US 2020 Presidential Election

[Couchpotato]

A message from Lauren Boebert.

Eh…I despise the old mummy so any hit piece for me is good watching.

 

[Capt. Huggy Face]

Yeah, we're probably not done with the click-click-boom, as evidenced by the brilliant observational powers of one cheesehead elected to the so-called most-deliberative governmental body in the world.

Those "…people that love this country, that truly respect law enforcement, would never do anything to break the law…" killed a cop by hitting him in the head with a fire extinguisher, fuckface. I'd appreciate it if voting Republicans would not foist upon me their fantasies and yen for subjugation, with little care for whichever side of it they might find themselves upon, so long as the boot on their neck is worn by one of their perceived own, as embodied by vile morons like this.

Oh, and you can shove your casual dismissal of our democracy under the shadow of an authoritarian mob straight up your willing ass, fuckface. Nice job, Wisconsin.

 

[Capt. Huggy Face]

Raphael Warnock, the first black U.S. senator elected in Georgia, gives his first speech on the Senate floor in a call to pass proposed legislation to defend the voting rights currently under attack in nearly half the states of this country:

 

[Stingray]

As I understood it (I'm no expert on every state's laws, but this has generally been the norm), the state's governor picks the replacement for retiring congressmen. I recall others postponing their retirements in the hope of a governor being elected from their same party, so as not to cause a shift in power for their beloved political parties. This is just another power grab. McConnell, of course, wants to change the rules of the game, because he wants to step away for whatever personal reasons without hurting the GOP in terms of the power it holds. Kentucky currently has a Democratic governor, so he would likely choose a Democrat. McConnell wants to change the rules so that the political party losing an elected douchebag to retirement would force the governor to choose from a short list of replacements provided by the political party losing said douchebag to retirement, in this case the Republican Party.

This change in the law would give considerably more power to political parties than they already have (In this case, McConnell would be picking his own replacement.), while significantly decreasing the power of the establishment and the governor's office.

The above seems a bit rambling to me now: The change would no longer allow the governor to pick whatever replacement he wants, i.e. one from his own party, but would force him to pick a replacement from the same party of the guy retiring….and moreover would have to pick a person of the choosing of the political party of the retiring congressman.

It's not that unusual, several states do it that way, it's been a trend recently. Some other states don't even allow interim appointments at all, have to just wait until a special election.

Maryland Democrats implemented a similar law just a few years ago after the Maryland people elected a Republican governor, for the same reasons. It also requires the governor to choose from a "short list" submitted by the party. https://casetext.com/statute/code-o...ection-8-602-special-election-to-fill-vacancy

 

[Capt. Huggy Face]

You'll forgive me if I find McConnell's timing suspect.

 

[dteowner]

You'll forgive me if I find McConnell's timing suspect.

Some will see what they want to see, which is fine I suppose. The evidence is that this is routine politics for both parties. If it smells a little funny, well...politics.

 

[Capt. Huggy Face]

Some will see what they want to see…The evidence is that this is routine politics for both parties.

That's certainly true -- the first part, anyway.

 

[Carnifex]

Gerrymandering has been a terrible blight in this country for over two hundred years, I seriously hope it's fully addressed at some point. It is simply outrageous that, in these current days, these shenanigans are even possible.

 

[Capt. Huggy Face]

Not just possible but growing demonstrably worse to the point of posing an existential threat to our democracy.

 

[Ripper]

The way I see it, the Republicans realised that what they tried to pull this time failed because their cases were so laughable, even the friendly judges were pretty much saying, "I just can't help you here." So, I think they're getting busy laying the groundwork for a much better chance next time.

 

[Capt. Huggy Face]

And we all sit by and watch it happen, treating Republicans like a legitimate political party, like nothing has happened and nothing is continuing to happen.

 

[Ripper]

Well, the Democratic Party is a fairly lifeless heap of status quo machinery. I still don't think they've remotely adapted to what they're up against.

 

[Ripper]

There was an interesting data scientist on Real Time, making a point that I think is very important. He was talking about the fact that minority demographics typically vote Democrat, but most identify as conservative, not liberal. To me, that fits with my picture of what's going on - that many people are much closer to the democrats on the bedrock economic issues and foreign policy, but not on board with what they see as "woke" politics, racial identitarianism, twitter mobs, and so on.

I really do think that left-leaning parties need to refocus on the core issues that matter to people's lives, and put some daylight between them and the prescriptive fringe. I think it's hard to overstate how much damage that stuff does to the chances for holding the power that's needed for real change. My take, is that it would be much better to move sharply away from the culture war stuff, and focus on the fundamentals, cleaning up the relationship between money and power.

 

[Carnifex]

Yeah Ripper, that segment really made me stop and think. How people vote yet what they actually think, and the reasoning involved behind all that is more than political, or economical, it's a super hybrid that can fluctuate depending on many circumstances. Any polling person watching and trying to understand all this likely had a fit!

