Beto is “re-starting” his campaign today. Here’s what his rapid response director said to the Houston Chronicle, which made the very reasonable suggestion that Beto drop out of the Presidential race and take on Cornyn:
“Beto, you put Trump on defense on his signature issue. You got under his skin so badly even WH advisors think his El Paso trip was a debacle,” Hitt tweeted. “You’re leading the Democratic presidential field in TX….so run for Senate.”
This is nuts. It’s easy to get under Trump’s skin, Trump’s trip to El Paso was going to be a debacle with or without Beto’s input, and it’s no achievemet for Beto to lead the Presidential field in his home state. Nationwide, he’s neck-and-neck with also-rans Mayor Pete and Corey Booker, sometimes flitting around in Yang and Klobuchar territory, depending on the poll. Yet, somehow, his campaign has convinced itself that the aftermath of the shooting in El Paso is going to be a pivot point for his Presidential campaign.
Granted, Beto was angry, channeled his anger well, and was damned impressive in his interviews and public appearances after the shooting. Still, I don’t see a way for him to get into the first tier of candidates. If the Democratic Presidential nominee for 2020 wins, he or she will get nothing done if Moscow Mitch still runs Congress. Beto is our best chance to win in Texas, but he’s got that Presidential Fever and apparently there ain’t no cure.
RepubAnon
I’d guess he’s looking for a Vice President nomination. If he can deliver Texas to the Democratic presidential ticket..,
evodevo
@RepubAnon: If true, that’s awful….a Veep is not necessarily a springboard to Prez later on…how many have made it in the last 30 years? But as a Dem Senator, he would be able to do much more to help the Dem cause….ego is a dangerous thing…RUN FOR SENATE, BETO!!!
Baud
In related news, Baud! 2020! is taking a mulligan.
HinTN
I’m actually very pleased that the Latinx woman has declared for the run against Cornyn. If Beto wants to stay in the prez sweepstakes, that’s his choice.
germy
Time for some kitty wigs.
kittywigs.com/
Times like these, they’re just what our feline friends need.
Yarrow
It’s always interesting to me how people are upset that Beto doesn’t want to run for Senate again, a race he lost two years ago, but don’t seem to be upset with Julian Castro who is also from Texas, running for president,and polling pretty low in that race choosing not to run for Senate.
I’m 50-50 on Beto running for Senate again. It’s a different race running against Cornyn who is very well funded and isn’t everybody-hates-Ted-Cruz. But it’s a presidential year and turnout will probably be higher, and that could work in his favor. I think Beto is better suited to the Senate at this point in his career than the presidency but I don’t know if running again for the same position he lost two years ago is going for work for him.
Ramalama
As much as that many people running for the Democratic nomination – really terrible for network debates – is confusing, doesn’t it seem kinda good to have multiple people running and getting under Trump’s skin? Isn’t Trump’s team now worried about a host of candidates and no longer just Joe B?
rikyrah
Disapproval of Trump higher than approval in ten states Trump won
Rachel Maddow shares the results of a Civiqs poll of Donald Trump’s job approval that found in ten states Donald Trump won in 2016, his disapproval number is higher than his approval number.
Ben Cisco
Does he know that there are 49 other states? Asking for a country.
david
@HinTN: This.
Somehow, Beto is supposed to run against and defeat a sitting Senator who’s far, FAR more popular in Texas than Ted Cruz,
to whom he’d already lost a Senate race less than a year ago.
Seems like this concern trolling over Beto is more about eliminating voices and choices in the Democrat presidential race than
anything else. We went through this “clear the decks” thing in 2016. It didn’t go well.
rikyrah
These are two good segments on MoscowMitch:
Mitch McConnell at nexus of increased Russian leverage on U.S.
Rachel Maddow shares details from a recent Pentagon white paper about how Russia secures its influence over other countries’ politics and notes that Mitch McConnell’s role in facilitating an investment of hundreds of millions of dollars in his home state of Kentucky, among other things, aligns with Russia’s strategy.
