117th Congress: DEMS IN DISARRAY!!!111!!

[unofan]

and the Center does it ALL THE TIME.

So you acknowledge that the center won't get hurt as badly if the GOP wins, then wonder why the center controls the party agenda? You mean the voters that can sway an election to either side tend to have the most power? No kidding?

You want the left to have more power, you need to swing the Overton window back that way. Throwing shade at middle isn't going to get you where you think you want to go.

[FadeToBlack&Gold]

Mitch absolutely deserves to be saddled with all the crazies

https://mobile.twitter.com/MollyJong...13382595383299

Republicans in Disarray!11!!11!! ;-)

[FadeToBlack&Gold]

Nancy bending over to rich people. Shocking. The problem with her position is no one ever seems to care about giving away money to rich people. We do it every single day. The richer you are the more free **** you get. It's BS.

Of course she's going to acquiesce to the demands of the plutes who fund her control of the House. Most student loan debt is held by people under 40 and those voters tend to be in the progressive wing, so when they do make small donations they rarely donate to the establishment candidates.

[Kepler]

The problem with revolutionaries (usually) is they don't think 5 steps ahead because it is a struggle of good vs. evil. It is always about the here and now you never worry about the aftermath except in the abstract. History is riddled with them. (your examples being some of the best) I mean it took less than a decade for Napolean to seize power post French Revolution...

That is why when you are in college it seems like an awesome idea to screw the system! You are young, dumb and full of *** and your mind is being exposed to wonderful ideals and thought and you just want to fix all the issues that exist. The consequences are, ironically, inconsequential. If something breaks we can easily fix it later. Most of the time you don't have the experience to know that nothing is as black and white as it seems when you feel you are fighting on the side of the angels.

The other thing is when it's time for the system to change it's gonna change and the revolutionaries don't matter, they're just along for the ride.

In that way radicals are to some extent the most conservative of all futurists because they think they can channel what is coming. They think they can redirect the earthquake into a useful direction. History seems to indicate otherwise. The most revolutionaries can do is either try to force a revolution before its time (91 BCE, 1381, 1450, 1848, 1905, 2011) or happen to be present at a revolution but be as useless as t-ts on a bull (1789, 1917).

When capitalism goes it's gonna go in a big way, because it is out of sync with the economic, technological, and cultural reality of the time, not because I have Fourteen Points to replace it with.

Buckley was right. Don't try to immanentize the Eschaton, it only bothers people and accomplishes nothing. But Buckley was also deeply morally wrong -- in the meantime show some compassion and don't just shove your blood funnel into anyone weaker than you.

[bronconick]

This is good news. Lamb is PA political royalty so he comes ready-made with a machine. Maybe the DNC is finally starting to learn how the game is played.

I don't even give a sh-t if he's just a brainless back bencher. We need that seat.

I was going to be worried because he comes from a conservative district and had images of another Sinema, but he's literally voted 100% with Biden thus far, so I withdraw my concern.

[French Rage]

I don't even give a sh-t if he's just a brainless back bencher. We need that seat.

Not only is it not a problem, it's a very good thing. PA is the kind of state where Dems should have both seats. For every PA-like D senator you pick up, the less you need a Manchin or Sinema. Not every senator has to be the greatest one ever. Sometimes it's just picking up a reliably D vote in a reliably D state to get the numbers.

[Kepler]

Not only is it not a problem, it's a very good thing. PA is the kind of state where Dems should have both seats. For every PA-like D senator you pick up, the less you need a Manchin or Sinema. Not every senator has to be the greatest one ever. Sometimes it's just picking up a reliably D vote in a reliably D state to get the numbers.

I am all for non-rogues who have to pay attention when the SML cracks the whip, which I why I want earmarks back with a vengeance. Ideally you have long serving Biden types who just drift along the Senate lazy river and do what they're told.

We will never get progressive policies passed because of a recalcitrant Left minority that holds things up. See how much power Bernie wields. It has to be mass electoral pressure on the party itself, and the only way we can convert that to actual policy (as Manchin and Sinema prove every day) is if the SML has a vise to flatten a rebel Member in. Right now we have no drive train. We turn the engine faster and faster but nothing is transferred to the driving wheels. Reconnect the engine so the voters can actually turn the axle again.

