Imagine being a Republican....

[Rman]

Decades of GOP admins have proved supply-side economics is a wealth transfer scheme from poor to rich.

Voter suppression is a necessary strategy since your platform is so shite.

You're on the only major political party that denies climate change in the developed world.  Even China is serious about climate change, despite their awful human rights record.

When you're only reliable demographic is high school educated old white guys.  Even suburban whites are abandoning ship due to Trump.

Brag about the troops, but severely underfund VA hospitals.

Gut education and critical thinking in states were the GOP controls the education system, knowing that reality has a liberal bias.

Yet they're still competitive in the US.

I don't get it. 

But then this shows how mediocre US Democrats have become.

[Great Rumbler]

Yeah, but they're against the homosexuals and wanna ban abortion, so it evens out.

[Transhuman]

When you remember that it's a war fought with chequebooks it starts to make more sense.

[ToxicAdam]

If you have a sober look at American history it's always been a shitshow. We just had a small window in time where the entire world was in ruins and we got fat off it (literally).

So, whatever your idealized impression of what America "was" is probably wrong.


edit: Also, lol at China taking climate change seriously. You cultists are easily duped.
https://www.npr.org/2019/04/29/716347646/why-is-china-placing-a-global-bet-on-coal

[Akala]

So, whatever your idealized impression of what America "was" is probably wrong.

that's kind of the joke with MAGA isn't it? It's even funnier with the shift to KAG. 

I can generally see where people are coming from but the modern republican party is an affront. we are off the rails and repubs are objectively trying to poison the well to maybe have a few more years of viability at this point.

[benjipwns]

[Rman]

If you have a sober look at American history it's always been a shitshow. We just had a small window in time where the entire world was in ruins and we got fat off it (literally).

So, whatever your idealized impression of what America "was" is probably wrong.


edit: Also, lol at China taking climate change seriously. You cultists are easily duped.
https://www.npr.org/2019/04/29/716347646/why-is-china-placing-a-global-bet-on-coal

I agree. I don't believe history is linear. It's cyclical.  But nihilism is not the answer here. 

[Rman]

When you're only reliable demographic is high school educated...

 

Hey if Obama can make that mistake on Twitter, so can I ;p

[Occam]

The Republican party is basically just comically evil at this point.

However, the entire American news media (and entertainment) system is designed and controlled by a tiny super rich elite to keep the poor occupied with (and angry about) other (meaningless) topics so they don't realize they have nothing and are being taken advantage of. America's political system is a sham. The idea of donating money to individual candidates so they stand a chance of being elected is laughable. Both the Republican and the Democratic party are just tools; despite everything even the Democrats have never dared to rock the boat.
And whenever someone emerges who could actually be disruptive, the media protects the interests of their billionaire owners and prevents that person's rise to the top by influencing public opinion.

[Rman]

The Republican party is basically just comically evil at this point.

However, the entire American news media (and entertainment) system is designed and controlled by a tiny super rich elite to keep the poor occupied with (and angry about) other (meaningless) topics so they don't realize they have nothing and are being taken advantage of. America's political system is a sham. The idea of donating money to individual candidates so they stand a chance of being elected is laughable. Both the Republican and the Democratic party are just tools; despite everything even the Democrats have never dared to rock the boat.
And whenever someone emerges who could actually be disruptive, the media protects the interests of their billionaire owners and prevents that person's rise to the top by influencing public opinion.

It wasn't always like this. The Dems abandoned the working class with Bill Clinton. The repeal of Glass Steagall, which separated retail and investment banks. NAFTA which decimated the Rust Belt and so on. This Neoliberal circus has been a clear failure.

[benjipwns]

I have to imagine even scat fetishists would prefer to get peed on if it was out of nowhere and generally unplanned. Pee is sterile, poo is the source of many historic epidemics.

This message brought to you by a political science masters from an accredited university.

[ToxicAdam]

It wasn't always like this. The Dems abandoned the working class with Bill Clinton. The repeal of Glass Steagall, which separated retail and investment banks. NAFTA which decimated the Rust Belt and so on. This Neoliberal circus has been a clear failure.

The Rust Belt was well into free fall well before the 90's. Basically starting in the mid-70s' and then punctuating in the early 80's recession (which was just as jolting as the 2008 one was for those cities).

You need to quit buying the modern socialist talking points.

https://www.minneapolisfed.org/~/media/images/pubs/eppapers/14-6/epp-dec2014-rustbelt-fig1-472.jpg?h=321&&w=450&la=en

[Brehvolution]

Capitalism killed manufacturing in the rust belt with the help of both parties.

