Winfrey 2020? Can we stop this, please?
Apparently Oprah Winfrey made a nice speech at some award show last night, and there is lots of talk (and CNN headlines) about her possibly running for president in 2020.
Just what the Democrats need – a billionaire who doesn’t seem to have any political positions (yet). Sigh.
Observing members:
0
Composing members:
0
130 Answers
This has been floated for a while. And she does have political positions, most of them counter to the GOP.
And, she did not have a daddy giver her a million dollars, nor has she ever declared bankruptcy, so she is a better class of billionaire.
Sentors look under your chairs.
Yet another candidate on the left that will never get my vote.
Enough with the actors and TV personalities already. They’re just not qualified.
She would be better than Trump, how much better is anyones guess,but still better.
Oprah has PLENTY of political positions. I seriously doubt that Trump will last long enough
to run in 2020, but if he did, Oprah’s candidacy would be an absolute nightmare for Trump. The idea of a GENUINE billionaire with a conscience and functioning intellect to boot- that would be a race worth seeing.
@zenvelo: “And she does have political positions”
@stanleybmanly: “Oprah has PLENTY of political positions”
Could someone link me to her positions on the basics?
- medicare for all
– U.S. imperialism
– racial justice (including drug laws, private prisons, etc)
– climate change
– minimum wage
etc?
@SQUEEKY2: “She would be better than Trump”
That’s a very low bar. And the Dems already tried that with HRC.
Even if she was the best, most qualified candidate (which I personally don’t believe), a black woman would be too far over the line for most of the (even progressive) voting base.
@thisismyusername A quick search brings up multiple sites to choose from for your answers.
On the GOP front Condoleezza Rice would be a contender. I don’t see being black or female as any issue in the next election. I see a general lack of leadership and qualifications as the issue that needs to be addressed if any candidate wishes to make a presidential run.
Let’s be honest I can’t see her being any worse than the current president. Unless you’re a racist misogynist.
At least she’s not a buffoon and wouldn’t make thousands upon thousands of ridiculous Twitter statements. She has a good head for business and I have never heard that she is a liar. Something our current president can’t say.
@ARE_you_kidding_me Too bad that issue seems to have been no obstacle (and may have been an advantage) for Drumpf.
@chyna @Lightlyseared If only we could raise the bar after our experience with Drumpf, rather than lower it to his level.
I loathe Oprah Winfrey, but I would vote for her over Trump.
Sorry, but “not Trump” isn’t quite enough to get my vote. I’m gonna need more reason than that to support someone for president.
How about someone who is actually honest, and truly cares for the working class?^
And Winfrey has that over Trump a thousand times.
But in my opinion I don’t think the states would ever elect a black woman ,they hated Obama could you think a black woman?
@SQUEEKY2 – It wasn’t Obama they hated, he was actually a very popular president, it was his policies they hated. The Dems have been obsessed with race, gender, nationality, and everything except policy for quite some time now. They think if they can call the other guy enough names the electorate will ignore their crappy policies. Unfortunately I think Oprah will have similar policies and similar problems with the electorate. It’s not her race or gender that matters.
Sure, that is why they claimed he was born in kenya, and emphasised his middle name hussein, because they hated his policies.
“Don’t reNIG in 2012” – bumper sticker I saw on the truck of a guy who “didn’t hate Obama because of his race”.
@SQUEEKY2
Is she really honest? Does she really care about the working class? I have a hard time reconciling that claim with someone who promotes frauds and snake oil salesmen. Or with someone who gives new cars to her audience but sticks them with the tax bill (which few could pay) for those cars. And I can’t imagine that someone who’s pulling in a $70,000,000/year salary can really relate all that much to the working class, no matter what their upbringing might be.
Regardless, I fail to see how any of that is necessarily a qualifier for the office.
I heard the GOP is scaring people that Oprah would make everyone read books.
I really hate that my copy of One Hundred Years of Solitude has an Oprah’s Book Club sticker on it.
If Trump ends up making it to 2020, a candidate like Oprah is going to go down in flames against Trump. It’s been proven again and again that middle of the road candidates usually lose against right wing politicians. Oprah is just as centrist as Hillary Clinton is, which is the main reason why Clinton lost.
Can we please stop with the false narrative that Hillary Clinton didn’t appeal to voters? Judging by the popular vote margin clearly she did.
