Suppose the thinking in the Democratic Caucus in the Senate was just what wonkie lays out above as what Senator Kaine should have said. Might there have been a reason not to say it out loud just now?"
wjca has a point. I saw a headline just today that said the Dems had mousetrapped the Rs. And they are mouse-trapped. Either there will be a vote on the ACA and they will have to put themselves on record or there won't be and they will be the bad guys that way too.
It is clear that certain Senators were chosen to fall on their swords.
It is entirely possible that Dems in the Senate thought, "Those sociopaths in the R party aren't going to be the first to blink, no matter what and we believe in public service and are aware of the suffering, so we have to blink. So let's strategize how to do it to lessen the blow back to us and save some people and put the Rs on the spot with the ACA."
And yes they would have to keep this quiet,
But not indefinitely. I think the time is soon to spell it all out.
Se what I mean? Mumbling curated professional word choices just doesn't work. Never has, never will. Dear God, you'd think professional politicians would know how to communicate. Now even the people the Dems were trying to protect will believe that the Dems screwed them for nothing. Honestly, Democrats. What was the point of your government shutdown? | Opinion
I've had two criticisms of Dem pols for many, many years: 1. the lack of fight and 2. the mushy, wishy-washy "respectable" way of speaking that fails to communicate anything.
I think the Dems have improved on both fronts but there is a ways to go. For example, Kaine said why he voted to end the shutdown. He said something about how there didn't seem to be any other way forward mumble mumble blah blah.
What he meant and what he should have said is this: "The Republicans don't care about anything except power for power's sake and they are willing, indeed committed to, harming millions of Americans just so they can feel powerful. They are willing to spin out the shut down until federal workers go bankrupt, children are malnourished and millions lose their health insurance. Democrats aren't ruthlessly willing to sacrifice our neighbors for power. We decided to cut a deal to save as many people as possible. This shameful episode shows that Republicans genuinely do not care about people and only care about power."
But because of the mumble mumble blah blah we have headlines saying that the shutdown was for nothing.
Now our strategy going forward to save the Democrats from complete disgrace is to run hard against the Cowardly Cave-in Caucus and get headlines that say "Don't Blame the Whole Party for the Acts of Few" which is a muddled message with nowhere near the power of the bad press the CCC has given us. Still, it's the only way to have any credibility in the midterms. Dems running for Congress will have to run hard against the decision to end the shut down without saving the ACA. 'Making this deal is malpractice.' It's Democrat vs. Democrat as shutdown nears end
These are not the kind of headlines that lead to a blue wave in the midterms. These are the kind of headlines that lead to "Both parties suck, there's no point in voting, vote third party, Dems are weak, Dems don't fight..." Democrats Concede Shutdown Fight Without Health Care Win in Hand
"Oh yes, there will be the usual wailing and rending of garments from the left. Because, the very idea of something less than total victory is anathema. But then, strategy and tactics: not a core competency there."
The idea wasn't total victory--only saving people who get ACA insurance. That's all. There was never an effort to save Medicaid, prevent the cuts in Medicare that are coming because of the increased deficit, roll back the tax cuts for the rich...the Republican bill sucks in every aspect but the Dems in Congress chose only one to stand on and they caved on that one.
Now all those people will lose their insurance because they won't be able to afford the rate increase. I lost my insurance temporarily a while ago and had to pay 900 for a one-month COBRA. It's not the kind of experience people forget or forgive.
I agree that strategy and tactics are not core competencies with the DSA left. It should be obvious though that for DECADES strategy and tactics have not been core to Congressional Dems either, not when it comes to national issues.
They completely fail to understand that they are not going to get MAGA votes, that the Republican party never operates in good faith, and that outside of MAGA most voters (especially indies) vote emotionally and have no clue at all about insider baseball tactics or policies and want to be able to vote for perceived strength and commitment.
Acting in a way that leads to headlines that say, "Dems agree to end shutdown" followed by millions suffering rate increases is fucking stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid--on an order of stupid as supporting the war in Iraq.
I think the tendency of Congressional Democrats to try to find compromise and "solutions" is a positive that functions as a negative. I am so completely disgusted by the stupidity of the Senate Dems of the Cowardly Cave In Caucus.
