Reddy

Also, are you a straight white dude? Just wondering because if so, your "no social issues matter to me" statement is....... pretty indicative of the problem with the Bernie wing.

QUOTE (Dam8610 @ Apr 17, 2018 -> 06:33 PM) What key issues? Bear in mind, no social or procedural issue qualifies as "key" to me. I assess politicians on their positions on the economy, corporate vs. worker interests, taxes, healthcare, and education. Manchin's policy positions on those issues place him squarely with the Republicans. Also, I'd rather have someone who will vote my way less to have an opportunity to vote them out. Incumbents aren't susceptible enough to primary challengers in this country for the Democrats to function as a party that gets anything done and function the way you want them to. But hey, if you think 70-80% is good enough, we can give you 79% of the air you need. I'm sure you won't miss the oxygen at all. Check out Manchin's record this session of Congress, and let me know how he voted on healthcare and tax reform. You're literally saying you'd rather have a far right Senator for at LEAST 6 years (likely longer because of incumbency, like you mentioned) in all of the seats that currently have moderate Dems? So you want to lose on every issue and for the GOP to pass all its wildest dreams? Burn it all down and screw minorities and women because of that 20%? Do you have any idea what the ramifications of that are? Or in terms of the judicial branch? I'm guessing Bernie was the guy who got you into politics? Because that's some grade A ignorant. At least I hope it is. Because if it's not ignorance it's incredible selfishness.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Apr 17, 2018 -> 09:13 AM) https://heavy.com/news/2017/02/joe-manchin-...t-virginia-bio/ Ohmygosh this is brand new information! THANK YOU! GMAB, I'll take Joe Manchin 7 days a week and twice on Sunday in West Virginia. What was your point in posting this? Do you not think Manchin is better than the alternative? Or do you just get a kick out of being contrarian?

QUOTE (Dam8610 @ Apr 17, 2018 -> 12:18 AM) Manchin might as well be a Republican, he votes with them on every key issue. Except for all the key issues that he's voted with Dems on under the Trump administration of course. Thanks for proving me right about Berners. Would you rather have someone who votes with you 70-80% of the time, or 0% of the time?

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Apr 16, 2018 -> 12:04 AM) Heitkamp and McCaskill are also part of this convo...McCaskill should have an advantage now with the Greitens (gov) fiasco Joe Donnelly (IND), for sure. Michael Bennet/Mark Warner/Tim Kaine/Gary Peters/Chris Coons/Tom Carper You have this habit of responding as if I was asking the question of you and not someone else. I'm curious where Dam stands on Dems like these, because I wonder how he squares it with his Bernieism.

QUOTE (Dam8610 @ Apr 15, 2018 -> 07:50 PM) "Big tent theory" leads to "majorities" that don't mean anything, so instead of saying "no litmus tests", you should say "all I care about is being able to say 'Democrats hold a majority of elected offices'", because the blue dogs (like Lipinski) are DINOs who are more likely to vote with the Republicans on any major issue, so a "big tent" Democratic "majority" effectively becomes a Republican majority with different names in key positions. It's certainly important to vote for Lipinski over the actual Nazi he's running against, but it was equally important, if not moreso, that his primary challenger Marie Newman should've beat him, so that that vote actually caucused with the Democrats on key issues. Also, Conor Lamb is a progressive as far as I can tell. At least he is on the important (economic) issues. I've heard criticisms of him being "pro-life" as well, but his stance on the issue is that while that is his personal belief, he recognizes the importance of legal abortion and will defend that right as a congressman. All I ask for is to vote correctly. I'd even take a Republican who votes correctly for the wrong reasons. Your thoughts on folks like Jones, Manchin, Tester, etc? (not ignoring our other convo, just on the phone and can't write lengthy responses)

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Apr 15, 2018 -> 05:14 PM) Let’s put it this way. The Dems (progressives in particular) have to be open to the Conor Lamb?€™s and Doug Joneses of the world to take back the House. No litmus tests. Let?€™s not forget Sanders/Our Revolution has supported a few pro-life and gun rights candidates as well in conservative districts. The gun issue is evolving daily, though. On a national basis, there has to be some compromise in 2020. You can?€™t have Kaine as a VP, and you shouldn?€™t have Sanders/Warren either if you?€™re completely serious about winning, no matter how stacked the deck looks against the GOP on a national basis at the current moment. The Dems also have to make a decision where they are on trade...and it’s not an easy one, as Hillary’s waffling demonstrated. https://medium.com/s/jeremiad/the-unfortuna...il-bd1063814dc0 This article is a bit philosophical...but the two choices for the country (and world) are not so obvious moving forward Agreed on all counts.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Apr 15, 2018 -> 11:41 AM) They upped the total vote turnout percentage from 24/25 (expected) to 29. That said, a Clinton presidency and/or no pedophilia accusations against Moore drawing so much attention to the race...not to mention Trump originally supporting Luther Strange, and the whole election would have been a nothing burger. Or Sessions would still be comfortably holding his seat. Lol. There wouldn't have BEEN an election if Clinton won. And as far as Moore/Pedophilia/Trump, you could make the exact same argument for 2016, except black voters didn't turn out in unprecedented numbers that time. So. I have a lot of trouble with your argument on this one. Why do you feel that black voters are mobilized by a scandalous news cycle in ways others aren't? Why, in your view, did that motivate black voters for Jones and not Hillary? Why don't you think grassroots activism and mobilization within those black communities made any impact? You didn't read The Atlantic article I linked, did you?

