2024 Elections

[Vrede too]

This is dumb:


It's sheer arrogance to jump straight into a US Senate race.

Well sure, but on the other hand, he's got about the same political experience as the appointed Senator he wants to replace.

Laphonza Butler has a bachelor's degree in political science and her entire career has been political experience, just not elected office.

[O Really]

"just not elected" matters to me, but your point is a good one.

[GoCubsGo]

Tim Scott is who we thought he was.

[Vrede too]

Nice timing, I'm sure he'll grab a massive chunk of the news cycle.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Announces Independent Presidential Run

'Not Joe's campaign (wink wink)' folks would be wise to fondly highlight Junior's RepuQ planks, in theory discouraging Dem votes for him while stealing some GQP voters. Maybe I'm dreaming, Junior could be a spoiler in swing states.

He's gonna get votes?

Interesting analysis - It's not that Junior will steal cons. He will steal loons:

Crackpot fight! Trump is worried about RFK Jr. running for president — and he should be scared

Dolt .45 needs the vote.

[billy.pilgrim]

Nice timing, I'm sure he'll grab a massive chunk of the news cycle.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Announces Independent Presidential Run

'Not Joe's campaign (wink wink)' folks would be wise to fondly highlight Junior's RepuQ planks, in theory discouraging Dem votes for him while stealing some GQP voters. Maybe I'm dreaming, Junior could be a spoiler in swing states.

He's gonna get votes?

Interesting analysis - It's not that Junior will steal cons. He will steal loons:

Crackpot fight! Trump is worried about RFK Jr. running for president — and he should be scared

Dolt .45 needs the vote.

https://youtu.be/RDoGNhwvt9Q?feature=shared

[Vrede too]

https://youtu.be/RDoGNhwvt9Q

Such a shame. RFK was an amazing human being, but Jr.'s a clown.

The vaccine broke the teleprompter!

What an embarrassment that anti-Semitic RFK Jr. is to the Kennedy name!

Robert Kennedy Jr’s racist, antisemitic and xenophobic views go back decades, report says
Democratic candidate’s recent false claim that Covid could have been ‘ethnically targeted’ is not an aberration but fits long pattern



RFK Jr for Speaker of the House! He's a healer.

[GoCubsGo]

[GoCubsGo]

[Vrede too]

https://twitter.com/Liz_Cheney/status/1 ... 5313729990

This is what she's referring to:
https://www.salon.com/2023/10/12/republ ... ery-smart/
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/donald-t ... 2e6964bb29

Idk, a lot of people are criticizing weak and distracted Nuttyyahoo for the intel failure and lack of preparedness, and it's not clear what TRE45QN thinks Hezbollah is doing that's "very smart."

Some think that Bibi can't survive this crisis politically. I have doubts about that. In the short term at least people tend to rally around their wartime leaders.

[O Really]

Yeah, but criticizing Nuttyhahoo for not being prepared isn't what Trump's doing. He's trashing Nuttyyahoo for a personal beef from 2020ish and not offering even common decency support for the Israeli people. Like everything, it's all a game to Trump and all about Trump. Liz has a good point.

[Vrede too]

Yeah, but criticizing Nuttyhahoo for not being prepared isn't what Trump's doing. He's trashing Nuttyyahoo for a personal beef from 2020ish and not offering even common decency support for the Israeli people. Like everything, it's all a game to Trump and all about Trump. Liz has a good point.

He actually did both - criticizing Nuttyyahoo for not being prepared and whining about Nuttyyahoo pulling out of the criminal Soleimani assassination. I'm so used to everything always being made "all about Trump" that I hardly notice it anymore.

Dolt .45 did say, "We have to protect Israel. There’s no choice," but your point is well taken that he could have tempered his other remarks by uttering more support for the Israeli people. There's also this from the Salon article:



"vicious" twice and "psycho", apparently referring to Hamas. Maybe there was more, it's not exactly "news" to mention sympathy for the victims of vile terrorism.

Personally, I have no problem with condemning Hamas and Israel's apartheid, and with supporting the Israeli people and ordinary Gazans.

[billy.pilgrim]

I sure wish we could only do that, but "condemning" feels a lot like Prayers and Good Vibes
Ain't gonna work
They'll kill a thousand for every one of theirs - like we did in Iraq.

"The Intercept

Last weekend’s massacre of Israeli civilians by Hamas is a war crime that merits clear international condemnation.

