The Trump Pandemic

[Tero]

This States vs Feds thing is deeply disturbing. Once, I would have scoffed at any claim that the USA could actually dissolve by internal chaos and fighting. Now, I'm not so sure.

Seriously, if there was ever a time for a nation to abandon the whole "culture wars" thing and unite against a common enemy, this is it. We could send an Australian delegation over to explain how to form a national emergency cabinet linking feds and states, if you like...

McConnell pushes 'bankruptcy route' as local governments struggle
The Senate majority leader is resisting a top demand from Democrats.

https://www.politico.com/amp/news/2020/ ... ute-201008

[Seabass]

This States vs Feds thing is deeply disturbing. Once, I would have scoffed at any claim that the USA could actually dissolve by internal chaos and fighting. Now, I'm not so sure.

Seriously, if there was ever a time for a nation to abandon the whole "culture wars" thing and unite against a common enemy, this is it. We could send an Australian delegation over to explain how to form a national emergency cabinet linking feds and states, if you like...

This is the wrong framing, IMO. The Dems would likely do things closer to the way your government is doing. This is less a state vs Fed thing and more of a Republican vs reality thing.

[Tero]

CNN
In his day, Carson had an affable toady sidekick named Ed McMahon, who guffawed at all his jokes and affirmed his point of view. Trump has Vice President Mike Pence, who performs a similar function, if with less bonhomie and more oiliness. Like Carson, who had reliable frequent guests like the social science expert Dr. Joyce Brothers, Trump depends on Dr. Deborah Birx and others to join him on stage. Like Dr. Brothers, Birx, along with Dr. Tony Fauci and Surgeon General Jerome Adams, have been permitted to share their expertise by a host who won't be upstaged.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/21/opinions ... index.html

[Cunt]

Don't believe the bullshit Jim. We're a dysfunctional family. It's best just to stay away.

Any 'right to choose' has to include the right to looking like your choosing wrong...

[JimC]

This States vs Feds thing is deeply disturbing. Once, I would have scoffed at any claim that the USA could actually dissolve by internal chaos and fighting. Now, I'm not so sure.

Seriously, if there was ever a time for a nation to abandon the whole "culture wars" thing and unite against a common enemy, this is it. We could send an Australian delegation over to explain how to form a national emergency cabinet linking feds and states, if you like...

This is the wrong framing, IMO. The Dems would likely do things closer to the way your government is doing. This is less a state vs Fed thing and more of a Republican vs reality thing.

Our current PM is a scheming right-wing politician also, but when push came to shove, he put aside rivalries and ideological differences and feds and states are working together. I'm not saying that having Trump in charge doesn't make it harder to achieve, but he is only one man, not the dark lord incarnate. The whole US should look at what is happening very, very carefully, embrace some compromise and tolerance, and pull together as a team rather than the dysfunctional family Sean alluded to.

[Brian Peacock]

But that would look like.... Socialism!!

[Seabass]

This States vs Feds thing is deeply disturbing. Once, I would have scoffed at any claim that the USA could actually dissolve by internal chaos and fighting. Now, I'm not so sure.

Seriously, if there was ever a time for a nation to abandon the whole "culture wars" thing and unite against a common enemy, this is it. We could send an Australian delegation over to explain how to form a national emergency cabinet linking feds and states, if you like...

This is the wrong framing, IMO. The Dems would likely do things closer to the way your government is doing. This is less a state vs Fed thing and more of a Republican vs reality thing.

Our current PM is a scheming right-wing politician also, but when push came to shove, he put aside rivalries and ideological differences and feds and states are working together. I'm not saying that having Trump in charge doesn't make it harder to achieve, but he is only one man, not the dark lord incarnate. The whole US should look at what is happening very, very carefully, embrace some compromise and tolerance, and pull together as a team rather than the dysfunctional family Sean alluded to.

