6 ms·

Not an American, but it's wild to me how anyone could describe Kamala as "0.1% less bad". She's an accomplished politician.

jeffhuys 2y ago
What did she accomplish?
- tomrod 2y ago
  https://www.miamidadedems.org/what_has_kamala_harris_done https://www.miamidadedems.org/what_has_kamala_harris_done
  - jeffhuys 2y ago
    I honestly expected more, especially more specifics, but I recognize I'm biased. The reason I asked, is that nobody really knows when you ask them, which is what surprises me often. You needed to send me a link as well. Of all those, I really like the insulin one. I guess people in America have different priorities than the accomplishments on that list.
    - tomrod 2y ago
      I sent you a link for your review and reference, not because I couldn't name accomplishments. I prefer to respect the intellectual honesty of the person I speak with by providing citations for information they are unaware of.
  - pabl0rg 2y ago
    It says she “Led the push for the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights Act, federal worker unionization”. Federal worker unionization is very undemocratic b/c federal employees essentially blackmail voters. They become untouchable.
    - simonask 2y ago
      In most countries in the world, unionization doesn't mean "get everything you want", it means collective bargaining. It's an approach that cuts both ways, creating stable employment terms, which benefits both employer and employee.
      - mavamaarten 2y ago
        Indeed. It's crazy to me that unionizing is seen as a bad thing by exactly the people that would benefit from them, these days. They're only bad for big companies that prey on and abuse their workers.
        eadmund 2y ago
        Government-employee unions are bad for their employer, the government. They’re particularly bad when politicians can take money from taxpayers, give it to union members, who are then forced to give it to their unions, which then turn around and donate it to the politicians’ campaigns.
        simonask 2y ago
        Again, this feels like multiple problems that are problems regardless of whether unions are in the picture. Most of the world doesn't work like that.
roenxi 2y ago
The accomplished politicians seem to struggle a bit because they have a history of being terrible. It isn't like Trump came out of nowhere - it has been most of a decade now and when he won in 2016 that was on the back of backlash that had obviously been brewing for a long time. It was notable in 2016 that he had to knock out Bushes and Clintons from the presidential race who visibly couldn't wring compelling support out of their insider status. The Bush family name was more of a serious liability because of the family history of, you know, the Bush years. Trump's most memorable line of attack on Jeb Bush was making callbacks to how bad George's tenure was (which isn't entirely fair, but it does go a long way to showcasing why being an "accomplished politician" is a handicap given how badly US policy has been playing out for the last few decades). If the US political class had a history of success then being an accomplished politician might be a tick on the report card, but in practice it seems to mean that they have sympathies to the military-industrial complex and a number of extractive lobby groups.
- fuzzfactor 2y ago
  The Republicans didn't have anybody in 2016 or Trump wouldn't have had a chance. He stepped up to the plate even though he is the complete opposite of a lifelong Republican. So was Hillary, so the vision of lifelong Republicans has been completely out-of-reach for almost a decade now. They had no choice but to settle for less. I think it's been well demonstrated currently with Trump's live appearances where he really thinks he's doing the right thing all the time whether he makes very much sense or not. Just last week alone Trump made Ronald Reagan with Alzheimer's look like an absolute genius by comparison.
lawn 2y ago
Constantly lying, grifting, and being a convicted felon somehow is only worth 0.1%... Anything of the shit Trump has done would be an immediate disqualification for anyone else, yet everything constantly gets a shrug.
- amarcheschi 2y ago
  Imagine if a convicted woman were to be the democratic candidate
zarkenfrood 2y ago
Accomplished politician wouldnt be a compliment though would it. One of the recent issues is bureaucratic bloat caused by career politicians. In that sense she would be less appealing.
- Tainnor 2y ago
  I understand that this appears to make sense for a lot of people but to me a president should... actually be qualified to be a president. Otherwise, it's as if you had a string of bad CTOs and then decide to hire a gardener with no tech skills as your new CTO.
  - bilvar 2y ago
    In a democratic system everyone should be fair game to hold office, that’s the whole point. What you’re advocating for is aristocracy and leading to phenomena such as career politicians existing, who are leeches to productive societies.
    - Tainnor 2y ago
      It would be aristocracy if you had to be born into it. Now, I'll admit that the US system of mostly only very rich people getting access to top universities is not exactly fair - but you can in principle become a politician no matter your background. I don't think it's crazy to assume that qualifications matter. And most of the US's best presidents (such as Lincoln, both Roosevelts etc.) were highly educated and had had political careers before.
      - bilvar 2y ago
        Err no. Let me educate you a bit. The word aristocracy is an ancient Greek word that means “Rule of the most capable/best”.
        Tainnor 2y ago
        I'm aware, having taken Ancient Greek in high school, thank you very much. Meanings shift. An aristocracy is not a meritocracy and is mostly distinguished by its reliance on social status instead of actual merit. See e.g.: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/aristocracy https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/aristocr...
ekianjo 2y ago
> She's an accomplished politician. So accomplished she could not even win a primary against an old man and was the first one out.
15155 2y ago
How'd she do in the primaries?

