Trump needs to reverse this immediately. It'll wreak havoc on TX hospitals, schools, police, food banks, & emergency responders that depend on federal grants.
If you're in TX-30 & your organization is affected, I want to hear from you. Email us: [email protected]
— Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett (@repjasmine.bsky.social) January 28, 2025 at 10:29 AM
AOC is not the only good messenger for the party that’s worth following on socials. So this post is about who else is good. In addition to AOC and Jasmine Crockett, here’s my list, in no particular order, and I’m sure I missed some:
Elizabeth Warren
Chris Murphy
Brian Schatz
Ron Wyden
Maxwell Frost
My criteria: Their messages are human, containing anger not measured response when appropriate. They emphasize the consequences of Republican action, not the norms that were violated. They post on their socials more that once every couple of days, and they seem to understand the urgency of the moment. Your criteria might be different, that’s fine.
So, for example, Hakeem Jeffries isn’t on my list, even though he has a press conference that he streams. Why aren’t clips from that conference posted on his socials?
Please keep this on topic, I’ll post an open thread later.
suzanne
One of my criteria is writing and speaking like a normal person. A tip of the hat to Josh Shapiro.
MazeDancer
What kills me about Jeffries and Schumer is they are New Yorkers. And as a former member of the Madison Avenue Mafia, I can safely say there are thousands of talented message crafters that would be happy to help. Talk to some!
Jeffries is not my Rep, but Schumer is my Senator.
And despite his valued years of service, Chuck gotta go. He has no fire. The Gepetto glasses make him look like your kindly grandpa. He is the wrong guy for our times.
Jeffries has skillz. But he isn’t pushing hard enough.
No days off, boys. No hours off. No standing by watching it happen.
We can’t wait until Saturday when they elect a Dem Chair. The fight is now.
tobie
Sean Casten is a great messenger. I read his threads on Mastodon. Don’t know if he’s on BlueSky or interviewed on TV but his knowledge of environmental policy and Constitutional issues is impressive. Here are two posts from–one on halting federal funding and one on the cost of electricity in Georgia for server farms. Both are worth a read.
https://mastodon.social/deck/@SeanCasten/113906271971631193
https://mastodon.social/deck/@SeanCasten/113906409139926815
There are many other interesting posts (even from today) on his timeline.
Lobo
Please call your representatives about the shutdown of aid. It is a unilateral government shutdown by another name. The Trump Government Shutdown. (I also think it is a coup. Definitely a constitutional crisis.)
Let’s do what we can.
@mistermix.bsky.social
@suzanne: Speaking of governors, I forgot JB Pritzker. He’s good, too.
Old School
Ways and Means Democrats have been strong.
@mistermix.bsky.social
@tobie: Casten is on BlueSky:
https://bsky.app/profile/seancasten.bsky.social
And yes, he’s good. I follow him. Another one I missed, thanks!
bbleh
Jamie Raskin is pretty withering when he says something.
Gotta say though, it REALLY bugs me that we have to scrounge to come up with even a SHORT list …
suzanne
According to Political Wire, Secretary Pete is looking at the MI Senate seat. He, of course, is great.
Avalune
We had a meeting this morning in which the school president tried to reassure us that everything will be ok. A bunch of people cried. Students are panicking. But no one has enough details and the orders are broad enough that no substance really came out of it except to say they have committees and lawyers preparing.
it’s a shit show. I don’t even know what else to say atm.
jehrler
Betty McCollum (Bluesky @mccollum.house.gov) has a good statement out:
@mistermix.bsky.social
@bbleh:
Agreed. I get a lot of flack from veteran commenters here when I criticize Democratic messaging and point out that AOC is the de-facto opposition leader, but when I post one of these threads, I get very little engagement from the same people, especially when I put in a few (what I think of as reasonable) criteria. Yeah, your D rep or senator has a social account and posts every so often, I get it. What I’m looking for is the good stuff, the juice. Casten has it, I forgot about him. Pritzker has it. Agree that Jamie Raskin is good when he posts. But we’ve got almost 300 electeds with staffs. Let’s GOOOOO!
And the other thing that bugs me is the “what good will it do” pushback. Well, I don’t see how pointing out the bad shit Republicans are doing will hurt anything, so how about we try it
Also, just checked Ways and Means Democrats — good work happening there, thanks Old School: https://bsky.app/profile/waysmeanscmte.bsky.social
suzanne
@MazeDancer:
Agree so strongly that it hurts. I spent a few years as a baby advertising person (before I realized I hated it)…. but I learned a lot about the manipulative arts! I feel like we have room for improvement here!!!
