I followed BrotherIvan's exhortation to check out reddit and saw that important notice.

Some states have open primaries. In my state, I can vote in a Democratic primary only if I am registered Democratic or "unenrolled." If I am registered Republican, Green or any other so-called 'third Party, I cannot vote in a Democratic primary. Check the rules in your state and get this out of the way now, before you forget. The Secretary of State usually puts them online.

So, a benefit to the Democratic Party, as least for a while, may be to increase the rolls of registered Democrats. Win win.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026594106

And that includes some who are in the Bernie Sanders Group.

I support Bernie, but {insert negative comment about Bernie here}. And never is a positive comment about Bernie or any other potential candidate made. Maybe some negative comments about them are made. Positive comments about Hillary, however, abound.

I am no fan of Hillary, but {insert comment favorable to Hillary here} And never is a negative comment about Hillary made, but positive comments about Hillary are. And never are positive comments about any other potential candidate made. But maybe some negative comments are.

I guess that is supposed to make what comes after the "but" seem more convincing?

"I am no fan of Dr. Phil," but he's right when he says just ignore everything before the "but."

I can list things I don't appreciate about Hillary. I know that no politician is perfect. I don't expect agreement with me on every issue. Those talking points are just silly.

But, there are three or four things that I do have real trouble overlooking. If anyone can disappear those things and the damage that flowed from them, I will delete my Bernie logo and replace it with Hillary's in a heartbeat.

1. She helped found the DLC and spread its New Democrat gospel, including to Europe. We know it has helped take our Party and our country to the right and we know what has flowed from that. Lord only knows what it did in Europe.

2. She not only voted for, but advocated for, the DLC/Progressive Policy Institute agenda of war in Iraq. And please don't tell me about the intel. She never even read the NIE. Beyond that, no Democrat I know believed Bushco and/or the media. Did you?

3. Her 2004 advocacy in the Senate for marriage as a sacred bond between a man and a woman.

http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4535174/hillary-clinton-gay-marriage-2004

4. The "racially tinged" campaign she ran against Obama, including throwing him under fucking McCain's bus on the 3 am phone call and that photo of him dressed in traditional African garb.

Sure, he was elected President, so we can say no damage really flowed from that. But, I bet it was painful for him. Moreover, everything isn't about Obama and only Obama. Many people of all hues are hurt by racism were, at the very least, not helped by that. The precedent set for future campaigns was horrific--and it was set at that level, not by a Republican, but by a Democrat.

That's it. Just four things. Reverse the damage from those things and I'll change logos, sign up at the Hillary website, donate and volunteer, no matter what else there is and no matter what else may be revealed in the coming months.

Hi

1. At least some groups are supposed to be safe havens. In GD, for example, a poster can alert if a post is inappropriate for the forum. Being able to do that with a post that is too combative for a group would be useful, as opposed to having to notify every host individually. I don't see a way to do that within a group.

Is there a way?

2. Is there any board penalty or stigma for being banned from a group? I have no problem with the banning itself. I'd rather not be able to post in the group accidentally anyway (which was the reason for the banning).


thank you.

Democrats seems to be firming."

I can't imagine why comparing House Democrats to Republicans who claimed Obamacare included death panels didn't persuade them to his point of view.

On Charlie Rose this week, a guest (male, if it matters) spoke of a woman who woke up at some point to find out her best friend (male) was raping her. The guest added that this kind of event can be even more damaging to a woman than being raped by a stranger because it can take her ability to trust anyone or anything.


One of Charlie's Rose's questions to his guest went something like this: Do you think that, in 99% of the cases, the males know they are rapists?

The guest responded that many men (perps) don't see it as rape, but it is.

http://www.pbs.org/charlierosetheweek/home/

Date of video April 24, 2015 (about 10 minutes in)

This is PBS, no less.

Cheney: Obama is 'worst president of my lifetime'



Star Member merrily (17,947 posts)
102. I thought Cheney was the worst President of my lifetime, though St. Ronnie may have tied.

http://upload.democraticunderground.com/10026380699#post102

White House Correspondents' Dinner: Obama's Best Zingers

President Barack Obama got some big laughs during the White House Correspondents Dinner in Washington on Saturday. He took jabs at his fellow politicians, major media outlets, and even took a few shots at himself.

Here are some of his biggest laugh lines of the night:


............



