“… and the local police let them do it. If large groups of armed and organized fanatics seize control of rural territory, can we be sure that local law enforcement will act?”
Police departments, by their very nature, ate right wing organizations. And as they constantly demonstrate by their always strong opposition to any kind of oversight, don’t believe they should be subject to the very laws that it is their job to uphold.
How high a percentage of police officers are sympathetic to, if not actually members of, these groups? The Bundys walking free, (twice!) and the police doing nothing about the illegal roadblocks suggest the percentage is quite high if not very high.
An odd irony (and which irony isn’t?) is the more people realize they can’t rely on the police, the more they will feel like they have to fend for themselves. And drift closer to the “prepper“ mindset.
Very informative article. Never heard of Sovereign Citizen movement before. Better to be aware and on the look-out than to be caught off guard. Crazy takes so many forms these days.
What we have been screaming is that you can defuse this by passing laws people can see, and by actively fighting for the people. We want the Ds to do that, as they are the only current bulwark against this madness, and for whatever reason, they aint done anything close to what Mitch will do, all legal, until it aint. Thats why moderation is no longer on the table because it leads to overcaution and stasis. It IS useful intermittenly, but it is not a governing philosophy in a radical environment. We need restoration and change. We've received flaccid response and excuses. The sad truth is people Voted Blue no matter what, and it aint got us much of anything. Laws count, not just justices. And when you dont come through on anything, you lose Ds AND independents because nobody, ill repeat nobody, can be expected to vote on a threat. The Ds have played that note a million times and will continue to do so until they learn it doesnt work. They could have done something. But the leadership is old, content, and ultimately unable to do anything. They could have pressured the two turncoats. They didnt. There are no excuses, no matter how much loyalists want there to be for failure. It's insanity to vote for what we have got. And its also not the progressives fault. The fault lies with the decrepit leadership who beat down progressives without doing anything to resist the other side. They coddle.
That's a cool story. What pressure could they have put on Manchin? Be specific. Take away his committees assignments? Scold him? Threaten to kick him out of the party? Threaten a primary?
Which one of those would have worked. Because we both know absolutely none of them would have. Think otherwise? Convince me because otherwise, you are saying the equivalent of "If Democrats had only cast a magic spell using fairy dust, we could have cured cancer on the way to Mars!"
Just complaining about how awful Democrats are without being able to explain, in detail, how they can achieve your grand vision is how we got Trump and the most corrupt Supreme Court in history.
But, hey, feel free to prove me wrong since -you- know how to make Joe Manchin do things. Go for it. I'm listening.
The first is learned helplessness. The Ds act like a protection racket. No longer do they pass social programs, their highest appeal. They are ask likely to cut as they are to make it public/private. But thats never discussed this time of year. What I am hit with FIRST and instead by Democrat supporters is, "Do you want them? We are at least nice." Meanwhile. more and more slips away, our leaders ever intimidated by a haunting ghost named "We Could." i ask also, what have they done to EARN my vote, Justin? The Rs waited for the Ds to pass that infrastructure bill which leaves the environment worse. Why cant you ask the people we pay to come through? Why cant I?
Second, I am neither the Senate Leader nor the President. I am sure if I was, I could get it done, make it hard not to, make the offers you cant refuse. But, once again, asking me to suggest action is somewhat pathetic (I want to state I mean no personal disrespect and never do.). Its an abeyance. Its a sign of collapse.
If the totality of what they can deliver is this, we are done, Justin. Stasis doesnt work. Please do not tell me that enough is being done, anywhere near whats really needed. They are acting like they dont care, because they never had to, because you never told them to
And I find the Rs.insane. I find the Ds anemic at best. It would be mad not to seek leaders who will defend our nation and guide it. They have failed. Abstracts mean nothing at street level. And I just and only want them to wake up and fight back by doing whatever it takes.
I'm ignoring the "Democrats haven't done anything" part because if i actually started listing everything Democrats have done, we'd be here all day and you would simply declare "It's not enough!", which translates to "They didn't do what I wanted so it doesn't count."
Anyway, this? "Second, I am neither the Senate Leader nor the President. I am sure if I was, I could get it done, make it hard not to, make the offers you cant refuse. But, once again, asking me to suggest action is somewhat pathetic (I want to state I mean no personal disrespect and never do.). Its an abeyance. Its a sign of collapse."
You could get it done but...you can't quite seem to explain how. And also, me asking is pathetic. That is -super- convenient for you and leaves you with zero responsibility to back up your claims.
Here's the funny thing: Not one of the people who say this, "Dems could have pressured Manchin", can explain how. Not one. Isn't that weird? You'd think -someone- would have come up with something that would have worked!
It's easy to say "do something!" when you have absolutely no idea how to get that thing done and then sit back complaining when your demands are not met. No disrespect, but that's the laziest form of politics and it gave us Trump.
Like pass over 200 bills in the House which the Republicans in the Senate blocked?
You're whining that it's all due to lack of effort by Democrats and ignoring that it's entirely the Republicans who are insuring that nothing is getting done.
"The football team could have done something. That opposing line of tackles and linemen had nothing to do with why they didn't score more."
“… and the local police let them do it. If large groups of armed and organized fanatics seize control of rural territory, can we be sure that local law enforcement will act?”
