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The GQP: Trumpist Death Cult


Hugo Stiglitz

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Infuriating read on Cawthorn's giant fraud against his electorate.

 

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Cawthorn frequently said on social media that he was “training” for the Paralympic Games. Technically, such a statement could be true—but only in the sense that I could be training for the Olympic Games. “It’s like a kid saying they want to play in the NBA when they’re on their fourth-grade basketball team,” said Amanda McGrory, a three-time Paralympian who has earned seven medals in track and field.

https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/madison-cawthorn-paralympics/

Edited by Gourmand
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1 hour ago, Ghost of LL said:

Looking at Mrs.LL’s MAGAt friends and family taking about decamping to a Patriot Party.

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My wife has not had discussions with them, but we both know that her parents will the moment it's official.  

Funny thing; both of them changed their registration in 2008 to Democratic so they could vote in the Texas primary that spring and vote for Obama over Hillary.  It's the only time in their adult lives they have been anything other than a Republican. But the day is coming.  And they will go where Trump tells them to go.

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1 hour ago, Bama Chick said:

giphy.gif
 

 

  • He got railed. 
  • Educated reporters are powerful. No opinion, just facts. She educated her viewers with facts. We need more like her.
  • There were legal channels for this situation.  They exhausted their appeals and lost. They chose to act outside the law to stop the Legislative Branch from its duties under the law. That is treasonous. 
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8 hours ago, Mrs Whiggins said:

Oh Lord, and our senator is still at it.

 

He will bend the knee. It's all about the benjamins and if the commoners want to see him grovel - he will. When oil realizes Dem Inc. is more plush and efficient than the clannish country club crew- they will get their own wet nurse over at blue.

This nation defends their supply lines at enormous expense. Always will until we can't. We all need to be rowing in the same direction. Time for Cornyn to apologize for putting so much stock into Donald Trump - perhaps at the expense of the nation as a whole. 

On national security, we face difficult if not impossible policy choices.  Lead or get out of the way Senators and Representatives. Everyone needs to be on the same page. Russia is in the Iran weight class of enemies - (political rather than religious gangsters).  

China is much more complicated and delicate. The world is dividing. China - using neoliberal capitalism in a command economy - is eating our lunch. It's a frankenstein - and hungry. A hot war between China and the US would make Covid look like the common flu. 

Obama started the Asian Pivot (balancing our forces and emphasis to meet the growing China superpower). The pivot continued "peacefully enough" under Trump (which is a testament to military leadership to keep him from wag the dog situations), and now it will continue under Biden. 

Good primer on modern US/Chinese relations -  https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/01/15/biden-china-asia-allies-strategy-pivot/

TLDR - No one should ever listen to Cornyn on Foreign Relations with China. It's worse than his brisket. 

Edited by washparkhorn
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10 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:

This is correct.  I knew friends and people that I served with who had the Ranger Tab.   I knew people in ROTC that had earned it before they graduated and were commissioned.  Most of them knew not to go around presenting themselves as Rangers.  

Only a handful had actually served with the 75th.

Cotton's lie grew each time he told it and each time he felt more emboldened, like a crusader. It's what happens when left unchecked which is what has happened for 4 years. Fast forward to now and he's somehow a victim of the truth.  

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6 hours ago, Bama Chick said:

 

 

Madison is still a novice liar.  A real Republican veteran wouldn't have let her speak--they would have kept talking louder and throwing out crazier lies until time expired. Instead he responds to her questions.  And where is Madison's get out of jail free bible? Let's see how he does by the end of his term.   

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On 1/22/2021 at 10:46 AM, Js1 said:

This.

Full apology to the American people and to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

So fucking tired of the GOP double standard.

2016/2017: HA YOU LOST. GET OVER IT. WE HAVE THE POWER, WE MAKE THE RULES

2020/2021:  You didn't win fairly, you cheated, you are not legitimate, we will never recognize you as the winners.  You have to unify with our sad supporters or else.  And you don't get to set the rules of power, you have to be nice to us while we obstruct everything. 

Elections have consequences. 

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On 1/23/2021 at 1:49 AM, Grandioso said:

Project Lincoln is just a fuckin wrecking ball at this point. I thought they'd kick back and congratulate themselves after Biden won but it's like they've been overcome with a bloodlust.

