Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

There are no moderate republicans – only extremists and cowards.

If ‘weird’ was the finish line, they ran through the tape and kept running.

You cannot shame the shameless.

Not all heroes wear capes.

In after Baud. Damn.

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

They were going to turn on one another at some point. It was inevitable.

rich, arrogant assholes who equate luck with genius

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

Republicans cannot even be trusted with their own money.

I’m more christian than these people and i’m an atheist.

“Can i answer the question? No you can not!”

The Supreme Court cannot be allowed to become the ultimate, unaccountable arbiter of everything.

Oppose, oppose, oppose. Do not congratulate. This is not business as usual.

Accountability, motherfuckers.

You passed on an opportunity to be offended? What are you even doing here?

If you still can’t see these things even now, maybe politics isn’t your forte and you should stop writing about it.

T R E 4 5 O N

Jack be nimble, jack be quick, hurry up and indict this prick.

Never give a known liar the benefit of the doubt.

Prediction: the gop will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

“The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.”

I was confident that someone would point it out and thought why not me.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / One More Song the Radio Won’t Like

One More Song the Radio Won’t Like

by | 169 Comments

This post is in: 

Had a great meetup last night at Comrade Scott’s in Denver, more on that to follow in a few days.  Thanks to all who attended, thanks to Scott for hosting, and it was a pleasure to meet everyone.

Now to the topic of this post, media.  Based on some of the comments to my post mentioning the Guardian yesterday, I think it’s worth re-upping WaterGirl’s list of “alternative” media outlets.  “Alternative” is my take, meaning those media outlets are alternatives to the mainstream media that we’ve all consumed over the years.  Another source of news is Oliver Willis’ site Breaking News USA, which has a lot of different sources for information that are also mostly “alternative”.

A lengthy explanation of the issues with the editor of the Observer (the Guardian’s sister publication until it was sold recently) can be found here.

On the train back from the meetup last night, I was thinking more about Democrat-friendly media, and more specifically about the waste involved in shuttering the excellent KamalaHQ social media presences.  That account had 5.7 million followers on TikTok, 1.2 M on Instagram, and 1.2 M on Twitter.  Those are serious numbers.  Then, the day after the election, poof, those accounts stopped posting — not even a “thanks for your support over the last year” message.  Instead, we have Hope Walz, on her own volition, trying to pick up some of the slack on TikTok.

Whenever I post about Democrats’ messaging,  there are a lot of commenters who (rightly) point out that it’s difficult for us in the current media environment.  Having an active, widely-followed social media presence that is edgy, smart and knowledgeable about what works on each of the different social platforms is one way to do it.  We had it, but our party’s broken way of campaigning just flushed that investment down the toilet.  I don’t know what to do about that, but at least we should acknowledge what was lost.

Reader Interactions

Commenters

No commenters available.

  • @mistermix.bsky.social
  • Another Scott
  • BarcaChicago
  • Baud
  • Betty Cracker
  • Bill Arnold
  • Captain C
  • cmorenc
  • comrade scotts agenda of rage
  • different-church-lady
  • eclare
  • Eunicecycle
  • Expletive Deleted
  • Formerly disgruntled in Oregon
  • Geminid
  • Gloria DryGarden
  • Jay
  • Jinchi
  • Josie
  • JoyceH
  • Kathleen
  • MagdaInBlack
  • Marmot
  • Melancholy Jaques
  • Miss Bianca
  • MomSense
  • montanareddog
  • Mr. Bemused Senior
  • mvr
  • Neo-Librettist
  • nickdag
  • Nukular Biskits
  • Old Man Shadow
  • Old School
  • prostratedragon
  • Ramona
  • Renie
  • scav
  • schrodingers_cat
  • scribbler
  • Spanky
  • Starfish (she/her)
  • Steve LaBonne
  • Sure Lurkalot
  • suzanne
  • tam1MI
  • TBone
  • trollhattan
  • VFX Lurker
  • West of the Rockies

Filtered Commenters

No filtered commenters available.

    Settings




    Settings are saved immediately; press X to close the box.

    169Comments

    4. 4.

      Melancholy Jaques

      Having an active, widely-followed social media presence that is edgy, smart and knowledgeable about what works on each of the different social platforms is one way to do it.

      That would be great, but we being Democrats, it’s almost impossible. The reason a social media account that is focused on a single candidate & election disappears after the election is that the election of that candidate was the only reason it existed. There is no Official Democratic source because there is no way such an account could speak for all Democrats because Democrats do not speak with one voice.

      Reply
    6. 6.

      Renie

      OT (Sorry MM) The County Exec of Nassau County on Long Island NY GOP Bruce Blakeman refuses to fly flags at half-mast in honor of President Carter. If so incline, please tell him what a piece of shyt he is.

      Contact Page

      Twitter – @NassauExec

      Facebook

      Thank you.

      Reply
    8. 8.

      MomSense

      I’m still formulating my thoughts about how to go forward in this media environment. Right now I only have some observations. Jackals may hate the FTFNYT and WAPO but their readers voted overwhelmingly for Harris Walz. There is a whole media ecosystem with algorithms that drive young viewers, especially boys/men, into a really fucked up information stream. YouTube is not our friend. You can see it in the male Gen Z vote. They started as kids watching cheat code and gaming videos and end up with Andrew Tate and his ilk. A whole generation grew up in that system. Not sure how we unwind that since we don’t have algorithms in our side. We need an infrastructure and we need people who are cool and don’t talk down or engage in endless virtue signaling. Yes, we need to be compelling and entertaining and that seems to be frowned upon here.

