US Politics Thread 2021-24

[Arlo]

[3catcircus]

Originally Posted by Arlo

So, he's a sidewalk busker?

[Arlo]

As entertaining as it was I doubt such was his intention, even for free. He does seem to be an anti-anti-fascist (which would be either a fascist sympathizer or outright fascist).

[ET2SN]

Happy Friday, everyone. Enjoy your weekend.

[Skybird]

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/09/08/o...kov/index.html

The fact is that, more and more, the Republicans who have carefully engineered their vise-like grip on the levers of power, do not necessarily reflect the will of a growing number of everyday people in this changing state. Polling by The University of Texas at Austin and the Texas Tribune in March was quite revealing, for example, on the question of state abortion laws, with 31% of respondents saying those laws should be stricter, 18% saying the laws should be left as is and 37% saying they should be less strict.
And while some Texans certainly think abortion is the most important problem in the state, many -- as polling shows -- see immigration, voting rights, gun control, health care and education as more urgent priorities.

This nuance and diversity of political views is not always visible, because since 2002, when Republicans gained control of both the state legislature and the governor's office, Texas has been a deeply gerrymandered state. Redistricting, including in 2003, which immediately gained the GOP six seats, was supported more recently when the US Supreme Court last year turned away claims that Republican state lawmakers had not been intent on diluting influence of minority voters when they again redrew the voting district map in 2011.

Texas is also among the hardest states in the nation in which to vote, even before SB 1 -- which bans drive-through voting, creates new rules for voter assistance, further restricts mail-in voting, and established monthly citizenship checks -- went into effect. The state still does not have automatic voter registration, for example, but does have tight voter identification laws, restricts vote-by-mail to the disabled and elderly, and has drastically reduced the number of polling places in some parts of the state.
These laws create what Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio, has called a "generations-long pattern of discrimination," especially affecting voters of color. (After Abbott signed the new law restricting voting, incidentally, a coalition of civil rights groups filed a lawsuit challenging it.)

But whether on voting or abortions, the new wave of legislation from this Republican government, should be seen not as representative of all Texans, but rather as an attempt to assert dominance from the right onto a reality that is very much in flux. People of color drove 95% of Texas' population growth in 2020, (as a result of the 2020 US Census, Texas gained two congressional seats this year -- the only state in the country to do so. And while newcomers to Texas have long voted across the political spectrum, the diverse new influx may well make the political landscape more fluid than it has been in nearly two decades.

Changing demographics and the growth of cities mean that the population is increasingly leaning away from traditional red-state politics. In a new UT/Texas Politics Poll, 52% of participants said the state was moving in the wrong direction, the lowest impression since the project started in 2008, and Abbott scored the lowest approval rating of his tenure.

[Otto Harkaman]

^ CNN = DNN (Democratic News Network)

[Arlo]

Originally Posted by Otto Harkaman

^ CNN = DNN (Democratic News Network)

Democratic might well fit, given the anti-democracy attitude of those on the extreme right.

[u crank]

Originally Posted by Arlo

Democratic might well fit, given the anti-democracy attitude of those on the extreme right.

I think the anti-democracy attitude exists at the extremes of both the left and the right.

[Arlo]

Originally Posted by u crank

I think the anti-democracy attitude exists at the extremes of both the left and the right.

Do you? Please illustrate.

[u crank]

Originally Posted by Arlo

Do you? Please illustrate.

Really? How about we have the guy making the accusation going first?

[Arlo]

Originally Posted by u crank

Really? How about we have the guy making the accusation going first?

The claim that left and right extremism in the United States are equally undemocratic is yours (or did you forget?) But I'll not shy away from addressing it, if that somehow makes you more comfortable in backing your claim, afterwards.

In U.S. politics there are people on the extreme end of conservatism attempting to suppress the vote (literally anti-democracy). There's also that poorly executed insurrection thing. I can't give you an example of an extreme left group doing the same. (Here's where you provide a legitimate example).

[Arlo]

I will say this much, though, extremism is indeed harmful to humanity. But you don't fight extremism with extremism (not if you're sane).

[u crank]

Originally Posted by Arlo

The claim that left and right extremism in the United States are equally undemocratic is yours ..

I didn't say they were equally undemocratic, I said the anti-democracy attitude exists at the extremes of both the left and the right. Are you saying that they don't?

Much of what the far Left in America today stands for is undemocratic. They have a problem with free speech and they cheer on big tech censorship. They seem to find it hard to support law and order. Defund the police is not a right wing idea. The problem of anti-Semitism on the left is obvious. Their solution to racism is anti-racism racism. And the most worrisome one of all, the rise and the embrace of authoritarianism on the left. The young are much afflicted by this.

I could give you a list of sins from the extreme right as well. The anti democratic attitude exists on both extremes.

Originally Posted by Arlo

I will say this much, though, extremism is indeed harmful to humanity. But you don't fight extremism with extremism (not if you're sane).

I would agree with that.

[Arlo]

Originally Posted by u crank

I didn't say they were equally undemocratic, I said the anti-democracy attitude exists at the extremes of both the left and the right. Are you saying that they don't?

Much of what the far Left in America today stands for is undemocratic. They have a problem with free speech and they cheer on big tech censorship. They seem to find it hard to support law and order. Defund the police is not a right wing idea. The problem of anti-Semitism on the left is obvious. Their solution to racism is anti-racism racism. And the most worrisome one of all, the rise and the embrace of authoritarianism on the left. The young are much afflicted by this.

I could give you a list of sins from the extreme right as well. The anti democratic attitude exists on both extremes.



I would agree with that.

And here I was kinda expecting you to prove how 'undemocratic' the 'extreme left' is. Instead you went on about what you think being 'undemocratic' means other than actually being undemocratic (some of which is outright lies and projection such as the 'anti-Semitism' charge and mistaken viewpoint of who is more authoritarian). You probably should have gone with your first instinct and just not tried. The only facts in our exchange, so far, is that only the extreme right has taken actual political and physical actions to threaten Democracy in America. Don't say I didn't give you a chance to rationally back up your claim, though. What shall we discuss next? Who practices domestic terrorism and to what degree?

(I actually kinda like you, kid.)

[u crank]

Originally Posted by Arlo

And here I was kinda expecting you to prove how 'undemocratic' the 'extreme left' is.

I think I did. You just didn't like the answer but that's not my problem.

You probably should have gone with your first instinct and just not tried.

I think you may be right. All I've read from you in this thread tells me that.

The only facts in our exchange, so far, is that only the extreme right has taken actual political and physical actions to threaten Democracy in America.

Kinda funny but isn't that your assertion? See that's what I mean.

What shall we discuss next? Who practices domestic terrorism and to what degree?

Depends. Does Antifa qualify?