Comments

2

It looks like trump gets the opponent he was hoping for.

The real question is, will Joe get his wish and win reelection to the Senate?

3

Will Biden Backers be gracious in this victory?

Will Bernie supporters strike out in anger?
Stay tuned.

3

Wonder how many of the Duma members who abstained during the vote for Putin will wind up mysteriously getting poisoned in the upcoming months?

4

Re: Age

Seems to me young people want to continue living like their parents are still paying their bills.

5

Its one of the most enduring facts of American political life - lots of people think there's going to be a "brokered convention" during February and then it never even comes close.

Its interesting to review today this article about Sanders from April last year: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/04/bernie-sanders-thinking-he-will-win-it-all-2020/587326/

"He’s counting on winning Iowa and New Hampshire, where he was already surprisingly strong in 2016, and hoping that Cory Booker and Kamala Harris will split the black electorate in South Carolina and give him a path to slip through there, too."

What's that old Mike Tyson line? Something like everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face.

6

This is for Bernie.

https://youtu.be/aFkcAH-m9W0

7

Lets hope biden shows a little more grace than hillary did in 2016. It sucks to see that 30% of our population is unrepresented because of our winner-takes-all system though.

8

"Here are the ages of voters taken from exit polls in Michigan."

Bernie supporters: Young!
Biden supporters: most likely not gonna fare well in the upcoming Pandemic. Ironic, since Joe's (probably) the Least Likely to land us M4A. But who needs that shit, right?

Let's (instead) give our precious Healthcare dollars to Insurance Corps and their VERY highly-paid Executives.

Planet-wide, Healthcare is a RIGHT.
Thank gawd , WE're Exceptional.

9

@4,

Parents SHOULD pay their children's bills. They're wealthier than their children, they can afford to pay the bills. The children can't, they have no money or resources. To expect children to pay the household bills when they have no resources is absurd.

12

If the rest of the moderates had not been in the race for the earlier ballots, Bernie would be getting absolutely crushed in WA. Basically all of the Mike, Pete and Amy votes would have gone Biden, and the Liz vote would have at best split. Technically Bernie might win WA, but definitely the solid majority of Democratic Washingtonians prefer Biden.

13

Most children of Boomers had to raise their parents, as well as themselves.

14

@7-- Biden thanked Bernie and his
supporters last nite; Classy move.

Bernie headed back to Vermont;
let's see whether or not Bernie
shows some Class here, too.

15

@8
And a just as important statistic-
Michigan voters under 40 - 29% of voters
voters 50 and older- 55% of voters.
Younger voters have not turned out in the last 2 weeks. When (if) they do, then they will get their candidate.

16

How are public K-12 schools not large gathering? I totally get the "can't go to online because not every kid has a laptop" argument, but at some point the impending public health disaster ought to outweigh the equity concern, at least temporarily. I mean we are the gd epicenter.

17

@Pat L -- "When (if) they
[the Youth] do [show the
fuck up], then they will
get their candidate."

Sadly, C-19 is (somewhat?) likely
to get them and their Elderly Suporters
first. Well, not so much those with great,
(assured!) Healthcare. Biden's not all that
Pro M4A, so how many elderly (me included)
are likely to remain to Vote for Status Quo Joe?

FDR -- elected FOUR TIMES -- told US that he could
Fix America -- but ONLY with US pushing his Wealty ass
to do so. Which we, the people (well, they) fucking DID.

18

This may sound harsh, but life is not priceless. Courts and economists frequently make such monetary determinations, for example. Obviously, shutting down large segments of the economy has a cost. What I am not hearing from elected officials, and certainly not from public health experts, is an acknowledgement that such draconian measures might just cause, on net, more harm than good in terms of the costs to society. A sober analysis of the overall costs compared to the overall benefits is sorely needed. Saving lives at any cost is a losing strategy, particularly when protective measures are financed by additional debt to be paid by the young and future generations.

19

Why does the Democrat party give two shits who wins the primaries in in Alabama, Utah or Kentucky? They aren't winning those states so who cares what democrat wins those primaries? Remember when Pat Robertson won the Republican caucus here? Yeah, same thing.

21

We'd be having a different conversation if the younger voters actually showed up. So apparently they like Bernie, but not enough to actually show up to the voting booth. Or mail in a damn ballot.

I'd rather be counting on the old farts who are actually showing up.

22

@19: Maybe it has something to do with democracy and that every vote counts and that upsets can and do occur.

23

@19 I think because there are elected offices other than President of the United States.

