Matt Holt Aug 6, 2023
Dare Obasanjo

I can’t stop thinking about how half the voters in America belong to a party where the front runner is facing 78 felonies and could be convicted before the election while the second place guy is running on a record of how racist (slavery actually taught slaves skills) and transphobic (I’m at war with Disney for being LGBTQ friendly) he is.

We can’t even pretend Republicans are a serious party. No meaningful policy initiatives, just cruelty and hate and selfishness masquerading as virtues.

Aug 4, 2023 at 12:40pmWeb
Show threadWndlBAug 4, 2023
@carnage4life You forgot the part about "slitting the throats" of GS-13s.
Show threadKevin LeecasterAug 4, 2023
@wndlb @carnage4life
That throat slitting comment from #DeFascist sounds so much like Mao's Cultural Revolution yet the press will broadcast them calling us Democrats Maoists without pushing back at all.
Show threadSharon Gibson MorganAug 4, 2023
@wndlb @carnage4life I have to ask, who or what is a GS-13?
Show threadWndlBAug 4, 2023
@SharonGibson3 @carnage4life Yeah, you did ask! 😁😂🙄😎 https://www.federalpay.org/gs/2021/GS-13
GS-13 Pay - 2021 Federal GS Payscale

Show threadSharon Gibson MorganAug 4, 2023
@wndlb @carnage4life Thank you. DeSantis is an ass.
Show threadWndlBAug 4, 2023
@SharonGibson3 @carnage4life He, like Louisiana Kennedy and Kayleigh, are proof that sterling academic credentials *can* mean little in later life.
Show threadSharon Gibson MorganAug 4, 2023
@wndlb @carnage4life Speaking of Kennedy, I thought that Robert Kennedy Jr. was like Sen. John Kennedy--no relation to the Kennedy family whatsoever. Boy, was I wrong. 😳
Show threadSloan StudioAug 4, 2023
@carnage4life It is crazy how the party decided to embrace the worst of their base instead of “growing the tent”. Bigotry is disgusting.
Show threadFeralRobotsAug 4, 2023
@carnage4life my only quibble is with 'serious.' they're tragically comic, for sure, but deadly serious in the effect they have.
Show threadTom Bellin Aug 4, 2023

@carnage4life Still cannot believe there isn't one person in the Republican primary who wants to take advantage of the huge, wide-open, "Trump is a dangerous criminal who should never be near levers of power again, but I don't like taxes, foreigners or regulations on oil drilling" lane.

Like a literal zombie could run on that platform and get 30% of the primary vote.

Show threadDan RileyAug 4, 2023
@tob @carnage4life Optimist. there’s Will Hurd, who has characterized Trump as a “lawless, selfish, failed politician”. He’s polling at 0.3%. I so much wish that 30% of Rs would reject the road to fascism, but it ain’t happening.
Show threadTom Bellin Aug 4, 2023
@dan131riley @carnage4life Hadn't heard of Hurd. I was thinking of someone like Niki Haley or Chris Christie. People that CNN takes seriously. But they all seem laser-focused on getting to be his VP.
Show threadMaartenAug 4, 2023
@tob @dan131riley @carnage4life Chris Christie has said that he’s in it to prevent Trump from winning again. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jun/04/chris-christie-bludgeon-trump-fox-news-sean-hannity
Chris Christie just wants to ‘bludgeon’ Trump, Fox News’s Hannity complains

Sean Hannity says ex-New Jersey governor lacks ‘inspiring agenda’ as he prepares new presidential run

The Guardian
Show threadMarco L. GatoAug 4, 2023

@tob @carnage4life

"Still cannot believe there isn't one person in the Republican primary who wants to take advantage of the huge, wide-open, "Trump is a dangerous criminal who should never be near levers of power again, but I don't like taxes, foreigners or regulations on oil drilling" lane.

Like a literal zombie could run on that platform and get 30% of the primary vote."

That one person would be Liz Cheney, and she got voted out.

Chris Christie is doing similar, he is not polling well.

Show threadProfessor Emeritus Blake Y RatAug 4, 2023

@tob @carnage4life There's two types of Republican voters left:
* People who pay almost no attention and just always vote R out of habit
* People in the Trump cult-of-personality

People in a cult-of-personality aren't going to be out there looking for alternatives. That's also why none of Trump's corruption or crimes will matter at all. And why Trump doesn't need to espouse any particular plans or policies, and the R Party doesn't bother writing a platform document anymore.

