The whole Texas GOP platform is insane but the piece that jumped out to me was the endorsement of a

[In It to Win It]

Paul Waldman
@paulwaldman1

3h
1. The whole Texas GOP platform is insane but the piece that jumped out to me was the endorsement of a state-level electoral college, eliminating one person-one vote in favor of a system they could gerrymander so that the votes of white rural Republicans will count more.

2. This is not the first time this has come up. Not long ago a Colorado GOP governor candidate offered such a plan; an analysis found it would give 2,000 voters in three rural counties twice as many electoral votes as 761,000 voters in three urban counties.

3. This is a road test: Does the base like this? How much blowback does it get? Based on the results, more and more Republicans will probably start advocating the same thing in their states.

4. The GOP is now in a stage of radical experimentation. They're feeling so empowered that they're throwing around ideas that two years ago they'd never have spoken aloud because they're so radical. Now there are literally no limits.

5. Eliminating democracy is THE KEY to every other ideological goal. If you can engineer the system so you always have power no matter what, the voters can't stop you and all your darkest fantasies can be realized.

6. They're still figuring out the shape of this new program; calling it 21st century fascism isn't totally inaccurate, but we may need a new word to describe it. Either way, it's impossible to overstate how dangerous it is.

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[SheltieLover]

1. Lie, cheat, steal. It's all they have.

[tanyev]

2. They've been fans of splitting the electoral vote in blue states.

But never, ever in red states. Huh.

[lindysalsagal]

3. So, they're blatantly suggesting that representative democracy is over. The land of "rights."

As in, their rights to their gunz. But they don't care if their right to vote is stolen. That's perfectly fine.

[Brenda]

4. The Radical Right.

Last edited Mon Jun 20, 2022, 03:48 PM - Edit history (1)

I wish Dems would use the Radical Right's own fucking projection words right back at them.

[rubbersole]

5. This smells like ALEC or Heritage Foundation bullshit.

Introduced in repub controlled states after a test drive in Florida or Texas. Oligarchs getting their money's worth.

[calimary]

22. Yep, it smells, alright. Stinks, in fact.

[Farmer-Rick]

24. Isn't that how it was before 1836?

State reps voted for presidential electors. Citizens didn't get a vote.

I bet if Texas GOPers looks even further back into history they'll find all sorts of archain laws and voting restrictions they would love. How about poll taxes...oh yeah, that's what the real ID crap is all about. Or maybe filthy rich kings and lords handing out edicts like gods.

[uponit7771]

27. yep

[Hortensis]

40. Yep. I read the Kochs have been funding the purging of

more moderate conservatives from the TX Republican Party, and others. And "moderate" is relative. By last century's standards, before Koch Alliance money helped move the entire party way right, today's would not qualify as moderate.

[sop]

6. It's abundantly evident Republicans can no longer be trusted to hold free and fair elections.

For years elections to Republicans have been merely perfunctory affirmations of their white supremacy. They feel so entitled to victory that when it looks like they'll lose power due to changing demographics, elections have to be stolen.

[Leith]

7. Well, it looks like

in Texas, some people are more equal than other people.

[Liberal In Texas]

8. They really hate the large metro areas. And the people in them.

They're showing their fear that the RW might finally get voted out. Every election we get closer and closer to taking the state over.

This is nothing short of fascism.

[Lonestarblue]

11. I keep hoping, but we always seem to fall short. Texas is huge, and there are a lot of rural areas.

I have this fantasy that Beto beats Greg Abbott because of all the new businesses Abbott lured to Texas with huge tax giveaways and the voters who came from blue states for those jobs. That would be sweet! And it could have happened before all the voter suppression laws. Now it will be tough because we know mail enough ballots will be tossed in the trash for some small clerical error in all the Democratic cities so Abbott can win. Clerical errors will be ignored for Republican ballots.

I’m encouraging everyone I know to vote in person if they can this fall because it’s more difficult to change or throw out electronic votes with newer machines having paper backups. Plus, you don’t have to know what the secret Republican handshake is to fill out the mail ballot and its envelope. We got new machines in Travis County a couple of years ago, but I don’t know how many counties still use old machines without a paper trail.

[Tommymac]

12. Nothing short of Racism. Misogyny. Intolerance. Hate.

That's why I call then reTHUGS.

[Irish_Dem]

9. GOP states will reject federal laws and operate independently.

Of course they will still be taker states and have their hands open for federal dollars, but reject federal laws they don't like.

[ancianita]

10. It's a corporate run state, so of course it's going renegade and trying to destabilize rule of law

nationwide.

Big Corps likely aims to base its fascist takeover of democracy out of Texas.

All the while, Texas will want to do Big Corps' bidding while still demanding all their federal constitutional 'rights and protections.'

[Evolve Dammit]

13. Very good info. making new rules to circumvent democracy. other states will use

anything that works as their roadmap. "Clear and present danger" to our republic.

[A HERETIC I AM]

14. "These are people who claim to love America, but clearly can't stand Americans."

- Annette Bening as Sydney Ellen Wade in “The American President”

[muriel_volestrangler]

15. Call it "the dictatorship of white rural men"

I can find "agrotocracy" for "rule by farmers", but it's not quite that; it's rule by people who live in sparsely-populated areas. And have guns, and friends in the capital city, so those non-white types who also live in sparsely-populated areas (eg Native Americans) just don't happen to get power, thanks to the way the boundaries are gerrymandered. Google Translate points me to something starting "agrot-" for rural, or "exoch-" for countryside, but I don't even know if those are just modern Greek, or ancient Greek too.