I don’t think we have to get our knickers in a twist about rumors about nominees for 2020 now. There’s going to be so much happening between now and then. I prefer to save my umbrage for when I really need it.
At least she won’t claim her nuclear button is bigger. ;>)
@Darth_Algar
Just because she won the popular doesn’t mean she’s a popular politician. She ran against a guy who said he grabs women by the pussy. Not a particularly high bar. In fact, Clinton has a considerably low favorability rating.
Yes, it can be stopped. IF she runs we can choose to not vote for her. Simple as that…
@rockfan
She won the popular vote by pretty much the largest margin in history. That seems pretty popular to me, despite what her detractors want to think.
@janbb: “I don’t think we have to get our knickers in a twist about rumors about nominees for 2020 now. There’s going to be so much happening between now and then. I prefer to save my umbrage for when I really need it.”
I think the general concern from the left is that there was zero learned from the HRC debacle. There is still many residual language being used about “qualified” and being “better than Trump” and a weaponization of a bourgeois type of identity politics. Hell, even Biden is getting floated. It doesn’t bode well that there is some centrist/corporate excitement about the mere possibility of a repeat, rather than the demand for a necessary change. Unfortunately, 2020 is not very far away. And we need to make sure midterms and down-ballot elections don’t end up being a sh*t-show of the same centrists that led to Trump and a Republican majority.
@zenvelo and @stanleybmanly – I’m seriously interested in all of these “political positions”. Please provide links. Thanks.
@Darth_Algar: “She won the popular vote by pretty much the largest margin in history. That seems pretty popular to me, despite what her detractors want to think.”
At 36% approval, she’s lower than Trump. She won the popular vote because the alternative was Trump. She’s really the perfect storm of the worst possible candidate. She’s been loathed by the left (for very good reasons) for decades, uninspiring to many, demonized by the right, and under perpetual investigation, which provides plenty of news material for those who are unable to comprehend the implications of policy. She consistently polled lower than Bernie against Trump throughout the primary. I don’t think the term “popular” is appropriate here, other than in a name-recognition sense.
I’m still waiting for Al Gore to run again. Or Jimmy Carter.
@thisismyusername
Polls mean shit. What matters are elections. The Bernie brigade loves to state that “polls show” but yet he lost the primary. And before I hear “superdelegates” the fact of the matter is that Bernie Sanders did not get the votes from Democrat voters sufficient to win the Democrat nomination. Hillary Clinton did.
Bernie lost the primary because the DNC rigged it against him. This is common knowledge. The DNC during the election basically did Hillary’s bidding. They pushed an unpopular candidate.
@Darth_Algar: “What matters are elections. The Bernie brigade loves to state that “polls show” but yet he lost the primary. And before I hear “superdelegates” the fact of the matter is that Bernie Sanders did not get the votes from Democrat voters sufficient to win the Democrat nomination. Hillary Clinton did.”
You’re making my point. The DNC/Democratic primary voters chose the candidate least likely to beat the Republican candidate. Being popular among a particular voter (over 45 Dem primary voter, especially in the south) says something interesting about the DNC and Democratic primary voters, and says very little about how “popular” a candidate is. Remember…
@Darth_Algar: “What matters are elections”
Apparently the DNC & Dem primary voters didn’t think so.
@canidmajor
I think it’s utterly ridiculous to say that some progressive voters wouldn’t vote for a black female candidate.
@rockfan: “I think it’s utterly ridiculous to say that progressive voters wouldn’t vote for a black female candidate. I think you’re way off base.”
I’m still crossing my fingers that Nina Turner runs!
@Darth_Algar and I have differed in the past on this forum but we COMPLETELY agree on Oprah. She is loathsome for all the reasons stated and many many more. I really can’t stand the woman and if I had a list of people I hate she would probably be on my top 10 list. Unfortunately, Trump is higher, so I’d vote for her over Trump. That’s how much I hate Trump.
@thisismyusername Maybe she won’t run as a Democrat. There are other potential platforms to run on. Centrist, Moderate, Independent, etc. Just like Mark Zuckerburg.
I don’t want her as president because she doesn’t have the expertise required for the position. Nor does Trump, of course, but there are plenty of people who are more qualified than both Trump and Winfrey who I’d strongly prefer.
