Jump to content

The Next President is...


disgruntledemployee

Recommended Posts

@ViperMan the capitol "seeing some action" from a few nut jobs isn't the problem. Of course that was never going to go anywhere. 

The problem is those nut jobs were incited by a sitting president who has spewed falsehoods about an election he lost for over two months now. That is the concern. Over half of the republicans in the house opposed certifying the verified election results from Arizona earlier tonight based on absolutely no evidence. That is the coup attempt that could actually matter  

You want to talk about eroding trust in institutions? How about a sitting president lobbing unsubstantiated claims on Twitter since nov 3rd that have been thrown out by courts at literally every level of government.. including by his own nominees. And he just keeps spewing the crap anyway. 
 

In the long run, do I really think this is going to rip the country apart? No. But it will rip the Republican Party apart. So to you mealy mouthed trump-adjacent right wingers who just kindof tolerated his behavior: congrats. Have fun not having a leg to stand on for the next 5-10 years. It takes a lot to be crazier than today's Democrat party but you guys managed it. 
 

Last thing I'll say is I think today was a blessing in disguise. Only one person was killed which is a borderline miracle, especially since it was one of the belligerents and not someone in the capitol just trying to do their job. This episode exposed some serious security problems and the hot wash from this will help serve to beef up security for whatever lunacy trump tries to incite on the 20th. 

Edited by Pooter
  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 minutes ago, jazzdude said:

While the obvious concern that our Capitol building has been overrun is bad, I think the concern goes much further.

Today we lost physical security of the Capitol building while Congress was conducting one of their most fundamental duties-certifying the election for president. Were explosives or traps left behind to target political opponents? I'm sure this is also a counterintelligence nightmare as well. Were recording devices left behind? Were computers and networks compromised (pictures were in the news of unlocked computer screens)? Access to classified? Was everyone rioting disgruntled Trump supporters, or is it possible foreign actors participated and took advantage of the situation?

So maybe it wasn't a coup attempt, but that doesn't mean severe damage wasn't done to our government, much less to our image to the rest of the world. And that image (which I posit truly began in WW2) has been important in our foreign policy, as it's given us the moral ground (as a champion of democracy) in the past to push our agenda and advance our interests. And this loss to our world image comes at a time when China and Russia are trying to expand their influence in the world. No matter how well our military fights, if we lose our legitimacy for conducting our operations, we've lost the war.

I agree 100%, and that's a topic worth engaging on. Personally, I think it's a tactical/operational/strategic failure of whatever government agency is responsible for protecting the Capitol. Where were the fire hoses? Non-lethal crowd control measures? Hundreds or thousands of National Guard troops. It's not like we didn't know this thing was coming. There was no good way to slowly escalate the use of force, so as soon as a breach happened they had to use lethal force. I had heard of the event even though I'm fairly disengaged so no doubt it was on everyone's radar.

I'm also hugely concerned about China/Russia/Iran, but am also worried that even outside of external threat actors, we have our own internal struggles that remain.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I honestly think a lot of you guys are all missing the point. Its particularly disgusting that far right wing Republicans did this, and some people here are backing this up. I will consent there is quite a bit of overreaction from the left. However, nothing really forgives the trespass on our institution this is. There was a group of people that upended one of though most important and sacred establishments of our country, democracy. 

To those of you on the left, equally shame on you. You revel in this like its some sort of victory. You cheer at the sight of your perceived enemies, who are actually your countrymen, collapsing under fears that their way of life is under threat. This is absolutely not the time to approach the situation with a smug "I told you so." The left is just as much complicit for this event as the right. 

Until people start turning inward and asking hard questions of themselves, this country is going to get no better. I'm honestly sick today. I woke up this morning and this was the worst news I could have read. I don't even want to go to work today. 

Edited by FLEA
  • Thanks 1
  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

44 minutes ago, Pooter said:

@ViperMan the capitol "seeing some action" from a few nut jobs isn't the problem. Of course that was never going to go anywhere. 

The problem is those nut jobs were incited by a sitting president who has spewed falsehoods about an election he lost for over two months now. That is the concern. Over half of the republicans in the house opposed certifying the verified election results from Arizona earlier tonight based on absolutely no evidence. That is the coup attempt that could actually matter  

You want to talk about eroding trust in institutions? How about a sitting president lobbing unsubstantiated claims on Twitter since nov 3rd that have been thrown out by courts at literally every level of government.. including by his own nominees. And he just keeps spewing the crap anyway. 
...

