YoungDemCA
YoungDemCA's JournalSteve Scalise in 1999: "I embrace many of the same conservative views as David Duke"
1999:
Another potential candidate, state Rep. Steve Scalise (R), said he embraces many of the same conservative views as Duke, but is far more viable.
The novelty of David Duke has worn off, said Scalise. The voters in this district are smart enough to realize that they need to get behind someone who not only believes in the issues they care about, but also can get elected. Duke has proven that he cant get elected, and thats the first and most important thing.
Full report from 1999 here: http://blogs.rollcall.com/218/scalise-vitter-talked-to-roll-call-about-david-duke-in-1999/
When I read this, Lee Atwater's infamous 1981 interview on the "Southern Strategy" came to mind:
Article: http://www.thenation.com/article/170841/exclusive-lee-atwaters-infamous-1981-interview-southern-strategy#
This where pandering to racists and neo-Confederates and Klansmen for the last several decades got the Republican Party: electing the likes of Steve Scalise to the House leadership. You reap what you sow.
Assholes.
Well, my late right-wing grandfather thought that Obama was a "far-left radical"..
Based in large part on that clip of Obama saying to "Joe the Plumber" that he wanted to "spread around the wealth."
He also believed that the head of the AFL-CIO was a Communist, that most of Obama's administration were Communists, and that "Corporations have done so much good for the world, it sickens me to hear liberals say all this negative garbage about them."
And no, my grandfather was not rich, in case you were wondering.
On "purity tests": The United States has a two-party political system
That is the reality, and it's always been this way, more or less.
If you want ideological purity in either major party, good fucking luck (I don't consider the Republicans to be ideologically "pure", either-there is really no coherent ideology there, beyond exploiting racism, sexism, homophobia, and other forms of bigotry in the raw pursuit of wealth and power, and always opposing and obstructing Democrats).
The Democrats have always been a "Big-Tent" party. Will Rogers himself said, "I'm not a member of any organized party-I'm a Democrat!" Additionally, the Democratic Party's voter base is far, far more diverse(in every sense of the word-demographically , ideologically, socioeconomically, age-wise, in terms of religious diversity, and very importantly, in terms of who shows up to vote and participate in the process) than that of the Republicans.
Want ideological liberal purity? Join a third party, or start your own. But you're misguided if you think that the Democratic Party is going to ever become "pure"-whatever that means!
Politics is not really driven by ideas though
Most people vote in a way that corresponds to how their friends and family have voted, and most people can be counted on to vote for their party on a consistent basis. Only a small fraction of the electorate is truly persuadable. Conviction in what the politician believes has nothing to do with it.
Sociopaths in High Places
An excerpt from an academic article (Cangemi and Pfhol, 2009).
In The Sociopath Next Door (Stout, 2005) and (Morse 2004; Babiak & Hare, 2006), it was stated about four percent of the United States population is sociopathic. Others have offered similar percentages. How accurate are these statistics? Cangemi and Pfohl, with over 70 years combined professional experience with scores of organizations in different cultures, and with exposure to thousands of leaders, staff personnel other associates and individuals-many on a confidential, one-on-one basis-believe this percentage may be higher.
These authors have observed first hand the workings of such individuals - especially their techniques, their callousness, their focused behavior, their desire to destroy a competitor, their delight in inflicting damage and pain on another, and their remorseless willingness to do whatever it takes (unethical, immoral, or illegal) to get what they want.
https://www.questia.com/article/1P3-1737653901/sociopaths-in-high-places
And a blog post from Linda Martinez-Lewi (Ph.d. and an expert in narcissistic personalities).
With the narcissistic style taking over much of our world today and becoming fully acceptableself absorption, obsession with appearance, being in the A list social circles, coldness and disdain for those outside of this magic bubbleit becomes easier for the sociopath to move in and out of business and social circles undetected as a dreadful human being. We have narcissistic sociopaths who run some of our prestigious corporations. We have some members of the branches of government who fit this definition. When you look at some of the dirty deal making that takes place, the rip-offs of those who are without power or money, and the pure greed involved you find that many in the corporate, entrepreneurial, entertainment, media and government that fit this definition. No one wants to talk about sociopaths in high places. Most people have a problem believing that a person with such prestige and power who is given the highest respect and deference and even lionized could be so predatory.
Their family members may not be aware of their levels of criminality. They have become so deluded and accustomed to leading privileged lives that they close their eyes to anything that disrupts the perfect insular world they have created. There are plenty of spouses and children of narcissistic sociopaths who will tell you horror stories about their private lives. Family members describe themselves as prisoners, unable to make their own decisions, forced to follow their parent(s) commands to the letter. They view ugly violent scenes between their parents that are re-enacted frequently and put them in a chronic state of anxiety and apprehension. Spouses who willfully stay married to these reprehensible individuals put the lives of their children in psychological and emotional jeopardy. If you are the spouse of one of these individuals and finally recognize all of the damage that has been done, wake up and prepare to sever these pathological relationships if not for yourself for your children.