[TVC15]

Decades of GOP admins have proved supply-side economics is a wealth transfer scheme from poor to rich.

Voter suppression is a necessary strategy since your platform is so shite.

You're on the only major political party that denies climate change in the developed world.  Even China is serious about climate change, despite their awful human rights record.

When you're only reliable demographic is high school educated old white guys.  Even suburban whites are abandoning ship due to Trump.

Brag about the troops, but severely underfund VA hospitals.

Gut education and critical thinking in states were the GOP controls the education system, knowing that reality has a liberal bias.

Yet they're still competitive in the US.

I don't get it. 

But then this shows how mediocre US Democrats have become.

People are really stupid. Yada yada George Carlin quote. They’re too stupid to actually understand things that could alleviate their problems. Even if circumstances permitted, they’re too dumb to be educated. We as a species vastly overestimate our brains, and all of the nonsense and bullshit Civilization v 0.4 is probably too much for most people. It’s only brainy experts that idiotically expect everyone else to be as smart as they are. We’re dumb fucking animals and we’re always going to vote with our dumbest, most easily manipulated emotions. Education, brains, intelligence, thinking, it can’t beat what’s built in—you can’t rip out our firmware. Shit like preying on fear and aversion works far better than any Democratic technique, and they require less effort.

It’s probably really easy to be a Republican these days. Why wouldn’t it be? Money is good, fear is abundant, and <looks at watch> it’s close enough to the primaries that I can feel confident saying that the Democrats haven’t made it easy for themselves next year. Democrats wouldn’t have a Republican on their side if they needed it (and they desperately do).  I guess a lot can happen with the impeachment, and I certainly hope a lot of damage is done, but when Joe Biden is your best shot... 

[team filler]

white people are still terrified of the browns and the blacks, that's all you need to build a voting base

[TVC15]

That’s right, my exotic sexson. You can’t educate out humanity’s undying love for seeing and creating orders and hierarchies. The trait may be the source for all sorts of bigotry, but I don’t think civilization is possible without it. It’s why the whole shindig was a bad idea. I would’ve been perfectly satisfied mangling all of your wives and spawn with stones and clubs while you were out hunting so I could steal you store of dried roots and medicinal endangered animal penises.

[Tasty]

"Which is the party of Jesus?"
-most of the GOP electorate

You're not going to combat the political version of manifest destiny with things like facts and history.

[TVC15]

"Which is the party of Jesus?"
-most of the GOP electorate

You're not going to combat the political version of manifest destiny with things like facts and history.

Don’t be silly. Jesus was both anti-Semitic (trashing the temple, shitting on Sanhedrin, trying to replace Judaism) and a statist in his outspoken support for the empire. He had traits of BOTH SIDES. You can’t shove him into one political party or the other just because the other side does. That makes you look as simple as they do, boo.

[OnlyRegret]

May have gotten serious about climate only because their air is so unbreathable at times that people here make money by selling them canned air.

In any case, yeah, people are incapable of leading the civilization of the future. Technocracy now.

[Tasty]

TVC, I'm not who you need to convince.

[ToxicAdam]

Capitalism killed manufacturing in the rust belt with the help of both parties.

"Rust Belts" have happened in every industrialized civilization in the world, though. China has them, Russia has them, Europe has them.

I think it's a little too reductive to say it's the fault of capitalism alone.

Drastic improvements in automation which leads to far less man-hours needed to produce the same unit of production, the improvements of infrastructure and trade routes that freed up industry from being locked into certain regions based on geography, corpocracy which allowed "the winners" to keep the paradigm the same (and swallowing up regional competitors in the process) while they quickly get outflanked by global competitors until the business eventually became untenable down the road. All these things played a huge role in fostering a Rust Belt.

[OnlyRegret]

yes, the wealthy do enjoy any chance to reduce silly costs like labour and transferring the savings to themselves
it is indeed bipartisan in its nature, one likes to exploit people elsewhere and not let them in, the other lets them in because they need some people to exploit nearby

[team filler]

That’s right, my exotic sexson. You can’t educate out humanity’s undying love for seeing and creating orders and hierarchies. The trait may be the source for all sorts of bigotry, but I don’t think civilization is possible without it. It’s why the whole shindig was a bad idea. I would’ve been perfectly satisfied mangling all of your wives and spawn with stones and clubs while you were out hunting so I could steal you store of dried roots and medicinal endangered animal penises.

big black cock is the cure, but it's a slow process to get where we want to be 

doesn't help that obummer and the do nothing dems sold us out to wall street and the healthcare industry

[TVC15]

"Which is the party of Jesus?"
-most of the GOP electorate

You're not going to combat the political version of manifest destiny with things like facts and history.

