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What is even the point of "superdelegates" if they're not accountable, especially to the voters?
Seems like college tuition has sky rocketed. If our tax dollars are going to pay for higher education, I don't expect that the colleges should be allowed to make a killing on tuition. Community colleges seem to be holding the line, so why do some who can't even come close to being able to afford it, opt for that Ivy League experience?
Forgive me Thom but I tend to agree with Op Ed Daily. I totally agree with this blog piece from you regarding superdelegates, but I was informed by my sister that she heard you defending them the other day. Which one is it?
I've learned a lot from you over the years, but lately, I'm having a hard time listening to you when you talk about the two candidates. On most days (I don't get the chance to listen every day), you seem to be telling us that both candidates are wonderful and we would be lucky to have either one of them as our next President. Perhaps you believe that, but after listening to you for years, I find it quite disingenuous.
I realize the democratic party is split between the two candidates and you are perhaps afraid of losing listeners, especially if Hillary is the nominee. But I would respect you so much more, if you said what you really thought now about the two candidates (sometimes, it peeks through). If and when Hilary gets the nomination, there will be time enough for you to rally around her, and in the mean time, you might actually influence some of your listeners that there really is something major at stake here,and there really is a big difference between the two candidates and what they stand for, and the direction each one will take this country in, if elected.
And I really wish you would stop getting so excited that Hilary seems to be turning left and isn't that wonderful? No, Thom, it just shows that she is willing to say and do anything to get elected. We all know that if she should actually win the election, she will go right back to center-right, where Bill was and where she has been. And nothing will change regarding corrupt campaign finance system, and the corporations will continue to have way too much power and influence in our lives and in our laws. Respectfully.
When Obama announced his economic advisers I knew that Wall Street crooks would not be pursued and no reform would occur. Who are Hillary's likely economic advisors? I fear that neither Wall Street nor electoral finance reform will even be on Hillary's long list due to the influence of DNC insiders.
It is more than possible to support Israel and deplore the behavior of their government. Just like America.
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In my opinion it's time for Bernie to forget about Hillary and just go on total offense attacking the Teapublican Party. He has a National audience now, and they need to hear targeted political truth from a guy on the front lines in congress.. Simple statements about Ryan's budget plans, anti-science climate change deniers, Turtleman blocking anti-outsourcing of jobs legislation, Republican demands for continued out of control military spending, cuts to the Social Security Program, unending tax break for the very rich, anti single payer party, blockage of green energy legislation...etc, etc. Keep the attack non wordy and right to the point.....repeat , repeat, repeat.
Make the American public aware of who has been the major player in denying the will of the people....not to say the Democrats haven't played a role, but let's be honest, I don't see the Kochs standing behind Democrats in the next election. Democratic Socialism stands no chance with the Fascist Party in power.
The American public will eventually pick up on the undeniable truth. Make it embarrassing to be called conservative, Republican, Tea Party, right wing. Voting Republican is self injurious behaviour, expose it for what it is. The next election is far more than just a battle for the executive postion in the White House. Bernie can do enormous damage to the Fascist Party...Being armed with irrefutable truth, knowlege of dirty Republican deeds that will shock the masses, information the corpse media has denied the public. He has the upper hand on the battlefield now, and needs to inflict a crushing blow before Capitalist/Fascism totally ruins our economy.
How about this for example: If you want to see the Social Security program get handed over to Wall Street, and quickly disappear, then by all means vote Republican. If you want to see the Social Security Fund strengthened and expanded, then vote progressive and for Bernie. The Teapublican effort to privatize Social Security is ongoing. Bernie and a progressive congress would simply lift the cap.
Simple statements like the above could be applied to free trade, single payer, regulation of the big banksters, green energy, etc. ....all things the Teapublicans are on the wrong side of history with....way on the wrong side! It might as well be the Union standing up against the Confederacy again...it's that bad. Fascism is real, it's here, and has a death grip on our democracy with little time to spare.
After reading this, one might walk away thinking Thom doesn't support the superdelegates, but just a few days ago, Thom AGREED with the superdelegates and said they should have a stronger voice because they aren't just any "Johnny come lately" that only votes every once in awhile and that the superdelegates are chosen because of their relation to politics.
What is your agenda here, Thom? Why are you speaking through both sides of your face?
