Ted Rall for October 22, 2021

So don’t vote. Nothing is ever going to change. Good message Mr. Rall.

Ted Rall’s false equivalencies are always pure as the driven snow!

{gag!}

And Al Gore would have invaded Iraq and appointed Supreme Court justices who supported the decisions in Shelby County and Citizens United. Thank you, Ralph Nader.

No disagreement with that observation. Even though there are a few rogue “progressives” in the DNC. They are sidelined and usually thoroughly ignored by the politicians they caucus with. So Americans have a party of insane-lite, and outright insane. So much potential in this country, and no real political will to make life dramaticly better for all citizens, or the world as well.

Absolutely nailed it.

—) Another puppet shadow-play cartoon? Mailed in from Political Flatland?

I just completed Dan Kaufman’s “Fall of Wisconsin”. It is quite clear from that book, and my own experiences here in WI, that the GOP IS the (considerably) worse of the two options. So, maybe, a difference between state/national incarnations of the two parties?

We can agree that one party votes and sees orange and one does not. You pick.

One party has a sane take on social issues, the other does not.

Umm.. the matter of degree.. might, come into play.

If you list the legislative priorities of the current Democratic administration and Democratic majorities in Congress, and compare them to the legislative priorities of the past Republican administration and Republican majorities in Congress before the 2018 mid-terms, I think the differences between the parties will be exceedingly clear. The sausage is made in the center, where progressives — who don’t get enough votes ANYWHERE to ensure that their policies carry the day — and the far right — who also don’t get enough votes ANYWHERE — have input. I would get used to a two-party system in the United States. It’s going to be here for a bit.

Can’t really disagree….

fusilier

James 2:24

A donkey just flew: I’m forced to agree with Ted on this one. If only a few dinos like synema and manchin would stand reliably with the Dems, the rest of them might find the courage to untuck their tails. There IS faint hope, though, when 9 repubs vote to charge that scumbag Bannon with contempt of Congress. Even though I’M generally in contempt of those scalawags.

at the local level more things need to be referred directly to the voters. I think it was CATO that did a study which showed this could actually save money. . .an example is the idiotic public financing of stadiums…in Minnesota the politicians finagled their way around a requirement that public financing be put to a local vote, because they knew the financing would be shot down if it was.

We could have been a contender

Yeah, besides that?

That’s pretty accurate, but besides that? Well Theodore, two things you haven’t been giving much attention to in the last year and a half is that one party is dedicated to undermining public health actively promoting treason.

Both houses need more independents not beholding to either party, but working for the constituents who voted them into office.

You talk about political parties as if they they exist apart from the American public. They don’t, they represent how Americans think about themselves. Nothing will change until Americans begin to see things differently.

This is largely true, except Dems do support affordable healthcare for the poor, rather than using no healthcare at all. The ACA with subsidies should be fully funded. But, all parties are in favor of a strong and secure nation using the latest in technologies.

I left the Democratic Party back in 1967 and I’ve never had an impulse to return to it. I vote for Democrats when it seems to be the best thing to do, but I don’t spend much time on electoral politics. At the local level I support progressive candidates when I can find them. I have spent a lot of time on non-electoral politics, however. A lot of politics happens at the local level, and a lot happens outside of elections. If we can build support for progressive policies, that support can then translate into better electoral politics as well, either through the growth of progressive parties, or through moving the Democratic Party in a more progressive direction. If you really explain progressive ideas to the public, there’s a lot of support out there. There has been a decades long propaganda campaign against progressive ideas, and we need to work to counter that.

Politicians have one objective: raise enough money to get re-elected.

Point for Ted Rall. Still voting Democrat.

While the man’s claims are falsely exaggerated and/or inaccurate, it should be no surprise that there is a commonality among American’s viewpoints. Most Americans understand and support a strong National Defense after we were attacked in 1941, and again in 2001.

IMO Once the anti democracy republicans take over the elections they will use our military to support their dictatorship.

Here’s one major difference: one party tried to overthrow the government, and the other party is ok slow-walking any accountability for it, thus basically setting the stage for another attempted coup.

Hmm…. nevermind….

It makes me glad I’m an Independent voter.

“Besides that?” One party nominated Trump, the other nominated Biden.

To say there are consequential similarities is not comparable to saying they are the same. There is, for example, only one of the major political parties who is making its business to destroy the democratic institutions and processes of this country in order to maintain minority rule and power. I’ll leave it to you to guess which one that is.

Just now reading about the judge who will oversee the trial of the 3 Whites who murdered Ahmaud Arbery.

It seems that the defense attorneys are demanding that all the signs supporting conviction be taken down outside the courthouse. The judge noted that the courthouse grounds are a public space, and suggested that the objecting defense attorneys draft a legal motion, quote, “walking me through the First Amendment rights you seek to infringe upon and how you intend to do this,” Right ON, your Honor!

So you and Trump?

The two major parties are both funded by, and pander to, the corporations and the wealthy, and are influenced by paid professional lobbyists. The two parties make sure that they are the only ones that dominate media coverage. When was the last time a third-party Presidential candidate was featured on a nationally-televised debate? Many third-party candidates to not make it onto the ballots in some states.

The U.S. is a one-party oligarchy. Elected officials do not represent the voters. Read this article if you think I’m just making this stuff up. It’s from 2014 but is just as relevant (or maybe more so) today:

https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-echochambers-27074746

Listing similarities (many of the questionable… but never mind that) does not disprove the differences. That is basic logic… but Ted dosen’t mind that.

Silly rabbit. They are the same party, should seem pretty obvious to anyone with eyes to see.