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The GQP: Trumpist Death Cult

Hugo Stiglitz

By Hugo Stiglitz
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aggie08
aggie08

This is such unbridled horseshit. I live in fucking California, and I'm not sure if I've ever seen a Fuck Trump shirt/flag/bumper sticker/whatever in person. I can't go a day without seeing Let's Go B

Jive Turkey
Jive Turkey

Did not have former Skid Row lead singer Sebastian Bach talking shit to MAGA cult members on my bingo card. But here we are.  

Ghost of LL
Ghost of LL

Yep. I was a George Will/Ronald Reagan/Al Laffer conservative.  I genuinely thought that if you cut taxes for the upper classes, then they would spend and invest and the economic result of that w

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gmr548

gmr548 16,616

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https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/jerry-falwell-jr-funded-miami-pool-attendants-alton-road-real-estate-deal-10960428
 

Falwell Jr. and his wife appear to have simply "befriended" a then-21-year-old pool attendant while the husband and wife were staying at the ritzy Fontainebleau. They then welcomed the pool attendant into their lives, began flying him around on a private jet, and even put up millions of dollars to help his business ventures. Falwell and his wife have appeared in Facebook photos eating at Macchialina with the pool attendant — a Florida International University graduate named Giancarlo Granda, who now lives in Washington, D.C., and attends Georgetown University.

 

 

someone getting dicked around just not sure who 


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berlinerbaer

berlinerbaer 678

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15 hours ago, Horn Under a Bad Sign said:

The chicanery simply doesn't stop with these assholes. Greg Abbott filling courts with GOP judges whom voters rejected:
 


https://dfw.cbslocal.com/2019/03/07/texas-governor-abbott-courts-gop-judge-rejects/?fbclid=IwAR2PZcu3XQ9IKvW0p5T7M82bbBLKGxoA1qmWuERC9Rb2f2bOAPGLxFTFW0E

 

So are some Texas state judicial seats by appointment instead of through election, or are these just temporary fills until the next (special) election?

Either way, Hot Wheels was going to fill them with Republicans. 

I look at this like I do the McSally appointment to the Senate in AZ after her loss. Seems like some personal back scratching or a mad scramble to fill the seat with someone with a pulse. It's pathetic, really. The fact is that the November election results, big gains for the Dems, still stand.

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Bozo_Casanova

Bozo_Casanova 26,553

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Liz Cheney is putting on an amazing display of hypocrisy on Meet the Press right now.  Holy shit.  

Amazing for you, maybe, but for Liz Cheney that’s just “Sunday”. She consistently performs at that level. For amazing, look at how she trucked her own sister.
She’s destined for greatness.
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Francisco 2.0

Francisco 2.0 32,428

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No better thread than this one.  It's not enough that #MAGA lovers have Fox or Sinclair, their curated Facebook feeds, etc.  Now they have their very own "local" news websites funded by the GOP.

https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2019/03/local-news-imitation-sites-deal-in-gop-political-messaging/

 

Quote

A variety of Republican Party messaging websites has been popping up, styled after local news sites. These sites claim to be "unbiased," but they are actually funded by Republican donors, candidates, and organizations. Politico has been chronicling the appearance of these sites, and an investigation from Snopes published last week reveals GOP funding sources for three similar sites: The Tennessee Star, The Ohio Star, and The Minnesota Sun.

 

Quote

The trend started gaining steam in 2017. In Maine, a website called the Maine Examiner was revealed to be owned by a top Maine Republican Party official after the site had reportedly influenced a contentious mayoral election. Democrats lodged an ethics complaint, but the party official, Jason Savage, said his work on the website was not related to his work for the party.

The Maine Ethics Committee declined to investigate the Democratic Party's complaint, but recent news of leaked emails that were passed to Savage and the Maine Examiner during the election could reopen the possibility of an investigation.

 

Quote

The tactic marks an aggressive shift in how politically motivated information is distributed. Poynter notes that Americans across the political spectrum trust local news media more than any other kind of media, whereas Americans trust online-only news sites the least. Making an online-only media site look like an extension of a truly well-established local newspaper or TV station is a way to capitalize (or prey) on some of that trust.

 

Spoiler

California's Devin Nunes, a Republican US Representative, tried a similar tactic in recent years. In February 2018, he started a blog called the California Republican—an obvious-enough name—although the website described itself as a "media/news company" that focused on "the best of US, California, and Central Valley news, sports, and analysis." Like any local news site, it broke headlines down by region and had some limited sports coverage. Still, the site accurately notes at the bottom (albeit in very small print) that it is "Paid for by the Devin Nunes Campaign Committee."

Most of these politically motivated sites do not disclose who is paying for them, and in many cases, the content does not include bylines.

In 2018, Arizona Senate candidate Kelli Ward extensively promoted an endorsement from The Arizona Monitor (which no longer exists). Soon, however, the Monitor was revealed to be a blog that had been set up jut a few weeks before it published the endorsement. The Arizona Monitor classified itself as a "news site" on Facebook, according to Politico. Like the Maine Examiner, it operated anonymously, without any disclosure of who was working for it or where its funds were coming from.

