The Republican Party and it's cadre of misanthropes believe they are in a last-days culture war. It's the same kind of fevered desperation that led to 9/11, OK City bombing, Ruby Ridge, Waco, and every White Nationalist mass shooting in recent decades.Sure, the diseased thinking over there is weird and sad-funny at times, but they're serious as F* about solving their problems with max violence if necessary. Hell -- they led a coup attempt that could've ended up with Nancy "swingin' the blues" if a few things had fell differently into place.It's way past time to get real about the dire situation we are all mired in.
My dad toured Europe back in the Fifties, and he said that he wanted to punch the Germans he met who said, "Me? I vas on der Eastern Front, fighting Communism!" (My dad lost three aunts, two uncles and a bunch of cousins in the Shoah-although, to be fair, they were murdered by fascist Lithuanian collaborator subhumans-excuse me, "patriotic Lithuanian freedom fighters". Also, too, one of those "Communists" was another of his uncles, KIA as a soldier in the Red Army.)
When listening to Pelosi,Schumer, Feinstein it feels like watching Air Bud, and they're just all aghast like "But a dog can't play basketball" while a golden retriever sinks slam dunk after slam dunk.
Nancy Pelosi has never taken a breath in her political life that wasn't gamed out and she doesn't believe any of this.
It is about trying to peel off a small but critical margin of suburban voters, particularly college-educated women, who are getting the shudders now.
It actually does work. It worked in 2020 when they evicted Trump.
However, they stayed red down ballot and were then avid for Youngkinism, so now they have to made to fear those levels of Republican governance as well.
But first they have to be pulled in.
They want to think well of themselves and the party that they grew up in, so we feed them a lie.
Think Nicole Wallace - she has fully repudiated the Republican party now but never accepted that it was racist and sexist,and every other awful thing for her entire life. She has created a sepia-toned version of Kempian empowerment zones and personal liberty because it helps her reconcile with what she enabled.
These people don't want to hear that Gramps was also a fascistic shit so they lap up tales of how "this is not your grandfather's GOP".
Fine.
Let her lie to them.
If we get a 2% bump in swing suburbs we can save the House...and if Democrats stop treating this realpolitik as though it was a betrayal and actual politics as though it were a Wonkette chat and just go along with the manipulative joke...and then vote like Ukrainians fight for our actually superior policies because there is so much at stake...it would really help...
This has never worked. It never worked in 2020 -- arguably it’s why Susan Collins was re-elected. Also, saying the GOP is capable of “good” is what gets you Glenn Youngkin. Dems are trying to maintain one-party rule. That’s the goal. Precedent demands that the President’s party suffers losses in midterms. If we want to change that we need to remain consistently on message.
Look, if this worked or had ever worked or would ever work, I would support it, but as it is, I just assume anyone promoting this nonsense is deliberately trolling or recruiting for the Washington Generals.
I don't know if that's fair--being rich doesn't necessarily mean not having empathy for the less fortunate. People react to their wealth differently, I mean one of the pols most dedicated to helping the downtrodden and most effective at doing so was FDR who was as patrician as they get. And LBJ, while born poor, was quite rich for a long time before launching the War on Poverty. On the other side of the ledger, you get people like Trump.
I think the thing with Pelosi is she's a liberal, and represents a very liberal district, but she also is a caucus leader and has to navigate managing a lot of diverse opinions. While it can frustrate many of us on individual decisions, she's been a remarkably effective leader all things considered.
So vote for the Green Party, since we are so spoiled for choice in this country regarding political parties. Or run yourself. And I'm one of those "millions of women" - are you?
If McGovern had won in 1972 or Ted Kennedy in 1980, for instance, does anyone think the party would’ve shifted to the center with Clinton?
