USCE 2023: Please let them shove a camera up your butt

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > USCE 2023: Please let them shove a camera up your butt

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Crows Turn Off: Jan 7, 2008

Has Fetterman been able to do his job yet as Senator since he won? Not being snarky, I just know he's had some set-backs.

Crows Turn Off fucked around with this message at 23:42 on Sep 8, 2023

# ? Sep 8, 2023 15:06

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? May 26, 2024 20:55

the_steve: Nov 9, 2005; We're always hiring!

Edgar Allen Ho posted:

A coworker yelled at me for taking time off work when my kids were in the NICU and my wife was recovering from an emergency C-section so our girls could live

I was being lazy and should have just worked instead of being with my family, in fact it makes me a coward and lib and traitor to prefer my most important people to Work

Great country we have here

Awhile back, the gas station Sheetz had a hiring campaign poster that went something along the lines of "That face you make when you see your work fam."
And jesus loving christ, the phrase "work fam" fills me with a form of negativity and loathing that I can not adequately put into words.

# ? Sep 8, 2023 15:08

Fork of Unknown Origins: Oct 21, 2005; Gotta Herd On?

Crows Turn Off posted:

Has Fetterman been able to do his job yet as Senator since he won? Not bring sparky, I just know he's had some set-backs.

He�s been able to show up and vote. He also has led a committee, which went somewhat rough but not as bad as I had feared.

# ? Sep 8, 2023 15:11

OctaMurk: Jun 21, 2013

I dont think they can find something to replace pro life but hey im no political consultant. That was a real good term so if its tainted theyre kinda boned lol.

Like pro baby or pro birth reveal you think women are just babymaking machines. Whereas pro life, who isnt pro life? Pro baby's life, mother's life, father's life.

Pro state's rights has a direct, explicit relationship to slavery in the minds of everyone under the age of 30 from what I've seen, including conservatives (in a deep red state)

# ? Sep 8, 2023 15:11

Boris Galerkin: Dec 17, 2011; I don't understand why I can't harass people online. Seriously, somebody please explain why I shouldn't be allowed to stalk others on social media!

I was watching The Orville (it�s like Star Trek but comedy) and one of the alien species is 100% anti-abortion to the point that they bring the parents into a VR simulation to show them a kid version of the fetus/baby they aborted to show them what they �lost� and what could have been.

# ? Sep 8, 2023 15:15

FlamingLiberal: Jan 18, 2009; Would you like to play a game?

Leon Trotsky 2012 posted:

I'm pretty sure this is only going to be used by candidates in swing states or close races, but it is kind of interesting that the NRSC is officially advising candidates to make it explicitly clear that they oppose a national abortion ban being passed by congress.

I can also guarantee that there will be candidates for national office that explicitly call for a national abortion ban. It�s a certainty.

# ? Sep 8, 2023 15:21

haveblue: Aug 15, 2005; Toilet Rascal

FlamingLiberal posted:

I can also guarantee that there will be candidates for national office that explicitly call for a national abortion ban. It�s a certainty.

They don't have to- it's their supporters, not their opponents, who will make a national ban a litmus test. That is their big problem, since they have to please their supporters first and then convince the general electorate they didn't really mean it without also convincing their supporters of that

# ? Sep 8, 2023 15:23

OctaMurk: Jun 21, 2013

haveblue posted:

They don't have to- it's their supporters, not their opponents, who will make a national ban a litmus test. That is their big problem, since they have to please their supporters first and then convince the general electorate they didn't really mean it without also convincing their supporters of that

Trump did this, dont think he can repeat tho

# ? Sep 8, 2023 15:26

Shooting Blanks: Jun 6, 2007; Real bullets mess up how cool this thing looks.

-Blade

Leon Trotsky 2012 posted:

5) "Don't just call yourself pro-life and let Democrats fill in the details in the mind of the public. Instead, say �I�m pro-life, but � .� Or �I care deeply about the mother and the children, and we should always have compassion. But I believe that after 15 weeks where the child can feel pain, they should be protected.�"

I have a feeling this is going to bounce off the public pretty hard. Politicians in general - but especially the GOP - aren't really known for nuance. Not to mention, the more you try to articulate a detailed position, the greater the risk of alienating potential voters who don't align with you. Not enough to make them vote the other direction, but potentially enough to just not vote at all.

# ? Sep 8, 2023 15:30

Leon Trotsky 2012: Aug 27, 2009; YOU CAN TRUST ME!*

_{*Israeli Government-affiliated poster}

The IRS announced a new enforcement and reform plan for tax collecting starting with the 2023 tax year (after April 15th, 2024).

