Why I left the Democratic Party

Ah, that makes sense too.

He only votes for one or two if he thinks they might do something constructive. If you lived here you would soon see that liberals are like hens teeth.

Here is one younger person - not a kid - I would love to see jump in.

Bernie Sanders' stepdaughter considers run for mayor
By LISA RATHKE Associated Press Nov 6, 2017 Updated 12 hrs ago (0)






BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — Bernie Sanders' stepdaughter is considering a run for mayor of Burlington, Vermont, the same office that was the starting point for the independent U.S. senator's political career.
Carina Driscoll, a former city council member and progressive state legislator, said Monday that she would make a decision by the end of the month. She would not say which political party she would run under or if she would run as an independent.
Democratic Mayor Miro Weinberger is expected to seek re-election in March 2018.


"In my mind it's time to consider a new direction for Burlington and a new vision and I am exploring whether it's the right time for that, if there are others who feel the same way and also if it's the right time for me," Driscoll said.
Her stepfather was elected Burlington's mayor in 1981, upsetting the status quo of city politics and launching his political career.
Driscoll volunteered for Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign. She also founded the Vermont Woodworking School in Fairfax and is a mother of two, both factors she is considering as she weighs a run.
Her mother, Jane Sanders, was president of Burlington College when the school purchased property and buildings from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington in 2010. Last year, the school closed after struggling under the weight of the $10 million deal. Federal investigators are looking into the finances behind the deal. The Sanderses' spokesman, Jeff Weaver, has said the allegations that prompted the investigation were politically motivated attacks.
Driscoll said her stepfather has not attempted to influence her decision.


"He is respectful of my own personal goals and ambitions, and he is leaving me to determine what is the right move for me at this time," she said. "I think whatever I do he'll support me as a family member."
Growing up in a home with both the senator and Jane Sanders certainly had an impact, she said.
"Mostly in that I am deeply committed to issues of social and economic and racial justice, and that for me, sitting on the sidelines when it feels there's work to be done, is very challenging," she said. "And that's my primary motivation. ... I really very much want to jump back into local politics."
A Sanders' spokesman did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment after hours.


Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

I've not been around a lot of hens in my life, but I can surmise. Tell me about hens and their teeth? I'm not teasing, am interested. Does it have something to do with grip?

Hens have no teeth; just like his city/county has no progressive democrats. That's his excuse for not voting for any democrats.

At least that's what I'm gathering.

Let me ask you something: why the attitude? Why the tone? We're just disagreeing in tactics here. We're cool. No need to grow all passive-agressive on me.


This is not really my fight, but yes, you are right that rebuilding a credible Democratic party would be a task for the long haul. The Republican dominance on the American public discourse was not built in one day either. It took them decades to build their influence over the air waves, print media, "think tanks" and other lobbies, and social media.

I don't think I had any particular tone in that post, personally.

I also don't do passive-aggressive. I prefer aggressive-aggressive. I don't beat around the bush.



We are in agreement, then. But don't tell me: tell Edgar. Because what you are describing is what's happened with the Dem party, and the results they have put forth are what Compromise looks like in action. It's exactly what he decries. So what are we to do, have zero progress for the decades it takes to build up the Progressive wing? Or perhaps, a bit of incrementalism on the way?

Cycloptichorn

The American left is pretty diverse right now, and bitterly divided. What you need is a party able to regroup leftists, not constant reopening of old wounds. If you take the people who voted for Clinton, you already have a majority of the popular vote. Add to that a few millions of Bernites who did not condescend to vote for her, you get a super-majority of progressives in America.

And yet, the Democrats have no significant power left in Washington. No Congress, no White House, no SCOTUS. What you have left is a few states and cities... Not much considering your potential electoral dominance.

To rebuild, you need people and a party able to do a credible synthesis of Bernie and the more traditional 3rd way Democrats. Obama did that successfuly. Hillary couldn't. I believe Bernie could have made a more credible "synthesis"; if nominated he would have reassured the moderates easily, pragmatically, and he would have won the general against Trump. But that's irrelevent and unprovable.

What the Dems are doing right now goes in the right direction: a turning of the ship towards center-left. It makes sense: that's where the center of gravity of the US left is. And that's where the country is. What they lack still is a credible leader.

In any case, I think an entire generation of old style centrist dems are now yesterday's news.

Well, there's the rub. You can't add in 'Bernie voters' without losing some Clinton voters, because, surprise surprise, they don't agree on all issues. But I agree that this is the basic plane.



I don't think Bernie would have won vs. Trump, because he was a poor candidate with many unexplored issues hanging out there. But that doesn't really matter. We are in agreement with what you wrote above.