Old School
@@mistermix.bsky.social:
Here’s a starter pack of House Democrats for BlueSky. I count 27 posts from the past hour. I don’t follow any of them, but maybe you can find more you’d like.
Barbara
@@mistermix.bsky.social: Poor poor you. Seriously, I don’t think you have a clue how much your posts come across like the Goldilocks of Democratic messaging.
John S.
@@mistermix.bsky.social:
Unfortunately, there are factions here. I too run afoul of the same clique that lies in wait to harangue anyone that even whispers constructive criticism.
I just largely ignore them now. Unless they have something to add to the discussion other than insults and personal attacks, there’s no point in engagement.
ETA: And right on cue…
BC in Illinois
One woman who has become a voice — and a model — for resistance is Bishop Mariann Budde of the Washington Episcopal Diocese. She spoke up, a week ago today, at the Washington Cathedral about bringing unity through practicing the dignity of all, through honesty [take that, Mr Trump!], through humility [likewise], and then — the part that everyone has seen — through mercy for those living in fear.
In 2023, she wrote a book on courage: How We Learn To Be Brave. She had people calling her brave in 2020, when she spoke against Trump’s stunt of holding a Bible in front of one of her churches. She talked about what she did, and people’s reactions, in a YouTube talk.
I was at the local bookstore today. Not a huge place, but they have 40 copies on special order and have ordered another ten or so to have on the shelf. People are looking to her example, so much so that the suppliers are running out and the publisher is printing more.
A Ghost to Most
I just read that Jim Acosta quit CNN on camera this morning. They wanted to bury him on the graveyard shift, while keeping Scott Jennings around.
Barbara
@John S.: If I found the criticism to be constructive I would say so. Much of it I don’t. The best way to engage is to engage with those that are doing the work. I know it’s easy to say this, but criticizing rarely achieves anything. When we are flying blind like this it feels like a big waste of time not to mention a big waste of an opportunity for someone who has a platform. But I’ll toodle along now.
Belafon
@@mistermix.bsky.social: I definitely hate the “what good will it do” crowd, but I also can’t stand the “they should do something” crowd, especially when using one of their only available weapons – speaking out – is then dismissed as not useful.
oldgold
Hildebrand
@John S.: But too often it isn’t constructive criticism, it’s just criticism. Telling folks to step up their game without telling them how isn’t exactly helpful.
Just because folks got elected doesn’t automatically make them brilliant communicators, there is no ontological change because of their victory, they need constructive advice.
John S.
@Barbara:
@Hildebrand:
I find what mistermix does on his posts to be incredibly constructive. I get that some of you don’t, but slagging on him isn’t exactly constructive either.
I would argue that 98% of the people here are aligned in their politics, even if they disagree on methods or policies. There’s just no reason for people to be attacking each other.
Avalune
cmorenc
@suzanne: Shapiro or another Harris run would be great in 28.
However i do realize that for the moment, mounting effective resistance to the monstrous proj 2025 /Trump agenda
MazeDancer
Tish James has announced she is suing the Trump admin for its illegal freezes.
We love her.
Baud
@MazeDancer:
There’s another lawsuit that’s been filed as well.
Barbara
@John S.:
Irony alert. Seriously, I am out. I find posts saying “This is how you do it” okay, but I just don’t find posts criticizing messaging to be interesting or edifying. Among other things, they usually lack context of the moment or fail to convey the capacity in which the statement was made. There is always someone who is going to fail at messaging. Seizing on the latest statement of whoever that person is at the moment as a continuing theme for posts — not up for it.
As opposed to conveying Sheldon Whitehouse’s apparent belief that he could fly under the radar and prop up his erstwhile friend who is going to get people killed — oh yes, I would like to know those things. People in Rhode Island, keep calling. Gina Raimondo isn’t RFK’s friend and I am sure she will be available next time out.
MazeDancer
@Baud: We just need 1 Federal Judge to stop it all.
Except Trump win’t obey because he wants the Constitutional crisis. But at least it would force the media to report.
Jinchi
@cmorenc: I think whoever emerges for the Democrats in ’28 will be someone who was out front and fighting for these issues, today.
