The world is full of kind Progressives. They are beautiful and the world needs many more. I am not one of them. I have completely had it with watching my party be abused every cycle by egomaniacs and sociopaths. I will be a bitch. And I will not apologize. I'm a true patriot who cannot sit back quietly as my country plummets into a dark chasm full of hate and intolerance. And I will not abide those who mean to take her there. Otherwise, I'm a lovely human being.
I have had my progressive ideals called into question countless times over the last two years. First it was from nutters on the right who determined lefties weren't allowed to have shitty attitudes (?). Then it came from the left (or those pretending to be from the left hidden behind avatars and fake names) by those demanding that only a true progressive would support the Sanders, then Stein, candidacies. The ignorance encapsulated in both assertions should be clear to any thinking person. I can, then, only assume the reason we find ourselves in this absolute clusterfuck is because we have so few thinking people left. Glorious.
To the first: I can't be bothered to explain to you why I don't fit inside your narrow stereotype any more than you can explain to me why you need to hold on to it. Fuck you. I have a shitty attitude. I'll keep it until I leave this wretched planet.
The second seems to be profoundly missed in every nonsensical piece I've read since the 'election' where they say the Democrats didn't speak to the Progressive wing of the left. Honestly, I send you a pretty healthy 'Fuck You,' as well.
The true Progressives are the ones who stood with Hillary Clinton from the beginning, or those who had their awakening sometime during the campaign and moved to offer her their support. The ridiculously narrow message of the Sanders campaign (and Jesus Christ - Stein didn't even really have a message) offered acknowledgement of about a third of any respectable Progressive platform. Every once in a while he could be bothered to respond to a question asking about the myriad inequalities true Progressives insist be remedied. Even then he managed to fucker that conversation up and bring it back to his fixed presentation of income inequality.
Quietly reflect on this (I'm serious. Take this moment): If the response to a capitalist society gone amok only acknowledges the aspects of that society which affect people financially, haven't you just become the goddamned problem? You've allowed the response to every facet of that society to acknowledge its premise - The only thing that matters is money and power.
True Progressivism moves everyone forward. It is about genuine progress (get it?). When you deny or ignore the marginalized groups of that society, you are the fucking problem. Your message is the fucking problem. Your goddamned messenger is the fucking problem. And when the left loses you insist the reason we lost was because we didn't speak out more for those you determine to be marginalized (the poor forgotten white man), you perpetuate the problem to the place we find ourselves today. Well done, assholes. I've seen the Democrats called Republicans repeatedly. The only Republican mentality I saw on the left this cycle was from fauxgressives demanding the white man was being abused. Check yourselves or embrace what you really are: Libertarian - selfish to the core.
So women were supposed to first embrace a man who wrote rape fantasies in the 70s and had them written off as 'satire' during the campaign? And because you didn't like the candidate on the ticket for the left you now mock us because we have to somehow come to terms with the fact that a proud sexual assailant will lead the country? That's progressive to you?
Sanders took random opportunities to condemn Trump's hate speech, but he never offered anything in his platform to address the inequalities Trump was projecting. Why? Because his message was all too similar:
-The Democrats have ruined the country and only he can save us from ruin.
-The poor forgotten white man must be coddled and made to feel superior again.
Sure, Sanders used completely different language to get that message out, but he did it nonetheless.
True Progressivism makes a lot of demands of society. The reason the Democratic platform is so huge is because it is all-encompassing. There is room in there for all genders. All races. All religions. All income levels. The platform seeks equality for absolutely everyone, without exception. We demand that our children be safe and well educated. That our tax rates be fair. That our water and air are clean. That our workforce be strong and protected. That diplomacy is relevant. That we protect those our society has continued to assault. We insist on thoughtful resolutions to complex issues that won't fit on a meme. This entire election cycle we had one candidate who responded to all of those needs. ONE. And those who demanded she wasn't progressive enough certainly never bothered to read her platform. Here, jackass, take a look - its all still there. And its all still a million times more progressive than the shit Sanders ever tried to address.
I've been told repeatedly that I need to make nice with those who stalk my pages and tell me Trump 'won' the election because we didn't give them the candidate they demanded. I'm not that kind of girl. It's not my place to passively condone the hijacking of my party and bow to the will of the bullies in my midst. Its your job to grow up and take accountability for your own ignorance and arrogance. I'll be here when you get over yourselves.
For the most part, the people I interact with online are strangers. An avi of some political affiliation is enough to start a conversation. But I do have the intellectual curiosity to consider what that person is saying and question their intent. To be certain, all people with Sanders avatars are not really interested in his campaign or his agenda. They have another agenda. The fact that more people don't question the message and the messenger is beyond disturbing. I'd like to think the left is smarter than that. I am naive. It's true. Some people just don't wonder about the things others are saying because they say they support Sanders, too. I am here to tell you ... Some of them are literally paid by the right to stir up shit on the left. Really. I researched and proved that the Bernie or Bust movement is a right wing distraction last year, READ HERE if you're interested.
Does radicalism need a political affiliation? Or does it exist merely to satisfy its own needs? I researched the Tea Party for a while last year and find amazing commonalities between that movement and the extremists now supporting Sanders. I am convinced that many of the participants are the same people whose ideologies were irrelevant. They need to be involved in drama. Or hate. I believe a lot of other people are just too weak to think for themselves and get caught up in the wake. But for the most part, the radicalism is led by personalities that thrive on hate and disorder.
It often occurs to me when drawn into arguments with these new sandbaggers that if they were not teabaggers at this time last year, they were not paying attention because some element of that message wasn't speaking to them. They do, however, toss out the same rhetoric. And it doesn't occur to them that we would pick up on it. I've read countless posts by 'progressives' about how stupid people of color are if they don't support Sanders. Similarly, all women and LGBTQ voters are disinterested in their own futures if they support Clinton. Not kidding, 'the blacks' and 'the gays' have been offered to me in narrative that was supposed to be thoughtful. Narrow-mindedness, I suppose, is not an attribute reserved to the right, but I don't think it will ever stop surprising me when confronted by someone who dismisses my progressive values.
The teabaggers were prone to violence and extremism in the face of not getting their elected leaders into office. The blatant disrespect and horror that the Sanders supporters project onto Clinton is just as bad. I recently wrote an article that proved many Facebook groups were shut down because they were talking about the need for Clinton's assassination and they started a petition (now has thousands of signatories) to have a violent overthrow of the Democratic Convention this summer where it concluded that they would 'lie down their lives, if necessary.' It also tossed around the word 'patriot' more than a few times. Remember Gabby Giffords? Enough Said.
