Re: The Neverending Thread for Political Shit
Posted: Wed Jun 03, 2020 2:13 pm
I concede, WWCD.
The place for all things HeAthens
http://www.threedimesdown.com/forum/
http://www.threedimesdown.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=3680
No one winsjr29 wrote:I concede, WWCD.
Hey, they tell me progress is measured one step at a time.Iowan wrote:But at least he isn't going to fly Confederate flags, retweet Nazis, ponder why "White Supremacist" is a negative label, etc.
I've read a few interesting articles about this recently. There seems to be an emerging term, Christianism. Just like Muslim vs. Islamists, Christianists choose to wield their faith as a political movement and a unique identity. Further, most in radical religious movements believe that religion should dictate politics and thus influence (or control) the laws. Evangeligal Christianity isn't really a thing...they are Christianists.Iowan wrote: holds the same Christian Sharia mindset.
beantownbubba wrote:The Revenge of the Republican Elites is upon us. Conway, Will, Mattis... If this trend or movement or whatever it is continues, it will have far more impact on the outcome of the election at both the presidential and senatorial levels than something like, say, Biden's choice for VP.
Clearly speculation. More hope than belief but some belief in the possibility of the continuation of the flood of repudiatons coupled w/ absolute belief in the effects if it happens that way.. If one wanted to rationalize most of those who went Never Trump in '16 could be explained away - coastal elite, part of the deep state, disappointed office seeker, etc etc. But the folks coming out now? (a) Much harder to say that about and (b) much more likely to be persuasive to just the kind of folks I have in mind as the "target market" here. Gen. Milley's memo today is an absolute bombshell in these terms, even more than Mattis's statement. Murkowski is wavering (and her comment was jaw dropping both in stepping away from Trump and even more in admitting that the R's have been totally spineless throughout Trump's term). Good to know that some people are as reliable as rocks, though: Susan Collins punted as usual in typically embarrassing terms.Mr. B wrote:beantownbubba wrote:The Revenge of the Republican Elites is upon us. Conway, Will, Mattis... If this trend or movement or whatever it is continues, it will have far more impact on the outcome of the election at both the presidential and senatorial levels than something like, say, Biden's choice for VP.
Man, I hope you are right, but I won't believe it until I see it. Lots of old-school republicans turned on Trump from the beginning. Bush didn't vote for him. And yet here we are. I take some comfort in what Iowan posts about his Republican-leaning friends (I live in a bubble), but don't have a lot of faith at this point.
That’s not fair- you know Susan Collins is deeply concernedbeantownbubba wrote:Clearly speculation. More hope than belief but some belief in the possibility of the continuation of the flood of repudiatons coupled w/ absolute belief in the effects if it happens that way.. If one wanted to rationalize most of those who went Never Trump in '16 could be explained away - coastal elite, part of the deep state, disappointed office seeker, etc etc. But the folks coming out now? (a) Much harder to say that about and (b) much more likely to be persuasive to just the kind of folks I have in mind as the "target market" here. Gen. Milley's memo today is an absolute bombshell in these terms, even more than Mattis's statement. Murkowski is wavering (and her comment was jaw dropping both in stepping away from Trump and even more in admitting that the R's have been totally spineless throughout Trump's term). Good to know that some people are as reliable as rocks, though: Susan Collins punted as usual in typically embarrassing terms.Mr. B wrote:beantownbubba wrote:The Revenge of the Republican Elites is upon us. Conway, Will, Mattis... If this trend or movement or whatever it is continues, it will have far more impact on the outcome of the election at both the presidential and senatorial levels than something like, say, Biden's choice for VP.
Man, I hope you are right, but I won't believe it until I see it. Lots of old-school republicans turned on Trump from the beginning. Bush didn't vote for him. And yet here we are. I take some comfort in what Iowan posts about his Republican-leaning friends (I live in a bubble), but don't have a lot of faith at this point.
All good points. I do get the sense that there has been somewhat of a shift in the last few days. If what happened on Monday night doesn't move the needle, then we may be beyond hope.beantownbubba wrote:Clearly speculation. More hope than belief but some belief in the possibility of the continuation of the flood of repudiatons coupled w/ absolute belief in the effects if it happens that way.. If one wanted to rationalize most of those who went Never Trump in '16 could be explained away - coastal elite, part of the deep state, disappointed office seeker, etc etc. But the folks coming out now? (a) Much harder to say that about and (b) much more likely to be persuasive to just the kind of folks I have in mind as the "target market" here. Gen. Milley's memo today is an absolute bombshell in these terms, even more than Mattis's statement. Murkowski is wavering (and her comment was jaw dropping both in stepping away from Trump and even more in admitting that the R's have been totally spineless throughout Trump's term). Good to know that some people are as reliable as rocks, though: Susan Collins punted as usual in typically embarrassing terms.Mr. B wrote:beantownbubba wrote:The Revenge of the Republican Elites is upon us. Conway, Will, Mattis... If this trend or movement or whatever it is continues, it will have far more impact on the outcome of the election at both the presidential and senatorial levels than something like, say, Biden's choice for VP.
