...Independent..just to take the power away from mitch and the repugs. Caucus with the Dems. Maybe they no longer want to represent the people their district have become.



Just a dream

We have to look at reality ahead. I've stopped dreaming and know we have to act to change what they won't.

We saw Amash do it.

until it did
😖

✌🏼

It can't e stated more starkly than that. The republic is in the balance.

I've got ideas, some money to contribute to doers, and no patience for sunshine patriots, including me.

I can list plans to other Democrats and on social media.

'Til June I plan to work for the Democratic Party down here in Florida.

When I get back to Illinois I plan to be a full donor to the nominee.

After that, I'm hoping that We The People come up with WHAT TO DO AFTER Nov 3.

Then I'll do my best to do THAT. I will NOT go the route of getting used to anything that now exists.

But you know what brings people to the "get used to it" stage? All the unserious noise of distractions -- he said/she said politics, normalizing this regime through cultural giving up through comedy, talktalk.

Fuck that.

I also participate in demonstrations against trump.

countries have done it. So can we. Yes, we can.

The candidate we choose must be able to rally almost everyone who is NOT in King Malevolent’s court (base). The candidate must have almost unlimited funds to pace the war chest of K-Mal.
Plus an ability to withstand the brutal verbal and digital beatings they will have to endure with an ability to keep from engaging in distracting tweet wars.

Tall order?

hasn't even been my second choice all this time.

But she's undeniably strong and not to be trifled with.

She will never, ever put up with IF45's shit. Ever.

They said they planned "destroy the administrative state" - they have ALREADY DONE that.

They said we the people will "never know what hit them".

We knew. But didn't know what to do about it.

It appears we still do not.

And now, frankly, like with climate change, it's too late.

IS it too late EVER?

We can try to enjoy the next ten months. To be sure, these psychopath sadists will be enacting their dictatorship and cruelties starting three days ago.........The few things we have seen in the past few days are nothing compared to what we will be seeing in the next ten months. They are just warming up this week, next week they will begin a roll out of their domination and overwhelming lawless tyranny.
I don't think many realize just yet, how Pathological and mentally ill this group is. People are about to find out!!!!!!! What is that German word? Scharenfruede or something like that, which probably came into existence in their language during the Hitler's regime. It means taking gleeful delight in inflicting pain and suffering on others. Perfect word. We have already seen them doing some of that these past years, but we ain't seen nothing yet.

If there is one thing that is a consolation.......THEIR voters and groupies are gonna get it right up the kazoo just like everyone else. They have served their purpose, the game is over for them too.
All 50+ Million will be standing there with a confused look on their faces, saying WTF. They are indeed be so brain washed and stupid that they will probably still think that it was the Dems that are doing it to them.......LOL
They will still be watching PRAVDA, (AKA FOX NEWS) 24/7, listening to Rush "Medal of Freedom" Limpballs and follow Lard ASS and his crowd right into oblivion.......

They are like the "BORG" at this point..........

For Putin, watching America is like watching the comedy channel. He is laughing at his ability to take down the U.S. without having to fire a single weapon...........And relishing in how simple it was to do it.......

WASF

If Bill is not equipped to turn the tables on some of the evil ratfucks he interviews, he shouldn't give them a platform.

that Maher, falling for the stunt like a guy who forgot his “Bannon 101,” searched through the evaporating fog of semi-coherent, dystopian word-salad dumped on him, scanning his flat-footed noggin in order to fashion some response.

I think Bannon, like his pupil Trump, also had some pharmaceutical assistance in advance of his appearance. He came off a bit like Dennis Hopper’s character in “Apocalypse Now,” sounding deep and heady, but lost, like everyone else.

Which is not to underestimate Bannon’s threat as a blunt-object threat to democratic institutions. He’s fomented the destruction of democracy in Poland, Czechoslovakia, Italy, Brazil and more. He may not be the head of the serpent, but he seems close.

Maher was in cruise-control mode, instead of *knowing* that Bannon wasn’t going to “discuss issues” in a gentlemanly manner.