The teabaggers had a term they used to demean the Republicans that didn't hold their extremist views: RINOs (Republicans In Name Only). You see, they were not true conservatives. Now the sandbaggers have picked up on the same narrative. Every day I am told dozens of times that I am not a true progressive because I support Clinton. Its petty. Its small. Its ridiculous. Ive proven my progressivism right here. Who the fuck are you? You're an avatar with a profile showing you have no friends, no family and no job. And I'm supposed to not question your intent and walk out of a conversation where you're literally pushing right wing narrative that those of us who have been paying attention since before Sanders found a following (and, more importantly, became a serious contender against Clinton) already managed to reason through the rhetoric? We grown ups know the TRUTH about Hillary Clinton. And more importantly, we've vetted the candidates and we know the lies, as well.
As a woman, there is little more disgusting than the entire teabagger narrative about women. Lately, however, sandbaggers have given me pause. I am repeatedly told that my support of Clinton proves that I vote with my vagina. Really? My vagina only gets a vote on who I sleep with. She's let me down a time or two, but my head and my heart never have. And my head and heart have made this choice. Thanks. Any woman who supports Clinton is condemned to hysteria because they support another woman. Should similar attributions be made to men supporting Sanders or Trump? Am I supposed to be ignoring the fact that she is profoundly more qualified than any other candidate this season? The sandbagger rhetoric now mirrors the shit coming out of Trump. We are meant to ignore her entire documented history of progressive fights, being the first FLOTUS who made it a job where making change was a sincere objective, having been a two term Senator and Secretary of State and deem her unqualified. THAT rhetoric is because she is a woman. Kindly fuck off.
Another favorite pastime of the teabaggers, and now the sandbaggers, is to rewrite history. Its a good time, apparently. The talking points are different, but the manipulation of facts to make points that would otherwise be moot are played with the same zeal. I haven't had a single day go by since I announced my support for Clinton that someone hasn't told me about her support for Goldwater. It is not news to anyone (again, anyone who bothers to vet their candidates) that she supported him when she was in high school. She wrote about it in her book Living History. What of the ideals of youth supporting the most radical candidate of a generation? He accepted the Republican nomination saying, "Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice, and moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue." Well, shit. That sounds as if it could be Sanders' mantra. Kind of funny when a young kid is drawn in by a radical demagogue, huh? May history leave them with similar legacies.
The fact that people are allowing such narrative to flood their social media and don't question its source is astounding. Often they literally forward memes or links with right wing attribution. Regardless of which campaign you support, when you see someone condemn another for their progressivism, pause. Consider their intent. Question the user id (that's all it is - a stranger with an avatar) that is trying to dismiss another person's ideological leanings. Why would anyone behave like a teabagger? Do you want to associate with people who condemn women, people of color and LGBTQ to idiocy because they don't support the same left-leaning campaign that you do?
Quietly reflect on yourself a year ago. Were you were pissed off about POC being murdered by police officers? Were you were pissed off about white trash demanding that they shouldn't have to make wedding cakes for gay weddings? Were you were pissed off that Planned Parenthood was under a daily barrage of bullshit? Were you pissed off that states demanded the right to project racism on statehouse grounds? Were you pissed off that the media refused to cover the Republican candidates for the soul-sucking parasites that their platforms and stump speeches defined?
Really? Guess what ... POC are still being murdered by the police. States are now fighting the federal government to be allowed to discriminate against transgender citizens using the fucking bathroom. Planned Parenthood has lost funding in more places. States are still promoting racism on flags and in whatever other means they can come up with. And Donald Trump is now the Republican nominee and is being covered as an actual candidate. The only difference is that the left is so hyper-focused on divisions among ourselves created and perpetuated by the right, that many fewer people are paying attention. Of course, that means the right is winning. Again.
We should ALL be together on the left fighting to make sure that we get a down-ticket win in November. It is a sick kind of ignorant privilege that allows anyone to take the next 4-8 years for granted. What kind of life must one live to not need to reflect on upcoming SCOTUS decisions protecting every single demand of a true Progressive platform? How could anyone scoff at the dismissal of important women's rights, possibly finally ensuring the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment? Who in their right mind would ignore our desperate need for a Congress focused on sensible gun reforms, the Affordable Care Act, voting rights, actually contending with Citizens United and humane immigration reform? I don't ever want to understand the mindset of a person who can join a movement meant to dismantle the left and allow Trump to enter the White House to prove a point and start a 'revolution.' I don't think I have the prerequisites to be that person, though. I imagine you have to be a straight, white male with all privileges attributed to that sector of the population.
For all people who, 24/7, spend their time trying to cut down the Democratic Party and their candidates, your objectives and motives are clear. And my progressivism trumps yours. Period. For all who read those posts and don't pause to consider the intentions of such toxic rhetoric, please ask more of yourself from now on. True Progressives need your thoughtful participation.
Yep. That email went out from the Sanders campaign this morning. He wants all of his supporters to send him some more money in light of the FEC deadline tonight. My question ... WHY? They've already told the FEC they would not be filing any additional information until after the campaign is over.
Thoughtfully ask yourself ... What does Sanders' busy schedule have to do with a paid treasurers time constraints? Does the treasurer have to go to all of the events? Shouldn't the job of treasurer limit one's time on the campaign trail so as to ensure their ability to maintain the finances of this 'revolutionary' fundraising apparatus? Apparently not.
The campaign has blatantly ingonred FEC guidelines, thus far. When asked for answers to quite pertinent questions, his treasurer, Susan Jackson, has replied with absolute NONSENSE. For instance, they have been asked every filing for correction on their filings of 'unitemized individual contributions.' Here they have disclosed $116,917,592. That amount has yet to be explained.
These questions of unitemized individual contributions began in June 2015, the same month Hillary Clinton kicked off her campaign. On filings every combined personal contribution above $200 has to show the name/address of the donor. The Sanders campaign, instead, offered this:
They have had similar entries every filing since. And that is how they have over $116M in donations they have not had to answer to. Keep in mind that the FEC has specific fines for each violation and their calculations are based on repeated offenses. How many donors are merely contributing to a pot that will be used to pay off the myriad violations and refusal to submit proper documentation to prove where their donations came from? I have seen many people write about this (not any MSM, of course) so I will leave it there and go into the things I found questionable in a single morning of looking through his FEC filing.
#1 February 29 was the day before Super Tuesday. He sent out emails and was all over Twitter and Facebook with pleas for donations with a really great video that got a lot of attention on social media. Sanders, however, has reported to the FEC that on that day, the day before Super Tuesday - the day all of his supporters had been waiting for, he managed to raise $650.50 in donations. If that isn't questionable enough, refer to every other day.
