Political Discussion Thread (With Rules)

[Dr. MID-Nite]

" it's in your nature to destroy yourselves... "

[TrickstaPriest]

 

I personally feel it's far too late to watch what's happening in the US and have any ability to steer people from it.

 

The only way to even see the beginning of tragedies like this is to see the BS building in the UK and other countries.

[Lord Liaden]

I still believe we're witnessing the death throes of the old social order. White male Christian privilege can still do a lot of damage as it lashes out, but eventually it will go the way of the landed aristocracy. Human nature being what it is, some new form of elitism will eventually take its place, but we can only deal with the problems we can foresee.

[Iuz the Evil]

43 minutes ago, Lord Liaden said:

I still believe we're witnessing the death throes of the old social order. White male Christian privilege can still do a lot of damage as it lashes out, but eventually it will go the way of the landed aristocracy. Human nature being what it is, some new form of elitism will eventually take its place, but we can only deal with the problems we can foresee.

I’m not entirely sure about all that - in particular the bit about the landed aristocracy. That changed a bit, but wealth dictates social advantage better than ANY other predictor and likely will continue to do so for the lifespan of everyone on this board. It’s conceivably possible to see that distribution change, I would expect (as this implies) a some reduction in racial privilege for that group mentioned to some extent. I fully expect other forms of privilege granted by wealth, physical ability, and so forth to remain in full force. To the extent any group has greater access to that they will have greater privilege. I think that change is far slower than current media representation presents it as, given how wealth is distributed (and inherited).

 

The Aristocracy owns hedge funds now, not castles, but they’re still here in my opinion. YMMV

[Dr. MID-Nite]

Right. The real social order is one of wealth. Wealth is power and America has one of the biggest income disparities on the planet.

[Old Man]

So for years, right wing hysteria has been partly driven by conspiracy theories about Democrats secretly engaging in the sex trafficking of children.  I've often wondered, given their propensity for projection, whether that meant some of them might be doing exactly that.  I guess I don't need to wonder anymore.

 

Now I have to wonder about the "drinking infants' blood" conspiracy theories...

[csyphrett]

20 hours ago, Old Man said:

So for years, right wing hysteria has been partly driven by conspiracy theories about Democrats secretly engaging in the sex trafficking of children.  I've often wondered, given their propensity for projection, whether that meant some of them might be doing exactly that.  I guess I don't need to wonder anymore.

 

Now I have to wonder about the "drinking infants' blood" conspiracy theories...

Talking about matt gaetz? I would like to see him go down the river for something.

CES

[pinecone]

On 3/30/2021 at 10:30 AM, Matt the Bruins said:

As a resident of the state I'm not happy about this at all. I hope all the legislators responsible have crackpot doctors who'll only prescribe cod liver oil as a treatemnt for anything that ails them.

"Rub some dirt on it" "Walk it off".

[DShomshak]

So, today my local paper printed the third syndicated column I've seen this week in which the pundit asks, more or less, if the Republican Party is committing suicide. Jennifer Rubin (I gather she considers herself somewhat conservative?) gives polling statistics on high support for Biden's policies on pandemic relief, the economy and even gun control -- pretty good even among Republican voters -- and in this context, finds the lockstep opposition in Congress to be, well, bizarre. They seem to have some success in their boilerplate raving about immigration, but most Americans don't rate that issue high on their list of concerns, and the cyclical nature of the "borde crisis" means that pretty soon, the current surge will subside and the Biden administration will be able to claim (rightly or not) that their policies worked.

 

Some days ago, notably liberal Paul Krugman asked if the GOP even cares about governing anymore, their opposition to Biden policies is so muted and pro-forma. He concludes the Rs have lost control: They can no longer use the culture war to rile up the base and convince them to vote for plutocracy. They're so locked in, even Trump couldn't (or wouldn't) implement genuinely populist policies. If it isn't tax cuts, deregulation and raving about migrants and Dr. Suess, they've got nothing.

 

In the same issue of the NYTimes, David Brooks noted thae curious absence of GOP policy as an alternative to the Dems. But then, he thinks there's been a seismic shift since the Great Recession in Americans' views of the role and scope of government. He admits that current spending bills would have made him flip out 10 years ago; but now he thinks they really might be necessary. He still gets twitchy when he reads claims that "Public debt doesn't matter," but... The problems are extraordinary; he accepts that the responses must be, as well. And what alternative is being proposed?

