Dallas Mayor Flips to GOP: 'Cities Need Republicans'

[hollodero]

(09-23-2023, 12:59 PM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: You know what, in terms of this site alone I will concede that.  It was not a fair statement to make.  In general terms in this country it's an absolutely accurate statement to make.  It occurs all the time, and the Dems clearly feel entitled to the black vote.  As I stated, and no one addressed, Biden literally said if you didn't vote for him you "aren't black".  This was merely saying out loud what her Democratic party believes in private.  And the treatment black conservatives get is often beyond appalling.

Yeah Biden should not have said that. Same is true for many things he says. I wouldn't say though that Democrats feel so much entitled to the black vote as that they are just taking it for granted. Which is somewhat justified, since black people indeed overwhelmingly vote for Democrats. That's nothing to blame Democrats for though, it's more of an issue for Republicans, who are just utterly unappealing to black voters. And while I certainly can not talk on black people's behalf, I can see some clear reasons for that. Starting with Trump, who just is too integral to the GOP these times to ignore the overwhelming presence of this man who is seen as kind of a racist by many people, and to large parts that includes me.

That black conservatives receive appalling treatment, well that might be true and I can very well imagine that. Many fierce liberals aren't exactly angels, for sure. In the case of this mayor though, I find this aspect to be of little importance. I guess the outrage would be quite similar if this were a white lady instead of a black man, like it was with Tulsi Gabbard.

(09-23-2023, 12:59 PM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: I've scoured news stories and can't find anything about his constituents being angry.  Twitter/X seems about 60-40% in favor, although I certainly concede that is hardly scientific.  But we have an equal dearth of evidence that they are angry, only speculation.

It is speculation at this point, probably. What I can say for sure is that I would be angry. I can not prove that this sentiment is shared by many, but I'd be utterly surprised if this wasn't so.

(09-23-2023, 12:59 PM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: I disagree about the switching parties move.  If it was done for the reasons he gave, and we have no real reason to doubt him, then switching to the GOP sends the exact message he intends to send, that the far left is deliberately making urban centers unsafe with their horrific criminal justice policies.

I don't think he needed to switch parties to send this message. Being done with the Democrats would have sufficed and imho would have given his reasons more weight. This way, party politics somewhat superseed the message, even more so if my assumption of many angry constituents is correct. But alas, we probably just have a different view on this and it's fine.

(09-23-2023, 12:59 PM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: I think it's also important to not look at this move in a vacuum.  This is the second high profile Democrat to leave the party of late, along with numerous lesser known ones, and Machin will likely make it three.  There is a serious rot inside the Democratic party right now on this issue, and it's an issue that is important to every single person in this country.  It's not a niche issue like abortion, or gun control.  Not that either of those aren't concerns for millions of Americans, but public safety is a concern for 100% of Americans, and the Dems are failing on this issue as badly as you can fail.  Not only that, but they keep inventing excuses for why it's not their policies that are to blame and then doubling down on said policies.  Illinois recently abolishing cash bail being the latest example.

I agree with that. As I said, there's certainly an overarching theme here and Democrats imho would be well advised to listen to these concerns, that get raised plenty by folks that are far from extreme right wingers or Trump supporters. This method of discrediting and ignoring and laughing away all those voices is quite disconcerting for me too.