I'm opening "what-a-bouts" for this post.

Does no one remember four short years ago when there was a concerted effort to get faithless electors to "subvert democracy" and "vote their conscience"? WTH does everyone think would have happened four years ago had that effort succeeded? Surely it would have been a peaceful transition when faithless electors chose a different president. I'm sure that wouldn't have disenfranchised large swaths of our nation.

No, it wasn't endorsed by the sitting President, but why am I not surprised? Why does this just seem to 'fit' in with the rest of the other BS that's been going on?

And again, the 'coup' talk is disingenuous. Where is the force that is going to back-up any of this? Honestly it's disheartening to think that so many of my colleagues harbor an actual concern that this threatened our way of life, because it implies you think that the military at large would fall in line with blindly carrying out orders from Trump. Frankly, I trust everyone I work with way more than that. I feel like I'm the guy down range getting bitched at by chiefs for wearing the "CTFO" morale patch. 

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, ViperMan said:

And again, the 'coup' talk is disingenuous. Where is the force that is going to back-up any of this? Honestly it's disheartening to think that so many of my colleagues harbor an actual concern that this threatened our way of life, because it implies you think that the military at large would fall in line with blindly carrying out orders from Trump.

Your characterization of the argument is disingenuous. Nobody here believes Trump is going to attempt, much less succeed, at using the military to attempt a coup. Only person who even used that word on here for the events that transpired today admitted it was too strong to use.

This is about the extensive and generational damage Trump's rhetoric continues to have on our institutions via his supporters, and about the very real danger it will pose when millions continue to believe there is a deep state conspiracy that removed Trump, not to mention the damage our adversaries will take advantage of. The 'force' to be cautious with here is not the military, it's tens of thousands of armed Americans rallied under cries of 1776 convinced by a vile nihilism that everything is corrupted. Of course it remains highly unlikely that all will decide to enact violence, but even the smallest percentage deciding to revolt is a credible danger to the lives of many. The voices are there and they are real and being heard. 

Edited by DosXX
  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 hours ago, Negatory said:

On another note, doesn't look like your guys' guesses about billionaire philanthropy were based very much in reality.

https://observer.com/2021/01/billionaires-philanthropy-record-low-2020-bezos-elon-musk/

BUT JEFF BEZOS MAX A TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATION OF $10B TO THE... Bezos Fund.

Let’s start with your original comment that generated a reply: “what if they only made $25B? What if only $25M?” Once again your opinion-driven math vs. actual math isn’t based in reality, per the example I gave...she sure as shit isn’t donating $9B if she only makes $25M; my 5 year old can do that math. And if she’s making $25B, then doubtful she’s donating 36% of her income that year (and her net worth would be less overall, more reason she wouldn’t donate as much). In fact, your article talks about how huge it was for bezos to pledge 10% of his wealth (at the time he did).

Go ahead, show me “your reality” where a Billionaire has taken a 50% income /worth cut and then followed up with the same multi-billion $ donations after the fact, that matched previous donations before the 50% cut. Oh and also their loss didn’t impact companies, employees, etc.

Edited by brabus
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Anyone who thinks this was a "coup attempt" needs to turn off the television and go oxygenate their gray matter a bit!

It was simply a shit storm circus complete with a ringmaster and a full compliment of clowns on both sides.

Trone: 'No reason for this despicable episode' | Local News |  heraldmailmedia.com

So, what is the road ahead?

To be honest, there is a huge opportunity for the Democrats here that I doubt they'll take advantage of because they were just as involved in all this as Trump.

I am sure they'll use this to push ridiculous, un-Constitutional legislation as much like the GOP, they have no real vision.

Or, more preferably but less likely, they could make a real effort to unite this country but not taking advantage of this modern day equivalent of burning down the Reichstag to advance their absurd agenda for the next two years.  Even Obama was smart enough to know to pick his battles, but honestly I am not sure Biden is that acute to such matters.

Laying blame solely on one side or the other is the antithesis of "woke" (an overused term by those who think they are more "enlightened" than others, and are mostly wrong about it).  Anyone who thinks this was a true coup attempt has swallowed too much misinformation from the media (the third guilty party in this shit show).  

