Do Democrat Voters Really Believe This Stuff?

 

In a cynical ploy to capitalize on our current hysteria over the video of George Floyd’s death, Democratic Reps Rashida Tlaib (Michigan) and Ayanna Pressley (Massachusetts) announced the BREATHE Act last week. This proposed legislation seeks to radically transform America’s criminal justice system through a wide variety of actions:

  • Eliminate life sentences
  • Retroactively expunge drug crimes
  • Permanently shut down multiple federal agencies
  • Permanently close many prisons and detention centers
  • End gang databases
  • Establish pilot programs for universal basic income
  • Give voting rights to all illegal immigrants
  • Give voting rights to all incarcerated criminals
  • Give free lifetime education to all illegal immigrants
  • Give free lifetime education to all incarcerated criminals

This sweeping legislation brings up two groups of questions in my mind.

First, do the congresspeople who proposed this bill hope that it will become law? Or is this just their version of virtue-signaling? And if it does become law, do they expect it to help black communities? So they want to defund police and release criminals from jail. And they expect this to reduce crime. How, exactly? Is this a real effort to reduce the crime rate in black neighborhoods, or is it simply a cynical ploy to get votes?

Which brings up my second set of questions:

I have a lot of friends whom I respect who vote Democrat. How many of the proposals above would these Democrat voters be in favor of? Does the average Democrat voter actually believe that you can reduce crime by decreasing the number of police on the streets and increasing the number of criminals on the streets? How, exactly, do they expect that to work?

Which reminds me of another interesting news story from last week:

Kanye West is a rapper, Christian, and now, apparently, a presidential candidate. He recently made a statement about Planned Parenthood: “Planned Parenthoods have been placed inside cities by white supremacists to do the Devil’s work.”

Remember that he has a point here. Planned Parenthood was started by famous eugenicist Margaret Sanger, who started it as “The Negro Project,” to limit reproduction of races she found to be mentally and culturally unfit. She even bragged about speaking for the KKK in this passage from her autobiography: “I accepted an invitation to talk to the women’s branch of the Ku Klux Klan… I was escorted to the platform, was introduced, and began to speak…In the end, through simple illustrations I believed I had accomplished my purpose. A dozen invitations to speak to similar groups were proffered.”

Every year Planned Parenthood gives out its highest award, called “The Margaret Sanger Award” to honor the legacy of its founder. When Hillary Clinton received the award in 2009, she said during her acceptance: “It was a great privilege when I was told that I would receive this award. I admire Margaret Sanger enormously. … I’m really in awe of her. There are a lot of lessons we can learn from her life, from the causes she launched and fought for and sacrificed for so greatly.”

Kanye West has been known to say outrageous things with little basis in fact. But in this particular case, even if one disagrees with him, one can certainly understand how he might reach his conclusion that “Planned Parenthoods have been placed inside cities by white supremacists to do the Devil’s work.”

Anyway, as one might expect, Planned Parenthood took exception to Mr. West’s statement. Nia Martin-Robinson (the director of Black Leadership and Engagement at Planned Parenthood’s national headquarters) said, “Black women are free to make our own decisions about our bodies and pregnancies, and want and deserve to have access to the best medical care available. Any insinuation that abortion is Black genocide is infantilizing. The real threat to Black communities’ safety, health, and lives stems from lack of access to quality, affordable health care, police violence and the criminalization of reproductive health care by anti-abortion opposition.

So let’s do this again. Same two sets of questions:

First, does Ms. Martin-Robinson really believe that statement that I bolded above? Police violence kills more black people than abortion? A perceived lack of access to quality, affordable health care is more of a threat to black communities than gang violence? The ‘criminalization of reproductive health care’ is more of a threat to black communities than the destruction of the black family? Does she really believe any of that?

And second, does the average Democrat voter out there really believe those things? Are those statements a winning platform for Joe Biden?

