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

[The Alma Mater]

that said
the Arizona GOP is on its way to imploding, I think
the state's turning more purple-if slowly-and it's doubling down on the culture war lunacy
that's the opposite of what you want to do

The Republican Party as a whole's solution to pretty much everything for the last 25 years or so has been "WINGNUT HARDER!" That's how we've ended up in a situation where the Republican base lives in a world completely divorced from reality, and any motion towards objective reality even by their own causes them to cry "Traitor!"

That is what you get if you try to position yourself as the party for religious fundies. Cannot believe the earth is 6000 years old AND believe in objective reality.

[Albrenia]

The Republican Party as a whole's solution to pretty much everything for the last 25 years or so has been "WINGNUT HARDER!" That's how we've ended up in a situation where the Republican base lives in a world completely divorced from reality, and any motion towards objective reality even by their own causes them to cry "Traitor!"

That is what you get if you try to position yourself as the party for religious fundies. Cannot believe the earth is 6000 years old AND believe in objective reality.

Still preferred the old fundies to the new conspiracy goons. You're right that both share a disconnect from reality though, just the newcomers have shown that they will believe literally anything. Jew space lasers, draining children's blood for immortality in the Democrat Party and that Trump didn't lose the election.

[The Alma Mater]

That is what you get if you try to position yourself as the party for religious fundies. Cannot believe the earth is 6000 years old AND believe in objective reality.

Still preferred the old fundies to the new conspiracy goons. You're right that both share a disconnect from reality though, just the newcomers have shown that they will believe literally anything. Jew space lasers, draining children's blood for immortality in the Democrat Party and that Trump didn't lose the election.

TBF, very rich people owning weaponised satellites is imo a less.silly belief than e.g. flatearthism.

[Nanatsu no Tsuki]

Still preferred the old fundies to the new conspiracy goons. You're right that both share a disconnect from reality though, just the newcomers have shown that they will believe literally anything. Jew space lasers, draining children's blood for immortality in the Democrat Party and that Trump didn't lose the election.

TBF, very rich people owning weaponised satellites is imo a less.silly belief than e.g. flatearthism.

That sounds like the plot of an anime.

[Kowani]

New York Attorney General asks bankruptcy judge to dismiss NRA’s ‘Bad Faith’ petition

[Dresderstan]

PA State Senator John Blake to resign for a job with US Rep Cartwright.

[A-Series-Of-Tubes]

That is what you get if you try to position yourself as the party for religious fundies. Cannot believe the earth is 6000 years old AND believe in objective reality.

Still preferred the old fundies to the new conspiracy goons. You're right that both share a disconnect from reality though, just the newcomers have shown that they will believe literally anything. Jew space lasers, draining children's blood for immortality in the Democrat Party and that Trump didn't lose the election.

Surely no-one can deny that the internet has made it possible for sufficient numbers of any kind of believer, to find each other and form "a community". Add anonymity, the real world Mad-man Strategy of the Klu Klux Klan, and the cultist threat towards apostates of Scientology. It gives people a sense that they personally are dangerous for believing things they believe could get them killed. It makes them feel important in a world that keeps reminding them how insignificant one person actually is.

O brave global village!
That has such idiots in it ...

[The Alma Mater]

Still preferred the old fundies to the new conspiracy goons. You're right that both share a disconnect from reality though, just the newcomers have shown that they will believe literally anything. Jew space lasers, draining children's blood for immortality in the Democrat Party and that Trump didn't lose the election.

Surely no-one can deny that the internet has made it possible for sufficient numbers of any kind of believer, to find each other and form "a community". Add anonymity, the real world Mad-man Strategy of the Klu Klux Klan, and the cultist threat towards apostates of Scientology. It gives people a sense that they personally are dangerous for believing things they believe could get them killed. It makes them feel important in a world that keeps reminding them how insignificant one person actually is.

O brave global village!
That has such idiots in it ...

Don't forget the extra spice added if a president calls your band of real life cosplayers dangerous and powerful. "Antifa" was nothing. Now calling yourself antifa is cool and dangerous.

TBF, very rich people owning weaponised satellites is imo a less.silly belief than e.g. flatearthism.

That sounds like the plot of an anime.

Or any comic. Batman and Ironman both have weaponised satellites as well. Heck, that is a main plot point of the more recent spiderman movies.
It is a quite popular trope.

[A-Series-Of-Tubes]

Surely no-one can deny that the internet has made it possible for sufficient numbers of any kind of believer, to find each other and form "a community". Add anonymity, the real world Mad-man Strategy of the Klu Klux Klan, and the cultist threat towards apostates of Scientology. It gives people a sense that they personally are dangerous for believing things they believe could get them killed. It makes them feel important in a world that keeps reminding them how insignificant one person actually is.

O brave global village!
That has such idiots in it ...

