If you want to pretend laws arent laws, I dont know what to tell you. You cant just declare that reality is meaningless unless it adheres to your current most convenient outcome. This is exactly the centrist rot at the core of the party. We increasingly stand for nothing but a cult of personality as long as its slightly better than republicans, and thats not the dem party or the “America” I grew up with.
If you want to pretend laws arent laws, I dont know what to tell you.
Fortunately, I have no desire to go there. (As an aside, I am still waiting for the explanation regarding the laws on sock puppetry.)
You cant just declare that reality is meaningless unless it adheres to your current most convenient outcome
Which is why I have done no such thing, and am puzzled as to why you’d claim otherwise. Quote please?
We increasingly stand for nothing but a cult of personality as long as its slightly better than republicans,
Well, tbf “we’re better than that guy” is not really much of a personality cult. This is especially so when virtually anyone else is better than that guy.
thats not the dem party or the “America” I grew up with.
You must be far older than I. I only remember from the Clinton years, and Bill Clinton won in part because he was a fairly conservative Democrat from the midwestern state of Arkansas. So already in the early 90s Dems were aiming for centrist appeal.
This is exactly the centrist rot at the core of the party.
Well, it might be worth considering why the party chose to shift this way. The short answer is that the Electoral College grants too much voting power to the smaller states, which become the swing or battleground states, and so to win in the Electoral College and become President, those are the voters you have to cater to - and they happen to be not only more centralist, but probably more conservative than folks who live in huge east coast or west coast cities. See https://www.vox.com/the-big-idea/2016/11/22/13713148/electoral-college-democracy-race-white-voters for a more in-depth explanation.
I hate it too, but considering what’s at stake in this election, I’ll support Harris or anyone else who has a shot at winning that’s not the current GOP candidate. Though my hope is this:
Harris wins and Dems get enough majority control of both houses (enough to get around likely no votes from maverick Dems like Joe Manchin), then the Senate majority leader (Schumer) can lower the bar for a filibuster to a bare majority.
At this point there is now the required two-thirds majority of states required in the hands of the Dems, so a new constitution amendment dropping the Electoral College for a nationwide popular vote could be passed and ratified successfully.
As a bonus, also pass another amendment requiring ranked choice voting - this allows us more choices. We can safely vote third party as our first choice for President in the future, while having the more moderate Dem a 2nd or 3rd choice, meaning that we vote 3rd party without fearing the spoiler effect would prop up a MAGA candidate into office again. Which would allow more folks to feel safe in supporting their third party, meaning that third parties now have a more realistic chance of actually making it to the highest office.
Even if Dems don’t hold the Senate in 2024, the Senate maps look much better in 2026. So if they can keep the House of Reps in 2026 and retake the Senate then in sufficient numbers, this could still happen under Harris.
So in summary, the best hope of moving away from catering to centralist battleground state voters first requires getting Harris elected.
Btw, in case you were wondering, I’m a far leftie who back in 2020, would have preferred Andrew Yang… or failing that, Bernie Sanders. AOC wasn’t eligible then, but she would have had my vote as well if it were possible.
If you want to pretend laws arent laws, I dont know what to tell you. You cant just declare that reality is meaningless unless it adheres to your current most convenient outcome. This is exactly the centrist rot at the core of the party. We increasingly stand for nothing but a cult of personality as long as its slightly better than republicans, and thats not the dem party or the “America” I grew up with.
Fortunately, I have no desire to go there. (As an aside, I am still waiting for the explanation regarding the laws on sock puppetry.)
Which is why I have done no such thing, and am puzzled as to why you’d claim otherwise. Quote please?
Well, tbf “we’re better than that guy” is not really much of a personality cult. This is especially so when virtually anyone else is better than that guy.
You must be far older than I. I only remember from the Clinton years, and Bill Clinton won in part because he was a fairly conservative Democrat from the midwestern state of Arkansas. So already in the early 90s Dems were aiming for centrist appeal.
Well, it might be worth considering why the party chose to shift this way. The short answer is that the Electoral College grants too much voting power to the smaller states, which become the swing or battleground states, and so to win in the Electoral College and become President, those are the voters you have to cater to - and they happen to be not only more centralist, but probably more conservative than folks who live in huge east coast or west coast cities. See https://www.vox.com/the-big-idea/2016/11/22/13713148/electoral-college-democracy-race-white-voters for a more in-depth explanation.
I hate it too, but considering what’s at stake in this election, I’ll support Harris or anyone else who has a shot at winning that’s not the current GOP candidate. Though my hope is this:
Harris wins and Dems get enough majority control of both houses (enough to get around likely no votes from maverick Dems like Joe Manchin), then the Senate majority leader (Schumer) can lower the bar for a filibuster to a bare majority.
Then basically follow this plan https://www.vox.com/2020/1/14/21063591/modest-proposal-to-save-american-democracy-pack-the-union-harvard-law-review - the TLDR is to pass a new law post-filibuster removal to admit each neighborhood of DC as its own state, which would add 127 new Dem states in all.
At this point there is now the required two-thirds majority of states required in the hands of the Dems, so a new constitution amendment dropping the Electoral College for a nationwide popular vote could be passed and ratified successfully.
As a bonus, also pass another amendment requiring ranked choice voting - this allows us more choices. We can safely vote third party as our first choice for President in the future, while having the more moderate Dem a 2nd or 3rd choice, meaning that we vote 3rd party without fearing the spoiler effect would prop up a MAGA candidate into office again. Which would allow more folks to feel safe in supporting their third party, meaning that third parties now have a more realistic chance of actually making it to the highest office.
Even if Dems don’t hold the Senate in 2024, the Senate maps look much better in 2026. So if they can keep the House of Reps in 2026 and retake the Senate then in sufficient numbers, this could still happen under Harris.
So in summary, the best hope of moving away from catering to centralist battleground state voters first requires getting Harris elected.
Btw, in case you were wondering, I’m a far leftie who back in 2020, would have preferred Andrew Yang… or failing that, Bernie Sanders. AOC wasn’t eligible then, but she would have had my vote as well if it were possible.