[FadeToBlack&Gold]

See how much power Bernie wields.

6 reps (The Squad) and 2 Senators (himself and Warren)? Whoopdee freakin' doo.

[Handyman]

Hey Senator McConnell told me Bernie writes the Dem Agenda!! ;^)

And yes, earmarks back yesterday. It is the only way to ever truly get things done.

[Kepler]

6 reps (The Squad) and 2 Senators (himself and Warren)? Whoopdee freakin' doo.

That's... my... point?

Warren doesn't count as Left. She's Larry Summers in a dress.

[psych]

I am all for non-rogues who have to pay attention when the SML cracks the whip, which I why I want earmarks back with a vengeance. Ideally you have long serving Biden types who just drift along the Senate lazy river and do what they're told.

We will never get progressive policies passed because of a recalcitrant Left minority that holds things up. See how much power Bernie wields. It has to be mass electoral pressure on the party itself, and the only way we can convert that to actual policy (as Manchin and Sinema prove every day) is if the SML has a vise to flatten a rebel Member in. Right now we have no drive train. We turn the engine faster and faster but nothing is transferred to the driving wheels. Reconnect the engine so the voters can actually turn the axle again.

Earmarks are back. Dems brought them back.

As for Pa, Fetterman is a strong candidate too. Great background, from what I’ve read, and also lives in western Pa, like Lamb, so that may hurt both of them come Election Day. Can’t say I know anything about Kenyatta. DKE says he’s got a shot, so I’ll take their word for it.

[psych]

That's... my... point?

Warren doesn't count as Left. She's Larry Summers in a dress.

Warren is screaming about inflation right now? Huh.

[Kepler]

Warren is screaming about inflation right now? Huh.

Not that I know of.

Warren is the classic example of somebody who wants to make the rich pay their fair share so that college professors in households making $300k a year can flourish. In other words, Warren's policies would be EXACTLY in my family's best interest.

They would not be in the best interests of about 80% of the Cafe, or 95% of the country.

Ask Liz if she wants to nuke the mortgage interest deduction. That probably transfers as much money from the poor and lower middle class to the upper middle class as Dubya's tax cuts transferred from the poor and middle class to the rich.

Federal housing policy transfers lots of money to rich homeowners, a bit less to middle-class homeowners, and practically nothing to poor renters. Half of all poor American families who rent spend more than 50 percent of their income on housing costs. In May, rental income as a share of GDP hit an all-time high. Meanwhile, in 2015, the federal government spent $71 billion on the MID, and households earning more than $100,000 receive almost 90 percent of the benefits. Since the value of the deduction rises as the cost of one’s mortgage increases, the policy essentially pays upper-middle-class and rich households to buy larger and more expensive homes. At the same time, because national housing policy’s benefits don’t accumulate as much to renters, it makes it harder for poor renters to join the class of homeowners.

[MissThundercat]

6 reps (The Squad) and 2 Senators (himself and Warren)? Whoopdee freakin' doo.

And the online leftists I know are still screaming Bernie was screwed. They've turned on AOC as well because she's learned how to play the game.

[dxmnkd316]

Not that I know of.

Warren is the classic example of somebody who wants to make the rich pay their fair share so that college professors in households making $300k a year can flourish. In other words, Warren's policies would be EXACTLY in my family's best interest.

They would not be in the best interests of about 80% of the Cafe, or 95% of the country.

Ask Liz if she wants to nuke the mortgage interest deduction. That probably transfers as much money from the poor and lower middle class to the upper middle class as Dubya's tax cuts transferred from the poor and middle class to the rich.

The problem with that analysis is that it doesn't take into account the benefits of a growing housing market. As more houses are built, Americans buy more ****, jobs are created. Yes, as a first layer, it probably does help the rich more. But there are multiple layers to that cake.

If you want to make it fairer, cap it at a certain amount and maybe look at making it a fully refundable credit.