Random Politics

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Wed Apr 12, 2023 8:47 pm

I agree they’re kicking the hornets nest, but it’s only to see which kicks work. Where we are now versus 15 years ago is horrifying and if you want to believe that’s just cyclical politics, I hope you’re right. This is beyond the money grab. If anything, it’s partially the opposite in that all the money is paying in for ideology and the counter-party can’t/won’t engage at that level. “Ha ha fuck you we’re right back to where we were 2 weeks ago” is laughable retaliation. This is the era that lost Roe vs Wade and now the fight is getting it back, not progress of any kind (which I’m not even sure “our side” cares about).

Nonlinear FC · Post by **Nonlinear FC** » Wed Apr 12, 2023 9:02 pm

mister d wrote: ↑Wed Apr 12, 2023 8:47 pm I agree they’re kicking the hornets nest, but it’s only to see which kicks work. Where we are now versus 15 years ago is horrifying and if you want to believe that’s just cyclical politics, I hope you’re right. This is beyond the money grab. If anything, it’s partially the opposite in that all the money is paying in for ideology and the counter-party can’t/won’t engage at that level. “Ha ha fuck you we’re right back to where we were 2 weeks ago” is laughable retaliation. This is the era that lost Roe vs Wade and now the fight is getting it back, not progress of any kind (which I’m not even sure “our side” cares about).

The idea that I've said that this is all part of cyclical politics is fucking insulting. I've pointed out since 2016 how off the fucking rails things have gone repeatedly.

I've lived the DC political strategist life for many many years. Maybe my posts come off as dispassionate or overly chess board pieces moving at times. I guess? But that sentence really bothers me. I've been blaring about how fucking crazy this version of the GOP is since 2016.

My whole "fucking morons" thing and constantly harping about "this isn't sustainable" is all about how them being extremists is a losing play. I guess it doesn't resonate with you? Again, not mad, just trying to understand what I say you disagree with.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Wed Apr 12, 2023 9:44 pm

Responding to just that post, my position would be that a dispassionate assessment that the extremists can’t win by virtue of them being extremists is wrong. We are not unique and, as a whole, are not good. We are not the good guys. We have a lot of good people, even maybe a majority, but as a nation we are not good. More often than not that fails for the whole.

The Sybian · Post by **The Sybian** » Thu Apr 13, 2023 6:27 am

mister d wrote: ↑Wed Apr 12, 2023 9:44 pm Responding to just that post, my position would be that a dispassionate assessment that the extremists can’t win by virtue of them being extremists is wrong. We are not unique and, as a whole, are not good. We are not the good guys. We have a lot of good people, even maybe a majority, but as a nation we are not good. More often than not that fails for the whole.

Why do you hate America?
[Bush era Swamp callback]

Gunpowder · Post by **Gunpowder** » Thu Apr 13, 2023 7:49 am

Shirley wrote: ↑Thu Apr 06, 2023 10:03 am Am I naïve to think that there was a time, just a few decades ago, where you'd expect something like this to be investigated and likely lead to a disgraceful exit, if not a conviction? Take race and party out of it, because in this case, that's irrelevant. Surely there used to be consequences right? Or was I believing a fairy tale?

In the era of the Clinton impeachment? I think you are. Shit like this has happened since day one.

To be fair though it's going to become illegal soon to be gay in Florida which I would not have expected a few years back.

Nonlinear FC · Post by **Nonlinear FC** » Thu Apr 13, 2023 8:32 am

mister d wrote: ↑Wed Apr 12, 2023 9:44 pm Responding to just that post, my position would be that a dispassionate assessment that the extremists can’t win by virtue of them being extremists is wrong. We are not unique and, as a whole, are not good. We are not the good guys. We have a lot of good people, even maybe a majority, but as a nation we are not good. More often than not that fails for the whole.

And my point for the last 3-4 years is that national election results are proving that there are more people on the side of "good" than there are extremists. If MAGA folks were winning elections in statewide and national elections, I'd be singing a different tune. They are being rejected across the board.

