American Politics 3.0 - Back to Brunch

[Dion]

Originally Posted by activeStick

Speculation that Trump is moving up his announcement of his 2024 run up to tomorrow now.

https://twitter.com/user/status/1589818145945972736

[FormerPresJamesTaylor]

Originally Posted by activeStick

First time ever boos are heard at a championship parade?

https://twitter.com/user/status/1589709862673391617

GirlySports was right! Both sides! VIOLENCE FROM THE LEFT

[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by activeStick

Speculation that Trump is moving up his announcement of his 2024 run up to tomorrow now.

Finances and legal troubles must be getting worse for Trump. He believes that if he's running for president that he will be shielded from on-going investigations, which is wrong. He also believes that he will be able to access RNC money to pay his legal fees, which is wrong. He also knows that he will be able to expand his current grift and get the gullible idiots out there to give him more of their money, which is correct. Trump needs the dough because he's getting sued into oblivion on multiple fronts and his legal bills are piling up. No one will represent him without massive retainers which he doesn't have. The NY AG has cut the legs out from underneath the Trump empire and exposed the con he's used to keep he and his brood afloat for years. Valuations are not worth anywhere near what he's suggesting and no one is lending him money. His primary source of income is now his grift of his cult members.

[Yoho]

Originally Posted by Lanny_McDonald

Finances and legal troubles must be getting worse for Trump. He believes that if he's running for president that he will be shielded from on-going investigations, which is wrong. He also believes that he will be able to access RNC money to pay his legal fees, which is wrong. He also knows that he will be able to expand his current grift and get the gullible idiots out there to give him more of their money, which is correct. Trump needs the dough because he's getting sued into oblivion on multiple fronts and his legal bills are piling up. No one will represent him without massive retainers which he doesn't have. The NY AG has cut the legs out from underneath the Trump empire and exposed the con he's used to keep he and his brood afloat for years. Valuations are not worth anywhere near what he's suggesting and no one is lending him money. His primary source of income is now his grift of his cult members.

And those cult memebers are sure showing up in droves at his rally’s.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by Yoho

And those cult memebers are sure showing up in droves at his rally’s.

Where are they???

https://twitter.com/user/status/1589072797783191554

[AltaGuy]

Originally Posted by Yoho

And those cult memebers are sure showing up in droves at his rally’s.

God I hope DeSantis is just seething about prospective Emperor Trump positioning himself as indefinite GOP leader. Would be wonderful to see the GOP completely implode just as their dreams of fascist authoritarianism are about to come true.

[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by Yoho

And those cult memebers are sure showing up in droves at his rally’s.

Do you have your tickets, comrade? Are you following the Trump train around like the good little cult memeber [sic] you are? I hope you have made your monthly installment to the Dear Leader so he can maintain his lavish lifestyle and you can continue living in your trailer on the wrong side of the tracks. The Teflon Don needs your money, and you need your Donald Trump Gold Card membership card and FREE Donald Trump commemorative gold (paint) coin!

Have to love the typo, because Trump supporters have become nothing but walking-talking meme-bers of his cult.

[Dion]

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Alright, let's stop with the internet memes and get to some legitimate content, okay?

Here's a very interesting focus group interview (moderated by the famous Frank Luntz) of a cross-section of Florida voters answering questions about DeSantis. Pretty enlightening read actually.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/...-desantis.html

I'll say this much. I can respect and understand many of the conservative voters here, but that Manny guy is a first-class #######. #### that guy.

Edit: Carmen is pretty annoying too on the left.

[Red Slinger]

Originally Posted by troutman

Conservative talk radio was the main culprit in my mind, then FOX, then Twitter and Facebook. Evangelicals. Dark money. Then, Trump.

I think that was probably one of the step-changes in the evolution of conservatism in America.

At it's heart, the US has always embraced cultural chauvinism; wealth and power is the goal no matter the consequences. The first step was slavery, which helped to make America a financial powerhouse. Other step changes include:

• post WW2 military industrial complex which led to American imperialism around the globe
• the Culture Wars that escalated in the 50's with the Red Scare and then the 60's with Nixon
• the removal of financial and political safeguards by Reagan, including the removal of rules that enabled conservative talk-radio and Fox News
• the neo-liberalism of the Bush II era
• the pseudo-facsism of the Trump era

In a way, I think the US would be much farther down the path to fascism if it wasn't for Hitler. Fascism and Nazism became 3rd rails in the US during and after the war. But before the war there was a lot of support for Hitler in the US and they even had rallies in Madison Square Garden.

The ethos of the US is sick and always has been. It's only because of dedicated public and private citizens that the country hasn't collapsed into a full-on right-wing autocracy.

[wireframe]

Originally Posted by Red Slinger

I think that was probably one of the step-changes in the evolution of conservatism in America.

At it's heart, the US has always embraced cultural chauvinism; wealth and power is the goal no matter the consequences. The first step was slavery, which helped to make America a financial powerhouse. Other step changes include:

• post WW2 military industrial complex which led to American imperialism around the globe
• the Culture Wars that escalated in the 50's with the Red Scare and then the 60's with Nixon
• the removal of financial and political safeguards by Reagan, including the removal of rules that enabled conservative talk-radio and Fox News
• the neo-liberalism of the Bush II era
• the pseudo-facsism of the Trump era

In a way, I think the US would be much farther down the path to fascism if it wasn't for Hitler. Fascism and Nazism became 3rd rails in the US during and after the war. But before the war there was a lot of support for Hitler in the US and they even had rallies in Madison Square Garden.

