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Face, meet leopard. Leopard, meet face.

Gulliver Foyle said:
What the dems need to do is find policies to bring lost voters back to them. And being all we'll implement republican policies but 0.5% less bad is not going to do that.
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I don't think policies are the problem for the Democrats.

Time after time, you can point to things people want that the democrats offer... most people wanted Roe v. Wade to stand, but they elected a man who said he nominate right-wing judges to overturn it. Most people liked the Affordable Care Act, but they elected a man who said he would eliminate it. Most people did not like the republican tax cuts for Millionaires in Trump's first term, but they re-elected a guy who said he was going to do yet more tax cuts. Look at the infrastructure bill the Democrats passed that was opposed by republicans in congress, but some of those republicans then went to their constituents to brag about how much the infrastructure spending would help them.

If there is one thing the republicans do well, its getting people to vote against their best interest. They gaslight people. They use people's ignorance and mental disconnect between what the republicans offer and how it will affect them. They elevate "minor" issues in order to make them seem like the most important thing in the world. "Forget about Democrats providing you health care and protecting your abortion rights, if you vote for them then some transexual from Haiti will sneak into your house at night and eat your pets".

The democrats could come up with a plan to make everyone a multi-millionaire, and republicans would still find a way to prey on the ignorance of half the population.

Its sort of like a creationist debating a scientist. The creationist (like the republicans) are full of bunk, but they can spew just enough garbage to convince the believers. The scientist (like the Democrats) have the facts behind them, but one simple lie from the creationist that might take 2 seconds to say will require a long-winded explanation from the scientist that most people are not mentally equipped to follow.
 
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Segnosaur said:
I don't think policies are the problem for the Democrats.

Time after time, you can point to things people want that the democrats offer... most people wanted Roe v. Wade to stand, but they elected a man who said he nominate right-wing judges to overturn it. Most people liked the Affordable Care Act, but they elected a man who said he would eliminate it. Most people did not like the republican tax cuts for Millionaires in Trump's first term, but they re-elected a guy who said he was going to do yet more tax cuts. Look at the infrastructure bill the Democrats passed that was opposed by republicans in congress, but some of those republicans then went to their constituents to brag about how much the infrastructure spending would help them.
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In Missouri we keep having the same pattern repeat: the voters vote for something on the ballot, like minimum wage increase, paid time off, etc. and it those win. They win! The voters vote for those things, they want them! But then the legislature, which is dominated by Republicans, passes bills to undo whatever the ballot measure did. This has happened several times in the last few years. The voters want a thing, but they elect representatives who work against that thing. It's maddening!
 
TragicMonkey said:
In Missouri we keep having the same pattern repeat: the voters vote for something on the ballot, like minimum wage increase, paid time off, etc. and it those win. They win! The voters vote for those things, they want them! But then the legislature, which is dominated by Republicans, passes bills to undo whatever the ballot measure did. This has happened several times in the last few years. The voters want a thing, but they elect representatives who work against that thing. It's maddening!
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Utah is in exactly the same boat. Utahns decidedly voted against partisan gerrymandering, but this measure was overturned by the legislature. Our constitution allows voters to "alter" their government without the legislature having the power to repeal it, and our Supreme Court decided in favor of voters. The legislature is about to lose its Republican supermajority without the ability to gerrymander state districts. So last election cycle, the Republican leaders in the legislature floated a constitutional amendment that would let them override voter-mandated alterations. But they lied about its true purpose in the ballot summary, and the Supreme Court—judges appointed and approved by all-Republican officers—said they couldn't do that. So this legislative session has been all about new measures to allow the legislature to punish judges.

Here, as elsewhere, the people are generally reasonable. They generally want what's good for them and for their neighbors. They generally want a kind of Great Society. But they get duped into voting for people who act squarely against those interests, according to one rationale or another. "Trump may be bad, but at least he's not as bad as Biden." Oh really? "I voted for Trump, but I didn't vote for this!" Oh really? The American voter consistently votes against interest because they really don't seem to see the connection between what they vote for and what happens in their world.
 
Kansas farmers react to Chinese tariffs on agriculture products

WICHITA, Kan. (KAKE) - It's almost planting season for Kansas, but local farmers are facing uncertainty around what new Chinese tariffs mean for their products and profits.

