The Many Faces of US Politics...

[whitey]

I'm not denying there may be a few decent Republicans out there. I've no issue with people like Ben Sasse, who I would oppose completely politically, but who at least is a decent, mainstream politician. I've no issue with men like the GOP governors of VT, MA and MD, all moderates.

But these are not powerful politicians on a national scale, and never will be, because they are unacceptable to the GOP as candidates for national office. Charlie Baker or Larry Hogan or someone like them will NEVER be president or nominated for president, at least by the GOP.

I'm talking about all the white working class people who went with Trump, especially this time out when a man like Biden was available to them as an option.

Are you saying that all of these people, after all these time, reject that Trump is an extremist?

FFS Hickenlooper was so afraid of the squad and the Bernie Bro's he couldn't even admit to being a capitalist on National TV.....you're waaayyy underestimating the power these people have. So if I'm a swing voter in CO how do I not view Hickenlooper as just a lackey for the far left

And how many working class people have family members in law enforcement ?  Quite a few that I know have

Joes campaign staff contributed to a bail fund for people who participated in a riot where officers were seriously injured....how do you think that would sit with these people. They might not like the Republican but they sure as heck aren't going to vote for the Democrat

Hickenlooper was the governor of CO for christ's sake. I think the people of CO were likely well aware of what he stood for. And if he didn't have the balls to stand up to the Bernie bros, that's on him. Must be partly why he got nowhere in his presidential campaign.

And so what if some Biden staffers contributed to the bail fund? If cop families are that sensitive to this specific issue, I wonder what they'd find if they looked into the contributions of Republican staffers? The candidate himself was pretty clear where he stood on the riots and policing. Are all GOP candidates beholden to the views and contributions of individual staff members on their campaign, including those way down on the totem pole? How many staffers does a typical presidential campaign have?

Are these cop families happy with the views of Stephen Miller or Jeff Sessions or Steve Bannon or Paul Manafort or any of the multitudes of other Trump campaign people?

You bend over backwards to excuse those who vote for Trump, putting as much blame as you can on Democrats.

Maybe they just f**king agree with his odious opinions and worldview.

Wow....more elitism!!!! Assuming the cops are guys your whusbands/fathers/brothers/nephews lives are in danger and Here's you are  accusing them of being snowflakes and that they should just shut the f up and deal with it

We already had the situation where people who had worked in the Obama administration bailed out people who firebombed a police car in NYC

And just this past weekend a former Nadler staffer got arrested for spitting in the face of an NYPD officer

What I think you are Missing is that while many people dislike/despise Trump, they actually dislike/despise the Democrats just a little bit more.

Anyway-I said I'd let myself come back in for a week after the election

Enough time wasted.......talk to you in the New Year

Good luck to everyone.......stay safe

[J70]

I'm not denying there may be a few decent Republicans out there. I've no issue with people like Ben Sasse, who I would oppose completely politically, but who at least is a decent, mainstream politician. I've no issue with men like the GOP governors of VT, MA and MD, all moderates.

But these are not powerful politicians on a national scale, and never will be, because they are unacceptable to the GOP as candidates for national office. Charlie Baker or Larry Hogan or someone like them will NEVER be president or nominated for president, at least by the GOP.

I'm talking about all the white working class people who went with Trump, especially this time out when a man like Biden was available to them as an option.

Are you saying that all of these people, after all these time, reject that Trump is an extremist?

FFS Hickenlooper was so afraid of the squad and the Bernie Bro's he couldn't even admit to being a capitalist on National TV.....you're waaayyy underestimating the power these people have. So if I'm a swing voter in CO how do I not view Hickenlooper as just a lackey for the far left

And how many working class people have family members in law enforcement ?  Quite a few that I know have

Joes campaign staff contributed to a bail fund for people who participated in a riot where officers were seriously injured....how do you think that would sit with these people. They might not like the Republican but they sure as heck aren't going to vote for the Democrat

Hickenlooper was the governor of CO for christ's sake. I think the people of CO were likely well aware of what he stood for. And if he didn't have the balls to stand up to the Bernie bros, that's on him. Must be partly why he got nowhere in his presidential campaign.

