The Sewer That Is The GOP: With All The White Supremacists, Conspiracy Nutters, And Other Malicious Whacko Subgroups, How Does It Get Fixed?

[Jabbyrwock]

16 minutes ago, CobraCommander said:

Bro, you sound so ignorant for real.  It's "Ooka, booka." smh

 

 

31 minutes ago, LD0506 said:

You have a dumbass got-yer-nose mouth breather demographic that finds it all too tiring and confusing, ALL of it!

 

The "demographic" in question easily amounts to the majority of the population...and yes your "tiring and confusing" statement pretty much hits the nail on the head.  Kind of inevitable: a small percentage of intelligent and motivated people that are much more intellectually available to adaptation and handling of complex scenarios has invented technology that makes sense to themselves, and then unleashed that technology on an unprepared population of near neanderthals.  I'm pretty certain the current dynamic is inevitable under those conditions.

[Cooked Crack]

 

[tshile]

Seems to reflect what I personally have seen/felt is going on

 

and I would expect the reaction from the right, to the moving left, to be twice as much just because it’s a revolt against change. Although that shows it more 3-4x not twice. 

[The Evil Genius]

Christofascism is a disease. 

[LD0506]

1 hour ago, CobraCommander said:

Bro, you sound so ignorant for real.  It's "Ooka, booka." smh

 

Thanks

Let me make a note

 

D...e...e...z..........n....

[China]

Another Nunes defamation suit:

 

Trump ally Devin Nunes can sue NBCUniversal for defamation - judge

 

A U.S. judge on Monday said Devin Nunes, the former California congressman and an ally of former U.S. President Donald Trump, can sue NBCUniversal for defamation over a comment by Rachel Maddow concerning his relationship with a suspected Russian agent.

 

Without ruling on the merits, U.S. District Judge Kevin Castel in Manhattan said Nunes "plausibly allege[d] actual malice" with respect to a statement from a March 2021 broadcast of MSNBC's "The Rachel Maddow Show."

 

Maddow was discussing a package addressed to Nunes from Andriy Derkach, a pro-Russia Ukrainian legislator, and said Nunes "refused to hand it over to the FBI, which is what you should do if you get something from somebody who is sanctioned by the U.S. as a Russian agent."

 

Nunes' complaint, which seeks damages, said MSNBC and Maddow knew the package had been turned over, but instead "set out to inflict maximum pain and suffering on plaintiff in order to harm plaintiff's reputation."

 

In a 22-page decision, Castel said Maddow did not attribute Nunes' alleged refusal to any source, and that while she might have known about a similar accusation in a Politico article "a court does not weigh competing, plausible theories of actual malice on a motion to dismiss."

 

The judge also said other statements made by Maddow were not defamatory. Maddow is not a defendant.

 

Click on the link for the full article

 

[China]

 

[TradeTheBeal!]

Dude is toast.

 

 

[Cooked Crack]

 

GOP ready to change any day now

[Fan since a Fetus]

Kanye is having a no good very bad year and it’s hilarious! 

[Cooked Crack]

 

[Cooked Crack]

 

[LD0506]

[China]

On 11/26/2022 at 10:48 PM, 88Comrade2000 said:

Kevin McCarthy could face a floor fight for speaker. That hasn’t happened in a century.

 

McCarthy's math problem

 

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) met on Tuesday with key members of his conference — including several right-wing detractors — as part of an intensifying effort to cobble together the votes he needs to become speaker.

 

Why it matters: McCarthy is at risk of a humiliating and potentially career-ending defeat with just five weeks until the Jan. 3 speaker election, as several members of the right-wing House Freedom Caucus are still publicly vowing to deny him crucial votes.

 

Driving the news: Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.) told Axios on Tuesday he’s a firm "no" on McCarthy after previously leaving wiggle room: "I will be voting for an alternative candidate. I will not be voting for Kevin McCarthy."