This is sort of a separate halfway plan from their previously announced plan to ramp up enforcement against people making more than 400,000 per year, businesses, and S-Corps (which isn't likely to be fully staffed and effective until around 2026).

This plan is intended to start now so they have metrics for the larger enforcement change, it can serve as a mini-trial run, and to get an early start on some other reforms.

The plan consists of:

- Select 1,600 millionaire filers with complicated taxes who are suspected of underpaying/have already recognized tax debt and send them to a new high-income collection and audit unit.

The unit will focus exclusively on collecting from taxpayers who already have an identified tax debt greater than $250,000 that has not been paid or income that is unreported that would result in more than $250,000 in owed taxes.

- Select the top 75 largest business partnerships and send them to a new high-scrutiny audit division for complicated business tax audits.

These 75 corporations and partnerships average at least $10 billion in assets. They will also send notices to 500 more of the largest corporations and partnerships with suspicious income reporting and ask them to provide documentation that explains the discrepancies.

- The IRS will open a new audit division devoted entirely to analyzing Americans with foreign bank accounts or holdings who have financial activity using those foreign bank accounts that is likely taxable income and not reported.

(No specific numbers on how many they are shooting for)

- The IRS will open an new audit and fraud division that is specifically focused on 1099 fraud in construction.

According to the IRS, construction contractors are issuing Forms 1099-MISC/1099-NEC to what appear on paper to be subcontractors�but the subcontractors don't actually exist. Instead, the recipient of the 1099 is a shell company with no legitimate business relationship to the contractor. The scheme, which is currently being seen in Texas and Florida, allows companies to claim a deduction for money that's being paid out�even though the money is eventually returned to the original contractor. The IRS will be giving those transactions extra looks with both civil audits and criminal investigations.

- Crank up enforcement on cryptocurrency and digital asset tax evasion.

Through subpoenas to digital asset exchanges, the IRS has determined that as much as 75% of taxable cryptocurrency activity is not being reported or paid.

- Implement a test for a new AI auditing program.

The plan will free humans from performing manual paper audits. The AI is trained to detect patterns, trends, and activities that they can link to tax evasion and trigger further scrutiny by a human.

- Implement a new process to help alleviate phone scams pretending to be the IRS.

This includes a public awareness campaign that the IRS will never contact you via phone, review of tax returns that suddenly change their bank to a foreign bank to prevent theft of tax refunds, and "additional steps to help people" targeted by scams.

(No info on what those "additional steps" will be)

https://twitter.com/taxgirl/status/1700141680811266392

quote:

IRS Plans To Ramp Up Enforcement On Millionaires, Partnerships, And Crypto�And To Harness AI

IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel gave us a glimpse of what was coming last month when he suggested that taxpayers would see more changes at the agency. This week, he offered more details, announcing a series of initiatives as part of what is being called �a sweeping, historic effort to restore fairness in tax compliance.� Those initiatives include a sharper focus on high-income earners, partnerships, large corporations, and promoters abusing the nation's tax laws.

The initiatives follow what Werfel describes as a �top to bottom review of enforcement work� at the IRS, thanks to increased dollars from the Inflation Reduction Act. The Act significantly boosted funding for the IRS, guaranteeing tens of millions of dollars over its operating budget for improvements and enforcement.

Millionaires

Werfel had previously indicated what some of those initiatives would look like, including prioritization of high-income taxpayer cases. Now, the IRS has made clear that it would intensify work targeting high-income taxpayers with outstanding tax debt. Specifically, he noted that for fiscal year 2024, the IRS has identified 1,600 millionaires who owe at least $250,000 in recognized tax debt who will be the subject of further enforcement efforts. The IRS says that dozens of Revenue Officers will be assigned to these high-end collection cases.

Previous efforts this year keyed to high-income taxpayers resulted in collections of $38 million from more than 175 high-income earners.

�This new compliance push makes good on the promise of the Inflation Reduction Act to ensure the IRS holds our wealthiest filers accountable to pay the full amount of what they owe,� said Werfel. �The years of underfunding that predated the Inflation Reduction Act led to the lowest audit rate of wealthy filers in our history.�

But Werfel repeated his promise that the IRS will ensure that audit rates do not increase for those earning less than $400,000. �Middle and low income filers,� he said, �will see no change [in audit rates] from pre-IRA historic lows.�

FBARs

The new initiatives also include increased scrutiny on high-income taxpayers who use foreign bank accounts to avoid disclosure and related taxes. As part of the Bank Secrecy Act, every U.S. person with a financial interest in, or signature or other authority over, one or more foreign financial accounts with an aggregate value of more than $10,000 must report the account to the Treasury Department each year. You�ll hear these reports referred to as FBARs. Failing to file FBARs when you�re required to do so can result in penalties.