      Reply
    9. 9.

      cmorenc

      Harris had good mo’ keeping Trump & co flat- footed until a week or so past labor day, at which point it began to stall out, coinciding roughly with Trump regaining more media focus, even if often negative.  Part of this can be laid at media “bothsiderism”, much of it in form of balancing Trump coverage with “why won’t she do challenging interviews with the MSM, said with the tone that she was doing so to avoid exposing her own shallowness of understanding and competence.  But a substantial part was that somehow her campaign itself lost its edge and upper hand.  How exactly did this happen?  The parts that were under her campaign’s control.  In part, it was because Trump managed to regain his ability to saturate a larger share of media coverage more on his own terms and less on hers, but how was that allowed to happen?

      Frank Luntz noticed this happening at the time – we dislike Luntz here as an R shill, but there are good reasons he is so highly skilled as a political campaign analyst – I wish he worked for us rather than for them, his special skill is deciphering which buttons motivate people most potently, and how to push them the most effectively.

      Reply
    11. 11.

      Starfish (she/her)

      @Melancholy Jaques: But the account wasn’t about one candidate. It was memes and dragging Republicans also.

      Like some “Congratulations! You did your job without having to revote 15 times” snark was warranted yesterday.

      Reply
    12. 12.

      different-church-lady

      there are a lot of commenters who (rightly) point out that it’s difficult for us in the current media environment.

      Yeah, it’s very true. But that doesn’t mean we’re doing a good job of fighting it.

      Reply
    15. 15.

      Baud

      @Starfish (she/her):

      It was as long as it kept that name.

      Should they have rebranded? Maybe.

      I’ve enjoyed my time on Bluesky so far, but it leaves me wondering whether there’s a real market for promoting Dems on social media. Contrarianism seems to be the higher value with the online set.

      Reply
    16. 16.

      Bill Arnold

      @MomSense:

      Not sure how we unwind that since we don’t have algorithms in our side.

      The algorithms generally do not “care” at all about ideology/politics. They (mostly) care about engagement.[1]
      Republicans and ideological allies have learned how to game the algorithms for political game.
      The Democrats and ideological allies can do so as well.
      [1] There are exceptions; twitter/X (under Mr. Musk) sometimes deboosts or boosts some content for political reasons. Also, there are fully RW platforms, that may have more explicit politics-driving algorithms.

      Reply
    17. 17.

      Marmot

      I haven’t looked into it much, And I can’t vouch for it, but Courier Newsroom has had a lot of success on TikTok, according to their own reports.

      Reply
    18. 18.

      schrodingers_cat

      @Baud: Social media is a reflection of the society at large. So long as it remains cool to dunk on the Democratic party, I don’t think that will change.

      And you and I know why Ds are so easy to dunk on. They represent groups that are marginalized and do not have the cultural capital that default demographic does. So its cool to dunk on the Ds even from the left or make it a butt of jokes as being uncool.

      Reply
    19. 19.

      Baud

      @schrodingers_cat:

      That’s my fear too.

      One big difference between Republicans and us is our side expects the party to do everything. The other side relies more heavily on private intiative. Our private voices tend to want to tell Democrats how to do better, rather than sell Democrats to normies.

      Reply
    21. 21.

      schrodingers_cat

      @Baud: From many conversations here I have seen that it is easier to dunk on the party with a laundry list on how it is doing stuff wrong rather than questioning one’s white privilege or the open bigotry of MAGA relatives.

      Reply
    22. 22.

      Starfish (she/her)

      @Baud: Contrarianism has always been the currency of the overly online. Contrarianism  kept the “Wuhan lab leak” story, that was debunked repeatedly, alive.

      “Oh look! I get to be the special contrarian who gets to run with this.” Every six months, some new contrarian dumbass fell for it.

      Yeah, I think they should have renamed the account and kept it somewhere and funded it with something that was not the Harris campaign dollars.

      We need an account with some “Nancy Pelosi tearing up Trump’s state of the union” energy.

      Reply
    23. 23.

      Baud

      The other fear I have is that we’ll find out that tactics and messaging that catches fire isn’t going to one that we’re all that happy with.

      Reply
    30. 30.

      different-church-lady

      I still think we have a problem where ‘WE LOVE SHITTY PEOPLE!’ is the zeitgeist, and it’s on us to figure out a way to make them want us more without becoming shitty ourselves.

      Reply
    33. 33.

      Another Scott

      I haven’t checked, but I wouldn’t be at all surprised if there are campaign and tax laws about various candidate committees having to end when a campaign ends.  Plus, Harris-Walz raised $1B+ in 3-4 months to fund those efforts – who wants to get continuous texts and calls and emails and demands for engagement on that scale when there isn’t an obvious candidate yet??

      I think that, short of some new Hedgehog News, the best we can hope for is that campaign organizations morph into something like the Obama Alumni Association and similar things.

      FWIW.

      Thanks.

      Best wishes,
      Scott.

      Reply
    34. 34.