#2 All campaigns must disclose where their money is coming from. Some have reported on the fact that he was caught having a lot of donations from outside the US and he was supposed to have refunded that money. As of the last time they bothered to reply to the FEC, some of those had been refunded and they promised to have the rest completed for the April filing. (Yes, the filing they just extended til after the campaign is over). (See formal reply here from Sanders campaign).What I found interesting was the zip codes. As soon as I opened the link, something struck me. Those zip codes are not real. Lest anyone doubt my intentions ... this is the link to the USPS.com to search zip codes.
#3 In the summary of expenditures the campaign showed two that were questionable to me because they are the names of Superdelegates that have vowed to support him at the convention. First Keelan Sanders received $5,265.25. This is a superdelegate from Mississippi. If Sanders were sincere about his contention that Superdelegates should support the nominees their states voted for, his 18% should probably not warrant him the support. The second notable name on the list of payees is Troy Jackson who received $4,849.89. This is the name of a Superdelegate pledged to Sanders from Maine, but as this is a more common name, I will have to do more research before I make a full assessment. THIS LINK will take you to the payees. If you hit ctrl+f and type the names you can find them and do research beyond my own. (I swear to Christ if anyone decides to harrass either of these people after reading this I will do my best to shame and embarrass you online - let Sanders supporters be the assholes)
#4 Finally last week I had had enough of how questionable his campaign was in regard to their finances (refusing to release 8 years of tax returns, not correcting/explaining FEC violations, not addressing the $116M unitemized donations) and I wanted to do a little research myself. Knowing that my bank would never let a $5000 charge go through, I tried to donate to his campaign from his website. When you donate more than $2700, the system should stop you and tell you that you are exceeding the legal limit for donation. It did not. It sent it to my bank. My bank said, 'Yeah. Right.' And it STILL did not tell me I was exceeding a limit, it just suggested I try another credit card.
As if his campaign hasn't been toxic enough lately, he has had Sainte Jane all over MSM this week explaining that they were going to release their 2015 tax returns soon. She, of course, then changed the subject whenever anyone reminded her that they were supposed to be releasing many more than 2 years to the fact that Secretary Clinton had not released transcripts of speeches given while being a private citizen. So they're under fraud investigations from 2011 and America is supposed to take a pinkie promise on their finances and, instead, reflect on a demand made of no candidate in history?
America, really. Its time to be done with this bullshit candidacy. Its time to get back to reminding the country who are really jeopardizing our futures. Its time to tell Sanders and his embarrassing campaign to step aside and behave like adults. And I think its really time that Sanders be held accountable for his shady (at best) fund raising.
Yesterday, incompetent media outlets reported that Facebook pages supporting Bernie Sanders were duped by Hillary Clinton supporters by adding posts of child pornography and then reporting the sites for having them up. This, supposedly, precipitated the immediate shut down of several sites. Every story mentioned having had eyewitness accounts to the pornographic material, but none of them documented or cited these accounts.
I happened to have actually witnessed what happend and it had NOTHING to do with any Hillary Clinton supporters. In fact, I know that the person who reported them was offended and wholly mortified by the material on the pages. What they reported having seen were suggestions of assassinating Secretary Clinton and posts suggesting a violent overthrow of the Democratic Convention this summer. The 'revolutionary' idea of overtaking the convention also had a petition ending with a suggestion that they would gladly lie down their lives and, at present (2am EDT 4/27/16), has had 1,429 signatures added. This is the ACTUAL reply from Facebook after having read the incitement to violence (no mention of pornography, because .. duh).
And this is the petition that started the discussions about how to have a violent overthrow at the convention.
And here is part of a discussion where they were talking about rioting and assassinating Secretary Clinton.
Kindly get your shit straight before trying to add to an already toxic environment created and perpetuated by the radicals of the world, motherfuckers.
I started writing in January 2015 on a completely personal journey. It was solely reflective about my own life and I didn't write anything political. I wrote a few pieces that got a lot of attention from other writers who encouraged me to start posting my work on Twitter. It took me less than an hour to understand why people hate Twitter. I have been politically aware all of my adult life. I had known what the leaders of the Tea Party sect of the Regressive party had been saying, but I had never really had to experience their followers. Just. Jesus. Christ. They were fascinating to me and I researched and wrote about them for several months.
My interest in the teabaggers began to wane last summer, however. I was excited about our own movement on the left. I looked forward to hearing about the candidates who wanted to follow My President and their ideas. I was anxious for Secretary Clinton to announce and was also very excited about Bernie Sanders. When he entered the race I was sincerley energized because someone so far left was entering the arena. I encouraged my readers to learn more about him and spread the word.
I believed in everything Sanders talked about. Passionately. I soon realized that Bernie Sanders did not believe in everything I believe in, however. He gave the same speech every time he spoke. He hit the same notes every time. And then when he was asked questions about issues beyond his narrow purview, his answers went back to the same thing: billionaires. Don't get me wrong, money, power and influence are an obvious obstacle in our present democracy. But I understand human elements to the issues my progressive heart is passionate about. It does not seem that Sanders has any connection with the human element whatsoever, beyond its direct tie to his agenda.
Any response to the Black Lives Matter movement should not mention Wall Street. The answer to gun violence is not Wall Street. The answer to the Equal Rights Amendment is not Wall Street. The answer to our environmental crisis is not Wall Street. The answer to women's autonomy in health care is not Wall Street. The answer to immigration reform is not Wall Street. The answer to LGBTQ rights and marriage equality is not Wall Street. The answer to education is not Wall Street. The answer to veterans care is not Wall Street. The answer to voting rights is not Wall Street. The answer to national security is not Wall Street. The answer to energy independence is not Wall Street.
Somehow Sanders manages to bring every conversation back to the evils of money. Human beings don't even seem to get a secondary nod in his equation. Having studied the Tea Party movement, I noticed the commonalities of the messages: Good v. Evil, Right v. Wrong, Love v. Hate. Each very skewed conversation has the same foe and, more importantly, the same champion. I feel ugly typing the next sentence, so I won't. But I feel confident the bulk of my readers know where and when this technique was mastered. I will leave it right there.
Because of his inability to connect to progressive issues on a personal level, I was unable to connect to him on a personal level. Because I have known Secretary Clinton (not personally, of course) for decades now and cheered her myriad goals and accomplishments for progressive ideals, I connect with her on a personal level. It is sincerely personal to her. As it is to me.
In the beginning of the campaign there were pro-Hillary and pro-Sanders supporters who followed my writing and cheered me on because, for the most part, my pieces celebrated Progressivism. In November, however, I wrote a piece (read here) compelling the left to remain a united front against the right. I didn't say which group were being bullies but I insisted that we all be more mindful about where we direct our rage. I got a lot of shit for it. I ended up researching it more in December and found that one of the groups so many of my brothers and sisters from the left were joining was actually a right wing group. Yep. You read that right. They were taking their talking points and their (mis)information from people who would really rather have the left fighting among themselves than direct America toward an awakening about what was going on in the Regressive Party. Of course, I took quite a lot of shit for that piece, too (read here).