The Democrat party seems to presume that their voters are stupid. In my experience, that is not true. But it does appear that the average Democrat seems to have an uncomfortable relationship with facts. So perhaps it’s not lack of intelligence, but a lack of interest in facts that don’t confirm your biases. For just one example:

Last year, Trump administration officials met with Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats to negotiate about the border wall. Attempting to explain why this wall is so important to American citizens, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen did a presentation that listed how many criminal aliens have been detained at the border, plus drug smugglers, terrorists, human traffickers, and various other undesirables. To her credit, Nielsen thought quickly on her feet (rather than running away screaming, which is what I generally do when I’m attacked by a rattlesnake). When Pelosi interrupted her presentation and flatly stated, “I reject your facts,” Nielsen immediately shot back, “These aren’t my facts, these are the facts.”

When the facts don’t fit their biases, they don’t propose their own reasoning or logic, they just deny the existence of those particular facts. Democrat voters of normal intelligence see this and vote for it. I don’t understand.

I’ve often wondered how my Democrat friends can vote for this stuff. I can say, “Your party intends to decrease crime by decreasing the number of police on the streets and increasing the number of criminals on the streets. They believe that lack of access to affordable health care is a greater threat to the black community than gang violence. They know what the weather will be like 500 years from now but they’re not sure how many genders there are this week. You won’t listen to a Ph.D. in climate science but you will listen to a Swedish teenager with a learning disability. You scream about Trump’s history of shady business dealings while you vote for Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden. C’mon – you’re voting for this stuff? You’re not stupid. I don’t understand.”

I’m not sure how they would respond, but I’m sure that they would go vote Democrat again. The Democrat party could run a career criminal with no record of success, a viciously unpleasant personality, and an affinity for tyrants and KKK sympathizers, and they would win half the vote.

In fact, in the last presidential election, they did exactly that.

I really don’t understand. These people are not stupid. But they vote for stuff that is absolutely, positively, mind-bogglingly stupid. Over and over and over again.

I just don’t understand.

And what I really don’t understand is how a Republican candidate can compete for the votes of such Democrats. How does one debate with such people? Imagine your attempts to discuss even obvious topics: “Yeah, well, you see, less police, more criminals…how do you think that’s likely to turn out?” And you would still lose the argument. To them. Somehow. I just don’t understand.

Those people are half the electorate. And I have no idea how to change that. Because I don’t understand how they think.

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  1. Randy Webster Inactive
    Randy Webster
    @RandyWebster

    Dr. Bastiat: Permanently shut down multiple federal agencies

    I’m all in if it includes the Departments of Education and Energy.

    • #1
  2. Percival Thatcher
    Percival
    @Percival

    Dr. Bastiat: Those people are half the electorate. And I have no idea how to change that. Because I don’t understand how they think.

    They don’t think. They feel. It’s easier.

    • #2
  3. CACrabtree Coolidge
    CACrabtree
    @CACrabtree

    From the Democrats I’ve spoken to here in Appalachia (admittedly, not all that many), the majority fall into two groups:

    1.  A blind visceral hatred of all things Trump (fueled, in part, by the MSM); and, 
    2.  “My family has been voting Democrat for the last 100 years and we’re not going to stop now.”

    Neither group makes much sense but, then again, for many people, the simple act of thinking brings about an acute case of diarrhea.

    • #3
  4. Jerry Giordano (Arizona Patrio… Member
    Jerry Giordano (Arizona Patrio…
    @ArizonaPatriot

    Dr. Bastiat:

    I really don’t understand. These people are not stupid. But they vote for stuff that is absolutely, positively, mind-bogglingly stupid. Over and over and over again.

    I just don’t understand.

    I don’t know about this.  Two quotes occur to me.

    First, Forrest Gump.  “Stupid is as stupid does.”

    Second, St. Paul.  Romans 1:18-32 (here).

    • #4
  5. Dr. Bastiat Member
    Dr. Bastiat
    @drbastiat

    Jerry Giordano (Arizona Patrio… (View Comment):

    Dr. Bastiat:

    I really don’t understand. These people are not stupid. But they vote for stuff that is absolutely, positively, mind-bogglingly stupid. Over and over and over again.

