March 20, 2019

The perverse power of the Democrats rule that a candidate with 65,000 donors gets into the debates.

WaPo explains, noting that the obscure candidate John Delaney is offering to give $2 to charity if you give him $1. Delaney is wealthy and self-funded. So he can do something like that easily.
The Democratic Party also set the fundraising threshold with the goal of expanding the early debate stage to include as many as 20 candidates, who will be randomly divided to appear on consecutive nights in a two-day June debate hosted by NBC and a two-day July meeting hosted by CNN.

Using polling alone to filter the field, especially this early in the process, would almost certainly have meant a far smaller group of candidates onstage. Recent national polls have shown no more than a dozen candidates with 1 percent support, the criteria used to qualify for the first Democratic debate in 2015....

“We are about 40 percent there, so we are getting there,” said Patricia Ewing, a spokeswoman for [Marianne] Williamson, a self-described spiritual teacher who gained fame for her work with Oprah Winfrey.
Yikes. Why wouldn't 40,000 Republicans give Williamson $1 just to make the debates more fun/weird/horrible?



"And I also like you because you want to give $100 million in reparations to black people"/"No more than that."

ADDED: That quote is mispunctuated. She didn't say "No more than that." She said "No, more than that. 200 to 500 is the number that I sort of landed on."

58 comments:

rhhardin said...

I'd go with useful reparations, like free Rubik's cubes for black people; and Tower of Hanoi game sets. Start with two disks, and gradually increase the number.

Pianoman said...

Only $100M to make the "reparations problem" go away?

Sounds like a bargain.

rehajm said...

There's two different posts stuck together here, I believe...

Birkel said...

Very few people like clowns.
This clown show is not particularly entertaining.

Henry said...

Why is it perverse that a candidate have supporters?

Pianoman said...

Does Tiger Woods get reparations?

I mean, obviously he's a victim of something that happened 400 years ago.

Wince said...

Althouse quoted...
"And I also like you because you want to give $100 million in reparations to black people"/"No more than that."

Actually to quote her accurately she said, "No, more than that... $200 to $500 million is the number I sort of landed on."

Even with those numbers shereminds me of Dr. Evil.

Levi Starks said...

Trump should consider running as a Democrat.

rehajm said...

On gaming the DNC rules: The failure to recognize the unintended consequences of their rules and laws should count against them.

On white lady calling for reparations: Brazen pandering...and if her plan is to offer programs geared towards the descendants of victims does that mean only the descendants of victims get hired to implement the programs? That seems a heavy lift...and again with the unintended consequences. Her capped millions probably won't cover all the DNA testing necessary to decide who qualifies as a beneficiary. Not to mention the lawyers on appeal...

Wilson Carroll said...

“We're hallucinating. And that's what this world is: a mass hallucination, where fear seems more real than love. Fear is an illusion. Our craziness, paranoia, anxiety and trauma are literally all imagined.”
― Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of "A Course in Miracles"

Well, that's certainly true for the Democratic Party. You go girl . . .

Ralph L said...

Only $100M to make the "reparations problem" go away?

That's per person. Aunty up.

Pianoman said...

I eagerly look forward to the day when Democrats claim that biological sex is malleable, but biological race is not.

I could be wrong, of course. Does Rachel Dolezal get reparations?

Infinite Monkeys said...

Would Delaney get a tax deduction for that contribution to charity?

His website says he'll donate $2 to the organization of the donor's choice, but it's really a choice of 11 pre-selected charities. Although, looking at them, it actually looks like a pretty good selection where just about anyone can find at least one that they like.

Darrell said...

The Democrats should run that giant sun fish.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

I thought the precious Democrats wanted money out of politics?

Can't they rape the tax payer and stuff it and run then? That's their main gig.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

So a bunch of people who are not slave owners will be FORCED to pay a bunch of people who are not slaves.

Meade said...

Make it 100 billion, I'm totally for it. Build the Reparations. And make Great Britain pay for it.

Ralph L said...

Make it 100 billion, I'm totally for it. Build the Reparations. And make Great Britain pay for it.

Why not Africa? That's where the slaves were manufactured, the lax laws, and the slave shops were.

Rory said...

"Only $100M to make the "reparations problem" go away?"

Her website says, "So it should not be considered unreasonable to suggest that America put $200 billion toward a Reparations Plan For African Americans: an educational, economic and cultural fund to be disbursed over a ten year period by a council of esteemed African American leaders."

I think that it could be useful to have a series of voluntary funds people could contribute to if they complicit, but under no circumstances would I put the money in trust to be administered by the same people who are always taking money off the top.

Pianoman said...

Nobody talks about Asian reparations. I wonder why? Didn't Asians build most of the railroads?

Florence said...

