General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsPierce: Im Out of Empathy. Im Out of Pity. Im Out of Patience.
...Any report about Roy Moore that doesnt specifically refer to him as a right-wing extremist is not worth your time. No more firebrand. No more impotent yap about his controversial views. Roy Moore is an extremist or the word no longer has meaning. If, as appears likely, he gets elected to the Senate from Alabama, then a majority of Alabama voters are extremists, too. If he gets elected, then the Republican Party ever more should be referred to as an extremist party. That, of course, is if were being honest about whats really going on in this country in 2017.
And, no, when it comes to the people who voted for Moore, I dont have to respect their beliefs. I dont have to understand where theyre coming from. I dont have to see it from their side. These people are preparing to make a lawless theocratic lunatic one of 100 United States Senators, and that means these people are about to inflict him and his medievalism on me, too. If you think that Roy Moore belongs in the Senate, then you are a half-bright goober whose understanding of American government and basic civics probably stops at the left side of your AM radio dial. You have no concept of the national interest and very little concept of your own, unless, as I suspect, youve made your own fears, and hating people and hawking loogies in all directions, the sum total of your involvement in self-government. You are killing democracy and you dont know it or care. If you had any real Christian charity in your hearts, youd keep Roy Moore in the locked ward of your local politics and not loose him on a nation that deserves so much better than him....
Because hes a lawless theocratic lunatic, thats how. Because you voted for him specifically because he was a lawless theocratic lunatic. It was the basis of his campaign, no matter how many times Steve Bannon tells you youre part of a bold populist crusade. He very likely doesnt know enough about tax policy to throw to the cat, so hell go along on that as long as they let him make his floor speeches about how Cecile Richards is an imp from hell. (Condom: The Devils Party Hat.) And youll cheer him so loudly that you wont even notice that your pockets being picked again by someone with a solid-gold Rolex on his wrist.
Im out of empathy for this stuff. Im out of pity. Im out of patience. And, not for nothing, but Moores opponent is a guy named Douglas Jones. In 2001, Jones convicted two men for the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham in 1963, one of the iconic white supremacist terrorist acts of that period. One of those bastards already died in prison and the other keeps getting denied parole. If youd rather be represented in the Senate by a lawless theocratic lunatic, rather than a guy that finally got justice for four murdered little girls, well, you deserve anything that goddamn happens to you.
http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a12484953/who-is-roy-moore/
Moral Compass
(1,520 posts)thegoose
(3,115 posts)Bannon slithers out from under the gin bottle to support this bastard. Dump has no problem and switches allegiances to this bastard.
Anyone else spot a theme?
Whiskeytide
(4,461 posts)... not enthusiastic. He stated they were both good people, and that he'd support Moore if Moore won the primary. He said these things at a Strange campaign rally. That was all voters needed to tell them Trump was ok with Moore. McConnell and the R establishment know what he did. They are pissed about it, but of course cannot call him out on it.
But I think this is good evidence of the REAL plan.
I suspect pushing Moore over the top was Bannon's goal all along, and Trump was playing along while sticking a thumb in McConnell's eye. This is Trump/Bannon's idea of political strategy. They are knifing the R establishment in the back every chance they get because that creates fear, and they believe fear encourages loyalty.
I think Bannon - and therefore Trump - is actually quite pleased with the dysfunction in the republican congress because it fuels Bannon's "burn it all down" fantasy. Chaos is all part of the plan in Bannon's twisted little mind.
mnhtnbb
(31,384 posts)If elected. He obviously doesn't support the Constitution of the United States.
Girard442
(6,070 posts)That was just a movie. That won't happen when Moore puts his hand on the Bible to take the oath of office.
It won't, but it should.
volstork
(5,400 posts)Neither of them give a shit about the Constitution or the American people, but that didn't stop it from happening.
We are in a death spiral and we are all to stupid or numb to see it...
FiveGoodMen
(20,018 posts)True for the entire GOP and all of their supporters.
(Not counting the 2nd Amendment, of course)
brer cat
(24,562 posts)Zorro
(15,740 posts)Its only to hit somebody with it.
ehrnst
(32,640 posts)And we should not be fucking fooled into thinking we can appeal to them with some sort of economic plan that involves the government they hate so much, they will vote in an imbecile to "shake it all up."
hvn_nbr_2
(6,486 posts)Moore is a vile man.