Here we are these many months later and it really seems to have been getting worse every week. Last week, however, was my final straw. I really wanted to keep my mouth shut (a Herculean feat, to be sure) and try to offer rational, conciliatory dialogue when we made it down to one candidate. I wanted to welcome those who had lost their chosen candidate and remind them of the reasons to celebrate the candidate we would need to support for the general. Sanders' campaign, however, has made that an impossibility for me.
The tragedy of the Sanders campaign is that he is taking the youth of the left and turning them against the only hope they will have for a true revolution. He is telling them that both sides are corrupt. Only he can take them to the promised land. Its kind of funny, really. Right? Here in our democracy, his "Not Me. Us" is embraced by those who seem to have no idea about the 'us' in that equation. The 'us' need to vote for many like-minded representatives so "Not Me" can be united with them working toward progressive goals. That "Not Me" is presently dismissing attempts to raise money for the other people from the left who might follow him to DC to pass laws and confirm judges to direct the nation to the left. Quite plainly, his message is "Just Me. Thanks." Even more plainly, this is not a dictatorship. And this is where his idealized version of Democratic Socialism gets really, really uncomfortable...
Socialism has a bad name. The ideology is lovely, to be sure. Its practice never has been, though. Ever. Socialism is offered to high-minded people with big hearts who want equality to prevail. Once the overwhelming power and money are given to the few who are meant to lead with it, however, the principled folk with the high ideals are fucked. Period.
A couple of weeks ago Susan Sarandon was defining Sanders' post-Trump election 'revolution' and Chris Hayes countered with, "You're saying the Leninist model of..." and she interrupted with a dreamy, "Yeah. Yeah. Yeah yeah yeah...". I'm convinced, after having heard her speak on political issues many times, that her response was to her having heard him ask about a "Lennonist model" where all hippies unite and give peace a chance. No thoughtful human being living in a DEMOCRACY would have understood that question to have been referencing Lenin, whose revolution meant to overthrow the State and create a historical clusterfuck, and then fantasize about that pending reality. The fact that Chris Hayes allowed her to go there and then didn't ask her to define the supposed rise after the fall of our State only advances my own belief that he and most at MSNBC have a very short leash when it comes to delivering information to their audience that could actually be useful.
Sanders is well aware of what he is doing. Much in the same way that Trump is presently hijacking the Regressive party (the one already hijacked by the Tea Party), Sanders plopped down onto the D so he could have a seat at the table without having to take the time to build a party of his own. He's had decades to create this movement and promote like-minded candidates across the country who wanted to join and move the country to the idealized (and as yet undefined) Democratic Socialism he seems so attached to. He doesn't care that he is destroying the only chance America has at this pivotal moment where the legacy of President Obama must be continued. He doesn't take into account that the Supreme Court is literally on the line. He doesn't seem remotely bothered by the fact that global diplomacy is a necessity and could end up in the hands of a reality TV star. Nope. His "Just Me. Thanks." movement is more important to him than anything else.
I have been relieved over the last few weeks by the countless Sanders supporters who've confided that they had become disgusted by the Sanders campaign and were moving their support to Secretary Clinton. The fact that most of those revelations came with a sincere plea that I not tell anyone for fear of their being ostracized online sums up his entire movement. I cannot have a rational discussion with his followers about issues. I cannot have a rational discussion about the misogynist tone of the Sanders campaign without having feminism mansplained to me. I cannot counter the lies that his campaign projects with actual facts because, like the Tea Party I grew so tired of battling, they don't want facts. His most fervent supporters are now comfortably settled into a movement with no message beyond short quips and condmenations of the 'others.' He and his surrogates have created and perpetuated narrative meant to disqualify our entire political structure and any who mean to preserve it and advance it to the left. The next generation of the Democratic Party is being poisoned by a petulant man-child in a suit whose only objective is to keep receiving adulation by those he is poisoning and take their money. Twenty seven dollars at a time.
Senator Sanders, my country deserves better. If you hate America so much, move to one of the countries you laud for their socialism. Maybe they'll make you king.
In November, I wrote a piece compelling the left to consider where they point their outrage at this moment when the Regressives give us so much fodder. My only mission in writing for you all is to offer rational, if not always dispassionate, reflections and opportunities for consideration. Having still not determined which of the Democratic nominees I will support for the primaries, it is curious that I received the backlash that I did from a few after writing that article.
Facebook has repeatedly put me on 'probation' because people are reporting me for being abusive. I was interested to find out this morning that there is literally a group of people who are reporting the voices they want silenced. Of course, they are too ignorant about my personality to understand that in doing this they're not creating limitations for me, they're creating determination. And when I am given a challenge, I persevere. Period. So, I will preface with a hefty 'fuck you' to those who determined it would be a good idea to shut me up. You are barking up the wrong bitch. I promise.
I ripped those from a NYTimes article written in May. Its a fascinating read for those of us who are always curious about why people say and do they things they do. I hope if you read it, any fascination will eventually also give way to a quiet moments pause about anyone who compels you to promise not to vote for any Democrat next fall. And then, of course, have a longer (much longer) quiet pause to reflect on what that would do to our country.
Last month I was unaware that the person who commented on my site was Victor Tiffany, a person I had naively friended on Facebook who had started a 'Bernie Or Bust' movement online and managed to get a lot of followers that were starting to creep me out. The comment was from someone who identified themselves as 'The Glenn Beck Review,' and who referred me to his own blog to learn more about myself in an article he'd written. The title graciously determined that the bulk of us on the left are sheep. I put him in his place and refused to read the article because I like to spend my time thinking for myself and seeking insight, not hate. But that's just me.
So I found out this morning (take your time there, Ang) that this guy put the word out about me in November after I wrote that piece compelling Democrats to be a united front against the Regressive Party and he told the admins of left-leaning groups that I am a troll. Anyone who knows what internet trolls are is laughing right now. No worries, I'll give you a minute ..........
Yeah. If I were a troll I would not spend all of my time writing thoughtful pieces and trying to create conversations around all of the shit that the Regressives are doing. I might, however, be creating groups and petitions to stir up shit on the left and perpetuate divisions in my own party. That would make me a troll.
With that little bit of a 'duh' out of the way, I offer you perspectives on the leader of this 'revolution' called Revolt Against Plutocracy and ask you for simple reflections:
Here he admits he was a Regressive until just recently.
Funny that this new convert to the left is calling us 'neo-liberals.' Don't you think? I've been over here on the far left for as long as I have been politically aware. Really, its been decades. There is nothing new about my mission or my passion.
