Voting Day in the United States

[mahagonny]

Your take on Walker is quite interesting.  If he was so distraught about abortion after paying for it, why did he repeatedly do it?  This was not a situation where he did it and deeply regretted it, he only regrets that people learned about it.  He is not against abortion, he is one of its biggest supporters.

I thought the act of choosing abortion didn't mean you support abortion, but you support the right to to make that difficult choice legally. Hmm... in any case, have it your way. Walker was all for abortion a few years ago, but now he's against it. Two years ago I was a guy. Now I'm non-binary. People change. that's how things are now.

Let's take it a step further. Walker is showing that politician's actual behavior and beliefs are irrelevant. People want someone who votes with their "team" and don't seem to care about the human being in the seat.

Suppose a respectable Warnock-type was the R, and a Walker-type was the D. How would you vote?

I don't know about that. One lesson of the election has been that candidate quality matters. Rs probably would have done much better if they did not run a bunch of nuts. In the case of Georgia, it seems to me that a high quality and moderate Republican would have easily won in a midterm year, given high inflation and low presidential approval rating.

In a healthy society, sure. But we are in The USA coming fully into its wokeness. salvation obliterates all hardship. It could be worse though. Hey, in Jonestown they drank poison.

A few of the things we like/believe now:

plenty of deadly fentanyl, because it means we're not xenophobic
Not trusting God; he gave you the wrong genitalia.
Confessing that people who looked like us used to be mean to people who look like you.
Criminals are society's victims
White Christians talk about genocide when no one's around
America is obsessed with gay hatred
obesity is beautiful (insulin in every pot!)

[Sun_Worshiper]

His take on abortion really isn't the issue though.  The problem is that he is obviously just saying what he thinks will get him elected even though it has nothing to do with his moral compass or beliefs. You cant believe anything he says. 

This is the same with Trump.  He just says and does what he thinks will get him elected and keep him in power.

I know this is somewhat par for the course with politicians, but there are different degrees. 

Let's take it a step further. Walker is showing that politician's actual behavior and beliefs are irrelevant. People want someone who votes with their "team" and don't seem to care about the human being in the seat.

Suppose a respectable Warnock-type was the R, and a Walker-type was the D. How would you vote?

I don't know about that. One lesson of the election has been that candidate quality matters. Rs probably would have done much better if they did not run a bunch of nuts. In the case of Georgia, it seems to me that a high quality and moderate Republican would have easily won in a midterm year, given high inflation and low presidential approval rating.

The Democrats should have received an absolute shellacking in these mid-terms, with their recent record, their own nuttiness in some quarters, and the general situation in the past two years.  One of the dispiriting things about the current state of national politics in the U.S. is that the Republicans have deteriorated to the point where they don't offer a credible alternative.  You find yourself wishing at times that they could both lose.  But that means that we're all losing here.

Couldn't agree more with the bolded.

[mahagonny]

So we need two parties in the USA, you two? Sounds like you take back that crack y'all made about the republicans planning to end democracy this year. Shades of Maxwell Smart.
ETA: Look for Hunter's name in the news. And the Big Guy tags along.

[Wahoo Redux]

Walker was all for abortion a few years ago, but now he's against it. Two years ago I was a guy. Now I'm non-binary. People change. that's how things are now.

In a healthy society, sure. But we are in The USA coming fully into its wokeness. salvation obliterates all hardship. It could be worse though. Hey, in Jonestown they drank poison.

A few of the things we like/believe now:

plenty of deadly fentanyl, because it means we're not xenophobic
Not trusting God; he gave you the wrong genitalia.
Confessing that people who looked like us used to be mean to people who look like you.
Criminals are society's victims
White Christians talk about genocide when no one's around
America is obsessed with gay hatred
obesity is beautiful (insulin in every pot!)

Upset by the lack of a red wave, some conservative thinkers will vent with grotesque displays of bigotry.

And no, there is not a corresponding lunacy on the left.  Certainly we would classify the young women who desecrated Van Gogh with soup as "leftist" ecoterrorists, but the Republicans have large swaths of people who justify Walker's overt hypocrisy, deny science (and die for refusal of readily available vaccine), and support malignant narcissists for president and governor.   

