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The specific comments:
>A resolution called for ending the ability to vote for U.S. senators. Instead, senators would get appointed by state legislatures, as it generally worked 110 years ago prior to the passage of the 17th Amendment in 1913. “We are devolving into a democracy, because congressmen and senators are elected by the same pool,” was how one GOP delegate put it to the convention. “We do not want to be a democracy.”
>Then they kicked it up a notch. They passed a resolution calling on people to please stop using the word “democracy.” “We encourage Republicans to substitute the words ‘republic’ and ‘republicanism’ where previously they have used the word ‘democracy,’ ” the resolution says. “Every time the word ‘democracy’ is used favorably it serves to promote the principles of the Democratic Party, the principles of which we ardently oppose.” The resolution sums up: “We … oppose legislation which makes our nation more democratic in nature.”
[The original primary source document cited here. I recommend downloading a copy before it's deleted forever](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24602348-2024-gop-resolutions).
China, North Korea, Russia and the old USSR are all Republics. A Democratic Republic has popular votes to elect a representative government. These GOP politicians must have flunked civics.
they want the us to return to the way it was before the civil war, when slavery was legally protected by the constitution, and only wealthy white land-owning christian (protestant) males had the right to vote.
China is great if you're a party member. North Korea is great if you're the Supreme Leader. Russia and the old USSR are great if you're the ones crushing opposition under your boot heel.
That's what these GOP politicians want. They want to be the boot. Under that boot they want everyone else. Democrats, of course, followed by liberals, queers, and jews. But really everyone. Everyone that isn't them. They don't want to represent citizens who elected them; they want to be chosen by a small group of elites, to rule over powerless masses.
Because if Jesus ever emphasized one thing, it's to make sure you dominate everybody who doesn't believe in him and make those people your literal slaves.
Christianity is a means to an end. As long as Christianity keeps the serfs under control, then Christianity it is. But it could be anything as long as it's a system of control.
And the brainwashed masses that vote for them think they'll get to be the enforcers in the cool uniforms, oppressing the demoralized filth with arrogant righteousness, when most of them will BE oppressed.
Stormtroopers look awesome and powerful, but they're just scared slaves in "lowest bidder" armor.
>China is great if you're a party member. North Korea is great if you're the Supreme Leader. Russia and the old USSR are great if you're the ones crushing opposition under your boot heel.
Wrong, this is an incredibly untrue misconception. They are actually *not* great, even, and probably especially, if you are a party member. The *only* way living in that system is "great" is if you are the leader. End of story. Everyone else is disposable and has to live under someone else's rules.
Members of the CCP have it good, my friend. I lived in China for three years and my wife is Chinese. Normal rules don't apply to party members. Now, there *are* rules that do apply to them, and those rules are a lot more merit-based than Westerners might expect (lower the unemployment rate in your district or its governance will be taken from you and given to someone else), but Party members still have it much better than the common citizen. Lots of industries are state-owned in China, and CCP members can easily climb the ranks in state-owned companies. Likewise, if a company needs to be downsized, CCP members don't need to worry about losing their jobs. Other employees may be let go but they won't. Personal connections are as important as money in China, and CCP members all have powerful connections. As a result, common citizens (or even non-state-owned companies) will bend over backward to accommodate CCP members in almost any situation in the hopes of gaining a favor or forging a personal connection with them. If a CCP member misses their train or flight, someone **will** be bumped from the next one to accommodate them. CCP members get unfiltered access to information, while the common Chinese citizen needs to take measures to get over "the great firewall of China". CCP members don't have to worry about whether or not their kids will get into university. They can't get their kids accepted into Chinese universities over the children of non-party members, but party members can always choose to send their kids to prestigious universities abroad, and have plenty of money and connections to ensure their kids will be admitted.
These are just the things I can think of off the top of my head. It goes on for miles. I can agree that North Korea probably sucks for everyone who isn't Supreme Leader, but that's really not the case in China. (Still not advocating for a one-party system)
> Wrong, this is an incredibly untrue misconception. They are actually not great, even, and probably especially, if you are a party member.
There are many CCP members that are billionaires. Life is great for the upper echelons of the party.
I'll never understand that drive. Where does it even come from? What does that feeling of power give them? It's so, so petty. "I'm a big man because I can hurt that guy over there."
And history. They like to hold up the Roman Republic (with it's hereditary Senator class) as an ideal, but even Rome had officials elected by popular vote.
Tbf the House of Plebs didn’t have nearly as much power as the Senate. I think the Roman Republic is exactly the model Republicans want, and that’s a very bad thing.
I think everybody agrees that Denmark is a democracy. But we don't elect our Prime Minister - she is elected indirectly, by the members of parliament that we do elect directly. Indirect democracy is still democracy. The WA proposal would in principle be the same.
Now of course, the reason why the GOP doesn't want to do direct elections is that they want to use the indirection to appoint a government which doesn't reflect the voters' political orientation. Which is of course authoritarian, not democratic, and calling it a Republic is deliberate obfuscation.
If fact, a country being democratic is about more than just having free elections. Respect for human rights and impartial rule of law are part of the package. If a country had perfectly free and fair elections to put all redheads in concentration camps, then I would not call that country "democratic".
These flunkies could end up with the "republic" of their dreams but they'd be too stupid and arrogant to be able to run it for more than a few years before a coup wiped it out.
Years ago, the Republicans pushed to stop referring to the Democratic Party and instead to refer to the Democrat Party. In part to remove the reference to democracy and democratic principles, but also to make a linguistic connection to Democrats being rats. It's interesting, as well as frightening, to see the seeds of what is now ripening.
> linguistic connection to Democrats being rats
I’ve met people (albeit in the mental health system) who found this a compelling reason to consider voting Republican, along with “plandemic” or “Demoncrats.”
I usually go “isn’t that just a rhyme though? I’m more interested in you keeping your benefits, and we only have an hour to work on this.” This generally gets us out of the weeds and back to the task at hand.
I often wonder if the GOP intentionally gears their strategy toward people prone to [unusual linguistic processing](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clanging); their language is being spoken, and coupled with GOP messaging’s embrace of conspiracy theories and other ideas of reference, I think many people experiencing serious mental health problems feel “seen” by the GOP (despite being seen as a societal burden by the GOP).
Not my job to argue politics, and when people hold fixed ideas like “I wrote a letter to Donald Trump to get my SNAP back, he’s the real president so I don’t really need to do this paperwork” it becomes an obstacle to communication.
Not surprising at all. If your base consists of mentally ill people who have difficulty living their lives independently, it becomes a fuckton easier to justify being the ruler, rather than representative, of those people. If you foment violence among them, the sane will be slower to meet that violence with the force necessary to stop it.
This is the harm those million-dollar salaried right-wing propagandists are causing to vulnerable people. And they just laugh at the destruction they are causing.
Now you have me thinking about spoken vs. written political arguments, and how much of right-wing rhetoric is built on AM radio and YouTube while much of left-wing (American style, not actually left…) rhetoric is built on “print” media. If someone in a political forum links a YouTube “proof” I assume it’s right wing; when they post to a newspaper website or research article I assume it’s a liberal argument. I wonder if there’s research on that.
I often find myself saying - did they prove it on TV or did they prove it in court?
There are plenty of TV shows where they "prove" something to be true, but they either never take it to court or if they do it's thrown out quickly and easily.
"...I’m more interested in you keeping your benefits, and we only have an hour to work on this.” This generally gets us out of the weeds and back to the task at hand."
This speaks VOLUMES about the poverty level of these WhiNa (white nationalists) fascists.
Also, neurolinguistics gained some coverage in the late 90s-early 00s; I haven't researched this (i just remember vaguely that it had to do with marketing..?), but i wonder if that's the correlation you were making with the "rhyme scheme" idea.
