Joe Biden, Senator from Citibank (oops, DELAWARE), to Run for President

but hey, they got their guy and maybe they’ll prove once and for all that you can win with an uninspiring loser with a horrible voting record.

Who can’t string a sentence together and who is the subject of several sexual assault allegations!

Nobody feels comfortable here right now. But this attempt to create a new standard for how to treat allegations of sexual assault is absolutely unworkable, and it will tear this place apart, and it can't work even with 'moderation or censure'. We seriously need a different thread to talk it through, or it will wreck every politics thread every day for the next six months.

The UK thread is fine so not every politics thread

Like at some point ppl are going to get that the people who run the Democratic Party don’t just think that Better Things Aren’t Possible, but that they are in fact actively working against those things on behalf of the people and entities who fund their campaigns.

Ok, I apologize if I missed the snake thing. I do think the reification of The Discourse has been very bad for...the discourse.

I know that but honest to god my opinion about that is not as strong as my belief that Orange Man Bad

all rapists are bad imo

Hey Fred, go jump in a lake or a fjord or whatever you have in fucking Cloudcukooland or whatever insignificant pissbaby kingdom you live in and never post again. Thanks!

But this attempt to create a new standard for how to treat allegations of sexual assault is absolutely unworkable, and it will tear this place apart, and it can't work even with 'moderation or censure'. We seriously need a different thread to talk it through, or it will wreck every politics thread every day for the next six months.

― Frederik B, Thursday, 9 April 2020 bookmarkflaglink

Just love how this is framed as a proposal, like oh let's get a thread to agree on criteria, how to pass judgement on every high level allegation of assault otherwise ilx is cooked.

I do think the reification of The Discourse has been very bad for...the discourse.

― rob, Thursday, April 9, 2020 9:42 AM (eighteen minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

our current discourse is ugly and useless and incentivizes bad faith forms of argumentation.

As I’ve said before I’m no longer arguing, I’m fighting.

The thing that is happening right now is that the dirtbag left is trying to co-opt MeToo, and it's going to be a disaster if it happens. For women and victims of sexual assault most of all.

What happened to shut up, dingdong

fred you have literally no idea what you are talking about and please stop trying to speak for women or victims of sexual assault. i.e., the only people who should be able to decide whether to "instrumentalize rape allegations" or whatever tf

Thoughtlording on this topic in a forum where 3/4 of the women who made it more vital just a few years ago already have stopped posting is not something we need

― silby, Wednesday, April 8, 2020 10:38 AM (yesterday)

Fred you are making this forum worse with this crap, stop shitting it everywhere

Look, I'm sympathetic to the idea that only women and victims of sexual assault should be able to decide the discourse surrounding sexual assault - it would end 99% of this pile on, that's for sure, + the story began rolling after Ryan Grim went after Time's Up, so. But it's unworkable. You'll only get buy in from nice and sympathetic male feminists, and then run straight forward into shouty Lindsay Graham, and be nowhere still.

Fred shhhhhhhhh

it would end 99% of this pile on

As long as we know who the real victim is here (and who of course acts as the voice of women on here).

A reminder that all of Fred's posts come with a flag link, which we should all use.

I don’t have a point tbh I’m just sick of this dumb ass discourse that goes nowhere and means nothing

Please fuck can someone make this new Borad description

the comic bit about "who made you volunteer nazi safety advocate" but instead it's "who made you the volunteer sexual assault victim cross-examiner."

I don't understand what the fuck is wrong with some people.

Come on let's get fred to 51 folks

An Easter miracle

“Shut the fuck up Frederik,” said ILX disdainfully.

Come on let's get fred to 51 folks

An Easter miracle

― COVID and the Gang (jim in vancouver)

'k, i don't know if i have or not yet, mostly i avoid this thread but avoiding work is more important to me rn so i'll do my bit

NEW:

The @JoeBiden campaign is set to make its first big overture to @BernieSanders voters.