Bannon unleashed a tsunami of shit, and Maher was unprepared to deal with it.

Or if the economy tanks.

On edit, just watched the music vid at this post about Austalia’s fires... this is the kind of thing we need to be spreading to get especially the youth vote out, IMO

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1034&pid=25001

The economy is now approaching steady state. But We The People can change that IF we rid ourselves of Big Fossil, corporate and finance pests.

We have candidates who can help do that but we have to not be afraid of how they are received by IF45'ers. Or our horse-racey media. We have to back the nominee all the way, rip up the pest donors' whole world outlook.

Yesterday there was a thread where people with our grim outlook were accused of being right wing trolls. It was a generic call out, no one specific, but I don't understand the optimism some people continue to have that the Con is going down. What I see in many of my friends is a dangerous form of American exceptionalism that "it can't happen here." That somehow our republic is immune from what other republics have suffered.

I think George Lakoff nailed one of our party's biggest problems in his book, "Moral Politics: How Liberals and Conservatives Think." Dems appeal to voters based on logic and intellect. Repubs appeal to voters based on emotion. So catchy phrases like trickle-down-economics and no-child-left-behind appeal to the emotional voter, even though the GOP policy names don't accurately reflect the actual policy, they leave some voters feeling good. The party of family values. Think how much the GOP has cashed in on that one, & their claim that they are the party of God.

Americans need to sharpen up, but I don't see that happening anytime soon. There's a reason the right focused on filling positions on Boards of Education back in the 80s.

"As people do better, they start voting like Republicans - unless they have too much education and vote Democratic, which proves there can be too much of a good thing."
~Karl Rove

not standing on rightness and reason.

We never believed such conservatism was a threat, and let go way to damned long.

I hope you're not a bookie or your odds would be scary.

stronger actions is the question for me.

who you are supporting for Prez, ancianita? Sounds like you are campaigning for someone.

Do I sense an implication that it's Bloomberg? Bloomberg/ Klobuchar? Does it matter right now? Will POC support such a ticket?

And yes, I mentioned Ceausescu here yesterday, too..

Oh no. Not Bloomberg.

I am going to vote for Warren. If she wins a primary I'll be a full donor. I want a Biden/Warren Democratic ticket.

Biden will get the black vote -- and we should remember that no Democrat ever wins without the black vote -- and Warren, who'll get the women's vote, which is the largest out-group in the country, and no small number.

There are no other winning combinations, the way I see it.

The reason I won't declare on DU is because when Inslee, my primary candidate, lost, I said I'd wait for the public to decide on Super Tuesday and then go with the DNC nominee. I've been pretty much avoiding all poll talk and point scoring on the Primaries and Candidates threads.

I really like that ticket as well, and appreciate your analysis. Warren also my 1st choice. Honestly - I like ALL our candidates! It does come down to electability as Carville says. FULL ON EMERGENCY!!



Thanks.

Bernie as her VP would be awesome. Like y'all I'm not declaring it. Cause I'm voting for whoever wins, regardless.

Your hearts are well-deserved...

They are insane, so I don't think we will function like China. Will they keep up pretenses for 9 months? Doubtful. As for Bannon-his choice of attire spoke volumes.

He was dressed in black on top, didn't see the pants. Looked like expensive clothing, silk and wool. Like a bourgeois nazi.

a guy coming off a week's drunk. Yech!

scribbled words if it can't be enforced. As I watched the Senate "trial" I couldn't really hear much, but I did smell the Reichstag burning.

Never let your enemy rest.

I've been saying for three years that Trump is a dictator. Not "dictator-like." but a dictator. From the very first time he tweeted and the stock market moved, he began to learn and experiment with his power. I could never, and still can't understand, why anyone would advocate to lose the precious country that we had. Who would choose to live under a rabid dictator?

When he's done playing with us, he will install Ivanka in his place. And, when some people say that is is almost inevitable that we will have blood in the streets, there is disbelief because, you know, we are civilized America and it can't happen here. When they go low, we go high. Yet, here we are.