Maybe that’s motivation enough for more Democrats to get into the fight.
arrieve
@Avalune:
I teach English to adult immigrants at a CUNY program here in NY. They are planning as much as they can–we are having a presentation this week on what to do if ICE comes to our classrooms. We’re told this shouldn’t happen; they won’t be allowed on any campus without warrants or subpoenas. But we still have to prepare for the worst.
Everyone is still kind of panicked (I’m not panicking but I’m really worried.) One example–our classes always include one field trip each semester, to a museum or cultural site that ties in with our curricula. They are considering cancelling that, because we can’t protect our students away from campus.
Some of my students are here legally–some are citizens–and some are not. (We’re a sanctuary city and anyone can enroll in CUNY no matter their immigration status.) I don’t know the status of most of my students and I don’t want to. It’s none of my business.
opiejeanne
Edited to add: this was directed at Old Gold.
I just saw this and the other abominable orders shutting down WIC, SNAP, Head Start, etc. and I’m concerned about my daughter-in-law and her two older children. They also get help for their housing costs and that looks like it’s gone today.
She didn’t vote. She’s a Jehovah’s Witness, doesn’t understand a lot of things because she’s been taught not to try to understand and she’s stubborn about it, but the one thing I’ve tried to impress upon her is that all politics is personal. She’s lived in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, and now she lives in Oregon. A blue state. She has to notice the difference in the way she’s been treated and the benefits she has, but she just shrugs it off.
Barbara
@MazeDancer: I wonder if that lady who spoke to WaPo on the record from one of the forsaken towns between Pittsburgh and Erie, PA still feels Trump is on the side of poor people. The thing is about Medicaid and all federal programs, people hear that a disproportionate share of African Americans or other minority groups receive benefits and due to math illiteracy assume that the majority of people receiving benefits belong to those groups. The vast majority of people receiving benefits are white. It’s just a lower percentage of white people overall.
Jinchi
@MazeDancer:
Trump wants to win a Constitutional crisis.
But he’s in for a big loss if he puts millions of people in jeopardy barely a week after he enters office. Which is what he’s doing by attempting to cut off all government spending, for everything.
Baud
Here’s a good messenger speaking nothing but truth.
Quaker in a Basement
@suzanne: He’s my pick for this list.
Josie
The best messengers are us. I hope that every commenter and every lurker has called their senators and their representatives today. Don’t use the excuse that they are Republicans. I am in Texas, for goodness sake. If I can communicate with Ted Cruz, of all people, you can make those difficult calls. Encourage family and friends to do the same.
Barbara
@Jinchi: This is why they are trying so hard to trip up Newsom on the fires. He has been out front. Pritzker is also out there.
Baud
@Josie:
Word.
opiejeanne
@Avalune: Oh, so now they’re going after the differently abled, formerly known as handicapped. And they’ll probably go back to calling people with disabilities handicapped.
Avalune
@arrieve: a big part of my role here is to verify citizenship status for financial aid and I’m a little worried about how my role and the info I collect as a result might be used against students. It feels a little hysterical but also plausible – which I hate. I don’t know if I’m on topic exactly so I’m going to hush for now.
John S.
@Barbara:
There is nothing constructive in what you posted. Irony indeed.
@mistermix.bsky.social
@Barbara:
This whole post was around finding good models. And I wasn’t looking for sympathy, so no need to resort to the trollish “poor you” stuff. Try to be a little better community member in future.
@Hildebrand:
I don’t know how posting good role models is anything but constructive. The issue is that there aren’t many of them. The electeds who can’t do good messaging could just copy the ones who do, or even re-tweet them. It’s not that hard is my motto on BlueSky.
RevRick
@Lobo: I called my new GOP Representative, Ryan McKenzie, and got no answer to the call. I suspect that they are getting swamped. I left a message asking what he’ll do to defend Congress’ Article I power. I don’t expect to hear back, but I know his staff feels the heat.
John S.
@Josie:
Sen. Cantwell’s office got a cheerful earful from me this morning.
TONYG
@Avalune: Scaring people is the point, and the chaotic shit-show is the point. This is what dictators do when they want to consolidate their power. I even think that point of the “mass deportations” is not primarily to deport undocumented immigrants. It’s a display of the power of the regime to frighten people (regardless of ethnicity or immigration status). And, bear in mind that the overturning of birthright citizenship means that a birth certificate is no longer proof of citizenship, which means that almost nobody can prove citizenship.
Barbara
@@mistermix.bsky.social:
Wow. Okay, it’s clear you think this will be a better place without me. Bye.
