BeaverFever

Your “America is not a democracy” nonsense is also mentioned in an article today about how authoritarian thugs try to start civil war and set up authoritarian regimes (bolded in the excerpt below) These are conditions ripe for political violence’: how close is the US to civil war? Nearly half of Americans fear their country will erupt within the next decade. Ahead of the midterm elections this week, three experts analyse the depth of the crisis …. The United States is a textbook example of a country headed towards civil war. The trends increasingly point one way, and while nobody knows the future, little – if anything – is being done, by anyone, to try to prevent the collapse of the republic. Belief in democracy is ebbing. The legitimacy of institutions is declining. America increasingly is entering a state where its citizens don’t want to belong to the same country. These are conditions ripe for political violence. … But the US is more vulnerable to political violence than other countries because of the decrepitude of its institutions. For 40 years, trust in institutions of all kinds – the church, the police, journalism, academia – has been in freefall. Trust in politicians can hardly fall any lower. And there is no reason for trust. The constitution, while unquestionably a work of genius, was a work of 18th-century genius. It simply does not reflect, nor can it respond to, the realities of the 21st century. … The electoral college system means that, in the near term, a Democrat will win the popular mandate by many millions of votes and still lose the presidency. The crisis of democracy will only grow. With around 345 election deniers on the ballot as candidates in November, the Republicans appear to have evolved a new political strategy, seemingly based on the gambling strategy of Joe Pesci’s character in Casino: if they win, they collect. If they don’t, they tell the bookies to go away. Unless there is a completely separate Republican leadership in place by 2024, they will simply ignore the results they don’t like. The American electoral system is already hugely localised, outdated and held together by good faith. Any failure to recognise electoral outcomes, even in a few states, could result in a contested election in which nobody reaches the threshold of 270 electoral college votes. In that case, the constitution stipulates a “contingent election” – acclimatise yourself to this phrase now – in which each state gets a single vote. That’s right: if no candidate in an American presidential election reaches the threshold of 270 electoral college votes, the state legislatures, overwhelmingly dominated by Republicans, pick the president, with each state having one vote…A contingent election is one mechanism, just one, by which an American government could be perfectly constitutional and completely undemocratic at the same time. The right has been preparing for exactly such a reality for a while, with a phrase they repeat as if in hope that it will mean something if they say it enough: “We’re a republic, not a democracy.” Quasi-legitimacy is what leads to violence. And America’s political institutions are destined to become more and more quasi-legitimate from now on. One of the surest markers of incipient civil war in other countries is the legal system devolving from a non-partisan, truly national institution to a spoil of partisan war. That has already happened in the US. … On a deeper level, the 2022 midterms don’t matter all that much; they will inform us, if anything, of the schedule and the manner of the fall of the republic. The results might delay the decline, or accelerate it, but at this point, no merely political outcome can prevent the downfall. America has passed the point at which the triumph of one party or another can fix what’s wrong with it, and the kind of structural change that’s necessary isn’t on the table. This is a moment between two American politics. The wind has been sown. The whirlwind is yet to be reaped. https://amp.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/nov/06/how-close-is-the-us-to-civil-war-barbara-f-walter-stephen-march-christopher-parker

This “America is not a democracy” nonsense that you fascists have been peddling the past few years really cracks me up. You’re just trying to lay the ideological groundwork for your authoritarian coup. Nobody said such nonsense before Trump and his Putin-lovers showed up on the scene Maybe some if the teabaggers weee early adopters It’s the ultimate gaslighting. As if we haven’t heard or read every political leader from president to dog catcher refer to American democracy. What I want to know is: when you received this drivel from Tucker did it overwrite your previous understanding of what democracy means, or did his lies fill an empty vessel? America is both a Republic and a “Representative Democracy” which is a type of democracy. Learn that term I know you guys are working hard to end the democracy part and make America a one-party state where the vote no longer matters, but you’ll have to wait until at least 2023 or 2025 to make that happen.

Republicans’ desire to end democracy is an obvious fact.

Marjorie Taylor Greene wants to know why you’re asking about soup recipes https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/09/lauren-boebert-marjorie-taylor-greene-wonton-killings-gazpacho-police/amp

How did a thread about Trump stealing documents morph into yet another debate over COViD vaccine conspiracies?