Nobody would advocate such a thing. We are currently trying every last thing we can think of to get rid of this monster peacefully. Any of it is worth a try. All ideas are welcome. We need the help of the members of the TP to either join us, or abstain.

I'll just be blunt: If you want the Black vote, get Obama to say something. Why isn't Obama joining the fray? Forget PC crap. Come right out and SAY it. Or Michelle. She could have won if she had decided to run. Why can't these two most beloved people come right out and accuse Trump et al of being a dictator and gang of thugs?

Why can't Oprah say something? Why can't the elite of Hollywood expose the fact that we are now under a dictator?

WE ARE IN TROUBLE. If I had the money, I'd buy billboard space. As it is, I have an old, beat up car, and I am going to risk it and turn my car into a traveling billboard sign against the regime.

I am going to send money for Australia, but also I am sending money to AMY MCGRATH, in order to keep her afloat against McConnell. Turtleman is my number one Senate enemy. He's on MY revenge list. He's gotta go. He can take Susie Q with him.

appreciate your thoughts. I feel so much the same.

And also, there's this: WHERE THE FUCK ARE THE BUSHES? It would "really help" if they would speak out.

Meh...

If Mama Bush were around, they'd probably be helping. Those guys IMPOSED the invincibility of Big Fossil on the world. I doubt they would try to kill their golden egg laying goose now.

to try and promote the Black vote. We need everyone. Obama inspires everybody. I want him more visible on public TV. He could just come out and tell it like it is. This would speak to most of us, maybe not Trump's base, but the rest of us. There must be some reason he does not. But, what do we have to lose?

Same for celebrities. What would happen if Taylor Swift did a PSA and openly stated that Trump is destroying our country, and we need to vote him out of office? Her fans won't stop buying her records!

I dunno.

and he'd stay low, let the public decide in the primaries.

He doesn't have to endorse anyone. He has to be anti Trump. There would be nothing wrong with him pointing out that Trump is going to destroy this country. He could just say, "I'm Barack Obama, and I urge you to Vote Blue in November." That's all he would need.

Per your thoughts -- which are much appreciated --

-- I've said "dictator" for the last two years; you got me beat.
-- I believe you about Ivanka; I never believe the "it can't happen here crowd" and call them out
-- Obama's got money working against all voter suppression right now; he talked Biden into running; he has said he will work in the GE to stump for our nominee; as for accusations, I think he and Oprah think such talk would create more heat than light, more money for neonazi russiapublicans
-- Hollywood elite are hollering, bringing out films on nazis (Jo Jo Rabbit,Hunters w/ Al Pacino, Terrence Malick's A Hidden Life https://www.imdb.com/list/ls005598360/), wars (1917 https://www.thecinemaholic.com/upcoming-war-movies/), and, of course, celebrities protesting climate denial at the capitol (Jane, Martin, Ted, Joaquin, Sam, Amy, George, etc.) and speaking out at both Golden Globes and AA since this dictator took WH possession
-- omg I live the billboard car idea; just stay safe I need to try that, though this is hothead gun country I'm in;
-- I'm sending McGrath money, too.

Everything you said is great. You've got the spirit of exactly what we've got to do.

We have to show up. We are what we do. To do good is to be good. The good draws the good.

We have to channel our fears by doing. Talk is most valuable to share "doing" ideas.

Obama needs to start talking publicly now. Why wait until Trump's purge is over? Why wait until we have settled on a candidate? NOW is the time. Barack may want Biden, but the picture has certainly changed. Trump smeared him anyway, and it doesn't look so good.

Now, Bloomberg has his ads incorporating previous positive remarks from Obama about Bloomberg. The pickup from just seeing Obama's face is enormous. I don't know anything about Bloomberg's Party changes and such; I am so polarized against Repubs that it scares me. All I can think is, Vote Blue.