Okay. Their big focus is to get 1,000,000 people to pledge to write-in a vote against Clinton next fall. So if you are a big Bernie supporter, why is your mission to focus on a write in campaign next November? Shouldn't the objective assume his viability and work for him to win the primary?
Good news! Instead of making a donation to your chosen candidate, you can give your money (and credit card information?) to this guy and he will use it to encourage Americans to vote against Democrats. I will generously assume that his motives are sincere and that is what he will be using the money for.
One of their main objectives is to get trending topics on Twitter like this one: #SheepNoMore. Since they just got here, the 'no more' is for you, not them. They are basically above it, right? They are the ones who just popped left to inform you of your ignorance and lead you to the wisdom they've determined you were living without. Backbone, please. This Is Your Party.
This group is literally trying to start negative trending topics about Secretary Clinton. If you don't like her and you don't want to vote for her, fine. If you are a Bernie supporter and you want to say that on Twitter or on Facebook, fine. That is what a campaign is all about: candidates have positions and their constituents either agree or dissent. But I ask you to quietly reflect on what this does to every single left-leaning candidate in any race anywhere if the Twitter feeds of all constituents who are looking for information or opinions are littered with negative information (much I have reviewed here today has actually been proven false or come directly from the right wing talking heads). Because people associate party, this is poisoning their minds. Do you want to be a part of that? Honestly!?
In the last couple of weeks the media has covered these new converts from the right who are anxious to support Sanders. This migration will be very important for the left to win down ticket and it is actually part of my personal mission to find reasonable conversations for those on the right that are presently having a rude awakening about their own party. But ask yourself: How does a Regressive determine that (s)he is going to now not just move left, but move to the FAR left and work tirelessly for a far left agenda? The far left is where we, the most passionate and ardent liberals, live. The far left is where we fight for the environment. And Black Lives Matter. And LGBT rights. And women's rights. And education. And building a middle class. And voting rights. And sensible, compassionate immigration reform. I can see a handful of people having such a profound awakening. But it is more than a little curious to consider a rapid movement of an entire subsection of the Regressive Party into that realm. No?
I ask all of you who are in these groups, again, to spend time reflecting on the message you are receiving and what in the holy fuck will be gained from spending hours a day going back and forth with people who are only telling you to hate the candidates of your own party. If you want to vote for Bernie, I'm with you 100%. I love him, too. Vote for him! But if you are going to sign a petition to say that you will refuse to vote for Hillary if she ends up winning in the primaries, I am here to tell you that you have absolutely NO INTEREST in a revolution. Because there is nothing revolutionary about pouting on election day. Is there?
We are presently battling to have health care. And exercise our Constitutional rights to get a goddamned medical procedure at Planned Parenthood (or anywhere else, for that matter). And create meaningful legislation around gun rights. And ensure no more Regressive nominees find their way to the Supreme Court. And build an inclusive society. Jesus Christ this list can go on for hours. My point is, ask these 'revolutionaries' about these topics. If you are a true Progressive, Liberal, Socialist, Democrat (I truly don't care what you call yourself as long as you comfortably sit here on the far left with me) I guarantee an introspective moment on the things they talk about will show you that their revolution will not do anything but hinder the things you have been passionate about and fighting for as long as you have been paying attention.
This movement can only create hardships for every candidate on the left next fall. How revolutionary! Are all of the things these signatories have been passionate about for so long and changes they know the country needs to have happen less important than a single candidate? The Supreme Court is not more important? Global diplomacy is not more important?
If you are already planning your temper tantrum on election day, that's on you. Remove me from your friends list. Kick me out of your group. And get the fuck out of my way because I have a lot to do and spending time trying to compel you to understand the importance of this election cycle is obviously just a waste of my time.
For any revolution, it will be an imperative for us to graciously welcome those from the center and the right over to the left. It will be equally important that we do not invite them to direct our narrative.
If you can really #FeelTheBern then read the Revolt Against Plutocracy's first FAQ answer and reflect on what you are doing to HIS movement. Bernie is too nice to point out how destructive this campaign is or how questionable their motives are. I'm not.
Kiss Kiss...
The Mean Progressive
UPDATE: Within moments of my having posted this article I received this little gem on Twitter (notice that it was also sent to @berniesanders & @senWarren). Is this the type of person you want leading your revolution and taking your credit card information?
UPDATE: 3/29/16 I feel confident that Sanders is very much aware of this type of movement and he is taking it upon himself to exploit these bullies' motives. He seems to even be taking some of their moves. I am disheartened and disgusted by his childishness and if I end up having to support him in November, it will be with the least excitement I have worked for a campaign. And I worked for Kerry.
When we wake up tomorrow it will be November 8, 2015. The date means little to me. It is the day before my mom's birthday. Its a Sunday so I will want to catch John Oliver. And its the day the weather channel said I will finally have to shut my windows and begin my annual self-imposed (near) hibernation. Its really just another day in another week where I have little going on and little to do.
Tomorrow is, however, exactly one year before our next big election. I guess for those of us who are paying attention and passionate about our political landscape, the date will offer a marker by which we will measure our accomplishments. We have a year. For those of us who have been at this for a while, a year is not a lot of time. For those of us on the left, a year might as well be a decade for as much as we need to accomplish. But I can hardly tell that when I listen to some of my brothers and sisters in the party. I hear a lot about revolution these days. It might be written as an exciting time for future generations to learn about in history books. Or it might very well be another year where what could have been simply wasn't. Again.
With our gerrymandered maps and questionable annual election returns, it feels as if a revolution will be our only hope. Last week our national elections set us back even further because we on the left can hardly be bothered to go out every time. (I mean really). To be honest, its not evident that we all want a revolution. It appears that the radical among us are more interested in arguing the finer points of our objectives than actually doing anything that would be revolutionary.
The left loves to argue. Its one of the downsides of being the intellectuals. We have a lot of opinions and historical references and love to hear ourselves talk about them (I'm not pretending that no one is reading this and I am not one of those people). We do, however, create our very own obstacles when we do this; especially when the arguments we seek or create are within our own party.
Several months ago I wrote a piece condemning the Regressive Party for thinking women would flock to Fiorina (read here) because she was born with the same parts as we were. I was chastised by a woman who kicked me out of her feminist group for having been so closed-minded as to ignore transgendered people who were not born with the same parts. If her condemnation wasn't enough, she spent what must have taken a full hour to type me a book about how ashamed of myself I should have been. I wonder how much of that time she could have directed toward someone who wasn't already fighting for women's issues to make them aware of the movement and its necessity.