Biden will roll out two policies:

* Lower Medicare age to 60

* Forgive student debt for low/ middle income borrowers

Lots of news from me and @paulwaldman1:https://t.co/Jxs93A94hR

— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) April 9, 2020

the comic bit about "who made you volunteer nazi safety advocate" but instead it's "who made you the volunteer sexual assault victim cross-examiner."

I don't understand what the fuck is wrong with some people.

They’d want to do a bit better than “lowering Medicare age to 60”.

Please fuck can someone make this new Borad description

cosign

joe biden: some decent ideas!!

pic.twitter.com/IbEBmFe3yd

— Jon Bois (@jon_bois) April 9, 2020

LMFAO

“Kyle Guy” is one for the abysmal real names thread

joe biden: some decent ideas!!

― k3vin k., Thursday, April 9, 2020 3:05 PM (

campaign slogan

from the WaPo article:

The following question will of course arise for many Sanders supporters: How sincere is Biden about all of this?

A senior Sanders adviser told us that talks have been ongoing for some time between the two sides, with an apparent aim of making the unification of the party smoother than in 2016. The Sanders adviser told us that the Sanders side believes Biden and his campaign genuinely understand that a lot is riding on them making this work.

“The Biden campaign understands that they’ll have to work towards reaching out to progressives and building bridges to unity,” this senior Sanders adviser told us. “We think they’re operating with good intent.”

The Sanders adviser told us that they expect the Biden campaign to roll out these efforts in stages, and that the Sanders team wants to create room for the Biden camp to prove its good intentions in this regard.

“We’ll give them space to make their best case,” the Sanders adviser told us, characterizing the Sanders team’s view of the situation.

As Sanders would no doubt tell you, that kind of influence is possible not only because of the inherent appeal of his ideas, but also precisely because politicians like Biden are not immutable in what they will support. They respond to public opinion and public pressure, which is why you pressure them.

it's worth pointing out that, after having lost, bernie and his campaign apparatus are still invested in furthering his policy goals, using whatever leverage and strategy they can.

this shows, to me, that for bernie and his team improving the country was always the main goal and was desired far more than electoral victory.

i just want this to sink in, given the fact that so many people (not here) accused the bernie side of being a cult of personality and his supporters being potential "spoilers" with no sense of the "greater good"

They respond to public opinion and public pressure....unless of course it means bucking credit card companies in Wilmington, for example, or keeping it illegal for investment banks to gamble with your savings, or or or or or

Not those kind of popular-with-the-public things, but, like the other ones. You know.

well, there wasn't the same level of awareness when that stuff happened. the start was occupy wall street, almost 10 years ago, it's a slow road but the old tricks will not be feasible forever.

this shows, to me, that for bernie and his team improving the country was always the main goal and was desired far more than electoral victory.

fair point treesh

treesh your optimism is admirable

I wish we had a system in which public awareness weighed more than lobbyist influence

I don't mind Sanders team lobbying Biden tbh

they should! we all should push him. clearly it's worth it

Big overture to Bernie Sanders supporters here:

Just In: GOP Senator Josh Hawley (Missouri) proposes a Denmark-style plan where the US government pays 80% of worker wages.

"Beginning immediately, the federal gov should cover 80% of wages for workers at any US biz, up to the nat'l median wage, until this emergency is over" pic.twitter.com/BbcTgiIaXj

— Heather Long (@byHeatherLong) April 9, 2020

better use of the money printer than propping up equities!!

As someone with $80 in the bank, the only pressure I can exert on a politician is withholding my vote.

But then I’m a monster who single-handedly elected Trump...

i'm a few years away from Medicare, but I understand as presently administered it is its own shitshow

They’d want to do a bit better than “lowering Medicare age to 60”.

Hillary ran on lowering it to 55; they can't possibly risk losing by offering such a radical platform in the current climate.

Only 22 more years and I can get this hernia fixed, hell yeah

if I recall, she ran on allowing people 50 or 55+ to buy into medicare, not necessarily automatically enrolling everyone xp