      TBone

      I mentioned this map in the earlier thread.  Did not know this fascinating history.  Remember, me and Bob Casey are huge fans of maps and cartography.

      https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/william-gropper-map-american-folklore

      A Popular ’40s Map of American Folklore Was Destroyed by Fears of Communism

      During World War II, the painter, illustrator, and cartoonist William Gropper offered his services to the U.S. Treasury Department and the White House’s Office of War Information. He received a “Citation in recognition of fine assistance” from the Treasury Department and personal thanks from Franklin Delano Roosevelt, for “giving pictorial form to specific war information objectives” through propaganda posters and paintings. It seemed logical that after the war, the State Department, too, would find value in the famous artist’s social-realist portrayal of American culture—a logic that would soon find Gropper trapped within the surrealist labyrinth of McCarthyism.

      Reply
    37. 37.

      Old Man Shadow

      If I knew how to change things, I wouldn’t be here. I’d be doing it. The world needs a revolution of its culture, economics, values, and morality.

      The majority of people (myself included sometimes) are so culturally and religiously indoctrinated from our youth into being a part of a status quo that many of us say we hate, but we continue to be a part of and continue voting for it and continue to defend it.

      Reply
    39. 39.

      eclare

      @schrodingers_cat:

      I enjoyed a Jack the Ripper walking tour.  And just for fun and to be amazed, take at least one cab ride with the famous black cabs.  The drivers’ knowledge of the streets of London, ALL streets, is stupefying.

      Don’t know when you’ll be there and if you have any interest, but I would also take in an EPL match.  Cheer for the home team.

      ETA>I thought Stonehenge was meh.  YMMV.  There was some obscure WWII underground radio/communications museum we went to that was very interesting, but at this point I can’t remember the name.

      And I assume that there is an app now, I had the paperback, but London A to Z has detailed maps of every quadrant of London.  It is a vital resource to getting around.

      Mind the gap.  Enjoy!

      Reply
    40. 40.

      MagdaInBlack

      @schrodingers_cat: Yesterday I listened to a history professor talk about how one of the struggles students of history face is when the mask falls off. She meant that when we start reading the real history of this country, not the pablum we were taught, it can be hard to accept. I think that may be what some of us are struggling with ( i know I am ) The mask fell of and what we see is ugly, and its very hard to accept that yes, we are a part of what we are seeing. Maybe my part is just that I benefit by my white skin, but that is a part.

      Reply
    42. 42.

      Miss Bianca

      @schrodingers_cat: Besides, the rich these days are either going to be too flabby or too hopped up on various chemicals to appeal to me. Unless I get some bespoke lean-meat, all-organic rich, I ain’t going for that brand of long pig.

      Reply
    43. 43.

      MomSense

      @cmorenc:

      From the messaging calls I did the problem was that Biden was unpopular and his policies were not regarded well and if we tried to distance Harris from them we then couldn’t answer why she wasn’t vocal against them before she became the nominee. The statements she made about not doing anything differently really hurt and were repeated constantly on social media as well as traditional media.
      We totally missed the boat on housing affordability and not just in the election year.
      When I first started bringing it up during the beginning of Trump’s term at gatherings (with state elected Dems present) I got a lot of surprise and pushback.
      This goes back to the 2008 crash and the deficit of new housing. Of course there are other factors but that was a major event. Democrats have ignored this issue and it only got worse. I’ve said before that 79% of Mainers are experiencing housing insecurity.

      Reply
    47. 47.

      West of the Rockies

      @MomSense:

      Is Tate going to he prosecuted at some point?  Is he still in Romania?  Not that prison appears to be a detriment to wingers (Bannon, Navarro).

      Reply
    48. 48.

      TBone

      @TBone:

      But the cartographic darling fell from grace in the spring of 1953, when attorney Roy Cohn toured State Department libraries around the world as part of his and Senator Joseph McCarthy’s crusade against Communism. Cohn identified William Gropper as one of the “fringe supporters and sympathizers” whose supposedly Communist-directed works had infiltrated the Overseas Library Program.

      Reply
    50. 50.

      different-church-lady

      @MomSense: Dead on. Lowering interest rates to absurd levels was drastic medicine for the economy in 2008. But then we got addicted to the medicine, and it’s hurting everyone very badly now.

      There’s not a lot a president can do about housing prices, but fuck it we should have just lied and had Harris say, ‘WE’RE GONNA FIX THAT!’

      Reply
    51. 51.

      schrodingers_cat

      The hard left that is ostensibly on our side spends all the time badmouthing the Democratic president and then wonders where the Democratic messaging went wrong. It is indeed a mystery. Not.

      They did it to Biden, he was Genocide Joe. They did it to Obama, over drones and because he of how he handled the 2008 financial crisis.

      Reply
    60. 60.

      Betty Cracker

      Messaging is always going to be a heavier lift for Dems because we are a coalition, and some groups within our coalition despise each other. Repubs are far more homogeneous, even as they become more diverse.

      We don’t have a unifying theme that everyone buys into. We can unite briefly around ideas like “Trump sucks,” and sometimes that resonates with swing voters and sometimes not.

      I’m glad it’s not my branding problem to solve because it’s a damn doozy.

      Reply
    67. 67.

      nickdag

      I’m very disappointed I wasn’t able to meet all of you last night at the meetup. I had just arrived back in town and didn’t have it in me to go out again. And, I’m particularly interested in this topic about the media. I would have enjoyed that conversation.

      I hope we have another meetup sooner instead of later.

      Reply
    71. 71.

