There are Economists out there that can perform Summer's function. No need to keep a lightening rod around.

And substantively, it's hard to take Biden's progressive promises seriously when his advisors don't reflect those beliefs.

he was opposed to the harsher, and necessary actions Obama should have taken in 2009.

And maybe Paul Krugman.

He can tap Robert Reich, Paul Klugman, Janet Yellen, or any number of other economists who are more in line with moderate or progressive economic solutions.

I would much rather see Timothy Geithner.

Geithner has experience with the 2008 financial crisis. He would make a good replacement for Powell at the Fed.

so many better choices ..

No good purpose is served, in the midst of a literally life and death struggle over containing a lethal contagion, in which people are being advised from the highest quarters to inject themselves with bleach as a remedy, and shit-heel legislators in states with Democratic governors are trying to force increased exposure of citizens to illness and death, and Republican governors are doing their level best to see how many people will succumb in their states, by pitching a scrap over one campaign advisor. No one cares now, or should care, and anyone who does is a pluperfect fool. It is time to attack the enemy, and only the enemy, and at present by definition no one working in any capacity for the Democratic Party's nominee for President qualifies as an enemy.


"Can't nobody here play this game?"


"Defeat of a dangerous enemy is something to be for."

and people have every right to call things out when they see them!

That is foolish. It weakens the overall effort, to no appreciable gain in effectiveness for the electoral campaign to expel the christo-fascist right, and this cheap thug with his hairspray crown, from positions in which they have done great harm to the people and the country, and from which they will do incalculable further harm should they retain power. Just because someone may have the right to do something does not make it a wise thing to do, often it is a damnably stupid and pointless thing to do, and this is one such instance. No good purpose is served by attacking anybody but the enemy, and again, no one employed by the Democratic party's nominee for President can, by definition, be the enemy in the present electoral campaign.

Even worse, and emphasizing the foolish of pressing this complaint, is the complete lack of respectable leverage. What is the threat behind the complaint, what is the recourse if the complaint is ignored, as it probably will be? Are the people making the complaint then going to make some contribution to the success of the cheap thug and his christo-fascist party in the coming election? Are they going to refrain from voting for Mr. Biden, and encourage others to do that? Does anyone imagine this will increase the influence of the progressive left within the Democratic Party, or in any way advance the likelihood of enacting into law progressive policies? Hand one more victory to the christo-fascist right, and you will see things people have taken for granted since the New Deal itself rolled back to something resembling the practices of the Coolidge and Hoover administrations. That is the enemy's goal, and they scent blood in the air....


"Defeat of a dangerous enemy is something to be for."

Why you would want to welcome him in is lunacy.

Someone who has served in the last two Democratic administrations, albeit with mixed reviews, is not likely to be taken as 'the enemy' by very many among the leadership or the rank and file of the Democratic Party. He is more likely to be taken as a man with some experience and standing who it may be worth listening to, as one among other counselors.

Summers being an economic advisor to Mr. Biden's campaign is a minor matter. It hardly involves him in government, it is not even any particular indication he will be selected for an important government post when Mr. Biden becomes President. It is my view Summers deserves the criticism he has received; he is particularly unsound on the question of cutting taxes, and has certainly expressed retrograde social views. This does not, however, make him my enemy, certainly not one to rank with the christo-fascist right and the cheap thug propped up under a hairspray crown to enable their crusade to restore this country to the social conditions of the 1920s. Defeating these people is the essential task. Any attempt at rousing popular opposition on the left to any element of the Democratic Party's campaign in this general election weakens this effort, which must succeed. People who push division aid the enemy. Leftists who do this may deny it all they wish, but objectively, as a good Leninist might say, they serve as a left auxiliary for the christo-fascist right.

Summers being a campaign advisor is simply not important enough to pitch a fight over. I neither support Summers nor wish him appointed to any office --- I simply do not give the north end of a southbound rat about him at this time.


"Defeating a dangerous enemy is something to be for."

You obviously run full around the roundabout in your efforts to find which way the rat faces. Otherwise, why debate this whatsoever? If it were so unimportant, you'd be off polishing your thesaurus, instead of insinuating that people who rightly note the evil that resides within Summers are fucking alongside Lenin. Go do your research and find out WHY people know Summers as evil. Maybe your investment of a few minutes will give you a damn reason to find your rat's direction.

