At the risk of stating the obvious, the July 2019 US Politics Thread is horse-sh*t

FWIW I don't know that anyone itt has suggested that the hatred and xenophobia currently being expressed are anything novel. The volume and vehemence, however, are certainly at levels I haven't previously experienced in my lifetime.

b) allowing birds of a feather to easily flock together, free of the bounds of geography, and construct little fortified echo chambers where they can collectively reinforce the righteousness of whatever self-description they choose to rally around.

well yeah otherwise they'd have to make due with printing out their own newsletters and calling into AM talk shows

tbh, as an active BK gentrifier, I take "go back where you came from" as an attack that feels plenty personal; funny how that phrase doesn't seem to apply to the people you'd think it might most apply to: colonizers. during pride, i heard Peppermint give a talk about how everyone in the crowd who considered themselves an ally was now queer as far as she was concerned, with the proviso that with that inclusivity came vulnerability. Her point was that allies needed to get just as angry, activated and involved when the queer community comes under fire as one would if they saw family under attack. Same principle needs to be applied to white america's understanding of immigrant families both incoming and next generation. That's a lot easier to do in an urban setting where everyone's neighbors and friends fit the description (and goes a long way in explaining why the plurality of urban folks are pro sanctuary city) but harder to swallow within the insular and more homogenous settings of the flyover states. Maybe we can solve all this by switching homes for a month or two.

The obviousness of race/religion/ethnicity/class baiting by the superrich to distract white america from the genuine culprits behind income inequality, opioid addiction, stagnant wages and death of the middle class would be comedic if it weren't so entirely successful.

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/453641-dems-open-to-killing-filibuster-in-next-congress

“I want to talk to the president about the tweet, and what has emanated from that,” the Michigan Republican told POLITICO. “It’s one thing to do chants of ‘lock her up.’ But a chant like [‘send her back’] is simply not reflective of our constitution.”

cool, TIL jailing your political opponents is in the constitution

it's premature to concede 2020 to Yam

and *of course* this is who we are

as if this suddenly appeared out of nowhere

what was formerly tacitly understood (the Southern Strategy) now brays itself proudly

He's realized it's not playing as well as he thought it would.

Trump disavows 'send her back' chant from his rally

President Donald on Thursday disavowed the “send her back” chant that broke out at his rally on Wednesday night.

"I was not happy with it. I disagree with it,” Trump said to reporters about the chant, which began after the president again went after Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) as part of his ongoing attack on four progressive freshman congresswomen.

This is disappointing; I had hoped it would take several more months for self-awareness to kick in, and that before that he would dig deeper and deeper until his approval ratings were in the mid-30s, with a 99% approval rating among non-college-educated white men who own three or more guns.

it'll last 'til his next rally

you were hoping he'd stoke racist chants against specific targets for a longer period of time in the hopes his approval rating would take a hit? xp

Guys he told them to stop

"Oh stop, you guys. You're really too much" *chuckles*

Xxpost i hope all of us would not want this.

you were hoping he'd stoke racist chants against specific targets for a longer period of time in the hopes his approval rating would take a hit?

Kinda, yeah. Do I want people like Ilhan Omar to be placed in actual danger because of his mouth-diarrhea? Of course not, but I have the feeling she's been traveling with security for a while. I don't think she's in any actual danger. But he is, politically and electorally. Remember, Trump is not popular. Alfred and I have to keep reminding people of this for some reason. So the more he carves his base down to the absolute bone, the better for 2020.

People were reminded that over and over right up until he got elected, so the cynicism is understandable.

I don't think she's in any actual danger.

https://missoulacurrent.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Gaby-Giffords.jpg

Gabby Giffords has something to tell you...

wait did Trump even tell them to stop it?

Also just, I'ma be cool, but how dare you bargain with a woman's life because you think it seems fine? She's not a THING, a bargaining chip to slide across the counter on the chance that it might slightly weaken an enemy. HOW DARE YOU.

xp you can watch the ugliness here, trump was explicitly stoking fires and generally being an ignorant fuckhead
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2019/07/17/trump_maga_rally_crowd_chants_send_her_back_to_rep_ilhan_omar.html

i'm sorry, you're wrong about that, forks.

When a reporter asked why he didn’t step in to quell the chant, Trump claimed some credit for doing so. “I think I did. I started speaking very quickly.”

once the chant (that appeared out of nowhere, nothing to do with him) started, he immediately stepped in. god damn he is a patriot

A lot of bad things are happening in Puerto Rico. The Governor is under siege, the Mayor of San Juan is a despicable and incompetent person who I wouldn’t trust under any circumstance, and the United States Congress foolishly gave 92 Billion Dollars for hurricane relief, much....

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 18, 2019

hate to have to say "fuck this asshole" every single day but $92 billion was the damage assessment, not even close to what we actually gave

once the chant (that appeared out of nowhere, nothing to do with him) started, he immediately stepped in. god damn he is a patriot

he didn't. he stepped away from the mic so the chant could continue

Gabby Giffords has something to tell you...

― There's more Italy than necessary. (in orbit), Thursday, July 18, 2019 12:59 PM (six minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

not america, but jo fox would have something to tell you too

btw, here's part of Omar's response:

“We have said this President is racist. We have condemned his racist remarks,” Omar told reporters. “I believe he is fascist.”