      VFX Lurker

      That account had 5.7 million followers on TikTok, 1.2 M on Instagram, and 1.2 M on Twitter.

      Real followers or bots? I know Twitter has a problem with “fake” followers on popular accounts.

      Reply
    72. 72.

      Josie

      OT: This quote from Bloomberg on Political Wire got me started to think of a way forward.
      “But with $437 billion in personal wealth and a political funnel in America PAC, he’s (Musk) also begun to directly shape the makeup of the legislative body.”
      “Now there are Musk-backed lawmakers on committees that oversee transportation, space, artificial intelligence, social media, defense spending and other areas that directly affect Musk’s companies. The billionaire has promised more to come ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.”
      We can’t solve all our problems at one time or even in the next two years. What we need to do is concentrate on having an effect on the House and Senate races in the 2026. What I suggest is to make Musk enemy #1 of the United States. Trump, for whatever reason, seems to be sort of teflonish, but Musk is not. It is not hard to come up with ways he is strange and off-putting.
      We should concentrate on ways to make him unpalatable to Americans as the man who wants to run congress. Tie every Republican running for office to Musk, the grotesque billionaire who wants to be our king. Repeat the charge so often during the next two years that it becomes a meme. Of all the dangers presented by Trump and Republicans, Musk is the absolute worst. We must do our best to make people see that and vote accordingly.

      Reply
    75. 75.

      Sure Lurkalot

      @Baud: How about “defund the rich?” Because getting America out of the mess it’s in requires we come to terms with our system of wealth distribution as well as people’s proclivities to covet great wealth, idolize both wealth and those who have it.

      Tech barons bending knee and buying favor, Musk spending mega millions on the election seemingly without a hint of impropriety or illegality (such expenditure not creating a whiff of a dent in his net worth), crimes not prosecuted, taxes unlevied or unpaid, this latest iteration of the gilded age is especially heinous when its cream of the crop are in position to manipulate what you see, read and too often believe.

      Reply
    76. 76.

      comrade scotts agenda of rage

      @nickdag:

      Very sorry you couldn’t make it.  But given the turnout and enthusiasm, having another one this year looks likely.

      Everybody (that I broached the subject with-I flitted a lot) agreed on was that not having it in a public place was fantastic.  Sure, it puts the onus on somebody to host but we can do it again.  When the weather’s warmer, we can do it out back.  But I know Sure Lurkalot has a fantabulous backyard that would be well suited for that kind of turnout in nice weather. ;)

      Reply
    78. 78.

      different-church-lady

      @Josie:

      We should concentrate on ways to make [him] unpalatable to Americans as the man who wants to run congress.

      The kind of asshole who turned this election adores him.

      I keep coming back to the same problem: these people are already “unpalatable” to any decent person, but we need a majority. How the fuck can anyone be more unpalatable than Trump? There’s a sickness in our society.

      Reply
    80. 80.

      Josie

      @schrodingers_cat: ​
       That’s good. I’m not on Twitter or any social media, so I had not seen it. My point is that all Democrats should be singing from the same songbook. We may be a diverse coalition, but we can all agree that we don’t want a weird billionaire running the country.

      Reply
    82. 82.

      suzanne

      Having an active, widely-followed social media presence that is edgy, smart and knowledgeable about what works on each of the different social platforms is one way to do it.  We had it, but our party’s broken way of campaigning just flushed that investment down the toilet.  I don’t know what to do about that, but at least we should acknowledge what was lost.

      I agree with you, Mistermix.
      The 24/7/365/years-into-decades-into-generations nature of the visual and information environment makes the whole idea of “campaigns” — definitionally efforts with beginnings and ends — quaint. So 20th century. I don’t know how our party i situations can improve, but I hope that we figure that out STAT.

      Reply
    83. 83.

      different-church-lady

      @Josie: ​

      we can all agree that we don’t want a weird billionaire running the country.

      That’s why we rejected Dean Philips… oh wait, not what you meant?

      Reply
    85. 85.

      Mr. Bemused Senior

      @different-church-lady: How the fuck can anyone be more unpalatable than Trump? There’s a sickness in our society.

      Well yes. I think @Josie makes a good point, though. There’s something about Trump that attracts a lot of people and I think Musk lacks whatever it is.

      [ETA Musk has his fans, yes, but far fewer I think.]

      Reply
    86. 86.

      montanareddog

      @schrodingers_cat: Both Lords and The Oval are easily reached from Kensington. But no cricket at this time of year, of course. I don’t know if there are guided tours.

      Chelsea and Fulham football clubs play their home matches nearby. You might not be interested in football but a match in a raucous, crowded stadium is an experience. And both teams are having successful seasons.

      Plenty of sights in Kensington – the Science, Natural History and V&A museums; the Royal Albert Hall; Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. And easy access to the West End, the City and Westminster.

      Reply
    87. 87.

      Kathleen

      @Baud: Not just online. Anti Dem screeds are prominent in most all media. It’s lucrative. All you have too is recycle what your media heroes with prominent platforms have written or broadcasted so they will invite you to their Dem demonizing echo chamber. Minimal  effort and big returns.

      Reply
    90. 90.

      TBone

      Positivity comes where I find it.