"Dick Cheney said I was the worst president of his lifetime, which is interesting because I think Dick Cheney is the worst president of MY lifetime."

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/white-house-correspondents-dinner/white-house-correspondents-dinner-obamas-best-zingers-n348401

Ok, the President's writers probably did NOT copy from my post. But, I'm taking it anyway! Try and stop me.

Who puts more wear and tear on infrastructure (roads, bridges, airports, ports, railroads), someone earning $25K a year waiting tables or someone with loads of money and a lot of stock in an import export business (to give just one example)? Who pollutes the air and water more? Who gets benefit after benefit from government for being a "job creator," even if the majority of the jobs created are overseas? When was the last time you got invited to a social event held by the Mayor or the Governor or the President at taxpayer expense? And so on. The airwaves are supposed to be public. How many millions have you made from them? And so one.

It's not they should pay more taxes so we can get their money. It's that their fair share should be much more than they've been paying. Probably more than they ever will pay.

Another example, a local one for me. A lovely park on the Boston waterfront was renovated. The renovation was supposed to cost one million. It ended costing several million. No big surprise there. However, the park stayed dug up a long time. No one could use it. Finally, it was finished. Yeayyy. But...it looked exactly the same from the street. So, I asked someone what they had done to the park. Answer: "They made it smaller."

Whaaaaa? All that time and tax money to make a park smaller? Why? More parking for boats. Now, why did everyone who owns a bit of a condo in Boston (or a mansion) have to chip in real estate taxes to make a public park smaller so more boats could park? There is a small hotel on the waterfront that caters to boat owners. If I had to guess why, my money is on guest parking for that hotel so the owner of that hotel can get richer. On my dime.

1. Sanders


He says he will run if he sees support. Some are posting that they will support him if declares. That is circular. If someone wants to support him, this seems to be the time.

Also, supporting him now may help him raise money with larger donors. Borrowing a truth from EMILY's List, Early Money Is Like Yeast. It makes the dough rise.

His website gives you a way to contribute and ways to take action.

https://berniesanders.com/

If you imagine any scenario under which you might support Sanders, this is the time to start.


2. O'Malley.


Pretty much the same thing as Bernie. He seems willing to run, if his "exploration" gives him the notion he can manage it.

Early Money Is Like Yeast. It makes the dough rise.

His website: http://martinomalley.com/

O'Malley has some strong supporters on this site. However, there are also some who see him as corporatist and/or a stalking horse or potential Vice Presidential candidate for Hillary. Or someone who is getting himself known nationally for a future run. On the bright side, he has seen the populist movement (the one that supposedly doesn't exist outside DU) and he will feel the pressure of it as he runs, just as Hillary obviously does. He is already a Democrat and does not have to fight the Democratic Socialist label. I have no clue what his chances are of defeating Hillary in a primary. I don't think they are either zero or 100%, though.


3. Warren.


Unlike Sanders and O'Malley, Warren has not announced even exploration. She has no website of her own at which to donate. Other websites are collecting money for her for the purpose of getting her to run. If they fail in that effort, they can keep the money. In fact, if they succeed in that effort, they can keep the money.

By this point, I feel confident in saying that she knows she has enough support among voters to run. I think she may have been convinced that, if she runs, she will help pave the way for a Republican President. Whether I am correct or not, I don't think donating to a draft Warren effort or volunteering for one at this juncture serves any productive purpose for me or for Warren.



I will go with Bernie, at least at this point. It may not be a practical choice, but I've made very practical primary choices in the past. I think his voice is important and, for me, right now, that is enough. If he drops out, that will be the time for me to re-calibrate.


How about you? Any response is fine, of course, but I will greatly appreciate at least a sentence or two beyond a name--and "I can't say yet" is a perfectly fine answer. It would have been mine this morning.



Chafee

Recently turned Democratic, then announced he might run. Backed by Obama (kinda sorta) when he ran for Governor. Voted against the Iraq War while a US Senator and makes an anti-Iraq war case, which appeals to me. I'm still going with Bernie, though.



Jim Webb

Another one I forgot in the first version of this OP. I cannot even pretend to be neutral about this one. Reagan. Sexism. On the plus side, he's good on the veterans issue. I hate war, but I also hate using up people in wars and then leaving them to cope with their physical and psychological wounds on their own. (I believe in a war tax, which tax should include every cost of war, including caring for veterans, as every society should. Then, maybe we'd have fewer wars.)