What dawned on me as I read this is that the Republican Party has become the party of NO: No to people of color, no to women, no to poor people, no to Native people, no to people with disabilities, no to lesbians and gay men, no to migrants, no no no no no. Thing is, NO is like brakes: they can stop forward motion, but they can't get you…
What dawned on me as I read this is that the Republican Party has become the party of NO: No to people of color, no to women, no to poor people, no to Native people, no to people with disabilities, no to lesbians and gay men, no to migrants, no no no no no. Thing is, NO is like brakes: they can stop forward motion, but they can't get you anywhere. And that, when it comes down to it, is why I believe that forward motion will win in the end, as long as we keep working to make it happen.
I just started a rejoinder to your 1619 reply, Susanna, then decided not to post it. But you've written one here yourself in odd parallel to what I scrapped, to wit:
"Yes but. Although we've been dragging anchor all this time and have gone aground at times, the drift has been away from the rocks. We've gone and are still going the right direction."
Yes indeed! And it's what we consider the "right direction" -- toward more inclusiveness, justice for *all*, more democracy -- that they're saying NO to. Or, as MLK said, "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice." Former acting attorney general Sally Yates -- one of the earliest victims of the Trump administration -- quoted that in her Harvard Law commencement address that spring. Being reminded of it then gave me hope, along with remembering that the arc doesn't bend by itself.
Sally Yates was such a shero—what the heck has become of her? … Latest example of the one step forward-two steps back pattern: judge ok's a medically necessary abortion, Texas AG Darth Vadar hastily threatens to prosecute the designated MD for complying w/ the temporary court order. Darth has proven to be as far beyond accountability as P01135809—so far. My money's on the arc bending three steps forward anyway..
She's back at the Atlanta law firm King & Spalding, where she worked before joining the Justice Department. I didn't realize she was diagnosed with breast cancer right around the time she was testifying before Congress about Russian interference in elections. I just found this October 2021 story about her: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sally-yates-breast-cancer-russia-investigation/.
Thanks for the update. I knew she was from ATL and figured she had gone back home, but hadn’t heard about the cancer diagnosis. I hope she’s doing well.
Exactly, but they don't stop there. No to truth, no to integrity, no to honor, no to compassion, no to scruples, no to having a backbone, and definitely no to standing strong in your principles and calling a fraud a fraud, if doing so might cost you your cushy, powerful job. They shrink in stature every day.
"The Emperor's New Clothes" keeps occurring to me, less because of the poor emperor parading in his skivvies and more because of the crowds who couldn't see it.
That is probably the most accurate--if a bit vulgar--way to characterize the MAGA party repubbies that I have yet heard. And as for the vulgarity...?
Well, as a party they themselves are as vulgar (or worse) as anything I have ever heard. After all, their orange object of worship is probably the most vulgar creature to ever head up a political party--and his execrable example has given his cult base permission to emulate him.
I realized this quite a few years ago when doing opposition research on a Republican candidate from my area. He had made a name for himself, but he never accomplished anything positive--everything he did was against something or stopping something.
a few days ago, Sidney Blumenthal had a nice piece in "The Guardian" in which he stated, quite convincingly, that the entire Contemporary Republican Party was one big "political" or "cultural" or "philosophical" Potemkin Village insofar as there's this "promise" that, after the TFF-promised "dictatorial" beginning, there's a "plan."
we know there's no such thing. I'm pretty sure THEY know there's no such thing, but I've learned by now NEVER to overestimate them; sometimes, we've all so painfully discovered, stupid is just stupid.
it just seemed like it would be easier to handle...
I like the Potemkin Village image -- gotta find Blumenthal's piece. For a while there I was comparing Trump to the Wizard of Oz, but Trump can't even put on a good show.
Stupid is just stupid, and lies are just lies. But I still have a hard time believing that people like Marjorie Taylor Greene, Matt Gaetz, Ron Johnson, James Comer, et al. ever got elected -- and re-elected -- to Congress. High school students in Model Congresses are more persuasive, and better prepared, than the real thing.
Gerrymandering often helps. But the GOP bench is worse than shallow. My state, Massachusetts, historically likes Republican governors, and whether you agree with their politics or not, they're generally decent and competent. But the last one, Charlie Baker, decided against running for a third term, and political punditry suggested that part of the reason was that he might get primaried. The Republicans running for statewide office in fall 2022 ranged from mediocre to pathetic.
