The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age

    Question

    By LisB on Thu, 10/29/2015 - 10:20pm |

    I have a question, and I'm hoping you will all provide your answers. 

    OK, here it goes.

    If Hillary is elected President, what will she change, and how will she change it?

    OK, let me clarify that question, first.

    If Hillary is elected President, and we still have a majority of Republicans in the House and can barely hold the Senate, what will she change, and how will she change it?

     

    Comments

    23 reads, and no comments yet.  But you all can reply to me within 20 seconds after I comment at Synch's post.

    Interesting.

     


    by LisB on Thu, 10/29/2015 - 10:59pm

    LOL...I just got a chance to check in before I go to bed.  I was doing laundry. Hey, it only took me 3 hours to get here.  It took me 5 hours yesterday to get to Synch.  LOL. 


    by trkingmomoe on Fri, 10/30/2015 - 1:25am

    I'll start off by sharing with you what I think Bernie can do...I think that his supporters, like me, are working the ground and not only supporting his campaign but those of their local Dems.  He has us fired up, and ready to go (to borrow a phrase) and there is a good chance that he can carry a lot of Dems into the House and Senate.  If we can't do that, he would at least arrive in the White House without a lot of baggage.

    What is Hillary's win going to do for Dems once she wins?  Please just answer me that.  Somebody.

     


    by LisB on Thu, 10/29/2015 - 11:16pm

    I have a couple problems with Hillary that make it hard to vote for her over anyone except for any Republican. Sanders is not enough different in those areas for me to get real excited about but he definitely gets my vote so far.


    by A Guy Called LULU on Thu, 10/29/2015 - 11:34pm

    Thanks for commenting.  But how is Sanders "not enough different", if I may ask?

     


    by LisB on Thu, 10/29/2015 - 11:41pm

    Well, you must know my hobby horse is our country's foreign policy.  I expect Hillary to continue being just as bad as we have had. I know Sander's voting record but I am just not confident that he would be much better. He has made some really dumb statements about how the Middle East should be handled.  


    by A Guy Called LULU on Thu, 10/29/2015 - 11:57pm

     I expect Hillary to continue being just as bad as we have had. I know Sander's voting record but I am just not confident that he would be much better.

    What a bleak outlook you have, grandmama.

    And what a doubter.

    Okay, live on for four more years of the same old, so long as you're comfy with it.  When you get your confidence back, call me.

     


    by LisB on Fri, 10/30/2015 - 12:02am

    Did you notice that I said that Sanders definitely gets my vote so far? 


    by A Guy Called LULU on Fri, 10/30/2015 - 12:09am

    Yes.  A lot of words got in the way, so it was a little hard for me to get that point, but I finally meandered towards it.  ;)

     


    by LisB on Fri, 10/30/2015 - 12:30am

    "live on for four more years of the same old" - that's your bleak assessment.

    I expect Hillary will get her ass out of Washington and fight for union issues more, do more for women's issues & equality, speak out against the GOP and try less to play by their rules, twist arms LBJ-style to get things done rather than wait for consensus to push it like Obama does, I think she'll be stronger on environmental issues - how long has Kyoto languished? - she may show more commitment to the details in TPP, NAFTA, Korean free trade & other agreements now that she can say they didn't turn out as well as expected. I don't think she's abandon Jim Martin in his runoff against Saxby Chambliss even if it looked like losing.

    If you recall Obama's "big week", it was half stuff that he had nothing to do with like the Supreme Court upholding gay marriage  - hardly his initiative as he was evolving on that issue too (and, as Andrew Sullivan notes, was most of the gay community) or a speech after the South Carolina flag was taken down - after a mass shooting whose easy gun access roots haven't been resolved.

    No, it won't be a socialist revolution against Wall Street, but I think she'll play hard ball, not just rubber stamp stuff (yes, that will require a change from having Citigroup & Goldman Sachs with front-row seats in the cabinet). I don't want a crusader against big business - I want some balance between business & economic objectives and worker rights & benefits and stability. So I'm a moderate in this area. Others like drugs, I'm a leftist - use Portugal's model, legalize all drugs and provide the rehab support to deal with junkies and the social support to provide real opportunities that are the best remedy to drug overuse vs. good ol' having fun. She seems to have gotten the point re: police abuse, and hopefully will push actual remedies vs endless outcries. Similar but harder with gun control being such a 3rd rail.

    I think she'll be more straight-forward on the education issues as well, since that's turned into a big business piece of shit rather than an evolving system suitable for 2015 and the coming Kurzweil synchronicity.  Etc, etc.


    by PeraclesPlease on Fri, 10/30/2015 - 4:48am

    Thanks, PP.  I like the agenda you've set out for her :)

    Knowing her history, but not as well as you do, I'd agree on most of your points.  Children, especially -- I lived in NY while she was Senator, and children were a major factor to her.

