The table above has these entries. Post entries with just one line for Reach were not boosted. Boosted posts have two lines for Reach and several other items. The upper line reflects all interactions, the bottom line just those resulting from paid ads.
========== Permanent Cultural Revolution - Mao and Trotsky would be so proud! This is even more than Putin hoped for America. https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/12/04/tea-party-trumpism-conservatives-populism/ Permanent Cultural Revolution distracts the masses from their own interests in favor of the ideological and eventually economic interests of the ruling class - https://www.political-scrapbook.net/theory.html#political%20ideology%20for%20the%20masses But Trotsky, and Mao via surrogate Madame Mao, came to unhappy ends along with their permanent cultural revolution, because most people are not interested in politics and revolution as a permanent preoccupation. "GOP donors will want something to show for their investments. GOP voters need the government's help with their problems." But GOP voters will eventually realize that GOP donors are only interested in government to solve THEIR problems, while Libertarian theoreticians don't want the government to be able to solve anybody's problems - because solving somebody's problem restricts somebody else's liberty - and so they become anarchists in the end. But until the red state fever breaks, the blue states have to solve their own problems. https://www.political-scrapbook.net/2020-regional.html == topic theory 1 ===== impact 0 impactrate 0 negative 0 posted 2020-12-06 priority 1 reactrate 0 sharesrate 0 title Permanent Cultural Revolution - Mao and Trotsky would be so topic theory wordrate 0 words 165 ID 1308227356188447 impress 18 likeuimpress 14 likeuusers 12 oimpress 18 oreach 14 posted "12/06/2020 07:00:20 AM" reach 14 type Link URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1308227356188447 ========== The FUNDAMENTAL LIE of minority rule - SAY loudly what the voters want to hear, DO quietly what the donors want done. In turn the donors invest enough dark money to make sure the voters hear what they want to hear. But even in a Potemkin democracy, you can't get elected by promising to protect the power of the hereditary nobility. https://www.political-scrapbook.net/2020-minority.html So attack the 1% elites if you like! Shout about it as much as you like, but then quietly do whatever the elites tell you. They will compromise on any ideology except loss of their economic and political power. https://www.political-scrapbook.net/theory.html#political%20ideology%20for%20the%20masses If it's a fundamental lie from top to bottom, does it matter how many lies more or less lie in the middle? == topic theory 1 ===== impact 25 impactrate 0 negative 0 posted 2020-11-19 priority 1 ratio 10 react 2 reactrate 0 shares 1 sharesrate 0 sumclicks 1 title The FUNDAMENTAL LIE of minority rule - topic theory wordrate 0 words 126 audclicks 1 audreach 1 engaged 2 ID 1295803547430828 impress 25 likeclickusers 2 likeuimpress 19 likeuusers 19 matchedotherclicks 1 oimpress 25 oreach 21 posted "11/19/2020 09:27:56 PM" postotherclicks 1 reach 21 sharesimpress 1 sharesusers 1 type Link URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1295803547430828 ========== What should we remember about Armistice Day? And what does it have to do with Confederate statues? https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/11/13/canadas-remembrance-day-shouldnt-be-culture-war/ It marked the end of one of the most pointless wars of all time, yet it ended the Austrian, German, Russian, and Turkish Empires, and set the stage for World War II and the end of the British and Japanese Empires as well. What we should remember is that the common soldiers figured out who the real enemy was very quickly https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_truce https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silent_Night_(opera) much to the horror of the ruling classes on both sides. Subsequent Christmases were marked by nonstop artillery barrages to prevent any recurrences. The poppies commemorate the fallen common soldiers, not the empires that killed them. https://www.political-scrapbook.net/theory.html#political%20ideology%20for%20the%20masses == Now as to Confederate statues - all those generals on horseback who owned many slaves to work their hereditary fiefdoms - the less said about them the better. Let their images and names be removed wherever possible. But the statues of nameless Confederate common soldiers - let them stand as a memorial to the fallen victims of the feudal aristocracy. Confederate conscription began in April 1862, not without considerable resistance. "A rich man's war and a poor man's fight" was how many described it. Most of the common soldiers couldn't afford slaves, but they fought for slavery anyway. Just as in the opera Silent Night, an archduke thanks a common soldier for taking up arms in the noble cause, to which the soldier replies bitterly that he was conscripted like everybody else. Most of the common soldiers were not aristocrats, but they fought for aristocracy anyway. For a French take on the same theme - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Very_Long_Engagement == topic theory 1 ===== impact 27 impactrate 0 negative 0 posted 2020-11-13 priority 1 ratio 18 react 1 reactrate 0 sharesrate 0 sumclicks 1 title What should we remember about Armistice Day? And what topic theory wordrate 0 words 274 audclicks 1 audreach 1 engaged 1 ID 1290566871287829 impress 26 likeclickusers 1 likeuimpress 20 likeuusers 17 matchedlinkclicks 1 oimpress 26 oreach 18 posted "11/13/2020 04:28:51 PM" postlinkclicks 1 reach 18 type Link URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1290566871287829 ========== The difference between conservatism and anti-liberalism. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/30/opinion/donald-trump-conservatism.html Since the 1960's ideological conservatives imagined they led a large movement that shared their philosophical convictions. Give Trump (and Gingrich and Thurmond and Goldwater) credit for revealing that the "conservative movement" had very little to do with Edmund Burke but was all about the Southern Strategy - racism in service of of class oppression under reactionary feudal minority rule. https://www.political-scrapbook.net/2020-minority.html Reagan and the Bushes could pretend to look the other way to see no evil and hear no evil. But then Obama was elected. The Tea Party made it all visible and Mitch McConnell discovered he could get further politically by saying NO than by seeking bipartisan agreement. And finally Trump doesn't even bother with a fig leaf of pretense. https://www.political-scrapbook.net/theory.html#political%20ideology%20for%20the%20masses https://www.political-scrapbook.net/theory.html#conservative == topic theory 1 ===== comments 1 impact 26 impactrate 0 negative 0 posted 2020-11-01 priority 1 ratio 16 react 2 reactrate 0 shares 1 sharesrate 0 title The difference between conservatism and anti-liberalism. topic theory wordrate 0 words 129 commentsimpress 1 commentsusers 1 engaged 1 ID 1279939115683938 impress 39 likeclickusers 1 likeuimpress 18 likeuusers 18 oimpress 39 oreach 32 posted "11/01/2020 06:30:51 AM" reach 32 sharesimpress 1 sharesusers 1 type Link URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1279939115683938 ========== What Kamala Harris knows. https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/kamala-harris-woman-vp/2020/10/29/2764734c-188c-11eb-82db-60b15c874105_story.html Hillary knew it too. == topic theory 1 ===== impact 4 impactrate 0 likeimpress 1 negative 0 posted 2020-10-30 priority 1 ratio 9 react 3 reactrate 0 shares 1 sharesrate 0 sumclicks 1 title What Kamala Harris knows. topic theory wordrate 0 words 12 audclicks 1 audreach 1 engaged 3 ID 1278755469135636 impress 35 likeclickusers 3 likeimpress 1 likeuimpress 19 likeusers 1 likeuusers 18 matchedlinkclicks 1 oimpress 35 oreach 27 posted "10/30/2020 10:21:18 PM" postlinkclicks 1 reach 27 sharesimpress 1 sharesusers 1 type Link URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1278755469135636 ========== How minority rule is maintained - with unlimited dark money through tax-exempt "charities". https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/council-national-policy-video/2020/10/14/367f24c2-f793-11ea-a510-f57d8ce76e11_story.html == topic theory 1 ===== impact 3 impactrate 0 likeimpress 1 negative 0 posted 2020-10-14 priority 1 ratio 10 react 2 reactrate 0 shares 1 sharesrate 0 title How minority rule is maintained - with unlimited dark topic theory wordrate 0 words 17 engaged 2 ID 1264448353899681 impress 32 likeclickusers 2 likeimpress 1 likeuimpress 21 likeusers 1 likeuusers 20 oimpress 32 oreach 21 posted "10/14/2020 03:36:29 PM" reach 21 sharesimpress 1 sharesusers 1 type Link URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1264448353899681 ========== Minority rule is a lie from top to bottom. Who would vote for a politician who promises to entrench a hereditary nobility atop the serfs? But that's really what reactionary tax cuts, reactionary deregulation, and reactionary judges are for. But they can't say that in public. You have to infer their motives from their actions, not their speeches. So what difference does one lie more or less make if it's somewhere down in the middle? About medical care - https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/10/01/trumps-health-care-stance-is-so-bad-that-his-voters-cant-believe-he-holds-it/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/09/30/insulin-cost-trump-false/ About taxes - https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/28/trump-offers-no-proof-as-he-claims-hes-paid-millions-in-taxes-and-has-little-debt.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/10/01/joe-biden-refocuses-economic-populism/ About voter suppression - https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-technology-arrests-michigan-voting-rights-e0d49155dc8f347b1347cf779fd43812 https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/30/magazine/trump-voter-fraud.html About the Supreme Court - https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/09/29/republican-strategy-every-supreme-court-nominee-hide-what-you-believe/ https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/01/opinion/amy-coney-barrett-supreme-court.html About economics - https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/01/opinion/trump-biden-economic-policy.html Especially in the Trump era, Republican senators have been repeating these lies so often that they are no longer aware of it. == By keeping the serfs roiled up against each other, the donor classes hope to keep the serfs from thinking about the nobility. To translate the "opiate of the masses" into modern idiom - Political ideology is the means by which the ruling classes persuade the masses to act against their own self interest. https://www.political-scrapbook.net/theory.html#political%20ideology%20for%20the%20masses == topic theory 1 ===== impact 35 impactrate 0 likeimpress 1 negative 0 posted 2020-10-01 priority 1 ratio 13 react 2 reactrate 0 sharesrate 0 sumclicks 1 title Minority rule is a lie from top to bottom. topic theory wordrate 0 words 174 audclicks 1 audreach 1 engaged 2 ID 1254135018264348 impress 39 likeclickusers 2 likeimpress 1 likeuimpress 27 likeusers 1 likeuusers 25 matchedlinkclicks 1 oimpress 39 oreach 26 posted "10/01/2020 03:17:03 PM" postlinkclicks 1 reach 26 type Link URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1254135018264348 ========== Perils of individualism Everybody knows their individual rights, and nobody acknowledges their collective responsibilities. As with so many other things, de Tocqueville saw it coming 200 years ago. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-rage-that-fuels-trumpism-still-burns/2020/08/27/f76f554e-e898-11ea-970a-64c73a1c2392_story.html == topic theory ===== impact 19 impactrate 0 negative 0 posted 2020-08-28 ratio 1 react 6 reactrate 0 shares 1 sharesrate 0 sumclicks 5 title Perils of individualism topic theory wordrate 0 words 31 ID 1225259411151909 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1225259411151909 audclicks 5 audreach 1 engaged 1 impress 17 likeclickusers 1 likeuimpress 7 likeuusers 7 matchedotherclicks 5 oimpress 17 oreach 9 posted "08/28/2020 12:39:50 PM" postotherclicks 1 reach 9 sharesimpress 1 sharesusers 1 type Link ========== Some reasons why the Republican Party won't change. Democrats should avoid the temptation to go off the deep end in response. https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-there-are-so-few-moderate-republicans-left/ == topic theory ===== impact 2 impactrate 0 negative 0 posted 2020-08-27 ratio 9 react 1 reactrate 0 sharesrate 0 sumclicks 1 title Some reasons why the Republican Party won't change. topic theory wordrate 0 words 24 ID 1224296681248182 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1224296681248182 audclicks 1 audreach 1 engaged 1 impress 16 likeclickusers 1 likeuimpress 8 likeuusers 7 matchedlinkclicks 1 oimpress 16 oreach 9 posted "08/27/2020 09:23:14 AM" postlinkclicks 1 reach 9 type Link ========== Republicans don't need Libertarians any more! They need to make way for the futurre - oligarch donors and KKK and QAnon voters. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/25/opinion/republicans-libertarians-economics.html But the Libertarians should have known this was coming. The Republican Party has not been about ideology for a long time - https://www.political-scrapbook.net/theory.html#registration == topic theory ===== hide 1 impact 5 impactrate 0 negative 1 posted 2020-08-26 ratio 12 react 1 reactrate 0 sharesrate 0 title Republicans don't need Libertarians any more! topic theory wordrate 0 words 47 ID 1223344191343431 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1223344191343431 hideclicks 1 hideclicksusers 1 impress 17 likeuimpress 11 likeuusers 11 negclicks 1 negusers 1 oimpress 17 oreach 12 posted "08/26/2020 06:39:23 AM" reach 12 type Link ========== Guesses about the future of the Republican Party. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/25/opinion/trump-republican-party.html However they forgot to ask Putin he plans for the Republicans. == topic theory ===== impact 0 impactrate 0 negative 0 posted 2020-08-25 reactrate 0 sharesrate 0 title Guesses about the future of the Republican Party. topic theory wordrate 0 words 22 ID 1223066641371186 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1223066641371186 impress 13 likeuimpress 5 likeuusers 5 oimpress 13 oreach 7 posted "08/25/2020 09:52:44 PM" reach 7 type Link ========== Before Trump, before Gingrich - there was Pat Buchanan https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/24/opinion/republican-convention-trump-pat-buchanan.html His speech "probably sounded better in the original German." His goal was to purge Reaganism from the Republican Party. https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/08/24/republicans-must-choose-are-they-party-ronald-reagan-or-donald-trump/ He was Trump before Trump was Trump. == topic theory ===== impact 0 impactrate 0 negative 0 posted 2020-08-24 reactrate 0 sharesrate 0 title Before Trump, before Gingrich - there was Pat Buchanan topic theory wordrate 0 words 38 ID 1221773891500461 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1221773891500461 impress 8 likeuimpress 5 likeuusers 5 oimpress 8 oreach 6 posted "08/24/2020 07:34:16 AM" reach 6 type Link ========== Trump is the anti-conservative! He claims to be conservative but doesn't act that way. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/24/opinion/trump-conservatives-republicans.html Certainly not in the Reagan mold - https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/08/24/republicans-must-choose-are-they-party-ronald-reagan-or-donald-trump/ Instead, Trump is a populist kleptocrat. That's why he feels such kinship to Putin - take as much as you can while you can, sharing it with just enough of your pals so they'll continue to support you, by funding propaganda for the masses about imaginary threats and everything else EXCEPT what you're actually up to. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/24/opinion/trump-qanon-convention.html Populist kleptocrats act the same whether they entered stage right or stage left. https://www.political-scrapbook.net/theory.html#political%20ideology%20for%20the%20masses == topic theory ===== impact 0 impactrate 0 negative 0 posted 2020-08-24 reactrate 0 sharesrate 0 title Trump is the anti-conservative! topic theory wordrate 0 words 93 ID 1221765548167962 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1221765548167962 impress 7 likeuimpress 5 likeuusers 5 oimpress 7 oreach 6 posted "08/24/2020 07:23:26 AM" reach 6 type Link ========== Three possible futures of Trumpist-Republicanism https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/22/opinion/sunday/trump-republican-party.html It's ultimately up to the unlimited-dark-money donors - what kind of Republican Party will advance their interests most effectively? If you've got the money, you can make up and sell a story line to fit the times. Trump proved that. Whatever they believe, whatever they say, whatever they do, they'll call it Trumpism and that will be good enough for his base. Just like Argentina, where every party is Peronista. Is it possible to build a party out of cliches and personalities instead of policy? Certainly - ask any populist. Trump proved it can happen here, too. https://theweek.com/articles/915855/how-social-conservatives-traded-causes-clichs Policy successes and failures can be measured. But cliches about imaginary threats can't be measured or contradicted. == topic theory ===== impact 0 impactrate 0 negative 0 posted 2020-08-23 reactrate 0 sharesrate 0 title Three possible futures of Trumpist-Republicanism topic theory wordrate 0 words 122 ID 1221080054903178 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1221080054903178 impress 9 likeuimpress 6 likeuusers 6 oimpress 9 oreach 7 posted "08/23/2020 10:11:19 AM" reach 7 type Link ========== Why revolutions are followed by repression https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/13/opinion/protests-monuments-history.html Not everybody gets the memo that the party is over. After the revolution there is a new government but it is still a government. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whiskey_Rebellion The revolution sets the stage for producitve change. The productive change is carried out by practical political people, however, not revolutionaries. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/13/opinion/conservative-radicals.html == topic theory ===== impact 0 impactrate 0 negative 0 posted 2020-08-13 reactrate 0 sharesrate 0 title Why revolutions are followed by repression topic theory wordrate 0 words 54 ID 1212951292382721 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1212951292382721 impress 6 likeuimpress 3 likeuusers 3 oimpress 6 oreach 4 posted "08/13/2020 09:55:59 AM" reach 4 type Link ========== The Lebanoning of American politics https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/09/opinion/trump-beirut-politics.html When everything becomes political, that is the end of politics. When you lose the realm of the sacred, that realm of the common good outside of politics, that is when societies collapse. That is what happened to Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Libya and Iraq. And that is what is slowly happening to Israel and America. == topic theory ===== impact 12 impactrate 0 likeimpress 2 negative 0 posted 2020-08-11 ratio 9 react 2 reactrate 0 sharesrate 0 title The Lebanoning of American politics topic theory wordrate 0 words 62 ID 1211441715867012 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1211441715867012 engaged 2 impress 22 likeclickusers 2 likeimpress 2 likeuimpress 16 likeusers 2 likeuusers 16 oimpress 22 oreach 19 posted "08/11/2020 11:16:57 AM" reach 19 type Link ========== If it was all a lie, what would have been truthful and successful? https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/11/opinion/trump-republicans-lincoln-project.html Whatever is going to replace the Trumpists as the alternative to Democrats is going to have to be based on two hard actions - emancipating themselves from the Southern Strategy and unlimited dark money. If the Republican Party discards the Southern Strategy it will never win another election, unless it also embraces something positive - such as centrist Biden Democrats. There is a plausible future involving a centrist party and a leftist party but it's far from certain. https://www.liberty-and-justice.net/ For the Republican Party to move toward the center, it must ALSO discard its reliance on unlimited dark money. The major donors have bought and paid for the things they care about - billionaire tax relief, deregulation, hands-off judiciary - with the expectation that the donations will be used to cultivate the single-issue voters whose concerns are quite different from the donors. "Cultivate" as in passing symbolic legislation that nurtures their grievances without actually changing their lives for the better. Studies have shown that Trump voters like many of the ideas in the Democratic platform until they are told that they are Democratic ideas. To sum it up, any future conservative party must abandon its futile attempts to suppress voting and maintain minority rule https://www.reduce-rural-bias.net/ and face up to the task for building a lasting persuadable majority through forthright ideology that is aligned with actual accomplishments for all Americans. In a healthy two-party system, both parties can obtain majorities from time to time, but have to cooperate in a bipartisan way to make progress most of the time. Kasich has some ideas, but can he convince any part of Trump's base? https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/08/12/kasich-said-it-best/ ==. Some Republicans are trying to position themselves for the future, without knowing whether disloyalty to Trumpism will be best early, late, or never. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/08/11/ben-sasse-republicans-post-trump-future/ So far, Sasse doesn't seem to be interested in talking about the Southern Strategy or unlimited dark money. And neither do any of his Senate colleagues. == topic theory ===== impact 67 impactrate 0 negative 0 posted 2020-08-11 ratio 6 react 2 reactrate 0 sharesrate 0 sumclicks 2 title If it was all a lie, what would have been truthful and topic theory wordrate 0 words 334 ID 1211350772542773 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1211350772542773 audclicks 2 audreach 2 engaged 2 impress 15 likeclickusers 2 likeuimpress 11 likeuusers 11 matchedlinkclicks 1 matchedotherclicks 1 oimpress 15 oreach 12 posted "08/11/2020 08:44:52 AM" postlinkclicks 1 postotherclicks 1 reach 12 type Link ========== "Perhaps there is no morally, politically and intellectually decent party of the right to be had." https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/08/10/do-we-even-need-republican-party/ If the Republican Party discards the Southern Strategy it will never win another election, unless it also embraces something positive - such as centrist Biden Democrats. There is a plausible future involving a centrist party and a leftist party but it's far from certain. https://www.liberty-and-justice.net/ For the Republican Party to move toward the center, it must ALSO discard its reliance on unlimited dark money. The major donors have bought and paid for the things they care about - billionaire tax relief, deregulation, hands-off judiciary - with the expectation that the donations will be used to cultivate the single-issue voters whose concerns are quite different from the donors. "Cultivate" as in passing symbolic legislation that nurtures their grievances without actually changing their lives for the better. Studies have shown that Trump voters like most of the ideas in the Democratic platform until they are told that they are Democratic ideas. To sum it up, any future conservative party must abandon its futile attempts to suppress voting and maintain minority rule https://www.reduce-rural-bias.net/ and face up to the task for building a lasting persuadable majority through forthright ideology that is aligned with actual accomplishments for all Americans. In a healthy two-party system, both parties can obtain majorities from time to time, but have to cooperate in a bipartisan way to make progress most of the time. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/08/10/if-these-leaders-define-future-republican-party-it-doesnt-deserve-have-future/ Some Republicans are trying to position themselves for the future, without knowing whether disloyalty to Trumpism will be best early, late, or never. