Random political thought thread.

[Stigmata]

All of this true, but I want to point out that they never liked Medicare to begin with. They just haven't been able to do much about it because it's too popular.

My point was less about Medicare specifically and more that, to them, crushing "wokeness" is the primary goal. Why? Because to do so is an assault on what values the view as championed by the left. When you separate the policy itself from the context of political figures and parties, progressive policies in a vacuum poll pretty favorably on both sides of the political spectrum.

 

[The Cat]

All of that would imply that the average Republican voters actually cares about policy or the overall well-being of the country.

Republicans care more about ending ‘woke’ policies than preserving Medicare: Poll

The sooner people stop treating Republicans as good-faith actors, the sooner everyone will stop going through the mental gymnastics of trying find some sort of rationalization to their insanity -- The modern Republican party is a contrarian anti-establishment authoritarian party. Why do they do the things that they do? Why do they seemingly vote against their own interests? Because they hate liberals/leftists and anyone they believe champion ideas and virtues typically associated with them.

Why do they support Trump despite deep down he's a colossal liar and a scumbag? Because he makes liberals mad. If Trump was exactly the same as he is now but was the democratic nominee, they'd hate his guts. Literally, that's it. They. Hate. Liberals. It's really not much deeper than that.

Their entire ideological movement is fueled by greviance towards the other side.

Bingo.
Most of the one's Ive encountered, have had the attitude that they're just finishing the fight the left started...Everything thats happening is just the equal and opposite reaction in physics. All it would take for them to become leftists, is for leftists to start talking like they own right wing talking points. Which the left will never do because its insane. How does one reach crazy without being crazy? What we're seeing from the pubs has nothing to do with any form of logic practiced outside of a crazy house or a minivan filled with cranky children.

 

[Stigmata]

If they want to crash Medicare then this is a policy. Probably a bad one but it is something genuinely political. While this whole Trump cult thing is simply a genuine waste of everyone's time. This is exactly "We hate the liberals" mentality you are talking about. So I stand by my claim that the party desperately needs new leadership. How they will set their priorities is one thing but new leadership is evidently needed. Because the only real product of the current one is mass mental illness. All these people are simply mentally stuck and that has to change. How exactly will that happen is a difficult topic but that doesn't change that this has to happen. Too large chunk of the population is stuck in there that you can just watch the other way.

The problem is I think any avenue by with to facilitate a new direction to the party has been flat out rejected by the base at all attempts, and at this point there really aren't any major points of policy difference between those vying for the leadership spot and it's more about who can win the popularity context amongst the infighting and wield command over the cult of personality.

The only person who has really had a legitimate chance at retaking the reigns from Trump was DeSantis, whose strategy was to be exactly like Trump without all the erratic behavior and electoral baggage. I'm not sure if the establishment has radicalized the base to the point of no return or if the tide the base has turned has just churned out candidates that naturally reflect their own radicalization, but there is no lane for a moderate Republican to win the nomination. Look even at the 2022 midterms: all the super far-right candidates may have been clobbered in general elections, but for the most part they all handedly won their primaries. Any new leadership will simply be the same ideas repackaged with a new face.

 

[Coriolis]

All of this true, but I want to point out that they never liked Medicare to begin with. They just haven't been able to do much about it because it's too popular.

Even reasonable republicans - traditional fiscal and defense conservatives - were always uncomfortable with the idea of anyone "getting something for nothing" which forms the basis of many social programs. After all, if someone is able to pay their own way entirely they don't need to rely on a social safety net.

 

[Virtual ghost]

The problem is I think any avenue by with to facilitate a new direction to the party has been flat out rejected by the base at all attempts, and at this point there really aren't any major points of policy difference between those vying for the leadership spot and it's more about who can win the popularity context amongst the infighting and wield command over the cult of personality.

The only person who has really had a legitimate chance at retaking the reigns from Trump was DeSantis, whose strategy was to be exactly like Trump without all the erratic behavior and electoral baggage. I'm not sure if the establishment has radicalized the base to the point of no return or if the tide the base has turned has just churned out candidates that naturally reflect their own radicalization, but there is no lane for a moderate Republican to win the nomination. Look even at the 2022 midterms: all the super far-right candidates may have been clobbered in general elections, but for the most part they all handedly won their primaries. Any new leadership will simply be the same ideas repackaged with a new face.