One minute you're getting hostile towards pro-Bernie, anti-Hillary callers, then you're defending the very superdelegates that might ram her down our throats, then you're writing an article that sounds as if you don't support them.
I've listened to you for about 10 years now, Thom. . . I've always respected you. I've loved your show and have learned a lot from you, but it almost seems like you've either fallen into the corporate trap (with your new-found fame and TV show), you've been bought off, or you just can't remember what you say from one moment to the next.
I would like to add that no one can trust an individual that is so partisan he will support a candidate that holds ZERO progressive values, simply because a 'D' is written beside her name.
Stop being a corporate cheerleader for the Democratic party and go back to being a cheerleader for the American people.
Forgive my aggression here, but I'm really sick of it, Thom.
Prisoners have rights also so they deserve a voice. In the United States they've become quite a large demographic and could sway an election.
This idea that socialism works in Europe but can't work here is crypto racist. What they often mean - and sometimes say - is that the reason is that European countries culturally and racially homogenous and the U.S. is not and what they also ran but don't say is that European countries are predominately white and socialism couldn't work here because non white people are not capable of such a high level of coopersteand civilization as a socialist society would be.
Again, the Bernie revolution WILL NOT materialize. All of the young college kids backing him are the same as the ones who backed Obama. They think that they only have to vote once and it's a done deal. That's why they never showed up in the mid-terms. Bernie has been preaching these same things for years, and what has he accomplished toward their end in all of his years in the Senate. It's very unlikely that the House will not be changed because of all of the gerrymandered seats on the right, so it will remain the Ryan House. EVERY ONE OF THE THINGS that Bernie is pushing has to get funding in the house, or must come up on the floor for a vote. Bernie is NO MATCH for the crap that the right comes up with in their constant stonewalling, and as he has gotten excited when Hillary has said something against him, one can only imagine how he will react to not getting anything done. That will be the story folks if he wins the nomination and gets elected (which I think is very doubtful, while Republicans are pushing for him to win the nomination, it's their fear of Hillary). Hillary has been lied about, scrutinized more than any man that is running for office, she is still standing. She's smart and tough and just might be a match to overcome all of the hubris that the right has continually handed to Obama. I will be caucusing for Hillary.
Kend: Urgently suggest you read The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich (William L. Shirer, Simon & Schuster: 1959, 1960, 1987, 1988, 1990). It is recognized throughout the world as the definitive work on the subject, and indeed I have read it three times (first in 1962 while returning from Korea on the USNS Sulltan).
While it is true Hitler's original appeal was to reactionary elements in the Working Class, the murderous purge of 30 June 1934 (see Shirer, 1990 edition, pages 213-226) methodically eliminated the Working Class elements and cleared the way for the open alliance between Hitler and capitalism, not just the Krupps et al in Germany but the capitalist aristocracy in the United States as well, most notably the DuPont, Ford and Bush families.
That said, Kend, whomever taught you the history you described has done you a grave disservice -- one best remedied by a careful reading of Shirer.
Delegates are designed to dictate OUR Democracy
We probably do not need delegates at all.
Isn't the majority of voters to decide.
We fought in the Democratic National Conventions of 1964 along with the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party and others and in 1968 for democratic control of the party by the members. Back room deals for nomination were supposed to be over with.
I guess the party doesn't belong to the members, we're some maroons who are supposed to applaud whatever theft the frauds want to commit against us and then it's "so long suckers" at us.
Kend, you're reading altogether other history books. Hitler's avowed purpose from the start was to eradicate Bolshevism, or Soviet Communism. He did throw some fodder to the working class movements that were popular in Germany then in that Great Depression period but that was only lip service to draw the masses. Then he equated capitalism - as well as Bolshevism - with Judaism to divide and conquer the masses by scapegoating. Those masses were very inclined to do this out of centuries old habit and the era's frustration with and outrage at capitalism.
Bernie isn't anything like Hitler, you've been reading too many ridiculous National Review hatchet jobs. Bernie is a genuine socialist, not just paying lip service.
Hitler then made partnership with big business and government. If anything the DNC is like Hitler or, even more so, the Republicans are.
Don't read those absurd right wing rags.
Queen, nobody is unaware of what you said but we know our system needs a major overhaul and the longer it's delayed, the more it's gonna need. Sure, Bernie's gonna need congressional and a lot of different support, that's what the "political revolution" is about but it can't hurt to have a president who is down with it. Even if he doesn't win he's already succeeded in effecting a good public information and rallying campaign instructing the public and giving voice to their concerns.
