|
Now that we have a new thread, in order to ensure that this thread continues to meet TL standards and follows the proper guidelines, we will be enforcing the rules in the OP more strictly. Be sure to give them a complete and thorough read before posting! NOTE: When providing a source, please provide a very brief summary on what it's about and what purpose it adds to the discussion. The supporting statement should clearly explain why the subject is relevant and needs to be discussed. Please follow this rule especially for tweets.
Your supporting statement should always come BEFORE you provide the source.If you have any questions, comments, concern, or feedback regarding the USPMT, then please use this thread: http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/website-feedback/510156-us-politics-thread |
On April 21 2022 23:41 JimmiC wrote:Show nested quote +On April 21 2022 22:47 Liquid`Drone wrote:On April 21 2022 17:27 Simberto wrote:On April 21 2022 11:45 Husyelt wrote:On April 21 2022 10:48 Gahlo wrote:On April 21 2022 08:43 NrG.Bamboo wrote:On April 21 2022 06:52 plasmidghost wrote:On April 21 2022 06:41 micronesia wrote:On April 21 2022 04:52 Zambrah wrote:
I honestly wouldnt be shocked to see Republican president and supermajority in Congress for 2024 at this rate tbh. If so, then the GOP will not be willing to give up that power, regardless of the Constitution or anything else. Yeah, one of many reasons why I'm fleeing the country. I don't see American democracy lasting past 2024 Seems a bit drastic. Where ya running to? Telling trans people in red states that they're being drastic about their concerns with American democracy is a pretty cold take. It's not gonna happen, but I want to see how the fallout of this potentially getting ugly enough that Disney peaces out of the state. Most of these idiotic culture war bills wont pass the courts. If they do, come on over to Portland, relatively trans friendly enviro. I fail to see many countries better than a few of our states here. People often criticize our country for being racist or what not, but Europe is far far worse generally, and especially so in some African / Asian states. Where do you get that information? Any source that i can find is that most of western europe is generally less racist than the US, and far more open to LGBTQ+. We also don't have an openly fascist party in control half the time. Plasmidghost has stated that she will be heading to Belgium, which is almost certainly heaps and bounds better than the US in terms of racism, sexism, LGBTQ+ acceptance, general bigotry and labor laws. And yes, maybe some states are currently okay. But how long will that last once republicans take over federal power forever, and not give it up again? Because that seems to be the trajectory for the next decade or so. Hateful fascist grifters ruling on the back of bigoted idiots, with an emphasis on making sure that education produces more bigoted idiots and fewer people with critical thinking skills. If i were living in the US, i would probably also leave, and i am a straight white cis male. There is just so much wrong going on over there. He said Europe though, not Western Europe. Tbh, if I were gay, black or trans and I could choose between being placed in a random place in the US or a random place in Europe, I'd probably go with the US for all three groups. If I say Western Europe compared with all of the US, I'll go with Western Europe, but if it's northern+coastal US vs Western Europe, I'd think it's a close call again. The main thing to keep in mind is that neither country/continent is monolithic at all. But I'd rather go with being trans in Texas than in Belarus, I'd pick black anywhere in the US over anywhere east of Germany, and the more progressive parts of the US seem totally fine for gay people. Overall, I think Husyelt's statement is mostly correct - if we're only looking at treatment/acceptance of marginalized groups/minorities, then the most progressive places in the US are just as progressive as the most progressive places in Europe, while the least progressive places in Europe are worse than the least progressive places in the US. Why is everywhere east of Germany so bad for that? Was the USSR so racist/homophobic or is it just since? I find it all very confusing because it was "far left" and now many seem quiet "far right" but both appear to have big racist elements and against various forms of sexuality. It is hard to follow if the far right also being against "nazi's" but then being like them and hating who they hate. I get it is all branding/marketing but it is hard to even pin down the positions and who holds them.
I think a core part of this is that not everything maps neatly onto the left-right dynamic, and especially not the US left-right dynamic.
A lot of the politics of the soviet union were not what we would call "left" nowadays. There was a lot of top-down authoritarianism, i don't think there was a lot of tolerance for people who don't fit into the mold. Also, a huge focus on the military.