Biden has a real opportunity to prove he can lead this country better than his predecessor, but I'm not placing much hope in that nor would I in Trump had he won.  This country has been paralyzed by both political parties and despite attempts to muster up a third option, that simply isn't going to happen.  I don't want to be a pessimist, but there's really not much "hope" to hope for!

God help us all!

  • Upvote 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites




Let’s start with your original comment that generated a reply: “what if they only made $25B? What if only $25M?” Once again your opinion-driven math vs. actual math isn’t based in reality, per the example I gave...she sure as shit isn’t donating $9B if she only makes $25M; my 5 year old can do that math. And if she’s making $25B, then doubtful she’s donating 36% of her income that year (and her net worth would be less overall, more reason she wouldn’t donate as much). In fact, your article talks about how huge it was for bezos to pledge 10% of his wealth (at the time he did).
Go ahead, show me “your reality” where a Billionaire has taken a 50% income /worth cut and then followed up with the same multi-billion $ donations after the fact, that matched previous donations before the 50% cut. Oh and also their loss didn’t impact companies, employees, etc.


https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenbertoni/2020/09/15/exclusive-the-billionaire-who-wanted-to-die-brokeis-now-officially-broke/?sh=53da02d53a2a

Chuck Feeney.


Over the last four decades, Feeney has donated more than $8 billion to charities, universities and foundations worldwide through his foundation, the Atlantic Philanthropies. When I first met him in 2012, he estimated he had set aside about $2 million for his and his wife's retirement. In other words, he's given away 375,000% more money than his current net worth. And he gave it away anonymously.
[/Quote]

Bill Gates and Warren Buffett have pledged half their wealth to charity. The Bill and Melinda Gates foundation seems to be doing positive work in health issues around the world.

Bezos pledging 10% really isn't that newsworthy if you look at it from a percentage perspective. How much do you donate to charity? Many Christians tithe 10%, whether it's to a church, or to various charities. I know I do (and not just to my church), and it costs me the ability to afford my own plane, but it's a sacrifice I make to give back to my community. And given his wealth, he could afford to give more and still lead a very lavish life. He doesn't have to, but I'm not going to applaud his philanthropy when people much less well off than him are making bigger contributions percentage wise.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, M2 said:

Anyone who thinks this was a "coup attempt" needs to turn off the television and go oxygenate their gray matter a bit!

It was simply a shit storm circus complete with a ringmaster and a full compliment of clowns on both sides.

Trone: 'No reason for this despicable episode' | Local News |  heraldmailmedia.com

So, what is the road ahead?

To be honest, there is a huge opportunity for the Democrats here that I doubt they'll take advantage of because they were just as involved in all this as Trump.

I am sure they'll use this to push ridiculous, un-Constitutional legislation as much like the GOP, they have no real vision.

Or, more preferably but less likely, they could make a real effort to unite this country but not taking advantage of this modern day equivalent of burning down the Reichstag to advance their absurd agenda for the next two years.  Even Obama was smart enough to know to pick his battles, but honestly I am not sure Biden is that acute to such matters.

Laying blame solely on one side or the other is the antithesis of "woke" (an overused term by those who think they are more "enlightened" than others, and are mostly wrong about it).  Anyone who thinks this was a true coup attempt has swallowed too much misinformation from the media (the third guilty party in this shit show).  

Biden has a real opportunity to prove he can lead this country better than his predecessor, but I'm not placing much hope in that nor would I in Trump had he won.  This country has been paralyzed by both political parties and despite attempts to muster up a third option, that simply isn't going to happen.  I don't want to be a pessimist, but there's really not much "hope" to hope for!
 

God help us all!

I’m no Democrat, and like you, I am afraid of what they could potentially do now that they are in control.  Also, like you, I doubt they’re going to be able to do anything because they’re incompetent.

Edited to add: Totally agree that the media is also partly to blame for stoking the contention in this country.  Their one-sided views are obvious and haven’t really helped, but made it worse!

That being said, let’s not get crazy here, how do Democrats hold part of the blame here?  You’ve completely failed to make that case.

 Yesterday was a direct result of a sitting president spouting lies and disinformation for well over 6 months!  He’s been talking about the election being stolen for a very long time.  His Republican allies/enablers allowed it to keep going by at times just keeping their mouths shut and at times spouting the exact same garbage.  Yesterday was a direct result of a president stoking an already angry crowd to levels of action they would not have taken otherwise. 