[mahagonny]

My wife and one other bystander saved the life of a fentanyl user two weeks ago. They found the guy, lying on the pavement, breathing, but not looking right. At first they thought it was a diabetic episode. They called 911 and the paramedics arrived, immediately found the problem, administered the antidote and he came around. Wife said 'wow! I didn't know it was a fentanyl overdose! He looked like he was breathing.' They said 'breathing, sure, but not breathing right. We got here just in time.' I'm glad they were able to help, but sad that it was necessary.
Another shock recently is, in order to not have to drive in the city, get fleeced for parking, I walk to and from work which takes 50 minutes each way. It's not uncommon to find discarded needles. Downtown, people walking around so stoned you could knock them over with a feather.
It's a personal disappointment, and astonishing that so little has been said about it. I remember when they screamed at Ronald Reagan for not talking about AIDS enough. Has Biden ever mentioned fentanyl? I don't recall it.

[Wahoo Redux]

Has Biden ever mentioned fentanyl? I don't recall it.

Remarks by President Biden on the Safer America Plan

Reuters: Biden to unveil new U.S. drug addiction and overdose strategy

Actions Taken by the Biden-⁠Harris Administration to Address Addiction and the Overdose Epidemic

FACT SHEET:  Biden-⁠Harris Administration Announces New Actions and Funding to Address the Overdose Epidemic and Support Recovery

What exactly would you have Biden do anyway?

[Anon1787]

Despite being a right-wing extremist by the standards of academia, I agree that the Republicans essentially repeated the mistakes of 2010 in nominating a lot of bad candidates. In 2010, they nominated Christine "I'm not a witch" O'Donnell and Sharron "I'm not a Scientologist" Angle. In 2022, they nominated the Wizard of Oz, the protégé of an eccentric gay tech billionaire, a philandering deadbeat dad former athlete, and a conspiracy-minded retired general. This time around, most of the blame can be placed at the doorstep of Trump Tower. In virtually every case there were establishment conservative Republicans who could have won those seats. (The Democrats are better at keeping their craziest members in very safe seats.)

[Wahoo Redux]

(The Democrats are better at keeping their craziest members in very safe seats.)

No doubt.

But specifically who are the "craziest" dems?  Who do you refer to?

[Anon1787]

But specifically who are the "craziest" dems?  Who do you refer to?

For starters, Stacey "I won't concede the 2018 election because of [baseless claims of] voter suppression" Abrams (though not in a safe seat), Bernie Sanders & AOC (populist demagogues like Trump, but on the left), and antisemites Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib.

[Sun_Worshiper]

So we need two parties in the USA, you two? Sounds like you take back that crack y'all made about the republicans planning to end democracy this year. Shades of Maxwell Smart.
ETA: Look for Hunter's name in the news. And the Big Guy tags along.

I've said many, many times on this forum that the US needs a sane Republican party to oppose the Democrats. It is very unfortunate that Trump era Republicans have instead embraced idiotic conspiracy theories and authoritarianism, culminating in a violent attempt to overturn the results in a free and fair election. Hopefully they will turn over a new leaf, after the embarrassing showing this week.

[mahagonny]

Has Biden ever mentioned fentanyl? I don't recall it.

Remarks by President Biden on the Safer America Plan

Reuters: Biden to unveil new U.S. drug addiction and overdose strategy

Actions Taken by the Biden-⁠Harris Administration to Address Addiction and the Overdose Epidemic

FACT SHEET:  Biden-⁠Harris Administration Announces New Actions and Funding to Address the Overdose Epidemic and Support Recovery

What exactly would you have Biden do anyway?

Start having a southern border like the previous guy was trying his best to. And quit putting the cackling VEEP in charge of lying about it. https://www.statista.com/chart/18744/the-number-of-drug-overdose-deaths-in-the-us/
OK, you've provided some sources of Biden talking about drugs. I may get to them in time. Confession: I am so sick of his incompetence, grandstanding, mega spending and fabricated tales about himself over his long life that I can't stomach reading transcripts of him meeting with his sycophants right now. Thanks.

So we need two parties in the USA, you two? Sounds like you take back that crack y'all made about the republicans planning to end democracy this year. Shades of Maxwell Smart.
ETA: Look for Hunter's name in the news. And the Big Guy tags along.

I've said many, many times on this forum that the US needs a sane Republican party to oppose the Democrats. It is very unfortunate that Trump era Republicans have instead embraced idiotic conspiracy theories and authoritarianism, culminating in a violent attempt to overturn the results in a free and fair election. Hopefully they will turn over a new leaf, after the embarrassing showing this week.

