The Democrats Will Also Shit Themselves.

[Metal Slime]

If Pelosi does nothing by the end of the year I'm going to actively advocate that someone primary her. Impeachment should have started long ago and her reluctance to act because she thinks it is politically safer has gotten tiresome.

[Thad]

She's announced a formal impeachment inquiry.

A lot from here is going to come down to how they play it (might I suggest postponing the recess scheduled for next week?), but it's a big step in the right direction.

What a difference a day makes.

[François]

Well dang, it's about time.

I'm still under no illusion that this'll work the way it should, in a sane reality. But it sure relieves that familiar "why is the attempt not even being made" ache.

[Büge]

Or, as, they say in French, "impêchementhe".

[Mongrel]

Democratic Rep. Jeff Van Drew pushes back against claims that his switch to the Republican Party is politically motivated: "There are a lot of reasons"

Daughter prefers elephants; shorter commute.

[Thad]

What a stupid hill to die on.

He's fucked either way (good luck winning a Republican primary); he could have at least gone down with a semblance of personal integrity.

[beatbandito]

[Mongrel]

Or, as, they say in French, "impêchementhe".

Just by the by, every time I see the Impeachment thread, I remember this post.

[Mongrel]

Maybe they'll just eat their constituents.

[Thad]

Perry Bacon Jr.: Charles Booker, Jamaal Bowman And The 7 Competing Camps In Black Politics

He breaks them up into older/younger, establishment/anti-establishment, plus Obamaites (generally younger and somewhere in-between pro- and anti-establishment) and two groups of Republicans (pro- and anti-Trump).

I think it's an interesting breakdown. There's definitely a generational divide between older and younger black leaders, much as there is for the rest of the party.

I also think it's similar to what I've been saying recently: the party itself is shifting to the left but the leadership is hanging on tightly, refusing to let go, and pushing candidates like Biden hard.

I do think the recent Kentucky primary is an interesting example, though; I wouldn't have expected a progressive candidate to have done as well as Charles Booker did there (even if he did end up losing). I'm sure part of that is down to the moment we're having right now and maybe it's too much to assume it says anything more general about Kentucky or the South as a whole. But it still demonstrates that, given the right conditions, a candidate can almost win a Democratic primary in the Deep South while running on the Green New Deal and Medicare for All.

Conventional wisdom holds that McGrath is a stronger candidate against McConnell than Booker would have been; of course there's no way of empirically proving that, but I'm certainly rooting against McConnell. I can't speak to Kentucky, but here in Arizona I voted against Sinema in the primary and for her in the general, and I expect I'll be doing both those things every six years for a long time to come.

[Blossom]

Booker "lost" because they closed 95% of polling stations, predominantly in minority districts.

The only thing standing in the way is a rigged system.

[Thad]

I don't think I'd say it's the only thing standing in the way, but I'll agree it's the most significant thing. Our democracy would look a whole lot different if it weren't for all the roadblocks that make it less democratic.

[Mongrel]

Probably the single most effective thing that can happen to foster progressive change, and soon, in the US is for the Democratic party to be taken over in a grassroots campaign (a new party is also a possibility, but it's easier to repurpose existing infrastructure of course). I don't know how I can help with this, but this is where I hop a lot of energy goes.

As they are now, the Democrats are a horrific tool of the oppressors, when they're not active members of that class. They need to go. For now this can still be achieved (relatively) peacefully, but unless the Dems break soon, things will become dire enough that the possibility of a peaceful takeover of a major US political party may be washed away.

Also, I pretty much just read everything that "Biden" says as a script from DNC nobs. The actual election - you know, when he has to reappear in public regularly and actually campaign - is going to be something else.

On that front, Chavez's post history has at least some encouraging material.




Also CPC candidate Beth Doglio won her primary in WA today (article is from a few days ago)

[Cait]

Um. The primary ballots in WA aren't even due until August 4th, and we're a vote-by-mail exclusive state. Doglio is a fine politician and all, but we're over a week out from having any results.

[Mongrel]

Weird. I swear I saw a headline on google news about it. Wonder what that was about then... I probably just misread it.

[beatbandito]

when you feel like you need to do something, but absolutely don't want to think about it.

[KingRoyal]

"I gave money to a worthless cause to make myself feel better" is a pretty succinct summary of liberal activism

[JD]

Perhaps if we run a change.org petition

[Thad]

I haven't been a registered Democrat for very long; I just got my first solicitation for a donation to the DCCC.

I wrote a note that said "The DCCC will not get a dime from me as long as it has a policy in place that punishes firms that support Democratic primary challengers" and put it in the return envelope.

It won't accomplish anything but it felt good.

...whaddaya know, I really am a Democrat.

[Friday]

Accomplishing nothing: the true path to being a moderate