# Bannon's War: The Fight for the GOP **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [October 21, 2017, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bannons-war-the-fight-for-the-gop/799437 "2017-10-21T13:40:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bannons-war-the-fight-for-the-gop/799437/41 "2017-10-31T10:30:04Z")
I dunno, non-Americans tyically get aghast at killing of either babies or their mothers. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bannons-war-the-fight-for-the-gop/799437/42 "2017-10-31T11:23:44Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > I was also extremely disappointed in the quality of the questions and the fact that only Yes/No answers were allowed. Didn’t the previous Pew survey allow one to select from _two_ sliding scales? One scale for Stength of agreement and another for Importance of the issue? > > In the past I had respect for Pew Research. I’m afraid their stark binary questions may be a valid reflection of how America has transmogrified politically. There’s no nuance anymore: We either want taxes to be Zero or 100%. We either want totally open borders, or an impenetrable Wall. We either want to kill babies, or to kill their mothers. :eek: There were too few questions and I think it would have been more accurate to have the sliding scales for strength of agreement and importance. But the programming would have been more costly so there’s that. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bannons-war-the-fight-for-the-gop/799437/43 "2017-10-31T11:24:05Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > I actually got “Market Skeptic Republicans”, surprisingly enough. But that’s probaby inaccurate since I didn’t like many of the choices I was presented with. They shouldn’t have said to pick the option “clos **est** ” to your opinion; they should have said “clos **er**.” ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bannons-war-the-fight-for-the-gop/799437/44 "2017-10-31T11:54:27Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > They shouldn’t have said to pick the option “clos **est** ” to your opinion; they should have said “clos **er**.” With only two options, wouldn’t the closer one also be closest? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bannons-war-the-fight-for-the-gop/799437/45 "2017-10-31T12:27:51Z")
Technically, yes, but the presence of a superlative implies at least three options. Since the compilers of the “test” didn’t see fit to provide more than two, they should have stuck with a comparative. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bannons-war-the-fight-for-the-gop/799437/46 "2017-10-31T13:57:23Z")
The test is probably fine for the vast majority of respondents. We’re just more into politics and have more nuanced views, so it’s going to be less useful for us. But less knowledgeable voters are going to tend to fall into the team mentality more and just pick whatever options closely correspond to their chosen faction. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2017, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bannons-war-the-fight-for-the-gop/799437/47 "2017-11-01T01:19:09Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > The left as a whole is large enough that there’s no way one party doesn’t make massive effort to reach out to them. Or they could both demonize the Left to compete with one another, creating the biggest scapegoat class in our history. Expect to hear much more broadly inclusive use of terms like _socialism_ and _communism._ ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2017, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bannons-war-the-fight-for-the-gop/799437/48 "2017-11-01T02:47:00Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Technically, yes, but the presence of a superlative implies at least three options. Since the compilers of the “test” didn’t see fit to provide more than two, they should have stuck with a comparative. Big. Bigger. Biggest. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2017, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bannons-war-the-fight-for-the-gop/799437/49 "2017-11-01T12:17:29Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Technically, yes, but the presence of a superlative implies at least three options. Since the compilers of the “test” didn’t see fit to provide more than two, they should have stuck with a comparative. You are quite correct and I now agree with the criticism of closest. ---
**Author:** ![OldOlds](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a3d4f5/32.png) [@OldOlds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldOlds)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2017, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bannons-war-the-fight-for-the-gop/799437/50 "2017-11-10T02:27:20Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > THe war is pretty much over. The nationalists won. It’s just a matter now of cleaning out the establishment Republicans and possibly a lot of the Tea Partiers as well. > > The real fight is now over the soul of the Democratic Party, and the establishment is going to get a huge boost from defecting Republicans. All it takes is 10% of Republicans deciding maybe they’d be better off voting in Democratic primaries and the Sanders insurgency is doomed. I think this is right. The Bannon wing will ultimately ruin the Republicans, and the Dems will become the new center right. Although, the establishment Dems (Obama, Clintons) are already center right, so I guess it just means status quo for them. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2017, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bannons-war-the-fight-for-the-gop/799437/51 "2017-11-10T07:15:02Z")
Maybe one Dem party with two wings, and two “conservative” parties, one nuts and the other, maybe not quite so nuts. Which of them gets the name “Republican Party” in the divorce settlement? ---
