Pyrian on 5/2/2020 at 07:03
Quote Posted by Renzatic
...and the Democrats always come across as bumbling idiots no matter what they do.
No, Renz. They're deliberately portrayed as bumbling idiots no matter what they do by (A) Republicans and (B) "both-sides" media determined to balance the narrative. The reality is the technical hiccup in Iowa does not have any of the significance of, oh I dunno, let's say the recording of Trump ordering Ukraine criminals to remove his own Ambassador, or whatever comes up tomorrow. There will
always be hiccups and gaffes. Giving them equal or greater media attention to brazen corruption is a big part of the problem.
Starker on 5/2/2020 at 07:12
You don't even have to go far back. In 2012, first Romney won Iowa, then Santorum, then finally Ron Paul did. And then his staffers got charged with bribery.
But uh, yeah, a delay in reporting results in a state apparently means Democrats are totally as corrupt as a president who abuses the power of his office to try to kneecap his political opponents.
Starker on 5/2/2020 at 07:17
Quote Posted by Renzatic
What? Do we have drones dropping Starbucks on people now or something? THAT'S AWESOME!
No, but the strike would probably only improve the look of the place. If it dropped fancy American coffee joints, though, at best we'd get something like this:
Inline Image:
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/8b/64/f1/8b64f18b5bdfdef1277d84fbd702240f.jpgRenzatic on 5/2/2020 at 07:29
No, sometimes they really do lack some foresight. Here we have this app, screwing up at the 11th hour, and creating an embarrassment for the entire DNC. Certain you'd think that something that mission critical would be tested and tested again right? Q&A would be performed? That's what was expected. From what I've read, the FCC even came forward to help them along with the process.
Apparently they turned them down, took everything on faith, and were rewarded with today's results. Bully for you, DNC!
In general, the Democrats come across to me as incredibly naive. These are people who have been working in Washington for 20-30 years now. They should know better than to assume that believing they have the truth on their side should be enough. That the mere presentation will sway the American people. It has to be a show. They have to make their opposition stutter, to look guilty even while they win the impeachment proceedings. The Democrats failed to do that, and they're left with something that can easily be spun against them, a desperate party unable to accept that Trump won in 2016.
The whole thing has been like watching a bunch of socially awkward A/V geeks try to outsass the school's biggest smartass. Yeah, they may be right, but that's not enough. They have to look right too. They can't just stand there, holding their asses in their hands while the tables get turned on them.
The Republicans know this. That's why they put on such a show. All that righteous indignation. All those inspired speeches in front of the House and Senate. Those standing ovations. Fists were slammed. Tears were shed. My god, it was beautiful! How did the Democrats respond to that? With calm, reasonable arguments. Simple declarations of such damning facts.
...and Schiff, looking at the camera like a deer caught in headlights.
The Democrats will fail because they haven't quite cottoned on to the fact they're no longer running a government where level heads prevail, but acting in a goddamn reality TV show.
Renzatic on 5/2/2020 at 07:38
Quote Posted by Starker
But uh, yeah, a delay in reporting results in a state apparently means Democrats are totally as corrupt as a president who abuses the power of his office to try to kneecap his political opponents.
Wrong. The Democrats are still the most corrupt. What Trump did was merely inappropriate.
Starker on 5/2/2020 at 08:36
Democrats have an uphill battle before them, yes, but don't think the path is so easy for Lord Dampnut either. He has created a large amount of Democratic voters who are ready to crawl over broken glass to vote against him no matter the candidate and he has put off a lot of other people by his rhetoric and actions as well -- farmers who have fallen victim to his trade wars, blue collar workers whose jobs never came back, suburban moms who are viscerally repulsed by all the vulgarity and cruelty, etc. And if Democrats aren't right now out there working their butts off registering every Puerto Rican they can find in Florida, they are being criminally negligent. There's a lot of disappointment to go around and it's a game of extremely small numbers.
