New American Political Landscape

[prole]

Nails it, as always.

[tvashtarkatena]

Crib notes, please.

[ivan]

meh, nothing changes in 'merica but the width of tight-asses' ties n' the cut of dumb bitches' bobs!

[ivan]

and beards, shit, beards! perhaps the only definitive change in our presidential history since taft, a cool century ago - now all deez cunts are clean-shaven, but i got a clairvoyant sense they'll be coming back, soon enough...

[mattp]

I thought it was a pretty good piece, Tvash, and worth the read. Nothing stunning but it appears to provide a thorough overview of political trends with a lot of footnotes. The general thesis is a rather mainstream notion that the Republican Party platform appeals to a decreasing base. but there is a lot of analysis along the way. Probably worth your time, rather than a simple dismissal.

[ivan]

asking for the cliff note version of a classic tale is hardly dismissing it, merely admitting there are many other demands of life precluding the possibility of fully considering every pearl of wisdom put before you, no?

[prole]

Wow, you two really are joined at the cock.

[ivan]

Wow, you two really are joined at the cock.

yup, we're the only folks in the whole-wide world w/o the time nor inclination to read a thirty minute long article (specially on walking-dead monday night, goddammit!)

[Jim]

 

 

 

The all-female focus group began with a sobering assessment of the Obama economy. All of the women spoke gloomily about the prospect of paying off student loans, about what they believed to be Social Security’s likely insolvency and about their children’s schooling. A few of them bitterly opined that the Democrats care little about the working class but lavish the poor with federal aid. “You get more off welfare than you would at a minimum-wage job,” observed one of them. Another added, “And if you have a kid, you’re set up for life!”

 

About an hour into the session, Anderson walked up to a whiteboard and took out a magic marker. “I’m going to write down a word, and you guys free-associate with whatever comes to mind,” she said. The first word she wrote was “Democrat.”

 

“Young people,” one woman called out.

 

“Liberal,” another said. Followed by: “Diverse.” “Bill Clinton.”“Change.”“Open-minded.”“Spending.”“Handouts.”“Green.”“More science-based.”

 

When Anderson then wrote “Republican,” the outburst was immediate and vehement: “Corporate greed.”“Old.”“Middle-aged white men.” “Rich.” “Religious.” “Conservative.” “Hypocritical.” “Military retirees.” “Narrow-minded.” “Rigid.” “Not progressive.” “Polarizing.” “Stuck in their ways.” “Farmers.”

 

Anderson concluded the group on a somewhat beseeching note. “Let’s talk about Republicans,” she said. “What if anything could they do to earn your vote?”

 

A self-identified anti-abortion, “very conservative” 27-year-old Obama voter named Gretchen replied: “Don’t be so right wing! You know, on abortion, they’re so out there. That all-or-nothing type of thing, that’s the way Romney came across. And you know, come up with ways to compromise.”

 

“What would be the sign to you that the Republican Party is moving in the right direction?” Anderson asked them.

 

“Maybe actually pass something?” suggested a 28-year-old schoolteacher named Courtney, who also identified herself as conservative.

 

The session with the young men was equally jarring. None of them expressed great enthusiasm for Obama. But their depiction of Republicans was even more lacerating than the women’s had been. “Racist,” “out of touch” and “hateful” made the list — “and put ‘1950s’ on there too!” one called out.

 

Showing a reverence for understatement, Anderson said: “A lot of those words you used to describe Republicans are negative. What could they say or do to make you feel more positive about the Republican Party?”

 

“Be more pro-science,” said a 22-year-old moderate named Jack. “Embrace technology and change.”

 

“Stick to your strong suit,” advised Nick, a 23-year-old African-American. “Clearly social issues aren’t your strong suit. Stop trying to fight the battle that’s already been fought and trying to bring back a movement. Get over it — you lost.”

GOP adrift

[prole]

meh, nothing changes in 'merica but the width of tight-asses' ties n' the cut of dumb bitches' bobs!

 

Not sure how you square this with the evidence presented in the article, but whatever, at least you're not teaching my kids.

[tvashtarkatena]

Asking for crib notes is the opposite of dismissal - its asking for more information in the form of a summary (I have to explain this to an attorney?)

 

The piece reads like Noam Chomsky on meth in the throes of a stream of consciousness, name dropping conspiracy rant. Just wondering what new ideas were being presented. GOP splintered. Check. Demographics aligned against them. Check. GOP soul searching. Check.