As someone who was "there" at the time (a McGovern volunteer in six states, including three weeks in Albany, NY as an unpaid national staffer; and later in the GE), my answer then, as now, was/is a resounding YES. Fact is, '72 was just a continuation of the DP 'Old Guard's*' war against the radical-activist/hippie wing of the base, carried over from '68. And the shift, even then, wasn't to the center, but the right. When the establishment took back control of the DP apparatus (DNC, DSCC, DCCC, DGA, etc), their first of business was rolling back or repealing most of the reforms instituted by McGovern after '68, making certain that no genuinely left-of-center candidate would ever win the nomination again, with a 50 year record of success that's as deeply embedded as ever.
Btw, it's a long read, but here's what we could have had with Lonesome George https://newrepublic.com/art... The truth is, no Democrat was going to win in '72, even if the establishment was able to force the nomination of a candidate they could support (and McGovern wasn't that candidate).
*The neo-confederates aligned with George Wallace; the hard-hat reactionary labor bosses supporting Scoop Jackson; the Humphrey 'liberals'; the DNC favorite Ed Muskie; the Dead-Ender Camelot crowd.
although, to be fair, they were murdered by fascist Lithuanian collaborator subhumans
The Nazis were good at finding resentful nationalities or ethnicities with plenty of people who were willing to do their dirty work for them. Ukrainians too, which is in large part the basis for Putin constantly calling them "Nazis." Of course, there's nary a word about how Stalin's treatment of Ukraine before the war might have motivated anyone to collaborate with the Germans.
There were also plenty of Russians who collaborated with the Germans. Common denominator? They all wanted to kill Jews and steal their property. I saw a chilling interview with a Lithuanian woman, who pointed out the gold tooth that she had taken from a murdered Jew. She fought her cousin for it. Hey, the Jew didn't need it any more, right?
Common denominator? They all wanted to kill Jews and steal their property.
Many did, sure. Maybe even most. But there was also a lot of desperation at work. In a lot of places the Nazis took, the choice was collaborate or starve.
I don't understand the Generals reference and if you believe me to be a troll then you can certainly have me banhammered, but I would aver that my usual postings to the effect of #NoGoodRepublican would refute that. 😉
I specified that it did work but only as far as Trump. They were made to feel virtuous, and actually protective of their party (that never really was) by voting for Joe. However, they then voted R at every other level because that is what they are comfortable with - they were raised in Republican families and have been so themselves for decades and they just did not trust an unhobbled Democrat.
They now have to be turned against the down-ballot candidates - to see them as dangerous as they came to see Trump, to overcome that atavistic inclination to vote Republican.
The shock of the end of Roe actually softens them up for that.
The mechanism would then be the same - to make them feel that they are the True Scotsmen of Republicanism.
To do that, they have to be enabled in their lies to themselves.
Of course everyone including sherpas in the high Himalayas knows that the Republican party has been anti-choice since forever, but it never came to a felt reality and now Karen has to confront that to her party she is Offred...so , well, whatevs - sell her a tale of a moderate past that she can restore and feel safe in and get her vote in that swing district, just like we got it in a national election when the pussy-grabber made her disgusted.
Youngkin actually sussed out this virtue-voting dynamic. He "de-crazied" the CRT and pedophile conspiracy theories and fed these voters the softer idea that they were just being involved and caring parents. Of course, McAuliffe then helpfully capped it by saying "I don't think parents should be telling schools what they should teach." Educated parents were now ready to vote for the guy in the vest who promised to ban Toni Morrison as too painful for their darlings.
My premise as a litigator is to find what resonates with an audience. MAGAts cannot be turned, but a critical small slice that was embarrassed in the past and is now fearful might be obtainable. There is no harm in shooting for it.
Meanwhile, if Democrats are giving strong voice to our policies we simultaneously motivate our own people and provide a future-looking comforting contrast to the lunacy for Karen and her wine-and-book club members.
I think that we can manipulate Republicans and chew Democratic gum at the same time.
The Lithuanians were enthusiastic collaborators. In fact, the SS hardly killed any Jews in Lithuania. The Jewish community there was wiped out by fascist Lithuanian death squads.
