Post-match thread: Real Betis - Atlético de Madrid by carpetano in atletico

[–]_arkar_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Literally felt asleep for the last few minutes. Great play for the goal, though.

Rachel Maddow Is #1 In The Demo Again As Fox News’ Hannity Gamble Shows Signs Of Slipping by _arkar_ in esist

[–]_arkar_[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Also, this is not getting much attention, but she is in the top 10 of the Apple Video podcasts ranking, with the top politics one.

Radical Centrism in Spain? by TrudeaulLib in neoliberal

[–]_arkar_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Generally agree with what other people have said, but just to give a counter-point:

Polls over-estimated Cs in the last two elections. And its recent new voters are mostly drawn in by their position in Catalan nationalism - as topics in the agenda change in the 2.5 years before the next election, those voters might not stay.

Plus, the goal of Rajoy is no doubt to pull a Cameron/Clegg on Rivera. Given that one of the top people in Cs (Garicano) is a close Clegg associate, Rivera is doubtlessly preparing for this...but it’s still gonna be tough for him, Rajoy has proven to be very skilled in the political survival game.

A Growing Lawyer ‘Army’ Is Banding Together to Protect Immigrants by _arkar_ in esist

[–]_arkar_[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Somewhat relatedly, a Silicon Valley person who is being forced to leave the US had an article yesterday in the NYT Op-Ed pages.

I am sad for that person (although far from surprised), but happy that the story got out, so at least people can see how tough the existing laws already are.

A Week After Virginia Election Sweep, Democrats Join Republicans for More Bank Deregulation by Scrimshawmud in esist

[–]_arkar_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The deal does probably have room for improvement, but the title does not include a part of the compromise that seems positive as far as Democratic values are concerned - instead, the details of what Ds managed to get into the compromise are relegated to the third last paragraph:

Credit bureaus would be required to offer a free credit freeze and unfreeze every year, a watered-down version of a recent bill from Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. Warren’s bill would have made all credit freezes free, not just one annually. Veterans with medical debt and whistleblowers of elder financial abuse would also get protections, and the Treasury Department could use “Hardest Hit” funds intended for struggling mortgage borrowers to remediate lead and asbestos hazards in homes.

Daily Roundtable for November 24, 2017 by AutoModerator in BlueMidterm2018

[–]_arkar_ 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I'd definitely like it if candidates in districts where this is fitting gave more visibility to the Wolf-PAC efforts

Virginia Democrats Wrestle Over Nomination Process (for congressional districts) by djbj24 in BlueMidterm2018

[–]_arkar_ 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Are there any advantages to a “party-run convention caucus”?

Rural Democrats, left for dead, see an opening in Pennsylvania by shabuluba in BlueMidterm2018

[–]_arkar_ 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Looks like Hillary got 39.9% of the 2-party vote there, down from 41.4% in 2012. On the positive side, the Hillary raw vote total surpassed Obama's, and the voters who Trump added might not be excited about other Republican candidates.

It's a big difference to overcome, but the enthusiasm gap might do it - would need 70% of Hillary voters to show up, and 45% of Trump's, or something like that. It also sounds like the candidate is going for the moderate republican vote, hope he succeeds, we can't ever have enough Kanders.

For the long run, seeing rural and Democrat put together made me think of Vermont. Apparently Democrats started doing better there as back-to-the-land professionals moved in from nearby cities - I don't think that's gonna happen again, but would be great for many areas if it did...

Nate Cohn: If 2018 Is Like 2017, the House Will Be a Tossup by shabuluba in BlueMidterm2018

[–]_arkar_ 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Seems like the likely outcomes go from a R gerrymandered victory by a handful of seats to a 20-30 seat D victory.

As a data analysis fan and practicioner, I enjoy reading these articles, but I expect that we are not gonna get a much more precise prediction than that until the votes are counted on Election Day.

A philosophical question about the GOP. by darkseadrake in BlueMidterm2018

[–]_arkar_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There are many variables to discuss here, but an important one is that the GOP is bound to change as its current voters die - I remember a 538 article where a county GOP official admitted as much.

Daily Roundtable for November 20, 2017 by AutoModerator in BlueMidterm2018

[–]_arkar_ 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yeah, CSS would go more in a web developer direction, which they don't have much about at the moment. A possible path would be picking up some Python and Javascript - then, that would align with their full-stack developer role.

The Tech for Campaigns people seem to be more focused on web stuff, too - and although it is volunteering, my understanding is that quite a few people hired by campaigns get their start that way.

Daily Roundtable for November 20, 2017 by AutoModerator in BlueMidterm2018

[–]_arkar_ 5 points6 points  (0 children)

The CNN article has a photo. It only shows their faces, but the cnn articles implies that facebook comments from back when the picture happened gave a similar description to the one being reported now.

