The Deluge of Absurdity, Ignorance, and Bad Posts

[Linus Van Pelt]

One time (not by design) I happened to be in NYC for the Columbus Day parade, which appeared to consist entirely of entries from various Italian Catholic benevolent societies in which small groups of elderly thin-voiced paraders sang pious songs in Italian, with the exception of one large float populated by people who looked straight out of MTV's Jersey Shore dancing to a recording (at full blast, thus completely drowning out the somewhat nonplussed aforementioned elderly benevolent societies) of the hip-hop song Proud to be an Albanian, which, by the way, you should absolutely listen to in full at the link just given. It was awesome.

[Paul Kemp]

You accidentally put that here instead of the Goldmine.

I find it sufficiently absurd.

[Lief 🗽]

^^^Oklahoman school system.

[they don't love you like i love you]

Guys don't bother.  Give Oldiesfreak a few years to mature and he'll come to realize that his current way of viewing politics is flawed.

What I mean is that eventually he'll come to realize is that he can defend his reason for being a Republican without heavily relying on what happened 150 years ago.

Right now, it's pretty much a useless struggle.  The young are stiffnecked and set in their ways.

-Mecha

Good point, but how many times do I have to say that that is NOT the only reason that I'm a Republican?  It is one reason, granted, but it's not the only one.

Note, I said "Heavily relying" on, not "only relying on".
Yes, you have mentioned being prolife and something about civil unions, but mostly as an afterthought.  Most of the time, what I've heard from you is "CIVILRIGHTSSEGREGATIONISTSSLAVERYABOLITIONEMANCIPATIONPROCLAMATIONLOLNOGEORGEWALLACE."
Which, really, is only used occasionally by Republican posters on here when in a pissing contest with Democrats over race politics, if you'll pardon the pun.  Though really, you don't need to go back that far to prove that Democrats are racists.  I mean hell, you're talking about a party that has the "soccer mom" demographic in it. . . . . . .

How are soccer moms racist?  Last time I checked, they were pretty liberal on social issues.

[Donerail]

The Republican Party started down this path because of Ronald Reagan and his wrong-headed policies, not in spite of them. If anything, the Republicans won't be able to become electable again until they stop fellating the corpse of Ronald Reagan.

You are aware that between 1933 and 1981, in the era that so many on here consider the "moderate Republican" heyday that the GOP only held Congress four years out of forty-eight?  I mean hell dude, the GOP from 1981-1987 held the US Senate longer than they did in the past forty-eight years.
Also, see the 1994 Congressional Election results and half of the Bush Presidency.  OH yes, also see the 2010 midterms.
Now Presidential Elections wise, that's sixteen out of forty-eight versus running on twenty out of (at present and assuming Obama finishes his term) thirty-six?
I don't like Reagan for his policies and a number of other things, but let's at least give the guy and his coalition some dues here.  Sure, the fellatio is annoying (and a bit disturbing, considering he's dead), but it definitely hasn't hurt the GOP to go REAGANOMICS!

America, that's a different story.

Yes, but it's because of Reagan that Republicans have become so obsessed with ideological purity.  And at least before Reagan (and before Clinton, for that matter), the good, decent parts of the country voted Republican at least occasionally.

[minionofmidas]

It's the plain common truth.

[Mechaman]

It's the plain common truth.

Yes, but it didn't refute my point at all, which was based on numbers and electoral success.  Not my personal feelings of Republicans or Reagan.

[Sbane]

If they get rerouted to Tacoma, I'm all for this strike. But seriously, this is a pretty obvious outcome. A general strike is ridiculous and not happening, and would only hurt the American economy anyway.

Hurting the American economy would be good for the long term welfare of it's working class.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Neutral, but I will say, FF for being the only Southern Democrat governor after the 2012 election.

Wait, what? Now you like Southern Democrats?

Probably because "they make Democrats look racist."

Yes, exactly.  It's also why I hate Southern Republicans.  (I'm only half-joking here!)  I know I sound like Joe Biden, but it's the truth.

[Paul Kemp]

http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2012/08/23/whos-the-boss-star-tony-danza-weighs-run-for-mayor/

Not sure if this has any legitimacy to it, but if Tony Danza runs I'll probably support him. Or Kelsey Grammar, if he runs.

crossposted.

[CountryRoads]

http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2012/08/23/whos-the-boss-star-tony-danza-weighs-run-for-mayor/

Not sure if this has any legitimacy to it, but if Tony Danza runs I'll probably support him. Or Kelsey Grammar, if he runs.

crossposted.

How is it ignorant in anyway? I know for the most part that many of the candidates in NYC would be too liberal for me. So why wouldn't I want a conservative like Grammar to run? or even Danza who's ideology I don't know?

[Paul Kemp]

http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2012/08/23/whos-the-boss-star-tony-danza-weighs-run-for-mayor/

Not sure if this has any legitimacy to it, but if Tony Danza runs I'll probably support him. Or Kelsey Grammar, if he runs.

crossposted.

How is it ignorant in anyway? I know for the most part that many of the candidates in NYC would be too liberal for me. So why wouldn't I want a conservative like Grammar to run? or even Danza who's ideology I don't know?

It's not ignorant, just absurd.

