Scum vs Scum

[Loren Pechtel]

From Chris Hedges.

Scum versus scum. That sums up this election season. Is it any wonder that 100 million Americans don’t bother to vote? When all you are offered is Bob One or Bob Two, why bother? One-fourth of Democratic challengers in competitive House districts in this week’s elections have backgrounds in the CIA, the military, the National Security Council or the State Department. Nearly all candidates on the ballots in House races are corporate-sponsored, with a few lonely exceptions such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib, members of the Democratic Socialists of America who are running as Democrats. The securities and finance industry has backed Democratic congressional candidates 63 percent to 37 percent over Republicans, according to data collected by the Center for Responsive Politics. Democratic candidates and political action committees have received $56.8 million, compared with Republicans’ $33.4 million, the center reported. The broader sector of finance, insurance and real estate, it found, has given $174 million to Democratic candidates, against $157 million to Republicans. And Michael Bloomberg, weighing his own presidential run, has pledged $100 million to elect a Democratic Congress.

“In interviews with two dozen Wall Street executives, fund-raisers, donors and those who raise money from them, Democrats described an extraordinary level of investment and excitement from the finance sector … ,” The New York Times reported about current campaign contributions to the Democrats from the corporate oligarchs.

Our system of legalized bribery is an equal-opportunity employer.

Of course, we are all supposed to vote Democratic to halt the tide of Trump fascism. But should the Democrats take control of the House of Representatives, hate speech and violence as a tool for intimidation and control will increase, with much of it directed, as we saw with the pipe bombs intended to decapitate the Democratic Party leadership, toward prominent Democratic politicians and critics of Donald Trump. Should the white man’s party of the president retain control of the House and the Senate, violence will still be the favored instrument of political control as the last of democratic protections are stripped from us. Either way we are in for it.

https://www.truthdig.com/articles/scum-vs-scum/

Another win for Russian propaganda.

In reality there are considerable differences in the degree of scumminess. It's been a long time since I voted for a candidate. It's a matter of voting against the greater evil.

 

[poster]

From Chris Hedges.

Scum versus scum. That sums up this election season. Is it any wonder that 100 million Americans don’t bother to vote? When all you are offered is Bob One or Bob Two, why bother? One-fourth of Democratic challengers in competitive House districts in this week’s elections have backgrounds in the CIA, the military, the National Security Council or the State Department. Nearly all candidates on the ballots in House races are corporate-sponsored, with a few lonely exceptions such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib, members of the Democratic Socialists of America who are running as Democrats. The securities and finance industry has backed Democratic congressional candidates 63 percent to 37 percent over Republicans, according to data collected by the Center for Responsive Politics. Democratic candidates and political action committees have received $56.8 million, compared with Republicans’ $33.4 million, the center reported. The broader sector of finance, insurance and real estate, it found, has given $174 million to Democratic candidates, against $157 million to Republicans. And Michael Bloomberg, weighing his own presidential run, has pledged $100 million to elect a Democratic Congress.

“In interviews with two dozen Wall Street executives, fund-raisers, donors and those who raise money from them, Democrats described an extraordinary level of investment and excitement from the finance sector … ,” The New York Times reported about current campaign contributions to the Democrats from the corporate oligarchs.

Our system of legalized bribery is an equal-opportunity employer.

Of course, we are all supposed to vote Democratic to halt the tide of Trump fascism. But should the Democrats take control of the House of Representatives, hate speech and violence as a tool for intimidation and control will increase, with much of it directed, as we saw with the pipe bombs intended to decapitate the Democratic Party leadership, toward prominent Democratic politicians and critics of Donald Trump. Should the white man’s party of the president retain control of the House and the Senate, violence will still be the favored instrument of political control as the last of democratic protections are stripped from us. Either way we are in for it.

https://www.truthdig.com/articles/scum-vs-scum/

Another win for Russian propaganda.

In reality there are considerable differences in the degree of scumminess. It's been a long time since I voted for a candidate. It's a matter of voting against the greater evil.

That's too bad. But keep on keeping on. Right? Play that game.

 

[Lumpenproletariat]

There's more than only 2 choices.

You misunderstand; I am not giving you a choice - I am telling you what your choices are.

You are free to disagree with me, but then you will be wrong.

Your proposed 'third choice' is making a choice.

For more details, please read my earlier post.

We have 4 choices:

1) Vote Left (the Blue Stampede)

2) Vote Right (the Red Stampede)

3) Don't vote (don't submit ballot)

4) Submit the ballot, but leave the candidate spaces blank.

#4 is the best choice. It's not the same as any of the other 3 choices.

 

[bilby]

You misunderstand; I am not giving you a choice - I am telling you what your choices are.

You are free to disagree with me, but then you will be wrong.

Your proposed 'third choice' is making a choice.

For more details, please read my earlier post.

