PA races for senate and governor (Pittsburgh, Media: cost of living, safest, to move)

[Reggiezz]

Originally Posted by eschaton

Could be worse. The GOP senate candidate in Georgia seems to suffer from CTE and literally can't string a coherent sentence together.

You're confusing Georgia with Delaware. There's an old bible saying about removing the speck from your own eye before pointing at others.

The truth is, pretty much all of our politicians are idiotic, because they're designed to steal everything not nailed down, rather than govern.

[gg]

Originally Posted by Duderino

Man, the Repubs would truly vote for a box of rocks if Donald the messiah decreed it so.

Most all the republicans I know including myself want Trump to go away. Many like his policies and positive vibe instead of the fear mongering left, but as a person, he isn't a good fit as president. He is a better fit than Biden of course, but wow is that bar low. The only good thing about Biden in there is the 4 1/2 year temper tantrum by the democrats has stoped, so no more road closures, looting, rioting and burning by the protesting democrats. Remember the rolling protests with police escorts for 4 1/2 years all over Pittsburgh. They loved to stage at the East Liberty Target all the time. Man the police were sure busy dealing with that for so many many years.

Enjoy the morning and never forget the temper tantrums. Wow!

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by Reggiezz

You're confusing Georgia with Delaware. There's an old bible saying about removing the speck from your own eye before pointing at others.

The truth is, pretty much all of our politicians are idiotic, because they're designed to steal everything not nailed down, rather than govern.

Biden is famously incoherent, and has gotten notably worse in recent years. But the same thing could be said about Trump, who seemed notably more cogent in television appearances back in the 1980s than he does today. I think both of them are basically still "with it" though they're obviously not as sharp as they used to be.

Walker is different in Georgia. He literally has a hard time saying a single paragraph of a speech without making word salad. He also has a prior history of emotional outbursts. Due to his past history as not only a football player, but a running back, it's entirely plausible that he has CTE - the cognitive disorder caused by too many concussions. Of course it can only be diagnosed after death by autopsy, so we'll never know for sure, but he has the right background, and he has all of the symptoms we see in notable players who have suffered from it.

FWIW, while I don't think Oz is a good candidate, I think he's more within the range of "normal" bad candidates that either party can choose, not a uniquely bad one.

But really, right now the GOP has this weird dynamic where the party base cares strongly about supporting Trump-endorsed candidates, but all that Trump generally cares about is how much personal fealty individual candidates show him (though more recently he's been more reticent, waiting until later in the game to make sure he doesn't pick someone who loses a primary). Thus unless you think Trump is personally infallible, sometimes he's just going to make bad picks.

[gg]

Originally Posted by eschaton

Biden is famously incoherent, and has gotten notably worse in recent years. But the same thing could be said about Trump, who seemed notably more cogent in television appearances back in the 1980s than he does today. I think both of them are basically still "with it" though they're obviously not as sharp as they used to be.

Walker is different in Georgia. He literally has a hard time saying a single paragraph of a speech without making word salad. He also has a prior history of emotional outbursts. Due to his past history as not only a football player, but a running back, it's entirely plausible that he has CTE - the cognitive disorder caused by too many concussions. Of course it can only be diagnosed after death by autopsy, so we'll never know for sure, but he has the right background, and he has all of the symptoms we see in notable players who have suffered from it.

FWIW, while I don't think Oz is a good candidate, I think he's more within the range of "normal" bad candidates that either party can choose, not a uniquely bad one.

But really, right now the GOP has this weird dynamic where the party base cares strongly about supporting Trump-endorsed candidates, but all that Trump generally cares about is how much personal fealty individual candidates show him (though more recently he's been more reticent, waiting until later in the game to make sure he doesn't pick someone who loses a primary). Thus unless you think Trump is personally infallible, sometimes he's just going to make bad picks.

Trump and the abortion debate are the best things that ever happened to the democrats. It gives them easy wins where they shouldn't have any chance to win at all. Due to the incompetence of the far right idiots, I sadly think the dems will control our state and maybe our country. It makes me sick as they really did a HORRIBLE job. We have enough issues let alone shutting us down like the crazy CA idiots. DeSantis did it right. I LOVED going there during the pandemic. LOVED! People are happy and vibrant to this day due to good leadership. I wish Trump would just go. Can't stand him and I AM A REPUBLICAN.

[h_curtis]

Originally Posted by gg

Most all the republicans I know including myself want Trump to go away. Many like his policies and positive vibe instead of the fear mongering left

So much to unpack in these few words.

No, most republicans don't want him to go away. From the Washington Post earlier this year

The latest Economist/YouGov poll finds that 82 percent of Republicans have a favorable impression of Trump, including 59 percent who view him very favorably

As for his "positive vibe", some of his greatest hits:

Illegal immigrants lurk in the shadows. Gangs operate with impunity in our cities. The U.S. murder rate, the President falsely claims, “is the highest it’s been in 47 years.” Drugs are “pouring” across the border. “Bad people (with bad intentions)” are flooding through our airports.