I want a serious candidate, not another celebrity.
It’s like America isn’t even trying anymore. We’ve become that guy that goes out in public unshaven and wearing grease-stained sweatpants with the holes in them and a shirt that doesn’t quite fit over our gut.
@Darth_Algar This isn’t new. A second rate actor whose claim to fame was straight man to a chimp was elected overwhelmingly 38 years ago, and is still revered by much of the country.
Slight difference however: Reagan at least had executive experience (as governor of California) before running for president.
he could also read and write.
And articulate a coherent sentence.
No thanks. I have my sights set on Kanye.
The Democratic party probably loves Oprah, as a candidate. They seem to be trying to get females, minorities, and be less shitty than the Republican candidate. When seen through the dem’s prism, she looks great…
I’m not a fan of hers. She wouldn’t get my vote. I refuse to vote for the lesser of two evils. I think that the comparisons to HRC aren’t a bad analogy. I think most people would view her that way.
I don’t think Trump would run again. If he survives his first term. He seems to be losing his tenuous grip on reality, and his fragile ego is taking a beating.
If the dems want a female candidate, I like Elizabeth Warren. I don’t know if she could get me to vote, but I think she’s close…
At least she wasn’t involved in selling the invasion of Iraq…oh wait -.
Literally my top three worst people to be president long before Trump decided to run were Oprah, Trump and HRC. The odds of this…
Why are people busting on Oprah? She never said she would run. As a matter of fact, she has said she wouldn’t. So let’s not pick on her for something that will probably never happen.
I agree @chyna. At this point this seems like a straw man argument and I am surprised that a lefty would be fanning these futile flames.
We can talk about this for two years or we can wait and see who emerges. (And I for one would be quite happy to see Joe Biden run.) One of the many smart things my Ex used to say was two years out you have no idea who will be the candidates. I don’t think it is unlikely that progressives would vote for a Black woman but I do think it is unlikely that the Dems will choose one. And I’m going to vote for whomever has the best chance of trying to reverse the evil, oligarchic course the Republicans have put us on.
To paraphrase Edmund Burke “All it takes for evil to prevail is for Democrats and progressives to eat each other up.”
I love Joe Biden. And I’m a “small ‘c’ ” conservative. I’d totally vote for Joe.
@chyna: “Why are people busting on Oprah?”
Nobody is picking on Oprah. The concern is that these ill-advised things keep getting floated and tested in corporate media to see what will stick. Criticizing the desire for some people to see Oprah run has little to do with Oprah at all. It’s a criticism of the vacuous nature of the Democratic party, and their attempts to do anything but actually shift left or change.
@janbb: “I agree @chyna. At this point this seems like a straw man argument and I am surprised that a lefty would be fanning these futile flames.”
Straw man doesn’t apply because there is not actually any argument being made.
@janbb: “We can talk about this for two years or we can wait and see who emerges.”
True. I’m not a Democrat. But remember what the Democrats did the last time we waited to see who emerged. There is a serious crisis here. There has never been an acceptance of what happened, and it seems they are more than willing to keep repeating the same old mistakes. There is a reason 60% of people desire a legitimate third party, and nearly half of the voting population doesn’t even bother to vote. If the Dems are to make a case for their existence and relevance for the future, it needs to happen now!
And Joe Biden? I really hope you guys are kidding.
“Winfrey 2020? Can we stop this, please?”
I stick with my statements.
@janbb – It could be calls for ”@thisismyusername’s wife 2020!” and my response would be “Can we stop this, please?”
Please be generous and take my word for it. Read what is being said, because this really matters. This isn’t some “attack” on Oprah. It would take a very intentional misreading to go there.
And @janbb – this has nothing to do with individual personalities or people. This is about the Democratic party and hopes that it will make the necessary changes before it’s too late.
While we are on the subject, the African American woman I would like to see as nominee of the Democratic Party is Kamala Harris.
@Chyna
She might then she wouldn’t. Then she might, then she wouldn’t. Now “it’s up to the people”.
Stop what? Deplorable Republicans voted for a pussy grabbing, shameless, vain and pathetic fake billionaire who could be following orders from a murderous dictator. So stop what?
@ARE_you_kidding_me Heh. Yes. Republicans think I’m liberal, Progressives think I’m conservative.
