Electile Dysfunction (Current students plz look!)

[.RJ]

come on man, it was just a deep state hit job

[Apoc]

Seriously, if you're going to make an add trying to rag on someone else while also promoting yourself, have the decency to use proper fucking grammar.

:cough:

[Jake]

Seriously, if you're going to make an add trying to rag on someone else while also promoting yourself, have the decency to use proper fucking grammar.

:cough:

I blame my very high-quality MacBook Pro keyboard. It's awful.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Kaan]

i love this bar.

[Jake]

So, thoughts on Cohen and all the GOP bumblefuckery today?

[CaptainHenreh]

So, thoughts on Cohen and all the GOP bumblefuckery today?

Just a circus, if you ask me.

[JPolen01]

Yeah this is dumb. Questions by the Democrats are getting answers we already knew or are just opinions. Republicans are using their time to talk about the border, remind us every ten minutes Cohen is a felon, and introduce vanity fair articles and tweets from people who claim they know Cohen part of the record.

[.RJ]

Agree on circus. I dont understand the purpose when he's already been through this for Mueller and turned everything over.

https://twitter.com/frankthorp/status/11...0574265346

Republicans have put up posters in the hearing room with quotes critical of Michael Cohen:

[HAULN-SS]

Just a circus. I'll add that I just wish some of these old fuckers would retire.

[JPolen01]

My favorite part of yesterday was when Mark Meadows paraded a black woman who works for Trump onto the committee floor in order to prove Trump isn't racist. And then got absolutely livid when he was accused of pulling a racist stunt. Honestly, what did he expect? That is probably the oldest trick in the book to try and prove you are not racist. "Well I got a black friend! Definitely can't be racist because of that."

Then of course twitter digs up a video of him telling Obama to "go back to Kenya or wherever you're from". Lulz

[.RJ]

I hope the whole GOP does down in flames.

[CaptainHenreh]

I hope the whole GOP does down in flames.

Something that has only recently occurred to me is that the parties as we see them aren't really parties. They're more coalitions under a singular banner, which is why "The GOP" (and "the DNC") often appears to act so incongruously.

I'd love to see the "Grand Old Party" catch fire and burn to ashes and the DNC eat itself and have a handful of parties take their place. It'd probably still fall along left/right lines for votes, but who you were voting for individually would be far more transparent and individual politicians wouldn't be so beholden to "party loyalty" as they are now. Pelosi could say that she outright thought AOC was out of her mind, because AOC would be a member of the Democratic Socialists while Pelosi would be a Progressive...they'd be in the same coalition, but different parties.

Won't happen, of course. The GOP is going nowhere, and neither is the DNC. We've been stuck with them for almost 100 years and it isn't likely to change without, I dunno, nukes flying or something.

But then, India and Pakistan are waving their dicks at each other pretty vigorously so there's hope yet!

[Kaan]

Looking at countries with significantly more than 2 "parties" it still boils down to 2 "coalitions"... Group in power vs. Everyone else.

before the group in power does crazy stuff, the multiple parties actually limit government intervention (little gets done) and the only things that progress are truly what everyone wants.

[G.Irish]

Looking at countries with significantly more than 2 "parties" it still boils down to 2 "coalitions"... Group in power vs. Everyone else.

before the group in power does crazy stuff, the multiple parties actually limit government intervention (little gets done) and the only things that progress are truly what everyone wants.

Absolutely.  I keep seeing people say, "We want a third party!"  or "More parties!" and I'm like eh...

People think having more parties will magically fix the dysfunction in American politics when it will do nothing of the sort.  It would in all likelihood make it harder to get things done.

Now for some that might be a feature instead of a bug, but for people that want the government to change some big things, they probably would be disappointed with a multi-party system.

Maybe it would help with polarization since centrists would probably be a big enough block to drown out the fringes.  But even then, the GOP's polarization problem has been driven by politicians attempting to appeal to a narrower and narrower base.  If the GOP fractured, the moderate GOP would still probably feel like they need the far right to get anything done, and would be similarly afraid of alienating them.

[ScottyB]

i'm with G.

but IMO you wanna fix the dysfunction in politics? pump the brakes on lobbyist paychecks and enforce shorter terms limits. once you destroy the idea of making a lucrative career out of trolling your constituents and selling your policies to the highest bidder, i think you'll at least get a better class of criminal.

unfortunately, doing this would require the current politicians to agree that they may put themselves out of work overnight so it'll never happen...because money.

