What happens to the Republican Party now? (2 Viewers)

[MT15]

This election nonsense by Trump may end up splitting up the Republican Party. I just don’t see how the one third (?) who are principled conservatives can stay in the same party with Trump sycophants who are willing to sign onto the TX Supreme Court case.

We also saw the alt right types chanting “destroy the GOP” in Washington today because they didn’t keep Trump in power. I think the Q types will also hold the same ill will toward the traditional Republican Party. In fact its quite possible that all the voters who are really in a Trump personality cult will also blame the GOP for his loss. It’s only a matter of time IMO before Trump himself gets around to blaming the GOP.

There is some discussion of this on Twitter. What do you all think?

 

[Optimus Prime]

WASILLA, Alaska (AP) — Alaska U.S. House candidate Sarah Palin called on fellow Republican Nick Begich to drop out of the race Monday, holding a news conference in the same place where on a holiday weekend more than a decade ago she announced plans to resign as Alaska's governor.

“He keeps calling me a quitter," she told reporters, adding later: "And now he wants me, the one who is clearly the only true conservative in this race who can win, he wants me to quit! Now that's the real joke. Sorry, Nick. I never retreat, I reload.”

Monday was the deadline for candidates to withdraw from the November general election. Begich, who was critical of Palin during the campaign, seeking to cast her as a quitter and questioning her motives in running, said Monday his campaign is “confident that we are on a positive trajectory to win in November.”.........

Palin urges Begich to drop House bid; Begich declines

 

[Optimus Prime]

Interesting article
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In criticizing hyperpartisanship in general—neither specifically targeting the left nor the right—one readily finds visceral accusations of seeing the far-left and far-right as "equally bad."

By such reflexive standards, this so-called centrist dogma is a blanket of neutrality for some. Of course, there are significant similarities between the two political extremes; likewise, they feed off each other to the point of mutual interdependence. But this does not make them "equally bad," and it does not commit critics of hyperpartisan politics to such a "false equivalency."

Some, like myself, see the far-right as severely worse than the left, whereas others, like commentator Douglas Murray, hold an inverted perspective. In both instances, reasons can be given to tip the scale in one direction or another, but seldom in ways that commit nuanced critics to hold the far-left/far-right false equivalency.

A fundamental difference between far-left and far-right hyperpartisan politics is where their influence holds sway and what power such sway grants these factions. The far-right hold governmental and bureaucratic powers, whereas the far-left has its most significant influence on culture.

The far-right is worse than the far-left—holding American bureaucracy hostage to the whims of archaic puritanical values is much more dangerous than, for example, a precedent in which getting banned from Twitter for saying the "wrong" thing is common.

In the former case, we have philistine theocrats whose interests and intent are ambiguous. However, their legislative actions result in the unambiguous: things like the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the refusal to bail out Americans during every financial crisis in one breath (which, in recent history, have occurred almost exclusively under Republican reigns) while unwaveringly bailing out the rich in the other, and the now looming threats to conventions most Americans accept and desire, like gay marriage, along with the abject negligence of the majority opinion on nearly all legislative matters, including those just listed.

To my eye, the far-left's damage to American culture pales in comparison to the aforementioned. In all ages, cultural or moral narratives are fundamentally baseless. They are something deemed true or good by some individual or set of individuals at a specifiable time in history, not an eternal and final viewpoint derived "from reality" that is therefore immune to critique. The masses routinely and blindly accept such prevalent narratives as being the last viewpoint—the best and only interpretation of reality..........

The 'False Equivalence' Between the Far-Left and Far-Right | Opinion

 

[Optimus Prime]

I know there were instances against Sarah Huckabee Sanders and the woman (can’t remember her name) running health & human derives during the “kids in cages” scandal, both members of the trump administration

I‘ve read about several businesses with similar blanket statements (and posted about them on PDB and I think a couple here)

But all the ones I’ve read about are always right wing

anyone know of any instances of the other way around?

a restaurant with a sign on the front door saying if you voted for Trump you aren’t welcome here?

a hardware store saying “think putting Amy coney barrett on the Supreme Court was perfectly fair? screw you and buy your screws somewhere else”?

a dentist advertising that she only cleans righteous liberal teeth?
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A sign allegedly posted on a Georgia business blasts Joe Biden voters and blames them for increased costs and an employee shortage.

