ye olde politics thread

[Squish Squash]

Originally Posted by MyOneAndOnly

Trump is attacking the post office cause you can't have an election during a pandemic if you can't mail in ballots

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/...e-bailout.html

He's just searching for a way to declare himself president for life.

[MplsTaper]

[FoolofaTook]

Meanwhile in Lansing:

[FoolofaTook]

Stay safe, Topley.

[Squish Squash]

Strong correlation between watching Fox News and thinking it's a hoax. Good god I would pity these fools if they weren't so hateful.

[topleybird]

Originally Posted by FoolofaTook

Meanwhile in Lansing:

This pretty much tells you all you need to know about why these folks decided to protest "that woman in Michigan's" stay-at-home orders:

[yo soy el mejor]

where's a carton of eggs when you need it?

[MyOneAndOnly]

Their caravan blocked a hospital in Lansing. Ambulances, nurses and patients couldn't get into the hospital.

[MyOneAndOnly]

the random guys wearing medical masks seem to have not gotten the Right Wing memo that masks are lies

[MyOneAndOnly]

at least wear a skull mask or stars and stripes bandanna over your face so you look like a real man

[MyOneAndOnly]

Imagine the shit storm if 500 Antifa millennials marched through the Capital dressed in tactical gear and carrying AR-15s.

[MyOneAndOnly]

[topleybird]

Can't tell with absolute certainty if the person right behind the flag is wearing an Anonymous mask or made up like a Juggalo, but either one would appear to be politically misaligned

[MyOneAndOnly]

Originally Posted by topleybird

Can't tell with absolute certainty if the person right behind the flag is wearing an Anonymous mask or made up like a Juggalo, but either one would appear to be politically misaligned

that's a Joker mask. I think it's one of the older ones. Either Batman TV or Tim Burton Era. White Supremacists think Joker is a hero.

[MyOneAndOnly]

[Squish Squash]

Originally Posted by MyOneAndOnly

that's a Joker mask. I think it's one of the older ones. Either Batman TV or Tim Burton Era. White Supremacists think Joker is a hero.

How the hell could anyone think Joker is a hero????

I know it’s a thing but it just boggles my mind. Some real school shooter shit

[yo soy el mejor]

seriously, what's the point of taking your gun with you? optics?

[yo soy el mejor]

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden told an attendee at a South Carolina town hall Thursday evening, "You should vote for Trump," after being criticized for deportations during the Obama administration.

The immigration activist had started off by translating questions asked in Spanish by another attendee, who asked if the former vice president would stop all deportations immediately upon taking office if elected.

Biden responded, "No. I will not stop all deportations. I will prioritize deportations, only people who have committed a felony or serious crime."

The activist, identified by a CNN reporter as Carlos Rojas, later continued by telling Biden he had volunteered for former President Barack Obama's campaign in 2008, but was disheartened by the number of deportations during his presidency.

"The fact is that over those eight years, there were 3 million people that were deported and separated from their families," Rojas said.

Cutting Rojas off, Biden said, "You should vote for Trump. You should vote for Trump."

[yo soy el mejor]

what an old, callous dick.

[smashingjj]

I think most people are gonna take his advice.

[Squish Squash]

Jesus Christ after four years of Trump THIS is who they’re sending out to face him. It’s like they’re planning to lose.

[MyOneAndOnly]

suburban white voters like Biden. Those are the people that barely swung the electoral college for Trump last time. Biden has higher approval ratings than Clinton did 4 years ago at this point.

Biden's platform will be the most progressive of any Dem nominee. Way more than Obama, who refused to support marriage equality or medicare for all. The Obama that progressives seem to love despite his expansion of ICE

I am still voting for Sanders in the DC primary, though.

[MyOneAndOnly]

[qwerty sp]

Originally Posted by MyOneAndOnly

suburban white voters like Biden. Those are the people that barely swung the electoral college for Trump last time. Biden has higher approval ratings than Clinton did 4 years ago at this point.

Biden's platform will be the most progressive of any Dem nominee. Way more than Obama, who refused to support marriage equality or medicare for all. The Obama that progressives seem to love despite his expansion of ICE

I am still voting for Sanders in the DC primary, though.

