I still maintain this should not be allowed the same as the Reform member who switched to Plaid. Under the Senedd voting system you were not voted in as an individual you were voted in under a party list. To still allow MS’s (regardless of the party) to switch is completely undemocratic.1/2
Politics · Takes · page 3
Further down today’s ranking of Politics posts that are opinions and questions: page 3 of 5.
One important reason Platner was tanking in the polls even before he was forced out is that he obviously didn't actually care about beating the senator he voted for multiple times. You could watch his speeches and ads after Mills dropped out and have no idea who his general election opponent was
couple theories for GA/NC 1. It’s so Cooper/Ossoff can move their state dollars around to more effectively boost the state coordinated campaigns 2. It’s to drive those races to near double digit wins to help the downballot candidates Have to look into it seeing as you can’t “coordinate” *wink*
The DNC faces a severe fundraising gap compared to Repubs. And the DNC is in debt. My cell messages have 11 requests for $ from Dems. Daily I rcv anywhere from 25+ such requests. The $ in politics and apparently lack thereof for Dems are problems. Ads cost. Staff costs. Travel costs. Answers?
Trump’s messaging on nuclear threats was essentially an incoherent brain fart from a senile psychopath. 60 years ago political messaging on the horror of nuclear war was artistic and emotionally impactful. We have lost so much in such a short period of time. youtu.be/riDypP1KfOU
When people feel systematically unheard, radical-right populists fill the void. They claim to restore power to “the people”, even as they erode the checks and balances upon which liberal democracy depends.
Apple seems to be doing a pretty good job of hiding spam texts. Yes I have to clear them of notifications, but I don’t actually look at ANY of the political fundraising texts. That’s got to be having an effect. As long as Citizens United stands, I am not spending a nickel on political campaigns. #USPol #Elections #FEC
Right wing propagandists pushed this narrative, with limited success, for decades. And yet, somehow, people still believe uneducated white people just magically came up with that whole vibe all on their own in the 21st century for reasons that had nothing to do with America's first Black president.
Mainstream political journalists, committed even now to a horse race that Trump openly speaks stealing, call Rubio's Athens speech 2028 positioning. Yes, and--he'd like to be the contender if that becomes the option. But all his great man talk is designed to flatter a boss who may decide to stay.
I think we need to clear up something about the much vaunted conservative plans for #Britaniashield missile defense. The key thing is the Israelis want the UK to be trapped into an Israel dependant missile defense system, and conservative politicians in the UK want to ingratiate themselves with the Israelis.
Lazy clickbait media have lead us here. Good policy? Responsible governance? The common good? Nah. It’s about winning the day. #OvertonWindow #AusPol Australia’s ‘sensible centre’ is shifting radically right | The Point thepoint.com.au/opinions/26100…
Yes, anti-Semitism is a real problem - but to see an op-ed like this that ignores the many public statements by #NetanyahuAdminisration ministers and the well documented abuses in the #WestBank by "settlers"? Dismissing concerns about the Israeli abuses in #OccupiedPalestine will only aggravate anti-Semitism. This is exactly the sort of right wing Israeli messaging - oh, so calm and reasonable, while justifying #EthnicCleansing and #WarCrimes - that I have seen since Rabin was murdered, if not before. Three years on from the 7 October attacks, antisemitism has taken hold in Britain: Jews aren’t safe theguardian.com/commentisfree/…
A mark of the far-right is to generate as much disruption as possible, particularly with cohorts opposed to or high potential of opposing them. Vaccinations, food hygiene checks, AI, clean air, you name it; it’s all designed to create distraction & stifle dissent while they cement power. #qldpol
In 2004, S.D. moved from a city manager-style of gov’t to a strong mayor. It hasn’t gone well, with mayors mired in scandals or epically poor decisions. Now, even a routine transfer of data is fouled up. It’s time for S.D. voters to ask, why can’t we elect mayors who actually do the job? voiceofsandiego.org/2026/09/30…
asking a question like this during election polling should have you struck from the pages of any serious media outlet - unfortunately NZ doesn't have any of those in mainstream any more Curia can absolutely not be trusted to avoid push-polling - thereby changing decisions - or to even be truthful
NC Dems need to get their acts together. You’ve got to be able to make the case for taxes when voters are about to be voting on constitutional amendments to cap taxes to an extent that will cripple state government. #ncpol
Our current National government proposing random drug testing for people on jobseekers benefits. Given the importance of their jobs, I think maybe it should be mandatory for MPs. That and breath testing for alcohol. Would be interesting, Hogseth has probably broken breathalyzers by being out of maximum range.