It was posted Sunday on Reddit's "Anti-Work" forum and has been upvoted over 38,000 times. The creator of the thread, who asked only to be referred to as Tina, goes by the username TieredTrayTrunk and told Newsweek that she did not photograph the sign but lives nearby the establishment.

The sign, posted on the window of the Appalachian Grill on East Church Street in Cartersville, Georgia, says "NOTICE!" with a long message that reads: "If you voted for Brandon's Build Back BS and don't have remorse or regrets I wish you would leave, I don't need your business.

"Your ignorant, naive decision has more than doubled our costs of goods and depleted our labor force by more than triple," the sign continued. "If this is what you consider to be building back better I don't care to look at or serve you, nor should any other restaurant!"

The use of "Brandon" in the wording refers to Biden and dates back to an October 2021 NASCAR race at the Talladega Speedway in Alabama. It has become a widely used phrase among conservatives, including on signs and in memes, meant to disparage the president and his supporters.

Tina said she was once in the establishment "years ago" but not any time recently. She said multiple individuals in her community have confirmed the establishment as the one that posted the sign, but it's allegedly not new.

"This is not the first sign that they've had up," Tina said. "Through COVID they've had several signs at different times that blame liberals for various things."……..

Restaurant Owner's Sign Tells 'Ignorant' Biden Voters to Eat Elsewhere

The message to patrons also mentions Build Back Better legislation, which to this day has not been approved by Congress.

www.newsweek.com

Yet another, "I'm not a racist, I'm just telling the truth"
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According to a report from KTVQ, the owner of Holly's Road Kill Saloon in tiny McLeod, Montana is facing a furious backlash after unapologetically referring to Covid-19 the "Ch*nk flu" in social media posts that have continued unabated.

In an interview with the station, Holly Tinch said she didn't care if people are offended by her posts about her place of business that sports a "Warning: Does not play well with liberals" sign out front.

According to Chris Girardot of Billings, who was adopted from South Korea, he was personally offended and decided to call the owner out.

“You can see that I’m of Asian descent. And I’ve been in fights in high school because I was the only brown kid. So, yes, I took offense to that," he told KTVQ.......

'I'm not a racist person': Montana bar owner facing furious backlash after social media post

 

[Optimus Prime]

I'll never understand this
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.........On Jan. 6, the images and slogans deployed by the crowd included a wide variety of American flags and recycled Trump 2020 campaign gear, as well as pointed insults toward his opponents. Gun rights were a major theme; flags with images of assault rifles read “Come and Take Them!” Other signs focused on individual freedom by refusing COVID-19 restrictions. American flags with a central blue stripe indicated support for law enforcement.

Christian symbols were pervasive throughout the rally. People took pride in Christian identity and often conflated Jesus and President Trump as figures of national salvation, “Chosen Ones.”

There were flags and T-shirts proclaiming, “Jesus is my Savior and Trump is my President”; posters showing a white, blond, blue-eyed Jesus wearing the Trumpian MAGA hat; and a wide variety of other flags and banners bearing Christian themes.

Some of the Christian displays were starkly militant, such as a flag depicting a raging fire with both a bald eagle and a lion roaring – symbolizing both the United States and a militant Christ. Significantly, such militant themes in broader Christian culture are not restricted to evangelical Protestants, who are often perceived as primary drivers of religious participation in U.S. politics...........

Christian nationalism is getting written out of the story of January 6

 

[Optimus Prime]

Members of Congress have been increasingly voting in favor of key democracy issues, such as voting rights and campaign finance reform, but most of these bills didn't become law anyway.