If you cut out the superficial claims about the economy, there is a lot of overlap between the stuff that the modern hard-right wants, and the politic realities of the soviet union.
|
I was strongly considering moving to Oregon to get away from Texas, but my thoughts are that with how low Biden's approval is, the GOP will take control of the legislative branch in November and the presidency in 2024. I absolutely hope I'm wrong in thinking this for the sake of all Americans
|
Historically speaking, USSR and its satellites were anti-capitalist, anti-religious, pro-science and strongly authoritarian while at the same time being very tough on homosexualism and non-traditional relations. It was also anti-racists and pro-international communism. There were a lot of student and cultural exchange with Africa and Asia, many black and Asian students came to study on our universities. In my city, University campus is even located at Lumumba street.
In regards to what happened next, the story is different depending on a country. For example, polish church was prosecuted by communists. Hence, it was anticommunist (as it was in its own interests) so when the Iron Curtain fell many people were truly grateful to the church for support. To this day, there are a lot of very religious people in Poland, especially in poorer, more rural areas. And powerful church, means a lot of non-so-progressive-things.
Muslims are another story. All countries on the frontier of the Ottoman Empire (Russia, Poland, Hungary, Balkans) are extremely wary of Islam, perhaps even more than countries that were conquered quickly and later regained independence. Poland have waged 43 wars against Ottoman Empire and Crimean Khante.
As of today, You are mostly fine being gay/lesbian/bi in big cities among most people. You can also meet some not-so-friendly people, though. Institutionally speaking, Poland is not catering to LGBT at all. No gay marriages, not even civil unions.
If You try to force people here to use some weird pronouns, prepare for shit-storm. Again, there are plenty of woke people in big cities, especially young ones, but they are a minority.
|
On April 22 2022 00:42 plasmidghost wrote:
I was strongly considering moving to Oregon to get away from Texas, but my thoughts are that with how low Biden's approval is, the GOP will take control of the legislative branch in November and the presidency in 2024. I absolutely hope I'm wrong in thinking this for the sake of all Americans
Isn’t Austin a fairly progressive place, or some cities in TX? Think I may have asked this already.
I do think there is some valid concern considering the way republicans are doubling down on what seemed to be dead issues, (gay marriage, abortion, etc). The republicans are trying to whip up the fervor of traditional Christian values before people move on from religion in general.
Most of the kids a generation from gay marriage becoming legal simply don’t buy into the old rhetoric. And when Trump won in 2016 they felt there would be renewed passion for these sorts of issues, and while correct, this seems like “the last desperate fart of a dying corpse”. High demand religions are on the way out. Ten years from now the Christian persecution complex will be orders of magnitude higher as they keep losing various levers of power.
If you feel persecuted by someone locally here in Portland there is usually an equal or greater measure of people that would welcome or pushback. That said, houselessness and car break ins are par for the course. I don’t use the public transportation.
|
On April 22 2022 00:42 plasmidghost wrote:
I was strongly considering moving to Oregon to get away from Texas, but my thoughts are that with how low Biden's approval is, the GOP will take control of the legislative branch in November and the presidency in 2024. I absolutely hope I'm wrong in thinking this for the sake of all Americans
Getting out of Texas makes a ton of sense to me, but I think if the US becomes fully tyrannical enough that you wouldn’t be more or less safe in a blue state (and I share that fear!), I’m not sure the rest of the world will be very safe either. Not to say “just move to CA!” either, it’s a hard life choice no matter what. But idk, good luck dude. Here’s hoping you look back in ten years and feel like you overreacted, though I tend to doubt it.
|
As to the Europe comments / other states. A recent Gallup poll showed 94% of Americans approve interracial marriages. I doubt Europe overall shares that number. Same with gay rights in Eastern Europe.
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/10/28/where-europe-stands-on-gay-marriage-and-civil-unions/
I think the hyper focus we have on race issues in America comes from the place of privilege. We are in an actual stable position to discuss high level legal things like CRT or abstract concepts like white fragility in the utmost seriousness. We call black French Futbol players African Americans without a sense of irony. These sorts of discussions as far as I know, simply don’t happen in Africa or Asia or “most” of Europe. It’s an American export from our universities. Welcome to be proven wrong.
