Calling All Americans

Politics and other such topical creams.
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Re: Calling All Americans

Post by Bankrobber »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
Spiff wrote:But McCain is using every scare tactic he can, and it will only get uglier in the next week and a half... :hmph:
My hunch is that its effect will be more long-term than just about this election. It's just plain bad politics for one thing. There are notably fewer people who identify themselves as Republicans or Democrats right now, so the GOP base is smaller. Yet his tactics this month have been to play to the base and no one else. So either he's incompetent—extremely possible—or this is setting the parameters for the Republican opposition to an Obama administration—he's a terrorist, he's a Muslim, he's a socialist, he's anti/un-American. Which means the next four years is going to make the Clinton years seem like an eight-year bi-partisan honeymoon.
Talk radio has become pretty crazy lately...like a cornored animal. Socialism this, communist that. They don't realize the climate we are in. IN 2009 America people might not think it socialism to just give some poor people tax cuts....and when did tax cuts become socialist! Were Bush's stimulus checks socialism? Niel Boortz has been saying there is no right to vote and calls for voter suppression (seriously) and Mike Savage spends his show harping about that birthcertificate bullshit. It would be funny and enjoyable to hear this if thye didn't have such an effect on people.
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Re: Calling All Americans

Post by Wolter »

Bankrobber wrote:
Dr. Medulla wrote:
Spiff wrote:But McCain is using every scare tactic he can, and it will only get uglier in the next week and a half... :hmph:
My hunch is that its effect will be more long-term than just about this election. It's just plain bad politics for one thing. There are notably fewer people who identify themselves as Republicans or Democrats right now, so the GOP base is smaller. Yet his tactics this month have been to play to the base and no one else. So either he's incompetent—extremely possible—or this is setting the parameters for the Republican opposition to an Obama administration—he's a terrorist, he's a Muslim, he's a socialist, he's anti/un-American. Which means the next four years is going to make the Clinton years seem like an eight-year bi-partisan honeymoon.
Talk radio has become pretty crazy lately...like a cornored animal. Socialism this, communist that. They don't realize the climate we are in. IN 2009 America people might not think it socialism to just give some poor people tax cuts....and when did tax cuts become socialist! Were Bush's stimulus checks socialism? Niel Boortz has been saying there is no right to vote and calls for voter suppression (seriously) and Mike Savage spends his show harping about that birthcertificate bullshit. It would be funny and enjoyable to hear this if thye didn't have such an effect on people.
Banks, does it help you in any way to be told that Oklahoma is a severe outlier as far as "Red State" values is concerned? You're too close to the loonies to have enough aesthetic distance. National polling data is showing the effect they have his much less than it used to be.
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Re: Calling All Americans

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Wolter wrote:
Bankrobber wrote:
Dr. Medulla wrote:
Spiff wrote:But McCain is using every scare tactic he can, and it will only get uglier in the next week and a half... :hmph:
My hunch is that its effect will be more long-term than just about this election. It's just plain bad politics for one thing. There are notably fewer people who identify themselves as Republicans or Democrats right now, so the GOP base is smaller. Yet his tactics this month have been to play to the base and no one else. So either he's incompetent—extremely possible—or this is setting the parameters for the Republican opposition to an Obama administration—he's a terrorist, he's a Muslim, he's a socialist, he's anti/un-American. Which means the next four years is going to make the Clinton years seem like an eight-year bi-partisan honeymoon.
Talk radio has become pretty crazy lately...like a cornored animal. Socialism this, communist that. They don't realize the climate we are in. IN 2009 America people might not think it socialism to just give some poor people tax cuts....and when did tax cuts become socialist! Were Bush's stimulus checks socialism? Niel Boortz has been saying there is no right to vote and calls for voter suppression (seriously) and Mike Savage spends his show harping about that birthcertificate bullshit. It would be funny and enjoyable to hear this if thye didn't have such an effect on people.
Banks, does it help you in any way to be told that Oklahoma is a severe outlier as far as "Red State" values is concerned? You're too close to the loonies to have enough aesthetic distance. National polling data is showing the effect they have his much less than it used to be.
My concern isn't them affecting the vote but the atmosphere of the next four years if they are this crazy now, what will they be like if Obama wins and therefore how will the audience, albeit small, react?