Great article from Quillette yesterday on the reparations issue: https://quillette.com/2019/03/17/reparations-and-ta-nehisi-coatess-pyrrhic-victory/?fbclid=IwAR2Z2gHMWdoPMaX6mzPFaUhVYobj5rnJCPZC0OJODzqPRjEJWQQS0J2bmeA

“First, a note on the framing of the debate: Virtually everyone who is against reparations is in favor of policies aimed at helping the poor. The debate, therefore, is not between reparations and doing nothing for black people, but between policy based on genealogy and policy based on socioeconomics. Accordingly, the burden on each side is not to show that its proposal is better than nothing—that would be easy. The burden on each side is to show that its preferred rationale for policy (either genealogy or socioeconomics) is better than the rationale proposed by the other side. And, framed as such, reparations for slavery is a losing argument.”

Hagar said...

In Venezuelan currency.

Blackbeard said...

I just donated $1 to Williamson. Thanks for the tip!

tcrosse said...

So it's possible to buy one's way into the debate, as if it were Harvard.

Pianoman said...

@Florence -- thanks for posting the link. That's a great article.

Bay Area Guy said...

Democrat politicians are wacked out. They are divorced from reality.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

OT-ish: Bernie Sanders hires David Sirota for his campaign advisor.

"David Sirota is a columnist and political activist who once praised the economic policies of former Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez.
In a 2013 column for Salon, Sirota credited Chavez's "full-throated advocacy of socialism" with achieving an economic miracle. "As shown by some of the most significant indicators, Chavez racked up an economic record that a legacy-obsessed American president could only dream of achieving," he wrote.


There you go. Proof - American socialists want what is currently happening in Venezuela. Total economic disaster for everyone BUT the elite in charge.

Marty Keller said...

I would consider a reparations regime if, in return, we could outlaw accusations of racism once and for all.

Ann Althouse said...

I don't see how any payment of reparations could ever end the question of whether there should be additional reparations. It would establish that reparations are deserved and doable and provide a foundation for the argument that more reparations should be paid. Are some people imagining individual payouts with recipients signing an agreement never to ask for more and somehow binding recipients (and everyone else) from ever arguing that the agreement should be reopened and limiting all speech on the subject by their descendants?

Bob Boyd said...

A "board" will pay out the reparations money over 10 or 20 years for "projects of economic and educational renewal?"

Oh. So individual black Americans won't get any money? Politically connected people will vie for the favor of a board to receive grants? So plenty of opportunities for cronyism and graft, in other words.

And after this program has been operating for ten or twenty years, they'll just shut it down and the programs with it? They'll say, "Okay, that's enough. Blacks have been made whole"? Riiight...

Though perhaps unwittingly, at least Williamson has highlighted some of the problems inherent in implementing the Reparations idea.



Kevin said...

There is always more if you’re a Socialist.

Let the bidding begin!

John henry said...

Speaking of reparations:

Does Kamala Harris get them?

And if so, from America? Jamaica? or India? (Which imported/kidnapped millions of African slaves over the millenia)

John Henry

John henry said...

So we add another fake to the demmie lineup.

Williamson - Fake healer
Bernie - Fake Democrat
Blotto O'Rourke - Fake Mexican
Kamala Harris - Fake African-American
Biden - Fake, fake, fake

I thought there were 2 others but there are so many that I just can't keep up.

John Henry

John henry said...

Warren - Fake Indian

John Henry

John henry said...

Blogger Pianoman said...

I eagerly look forward to the day when Democrats claim that biological sex is malleable, but biological race is not.

They already do. A year or two back when Rachael Dolezol was in the news as a fake black, she said something like "I identify as black and should be accepted as a black. Just like Caitlin (nee Bruce) Jenner identifies as a woman and is accepted as a woman."

She got a LOT of pushback. No, she can't be black because Science!

Sort of like how I identify as an Hispanic. There are about 6-8 widely used definitions of the term, I qualify under about half of them.

I also qualify as a "Puerto Rican".

As Dr Kiki say: "Shut up already. It's science."

John Henry

Kevin said...

an educational, economic and cultural fund to be disbursed over a ten year period by a council of esteemed African American leaders."

Even she doesn’t believe black individuals can spend their own money wisely.

Kevin said...

The idea of poor whites and Asians watching their black neighbors receive a windfall for racism for slavery they didn’t experience is never going to fly.

That’s the real reason for the cultural committee. It’s to give the appearance of a payout without having people actually get paid.

cubanbob said...

Just when you thought the Democrat Comedy Hour couldn't get any crazier, it did. Now Sybil The Soothsayer is in the running.
Maybe Paddy Chayefsky was a prophet after all.

n.n said...

Reparations for all Americans (and their descendants) who sacrificed blood and treasure to stand against involuntary exploitation and redistributive change, and today stand against a persistent diversity (i.e. color judgment including racism), and, once again, for human rights, including the right to life.

Mattman26 said...

Keep the clown car growing, I say. I gave a buck, he'll give two to Wounded Warriors; works for me.

And from what I can see from a quick read of his Wikipedia entry, he might be the least objectionable one of the bunch.

hombre said...

I am in favor of reparations to African-Americans who are former slaves in the US. Where can I donate my fair share?

Was Ta-Nahesi Coates a slave? How do I get a check to him?

Amexpat said...