A couple of weeks ago I was, again, berated by people calling themselves feminists because I was excitedly promoting the then-unreleased movie, Suffragette. Within minutes I was determined to have not only been a detriment to the feminist movement, but also, a racist. I wrote a piece about it (read here) because it was beyond my comprehension how people could be so misguided and I received many replies about my own determined narrow-mindedness. The majority of my replies came from people who read my article down to the point where I talked about my having been called a racist and they stopped there to interject having never (quite obviously) made it to the end of the piece where I imagine most people capable of both reason and introspection would realize I am, in fact, a feminist and hardly racist. That piece had people who demand they are feminists coming at me for two days to argue with me. Again I wonder, how much of that time could have been focused on arguing with someone who needed to hear your argument?
I stopped arguing with RWNJs many months ago. They are exhausting and although they will probably be a lifelong curiosity of mine, I do realize they have no capacity for critical thinking so I will never have an opportunity to offer them revelation. My only mission now is to offer rationale to those who are capable of understanding it. I find that those conversations are growing harder and harder with many on the left now, too. Last month I was sent a private message from a young (very young) man who was inviting me to join his FB group where the actual objective was to talk shit about one of the two main candidates for the Democratic ticket next year. Initially I replied respectfully (believe it or not) and said that I had not yet determined which of the candidates I was going to vote for but that even when I do, I would not want to participate in destructive conversations about the one I had not chosen. He promptly told me that I was an idiot and that I obviously don't understand politics or how important this upcoming election is. [Sigh...] Of course, I then took it upon myself to educate him about the history of the Democratic party and our myriad failures and before I was done telling him what an arrogant little snot he was, he blocked me from FB. okay...
I have had to put messages up in my groups telling people that if they want to create dialogue only meant to disparage one of our candidates I would block them. People are not even thoughtful enough to realize that if the meme they are posting has attribution on it from a right-wing group, they are literally perpetuating the Regressive Party narrative. There is nothing more discouraging than looking at our uphill climb and realizing how many of our fellow Dems we are going to have to drag up that fucking hill to get to the top.
I am a Democrat. I will support the Democrat who ends up with the nomination. I will bust my ass for whomever gets the nod like I do every 4 years. If you cannot say the same, then you do not want a revolution. You are literally creating the exact path the sick hateful sonsofbitches on the right need to wiggle any one of their beyond-crazy (some I comfortably call evil) candidates into the White House. And do not be mistaken. This is not just a fight for the White House. 2016 is our chance to get back the Senate. If we can convince enough people that the left is the only alternative when they go into the voting booth next year, we actually can make a change. No change will be made, however, if we all spend our time fighting with ourselves and demanding that the rest of the left see every candidate and issue through an identical narrow prism. That is POISON. Period.
We will get a national down-ticket revolution next year if we join together and continue to remind those around us of the shit that is coming out of the right. Daily I have people tell me, "Oh they know. Americans know what is going on." No. They Don't. They don't want to know. They are ignoring what is going on because the in-fighting is exhausting to them so they choose not to listen. When we perpetuate the nastiness we are just as unbearable as the RWNJs. Pause with that for a minute, because I am right (from over here on the far-left). When we behave like radicals we will be ignored like radicals. If we can manage to rally like champions, that is what we will be. You decide. But fucking unfriend me or leave my page if you don't want to hear about what it takes to actually have a revolution because I can't imagine I will have anything else to say for the next 365 days.
The beauty of Trumps ignorance is more fun than I should admit. I have been obsessed lately with trying to understand how the far right have been so easily duped and how the rest of America has been so blind to it. When I realized that it is all so well constructed and implemented it made things seem hopeless. The spin doctors have become so adept at putting this all in place that it felt as if they would be able to sail through without enough people catching on to really make a difference. Then we got Trump. Because he so loves to be in the spotlight hearing himself speak and he, quite obviously, refuses to hear anyone tell him the proper way to run a campaign, he is out trumpeting the dog whistles which are supposed to be subtle and never given an opportunity for reflection in mainstream media and, thus, mainstream America.
If Trump were wise, which thankfully he isn't, he would hire someone like Kevin D Williamson of the National Review to advise him. This magazine holds esteem as being a reputable (ehem) conservative outlet for those on the right to get their talking points. In his article released yesterday, Williamson proved his proficiency in disseminating the garbage where he likened Bernie Sanders to a Nazi while informing his readers that Sanders is a Jewish descendant of those lost in the Holocaust. The title of the article is, "Bernie Sanders' Strange Brew of Nationalism and Socialism." No one from the right who reads the article will be remotely concerned with the historical inaccuracies. None will reflect on impossible manglings of ideologies which any intelligent audience would immediately condemn upon first glance. And none of them will be off put by the fact that actual Nazi propaganda techniques are used in the story, itself, to amplify disdain for Secretary Clinton by only referring to her as "Herself" (capital H) throughout and never having to tell the audience who is being referenced. Its not necessary, is it Kev? Your audience has already been conditioned. The audience also doesn't need to have the word 'socialist' redefined for them to offer a negative connotation linking it to Nazis and Communists, because that work has already been done successfully, too. As with Nazi propaganda, once the insinuations are implanted, their reminders need only be perpetuated. Often.
Of course, National Socialism is Nazism. National Socialism had nothing to do with actual socialism, but mindless parrots don't need (or want) to understand that. National Socialism began with something quite similar to our American Exceptionalism which is just a fuckered up way of telling the country they are superior to everyone else by twist-turning histories into heroism with mind-numbing celebrations of anti-intellectualism. Williamson neglected to advise his readers about any of this, however, lest they draw obvious ties to their own party. The offense of connecting Sanders to Nazism is disgusting on so many levels but the aspect hardest for me is the fact that there is an audience for this shit at all. Take a moment with the revelation that people exist who will accept such 'historical' references and laud those who make them.
The contrived ideologies begin with a comparison between Sanders and Communism, jokingly calling him "that weirdo socialist from Soviet Beninjerristan" (I bet both Ben AND Jerry know the difference between Communism and Nazism so they won't read the article and be misled). The audience on the right has already been made to understand that Nazism is socialism because the S (z in our translation) is for Socialist. Of course, for any person with no need to actually understand history or ideologies, that is quite enough information to have a discussion and feel confident in ones assertions. For those of us capable of critical thought and who paid attention in World History, however, it becomes uncomfortable to even have a conversation with these people without literally drifting off to wonder how they make it through life unattended 24/7.
I started this blog because I was absolutely stunned when I made my way to Twitter this year and realized there are people on the right who are so completely brainwashed that they will literally repeat every single thing they are told. They don't need facts. They don't need logic. They don't need to have history explained to them (or science. or the Bible). They willingly repeat whatever they're told, full of blatant contradictions and lies. The final straw for me, which precluded this complete 180 in my writing, was a man on Twitter who I was arguing with. He told me, quite sincerely, that I was a Nazi Communist Marxist Fascist Maoist Hippie. I didn't even know how to reply. I sat there with bulging eyes, jaw agape and thought, "this is a joke, right?" I finally had to ask, "Do you have any idea what any of those terms mean?" To which he replied, "Yes, dumbass, it means you're a Socialist." He then told me that because I contradicted his new interpretations of the Bible, I was obviously a Satanist, as well. Indeed.
