The Menace of Populist Authoritarianism

[Tiberius]

F'n Walgreens scum. 

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/09/opinion/wisconsin-republicans-walgreens-campaign-finance.html

 

Quote

 

Walgreens portrays itself as the friendly neighborhood drugstore. It gives flu shots to children, helps communities after storms, donates to charity — and makes feel-good advertisements trumpeting its various good deeds.

But Walgreens also has a tougher side, one you won’t see in those ads. To protect a tax break, the company has allied itself with Wisconsin’s brutally partisan Republican Party. That party is now in the midst of a power grab, stripping authority from Wisconsin’s governor and attorney general solely because Republicans lost those offices last month. The power grab comes after years of extreme gerrymandering, which lets Republicans dominate the legislature despite Wisconsin being a closely divided state.

Wisconsin’s Republicans really are trying to undo democracy. When I asked Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt — the political scientists who wrote the recent book “How Democracies Die” — about the situation, they agreed that the Wisconsin power grab was the sort of move their book describes. If it continues, it can lead to the breakdown of a political system.

 

 

[ExiledInIllinois]

23 minutes ago, Tiberius said:

F'n Walgreens scum. 

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/09/opinion/wisconsin-republicans-walgreens-campaign-finance.html

 

 

Sore losers.  The Republican party is flaming out.  Like a light bulb that gets briefly brighter before it totally goes dead 

 

Grasping at straws at their total implosion.

 

Their sore loser power grap won't survive the legal challenges of balance of powers.

[RochesterRob]

57 minutes ago, Tiberius said:

F'n Walgreens scum. 

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/09/opinion/wisconsin-republicans-walgreens-campaign-finance.html

 

 

  I think that there will always be a two party system as people are quick to blame for failures.  The party in power is thought to have screwed up then the voters turn out for that party's opposition.  

[boyst]

44 minutes ago, ExiledInIllinois said:

Sore losers.  The Republican party is flaming out.  Like a light bulb that gets briefly brighter before it totally goes dead 

 

Grasping at straws at their total implosion.

 

Their sore loser power grap won't survive the legal challenges of balance of powers.

With a newly formed judiciary focused on the powers of the Constitution?  Don't hold your breath.  The courts like the 9th are gonna go down in flames thanks to St. Clarence Thomas and the big boy court bent on kicking names and taking ass in the circuit courts.

[RochesterRob]

50 minutes ago, ExiledInIllinois said:

Sore losers.  The Republican party is flaming out.  Like a light bulb that gets briefly brighter before it totally goes dead 

 

Grasping at straws at their total implosion.

 

Their sore loser power grap won't survive the legal challenges of balance of powers.

  The best thing for the people is more than two parties although I don't see it happening.  Warren Buffett can out spend the hippies on the left side of the aisle and the Koch Bros can outspend the anti-abortion crowd on the right.  In a "utopian" political US there would be at least 6 parties with three right of center and three left of center so there can be economic advancement balanced with social justice.  

[boyst]

3 minutes ago, RochesterRob said:

  The best thing for the people is more than two parties although I don't see it happening.  Warren Buffett can out spend the hippies on the left side of the aisle and the Koch Bros can outspend the anti-abortion crowd on the right.  In a "utopian" political US there would be at least 6 parties with three right of center and three left of center so there can be economic advancement balanced with social justice.  

Uhhhh 6 parties would be horrible boss.

[DC Tom]

16 hours ago, /dev/null said:

 

rough estimate how much labor does it cost to install/replace a water heater?

 

Nothing, if you do it yourself.  It's a job any stoned halfwit can do.

[RochesterRob]

3 minutes ago, DC Tom said:

 

Nothing, if you do it yourself.  It's a job any stoned halfwit can do.

  Usually a halfwit will do a half-ass job.  No thanks to Cheech and Chong doing any work around the home.  

[ExiledInIllinois]

8 minutes ago, DC Tom said:

 

Nothing, if you do it yourself.  It's a job any stoned halfwit can do.

Depends... On what the installation requirements are. Do you trust a stoned half wit sweating pipes? They actually could burn down your house.

 

Sweating is a bit of a skill.  You also want to be safe pipefitting gas lines.

 

What RochesterRob said above.

Edited December 11, 2018 by ExiledInIllinois

[Swill Merchant]

20 hours ago, ExiledInIllinois said:

I was encouraged to start a thread in PPP.  Here's nifty one.  Try to look past by the source and to the substance.  Thoughts from the Main PPP Partisan Shills.  I better not get a PPP STD... Ah, WTF, a little burning and green pee never hurt anyone... And it's fun;

 

https://www.vox.com/platform/amp/policy-and-politics/2018/12/10/18126132/trump-populism-democracy-threat-minority-rule

 

 

Dangerous demagoguery.  Ruling by a gerrymandering monority.

 

 

Why do libs always use the gerrymandering excuse?

 

Are Republicans the only ones able to do it, or are Democrats too devoted to the democratic process to do such a thing?

[RochesterRob]

8 minutes ago, Boyst62 said:

Uhhhh 6 parties would be horrible boss.

  Don't worry about it as the big money in each party today will make sure that any upstarts will never get any traction.  By the way I don't think that 6 parties would be a bad thing as more interests both left and right get represented.  I'm a Republican but not the Republican Rush Limbaugh supports as he is pretty much for the country club set of the party.  I might rethink the idea if organizations such as NAMBLA slip out of the shadows.

[DC Tom]

5 minutes ago, ExiledInIllinois said:

Depends... On what the installation requirements are. Do you trust a stoned half wit sweating pipes? They actually could burn down your house.

