One of the signs that even the most superficial trappings of democracy are being undermined is when the rules of operation are changed willy-nilly to suit the interests of the ruling party. I have seen this play out in Sri Lanka that when one party gains overwhelming control, they do not use it to just push for the policies they favor (which is what elections are about) but use it to rig the system in their favor to prevent any reversal of power.
Seth Meyers describes what the North Carolina Republican-dominated legislature has done in the lame-duck session after their Republican governor lost his re-election bid to Democrat Roy Cooper.
Samantha Bee also weighs in.
Should be interesting if a Rep Governor wins the next election but with a Democratic House. Are there any sane US Republican politicians out there?
Martin Gardiner invented a game called “Nomic” back in the 70s. It started with a few simple parliamentary rules and .. that was it. The way to win was to arrange the rules so that you could declare yourself the winner. I’ve never encountered anyone who has claimed to have played that particular game (I imagine it’d be a huge headache to track)
Both “sides” are doing it, which is why we shouldn’t respect either of them. Obama just dropped a bunch of Arctic claims and listed them as “no exploitation” (which may be overturned) and the democrats who were screaming the loudest about Trump saying he might not respect the election if he lost are some of the democrats who were trying to talk the electors in the electoral college into not voting the way they planned to. I’m not saying any of these things are right or wrong -- they’re all ways in which the parties are playing politics while simultaneously screaming that the other guys are playing politics. Which is ironic as hell because the reason this last election was such a clusterfuck is because people are sick of politics as usual.
The reason this election was a clusterfuck is because somebody who happened to tap into the public racist unconscious and mobilize a lot of voters who fear losing their white privilege in a rapidly diversifying America appeared on the stage, and the Republicans rigged the election system one step at a time over decades, all coming together in this instance. Never pretend otherwise.
But it’s nice to see Marcus at least stays intellectually consistent and moved on from Putin apologia to Trump regime defense.
I don’t get the showy wailing and gnashing of teeth over Trump. He’s a thin-skinned imbecile who’s dangerously focused only on his own self-aggrandizement and seems to honestly not care in the slightest about anything else. He’s dangerously unhinged in a way that can and will have serious, likely dangerous consequences for the US as well as the rest of the world.
But how to respond to him is simple. The same way you respond to Obama or Bush or Clinton (the one who got elected) or FDR or Lincoln or Washington or anyone else for that matter who’s ever held the office. You agree with them on the things you agree on. The things you don’t, you speak out about. When your disagreement on an issue is particularly strong you go the extra mile to make your voice heard. Look for movements speaking out about issues.
The nonsense of jumping on anything that agrees with you whether it’s right or wrong? That’s the PROBLEM not the SOLUTION. Don’t make that mistake. It’s trivial, small, and ultimately self-defeating. Because it empowers others to do the same trite nonsense you are.
@ 4 Inair
I don’t get the showy wailing and gnashing of teeth over Trump.
Well in the simplest terms he seems to be a Climate Change Denier. The appointment of Myron Ebell seems to support this.
I am not an American and, frankly, if Trump totally screws up the USA internally, wipes out Medicare, and declares same sex marriage illegal, I’d be a bit upset but not really distressed. You and your weird system elected the guy.
On the other hand, that idiot will have the power to damage climate change mitigation activities all over the world. You may have read/heard that American scientists are working out how to get public data to safe havens in other countries before Trump and his band of deplorables take office?
There is only one problem in the world today and that is climate change. Anything else is a minor irritant.