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2021 Political Thread

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Looking at where this country was the day DT took office to where it is now...
Senate in Jan 2017... GOP 54 - Dem 46
House in Jan 2017... GOP 241 - Dem 194
Executive in Jan 2017... Republican Trump

Senate in Jan 2021...Dem 50 - GOP 50 Dem has deciding vote with tie
House in Jan 2021... Dem 222 - GOP 212
Executive in Jan 2021... Democrat Biden
Trump's leadership and the dissension he fostered has singlehandedly taken down the Repub Party. It wasn't any great leadership from the Dems... it was his total lack of leadership and blatant disregard for the democratic Constitutional principles this country was founded on that has put the Repubs in a hole that may take years to climb out of if ever.
 
ghost said:
Looking at where this country was the day DT took office to where it is now...
Senate in Jan 2017... GOP 54 - Dem 46
House in Jan 2017... GOP 241 - Dem 194
Executive in Jan 2017... Republican Trump

Senate in Jan 2021...Dem 50 - GOP 50 Dem has deciding vote with tie
House in Jan 2021... Dem 222 - GOP 212
Executive in Jan 2021... Democrat Biden
Trump's leadership and the dissension he fostered has singlehandedly taken down the Repub Party. It wasn't any great leadership from the Dems... it was his total lack of leadership and blatant disregard for the democratic Constitutional principles this country was founded on that has put the Repubs in a hole that may take years to climb out of if ever.
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I'm not sure how the Repubs will be able to shake off the Trump stink going forward, it's not a great spot for the party to be in. There's a sizeable portion of the base that they could lose if they go full anti-Trump, and a portion of people they'll lose if they don't distance themselves from Trump. Their best hope is that the left continues its march too far left, and a good Republican candidate comes along.
 
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Jacob said:
Lets just go ahead and fan those flames while we are at it.

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Shows how politicians get taken by misinformation just like normal people. It's obviously true the Capitol Police dropped the ball but the rioters weren't let in. The clip going around that seems to show that was clipped to distort what actually happened and other clips show they were retreating after being overrun.

That said, it's also true some of the Capitol Police was at times extremely friendly with the mob and also true that Trump had the federal government react one way to protesters during the summer in DC while outright refusing to give the order to bring in the DC guard yesterday.

It's also notable that Trump pulled Chad Wolf's nomination last night after having just re-submitted it to the Senate on Sunday. The DHS response yesterday also seemed slow and I think Wolf ended up having to work around Trump to get Pence's sign-off just like DoD did. Could be wrong but something went wrong and Wolf spoke out today harshly against Trump and he's someone I never would have expected to do so.

It's not a perfect comment from Harris but there was a very disparate reaction yesterday versus what occurred during the summer in DC. I believe all political violence and mob activity should be handled equally. For that reason I largely have no issue with what Harris said. Have to remember she was in the Senate Chamber yesterday when all this took place.

Speaking of politicians...how is Mo Brooks not locked away in Brice right now? The man is rather obviously a delusional nutjob. Remember when some of us thought he might be a reasonable alternative to Roy Moore? Big time yikes for me on that one. I obviously didn't know Mo well enough and I won't make that mistake again.
 
Evan said:
More on the lady shot and killed when people broke into the Capitol. Unfortunately it seems like she was a victim of conspiracy-mongering as well. Just sad. All this fake reality created simply for political advantage. Our society is really unhealthy.

www.thedailybeast.com

Vet Was Climbing Through Window When She Was Shot: Witnesses

The woman, identified by her husband as Ashli Babbitt, is said to have tweeted that “the storm is here” ahead of the violent breach of the Capitol Building.
www.thedailybeast.com www.thedailybeast.com
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I may sound crass. The police were protecting those in the building, she knew better than trying to breach that area. The police had no idea what her intentions were. I didn’t want anyone to die but she (with her military credentials) knew better than to try and breach a federal building. She lost her life due to bad choices.
The riots and violence this summer (that I’m sure this woman and others in her group had an opinion) were wrong but Wednesdays mess was just as wrong!
The Dems and Repubs that haven’t spoke out against either are a bunch of hypocrites.
People that act this way don’t care about whatever cause they are protesting, they’re spun up on rhetoric by trouble makers!!
 