Achilleaze
(15,543 posts)rzemanfl
(29,557 posts)NastyRiffraff
(12,448 posts)or could read at all. I know there are good people in Alabama (just heading off the inevitable but...buts from certain people on DU). I know not everybody in that state voted for Moore. I ALSO know that a majority of those voting in that primary DID vote for him, and I have to assume they did so because they agree with him until there's evidence to the contrary.
I agree with Pierce. I have no pity or understanding left for these people.
gratuitous
(82,849 posts)Doug Jones is a man who believes in the United States and its Constitution; Roy Moore is not. It's that stark. It's that simple. I hope Jones spends the next 10 weeks criss-crossing Alabama with that message. Get people registered. Get them to the polls. Ignore the bullshit the Republicans will be slinging, and concentrate on Jones and his record. Ignore people who say he can't possibly win. This is a short campaign season, and Alabama's a cheap media market. It won't take big pots of money to run an effective campaign. What it will take is an indefatigable candidate who will speak to any assembly of three or more voters all over the state, and a small army of volunteers.. Talk to every media outlet from the major network affiliates to the Weekly Screamer in East Podunk, without the Fox filter.
Let's see what happens, shall we?
Duppers
(28,120 posts)Leith
(7,809 posts)These idiots keep voting for the worst of the worst. They deserve any and all insults flying their way.
Teddy Rattlesnake
(7 posts)In Roy Moore's eyes because he's a Catholic. But many Southern Baptists like Moore don't consider anyone else who isn't a SB to be a Christian either. Moore will be the Todd Aiken of 2018.
Marcuse
(7,479 posts)mcar
(42,307 posts)Sad, depressing but says it.
burrowowl
(17,640 posts)Angry Dragon
(36,693 posts)smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)Maven
(10,533 posts)EOM
calimary
(81,238 posts)For every last one of the Deplorables/Despicables who fell for trump/pence/moore. And who vote for this theocratic, Christofascist crap.
A longtime friend of mine told me recently (when I was mumbling the points expressed in this column to myself, months ago) "but... but... but... you need to UNDERSTAND these people. You really need to UNDERSTAND where they're COMING from... " And even back then, my response was - "THE HELL I do! I don't have to understand SQUAT!!! When THEY start understanding what gullible, naive, misinformed, ignorant, 6th-Century-BC IDIOTS they are, THEN maybe I'll understand!"
Like Charlie Pierce, I too am OUT of empathy for this stuff. Im out of pity. Im out of patience.
Ligyron
(7,632 posts)They support a bigoted authoritarian who believes in a very particular supernatural fantasy which is largely at odds with the instruction book supporting said supernatural fantasy.
calimary
(81,238 posts)books. The fact that, for eight years, there was a black guy in the Oval Office and he wasn't the janitor.
Yet, meantime, this vulgar deceitful orange oaf saying all kinds of vulgar deceitful shit, in public, gets only tsk-tsk'd about it and suffers no serious consequences for it - and in effect, MAKING IT OKAY. Now you CAN say any old offensive nasty sexist racist misogynist thing you feel like saying (that you feel deep down in your heart-of-hearts but never had the nerve to spew out loud in public) and it's okay. He's normalized this shit. So people who feel, and share, that same nasty, selfish, thoughtless, mean-spirited, hateful, and downright un-American but never had the nerve to say so - now have all the encouragement in the world to do so. "Well, the president says that, so why can't I say it?" How many times have YOU heard or read that quote by now? I've heard it and seen it in print quite a lot. It's been normalized, validated, and excused.
Initech
(100,068 posts)stuffmatters
(2,574 posts)I'm doing this today, pronto.
Paladin
(28,254 posts)Roy Moore is a psychotic, theocratic scofflaw who has no business holding public office. If he gets into the Senate, I hope he does maximum damage to whatever remains of the common-sense republican party, and I hope Democrats take maximum advantage of that damage.
Martin Eden
(12,864 posts)more accurate label than "extremist"
mjvpi
(1,388 posts)mjvpi
(1,388 posts)Roy Moore is the American Taliban. I realize that I'm pulling Iran and Afghanistan into the same example. The people who voted for Moore are the descendants of Confedeate cannon fodder. When is the religious fight going to realize that they continually get used by the .1%? Vote with me while I pick your pocket. Like one friend from Iran said, "they are a simple people".
