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Washpark

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Posts posted by Washpark

  1. 19 minutes ago, Tuco said:

    Paul has changed less than the political environment.

    Rand Paul, like many libertarians, appears admirable when they are the contrarian voice.  If no one really thinks we are going to ditch on NATO, it's perfectly cool for Paul to lob shit-bombs at our allies.  It provokes thought and challenges our assumptions.  When he does it shortly after Trump goes on a fuck-the-world tour in Europe, it's not longer merely academic provocation.  When his views actually have a chance of becoming policy, led by a pro-Russian moron in the White House, we start seriously considering the ramifications and are appalled.  The devil's advocate has value, as long as you don't think the devil will win. 

    Has he been saying anything about the ICE detentions and family separations at the border? To me, that would be an opportunity to speak out against government abuses despite Republican blowback.

    So he was always just bloviating and never really willing to standup against the establishment?  

  2. Funny how on the fence voters/posters disappear when it is pointed out that Cruz is a hypocrite. Reinforces that they will vote team R no matter the candidate.   

  3. On 7/16/2018 at 4:36 PM, Footballpants said:

    I kinda have this morbid curiosity to go back there and check out the wasteland formerly know as ShaggyTexas, but man, some of the stuff I posted in the transition is keeping me up at night. You can't rub off to that stuff  

    Same but with edits. Oh and being banned. 

  4. 39 minutes ago, txhorns said:

    To be fair that is 90% of politicians on both sides.  It's just a matter of how far down that hole they have gone.  Cruz has disappeared in it.

    It is comical how often party line Republican voters use that reasoning to justify voting for Republicans.

    I grew up in rural Texas and have many relatives that proudly voted for Trump. Now, they sheepishly mumble and walk away when try to talk politics. They will still be voting Republican, because it is team over country. 

    • Like 1
  5. https://www.houstonchronicle.com/local/gray-matters/article/beto-o-rourke-ted-cruz-town-hall-meetings-12919799.php

    Spoiler

    Last summer, I met with both Sen. Ted Cruz and Congressman Beto O'Rourke on the same day.

    You'd think that we'd had our fill of campaigns and elections after the 2016 political carousel, but my teacher friends and I wrapped up our school year ready to work. We contacted candidates and representatives thirsty to meet with decision-makers about issues which impact us, like school vouchers and funding.

    Tired of the spin and soundbites, we knew face-to-face interaction would be key; so, we emailed, we called, we visited offices.

    It was early July, and one of my friends and I drove to the Sheraton on the North Loop. The nonprofit Concerned Veterans for America (CVA) had invited Cruz for a closed town hall, and I found tickets by happenstance, hidden within a group discussion on his campaign Facebook page.

     

     

    There was a sign-in table and a place to write questions. Near the door was a small group trying to get in. The patient Cruz staffers explained that a ticket was required. "But where was this publicized?" asked a sassy lady, white curls neatly tucked under her sunhat. She kept poking her cane with emphasis toward the open door.

    My friend and I walked in, and I counted: 64 seats. Cameras were set up in the back, and the meeting began with introductions by the host and director of CVA, Dan Caldwell. He led the Pledge of Allegiance. Someone in the audience insisted we do the Texas Pledge, too.

    One by one, each branch of our proud veterans was called, and they stood. We all clapped. Caldwell introduced Cruz and established the rules: They'll take as many questions as they can, but no protests. "If you interrupt or disrupt the event in any way, you will be asked to leave," he said.

    Sure enough, two people who attempted to disrupt were removed. Good! Those of us who showed up wanted to hear the senator.

    Cruz and Caldwell continued a back-and-forth for about 20 minutes, after which the senator answered five prescreened questions. Toward the end, though, Caldwell made a huge mistake. He said that while some representatives had been out hiding during recess, "Senator Cruz is not one of them."

    The crowd of protesters who had maintained civility lost it, and everyone erupted, many in laughter. Cruz was trying to calm down the crowd and yelled, "I was about to thank folks for being civil and respectful," and I took this chaotic moment as a chance. I walked to the stage, right up to him.

    I found some jumble of words to communicate that I had learned a lot from the town hall — I had no idea the Pentagon wasn't audited, and I agreed that it should be. "As a teacher, I'm audited every single year with exams," I remember blubbering.

    But I had one thing to ask. I begged Cruz to return for an open town hall. I explained that there were people standing outside who hadn't been able to get in, who didn't know to get tickets. Then I shook his hand, and he closed the meeting thanking me and everyone who came, and I took him at his word: He'd be back.

    My friend and I then walked out of the Sheraton and into the blinding Texas light, where we were both shocked at the contrast Cruz's closed town hall had with our meeting with O'Rourke that morning.

