What happens to the Republican Party now? (3 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?

 

[bird]

To me , "Evangelicals" are people who attend a church in which the focus of that church is to encourage everyone who attends regularly to share the Good News (the Gospel) with others. They are encouraged to tell others that although everyone on earth has sinned, Jesus loves everyone and has paid the price for you when HE died on the cross.
This Jesus Christ centered focus is in contrast to any other religious institution that promotes reaching heaven or an "after life" by "being a good person" or by following whatever are the rules, laws, rituals or expectations of that religion.
I hope that was helpful.

The Christ allegedly said to “make disciples of all nations” which, of course, is in opposition to saving the lost sheep of Israel. As for being a good person? A father asked his one son to go and work in the vineyard (irrc it was vineyard) and he said he would not but changed his mind and went. His other son said he would go but did not. Which one’s actions were in accordance with their father’s will?

The sermon where The Christ welcomed those who fed him or gave him drink or gave him clothes or visited him when he was sick or in prison and then chastised those who did none of those things for the least of those who were his brothers and sisters.

From James: “I have works and you have faith, is that it? Show me the works of your faith and I will show you the faith behind my works”.

The two so-called Great Commandments as, iirc, written in the KJV are tied together by these words : “…the second is like it…” meaning the First and Second are essentially the same as the second is the manifestation of the first on earth.

ALL Christian sects cherry-pick from 4 gospels and letters written by various people to select that which they deem important and that which they deem less so. This is a problem when dealing with both a people that the church came to despise (Jews) and writings deemed “The Word of God” by men meeting at the command of Constantine who sought to unite Rome under one religion for his purposes. Not to mention that these same writings contain contradictions.

 

[SteveSBrickNJ]

@bird someone asked me a question and I did my best to answer that question.
I hope they felt it was helpful.
Have a good night.

 

[BullSheetBuddha]

Conservatives are trying to disrupt Hollywood, with some success

Some surprising hits, such as “Sound of Freedom”, are going mainstream

www.economist.com

​

Conservatives are trying to disrupt Hollywood, with some success​

Some surprising hits, such as “Sound of Freedom”, are going mainstream​

image: maria contreras
Dec 13th 2023

An ordinary man goes up against a powerful nemesis with unlimited resources. This is the pitch of “The Shift”, a sci-fi film that was released on December 1st. But it could also describe its distributor, Angel Studios, run by brothers who call themselves simple “farm boys from Idaho” and are on a crusade to remake Hollywood.

Angel, an independent studio, is at the forefront of an important trend in American entertainment. Conservatives, who decry Hollywood for becoming not a dream factory but a “wokeness” factory, are writing and producing their own films and series, catering to viewers who do not share the left’s views on gender, race and political correctness. Call them “conservative Hollywood”, or the “alt-write”.

Their biggest hit is “Sound of Freedom”, an action thriller from Angel, which will begin streaming on Amazon Prime Video on December 26th. It raked in $184m in ticket sales in American cinemas, outgrossing the latest instalments in the “Indiana Jones” and “Mission: Impossible” franchises. (It also outperformed abroad, where it grossed $63m.)

“Sound of Freedom” is “Dirty Harry” for the Donald Trump era. The plot appeals to Republican viewers: an American lawman sees evil, tries to defeat it and comes up against a heartless government bureaucracy, so he takes the law into his own hands and saves the day. The film fictionalises the life of Tim Ballard, a controversial campaigner against sex trafficking. In the film, he is portrayed as a righteous federal agent, who catches paedophiles sharing child pornography online. Bent on saving more children, Mr Ballard is told by his supervisor he cannot go on a dangerous rescue mission to South America. He hands in his badge and sets off anyway.

Among the film’s fans is Mr Trump, who has said, “This is a very important film and very important movie, and it’s a very important documentary all wrapped up in one.” Ahead of the election in 2024, Mr Trump wants to show support for combating sex trafficking, which many evangelical voters care about and some conspiracy theorists exaggerate in ridiculous ways.

Other firms heard the fireworks of “Sound of Freedom” and showed up for the party, including the Daily Wire, a media outlet founded by Ben Shapiro, a conservative pundit, and Jeremy Boreing, a film-maker. (“It’s time to blow up the Death Star that is the left-wing monopoly on entertainment,” Mr Shapiro has proclaimed.) The Daily Wire’s films and series come out on DailyWire+, its streaming platform, which claims 1m subscribers.