An IRS analysis of multi-year filing patterns has identified hundreds of possible FBAR non-filers with account balances that average over $1.4 million. The IRS plans to audit what they consider to be �the most egregious potential non-filer FBAR cases� in fiscal year 2024.

Partnerships And Corporations

Passthrough and corporate entities won't get a pass either. In 2021, the IRS launched the first stage of a compliance program focusing on large, complex partnership returns. The agency is now expanding that program to include other large partnerships. According to Werfel, by the end of the month, the IRS will open examinations of 75 of the largest partnerships in the U.S. These are not small businesses: on average, he says, these partnerships each have more than $10 billion in assets.

The IRS has also flagged ongoing discrepancies on balance sheets involving partnerships with over $10 million in assets. Those discrepancies, the agency notes, can be an indicator of potential non-compliance. In these cases, the IRS reports that taxpayers filing partnership returns are showing discrepancies in the millions of dollars between end-of-year balances compared to the beginning balances the following year, and those numbers have been increasing over the years without explanation.

As part of efforts to force compliance for high-risk large partnerships, the IRS will send notices to around 500 partnerships about those discrepancies. Depending on the responses from the partnerships, the IRS will add them to the audit stream for follow-up.

The IRS is also focusing on a specific kind of corporate fraud. According to the IRS, construction contractors are issuing Forms 1099-MISC/1099-NEC to what appear on paper to be subcontractors�but the subcontractors don't actually exist. Instead, the recipient of the 1099 is a shell company with no legitimate business relationship to the contractor. The scheme, which is currently being seen in Texas and Florida, allows companies to claim a deduction for money that's being paid out�even though the money is eventually returned to the original contractor. The IRS will be giving those transactions extra looks with both civil audits and criminal investigations.

Digital Assets, Including Crypto

Technology is also an area that the IRS is watching with interest. The IRS plans to continue its virtual currency compliance campaign to educate taxpayers about the need to report income and taxable events related to virtual currency like BitcoinBTC. An initial review of taxpayers identified through records obtained from digital currency exchanges (including information gleaned from subpoenas) has suggested the potential for a whopping 75% non-compliance rate. The IRS expects there will be more digital asset cases tagged for compliance work next year.

Artificial Intelligence

Interestingly, technology is also helping the IRS take these steps forward. Werfel spoke enthusiastically about the potential for artificial intelligence, or AI, to allow the IRS to do its job better. Specifically, AI is helping the IRS to identify returns for audit in key areas. And, he says, it means that the agency can be more efficient. By investing in new analytics solutions, he said, the IRS can use technology to detect patterns, trends, and activities that they can link to tax evasion, freeing up employees to focus on other matters.

Werfel says AI and advanced technology can be excellent tools to promote tax fairness. For some time, he noted, the IRS has been falling behind and not able to monitor the activities and structures put in place by high-net-worth and sophisticated taxpayers to dodge taxes. �We have to catch up,� he says.

Now, Werfel says, this increased focus on high-income taxpayers, including large partnerships and corporations, should give middle and lower income taxpayers comfort that the IRS now has the same ability to look at the activities of those wealthy filers�something that wasn't happening before at the same rates due to a lack of resources.

Scams

The emphasis on high-income taxpayers doesn't mean that everyday taxpayers are being ignored. The IRS says it will also focus on ensuring audit fairness and protecting taxpayers from various scams and schemes. Scammers and fraudsters frequently target average taxpayers, Werfel explains, so the IRS intends to raise consumer awareness on these issues. That includes calling attention to the IRS Dirty Dozen. The Dirty Dozen is an annual list of common scams taxpayers may encounter. Many of these schemes peak during tax filing season as people prepare their returns or hire someone to help with their taxes. The schemes put taxpayers and tax professionals at risk of losing money, personal information, data, and more.