Narcissism and sociopathy in its bloodless form are becoming more acceptable in the society at large. You dont notice many high level narcissists doing perp walks or losing court cases when they are clearly guilty or going out of business because they have been defrauding their business partners and clients for years.
http://thenarcissistinyourlife.com/narcissistic-sociopaths-in-high-places-3/
Apologies for triggering any horrible memories; but this is an important topic, IMHO.
The best Christmas present I ever received (HuffPo)
snip:
I made the decision, right then and there, to work at letting go of fear whenever it raised its ugly head and to strengthen my willingness to be at peace as I faced whatever I had to face that day. I found that choosing peace wasn't as hard as I thought. Stress and fear were hard. Peace actually made the day easier, better.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/don-joseph-goewey-/the-best-christmas-gift-i_b_6267020.html?utm_hp_ref=good-news&ir=Good%20News
The Republican Party's top priority is to raise taxes on the poor. Literally.
We can safely assume that should Republicans win in 2016, they'll take all the reduction in the budget deficit accomplished over the Obama years (at great cost and for no benefit, but that's another story) and do the same thing that George W. Bush did: hand it immediately to the rich.
That's not all, though. Unlike Bush, who gave his eye-wateringly regressive tax cuts a patina of democratic legitimacy by cutting the non-rich in on a small fraction of the spoils, Republicans are now firmly committed to the idea that poor people don't pay enough in taxes. The Earned Income Tax Credit was originally a conservative alternative to the welfare state, but increasingly only Democrats support it. Republicans are convinced that the EITC is riddled with fraud, and that voting for it means giving welfare to unauthorized immigrants. (In reality, the EITC results in quite a lot of technically improper payments, but mostly as a result of unnecessary complexity.)
Massive transfers of money to the rich are one half of the Republican economic policy agenda; massive transfers of money away from poor are the other half. And the cuts would be cruel indeed:
For example, a single mother with two children working full time in a nursing home for the minimum wage and earning
$14,500 would lose her entire Child Tax Credit of $1,725 if the CTC provision expires.
-CBPP
Apparently, cutting the income of a poor working single mother by 12 percent is good and proper conservative policymaking in 2014. Because immigration.
http://theweek.com/article/index/272922/the-republican-partys-top-priority-is-to-raise-taxes-on-the-poor-literally
They get off on their cruelty. Being the anti-Robin Hood is enjoyable for them.
Why are these people in power again?
I don't think comparing ethnic immigrant urban enclaves to white middle-class suburbia...
..is right.
For one thing, the two didn't develop the same way. It was state policy, not self-segregation, that created the middle-class white suburbs. And it was local policies like racially restrictive housing covenants that maintained the white middle-class homogeneity of the suburbs for a long time.
Another thing-"white American" is not actually an ethnic group in the same way that "Italian-American" or "Chinese-American" is (or was). Race is not the same as ethnicity, even if the two are somewhat related.
To put it bluntly: the "white" race was socially constructed to exclude people of color-which literally, meant people of black or brown skin. And the inclusion of ethnic immigrant groups like the Italians, the Greeks, the Poles, the Irish, etc. was predicated on the exclusion of people-whether they be immigrants or native-born citizens-of color.
I hope this helps.
The paradox of America's economic recovery....
On the one hand , you have this:
The first revision to third quarter GDP showed the US economy grew at an annualized rate of 3.9% during the quarter.
Expectations were for the headline GDP number to fall slightly, to 3.3% from the initial 3.5% reading.
That initial reading also topped Wall Street estimates.
According to the latest release from the BEA, With the second estimate for the third quarter, private inventory investment decreased less than previously estimated, and both personal consumption expenditures (PCE) and nonresidential fixed investment increased more. In contrast, exports increased less than previously estimated.
http://www.businessinsider.com.au/q3-gdp-first-revision-november-25-2014-11
On the other hand, you have this....
They are unable to get full-time work and the benefits and stability that come with it. It's a constant struggle for these families and a worrying sign for America's recovery.
Overall U.S. unemployment has fallen steeply in the past year (from 7.2% in October 2013 to 5.8% in October 2014), but too many people can only find part-time positions.
The number of people working part-time involuntarily is more than 50% higher than when the recession began.
snip:
While these people are often glad to have a job, the reality is that involuntary part-time is "hidden unemployment," says Chris Tilly, a professor at UCLA. For instance, if a person works 20 hours a week, but wants 40 hours, that unfulfilled time is spent unemployed.
Along with no benefits/less job security, lower wages, etc.
.
http://money.cnn.com/2014/11/20/news/economy/america-part-time-jobs-poverty/
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