      It is easy to despair. It is easy to look around and see fascism, the climate crisis, and the relentless repetition of the worst of the world’s news across media outlets and social media and our various screens and think that it’s all downhill from here. But today I’m here to tell you that’s not true. It might get worse before it gets better, but 2024 ended with multiple important events that should give us real hope.

      https://www.jphilll.com/p/its-time-for-class-war-in-2025

      Reply
    91. 91.

      Melancholy Jaques

      @Starfish (she/her):

      But the account wasn’t about one candidate. It was memes and dragging Republicans also.

      But it existed because of one candidate/campaign, so it had that as its unifying purpose and theme.

      We have people on our side posting memes and dragging Republicans. I’m thinking what we need is something different, something like an official voice of Democrats.

      Reply
    92. 92.

      mvr

      I think we might separate the question of having a continued robust non-election cycle presence from whether we can speak with one voice. As long as the voices don’t undercut one another I’m a bit of a skeptic about the need to “brand” except in the broadest possible sense of wanting not to be negatively branded.  I do think that we want somehow not to be seen as ineffective.  And so much of the sniping from the left that makes otherwise sympathetic people stay home seems to me to have to do with thinking the Ds don’t do anything.

      Reply
    93. 93.

      Geminid

      @Kathleen: There was some Ohio news in this morning’s Politico Playbook, after a lot of analysis of Speaker Mike Johnson’s situation. They cited reporting by NBC reporter Henry Gomez about Governor Dewine’s choices to replace J.D. Vance in the Senate.

      According to Gomez, Lt. Governor Jon Husted is number one, but Husted wants to run for Governor and might decline. Other possibilities include former state party Chair Jane Timken and state Rep. Jay Edwards

      Ed. Politico Playbook is on my list of good media sites. I’m sure it can be dismissed for various reasons but so can almost every other media outlet. I just read it critically.

      My take in general is that all reporting must be read critically no matter who it’s from. I figure if I can’t read reporting critically I might as well forget politics and take up scrapbooking.

      Reply
    95. 95.

      Baud

      @Sure Lurkalot:

      If your asking my opinion, first, anything with “defund” will carry a bad connotation and, second, right now I don’t believe there are a substantial number of new voters to be had by a message targeting the rich. The people who that appeals to are either already loyal Dem voters or people too far left to vote for Dems.

      I could be dead wrong, but that’s my opinion.

      Reply
    96. 96.

      Neo-Librettist

      The way the Village and political class are framing and responding to the proposed US Steel sale reflects a dysfunctional body politic.

      US Steel started liquidating its asset base back in the Nixon Era, rather than recapitalize with new technology.

      To frame this deal as of national strategic import is ludicrous. If it was Steel Dynamics (a company with similar market cap and share) it would barely mention a note in the biz pages.

      Cletus safaris forever, I guess…

      Reply
    98. 98.

      JoyceH

      Have you guys seen anything about Livelburger’s “manifestos”? Josh Marshall has a piece about how the media appears to be sugarcoating the fellow’s motivation- going on about traumatic brain injury and glossing over his actual writing. But Livelburger turns out to be a RABID Trumpy, and writes about how the military, veterans and militias must move out now to seize the government buildings in DC and cull the Democrats, by force if necessary. He explicitly calls for support for Trump, Musk, and RFK jr.

      So why do you suppose the media is downplaying this? To keep from embarrassing Trump or to keep from activating his loons? If the latter, faint hope – I’m sure these documents are all over the Trumposphere. Might be a better idea to warn the sane.

      Reply
    99. 99.

      tam1MI

      @schrodingers_cat: I have a friend who has been to London numerous times.  One of the things to do that gets consistently overlooked by many, that she says is well worth your time, is a tour of the Royal Mews.

      Reply
    100. 100.

      Kathleen

      @MagdaInBlack: Your comment is very astute. I grapple with my own realizations of how racism and accompanying terrorism have seeped into my consciousness and the layers of views of my world. And my parents raised me to accept all people regardless of race or color. Prejudices and stereotypes still seeped into my bones. Like white noise. I was horrified when I realized it.

      Full disclosure. I was taught that Richard Nixon and Nazis were evil. And my dad carried a long standing grudge against Doris Day.

      Reply
    101. 101.

      Melancholy Jaques

      @schrodingers_cat:

      They represent groups that are marginalized and do not have the cultural capital that default demographic does.

      Democrats represent & work for policies that benefit more than groups that are marginalized, including the default demographic. For reasons both known & unknown, the default demographic – 60% of the nation – does not know or believe that.

      When we – or maybe just I – talk about Democratic shortcomings in messaging, branding, media, whatever we call it, the problem is that voters do not know that Democrats are advocating & producing policies they like. Voters do not seem to know that much of what they are pissed off about comes from Republicans. Voters reportedly do not like Democrats because they think Democrats are the cause of everything that annoys them. And so on.

      A big part of this is Republican propaganda, but another big part is Democratic absence from the discourse. A big part of that absence – I argue – is because Democrats cannot agree on major policies & programs sufficiently to present a coherent message to the voters.

      The Democratic Party policy on immigration is ???

      The Democratic Party policy on public education is ???

      The Democratic Party policy on health care is ???

      And so on and so on.

      Reply
    103. 103.

      Steve LaBonne

      @Melancholy Jaques: The biggest part of it is that most voters, and especially the ones who decide close elections, simply don’t vote on policy, at all. This is the hardest thing for us politics nerds to understand and accept, especially since this fact doesn’t point to any obvious way forward.