QUOTE (Dam8610 @ Apr 15, 2018 -> 03:15 AM) It's hard to take people who don't take data and peer-reviewed studies seriously seriously. I just said grassroots activism was the main cause, but that only happened because Trump won the presidency. Had Hillary won the presidency, Democrats would've been just as complacent as they were under Obama and Roy Moore would be a senator right now. Show me the peer-reviewed study or data that supports your case that the black vote in Alabama only turned out because Trump won the Presidency. In the meantime, read this: How Grassroots Organizers Got Black Voters to the Polls in Alabama - The Atlantic

QUOTE (Heads22 @ Apr 14, 2018 -> 08:18 PM) I don't know if you're ever gonna match the African-American turnout for Obama for obvious reasons. you racist.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Apr 15, 2018 -> 08:10 AM) *sessions would still be the senator from Alabama

QUOTE (Dam8610 @ Apr 14, 2018 -> 07:18 PM) https://www.nytimes.com/elections/2016/resu...imaries/alabama 77.8%-19.2%. The oligarchy convinced those voters to vote against their own interests, yet again. In fact, the exact same way as when they voted for Trump over Clinton in the general. Why did they vote for Jones? Probably a crapton of grassroots activism that was activated in large part by Trump's presidential election win combined with the Roy Moore damn near admitting to pedophilia. It's hard to take you seriously with all your oligarchy stuff. And black voters did not vote for Trump over Hillary in the general, but they also didn't turn out for Hillary the way they did for Obama. That means that Trump is NOT the driving factor in black turnout. It's issues and grassroots organizing that turns them out, just like everyone else.

QUOTE (Dam8610 @ Apr 13, 2018 -> 09:06 PM) That's not a better question, because the answer is the oligarchy or "party backing" as it's commonly referenced. Bernie Sanders was calling for free college, free healthcare, government financed job training and apprenticeship programs, raising the minimum wage to a living wage, and major prison and criminal justice reform, and had plans to implement taxes that would pay for all of it that mostly consisted of heavily taxing wealth and the wealthy. Considering the average African American has a far lower net worth than the average Caucasian, is far more likely to be killed by police, far more likely to be convicted of a crime and receive prison time, and far less likely to receive a call for an interview when submitting a resume, Bernie Sanders platform was tailor made for African American interests. That Clinton was able to convince them to vote against their interests is another fine example of the oligarchy at work. Black voters didn't turn out for Clinton. They did for Doug Jones. Explain using Sandersism please.

QUOTE (Dam8610 @ Apr 13, 2018 -> 05:48 PM) If African Americans are motivated by helping people get access to education and good jobs, why isn't Bernie Sanders president? I'll ask you a better question. Why did they turn out in such huge numbers for Doug Jones?

Libby's just another shiny distraction tossed out by Trump to keep our heads perpetually exploding. There's nothing to see here, really.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Apr 12, 2018 -> 11:20 AM) His national approval rating is something like 16%. Nobody likes him. He's leaving because he got his massive tax cut for the wealthy through and will now go make many millions of dollars selling influence and access with far less stress than he currently has. No one will care about that approval rating by 2024. He's 48. He's got all the time in the world. He's just getting out before the real s*** hits the fan with Trump and the GOP.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Apr 12, 2018 -> 08:49 AM) Except he’s the best candidate for the GOP to gain back the presidency after 2020...he has at least one more act left. Who else? Rubio? Kasich? Will Hurd? Leaving now leaves him less tainted than Pence, at the very least. Yes, this is the real reason he's leaving. Why this in the Dems thread tho?

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Apr 11, 2018 -> 09:10 AM) Bon voyage Paul Ryan, enjoy the private sector Until he comes back to the public sector post-Trump.

QUOTE (Whitesoxin2019 @ Apr 10, 2018 -> 06:12 PM) is that what you have to resort to? Soxtalk Quality Meter Dropping. Again... Being Jumped .... With Venom. Called a Conspiracy Theorist or attacking my grammar. Sorry I don't share ALL of the same view points. I am going to go before more vultures come swooping at me. Soxbadger and SS2k are ok in my book though. Later. As the New Radicals sang in 1998, you Get What You Give.

QUOTE (Whitesoxin2019 @ Apr 10, 2018 -> 06:06 PM) You just lost credibility with me if you honestly believe Hillary was against the TPP. She could not go down with the sinking ship. If you do not understand that abolishing the TPP brings more Money and Jobs to our country than I don't know what to say to you? (SEE DOW, SEE LINKS) Did you learn from Trump to capitalize the first letter of regular nouns or have you always done that?

QUOTE (Whitesoxin2019 @ Apr 10, 2018 -> 05:53 PM) please post any conspiracy I placed on this website. I would like Jason to know that users like Bigsqwert is why Soxtalk sucks now. Um. No one with 20 posts prior to this thread would know that Chisoxfn's name is Jason. Who is this guy?

QUOTE (reiks12 @ Apr 10, 2018 -> 05:44 PM) to everyone griping about Benneti, go listen to the Angels broadcast and be thankful theres a semblance of personality in our booth I get to hear the Mets team a lot because my brother's a fan, and they're just SO good. Makes ours feel even worse in comparison I guess. But to be fair, I'm also one of the Hawk-lovers who desperately misses YCPIOTBY and Carl Yastrzemski.

Is there a single one of you that doesn't miss Hawk now? Woof.

Singapore is also one of the most socially restrictive countries in the world, with incredibly harsh laws and penalties for even simple offenses. So. Yeeeeah. Side Note! For all y'all that can't stand my political perspectives, my professor at GW (a 30-year former Congressman and former chair of the DCCC) told me my strategy memo for how Dems can win back the House this fall was the best in the class full of prospective political operatives. So. Just sayin'.

QUOTE (Whitesoxin2019 @ Apr 10, 2018 -> 02:21 PM) oh I see you can't defend Kimmel. You are deflecting. I was talking about Kimmel. I have a question for you: even if you're right, would you then also concede that what Trump has done is disgusting and he should apologize for it?