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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forumsmalaise
(268,998 posts)how well they sell the complete inversion of reality
Triana
(22,666 posts)Goebbels would be astonished.
malaise
(268,998 posts)and they are intent on making Orwell's 1984 our new reality
mountain grammy
(26,621 posts)BlancheSplanchnik
(20,219 posts)Makes me ill.
Maybe I should just quote this, instead of trying to explain reality to people.....geez, it's just too much remediation. They need to start over from grade school.
lpbk2713
(42,757 posts)Each new session of Congress outdoes the previous one in being the
least productive Congress ever and yet it's all Obama's fault because
of the indignant finger pointing from those who are really to blame.
Baitball Blogger
(46,709 posts)They did the same thing to Bill Clinton, only Bill gave them an opening with the Monica Lewinsky mess. I wonder if Thirdway would have even become a reality if the right didn't have something on him. Because, even in local politics crazy things have been known to pass as government decisions in order to fend off a Mexican stand-off between crooked politicians who were involved in malfeasance and a city attorney who was involved in his own unethical practices.
I hate to say it, but right-wing politics just might have turned into a nasty process of blackmailing the other guy into accepting their side of things; or just launching a negative campaign which our stupid media is only too happy to promote.
tblue37
(65,357 posts)surveillance is so that the deep state operators can have leverage over the supposed political "leaders" of the country. J. Edgar Hoover did that--using dirt collected by his agents to blackmail politicians into doing what he wanted them to do. Why would anything change, especially when surveillance and data collection are so much more complete and efficient now?
Baitball Blogger
(46,709 posts)Last edited Mon Nov 3, 2014, 04:11 AM - Edit history (1)
I even question why a certain right-winger in my community, who has abused his power and put himself in legal jeopardy, takes to leaving his garage door open all night and leaves the hatch of his SUV up at all hours. I don't think it's a coincidence. If he catches someone stupid enough to fall for his traps, it takes the focus off of him.
When did an entire society get to be so sleazy?
heaven05
(18,124 posts)after all this is america peopled by RW idiots and ignoramuses who lap up every word from foxsnooze and the other co-opted MSM described as fair and balanced. All our media can spew? Big piles of BS. Have been for years now and with the controllers of those media, ain't going to change soon. Democratic candidates and incumbents who have turned their back? Ain't nothing new. That's been true of red state blue dogs from day one of this administration. All we can hope for Tuesday is a huge voter turnout and some courageous Democratic candidates voted into office. We have a few now. but not enough.
vlyons
(10,252 posts)Ignorantly following the herd instinct to their own destruction, and unfortunately everyone else's
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Cary
(11,746 posts)And really nothing to lose by lying.
Martin Eden
(12,867 posts)The article linked below was written in September 2011, and it's still an extremely insightful analysis of today's Republican Party:
A couple of years ago, a Republican committee staff director told me candidly (and proudly) what the method was to all this obstruction and disruption. Should Republicans succeed in obstructing the Senate from doing its job, it would further lower Congress's generic favorability rating among the American people. By sabotaging the reputation of an institution of government, the party that is programmatically against government would come out the relative winner.Link
A deeply cynical tactic, to be sure, but a psychologically insightful one that plays on the weaknesses both of the voting public and the news media. There are tens of millions of low-information voters who hardly know which party controls which branch of government, let alone which party is pursuing a particular legislative tactic. These voters' confusion over who did what allows them to form the conclusion that "they are all crooks," and that "government is no good," further leading them to think, "a plague on both your houses" and "the parties are like two kids in a school yard." This ill-informed public cynicism, in its turn, further intensifies the long-term decline in public trust in government that has been taking place since the early 1960s - a distrust that has been stoked by Republican rhetoric at every turn ("Government is the problem," declared Ronald Reagan in 1980).
The media are also complicit in this phenomenon. Ever since the bifurcation of electronic media into a more or less respectable "hard news" segment and a rabidly ideological talk radio and cable TV political propaganda arm, the "respectable" media have been terrified of any criticism for perceived bias. Hence, they hew to the practice of false evenhandedness. Paul Krugman has skewered this tactic as being the "centrist cop-out." "I joked long ago," he says, "that if one party declared that the earth was flat, the headlines would read 'Views Differ on Shape of Planet.'"
