American Politics IV: 1400 Reasons Why(A Stimulus Serial)

[Dresderstan]

The Republican Party has morphed into an entirely anti-democratic institution.

This article (an opinion piece I believe) is from December of 2020 but it did do a good job of highlighting the GOP's transformation into an anti-democratic establishment. Of course, I wouldn't go as far as to call them Fascists yet given that word is used liberally, but it clearly shows the GOP is utilizing a 50-State "Southern Strategy"- and how power has consumed them.

Blame Nixon, it was his Southern Strategy in 1968 along with a divided Democratic party over Vietnam that caused him to break through in the South and won in a landslide 4 years later. That tradition came back with Reagan and has stuck with the party since.

[San Lumen]

The Republican Party has morphed into an entirely anti-democratic institution.

This article (an opinion piece I believe) is from December of 2020 but it did do a good job of highlighting the GOP's transformation into an anti-democratic establishment. Of course, I wouldn't go as far as to call them Fascists yet given that word is used liberally, but it clearly shows the GOP is utilizing a 50-State "Southern Strategy"- and how power has consumed them.

Blame Nixon, it was his Southern Strategy in 1968 along with a divided Democratic party over Vietnam that caused him to break through in the South and won in a landslide 4 years later. That tradition came back with Reagan and has stuck with the party since.

and the South isn't so solid anymore. GA has flipped and Texas will likely go soon. North Carolina is competitive.

Mississippi isn't out of the realm of possibly either of being a swing state within a few cycles.

Since your from PA to you think Sims has a good chance of winning the Lt. Governor nomination?

[Garkland]

To be honest American politics will be much more democratic and stronger in the next decade after the Trump era. But how? Trump attempted and tried to undermine our democracy by ripping up the constitution, abusing his power, and spreading misinformation. Well it took a horrible event like 9/11 for America to strengthen airport security and to protect our borders. It took a pandemic for us to appreciate and take care of our health. It took Trump for our democracy to be made better. You see some Republicans are actually for forming a third center right party. Which if this happens (most likely in the next couple of months, to a year) will split the Republican vote therefore letting the democrats win again (whether that’s good or bad is up to you). This will give more time for a strong moderate third party candidate to come out the ashes and establish a more democratic and more representative nation. I mean a large percentage of the population is for a third party, and that number is gonna increase. I wouldn’t be surprised that in the next decade or two, there will be multiple parties representing different groups.

[Dresderstan]

Blame Nixon, it was his Southern Strategy in 1968 along with a divided Democratic party over Vietnam that caused him to break through in the South and won in a landslide 4 years later. That tradition came back with Reagan and has stuck with the party since.

and the South isn't so solid anymore. GA has flipped and Texas will likely go soon. North Carolina is competitive.

Mississippi isn't out of the realm of possibly either of being a swing state within a few cycles.

Since your from PA to you think Sims has a good chance of winning the Lt. Governor nomination?

IDK I haven't paid any attention to that, the only piece of political news from this state that I know is a Democratic State Senator from the 22nd district is resigning to work for Cartwright, which I believe I posted earlier today this morning.

[San Lumen]

and the South isn't so solid anymore. GA has flipped and Texas will likely go soon. North Carolina is competitive.

Mississippi isn't out of the realm of possibly either of being a swing state within a few cycles.

Since your from PA to you think Sims has a good chance of winning the Lt. Governor nomination?

IDK I haven't paid any attention to that, the only piece of political news from this state that I know is a Democratic State Senator from the 22nd district is resigning to work for Cartwright, which I believe I posted earlier today this morning.

interesting a state senator is resigning to work for a congressman

Could the seat be competitive in the special election?

[Dresderstan]

IDK I haven't paid any attention to that, the only piece of political news from this state that I know is a Democratic State Senator from the 22nd district is resigning to work for Cartwright, which I believe I posted earlier today this morning.

interesting a state senator is resigning to work for a congressman

Could the seat be competitive in the special election?