On Monday, China put retaliatory tariffs on U.S. agriculture products, in response to the U.S. announcing a 10% tariff on Chinese exports and citing fentanyl trafficking as a contributing reason.

"Everything that we try to sell to China, and we want to sell them a lot of corn and soybeans and some wheat, it's been going downhill," said Larry Steckline, a farmer in south-central Kansas. "We just had three carloads of soybeans turned down that they had bought, and I think it has something to do with the tariffs."
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No ◊◊◊◊, Sherlock!

Moving forward, he says farmers have been speaking with the new Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins, about their concerns with the tariffs and the implications they will have for their livelihoods.

"She's listening, and she's passing along the words to what this can cause for us in agriculture," said Steckline. "Let's see if she has any clout with the man upstairs."
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Ha ha ha ha ha! That's a good one! :dl: :dl: :dl:

Oh, and by the way:

GO!!! ◊◊◊◊!!! YOURSELVES!!!​

 
shemp said:
Kansas farmers react to Chinese tariffs on agriculture products
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Its amazing just how much farmers (probably one of the most reliable pro-republican demographics) have been screwed over by trump:
- Trade wars that see other countries applying their own tariffs on American farm products (for example, the chinese tariffs as mentioned.)
- Cuts to USAID stopping contracts for US produced food sent to foreign countries
- Cuts to other programs (such as for alternative energy) affecting secondary income sources
- Trump's plans to apply tariffs on Potash imported from Canada driving up costs of fertilizer
- Efforts to eliminate undocumented immigrants reduce a source of cheap labor
 
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Segnosaur said:
Its amazing just how much farmers (probably one of the most reliable pro-republican demographics) have been screwed over by trump:
- Trade wars that see other countries applying their own tariffs on American farm products (for example, the chinese tariffs as mentioned.)
- Cuts to USAID stopping contracts for US produced food sent to foreign countries
- Cuts to other programs (such as for alternative energy) affecting secondary income sources
- Trump's plans to apply tariffs on Potash imported from Canada driving up costs of fertilizer
- Efforts to eliminate undocumented immigrants reduce a source of cheap labor
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What's amazing is that Trump hurt them badly in his first term, Biden helped them back up, and they still voted for Trump.
 
thaiboxerken said:
Its amazing just how much farmers (probably one of the most reliable pro-republican demographics) have been screwed over by trump:
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What's amazing is that Trump hurt them badly in his first term, Biden helped them back up, and they still voted for Trump.
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I am sure that whatever hardships farmers face, I am sure they think its less important than stopping the 0.2% of the population that identifies as transexual from going to the bathroom.

We used to use the term "Yuppies" (Young upwardly mobile/urban professional) to refer to liberal city dwellers with decent incomes. Maybe we should be calling farmers "Burpies" (Big, unintellectual rural people)
 
thaiboxerken said:
What's amazing is that Trump hurt them badly in his first term, Biden helped them back up, and they still voted for Trump.
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Just goes to show they hate selling their produce to China, really they should be glad about the Chinese tariffs. I mean hitting farmers is probably the most predictable reaction one could have and clearly something they foresaw.

Really it makes you wonder why they are upset about it at all. They chose to eat the cake and now can't have it anymore as it is gone.
 
thaiboxerken said:
What's amazing is that Trump hurt them badly in his first term, Biden helped them back up, and they still voted for Trump.
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But their children don't have to worry about trans kids using the wrong bathroom or playing on the wrong sports team! They don't have to worry about Furries pissing and ◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊ in cat litter boxes in schools! They don't to worry about Haitian immigrants eating their pets! ALL HAIL LORD GOD EMPEROR TRUMP, ETERNAL RULER OF THE UNIVERSE!!!
 
Segnosaur said:
I don't think policies are the problem for the Democrats.

Time after time, you can point to things people want that the democrats offer... most people wanted Roe v. Wade to stand, but they elected a man who said he nominate right-wing judges to overturn it. Most people liked the Affordable Care Act, but they elected a man who said he would eliminate it. Most people did not like the republican tax cuts for Millionaires in Trump's first term, but they re-elected a guy who said he was going to do yet more tax cuts. Look at the infrastructure bill the Democrats passed that was opposed by republicans in congress, but some of those republicans then went to their constituents to brag about how much the infrastructure spending would help them.