Please, explain how anything the Democrats could have done to keep yesterday from happening that lies within the bounds of reason.  Should they have allowed the numerous, baseless challenges to the election go through the processes to be investigated?  Guess what, they did, and they all failed to meet the threshold.  Should they have done more to promote the election process via in person voting vs mail in or other methods?  How does/would that have put a muzzle on Trump?  It wouldn’t have.  He didn’t get his way, so he had zero intention of ever being quiet.  

Trump is a petulant child.  We’ve known that for years.  Republican enablers, from educated officers/people in here to elected officials are to blame for yesterday.  Lindsey Graham, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Rand Paul just to name a few elected officials knew exactly who he was during the election and they called him out for his lack of intelligence, empathy, political savvy, and every other reason he would make a poor president.  Instead of taking the position, okay, he’s who we’ve got, let’s make the best of it while holding his feet to the fire, they took the position of, well, let’s completely ignore all the problems we know he could cause and embrace him fully!  They enabled his poor behavior over the last 4 years.  They turned a blind eye to his rhetoric and absolutely ignorant actions.  They hold the blame for the Democrats taking the House earlier, and now the Senate this week.  

It is silly to blame Democrats for yesterday’s actions.  But it isn’t surprising after watching 4 years of apologists excusing behavior from Trump.  Again, no supporter of Democrats here, I think, if they can hold it together, we’re in for a bumpy ride.  I’m hoping they’ll continue to be as incompetent as they have been.

If you want to cast blame on them for the general political climate, that’s fair.  But Trump and his supporters (many of whom knew what a dirtbag he was before he was elected, but seemed to forget that) are squarely at fault for the doubt cast on our electoral process and yesterday’s attack on democracy.  This was not a physical coup with any real shot at success, but it was definitely an attack on our way of life that will have lasting damage.  I hope that it will serve instead as a rallying cry to remind people of who we are and what our country stands for, so we can come together.  

Edited by slackline
Forgot to agree on the media holding blame
  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

22 minutes ago, slackline said:

 

That being said, let’s not get crazy here, how do Democrats hold part of the blame here?  You’ve completely failed to make that case.

 

 

I think the vile hatred of Trump from the beginning, the baseless Russia accusations, the impeachment, the Kavanaugh hearings, the race baiting wokeness, the riots that were met with silence or tacit approval, the embracing of socialism, and any of the other ridiculous crap the left has spewed over the last 4 years are at least party to blame for the disgusting actions we saw yesterday by a cult devoted to one man. Those actions the last 4 years have built a huge pressure cooker. 
 

Every force has an equal and opposite reaction. So while the left perhaps doesn’t have their one event that was the catalyst, it can’t be a shock to anyone that their unrelenting mission to remove Trump from office finally had a tipping point yesterday with some redneck trash right wing extremists. 
 

That being said I will not excuse Trump for his behavior since the election. I’ve said this several times, but I voted for him twice but I have not remotely been happy with him since the election, I have not bought into the  vote fraud claims, and I strongly believe that the lion share of the blame for yesterday lands squarely on his shoulders. 
 

But I think we’re kidding ourselves if we don’t at least look at the environment of the last 4 years and at least realize that the left is also very guilty of turning up the heat on the kettle that is now boiling over. 

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, kaputt said:

I think the vile hatred of Trump from the beginning, the baseless Russia accusations, the impeachment, the Kavanaugh hearings, the race baiting wokeness, the riots that were met with silence or tacit approval, the embracing of socialism, and any of the other ridiculous crap the left has spewed over the last 4 years are at least party to blame for the disgusting actions we saw yesterday by a cult devoted to one man. Those actions the last 4 years have built a huge pressure cooker. 
 

Every force has an equal and opposite reaction. So while the left perhaps doesn’t have their one event that was the catalyst, it can’t be a shock to anyone that their unrelenting mission to remove Trump from office finally had a tipping point yesterday with some redneck trash right wing extremists. 
 

That being said I will not excuse Trump for his behavior since the election. I’ve said this several times, but I voted for him twice but I have not remotely been happy with him since the election, I have not bought into the  vote fraud claims, and I strongly believe that the lion share of the blame for yesterday lands squarely on his shoulders. 
 

But I think we’re kidding ourselves if we don’t at least look at the environment of the last 4 years and at least realize that the left is also very guilty of turning up the heat on the kettle that is now boiling over. 

Thanks, I don’t entirely agree with your premise, but the considered response is appreciated.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 minutes ago, slackline said:

Thanks, I don’t entirely agree with your premise, but the considered response is appreciated.