**Author:** ![OldOlds](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a3d4f5/32.png) [@OldOlds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldOlds)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2017, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bannons-war-the-fight-for-the-gop/799437/52 "2017-11-10T12:09:04Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Maybe one Dem party with two wings, and two “conservative” parties, one nuts and the other, maybe not quite so nuts. Which of them gets the name “Republican Party” in the divorce settlement? I wondered about that in another thread. And since we know that Trump’s populism attracted some of the traditional Democratic labor voters, I think that wing could actually grab a few of them. What I wonder is who would get the social conservatives? If the traditional Republicans were to turn more libertarian on social issues they could be a lot more attractive to a lot more people. If we had three parties, how could we rename them to sound more Euro Democrats \> Social Democrats Republicans \> ? (What sounds like money?) Populist/Trumpers \> National Christian Unionists ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2017, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bannons-war-the-fight-for-the-gop/799437/53 "2017-11-10T12:31:23Z")
> [@OldOlds](#): > > Republicans \> ? (What sounds like money?) The Green Party. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2017, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bannons-war-the-fight-for-the-gop/799437/54 "2017-11-10T12:38:36Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > The Green Party. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2017, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bannons-war-the-fight-for-the-gop/799437/55 "2017-11-10T12:44:04Z")
> [@Algher](#): > > I ended up New Era Enterprisers - force fit since I also did not like the binary choices at times (though I know why they are used). Horrible horrible quiz. I got Disaffected Democrat but I really wanted a “none of the above”, ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2017, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bannons-war-the-fight-for-the-gop/799437/56 "2017-11-10T13:30:30Z")
> [@OldOlds](#): > > I think this is right. The Bannon wing will ultimately ruin the Republicans, and the Dems will become the new center right. Although, the establishment Dems (Obama, Clintons) are already center right, so I guess it just means status quo for them. I honestly don’t see Obama as center-right; I see him as pragmatist full stop. You can’t judge a president when he’s working with an opposition congress for 6 out of his 8 years and working with turncoat “Democrats” and independents like Max Baucus and Joe Lieberman the other 2. Remember, Obama proposed a public option at one point until he realized he’d get nothing unless that option faded away. Obama inherited multiple wars. I don’t see Obama as hard left but definitely not center right. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2017, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bannons-war-the-fight-for-the-gop/799437/57 "2017-11-10T14:15:13Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Maybe one Dem party with two wings, and two “conservative” parties, one nuts and the other, maybe not quite so nuts. Which of them gets the name “Republican Party” in the divorce settlement? The less-crackers wing, I say. The others can call themselves “Bannon Republicans,” which sounds like a drunk saying “banana republicans,” which seems blissfully apt. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2017, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bannons-war-the-fight-for-the-gop/799437/58 "2017-11-10T15:41:47Z")
[Latest interview with the sad, broken little toy Bannon, by NYT Jeremy Peters](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/10/us/politics/steve-bannon.html) once again underscore the fact that there is nothing to Steve Bannon but petulant nihilistic bluster. There is no there there. I don’t know why people insist on giving him the time of day every time that drunken sod crawls out of his bottle. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2017, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bannons-war-the-fight-for-the-gop/799437/59 "2017-11-10T17:20:15Z")
He is “copy”. Words spoken, words to report, time for Happy Hour. If you are an idealistic young reporter, you will stop being idealistic long before you stop being young. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2017, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bannons-war-the-fight-for-the-gop/799437/60 "2017-11-10T17:45:32Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > [Latest interview with the sad, broken little toy Bannon, by NYT Jeremy Peters](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/10/us/politics/steve-bannon.html) once again underscore the fact that there is nothing to Steve Bannon but petulant nihilistic bluster. There is no there there. I don’t know why people insist on giving him the time of day every time that drunken sod crawls out of his bottle. I especially liked this exchange: > [@The Gray Lady](#): > > PETERS: So there’s no doubt though that that message of President Trump’s has appeal with white nationalists. Is that an unfortunate reality, an unintended consequence? > > BANNON: I think it’s, I think it’s, I think it’s nonsense. I think it’s nonsense. > > PETERS: You don’t think he appeals to them at all? > > BANNON: I think these guys grab on to anything they can. No, the message is one of, this guy is the least racist guy I’ve ever met. Spoken by the average person, that’s a spit-take line; from Bannon, it might actually be true. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bannons-war-the-fight-for-the-gop/799437.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bannons-war-the-fight-for-the-gop/799437.md?page=4)