The Republican Party and it's cadre of misanthropes believe they are in a last-days culture war. It's the same kind of fevered desperation that led to 9/11, OK City bombing, Ruby Ridge, Waco, and every White Nationalist mass shooting in recent decades.Sure, the diseased thinking over there is weird and sad-funny at times, but they're serious as F* about solving their problems with max violence if necessary. Hell -- they led a coup attempt that could've ended up with Nancy "swingin' the blues" if a few things had fell differently into place.It's way past time to get real about the dire situation we are all mired in.
My dad toured Europe back in the Fifties, and he said that he wanted to punch the Germans he met who said, "Me? I vas on der Eastern Front, fighting Communism!" (My dad lost three aunts, two uncles and a bunch of cousins in the Shoah-although, to be fair, they were murdered by fascist Lithuanian collaborator subhumans-excuse me, "patriotic Lithuanian freedom fighters". Also, too, one of those "Communists" was another of his uncles, KIA as a soldier in the Red Army.)
When listening to Pelosi,Schumer, Feinstein it feels like watching Air Bud, and they're just all aghast like "But a dog can't play basketball" while a golden retriever sinks slam dunk after slam dunk.
Nancy Pelosi has never taken a breath in her political life that wasn't gamed out and she doesn't believe any of this.
It is about trying to peel off a small but critical margin of suburban voters, particularly college-educated women, who are getting the shudders now.
It actually does work. It worked in 2020 when they evicted Trump.
However, they stayed red down ballot and were then avid for Youngkinism, so now they have to made to fear those levels of Republican governance as well.
But first they have to be pulled in.
They want to think well of themselves and the party that they grew up in, so we feed them a lie.
Think Nicole Wallace - she has fully repudiated the Republican party now but never accepted that it was racist and sexist,and every other awful thing for her entire life. She has created a sepia-toned version of Kempian empowerment zones and personal liberty because it helps her reconcile with what she enabled.
These people don't want to hear that Gramps was also a fascistic shit so they lap up tales of how "this is not your grandfather's GOP".
Fine.
Let her lie to them.
If we get a 2% bump in swing suburbs we can save the House...and if Democrats stop treating this realpolitik as though it was a betrayal and actual politics as though it were a Wonkette chat and just go along with the manipulative joke...and then vote like Ukrainians fight for our actually superior policies because there is so much at stake...it would really help...
https://twitter.com/Dialect...
This has never worked. It never worked in 2020 -- arguably it’s why Susan Collins was re-elected. Also, saying the GOP is capable of “good” is what gets you Glenn Youngkin. Dems are trying to maintain one-party rule. That’s the goal. Precedent demands that the President’s party suffers losses in midterms. If we want to change that we need to remain consistently on message.
Look, if this worked or had ever worked or would ever work, I would support it, but as it is, I just assume anyone promoting this nonsense is deliberately trolling or recruiting for the Washington Generals.
I don't know if that's fair--being rich doesn't necessarily mean not having empathy for the less fortunate. People react to their wealth differently, I mean one of the pols most dedicated to helping the downtrodden and most effective at doing so was FDR who was as patrician as they get. And LBJ, while born poor, was quite rich for a long time before launching the War on Poverty. On the other side of the ledger, you get people like Trump.
I think the thing with Pelosi is she's a liberal, and represents a very liberal district, but she also is a caucus leader and has to navigate managing a lot of diverse opinions. While it can frustrate many of us on individual decisions, she's been a remarkably effective leader all things considered.
So vote for the Green Party, since we are so spoiled for choice in this country regarding political parties. Or run yourself. And I'm one of those "millions of women" - are you?
You won't find me defending any of the Kennedys, particularly the one who drowned an aide.
If McGovern had won in 1972 or Ted Kennedy in 1980, for instance, does anyone think the party would’ve shifted to the center with Clinton?