Israel’s response — a full-scale siege of 2.2 million Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip — may well be an act of genocide. But you won’t read that in nearly any other U.S. news outlet.

Already, the Israeli military’s attacks on Gaza have flattened residential buildings and targeted a densely populated refugee camp. Humanitarian workers in Gaza report that hospitals are completely overwhelmed by civilian casualties and that even ambulances are coming under fire.

And on Monday, the Israeli defense minister ordered that all food, fuel, and electricity to Gaza be cut off in an act of collective punishment against Palestinian civilians. U.S. media are refusing to call this siege what it is: a clear violation of international law and a possible crime against humanity."

[O Really]

I may have mentioned in the past that I was in what I think is now referred to as the "Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Agency" and most of my work was keeping track of happenings around Israel, Egypt, Lebanon, and Jordan. I'd like to think that if that post hadn't been closed/inactivated 25ish years ago, that we wouldn't have missed Hamas' plans. But it's not entirely clear yet why they were able to pull off their surprise attack, so who knows.

But from that time, there were no white hats - really everybody had dark gray hats. Each side had a point, if you look at it in isolation, but nobody was willing to effect any real compromise. For decades, Israelis have treated Palestinians like dirt under their feet and wonder why rage and violence festers. I once noted that if you want to know who the aggressors are, look to see who has the tanks and who's throwing the rocks at them. But clearly Hamas has found itself well armed.

Given the degree of atrocity and Israel's never forgive - never forget mindset, I'd agree with billy.p that "genocide" is a good term.

[GoCubsGo]

LOL
They've turned on him.

Hannity looks like shit BTW.

[neoplacebo]

I may have mentioned in the past that I was in what I think is now referred to as the "Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Agency" and most of my work was keeping track of happenings around Israel, Egypt, Lebanon, and Jordan. I'd like to think that if that post hadn't been closed/inactivated 25ish years ago, that we wouldn't have missed Hamas' plans. But it's not entirely clear yet why they were able to pull off their surprise attack, so who knows.

But from that time, there were no white hats - really everybody had dark gray hats. Each side had a point, if you look at it in isolation, but nobody was willing to effect any real compromise. For decades, Israelis have treated Palestinians like dirt under their feet and wonder why rage and violence festers. I once noted that if you want to know who the aggressors are, look to see who has the tanks and who's throwing the rocks at them. But clearly Hamas has found itself well armed.

Given the degree of atrocity and Israel's never forgive - never forget mindset, I'd agree with billy.p that "genocide" is a good term.

I keep coming to the thought that the young men and women in Gaza now are the third or possibly fourth generation to be victimized by Israel....that it's likely that more than a few of those young people have lost parents, grandparents, or know several others who have borne that sort of loss. I suppose Israel is lucky that Hamas and Hezbollah don't exactly cooperate with each other.

[Vrede too]

I keep coming to the thought that the young men and women in Gaza now are the third or possibly fourth generation to be victimized by Israel....that it's likely that more than a few of those young people have lost parents, grandparents, or know several others who have borne that sort of loss. I suppose Israel is lucky that Hamas and Hezbollah don't exactly cooperate with each other.

75+ years


Speaking of genocidal international criminals:
RFK Jr. spent years stoking fear and mistrust of vaccines. These people were hurt by his work

Asshole.

[Vrede too]

California governor names Laphonza Butler, former Kamala Harris adviser, to Feinstein Senate seat


Should Butler enter the contest, she could set up a competition for the relatively small but influential group of Black voters in California and possibly undercut Lee's chances.

Lee's already in 3rd. What would be the point? Better to build on her notoriety and Senate experience for the next US House or statewide office election.

California Sen. Laphonza Butler Will Not Seek Full Term
The Democrat was appointed to serve for the remainder of the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein's term.

Good, probably settled.

[O Really]

Somebody said, "So we've got a placeholder whose job is to click the button when Chuck says to, eh? " I think I'll stand with that. Better than having a Manchin or Sinema.

[Vrede too]

AI Grimes and irl Grimes may have a point. Plus, opposing tens of millions of net-savvy tweens along with tens of millions of macho football fans would be pretty daunting.

[O Really]

Here's an article that seems like it would apply everywhere. Short version: Californians aren't that happy with Dems, but they really hate Repugs.
Given the state of the Repug "party" and the collection of scum baggage in it, why wouldn't every sentient voter just hold their nose and press "D"?

