Well, again they just assume they and everyone to the left of them would vote for the left-most candidate. e.g. If in 2028 the choice is between Manchin (D) & Vance (R), Manchin would win with the votes of the ~50% Ds and ~15-20% disaffected Rs, while the ~30% MAGAnuts went for Vance. Or so they say.
In reality the disaffected Rs would vote for Vance too, and whoever wins, the forces of Conservatism or Reactioanaryism would get their way.
I just have to throw in a comment from a Canadian perspective. Most Americans have heard of Canada, right? Though may not know much about it except that it’s relatively sane and peaceful, it’s very hard to buy guns but very easy to get free health care, and you can buy legal cannabis pretty much anywhere.
But here’s the thing. We have three main federal parties in Canada, Conservative, Liberal, and NDP. Relative to the American political spectrum, the Conservative Party is somewhat to the left of Democrats on many key issues, including support of universal health care and a variety of benefits for seniors. The Liberal Party is widely considered the mainstream “big-tent” party and is basically the Bernie Sanders style of socialist. The NDP, by American standards, is outright communist.
By Canadian standards, the American Republican Party is nowhere at all on any sane political spectrum, and needs psychiatric treatment.
The things unrecognized by most Americans is that this political spectrum is actually typical of the vast majority of the democracies in the industrialized world.
I don’t think the Canadian political spectrum is like that anymore. The conservative movement has gone through a lot of iterations, fracturing, and reconsolidation in the past couple decades, both provincially and federally.
Some things like healthcare and public education are officially untouchable but there are many conservative initiatives to undermine them.
The current Alberta government is far to the right of even previous Alberta loonies and they are still under constant pressure from forces further to the right.
These people are fucking scary.
Yeah, they probably are thinking that. They’re forgetting that such people could a) stay home or b) vote third party. IMO a hell of a lot of them/us would; the exact number and individuals depending on the candidate, but in any case enough to lose the election.
We already have a shitload of people who were threatening not to show up to vote for Biden because they felt that the party wanted their votes but wasn’t actually going to do much of anything for them. Some of them I think will show up for Harris. They sure as hell wouldn’t show up for Manchin.
ETA: I think some of it is also that there are a lot of people – all over the political spectrum – who despite evidence think ‘Most people must really think like me. All those folks on the news who seem to seriously disagree with me must just be a handful who get attention so the news sites can draw eyeballs. So of course if the D’s (or R’s, or for some people even a third party) run somebody who I’d be willing to vote for, they’d win!’
Without commenting on the specifics of this attack, one thing I’ve notices about wars over the years is that they tend to escalate. Particularly if one side is fighting for their homeland against a larger and stronger opponent who has shown no compunction about following the “rules”.
This is partly true, but only partly. The consolidations you speak of included having the Reform Party folded into the Conservative Party, and the “Progressive” part of the name being dropped (although the “progressive” moniker lives on in provincial conservative parties like the one in Ontario). But lunatics like Harper were eventually banished, and I think a case can be made that the new Conservative Party still reflects predominant Canadian values, although I think the Liberal Party is still the more mainstream. There has never been in Canada on a federal level – and hopefully never will be – anything like the current US Republican Party. This can be seen in the fact that the short-lived Sun News Network – a Fox News wannabe – died a quick a pitiful death.
True. Alberta is truly Canada’s Texas. My theory is that it’s due to the oil fumes affecting people’s brain function. But it’s only Alberta, home of rodeos, cowboy hats, and the crazies who wear them.* 
* No offense to several fine posters here who are from Alberta. Apparently some are immune to the oil fumes.
Heard of? Sure. But we’d be hard-pressed to find it on a map. All tucked away down there…
One attitude I’ve seen very often, especially in the right, is, “You know you actually agree with me - you’re just afraid to admit it!”
Yeah, it’s the same as when people confront you with racist and xenophobic attitudes and are irritated when you protest because they are convinced that deep in their hearts, everybody thinks this way.
Wow. Did you follow me here from YouTube? Because you’re demonstrating a profoundly incredible lack of reading comprehension. I mean, truly off the scales level of straw manning and reading things that aren’t there. Levels of idiocy that are truly, mindbogglingly astounding. How do you manage to pull any of that shit out of your ass based upon this statement:
I’ll try this one time explaining it in small words for you: all I said was the satellite control center had nothing to do with Russia’s nuclear early warning network. Everything else you’ve written exists entirely in your own head and has nothing whatsoever to do with the point I was making or anything I wrote.
Now kindly go and fuck yourself.
Unfortunately, Babale seems to have gone off the rails on a lot of things lately. I hope he comes back around.
Talk about a lack of reading comprehension!
I asked if you had simply said something along those lines, or if you’d implied that there was anything wrong with what Ukraine did. If you did nothing of the sort and people read into your post, all you had to do was say so, that’s why I asked.
We all see what you wrote asshole. What, you were Just Asking Questions? By your response, I’m wondering if you are actually saying you supported the 9/11 attacks. So, I could understand why people would accuse you of being a pro- Al Queda shill.
Get Fucked.
Hey @Max_S? Maybe you should consider this,
Yeah, yeah. Who is he supposed to be? Some kind of pseudo-Nazi?
~Max
That moment when you realize that your chosen ideology isn’t what you thought it was,
Oh my gosh, what an idiot: I have the right to be bigoted and you can’t call out my group (conservatives) on it, because discrimination. What a tool.
ETA: for reference, see Max_S’s thread in ATMB. It’s to laugh.
ETA2: I somehow fucked up this post, it shouldn’t be a reply to Dissonance, but only to crowmanyclouds’ post.
Just a reminder, Max_S DOES have a dedicated Pit thread, and yes, he does identify as evil in prior discussions.
I love them, my favorite is Angel Summoner and BMX Bandit.
Not relevant to the thread, except, I dunno, what was the Angel Summoner thinking in trying to team up with a guy who only boasted bike tricks?
He actually claims that it can’t be called malicious if he personally says to us that he personally doesn’t find it to be malicious. What about “butthurt”, “evil” and “troll”, Max_S? If you put out a claim that you aren’t any of those thing, are you supposed to be protected here?