I had to read this ridiculous Willamson article because of the title. My sincere fascination with conflation of ideas and history is so profound that sometimes it gets the better of me and I delve into things I ought not. This garbage will certainly be with me for a long time now and will drive me crazy because Americans are willfully ignorant to the political objectives of those on the right. It is all so contrived that they would rather not delve too deeply into something they are not really interested in anyway. Those of us who are passionate about the truths behind their objectives are dismissed because our tireless tirades become futile to an unwilling audience. And the right has the easiest objective of all. They can literally type anything, wrap it in hate and offer it to people who will gladly accept the messages as truths and pass them on.
Throughout the article, Williamson denounces those on the left for their ignorance, which is hysterical to me for all reasons outlined herein. He is counting on his audience being ignorant enough to nod and laugh while reading this shit and then pass it on to others. Meanwhile, this brilliant writer never even made a cohesive point. He opened by explaining to his audience that the socialist agenda was quite pervasive during the day he attended a Sanders rally in Iowa and he then dove into making comparisons of Sanders' ideals and those with Donald Trump. No factual historical connotations were needed and there was no obvious objective to even support the title of the article having had any relevance beyond his own excited joy in condemning a man with family members who escaped the Holocaust to being a Nazi.
He explains that Sanders is xenophobic because he believes that too many jobs are being sent overseas and we should buy things made in America. Right. Remember when that was a Regressive Party talking point? The writer wants us to only remember one of the Regressives who has ever said something similar: Donald J Trump. He tells us that Sanders and Trump are very similar in those they hold contempt for. We are now being offered condemnations of any who promote "economic patriotism" and led to believe that this is the type of thing that started the downward slope of both Russian and German societies about 100 years ago. But. Of. Course.
He also tells his audience (who will surely believe it) that he met with a young man who wondered aloud why the German welfare state (ehem) is so successful and we can't have such nice things. When urged to answer his own question, the young man realized that its because Germany is a mostly white nation where our diversity creates so many problems. He then reminds us that Trump has been saying racist things, too.
In their desperate need to remove themselves from the tirades of Trump and appeal to those their platform can't seem to get on board with their policies (those who fail to be white, male and 'Chrisitian'), they will tell their base that Trump is just like that POS socialist Sanders. And I promise you they will repeat it. Just like they tell us that the left are racists. And the left hates Jews. And the left hate women. And the left persecute people for their religion. And the left are warmongers.
The most absurd and obvious (again, only to those of us who are intelligent) revelation is an insistence that Bernie is beginning his Naziesque sojourn by trying to get rid of our most basic freedoms. (Those which impede an oligarchy)
And criminalizing things is very much on Bernie’s agenda, beginning with the criminalization of political dissent. At every event he swears to introduce a constitutional amendment reversing Supreme Court decisions that affirmed the free-speech protections of people and organizations filming documentaries, organizing Web campaigns, and airing television commercials in the hopes of influencing elections or public attitudes toward public issues. That this would amount to a repeal of the First Amendment does not trouble Bernie at all. If the First Amendment enables Them, then the First Amendment has got to go.
You have been warned. Their talking points never end. Their capacity to quickly rewrite narratives to adjust 'facts' for their voters will never cease. So be prepared for the next moron who tries to tell you that Trump is really just a socialist like Sanders and that they are both Nazi Communist Marxist Fascist Maoist Satanists.
The Koch Brothers kicked off 2015 making an $889 million bet with Americans that they could buy their very own government in 2016. Now, merely six months later, it sounds as if Americans are sending back a resounding, "Nu'huh..."
I have marveled repeatedly at their capacity to build a backward political movement based solely on hate. I feared that enough people wouldn't realize what was going on in time to stop them. Every election cycle they have been able to add to their arsenal of assholes and it seemed almost impossible to get things turned around after they had such a triumph last fall adding both a leader for 47 traitors and a train wreck inside a pair of Wonder Bread bags to Congress along with about a dozen others who promised to do whatever the Koch Brothers asked.
It has really seemed to all be falling into place for them. I am sure there is a sense of security to go with their sense of accomplishment which may have hindered their capacity to see some of the flaws in their plan. Of course, the one that is the most fun for me is their belief that everyone can be bought. The Kochs created the platform and they promoted those who would be beholden to their money and do whatever they were told to ensure future elections. Poor people are so easy, huh? But they forgot something about those they were promoting. Not only are they ignorant, they are so ignorant that it doesn't occur to them that they are not really qualified to run for office. If you couple that ignorance with the arrogance that tells you a run for office would be a great idea, its not a big leap to decide that you should definitely be President of these United States. Brilliant! And now we have at least 14,860 of them competing for the Regressive Party primaries. Whoops.
Their next oversight was in the Citizens United case they demanded. In their haste to make absolute the financing of all candidates deemed necessary by the billionaire class, they forgot a single factor in the equation that could screw up the whole thing. You see, it was an imperative that the Regressive Party have the right to financially bury any candidate on the left. Americans are so stupid that the only thing we vote for, apparently, are the people with the most television ads and the swankiest t-shirts. But what if you counted on an electorate falling to your will because of your sole capacity to fund the most ignorant and most arrogant candidate and then an even more ignorant and more arrogant candidate decided that he was going to fund his own campaign?
What could be worse than that if you were a Koch Brother? Well, there is one thing that could be worse. What if this ignorant and arrogant candidate was aligning with the Regressive Party and stealing all of your talking points but lacked the political savvy to realize that those are only the dog whistles used in certain company? What if he didn't realize that he wasn't supposed to actually say those things in front of every international news station for his kick off speech? And what if he was so unfucking-believably arrogant as to never EVER take back a single thing he says and if only hires people for his staff who will completely agree with whatever he wants them to? Well, I imagine, that means you are fucked if you are a Koch Brother. Fortunately I am not. So Donald Trump is just entertainment for me. And it is glorious, I'm not gonna lie.
