Category Archives: Democrats

Respect the Daily Kos Guild, engage with the union

Fierce Planet Posted on by

Friends and kindred spirits wandering by this site probably have heard of DailyKos, the ur-parent blog of the US progressive sphere. Just last year, DKos (as the place is often known) celebrated the site’s 20th anniversary. Personally, I’ve been a member there for 18 of those years. I’m not entirely sure who makes up “Daily Kos Management” (DKM) these days, but a number of the workers at the site are represented by the Daily Kos Guild (DKG), a Pacific Media Workers Guild member and certified as the bargaining unit of represented staff. DKM recently announced layoffs that would affect more … Continue reading →

Republicans are a mess

Fierce Planet Posted on by

But Democrats are doing just fine. Earlier I mentioned that House Democrats had completed a shift of leadership for their caucus, with Hakeem Jeffries becoming caucus Leader. He was easily voted in by his caucus, and in fact won more votes in the Speaker’s race than poor, miserable Kevin McCarthy, though like McCarthy, Jeffries has no obvious path to taking over as Speaker. I said this version of Congress was going to be a mess, but I have to say the mess is already more spectacular than I ever imagined, and the whole thing completely belongs to the Republicans. Overall, … Continue reading →

Respect for Marriage

Fierce Planet Posted on by

To the ones who can imagine, respect oh yeah. This bill is far from perfect, and I definitely wish for more. But it is an important step nonetheless, to kill the hated Defense of Marriage Act and establish in law the principle that all marriages are equal. Biden makes a case against all forms of bigotry before signing the Respect for Marriage Act pic.twitter.com/Zm8lWg2xIU — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) December 13, 2022 If there is one message that breaks through from today, it's that this law – and the love it defends – strikes a blow against hate in all its … Continue reading →

Two podcasts ~ Choose a side

Fierce Planet Posted on by

This weekend I caught up with a couple of podcasts, and I’d like to highlight a few things. First is a segment on Pod Save America. I’ve set this up so it goes directly to an interview with Strict Scrutiny‘s Kate Shaw, a lawyer talking here about the Supreme Court hearing Moore v. Harper last week. (Strict Scrutiny itself is another excellent podcast, if you’re looking for some top-notch legal minds discussing the issues of the day.) This case presents the “Independent State Legislature Theory”, which you will no doubt hear about a lot in the near future. It is … Continue reading →

A change of Democratic leadership in the House

Fierce Planet Posted on by

The entire top tier of Democratic leadership will turn over soon. Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer have both announced they will not run for leadership positions again. And Jim Clyburn, who would otherwise move up, announced he is instead stepping down into the fourth place position. This makes way for an entire team of new, younger leaders. As ever Nancy has perfect timing, and I’m very glad that she and Hoyer plan to remain in Congress for now. I haven’t heard a lot about Hakeem Jeffries, who they’ve recommended for Leader, though I knew he was sort of “in training” … Continue reading →

Where we stand

Fierce Planet Posted on by

I still feel good about the election this week, though the Congressional side of things will remain unsettled for a while longer. But democracy has survived to fight another day, and that matters a lot. Women in particular turned out in defense of abortion rights and every state that had a vote on the issue upheld the right to choose. There is also a strong likelihood that Democrats will continue to hold the Senate, and there was no red wave in the House or anywhere else. The Secretary of State positions have been kept out of the hands of the … Continue reading →

I feel lighter

Fierce Planet Posted on by

We did good, my friends. Still some races to call, and likely Republicans will take an extremely thin majority in the House. Still hopeful we hold the Senate and if we do, we can definitely work with that. The red wave did not materialize. We held the line for now, for our country, for democracy, for all that is right in the world. Let’s go forward and push for more.

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A red mirage

Fierce Planet Posted on by

This illusion is deliberately formed when mail-in and early votes are held back to be counted after votes placed on election day. Since mail-in votes tend to be heavily Democratic, in practice this looks as if Republicans are winning early in the evening, then slowly Democratic votes are counted into the majority. Then Republicans claim that the later count was fraudulent, even though the mail-in votes are as valid as any. Expect to see a lot of this tonight and tomorrow, alongside other efforts to claim fraud where there is none. Will the GQP prime their base for action by … Continue reading →