Timex
7026
If you don’t get the power, then you don’t get to govern.
CraigM
7027
How’d that defense work at Nuremburg numbnuts?
I mean, funnily enough, I actually agree with large parts of the attorney’s premise. I just don’t care or think that is exculpatory.
‘they were subjected to four years of propoganda as extreme as anything since Hitler’ is arguably a true statement. That these people are dumb is also true.
That they should rot in jail is still also true.
Republicans are also benefit from having a huge megaphone in the form of Fox News, of which there is no equivalent.
As for know is ‘allow’, I’m talking about a more collective sense, but there are members of the party that have a lot of ‘soft power’ that can stifle voices.
There are moderates in the Democratic party that don’t see the GOP as an threat to democracy as a whole. Far fewer of them then before, but they still exist. These people are fools to think that 74 million people cared about Good Governance. This isn’t about good governance, its about making sure that people in Georgia and Arizona and Ohio and PA have the right to vote, and can continue to vote, so that we don’t slide into a true Oligarchy, as we see in Russia.
So, whatever it takes to pass a new Voters Rights bill, I’m all for it. I don’t care how underhanded or sneaky it is or how it doesn’t play well. Anything to get Yes votes from Machin and the rest. If it means removing the Filibuster, so much the better.
Something to keep in mind, that in 1850s and 1860s, before the Civil War was fought, the US saw record levels of voter turn out. And when the South finally started losing elections, the end result was the Civil War. Hopefully, that doesn’t happen again, but I would rather have the Federal Government controlled by the Democratic Party.
Calling codefendants “fucking retarded” is an interesting approach.
I’m imagining this Albert Watkins guy as basically being Joe Pesci from My Cousin Vinny.
“So, two yutes approach the Capitol…”
Sounds like a lawyer hoping to be tossed from the case.
Please don’t kick him. I desperately want to see an attorney stand in front of a judge and say “but your honor, my client is a fucking retard!”
I can’t wait for the plea allocution statement. a.k.a. “Your honor, I am a f’ing retard.”
CraigM
7035
It has one thing in common with some of the best defenses, it’s honest.
They’re not mutually exclusive.
Brian Beutler makes that case here:
Democrats care about good government, but that ethos has fully swamped their understanding of what politics is—that it’s a bankshot sport where if they govern well, doing popular things, people will reward them mechanically with their votes. They’ve taken the cliche “good policy is good politics” to an extreme that liberates them from having to engage with their opposition, other than to boast about their superior stewardship of the country. It’s nearly all indirect. Republicans by contrast think good governing is a kind of evil, so they happily wreck every public trust in sight and treat politics exclusively as bloodsport.
We just emerged from the most corrupt administration in history and instead of holding anyone accountable or having any kind of meaningful reform in the works, the other party simply became pro-insurrectionist. The 1/6 Commission reached a deal (that McCarthy now opposes, because trump) where the GOP have veto power over any subpoenas (making it IMO essentially worthless). Is having Republican “buy in” worth that price? At this point, why does anyone (Democratic leadership, the media) persist on treating Republicans as a legitimate political party? (Maybe there’s good reason for that but hell if I know what that could possibly be.)
If nothing changes, we’re going to lose the House and the Senate and for the foreseeable future the best we can hope for is gridlock? [I get that Manchin and Sinema are roadblocks, but Democrats had better figure this shit out.]
Politics doesn’t have side lines. We have to figure it out together as a population, not just our leaders.
Which means, we need to be involved, with voting, but also with the adding our voice to the appropriate senators and representatives.
I wish we didn’t have to get involved, because I have things I would rather do with my time.
Timex
7038
I honestly don’t know what the answer is… but a cynical view would suggest that you should focus on destroying the GOP base.
Not, literally, of course. But do what they do… just suppress their vote as much as possible. Make them entirely disengaged. Make them hate politics. Tell them it’s useless to vote. Tell them all the GOP members are pedophiles and satanists. Do things that make it harder for them to vote.
It seems like this is a fundamentally broken way to address politics, and one that is toxic in the long term. But it’s the kind of work that folks like Rick Wilson did, and it’s effective.
Long term, it seems like it’s toxic and damaging, so you could in theory do it temporarily and then stop after you secure things like voting rights. But I’m skeptical that the democrats would do that after they open that pandora’s box.
The other alternative is to attack 2022 with the same energy that they came at 2020 with… although, in truth, you need MORE. A lot more. The GOP actually gained seats in the house, which is messed up given the crazy clusterfuck the GOP demonstrated itself to be.
But I’m not sure I see a lot of energy from the Democrats to actually DO that kind of stufff right now. I see them having big plans to pass laws, but it doesn’t look like they’re actually gonna get passed. I’m not seeing a lot of heavy GOTV stuff, but 2022’s elections are gonna come up fast folks. The GOP is already working this problem HARD. I’m thinking they’re gonna retake the house, and then the Dems are pretty much hosed.
RichVR
7040
Their constituents are an integral part of the crazy clusterfuck.
Menzo
7042
Yeah, that guy isn’t going to be Jacob Chansley’s attorney tomorrow, which is a shame, because I would have liked to have seen him put forward the “my client is an idiot” defense in open court.
Just another stupid careerist fuck. Now that the immediate danger to his own skin is past, he can’t be bothered to give a shit about the threat to the Constitutional order that Trump and his Trumppalos represent.
Not only dumb, but Grade A assholes.