I live in a town that apparently has an enclave of Trump supporters. I have seen them driving around town with Trump signs and stuff. I have been working my nerve up. I plan to buy a magnetic sign that I can put on my car door, and then remove it when I park somewhere. Then put it on again. My beater car is all I have, so it's a risk. But, I am going to do it.

I have also thought of making a sign and standing on a corner. I suspect I might get stuff thrown at me, but I can take it. I'll just have a trash bag near, and maybe wear my bike helmet. I plan to put a blue mohawk on it. At least there will be push back.

Thank you for your positive response!

Americans are used to living in a very different government from fascism. So, "Now what?" is asked by both sides.

I suggest the wanna-be dictator figure out how he's going to survive living in a political straight jacket once we take the Senate as we increase our numbers in the House.

When I was working I joined a union because it’s the only way to fight runaway authoritarianism. I have always resisted it, even at work. It’s what I do. I have a lifetime of defending the underdog. I lost a couple of jobs for resisting, being fired by what I recognize now as narcissists. Bosses who did everything they could to make sure resistors were dismissed.

I’m certainly not going to stop resisting now.

Now what? We frigging strategize and come up with a way to neutralize their ability to amass all that power. We take our cues from Nancy Pelosi who uses his own ego to neutralize him. We back her and all the active anti Trump politicians we can. We donate to candidates other than the ones in our states. We forward the messages we agree with on social media. We unite. We have to unite, so it behoves is to enlighten our own ranks that in this election we become divisive among ourselves at too high a price. That our a Democracy needs our united effort to survive.

Thank you ancianita. Your message is important!

-- Steve Biko

There is no single nationwide election to rig; there are many elections across the nation. This makes it difficult for a would-be dictator (whether puppet or shadow). The move back to paper ballots increases the difficulty considerably.

The federal government is massive and does not change course quickly. All of those bureaucrats that Reaganites disparaged and railed against are not toadies. A great many will drag their feet when called upon to do work they recognize as harmful to the country. Installing sycophants at top positions is not enough to effect a coup.

State and local governments will not readily dance to the tunes of the Executive branch or the Senate. Even the red ones will be inconsistent in their support and following of the narcissist's puppet masters.

We have time to inflict millions of paper cuts before November. We have time to educate the electorate.

You're calm, optimistic and yet, on balance, so much objective evidence gives your claim 50-50 odds, maybe worse.

It's important to think on recent history as an objective indicator of what to expect.

Overall, 45's rule of law insurgency should show us that any normal systems we've had in place are vulnerable to breakdown.

Rule of law stands as unenforceable. The door is now wide open at state levels for unregulated election approaches. Besides pre-November mass buying of hackable vote machinery, servers and all, there are increasing vote count "irregularities" to be expected.

So I have "probability" questions.

Didn't 45 cause the longest shut down of govt over a wall last year?

How much more important would be the GE results IF45 wants?
How could he get them?
Who has plans to stop him?

From October to December, how many states' votes could sit uncounted after a "surprise" or multiple "irregularities"?

How probable could be a "national emergency" order over one or two state server hacks in each of the country's 5 regions?

Who will oversee counts? Clean up irregularities? Enforce states' election law? Did anyone do that in Georgia?
Worst case scenario, who stops any orders to national guards to threaten protestors, kettle, tear gas, cart them off to jail, or worse?

Will IF45, who's called House leaders nasty and evil, double down on media as The Enemy?

Even with Limbaugh gone, what's the probability that media and radio will rev up old drum beats on old hates, hoaxes and enemies script; throw in election treason, traitors and 2A remedies against them; throw in lingo to incite mass shootings (that dips during his 2020 rally season, but did increase in the two years after his taking possession of the WH).

Does hollering national media matter to this regime anymore?

Would our party's leaders have action -- real action -- plans for these contingencies?

Given the stakes for IF45 upon leaving office (state/federal indictments, tax returns, loss of emoluments, declassifying, opening up secret servers...);
given his do or die motivation to win at any cost, what would happen to the many elections?

I hope you're right. Still. 45's regime also has time.