      Reply
    104. 104.

      Marmot

      I thought y’all were gonna talk about alternative media sources! Has anyone checked out Courier Newsroom? I’ll do it eventually, but I’m busy lately.

      Reply
    105. 105.

      Formerly disgruntled in Oregon

      @Josie:

      From December 2024:

      Musk’s favorability is similar to Trump’s

      Musk doesn’t appear to give Trump much boost with people who don’t back the incoming president.

      He is no more popular with the U.S. public than the president-elect himself, and viewed unfavorably by about half of Americans, according to the AP-NORC poll.

      About 4 in 10 Americans have a somewhat or very favorable view of the world’s richest person, very similar to the percentage who view Trump positively. Likewise, about half of adults have a somewhat or very unfavorable view of Musk — again, similar to Trump.

      From PBS

      Reply
    107. 107.

      Sure Lurkalot

      @comrade scotts agenda of rage:  My backyard would be thrilled to host a fair weather Denver area and beyond meetup.

      Comrade and his normie wife opening their home, replete with drinks and a delicious spread really made for a fun and relaxing meetup. No worries about parking, finding the group, noise, pricy droughts and appetizers. Thanks so much for a delightful evening.

      Reply
    108. 108.

      eclare

      @JoyceH:

      He actually used the term “by any means necessary.”

      It bothers me too how much of this is being ignored by focusing on PTSD.  A person can have both, PTSD and radical anti-D (to the point of killing them) ideas.

      Reply
    109. 109.

      TBone

      @Marmot: I posted one at #90 for readers.

      Writing that zooms out. New Means discusses politics in the broadest possible ways, from our neighborhoods to our workplaces to our religious lives to organizing to the ways we collectively think.

      Reply
    110. 110.

      Another Scott

      @Neo-Librettist: Made me look.

      FAS.org reprint of CRS report (3 page .pdf):

      U.S. producers currently make steel in two main ways (Figure 1). One way is in integrated steel mills that turn coal into coke, combining the coke with iron ore to produce pig iron, and then melting it in a basic oxygen furnace to produce steel. Many integrated steel mills have closed, partly because they are more expensive to operate than newer facilities. In 2020, integrated mills produced 30% of total raw steel made in the United States. USGS notes that, at the end of 2020, two companies—U.S. Steel and Cleveland-Cliffs—operated
      integrated steel mills at 11 U.S. locations.

      Minimills provide a second way to make steel. Minimills tend to have lower fixed capital and energy costs than integrated steel mills and a largely nonunion workforce. In 2020, this method—which primarily uses recycled steel scrap melted in an electric arc furnace—accounted for 70% of all domestically produced raw steel. Over 50 companies, including Nucor and Steel Dynamics (ranked as the nation’s first- and fourth-largest steel producers, respectively, in 2019), operate minimills in the United States. Since 2018, several minimill operators have announced or made new investments, upgrades, or plant capacity expansions in the United States. Increased prices linked to the tariffs and quotas on imported steel may be a factor in these decisions.

      (Emphasis added.)

      “Obvious” policy decisions have perhaps not so obvious knock-on effects.

      The PDF makes it clear that steel is a complicated topic. There’s vast over-capacity, everyone wants market-share, and there are national security and economic security issues to be considered (we’ve seen how difficult it is to ramp up 155 mm shell production, for example), and there are costs to the economy when the US pays much more than big competitors.

      tl;dr – this stuff is complicated.

      FWIW.

      Best wishes,
      Scott.

      Reply
    113. 113.

      MagdaInBlack

      @Kathleen: It is horrifying and a wee bit embarrassing when we realize it. But better that we recognize it and deal with it than otherwise, I feel.

      I was raised like you BUT my parents were Republicans, go figure

      Eta: also, being raised in a lily white little farming community, I did not have my beliefs tested til I moved a large metro area.

      Reply
    114. 114.

      Steve LaBonne

      @JoyceH: 

      So why do you suppose the media is downplaying this?

      The same reason why Anne Telnaes’s cartoons will no longer be appearing in WaPo. Mainstream media have thoroughly capitulated to Trump even before he takes office.

      Reply
    116. 116.

      eclare

      @Baud:

      Mississippi Free Press is very good.  Prob half the workers in Memphis commute from the suburbs in northern Mississippi, so I like to keep up with the news.

      Reply
    117. 117.

      Geminid

      @JoyceH: That manifesto is all over all kinds of media sites here and abroad, Trumpy and otherwise. One reason it might not be getting play on mainstream media is that it’s essentially a suicide note. Another is that it contains a lot of extreme claims about anti-gravity drones, UFO’s etc. One way of looking at it is the guy was having a psychotic break. Or as some are saying, he was the victim of a Deep State plot.

      Of course, some people found mordant humor in the event. One person showed the guy’s route from Colorado through Arizona to Las Vegas, Nevada including stops: “[He] had to stop seven times to charge his Cybertruck. No wonder he committed suicide!”

      Reply
    118. 118.

      Marmot

      @Baud: Thanks Baud.

      And “greedy, selfish bumblers” seems like the way to go. No one under 50 understands “eat the rich.” (I mean, eat? I’ve never understood it.)

      Reply
    120. 120.

      Starfish (she/her)

      @Melancholy Jaques: An official voice can be boring unless it is fun or weird in some way like Steak-umm. MoonPie was also really weird.