 

Good said in a follow-up interview he will vote for Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), who told Politico he is voting for himself.

State of play: McCarthy will need a majority of voting members to elect him speaker. With a House Republican majority of just five or six seats, he will only be able to afford a handful of defections.

 

In addition to Good, Biggs and Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and Ralph Norman (R-N.C.) have said they are hard "no's." Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.) has also voiced firm opposition.
That may not be the extent of McCarthy's troubles: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), one of his key allies in the Freedom Caucus, estimated that privately there "could be as many as 10" no votes. Good said 20 is "in the ballpark."

"My hope is that those members will begin to increasingly come out publicly to build that momentum," Good added.

The other side: McCarthy told reporters on Tuesday he won’t drop out if he fails on the first vote, promising a floor fight even if the process goes into multiple ballots: "At the end of the day, we’ll get there."

 

Click on the link for the full article

 

 

Edited November 30, 2022 by China

[China]

No longer the fringe: small town voters fear for America

 

A word -- “Hope” -- is stitched onto a throw pillow in the little hilltop farmhouse. Photographs of children and grandchildren speckle the walls. In the kitchen, an envelope is decorated with a hand-drawn heart. “Happy Birthday, My Love,” it reads.

 

Out front, past a pair of century-old cottonwoods, the neighbors’ cornfields reach into the distance.

 

John Kraft loves this place. He loves the quiet and the space. He loves that you can drive for miles without passing another car.

 

But out there? Out beyond the cornfields, to the little western Wisconsin towns turning into commuter suburbs, and to the cities growing ever larger?

 

Out there, he says, is a country that many Americans wouldn’t recognize.

 

It’s a dark place, dangerous, where freedom is under attack by a tyrannical government, few officials can be trusted and clans of neighbors might someday have to band together to protect one another. It’s a country where the most basic beliefs -- in faith, family, liberty -- are threatened.

 

And it’s not just about politics anymore.

 

“It’s no longer left versus right, Democrat versus Republican,” says Kraft, a software architect and data analyst. “It’s straight up good versus evil.”

 

He knows how he sounds. He’s felt the contempt of people who see him as a fanatic, a conspiracy theorist.

 

But he’s a hero in a growing right-wing conservative movement that has rocketed to prominence here in St. Croix County.

 

Just a couple years ago, their talk of Marxism, government crackdowns and secret plans to destroy family values would have put them at the far fringes of the Republican Party.

 

But not anymore. Today, despite midterm elections that failed to see the sweeping Republican victories that many had predicted, they remain a cornerstone of the conservative electoral base. Across the country, victories went to candidates who believe in QAnon and candidates who believe the separation of church and state is a fallacy. In Wisconsin, a U.S. senator who dabbles in conspiracy theories and pseudoscience was reelected - crushing his opponent in St. Croix County.

 

They are farmers and business analysts. They are stay-at-home mothers, graphic designers and insurance salesmen.

 

They live in communities where crime is almost nonexistent and Cub Scouts hold $5 spaghetti-lunch fundraisers at American Legion halls.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Ball Security]

36 minutes ago, China said:

 

McCarthy's math problem

 

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) met on Tuesday with key members of his conference — including several right-wing detractors — as part of an intensifying effort to cobble together the votes he needs to become speaker.

 

Why it matters: McCarthy is at risk of a humiliating and potentially career-ending defeat with just five weeks until the Jan. 3 speaker election, as several members of the right-wing House Freedom Caucus are still publicly vowing to deny him crucial votes.

 

Driving the news: Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.) told Axios on Tuesday he’s a firm "no" on McCarthy after previously leaving wiggle room: "I will be voting for an alternative candidate. I will not be voting for Kevin McCarthy."

 

Good said in a follow-up interview he will vote for Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), who told Politico he is voting for himself.

State of play: McCarthy will need a majority of voting members to elect him speaker. With a House Republican majority of just five or six seats, he will only be able to afford a handful of defections.