I've been seeing a lot of this "Government shouldn't do charity because charity should be voluntary through churches." Back in the days of Dickens, that is how charity was done. The 1800's were a transition period in Europe and the US when the medieval attitude that the poor deserved to be poor was gradually replaced by the common good and the social contract (and I'd say, basic human decency.). Quite often the people who make the argument that the government shouldn't do charity are themselves living off taxpayers and feel entitled to what they get. It isn't an argument that has any validity, in my view.
Vance strikes me as a person who has no values beyond self-promotion and no sincerity. He'll say or do what is convenient at the time. He might decide to dump the Hindo wife to marry the wife of the martyred Saint Charlie of Free Speech for Conservatives Only. It wouldn't surprise me at all.
Are you in contact with your Apache and Hopi cousins? I'm curious about how their lives turned out. My shirt tail relatives of that generation had a native adopted daughter, but their attitude was condescending and eventually she cut off all connection.
As for how good people do bad things. I think partly it's because they are good people that they can do bad things. They know their own lives, their values, their actions and think that people like them aren't doing anything bad. That plus the harm they do is an abstraction to them.
Vance is setting himself up to the next Trump by going all in on the hatemongering for the Other. That's probably why he's publicly distancing himself from his wife's religion, saying he's trying to get her to convert to Christianity. I wonder if she regrets the marriage.
I don't think we can save America from fascism without somehow countering the firehose of Goebbels style propaganda from Faux, Newsmax, and other Republican media outlets. Trump will stroke out, but the rest of the R party will remain. I don't see it as a Trump cult as much as it is a Faux news cult.
Fascinating. I don't think I get it--I'm sure I don't--but you have helped me have a deeper appreciation both historically and in terms of the intricacy. I think people who grow up with this have very different "ears" than the more simple and melodic music that I understand.
I miss the old cameras. I'm a painter and I used to use photos as a starting point. It just isn't the same trying to use a computer.
Lately I've been doing abstracts based on aerial views of the desert--I use mapquest to find images. I'm trying to get that magical, mysterious feeling of all that raw geology. It's annoying when the screen keeps going black.
Also what an amazing experience to see the Book of Kells!
I know it's silly, but I'm one of those Americans who watches the royal family soap opera. I remember reading an opinion column years ago during the Reagan admin. The writer's thesis was that the US would get better quality presidents if we had a powerless monarchy to be the focus for the people who are attracted by shiny object, which would make a president's role more that of a policy wonk.
Anyway, why to I read about the monarchy and have thoughts about the members? Escapism, I think. It is a digression from thinking about real problems.
There is a mystique about the West that's every bit as bullshit ad the mystique about the South and similar in some ways. There's the erasing of historical crimes against humanity, the faux claims to independence, and the strange definition of masculinity which includes 'strength" but not brains. The Southern version has more faux morality. Both have BS about being victimized by outside elites. The West version has A LOT of pity party about not being represented when in fact they are over-represented in government.
I guess my question is: Why is that kind of bullshit the model? Why not a model focused on re-imagined Revolutionary War heritage and New England?
Re: the Lost Cause myth. Along with that is the faux rebelliousness. I mean the guys with the confederate flag on their hat, pickup or window which they say doesn't stand for racism because it is an expression of independence, being opposed to excessive government etc. It's often a self-image thing; "I'm not a follower! I'm not conventional! I'm a free person doing things my way!" Around where I live it goes with long hair, a beard, and sometimes a meth addiction. It doesn't necessarily go with rightwing politics since some of those guys are too dysfunctional to be political. (And sometimes they are felons).
I was thinking the other day about that weird time when all of a sudden a subset of the national culture was into CB radio, complete with radios, handles, etc. Making excuses to contact each other just so they could say, "Ten four, good buddy!" When I was in college and working in a restaurant, I had the experience of waitressing a get-together of wannabe Burt Reynolds guys and their wives (who went by handles like "Sugar Cookie"). They stiffed me on the tips, BTW.
And a few years later, the sudden sprouting of TX accents and line-dancing.
Both were inspired by movies that glorified an image of southern living.
Of course I, too, was a local manifestation of a media-driven subculture, so I'm not claiming any kind of immunity or superiority to herd instinct. I'd like to believe that my subculture had better values and retains those values even if the outward manifestations have faded.
But this is all an aside. Yes, it appears that the "Southern Strategy" has gone national, at least in rural areas.
BTW I live in a red rural area, complete with flag festooned pickup trucks and local wackos in city government, but over six hundred people turned up for our No Kings Day event and the majority of people who drove past were supportive with honks and waves.
