2016 Democratic Thread

[southsider2k5]

I have to imagine that just getting your name out there in a local race and even just reminding people "hey there's an election this April" (or whatever non-Presidential year you're running in) matters a lot more than campaign spending for federal offices, at least on a vote-per-dollar basis. That's where even a small amount of funding for signs, ads in local papers, local events, etc. can really help.

 

Yeah, if you can find ways to be involved in stuff ahead of time, it helps a lot. If you can find a wedge issue to stand behind, or a local crusade to be behind, it is easy and cheap name recognition. The hardest part of running locally is getting people to know who you are.

[southsider2k5]

Um... most of the mods lean conservative, and as such, I've been gangbanged on numerous occasions yet still post my "bs", so.... the martyr card doesn't totally work for ya bud.

 

 

Uh, no. Not even close.

[bmags]

ss2k5, were you involved in PTA beforehand or just visible in public meetings?

[lostfan]

Uh, no. Not even close.

Back in the day (2008 or so) it was about 50/50, not anymore though.

[Quin]

Uh, no. Not even close.

 

I count five left leaning ones if we include Ezio. Me, Bmags, Balta, Kyyle and Ezio.

[StrangeSox]

right, now it is 100% conservatives who ban everyone at the drop of a hat

[southsider2k5]

ss2k5, were you involved in PTA beforehand or just visible in public meetings?

 

The first time I ran, it was on a whim because a seat opened up about a year before the election and the superintendent was an absolute scumbag. I didn't get to fill the temporary seat, and I ran in the full election too. I finished 3rd of 3, but made some good headway. I actually took the domain I bought to run for the election and made it into a local message board. Overtime I turned it into more of a political forumn and op-ed platform. I ran the second time four years later, and did a lot better. I have been asked to run again in the last two elections, but decided that was going to be my last run, until at least my kids were older. I have stayed largely in the public domain more than ever, both being on the local Planning Commission, an Economic Development group, and serving on a not-for-profit board as a President for five years. The social media aspect of my webpage has over 7500 members now, so I have a nice following there.

 

I think if I decided to run again, I would have a really good chance at winning, but with everything else in life, I don't have the free time to serve an office well anymore. Maybe once the kids are older I will give a shot at an actual political office.

[southsider2k5]

right, now it is 100% conservatives who ban everyone at the drop of a hat

 

Remind me to ban you later. K? Tnx.

[StrangeSox]

The first time I ran, it was on a whim because a seat opened up about a year before the election and the superintendent was an absolute scumbag. I didn't get to fill the temporary seat, and I ran in the full election too. I finished 3rd of 3, but made some good headway. I actually took the domain I bought to run for the election and made it into a local message board. Overtime I turned it into more of a political for and op-ed platform. I ran the second time four years later, and did a lot better. I have been asked to run again in the last two elections, but decided that was going to be my last run, until at least my kids were older. I have stayed largely in the public domain more than ever, both being on the local Planning Commission, an Economic Development group, and serving on a not-for-profit board as a President for five years. The social media aspect of my webpage has over 7500 members now, so I have a nice following there.

 

I think if I decided to run again, I would have a really good chance at winning, but with everything else in life, I don't have the free time to serve an office well anymore. Maybe once the kids are older I will give a shot at an actual political office.

 

That's genuinely awesome that you're that involved in your community.

 

Remind me to ban you later. K? Tnx.

 

Ha. Seriously appreciate that the mods here are not petty at all and don't let their power go to their head just because someone is arguing with them. Never once been concerned that people would be unfairly or arbitrarily banned here.

Edited September 29, 2016 by StrangeSox

[southsider2k5]

The first time I ran, it was on a whim because a seat opened up about a year before the election and the superintendent was an absolute scumbag. I didn't get to fill the temporary seat, and I ran in the full election too. I finished 3rd of 3, but made some good headway. I actually took the domain I bought to run for the election and made it into a local message board. Overtime I turned it into more of a political forumn and op-ed platform. I ran the second time four years later, and did a lot better. I have been asked to run again in the last two elections, but decided that was going to be my last run, until at least my kids were older. I have stayed largely in the public domain more than ever, both being on the local Planning Commission, an Economic Development group, and serving on a not-for-profit board as a President for five years. The social media aspect of my webpage has over 7500 members now, so I have a nice following there.

 

I think if I decided to run again, I would have a really good chance at winning, but with everything else in life, I don't have the free time to serve an office well anymore. Maybe once the kids are older I will give a shot at an actual political office.