@mazingerz88: “Stop what?”
Stop floating the idea of running Oprah.
@mazingerz88: “Deplorable Republicans voted for a pussy grabbing, shameless, vain and pathetic fake billionaire”
Absolutely. And I agree that calling people “deplorable” enough times will turn things around. The Democrats needn’t actually do anything to stop the bleeding, make any changes, and actually pull back those that they abandoned for the past few decades. I’ll try to help: deplorable, deplorable, deplorable! We’re halfway there!
@mazingerz88: “So stop what?”
Are we still confused?
@mazingerz88: “who could be following orders from a murderous dictator.”
Ok, I have to ask. Is this satire?
Regarding the centrist wish to run Joe Biden – here is an article that outlines just a few reasons why this would be a bad idea. And like HRC, you’re going to lose anyone left of center. Perpetually shifting right to appeal to suburban Republicans has failed Democrats for years.
@thisismyusername Sure. I didn’t say he could win. I just like him. And I differ from my progressive friends and agree with him on some of those issues. As I implied before I do not pass the Progressive Litmus Test.
Biden’s too goddamn old anyway. It’s time for the Boomers and the pre-war babies to start stepping back. They’ve had their run. I would absolutely be in favor of a Constitutional amendment that sets age limits on the presidency and the Congress.
If Biden’s too old then Bernie Sanders must be too old as well.
I hope I look as young as Biden when I’m 75.
I agree with the Biden (and Sanders) is too old comment. I’m just making the point that I like him, and I’d certainly vote for him over the snake oil saleswoman.
Sure, but that’s not exactly setting the bar high.
But doesn’t the voters’ rejection of Sanders, a further left non-centrist candidate, show that “the people” prefer someone more centrist? I agree that I find centrists underwhelming, and the Democrats’ appeal to centrism didn’t pay off in 2016, but neither did Sanders’ bid. Maybe Sanders just wasn’t the right person to run a further left platform. I suppose we can test this out again in 2020.
@Demosthenes: “But doesn’t the voters’ rejection of Sanders, a further left non-centrist candidate, show that “the people” prefer someone more centrist?”
Quite the opposite. The Democratic primary voters selected the candidate that had consistently polled far worse against Trump in the general election. Sanders had a far greater appeal among independents and Republicans, as well as providing a motivating factor to breathe life back into a dying party. Warning after warning was ignored and fought against, and we ended up with the historic election between two of the most hated people in the U.S.
Sanders is still one of the most popular active politicians, while Clinton has favorable numbers lower or comparable to Trump, as she should.
I agree with the above. I would have voted for Sanders had I agreed with his point of view. And despite the fact that I have problems with many things in Sanders’ (and many progressive’s) policies, I’d happily vote for him (or Harris or whomever) over Trump. I am literally anybody but Trump.
If “the people” really preferred Bernie Sanders he would have won the primary. He didn’t.
@Darth_Algar – Ummm…I’m not sure if you’re being serious or not. I’ll assume that you are.
Even if you ignore the fact the DNC issues (DWS, debate schedule, superdelegates, etc), and just accept that HRC beat Bernie in the Democratic primary, this only tells us about Democratic primary voters. Poll after poll (every single one from every possible source) consistently showed that Sanders would do far better against every Republican (especially Trump), yet you know how that worked out. HRC voters in the Democratic primary helped pave the way for Trump. I’m not sure how this is difficult to understand. Also remember that the Clinton campaign had wanted to run against Trump (“pied piper” strategy).
The U.S. has primaries. I’m not sure if you’re familiar with the system here.
And just so we’re clear as to what a low percentage of voters decided this thing, only 14% of eligible voters voted in the Democratic primary.
And the Democrats’ unwillingness to appeal to independents is absurd considering that Democratic party affiliation is real low point.
The corporate media did their part, of course. Largely ignoring these record-breaking crowds and fundraising among regular people. And chose to provide Trump and Clinton free advertising throughout the campaign, with HRC’s largely focused on her scandals as completely expected. There were real reasons to oppose HRC, but the investigations were the least of them. Corporate media doesn’t cover policy.
So, there is no value in yelling at your HRC-voting grandparents for destroying a couple of generations. Rather, we must understand what happened so we do not repeat it. Repeating some nonsensical statements about Sanders’ inability to win the Dem primary doesn’t help.
