That moment marked the beginning of the end of Swalwell's career. 😆
Pete can use his own recent comments on CNBC and promise peace by *death stares.* Mark Hamill will be great in those commercials!
And I think it's safe to say that Swalwell will no longer be a "potential" presidential candidate.
(Sorry, just had to mention his getting served some justice. His debate moment in 2019 was so performative.)
Disappointed in WIRED for mindlessly and inexcusably puffing up one of the chief architects of our societal downfall.
Fun factoid: Historians estimate that 20% or less of the early white settlers in the present USA were actually fleeing religious persecution in their homeland.
However, historians report that the vast majority of early white illegal settlers to the present USA came due to... economic hardship!
Plus, for those who came here to escape religious persecution, some like the Puritans were intolerant of other religions.
Some religious groups came here and stole land, brought fatal diseases, and killed innocent indigenous for land and property.
There's nothing remotely Christian about that.
And to think that the Bros threatened to burn the party down if we didn't let him "have" the nomination.
We could've had Connor Lamb, with infinitely better people skills, legislative skills, and political skills. A senate seat that would now be safe in Dem hands.
Instead, it's a seat in peril.
Most early settlers came to the present US simply to avoid economic hardship in the homeland.
However, the land in which the US sits already existed as thousand(s) of diverse nations, occupied by indigenous peoples. Those nations did not worship the biblical God. They looked to many gods/spirits.
Some argue that the United States is a "Christian nation." About 70% of Americans still identify as Christians.
America was also founded as & exists as a country that does not favor or endorse any particular God or deity.
Some early American settlers fled religious persecution in their homeland.
The good news is that the supporters of anti-environment Mike Gravel / Gravel Institute is that Jimmy Carter eventually beat out Gravel's heinous tactics and got the lands designated as national parks in 1980. Mike Gravel was helping fascist Republicans 50 years ago! Good riddance to him.
For those 23 people who loved fake liberal Mike Gravel, please know that he literally, single-handedly prevented the approval of ALL EIGHT NATIONAL PARKS IN ALASKA. Jimmy Carter had to designate them as National Monuments to avoid Gravel's threatened filibuster. Gravel was not a true liberal.
Nerdy, I heard about this poll conducted by the Third Way, a centrist Dem group. I've attached a link to the findings (or you can Google it).
Obviously, most groups will fund a poll that supports their agenda. Yet, the findings are still an interesting read.
www.thirdway.org/memo/the-tru...
Shame on you. Focus on the lack of accountability toward the entire Republican Party. Headlines like this are what have us Trump.
Do better.
Seth was right, again. Unfortunately. I say "unfortunately" because it means more lawlessness & lack of accountability by Trump/GOP.
I can't wait to see how the 'always optimistic' crowd frames us, again, as being negative because we keep warning them. And they keep calling us negative. Damn fools
He literally had to clear a massive background investigation to have that role. Few Dems or GOP could get a security clearance without Trump's immoral waivers.
Furthermore, he had such an impressive list of foreign policy, diplomatic,& military advisers &supporters in 2019/20 that that spoke volumes for his readiness. I believe he was the only candidate on either side who had a background in intelligence.
He's so omnipresent in all forms of media that a good chunk of people probably don't even realize they consider him one of the country's leaders (even without having a formal leadership title these days).
It's a dynamic that even many professional pundits don't seem to appreciate.
Buttigieg passed those hurdles better than anyone else during that cycle (even besting Bernie, Biden, Warren, and Klobuchar). He's only gained experience since then in all of those venues.
than even the congressional press pool.
There were quite a few examples of this in 2019/2020 (Bloomberg, Beto, Booker, Bullock, Castro, Kamala). They did well at their state, local, and congressional levels... But bombed when placed under the intense spotlight of the campaign for POTUS.
1) Foreign policy stances that generally get less coverage for governors, congresspeople, etc and 2) carrying themselves in a national forum.
The national media environment is quite different than state and local media and the presidential-campaign press pool is way different
Your post also provides important reminders of the underpinnings of a great candidacy / campaign.
First-time candidates for the presidency might have many great attributes, but a couple of major flaws often don't show up until they're actually going national:
Wait, no holiday for Mamdani?!?! I thought he was supposed to be better than Gandhi and MLK combined.
Dems have one really great political strength: Circular firing squads.
Vance... cos 2024 and 2016 (and, to a lesser extent, 1968, 1972, 1980, 1984, 1988, and 2004).
It's like reading the New York Times and expecting them to write a logical op-ed piece.... or reading a paper that honestly frames a story <20% of the time.
If you're a white person in America, especially if you have enjoyed a middle or upper class life, it's relatively easy to demand people always be positive.
HOWEVER, what if:
Your relative was killed or kidnapped by ICE
Youre LGBTQIIA2S+
You're a person of color
You're indigenous
You're disabled
Many of the "eternally optimistic" crowd I've encountered are white people from middle class or upper class backgrounds. Certainly not everybody, but a clear majority.
It's easier to think things will be sunshine if you've lived a life of privilege.
I have observed that the online folks who call those individuals "negative" do nothing other than drive them deeper into negativity.
So, the Pollyanna's are not cultivating allies either. The eternally optimistic crowd discourages them, as I originally indicated. That is harmful.
Thank you for all you and your teammates do. I don't know how you've kept the energy after *just* the past year. You all rock. 🙏👏👍😊
I'm also at a tipping point of calling out tactics and warning of past actions that would lead us to exactly where we are today. Specifically, I'm tired of jackasses calling me NEGATIVE or a DOOMER.
This isn't just the deplorable GOP saying I'm negative, it includes many closed-eyed Democrats.
It's sad to say this, but I'm so glad to see more folks waking up to the GOP's evil.
I'm so angry about recent events that I've said a few "told you so." Humility be damned.
A couple of people who said I was being negative got chewed out. This crap has changed me. I'm done with Pollyanna's.