 

I also just became my high schools SID for all intents and purposes. I run their sports website for them, and supply lots of their content, which started at the end of this summer. Their hit count has tripled since I took over [/humble brag]

[bmags]

The first time I ran, it was on a whim because a seat opened up about a year before the election and the superintendent was an absolute scumbag. I didn't get to fill the temporary seat, and I ran in the full election too. I finished 3rd of 3, but made some good headway. I actually took the domain I bought to run for the election and made it into a local message board. Overtime I turned it into more of a political forumn and op-ed platform. I ran the second time four years later, and did a lot better. I have been asked to run again in the last two elections, but decided that was going to be my last run, until at least my kids were older. I have stayed largely in the public domain more than ever, both being on the local Planning Commission, an Economic Development group, and serving on a not-for-profit board as a President for five years. The social media aspect of my webpage has over 7500 members now, so I have a nice following there.

 

I think if I decided to run again, I would have a really good chance at winning, but with everything else in life, I don't have the free time to serve an office well anymore. Maybe once the kids are older I will give a shot at an actual political office.

 

Good stuff. How much time do you think school board/city council seat would be in your town?

[southsider2k5]

That's genuinely awesome that you're that involved in your community.

 

 

 

Ha. Seriously appreciate that the mods here are not petty at all and don't let their power go to their head just because someone is arguing with them. Never once been concerned that people would be unfairly or arbitrarily banned here.

 

I appreciate that. I actually enjoy doing almost all of it.

[southsider2k5]

Good stuff. How much time do you think school board/city council seat would be in your town?

 

City Council is a pretty heavy burden. Those guys have meetings every two weeks, plus they serve on 5 to 6 committees each, and there are mandatory board positions that have to be filled by members of the council. I would bet most of the good ones put in a good 20 to 30 hours a week on average. Even the bad ones have probably 10 to 15 hours of obligations. The Mayor probably works 70 to 80 hours a week. Technically Council is a part time job that pays about 20k a year.

 

School board is probably the most variable. The good ones serve probably 15 to 20 hours a week between meetings and being involved in school functions. A couple of them barely show up for meetings.

[lostfan]

That's genuinely awesome that you're that involved in your community.

 

 

 

Ha. Seriously appreciate that the mods here are not petty at all and don't let their power go to their head just because someone is arguing with them. Never once been concerned that people would be unfairly or arbitrarily banned here.

2K5 would've been had half this board banned if it was up to him though lol.

[southsider2k5]

2K5 would've been had half this board banned if it was up to him though lol.

 

[scribbles on "ban list"]

[LittleHurt05]

right, now it is 100% conservatives who ban everyone at the drop of a hat

 

That is because the liberal mods expect us to do all the hard work while they just reap the benefits. Hey, that sounds familiar....

[bmags]

Ugh, I remember the day I tried to make a subforum. I was exhausted for a week.

[southsider2k5]

Ugh, I remember the day I tried to make a subforum. I was exhausted for a week.

 

Back in my day we'd spend hours pinning topics. AND WE LIKED IT!

[caulfield12]

HRC being a better candidate than Donald Trump adds nothing to her allure as a candidate.

 

 

I never did what you claim with the bolded. My parents vote. My grandparents had voted in every election when they were alive. I don't feel the need to waste my time voting when the state I live in is a foregone conclusion.

 

The rest of your post is all over the place and a task to respond to. I am not sure why you and many others think the government is out here trying to save children. Sure it happens, but like Napoleon said, "Absolute power corrupts absolutely."

 

Something happened during the 1984/1988 elections where the funding elections and money in politics started to blow up. Both parties ended up sucking the tit of the powers traditional liberals used to hate. The banks, wall street, the military complex, etc. Past that, the liberals went so far left that their popular opinions aren't capitalistic or anywhere near in line with the idea of government this country was founded on. This has led to the expansion of government, more ugly foreign affair efforts and a smaller middle class yet the Democrats still scream for more government. With the history of human beings as my basis, it probably won't end in our favor.

 

Yeah, the CHIP initiative is absolutely corruption at its finest.

 

Ironically, Trump fashions himself another Napoleon. Hopefully he ends up exiled as well.

 

So Michelle Obama's wife would have been excoriated had she taken the more active role Hillary did in 1993-94. What should she have been doing, exactly? Besides getting ripped for excessive vacations and spending money on travel expenses, she's been very similar to both Bush wives.

 

Why don't you start your own Ayn Rand Party? Citizens United is 50% to blame for the money issue, and Republicans still aren't smart enough to figure out how to use that huge fundraising advantage to their benefit on the national level.

 

We didn't have Republican presidents for 28/40 years from 1968-2008? From 1994 on, what did the Gingrich Revolution accomplish? The Tea Party Revolution? Did you miss all the inane foreign policy decisions and needless interventions under Nixon, Reagan and the Bushes?

