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  • PhaseFour [he/him]
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    4 years ago

    Depending on the results in the last two seats, they would need 5-7 votes.

    I really genuinely would not give a shit about this if it was just performative. But they have a real opportunity to express political power here, and there is no will.

    • hogposting [he/him,comrade/them]
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      4 years ago

      I'm assuming Democrats lost 11 net seats, which would bring them down to a 224-211 majority. It looks like all Representatives vote between the nominees each party puts forth.

      So I think they would need 7 (to make the vote 218-217 in favor of Republicans), and we'd have a Republican speaker. It looks possible, but I don't think it's a clear-cut decision. They don't really have anything to win (Medicare for All isn't passing the Senate, especially if the Georgia races go red) and Biden said he'd veto it if it gets to him -- that's all assuming it passes the House, which it still probably wouldn't. As for what there is to lose, it's a pretty bad look (to put it mildly) to vote with Republicans, I don't know what damage a Republican speaker could do, and if they successfully force the vote but it doesn't even pass the House that would be used as "too radical for America" bait for years.

      • PhaseFour [he/him]
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        4 years ago

        The progressives have a clear opportunity to express political power. There are people demanding they use that to follow through on a campaign promise (get a floor vote on M4A). The response from the progressives to that demand is "No."

        Every single swing state Democrat who opposed M4A lost. Opposing health care during a pandemic is incredibly unpopular. Every Democratic M4A "no" vote is an open progressive seat in 2022.

        There is no reason to make excuses for them. Leftists turning into pundits is exactly how you create the Obama phenomenon.

        • CanYouFeelItMrKrabs [any, he/him]
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          4 years ago

          They should absolutely not vote for Pelosi unless they get something significant in return. A floor vote isn't that

          • PhaseFour [he/him]
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            4 years ago

            That's fair. I wish there was a more public forum to discuss what the demands should be.

            I really wish they had their own political party. Discussing demands would be a big topic right now.

            • CanYouFeelItMrKrabs [any, he/him]
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              4 years ago

              Yeah I'm assuming that discussions are ongoing now because Pelosi would probably want to avoid public challenges atthe start of the term. That's not a bad thing, provided they either get what they want now or mount a public challenger next month

        • hogposting [he/him,comrade/them]
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          4 years ago

          The progressives have a clear opportunity to express political power.

          To do what? What is there to gain, and what is the risk?

          They definitely don't have the power to actually pass any policy, that's for sure.

          There are people demanding

          Who? A talking head, or is there real support from a bunch of actual people?

          • PhaseFour [he/him]
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            4 years ago

            They definitely don’t have the power to actually pass any policy, that’s for sure.

            Of course they are not going to pass any policy. Anyone who thinks they are is delusional. So, they need to find other ways to score political wins.

            As I said before:

            Every single swing state Democrat who opposed M4A lost. Opposing health care during a pandemic is incredibly unpopular. Every Democratic M4A “no” vote is an open progressive seat in 2022.

            The Democratic base is extremely pro-M4A. Exposing all the Democrats who oppose it is good. Many conservative Democrats get by just saying "I support affordable health care for all" when their constituents want M4A.

            Who? A talking head

            All of the social democratic media is supporting it, and it is receiving a positive response.

            is there real support from a bunch of actual people?

            90% of the Democratic Party (70% of the country) support M4A. It is not that surprising they would support a vote on it. Most people do not have pundit-brain.

            • hogposting [he/him,comrade/them]
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              4 years ago

              Of course they are not going to pass any policy.

              The default assumption should be that this is performative, then.

              Exposing all the Democrats who oppose it is good.

              As someone else pointed out in this thread, it doesn't take much to arrange the votes so that it just fails in the House, and then you have all but a handful of Democrats on record supporting M4A. Now it's easier for the ghouls of the party to run on their "support" of it. And it would take even less to have every single House Democrat vote to pass it and then watch it die in the Senate.

              There's some value to this idea, but how much is an open question. A comparable vote would be the recent one on decriminalizing marijuana -- the House passed it, but it's going nowhere. That moves the needle a bit, sure, but ultimately it's not much.

