Russian Propaganda

[Babale]

@Mighty_Mouse

No, because you have to destroy the Democratic Party in order to rebuild it properly. If AHunter3 needs to die in a gulag in the Fascist Totalitarian State it’s a price they are willing to pay

It’s all part of the historical dialectic. The Establishment Democrats are the Thesis; MAGA is Antithesis; we must pass through both stages to reach the Utopian Synthesis

[AHunter3]

If you’re actually interesting in my views and reasons for my political stances, there’s over here:

How to Explain that the Democracy Crisis Transcends Principle

A flip side of the things I’ve said so far — I don’t mean a contradiction, I mean the underside of the same truths — yes, there is a lot of holier-than-thou political purism widespread amongst us 3rd-partiers. A very low consideration for expediency, practicality, and in particular the need to work with other people if you’re ever actually going to get things done. And if you’re not going to work with other people, how goddam democratic can your political process actually be? And isn’t that t…

— it doesn’t seem appropriate or effective to re-explain it all here.

[iiandyiiii]

I’m flabbergasted how any of that could lead anyone to support a stooge aimed at assisting Trump over Harris.

[Johanna]

Jill Stein is a big fat phony. In addition to being a Russian asset. She doesn’t even know how many congressional representatives there are. In an interview she said there are “What? Six hundred?” representatives. The interviewer corrected her: “Four hundred thirty-five.” How the hell can you run for president without knowing a basic fact of citizenship? Astonishing that she still has the nerve to show her face in public after embarrassing herself so miserably.

[Babale]

@Johanna

Astonishing that she still has the nerve to show her face in public after embarrassing herself so miserably.

Not as astonishing as the fact that some people still support her for her “ideological purity”.

[Johanna]

Stein illustrates how it’s a lot easier for an empty head to be “pure,” for what that’s worth. Stein’s an empty dress.

[Odesio]

Back in the 1990s, I remember castigating Trump for the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. As a surly teen, I didn’t fully appreciate an elected official, even the president, didn’t have unlimited political capital. People like Stein don’t have to worry about political capital because they’re not expected to do anything. There’s no pressure on them to accomplish anything and thus they can remain ideologically pure by refusing any compromise.

[Johanna]

Back in the 1990s… do you by any chance mean Bill Clinton? After “don’t ask don’t tell” he got worse: Doma and kicking people off welfare and an anti-Black crime bill — with Democrats like that, who needs Republicans? I’m pleased that Biden broke the 40 years in the wilderness spell that Reagan & co had cast upon America.

[Jackmannii]

I said in another thread that there wasn’t anything wrong with casting a third-party Presidential vote if your state will be going overwhelmingly for one of the two major candidates.

I have to qualify that a bit - supporting someone as repellent as Jill Stein leaves a stain on your voting record that will be impossible to erase.

[Mundane_Super_Hero]

She has a very specific… smell. It’s like ‘garbage can skunk’.

[Kron]

That’s not very nice.

I like skunks.

[gnoitall]

And garbage cans are useful.

[Johnny_L.A]

@Atamasama

If you support the Green Party you’re a Trump supporter.

Without reading the rest of the thread, this needs to be emphasised:

A vote for Stein is a vote for Trump.

Unless, of course, you live and vote in a solidly Blue state where your vote for Stein won’t matter.

[Allthegood]

What makes you say that Jill Stein is the leader of the Green Party? She is the presidential nominee of the Green Party. Party leadership is the Steering Committee, which is elected by the national representatives of the state Green Parties to the national Green Party.

[FluffyBob]

WTF? How is this pedantic gibberish even relevant?

[Smapti]

@Atamasama

We use ranked choice voting in Washington State for the primaries and it’s pretty great, and I’d like to see it become more the norm for voting everywhere.

Beg pardon? WA is a top-two open primary but there’s no ranked choice - it’s one vote per person for each race.

[Atamasama]

@Smapti

WA is a top-two open primary but there’s no ranked choice - it’s one vote per person for each race.

Sorry, you’re right. It’s nontraditional in that the top two get elected in the primaries regardless of party (so they can be the same party) but they’re not ranked choice (which I would like even better).

[Babale]

Hey @Half_Man_Half_Wit, is there any particular reason why you and Elon Musk quote the same Russian propagandist?

[Half_Man_Half_Wit]

Just for context, here’s the post this seems to be in reference to:

@Half_Man_Half_Wit

One wrinkle in the story is the question of whether Trump will back out of NATO. There has been a persistent narrative that Russian aggression is merely a reaction to NATO expansion, and more concretely, due to fears of US military presence:

Why does Russia oppose NATO enlargement? For the simple reason that Russia does not accept the U.S. military on its 2,300 km border with Ukraine in the Black Sea region. Russia does not appreciate the U.S. placement of Aegis missiles in Poland and Romania after the U.S. unilaterally abandoned the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty.

So, should the US withdraw from NATO (provided Trump is actually able to do so, which I understand there’s controversy about), then according to that narrative, the chief reason for the Kremlin’s ‘special military operation’ will be resolved, and Russia should withdraw. Meaning we might see this actually put to the test.

I don’t expect it’ll do much good for Ukraine, though.

I have no insight, nor interest, in what sort of nonsense Musk is spewing these days. But a reading of what I actually wrote should make it clear that my point was that the propaganda narrative of Russia only defending against NATO aggression would collapse if Trump actually were to pull out of NATO and Russia didn’t cease its aggression—which I don’t believe they would (hence, it wouldn’t do any good for Ukraine).

[Babale]

@Half_Man_Half_Wit

my point was that the propaganda narrative of Russia only defending against NATO aggression would collapse if Trump actually were to pull out of NATO and Russia didn’t cease its aggression—which I don’t believe they would

Thanks for the clarification. Considering the number of useful idiots who DO unironically repeat Russian propaganda, I wasn’t sure if you were linking Columbia professor Jeffrey Sachs’ blog because you agreed with him, or as an example of Russian propaganda. If the latter, I withdraw my criticism.