Republican Hypocrisy category archive
Town Halls of Horrors 0
At another internet place I frequent, a discussion of Republican Congresspersons’ town halls has been going on the past few days. Someone from another country known for its cheese and roast beef requested clarification. I like my response so much that I will share it. You can follow this link for the full discussion.
- This should give you plenty of reading material.
The short version is that it’s a relatively recent tradition that US Congresscritters during extended recesses hold open meetings for constituents. These are commonly referred to as “town halls,” though they are not town halls in any sense related to municipal governance.
During the February recess (which can be recognized by the fact that Congresscritters are doing nothing in their districts, as opposed to doing nothing in Washington, D. C.), these meetings have not been going well for some Congresscritters, particularly those who have committed to the repeal of the Affordable Care Act. Some have ducked out of, restricted attendance to, or canceled these meetings because they do not want to converse with or be confronted by constituents opposed to their points of view.
In the US, this is referred to as “representative government.”
“As Is” 0
Shorter Dick Polman: In the soul biz, all sales are final.
“Facts Are What People Think” 0
The Des Moines Register’s Rekha Basu explores the Trumpling of reality. A snippet:
(Snip anecdote about an email exchange with a reader)
Here’s my plea to the public, Trump supporters and all: Please understand that when reporters push back for the truth, they are not acting out of some pro-Hillary agenda but in defense of transparency. It should be important to everyone, whether or not we agree with certain policies, that decisions taken are based on real facts. In fact, if Trump’s supporters insist he tell the truth, then journalists wouldn’t feel as obligated to do that clean-up work.
Image via Job’s Anger.
Rewrite! 1
As a Southern Boy, from when I first became aware, I have watched as racists rewrite history so as to blame the victimized for being victims. Hell, from my first lessons in Virginia history in elementary school in the 1950’s, where the arrival of the first African slaves at Jamestown in 1619 was taught as part of “the Red Letter Year,” I was subjected to such rewritten racist propaganda–it was only later that I started to winnow out the lies (a process which, by the by, continues).
Consequently, I can say from first-hand experience that this is nothing new.
Existential Threats 0
The kerfuffle of Russian hacking has been something to watch, but it’s just a sideshow–a distressing one, perhaps, but one that likely had only marginal effects on the election. I consider it unlikely that it affected the votes of a significant number of persons; it might have solidified some wavering Trump supporters, but I strongly doubt it caused even one Hillary vote to move into the Trump column. (Note that that is just my opinion based on years of being a political junkie.)
As Gary Fifield points out in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, there are far greater threats to our democracy much closer to home. Here’s a bit of his article:
Follow the link for the rest.