    I just don’t understand.

    I don’t know about this. Two quotes occur to me.

    First, Forrest Gump. “Stupid is as stupid does.”

    Second, St. Paul. Romans 1:18-32 (here).

    Half the electorate is not stupid.

    That just can’t be true…

    • #5
  6. Randy Webster Inactive
    Randy Webster
    @RandyWebster

    Dr. Bastiat (View Comment):

    Jerry Giordano (Arizona Patrio… (View Comment):

    Dr. Bastiat:

    I really don’t understand. These people are not stupid. But they vote for stuff that is absolutely, positively, mind-bogglingly stupid. Over and over and over again.

    I just don’t understand.

    I don’t know about this. Two quotes occur to me.

    First, Forrest Gump. “Stupid is as stupid does.”

    Second, St. Paul. Romans 1:18-32 (here).

    Half the electorate is not stupid.

    That just can’t be true…

    Half the electorate has an IQ of less than 100.

    Edit:  Half minus those whose IQ is 100.

    • #6
  7. Goldgeller Member
    Goldgeller
    @Goldgeller

    This is an interesting post! There is a lot going on in the post and I think a lot of people will pick up on different things to different degrees, which is totally cool.

    I’ll say… Regarding the BREATHE Act 1) This is very much members of Congress engaging in position-taking, it isn’t about whether a bill will pass or even make it out of committee, but about simply establishing themselves a) for voter recognition and b) for the purposes of a higher level game of vote structuring. It’s only somewhat about what democrats in the electorate or perhaps even in Congress “believe” if by “believe” we mean “desire.” It’s about the particular member. There are always soft procedural advantages to being the credible extremist in Congress, regardless as to whether your bill makes it out of committee.

    I can’t really speak to the Planned Parenthood (PP) statements. They sound wrong to me, but one consistent finding since we’ve had rigorous survey data is that beliefs about race and and “racialized policy” are one of the few consistent beliefs Americans have. Attaching policy to race (“racializing”) is one of the few ways to stabilize an issue for a person (at least as far as surveys are concerned). Even if I think the PP statement wrong as a matter of social policy (I’ll say its probably sinister), it may work as a matter of politics to find your supporters.

    Why do people vote for this stuff? I don’t know. There are lots of reasons.

    (Edits: corrected typos)

    • #7
  8. Old Bathos Member
    Old Bathos
    @OldBathos

    For a large chuck of the black voters, white liberals do their own nonsense which mostly does not affect them but the white liberals do make sure government jobs and program money keep flowing. Republicans like Romney extolling entrepreneurs and deregulation also does not seem to affect them but there is a perception that the GOP will not protect the same spending streams. And given the enormous black patronage establishment screaming 24/7 about those racist Republicans, not much will change unless and until the left actually reaches them with their stupidity or the GOP can make a case for real change.

    The bill put forth by the Squad is so breathtakingly stupid, such total political poison, it will be fun watching Pelosi doing everything she can to prevent a vote that would be deadly for any Dems not in a one-party district.

    • #8
  9. Jim Chase Member
    Jim Chase
    @JimChase

    CACrabtree (View Comment):

    From the Democrats I’ve spoken to here in Appalachia (admittedly, not all that many), the majority fall into two groups:

    1. A blind visceral hatred of all things Trump (fueled, in part, by the MSM); and,
    2. “My family has been voting Democrat for the last 100 years and we’re not going to stop now.”

    Neither group makes much sense but, then again, for many people, the simple act of thinking brings about an acute case of diarrhea.

    Party politics is a team sport.  Us = good, them = bad.  Too many really don’t care about the details, and wouldn’t recognize a party platform if it dropped like a ton of bricks on their heads.  It’s not merely about what my side believes … it’s my perception of what those bastards over there believe.

    As the masses become more and more removed from the basic lessons of civics, the worse it’ll get.  I have acquaintances who are otherwise normal, logical, thinking people ask me why I’d never again consider voting for an otherwise sane Democrat.  Because I’ve seen their platform, and it is the rare politician that will ever not toe the party line regardless of their “personal beliefs or values”.   