Police departments, by their very nature, ate right wing organizations. And as they constantly demonstrate by their always strong opposition to any kind of oversight, don’t believe they should be subject to the very laws that it is their job to uphold.
How high a percentage of police officers are sympathetic to, if not actually members of, these groups? The Bundys walking free, (twice!) and the police doing nothing about the illegal roadblocks suggest the percentage is quite high if not very high.
An odd irony (and which irony isn’t?) is the more people realize they can’t rely on the police, the more they will feel like they have to fend for themselves. And drift closer to the “prepper“ mindset.
Very informative article. Never heard of Sovereign Citizen movement before. Better to be aware and on the look-out than to be caught off guard. Crazy takes so many forms these days.
What we have been screaming is that you can defuse this by passing laws people can see, and by actively fighting for the people. We want the Ds to do that, as they are the only current bulwark against this madness, and for whatever reason, they aint done anything close to what Mitch will do, all legal, until it aint. Thats why moderation is no longer on the table because it leads to overcaution and stasis. It IS useful intermittenly, but it is not a governing philosophy in a radical environment. We need restoration and change. We've received flaccid response and excuses. The sad truth is people Voted Blue no matter what, and it aint got us much of anything. Laws count, not just justices. And when you dont come through on anything, you lose Ds AND independents because nobody, ill repeat nobody, can be expected to vote on a threat. The Ds have played that note a million times and will continue to do so until they learn it doesnt work. They could have done something. But the leadership is old, content, and ultimately unable to do anything. They could have pressured the two turncoats. They didnt. There are no excuses, no matter how much loyalists want there to be for failure. It's insanity to vote for what we have got. And its also not the progressives fault. The fault lies with the decrepit leadership who beat down progressives without doing anything to resist the other side. They coddle.
That's a cool story. What pressure could they have put on Manchin? Be specific. Take away his committees assignments? Scold him? Threaten to kick him out of the party? Threaten a primary?
Which one of those would have worked. Because we both know absolutely none of them would have. Think otherwise? Convince me because otherwise, you are saying the equivalent of "If Democrats had only cast a magic spell using fairy dust, we could have cured cancer on the way to Mars!"
Just complaining about how awful Democrats are without being able to explain, in detail, how they can achieve your grand vision is how we got Trump and the most corrupt Supreme Court in history.
But, hey, feel free to prove me wrong since -you- know how to make Joe Manchin do things. Go for it. I'm listening.
So, we have a few things here.
The first is learned helplessness. The Ds act like a protection racket. No longer do they pass social programs, their highest appeal. They are ask likely to cut as they are to make it public/private. But thats never discussed this time of year. What I am hit with FIRST and instead by Democrat supporters is, "Do you want them? We are at least nice." Meanwhile. more and more slips away, our leaders ever intimidated by a haunting ghost named "We Could." i ask also, what have they done to EARN my vote, Justin? The Rs waited for the Ds to pass that infrastructure bill which leaves the environment worse. Why cant you ask the people we pay to come through? Why cant I?
Second, I am neither the Senate Leader nor the President. I am sure if I was, I could get it done, make it hard not to, make the offers you cant refuse. But, once again, asking me to suggest action is somewhat pathetic (I want to state I mean no personal disrespect and never do.). Its an abeyance. Its a sign of collapse.
If the totality of what they can deliver is this, we are done, Justin. Stasis doesnt work. Please do not tell me that enough is being done, anywhere near whats really needed. They are acting like they dont care, because they never had to, because you never told them to
And I find the Rs.insane. I find the Ds anemic at best. It would be mad not to seek leaders who will defend our nation and guide it. They have failed. Abstracts mean nothing at street level. And I just and only want them to wake up and fight back by doing whatever it takes.
I'm ignoring the "Democrats haven't done anything" part because if i actually started listing everything Democrats have done, we'd be here all day and you would simply declare "It's not enough!", which translates to "They didn't do what I wanted so it doesn't count."
Anyway, this? "Second, I am neither the Senate Leader nor the President. I am sure if I was, I could get it done, make it hard not to, make the offers you cant refuse. But, once again, asking me to suggest action is somewhat pathetic (I want to state I mean no personal disrespect and never do.). Its an abeyance. Its a sign of collapse."
You could get it done but...you can't quite seem to explain how. And also, me asking is pathetic. That is -super- convenient for you and leaves you with zero responsibility to back up your claims.
Here's the funny thing: Not one of the people who say this, "Dems could have pressured Manchin", can explain how. Not one. Isn't that weird? You'd think -someone- would have come up with something that would have worked!
It's easy to say "do something!" when you have absolutely no idea how to get that thing done and then sit back complaining when your demands are not met. No disrespect, but that's the laziest form of politics and it gave us Trump.
Thanks, Justin. I've said my piece and thank you for the input. I am not a troll, just giving my sincere opinion based on what I see.
"They could have done something."
Like pass over 200 bills in the House which the Republicans in the Senate blocked?
You're whining that it's all due to lack of effort by Democrats and ignoring that it's entirely the Republicans who are insuring that nothing is getting done.
"The football team could have done something. That opposing line of tackles and linemen had nothing to do with why they didn't score more."