Risky Russian deal a tough choice for Kentucky in economic need
Tom Hamburger, political investigations reporter for the Washington Post, talks with Rachel Maddow about Mitch McConnell’s outrage at the “Moscow Mitch” nickname leveled at him in part because of a Russian business deal in Kentucky that coincided with McConnell’s role in the lifting of particular Russian sanctions, and the mixed emotions about the deal in Kentucky.
Rdb
As a Texan I’m infuriated with Beto’s decision making here, but I’m sorry, Mayor Pete is an also ran? He’s on a trajectory to win Iowa and raised more money than everyone else last quarter. His campaign has had the kind of momentum since March that Beto and Booker can only dream about.
hells littlest angel
It’s August, 2019. There’s plenty of time to drop out. Would Beto make a good VP candidate? Should he run for the Senate? Who knows.
MattF
Well, ambition is part of the deal with presidential candidates and part of the character question. If Beto is blinded by his ambition, that’s something we voters should know.
Paul W.
@evodevo: As others have said, my fellow Texans already have several very strong female candidates (I donated to MJ Hegar) going for Senate. I like Beto on adding moral clarity in an outspoken way so I’m fine with him staying in the Presidential race for the very reason that I want him as a VP. Having him on the ticket boosts whoever the Senate candidate is, could flip the state for Prez, etc. I see it as a win win win.
Patricia Kayden
@rikyrah: And the good news is that Trump has a lot of time to increase that number. He will always be his own worst enemy since has no self control
Jeffro
Let’s just move on and find ourselves another candidate here (Castro included). If it’s the WH or nothing, then Beto can try out ‘nothing’ and see how that works for him.
Frankly, I don’t even want him up there as VP. We’d be subjected to his dental visit videos every six months. I have a feeling President Warren or President Harris will have enough on their hands without the distractions.
RoonieRoo
As a Texan, there is no way Beto can beat Cornyn. If Beto did try a Senate run again, especially after just losing to Cruz, his political career would be dead. I don’t particularly want to see him continue his presidential campaign and I don’t want him to disappear. I want him active. But he’s really in a bad spot this year.
As much as I want Cornyn out, and I think we are painfully close to a D senator, I don’t think Cornyn will lose.
Citizen Alan
@Patricia Kayden:
Not while I’m still alive.
Citizen Alan
More seriously, I think Beto has done the math and concluded that he cannot beat Cornyn but that he has a good shot at getting the Veep nomination. And I think he’d be a good choice that can make Texas competitive at the Presidential level.
rikyrah
???
BREAKING: The Department of Labor just proposed a rule that aims to let government contractors fire workers who are LGBTQ, or who are pregnant and unmarried, based on the employers’ religious views.
This is taxpayer-funded discrimination in the name of religion. Period.
— ACLU (@ACLU) August 14, 2019
schrodingers_cat
FWIW I think Beto would be a better president than the Socialist Jesus from Vt if elected.
rikyrah
ICE guard weaponized his truck and drove into peaceful JEWISH protestors blocking the Wyatt Detention Center in Rhode Island.
THIS IS NOT OK!
Retweet pic.twitter.com/8K4l9B99PB
— StanceGrounded (@_SJPeace_) August 15, 2019
rikyrah
???
I honestly want to know what Liz Warren’s workout routine is.
Between this and that video of her running for the train at Penn Station I’m seriously impressed with how in shape she is at 70. pic.twitter.com/F1YBL1opRZ
— chris evans (@notcapnamerica) August 15, 2019
matt
I don’t think Beto is a particularly good candidate for Texas Senate at this point.
Yarrow
@HinTN:
Which one? Two have declared.
Ben Cisco
@hells littlest angel:
I’ll do you one better: What would comprise a good VP candidate? The only two times in recent memory that the choice garnered attention was McCain’s
choicefoist of Snowbilly Snooki and Gore’s Lieberman fiasco. Soiis the point simply NOT to be a dumbass in choosing?Ben Cisco
@schrodingers_cat: An ACTUAL St. Bernard would be a better choice.
gene108
There are only two cures for Presidential Fever. The first and most likely cure for most with the condition is death. The second, less likely, cure is becoming President.
chris
@rikyrah: Interesting how little coverage NeverAgain has been getting. Can’t think why…
PS Could you, please, link the tweets?