That's according to the fourth biennial Democracy Scorecard released Tuesday by Common Cause, a government watchdog group that analyzed the votes and positions of the 117th Congress. Insider obtained an early copy of the report.

Of the 18 House and Senate bills mentioned noted in the report, only one, the Courthouse Ethics and Transparency Act, was signed into law.

The report largely blames the Senate filibuster, which effectively requires 60 votes — not a simple majority of 50 — to advance a bill toward a final vote.

During this congressional session, Republicans have used the filibuster to block most Democrat-led attempts to ram through democracy-centric legislation. While the Senate is split 50-50, Democrats have the majority with Vice President Kamala Harris providing tie-breaking votes.

Some of the bills pertaining to democracy that failed to become law include the Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light On Spending in Elections Act, a campaign finance reform bill that seeks to push back against dark money in elections; the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, a voting rights bill that would strengthen legal protections against discriminatory voting policies; and the Protecting Our Democracy Act, a reform bill that would help prevent abuses of executive power...........

Out of 18 pro-democracy bills in 2022, the US Senate filibuster torpedoed 17 of them: report

 

[Optimus Prime]

On Tuesday, the elections analysts at FiveThirtyEight reported a stark statistic: a majority of Americans will have at least one person on their ballot who denies or questions the results of the 2020 presidential election when they go to vote in November.

"From the Carolinas to California, Montana to Florida, election denialism has spread across the country," said the report. "Candidates who support former President Donald Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was stolen will appear on ballots in nearly every state this fall.

FiveThirtyEight drew on news reports, debate footage, campaign materials and social media and reached out to every single Republican nominee for the House, Senate, governor, secretary of state and attorney general to determine their position on the 2020 election."

Of the 529 candidates surveyed, said the report, 195 "fully denied" the election results, either claiming the election was stolen from Trump or even participating in schemes to overturn the result or submit fake Trump electors in states President Joe Biden won.

Another 61 "raised questions" about the result: "These candidates haven’t gone so far as to say explicitly that the election was stolen or take legal action to overturn it. However, they haven’t said the election was legitimate either. In fact, they have raised doubts about potential fraud."

Another 115 refused to give a clear answer when asked directly, and 158 accepted or mostly accepted the election result............

MSN

www.msn.com

 

[superchuck500]

 

[Optimus Prime]

When I see Donald Trump I see a perfect physical specimen

Truth Social

Truth Social is America's "Big Tent" social media platform that encourages an open, free, and honest global conversation without discriminating on the basis of political ideology.

truthsocial.com

 

[bird]

I would say that I am stunned but that would be untrue.

 

[Optimus Prime]

 

[Optimus Prime]

Guess this can go here

Any yet another instance of defining religious freedom as “the freedom to impose my religious views on you”
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(NCNN) - A federal judge in Texas on Wednesday declared unconstitutional an Affordable Care Act requirement that insurers and employers offer plans that cover HIV-prevention drugs for free, saying it violates the religious freedom of a Christian-owned company…..

US District Judge Reed O'Connor ruled that the requirement that employers offer insurance plans that cover HIV-prevention pills, known as PrEP drugs, violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

Braidwood Management, a Texas-based company that employs 70 people, argued that the mandate facilitated behavior to which it has religious objections.

The mandate, the plaintiffs argued in its initial complaint, "forces religious employers to provide coverage for drugs that facilitate and encourage homosexual behavior, prostitution, sexual promiscuity, and intravenous drug use."…….

Obamacare can’t require coverage for certain HIV prevention drugs, federal judge rules | CNN Politics

A federal judge in Texas on Wednesday declared unconstitutional an Affordable Care Act requirement that insurers and employers offer plans that cover HIV-prevention drugs for free, saying it violates the religious freedom of a Christian-owned company.

www.cnn.com

 

[Optimus Prime]

Far-right Oath Keepers membership REVEALED: 600 cops, politicians, military and others

 

[coldseat]

Guess this can go here

Any yet another instance of defining religious freedom as “the freedom to impose my religious views on you”
==================
(NCNN) - A federal judge in Texas on Wednesday declared unconstitutional an Affordable Care Act requirement that insurers and employers offer plans that cover HIV-prevention drugs for free, saying it violates the religious freedom of a Christian-owned company…..

