#or that aoc was a candidate

[doomdoomofdoom]

"Living in unprecedented times" needs to stop being a euphemism and start referring to stuff like AOC and Tim Walz stream Madden on twitch.

[the-physicality]

this election discourse reminds me so much of finals discourse…. (Obviously much higher stakes but)

[auroramosaic]

i am. very scared about tomorrow. and about how many people think not voting is the morally correct thing to do. scared a little bit for myself, but scared mostly for other people who will be affected far more than myself, and scared that no one cares about slowing down america's descent into fascism as a part of their "activism"

[swiftdupes]

taylor arriving at aoc restaurant

beverly hills, ca // march 12, 2016

pants

contrast trim active leggings in gray from rainbow // $9.99

[sirfrogsworth]

Sometimes it is exhausting being on the left.

AOC is not Nancy Fucking Pelosi.

She did not say Biden is her preferred candidate. She did not say this was her preferred outcome. She chose her words very carefully to that effect. All she did was communicate the reality that Biden is a stubborn fuck and he ain't going anywhere.

Basically, "this is the shit deal we have, let's see if we can avoid fascism somehow."

She certainly did not seem happy about this. Just determined to avoid catastrophe.

And jackasses like this just want to make her job even harder.

[socialistexan]

"Whatever candidate they have whether it's Obama, whether it's AOC, where it's even Bernie ... Whatever (Internet leftists) have, they can't want ... It is being categorically unimpressed and disappointed in what they do have"

[radlymona]

I don’t think AOC is wrong for reaching out to constituents post election but it definitely does show they’re dumb asf

Like voting for Trump because of Palestine is so ridiculously stupid I can’t even imagine. Did these people pay attention at all during his first term? This is the person who authorised the move of the U.S. embasssy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. His son-in-law was the one who put forward the “Trump peace plan”, without the literal involvement of Palestinians!!!

That aside, it shows that voters are so susceptible to populist rhetoric that they don’t bother to look deep into the candidates and their policies. It doesn’t matter that Biden’s economic policies actually improved the livelihoods of working and middle class peoples, it matters only that Trump criticised the elites on the campaign trail.

How do you even begin to compete with this without putting forward a sociopathic populist à la Gavin Newsom who viciously hates homeless people?

[qqueenofhades]

The thing is, I think the republicans DID have a plan for if Biden dropped out. They just didn't have a plan for if Harris could instantly unite the party, which is why they're still feebly trying to pretend like Biden might try to take back the nomination or someone else will challenge her and the DNC will be a mess, and trying to insist that no one likes Kamala when she's putting up these huge rallies. If the stupid contested mini primary idea had gone through I'm sure the GOP would have been ready with knives out and I would have descended halfway into alcoholism by now. Fortunately we live in the Good Timeline where Biden endorsed her immediately and everyone rallied around her and none of the GOP's weaksauce attacks have stuck. Same with the veepstakes- they banked on Harris picking Shapiro on the advice of the dem consultants and hoped that would open up some weaknesses for her, and when she picked the guy better suited for this moment have tried and failed to make it a scandal that she picked a guy endorsed by everyone from AOC to Manchin.

In full fairness to the GOP strategists, the dems having their shit together and united on messaging is a new and shocking development that I still can't quite believe myself. The complete collapse of the GOP messaging in response though? Delicious.

Well, yeah. Of course the Republicans had a plan if the plan was "do nothing, sit back, and let the Democrats descend into self-inflicted chaos," because that required zero effort or initiative from them other than to continue their usual petty fascist manipulative bad-faith bullshit. And yes, the fact of the Democrats being in disconcerting levels of array and not doing the self-sabotaging thing yet again came as a complete shock to everyone everywhere, so this wasn't the worst gamble, but it also exposes the GOP's complete and utter lack of any other ideas or constructive strategies if that did NOT happen. Their only plan was "wait for the opposition to crumble and do the worst thing imaginable like we always do!" and like. At some point, you aren't going to get away with that anymore. Especially when your candidates are Donald Fucking Trump and the guy who's somehow managing to be even more unpopular than Donald Fucking Trump. I mean, Trump's cultists like Trump. They don't even like Vance. Ouch.