 

[Optimus Prime]

As Donald Trump’s rhetoric has taken a turn for the authoritarian in the 2024 campaign, his party has largely stood back and stood by.

Republicans have shrugged at Trump’s pledge to make his second presidential term about retribution against his enemies. When he floated the “termination” of articles of the Constitution, they largely ignored it.

The samewent for his recent decision to invoke the “vermin” rhetoric of infamous fascists. And when he said recently that he would be a dictator but only on Day One of a second term, they dismissed it as a mere joke — just before he doubled down. He appeared serious; the joke was on them.

As that last example shows, people disregard Trump’s provocations at their peril. Yes, he says lots of things, often for effect. He loves to tempt censorious critics to overreact so they can be accused of “Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
But there are also plenty of instances of Republicans downplaying or casting doubt on Trump’s actual intentions, only to be made to eat those words.

The downside of Republicans’ agreement to take him seriously rather than literally is that sometimes, in some very serious circumstances, he means what he says.

And sometimes when Republicans have offered assurances that Trump would adjust his behavior, he’s done anything but.

Firing Robert Mueller​

What Republicans said

When Trump repeatedly attacked Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel in charge of the Russia investigation, Republicans begged off the idea that legislation was needed to protect Mueller, because Trump wouldn’t actually fire him.

• “I don’t think he would do that,” Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) said.
• “I don’t think that’s going to happen,” then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said.
• “I’ve got zero concerns that the president or his team is going to fire Mueller,” Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) said.
• “I don’t think the president is going to do anything to Bob Mueller,” then-Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) said.
• “I can tell you firing Mueller is not something that he is considering and not something that he’s talking about,” then-Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) said.

What Trump did

According to Mueller’s report, Trump tried to have Mueller fired. It said that in June 2017, Trump directed White House Counsel Donald McGahn “to call the Acting Attorney General and say that the Special Counsel had conflicts of interest and must be removed.”

McGahn declined to carry out the directive, believing it would be akin to Richard M. Nixon’s Saturday Night Massacre.

Trying to stay in office​

What Republicans said

With Trump playing up voter fraud both before and after the 2020 election and declining to commit to a peaceful transfer of power, many Republicans cast doubt on the idea that it would mean anything, practically speaking.

• “There will be an orderly transition just as there has been every four years since 1792,” McConnell said.
• “He says crazy stuff. We’ve always had a peaceful transition of power. It’s not going to change,” then-Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) said.
• Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) called the talk “preposterous.” “He stokes the fire sometimes,” Braun added. “If you took it seriously, it would be alarming. And I don’t think that that’s the case.”
• “I can assure you, it will be peaceful,” Graham said.
• “I think that the president will accept the result,” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said.
• “Let me be very clear to you: It will be peaceful. I know you want to create a hypothetical,” then-House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said.
• “I’ve been asked the same question at least a hundred times in the past week: If the president loses, will he participate in a peaceful transition of power? … I am happy to answer: Yes,” former acting Trump White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney wrote in a Nov. 7, 2020, Wall Street Journal op-ed titled, “If He Loses, Trump Will Concede Gracefully.”

What Trump did

Trump rallied his supporters behind the idea that the election had been stolen, culminating in the violent and historic Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol after a Trump rally. He also tried to get Vice President Mike Pence to overturn the results that day, and he still falsely maintains the election was stolen……..

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/12/13/when-republicans-cast-doubt-trumps-intent-ate-their-words/

 

[Bigdaddysaints]

and those same ones will stick to their story and say it was a peaceful transition.. lol

 

[UriUT]

Conservatives are trying to disrupt Hollywood, with some success

Some surprising hits, such as “Sound of Freedom”, are going mainstream

www.economist.com

​

Conservatives are trying to disrupt Hollywood, with some success​

Some surprising hits, such as “Sound of Freedom”, are going mainstream​

image: maria contreras
Dec 13th 2023

An ordinary man goes up against a powerful nemesis with unlimited resources. This is the pitch of “The Shift”, a sci-fi film that was released on December 1st. But it could also describe its distributor, Angel Studios, run by brothers who call themselves simple “farm boys from Idaho” and are on a crusade to remake Hollywood.

