Yet another reason to not stay home on Election Day and claim both parties are the same:

[Cali_Democrat]

Progress denied yet again:

http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/senate/237072-republicans-blocks-sanders-minimum-wage-amendment

Republicans block Sanders' minimum wage amendment


Senate Republicans on Thursday blocked an amendment to the GOP budget that called for increasing the minimum wage.

The amendment offered by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) failed in a 48-52 vote.

The amendment would have created a deficit neutral reserve fund, essentially a budgetary placeholder, that "promoted a substantial increase in the minimum wage."
It did not specify how high the federal minimum wage, which now sits at $7.25, should be raised.

[Fumesucker]

1. Sanders is one of the bestest Democrats around...

[Cali_Democrat]

2. He is an independent who caucuses with Dems

Check out the roll call of the vote

[winter is coming]

6. I don't care which team jersey he's wearing. He's running the right plays. n/t

[mother earth]

3. There needs to be a public outcry BEFORE elections that this pseudo-gov't and hijacking by big money

is beyond reprehensible and will no longer be tolerated, campaign finance reform is essential. It's time to stop playing the game & actually seek change. We need a return to rule of law, plain and simple.

[winter is coming]

4. Hmm. Multiple replies in your other OP claiming the "progressives stayed home" meme is BS,

including a reply linking to an article proving that the "we lost in 2010 because progressives!" is utterly false.

At least two requests in that thread for proof that progressives staying home has cost us elections.

Instead of replying to any of those posts, you decide to start another OP spreading the same manure.

[Agnosticsherbet]

8. The 2010 electorate: Old, white, rich and Republican

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/11/22/104144/the-2010-electorate-old-white.html

2014 was a replay with even lower turnout.

The 2014 electorate wasn’t just older and whiter than 2012. It also voted more Republican.

I haven't seen anything that says self professed progressives did not vote.

What I have seen is that The GOP's Built-In Midterm Turnout Advantage is real because Democrats do not vote.

Democratic Party constitutiences (Self professed progressives are one of those, liberals are another, Under 30 Democratic voters, etc.) did not turn out.

I have seen progressivs who say, they will not vote for a specific candidate. That, of course, may be hyperbole in th midst of a primary where no one has declared yet.

[1StrongBlackMan]

10. As I said in another thread ...

This is what happens when 'progressives' spend the 24 months between elections criticizing any and everything Democratic, and telling anyone and everyone that will listen that there is no difference between Democrats and republicans.

I would guess that people that self-describe as "progressive", go out to vote at a higher clip than most other political descriptors because they tend towards activism ... it is what they do, and don't do, BETWEEN elections that keeps them from accomplishing their political agenda.

[tkmorris]

14. So now it's PROGRESSIVES fault that centrist, milquetoast candidates are uninspiring

That's actually bloody brilliant.

[LadyHawkAZ]

15. When they're looking for a cult of personality before they will vote,

yep.

[winter is coming]

25. Got a link for that? n/t

[LondonReign2]

16. Yup, according to their "logic", when Progressives point out

that the conservative Democrats preferred candidates' policies are just that, conservative, and that independents then choose to vote for Conservative Republicans rather than Conservative Democrats, it's actually all Progressives' fault, and not the conservative policies of the conservative Democrats.

[1StrongBlackMan]

17. Yeah ... That's exactly what I said! ...

if you ignore the:

'progressives' spend the 24 months between elections criticizing any and everything Democratic, and telling anyone and everyone that will listen that there is no difference between Democrats and republicans.

part

[Sheepshank]

23. so you are saying that if more Dems had voted, there still would not be a difference?

bottom line is that there ARE more lefties in the USA than RIGHTIES....butfor one reason or another the complacency and apathy keeps them home.

The constant talk of votes lacking any meaning since both aprties are the same, vote being meaningless because they vote really doesn't make a difference all actually make a difference.

If more DEMS voted, it would be a whole different USA...bottom line.

[Agnosticsherbet]

18. I have considered the arugment that the parties are the same

a stupid argument.

If we look at the bills introduced by Democrats and Republicans since 2000, it is clear that the parties are fundamentally different.

Most of the arguments that the parties are the same are made by people who argue about a single issue, and often these argumens are based on foreign policy (especally war) or economics.