Don't forget the extra spice added if a president calls your band of real life cosplayers dangerous and powerful. "Antifa" was nothing. Now calling yourself antifa is cool and dangerous.

My point was that actually being real-world dangerous isn't necessary, if your ideology frightens people from behind the safety of the screen. "Information is power" and early on in the spread of a new conspiracy theory the individual or team who thought it up must be enormously gratified by the feeling of power.

But the "information" is worthless? Not to them.
But the ideology is so absurd, nobody could believe it? Maybe they don't.

Trump said in one of the 2016 debates that he would lock Clinton up. Of course he never did anything of the sort.

[Ifreann]

Who exactly are you expecting to make that declaration? The same people who can't get an absurdly incompetent wannabe dictator like Trump to suffer even the mildest consequences for his many, many crimes? The next Trump need only make a token show of civility and Pelosi will hand him a Get Out Of Impeachment Free card.

First off a majority of the senate voted to convict, it’s not their fault that the rules say a supermajority is needed.

They couldn't secure a conviction for even the most blatant of Trump's crimes, why would they be able to do anything to someone who's just a little bit better about doing crimes?

Second the president can actually declare any organization to be a terrorist group, also Congress.

You must not have heard them talking about how much they want a strong Republican Party, how they believe America needs that.

Third Trump is under investigation by three different states and cities. New York wants him for tax fraud, Georgia wants him for election fraud, and a city in Florida wants him for lease violations.

The idea that Trump will escape justice is laughably silly. Especially considering that Trump himself is scared he’s going to jail

Trump has escaped justice. Having to move out of Mar-A-Lago isn't justice.

[Borderlands of Rojava]

The Republican Party as a whole's solution to pretty much everything for the last 25 years or so has been "WINGNUT HARDER!" That's how we've ended up in a situation where the Republican base lives in a world completely divorced from reality, and any motion towards objective reality even by their own causes them to cry "Traitor!"

That is what you get if you try to position yourself as the party for religious fundies. Cannot believe the earth is 6000 years old AND believe in objective reality.

They ain't even that anymore. Nowadays the religious fundies are riding shotgun while the cryptofascists drive.

[Borderlands of Rojava]

First off a majority of the senate voted to convict, it’s not their fault that the rules say a supermajority is needed.

They couldn't secure a conviction for even the most blatant of Trump's crimes, why would they be able to do anything to someone who's just a little bit better about doing crimes?

Second the president can actually declare any organization to be a terrorist group, also Congress.

You must not have heard them talking about how much they want a strong Republican Party, how they believe America needs that.

Third Trump is under investigation by three different states and cities. New York wants him for tax fraud, Georgia wants him for election fraud, and a city in Florida wants him for lease violations.

The idea that Trump will escape justice is laughably silly. Especially considering that Trump himself is scared he’s going to jail

Trump has escaped justice. Having to move out of Mar-A-Lago isn't justice.

Tbh the dems could have been Ace Attorney and they wouldn't secure a conviction. Trump's got those senators by the strings so badly that the GOP wouldn't vote to convict even if Trump ran inside congress on January 6th and said "I AM A MURDERER AND I'VE COME TO MURDER YOU!"

[The Huskar Social Union]

So he got acquitted. Always seemed like the most likely outcome.

[Vassenor]

Remember that the GOP was more on board with convicting Clinton for stealing Bush's rightly ordained second term lying about oral sex than they were with convicting Trump for trying to overthrow the government in a massive temper tantrum.

[Galloism]

Remember that the GOP was more on board with convicting Clinton for stealing Bush's rightly ordained second term lying about oral sex than they were with convicting Trump for trying to overthrow the government in a massive temper tantrum.

I’ll point out they were trying to impeach him over perjury, obstruction of justice, and abuse of power, but it was perjury and obstruction of justice about oral sex.

But, as you say - inciting people to overthrow the government is worse than a little perjury and obstruction of justice.

[Eahland]

Remember that the GOP was more on board with convicting Clinton for stealing Bush's rightly ordained second term lying about oral sex than they were with convicting Trump for trying to overthrow the government in a massive temper tantrum.

I’ll point out they were trying to impeach him over perjury, obstruction of justice, and abuse of power, but it was perjury and obstruction of justice about oral sex.

But, as you say - inciting people to overthrow the government is worse than a little perjury and obstruction of justice.

I do remember that, after a massive and time-consuming witch hunt, in which they tried to pin everything under the sun on Clinton, ultimately the only thing they could find to impeach him for was perjury that only occurred because of the witch hunt.

Anyway, every Republican but Romney thinks abuse of power is not an impeachable offense, and every single Republican believes obstructing an impeachment investigation is not an impeachable offense. At least we've gotten up to seven of them who think that attempting a coup against the United States government is an impeachable offense.

[Vassenor]

I’ll point out they were trying to impeach him over perjury, obstruction of justice, and abuse of power, but it was perjury and obstruction of justice about oral sex.