 

Sweating is a bit of a skill.  You also want to be safe pipefitting gas lines.

 

What RochesterRob said above.

 

Yes...but it was more a reference to The_Dude having a business doing it...

[boyst]

Just now, RochesterRob said:

  Don't worry about it as the big money in each party today will make sure that any upstarts will never get any traction.  By the way I don't think that 6 parties would be a bad thing as more interests both left and right get represented.  I'm a Republican but not the Republican Rush Limbaugh supports as he is pretty much for the country club set of the party.  I might rethink the idea if organizations such as NAMBLA slip out of the shadows.

This is a complete post of jibberish displaying no level of critical thinking on foresight.

 

6 parties would do what was done to Europe. A small minority fringe party would cripple the US similar to the Tea Party, Freedom Cockus, or Socialist/Col. Sanders do with their threats to shut down government and disrupt the Republic.

[RochesterRob]

2 minutes ago, Boyst62 said:

This is a complete post of jibberish displaying no level of critical thinking on foresight.

 

6 parties would do what was done to Europe. A small minority fringe party would cripple the US similar to the Tea Party, Freedom Cockus, or Socialist/Col. Sanders do with their threats to shut down government and disrupt the Republic.

  The US is crippled now.  There is always the possibility that three groups or more in coalition might get something done.  When is the last time that the Democrats or Republicans produced a quality Presidential candidate?  The system as it is now is broken.  The average voter starts to need to see that the politicians in DC do not represent their interests.  

[boyst]

9 minutes ago, RochesterRob said:

  The US is crippled now.  There is always the possibility that three groups or more in coalition might get something done.  When is the last time that the Democrats or Republicans produced a quality Presidential candidate?  The system as it is now is broken.  The average voter starts to need to see that the politicians in DC do not represent their interests.  

The US is crippled now due to:

9 years prior of unchecked balance

Order by EO and executive Fiat legislation.

[RochesterRob]

5 minutes ago, Boyst62 said:

The US is crippled now due to:

9 years prior of unchecked balance

Order by EO and executive Fiat legislation.

  For the sake of maintaining a dialog I would ask you to cite examples.  Given the US system of a House Representative having two years in office I don't see how 6 parties creates any more gridlock than the present 2.  The Senate exists to keep legislation from coming to be that is flavor of the year in nature.  

[boyst]

3 minutes ago, RochesterRob said:

  For the sake of maintaining a dialog I would ask you to cite examples.  Given the US system of a House Representative having two years in office I don't see how 6 parties creates any more gridlock than the present 2.  The Senate exists to keep legislation from coming to be that is flavor of the year in nature.  

Um, how the hell can i cite anything on this when it is hypothetical the whole way around and you're asking my opinion on this?  Which, disirregardless, you'll object to despite not being able to provide adequate rebuttals in more than Op-eds which is all I'd offer.

 

The example was provided. Look at what the Freedom Caucuse and Tea Party did during the Obama years.  I fully expect the Sanders-Socialist-Cortez party to do the same thing shitting all over themselves this time.  They'll grind down their majority to a crippling pace in obfuscation blocking any efforts for partisanship.

 

The senate exists because of *****ups in our government a century ago turning us in to a populous government away from a republic.

8 minutes ago, RochesterRob said:

  For the sake of maintaining a dialog I would ask you to cite examples.  Given the US system of a House Representative having two years in office I don't see how 6 parties creates any more gridlock than the present 2.  The Senate exists to keep legislation from coming to be that is flavor of the year in nature.  

See below:

36 minutes ago, Buffalo_Gal said:

Cuomo warns Long Island holdout: Just pick Pelosi as speaker
 

Gov. Andrew Cuomo is using his political muscle to promote Nancy Pelosi as House speaker and warned holdout Long Island Rep. Kathleen Rice that she’s helping Republicans by opposing the California Democrat.
 

“It’s not about you,” Cuomo said of Rice on WNYC radio Monday. “It’s about electing a Democratic Congress to stop bad things from happening” with President Trump.

“Don’t aid and abet the Republicans by jeopardizing her leadership,” he said.
 

But Rice, one of 32 Democrats to vote against Pelosi at the caucus level, isn’t backing down.
 

</snip>

When a party member of the 2 party system has their own interpretation of what's best for their constituents the big dogs come in; hence, if she votes against Pelosi it will bog down what the party wants on a national level with little ability to stop anything or make change. Pelosi is the leader and anyone voting against her will be the internal resistance fracturing the shallow bring that is the Democratic/Retardicratic party.

[3rdnlng]

1 hour ago, ExiledInIllinois said:

Depends... On what the installation requirements are. Do you trust a stoned half wit sweating pipes? They actually could burn down your house.

 

Sweating is a bit of a skill.  You also want to be safe pipefitting gas lines.

 

What RochesterRob said above.

What pipes that would be sweated would cause a danger of burning down a house?

[Tiberius]

33 minutes ago, 3rdnlng said:

What pipes that would be sweated would cause a danger of burning down a house?

Have fun with your doll today? 

[Koko78]

1 hour ago, RochesterRob said:

  For the sake of maintaining a dialog I would ask you to cite examples.  Given the US system of a House Representative having two years in office I don't see how 6 parties creates any more gridlock than the present 2.  The Senate exists to keep legislation from coming to be that is flavor of the year in nature.  

 

In order to have a multi-party system, every state would have to fundamentally re-write their electoral process.

 

We have a system of single member district plurality (with some requiring a majority following a run-off). You can't just get 50 states to completely change how elections are done, disregarding 230ish years of history. Amending the Constitution to force the issue isn't going to work either.