A lot of gloom and doom around here tonight.

[elder phd]

156. some observations

first, the gloom and doom around here has not just been tonight.
lordy, folks; i haven't posted in hardly ever cuz the tone here is just ...gross.
a bunch of snippy, nasty, petty, whiners, most of youse (sorry, but true)
and the largest dose has always -- every day i've bothered to glance -- been aimed at bernie.

suggesting we have perhaps a lot of sour grapes hillary peeps here?
(have to say, she has not exactly presented the best example in grace and good will in this regard, but whatev'.)
honestly, nothing better to do? you'd think he stole the nomination from her!
some of you lob accusations and innuendo, but never with any substance.
what is your reasoning for such vitriol? can you articulate that hatred so it makes any sense?

i campaigned for bernie, but voted for hillary. i'll now primary for liz. hey, different strokes. big tent; why i love the dem party.
but what is it with all the poop slinging?
i have yet to come across a single thread here that offers anything resembling substantive debate.
yet lots and lots of nastiness.

the same nastiness i recall from PUMAs in 08. remember those, y'all?

second, not a "real" dem? bernie has for decades been trying to steer the party back to FDR democrats.
which, by the by, brought us all manner of socialist (gasp! clutch yer pearls!) programs, like SSA, WPA, wall street reforms (glass-steagal anyone?), and support for unions, just to name a few. the green new deal is an absolutely exquisite re-rendering of FDR's vision; harper's magazine did a terrific piece on this late last year; check it out, it's inspiring. especially the part about a second bill of rights that includes health and education and a living wage, etc.
any of these ideas sound familiar? these ideas are -- or used to be -- the core of the democratic party!
plus, bernie's always caucused with the dems, just as does senator angus, and bernie has been given committee seats and chairs, inc. budget and the VA.
he's still considered the amendment king in congress for finding ways to get bills passed with bipartisan support.
and he filibustered for over 8hrs in 2010 against keeping the bush tax cuts in place; that speech became a popular book for its lambasting of corporate greed.
all this is just off the top of my head, but i'm sure you can find most of it on google or wikipedia.

but third, how to caution you folks against the gas lighting that's going on? the vitriol here, so thick you can cut it with a knife, is ripe for exploitation by the same infiltrations that infected our precious election process four years ago. don't know where some of the angles presented here come from, but my guess is that neither do most of you who post them. at least, i NEVER see references or citations. we don't have to get all academic about it, but ferchrissake, try to do more than just pull stuff out of various orifices; helps credibility, and might help your own blood pressure.
it's truly important to consider the sources of your comments, and why you'd accept them in the first place.
just as one example, this story about the russians helping bernie's campaign; may i humbly suggest reading some masha gessen to get a sense of just what putin's tactics are about. in a word, chaos. putin could care less who wins here; all he cares about is seeding and breeding distrust and confusion. all he wants is for none of us to trust anyone.
fwiw, i've been a bernie fan since the early 90s; never dreamed he'd run for prez, but glad he did, as he has changed the conversation in the country for the better. and, he has changed the profile of the democratic party for the better. in case you haven't noticed, we're talking about medicare for all and free higher education as a matter of course now, which was scandalous four years ago, and unheard of a decade ago. and now, even polled republicans support it at 47%!
but, and this is key, when i was a youngster, higher education was indeed free in CA, and most state colleges were cheaper than catholic high schools. moreover, healthcare was not motivated by profit, hospitals were not cost centers, and patients were not customers. something happened in the early 80s (gee, wonder what that was, RR?), and both bernie and liz are keenly aware of this shift; they both want to put these rights back into our hands where they belong.
may i suggest some reading: anand giradharadas winners take all, charlotte alter the ones we've been waiting for, these for starters. and then start hanging around more young folks; they are our future and have a keen sense of what's amiss and what we need to be prepared for.
think greta and the march for our lives kids.

fourth, as for the socialism piece, please people; get woke. seriously, the segments of the population that are still scared about this word -- and it is just a damn word!! -- are dying off. that would be my generation, but thankfully i was educated well enough to learn better. bernie's democratic socialism, as noted above, is FDR programs and policies, full stop. and this distinction will be important if/when we all work toward the nominee's election.
and this ties in with the youth; they don't have the same fear experience of socialism that most old fogeys do, and sadly that fear experience was for the most part a trumped up (heh) propaganda program shaped by mccarthyism. i lived on a military base in japan during the 50s, so i know of what i speak.

fifth, just a couple of stray comments here threw me. MI? bernie beat hillary in MI. fwiw.
also, fascism?? bernie?? good lord, y'all, bernie and liz are all about returning the power to US! we, the people!! recovering that power from the greedy corporations. if it's fascism you're worried about, we're pretty much there already under this power-mongering corporatism masquerading as the republican party! in case you haven't noticed. the highly specific and well-articulated programs and policies both bernie and liz offer are precisely the opposite of fascism; the antidote to fascism, if you will. this is precisely why the mainstream establishment folk are so freaked out; they'll lose those big tax breaks and lucrative investment options. sad.

i'll end with this sixth point. some of you have mentioned concern he'll tap tulsi for his VP. really? based on... what exactly? i follow his campaign very closely, and he has given exactly zero indication of anything like that. in fact, i don't think he's even mentioned her at all since she endorsed him four years ago. plus, she's not garnering much support, and he's more likely to select someone with a strong and popular record, and who would help pull in a demographic. just, y'know, logic; this is why i doubt he'll pick liz for that slot.
(*****fun fact: did y'all know he approached liz to run for prez in 16 before he decided to run after she declined.*****)
my bet is he'll choose stacey abrams, which would thrill me to no end, i have to say.
but he'll not likely pass over liz, not at all. i'll also bet he actually establishes an entire agency for her to create and direct, in line with her plan for an anti-corruption program; i'd also love for that to somehow dovetail with something like a truth and reconciliation court along the lines of post-apartheid south africa so we can bring these gawdforsaken blood suckers to account!

so, thank you, ms. c.pixie! for putting this seed of my thoughts out there, and holding to your position with such courage and rigor. would we had more like you here!!
and for those of you pissy folk here gnashing your teeth and rending your garments, remember the PUMAs; not a pretty sight.
better yet, remember your insistence to VOTE BLUE NO MATTER WHO!!
good grief, you should see how you look from here, all wrinkly noses and persimmon lips, like you smelled your own farts.
fact is, if you don't VOTE BLUE NO MATTER WHO, you'll expose just what stinking hypocrites you are.

sorry to be so blunt, but i didn't invest all this time and energy to make friends or win popularity contests.
my beat is speaking truth to ...whomever.
and lord knows i've put this off for many many months.
damn, people -- it's like the capacity for circumspection and reality checks have got lost in the DU shuffle.
i mean, c'mon -- we elected barack hussein obama president, ferchrissake!!
most everyone in this crazy mixed up country voted for that kind of hope and change.
we can do it again.
so, i'll leave you with this:

Link to tweet

and this (click on text box to go to full quote):

Link to tweet

?

check them out if you've the courage to get a clue.
we can all always use a clue.