They haven't exactly embraced the January 6 gang at the capitol, but it may be that they hate them less than they hate the democrats. the January gang at least had the excuse of not being PhD's. If you believe the government is no longer representing the will of the people, you can do something about it. It's in the Declaration of Independence.
The 2020 elections were by no stretch the pristine affair Biden has repeatedly claimed. but then 'fair and balanced' have never been his thing.
1. Someone needed to provide an effective smackdown to the sordid routine from the democrats who poison race relations, call everyone racist, from Mitt Romney, Ronald Reagan on down. Trump provided it. The woke dems still go don't get it. Maybe they will in time.
2. They (repubs) didn't exactly screw up the economy, because...well, it happens to be something they care about. Spending Biden is the extremist.
3. Biden supporters don't seem to notice his attempts at authoritarianism, such as the Ministry of Truth that would have gotten off the ground if there hadn't been such a furor, the student loan forgiveness that used the ruse of COVID emergency to bypass Congress, now apparently set to crash and burn, Merrick Garland making terrorist threat out of parents of public school kids. Pot, kettle.

But specifically who are the "craziest" dems?  Who do you refer to?

For starters, Stacey "I won't concede the 2018 election because of [baseless claims of] voter suppression" Abrams (though not in a safe seat), Bernie Sanders & AOC (populist demagogues like Trump, but on the left), and antisemites Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib.

Hillary Clinton is preemptively denying the presidential election of 2024. she is considered a pillar of the community by democrats. (Vince Foster could not be reached for comment).
If Kari Lake wins some of the credit (or blame, your choice) belongs to the democrats for their meddling in primaries. We are in a better position to complain about the republican candidates of 2022 than the democrats are, in some cases.

Despite being a right-wing extremist by the standards of academia, I agree that the Republicans essentially repeated the mistakes of 2010 in nominating a lot of bad candidates. In 2010, they nominated Christine "I'm not a witch" O'Donnell and Sharron "I'm not a Scientologist" Angle. In 2022, they nominated the Wizard of Oz, the protégé of an eccentric gay tech billionaire, a philandering deadbeat dad former athlete,

But, not to quarrel...Walker, appearing with Ted Cruz tonight, repeated the basic theme that is the sanity amid that chaos and fanaticism of our time. That Americans can, need to get past fixations on race and think about success. That alone makes him preferable to the radical, alternative of racial division from the pulpit of the church.
It's not the crazier wing of the democratic party that has overplayed the race card. It's all of them.

[Sun_Worshiper]

So we need two parties in the USA, you two? Sounds like you take back that crack y'all made about the republicans planning to end democracy this year. Shades of Maxwell Smart.
ETA: Look for Hunter's name in the news. And the Big Guy tags along.

I've said many, many times on this forum that the US needs a sane Republican party to oppose the Democrats. It is very unfortunate that Trump era Republicans have instead embraced idiotic conspiracy theories and authoritarianism, culminating in a violent attempt to overturn the results in a free and fair election. Hopefully they will turn over a new leaf, after the embarrassing showing this week.

They haven't exactly embraced the January 6 gang at the capitol, but it may be that they hate them less than they hate the democrats. the January gang at least had the excuse of not being PhD's. If you believe the government is no longer representing the will of the people, you can do something about it. It's in the Declaration of Independence.
The 2020 elections were by no stretch the pristine affair Biden has repeatedly claimed. but then 'fair and balanced' have never been his thing.
1. Someone needed to provide an effective smackdown to the sordid routine from the democrats who poison race relations, call everyone racist, from Mitt Romney, Ronald Reagan on down. Trump provided it. The woke dems still go don't get it. Maybe they will in time.
2. They (repubs) didn't exactly screw up the economy, because...well, it happens to be something they care about. Spending Biden is the extremist.
3. Biden supporters don't seem to notice his attempts at authoritarianism, such as the Ministry of Truth that would have gotten off the ground if there hadn't been such a furor, the student loan forgiveness that used the ruse of COVID emergency to bypass Congress, now apparently set to crash and burn, Merrick Garland making terrorist threat out of parents of public school kids. Pot, kettle.

These sentiments and rhetoric are exactly why Rs are a threat to democracy and, on an optimistic note, why they have had such an embarrassing showing in these midterms. I sincerely hope that the sane branch of Republican leadership succeeds in marginalizing the lunatics that have taken over their asylum.

[Kron3007]

Has Biden ever mentioned fentanyl? I don't recall it.