      “Official” can end up really broad with no individual appeal.

      Sprinkling the Kamala HQ account with details about what the Harris and Walz families were doing made it more personal and interesting.

      I am not sure that the official Democratic voice can be weird like the dril Twitter account.

      Reply
    121. 121.

      Kathleen

      @Geminid: I agree. Ohio Capital Kournal is my go to source from Ohio politics. They use behaviors and facts in their reporting so the discerning reader can get a fact based picture of Ohio Republican Horror Show. One of my favorite sources for local  political news is Cincinnati Business Courier. The reporters focus on facts and not trying to create a personal brand.  It’s  a wonderful news source on many topics. It’s pricey but worth it to me. In depth reporting on business is vital in getting a more complete picture of the community. I used to lovemaking news articles in WSJ

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

      Reply
    123. 123.

      comrade scotts agenda of rage

      @Steve LaBonne:

      The biggest part of it is that most voters, and especially the ones who decide close elections, simply don’t vote on policy, at all.

      That ties in nicely with what mvr said in #92:

      I think we might separate the question of having a continued robust non-election cycle presence from whether we can speak with one voice. As long as the voices don’t undercut one another I’m a bit of a skeptic about the need to “brand” except in the broadest possible sense of wanting not to be negatively branded.

      Obviously I can go at it tooth and nail on policy issues, channeling my inner Judean People’s Front against self-professed progressives with the best of them.  But that also doesn’t resonate with the targeted voters so it’s one element of the next electoral puzzle for us to solve.

      Reply
    129. 129.

      Baud

      @Another Scott:

      When the people shall have nothing more to eat, they will eat the rich

       

      I recently learned that, during the Franco-Prussian War, residents of besieged Paris had nothing left to eat so they are the zoo animals.

      Reply
    130. 130.

      TBone

      @Baud: methinks my English Lit classes were a good thing

      https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Modest_Proposal

      Swift.

      Swift’s essay is widely held to be one of the greatest examples of sustained irony in the history of English literature. Much of its shock value derives from the fact that the first portion of the essay describes the plight of starving beggars in Ireland, so that the reader is unprepared for the surprise of Swift’s solution when he states: “A young healthy child well nursed, is, at a year old, a most delicious nourishing and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled; and I make no doubt that it will equally serve in a fricassee, or a ragout.

      Reply
    131. 131.

      Kathleen

      @Baud: Whe. I was little girl my dad was announcer on a local Omaha radio station. A co worker somehow got Doris Day to agree to an interview on the station with my dad. This was in very early1950’s. Doris Day either csnxelled or bailed and my dad was furious because he had heavily promoted the event. She eventually called him and apologized but he groused about that his whole life. As he said the Irish will forget everything except grievances

      I became a fan of her in later years and I finally told him to let it go.

      On another note he was assigned to interview VP Ricard Nixon because he was the only Democrat at the station.

      Reply
    133. 133.

      Baud

      @Kathleen:

      Whe. I was little girl

       

      I can’t believe you passed up the opportunity to begin with “When I was just a little girl….”

      ETA: I’m glad Doris Day wasn’t a Nazi.

      Reply
    134. 134.

      trollhattan

      @JoyceH: ​
      This was yesterday (BBC)

      What is Livelsberger’s background?

      Livelsberger was a decorated special forces intelligence sergeant who was serving in Germany, but was on approved leave at the time of the incident.

      His father told BBC’s US partner CBS News that his son was in Colorado to see his wife and eight-month-old daughter.

      He said he last spoke to his son at Christmas and that everything seemed normal.

      The Daily Beast reported that Livelsberger was a “big” supporter of Trump. A senior law enforcement official who spoke with Livelsberger’s family told the outlet that Livelsberger voted for Trump in November’s election.

      His uncle told The Independent that Livelsberger loved Trump “and he was always a very, very patriotic soldier, a patriotic American.”

      And today.

      The man identified inside the Tesla Cybertruck that exploded outside the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas on Wednesday morning had no animosity toward President-elect Donald Trump and likely suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, according to the FBI.

      Matthew Livelsberger, an active-duty US army member from Colorado who was found deceased inside the vehicle, also grappled with other family issues or personal grievances, FBI officials said. Officials also emphasised the deadly truck attack in New Orleans that left 14 dead earlier on New Year’s Day was unrelated to the explosion in Las Vegas.

      Police said the Las Vegas blast appeared to be a “tragic case of suicide”.

      “There is no evidence that these two events are connected,” Las Vegas FBI agent Spencer Evans told reporters on Friday as officials laid out new information on the incident.

      “Investigative steps have discovered, and information of the Army indicates, that he likely suffered from PTSD, and we’re also aware that there were potential other family issues or personal grievances in his own life that may have been contributing factors,” Mr Evans said.

      Data uncovered from Mr Livelsberger’s phone, including a series of notes he appeared to have written, suggest that the 37-year-old suffered from PTSD related to his time in combat, officials said.

      SWAG the forensic investigation of his media postings, etc. will take time and meanwhile, we’ll be off to other shiny new things and by then, it will be just “that other New Years thing.”

      Reply
    135. 135.

      JoyceH

      @eclare: You can talk about mental illness but maybe it’s time to start asking why so many of the mentally ill are Trump supporters. Remember the pipe bomber? Guy lived in his van that was plastered all over with Trump signs and sent pipe bombs to media orgs and Democratic politicians. Has there been ANYTHING similar on the Dem side?