Inside-the-Beltway wise guy Chris Cillizza merely proves Krugman right in his Washington Post analysis of "winners and losers" in the debt ceiling impasse. He wrote that the institution of Congress was a big loser in the fracas, which is, of course, correct, but then he opined: "Lawmakers - bless their hearts - seem entirely unaware of just how bad they looked during this fight and will almost certainly spend the next few weeks (or months) congratulating themselves on their tremendous magnanimity." Note how the pundit's ironic deprecation falls like the rain on the just and unjust alike, on those who precipitated the needless crisis and those who despaired of it. He seems oblivious that one side - or a sizable faction of one side - has deliberately attempted to damage the reputation of Congress to achieve its political objectives.
The author of the article, Mike Lofgren, was a Republican staffer in Washington for 28 years who "left the cult" after the manufactured debt "crisis" in 2011. He has no love for Democrats and I think he's mistaken about media bias which is against Obama, but I encourage you to read the entire article if you haven't already. It's a scathing indictment of the Republican Party written by one of their own, and can be used as a convincing argument why it is so important to vote on Tuesday.
hfojvt
(37,573 posts)and an Atreides ...
BlancheSplanchnik
(20,219 posts)world wide wally
(21,743 posts)word about the Republican congress out here in Colorado.
Gosh, I wonder how this is going to work out for us.
kelliekat44
(7,759 posts)AlbertCat
(17,505 posts).... pretending to be "the American People".
B Calm
(28,762 posts)they don't know him.
My god, he saved this country from republican economic destruction. Put your arm around him and say damn right I voted for him!
PatrynXX
(5,668 posts)Your running from the most popular president in recent memory ? Anyone who does that deserves to lose.
rpannier
(24,329 posts)are running in states where he is unpopular: Arkansas, Louisiana, Georgia, Kentucky, etc
If I were running in those states, I'd want him to stay away
Liberal_Stalwart71
(20,450 posts)admitted what even many liberals here on DU won't admit.
rpannier
(24,329 posts)Nevertheless, I'd still want him to stay away
Liberal_Stalwart71
(20,450 posts)rpannier
(24,329 posts)And in some states, he doesn't enhance your opportunity to win
There's nothing cowardice about. It's reality.
Defending good policies is something they should do
Inviting someone who turns off a significant chunk of that states electorate is suicide
There are no prizes in politics for falling on your sword.
The only thing that matters is who wins the race.
Liberal_Stalwart71
(20,450 posts)And every single one of them who is doing that this year WILL lose!
You see, they will alienate black voters who still like this president.
Michelle Nunn down there in Georgia will do well. Why? Though she did distance herself from Obama on certain policies, she didn't go too far. She knows that she needs the black vote to help take her over the top.
And Tom Wolfe up there in PA? He's no dummy, either!
Mary Burke in Wisconsin? Yes, she called on the president and the First Lady. Why not?
Democrats are fucking cowards and that's why we lose. It's a losing strategy. It has never worked for Democrats.
Ask President Al Gore.
Oh, wait...
rpannier
(24,329 posts)Blanche Lincoln lost because the voters of her state had moved far to the right of her and nothing was going to bring her back
You can't find any data that shows that Democrats in decidedly red states lost because they didn't embrace the President
Face facts. In some states he's toxic
That's the nature of politics
If you had a Republican President now, it's unlikely Mark Kirk would invite him to Illinois to campaign for him
Arguing otherwise is living in fantasy land
Your attempt at using a Bill Maher quote is weak at best
Gore lost be cause he chose not to use Clinton is states where Clinton was a plus
To equate a Presidential election with state or district elections is a serious logic fail
Clinton would have been helpful in Arkansas and West Virginia, but useless in Georgia and South Carolina (though today he might help Nunn in Georgia.)
Your argument seems to be that every candidate should embrace Obama and there are no facts that support that assertion. Some states, like it or not, are just not good places for him to appear and Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana and South Carolina are lousy places for him to go.
Liberal_Stalwart71
(20,450 posts)Major Hogwash
(17,656 posts)Yet, they wanted to carve Reagan's head on Mt. Rushmore.
What a joke he was!
