We. Would. CRY.: US Politics, July 2022

Fortunately, the ads aren't being shown exclusively to the Republican base.

The Republican base are, however, the only people who'll be voting while the ad is running.

Come on, it's not some kind of 12-D chess that they're planning on voters remembering this ad in November - they're pumping up fascists. It's win-win - either the fascist is an easier candidate to beat in November OR they get to fundraise even more when the fascist wins. MAGA has been nothing but a boon to Democratic consultants.

am i missing something or having a stroke? how is that ad in support of Gibbs?

Meijer is a chump who wasn't going to win anyway

The point of the ad is to signal to the far-right GOP base that Gibbs is super conservative and endorsed by Trump. This thread of the conversation is weird as to my knowledge there is zero ambiguity about what the Dems are doing, their own party members are calling them out for it.

Trump has 80+% approval ratings with the people who are going to the polls in the MI GOP primary.

Democrats are running ads about how much the guy with 80%+ approval loves the openly fascist candidate.

Like Reuters doesn't even consider presenting another take on this here: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/risky-midterm-strategy-democrats-boost-far-right-candidate-michigan-race-2022-07-26/

Trump has 80+% approval ratings with the people who are going to the polls in the MI GOP primary.

See heres the thing tho. He's going to win anyway.

it's not some kind of 12-D chess that they're planning on voters remembering this ad in November

You really think everyone but you is a fucking moron, don't you?

I guess on the list of things I'm supposed to worry about that the Democrats are doing well this is way way down the list

'Democrats aren't running ads promoting a fascist because Democrats wouldn't do that - it's totally normally to run ads in the other party's primary for a candidate you're sure is going to lose anyway.'

C'mon Jack.

I agree it's a shit strategy but it's not like Trumpy candidates did very well in 2018 or 2020. not having him in office changes things obviously but I can't imagine the January 6 stuff is helping

that said it's utterly insane for the party to be spending their money this way. not only are you amplifying harmful messages but you're turning off potential donors. you're engaging in gamesmanship at a time when the country has some real serious problems, not least of which is the fact that the literal fascists you're boosting are going to outlaw real elections the first chance they get. it's as though they learned absolutely nothing from 2016.

As more or less reasonable as a few of these retorts are, I've yet to see a Democrat use one of them to defend this practice (of course, I may have missed something); it's only been about manoeuvring to run against the supposedly easily beat wackjob

Anyway, the reason I called it immoral is my own hunch about electoral strategy is: this is a bad time for the Ds to double down on appearing to be nakedly cynical and cocky with too much money lying around. I'm sure someone will point out that not too many voters even know about this, which is probably true though it's been on NPR and CNN, but I can still be mad about it.

xpost w/frogs, you're engaging in gamesmanship at a time when the country has some real serious problems is exactly what I was bothered by

there's a little bit of 12D chess going on here, in that it might force Meijer to spend more money, which has to come from somewhere

He's a Meijer heir, I think he can scrape up some money.

"Grandpa, my trust fund only has $100mn can you spot me $5mn for an ad buy?"

idk while I don't think I can ever be convinced this is a good use of resources we are kinda in uncharted waters here. Biden is massively unpopular and every traditional factor points to Dems getting demolished in the midterms, but the GOP is even *less* popular, they're running some truly awful candidates out there, they're actively stripping away our rights, plus it looks pretty fucking obvious that they attempted a coup last year. I cannot fucking stand the Dems and what they're doing, and I really really wish Biden would step aside, but I'm going to vote for them the first day I can because I'm so terrified of what the GOP will do once they get power. I am guessing a lot of people who don't normally vote in midterms feel the same.

milo, it is possible to believe that Taiwan has a right to its own sovereignty— because it does— while not making apologies for the CCP OR the US. You don't seem to care about that, tho. How do you feel about millions of people being put in reeducation camps?

I expect typical response that forgives great leader China for everything because blaming the US for the situation *when it is pretty obvious that CHINA is the aggressor* is convenient.

(and yeah, if that is your response, you are a fucking tankie)

"Believing that Taiwan has a right to its own sovereignty" is irrelevant to US saber rattling and ratcheting up Cold War II: Electric Boogaloo, which was the subject of the Politico article I was referring to.

I'm neither Chinese nor Taiwanese, I have no say in their internal or foreign affairs. I'm an American citizen, though, and thus have some interest in our empire, our nationalism, our military industrial complex, our foreign policy. What I do oppose is the United States potentially going to war over Taiwan and the MIC selling ever more weapons to Taiwan, which is the endgame of the people "hardening" US policy toward China.

Accepting that there are other great powers and that we don't get to dictate terms to the rest of the world is not being a 'tankie.'

many xps bulb

you're right, i had not watched the ads! but they line up with the description in the article:

Desperate to retain control of Congress in November in the face of stiff political head winds, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has become the latest party entity this election year to aid a Trump-endorsed Republican in a primary against a candidate who has resisted the former president. The $435,000 investment calls Gibbs “too conservative” in ads and highlights his connection to Trump — a winking message meant to boost his appeal to conservative primary voters.