One thing I agree with on here is I have absolutely no idea where the Republican Party goes after this. In the immediate days after the election I was hopeful that the party would find a way to capture some of the good Trump had done and some of the people he had converted from being traditional democrats to voting Republican, but also find a real leader who could distance him or herself from the many toxic traits Trump possesses and find a way to bring back unity, a clear message, and also some real fiscal conservatism. 
 

But Trump’s actions since the election have absolutely sunk that imo. My own father, by all rights a well educated, military veteran, executive at a mid-sized American made company, never a conspiracy theorist, etc... believes whole heartedly now that the election was a complete sham, that his vote is meaningless, and at least now claims that he will never vote in another election. 
 

Will he actually follow through with that in the future? Im not so sure, mostly due to the above listed qualities, but if someone like him is buying the Trump BS train right now, it’s an almost certainty there are tens of millions who will actually believe that our election system is rigged for the remainder of their lives.
 

In fact I’d be willing to bet a large sum of money that the results of the GA special election are likely due to the fact that a significant percentage of Trumpers refused to show up at the polls. 

  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, DosXX said:

Your characterization of the argument is disingenuous. Nobody here believes Trump is going to attempt, much less succeed, at using the military to attempt a coup. Only person who even used that word on here for the events that transpired today admitted it was too strong to use.

This is about the extensive and generational damage Trump's rhetoric continues to have on our institutions via his supporters, and about the very real danger it will pose when millions continue to believe there is a deep state conspiracy that removed Trump, not to mention the damage our adversaries will take advantage of. The 'force' to be cautious with here is not the military, it's tens of thousands of armed Americans rallied under cries of 1776 convinced by a vile nihilism that everything is corrupted. Of course it remains highly unlikely that all will decide to enact violence, but even the smallest percentage deciding to revolt is a credible danger to the lives of many. The voices are there and they are real and being heard. 

Awesome! I'm glad we're all in agreement that it wasn't an attempted coup. I had been hearing differently in the social media sphere, the news, and was starting hear the same bleed over into this forum. It's best when we keep the hyperbole to a minimum.

I don't think you're thinking big enough. That is worrisome, to be sure, but what is worse is the continued divergence between the growing 'sectarian' realities that are continuing to find harbor in our country. That MAGA group yesterday is but one instance. The groups engaging in violence all summer long, were another. What I'm saying is that we're misidentifying the root causes and driving factors behind these events, but there is a way towards reconciliation. Honestly, the best thing we can do with Trump going forward, is to ignore him and let him fade into memory.

Like others have identified on this forum, the Democratic party has a real opportunity to take an honest leadership role here. There has been real damage done to the Republican party (by the Republican party), but the Dem's only way forward is to make their bicycle look less broken (which they are not doing). What should they do, IMO? For starters, all discussion that frames yesterday as an attempted coup, has to stop. That goes for both Chuck Schumer (who is a piece of shit) and for Ben Sasse (who I admire greatly). All it does is polarize more people and allows them to reinforce their dug-in positions. In the same vein, likening yesterday to Pearl Harbor also has to end.

Second, the Democrats need to step back and communicate to the American people a message that addresses the following:

  1. We (America) are obviously a divided nation.
  2. We (Democrats) won by the narrowest of margins.
  3. We (Democrats), unfortunately, have no "mandate" and we're not going to govern like we do.
  4. Any and all things we do in the next term will be from a position of true bi-partisanship.
  5. It's from this place that we'll reach out to Republicans to govern. Peace/truce.

If I heard a speech (or saw governing) that covered those points, 1) I'd breathe a sign of relief because it would finally be a truthful, adult response, and 2) it would be the first time in the last four years that I would see any amount of reality come from the democratic side of the isle.

But I'm not holding my breath for that. Reference all the coup talk, and the reference to a mandate from our friends at CNN: https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/07/politics/georgia-election-wins-biden/index.html. We've got a mandate and we've got mounting expectations...awesome. I love being part of the 49.9% minority subject to the 50.1% majority. But yeah, mandate...keep your seat belts fastened.

  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Anyone that thinks the elections were stolen, full of fraud, etc. has been gaslighted.  Trump, his family, his apostles, his subjugates, and his followers, are all brainwashed.  I used to be surprised by stuff, but not much these days.  This one has me surprised again, that so many in our nation are convinced that the election was stolen.  The actions of those fucktards yesterday has brought great shame upon our nation.