We have 4 choices:

1) Vote Left (the Blue Stampede)

2) Vote Right (the Red Stampede)

3) Don't vote (don't submit ballot)

4) Submit the ballot, but leave the candidate spaces blank.

#4 is the best choice. It's not the same as any of the other 3 choices.

That's true. In your imagination.

In the real world, one of two candidates will win, and your options 2, 3, and 4 all make the same outcome more likely. And there are mo stampedes. Not much will change with either outcome. You can move a little bit away from disaster, or a little bit closer to it. But it's only a little bit.

Oddly, I think you are smart enough to know this. But not prepared to admit it, even to yourself.

It's OK; You are allowed to be wrong. I have told you how it is, and your only options are to agree, or to be wrong.

Obviously it would be better for everyone if you chose to agree with my statement of fact. But I don't expect you to.

 

[poster]

4) Submit the ballot, but leave the candidate spaces blank.

#4 is the best choice. It's not the same as any of the other 3 choices.

That's actually a good idea. I think I'll try that today. Thanks

 

[Harry Bosch]

4) Submit the ballot, but leave the candidate spaces blank.

#4 is the best choice. It's not the same as any of the other 3 choices.

That's actually a good idea. I think I'll try that today. Thanks

You're so gullible! He's a conservative. Conservatives don't waste their vote. And they don't whine that their candidate doesn't understand their feelings! But it's for now a free country. Vote for whom you want. But please just don't bitch about the monopolistic powers of the republicans in the future.

 

[poster]

I never do. I mostly watch in amusement. And Lump's idea suits me, not because I'm gullible, but because I'm honest.

 

[Harry Bosch]

I never do. I mostly watch in amusement. And Lump's idea suits me, not because I'm gullible, but because I'm honest.

Fair enough. But I have a question for you. Like most people, you probably have 20 issues or so that drive you. For example, the issues that drive me are protecting the environment, abortion rights, fiscal policy, protecting the environment, increasing access to education, international cooperation, RnD and economic development, protecting the environment, larger safety net, pro business, pro trade, and last but not least: Protecting the environment.

But you have a lot of issues that are important to you. How many issues does a candidate have to agree with you on to get your vote? For me, it's probably around 75%....

 

[PyramidHead]

So, of course we are in a historically bad place with the Republicans in charge, and the best way to oust them (the only feasible way) is to vote Democrat. All people like Hedges are trying to say, even if they bluster a bit too much about the equivalence of our major parties, is that our nation's political and economic systems are not equipped to prevent the same thing we are voting against today from happening again. No matter how many Democrats we vote for, without major structural changes the pendulum will just swing to the right again--further and with more momentum than the tiny nudge to the left, I'm looking at you here bilby--and we won't be any better off overall. I would never tell someone who stands to be seriously harmed by Republican policies that there is no difference between the two parties. Still, we need voices in the media and general discourse that channel the disillusionment many people have with the whole wretched setup, and right now the biggest voice is the populist/nationalist one on the extreme right. There is no countervailing force on the left to attract people who realize we could do so much better than Dems and Reps, but are justifiably afraid of abandoning the Dems for fear of giving the extreme right a permanent stronghold. That situation should be front-and-center in our minds, but all we see is this romantic notion of casting a vote, portrayed intentionally as the epitome of political freedom so that we don't expect any more than that.

 

[poster]

I never do. I mostly watch in amusement. And Lump's idea suits me, not because I'm gullible, but because I'm honest.

Fair enough. But I have a question for you. Like most people, you probably have 20 issues or so that drive you. For example, the issues that drive me are protecting the environment, abortion rights, fiscal policy, protecting the environment, increasing access to education, international cooperation, RnD and economic development, protecting the environment, larger safety net, pro business, pro trade, and last but not least: Protecting the environment.

But you have a lot of issues that are important to you. How many issues does a candidate have to agree with you on to get your vote? For me, it's probably around 75%....

I answered here

 

[scombrid]

I never do. I mostly watch in amusement. And Lump's idea suits me, not because I'm gullible, but because I'm honest.

Fair enough. But I have a question for you. Like most people, you probably have 20 issues or so that drive you. For example, the issues that drive me are protecting the environment, abortion rights, fiscal policy, protecting the environment, increasing access to education, international cooperation, RnD and economic development, protecting the environment, larger safety net, pro business, pro trade, and last but not least: Protecting the environment.

But you have a lot of issues that are important to you. How many issues does a candidate have to agree with you on to get your vote? For me, it's probably around 75%....

Yeah, it is kind of hard to not vote against the people that appoint Pruitt/Wheeler to head EPA, Ross to head Commerce, pass that last tax bill, nominate the Georgetown Preppies to the supreme court...

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

I never do. I mostly watch in amusement. And Lump's idea suits me, not because I'm gullible, but because I'm honest.

I think the word you are looking for is "persona".