The WI supreme court is just the latest example, but when you look at 2022, just about every single election denier/anti-choice candidate lost and most of those weren't even close.

Ryan · Post by **Ryan** » Thu Apr 13, 2023 9:18 am

If every single seat in Congress were up for grabs at the same time, what would the split be?

Nonlinear FC · Post by **Nonlinear FC** » Thu Apr 13, 2023 9:51 am

Um.

Yes?

I don't understand the question. I'm finishing my coffee, maybe give me a few more minutes.

Ryan · Post by **Ryan** » Thu Apr 13, 2023 10:08 am

Election Day is today. For every House and Senate seat. What's red, what's blue. What's Maine?

Nonlinear FC · Post by **Nonlinear FC** » Thu Apr 13, 2023 10:41 am

Well, obviously, I don't know shit and haven't looked at any polling.

But given the current climate, what with the shootings and the kicking out of black folks in TN, what with the TX whackadoodle judge making abortion pills illegal.. what with the array of horror stories in various states of women being forced to see dangerous and/or disgusting pregnancies to full term... What with the House GOP calling for the defunding of the IRS, FBI and FDA..

I'd say you'd be looking at a Blue wave. The GOP is being led around by its dick by the most extreme aspects of its base. We've said it many times in the last 5-6 years, they are saying the stuff they used to only say behind closed doors very much in public now. It's their brand now. The misogyny, racism, xenophobia, trans- and homophobia... That's what independents and even low information voters are seeing.

They are freaking most of America out. Not exactly a winning playbook.

DSafetyGuy · Post by **DSafetyGuy** » Thu Apr 13, 2023 10:43 am

But, gerrymandering and other measures to fix the game, combined with a focus on local legislatures, are really going to continue for a long time.

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Thu Apr 13, 2023 10:46 am

replying to NLFC:

I wish I could agree with you, but in states like mine, it wouldn't matter. There are no candidates ready to take on Federal campaigns against incumbents. At any time there's only like 10% of races that are competitive (source), so even if it bumped up to 15% I'm not sure it would be a wave.

Steve of phpBB · Post by **Steve of phpBB** » Thu Apr 13, 2023 12:31 pm

Nonlinear FC wrote: ↑Thu Apr 13, 2023 10:41 am Well, obviously, I don't know shit and haven't looked at any polling.

But given the current climate, what with the shootings and the kicking out of black folks in TN, what with the TX whackadoodle judge making abortion pills illegal.. what with the array of horror stories in various states of women being forced to see dangerous and/or disgusting pregnancies to full term... What with the House GOP calling for the defunding of the IRS, FBI and FDA..

I'd say you'd be looking at a Blue wave. The GOP is being led around by its dick by the most extreme aspects of its base. We've said it many times in the last 5-6 years, they are saying the stuff they used to only say behind closed doors very much in public now. It's their brand now. The misogyny, racism, xenophobia, trans- and homophobia... That's what independents and even low information voters are seeing.

They are freaking most of America out. Not exactly a winning playbook.

Do you think things are that different from five months ago? The Rs got a majority of the House (and a majority of the total vote for the House). And that was four months after Dobbs.

Nonlinear FC · Post by **Nonlinear FC** » Thu Apr 13, 2023 12:37 pm

Yes, I actually do think the climate is continuing to change. 4 months after dobbs not many real world examples were out there AND the state houses in these extreme states hadn't started in with their fuckery. Those idiots are enacting worse and worse legislation every week. The establishment republicans are telling them to chill out, but they won't because they see this as their chance to act on their most extreme desires.

It is just getting worse and it is getting a lot of coverage.

ETA - And I know I'm a broken record on this, but... WISCONSIN.

A double digit win in a swing state is fucking crazy.