Out

  • Upvote 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 minutes ago, kaputt said:

I think the vile hatred of Trump from the beginning, the baseless Russia accusations, the impeachment, the Kavanaugh hearings, the race baiting wokeness, the riots that were met with silence or tacit approval, the embracing of socialism, and any of the other ridiculous crap the left has spewed over the last 4 years are at least party to blame for the disgusting actions we saw yesterday by a cult devoted to one man. Those actions the last 4 years have built a huge pressure cooker. 
 

Let’s talk about this.

Point 1: Vile hatred. Hard to disagree with that. However, there was plenty of vile hatred to go around for his predecessor who, regardless of your views on his policies, was at least a decent human being. Trump is a classless, base individual who’s greatest success in life was a reality TV program where he was known for summarily firing people. He incessantly attacked his political enemies and the media with juvenile language that my middle schooler finds laughable. Is it any wonder that a large portion of the population despised Trump from the get go (I’ll include myself in that group)? Anyone who supported Trump’s nomination should not be remotely surprised that he was a highly polarizing figure. In fact, I think most of his supporters reveled in that fact. They seemed really pleased by all the “liberal tears”. You don’t get to act all incredulous about the “vile hatred” four years later. You knew that was the case going in and that was part of why you liked the idea. You reap what you sow. 
 

Point 2: Riots met with tacit approval. By whom?  I do believe that all leaders condemned that violence when it was going on. Questioning and/or criticizing police culture in America should not be conflated with approval of violence. What absolutely did not happen was any elected official actively calling on their supporters to start an insurrection, so sorry, no contest here. Isn’t it also interesting that when the protestors called themselves things like “Black Lives Matter”, the Capitol was buttoned down like a tank and the police and National Guard seemed ready for battle?  But when the protest was and angry, armed white MAGA mob, they were able to breach the Capitol building seemingly uncontested? Things that make you go hmmmm.  
 

Point 3: The embracing of socialism. Again, by whom? This seems to be more of a trope advanced by right wing media than anything approaching reality. Remember, the Dems nominated the candidate that rejected their extreme wing. The R’s nominated the candidate who embraced and curated theirs. 
 

I’m not arguing the Dems don’t have serious problems or that their platform is summarily superior to conservative ideas. They do and it’s not. But what happened yesterday is wholly on Trump and his enablers and supporters on the right. Sorry, you don’t get to lump the rest of the country into this. If you supported Trump, you own this. 

  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

47 minutes ago, Prozac said:

Let’s talk about this.

Point 1: Vile hatred. Hard to disagree with that. However, there was plenty of vile hatred to go around for his predecessor who, regardless of your views on his policies, was at least a decent human being. Trump is a classless, base individual who’s greatest success in life was a reality TV program where he was known for summarily firing people. He incessantly attacked his political enemies and the media with juvenile language that my middle schooler finds laughable. Is it any wonder that a large portion of the population despised Trump from the get go (I’ll include myself in that group)? Anyone who supported Trump’s nomination should not be remotely surprised that he was a highly polarizing figure. In fact, I think most of his supporters reveled in that fact. They seemed really pleased by all the “liberal tears”. You don’t get to act all incredulous about the “vile hatred” four years later. You knew that was the case going in and that was part of why you liked the idea. You reap what you sow. 
 

Point 2: Riots met with tacit approval. By whom?  I do believe that all leaders condemned that violence when it was going on. Questioning and/or criticizing police culture in America should not be conflated with approval of violence. What absolutely did not happen was any elected official actively calling on their supporters to start an insurrection, so sorry, no contest here. Isn’t it also interesting that when the protestors called themselves things like “Black Lives Matter”, the Capitol was buttoned down like a tank and the police and National Guard seemed ready for battle?  But when the protest was and angry, armed white MAGA mob, they were able to breach the Capitol building seemingly uncontested? Things that make you go hmmmm.  
 

Point 3: The embracing of socialism. Again, by whom? This seems to be more of a trope advanced by right wing media than anything approaching reality. Remember, the Dems nominated the candidate that rejected their extreme wing. The R’s nominated the candidate who embraced and curated theirs. 
 

I’m not arguing the Dems don’t have serious problems or that their platform is summarily superior to conservative ideas. They do and it’s not. But what happened yesterday is wholly on Trump and his enablers and supporters on the right. Sorry, you don’t get to lump the rest of the country into this. If you supported Trump, you own this. 