              All of the social democratic media is supporting it

              Who? I've heard Jimmy Dore supporting it, who isn't exactly a household name, but that's it. And M4A being popular among the Democratic base =/= the Democratic base demanding a vote that will not produce M4A.

              • volkvulture [none/use name]
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                4 years ago

                So all we can do is just talk idly about policies that we may or may not support in our own respective camps, but when it comes to actually voting them into law... it's just performative to even attempt to sway party leadership into doing so?

                sounds like hypocrisy or nefarious hand-waving either way

                • PhaseFour [he/him]
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                  4 years ago

                  They claim they can never do anything because it's all performative, but then say shit like "we can't 100 years for M4A, we need it now." Their current tactics are no different than any other Democratic Progressive Caucus.

                  I haven't paid attention to the Democratic Party in awhile, this shit is insane lol

                  • volkvulture [none/use name]
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                    4 years ago

                    it's self-deluded & schizophrenic to both desire revolution & reform at the same time lol

                • hogposting [he/him,comrade/them]
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                  4 years ago

                  but when it comes to actually voting them into law

                  That's not what we're talking about, though. We're talking about a vote (the House speaker election) to force a vote (the House vote on M4A) that is still unlikely -- at best -- to pass anything into law.

                  If you force a vote you know will fail, yes, odds are that's performative. It might have some value, but that's debatable.

                  • volkvulture [none/use name]
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                    4 years ago

                    so you're saying participation in liberal democratic electoral politics amounts to performative & dilatory complacency?

                    hey, that's what I've been trying to tell you!

              • PhaseFour [he/him]
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                4 years ago

                Now it’s easier for the ghouls of the party to run on their “support” of it.

                They do that now with the "co-sponsors" list.

                Who?

                So far, I've seen TYT, The Hill, Jimmy Dore, Kyle Kulinski - the entire Justice Democrat world seems to be pushing it. That seems like the largest networks supporting progressives, which means the largest viewership supporting progressives.

                M4A being popular among the Democratic base =/= Democratic base demanding a vote that will not produce M4A

                The Democratic base wants M4A. Why would putting it for a vote be so controversial? I don't understand that

                Showing people which Democratic members do not support M4A is useful for the Democratic base.

                • hogposting [he/him,comrade/them]
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                  4 years ago

                  They do that now with the “co-sponsors” list.

                  So... this would be no different? I'm not seeing a whole lot of benefit here, certainly not if the Senate stays Republican. I don't know when the speaker will be elected; maybe they're waiting to get the Senate results in.

                  The Democratic base wants M4A. Why would putting it for a vote be so controversial?

                  Well, look at the discussion in this thread. It's not simply "do you want M4A, yes or no?" M4A likely isn't even on the table, so we're talking about secondary, non-material, tactical benefits, the value of which is debatable. It's reasonable to think a list of who voted for the bill would be more valuable than the co-sponsors list, but it's also reasonable to think that's not gaining much at all. It's reasonable to think the risk of centrist Democrats calling the bluff and forcing a choice between Pelosi/no M4A vote or a Republican speaker is worth it, but it's reasonable to think that could blow up in our faces, too.

                  • PhaseFour [he/him]
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                    4 years ago

                    about secondary, non-material, tactical benefits, the value of which is debatable

                    No we are not. We are talking about demonstrating to people that progressives will fight for health care. Right now, they are all talk on the issue on everyone's mind right now.

                    this would be no different?

                    No it is not.

                    If progressive were to run with the attack line: "[dipshit politician] voted against health care in a pandemic." right now, they would be lying. That line of attack would be important for insurgents, since 90% of Democrats support M4A.

                    It’s reasonable to think the risk of centrist Democrats calling the bluff and forcing a choice between Pelosi/no M4A vote or a Republican speaker is worth it

                    You need to play politics in the Democratic Party. Blue Dogs drag the House right every election by threatening to withhold their vote.

                    If you are going to play liberal democracy, at least put some thought into it. I feel like Democrat Entryists never do that.