The Best Site For The Latest Stories On The Election

[Nomomo]

The Best Site for The Latest News Items Related to the Election >

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/liv ... 20-updates

New stories of the latest happenings going on everywhere election related, updated every few minutes. You can keep abreast of it all by scrolling on one webpage.

Check it out now, Open the above Link in new tab by right clicking it and select "New Tab" and then just keep that tab open while you surf other places in other tabs, and come back and check it once in a while.

[Nomomo]

From the link in the OP:
2m ago
00:15
In Philadelphia, police are reportedly investigating a tip about an alleged plot to attack the Pennsylvania Convention Center, where officials are counting ballots.

6abc Action News reports that law enforcement took a man into custody. “Action News has learned that police got a tip about a group, possibly a family, driving up from Virginia in a Hummer to unleash an attack at the Convention Center,” the network reported.

No injuries have been reported. Read more and video here > https://6abc.com/7689932/

[Nomomo]

8m ago
00:59
The Secret Service is sending officers to ramp up protection for Joe Biden, the Washington Post reports:

The Secret Service is sending reinforcements to Wilmington, Del., starting Friday to help protect former vice president Joe Biden as his campaign prepares for the possibility he may soon claim victory in his bid for the White House, according to two people familiar with the plans.

The Secret Service summoned a squad of agents to add to the protective bubble around Biden after his campaign alerted the Secret Service the Democratic nominee would continue utilizing a Wilmington convention center at least another day and could make a major speech as early as Friday, according to the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the security protocols.

Secret Service spokeswoman Catherine Milhoan declined to comment, stressing that the agency does not publicly discuss security planning for the president or candidates it protects.

Read more here > 8m ago
00:59
The Secret Service is sending officers to ramp up protection for Joe Biden, the Washington Post reports:

The Secret Service is sending reinforcements to Wilmington, Del., starting Friday to help protect former vice president Joe Biden as his campaign prepares for the possibility he may soon claim victory in his bid for the White House, according to two people familiar with the plans.

The Secret Service summoned a squad of agents to add to the protective bubble around Biden after his campaign alerted the Secret Service the Democratic nominee would continue utilizing a Wilmington convention center at least another day and could make a major speech as early as Friday, according to the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the security protocols.

Secret Service spokeswoman Catherine Milhoan declined to comment, stressing that the agency does not publicly discuss security planning for the president or candidates it protects.

Read more here >> https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics ... story.html

[Nomomo]

1h ago
00:03
After House Democrats’ hopes of widening their margin in Congress were crushed, they erupted into a heated debate during a private conference call over whether the party’s push to the left cost them seats, the Washington Post reports:

Party leaders had expressed certainty that Trump’s divisiveness and mishandling of the pandemic would help them expand their majority with wins in GOP-held districts — and yet they lost at least a half-dozen seats and failed to retake the Senate. The explanation laid out by centrists, according to multiple people who were on the call and spoke on the condition of anonymity, is that Republicans were easily able to paint them all as socialists and radical leftists who endorse far-left positions such as defunding the police.

“We need to not ever use the word ‘socialist’ or ‘socialism’ ever again. . . . We lost good members because of that,” Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.), who narrowly leads in her reelection bid, said heatedly. “If we are classifying Tuesday as a success . . . we will get f--ing torn apart in 2022.”

Other centrists, including Rep. Marc Veasey of Texas, made similar points. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, a Florida Democrat who suffered an unexpected loss to a Republican challenger, argued through tears that the party’s infighting on Twitter needs to stop.

Liberals, meanwhile, fired back. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), co-chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, argued that Democrats shouldn’t single out people and ideas that energize the party base. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), a self-described democratic socialist, grew angry, accusing her colleagues of only being interested in appealing to White people in suburbia.

“To be real, it sounds like you are saying stop pushing for what Black folks want,” she said.

[Gunnar]

Liberals, meanwhile, fired back. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), co-chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, argued that Democrats shouldn’t single out people and ideas that energize the party base. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), a self-described democratic socialist, grew angry, accusing her colleagues of only being interested in appealing to White people in suburbia.

“To be real, it sounds like you are saying stop pushing for what Black folks want,” she said.

I suspect that the liberals and progressives like Tlaib are right. I think the Democrats would have won more races and by a wider margin if they had fielded more candidates that weren't timid about more aggressively promoting progressive ideals like universal healthcare and a green economy and addressing the concerns about human induced climate change that polls show are favored by as much as 60 to 70% of the American people. The huge popularity and electoral success of people like Tlaib herself and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (in fact, the whole "Squad") powerfully attests to that.

Plus I still think that Bernie Sanders would have had a stronger showing against Trump than Biden did, had he been the Presidential nominee.

[Res Ipsa]

Liberals, meanwhile, fired back. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), co-chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, argued that Democrats shouldn’t single out people and ideas that energize the party base. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), a self-described democratic socialist, grew angry, accusing her colleagues of only being interested in appealing to White people in suburbia.

“To be real, it sounds like you are saying stop pushing for what Black folks want,” she said.

I suspect that the liberals and progressives like Tlaib are right. I think the Democrats would have won more races and by a wider margin if they had fielded more candidates that weren't timid about more aggressively promoting progressive ideals like universal healthcare and a green economy and addressing the concerns about human induced climate change that polls show are favored by as much as 60 to 70% of the American people. The huge popularity and electoral success of people like Tlaib herself and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (in fact, the whole "Squad") powerfully attests to that.