    And voters of good conscience, who might otherwise actually disagree with elements of partisan legislation, will fall in lockstep with their team, because “the other side is bad”.

    • #9
  10. Django Member
    Django
    @Django

    Dr. Bastiat (View Comment):

    Jerry Giordano (Arizona Patrio… (View Comment):

    Dr. Bastiat:

    I really don’t understand. These people are not stupid. But they vote for stuff that is absolutely, positively, mind-bogglingly stupid. Over and over and over again.

    I just don’t understand.

    I don’t know about this. Two quotes occur to me.

    First, Forrest Gump. “Stupid is as stupid does.”

    Second, St. Paul. Romans 1:18-32 (here).

    Half the electorate is not stupid.

    That just can’t be true…

    If one assumes a normal distribution, then one-half of the people are dumber than average. And average ain’t all that bright. Being average, I know this for certain. 

    If would take more study to determine if Democrats fall in greater numbers on the left-hand side of the bell curve. 

    • #10
  11. Tex929rr Coolidge
    Tex929rr
    @Tex929rr

    Goldgeller (View Comment):

    I can’t really speak to the Planned Parenthood (PP) statements. They sound wrong to me, but one consistent finding since we’ve had rigorous survey data is that beliefs about race and and “racialized policy” are one of the few consistent beliefs Americans have. Attaching policy to race (“racializing”) is one of the few ways to stabilize an issue for a person (at least as far as surveys are concerned). Even if I think the PP statement wrong as a matter of social policy (I’ll say its probably sinister), it may work as a matter of politics to find your supporters.

    I’m not sure what you mean here. Do you mean that what the Planned Parenthood official said sounds wrong?  As a matter or fact it’s demonstrably false, as is most of what PP officials say to the press. I figure sinister is sort of a giveaway but I’m trying to fully understand.

    • #11
  12. Goldgeller Member
    Goldgeller
    @Goldgeller

    Tex929rr (View Comment):

    Goldgeller (View Comment):

    I can’t really speak to the Planned Parenthood (PP) statements. They sound wrong to me, but one consistent finding since we’ve had rigorous survey data is that beliefs about race and and “racialized policy” are one of the few consistent beliefs Americans have. Attaching policy to race (“racializing”) is one of the few ways to stabilize an issue for a person (at least as far as surveys are concerned). Even if I think the PP statement wrong as a matter of social policy (I’ll say its probably sinister), it may work as a matter of politics to find your supporters.

     

    I’m not sure what you mean here. Do you mean that what the Planned Parenthood official said sounds wrong? As a matter or fact it’s demonstrably false, as is most of what PP officials say to the press.

    @tex929rr  Yes. What the PP official said sounds wrong because it is wrong (my “sinister” comment). I agree with you. I’m just working out my “tone” when I post, especially when I criticize others. 

     

    • #12
  13. Goldgeller Member
    Goldgeller
    @Goldgeller

    Jim Chase (View Comment):

    CACrabtree (View Comment):

    From the Democrats I’ve spoken to here in Appalachia (admittedly, not all that many), the majority fall into two groups:

    1. A blind visceral hatred of all things Trump (fueled, in part, by the MSM); and,
    2. “My family has been voting Democrat for the last 100 years and we’re not going to stop now.”

    Neither group makes much sense but, then again, for many people, the simple act of thinking brings about an acute case of diarrhea.

    Party politics is a team sport. Us = good, them = bad. Too many really don’t care about the details, and wouldn’t recognize a party platform if it dropped like a ton of bricks on their heads. It’s not merely about what my side believes … it’s my perception of what those bastards over there believe.

    As the masses become more and more removed from the basic lessons of civics, the worse it’ll get. I have acquaintances who are otherwise normal, logical, thinking people ask me why I’d never again consider voting for an otherwise sane Democrat. Because I’ve seen their platform, and it is the rare politician that will ever not toe the party line regardless of their “personal beliefs or values”.

