“in a Rational World the Midterm Races Would Not Be Close”

You are absolutely correct.

I’m stunned it has taken you so long to realize that we do not live in a rational world.

One of the most frustrating things about arguing/debating with progressives is the same thing that makes arguing/debating with libertarians frustrating.

The fantasy world they both live in.

Libertarians live in a fantasy world where no business would ever sweep rat droppings into their hot dogs because of course the market would turn against them.

Progressives inhabit the same world. A world where everyone’s primary motivation is altruism and people never make decisions solely based on their own selfish desires.

Welcome to the real world Charles. It’s a horribly brutal place.

If you want progress remember the slogan that broke almost a quarter century of Republican dominance of the White House.

It’s the economy, stupid.

re 'we'll Never lose another Vote'
Thom Hartmann breaks it down
but he was gonna do it thru
political Persuasion rather
than Shenanigans so
maybe not All of
'em are Fully
deplorable

"I live in a society
that is designed to be
nothing but maddening
to all forms of reason.”

it's a Stress Test Chas
they're Monitoring you
for gawd only knows Why
or maybe they just Enjoy Listening

Alexa -- why does
my Wife Hate
me?

Well, Bob, let me
Count the Ways:

Mila Kunis/Ashton Kutcher 2024!

let’s get serious here folks

anagramatically
Ginni Thomas = Moaning Shit

actually it took 6 months to repair the bridge. The other 1.5 years they stood around with their dicks in their hands.

Oprah has ditched Oz!

@1 the world is shit so we much never challenge ourselves to overcome the shittiness is quite the self-fulfilling prophecy

Wonderful Slog. Voting has become synonymous with riding the whirlwind. Rationalism has become like the samurai ethic of honor. Dying under the weight of capitalism and raw power. Well done, Sir.

@8 It’s more about setting reasonable expectations.

Biden’s presidency has actually been pretty successful. COVID Relief, a progressive appropriations bill, an infrastructure bill, and the very green Inflation Reduction Act. Yet from almost day one progressives have been bitching that it’s not enough.
We didn’t raise the minimum wage, provide student loan relief fast enough or to enough people, etc., etc. Bitch, bitch, bitch.

And surprise, all that bitching has kept the Democrats from campaigning on their actual successes and quashed voter enthusiasm on the left.

Win or lose next week Democrats need to marginalize their loud obnoxious progressive wing if they want to compete in 2024.

We should all be glad Charles doesn't drive because he would be one of these DUI drivers shutting down traffic for hours. 100.
Instead he gets to live the privileged life of bitching about how other people have to drive to work or take their kids to preschool or whatever awful thing that isn't sitting on their ass pontificating all day.

@11 and here you sit all warm and bitchy and pontificastic. Talk about pot kettle self loathing. If Grandma had a schwanz she'd be Grandpa. Of course if some things were different but others the same then some things might be different yet also the same, you cracked the code.

.

@11 you criticize someone for “sitting around all day and pontificating” but your username is 420blazeit. There’s irony there

What, nearly 100 BILLION dollars in profit annually isn't enough for Amazon that they must stop hiring people to do the work?

@12 cool story
@14 not sure how a username advocating Marijuana is sitting around pontificating all day, but OK

sounds like y'all been drinking with Charles. glug glug.

According to Charles, the only way to be 'rational' is to agree with everything he thinks. Ok, well I'd rather live in a world that is irrational to Charles, while I still have that option. Because, as history demonstrates, for those who inhabit it, a free world that is conservatively moral is objectively better than the "Culte de la Raison" revolting leftists try to sling you, when you aren't buying Marxism.

@1 -- Scandinavia is not a fantasy world. The countries there have been progressive for a very long time (just as the U. S. was progressing after WW II then suddenly stopped and reversed course). They have problems, of course, it is just that they deal with it better than the rest of the world. Their police force is more effective. Their schools are more effective. Their electoral process is more effective. The people are happier, and they are doing a better job at tackling global warming than the rest of the world. If you look at various measures of such things, they keep coming up on top. They are simply taking approaches that are more effective -- that studies show are more effective -- which are the progressive ones.

The folks on the left are not suggesting we institute experimental, untested polices. We are pushing for things that work in other countries. Those on the right are pushing for polices that we know have failed. But as long as they can take advantage of a gullible, provincial population, they will continue to have some success.

@Ross -- BINGO:

"But as long as they
[rwnj] can take advantage of
a gullible, provincial population,
they will continue to have some success."

the so-called right Knows
that defunding public schools
is the very best way to keep electing Fools

& to getting ever more tools*
to perpetuate this reich wing
Insanity that only Cements their

Anti-Democratic Authoritarian rule

*see: @17 16 11 10
ad infinitum
ad vomitas
et al

@18 “Scandinavia is not a fantasy world.”

No it is not. It’s also not the United States of America.

Have you ever been to the USA or met any if it’s residents?

Seems as though somewhere between 40 percent and 60 percent of them are adamantly opposed to what Progressives are suggesting.

Now you have some choices.

You could insult the people who disagree with you. Which might make you feel better but probably won’t change their minds.

Or you could accept that you’ll just need to work within the realm of the possible and adjust your goals accordingly.

"US and Brazil take note."

Uh, Charles, Brazil literally just elected a dude that got was thrown in jail on massive political corruption charges. I think we can all agree Bolsonaro is a terrible human being, but Lula isn't the saint people are making him out to be.

@18 Scandinavian countries are also a homogenous population and culture and a shared sense of history. The strategies deployed there will never work here as long as we have the tribalism that is pushed by both political parties.

@10 Please tell me this. If the government can do anything about inflation why did the Democrats call their mini Green New Deal the Inflation Reduction Act. I mean that is a pretty stupid thing to do if you didn't want to get blamed for inflation.
Also, isn't the Federal Reserve part of the government and be appointed by the President?

But it is obviously everyone else's fault.

@18 Ross for the WIN!

The Smiley/Murray race was not that close.