The simple fact that the Republicans had no strategy whatsoever except OOOH OOOH SCARY BROWN WOMAN if the Democrats did pull together and support Kamala, and OOH OOH GARBLE ANTISEMITISM GARBLE (from the literal Neo-Nazi Party who was gearing up to go Full Speed Ahead Antisemitic if she had chosen Shapiro) if she picked Walz, demonstrates that they're completely bankrupt, at the end of the end of the rope. They have nothing new to offer. It's the same litany of garbage grievance culture-war fear and hate that they've run on for 8+ years, and as I have said before, eventually people get tired of that. It doesn't work anymore, especially when a genuinely exciting and dynamic alternative is offered. And now Trump is having an absolutely gobsmacking meltdown of a press conference at the critical battleground state of Mar-a-Lago, which kind of sums up where this whole thing is:

Man, I almost feel bad for him.

(No, no, I don't.)

[darkeagleruins]

With everything AOC is saying today just remember, AOC IS A POLITICAL ACTOR

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was elected thanks to a Democrats casting call AOC’s brother submitted her application & she was chosen by the Executive Director of Justice Democrats out of 10,000 candidates It’s all on camera.

Here’s the story, watch to the end to see footage of AOC & Alexandra Rojas confirming this on camera

[carsonjonesfiance]

I feel like I trust leftists from red states far more than leftists from blue states. Maybe I'm biased (I consider myself a left-leaning personand I'm from a red state), but lately, a lot of blue state leftists have been showing their asses far more often

Ever since 2016 I’ve been slightly wary of blue state leftists and I think the best way to explain is to compare AOC to Doug Jones

Alexandria Ocasio Cortes is from a district that leans so heavily Democrat (IIRC it’s something like D+15) that she can say some truly leftist things without fear of losing her seat. This is why she can afford to be the face of things like the Green New Deal, but rather than acknowledging that privilege she’s taken her ability to win in her district as proof her politics can win anywhere. We see this attitude in the way she insists on primarying any and all Democrats with more progressive candidates regardless of their local political viability.

Doug Jones, who narrowly won out against a Republican pedophile and did lose his seat to a Republican football coach who is now holding up military appointments over abortion policy, is a lawyer who put away the KKK members that bombed the 16th Street Baptist Church. He’s been a civil rights lawyer longer than I’ve been alive, and he only won by 20,000 votes because of how deeply red most of Alabama is. Part of that was being pro gun and steering away from anything more harsh than background checks and being very quietly pro choice.

There are risks that blue state Democrats can take that red state Dems can’t and that principle guides us Red Staters to more pragmatic realist politics like Senator Jones. I’m sure there are Blue State Dems that get that what works for their district doesn’t work everywhere but a not insignificant portion of them have not learned that there is a reason Bernie Sanders represents the state of Vermont and not Wyoming.

When you expand that divide to a national level you get Red State Dems much more understanding of Moderate Presidential Candidates and quietly Progressive policies (I.e. literally anything that the Biden administration has done in the past two years) while Blue Staters don’t get why we can’t go further because their idealist, maximalist policies are never challenged in their area. It’s like an IRL version of an internet echo chamber.

[pregnantseinfeld]

Finally, AOC recently hosted a public panel with leaders from the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, lobbyists for the IHRA definition of antisemitism. On this panel, she conflated anti-Zionism with antisemitism and condemned boycotting Zionist institutions.  This sponsorship is a deep betrayal to all those who’ve risked their welfare to fight Israeli apartheid and genocide through political and direct action in recent months, and in decades past. A national DSA endorsement comes with a serious commitment to the movement for Palestine and our collective socialist project. We must endorse candidates who enthusiastically seek a relationship with DSA, and the National Political Committee as the highest body of the organization between conventions is responsible for setting the criteria we establish for national endorsements. Chapters have a responsibility to make this clear to their endorsed candidates when applying for a national endorsement.  The NPC is committed to ensuring that all of our elected officials are unabashed in their support for Palestinian freedom. To build a socialist movement that’s capable of defeating capitalism, we must demand more from leaders in our movement.

Interesting things going on in DSA!

[feminismisstillahatemovement]

You might have talked about this before, given your name, but as a woman, I don't think it's recognized enough on how the way feminists to respond to non-feminist/anti-feminist women. It reeks of narcissist speak. "How can you be against me? It's because of me you have all you do!" "Feminism is why you have any rights at all" "You just don't understand it". Obviously I don't deny the good feminism had done for women, but these days, all I see is violent, gross man haters. Ones that ignores female abusers constantly and male victims. That gender issues (rape/DV) that affects both men and women. I won't support a movement like that. I understand it just fine.