Keith P.
More cowbell?
rikyrah
?????
Uh, no words. “Mom used job in U.S. Attorney’s office to help expose ‘snitches’ against her son: prosecutors” t.co/P1PuqE8MPr
— rolandsmartin (@rolandsmartin) August 15, 2019
rikyrah
Kashmir is paralyzed as the government continues a total communications blackout. “I don’t know when to sleep, when to wake up, what to do with my life,” said a resident. “There is no life without internet, even in Kashmir.” with @Karan_Singhs @sameeryasir
t.co/qKLWJHpzBL
— Vindu Goel (@vindugoel) August 15, 2019
Amir Khalid
@Ben Cisco:
Yes, the Saint Bernard wouldn’t be as full of himself as Saint Wilmer, and would also be more appealing in person.
catclub
@rikyrah: I think this IS pretty indicative. I looked at how Obama was in states he lost in 2012. I thought there might be some where his approval was positive, but he lost anyway. NOPE. What this means to me is that if Trump’s approval in a state is negative, he is very likely to lose that state. I checked TX, NC GA and AZ, which I thought might have had positive approval of Obama in 2012. They didn’t.
Betty Cracker
I happen to have Beto right here…
I don’t think he’ll win, but he’s not doing Democrats a disservice by staying in the presidential race right now, IMO.
rikyrah
@chris:
Here is the tweet:
twitter.com/_SJPeace_/status/1161876225142530048
rikyrah
???
Wolf Blitzer: “You called him a rape apologist. Does he need to resign?”@KamalaHarris : “Which he?”
I’M SCREAMING!!!! ???
pic.twitter.com/3EfahptG7Z
— chris evans (@notcapnamerica) August 14, 2019
A Ghost To Most
It sounds like many Texans believe Beto can’t beat Cornyn.
Hickenlooper, OTOH, could kick Gardner’s ass. Did he wait too long to shift? He has some stiff D primary opponents.
chris
@rikyrah: Thanks, google isn’t very good at finding them. Easier just to embed, no?
Yarrow
@rikyrah:
I know this is part of a governmental communications blackout in Kashmir but it’s indicative of how completely dependent the world is on the internet. Yes, there is life without internet. It’s just that we’ve structured our lives in such a way that we’re lost without it. What would we do if the government or enemy states decided to shut off our power and/or communications?
chris
Earning that cash!
waratah
Beto is running for President, not Vice President or cabinet, like all the other candidates.
He will not run for Senate when women have stepped up to run, no matter what the polling is at any time.
I learned during the Senate race not to rule him out.
HinTN
@Yarrow: Not being from Texas but being on Dem mailing lists, I recently received an email from the most recently declared Latinx candidate. For the life of me I could not tell you her name. Unseating Cornyn’s gonna be a heavy lift so I’m glad to see folks ready to give it a go.
Kay
@rikyrah:
The far Right religious stuff is happening all over Trump World, but, you know, Trump’s not from Arkansas or Alabama – he’s a savvy sophisticate who doesn’t really mean it, so we’re all going to pretend it isn’t happening.
I maintain geography was crucial in Trump’s rise. If he were a sleazy real estate and con man who operated out of some unfashionable rural area or southern state media would never have gone along with his bullshit.
He’s a bigot and a bully. It doesn’t matter a bit where he’s from. They’re the same all over.
Betty Cracker
@Yarrow: I read a book called “Station Eleven” several years ago. It’s about a post-internet society that arises in North America in the wake of a flu pandemic that wipes out upwards of 90% of the population. In the book, the people who remember the internet have such a hard time letting go…
waratah
@A Ghost To Most: some Republican club has pushed this memo of Beto to run for Senate.
There was a recent poll from the University of Texas in Tyler that statewide including Republicans and Independents Beto would win by eleven points over Trump.
