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Has anyone noticed that life has suddenly become more civil? In the rural area in which I live, far fewer people wear those silly red MAGA hats. To not see those is to recognize a bit more validity in other beliefs, including my own. I don't have to get defensive as often. Maybe the hyper-partisan ship that has been the core of American political life will fade. Maybe people will start to ignore the shock-jocks (OK, terminal lung cancer will probably take Rash Libel away) and start asking about costs and benefits.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated Communist but instead the people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists -- Hannah Arendt.
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Biden is currently stacking his cabinet with neoliberal ghouls.
The truth is that the Democratic Party is ripe for a collapse, and I don't think the Republicans are far behind them.
This 4T has a ways to go, because the octogenarians are not ready to give up power.
I think Biden will triple down on Boomer centrist neoliberalism and austerity. The younger left is tired of waiting for their turn. And Trump's Boomer base will reemerge behind a new leader.
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(11-25-2020, 03:06 PM)User3451 Wrote: Biden is currently stacking his cabinet with neoliberal ghouls.
The truth is that the Democratic Party is ripe for a collapse, and I don't think the Republicans are far behind them.
This 4T has a ways to go, because the octogenarians are not ready to give up power.
I think Biden will triple down on Boomer centrist neoliberalism and austerity. The younger left is tired of waiting for their turn. And Trump's Boomer base will reemerge behind a new leader.
To quote Rudi Dornbusch, change happens slowly then all at once. Good luck finding that magic inflection point.
Intelligence is not knowledge and knowledge is not wisdom, but they all play well together.
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(11-24-2020, 04:51 PM)pbrower2a Wrote: Has anyone noticed that life has suddenly become more civil? In the rural area in which I live, far fewer people wear those silly red MAGA hats. To not see those is to recognize a bit more validity in other beliefs, including my own. I don't have to get defensive as often. Maybe the hyper-partisan ship that has been the core of American political life will fade. Maybe people will start to ignore the shock-jocks (OK, terminal lung cancer will probably take Rash Libel away) and start asking about costs and benefits.
If so, it is about time.
Trump said clearly enough that COVID was a hoax, that after the election it would disappear from the coastal media and Democratic language. If anything, the coverage of COVID is increased in the blue position and press. The claim that only a rigged election could result in a Democratic victory has been confronted by a steady string of loses in the courts, no evidence of the rigging, and the Republican lawyers looking like buffoons. No sign that all those judges will show loyalty to Trumps un-American values and endorse any attempt at overturning the voters. This might lead some red leaning folks to question Trump's other lies.
Still makes me interested in which faction comes out on top of the seemingly inevitable fight over control of the Republican remnants. It still seems to me that the red blue divide will remain more potent than any establishment against progressive divide among the Democrats.
But I personally seem past predicting what will come and shifting to watching the crisis resolve itself.
That this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.
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(11-26-2020, 11:56 PM)Bob Butler 54 Wrote: (11-24-2020, 04:51 PM)pbrower2a Wrote: Has anyone noticed that life has suddenly become more civil? In the rural area in which I live, far fewer people wear those silly red MAGA hats. To not see those is to recognize a bit more validity in other beliefs, including my own. I don't have to get defensive as often. Maybe the hyper-partisan ship that has been the core of American political life will fade. Maybe people will start to ignore the shock-jocks (OK, terminal lung cancer will probably take Rash Libel away) and start asking about costs and benefits.
If so, it is about time.
Trump said clearly enough that COVID was a hoax, that after the election it would disappear from the coastal media and Democratic language. If anything, the coverage of COVID is increased in the blue position and press. The claim that only a rigged election could result in a Democratic victory has been confronted by a steady string of loses in the courts, no evidence of the rigging, and the Republican lawyers looking like buffoons. No sign that all those judges will show loyalty to Trumps un-American values and endorse any attempt at overturning the voters. This might lead some red leaning folks to question Trump's other lies.
Still makes me interested in which faction comes out on top of the seemingly inevitable fight over control of the Republican remnants. It still seems to me that the red blue divide will remain more potent than any establishment against progressive divide among the Democrats.
But I personally seem past predicting what will come and shifting to watching the crisis resolve itself.
Yesterday, I applied my familial sanity check, and talked politics with my brother. My conclusion: the neo-right is even less willing to bend than it was before the election. Now, it's the Deep State selecting Biden, after trying to unseat Trump by other means for four years. I heard every conspiracy theory -- including the one that posits that the Murdock sons are really left-wingers and taking Fox News down that path. Yes, that's right: Fox News is the new CNN, and CNN is the new MSNBC.