Keep up the ratfucking, gentlemen! God knows the Democrats don't know how to do it properly.

Even when the Dems have the upper hand, they still get bullied.  It always costs them elections.  It's far easier to defend the right thing than the wrong.  

 

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Just now, Neonmoon said:

Stupidity is so contagious 

 

He should be removed from office after this segment. Attacking George like that is disgusting. This is clearly a sick man who is unfit to fulfill his constitutional duties. 

Saying that cases were thrown out due to procedural process is a complete lie to the American people. These cases had absolutely no standing because there is no evidence to support the claims of widespread fraud. 

I do think he made a decent point in election laws and the changes to those laws being suspect, that is totally different from the conflated message he made about fraud. 

1 is questioning the way we allow people to decide late in the process how to count votes 

The other is claims that there were fraudulent votes, meaning people who didn't vote themselves voted twice etc etc. Unsurprisingly we can track every vote to an individual and confirm their vote. 

Fuck Rand Paul. Can't even say that the election wasn't stolen on national TV. 

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6 minutes ago, Neonmoon said:

Stupidity is so contagious 

 

I caught some of that this morning. What a dishonest scumbag. There’s no value in appeasing Trump anymore so I assume he’s doing it strictly for fundraising. I doubt whether he actually believes any of the bullshit he’s spewing.

Show us your evidence or shut the fuck up. The fact that the Pennsylvania lawsuit was tossed for lack of standing isn’t evidence of voter fraud.

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4 hours ago, Neonmoon said:

Stupidity is so contagious 

 

So this is what libertarian authoritianism looks like.  Rand Paul is going to make it his mission over the next two years to travel from state-to-state to challenge their election laws.  So much for Rand's love of federalism.  He thinks it is the job of a United States Senator to go to other states and tell them how to run elections.

This guy has no scruples.  He never had them.  It was all just a fraud.

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3 hours ago, HenryJames said:

 

This is just so wild and yet so expected.  They don't care about or understand what a democracy actually is.  The thought of changing their policies and/or principles to align with what the majority of people agree with doesn't cross their mind.  They just want to change the rules to impose their will.  Doesn't work like that you dumb bitch.

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2 minutes ago, Biff Tannen said:

This is just so wild and yet so expected.  They don't care about or understand what a democracy actually is.  The thought of changing their policies and/or principles to align with what the majority of people agree with doesn't cross their mind.  They just want to change the rules to impose their will.  Doesn't work like that you dumb bitch.

Someone with more time than me needs to show up at county Republican meetings and troll them by demanding more votes for decent folk a la the Texan in Catch-22.

Quote

Then there was the educated Texan from Texas who looked like someone in Technicolor and felt, patriotically, that people of means—decent folk—should be given more votes than drifters, whores, criminals, degenerates, atheists and indecent folk—people without means.

 

 

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7 hours ago, Neonmoon said:

Stupidity is so contagious 

 

 

2 hours ago, Post Oak said:

Unfortunately, he's not being stupid. And that's more dangerous

Never forget that this man backed the Russian spy, Marina Butina, and intervened on her behalf. Her ex-boyfriend, Paul Erickson, received a pardon in the Trump dump after Kellyanne Conway lobbied on his behalf, referring to the Russian Witch Hunt. The NRA head that began using that term when the organization was being investigated sure got a lot of mileage out of it.

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8 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

And what’s important here is that is not just a tool for them - not just a means to an end - it’s the only guiding principle they have left. It is both the means and the end.

Take power. By whatever means necessary.

5 hours ago, 956 Worldwide said:

Someone with more time than me needs to show up at county Republican meetings and troll them by demanding more votes for decent folk a la the Texan in Catch-22.

We need to get some of that Soros money from the Democrats and use it to get some sleeper agents masquerading as Republicans into local and state political races.  

Or maybe Soros money is already getting sleeper agents into the GOP....

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No, but now I'm really curious to see it.  I could use a good laugh today.  I'm not opposed to one day moving back to the Midwest if the situation was right.  But I wouldn't live in Ohio if they let me have Ohio.  Only been there about a half dozen times and the people are literally the worst people in our country.  At least in Florida, you have a shot at some decent food and you're never more than 60 minutes from a good beach.  

