know big money has been flooding Washington and state capitals to cut taxes on corporations and the wealthy; roll back health, safety, environment and labor protections; and allow big business to monopolize the economy, using its market power to keep prices high and wages low.

Most Americans want to elect someone who’s on their side.

In 2016 some voted for Trump because he conned them into believing he was that person.

But he’s given big corporations and Wall Street everything they’ve wanted: rollbacks of health, safety, and environmental protections, plus a giant $2tn tax cut that’s boosted stock prices and executive pay while nothing trickled down.

Trump is still fooling millions into thinking he’s on their side, and that their problems are due to immigrants, minorities, cultural elites and “deep state” bureaucrats, rather than a system that’s rigged for the benefit of those at the top.

But some of these Trump supporters would join with other Americans and vote for a candidate in 2020 who actually took on power and privilege.

This is where Warren and Sanders come in.

Their core proposals would make the system work for everyone and alter the power structure in America: Medicare for All based on a single-payer rather than private for-profit corporate insurance; a Green New Deal to create millions of good jobs fighting climate change; free public higher education; universal childcare.

All financed mainly by a tax on the super-rich.

They’d also get big money out of politics and rescue democracy from the corporate and Wall Street elites who now control it.

They’re the only candidates relying on small donations rather than trolling for big handouts from corporations, Wall Street and the wealthy – or rich enough to self-finance their own campaigns.

Only two things stand in their way of becoming president.

The first is the power structure itself, which is trying to persuade Democrats that they should put up a milquetoast moderate instead.

The second is the possibility that as the primary season heats up, supporters of Warren and Sanders will wage war on each other, taking both of them down.

It’s true that only one of them can be the nominee. But if the backers of both Sanders and Warren come together behind one of them, they’ll have the votes to take the White House and even flip the Senate.

President Warren Sanders can then start clearing the wreckage left by Trump, and make America decent again.

The Great Debate … #5

Posted on November 21, 2019 by jilldennison under education, Election 2020, Environmental Issues, Global Issues, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Social commentary

I just finished watching most of tonight’s Democratic debate (I had to take a 15-minute break to roll a pack of smokes). This is the first of the debates this year that I have watched for a number of reasons. One, when there were 20 candidates on the debate stage, it seemed pointless. No way was any candidate going to be able to have enough time for us to get a good feel for his/her platform, ideas, and persona. Second, I actually hate watching debates. Why? Because I do not like to see the infighting that typically takes place … the sly remarks, the arguing, the cutting of other candidates. Third, because as a rule, I see little value in them … it often turns into more of a personality contest than an actual presentation of ideas. Tonight, the field was narrowed to a more manageable, though still twice as large as it should be, number of candidates (10), the infighting wasn’t too bad, and I came away with a somewhat better idea of the differences between the candidate’s platforms. I wanted to share my (unsolicited) thoughts about the debate while it is fresh in my mind, for by tomorrow I will have forgotten half of my impressions.

Overall, my biggest complaint about the debate topics was the omission, once again, of any meaningful discussion about climate change. It was touched on briefly, but far too little relative to its importance, and only in the most general of ways.

The candidates, in my order of least to most likely to win the nomination (I have included links to their Politico profile which includes their platform):

Tom Steyer speaks well, has some good ideas such as term limits for Congress, and is an environmentalist. He is not, however, qualified to be president of the United States. He is a billionaire businessman … we do not need another of those. He stands no chance and would be doing the nation a favour by dropping out, so that future debates can focus on the more viable candidates.

I found Tulsi Gabbard to be incredibly arrogant and combative. Gabbard is a veteran of the Iraq War, and I respect that. But, she has been highly critical of such people as Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, as well as the Democratic Party in general, while cozying up to the likes of Steve Bannon, and has among her fans, the ignominious Tucker Carlson. She struck me as somehow ‘false’, not genuine. She is polling very low and, like Steyer, would be better off dropping out.

Amy Klobuchar has some very good ideas, such as ending Citizen’s United (one of my top priorities), and is well-spoken, but something about her bothered me, and quite honestly, I don’t know what it was. She had one line, however, that brought the house down and had me laughing out loud: “If you think a woman can’t beat Donald Trump, Nancy Pelosi does it every single day.” That line alone should bring her up a few points in the polls! I have mixed thoughts about Klobuchar, however since I don’t expect to see her in the top 3, I’m not going to overthink it.