The calculation: Come November, a far-right GOP nominee with polarizing positions will be easier to defeat. But some Democrats have voiced alarm that their party would elevate the kinds of Republicans they have argued present a threat to democracy and would punish the rare GOP official who joined their stand against Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob. Not only is it risky, they said, but wrongheaded.

but, after watching, i agree that "Democrats funding trump candidates" is not a good way to describe what's happening. it's weird. they are spending money to support Gibbs (or at least to make Meijer's re-election more difficult, as andy the grasshopper mentioned), but they can't say "we want Gibbs to win", and i guess they also don't want Meijer to win, so they can't say that. so instead of a positive statement about either of the two republicans, all the DCCC can do is make a sort of double-negative, two wrongs make a right kind of play where they "insult" the far-right guy for being too conservative. it's all so weird, and it also insults the intelligence of anyone watching. either they fool the republican primary voters, or they get caught trying to fool republican primary voters. maybe they wouldn't be in this situation if they stopped trying to run ads in republican primaries that require multidimensional fluency in order to make sense of in the first place, lol

🚨MANCHIN says he’s reached agreement with Schumer on a reconciliation deal that deals with climate, energy, tax and health care. pic.twitter.com/v3fRxP5n70

— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) July 27, 2022

lmao "inflation reduction act" they should have called it that months ago

'affordable fossil fuel energy'

in fact, he'll even sell you some

lol

Did no one see this part of his statement? Of course this is a windfall for oil, coal and NG. You can call it whatever you like but it's not green. pic.twitter.com/R3VAdjYDK2

— Avant-guerre (@Pruit_Igoe) July 27, 2022

A little good news

Teen bullied by Matt Gaetz raises over $200,000 for abortion rights funds

“He’s probably afraid,” said Julianna, referring to Gaetz not replying to her comments or campaign. “Last time ‘Matt Gaetz’ and ‘teenager’ were trending it didn’t exactly go well for him.”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jul/27/matt-gaetz-texas-teen-abortion-rights-funds

The Dems have used this tactic before, at least as far back as 2010. Before Trump they would just say the candidate was “too conservative” or the most pro-life or whatever. Sometimes it works! I don’t know why people are mystified by what’s on here.

because the candidates they are boosting might win and if they win they will have a good shot at ending democracy

While putting the 1/6 hearings on in prime time and scolding you if you don’t treat them seriously enough.

This whole “Dems funding GOP ads” thing only reinforces my belief that television advertising is one of the worst facets of American politics. Millions of dollars poured into out of context sound bites, half truths, innuendo and bullshit.

Because only old conservative fucks watch prime time teevee.

xxxpost I mean why are people on this thread arguing that this is not a deliberate tactic

ah sorry, iswym.

.@leahstokes, who worked with Democrats on climate piece of reconciliation package, tells me of green activists worried about permitting part of Manchin/Schumer deal: "Yes there will be some difficult tradeoffs, but it's going to be 10 times as much good stuff as bad stuff."

— Joshua Siegel (@SiegelScribe) July 27, 2022

:shrug:

i mean if the net is 40% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2030 that seems good. 40% is a smaller number than e.g. 50% but it's 40% more than we're going to get from the 2023/4 congress.

watch sinema tank it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqfL6_6qEJY

ha

So McConnell and republicans said they wouldn’t pass chips if reconciliation was alive.

They passed chips

Dems revived reconciliation hours after chips passed.

— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) July 27, 2022

Oh good, a NEW third party! For realsies this time!

LOS ANGELES, July 27 (Reuters) - Dozens of former Republican and Democratic officials will announce on Wednesday a new national political third party to appeal to millions of voters they say are dismayed with what they see as America's dysfunctional two-party system.

The new party, called Forward, will initially be co-chaired by former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang and Christine Todd Whitman, the former Republican governor of New Jersey. They hope the party will become a viable alternative to the Republican and Democratic parties that dominate U.S. politics, founding members told Reuters.

Party leaders will hold a series of events in two dozen cities this autumn to roll out its platform and attract support. They will host an official launch in Houston on Sept. 24 and the party's first national convention in a major U.S. city next summer.

The new party is being formed by a merger of three political groups that have emerged in recent years as a reaction to America's increasingly polarized and gridlocked political system. The leaders cited a Gallup poll last year showing a record two-thirds of Americans believe a third party is needed.

The merger involves the Renew America Movement, formed in 2021 by dozens of former officials in the Republican administrations of Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush and Donald Trump; the Forward Party, founded by Yang, who left the Democratic Party in 2021 and became an independent; and the Serve America Movement, a group of Democrats, Republicans and independents founded by former Republican congressman David Jolly.

So...no actual Democrats, then. Maybe the Forward party's logo could be four capital Fs, in a kind of X pattern...?

new national political third party to appeal to millionstens of voters

No Labels

Are you socially liberal but fiscally conservative but also maybe a bit of a transphobe and also you don't really like the way your darlings Cody and Ambyr are being taught to villainize white people in school and you keep seeing posts on Nextdoor about gangs prowling around in your subdivision and oh shit you're just going to vote Republican anyway.

yes i am

But wait, remember how Trump was embarrassing?

I can't believe Manchin switched positions. For whatever reason he did, I am glad. It truly feels like the end of the world, although I suppose everyone has said that for at least 100 years.

F-word Party

what a breath of fresh air they will be
💨

Remember that RT upthread, of Yang reminding us that Lincoln (REPUBLICAN) and Johnson (DEMOCRAT) were a winning thing, baby---John Legend: "And what happened then?"

pretending to have covid so you can recover from a face lift is so me https://t.co/PkYLpeEgxG

— Bʀᴀɴᴅᴏɴ (@bjbjonez) July 26, 2022

It truly feels like the end of the world, although I suppose everyone has said that for at least 100 years.

people have been saying this since forever, only it feels really real this time

I've taken to responding to my doomscrolling brother's pronouncements of our imminent demise (mostly because of climate, but other things too) by saying, "Well, probably not in my lifetime." What else is there to say to it really?

"Well, probably not in my lifetime."

what your brother probably says to this, or what i would say to it at least, is "it's already happening in our lifetime"