Plus I still think that Bernie Sanders would have had a stronger showing against Trump than Biden did, had he been the Presidential nominee.

I disagree. I think democrats got clubbed with the "socialist" label, and Bernie would have done worse. Sadly, Trump was able pin the violent incidents during this summer's demonstrations on "the left," and I think that had an effect on centrist voters. There was a smaller percentage of undecideds this time around, but they broke pretty hard for Trump.

There is a significant block of people who support democratic policies when they aren't labeled, but who reject them if they are attached to the "socialist" label. We need to clearly differentiate universal health insurance and greening the economy from the socialism of Cuba, Venezuela, and Russia. That's going to take work to undo the socialist branding by right-wing media.

[Moksha]

There is a significant block of people who support democratic policies when they aren't labeled, but who reject them if they are attached to the "socialist" label.

The accusation of Joe Biden being a socialist was apparently enough to garner Trump the Hispanic vote in Florida.

[Res Ipsa]

The Guardian does excellent journalism. Personally, I like 538 for election news, but that's just personal taste.

[Gunnar]

I disagree. I think democrats got clubbed with the "socialist" label, and Bernie would have done worse. Sadly, Trump was able pin the violent incidents during this summer's demonstrations on "the left," and I think that had an effect on centrist voters. There was a smaller percentage of undecideds this time around, but they broke pretty hard for Trump.

Yet Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her fellow 'Squad' members, arguably the most unabashedly progressive (and dare I say "socialistic") members of Congress, all easily won reelection with quite healthy margins, while more centrist democratic candidates who sometimes seemed almost apologetic about and tended to back away from some of their more progressive or "socialistic" leanings did less well, and in some cases lost their elections

All four members of the progressive “Squad” of Democratic congresswomen have handily won re-election.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan will return to their seats in the US Congress. The four women of color, who championed ambitious climate action, healthcare for all Americans and other progressive causes while enduring frequent racism and derision from Donald Trump, will no longer be newcomers to Capitol Hill.

“Our sisterhood is resilient,” Omar tweeted.

Yes, it is sad and despicable that some Democrats got clubbed with the "socialist" label and that Trump was able to falsely pin most of this summer's demonstration on "the left", but perhaps if they had been a bit more progressive and owned it, and pushed back harder against Trump's attempts to label them as "socialist" and "communist", they would have done as well as the "squad" members.

Another thing to keep in mind is that there are a number of wealthy, corporate, establishment Democrat Donors and politicians who are themselves uncomfortable with the more progressive Democrat candidates, and actively try to "primary" them out or otherwise discourage them from running.

There is a significant block of people who support democratic policies when they aren't labeled, but who reject them if they are attached to the "socialist" label. We need to clearly differentiate universal health insurance and greening the economy from the socialism of Cuba, Venezuela, and Russia. That's going to take work to undo the socialist branding by right-wing media.

Yeah I agree that it's going to take a lot of work to undo socialist branding and demonization of progressivism by right-wing media, but there are right and wrong ways to do socialism. Democratic socialism can and does do quite well in some of the most advanced, wealthiest, healthiest, happiest and even most democratic nations on earth. It is not necessarily something to fear, unless one aspires to become an obscenely wealthy oligarch for whom no amount of wealth or power is enough to satisfy, like Trump!

[Gunnar]

I disagree. I think democrats got clubbed with the "socialist" label, and Bernie would have done worse. Sadly, Trump was able pin the violent incidents during this summer's demonstrations on "the left," and I think that had an effect on centrist voters. There was a smaller percentage of undecideds this time around, but they broke pretty hard for Trump.

There is a significant block of people who support democratic policies when they aren't labeled, but who reject them if they are attached to the "socialist" label. We need to clearly differentiate universal health insurance and greening the economy from the socialism of Cuba, Venezuela, and Russia. That's going to take work to undo the socialist branding by right-wing media.

I think this topic could bear some further discussion and amplification. I am still not convinced that Bernie Sanders and his ideas would have diminished the chances of defeating Trump in the recent election.

Former Sanders press secretary: Progressive policies outperformed moderates on Election Day

Candidates who supported progressive policies championed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) during his two presidential runs fared better than moderate Democrats at the polls on Election Day, the Sanders's former national spokeswoman claimed on Wednesday.

In an interview with Hill.TV's "Rising," Briahna Joy Gray rejected criticism from swing-state Democrats who argued that the party's language about law enforcement and climate change caused some vulnerable members to lose their seats.

Democrats fared worse than House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) had predicted, losing seats to Republican challengers last week and failing to expand the majority in the lower chamber.

Despite losses however, Democrats maintained the majority in the House.

"The narrative that's being pushed simply doesn't align with the facts," Gray told co-hosts Saagar Enjeti and Krystal Ball.

"The Democrats in swing districts who backed policies like Medicare-for-All won," she added, referring to the electoral successes of a number of House members who have pledged support for a single-payer healthcare system.

"The Democrats who didn't...six Democrats in swing districts who declined to back Medicare-for-All lost," Gray continued.

She stated that Democrats were avoiding looking at the failures of centrist policies because President-elect Joe Biden, a moderate, led the ticket.

As pointed out by Ms. Gray, in the accompanying video, it was really the popularity of the progressive candidates who won in the swing states, that Biden managed to win, that pulled Biden over the edge to victory in the general election. My guess is that those more progressive candidates being on the ballot is probably what saved Biden's bacon. This makes sense, because if voters really preferred centrist Democrats who moved closer to centrist Republican positions on important issues, in order to enhance their electability, why not just vote Republican instead?