If there is one thing the republicans do well, its getting people to vote against their best interest. They gaslight people. They use people's ignorance and mental disconnect between what the republicans offer and how it will affect them. They elevate "minor" issues in order to make them seem like the most important thing in the world. "Forget about Democrats providing you health care and protecting your abortion rights, if you vote for them then some transexual from Haiti will sneak into your house at night and eat your pets".

The democrats could come up with a plan to make everyone a multi-millionaire, and republicans would still find a way to prey on the ignorance of half the population.

Its sort of like a creationist debating a scientist. The creationist (like the republicans) are full of bunk, but they can spew just enough garbage to convince the believers. The scientist (like the Democrats) have the facts behind them, but one simple lie from the creationist that might take 2 seconds to say will require a long-winded explanation from the scientist that most people are not mentally equipped to follow.
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Isn't that the truth. One of the clearest examples to me if how they have convinced the middle and lower economic class to hate the concept of an inheritance tax. Even though the vast majority have no chance of ever being affected by it, and their lives could be improved by it, they will argue against it until their last breath.

One of the most potent things about the concept of the 'American Dream' is that is allows every poor person to feel like a rich person in waiting.
 
johnny karate said:
I like the guy who stands by his vote for Trump even though his vote for Trump made his life measurably worse. They’re not beating the cult charges.
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This is how dictators with personality cults work. Do you think Putin or Kim's supporters blame them for their deprivations? They're programmed to believe their leader as he blames everyone else for their problems, and the worse it gets, the much worse it would be if he wasn't protecting them.
 
LiteBright said:
Isn't that the truth. One of the clearest examples to me if how they have convinced the middle and lower economic class to hate the concept of an inheritance tax. Even though the vast majority have no chance of ever being affected by it, and their lives could be improved by it, they will argue against it until their last breath.

One of the most potent things about the concept of the 'American Dream' is that is allows every poor person to feel like a rich person in waiting.
Click to expand...


It's amazing how even here in the UK where we actually have one that only effects about the richest 5% (and pretty easily avoidable, it's been described as an optional tax paid by those who trust the taxman more than their heirs) it's still a political hot potato. It's currently headline news in the UK because an exemption for farms over £3mil in value has been reduced from 100% to half what everyone else pays with 10 years to pay, and very rich people who bought vast amounts of agricultural land to shield their wealth from IT aren't happy.
 
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How are things in Nebraska? (You know, the state that supported Trump and the republicans in the last election, and has a republican majority in their legislature.) Not to great apparently...

From: https://www.wowt.com/2025/03/06/nebraska-lawmakers-now-facing-even-larger-budget-shortfall/
Nebraska lawmakers received some bad news...The big hole in the budget shortfall has gotten bigger.... Last year, lawmakers knew the federal government was going to pay a lower percentage for Medicaid, but that percentage is dropping even more, meaning Nebraska lawmakers need to carve another $90 million out of the budget to cover Medicaid.
 
LiteBright said:
If there is one thing the republicans do well, its getting people to vote against their best interest.
Click to expand...
Isn't that the truth. One of the clearest examples to me if how they have convinced the middle and lower economic class to hate the concept of an inheritance tax. Even though the vast majority have no chance of ever being affected by it, and their lives could be improved by it, they will argue against it until their last breath.

One of the most potent things about the concept of the 'American Dream' is that is allows every poor person to feel like a rich person in waiting.
Click to expand...
Another example is how the republicans are fighting against extra people working at the IRS.

There are billions of dollars of unpaid taxes in the US. The problem is, the IRS tends to target lower/middle class workers because their taxes are much simpler to audit. Meanwhile, the wealthy tend to get overlooked because the IRS has a limited number of staff and doesn't have the resources to audit their (usually) more complex tax returns.

The Democrats wanted to hire extra staff to ensure wealthy people would get the proper scrutiny. (And the extra revenue they bring in from unpaid taxes would more than offset the cost of the extra staff, and help reduce the deficit.) But republicans have been fighting against it.

Yeah, I understand nobody likes to pay taxes, but I am pretty sure the poor/middle class would be quite happy to see "the rich" pay, well, what they actually owe.
 
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