     

     

    Spoiler

    The truth is that Cruz might have attended "seven events" this year where a few people got to ask him some questions, but his office has organized and hosted no town halls, open, closed or over a telephone system. In fact, his federal Senate office has no call-out system.

    His campaign, however, does. His Senate and campaign offices said that he does do call outs – but only to his campaign supporters. Catherine Frazier from Cruz's campaign office confirmed that he's been doing them since he started running for office. She emphasized, "He's done two in the last few weeks."

    But schedules or instructions for opting in for these telephone town halls are not displayed on Cruz's Senate page or Senate Facebook page. For a man whomocked "coastal elites" for their "safe spaces" in his piece on President Trump in Time, Cruz seems to hide in safe spaces filled exclusively with an echo chamber of his campaign supporters. Why not call out to all Texas constituents?

     

    In contrast – again – O'Rourke's office has hosted 95 open town halls, not counting the quarterly veterans town halls, since he began his first term in the House of Representatives in 2013 – the same year Cruz began his first term.

    These monthly town halls are organized by O'Rourke's congressional office. Links to the dates and times of the events are clearly posted on his congressional website and congressional Facebook page. His office explains they call out to constituents before the town halls take place to get the word out.

    Besides the meeting at the coffee shop, I attended an open town hall hosted by his campaign when he returned to Houston. Back in February at Greenhouse International Church, well over 150 Houstonians showed up to ask questions. He began taking open questions when a young woman identified herself in two ways: She was a current student at Harvard University, and she was a Dreamer.

    "Why did you vote 'yes' on the budget deal when we asked you not to?" she demanded, voice cracking.

    His own voice dropped an octave, and he slowly responded, "If I thought voting 'no' would've secured a DACA deal, I would've done it. But I don't believe that was going to happen that way."

    She persisted. "But why didn't you trust us? We needed your 'no' vote" and continued expressing that she was angry and felt betrayed.

    "I'm glad that you're here telling me how you feel. Even if we disagree, I think it's important that I hear you."

    That's exactly what he been up to: Besides hosting monthly town halls for his El Paso constituents, through his campaign he has hosted an additional 235 open town halls as he's traveled through 251 of the 254 counties in Texas.

    https://www.theodysseyonline.com/top-ten-most-disliked-republican-senators

  6. 6 minutes ago, txhorns said:

    I'm a lifelong Republican as is pretty much everyone who I associate with.  (Mostly just because it's a very conservative part of the state)  from talking to people there seems to just be a serious lack of enthusiasm for Cruz this year.  He has never been a terrific candidate but the Democrats have never ran a quality opponent against him.  Simply put Beto fans are much more fired up.  A lot of that is due to backlash against Trump and Cruz, a lot of it is there actually being a chance to win this race unlike in the past.  

    Unfortunately many people will vote for Cruz just because all they know is to hit straight R on the ballot.  Same can be said for Beto and the democrats.  Hopefully more people than usual will actually pay attention to what the candidates say/do/represent than in year's past but that is probably asking too much.  As for me I am still undecided but that is mainly because I haven't taken the time to educate myself on who Beto is and what he actually stands for yet.

    http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/04/ted-cruz-praises-donald-trump-who-bullied-his-family.html

     

    Quote

    During the Republican campaign, Donald Trump attacked Ted Cruz’s father and wife and branded him “Lyin’ Ted,” and Cruz attempted to demonstrate his manhood by declaring, “Donald, you sniveling coward.” But times have changed, and now Cruz has been called upon to write a public tribute in Time magazine to the man who bullied him and attacked his family.

    In his entry for the magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2018, Cruz omits such Trumpian achievements as getting to the bottom of the Kennedy assassination and marrying a hotter babe than Ted Cruz could snag. Instead, he credits Trump with triggering the liberals:

     

  7. I am lifetime platinum at Marriott and guess Starwood now. I earned it the hard way. I switched airlines too many times to have lifetime status but frequently travel int'l business or 1st so usually earn it in a few flights. 

    Paying for status for the off times that I do not qualify is worth it at this point in my life so I have the exec plat AA and United card. I expense all my flights through my own credit card for work so it can net out in my favor as last year I probably spent $30K+ in flights. 

  8. 2 hours ago, Js1 said:

    Yup.

    Every Democrat is an evil socialist devil regardless.  So maybe run progressive candidates who aren't scared of their own policies to energize and motivate the base and show people that these policies are not out of the mainstream when communicated in the correct manner.

    The Democrats have to stop recruiting, campaigning and governing with one hand tied behind their back to appease the pearl-clutching Fox News crowd. 