jeffhuys 2y ago

What did she accomplish?

tomrod 2y ago
https://www.miamidadedems.org/what_has_kamala_harris_done https://www.miamidadedems.org/what_has_kamala_harris_done
- jeffhuys 2y ago
  I honestly expected more, especially more specifics, but I recognize I'm biased. The reason I asked, is that nobody really knows when you ask them, which is what surprises me often. You needed to send me a link as well. Of all those, I really like the insulin one. I guess people in America have different priorities than the accomplishments on that list.
  - tomrod 2y ago
    I sent you a link for your review and reference, not because I couldn't name accomplishments. I prefer to respect the intellectual honesty of the person I speak with by providing citations for information they are unaware of.
- pabl0rg 2y ago
  It says she “Led the push for the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights Act, federal worker unionization”. Federal worker unionization is very undemocratic b/c federal employees essentially blackmail voters. They become untouchable.
  - simonask 2y ago
    In most countries in the world, unionization doesn't mean "get everything you want", it means collective bargaining. It's an approach that cuts both ways, creating stable employment terms, which benefits both employer and employee.
    - mavamaarten 2y ago
      Indeed. It's crazy to me that unionizing is seen as a bad thing by exactly the people that would benefit from them, these days. They're only bad for big companies that prey on and abuse their workers.
      - eadmund 2y ago
        Government-employee unions are bad for their employer, the government. They’re particularly bad when politicians can take money from taxpayers, give it to union members, who are then forced to give it to their unions, which then turn around and donate it to the politicians’ campaigns.
        simonask 2y ago
        Again, this feels like multiple problems that are problems regardless of whether unions are in the picture. Most of the world doesn't work like that.

roenxi 2y ago

The accomplished politicians seem to struggle a bit because they have a history of being terrible. It isn't like Trump came out of nowhere - it has been most of a decade now and when he won in 2016 that was on the back of backlash that had obviously been brewing for a long time. It was notable in 2016 that he had to knock out Bushes and Clintons from the presidential race who visibly couldn't wring compelling support out of their insider status. The Bush family name was more of a serious liability because of the family history of, you know, the Bush years. Trump's most memorable line of attack on Jeb Bush was making callbacks to how bad George's tenure was (which isn't entirely fair, but it does go a long way to showcasing why being an "accomplished politician" is a handicap given how badly US policy has been playing out for the last few decades). If the US political class had a history of success then being an accomplished politician might be a tick on the report card, but in practice it seems to mean that they have sympathies to the military-industrial complex and a number of extractive lobby groups.

fuzzfactor 2y ago
The Republicans didn't have anybody in 2016 or Trump wouldn't have had a chance. He stepped up to the plate even though he is the complete opposite of a lifelong Republican. So was Hillary, so the vision of lifelong Republicans has been completely out-of-reach for almost a decade now. They had no choice but to settle for less. I think it's been well demonstrated currently with Trump's live appearances where he really thinks he's doing the right thing all the time whether he makes very much sense or not. Just last week alone Trump made Ronald Reagan with Alzheimer's look like an absolute genius by comparison.

lawn 2y ago

Constantly lying, grifting, and being a convicted felon somehow is only worth 0.1%... Anything of the shit Trump has done would be an immediate disqualification for anyone else, yet everything constantly gets a shrug.

amarcheschi 2y ago
Imagine if a convicted woman were to be the democratic candidate

zarkenfrood 2y ago

Accomplished politician wouldnt be a compliment though would it. One of the recent issues is bureaucratic bloat caused by career politicians. In that sense she would be less appealing.

Tainnor 2y ago
I understand that this appears to make sense for a lot of people but to me a president should... actually be qualified to be a president. Otherwise, it's as if you had a string of bad CTOs and then decide to hire a gardener with no tech skills as your new CTO.
- bilvar 2y ago
  In a democratic system everyone should be fair game to hold office, that’s the whole point. What you’re advocating for is aristocracy and leading to phenomena such as career politicians existing, who are leeches to productive societies.
  - Tainnor 2y ago
    It would be aristocracy if you had to be born into it. Now, I'll admit that the US system of mostly only very rich people getting access to top universities is not exactly fair - but you can in principle become a politician no matter your background. I don't think it's crazy to assume that qualifications matter. And most of the US's best presidents (such as Lincoln, both Roosevelts etc.) were highly educated and had had political careers before.
    - bilvar 2y ago
      Err no. Let me educate you a bit. The word aristocracy is an ancient Greek word that means “Rule of the most capable/best”.
      - Tainnor 2y ago
        I'm aware, having taken Ancient Greek in high school, thank you very much. Meanings shift. An aristocracy is not a meritocracy and is mostly distinguished by its reliance on social status instead of actual merit. See e.g.: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/aristocracy https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/aristocr...

ekianjo 2y ago

> She's an accomplished politician. So accomplished she could not even win a primary against an old man and was the first one out.

15155 2y ago

How'd she do in the primaries?