Money talks.

[RockHardNYC]

I'm happy to report I sent three checks today to candidates running for president.

I saw the Peter Buttigieg CNN Town Hall recently and the guy blew me away. So smart. So articulate. So open to new ideas. He's got some serious talent. I believe his mind and heart would be good for America. First check to him.

I like Kamala Harris. Second check to her. I think she's got talent, too. She doesn't quite have her policy chops sharpened enough, but I want to watch her growth and see her in the debates. I think it's important to have leadership discussions among a diverse group. I like supporting smart women who don't behave like Amy Klobuchar in private. If Stacy Abrams jumps in, I'll be sending her a check, too. I enjoy supporting smart minority women with talent.

Check #3 goes to Beto O'Rourke. So glad he decided to jump in. Let's see how he fares on the national stage. He has the potential to bring an Obama-type impact to politics. The fact that he's a White guy from Texas only helps attract more conservatives on the fence.

We caring patriots need to support worthy candidates who try to avoid PAC money. Even if it's $25, I highly recommend our fellow gay men write a check asap to show support. Good candidates need every non-corporate penny they can get their hands on. Let's do whatever we can, whatever it takes to dump Trump and Pence.

(I apologize for posting in the Pub. I wanted to reach as many members as possible.)

 

 

[marcanthony]

My wallet didn't open as broadly, but I too sent $$$ to Beto within minutes of his announcement.  yes he's vague on specific issues and solutions.  yes he does not have much executive experience.  but yes we are in the 3rd year of the current administration, and like comfort food, the words that come out of his mouth about what's right and what's good just make me feel that there's hope for our divided country!  Just the right thing at the right time.

[RockHardNYC]

1 hour ago, marcanthony said:

My wallet didn't open as broadly

Which is why I stressed the importance of the $25 donation. Bernie Sanders proved that $25 from enough individuals can help finance a revolution. It's going to take a revolution to put Trump and his minions in their rightful place. They are not going to leave the stage without a serious FIGHT. Trump needs the White House to prevent him from going to jail.

1 hour ago, marcanthony said:

(Beto) Just the right thing at the right time.

He's taking a lot of flack for the silent, adoring wife sitting at his side. IMO, he deserves the flack. None of the women candidates featured their husbands in the same manner. Beto should have known better that these ancient, useless, outdated tropes are no way to sell young and fresh.

Edited March 15, 2019 by RockHardNYC

[MsGuy]

On 03/15/2019 at 1:53 PM, RockHardNYC said:

 Beto should have known better that these ancient, useless, outdated tropes are no way to sell young and fresh.

Maybe part of his appeal is that he can't be painted as a bull goose left loony like Ocasio-Cortez. Of couse, it didn't hurt that he ran his Texas campaign against a creepy whack job of a troll. Come to think of it, maybe that would be just the right model for a campaign against Trump.

On 03/15/2019 at 12:45 PM, marcanthony said:

... like comfort food, the words that come out of his mouth about what's right and what's good just make me feel that there's hope for our divided country!  Just the right thing at the right time.

And it doesn't hurt that he's kinda cute.

[Lucky]

The Guardian, Arwah Mahdawi:

Lord give me the confidence of a mediocre white man! Specifically, I wouldn’t mind the confidence of Beto O’Rourke. A dude so assured of his inner greatness that, after losing a Senate bid, he decided the next logical step would be to run for president. Not only did he lose, by the way, he lost to Ted Cruz: a man so unlikable there’s even a conspiracy theory floating around that he’s the Zodiac killer.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t think losing one election disqualifies someone from jumping into the presidential nominations. Stacey Abrams has said “2020 is definitely on the table”, and I’d be 100% behind her running. (Then again, Abrams didn’t really lose the 2018 Georgia gubernatorial contest; she had the election stolen from her because of voter suppression tactics.)

No, it’s not Beto’s loss last year that bothers me, it’s his entitlement. His certainty that he’s qualified for the most powerful job in the world despite his lack of experience. His belief that he is qualified for the role despite the fact that he himself has absolutely no idea what he stands for. “I don’t know where I am on a [political] spectrum and I almost could care less,” Beto recently boasted during a stop in Wisconsin.