Starker on 5/2/2020 at 09:39
Refusing to testify doesn't seem to be working out all that well for one of Lord Dampnut's best people:
Quote:
(
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/02/trump-plots-revenge-on-bolton-impeachment-enemies)
With Senate Republicans on track to acquit Donald Trump on Wednesday, Washington is bracing for what an unshackled Trump does next. Republicans briefed on Trump's thinking believe that the president is out for revenge against his adversaries. “It's payback time,” a prominent Republican told me last week. “He has an enemies list that is growing by the day,” another source said. Names that came up in my conversations with Republicans included Adam Schiff, Jerry Nadler, Mitt Romney, and John Bolton. “Trump's playbook is simple: go after people who crossed him during impeachment.”
Several sources said Bolton is at the top of the list. Trump's relationship with Bolton was badly damaged by the time Bolton left the White House in September. Trump has since blamed his former national security adviser for leaking details of his forthcoming memoir that nearly derailed the impeachment trial by pressuring Republicans to call witnesses. In the book Bolton reportedly alleges Trump told him directly that Ukraine aid was tied to Ukraine announcing investigations into the Bidens (Bolton has denied being a source of the leak).
The campaign against Bolton has already begun. On January 23, the White House sent a cease and desist letter to Bolton's lawyer demanding that Bolton's publisher, Simon & Schuster, not release the book in March without removal of certain information. Trump intends to ratchet up the pressure, and some Republicans close to the White House fear how far Trump will take things after he's gotten off for a second time (Trump famously made his July 25 call to Volodymyr Zelensky the day after Robert Mueller testified before Congress.) “Trump has been calling people and telling them to go after Bolton,” a source briefed on the private conversations said. The source added that Trump wants Bolton to be criminally investigated. A person familiar with Trump's thinking said Trump believes Bolton might have mishandled classified information. According to a former official, the White House is planning to leak White House emails from Bolton that purportedly allege Bolton abused his position at the National Security Council. The official said that West Wing officials have discussed releasing emails “showing [Bolton] was doing pay-to-play,” the official said. A person close to Bolton dismissed the story. “John plays things straight,” the person said.
The White House declined to comment.
In other news, it's good to be the king:
Quote:
(
https://amp.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/article239913588.html)
President Donald Trump has repeatedly said all Americans should “stand proudly” during the national anthem, and publicly chastises those who don't as disrespectful of the troops and the flag.
But during the national anthem at his own Super Bowl watch party Sunday night, a brief video posted to Instagram shows Trump greeting guests, adjusting his chair, and straightening his suit jacket as other attendees — including first lady Melania Trump and their teenage son — stand with their hands over their hearts. As “The Star Spangled Banner” crescendoes, Trump raises both of his hands in the air, and twirls them around as if conducting the music.
[...]
Pyrian on 5/2/2020 at 10:06
Quote Posted by Renzatic
No, sometimes they really do lack some foresight.
Nobody has perfect foresight. The fact that you, and people like you, expect them to labor under those sorts of expectations while the Republicans get praise any time they manage to be something other than
completely abysmal is a big part of the problem.
Quote Posted by Renzatic
The Democrats will fail because they haven't quite cottoned on to the fact they're no longer running a government where level heads prevail, but acting in a goddamn reality TV show.
Here we go again with the centrist playbook of prescribed failure. If the Democrats try to be Republicans-lite -
again - all they'll accomplish is being bad at it, while losing the appeal of actually being good at/for anything.
Renzatic on 5/2/2020 at 10:41
Quote Posted by Pyrian
Here we go again with the centrist playbook of prescribed failure. If the Democrats try to be Republicans-lite -
again - all they'll accomplish is being bad at it, while losing the appeal of actually being good at/for anything.
And what has adhering to the old standards accomplished them thus far? At some point, we're all going to have to acknowledge that we don't live in Old America anymore, and change our strategies accordingly.