    But Obama also had an agenda -- a different one, yes -- but he had an agenda and he got a lot done in his first four years.  After the House and Senate got taken, we pretty much got fucked.

    So, my question is, how will Hillary be able to push her agenda -- OUR agenda -- once in the White House, dealing with the fucked up Republicans?

     


    by LisB on Fri, 10/30/2015 - 8:16pm

    As I noted, I dont expect Hillary to wait for a consensus to build - she'll build one. Obama let Saxley Chambliss win his runoff without a fight, losing the Senate at the same time. I don't think Hillary would be so complacent. I'd guess she'd be better at herding Democrats to make a solid front. And I'd guess she'll work harder than anyone and makebthem feel a bit sheepish. RE: the Republicans, I'd guess she'll master those cold stares and the subliminal "you really are as dumb as a fucking corkscrew, aren't you?" messaging, along with a bit of laughter levity in disbelief.

    by PeraclesPlease on Sat, 10/31/2015 - 2:03pm

    I expect 4 years of the same that we have been watching going on, if she is president.  

    One thing I find important is that Sanders has been building a large following and that will make him powerful in the Senate if he loses the nomination.  He will have a very large email list to call on to help push his progressive agenda forward. Many will be willing to email, write and call. 

    I would rather see him in the White House. 


    by trkingmomoe on Fri, 10/30/2015 - 1:51am

    Thank you, Momoe.  Yes, I would rather see him there too.  But your comment has hit me because it's something I hadn't considered.  Once Bernie has to step down and withdraw - if he has to -- his standing in the political arena will forever be changed, thanks to his presidential run and his supporters. 

    What an awesome comment!  You've heartened me a great deal.

    See, because I want his supporters to be the revolution that I thought us Obama supporters could have been.

    I was very disappointed after Obama got in office and his website changed.  We were all asked to stay involved, but the campaign moved on into Washington and only the supporters were left, and while I got a lot of email updates about national campaigns, I was mostly asked for money and every message felt canned.  I lost interest in politics, and I blame myself - of course - but I wish that the same organization and care that went into the campaign had been there to help guide all of us voters into a cohesive movement that would help Obama push things left.

    Instead, I'd get a request for money.

    I think the Sanders campaign has a different feel to it, and Bernie is encouraging everyone to get involved in their own local politics as well as his race for the White House.  He's asking not for our support, for his sake, but for our involvement in the whole process.

    I don't get that feeling from any other candidate.

     


    by LisB on Fri, 10/30/2015 - 8:25pm

    I will vote for him in the primary to keep him in the race as long as possible. Every rally he holds he convinces more people that this is their government and not let the selfish few run the country.  It is a big deal.

    Government has not been responding to the majority of the people.

    The majority wants universal healthcare as a government program of non profit. 

    The majority wants something done about all the loose weapons in our society that is easy to get and use. 

    The majority want the women to have the right to chose to have children.

    The majority wants to rebuild our infrastructure which includes mass transit.

    The majority want green energy.

    The majority wants Wall Street Big Banks broken up and restrictions put on their risk taking. 

    The majority wants $15 an hour minimum wage. 

    The majority wants family leave and paid vacation.

    The majority wants free college education and increased funding of education.

    The majority want universal pre-K.

    The majority wants corporations to have to make their products here if they want to sell them here.  They want the government to hold them accountable for trashing the environment in the world and exploiting labor. 

    The majority wants Citizens United gone and government financed campaigns.  Our campaigns are too long and exploited by the media.

    No one want Social Security privatized or reduced. The majority want the cap increased on FICA. 

    The majority wants the corporations to pay their fair share again. 

    The government has not been listening to us at all for a long time.  They only listen to the ones that finance their campaigns. There is plenty of frustration and Sanders have tapped into that. The country is moving away from the last 40 years of conservative corporate rule. The Regan era is over. It looks like Democratic Socialism is going to be the next period or generation of politics.  The oligarchy knows this and are doing their best to slow this down.   


    by trkingmomoe on Sat, 10/31/2015 - 12:00am

    Very well said, momoe.


    by barefooted on Sat, 10/31/2015 - 12:35am

    Thank you.


    by trkingmomoe on Sat, 10/31/2015 - 1:02am

    Well let us get the Senate first.

    Obama has executed executive orders.

    So will Hillary.

    Obama can veto.

    So will Hillary.

    Until the voters and potential voters (50 %?) get it on; we are screwed.


    by Richard Day on Fri, 10/30/2015 - 5:27pm

    I love your candid response.  Thanks, Dickon.  I got it, I know who I have to vote for.  But...I'm gonna enjoy the Bern for now :)

    I'm learning my new state and county's politics, slowly, but will work on it.  And I will support the Dems here, and nationally.  I promise.

     


    by LisB on Fri, 10/30/2015 - 8:28pm