As usual the role of corporate greed in driving inflation is under-reported in the media and completely ignored by lawmakers , even when their committees call it out Subcommittee Analysis Reveals Excessive Corporate Price Hikes Have Hurt Consumers and Fueled Inflation, While Enriching Certain Companies Nov 4, 2022 Press Release Analysis Shows that Shipping, Rental Cars, Meat Processing, and Oil and Gas Industries Have Raked in Record-Breaking Profits “Today’s analysis reaffirms what an overwhelming 80% majority of Americans already recognize according to a recent poll: under the guise of inflation, certain corporations excessively hiked prices far beyond what their costs necessitated, further driving inflation. As American corporations report their highest profit margins the United States has seen in over seventy years, executives of leading companies are admitting on earnings calls that they’re taking advantage of inflation. One executive argued that ‘a little bit of inflation is always good in our business’ while another admitted that his company’s prices wouldn’t fall with decreasing costs, stating ‘we don’t reduce prices on the back end of these increases.’ It is unacceptable that certain companies and industries are engaged in extreme price hikes under the cover of inflation. Americans understand this is happening, and they want it to stop. We have an obligation in Congress to shine light on this practice, which is exactly what today’s analysis does” … The Subcommittee’s analysis of financial information from a sampling of the largest corporations in several industries shows massive increases in profits between 2019 and 2021: Three of the five largest companies in the shipping industry saw profits rise by 29,965%; The two largest public companies in the rental car industry enjoyed a profit increase of 597%; Four of the largest public companies in the meat processing industry saw profits go up by 134%; and Four of the ten largest public companies by market cap in the oil and gas industry had profits rise by 62%. …. Corporate statements confirm that certain corporations are seeking record profits. Statements from corporate executives in certain industries show they are exploiting news about inflation to raise prices even more than necessary to cover costs. For example: “[A] little bit of inflation is always good in our business.” (Kroger, June 18, 2021) “[W]e’re actually pricing to recover all of those inflationary impacts, just as we’ve done in the past. So you’ve seen us move retail prices up. As inflation has moved up mid-single digits, our pricing has moved. . . . And as I’ve said before, inflation has been a little bit of our friend in terms of what we see in terms of retail pricing. [F]ollowing periods of higher inflation, our industry has historically not reduced pricing to reflect lower ultimate cost.” (Autozone, May 25, 2022) “[O]ur total pricing actions are forecasted to more than offset raw material and delivery cost increases. We are closely monitoring supply costs and other inflation, and we’re prepared to implement further increases as necessary. . . . [W]e don’t reduce prices on the back end of these increases [in underlying costs].” (HB Fuller, June 23, 2022) https://oversight.house.gov/news/press-releases/subcommittee-analysis-reveals-excessive-corporate-price-hikes-have-hurt

What would a right wing propagandist like Tucker know about what liberals mean? And why would anyone take any lectures on democracy from a dictator-supporting demagogue like him who openly admires antidemocratic authoritarians like Orban and apologizes for murderous dictators like Putin ?

3. That happened because once upon a time factory jobs paid reasonably well and university was much more affordable. But that was such a long time ago that it is beyond most peoples imagination. The idea that factory jobs are generally undeserving of adequate pay, and rising tuition fees thats now cost well into the tens or even the hundreds of thousands have been normalized for a long time now thanks to neoliberalism. I fully expect that then usual suspects in the business community and on the political right would be able convince the public that more affordable university or massive increases to manufacturing jobs is outrageous and catastrophic to the economy. Look at the outrage south of the border over Biden’s student loan forgiveness. Even amongst Democrats it’s apparently not been a big popular success, people just say “where’s MY handout?” which is how neoliberalism has conditioned us to respond to everything. 4. Onshoring is part of the reaction to the problems caused by neoliberalism I think. We’ll see if it sticks around or is just a fad. My only point is I think there will always be a demand for low skilled jobs and we need to how to let the people who perform them in on prosperity. Under neoliberalism such people are considered disposable untermenschen who don’t really count and deserve their place at the bottom of the order. We either make it easier for rhem to move up the ladder or we make the bottom of the ladder a better place than it is now. 5. Sadly I think getting ideas out there and onto the public agenda in a meaningful way is a slow boat… you need to get new ideas out into the zeitgeist by whatever means possible and it does happen after a decade or two! Although these are imperfect examples I think of the recent massive CPP benefit increase that was in large part helped by Kathleen Wynnes Ontario Pension Plan that almost launched and forced Trudeau to stop foot-dragging. It only took 20 years of people warning about the looming retirement savings crisis and being ignored until one day they weren’t. The policy doesn’t seem to be driven by any private interests or agenda, simply fixing a public problem Another example might be $10/day daycare although employers are probably on board with this one to help address current and future labour shortages as baby boomers continue to retire 6. Well I wish I knew the solutions to the worlds problems and how to get everyone on board but I think a critical first step is defining the current problems and shortcomings and challenging peoples current assumptions misconceptions about the world whenever possible I find that most people don’t spend any time reading or thinking about these topics and don’t want to talk about them either. Snd yet they still have these conceptions from decades of messaging that they’ve been passively absorbing through the media: government is bad, taxes should be cut,freedom means being able to do whatever you want without any consequences, etc.