We are so sensitive that gender identity is apparently terrifying enough to be outlawed in public schools past a certain age. Compare us to a place like Russia where women barely have any domestic abuse protections. Or India where many of the population are still tied to a caste system supposedly gone.
And I do say this as someone who does still think being black or brown in the US is at a disadvantage. We still have systemic issues on that front. But we have come a long way.
|
On April 21 2022 19:55 Sadist wrote:Show nested quote +On April 21 2022 14:50 gobbledydook wrote:On April 20 2022 19:12 gobbledydook wrote:The food division of the FDA has been reported as dysfunctional and failing in keeping up with the various issues related to food safety enforcement and rule making. https://www.politico.com/interactives/2022/fda-fails-regulate-food-health-safety-hazards/Surely this was a good opportunity for the Biden administration to take the initiative and propose a solution and pass it through Congress. At the very least, those Republicans who oppose the bill could be framed as pro baby poisoning. I'd also like to add that failure to tackle these problems with government just boosts the small-government argument that the federal government can't get anything right so this should just be left to the states or to private companies. There is a perverse incentive for Republicans to make claims of government being ineffective and wanting small government. When they get elected and fuck things up they just claim "see we need smaller government! Its not working". Its such a con.
Yes, they're called RINOs, and they're what the Tea Party movement and later Trumpism stand in opposition to. If you look at any level from municipally to federally, by the way, things haven't exactly gone swimmingly under Democratic leadership. Simply spending more money on things isn't a good in itself, yet we've spent and wasted unfathomable trillions that we don't have (this is called a "deficit" which then turns into "debt") in very few years with little to show for it except rising costs in everything - energy crisis, security failures despite spending more on defense than the next 10 countries, corona welfare collected by companies that didn't need it, healthcare and housing going for absurd peaks. Take a look at how much money has been spent and compare: what the American people have to show for it vs. what the portfolio gains of the 1% have to show for it, and then ridicule the idea of more limited government.
Look at spending vs. results. It's unsustainable and needs to be stopped 10 years ago. Whatever size government, the populist right as it is seems to be the only significant force interested in resetting to a functioning government that serves the people correctly right now, perhaps because they are the only group that's critical of authority itself rather than just being critical of the other side. You won't see the DNC losing sleep over the next Bernie Sanders, but you can catch Republican Speakers retiring as they realize the voters are out for their blood, meanwhile Pelosi is well on the way to what, her 200th million?
The Democratic party's key problem is their chance of a roughly analogous center-left populist movement, OWS, got coopted and then erased. The base who protested against the hoarding of wealth and power by malicious elites 15 years ago have now been led to believe by the MSM (which is the exact same social circle as federal bureaucrats and the Democratic establishment) that the interests of huge corporations, the surveillance state, and the military industrial complex are the concerns of the average Democratic voter. People caught up in that tend to be too far along to notice where they are, but when you look at issues like crime or immigration or the housing market or the exodus from Democratic-run jurisdictions, the actual tangible consequences of policies that actually affect actual people do serve as a wake up call for them as they realize that politics and running countries turns out to be more complicated than what I call the Halo philosophy of "The only thing that matters is we beat the red team."
Furthermore the alarmists who cry end-of-democracy that purport to fear for 2022 and 2024 (Trust us, no, this time democracy is REALLY in trouble if our side loses), should instead be asking what's wrong with the politicians and system they support that can make them perform from so well to so poorly in just 2-4 years as to risk losing at all levels. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you'll succumb in every battle. Ancient knowledge. It's either this millennia-old theory, or the slightly less plausible option of "The other people suddenly got SO racist within 5 years that no matter how expertly our side governs - spending responsibly, eliminating waste and corruption, upholding the rule of law, building a strong and vibrant economy, raising quality of life, solving poverty and crime, securing our country - we can't win."
|
On April 22 2022 03:07 ChristianS wrote:Show nested quote +On April 22 2022 00:42 plasmidghost wrote:
I was strongly considering moving to Oregon to get away from Texas, but my thoughts are that with how low Biden's approval is, the GOP will take control of the legislative branch in November and the presidency in 2024. I absolutely hope I'm wrong in thinking this for the sake of all Americans Getting out of Texas makes a ton of sense to me, but I think if the US becomes fully tyrannical enough that you wouldn’t be more or less safe in a blue state (and I share that fear!), I’m not sure the rest of the world will be very safe either. Not to say “just move to CA!” either, it’s a hard life choice no matter what. But idk, good luck dude. Here’s hoping you look back in ten years and feel like you overreacted, though I tend to doubt it.