 

[Capt. Huggy Face]

I think it can be boiled down fairly simply, though. While this may not be entirely accurate, it's probably not a bad guide:

This country leans to the right everywhere but on the far left. The Dems' large tent will cover plenty of the middle of the road, if they don't knock it over by flinging around their canceled Dr. Seuss books and open checkbook too much.

With only two major political parties and an overly simplistic mindset overall in this country, I fear how many people might return to the GOP, with little thought to how they're endangering their own votes and our democracy. Old habits die hard.

I guess I basically said what you did, Ripper. Please don't shoot yourselves and our democracy in the foot by being yourselves too much, Dems. Though, really, this is a question of leadership. I believe the Democraric Party, as a whole, leans more to the right than the real lefties will admit.

 

[Ripper]

That's one of the things that always strikes me - by European standards, the Democrats are essentially a centre-right party, and the Republicans have simply gone off the reservation.

To me, there's two strains of the left I understand. There's the liberals, who embrace the system of capitalism, but think it needs more democratic control to moderate it. I think that's a very large bloc. Then there's the leftists, and their take is that what we might call crony capitalism is a misconception - that's just capitalism, and it will always run out of control and become dysfunctional. I absolutely hear that argument, but their problem is that they've never come up with a credible vision of what an alternative might look like, that most people would trust.

But the other faction of what's now called the left - the conformist, draconian moralisers - I don't get them at all. I'm amazed they can't see that, just on a strategic level, their politics are handing the opposition a stick for a beating. I've mentioned before that I think so many of our problems are rooted in deprivation. If we can really do something to improve living standards and public services for ordinary people, that is the single biggest thing we could do to address all the other injustices we might be concerned about. They really need to get their heads out of their arses.

With regard to the Dr. Seuss drama, that one I think is more a concoction of the right, to take advantage of the situation. It seems to me that all the publishers really did, was to decide that a couple of books in the collection were outdated, and didn't need to be published anymore - which they do every day, for all sorts of reasons.

Here is an illustration by early Dr. Seuss. I believe that one's from a magazine, but I think it serves the point. If a publisher is looking at whether they want to put stuff on shelves that leans in that direction, I'm not too shocked that they might decide against it.

 

[Stingray]

With regard to the Dr. Seuss drama, that one I think is more a concoction of the right, to take advantage of the situation. It seems to me that all the publishers really did, was to decide that a couple of books in the collection were outdated, and didn't need to be published anymore - which they do every day, for all sorts of reasons.

Here is an illustration by early Dr. Seuss. I believe that one's from a magazine, but I think it serves the point. If a publisher is looking at whether they want to put stuff on shelves that leans in that direction, I'm not too shocked that they might decide against it.

You couldn't be more wrong there. If the publisher(s) simply stopped printing new copies of books that contain illustrations similar to the one you linked, most people wouldn't be surprised. Most people would be surprised they were still in print to begin with (if, indeed, they were). The outrage is largely triggered by the effort to ban books that are already out there from being resold which is clearly ludicrous and, frankly, anti-American. But also, other related attempts to "cancel" Dr. Seuss in general:

eBay bans resale of the Dr. Seuss books (Mein Kampf is fine, though):
https://fortune.com/2021/03/05/dr-seuss-banned-books-ebay-removes-listings/

Theme parks may cancel him too:
https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-brie...orlando-evaluating-dr-seuss-themed-attraction

Biden removes Dr. Seuss from "Read Across America Day":
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...ica-day-dr-seuss-diversity-racism/6878454002/

In regards to that last link…in 2016, in his last Read Across America Day proclamation, Obama said this:

March 2 is also the birthday of one of America's revered wordsmiths. Theodor Seuss Geisel -- or Dr. Seuss -- used his incredible talent to instill in his most impressionable readers universal values we all hold dear. Through a prolific collection of stories, he made children see that reading is fun, and in the process, he emphasized respect for all; pushed us to accept ourselves for who we are; challenged preconceived notions and encouraged trying new things; and by example, taught us that we are limited by nothing but the range of our aspirations and the vibrancy of our imaginations. And for older lovers of literature, he reminded us not to take ourselves too seriously, creating wacky and wild characters and envisioning creative and colorful places.

In 2015 on the same day, Obama said:

Brilliant writers enable us to stand in someone else's shoes and identify with their hopes and struggles -- even if they do not look like us or share our beliefs. They transport us to distant times and faraway lands, and today we honor a storyteller who brought these new worlds into classrooms and bedrooms all around the globe. The works of Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known to us as Dr. Seuss, have sparked a love for reading in generations of students. His whimsical wordplay and curious characters inspire children to dream big and remind readers of all ages that "a person's a person no matter how small."