This is far from over.
Intelligence is not knowledge and knowledge is not wisdom, but they all play well together.
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(11-29-2020, 08:22 AM)David Horn Wrote: (11-26-2020, 11:56 PM)Bob Butler 54 Wrote: (11-24-2020, 04:51 PM)pbrower2a Wrote: Has anyone noticed that life has suddenly become more civil? In the rural area in which I live, far fewer people wear those silly red MAGA hats. To not see those is to recognize a bit more validity in other beliefs, including my own. I don't have to get defensive as often. Maybe the hyper-partisan ship that has been the core of American political life will fade. Maybe people will start to ignore the shock-jocks (OK, terminal lung cancer will probably take Rash Libel away) and start asking about costs and benefits.
If so, it is about time.
Trump said clearly enough that COVID was a hoax, that after the election it would disappear from the coastal media and Democratic language. If anything, the coverage of COVID is increased in the blue position and press. The claim that only a rigged election could result in a Democratic victory has been confronted by a steady string of loses in the courts, no evidence of the rigging, and the Republican lawyers looking like buffoons. No sign that all those judges will show loyalty to Trumps un-American values and endorse any attempt at overturning the voters. This might lead some red leaning folks to question Trump's other lies.
Still makes me interested in which faction comes out on top of the seemingly inevitable fight over control of the Republican remnants. It still seems to me that the red blue divide will remain more potent than any establishment against progressive divide among the Democrats.
But I personally seem past predicting what will come and shifting to watching the crisis resolve itself.
Yesterday, I applied my familial sanity check, and talked politics with my brother. My conclusion: the neo-right is even less willing to bend than it was before the election. Now, it's the Deep State selecting Biden, after trying to unseat Trump by other means for four years. I heard every conspiracy theory -- including the one that posits that the Murdock sons are really left-wingers and taking Fox News down that path. Yes, that's right: Fox News is the new CNN, and CNN is the new MSNBC.
This is far from over.
Agreed, not only is it far from over, it continues to escalate.
The maga faction is growing stronger and more calcified in their beliefs.
Meanwhile, the democrats are making a huge mistake by loading up Biden's cabinet with swamp creatures
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(11-30-2020, 11:30 AM)User3451 Wrote: (11-29-2020, 08:22 AM)David Horn Wrote: Yesterday, I applied my familial sanity check, and talked politics with my brother. My conclusion: the neo-right is even less willing to bend than it was before the election. Now, it's the Deep State selecting Biden, after trying to unseat Trump by other means for four years. I heard every conspiracy theory -- including the one that posits that the Murdock sons are really left-wingers and taking Fox News down that path. Yes, that's right: Fox News is the new CNN, and CNN is the new MSNBC.
This is far from over.
Agreed, not only is it far from over, it continues to escalate.
The maga faction is growing stronger and more calcified in their beliefs.
Meanwhile, the democrats are making a huge mistake by loading up Biden's cabinet with swamp creatures
Biden sincerely believes that competence can rule the day. It can't. Sure, capable is vastly better than piss-poor, but it's not even a little inspiring. The country needs a mental sea change, and I don't see the Biden administration providing one. Trump inspired his crowd by being totally different, albeit not is a good way. Going back to the same old used-to-be, even a great version of it, is a non-starter.
Intelligence is not knowledge and knowledge is not wisdom, but they all play well together.
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(11-30-2020, 01:27 PM)David Horn Wrote: (11-30-2020, 11:30 AM)User3451 Wrote: (11-29-2020, 08:22 AM)David Horn Wrote: Yesterday, I applied my familial sanity check, and talked politics with my brother. My conclusion: the neo-right is even less willing to bend than it was before the election. Now, it's the Deep State selecting Biden, after trying to unseat Trump by other means for four years. I heard every conspiracy theory -- including the one that posits that the Murdock sons are really left-wingers and taking Fox News down that path. Yes, that's right: Fox News is the new CNN, and CNN is the new MSNBC.
This is far from over.
Agreed, not only is it far from over, it continues to escalate.
The maga faction is growing stronger and more calcified in their beliefs.
Meanwhile, the democrats are making a huge mistake by loading up Biden's cabinet with swamp creatures
Biden sincerely believes that competence can rule the day. It can't. Sure, capable is vastly better than piss-poor, but it's not even a little inspiring. The country needs a mental sea change, and I don't see the Biden administration providing one. Trump inspired his crowd by being totally different, albeit not is a good way. Going back to the same old used-to-be, even a great version of it, is a non-starter.