Tbh other than proximity to family, I can't think of any reason I'd be sad to leave the US. It is purely social reasons keeping me here. Due to the nature of my career, I could move to a few places that I see as strictly superior. I think Plasmidghost said she is some kind of programmer, so similar situation.
|
United States42516 Posts
On April 22 2022 03:46 oBlade wrote:Show nested quote +On April 21 2022 19:55 Sadist wrote:On April 21 2022 14:50 gobbledydook wrote:On April 20 2022 19:12 gobbledydook wrote:The food division of the FDA has been reported as dysfunctional and failing in keeping up with the various issues related to food safety enforcement and rule making. https://www.politico.com/interactives/2022/fda-fails-regulate-food-health-safety-hazards/Surely this was a good opportunity for the Biden administration to take the initiative and propose a solution and pass it through Congress. At the very least, those Republicans who oppose the bill could be framed as pro baby poisoning. I'd also like to add that failure to tackle these problems with government just boosts the small-government argument that the federal government can't get anything right so this should just be left to the states or to private companies. There is a perverse incentive for Republicans to make claims of government being ineffective and wanting small government. When they get elected and fuck things up they just claim "see we need smaller government! Its not working". Its such a con. Yes, they're called RINOs, and they're what the Tea Party movement and later Trumpism stand in opposition to. If you look at any level from municipally to federally, by the way, things haven't exactly gone swimmingly under Democratic leadership. Simply spending more money on things isn't a good in itself, yet we've spent and wasted unfathomable trillions that we don't have (this is called a "deficit" which then turns into "debt") in very few years with little to show for it except rising costs in everything - energy crisis, security failures despite spending more on defense than the next 10 countries, corona welfare collected by companies that didn't need it, healthcare and housing going for absurd peaks. Take a look at how much money has been spent and compare: what the American people have to show for it vs. what the portfolio gains of the 1% have to show for it, and then ridicule the idea of more limited government. Look at spending vs. results. It's unsustainable and needs to be stopped 10 years ago. Whatever size government, the populist right as it is seems to be the only significant force interested in resetting to a functioning government that serves the people correctly right now, perhaps because they are the only group that's critical of authority itself rather than just being critical of the other side. You won't see the DNC losing sleep over the next Bernie Sanders, but you can catch Republican Speakers retiring as they realize the voters are out for their blood, meanwhile Pelosi is well on the way to what, her 200th million? The Democratic party's key problem is their chance of a roughly analogous center-left populist movement, OWS, got coopted and then erased. The base who protested against the hoarding of wealth and power by malicious elites 15 years ago have now been led to believe by the MSM (which is the exact same social circle as federal bureaucrats and the Democratic establishment) that the interests of huge corporations, the surveillance state, and the military industrial complex are the concerns of the average Democratic voter. People caught up in that tend to be too far along to notice where they are, but when you look at issues like crime or immigration or the housing market or the exodus from Democratic-run jurisdictions, the actual tangible consequences of policies that actually affect actual people do serve as a wake up call for them as they realize that politics and running countries turns out to be more complicated than what I call the Halo philosophy of "The only thing that matters is we beat the red team." Furthermore the alarmists who cry end-of-democracy that purport to fear for 2022 and 2024 (Trust us, no, this time democracy is REALLY in trouble if our side loses), should instead be asking what's wrong with the politicians and system they support that can make them perform from so well to so poorly in just 2-4 years as to risk losing at all levels. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you'll succumb in every battle. Ancient knowledge. It's either this millennia-old theory, or the slightly less plausible option of "The other people suddenly got SO racist within 5 years that no matter how expertly our side governs - spending responsibly, eliminating waste and corruption, upholding the rule of law, building a strong and vibrant economy, raising quality of life, solving poverty and crime, securing our country - we can't win."