I think you're misunderstanding the point I was trying to make. I don't claim to be a great writer so maybe some of that is on me. However, I am not trying to yell and scream "BUT BUT the libs did this and that!" I'm simply pointing out the fact that neither side has done anything for the last 4 years (and probably longer) to actually try and unite the country or cool down the tensions that are spilling over.

Instead of taking the higher road and trying to be the party of leadership and unity,  the democrats have often stooped to Trump's ridiculous levels and embraced divisive policies that do nothing more than continue to split the divide of this country right down the middle and feed the beast that is Trump and his cult. On the flip side tons of republicans spent years stonewalling everything Obama did simply because he was Dem, which basically created the wave of feelings that led to Trump. They then sold out their credibility to embrace Trumpism and now are left with that albatross hanging around their neck with no clear path on how to move the party forward and and actually become a party that can lead and unite Americans. 

I continually point out that I voted for Trump not to make a claim that I am a Trumper, or that I believe every single thing he did was good. I simply point that out to show that there are those of us out there who voted for him because the alternative options we were presented did not seem like better choices. That's a problem with our political system that we are so polarizingly (is that a word?) limited in our choices for elected officials. 

I'm not going to go point by point and argue each thing you listed out above because I think that takes away from the real point I was trying to make (again I'll take a hit for that due to my lack of written skill). What's really the issue is that everyone in our political system has played a big part in creating where we are now. I think arguing over the minutia of who is more at fault is just unconsciously retreating back into our own biases, of which I will admit I am occasionally guilty myself. I already stated above that yesterdays disgusting display falls on the shoulders of Trump and I also stated my disgust for his behavior since the election ended (not to mention the many things during his term I disagreed with). It's absolutely time for him to fade into the distance and have his legacy forever tarnished by the events of yesterday. But I cannot in good conscious sit here and look at what has transpired in our country recently and think that one person or one party is solely responsible for the mess we are in. 

TLDR; our political system and the soul of our country is broken and the blame for that can be laid heavily on everyone in Washington. This country needs a unifying center force that can mend many of these wounds. To Biden's credit he has said he plans to try and be that force. Can he do that and will other members of his party and the republican party play along? I'm not so sure. I am willing to give him the chance though.

 

Edited for typos

Edited by kaputt
  • Like 4
  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Kaputt, you’re right. I misread your point. While I do disagree with some of the individual points you made, I largely agree with your overall sentiment as pointed out above.  Here’s to all of us learning, growing, and becoming stronger from what we are currently experiencing regardless of political slant. 🍺🍺🍺

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

not a huge fan of all the "censorship" talk

seeing a lot of people make "lists" of people to "punish"...scary road to start going down for congressmen doing a constitutionally allowed objection...one that democrats have done in 2000, 2004, and 2016.

we need to be careful...it makes me think that passions are being manipulated on both sides.

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, BashiChuni said:

not a huge fan of all the "censorship" talk

seeing a lot of people make "lists" of people to "punish"...scary road to start going down for congressmen doing a constitutionally allowed objection...one that democrats have done in 2000, 2004, and 2016.

we need to be careful...it makes me think that passions are being manipulated on both sides.

So I get not wanting a black list for censorship or otherwise harm to an individual. 

But I also want a list of who supported challenging votes so I can give money/support to whomever they primary against (if upholding the election) or in the end run against.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 hours ago, Sua Sponte said:

You mean the Trumper’s here who were irate over sport players kneeling for the national anthem, but are now downplaying storming the U.S. Capitol, that costed a USAF veteran her life? Or currently trying to play the whataboutism game? Cult.

Well said.  Trump and his sycophants complaints about NFL players kneeling never sat right.  I didn't completely agree with the players perspective, but I'm darn sure happy to live in a country where they could kneel.  My oath directed me to defend the Constitution, not a flag or a specific President. 

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 hours ago, dream big said:

I’m impressed you took the time to find that.  Except I don’t consider the idiots storming the Capitol conservatives.  True conservatives value rule of law and order, neither of which was embodied today.  Goes back to my previous point that that the extremes don’t define the majority. So I fail to see your point.

Unfortunately, the people who stormed the Capitol would very likely call themselves conservatives.  Just a guess.  On both sides, the extremes end up controlling the narrative.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...