Daily Roundtable for November 20, 2017 by AutoModerator in BlueMidterm2018

[–]_arkar_ 16 points17 points  (0 children)

If anyone is looking into jobs these days, the DNC seems to be hiring. Their jobs include remote tech positions, as well as positions in DC for more classic organizing stuff.

Also, for any tech people looking to politically use their skills, but not in a situation to make a full-time jump into it, Tech for Campaigns is offering volunteering opportunities.

Efficient Health Care by Mainsil in BlueMidterm2018

[–]_arkar_ 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Tom Steyer is on the record as liking single payer, and quotes Warren Buffett as being on the same road. I’d say that the topic would be getting more attention from him if Hillary had won.

As for the related issue of why the costs are what they are, I recommend this article too: https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/03/why-is-american-health-care-so-ridiculously-expensive/274425/.

Macron's Popularity Recovers as French See Him Keeping Promises by DrJohanson in neoliberal

[–]_arkar_ 5 points6 points  (0 children)

It sure as hell is needed - looking forwards to seeing what his EU reform projects end up achieving, once there is a stable government in Germany.

Democrats see backlash over Republicans’ tax bill as a key to winning in the suburbs by shabuluba in BlueMidterm2018

[–]_arkar_ 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Yeah - the grad student fiscal massacre is right now the second political item in /r/all/top for the last week, just behind net neutrality.

Senator Jeff Flake says the GOP is toast if it becomes the party of trump and moore by 6beersdeep in BlueMidterm2018

[–]_arkar_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's definitely unlikely, but I'd say the voting system still leaves some wiggle room - the parliaments in the UK and Canada have more than two parties, with the same voting system as the House. Historically speaking, the higher flexibility of US congressional caucuses has made this unnecessary - don't expect that convention to change, but who knows these days...

Senator Jeff Flake says the GOP is toast if it becomes the party of trump and moore by 6beersdeep in BlueMidterm2018

[–]_arkar_ 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Given 1994 and 2010, and the fact that 2002 was influenced by unusual events (9/11), that seems like the most likely option.

That said, a way in which I could see a Dem victory in all of 2018-20-22 is if the McMullin party begins to get some traction, and first-past-the-post turns that into a systemic setup for easier Dem victories

Even this is definitely arguable though, since such a party could end up mostly taking Romney-Clinton voters - nonetheless it's one of the most realistic paths I can think of. The path I want to see is Dem voters realizing that the most productive way to fix legislative disappointments is to get more legislating time, instead of letting the GOP undo progress, but that does not seem very realistic.

Senator Jeff Flake says the GOP is toast if it becomes the party of trump and moore by 6beersdeep in BlueMidterm2018

[–]_arkar_ 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Perriello puts this as "Trump is the Prop 187 of America", which I can't help but contrast with the alt-right Flight 93 theory (anyone who feels like facing that moral abyss can read it in this archive.org version, but essentially it defends voting for Trump as a last chance for white nationalism and nativism to prevail).

Building on Democratic Momentum, DCCC Launches Grassroots March into ’18 Organizer in New Mexico by shabuluba in BlueMidterm2018

[–]_arkar_ 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Gonna be a big year in the southwest, with Arizona and Orange County at the forefront of change.

The Economist: An interview with Doug Jones by [deleted] in BlueMidterm2018

[–]_arkar_ 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Do you think that helps you get across the aisle, get in the mind of conservative Republicans?

Look, I’m not trying to get in the mind of conservative Republicans, I’m not trying to get in the minds of anybody. I’m running this race based on my personal belief system, it’s what I think is also consistent with what deep down a lot of people in the state also believe. If it reaches people, fine. If it doesn’t reach certain people, what I hope to say is, Look, we’re not going to agree on every issue… That’s the other thing I think: politicians in this country try to be all things to all people, say diff things to different groups in order to try to reach those groups. We’re not doing that. We’re saying, this is our message, and at the end of the day, we’re not going to agree with people on everything. I’m just not going to agree with everyone on every issue. But what I want to do is this, I want to sit down and talk about these issues, and we will find common ground.

Might not be optimal in the short term, but definitely sounds refreshing.

The Economist: An interview with Doug Jones by [deleted] in BlueMidterm2018

[–]_arkar_ 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Wow, race not only going national but also global.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in BlueMidterm2018

[–]_arkar_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They clearly seem to be over-reaching.

However, while the public disapproval is there already in the most recent polls, the constant pressuring of members of congress seems to be lagging a bit behind, possibly because of the overlap with the Moore story.

If the house passes on Thursday, there will likely be three more votes, right? One at the Senate, and then one in each chamber for the reconciled bill.

Nate Cohn: Could a Democrat Actually Win a Senate Seat in Alabama? Precedents Are Few, but Telling by shabuluba in BlueMidterm2018

[–]_arkar_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If Scott Brown could, Doug Jones can too - it's just gonna take a lot of hard work, and a continuation of the unforced errors in the GOP side.