This is really weird fan fiction that ignores which party created the deficit and the literal coup attempts.
|
On April 22 2022 03:49 Mohdoo wrote:Show nested quote +On April 22 2022 03:07 ChristianS wrote:On April 22 2022 00:42 plasmidghost wrote:
I was strongly considering moving to Oregon to get away from Texas, but my thoughts are that with how low Biden's approval is, the GOP will take control of the legislative branch in November and the presidency in 2024. I absolutely hope I'm wrong in thinking this for the sake of all Americans Getting out of Texas makes a ton of sense to me, but I think if the US becomes fully tyrannical enough that you wouldn’t be more or less safe in a blue state (and I share that fear!), I’m not sure the rest of the world will be very safe either. Not to say “just move to CA!” either, it’s a hard life choice no matter what. But idk, good luck dude. Here’s hoping you look back in ten years and feel like you overreacted, though I tend to doubt it. Tbh other than proximity to family, I can't think of any reason I'd be sad to leave the US. It is purely social reasons keeping me here. Due to the nature of my career, I could move to a few places that I see as strictly superior. I think Plasmidghost said she is some kind of programmer, so similar situation.
I am, I work as a red team lead! I'm beyond fortunate that my company's Belgian division needed a new manager and a native English speaker.
I know I'm upending my entire life on something that isn't guaranteed to happen, and I know that if it doesn't and things would've been fine if I stayed, I'll be thankful that my friends and loved ones will be alright.
I remember last year while the (I want to say) Covid relief bill was being debated, one of the GOP senators proposed an amendment to ban trans people from sports and every GOP senator voted for it. I'm also seeing GOP talking heads go absolutely ballistic on trans people with the groomer bullshit and I fear for my safety.
|
On April 22 2022 03:53 KwarK wrote:Show nested quote +On April 22 2022 03:46 oBlade wrote:On April 21 2022 19:55 Sadist wrote:On April 21 2022 14:50 gobbledydook wrote:On April 20 2022 19:12 gobbledydook wrote:The food division of the FDA has been reported as dysfunctional and failing in keeping up with the various issues related to food safety enforcement and rule making. https://www.politico.com/interactives/2022/fda-fails-regulate-food-health-safety-hazards/Surely this was a good opportunity for the Biden administration to take the initiative and propose a solution and pass it through Congress. At the very least, those Republicans who oppose the bill could be framed as pro baby poisoning. I'd also like to add that failure to tackle these problems with government just boosts the small-government argument that the federal government can't get anything right so this should just be left to the states or to private companies. There is a perverse incentive for Republicans to make claims of government being ineffective and wanting small government. When they get elected and fuck things up they just claim "see we need smaller government! Its not working". Its such a con. Yes, they're called RINOs, and they're what the Tea Party movement and later Trumpism stand in opposition to. If you look at any level from municipally to federally, by the way, things haven't exactly gone swimmingly under Democratic leadership. Simply spending more money on things isn't a good in itself, yet we've spent and wasted unfathomable trillions that we don't have (this is called a "deficit" which then turns into "debt") in very few years with little to show for it except rising costs in everything - energy crisis, security failures despite spending more on defense than the next 10 countries, corona welfare collected by companies that didn't need it, healthcare and housing going for absurd peaks. Take a look at how much money has been spent and compare: what the American people have to show for it vs. what the portfolio gains of the 1% have to show for it, and then ridicule the idea of more limited government. Look at spending vs. results. It's unsustainable and needs to be stopped 10 years ago. Whatever size government, the populist right as it is seems to be the only significant force interested in resetting to a functioning government that serves the people correctly right now, perhaps because they are the only group that's critical of authority itself rather than just being critical of the other side. You won't see the DNC losing sleep over the next Bernie Sanders, but you can catch Republican Speakers retiring as they realize the voters are out for their blood, meanwhile Pelosi is well on the way to what, her 200th million? The Democratic party's key problem is their chance of a roughly analogous center-left populist movement, OWS, got coopted and then erased. The base who protested against the hoarding of wealth and power by malicious elites 15 years ago have now been led to believe by the MSM (which is the exact same social circle as federal bureaucrats and the Democratic establishment) that the interests of huge corporations, the surveillance state, and the military industrial complex are the concerns of the average Democratic voter. People caught up in that tend to be too far along to notice where they are, but when you look at issues like crime or immigration or the housing market or the exodus from Democratic-run jurisdictions, the actual tangible consequences of policies that actually affect actual people do serve as a wake up call for them as they realize that politics and running countries turns out to be more complicated than what I call the Halo philosophy of "The only thing that matters is we beat the red team." Furthermore the alarmists who cry end-of-democracy that purport to fear for 2022 and 2024 (Trust us, no, this time democracy is REALLY in trouble if our side loses), should instead be asking what's wrong with the politicians and system they support that can make them perform from so well to so poorly in just 2-4 years as to risk losing at all levels. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you'll succumb in every battle. Ancient knowledge. It's either this millennia-old theory, or the slightly less plausible option of "The other people suddenly got SO racist within 5 years that no matter how expertly our side governs - spending responsibly, eliminating waste and corruption, upholding the rule of law, building a strong and vibrant economy, raising quality of life, solving poverty and crime, securing our country - we can't win." This is really weird fan fiction that ignores which party created the deficit and the literal coup attempts.