Avalune
@TONYG: I know it’s the point. And they keep dashing this stuff off one after another to keep us like dogs in a ball pit so we can’t react. It’s just very damned frustrating all the same. And hard not to give in to the fear and depression. At least I’m struggling with that today. Hopefully tomorrow I’ll pick myself up.
opiejeanne
@arrieve: Terrible, and I had another terrible thought: will they be able to get home safely when they leave campus or will ICE be waiting on the doorstep?
@mistermix.bsky.social
@Barbara:
I asked you to be a more constructive community member, which implies that you’ll continue to be part of the community.
opiejeanne
@Barbara: Please don’t walk away.
Geminid
@Barbara: Stick around even if you don’t bother with these particular posts. This guy’s opinion on who is or is not a good community member is inconquesequential.
Miss Bianca
@suzanne: I think either he or Gretchen Whitmer would be great. I have no idea what Gary Peters is like, but my sense is that he’s more of a Conserva-Dem. I need to check in with my Michigan buddy to ask her about him.
Belafon
@Avalune: “Well, your nomination of a mediocre white man to the secretary of defense showed a complete willingness to hire based on race rather than qualifications. So you should shut down funding the White House.”
Soprano2
@oldgold: So, what happens to all the people in nursing homes who are on Medicaid? Do they honestly think there will be no protest of this, or do they just not care?
opiejeanne
@John S.: Did you call Debbie too? I expect she’s making a lot of noise.
Tazj
Just talked to Rep. Nick Langworthy’s office. They haven’t been able to discuss this with him as yet. Sure. Took down my comments. Pretty standard answers, but what an embarrassment it would be for them if they had souls capable of shame.
John S.
@opiejeanne:
So far I have only contacted Rep. Schrier for her vote on the Lakan Riley act, and now Sen. Cantwell for her vote to confirm Scott Bessent yesterday for Treasury.
John S.
@Geminid:
Except that’s not what mistermix actually said but I’m pretty sure you know that.
Lobo
@RevRick: Thanks. Everybody treat each other with grace, compassion and kindness. If anytime to freak out, now is the time. But be gentle in the freak out.
I am listening to the prophets:
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galazy: Don’t Panic
And Quiet Riot: Bang your Head.
Bupalos
I feel like something that effective messagers tend to share is the simplicity and clarity that results from fitting their responses into a consistent narrative framework. That was what has been so lacking in the Biden years.
AOC can respond practically off the cuff to anything by reference to her narrative that everything is a result of billionaires trying to steal everything. It’s not exactly a complete narrative, but it doesn’t have to be. A lot of times people hear you better when they know what you are going to say.
zhena gogolia
@Barbara: Please don’t go. I’ve gotten the same treatment, but I’m bloody-minded and won’t go away.
Kelly
https://bsky.app/profile/chrismurphyct.bsky.social/post/3lgszns6h622b
Barbara
@zhena gogolia: Yeah, you know, I have been here for so many years I have lost track. Being called out as an “unconstructive community member” is so patronizing. I think I’ll avoid this particular poster’s posts for now. His tone and me just don’t seem to mesh.
Geminid
@John S.: It sure sounded like it to me. Telling the commenter to try and be a better community member in the future?
But you know what? I bet this commenter has dealt with plenty of bossy men before. I know I have.
Barbara
@Geminid: Trying not to play that card, but yes, you kind of nailed the thought that went through my head immediately.
Eolirin
@@mistermix.bsky.social: You know why I give you flack for this stuff?
You know who was terrible at public communication and messaging? Nancy Pelosi. I also cannot think of a person more important to the success of the Democratic agenda. Biden? Not a great communicator. Got more done than anyone going back to Johnson, and Johnson had an actual senate majority. Obama and Harris were pretty good at the communicating thing. Didn’t make a big difference in this election.
So we need people who can communicate well, sure, but communicating well isn’t the be all end all of what needs to be done here. It’s not even what will win us elections. If it was Harris would have won. And it’s not what makes someone a leader of a movement either. It makes for good spokespeople, and those matter, but they’re not the same thing.
You are focusing a ton of time and attention on something that doesn’t matter nearly as much as the amount of time we’re spending on it implies it does, and the majority of what you’re accomplishing with this parade of posts is implicitly slagging on other Democrats and reinforcing people’s instincts to transferring their fear and anger from the things the Trump administration is doing, and Republicans are allowing, to Democrats not doing enough, for a perceived lack of action, where no immediate action, beyond the ones already being taken, is even possible, and for some members not posturing in the right ways.
