I blame.......for our present shit show.

[Griff]

Who do you blame for the state of 'merica politics?

I blame Bill Clinton for our present shit show.
Bill opened the DNC for business with business. He moved the party to the middle right taking care of corporations rather than working people. This flooded the democrats with money but lost them the workers they could have pulled back from Reagan, leaving the Dems beholden to big money and identity politics. The GOP grabbed abortion and anti-gay rhetoric bleeding moderates while keeping their corporate donors, which gets you Trump from pissed off voters.

[henry quirk]

Americans.

Clinton didn't ascend to the throne by way of noble mandate.

No, we hired him.

It's our fault, all of it.

[Griff]

You're not wrong.

[sexobon]

I blame sound bites. I've heard tell that sound bites are what's causing our present shit show. Sound bites are the root of all evil. Only the military should have sound bites for use against our enemies in psychological operations. There's no reason for civilians to have sound bites in view of the mass political destruction they cause. SOUND BITES KILL political discourse. People have no defense against them. We need a Constitutional Amendment to exempt the use of sound bites from freedom of expression. Sound bites have even been denounced right here in The Cellar and if you see it here it must be true.

[Gravdigr]

I blame social media/the interweb for our present shit show.

[Urbane Guerrilla]

And there is the preposterous sally from Team Dem to blame Trump for the spread (I think that's their particular grating statement) of Coronavirus/COVID-19. Citing an erroneous idea that CDC funding had been slashed by the pen and the desires of The Donald, also that instantaneous, hasty official organization about it did not occur the hour they started yapping about the virus -- you know, rather than the actual beginnings of government effort on the problem starting January 2019.

There's village idiots,and national ones. What'll it be next, the Wisconsinian Glaciation? Chilling effect.

Obama might have dubbed the undiscovered fault that announced its existence in that temblor that jiggled Washington some years back the "Not Bush's Fault." But he did not pounce on the opportunity.

[monster]

I blame Flint.

[Flint]

Originally Posted by monster

I blame Flint.

What are you, a Russian bot?

[monster]

but blame doesn't help solve the problem.

More important is who you gonna call?

[Griff]

Originally Posted by monster

but blame doesn't help solve the problem.

More important is who you gonna call?

I think we're calling Bernie. Only he and Warren would move the party sufficiently left to recreate a balance and send moderate Republicans home. If we go Biden we continue this middle way nonsense which will lead to more theatrical absurdity on the right. I don't want a one party state. The GOP has painted itself into a corner it doesn't have the ability to leave on its own. The Dems may have to help them out.

[sexobon]

Originally Posted by Griff

… this middle way nonsense which will lead to more theatrical absurdity on the right. ...

Say what? You're already tired of Donald Trump's Flying Circus and are looking now for something completely different?

RELEASE THE KILLER RABBIT!

[tw]

Originally Posted by Griff

The GOP has painted itself into a corner it doesn't have the ability to leave on its own. The Dems may have to help them out.

And Democrats are painting themselves into a corner thanks to an extremist - Bernie.

Moderates know that no solution is recommended until a problem is first defined. History demonstrates this.

Long ago, automobile insurance was going the way of health insurance. Did we nationalize car insurance - get the government to pay for it? Of course not. First a problem was defined. Then much later, a solution addressed only that problem. Litigation. Car insurance was no longer approaching $5000.

Industry (free markets) alone could not solve this problem Free markets only work if properly regulated. So government created a new standard (regulations) that addressed that insurance industry problem - no fault insurance.

Bernie wants to solve health insurance by throwing government money at it. He is neither addressing nor even defining problems. His intentions are admirable. But he only want to cure symptoms with money - not address the problems. No different than Trump. What his left wing extremism advocates is different from Trump's dumb extremism advocates. But both only want to solve problems by ignoring the problem.

Also explains why moderates are good leaders. A problem or threat is defined long before throwing money at some magic solution.

I come from a group where Republicans, Democrats, and independents are in equal numbers. Last election, all votes were against Trump. Because these are educated people - not driven by their penis. Even one, who never voted Democratic, voted against Trump. Trump is that obviously bad. But Sanders may force some moderates to vote from someone they hate - Trump. (Or not vote at all.)

Neither left nor right wing extremists represent American values. Concepts, based in first learning facts before implementing solutions, are found among patriotic Americans.

Leaving the informed voters (the moderates) painted in a corner without any choices. And so The Economist, because both Sanders and Trump are bad for America, has this on their cover:

[monster]

...although I think calling clodfobble would probably be a more likely to lead to a solution.

(I initially mistyped "coldfobble". sounds like an unpleasant medical condition)

[Clodfobble]

That must be what we're all sick with in House Fob! Definitely not coronavirus, nothing to see here folks, move right along...

This morning I left the house for the first time since Tuesday afternoon, to stock up on much-needed groceries. I tend toward the morning hours in general because our store is popular and undersized, and let me tell you: there were *way* more people there than usual for 8:30 on a Saturday. I suspect it got worse as the day went on. Whether or not people are actually afraid of the medical risks, they are starting to believe that some major lifestyle inconveniences are coming in the next few weeks, amd prepping accordingly.

Printed signs were taped to every pharmacy window declaring they had no masks to sell.

[xoxoxoBruce]

I think the word clodfobble sounds like a Kamasutra position that's 50/50 pain/pleasure.

I'm blaming Putin.