This was the first time I really took much notice of Andrew Yang, and I liked what I saw and heard. He was very down-to-earth, his humanitarianism seemed genuine, and he came across as very intelligent. However, he has no government experience of any sort, is an entrepreneur, and that just simply falls short of the qualifications in my book. It might not have three years ago, but after the experience of the current administration, I want somebody in office who at least halfway knows what they’re doing and how our government operates.

Kamala Harris has always impressed me, and tonight was no exception. She has some experience in government at both state and federal levels, having been the Attorney General of California for 6 years, San Francisco District Attorney for 7 years, and has currently served as a U.S. Senator from California since 2017. She speaks with passion, intelligence, and I found nothing in her platform that I disagreed with.

I like Cory Booker. No, I don’t think he stands a snowball’s chance, but I like him, like his ideas, his platform, and think that while maybe 2020 isn’t his time, perhaps 2028 might be. I disagreed with him on one thing, that he is against increasing taxes on the wealthy, though he said he definitely does support estate taxes and capital gains taxes, and he agreed that the nation needs to find additional sources of revenue. He was friendly, congenial to the other candidates, and his closing statement brought a tear to my eyes when he noted that Representative John Lewis, a hero in my book, was in the audience and referred to Mr. Lewis’ civil rights heroism of the 1960s.

Pete Buttigieg was ranked as one of the debate ‘winners’ by The Washington Post, and I would agree. He is intelligent, and while his governing experience is limited to being Mayor of South Bend, Indiana, since 2012, it is certainly more than the current president has. He speaks well, has some good points, such as in the areas of housing, minimum wage, and education. He took some guff tonight, as was expected given that he has been rising in the polls of late. I rank Mayor Pete fourth of the ten remaining candidates.

Which brings us to the top three. I truly cannot rank these as #1, #2, #3, because they are all excellent candidates and I am very much torn between the three, yet all three have the same Achilles Heel … their age.

Bernie Sanders did a great job tonight. He was passionate, spoke with strength and compassion, had all the right answers, in my book. He had many good moments in the debate, but I think the one that received the warmest audience response was when he said, “It is no longer good enough for us simply to be pro-Israel. I am pro-Israel. But we must treat the Palestinian people with the respect and dignity they deserve.” The concern with Bernie Sanders is his age and health. He is 78 years old and recently suffered a heart attack.

Elizabeth Warren had the most speaking time on the debate stage, and I absolutely loved the passion with which she spoke, not to mention that I always like her ideology. One of the most controversial topics was Medicare-for-All. I liked many of the ideas that were floated, but I think perhaps I liked Warren’s best, for hers was to phase it in over a three-year period in order to have time to work out the kinks, and to give people time to “feel it and taste it and live with it”. As with Bernie Sanders, her age is a factor, at 70.

I have thought, since the beginning of this never-ending campaign season, that Joe Biden is the most viable candidate, and … I still think that, with reservations. Biden, obviously, has the most relevant experience, and he is more moderate than some of the others that I like. The sad truth is that next year’s presidential election is not about any issues … it’s not about climate change, health care, education, foreign policy, housing, or any of the other issues. It is about one thing and one thing only: Who can beat Donald Trump. Everything else is secondary. Biden is, of the ten remaining candidates, the most qualified, and the most ‘trusted’, for he is a known factor, while the others are unknowns, relatively speaking. Biden would be a good president. However, as far as the debates, I must admit that relative to almost all the others, Joe Biden was not exciting … in fact, he damn near put me to sleep. Additionally, Biden gets cantankerous when challenged … not a good thing. At the moment, I think he is the best choice to beat Trump, but … for a number of reasons, that may change.

The most recent polls …

Candidate	Economist/YouGove	Politico/Morning Consult
Biden	30	32
Warren	22	17
Sanders	12	20
Buttigieg	9	8
Harris	4	5
Bloomberg	0	3
Yang	2	3
Gabbard	3	2
Klobuchar	2	2
Booker	1	2
Steyer	1	1

Overall, the debate was worth watching, and I was glad I did. I’ll likely watch one or two more if I can. Though it wasn’t captioned, the audio quality was excellent, and I had no trouble hearing the candidates. I would like to see the next one, which I believe is later this month, whittled down to five candidates, but I am not holding my breath there. The candidates engaged in a bit of humour from time to time, which helped, and I chuckled aloud more than once, ‘til finally daughter Chris asked what the heck I was watching!

I will have more on the candidates and their platforms in the coming weeks/months, but those are my thoughts about tonight’s debate. It’s gonna be a loooooooooonnnngg 12 months, my friends.