Neoliberalism’s impact in the US has been decades of harsh government austerity, heavy-handed policing, mass incarceration, income inequality and lack of social mobility As left wing groups and labour unions have been predicting for decades this would lead to a breakdown of social cohesion, racism, and ultimately a breakdown of democracy itself as citizens turn on each other to fight over crumbs and seek a strongman to save them The return of fascism: Fueled by widening inequality and the bankruptcy of liberalism …. Economic collapse was indispensable to the Nazis' rise to power. In the 1928 elections in Germany, the Nazi party received less than 3 percent of the vote. Then came the global financial crash of 1929. By early 1932, 40 percent of the German insured workforce, six million people, was unemployed. That same year, the Nazis became the largest political party in the German parliament. The Weimar government, tone deaf and hostage to the big industrialists, prioritized paying bank loans and austerity rather than feeding and employing a desperate population. It foolishly imposed severe restrictions on who was eligible for unemployment insurance. Millions of Germans went hungry. Desperation and rage rippled through the population. Mass rallies, led by a collection of buffoonish Nazis in brown uniforms who would have felt at home at Mar-a-Lago, denounced Jews, Communists, intellectuals, artists and the ruling class as internal enemies. Hate was their main currency. It sold well. The evisceration of democratic procedures and institutions, however, preceded the Nazis' ascension to power in 1933. The Reichstag, the German Parliament, was as dysfunctional as the U.S. Congress. The Socialist leader Friedrich Ebert, president from 1919 until 1925, and later Heinrich Brüning, chancellor from 1930 to 1932, relied on Article 48 of the Weimar Constitution to largely rule by decree to bypass the fractious Parliament. Article 48, which granted the president the right in an emergency to issue decrees, was "a trapdoor through which Germany could fall into dictatorship," historian Benjamin Carter Hett writes. … The step from dysfunctional democracy to full-blown fascism was, and will again be, a small one. The hatred for the ruling class, embodied by the establishment Republican and Democratic parties, which have merged into one ruling party, is nearly universal. The public, battling inflation that is at a 40-year high and cost the average U.S. household an additional $717 a month in July alone, will increasingly see any political figure or political party willing to attack the traditional ruling elites as an ally. The more crude, irrational or vulgar the attack, the more the disenfranchised rejoice. These sentiments are true here and in Europe, where energy costs are expected to rise by as much as 80 percent this winter and an inflation rate of 10 percent is eating away at incomes. The reconfiguration of society under neoliberalism to exclusively benefit the billionaire class, the slashing and privatization of public services, including schools, hospitals and utilities, along with deindustrialization, the profligate pouring of state funds and resources into the war industry, at the expense of the nation's infrastructure and social services, and the building of the world's largest prison system and militarization of police, have predictable results. At the heart of the problem is a loss of faith in traditional forms of government and democratic solutions. Fascism in the 1930s succeeded, as Peter Drucker observed, not because people believed its conspiracy theories and lies but in spite of the fact that they saw through them. Fascism thrived in the face of "a hostile press, a hostile radio, a hostile cinema, a hostile church, and a hostile government which untiringly pointed out the Nazi lies, the Nazi inconsistency, the unattainability of their promises, and the dangers and folly of their course." He added, "nobody would have been a Nazi if rational belief in the Nazi promises had been a prerequisite." As in the past, these new fascist parties cater to emotional yearnings. They give vent to feelings of abandonment, worthlessness, despair and alienation. They promise unattainable miracles. They too peddle bizarre conspiracy theories, including QAnon. But most of all, they promise vengeance against a ruling class that betrayed the nation. Hett defines the Nazis as "a nationalist protest movement against globalization." The rise of the new fascism has its roots in a similar exploitation by global corporations and oligarchs. More than anything else, people want to regain control over their lives, if only to punish those blamed and scapegoated for their misery. https://www.salon.com/2022/09/27/the-return-of-fascism-fueled-by-widening-inequality-and-the-bankruptcy-of-liberalism/

