09-14-2023, 11:15 AM
(09-13-2023, 10:25 PM)hollodero Wrote: This just is the point where I have issues with your stance, how you throw the term fascism out there. That doesn't make much sense to me. The FBI did not expose the laptop story, just as much as they did not expose a counterintelligence investigation into the Trump campaign. They just don't do that. All that was around were unconfirmed allegations from folks like Rudy Giuliani. Who has a demonstrable track record of promoting fake stories. He deserved all the scrutiny he got.
One can discuss mistakes made, or even bias shown, over a laptop in FBI possession not being confirmed (that, as of now, still does not implicate Joe Biden) as a true story. I would even agree with that. But fascism? Isn't it part of your own stance that one should not use that word lightly?
And what you call possible collusion stemmed from a real story about Russian election meddling. That was not fake at all. Couple that with a candidate that by all appearances is the beneficiary, says quite some weird stuff (he just did, not my fault) and hires quite some Russia-affine people like Manafort Flynn and then some, and of course the media has a story, with special councels and all. If that were all about Hillary, FOX would have had a 24/7 story too. You can credibly accuse the media of sensationalizing, and certainly of severe bias, but again, fascism?
Same goes for the steele dossier, that was just dirty opposition research that did not come out before the election - one wonders why the anti-Trump FBI did not just leak it just in time before the election. Why not do that as a corrupt FBI agent? If they really were in cohouts with Democrats, they would have. That the dossier itself triggered the investigations into the Trump campaign or was the one central element in said investigations is just a wrong narrative and you know it. Yet you use it to make a fascism claim. That is a bit dishonest, imho.
Fascism is yet another word that has been overused to the point that it is meaningless. As we previously discussed, there are fringe elements on both ends of the ideological spectrum that warrant the label (even though the term is generally only used for the right due to its etymology). I don't think it's displayed by either side to the point that warrant the accusation. You have clear examples of overreach on both sides, Desantis' expansion of the restrictions on discussion of sexual topics to HS students, and you have the current thread and the criminalization of speech in Michigan.
Both parties have embraced some pretty awful policy positions, most notably the GOP on abortion and the Dems on the rule of law. They both deserve our scorn, and yes I believe in equal measure. I know that hurts some people here, not you btw, who may honestly believe they're on the side of the "good guys", but that's a sop and it's always been a sop. Both parties are dog shit, as are most of their candidates. Your only real hope is to reside in a purple enough state that prevents the worst extremes of both parties from reaching public office. Because once you get too red or too blue you're in for a treat.