I only watched the first few minutes. Her speech has a nice melodic flow and she's very easy on the eyes. To be honest, I'd pay $2 just to see her in the debates.

The problem with reparations is that no amount could make good for what was done. The amounts she's suggesting are insultingly low, less than $10 to the descendants of slaves. Even if the amounts were raised to a more meaningful level, it would be a bureaucratic nightmare to determine who was eligible. If something were to be done, it would be better to help poor communities where a sizable portion of the population were descendants of slaves.

Omaha1 said...

Reparations, is that where the Dems really want to go while trying to unseat Trump in 2020? Certainly lots of underemployed white midwesterners and rust belt inhabitants are going to support that (sarcasm). If Trump is such a dangerous and unprecedented threat they need to run someone in the middle who is not proposing outrageous ideas. Like Glenn Reynolds says, "all they have to do is not be crazy" but they seem determined to defy his advice.

Bobb said...

John Delaney promises a $2 donation to "the charity of your choice." If I designate Right to Life, won't his $2 donation exclude him automatically from Democratic politics?

Darkisland said...

I just donated $1 to Marianne's campaign. www.marianne2020.com

A worthy cause, right?

The cause being confusion to the enemy.

Again via ActBlue which claims no connection with her.

Why is she legitimate democrat presidential candidate and I'm not?

John Henry

Rick.T. said...

"Keep the clown car growing..."

Anybody know what the tow rating is on that because they are going to need a trailer to fit everybody in?

phantommut said...

Don't forget that these are same geniuses who want the power to fundamentally reshape our Government.

phantommut said...

... an educational, economic and cultural fund to be disbursed over a ten year period by a council of esteemed African American leaders."

Oh, there's no way that could become a hotbed of corruption.

Milwaukie guy said...

Even the slaves brought to America caught a break. The colonies by the 1700s had the only self-reproducing black slave population. Those sold to the Caribbean or Brazil, not so lucky. Is there a discount for Sons of Union Veterans [SUV]?

Milwaukie guy said...

In Virginia, in the early- and mid-1600s, the white population was not yet self-reproducing.

iowan2 said...

Anyone treating reparations seriously needs to look into the Pigford settlements.
Over $2 Billion paid out so far and still asking for more. The judge ruled in 1999 for Black farmers, deadline for filing in the class was 2000. 19 years later and black farmers are still seeking more.

In short, the lawsuit claimed the USDA discriminated against Black farmers seeking loans, and aide. The Judge agreed and awarded a settlement.
Not a single USDA employee was ever identified, let alone suffer consequences from their actions. I've heard of victimless crimes, never a crime without a perpetrator.

Professional lady said...

Marianne Williamson was the pastor of Renaissance Unity Church in my neck of the woods. According to a friend of mine who went there for many years, her pastorate largely consisted of her demanding more money and perks for herself. Her renovations, which included a wall fountain, caused a mold problem in the church which caused it to be vacated. So the church has moved to a smaller and more humble site while Marianne went on to greener pastures.

narciso said...

ah yes paddy, was a prophet, kamala harris was Lorene hobbs in a more professional guise,

wildswan said...

"Why is she legitimate democrat presidential candidate and I'm not?

John Henry"


Run. I'll send money to get you in the debates. But maybe we should have a runoff here for "the Althouse candidate." Most likely to succeed changing the debate space from a safe-for-puppy-candidates space into a no-go zone. Would that be John Henry, Inga, Lazlo or Buwaya? (Not Inga, she'd throw it to Bernie.)

Allison said...

There are roughly 40 million non Hispanic blacks on the US. Assuming no one uses a "1 drop" argument, that means, at $500M, she's gonna buy every one of them a large pizza.

I'm game. After that, can I keep my statues? End affirmative action? Just people by the content of their character, not the color of their skin?

I know being innumerate has seldom been disqualifying to public office, but maybe even Jake Tapper might be able to do basic division.


Kirk Parker said...

BleachBit,

Well, socialist Venezuela did indeed create an economic miracle! Look at all the wealth they made just ... disappear. Poof; gone!


wildswan @ 5:55pm,

Why in the world should there be a runoff? The Althouse blog is large; it contains multitudes! Plus, I have so much money that I can easily send $1 each to John, Laslo, and Buwaya. Wouldn't they liven up the debate!

Ken B said...

I oppose reparations, and endorse AA's argument. But we need to see that there is a coherent point to the opposing argument, which is why past discrimination against blacks is different from that against gays or women. Poverty is heritable over several generations. My sister had the same upbringing I did; if my grandmother was discriminated against we both feel the same effect, if my grandfather benefited we both feel the same effect. But that is not true of my black co workers.

That does not by itself make a case for reparations though. Actually I think helping the poor actually does address that difference more effectively but it needs to be pointed out explicitly. Otherwise the point gets lost in a welter of false equivalencies.

Rory said...

"There are roughly 40 million non Hispanic blacks on the US. Assuming no one uses a "1 drop" argument, that means, at $500M, she's gonna buy every one of them a large pizza."

Again, the host says "100 million." She doesn't correct him in replying but her website specifies $200 billion.