Your politically savvy Sofia

[smashingjj]

man I often wonder where this board would be without qwerty sp's sharp observations

[MplsTaper]

[FoolofaTook]

look at this dipshit:

[MplsTaper]

The rightwing groups behind wave of protests against Covid-19 restrictions

Protesters in Michigan and other states claim to speak for ordinary citizens, but are also supported by street-fighting far-right groups

A wave of planned anti-lockdown demonstrations that have broken out around the country to protest the efforts of state governments to combat the coronavirus pandemic with business closures and stay-at-home orders have included far-right groups as well as more mainstream Republicans.

While protesters in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and other states claim to speak for ordinary citizens, many are also supported by street-fighting rightwing groups like the Proud Boys, conservative armed militia groups, religious fundamentalists, anti-vaccination groups and other elements of the radical right.

On Wednesday in Lansing, Michigan, a protest put together by two Republican-connected not-for-profits was explicitly devised to cause gridlock in the city, and for a time blocked the entrance to a local hospital.

It was organized by the Michigan Conservative Coalition, which Michigan state corporate filings show has also operated under the name of Michigan Trump Republicans. It was also heavily promoted by the Michigan Freedom Fund, a group linked to Trump cabinet member Betsy DeVos.

But the protest also attracted far right protest groups who have been present at pro-Trump and gun rights rallies in Michigan throughout the Trump presidency.

Placards identified the Michigan Proud Boys as participants in the vehicle convoy. Near the state house, local radio interviewed a man who identified himself as “Phil Odinson”.

In fact the man is Phil Robinson, the prime mover in a group called the Michigan Liberty Militia, whose Facebook page features pictures of firearms, warnings of civil war, celebrations of Norse paganism, and memes ultimately sourced from white nationalist groups like Patriot Front.

The pattern of rightwing not-for-profits promoting public protests while still more radical groups use lockdown resistance as a platform for extreme rightwing causes looks set to continue in events advertised in other states over coming days.

In Idaho on Friday, protesters plan to gather at the capitol building in Boise to protest anti-virus restrictions put in place by the Republican governor, Brad Little.

The protest has been heavily promoted by the Idaho Freedom Foundation (IFF), which counts among its donors “dark money” funds linked to the Koch brothers such as Donors Capital Fund, and Castle Rock, a foundation seeded with part of the fortune of Adolph Coors, the rightwing beer magnate.

IFF have added their slogan for the event, “Disobey Idaho”, to stickers which they plan to distribute among the crowd.

The event is also being promoted on a website dedicated to attacking Little for his response to Covid-19. That website was set up by the Idaho businessman, pastor, and one time Republican state senate candidate, Diego Rodriguez.

Rodriguez launched the website at an Easter service held in defiance of the governor’s orders on Easter Sunday, which was also addressed by Ammon Bundy, the leader of the militia occupation of the Malheur National wildlife refuge in 2016 that become a rallying point for the anti-government right in the US.

Bundy has been holding similar gatherings for weeks in Emmett, Idaho, where he now lives. On Sunday, he repeated his opposition to the Idaho orders, writing on Facebook: “We all have a duty to defend what is right and to make sure, that what God has given, man does not take away. Especially that great gift of agency, YES freedom!”

Ada county, Idaho, where the capital, Boise, is located, has so far suffered 541 cases of Covid-19 and nine deaths, in a state which has a far worse outbreak than neighboring Oregon, which is 2.4 times more populous.

Nevertheless, the ad for the rally on Rodriguez’s website advises, “We feel that wearing face masks and gloves is counterproductive to the movement, and should be avoided”.

In Washington state, meanwhile, which for now has brought one of the worst outbreaks in the country under a measure of control, a Republican State committeeman, Tyler Miller, has organized a protest at the state capitol on Saturday.

Miller, who is active in the Kitsap county Republican party, was involved in passing a resolution in January in support of representative Matt Shea, who was excluded from the State House’s GOP caucus after a report commissioned by house found that he had participated in domestic terrorism.

Hundreds of Facebook users have indicated that they will be attending his “Hazardous Liberty” rally, and a parallel event in Richland, Washington.

Included in that number are members of the 3% of Washington, a group which has held a series of open carry rallies in Seattle, featuring speeches from the far right protest leader, Joey Gibson.

As for Shea, he is speaking on Saturday at an online “Saving America” conference which will discuss an alleged erosion of rights “that’s been ramped up in unprecedented ways during this Covid-19 crisis”.

He is scheduled to appear alongside the likes of close ally Pastor Ken Peters, who has been holding monthly services outside Spokane’s planned parenthood clinic; the actor, Maga personality and congressional candidate, Mindy Robinson; and the New Zealand-based anti-communist speaker and author, Trevor Loudon.

