8 thoughts on “Friday Open Thread”

1. Daily Beast picks on Phil.
   http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/12/19/the-right-wing-billionaire-who-bowed-to-north-korea-over-the-interview.html

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   1. The movie trailer can be found at that URL, for those interested.

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2. Rep. Keith Ellison from Minnesota has figured out that Blue Dog Dems don't do a whole helluva lot for good policy. Voters have moved on from the species and it would be best if Democratic candidates worked with the new reality:

   Congressional Progressive Caucus co-chair Keith Ellison spoke on a DFA call about the role of economic populism in the Democratic Party. He was eager, he said, to see Elizabeth Warren enter the presidential race– even if just to make Clinton a better candidate. "Elizabeth Warren is one of the great, bright lights of our time," he said and worried that Hillary Clinton "could just walk into the general [election] without having committed to some important real, real economic populism."

   He also warned the Republican wing of the Democratic Party– the Blue Dogs and New Dems ( what he called "our weak-kneed Democratic friends") that "we’re watching, and if they’re standing with the Corporatocracy and the Big Banks, we’ll find some other people who will stand with the people."

   Jared Polis is in the Progressive Caucus, though he doesn't seem to be all that enthusiastic about their issues. Ed Perlmutter mostly fits Ellison's definition of a weak-kneed corporatist and maybe he should be thinking about the looming question of voter support for Corporate Dems. We know what's happened to Colorado's most recent Blue Dogs: one term and out has been the rule here, and it should be obvious that the strategy no longer works. Triangulating away from the Middle Class to Citibank will get you a nice fat campaign account, but it won't get you the votes to earn that next term in office.

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   1. I'll deal with Perlmutter – I know the family, and will talk to them about licking the hand that kills you.

      He'll quickly get the message…..

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      1. I hope your influence outstrips your written coherence.

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         1. What I'm saying is that I know the Perlmutter family, and we'll just have a nice leisurely chat and see where he stands. Although he is not my representative, Perlmutter represents a specific kind of values that I've known them for…

            And for sure, he is not a corporatist, but rather a centrist that needs to be nudged to the progressive side.

             

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         2. 🙂

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3. We will not be able to keep up with Dr Chaps' pronouncements once the legislative session begins . . .

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