I don't know where to put this but Ta-Nehisi Coates just announced he is voting for Bernie.
I don't know. I can't fault the Berners I know who want a big change, but I still think they are unrealistic about getting that into the white house - especially over a Trump.
He did go a little back on his endorsement and said it wasn't an "endorsement." I doubt that changes much - he's a public figure and a politically-active, influential one.
His employer (or one of them) The Atlantic, tries to soften his endorsement by posting a response to one of Ta-Nehisi's reparations articles last month:
From Ta-Nehisi's article - "But raising the minimum wage doesn’t really address the fact that black men without criminal records have about the same shot at low-wage work as white men with them; nor can making college free address the wage gap between black and white graduates. Housing discrimination, historical and present, may well be the fulcrum of white supremacy."
This is (in my view) the crux of Ta-Nehisi Coates’ argument. Class-based solutions are good, and will by their nature affect the most change within communities of color that have greatly suffered for the entire history of this country and beyond. Simply addressing the symptoms, which have been disproportionately been suffered by people of color, will not address the problem, and there are symptoms of systemic racism (which Coates cites) that cannot be addressed in the frame of a class struggle.
I agree with him. Fully and truly, if a policy could address these systemic and greater-than-class symptoms of a problem I have been an unwilling beneficiary of, I would support them.
They would not, however, be an issue by which I decide my vote for president. This is in part because of the absolute dichotomy of our political system. When I view the candidates, and the state of our electorate, I could not support a candidate who purely thought the way I thought. There is too much to be lost by supporting the grander ideas of my intellectual person than the practical implications of embracing someone whose ideas were succinctly in my own sphere at the expense of that person being written off to history while their opponent governs our country.
Honestly, today I just feel beaten down. I want to cry. And dammit, Bernie folk, if you rip this primary nomination away from HRC you HAD BETTER DAMN WELL GET EVERY BLEEPING YOUNG PERSON OUT TO VOTE ON ELECTION DAY BECAUSE I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU IF TED STINKING CRUZ GETS TO PICK THE NEXT THREE SUPREME COURT JUSTICES! Put up or shut up! You wanna pick Bernie, then get his ass in the White House and DO NOT let the Republican clown car mop the floor with him.
I need a drink.
This is exactly how I've been feeling of late. All of it.
Honestly, today I just feel beaten down. I want to cry. And dammit, Bernie folk, if you rip this primary nomination away from HRC you HAD BETTER DAMN WELL GET EVERY BLEEPING YOUNG PERSON OUT TO VOTE ON ELECTION DAY BECAUSE I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU IF TED STINKING CRUZ GETS TO PICK THE NEXT THREE SUPREME COURT JUSTICES! Put up or shut up! You wanna pick Bernie, then get his ass in the White House and DO NOT let the Republican clown car mop the floor with him.
I need a drink.
This is exactly how I've been feeling of late. All of it.Â
Hey, I'll be living near you on election day. Sounds like a great reason for a drink date
It must be frustrating for Obama to see both Bernie and the Republicans trash talking his (hard fought) accomplishments.
The Republicans trashing Obama is their M.O. and I'm sure he doesn't expect anything less.
But Bernie -- that's gotta be a pisser. Â Especially since Bernie is actively trying and succeeding in usurping the Democratic Party for his own Democratic-bashing agenda. Â Not that Bernie needs to be all up Obama's ass. Â But it's hard to understand how a Democratic presidential candidate can be so fond of bashing the outgoing Democratic president.
Don't you remember Gore running far, far away from Clinton? I thought that was a mistake, too.
Post by Daria Morgandorffer on Feb 10, 2016 15:37:34 GMT -5
I was shocked at how many of my FB friends are seemingly suddenly now fervent Berners. These are really smart people and it's ALMOST enough to make me wonder what I'm missing. I'm used to my relatives posting stupid shit with no backup to it, but I am unused to my educated friends posting stuff that I find baffling.
I don't like how quickly he's apparently catching on. It's freaking me out.
I was shocked at how many of my FB friends are seemingly suddenly now fervent Berners. These are really smart people and it's ALMOST enough to make me wonder what I'm missing. I'm used to my relatives posting stupid shit with no backup to it, but I am unused to my educated friends posting stuff that I find baffling.
