• ArbitraryValue
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    2 months ago

    My impression has been that Harris is indicating that her economic policy will move in the opposite direction with her talk of “price-gouging”. Is there a reason to think she will do what this article suggests, other than the fact that some donors are asking her to?

    • BlitzoTheOisSilent@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      Well, to start, politicians will say anything to get elected, so their words mean absolutely nothing, regardless of party affiliation.

      This article was the first I’d even heard about Harris potentially ousting Kahn, so that’s potentially a good sign. However, Kahn and the FTC have been taking swings at the oligarchs via their Google monopoly lawsuits, going after Apple, etc.

      Harris (and Walz) are centrist Democrats, they are not progressive. A progressive candidate would be calling for the minimum wage to match where it’d be if it was tied with inflation, around $26/hr, not bringing up the $15/hr debate that should’ve been done a decade ago. She hasn’t signalled support for Medicare for All as far as I remember, she went back on her promise not to expand fracking, and she’s made no mention of enshrining LGBTQ+ rights into law or stopping weapons sales to Israel (she has said their would be contingencies, so she still agrees to help the guy actively working against her with her opponent), all progressive ideas.

      So, she likely doesn’t support these things because her party, and more importantly, the donors who line their pockets, don’t want her to. She’s a career Democrat, she’s not that much younger than Biden in comparison to someone considered progressive, like AOC, so her policies are going to closer align with the Status-Quo centrist Democrats versus the We-Need-Change-Now progressive Democrats.

      Tl:dr: Harris is a centrist Democrat whose party (and by extension, her party’s wealthy donors) do not want progress made, they want a return to the status quo, as their policies have shown (Palestine, M4A, Fracking, etc). Her donors likely don’t like that the FTC chair actually has a backbone, and since the status quo is more important to the Democrat Party (look at how they treated Bernie) than progress. So, the donors are likely pressuring her behind the scenes to put a Garland-esque Chair in charge of the FTC: someone with no backbone.

      • greyhathero@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        She is 21 years younger than Biden, and I’m not sure you have actually read her voting record. It’s quite progressive for a us democrat

        • BlitzoTheOisSilent@lemmy.world
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          2 months ago

          The examples I gave have been from her campaign this year, I’m glad she’s voted progressively compared to most US Democrats, but she is campaigning as a moderate.

          As for her age, yeah, I’m glad we don’t have someone who’s an octogenarian running, but she’s closer to Biden’s age than she is AOC’s, an actual progressive Democrat.

          • Justin@lemmy.jlh.name
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            2 months ago

            Worth noting that AOC is the youngest a president can be. Harris is 3 years younger than Obama.

            Age also does not determine if someone is progressive, liberal, or conservative.

            • BlitzoTheOisSilent@lemmy.world
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              2 months ago

              I don’t get this. Y’all on Lemmy are constantly screaming about, “When someone shows you who they are, believe them,” about people like Trump and the GOP, but you won’t acknowledge the same about Democrats.

              You’re right, Bernie is older than Biden, and some of the Squad are in their 40s/50s. I never said otherwise. And AOC is the youngest a president can be.

              Bernie ran on a progressive platform, Biden did not, and Harris is not, by her own admission. The Squad have progressive ideas they push and campaign on, Harris and Walz have not shown support for these same policies. She’s showing all of us that is not a progressive candidate, which is all this discussion is about.

              She’s the far better candidate compared to Der Orange, no one should be voting for Trump. This isn’t a “y’AlL nEeD tO vOtE tHiRd PaRtY” comment, or one telling anyone to stay home, or any of that.

              Harris is just not a progressive candidate, and a 60 year old woman who’s lived her entire life in the upper middle class has much less in common with the average person than someone like AOC.

              That’s what this whole comment chain was about: someone asked why Harris may have pressure behind the scenes to oust Kahn as FTC chair, and that would be the only reason I could think she’d do it: her wealthy donors want a less progressive FTC chair so they’ll stop going after the oligarchs, and Harris’s campaign seems to be very “return to the status quo” like the Democrats always seem to be doing.

              • rusticus@lemm.ee
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                2 months ago

                YOU need to acknowledge that how someone campaigns is less reflective of their position than HOW THEY VOTE.

                • BlitzoTheOisSilent@lemmy.world
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                  2 months ago

                  I have, and even told you I hope she continues to follow her progressive voting record and prove me wrong.

                  But based on her campaign, I don’t understand why you’re all acting like she’s a hugely progressive candidate. She’s just not, I’m sorry, but she’s not.

          • candybrie@lemmy.world
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            2 months ago

            By 4 years. Harris is pretty in between AOC and Biden age wise. There are members of the squad who are in their late 40s/early 50s. And Bernie is older than Biden.

            • BlitzoTheOisSilent@lemmy.world
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              2 months ago

              I don’t get this. Y’all on Lemmy are constantly screaming about, “When someone shows you who they are, believe them,” about people like Trump and the GOP, but you won’t acknowledge the same about Democrats.

              You’re right, Bernie is older than Biden, and some of the Squad are in their 40s/50s. I never said otherwise. And AOC is the youngest a president can be.

              Bernie ran on a progressive platform, Biden did not, and Harris is not, by her own admission. The Squad have progressive ideas they push and campaign on, Harris and Walz have not shown support for these same policies. She’s showing all of us that is not a progressive candidate, which is all this discussion is about.

              She’s the far better candidate compared to Der Orange, no one should be voting for Trump. This isn’t a “y’AlL nEeD tO vOtE tHiRd PaRtY” comment, or one telling anyone to stay home, or any of that.

              Harris is just not a progressive candidate, and a 60 year old woman who’s lived her entire life in the upper middle class has much less in common with the average person than someone like AOC.

              That’s what this whole comment chain was about: someone asked why Harris may have pressure behind the scenes to oust Kahn as FTC chair, and that would be the only reason I could think she’d do it: her wealthy donors want a less progressive FTC chair so they’ll stop going after the oligarchs, and Harris’s campaign seems to be very “return to the status quo” like the Democrats always seem to be doing.

              • candybrie@lemmy.world
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                2 months ago

                But her age has very little to do with that. Her being closer in age to Biden than AOC is totally irrelevant.

                • BlitzoTheOisSilent@lemmy.world
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                  2 months ago

                  I didn’t come back to Lemmy for five hours, and you and the other person both basically said the same thing. So you both got a combined answer of your comments.

                  Glad you’ve resorted to insults when all I’ve done is give you what Harris is showing us and saying to us. But yep, someone challenged your position, and instead of acknowledging that it may not be as steady as you initially thought, you accuse them of being a bot, and then insult them.