 

In the end, there's no screaming for more government. Social security, Medicare, military spending and interest on the debt is about all we're going to get...so we should believe that trickle down or voodoo economics actually works, and that every politician isn't limited to just two difficult choices, either investing into higher education OR increasing immigration?

 

 

God help the USA if Melania is First Lady. Although it would be nice to undercut his central campaign theme of being anti-immigration.

 

Mexicans and Alicia Machado, stay out, but if you're a Czech or Slovenian supermodel, come on down. We really don't have enough beauty in America, might as well import some more.

Edited September 29, 2016 by caulfield12

[bmags]

Michelle Obama's wife

 

Interesting hypothetical.

[RockRaines]

Ugh, I remember the day I tried to make a subforum. I was exhausted for a week.

They call that Gage-ing

[StrangeSox]

The NYT had a very thinly disguised review of a new book about Hitler yesterday

 

In ‘Hitler,’ an Ascent From ‘Dunderhead’ to Demagogue

 

Hitler was known, among colleagues, for a “bottomless mendacity” that would later be magnified by a slick propaganda machine that used the latest technology (radio, gramophone records, film) to spread his message. A former finance minister wrote that Hitler “was so thoroughly untruthful that he could no longer recognize the difference between lies and truth” and editors of one edition of “Mein Kampf” described it as a “swamp of lies, distortions, innuendoes, half-truths and real facts.”

 

• Hitler was an effective orator and actor, Mr. Ullrich reminds readers, adept at assuming various masks and feeding off the energy of his audiences. Although he concealed his anti-Semitism beneath a “mask of moderation” when trying to win the support of the socially liberal middle classes, he specialized in big, theatrical rallies staged with spectacular elements borrowed from the circus. Here, “Hitler adapted the content of his speeches to suit the tastes of his lower-middle-class, nationalist-conservative, ethnic-chauvinist and anti-Semitic listeners,” Mr. Ullrich writes. He peppered his speeches with coarse phrases and put-downs of hecklers. Even as he fomented chaos by playing to crowds’ fears and resentments, he offered himself as the visionary leader who could restore law and order.

 

• Hitler increasingly presented himself in messianic terms, promising “to lead Germany to a new era of national greatness,” though he was typically vague about his actual plans. He often harked back to a golden age for the country, Mr. Ullrich says, the better “to paint the present day in hues that were all the darker. Everywhere you looked now, there was only decline and decay.”

 

• Hitler’s repertoire of topics, Mr. Ullrich notes, was limited, and reading his speeches in retrospect, “it seems amazing that he attracted larger and larger audiences” with “repeated mantralike phrases” consisting largely of “accusations, vows of revenge and promises for the future.” But Hitler virtually wrote the modern playbook on demagoguery, arguing in “Mein Kampf” that propaganda must appeal to the emotions — not the reasoning powers — of the crowd. Its “purely intellectual level,” Hitler said, “will have to be that of the lowest mental common denominator among the public it is desired to reach.” Because the understanding of the masses “is feeble,” he went on, effective propaganda needed to be boiled down to a few slogans that should be “persistently repeated until the very last individual has come to grasp the idea that has been put forward.”

 

• Hitler’s rise was not inevitable, in Mr. Ullrich’s opinion. There were numerous points at which his ascent might have been derailed, he contends; even as late as January 1933, “it would have been eminently possible to prevent his nomination as Reich chancellor.” He benefited from a “constellation of crises that he was able to exploit cleverly and unscrupulously” — in addition to economic woes and unemployment, there was an “erosion of the political center” and a growing resentment of the elites. The unwillingness of Germany’s political parties to compromise had contributed to a perception of government dysfunction, Mr. Ullrich suggests, and the belief of Hitler supporters that the country needed “a man of iron” who could shake things up. “Why not give the National Socialists a chance?” a prominent banker said of the Nazis. “They seem pretty gutsy to me.”

[StrangeSox]

Here's the full article

 

http://www.newsweek.com/2016/10/14/donald-...4059.html?rx=us

And some documented proof of the activities.

 

https://mobile.twitter.com/kurteichenwald/s...9014784/photo/1

[StrangeSox]

USA today never endorses for president, but today they specifically denounced Trump.

https://mobile.twitter.com/jaketapper/statu...634322310856704

[StrangeSox]

And finally some more fun info on trump's scam charity. It relies almost entirely on solicited donations, but it doesn't have the proper certifications to do that.

 

https://mobile.twitter.com/Fahrenthold/stat...652645555699713