It could, since his share of the vote last time round did decline, but it includes all of Lackawanna County, and parts of Luzerne and Monroe and hasn't elected a Republican in over 5 decades. I'd say this, it's a reliable and possibly safe Democratic seat if only because of the valley cities being a Democratic stronghold especially Scranton.

[Kowani]

And Parler is fully back up, with a new CEO (presumably one who doesn’t want to ban Nazis)

[The Greater Ohio Valley]

And Parler is fully back up, with a new CEO (presumably one who doesn’t want to ban Nazis)

Well of course, Nazis are pretty much Parler’s bread and butter.

[Kowani]

Two grocery industry trade groups sue Seattle over a new law requiring a $4-per-hour hazard pay raise

Filing located here

[San Lumen]

https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-p ... nors-race/

Former Fl Governor and current congressman Charlie Crist is apparently seriously considering running for his old job next next year. He'd probably be the strongest candidate Democrats could get.

[Zurkerx]

Speaking of Grocery Stores and Florida, Publix, a supermarket chain found in the South-Eastern part of the United States, is being boycotted because a member of founding family member of Publix donated $300,000 to the Trump Rally that preceded January’s deadly Capitol attack.

If I'm not mistaken, Publix also had lax COVID guidelines for a Business- refusing to require people to wear masks inside unless ordered by the State.

[A-Series-Of-Tubes]

To be honest American politics will be much more democratic and stronger in the next decade after the Trump era. But how? Trump attempted and tried to undermine our democracy by ripping up the constitution, abusing his power, and spreading misinformation. Well it took a horrible event like 9/11 for America to strengthen airport security and to protect our borders. It took a pandemic for us to appreciate and take care of our health. It took Trump for our democracy to be made better. You see some Republicans are actually for forming a third center right party. Which if this happens (most likely in the next couple of months, to a year) will split the Republican vote therefore letting the democrats win again (whether that’s good or bad is up to you). This will give more time for a strong moderate third party candidate to come out the ashes and establish a more democratic and more representative nation. I mean a large percentage of the population is for a third party, and that number is gonna increase. I wouldn’t be surprised that in the next decade or two, there will be multiple parties representing different groups.

I like the argument that Trump's disruption could make the system stronger. I think it would be better applied to electoral and vote-counting process though. I'd like to see the option for public voting (ie, not private) introduced in some states. It would be optional of course.

I don't really agree that a split in the Republican party would usher in a new era of multiple parties. The First Past The Post voting system crushes small parties unless voters in that election think the small party has a chance in their district or state. Pervasive polling these days would make it very hard for a small party to get known support up to 25% or so, and only with enough upward momentum that voters think it could be above 34% by Election day. And even that is unlikely to get a win: it's a best case scenario where the new party splits the others equally.

What's more likely to happen, is either the 'reconstituted centrist republicans' or the 'trump republicans with even more far-right' gets the better of the other over 2 or 3 elections. As you say, good for Democrats, but quite unstable. It's possible that one of those parties strikes a deal to avoid being utterly destroyed, and something like the Liberal/National 'Coalition' we have in Australia emerges. They would vote together in the House but divvy up the districts before primary season: Trumpers would agree not to run against Republicans in most districts, and in exchange Republicans would not run against Trumpers in their few pre-chosen districts. You'd think the major party would pull a coup one year, sacrificing a few of the Trumper seats due to vote splitting, but deleting their party from the House -- it just seems unstable -- but it worked for decades here. It still does work fairly well for the Coalition, though Nationals have become more restive as their numbers shrink.

[San Lumen]

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watc ... ent-barack

New Maryland bill would rename 'Indian Head Highway' to 'President Barack Obama Highway

[Postauthoritarian America]

The Republican Party has morphed into an entirely anti-democratic institution.

This article (an opinion piece I believe) is from December of 2020 but it did do a good job of highlighting the GOP's transformation into an anti-democratic establishment. Of course, I wouldn't go as far as to call them Fascists yet given that word is used liberally, but it clearly shows the GOP is utilizing a 50-State "Southern Strategy"- and how power has consumed them.