What dawned on me as I read this is that the Republican Party has become the party of NO: No to people of color, no to women, no to poor people, no to Native people, no to people with disabilities, no to lesbians and gay men, no to migrants, no no no no no. Thing is, NO is like brakes: they can stop forward motion, but they can't get you anywhere. And that, when it comes down to it, is why I believe that forward motion will win in the end, as long as we keep working to make it happen.
I just started a rejoinder to your 1619 reply, Susanna, then decided not to post it. But you've written one here yourself in odd parallel to what I scrapped, to wit:
"Yes but. Although we've been dragging anchor all this time and have gone aground at times, the drift has been away from the rocks. We've gone and are still going the right direction."
Yes indeed! And it's what we consider the "right direction" -- toward more inclusiveness, justice for *all*, more democracy -- that they're saying NO to. Or, as MLK said, "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice." Former acting attorney general Sally Yates -- one of the earliest victims of the Trump administration -- quoted that in her Harvard Law commencement address that spring. Being reminded of it then gave me hope, along with remembering that the arc doesn't bend by itself.
Sally Yates was such a shero—what the heck has become of her? … Latest example of the one step forward-two steps back pattern: judge ok's a medically necessary abortion, Texas AG Darth Vadar hastily threatens to prosecute the designated MD for complying w/ the temporary court order. Darth has proven to be as far beyond accountability as P01135809—so far. My money's on the arc bending three steps forward anyway..
She's back at the Atlanta law firm King & Spalding, where she worked before joining the Justice Department. I didn't realize she was diagnosed with breast cancer right around the time she was testifying before Congress about Russian interference in elections. I just found this October 2021 story about her: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sally-yates-breast-cancer-russia-investigation/.
Thanks for the update. I knew she was from ATL and figured she had gone back home, but hadn’t heard about the cancer diagnosis. I hope she’s doing well.
Yates must have felt doubly cursed—the trump DoJ, then cancer. No wonder she retreated. Hope she's ok now. TY for info and link.
Exactly, but they don't stop there. No to truth, no to integrity, no to honor, no to compassion, no to scruples, no to having a backbone, and definitely no to standing strong in your principles and calling a fraud a fraud, if doing so might cost you your cushy, powerful job. They shrink in stature every day.
"The Emperor's New Clothes" keeps occurring to me, less because of the poor emperor parading in his skivvies and more because of the crowds who couldn't see it.
Sorry to lower the diction but I think of Republicans as the “Fuck You Party.”
That is probably the most accurate--if a bit vulgar--way to characterize the MAGA party repubbies that I have yet heard. And as for the vulgarity...?
Well, as a party they themselves are as vulgar (or worse) as anything I have ever heard. After all, their orange object of worship is probably the most vulgar creature to ever head up a political party--and his execrable example has given his cult base permission to emulate him.
Spot on
I realized this quite a few years ago when doing opposition research on a Republican candidate from my area. He had made a name for himself, but he never accomplished anything positive--everything he did was against something or stopping something.
Off the top of my head I can think of a few Republican candidates in my region to whom that applies!
a few days ago, Sidney Blumenthal had a nice piece in "The Guardian" in which he stated, quite convincingly, that the entire Contemporary Republican Party was one big "political" or "cultural" or "philosophical" Potemkin Village insofar as there's this "promise" that, after the TFF-promised "dictatorial" beginning, there's a "plan."
we know there's no such thing. I'm pretty sure THEY know there's no such thing, but I've learned by now NEVER to overestimate them; sometimes, we've all so painfully discovered, stupid is just stupid.
it just seemed like it would be easier to handle...
I like the Potemkin Village image -- gotta find Blumenthal's piece. For a while there I was comparing Trump to the Wizard of Oz, but Trump can't even put on a good show.
Stupid is just stupid, and lies are just lies. But I still have a hard time believing that people like Marjorie Taylor Greene, Matt Gaetz, Ron Johnson, James Comer, et al. ever got elected -- and re-elected -- to Congress. High school students in Model Congresses are more persuasive, and better prepared, than the real thing.
at least a couple of the names you mention are there because they're representing districts in which ANY Repug who runs is going to win.
Gerrymandering often helps. But the GOP bench is worse than shallow. My state, Massachusetts, historically likes Republican governors, and whether you agree with their politics or not, they're generally decent and competent. But the last one, Charlie Baker, decided against running for a third term, and political punditry suggested that part of the reason was that he might get primaried. The Republicans running for statewide office in fall 2022 ranged from mediocre to pathetic.
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