Yarrow
@HinTN: Most recent is Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez. Previously Sema Hernandez declared but she’s the furthest left of the candidates and probably more of a long shot.
A Ghost To Most
Rawstory
Christ, what an asshole.
Patricia Kayden
@Citizen Alan: Well, as much as we hate him, we can’t do him much harm. Trump, on the other hand, enthusiastically sabotages himself with his stupid tweets and destructive policies. Our economy is on the verge of a downturn thanks to his tariffs and erratic trade policies.
Kay
@rikyrah:
For some strange reason Betsy DeVos’ religious extremism and blatant bigotry is less offensive than some random southern county commissioners, because she’s 1. from the the north and 2. extremely wealthy.
It’s the same. It’s the Dutch version of the exact same ideology. They’re just snobs in addition to being ignorant bigots.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Betty Cracker: The internet will be 50 next month.
Yarrow
@Betty Cracker: Kind of makes you wonder what it’s doing to our brains. Are we addicted? Can we quit it anytime? Hmmm…
Betty Cracker
@Kay: Someone should really write a book or a thesis on that phenomenon. They could call it, “It Came from a Borough.” I already see attempts (mostly joking at this point) to blame Trump on Florida. Nope, he’s all yours, Empire Staters, and your credulous media elites waved the mofo through.
chris
@A Ghost To Most: Lots of those around.
Christian reality stars facing 30 years in prison for fraud.
rikyrah
@Kay:
I believe it’s Pence.
I still go back to the interview that Kasich gave when he spoke about what was offered for him to take the Vice-Presidency. He could do all the work of President, and Dolt45 would be the ‘Chairman of the Board’.
Why do we think that it’s any different for Pence?
ALLL of this religious right bullshyt is PENCE…and, Dolt45 goes along with it because without the phony azz Christians, he’d have no phucking base.
schrodingers_cat
God help me, I am having a nasty argument on Whatsapp with my beloved aunt, who is defending BJP’s stance on Kashmir.
chris
@Kay:
I lived for a while among the Dutch Christian Reform people in SW Ontario. Their motto: If you ain’t Dutch you ain’t much. Just… nasty people.
Jeffro
@Betty Cracker: That was a good one…managed to make it into my ‘re-read’ pile, which isn’t easy these days as the ‘to read’ pile is already huge.
If you like post-apocalyptic stuff, “The Dog Stars” by Peter Heller was amazing.
rikyrah
@A Ghost To Most:
Woman just went to do her damn job…
and, RACISM…
cain
@Keith P.:
I specifically searched for “cowbell” when I saw this post. :-) Awesome :D
Betty Cracker
@Jeffro: Thanks for the rec! I usually don’t do post-apocalyptic stuff, but one thing I liked about “Station Eleven” was that it didn’t go into a lot of detail about what happened or the mechanics of the world mostly shutting down; it focused on individual people’s post-apocalyptic lives. It imagined how folks lived and what they did for entertainment.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@cain: So glad that SNL gave Christopher Walken so many chances to show us his comedy chops, because Hollywood in general hasn’t. I believe he also did at least one musical number on SNL
Miss Bianca
@schrodingers_cat: Why would anyone be supporting it? Liked your piece on Kashmir the other day, btw, I just read it too late in the day to comment in real time.
jk
Biden’s allies have hit upon a new idea
Biden Allies Float Scaling Back Events
h/t politicalwire.com/2019/08/15/biden-allies-float-scaling-back-events
This should work out just fine.
Ohio Mom
@Betty Cracker: I don’t think the NY media waved Trump through as much as they considered him beneath their attention. He was a gnat to them. That he made it to the presidency is just proof to them that the voters west of the Hudson are the complete rubes they have long suspected they are.
@hells littlest angel: I agree. Beto can hang around a bit longer. I liked the contrast between the attention he paid to El Paso in the wake of the shooting vs. Trump’s efforts.
Now, the ones polling at one and two percent, including the ones I can’t remember the names of and the two cult members (Marianne and Tulsi), they can bow out NOW.
