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One might be tempted to ask, is this satire? It isn't. Or perhaps the author is simply cynically spouting leftist talking points? Nope. Maybe the author actually believes these things? Sorry. In actual fact, the author is part of the leftist propaganda machine, deliberately spewing approved agitprop in service to The Narrative.
One might be tempted to ask, is this satire? It isn't. Or perhaps the author is simply cynically spouting leftist talking points? Nope. Maybe the author actually believes these things? Sorry. In actual fact, the author is part of the leftist propaganda machine, deliberately spewing approved agitprop in service to The Narrative.
Nothing the author writes is provided for its trueness. Truth is irrelevant. He does not intend to inform or clarify. No, every sentence, every word, is carefully chosen to obfuscate, divert, and manipulate. In every sentence you will find a deception, mischaracterization, revision of history, or an outright falsehood.
Its sole purpose is to promulgate the story the Left wants told. Period.
But this is to be expected. The Left will certainly not fact-check their own propaganda, and the Right is wasting their time doing so, because tomorrow these very same talking points will be stated yet again as if today didn't happen. Thus The Narrative continues another day, unimpeached and unassailable.
We should also note that the author is engaging in Mountain Man's Law. Everything he tells us about the Republicans is something the Left is actually doing. This article is simply a massive projection. In addition, what the author is really intending to tell us are things he wants us to think Republicans believe, not what they actually believe.
**
1) With the Republican Party turning to Trumpism, (There is no such thing as Trumpism. The Republican party is not turning to Trumpism, they have always rejected Trump.)
2) and the Democratic Party returning to their progressive roots, (The root of the Democratic party is not progressivism, it is pro-slavery, KKK, and pro-white. Then progressivism gained a foothold around the turn of the 20th century, and progressives started remaking the image of the Democratic party into an advocate for the downtrodden and everyman while simultaneously becoming a vehicle to carry Marxism. It never became the former [that was simply convenient rhetoric], and it never abandoned the latter.)
3) will we have an honest debate this election year (The Left is not interested in honest debate. It is not interested in debate at all. It is interested in silencing the opposition, negating it, eliminating it, and any means justifies the ends.)
4) in our media? ("Our" is not "you and me." "Our" means the media operating in concert with the extreme leftist Democrats to ensure the implementation of the Marxist agenda. "Their" media have no intention of having honest debates. This is intentional. They will continue to adhere to The Narrative. Which means they are not news media, they are agitprop media.
The reader will now see why we are not going to critique the entire article. In just the first sentence we find nearly a dozen diversions, fairy tales, misrepresentations, or prevarications. Imagine the gargantuan and unnecessary task of doing this to the entire article. It would be daunting and fruitless.
The reader is now equipped to continue reading (if so inclined), knowing now that nothing here is written to inform. Nothing the author will write is factual, honest, informational, or properly contextualized.
We will do one other thing. We will add asterisks after every misstatement, below.
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"What you see is what you get" is an old cliche, but it's endured all these centuries because there's so much truth in it. "Don't listen to what people say, instead look at what they do" is another truism we can apply to inform us about today's politics.
The past forty years have seen three Republican and three Democratic presidencies, and the modern priorities and values of each Party are now quite clear.
On the Republican side, Reagan laid the foundation for Bush and Trump to hand over $10 trillion in tax cuts to billionaires* and giant corporations* while spending an equal amount on senseless, unwanted and unwinnable wars,* leaving us with a $20 trillion national debt.*
Trump has since merged the Grand Old Party with the anti-democratic,* oligarchic* and male/*white-supremacist* values of the pre-Civil War South,* leading his followers* to proudly fly Confederate flags* and strut around* with as many large guns as they can carry.*
On the Democratic side, there's been a steady revival* of the progressive movement, along with its efforts to lift up working class* and poor Americans* while cleaning up the environment* and protecting the social safety net.*
While the Democratic Party embraced neoliberalism* for a while,* from 1992* until 2016,* the majority of elected Democrats today are committed to extending the benefits,* freedoms* and privileges* of citizenship to all Americans,* regardless of race,* religion* or gender identification.*
There's an uncredited meme that's been floating around the internet in various forms for a while, generally titled "Shocking Things Liberals Believe"* that summarizes:
But it immediately provokes the counter-question: Now that Trumpism has taken over the GOP,* what do they believe?*
Since the Party stopped publishing a Platform or clear positions on issues after the 2016 election,* we pretty much have to look at their behaviors,* but those, at least, have been consistent.* Here's what's obvious,* based on "what they do":*
This is an election year, and these differences* should be the basis of our national conversation* about who leads the country in 2023 and beyond.