�The IRS is on the side of taxpayers, and we will be working to protect hard-working people from scammers or fraudsters who try to use the tax system for their schemes, whether it's promising people inflated EITC amounts or tricking people into tax-related identity theft,� Werfel said. �Protecting hard-working taxpayers is a critical component to ensuring the success of the nation's tax system, and the IRS will be working throughout the fall and into the 2024 filing season to take steps to help people.�

IRS Funding

To move these initiatives forward, Werfel stressed the need for continued funding for the IRS, saying, �A well-funded IRS is better for taxpayers.�

"The tax laws are already on the books," Werfel points out. But, the IRS hasn't had the funding to adequately enforce those laws for many years. That's changing with IRA funds. �In terms of budget, we are energized by what the IRA is improving,� he says, expressing relief that the agency can make �long-overdue improvements.�

The IRS has also been ramping up its hiring. Budget cuts, an aging workforce, and attrition have resulted in understaffing. In addition to a lack of enforcement, that has resulted in a reduction in taxpayer services over the past decade. But over the past few months, that has been changing.

However, the IRS budget is again under debate, as Congress argues over next year�s budget. The country operates on a fiscal year� in this case, current funding for most government programs expires on Sept. 30. That means there could be a partial government shutdown if there's no agreement in Congress before the next fiscal year begins on Oct. 1.

Even if Congress avoids a shutdown, the IRS budget could be cut. If the budget for the agency isn't fully funded, Werfel says, �then we have to borrow from IRA to keep the lights on.� That means that the agency wouldn't be able to make long-term investments to allow them to simply catch up from before. And, he says, the result is that �we will have drained modernization resources.�

And while the IRS may feel like a low priority for taxpayers, Werfel says that it's a mistake not to fund the agency.

�The nation relies on the IRS to collect funding for every critical government mission � from keeping our skies safe, our food safe and our homeland safe. It's critical that the agency addresses fundamental gaps in tax compliance that have grown during the last decade,� Werfel added.

According to the latest edition of the IRS Data Book, the IRS collects approximately $4.9 trillion in gross revenues, which accounts for about 96% of the funding supporting the federal government's operations.

That means, Werfel says, �A good, healthy tax system is absolutely critical for the success of this country.�

Leon Trotsky 2012 fucked around with this message at 15:42 on Sep 8, 2023

# ? Sep 8, 2023 15:34

Baudolino: Apr 1, 2010; THUNDERDOME LOSER

Interesting that they publically announce their strategy like that. Arent worried about their suspects hiding their tracks now that they are forewarned?

# ? Sep 8, 2023 16:06

haveblue: Aug 15, 2005; Toilet Rascal

Baudolino posted:

Interesting that they publically announce their strategy like that. Arent worried about their suspects hiding their tracks now that they are forewarned?

This will definitely change tax strategies going forward, but it sounds like they're going to re-examine past returns that were already filed and are set in stone. They're looking for instances where something looked fishy but they didn't have the budget to thoroughly investigate it and claim what they were owed; now they do

# ? Sep 8, 2023 16:10

Leon Trotsky 2012: Aug 27, 2009; YOU CAN TRUST ME!*

_{*Israeli Government-affiliated poster}

If you were already hiding income from the IRS, then you can't really hide it harder unless you are getting the banks to delete your transaction history and cooking your books.

It all seems like pretty objectively good things that will make a difference.

The only two problems are that House Republicans are already trying to defund some of the initiatives and that I am fairly confident that the public education campaign to beg people not to answer phone calls from the IRS or buy iTunes gift cards to pay their taxes is not going to make much of a difference. The people who fall for that are either elderly and confused or people who are never going to come in to contact with an IRS public education campaign.

# ? Sep 8, 2023 16:14

Crunch Buttsteak: Feb 26, 2007; You think reality is a circle of salt around my brain keeping witches out?

Shooting Blanks posted:

I have a feeling this is going to bounce off the public pretty hard. Politicians in general - but especially the GOP - aren't really known for nuance. Not to mention, the more you try to articulate a detailed position, the greater the risk of alienating potential voters who don't align with you. Not enough to make them vote the other direction, but potentially enough to just not vote at all.

Just from listening to Evangelical media for a bit (I have a problem), pro-life pundits are essentially making this case. By their rhetoric, a politician is only worthy of your vote if they are explicitly against abortion in almost every case, although some do say there's "still considerations to be made" in the case of rape, incest, etc. If a candidate isn't sufficiently pro-life, just don't vote or vote third party so that your soul remains pure.

Anti-abortion influencers are still riding the high of finally getting Roe overturned, so they're really not reading the room. I dunno how much it's going to actually spread to the general GOP population, but conservative Christians are being fed a very hardline "if you don't get everything you want, stay home" message on this issue. It's not gonna stop everyone on the MAGA train, of course, but it'll be interesting to see the trends after the fact.

# ? Sep 8, 2023 16:16

the_steve: Nov 9, 2005; We're always hiring!