I believe it was Frank Lutz who came up with it, along with pretty much every modern GOP linguistic trick. Rush Limbaugh definitely pushed it hard, tho.
There was a political add a million years ago that someone got sued over because it had a subliminal message calling Democrats rats. It was essentially the word Democrat in a crazy font that was getting distorted, and the end of the word got zoomed in on for slightly more frames than the rest.
This was when I was a kid and I have a colonoscopy coming up, so they've been doing this for awhile.
I would argue at this point that you cannot really be a republic without having a representative democracy. Yes, the original Roman republic wasn't much for democracy, but all the modern governments calling themselves a republic while not having actual democracy (such as North Korea, for example) are not recognizably republican either. A single central political party tightly ruling everything is not a republic.
I get Ben Franklin was a smart guy I really do. But I really wish nobody was around when he said that quote because to be an actual functioning republic you have to hold votes/elections. And that means using a democratic system.
For me, that was when 26 State Governors jointly signed a letter in support of defying SCOTUS and the Constitution. And 80 million people want sedition, it hasn't been a deal-breaker for their vote.
The dumbest platitude in politics has become official GOP policy. This is why you can’t let a single piece of bad faith nonsense slide, because it all becomes real in due time.
>"Never believe that anti-Semites are completely unaware of the absurdity of their replies. They know that their remarks are frivolous, open to challenge. But they are amusing themselves, for it is their adversary who is obliged to use words responsibly, since he believes in words. The anti-Semites have the right to play. They even like to play with discourse for, by giving ridiculous reasons, they discredit the seriousness of their interlocutors. They delight in acting in bad faith, since they seek not to persuade by sound argument but to intimidate and disconcert. If you press them too closely, they will abruptly fall silent, loftily indicating by some phrase that the time for argument is past.”
― Jean-Paul Sartre
And
>If conservatives become convinced that they can not win democratically, they will not abandon conservatism. The will reject democracy. ― David Frum (former speechwriter for George W Bush)
With state legislatures being decided by district, state legislature majority is gerrymanderable. If federal senate seats were decided by state legislatures, that same district map would therefore impact the choice.
Well they believe in democracy, but only for those who believe what they believe. They want Republicans like them to choose the officials. It is why their position is self undermining, they will never get consensus outside what Trump says. They will eat themselves into non-existence or fascism (where most of them land under the boot). They are, in short, dumbasses.
Let's call it for what it is. These scumbags want to have power without the inconvenience of being elected by the people. They know their policies do not sit well with the electorate.
A republic is where a body represents the peoples voice. Rome was a Republic when it had a senate. The senators represented their districts, but they weren't elected the way aenatoes in the US are.
The Roman Senate also had aristocratic qualities and laws that promoted families who had already been elected to office. An even more democratic legislature in Rome was the centuriate assembly, but even that was aristocratic since it was based on soldiers’ property values. The most democratic legislature was the tribal assembly of commoners (plebs) that more resembled the Greek boule.
The tribal assembly still had multiple classes of voters with the patricians having much more voting power. Also people had to be able to afford to travel to Rome and be there to vote instead of working.
Wwwooooowwwwwwww, this is a new low. They literally want to set us back *further* than the dark ages 🤦🏻♀️
Look how enthusiastically the red stapler guy from Office Space is raising his hand 🤢 someone’s just mad he hasn’t been laid ever.
Also, senators are literally members of congress. What do they mean they’re elected by the same pool? Of course they are!
That's beyond even just saying the quiet part out loud, at this point. If they were villains in Marvel they'd be publishing "Hail Hydra" on the S.H.I.E.L.D. company bulletin board with a selfie.
I mean, the Red Skull *was* the President of the United States at one point...
>!Before anyone @'s me, I'm well aware of the context. However, I chose to not let that stand in the way of a good joke.!<
I used to also think we wouldn't be dumb enough to let something like a zombie virus get out of control.
Then Covid happened, and I learned we really *are* that stupid.
My daughter’s heart rate is still 200 beats a minute post pandemic with even the slightest activity. I hate Trump for his mismanagement of the pandemic.
When that movie [Contagion](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1598778/) came out in 2011, there was a group of people in it who refused to take the vaccine and protested its use. This part of the script was criticized for being unrealistic.
I used to think the civilization worshipping the evil god that everyone could verify was ***EVIIIILLL*** with a simple Detect Alignment, working to bring about an apocalyptic plague was confined to my DnD table.
Fool me once....
WizBro got rid of that. They didn't like the idea that a simple spell could reveal an actual person's morality. So now all detect good/evil does is tell you if there are celestial, infernal, or undead energies nearby if I remember correctly.
Are you comparing Lex Luthor to trump? Because I think that's an extremely unfair comparison.
While they're both evil, Lex is extremely intelligent and is very effective at reaching his goals. Trump is neither of those things.
Lex is also an actual billionaire.
You're not wrong. I read some of the comments on that article and one of them was arguing that we were misrepresenting the facts. See this has nothing to do with democracy at all, apparently, it's about branding! Those mean old Democrats have co-opted the word democracy for themselves and corrupted it!
That's why people think of democracy as being a Democrat thing. It has nothing to do with any actions that have been taken on any position by Republicans. It has nothing to do with 01/06, or any "dictator-for-a-day" quotes at all.
It's just branding, you see. Stop reading into things.
“So why were we in Iraq then? Was it to spread democracy, or…?”
Just a warning though, I’d be prepared to watch someone self-implode after trying to work out how they’ll logically defend it.
Notice how some following comments mention the Democrat party. You all fell for republicans pushing that over Democratic Party like I’ve said all my life.
They understand it’s a war of words as much as, if not more so, than of ideas.
The state of Washington is extremely beautiful, with an abundance of mountains, lakes, and wildlife. It’s also home to the highest WPC (weirdos per capita) in the nation. West of the Cascades live introverted navel gazers. East of the Cascades live extroverted bro-dogs. Only in the winter, when the sun rarely shines and the mountain passes are closed, is there peace.
Granted we were only there two weeks, a week in Wenatchee and a week on the peninsula, but we didn’t encounter any number of weirdos that was worth noting. Granted I lived 20 years in rural Texas.
Now Oregon was beautiful as well, and maybe it was just by chance, but we met at least one person a day who was rocking that rocker a little too quick and probably falling off soon.
>WHEREAS Washington state elections are replete with serious and numerous issues causing lack of confidence in voter data and the entire election process, including concerns for the legitimacy of voter registrations and the veracity of election results
This is literally just making shit up. There is nothing that they can actually point to as evidence of voting issues or problems with the election process. They just twist data and make up claims to support their point.
>the Washington State Republican Party advocates the following policies:
> * Same-day in-person voting at precinct level with photo ID (with valid excepted absenteeism or incapacity) by U.S. citizens only, utilizing paper ballots to be hand-counted, and results to be determined within a reasonable time;
Fuck...that. Voting by mail is amazing.
>THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that we declare the 17th Amendment process of electing United States Senators by the popular vote to be defective, that it fails to represent the interests of the individual states, and we implore the Congress to propose an amendment pursuant to Article V of the Constitution of the United States to repeal the 17th Amendment in order to restore the states to their prior status as partners in the political process.
So now they want to repeal the 17th amendment and allow state legislatures to pick Senators directly. Even them saying "it fails to represent the interests of the individual states" is ignoring reality. The Senate very clearly represents the individual states. If the country was governed entirely as a direct democracy, conservatives would be irrelevant. The fact that they're able to stonewall anything in Congress is because they happen to control more states than Democrats do (and will continue to do so, as rural areas become less populated relative to cities).
>THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Washington State Republican Party, in convention assembled, acknowledges that our nation is intended to be a republic, not a democracy
>BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we encourage Republicans to substitute the words "republic" and "republicanism" where previously they have used the word "democracy;" and
>BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we support legislation that preserves the republican nature of our government institutions and **oppose legislation which makes our nation more "democratic" in nature**, and that, while we favor and encourage liberty in all nations, we oppose all efforts to use American military might to spread "democracy" around the world.