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/08/11/ben-sasse-republicans-post-trump-future/ So far, Sasse doesn't seem to be interested in talking about the Southern Strategy or unlimited dark money. And neither do any of his Senate colleagues. == topic theory 1 ===== comments 3 hideall 1 impact 435 impactrate 0 likeimpress 5 negative 1 posted 2020-08-10 priority 1 ratio 2 react 15 reactrate 0 shares 2 sharesrate 0 sumclicks 4 title "Perhaps there is no morally, politically and topic theory wordrate 0 words 290 ID 1210647619279755 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1210647619279755 audclicks 4 audreach 3 commentsimpress 3 commentsusers 2 engaged 8 hideallclicks 1 hideallclicksusers 1 impress 37 likeclickusers 3 likeimpress 5 likeuimpress 32 likeusers 5 likeuusers 30 matchedotherclicks 4 negclicks 1 negusers 1 oimpress 37 oreach 31 posted "08/10/2020 11:04:20 AM" postotherclicks 3 reach 31 sharesimpress 2 sharesusers 2 type Link ========== Another conservative regrets bad choices https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/08/07/i-was-republican-i-drew-my-red-line-too-late-where-is-yours/ Realizing too late that the Republican Party didn't absorb the Southern Strategy, but the Southern Strategy absorbed the Republican Party. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/08/10/if-these-leaders-define-future-republican-party-it-doesnt-deserve-have-future/ == topic theory ===== comments 3 impact 59 impactrate 0 likeimpress 5 negative 0 posted 2020-08-08 ratio 1 react 21 reactrate 0 shares 1 sharesrate 0 sumclicks 12 title Another conservative regrets bad choices topic theory wordrate 0 words 28 ID 1209023182775532 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1209023182775532 audclicks 12 audreach 8 commentsimpress 3 commentsusers 3 engaged 12 impress 44 likeclickusers 12 likeimpress 5 likeuimpress 40 likeusers 5 likeuusers 36 matchedlinkclicks 4 matchedotherclicks 8 oimpress 44 oreach 38 posted "08/08/2020 08:56:28 AM" postlinkclicks 4 postotherclicks 6 reach 38 sharesimpress 1 sharesusers 1 type Link ========== Trying to define a conservative party with a future It's hard to see any future while Republicans embrace the Southern Strategy, Trumpism, David Duke, paramilitarists and the rest. Those people need to be quarantined in their own party. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/08/10/if-these-leaders-define-future-republican-party-it-doesnt-deserve-have-future/ If that's going to be the Republican Party, then a new conservative party will have to be invented https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/07/opinion/republican-party-trump-2020.html that offers something for those looking for a better future https://www.political-scrapbook.net/trump.html#First%20Trump%20Constituency https://www.political-scrapbook.net/theory.html#conservative David Brooks says "Republican politicians are going to choose their voters over their donor class" but he's mistaken. A principle of Republican minority rule is that unlimited dark money will get you more voters than nickel and dime contributions. Use the big money to keep repeating the same thing long enough and you'll convince enough voters to win - it usually doesn't take many, thanks to the rural bias https://www.reduce-rural-bias.net/ If the Republicans are going to continue to base their success on big money, then they will have to continue to base their success on low-information voters that can be easily propagandized to vote against their own economic interests. https://www.political-scrapbook.net/theory.html#political%20ideology%20for%20the%20masses Fanatics of various sorts just get worse, not better, when their folly becomes evident to everybody else - Harold Stassen, Lyndon LaRouche. And Millard Fillmore. Eventually some people decided it was easier to form a new party than to get the Whigs to act sensibly. So in 1856 the Republican Party was born. It became the party of radical change for 20 years, then the party of reaction ever since, except for a brief time under Theodore Roosevelt. == topic theory 1 ===== impact 0 impactrate 0 negative 0 posted 2020-08-07 priority 1 reactrate 0 sharesrate 0 title Trying to define a conservative party with a future topic theory wordrate 0 words 256 ID 1208242009520316 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1208242009520316 impress 16 likeuimpress 9 likeuusers 8 oimpress 16 oreach 13 posted "08/07/2020 08:53:40 AM" reach 13 type Link ========== Feudalism is older than Reagan https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/31/books/review/the-system-robert-reich-break-em-up-zephyr-teachout.html Why did poor whites fight for slavery? Ideology is the means by which the ruling classes get the masses to act against their own interests. https://www.political-scrapbook.net/theory.html#political%20ideology%20for%20the%20masses == topic theory ===== impact 0 impactrate 0 negative 0 posted 2020-08-07 reactrate 0 sharesrate 0 title Feudalism is older than Reagan topic theory wordrate 0 words 33 ID 1208116879532829 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1208116879532829 impress 13 likeuimpress 10 likeuusers 9 oimpress 13 oreach 10 posted "08/07/2020 05:42:46 AM" reach 10 type Link ========== What would Edmund Burke say today? https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/05/opinion/edmund-burke.html He wasn't right about everything - nobody ever is - but we ignore his insights at our peril. https://www.political-scrapbook.net/theory.html#conservative == topic theory ===== impact 0 impactrate 0 negative 0 posted 2020-08-05 reactrate 0 sharesrate 0 title What would Edmund Burke say today? topic theory wordrate 0 words 27 ID 1206624463015404 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1206624463015404 impress 10 likeuimpress 7 likeuusers 6 oimpress 10 oreach 7 posted "08/05/2020 07:00:24 AM" reach 7 type Link ========== Only a pawn in their game Whether it's Donald Trump or Edgar Welch, you have to be amazed that anybody really believes this stuff! https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/509658-biden-demands-trump-stop-retweeting-unfounded-coronavirus-claims-from-crazy https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/22/us/pizzagate-attack-sentence.html But it keeps on happening, just as it always has. Welch is only a pawn in Trump's game, and Trump is only a pawn in Putin's game. Is QAnon a pawn in Trump's game? Or is Trump a pawn in Q's game? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F229G4Dx2yc https://www.bobdylan.com/songs/only-pawn-their-game/ Trump is certainly a pawn in the David Duke far-right wing of the Republican Party game. Another great success of the Southern Strategy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_strategy of which the roots go back to 1619 and the necessity of the rich white feudal lords to keep the poor whites on their white side instead of on the poor side with the blacks. Dylan wrote the song in 1963, well before the Southern Strategy reached its apex in 1968. You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows == topic theory 1 ===== impact 31 impactrate 0 likeimpress 1 negative 0 posted 2020-08-03 priority 1 ratio 7 react 2 reactrate 0 shares 1 sharesrate 0 title Only a pawn in their game topic theory wordrate 0 words 156 ID 1205524996458684 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1205524996458684 engaged 2 impress 18 likeimpress 1 likeuimpress 8 likeusers 1 likeuusers 8 oimpress 18 oreach 14 posted "08/03/2020 08:12:28 PM" reach 14 sharesimpress 1 sharesusers 1 type Link ========== Sir Walter Scott -> Sir Donald Trump https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/07/31/lost-cause-donald-trump/ Mark Twain himself attributed Southern decadence to the baleful effects of feudal romantic fantasy. Unlike the children's book Tom Sawyer, in the adult novel Huckleberry Finn, Tom Sawyer is a delusional Southern romantic, bewildering Huck and Jim, whose less comfortable existences are grounded in reality. https://harpers.org/2007/07/how-walter-scott-started-the-american-civil-war/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confederates_in_the_Attic Such fantasy is an often-unrecognized impetus of the Southern Strategy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_strategy The essence of a reactionary is a longing to recreate a past that never really existed. Trump, like his father, did not want to overthrow the feudal system with its great lords in Manhattan; they just wanted to be accepted among them as peers, even if they were from the outer boroughs. But it's not that easy to get in that club - as you can see from the scorn from the Old South aristocrats for the new generations with lesser breeding causing upheavals in the social strata. == topic theory ===== impact 15 impactrate 0 negative 0 posted 2020-08-03 ratio 14 react 1 reactrate 0 sharesrate 0 sumclicks 1 title Sir Walter Scott -> Sir Donald Trump topic theory wordrate 0 words 153 ID 1205415593136291 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1205415593136291 audclicks 1 audreach 1 engaged 1 impress 18 likeclickusers 1 likeuimpress 10 likeuusers 8 matchedlinkclicks 1 oimpress 18 oreach 14 posted "08/03/2020 04:44:17 PM" postlinkclicks 1 reach 14 type Link ========== How the Republican Party became the Trumpist Party It was all decided in the 1960's when the Republicans decided on the Southern Strategy to remove the cancer of racism from the Democrats and claim it as their own. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/29/opinion/trump-republican-party-racism.html Trump is the effect, not the cause. The decline of relevance has been well documented https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-gop-has-earned-itself-a-multi-year-expulsion-from-politics/2020/07/29/724d13ac-d1d1-11ea-8d32-1ebf4e9d8e0d_story.html The Senate Republican caucus no longer seems able to get behind any particular negotiating position - https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2020/07/29/trump-pushes-short-term-fix-unemployment-insurance-eviction-moratorium/ Because some of them are more interested in positioning themselves to just say NO to President Biden - https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/born-again-fiscal-conservatives-are-sign-of-trumps-weakening-hand-in-congress/2020/07/29/fa4da31a-d1a5-11ea-8d32-1ebf4e9d8e0d_story.html https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/29/us/republicans-congress-virus-aid.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage The national Republican Party will either follow the California Republican Party into irrelevant oblivion or discover or re-discover some worthier existential principle than hanging on to power to benefit the donors. == topic theory 1 ===== comments 1 impact 98 impactrate 0 likeimpress 2 negative 0 posted 2020-07-30 priority 1 ratio 2 react 8 reactrate 0 shares 1 sharesrate 0 sumclicks 4 title How the Republican Party became the Trumpist Party topic theory wordrate 0 words 122 ID 1202059080138609 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1202059080138609 audclicks 4 audreach 3 commentsimpress 1 commentsusers 1 engaged 5 impress 27 likeclickusers 4 likeimpress 2 likeuimpress 22 likeusers 2 likeuusers 20 matchedotherclicks 4 oimpress 27 oreach 21 posted "07/30/2020 06:52:09 AM" postotherclicks 3 reach 21 sharesimpress 1 sharesusers 1 type Link ========== Sexism in politics - still a big deal! https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/27/opinion/trump-biden-popularity.html == topic theory ===== impact 0 impactrate 0 negative 0 posted 2020-07-27 reactrate 0 sharesrate 0 title Sexism in politics - still a big deal! topic theory wordrate 0 words 11 ID 1200214416989742 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1200214416989742 impress 10 likeuimpress 6 likeuusers 6 oimpress 10 oreach 7 posted "07/27/2020 08:05:35 PM" reach 7 type Link ========== Freedom's just another word for ... nothing left to lose https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/27/opinion/us-republicans-coronavirus.html == topic theory 1 ===== impact 0 impactrate 0 negative 0 posted 2020-07-27 priority 1 reactrate 0 sharesrate 0 title Freedom's just another word for ... nothing left to lose topic theory wordrate 0 words 14 ID 1200188630325654 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1200188630325654 impress 10 likeuimpress 6 likeuusers 6 oimpress 10 oreach 7 posted "07/27/2020 07:12:17 PM" reach 7 type Link ========== Two directions for the GOP Follow California Republicans into oblivion? https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/27/opinion/trump-2020.html Or figure out a conservative