EDIT: You are probably right. I live in a politically warped place (Democrats running here have to state how conservative, pro-family, and pro-life they are). I'm just antsy and will probably be so until Nov. 15, when I will be drunk off my ass because it's my B-day.
Last edited by Bankrobber on 24 Oct 2008, 1:54pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Calling All Americans

Post by Spiff »

Wolter wrote:
Spiff wrote: the Brady factor
No I didn't.

But anyway, Alice pals around with Sam the Butcher :scared: so that's why she's persona non grata in my book.
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Re: Calling All Americans

Post by Wolter »

Bankrobber wrote:
Wolter wrote:
Bankrobber wrote:
Dr. Medulla wrote:
Spiff wrote:But McCain is using every scare tactic he can, and it will only get uglier in the next week and a half... :hmph:
My hunch is that its effect will be more long-term than just about this election. It's just plain bad politics for one thing. There are notably fewer people who identify themselves as Republicans or Democrats right now, so the GOP base is smaller. Yet his tactics this month have been to play to the base and no one else. So either he's incompetent—extremely possible—or this is setting the parameters for the Republican opposition to an Obama administration—he's a terrorist, he's a Muslim, he's a socialist, he's anti/un-American. Which means the next four years is going to make the Clinton years seem like an eight-year bi-partisan honeymoon.
Talk radio has become pretty crazy lately...like a cornored animal. Socialism this, communist that. They don't realize the climate we are in. IN 2009 America people might not think it socialism to just give some poor people tax cuts....and when did tax cuts become socialist! Were Bush's stimulus checks socialism? Niel Boortz has been saying there is no right to vote and calls for voter suppression (seriously) and Mike Savage spends his show harping about that birthcertificate bullshit. It would be funny and enjoyable to hear this if thye didn't have such an effect on people.
Banks, does it help you in any way to be told that Oklahoma is a severe outlier as far as "Red State" values is concerned? You're too close to the loonies to have enough aesthetic distance. National polling data is showing the effect they have his much less than it used to be.
My concern isn't them affecting the vote but the atmosphere of the next four years if they are this crazy now, what will they be like if Obama wins and therefore how will the audience, albeit small, react?
I understand your fear (I lived just outside the Buckle of the Bible Belt for some time). But there are always going to be reactionary batshit idiots. You just happen to live where you see them all the time. I think the national pendulum is shifting slightly towards a more moderate cultural atmosphere. OK is just a pocket of special crazy.

Note, I'm talking cultural, not political.
”INDER LOCK THE THE KISS THREAD IVE REALISED IM A PRZE IDOOT” - Thomas Jefferson

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Re: Calling All Americans

Post by Wolter »

Spiff wrote:
Wolter wrote:
Spiff wrote: the Brady factor
No I didn't.

But anyway, Alice pals around with Sam the Butcher :scared: so that's why she's persona non grata in my book.
Turns out not only does Sam the Butcher make far less than 250,000, he's actually a vegan and has never worked as a butcher in his life.
”INDER LOCK THE THE KISS THREAD IVE REALISED IM A PRZE IDOOT” - Thomas Jefferson

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Re: Calling All Americans

Post by Spiff »

Wolter wrote:Turns out not only does Sam the Butcher make far less than 250,000, he's actually a vegan and has never worked as a butcher in his life.
It also turn out that he is dead.

How un-American is that, I ask you?