Yes. if you're outside of the feminism cult, to those within it, you're no longer to be considered a woman. Your voice and opinion no longer matter to them.

It's the same with all the identity politics movements: if you're a black conservative, you're no longer to be considered black, and fair game to be contemptuously referred to as an "Uncle Tom" or much worse. If you're gay or trans or a Muslim or disabled or whatever and you have the "wrong" opinions, or vote for the "wrong" candidate - meaning anyone right of AOC - you are no longer invited to compete for Who's the Biggest Victim, which is the highest prize anyone on the woke left can aspire to, now that they've rid themselves of goodness and objective truth. The groups that claim to exist only to speak FOR you will now seize every chance they can get to destroy you.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Nikki McCann Ramírez at Rolling Stone:

The Democratic National Convention kicked off with a heavy dose of star power on Monday, with everyone from Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr to former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaking in support of Vice President Kamala Harris. But no one worked the crowd into more of a frenzy than Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). 

“I’m here tonight because America has before us a rare and precious opportunity,” she said. “In Kamala Harris, we have a chance to elect a president who is for the middle class because she is from the middle class.”  Much like the early messaging of the Harris/Walz campaign, Ocasio-Cortez’s speech centered on the issues plaguing working-class Americans.  “Donald Trump would sell this country for $1 if it meant lining his own pockets and greasing the palms of his Wall Street friends,” she added. “I for one am tired of hearing about up how a two-bit union buster thinks of himself as more of a patriot woman who fights to lift working people up every single day.”  Ocasio-Cortez noted that Republicans often attack her past work as a bartender. They have “attacked me by saying that I should go back to bartending. But let me tell you I’m happy to any day of the week because there is nothing wrong with working for a living,” she declared. “Imagine having leaders in the White House who understand that.” 

Ocasio-Cortez also threw an indirect nod to protesters calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and an arms embargo against Israel. Thousands descended upon Chicago to affirm their calls for Vice President Kamala Harris to break with President Joe Biden and endorse a harder stance against the Israeli government and their ongoing siege on Gaza.  Harris has been “working tirelessly to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and bringing hostages home,” Ocasio-Cortez said in her speech. 

Last night at the DNC, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) torched Donald Trump in her speech good.

AOC delivered this money quote: “Donald Trump would sell this country for $1 if it meant lining his own pockets and greasing the palms of his Wall Street friends. I for one am tired of hearing about up how a two-bit union buster thinks of himself as more of a patriot woman who fights to lift working people up every single day.” #DNC2024 #DemConvention

See Also:

Daily Kos: AOC fires up DNC crowd with scorching swipe at 'two-bit union buster' Trump

[triviallytrue]

Okay, so this is me being honest and not like going for a "GOTCHA!" or whatever. Who, in your opinion as a jaded leftist, do YOU think would be the ideal candidate for president? You can interpret it as ideal however you like, be it politically or pragmatically or etc.

realistically the best the US left will ever do is AOC

[noirandchocolate]

I mentioned my Master Kohga's father in tags on another post, so now this post is my headcanons about how succession to the position of Master works in the Yiga Clan.

The short answer is, it's inherited, but it isn't automatic/doesn't have to be.

The Clan is not a monarchy (ewww, they would say!), and while they do have great "allegiance to their Master" according to Creating a Champion, the Master isn't thought of as a ruler. (I also do not hc that the Yiga are a "cult," and mine are certainly not a cult where they worship Master Kohga (either the specific guy in AoC/BotW/TotK or the "Master" as a concept/post held by many.)) They absolutely do not believe in a divine right to rule (that's stupid annoying Hylian nonsense and one of the things they rebelled against in the first place), and they also don't think that simply because a person is the scion of the particular bloodline/family that currently holds the Master position, they must necessarily be the best candidate for the job. I dunno, I just really don't think that a group that formed in opposition to an oppressive monarchy that betrayed them would keep a family in power forever in a similar monarchical system just because they're that family, or would let someone keep the position indefinitely if that person was genuinely horrifyingly bad at the job.

