The incessant "We're going to lose" "if the election were held today" threads are trolling...

[tenderfoot]

plain and simple.

It's like this site has been taken over by Project Veritas.

[hlthe2b]

1. Given we just had major congressional success, the "this is a bad end of year for Biden & Dems" line

I saw posted earlier, along with things "might be worse than the polls are saying..." is pretty inexplicable. Especially this far out.

sigh...

[PortTack]

2. Yep we did have a great win..the polls might off but better than they are saying!

We all agree we know what the m$m is up to...digging the dems such a deep hole in which to stand..why repeat their doom and gloom?

[Laura PourMeADrink]

49. Wow.. surprised you discount polls. Ok. Of course, just surprised.

[hlthe2b]

50. I don't discount polls. You miss the point.

[elleng]

3. Thanks.

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 531,000 in October, and the unemployment rate edged
down by 0.2 percentage point to 4.6 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job
growth was widespread, with notable job gains in leisure and hospitality, in professional and business
services, in manufacturing, and in transportation and warehousing. Employment in public education
declined over the month.

https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf

[SoCalDavidS]

4. Have You Seen Biden's Poll #'s?

When TFG's #'s were in the low 40's, everyone was pointing to that as a good sign for our victory in 2020.

Sorry, some of us can't just look at the current state of President Biden's popularity, and say everything will be fine, it's way too early to worry.

As it is, whichever party takes over the WH, tends to get slaughtered in the following midterms. We ignore that fact at our own peril.

I'll feel a lot better if/when Joe's favorability is back above 50, but for now, I worry.

[orangecrush]

24. Your concern

Is duly noted.

[BlackSkimmer]

36. Wish I had a dollar for every time someone posted that prior to the 2016 election.

Turns out our “concerns” were quite valid.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

54. Of course! Need action plan to turn it around. Of course

not us here, since someone pointed out that we carry no clout out and zero influence. The party leaders, the ptb, need an action plan.
IMHO

[Laura PourMeADrink]

57. The million dollar question tho is what do we do about it?

We have zero influence or affect on anything. Besides GOTV of course.

[Kingofalldems]

58. Yep.

[JustAnotherGen]

5. ITA

Shovels will most likely be in the ground in 2-3 months (Biden yesterday).

Next summer the only thing anyone should be whining about is the extra five minutes on our commute.

[Greybnk48]

6. I just trash them all. N/t

[monkeyman1]

29. if your talking poll's ? poll's are worthless and I have know use for them ?

[Greybnk48]

38. Not exclusively, just the doomsday posts.

There's no basis in fact for them at this point, and I don't have time for the trolls. Things change all the time and we have reason to think things will swing our way (because we're offering something instead of empty rhetoric).

I don't distrust polls, I distrust the radical right.

[monkeyman1]

43. you nailed it ! agreed!

[leftstreet]

7. The midterms are lost without something big n/t

[mcar]

12. There have been several something bigs in just 9 months

# of people vaccinated; American Rescue Plan; now the infrastructure bill.

Just one of those would be considered huge in any other circumstance.

Please, stop trashing these amazing accomplishments.

[leftstreet]

13. I didn't trash them. They're just not big enough n/t

[mcar]

39. Not big enough?

What, in your opinion, is big enough?

Link to tweet

?s=20

INFRASTRUCTURE DETAILS (per White House)

—$40b bridges
—$11b safety
—$39b transit
—$66b Amtrak/rail
—$7.5b e-vehicle chargers
—$5b clean buses
—$17b ports
—$25b airports
—$50b water resilience
—$55b drinking water
—$65b broadband
—$21b enviro remediation
—$73b power/clean energy

[leftstreet]

48. Most people would already budget those things

I mean, people don't think you have to wait for a Xmas bonus or lottery win to pay your utility bill or buy a rake for your leaves.

You're not wrong about the significance of the things you've listed. But I don't think the messaging has been there (from either party) to help people understand how completely underfunded our public services and infrastructure are now.

That's all I meant that there has to be something bigger to grab the midterms. You can't get people excited about improved airports or bridge repairs when they think their tax money should already be paying for those things.

[paleotn]

14. Nice crystal ball you have there....

Does it say who's going to win the next superbowl? FBS national championship? Just asking.

[orangecrush]

25. Happy infrastructure week!

[Tomconroy]

8. I declare that the glass is half......... something.

[SharonAnn]

33. The glass is refillable

[Tomconroy]

41. Let's order more glasses.

[bearsfootball516]

9. Because it's true. That doesn't mean we can't fix problems and win in 2022.

But Tuesday night was a huge reality check. I’ve seen a lot of “Why can’t you just be happy we won NJ, that bucked the traditional norm!”