America's not good enough for him to live in, eh? :shifty:
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Re: Calling All Americans

Post by Dr. Medulla »

Bankrobber wrote:
Wolter wrote:
Bankrobber wrote:
Dr. Medulla wrote:
Spiff wrote:But McCain is using every scare tactic he can, and it will only get uglier in the next week and a half... :hmph:
My hunch is that its effect will be more long-term than just about this election. It's just plain bad politics for one thing. There are notably fewer people who identify themselves as Republicans or Democrats right now, so the GOP base is smaller. Yet his tactics this month have been to play to the base and no one else. So either he's incompetent—extremely possible—or this is setting the parameters for the Republican opposition to an Obama administration—he's a terrorist, he's a Muslim, he's a socialist, he's anti/un-American. Which means the next four years is going to make the Clinton years seem like an eight-year bi-partisan honeymoon.
Talk radio has become pretty crazy lately...like a cornored animal. Socialism this, communist that. They don't realize the climate we are in. IN 2009 America people might not think it socialism to just give some poor people tax cuts....and when did tax cuts become socialist! Were Bush's stimulus checks socialism? Niel Boortz has been saying there is no right to vote and calls for voter suppression (seriously) and Mike Savage spends his show harping about that birthcertificate bullshit. It would be funny and enjoyable to hear this if thye didn't have such an effect on people.
Banks, does it help you in any way to be told that Oklahoma is a severe outlier as far as "Red State" values is concerned? You're too close to the loonies to have enough aesthetic distance. National polling data is showing the effect they have his much less than it used to be.
My concern isn't them affecting the vote but the atmosphere of the next four years if they are this crazy now, what will they be like if Obama wins and therefore how will the audience, albeit small, react?

EDIT: You are probably right. I live in a politically warped place (Democrats running here have to state how conservative, pro-family, and pro-life they are). I'm just antsy and will probably be so until Nov. 15, when I will be drunk off my ass because it's my B-day.
It will be a miracle (non-god variety) if there is not a serious and credible attempt on Obama's life within the next two years by some homegrown right wing crazies. Hell, the reason why JFK went down to Dallas was to help smooth over the growing radicalism in state politics in the Democratic party. He was labeled a nigger lover and a communist sympathizer, and plenty of people in the South cheered when they heard he was killed. The right wing are setting a cultural guerilla war in motion.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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Re: Calling All Americans

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Dr. Medulla wrote:It will be a miracle (non-god variety) if there is not a serious and credible attempt on Obama's life within the next two years by some homegrown right wing crazies. Hell, the reason why JFK went down to Dallas was to help smooth over the growing radicalism in state politics in the Democratic party. He was labeled a nigger lover and a communist sympathizer, and plenty of people in the South cheered when they heard he was killed. The right wing are setting a cultural guerilla war in motion.
I hope there's something to be salvaged out of the right--positive individualism, distrust of authority... all of those things that made me think of the right as possible allies before 9/11. I dislike both capitalist war regimes and nanny states.
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Re: Calling All Americans

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eumaas wrote:
Dr. Medulla wrote:It will be a miracle (non-god variety) if there is not a serious and credible attempt on Obama's life within the next two years by some homegrown right wing crazies. Hell, the reason why JFK went down to Dallas was to help smooth over the growing radicalism in state politics in the Democratic party. He was labeled a nigger lover and a communist sympathizer, and plenty of people in the South cheered when they heard he was killed. The right wing are setting a cultural guerilla war in motion.
I hope there's something to be salvaged out of the right--positive individualism, distrust of authority... all of those things that made me think of the right as possible allies before 9/11. I dislike both capitalist war regimes and nanny states.
As much as the anti-intellectual nativism will be gunning for Obama (unfunny pun intended), the next, perhaps, decade will be a war for the nature of the GOP. The Wall Street-evangelical-libertarian construct is broken. I'd think that Wall Street would have the best claim to the party name, but it's endorsement of the bail out fucks its position, as well. Likewise, the interventionist hawks are on the defensive. Really, from an intellectual standpoint, the GOP is in greater disarray than the Democrats were in the 80s, when they were just wholly sapped and overwhelmed by a great Republican machine.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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Re: Calling All Americans