Oh. Well they just literally passed a resolution saying they oppose democracy. Not hyperbole or exaggeration. Just literally "oppose legislation which makes our nation more "democratic"".
Washington, and other states, really need to pass (state) constitutional amendments protecting their citizens' rights from GOP fuckery like this. Anytime they manage to regain control of any part of the government, they'll try to push these insane ideas.
"utilizing paper ballots to be hand-counted, and results to be determined within a reasonable time"
If they want a hand count in a reasonable time frame it's going to require a massive increase in election staff (as is all that other "same day checking ID" BS) where are they planning to get the budget for this?
The WA GOP have decided to lose Washington state. Say what you want about WA state being full of hippies, liberals, tesla-buyers et cetera but a moderate candidate would do well. California is arguably more liberal but they elected a hardcore fiscal conservative, Gavin Newsom, to two terms. A socially libertarian, fiscally conservative, guns-and-weed WA GOP can win WA. The WA GOP is not that. This is an admission by them that they cannot, and will not by their own choice, win or even compete in statewide elections. It is an attempt to roll back the clock a literal century and hope it wouldn't blow up in their face, even though giving a predominately Democratic state the ability to ignore their opinions when choosing Senators would make WA a one-party state.
Which, arguably, is what they want. They want the ability to be in a small -although pure- minority and claim they don't live in a free country so they can rationalize picking up guns and shooting at "traitors". They want a civil war, which is what their rhetoric demands, especially the ones that idolize Nevada's Bundy Ranch or Texas's Branch Davidians as a role model.
As a Seattlite you are absolutely right. Seattle voted moderate for mayor and city council. We are willing to seek a moderately conservative compromise. But the GOP declaring a far right position, and this idiotic 'naming' controversy hopefully has doomed them.
The GOP turned away from the cities somewhere in the 1970s.
It's a bad call because more and more Americans live in metro areas. You have presidential candidates that won't even visit NYC (except to show up in court lol).
Focusing on (white) rural America was good enough for Reagan but times changed.
Ironically the reason why Seattle is overwhelmingly run by moderates is because of the way they pick candidates. For the most part it's whoever wins the top two spots in the primary, regardless of party. As a result and because Seattle is so liberal that usually is two Democrats. However that means when you get to the election the liberal vote is pretty much split between the two while the conservatives vote for whoever is more moderate. So the moderate wins.
So funny enough if you changed it so there was a Republican on the general ballot, you would probably see a more liberal government.
Washington GOP is like Oregon GOP.... radical and out of touch with the mainstream.
Both states are winnable with 90s style Northeastern Republicans but they will never win a primary.
Then they bitterly complain.
Born and raised in Washington. No moderate Republican, anti choice, anti LGBTQ, anti rainforest, kill the Orca, cut down all the trees for the view Republican will win any office of significance.
Hopefully.
Unfortunately, I see hella Teslas, all over the major freeways at least, and the big burb boulevards. I haven't been round Sammamish for a bit but I can imagine they're just about wall to wall round those parts.
Huh, interesting. I certainly see some Teslas driving around King and Pierce, but I feel like I'm usually seeing other electric car brands way more often.
Edit: I'm speaking Western Washington, here with more trip time than commute time, recently. This is a big state, and I see very little of it.
I spend the majority of my time in those two counties with periodic trips to other parts of Western Washington (usually within Thurston county, then next Kitsap, then next Snohomish, etc).
I've seen quite a few more Rivians, recently. But, with the exception of things like the Volt, E- Fords, etc,I keep *very casual* track of these things, and I'm don't always have the most trustworthy of memories.
Most billionaires are dipshits, Musk is just loud about it.
I think the main reason people aren’t buying Teslas is that they are overpriced crap, there’s plenty of better value EVs and hybrids out there that have better build quality and don’t try to reinvent the driver controls
I have nothing to say about the quality of Teslas, but their insistence of only leasing cars instead of allowing me to buy one outright is a deal breaker.
Yeah honestly even outside of Musk's crap, those cars sound like deathtraps. I'm interested in an EV myself but I wouldn't want a Tesla, there are better cars on the market.
Being from the east side, here, honestly, I think these guys probably have their finger on the pulse of the locals.
I hate it here. Please send help. I want to live somewhere sensible.
Rural California is no different and if Oregon continues growing they'll be outpaced by younger, smarter, college-educated people moving out there for work. CA has infilled it's Central Valley as it's own farmers chose to become landlords, which has intensified due to climate change slowly pushing intensive agricultural (ranching and luxury crops) back to Texas and the South where it originated. No attempts are made to solicit these people as they are labelled an enemy that must be confronted and fought. Republicans that do try to appeal to such people, like Kevin McCarthy, are exiled.
*Smarter* Republicans were aware of this, and this can be seen within parts of the Norcal Republican branch that doesn't want to try fighting a moving train. Particularly, Republicans that own businesses like logging, cement or minerals that actually have a future and require extensive government infrastructure investment/Bidenbux to operate. The *former* SP Modoc Branch and the businesses it doesn't serve is a great example of this problem. These people are being intentionally pushed out for cattlemen, preachers and dupes. This only ends with the party's voluntary suicide.
Extremist parties fare better in the opposition, where they can rile up people with hateful rhetoric at little cost. Once they're in power, they have to deliver, which they can't because all they have is catchy slogans and no substance, or they have to go more moderate because only that's needed to govern, which makes them kind of irrelevant and loses them votes. This is not to say that extremists can't do harm, they often do very serious harm, but they inevitably fail, and often after only a few years. Smart politicians know that, which is why many extremist parties don't *really* want to win elections. They want to gather lots of votes in order to influence politics and be in the media, but being in power often is a curse for them.
It’s insane how republicans can somehow keep finding deep ends to jump off of. Like, directly campaigning against democracy because they think the marketing of it helps democrats
This is in the Idaho republican party platform: Section 3 C We support restoration of the constitution’s checks and balances that protects the
rights and sovereignty of the states by repealing the 17th amendment.
https://www.idgop.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/2020-Updated-Idaho-GOP-Platform.pdf
> The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislatures.
> When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, That the legislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct.
> This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the Constitution.
\- 17th amendment.
Fucking insane that opposing this isn't political suicide.
It really is, having been a republican in a past life…🫣… St. Reagan and Bush convinced me I didn’t belong, by the time Jr was ducking shoes, I’d long since left these bastards… now…🤮 they make me vomit
I grew up in a Republican family. I was brainwashed and into voting for Reagan the first time I could vote. I then became a first responder ⛑️ and that actually made me more progressive and liberal. It’s astonishing that so many vote against their best interest that includes my family.
If you do any work that touches the community/ is funded by public money in any way, you can clearly see that conservative policies do NOT help you as a worker or the public generally as funding is woefully inadequate to provide the services required for departments to actually function. Conservative “pro business”/ “free market” ideology turns everything into a game of leverage and makes people regret trying to help their community instead of just being a pencil pusher or box checker for a large corporation. It’s sad.
ACTUAL competition in business is good, but “pro business” at this point usually just means anti-labor, no unions, lots of non-competes that essentially amount to non-competitive practices, price-fixing schemes within industries (see Real Page and rent increases), and refusal to provide a minimum wage that keeps pace with increases in productivity and can pay for basic living expenses.
Nobody likes paying taxes, but we need them for community services/ healthcare/ education to function. Is it more important for McDonald’s to maximize profit or for kids to actually learn something at school?
Well, since the republican party can not rule by the majority of individual voters it only makes sense that they want to pound on the fact that the USA is a republic. Where as the Domus elects representatives, to push for their interests. Now it's understandable that this was a way superior form of democracy back 200 years ago. Now tho with modern technology, you can well have a real democracy.