Is America ready to trade democracy for cheap gas? That's fascism in a nutshell Americans understand that democracy is in dire peril. That doesn't mean they believe in it, or give a damn The details are grim. Voters "overwhelmingly believe American democracy is under threat, but seem remarkably apathetic about that danger," with relatively few calling it "the nation's most pressing problem," according to a new poll conducted for the Times by Siena College. More than one-third of independent voters in the poll "said they were open to supporting candidates who reject the legitimacy of the 2020 election," because economic concerns were more urgent. While 71 percent of voters agreed that "democracy was at risk," only 7 percent said that was the country's most important problem. … Most Americans are relatively unsophisticated in their understanding of politics and public policy, and tend to be disengaged on issues beyond the few that appear to be of immediate concern to them, their families or their communities, barring a national emergency or crisis that demands collective attention. … In total, the recent New York Times poll just offers further evidence that the American people may claim to be concerned about "democracy," but are fundamentally unclear as to the cause of the crisis and have no idea what to do about it. It's actually worse than that, in that many Americans don't even pretend to care about democracy and are more concerned about lower prices for gas and groceries — and have no problem trading away their rights and freedoms for the promise of ending inflation. In a similarly dark vein, a new CBS News poll finds that 63 percent of likely Democratic voters believe that a functioning democracy is more important than a strong economy, but that those numbers are more than reversed among Republicans, 70 percent of whom rank a "strong economy" (whatever that means) above a functioning democracy. It's not hyperbolic or metaphorical to describe those numbers as a textbook example of how democracy gradually, and then more swiftly, rots away and succumbs to fascism. The naive faith that "it can't happen here" is severely misplaced: It's happening here right now. https://www.salon.com/2022/11/03/is-america-ready-to-trade-democracy-for-cheap-gas-thats-fascism-in-a-nutshell/

Because this supposed vaccine is really just part of a vast conspiracy run by Bill Gates to implant us all with microchips. Obviously.

More proof that the righties’ dearly beloved Putin is clearly the good guy: Now Putin turns on his own men: Desperate Russian army brings in 'blocking units' which 'threaten to shoot their own retreating soldiers' Any retreating Russian soldiers will be shot, Vladimir Putin has warned 'Blocking units' or 'barrier troops' will threaten to shoot any retreating soldiers Stalin used 'barrier troops' in his infamous 'No One Step Back' order in 1942 Vladimir is set to deploy special units to shoot his own military if they retreat from the war in , defence chiefs said on Friday. Britain's Ministry of Defence said that Russia will deploy so-called 'blocking units' which 'threaten to shoot their own retreating soldiers in order to compel offensives'. With low morale at a peak among Russian soldiers, Putin is turning on his own men. 'Due to low morale and reluctance to fight, Russian forces have probably started deploying 'barrier troops' or 'blocking units',' the Ministry of Defence said in an intelligence update on Friday. 'These units threaten to shoot their own retreating soldiers in order to compel offensives and have been used in previous conflicts by Russian forces,' the briefing added. …. In another apparent sign of Russia's huge military weakness, Putin yesterday signed a decree allowing serious convicted criminals to sign up with the Russian army, effectively granting murderers and rapists their freedom if they are willing to fight. …. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11393197/Putin-turns-men-brings-blocking-units-shoot-retreating-soldiers.html

Some are, some aren’t. Especially when factors such as climate change are considered.