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Dr. Medulla wrote:
It will be a miracle (non-god variety) if there is not a serious and credible attempt on Obama's life within the next two years by some homegrown right wing crazies. Hell, the reason why JFK went down to Dallas was to help smooth over the growing radicalism in state politics in the Democratic party. He was labeled a nigger lover and a communist sympathizer, and plenty of people in the South cheered when they heard he was killed. The right wing are setting a cultural guerilla war in motion.
My friend's dad was in the Army Reserves and was training in Texas when they shot JFK. He said most of the barracks were Southerners and there was a lot of cheering when the news hit.
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Re: Calling All Americans

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It'd be good for them to fall apart. I suspect, though, that the two party system is a hard tendency to break.

Speaking of libertarians, there's been talk lately in left-libertarian circles of trying to break the back of the Libertarian Party. The LP is chock full of vulgar libertarians, and now there's a new movement of highly articulate thinkers who are taking libertarianism and free market ideology in a left direction--which is of course back to its origin! These people will decimate the LP, and all for the better. It's very exciting to me because it's built on the values preached by capitalism but not actually upheld--so it provides something amenable to this cultural context while being distinctly leftist at the same time.
I feel that there is a fascistic element, for example, in the Rolling Stones . . .
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I've studied the phenomenon of neo-provincialism in self-isolating online communities but this place takes the fucking cake.
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Re: Calling All Americans

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eumaas wrote:It'd be good for them to fall apart. I suspect, though, that the two party system is a hard tendency to break.
The system is built for only two. It's a matter of who is willing to go along with the others even tho they don't like the dominant partner.
Speaking of libertarians, there's been talk lately in left-libertarian circles of trying to break the back of the Libertarian Party. The LP is chock full of vulgar libertarians, and now there's a new movement of highly articulate thinkers who are taking libertarianism and free market ideology in a left direction--which is of course back to its origin! These people will decimate the LP, and all for the better. It's very exciting to me because it's built on the values preached by capitalism but not actually upheld--so it provides something amenable to this cultural context while being distinctly leftist at the same time.
Last year or the year before, I read a magazine article about libertarians switching to the Democrats. The argument was that they felt they'd achieved all they could within the GOP—free markets, low taxes—and thought that the Democrats were a better bet for privacy and civil liberties issues. I thought the whole thing seemed more speculative than based on any real evidence. Based on the libertarians at Volokh, they're welded to the dying GOP and convinced that Obama is a hardcore Marxist. Completely unglued. Which makes this election a lot like '32 again—just a massive unraveling of all the old certainties. It's a time of opportunity, that's for sure.
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Re: Calling All Americans

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eumaas wrote:It'd be good for them to fall apart. I suspect, though, that the two party system is a hard tendency to break.

Speaking of libertarians, there's been talk lately in left-libertarian circles of trying to break the back of the Libertarian Party. The LP is chock full of vulgar libertarians, and now there's a new movement of highly articulate thinkers who are taking libertarianism and free market ideology in a left direction--which is of course back to its origin! These people will decimate the LP, and all for the better. It's very exciting to me because it's built on the values preached by capitalism but not actually upheld--so it provides something amenable to this cultural context while being distinctly leftist at the same time.
If the left-libs take over the LP, I'll be a lot more enticed towards the party.
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Re: Calling All Americans

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Spiff wrote:
Wolter wrote:Turns out not only does Sam the Butcher make far less than 250,000, he's actually a vegan and has never worked as a butcher in his life.
It also turn out that he is dead.

How un-American is that, I ask you?

America's not good enough for him to live in, eh? :shifty:
He also lived a double-life as Barney Hefner, supposedly the best friend of "real American" Archie Bunker. Enemies everywhere …
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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