It does amuse me you imagine my vocabulary derives from consulting some listing or other of alternate words. It is also amusing you imagine me ignorant of political and economic events occurring well after my reaching maturity. In fact, your response this morning is so garbled as to verge on incoherence, and offers clear evidence you do not even comprehend the statements you are attempting argument against.

None of my comments debate the moral worth of Summers, or defend him in any way. My comments simply maintain that energy invested in opposition to his giving economic advice to Mr. Biden's campaign at present is a waste of effort, both because your view of him is not nearly so widely shared as you seem to imagine, and because any diversion of energy away from attacking the christo-fascist right weakens the effort to evict its denizens from power.

When you engage what is actually said to you, perhaps this exchange can continue. Otherwise, there is no point to it. Repetition bores me, and your angry sputters are insufficiently flamboyant to engage my interest further.


"Defeat of a dangerous enemy is something to be for."

I harbor no illusions regarding your innate ability to be verbose in your own self-gratifying manner, no additional literary aids necessary. I am filled with sorrow that you find yourself incapable of following my arguments. I tried so hard, too. I'll be sure to take that post off the wall.

You should find time in your day to see why Summers is the enemy. I realize you don't want to, but that doesn't remove his impacts from our lives. I want to be proactive and remove him from consideration. You seem to want to clean up later. See if you can walk and chew gum instead of telling me that my Internet forum post is a "waste of effort". I don't answer to you.

Oh, you're bored? We'll see. I do in fact have yard work and it *is* beautiful, though colder than I'd like this close to May. Thus, I leave you to your smugness. Summers is still a fucking problem.

It shows some effort, but still manages scant engagement with what was actually said to you. You have not really made any argument at all, merely declared Summers to be the devil incarnate. There are a good many devils running about at present, and in denouncing devilry, as in anything else, one must prioritize.

Happy to hear you intend to engage in something productive out of doors. It may be your best contribution to political commentary to date.

Be well, and stay safe.


"I'm going home now. Someone bring me some frogs and some bourbon."


"Defeat of a dangerous enemy is something to be for."

Fuck Summers. Cute how you like calling those who want to keep the snakes out of government fools. Try harder.

Everything else is just noise.

Larry Summers - are you fucking kidding me

Equally important is to have someone more progressive. I fear he will not be able to help move the country forward.

in what primary? I don't give a shit who he talks to.

The same old same old isn't going to work this time around.

they would have supported Mr. Sanders and Ms. Warren, which they didn't.

don't give one shit who is once you tell them. We're worried about PPE and testing, and how pressure is being applied to get us the testing and PPE. I'm done with people telling us we need testing, WE KNOW WE NEED TESTING, what the fuck are you doing to get us the testing?!? So far, defunding of drive thru testing and no increase in testing, that's what we've gotten. We can't talk economy without TESTING. God, I'm so sick of the non answers.

There's bigger fish to fry. And he's just advising Biden! Biden hasn't appointed him to anything. So what if Summers and Biden talk on the phone? Is Joe supposed to hang up the phone when Summers calls?

You just don't pick up. Take his "advice" in written from from a staffer and then ignore it like the useless trash it is.

Interesting.

In my view, Summers is a horrible choice, unless I see that he is being heavily counterbalanced by liberal economists. Joe Biden needs to take a historic opportunity to break the mode, if he doesn't do that, we will continue to face the scourge of populism again, or another Trump, and next time there likely will be no chance to save the country because a lot of critical voters will have stopped listening to the more sane message.

Summer too much represents things as they are, which in my view is unacceptable. I am a business oriented, definitely left of center democrat who supported Biden as my first choice (though I also liked Warren until it became clear that she wouldn't divorce her campaign rhetoric from the disastrous screed of Sanders). So I am no old Leftie aching to burn everything down while having no clue about what comes next.

They have not proven to be the most reliable allies heretofore.

Who the fuck cares who brings up that Summers is a piece of shit who needs to fade away into the ether of history?

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