Fair Economist
He is now tied for fifth, and is in second among the “center left” candidates , which means he would become top tier if something happened to Biden. It would look ugly for him to drop into the Senate race now that other candidates like Heger have started serious runs with him out. It’s probably better for him – and for us – for him to continue with a longshot for Pres, a reasonable shot for Veep, step on no toes, campaign enthusiastically in Texas for whoever gets the Senate and Prez nominations, and run for Governor or Lt Governor in 2022.
Immanentize
@Ceci n est pas mon nym:
I remember seeing Walken on Late Night (w/Leno?) And he said, “The great thing about being Christopher Walken is when the studios need a Christopher Walken character they have to call me.”
schrodingers_cat
@Miss Bianca: Well not supporting it but saying that we need to give the government time to see if the reorganization works.
cain
@schrodingers_cat:
I stayed away from that. My beloved aunt is also was defending it. I think half my family defends it while the other doesn’t quite care.
I don’t know what’s store for the Kashmiris going forward, but moves such as this only consolidates BJP’s hold on govt which is very unfortunate as power corrupts absolutely when given free reign as it has.
gene108
@Yarrow:
Internet addiction is a thing
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_addiction_disorder
Miss Bianca
@schrodingers_cat: I’m still unclear on the concept of why anyone thinks Kashmir needed to be “reorganized” in the first place. And that’s *after* reading your post! : (
schrodingers_cat
@cain: They have always wanted to destroy Nehru’s legacy, they are going to destroy modern India with it. I feel compelled to speak up and reach those who haven’t drunk the RSS Koolaid completely.
schrodingers_cat
@Miss Bianca: The BJP party line is for their “development”. In reality it is to weaken Kashmir’s clout politically and isolate the valley’s Muslims.
gene108
@cain:
Because of the media blackout, it’s really hard to figure what’s happening.
I don’t have a problem, with rescinding or amending Article 370, but I don’t see the point of downgrading J&K to territory status.
Read on Wednesday easing of restrictions should start today.
Waiting to see, if that happens
cain
@Ceci n est pas mon nym:
That skit made him pretty famous. Although maybe a bit tedious over time. Not sure if he feels that way. But I’ve always thought he was a brilliant actor playing great villains at times. That he can do comedy is a big bonus.
Fair Economist
@schrodingers_cat: I’m sure it’s hard to argue with family members but what the BJP is doing is very wrong. I just read they have completely shut down the internet in Kashmir. They are running it like a concentration camp.
I have Trumpster family but they have the sense to keep their mouths shut around me because they know I will let them have it with both barrels. My stepfather recently said “illegal immigrants have no rights” and I immediately replied “the Declaration of Independence says ALL men are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights.” He got up and went to his room and we had no further political discussions for that visit.
Reading BJ keeps me well prepared for dealing with the their nonsense.
Miss Bianca
@schrodingers_cat: Got it. Damn, the neo-fascist thugs are truly everywhere.
schrodingers_cat
@gene108: Its being done without any input from Kashmir’s citizens.
rikyrah
@Ceci n est pas mon nym:
I remember the music video where it was Walken dancing…
and that South Park/Lady Gaga mashup video
cain
@schrodingers_cat:
And you should. My family is pretty anti-RSS except for one uncle who is left wing here, and right wing there. :) Although, nobody is as liberal as I am.
I generally have liked the BJP prior to this, and absolutely hated Congress I who I felt screwed up everything since the beginning. I wish we do a reset.
@gene108 – I don’t either in particular, probably because I don’t know enough. (low information) I get most of the stuff from my uncle (not the right wing one) who is very similar to me in terms of our activism. What he’s told me is that lot of people hate working with the Kashmiris because apparently they take a lot of advantage of their special status and are considered very lazy and unreliable. My uncle works in trading of goods so I suppose he might have a clue. He’s not a muslim hater (in general none of my immediate family are)
schrodingers_cat
I am from Maharashtra, the birthplace of both the Sangh and Godse. I knew dedicated Sangh members while growing up. Their brainwashing didn’t quite work on me.