 

In addition to Good, Biggs and Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and Ralph Norman (R-N.C.) have said they are hard "no's." Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.) has also voiced firm opposition.
That may not be the extent of McCarthy's troubles: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), one of his key allies in the Freedom Caucus, estimated that privately there "could be as many as 10" no votes. Good said 20 is "in the ballpark."

"My hope is that those members will begin to increasingly come out publicly to build that momentum," Good added.

The other side: McCarthy told reporters on Tuesday he won’t drop out if he fails on the first vote, promising a floor fight even if the process goes into multiple ballots: "At the end of the day, we’ll get there."

 

Click on the link for the full article

 

 

What happens if he doesn’t get the 218 votes?  How do they decide who becomes Speaker?

[balki1867]

Quote

It’s a dark place, dangerous, where freedom is under attack by a tyrannical government, few officials can be trusted and clans of neighbors might someday have to band together to protect one another. It’s a country where the most basic beliefs -- in faith, family, liberty -- are threatened.

 

And it’s not just about politics anymore.

 

I think the COVID lockdowns were a turning point for a lot of this kind of stuff. I have friends who ended up 100% remote at work and they rarely interact with anyone outside their household on a personal level.  Meanwhile they work all day with Fox News repeating headlines every 30 minutes for literally HOURS. 

 

I'm not exaggerating.  I have a good friend from college with whom I had a mini-tradition where once a year, we'd drive to campus, watch a football game, and grab a burger/beer at our favorite bar. I didn't even bring it up with him this year because he could turn literally anything into a political discussion. The last time we drove down, I mentioned seeing a sushi restaurant on campus (something that would never exist 20 years ago). He went on a rant about the student loan crisis, how his tax dollars were bankrolling the life of luxury for college students, and how his kids would never even see the benefit of any of this, because all the admissions were going to immigrants thanks to our out of control immigration policies.

 

I know we likely always had some pretty different political views, but I have no f'ing clue what's gotten into him.  He's an otherwise brilliant dude.

 

It sucks man.

Edited November 30, 2022 by balki1867

[Jabbyrwock]

5 minutes ago, Ball Security said:

What happens if he doesn’t get the 218 votes?  How do they decide who becomes Speaker?

 

Just an idea of course...

 

[China]

43 minutes ago, Ball Security said:

What happens if he doesn’t get the 218 votes?  How do they decide who becomes Speaker?

 

The do votes on the floor of the house over and over again until someone gets 218.  Usually this means a lot of back room negotiating about what committees people get put on and what legislation gets put forth in exchange for someones vote for a person as speaker.

[PleaseBlitz]

 

[China]

Russian Oligarch’s Cousin Funneled Cash to N.Y. Politician

 

The cousin and cash handler for one of Russia’s most notorious oligarchs poured tens of thousands of dollars into electing a newly minted congressman-elect who called Ukraine’s government “a totalitarian regime.”

 

Republican George Devolder-Santos vanquished Democrat Robert Zimmerman this month in the race for a House seat covering parts of Long Island and the New York City borough of Queens—riding a red wave that swept the Empire State this cycle, and washing away two decades of Democratic dominance in the district.

 

Devolder-Santos had long courted conservative media attention by presenting himself as a “walking, living, breathing contradiction”—a gay Latino millennial born in New York City, who is also a fervent devotee of ex-President Donald Trump.

 

For much of his professional career, which included a stint as regional director at an alleged Ponzi scheme, the Republican used the name George Devolder. However, as he ventured further into the world of politics, he began to increasingly use the name George Devolder-Santos or simply George Santos.

 

He stood out to the Washington Post earlier this year for his remarks in the aftermath of Russia’s bloody, unprovoked assault on Ukraine.

 

“It’s not like Ukraine is a great democracy. It’s a totalitarian regime. They’re not a great bastion of freedom,” the congressman-to-be told the paper.

