U.S. Politics Independance Day edition

[Mindwalker]

Former guy just told 12 lies about the insurrection in one "interview".

 

[Fez]

44 minutes ago, L'oiseau français said:

I used the laugh emoji because we have no wow emoji!

Yeah. And Edwards final successful governor's race in 1991 can be seen as a precursor to the modern political climate. David Duke made it through the state's jungle primary as Republican nominee, and despite the Republican establishment mostly endorsing Edwards (including H.W. Bush), Duke still got 38% of the vote. Which was a bad showing, but not a terrible one since Louisiana was still pretty elastic back then.

Granted, Edwards had an extreme amount of political baggage already. He didn't get convicted of anything and go to prison until 2002, but in that '91 race some regularly seen unofficial bumper stickers his supporters used included:

Quote

Vote for the Lizard, not the Wizard

and

Quote

Vote For The Crook: It's Important

But still, a literal KKK grand wizard got 38% of the vote even though most of the Republican establishment still had enough of a backbone at the time to explicitly reject him.

[Wilbur]

1 hour ago, Fez said:

https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/politics/article_6c91c6a0-2bf2-11e9-b57a-0f28036ae840.html

What a headline, what a life. Some notable quotes of Edwards over the years

Each of these was said during an election campaign that he ended up winning (the last one is from when David Duke ran against him).

When we saw "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou" in the theaters when it first came out, as soon as the Pappy O'Daniel character came onto the scene, two of us in the group exclaimed aloud, "It's Edwin Edwards!"

Story of the famous quote:  

I always laugh at loud at the final line, "He's in prison now."  It just goes to show that American politicians are generally and always have been just as bad as Mark Twain always said they were.

[Zorral]

As we must have federal laws and programs that force women to date fuck detestable and violent and cruel men, tRumpists, deplorable men, men with big hairy beer bellies, bad breath and beards they never wash, etc., because that's unfair discrimination, we must also have federal laws and programs to protect those who refuse to be vaccinated, because that too is unamurkin discrimination and rong.  (Which is also why we must have anti-voting laws for people of color too, because there are more votes who vote Dem than vote thug, and that is discrimination and not Right.)

https://www.axios.com/republicans-coronavirus-vaccines-discrimination-law-states-533503fb-fa83-43d0-bd51-2d614483d241.html

Quote

 

Republicans push to ban "discrimination" against unvaccinated people

 

State Republican lawmakers around the country are pushing bills — at least one of which has become law — that would give unvaccinated people the same protections as those surrounding race, gender and religion.

Why it matters: These bills would tie the hands of private businesses that want to protect their employees and customers. But they also show how deep into the political psyche resistance to coronavirus vaccine requirements has become, and how vaccination status has rapidly become a marker of identity.

The big picture: On a national scale, well-known GOP figures have recently escalated their rhetoric about the vaccination effort, comparing it to Nazi Germany and apartheid.

• At a state level, there's more bite to the bark. Many Republican-led states have enacted some kind of restriction on vaccine mandates or vaccine "passports."
• And some state lawmakers are trying to make it illegal for employers, governments or private businesses to treat unvaccinated people any differently than vaccinated people, using the same language found in federal civil rights law. . . .

 

•  

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

Looks like we're getting a Texas walkout 2.0:

Quote

(CNN)Texas House Democrats are preparing to leave the state Monday in an effort to block Republicans from passing a restrictive new voting law in the remaining 27 days of the special legislative session called by Gov. Greg Abbott, two sources familiar with the Democrats' plans told CNN.

The majority of the Democrats fleeing Texas are flying to Washington, DC, on two chartered jets. They have kept planning secret because they can be legally compelled to return to the Capitol and believed law enforcement could be sent to track them down, the sources said.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/12/politics/texas-house-democrats-leave-state-voting-bill/index.html

[DMC]

7 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

The majority of the Democrats fleeing Texas are flying to Washington, DC, on two chartered jets. They have kept planning secret because they can be legally compelled to return to the Capitol and believed law enforcement could be sent to track them down, the sources said.

If they want to go to DC, I don't see why they don't just drive out of state and then charter a flight to avoid being forced to return.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

2 hours ago, DMC said:

If they want to go to DC, I don't see why they don't just drive out of state and then charter a flight to avoid being forced to return.

It does seem like an odd choice to reveal your plans before you're out of state.

I should know this, but can't recall the answer. What means do the authorities have to compel politicians to return once they're out of state?

[argonak]

2 hours ago, Tywin et al. said:

Looks like we're getting a Texas walkout 2.0:

https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/12/politics/texas-house-democrats-leave-state-voting-bill/index.html

I am really conflicted about this.  On the one hand, its just procedural trickery, and when the GOP did it in Oregon it ticked me off.  Its the voting minority trying to hijack the democratic process.

On the other hand, the GOP is literally attempting to kill democracy with these bills.  So its sort of a "do the ends justify the means" situation to me.

[Larry of the Lawn]

2 hours ago, DMC said:

If they want to go to DC, I don't see why they don't just drive out of state and then charter a flight to avoid being forced to return.

Back at the beginning of this session they decided to adopt Bond villain operating procedures as part a team building exercise and never looked back.

[DMC]

15 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

I should know this, but can't recall the answer. What means do the authorities have to compel politicians to return once they're out of state?

Just based on memory governors can order their state's police to return members to the legislature.  But once they're out of state they're obviously outside their jurisdiction.  I suppose they could petition for extradition but good luck with that.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

37 minutes ago, argonak said:

I am really conflicted about this.  On the one hand, its just procedural trickery, and when the GOP did it in Oregon it ticked me off.  Its the voting minority trying to hijack the democratic process.

