I Just Stay Mad at the DNC
I do not give a damn diddle squat whether you supported Hillary or Bernie, you need to care about this.
The DNC is meeting this week in Las Vegas, and they are trying to insure that we have a party with heavy corporate influence.
Dammit. Dammit. Dammit.
The Democratic Party this week plans to name 75 people including lobbyists and political operatives to leadership posts that come with superdelegate votes at its next presidential convention, potentially aggravating old intraparty tensions as it struggles to confront President Donald Trump.
Every damn delegate to the Democratic National Convention needs to be elected to that specific position and not handed it as a bribe, a reward, or a money suck.
In Texas, our only Super Delegates should be the people we elect as DNC members. They were elected to that job. So, find out who your DNC members are – both elected and appointed – and send an email to the elected ones saying you support major changes in the Super Delegate selection. Only people elected to the DNC should be super delegates. All others can get into the pile to get elected at the state convention if they want to go to the national convention to nominate a Democrat to run for president.
The DNC keeps calling me and I keep saying NO to donating anything to them.
1That hedge fund tax bracket stays in the IRS Code for a reason.
2Someone must have told the DNC there’s a chance to take back the House and Senate. So, they’re getting an early start to snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory.
3So … you’re mad at the DNC and you want them to select only DNC members as delegates?
Seems to me they are the problem. How about we send VOTERS as delegates instead?
4Joel, I didn’t explain that well. Each state elects representatives (voters) to serve on the DNC. In Texas, we elect them at the state convention. These people set policy for the Democratic Party though meeting a few times a year and hashing stuff out. They also serve on committees that work throughout the year. They are elected to those positions. I like that.
However, to that list is added people selected by the National Chairman, all Democratic congressional members, all Democratic governors, and a whole damn slew of other people who have never been elected to anything, to be Super Delegates.
In my mind, if a member of congress or a governor wants to be a national delegate, they should have to run for national delegate like everybody else. And those “other people” who have never been elected to anything — they can get their butts to a state convention and work for it just like I did.
Come national convention time, people from each state are elected to serve as delegates to the convention. In Texas, we elect them by State Senatorial districts. My senatorial district has 21 counties and I had to campaign in all those counties. People knew who I supported for president and how I was going to vote on most issues at the state convention. I am a voter. Elected DNC members are a whole different thing than the DNC. In fact, they are close to being the minority.
5I’m thinking it’s time for SOME creative people to come up with an alternate decoding of DNC (Democratic National Commitee.)
Something like Damned Nasty “Somethings” has crossed my mind, but didn’t leave a trail.
6Exactly why I am not just a Democrat – I’m a labor union Democrat. There is a distinction.
7This is why I have given up on the Democratic Party. The pseudo-centerist “New Democrat” old Republicans (typified by Bill and Hillary and the California senators Boxer and Feinstein) that now control the party, and have since 1992, are so determined to hang on to control of the party, no matter what, that they are quite willing to lose elections if winning would mean having to run a genuine progressive. That’s how much they hate us. The result is that they couldn’t win an election running against one of the most unpopular Republican candidates in the history of that party.
If the party can’t rid itself of those DINOs, then there’s no hope for it. And we’d all be much better off finding a new home and building it. Let the Republicans destroy themselves with their internal war over fascism, and the Democrats dissipate their good will in kissing the asses of anyone with big money – we’ve got a country to run, and the only way we can do it at this point is to find a new home. For me, so far, it’s been with the Democratic Socialists. They seem to have vision, enthusiasm, and, most importantly, a plan. And so far it’s working.
8Unfortunately, for now the country is still overwhelmingly dominated by two parties. If you don’t support the Dems, you’re contributing to the dominance by the GOP. I wish that weren’t true, but it is. I hate everything the GOP stands for, and the only way to keep them out of power is to vote for Dems, like them or not.
In 1980 I voted for John Anderson. A lot of good that did. (If I’d known what I know now about Jimmy Carter, I’d have voted for him.)
9#$%&*%#@&((_$$@$%&!!!!!
10I’m not a Democrat but I usually play the part on Primary day so that I can have a say in selecting members of the School Board. Lately we’ve been writing-in for the sane Republican candidate in the Primary to be sure that other non-Republicans get to weigh-in on who gets to be Township Supervisor. Both times we ended up with the same candidate on both ballots which suggests that, given the opportunity, Republicans will vote for sanity. But once we get to the county level where the Democratic Party begins to take an interest, the Politburo selects the candidates and ordinary citizens are left in the lurch. Political parties are the bane of democracy.
11Upton Sinclair said it back in 1904. “The two parties are the two wings of the same bird of prey.”
12I support individuals, most are dems but I really thinks that’s a fluke. I will not renew my membership in the Democratic Party. They have gone so far afield that I hardly recognize them. The old guard needs to go and mentor a new generation. But they hang on like barnicles. I received 12 requests for money from Nancy Pelosi in one afternoon. Now I like Nancy, but that’s excessive and only annoys me so the emails get deleted. That’s not as bad as the ones that won’t allow you to sign a petition without donating. I’m on a fixed income, I support those candidates only in my home state. I just can’t afford to support all of them although I will make an exception for Iron Stache, Randy Bryce, who I hope (please universe) will wipe up the floor with Paul Ryan. Randy is a Vet, iron worker and held a couple of town halls cause poor little Paul Ryan hasn’t had one in two years. Also gave a bit to Col Doug Applegate who came very close to unseating Issa in 2016. He’ll make it this time. JJ is right. The old guard needs to step aside and become the mentors of future people’s champions. Keep big money out or no one will be able to tell one party from the other.
13As a registered Democrat of 40 years whose parents were also lifelong Democrats and whose grandparents were also lifelong Democrats I have to agree with Scott Bidstrup. The Democratic Party hasn’t been the party of my forefathers since at least 1992. The Democratic Party used to be the party of the working class, the down trodden and the underdog. Now, just like the Republican Party, they are the party of the monied interests.
On a similar note, Tom Perez, chair of the Democratic Party, just appointed Daniel Halpern as the deputy national finance chairman for the party. Mr. Halpern was most recently the chair of the Georgia Restaurant Association where he very actively lobbied against a raise in minimum wage to $10.10 per hour. Mr. Halpern sure walks and talks like a Republican. And Perez, the former Secretary of Labor, is suspect for selecting Mr. Halpern.
The smart people in the Democratic Party keep talking about how the Republican Party is fractured but, if the Party wants to win some elections, I think it behooves those same smart people to notice the growing fracture in the Democratic Party.
BTW, I sure do like the Upton Sinclair quote courtesy of Mike. I was ignorant of quote and appreciate knowing it.
14Well, I gotta say that if this stands, I will be registering as an Independent. Me, a 3 time County Chair, elected official and lifetime Democrat, but enough is enough.
15If I wanted to be a Goddamned Republican, I would have aligned myself with them. Are you listening Tom?
I’ve been a Democrat to ages. My dad, an immigrant, was a Democrat. He came from a culture that had “stations” and “betters”. He came to this country to get away from such iron strictures. As far as he was concerned, the GOP at the time was way to close to what he had left behind. I can genuinely see his point. My perspective is based on Matthew 25 and I will support anyone who also knows what the hell that is. I have yet to find it among the GOP who, of course, write checks to charity but rarely if ever do a damn thing to deconstruct what keeps the poor cemented into where they are. As for getting rid of the “old” Dem officeholders, hey, people, I am 77. Do not talk at me about age being a bad thing. Just consider the alternative! Six feet under.
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