Historicly, this article by Pew Research shows that voting drops in midterms and almost always benefits the paty that does not control the White House.

Voter turnout always drops off for midterm elections, but why?

There is something going on in the minds of Americans. Many just don't vote in midterms. In most cases, the people who do turn out oppose the party that controls the White House.

Knowing that, you would think leadership in the parties would be looking for way to change this.

[Wella]

19. Amen, 1StrongBlackMan.

My worry is that if Hillary gets the nod, many on our side will stay home and let Jeb Bush (or Scott Walker or Ted Cruz) take the White House.

[TheKentuckian]

21. I won't be staying home, I always vote. I'll go into the booth and vote for somebody else

on that line, I'll vote my local races, I'll happily vote for and support Yarmuth as always, and against Rand Paul.

Staying at home is not even a consideration and the parties don't have to be the same despite stupid ass "centrists" constant efforts every fucking election to create just that impression to both fail to represent the needs and interests of the people of the United States.

As a bit of an aside here, why are the "centrists" sooo huffy that their dumbass strategy is somewhat effective? Years have been spent trying to mimic the Republicans and muddle the differences but when some start to buy it folks want to be pissed about the desired outcome.

What gives on that? Upset that the wrong audience got snookered? It was the Republicans that aren't huge bigots that were meant to be sold on "80% agreement"?

[LondonReign2]

5. Yet another thread implying Liberals don't vote, contrary to facts

You ran away in the last thread after dropping that steaming lie. Sorry, it is the Indeps you need to convince to come out and vote.

http://graphics.wsj.com/exit-polls-2014/
Ideology: Liberals were 23% of the vote in 2014, up from 20% in 2010.

http://www.thirdway.org/third-ways-take/the-impact-of-moderate-voters-on-the-2014-midterms
There is no doubt that moderate voters were crucial to the outcome in 2014, and though Democrats won them 53% to 44% overall, it wasn’t sufficient (in fact, they did 2 points worse with moderates than in the 2010 wave).

Did liberals really stay home and cause the 2010 rout?

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/08/06/1003805/-Did-liberals-really-stay-home-and-cause-the-2010-rout
“So I went back to the exit polls and the picture I see shows nothing like that. If you are a proponent of this claim, I challenge you for empirical proof that some set of activist liberals "took their ball and went home" or whatever metaphor you prefer to make Obama's leftward critics appear childish and immature. Inside, the evidence I found that shows this just ain't so.”

http://blogforarizona.net/do-progressives-even-sit-out-elections-the-numbers-say-no/
“As you can see, Democrats did slightly better with liberals in 2010 than in 2006. Had there really been a collective we’re-sitting-out-the-election-to-spite-Obama pout going on, then there should have been a sharp drop in the liberal participation percentage. Yet notice the 9% drop in moderate voter participation and the concomitant 10% increase in conservative turnout. Republicans were pumped for that election but their turnout tends to be higher in midterms anyway. Millions of moderate voters either flipped to conservative or stayed home in 2010.”

“As you can see, all the Democratic groups dropped, but the liberal Democrats dropped least of all”

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/progressive-movement/news/2012/11/08/44348/the-return-of-the-obama-coalition/
Ideology. Liberals were 25 percent of voters in 2012, up from 22 percent in 2008. Since 1992 the percent of liberals among presidential voters has varied in a narrow band between 20 percent and 22 percent, so the figure for this year is quite unusual. Conservatives, at 35 percent, were up one point from the 2008 level, but down a massive 7 points since 2010.

Ideology. Obama received less support in 2012 from all ideology groups, though the drop-offs were not particularly sharp in any group. He received 86 percent support from liberals (89 percent in 2008), 56 percent from moderates (60 percent in 2008), and 17 percent from conservatives (20 percent in 2008).

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/2010-midterms-political-price-economic-pain/story?id=12041739
Democrats and Republicans were at parity in self-identification nationally, 36-36 percent, a return to the close division seen in years before 2008, when it broke dramatically in the Democrats' favor, 40-33 percent.

Swing-voting independents who, as usual, made the difference, favored Republicans for House by a thumping 16 points, 55-39 percent. Compare that to Obama's 8-point win among independents in 2008. It was the Republicans' biggest win among independents in exit polls dating to 1982 (by two points. The GOP won independents by 14 points in 1994, the last time they took control of the House.)

