Progressives (Liberals)

Colorado (D) Senator Michael Bennet is going to enter the 2020 race.

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1h1 hour ago
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.@nytimes editorial page editor James Bennet has recused himself from 2020 election coverage following the announcement that his brother Senator Michael Bennet intends to run for president. Full statement follows.

1 Reply

@Brand X,

He is apparently a moderate isn't he? He has a pretty good track record of winning but I don't think he has a lot of name recognition in everyday households. (Edit)Sorry that info is about Bullock.

Two More Long Shots to Join Presidential Race

You may think think is shallow, but at least he don't across as poorly as Biden does. I think Biden's son's death aged him in the last few years, understandable but perhaps he shouldn't have thrown his hat in the ring.

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I was listening to Progress on Sirius XM, and one of the two female anchors was decrying the MSM’s unequal treatment between the male versus the female Dem candidates.

The very next segment about the Dem candidates I saw on CNN illustrated her point perfectly for me. They were showing a graphic that compared how Trump would do (hypothetically) against certain Democratic candidates. The three examples they used were Beto, Biden and Sanders. I’m pretty sure Liz Warren has better numbers than Beto right now but they conspicuously skipped her.

I really don’t think the females are getting as much free positive press as are the males. Beto is charismatic, Bernie and Biden have populist appeal , and so forth. No mention of how Warren has been turning out piece after piece of substantive policy, or how Kamala Harris shows preparation, leadership and grit whenever she appears to question someone in Congress.

Do the white guys need or deserve all this unsolicited help, but not the females?

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@Walter Hinteler,

Quote:

He said he questioned a system “in which millions start a race, very few make it over the finishing line and then shout back to the others, ‘You could have made it, too!’”

That's a very bright analogy.

1 Reply

@snood,

Quote:

Do the white guys need or deserve all this unsolicited help, but not the females?

This is really pissing me off as well. It is clearly a cultural bias at work. And it is as stupid as hell, not to mention unjust and, I believe deeply, it's self-destructive for society overall.

Before I read your post, I was just about to mention how impressed I was again with Kamala Harris in questioning Barr.

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@snood,

Shhhhh....this conflicts with the “the press is so unfair to Bernie” narrative that “real” leftists care about.

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@blatham,

blatham wrote:

Quote:
He said he questioned a system “in which millions start a race, very few make it over the finishing line and then shout back to the others, ‘You could have made it, too!’”
That's a very bright analogy.

Only if the “race” is to obtain millions of dollars.

Every human hits a finish line in one way or another.

1 Reply

@snood,

Quote:

The very next segment about the Dem candidates I saw on CNN illustrated her point perfectly for me. They were showing a graphic that compared how Trump would do (hypothetically) against certain Democratic candidates. The three examples they used were Beto, Biden and Sanders. I’m pretty sure Liz Warren has better numbers than Beto right now but they conspicuously skipped her.

True, they should be giving females way more press than they have been.

Perhaps we should go on a couple of threads and say it is a DNC conspiracy with corporate media to systematically cheat Warren and Harris out of the primary race.

I would vote for either of them, but I really don't give them much chance. We are a backward nation.

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@maporsche,

I take the meaning differently - those who end up winning (in such a dog eat dog situation) managed to do so through a combination of factors only a few of which might be deemed honestly meritocratic. Yet they are quite happy to yell back at those who didn't make it that the "losers" just weren't trying hard enough (thus undeserving of the unique privileges that accrue to being a "winner"). Trump, for example, uses this constantly. All bullies do.

As someone bright I was reading recently put it [paraphrase], "Any moral theory that doesn't account for the pervasive role of luck in human affairs ain't worth crap as a moral theory"

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Ed Kilgore, in arguing the "electability" is a highly mercurial quality, points to a recent example

Quote:

One of the ironies of trying to assess the viability of candidates against Trump is that Trump himself flunked every imaginable test of “electability” throughout much of the 2016 presidential cycle.

https://nym.ag/2GZdPvm

And once again, I'm going to promote Kilgore's writing and analyses. He is always worthwhile. Recently, NYMag has instituted a limit to articles one can read for free but the cost for membership is only $5 per month (first month free). That's the cost of a McDonald's burger.

The entire media universe has changed profoundly over the last two or three decades with the advent of the internet. Journalism has been badly damaged and is experimenting with ways to remain in operation and to continue doing quality work. Those of us who rely on quality media operations are simply going to have to step up and pay such meager amounts.