Because NJ is getting more and more blue. Holding onto the Governor’s seat there is expected now, it’s the absolute minimum. He lost 12-13 points off his 2017 win. Biden’s approval is in the low 40s. People can ignore it at the own peril, but if things are similar next November to what happened Tuesday night, it’s going to be very ugly for us.

Let it serve as a wake up call, not a demoralization. We can still win next year, and let’s use these lessons we just learned to get there.

[mcar]

10. It depresses turnout

and feeds into the RW myth that Democrats aren't accomplishing anything.

[tenderfoot]

11. Exactly.

It's to get users to just give up and not vote.

[hlthe2b]

15. Knowing that Russia and other trolls are trying to do the same does give one pause to see DUers

echo and propagate that line, I have to say--even while their intentions are clearly not the same. That said, I'm all for being realistic and letting that motivate us, but there is a line over which it does become vote-depressing and obviously counterproductive.

[tenderfoot]

16. Then there's the "experts think the nation should split up" threads

[BlackSkimmer]

22. You really think DUers are that easily discouraged?

If anything, my worries in 2016 made me do everything I possibly could to get out the vote.

And no thread on DU would have any effect on me as to my voting. I mean, if there are people here that easily put off voting, then I’m not sure why they’re even here.

[Crunchy Frog]

17. Some of us are genuinely scared.

I don't post that sort of thing because I don't like dealing with all the accusations, but I do appreciate them.

It helps me to feel that I'm not alone in my anxieties for this country.

[hlthe2b]

18. Some who are anxious are motivated to work harder, but others "shut down" and essentially give up.

That's why the constant dismal drumbeat of these kinds of threads--if they cause the most active among us to become totally demoralized-- may very well backfire on us.

That is a line that is hard to determine. A little reality is not a bad thing. Constant posting (and reposting) of every bad news story and poll with very dejected summary comments may well have the opposite effect.

[BlackSkimmer]

21. This is exactly it.

Many were shouted down when they expressed worry about tfg in 2016. I remember it well.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

56. Love " don't like dealing with all the accusations" nt

[Hortensis]

19. Gotta distract from our achievements. Professional agents and

hostile trolls are easy to understand.

But how about those who believe they're sincerely "progressive" but are always upset and even depressed when Democrats achieve progressive goals? It's not about "if the election were held today," of course, which might be some kind of combined anxiety and taking comfort from the thought of future Democratic failures?

Whatever. My guess is some of them would be the last to understand themselves -- after me, and I don't.

$55 billion to clean up drinking water supplies. After decades of RW neglect and active abuse of so many communities, GOOD start.

[BlackSkimmer]

20. I remember when many of us were called "concerned" during the 2016 election.

Many here were taking premature victory laps, but those of us who saw the writing on the wall were called names.

It’s a discussion board and people should be allowed to share their opinions, thoughts and fears without being accused of “trolling.”

[hlthe2b]

26. A matter of degree. Most posts (posters) are not in question.

A pattern of posting nothing BUT negative polls, analysis, pundit comments sans any real counter discussion is more suspicious.

[JohnSJ]

42. Comey's October surprise (lie) was a big part of that, though it was the self-identified progressive

who refused to vote for Hillary in those critical swing states by either voting 3rd party or not voting

Hillary lost by less than 1% in those critical swing states, while Jill Stein received 1% in those swing states

It did make a difference, and there is a real possibility that unless we unify, we may end up a minority party for decades

[Septua]

23. Long way to Nov '22

Quoting Biden and pundit remarks...unemployment is down a little, more jobs were added than predicted for the month, stock market still climbing, the economy is reasonably healthy and the covid situation is improving.

The short memory people are overreacting to the "inflation", due in part, to misinformation being spread by the anti-Biden bunch. The inflation is mostly due to insufficient supply resulting from the global pandemic; and will likely, maybe, turn around when the supply-demand equation balances out.

And, covid is still an issue with some people. They wanted Joe to fix it in a matter of weeks and it wasn't to be. The pundits keep saying the Democrats didn't "message" in the most effective way...kept talking infrastructure an trillion dollar numbers and didn't make a point to accent the positives.

Poll numbers don't necessarily mean what they suggest.

https://www.thebalance.com/us-economic-outlook-3305669

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2021/10/08/remarks-by-president-biden-on-the-september-jobs-report/

[ColinC]

28. Exactly. Today is not November 2022

It could be a lot better by then. It could also be a lot worse. But only assuming it could get worse just helps further heighten the odds of it happening.

[ColinC]

27. I mean, we might

But what does saying so incessantly help?

[ancianita]

30. Not fair. Worrying is not trolling; even as we win one, big picture issues are still at work.

Staying on the big picture concerns (which by definition are huge) is why we got the win, and so those concerns remain as important as enjoying the win.