This "spell" evidently isn't easy to reverse but it can be done if you try hard enough. However the real problem here is that you Americans aren't used to fundamental changes, which are the key here. What is because only paradigm shifts can truly turn things around and thus that is what is actually needed.


The idea to isolate people like Tucker from wider audience is evidently a good move. In the mean time Democrats should be better at governing, or at least better in communicating with average person. However this wouldn't happen if their base doesn't collectively press them more on that. By pressing I really mean pressing, not just some random tweets or something like that. Also since US is spending trillions on all kinds of things it may as well spend another Trillion or two in help of rebuilding collapsing rural areas. Since this is where vital demographic of this problem lives for the most part. Plus this can be done since Republican politicians just wouldn't be able to say no to that. Their base will go crazy over blocking that kind of a bill. Also you can subtly tell people in the cities to buy more from rural areas than from abroad. The whole Trump thing would never have happen if there was no social collapse in many rural areas, and thus the trends have to be reversed here.

You can also do more explanations on why liberal ideas are better on the long run, but you have to explain it down to the last detail (in US all explanations are generally pretty simplistic, to the point of being unclear). Plus you can do something Republicans care about, like reducing the scale of the drug dealing around the country. Overall there are plenty of paths in how to do all of this but in the end it all comes down to leaving people the path to get out. Not everyone will leave but plenty of more sane ones will leave if the path is wide open. What is how you start braking this collective spell. However this can't really be done until liberal media pull some brakes on shaming. Since that is what is keeping the whole cult bottled up under pressure. As I said before I survived years of war in my life and thus I know very well what is collective trauma. However the system here is trying to take out the fire with gasoline and that just isn't going to work. Therefore ending this spell isn't going to work without some serious paradigm shift and plenty of good will on all sides. However if this isn't solved the country will fall apart eventually, since just about all trends are unsustainable and the country is basically ungovernable if you want larger changes. What in a way is good since in that case it is more easy to experiment with genuine paradigm shifts. Since the system is going towards complete physical brakedown anyway and thus you can make some bold moves with heart in the right place.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

This is pretty simple to explain and this simply means that the place is evolving from wild west into genuine first world. In other words the genuine rule of law is perhaps the key difference here. Therefore some of us have all kinds of politicians and billionaires in prison or on trials. This is just how the rule of law should actually work. The bad news is that the situation is so bad that a bunch of people realized that they simply have to throw bad apples off the deck before the ship sinks. I mean with the rise of internet generations it is becoming possible to see various different models on how to solve various social problems.

You mean you don't have anarchy in the streets because nobody trusts your institutions knowing that criminals were at times in charge of them? This is the cautionary tale I feel like I've been presented with about why people couldn't be held accountable in the past. It never made sense to me. Letting corrupt people off the hook does not maintain trust in the system; it's just prioritizing preserving American mythology over what people actually need. These offices aren't filled with some holy glow that means no bad person can ever occupy them and I'm not sure who actually really believes that, but it appears to be the lie we have had to preserve in the past for some reason. The OG sin in modern times, I guess, is Ford pardoning Nixon, and all the bullshit really follows from there. (Going further back, I think American civic religion is to blame for this; thanks Federalist party!)

I guess you have to have this demented figure like Trump come along, someone who occupies these offices and capers around and openly disrespects it. When he's not immediately struck down by God or the Republican party for violating the hallowed ground of the office in such a fashion, then and only then does the issue of accountability come up, because people finally realize something has to be done. The good thing is that this sets a precedent which will probably spare us from too much sanctimonious gibberish regarding these offices in the future.

 

[Virtual ghost]

You mean you don't have anarchy in the streets because nobody trusts your institutions knowing that criminals were at times in charge of them? This is the cautionary tale I feel like I've been presented with about why people couldn't be held accountable in the past. It never made sense to me. Letting corrupt people off the hook does not maintain trust in the system; it's just prioritizing preserving American mythology over what people actually need. These offices aren't filled with some holy glow that means no bad person can ever occupy them and I'm not sure who actually really believes that, but it appears to be the lie we have had to preserve in the past for some reason. The OG sin in modern times, I guess, is Ford pardoning Nixon, and all the bullshit really follows from there. (Going further back, I think American civic religion is to blame for this; thanks Federalist party!)

I guess you have to have this demented figure like Trump come along, someone who occupies these offices and capers around and openly disrespects it. When he's not immediately struck down by God or the Republican party for violating the hallowed ground of the office in such a fashion, then and only then does the issue of accountability come up, because people finally realize something has to be done. The good thing is that this sets a precedent which will probably spare us from too much sanctimonious gibberish regarding these offices in the future.