OctaMurk posted:

I dont think they can find something to replace pro life but hey im no political consultant. That was a real good term so if its tainted theyre kinda boned lol.

Like pro baby or pro birth reveal you think women are just babymaking machines. Whereas pro life, who isnt pro life? Pro baby's life, mother's life, father's life.

Pro state's rights has a direct, explicit relationship to slavery in the minds of everyone under the age of 30 from what I've seen, including conservatives (in a deep red state)

Don't the anti-abortion groups do this in real life already? Minus the sci-fi parts, but, don't they show up with like baby shoes and doctored photos and poo poo to do the whole "This could have been your baby" thing?

# ? Sep 8, 2023 16:19

haveblue: Aug 15, 2005; Toilet Rascal

the_steve posted:

Don't the anti-abortion groups do this in real life already? Minus the sci-fi parts, but, don't they show up with like baby shoes and doctored photos and poo poo to do the whole "This could have been your baby" thing?

It was a fairly common TRAP tactic to force, or propose to force, a pregnant person to listen to their fetus's heartbeat before the procedure

And yeah, they present a highly inaccurate picture of what a fetus actually looks like at early stages of development

# ? Sep 8, 2023 16:20

the_steve: Nov 9, 2005; We're always hiring!

haveblue posted:

It was a fairly common TRAP tactic to force, or propose to force, a pregnant person to listen to their fetus's heartbeat before the procedure

And yeah, they present a highly inaccurate picture of what a fetus actually looks like at early stages of development

I know Missouri or one of the southern M states make you do that waiting period with the brochure explaining that you're a sinful murderer if you go through with the procedure because the Satanic Temple is constantly making religious exemption cases over it for people.

# ? Sep 8, 2023 16:25

Blue Footed Booby: Oct 4, 2006; got those happy feet

haveblue posted:

It was a fairly common TRAP tactic to force, or propose to force, a pregnant person to listen to their fetus's heartbeat before the procedure

And yeah, they present a highly inaccurate picture of what a fetus actually looks like at early stages of development

Virginia had a thing where they showed you an ultra sound and the doctor was required to point out specific features. "There are the eyes, there are the little hands." This was part of the same package of rules that mandated trans-vaginal ultrasounds. The whole thing was absolutely grotesque and likely part of why the state flipped blue.

# ? Sep 8, 2023 17:12

CellBlock: Oct 6, 2005; It just don't stop.

Baudolino posted:

Interesting that they publically announce their strategy like that. Arent worried about their suspects hiding their tracks now that they are forewarned?

It might just be to try to counter the inevitable political messaging about the IRS being weaponized against YOU, the loyal taxpayer, by just coming out and saying "Yeah, we're looking at people who already owe 250k in back taxes and businesses worth 10B+. That's not you."

# ? Sep 8, 2023 17:56

PhazonLink: Jul 17, 2010

Blue Footed Booby posted:

Virginia had a thing where they showed you an ultra sound and the doctor was required to point out specific features. "There are the eyes, there are the little hands." This was part of the same package of rules that mandated trans-vaginal ultrasounds. The whole thing was absolutely grotesque and likely part of why the state flipped blue.

so what if its too early for eyes and hands??

# ? Sep 8, 2023 18:01

haveblue: Aug 15, 2005; Toilet Rascal

PhazonLink posted:

so what if its too early for eyes and hands??

Then you just point to a random lump on the screen. The important thing is to inflict as much emotional trauma as possible

# ? Sep 8, 2023 18:24

Blue Footed Booby: Oct 4, 2006; got those happy feet

haveblue posted:

Then you just point to a random lump on the screen. The important thing is to inflict as much emotional trauma as possible

Also, the people who came up with this poo poo are not well-informed.

# ? Sep 8, 2023 18:36

zoux: Apr 28, 2006

Semafor with an obituary for the Sanders left

https://twitter.com/MattZeitlin/status/1700192996971389022

quote:

The image, used in ad after ad, stuck with Rhode Island Democrats: White House staffer Gabe Amo with Joe Biden, in the Oval Office. As early voting wrapped up, Democrats in the 1st Congressional District saw another potent image: Amo and Patrick Kennedy, their old congressman, who warned that Bernie Sanders-endorsed front-runner Aaron Regenburg would put the state�s defense economy at risk.

�We need someone who understands the way Washington works,� said Kennedy.