Again, blame the people. Bernie Sanders chose to run as a Democrat. If the people really supported him then the people should have voted in the Democratic primary for him.
There is a considerable percentage of Democratic voters who believe (with justification) that their party swindled Bernie of the nomination. But Trump sits where he does because most of us, Republicans, Democrats, Independents regarded him seriously as a realistic threat
Bernie Sanders isn’t a Democrat. He is staunchly independent.
As a Democrat myself, I still don’t know why people think the DNC should have invited him in to take advantage of all he has kept from supporting all these years,
@zenvelo: “As a Democrat myself, I still don;t know why people think the DNC should have invited him in to take advantage of all he has kept from supporting all these years,”
Ummm…are you saying what I think you’re saying? That he should have run 3rd party?
@thisismyusername You’re the one who keeps bringing up Bernie Sanders and the last election. As a old Jewish socialist myself, I believe (whatever the polls you’ve seen suggested) that there is no way Bernie would have won the heartland. I think we had two flawed candidates for different reasons.
The progressives can blame the centrists and throw labels and brickbats but we are in the situation we are in now. I for one would rather see any competent politician (not an Oprah like celebrity) from the left to the moderate wing defeat the right wing in the next election. Yes, let’s try to change the selection process if you can but it’s likely we will have the same primary system we have now in 2020.
I like to “keep my eye on the prize” and be a pragmatist rather than stand on the sidelines throwing bricks at my close neighbors. The Right consistently wins by uniting even behind an imbecile – which is not what I suggest we do. But I would give almost everything I hold dear to have Clinton as President now – and I didn’t even like her.
@janbb: “I like to “keep my eye on the prize” and be a pragmatist rather than stand on the sidelines throwing bricks at my close neighbors.”
Then we’re in agreement.
But keep in mind that while the left punches right, while the “center” punches left and right. That means that we are often the target of a group of people (who we believe are directly responsible for Trump, among other things) who appear to do more punching left than right. And there are calls from everywhere to unite. Yet, all concessions are to be made by those left of center, with the same old problematic solutions being trotted out.
I mean, we can’t unite if the Democrats trot out some monster like Joe Biden.
Anyway, I don’t see the resolution, because the Democratic party is to the right of the general public, so there are many who still see 3rd parties or staying home as a reasonable option. “Pragmatism” can’t possibly be applied to the HRC scenario, because it was the most far-fetched, unpragmatic fantasy of a way to get a Democrat in the white house. And it possibly destroyed what was left of the Democratic party in the process. If they (Democrats) don’t get their act together, they will be rightly seen as irrelevant.
Something to consider: one of the big problems facing the Dems is the fact that most people can’t even articulate what the Democratic party even stands for. If the Democrats can’t even make the case for their relevancy, nobody is going to make it for them. “Not Trump” is not enough. And being hostile to the Democratic voters and the resulting #DemExit isn’t going to go down well with the younger (under 45 and especially under 30 crowd), who feel completely wronged by the Democrats.
Note: I really do hope we can all get on the same page and create a new direction for the Democratic party so that there is a reason for people to vote.
There is so much we disagree on that I’ll just agree to disagree and leave it there.
There’s no way that an old self-stylized socialist Jew would have won over the significant part of the country that has an ingrained aversion to anything “socialist” and who sill view Jews as greedy by nature.
@Darth_Algar – Polls said, and continue to say, otherwise. But since we don’t allow polling here, I’m curious – Is there any reason to take this assertion seriously? We know that warnings against running Clinton were accurate.
Note: Sanders can in no way be considered a socialist. He identifies as one almost strategically. Obama was called a socialist for 8 years. And reclaiming that term as something positive is a good thing. (Warning – poll) Millennials currently have a higher opinion of socialism than capitalism. And recall Pelosi’s “we’re capitalists” response to Trevor Hill in February.
Anyway, Sanders is your run of the mill new deal style Democrat. (How I wish he were a socialist!)
He called himself a Socialist – are you saying he’s a liar?
Please cite the polls you keep referring to. What methodology do they use? What particular groups do they poll? What age ranges, what ethnic groups, what geographic areas, what social and economic backgrounds, etc? It’s not enough to just continually insist that “polls say” when polls can be so easily geared to give the impression that the poll takers want to give.