2. Prosperity for whom? Neoliberalism created massive amounts of new wealth but almost none of it was shared with the working classes, almost all the new wealth went to the “the 1%”. Meanwhile workout class people were hit with cutbacks to public services, user fees, rising tuition, etc. 3. Sure. Biden, Pelosi Clinton and the establishment Dems are is no heroes of the working class that’s for sure They are neoliberals, no doubt about it I assume this author is an AOC-Sanders left wing Democrat instead 4. I think “good paying” traditional manufacturing jobs like assembling sewing machines or coffee makers are probably gone for good. I doubt any of those jobs that remain or return will be anything other than low paying. Trump is certainly not doing anything about that and I don’t know anyone who is. But yet we will always have a segment of the population who will be “low-skill” and who in past generations could count on these heavily endangered “good-paying factory jobs” The solutions are some combination of a) creating new good paying jobs that can’t easily be offshored but don’t require too much education and skill for example in the emerging green sector b) making skills and education much more affordable and accessible c) improving benefits and services for those who are still left behind in the bad jobs that are still needed. Not everyone at Tim Hortons is a live-at-home student or retiree doing it simply for a little extra pocket money. A lot of these people are trying to survive on their minimum wage pittance. Neoliberalism and especially Trumpism oppose all of above. For e their rhetoric about creating jobs, Republicans NEVER talk about the quality of those jobs. I dunno I guess I’m just more cynical about the people in charge these days and who they really answer to. I think neoliberalism explains why governments today DON’T address problems. Neoliberalism tells us that the only people in society who are qualified to identify problems and propose solutions to government are business leaders. Anything else that governments sense from voters they simply address with cheap ineffective gimmicks not real policy. Small tax rebates for childcare, for example, is a gimmick not a policy. To the extent that change is possible, issues and ideas have to be out there inculcating in the public sphere and establish a base level of familiarity amongst the general public, which in turn allows a leader to place the issue on their agenda. In summary I think the fact that the article is being discussed in this forum means its doing it’s job (although I admit I have read better critiques of neoliberalism). Many or even most people believe that the way things have been over the last several decades were simply due to natural forces and “the way the world works”. This plays into neoliberals hands because they falsely accuse critics of neoliberalism of trying to tamper with some kind of natural order.

It’s all a vast conspiracy, you see. Because something something Bill Gates microchips FBI something something. Note that Trump is pro-vax and tries takes a lot of credit for it Are you allowed to openly disagree with your cult leader like that? Aren’t you going to get doxxed and receive death threats now?

…where everyone knows the “scorpion” is actually just a potato bug but you belive it’s a scorpion and there’s a vast worldwide left wing anti-shark conspiracy, simply because the shark told you so.

So that’s proof that Zelensky is a Nazi because ….? To say the number of American Nazis who support Trump is “not Zero” would be an epic understatement

To your opening comment while it’s fair to say there were never any “good ol times” there were certainly better times for the blue collar and lower income working class (at least those who are white and who are the backbone of the current anti-democracy populist movement). This will be a recurring theme dor the fails of neoliberalism although neoliberalism has failed more than just this angry group 1. I think it’s arguable when the global shift happened, it didn’t all happen at once. I usually say “40 years” just to peg it to the start of Reagan/Thatcher. It’s something that started slowly in insignificant numbers then increased over time, greatly accelerated by events such as the signing of NAFTA and other trade agreements. Your comments on which jobs replaced then ones lost are also a matter of perspective. As you suggest, unskilled jobs were replaced with lower paying jobs, the people who lost those jobs, the jobs were replaced with lower paying jobs. There will always be demand for unskilled jobs and people who are only able to obtain unskilled jobs. For them it doesn’t matter that new highly skilled jobs were created. It’s also not a forgone conclusion that only neoliberalism could have brought us those new jobs. 2. I don’t think the author is making a luddite argument but he is referring to the social division, fake news, and commodification of personal data (and I suppose accelerated ravenous consumerism) driven by technology and government unwillingness to regulate industry in a neoliberal regime 3 This is a critique of the last several decades of neoliberalism not just a snapshot of today’s problems. Rhat said I wouldn’t read the “access to lore things too literally. Even low income families “gasping for air” have more goods and services on offer at their local store than before and the consumerist neoliberal culture places more pressure on people of every income to buy more and define themselves by the quantity of “stuff” they own Example: low income people who previously never had the option of buying brand-name items can now buy low-end version at “factory outlet” stores where they end up paying more than a similar quality product from a less prestigious brand Neoliberalism teaches us that happiness can be found through feckless consumerism but consumerism is bottomless pit thatbis never satisfied There is ALWAYS someone who seems to have more trinkets and gadgets than you, whose social media feed makes their life appear more glamourous At the same time that people are drowning in sebt amd strugling to make ends meet they’re feverishly overpaying for a low-end products because their worst nightmare is that Justin Bieber or Kim Kardashian might think they’re a loser. 4 and 5. Neoliberalism isn’t just about globalization it’s about deregulation and trump definitely killed consumer and worker protections. In his alleged war again globalization did he really accomplish anything for the American worker? If any jobs came back were they the same “good paying” jobs that left or just more low paying jobs, His policies wee piecemeal and erratic. The writer argues Trump and Republicans purposely say one thing while doing another. Look at their long track record of union-breaking and opposing minimum wage increases. Trump also tried to repeal Obamacare and poled enough holes in its providing that he stripped millions of working class citizens of their health coverage 6. His point is that social media needs to be reigned in. Your point on automation is fair 7. Neoliberalism is more than globalization or just trade with China 8 -9. Agreed, the mainstream Democratic party is also neoliberal. At best a kinder gentler version that doesn’t care if you’re gay and wants to offer slightly more affordable healthcare The author is claiming he wants to change that we can believe or doubt his authenticity 10. Fascism is arguably neoliberalism without the inconvenience of democracy The last notable fascist government, Chile’s Augusto Pinochet, was a darling of American neoliberals during his reign 11 It’s not?

