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

[Zauriel]

Why aren't the Republicans making a third party?

The Republicans already have a third party. It is called libertarian party.

[JCAll]

What is it about the Donald that has allowed him to attract so much personal support?

After 4 years in charge, I would expect the large majority of his original supporters to realise he sometimes uttered “terminological inexactitudes”. The wall didn’t get built, and Hilary didn’t go to jail, for example.

Do the central fan base really believe in their guts that he delivered on his central promise to “make America great again”? If so….what single towering achievement can anyone point to? Did public debt come down markedly? Or job employment soar?

It all baffles me…because the secret of the Donald’s success cannot just because he has some specific unpleasant views..I venture other US politicians share those views.


I know I need to pose these questions elsewhere…because I doubt the Donald has a single fan on these boards. (Perhaps that tells us something interesting about comic fans?)

He's pure unfiltered garbage, doing and saying all the reprehensible things his supporters have always wanted to do and say themselves except were afraid to. He's the trailblazer they can follow behind, the leader they can point to because he did it first and that makes it okay for them. It doesn't matter that he didn't accomplish anything or build anything, they won't judge him for killing everyone and burning everything to the ground because killing everyone and burning everything to the ground was the point.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

The Republicans already have a third party. It is called libertarian party.

Trump himself threatened to create a third party back when the GQP didn't kiss his orange ass enough to suit him. Qpublicans, scared shitless of losing the support of his lemmings knuckled under and basically let him take over.

[worstblogever]

Andrew Yang is 'breaking up' with the Democratic Party and is now an independent

So he's finally done it. But if I were in his shoes, I'd join the Green Party instead of launching a new party. Vote Green, not blue.

He might as well have reported he's breaking up with his imaginary Canadian girlfriend, because he clearly was never a Democrat from the start, and only trying to use the party for his own ends.

[Tendrin]

He might as well have reported he's breaking up with his imaginary Canadian girlfriend, because he clearly was never a Democrat from the start, and only trying to use the party for his own ends.

It's weird when ostensible 'leftists' will back him because 'Democrats r bad1111' when Andrew Yang ran on a platform of UBI as a replacement for a robust welfare state. It almost seems like they just want the free money without paying attention to the rest of his god-awful platform and policy positions.

[worstblogever]

It's weird when ostensible 'leftists' will back him because 'Democrats r bad1111' when Andrew Yang ran on a platform of UBI as a replacement for a robust welfare state. It almost seems like they just want the free money without paying attention to the rest of his god-awful platform and policy positions.

Every Yang supporter I've ever encountered seems to immediately argue against several Democratic party planks and then threaten to take their ball and leave for another party or start their own. Not that I ever meet these people in person, just online, and that's their take.

It's the same tone and stance I've seen over two and a half decades but the name for the Independent candidate who's only briefly running as a Democrat sits, and at this point, it doesn't feel organic because I never meet an actual person who is into the candidate. Just seeing ghosts on the internet. If I even see a video of a person, said candidate ends up being revealed to have been paying them to say it.

*shrugs*

[worstblogever]

On this date in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, as well as 2020, "Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day" published profiles of the U.S. House Representative from Arizona’s 6th Congressional District, David Schweikert, a former real estate vulture capitalist arch-conservative who consistently votes to repeal the Affordable Care Act, defund Planned Parenthood, fails to understand how the debt ceiling works, referred to the 2013 Government Shutdown as "my idea of fun", and was once recorded on video high-fiving Rep. Ben Quayle on the floor of the house after denying a pay increase to active duty soldiers fighting the War on Terror. If that isn't tacky enough, he also showed a lack of character when he then turned around after redistricting and ran against Quayle in the 2012 GOP Primary in Arizona's 6th District, instead of the 5th, because he preferred how gerrymandered it was compared to where he started. Schweikert managed to defeat Quayle in part by running campaign ads that insinuated he was bisexual, and as a result, the rest of the Congressional delegation from Arizona has turned their backs on him, and John Boehner removed him from all his committee assignments because, as one GOP staffer said of Schweikert, he's "one of the most egregious ***holes in the party". This is what his OWN party thinks of him. Democrats don't disagree, and certainly unions don't either, with Schweikert having compared them to Nazis, saying, "Goebbels would be proud of them."