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17 hours ago, Ghost of LL said:

So this is what libertarian authoritianism looks like.  Rand Paul is going to make it his mission over the next two years to travel from state-to-state to challenge their election laws.  So much for Rand's love of federalism.  He thinks it is the job of a United States Senator to go to other states and tell them how to run elections.

This guy has no scruples.  He never had them.  It was all just a fraud.

I guess I wish him the best in his mission.  He's at least recognizing that the place to fix whatever they allege needs fixing is at the state level.  I'm sure that the actual states he assists will result in more voter restrictions and disenfranchisement than there were before which needs to be fought.  

 

Hopefully he will start in the states with Republican legislatures that prohibited the counting of mail in ballots until after polls closed or election day.  Like PA and others. What a dumb fucking rule to pass. 

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I'm going to land this here, because it's still developing. Am not going to post all the tweets from MAGA accounts.

Apparently some fellow filed the paperwork with the FEC for the Patriot Party and it has the MAGA twitterverse (which I thought they left?!) abuzz. Can't find too much about it, except that someone looked the fellow up and its some guy in Georgia-a fire department captain and freelance landscaper.

At first, I thought, uh-huh, but there are others involved with this, and it does make you wonder if it's being orchestrated behind the scenes to 'appear' as if it's coming from the people more than from the tyrant currently in exile in Florida.

No doubt it's a grift because it can raise $$, but at the same time, it bears watching. Haven't found anything beyond that and am not going to look further at this time. I'm sure the MSM will be all over it for the eyeballs.

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Wasn't sure where to put this analysis and article because it is equal part political, business, class warfare-focused, and whimsical/pop-culture. But ultimately I thought it would make for good discussion and wanted to get @bad_teammate take on this.

I identify as what the article would call the (clueless) educated gentry who only speak in posture-talk and are spoken to in babytalk, as a delusional "petite bourgeois" class of people who live in their own world devoid of the other two classes (Haves and Have Nots). 

This artificial construct called the "middle or upper middle class" is the real legacy of capitalism and it's an absurd and delusional state of existence on a plane away form reality.

We are the people propping up The Republican party (but the Democrat party is lousy with us too):

https://alexdanco.com/2021/01/22/the-michael-scott-theory-of-social-class/

To conclude, I present to you the Michael Scott Theory of Social Class, which states that the higher you ascend the Educated Gentry ladder, the more you become Michael Scott. So: 

Serious Triathletes? Michael Scott. 

PhD Students? Michael Scott. 

Have an opinion on the right amount of hops? Michael Scott. 

More than 10,000 followers on Twitter? Michael Scott. 

Really into urbanism? Michael Scott. 

NYT Op-ed? Definitely Michael Scott. 

 

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1 hour ago, Mrs Whiggins said:

Part of the article is telling you something of which you're aware, but it's a good article nonetheless, and not too long of a read; the best is in the latter paragraphs.

 

Good read. Frames the issue well. From the latter paragraphs referenced above:

Looking ahead:

  • We should probably steel ourselves for a resurgence of the militia movement and an increase in lone wolf right-wing terrorism of the sort last seen in the mid-1990s.
    • Depressed Trump supporters who “trusted the plan” might take the Claremont Institute literally instead of seriously and take matters into their own hands, not understanding that the scribblings of dapper, wealthy, middle-aged academics calling for militia groups are performative and not prescriptive.
  • We should prepare for showdowns with separatist groups and sovereign citizens, perhaps emboldened by local sheriffs or county officials.
    • Remember the Michigan sheriff who excused the plot to kidnap Governor Gretchen Whitmer? Or the New Mexico county commissioner who was arrested for his role in the U.S. Capitol insurrection and for threats against President Biden?
  • The word “nullification” may become a more regular feature of political discourse as ambitious state and local government leaders defy federal regulations, testing Washington’s will to enforce them.
  • We could see a new, more militant resistance to Biden administration-backed public health measures meant to curb the spread of COVID-19 as the vaccine is rolled out nationwide. Or to adoption of the vaccine itself.
  • If this darker future begins to unfold, it will be important for the Justice Department, the FBI, and the Department of Homeland Security to prioritize infiltrating, disrupting, and prosecuting seditious or militant groups. And to the extent that such groups might be backed by wealthy conservative donors or others associated with the Trump administration, it may require political will, or at least the will not to interfere with career officials seeking to prosecute high-profile suspects.
  • For those of us who still consider ourselves conservative, we cannot yet return to a Republican party that, at best, maintains strategic silence in the face of violent or secessionist agitation. And at worst is egging it on from the fancy sinecures of Conservatism Inc.