Given the likelihood of a repeat of the above, would many elections' results hold the country together?

I can't help thinking that even if our thousand cuts hit media, there's no doubt IF45's all-out political war will be even louder.

His regime could cost us many elections.

for the Midterms, I set out to take my mail-in ballot to the poll place to turn it in, which is permitted. Imagine my surprise to discover that the poll place printed on my informational papers was shut down! Oh, they were open, but my name was attached to another poll. But, since I was a mail-in ballot, they took it anyway.

So, that's never happened. What if I hadn't been simply trying to turn in a ballot? What if I were magnified by 1,000+ voters who suddenly lost their poll place, and didn't know where their name appeared? Seriously, how can you check that? I am in the country and can drive around relatively easily, but what if you were in a city? What if you had to be at work, and not driving around all day?

I wouldn't have thought anything about such a mistake in years past, but this is what happened at Midterms, which gave us the House.

need to keep their radar out about it. Holy crap, EW, you've been holding back!

"Mistakes" happen, they will say.

"Accidents" happen, IF45 will say.

We need a whole indexing of their tactics from precinct to state commission counts.

but *this* is exactly how Trump, Bannon, et. al WANT us to feel- so demoralized that it's not even so much that we *can't* fight back, it's that we will surrender without firing a shot (metaphorically speaking). Take some time to rest and recover after the s**tshow of last week and get ready to fight hard for getting rid of the Con and all of his enablers in November. Trump doesn't command any kind of major public support (despite what an occasional Gallup poll or Rasmussen poll says) and if we beat him and his enablers electorally, he won't have any choice but to yield. What happened last week shouldn't have happened but that just means we need to redouble our efforts and fight onward. It's not over until WE say it's over!

You could be right. But it's better to be prepared with contingency plans and not need them, than to need them and be caught pants down.

So, how do you really know, again, the on-the-ground facts of public support -- when you pick media over Gallup (the largest poll in the US) over other polls?

What efforts do we redouble? What have we used that works? Am I missing something besides Democratic candidate enthusiasm? I'm only seeing media negativity about the party due to cheating forces in IA. That there is psyops. My guess is that we really won't know what works until Super Tuesday, look at who won, and do more of that.

You're right about the Bannon goal. I'd also add that he thinks he's more woke than the left. He's out to convince the public that the Republicans are the smartest adults in the room and resistance is futile. I get that.

We often demoralize ourselves due to fear of envisioning a future different from that of our opponents. Not because it's not a great vision, but because we can't sell it.

Anyway. If we do really honor rule of law but see that it's not enforceable, how is that like believing "no, we can't" -- isn't this situation a guide for plans to not let them run 2020?

Thank you so much. I feel your care and optimism, which we all need.

And I'm realistic enough to understand what we're up against. I guess that I just can't let myself focus too much on all the bad stuff. As far as what I said about Trump's popularity, I live in a red state (Indiana) that I know will easily go for Trump in November but I also know a lot of Republicans like my Mom whom loathe Trump and there are a growing number of NeverTrumpers looking to ally themselves with us to get rid of Trump, so not all Republicans are willing participants in the Trump Republicans efforts to install him as Dictator-for-Life. Plus, a lot of conditions that negatively affected us in 2016 are not going to be in play this year, especially the lack of Third or Fourth Party candidacies to help split the vote and Trump has an underbelly of soft support that are wiser to him now than they were in 2016 that we can pick off. The Democratic Primary is messy, of course, but the primary will eventually be over and we will hopefully all rally around him/her to fight Trump. I don't see us not being energized in November. We just have to be smarter electorally and not focus so much on the national polls and more targeted towards the EC. I don't want to make it sound easy but I'm trying to hold on to what positive thinking I can.

Admins: is there some new category we can start for this type of thread? I don't know: "insurgency planning"?

Honestly, my husband and I are considering bowing out of international travel in September with a friend group, in order to prepare, in case asshole is re-elected. I am also planning to do major GOTV up until the election.