Indecision 2022

[Bird on a Fire]

I'm beginning to think bribing officials might be one of the most effective uses of money for environmental causes.

How much does Manchin get from coal? Decarbonising the US economy is worth many multiples of that to the world.

I've long advocated that.
He gets bribes (albeit publicly declared ones with names like 'donation' or 'campaign fundraising') anyway, and it would be much cheaper to bribe him to pretend to be a reasonable human being. Sure it might not work for all things, but it probably would for quite a few things.
If it looks like he's going to lose anyway at this next election, it might even be possible for the democrats to persuade him to act like a Democrat for a few months without bribes.

Manchin runs a coal business. One that provides the shittiest grade, dirtiest coal available. He's not going to vote against fossil fuel interests.

Buy his business off him (and close it).

[WFJ]

I've long advocated that.
He gets bribes (albeit publicly declared ones with names like 'donation' or 'campaign fundraising') anyway, and it would be much cheaper to bribe him to pretend to be a reasonable human being. Sure it might not work for all things, but it probably would for quite a few things.
If it looks like he's going to lose anyway at this next election, it might even be possible for the democrats to persuade him to act like a Democrat for a few months without bribes.

Manchin runs a coal business. One that provides the shittiest grade, dirtiest coal available. He's not going to vote against fossil fuel interests.

Buy his business off him (and close it).

I wonder what pork they've thrown him. Or what kompromat they've found.

[Bird on a Fire]

It's good news anyway, and just in time for the midterms - unless Sinema f.cks it up still.

[Little waster]

Yay a new Centrist party to spilt the non-loony vote further said no one ... ever.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... ical-party

You could sort of see the point of something like the SDP or Macron's En Marche where the main two-parties were seen as having abandoned the middle-ground but that isn't really the case in the US where you have a now openly fascistic Republican Party up against a dull managerialist Democrat Party, too lacking in self-confidence to actually do anything.

The mushy centre in the US is already well-served with the usual disappointing results and in a country so famously hostile to third parties I can't see what they expect to do beyond splitting the Democratic Party vote further and let the increasingly extremist Repugs get elected with even less support than normal.

[dyqik]

Yay a new Centrist party to spilt the non-loony vote further said no one ... ever.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... ical-party

You could sort of see the point of something like the SDP or Macron's En Marche where the main two-parties were seen as having abandoned the middle-ground but that isn't really the case in the US where you have a now openly fascistic Republican Party up against a dull managerialist Democrat Party, too lacking in self-confidence to actually do anything.

The mushy centre in the US is already well-served with the usual disappointing results and in a country so famously hostile to third parties I can't see what they expect to do beyond splitting the Democratic Party vote further and let the increasingly extremist Repugs get elected with even less support than normal.

Every presidential election cycle someone tries this. Everytime they make less difference than the libertarian party.

The most recent exception being Ralph Nader, who had 30 years of public political activism behind him.

I fully expect their seven candidates to come in behind a few perennial write-ins. Or Trump if the GOP manage to ditch him.

[dyqik]

In any case, the US already has four national parties.

The first problem for this party is that they haven't been running candidates for local posts for a decade. No one is going to want to vote in their primaries if they don't get to decide who the local state rep, school board or registrar of deeds candidate is, because they haven't got candidates that far down the ballot.

[Brightonian]

Vote for Eric