I had dinner last night with a very progressive friend of mine.
She heavily supported Bernie and "reluctantly" voted for Biden. She loves AOC and the other members of the squad. We normally agree to disagree until last night. She proceeded to tell me that she and her group of progressive friends would not vote in 2024 if Biden or one of his "minions" were at the top of the ticket. Needless to say we had a pretty heated discussion, as heated as you can have in a restaurant.
She told me it was her opinion that the system needed to be completely blown up or no real change would occur (her big thing is student loan forgiveness and universal healthcare).
We have been friends since college when we were routinely protesting on campus. Right now I'm not sure I want to see her again.
I used to be considered a progressive, but not in today's world. I guess I am one of those nasty moderates who think if we don't win we can't change anything. I also believe in democracy and our republic, it doesn't always give me what I want all the time but it beats the hell out of the alternative.
= new reply since forum marked as read
Harvard Grads in the Psycho's Admin.
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Being Highly Educated means Nothing when it comes to honor and integrity or getting brainwashed.
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she doesn't give a Shit what the Fascist takeover of our country would do the poor and those whose Social Security would be Wiped Off the face of the map.
That's what the Psycho wanted to do.. defund SS by eliminating the tax that funded it.
That sent Chills down my spine when I read it on here in 2020.
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They are okay with blowing things up cause they think they'll get to watch.
These sorts are doubly surprised when they go up in the cloud with everyone else. 
FAFO fodder, they are.
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most of them are far too deeply embedded in the American way of life for them to just take away. Like the revolutionary-left dreamers, far-right authoritarians need disasters to cover for and provide excuses people will accept for dismantling "the system." And our rights.
Note that they didn't dare cancel the duty to inform people in custody of their rights before interrogation (didn't even come close), and we probably won't be losing our constitutional right to create federal programs like Social Security or Medicare this year either (though I believe they intend to). I'm very unhappy that schools can use tax dollars to teach that I'm going to hell, but freedom of religion still stands.
Critically, note that despite 40 years of Republican attempts to undo the great expansion of rights and widespread prosperity created out of the previous New Deal era -- including the huge, accelerating devastations of their 2008 Great Recession and Republican pandemic, and tRumpism -- over 70% of Americans still say they're doing okay to fine.
Everyone needs to keep in mind what that last means. These are not end times. They are need-to-protect times. And what they do manage to take away temporarily, the people, left AND right, will restore even more comprehensively.
Gotta admit you were right in that the portent is turning out to be HUGE, far bigger than making abortion illegal, which is only one extremely important right guaranteed by the right to privacy. Taking that out would likely also invalidate any laws we pass to replace Roe, no doubt behind Thomas's threat.
It might just also be the best thing that could happen with this RW extremist court seated, going after ALL people's rights to many highly personal and important decisions in a way that over time can't be missed or mistaken -- as opposed to paring away at smaller groups for years.
Whoa!
Practically guarantee she's a big fan.
Next time ask her if she has any ideas that DIDN'T come from Jimmy Dore.
Is what they've done, now look what we have.
You are totally not hip and cool, like, revolutionary.
"Progressive" now means populist anti-establishment with the establishment being Democrats.
who've now been identified and studied. A big lesson for us since 2016 is confirmation that authoritarianism's not just a RW thing. Many are currently loyal to the leader she's chosen, and batshit crazy times are not just encouraging increasing extremism (a lot of groups are circling faster and faster) but also very frank and open expression of what might once have been more diplomatically expressed, and perhaps less passionately felt.
And personality-driven ideology tends to rule at all educational levels. Many highly educated LW extremists and authoritarians wrap themselves and what some call "Progressivism" up in faux intellectualism with foundations of dishonesty and irrationality. And then quote each other. A lot!
If any of this is the case with her, it doesn't sound like a good sign for supporting Democratic leaders in future. Both RW and LW authoritarianism are antithetical to the liberal principles of the Democratic Party and to the democratic pluralism absolutely essential to representative government. As for extremism,...!
Plus, thinking about it, there's the strong overlap between authoritarians and populists, many being both. That aggressively antagonistic promise to "take over" the house is certainly characteristic of both, and the LW populist movement has not replaced Sanders as its leader, even if he did align with the "Democratic establishment" to stop tRump's populist movement.
Oh, well. Hope you enjoyed your wine. I'd like a glass myself thinking of this stuff, but out.
I am sorry for your loss. 
By the way, you’re not “one of those nasty moderates,” you’re a pragmatist who can see the big picture and the long view. The radical right on the SCOTUS and in elective offices isn’t going to give us squat — just anarchy with guns.