On Tuesday, Amo won his first-ever race by 3000 votes, ending this year�s Democratic primary season � and dealing the latest setback to his party�s left flank. Endorsements from the Congressional Progressive Caucus, the Working Families Party, and some of Rhode Island�s leading progressives couldn�t elect Regunberg, who also narrowly out-fundraised Amo. Former White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain, who endorsed Amo early, declared victory over �pundits who dismiss Bidenism� as a Democratic Party force.

�I will be a vigorous defender of the president every step of the way,� Amo told Semafor in a pre-election interview. �He�s one of the finest public servants in our nation�s history.�

Progressives shaped the party�s last presidential primary and pushed many of their ideas into Biden and Klain�s White House. Now they�re limping out of 2023, and into the next cycle, with smaller ambitions, more divisions, and no one figurehead to rally around. For the first time since 2016, no Democratic incumbent in Congress has a credible primary challenger on the left.
.....
It doesn�t help that the current issue set is less amenable to the left than it used to be. Under Trump, issues like inequality, protecting immigrant rights, and expanding health care helped them tap into goals that broadly united Democrats. There�s now much more internal party angst about border issues, even in deep blue cities, while on the economy, there�s a conflict between Democrats who want to sell Biden�s jobs agenda as a success, and leftists who see them papering over still-unsolved problems that demand radical change.

The Biden administration also mollified progressives, especially when it was being shaped by Klain. Last year�s Inflation Reduction Act preempted major problems with the party�s left; the Sunrise Movement, the youth-driven direct action green group that protested Biden in the 2020 primary, has alternated between outrage that the president won�t declare a �climate emergency� and back-patting over the 2022 passage of a climate bill.

�Without the movement for the Green New Deal, there would be no IRA,� Sunrise founder Varshini Prakash wrote in an email to donors last month.
....

That gets to a second reason for the left�s electoral struggles: Bitter disagreement about how to interact with the Democratic Party, or if there�s even a point in trying.

This was a factor, though not determinative, in Regunberg�s loss, and it�s played out more dramatically in places like Boston, where a local Democratic Socialists of America chapter moved to expel a legislator because � among other things �� he�d supported the Democratic nominee for governor. (Last month, by a 704-184 vote, national DSA delegates voted down a proposal to form �an independent political party with its own ballot line.�)

There�s more cynicism on the left about the progressives elected with the support of Justice Democrats, a group founded by Sanders campaign veterans and advocates like the The Young Turks host Cenk Uygur. That cynicism grew days into Biden�s presidency, when none of the House�s progressives heeded a call by some former Sanders influencers to force a vote on Medicare-for-All as a condition for re-electing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. And the left�s incremental wins, celebrated by some allies, are dismissed by others.

In a recent interview with The Dig, a Providence-based socialist podcast, Ocasio-Cortez said that she was frustrated by the �binary� between revolutionary action and electoral politics that some leftists obsessed over.

�That creates this kind of cynical vortex,� said Ocasio-Cortez, who�d endorsed Regunberg in the campaign�s final week. �You can be very radical and do your thing, but you�re gonna be very small; or it�s this electoralism, where more radical movements and radical action is dismissed, and seen as naive.�
....

They also faced massive opposition from the center-left and the right � a third reason for the left�s often-disappointing year. While the PACs that have spent millions to defeat left-leaning Democrats didn�t engage fully in Rhode Island, their involvement in earlier races had ground down Justice Democrats, which laid off most of its staff this year and is focused on holding its gains.

�We�re still actively in candidate recruitment, reviewing districts and possible candidates across the country,� said Justice Democrats communications director Usamah Andrabi, �while also very focused on protecting our incumbents who are under more serious threat from AIPAC�s right-wing primary challenge recruitment.�

Hours after the 2020 election, Democratic Party centrists went after the left for embracing unpopular slogans like �defund the police,� and they never really let up. And left-wing Democrats who won power faced opposition that sometimes overwhelmed them. In May, a democratic socialist who�d won a 2021 city council race in New York ended her re-election campaign, abandoning the �loveless land of politics�; on Wednesday, a Des Moines city council member who�d been elected on a �defund the police� message did the same.

They attribute it to a few things:
1. Moderates went after the left wing of the party hard after 2020
2. Infighting about electoralism/the system/the process
3. Right wing opposition going HAM in instances where progressive lefty candidates make the general
4. Being brought into the fold by the Biden admin, especially in the case of Ron Klain
5. Current issue set is less in the progressive wheelhouse

I'd say the lack of a leader or figurehead is a huge problem, because LoC people, as it is said, have to fall in love with their candidate. As Sanders backed and worked with his good friend Joe Biden, supporters were either mollified or rejected him as a sellout and there is no credible successor because he isn't going to run for president ever again. Who does the lefty wing of the Dems see as possible successors?

