Context is important after the disasters of 80,84, and 88 it was seen as a solution to win at the

National Level in a more Conservative environment (their ideas, not mine)...

Even a lot of lefties threw their hands up and said, "we have to try something..."

That's the environment Clintonism was born in... not 'solely' New Democrat, or DLC but 'Pragmatic'...

A more negative way to think of it is starting out left and triangulating your way out from there.

This proved very effective in the beginning era of the 24hr news cycle and instant data feedback (polling).


But fast forward the the present: The multiplication of the media has led to a massive fracturing of the media. Like taking a hammer to a lens, or a crystal each tiny piece not focuses on the world. Often, that view can be warped, or distorted.

Media and public opinion have sped up even more. Who needs political parties when you can share your instant opinion on DU, Free Republic, Facebook, or Twitter? Also, political parties now cannot control access to cash $$$. Obama '08, '12, Dean '04 and even Sanders '16 have shown how powerful 'crowdsourcing' campaigns can be.

Big Data continues to make the world of poltics more binary. With the 2000 and 2010 censuses, reapportionment has led to a level of gerrymandering never experienced before in our history. Literally if you want a Mickey Mouse shaped district centered on Orlando that X% majority Republican, the software can make it so. Consequently, in Congress and as a country we have become more and more polarized. No one has to speak, or persuade as they don't need that side to get elected.

There, quite literally, is NO MIDDLE THERE anymore. Welcome to the world of binary politics...

Bernie entered that party about 1 year ago. Was that ever going to be easy? Was it ever going to

be easy running against someone who (probably even the President) wanted to be the first female President?

It was never going to be easy. I like Bernie Sanders... always have. However, sorry but Clinton is not a corporatist. Pragmatist, yes...

And sorry, the Party does not deserve animosity. The party is what the people who find themselves inside make it. If you don't like it, push your agenda. Work for it. Change doesn't always happen overnight.

Let me just use the example of Reagan in 1976 (as foul as they are)... his people did not give up. Instead, they took over the party in 1980. If you have the will, are right on the issues and are willing to put in the effort, it can happen. That's the 'movement' Sanders has always been talking about.

Sorry, but it royally pisses me off when I see BOB nonsense everywhere. Have you even been listening to Sanders? Did you ever ask yourself why he joined the Democrats in the first place? He could have easily run as an Independent, no fuss, no muss.

No, he USED the Democratic party as a platform for his message. Sorry, but it would be absolute BS if he walked away from that. I don't think he will by the way.

Sorry Poppet, I have been neutral this cycle. However, I am not neutral about the Party.

Meanwhile, Congress Has Done NOTHING this Year

more Nothing than they did last year.

A big steaming pile of nothing.



Here is a link to that nothing in case you don't want to see anything.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_acts_of_the_114th_United_States_Congress

Trump Has His Own 'Rape' Problem (trigger warning)

By now, you have problem seen Trump's unfounded allegations (i.e. fiction) against Bill Clinton.

Let's just review Trump's own 'Rape' problems:

Ivana Trump accused Donald of rape during a deposition for their divorce proceedings:

Have We Reached a Party Re-Alignment Tipping-Point?

Eating lunch today and seeing the news about what Romney was saying about Trump, I just had (for the first time) a very strong feeling I was watching the destruction of the Republican party and perhaps the beginning of a kind of weird new re-alignment of the parties.

Is the two-party system about to permanently dissolve (finally) due the pressures presented by being a large, modern, and diverse country?

Is it just the wheels coming off the Republican Party permanently?

Is the Democratic party as participating in this 'change'?

I don't really have a dog in this fight, I was just curious to see what other people are thinking at the moment.

Trump moved up 5 pts. in a Florida Poll taken after his Muslim Comments

Interesting, Have Noticed Some Kim Davis Backlash Among Republican Women

... ones I happen to know... They also happen to be RW Christian as well... However, they are sorting out that what Davis is doing has nothing to do with Christianity.

Davis is going to be under the bus by next week if they can't hold that demographic.

Are people (even on the right) waking up to the fact that theocracy is bad...?

Stop and think for second: Trump vs. Biden in the Debates

Okay, you have to admit that would be awesome...!

Fox Tried to Ambush Trump and FAILED

Can anyone else ever remember a news agency that tried to ambush a major party front runner before?

2016 is the America's First Branded Election:Brand Trump vs. Brand Bush vs. Brand Clinton

Anyone watching MSNBC's focus group on Donald Trump couldn't possibly mistake that the qualities people were giving to Donald Trump had nothing to with the man, but had everything to do with the brand image that Trump has created in the media over the last 3 decades.

His success as a political is directly tied to his perception as a brand.

It might be useful to review a definition of branding at this point:

...Simply put, your brand is your promise to your customer. It tells them what they can expect from your products and services, and it differentiates your offering from that of your competitors. Your brand is derived from who you are, who you want to be and who people perceive you to be... http://www.entrepreneur.com/encyclopedia/branding