Capitol Hill Blue Forums Political Issues Campaign 2016

Never underestimate the stupidity of the American voter

And that’s the thing that gets me Phil. The fact that Trump could even be in the running is astonishing to me and very disconcerting.

What has happened is that the gap between the share of voters who identify themselves as Democrats compared with those who consider themselves Republicans has grown so wide that, for the GOP, winning a majority of the independent vote nationally is necessary but no longer sufficient for winning a national popular vote. In this past election, 38 percent of voters called themselves Democrats, and just 32 percent called themselves Republicans. In 2008, it was Democrats at 39 percent and Republicans at 32 percent. Over the past five elections, only in 2004 were the two parties evenly matched at 37 percent each. In the other four elections, the Democratic advantage has been 4 points in 2000 (when Al Gore won the popular vote but lost the Electoral College), 5 points in 1996, 6 points in 2012, and 7 points in 2008. This is certainly one reason why Republicans have lost the popular vote in five of the past six elections; generally there are more Democrats than Republicans. When the gap gets really wide, independents can’t make the difference.

LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES, including the FBI, have been knocking on the doors of activists and community organizers in Cleveland, Ohio, asking about their plans for the Republican National Convention in July.

As the city gears up to welcome an estimated 50,000 visitors, and an unknown number of protesters, some of the preparations and restrictions put in place by officials have angered civil rights activists. But the latest string of unannounced home visits by local and federal police marks a significant escalation in officials’ efforts to stifle protest, they say.

“The purpose of these door knocks is simple: to intimidate the target and others in efforts to discourage people from engaging in lawful First Amendment activities,” Jocelyn Rosnick, a coordinator with the Ohio chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, wrote in a statement denouncing the home visits.

Any lefty who still thinks this is a lesser of two evils situation is, in my opinion, just plain wrong and I generally credit progressives for having at least some degree of common sense politically.

The Democratic platform doesn’t achieve that coherence. It is significantly more progressive than recent party platforms, especially on criminal-justice reform and the need to empower workers. It’s got some good language on climate change and banking reform, but too frequently punches are pulled where they should be thrown—as with its wrongheaded avoidance of formal opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, corporate-welfare schemes, and lobbyist abuses. But the devil is not in the details; it’s in the lack of an overarching vision. The platform doesn’t provide a clear sense of how all the pieces of America’s economic, social, and political puzzle might fit together with the Democrats in power.
That’s something Clinton and her running mate will have to provide. They must paint the big picture of America as a country where prosperity really is shared, where inequality is addressed, and where marginalized people will know that a strong and functional government is on their side. Clinton should tell the convention and the country that it’s a very big deal that a woman has been nominated by a major party for president, and she should use this evidence of social progress to explain the greater progress she now seeks. There will be doubters—of the nominee’s commitment, and of the prospects for serious change. Clinton should answer them with a bolder vision and a sense of what could be accomplished if we’re prepared to tax billionaires and to ensure that no one who works 40 hours a week will live in poverty; to break up corporate monopolies and renew competition and honest entrepreneurship; to address climate change with the same determination with which we put a man on the moon; to amend the Constitution to get big money out of politics; and, finally, to guarantee the right to vote and to address structural racism, sexism, homophobia, and anti-immigrant bigotry, because doing so will free all of us to build on the promise of an American dream that has been too long deferred. She should not hesitate to echo Sanders, who endorsed her on July 12, and Sanders and his supporters should not hesitate to prod the nominee to fully and consistently embrace progressive positions. That prodding, especially on issues of economic and political reform, will make Clinton and the Democrats stronger.

Any lefty who still thinks this is a lesser of two evils situation is, in my opinion, just plain wrong and I generally credit progressives for having at least some degree of common sense politically.

He is doomed to fail, just like his casinos.

Hillary Clinton is center-right (or Republican-lite) as I stated here on many occasions.