As someone who was "there" at the time (a McGovern volunteer in six states, including three weeks in Albany, NY as an unpaid national staffer; and later in the GE), my answer then, as now, was/is a resounding YES. Fact is, '72 was just a continuation of the DP 'Old Guard's*' war against the radical-activist/hippie wing of the base, carried over from '68. And the shift, even then, wasn't to the center, but the right. When the establishment took back control of the DP apparatus (DNC, DSCC, DCCC, DGA, etc), their first of business was rolling back or repealing most of the reforms instituted by McGovern after '68, making certain that no genuinely left-of-center candidate would ever win the nomination again, with a 50 year record of success that's as deeply embedded as ever.
Btw, it's a long read, but here's what we could have had with Lonesome George https://newrepublic.com/art... The truth is, no Democrat was going to win in '72, even if the establishment was able to force the nomination of a candidate they could support (and McGovern wasn't that candidate).
*The neo-confederates aligned with George Wallace; the hard-hat reactionary labor bosses supporting Scoop Jackson; the Humphrey 'liberals'; the DNC favorite Ed Muskie; the Dead-Ender Camelot crowd.
although, to be fair, they were murdered by fascist Lithuanian collaborator subhumans
The Nazis were good at finding resentful nationalities or ethnicities with plenty of people who were willing to do their dirty work for them. Ukrainians too, which is in large part the basis for Putin constantly calling them "Nazis." Of course, there's nary a word about how Stalin's treatment of Ukraine before the war might have motivated anyone to collaborate with the Germans.
There were also plenty of Russians who collaborated with the Germans. Common denominator? They all wanted to kill Jews and steal their property. I saw a chilling interview with a Lithuanian woman, who pointed out the gold tooth that she had taken from a murdered Jew. She fought her cousin for it. Hey, the Jew didn't need it any more, right?
Alternatively, she’s just saying that for the DC Cocktail Weenie media folks.
Common denominator? They all wanted to kill Jews and steal their property.
Many did, sure. Maybe even most. But there was also a lot of desperation at work. In a lot of places the Nazis took, the choice was collaborate or starve.
I don't understand the Generals reference and if you believe me to be a troll then you can certainly have me banhammered, but I would aver that my usual postings to the effect of #NoGoodRepublican would refute that. 😉
I specified that it did work but only as far as Trump. They were made to feel virtuous, and actually protective of their party (that never really was) by voting for Joe. However, they then voted R at every other level because that is what they are comfortable with - they were raised in Republican families and have been so themselves for decades and they just did not trust an unhobbled Democrat.
They now have to be turned against the down-ballot candidates - to see them as dangerous as they came to see Trump, to overcome that atavistic inclination to vote Republican.
The shock of the end of Roe actually softens them up for that.
The mechanism would then be the same - to make them feel that they are the True Scotsmen of Republicanism.
To do that, they have to be enabled in their lies to themselves.
Of course everyone including sherpas in the high Himalayas knows that the Republican party has been anti-choice since forever, but it never came to a felt reality and now Karen has to confront that to her party she is Offred...so , well, whatevs - sell her a tale of a moderate past that she can restore and feel safe in and get her vote in that swing district, just like we got it in a national election when the pussy-grabber made her disgusted.
Youngkin actually sussed out this virtue-voting dynamic. He "de-crazied" the CRT and pedophile conspiracy theories and fed these voters the softer idea that they were just being involved and caring parents. Of course, McAuliffe then helpfully capped it by saying "I don't think parents should be telling schools what they should teach." Educated parents were now ready to vote for the guy in the vest who promised to ban Toni Morrison as too painful for their darlings.
My premise as a litigator is to find what resonates with an audience. MAGAts cannot be turned, but a critical small slice that was embarrassed in the past and is now fearful might be obtainable. There is no harm in shooting for it.
Meanwhile, if Democrats are giving strong voice to our policies we simultaneously motivate our own people and provide a future-looking comforting contrast to the lunacy for Karen and her wine-and-book club members.
I think that we can manipulate Republicans and chew Democratic gum at the same time.
Still friends?
The Lithuanians were enthusiastic collaborators. In fact, the SS hardly killed any Jews in Lithuania. The Jewish community there was wiped out by fascist Lithuanian death squads.