Whatever you want to say about socialized healthcare, any problems you might be able to mention, it's still superior to what we have now.
In the United States, before Ronald Reagan, all hospitals were required to be not for profit institutions. As long as that was the case the situation was somewhat tolerable but after it changed it just became unacceptable.
Of course we know it isn't free but if you listen to Bernie you'd know it's even less free now.
Free higher education is not without precedent even in the United States. California had such a system - until Ronald Reagan - and their system had some very competitive schools. Furthermore, nobody is suggesting private schools be banned.
Gotta have faith and courage, "Yes we can!"
marcopolo123; I whole heartedly agree with you Mark ! I'm sure you feel the same as me, I haven't left the party, they left me !
That's too bad, becasue Bernie's campaign could easily give the Democratic Party a majority in both houses of Congress (possibly a super-majority in the Senate). Hillary can't, because she is essentially offering little more than "more of the same" corrupt system.
marco, as someone said to me, if not Bernie we may as well have Trump because we'll have to overthrow he or the like that only might get elected Bernie will win!
I agree wholeheartedly with Tom's analysis. If Hilary is nominated because "superdelegates" make the difference, I will not vote for her. I will not vote for the Republican under any circumstance. I may take Cape Breton up on its offer if a Republican wins. But if Hilary wins because of "superdelegates", DEMOCRACY has already lost.
Loren we must have had different history books in Canada. Hitler was far from the ruling class, he was the man of the people. Kind of a out sider. Similar to Bernie. His whole campaign and road to power was take from the rich and give to the poor. That was exactly what he did as the Jews where the "US Ruling class" they had the wealth or where the 1%. Everything was going great, the economy was booming, of course unless you where Jewish, until Hitler lost his mind and decided to kill the Jews and take over the world. Funny what people will do once they get power. I see Bernie as very much like the early Hitler. A man of the people. But of course, instead of taking a class of people's lives and money, he just wants to take a class of people's money. Both wanted to take the wealth and trickle it down the wealth ladder. Either way it is a war on a specific class and in my opinion it is wrong. Before you all go crazy I am not saying Bernie is as bad as Adolf I am just stating facts. I hope we all agree Bernies intentions are all good. We defeated Hilter that's why we can express our opinions freely. Thank god for those brave young women and men.
How can I get a list of all the delegates that you have named in your show?
It's interesting to note that our first president, George Washington, had little to no use for political parties, a fixture in Great Britain where a monarchy ruled the country.
Washington continued to advance his idea of the dangers of sectionalism and expands his warning to include the dangers of political parties to the government and country as a whole. His warnings took on added significance with the recent creation of the Democratic-Republican Party by Jefferson, to oppose Hamilton's Federalist Party, which had been created a year earlier in 1791, which in many ways promoted the interest of certain regions and groups of Americans over others. A more pressing concern for Washington was the Democratic-Republican efforts to align with France and the Federalist efforts to ally the nation with Great Britain in an ongoing conflict between the two European nations brought about by the French Revolution.
While Washington accepted the fact that it is natural for people to organize and operate within groups like political parties, he also argues that every government has recognized political parties as an enemy and has sought to repress them because of their tendency to seek more power than other groups and take revenge on political opponents. Washington thought that disagreements between political parties weakened the government.
Moreover, Washington makes the case that "the alternate domination" of one party over another and coinciding efforts to exact revenge upon their opponents have led to horrible atrocities, and "is itself a frightful despotism. But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism." From Washington's perspective and judgment, the tendency of political parties toward permanent despotism is because they eventually and "gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an individual."
Washington acknowledged the fact that parties are sometimes beneficial in promoting liberty in monarchies, but argues that political parties must be restrained in a popularly elected government because of their tendency to distract the government from their duties, create unfounded jealousies among groups and regions, raise false alarms amongst the people, promote riots and insurrection, and provide foreign nations and interests access to the government where they can impose their will upon the country.
Courtesy of Wikipedia;
Democracy ? you haven't got a Democracy, you have an Oligarchy where Politicos bow to the wishes of their Corporate Paymasters. It really is time that the Pitchforks and Guillotines were brought into play, you need a Revolution. If Clinton gets the Nomination, Bernie should stand as an Independent.