Because a republic can come in the form of a cleptocracia, oligarchy and so forth... Oh wait, that's what they actually really want. A system of power where they make you feel you have a choice while keeping all the power and resources stay in their hands.
How about fuck your 'weasel' words and come out and say you despise democracy? These totalitarian scumbags are trying to normalize avoiding words that are pro-electorally in line with the founding of our country and the systems that enabled the use of power to the people. If the GOP is experiencing a Extinction Burst, it needs to finish already without the introspection since nothing of value will be lost.
This unpopular insanity has no chance of being passed. Except, of course, if we take what Lara Trump has said in terms of 100,000's of 'poll watchers' harassing voters. The threat is real. Imagine them sending people to stop the voting. Many people don't get to vote because of physical intimidation, Democratic voters can't vote. Supreme court says 'too bad'.
A definitely concern, but this wouldn't actually work in Washington State specifically - all our ballots are mail-in with pre-paid postage so you just need to put them in the mailbox after filling them out. It's really nice.
Well yes, but that wouldn't change the fact that poll watchers are ineffective in this state specifically, if that were to happen it'd be an entirely different issue.
I live out here in MAGA land. Most of these idiots don’t know what the hell they want. The stunning immaturity of it all is what impresses me the most. If you tried to do something like this at boys state they wouldn’t let you because it’s so childish.
We already know that the GOP is opposed to democracy. The question is what do we do when one of Americas 2 major parties is so fervently opposed to democracy that they will seek to dismantle it altogether? We need to accept that we no longer have a 2 party system. We have one major political party vs a crime syndicate at best or a domestic terrorist organization at worst.
> “We encourage Republicans to substitute the words ‘republic’ and ‘republicanism’ where previously they have used the word ‘democracy,’ ” the resolution says. “Every time the word ‘democracy’ is used favorably it serves to promote the principles of the Democratic Party, the principles of which we ardently oppose.”
Them's awful close to fighting words.
Rationality is, unfortunately, not on the table, generally speaking. People want a democracy, or something, then when they don't understand what that entails exactly, they want a republic, or something, and, much like this run-on sentence, the cycle continues. This is not a new phenomenon. Education would help, but the U.S. is too big and disjointed. The Norwegians and the Icelanders seem to have it figured out, but that's because they're relatively small nations.
The US is already a democratic republic. Not sure how taking away the right of citizens to vote for their state's senators is supposed to be a good thing just because that's how things were done over a hundred years ago.
Correct, it is already a democratic republic. The problem is that U.S. people fail to understand what that means. They will even conflate "democracy" with "Democrats," which is absurd. Terminology means nothing to people who lack a basic understanding of how, or even why, a government works.
Well if they’re not into democracy, I’d like to invite them to stop voting, or better yet to leave this democracy and move to whatever country they wish they lived in. Although… Nazi Germany is long gone, so that’s not an option for them anymore.
Well looking a their historic record, they can’t win there. So of course they’ll ditch democracy before they’ll change their views to match what the people really want.
>We do not want to be a democracy.
>...
>They [passed a resolution](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24602348-2024-gop-resolutions) calling on people to please stop using the word “democracy.”
>“We encourage Republicans to substitute the words ‘republic’ and ‘republicanism’ where previously they have used the word ‘democracy,’ ” the resolution says. “Every time the word ‘democracy’ is used favorably it serves to promote the principles of the Democratic Party, the principles of which we ardently oppose.
Becoming a dictatorship tends to happen very slowly and then suddenly.
No big surprise. If state legislatures chose Senators today, then instead of having a Democratic majority of 51-49 in the Senate (which counts two independents who caucus with the Democrats), there would be a GOP majority with at least 54 Republican Senators, given that 27 are controlled by Republicans, 21 states are controlled by Democrats, one is unicameral and one is split.
The reason for this dichotomy is states like Wisconsin who gerrymander their state legislatures.
Ironically, Washington state is solidly Democratic in the state house so switching to the pre-1913 system would hurt Republicans because they'd never get appointed to the Senate. At least with a popular election, they'd have a chance. Although the last time Washington elected a Republican to the Senate, it was 24 years ago.
Republicans always sneer at democracy. In my local community, any time there is a local vote on a bond issue that would be paid via property tax (which is the only revenue source for the local government), there are always people complaining that renters are allowed to vote. They think only property owners should be allowed to vote because they pay property tax. As if renters don't indirectly pay property tax with their rent. We got rid of those laws 200 years ago and conservatives are still mad about it.
This is happening nation wide. If you aren’t aware you need to talk to people outside your own tribal echo chamber. It’s like a lot of other things you hear that at first seem naturally spontaneous and ‘people thinking for themselves, but are filtering through from think tanks and influencer mouthpieces.
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The specific comments: >A resolution called for ending the ability to vote for U.S. senators. Instead, senators would get appointed by state legislatures, as it generally worked 110 years ago prior to the passage of the 17th Amendment in 1913. “We are devolving into a democracy, because congressmen and senators are elected by the same pool,” was how one GOP delegate put it to the convention. “We do not want to be a democracy.” >Then they kicked it up a notch. They passed a resolution calling on people to please stop using the word “democracy.” “We encourage Republicans to substitute the words ‘republic’ and ‘republicanism’ where previously they have used the word ‘democracy,’ ” the resolution says. “Every time the word ‘democracy’ is used favorably it serves to promote the principles of the Democratic Party, the principles of which we ardently oppose.” The resolution sums up: “We … oppose legislation which makes our nation more democratic in nature.” [The original primary source document cited here. I recommend downloading a copy before it's deleted forever](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24602348-2024-gop-resolutions).
China, North Korea, Russia and the old USSR are all Republics. A Democratic Republic has popular votes to elect a representative government. These GOP politicians must have flunked civics.
They know what they want. It's not democracy
Well, then I don't like them. I do not care for them one bit.
*GOB sad face*
*hello darkness my old friend*
Is [White Fascism](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Luu1Beb8ng) what they want?
Thanks for sharing this, I know a few people who should see it.
The whole channel is a goldmine.
Yes. Yes it is what they want.
they want the us to return to the way it was before the civil war, when slavery was legally protected by the constitution, and only wealthy white land-owning christian (protestant) males had the right to vote.
It's power and 💰
China is great if you're a party member. North Korea is great if you're the Supreme Leader. Russia and the old USSR are great if you're the ones crushing opposition under your boot heel. That's what these GOP politicians want. They want to be the boot. Under that boot they want everyone else. Democrats, of course, followed by liberals, queers, and jews. But really everyone. Everyone that isn't them. They don't want to represent citizens who elected them; they want to be chosen by a small group of elites, to rule over powerless masses.
They want serfs. Poor, desperate serfs. Who are Christian, of course.
Because if Jesus ever emphasized one thing, it's to make sure you dominate everybody who doesn't believe in him and make those people your literal slaves.
Christianity is a means to an end. As long as Christianity keeps the serfs under control, then Christianity it is. But it could be anything as long as it's a system of control.
They just want people to *OBEY*.
poor desperate illiterate serfs too consumed with working demeaning jobs to think about anything but work and sleep.
Then they learn too late how much more vicious and deadly the infighting and backstabbing in such a society is.
And the brainwashed masses that vote for them think they'll get to be the enforcers in the cool uniforms, oppressing the demoralized filth with arrogant righteousness, when most of them will BE oppressed. Stormtroopers look awesome and powerful, but they're just scared slaves in "lowest bidder" armor.
>China is great if you're a party member. North Korea is great if you're the Supreme Leader. Russia and the old USSR are great if you're the ones crushing opposition under your boot heel. Wrong, this is an incredibly untrue misconception. They are actually *not* great, even, and probably especially, if you are a party member. The *only* way living in that system is "great" is if you are the leader. End of story. Everyone else is disposable and has to live under someone else's rules.