[Sheepshank]

24. stop bending the message....not enough DEMS voted...bottom line

when 70-80% of the electorate sit out, and it's a known fact that more than 50% of those are DEMS, the bottom line is that not enough DEMS vote.

[LondonReign2]

29. The OP has, in multiple threads, spewed the lie that Progressives sit our elections

It is categorically false, and yet the OP continues to spew the same lie. So I am doing nothing but stating facts. Facts, which you categorize as "bending the message".

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

7. That seems like a gigantic strawman to me.

99.999% of the time, the people I see bringing up 'both parties are the same' - it's people who are strongly partisan proclaiming that so many other people are out there saying it. I don't think I've seen an actual, unqualified 'both parties are the same' comment from someone who actually means it and believes it themselves in about a decade and a half. (ie, saying 'both parties are essentially the same on 'X' is not anything like saying 'Both Parties are the same'.)

[1StrongBlackMan]

11. Come On, Erich ...

If you have to use two (2) qualifiers (e.g., actual, unqualified) to argue against a statement being made, you are working too hard.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

26. Fine then, unqualified. I don't need 'actual'.

It's a giant strawman still.

Nobody but trolls ever says they're exactly the same. Everybody that posts on DU is informed enough to know the two parties are far apart on a large swath of social issues, and a lot closer together when it comes to economics and 'safety' issues.

[1StrongBlackMan]

28. Is this ...

DU is informed enough to know the two parties are far apart on a large swath of social issues, and a lot closer together when it comes to economics and 'safety' issues.

What they mean when they repeat that Truman quote?

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

9. I'm a progressive. I always vote. I've voted for Socialists.

And, I'll probably vote for Socialists again. Probably in 2016.

[Autumn]

13. You were asked a lot of GOOD questions in your other thread, Got an answer for any of them?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026415235

[hobbit709]

20. different thread, same BS.

[SidDithers]

22. DU rec...

'cause Waffles!!

Sid

[guillaumeb]

27. But Cali is correct when saying progressives do not vote at high enough levels

Here are some links that I provided before:
Voter turnout is a constant issue in the U.S. around an election, particularly among the young. In exit polls from Tuesday's midterms, for example, only 13 percent of voters were under 30.

Nonvoters are also more racially diverse than the voting population and are less educated. More than 40 percent of likely nonvoters in the 2014 elections identified as Hispanic, black or other racial/ethnic minorities, compared with 22 percent of likely voters. While most voters (72 percent) have completed some college, nonvoters are more likely to have never attended college.

On average, the populations who are likely to avoid the polls are also the populations likely to vote for a Democrat, which presents a challenge for the Democratic Party. The challenge of turning out voters likely factored into the Democratic losses in the midterm elections, when Republicans gained control of the Senate.

Because turnout drops for midterm elections compared to presidential elections, it makes more sense to compare Tuesday's voter turnout to the last midterm elections in 2010. Turnout was less for eligible voters this time around: 36.6 percent voted, compared with 40.9 percent in 2010, according to data from the United States Elections Project.
(http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/data-mine/2014/11/05/midterm-turnout-decreased-in-all-but-12-states)

and more:
Men favored Republicans by a 16-point margin (57% voted for the GOP, 41% for Democrats) yesterday, while women voted for Democratic candidates by a four-point margin (51% to 47%). This gender gap is at least as large as in 2010: In that election men voted for Republicans by a 14-point margin while women were nearly evenly split, opting for GOP candidates by a one-point margin.

2014 Midterm Exit Polls, AgesAnd well-known generational divides were again in evidence in Tuesday’s election. Young voters have been the Democratic Party’s strongest supporters over the last decade, as they were again yesterday, while Republicans fared best among older voters. But — as in 2010 — an older electorate compared with presidential elections advantaged the GOP.

Fully 22% of 2014 voters were 65 and older — a group GOP candidates won by 16-points. By comparison, in 2012, they made up just 16% of the electorate.
(http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/11/05/as-gop-celebrates-win-no-sign-of-narrowing-gender-age-gaps/)

So no, progressives and those demographics most likely to vote progressive did NOT vote at high levels.