Local? Or Local-like?

The latest spate of GOP messaging sites masquerading as local news sites is more subtle. The Tennessee Star looks like a local news site, though it is allegedly funded and run by people with close ties to the GOP, with advertisers that have a history of making large donations to GOP candidates.

In April 2018, Politico noted that the stories on the Tennessee Star rarely had bylines, and no masthead was published, although the site did publish a masthead after Politico's story ran. The owners of the site include Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy. The former is "a conservative commentator and radio host," according to Politico, and the latter is a "local political activist who also writes for Breitbart, though Breitbart is not itself involved in the Star."

According to a story published last week by Snopes, Gill "owns a media consulting company that at least one candidate and one Political Action Committee (PAC) paid before receiving positive coverage in The Tennessee Star." Other writers for the site have worked for PACs that they write positively about, without disclosing that fact, according to Snopes.

Still, the site claims in its Google text that it is the "Most reliable local newspaper across Tennessee." The Tennessee Star claims it "provides unbiased updates on Investigative Reports, Thoughtful Opinion, Sports, Lifestyle,"

Leahy claimed to Snopes that The Tennessee Star was funded by advertising, as traditional local news sites are, but Snopes only found three advertisers on the site.

"All three are owned by prominent Tennessee conservatives who have donated significantly to conservative candidates, causes, and PACs in the past," Snopes wrote.

Replicating the model

Gill and Leahy, along with conservative activist Christina Botteri, have recently started two more sites that appear to be local news sites despite essentially being GOP messaging sites: The Ohio Star and The Minnesota Sun. These sites include stories about Ohio and Minnesota politics, but the sites have a lot of content in common.

Gill, Leahy, and Botteri have also apparently started an umbrella company, Star News Digital Media Inc., that aims to replicate this "local news" format in other battleground states, despite an opaque funding situation.

Besides leveraging the trust that Americans have for local news sites to spread Republican Party messaging, they also may serve a financial purpose. These so-called news sites can act as a vehicle for essentially unrestricted campaign advertising. Snopes notes that "because Star News Digital Media is neither a candidate nor a PAC," campaign contributors can buy ads on these sites without limit, which "blurs the line between journalism and political campaigning."

 

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Biff Tannen

Biff Tannen 45,741

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12 hours ago, Francisco 2.0 said:

No better thread than this one.  It's not enough that #MAGA lovers have Fox or Sinclair, their curated Facebook feeds, etc.  Now they have their very own "local" news websites funded by the GOP.

https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2019/03/local-news-imitation-sites-deal-in-gop-political-messaging/

 

 

 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

California's Devin Nunes, a Republican US Representative, tried a similar tactic in recent years. In February 2018, he started a blog called the California Republican—an obvious-enough name—although the website described itself as a "media/news company" that focused on "the best of US, California, and Central Valley news, sports, and analysis." Like any local news site, it broke headlines down by region and had some limited sports coverage. Still, the site accurately notes at the bottom (albeit in very small print) that it is "Paid for by the Devin Nunes Campaign Committee."

Most of these politically motivated sites do not disclose who is paying for them, and in many cases, the content does not include bylines.

In 2018, Arizona Senate candidate Kelli Ward extensively promoted an endorsement from The Arizona Monitor (which no longer exists). Soon, however, the Monitor was revealed to be a blog that had been set up jut a few weeks before it published the endorsement. The Arizona Monitor classified itself as a "news site" on Facebook, according to Politico. Like the Maine Examiner, it operated anonymously, without any disclosure of who was working for it or where its funds were coming from.

Local? Or Local-like?

The latest spate of GOP messaging sites masquerading as local news sites is more subtle. The Tennessee Star looks like a local news site, though it is allegedly funded and run by people with close ties to the GOP, with advertisers that have a history of making large donations to GOP candidates.

In April 2018, Politico noted that the stories on the Tennessee Star rarely had bylines, and no masthead was published, although the site did publish a masthead after Politico's story ran. The owners of the site include Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy. The former is "a conservative commentator and radio host," according to Politico, and the latter is a "local political activist who also writes for Breitbart, though Breitbart is not itself involved in the Star."

According to a story published last week by Snopes, Gill "owns a media consulting company that at least one candidate and one Political Action Committee (PAC) paid before receiving positive coverage in The Tennessee Star." Other writers for the site have worked for PACs that they write positively about, without disclosing that fact, according to Snopes.

Still, the site claims in its Google text that it is the "Most reliable local newspaper across Tennessee." The Tennessee Star claims it "provides unbiased updates on Investigative Reports, Thoughtful Opinion, Sports, Lifestyle,"

Leahy claimed to Snopes that The Tennessee Star was funded by advertising, as traditional local news sites are, but Snopes only found three advertisers on the site.

"All three are owned by prominent Tennessee conservatives who have donated significantly to conservative candidates, causes, and PACs in the past," Snopes wrote.

