It was entirely predictable that ppl targeted by the Crime Bill & the "law & order" messaging exploited by Biden/Harris would object to this pair come the general election.
Instead of picking a safer candidate, the Dem establishment pretended records don't matter.
By forging ahead with this ticket, the party calculated that they didn't need these votes; a version of 'for every Blue collar voter we lose in Pennsylvania, we will pick up two moderate Republicans in the suburbs in Philadelphia.'
But for Black/young/progressive voters.
To many voters, it feels like the party wants to have it both ways. Some folks will cave to the pressure of defeating Trump. Others will abstain out of frustration that their substantive needs -- needs as exigent as 'kids in cages' -- were ignored to advance corporate interests.
If the party wants to encourage more folks to vote against Trump, it would do well to acknowledge those substantive needs: As Trump threatens the ACA, talk up single payer healthcare, cancel student & medical debt, legalize marijuana.
But shaming won't do it.
Too*
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"The sniper who shot my friend Jihan's 3 year old daughter Noor, shattering her tiny legs while she was in her mother's arms in Gaza, is a hateful, racist ghoul -- I understand that's one of the things I've been criticized for saying. And I double up on it, frankly. But the rage, the disgust even hatred that Jihan or I feel toward that sniper is not racism. It is not anti-Jewishness. It is not anti semitism. Nor are her feelings toward the tank operator who blew out the back of her son Arhab's head, making her fingers sink into his brains when she tried to pick him up. Our feelings or words in response to 78 years of this barbaric, colonial violence are not 'reprehensible.' They are not antisemitic. And they are not anti Jewish. In fact, despite everything they have done to us -- despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of Jews both inside & outside of Israel support this zionist carnage & domination -- we still have the tender human sense to recognize those Jews, however a minority they may be, who do not support Israel. And to embrace the far smaller minority who are anti zionist, in fact."
"I do not have the power to materially change our condition, or even to harm our tormentors. But they do have that power. And they use it daily against us all. In my case, it has ment that I and my family, in addition to being dispossessed, exiled from our homeland, have been fired from our jobs, canceled, marginalized, disinvited, and otherwise curtailed our livelihoods. They've used their power to persuade leading politicians to publicaly disparage me. You are not the first, Mr. Mamdani. Zionist billionaires, South Australia's premiere. One of my own foreign publishers. Journalists. U Penn university president and members of the board of trustees and may other powerful people have preceded you in attacking me for daring to not mince words or self-censor when I speak of the demonic forces who have been wreaking havoc on our bodies, our lives, our children, our very place in the world. But you are the one who has compelled me to respond like this.
"No one has a right to criticize what we say about or how we describe those who've set up sexual torture camps like Sde Teiman where over ten-thousand Palestinians were kidnapped from their homes in Gaza-- are being starved, beaten, raped, mutilated & tortured as I speak. No one can tell me how I should speak about the people who forced my proud grandmother into a bug infested shack so foreign Jews could live in her Jerusalem home. No one will tell me what to say about the Israelis who set our anguish to music, and made TikTok trends from the mangled bodies of our babies."
"So, Mr. Mamdani I was disappointed to hear what you said, but the truth is I'm not mad at you. And I strangely am not taking it personally. I did not have the same visceral reaction that others had to condemn you. My overriding impulse was to correct & educate. In that spirit, and in the time honored tradition of Arab ormusilm auntiesoffering unsolicited adice, i would like to encourae you tod o the following:
"Number one: When you feel pressure of powerful people asking you to condemn someone or something, just pause, and gather information, so you can construct a full picture from which you can then make a moral decision -- not a politically expedient or convenient decision -- but a moral & ethical one. Because ultimately, that is what New Yorkers saw in you when they elected you against all odds to lead them.
"Number 2: In making such a decision always be aware of the power dynamics & try to never condemn those without power, or with lesser power, as a reaction to pressure from those with tremendous power -- those with access to wealth, media influence, political positions, & so on.
"I offer these words in the spirit of this holy month coming to a close now. And I offer it from a personal & collective Palestinian wound that opens wider with every new assault, every moment of violence, denial, marginalization, demonization, denigration, diminishment, humiliation, theft, dismemberment, trauma and dispossession poured on us every day of every year in one way or another."
Boos for Christie right off the bat. #republicanDebate
Opening with a clip of Biden defending "Bidenomics" is smart -- makes this a case against Democrats rather than an opportunity for infighting.
Interesting that the people the interview about the economy being bad are diverse. Also interesting that they choose to play Rich Men of Richmond even though he's woke now.
DeSantis's answer re how to improve the economy: energy independence.
Christie: I agree. But implies that he's more experienced and marketable in a general election. Also, cut spending.
Ok. I read up on the RFK Jr. autism stuff over the course of a 3 hour train ride and now I'm ready to "debate." Honestly don't see why folks are so squeamish.
He makes a number of specific claims that are vulnerable to probing. This should be a cakewalk for experts.
1) His original claims seemed to be about mercury (thimerosal) in vaccines given to young children. He points to a change in the vaccine schedule in the 80s that upped the # of vaccines w/ thimerosal & says there's a correlation with autism.
2) You can argue about this (there's no proven causal mechanism & correlation isn't causation) but since thimerosal was taken out of childhood vaccines & autism rates continue to be high/climb, it's sort of moot. It's why he's pivoted to two other causes:
The argument that the squad would have forced the vote if Jimmy Dore had centered a better "ask" is an embarrassing admission that the squad chose to outsource their political strategy to a podcaster instead of leveraging their votes to do literally anything they wanted.
They literally could've withheld the vote for *anything they wanted.* We discussed a range of asks *at the time,* but even if we hadn't, the squad shouldn't have been relying on internet pundits to come up with congressional strategy. Why didn't they dream up their own ask list?
It was never about the "ask." It was always about the squad's unwillingness to defy Pelosi. Point blank period. There was no point in "reserving political capital" (per AOC's tweet to Justin Jackson) bc as we've seen the last 2 years, they had no plan to use it.
My debate with Sam Seder was the most viewed video on my @BadFaithPod YouTube page. For some reason, it is no longer showing among the "popular" videos on the front page.
You can find it here. It's worth watching how much he admits in the first 10 min.
There's a lot of revisionist history happening now, where people who were adamantly against the *strategy* because they thought the squad would get "bad press," and bc of Jimmy Dore are now pretending they just didn't like the ask. It's important to hold folks accountable.
At around 30 min, I specifically ask Sam to consider the strategy putting the medicare are for all ask completely to the side -- he still objects.
At around 33 min, he reveals his ignorance about whether McCarthy could magically become speaker of the house.
I wouldn't blame you for random internet strangers calling me a "reptile" or a "vile bitch." It should be unsurprising that many people disagree strongly with your view on Ukraine. The same is true of my view.
These strong feelings are the precise reason we decided to talk.
I'm an independent podcaster who beyond the influence of the State Department, & my ability to speak freely derives from my podcast platform. If anyone would like to view the full interview context, as well as support independent media, you can do so here: patreon.com/posts/full-vid…