 

My eyes glazed over at that point, I think. Brevity is the soul of wit and all that. The author might do well to schedule a coffee date with his editor once in a while. No abstract, no nutgraph. He just commences flushing. You could build a pyramid with those weighty, blocky paragraphs. I have to wonder if the author laments the death of the scroll. Ugh.

 

Oh, and Prole, I think the phenomenon is called friendship. Not that I have time for it, or the article, what, between bullying retards and stalking 20 somethings.

Edited February 26, 2013 by tvashtarkatena

[prole]

It's called doing actual scholarship. Hard for the Twitterverse to grasp, much less Party operatives.

 

[prole]

Gawd, can't Jon Stewart just summarize this for me??

[tvashtarkatena]

It's called poor writing skills, actually. It has nothing do to with ADHD culture or lack of depth of the audience. The best writers can communicate complex ideas succinctly to an audience that isn't necessarily 'on the inside'. This author seems incapable of pulling that off. No abstract. The piece just rambles on and on and on.

 

All the genius in the world is useless if you can't communicate your ideas effectively.

 

Anyhoo, no summary from you, I'm not going to wade through the author's masturbatory piece, so that's all I've got.

 

Resume the insults as you see fit. Also boring.

 

Bye.

Edited February 26, 2013 by tvashtarkatena

[prole]

Oo, kale chips!

[matt_warfield]

and beards, shit, beards! perhaps the only definitive change in our presidential history since taft, a cool century ago - now all deez cunts are clean-shaven, but i got a clairvoyant sense they'll be coming back, soon enough...

 

Duck Dynasty for President.

 

Cantor is the most powerful person in Congress according to Alan Simpson (R- retired). Get all GOP newbies to sign paperwork to never vote for any new tax. Congress has dozens of members with the last name Proxy at present. No thinking necessary.

[prole]

Congress has dozens of members with the last name Proxy at present. No thinking necessary.

 

Amazingly enough, the piece liked above touches on this as well. Exercise your literacy skills!

 

Over the last generation, however, conservative Republicans have created a series of unique and powerful linkages between state politics and national corporate lobbies. The most important is an extraordinary non-profit called the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) which acts as a concierge service for conservative legislators. It saves its 2,000 legislative members the trouble of having to design bills and think through legalities by letting corporate lobbyists write the legislation for them, or simply pull it off a library shelf. As the New York Times and Common Cause discovered in a recent investigation: ‘The records offer a glimpse of how special interests effectively turn ALEC’s lawmaker members into stealth lobbyists, providing them with talking points, signalling how they should vote and collaborating on bills affecting hundreds of issues like school vouchers and tobacco taxes.’

 

Donations to ALEC are tax deductible and eagerly offered by companies like Reynolds America, Walmart, Bank of America, ExxonMobil, BP America and AT&T, as well as trade organizations like the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America—Bayer, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer and Johnson and Johnson are represented on ALEC’s 24-member Private Enterprise Board. A recent model bill from the US Chamber of Commerce proposed ‘requiring that all high-school students take a class in “free enterprise” as a condition of graduation.’ According to an earlier investigation by Bloomberg Businessweek: ‘About 1,000 times a year, according to ALEC, a state legislator introduces a bill from its library of more than 800 models. About 200 times a year, one of them becomes law. The Council, in essence, makes national policy, state by state.’ Not surprisingly, the investigators also found that ‘campaign contributions often followed’. Indeed.

[rob]

If you like Mike Davis, you should read his Planet of Slums. It would probably be right up your alley.

[olyclimber]

I like Miles Davis. He made "Relaxin With Miles", which is one of my all time favorite albums.

[tvashtarkatena]

So, let me get this straight. Lawmakers employ lobbyists and think tanks to help them write legislation and provide them with talking points and position papers????!!!!!!!

 

I think the author may be attempting to transform a Poli Sci 101 text into an Tom Clancy flick.

[olyclimber]

Ron Paul

[rob]

I heard that Ron Paul tried to get a job at a D.C.-area think tank but he wasn't qualified.

[tvashtarkatena]

Being a Top Party Operative, I can get Mr. Paul a job, but it won't be for thinking.

 

The current janitorial service at Party Headquarters sucks.

Edited February 26, 2013 by tvashtarkatena

[tvashtarkatena]

Hell, I'll get Bone a job, too. They can finally work side by side to clean this mess up.

[matt_warfield]

Congress has dozens of members with the last name Proxy at present. No thinking necessary.

 

Amazingly enough, the piece liked above touches on this as well. Exercise your literacy skills!

 

 

At the time I was exercising my time management skills. I will digest every last word in the link. Then you won't have to exercise your chastising skills.