I always found their philosophy of the Hindu Rashtra lacking in logic and evidence.
I know what they stand for. Modi is pretty typical of the type.
Josie
@Fair Economist:
This is exactly right. As a Texan, I think Beto’s choices are limited right now, and he is doing the best he can with what he has been dealt.
Ben Cisco
@Fair Economist: The way you laid this out makes sense. I think I’m just jittery because we’re going to need the Senate too.
trnc
@Ben Cisco: His position in tx is the reason they are saying he should run for senate. In the context of this suggestion, only tx matters.
schrodingers_cat
@cain: BJP has always been this rotten, they are the political arm of the RSS. There is no daylight between the BJP and RSS. BJP may be showing its fangs now but they have always been present.
Replace Kashmiris with another minority group and see how racist it sounds.
It was BJP/Jan Sangh’s action that led to the collapse of the two non-Congress coalition governments in 1980 and then again in the late 80s when V.P.Singh was the Prime Minister.
Another Scott
A couple or three things:
1) It’s still very early. He doesn’t need to decide to keep going or drop out or run for something else yet.
2) He raised and spent $80M on his Senate race and lost. Could he do it again? Maybe/probably. Would he win? Maybe – it depends on the wave that develops. But AFAICS, he hasn’t move into a lead over Cornyn in any potential polling matchup.
3) There are 8 Democratic candidates for Senate listed on Wikipedia, including MJ Hegar (who won a congressional nomination in 2018). It’s not clear that the seat is doomed to be Cornyn’s if Beto doesn’t run. Hegar has the potential to be a compelling candidate.
Just about any Democrat getting national exposure for beating up on Donnie, or proposing good policies, etc., is a good thing. There’s no need to panic about what Beto does or doesn’t do at the moment.
What do I think will happen? I don’t expect Beto do win any states, and I expect him to suspend his campaign after Super Tuesday at the latest.
He might be a dark-horse VP (ala Biden who also did poorly in the race in 2008) – maybe that’s what he’s after. Unless Hegar drops out or there’s some other large unexpected development, I don’t expect him to run for Senate in Texas, but that’s just an uninformed guess.
We’ll see.
Cheers,
Scott.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@schrodingers_cat: Is there a constitutional argument going on, or is it pretty much a given that the federal government has the power to redefine states this way?
schrodingers_cat
@Ceci n est pas mon nym: This is pretty unprecedented to redefine the status of the state without any input from its citizenry
2. Its also the first case of making a state a union territory.
Imagine if Rs could do that to Massachusetts, make it like Washington DC.
Yarrow
@Ceci n est pas mon nym: @rikyrah: Love Christopher Walken in the Fatboy Slim video for Weapon of Choice.
schrodingers_cat
@Ceci n est pas mon nym: There is no argument because most of the Indian opposition parties are too afraid to take on the BJP. The only parties opposing this are the Communists.
Yarrow
@schrodingers_cat:
That’s what I was alluding to when I said in my comment to your post yesterday that I bet Trump’s minions are taking notes. If they could make all blue states lesser states or not-states they’d do it in a heartbeat.
catclub
@Fair Economist:
well done
schrodingers_cat
@Yarrow: I find it sad to see people who should know better giving Modi the benefit of the doubt on this one.
Yarrow
@schrodingers_cat: There certainly seems to be a tendency to give political leaders the benefit of the doubt when certain actions of the leaders align with a person’s or group’s interests.
I’m sorry about your aunt. I was in a somewhat similar situation with a beloved uncle last week. It’s super frustrating. Fortunately this time he was outnumbered by the rest of the people in the group so that was a pleasant change for me.
brantl
@Citizen Alan: Seconded, there’s a line.
gene108
@schrodingers_cat:
I think a lot of Indians resent Article 370.
I think rescinding it appeals to people for a variety of reasons. I think this appeal of the decision to rescind has folks not sweating the details of what else is going on.