Despite their striking factual inaccuracy, oBlade's random drive-by bits of partisan impressionism ably make the point that reality is largely irrelevant to political sentiment; what matters is a mix of argument and feeling that ebbs and flows based on the political moment. That is one big reason why Democrats (and the Left in general) are often a day late and dollar short, they spend too much time dealing in what is right rather than what wins hearts and minds, and in our nation of gay-fearing, Fox News educated geographic majorities, the latter is the GOPs dominion, at least for now.
|
On April 22 2022 03:46 oBlade wrote:Show nested quote +On April 21 2022 19:55 Sadist wrote:On April 21 2022 14:50 gobbledydook wrote:On April 20 2022 19:12 gobbledydook wrote:The food division of the FDA has been reported as dysfunctional and failing in keeping up with the various issues related to food safety enforcement and rule making. https://www.politico.com/interactives/2022/fda-fails-regulate-food-health-safety-hazards/Surely this was a good opportunity for the Biden administration to take the initiative and propose a solution and pass it through Congress. At the very least, those Republicans who oppose the bill could be framed as pro baby poisoning. I'd also like to add that failure to tackle these problems with government just boosts the small-government argument that the federal government can't get anything right so this should just be left to the states or to private companies. There is a perverse incentive for Republicans to make claims of government being ineffective and wanting small government. When they get elected and fuck things up they just claim "see we need smaller government! Its not working". Its such a con. Yes, they're called RINOs, and they're what the Tea Party movement and later Trumpism stand in opposition to. If you look at any level from municipally to federally, by the way, things haven't exactly gone swimmingly under Democratic leadership. Simply spending more money on things isn't a good in itself, yet we've spent and wasted unfathomable trillions that we don't have (this is called a "deficit" which then turns into "debt") in very few years with little to show for it except rising costs in everything - energy crisis, security failures despite spending more on defense than the next 10 countries, corona welfare collected by companies that didn't need it, healthcare and housing going for absurd peaks. Take a look at how much money has been spent and compare: what the American people have to show for it vs. what the portfolio gains of the 1% have to show for it, and then ridicule the idea of more limited government. Look at spending vs. results. It's unsustainable and needs to be stopped 10 years ago. Whatever size government, the populist right as it is seems to be the only significant force interested in resetting to a functioning government that serves the people correctly right now, perhaps because they are the only group that's critical of authority itself rather than just being critical of the other side. You won't see the DNC losing sleep over the next Bernie Sanders, but you can catch Republican Speakers retiring as they realize the voters are out for their blood, meanwhile Pelosi is well on the way to what, her 200th million? The Democratic party's key problem is their chance of a roughly analogous center-left populist movement, OWS, got coopted and then erased. The base who protested against the hoarding of wealth and power by malicious elites 15 years ago have now been led to believe by the MSM (which is the exact same social circle as federal bureaucrats and the Democratic establishment) that the interests of huge corporations, the surveillance state, and the military industrial complex are the concerns of the average Democratic voter. People caught up in that tend to be too far along to notice where they are, but when you look at issues like crime or immigration or the housing market or the exodus from Democratic-run jurisdictions, the actual tangible consequences of policies that actually affect actual people do serve as a wake up call for them as they realize that politics and running countries turns out to be more complicated than what I call the Halo philosophy of "The only thing that matters is we beat the red team." Furthermore the alarmists who cry end-of-democracy that purport to fear for 2022 and 2024 (Trust us, no, this time democracy is REALLY in trouble if our side loses), should instead be asking what's wrong with the politicians and system they support that can make them perform from so well to so poorly in just 2-4 years as to risk losing at all levels. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you'll succumb in every battle. Ancient knowledge. It's either this millennia-old theory, or the slightly less plausible option of "The other people suddenly got SO racist within 5 years that no matter how expertly our side governs - spending responsibly, eliminating waste and corruption, upholding the rule of law, building a strong and vibrant economy, raising quality of life, solving poverty and crime, securing our country - we can't win."