We complain about theater criticism in the media, we shouldn’t have half the posts here engaging in it.
Pushing back on this dynamic is more important than finding democrats whose messaging strategy helps us feel good enough that we can treat listening to it as replacement for taking action.
And it turns this moment into passive participation besides. It’s one thing if you’re looking to find good content to share to other people you’re actively trying to convince to vote, or to move away from voting for Republicans. It’s helpful to have resources to use for that, but that still implies that you’re personally engaged in doing that work. That’s not what any of this has been about.
You don’t need to hear from me as to who I think strings words together the best, who has the best tone, and who spends the most time being good at social media; I really don’t give a shit, I don’t think it matters. I place more value on canvassers and relational organizing efforts than I do social media posts by politicians. Social media diets are self selecting thanks to the algorithms. We’re only reaching people who already vote for us. If we’re not out there being involved in spreading that outside if that bubble, it ends up just amounting to pushing on a string.
And circumstances are rapidly outstripping any value to even the tenuous importance of social media presence; it’s about to be pushing on a string in the middle of hurricane. If Trump cuts off SNAP and Medicaid for three months the ensuing economic diaster will drown out anything Democrats might be saying. It’ll certainly be reaching a whole lot more people than politicians’ social media accounts do.
If people don’t get the right message from that and start rethinking how they vote, we literally can’t survive as a country. And that’s assuming we’re even allowed to vote and have those votes count. This discussion becomes even more irrelevant if they succeed in taking that away.
We could be looking at ways to help support food banks instead. It would at least be productive.
Kelly
@Soprano2:
They have no idea what Medicaid pays for.
These are not bright people and things are getting out of hand
Belafon
@Bupalos: One of the things I’ve had to work on anytime I get in an argument with someone is to always go back to what I believe in first. Sometimes, when an argument is going on for a long time, you can get derailed, or someone gets you into the reeds and away from the main point. So, it can be helpful to reference that to pull back so that you stay on point.
zhena gogolia
@Barbara: The problem is, no one else posts much any more.
@mistermix.bsky.social
@Geminid:
The topic of this thread was Democratic Messaging, and I asked for examples of good messaging. A lot of community members provided it. She didn’t.
So, to be specific, being a better community member would involve commenting on topic (Democratic messaging is the larger topic, who you like is the smaller one). I made a comment on both, and she took that as an opportunity for a nasty attack.
Lots of us have been on the internet for a long time, and we know what trollish behavior is. Trolling is anti-communitarian. Here are two examples of trollish behavior that I saw:
#2 is seen around here a fair amount.
Hey, look, if you don’t like what I write, that’s fine, but stay on topic, and don’t troll. You can bring arguments to the table, instead.
opiejeanne
@Lobo: I watched the first movie of Lord of the Rings yesterday, just to hear Gandalf’s advice to Frodo:
Frodo: I wish the Ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.
Gandalf: So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.
I had my hours of deep despair last week, worried my online friends by posting about it on Fb on Friday night, but I realized yesterday that it was colored by the pain from my (suspected by the podiatrist) broken foot. I’m in a boot now so the pain is greatly lessened, almost gone, and in about 2 weeks we’ll be able to see on the next x-ray if it has started to knit, confirming the hairline fracture. The boot gave me nearly instant relief, except I can’t wear it to bed, but during the daylight hours I have time for clarity of thought.
I started going back to church in November, and have joined the choir, and I’m also re-reading the entire Inspector Gamache series by Louise Penny, as reminders that there is wisdom and goodness in the world still.
Matt McIrvin
@Jinchi:
While I’ve said similar things in recent threads, I have a caveat: all that get nullified if he starts a large war at the right moment. He has the sense of theater to do it. War fever is powerful. It doesn’t last, but Trump doesn’t do long-term thinking, unlike some of his backers.
Matt McIrvin
@opiejeanne: Some of the drugs I was on immediately after my knee surgery quieted my constant anxious inner voice and gave me these enhanced emotional responses. I want to NOT know exactly what those drugs were (opioids probably) because I might wreck myself taking them.
sentient ai from the future
@Matt McIrvin: the fact that it worked for bibi and was then turned into a slow-burn october surprise to kneecap biden/harris…
Lobo
@opiejeanne: Thanks, I remember the quote. Take care. Sorry to everyone for going off thread a bit.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Matt McIrvin:
I’m not sure the rally around the flag effect would work nowadays. We’re not the same country we were in 2001 and trust has eroded even further
@mistermix.bsky.social
@zhena gogolia:
Have you ever tried some introspection about why that is?