Is our "reality TV"* news media up to the task of comparing and contrasting the two political parties,* and judging* the most likely outcomes of the directions they've chosen?*
It's going to be a challenge* as long as Republicans keep spewing crap like John Kasich saying on CNN yesterday, when discussing the January 6th attack, that "we have seen hatred on both sides." Or Joe Manchin grandstanding,* using long-discredited* "but the deficit!" and "but the filibuster!" GOP talking points,* every time a camera shows up on Capitol Hill.*
On the other hand, if enough of us are active in holding our* Fourth Estate to account,* particularly on social media,* and can amplify truthful* messages of compassion,* clarity* and sanity* to our friends* and neighbors,* perhaps we can actually have a meaningful election year.
Tag, you're it!
The past forty years have seen three Republican and three Democratic presidencies, and the modern priorities and values of each Party are now quite clear.
On the Republican side, Reagan laid the foundation for Bush and Trump to hand over $10 trillion in tax cuts to billionaires* and giant corporations* while spending an equal amount on senseless, unwanted and unwinnable wars,* leaving us with a $20 trillion national debt.*
Trump has since merged the Grand Old Party with the anti-democratic,* oligarchic* and male/*white-supremacist* values of the pre-Civil War South,* leading his followers* to proudly fly Confederate flags* and strut around* with as many large guns as they can carry.*
On the Democratic side, there's been a steady revival* of the progressive movement, along with its efforts to lift up working class* and poor Americans* while cleaning up the environment* and protecting the social safety net.*
While the Democratic Party embraced neoliberalism* for a while,* from 1992* until 2016,* the majority of elected Democrats today are committed to extending the benefits,* freedoms* and privileges* of citizenship to all Americans,* regardless of race,* religion* or gender identification.*
There's an uncredited meme that's been floating around the internet in various forms for a while, generally titled "Shocking Things Liberals Believe"* that summarizes:
- People who work full time shouldn't live in poverty
- Homelessness shouldn't exist in the richest country in the world
- Women deserve both equal rights and equal pay
- Corporations and rich people shouldn't be able to legally bribe politicians
- Trashing the planet for profit is wrong and must stop
- Every American should have world-class healthcare at little or no cost
- Free higher education (and quality public schools) unlock human potential which benefits the entire country
- Children should learn the true racial history of America so they can empathize with their peers who are still experiencing these problems and grow up to become well-informed adults
- Women should make their own medical decisions, not politicians
- Massively profitable industries, from oil/coal/gas to Walmart and Amazon, shouldn't get billions in subsidies and tax breaks
- Children shouldn't fear getting shot at school
- When Wall Street banksters steal from us all, they should be imprisoned instead of bailed out
- No CEO is worth $100,000 an hour ($20 million a year) or more
But it immediately provokes the counter-question: Now that Trumpism has taken over the GOP,* what do they believe?*
Since the Party stopped publishing a Platform or clear positions on issues after the 2016 election,* we pretty much have to look at their behaviors,* but those, at least, have been consistent.* Here's what's obvious,* based on "what they do":*
- "Free and fair elections" are for suckers
- White men should run the country and the world
- Violence is a legitimate tool in politics
- Conspiracy theories like the one suggesting Democrats drink children's blood as an "elixir of youth" are probably real
- Rich people and their kids shouldn't have to pay taxes
- More guns means less crime and fewer deaths
- The darker your skin, the more likely you're a criminal
- Leadership is about instilling fear, not vision
- Women are men's property
- Climate change and evolution are tricks to take away our freedoms and ruin religion
- Education makes people stupid
- Going into politics is the ticket to riches and fame
- Rich people should make a buck off everything the government does through privatization
- Helping people who're going through a rough patch is a waste of time
- The "rule of law" only applies to minorities and the poor
- Money and power are the only truly important things in life
- Teaching the true racial history of America is a plot to make white children feel sad
- LGBTQ people don't deserve respect or rights
- Wealth is proof of goodness; poverty is proof of moral failure
- "Giving" citizens things like healthcare, education, family leave, etc. are all "socialism" and will destroy "the American way of life"
- Government has no right to regulate pollution or protect consumers
- "Fiscal responsibility" is a phrase that can justify just about anything
This is an election year, and these differences* should be the basis of our national conversation* about who leads the country in 2023 and beyond.
Is our "reality TV"* news media up to the task of comparing and contrasting the two political parties,* and judging* the most likely outcomes of the directions they've chosen?*
It's going to be a challenge* as long as Republicans keep spewing crap like John Kasich saying on CNN yesterday, when discussing the January 6th attack, that "we have seen hatred on both sides." Or Joe Manchin grandstanding,* using long-discredited* "but the deficit!" and "but the filibuster!" GOP talking points,* every time a camera shows up on Capitol Hill.*
On the other hand, if enough of us are active in holding our* Fourth Estate to account,* particularly on social media,* and can amplify truthful* messages of compassion,* clarity* and sanity* to our friends* and neighbors,* perhaps we can actually have a meaningful election year.
Tag, you're it!
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