What the fuck is wrong with America?
In a word: Conservativism.
[…] we can also trace a longer structural change in the imagination of the right: namely, the gradual acceptance of the entrance of the masses onto the political stage. From Hobbes to the slaveholders to the neoconservatives, the right has grown increasingly avware that any successful defense of the old regime must incorporate the lower orders in some capacity other than as underlings or starstruck fans. The masses must either be able to locate them selves symbolically in the ruling class or be provided with real opportunities to become faux aristocrats in the family, the factory, and the field. The former path makes for an upside-down populism, in which the lowest of the low see themselves projected in the highest of the high; the latter makes for a democratic feudalism, in which the husband or supervisor or white man plays the part of a lord.
-The Reactionary Mind: Conservatism From Edmund Burke to Donald Trump, by Corey Robin
Bobo pulls one off.
Quit jerking me around
I gotta give you a hand, y’all did a great job with these.
PUBLIC SEXUAL RELATIONS
LOUD NOISES
her vaping attracts bears.
That’s embarrassing for Colorado
On the other hand, this is a clear minority of Colorado. The state has turned solid blue over the past decade. This largely rural district no longer represents Colorado as a state. Much MTG’s largely rural district in Georgia no longer represents Georgia as a state.
Not a bad lesson from the silver linings playbook.
Yeah, I pulled that silver lining out of my butt pretty hard. At the end of the day, Boebert is a huge embarrassment for Colorado.
Wasn’t even close
7:37pt
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/06/25/us/elections/results-colorado-us-house-4-primary.html
How are so many people so incredibly stupid lol
Fox addiction.
I’m sure your question was rhetorical, but for those listening from the back: Decades of intentionally under-funding public education, for a start.
And go back even further, exposure to lead fumes from leaded gas in cars made an entire generation incapable of complex logical thought.
True. I literally think of that most days when I see older folks irrationally freak out at the smallest inconvenience. Not that this happens to most old folks, it’s just really remarkable when you do witness it. It’s really sad that they can’t control it, just too bad about the ones who gained power and used it to fuck everyone else over.
They were registered as “Republican” for the primary, so they draw from the two-digit IQ crowd already.
well fuck a duck
Don’t give her any ideas
Name recognition is a hell of a thing. It explains why shitty incumbents consistently get re-elected. Also, voters are so fucking stupid.
Also, voters are so fucking stupid.
Especially if they already have a Republican mindset.
People actually want that shit. God damn.
At least her cat fights with MTG are always a good reminder of how much of a cesspool the Republican Party really is.
Yeah, that’s great for some sleazy talk/[un] reality show. Not so great in government offices.
I don’t recall ever seeing Bobo and mtg both at the same time… pretty sure they’re just one Nazi who occasionally dons a wig and glasses.
Ok, as someone from Colorado, District 4 is super fucking rural… Think 23.3 people per square mile (District 1 is Denver, 4,678 people per square mile). These people are Trump people, and Boebert is a Trump bootlicker, this is not a surprise. She changed districts because she knew she couldn’t win her old district.
Colorado has 8 districts, so this is the result of 1/8 of the population, and easily the most red. This is not a representation of Colorado, Colorado is firmly blue and most of us fucking hate her guts.
Weird i assumed it was some kinky voyeuristic part of the country that gets off on public sex acts
As a district 4 resident I’ll add some more context (and reason why we need ranked choice voting nationally). The Republican primary was packed, with 6 total candidates. Boebert only got 43% of the vote, and the next closest was Sonnenberg at 13%. The non-MAGA conservatives spread their votes across all the other candidates. With ranked choice, it would be a much closer margin. I’m not saying she would have lost, but over 50% of voting repubs wanted someone else over Boebert.
The “good” news is Boebert is pooling poorly vs Dems in the district, which means we have a chance to flip district 4 blue in November.
