A thread for Democrats Only
POSTED BY: THGRRI
UPDATED: Sunday, September 6, 2026 15:36
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Yes, there is a Republican ideology. That is the problem . . .
A healthy political system needs robust, competing parties to give citizens a choice of ideological, governing and policy visions. More specifically, center-right parties have long been crucial to the health of modern liberal democracies, according to the Harvard political scientist Daniel Ziblatt’s study of the emergence of democracy in Western Europe. Among other benefits, a strong center right can co-opt more palatable aspects of the far right, isolating and draining energy from the more radical elements that threaten to destabilize the system.
Today’s G.O.P. does not come close to serving this function. It has instead allowed itself to be co-opted and radicalized by Trumpism. Its ideology has been reduced to a slurry of paranoia, white grievance and authoritarian populism. Its governing vision is reactionary, a cross between obstructionism and owning the libs. Its policy agenda, as defined by the party platform, is whatever President Trump wants — which might not be so pathetic if Mr. Trump’s interests went beyond “Build a wall!”
The above claim that the Republican party has no ideology or policy agenda is completely wrong.
The policy agenda of the GOP is to cut taxes on the rich and to dismantle regulation and social insurance programs. This agenda is driven by the libertarianism of the party’s plutocratic donor class. The two major legislative initiatives of the Trump presidency were 1) a large, regressive cut in corporate taxes (which passed) and 2) the repeal of the ACA without replacement (which failed). These extreme and highly unpopular priorities did not reflect a lack of ideas or values or an ideology, they reflect the capture of the party by a wealthy libertarian elite. And the libertarian ideology of the Republican party is not due to Trump; it preceded him and will quite likely continue to animate the party when he leaves the scene.
It is the extremism of the Republican economic vision forces Republicans to stoke racism and xenophobia to win votes. It is their economic extremism that leads Republicans to reject the legitimacy of Democratic governance and to undermine free and fair elections. Reasonable people can and will disagree about exactly how much to spend on social insurance or the best way to tackle climate change. But Republicans reject the premises of these debates. Given their uncompromising moral beliefs – that regulation is misguided and overbearing, that taxation is theft, and that most Americans are “takers” – what ground is there for reasonable differences of opinion that can be resolved through elections?
It is a serious problem that so many people – including, evidently, the New York Times editorial board – do not understand what is driving the extreme behavior of the Republican party.
More at https://angrybearblog.com/2020/10/yes-there-is-a-republican-ideology-t
hat-is-the-problem.html
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly
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^ LOL
Do Right, Be Right. :)
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T 
Stupid people don't know they're stupid, and they certainly don't realize how obvious it is to others. 
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T
Stupid people don't know they're stupid, and they certainly don't realize how obvious it is to others.
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I guess Ted watched a whole bunch more NeoCon videos today, huh?
I find it quite amusing that he has yet to admit that The Lincoln Project is made up of people he used to hate that gave themselves a pretty name and said stuff Ted wanted to hear. And rather than figuring out that I'm not lying to him when I tell him as much and at least find a different outfit to peddle his propaganda, he continues to double down nearly every day with a new video from them and prove that his TDS is making him exponentially stupid as time goes by.
Do Right, Be Right. :)
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Trump’s 8 Steps
Though all these steps were pursued by the Trump Administration, the level of success was variable. And we still don’t know how well they have done on the most important step of all – Step 8. We’re about to find out in a few short days.
Step 1: Delegitimize all authoritative sources of information – mainstream media, scientists, economists, historians, other experts.
Step 2: Use control of government resources to foment conspiracy theories and generate fake information (including fake data) to delegitimize popular predecessor.
Step 3. Use the judiciary and the legislature to criminalize criticism and dissent.
Step 4 Stop keeping track of data that would quantify inconvenient facts about climate change, economic inequality, social problems, civil rights problems, gun violence, police brutality, corporate greed, foreign wars, etc.
Step 5: Use control of government institutions to revise previous data and generate new false data to shape perceptions of prior dysfunction and current progress.
Step 6: Divide the opposition by tangling them in internal feuds on issues such as trade, race, political correctness, Israel, etc.
Step 7: Pack the bureaucracy and judiciary as far as possible with compliant functionaries who support the program.
Step 8: Use government institutions to ensure single-party electoral dominance for the foreseeable future, thus removing all fear of public accountability.
More details about each step at https://www.3quarksdaily.com/3quarksdaily/2020/10/trump-trumpism-and-b
idens-burden.html
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly
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Quote:
Originally posted by second:
Trump’s 8 Steps
Though all these steps were pursued by the Trump Administration, the level of success was variable. And we still don’t know how well they have done on the most important step of all – Step 8. We’re about to find out in a few short days.
Step 1: Delegitimize all authoritative sources of information – mainstream media, scientists, economists, historians, other experts.
Step 2: Use control of government resources to foment conspiracy theories and generate fake information (including fake data) to delegitimize popular predecessor.
Step 3. Use the judiciary and the legislature to criminalize criticism and dissent.
Step 4 Stop keeping track of data that would quantify inconvenient facts about climate change, economic inequality, social problems, civil rights problems, gun violence, police brutality, corporate greed, foreign wars, etc.
Step 5: Use control of government institutions to revise previous data and generate new false data to shape perceptions of prior dysfunction and current progress.
Step 6: Divide the opposition by tangling them in internal feuds on issues such as trade, race, political correctness, Israel, etc.
Step 7: Pack the bureaucracy and judiciary as far as possible with compliant functionaries who support the program.
Step 8: Use government institutions to ensure single-party electoral dominance for the foreseeable future, thus removing all fear of public accountability.
More details about each step at https://www.3quarksdaily.com/3quarksdaily/2020/10/trump-trumpism-and-b
idens-burden.html
#4 is the only one that has any hope of not happening. Those things can still be done by independent people and underground organizations.
I would add: Step 9: Control the Internet (which they have been trying to do). Or at least what most people think of as The Internet; The most heavily trafficked sites. It's amusing to me to think we would be heading back to the days when some knuckleheads/people thought the Internet was AOL and that was it. Limited, filtered, "curated."
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#1 They've de-legitimatized themselves.
And that started long before Trump was even on The Apprentice.
#6 The Identitarian Left has caused all of the racial strife in 2020 and the years leading up to it by pushing Marxist ideas in schools and in the mainstream.
Trump just happened to be president during the worst of it... so far.
Do Right, Be Right. :)
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Quote:Trump signed an executive order that will give him significant control of the Federal bureaucracy AFTER he leaves the White House, if he starts immediately upon being reelected. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-creati
Originally posted by captaincrunch:
#4 is the only one that has any hope of not happening. Those things can still be done by independent people and underground organizations.
I would add: Step 9: Control the Internet (which they have been trying to do). Or at least what most people think of as The Internet; The most heavily trafficked sites. It's amusing to me to think we would be heading back to the days when some knuckleheads/people thought the Internet was AOL and that was it. Limited, filtered, "curated."
ng-schedule-f-excepted-service/
While the White House claims the "Executive Order on Creating Schedule F in the Excepted Service" would allow government to "operate more efficiently," a vengeful Donald Trump could fire thousands of competent civil servants, especially the ones who have contradicted him on Covid-19, and replace them with Republican loyalists. Trump could not do that to civil servants until this executive order so he simply redefined who he can arbitrarily and capriciously fire when the whim hits him. It's not surprising he didn't try this until now, since he didn't think he could get away with it. But if he is reelected, he knows he can.
More at https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/24/opinions/trump-executive-order-reclassi
fy-government-employees-schedule-f-garrett/index.html
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly
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