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(08-11-2022, 02:36 PM)Crazyjdawg Wrote: I think the main thing conservatives don't seem to understand is that a politician's political opinions are rarely unique. Al Franken, among others, were removed or voted out of office because of their personal problems (sexual harassment/assault/etc being the main culprit), are not special and can be replaced. Katie Hill was replaced by Veronica Escobar, Franken was replaced by Tina Smith, Andrew Cuomo was replaced by Kathy Hocul etc.
You can get the same policies and political opinions from people who aren't sex pests pretty easily.
If Republicans realized this, a sexual predator wouldn't be on the Supreme Court nor would a sexual predator (among many, many other things) be a former president set to run again in 2024 after losing in 2020. They almost elected a literal pedophile in Alabama a few years back because they refuse to believe that a person can just be...replaced with someone who isn't a bad human being.
I don't know why they do this, but I have a working theory...
That Roy Moore thing was pretty wacky. Sure, he's a creepy ass hebophile, but where the hell are we gonna find a conservative to replace him in Alabama?!
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Umm...
"A great democracy has got to be progressive, or it will soon cease to be either great or a democracy..." - TR
"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little." - FDR
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(08-12-2022, 10:03 AM)Belsnickel Wrote: Umm...
Is this a "Don't pay attention to what they say, watch what they do" situation? 
![[Image: giphy.gif]](https://media0.giphy.com/media/1kwsTjL8BNqlszNtnCE/giphy.gif)
I will be taking no further questions at this time.
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(08-12-2022, 10:03 AM)Belsnickel Wrote: Umm...
I have to assume GOP political strategists are smarter than I am, but when you look at how they won in 2016 and then watch what they and Trump have done for the past 6 years it makes no sense.
Enough independents bought in on the "Let's see what Trump and this new-look GOP can do" to win in 2016 and then they doubled down and catered to the most insane and devoted part of their voter base and lost the independents and the 2020 election. They just seem to keep heading down that extreme path and assuming that proudly claiming to be domestic terrorists or Christian nationalists is a good thing and stuff like that will help win back the swing voters.
Or is this just as simple as "liberals say it's bad to be this, so we say it is good to be this and we will loudly claim to be this?"
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(08-12-2022, 10:03 AM)Belsnickel Wrote: Umm...
There's something poetic about the Conservatives at CPAC pulling this little stunt of sarcastically claiming they're all domestic terrorists on, what, the same day? Maybe a day before a domestic terrorist attempted to breach an FBI office and appears to be a pro Trump fool.
https://www.wvxu.org/2022-08-12/an-armed-man-was-killed-after-trying-to-breach-an-ohio-fbi-office
Quote:MARTINEZ: Any word on his motive?
Quote:DREISBACH: Well, it's still very early. There are some possible indications. Social media accounts under his name - though, I should say, we have not independently confirmed that they belong to this suspect. But they are under his name, and they indicate that he was with the pro-Trump protesters outside the Capitol during the attack on January 6, 2021. He has not been charged, though, in connection with the Capitol riot. This week, since the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago, though, this account under his name on the Trump-backed social media site Truth Social posted many times, and not long after Shiffer was identified in this incident, those posts were removed. We were able to gather screenshots before then.
Quote:MARTINEZ: All right, so social media accounts under his name. What else did they say?
Quote:DREISBACH: Well, that Truth Social account I mentioned said specifically that he wanted to cause violence in response to the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago. It said, quote, "I am proposing war," and, quote, "kill the FBI on sight." He also compared the FBI to the Gestapo, the Nazi secret police. He referenced other motivations, including the Alex Jones defamation case, the fact that former White House adviser Steve Bannon might go to jail for contempt of Congress. He said that 1776 - the American Revolution, of course - was for far less. Now, shortly after the attack on the FBI office, this account posted, quote, "I thought I had a way through bulletproof glass, and I didn't. If you don't hear from me, it's true. I tried attacking the FBI."
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(08-11-2022, 02:36 PM)Crazyjdawg Wrote: I think the main thing conservatives don't seem to understand is that a politician's political opinions are rarely unique. Al Franken, among others, were removed or voted out of office because of their personal problems (sexual harassment/assault/etc being the main culprit). People who share their political beliefs (generally, moderate non-crazy people) are not special and can be replaced. Katie Hill was replaced by Veronica Escobar, Franken was replaced by Tina Smith, Andrew Cuomo was replaced by Kathy Hocul etc.
You can get the same policies and political opinions from people who aren't sex pests pretty easily.
If Republicans realized this, a sexual predator wouldn't be on the Supreme Court nor would a sexual predator (among many, many other things) be a former president set to run again in 2024 after losing in 2020. They almost elected a literal pedophile (Or I suppose Hebophile?...He has a predilection for children) in Alabama a few years back because they refuse to believe that a person can just be...replaced with someone who isn't a bad human being.
I don't know why they do this, but I have a working theory...
so what your saying is dems are mineless cardboard cutouts with no original ideas and following the same script?
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(08-12-2022, 05:59 PM)Leon Wrote: so what your saying is dems are mineless cardboard cutouts with no original ideas and following the same script?
Nope, just saying no one is irreplaceable. Politicians are just especially so. The job of a politician is, to a large degree, expressing your political opinions professionally. And often times, they're just basic political opinions, as Washington politics rarely go further than surface depth when it comes to bills that make it to a meaningful vote (the 60 vote filibuster limit essentially requires bills to be bipartisan before you ever vote on them). In the rare cases that the filibuster is bypassed, like with reconciliation bills, the vote is almost always straight down party lines. And deviating from your party's line is often met with derision and threats of replacing you.
As far as original ideas go, there are none to be had in most Democrats or Republicans. Both wings of our politics are pretty much establishment shills who don't want to change anything. And, if they weren't when they first entered politics, they probably are by the time they leave since corporations control politicians with political "donations" anyway, so we don't lose much by them being replaced.
So there's no space for individuality in politics, so why hand cuff ourselves to bad people with those extremely basic political opinions?
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(08-12-2022, 05:59 PM)Leon Wrote: so what your saying is dems are mineless cardboard cutouts with no original ideas and following the same script?
Just wondering--
If you have been watching Congress for the last few years, which party would you say sticks most closely to the same script?
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