     

    3 hours ago, GSU&UT said:

    Protip: The GOP is going to make a boogeyman out of someone. For years it was Pelosi, now it will be AOC. It's time to stop this mess of constantly worrying about how an evil party is going to portray you and how you actually get people energized and motivated.

    Dem candidates aren't going to convert Fox news watches and should stop trying to appeal to them. Those voters will always vote for any candidate with a R next to their name as seen by Trump, Moore, etc. 

    Dems need to find a new base from the subset of disenfranchised voters and motivate them to become active in politics. I'd argue that is why Ocasio -Cortez won and how Obama did too. Dem leadership is afraid of this, because they are basically Republican lite and want to maintain the status quo. 

    Appealing to moderates is a losing strategy from an election and policy position because those moderates won't switch or already support dem policies which dem leadership are too afraid to defend. 

  9. 1 minute ago, OatmealRaisinCookie said:

    But I'm the millennial in your take. And having to pay 30+ (which is from 23 to 53 give or take and as I'm speaking in future tense this doesn't mean I've paid 30+ years, but projecting to. I've practically only paid in like 10 which is enough to have some skin in the game and complain about it, in my opinion) and not getting anything back is paying for the sins of your father.

    So we agree as it pertains to my post, your take is not fair.

    SS, medicare, etc aren't pay what you get. they are taxes. all the taxes don't come reimbursed to you. SS, medicare, etc should be seen as insurance policies that in case you fall below a certain threshold then you receive. 

    Republicans have been saying SS, medicare, etc is going broke for over 30+ years. It hasn't and won't. If Republicans cared about fiscal responsibility, they would cut military spending and stop giving tax breaks to billionaires and companies  

    • Like 1
  10. 17 minutes ago, pepper brooks said:

    Given the track record of epic failure of progressive legislation I cannot fathom anyone wanting more of it. 

    You mean like Kansas? Oh, wait. That is exactly the policies Republicans advocate and has been an catastrophic failure. 

  11. 9 hours ago, FondrenRoad said:

    Progressives have always been that voting bloc for the Dems. You do realize that evangelicals dont get their tent pole desires, right? The rest of us still have freedom of religion, abortion is legal, gay marriage is legal. In spite of their reliable vote, they get tax cuts and ridiculous gun rights which arent in their wish list top 10.

    I agree on disenfranchisement, but I fail to see how drumming up the progressive vote in already progressive districts helps that. You need to be hammering your state officials for that, and lead registration drives in moderate districts focusing more on state elections than federal at first. 

    It hasn't been binary. Conservatives have had incremental legislative wins in erosion of women's rights, expansion of fun laws, etc. They use the emotional issues to drive their voters to the polls but still implement broadly conservative policies while making incremental successes on the emotional issues. 

    I'd argue that conservatives have been extremely successful at implementing their policies but just haven't had to pass sweeping legislation that does it in one act. 

  12. 3 minutes ago, bad_teammate said:

    So here's the concern from Bad Dems like jimmyjazz and Fondren.

    They're worried that if a bunch of people start saying, "Hey, we should have universal healthcare, kids should be able to go to college for free, and women should get paid time off when they have a kid", that reasonable-moderate people will be so terrified of this insane leftism that those reasonable-moderate people will vote for this...

    Do I have that right?

    Exactly, this logic led to candidates like John Kerry, John Edwards, Hilldog, etc.  

    the establishment left loses when they moderate.  

    • Like 1
  13. 2 minutes ago, longhornmatt said:

    Exactly.  Republicans lower the tax rates every 10 years or so.  Every other domestic policy they campaign on ends in spectacular failure.  They will be talking about privatizing Social Security and appointing conservative justices to overturn Roe v. Wade in perpetuity.  Meanwhile, the Democrats actually get what they want, just not immediately.

    How many Supreme Court justices?

    the right has been systemically eroding liberties for decdes so I would argue their strategy has worked very well. 

  14. 3 minutes ago, FondrenRoad said:

    Except they haven't really enacted anything except a tax law. But they're an anti government party, they dont need to enact anything. It's harder to pass a funding bill than it is to kill one. 

     

    They have systemically disenfranchised people so the left / right paradigm is just shades of right. By saying this in the only range of positions, we limited the conversation allowing republican to win the debate before it began. 

    If the left can create a voting block as passionate and dedicated to the party as evangelicals then the left won’t need fake moderates 

  15. Team b_t and Mojo

    republicans have been able to enact regressive policies by requiring party purity. Fuck the moderates. Either support or go vote for a rapist, Russian stooge party 

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