John has invited a number of people who I consider to be good writers to write on the front page. Many of them have posted a few times and then left, after getting the treatment that is considered the norm around here from the commenters.
Enforcing a narrow orthodoxy is considered more important than welcoming new writers amongst a small number of commenters here.
In addition, running off new commenters who have the gall to disagree with the orthodoxy is also considered more important than welcoming them and having a good faith argument with them.
Then, when even the slightest hint of pushback comes from me, everyone goes apeshit. You’re a good example: when I called out commenters for going to the fainting couches over criticism of Democrats, you posted dozens of short angry comments on that thread to make sure everyone knew that I had violated the orthodoxy here.
So, yes, it is a problem. When I stop posting again for a while when I travel, the front page will be mostly empty. I’ll be sorry to see that, but I won’t be surprised or wonder why.
Matt McIrvin
@Lobo: Looking back at Douglas Adams’ work with the perspective of decades, it seems very dark but strikes me as a meditation on how to survive mentally in times when you have no effective political agency. The first Hitchhiker’s Guide radio series came out *right* before Margaret Thatcher took over but I suspect the writing was on the wall.
The third book was adapted from an unused Doctor Who script but Adams said he had a hard time making it work because the HHGTTG characters were not the types who were at all motivated to save the universe. Doctor Who is all fantasies of political agency, to use Bujold’s helpful phrase about science fiction, but Hitchhiker’s Guide is the opposite, which makes it work as an inverted parody of the genre.
suzanne
@Eolirin:
I usually agree with you, but this is one thing where I don’t. I think we are underestimating our opponents, to our detriment. I think they communicate what their people want to hear and see exceedingly well.
Communications, brand-building, etc. does not win elections on its own, but it lays the foundation for a campaign. It prepares an electorate to see a candidate more positively.
@mistermix.bsky.social
@Eolirin: I appreciate your careful and thoughtful articulation of your position wrt communication. You won’t be surprised to hear that I disagree.
I think that a good opposition party should have better and more frequent messaging on social media, because the legacy press is in collapse, and the information environment is run by Republicans.
I think that opposing nominations in the way that Republicans did it when they lost their Senate majority was good opposition politics and we should emulate it. (It is bad policy and our politics are degraded, as someone in the last thread pointed out, but I’m willing to accept the tradeoff). Trump is going to ruin the agencies anyway, so why shouldn’t people see us fight?
I also think that food pantries and any other social help is great, but that’s just not my area of knowledge or expertise. This is a politics blog, I write about politics, so you’re going to get posts about politics.
Another Scott
If you want to call me out, MM, you can do so. I don’t mind.
I’m sorry I have apparently gotten under your skin.
We’re a big team, we’re 8 days into the new administration, and lots and lots and lots of things are happening. Things of varying importance. Things that he has the legal power to do, and things he does not. We can disagree here about things and talk about advantages and disadvantages of various messages and messengers and strategy and tactics and what it means for the fight. We don’t have to agree, and disagreement doesn’t (or shouldn’t) say anything about feelings of worth about front pagers or anyone else.
Thanks.
Best wishes,
Scott.
Lobo
@@mistermix.bsky.social: I enjoy your posts! If that helps! Many mirror my thoughts.
Matt McIrvin
@Another Scott: One of the problems I have is that worrying times make me lose sleep and I become outrageously nihilistic when I’m sleep-deprived. A thing I’ve realized in recent years is that a seeming death wish can actually be a sublimated desire to take a nap. You can actually annihilate your consciousness and come back from it later to tell the tale! But it’s not always possible.
tam1MI
@Lobo: Same here. 😊
opiejeanne
@John S.: Sent a note to Suzan del Bene.
I get email from Schrier’s office because my zip code overlaps both Representatives’ districts, but only realized that today when I couldn’t think of delBene’s name, even though I’ve met her several times and campaigned for her.
Formerly disgruntled in Oregon
@Barbara:
Bingo
@@mistermix.bsky.social:
Time to look in the mirror, big shot.
zhena gogolia
@@mistermix.bsky.social: I have no idea what you are talking about.