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@blatham,

What does "honestly meritocratic" mean? There are indeed usually a number of competitive factors involved in meeting any challenge. The factors involved in winning usually involve a combination including ability, demonstrated efficiency and commitment. - the details of which are dependent on those associated with the particular challenge at hand. Apart from the achievement of goals that are themselves intrinsically harmful, or fraudulent methods that really don't achieve worthwhile goals in , just what might "un meritocratic" actions or abilities that achieve the goals in question?

1 Reply

@blatham,

I suppose they do.
I don’t see this as being something related to the American capitalist system though.

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@georgeob1,

It's a good question on a complicated subject. I don't have time this morning to really flesh it out, so I'll be brief and we can continue later if you like.

If you or I were born into the culture of Sparta, there would be a particular set of capabilities/propensities which would serve us well, if we were lucky enough to be born with them.

But if we were born into the culture of the Balinese, there are a completely different set of genetic traits that would facilitate becoming a "winner".

Or take traits like self-confidence, persistence, prudence, etc. Each of these or any such like them will surely be influenced by local culture, family upbringing and, again, capacities (or lack of) that we are born with or without.

I'm not saying that we, as a community, ought not to reward achievements that benefit others as well as self, because we obviously can train ourselves, to some degree, in traits or habits that serve such ends.

But the tendencies are very robust to imagine that if or when we find ourselves at the top, we deserve to be there and others do not. The fallacy in such a conception is the denial that luck runs through all of this.

1 Reply

@blatham,

In the Navy the rule was (and I believe still is) that captains and Flag officers leading operational units were judged almost exclusively on results obtained.) The expenditure of even great effort in a failing endeavor didn't count for much. In responses to suggestions that luck was part of the outcome, the response was " Then we want lucky Captains." Considering what I have learned in life concerning human nature, I believe it is a good rule.

Alternative approaches rarely yield lasting good results. Another saying was that if you want to destroy a person or a group of people, just give him (or them) a lasting excuse.

1 Reply

@georgeob1,

I think you are ignoring the context of that specific culture you emerge from. I mentioned Sparta and how different it was/is from other cultures (such as Bali where artistic proclivities are highly important in the winner/loser game) for that reason.

But this was a quick post just to mention that as a fraternal twin, I have perhaps a unique perspective.

1 Reply

@blatham,

OK brother.

Hope you are doing well

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Rob
@philosophrob
·
13h
Democrats
• Tulsi Gabbard
• Mike Gravel
• Bernie Sanders

Centrist Democrats
• Elizabeth Warren

Moderate Republicans
• Cory Booker
• Kirsten Gillibrand
• Kamala Harris

Republicans
• Michael Bennet
• Joe Biden
• Pete Buttigieg
• Amy Klobuchar
• Beto O'Rourke

1 Reply

@Lash,

Gabbard is left of Warren now? How so?

1 Reply

Quote:

...The Democratic Party has become much more solidly progressive than it used to be, and that will be reflected in the policies of any Democrat who makes it to the White House. The issue, instead, is whether he or she will be willing to face up to the harsh realities of today’s politics.

Democratic candidates in the next tier of the current race seem to get it. Warren’s proposals are very progressive, but they’re also incremental, and even her fairly radical ideas, like her proposed wealth tax, poll well. Anyone who watched Kamala Harris at Wednesday’s Barr hearing knows that she has no illusions about the state of partisanship.

Biden and Sanders, however, come across as romantics. Biden appears stuck in the past, when real bipartisanship sometimes happened. Sanders appears to live in an imaginary future, where a popular tidal wave washes away all political obstacles. Neither man seems ready for the tough fights that will follow even if he wins.

https://nyti.ms/2GZZwa0

1 Reply

@Olivier5,

You make a great point, especially since Warren has grasped left recently with brand new policies about student loans and at least noise she’s made about reparations. I don’t think progressives like Rob (the guy who made this list) believe Warren will do these things. She was given the opportunity to back the leftiest lefty in 2016, but she backed a centrist.

Those were big actions, and the hardcore progressives judge a politician on what they DO, not what they say they’ll do.

Meanwhile, Tulsi has been virulently anti-war, despite —or better, informed by her own military service. She very honorably stepped down from her DNC position to back Bernie, the leftiest lefty running 2016.

Tulsi has progressive cred; Liz, not so much.

1 Reply

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