[Kitteh]

Also, there's such a thing as the Conservative Party of NY, which came in third in the last mayor's race. No need to support joke candidates.

[Miles]

High turnout is not a good thing if a bunch of ignorant and uninformed people are voting.  I'd rather there be just 30% turnout if the 30% are very informed and engaged on the issues.

[Antonio the Sixth]

After all these years, I am still amazed to see how disgusting Republicans can be.

[Simfan34]

High turnout is not a good thing if a bunch of ignorant and uninformed people are voting.  I'd rather there be just 30% turnout if the 30% are very informed and engaged on the issues.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with this post. Of course, in such a scenarios Democrats would always win 55%+, but if all voters are informed, it is worth is.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

High turnout is not a good thing if a bunch of ignorant and uninformed people are voting.  I'd rather there be just 30% turnout if the 30% are very informed and engaged on the issues.

The post is fairly dumb, but the fact it was put in the GPG is much more absurd.

[SUSAN CRUSHBONE]

Ok, Phil, here's what I don't get. The politicians you choose as your favorites, like Berlusconi and Santorum, are known for being bullies who roll over their opponents. Take a lesson from people like krazen and Sam Spade–you need to own that this is your preference. If you talk about how great someone like Santorum or Berlusconi is, when they pull stunts like this, then you need to be triumphalist and not complain that people aren't being fair to the poor guy. Santorum pounds his adversaries into the dust, like in this case - he doesn't play the victim himself. People aren't going to have sympathy that his critics are "mean" to him after he torpedoed a treaty defending the rights of the disabled. He did this, you should take pride or call out people who disagree with him for being weak. Not many people have a second act like Santorum did - Rod Grams and Conrad Burns lost in the same election and they're footnotes to history. Santorum's out killing treaties in the Senate and running for President as not-Romney.

I already know your response to this, but I don't care--if you think jerks make the best elected officials, then recognize that jerks can't be victims. Harry Reid is a jerk who takes no prisoners, and there's not a soul who would be taken seriously for saying "stop being mean to Harry!"

about time someone called him out on it.

Yeah, I tip my hat to Brittain33 for that post.

Yes, excellent post if you ignore some of the glaring factual inaccuracies! When pointed out to him, he didn't bother to respond. Instead, he just posted a link to anothe article that bashed Santorum. Looks like someone knows they were wrong. Wouldn't be the first time. Won't be the last.

I'm also not totally convinced that brittain and memphis aren't the same person.

[RI]

"Uneducated" people voting is a legitimate and big problem, and it's one of the reasons that we have a republican system rather than a purely democratic system. The "Founders" were terrified of an uneducated, selfish mob voting to continuously give themselves things with no restraint; Jefferson in particular advocated for a yeoman society to, among other reasons, allow farmers time to educate themselves politically during the winter/non-growing seasons. He thought Hamilton's industrialization goals would breed a diminished civic intelligence and conciousness due to physical and mental overtaxation.

I don't generally care for Jefferson (I like Hamilton much more), but he was right in that regard. There are at least three solutions to this problem: A) remove the "right" to vote by fundamentally changing our system, B) restrict the "right" to vote either at the bottom (who can vote) or at the top (what they can vote on), or C) have a more educated electorate through various methods. All could work under the proper auspices and specifications, and they all could easily fail under others.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Ah, someone else following the ancient and noble tradition of 'posting directly into the Deluge.'

[World politics is up Schmitt creek]

realisticidealist, C is the only acceptable option.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Some people still think they live in the 18th Century.

Sorry Nathan, I know you won't like this post. But you've gotta admit...

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Well who cares about rural white men anyway?

Obama and the Democrats owe them nothing. They've done nothing for this country but stoke race and class resentment at home and serve as cannon fodder for unnecessary wars abroad. They hate minorities, gays, pretty much anyone who isn't like them.

Romney and the Republicans don't owe them anything either. Guys like Romney would just as soon replace them with robots. Or if you can't get a robot, get some little Chinaman to do the same job for a tenth the cost. Cap their SSI benefits. Make it impossible for them to afford to retire and next to impossible for their kids to go to college. They'll still vote for the "working man's" party (even if most of them are laid off).

And they'll go on living in their alternate reality where they think the rest of us are mooching off them and that they're always being cheated and put upon. They always point their pitchforks at the wrong people. Schoolteachers. Black single moms. Do they really think they're to blame for the fact that a high school education doesn't get you into the middle class anymore? They ought to pick on somebody their own size for a change. Like their fellow white men - the ones who laid them off, for example.

I think posts like this that blindly generalize groups of people -- irrespective of the type that is being generalized -- fit all three adjectives.

[they don't love you like i love you]

I don't think so (although I'm not sure, so don't hold me to it), but one house passed a non-partisan commission law, even with a republican majority, so... maybe?

Otherwise, we're headed in the direction of Florida -A swing state that is completely controlled by Republicans on the State level.

Yes, the Republicans can seek vengeance for a century of gerrymandering. Vengeance is not acquired in 10 years.

[minionofmidas]

Native Americans have been made dependent on government as the result of liberal Democrat welfare state policies.

(Materiel as in the other two sentences of the post above is also getting quoted into this thread all the time, but does not really belong here. This sentence does.)