Why unhappy voters reject state GOP

George Skelton Los Angeles Times
Californians don’t like the direction their state and the nation are headed. But they like the Democratic leaders who are in charge: Gov. Gavin Newsom and President Joe Biden. Does that make sense?
Look, if you don’t like the way things are going, wouldn’t you want someone else at the helm? Maybe try out a Republican for a change?
It seems ironic. But it makes perfect sense.
For most Californians, a Republican alternative is simply unacceptable on its face.
“They’ll live with all the homelessness — they’d rather live with that than vote Republican. That’s how bad the Republican brand is,” says Mike Madrid, a veteran GOP strategist who has been critical of the party for not doing enough to attract Latinos. “Polls show voters are not happy. They’re concerned about crime. Homelessness is off the charts. But they’re still not voting for Republicans.”
California’s governor and every other elected statewide officeholder is a Democrat and has been for 12 years. Democrats hold supermajority control of both legislative houses. They occupy both U.S. Senate seats and dominate California’s U.S. House delegation, 40-12.
Mayors are officially nonpartisan, but eight of them in California’s 10 largest cities are Democrats. The two Republican exceptions are in the San Joaquin Valley: Fresno and Bakersfield.
“It’s a matter of the alternative for Democrats,” says Mark Baldassare, lead pollster for the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California. “It’s not so much that voters like their party. They just don’t like the other party. And they’re not going to change their minds about who they support … That’s the context for the ‘24 election, like it or not.”
Polarization means Republicans don’t have a prayer in statewide races. Democrats outnumber them nearly 2 to 1. There are almost as many independents — No Party Preference — as Republicans, and they lean toward Democratic candidates.
The PPIC recently published a statewide poll that found lots of voter negativity about California and the nation.
California is headed in “the wrong direction,” according to 54 percent of likely voters surveyed. Democrats disagree — 69 percent thinking the state is going in the right direction. But 92 percent of Republicans and 63 percent of independents answered “wrong direction.”
Yet, 56 percent of voters statewide approve of how Newsom is handling his job — especially Democrats, but also independents.
Voters are much more grumpy about the country’s direction, with 72 percent saying it’s on the wrong track.
But 53 percent approve of Biden’s job performance. And voters overwhelmingly favor Biden over former President Donald Trump in a hypothetical 2024 presidential race, 57 percent to 26 percent.
Voters are especially cranky about Congress, with 81 percent disapproving of its performance.
The voters’ bad mood is “tied to the economy,” Baldassare says. “It’s not that people are worried about their jobs so much. They’re worried about their standard of living. How do they calibrate the prices of things, big and small. There’s a lot of anxiety about inflation.”
Voters consider the economy the No. 1 issue facing California, the poll showed. A large majority — especially Republicans — expect bad times in the next 12 months. And 72 percent feel less comfortable about making a major purchase — like a car or a home — than they did six months ago.
Homelessness and housing costs rank No. 2 and 3 on the voters’ list of most important state issues.
But they’re also pessimistic about other things.
About 6 in 10 are dissatisfied “with the way democracy is working” in the country. Voters of all political persuasions feel that way.
And they overwhelmingly believe — nearly 9 in 10 — that there is a mental health crisis in the U.S.
Two things that hurt the GOP in California are the party’s hard stands on immigration and abortion. Republican voters have starkly different views than Democrats or independents. Two-thirds of likely voters — and overwhelmingly Democrats and independents — believe that immigration is a “good thing for the country.” But not Republicans: 6 in 10 think it’s a bad thing.
On abortion, 92 percent of Democrats and 76 percent of independents disapprove of the Supreme Court’s ruling last year that ended a woman’s constitutional right to end her pregnancy anywhere in America. But 65 percent of Republicans approve the decision, which has hurt GOP candidates in many states.
In California, the GOP refuses to move toward the center and adapt to most voters’ views. So they’re not put in charge.
Veteran Democratic strategist Darry Sragow believes there are more reasons for the voters’ crappy mood than the usual suspects — the economy, homelessness, taxes and the like.
“I’m very deeply concerned that our elected officials are fiddling while the place burns down. Politicians are stuck on things that don’t matter to voters,” says Sragow.
“What’s underlying the frustration and anger is very simple. The entire world is changing at whiplash-inducing speed. There’s a cataclysmic change in how we live our daily lives. Technological innovations change the employment market, where we work, how we transport ourselves, how we shop … . Voters simply don’t see anyone in public life who is articulating a credible way for us collectively to manage through it.”
Someone taking us in the right direction.
This column was distributed by Tribune Content Agency.