TPM on why Alex Azar must be fired

That Coons voted for Azar because they were friends at Yale Law is merely despicable. That Coons continues to defend Azar is an outright scandal.
Wars, natural disasters, public health crises – these are the moments when people need to be able to trust that their government is working well, working for them, and telling them the truth. But as the American people prepare for the threat of a coronavirus pandemic, the Trump administration has challenged that trust on a number of fronts.

One immediate step that President Trump must take to restore that sacred trust is to fire Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar and replace him with a public health expert that the American people can have faith in.

Here is why this is such a critical first step: with Secretary Azar, we never know if he is working in the best interests of patients and public health, or if he’s focused on the needs, interests and profits of the pharmaceutical industry.

The Dem Primaries are proportional – The Convention should be too

Our Democratic primaries are democratic in that they are not "winner take all" but delegates are awarded in proportion to the vote. Unfortunately, the proportionality ends at the last primary and a "winner takes all" convention produces a candidate. If that candidate is terrible, like Hillary Clinton for example, that "winner take all" system emboldens the candidate to bully, berate and abuse the second place finisher and that candidate's supporters. That is not a recipe for general election success. Since there are no rules governing what happens after the nomination is won, it falls to the candidate. So no matter how remaining primaries and caucuses play out, Bernie or Joe will need to devise a new response to victory. A proportionate vision that goes far beyond Clinton's "fuck you, get in line" dismissiveness. It is that, or Trump.

Biden is having a good couple of days

Bernie is on my TV right now giving a hell of a speech. He still has a lot of fight in him. But Biden has had a good couple of days. So if Biden keeps it going and wraps this thing up, who knows? Maybe Biden (if he wins the nomination) can find the grace and common sense to reach out to liberals and progressives and mange to avoid repeating Clinton’s aloof, elitist fiasco of a campaign? I sure as hell hope so. If I prayed, I’d pray for it. So it is not over by a long shot. No matter who wins, liberals are going to continue to be a big, loyal Democratic constituency. I don’t think Biden can win if (like Clinton) he self-indulgently tries to get more moderate Republican votes than liberal Democratic votes.

The real split in the Democratic Party may be unfixable

What are the two camps in the Democratic Party all about? The media would like you to think that the fault lines run along standard Right/Left political differences. That is false. The real split is between "Democrats" who think things are more or less okay, and "Democrats" who know shit is fucked up. It is between people with a Joe Biden outlook that American is basically on the right course (save for a poor Presidential pick last time), and people who recognize that the planet is burning. The "things are more or less okay" crowd likes the Heritage Foundation's plan to protect the profits of wildly profitable "health sector" companies, carbon swaps and tax abatements for wildly profitable corporations that claim to have "sustainable" business practices. The "shit is fucked up" people look at those types of "solutions" to the problems we are facing and feel like they are being gaslighted. It is a shame. Because if the fault lines were Right/Left there could be a middle ground. There is no middle ground between "Hey, the house is on fire" and "Oh, pish-posh. It's just the extra bedroom which we rarely use anyway." Bonus Metaphor: Why do "shit is fucked up" people seem agitated? They (we) are George Bailey running around shabby fucked-up Pottersville with vivid memories of Bedford Falls. And all the "things are more or less okay" Democrats keep saying is, "Relax. It's always been Pottersville. Just take it easy and maybe enjoy our fine Casios, and prostitutes."