GOP Rep. Dan Crenshaw: Election Deniers Admit It's A Lie Behind Closed Doors “It’s a huge manipulation,” the Texas Republican said. Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) revealed what election deniers actually say behind closed doors as a slew of reality-defying candidates run as Republicans in next week’s 2022 midterms. “It was always a lie. The whole thing was always a lie. And it was a lie meant to rile people up,” the Texas Republican said of the lie that Donald Trump was cheated by widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election during the latest episode of his “Hold These Truths” podcast. “I’ve talked about this ad nausea, it really made me angry,” the former Navy SEAL told election reform advocate Nick Troiano. “Because I’m like, the promises you’re making that you’re gonna challenge the Electoral College and overturn the election, there’s not even a process for you to do that. It doesn’t even exist.” “So I was like, ‘What the hell are we doing?’ And I would tell that to people kinda behind closed doors too. Especially a lot of the rabble-rousers, like the political personalities, not even the politicians,” he said. Crenshaw recalled “arguments behind closed doors in the Republican Partybefore that.” The lawmaker continued: But even just the others, they’re like, ‘Yeah, we know that, but we just, you know, people just need their last hurrah. Like, they just need to feel like we fought one last time. Trust me, it’ll be fine.’ And I was like, ‘No, it won’t. That’s not what people believe and that’s not what you’re telling them. And maybe you’re smart enough to know that but like …’ So we have a lot of people in the political world that are just willing to say things they know aren’t true, they know aren’t true. It’s a huge manipulation. Crenshaw, in the aftermath of the 2020 election, supported a Texas lawsuit that challenged Trump’s defeat, but he’s now a fierce critic of those who falsely claim Trump was the election winner. Listen to Crenshaw’s comments from the 18-minute mark here: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/dan-crenshaw-election-deniers_n_6364cc13e4b06f38ded30136