Schweikert’s relationship with those constituents has soured, as he has dodged town halls and seen constituents host ones with him in absentia, and his home office in his district has responded to those who brought cookies and hoped to set up meetings with him... by calling the police and trying to have them arrested. For sharing baked goods, apparently. He was fund-raising in 2018 by claiming Democratic organizations in his district who want to flip his seat are "inciting violence" and "setting cars on fire". Big surprise, that was not based in reality, unless maybe you get your news from Alex Jones, in which case you aren't based in reality anyway.

As stated, Schweikert's Arizona district is one of the more conservative in the state, and he won re-election in 2018 with only 55% of the vote over Anita Malik, after talking down to Malik in their debate and telling her that “87 is more than 84”, leading her to snap back, “Yes, I know 87 is larger than 84, so thank you for that condescension.”

In 2020, he hung on again, but with only 52% of the vote against Dr. Hiral Tipirneni in spite of the fact that he was forced to admit to 11 ethics violations in his attempts to win office in the first place, most of which included a refusal to diagnose loans and campaign contributions along the way.

So this insipid wanker is back in DC, doing things like this:

• December 18th, 2019: Schweikert ignores his Congressional duty to hold a president who has been proven to commit high crimes and misdemeanors accountable and votes against the first impeachment of Donald Trump.
• May 15th, 2020: Schweikert votes against the HEROES Act, to further support the healthcare industry and citizens affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
• January 7th, 2021: David Schweikert votes for the objection to the electoral college’s votes in the 2020 election, a failure to send any sort of message that he wasn’t intimidated or sympathetic to those who attacked the Capitol to attempt a violent coup.
• January 13th, 2021: Rep. Schweikert votes against the second impeachment of Donald Trump, because the Republican Party no longer feels like they should be accountable for anything, including failed coups that result in the deaths of both their participants and police officers.
• February 4th, 2021: David Schweikert votes to keep Marjorie Taylor Greene’s committee assignments, because he wouldn’t want her to be accountable for all the bigoted remarks and conspiracy theories she’s spread online (probably because she’s a kindred spirit).
• February 25th, 2021: Schweikert votes against HR 5, the latest version of the Equality Act, that would provide workplace protections for LGBTQ Americans.
• March 3rd, 2021: Rep. Schweikert votes against HR 1, a bill created to prevent the corruption of money in politics, and protect voter access to the ballot box.
• March 3rd, 2021: David Schweikert votes against the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021.
• March 10th, 2021: Schweikert votes against the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, because he feels people deserve to die in poverty during a pandemic.
• March 17th, 2021: Rep. Schweikert votes against the re-authorization of the Violence Against Women Act, likely because they feel the 2nd Amendment remaining absolute is more important than preventing people with a history of domestic abuse from owning a firearm (which statistics show, makes them more likely to use those firearms against women in their lives).
• May 19th, 2021: Rep. Schweikert votes against HR 3233, the creation of a commission to investigate the Capitol Attack.

David Schweikert is keeping keeping his fingers crossed on what the new Congressional map looks like in 2020, because his district has trended more Democratic over the past two election cycles, and for whatever reason, he has always trended further right. He has, however, been oddly quiet since talking to the local press asked why he voted for the objection to Pennsylvania’s electoral votes in the 2020 election, and he claimed that he had been shown an" entire three, four-inch binder of the fact tree, and they built a great argument on the fact tree."

Based on how all the lawsuits from Trump and his lawyers getting thwarted, it seems like there weren’t really any “facts” in there at all. And that if Schweikert can’t tell the difference between those and conservative fantasy, he needs to f*** right off and out of office. Respectfully.

[Zauriel]

Trump himself threatened to create a third party back when the GQP didn't kiss his orange ass enough to suit him. Qpublicans, scared shitless of losing the support of his lemmings knuckled under and basically let him take over.

Come on.

He needs the GOP more than they need him.

[thwhtGuardian]

Come on.