I personally have a hard time coming up with strong principled beliefs about provincial vs. municipal jurisdiction, so I focus on the merits of the policy. Trying to ban/limit housing near jobs and transit is dumb when municipalities do it and it’s dumb when provinces do it.
I don’t hate the MidAmerica airport extension or whatever but it truly is a difference in state politics that Illinois will fund transit projects to the middle of nowhere but Missouri won’t fund transit to dense areas of its largest city/metro area.
Saw a "factoid" posted on a trusted news program that stated half of Republicans believe the 2020 election was stolen. My wife and I understand propaganda, belonging and belief conceptually, but the magnitude of this statement shows how truly powerful belief, belonging and propaganda is. Using logic, one can fight lies, but fighting belonging and belief is not possible. Or is it? #belief #tribe
The US has been doing this since it inception. Aside from separating enslaved Black families, my mind went immediately to Native boarding schools.
The idea that if a government holds stock in a media company, it has the right to litigate the editorial decisions of the company’s news outlets, is an attempt to do an end-run around the First Amendment. fair.org/home/floridas-lawsuit…
Zohran looked into arresting Netanyahu if he could find it possible, and trying to crack down on sales of illegal settlements in Gaza. Yes, in the end, Zohran is a politician, and he has to do politician things, but he's cooking so far. He's still ONLY a Mayor.
Decades of neoliberal scamonomics have led to social wealth trickling up to a tiny parasitical elite. We need politicians who will repossess what has been taken from us and use it to repair our broken society and economy.
Canada can build major projects faster without weakening environmental protections, science, transparency or accountability. I just wrote to my MP asking them to strengthen Bill C-39. You can too 👉 actionnetwork.org/letters/have...
I’ve been wrestling a bit with whether I get myself into a contradiction when I decry provincial interference like this (where they do it to squash municipal policy I approve of) but quietly rejoice when higher levels of government act ro get other cities to adopt more pro-housing measures.
ICE/CBP is the American Gestapo. Let me repeat: ICE/CBP is the American Stasi. Let me repeat: ICE/CBP is the American NKVD/KGB. *Everyone* who is part of ICE or CBP, from the lowest agent up through the entire management chain, right to the very tippy top, is part of a criminal/unconstitutional conspracy to commit crimes such as Federal kidnapping (potentially a capital offense - 18 U.S. Code § 1201 - Kidnapping ) These people must be indicted, tried, and, in many cases i would hope, convicted. (Of course El Cheato - who ought to be one of the defendants despite the SCOTUS grant of immunity - will pardon them.) democracydocket.com/news-alert… law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18…
I don't know how many times we're going to need to explain this to people but you can not use the 25th Amendment to remove the President against his will. The process for doing that is called "impeachment". And Newsom should know that. My post on it: ordinary-times.com/2019/02/18/m...
One reason why I'm surprised wealthy people and corporations don't invest more in elections. The return on investment is huge. US spends less on elections than deodorant.
Worth noting this when reflecting on Badenoch's speech yesterday. Tories are very good at making promises, but not quite as good at delivering them
Mamdani has genuinely made some missteps on i/p and on policing. The reason thr protest against him has such bad rhetoric/messaging is because the local chapter has opted against pushing him from the left, leaving the lane open to ultras.