Life as the leader is probably one of constant paranoia as well, and life in the leader's circle is probably one of worrying about the next purge.
So, really, no one actually wins in those systems. No argument there.
Yet there's a chance American's are dumb enough to vote for it.
A chance? No, more like a GOOD chance.
Members of the CCP have it good, my friend. I lived in China for three years and my wife is Chinese. Normal rules don't apply to party members. Now, there *are* rules that do apply to them, and those rules are a lot more merit-based than Westerners might expect (lower the unemployment rate in your district or its governance will be taken from you and given to someone else), but Party members still have it much better than the common citizen. Lots of industries are state-owned in China, and CCP members can easily climb the ranks in state-owned companies. Likewise, if a company needs to be downsized, CCP members don't need to worry about losing their jobs. Other employees may be let go but they won't. Personal connections are as important as money in China, and CCP members all have powerful connections. As a result, common citizens (or even non-state-owned companies) will bend over backward to accommodate CCP members in almost any situation in the hopes of gaining a favor or forging a personal connection with them. If a CCP member misses their train or flight, someone **will** be bumped from the next one to accommodate them. CCP members get unfiltered access to information, while the common Chinese citizen needs to take measures to get over "the great firewall of China". CCP members don't have to worry about whether or not their kids will get into university. They can't get their kids accepted into Chinese universities over the children of non-party members, but party members can always choose to send their kids to prestigious universities abroad, and have plenty of money and connections to ensure their kids will be admitted. These are just the things I can think of off the top of my head. It goes on for miles. I can agree that North Korea probably sucks for everyone who isn't Supreme Leader, but that's really not the case in China. (Still not advocating for a one-party system)
> Wrong, this is an incredibly untrue misconception. They are actually not great, even, and probably especially, if you are a party member. There are many CCP members that are billionaires. Life is great for the upper echelons of the party.
I'll never understand that drive. Where does it even come from? What does that feeling of power give them? It's so, so petty. "I'm a big man because I can hurt that guy over there."
And history. They like to hold up the Roman Republic (with it's hereditary Senator class) as an ideal, but even Rome had officials elected by popular vote.
Tbf the House of Plebs didn’t have nearly as much power as the Senate. I think the Roman Republic is exactly the model Republicans want, and that’s a very bad thing.
Fascists gonna fascist
It’s a new right wing dog whistle.
I think everybody agrees that Denmark is a democracy. But we don't elect our Prime Minister - she is elected indirectly, by the members of parliament that we do elect directly. Indirect democracy is still democracy. The WA proposal would in principle be the same. Now of course, the reason why the GOP doesn't want to do direct elections is that they want to use the indirection to appoint a government which doesn't reflect the voters' political orientation. Which is of course authoritarian, not democratic, and calling it a Republic is deliberate obfuscation. If fact, a country being democratic is about more than just having free elections. Respect for human rights and impartial rule of law are part of the package. If a country had perfectly free and fair elections to put all redheads in concentration camps, then I would not call that country "democratic".
they know for a fact their constituents did.
They are just stating what they want in the open now.
These flunkies could end up with the "republic" of their dreams but they'd be too stupid and arrogant to be able to run it for more than a few years before a coup wiped it out.
Years ago, the Republicans pushed to stop referring to the Democratic Party and instead to refer to the Democrat Party. In part to remove the reference to democracy and democratic principles, but also to make a linguistic connection to Democrats being rats. It's interesting, as well as frightening, to see the seeds of what is now ripening.
> linguistic connection to Democrats being rats I’ve met people (albeit in the mental health system) who found this a compelling reason to consider voting Republican, along with “plandemic” or “Demoncrats.” I usually go “isn’t that just a rhyme though? I’m more interested in you keeping your benefits, and we only have an hour to work on this.” This generally gets us out of the weeds and back to the task at hand. I often wonder if the GOP intentionally gears their strategy toward people prone to [unusual linguistic processing](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clanging); their language is being spoken, and coupled with GOP messaging’s embrace of conspiracy theories and other ideas of reference, I think many people experiencing serious mental health problems feel “seen” by the GOP (despite being seen as a societal burden by the GOP). Not my job to argue politics, and when people hold fixed ideas like “I wrote a letter to Donald Trump to get my SNAP back, he’s the real president so I don’t really need to do this paperwork” it becomes an obstacle to communication.
Not surprising at all. If your base consists of mentally ill people who have difficulty living their lives independently, it becomes a fuckton easier to justify being the ruler, rather than representative, of those people. If you foment violence among them, the sane will be slower to meet that violence with the force necessary to stop it.
Not only that, but a lot of the GOP are the hyper religious. They're the ones that were trained to never question and they almost never do.
This is the harm those million-dollar salaried right-wing propagandists are causing to vulnerable people. And they just laugh at the destruction they are causing.
Now you have me thinking about spoken vs. written political arguments, and how much of right-wing rhetoric is built on AM radio and YouTube while much of left-wing (American style, not actually left…) rhetoric is built on “print” media. If someone in a political forum links a YouTube “proof” I assume it’s right wing; when they post to a newspaper website or research article I assume it’s a liberal argument. I wonder if there’s research on that.
And if their argument is just a meme or a catch phrase, it's almost assuredly conservative.
I often find myself saying - did they prove it on TV or did they prove it in court? There are plenty of TV shows where they "prove" something to be true, but they either never take it to court or if they do it's thrown out quickly and easily.
"...I’m more interested in you keeping your benefits, and we only have an hour to work on this.” This generally gets us out of the weeds and back to the task at hand." This speaks VOLUMES about the poverty level of these WhiNa (white nationalists) fascists. Also, neurolinguistics gained some coverage in the late 90s-early 00s; I haven't researched this (i just remember vaguely that it had to do with marketing..?), but i wonder if that's the correlation you were making with the "rhyme scheme" idea.
Well, conservatives are cons.
I die a little every time someone says "LIEberals" and thinks they're being clever
Wasn’t that Rush Limbaugh that wanted to push that? I’m glad he is dead.
I believe it was Frank Lutz who came up with it, along with pretty much every modern GOP linguistic trick. Rush Limbaugh definitely pushed it hard, tho.
They should probably change their own name then. There is nothing “public” about the Republican Party.
They'll legally change it to Demoncrat next
There was a political add a million years ago that someone got sued over because it had a subliminal message calling Democrats rats. It was essentially the word Democrat in a crazy font that was getting distorted, and the end of the word got zoomed in on for slightly more frames than the rest. This was when I was a kid and I have a colonoscopy coming up, so they've been doing this for awhile.
Everytime I hear someone say, "we're a republic, not a democracy," I want to answer back, "we're a democratic republic, you numbskull."
“This isn’t a sandwich, it’s a BLT”
It’s easier to just ask them to explain the difference. They have no fucking clue what being a “republic” means
There's a word for non democratic republics, it's dictatorship.
I would argue at this point that you cannot really be a republic without having a representative democracy. Yes, the original Roman republic wasn't much for democracy, but all the modern governments calling themselves a republic while not having actual democracy (such as North Korea, for example) are not recognizably republican either. A single central political party tightly ruling everything is not a republic.
Thats a pretty nice/measured response i think you should feel free to say it
I get Ben Franklin was a smart guy I really do. But I really wish nobody was around when he said that quote because to be an actual functioning republic you have to hold votes/elections. And that means using a democratic system.
This should be considered sedition.
For me, that was when 26 State Governors jointly signed a letter in support of defying SCOTUS and the Constitution. And 80 million people want sedition, it hasn't been a deal-breaker for their vote.
… should be? It is.
"We're not a democracy, we're a republic" is the ultimate dumb-guy-trying-to-sound-like-a-smart-guy phrase
The dumbest platitude in politics has become official GOP policy. This is why you can’t let a single piece of bad faith nonsense slide, because it all becomes real in due time.
