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PaperclipPerfector  2d ago (text post)   14535 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of January 20, 2025

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That works with bullies because it's a single person who you can hurt to get them to stop hurting you. In this case it's more like you're fighting a crowd of people, and to hurt them hurts yourself just as much. It's stupid to fight under those terms.

hurt them hurts yourself just as much

...no? No, it doesn't.

(I'm dimly reminded of a lynch mob trying to fall upon someone, only to have them pull out a gun and have said lynch mob descend into a horde of individuals. When was that...)

Again, we've tried the entire 'be a bigger man' tactics of politics. The past two to three decades have been a demonstration of the GOP 'taking the higher road' or 'loosing gracefully'.

While we're not out of those woods yet, there seems to be some light coming from behind the trees. And thank goodness for that.

I'm dimly reminded of a lynch mob trying to fall upon someone, only to have them pull out a gun and have said lynch mob descend into a horde of individuals. When was that...

A scene in huckleberry Finn.

This was more recent, and an example on one of the Firearm forums I frequent about how brandishing a firearm can be a complicated and thorny legal act.

But, yes, I suppose that applies as well.

The past two to three decades have been a demonstration of the GOP 'taking the higher road' or 'loosing gracefully'.

Are you joking? They absolutely have not been that. The GOP has been fighting every bit as dirty as their opponents. To paraphrase the old quote about Christianity, acting right hasn't been tried and found wanting, it has been found difficult and not tried.

You can point to examples of the GOP doing things that qualify, I’m sure?

McCain and Romeny both were both broadly regarded as highly moral and above-the-board fellows able to rise above mere partisanship, at least outside of the period of their presidential campaigns at which point they were warmongering sexist racists. Afterwards they were once again respected statesmen, at least as long as they criticized Republicans.

Mitch McConnell was dead set against a president being able to nominate a supreme court justice during his lame duck period... right up until it was Trump doing said nominating. It was basically impossible for a significant chunk of Obama's first term to avoid hearing Republicans accusing Obama of not being a US citizen, when there is zero chance they would fight so vociferously against someone on their side.

I never said that the Democrats are perfect angels who act morally and have the people's interests at heart. Nothing could be further from the truth. But they are not the only ones who fight dirty in politics and are willing to break norms of good behavior. Anyone who claims that the past 20 years has been a pattern of the Democrats misbehaving as the Republicans try to take the high ground is woefully misinformed at best, and more likely is a partisan hypocrite.

Trump did not nominate any Supreme Court justice in his lame duck period.

Meh. I remember McCain's and Romney's lame-ass campaigns, and I'm surely not the only one.

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