After they take a beating in the midterms, I expect the GOP will cooperate in removing Trump from office in an attempt to avoid the same in 2028, either via the 25th Amendment or impeachment and conviction. Trump will become the scapegoat, and they'll try to make him the cause of ALL the problems. Then we'll have a year or two of Vance to deal with while the GOP tries to rehab their image with voters. Will it work? #25thAmendment #ImpeachConvictRemove
A word at the end of the day about people saying "I'm okay with drug testing if all MPs have to do it". No. That is *not* where we want to go. Part of the danger of National's stunt policy is that it sets us off down a slippery slope where the privacy and human rights of *everyone* are infringed.
Hard to know just how much the general electorate is paying attention to the Chicago school board race, but the allegations against Hilario Dominguez, coupled with the mayor’s unpopularity, have a real chance of tanking all the CTU-aligned candidates.
A sensible suggestion: that opposing #UBI = softness on crime.
I don’t think people realize yet that this is part of a bigger plan by this iteration of the GOP. They are trying to take over food systems and they are buying up farms They’re putting out of business.
Centrist Senate candidate in a red-leaning state unafraid to discuss overturning Citizens United? That's a great sign
For context I hate Ronald Reagan and think he’s responsible for a lot of what’s wrong with America today, but it’s kind of mind boggling just how much worse Trump is: Ronald Reagan: “An attack on Munich is the same as an attack on Chicago” Trump: just doubled down on his claim it’s okay for Iran to wipe out an American city if it’s in California, giving LA and San Diego as examples bbc.com/news/articles/c6r7yn8p… #uspol
Where I've landed with this is that municipalities (and neighbourhoods within them) are all basically trying make new housing go Somewhere Else. It's a collective action problem where everyone in the province benefits from abundant housing, but no one wants change locally. So we get *gestures*
What SHITTY reporting here from Bylines (usually a good rag) "Just another electoral commission? No. This time it’s different. Andy Burnham has a long-standing, personal commitment to electoral reform" Ahh, well, if a politician says something for a long time, it must mean they won't lie and change their mind when it is convenient then. They already made a commission before in 2010 that found we should use AV+ and then we had a referendum on AV and rejected it and its still a 2 party system
Like so many populists, GOPers are much more interested in simple sounding "one secret trick" plans. Hence the "just have Johnson not seat people" nonsense. Actually rigging the election would take a lot of strategic planning and effort they seem unprepared for.
Would the federal government do the same if they were building projects in a different country? Indigenous land doesn't belong to Canada. ctvnews.ca/politics/article/dont-mistake-attendance-at-a-press-conference-as-support-for-a-pipeline-chief-says/
The authoritarian centrist-led crackdown on antifascist resistance does not address "polarisation" or prevent violence, it only hastens the mainstreaming of the far right As much ass many want to pretend, there is no sensible middle ground between fascism and antifascism
Ngā mihi Andrew - terrifying being on with the towering intellect that is Donna Cormack & similarly, with Tahu Kukutai as the host! I mainly focused on how the census relates to the Māori electorates and has great constitutional importance. So many complex issues and an awesome series from Te Ngira
I believe the phrase is "good riddance to bad rubbish." theguardian.com/news/2026/oct/…
Long post
I'm sure making homeless camping triply illegal instead of doubly illegal is sure to fix things this time.
Got a very funny letter from the Mayor's office saying that our place is NOT worth over a million dollars so we don't need to prove we are full time residents to avoid the new tax. I guess they sent it to every coop and condo in the town. The values they are using are from the 1980s! Back then our place was hardly worth 50k. So to have an apartment worth over a million? I can't even imagine what that must be.
I never thought I would say this but Kemi Badenoch's rejection of Reform and their racist rhetoric on what makes someone English was actually great to hear She's shit at everything else but that was actually refreshing
A political party having its own media outlet (I mean, more than the old media was a Tory operation) is not a sign of a healthy democracy or a healthy media.