Thank you JP for the article about Shinto. I have no religion but the closest thing that really resonates with me is petroglyphs. Why? Clearly animistic but there's no words. It seems to me that as soon as people start talking about spiritual matters, we take the wonder and awe out of it and substitute in stories that reflect humanness. I have the same attitude about Mass: much better in Latin so I can't understand what is being said.
Thank you for posting! I hope we get some tales of the weird. That draft has some typos that I forgot to correct.
I've always treated objects as if they were animate--I mean some objects, not all of them. I know they aren't but that doesn't stop me from saying "Excuse me" when I stub my toe on the coffee table, or shouting, "Not one chance, asshole!" at the computer cord that tries to trip me. When I turned my old car in for the two hundred dollar trade in value, I actually cried. It was such a betrayal, felt like I was turning an old dog in to the shelter.
I'd like to know more about the Shinto concept. I have a strong feeling for certain landscapes which includes thinking of the landscape as holy but not in a Christian way. Holy more as in a place where spirits would reside if there were any.
MAGAs do not want to share the world with anyone else. Not sharing is the point of the movement
Nous mentioned the soundtrack by which his students live. I have the impression that people form their musical tastes early and tend to stick fairly closely for the rest of their lives.
That's my experience. I have expanded by learning new artists, but the sound is all in the country/rock/folk/blues range.
It seems bizarre now but when I was in high school, parties consisted of groups of young people in someone's apartment near campus, stoned and silent while listening intently to music. That's how I heard Abraxis, Abbey Road, American Beauty, Volunteers.
The idea of getting together at someone's home to listen to records seems utterly incongruent now.
Times change.
I was standing in the grocery the other day when I heard Mick Jagger wailing, "You're enough to make a dead man come!" And I thought, "In about ten years, that will be nursing home music."
*Comment archive for non-registered commenters assembled by email address as provided.
On “Spelunking for fun and profit”
Suppose the thinking in the Democratic Caucus in the Senate was just what wonkie lays out above as what Senator Kaine should have said. Might there have been a reason not to say it out loud just now?"
wjca has a point. I saw a headline just today that said the Dems had mousetrapped the Rs. And they are mouse-trapped. Either there will be a vote on the ACA and they will have to put themselves on record or there won't be and they will be the bad guys that way too.
It is clear that certain Senators were chosen to fall on their swords.
It is entirely possible that Dems in the Senate thought, "Those sociopaths in the R party aren't going to be the first to blink, no matter what and we believe in public service and are aware of the suffering, so we have to blink. So let's strategize how to do it to lessen the blow back to us and save some people and put the Rs on the spot with the ACA."
And yes they would have to keep this quiet,
But not indefinitely. I think the time is soon to spell it all out.
"
Se what I mean? Mumbling curated professional word choices just doesn't work. Never has, never will. Dear God, you'd think professional politicians would know how to communicate. Now even the people the Dems were trying to protect will believe that the Dems screwed them for nothing. Honestly, Democrats. What was the point of your government shutdown? | Opinion
"
I've had two criticisms of Dem pols for many, many years: 1. the lack of fight and 2. the mushy, wishy-washy "respectable" way of speaking that fails to communicate anything.
I think the Dems have improved on both fronts but there is a ways to go. For example, Kaine said why he voted to end the shutdown. He said something about how there didn't seem to be any other way forward mumble mumble blah blah.
What he meant and what he should have said is this: "The Republicans don't care about anything except power for power's sake and they are willing, indeed committed to, harming millions of Americans just so they can feel powerful. They are willing to spin out the shut down until federal workers go bankrupt, children are malnourished and millions lose their health insurance. Democrats aren't ruthlessly willing to sacrifice our neighbors for power. We decided to cut a deal to save as many people as possible. This shameful episode shows that Republicans genuinely do not care about people and only care about power."
But because of the mumble mumble blah blah we have headlines saying that the shutdown was for nothing.
On “When virtues become vices”
Now our strategy going forward to save the Democrats from complete disgrace is to run hard against the Cowardly Cave-in Caucus and get headlines that say "Don't Blame the Whole Party for the Acts of Few" which is a muddled message with nowhere near the power of the bad press the CCC has given us. Still, it's the only way to have any credibility in the midterms. Dems running for Congress will have to run hard against the decision to end the shut down without saving the ACA. 'Making this deal is malpractice.' It's Democrat vs. Democrat as shutdown nears end
"
These are not the kind of headlines that lead to a blue wave in the midterms. These are the kind of headlines that lead to "Both parties suck, there's no point in voting, vote third party, Dems are weak, Dems don't fight..." Democrats Concede Shutdown Fight Without Health Care Win in Hand
"
"Oh yes, there will be the usual wailing and rending of garments from the left. Because, the very idea of something less than total victory is anathema. But then, strategy and tactics: not a core competency there."