That said, the Master also can't be said to truly be a "first among equals" or "democratic"-type position. The Clan does treat its Masters special. They follow them, they protect them especially, they'll do their bidding loyally according to each leader's personal style (some like to be pampered--*coughcurrentKohgacough*--while others are more austere--currentKohga's father's mother's father for example). A Master Kohga expects orders to be followed. They ("Master" is a gender-neutral term and position) have a Right Hand and certainly take advice from others within the Clan, but ultimately they hold the final say on things, with all the power and all the responsibility that entails. Basically, what the Master says, goes.

Until it doesn't.

But I'm getting ahead of myself, ha! Better go back to the "usually inherited, but isn't automatic" part, because this post is about succession headcanons!

So, there typically will be a presumptive "heir" to the position and name of Master Kohga, and it is usually the current Master's first child. However, a subsequent kiddo might distinguish themself in a leadership/martial prowess/etc.kind of way and surpass their sibling into the heirship. If the Master doesn't have a child yet, the presumptive heir might be a sibling or other close relation. "Child" includes adopted kids, too, if that isn't obvious. Yiga children are raised communally, and it's considered a huge honor (/understatement of the century) if the Master thinks your kid is amazing enough to officially adopt and train to take over. A Master may also consider their Right Hand their heir. Nevertheless, traditionally it's the Master's first child, and barring one of these more unusual circumstances (and others I could go on listing--keep in mind the Clan has existed for 10,000 years), that's who'll be getting raised and trained up to take the position eventually.

Still, unlike with Hyrule's monarchy (and arguably most Earth monarchies), the Master position doesn't immediately pass to the heir upon the previous Master's death. As I said, there isn't some magical divine spark or quality that the Yiga believe transfers from one Master to the next. Instead, there is an interim period during which the Clan prepares for and holds funerary rites for the old Master and the heir...undertakes several trials and rituals to prove their worthiness for the position.

These include multiple types of challenges from hardcore meditation (as in, no food or water, very ascetic like the old Sheikah monks trained), to arcane skill demonstrations, to a trek up through the Highlands to retrieve a hidden object (somewhat similar to Blademaster candidates' journey to place bananas at the frog statues), to successfully leading a stealth raid on a Gerudo or Hylian settlement, to...well the big showy one is slaying a Molduga solo. That's the final test, a literal and symbolic showing that the heir is capable of protecting the Clan from even the biggest of natural threats. So, with all of that, it's not completely a given that the heir will succeed at becoming Master! Most do. They're raised for it, as I said. But they're not just handed the leadership role because they're a very special baby, like Hylian monarchs and nobles are. They earn it. Ultimately, what all of the tests show is that the heir is willing to go to great lengths of various types for the Clan--the underlying message beyond the shows of strength, fortitude and skill is "I do this because I am dedicated to all of you."

Once all those trials are complete, the now fully-realized heir is tattooed with a giant, red Inverted Eye on their back. (The upper "teardrop" starts at the base of the neck and from there the Eye spreads across the shoulders and back--it's big. And while most Yiga will have the Eye tattooed somewhere on their person, only the Master can have it, or any other tattoo for that matter, in red.) Their new mask is crafted, and unlike all other Yiga masks that are purely smoothed-down wood, the Master's mask has a thin overlay of bone--from the Molduga they defeated. Following that, there's an Ascension ceremony during which the title of Master and name of Kohga are officially conferred.

That's how it was with the current Master Kohga; his father was Master, he was the heir and (briefly) the Right Hand, he received all kinds of special training starting in childhood in addition to the usual martial arts stuff most Yiga learn, he completed all the trials, and he ascended to the position upon his dad's death just as expected. He "inherited the name Kohga" as stated in Creating a Champion, just like his father, grandmother, great-grandfather, and every other Master back to the very first Chief.*

Anyway, next for the "what the Master says goes until it doesn't" part I was cryptic about at the start of the post. You might think the kind of system I've described where the "heir" isn't always a Master's first child and that first child can be replaced etc., would cause just as much resentment and strife as a monarchy (I mean think of how many kings assassinated heirs to take their places irl). But again, the Clan is not a monarchy and they in fact have a formal method for those who want to assert a claim to the Master position against the heir.

As a culture, the Clan tends to be very much about maintaining internal peace because it's them against the whole rest of the world basically. So while sure, we see individual members in the games (TotK especially) complaining and having rivalries and being a lil' bitchy, ultimately they're quite cohesive and "ride or die" with each other and the group as a whole. So since the idea is to have a Master who will take care of and lead the Clan, a first child who'd rather do something else or who's a total klutz with a weapon is in most cases unlikely to be vendetta-level mad if their parent chooses their sibling as the heir. The fact that the heir doesn't have to be the Master's child at all also takes care of situations where a Master dies and their kid is still...a kid. A sibling to the deceased Master can step in and take the position, or someone else entirely can...okay here's the procedure.