Ksmiami
@Avalune: fake it all. Fake the paperwork, stall!
zhena gogolia
@@mistermix.bsky.social: Why is it that the people who annoy you so much all seem to be female?
zhena gogolia
@@mistermix.bsky.social: “dozens”???
Matt McIrvin
@opiejeanne: Like I said in the other thread, I think about Gandalf’s other famous bit a lot:
“…Many live who deserve death. Many die who deserve life! Can you give it to them? Then do not be so eager to deal out death in judgment.”
Yeah, maybe they deserve it, but that doesn’t make it a good idea, and sometimes things can work out in our favor in absolutely absurd ways (as happens in this particular case in the story: he’s commending Bilbo’s mercy toward Gollum, a thoroughly evil and contemptible figure).
For Tolkien, this all had to do with his religious faith. I don’t have that, but, well, I do think kindness toward the undeserving un-powerful can sometimes pay back.
@mistermix.bsky.social
@Another Scott:
Call you out for what? I’m missing context here. I mentioned you yesterday, because we disagreed about that tweet but I figured you wouldn’t be offended.
I find you a good example of someone who has a consistent opinion that I disagree with, but you articulate it well. When I see your name come up, I always think to myself, “well, let’s see what oil on troubled waters has to say.” I don’t think that’s an insult, and it’s not meant to be if it comes off as one
ETA: What I appreciate is that you take the time to write out your opinion and use reasonable language, if that wasn’t clear.
zhena gogolia
@Another Scott: You’re a guy, so it will all be fine.
opiejeanne
@Matt McIrvin: Lucky me, opioids make me physically ill after about 30-48 hours so I have always switched to OTC painkillers.
I have a little bottle of Sertraline for anxiety, because adding the fear of the pandemic in 2020 to all of the shit the Abominable Orange Man was doing was just too much, so I saw someone about it.
If Medicare and Social Security both go away we will be in a world of hurt even though we have substantial savings and a good, solid retirement plan… that Republicans absolutely hate: California Public Employees Retirement System, Cal PERS. They’ve been wanting to kill it for years.
Betty Cracker
@@mistermix.bsky.social:
Yep. I think it’s also worth noting that the blog does fundraising that helps Democrats, activist groups, people in need and animals who require homes/assistance. I doubt any of that would be possible without the posts where we squabble about the issues of the day, swap recipes, share life’s adventures, joys and sorrows, etc.
If all posts were required to be actionable, it would be boring as hell.
Jackie
@Miss Bianca: I just saw somewhere that Gretchen Whitmer has no plans to run for Gary Peters seat.
Another Scott
@@mistermix.bsky.social: (I pointed out Jeffries’ live streams of his press conferences in a comment yesterday. I took your mentioning it here as being not what you’re looking for, and thought you might have been annoyed by it.)
Thanks.
Best wishes,
Scott.
John S.
@@mistermix.bsky.social:
And now this thread, like so many others, is about the people on the blog instead of what the thread was actually about.
ETA: Apparently, you are a misogynist. Pass it on!
rikyrah
Lauren Underwood👏🏾
tam1MI
I saw it on Gongwer News Service, which is a Michigan based newsletter that covers statewide politics. According to them, she was pretty emphatic about ruling herself out.
Geminid
@@mistermix.bsky.social: What about the commenter I responded to? I wasn’t trolling you anymore than he was trolling me.
I only got into this post because of what you said to Barbara about trying to be a better community member. I thought it needed pushback and I did it in the course of encouraging her not to be driven away.
Then, another commenter took a shot at my honesty and I fired back at the authority he was trying to back up.
I gotta say, for someone who constantly complains that most Democratic electeds aren’t tough enough, you sure have a thin skin.
And I gotta ask, what community are we talking about here? Asking people to stay on topic is one thing.; that is your right. But if you are saying your posts require adherence to the norms of a particular community you intend to create here with them, I think you should be up front about it, and you should also state your terms and conditions.
In any event, I’ll adhere to the terms and conditions of this blog; that community.
And I have with you. I haven’t treated you any worse than you have treated commenters on plenty of other posts.
banditqueen
Jim McGovern, House rep from MA, has been good at fighting back. He’s on bluesky but no posts yet– @repmcgovern.bsky.social
banditqueen
@rikyrah: Yes, Lauren too!