    And voters of good conscience, who might otherwise actually disagree with elements of partisan legislation, will fall in lockstep with their team, because “the other side is bad”.

    Shockingly accurate summary of the American electorate. I’ll go one further and say even if we could give people civics lessons, a lot of people really just don’t like “the other team.” 

    • #13
  14. Gary Robbins Member
    Gary Robbins
    @GaryRobbins

    The so-called Squad are horrible people.  But there is something you can do about this madness.

    Representative Rashida Tlaib (MI-13) won her primary election 31% to 30% in 2018 against Brenda Jones.  (In the 2020 General Election, the Republican got only 11% of the vote.  This is a D+36 Detroit district, no Republican will ever win here.)  Tlaib’s former opponent, Brenda Jones is running hard against Tlaib.  The Michigan Primary is on August 4, 2020.

    As a Republican you might want to say, wonderful, let’s have the Democrats re-elect an Anti-Semite!  But as an American, the level of our discourse will be strengthened if people like Tlaib are defeated.  I urge you to contribute to Brenda Jones’ campaign, and to defeat an Anti-Semite.

    The Republican Party defeated Roy Moore and Steve King earlier this year, improving our party, and nation.  Let’s help our fellow Americans who are Democrats defeat Anti-Semites like Rashida Tlaib!

    • #14
  15. Jerry Giordano (Arizona Patrio… Member
    Jerry Giordano (Arizona Patrio…
    @ArizonaPatriot

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    The so-called Squad are horrible people. But there is something you can do about this madness.

    Representative Rashida Tlaib (MI-13) won her primary election 31% to 30% in 2018 against Brenda Jones. (In the 2020 General Election, the Republican got only 11% of the vote. This is a D+36 Detroit district, no Republican will ever win here.) Tlaib’s former opponent, Brenda Jones is running hard against Tlaib. The Michigan Primary is on August 4, 2020.

    As a Republican you might want to say, wonderful, let’s have the Democrats re-elect an Anti-Semite! But as an American, the level of our discourse will be strengthened if people like Tlaib are defeated. I urge you to contribute to Brenda Jones’ campaign, and to defeat an Anti-Semite.

    The Republican Party defeated Roy Moore and Steve King earlier this year, improving our party, and nation. Let’s help our fellow Americans who are Democrats defeat Anti-Semites like Rashida Tlaib!

    This is very disappointing, Gary.

    Steve King was very unfairly accused of racism, and vilified, by making an early stand against the anti-American, anti-Western hysteria that is now sweeping the nation.  Like a pack of cowards, the congressional Republicans turned on him.

    • #15
  16. PHCheese Inactive
    PHCheese
    @PHCheese

    CACrabtree (View Comment):

    From the Democrats I’ve spoken to here in Appalachia (admittedly, not all that many), the majority fall into two groups:

    1. A blind visceral hatred of all things Trump (fueled, in part, by the MSM); and,
    2. “My family has been voting Democrat for the last 100 years and we’re not going to stop now.”

    Neither group makes much sense but, then again, for many people, the simple act of thinking brings about an acute case of diarrhea.

    You are spot on. Many Democrats don’t understand that the party has changed so radically. They probably wouldn’t vote for a radical but don’t know how their  local Representative or Senator have to bow to radical Democratic leadership. It’s not your grandfather’s party.

    • #16
  17. Django Member
    Django
    @Django

    Jim Chase (View Comment):

    CACrabtree (View Comment):

    From the Democrats I’ve spoken to here in Appalachia (admittedly, not all that many), the majority fall into two groups:

    1. A blind visceral hatred of all things Trump (fueled, in part, by the MSM); and,
    2. “My family has been voting Democrat for the last 100 years and we’re not going to stop now.”

    Neither group makes much sense but, then again, for many people, the simple act of thinking brings about an acute case of diarrhea.

    Party politics is a team sport. Us = good, them = bad. Too many really don’t care about the details, and wouldn’t recognize a party platform if it dropped like a ton of bricks on their heads. It’s not merely about what my side believes … it’s my perception of what those bastards over there believe.