US District Judge Reed O'Connor ruled that the requirement that employers offer insurance plans that cover HIV-prevention pills, known as PrEP drugs, violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

Braidwood Management, a Texas-based company that employs 70 people, argued that the mandate facilitated behavior to which it has religious objections.

The mandate, the plaintiffs argued in its initial complaint, "forces religious employers to provide coverage for drugs that facilitate and encourage homosexual behavior, prostitution, sexual promiscuity, and intravenous drug use."…….

Obamacare can’t require coverage for certain HIV prevention drugs, federal judge rules | CNN Politics

A federal judge in Texas on Wednesday declared unconstitutional an Affordable Care Act requirement that insurers and employers offer plans that cover HIV-prevention drugs for free, saying it violates the religious freedom of a Christian-owned company.

www.cnn.com

It's complete bullshirt that employers get to decide what type of health care insurance to provide to their employees based on the employers religious beliefs. The health insurance is not for the employer, it's for the employee. One of the reasons I hate the whole concept of employer provided health insurance. What if the employee gets AIDS that these drugs could have prevented? Is the employer now going to argue that they shouldn't have to cover AIDS treatment because the employee had gay sex? The level of intrusion and judgement into employees personal lives and decisions about how to live their life is gross and untenable in what is supposed to be a free society. I don't want employer intrusion into my life any more than I want government intrusion into my life. fork that judge!

 

[Taurus]

It's complete bullshirt that employers get to decide what type of health care insurance to provide to their employees based on the employers religious beliefs. The health insurance is not for the employer, it's for the employee. One of the reasons I hate the whole concept of employer provided health insurance. What if the employee gets AIDS that these drugs could have prevented? Is the employer now going to argue that they shouldn't have to cover AIDS treatment because the employee had gay sex? The level of intrusion and judgement into employees personal lives and decisions about how to live their life is gross and untenable in what is supposed to be a free society. I don't want employer intrusion into my life any more than I want government intrusion into my life. fork that judge!

It's another example of how, over a long, long time, corporations have become better than us meat folk. They've argued successfully to be treated as living citizens when it's to their advantage and as paper constructs when that suits their needs.

Can I say that I officially exist in Delaware and that all legal dealings with me must proceed under the laws of that state when I'm clearly doing the business of existence in Washington? No, I can't. But a business can.
Am I functionally immortal? No, but corporations are.

Yet corporations also get all the protections of the First, Fourth and Tenth Amendments, just as if they were people. It's insane. A business is a nonliving entity, it can't have a religion any more than my La-Z-Boy can. But the courts have decided they can. Somehow. By plain fiat with no rational support.

I may not trust the government very much, but I trust DuPont even less.

 

[Optimus Prime]

What if the employee gets AIDS that these drugs could have prevented? Is the employer now going to argue that they shouldn't have to cover AIDS treatment because the employee had gay sex?

that's exactly what they'll say. Diseases of Sin, and all that

Will pharmacies follow suit? we're already seeing some not filling prescriptions for abortion medication due to their beliefs. it's just a hop skip and a jump to STD meds after that

Total bullshirt

Religious Right getting more and more bold

 

[Taurus]

that's exactly what they'll say. Diseases of Sin, and all that

Will pharmacies follow suit? we're already seeing some not filling prescriptions for abortion medication due to their beliefs. it's just a hop skip and a jump to STD meds after that

Total bullshirt

Religious Right getting more and more bold

The really depressing part is they're doing it with a Dem controlled Congress and White House.

 

[MT15]

This is the courts doing this. It’ll take some time to get rid of the stinky judges that Trump appointed. Quite a few of them were totally unqualified.

 

[MT15]

Lol. Props to this woman