On the other hand, the GOP is literally attempting to kill democracy with these bills.  So its sort of a "do the ends justify the means" situation to me.

I have no problem with the tactic in the short term. They're doing the right thing. However, I doubt it will be helpful during the next election.

23 minutes ago, DMC said:

Just based on memory governors can order their state's police to return members to the legislature.  But once they're out of state they're obviously outside their jurisdiction.  I suppose they could petition for extradition but good luck with that.

That's what I thought as well, but I seem to recall a story about a legislator or a group of them being forced to return to their state. They must have fled one state and ran to a similarly ideological one, and that state's governor had them arrested and taken to the airport. If I'm remembering that correctly, that is.

[DMC]

6 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

That's what I thought as well, but I seem to recall a story about a legislator or a group of them being forced to return to their state. They must have fled one state and ran to a similarly ideological one, and that state's governor had them arrested and taken to the airport. If I'm remembering that correctly, that is.

I dunno.  Don't remember anything like that ever happening but that doesn't mean it didn't.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

22 minutes ago, DMC said:

I dunno.  Don't remember anything like that ever happening but that doesn't mean it didn't.

I'm not having any luck with Google searches, most everything I try just redirects to the recent events in TX (and it sounds like the legislators are already out of the state). Seems it's cut and dried law that there isn't much TX state police can do about, but some Republicans think the Texas Rangers have magical powers that would allow them to go across state lines and detain the legislators. Obviously that isn't the case, otherwise they would have done the same back in '03 when something similar took place. Maybe I'm misremembering and conflating threats to take action with them actually occurring? I'll look again later, but I doubt I'll have anymore luck.

[DMC]

3 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

but some Republicans think the Texas Rangers have magical powers that would allow them to go across state lines and detain the legislators.

Chuck Norris will superkick all 51 members from DC back to Austin.

[A True Kaniggit]

13 minutes ago, DMC said:

Chuck Norris will superkick all 51 members from DC back to Austin.

Nah.

He’ll use the third fist he keeps under his beard. 

https://youtu.be/LOzTvDlT_Yw

 

[Starkess]

11 hours ago, Ser Scot A Ellison said:

I find it interesting to see the Trumpanistas dropping the “1/6/2021 was Antifa” narrative and starting to openly defend the insurrectionists.  I think they are talking themselves into doing it again.

My parents are Republicans, though not Trumpers at all, and I knew in particular my dad would never support that kind of thing. My mom, though, is a bit further on the nuttery wing of things. I know she hates Trump, considers him vile. But I also know she genuinely believes abortion is murder and that politicians ought to be able to (and indeed SHOULD) legislate based on the Bible. I could totally see her casting a vote for Trump as a lesser of two evils kind of thing (or as a "bring about the end times and rapture" thing). Yet she's a kind and gentle woman and has never supported violence so I didn't even think about it when visiting last weekend, and I made a frustrated comment about the Jan 6 thing and the inherent contradiction in these people who consider themselves The Real Americans (TM) also violently invading the Capitol, and she said "Oh but no, the Capitol is the people's place, it's where we've always gone to in order to protest, there's no contradiction at all." I don't know where she gets this stuff (she doesn't watch Fox News or even any TV at all), but apparently there are way more people who support open insurrection than I thought...

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

2 hours ago, Starkess said:

My parents are Republicans, though not Trumpers at all, and I knew in particular my dad would never support that kind of thing. My mom, though, is a bit further on the nuttery wing of things. I know she hates Trump, considers him vile. But I also know she genuinely believes abortion is murder and that politicians ought to be able to (and indeed SHOULD) legislate based on the Bible. I could totally see her casting a vote for Trump as a lesser of two evils kind of thing (or as a "bring about the end times and rapture" thing). Yet she's a kind and gentle woman and has never supported violence so I didn't even think about it when visiting last weekend, and I made a frustrated comment about the Jan 6 thing and the inherent contradiction in these people who consider themselves The Real Americans (TM) also violently invading the Capitol, and she said "Oh but no, the Capitol is the people's place, it's where we've always gone to in order to protest, there's no contradiction at all." I don't know where she gets this stuff (she doesn't watch Fox News or even any TV at all), but apparently there are way more people who support open insurrection than I thought...

My Mom’s a Trump supporter.  It frustrates me to absolutely no end.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

3 minutes ago, Ser Scot A Ellison said:

My Mom’s a Trump supporter.  It frustrates me to absolutely no end.

And the sad part is she'll probably not be able to admit she's been wrong for a very long time, if she ever does at all. This is true for basically all of the Trump diehards and many like Starkess' mom, who are loyal Republicans, but claim to not be loyal to him. They've bought in too deeply to a number of lies and it has to be too traumatic for most to admit they were wrong.

Especially when they've rationalized that the left is the true evil so no measure can be too extreme in defeating it. 

[DMC]

Outside of leaners or independents, virtually nobody over the age of 40 ever changes partisanship and subsequent vote choice (at least at the top of the ballot).  This phenomenon loooong preceded Trump.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

23 minutes ago, DMC said:

Outside of leaners or independents, virtually nobody over the age of 40 ever changes partisanship and subsequent vote choice (at least at the top of the ballot).  This phenomenon loooong preceded Trump.

Sure, but when was it last this kind of intense? During the Civil Rights Movement? The Civil War? To admit you were wrong about Trump and/or the Republican party at this point is to basically admit you were wrong about most if not all of your beliefs. That's extra unlikely in this hyperpartisan age.