And so what if some Biden staffers contributed to the bail fund? If cop families are that sensitive to this specific issue, I wonder what they'd find if they looked into the contributions of Republican staffers? The candidate himself was pretty clear where he stood on the riots and policing. Are all GOP candidates beholden to the views and contributions of individual staff members on their campaign, including those way down on the totem pole? How many staffers does a typical presidential campaign have?

Are these cop families happy with the views of Stephen Miller or Jeff Sessions or Steve Bannon or Paul Manafort or any of the multitudes of other Trump campaign people?

You bend over backwards to excuse those who vote for Trump, putting as much blame as you can on Democrats.

Maybe they just f**king agree with his odious opinions and worldview.

Wow....more elitism!!!! Assuming the cops are guys your whusbands/fathers/brothers/nephews lives are in danger and Here's you are  accusing them of being snowflakes and that they should just shut the f up and deal with it

We already had the situation where people who had worked in the Obama administration bailed out people who firebombed a police car in NYC

And just this past weekend a former Nadler staffer got arrested for spitting in the face of an NYPD officer

What I think you are Missing is that while many people dislike/despise Trump, they actually dislike/despise the Democrats just a little bit more.

Anyway-I said I'd let myself come back in for a week after the election

Enough time wasted.......talk to you in the New Year

Good luck to everyone.......stay safe

There's nothing elitest about questioning why someone would attach so much more importance to the actions and views of lowly campaign staffers, which exist in opposition to the platform of the candidate, when the actions and views of high level campaign and administration staffers of the favoured side are on full display and impacting policy.

If you want to argue by anecdote, there is tonnes of stuff out there in terms of Trump people, and cops too.

The more relevant stuff is the actions and policies of the candidates themselves.

And I'm sorry, but some "minor staffer did this" is no excuse. Its just looking for one.

That said, have a good christmas and all Ireland series.

[sid waddell]

Democrats need to start taking this deadly seriously

The American Nazi Party is trying to force a contingent election and steal it based on state delegations - and they have 26 of the 50

https://twitter.com/Yamiche/status/1326227901654642695

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo: "There will be a smooth transition to a second Trump administration."

[J70]

There will be blood in the streets if they try to pull off that shit.

Fascists like Mark Levin on Fox have also apparently been advocating for GOP state legislatures in places like PA to send Trump electors instead of those chosen by the voters, but so far there doesn't seem to be any enthusiasm among the actual people who'd have to make the moves.

[sid waddell]

There will be blood in the streets if they try to pull off that shit.

Fascists like Mark Levin on Fox have also apparently been advocating for GOP state legislatures in places like PA to send Trump electors instead of those chosen by the voters, but so far there doesn't seem to be any enthusiasm among the actual people who'd have to make the moves.

Trump has 50 million cultists out there to make sure they do

All it takes is a contingent election, ie. Biden doesn't reach 270 in the actual Electoral College vote

And then good luck relying on Liz Cheney in the House to prevent the abolition of democracy, and good night

[Gmac]

Tillis  holds on for win in North Carolina Important win .

[gallsman]

There will be blood in the streets if they try to pull off that shit.

Fascists like Mark Levin on Fox have also apparently been advocating for GOP state legislatures in places like PA to send Trump electors instead of those chosen by the voters, but so far there doesn't seem to be any enthusiasm among the actual people who'd have to make the moves.

He had Ken Starr on yesterday telling him that was ok to help justify it.

[sid waddell]

Blacks are turning against Obama

Blacks like Dean Browning

Here's Dean's Twitter bio:

"Former Lehigh County Commissioner. A proud pro-life & pro-2A Christian conservative dedicated to enacting common sense solutions to Keep America Great."

You might notice something about Dean

Forgetting to log in to sock puppet accounts can be a hoor

[Tony Baloney]

I see Donny has installed a few more stooges in the Pentagon. Ready to send the troops onto the streets?

[sid waddell]

I see Donny has installed a few more stooges in the Pentagon. Ready to send the troops onto the streets?