Too bad there are no younger leaders teed up to replace them. Cory Booker, I guess, but that would be my only top-tier candidate. Maybe Obama can come out of retirement and run the party from now on, that would be pretty cool.

Cycloptichorn

All the Democrats have to do to get me back is
1. Quit taking corporate money and voting for corporate goals when they conflict with the public interest
2. Go all out for universal health care
3. Quit using the primaries to anoint candidates
4. Come out on record for winding down the eternal war machine and quit giving Trump more money than he asks for to wage war
5. Commit 100% to taxing the rich
6. Spend more time working on positive goals than writing memes about how screwed up is Trump.
There are other points, but I am sure this list will be ridiculed anyway.

Obama owns this mess. He should have groomed new young leaders when he was pres. He can't fix it now. But I'm confident someone will emerge, eventually.

Oh, #1 again.

I work for a corporation. I'm one of 15,000 employees. I make good money. I get zero kickback from my company for any political contribution that I make. I am also a member of the public and have public interest. I don't donate to democrats for political favors or preferential business treatment.

I donated $1400 last year to democratic candidates. My donations get counted as 'corporate money', so do the donations of many of my democratic leaning friends at work.

Edgar thinks my donations are bad and that democratic candidates should stop accepting them.

Do you feel this way about the richest donors to the left in the US? Who do you think the richest people in the US are and which side of the political spectrum do you think they donate to? Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Warren Buffet and Mark Zuckerberg are all in the top 5 wealthiest people in the world, the #4 guy is from Mexico. 6 out of the top 10 are Dem affiliated and the Koch brothers are #8 and #9.
https://www.forbes.com/billionaires/list/#version:static


Good luck. The ACA is a mess and won't be fooled into thinking more govt is the solution. My state CO, which went for Obama twice and Hillary in 2016 voted against such a thing that very year, it lost by over 70%. Unless a bunch of left leaning politicians hide their true intentions when running, they DNC won't have the votes to get it passed in Congress. They might at the state level, which is where this should be taking place anyways but not at the Federal level.


What else do you propose in place of the primaries. This could be interesting for both parties.


The Dems had no problem giving Obama all the money he needed to expand on the bombing of foreign nations when he was in office. Remember, when Bush left office we were really only involved in 2 places. In 8 years Obama expanded that to at least 6 with his greatly expanded use of Drones.
As for Trumps funding of the military, I don't mind spending to keep our military up to date on the items they need to do their jobs. I wouldn't mind seeing us lessen our footprint around the world. We have a lot of troops in a lot of places they aren't really needed, we can save a ton of money by bringing them home. I'm almost of the mind of being more isolationist and working on our own problems, the world doesn't seem to want or appreciate our help.


The wealthy left in the US all talk a good game but they don't want to really pay more. If they did, it doesn't take a lot to not take write-off's or not claim charitable giving when they do so. They could also volunteer to actually pay more in taxes by doing so. They always have that option, it isn't mandatory to look for every tax break or way out of paying more. Did you actually see the list of billionaires? Now add to that list all the hollywood, music and sports celebrities and you have one hell of a tax base who could actually make a difference by "paying their fair share" and leading from the front and actually pay more instead of paying it lip service.


This is all they have left though. Older people like yourself and a majority of the members of who post in the political forums are from a different era. I don't know anyone's age here, but from the things I have read about here since I joined over a decade ago, most of the regular posters are my parents age or older, I'm 44 and my folks are about 70. There are a few here who are my age and younger but we are not the majority. This is a seasoned crowd.


Of course it will, just about any list posted here gets picked over and commented on.

The whole whoring for corporation money is disgraceful. There ought to be a different way to do politics.

Thank you, and, Ah so..

In case you or someone else peeks.

Speaking of Feinstein, I was reading in 538 to try and find out what happening in Virginia today and ran across this piece.

Dianne Feinstein’s Senate Seat May No Longer Be A Sure Thing

I didn't read anything about anybody named Alison Hartson. Is there something wrong with Kevin de León?

that could work

gotta keep in mind that the right-wing media already has their anti-Warren line going (look at comments by georgeob et al re Warren for about the last 5 or 6 years - the redwood party gang is more than ready to smear her)

IIRC the vast majority of money counted as 'corporate money' is from employees of the corporations donating as private/individual citizens. In the US, when you donate you're required to list your occupation and your employer. These aren't people expecting or receiving kickbacks.

I've never met a politician outside of a couple Chicago Aldermen. I'm sure my political kickback is in the mail.

Yes, I get that.

They are so desperate for a win they don't care about ethics any more.