With all due respect, Jim, our wingnuts are far crazier and more malevolent and sadistic than your wingnuts. These assholes are incapable of putting aside rivalries and ideological differences because for our Republicans, this isn't about politics or ideology. The Republican party is no longer a political party—it is an ethno-nationalist, Christian fundamentalist tribe that is waging holy war and race war on the rest of us. They aren't interested in compromising with people with whom they think they are at war. They aren't interested in helping people who they do not consider to be "real Americans" or "traditional Americans". For Republicans, the the solution to every problem is cruelty. It's all they understand.

[Sean Hayden]

Democrats are just as absurdly bloody-minded. Everyone's dealing in bullshit. That's why I called us a dysfunctional family. If you value the truth, you better not rely on any of us to tell you what's going on.

[JimC]

Seabass wrote:

...They aren't interested in compromising with people with whom they think they are at war...

Now, I get you when you describe at least MAGA-style Republicans as more of a blight than most of ours (but check out Tony Abbott, Pauline Hansen or Peter Dutton sometime...). And I'm not portraying some sort of balance, with the truth half way between Democrats and Republicans.

But the quote I took from your post applies equally to you and your ilk as well, I suspect. With such deep divisions, working together would be very hard, but if you don't manage it, the outcome will be seriously worse...

[Seabass]

Democrats are just as absurdly bloody-minded. Everyone's dealing in bullshit. That's why I called us a dysfunctional family. If you value the truth, you better not rely on any of us to tell you what's going on.

Utter bullshit. Pure fantasy.

Take impeachment, as just one example. Republicans impeached Clinton over a fucking blowjob. Dems, on the other hand refused to impeach Donald even after it became apparent that he had violated campaign finance laws during his campaign. They didn't impeach him after the Mueller report showed that the Trump campaign failed to report to the FBI that the Russians were interfering in our election on his behalf. They didn't impeach him after the Mueller report showed that he committed between 5-10 acts of obstruction of justice. They only, and reluctantly, decided they had to move forward with impeachment only after Trump tried to extort a foreign nation into interfering in our election on his behalf, using taxpayer funded military aid.

There's no comparison between the two parties. The culture war in this country as absolutely asymmetrical because for one side, this is about racial and religious tribalism.

[pErvinalia]

I'd agree with that.

[JimC]

So, never the twain shall meet...

[Sean Hayden]

Republicans didn't impeach Clinton over a blowjob, that's just our way of minimizing what all he actually did.

That you can't see your own bloody-mindedness even after that mountain of self-righteous butthurt is incredible. But hardly surprising given in your last post you claimed Republicans can only solve problems with cruelty!

Nope, you're not living in a fantasy.

[Brian Peacock]

So, never the twain shall meet...

There's always a 'tween to the twain. There's this silly maxim in left-ish politics which says, "When they go low we go high." But that only stands if one actually does think there is a viable balance point between high and low, and it doesn't account for those who simply go lower when low turns out not to be enough. Politically, you can't counter-balance the venal moral bankruptcy of one party with selfless probity and virtue from anotherr - particularly if the venal represent the interests of the wealthy and powerful: which they will of course, because they're venal. In those circumstances the political conversation becomes about values, about who's values are normal, natural, and/or represent the 'real world' we all live in - and guess which side gets the lion's share of that conversation?

[Cunt]

Republicans didn't impeach Clinton over a blowjob, that's just our way of minimizing what all he actually did.

That you can't see your own bloody-mindedness even after that mountain of self-righteous butthurt is incredible. But hardly surprising given in your last post you claimed Republicans can only solve problems with cruelty!

Nope, you're not living in a fantasy.

For me, it helped to find a Republican or two that I can like.

Dan Crenshaw is pretty decent. When some raving and spitting NPC starts saying all republicans are stupid, or cruel, or whatever, I think of Mr. Crenshaw, and how accurate they are about him.

He stands up at least as well as the Democrat 'candidate'. In fact, if Biden ditched Obama as running mate, and convinced Crenshaw to join him, he'd have a better chance.