I mean, this is exactly what’s true for bands, so it makes perfect sense for comedians. I ran a couple of shows for my college, gigs where we could pay a band maybe 2 or 3 grand (sometimes we could sweeten the deal with other stuff, like a place to crash for the night or a free dinner). Obviously we weren’t getting…

You are completely politically illiterate if you aren’t aware that a Senator has significant sway in their home state. Given your comments I suppose that should be expected.

If one party uses demagoguery and the other talks policy the former has a strong tendency to win, based on the historical record. Assuming the fundamental maturity and intelligence of voters is a losing bet. Appealing to racism, tribalism, and base emotions is more effective than making a policy argument. Emotional…

That’s not an answer. That party is then outflanked and loses. Appeals to good values don’t overcome systemic bias. Democrats have spent years continuing the notion of bipartisanship while Republicans gerrymandered or sought other legal avenues to shut out their opposition. What have Democrats gotten for their…

He’d leave a dozen comments if I ignored him, he’s left a dozen if I didn’t. I understand the position you’re putting forth but I’m not sure what I did really influences the behavior one way or another. I’ve got enough experience with his ilk to be confident it’s not that simple. Some of them really couldn’t care less…

The oft-assumed connection between the financial crisis and the far-right hasn’t held up well to scrutiny, particularly given the far-right has been drawing heavily from educated and relatively well-off classes. The idea that their base is primarily working class doesn’t mesh with the reality. Even in Europe, you look…

Well the problem is there’s superficial change and there’s structural change. The definition of “liberal” vs “illiberal” democracy in modern political science aren’t always naturally intuitive to people who grew up on American-style civics lessons (where terms are muddy and misused constantly) because there are a lot…

There is a point; he’s a piece of shit and it’s important to express that, even if I know there’s no real chance he (it’s always a he) listens or learns. Ignoring them is the right call 9 times out of 10, but right now I think taking a moment to push back, despite it being pointless, fills a social need for those of…

Normally I let rabid pieces of shit like this wallow in the greys, but this dishonest cretin has pissed me off.

It’s a global far-right system, enabled heavily by social media as well as friendly media outlets. It lets the far-right punch well above their weight in actual numbers, which is why they’re so obsessed with shifting the Overton window.

Liberal democracy existed only after the Civil Rights movement, prior to that the US was an illiberal democracy at best (arguably closer to herrenvolk, though the line between the two is often muddy). A big part of the problem is that illiberal history. The bigotry we’re seeing now is a reflection of that era,…

The biggest problem is none of this matters. This will sound like hyperbole, but it’s not. This is a full shift into illiberal democracy, the kind of polity you see in Hungary, or Poland, or Israel. Where power is more important than norms, institutions are playthings for power politics, where the majority uses…

Please dismiss the troll responding to you. I think today of all days we don’t need their worthless kind infesting these threads. 

Feinstein was talking about it, among others. The stories didn’t get that much run given all the other stuff, but I can confidently say it was put into the party talking points at one point. Unfortunately by then the process was completely tainted and it was irrelevant. By the time we had clear evidence he lied Trump…

This is war. On minorities, on American institutions, on the entire concept of liberal democracy. The GOP is nothing but soulless power-hungry creatures now. They’ll cheat and use any dirty tactic they need all while lying directly to the American public about what they’re doing.

Bullshit false equivalence. Democrats have actually held some of their own to account, unlike Republicans. 

Democrats have been hitting that point, it’s been part of the regular talking points, it just doesn’t matter. There’s not enough people unconvinced who will listen to evidence at this point, the lines were already drawn and Republicans have emotionally invested in him to the point it doesn’t matter that he lied. 

I’m already taking stock of my whiskey and mixers. When they shove Kavanaugh onto the court the rights of a lot of Americans will become partisan playthings. So I’m going to “do a Kavanaugh” and get drunk. 

Wittes is an intelligent person, which makes it even worse. I sometimes read Lawfare. He’s not irredeemable, which makes his behavior even more infuriating. I can write off Tucker Carlson without regret, but someone who is so frustratingly close to understanding their faults is harder to do. 

I wouldn’t doubt it, given how slow they are to ban literal neo-Nazis and how often they let hate groups get a pass. I mean I’ve reported some blatant “I hate Jews they’re ruining the world kill the Mudslimes” accounts dozens of times before they take action. That’s not a borderline case.