 

He has insisted that Ukraine “welcomed the Russians into their provinces”—an apparent reference to President Vladimir Putin’s 2014 invasion to prop up rogue separatist parties—and that Ukrainians in the east “feel more Russian than Ukrainian,” even though every single Ukrainian province overwhelmingly voted for independence in 1991.

 

It was not the first time Devolder-Santos had parroted Kremlin talking points. In the weeks before Putin’s brutal, blundering attack upon his western neighbor, the candidate repeatedly took to Twitter to accuse President Joe Biden of plotting to “start a war” with Russia and deploy American troops to Ukraine.

 

But unreported until now is that by the time Devolder-Santos made these statements, his congressional ambitions had already received a $32,800 boost from a controversial figure linked to the uppermost echelons of the Russian regime—and that support would more than double in size during the months ahead.

 

The cash came from Andrew Intrater and his wife, who variously listed her occupation as “homemaker” and “analyst” for Falcon AI, one of her husband’s subsidiary firms.

 

Intrater’s main venture is today called Sparrow Capital, but it previously used the name Columbus Nova—and its primary function has long been to manage the investments of Intrater’s cousin, Viktor Vekselberg, one of Putin’s wealthiest and most influential courtiers.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Fergasun]

Here's a really stupid question.  Could Democrats vote Biggs in?  

 

I suppose it's likely Democrats will vote for Jeffries. 

 

Regardleaa.  McCarthy will be speaker.  This is political handfighting via the media.  GOP Reps would be idiots to not go with him, plus it doesn't matter.

[hail2skins]

4 hours ago, balki1867 said:

 

I think the COVID lockdowns were a turning point for a lot of this kind of stuff. I have friends who ended up 100% remote at work and they rarely interact with anyone outside their household on a personal level.  Meanwhile they work all day with Fox News repeating headlines every 30 minutes for literally HOURS. 

Question: How many of the views held by Trump on issues like foreign policy, immigration, and trade were also held for a long time by prominent Democrats? But were at the time scoffed at by your typical GOP voter because the person had a (D) next to their name.

 

It just all seems so hypocritical these days.

[Long n Left]

On 11/29/2022 at 6:45 PM, China said:

Another Nunes defamation suit:

 

Trump ally Devin Nunes can sue NBCUniversal for defamation - judge

 

A U.S. judge on Monday said Devin Nunes, the former California congressman and an ally of former U.S. President Donald Trump, can sue NBCUniversal for defamation over a comment by Rachel Maddow concerning his relationship with a suspected Russian agent.

 

Without ruling on the merits, U.S. District Judge Kevin Castel in Manhattan said Nunes "plausibly allege[d] actual malice" with respect to a statement from a March 2021 broadcast of MSNBC's "The Rachel Maddow Show."

 

Maddow was discussing a package addressed to Nunes from Andriy Derkach, a pro-Russia Ukrainian legislator, and said Nunes "refused to hand it over to the FBI, which is what you should do if you get something from somebody who is sanctioned by the U.S. as a Russian agent."

 

Nunes' complaint, which seeks damages, said MSNBC and Maddow knew the package had been turned over, but instead "set out to inflict maximum pain and suffering on plaintiff in order to harm plaintiff's reputation."

 

In a 22-page decision, Castel said Maddow did not attribute Nunes' alleged refusal to any source, and that while she might have known about a similar accusation in a Politico article "a court does not weigh competing, plausible theories of actual malice on a motion to dismiss."

 

The judge also said other statements made by Maddow were not defamatory. Maddow is not a defendant.

 

Click on the link for the full article

 

On the basis of this ruling, I’d imagine at least half of the current gop could be sued for defamation. Not to mention Fox News?, Project Veritas, the RNC, and quite a few others.

On 11/29/2022 at 11:04 PM, Cooked Crack said:

 

What Kevin McCarthty truly needs is a lil trip behind the woodshed.

[EmirOfShmo]