As far as opposition goes, Congress needs to push Sonia out and unify behind a better leader. When PM Singh ran the government, Sonia ran the Party, which created two power centers within Congress, and hurt them. They have never recovered.
cain
@schrodingers_cat:
Good point. Sometimes you have blinders on when it is your own people. The rhetoric is that now the people of Kashmir can enjoy all the same privileges as the rest of India. Heh.
cain
@gene108:
Congress is always obsessed with having some kind of generational link to 1947 and the original freedom fighters. The young kids don’t care. It might have worked great in the 80s and 90s, but the institutional memory is fading and these kids want results not platitudes. Get some dynamic new leaders. Otherwise we’re kind of doomed to have BJP running things.
NCSteve
It is not clear to me why Beto is a better candidate than MJ Hegler nor what benefit we derive from pitting him against the person who is now actually committed to the Senate race. And, frankly, it’s kinda sexist to think he should just ride in and sweep her aside.
mrmoshpotato
@A Ghost To Most: Never seen that one before. “Sorry. My dog is a racist.” I know it’s possible to raise dogs not to like certain groups of people. Never seen a human use that as an excuse.
mrmoshpotato
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
We shall throw it a party. What does one get the Internet?
J R in WV
@schrodingers_cat:
So, is there a clause in the Indian constitution that allows a PM to change the constitution on the fly, whthout input from the legislatlure, without an election, just on their own>?
Seems like a huge blind spot, someone could just stop having elections any more…
Or is it that BJP has captured the judiciary so that there is no one to say, “This is Illegal, you can’t do this!” I can see how a bigot would want to do this, plain old hate leads them to the decision.
But what has me confused the most — how can one person just do this?
TenguPhule
@mrmoshpotato:
More Tubes.
Domestic short hair tabby
@Yarrow: probably late to the party, but, yeah, why not Castro for Senate?
mrmoshpotato
@TenguPhule: I was thinking about getting it a big truck. It doesn’t have a big truck. And we all know that it’s not a big truck.
mrmoshpotato
@Domestic short hair tabby:
Communist and dead since November 2016.
A Ghost To Most
@TenguPhule:
You could empty the bit bucket. It must be pretty full by now.
schrodingers_cat
@J R in WV: It passed through both Loksabha and Rajyasabha (Congress and Senate equivalents). The legislature of Kashmir has been disbanded and state is under President’s rule, so this issue was not discussed at the state level.
@cain: Kashmir fares better on most development indicators than many states in the Hindi heartland and also Gujarat.
@gene108: There are many such articles governing the northern and eastern states, but people resent 370 because Kashmir is majority Muslim. There are several such articles giving states autonomy. Most Germans approved of the annexation of Austria, that didn’t make it right. I hold no brief for Congress they are beyond pathetic. But BJP is endangering India with its majoritarian agenda and they are in charge now and have been for the last 5 years. And they are taking India to a very dark place.
Also if article 370 was truly bad for Kashmir than Modi and Shah should have convinced the Kashmiri people of it, not laid a siege and conducted this maneuver like a military occupation
A Ghost To Most
@rikyrah: Gee, I wonder who taught the dog to be racist?
Eunicecycle
@mrmoshpotato: Yeah, couldn’t he just lock up the dog when the housekeeper comes? If he insists on keeping his racist dog? What about parishioners who are black? Obviously he needs to rethink this.
mrmoshpotato
@Eunicecycle: Yeah. Dogs have not mastered doorknobs – yet.
Irony Abounds
@RoonieRoo: Absolutely. If Beto couldn’t beat Cruz he can’t beat Cornyn. Being a two time loser in Senate races would effectively kill his political career (not that his presidential run is helping him that much). A woman almost certainly would be a better foe for Cornyn.
Omnes Omnibus
@Yarrow: There are enough real things to worry about with the Trump administration without adopting worries from another country. I don’t know anything close to enough about Indian constitutional law to even guess whether what is happening there is legal, but I can say that it is impossible in the US.