The Republican attacks on the 2022 election are already well underway Self-appointed Republican thugs go door -to-door in official-looking outfits intimidating voters and demanding answers to private questions Meanwhile the Texas government pursues baseless charges against election officials they feel aren’t biased enough in favour of Republicans and who won’t back the Big Lie Them of course tou have the Republican AR-15 carrying thugs in Arizona wearing ski masks “guarding” absentee ballot drop boxes trying to scare away voters In the hunt for voter fraud, Republican door knockers are intimidating residents: officials Nov 3 (Reuters) - The canvassers in California's Shasta County in September wore reflective orange vests and official-looking badges that read “Voter Taskforce.” Four residents said they mistook them for government officials. But the door knockers didn't explain where to vote or promote a candidate, the usual work of canvassers ahead of a big election. Instead, they grilled residents on their voting history and who lived in their homes, probing questions that might have violated state laws on intimidation and harassment, according to the county's chief election official. At one house, they interrogated a couple about the whereabouts of their adult daughter. At another, they listed names of registered voters and demanded to know if they still lived at the address. … But the activists often seem more interested in undermining confidence in U.S. democracy than trying to improve it, said Arizona's Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, a Republican. "They're hoping that we fail. They're hoping that mistakes occur and they're even trying to do things to disrupt the system," he said….. https://www.reuters.com/legal/republican-door-knockers-intimidate-voters-while-hunting-voter-fraud-say-2022-11-03/ “Enormous damage to democracy”: Ken Paxton targeted election workers with probes that went nowhere The Texas attorney general investigated at least 10 election workers resulting in zero charges Over the past two years, Paxton's office opened at least 10 investigations into alleged crimes by election workers, a more extensive effort than previously known, according to records obtained by ProPublica. One of his probes was spurred by a complaint from a county GOP chair, who lost her reelection bid in a landslide. She then refused to certify the results, citing "an active investigation" by the attorney general. In at least two of the cases, Paxton's office unsuccessfully tried to indict election workers, attempts that were first reported by the Austin American-Statesman. In the remaining eight investigations identified by ProPublica, it is unclear just how far the probes went. As of mid-October, none of the cases resulted in criminal charges. https://www.salon.com/2022/11/03/enormous-damage-to-democracy-ken-paxton-targeted-workers-with-probes-that-went-nowhere_partner/

A new wave of celebrity politicians breaks the rules on acceptable behavior, inspired by Trump Published: November 2, 2022 8.30am EDT …,,We are sociocultural anthropologists who have studied white-collar crime and political corruption in the U.S. and Latin America. We can confidently say candidates like Walker, whose rule-breaking might have doomed a candidate in earlier times, benefit from a template developed by former President Donald Trump, who figured out how to turn celebrity status into political success. This formula, which helped to transform Trump from a real estate mogul and celebrity TV character into the leader of the Republican Party, involves getting the public to register transgressive behavior as entertainment. By adopting this template, several Trump-backed celebrity candidates have translated their personal fame into support from Trump’s base in the 2022 midterms. A close look at Walker; Kari Lake, the GOP gubernatorial candidate in Arizona; and Mehmet Oz, the Republican senate candidate in Pennsylvania known as Dr. Oz, reflects how Trump has led politics down a path that not only prioritizes personality over policy, but also rewards celebrity politicians for behaving badly. … Such performances by celebrity candidates don’t appear to diminish their reputations. In fact, they seem to attract voters who appreciate that these candidates don’t even try to act like conventional politicians. Bad behavior before Trump Celebrity politicians have always been held to a different standard than traditional politicians. As media critic Neil Postman has noted, former U.S. president and Hollywood actor Ronald Reagan frequently said things that were untrue – and was not held accountable for doing so. Reagan praised the apartheid regime in South Africa for having ended segregation when it had not, and he repeatedly insisted that trees were harmful to the environment. Yet, he remained a popular political figure because most voters who backed him cared less about the veracity of what he said and more about his ability to tap into their emotions. Sensing this, Reagan spent his time in the White House focusing on emotional impact rather than accuracy. There are also examples of Democratic politicians behaving badly, and at odds with how they presented themselves as professionals. Jerry Springer was aCincinnati councilman in the 1970s, before he resigned for paying prostitutes for sex. Springer went on to have a successful television career as a daytime talk show host. “Saturday Night Live” comedian Al Franken, who later became a Minnesota senator, resigned from his post in 2017 over sexual misconduct allegations. But in his case, Franken’s bad behavior pushed him out of politics, not further into it. These kinds of political norms shifted with the rise of Trump’s political power, however, as Trump has relied less on his ability to inspire confidence than on his ability to amuse and entertain his fans. The Trump shift Throughout his political career, Trump has effectively used crude and derisive humor to elevate himself as an entertainer while transforming his opponents from sometimes stiff and humorless politicians into grotesque and laughable people. This humor would have been seen as rude and unpresidential if uttered by another person, or if said by Trump himself outside of the political arena. Trump purposefully shames and embarrasses his political rivals, and his supporters celebrate these transgressions at his campaign rallies, which have become a collective space for his followers to revel in humiliating those he perceives to be his opponents. At a 2016 rally, Trump mimicked firing a gun while critiquing a member of the U.S. Army who had been accused of desertion. In October 2022 at a rally, Trump threatened journalists with prison rape. Such performances are effective not only because they inspire a call-and-response style of sycophantic celebrity fandom, but also because they resist the effect of criticism. No matter how harmful and demeaning Trump’s performances are to their targets, they can always be dismissed as comedic entertainment. ….., https://theconversation.com/a-new-wave-of-celebrity-politicians-breaks-the-rules-on-acceptable-behavior-inspired-by-trump-193056

^ Says the guy who wants to overturn an election based on lies and supports a brutal Russian dictator

You’re right, what you’ve said is completely insane. I also don’t doubt that Republicans know more about what it takes to run a dictatorship.

