Mr. DeSantis has honed an agenda that attacks progressive orthodoxies where they are most likely to affect and annoy conservative elites: gay and trans inclusion in suburban schools, diversity and equity in corporate bureaucracies, Black studies in A.P. classes and universities. None of these issues have any appreciable impact on the opportunities afforded to working-class people. And yet conservative elites treat it as an article of faith that these issues will motivate the average Republican voter.

The conservative movement has staked its viability on the belief that Americans resent liberal elites because they’re “woke” and not because they wield so much power over other people’s lives. Their promise to replace the progressive elite with a conservative one — with men like Ron DeSantis — is premised on the idea that Americans are comfortable with the notion that only certain men are fit to rule.

Mr. Trump, despite what he sometimes represents, is no more likely than Mr. DeSantis to disrupt the American oligarchy. (As president, he largely let the plutocrats in his cabinet run the country.)

Few politicians on either side appear eager to unleash — rather than contain — America’s leveling spirit, to give every American the means and not merely the right to rule themselves.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/10/opinion/trump-feud-ron-desantis.html?unlocked_article_code=SiN4KOS05wzoE-zRiB4tCndC8Y4VT0L-xYpQ4aQmsueCtVMCAHPk-_0sRtLQ4etTj8LuuRUBIn_Ja7u9-KPcfljTX4b4kunJwW0gqeIMfulSiOpxyTZx3bIIMUSjW1OG4zjjWJNpmEV2Du-xuVE3G1sKY9Ff-KvJ3qtspBY_2OX9U4IIgBgvSN5Z2PqFTtZRV_czxs5N41yX6VZi2XTk6LSuEkUaw3B0L1dTTRBJQTt_hdINERMmR25S_t_Bh-48DrusQejDdNmXOqOMbzsrXX_7fxx5P9aCshYJnwkRJtAAHB-Nki4AHXUer6hUgWrEUzZDOJk-tUMB0-QE-1a9QWY&smid=url-share

If DeSantis were elected, he'd be the first Italian American to reach that office. Why can't he show some respect for the principle of tolerance that makes his candidacy possible?

DeSantis goes to war with Disney World. Is this appealing to Trump's base? Do they hate Disney World or something?

Tucker Carlson for President in 2024? Watch out Defendent-1, he effin' made you, Donnie! :lol:

In the US of Absurdia, this shitstorm might get even more furious in the next few months.

Nice move, Rupert. :shade:

Sort of. They are accused of pushing woke ideology for a variety of reasons, which in turn makes them a target for "cancellation." It is surprising though, given Disney has very much catered to the Evangelical right in its content production over the past decades.

But it is less shocking then the new right wing trend of attacking the US security apparatus (the FBI, the intelligence community) and the military. This would have been unthinkable in the W. Bush Era, but now memes like this are quite common:



It's a very weird thing that the radical far-right, with their proclamations of an immanent "Boog," or "second civil war," has decided to attack the military as insufficiently righteous. Apparently, the new utopia/minority rule will be brought about by legions of amateur, majority senior citizen revolutionaries.

I can't say I recall a single revolt in history with a median age of 55, but if you look at armed protests in the US that would be my low end estimate for age. It's weird, especially since half the nation's budget is transfer payments to seniors. I suppose it is more about social control, not economic factors though.

I can't say I recall a single revolt in history with a median age of 55, but if you look at armed protests in the US that would be my low end estimate for age. It's weird, especially since half the nation's budget is transfer payments to seniors. I suppose it is more about social control, not economic factors though. — Count Timothy von Icarus

Maybe it's a red state thing where aging militias aren't being replaced with younger members?

I can't say I recall a single revolt in history with a median age of 55, but if you look at armed protests in the US that would be my low end estimate for age. It's weird, especially since half the nation's budget is transfer payments to seniors. I suppose it is more about social control, not economic factors though. — Count Timothy von Icarus

I would like to see some statistics to this effect. That would not be my guess.

Ageism is still considered fair game, while other forms of discrimination may be declining.

2024: Banana Republican Donald Trump vs Senility Candidate Joe Biden. :roll:

I don't think anything like "statistics," for that exists. You'd be hard pressed to get people arming up to protest tyrannical government to fill out surveys for you.

However, armed right wing protests since 2020 have generally been photographed in detail, so you can take a look for yourself. That the crowds are majority male, by a large margin, majority White, by an even larger margin, and skew older seems readily apparent.

And I was making a comparison to other revolutionary movements and the compositions of militaries. The maximum age to enlist or receive a commission is 35 for the Army, 28 for the Marines for example. It's a historical anomaly for such a movement to include more men with grey hair than ones you could mistake for undergraduates. That said, it's not particularly surprising since Donald Trump, still mostly a hero in far-right circles, lost voters under 30 by a landslide 29 points (by contrast, W. Bush split 18-24 voters almost even). https://www.statista.com/statistics/1184426/presidential-election-exit-polls-share-votes-age-us/

Not that there is any definite overlap between people who vote for Y candidate and those who bring assault rifles to their governor's front lawn, but I'd have to imagine the recruiting pool is a subset of the larger whole for any set of political radicals.