The Republican Party has been headed down this road since 2008. It had a choice: change its approach to fit the changing makeup of the nation or double down on undereducated white men. It chose badly. Now its only hope to win elections is voter suppression, election fraud and violence, and it has shown it will stop at nothing on any of those fronts.

Mitch McConnell's transparent attempt to hold on to Trump voters while ditching Trump is doomed to fail. As EJ Dionne has noted you can't run with the foxes and hunt with the hounds. The best-case scenario at this point is that the McConnell/McCain/Romney faction and the hardcore authoritarians split the Republican Party in two, resulting in Democratic victories up and down the ticket in 2022. The worst-case scenario looks more and more like Germany 1930-32.

[Odreria]

Steve Schmidt is stepping down from the Lincoln Project over the revelations about John Weaver

Involvement with the Lincoln project is one of the surest signs that someone hates america. Prosecute all of them, and prosecute the journalists that promoted their pedophile ring/racketeering org.

[Echo Chamber Thought Police]

The Republican Party has morphed into an entirely anti-democratic institution.

This article (an opinion piece I believe) is from December of 2020 but it did do a good job of highlighting the GOP's transformation into an anti-democratic establishment. Of course, I wouldn't go as far as to call them Fascists yet given that word is used liberally, but it clearly shows the GOP is utilizing a 50-State "Southern Strategy"- and how power has consumed them.

The Republican Party has been headed down this road since 2008. It had a choice: change its approach to fit the changing makeup of the nation or double down on undereducated white men. It chose badly. Now its only hope to win elections is voter suppression, election fraud and violence, and it has shown it will stop at nothing on any of those fronts.

Mitch McConnell's transparent attempt to hold on to Trump voters while ditching Trump is doomed to fail. As EJ Dionne has noted you can't run with the foxes and hunt with the hounds. The best-case scenario at this point is that the McConnell/McCain/Romney faction and the hardcore authoritarians split the Republican Party in two, resulting in Democratic victories up and down the ticket in 2022. The worst-case scenario looks more and more like Germany 1930-32.

2008? They've been doing this since 1986 at the very least.

Also I think your characterisation is a bit skewed; a snobbish attitude by liberals towards "uneducated white men" from rural appalachia is what got us Trump in the first place.

[Shrillland]

We are now officially in the midst of an energy crisis.

[Senkaku]

We are now officially in the midst of an energy crisis.

Climate blackouts are starting, everyone! Time to stock up on batteries!

[Shrillland]

We are now officially in the midst of an energy crisis.

Climate blackouts are starting, everyone! Time to stock up on batteries!

Ironically, renewables are actually making the problem worse in a sense. Texas wind turbines, like all the rest of their infrastructure, aren't really designed with cold weather in mind, so they get covered with ice pretty quickly and can't turn in the wind. Fortunately, that's a problem that can be easily solved by going to cold weather designs.

[Postauthoritarian America]

The Republican Party has been headed down this road since 2008. It had a choice: change its approach to fit the changing makeup of the nation or double down on undereducated white men. It chose badly. Now its only hope to win elections is voter suppression, election fraud and violence, and it has shown it will stop at nothing on any of those fronts.

Mitch McConnell's transparent attempt to hold on to Trump voters while ditching Trump is doomed to fail. As EJ Dionne has noted you can't run with the foxes and hunt with the hounds. The best-case scenario at this point is that the McConnell/McCain/Romney faction and the hardcore authoritarians split the Republican Party in two, resulting in Democratic victories up and down the ticket in 2022. The worst-case scenario looks more and more like Germany 1930-32.

2008? They've been doing this since 1986 at the very least.

Also I think your characterisation is a bit skewed; a snobbish attitude by liberals towards "uneducated white men" from rural appalachia is what got us Trump in the first place.

Except the best predictor of support for the former president is not age, income or education, it's support for authoritarian values, aka white fragility:

People who score high on the authoritarian scale value conformity and order, protect social norms, and are wary of outsiders.

