Over the last few months, thenation.com has made an effort to foster a robust and thoughtful comments section befitting the mighty intelligence of our readership. We’re pleased to report that the shoe ads are gone, the name-calling is at a minimum and astute and witty commentary is on the rise. Here are our favorite comments from the last week. Let us know what you think — in the comments!
Pjcasey: “No candidate loses an election because another candidate ‘takes votes from them.’ Gore facing Nader was the Democratic candidate who lost the general election to Bush. Obama ran against Nader and won the election. Winning or losing an election is about the candidates themselves. It is their responsibility if they win or lose. “
In response to John Nichols’ “Should Obama Face a Challenge in the Democratic Primary?” October 5, 2011
Oscar Evolutions: “Inspiring. Makes me feel like I’m back in the first, exciting days when we took the squares in Spain, full of hope and discovering we were not alone. There, in Sol square at Madrid, at the feet of a statue dedicated to King Charles III, you could find (or tread on, so humble it was) a small plaque fixed with concrete, in which you could just read two metal-carved words: "Dormíamos. Despertamos" (We slept. We awoke) Hope and endurance for the times to come. Next stop: October 15th, Globalrevolution!
In response to “Occupy Wall Street: The Most Important Thing in the World Now.” October 6, 2011.
JakobFabian01: “He who pays the piper calls the tune. This is all you need to know about centrist Democrats, and about politicians generally. This is why we need limits on campaign funding. I would allow each candidate running for public office to receive no more than $5 per contributor. I would also require every major broadcaster to devote 10 hours of free airtime to multi-partisan debates in each election cycle, moderated by the League of Women Voters. Full disclosure of funding for all paid speech of every kind, political or not, would include a "Surgeon General’s warning" on every paid advertisement, indicating the number of people who actually endorsed the ad with their own signatures. A full list of these signatures would be available to any citizen upon request, provided by the broadcaster or newspaper publisher who ran the ad. The penalty for a violation of these rules would be permanent banishment from public office, permanent revocation of a broadcasting license, or a fee equal to 100 times the cost of the ad, respectively.”
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In Response to Jamelle Bouie’s “Centrist Democrats Work to Obstruct Good Policy at Every Opportunity.” October 11, 2011.
Nancy_P: “As with all ‘minority’ social/political movements, the middle-class interests are served first. I agree that ‘the least of these’ in the LGBT communities have been forgotten by the politicians, most GLB organization lobbyists, and by many or most gays and lesbians. Dare I suggest that it is time for those of us fortunate enough to have a job and a roof over our head to both lobby for and give directly to transgender and youth services and legal inclusion?”
In Response to Emily Douglas’ “Paradoxes of National Coming Out Day.” October 11, 2011.
Celticlady: “For anyone who doubts the impact of OWS, please consider this:
the conversation has shifted; right-wingers supporting the ‘job creators’– those legislators who owe their allegiance to Wall Street — have had their ‘respect the job creators’ rhetoric significantly muted and, most importantly, can no longer make their disingenuous claims about what the American people want or do not want. I’m sick of hearing that the American people are disturbed about the debt ceiling and I’m sick of the assumption that divisive social issues that pull us apart and do nothing to alter the economic landscape are the mandates the American people elected them for. What’s really needed is economic justice. Like any movement, their (dare I say our? I plan to attend the October Occupy Fort Myers event) strength is in the numbers. If the Tea Party catering primarily to the lunatic, racist fringe can exert influence over legislators and public policy, just think for a moment the possibilities for change that can occur when the interests of the 99% are finally seen as too powerful to ignore.”
In Response to Katrina vanden Heuvel’s “Will Occupy Wall Street’s Spark Reshape Our Politics?” October 11, 2011.