The ethos of the US is sick and always has been. It's only because of dedicated public and private citizens that the country hasn't collapsed into a full-on right-wing autocracy.

I agree with everything you said. I want to add that many of the original settlers in what is now the USA were puritans who came because the church wasn't extreme enough for them. Except for a brief time in the mid-1900's, they have always been a christian theocracy. The problem that you're talking about goes back even further.

[JohnnyB]

Originally Posted by Red Slinger

• post WW2 military industrial complex which led to American imperialism around the globe

American imperialism predates WWII. Overt expansionist imperialism was going on with McKinley and Roosevelt.

[Red Slinger]

Originally Posted by JohnnyB

American imperialism predates WWII. Overt expansionist imperialism was going on with McKinley and Roosevelt.

Of course but I was referring to step-changes. I suppose you could argue American Exceptionalism and Manifest Destiny falls in that category.

[FlamesAddiction]

The big change after WWII was the global power vacuum after most of Europe was in shambles and colonial empires started to fall. They were always projecting their influence anywhere they could, but after 1945, there were few countries competing with them. Before WWII, the U.S. had to pick and chose their spots because other empires like France, Britain, Germany, Japan, and Russia were no push overs, hence why they focused mainly on beating Spain down. After WWII, it was a buffet for the U.S. and aside from Russia and to a lesser degree China, no one was in a position to oppose them.

For the record, I would much rather be aligned with the U.S. than Russia or China, but there are issues with all three when it comes to how they project power.

[activeStick]

Maricopa County is apparently having issues counting ballots... Not good

https://twitter.com/user/status/1590027805185966081

[afc wimbledon]

Originally Posted by Red Slinger

I think that was probably one of the step-changes in the evolution of conservatism in America.

At it's heart, the US has always embraced cultural chauvinism; wealth and power is the goal no matter the consequences. The first step was slavery, which helped to make America a financial powerhouse. Other step changes include:

• post WW2 military industrial complex which led to American imperialism around the globe
• the Culture Wars that escalated in the 50's with the Red Scare and then the 60's with Nixon
• the removal of financial and political safeguards by Reagan, including the removal of rules that enabled conservative talk-radio and Fox News
• the neo-liberalism of the Bush II era
• the pseudo-facsism of the Trump era

In a way, I think the US would be much farther down the path to fascism if it wasn't for Hitler. Fascism and Nazism became 3rd rails in the US during and after the war. But before the war there was a lot of support for Hitler in the US and they even had rallies in Madison Square Garden.

The ethos of the US is sick and always has been. It's only because of dedicated public and private citizens that the country hasn't collapsed into a full-on right-wing autocracy.

Yes, I constantly have to remind myself when I think 'my God the US is about to stop being a democracy' that the US has never been a democracy except for a brief 40 or 50 year period I happen to be alive for, that all is happening is it is reverting to it's mean

[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by activeStick

Maricopa County is apparently having issues counting ballots... Not good

Complete over-reaction. The counting machines will not read a ballot that has not been filled out with the appropriate marker or has inconsistencies in the marking (spilling over the margins for example). They are then run through a second machine and f still not read they are manually entered. The individual submitting the ballot in person is told this up front and is then walked through the process. This is consistent with previous elections as well, just there weren't so many "concerned citizens" to stick their nose in and make waves on social media.

[Yoho]

Originally Posted by lanny_mcdonald

complete over-reaction. The counting machines will not read a ballot that has not been filled out with the appropriate marker or has inconsistencies in the marking (spilling over the margins for example). They are then run through a second machine and f still not read they are manually entered. The individual submitting the ballot in person is told this up front and is then walked through the process. This is consistent with previous elections as well, just there weren't so many "concerned citizens" to stick their nose in and make waves on social media.

https://twitter.com/user/status/1590080972212486144

[rubecube]

nm

[Mr.Coffee]

Originally Posted by Red Slinger

[*]the pseudo-facsism of the Trump era[/LIST]

Is this true though?

Fascism (from Britannica); "a way of organizing a society in which a government ruled by a dictator controls the lives of the people and in which people are not allowed to disagree with the government"

I don't think it's accurate to say the United States during Trump's presidency was 'pseudo-fascist', but you could arguably say instead that he wants it this way, and those are two different things. He was not a dictator, the other branches and components of the government still existed and operated. He lost the election and still got voted out, despite his attempted coup.

Secondly, doesn't every country basically operate for the best interests of its' citizens all the time, and therefore inherently constantly in a state of expansion of power and wealth at all time? Look at all imperialist societies throughout history, look at Russia today (why are they invading Ukraine?), look at Canada with protectionist policies on various industries, etc. There are many examples. So wealth and power are the goal for every country and in most cases this applies "no matter the consequences" because that is what history seems to suggest based on what I understand about various empires over time.

I agree with troutman that conservative media throwing facts out the window probably is a good start for the "downfall" of America currently in progress. Exacerbated of course with social media.