US Politics: Birthing Again

[The Anti-Targ]

1 hour ago, Tywin et al. said:

I can't lie, they're vastly overrated. Throwing them at someone seems like a better use than eating them.

 

You've never eaten a good croissant then. They are amazing when made properly and fresh.

What is the likely effect of COVID on voter turnout (ignoring mail-in options being taken up widely which is the solution to voting in a time of pandemic)? The Trump-leaning voters are more likely to still believe its all overblown or even still a hoax, so they will be more than happy to crowd around polling stations to vote now and [some of them] die later. So that's a + for turnout for Trump. Biden-leaning voters are more likely to see COVID for the genuine threat that it is, so they will be more reluctant to hang around for significant periods of time in polling lines, so some may decide it's not worth risking life and health to vote so that's a - for Biden.

COVID is having less of an effect (per capita cases and deaths) in white middle and upper income communities. These communities tend to vote Republican. Though I think college educated white people skew a bit more Democratic, but I still think the male voters among college educated whites is still 50%+ for Republicans. Over all I think this is a + for Trump turnout. Conversely poor and minority communities, typically more Democratic voting, though maybe the white males in those communities are still mostly Republican voters (who are going to go to the polls in expected non-pandemic numbers because they are largely in the hoax camp) are being harder hit by COVID, so more housebound / hospital bound people on and before election day hence possibly unable to get out and vote, and people more reluctant to go to polling stations because of the personal risk. So this is a - for Biden turnout.

These effects are probably all marginal, but in tight states these effects could swing the result on the night.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

I'm having a fun holy shit moment, but I can't think of a good thread title. GET ON IT @Fragile Bird!!!

[DanteGabriel]

1 hour ago, Fragile Bird said:

With regard to AOC not getting much time - I heard on CNN a while ago that she hadn’t even endorsed Biden. Maybe that had something to do with it.

 

On 8/15/2020 at 11:23 AM, Martell Spy said:

She got the Marie Tran/Rose treatment. She's in the movie, but she's been put in the background. Out of fears she will cost the party votes.

Bird's post reminded me I said I'd think about this, and I did. I understand the comparison, the reduction of their roles out of cowardly reaction. I agree AOC should have been given a bigger role, and I certainly was pissed and felt like Tran had been abandoned by the franchise.

My emotional reaction is that Kelly Marie Tran was basically driven off social media and traumatized and threatened by assholes not liking her work in a movie and her career suffered. She was cancelled for no good reason at all. AOC is still a sitting member of Congress, still popular and on the rise. She has access to resources and support that Tran will never have. Not at all to excuse the misogyny and hate directed at AOC of course. Just didn't like the comparison, because what happened to Tran gives me such a visceral sense of disgust with... this revolting world.

[DanteGabriel]

53 minutes ago, Fury Resurrected said:

For me, I am not mad at Elizabeth Warren for accepting the invitation. I am annoyed with the Native American Caucus for inviting her. If they needed an influential senator (I don’t really know why), Sanders was endorsed by most of the heavy hitters in indigenous activism and has been a far better advocate for indigenous issues. But personally, I wish they would have taken the chance to platform an actual indigenous activist- the obvious choice being Winona LaDuke. The fight to stop Line 3 (through my home Rez) continues, and that should have been front and center. LaDuke has been ramping up visibility in the last couple weeks - my feed has been wallpapered with photos of Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda posing with Winona LaDuke and Stop Line 3 posters. Also, I would like to see them get Dr Fauci or another prominent medical professional to talk about how devastating the COVID-19 crisis has been on the Navajo Nation. Or, we could focus on border separations and bring Julían Castro to speak about our indigenous relatives being detained on the border. 
 

Choosing Warren distracts from the message.

Thank you for explaining your reasoning to me. I hadn't considered that perspective, and it does make sense to me that way.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

8 minutes ago, DanteGabriel said:

still a sitting member of Congress, still popular and on the rise. 

That sure as shit helped Rep. Hill. I can sympathize and empathize with most people, but I can't imagine what it's like to be someone my age who can't make a single fucking mistake while having your entire life exist in public.

The stress must be overwhelming.  

[Fragile Bird]

21 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

I'm having a fun holy shit moment, but I can't think of a good thread title. GET ON IT @Fragile Bird!!!

Not witty, Ty, but damn, I loved that Roll Call.

[Martell Spy]

Sorry, WAPO, there is a paywall, but this is the key part.

Quote

 

The Democratic Party’s highly choreographed effort to show unity at its national convention this week experienced a brief interlude Tuesday night when one of the party’s most prominent liberal stars took the virtual stage — though only for a minute.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s move to nominate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) for president was entirely symbolic as the party rallies around nominee Joe Biden to challenge President Trump. But while the party gave the freshman congresswoman only one minute to speak, her message was a reminder to a potential President Biden: that the far-left is a force he will have to reckon with should he win in November.

“In a time when millions of people in the United States are looking for deep systemic solutions to our crises of mass evictions, unemployment and lack of health care . . . and out of a love for all people, I hereby second the nomination of Senator Bernard Sanders of Vermont for president of the United States of America,” she said.

While the address was diplomatic, the New York Democrat — who did not mention Biden once — has been working with liberal groups to oust centrists like Biden in hopes of strengthening liberals’ foothold in Congress next year. And they’re already poised to increase their numbers, expanding their clout as they seek to push the House — and the next Democratic president — into embracing policies such as Medicare-for-all and the Green New Deal.

“Right now what you’re seeing is that we’ve got a common goal to beat Donald Trump, but come January, we maybe have a different goal,” said Corbin Trent, a former Ocasio-Cortez aide and political adviser. “They won the nomination, so they get to pick the game plan. Now, that doesn’t mean that they get to pick the game plan in the midterms, when we start primarying their a--es. And it don’t mean that they get to pick the game plan when we start recruiting for 2024 and we primary their a--es.”

 

Rep. Ocasio-Cortez’s convention speech serves as warning to Democratic establishment and Biden

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/rep-ocasio-cortezs-convention-speech-to-serve-as-warning-to-democratic-establishment-and-biden/2020/08/18/28c3d34a-e155-11ea-8dd2-d07812bf00f7_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-high_newgeneration-810p%3Ahomepage%2Fstory-ans

[Rippounet]

6 hours ago, Tywin et al. said:

I can't lie, they're vastly overrated. Throwing them at someone seems like a better use than eating them.

Blasphemy ! People have been guillotined for less*.

Also you've probably never had a real one you poor uncultured soul. They're supposed to melt in the mouth. Like a good kouign amann. Which you've likely never had either. But that's what you get for living in a country where people actually spray cheese on stuff. 

*true story

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

2 hours ago, Rippounet said:

Blasphemy ! People have been guillotined for less*.

Also you've probably never had a real one you poor uncultured soul. They're supposed to melt in the mouth. Like a good kouign amann. Which you've likely never had either. But that's what you get for living in a country where people actually spray cheese on stuff. 

*true story

Hey! I passed my four French courses! It was pretty funny though to take an 18 year old French exchange student shopping. He did have a look of horror when I took him to a regular grocery store and he saw the cheese selection, so I took him somewhere nice and he was still rather disappointed. I tried to look for a few bottles of what seemed like good French wine, but he was still dejected. It's pretty relatable, when I was living in Argentina I badly wanted a taste of home now and then, and even when you could sorta find something, it still wasn't the same.