Will the issues you care about be priorities for a Trump-family run RNC?

[Grace]

No, not every administration. I see no signs that the Bidens are looting DNC funds for any personal purpose.

I misunderstood. I thought you meant they weasel their relatives and buddies into "fluff" positions that hold some power, but no real responsibility.

Remind me again how many different Bidens hold fluff positions of power within the Federal government or Democratic Party in which they have access to PUBLIC dollars.

We are talking about the RNC or the DNC. Are they part of the Federal government.

[Ken]

I misunderstood. I thought you meant they weasel their relatives and buddies into "fluff" positions that hold some power, but no real responsibility.

Remind me again how many different Bidens hold fluff positions of power within the Federal government or Democratic Party in which they have access to PUBLIC dollars.

We are talking about the RNC or the DNC. Are they part of the Federal government.

They receive public donations and are tax-exempt organizations. So they are in essence quasi-public. Thousand of people make donations to each party. So they have higher standards for how they should be spending money than some ordinary private corporation that can do whatever it wants.

[Josh]

And nobody is required to donate to them.

I for one wish they’d text me less.

[Grace]

And nobody is required to donate to them.

I for one wish they’d text me less.

They never texted me, thankfully.

[barnhart]

We seem to be in an era where institutions like political parties are challenged or dismantled. I don't know if the Democrats survived the challenges from their flank (Sanders, Warren) and will be able to re-center or if their disintegration is still in the future. It will be interesting to see what type of Republican party emerges from the maga ashes.

The Second Coming
by Yeats

Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity...

[Ken]

We seem to be in an era where institutions like political parties are challenged or dismantled. I don't know if the Democrats survived the challenges from their flank (Sanders, Warren) and will be able to re-center or if their disintegration is still in the future. It will be interesting to see what type of Republican party emerges from the maga ashes.

Warren is just a garden variety mainstream Democrat. Sanders isn't a Democrat at all and frankly shouldn't have been allowed to hijack the Democratic nominating process. I suspect the thinking was better to have him inside the tent rather than running from the outside as an independent. So they let him run. Plus they needed his vote in the Senate to do anything.

As for the GOP? They need Trump to lose to be rid of him and MAGA. If he loses in 2024 then he will have been a 2-time loser and most likely too old to run again if the GOP is foolish enough to nominate him again. I expect without Trump on the scene the GOP will revert back to its pre-Trump form as there doesn't seem to be anyone who can really claim his mantle intact. There will be a whole bunch of new candidates competing with their own visions for the future.

If Trump wins in 2024 then then they will have 4 more years to cement their hold on the party and position a successor. and the GOP may never be rid of Trumpism. It will be like Argentina where Peronism lingers on 5-decades after the Peróns left office.

[Josh]

We seem to be in an era where institutions like political parties are challenged or dismantled. I don't know if the Democrats survived the challenges from their flank (Sanders, Warren) and will be able to re-center or if their disintegration is still in the future. It will be interesting to see what type of Republican party emerges from the maga ashes.

The Second Coming
by Yeats

Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity...

The DNC’s problem isn’t Warren or Sanders; it’s the near-complete takeover of the party by corporate interests and gigantic PACs. The Super PACs have a much bigger budget than the DNC does.

A healthy democracy has healthy opposition parties. In America today we have two parties that are essentially owned and controlled by unaccountable corporate interests.

[Ken]

The DNC’s problem isn’t Warren or Sanders; it’s the near-complete takeover of the party by corporate interests and gigantic PACs. The Super PACs have a much bigger budget than the DNC does.

A healthy democracy has healthy opposition parties. In America today we have two parties that are essentially owned and controlled by unaccountable corporate interests.

Yep, your own Senator Vance there in Ohio is a perfect example of someone bought and paid for by corporate millions. How much did Peter Thiel drop into that race via super PACs to buy his own Senator?

[Josh]

The DNC’s problem isn’t Warren or Sanders; it’s the near-complete takeover of the party by corporate interests and gigantic PACs. The Super PACs have a much bigger budget than the DNC does.

A healthy democracy has healthy opposition parties. In America today we have two parties that are essentially owned and controlled by unaccountable corporate interests.

Yep, your own Senator Vance there in Ohio is a perfect example of someone bought and paid for by corporate millions. How much did Peter Thiel drop into that race via super PACs to buy his own Senator?

Apparently he isn’t on Norfolk Southern’s payroll. Vance has been a cosponsor of populist legislation now multiple times, including with Sherrod Brown.

I haven’t seen any evidence of Vance advancing some sinister agenda (or Thiel, for that matter).

[steve-in-kville]

I really have no "hot button" issues right now. There are a few things that could be different, but nothing life shattering.