Angel, an independent studio, is at the forefront of an important trend in American entertainment. Conservatives, who decry Hollywood for becoming not a dream factory but a “wokeness” factory, are writing and producing their own films and series, catering to viewers who do not share the left’s views on gender, race and political correctness. Call them “conservative Hollywood”, or the “alt-write”.

Their biggest hit is “Sound of Freedom”, an action thriller from Angel, which will begin streaming on Amazon Prime Video on December 26th. It raked in $184m in ticket sales in American cinemas, outgrossing the latest instalments in the “Indiana Jones” and “Mission: Impossible” franchises. (It also outperformed abroad, where it grossed $63m.)

“Sound of Freedom” is “Dirty Harry” for the Donald Trump era. The plot appeals to Republican viewers: an American lawman sees evil, tries to defeat it and comes up against a heartless government bureaucracy, so he takes the law into his own hands and saves the day. The film fictionalises the life of Tim Ballard, a controversial campaigner against sex trafficking. In the film, he is portrayed as a righteous federal agent, who catches paedophiles sharing child pornography online. Bent on saving more children, Mr Ballard is told by his supervisor he cannot go on a dangerous rescue mission to South America. He hands in his badge and sets off anyway.

Among the film’s fans is Mr Trump, who has said, “This is a very important film and very important movie, and it’s a very important documentary all wrapped up in one.” Ahead of the election in 2024, Mr Trump wants to show support for combating sex trafficking, which many evangelical voters care about and some conspiracy theorists exaggerate in ridiculous ways.

Other firms heard the fireworks of “Sound of Freedom” and showed up for the party, including the Daily Wire, a media outlet founded by Ben Shapiro, a conservative pundit, and Jeremy Boreing, a film-maker. (“It’s time to blow up the Death Star that is the left-wing monopoly on entertainment,” Mr Shapiro has proclaimed.) The Daily Wire’s films and series come out on DailyWire+, its streaming platform, which claims 1m subscribers.

Yeah I would caution about declaring Sound of Freedom as some hit...that it's widely accepted outside of the conservative sphere. There was a definite concerted effort to push for that film to be a financial success. The controversy then was the unique way tickets were purchased. There were ways that folks can pay it forward for tickets. It's sleazy to me. It'll be interesting if the streaming data becomes public, though

‘Sound of Freedom’ is a box office hit. It has an unusual ticket strategy | CNN Business

“Sound of Freedom,” a movie about a US federal agent who quit his job to chase child sex traffickers, has become what is, by the numbers, a summer blockbuster, taking in around $125 million in theaters since its debut. But it’s relying on an unusual strategy to boost ticket sales.

www.cnn.com

More than 10 million tickets have been purchased through the app, called Pay It Forward. During the movie’s July 4 opening, “Sound of Freedom” scored $11.5 million from direct box office sales and $2.6 million, or over 20%, from Pay It Forward ticket sales.

At the end of the film, Caviezel comes on screen to appeal to viewers to buy more tickets so other people can see it.

Sound of Freedom passed the $100m mark. Who’s really watching the movie?

The ‘QAnon adjacent’ film, co-opted by the right wing, has a ‘pay it forward’ scheme resulting in sold-out shows but empty theaters

www.theguardian.com

According to Fandango, all but 28 seats had been sold for the 3pm screening of Sound of Freedom. As the lights dimmed, however, the Guardian counted 45 vacant seats dotted around the half-empty theater. Minutes before the 6.30pm screening, Fandango showed that only two seats were still available. Again, there were more than two vacant spots as the film began.

 

[MT15]

I was thinking the same thing. I saw a bunch of Twitter reports of folks who had peeked into theaters that were supposedly “sold out” while they were viewing another movie, and reported that there were just a few folks actually present.

 

[SteveSBrickNJ]

People use the word evangelical in different ways with different ideas of what it means. Would both of you please define what evangelical means to you, so that I accurately understand what you're both saying. I don't have a response to what either of you said, I just want to make sure I accurately understand both of you.

I wish to share that I feel so disappointed when someone asks me a question....and I spend a significant amount of time to answer that person's question to the best of my ability....and then they don't even acknowledge that I did so. They don't quote me....they don't even take one finger and tap on an emoji.
It makes me regret the 12 minutes I spent to answer them.
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Everything above here was posted Thursday afternoon.
Now I've come back to my post on Friday morning to say: I'm traveling from NJ today to Virginia. Gonna be there a few days. I will NOT be on madaboutpolitics until maybe next week...likely back here on Wednesday.