Omnes Omnibus
@schrodingers_cat: A little pedantry. Congress is the institution made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives. It can be a little weird because members of the House can be referred to or called Congressman/women/person. It is also correct and probably more accurate to refer them as Representative.
schrodingers_cat
@Omnes Omnibus: Thanks that’s what I meant. I should have said like the House and the Senate.
Yarrow
@Omnes Omnibus: Who is worrying about this issue? I don’t think it’s far fetched to think that Trump’s people are looking at all ways of getting what they want, undermining all sorts of norms and gutting institutions. If there’s a loophole that will benefit them they’ll exploit it. If there’s an idea they like from another authoritarian leader they’ll see if they can adopt it.
schrodingers_cat
@schrodingers_cat: *then not than.
Omnes Omnibus
@Yarrow: Yes, and, if they could get their hands on a Q-36 Imodium Space Modulator, they would use it in a heartbeat.
Salty Sam
@Betty Cracker: +1 for “The Dog Stars”. And it is similar to what you describe for Station Eleven, it doesn’t bother with detail as to how it all came apart, just deals with how some are coping.
And at it’s heart, it’s a love story.
GuyInKY
I don’t see a realistic path for Beto to win the Senate race considering Cornyn is much more popular than Cruz. However, I think he serves a critical role in the presidential race as an alternative to Biden as somebody who has hedged on health care. I think Josh Marshall’s reading of the landscape on health care is exactly right:
talkingpointsmemo.com/prime-beta/the-electoral-buzzsaw-of-medicare-for-all
This isn’t just a defensive posture; I think there are good policy reasons for a “build on Obamacare” message instead of Medicare for All. I haven’t seen enough good faith debate over what to do about the tens of thousands of voters currently employed in the insurance industry who would basically need to be willing to gamble on their own livelihoods by supporting single payer.
The big reason why I’m taking seriously the Biden/Beto/Klobucher lane is that recovering the white rural Fox News vote is a lost cause. Democrats got trounced in rural areas in 2018.
The real realignment that took place was flipping the suburbs. As an admirer of Lisa McGirr’s book Suburban Warriors (2001), I think the story of 2018 was the miraculous sweep of Orange County, as well as the highly-educated suburbs of Atlanta, Kansas City, Dallas, Phoenix, etc.
If the Democrats embrace a suburban strategy, our best bet is a policy package that’s panders to both the virtues (such as anti-racism) and vices (such as selfishness) of the moderately affluent. Something like this:
-embrace gun control
-fight climate change
-push to increase immigration
-oppose fascism
-close the gender pay gap
-appoint pro-choice judges
-maintain status quo on taxes (with the exception of a millionaire’s tax)
-maintain status quo on health care (i.e., defend and shore up Obamacare)
-avoid reparations rabbit hole at all costs
-address student loans and cost of college
The plus side of the suburban strategy is that you don’t have to fear pushing leftward on guns, immigration, choice, or climate change. The downside is that suburban voters generally don’t want to pay taxes to expand the welfare state. They see their comfortable benefits packages as something they earned through merit and don’t want to just give up.
This is why I think all the Democrats except Biden have seriously miscalculated. But I also think Biden is coming across as much older than before and even a little senile. The rest of the top tier (Warren, Harris, Sanders, Booker) have taken the plunge on Medicare for All and/or reparations. I don’t know if they can carry the suburbs.
Warren is the best at explaining and advocating for her agenda, so I’m not writing her off. But Sanders, Harris, and Booker will have trouble walking back some of their comments. Beto did do well in response to the El Paso shooting and was genuinely impressive in 2018, including the road trip with Will Hurd that pissed off some Democrats. Klobuchar has sponsored more bills that were actually signed into law than any other candidate. Buttigieg, well, he has this issue to contend with:
mobile.twitter.com/jordanuhl/status/1137101060496068609
To me, that leaves Warren, Beto, Klobuchar as the best three options if Biden is indeed losing his marbles. I want all three to stick around.
Yarrow
@Omnes Omnibus: Okay.
Ramalama
@Betty Cracker: Station 11 was a great book.