      Reply
    138. 138.

      MagdaInBlack

      I have fired up Motorhead’s ” Eat The Rich” but showing great restraint not posting it.

      It is inspiring tho.

      Reply
    139. 139.

      Marmot

      @comrade scotts agenda of rage:

      The biggest part of it is that most voters, and especially the ones who decide close elections, simply don’t vote on policy, at all.

      Absolutely. The low-info voters know fuck-all about who stands for what. They want whoever they think is on their side, and that’s the whole of it.

      We need to be visible pointing out the numerous upcoming fuckups and theiveries the Trump 2 admin is about to commit.

      Forget winning the actual fascists back and the racists or whatever. It’s a waste of time to worry about. You wouldn’t believe how many downscale whites and young black men and Indian small-business men and homeless drifters who enthusiastically offered that they were looking forward to voting for Trump. Those particular idiots don’t know shit, and they’ll all lose under the new admin.

      Reply
    143. 143.

      TBone

      @prostratedragon: I was going with the title of this post but yours is MUCH better!  I bought my mom a black & white, noir style poster and framed it, she hung it over the mantel in our living room.  Ella, singing proudly to Count Basie.  I was raised on this stuff, thank you for that warm cuppa love!

      Reply
    147. 147.

      scribbler

      @schrodingers_cat:  You probably already know this, but you shouldn’t miss the Victoria & Albert Museum – “the world’s largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design.”  It’s amazing, and with your drawing/coloring talents, you’ll love it!

      Reply
    150. 150.

      suzanne

      @Melancholy Jaques:

      A big part of this is Republican propaganda, but another big part is Democratic absence from the discourse. A big part of that absence – I argue – is because Democrats cannot agree on major policies & programs sufficiently to present a coherent message to the voters.

      The Democratic Party policy on immigration is ???

      The Democratic Party policy on public education is ???

      The Democratic Party policy on health care is ???

      And so on and so on.

      I concur with you here. And to compound/underscore this…. I don’t think most voters even know what our core values are, which are the reasons why we hold the positions that we do. So many people are deeply cynical and just see it as a food fight. They think it’s corrupt and think it comes down to money and influence.

      I don’t think that abstaining from various media outlets, under the idea that we’re afraid to legitimize them, has done us any favors. We ceded some of the field of play.

      Reply
    151. 151.

      Expletive Deleted

       

       

      @schrodingers_cat: I think the big suggestions have been covered, but seconding the V&A and the British Museum. I love just walking around, though your tolerance for crowds – SoHo, Seven Dials, etc. There’s good food everywhere but you can go to Brick Lane and get an authentic London beigel from a 24hr bakery.

      My favourite recent discovery is the London Mithraeum, there is not much else at that underground stop but it is worth the visit.

      Reply
    158. 158.

      Jinchi

      @scav: All the same, beware build a bubble behavior.

      I’m not even remotely worried about being in a bubble.

      I haven’t watched Fox News in about a decade and yet I’m still inundated with every idiotic thought Elon and DJT have, whether it’s their intention to jail Michelle Obama or invade Greenland.

      Reply
    161. 161.

      Captain C

      @eclare: Seconded on the Jack the Ripper tour, we took one on a family vacation to London in early 2000.

      There was some obscure WWII underground radio/communications museum we went to that was very interesting, but at this point I can’t remember the name.

      The Cabinet War Rooms?  We also saw that and it was fascinating, basically the bomb shelter where Churchill ran the war from, preserved as it was when the war ended in 1945.  They’ve got the big convoy map, Churchill’s crash pad, lots of interesting WWII-related stuff.

      Reply
    163. 163.

      Jinchi

      @TBone: ​
      Swift’s “Modest Proposal” has been reimagined by Peter Thiel via his plan for a blood transfusion based fountain of youth.

      Just without the irony or the sarcasm.

      Reply
    164. 164.

      BarcaChicago

      @schrodingers_cat: During my 10 years in Spain, I was lucky to be able to go to London when my Spanish sister-in-law was out of town for a couple of weeks every year after Christmas and stay in her flat. Some of my favorites:

      – London Walks/Inns of Court walking tour. Extremely informative, entertaining and gorgeous.

      – The John Soanes Museum. I love small personal house museums – this one is in the house of a famous architect from the 18/19th century.

      – Hampstead Heath/Just walking around is very enjoyable – then have lunch or dinner at the Holly Bush pub. It’s like a beautiful dream.

      – Hampton Court Palace is fascinating – and I had no idea that there was a royal tennis court that Henry the eighth used regularly. I assume a radical change in clothing was required…

      – I’m obsessed with extremely old pubs that have not modernized: So no music, no renovations, and you feel like you’re going back hundreds of years in time. The Cheshire Cheese, The Grenadier. If you’re into this type of thing, there are some good websites, dedicated to the last of the old pubs.

      Have a wonderful time! As always, I greatly appreciate your voice on this blog.

      Reply
    167. 167.

      Gloria DryGarden

      Mister mix, I’m stunned to think of you walking half a mile to the train last night.  A ride would have been an option, if one had known. It was great to meet you.

      Reply

    Leave a Comment

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    If you don't see both the Visual and the Text tab on the editor, click here to refresh.

    Clear Comment

    To reply to more than one person, click the X to save & close the box.