I’ll tell you where Beto is on the political spectrum: he’s wherever it’s most convenient for him to be. He announced his presidential bid by talking about the environment but his six-year record in Congress shows him to be a friend of the fossil fuel industry. His voting record is characterized by flip-flopping and he is vague about his position on healthcare and raising taxes. The only strong conviction he really seems to have is that he deserves to be president. “Man, I’m just born to be in it,” he recently enthused to Vanity Fair.

In many senses Beto is right: he was born to be successful. He is, after all, a rich kid from a well-connected family. His dad, Pat O’Rourke was a county judge and got 19-year-old Beto (who had no interest in politics at the time) an internship with the West Texas congressman Ron Coleman. Like many privileged people, Beto seems to have confused his luck for God-given talent; a talent so spectacular that he doesn’t need to do the hard work mere mortals do. “I don’t ever prepare a speech,” he boasted to Vanity Fair. Can you imagine a woman boasting about how she never prepares? No, because women know they need to be overprepared just to get a foot in the door.

Ultimately, what might be most frustrating about Beto is that we all know someone like him. He’s the guy in the meeting who hasn’t done any of the work but who repeats a woman’s points and immediately gets a round of applause and a promotion. He’s the guy who pays eloquent lip service to the importance of diversity, but would never go so far as conceding a woman might be better qualified for a job than him. He’s the epitome of mediocre white male confidence. And if there is one thing America does not need at the moment, it’s more mediocre white guys running things.

[Lucky]

Beto's fantasy:

“This happiness was mine by right. I had earned it in my dreams. As I neared the young ones, I put all my weight on my right foot, keeping the accelerator pedal on the floor until I heard the crashing of the two children on the hood, and then the sharp cry of pain from one of the two. I was so fascinated for a moment, that when after I had stopped my vehicle, I just sat in a daze, sweet visions filling my head.

 

 

Edited March 16, 2019 by Lucky

[marcanthony]

At some point, one of the candidates for the democratic nomination will secure/win that nomination, and he/she will likely run against Donald Trump.  If part of the democratic base stays home like the Bernie Bros did last year, there's a good chance we have 4 more years of the same.  I am not sure much could be worse than that.

It's why though I have my reasons for wanting Beto to be that candidate, I say nothing about the flaws of Harris, Warren, Biden, Booker, Sanders, Kloubacher, etc etc... because ONE of them will ultimately be MY candidate.

If the Dems lose this election, we deserve what we get.  Fool me once, shame on you (Republicans), fool me twice, shame on me (Democrats).

[marcanthony]

Did I mention that Ginsburg and Breyer are 85 and 80 yo respectively, and Gorusch and Kavanaugh are 51 and 54.

[Lucky]

Sorry, marcanthony, even the Old Romans wouldn't have liked your approach. We have to vet our candidates. We have to know their strengths and weaknesses. We have to push for their best qualities to appear. The Democrats will deserve to lose if they cannot offer the American people a candidate with ideas and a plan for the future. Watching Beto skateboard across that stage only makes me think he is a goof-ball, a lightweight. Where are the experienced Democrats? Reading the lengthy obituary in today's LA Times of the late Indiana Senator Birch Bayh I realized that we don't make them like we used to.

https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-na-pol-birch-bayh-indiana-senator-dead-obituary-20190314-story.html

 

(I met Birch Bayh- twice! I was at an event and we were introduced, then when the event ended I hadn't followed everyone to his car, so he came up to me and introduced himself again. I pretended it was just once.)

Edited March 17, 2019 by Lucky

[marcanthony]

1 hour ago, Lucky said:

Sorry, marcanthony, even the Old Romans wouldn't have liked your approach. We have to vet our candidates. We have to know their strengths and weaknesses.

Normally I would agree with you.  My point is that 2.5 years into the current administration and the sobering thought given another 4 years of the same the SCOTUS could conceivably curtail equal protection under the law for the next 20 years, I don't need to vet any of the candidates to know that any one of them would be better than what we have now.  That's enough incentive for me not to weaken any of them.  Sorry we'll just have to disagree.