    As the masses become more and more removed from the basic lessons of civics, the worse it’ll get. I have acquaintances who are otherwise normal, logical, thinking people ask me why I’d never again consider voting for an otherwise sane Democrat. Because I’ve seen their platform, and it is the rare politician that will ever not toe the party line regardless of their “personal beliefs or values”.

    And voters of good conscience, who might otherwise actually disagree with elements of partisan legislation, will fall in lockstep with their team, because “the other side is bad”.

    The other part is what I will call for want of something better the cult of personality. There was a time when some GOPe wanted Colin Powell to run and my friends were surprised when I said I wouldn’t support him. When I explained that according to the news reports, he was pro-abortion, pro-gun control, and pro-affirmative action, and those were nonnegotiable for me, they had no response other than “he’s a great man and can win”. So [redacted] what? 

    • #17
  18. RightAngles Member
    RightAngles
    @RightAngles

      Do democrat voters really believe this stuff?                             

    Anarchists do. As to the Democrats? Those people in office right now, those are not Democrats. Not anymore.

    • #18
  19. Douglas Pratt Coolidge
    Douglas Pratt
    @DouglasPratt

    It doesn’t matter what the facts are. Republicans are evil, so Democrats have a visceral reaction to the idea of voting for one or agreeing with anything one says.

    • #19
  20. Dr. Bastiat Member
    Dr. Bastiat
    @drbastiat

    Douglas Pratt (View Comment):

    It doesn’t matter what the facts are. Republicans are evil, so Democrats have a visceral reaction to the idea of voting for one or agreeing with anything one says.

    This is something I struggle with.

    Leftists tend to seek ideological Purity. Meaning, if you call someone your friend, you must then agree with everything they say. So if I vote for Trump, that must mean that I approve of gold plated bathroom fixtures and stupid tweets. 

    And then, they vote for Hillary Clinton.

    So again, I don’t understand leftists. 

    • #20
  21. Jim McConnell Member
    Jim McConnell
    @JimMcConnell

    Jerry Giordano (Arizona Patrio… (View Comment):

    Dr. Bastiat:

    I really don’t understand. These people are not stupid. But they vote for stuff that is absolutely, positively, mind-bogglingly stupid. Over and over and over again.

    I just don’t understand.

    I don’t know about this. Two quotes occur to me.

    First, Forrest Gump. “Stupid is as stupid does.”

    Second, St. Paul. Romans 1:18-32 (here).

    Harsh, but accurate.

    • #21
  22. Dr. Bastiat Member
    Dr. Bastiat
    @drbastiat

    Goldgeller (View Comment):
    This is an interesting post! There is a lot going on in the post and I think a lot of people will pick up on different things to different degrees, which is totally cool

    Jim Beam and I thought there was a brilliant post in here somewhere.  And then I tried to write it all down.  Mr. Beam was not as helpful as I anticipated. 

    Not my fault…

    • #22
  23. Goldgeller Member
    Goldgeller
    @Goldgeller

    Dr. Bastiat (View Comment):

    Goldgeller (View Comment):
    This is an interesting post! There is a lot going on in the post and I think a lot of people will pick up on different things to different degrees, which is totally cool

    Jim Beam and I thought there was a brilliant post in here somewhere. And then I tried to write it all down. Mr. Beam was not as helpful as I anticipated.

    Not my fault…

    Come on! It’s interesting in a really good way.  I’m glad you’ve given us a lot to talk about! :)

    • #23
  24. Henry Castaigne Member
    Henry Castaigne
    @HenryCastaigne

    Jerry Giordano (Arizona Patrio… (View Comment):
    Steve King was very unfairly accused of racism, and vilified, by making an early stand against the anti-American, anti-Western hysteria that is now sweeping the nation.

    I don’t know about that. Steve King accused the New York Times of lying and mischaracterizing him (a more believable accusation than was given credit for at the time) but he had a history of making unnerving statements. I’m not sure it was worth defending him if he couldn’t effectively defend himself. 