His legacy as a doddering ol' fu*k will go down in history next to Calvin Coolidge and Rutherford Hayes as one of the most worthless presidents evah!
sheshe2
(83,770 posts)flamingdem
(39,313 posts)rpannier
(24,329 posts)Because people hate other Congress persons
Ask them about their own and it sits much higher, often above 50%
onecaliberal
(32,861 posts)Is in the pocket of POTUS are those who watch faux. The corporate media serves one purpose and that is profit. They don't give two shits about POTUS. Besides he is the wrong color for most of them.
DallasNE
(7,403 posts)It always takes time to evaluate such things, plus he still has 2 more years to add to his legacy, but the early analysis is looking pretty darn good -- according to Paul Krugman, who has not always agreed with Obama. Check it out here.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1017220321
Cha
(297,240 posts)[font color=blue][font size=lg]GOTV2014[/font][/font]
eridani
(51,907 posts)We have a "recovery" that has only benfitted the 1%, people are worried about the economy, and the only thing they know is that the president is a Democrat.
Amonester
(11,541 posts)all the while the true lesson they will learn at their own expense is that the Republican they voted for WILL drive their car in the ditch one more time...
Memory is a stranger to them.
LeftInTX
(25,336 posts)Did any Republican even say that about Bush?
Proud Liberal Dem
(24,412 posts)Until 2005-2006 if I recall correctly. Some Republicans avoided being called Republicans by 2008.
LeftInTX
(25,336 posts)I think they're attitude was, "He's not a Democrat, he's good for business, he kept us safe, he believes in traditional values, he's a compassionate conservative" etc...I think they liked him and thought he was the best for the country.
Proud Liberal Dem
(24,412 posts)Until late into his term. He stumped for a lot of them in 2002.
LeftInTX
(25,336 posts)I was thinking of the average voter and their sense of admiration.
I guess Dems still consider themselves the "underdog". (Ever since Reagan it has been an uphill battle)
Unfortunately, I feel that we are and that any victories for us require much harder work than victories for Repubs.
JetfireK
(1 post)I haven't changed my vote, have you?
BARACK
I have very few friends since I stood up for you,
because I believe in the things that you do!
I feel the justice you're determined to bring
And you never exclude, not one living thing! .
When I walk through my halls and glance at the walls,
Your photo assures me you're there,
As you look down and smile like a frolicsome child
I know that you really do care!
You're my feeling of happiness that comes from within
The first time I heard you ...I knew you were friend
You are the very best President America has had
And far more important, you're such a great dad! .
May God keep you safe tucked under his wing
and continue to guide you to do the right thing
Just know that I "feel" your struggles each day
And if you need help..... I'll be right on my way!
the Repubs can get their message of Obama unpopularity out and accepted as the truth, why can't Dems fight back with some facts of their own? Where's the pushback?
Triana
(22,666 posts)GOOD QUESTION.
THIS is the one thing I've found most exasperating. WHERE indeed is the damn pushback?!
BubbaFett
(361 posts)and the money spigots are all in the same 1%er hands
Bigmack
(8,020 posts)HoosierCowboy
(561 posts)Democrats are allowed to disagree, and at least some of that negative reaction to the President comes from those that are on the far left.
Yes, Obama couldn't get single payer, yes, Obama couldn't close down Gitmo, but notice the word "couldn't"..yes, Obama couldn't get all the troops home
If he coudaa, he woodaa...
Getting ACA was a large miracle in itself, be thankful for that effort.
Some judges say that they know a decision they made was correct if both sides disagreed with it...
Which is why Republicans are always wrong
Sarah Ibarruri
(21,043 posts)In other words, the GOP, the Teabaggers, etc.
After observing this country for decades, it's now clear to me that libs just go along with whatever the GOP pushes out there as propaganda. If the GOP says that Obama is inept, the Democrats are out there screaming, "Yes he is!!"
I wish liberals grew a pair of balls and for once stuck together like the indestructible force they can be, rather than tiny groups of mush.
bhikkhu
(10,716 posts)Having seen it over and over again in the last 40 years, they only seem to be getting better at it.
The antidote is sticking to issues and data, and don't trust anyone who tries to get you to hate someone as a person. I'll lump a lot of the anti-Hillary group in with that if they can't cite issues and data.
If the republicans were right on the issues and had demonstrated good results (economy, environment and social justice being the "big three" then I'd be voting for them. I don't hate them - they're just wrong on the economy, wrong on the environment, and wrong on social issues.
Its easy for us to hate, but that makes us easy to manipulate. Most of its on the other side, but there's plenty of it right here as well.