[lees1975]

31. Let's just take stock

Democrats pass major legislation promised in election.
Economy is roaring.
Jobless claims lowest point in almost two years.
New jobs created highest point during the pandemic.

Makes the poor poll numbers hard to believe.

[c-rational]

32. You are correct. Remember, beliefs precede experience. With our thoughts we make this world.

The opposition knows this and plays this game for keeps. We need to be on the same page and united.

[Hulk]

34. There is a lot of work to get done.

I'm looking to expand the control of BOTH the Senate and the House.

[Septua]

35. I'll accept winning or losing so long as...

..the popular votes decide who won or lost. Got to get the voting rights bill on the books to guarantee a fair election.

[Hortensis]

37. And stuff like this from Ocasio-Cortez, which managed to make me angry,

though how she's spinning her refusal to help pass this historic PROGRESSIVE legislation is no worse than expected.

Link to tweet

We had originally planned $45 billion to replace all the lead service lines in the country, but the $15 we achieved (in spite of Ms. Ocasio-Cortez) will replace the lead lines contaminating tap water in approximately 10 million homes across the country. And later we'll get the rest, also without her if she chooses.

Almost every one of the allocations listed below, plus many, many more, will benefit the people of her own district in some way, in spite of her opposition. Which would also explain why she's not mentioning them.

Water and Wastes Digest:

For the water industry, $55 billion of the $550 billion will go towards clean drinking water and wastewater infrastructure. The bill’s provisions for the water sector include:

$11.713 billion each for both the Clean Water State Revolving Fund and the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) for a total of $23.5 billion in new federal investment;

An additional $1 billion through the CWSRF and $4 billion through the DWSRF to address emerging contaminants including per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS);

$15 billion through the DWSRF to address lead in drinking water;

Reauthorizing the Sewer Overflow and Stormwater Reuse Grants program at increased funding levels;
And at least $25 million per year to improve access to running water in Tribal nations and disadvantaged communities.

According to the White House Fact Sheet regarding the infrastructure bill, it is also intended to prepare more of our infrastructure for the impacts of climate change and resulting extreme weather events. This is the largest investment in the resilience of physical and natural systems in American history.

The Association of State Drinking Water Administrators Regulatory and Legislative Affairs Manager Wendi Wilkes tweeted several findings regarding the bill's water and wastewater provisions...

United States Public Interest Research Group (USPIRG):

$55 billion for water infrastructure, including $15 billion to remove lead pipes and $200 million to address lead in school drinking water

Record investments in transit, walking and biking infrastructure

$7.5 billion to begin building a nationwide electric vehicle charging network

Funding for thousands of clean, electric school buses and low and zero emission transit buses

$73 billion to strengthen the electrical grid and improve energy efficiency

Begins the process of reinstating the Superfund tax “polluter pays” principle while also including additional funding to clean up Superfund and brownfield sites, reclaim abandoned mine land and cap orphaned gas wells

$65 billion for broadband

$350 million to build wildlife corridors, which ensure animals can get under, around or over roads to migrate, mate and maintain biodiversity

Ms. Ocasio-Cortez's colleague who represents us here in GA also opposed passage of this bill, but I won't post the deceits he offers in his defense.

[betsuni]

45. But I thought big bold transformative plans like FDR's were good.

Now it's bad just in case it doesn't all get done and people are disappointed and sad that Daddy promised to come to the school play and didn't: BROKEN PROMISES.

[JohnSJ]

40. No kidding, and much of the media are taking great pleasure out of it

[Stinky The Clown]

44. I disagree with that as a blanket statement.

Are some of them trolls? OHYOUBETCHA!!!

But some are what they say they are.

[CrackityJones75]

46. Agreed. It HAS to stop

[greenjar_01]

47. Definitely some perennial T's relishing in it

Unfortunately, they've reached a critical mass to game the moderation system and have in effect taken over the board.

[Kingofalldems]

51. Absolutely

We're getting the hell trolled out of us.

Trying to change the subject from our big win this week on ifrastructure.

[Kingofalldems]

52. Kick this one for Trump's secret pals...

[Mad_Machine76]

53. To paraphrase a quote from Star Trek:TNG's resident "mystic" Guinan

If we are convinced that we are going to lose, we'll probably find a way to make it happen.

Also, to paraphrase a certain witty pirate, our problems really aren't about the problems, but our attitudes about the problem.

Let's not get suckered by the media, pollsters, or anybody else into defeatism.

[betsuni]

55. Doesn't even matter what the administration does or doesn't do. All negative all the time.

It's the delighted glee that anti-Democratic bullshit is posted that gives away the trolls as trolls.

Big thank you to everyone who takes the time to post facts and information (over and over and over because the same bullshit is posted) to fight the misinformation.

[Kingofalldems]

59. Started right back this morning--so kick again.