24

The promising yet utterly depressing thing? Those non college educated folks who couldn't stand Hillary (voted for Sanders in primary, probably voted for Trump in general) are all in for Biden. Makes me hopeful for democrats taking the WH but that's about it. We have some serious work ahead of ourselves.

25

@21.

Most people under 25 have never mailed a letter in their lives. Seems like the only way to get them to vote is with unsecure smartphones and snapchat filters.

26

(Metaphorically) On Voter Apathy (youthful, and otherwise):

"Ian Bassin, the executive director of Protect Democracy, cites the elephant graph as part of the reason for America’s democratic decline. 'But I think finance only tells part of the story,' he said, 'because there are other factors that need to be accounted for.'

Instead of invoking an elephant, Bassin visualizes a volcano. 'At the base, there are massive underlying conditions that are changing in the same way that the Earth’s tectonic plates shift—climate, migration, globalization, tribalism—and lava flows into the base of the volcano.

At the layer above, you have what I think of as accelerants, like the rise of social media—things like Russian interference—and democratic distortions—like partisan gerrymandering.'

The cumulative effect of those accelerants, he said, has been to fuel skepticism about the functioning of American democracy, because they have warped or thwarted the effect of the popular will.

Bassin continued, 'At the very top of a volcano, there are supposed to be a bunch of checks and balances that hold back the heat and force.

But we have a Congress that has basically abdicated its congressional obligations of oversight of the executive, and an executive who openly claims to be above the law. So you’ve got the lava exploding out the top of the volcano.”
--Evan Osnos

https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/why-democracy-is-on-the-decline-in-the-united-states

27

The young will never vote in sufficient enough numbers to offset the influence of older Americans. Young people aren't used to voting, and they are less driven by routine than they are trying to piece together the building blocks of their lives (careers, relationships, etc). They're also still trying to figure out how to put other people before themselves, which is not a knock on them...it's just a learned skill that takes time to grow. And they're more hormonally distracted, thinking about sex and possibilities and the future and such. Senior citizens as a group are better able to focus, with fewer distractions and more experience with the consequences of not voting. They're also more directly affected by voting outcomes, either culturally via their affiliation with a party or community which plays a large role in defining their identity, or practically through dependence on governmental assistance.

It is what it is.

28

@26

Also, Kristifarian, thanks for all you do. I am reaching burnouts, and your example keeps me motivated.

29

kristofarian**

See?

30

Da Nada, Garbby!

I figured I'd be Depressed with the News
but instead I'm feeling Inspired. Who knew?
And Thanks for your great comments, too!
Solidarity!

31

Could it be that most people tend toward the center politically because they experience life as complex and that the current iterations of right and left come across as too harshly judgemental? On the right, Trump is always right; anyone who dissents from Trump's views is a "dummocrat" or "lib" or "rino" or "traitor." And on the left--and this is true too often of The Stranger--anyone to the right of Bernie Sawant and Kshama Sawant is a corporate sell-out, a rich fucker, an millionaire asshole, a racist, a sexist. Many voters are tiring of the sanctimonious blamers, the harshly judgmental with one-stop-shopping package-deal politics, the sellers of images of political messiahs. Many voters do not hate capitalism, and they weary of hypocrites who denounce racism as they move ten miles from the nearest neighborhood with a large number of poor people of color. And they sense, rightly, that a Donald Trump's glib dismissal of the coronavirus threat or Bernie Sanders' promises about medicare for all, free college tuition, and cancellation of college debt are too easy, too divorced from the actual, complex details of actual life. The voters are onto something here with their support of Biden, a deeply flawed candidate but someone I'd support in a fingersnap over Trump. There's a harsh, easy judgementalism on both right and left: racist! sexist! dumb lib! asshole! fuck you! That's not to say Biden perfectly exemplifies political virtue--but I think his more moderate politics symbolize a return to less harsh, less simplistic judgements. And both the hard right and hard left should listen to this--not bemoan voters as stupid or deluded or indifferent. Respect what voters are trying to say here rather than simply dismiss them as centrist cowards, sell-outs, and fools and tools.

32

"Joe's (probably) the Least Likely to land us M4A"

Here is Biden's plan:

"Giving Americans a new choice, a public health insurance option like Medicare. If your insurance company isn’t doing right by you, you should have another, better choice. Whether you’re covered through your employer, buying your insurance on your own, or going without coverage altogether, the Biden Plan will give you the choice to purchase a public health insurance option like Medicare. "

Sounds like Medicare for all who want it, even though he isn't calling it that.