Steve of phpBB · Post by **Steve of phpBB** » Thu Apr 13, 2023 4:07 pm

Nonlinear FC wrote: ↑Thu Apr 13, 2023 12:37 pmETA - And I know I'm a broken record on this, but... WISCONSIN.

A double digit win in a swing state is fucking crazy.

This is definitely a good sign.

Johnnie · Post by **Johnnie** » Thu Apr 13, 2023 9:15 pm

I'd welcome this news, but I think I read somewhere that Kentucky's legislature did some fuckery and the governor cannot just appoint a Democrat.

The Sybian · Post by **The Sybian** » Thu Apr 13, 2023 9:49 pm

While I'd love to see McConnell go, they will replace him with someone worse. Remember when we thought Boehner and Eric Cantor were the worst Congressmen?

DaveInSeattle · Post by **DaveInSeattle** » Thu Apr 13, 2023 10:49 pm

Just when you thought Clarence Thomas couldn't get more corrupt...

What in the hell?

EnochRoot · Post by **EnochRoot** » Thu Apr 13, 2023 11:17 pm

^ this is that tweet (ETA - yours wasn't appearing). Apologies.

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Fri Apr 14, 2023 7:11 am

They have to appoint from same party(and maybe from a list of people), but I don't believe that's fuckery on a more heinous level than a lot of other states. SOF. I can see a deal worked where the current AG drops out of Governor race if he can get this. That's what he wants but was disappointed when McConnell said he was planning on running for reelection again in 4 yers or whenever, so he ran for governor.

L-Jam3 · Post by **L-Jam3** » Fri Apr 14, 2023 10:45 am

A_B wrote: ↑Fri Apr 14, 2023 7:11 am They have to appoint from same party(and maybe from a list of people), but I don't believe that's fuckery on a more heinous level than a lot of other states. SOF. I can see a deal worked where the current AG drops out of Governor race if he can get this. That's what he wants but was disappointed when McConnell said he was planning on running for reelection again in 4 yers or whenever, so he ran for governor.

Standard Operating Fuckery? I'll have to start using that.

Johnnie · Post by **Johnnie** » Fri Apr 14, 2023 7:59 pm

I had that haircut in 1996. I think all of the white kids did.

Rex · Post by **Rex** » Fri Apr 14, 2023 8:03 pm

The end of the belt dropping down like a flopping dick is bringing it back for me.

Pruitt IV · Post by **Pruitt IV** » Fri Apr 14, 2023 8:46 pm

Wait? What?

Mike Pompeo won’t run for president in 2024

duff · Post by **duff** » Sat Apr 15, 2023 8:12 am

Rex wrote: ↑Fri Apr 14, 2023 8:03 pm The end of the belt dropping down like a flopping dick is bringing it back for me.

Yup. Braided belts and the hair. Almost my entire 1995 senior class looked like that.

Johnnie · Post by **Johnnie** » Sat Apr 15, 2023 3:29 pm

I legit could never be a politician. I would be extremely unprofessional in my response to something like this and would invoke the entitlement of RBG.

Being a fucking 90 year old who can't do the job is an abomination given the state of things right now. And to say it's sexism? Fuck. Off. Assholes with her personality traits can be any gender.

I'm very, very much hoping for a thing I cannot say or type out right now.

Johnnie · Post by **Johnnie** » Mon Apr 17, 2023 7:59 pm

Republicans are predictably not going along with the dumbass 90 year old's request to be replaced on the judicial committee. I'm SHOCKED.

I guess we'll all just have to suffer because one asshole's ego is more important than judicial appointments.

Rex · Post by **Rex** » Mon Apr 17, 2023 9:23 pm

An old lefty icon well past her prime refusing to give up her post. What could go wrong?

EnochRoot · Post by **EnochRoot** » Mon Apr 17, 2023 10:24 pm

Democrats fall in love, Republicans fall in line.

Wash, rinse, repeat.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Tue Apr 18, 2023 10:02 am

Nicely put.

