https://www.dailykos.com/user/Venerable Lede/rss/index.xml News Community Action Copyright 2005 - Steal what you want Mon, 27 Jan 2020 07:41:07 +0000 Mon, 27 Jan 2020 07:41:07 +0000 Daily Kos rss@dailykos.com (Daily Kos) Daily Kos rss@dailykos.com (Daily Kos) https://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/9/27/787025/-Political-Contributions-by-US-Corporations-Some-nice-charts <p>These charts come to us from <a href="http://contexts.org/socimages/">Sociological Images</a> via <a href="http://chartporn.org/2009/09/18/company-political-contributions/">Chart Porn</a>. Basically, you can create custom to charts to arrange corporate contributions by size and by Democrat/Republican <br />leaningness."</p> <p>Now, I don't plan on rearranging my life too much to avoid right-leaning corporations. But maybe next time I'm renting a car from the airport, I'll choose Hertz over Enterprise and Avis. And next time I'm on a road trip and considering dinner, I'll drive past the exit with a Cracker Barrel and see what awaits me up ahead.</p> rss@dailykos.com (Venerable Lede) Charts Corporations PoliticalContributions _787025 Sun, 27 Sep 2009 21:48:33 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/8/26/772730/-Lessons-from-the-death-of-Ted-Kennedy <p>The death of Senator Ted Kennedy has evoked an outpouring of grief from the country. And it's not just from Democrats mourning their progressive champion - those who never agreed with him <a href="http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/26/edward-m-kennedy-dies-at-77/?hp">respected him too</a>. Kennedy was flawed, but as so many have noted today, he was a tireless, steadfast public servant who <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/8/26/772651/-Joe-Biden-Remembers-a-Friend">actually changed the lives of millions</a> for the better, and was the embodiment of progressive <a href="http://jamesfallows.theatlantic.com/archives/2009/08/senator_edward_kennedy.php">charisma</a>. People knew what he stood for, and even those who disagreed can respect that.</p> <p>I want to contrast all of this to a post by Matt Yglesias in which he <a href="http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2009/08/public-choice-and-moral-imagination.php">attempts to understand the psychology</a> of the dime-a-dozen centrist Senators, addicted to power, who are willing to sell out legislation that insures millions or preserves the environment as we know it in exchange for another six-year term of doing nothing.</p> rss@dailykos.com (Venerable Lede) RIP TedKennedy _772730 Wed, 26 Aug 2009 18:21:12 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/5/17/732638/-Politico-s-Insight-The-Left-criticizes-its-politicians <p>To be fair, the title of the latest trenchant trends piece out of Politico is <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0509/22604.html">Some on Left Souring on Obama</a>. And I guess that <em>some</em> probably have.</p> <p>But what evidence does the author cite? A quote each from Rachel Maddow and Andrew Sullivan, who - while they have criticized Obama, and often rightly - I certainly wouldn't characterize as "soured." And then we get a quote from Michael Meyers of the New York Civil Rights Coalition who says, "No president is a messiah.&#8221;</p> <p>Not the son of God? If that's not a ringing criticism, what is?</p> <p>There are two issues here. One, the lack of any references to public opinion polling, which show Obama as popular on the left as ever. And two, a depressing lack of understanding of what exactly responsible journalists, bloggers, and political organizations contribute to democracy - and what responsible, partisan journalists and bloggers can contribute to the strength of their party.</p> rss@dailykos.com (Venerable Lede) Barack Obama BarackObama Criticism Journalism Politico _732638 Mon, 18 May 2009 03:48:25 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/11/9/657998/-2008-Turnout-A-Failure-to-Think-Statistically <p>Today the Politico has an article titled, rather snarkily, <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1108/15422.html">That huge voter turnout? Didn't happen</a>.<p>From David Paul Kuhn:</p> <blockquote> <p>The Democratic increase struck some analysts as modest, considering the party&rsquo;s immense get-out-the-vote operation, strong anti-Bush sentiment and Obama's popularity.</p> <p>"It sort of calls into question some of the vaunted ground game discussion, the whole turnout machine," said a Democratic strategist who did not want to be quoted by name criticizing Obama&rsquo;s campaign. "The GOTV effort was redoubled in 2008 compared to 2004, but it did not seem to make that big of a difference." </p> </blockquote> rss@dailykos.com (Venerable Lede) Election 2008 Election2008 Voter Turnout VoterTurnout _657998 Sun, 09 Nov 2008 15:53:25 +0000 https://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/11/8/657585/-David-Brooks-has-a-center-right-country-to-sell-you <p>Pay no attention to David Brooks, ever. His misdirection is subtle, laced with words which sound measured, considered, <em>moderate</em>. He is read by well-meaning liberals eager to flatter themselves as ideologically non-sequestered, non-partisan free thinkers. (Tip: read the <a href="http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=ODYwOTEyZTQyMzc2ZGMwYmEwMTRmN2VjN2I1YTE0M2E=">National Review</a> instead. It's the least distorted window into the rightists' minds.) But with David Brooks, it's all about the subtext. Let's review his latest sugarcoated <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/07/opinion/07brooks.html?_r=1&amp;em&amp;oref=slogin">message</a> in which Brooks approaches Tuesday's victors in the guise of conciliatory bipartisanship: The events of November 4th, when Democrats picked up at least six senate seats, 20 house seats, the electoral votes of Indiana, North Carolina, Virginia, and Omaha, and when a Democrat won the presidency with over 50% of the popular vote for the first time since Jimmy Carter <em>did not represent any leftward movement in the electorate.</em></p> <p>Come again, Mr. Brooks? "This was an election where the middle asserted itself."</p> rss@dailykos.com (Venerable Lede) DavidBrooks election 08 Election08 Polling _657585 Sat, 08 Nov 2008 19:42:53 +0000