[AdamSmith]

4 hours ago, marcanthony said:

Normally I would agree with you.  My point is that 2.5 years into the current administration and the sobering thought given another 4 years of the same the SCOTUS could conceivably curtail equal protection under the law for the next 20 years, I don't need to vet any of the candidates to know that any one of them would be better than what we have now.  That's enough incentive for me not to weaken any of them.  Sorry we'll just have to disagree.

Agree wholly.

let’s see if Booker or if one or another gets thru the process.

[Lucky]

The next President is going to have to undo a whole list of negative accomplishments by Trump. Experience will go a long way to fixing the damage done. So many of the Democrat candidates are relatively new that they won't have what it takes. We don't need another inexperienced candidate.

[RockHardNYC]

Some people think like old people. It's not difficult to do when you are of a certain age and your brain is fried from the desert sun.

Sorry to say it, but experience does not matter in this political climate. Trump broke the mold, and that glass ceiling will not glue back together easily. Experience means you're part of the establishment, and that is a dirty word right now that will be used against anyone who tries to use it in marketing.

Obama won in a major way with very little experience. The opposition tried to use it against him, but his personality was too strong, his brain was too smart to let that worthless criticism stick. To gain experience quickly in politics, all you need to do is hire the right people. Surround yourself with experience. That's exactly what Obama did. If a good, inexperienced candidate rises to the top, the lines will be long for volunteer experts willing to serve.

Mayor Pete is bravely using the word experience, and he uses it brilliantly. He is a dark horse in the race, but he may be able to rise above some of the others. His military service helps. Voters like smart, attractive folks from the military. Mayor Pete has the it factor. Since Trump famously deferred military service over a lie about foot fungus, Pete will have no problem putting the asshole liar in his place.

[RockHardNYC]

On 3/15/2019 at 2:53 PM, RockHardNYC said:

He's taking a lot of flack for the silent, adoring wife sitting at his side. IMO, he deserves the flack. None of the women candidates featured their husbands in the same manner. Beto should have known better that these ancient, useless, outdated tropes are no way to sell young and fresh.

On the other hand, the adoring wife trope works very well with the evangelicals and those conservatives stuck in a time warp. Beto is an unusual Democrat. He enjoys and respects his conservative fans. Beto has honored history with a few powerful Texas Republicans.

[Lucky]

1 hour ago, RockHardNYC said:

On the other hand, the adoring wife trope works very well with the evangelicals and those conservatives stuck in a time warp. Beto is an unusual Democrat. He enjoys and respects his conservative fans. Beto has honored history with a few powerful Texas Republicans.

Now we have RockHard responding to himself. Time for those bloviator pills to kick in!

 

And sure, I would love to support a candidate who is in favor with the conservatives and evangelicals. I might even send him one of those big $25 checks that are going out from New York. No doubt he would support gay rights over his evangelical Texan powerhouses.

[RockHardNYC]

Beto O’Rourke Raised $6.1 Million Online in First 24 Hours of Campaign

Only 1k of that is mine, but if he plays his cards right, I'm sure I'll be sending more.

Edited March 18, 2019 by RockHardNYC

[boiworship]

On 3/17/2019 at 2:33 PM, marcanthony said:

Did I mention that Ginsburg and Breyer are 85 and 80 yo respectively, and Gorusch and Kavanaugh are 51 and 54.

Breyer is reportedly quite fit.

[AdamSmith]

3 hours ago, boiworship said:

Breyer is reportedly quite fit.

Having randomly met him in Cantabridgia MA and sung 1930s show tunes with him around a home piano keyed by (sorry to blow my own horn here  ) Tom fucking Lehrer in 2009, I agree wholly. We have years and years of Breyer’s service ahead of us.

He is soft-spoken, but like notorious RGB a force of nature not to be underrated.

[MsGuy]

I don't have the stats to prove it, but I would be willing to bet that a "quite fit"  80 year old middle class white male (even one with access to the most expensive medical services on offer) has a non-trivial probability of death or disability in the next 6 years.  Again, no stats at hand, but my guess his odds would be around 50%, give or take, maybe worse.