This is such BS. RINO has been thrown around at anyone that doesnt fall in line. Theres no good definition for it and today its generally anyone that criticizes Trump. The republicans dont even have a real platform to hold people accountable too other than Fuck Democrats. The tea party is when shit started to really go off the rails.
My point was that Republicans govern and generally campaign on the government is bad. Somehow this gets them elected. They have no incentive to do a good job or have a functional government because government = bad. That does not mean that Democrats are perfect and some dont suck at their jobs, but fundamentally they at least believe in a functional government and you can try to hold them accountable to that.
Also, incase you havent noticed, people are freaked out because the republican party no longer believes in any political norms and seems willing to do anything and everything to stay in power. Kissing the ring with Trump's "the election was Stolen!" (This is so broad, what the fuck does this even mean?) Freaks people the fuck out because its not true and shows they will go along for the ride to attack democracy/country.
|
I agree with the Tea Party really driving today's GOP stance on things. The only time in my life I ever voted Republican was the 2014 primaries in Texas where I voted against every Tea Party candidate and it didn't make a difference. The GOP keeps going more right every day and it's terrifying
|
|
|
I love how Republicans use RINO's as a slur, and yet "Republican in name only" should be what people of a party strive to be.
"Yes, I am a Republican, but in name only. I wont always vote with the party if something goes against my morals."
|
|
|
Northern Ireland24981 Posts
The irony being that RINOs are more reflective of what the Republican Party is ostensibly about.
Ostensibly with a capital O
|
Northern Ireland24981 Posts
On April 22 2022 04:13 farvacola wrote:Show nested quote +On April 22 2022 03:53 KwarK wrote:On April 22 2022 03:46 oBlade wrote:On April 21 2022 19:55 Sadist wrote:On April 21 2022 14:50 gobbledydook wrote:On April 20 2022 19:12 gobbledydook wrote:The food division of the FDA has been reported as dysfunctional and failing in keeping up with the various issues related to food safety enforcement and rule making. https://www.politico.com/interactives/2022/fda-fails-regulate-food-health-safety-hazards/Surely this was a good opportunity for the Biden administration to take the initiative and propose a solution and pass it through Congress. At the very least, those Republicans who oppose the bill could be framed as pro baby poisoning. I'd also like to add that failure to tackle these problems with government just boosts the small-government argument that the federal government can't get anything right so this should just be left to the states or to private companies. There is a perverse incentive for Republicans to make claims of government being ineffective and wanting small government. When they get elected and fuck things up they just claim "see we need smaller government! Its not working". Its such a con. Yes, they're called RINOs, and they're what the Tea Party movement and later Trumpism stand in opposition to. If you look at any level from municipally to federally, by the way, things haven't exactly gone swimmingly under Democratic leadership. Simply spending more money on things isn't a good in itself, yet we've spent and wasted unfathomable trillions that we don't have (this is called a "deficit" which then turns into "debt") in very few years with little to show for it except rising costs in everything - energy crisis, security failures despite spending more on defense than the next 10 countries, corona welfare collected by companies that didn't need it, healthcare and housing going for absurd peaks. Take a look at how much money has been spent and compare: what the American people have to show for it vs. what the portfolio gains of the 1% have to show for it, and then ridicule the idea of more limited government. Look at spending vs. results. It's unsustainable and needs to be stopped 10 years ago. Whatever size government, the populist right as it is seems to be the only significant force interested in resetting to a functioning government that serves the people correctly right now, perhaps because they are the only group that's critical of authority itself rather than just being critical of the other side. You won't see the DNC losing sleep over the next Bernie