    • #24
  25. Henry Castaigne Member
    Henry Castaigne
    @HenryCastaigne

    This is from an article by John McCormack from NRO. I get many are annoyed by NR’s NeverTrumpers but this reporting seems legit. 

     

    At the root of King’s problems were an increasing number of bizarre and bigoted remarks.

    “He’s changed over the years,” says Kochel, a moderate who donated to King’s campaign in 2012. Kochel says the first real red flag he noticed was in 2013 when King said that for every high-school valedictorian who had come to America illegally as a minor “there’s another 100 out there that weigh 130 pounds and they’ve got calves the size of cantaloupes because they’re hauling 75 pounds of marijuana across the desert.”

    Some Republicans cringed, but King remained in good standing in the party. He served, along with Vander Plaats, as national co-chair of Ted Cruz’s 2016 presidential campaign.

    It wasn’t until 2018 when Republicans began to turn away from King. In October of that year, the Iowa congressman endorsed a white-nationalist mayoral candidate in Canada. That same month, Adam Rubenstein reported at The Weekly Standard that King referred to immigrants as “dirt” at a campaign event. King accused Rubenstein (my colleague at the time) of making up the quotation, but audiotape confirmed King said the exact words that had been reported. A couple of weeks later, King only narrowly won reelection in his solidly Republican district.

    King’s near loss is what influenced the influential Vander Plaats to consider backing a GOP primary challenger. “I think the tipping point for me, which is what really caught my attention, was when [Democratic congressional candidate] J. D.  Scholten in 2018 came within three points of defeating him,” says Vander Plaats. “That is a district that should be a double-digit win every time for a Republican.” Vander Plaats says that around Christmas of 2018 was when state senator Randy Feenstra spoke to him about the possibility of challenging King.

    The incumbent Republican King was already on thin ice when he said in a 2019 interview with the New York Times: “White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization — how did that language become offensive? Why did I sit in classes teaching me about the merits of our history and our civilization?” The House passed a resolution condemning the remarks, and GOP congressional leaders stripped King of his committee assignments.

    I’m willing to let one or two stupid comments slide but there seems to be a pattern going on here. 

    • #25
  26. Unsk Member
    Unsk
    @Unsk

    I’m not sure it was worth defending him if he couldn’t effectively defend himself. 

    Ya you’re so right Henry, anyone who is bullied and canceled like that really isn’t worth defending. It’s better to hide from it all in your safe space – these guys who try to tell the truth just aren’t worth fighting for. These people want to take this Freedom of Speech thing just too damn far and allow anything to be said when you know for damn sure  the better, smarter people won’t allow it. I mean that would mean that you have to fight for your freedom and then you might not get invited to all the right parties. OMG! The thought of it!

    Back to the question of the post:

    A. It is true that most people, and not all of them Democrats, don’t get into the details of these proposals like the Good Doctor does and so many,  if fact  most democrats, likely won’t even know they will be voting for this crap.

    B. Jim Chase is correct about those two things: there is a blind visceral hatred of Trump and an unwillingness to ever vote Republican  among many Democrats. It is about their tribe.

    C. The Cancel Culture is out in force among the Democrats. If one is a Democrat one is afraid to lose one’s many lefty friends so even thinking about voting for Trump is like committing social suicide. 

    D. To be a Progressive Democrat means  that you are terribly shallow in the first place and don’t like to look under the hood of many issues. It is all about Fashion for you and being on the right fashionable side of things so one doesn’t need to follow the issues very closely; one just needs to follow the fashion trends of it all. Because of that, the vast majority of fashionable women, fashionable GayMen and Fashionable Metrosexual Men vote Progressive. Always.

    • #26
  27. Dave of Barsham Member
    Dave of Barsham
    @LesserSonofBarsham

    Dr. Bastiat (View Comment):

    Goldgeller (View Comment):
    This is an interesting post! There is a lot going on in the post and I think a lot of people will pick up on different things to different degrees, which is totally cool

    Jim Beam and I thought there was a brilliant post in here somewhere. And then I tried to write it all down. Mr. Beam was not as helpful as I anticipated.