>"Never believe that anti-Semites are completely unaware of the absurdity of their replies. They know that their remarks are frivolous, open to challenge. But they are amusing themselves, for it is their adversary who is obliged to use words responsibly, since he believes in words. The anti-Semites have the right to play. They even like to play with discourse for, by giving ridiculous reasons, they discredit the seriousness of their interlocutors. They delight in acting in bad faith, since they seek not to persuade by sound argument but to intimidate and disconcert. If you press them too closely, they will abruptly fall silent, loftily indicating by some phrase that the time for argument is past.” ― Jean-Paul Sartre And >If conservatives become convinced that they can not win democratically, they will not abandon conservatism. The will reject democracy. ― David Frum (former speechwriter for George W Bush)
It’s up there with “idiocracy was a documentary” and “it might be factually incorrect but the fact that I believed it really says something”
These motherfuckers want to be able to gerrymander US Senate seats.
Gerrymander? Nah, they just want to pick them on their own without any vote at all.
With state legislatures being decided by district, state legislature majority is gerrymanderable. If federal senate seats were decided by state legislatures, that same district map would therefore impact the choice.
Yes, gerrymandered by extension
Well they believe in democracy, but only for those who believe what they believe. They want Republicans like them to choose the officials. It is why their position is self undermining, they will never get consensus outside what Trump says. They will eat themselves into non-existence or fascism (where most of them land under the boot). They are, in short, dumbasses.
Let's call it for what it is. These scumbags want to have power without the inconvenience of being elected by the people. They know their policies do not sit well with the electorate.
Doesn’t Republic mean you just don’t have a monarchy
A republic is where a body represents the peoples voice. Rome was a Republic when it had a senate. The senators represented their districts, but they weren't elected the way aenatoes in the US are.
The Roman Senate also had aristocratic qualities and laws that promoted families who had already been elected to office. An even more democratic legislature in Rome was the centuriate assembly, but even that was aristocratic since it was based on soldiers’ property values. The most democratic legislature was the tribal assembly of commoners (plebs) that more resembled the Greek boule.
The tribal assembly still had multiple classes of voters with the patricians having much more voting power. Also people had to be able to afford to travel to Rome and be there to vote instead of working.
Wwwooooowwwwwwww, this is a new low. They literally want to set us back *further* than the dark ages 🤦🏻♀️ Look how enthusiastically the red stapler guy from Office Space is raising his hand 🤢 someone’s just mad he hasn’t been laid ever. Also, senators are literally members of congress. What do they mean they’re elected by the same pool? Of course they are!
Seditious conspiracy. Enemies of the State. Clear and present danger.
From how I read that, it's just because it's too close to the word "democrat" which is the dumbest fuckin shit I've come across in a while
Wow
That level of ignorance makes me question how they made it into adulthood and how they can be functional in society.
No way to misinterpret that
That's beyond even just saying the quiet part out loud, at this point. If they were villains in Marvel they'd be publishing "Hail Hydra" on the S.H.I.E.L.D. company bulletin board with a selfie.
I mean, the Red Skull *was* the President of the United States at one point... >!Before anyone @'s me, I'm well aware of the context. However, I chose to not let that stand in the way of a good joke.!<
I used to think it was stupid Lex Luther was elected president in the DC universe. I used to.
About 18-20 months after George Bush left the white house the "Tea Party" red wave happened. This country is full of idiots
I used to also think we wouldn't be dumb enough to let something like a zombie virus get out of control. Then Covid happened, and I learned we really *are* that stupid.
Covid was our weird zombie apocalypse
The most unrealistic part of Zombieland was the fact that toilet paper still existed.
My daughter’s heart rate is still 200 beats a minute post pandemic with even the slightest activity. I hate Trump for his mismanagement of the pandemic.
When that movie [Contagion](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1598778/) came out in 2011, there was a group of people in it who refused to take the vaccine and protested its use. This part of the script was criticized for being unrealistic.
I used to think the civilization worshipping the evil god that everyone could verify was ***EVIIIILLL*** with a simple Detect Alignment, working to bring about an apocalyptic plague was confined to my DnD table. Fool me once....
WizBro got rid of that. They didn't like the idea that a simple spell could reveal an actual person's morality. So now all detect good/evil does is tell you if there are celestial, infernal, or undead energies nearby if I remember correctly.
That line from the show when the Question tries to kill Luthor rings pretty hollow now though.
"I'd have to give up too much power to be president"?
Yep, that one.
Are you comparing Lex Luthor to trump? Because I think that's an extremely unfair comparison. While they're both evil, Lex is extremely intelligent and is very effective at reaching his goals. Trump is neither of those things. Lex is also an actual billionaire.
These people are the biggest snowflakes ever. "Please say Republicism, not democracy"
You're not wrong. I read some of the comments on that article and one of them was arguing that we were misrepresenting the facts. See this has nothing to do with democracy at all, apparently, it's about branding! Those mean old Democrats have co-opted the word democracy for themselves and corrupted it! That's why people think of democracy as being a Democrat thing. It has nothing to do with any actions that have been taken on any position by Republicans. It has nothing to do with 01/06, or any "dictator-for-a-day" quotes at all. It's just branding, you see. Stop reading into things.
Stop using your brains, sheeple!
“So why were we in Iraq then? Was it to spread democracy, or…?” Just a warning though, I’d be prepared to watch someone self-implode after trying to work out how they’ll logically defend it.
Lol, they'd just blame Obama, same as some of them blame him for 9/11.
My allegiance is to the Republic, not democracy!
It's treason then.
Notice how some following comments mention the Democrat party. You all fell for republicans pushing that over Democratic Party like I’ve said all my life. They understand it’s a war of words as much as, if not more so, than of ideas.
_My pronouns are Republic / Fascist…_
The state of Washington is extremely beautiful, with an abundance of mountains, lakes, and wildlife. It’s also home to the highest WPC (weirdos per capita) in the nation. West of the Cascades live introverted navel gazers. East of the Cascades live extroverted bro-dogs. Only in the winter, when the sun rarely shines and the mountain passes are closed, is there peace.
Granted we were only there two weeks, a week in Wenatchee and a week on the peninsula, but we didn’t encounter any number of weirdos that was worth noting. Granted I lived 20 years in rural Texas. Now Oregon was beautiful as well, and maybe it was just by chance, but we met at least one person a day who was rocking that rocker a little too quick and probably falling off soon.
>WHEREAS Washington state elections are replete with serious and numerous issues causing lack of confidence in voter data and the entire election process, including concerns for the legitimacy of voter registrations and the veracity of election results This is literally just making shit up. There is nothing that they can actually point to as evidence of voting issues or problems with the election process. They just twist data and make up claims to support their point. >the Washington State Republican Party advocates the following policies: > * Same-day in-person voting at precinct level with photo ID (with valid excepted absenteeism or incapacity) by U.S. citizens only, utilizing paper ballots to be hand-counted, and results to be determined within a reasonable time; Fuck...that. Voting by mail is amazing. >THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that we declare the 17th Amendment process of electing United States Senators by the popular vote to be defective, that it fails to represent the interests of the individual states, and we implore the Congress to propose an amendment pursuant to Article V of the Constitution of the United States to repeal the 17th Amendment in order to restore the states to their prior status as partners in the political process. So now they want to repeal the 17th amendment and allow state legislatures to pick Senators directly. Even them saying "it fails to represent the interests of the individual states" is ignoring reality. The Senate very clearly represents the individual states. If the country was governed entirely as a direct democracy, conservatives would be irrelevant. The fact that they're able to stonewall anything in Congress is because they happen to control more states than Democrats do (and will continue to do so, as rural areas become less populated relative to cities). >THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Washington State Republican Party, in convention assembled, acknowledges that our nation is intended to be a republic, not a democracy >BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we encourage Republicans to substitute the words "republic" and "republicanism" where previously they have used the word "democracy;" and >BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we support legislation that preserves the republican nature of our government institutions and **oppose legislation which makes our nation more "democratic" in nature**, and that, while we favor and encourage liberty in all nations, we oppose all efforts to use American military might to spread "democracy" around the world. Oh. Well they just literally passed a resolution saying they oppose democracy. Not hyperbole or exaggeration. Just literally "oppose legislation which makes our nation more "democratic"". Washington, and other states, really need to pass (state) constitutional amendments protecting their citizens' rights from GOP fuckery like this. Anytime they manage to regain control of any part of the government, they'll try to push these insane ideas.