@janbb – He calls himself a socialist, and then mumbles through some vague explanation about what that means – and it doesn’t in any way resemble socialism.
He may have been one at one time. But he’s no longer.
I think he embraces the label in the way that many of us do. I’m a card-carrying socialist, but one that is “big tent”. It includes social democrats, democratic socialists, socialists, communists, etc.
I love the fact that he doesn’t run away from the term. He doesn’t wear socialist t-shirts or belong to any socialist party. But when confronted during a tv interview, he doesn’t hide from it.
And note: He doesn’t say “socialist”, he refers to “Democratic Socialism”. But Democratic Socialists are wondering why the hell he thinks being a social democrat is the same thing as Democratic Socialism.
@Darth_Algar – What polls? Every single polling entity. But you don’t do polls, so I want to know by what measure you would use to even gauge something like this. If not for polling, what methodology am I to evaluate your assertion that Sanders would not have beat Trump?
“9 out of 10 doctors surveyed prefer Winchester cigarettes.”
@thisismyusername: “If not for polling, what methodology am I to evaluate your assertion that Sanders would not have beat Trump?”
@Darth_Algar: ”“9 out of 10 doctors surveyed prefer Winchester cigarettes.””
@thisismyusername ”...are you saying what I think you’re saying? That he should have run 3rd party?”
Yes, people on the far left keep saying there should be a third party, that the DNC is worse than the GOP and that a truly progressive party would be well received.
@zenvelo: “Yes, people on the far left keep saying there should be a third party, that the DNC is worse than the GOP and that a truly progressive party would be well received.”
That’s refreshing to hear. Mostly, there have been attacks on such 3rd-party movements. I think you should continue to encourage people to vote 3rd party in 2020.
Are you kidding? You’d rather push out anyone left of center and encourage them to vote for some ridiculous Green Party candidate than allow the Democratic party to shift the slightest bit left?
@thisismyusername As had been said by others, for there to be a valid third party they have to be a presence. You have to build a party from the ground up, not just run Jill Stein every four years.
I’m working for a candidate in my district who is running as a progressive Democrat against an entrenched arch conservative misogynist.
If you feel a third party is the way to go, are you working to build one?
@thisismyusername: “That’s refreshing to hear. Mostly, there have been attacks on such 3rd-party movements. I think you should continue to encourage people to vote 3rd party in 2020.
Are you kidding? You’d rather push out anyone left of center and encourage them to vote for some ridiculous Green Party candidate than allow the Democratic party to shift the slightest bit left?”
@janbb: “If you feel a third party is the way to go, are you working to build one?”
?
Have you not been hearing me this entire thread? I’d love a valid 3rd option. But the current system doesn’t allow it. I support efforts to fix the Democratic party. I don’t think I could be more clear on that subject.
@thisismyusername Maybe the rest of the Democratic Party doesn’t think your fix is what they want?
@thisismyusername To be perfectly honest, that’s not the way I’ve been hearing you. You seem to come across more as a critical outsider who thinks he knows best rather than someone actively engaged in a process of restructuring.
The BernieBros picking up their marbles and going home in a snit didn’t do anything to help the Dems win the last election and now we have the possibility of nuclear war and environmental destruction.
I agree that there is a struggle for the soul of the Democratic party and I would love to see more candidates such as Elizabeth Warren and Joseph Kennedy III prevail.
But I do think we have to find a way to come together and not do the Right’s work for them.
@zenvelo Silly. Of course they do. Just ask any progressive.
@zenvelo: “Maybe the rest of the Democratic Party doesn’t think your fix is what they want?”
Then the Democrats are the problem we have to deal with. If they are the gatekeepers and gave us Trump, we need to take the keys from them, because they don’t know what they’re doing.
@janbb: “To be perfectly honest, that’s not the way I’ve been hearing you. You seem to come across more as a critical outsider who thinks he knows best rather than someone actively engaged in a process of restructuring.”
I am an outsider. I’ve never been a registered Democrat. But that’s my point – I am not the exception. I am literally the majority. Bring us in. Open up the party to other voices and stop the bleeding (1000 seats in 10 years, etc). I contribute to down-ballot Democrats, and I always vote in local and state elections.