The heir and even the Master can be Challenged.

Most instances of this happening occur in the above scenario: the old Master's chosen heir is still a child, and there's a sort of stylized "challenge" where that other relative or the Right Hand or someone else the Clan would agree is better than a literal ten-year-old (or whatever) to lead, declares their intent to take the tests instead and ascend to become Master. Less frequently, it can occur where the chosen heir is of-age but can't complete the requisite tests and someone else steps forward who can.

Least frequently, because as previously stated the Clan is pretty harmonious internally and generally loves its heirs and trusts its Masters' judgment, someone can Challenge the heir by attempting to undertake the tests as well. If both succeed, they will then battle it out. Not to the death! But to the defeat.

Similarly, at any time, anyone can attempt to Challenge a Master. This is incredibly rare, even across a history of 10,000 years. The Yiga are very loyal to their Masters! I was being clickbait-y with that ominous sentence before my readmore cut! However, they have the Challenge as a failsafe procedure for when a Master is, let us say...really shit at it. Acting like an utterly abusive despot, completely shirking all responsibility, repeatedly and unnecessarily/stupidly getting a lot of Clan members killed, that kind of thing. Generally a complete failure to the spirit of being a Master. The Challenge in that case consists not only of a battle, but also of a referendum in which all Clan members (anonymously) vote. If the challenger wins, they'll still have to undertake the trials to become Master. As I said, this is like, vanishingly uncommon, especially in more recent times.

For all that they're a bunch of shadowy assassins, the Clan prefers a peaceful transition of power because that kind of cohesion keeps them safest. The current Kohga's bloodline through his father has held the Master position for 800 years (keep in mind though, Sheikah-blooded folk live a long time), and his bloodline through his mother held it for several hundred before that. Still and all, every individual Master accepted the risk of the trials and the responsibility of the position. They've all been considered special, and been adored and waited on and obeyed by their Clan, but they all...

Well, one of our dear Best Guy Master Kohga's clearest, most impacting memories from his childhood is his Nana's final words to him and his father, on her deathbed:

"Go, and be Masters, my children. They will serve you, and they will love you, if you will serve them, and love them, and lead them."

As much as Kohga is theatrical, and hugely self-confident with a moon-sized ego, and loves napping and delegating chores...even with all of that window-dressing type sillygoofy personality stuff... He does care deeply for his Clan and his allegiance to everyone in it is just as great as their allegiance to him. As we see in AoC, when things get serious he will put his life on the line for them.

Just as expected of any great Master Kohga.

And he is certainly beloved for it.

[asm5129]

Concerning Biden dropping out: I don’t think we’re doomed.

To be clear: I don’t think this was good, and AOC said it was mainly because democrats were caving to donors. I believe her.

But also—better to have a candidate the Democratic Party can unite behind than someone they’re actively calling to step away who refuses to.

I think having a nominee most elected democrats don’t support is probably one of the worst possible scenarios going into such a high stakes election.

Kamala is most likely to be the immediate pick, particularly if there’s a plan already in place which is likely, but despite the chaos part of me does hope that we have an open election.

Just cuz a big part of the issue with Biden is people felt trapped. They had no other real options.

So part of me feels like giving their base choices for who they have faith in is not the worst idea. I very much doubt there will be an open election though, we don’t have much time so chances are the plan is for Kamala to step in, and the more I think about it the more I think she might actually have a chance.

For one thing, Trump won’t be able to help himself from being blatantly racist and sexist towards her, which will hopefully alienate more potential voters.

And for another, it could build a lot of confidence if the democratic nominee is capable of essentially prosecuting trump on the world stage.

If it is Kamala, there’s three key things that need to be considered:

One, she’s got a long history of being a prosecutor. There’s legitimate reasons not to like her track record there but it’s not horrible experience for a candidate to have when running against a convicted felon.

Two, she needs a very strong VP pick.

three: she needs to fix one of Biden’s biggest flaws—she needs to fight the narratives being spread by Trump and Trump loyalists. Biden rarely communicated to the American public throughout his presidency, which let a lot of narratives take root