Thought I would start this thread more as a critique of neoliberalism rather than of political parties. Over the decades, the Liberal Party and Democratic Party have been faithful servants of neoliberalism too. The reason why there is so much radicalism on the left and right is because- exactly as was predicted by unions and left-of-centre critics decades ago - the extreme form of capitalism known as neoliberalism has ruined the lives of many working class people and has stolen the dreams and haunted the nightmares of many more who fear maintaining their current standard of living. People in the working class have all but completely given up on the idea of ever “getting ahead”

The Wreckage of Neoliberalism The postwar neoliberal economic project is nearing its end. The question is who will write the last chapter, the Democrats or the totalitarians? By Chris Murphy … Broadly speaking, neoliberalism argues that barrier-free international markets, rapidly advancing communications technology and automation, decreased regulation, and empowered citizen-consumers are the keys to prosperity, happiness, and strong democracy. … But then, about 30 years ago, the project started to fray at the edges. The newly global economy moved America’s well-paying jobs—the ones that had created the U.S.’s early- and mid-20th-century blue-collar aristocracy—overseas, but the jobs that replaced them offered lower pay, fewer benefits, and less opportunity for advancement. Technology, which had promised to make our lives easier and more connected, started to get so complicated, and advance at a pace so dizzying, that it no longer felt within our control. Social media joined us, but also bred resentment and societal fragmentation. Automation and online commerce erased our local economies, our local meeting places, and our local news sources. And the consumerism that was supposed to fill our lives with the material rewards necessary for happiness instead left many feeling empty as our cultures and identities got swallowed up by the shapeless, antiseptic, profit-obsessed international economy. Read: When people were proud to call themselves ‘neoliberal’ The result, today, is a very real epidemic of American unhappiness. Surveys taken during the past decade suggest that Americans have never been so pessimistic. Despite the nonstop information flow, more Americans report greater feelings of intense loneliness today than at any time before. People know they have more access to things—shiny things, fancy things, complicated things—but they grope for meaning and sense a depressing, decreasing personal control over their own future. Although Trump’s anti-neoliberal messaging has been successful, his policies have never matched his rhetoric. By the time he left office, there were fewer, not more, well-paying manufacturing jobs in America. Trump did nothing to curb corporate excess or restore power to families and workers—his primary domestic legislative accomplishment was a tax cut in which 83 percent of the benefits would go to the same 1 percent of the population he attacked in his speeches. And he championed no legislation to rein in the corrosive influence of social media or unchecked automation. Indeed, his promises to undo economic neoliberalism was all empty rhetoric; instead, his entire term was an unending parade of gifts to the very status quo forces he condemned in his rise to power. …. Trump and his followers are frauds—mouthing critical platitudes about the neoliberal order while ultimately serving its biggest beneficiaries—and Democrats should expose them as such. No matter their rhetorical attacks on elites, Republicans’ agenda still begins and ends with using government as a crude means to deliver favors to their billionaire and corporate friends. …. And it isn’t hyperbole to suggest that the future of our democracy rests on the question of which party offers the most credible alternative to the neoliberal order. Republicans’ fake populism is just a way to secure total power. This is the era of the post-democracy Republican Party, and if their critique of neoliberalism brings their party complete power after the 2024 election, they are likely to change the rules of democracy in order to make sure Democrats never win again. Trump’s Republican Party believes that Democrats present an existential threat to America, and therefore any means—even the end of democracy—is justified to defeat the left. Whether it be a purge of thousands of professional civil servants, continued crackdowns on voting rights, or a rigging of elections, if Trump and his allies win control of Congress and the White House again, our 250-year experiment may be over. This does not have to be our nation’s fate. It is possible to reverse the damaging impacts of the neoliberal world order while saving democracy…. … https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/10/democrats-should-reject-neoliberalism/671850/