    Not my fault…

    I’ve had similar problems with the Gentleman Jack.

    • #27
  28. Henry Castaigne Member
    Henry Castaigne
    @HenryCastaigne

    Unsk (View Comment):
    Ya you’re so right Henry, anyone who is bullied and canceled like that really isn’t worth defending. It’s better to hide from it all in your safe space – these guys who try to tell the truth just aren’t worth fighting for. These people want to take this Freedom of Speech thing just too damn far and allow anything to be said when you know for damn sure the better, smarter people won’t allow it. I mean that would mean that you have to fight for your freedom and then you might not get invited to all the right parties. OMG! The thought of it!

    This is where I don’t get my fellow right-wing Ricochetti. There is a decent amount of evidence to suggest that Steve King is racist. At least he sounds like a racist so he probably isn’t worth defending. Additionally, he denied he said something and then a tape came out that showed him saying exactly what he was accused of. That speaks poorly of his character and that increases the risk of defending him.

    I genuinely don’t understand how Steve King can be compared to Douglas Murray or Charles Murray or Bret Weinstein or Kevin Hart or all the other people who the left is trying to cancel constantly. Steve King doesn’t seem like much of a truth-teller to me. I fault the Woke left for accusing any conservative of being racist but that doesn’t mean I need to defend the small minority of conservatives who are actually racist.

    Additionally, Steve King is a politician and promoting him is a matter of tactics as much as it is a matter of principle. I think Steve King should have absolute freedom of speech to air his views on anything and I have no desire to cancel him.

    I think that because the left in a pavlovian calls anybody who disagrees with them a racist (I hear black and gay conservatives get treated worse), some on the right adopt an equally pavlovian counter response.

    As for accusing me of cowardice for not fighting for my freedom and of vanity for adopting my positions to get invited to the right parties. That’s a low blow beneath the dignity of Ricochet and speaks poorly of your character. I assure you that will never get invited to the right parties Unsk. As for my willing to fight for freedom, I don’t have a record of being particularly cowardly or brave. I do hope that should it come to it, I have the stuff to kill and die for my natural rights and a future where natural rights are respected.

    If you think Steve King is worth defending please make the argument. But I strongly object towards your judging my character with no real data or experience to back it up. As Jordan Peterson put it, “You don’t know the first thing about me.”

    • #28
  29. Ontheleftcoast Inactive
    Ontheleftcoast
    @Ontheleftcoast

    Dr. Bastiat (View Comment):

    Jerry Giordano (Arizona Patrio… (View Comment):

    Dr. Bastiat:

    I really don’t understand. These people are not stupid. But they vote for stuff that is absolutely, positively, mind-bogglingly stupid. Over and over and over again.

    I just don’t understand.

    I don’t know about this. Two quotes occur to me.

    First, Forrest Gump. “Stupid is as stupid does.”

    Second, St. Paul. Romans 1:18-32 (here).

    Half the electorate is not stupid.

    That just can’t be true…

    Yabbut

    “Hain’t we got all the fools in town on our side? And ain’t that a big enough majority in any town?” 

    • #29
  30. Quintus Sertorius Coolidge
    Quintus Sertorius
    @BillGollier

    Didn’t you hear…..none of what we see with the cancel culture or the toppling of the statues of Frederick Douglas or the defunding/cancelling the police or the 1619 Project which is now going to be a movie are any threat to the founding or our institutions….no the real threat is really from the right…..so Jonah is arguing in the latest G-File. I understand the basis  from his latest Remnant Podcast but seriously….that line of thought (the idea that the founding went off the rails due to the Enlightenment and so the founding itself is wrong as it has lead to Roe v Wade et al….) though has absolutely no real traction in academia or any institutions….the “new left” smells blood  in the water and they are going for the kill. It is unfortunate that Jonah…..David French and today Michael Continetti (on Commentary) et al do not see this threat for what it is…..

    • #30
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