The bottom line for democracy is there has to be at least two parties. I hoped some of the more sane longer-term or old style conservatives might've grown a Lincoln Party or something by now. Very disappointing. Whatever this current froot loop train mess is operating within the host body that was the Republican party, it's neither conservative nor has anything positive in terms of plans to build on really. Twenty plus years of Limpdick half-truth outrage manufacturing spilling from multiple radio stations per market over to social media, streaming platforms and cable tv. How long is there always enough for angry reactionaries? How long can simple hate and blame feel good?
Senators Manchin and Sinema seemed determined to do nothing for the party they ran for, pretty much absolutely nothing. Tell me if there has actually been something they have supported. I have no idea what they are if not paid ringers to monkey-wrench every Democratic initiative they can. You can take one or two major differences, but they are just obstructionist 'no's playing some kind of waste time game ala Trump. If either or both enable the violations to fair elections they are going to be major figures of disgust in some more hopeful future, which seems very unlikely to come any time soon.
People voted for a Democrat with Manchin and Sinema... do they really have no rights to representation that actually supports a fair amount of the parties' platforms? Even a third of them? How those two keep behaving is well past anything McCain, Collins and Murkowski did in stopping the affordable care act from being thrown away. There are fewer last resorts than ever, and when they are gone through or disappear... I consider the current supreme court as at best a flip of a coin if not actively hostile towards democratic principles or even it's own precedents.
Stall, obstruct and obfuscate is what a big chunk of the people are still 'for', and even with hospitalizations at a record high that's only getting more entrenched with walled ghettos of accepted media for many. I will watch Fox where I can sometimes (without paying for the channel as you have to in Canada) and I still can't see how they never mind anything with similar false information continues to be allowed. I don't care if it's pushing magnets as a cure for cancer or give us money so Jesus will pick you like cotton tomorrow... there has been something massively wrong with weakening U.S. public airwaves (bandwidth) that started as far back as thirty years ago against Bill Clinton. People seemed to think if anti-monopoly laws were still showing some teeth all was well and this weakening of the FCC was backstopped somehow. Major wrong turn! Weimar Germany had every kind of newspaper imaginable, but eventually it had just one.
And second, several thousand people were gathered that day to protest, and many of them did not enter the capitol or participate in the insurrection in any way. Those who were peaceful protestors should not be lumped in with the insurrectionists.
Can you point me in the direction of one of those peaceful protestors acknowledging the violence (that is to say NOT downplaying it or insisting it was Antifa or the FBI), condemning the insurrection or even admitting Trump lost the election? One who didn't do so as part of a plea bargain? Google fails me.
Edited by David Miller on 12 January 2022 at 2:02pm
And why are we bending over backwards to argue that not ALL of the attendees who went to the rally stormed the Capitol? What kind of worthwhile metric is that?
What is relevant is that ALL those who stormed the Capitol came from the rally!
Until he crashes in disgrace or dies, there will be no lessening of Trump's power.
At this point, it's difficult to imagine any scenario which might cause him to crash in disgrace. The extent of the loyalty he commands is as powerful as it is inexplicable. When your followers are literally unwilling to acknowledge reality, you can pretty much do anything you want without consequences. Unfortunately, I think Trump's influence over Republican voters (and therefore, the party) will continue unabated until he dies.
>> Sen. Lindsey Graham has hit out at Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, saying he won't back McConnell to lead the GOP unless McConnell has a "working relationship" with former President Donald Trump. <<
Hmph.
The Toady turns on the Turtle, eh?
Well, it's only to the country's benefit if Trump foments a civil war within the Republican Party.
Meanwhile...
>> President Joe Biden's approval rating dropped to 33% in a new Quinnipiac University poll, the lowest mark of any major public survey during his presidency, as he takes a beating over his handling of the economy and coronavirus. <<
Oy.
And -- a recent op-ed in the Wall Street Journal (of all places) advocated for Hillary Clinton to run for president in 2024.
You're not going to find a bigger Hillary fan than me, and even I think it's a terrible idea for her to run. And I'm pretty sure she doesn't want to, either. This is the same pattern that happened in the run up to 2008 and 2016 election - a bunch of op-eds and things encouraging her to run, and then the knives come out when she does.