Other similar events have been advertised for Saturday by an anti-vaccination activist in Oregon, and for Friday by a Boston group with alt-right connections.

“We feel that wearing face masks and gloves is counterproductive to the movement, and should be avoided”

[MplsTaper]

The virus that is Republican & Libertarian stupidity and selfishness hits close to home.

'Liberate Minnesota' rally to protest coronavirus order, 'anti-American governor,' science, reason - You wanna check out a comments section? oof!

Through Tuesday, Minnesota has 1,809 confirmed cases of COVID-19, and the virus is blamed for 87 deaths. As states go, those numbers are low, and a sign the stay-at-home order imposed by Gov. Tim Walz from mid-March through early May is working.

But are we really flattening the curve, as you'll hear from scientists and public health experts? Or are we just stepping on the American flag, as you'll hear from... well, several people with Facebook accounts.

Under an event page titled "Liberate Minnesota," conservatives are organizing a rally outside the governor's mansion to "demand Governor Walz and our state legislators end this lock down!" The protest, scheduled for noon on Friday, mirrors similar public demonstrations held in North Carolina, Kentucky, and Michigan.

Like Minnesota, those states happen to have Democratic governors, though the Liberate Minnesota page has a more pointed label for Walz, a former social studies teacher and football coach who served 24 years in the U.S. National Guard:

"The fact is, our freedoms and economy are under full blown attack by a radical anti-American Governor -- and we must act quickly if we are going to save them!"

The rally page asserts Walz has not ordered a stay-home order (among others) to "save lives," but is instead attempting to "launch a full blown attack on the citizens of Minnesota... to strip away and annihilate the freedoms that we enjoy!"

Organizers would rather take cues from Donald Trump, who, they write, "has been very clear that we must get America back to work very quickly or the 'cure' to this terrible disease may be the worse option!" (Warning: Do not read the Liberate Minnesota page if you have a preexisting condition triggered by exclamation points.)

Among the event hosts are Don Huizenga, a former candidate for the Minnesota Senate from Anoka; Michele Even, an activist who is afraid of both Muslims and social services; and Marni Hockenberg.

As the founder of Hockenberg Search, an "executive career transition" firm, Marni is described on the company website as a "sought after keynote speaker, facilitator, panel moderator, panelist and expert commentator." And folks, you're about to find out why.

Sociopolitically, Hockenberg was most recently a central figure in the fight over whether St. Louis Park should say the Pledge of Allegiance before conducting official city business.

Turns out Hockenberg (who in fact lives in Roseville) always has her sensors up for the erosion of fundamental freedom. First a suburb isn't yelling "under God!" before approving the zoning variance on an apartment complex, and the next thing you know, the government's trying to keep you from dying in a pandemic!

On her YouTube channel, where Hockenberg broadcasts almost daily to a network of 17,000-plus followers, she says attendees of Friday's rally would be "literally rising up," an apparent reference to Marni's intentions to vacate her home office computer chair.

Hockenberg's homemade videos are both dimly lit and clearly read right off some sort of document she has open on her screen. (Watch her eyes, though don't look directly into them unless you're not afraid to learn exactly how much God loves the S&P 500.)

She predicts the rally could draw "anywhere between 500 to 1,000 people," intoning the latter number with astonishment, as if she's only just learning about it. Marni welcomes people to join this "peaceful way for our fellow American citizens exercise our constitutional right to assembly and free speech."

She continues, in a tone that sounds almost exactly like a third-grade teacher warning students before a field trip:

Let's talk for a minute about personal responsibility. Use it. You are responsible for yourself, your health, your safety, your actions, your family, your property, and the consequences of your actions and anything, literally, that is in your own personal control. We are not responsible for anything that might happen to you or the people you are with. Only you are responsible for your current health situation, or future health, if you make the personal decision to attend. Compromised people need not attend. Friends, police yourself, and not others.

And there's their reasoning in a nutshell. You're responsible for you and your family, but not responsible for even the person standing next to you and your family, breathing the same air, expressing your fear of public health experts and your love of America in the same dangerous and deeply stupid way.

So sorry all but she turned off the comments section! Nice collection of flags lady.

[Squish Squash]

Originally Posted by FoolofaTook

look at this dipshit:

What the fuck is he encouraging people to break lockdown????