Show threadTom Bellin Aug 4, 2023

@blakeyrat @carnage4life It is only within the spineless ranks of GOP presidential contenders that Trump can appear strong.

And so IMO, the strength of Trump's cult-of-personality hold on the Republican party has never been tested.

No one is willing to actually stand opposed to him. Even people running directly against him pull every. single. punch.

Show threadProfessor Emeritus Blake Y RatAug 4, 2023

@tob @carnage4life Well the most successful of those trying to "stand opposed" to him are doing it by basically trying to BE him. That's how I see DeSantis' campaign, for example; "exactly like Trump, but maybe a bit less crimes".

I don't know, maybe other people don't see the same thing.

Show threadProfessor Emeritus Blake Y RatAug 4, 2023
@tob @carnage4life I guarantee if Trump got up to a podium tomorrow and gave a speech about how the greatest enemy to the American people is, I dunno, Fruit Stripe gum, I guarantee, no matter how ridiculous, DeSantis would be echoing the same message in < 12 hours.
Show threadTom Bellin Aug 4, 2023
@blakeyrat @carnage4life "I hate Fruit Stripe and also Fruit-By-the-Foot! And Fructis shampoo products! And not only that. I hate fruit! All fruit! Bananas, apples, mangos!"
Show threadTom Bellin Aug 4, 2023

@blakeyrat @carnage4life DeSantis is a great example of someone obviously running to succeed Donald Trump when he bows out of the race.

Which is dumb on a variety of levels. The main one being that Trump's very survival hinges on him winning the Presidency and then pardoning himself.

The man is not dropping out.

Show threadAnne OminousAug 4, 2023

@carnage4life just a quibble -- about 29% of american voters identify as Republicans,

there are around 38.8 million people registered Republican, in a country of about 258.3 million adults.

you have to appreciate the level of disengagement and disenfranchisement that has plagued centrist and leftists american voters, esp if they are BIPOC

https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2020/10/26/what-the-2020-electorate-looks-like-by-party-race-and-ethnicity-age-education-and-religion/

What the 2020 electorate looks like by party, race and ethnicity, age, education and religion

What does the 2020 electorate look like politically, demographically and religiously as the race enters its final days?

Pew Research Center
Show threadexcited for the mastodon riseAug 4, 2023
@rustoleumlove @carnage4life came here to say this, but fortunately you beat me to it with more elegance
Show threaddonkeyAug 5, 2023
@rustoleumlove @carnage4life This is absolutely astounding. Especially if you consider that statistically not all of those folk will actually vote. How can so few command the direction of so many??
Show threadDare ObasanjoAug 5, 2023

@donkey @rustoleumlove Don’t believe the hype. Over 74 million people voted for Donald Trump in 2020. That’s more people than voted for Barack Obama in either of the elections he won.

This isn’t a niche movement, regardless of how comforting it is to tell yourself that.

Show threaddonkeyAug 5, 2023
@carnage4life @rustoleumlove Bugger. That is disappointing.
Show threadAnne OminousAug 5, 2023

@carnage4life @donkey lmao i'm not trying to comfort myself.

im a voter who has been left behind by the dems (i'm apparently 'radical' for wanting ppl to have healthcare)
i lost all hope for my country a long time ago. climate change will absolutely collapse this civilization, it's just a matter of whether white supremacists start a war first.

BUT it's still important to remeber that a LOT of americans DO NOT VOTE.. for many dofferent reasons, some of which have to do with our carceral state.

Show threadAnne OminousAug 5, 2023

@donkey @carnage4life gerrymandering is very powerful.

so is the electoral colege &the way the senate is constructed.

the senate should be abolished, IMO. it's wild that states like WY get two senators while CA has 2, for example.

50 Democratic senators effectively represent 186 million Americans, while the 50 Republican senators effectively represent 145 million.

and i know republicans who claim to hate trump, but voted for him becuase they wanted republican SCOTUS picks. it's crazniess

