October 9, 2020

Why won't Biden answer the "court packing" question?

The next time someone asks Biden that question, this is what he should say:

"You're asking this because you're worried about the integrity of our courts, but there is irony stuck between the teeth of your concerns. You weren't worried about protecting the integrity of our courts when you unconstitutionally blocked Merrick Garland for nearly a year; you weren't worried about protecting the integrity of our courts when you removed the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees, and you sure as hell weren't worried about the integrity of our courts when you prevented a rightfully sitting president from appointing 105 justices your constituents were entitled to.

But now... NOW, you want to talk about the court's integrity? The only court you care about is the court of public opinion and how you can obfuscate and manipulate compassionate Americans into voting for an anti-gay, anti-woman agenda they don't agree with.

You don't care about our court's integrity, but I do. I want a court that represents both sides of this country, balances the scales of justice for all, and is blind to politics. I plan to do everything in my power to restore the integrity you ripped from the throat of this court, and if that means supporting reasonable reforms backed by the majority of my fellow citizens — so be it.

I will not "pack the court" for the left, but what I will do is remove the boulder of partisanship you've placed on the shoulders of Lady Justice. I will make sure our courts value democracy over theocracy, and I will institute reforms to insure the Supreme Court will never again have the pockets of its dignity picked by the likes of you."

Answering "yes" would help Biden, not hurt him.

December 4, 2016

Hillary Clinton won the popular vote in 21 states.

Clinton won 15 of those 21 states by double digits.

Clinton also won many of the urban centers in states that Trump won.

Trump won the popular vote in the other states, BUT those other states are rural and have less people in them.

That is why Trump won the election but lost the popular vote. That is also why Hillary's popular vote margin is not by any means solely on California and New York.

December 2, 2016

Abolishing The Electoral College Is Best For America

We need to abolish the Electoral College.

I'm making this original post while knowing full well that many of you will respond with either:

Defeatist attitudes such as:

We would never get it past congress.

The states would never vote for the constitutional amendment.

The Interstate Compact still requires congressional approval and we could never get that.


OR

Contrarian attitudes such as:

We shouldn't get rid of it because it disadvantages farmers.

If we got rid of it, only two states would get campaign stops during the election.

That's not what the founding fathers wanted. We have a republic, not a democracy.


To the defeatists:

Never give up on a fight that is noble and just. People told Susan B. Anthony women would NEVER get the right to vote. Carry Nation was told prohibition would never pass. Martin Luther King was told to go kill himself. Cigarette companies never imagined the people would turn against them. Truman thought we would forever have a monopoly on the bomb. Mildred Loving was told she would never be allowed to legally marry her husband. I was told that gay marriage would never pass.

Anything worth doing is going to be hard. It won't be easy, it will require clawing through shards of glass and sand-coated barbed wire. It will be painful, but that pain is where the growth is. Growing pains ARE painful, but they are necessary.

One person, one vote. That's a human right, just as much as health care, marriage, and the right to eat at any counter you want.



To the contrarians:

First, a popular vote would not turn into a referendum of only California and New York. Why? Because 82% of this country lives in a state other than California and New York. For that matter, more people live in Texas than live in New York. If you want to reach enough people to win the election, you would need to visit not just LA and NYC, but also:

Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Jacksonville, Indianapolis, Columbus, Charlotte, Seattle, Denver, Detroit, DC, Boston, Memphis, Portland, Las Vagas, Oklahoma City, Baltimore, Louisville, Milwaukee, and Albuquerque.

All of those cities are in different states. All of those cities are BIGGER than the second largest city in the state of New York. All of those cities have more than 500,000 citizens. In fact, all of those cities except Albuquerque have more people than the entire state of Wyoming.

You would have to win major population areas, and that would mean traveling to at least 20 states plus the District of Columbia. By comparison, the 2016 presidential election was fought in just 11 states. Only 11 states had a significant say in the 2016 election.

Yes, population centers would still be the target for rallies, but population centers are already the target for rallies... just in 11 states rather than 20.

More people would vote in states like California AND in states like Idaho because they would know that their votes MATTERED, even if their state was going blue or red... all votes would MATTER.

This would actually spread out the competition for votes rather than limit it.

As for the founding fathers.

This quote from Thomas Jefferson is inscribed on his memorial:

“I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and Constitutions. But laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors.”

I have been fighting the Electoral College since the 90's and have posts on DU fighting against it as far back as 2008. This is a passionate issue for me, so thank you guys for taking the time to read this.

November 26, 2016

We need to debunk this "states vote" crap. NO people vote.

Land does not vote, trees do not vote. PEOPLE do.

And the Electoral College was NOT created to give power to the smaller states. The Federalist Papers contradict this. The Electoral College, as explained by Hamilton, was created to thwart the will of the people if a dangerous demagogue appeared to be taking over. It was also seen as a way to appease slave states.

The Electoral College has nothing to do with trying to make people "win the most states" you can win the EC with just 11 states. It has nothing to do with giving smaller states a larger voice, and that is backed up by contemporary records.

The President doesn't command cacti and prairie grass. The President commands people and people are equal no matter where they chose to live.

The claim that the EC is meant to protect us from population centers is even crazier. Guess what decides the outcome in most states? That state's population center. You know why? Because PEOPLE vote. Tumbleweed and outhouses do not vote.

We should be screaming this from the rooftops.

Why is a life worth less in California than it is in Wyoming?

And even if this were what the founding fathers wanted, then the founding fathers were WRONG. It isn't blasphemy to say that they were wrong.

Thomas Jefferson said this:

I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and Constitutions. But laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors.

We should be throwing that quote in the face of every single person who barks about what the founding fathers wanted as if the founding fathers were personally dictating Jesus Christ.

November 6, 2016

Lady Gaga posts "Suffragette" inspired image in support of Hillary Clinton.

Lady Gaga made a tweet today, dressed as a Suffragette, specifically imploring her 64.3 million followers to vote for Hillary Clinton.

The tweet states:

Young people listen up. We need to mobilize now, #VoteHillary and stop this dangerous man from continuing to divide and wreck our democracy.

Lady Gaga also changed her twitter name to #VoteHillary.

[link:https://twitter.com/ladygaga/status/795330385458532352|

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April 21, 2016

As we debate Bernie vs Hillary, we should keep this in mind.

This is a chart put out by crowdpac, an organization that tallies right/left political leanings by tracking vote records and money.

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While there is no denying that Bernie and Elizabeth are more liberal than Hillary, this chart emphasizes just how far Hillary and Bernie are from someone like Ted Cruz.

There is no comparison!

Both are excellent choices based on cold hard data. One choice is better than the other, imho, and that's Bernie. But, acting like Hillary is Ted-Cruz-Lite or a DinoTrump is just not true.

We need to all stop attacking each other and start thinking of how we can help each other reach common goals. We are getting so worked up over this primary that we are forgetting the cold hard data. We are a party of science, information, figures and fact. Let us never forget that.

Is Bernie better? Yes. Is Hillary the devil? No.

We are all democrats. We all care about the same things: income inequality, racial equality, education, climate change, gun control, lgbt rights and healthcare including affordable pharmaceuticals.

Remember. Think with your head. Not with your guts. Bush thought with his "guts" and look where that got us?