But, as you say - inciting people to overthrow the government is worse than a little perjury and obstruction of justice.

I do remember that, after a massive and time-consuming witch hunt, in which they tried to pin everything under the sun on Clinton, ultimately the only thing they could find to impeach him for was perjury that only occurred because of the witch hunt.

Anyway, every Republican but Romney thinks abuse of power is not an impeachable offense, and every single Republican believes obstructing an impeachment investigation is not an impeachable offense. At least we've gotten up to seven of them who think that attempting a coup against the United States government is an impeachable offense.

And said witch hunt only occurred because they were mad that he stole Bush Sr's rightly ordained second term.

[Zurkerx]

Meanwhile, in Arizona, a Republican state legislator decided to compare trans people to chickens while advocating his bill to keep non-binary gender off of driver's licences

we know


but also
the AZGOP is fucking nuts

Jesus, there's something wrong with these people: that will certainly scare some moderates away. Thank god NJ's GOP isn't that bad, or at least, to my knowledge it isn't.

that said
the Arizona GOP is on its way to imploding, I think
the state's turning more purple-if slowly-and it's doubling down on the culture war lunacy
that's the opposite of what you want to do

The Republican Party as a whole's solution to pretty much everything for the last 25 years or so has been "WINGNUT HARDER!" That's how we've ended up in a situation where the Republican base lives in a world completely divorced from reality, and any motion towards objective reality even by their own causes them to cry "Traitor!"

Well, when reality does smack them in the face, it will be very, very, very hard though I question whether that will be even enough; probably take them losing multiple elections to do that. That said, the Democrats are known for shooting themselves in the foot so they may prolong this damn nightmare if they're not careful.

So he got acquitted. Always seemed like the most likely outcome.

Well, as we have learned, a President is above the law, even a former President. Our only hope now is for Criminal investigations to nab him and his family on possible RICO and Election Fraud charges.

[Borderlands of Rojava]

Remember that the GOP was more on board with convicting Clinton for stealing Bush's rightly ordained second term lying about oral sex than they were with convicting Trump for trying to overthrow the government in a massive temper tantrum.

Bill Clinton lied under oath. He broke the law and should have been removed but wasn't due to partisanship. You don't have to equate that with Trump trying to become American Hitler to understand that Clinton wasn't impeached for nothing. And in a way his impeachment trial set the precedent for what we have here today.

[Gravlen]

So in the middle of a pandemic, with almost 500,000 deaths and a botched vaccine rollout; with an attempted coup / insurrection a little over a month behind us; with criminal justice reform desperately needed, climate change a looming disaster, and whole swathes of the economy nearly wiped out;

The Republican party has identified the number one threat to the US today:

“cancel culture”

Jim Jordan says "cancel culture" is "the number one issue for the country to address today"

[Borderlands of Rojava]

So in the middle of a pandemic, with almost 500,000 deaths and a botched vaccine rollout; with an attempted coup / insurrection a little over a month behind us; with criminal justice reform desperately needed, climate change a looming disaster, and whole swathes of the economy nearly wiped out;

The Republican party has identified the number one threat to the US today:

“cancel culture”

Jim Jordan says "cancel culture" is "the number one issue for the country to address today"

The twitter mob is a greater threat than covid? Well I guess it is if you don't think covid exists.

[Ifreann]

So in the middle of a pandemic, with almost 500,000 deaths and a botched vaccine rollout; with an attempted coup / insurrection a little over a month behind us; with criminal justice reform desperately needed, climate change a looming disaster, and whole swathes of the economy nearly wiped out;

The Republican party has identified the number one threat to the US today:

“cancel culture”

Jim Jordan says "cancel culture" is "the number one issue for the country to address today"

And thus completes the transformation of "cancel culture" from referring to an actual social issue to just being another buzzword.

[San Lumen]

Meanwhile, in Arizona, a Republican state legislator decided to compare trans people to chickens while advocating his bill to keep non-binary gender off of driver's licences

Its as if the AZ GOP wants to lose future elections.

https://www.towleroad.com/2021/02/brian ... -governor/

In other news PA state rep Brian Sims has announced he is running for Lt. Governor. In PA the Lt. Governor is elected in a separate primary and both the Gov. and Lt. Gov run together as a ticket. If elected he would be the first openly gay man elected to statewide office in the state.

[Ifreann]

Meanwhile, in Arizona, a Republican state legislator decided to compare trans people to chickens while advocating his bill to keep non-binary gender off of driver's licences

Its as if the AZ GOP wants to lose future elections.

They're doing this to win elections.

[San Lumen]

Its as if the AZ GOP wants to lose future elections.

They're doing this to win elections.

Its not going to win them elections. Especially if they keep losing voters in Maricopa county. Only one presidential candidate has ever won the state without carrying it. Clinton in 1996.