Yeah, Biden is probably going to bring on austerity for the people, which is really worst case scenario for his administration.
The never Trump republicans will be more prominent in his administration than leftists, by a wide margin. He will try to consolidate the center and complete the party realignment, creating a democrat party of center right and center left neoliberals.
I think they'll be surprised when the black and latino and asian vote moves toward the left and the right.
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(12-01-2020, 09:43 AM)User3451 Wrote: (11-30-2020, 01:27 PM)David Horn Wrote: (11-30-2020, 11:30 AM)User3451 Wrote: (11-29-2020, 08:22 AM)David Horn Wrote: Yesterday, I applied my familial sanity check, and talked politics with my brother. My conclusion: the neo-right is even less willing to bend than it was before the election. Now, it's the Deep State selecting Biden, after trying to unseat Trump by other means for four years. I heard every conspiracy theory -- including the one that posits that the Murdock sons are really left-wingers and taking Fox News down that path. Yes, that's right: Fox News is the new CNN, and CNN is the new MSNBC.
This is far from over.
Agreed, not only is it far from over, it continues to escalate.
The maga faction is growing stronger and more calcified in their beliefs.
Meanwhile, the democrats are making a huge mistake by loading up Biden's cabinet with swamp creatures
Biden sincerely believes that competence can rule the day. It can't. Sure, capable is vastly better than piss-poor, but it's not even a little inspiring. The country needs a mental sea change, and I don't see the Biden administration providing one. Trump inspired his crowd by being totally different, albeit not is a good way. Going back to the same old used-to-be, even a great version of it, is a non-starter.
Yeah, Biden is probably going to bring on austerity for the people, which is really worst case scenario for his administration.
The never Trump republicans will be more prominent in his administration than leftists, by a wide margin. He will try to consolidate the center and complete the party realignment, creating a democrat party of center right and center left neoliberals.
I think they'll be surprised when the black and latino and asian vote moves toward the left and the right.
Such austerity as most of us have felt is in personal life. COVID-19 makes life boring, lonely, and frustrating. But that is nothing like being hooked up to a ventilator, really alone and isolated, and in fear of death, with the likelihood of survival lower than that of death. The effect of a lockdown is that there isn't much to do for fun. Virtual reality goes only so far.
...The ultimate Deep State is constitutional norms and moral values that separate America from dictatorship that could arise when an authoritarian populist like a Trump seduces enough voters. Sure, there were people delighted when nearly-identical vans with US flags and Trump banners appeared at protests and people got out of those to harass protesters, just as there were people delighted when segregationists turned gire trucks into water cannons upon blacks and their few white friends for protesting segregation. Violent suppression of the grievances of large parts of the American people does not look good. It didn't look good when Polish Commies used fire trucks in much the same way in their country against people who wanted democracy, either.
We are at war with an insidious virus that has already killed over 270 thousand people in America, and the current President has told us to act as if the virus is no real danger -- and so have some of his political flunkies who have willingly sacrificed human lives for some economic activity. We are now in a third wave, and this one is the worst.
American electoral politics is coalition politics. Liberals are less than a majority of the American electorate, and it is reasonable to assume that conservative "never-Trumpers" deserve some recognition for their roles in winning America back from a demagogue who won 47% of the popular vote this time and lost after somehow winning a majority of the electoral vote while getting less than a plurality of the vote. Democrats must see the long view on the political contest, and the American political process is typically two sided. It is far better, and not just for winning Presidential elections, that the choice be between liberals and sane conservatives who both respect Constitutional norms and basic decencies of political life than between liberals and fascists who see a Constitution as a relic and force as the rightful expression of politics. Who knows if someone like a Hugo Chavez will take over the Democratic Party at some desperate time? In such a case we will need some sane and humane conservatives frustrating such a left-wing demagogue. Liberals did their job in thwarting Trump, but they did not prove enough to do this on their own.
Biden is far more rational than Trump, and reason almost invariably works better in serving human needs than does an appeal to the primitive drives and impulses. The success in defeating COVID-19 will mean that people can go back to enjoying their casinos, bars, amusement parks, mega-church services, seasonal celebrations, and family get-togethers again. That is a real return to normal.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated Communist but instead the people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists -- Hannah Arendt.
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