In 2014, Obama said:

This day is also a time to honor the legacy of Theodor Seuss Geisel, known to us as Dr. Seuss. Countless Americans can recall his books as their first step into the lands of letters and wordplay. With creatures, contraptions, and vibrant characters, they have led generations of happy travelers through voyages of the imagination. Yet his tales also challenge dictators and discrimination. They call us to open our minds, to take responsibility for ourselves and our planet. And they remind us that the value of our possessions pales in comparison to that of the ties we share with family, friends, and community.

In 2013, Obama said:

We also take time to remember Theodor Seuss Geisel -- better known as Dr. Seuss -- whose works of humor and heart remind us that it is never too early to kindle a passion for reading. Books open the window to worlds of imagination, and the lessons they teach form the bedrock for a lifetime of learning. By encouraging reading at home and in school, parents, caregivers, and educators help set our children on the path to years of fulfillment and possibility. American progress depends on what we do for our students, so all of us must strive to empower the next generation with the tools they need to build a brighter future.

I won't continue spamming but Trump mentioned him by name all 4 years he was in office, too. Now, Biden can't even mention him by name. That's the very definition of leftist Cancel Culture.

 

[Capt. Huggy Face]

My advice to the Dems:

Speak with your actions. Don't fight an idealogoical war, a war of ideas, a moralistic war. We do this all the time with real bullets overseas, and it doesn't work. The only time it worked is when he had a clear enemy -- an enemy in authoritarian nationalism, by the way -- and most of the rest of the world on our side.

Win hearts and minds through your actions, through practical legislation. Big-ticket items are still OK, but these are populist times; think in populist terms. I think Biden is actually on the right track here, if he isn't derailed by his own party. You accomplish the basic goals of the Green New Deal by creating green jobs in an infrastructure bill, rather than forcing the empty ideology of the actual Green New Deal, with its amorphous and arbitrary goals set with little thought spent on actually getting there. The actual Green New Deal is an ideological war, but an infrastructure bill is an actual road map to get there.

And all but the heaviest Kool-Aid drinkers, the biggest ideologues, will see the intimate, inextricable relationship between a shift toward cleaner, renewable energy and the many jobs created in improving our long-neglected infrastructure. You don't tie a hot-button, albeit practical, issue like the minimum wage with such thin thread to a covid stimulus bill. That's waging an ideological war, and thankfully Biden had the wisdom to drop it as an obvious and loosely held bargaining chip. (Personally, I support a federal minimum wage of $12/hr, if anyone cares, but I'm talking strategy here.)

No small part of our many problems is the Democrats don't have reasonable Republicans to bargain with, but you still have to bargain just the same. Don't take the easy path of ramming your empty ideology through simply because you can, as the modern-day Republican would. You have to bargain with an imaginary reasonable Republican in your head, because, though imaginary, he represents a sizeable portion of voters in this country, and our democracy still hangs in the balance. You can hate Sen. Joe Manchin as a single man standing in the way of your idealological goals, but he represents a lot more voters in this country than the small handful in his West Virginia district. (And he threw out a minimum wage of $11/hr to be adjusted over time with the cost of living, so you could talk him up to $12 easily.)

 

[Ripper]

@Stingray;

No, I don't think it's a definitive case of cancel culture. The fact that Obama was fond of his books and probably oblivious to the problems, and then problems come to light and Biden decides not to include them on a recommended list, does not seem very shocking to me. And that corporations like Disney are always worried about their brand, and might want to distance themselves from something controversial, also strikes me as business as usual.

Every human society has norms and standards of what is acceptable and what is offensive, there have always been reactions for transgressing those, and these standards change over time. So, I think it's important to recognise that we are not dealing with something that is fundamentally new. When society had a more conservative sensibility, they went after comic books, DnD, The Life of Brian, and so on and on. The fact that these battles go on, and there's some group shouting "Down with this sort of thing!" I think is actually quite natural in a democracy - not that I'm in favour of it.

I don't think the problem of cancel culture is about revising opinions on past authors, which is an ongoing process. For an example of cancel culture, I think the case of Miss Teen Vogue is a definitive case. A 27 year-old woman loses her job because tweets she made as a teenager were discovered - that's a whole different ballgame. And presumably she's going to carry that round her neck for the rest of whatever career she has. That to me is where were start to get into the realm of McCarthyite style political correctness.

 

[lackblogger]

I would just like to point out that the real story here is ebay banning the resale of the 2nd hand books.

Likewise, I posted earlier in the year in an off-topic thread how Paypal have taken it upon themselves to ban the use of their service for vape products.

And we are now in the realm of having to make some very serious questions about the future of our societies, in that to what extent can a private company enforce universal bans at a whim, regardless of general laws on those products.

When is a 'private' company actually equivalent in value and coverage to a public company and to what extent a private 'morality' is legally permissible.

Ok, so we are prepared to offer our politician's the power to upset horrific dictators in small countries, but what about all those small dictators with equivalent power to small countries running 'private' businesses?