I'm sure it's cyclical and it'll come around again but what was the high water mark for progressive/lefty politics prior to Bernie?

That's not to say the party electorate has coalesced around Biden:
https://twitter.com/admcrlsn/status/1699783599867019557

But only 18% can name someone they'd prefer, and each of those is in the MoE.

zoux fucked around with this message at 18:49 on Sep 8, 2023

# ? Sep 8, 2023 18:41

FlamingLiberal: Jan 18, 2009; Would you like to play a game?

I was afraid of this happening once Sanders pulled back. It was going to happen eventually because the man�s nearing retirement. I really think the main issue with progressive challengers today is that the establishment Dems learned from the surprise election of AOC that they can�t just ignore primaries all the time. As a result they are snuffing out challengers early on so that they don�t have another upset like with AOC.

# ? Sep 8, 2023 18:53

OctaMurk: Jun 21, 2013

the aeverage democratic voter basically wants biden but not old as gently caress, its as simple as this

# ? Sep 8, 2023 18:59

a.lo: Sep 12, 2009

what we need is joe biden jr

# ? Sep 8, 2023 19:01

haveblue: Aug 15, 2005; Toilet Rascal

What are Biden�s kids up to these days, would any of them make good presidential candidates?

# ? Sep 8, 2023 19:03

zoux: Apr 28, 2006

haveblue posted:

What are Biden�s kids up to these days, would any of them make good presidential candidates?

Where's Hunter?

# ? Sep 8, 2023 19:04

Tayter Swift: Nov 18, 2002; Pillbug

Hunter Biden vs Donald Trump, running their campaigns from the same prison cell

# ? Sep 8, 2023 19:09

Leon Trotsky 2012: Aug 27, 2009; YOU CAN TRUST ME!*

_{*Israeli Government-affiliated poster}

Dudes are weird.

Between 1/3 to half of men are extremely uncomfortable showing any emotion or affection to another man, but men are WAY more comfortable being naked with another man than a woman would be with a naked woman.

13% of men age 18-25 said they would be very uncomfortable saying "I love you" to a romantic partner.

I love the 4% of men who would not be comfortable eating food with another male friend at a restaurant.

https://twitter.com/YouGov/status/1700091582769152001

quote:

Almost half of men would be uncomfortable crying in front of male friends, or saying �I love you� to a male relative

Conceptions of masculinity and ways it is acceptable for men to relate and interact with one another have changed over the decades. But a new YouGov survey shows that many men are still reluctant to show emotion in front of, or make physical contact with, other men. Women, by contrast, are much less likely to be uncomfortable with the same scenarios.

For example, half of men (48%) say they would feel uncomfortable crying in front of male friends � only 18% of women feel the same way about their female friends.

Bodily contact on the beach is also a no-no for many men: 42% wouldn�t like putting sunscreen on a male friend�s back � only 10% of women would recoil at the thought of doing so for a female friend.

Many men are similarly reluctant to share a bed with a friend of the same gender (42%) � being twice as likely as women are to be uncomfortable sharing a bed with another woman (21%).

Fewer men are uncomfortable sharing a hug with a male friend (17%) although this is still high compared to women (5%).

When it comes to family, 45% would feel uncomfortable saying �I love you� to a male relative, compared to just 17% of women who wouldn�t like doing so with a female relative.

Having trouble proclaiming your love to a romantic partner is rare, however, with only 7% of women and 8% of men saying they would feel uncomfortable saying �I love you� to their partner.

More than four in ten men would be uncomfortable going to a gay bar (44%), with only one in five women (20%) saying the same.

Close to one in three men (31%) would be uncomfortable wearing pink, compared to 9% of women.

Flowers have traditionally been a gift for women, and this heritage may still bother some of the 26% of men who would be uncomfortable receiving a bouquet (only 5% of women say the same).

Strictly speaking, the activity polled that men are most uncomfortable with is being naked in a men�s changing room (49%) � although this proved to be a scenario that men are less worried about than women, of whom 67% said they wouldn�t like getting changed in female changing rooms.

Generational differences are not clear cut
While you might expect to see clear generational trends in the data, this does not prove to be the case.

There does seem to be a tendency for the oldest men to be more uncomfortable with the idea of wearing pink (42%), or the prospect of sharing a bed with a male friend (52%, although this might be due to age-related mobility concerns).

Men aged 65 and above are also the most likely to be uncomfortable going to a gay bar (59%), although the youngest men are also a notable outlier (50% of 18-24 year olds) compared to men in age groups in between (37-38% of 25-49 and 50-64 year olds).