The threat should not be underestimated

If the last five years has taught us anything at all, it is to never underestimate the threat of Trump and the lengths he is willing to go to to get his way

He is mentally unstable, desperate, and an asset of Russia

Scholars of authoritarianism have consistently warned that if he was beaten, the period between his defeat and January 20th would be very dangerous, the most dangerous time of all

[Eamonnca1]

I wouldn't put it past him to lob a few missiles at Iran just for the craic.

[Franko]

Extreme Republicans want to ban abortion, stop you getting the healthcare coverage that you need, stop minorities from voting, ban immigration, and force religion down everyone's throats, unionist style.

Extreme Democrats want to give everyone healthcare.

I know which "extreme" I'm more comfortable with.

I don't necessarily agree that it's just as simple as that but I never understood the American aversion to universal healthcare (especially among 'working class' folks).

It's something which is looked upon very positively by almost all in the UK (barring the Farage/Rees-Mogg/Old Money types).

And lets face it, the UK is hardly a bastion of socialism.

It pretty much is as simple as that though

The aversion to universal healthcare in the US comes from many decades of pearl clutching, fear mongering, McCarthyite propaganda

Wendell Potter, a former private healthcare executive turned whistle blower, has written some good stuff about how they frame a terrible private insurance system as something good, through positive trigger words

https://twitter.com/wendellpotter/status/1206623259698974724

Interesting stuff there.  Disappointing that some of the Democrats seem to have taken the proverbial soup in this regard.

[J70]

You reckon Trump, Giuliani and the GOP are going to acknowledge this?

Another James O'Keefe/Project Veritas masterpiece.

f**king scum.

Postal worker admits fabricating allegations of ballot tampering, officials say
https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/postal-worker-fabricated-ballot-pennsylvania/2020/11/10/99269a7c-2364-11eb-8599-406466ad1b8e_story.html

[Franko]

I wouldn't put it past him to lob a few missiles at Iran just for the craic.

Honestly, I don't think anything can be ruled out at this stage.

Also, WTF is Pompeo playing at?

The journalists have really been badly exposed by this whole debacle though.  The minute it looked like Biden had clinched it and they no longer needed access to Trump, they started behaving like actual journalists again and calling out the fool on his bullshit.

Watch Kuenssberg, Peston, Marr & Co drop Boris like a stone when his time comes.

[sid waddell]

I wouldn't put it past him to lob a few missiles at Iran just for the craic.

Honestly, I don't think anything can be ruled out at this stage.

Also, WTF is Pompeo playing at?

The journalists have really been badly exposed by this whole debacle though.  The minute it looked like Biden had clinched it and they no longer needed access to Trump, they started behaving like actual journalists again and calling out the fool on his bullshit.

Watch Kuenssberg, Peston, Marr & Co drop Boris like a stone when his time comes.

Go back to what Michael Moore said about Trump -  "he's always lying and always telling the truth"

To that can be added: "they're always joking and always serious"

And regards the media, when I talked about right-wing political correctness, this is sort of what I was referring to -  the constant refusal to see Trump for what he actually is

One of the major failings over the last half decade, says the Yale history professor Timothy Snyder, has been a failure of imagination

What he means by that is there has a failure to anticipate danger, a failure to anticipate where things could lead, a constant dismissal of danger by self styled "adults in the room" who in reality are asleep at the wheel

Tell tale buzzword ad hominems such people use against others who can actually see the danger are "exaggerating", "doom monger" "hysterical", "scaremongering"

See the early stages of Covid for how these words were used to shut down debate - and they are still used

This is a sort of establishment or right-wing political correctness or censorship

There are great journalists out there in the US, but they are usually marginalised in favour of boring horse race analysis or soap opera style coverage - Maggie Haberman and Ken Vogel of the New York Times are particular offenders

Too often Trump has been treated as a comedy curiosity

Rachel Maddow is an exception to this in the mainstream media, and has been absolutely superb since the start of Trump - hence the vicious abuse she gets

The podcast Gaslit Nation, presented by Sarah Kendzior and Andrea Chalupa, has been the single most valuable resource I have come across about what is really going on in America - I cannot recommend it enough - they have been almost clairvoyant like in their predictions because they look at the Trump regime through historical frameworks, particularly through what happened in the post Soviet states, which they both have expertise in

https://www.patreon.com/gaslit