Remarks by President Biden on the Safer America Plan

Reuters: Biden to unveil new U.S. drug addiction and overdose strategy

Actions Taken by the Biden-⁠Harris Administration to Address Addiction and the Overdose Epidemic

FACT SHEET:  Biden-⁠Harris Administration Announces New Actions and Funding to Address the Overdose Epidemic and Support Recovery

What exactly would you have Biden do anyway?

Start having a southern border like the previous guy was trying his best to. And quit putting the cackling VEEP in charge of lying about it. https://www.statista.com/chart/18744/the-number-of-drug-overdose-deaths-in-the-us/
OK, you've provided some sources of Biden talking about drugs. I may get to them in time. Confession: I am so sick of his incompetence, grandstanding, mega spending and fabricated tales about himself over his long life that I can't stomach reading transcripts of him meeting with his sycophants right now. Thanks.

So we need two parties in the USA, you two? Sounds like you take back that crack y'all made about the republicans planning to end democracy this year. Shades of Maxwell Smart.
ETA: Look for Hunter's name in the news. And the Big Guy tags along.

I've said many, many times on this forum that the US needs a sane Republican party to oppose the Democrats. It is very unfortunate that Trump era Republicans have instead embraced idiotic conspiracy theories and authoritarianism, culminating in a violent attempt to overturn the results in a free and fair election. Hopefully they will turn over a new leaf, after the embarrassing showing this week.

They haven't exactly embraced the January 6 gang at the capitol, but it may be that they hate them less than they hate the democrats. the January gang at least had the excuse of not being PhD's. If you believe the government is no longer representing the will of the people, you can do something about it. It's in the Declaration of Independence.
The 2020 elections were by no stretch the pristine affair Biden has repeatedly claimed. but then 'fair and balanced' have never been his thing.
1. Someone needed to provide an effective smackdown to the sordid routine from the democrats who poison race relations, call everyone racist, from Mitt Romney, Ronald Reagan on down. Trump provided it. The woke dems still go don't get it. Maybe they will in time.
2. They (repubs) didn't exactly screw up the economy, because...well, it happens to be something they care about. Spending Biden is the extremist.
3. Biden supporters don't seem to notice his attempts at authoritarianism, such as the Ministry of Truth that would have gotten off the ground if there hadn't been such a furor, the student loan forgiveness that used the ruse of COVID emergency to bypass Congress, now apparently set to crash and burn, Merrick Garland making terrorist threat out of parents of public school kids. Pot, kettle.

But specifically who are the "craziest" dems?  Who do you refer to?

For starters, Stacey "I won't concede the 2018 election because of [baseless claims of] voter suppression" Abrams (though not in a safe seat), Bernie Sanders & AOC (populist demagogues like Trump, but on the left), and antisemites Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib.

Hillary Clinton is preemptively denying the presidential election of 2024. she is considered a pillar of the community by democrats. (Vince Foster could not be reached for comment).
If Kari Lake wins some of the credit (or blame, your choice) belongs to the democrats for their meddling in primaries. We are in a better position to complain about the republican candidates of 2022 than the democrats are, in some cases.

Despite being a right-wing extremist by the standards of academia, I agree that the Republicans essentially repeated the mistakes of 2010 in nominating a lot of bad candidates. In 2010, they nominated Christine "I'm not a witch" O'Donnell and Sharron "I'm not a Scientologist" Angle. In 2022, they nominated the Wizard of Oz, the protégé of an eccentric gay tech billionaire, a philandering deadbeat dad former athlete,

But, not to quarrel...Walker, appearing with Ted Cruz tonight, repeated the basic theme that is the sanity amid that chaos and fanaticism of our time. That Americans can, need to get past fixations on race and think about success. That alone makes him preferable to the radical, alternative of racial division from the pulpit of the church.
It's not the crazier wing of the democratic party that has overplayed the race card. It's all of them.

You seem way more obsesses with race and gender than any liberal I have met...

[mahagonny]

I'm a little bit obsessed with today's race-bailing, race obsessed liberal dogma as it is so ubiquitous, intellectually lazy, negative, hope-crushing and, i believe, harms the people it purports to support.

[Anon1787]

These sentiments and rhetoric are exactly why Rs are a threat to democracy and, on an optimistic note, why they have had such an embarrassing showing in these midterms. I sincerely hope that the sane branch of Republican leadership succeeds in marginalizing the lunatics that have taken over their asylum.

Democrats have no standing to complain about a threat to democracy when they decided to boost the very candidates in the Republican primaries that they regard as being a threat to democracy in order to increase their odds of winning in the general election.