"Governors and state legislatures in 14 states have refused to take up the Affordable Care Act’s expansion of Medicaid eligibility, denying access to Medicaid for an estimated 4.9 million adults. Biden’s plan will ensure these individuals get covered by offering premium-free access to the public option for those 4.9 million individuals who would be eligible for Medicaid but for their state’s inaction, and making sure their public option covers the full scope of Medicaid benefits. Additionally, Biden will ensure people making below 138% of the federal poverty level get covered. "

So, again, an expansion of the public option into states that have so far refused to offer it, as well as to individuals who are somewhat poor (but can't afford the premium) but not extremely poor .

"The Biden Plan will help middle class families by eliminating the 400% income cap on tax credit eligibility and lowering the limit on the cost of coverage from 9.86% of income to 8.5%. This means that no family buying insurance on the individual marketplace, regardless of income, will have to spend more than 8.5% of their income on health insurance."

This keeps the private health insurance market, but lowers the maximum fee. So basically like the Netherlands, more or less.

As with lots of other issues, the devil is in the details. I would rather have a well funded Netherland's system, than an underfunded Canadian one. It is anybody's guess as to who can advance the system more -- Bernie or Joe. I don't think most people, in 1959, would think that the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act would become law because we elected a good old boy from Texas. But LBJ knew how to twist some arms -- hopefully Biden does too. It sure looks from the campaign trail that he isn't buying anyone's bullshit, which is a good sign.

33

Party for 249 of my closest friends at Gasworks Park on Saturday at Noon.

No pets.

34

@22 the 2 party system has exactly jack shit to do with democracy, but sure, a state that definitely will not vote for a certain party should definitely pick who that party decides to run for national office.

35

@ 31,

No. The truth is that voters are functionally incompetent and incapable of making fully informed, rational choices. People choose based on name recognition, or what the candidate looks like, or nothing at all other than how a candidate makes them feel.

We’re using a corrupted 18th century system of government based on a racist kleptocracy that’s unable to address 21st century problems in any meaningful way. This is why it usually produces disastrous outcomes and is in the late stages of collapse.

Our particular system guarantees that our worst citizens are always in charge even after they lose elections (ex. the Electoral College, the Senate, the Supreme Court, etc). Our system is an illegitimate fraud as a democracy, which is compounded by the fact that large majorities of young people refuse to vote under any circumstances, even including mail-in ballots.

36

@7 What are you referring to? The Democratic primaries are proportional, not winner takes all.

37

I'd say that if voters under 25 are so clueless about how politics works in this country that they buy into Sanders' dishonest and fantastical promises they are doing us all a favor by not voting.

38

@37. Not if Trump wins. It is in everyone's interest to bridge the generational gap, especially now.

40

Can we please take a moment for a reality check and remember Sanders had had a cardiac "event" during this campaign. His health is questionable as is the impact of COVID-19 if he gets infected. It's hard to believe that progressives are too dumbo or such blind ideologues that they don't realize this. DUH.. He's the same age as those nursing home resident who are dying from the virus and has an underlying health condition that makes him vulnerable.

Stop making this about voter age, unless you want to acknowledge more mature voters are much more aware of health issues.

41

@39 He says, as the stock market spirals ever downward, and orange pustule tweeters furiously about fake news.

Have you been huffing cleaning fluid David?

42

@31: Okay, you can have your little revolutions, reparations, social justice, and other furniture rearranging after we get the madman out of the White House by electing Biden. You have a problem with that?

Or, do you prefer to not vote for him in November on the insane notion that Biden is status quo and it's worth having Trump another four years to really learn our lesson on just how stupid Americans are so that then we can have a real revolution?

43

Oops, @42 is for @35!

44

"Okay, you can have your little revolutions, reparations, social justice, and other furniture rearranging... "

Could you possibly get any more Patronizing?
I'm just not sensing it, somehow....

You're trying to Win votes here, right?

(Sorry, rainy, but you're just coming off as Hillaryesque).
[Pretty sure that Shit's already sailed].

46

Were Shorline Dave (Dave, it's sad, already) to get one full dose of Democracy Now! (a full hour -- I spose you could skip thru the slow parts), 'is 'ead probably implode, so no, never mind.

Or, Try Tom Hartman (or Tom Tomorow, at the Nib he's an Awesome lefty 'toonist)(owning the cons while they own the libs), his little show on kbcs fm bellevue'd curl a righty's hair. Or straighten it. More non-corporate chat with Tom chatting and taking calls. He gets awesome, articulate guests. m-f 9 til noon.


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