He needs the GOP more than they need him.

I know that, and you know that...but neither President Trump, the Republican party or Republican voters seem to get that.

[Zauriel]

I know that, and you know that...but neither President Trump, the Republican party or Republican voters seem to get that.

That is true. They don't need a sore loser who lost the election by a wide margin in both electoral college and popular vote, not to mention he's also lost two red states; i.e. Arizona and Georgia.
The party and the voters both should have realized by now that they need a new presidential candidate instead of letting him run again in 2024.

Hillary Clinton was wise enough to not run in 2020 election. After Hillary's defeat, The Democratic Party knew they needed a different candidate against Trump in 2020. They were wise not to have the same person run twice against the victorious candidate.

Adlai Stevenson lost twice against Dwight Eisenhower.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

If Biden can get Covid taken care of by 2024 , I fully expect Republicans to shift the imaginary timeline to blame Biden for covid. We already have them trying it for saying Biden should have taken care of it within months ! That its his fault its continued. My one friend blames him comically for this , even though he knows himself exactly why its not an easy "snap fingers" Thanos deal covid is cured.

I expect Trump to run on the "I did nothing wrong , Biden should have taken care of it..." platform.

[4saken1]

If Biden can get Covid taken care of by 2024 , I fully expect Republicans to shift the imaginary timeline to blame Biden for covid.

Yep, I fully expect that in 20 years time this will be ingrained as canon into alternate Republican reality. 2020 was the year that COVID hit. It was also the year Biden got elected, ergo it was his fault that so many died in 2020 and 2021. Never mind that he wasn't actually President for the first part and it was mostly members of their own Party who refused to get vaccinated when it became available.

[babyblob]

Yep, I fully expect that in 20 years time this will be ingrained as canon into alternate Republican reality. 2020 was the year that COVID hit. It was also the year Biden got elected, ergo it was his fault that so many died in 2020 and 2021. Never mind that he wasn't actually President for the first part and it was mostly members of their own Party who refused to get vaccinated when it became available.

Its not going to happen in 20 years time. it is already happening!

[WestPhillyPunisher]

That is true. They don't need a sore loser who lost the election by a wide margin in both electoral college and popular vote, not to mention he's also lost two red states; i.e. Arizona and Georgia.
The party and the voters both should have realized by now that they need a new presidential candidate instead of letting him run again in 2024.

I'm sure the GQP knows that, in spades, but the party is still tethered to Trump because of the rabid, unshakable support of his lunatic base, support the party desperately needs. Without that base, the GQP hasn't got jack shit of a chance of winning the next election, not even if they cheat out the ass (which they'll probably do anyway).

If Biden can get Covid taken care of by 2024 , I fully expect Republicans to shift the imaginary timeline to blame Biden for covid. We already have them trying it for saying Biden should have taken care of it within months ! That its his fault its continued. My one friend blames him comically for this , even though he knows himself exactly why its not an easy "snap fingers" Thanos deal covid is cured.

I expect Trump to run on the "I did nothing wrong , Biden should have taken care of it..." platform.

It's like I've been saying here for weeks, red states like Florida and Teas are deliberately letting COVID cases and deaths spiral out of control so they can blame Biden for all the misery. And dumbass voters who either don't know any better, or have been brainwashed by Faux News will fall for that bullshit hook, line and sinker.

[worstblogever]

If Biden can get Covid taken care of by 2024 , I fully expect Republicans to shift the imaginary timeline to blame Biden for covid. We already have them trying it for saying Biden should have taken care of it within months ! That its his fault its continued. My one friend blames him comically for this , even though he knows himself exactly why its not an easy "snap fingers" Thanos deal covid is cured.

I expect Trump to run on the "I did nothing wrong , Biden should have taken care of it..." platform.

I think Biden will solve all the crisis situations Trump made, but Trump will pretend he didn't start giving Afghanistan to the Taliban, or exacerbate Covid-19... but he would have fixed both problems (that he insists he didn't make) FASTER than Biden.

While never explaining how he would have done that. And the dumbs*** Republican cult will believe him on all counts.