The idea wasn't total victory--only saving people who get ACA insurance. That's all. There was never an effort to save Medicaid, prevent the cuts in Medicare that are coming because of the increased deficit, roll back the tax cuts for the rich...the Republican bill sucks in every aspect but the Dems in Congress chose only one to stand on and they caved on that one.
Now all those people will lose their insurance because they won't be able to afford the rate increase. I lost my insurance temporarily a while ago and had to pay 900 for a one-month COBRA. It's not the kind of experience people forget or forgive.
I agree that strategy and tactics are not core competencies with the DSA left. It should be obvious though that for DECADES strategy and tactics have not been core to Congressional Dems either, not when it comes to national issues.
They completely fail to understand that they are not going to get MAGA votes, that the Republican party never operates in good faith, and that outside of MAGA most voters (especially indies) vote emotionally and have no clue at all about insider baseball tactics or policies and want to be able to vote for perceived strength and commitment.
Acting in a way that leads to headlines that say, "Dems agree to end shutdown" followed by millions suffering rate increases is fucking stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid--on an order of stupid as supporting the war in Iraq.
"
I think the tendency of Congressional Democrats to try to find compromise and "solutions" is a positive that functions as a negative. I am so completely disgusted by the stupidity of the Senate Dems of the Cowardly Cave In Caucus.
On “People and poliltics”
I was expecting a blue wave but it exceeded my hopes.
"
I've been seeing a lot of this "Government shouldn't do charity because charity should be voluntary through churches." Back in the days of Dickens, that is how charity was done. The 1800's were a transition period in Europe and the US when the medieval attitude that the poor deserved to be poor was gradually replaced by the common good and the social contract (and I'd say, basic human decency.). Quite often the people who make the argument that the government shouldn't do charity are themselves living off taxpayers and feel entitled to what they get. It isn't an argument that has any validity, in my view.
On “Another variety in the diversity of greasy”
Vance strikes me as a person who has no values beyond self-promotion and no sincerity. He'll say or do what is convenient at the time. He might decide to dump the Hindo wife to marry the wife of the martyred Saint Charlie of Free Speech for Conservatives Only. It wouldn't surprise me at all.
On “People and poliltics”
Are you in contact with your Apache and Hopi cousins? I'm curious about how their lives turned out. My shirt tail relatives of that generation had a native adopted daughter, but their attitude was condescending and eventually she cut off all connection.
As for how good people do bad things. I think partly it's because they are good people that they can do bad things. They know their own lives, their values, their actions and think that people like them aren't doing anything bad. That plus the harm they do is an abstraction to them.
On “Horrifying stuff”
Sociopaths don't suffer from cognitive dissonance.
"
Vance is setting himself up to the next Trump by going all in on the hatemongering for the Other. That's probably why he's publicly distancing himself from his wife's religion, saying he's trying to get her to convert to Christianity. I wonder if she regrets the marriage.
On “I got depressed so I bought hydrangeas”
I don't think we can save America from fascism without somehow countering the firehose of Goebbels style propaganda from Faux, Newsmax, and other Republican media outlets. Trump will stroke out, but the rest of the R party will remain. I don't see it as a Trump cult as much as it is a Faux news cult.
On “Something Different”
Thank you. There's probably a camera store in Olympia too.
On “Weekend music thread #03 Rhumba and the clave”
Fascinating. I don't think I get it--I'm sure I don't--but you have helped me have a deeper appreciation both historically and in terms of the intricacy. I think people who grow up with this have very different "ears" than the more simple and melodic music that I understand.
On “Something Different”
Nous, can you recommend a specific camera for me? Something easy to use.
"
I miss the old cameras. I'm a painter and I used to use photos as a starting point. It just isn't the same trying to use a computer.
Lately I've been doing abstracts based on aerial views of the desert--I use mapquest to find images. I'm trying to get that magical, mysterious feeling of all that raw geology. It's annoying when the screen keeps going black.
Also what an amazing experience to see the Book of Kells!