DSafetyGuy · Post by **DSafetyGuy** » Tue Apr 18, 2023 7:12 pm

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Thu Apr 20, 2023 11:23 am

And here we go with why "look at Wisconsin" and "these are losing issues" doesn't really matter. The goal isn't to win clean elections.

DSafetyGuy · Post by **DSafetyGuy** » Thu Apr 20, 2023 12:24 pm

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Thu Apr 20, 2023 1:00 pm

Makes you wonder if the Dems just need to cater to Manchin even more.

Johnnie · Post by **Johnnie** » Thu Apr 20, 2023 1:07 pm

The GOP is winning and they'll keep winning.

L-Jam3 · Post by **L-Jam3** » Thu Apr 20, 2023 2:55 pm

Johnnie wrote: ↑Thu Apr 20, 2023 1:07 pm The GOP is winning and they'll keep winning.

Then fucking do something, Johnnie. Posting tweets on this board will have literally zero effect.

I'm going back to my first Poli Sci class from my freshman year. In a political system, no single actor is fully omnipotent, and no single actor is fully impotent. You have agency. It's not much, but go back to the allegory of the finger. One finger can't really cause much damage, but five fingers, curled together in a ball and thrown together, can break a motherfucker's nose.

You showed a map where there are supermajorities. It's going to take a little bit of time and effort on your part, but you probably can find at least one state where the supposed supermajority is at least a little precarious. Donate to the other party. Even $50 is to a party that's trying to beat the Republicans is more than zero. And then as a fuck you to the Republicans, go look up the email of Speaker of the lower house or the state Senate, and send him a message that his shitty policy (the more specific the better) is forcing a voter in another state to donate to the other party and in fact you did it in his name, just to fuck them over. That's what I did to Cameron Sexton after the expulsion of the two black state assemblymen in Tennessee. Is Sexton going to read it? Probably not. But someone on his staff will. And if you can put a slight bit of doubt in a staffer, that staffer can at least complicate the running of his office in a small way. That's not zero.

Johnnie · Post by **Johnnie** » Thu Apr 20, 2023 2:55 pm

mister d wrote: ↑Thu Apr 20, 2023 1:00 pm Makes you wonder if the Dems just need to cater to Manchin even more.

Johnnie · Post by **Johnnie** » Thu Apr 20, 2023 3:01 pm

L-Jam3 wrote: ↑Thu Apr 20, 2023 2:55 pm
Johnnie wrote: ↑Thu Apr 20, 2023 1:07 pm The GOP is winning and they'll keep winning.

Then fucking do something, Johnnie. Posting tweets on this board will have literally zero effect.

I registered and voted straight ticket Democrat in Arizona. I guess that's not enough.

And outside of going on a [redacted], writing emails to Congress people seems like farting in the wind to me.

But you do you.

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Thu Apr 20, 2023 3:18 pm

Ljam you admitted it likely wouldn't help. I get your point, but I don't think "sharing a tweet" and "reform the process" are mutually exclusive. I see tweets here all the time that get shared, so not sure why this one rubbed you the wrong way.

Nonlinear FC · Post by **Nonlinear FC** » Thu Apr 20, 2023 3:29 pm

I won't speak for Ljam, but the fairly constant drone of the end is nigh can be a little deflating. There are wins and losses and shit to get mad about and things to celebrate.

The Eeyore schtick from folks is their bit and usually I take in the info and move on with my day. But every now and again, it's enough to get the dander up.

Oh, and not for nothing, letters do get read and they do get tallied. Trust me on that. Does it have some super power to change some arch conservative's ways? Of course not. And to that point, you're better off writing folks that could possibly alter their view. That used to be a thing, not so much now.

I would also say, the Pod Save guys do an absolutely terrific job of helping support state efforts in key states. You may not want to listen to their podcast, but if you want to amplify your donation efforts, link up with one of their campaigns. I truly think they played a not insignificant role in Wisconsin by supporting the rock star democratic party leader out there.