Besides, why should Justice Breyer have to die in the saddle so to speak. With Beto as president he could retire w/o fear of contributing to the destruction of the Republic and spend some quality time with his great-grand kids.

[Lucky]

2 minutes ago, MsGuy said:

Besides, why should Justice Breyer have to die in the saddle so to speak. With Beto as president he could retire w/o fear of contributing to the destruction of the Republic and spend some quality time with his great-grand kids.

Then Beto and his conservative and evangelical friends could pick a new Justice! They would all skateboard down the National Mall.

[MsGuy]

Lucky, in my experience, politics doesn't work that way.

Just a guess based on no evidence, but I would say that Beto has no particular commitment to Gay rights one way or the other. His party favors gays, so he favors gays. Yea us! To him, it's just another one of those things where you have to say the right things.

On the other hand, I can't see him splitting his party and base just to toss a bone to some evangelicals whose leaders ain't buying his shit no matter what he does. As president he will nominate a candidate acceptable to his base on gay rights precisely because he doesn't much care and it's a cheap way to keep folks happy. YEA US!

Remember the old time Temperance folks who vowed to support a drunk who voted 'right' over a teetotaler who was soft on prohibition? Politically speaking, they had a point.

 

[AdamSmith]

2 hours ago, MsGuy said:

Lucky, in my experience, politics doesn't work that way.

Just a guess based on no evidence, but I would say that Beto has no particular commitment to Gay rights one way or the other. His party favors gays, so he favors gays. Yea us! To him, it's just another one of those things where you have to say the right things.

On the other hand, I can't see him splitting his party and base just to toss a bone to some evangelicals whose leaders ain't buying his shit no matter what he does. As president he will nominate a candidate acceptable to his base on gay rights precisely because he doesn't much care and it's a cheap way to keep folks happy. YEA US!

Remember the old time Temperance folks who vowed to support a drunk who voted 'right' over a teetotaler who was soft on prohibition? Politically speaking, they had a point.

 

Can anyone say that idealist yet-heard realist word Beto cannot bring himself to say?!

[RockHardNYC]

8 hours ago, MsGuy said:

I don't have the stats to prove it, but I would be willing to bet that a "quite fit"  80 year old middle class white male (even one with access to the most expensive medical services on offer) has a non-trivial probability of death or disability in the next 6 years.

To be working full-time in your 80's, and be of value, not only do you need good health, you need healthy family genes that age well. For a small group, 80 is the new 60. More power to them if they can make that work. But the numbers aren't quite in their favor.

7 hours ago, MsGuy said:

I would say that Beto has no particular commitment to Gay rights one way or the other.

I will want to know Beto's private position on gay rights before I donate further. That goes for Kamala as well. I donated money to Hillary, Bill, and Obama, knowing they were once publicly against gay marriage, but hearing a different thought privately. I attended many fundraisers. I'm not naive or Pollyanna when it comes to politics.

I know life is not perfect for most people, but gay marriage seems like a milestone accomplishment for gay men and women. Almost a true miracle in our lifetime. What glaring gay right today is more important than same-sex marriage? If ultra-liberal Dems want to elevate the toilets-for-trans issue and make that a top priority in 2020, I can assure our gay readers that Trump will be your next president.

[RockHardNYC]

8 hours ago, MsGuy said:

I can't see him splitting his party and base just to toss a bone to some evangelicals whose leaders ain't buying his shit no matter what he does.

I suspect it'll be more than a bone toss. My understanding is that Beto is far more religious than Trump ever was. The only altar that Trump bows to is money and himself. Religion is an important subject to many Democratic voters.

To avoid Hillary, evangelicals voted for the devil in 2016, who also happens to be a mob boss and a traitor. Evangelicals lost their credibility with that vote. They will pay a price. The no-deficit conservatives, especially those assholes from the so-called Tea Party, will pay a price, as well.

I suspect for some conservatives, Beto would be a welcome relief.

Edited March 19, 2019 by RockHardNYC

[Latbear4blk]

Every day I like Beto less and less.