On “Monarchy in the UK”
I know it's silly, but I'm one of those Americans who watches the royal family soap opera. I remember reading an opinion column years ago during the Reagan admin. The writer's thesis was that the US would get better quality presidents if we had a powerless monarchy to be the focus for the people who are attracted by shiny object, which would make a president's role more that of a policy wonk.
Anyway, why to I read about the monarchy and have thoughts about the members? Escapism, I think. It is a digression from thinking about real problems.
On “The South shall writhe again”
There is a mystique about the West that's every bit as bullshit ad the mystique about the South and similar in some ways. There's the erasing of historical crimes against humanity, the faux claims to independence, and the strange definition of masculinity which includes 'strength" but not brains. The Southern version has more faux morality. Both have BS about being victimized by outside elites. The West version has A LOT of pity party about not being represented when in fact they are over-represented in government.
I guess my question is: Why is that kind of bullshit the model? Why not a model focused on re-imagined Revolutionary War heritage and New England?
"
Re: the Lost Cause myth. Along with that is the faux rebelliousness. I mean the guys with the confederate flag on their hat, pickup or window which they say doesn't stand for racism because it is an expression of independence, being opposed to excessive government etc. It's often a self-image thing; "I'm not a follower! I'm not conventional! I'm a free person doing things my way!" Around where I live it goes with long hair, a beard, and sometimes a meth addiction. It doesn't necessarily go with rightwing politics since some of those guys are too dysfunctional to be political. (And sometimes they are felons).
"
I was thinking the other day about that weird time when all of a sudden a subset of the national culture was into CB radio, complete with radios, handles, etc. Making excuses to contact each other just so they could say, "Ten four, good buddy!" When I was in college and working in a restaurant, I had the experience of waitressing a get-together of wannabe Burt Reynolds guys and their wives (who went by handles like "Sugar Cookie"). They stiffed me on the tips, BTW.
And a few years later, the sudden sprouting of TX accents and line-dancing.
Both were inspired by movies that glorified an image of southern living.
Of course I, too, was a local manifestation of a media-driven subculture, so I'm not claiming any kind of immunity or superiority to herd instinct. I'd like to believe that my subculture had better values and retains those values even if the outward manifestations have faded.
But this is all an aside. Yes, it appears that the "Southern Strategy" has gone national, at least in rural areas.
BTW I live in a red rural area, complete with flag festooned pickup trucks and local wackos in city government, but over six hundred people turned up for our No Kings Day event and the majority of people who drove past were supportive with honks and waves.
On “The Return of the Boat Hook”
Thank you JP for the article about Shinto. I have no religion but the closest thing that really resonates with me is petroglyphs. Why? Clearly animistic but there's no words. It seems to me that as soon as people start talking about spiritual matters, we take the wonder and awe out of it and substitute in stories that reflect humanness. I have the same attitude about Mass: much better in Latin so I can't understand what is being said.
f
"
Thank you for posting! I hope we get some tales of the weird. That draft has some typos that I forgot to correct.
I've always treated objects as if they were animate--I mean some objects, not all of them. I know they aren't but that doesn't stop me from saying "Excuse me" when I stub my toe on the coffee table, or shouting, "Not one chance, asshole!" at the computer cord that tries to trip me. When I turned my old car in for the two hundred dollar trade in value, I actually cried. It was such a betrayal, felt like I was turning an old dog in to the shelter.
I'd like to know more about the Shinto concept. I have a strong feeling for certain landscapes which includes thinking of the landscape as holy but not in a Christian way. Holy more as in a place where spirits would reside if there were any.
On “Weekend music thread #02 Bad Bunny”
MAGAs do not want to share the world with anyone else. Not sharing is the point of the movement
Nous mentioned the soundtrack by which his students live. I have the impression that people form their musical tastes early and tend to stick fairly closely for the rest of their lives.
That's my experience. I have expanded by learning new artists, but the sound is all in the country/rock/folk/blues range.
It seems bizarre now but when I was in high school, parties consisted of groups of young people in someone's apartment near campus, stoned and silent while listening intently to music. That's how I heard Abraxis, Abbey Road, American Beauty, Volunteers.
The idea of getting together at someone's home to listen to records seems utterly incongruent now.
Times change.
I was standing in the grocery the other day when I heard Mick Jagger wailing, "You're enough to make a dead man come!" And I thought, "In about ten years, that will be nursing home music."
*Comment archive for non-registered commenters assembled by email address as provided.