Sanders, but you can catch Republican Speakers retiring as they realize the voters are out for their blood, meanwhile Pelosi is well on the way to what, her 200th million? The Democratic party's key problem is their chance of a roughly analogous center-left populist movement, OWS, got coopted and then erased. The base who protested against the hoarding of wealth and power by malicious elites 15 years ago have now been led to believe by the MSM (which is the exact same social circle as federal bureaucrats and the Democratic establishment) that the interests of huge corporations, the surveillance state, and the military industrial complex are the concerns of the average Democratic voter. People caught up in that tend to be too far along to notice where they are, but when you look at issues like crime or immigration or the housing market or the exodus from Democratic-run jurisdictions, the actual tangible consequences of policies that actually affect actual people do serve as a wake up call for them as they realize that politics and running countries turns out to be more complicated than what I call the Halo philosophy of "The only thing that matters is we beat the red team." Furthermore the alarmists who cry end-of-democracy that purport to fear for 2022 and 2024 (Trust us, no, this time democracy is REALLY in trouble if our side loses), should instead be asking what's wrong with the politicians and system they support that can make them perform from so well to so poorly in just 2-4 years as to risk losing at all levels. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you'll succumb in every battle. Ancient knowledge. It's either this millennia-old theory, or the slightly less plausible option of "The other people suddenly got SO racist within 5 years that no matter how expertly our side governs - spending responsibly, eliminating waste and corruption, upholding the rule of law, building a strong and vibrant economy, raising quality of life, solving poverty and crime, securing our country - we can't win." This is really weird fan fiction that ignores which party created the deficit and the literal coup attempts. Despite their striking factual inaccuracy, oBlade's random drive-by bits of partisan impressionism ably make the point that reality is largely irrelevant to political sentiment; what matters is a mix of argument and feeling that ebbs and flows based on the political moment. That is one big reason why Democrats (and the Left in general) are often a day late and dollar short, they spend too much time dealing in what is right rather than what wins hearts and minds, and in our nation of gay-fearing, Fox News educated geographic majorities, the latter is the GOPs dominion, at least for now.
They don’t do anything, that’s really the problem.
It’s not a lack of invective, it’s a lack of anything bolted on to that invective.
If I’m a Common Core fearing, trans hating person well hey at least there’s various stupid bills all over the shop.
|
It's also much easier to point at things and shout about how they're a problem, than it is to look at and understand what the problems are, and to find a good solution. That's not just politics, most people are great at identifying when they have a problem with a game, movie, or piece of art, but when you ask them how they'd improve the thing the answer is usually garbage. It takes deep working knowledge of something to be able to take a step forward in improving it, and most people don't have it.
Democrats, progressives, and etc. gain no favors by being on the side of things that actually is interested in proposing robust solutions to real problems. Much, much easier to make shit up about problems that don't exist, throw out some stupid discriminatory bill that looks like it does something about it, then point at the fact that the problem still doesn't exist and claim it worked. CRT in math textbooks, y'all?
But in all, I agree the Democrats should be doing more. They seem to be afraid of doing too much so that when midterms come around they'll be all out of stuff to do to make themselves look good right before. There's a lot of big, looming problems with pretty clear steps to take if Democrats were actually interested in accomplishing anything. There's no pulse to them.
|
At some point it becomes more sensible to recognize Democrats incompetency/impotency as an indispensable part of the hustle rather than the unavoidable/unintentional consequences of righteous politicians and democracy.
|
|
|
|
|
|
EPT