“I want to remind people that this is what this President and his supporters have done to our country that is supposed to be a country where we allow democratic debate and dissent to take place,” she added. “And so this is not about me. This is about us fighting for what this country truly should be.”

sorry to be a dullard, but for Granny's sake and ftr, no, he neither did nor said anything to stop the chant. apols for Chait content but you can see the video here: http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/07/trump-i-stopped-the-send-her-back-chant-he-didnt.html

he didn't. he stepped away from the mic so the chant could continue

sorry, my sarcasm level was at 100% there. he very obviously did nothing to stop them from chanting it. he wanted it, he got it, and then he stood back for a long time in silence so that it could continue.

Also just, I'ma be cool, but how dare you bargain with a woman's life because you think it seems fine? She's not a THING, a bargaining chip to slide across the counter on the chance that it might slightly weaken an enemy. HOW DARE YOU.

― There's more Italy than necessary. (in orbit), Thursday, July 18, 2019 2:02 PM (eight minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

OTMFM

what... what the fuck...
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2019/07/17/trump_theres_a_lot_of_talk_about_ilhan_omar_marrying_her_brother_i_know_nothing_about_it.html

Phil, I strongly disagree with you about any point regarding Omar's safety.

xp twitter currently pumping this horseshit out with all the force it can

sorry, my sarcasm level was at 100% there. he very obviously did nothing to stop them from chanting it. he wanted it, he got it, and then he stood back for a long time in silence so that it could continue.

oh I knew you were being sarcastic, just didn't know if you were aware that once again he's on camera doing the exact opposite of what he said he did

I'm sorry, like, I don't even know who you are, but after giving that post a few seconds of consideration my head basically exploded. She is putting her LIFE ON THE LINE just being a public figure. And regular house members DON'T GET SECURITY, as I confirmed with a basic google search.

Yam's denial of video'd reality is very Ted Baxterish

I’ll never forget the first time I watched @Ilhan receive a death threat. It came in the mail w/ no return address. She opened it, read it, folded it back up and said “I hope they find peace.”

She’s not going anywhere. And neither are we.#IStandWithIlhan pic.twitter.com/iUY8cSB3I4

— joelle (@joellestangler) July 18, 2019

it is unbelievable what a coward this bigot is, a guy who leads people to chant his and then turns on them, blaming them for doing it, "hey it wasn't me i tried to stop it." i understand "coward" and "bigot" are a bit redundant maybe. but his willingness to throw his most rabid supporters to the wolves should be pointed out, maybe. i don't know if that would work or if it's even a decent argument against him.

Some Republicans are now criticizing the chant at the rally while maintaining that there was nothing wrong with trump’s tweets that instigated the chant

"see we wanted them to say GO back not SEND THEM back, ugh"

this is an interesting choice of words https://t.co/avlMPaf1Al

— b-boy bouiebaisse (@jbouie) July 18, 2019

also demonstrated that he's a coward but not admitting who those initial tweets were directed to. "I think you can figure it out" or whatever. total chickenshit.

Ilhan Omar on the other hand is incredibly brave for sticking through all this

america is becoming unbecoming so they won't be coming

the problem with criticizing this administration is that you're left trying to find new ways to explain why the can of creamed corn poured over the steaming pile of dogshit and served as dinner is disgusting; you end up looking the fool stating what should be obvious but even so its hard to be heard over the noise of a third of the country licking the plate

Just stared at that tweet saying "WHAT?" for a while. Wow.

Take a drink every time a republican hearkens back to the abandoned dreams of our forefathers while simultaneously betraying an ignorance of history and how the world works. I'll keep the stomach pump on standby.

the problem with criticizing this administration is that you're left trying to find new ways to explain why the can of creamed corn poured over the steaming pile of dogshit and served as dinner is disgusting; you end up looking the fool stating what should be obvious but even so its hard to be heard over the noise of a third of the country licking the plate

― Fuck the NRA (ulysses), Thursday, July 18, 2019 2:42 PM (one minute ago) bookmarkflaglink

the more often you try to explain how disgusting it is to them the more enthusiastic their eating becomes. The more you insist they should feel sick like you do, the happier they are to do it to make you feel sicker.

you don't even have to. just look back a few years and ask where all this "if you don't like it, leave!" crap was when they were flinging shit at Obama nonstop. hell, even look back to 2016 when Trump's core issue was that America sucked and he was the only one who could fix it.

Also just, I'ma be cool, but how dare you bargain with a woman's life because you think it seems fine? She's not a THING, a bargaining chip to slide across the counter on the chance that it might slightly weaken an enemy. HOW DARE YOU.

― There's more Italy than necessary. (in orbit), Thursday, July 18, 2019 2:02 PM (eight minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

OTMFM

― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Thursday, July 18, 2019 1:12 PM (forty-five minutes ago)

OTMFM X2

I mean, it's not like some tidal wave of immigrants have flooded the US and taken 'our' jobs en masse. It seems, historically, that there are factors you can point to as the catalyst for reactive uprisings, but what the fuck are these people reacting to aside from, like, rabble rousers on the internet and a dipshit president who says every stupid thing that bubbles out of his brainstem?

honestly, capitalism, they just haven't been told that's it

Middle-aged and older Americans grew up in a United States essentially without immigrants, and I think most don't know that the America of today is the historical norm, and the mid-20th-century clampdown on immigration which they see as "normal" was the anomaly.

Shame the graph can't estimate percentage figures for 1560-1860 too.

I'm so afraid for her.

For Ilhan and AOC in particular but also for everyone else who confronts hatred right now because of the militarization + relentless othering + paranoia valu combo time that we're in.