A cancer of complicity afflicts nearly the entire movement, and while there are decent leaders who deserve support—particularly from far-right primary challengers—the GOP is too compromised by extremists to be trusted with political power any time soon.

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37 minutes ago, DonkeyCigars said:

This artificial construct called the "middle or upper middle class" is the real legacy of capitalism and it's an absurd and delusional state of existence on a plane away form reality.

We are the people propping up The Republican party (but the Democrat party is lousy with us too

100%

Really good article and explainer of a complete lack of class consciousness among the bourgeoisie. Thanks for posting it.

My favorite part is the "straight talk" link going between the top and bottom but never going any direction with the middle. So true

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5 minutes ago, washparkhorn said:

A cancer of complicity afflicts nearly the entire movement, and while there are decent leaders who deserve support—particularly from far-right primary challengers—the GOP is too compromised by extremists to be trusted with political power any time soon.

Too damn bad - they've made it very clear to us they believe they have a divine right to rule us.  Whether they win or not, they expect to have the majority of the seats at the table for absolutely no reason other than their craven desire to rule with an iron fist and enrich themselves/their buddies as much as they can. 

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5 minutes ago, bad_teammate said:

100%

Really good article and explainer of a complete lack of class consciousness among the bourgeoisie. Thanks for posting it.

My favorite part is the "straight talk" link going between the top and bottom but never going any direction with the middle. So true

My favorite part was making fun of the basic middle class (like me; who doesn't like good old fashioned self-deprecation?):

So some examples of Posturetalk (the Educated Gentry talking to anyone; but mostly to each other) include Farmer’s Market Banter (“Praise me for how sustainable I am”), Academia Banter (“Validate my obscure pursuits”) and Blue Check Mark Twitter (“Enshrine my Takes”). Examples of Babytalk (speaking to the Educated Gentry) include Uber Driver Banter (“I’m willing to entertain this conversation but please give me a 5-star rating, I really need it”), Whole Foods Marketing material (“You areso wise for shopping here.”), and Prestige TV (“You are so smart for watching The Good Place”). 

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I think many of us on this board are, or at least have been, guilty of exactly the subject matter of the article.

Shit, I remember when I was younger (often MUCH younger -- think high school and college, so cut me a LITTLE slack), holding ideas like "sure, we're going to a more globalist society -- that's cool, America will largely take on the roll of managers and innovators, and places like Bangladesh will be the labor," or "we should totally start our own political party of like-minded pragmatists - surely we are the silent majority!", or (this wasn't my thought, but I remember when it was repeatedly voiced by NYC liberals) "I don't understand how W could have won, I don't know anyone who voted for him!"

We are ALL guilty of living in our bubbles, and consuming the positive feedback of same.  While I think that the message of "Trumpism is coming from a place of economic anxiety" whitewashes the white-supremacist shitbaggery that's intertwined with it.....that doesn't mean that the message doesn't have truth to it.  The educated liberals who really don't grasp the perspective of disaffected laborers -- whether that be urban manufacturing job types, or rural agricultural types or resource extraction -- have tunnel vision.  Of course, so do many of those rural types -- they have a sharply limited worldview and idea of what it is to love and support this country.

TLDR: bubble-thinking bad, even counter-productive.  Listening and absorbing other perspectives is a necessary step to coming up with solutions that can actually be limited (great, philosophical ideas that have no chance of ever coming to fruition are worthless).

Oh, and yeah....we're going to be dealing with a violent right wing militia and lone wolf movement for years.  We will have another OKC, maybe more than one.

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10 minutes ago, bad_teammate said:

I like to deconstruct posturetalk and it makes me completely insufferable online.

