Jesse won the primary in Michigan.

Yeah, this. We were talking about Wall St./economics stuff. And it's obviously true. Top tax rates in the 60s were 70%+, Glass-Steagall repealed in 1999, Welfare Reform, Deregulation of: telecommunications, thrifts (banking), commodities, interstate banking, voluntary regulation of investment banks on reserves, etc.

The fact that the Dems got to the point with Obama where they were ready to support something like the health care plan that Nixon proposed isn't a great indication that we haven't moved to the right.

On social issues, it's pretty deceptive if you look at things like The New Jim Crow, but yeah, the US is more liberal socially than it was in 1960. Compared to 1970, yeah, probably, but it might be a bit of a mixed bag there.

Military is a pretty mixed bag. 40 years ago was part of a very narrow window when we were pretty dejected militarily after Vietnam, but the wars in Central America were just about to get rolling and boy were we right-wing there.

I missed that. I think it's still the case as the fight against things like the bathroom bill is waged by Walmart, Target, the NCAA etc. That doesn't mean it's bad of course. Even Walmart can be used as an ally, just don't let them greenwash or LGBTwash all their sins away.

Al Franken seems like a solid choice now. He's respected by both wings of the Dems I think. He doesn't softball the GOP, but he also seems to be able to work with them personally (some stuff in Congress is still bipartisan).

on social issues the racial tensions are going to be key i think and it might even drive economic issues more left. alot of the younger working class whites, like 18-30 ish have grown up in communities of very mixed demographics so their xenophobic attitudes are far less pronounced than in the older generations. many of these have friends from minority groups. in areas where most whites have moved away the remaining young whites say they identify more with the minorities around than the whites that have left. the reason for widespread xenophobia among the older generation of whites are fear of demographic changes. when their communities undergo drastic and quick demographic changes they get consumed by the fear of repercussions or the change of power relations so they turn to the far right wing movements. when the demographics change is more like a evolution and is slow in character the likelyhood of whites turning to the far right wing is much smaller. since the deindustrialization started in the 70-80s these demographic changes have been key issues for the white working class, but with the younger generations growing up with other experienes and therefore other attitudes things may be on the the way upwards.

How do you have more control over how people vote in the primary than how they vote in the general?

The article conveniently doesn't mention that and instead focuses on Wisconsin's primary.

Forced party registration to vote.

i mean really tho does mitch mcconnell even go to parties?

It did mention it. Looking some stuff up I see Michigan had a caucus back then and probably that was an advantage for JJ - like for Bernie, with a smaller, but more devoted following.

Hopefully Carter and HW have already made it clear that Trump isn't invited.

I think Al Franken would be worth considering, if he were interested. I'm more than content to have him in the Senate where I think he's been doing an excellent job. I was pretty skeptical when he first came on, after his books and SNL time I wasn't sure he'd take things seriously or be taken seriously. He's especially good at asking pointed questions and keeping things on topic amid attempts to derail and distract.

I don't agree. I thought Franken was absolutely terrible when he questioned Sessions, worse than I would have expected from a second-year lawyer. Just pure U.S. Senator bull****. Grandstanding, 90 second questions with absolutely no regard for what the answer was and no effort to pin Sessions down.

Franken is good enough, he's smart enough, and people like him.

wp nh

Good question. Not the same pool of people for starters. And I don't think "the party decides" idea is dead on the left. I think elites still influence the primary quite a bit, certainly much more so than on the right.

If a time traveler went back to the early 1990s and told me that Stuart Smalley would not only be a senator but probably the best choice to be minority leader, my mind would have exploded.

time-travelling trump warns that his tweets are "not presidential":


https://twitter.com/JuddLegum/status/881879367890198529

He's way more qualified to be prez than Trump is. And Trump is already the president.

give it up!

Trump supporters won't even budge on the hypocritical golf nonsense. Is it huge in the grand scheme of things? No, but it's so telling on their willingness to even have a reasonable discussion about anything at all. Some of these people would truly choose Trump over their own flesh and blood which is beyond frightening to me as an occupant on this planet.

EART HL I NG

Johnny's in America. Johnny looks up at the stars. Johnny combs his hair, and Johnny wants pussy and cars.

That he plays a lot of golf and is a hypocrite isn't it at all, it's that his base has positioned themselves as defenders even over little things like this. Are they not aware that they can hate liberals and still their elected officials accountable at the same time?

CNN says the number of states telling Trump's commission to **** off is up to 41. Maybe Trump should retweet himself: "What are they trying to hide?"

Even GOP will develop a spine if Trump crosses too far into their turf.