I'm in California, so my exposure to McGrath is through the media, though I do read a large swath of it. And her ads were amazing.
I'm curious about why you don't like her. Also, did you vote for McConnell? If so, why.
Of course you don't have to answer and I'm not trying to hector you, but I am genuinely surprised that McConnell keeps winning, especially given that his approval rating is so low and he has zero charisma.
Every time the Democrats tried to talk up the ACA, it wasn't the Republicans who tried to undermine the ACA; it was the Left, declaring it a giveaway to insurance companies, a Republican plan, etc. Hell, to this day, a lot of them will still tell you exactly that.
I'm not surprised the Democrats learned not to bring up the ACA, because whenever they tried, it just worked against them.
And remember, it wouldn't be until 2013 that the exchanges even opened. So even that would have been a hard sell: "we passed a bill that, in a few years, will make a big difference in your life!"
In hindsight, delaying the opening of the exchanges until after the 2012 election was a mistake. It's another example of democrats not being willing to own their successes.
The far left is never going to be satisfied because, like the far right, they see any compromise as treason and don't understand that politics necessitates compromise. The difference is, the far right controls the QOP while the far left can only scream into the void.
2) She ran on, "I'm a fighter pilot and a mom whose married to a Republican but loves Jesus most of all". Probably a great message for Democrats who ask themselves, "can we put someone in the Senate who is well to the right of Joe Manchin?" Not exactly inspiring for the rest of us.
KY has one member of Congress (Louisville). I'm in the 2nd most liberal district, which McGrath lost two years ago. We still have a White Shoed, country club Republican. Our state house and senate are supermajority QOP. DEM Governor (thanks KY teachers!), but his predecessor was a hapless hack.
Hard for Dems to win here. With Amy at the top of the ticket, Dem turnout was low. She was courting Trump voters (Trump sailed to victory).
1) there are a lot of big cities that don't have super expensive housing - looking it up, 76 of the 100 largest Metro areas had median home selling prices below $300,000 last quarter (and home prices were way up last year) - a $300,000 median house should be well within the budget for a family with a $150,000 annual income.
2) there are a lot of metro areas with quite affordible housing - 32 of the 100 largest metropolitan areas had median sales prices below $200,000.
3) housing outside of metro areas tends to be cheaper
4) It's $150,000 AGI - your AGI is more than likely substantially below your salary or salaries since it removes health insurance, 401K contributions, FSA deductions, and some other items.
Btw, it looks like Philadelphia housing prices are actually slightly under the national median
Yeah, you aren't doing well at $150,000 a year in Seattle or San Jose - but you should be doing quite well in Chicago or Atlanta
Sure, $150k for a family of 4 is a middle class existence. Not "upper" middle class but you should be able to make due (even with the student loan payments that likely got you there). Nobody is arguing for the full direct payment to families over that.
"Top 100 Metro areas" is quite a range. NYC (~19 million) to Chattanooga TN (565 k). Sorry Scranton, PA - didn't make the cut.
Ultimately why are you opposed to a small % of people who "don't need it" getting relief in exchange for many people getting relief they need? Why give the GOP a win, and hurt the (big city urban blue state) Dem base? Did the top 0.1% really need their fucking tax breaks?
I won't get any, and shouldn't, under either plan. If you get the money and don't need it then donate it to a food bank or pay your country club dues (and keep that pretty pool boy employed). I'm not buying that "thousandaires" are going to just dump the money in savings or invest it in gamestop.
The vast majority under the Dem plan will go back into the economy, leading to a faster recovery.
"In hindsight, delaying the opening of the exchanges until after the 2012 election was a mistake. It's another example of democrats not being willing to own their successes."
Is your argument that the Democrats opted to delay the opening of the exchanges just to delay it? Is that seriously how you're looking at this?
See, I figure that there was almost certainly a reason for the timing of it, and the very least likely explanation is that the Democrats said "well let's just delay things for no good reason".
We're very red, but we have a (cis, white, christian) Democratic Governor. But he is a Democrat. Honest, trustworthy, competent. Not a "pro-life" Dem either. (He's also the son of a former Governor, which helps. Inbreeding in thoroughbreds and politicians and all).
Had we not had so much mail in and early voting this year Amy may not have even won the primary. There was a BLM adjacent candidate from Louisville who was coming on strong in the stretch. Just one more furlong and he could have been in the Turtle Stakes race.
TL;DR - I don't know what it would take fir a Dem to win statewide, let alone unseat a powerful incumbent. "Dead girl / live boy" as the saying goes. I just know that Amy isn't that person.
You know, it's a little unbelievable. I mean, come on! They haven't even said how Mexico is going to pay for their Covid relief plan. How can we trust it?
He was just elected to a 6 year term. We can hope the Repubs don't get the majority again. And we can vote that way.
I'm in California, so my exposure to McGrath is through the media, though I do read a large swath of it. And her ads were amazing.
I'm curious about why you don't like her. Also, did you vote for McConnell? If so, why.
Of course you don't have to answer and I'm not trying to hector you, but I am genuinely surprised that McConnell keeps winning, especially given that his approval rating is so low and he has zero charisma.