Don’t be silly. Jesus was both anti-Semitic (trashing the temple, shitting on Sanhedrin, trying to replace Judaism) and a statist in his outspoken support for the empire. He had traits of BOTH SIDES. You can’t shove him into one political party or the other just because the other side does. That makes you look as simple as they do, boo.

Jesus didn't try to replace Judaism, he was in fact a pretty hardcore follower of Mosaic Law and wanted to make sure Jews never stopped following it. He wasn't even preaching to non-Jews!

You heard it here, folks. Synogogue vandal actually “pretty hardcore follower of Mosaic Law and wanted to make sure Jews never stopped following it.”

[TVC15]

I first read Marat/Sade while in jail for a weekend. Or a little of it. I was more focused on Gogol.

[TVC15]

I most recently saw that man in a Murder, She Wrote episode!

[team filler]

the dirty dems want you to be grateful for the table scraps they throw on the floor for you while they eat

the trumplicans want you to stop feeling entitled to the crumbs that accidentally hit the floor while they eat

 

[Occam]

By the way, what does it say about the American people when nearly half of them keep voting for obvious comic book villains who want to bleed them dry/kill them in order to maximize profits?

[team filler]

life has not yet become uncomfortable enough for us to be out in the streets en masse, we're getting closer, but not quite there yet.

when it is more uncomfortable to sit at home than it is to take to the streets, something interesting might happen.

[Rman]

By the way, what does it say about the American people when nearly half of them keep voting for obvious comic book villains who want to bleed them dry/kill them in order to maximize profits?

Look at farmers, getting killed by the idiotic trade wars, yet still mega loyal to Trump.  Timber and metal industries the same.  The top corporations like Apple are able to avoid tariffs since many top business leaders have direct access to Trump. But if you own a timber/wood company in a small town, you're fucked.

[I'm a Puppy!]

life has not yet become uncomfortable enough for us to be out in the streets en masse, we're getting closer, but not quite there yet.

when it is more uncomfortable to sit at home than it is to take to the streets, something interesting might happen.

We've essentially bankrupted an entire generation. If it hasn't happened by now, it's not happening.

[OnlyRegret]

By the way, what does it say about the American people when nearly half of them keep voting for obvious comic book villains who want to bleed them dry/kill them in order to maximize profits?

Look at farmers, getting killed by the idiotic trade wars, yet still mega loyal to Trump.  Timber and metal industries the same.  The top corporations like Apple are able to avoid tariffs since many top business leaders have direct access to Trump. But if you own a timber/wood company in a small town, you're fucked.

Poor and conservative people are sympathetic to socialist ideas at their basest and without any baggage of labels

By the way, what does it say about the American people when nearly half of them keep voting for obvious comic book villains who want to bleed them dry/kill them in order to maximize profits?

Half 

[Mandark]

It wasn't always like this. The Dems abandoned the working class with Bill Clinton.

Nobody ever blames Jimmy Carter for any of this, which I think has a lot to do with his post-presidency life.

[TVC15]

It wasn't always like this. The Dems abandoned the working class with Bill Clinton.

Nobody ever blames Jimmy Carter for any of this, which I think has a lot to do with his post-presidency life.

Are you suggesting that Jimmy Carter feels guilty for letting Willie Nelson smoke marijuana at the White House and has spent the past 40 years repenting?

[team filler]

It wasn't always like this. The Dems abandoned the working class with Bill Clinton.

Nobody ever blames Jimmy Carter for any of this, which I think has a lot to do with his post-presidency life.

I agree, someone should bash his head in now that he's old and too weak to defend himself. rot in hell dirty jimmy!

[TVC15]

It wasn't always like this. The Dems abandoned the working class with Bill Clinton.

Nobody ever blames Jimmy Carter for any of this, which I think has a lot to do with his post-presidency life.

I agree, someone should bash his head in now that he's old and too weak to defend himself. rot in hell dirty jimmy!

Go back to growing peanuts! At least you were doing some good then!

[Mandark]

Nobody ever blames Jimmy Carter for any of this, which I think has a lot to do with his post-presidency life.

I think it has more to do with the fact Carter couldn't do any of the things he wanted besides deregulating the airline industry and the House consensus was still orthodox liberalism.

