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

[WestPhillyPunisher]

DeSantis (et al) will first have to face Trump on the "debate" stage -- we'll see what the "papers" have to say after that happens, and whether any of the other pretenders to the throne can stand up to the one who annointed most of them.

That said, wishful thinking is not a solution.

I'll also add that it's quite possible that DeSantis would be the more democratically dangerous option in this situation, which is a further testament to the core problem at the root of the Republican party.

I’ve seen clips of DeSantis on the debate stage, dude’s a lightweight, Trump would eat him alive. Meanwhile, I maintain that all the crazy shit DeSantis has done in Florida would NEVER fly nationally, but, a split ticket between him and Trump would stir up all sorts of chaos in the GQP.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Double post

[Dalak]

Meanwhile, Enigma Santos will be stepping down from his committee positions. I wonder if he'll last the year?

Seeing as how several of his major donators either don't exist or didn't make the donation, I wonder if there will be anything but tepid calls for him to resign from conservatives.

[aja_christopher]

The judge should dismiss the jury and take that phone call as a confession, then hit him with a maximum sentence as he obviously is devoid of any remorse.

Lack of remorse is a common theme with many of these right-wing attackers/mass murderers -- yet another sign that we are dealing with a far more serious issue here in America than many are willing to acknowledge.

They know exactly what they are doing and they have no regrets about doing it.

Edit: Granted, many are motivated by lies and disinformation pushed directly by the Republican party, but said delusion makes them no less committed to their cause.

[thwhtGuardian]

The EPA just banned a copper mine from opening in the middle of the world's number one source of sock eye salmon...and one would think that would be a win for everyone. Unfortunately the Republican Governor of Alaska sees things differently:

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy, a Republican, said the EPA's veto constituted a “dangerous precedent” that could have ramifications down the road for development in the state. State Attorney General Treg Taylor also called the decision “legally indefensible” and a subversion of Alaska's permitting process.

"Alarmingly, it lays the foundation to stop any development project, mining or non-mining, in any area of Alaska with wetlands and fish-bearing streams,”

Why would you want development at the cost of fish bearing streams? Especially when a not insignificant number of your population(both native American and non-native) survive or are otherwise employed by the fishing industry?

I mean yeah, money, I get it his campaign was likely financed by mining corporations and land development companies...but at some point doesn't the welfare of the people trump that?

[WestPhillyPunisher]

The EPA just banned a copper mine from opening in the middle of the world's number one source of sock eye salmon...and one would think that would be a win for everyone. Unfortunately the Republican Governor of Alaska sees things differently:


Why would you want development at the cost of fish bearing streams? Especially when a not insignificant number of your population(bit native American and non-native) survive or are otherwise employed by the fishing industry?

I mean yeah, money, I get it his campaign was likely financed by mining corporations and land development companies...but at some point doesn't the welfare of the people trump that?

Short answer: HELL NO!

[Mister Mets]

The “usual opinion” in the two UK papers I read (Times and Telegraph) and BBC radio is that Ron DeSantis is likely to beat the Donald, other things being equal. But as you say, lots of things might happen in the next few months that might open the door for a more left field candidate such as Nikki Haley, Glenn Youngkin, Tim Scott.

I’m not sure that UK politics is more intellectual than US…after all a surprising number of people want to see Boris Johnson return as leader, in spite of a transparent lack of integrity, combined with a fairly disastrous record in office.

But certainly agree with you that it’s hard to imagine any openly racist politician holding any senior position…pretty soon after his (or her) views got publicised they would (effectively) be sacked. (Having said that a case could be made to suggest Boris had got away with a few suspect gaffes in his time.)

There are two distinct questions.
Would another Republican contender do better than Trump in a general election?
Would another Republican contender have a serious chance of defeating Trump in a general election?
Answers will differ on this. There are arguments that Trump is a stronger contender than people realize, due to his following among people who don't like politics al that much, who are distributed disproportionately in swing states.