Yeap, you are right. I don't really have the anarchy in the streets. I don't have armed gangs on every second corner, no one is living in the tents on the streets, everyone has healthcare coverage, guns are banned ..... etc. I mean there are some problems and there is some corruption but nothing that would lead to mass chaos. After all there are some high level conviction for corruption that probably make sure that there are some second thoughts before you do something like that. Plus public debt is going down for years. Therefore overall social temperature is stable. However this is basically since in all those down the ballot seats we put in place people that are relatively sane and not too ideological by US standards. What is because here in Europe not every opinion is equality valid and that is because education system isn't focused just on getting you a job but it also gives you fairly decent critical thinking skills. What is because there is something called "basic culture", what is a pool of facts that you should know regardless of where is your position in the society. What then prevents the mindset that every opinion is equally valid. In other word US wants a celebrity leadership and that is the actual problem. Especially since the more down ballot a seat is the less it is talked about, because only "the show on top" is what matters . However those seats at the bottom are the ones that are actually right next to you and thus they have direct impact on your life. Since this is where actual implementation will be decided in detail. The whole DC thing is basically just cover on the cake and the president is the cherry. However that is still only about 10% of the cake. While the real bulk of the system is bellow all of that.

However if even the person at the top and under the spotlight can't be held accountable then what will you do with all those tens of thousands of seats that are basically never in the media. Since down there has to be some serious rot. Because if that isn't the case the country would look quite differently. Especially since that part of the cake probably has quite the effect on primaries and similar political processes.

As I said before the main problem in US comes down to the fact that there is too much anarchy in pretty much every system. Everything is just too lose and improvised and in 21th century that just doesn't work since technology and thus economy requires discipline, while guns have more firepower than ever. So wild west logic simply doesn't work anymore and planning has to be much more sophisticated in order to get the job done. Charm and willpower just aren't enough anymore to make the system work.

 

[The Cat]

 

[ceecee]

Even reasonable republicans - traditional fiscal and defense conservatives - were always uncomfortable with the idea of anyone "getting something for nothing" which forms the basis of many social programs. After all, if someone is able to pay their own way entirely they don't need to rely on a social safety net.

There are many Democrats with that hold these beliefs as well. Means testing is a neoliberal concept. The Clinton administration created the human carnage we see today. The idea of universal benefit is so alien to Americans due to the belief that there are those who deserve help and those who do not. And it was put there by Democrats. Republicans are simply using that playbook to deny everyone possible and crush any dissent, doesn't matter if that dissent is their own voters or liberals. America HATES poor people. Full stop. Doesn't make any difference who the poors vote for.

 

[The Cat]

 

[Virtual ghost]

World’s cartoonists on this week’s events

 

[The Cat]

There was a time...

If no one learns from it. It will happen again and worse in the reboot.​

 

[The Cat]

wild to think that once christianity stood in opposition to fascism and now the sign above so many churches is Ichabod. The Glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured...

 

[Virtual ghost]

A US rifle association with a socialist twist

Just something to think about.

 

[SensEye]

That video is more of the same when it comes to gun violence - the answer is always: more guns! In this case, if you are in the non-binary category and feel threatened by bigots with guns, arm yourself to the teeth and train yourself up so you can fire back at any aggressors.

I've seen no evidence that the mutually assured destruction approach works with personal firearms, but it seems to be the only popular proposal in the US. I know the NRA is a big fan.

 

[The Cat]

 

[The Cat]

 

[The Cat]

 

[ceecee]

A US rifle association with a socialist twist

Just something to think about.

I've worked with a few local chapters of this group for several years and I recommend them highly. Even if you aren't interested in shooting or guns, they do a great deal of mutual aid and other community service. Also John Brown Gun Club are generally excellent people and can train too. I don't see how LGBTQ+ or non-binary folks have any choice any longer than to arm themselves and provide security for themselves.

Anti-Fascist. Armed to the Teeth

The far right brings guns to drag shows. Now, the left is showing up with weapons, too

www.rollingstone.com

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

I spent a lot of the past week navigating Medicaid and there is much I am pissed about. It's either that or Cobra which costs money I can't really spend right now. I agree with @ceecee that a great deal in this country is designed to penalize poor people.