moderates

Do you ever read Historic.ly? You should. A couple of days ago they asked Paul Rockwell to write about the history of moderates. He began by reminding readers that "In 2016 Democrats nominated Hillary Clinton, not because she was a visionary, certainly not because her agenda generated enthusiasm among young voters, but because Democrats-- influenced by media-- simply assumed that centrists are automatically more electable than progressives. That assumption has no basis in reality. Even worse, the centrist viewpoint could well lead to another Clinton-like fiasco.

Unless you're new here, you know the misuse of the word "moderate" to describe conservatives is a pet peeve of this blog's. I was happy to see someone else tackle the topic this week-- Norman Solomon for Common Dreams: There’s Nothing Moderate About "Moderates." A Primary Example Is Joe Biden.

How important are tax cuts to the very wealthy? Very, very, according to the Center for Public Integrity.

The Morning Consult poll released by Politico this morning shows an electorate moving sharply left... at least on taxing the super-wealthy. The two party establishments may not like the progressive tax reform ideas Bernie, Elizabeth Warren and AOC are bringing up, but the voters do-- overwhelmingly. The Morning Consult poll shows 76% of registered voters believe the wealthiest Americans should pay more in taxes.

Who should be next in the popular series, "The Worst Democraps Who Want To Be President?" Part III, at the end of November, was all about multi-billionaire Michael Bloomberg. A mutual friend tells me he wasn't pleased with what I wrote about him. I'm sure he's gotten over it. Yesterday, the Washington Post reported that he's still mullin' whether or not to run. I hope he asks people who don't stand to make small fortunes if he does run.

You think Democratic primary voters want this as their candidate against Trump?A silly new poll from Morning Consult purports to show something about how the 2020 Democratic nomination is shaping up.

America's most popular political leader is pushing positions popular with voters but not with billionairesThe word "moderate" is more popular with voters than words like "liberal" or "conservative," and politicians always try to claim the word for their own agenda (which is rarely much more than careerist).

As though our politics isn't right-wing enough, and isn't controlled enough by Big Money and rigged against working families, there's a new group intern calling itself The Centrist Project, "the only national organization working to recruit and elect independent candidates to office." I got a press release from them celebrating their Colorado affiliate, Unite Colorado announcing "its first wave of independent candidate endorsements for state legislature." This has been catastrophic in Maine and allowed insane people like Tea Party crackpot Paul LePage to win his state's governorship-- twice

Corporate whores are not "moderates." They're corporate whoresThe other day I had an off-the-record lunch with one of California's top political leaders, an effective liberal who wields tremendous power in Sacramento.

21st Century Wire says…
A review of all the Top Stories from this week – for your consideration.