[Martin Eden]

16. START the STEAL

That should be the official name of their new program.

[czarjak]

17. Stealing elections since 2000. Putin paid attention to how easy they make it.

[NJCher]

18. I'd rephrase this

from this:

4. The GOP is now in a stage of radical experimentation. They're feeling so empowered that they're throwing around ideas that two years ago they'd never have spoken aloud because they're so radical. Now there are literally no limits.



to this:

The GOP is now in a stage of radical experimentation. They're feeling so desperate that they're throwing around ideas that two years ago they'd never have spoken aloud because they're so radical. Now there are literally no limits.

[Cosmocat]

21. Empowered is 100% correct

nm

[NJCher]

23. you are unfortunately

Last edited Mon Jun 20, 2022, 09:37 PM - Edit history (1)

giving them more credit than they are due. Take the long view, not the short term view.

[Cosmocat]

25. The long view is that since Nixon

They keep getting worse and suffer less consequences. That us why they are empowered, and know it.

[NJCher]

29. Here ya' go

This is why "empowered" is the wrong word. Poor word choice.

empowered
adjective
invested with legal power or official authority especially as symbolized by having a scepter.
enabled or permitted.
Having been given the power to make choices relevant to one's situation.

The word simply does not apply in this situation.

Nixon had to resign. Many of the people in the scandal went to prison, including John Dean.

Regardless, you seem bent on admiring these oafs, so enjoy your fanboy endeavor.

[Cosmocat]

30. You can't beat the enemy if you don't know them

Your childish response is aligned w your childish position.

These people are no joke, and they aren't just going to go away.

If you don't recognize how grave of a threat they are you are part of the problem.

[NJCher]

33. actually

First, nobody said they were going to go away. You are introducing issues that aren't even being argued. While I wouldn't call that childish, it is uneducated.

Nobody said they were a joke, either. Again: you have nothing to respond with so it appears you're introducing a new issue. Totally unacceptable in argumentation.

You are using a word that is incorrect.The word incorrectly attributes a quality that does not exist with this adversary. And you don't have the slightest idea why that is important, do you?

Not even the foggiest notion.

[Cosmocat]

34. Play your word games

These people are 10O% empowered.

They stormed the fricken capital building in mass, smaller assaults on state capitals, were ready to abduct a governor tie her up and set her adrift in the middle of a great lake, nearly pulled off a fake electors scam and actively working to make sure they can execute it fully the next time.

You asking them as "oafs" is in line w your lack of seriousness on the grave threat they are.

They intend to do GREAT harm to many, and each and every day are one step closer to being to the point to do so.

I'm done trifling around w you on this.

[NJCher]

36. who empowered them?

you'll defeat your argument if you answer that question.

Oh, and words matter. It is not a matter of "word games." Unless, of course, you are trying to weasle out of something. Then it becomes a word game.

[moniss]

19. They've been

advocating similar sentiments in Midwestern states for decades now. They don't want to pay taxes, support schools etc. It's all about getting power and keeping it. You hear them all the time wailing about how come the cities have more representatives etc. That's why they draw state districts that are almost the length of the state and only a few miles wide or draw ones that are barely recognizable.

[KS Toronado]

20. "new word to describe it."

American Brown Shirts?

[BadGimp]

26. David Frum said it best...

#GOPsurrender


“… If conservatives become convinced that they cannot win democratically, they will not abandon conservatism. They will reject democracy.”
― David Frum, Trumpocracy: The Corruption of the American Republic 2018

[Efilroft Sul]

44. Can't say it any better than that, because I see this happening with people I know.

[durablend]

28. White....male....property owner you can vote

Otherwise, fuck off.

So says the GQP

[Mike Niendorff]

31. K&R.

This is a really, really important sign of how low they're willing to sink to retain power. There is no bottom. And this is not a drill.


MDN

[UTUSN]

32. k&r

[KY_EnviroGuy]

35. Power-mad in Texas. Must be the heat.

Last edited Tue Jun 21, 2022, 07:08 AM - Edit history (1)

No, it's actually corporate and high-wealth money. Without it, they're just background noise.

All that pro-life, pro-gun and religious blather is just to gather cheap votes and divide our people.


Plain & simple.......

[mn9driver]

37. Republicans cannot win elections with their ideas. So rather than change their ideas,

They will eliminate elections.

[MiHale]

38. KnR

[Hortensis]

39. Yup. Fascistic ultraconservatives have taken over the TX GOP.

I've been reading about "RINO hunting" in TX and around the nation to consolidate their control by purging Republicans insufficiently loyal to tRump. Egged on by Fox, Kochs helping fund, trumpists are inflamed to attack Republicans betraying the cause.

"Dan Crenshaw is a traitor! He needs to be hung for treason." ~ One of a pack of aggressive, booing demonstrators at the TX Republican Convention after Congressman Crenshaw, a former Navy SEAL, was criticized by Tucker Carlson for supporting Ukraine against Russia.

In Germany this progressed to people afraid of being attacked on the streets if they failed to heil or sing when Hitler loyalists did.

[RevBrotherThomas]

41. Apparently...

...the Texas GOP has decided to dispense with the hoods altogether.

[flying_wahini]

42. I'm just about over this bullshit. Guess we will be looking for a place out of the country.

[Martin68]

43. As their popularity and voter base shrinks, the GOP has to rely on cheating and rigging the game.

They are pretty good at it, and it took us way too long to realize it actually works. That's how they stacked the Supreme Court, gerrymandered red states to produce impregnable "majorities", and suppressed the Democratic vote.

[DENVERPOPS]

45. Exactly NC