 

26 minutes ago, DonkeyCigars said:

My favorite part was making fun of the basic middle class (like me; who doesn't like good old fashioned self-deprecation?):

So some examples of Posturetalk (the Educated Gentry talking to anyone; but mostly to each other) include Farmer’s Market Banter (“Praise me for how sustainable I am”), Academia Banter (“Validate my obscure pursuits”) and Blue Check Mark Twitter (“Enshrine my Takes”). Examples of Babytalk (speaking to the Educated Gentry) include Uber Driver Banter (“I’m willing to entertain this conversation but please give me a 5-star rating, I really need it”), Whole Foods Marketing material (“You areso wise for shopping here.”), and Prestige TV (“You are so smart for watching The Good Place”). 

Virtue signaling is:

  • ubiquitous, regardless of ideology (or lack thereof), and,
  • as old as mud. See War and Peace:

"When [young lieutenant] Boris entered the room, [powerful] Prince Andrei was listening to an old general [militarily powerful, but socially impotent], wearing his decorations, who was reporting something to Prince Andrei, with an expression of soldierly servility on his purple face.

“Alright. Please wait!” [the Prince] said to the general, speaking in Russian with the French accent which he used when he spoke with contempt.

The moment [the Prince] noticed Boris he stopped listening to the general who trotted imploringly after him and begged to be heard, while Prince Andrei turned to Boris with a cheerful smile and a nod of the head. 

[Young] Boris now clearly understood—what he had already guessed—that side by side with the system of discipline and subordination which were laid down in the Army Regulations, there existed a different and more real system—the system which compelled a tightly laced general with a purple face to wait respectfully for his turn while a mere captain like Prince Andrei chatted with a mere second lieutenant like Boris. 

Boris decided at once that he would be guided not by the official system but by this other unwritten system."

TLDR: Everything old is new again. (time is a flat circle)

 

 

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29 minutes ago, washparkhorn said:

 

Virtue signaling is:

  • ubiquitous, regardless of ideology (or lack thereof), and,
  • as old as mud. See War and Peace:

"When [young lieutenant] Boris entered the room, [powerful] Prince Andrei was listening to an old general [militarily powerful, but socially impotent], wearing his decorations, who was reporting something to Prince Andrei, with an expression of soldierly servility on his purple face.

“Alright. Please wait!” [the Prince] said to the general, speaking in Russian with the French accent which he used when he spoke with contempt.

The moment [the Prince] noticed Boris he stopped listening to the general who trotted imploringly after him and begged to be heard, while Prince Andrei turned to Boris with a cheerful smile and a nod of the head. 

[Young] Boris now clearly understood—what he had already guessed—that side by side with the system of discipline and subordination which were laid down in the Army Regulations, there existed a different and more real system—the system which compelled a tightly laced general with a purple face to wait respectfully for his turn while a mere captain like Prince Andrei chatted with a mere second lieutenant like Boris. 

Boris decided at once that he would be guided not by the official system but by this other unwritten system."

TLDR: Everything old is new again. (time is a flat circle)

 

 

I'm mildly impressed you've read and could pluck a W&P reference on the fly here.

Only mildly though, because W&P is such a cliche'd example of a learned tome and could you have made a more literal connection between class warefare subtext than Russian literature?

You should really audible this great book, a sanskrit satire, on how mandrake roots are the worst vegetables because in a post-human world, nightshades are in power in a complete reversal of skin tone power structures. I'm on page 3 only though, because it's hard to focus on letters while walking backwards up El Capitan on the latest Peloton  /middleclasspetitebougie

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1 minute ago, DonkeyCigars said:

I'm mildly impressed you've read and could pluck a W&P reference on the fly here.

Only mildly though, because W&P is such a cliche'd example of a learned tome and could you have made a more literal connection between class warefare subtext than Russian literature? /middleclasspetitebougie

References to a piece in Reader's Digest are always in favor.

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9 minutes ago, DonkeyCigars said:

Only mildly though, because W&P is such a cliche'd example of a learned tome and could you have made a more literal connection between class warefare subtext than Russian literature?

It was from the author of the Michael Scott piece you linked: https://alexdanco.com/2020/01/23/social-capital-in-silicon-valley/

Thanks for the link.

 

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  • Hugo Stiglitz changed the title to The GQP: Trumpist Death Cult


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