We can and should vote to keep him the minority. That's all we can do until 2026.
"I'm not saying the Dems don't tend to be wimpy"
You should. This whole "wimpy" business is propaganda against them, and it comes from the Left as much as from the Right.
On January 6, we marveled at the Democrats' courage and perseverance. Not even a month later and we're fucking right back to "Democrats are wimpy".
Every time the Democrats tried to talk up the ACA, it wasn't the Republicans who tried to undermine the ACA; it was the Left, declaring it a giveaway to insurance companies, a Republican plan, etc. Hell, to this day, a lot of them will still tell you exactly that.
I'm not surprised the Democrats learned not to bring up the ACA, because whenever they tried, it just worked against them.
And remember, it wouldn't be until 2013 that the exchanges even opened. So even that would have been a hard sell: "we passed a bill that, in a few years, will make a big difference in your life!"
In hindsight, delaying the opening of the exchanges until after the 2012 election was a mistake. It's another example of democrats not being willing to own their successes.
The far left is never going to be satisfied because, like the far right, they see any compromise as treason and don't understand that politics necessitates compromise. The difference is, the far right controls the QOP while the far left can only scream into the void.
1) Of course I voted for McGrath.
2) She ran on, "I'm a fighter pilot and a mom whose married to a Republican but loves Jesus most of all". Probably a great message for Democrats who ask themselves, "can we put someone in the Senate who is well to the right of Joe Manchin?" Not exactly inspiring for the rest of us.
KY has one member of Congress (Louisville). I'm in the 2nd most liberal district, which McGrath lost two years ago. We still have a White Shoed, country club Republican. Our state house and senate are supermajority QOP. DEM Governor (thanks KY teachers!), but his predecessor was a hapless hack.
Hard for Dems to win here. With Amy at the top of the ticket, Dem turnout was low. She was courting Trump voters (Trump sailed to victory).
Do good things for people. Point to those things proudly and incessantly so everyone knows who did them and how they helped people. Win reelection.
It really can be this straightforward!
"Deluxe refrigerators in the sky" and "teeny weeny polka dot stimulus"...you crack me up wicked SER!
1) there are a lot of big cities that don't have super expensive housing - looking it up, 76 of the 100 largest Metro areas had median home selling prices below $300,000 last quarter (and home prices were way up last year) - a $300,000 median house should be well within the budget for a family with a $150,000 annual income.
2) there are a lot of metro areas with quite affordible housing - 32 of the 100 largest metropolitan areas had median sales prices below $200,000.
3) housing outside of metro areas tends to be cheaper
4) It's $150,000 AGI - your AGI is more than likely substantially below your salary or salaries since it removes health insurance, 401K contributions, FSA deductions, and some other items.
Btw, it looks like Philadelphia housing prices are actually slightly under the national median
Yeah, you aren't doing well at $150,000 a year in Seattle or San Jose - but you should be doing quite well in Chicago or Atlanta
Lived in Chicago, spent much time in Atlanta.
Sure, $150k for a family of 4 is a middle class existence. Not "upper" middle class but you should be able to make due (even with the student loan payments that likely got you there). Nobody is arguing for the full direct payment to families over that.
"Top 100 Metro areas" is quite a range. NYC (~19 million) to Chattanooga TN (565 k). Sorry Scranton, PA - didn't make the cut.
Ultimately why are you opposed to a small % of people who "don't need it" getting relief in exchange for many people getting relief they need? Why give the GOP a win, and hurt the (big city urban blue state) Dem base? Did the top 0.1% really need their fucking tax breaks?
I won't get any, and shouldn't, under either plan. If you get the money and don't need it then donate it to a food bank or pay your country club dues (and keep that pretty pool boy employed). I'm not buying that "thousandaires" are going to just dump the money in savings or invest it in gamestop.
The vast majority under the Dem plan will go back into the economy, leading to a faster recovery.
"In hindsight, delaying the opening of the exchanges until after the 2012 election was a mistake. It's another example of democrats not being willing to own their successes."
Is your argument that the Democrats opted to delay the opening of the exchanges just to delay it? Is that seriously how you're looking at this?
See, I figure that there was almost certainly a reason for the timing of it, and the very least likely explanation is that the Democrats said "well let's just delay things for no good reason".
We're very red, but we have a (cis, white, christian) Democratic Governor. But he is a Democrat. Honest, trustworthy, competent. Not a "pro-life" Dem either. (He's also the son of a former Governor, which helps. Inbreeding in thoroughbreds and politicians and all).
Had we not had so much mail in and early voting this year Amy may not have even won the primary. There was a BLM adjacent candidate from Louisville who was coming on strong in the stretch. Just one more furlong and he could have been in the Turtle Stakes race.
TL;DR - I don't know what it would take fir a Dem to win statewide, let alone unseat a powerful incumbent. "Dead girl / live boy" as the saying goes. I just know that Amy isn't that person.
You know, it's a little unbelievable. I mean, come on! They haven't even said how Mexico is going to pay for their Covid relief plan. How can we trust it?
I’m not in KY but I have to agree that Amy was not the person. Maybe your gov can run for the Senate when Rand fucker is up for re-election.
Best of luck for him today.