party with a big tent? https://www.liberty-and-justice.net/ == topic theory ===== impact 2 impactrate 0 likeimpress 1 negative 0 posted 2020-07-27 ratio 9 react 1 reactrate 0 sharesrate 0 title Two directions for the GOP topic theory wordrate 0 words 23 ID 1200186753659175 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1200186753659175 engaged 1 impress 12 likeclickusers 1 likeimpress 1 likeuimpress 8 likeusers 1 likeuusers 8 oimpress 12 oreach 9 posted "07/27/2020 07:08:23 PM" reach 9 type Link ========== Which conservatives were REALLY libertarians and which were REALLY authoritarians? https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/27/opinion/anne-applebaum-twilight-of-democracy.html Some times it takes a crisis to define what you really believe. == topic theory ===== impact 0 impactrate 0 negative 0 posted 2020-07-27 reactrate 0 sharesrate 0 title Which conservatives were REALLY libertarians and which topic theory wordrate 0 words 25 ID 1200148046996379 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1200148046996379 impress 14 likeuimpress 10 likeuusers 10 oimpress 14 oreach 11 posted "07/27/2020 06:06:31 PM" reach 11 type Link ========== It's not life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness after all - it's property rights and religious freedom! https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/pompeo-says-protesters-and-mainstream-media-are-attacking-american-way-of-life/2020/07/16/09f3aad8-c799-11ea-a9d3-74640f25b953_story.html == topic theory ===== comments 4 impact 50 impactrate 0 likeimpress 12 negative 0 posted 2020-07-16 ratio 2 react 24 reactrate 0 shares 1 sharesrate 0 sumclicks 7 title It's not life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness after topic theory wordrate 0 words 21 ID 1192090804468770 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1192090804468770 audclicks 7 audreach 5 commentsimpress 4 commentsusers 4 engaged 14 impress 56 likeclickusers 14 likeimpress 12 likeuimpress 52 likeusers 11 likeuusers 48 matchedotherclicks 7 oimpress 56 oreach 50 posted "07/16/2020 09:10:50 PM" postotherclicks 5 reach 50 sharesimpress 1 sharesusers 1 type Link ========== "a mood masquerading as a doctrine, an entertainment genre based on contempt for its bellowing audiences" https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-difference-between-trumpism-and-fascism/2020/07/09/377ae76e-c208-11ea-9fdd-b7ac6b051dc8_story.html Another view - there is no difference at all - https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/fascist-dictatorship-trump-second-term/2020/07/10/63fdd938-c166-11ea-b4f6-cb39cd8940fb_story.html Europeans know what this looks like and have spent 75 years trying to get past it - https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/10/opinion/trump-nationalism.html == topic theory ===== comments 1 hide 1 impact 37 impactrate 0 negative 1 posted 2020-07-10 ratio 3 react 8 reactrate 0 shares 1 sharesrate 0 sumclicks 5 title "a mood masquerading as a doctrine, an entertainment topic theory wordrate 0 words 46 ID 1187096634968187 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1187096634968187 audclicks 5 audreach 3 commentsimpress 1 commentsusers 1 engaged 3 hideclicks 1 hideclicksusers 1 impress 29 likeclickusers 3 likeuimpress 26 likeuusers 24 matchedlinkclicks 1 matchedotherclicks 4 negclicks 1 negusers 1 oimpress 29 oreach 25 posted "07/10/2020 07:45:59 AM" postlinkclicks 1 postotherclicks 3 reach 25 sharesimpress 1 sharesusers 1 type Link ========== The ultimate triumph of the Southern Strategy! For centuries, wealthy white southern feudal landowners worked tirelessly to convince poor whites that the key ideological and economic struggle was "us white people against the non-white" instead of "us rich people against the poor." In 1964-68, the Republican Party successfully incorporated this argument from the Dixiecrats as they all became Republicans. And now we're dealing with the outcome, where the Republicans can count on Trump's base supporting him no matter how bad his policies are for them. And thus Republican legislators can continue to follow the dictates of wealthy donors with no fear of a grass-roots pushback. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/08/opinion/trump-politics-psychology.html == topic theory ===== impact 65 impactrate 0 likeimpress 2 negative 0 posted 2020-07-08 ratio 1 react 6 reactrate 0 shares 2 sharesrate 0 sumclicks 2 title The ultimate triumph of the Southern Strategy! topic theory wordrate 0 words 108 ID 1185508191793698 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1185508191793698 audclicks 2 audreach 2 engaged 3 impress 15 likeclickusers 3 likeimpress 2 likeuimpress 11 likeusers 2 likeuusers 10 matchedlinkclicks 1 matchedotherclicks 1 oimpress 15 oreach 11 posted "07/08/2020 06:58:36 AM" postlinkclicks 1 postotherclicks 1 reach 11 sharesimpress 2 sharesusers 2 type Link ========== "I thought we won that battle" When Trump says that, he means his battle with the NFL over players taking a knee. https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/06/21/trump-again-speaks-out-nfl-player-protests-i-thought-we-won-that-battle/ But when most people say that, they mean they thought that racism was finally overcome with the election of Obama. How wrong we were - not fully realizing at first what the Tea Party was really all about - https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/09/the-tea-party-got-what-it-wanted/ Just another continuation of the Southern Strategy - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_strategy and its reliance on minority rule http://www.reduce-rural-bias.net/ a tradition since 1619. == topic theory ===== comments 3 hide 2 impact 221 impactrate 0 likeimpress 12 negative 2 posted 2020-06-21 ratio 2 react 27 reactrate 0 sharesrate 0 sumclicks 10 title "I thought we won that battle" topic theory wordrate 0 words 82 ID 1172410323103485 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1172410323103485 audclicks 10 audreach 7 commentsimpress 3 commentsusers 3 engaged 14 hideclicks 2 hideclicksusers 2 impress 76 likeclickusers 14 likeimpress 12 likeuimpress 68 likeusers 12 likeuusers 67 matchedotherclicks 10 negclicks 2 negusers 2 oimpress 76 oreach 68 posted "06/21/2020 10:23:15 AM" postotherclicks 7 reach 68 type Link ========== Will losing the election make the Republicans better? Probably not - https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/06/18/why-our-political-extremes-always-devour-their-moderates/ Empires, as well as political parties, fall when they become self-referential, and their leaders and adherents become absorbed about their place in the institution rather than the institution's place in the (always changing) world - https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Byzantine After the election, will the Trumpists expel the Republicans or the Republicans expel the Trumpists? Right now, the Trumpists are in control, and the former Republicans who went astray with them are hard-pressed to define themselves any differently. If the California Republican Party is any guide, the national party will simply double down on irrelevance, funded by wealthy donors too old to notice that the world has changed - https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/Republicans-are-now-a-third-party-in-12961604.php Thus Nunes and McCarthy's main claim for re-election is that they have steadfastly supported Trump in every bad idea and blunder. That's good for perhaps 40% of the vote. To stay in office they must find some way to get to 50% of the vote, not easy for incumbents in a depression. California Democrats would do better if they had a worthy opponent to keep them sharp. The California Republican Party is too easy to ignore in the urban areas that dominate state politics. Time for a new conservative party that can expand its tent rather than contract it. http://www.liberty-and-justice.net/ == topic theory 1 ===== comments 1 impact 87 impactrate 0 likeimpress 1 negative 0 posted 2020-06-18 priority 1 ratio 7 react 4 reactrate 0 sharesrate 0 sumclicks 2 title Will losing the election make the Republicans better? topic theory wordrate 0 words 218 ID 1170339459977238 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1170339459977238 audclicks 2 audreach 2 commentsimpress 1 commentsusers 1 engaged 3 impress 36 likeclickusers 3 likeimpress 1 likeuimpress 31 likeusers 1 likeuusers 27 matchedotherclicks 2 oimpress 36 oreach 28 posted "06/18/2020 05:07:36 PM" postotherclicks 2 reach 28 type Link ========== Federalism is the most difficult form of government. It allows local governments to defy higher levels for good (virus) or ill (segregation). It's a barrier to top-down dictatorship, and also to top-down progress. The main advantage of federalism is that it divides up rather than concentrates power. We consider this to be a good thing in the economy - that's why we have antitrust laws. But there are other ways of governing - https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/george-floyd-tahrir-square-hong-kong-police-violence-20200609.html And it's easy to slip into them if there is insufficient popular will to make federalism work - https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/09/opinion/trump-united-states.html If the national Republican Party would just fade away with an occasional whimper, like the California Republican Party, that would fit with the historic tradition in our country, and it would be replaced by a conservative party suited to the America of 2020 rather than the America of 1619. http://www.liberty-and-justice.net/ == topic theory ===== impact 72 impactrate 0 likeimpress 1 negative 0 posted 2020-06-12 ratio 5 react 5 reactrate 0 sharesrate 0 sumclicks 4 title Federalism is the most difficult form of government. topic theory wordrate 0 words 143 ID 1165647030446481 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1165647030446481 audclicks 4 audreach 4 engaged 4 impress 33 likeclickusers 4 likeimpress 1 likeuimpress 29 likeusers 1 likeuusers 28 matchedlinkclicks 2 matchedotherclicks 2 oimpress 33 oreach 29 posted "06/12/2020 03:05:46 PM" postlinkclicks 2 postotherclicks 2 reach 29 type Link ========== The essence of reactionaries https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/11/opinion/trump-confederate-flag-military-bases.html Some historical background - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reactionary Reactionaries react with disgust to the present, but instead of improving it by moving forward to a brighter future (which might never exist), they hope to move backward to a brighter past which definitely never existed. == topic theory ===== impact 0 impactrate 0 negative 0 posted 2020-06-11 reactrate 0 sharesrate 0 title The essence of reactionaries topic theory wordrate 0 words 47 ID 1164989123845605 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1164989123845605 impress 20 likeuimpress 15 likeuusers 12 oimpress 20 oreach 13 posted "06/11/2020 07:39:31 PM" reach 13 type Link ========== Cascading crises obliterate leaders' platforms But every crisis is an opportunity to lead in a different way. Gavin Newsom and Pete Wilson (remember him?) https://calmatters.org/commentary/gavin-newsom-pete-wilson-crises-recession-race/ Donald Trump and Jimmy Carter https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/06/02/trumps-presidency-is-looking-whole-lot-like-jimmy-carters/ In both cases, completely different politics, completely overwhelmed by the tide of unexpected events. == topic theory ===== impact 14 impactrate 0 negative 0 posted 2020-06-03 ratio 7 react 3 reactrate 0 sharesrate 0 sumclicks 3 title Cascading crises obliterate leaders' platforms topic theory wordrate 0 words 46 ID 1158792881131896 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1158792881131896 audclicks 3 audreach 3 engaged 3 impress 30 likeclickusers 3 likeuimpress 25 likeuusers 22 matchedlinkclicks 2 matchedotherclicks 1 oimpress 30 oreach 23 posted "06/03/2020 06:49:56 PM" postlinkclicks 2 postotherclicks 1 reach 23 type Link ========== How the rural Trump base feels. These aren't the same as the deplorable part of the Trump base that supports Nazis and the KKK, but they tend to suspect that government just takes from them to give to somebody else. They haven't heard, or don't believe, that poor rural areas are subsidized by wealthy urban ones. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/31/opinion/covid-rural-america-aid.html It wouldn't matter so much if the Constitution didn't have such a profound rural bias. http://www.reduce-rural-bias.net/ == topic theory ===== impact 0 impactrate 0 negative 0 posted 2020-06-01 reactrate 0 sharesrate 0 title How the rural Trump base feels. topic theory wordrate 0 words 74 ID 1157132017964649 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1157132017964649 impress 19 likeuimpress 14 likeuusers 13 oimpress 19 oreach 14 posted "06/01/2020 05:15:40 PM" reach 14 type Link ========== An uplifting patriotic song you might not know https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZrWgn1rUGs It was cut from the musical Assassins in 1990, but has come back to life 30 years later. America is an idea, not an ethnicity. That's what's exceptional about America. == topic theory ===== impact 0 impactrate 0 negative 0 posted 2020-05-28 reactrate 0 sharesrate 0 title An uplifting patriotic song you might not know topic theory wordrate 0 words 41 ID 1154342331576951 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1154342331576951 impress 13 likeuimpress 7 likeuusers 7 oimpress 13 oreach 8 posted "05/28/2020 10:48:54 PM" reach 8 type Link ========== How political parties die Federalists: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Era_of_Good_Feelings Whigs: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whig_Party_(United_States)#Collapse,_1853%E2%80%931856 Dixiecrats: https://www.history.com/news/how-the-party-of-lincoln-won-over-the-once-democratic-south What's to become of the Republicans? They started by incorporating the northern Whigs and ended by incorporating the Dixiecrats. In the face of pandemic and depression right before election - can they hold themselves together or will they split into Trumpists and Never-Trumpists? https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/05/28/never-trumpers-might-finally-be-something/ An organization with many internal contradictions can only survive during good times. President Biden's main challenge as head of the Democratic Party will be, like Monroe's, to find ways to incorporate reasonable former Republicans into his party without alienating the Sanders/Warren Democrats. History suggests this will not be easy or stable. == topic theory ===== impact 0 impactrate 0 negative 0 posted 2020-05-28 reactrate 0 sharesrate 0 title How political parties die topic theory wordrate 0 words 104 ID 1154053444939173 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1154053444939173 impress 19 likeuimpress 13 likeuusers 12 oimpress 19 oreach 13 posted "05/28/2020 01:46:09 PM" reach 13 type Link ========== What is Trump's greatest political offense against America? https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/03/us/politics/trump-republican-party.html Trump's moral offense is his rejection of the Enlightenment ideals of America's Founders - https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1152786858399165 But that's pretty abstract to most voters. So consider something easier to grasp: Trump's greatest political offense is refusing to enlarge his political base. He believes that he can remain in power solely by energizing his existing base without expanding it. He believes that it is best to retain his sure-bet supporters - far-right fascists and racists, single-issue voters, low-information voters, voters frightened of an uncertain future that respond to his campaign rallies - and fund his campaigns with unlimited cynical dark money. Some of the most enthusiastic of these voters have no other political home - nobody else wants them. To expand his base by appealing to a more diverse electorate would require changing his tone and substance in ways that are not comfortable for him. The consequences were evident in the 2018 election - although the out-party using makes some inroads during a mid-term election, the size of the Democratic victory in the face of a booming economy was impressive. Educated voters, middle class, women, minorities - all found new energy to turn out and vote. The 2020 election will be even worse. Trump evidently believed that economic expansion could go on forever and based his campaign strategy on that. Of course, every expansion has been followed by a contraction - that's an easy prediction, but predicting when and why is not so easy. Trump's luck appears to have run out, because the coronavirus crisis and subsequent economic contraction arrived at the most inopportune time, and no matter how quickly the economy recovers, the scars of unemployment, eviction, and economic hardship will not be quickly forgotten - even if they happen to other people - https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/27/us/coronavirus-evictions-renters.html The over-leveraging of corporate debt, the decline of retail, and other trends were going to be problems sooner or later, but the virus means they have all come to a head now. Republicans are in significant danger of losing the Senate as well as the House and White House. Yet they can't appeal to a broader electorate without alienating the Trump base - anyway they look at it, they lose. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trumps-mockery-of-wearing-masks-divides-republicans/2020/05/26/2c2bdc02-9f61-11ea-81bb-c2f70f01034b_story.html Their only hope, and a well-based one, is to exploit their vast dark money sources to outspend their opponents to repeat their claims often enough that persuadable voters believe them. But this is larger than a Republican problem. One of the characteristics of American politics has been a two-party system with a relatively large number of persuadable voters who might vote either way - and so victory tends to go to the candidate who can reach the most of those persuadables. If one party gets too far out of line with the center, it is punished at the polls and adjusts accordingly. One of the big unknowns about the future is whether the Trumpist Republican party will be a permanently minority party (as it already is in California) without a chance of fairly winning a majority - and thus will eventually follow the Whigs into irrelevance and oblivion, replaced by something else yet to be invented. As it is, Republicans inspired by the Southern Strategy have embraced minority rule, applying all the Constitutional levers that reflect rural bias - http://www.reduce-rural-bias.net/ enhanced with as many statutory voter suppression strategies as they can get away with, abetted by the reactionary judiciary they have installed. Converting the Republican Party from a conservative alternative to a reactionary cult of personality is Trump's greatest political offense. He did not start that conversion but he embraced it fully. It might have profound implications for American democracy. == topic theory 1 ===== impact 428 impactrate 0 likeimpress 3 negative 0 posted 2020-05-26 priority 1 ratio 3 react 7 reactrate 0 sharesrate 0 sumclicks 4 title What is Trump's greatest political offense against America? topic theory wordrate 0 words 612 ID 1152810121730172 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1152810121730172 audclicks 4 audreach 2 engaged 5 impress 29 likeclickusers 5 likeimpress 3 likeuimpress 25 likeusers 3 likeuusers 24 matchedlinkclicks 1 matchedotherclicks 3 oimpress 29 oreach 25 posted "05/26/2020 10:56:49 PM" postlinkclicks 1 postotherclicks 1 reach 25 type Link ========== What is Trump's greatest moral offense against America? https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-34903577 ? https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/donald-trump-believe-candidate-stands-10-issues ? It's necessary to step back from the daily assault to look at the big picture. What is it about Trump that is so offensive? He rejects the Enlightenment ideals of America's Founders - the men who created the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights, the foundations of our democracy and our way of life. https://www.iep.utm.edu/amer-enl/#SH2d A few specifics - He rejects rational empirical inquiry as the basis of knowledge in favor of intuitive superstition. There is no such thing as an objective external reality, only conflicting personal perceptions. Truth received from higher Authority, human or divine, is not to be questioned or investigated. He rejects the notion that a man is measured by the power of his ideas, in favor of the notion that ideas are measured by the power of the man declaring them. He rejects the notion that all men are equally endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, in favor of the notion that some ethnicities are inherently worthier than others. Herrenvolk! He believes that might makes right - and the best defense is a strong offense. He rejects the rule of law in favor of the rule of a man - the leader. He rejects the idea that government is of the people, by the people, for the people, in favor of the idea that government is of the leader, by the leader, for the leader. He rejects any notion of perfectibility of man in favor of the notion that all governments have been and always will be corrupt - and thus corruption is no basis for judging among governments. He rejects the notion that each generation has received a precious inheritance from the past and has a duty to improve it and pass it on to the future, in favor of the notion that only today matters - so take what you can now. What will future generations ever do for us? He accepts - implicitly perhaps - the notion that God is good and loves good people and rewards them, and hates bad people and punishes them, so THEREFORE if you are rich and powerful it is because you deserve it, and if you are weak and powerless it is because you deserve it. This creed of what could be called Jobs-friends-ism has always been beloved of the rich and powerful. Trump certainly is partial to the Prosperity Gospel. == It's hard to find any direct indication of Trump's beliefs about abstract political theory, if he has any. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007%2F978-3-319-74427-8 https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9783030089931 One has to infer theory from his changing opinions about specific topical issues. The conclusion might be that he has no abstract political beliefs beyond personal advantage. So much for moral offense. What about political offense? https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1152810121730172 == topic theory 1 ===== impact 187 impactrate 0 negative 0 posted 2020-05-26 priority 1 ratio 6 react 4 reactrate 0 shares 1 sharesrate 0 sumclicks 3 title What is Trump's greatest moral offense against America? topic theory wordrate 0 words 467 audclicks 3 audreach 2 engaged 3 ID 1152786858399165 impress 30 likeclickusers 3 likeuimpress 24 likeuusers 21 matchedlinkclicks 3 oimpress 30 oreach 24 posted "05/26/2020 10:02:45 PM" postlinkclicks 2 reach 24 sharesimpress 1 sharesusers 1 type Link URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1152786858399165 ========== Is there a new world order to deal with new worldwide threats? We should be so lucky. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/23/opinion/sunday/the-end-of-the-new-world-order.html Instead, we are heading back to the 19th-century "great power" world order that ended in 1918 with the collapse of the German, Austrian, Russian, and Turkish empires. The difference is that our oceans no longer protect us from the rest of the world. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/21/opinion/us-coronavirus-history.html Those oceans are agents of climate change, not barriers to it. == topic theory ===== impact 44 impactrate 0 likeimpress 3 negative 0 posted 2020-05-24 ratio 5 react 6 reactrate 0 sharesrate 0 sumclicks 3 title Is there a new world order to deal with new worldwide topic theory wordrate 0 words 74 ID 1151335411877643 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1151335411877643 audclicks 3 audreach 3 engaged 4 impress 36 likeclickusers 4 likeimpress 3 likeuimpress 31 likeusers 3 likeuusers 30 matchedlinkclicks 1 matchedotherclicks 2 oimpress 36 oreach 32 posted "05/24/2020 10:09:55 PM" postlinkclicks 1 postotherclicks 2 reach 32 type Link ========== The end of the revolution It tends to be the same with every revolution - trading one oppressor for another. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/23/opinion/sunday/how-cubans-lost-faith-in-revolution.html == topic theory ===== comments 1 impact 7 impactrate 0 negative 0 posted 2020-05-24 ratio 7 react 3 reactrate 0 sharesrate 0 sumclicks 2 title The end of the revolution topic theory wordrate 0 words 23 ID 1151333795211138 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1151333795211138 audclicks 2 audreach 1 commentsimpress 1 commentsusers 1 engaged 1 impress 25 likeclickusers 1 likeuimpress 20 likeuusers 19 matchedlinkclicks 1 matchedotherclicks 1 oimpress 25 oreach 21 posted "05/24/2020 10:06:09 PM" postlinkclicks 1 postotherclicks 1 reach 21 type Link ========== What will strong leadership look like in the future? https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/15/world/coronavirus-women-leaders.html Viruses and greenhouse gases aren't impressed by domineering strong-looking men. What did strong leadership look like in the past? https://thefederalist.com/2020/05/11/the-president-of-the-united-states-should-not-wear-a-mask/ == topic theory ===== impact 0 impactrate 0 negative 0 posted 2020-05-18 reactrate 0 sharesrate 0 title What will strong leadership look like in the future? topic theory wordrate 0 words 31 ID 1146801185664399 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1146801185664399 impress 16 likeuimpress 11 likeuusers 10 oimpress 16 oreach 12 posted "05/18/2020 09:30:12 PM" reach 12 type Link ========== The president has to obey the law too! https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/05/08/george-conway-why-trump-will-lose-court/ == topic theory ===== comments 2 impact 26 impactrate 0 likeimpress 11 negative 0 posted 2020-05-09 ratio 2 react 24 reactrate 0 shares 1 sharesrate 0 sumclicks 10 title The president has to obey the law too! topic theory wordrate 0 words 11 ID 1139837493027435 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1139837493027435 audclicks 10 audreach 7 commentsimpress 2 commentsusers 2 engaged 16 impress 80 likeclickusers 16 likeimpress 11 likeuimpress 73 likeusers 11 likeuusers 63 matchedlinkclicks 5 matchedotherclicks 5 oimpress 80 oreach 65 posted "05/09/2020 07:29:14 PM" postlinkclicks 5 postotherclicks 4 reach 65 sharesimpress 1 sharesusers 1 type Link ========== The free market is not the government. All those Reaganite Republican senators and governors who don't believe in government should go back to Wall Street or Hollywood or wherever they came from. https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/trump-coronavirus-blame-gop/2020/04/29/5a608982-89a0-11ea-9dfd-990f9dcc71fc_story.html "I am not responsible" == "I am irresponsible" https://govleaders.org/rickover.htm What does responsibility look like? https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/can-birx-and-fauci-serve-the-president-in-good-conscience/2020/05/01/83734730-8b0b-11ea-ac8a-fe9b8088e101_story.html == topic theory 1 ===== impact 142 impactrate 0 likeimpress 10 negative 0 posted 2020-05-03 priority 1 ratio 1 react 29 reactrate 0 shares 5 sharesrate 0 sumclicks 14 title The free market is not the government. topic theory wordrate 0 words 49 ID 1134810813530103 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1134810813530103 audclicks 14 audreach 7 engaged 13 impress 74 likeclickusers 10 likeimpress 10 likeuimpress 67 likeusers 10 likeuusers 56 matchedlinkclicks 1 matchedotherclicks 13 oimpress 74 oreach 57 posted "05/03/2020 09:42:48 AM" postlinkclicks 1 postotherclicks 6 reach 57 sharesimpress 5 sharesusers 5 type Link ========== What it takes to succeed in a global crisis. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/05/02/what-we-can-learn-today-victory-osama-bin-laden-raid/ == topic theory ===== impact 7 impactrate 0 likeimpress 1 negative 0 posted 2020-05-03 ratio 3 react 6 reactrate 0 sharesrate 0 sumclicks 5 title What it takes to succeed in a global crisis. topic theory wordrate 0 words 12 ID 1134792790198572 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1134792790198572 audclicks 5 audreach 5 engaged 5 impress 34 likeclickusers 4 likeimpress 1 likeuimpress 26 likeusers 1 likeuusers 20 matchedlinkclicks 4 matchedotherclicks 1 oimpress 34 oreach 22 posted "05/03/2020 09:22:29 AM" postlinkclicks 4 postotherclicks 1 reach 22 type Link ========== A global leadership vacuum Just like 1913 or 1938. https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2020-04-26/column-the-pandemic-makes-the-world-more-dangerous https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2020/04/27/pandemic-waning-american-prestige/ No lack of global problems demanding global solutions - global pandemics, global depression, global climate change. What we need is re-globalization - https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/its-time-to-return-to-globalization-but-this-time-lets-do-it-right/2020/04/27/b5e8b442-88b4-11ea-8ac1-bfb250876b7a_story.html == topic theory ===== impact 3 impactrate 0 negative 0 posted 2020-04-28 ratio 12 react 1 reactrate 0 sharesrate 0 sumclicks 1 title A global leadership vacuum topic theory wordrate 0 words 34 ID 1131195323891652 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1131195323891652 audclicks 1 audreach 1 engaged 1 impress 20 likeclickusers 1 likeuimpress 12 likeuusers 11 matchedlinkclicks 1 oimpress 20 oreach 12 posted "04/28/2020 01:51:57 PM" postlinkclicks 1 reach 12 type Link ========== What's so special about America? The Russian government tried to cover up Chernobyl as long as possible. The Chinese government tried to cover up the Wuhan virus as long as possible. But the response of the American government was completely... the same. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/25/arts/25virus-american-exceptionalism.html There's nothing exceptional about governments that try to preserve themselves by hiding the truth. But that's what leaders tend to do... lie, to protect themselves and their supporters. Every political leader, even dictators, have supporters that helped them get to the top and stay at the top. Those supporters expect the leader to preserve their investment as long as possible. http://www.political-scrapbook.net/theory.html#leadership That's what most leaders do, and most leaders are more or less forgotten. We tend to remember the others. Norhting new or exceptional about that - GOD, give us men! A time like this demands Strong minds, great hearts, true faith and ready hands; Men whom the lust of office does not kill; Men whom the spoils of office can not buy; Men who possess opinions and a will; Men who have honor; men who will not lie; Men who can stand before a demagogue And damn his treacherous flatteries without winking! Tall men, sun-crowned, who live above the fog In public duty, and in private thinking; For while the rabble, with their thumb-worn creeds, Their large professions and their little deeds, Mingle in selfish strife, lo! Freedom weeps, Wrong rules the land and waiting Justice sleeps. Josiah Gilbert Holland == topic theory ===== impact 0 impactrate 0 negative 0 posted 2020-04-25 reactrate 0 sharesrate 0 title What's so special about America? topic theory wordrate 0 words 245 ID 1129076147436903 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1129076147436903 impress 21 likeuimpress 14 likeuusers 14 oimpress 21 oreach 15 posted "04/25/2020 04:12:13 PM" reach 15 type Link ========== Quackery and grift - two more pillars of Republican minority rule https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/20/opinion/coronavirus-conservatives.html == topic theory ===== impact 6 impactrate 0 negative 0 posted 2020-04-22 ratio 3 react 4 reactrate 0 shares 1 sharesrate 0 sumclicks 3 title Quackery and grift - two more pillars of Republican topic theory wordrate 0 words 14 ID 1126601871017664 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1126601871017664 audclicks 3 audreach 2 engaged 2 impress 18 likeclickusers 2 likeuimpress 12 likeuusers 12 matchedlinkclicks 1 matchedotherclicks 2 oimpress 18 oreach 13 posted "04/22/2020 09:32:27 AM" postlinkclicks 1 postotherclicks 1 reach 13 sharesimpress 1 sharesusers 1 type Link ========== When the greatest threats are global in nature - how are nations going to solve them just by thinking and acting locally? https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/global-institutions-are-flailing-in-the-face-of-the-pandemic/2020/04/14/39630b96-7e8e-11ea-9040-68981f488eed_story.html https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/16/upshot/world-economy-restructuring-coronavirus.html http://www.liberty-and-justice.net/ == topic theory ===== impact 0 impactrate 0 negative 0 posted 2020-04-16 reactrate 0 sharesrate 0 title When the greatest threats are global in nature - how are topic theory wordrate 0 words 25 ID 1122141381463713 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1122141381463713 impress 23 likeuimpress 19 likeuusers 18 oimpress 23 oreach 19 posted "04/16/2020 02:25:27 PM" reach 19 type Link ========== What does effective crisis leadership look like? https://www.forbes.com/sites/avivahwittenbergcox/2020/04/13/what-do-countries-with-the-best-coronavirus-reponses-have-in-common-women-leaders/ == topic theory ===== impact 30 impactrate 0 likeimpress 10 negative 0 posted 2020-04-14 ratio 1 react 30 reactrate 0 shares 3 sharesrate 0 sumclicks 17 title What does effective crisis leadership look like? topic theory wordrate 0 words 10 ID 1120401178304400 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1120401178304400 audclicks 17 audreach 12 engaged 17 impress 57 likeclickusers 15 likeimpress 10 likeuimpress 52 likeusers 10 likeuusers 46 matchedlinkclicks 4 matchedotherclicks 13 oimpress 57 oreach 48 posted "04/14/2020 10:47:06 AM" postlinkclicks 4 postotherclicks 8 reach 48 sharesimpress 3 sharesusers 3 type Link ========== Jefferson, FDR, and Truman https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/12/opinion/roosevelt-truman-jefferson.html == topic theory ===== impact 1 impactrate 0 negative 0 posted 2020-04-12 ratio 9 react 2 reactrate 0 sharesrate 0 sumclicks 2 title Jefferson, FDR, and Truman topic theory wordrate 0 words 7 ID 1118726145138570 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1118726145138570 audclicks 2 audreach 1 engaged 1 impress 24 likeclickusers 1 likeuimpress 18 likeuusers 17 matchedlinkclicks 1 matchedotherclicks 1 oimpress 24 oreach 18 posted "04/12/2020 09:02:55 AM" postlinkclicks 1 postotherclicks 1 reach 18 type Link ========== Plagues alter the balance of power between labor and capital - for a while. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/09/opinion/coronvairus-economy-history.html That's the power of supply and demand. There's a reason rich people want to restrict reproductive rights of poor people - the rich want the law of supply and demand to work for them, not against them. https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2020-04-03/abortion-foes-are-exploiting-the-coronavirus-crisis-to-undermine-reproductive-rights == topic theory ===== impact 5 impactrate 0 likeimpress 1 negative 0 posted 2020-04-09 ratio 16 react 1 reactrate 0 sharesrate 0 title Plagues alter the balance of power between labor and topic theory wordrate 0 words 54 ID 1116580962019755 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1116580962019755 engaged 1 impress 21 likeclickusers 1 likeimpress 1 likeuimpress 16 likeusers 1 likeuusers 15 oimpress 21 oreach 16 posted "04/09/2020 01:18:13 PM" reach 16 type Link ========== How do you lead democracies to take unpleasant medicine? To endure short-term loss for long-term gain? https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/all-our-choices-are-bad--but-some-are-worse/2020/03/29/5621f446-704b-11ea-aa80-c2470c6b2034_story.html It's harder when the exponential is just starting - http://www.political-scrapbook.net/theory.html#exponentials and hardest when nobody believes the leaders because they so seldom tell the truth - http://www.political-scrapbook.net/theory.html#leadership == topic theory ===== impact 4 impactrate 0 likeimpress 1 negative 0 posted 2020-03-30 ratio 14 react 1 reactrate 0 sharesrate 0 title How do you lead democracies to take unpleasant medicine? topic theory wordrate 0 words 43 ID 1108900899454428 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1108900899454428 engaged 1 impress 20 likeclickusers 1 likeimpress 1 likeuimpress 13 likeusers 1 likeuusers 13 oimpress 20 oreach 14 posted "03/30/2020 06:55:26 AM" reach 14 type Link ========== Access - it's the return on big campaign investments. The recipients know how much each call is worth when they decide whether to return it. Like the big corporate tax cut, most of this stuff will get worked out in secret late at night, and then passed with as little discussion as possible. Everybody agrees to look the other way at the same time. Dark legislation funded by dark money! In the political universe as in the physical universe, dark matter and dark energy predominate! https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/20/us/politics/coronavirus-stimulus-lobbying.html Never waste a good crisis! http://www.political-scrapbook.net/democracy.html#corporate%20donations == And what's the window dressing to sell this to the voters? Bribe them all, whether they need the money or not, whether they can spend it or not. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/03/20/heres-why-giving-every-american-1200-is-really-bad-idea/ How to better spend the money - https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/20/opinion/coronavirus-stimulus.html == topic theory 1 ===== impact 247 impactrate 0 likeimpress 4 negative 0 posted 2020-03-20 priority 1 ratio 2 react 19 reactrate 0 shares 4 sharesrate 0 sumclicks 11 title Access - it's the return on big campaign investments. topic theory wordrate 0 words 130 ID 1101070456904139 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1101070456904139 audclicks 11 audreach 4 engaged 7 impress 50 likeclickusers 7 likeimpress 4 likeuimpress 40 likeusers 4 likeuusers 36 matchedlinkclicks 4 matchedotherclicks 7 oimpress 50 oreach 40 posted "03/20/2020 09:31:58 AM" postlinkclicks 1 postotherclicks 4 reach 40 sharesimpress 4 sharesusers 3 type Link ========== Warrenism and structural change. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/12/opinion/elizabeth-warren-democrats.html Structural change is so unsexy as a campaign slogan! But the architects on both sides know it's the real issue. Consider the structure of minority rule - http://www.reduce-rural-bias.net/ More - http://www.political-scrapbook.net/democracy.html#amendments http://www.political-scrapbook.net/theory.html#liberty%20and%20equality == topic theory 1 ===== comments 1 impact 19 impactrate 0 likeimpress 2 negative 0 posted 2020-03-12 priority 1 ratio 3 react 5 reactrate 0 shares 1 sharesrate 0 sumclicks 1 title Warrenism and structural change. topic theory wordrate 0 words 37 ID 1095205604157291 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1095205604157291 audclicks 1 audreach 1 commentsimpress 1 commentsusers 1 engaged 4 impress 24 likeclickusers 3 likeimpress 2 likeuimpress 18 likeusers 2 likeuusers 18 matchedlinkclicks 1 oimpress 24 oreach 19 posted "03/12/2020 03:40:55 PM" postlinkclicks 1 reach 19 sharesimpress 1 sharesusers 1 type Link ========== Was Trumpism/Putinism the product of unrealistic expectations of liberal democracy? https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/09/opinion/democracy-eastern-europe.html == topic theory ===== impact 3 impactrate 0 likeimpress 1 negative 0 posted 2020-03-09 ratio 12 react 2 reactrate 0 sharesrate 0 sumclicks 1 title Was Trumpism/Putinism the product of unrealistic topic theory wordrate 0 words 13 ID 1093212407689944 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1093212407689944 audclicks 1 audreach 1 engaged 2 impress 28 likeclickusers 2 likeimpress 1 likeuimpress 23 likeusers 1 likeuusers 23 matchedlinkclicks 1 oimpress 28 oreach 24 posted "03/09/2020 10:01:10 PM" postlinkclicks 1 reach 24 type Link ========== The big picture behind pardons. Corruption is everywhere; everybody is corrupt; there's no reason to punish politicians for corruption. Just ask our friend Vladimir. And all you Democratic voters might as well just stay home. Nothing will change anyway. Not while Trump is in charge! https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/02/18/why-trump-is-letting-corrupt-democrat-out-prison/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/02/18/trump-is-making-it-very-clear-how-seriously-he-objects-official-corruption/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/most-clemency-grants-bypass-doj-and-go-to-well-connected-offenders/2020/02/03/4e8f3eb2-21ce-11ea-9c2b-060477c13959_story.html https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/18/business/michael-milken-case-lessons.html https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/18/us/politics/trump-pardons.html It's so UNFAIR to subject rich Republicans to the same laws as poor Democrats! Infinite perfectibility of mankind? A stupid Enlightenment ideal! https://books.google.com/books?id=UXkJ0gvjS0AC&pg=PA514&lpg=PA514&dq=infinite+perfectibility+of+mankind&source=bl&ots=610tA1R0CB&sig=ACfU3U1ddnxnQh5lV2P50Ft78NWALSfIbg&hl=en&ppis=_e&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiDi_2PitznAhX_HjQIHW98CMUQ6AEwBnoECAsQAQ#v=onepage&q=infinite%20perfectibility%20of%20mankind So far, no Republican senators have any quibbles about any of this. Once again, the question to ask every Republican senator, for the record and cameras rolling - Do you support the renomination of Donald Trump as Republican candidate for President? == topic theory 1 ===== comments 4 hide 1 impact 381 impactrate 0 likeimpress 9 negative 1 posted 2020-02-18 priority 1 ratio 2 react 34 reactrate 0 shares 1 sharesrate 0 sumclicks 19 title The big picture behind pardons. topic theory wordrate 0 words 112 ID 1078072045870647 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1078072045870647 audclicks 19 audreach 11 commentsimpress 4 commentsusers 4 engaged 17 hideclicks 1 hideclicksusers 1 impress 96 likeclickusers 16 likeimpress 9 likeuimpress 83 likeusers 9 likeuusers 81 matchedlinkclicks 1 matchedotherclicks 18 negclicks 1 negusers 1 oimpress 96 oreach 91 posted "02/18/2020 02:01:14 PM" postlinkclicks 1 postotherclicks 11 reach 91 sharesimpress 1 sharesusers 1 type Link ========== What Trump doesn't get about Scandinavia - https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/13/opinion/scandinavia-education.html == topic theory ===== impact 3 impactrate 0 negative 0 posted 2020-02-13 ratio 6 react 3 reactrate 0 sharesrate 0 sumclicks 3 title What Trump doesn't get about Scandinavia - topic theory wordrate 0 words 10 ID 1074364489574736 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1074364489574736 audclicks 3 audreach 3 engaged 3 impress 23 likeclickusers 3 likeuimpress 18 likeuusers 18 matchedlinkclicks 2 matchedotherclicks 1 oimpress 23 oreach 19 posted "02/13/2020 08:56:38 PM" postlinkclicks 2 postotherclicks 1 reach 19 type Link ========== Isn't an "ongoing emergency" an oxymoron? If it's ongoing, Congress could in principle act and there's no need for unilateral executive action. It's not an emergency. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/02/13/trump-renews-his-national-emergency-despite-losing-primary-rationale-it/ Congress needs to re-assert its primacy in legislation and restrict presidential emergency powers to situations where Congress couldn't possibly act in time. Congressional inaction even in urgent (thought not emergency) situations has been a thorn in the side of presidents for decades, of both parties. The solution to that is not more presidential emergency power, but elimination of unlimited dark money. == topic theory ===== comments 1 hide 1 impact 261 impactrate 0 likeimpress 18 negative 1 posted 2020-02-13 ratio 3 react 29 reactrate 0 shares 5 sharesrate 0 sumclicks 4 title Isn't an "ongoing emergency" an oxymoron? topic theory wordrate 0 words 90 ID 1074360022908516 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1074360022908516 audclicks 4 audreach 4 commentsimpress 1 commentsusers 1 engaged 20 hideclicks 1 hideclicksusers 1 impress 92 likeclickusers 19 likeimpress 18 likeuimpress 86 likeusers 18 likeuusers 86 matchedlinkclicks 1 matchedotherclicks 3 negclicks 1 negusers 1 oimpress 92 oreach 88 posted "02/13/2020 08:48:16 PM" postlinkclicks 1 postotherclicks 3 reach 88 sharesimpress 5 sharesusers 5 type Link ========== The essential argument in American politics: feudalism vs the Enlightenment. Since 1619, the essential problem in the feudal South has been to convince poor white men that their allegiance was owed to wealthy white men rather than poor black men. "It's us against them" had to be essentially a racial argument rather than an economic one. Thus racism was not an incidental or accidental artifact of Southern culture; it was the inherent fundamental principle. Often explicit and public, sometimes implicit and private. By telling poor white men that they were better than poor black men, rich white men were able to avoid doing anything to actually improve the lot of any poor people. Public education in the south lagged the rest of the country. After all, feudal society needs just a few rich lords and a lot of poor serfs and slaves. Compare to Scandinavia - https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/13/opinion/scandinavia-education.html And so it continues 400 years later. It's the essence of Trump's argument - "It's us white people against them" instead of "it's me and my Mar-a-Lago pals against people who work for a living." https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/critics-say-trump-s-state-union-celebrates-racist-america-n1131091 That's what ideology is all about - getting the masses to act against their own interest - http://www.political-scrapbook.net/theory.html#political%20ideology%20for%20the%20masses == topic theory 1 ===== comments 4 hide 1 impact 788 impactrate 0 likeimpress 17 negative 1 posted 2020-02-12 priority 1 ratio 2 react 39 reactrate 0 shares 3 sharesrate 0 sumclicks 14 title The essential argument in American politics: feudalism vs topic theory wordrate 0 words 202 ID 1073492632995255 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1073492632995255 audclicks 14 audreach 11 commentsimpress 4 commentsusers 4 engaged 23 hideclicks 1 hideclicksusers 1 impress 87 likeclickusers 22 likeimpress 17 likeuimpress 81 likeusers 17 likeuusers 80 matchedlinkclicks 1 matchedotherclicks 13 negclicks 1 negusers 1 oimpress 87 oreach 83 posted "02/12/2020 07:58:59 PM" postlinkclicks 1 postotherclicks 10 reach 83 sharesimpress 3 sharesusers 3 type Link ========== A sustainable decadence. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/07/opinion/sunday/western-society-decadence.html High rates of economic growth are not in the cards - https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/is-economic-growth-limited-to-2-percent/2020/02/09/04c46d58-49f5-11ea-9164-d3154ad8a5cd_story.html Maybe it's just a plateau between the last great thing and the next great thing. Or maybe it's the last plateau before the last grand canyon. http://www.liberty-and-justice.net/ == topic theory ===== impact 0 impactrate 0 negative 0 posted 2020-02-08 reactrate 0 sharesrate 0 title A sustainable decadence. topic theory wordrate 0 words 43 ID 1070583309952854 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1070583309952854 impress 21 likeuimpress 17 likeuusers 17 oimpress 21 oreach 18 posted "02/08/2020 09:17:31 PM" reach 18 type Link ========== Keep it quiet! There's no difference between National Security and Trump Security. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/02/07/heres-new-abuse-power-by-trump-that-should-alarm-you/ Boldly leading back to the solutions of the 19th century - https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/07/opinion/alexander-vindman-nsc-trump.html It's an old story - http://www.political-scrapbook.net/theory.html#political%20ideology%20for%20the%20masses == topic theory ===== comments 2 hide 2 impact 136 impactrate 0 likeimpress 17 negative 2 posted 2020-02-08 ratio 1 react 44 reactrate 0 shares 3 sharesrate 0 sumclicks 20 title Keep it quiet! topic theory wordrate 0 words 31 ID 1070110566666795 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1070110566666795 audclicks 20 audreach 10 commentsimpress 2 commentsusers 2 engaged 24 hideclicks 2 hideclicksusers 2 impress 81 likeclickusers 21 likeimpress 17 likeuimpress 75 likeusers 17 likeuusers 76 matchedlinkclicks 6 matchedotherclicks 14 negclicks 2 negusers 2 oimpress 81 oreach 80 posted "02/08/2020 06:34:10 AM" postlinkclicks 6 postotherclicks 8 reach 80 sharesimpress 3 sharesusers 3 type Link ========== Incremental rationalization. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/02/07/heres-new-abuse-power-by-trump-that-should-alarm-you/ It's how the the Nazis took over Germany. After 1933, Hitler never really got the pushback he expected, so he just dared more and more, until finally nobody in Germany dared oppose him. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/07/opinion/trump-impeachment-congress.html The question for every Republican senator and congressman after this week - do you support the renomination and reelection of Donald Trump? If the answer is YES or equivocal, they are supporting the Trumpist/Putinist party. Unless the answer is an unequivocal NO, they've got to be retired. https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/07/politics/joe-walsh-ends-campaign/index.html Everybody who was in the room where it happened must be retired from public life. https://apnews.com/504e331eeec5107afbe757e8d241a16d == Trump has a little list too. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-lambastes-his-critics-as-he-considers-how-else-to-target-his-perceived-enemies-over-impeachment/2020/02/06/571003a0-4924-11ea-9475-535736e48788_story.html The Nazis didn't succeed at minority rule because the left wasn't trying hard enough. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/07/opinion/democratic-primary-2020-election.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/we-need-a-nomination-process-that-leads-to-plausible-presidents/2020/02/06/8e9c0286-4917-11ea-9164-d3154ad8a5cd_story.html The Nazis succeeded because the center was rationalizing that the Nazis didn't really mean what they said. Look at what people like Barr are saying, and see that they are looking beyond Trump's incompetence, to who they can install in 2024 who can really carry out their program of minority rule. == topic theory 1 ===== comments 1 impact 848 impactrate 0 likeimpress 15 negative 0 posted 2020-02-07 priority 1 ratio 1 react 49 reactrate 0 shares 5 sharesrate 0 sumclicks 28 title Incremental rationalization. topic theory wordrate 0 words 173 ID 1069335970077588 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1069335970077588 audclicks 28 audreach 12 commentsimpress 1 commentsusers 1 engaged 21 impress 94 likeclickusers 17 likeimpress 15 likeuimpress 65 likeusers 15 likeuusers 64 matchedlinkclicks 7 matchedotherclicks 21 oimpress 94 oreach 90 posted "02/07/2020 07:23:11 AM" postlinkclicks 7 postotherclicks 8 reach 90 sharesimpress 5 sharesusers 4 type Link ========== The real world simplifies itself to conform to political science theory! https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/02/03/real-world-political-science/ == topic theory ===== impact 3 impactrate 0 likeimpress 1 negative 0 posted 2020-02-03 ratio 9 react 2 reactrate 0 sharesrate 0 sumclicks 1 title The real world simplifies itself to conform to political topic theory wordrate 0 words 14 ID 1066463610364824 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1066463610364824 audclicks 1 audreach 1 engaged 1 impress 21 likeclickusers 1 likeimpress 1 likeuimpress 17 likeusers 1 likeuusers 17 matchedotherclicks 1 oimpress 21 oreach 18 posted "02/03/2020 08:23:38 AM" postotherclicks 1 reach 18 type Link ========== Weaponizing history against domestic political opposition https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/02/03/russia-poland-use-differing-versions-world-war-ii-history-domestic-ends/ Sound familiar? Like Lost Cause sentimentalism in the South? == topic theory 1 ===== impact 10 impactrate 0 likeimpress 3 negative 0 posted 2020-02-03 priority 1 ratio 7 react 5 reactrate 0 sharesrate 0 sumclicks 2 title Weaponizing history against domestic political opposition topic theory wordrate 0 words 19 ID 1066461080365077 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1066461080365077 audclicks 2 audreach 2 engaged 4 impress 40 likeclickusers 4 likeimpress 3 likeuimpress 35 likeusers 3 likeuusers 35 matchedlinkclicks 1 matchedotherclicks 1 oimpress 40 oreach 37 posted "02/03/2020 08:20:02 AM" postlinkclicks 1 postotherclicks 1 reach 37 type Link ========== Gandhi is gone. The work of burying his legacy continues. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/01/31/hate-that-inspired-gandhis-assassin-is-rising-again/ Not to mention venerating his assassin. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/04/world/asia/india-gandhi-nathuram-godse.html Sound familiar? == topic theory 1 ===== impact 35 impactrate 0 likeimpress 11 negative 0 posted 2020-02-01 priority 1 ratio 4 react 16 reactrate 0 shares 1 sharesrate 0 sumclicks 4 title Gandhi is gone. The work of burying his legacy topic theory wordrate 0 words 22 ID 1065028877174964 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1065028877174964 audclicks 4 audreach 3 engaged 13 impress 77 likeclickusers 12 likeimpress 11 likeuimpress 69 likeusers 11 likeuusers 69 matchedlinkclicks 2 matchedotherclicks 2 oimpress 77 oreach 73 posted "02/01/2020 09:51:20 AM" postlinkclicks 2 postotherclicks 2 reach 73 sharesimpress 1 sharesusers 1 type Link ========== You don't believe in hell? https://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/leonard-pitts-jr/article239615228.html The most hellish part - the people running the place enjoyed normal lives and never thought twice about it. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-51279900 == topic theory ===== comments 1 hide 1 impact 76 impactrate 0 likeimpress 12 negative 1 posted 2020-01-29 ratio 2 react 28 reactrate 0 shares 3 sharesrate 0 sumclicks 11 title You don't believe in hell? topic theory wordrate 0 words 27 ID 1062988254045693 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1062988254045693 audclicks 11 audreach 8 commentsimpress 1 commentsusers 1 engaged 19 hideclicks 1 hideclicksusers 1 impress 83 likeclickusers 17 likeimpress 12 likeuimpress 77 likeusers 12 likeuusers 74 matchedotherclicks 11 negclicks 1 negusers 1 oimpress 83 oreach 77 posted "01/29/2020 12:52:00 PM" postotherclicks 8 reach 77 sharesimpress 3 sharesusers 3 type Link ========== "polarization exists for structural reasons having to do with the incentives created by U.S. institutions" https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/01/24/why-red-blue-america-cant-hear-each-other-anymore/ And a lot of it can be traced by to 1619. == topic theory ===== impact 20 impactrate 0 negative 0 posted 2020-01-25 ratio 2 react 7 reactrate 0 shares 1 sharesrate 0 sumclicks 6 title "polarization exists for structural reasons having to topic theory wordrate 0 words 29 ID 1060319280979257 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1060319280979257 audclicks 6 audreach 2 engaged 2 impress 20 likeclickusers 2 likeuimpress 16 likeuusers 16 matchedlinkclicks 1 matchedotherclicks 5 oimpress 20 oreach 17 posted "01/25/2020 08:09:32 PM" postlinkclicks 1 postotherclicks 2 reach 17 sharesimpress 1 sharesusers 1 type Link ========== Nobody is looking forward to the 22nd century! https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/24/opinion/sunday/william-gibson-agency.html OK Boomer, you remember when Mickey Mouse Club had a segment dedicated to "You, the citizens of the 21st century!" Well now we are they, but nobody is looking forward to the 22nd century, because there is no current basis for optimism. Is that the century when we find out what's behind the Fermi Paradox? http://www.liberty-and-justice.net/ == topic theory ===== impact 0 impactrate 0 negative 0 posted 2020-01-24 reactrate 0 sharesrate 0 title Nobody is looking forward to the 22nd century! topic theory wordrate 0 words 66 ID 1059492054395313 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1059492054395313 impress 15 likeuimpress 10 likeuusers 10 oimpress 15 oreach 11 posted "01/24/2020 06:07:52 PM" reach 11 type Link ========== Bipartisanship has always been an uphill struggle. Partisanship in American politics dates back to 1619 - when the first slaves were unloaded in Virginia - and is as strong as it ever was, shown in Trump's obsession with undoing everything done by Obama. https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/five-myths/five-myths-about-bipartisanship/2020/01/17/35853dca-3873-11ea-bb7b-265f4554af6d_story.html Ideological convictions seldom change. Instead, political calculations change, and so bipartisanship on controversial issues only works, especially in the Senate, when senators perceive that inaction carries a higher political risk than action. And now partisanship is exacerbated because partisan rants get better ratings on talk radio, cable news, and social media. General-election voters say they like bipartisanship but primary-election voters keep voting for furious partisans. Adopting ranked-choice voting, abolishing sore-loser laws, and eliminating gerrymandering are steps that states could undertake on their own to reduce the partisan advantage. http://www.political-scrapbook.net/democracy.html At the Federal level, the most important reform would be eliminating dark money in politics. == topic theory 1 ===== impact 270 impactrate 0 likeimpress 3 negative 0 posted 2020-01-18 priority 1 ratio 2 react 18 reactrate 0 shares 2 sharesrate 0 sumclicks 13 title Bipartisanship has always been an uphill struggle. topic theory wordrate 0 words 150 ID 1054495458228306 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1054495458228306 audclicks 13 audreach 5 engaged 7 impress 51 likeclickusers 7 likeimpress 3 likeuimpress 38 likeusers 3 likeuusers 36 matchedotherclicks 13 oimpress 51 oreach 46 posted "01/18/2020 06:08:04 AM" postotherclicks 5 reach 46 sharesimpress 2 sharesusers 2 type Link ========== The Libertarian fallacy. People actually want help from society at large with the problems that are too big for individuals to solve by themselves. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/01/02/libertarianism-is-losing-its-grip-conservative-thought-good/ That means organizations, and that means bureaucracies, and that means bureaucrats - and bureaucrats can lose sight of the reason that they were created and empowered and become self-referential. That's why it's good to have competing kinds of organizations - governments, corporations, unions, etc, to act as a check on each other. http://www.political-scrapbook.net/theory.html#registration == topic theory ===== hide 1 impact 16 impactrate 0 negative 1 posted 2020-01-03 ratio 5 react 2 reactrate 0 sharesrate 0 sumclicks 1 title The Libertarian fallacy. topic theory wordrate 0 words 79 ID 1040722422938943 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1040722422938943 audclicks 1 audreach 1 engaged 1 hideclicks 1 hideclicksusers 1 impress 15 likeclickusers 1 likeuimpress 9 likeuusers 9 matchedotherclicks 1 negclicks 1 negusers 1 oimpress 15 oreach 10 posted "01/03/2020 01:25:31 PM" postotherclicks 1 reach 10 type Link ========== A theory for which ideas work politically and which don't. Turns out politicians are followers rather than leaders. https://www.mackinac.org/OvertonWindow == topic theory ===== impact 19 impactrate 0 likeimpress 2 negative 0 posted 2020-01-03 ratio 4 react 9 reactrate 0 shares 1 sharesrate 0 sumclicks 6 title A theory for which ideas work politically and which don't. topic theory wordrate 0 words 21 ID 1040719342939251 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1040719342939251 audclicks 6 audreach 3 engaged 3 impress 46 likeclickusers 3 likeimpress 2 likeuimpress 15 likeusers 2 likeuusers 14 matchedlinkclicks 2 matchedotherclicks 4 oimpress 46 oreach 40 posted "01/03/2020 01:20:04 PM" postlinkclicks 2 postotherclicks 2 reach 40 sharesimpress 1 sharesusers 1 type Link ========== hubris, nemesis, disillusionment, decadence https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/28/opinion/sunday/2010s-decade-disillusionment.html == topic theory ===== impact 0 impactrate 0 negative 0 posted 2020-01-01 reactrate 0 sharesrate 0 title hubris, nemesis, disillusionment, decadence topic theory wordrate 0 words 7 ID 1039136679764184 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1039136679764184 impress 16 likeuimpress 12 likeuusers 12 oimpress 16 oreach 13 posted "01/01/2020 09:50:26 PM" reach 13 type Link ========== William Barr's new Syllabus of Errors - restoring the medieval theocracy. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/29/opinion/william-barr-trump.html Arm in arm with Pius IX and Putin to repeal the Enlightenment that guided America's Founders, in favor of a theocratic dictatorship. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syllabus_of_Errors == topic theory 1 ===== comments 1 impact 63 impactrate 0 likeimpress 9 negative 0 posted 2020-01-01 priority 1 ratio 2 react 17 reactrate 0 sharesrate 0 sumclicks 7 title William Barr's new Syllabus of Errors - restoring the topic theory wordrate 0 words 37 ID 1039133299764522 URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1039133299764522 audclicks 7 audreach 6 commentsimpress 1 commentsusers 1 engaged 11 impress 41 likeclickusers 11 likeimpress 9 likeuimpress 36 likeusers 8 likeuusers 35 matchedlinkclicks 1 matchedotherclicks 6 oimpress 41 oreach 37 posted "01/01/2020 09:44:24 PM" postlinkclicks 1 postotherclicks 6 reach 37 type Link