Tuco

Excellent. That only works if people are watching it. He just told his cult to watch something outside their bubble.

Appears to be swing state night.

I assume it's the people in charge of the resources (the Sheriff) who would be jeopardy. I assume the Dems just want to let other Sheriff's know the law and that they may have to spend money on lawyers if they give Trump more free venues. Also, fuck the police, particularly in this instance.

Do you honestly believe they would have received a speaking slot at the DNC to criticize Israel and current US policy towards Israel had they just pledged their support ahead of time? Really? I think y'alll are just writing bullshit down because you think it supports some argument that they are dumb or naive.

Ok, so now they are getting attention. But, it's only attention from the public, and politicians don't pay attention to what the public is paying attention to. Do you maybe want to take a few minutes to construct a post that isn't complete bullshit?

Attention is the currency of politics. Lobbying groups spend millions of dollars to get attention from politicians. Politicians spend orders of magnitude more to get attention from the public. Not sure, but I guess if they didn't get any, then it didn't do any harm, right.

Do you think they would have gotten the attention from the party, campaign, or media if they didn't say they were uncommitted?

They publicly said they would pledge their support if they got a few minutes at the convention. The lack of support wasn't the issue.

For what it's worth, this is Tom Homan at the RNC 2024. He's not a terrible speaker, but it doesn't even seem like the majority of Republican delegates are into the message. There are few of them that are really into it, but most of them are either bored or uncomfortable.

The second half of the text is interesting: When I point out what the Democratic Party and their super PACs have done to sabotage our campaign, their response is always, “but Trump is worse.” Here’s an idea: stop suing us. Let us debate. Quit rigging the media and the polls. It’s a simple formula, people—get with it. 1. Doesn't really refute Trump is worse. What a hollow fucking endorsement, if there is one. 2. Seems to be fishing for a negotiation rather than explaining a decision. That doesn't sound like someone who is actually planning to endorse Trump tomorrow. They may, but it seems like they are trying to figure out other options. Or they are just terrible at this.

Probably more claps than cheers. Hard to cheer with your teeth clenched.

It's JD Vance. He decided to stop pretending. If you hear some Diana Ross as the intro, you'll know I'm right.

Perhaps he should have led with "I"m JD Vance, and I am working to eliminate minimum wage laws and overtime pay."

Or she knew who he was and was trying to stay professional rather than telling him to fuck off.

I mean, are you going to spend your time, effort, money, etc. in working within the political system. Is your main focus to get people elected. Are you working on changing platforms and issuing statements by sitting in meetings run by parliamentary procedures. That's what I mean by politics. I get that it's not entirely either or. Many politicians will attend protests. Many protestors will attend political meetings. But it's question of what do you believe will drive progress. And protestors do not believe the political system will drive changes unless they can cause tension ("good trouble") in the community. The point of citing LfBJ is to showcase the philosophy behind "direct action." Only a fool would believe that is the only course of action for everything.

I had not heard it was a vetted speech. It seems that is something they could have sat down with him on and negotiated what he was going to say, rather than just a phone call that said "no." I think the political way is the better way. But I say this because I don't think the protests will be effective. It hasn't grown into a movement that is pushing change. I don't think the political version will be drive change as quickly as I would like, but it will do less damage on other fronts. It's more of a do-no-harm approach. We spend a lot of time talking about the mistakes the US had done in its history. I feel that this is one we are watching in real time and there isn't much that is going to change it.

Response to Gopher Rock: All of the speakers so far the DNC are advocating for the very thing the protestors are calling for. I haven't had a chance to type out all my thoughts on Walz's speech last night, but after it was over, it took me an hour and a half to calm down enough to go to sleep. I haven't heard all the speakers saying we should immediately stop funding Israel. It's one thing to say we should immediately work to a ceasefire. It's another to say what a more concrete, immediate policy is to so. (And quoting from a different thread is hard for me, apparently.)