I don't like how quickly he's apparently catching on. It's freaking me out.
I was shocked at how many of my FB friends are seemingly suddenly now fervent Berners. These are really smart people and it's ALMOST enough to make me wonder what I'm missing. I'm used to my relatives posting stupid shit with no backup to it, but I am unused to my educated friends posting stuff that I find baffling.
I don't like how quickly he's apparently catching on. It's freaking me out.
OMG yes.
They were in hiding, but there's been an uptick of outings in the recent weeks in my Facebook page.
A friend of mine who is an IMF ECONOMIST has come out in support of Sanders. I nearly died.
I don't begrudge people supporting Bernie. I mean, my awesome hippie-raised, Brooklyn -born, Jewish, socialist friend today was SO excited and I get it- he's right up her alley (although, adorably, she had no idea he was Jewish) but I DO have a problem with people ignoring every bit of demographic-data, history, and common sense that says that he will get trounced in a general election, who don't care that a Bernie nom means a Republican win.
No. Berners are convinced themselves that he's their best shot at a non Republican. They say the same thing about Clinton.
And this is where we circle back to naive. Anyone who truly believes a SOCIALIST will beat a Republican in the year 2016 is delusional - er, naive.
I was shocked at how many of my FB friends are seemingly suddenly now fervent Berners. These are really smart people and it's ALMOST enough to make me wonder what I'm missing. I'm used to my relatives posting stupid shit with no backup to it, but I am unused to my educated friends posting stuff that I find baffling.
I don't like how quickly he's apparently catching on. It's freaking me out.
Apparently, you're missing that all important "idealism".
Which is the only thing a candidate needs in order to make everything better.
That and a pony.
Sigh.
Even my conspiracy-prone friends are suddenly Berners. They believe nothing yet Bernie is suddenly a paragon of reliability and truth.
I don't begrudge people supporting Bernie. I mean, my awesome hippie-raised, Brooklyn -born, Jewish, socialist friend today was SO excited and I get it- he's right up her alley (although, adorably, she had no idea he was Jewish) but I DO have a problem with people ignoring every bit of demographic-data, history, and common sense that says that he will get trounced in a general election, who don't care that a Bernie nom means a Republican win.
Because it's a revolution! He will win because FEEL THE BERN! And damn the man, save the Empire!
Anyway, look, yes, a lot of young white people (probably most of our FB friends) who are highly educated want to vote for the guy all, "Free education!" Not shocking. And people don't understand economics and think "Ohhh, look at the pretty plan for health care! His numbers work out!" They don't look at the fact his number are bullshit.
So, in conclusion, smart people are also stupid. The end.
Seriously? I want to scream at them HE'S NOT EVEN REALLY A DEMOCRAT
I'm having to sit on my hands over all this superdelegates b.s. flailing. I have no doubt that if Bernie does gain momentum and starts winning in most states, the superdelegates will shift accordingly. The DNC is not stupid. On the other hand, the presumption that the party owes him the nomination, when he's not even a member is infuriating.
Eta: that's not to say I wouldn't prefer a system where the one with the popular vote wins, but that's not how it's set up. And railing against it now, because you're finally paying attention and have decided you don't think the system is fair, is childish. Ideally we'd have more than two parties, ideally the person with the most votes would win. But that's not how it works. Also - pay attention in school kids.
I want to yell at all Berners everywhere: MY STATE ELECTED SCOTT WALKER THREE TIMES! YOUR POLITICAL REVOLUTION IS NOT HAPPENING!
And the person that I've seen as his closest historical reference as a presidential candidate - Dennis Kucinich - got gerrymandered out of his own district and was thought of a LAUGHING STOCK whenever he ran.
If the other crazy socialist revolution guy can't even get elected in his super sympathetic district any more...how in the world is a socialist president going to get actual support?
Dennis Kucinich is another reason people thinking that millions of Americans are going to come out of the woodwork to vote for Sanders is ridiculous. Okay, I understand not wanting to vote third party and thinking that candidate won't get elected, because they won't, Pragmatism. But Kucinich is a Democrat (arguably more so than Bernie), and has run in the Democratic primary for President and gained as much traction, approximately, as Chris Christie this election season. How is Bernie MORE electable and THAT much different?!