Matt McIrvin
@@mistermix.bsky.social: It’s not an ideological orthodoxy. The thing about Balloon Juice is that the regulars have particular heroes or people they defend and they are tenaciously loyal to those people. They are usually mainstream-liberal Democrats, right in the middle of the party, but it’s the particular people who are important to defend when they come under fire for some reason. And the flak aimed at those particular folks is often from the left wing, though it can be from centrists too. Al Franken, Joe Biden himself, Merrick Garland. Fetterman got some of it for a while.
Now, I think this kind of loyalty can actually be useful and most of the time, liberal Democrats don’t have enough of it. There are times when this place seems like a refuge because the snarky lefty commenters at, say, LGM or Slacktivist are just shitting all over liberals and it’s nice to come back to the place where they actually like them. But they do take it to extremes here and I’ve had to leave for a while occasionally when there was too much cognitive dissonance to deal with.
@mistermix.bsky.social
@Another Scott:
Ah, dang, that was stuck in my head but I thought I had read it on BlueSky. If I had remembered it was you, I’d have linked to the comment.
@mistermix.bsky.social
@Geminid:
Today I learned that you are a woman, FWIW. Before that I only knew your handle was a meteor shower.
I don’t use a pie filter and there’s plenty of nastiness aimed at me that I ignore. So if you think I’m thin skinned, hoo boy, I can only imagine what someone with a genuinely thin skin writing here. Well, frankly, I can’t, because it wouldn’t work.
We don’t have any community rules, other than very limited ones related to real threats, etc., which hardly ever get invoked. I probably should have said, “don’t be a troll”.
I do realize that some of my responses are harsh, but I would argue that mostly I push back using at least a reasoned argument or statement. I don’t do one-liners like “shut up” “fuck you” etc. that I see from others on here.
Anyway, thanks for your reasonable comment.
@mistermix.bsky.social
@Matt McIrvin: Thanks for the comment, appreciate your perspective.
opiejeanne
@rikyrah: Lauren Underwood and Jasmine Crockett all day.
Princess
Maybe Tina Smith from Mn — just saw her.
Matt McIrvin
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): I think it might work better just because Trump is a more skilled demagogue than Dubya and he actually has a tighter grip on the media now. But maybe he doesn’t have enough crossover appeal.
I don’t know.
Another Scott
This seems pretty good to me (added some whitespace), but it’s a citizen-type thing rather than a party-type thing:
Sounds very sensible to me.
Best wishes,
Scott.
Geminid
@@mistermix.bsky.social: I am not a woman. I am a white male just like you. I just know our type
But speaking as one white male to another, I appreciate your measured response.
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@@mistermix.bsky.social:
It’s why I pointedly began commenting regularly and pushing back on some of the bullshit “orthodoxy” that had crept into the conversation here since around 2016.
And part of what’s led that to occur are the lack of numerous front pagers posting lots of stuff–it allows people pushing the bullshit orthodoxy to keep hammering at it. The fact that every post is practically an “Open Thread” doesn’t help.
There’s a reason the vast majority of people lurk, we discussed that at the Denver Meetup, which consisted primarily of people who primarily lurk.
Betty Cracker
@Geminid: Okay, I’m strangely relieved to read that because I clocked you as male (not in a bad way!) from jump and worried that my infallible gender radar was seriously awry. Whew!
TONYG
@Avalune: Yes. And the fast, unending pace of this shit is also part of the plan. Overwhelm the “enemy” (i.e., everyone who is not part of the cult of Trump) — like the Banzai charges in the Pacific War. Look, I live in New Jersey and I’ve spent all of my life in urban and suburban areas of the northeast. I am not familiar with (for example) the Confederate states where the Real Americans live. Coincidentally, just a few days ago, I was in eastern Tennessee for the wedding of someone in my extended family who had moved there. What I noticed — once I got out of the “city” (so-called) of Knoxville — is real rural poverty — poor, isolated white people. Trump voters, of course. I’m close to 100% sure that many of those people depend upon federal programs (SNAP, Medicaid, etc.) that were sabotaged today by whoever is running the Trump administration. Will those poor whites be smart enough to understand how badly they’ve fucked themselves? I’m not optimistic that they will be that intelligent.
PatD
@Hildebrand: there has been an obvious leadership and communication vacuum. We all know this. So the frustration you see from normie Dems is an appeal for Dems to stop appearing timid, passive, and weak. They want reassurance that there is strong opposition and confrontation with the Trump regime.
Geminid
@Betty Cracker: I never thought it was that hard to identify the men here. I can tell by the way we argue…and argue…and argue….