I think the perception has definitely shifted. He almost lost a primary challenge as an incumbent president!

But since retiring it's mostly been Habitat for Humanity stuff and Republicans hating on him, so of course Dems are going to feel more warmly towards him now. Still, he thwarted universal healthcare when he was in office and that's just disappeared down the memory hole.

[ToxicAdam]

So the lesson of this thread is that when you let Southerners run your political party, shit goes bad.

[TVC15]

aka you’re now expected to also lift up an HSA by its bootstraps.

[Potato]

As an outsider, I agree with all of the points in the OP. However, I also have to ask how the democrats are so fucking offensively bad that they couldn't win against this sort of shitshow?

[team filler]

Nobody ever blames Jimmy Carter for any of this, which I think has a lot to do with his post-presidency life.

I think it has more to do with the fact Carter couldn't do any of the things he wanted besides deregulating the airline industry and the House consensus was still orthodox liberalism.

I think the perception has definitely shifted. He almost lost a primary challenge as an incumbent president!

But since retiring it's mostly been Habitat for Humanity stuff and Republicans hating on him, so of course Dems are going to feel more warmly towards him now. Still, he thwarted universal healthcare when he was in office and that's just disappeared down the memory hole.

drag him, bb

[Great Rumbler]

As an outsider, I agree with all of the points in the OP. However, I also have to ask how the democrats are so fucking offensively bad that they couldn't win against this sort of shitshow?

Because even though they're not Republicans, they're still Americans.

[team filler]

none of the trumplicans I met in the south actually vote, but the demoncrats I met out there do 

[OnlyRegret]

none of the trumplicans I met in the south actually vote, but the demoncrats I met out there do 

I can't believe the 0bama conspiracy to suppress the vote of the patriots, how diabolical

[TVC15]

Saul bussing Alinsky

[team filler]

none of the trumplicans I met in the south actually vote, but the demoncrats I met out there do 

I can't believe the 0bama conspiracy to suppress the vote of the patriots, how diabolical

the best friend I made out there works with voting machines and I'm pretty sure he never votes 

[TVC15]

none of the trumplicans I met in the south actually vote, but the demoncrats I met out there do 

I can't believe the 0bama conspiracy to suppress the vote of the patriots, how diabolical

the best friend I made out there works with voting machines and I'm pretty sure he never votes 

When you say made out do you mean like frenchy nakie made out? And what did the voting machines do?

[OnlyRegret]

none of the trumplicans I met in the south actually vote, but the demoncrats I met out there do 

I can't believe the 0bama conspiracy to suppress the vote of the patriots, how diabolical

the best friend I made out there works with voting machines and I'm pretty sure he never votes 

was his name ivan or dmitri?

[TVC15]

I mean are there opportunities with a voting machine? I don’t think I’ve ever seen a real one. Could you do things with one? With protrusions and whatnot, maybe? There’s a lever that moves, I’m sure there’s potential there. Not sure about the electronics... maybe an e-stim sounding hack? For the big win?

[OnlyRegret]

I mean are there opportunities with a voting machine? I don’t think I’ve ever seen a real one. Could you do things with one? With protrusions and whatnot, maybe? There’s a lever that moves, I’m sure there’s potential there. Not sure about the electronics... maybe an e-stim sounding hack? For the big win?

never underestimate an octopus in japanese art

[team filler]

none of the trumplicans I met in the south actually vote, but the demoncrats I met out there do 

I can't believe the 0bama conspiracy to suppress the vote of the patriots, how diabolical

the best friend I made out there works with voting machines and I'm pretty sure he never votes 

When you say made out do you mean like frenchy nakie made out? And what did the voting machines do?

I mean in the boring just hangout and barbecue way. met through a mutual friend, this sexy ass stripper slut. she had the best body of any woman I've seen in person and loved getting spun in her apart with me  perfect tetas, slim waistline, thicc hips/ass/thighs 

buddy worked for the city and handled voting machines. he told me all about his job in great detail and I remember none of what he said, as I was twacked out at the time 

[TVC15]

stosta did you forget to change accounts again?

[OnlyRegret]

can't be, not seeing anything about policing the other guy's online posting in the rambles

[TVC15]

I love it! filler is like one of Jesse’s loser friends on Breaking Bad!

[team filler]

I'm closer to jessie 

[Potato]

We did. Check the 2018 results. Also, check the popular vote from 2016.

[thisismyusername]

Are there non touch screen voting machines left in 2019 in America?

I mean there's ballot counters, we don't have e-voting here.