His inaugural address was a dark rumination on “American carnage”: the factories “scattered like tombstones,” the “crime and gangs and drugs that have stolen too many lives.”

Back when he was allowed on Twitter, his tweets and remarks enumerated the daunting array of dangers facing ordinary citizens, from terrorists posing as refugees to the crime rate in inner cities. In many cases, he exaggerated the threat. The murder rate is actually down sharply from peak levels a generation ago. No refugee admitted to the U.S. has killed anyone in a terrorist attack since intense screening measures were imposed in 1980.

From the republican National Convention,

Notes of uplift were few and far between in the convention speech, and commentators were duly shocked by its dark tone. (The conservative writer Reed Galen called Trump’s convention “a fear-fueled acid trip.”) Trump summons fear in the conventional way, by describing in concrete terms the threats Americans face. But he also, in a more unusual maneuver, summons fear in the abstract: There’s something going on, folks.

And it fits with his voters. They're all scared.

Trump supporters, recent polling has shown, are disproportionately fearful. They fear crime and terror far more than other Americans; they are also disproportionately wary of foreign influence and social change.

“I used to fly a lot, but now I don’t get on an airplane unless I have to,” Pat Garverick, a retired tech worker, told me at a recent Trump rally in Northern Virginia. “There’s that little voice in the back of your head that says, ‘Is this safe?’ I try to stay away from crowds. There are so many people trying to hurt us or stir up violence.”

Not all the Trump supporters I have asked in recent months say they feel afraid. One woman told me, “I’m not scared; I’m pissed off.” Others cited less immediate fears: They say they are afraid for their country or their children’s future. But many cited a visceral sense of insecurity. “I am terrified,” confided Jonnianne Ridzelski, who I met at a Trump rally in Alabama in April. She had, she said, been making preparations for disaster, including stocking up on canned food.

What, exactly, was she afraid of? She couldn’t say, and that was perhaps the most frightening thing of all. “I don’t know what’s going to happen,” she said.

While anger makes people aggressive, prone to lash out, fear makes them cower from the unfamiliar and seek refuge and comfort. Trump channels people’s anger, but he salves their fear with promises of protection, toughness, strength. It is a feedback loop: He stirs up people’s latent fears, then offers himself as the only solution.

Frightened people come to Trump for reassurance, and he promises to make them feel safe. “I’m scared,” a 12-year-old girl told the candidate at a rally in North Carolina in December. “What are you going to do to protect this country?”

“You know what, darling?” Trump replied. “You’re not going to be scared anymore. They’re going to be scared.”

[gg]

Originally Posted by h_curtis

So much to unpack in these few words.

No, most republicans don't want him to go away. From the Washington Post earlier this year


As for his "positive vibe", some of his greatest hits:



From the republican National Convention,




And it fits with his voters. They're all scared.

Picking media clips from opinion sources isn't stating any kind of argument. Any hyped up article with some targeted poll to further an agenda isn't real, it is just another opinion piece to sell advertising.

Hope this helps.

[Duderino]

Originally Posted by gg

I wish Trump would just go. Can't stand him and I AM A REPUBLICAN.

I appreciate your candor regarding Trump. It's refreshing to hear from a Republican. I feel like--at least these days--Democrats have an easier time letting go of people in the party that are no longer seen as effective or a positive influence.

There's a decent chance Biden will bow out for 2024, for example--and it's for good reason. Democrats will simply say: "Thanks for your time Joe, but now it's time to move on." And that will be that. No pouting. No temper tantrums. No shaming other candidates as not being true to the party for questioning your leadership.

When politicians don't resonate with the people they represent any longer, they need to step aside for the good of the country.

[svband76]

What really is needed is more political parties at the table. That will never happen sadly. You'll always have "A" or "B". We need more Libertarians, Greens, etc. in government. Just more voices.

[erieguy]

Originally Posted by Duderino

I appreciate your candor regarding Trump. It's refreshing to hear from a Republican. I feel like--at least these days--Democrats have an easier time letting go of people in the party that are no longer seen as effective or a positive influence.

There's a decent chance Biden will bow out for 2024, for example--and it's for good reason. Democrats will simply say: "Thanks for your time Joe, but now it's time to move on." And that will be that. No pouting. No temper tantrums. No shaming other candidates as not being true to the party for questioning your leadership.

When politicians don't resonate with the people they represent any longer, they need to step aside for the good of the country.

Sleepy Joe will be lucky to make it to 2024, and his physical and mental being alone will keep him from running if he’s still able, and he’d never win anyway. Even Dems have had it with his failed Presidency and it’s only 17 months in and his approval ratings continue to plummet.

[Duderino]

Originally Posted by svband76

What really is needed is more political parties at the table. That will never happen sadly. You'll always have "A" or "B". We need more Libertarians, Greens, etc. in government. Just more voices.

I will agree with that 1,000%. The deep red/blue divide has long been unhealthy and unsustainable, and it doesn't reflect the true spectrum of political views in any way.

Something has to give.