Juliusseizure
(562 posts)Generalizing here, but - that base just wants minorities to know their place like it used to be circa 1966 or earlier.
Take a look at YouTube and videos of Trump rallies. It's obvious to me they were holding in race-based rage for 8 years (flipside-fear of losing their perceived identity and hierarchy). Research based articles corroborate, but those videos just scream it.
By far the most passionate audience responses were for his racist and anti Hillary rhetoric. They were unexcited on economic issues. You hear racist catcalls during all of Trump's speeches, when he's alluding to other subjects.
I read these Alabama voters "hate" McConnell and the GOP establishment because they haven't done enough to help Trump's agenda, but more accurately, the racist agenda.
The issue summed up as a question- How could you let all the Mexicans in, invite minorities to share power, acquiesce to democrats on such issues, so that a black man thought he could be president and became president, threatening "our US" existentially? We'll vote for complete nut jobs - like Trump - like whoever - to reverse course.
I think people like Corker know this.
This will gain momentum as long as Trump's in there, because he's ultimately led by his base. When he saw MAGA hats being burned on his DACA agreement, he got the hint.
Nitram
(22,794 posts)anti-constitutionalist, extremist anti-American.
Hekate
(90,674 posts)King_Klonopin
(1,306 posts)They are called the Republican Base.
On MSNBC, they interviewed a few folks from Alabama re: the primary --
Only one man said he would consider voting for the Democratic candidate.
All the rest offered variations of this response: "We know Moore
is a batshit-crazy, lunatic-fringe, southern-racist, theocratic asshole...
but the Democrat is worse."
You can't fix stupid of this degree. You can only hope and pray that this
species will become extinct ASAP. I hope that stupid gun goes off in his
pocket and shoots his tiny dick off.
VOX
(22,976 posts)To hell with all these Confederate yahoos and KKK terrorists.
If they want to live in a fundy-xtian-racist-homophobic-reactionary nation, then they can secede again. Please, secede; you really can go this time, because I do think we have irreconcilable differences.
oberliner
(58,724 posts)Not helpful.
El Mimbreno
(777 posts)only the ones who voted for trump and moore.
oberliner
(58,724 posts)Pretty much voted for Trump.
I'm not disagreeing with the sentiment (i.e. that those who voted for Trump are foolish for doing so) but I do think that this kind of article using this kind of language is not helpful for our side.
louis c
(8,652 posts)when in fact, common sense would tell us differently.
I always try to tell political politicians I work with not use that phrase, "we" when referring to the body that you disagree with.
Example : Hilary said that "We will eliminate coal jobs in America, so we have to have new training programs for these workers". She didn't mean that she was actively closing coal mines. If she said "As America chooses to move into new and innovative methods to fuel our nation, we have to recommit to the employees in those sectors that need our help by increasing training in those new jobs."
oberliner
(58,724 posts)Are being referred to as "half-bright goobers" by this writer.
Tell me how someone being grouped in that category is supposed to respond to that.
orangecrush
(19,546 posts)Against real "Goobers".
/revision/latest?cb=20140201054843
iirc, "Goober" was a really nice, kind hearted guy without a mean bone in his body.
louis c
(8,652 posts)oberliner
(58,724 posts)If your wife asks you how she looks in a dress and you think she looks horrible, it would be truthful to tell her so, but not necessarily the best option.
DFW
(54,370 posts)He has a gun in the other hand. An armadillo is more of a Christian than he is.
spanone
(135,830 posts)ProudProgressiveNow
(6,129 posts)orangecrush
(19,546 posts)bigbrother05
(5,995 posts)Motley13
(3,867 posts)And how did Mary convince everyone she was a virgin?
And we can help get the vote out - haven't they closed a lot of polling places and made it harder for black people there to vote. What can we do to help them get registered and get to the polls?
58Sunliner
(4,386 posts)Angry Dragon
(36,693 posts)lunatica
(53,410 posts)So, just to hedge their bets with God on death day, they vote for God's best servant.
Very religious people are deep down terrified of God. He's an angry white man who loves to smite people.
Dark n Stormy Knight
(9,760 posts)apostrophes.