[Kaan]

Looking at countries with significantly more than 2 "parties" it still boils down to 2 "coalitions"... Group in power vs. Everyone else.

before the group in power does crazy stuff, the multiple parties actually limit government intervention (little gets done) and the only things that progress are truly what everyone wants.

 It would in all likelihood make it harder to get things done.

The debate is on "harder." To a point, its harder for "agendas" to get done... and it can (not always) filter out the BS that the people don't think is important.

When the important stuff doesn't get done the politicians are out. There is extremely high turnover in the "parliaments" of countries with +3 parties.

[G.Irish]

My favorite part of yesterday was when Mark Meadows paraded a black woman who works for Trump onto the committee floor in order to prove Trump isn't racist. And then got absolutely livid when he was accused of pulling a racist stunt. Honestly, what did he expect? That is probably the oldest trick in the book to try and prove you are not racist. "Well I got a black friend! Definitely can't be racist because of that."

Then of course twitter digs up a video of him telling Obama to "go back to Kenya or wherever you're from". Lulz

I find these kinds of situations hilarious.   First, you have the whole, "He can't be racist, because a black person works for him," bullshit.  I mean, even the worst woman-hating, misogynist serial-killer has a mother.  You can be a terrible person with terrible prejudices that happens to make exceptions.  I find it funny how there a lot of people that have that huge blind spot.

Then those same people break down into hysterics when they get called racist.  Like it is the worst affront to their dignity ever to be called racist because of the racist things they do.  To a degree I understand it, and really it's part of the first phenomenon.  There a lot of people out there that think 'racist' means you're someone who puts on klan robes and bombs churches.  They know those are/were bad people.  

But they don't understand that if you harbor and act upon prejudices against another race, you're on the racist continuum.  Not as bad as a Neo-Nazi, but still kinda somewhere on the spectrum.  So they lose their shit if someone calls them racist.  'This is not who I am!'  'I am a good person!'  'That word is not part of my vocabulary!'  'How dare you accuse me of being racist for my racially clueless jackassery!'

And to be fair, if you grow up and live in an environment where you never have to think about America's history of racism, and you don't have anyone in your social circles to help you see your biases and blindspots, you might have no idea that the things you've always said and done in your own little world, might get you roasted today's wider world.

[Apoc]

Looking at countries with significantly more than 2 "parties" it still boils down to 2 "coalitions"... Group in power vs. Everyone else.

before the group in power does crazy stuff, the multiple parties actually limit government intervention (little gets done) and the only things that progress are truly what everyone wants.

Absolutely.  I keep seeing people say, "We want a third party!"  or "More parties!" and I'm like eh...

Except with a third party, they can side with one of the other two that most identify with on an issue by issue basis. You know, how I sometimes vote D and sometimes vote R depending on the topic.

What we have today is absolutes that are pulling farther and farther apart. Given the widening gap in the middle, the third party could actually attract most centrists.

[WRXtranceformed]

Looking at countries with significantly more than 2 "parties" it still boils down to 2 "coalitions"... Group in power vs. Everyone else.

before the group in power does crazy stuff, the multiple parties actually limit government intervention (little gets done) and the only things that progress are truly what everyone wants.

Absolutely.  I keep seeing people say, "We want a third party!"  or "More parties!" and I'm like eh...

Except with a third party, they can side with one of the other two that most identify with on an issue by issue basis. You know, how I sometimes vote D and sometimes vote R depending on the topic.

What we have today is absolutes that are pulling farther and farther apart. Given the widening gap in the middle, the third party could actually attract most centrists.

Ive already been all up in your middle party base for the last two elections.  Come and join me everyone, the water is fine.  Nothing changes unless you act, otherwise the two party scenario is never going to change.  I agree that the radicalization of the two parties will swing more people toward the middle ground options eventually, imo the that actually represents where a lot of people stand

[ScottyB]

President Business announced we beat ISIS again. for the second time inside of a year. also, not actually true, because compulsive liar. as has become tradition, dumb announcements are made about grand things whenever lots of bad press is happening at home in a desperate attempt to deflect.

"we just took over 100 percent caliphate". LOL, that word...i don't think it means what you want it to mean. all your caliphate belong to us?