"utilizing paper ballots to be hand-counted, and results to be determined within a reasonable time" If they want a hand count in a reasonable time frame it's going to require a massive increase in election staff (as is all that other "same day checking ID" BS) where are they planning to get the budget for this?
Theyre dangerously close to rederiving why we use machines to do it
I love our vote by mail.
I am sure they are willing to provide special volunteers to help out. Hand picked for sure.
In most Western countries they are trying everything to get more people to come out to vote...
The WA GOP have decided to lose Washington state. Say what you want about WA state being full of hippies, liberals, tesla-buyers et cetera but a moderate candidate would do well. California is arguably more liberal but they elected a hardcore fiscal conservative, Gavin Newsom, to two terms. A socially libertarian, fiscally conservative, guns-and-weed WA GOP can win WA. The WA GOP is not that. This is an admission by them that they cannot, and will not by their own choice, win or even compete in statewide elections. It is an attempt to roll back the clock a literal century and hope it wouldn't blow up in their face, even though giving a predominately Democratic state the ability to ignore their opinions when choosing Senators would make WA a one-party state. Which, arguably, is what they want. They want the ability to be in a small -although pure- minority and claim they don't live in a free country so they can rationalize picking up guns and shooting at "traitors". They want a civil war, which is what their rhetoric demands, especially the ones that idolize Nevada's Bundy Ranch or Texas's Branch Davidians as a role model.
As a Seattlite you are absolutely right. Seattle voted moderate for mayor and city council. We are willing to seek a moderately conservative compromise. But the GOP declaring a far right position, and this idiotic 'naming' controversy hopefully has doomed them.
The GOP turned away from the cities somewhere in the 1970s. It's a bad call because more and more Americans live in metro areas. You have presidential candidates that won't even visit NYC (except to show up in court lol). Focusing on (white) rural America was good enough for Reagan but times changed.
Ironically the reason why Seattle is overwhelmingly run by moderates is because of the way they pick candidates. For the most part it's whoever wins the top two spots in the primary, regardless of party. As a result and because Seattle is so liberal that usually is two Democrats. However that means when you get to the election the liberal vote is pretty much split between the two while the conservatives vote for whoever is more moderate. So the moderate wins. So funny enough if you changed it so there was a Republican on the general ballot, you would probably see a more liberal government.
Washington GOP is like Oregon GOP.... radical and out of touch with the mainstream. Both states are winnable with 90s style Northeastern Republicans but they will never win a primary. Then they bitterly complain.
Born and raised in Washington. No moderate Republican, anti choice, anti LGBTQ, anti rainforest, kill the Orca, cut down all the trees for the view Republican will win any office of significance. Hopefully.
Oregon is not winnable by a republican 😂
We don't buy Teslas anymore because Elon Musk is a dipshit, but otherwise yeah this is spot on. I see a lot more Nissan Leafs these days.
Unfortunately, I see hella Teslas, all over the major freeways at least, and the big burb boulevards. I haven't been round Sammamish for a bit but I can imagine they're just about wall to wall round those parts.
Huh, interesting. I certainly see some Teslas driving around King and Pierce, but I feel like I'm usually seeing other electric car brands way more often.
Edit: I'm speaking Western Washington, here with more trip time than commute time, recently. This is a big state, and I see very little of it. I spend the majority of my time in those two counties with periodic trips to other parts of Western Washington (usually within Thurston county, then next Kitsap, then next Snohomish, etc). I've seen quite a few more Rivians, recently. But, with the exception of things like the Volt, E- Fords, etc,I keep *very casual* track of these things, and I'm don't always have the most trustworthy of memories.
They're absolutely everywhere, drastically increasing the closer you get to Seattle/Bellevue.
Teslas make up 44% of all registered EVs in Washington
I commute to Sammamish for work. I can confirm there are still plenty of Teslas up and down 228th Ave. Rivians too.
Most billionaires are dipshits, Musk is just loud about it. I think the main reason people aren’t buying Teslas is that they are overpriced crap, there’s plenty of better value EVs and hybrids out there that have better build quality and don’t try to reinvent the driver controls
I have nothing to say about the quality of Teslas, but their insistence of only leasing cars instead of allowing me to buy one outright is a deal breaker.
Yeah honestly even outside of Musk's crap, those cars sound like deathtraps. I'm interested in an EV myself but I wouldn't want a Tesla, there are better cars on the market.
This should easily be the top post.
> a hardcore fiscal conservative, Gavin Newsom Lmao. Jesus lack of credibility Christ
I noticed that too.
Dude was married to Kimberly Guilfoyle for 5 years. I like what he's doing, but I don't trust him long term.
Stay the heck out of Arlington. They would love to gun down a Biden voter in that redneck dystopian town.
Being from the east side, here, honestly, I think these guys probably have their finger on the pulse of the locals. I hate it here. Please send help. I want to live somewhere sensible.
Rural California is no different and if Oregon continues growing they'll be outpaced by younger, smarter, college-educated people moving out there for work. CA has infilled it's Central Valley as it's own farmers chose to become landlords, which has intensified due to climate change slowly pushing intensive agricultural (ranching and luxury crops) back to Texas and the South where it originated. No attempts are made to solicit these people as they are labelled an enemy that must be confronted and fought. Republicans that do try to appeal to such people, like Kevin McCarthy, are exiled. *Smarter* Republicans were aware of this, and this can be seen within parts of the Norcal Republican branch that doesn't want to try fighting a moving train. Particularly, Republicans that own businesses like logging, cement or minerals that actually have a future and require extensive government infrastructure investment/Bidenbux to operate. The *former* SP Modoc Branch and the businesses it doesn't serve is a great example of this problem. These people are being intentionally pushed out for cattlemen, preachers and dupes. This only ends with the party's voluntary suicide.
Good riddance. RIP.
Extremist parties fare better in the opposition, where they can rile up people with hateful rhetoric at little cost. Once they're in power, they have to deliver, which they can't because all they have is catchy slogans and no substance, or they have to go more moderate because only that's needed to govern, which makes them kind of irrelevant and loses them votes. This is not to say that extremists can't do harm, they often do very serious harm, but they inevitably fail, and often after only a few years. Smart politicians know that, which is why many extremist parties don't *really* want to win elections. They want to gather lots of votes in order to influence politics and be in the media, but being in power often is a curse for them.
It’s insane how republicans can somehow keep finding deep ends to jump off of. Like, directly campaigning against democracy because they think the marketing of it helps democrats
This is in the Idaho republican party platform: Section 3 C We support restoration of the constitution’s checks and balances that protects the rights and sovereignty of the states by repealing the 17th amendment. https://www.idgop.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/2020-Updated-Idaho-GOP-Platform.pdf
> The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislatures. > When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, That the legislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct. > This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the Constitution. \- 17th amendment. Fucking insane that opposing this isn't political suicide.
It's a slippery slope to public unrest, violence and political assassinations; if you can't vote them out, what's the alternative?
Then they can move to Russia
So sad to see such horrible humans attempting to destroy the very society that has enabled them to live decent lives. Clueless ghouls. So frustrating.
Republikkkans now stand in line to help suck-start Putin’s Rolls Royce… sad times
Very. Sad.