 

[UriUT]

I was thinking the same thing. I saw a bunch of Twitter reports of folks who had peeked into theaters that were supposedly “sold out” while they were viewing another movie, and reported that there were just a few folks actually present.

Yeah, I can't remember where I saw it, via my google news feed or threads...maybe, can't remember when I joined. I had the Bannon "Clinton Cash" vibes then. Bannon used some pseudo stats to convince us of the legitimacy of Hilary's corruption, and the fire spread from there. It appears to be the same here to express, "see people went to view this movie, so it's a popular idea".

 

[BullSheetBuddha]

Yeah, I can't remember where I saw it, via my google news feed or threads...maybe, can't remember when I joined. I had the Bannon "Clinton Cash" vibes then. Bannon used some pseudo stats to convince us of the legitimacy of Hilary's corruption, and the fire spread from there. It appears to be the same here to express, "see people went to view this movie, so it's a popular idea".

The more unpopular it was the better.

 

[Bigdaddysaints]

Yeah I would caution about declaring Sound of Freedom as some hit...that it's widely accepted outside of the conservative sphere. There was a definite concerted effort to push for that film to be a financial success. The controversy then was the unique way tickets were purchased. There were ways that folks can pay it forward for tickets. It's sleazy to me. It'll be interesting if the streaming data becomes public, though

‘Sound of Freedom’ is a box office hit. It has an unusual ticket strategy | CNN Business

“Sound of Freedom,” a movie about a US federal agent who quit his job to chase child sex traffickers, has become what is, by the numbers, a summer blockbuster, taking in around $125 million in theaters since its debut. But it’s relying on an unusual strategy to boost ticket sales.

www.cnn.com

Sound of Freedom passed the $100m mark. Who’s really watching the movie?

The ‘QAnon adjacent’ film, co-opted by the right wing, has a ‘pay it forward’ scheme resulting in sold-out shows but empty theaters

www.theguardian.com

My Facebook was full of ads about getting free tickets to that movie. I doubt many people actually bought tickets to that movie.. they were pushing the free tickets pretty hard..

 

[bird]

My Facebook was full of ads about getting free tickets to that movie. I doubt many people actually bought tickets to that movie.. they were pushing the free tickets pretty hard..

Not to mention the guy the lead was based on was reportedly investigated for sexual misconduct and the producer was alleged to have felt the breasts of an under-age sex trafficking victim.

 

[bird]

@bird someone asked me a question and I did my best to answer that question.
I hope they felt it was helpful.
Have a good night.

That is fine.

I was pointing out that ALL denominations are evangelical. There is also the problem of works for many. Works most assuredly are important as noted the quotes from the Gospels and the letter of James.

The purpose was to underscore that mixing religion and politics is as the Founders knew inherently dangerous to both politics and religion. Religion informing a politician’s worldview is not a problem so long as he/she does not wish to enshrine their selective take on the Bible into law.

 

[UriUT]

My Facebook was full of ads about getting free tickets to that movie. I doubt many people actually bought tickets to that movie.. they were pushing the free tickets pretty hard..

I didn't know this. I saw news of this then, and it took a few days for it to compute. Crazy how these people desperately seek legitimacy. Like all those boycotts of one product after another.

 

[Bigdaddysaints]

i eventually had to hide ads from that source. i understand ads on free sites, but the same one over and over and over is just annoying..

 

[MT15]

 

[Bigdaddysaints]

What did he expect?
this sums it up perfectly.

A gay black man walks into a White Supremacist Convention & is SHOCKED to see White Supremacists," actor Tom Arnold wrote. "I hope your grift is worth it buddy

Black, Gay Republican Heckled With Slurs at MAGA Event​

​

Black and gay Republican influencer shared a video showing what he described as "White Supremacists" shouting slurs at him.​

Rob Smith, a Turning Point USA contributor and an Army veteran, shared the video on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday. Smith said the incident occurred in Phoenix, where he and other conservatives gathered for Turning Point USA's AmericaFest, a four-day event that runs through Tuesday.

MSN

 

[MT15]

What did he expect?
this sums it up perfectly.

Black, Gay Republican Heckled With Slurs at MAGA Event​

​

MSN

Maybe he will get a clue. These people aren’t conservatives and they don’t share his values.