Lori said:
I may sound crass. The police were protecting those in the building, she knew better than trying to breach that area. The police had no idea what her intentions were. I didn’t want anyone to die but she (with her military credentials) knew better than to try and breach a federal building. She lost her life due to bad choices.
The riots and violence this summer (that I’m sure this woman and others in her group had an opinion) were wrong but Wednesdays mess was just as wrong!
The Dems and Repubs that haven’t spoke out against either are a bunch of hypocrites.
People that act this way don’t care about whatever cause they are protesting, they’re spun up on rhetoric by trouble makers!!
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I don't think it's crass. It's just the simple truth. My words were probably less than clear when I said she was a victim of the conspiracy-mongering. I said that because the politicians, social media stars, and the President all clearly know the impact of their heated rhetoric and conspiracy-mongering yet they have kept inciting these people for months. A mother with four young children had no business breaking into a government building and rioting. My sadness over the situation is largely due to the agony and pain her poor children will now endure due to her criminal activities. That and the unfortunate fact that a Capitol Police officer was forced to use deadly force, which I'm virtually certain he didn't want to have to do, but he was left with little choice.

Violence has no place in our political system on either side. Period. I also agree with you about the hypocrisy of this past summer set alongside the events of yesterday. People have got to learn to calm themselves down and act like a productive member of society.

Lashing out with violence because you're frustrated is something we teach toddlers not to do when they're very little. An adult shouldn't have to be taught that it's wrong to damage/destroy property, attack people and the police, and riot in the streets. They KNOW it is wrong. They use the propaganda and misleading arguments they hear as justification for their actions.

Plenty of Christians participated in the violence at the Capitol and even in the summer rioting. I'd love for them to show me where the Bible says their actions are in any way justified. They're simply not justifiable. They are sinful and criminal actions deserving of punishment under our legal system. God's punishment is for him to decide.

A 42 yo Capitol Police officer was also murdered by the mob. Yet the mob and others are still celebrating what took place yesterday and glorifying it.
 
Channel 48 WAFF just had a live interview with Mo Brooks and he was grinning and smiling through the first part of his interview when asked if his remarks to the crowd of rioters had a part in inciting them to storm the Capitol. He blamed Antifa and said not to rush to judgement on those who attacked our government. I hope they put it up on their website you can see it for yourself. I think I voted for the guy the first time he ran... I repent of that misguided action on my part
 
ghost said:
Channel 48 WAFF just had a live interview with Mo Brooks and he was grinning and smiling through the first part of his interview when asked if his remarks to the crowd of rioters had a part in inciting them to storm the Capitol. He blamed Antifa and said not to rush to judgement on those who attacked our government. I hope they put it up on their website you can see it for yourself. I think I voted for the guy the first time he ran... I repent of that misguided action on my part
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Is it this one?
https://www.waff.com/2021/01/08/exclusive-interview-with-congressman-mo-brooks-after-unrest-capitol/
 
I read Trump's last 2 tweets before they banned him and I think they stretched too far with their reasoning. As you all know I am not a Trump fan and believe he definitely fanned the fires of insurrection against the Constitutional government of the country he was entrusted to lead, but I see no reason for his censorship over those tweets he was punished for.
 
ghost said:
I read Trump's last 2 tweets before they banned him and I think they stretched too far with their reasoning. As you all know I am not a Trump fan and believe he definitely fanned the fires of insurrection against the Constitutional government of the country he was entrusted to lead, but I see no reason for his censorship over those tweets he was punished for.
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I tend to agree. They banned him for what he was about to say. Not saying I think that's a good idea per se but it was pretty clear he was getting ready to disavow his repudiation of the Capitol rioters. We've seen this many times such as in the Access Hollywood tape situation or in relation to Charlottesville. He gets backed into a corner and is forced to say something he doesn't believe, he stews on it, and then he eventually disavows what he originally said. I don't think Twitter wanted to wait for that to play out.

I think Twitter was worried they'd be blamed or held liable for when Trump eventually disavowed that he ever repudiated the rioters and then whipped up a new mob to head to D.C.

It's a dangerous game Big Tech is playing but I've yet to see any sensible proposals that have any real chance at changing the current status quo.

Quite honestly, Twitter had more than sufficient evidence for Trump's repeated violation of their rules but they held off on doing anything because of his elected office. They were going to suspend him either the second he left office or the first time he violated the rules after leaving office.

The way I look at it is that Twitter simply wasn't honest in their explanation. They are claiming those two Tweets were a violation but as you said that's a real stretch. They should've just been honest and explained that he's broken the rules dozens of times, he started showing signs he was going to disavow his repudiation of the mob, and that they didn't want that to occur on their platform.