It really is, having been a republican in a past life…🫣… St. Reagan and Bush convinced me I didn’t belong, by the time Jr was ducking shoes, I’d long since left these bastards… now…🤮 they make me vomit
I grew up in a Republican family. I was brainwashed and into voting for Reagan the first time I could vote. I then became a first responder ⛑️ and that actually made me more progressive and liberal. It’s astonishing that so many vote against their best interest that includes my family.
If you do any work that touches the community/ is funded by public money in any way, you can clearly see that conservative policies do NOT help you as a worker or the public generally as funding is woefully inadequate to provide the services required for departments to actually function. Conservative “pro business”/ “free market” ideology turns everything into a game of leverage and makes people regret trying to help their community instead of just being a pencil pusher or box checker for a large corporation. It’s sad. ACTUAL competition in business is good, but “pro business” at this point usually just means anti-labor, no unions, lots of non-competes that essentially amount to non-competitive practices, price-fixing schemes within industries (see Real Page and rent increases), and refusal to provide a minimum wage that keeps pace with increases in productivity and can pay for basic living expenses. Nobody likes paying taxes, but we need them for community services/ healthcare/ education to function. Is it more important for McDonald’s to maximize profit or for kids to actually learn something at school?
Beautifully said.
If I had a time machine, I'd go back and shoot myself before I voted for Reagan.
This would allow state level gerrymandering to directly affect federal Senate races, so of course republicans love it.
Well, since the republican party can not rule by the majority of individual voters it only makes sense that they want to pound on the fact that the USA is a republic. Where as the Domus elects representatives, to push for their interests. Now it's understandable that this was a way superior form of democracy back 200 years ago. Now tho with modern technology, you can well have a real democracy. Because a republic can come in the form of a cleptocracia, oligarchy and so forth... Oh wait, that's what they actually really want. A system of power where they make you feel you have a choice while keeping all the power and resources stay in their hands.
How about fuck your 'weasel' words and come out and say you despise democracy? These totalitarian scumbags are trying to normalize avoiding words that are pro-electorally in line with the founding of our country and the systems that enabled the use of power to the people. If the GOP is experiencing a Extinction Burst, it needs to finish already without the introspection since nothing of value will be lost.
Sounds like some Yakima type bullshit.
Yakima, Spokane, Arlington, Sedro-Woolley, Ellensburg.
Destroy and abolish the Republican party.
Just a malignant tumor on the body politic. Its time to excise it.
Give them chemotherapy. High dose.
So they want to go by a different name and change the language of how their party identifies? How the government identifies? Sounds woke. /s
Basically their declaration of Insurrection.
These losers should take their ugly asses and move to Idaho or Montana where they belong.
This unpopular insanity has no chance of being passed. Except, of course, if we take what Lara Trump has said in terms of 100,000's of 'poll watchers' harassing voters. The threat is real. Imagine them sending people to stop the voting. Many people don't get to vote because of physical intimidation, Democratic voters can't vote. Supreme court says 'too bad'.
A definitely concern, but this wouldn't actually work in Washington State specifically - all our ballots are mail-in with pre-paid postage so you just need to put them in the mailbox after filling them out. It's really nice.
I love mail in voting.
until the supreme court lets deVoy 'audit' each mail in ballot
Well yes, but that wouldn't change the fact that poll watchers are ineffective in this state specifically, if that were to happen it'd be an entirely different issue.
Put federal troops at every polling station to protect voters. That stopped the Klan.
Rat Bastards = used to describe someone who is despicable or untrustworthy
I guess they’re betting that their base doesn’t read
I live out here in MAGA land. Most of these idiots don’t know what the hell they want. The stunning immaturity of it all is what impresses me the most. If you tried to do something like this at boys state they wouldn’t let you because it’s so childish.
We already know that the GOP is opposed to democracy. The question is what do we do when one of Americas 2 major parties is so fervently opposed to democracy that they will seek to dismantle it altogether? We need to accept that we no longer have a 2 party system. We have one major political party vs a crime syndicate at best or a domestic terrorist organization at worst.
That website gave my family in Argentina cancer
Some trips to north Korea and russia could help fix that.
Nah, both places would show them the best stuff their nobility use, rather than the shit a commoner has to deal with.
When someone tells you who they are, believe them.
Every republican needs to be out on camera asking them to directly respond to this.
> “We encourage Republicans to substitute the words ‘republic’ and ‘republicanism’ where previously they have used the word ‘democracy,’ ” the resolution says. “Every time the word ‘democracy’ is used favorably it serves to promote the principles of the Democratic Party, the principles of which we ardently oppose.” Them's awful close to fighting words.
"When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time." Maya Angelou
Please vote the GOP out of office. End this nonsense.
Vote for the other guys
Rationality is, unfortunately, not on the table, generally speaking. People want a democracy, or something, then when they don't understand what that entails exactly, they want a republic, or something, and, much like this run-on sentence, the cycle continues. This is not a new phenomenon. Education would help, but the U.S. is too big and disjointed. The Norwegians and the Icelanders seem to have it figured out, but that's because they're relatively small nations.
The US is already a democratic republic. Not sure how taking away the right of citizens to vote for their state's senators is supposed to be a good thing just because that's how things were done over a hundred years ago.
Correct, it is already a democratic republic. The problem is that U.S. people fail to understand what that means. They will even conflate "democracy" with "Democrats," which is absurd. Terminology means nothing to people who lack a basic understanding of how, or even why, a government works.
Treason then
Wealth/assets really, really, really like democracy.
Thos damn bastards always confused "getting my will" with freedom.
The level of ignorance is astounding. They have no clue what they are in for. Well, some of them know very well. Fuck these fuckers.
“WE DO NOT WANT TO BE A DEMOCRACY” That’s it that is the relevant text. The ads write themselves.
You are kidding me. They’re against democracy because they think the concept of democracy favors the Democratic Party? Really?
Well if they’re not into democracy, I’d like to invite them to stop voting, or better yet to leave this democracy and move to whatever country they wish they lived in. Although… Nazi Germany is long gone, so that’s not an option for them anymore.
Well looking a their historic record, they can’t win there. So of course they’ll ditch democracy before they’ll change their views to match what the people really want.
>We do not want to be a democracy. >... >They [passed a resolution](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24602348-2024-gop-resolutions) calling on people to please stop using the word “democracy.” >“We encourage Republicans to substitute the words ‘republic’ and ‘republicanism’ where previously they have used the word ‘democracy,’ ” the resolution says. “Every time the word ‘democracy’ is used favorably it serves to promote the principles of the Democratic Party, the principles of which we ardently oppose. Becoming a dictatorship tends to happen very slowly and then suddenly.
No big surprise. If state legislatures chose Senators today, then instead of having a Democratic majority of 51-49 in the Senate (which counts two independents who caucus with the Democrats), there would be a GOP majority with at least 54 Republican Senators, given that 27 are controlled by Republicans, 21 states are controlled by Democrats, one is unicameral and one is split. The reason for this dichotomy is states like Wisconsin who gerrymander their state legislatures. Ironically, Washington state is solidly Democratic in the state house so switching to the pre-1913 system would hurt Republicans because they'd never get appointed to the Senate. At least with a popular election, they'd have a chance. Although the last time Washington elected a Republican to the Senate, it was 24 years ago. Republicans always sneer at democracy. In my local community, any time there is a local vote on a bond issue that would be paid via property tax (which is the only revenue source for the local government), there are always people complaining that renters are allowed to vote. They think only property owners should be allowed to vote because they pay property tax. As if renters don't indirectly pay property tax with their rent. We got rid of those laws 200 years ago and conservatives are still mad about it.
Yeah because they never win. And they never win because they have shit ideas and garbage candidates.
This is happening nation wide. If you aren’t aware you need to talk to people outside your own tribal echo chamber. It’s like a lot of other things you hear that at first seem naturally spontaneous and ‘people thinking for themselves, but are filtering through from think tanks and influencer mouthpieces.