Progressives (Liberals)

What McConnell did was outside of any norm and had no precedent post civil war. Garland, considered a moderate and previously supported by senators like Hatch, was not allowed a floor vote.

edgarblythe wrote:

To the Trump devotees who pop in now and again, here is something I have been pondering the past week or so. How do you feel about Trump pushing real hard to get Saudi Arabia nuclear capabilities? How does that enhance his master plan to save everybody?

I don't know much about the proposal.
Nuclear power is a great way to reduce carbon emissions though, for those who are worried about such things.

In the end, we know how our actions over there have destabilized it all and made for neverending war and countless civilian deaths.

If Democrats did not want Republicans to retaliate

The Democrats running for president are beginning a meaty, substantive debate on how to address the most pressing problems the country faces, including climate change and reforming the health-care system.

President Trump, on the other hand, would like to use his bully pulpit to throw a cloak of deception and distraction over that debate, to paint Democrats in the worst possible light and, in the process, make sure voters are as ill-informed as possible.

And some in the news media seem eager to abet Trump in his effort.

In the best of circumstances, presidential campaigns can offer an extended opportunity to explore issues and chart a path for the country, which is what Democrats are doing as they try to win the support of primary voters. They’ve begun putting out policy plans that, whether you favor them or not, are serious attempts to grapple with important challenges. ( Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s (D-Mass.) plan for universal access to child care is the latest.) Meanwhile, Trump is giving speeches making the ludicrous claim that anything Democrats propose will inevitably turn the United States into Venezuela.

And the response from the political press is to ask, “Are Democrats at risk of being labeled socialist socialists with all their socialist socialism?”

For instance, Sen. Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.) was recently asked if she supported the elimination of private health insurance, as might occur under a strict single-payer plan; she responded that she would, describing some of the problems of private insurance. Her campaign later walked that back a bit, saying that it’s one possible option. But in an interview yesterday with NBC, here’s how she was asked to address the question: “Do you think eliminating private insurance would be a socialist idea?”

Not “How would that work?,” or “What are the tradeoffs?,” or “How does that compare to the alternatives?,” but whether that idea can be affixed with this controversial label, which of course the interviewer didn’t bother to explore or explain...