Show threaddonkeyAug 5, 2023
@rustoleumlove Wow - it really is such a different system that America has. One frustrating thing from an outsiders perspective is that the whole thing emboldens the right wing everywhere else to push the same rhetoric and insanity.
Show threadJoe 🏔️ King of NYNEX   Aug 4, 2023
@carnage4life don't forget: the second meatball wants to slit throats!
Show thread🌊Ann Morris🐕🍀🌎🌊🌊Aug 4, 2023
@carnage4life Not half. More like 1/3. Gerrymandering has made it seem like more.
Show threadKarlAug 4, 2023
@carnage4life The rest of the world isn't fooled. The US of A is a country where hate thrives, and is no longer spearheading the radiance and intelligence of mankind.
Show threadOldGeekAug 4, 2023
@karl @carnage4life sorry to say but that's the way its always been. Also let's be real this has pretty much been for all of history.
Show threaddonkeyAug 5, 2023
@karl @carnage4life I refuse to call America the US now. They’re not.
Show threadWell_Worth_A_ReadAug 4, 2023
@carnage4life What is more worrisome is the people who are going to toss away their vote on a third party that has no chance of winning which is how we got stuck with trump in the first place when people didn't like Clinton.
Show threadAliceonboardAug 4, 2023
@carnage4life I think it's more like 1/3 Republican, 1/3 Democrat and 1/3 Independent, roughly, so the number of DJT supporters is a portion of that 1/3. I don't think the Independent voters will go for a criminal candidate, but yes, it is sad that so many Republicans are caught up in this guys cultish hate and blame trip.
Show threadDare ObasanjoAug 4, 2023

@aliceonboard Over 74 million people voted for Donald Trump in 2020. That’s more people than voted for Barack Obama in either of the elections he won.

Trump got 47% of the popular. This Isn’t some niche movement regardless of how much people wish it was.

Show threadAliceonboardAug 4, 2023
@carnage4life I'm not an expert, that's for sure.
Show threadmsgbiAug 4, 2023
@carnage4life @charles_ex @aloa5 different than other people with court live streams
Show threadbusticatedAug 4, 2023

@carnage4life and in many places the next election is a toss up or leaning r

🥴👍

Show threadlupus_blackfurAug 4, 2023

@carnage4life
@gwaldby

I figure the ~74M that voted for the Orange Lie-a-tron in 2020 are the same clowns that believe in Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, and the US govt having alien bodies retrieved from crashed UFOs...

Show threadWm.sonAug 4, 2023

@carnage4life

I just posted this a group in my (very) small town, about 2200 voters. The GOP normally carries the town, which has two churches, Congregational and Baptist, again, much of the town goes to either one.

I don't get how they cannot or will not see Trump for what he is...a bad human, lacking ethics and morals.

Show thread2¢Aug 4, 2023
@carnage4life it's the only way Democrats can win. They tell us this every election cycle.
Show threadStargeezer SmithAug 4, 2023

@carnage4life
I have to go back about 20 years to recall a seemingly normal Republican party, though the tendrils of big money were already entangling them.

Now they have evolved into a political system that rewards, even encourages bad behavior. I don't entirely grasp the elements of that system, but they need leadership that starts anew with a new conservative party, if we need a conservative party.

Show threadOfficial Kakistocracy Jester 🪓Aug 4, 2023
@carnage4life And yet… it’s neck and neck between the two parties. I think this is more damning for Democrats than for anyone else. The fact that the Republican Party even continues to exist (let alone thrive) should be a profound wake up call for the Democratic Party. They better get it together while we still have a country.
Show threadZacAug 4, 2023
@carnage4life
Show threadTofu MusubiAug 4, 2023
@carnage4life Even as a leftie I have to admit feeling a bit sorry for our friends and family who are policy conservatives, you know, the so-called “real Republicans.” Some of them sound as disgusted and disappointed as we are by the direction their party has turned. When *rump is finally in prison maybe they can return to being their “normal” selves.
Show threadShawn LevasseurAug 4, 2023
@carnage4life @bynkii
More like half the voters who belong to a party. About half of the voters aren't in a party.
Show threadProfessor Emeritus Blake Y RatAug 4, 2023
@carnage4life Sadly the New York Times (and all other mainstream media) can and does pretend they are a serious party.
Show threadPaulAug 4, 2023
@carnage4life @briankrebs Don’t forget the promise of throat-slitting and the assumption that if Biden wins again, it'll be another ‘stolen election’
Show threadbouriquetAug 5, 2023

@carnage4life Pay attention to this: even now while the planet bakes. Make this go viral. The GOP wants to roll back all climate protections.
No wonder the rest of the world sometimes hates us.

https://www.kalw.org/show/your-call/2023-08-02/project-2025-lays-out-plan-to-dismantle-us-climate-policy

Project 2025 lays out GOP plan to dismantle US climate policy

Project 2025, convened by the Heritage Foundation, lays out a plan for the next Republican President to dismantle renewable energy polices and "decimate the deep state.”

KALW
Show thread𝚎𝚒𝚗 𝚖𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚔Aug 5, 2023

@carnage4life @marcoarment We feel you. We’ve been there.

The Germans.