All purpose news and politics thread part VI: This Is Not The Time For Posing

[Kirby101]

And that problem is spelled G O P.

[Jack Dracula]

Newsmax attacked Champ Biden and it is not going well for them.

Being German, I take attacks on German shepherds very personally.

Imagine the production meeting where a number of possible topics were raised and everyone agreed they should go after the Presidents dog.
Stay classy Newsmax.

[MajorHoy]

AOC raised $2M for Texas and is, or will be, helping at a Houston food bank.

And yet some Conservatives keeping saying that there was nothing that Cruz could have done to help the situation.

In this case, I don't know how much he could have done that would have amounted to this.

Who'd want to give Cancun Ted money? His base is the one in trouble; you really need to go outside of the area to find more people that would/could donate food and money.

Besides, how well would it go if Ted showed up somewhere to give out food? People might be more likely to just throw rotten food at Ted.

[Marvell2100]

In this case, I don't know how much he could have done that would have amounted to this.

Who'd want to give Cancun Ted money? His base is the one in trouble; you really need to go outside of the area to find more people that would/could donate food and money.

Besides, how well would it go if Ted showed up somewhere to give out food? People might be more likely to just throw rotten food at Ted.

He still could have made calls to get more resources brought in to the state and helped raise money for relief efforts. Not only did leave but he lied about why and he still isn't trying to help.

[DrNewGod]

Some of the older folks...

When did it become normal to know other states senators, governors, and house representatives?

Is this a social media thing? Or was I simply too young to notice back in the day?

Back in the dizzay, I only remember the names of house/senate leaders and maybe the mayor of NYC... not some random rep from NY or some random dousche in Texas or the governor or Michigan lol

Kirby and Jack have some good answers. I'd suggest it dates earlier, to the early 1980s, and may be partially due to the rise of 24-hours national news.

The main national news organizations (the big papers, and the Big 3 TV networks) would occasionally bring a senator or representative into the spotlight, if they were doing something notable. Usually tho, a politician would only get attention if they were making a run at the presidency. There just wasn't enough content capacity to spend a lot of time on nearly 600 senators, governors and representatives. But then, Ted Turner's CNN debuted with 24 hours a day of airtime that they had to fill with something. They gave a lot of time to Reagan and Tip O'Neill's policy spats. During the same era, you saw characters like Newt Gingrich enter Congress, and those pols seemed to adore attention, and abrasively opposing the other side was a good way to get it.

I don't know that it's anything more than correlation, rather than causation, but that was also the era in which rancorous partisanship began to surface. There were always pols who didn't like - or even despised - each other. But generally, they didn't look on one another as "the enemy." Demonizing the opposition was a good way to pull cameras, to speak to the voting base back home, and to try to build national base for presidential runs.

[shooshoomanjoe]

The GOP is demeaning victims of gun violence, trashing dogs, and people raising money to help disaster victims.

Cruelty is their brand. Domestic terror is their brand. Anything the "other side" (anyone not them) does is to be attacked out of hand.

They're just f***ing spiteful pricks now. Like, that's their idea of domestic policy. "F*** YOU, THAT'S WHY!"

The party of morals and family values.

[Amadeus Arkham]

Sarah Huckabee Sanders' campaign not met with 'excitement' by Arkansas' mainstream GOP: ex-RNC official

[Revolutionary_Jack]

Which is a more prestigious position: a state governor or a U.S. Senator?

Depending on the politician, any position can be prestigious.

--The Mayor of New York City in the 1930s, Fiorello LaGuardia is still rememebered and loved as a great figure far more than NYS Governor Nelson Rockefeller, who is practically forgotten.
--On paper, the political figures that people tend to remember are the Presidents and yet John McCain will be a more important national figure, even for a Republican than George W. Bush going forward. He's among the few Republican politicians of the last few decades to have real cross-partisan eminence, the stuff you can't buy or ever have taken from you.

It's not the office that lends you prestige, it's the person who brings prestige to everything they do.

Stacey Abrams doesn't hold office, not yet anyway, but she was the most defining and important figure in the politics of GA far more than the GOP Senators in the entirety of Brian Kemp's 2018-ongoing term.

To quote Napoleon in TOTAL WAR, "Some live their lives in the shades of olive trees, others change the world even in defeat."

[Malvolio]

The internet has made that info much more prevalent. So politically aware and interested people read about politicians throughout the country. In earlier times we only saw them when they were on the evening News or in the local paper.
But just Google "percent Americans know their Senators". Most Americans don't even know who their own Senators and Reps are. They know their Governor and Mayor, but no other State official.
In fact, hereis a poll that says only 46% know each State has just two Senators.
https://www.masslive.com/politics/20...itute_pol.html

That article is from 2016, with a small update from 2019. That said, I would also wonder how many people know the difference between a US Senator and a state Senator.

[Kirby101]

That article is from 2016, with a small update from 2019. That said, I would also wonder how many people know the difference between a US Senator and a state Senator.

You really think people have changed in 4 years?
Many don't even know how their State Legislature works.

[Marvell2100]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/polit...?ocid=msedgntp

Rep Lauren Boebert of CO. needs a civics lesson. I expect that the majority of the country doesn't know a lot about the Constitution but I'd like to think that if you're Senator, Congressperson, Governor or, you know, President, that you would at least have a working knowledge.

[Kirby101]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/polit...?ocid=msedgntp

Rep Lauren Boebert of CO. needs a civics lesson. I expect that the majority of the country doesn't know a lot about the Constitution but I'd like to think that if you're Senator, Congressperson, Governor or, you know, President, that you would at least have a working knowledge.

She got her GED while running for Congress.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

All I want to know is....is she really related to Sweet Stan Lane ? lol...

[Marvell2100]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/polit...?ocid=msedgntp

Trump is planning his revenge tour. It's also reported that he will speak at CPAC in Orlando next weekend. It'll be interesting to see who will and won't show up. I expect Q, Oathkeepers and Proud Proudboys will all be in attendance.

[Mister Mets]

Some of the older folks...

When did it become normal to know other states senators, governors, and house representatives?

Is this a social media thing? Or was I simply too young to notice back in the day?

Back in the dizzay, I only remember the names of house/senate leaders and maybe the mayor of NYC... not some random rep from NY or some random dousche in Texas or the governor or Michigan lol

This is a valid point.

I'm sure there are examples of this in the past. Progressives liked representative Barbara Jordan after she gave two of the top speeches in the 20th Century.
https://news.wisc.edu/archive/misc/speeches/

Jack Kemp built a reputation as congressman and presidential candidate that eventually led to a cabinet post in the Bush administration and a spot as Dole's running mate.

There is also an element of nutpicking which leads to greater awareness of crazier members of Congress, and efforts to make them seem typical of the party.

People in general pay more attention to national news, which allows figures to be well-known outside their state. A congressman can be a regular on a cable show. It used that there were more media gatekeepers, that the only people you heard of where those who appeared on network news or were covered by the major newspapers. There's less of them now, and more organizations seeking a niche audience, which can create a relationship with minor politicians who can lend credibility.