Response in the Israel thread...

With all the scrutiny on Secret Service, I'm sure they love the unplanned stroll into a crowd.

So, this my longcat post is about protestors and politics. I don’t really want to get into the meat of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It is just a fucking beating. My main conclusion which is that an occupying army is bombing civilians - either through intent or apathy - with weapons that I help pay for. We could get into the nitty gritty on the historical rationalizations for this from 5000 years ago or 80 years ago or last year. I don’t believe it will change my conclusion. I also recognize I am unlikely to move anybody off their conclusions. So, back to protestors and politics: people who engage in protests are fundamentally different than people who engage in politics. Their core belief is that they will not achieve their goals in the current political landscape. They can only effect policy changes by working outside the system. First and foremost is bringing attention to their cause, second is to grow the cause into a movement, third is to have that movement interfere with goals of people who actually have the power to change things - businesses, politicians, etc.. I think most people can understand this, given the right context. In places like Iran, nobody is going to effect change the clerics disagree with within the political system. It’s pointless. The Iranian protestors need to interfere with commerce or stability enough to drive change. It’s not a big leap that protestors in America feel the political system is theater run by the monied elite. On the issue of Israeli support, it is understandable to conclude that neither political party is interested in standing up to Israel, although I get that a Republican administration will cheer while a Democratic one will work quietly to push back. People who engage primarily in politics believe that important change can be manifested through politics. They may show up to protests, but they understand the short term goals at the ballot box are more important. This causes conflict between the political folks and the protestors. Always has. Go read “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.” The opening sentence is “My Dear Fellow Clergymen:While confined here in the Birmingham city jail, I came across your recent statement calling my present activities ‘unwise and untimely.’ “ Just one more quote…”Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue. It seeks so to dramatize the issue that it can no longer be ignored.… The purpose of our direct action program is to create a situation so crisis packed that it will inevitably open the door to negotiation.” (That letter so good.) Protestors have always been counseled to have patience, to look at the big picture. And they have always ignored it. It’s just not in line with their core belief. To be clear, I am not trying to convince anyone that the protestors are right to take this approach in this situation and at this time. I just tire of people calling them stupid. They understand what they are doing. They are following the playbook - trying to create a crisis to drive negotiation. And, in this particular cause, time is a huge factor. This isn’t something they can wait six months on. And then you have Abbas Alawieh, the unofficial spokesperson for the uncommitted delegates. He believes in politics. He is a former Congressional Chief of Staff for Cori Bush, who just got primaried in part because of the money from AIPAC. He just got turned down to have a Palestinian speaking slot at the DNC. Is his way the right way to effect change? Personally, I hope the protestors stay within their delegated spaces and don’t cause to much shit. At the level they are currently, I think they actual provide a left-wing bookend to Harris’s approach. (In other words, for her to look moderate, there needs to be someone to the left of her.) But I continue to fear that coverage showing cops in riot gear will hurt Harris’s chances. I still believe in politics. I understand why others do not, particularly on this issue.

I don't think it's the same people. You have one group that is trying to work within the system (the uncommitted delegates) and another who is working outside the system (protestors interrupting Harris.) It's not the method that is blocking them, it's the message.

And a guy who graduated from Chadron State, and is so much more qualified than the guy from Yale, gets to say that. Walz proves that the main thing that Yale graduates have that others don't, is a piece of paper from Yale. The other thing they frequently have is generational wealth. Granted, JD Vance is one of the exceptions. But that piece of paper from Yale was his ticket into the club. Ivy League schools have massive resources and great teachers, but more than that, they are about status.

https://secure.actblue.com/

Ok, but can you how many commercials they see? How many texts? People knocking on doors?

Bush was the last Republican to raise taxes to address the deficient. And they fired him for it. I happily voted against him, but he was willing to do the hard things. Hasn't been a party led by serious commitment since. Even McCain picked Palin to be next in line. Fucking keystone cops.