[Senkaku]

Climate blackouts are starting, everyone! Time to stock up on batteries!

Ironically, renewables are actually making the problem worse in a sense. Texas wind turbines, like all the rest of their infrastructure, aren't really designed with cold weather in mind, so they get covered with ice pretty quickly and can't turn in the wind. Fortunately, that's a problem that can be easily solved by going to cold weather designs.

Yes, that is definitely what's making the jetstream weaker and causing unusual cold weather in Texas that leads to incredible heat demand that strains the grid (?)

it's been a few days since someone well-actually'd me on a climate issue, thanks! sometimes I go a few days without and get these ideas that there's a growing social consensus around the idea that it's an issue but I can always rely on posts like this to restore my total lack of faith in our species

[Shrillland]

Ironically, renewables are actually making the problem worse in a sense. Texas wind turbines, like all the rest of their infrastructure, aren't really designed with cold weather in mind, so they get covered with ice pretty quickly and can't turn in the wind. Fortunately, that's a problem that can be easily solved by going to cold weather designs.

Yes, that is definitely what's making the jetstream weaker and causing unusual cold weather in Texas that leads to incredible heat demand that strains the grid (?)

it's been a few days since someone well-actually'd me on a climate issue, thanks! sometimes I go a few days without and get these ideas that there's a growing social consensus around the idea that it's an issue but I can always rely on posts like this to restore my total lack of faith in our species

What? When did I say wind was bad, I just said their turbines weren't designed for weather like this because weather like this doesn't normally happen. The article itself said that that was an issue at the moment. I said "in a sense" because of unexpected design flaws, not because the idea itself is bad.

[Dresderstan]

Yes, that is definitely what's making the jetstream weaker and causing unusual cold weather in Texas that leads to incredible heat demand that strains the grid (?)

it's been a few days since someone well-actually'd me on a climate issue, thanks! sometimes I go a few days without and get these ideas that there's a growing social consensus around the idea that it's an issue but I can always rely on posts like this to restore my total lack of faith in our species

What? When did I say wind was bad, I just said their turbines weren't designed for weather like this because weather like this doesn't normally happen. The article itself said that that was an issue at the moment. I said "in a sense" because of unexpected design flaws, not because the idea itself is bad.

Are there any alternatives to wind that can work in the kinds of weather we're seeing in Texas?

[Shrillland]

What? When did I say wind was bad, I just said their turbines weren't designed for weather like this because weather like this doesn't normally happen. The article itself said that that was an issue at the moment. I said "in a sense" because of unexpected design flaws, not because the idea itself is bad.

Are there any alternatives to wind that can work in the kinds of weather we're seeing in Texas?

Actually, no alternatives are needed, just design improvements. Canada's been working on this for years as are a lot of northern states. Mostly, they use water-resistant coatings and special battery-powered cold weather packs: https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/energy/energy-s ... mates/7321

[San Lumen]

The Republican Party has morphed into an entirely anti-democratic institution.

This article (an opinion piece I believe) is from December of 2020 but it did do a good job of highlighting the GOP's transformation into an anti-democratic establishment. Of course, I wouldn't go as far as to call them Fascists yet given that word is used liberally, but it clearly shows the GOP is utilizing a 50-State "Southern Strategy"- and how power has consumed them.

The Republican Party has been headed down this road since 2008. It had a choice: change its approach to fit the changing makeup of the nation or double down on undereducated white men. It chose badly. Now its only hope to win elections is voter suppression, election fraud and violence, and it has shown it will stop at nothing on any of those fronts.

Mitch McConnell's transparent attempt to hold on to Trump voters while ditching Trump is doomed to fail. As EJ Dionne has noted you can't run with the foxes and hunt with the hounds. The best-case scenario at this point is that the McConnell/McCain/Romney faction and the hardcore authoritarians split the Republican Party in two, resulting in Democratic victories up and down the ticket in 2022. The worst-case scenario looks more and more like Germany 1930-32.

I think the more likely scenario is a split or Trump's base fails to show up. Voter suppression can only go so far.