This horseshoe effect is also evident when it comes to saying �I love you� to a male relative, with 51-52% of the oldest and youngest age groups are uncomfortable about, compared to 44% of 25-49 year olds and 39% of 50-64 year olds.

The youngest generation are very clearly the most uncomfortable getting naked in front of other men � 74% squirm at the prospect, compared to 53% of 25-49 year olds and 39-40 year olds.

Young men are likewise more uncomfortable crying in front of male friends (58%) than their elders (46-47%).

On other scenarios there is no obvious trend at all, with 21-29% of men of all age groups feeling uncomfortable about receiving flowers as a thank you gift, and 40-44% saying they same of applying sun cream to a male friend�s back.

# ? Sep 8, 2023 19:12

AlternateNu: May 5, 2005; ドーナツダメ！

It�s finally Martin O�Malley�s time to shine!

# ? Sep 8, 2023 19:16

Aztec Galactus: Sep 12, 2002

Biden has been unofficially anointed and no one wants to rock the boat. 2028 Dem primary is gonna be a caravan of clowncars though.

# ? Sep 8, 2023 19:16

Leon Trotsky 2012: Aug 27, 2009; YOU CAN TRUST ME!*

_{*Israeli Government-affiliated poster}

Dubar posted:

Biden has been unofficially anointed and no one wants to rock the boat. 2028 Dem primary is gonna be a caravan of clowncars though.

It's not even unofficially anointed, it is officially anointed. The DNC and RNC have both had a policy for decades that they will support the incumbent President. The DNC doesn't endorse in open primaries, but they already officially endorsed Biden a few months ago.

# ? Sep 8, 2023 19:19

zoux: Apr 28, 2006

Dubar posted:

Biden has been unofficially anointed and no one wants to rock the boat. 2028 Dem primary is gonna be a caravan of clowncars though.

Whitmer, Newsom, Beshear, Shapiro, who else? I mean besides RFK and Marianne Williamson

# ? Sep 8, 2023 19:19

FlamingLiberal: Jan 18, 2009; Would you like to play a game?

Dubar posted:

Biden has been unofficially anointed and no one wants to rock the boat. 2028 Dem primary is gonna be a caravan of clowncars though.

It�s going to be the first time since I think 2004 that there was no incumbent or �anointed� person running for President as a Dem

# ? Sep 8, 2023 19:20

FlamingLiberal: Jan 18, 2009; Would you like to play a game?

zoux posted:

Whitmer, Newsom, Beshear, Shapiro, who else? I mean besides RFK and Marianne Williamson

Mayo Pete, Kamala

# ? Sep 8, 2023 19:20

James Garfield: May 5, 2012; Am I a manipulative abuser in real life, or do I just roleplay one on the Internet for fun? You decide!

FlamingLiberal posted:

It�s going to be the first time since I think 2004 that there was no incumbent or �anointed� person running for President as a Dem

Harris is the incumbent VP, I don't think she's guaranteed to win a primary but if she polls well the conventional wisdom will become "Harris was anointed". Remember that in 2020, the press coverage and donors were obsessed with non Biden candidates until we got a few states into the primaries and it turned out that Biden was more popular with the actual voters than they thought.

# ? Sep 8, 2023 19:28

Zachack: Jun 1, 2000

zoux posted:

Whitmer, Newsom, Beshear, Shapiro, who else? I mean besides RFK and Marianne Williamson

Sherrod Brown? He'll be ~76 though.

# ? Sep 8, 2023 19:58

FlamingLiberal: Jan 18, 2009; Would you like to play a game?

James Garfield posted:

Harris is the incumbent VP, I don't think she's guaranteed to win a primary but if she polls well the conventional wisdom will become "Harris was anointed". Remember that in 2020, the press coverage and donors were obsessed with non Biden candidates until we got a few states into the primaries and it turned out that Biden was more popular with the actual voters than they thought.

I don�t see her getting far but I guess you never know.

# ? Sep 8, 2023 20:00

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# ? May 26, 2024 20:55

haveblue: Aug 15, 2005; Toilet Rascal

Speaking of incumbents: Nancy Pelosi is running again despite being 83 goddamn years old and despite using a promise to step aside to win over objectors during the 2020 House speaker election. I can only assume that she's interpreting "limit my time to four years" as including nonconsecutive speakerships. Grover Cleveland would be proud

# ? Sep 8, 2023 20:01

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > USCE 2023: Please let them shove a camera up your butt

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