Biden's right. You're not going to reform the MAGA movement--you have to crush it

[DonCoquixote]

https://www.cltampa.com/news/bidens-right-youre-not-going-to-reform-the-maga-movement-you-have-to-crush-it-14116541

This is a perfect antidote to those that love to attack the left for being too harsh. Many of the centrists seem to talk as if our goal is not to protect the rights and liberties of the party's base, but that we have to spend our efforts trying to beg the rigths to see thigns our way, while they smash our heads in.

Take this nonsense:

"The Washington Post’s editorial board cried over Biden’s supposed appeal to partisanship instead of patriotism. “You don’t persuade people by scolding or demeaning them, but that’s how the president’s speech landed for many conservatives of goodwill,” the edit board scolded."

Are these the same "goodwill" people that let Trump do things that even Reagan would not try? How much longer are we to let our people die while we search for people to throw us the crumbs?

[unblock]

1. "You don't persuade people by scolding or demeaning them" describes nearly all speech from donnie

and republicans certainly for the last 5 years, and if you look closer, for much of Republican speech over the last 40 years. Gingrich and Reagan made it cool for republicans to openly disrespect democrats and liberals at ever turn.

They have been *banking* on such speech "landing" as "scolding and demeaning," "for many liberals of goodwill."

In the right-wing mind, their scolds and insults and put downs reinforce their offensive idea of a social hierarchy where women, minorities, and liberals are and deserve to be on the lower levels.

Oh and "conservatives of goodwill"? How many of those are there, anyway? I know plenty of trumpers, and plenty of never-trumpers, and zero conservatives who are on the fence or support trump but are persuadable.

And why should Biden aim his speech for this narrow group, using tactics that have failed for decades, instead of aiming toward the majority who are sick of republicans and thrilled to see democrats fighting back strongly?

[DonCoquixote]

3. and why

"And why should Biden aim his speech for this narrow group, using tactics that have failed for decades, instead of aiming toward the majority who are sick of republicans and thrilled to see democrats fighting back strongly?"

Indeed why, especially as when the rubber hits the road, they run.

[Cosmocat]

14. The next time ANY media scolds Republicans

On their ENDLESS slanders of Ds will literally be the first.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

2. Seems like their editorial board thinks...

... that Biden is being too uppity, and not adhering to his political role of appearing weak or ineffective.

Republicans are supposed to be the bullies (with their admiring toady voters who love it), and Democrats are supposed to take it.

I had a supervisor in the past who proudly spoke of being a Republican, and he said that he didn't vote for George Bush Sr. a second time (against Clinton) solely because Bush spoke of a desire for a "kinder, gentler nation".

[DonCoquixote]

4. yep

"that Biden is being too uppity, and not adhering to his political role of appearing weak or ineffective."

especially as they are already banging the drums to have him and Kamala replaced.

https://www.newser.com/story/323730/in-2024-democrats-should-replace-biden-with-aoc.html

[Johnny2X2X]

5. Biden is playing to win

This was not a unity speech. This was a campaign speech. Unity can come after the midterms, but right now Biden just defined the opposition as the extremists they are.

It fired up Dems. It gave moderated a real description of the extremists that threaten our country. It was a speech designed to win November.

The fact people are criticizing it means it worked as intended.

[Lonestarblue]

6. The Post's Editorial Board has made a hard right turn since Sally Buzbee took over.

She has added even more to the lineup of Trump apologist opinion writers, including one from Rupert Murdoch’s WSJ Fox-like opinion writers.

On another note, destroying the MAGA crowd may be more difficult than we think. I had never heard of Steve Bannon’s “precinct strategy” until reading an article in The Guardian this morning. Part of the Texas voter nullification laws included change for partisan poll watchers to make it easier for them to intimidate voters, which we know will be used on minority voters. I forget the state now, but a leaked audio was reported this week about Republicans training poll workers to break the law about what they could and could not do. These tactics need to be publicized. Have found that The Guardian does a far better job of reporting on Republican tactics than any US media.

“But Bannon’s most important role at present may be his championing of what is known as the “precinct strategy”, which seeks to take control of the Republican party from the bottom up, getting Trump supporters to take low-ranking, often vacant, positions within local branches. They are then in a position to select more senior party officials and to influence decisions such as the staffing of elections and selection of candidates, and ultimately to move up the party ranks.

Maga activists are also targeting school boards and poll monitoring positions.

“We’re going to take this back village by village … precinct by precinct,” Bannon said in one of his shows pushing the strategy.

ProPublica contacted dozens of Republican party county leaders across the US who reported significant increases in membership applications that appear tied to the precinct strategy.

Peltz said that the consequences could be with America for years.

“If Bannon is successful in shoehorning grassroots activists, which it appears that he is, he could have loyalists controlling the levels of power within the Republican party and, even more concerning, in election administration. That could be almost impossible to unwind for years and decades to come,” she said.“
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/sep/10/steve-bannon-fraud-charges-elections-maga

[spike jones]

7. Maga must be beaten at the ballot box, because if they rule the three government branches

democracy is over in the USA.
Once in, Fascism has never been voted out of office.

[William Seger]

8. Biden's speech was ALL ABOUT patriotism over partisanship

"Conservatives of good will" have long since abandoned MAGA neo-fascists, and if the WP editorial board thinks Biden could have said anything to persuade people whose brains have been marinated in right-wing propaganda, then they should admit their incompetence to deal with today's politics and resign.

[Alexander Of Assyria]

9. MAGA equals Fascism. Tie the MAGA collar on the deserving dog! Biden gets it.

[CaptainTruth]

10. You can't "reform" authoritarian fascists.

Have we forgotten the lessons of WWII?

[Initech]

11. The MAGA movement is a cancer. We need serious doses of chemo to get rid of it.

Otherwise they could do some serious damage.

[IrishAfricanAmerican]

12. YA DAMN STRAIGHT!

[Skittles]

13. WAPO was TRASHED over that editorial

the comments from readers were OVERWHELMINGLY NEGATIVE