Then there's the question of how he'll do in the primary. There's a lot we don't know. Maybe DeSantis crumbles under national media (it happened before to Rick Perry.) Maybe too many Republcians split the vote, allowing Trump to win with a narrow plurality. Maybe DeSantis and Trump will damage one another, allowing for someone calmer (Nikki Haley, Chris Sununu) to win. Maybe someone else emerges and dominates media coverage just like Trump seven and a half years ago.

Trump's behavior would also be different than most losing candidates. It could be that a typical Republican would usually win, but not in an environment in which a former President is bashing him.

A potential problem is with people being so certain about things that are unknown. There's something icky about criticizing a party for things that haven't happened yet.

[Mister Mets]

DeSantis (et al) will first have to face Trump on the "debate" stage -- we'll see what the "papers" have to say after that happens, and whether any of the other pretenders to the throne can stand up to the one who annointed most of them.

That said, wishful thinking is not a solution -- and I'm sure that DeSantis is wishing for a lengthy jail sentence for Trump, or at the very least enough serious criminal charges to make him untenable as a candidate.

I'll also add that it's quite possible that DeSantis would be the more democratically dangerous option in this situation, which is a further testament to the core problem at the root of the Republican party.

Whether it's Bush, Trump or DeSantis, all seem to simply be different sides of the same authoritarian organization.

What other options do ordinary people have beyond wishful thinking? One person isn't typically going to influence candidates or their followers.

[Tendrin]

More gop transphobia.

https://twitter.com/erininthemorn/st...oJy4IVc2i91jxw

Hey, WBE! You got this one yet?

North Dakota Representative Scott Dyk delivered a speech in support of a bill banning trans accommodations. He justified his bill by comparing transgender kids to secondhand smoke

.

[aja_christopher]

What other options do ordinary people have beyond wishful thinking?

In this situation, voting against fascists and bigots and keeping them out of office would be a decent start.

It's not complicated at all -- it's just that many Republcans actively elect these authoritarian bigots to office because they share their values.

[Dalak]

What other options do ordinary people have beyond wishful thinking? One person isn't typically going to influence candidates or their followers.

Seek out and organize with like minded conservatives that are sick of where the GoP is taking conservatism. Then seek out donors to aid you in reaching out to those other like-minded voters out there until you can show that the current trend of conservatism has a visible consequence for continuing as the status quo. Actual conservative voices will have a much better chance of convincing other conservatives to abandon the hate and bigotry that the GoP has enshrined than any liberal could after all, and grassroots fundraising has worked before so you don't have to seek out Big Name donors even if they would help amplify the message. All it takes is the effort to do it, and the reward is a Republican Party you can be proud of again.

[worstblogever]

More gop transphobia.

https://twitter.com/erininthemorn/st...oJy4IVc2i91jxw

Hey, WBE! You got this one yet?

.

This same wanker was just in the news 4 days ago for saying teachers were "grooming" by allowing a trans student to use the bathroom of the gender opposite of what they were born as.

To the queue.

[worstblogever]

In this situation, voting against fascists and bigots and keeping them out of office would be a decent start.

It's not complicated at all -- it's just that many Republcans actively elect these authoritarian bigots to office because they share their values.

Right. Please do better than:

"I'm too lazy to be a decent enough person to stand up to bigots. So no thanks."

[Spike-X]

The EPA just banned a copper mine from opening in the middle of the world's number one source of sock eye salmon...and one would think that would be a win for everyone. Unfortunately the Republican Governor of Alaska sees things differently:


Why would you want development at the cost of fish bearing streams? Especially when a not insignificant number of your population(bit native American and non-native) survive or are otherwise employed by the fishing industry?

I mean yeah, money, I get it his campaign was likely financed by mining corporations and land development companies...but at some point doesn't the welfare of the people trump that?

lol no

[aja_christopher]

Right. Please do better than:

"I'm too lazy to be a decent enough person to stand up to bigots. So no thanks."

Colbert literally pointed out that it's the equivalent of Batman looking out over the city and deciding that the guy in clown makeup might be trouble, so why bother making the effort.

Because once you see and acknowledge said abhorrent behavior you have two real choices: ignore it or actually do something about it.

Unfortunately, also like Peter, many of us tend to ignore the problem until it is directly at our doortstep and we realize that it is too late.