Man, I hope you are right, but I won't believe it until I see it. Lots of old-school republicans turned on Trump from the beginning. Bush didn't vote for him. And yet here we are. I take some comfort in what Iowan posts about his Republican-leaning friends (I live in a bubble), but don't have a lot of faith at this point.
A more scholarly and disciplined look at the same subject.beantownbubba wrote: ↑Wed Jun 03, 2020 7:02 pmThe Revenge of the Republican Elites is upon us. Conway, Will, Mattis... If this trend or movement or whatever it is continues, it will have far more impact on the outcome of the election at both the presidential and senatorial levels than something like, say, Biden's choice for VP.
In the meantime, enjoy thinking about Trump fulminating in the WH about all the traitors and losers stabbing him in the back and, especially, trying to find someone to blame for the Lafayette Park/Church fiasco: "Which of you assholes thought that was a good idea?!" ROFL
beantownbubba wrote: ↑Tue Jun 09, 2020 10:33 amHave the Democrats kneecapped themselves yet again? I fear they may have.
I was highly motivated so I did some reading on the term "defund the police." It turns out that, as used by knowledgeable people and experts in the field, it means something specific that sounds like this: Policing has evolved to include much more than traditional police functions of preventing and solving crimes. Many of these other functions can be better handled by other agencies and individuals with the right training and expertise. The police should be relieved of those responsibilities and the funds to enable those other agencies to pick up those responsibilities should come from police budgets which can be reduced because they have fewer responsibilities. Related but separate, some commentators would like to see the police capital budget reduced in order to stop or limit the police's ability to stock up on military type weapons and equipment.
OK, one can agree or disagree with that, but it clearly falls within legitimate and creative policy thinking that deserves at least a hearing.
But what that paragraph gets reduced to is a 3 word slogan, "defund the police." Do those 3 words adequately explain or project or imply that wordy paragraph full of fairly complex analysis? I think not. That makes it bad sloganeering, or as Cooley might put it, those words can't be whittled down so easily to bumper sticker format. Worse, to the average newspaper reader or social media participant the phrase "defund the police," separate from its full explanation sounds downright scary, threatening, dangerous. While one can always blame the twitterverse for going off half cocked, w/in the context of that environment, it's hard to blame people for assuming that (a) they know what the phrase means and (b) it means bad, scary, dangerous idea.
Exploiting bad, scary, dangerous sounding ideas divorced from their meaning is what Republicans do (socialism!) and I fear they've been handed this one on a platter. If the Dems are going to pursue significant police reforms, which they should, they very much need to get out from under this, pronto.
So far so good.John A Arkansawyer wrote: ↑Tue Jun 09, 2020 11:42 amIf Karl Rove or Stephan Miller were faced with this situation, they would go full-force at the perceived strong point of the Republican Party: Law and Order.
This is where you lose me. How do the Democrats do that, exactly? Or even approximately.John A Arkansawyer wrote: ↑Tue Jun 09, 2020 11:42 amThey would make Defund the Police equal to Make Our Cities Safe and they would never back down from it.
That's where the risk comes in. I don't know how to do it either. I assume you focus group it with a lot of groups, really quickly, and try a lot of shit and see what works best. Then you go with it and don't lose your nerve when things don't work right--a given--because you realize your enemy is just as human (in at least some sense) as you are, and that if you press your case as hard as you can, you can wrongfoot them and go from there. I know I talk about this stuff like it's a no-dunk slam-brainer, but there is indeed risk and no guarantee. At some point you fish, cut bait, or get shoved off the cliff.beantownbubba wrote: ↑Tue Jun 09, 2020 12:37 pmThis is where you lose me. How do the Democrats do that, exactly? Or even approximately.John A Arkansawyer wrote: ↑Tue Jun 09, 2020 11:42 amThey would make Defund the Police equal to Make Our Cities Safe and they would never back down from it.
we are so doomed
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrDDesixUbk
Staggeringly stupid. Just stunning. Like at the shock and awe/concussion grenade level. Even after all this time he's still bottoming himself. The other day I said that this might be the stupidest thing ever said by a politician. Hard to know if that's literally true, but considering the competition even being in the running is some scary shit. Stable genius indeed.
Equally jaw droppingly remarkable, but marginally less stupid: "Do you get the impression that the Supreme Court doesn't like me?" So revealing of a personality that views every issue, every circumstance as a personal zero sum game. (Not that that's a surprise to anyone).beantownbubba wrote: ↑Thu Jun 18, 2020 12:21 pmStaggeringly stupid. Just stunning. Like at the shock and awe/concussion grenade level. Even after all this time he's still bottoming himself. The other day I said that this might be the stupidest thing ever said by a politician. Hard to know if that's literally true, but considering the competition even being in the running is some scary shit. Stable genius indeed.
All together now: How can anybody still think this man should be the president of the United States?
As I was saying, per CNN: "President Donald Trump said some Americans might wear face masks not as a way to prevent the spread of coronavirus but as a way to "signal disapproval of him.""beantownbubba wrote: ↑Thu Jun 18, 2020 4:57 pmEqually jaw droppingly remarkable, but marginally less stupid: "Do you get the impression that the Supreme Court doesn't like me?" So revealing of a personality that views every issue, every circumstance as a personal zero sum game. (Not that that's a surprise to anyone).