Replicating the model

Gill and Leahy, along with conservative activist Christina Botteri, have recently started two more sites that appear to be local news sites despite essentially being GOP messaging sites: The Ohio Star and The Minnesota Sun. These sites include stories about Ohio and Minnesota politics, but the sites have a lot of content in common.

Gill, Leahy, and Botteri have also apparently started an umbrella company, Star News Digital Media Inc., that aims to replicate this "local news" format in other battleground states, despite an opaque funding situation.

Besides leveraging the trust that Americans have for local news sites to spread Republican Party messaging, they also may serve a financial purpose. These so-called news sites can act as a vehicle for essentially unrestricted campaign advertising. Snopes notes that "because Star News Digital Media is neither a candidate nor a PAC," campaign contributors can buy ads on these sites without limit, which "blurs the line between journalism and political campaigning."

 

On what planet is this ok?

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Huckleberry

Huckleberry 33,096

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Haven't read anything on that "proposal" but it would also seem at first glance to favor people who are already in a better financial situation. Poorer people tend to have children younger and therefore won't have as much social security savings as richer people who have kids later.

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gmr548

gmr548 16,616

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"Here's our paid family leave proposal: unpaid leave!" 

Right? You're not getting paid family leave. You're getting an advance on funds meant for old age. Funds you'll pay back by extending your working life. I'm not sure what's worse, that they would insult the public's intelligence by calling this a paid family leave policy, or that 40 percent of the public will blindly support it.

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F250

F250 28,818

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Posted
7 minutes ago, Hank Scorpio said:

According to the Book of Mormon, Romney is now married to each one of those candles. 

Actually, he just snuffed out the lives of a number of blasphemers that live on the dark side of the moon. When you achieve level 37 of Mormonism you attain the power of the candle over extraterrestrial beings.

 

 

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BrickHorn

BrickHorn 18,285

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Posted
14 hours ago, Francisco 2.0 said:

No better thread than this one.  It's not enough that #MAGA lovers have Fox or Sinclair, their curated Facebook feeds, etc.  Now they have their very own "local" news websites funded by the GOP.

https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2019/03/local-news-imitation-sites-deal-in-gop-political-messaging/

You have to ask yourself: why would a political party deliver their message through a fraudulent outlet designed to convey the impression that it is an objective media company?  Is it because that party’s ideas and policies are so truthful, fact-based, and desirable on their own merits?

If you are nodding your head after reading that paragraph, you are Johnny Sack.  The rest of you appreciate the sarcasm.

The GOP has resorted to these dishonest tactics because their ideas are bad, they are contrary to fact, and any honest presentation of them would reveal how awful they are for the vast majority of Americans.  Their only option at this point is to lie.  To use blatant propaganda.  To trick people who would otherwise oppose the GOP’s policies into supporting them by giving them a false imprimatur of authority and majority approval.  They use good psychology to push bad ideas.  

Grotesque sociopaths like Scott Adams might call that “persuasion.” But I call it what it is: lies.  

And lies are all the GOP has left, because the truth would be unpalatable to 80% of us and they fucking know it.  Trump is not some aberration in the GOP.  He’s not the anti-establishment.  He’s the purest form of Republican.  He’s what they all secretly wish they could be: an unabashed, unflinching liar who uses deceit to drum up support for policies that absolutely fuck those who support them but that absolutely line his pockets.  

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Hugo Stiglitz

Hugo Stiglitz 23,367

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2 hours ago, BrickHorn said:

You have to ask yourself: why would a political party deliver their message through a fraudulent outlet designed to convey the impression that it is an objective media company?  Is it because that party’s ideas and policies are so truthful, fact-based, and desirable on their own merits?

If you are nodding your head after reading that paragraph, you are Johnny Sack.  The rest of you appreciate the sarcasm.

The GOP has resorted to these dishonest tactics because their ideas are bad, they are contrary to fact, and any honest presentation of them would reveal how awful they are for the vast majority of Americans.  Their only option at this point is to lie.  To use blatant propaganda.  To trick people who would otherwise oppose the GOP’s policies into supporting them by giving them a false imprimatur of authority and majority approval.  They use good psychology to push bad ideas.  

Grotesque sociopaths like Scott Adams might call that “persuasion.” But I call it what it is: lies.  

And lies are all the GOP has left, because the truth would be unpalatable to 80% of us and they fucking know it.  Trump is not some aberration in the GOP.  He’s not the anti-establishment.  He’s the purest form of Republican.  He’s what they all secretly wish they could be: an unabashed, unflinching liar who uses deceit to drum up support for policies that absolutely fuck those who support them but that absolutely line his pockets.  

 

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GSU&UT

GSU&UT 1,798

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21 hours ago, Huckleberry said:

Haven't read anything on that "proposal" but it would also seem at first glance to favor people who are already in a better financial situation. Poorer people tend to have children younger and therefore won't have as much social security savings as richer people who have kids later.

This is why Klobuchar got rightfully dragged about her BS tax savings plans. All of these band-aid bullshit pieces of legislation are not going to help the people who need it the most.

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