# I pit CastletonSnob1 **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 24, 2021, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-castletonsnob1/953124 "2021-10-24T23:09:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2021, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-castletonsnob1/953124/61 "2021-10-26T15:06:54Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Remind me how Stacey Abrams’s run for governor went? What governmental position did her opponent hold, and what happened during that election? She lost, due to voter suppression. Her opponent, Brian Kemp, was secretary of state, and almost certainly rigged the election in his own favor. Brian Kemp is now governor. He hasn’t moderated at all, in fact he’s run to the right and become even more shameless. He’s spearheaded the enactment of some of the worst voter suppression initiatives the country has ever seen. The current Secretary of State, Brad Raffensberger, who by some accounts saved the 2020 election, is up for re-election next year. He will likely lose because Trump and the Trumpists have targeted him for his “betrayal”. Georgia will likely have a much Trumpier SoS in 2022, a loyal soldier who will follow orders. There’s not a thing in the world Democrats can do about the Republican candidate, and they likely will not defeat him. I don’t know what point you thought you were making by asking these questions, unless was the point is that you don’t have the first fucking clue about the political landscape or recent events down here. > [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Your willingness to give up the war immediately after a battle is won is the worst sort of liberal impulse. The worst sort of liberal impulse is letting one’s brain be overtaken by national politics so much that they lose all sight of what’s going on with local politics, much as you’re doing here. Republican state legislatures in red and purple states are getting ready to feed state-level Democrats into the wood chipper, and Democrats are so distracted by the national fight that they have no clue what disaster is coming at the local level. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2021, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-castletonsnob1/953124/62 "2021-10-26T15:10:18Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > Do not speak to me of Georgia being a blue state. 2020 was a one-time fluke that will be aggressively, decisively addressed via gerrymandering and voter suppression. If gerrymandering and voter suppression is required to keep the election results red, doesn’t that imply that the state, in the sense of those who live there, is actually blue? ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2021, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-castletonsnob1/953124/63 "2021-10-26T15:20:33Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > If gerrymandering and voter suppression is required to keep the election results red, doesn’t that imply that the state, in the sense of those who live there, is actually blue? Much like every other state, the backcountry is red, and the cities are blue. It’s a never-ending power struggle between the two factions. The outcome depends on representative apportionment, which is controlled by the state legislature, which has been Republican-controlled for quite a long time now. They’re currently redrawing districts to prevent the kind of Dem upsets that happened in the 2020 blue wave. I guess the best way to describe GA is a red-controlled blue state. Don’t fool yourself into thinking that GA going against Trump portends any kind of long-term change here. Though the state will become bluer on average, the red faction will regain control where it matters. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2021, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-castletonsnob1/953124/64 "2021-10-26T15:25:24Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Oh–in the spirit of “No True Southerner,” lemme tell you what I discovered a few months back. > > When you make your cheese grits, add one or all of the following: > > - Cumin > - Turmeric > - Chili Powder > - Garlic Powder > - Garam Masala > > It’s fucking _delicious_ . So South Asian cheese grits? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2021, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-castletonsnob1/953124/65 "2021-10-26T15:58:07Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > I don’t know what point you thought you were making by asking these questions, I mean, the fact that you treated these like non-rhetorical questions instead of thinking through the implications of the answers made this quote completely unnecessary. I guess I was too subtle, with my rhetorical questions and all. So lemme lay it out for you: _Georgia Republicans can’t fix what went wrong in 2020 by using voter suppression and gerrymandering, because they were ALREADY suppressing votes and gerrymandering._ Or, rather, they’ll _try_. But they were already trying, and 2020 proved that despite their best efforts, well-organized progressives can win. It’s not a guarantee, but it’s a proof of fucking concept. If Southern progressives dismiss those amazing efforts by saying, “The south sucks, we’re never gonna win, that was just a fluke,” they exercise the privilege of the self-fulfilling prophet. The only way progressives win down here is by keeping going and by working our asses off. Sitting on the sidelines sneering only helps conservatives. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2021, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-castletonsnob1/953124/66 "2021-10-26T15:58:38Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > So South Asian cheese grits? Basically, yeah. _SO GOOD_ ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2021, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-castletonsnob1/953124/67 "2021-10-26T16:18:17Z")
I was trying to make the point that Edwards let down the Democrat party when he could have established a long lasting legacy and kept NC from voting red in the following presidential elections. I never said he was responsible for his wife dying. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2021, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-castletonsnob1/953124/68 "2021-10-26T16:39:30Z")
Your own words, which he quoted, betray that. Did you typo? > [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > If he’s willing to let his wife die for the sake of nookie, who knows how much graft he would have accepted being one heartbeat away from the presidency? While I strongly disliked scumbag Edwards, your post did say “let his wife die for the sake of nookie”. Seemed odd to me too. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2021, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-castletonsnob1/953124/69 "2021-10-26T17:26:33Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > Edwards was a vice-presidential candidate whose “personal lapse in marital ethics” would have looked really bad for democracy if he was elected. If he’s willing to let his wife die for the sake of nookie (blink blink) Hang on a minute: where are you getting this accusation that Edwards’ extramarital affair actually caused or affected his wife’s terminal cancer? Cheating on a wife with terminal cancer is terrible behavior, as already acknowledged, but it doesn’t constitute a choice to “let her die”. Cancer doesn’t care whether your spouse is cheating on you. You are simply exaggerating for rhetorical effect here. > [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > Democrat Cal Cunningham could have defeated Republican Thom Tillis for senate if news of his dalliance with a married woman who was not his wife hadn’t come up before the election. If it wasn’t for this “personal lapse in marital ethics,” Democrats would outnumber Republicans in the US Senate. Now you’re moving the goalposts. Consensual adultery in private life still doesn’t come anywhere near being “not much better” than deliberately sabotaging democracy for the sake of personal and partisan power. Irrespective of the unintended consequences it may have for electoral outcomes. > [@Gyrate](#): > > Democrats are, for better and worse, held to a higher standard that Republicans for some reason. Which, considering the low standard that Republicans seem to expect of their leaders, is in some respects a blessing. What I object to is when critics of Democrats (some of whom are Democrats themselves) use false equivalences to paint Democrats’ minor misdeeds as “not much better” than egregiously destructive or even criminal abuse of office by Republicans. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2021, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-castletonsnob1/953124/70 "2021-10-26T18:08:25Z")
About a decade ago, I drove from Washington to Newark Airport, which meant driving through most of New Jersey, a state I’d never seen. It was a lot prettier than I expected. I’m not going to crap on it; it was nice. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2021, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-castletonsnob1/953124/71 "2021-10-26T18:24:07Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > It was a lot prettier than I expected. I’m not going to crap on it; it was nice. I used to work with a woman who was born and raised in New Jersey, and who loved the state; she had moved to Chicago for her job. She’d say, “I know, I know, everyone has this really bad image of New Jersey, but most of them have only ever seen the road from Newark Airport to Manhattan. You need to see the rest of the state – it looks nothing like that!” ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2021, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-castletonsnob1/953124/72 "2021-10-26T18:27:00Z")
Sums it up pretty well. The Northern stretch of the NJ Turnpike is pretty awful, but the state is actually amazing for its variety. We also have pretty much everything but desert. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2021, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-castletonsnob1/953124/73 "2021-10-26T19:06:01Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > We aren’t supposed to use partial quotes, words out of context, to take cheap shots at one another. Also, your post didn’t criticize my points, it was designed to insult me. > > Reported. Ur dum! ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2021, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-castletonsnob1/953124/74 "2021-10-26T20:04:43Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > So lemme lay it out for you: _Georgia Republicans can’t fix what went wrong in 2020 by using voter suppression and gerrymandering, because they were ALREADY suppressing votes and gerrymandering._ Uh… sorry bud, nobody was gerrymandering in 2019. The decennial census _hadn’t even been taken yet._. District redrawing is happening _right now_, following on the heels of Georgia’s abominable voter suppression bill last summer. You really have no clue what’s going on, do you? I’ve heard a lot of stupid takes on elections, but none stupider than “they’ve shot their shot, things can’t get any worse.” Hoo boy. > [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Sitting on the sidelines sneering only helps conservatives. This is tired rhetoric, could just as easily be applied as people like you blowing sunshine. I don’t know how you think you’re motivating anyone by pretending the Republicans gave it their best in 2020 and failed. That’s a recipe for getting blindsided like in 2016. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2021, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-castletonsnob1/953124/75 "2021-10-26T20:20:57Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > > > So South Asian cheese grits? > > Basically, yeah. _SO GOOD_ I am not a fan of grits but I would definitely try that. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2021, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-castletonsnob1/953124/76 "2021-10-26T20:22:11Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > Uh… sorry bud, nobody was gerrymandering in 2019. The decennial census _hadn’t even been taken yet._ . District redrawing is happening _right now_ , following on the heels of Georgia’s abominable voter suppression bill last summer. You really have no clue what’s going on, do you? I think you guys might be talking past each other a bit here. He seems to be saying that they (Georgia R’s) had already done their very best in the past to gerrymander the districts, and there was not much more damage they can do. You have the opinion that the new redistricting can lead to a great deal more damage to the D’s. I think the truth lies somewhere in the middle. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2021, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-castletonsnob1/953124/77 "2021-10-26T20:26:24Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > Uh… sorry bud, nobody was gerrymandering in 2019. Jesus goddamned Christ on a pickle sandwich. [Take a look at who controlled the Georgia legislature in 2011](https://ballotpedia.org/File:Partisan_composition_of_Georgia_state_government(1992-2013).PNG), _the last time districts were drawn_, and maybe give me the absolute minimum of respect to consider that _just possibly_ when I say they were already gerrymandering, I was talking about their efforts _that influenced the 2018 election and the 2020 election_. For fuck’s sake. And you criticize _my_ reading comprehension. Seriously, man. Are you day drinking? > [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > I don’t know how you think you’re motivating anyone by pretending the Republicans gave it their best in 2020 and failed. Are you saying they didn’t give it their best in 2020? If so, based on what evidence? ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2021, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-castletonsnob1/953124/78 "2021-10-26T21:37:38Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > While I strongly disliked scumbag Edwards, your post did say “let his wife die for the sake of nookie”. Seemed odd to me too. OK, how would you phrase what Edwards did? If you’re so bound and determined to make what I said out of frustration over Edwards’s actions into me saying he killed his wife, phrase it in such a way that won’t rattle the “Democrats are never wrong” crowd. This is getting fucking ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2021, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-castletonsnob1/953124/79 "2021-10-26T21:39:18Z")
Could have left it at worthless scumbag that cheated on his dying wife. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2021, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-castletonsnob1/953124/80 "2021-10-26T21:47:34Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Now you’re moving the goalposts. Consensual adultery in private life still doesn’t come anywhere near being “not much better” than deliberately sabotaging democracy for the sake of personal and partisan power. Irrespective of the unintended consequences it may have for electoral outcomes. Where the fuck do you get the idea that I’m saying Democrats are worse than Republicans? I’m pointing out where they fucked up and could have established control of the Senate. Quit this asinine assumptions that Democrats are infallible. They’re held by a higher standard among their supporters, unlike Republicans. Gingrich can get away with divorcing his wife while she’s suffering from cancer. Edwards can’t. Trump can get away with molesting women and be praised for it. Al Franken can’t. Quit making me out to be the villain in this. I’m expressing frustration over the actions of NC Democrats, not endorsing the goddamned Republicans. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-castletonsnob1/953124.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-castletonsnob1/953124.md?page=5)