I don't know, maybe that sort of thing will become more common as society ages overall. Anyhow, I wasn't trying to be ageist. Certainly there have been plenty of older, very successful revolutionaries. It's just strange for the entire cohort to be older. Normally it's the young people who get all hot headed and want to tear institutions down without fully thinking through what that means. I don't think the small subset of people marching around state houses with rifles particularly represents any age bracket as a whole.

That's not even the wild part. Generally if you want to take control, especially as a minority, you want the military on your side. And this has always tended to be more true of right wing groups. The far-right turning on the military is the truly bizarre part.

I'm still sticking with my prediction from a couple of months ago about the Democratic Party's nominee for president in 2024 despite Biden's lame-duck postponing announcenent today.
https://thephilosophyforum.com/discussion/comment/781912

I had thought Newsom would have a good chance, but news out of CA has not been good lately.

So Bernie announced he's not running, and will be supporting Joe. That means an end of an important period. Bernie will never be president (not that there was a huge chance anyway, given the DNC).

Bernie ran two very important campaigns. His policies are now in the mainstream discussion, and his supporters have helped push Biden farther than he would have otherwise been.

So Biden versus Trump, again. What a pity. An easy choice, though. Vote against Trump again. Prevent him from getting into office. Then keep grinding on with local/state work.

That should be the extent of the mental energy used these next 16 months. But I'm guessing it won't be. Because when it comes to the US, we have to turn it into an overwhelming spectacle. Talk about overcomplicating.

So Bernie announced he's not running, and will be supporting Joe — Mikie

Maybe they could run as a geriatric team. But which one is Gandolf?

So Biden versus Trump, again — Mikie

Early days yet. I'm sure 2023 has many surprises in store.

Biden carries with him “cheat sheets” that provide advance knowledge of a reporter’s question, whom to call upon, etc.

One hilarious example shows Biden needs guidance for even the most basic of tasks.

“YOU enter the Roosevelt Room and say hello to participants,” the note read, then immediately directed the oldest-ever president, “YOU take YOUR seat.”

Just like his last campaign the whole presidency is a complete sham. The man is not under control.

https://nypost.com/2023/04/26/biden-cheat-sheet-shows-he-had-advance-knowledge-of-journalists-question/amp/

Tucker, is that you?

Don Lemon, do you like that your president needs instructions on how to enter a room and say hello?

It’d be fine if it wasn’t coming from a Trump apologist and Ayn Rand cultist. That just makes it hilarious.

Bernie-bro extra salty. His new man needs his questions curated for him.

I'd think you'd just be indifferent to all the various politicians out there. None of them really represent you, you know? None of them.

The idea that a politician can represent me is an obsequious one, especially if they’ve never met me or considered my concerns. So I don’t look at it as someone representing me as if he was carrying out my will.

Here the leader of the most powerful nation the world has ever seen cannot even face a reporter’s questions without a cheat sheet and a public relations team. It’s all a scripted show. I prefer reality television.

Here the leader of the most powerful nation the world has ever seen cannot even face a reporter’s questions without a cheat sheet and a public relations team. It’s all a scripted show. I prefer reality television. — NOS4A2

Most powerful the world has ever seen? Eh, that's more likely the British Empire.

Four years of Trump, and we get upset about PR notes. :rofl:

One carrier would destroy the entire Royal Navy at the height of the empire. Anyways, it was besides the point.

One carrier would destroy the entire Royal Navy at the height of the empire. Anyways, it was besides the point. — NOS4A2

And if we had a wayback machine we could go back to 1915 and kick some ass. As it is, we're constrained by other well armed powers.

Do my eyes deceive me, or may the American people get a chance to vote for an actual person rather than condemning the world to another 4 years of (p/m)uppetry?

Crickets? Really??

As long as Republicans can't break off from Trump and create a party with stability against the Democrats, the Republicans will always be pure chaos and bullshit.

The idea that any Republican would vote for Trump just to get Republicans into power is a ridiculously desperate need for power. It's like: "Let the world burn, as long as I can have the slightest seat of power".

If that is their ambition, then there's no moral soul left in that party whatsoever. I'd like to see the more functioning, stable, and intellectual Republicans break off from Trump and start their own party or seriously try and take over the Republican party by outing all the stupid morons who infected it. How far does it need to go before Republicans do this for real? Or are there so many morons in the Republican party that it's a doomed case?

Robert Kennedy is a democrat, or is this just a random rant about the republican party?

Robert Kennedy is a democrat, or is this just a random rant about the republican party? — Tzeentch

It wasn't an answer to that post of yours specifically, I just entered the discussion based on the topic.