For those of us who pay attention to politics every year and not just the month prior to the general election, we realize that the hate speech and rhetoric is supposed to be reserved on the right just for selected rallies during the primaries. We know that you don't want the media to cover it and we know that once you make it to next summer you will have to speak to those beyond your base and bring in those who your top candidates and the basest of your base call RINOs (Republican in Name Only) because they are not radical enough. But look what your little accident just did? He just told them all what you really have to say. And he is being dropped by major corporations every day who want to disassociate themselves from his extreme views. Could there be anything worse than that for your RINOs to hear? Well, yes. They could hear reminders of this daily. While getting the daily polling figures to show that Trump is rising in the polls. Daily. Ouch! You always know you can count on the media not to report to those RINOs about what is going on in the world because they are too busy but entrust their party to nominate the best candidate so they can walk into the polling station, check the Rs and go home. But Trump is just too juicy. They had to report it. You can hardly blame them. I bet your RINOs will have to spend a little more time researching their party now. Shit. It sucks. I'm sure it does.
If Freud were around today I believe he would define four parts of the human psyche with an addition of a super id, which he might just call Trump to avoid any confusion. Trump is presently screaming all of the hateful shit he knows the right like to hear on their radio shows and the Fox cable station with the word 'news' in its title. He lacks the political sophistication to realize when and where the hate is appropriate, however. And he lacks the capacity to humble himself or ever just shut the fuck up so I don't think we will have to worry about his turning off the rhetoric any time soon. I wonder how many high level Regressive Party strategists do facepalms every hour.
Trump campaigning in the same cycle as Bernie Sanders is offering America a profound look at the juxtaposition of two sides which many like to ignore with a quick, "All politicians are the same," or "both parties really want the same thing." Sanders is speaking not only to those who are aware of what the Kochs have done politically, but also those who may not understand exactly what their effects have been but are still pissed about the overall economic catastrophe created by their ideals of austerity and disavowed commitments to America and her citizens.
Beautiful Bernie Sanders is the revelation no one could see coming. No one was supposed to take him seriously. He proudly identifies as a Socialist and that is a word Americans have been conditioned to recognize as a bad word. Again, in true Koch arrogance, they assume all Americans are as ignorant as the teabaggers. Even if someone had heard its negative connotations and is only just becoming politically aware, we all have dictionary apps, or at least Google. The majority of Americans do not learn from memes and could read the definition of Socialist, contrast that with the oligarchy we are obviously heading for and consider that theory a healthy alternative.
Americans are excitedly awakening to the messages of Bernie Sanders. And it's only beginning. It is July 2015. So many people are not even paying attention to what is going on in the political realm yet. Many are disgusted with the way things are going but are not involved enough to quite put it in words or understand how and why things are the way the are, at present. It is hard to believe that people exist who literally don't want to discuss why women make less than men or why any state in America would be flying an official Confederate flag or why anyone is considering a law to prevent a baker from having to make a cake for a gay wedding, but they exist. With one thoughtful conversation about the futures they want to offer their families, it could be the beginning of a true American revolution toward the left. One conversation at a time.
Because the people who aren't paying attention often do so because they don't have time, the best message we can send them to guarantee their participation is about the economy. About their economy, in particular. The candidates on the right are saying they want to eradicate the IRS. Have that conversation with a rational human being. Feel free to explain they have no proposals on how society will function without the myriad benefits afforded by our present tax structure (the one guaranteed by the Constitution they are so desperate to defend), and be sure to make sure they understand that the only reason this is important is because the billionaires who fund those campaigns (and who generally pay a much smaller tax rate than whomever you're speaking to) would just rather not participate in taxation. Sanders is sincere. He is believable and he speaks as if his audience is peopled with free-thinking human beings.
Forward this and let him see why you are so excited:
Every month his support will grow as he continues to explain the how's and why's about the deteriorating middle class and people see that he actually gives a shit about the environment. America's disaffected voters will continue to be reignited as they realize that Bernie doesn't fumble to find the answer he thinks will appeal to a targeted audience, as he quickly answers every question very matter-of-factly as if he sincerely believes in what he is offering the voters. What a revelation! And his answers just so happen to coincide with most Americans.
I am reminded of the report card the Regressive Party gives itself after every election cycle where they remind themselves that they need to start getting people involved in the party who are women and people of color. It seems like it comes up daily from one pundit or another and I still realize I am shaking my head when they say it every time. Those on the right are literally so far out of touch that they do not realize when they say, "We need to find a way to reach out beyond our base," that intelligent audiences can hear them saying, "We have to find the right words to convince women and minorities that we don't really hate them." Its as if they think we are so stupid as to fall for their rhetoric if phrased properly and fail to notice the laws they try to pass, the laws they refuse to pass, and the awful things they say to make sure their base doesn't feel forgotten.
Bernie Sanders isn't pandering to anyone. He hasn't had to evolve on any of his positions to appeal to anyone. In fact, I bet he has staff are frustrated because he won't take advice on the 'right thing to say' to the media. The glaring difference between our wild card and theirs, however, is truthiness (thanks Colbert - wink). Sanders isn't saying anything new. He isn't trying to build a following by denouncing the majority of the country. He isn't building a following by trying to convince us that we are superior to the 'others.' Bernie Sanders respects his constituents. He wants us to know what is really going on. And he wants us to know that he really knows what is going on. The most amazing part of the whole thing is, he actually has ideas about how to fix what is going on.
Sanders won't find many billionaires to back him. Unlike the CEOs and fat cats comfortably eased into this economy they've demanded, many of Sanders' supporters won't have a lot of money to offer his campaign. However, the beauty of an Internet that can create and perpetuate a political movement solely based on hate is that it can also do the opposite. Bernie has had the largest turnouts by far of any politician of this season. He has had no empty rooms nor has he had to pay actors $50/each to attend a kick off and wear shitty t-shirts. Bernie has not had anyone screaming absurd demands of their chosen presidential candidate to rewrite the Constitution to mirror the Bible, promote discrimination or begging for protection from the Muslim tyrant known in sane circles as President Obama. All of these distinctions will make it easier for a solid and well organized team to inform America about this new candidate they keep not quite hearing about. And they will need to hear about him as soon as possible because hundreds of millions of people takes a long time to contact.
I hope the Koch maids are working overtime scrubbing stained underwear because this shit is getting real.
Hey David and Charles, don't feel too bad. Off of the top of my head I can think of at least 50 legitimate American charities which don't bear your names who could sincerely make positive use of your $889 million. If you want a list I would be glad to fax it to your private secretary's personal assistant's admin. Just let me know.
Kiss kiss.
The Mean Progressive
UPDATE: I leave this post on my website because it is important for the Sanders supporters to realize how excited I was about his campaign. Before I vetted him. I am 100% supportive of Secretary Clinton and am ashamed and disgusted by the negative campaign Sanders has decided to run. I could write a fucking book.
I found a piece that encapsulates everything I would want to say if I could think straight when I try to write about how furious Sanders makes me. The writer suffers an even more profound verbosity than my own, but please take the time to read it. No thinking person who makes it to the end would support his toxic campaign. Kiss Kiss... This is where I am now after thoughtful reflection.