 

It may just be a punditry echo chamber. Or perhaps people who've spent a lot of time thinking about politics are genuinely seeing the same thing: The GOP as we know it is sinking. The only question is how many other people drown with it... which is why even Krugman gives his prognosis without joy.

 

Dean Shomshak

[Pariah]

I was a RINO for a lot of years, but in my mind the Party truly died the day they decided Donald Trump was their best option for President.

[Lord Liaden]

3 minutes ago, DShomshak said:

If it isn't tax cuts, deregulation and raving about migrants and Dr. Suess, they've got nothing.

 

This is the part that's so striking to me. The GOP literally has no platform, no policies. They offer no alternatives to what the Democrats are doing. Republican governments in states all over the country are trying to pass voter suppression legislation under the guise of vote security, because they recognize they have nothing to offer the public to persuade them to vote for them. It's all about promoting fear and hatred, demonizing the opposition, inventing external threats, to try to manipulate the American people into giving them power. Not power for any purpose, they don't even pretend to govern any more.

 

This trend in the GOP began with Reagan and Gingrich, was exacerbated under Bush Jr. and fueled by absorbing the Tea Party, and reached its nadir during the Trump "administration." I don't think the Conservative movement is dead in America, but the Republican Party as its voice is facing a dead end. Their current message has reached everyone it's going to, and that body can only shrink over time. The GOP has lost credibility with everyone else, even if they try to rebrand, which they no longer seem to understand how to do.

[Grailknight]

As has been stated before, the Republican Party is in a desperate race against time. By 2024, the demographics will flip so that Boomers and older will be a minority of the voting population and in 20 plus years the urban population of Texas and Florida will have flipped to traditionally Democratic majorities. Once Texas flips, it's over for the GOP as we know it.

[Old Man]

33 minutes ago, Grailknight said:

As has been stated before, the Republican Party is in a desperate race against time. By 2024, the demographics will flip so that Boomers and older will be a minority of the voting population and in 20 plus years the urban population of Texas and Florida will have flipped to traditionally Democratic majorities. Once Texas flips, it's over for the GOP as we know it.

I’ve been waiting for this supposed demographic doom for thirty years. I’ll believe it when it happens and not before. 

[Dr. MID-Nite]

That demographic shift is why they're trying to control the voting apparatus now....

[Ragitsu]

1 hour ago, Dr. MID-Nite said:

That demographic shift is why they're trying to control the voting apparatus now....

They are delaying the inevitable.

[Old Man]

2 hours ago, Dr. MID-Nite said:

That demographic shift is why they're trying to control the voting apparatus now....

Is it a demographic shift or the open display of corruption and white supremacy by one of the major parties?

[Ternaugh]

8 hours ago, Old Man said:

Is it a demographic shift or the open display of corruption and white supremacy by one of the major parties?

 

Why not both?

 

It's a floor wax and a dessert topping!

[Cygnia]

🤬

Gaetz showed nude photos of women he said he'd slept with to lawmakers, sources tell CNN

[Starlord]

Capitol Police officer killed, another injured after suspect rams car into police barrier outside building

 

[wcw43921]

This could almost have gone in the MLB thread.

 

Almost

 

2021 All-Star Game To Be Moved Out Of Atlanta

[Old Man]

Better to keep it here, I think.

 

Also, good for them.

[Pariah]

32 minutes ago, wcw43921 said:

This could almost have gone in the MLB thread.

 

Almost

 

2021 All-Star Game To Be Moved Out Of Atlanta

 

Cue the cries of "Cancel Culture" in 3 ... 2 ... 1 ...

[unclevlad]

The only way you can influence some of these lawmakers is to hit them in the wallet.  "I think we'll find another city for our $100M in tourism event."

 

And the cries of "cancel culture" sound like "pot, meet kettle."  BOTH sides do it;  that's one of the major problems.

 

 

[Lord Liaden]

14 hours ago, Cygnia said:

🤬

Gaetz showed nude photos of women he said he'd slept with to lawmakers, sources tell CNN

 

The guy's an entitled frat boy. Don't let him upset you more than he's worth. Console yourself with the knowledge that his behavior is catching up with him. He's too dumb to keep avoiding consequences.

[Cygnia]

How Brexit Ruined Easter for Britain’s Chocolate Makers