By every possible measure, the Democratic party is in trouble. Why anyone (not you – speaking of the @zenvelo comment telling me to get lost) would want to turn away me or a whole generation of Democrats is puzzling.
@janbb: “The BernieBros picking up their marbles and going home in a snit didn’t do anything to help the Dems win the last election and now we have the possibility of nuclear war and environmental destruction.”
Ouch. I just noticed this edit.
Please don’t use that term (“BernieBros”). It is intentionally divisive and inaccurate. My wife, who made calls for the Bernie campaign loves being reduced to a “bro” by Democrats. Nice.
Also, your assertion that somehow we ended up with Trump because people “didn’t do anything to help the dems” is Fox News worthy and false. This is the vile version of “unity” that we are supposed to accept?
@thisismyusername You call Biden a “monster” because he has views different than your own and you’re looking for unity? You’re only looking for unity if people agree with you. If they don’t, they’re a monster.
@Rarebear: “You call Biden a “monster” because he has views different than your own and you’re looking for unity? You’re only looking for unity if people agree with you. If they don’t, they’re a monster.”
Fair enough. “Monster” isn’t helpful in mixed company. I’m used to being able to call someone who supported the invasion of Iraq, which resulted in the deaths of many people. Not very controversial. But probably not helpful.
It’s not so much that my unhelpful “monster” comment was inaccurate or part of some cynically-designed regressive scheme to make progressivism the domain of men (despite the facts). The “berniebros” smear was an concerted effort that should be an embarrassment, and should not be used today.
I will fully apologize for calling Biden a “monster”. I’d really rather talk about his politics. That is what matters. But please don’t conflate an offhand comment with a politically-crafted term used to deceive.
Okay @thisismyusername so everything anyone, not in agreement with you, is “Fake New”
and obviously “they don’t know what they are talking about.”
@thisismyusername “But please don’t conflate an offhand comment with a politically-crafted term used to deceive.”
What you call an “offand comment” I call a “vicious ad hominem attack.”
Have a nice day.
@Rarebear: “What you call an “offand comment” I call a “vicious ad hominem attack.””
If you don’t want to take the apology, then let’s discuss the candidate you seem willing to defend. I’m not sure you know what an apology is and why I said I should have stuck to his policies and actions.
Everything that I have stated in this thread, referring to Joe Biden as “monster” and apologizing for it was the unacceptable line I crossed? People, we do have a problem.
@thisismyusername I’m old. You’re young. I’m going to try to teach you something and it’s up to you whether you want to read without getting upset. I’ve written a lot in my life. I’ve been published, and I do a lot of editing. I also do even more teaching, in fact I teach every day.
Words matter, and how you write them matter. Any time someone writes ” ‘A’ but ‘B’ ”, one should ignore what the “A” is and concentrate on the B.
For example, a teacher tells a student, “I think you’re doing a good job, but this is a problem.” The teacher doesn’t want to tell the student about the good job, but wants to tell them about the problem.
So, getting to your “apology”. Everything before the “But please don’t conflate…” was the “A”. The “B” is the only thing that matters in your apology.
Again, take it or leave it. This one was free.
^ That was great, condescending, and self-indulgent. Loved it. That must have felt good.
By the way, I’m old. I turned 46 last month.
Glad you liked it. I’m older than you.
@Tropical_Willie: ”@thisismyusername your hollow comments are NOT making your imagined point !”
What’s my imagined point?
You have an opinion and will not listen to any other opinion except your’s !
You are the harsh person in this conversation !
You’re 46? Jesus. You post like a 20 year-old who knows everything about everything.
@Darth_Algar: “You’re 46? Jesus. You post like a 20 year-old who knows everything about everything.”
If only 20-year-olds were allowed to vote…
And thanks. To be fair, however, I don’t think I’d get that response if discussing something I know and care little about, like sports.
I kinda like this. I think you should all push your own candidates (3rd party, 4th…etc.) because the Democratic party seems ill suited to your purpose BUT do as you please, you seem very united.
@Jaxk Indeed, this is one way the Republicans win as I pointed out.
@Tropical_Willie I just read the later part of this thread, and despite a few of you outnumbering @thisismyusername, I would say that @thisismyusername does have several points, and I agree with most of what he was trying to communicate, even if it didn’t land with you and some of his words were inflammatory and not explained.
Answer this question 
Composing members:
0
