All purpose news and politics thread part v: The quickening

[mogwen]

Under normal circumstances maybe, but this is "Russia, if your listening", "Do us a favor, though", "Lock her up" Trump they are going against. You can't save Democracy by playing nice against someone like that.

I agree that you can't play nice with Trump because he follows no rules and pees on the boardgame. What I advise you against is all the infighting in the democratic party that we see these days and among voters. This will only lead to a weakened candidate.

[Tendrin]

What the Democrats, and their voters, shouldn't be doing is making attacks on fellow Democrats that can be weaponized /by the right/ or allow people who might otherwise vote against Trump an excuse to sit on their hands.

That doesn't mean we don't criticize candidates but rather that we do not do real harm to them, or call them 'phonies' or 'frauds' or 'con artists'. Unless they're Tulsi Gabbard.

[mogwen]

What the Democrats, and their voters, shouldn't be doing is making attacks on fellow Democrats that can be weaponized /by the right/ or allow people who might otherwise vote against Trump an excuse to sit on their hands.

That doesn't mean we don't criticize candidates but rather that we do not do real harm to them, or call them 'phonies' or 'frauds' or 'con artists'. Unless they're Tulsi Gabbard.

I wholeheartly agree!
On another note, looks like the Lev Parnas leak are really damning!

[Malvolio]

What the Democrats, and their voters, shouldn't be doing is making attacks on fellow Democrats that can be weaponized /by the right/ or allow people who might otherwise vote against Trump an excuse to sit on their hands.

That doesn't mean we don't criticize candidates but rather that we do not do real harm to them, or call them 'phonies' or 'frauds' or 'con artists'. Unless they're Tulsi Gabbard.

It's like I said yesterday: let's just talk about what's great about our candidates and save the negative campaigning for the general election.

[Tendrin]

It's like I said yesterday: let's just talk about what's great about our candidates and save the negative campaigning for the general election.

I mean, we need to criticize our candidates and they need to show how they can respond to those criticisms, but we definitely ought to be working to lift each other up better.

We all lift together.

[mogwen]

So appearantly the ambassador Yovanovitch was stalked and surveyed by a Trump donor, richard Hyde who planned bad things for her (kidnapping, murder?).

https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile...-s-ambassador/

[Lord Falcon]

who in the world is backing Buttigeg, at this point? he's the prototypical politician/a total insider.

I feel that the label of insider has often confused those whose instincts are to work with the system with those who embrace corrupt practices.

[worstblogever]

You believe what you want. I'll believe what I want.

You're choosing lies spread by a racist in the Oval Office and his pals, so... yeah, we'll keep believing in the stuff that isn't that.

[worstblogever]

I bet WBE's 'Robert Hyde' profile just shot up the queue list. :P

I...

Holy s***.

[mogwen]

I...

Holy s***.

Exactly, mate!

[Tendrin]

I...

Holy s***.

I'm so, so, so sorry.

[worstblogever]

On this date in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, as well as 2019, “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day posted profiles of Ed Orcutt, a former forester who is currently still serving in the Washington State House of Representatives, serving District 20. Orcutt became a bit of a laughing stock a few years back when he proposed a tax upon bicyclists for creating more damage to the atmosphere than automobiles, because all the physical action required to pedal a bike causes increased respiration, and thus, in his mind, greater CO2 output, which damages that atmosphere. Scientists explained to him it doesn’t quite work like that, and bike enthusiasts online made mincemeat out of his proposed legislation (beware the “Big Bike” Lobby, apparently).

We also recognized Orcutt for his opposition to public works projects, even after the Skagit River Bridge collapsed in 2012, for trying to use the argument that “11 of the 12 sections of the bridge are still standing”, which kind of indicates he might be dumb enough to not understand bridges need to GO ALL THE WAY ACROSS. To round things out, Orcutt is also decidedly socially conservative, having voted against minimum wage increases (during the greatest period of income equality in the United States in almost a century), against police body cameras being made mandatory (during the greatest period of police violence in our country in decades), voting for abortion restrictions without exceptions for rape, incest, or risk to the life of the mother, trying to not only prevent gay marriage and even gay adoption, while voting against a statewide ban on gay conversion therapy multiple times over the past few years. Orcutt has also beenvoting against automatic voter registration, and even voted against a ban on bump stocks for firearms. He is legitimately that regressive of a conservative.

Since we last checked in on Orcutt’s hijinks, he had voted against Washington state’s Native American Voting Rights Act, which only two Republicans in the state legislature voted against. One of the other two? Oh, just domestic terrorist Matt Shea.

Ed Orcutt had not faced a Democrat in an election for his rural seat since 2008, and has coasted to re-election in the past 4 election cycles, unopposed in 2010, only challenged by fellow Republican John Morgan in 2012 and 2014, and completely unchallenged again in 2016. In 2018, Democrat Brennan Bailey decided to take a crack at pulling the upset, but the large sums of money donated to Orcutt by the logging industry in Washington were enough to help him win a ninth term in office with 64% of the vote. Orcutt is still only 57, even after being in office for 18 years with no term limits to stop him from continually winning office, and reminding us just how stupid modern Republicans are.
 

[JCAll]

I believe if Joe Biden had made that gaffe, the criticism level would be very different. She's getting something of a pass.

And I say that with her being my favorite candidate from a policy/ideas perspective.

A pass? The president and his clowns have been shouting racist slurs at her for years because she made the mistake of believing some oral family history.
My grandma always said we were related to Jesse James. That's the kind of dumb thing every family has. It's all just so dumb...

[Tami]

What the Democrats, and their voters, shouldn't be doing is making attacks on fellow Democrats that can be weaponized /by the right/ or allow people who might otherwise vote against Trump an excuse to sit on their hands.

That doesn't mean we don't criticize candidates but rather that we do not do real harm to them, or call them 'phonies' or 'frauds' or 'con artists'. Unless they're Tulsi Gabbard.

I agree. They need to be able to dish out and to stand up to criticism, but that doesn't mean any of the need to stoop down to Trump's level.

[Kirby101]

And let me say this about Warren. People are saying what she wrote on a college form 50 years ago, when she was 20 disqualifies her. But Biden's treatment of Anita Hill when he was a Senator is long enough ago to look over. This Native American **** is weaker than "Benghazi" or "her emails". Shame on repeating GOP narratives.