5,000 votes out of 1.4 million, with 28,000 to the 3rd-party candidate. 0.004%. Votes matter.
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Pct. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andy Beshear | Democrat | 709,846 | 49.2% |
| Matt Bevin* | Republican | 704,760 | 48.8 |
| John Hicks | Libertarian | 28,442 | 2.0 |
1,443,048 votes, 100% reporting (3,659 of 3,659 precincts)
* Incumbent
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/11/evo-morales-finally-went-too-far-bolivia/601741/
«While liberal democracy has proved much more fragile than most social scientists assumed a few short years ago, an alternative political system that would better resolve its own internal contradictions is not in sight.»
Or, as others have put it:
«‘Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.…’»
Winston S Churchill, 11 November 1947 (https://winstonchurchill.org/resources/quotes/the-worst-form-of-government/)
and
«Monarchy is like a sleek craft, it sails along well until some bumbling captain runs it into the rocks. Democracy, on the other hand, is like a raft. It never goes down but, dammit, your feet are always wet.»
https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/a-secret-ballot-for-impeachment-would-be-a-terrible-idea/
Wow. So much for making Republicans go on the record in an impeachment vote, which I think is what folks like @AOC were expecting.
President Pence, anyone? Bringing sanity back to the White House at last? (I’m being sarcastic, if you can’t tell.)
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1194574113706299404.html
Book: Selling Spirituality, by Carrette and King (2004)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0415302099/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_U_x_35.YDbC5YHWWB
https://www.ft.com/content/a4fe1974-0461-11ea-9afa-d9e2401fa7ca
“Assertive majoritarian.”
«In important respects, Mr Trump and Mr Modi are ideological soulmates. They are both assertive majoritarians, scornful of liberal concerns with minority rights. They have promised to crack down on illegal immigration and have stoked fears of Islamic extremism — partly as a way of consolidating their political base.
Mr Modi’s many defenders argue that one of his great strengths is that, like Mr Trump, he is in touch with “the common man” — he cares little for the opinions of urban elites.»
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/10/world/americas/evo-morales-bolivia.html
Seems to me this is how democracies run off the rails: packed supreme court, one party in the tank for the dictator, substantial support among the electorate, which is getting some benefit over non-suupporters.
«In 2016, he had asked voters to do away with the two-term limit established in the 2009 Constitution, which was drafted and approved during his first term. Voters narrowly rejected the proposal in a referendum — which, under Bolivian law, was supposed to have been binding.
But Mr. Morales found a workaround. The Constitutional Court, which is packed with his loyalists, held that term limits constricted human rights, giving Mr. Morales the right to run for office indefinitely.»
https://westernjurisdictionumc.org/safe-harbor-declaration/
Statement by the Western Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church:
«We do not intend to withhold or challenge ordination based solely on a person’s gender identity or sexual orientation. We are unwilling to punish clergy who celebrate the marriage of two adults of any gender or sexual orientation seeking the blessing of God and the Church for their covenanted life together. At the same time, we recognize and will uphold the requirement that LGBTQ+ clergy, with all clergy, “maintain the highest standards of holy living”xiv in their personal and professional relationships.»
The ship is sailing.
I would be interested to know what U.S.-based signatories to the Giving Pledge think about Warren’s M4A plan and her candidacy in general.
(Also, whether they are ACTUALLY following through on their pledge.)
https://twitter.com/JoeDunman/status/1192036205426286592?s=17
Joe Dunman (@JoeDunman) Tweeted:
Every down-ballot race in Kentucky was a GOP landslide. Bevin, the most disliked governor in the country, barely lost. Kentucky doesn’t fit easily into any national narrative (as usual).