I think that still would've attracted a lot of heat but at least they'd have been honest. The other alternative was to say he's going to be suspended until after the inauguration if he posts anything praising or condoning the rioters. We all know he wouldn't have been able to help himself and he'd have done exactly what they told him not to. Boom. Suspended until Biden is inaugurated. Lift the suspension once the inauguration is over and make it clear the protections he was afforded as a US Government officeholder no longer apply. He'd have caught a permanent suspension within 24-72 hours.

We do have a problem with Big Tech monopolies and a lack of honest free-market competition. But, that's nowhere near the immediate issue that this week's violence is. Nonetheless, Republicans are going to use Trump's suspension as a pivot point away from the Capitol riots. You can already see this happening on social media. They are desperately trying to shift the focus of the country and the political discourse away from the violence that many of them (intentionally or unintentionally) egged on.

The other attempt to pivot is to claim that any attempt to impeach and remove Trump is divisive and incites his supporters. It's a really preposterous claim considering they just spent two months lying to the public and fomenting rage by claiming the election was stolen. That was truly unifying behavior wasn't it? As was objecting to the electoral college certification and acceptance in Congress. Yet another behavior that was not at all about unifying the country or turning down the temperature.

Let's face it, the riots at the Capitol did not change the heavy partisanship and disingenuous hackery coming out of D.C. that much at all. You have a handful who do seem changed, but for the rest of them as soon as the shock wore off they were back to the same mentality and behavior that brought us Trump and brought us the riots.
 
I think they also banned him for stuff he said over the last few years. They did ban him for what was about to happen, at least according to the statement they put out. Remember they have access to his DMs.
 
I’m not a Trump fan at all but there is a scary tone to this censorship AND hypocrisy.
The tone is reminiscent to what us Cold War kids heard about communism!
Hypocrisy in the fact so much similar rhetoric was used by various politicians and celebrities during the violent riots of the summer.
Riots of violence are NEVER okay whether it’s about politics or race!!
I can’t tell how many times I (a conservative Republican) wanted Trump to STFU on social media but if he’s not inciting violence... he has a right to free speech!
 
Lori said:
I’m not a Trump fan at all but there is a scary tone to this censorship AND hypocrisy.
The tone is reminiscent to what us Cold War kids heard about communism!
Hypocrisy in the fact so much similar rhetoric was used by various politicians and celebrities during the violent riots of the summer.
Riots of violence are NEVER okay whether it’s about politics or race!!
I can’t tell how many times I (a conservative Republican) wanted Trump to STFU on social media but if he’s not inciting violence... he has a right to free speech!
Click to expand...
He certainly has a right to free speech, but private companies are not required to be his megaphone.
 
Lori said:
I’m not a Trump fan at all but there is a scary tone to this censorship AND hypocrisy.
The tone is reminiscent to what us Cold War kids heard about communism!
Hypocrisy in the fact so much similar rhetoric was used by various politicians and celebrities during the violent riots of the summer.
Riots of violence are NEVER okay whether it’s about politics or race!!
I can’t tell how many times I (a conservative Republican) wanted Trump to STFU on social media but if he’s not inciting violence... he has a right to free speech!
Click to expand...

The concentration of power in a few hands is what concerns me. Social media is the most powerful media platform or tool available today. 3-4 companies, led by a handful of top leadership/CEOs effectively control whether or not an American can express their thoughts using that platform or tool.

As I said previously, I don't have any answers as to how we balance free speech interests alongside the real harm caused by people inciting violence and urging serious harm to befall others. I think what's particularly problematic is Khamenei, Putin, Xi, etc all having Twitter accounts while they've all obviously DIRECTLY supported terrorism, genocide, and activities substantially worse than even Donald Trump. Mohammed bin Salman still has a Twitter account even though he ordered an American citizen to be kidnapped and chopped up with a bonesaw.

I think Trump is a very bad person, but there's plenty of other world leaders who are truly evil authoritarians who are getting a free pass. Again, I think it was prudent to ban Trump and Twitter being a private company certainly has that right. But, they look like hypocrites when they allow people who are pure evil to propagandize violence and genocide via their Twitter accounts without repercussion while Trump caught a ban. I support Trump losing his ability to incite violence on Twitter. Now do the same for the people who are even worse.
 
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