What happens to the Republican Party now? (4 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?

 

[BullSheetBuddha]

To GOP:

God, damn you! Damn you all to hell!!!

 

[LA - L.A.]

There have also been several people in Congress over 75 or 80 who did suffer impairments. The problem was that they didn't want to quit, and people kept electing them.




"Giving up the power, perks and prestige of serving in Congress, while confronting the reality that everyone is ultimately replaceable, isn’t always so easy. And politics at its highest levels tends to attract people who consider their job their identity — Senator Dianne Feinstein refers to hers as a “calling” — and who are afflicted with an inability to imagine a life after giving it up.

History is littered with lawmakers who have stayed around well past their primes; assurances from former colleagues like Mr. Harkin that there’s a nice life to be had on the other side can fall on (sometimes literally) deaf ears.

Strom Thurmond, the South Carolina Republican, famously hung on until past his 100th birthday. Robert C. Byrd, the West Virginia Democrat, died in office at age 92 after 51 years in the Senate. Despite serious medical issues, Thad Cochran, Republican of Mississippi, ran for re-election at 76, with the prospect of leading the powerful Appropriations Committee too good to pass up — though he later resigned before the end of his term, citing his failing health."

You make a better argument for cognitive competency testing or term limits than you do maximum age limits.

History is also littered with people under 70 who have stayed around well past their cognitive prime. You and others keep buying into the myth and misperception that the primary determent of one's cognitive prime is one's age. It is not. Both science and history clearly illustrate that age is not the primary determinant of one's cognitive prime.

 

[DaveXA]

You make a better argument for cognitive competency testing or term limits than you do maximum age limits.

History is also littered with people under 70 who have stayed around well past their cognitive prime. You and others keep buying into the myth and misperception that the primary determent of one's cognitive prime is one's age. It is not. Both science and history clearly illustrate that age is not the primary determinant of one's cognitive prime.

Age on it's own, maybe not, but age does in fact slow the body down over time. And with that slow down our bodies do become more prone to breaking down. That's just a fact of life. Sometimes that slow down impacts cognitive functions as well. It might not be primary but there are other issues to consider.

I mean, I really would rather the voters not elect barely functional people just to hold a seat. That defeats the purpose of having an elected representative. But the 2 parties would rather hold onto power rather than make sure their reps are competent.

 

[LA - L.A.]

Age on it's own, maybe not, but age does in fact slow the body down over time. And with that slow down our bodies do become more prone to breaking down. That's just a fact of life. Sometimes that slow down impacts cognitive functions as well. It might not be primary but there are other issues to consider.

I mean, I really would rather the voters not elect barely functional people just to hold a seat. That defeats the purpose of having an elected representative. But the 2 parties would rather hold onto power rather than make sure their reps are competent.

As you acknowledge, age alone is not a factor, therefore setting age limits as the only limiting factor does not make any rational sense and would be the very definition of an arbitrary standard.

 

[DaveXA]

As you acknowledge, age alone is not a factor, therefore setting age limits as the only limiting factor does not make any rational sense and would be the very definition of an arbitrary standard.

Maybe, if voters want to keep doing that, then we deserve what we get.

 

[MT15]

Maybe, if voters want to keep doing that, then we deserve what we get.

Yeah, it’s hard for me to get around the fact that voters put those people in place. I know it’s not as simple as all that, but putting ranked choice voting into place may make some of these problems moot.

 

[DaveXA]

Yeah, it’s hard for me to get around the fact that voters put those people in place. I know it’s not as simple as all that, but putting ranked choice voting into place may make some of these problems moot.

Agreed.

 

[GrandAdmiral]

Yeah, it’s hard for me to get around the fact that voters put those people in place. I know it’s not as simple as all that, but putting ranked choice voting into place may make some of these problems moot.

It's not really. We have some voters who just aren't smart.

 

[BullSheetBuddha]

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, You and others keep buying into the myth and misperception that the primary determent of one's cognitive prime is one's age. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

I never said it was or wasn't. The New York Times article I noted pointed out that many have stayed past their ability to perform their jobs due to their age. Neither that article nor I got into what is the overall greatest contributor to declined cognitive ability. It could be drug or alcohol abuse. It could be many things. However, we're talking about an age limit here and the reasons for it and declining cognitive skills is certainly one of them.

Age. Age is the greatest of these three risk factors. As noted in the Prevalence section, the percentage of people with Alzheimer's dementia increases dramatically with age: 3% of people age 65-74, 17% of people age 75-84 and 32% of people age 85 or older have Alzheimer's dementia

https://alz-journals.onlinelibrary....65-68-,Age,or older have Alzheimer's dementia.

 

[J-DONK]

As you acknowledge, age alone is not a factor, therefore setting age limits as the only limiting factor does not make any rational sense and would be the very definition of an arbitrary standard.

I used to be for age limits, but I disagree with them now. A lot of this would be stopped if the parties made debates mandatory in the primaries. Feinstein not knowing the day of week, and Mitch's vacant stare should get them both canned. Also, take away the huge benefit of insider trading. No one wants to leave when they can massively increase their wealth legally.

 

[bdb13]

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul (R) on Wednesday challenged Capitol Hill attending physician Brian Monahan’s finding that Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell’s (Ky.) recent freeze-ups were possibly the result of dehydration as “misinformation” and “clearly not accurate.”
...
"When you get dehydrated you don’t have moments where your eyes look in the distance with a vacant look and you’re sort of basically unconscious with your eyes open. That is not a symptom of dehydration,” Paul told The Hill Wednesday morning.

Paul, an ophthalmologist and eye surgeon, also questioned Monahan ruling out the possibility that McConnell may be suffering from a seizure disorder based on an EEG, or electroencephalogram test.

“The doctor said that they ruled out seizure disorder from an EEG. A normal EEG doesn’t rule out seizures. First of all, 25 percent of people who’ve had a brain injury end up having seizures after their injury,” he added.
...
“Now if you get an EEG and it’s normal, does that mean he doesn’t have a seizure disorder? No that means that you didn’t find it because he didn’t have a seizure while he was having the test,” Paul explained.

“The bottom line is, it is a medical mistake to say that someone doesn’t have a seizure disorder because they have a normal EEG,” Paul said.

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate...agnosis-of-mcconnell-as-clearly-not-accurate/

I would say... he's not wrong.

 

[DaveXA]

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate...agnosis-of-mcconnell-as-clearly-not-accurate/

I would say... he's not wrong.

I'm probably the biggest Paul hater here, but he indeed isn't wrong in this case.

 

[MT15]

 

[MT15]

This statement is said to be unprecedented.

 

[superchuck500]

Why do they say this ridiculous shirt?

 

[DaveXA]

Why do they say this ridiculous shirt?

Good lord, I can't imagine these idiots running a zoo, we as a country are forked if this kind of idiocy is in the WH.

 

[efil4]

Why do they say this ridiculous shirt?

Because no one takes them to task on it. Ever. Tired of the constant lies.

 

[LA - L.A.]

Why do they say this ridiculous shirt?

Damn you, Roger. Now there's no way I'm not going to order pizza and break my diet and budget tonight. Well, at least you let me know that I can get it with a side of fentanyl. That'll take the edge off of the self-loathing.