This page has the election results https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-primary-elections/colorado-us-house-district-4-results
And heres the 538 page for CO district 4. https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/house/2024/colorado/4/
I don’t understand how the system in the US works at all. It seems like a very small amount of people with a very specific background vote on people. So there’s a ton of people getting elected all the time. But somehow the people who are elected make international news all the time? They seem very much not important and only represent a small part of the population.
Am I missing something? Why are these clowns like Bobo The Clown and Magic The Gathering getting so much attention? Who cares what some random idiots do, if they don’t actually have that much power to begin with.
The major problem is the way that rural populations are privileged in the ways they influence political outcomes. Of course, they get raw-dogged (economically) as a result of their stupid choices, but hey, they got to “own the libs” by inflicting assholes like beetlebert on the rest of us.
You’re right! If the Republicans had firm control over the house, these shit heads wouldn’t have the power they do. However, the current house has a razor thin margin, 213 Democrats and 222 Republicans, so losing 5 Republicans and they can’t pass anything. This has given that small portion of ultra right wing reps (Boebert, MTG, Gaetz, etc.) a ton of power over the Republican Party.
The more I learn about American politics, the more I think it’s the dumbest shit ever.
Extreme politicians having more leverage, in situations where the lead of the majoritiy party is very thin, is actually very common in most democracies.
The specific stupidity of the American democracy is the „winner takes it all“ rule which leads to a two party system.
You are correct.
What the actual fuck ?
Colorado, this is Florida speaking. What is wrong with you?
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but could legal weed have been a bad thing? That brand of fuckery is getting increasingly popular here in Canada too.
Slightly more seriously, I wonder if Long COVID really is messing up people’s brains to this extent. People who would have been on the fence about voting for someone like her before COVID were also the most likely to intentionally avoid protecting themselves from it. Are future historians going to look to that as the catalyst that collectively broke our brains?
People have always been this dense, it’s just that in the past, they were shamed for being bad people.
Now, they don’t hide their shittinest anymore because they found enough people to do the same.
Colorado has been super purple until somewhat recently. There’s lots of country folk (just like basically all non NE states)
Oh, I know. I was being facetious in my earlier comment. For the record, I’m vastly in favor of legal weed and occasionally partake in it myself.
Your perspectives suck and no one’s told you. This was maybe a time when you should’ve only asked a good question.
That’s not a judgement of you as a person.
Handjob McVape chose a ridiculously gerrymandered district. This is middle class wage slaves, rural property owners, and the employees of rural property owners (incl. oil workers on rented rights).
Pot smokers worldwide lean hard left or are unengaged with their political and activist proceses.
It’s not COVID making people stupid. They’re just stupid, always have been, and don’t know it. Humans have been choosing kings to conveniently let another reason and choose for them since the beginning of humanity. They’re not changing. You are.
Well, while I was also mostly joking with that second comment, respect for calling me out on it. For the record, I do know that people have always been this stupid and that much of the US is ridiculously gerrymandered. If anything I was maybe projecting a bit as I suspect I got COVID a few years back and my short-term memory has been off ever since. It’s been a point of concern for me as, I admit, it’s made me feel more stupid.
I do think people are getting worse, but in reality I blame misinformation campaigns for that.
The one thing I will (politely) disagree with in your comment is your characterization of pot smokers being hard left or disengaged with politics. I think it’s much more universal across the spectrum than you’re suggesting. Now that it’s legal in Canada it seems like everyone uses it to some degree. That’s an exaggeration but I’m continually shocked by some of the people I know coming out of the woodwork as users, and many are not even close to hard left (and are engaged in following news and voting for the party I loathe).
Anyway, respect again for sharing your opinion and I’m truly sorry if I offended anyone with my earlier comment. I’ll leave it up for the sake of posterity.
Stupider or wiser relative what? If we measure against a what it takes to live a wise life at the time then people are definitely getting stupider (and you are absolutely correct). The wisdom required is rising much more quickly than the wisdom possessed.
Perceptions are also easily swayed because we’ve been on an unusually long objectively (not relative) downward slope. Some think technology of communication the last nail in the coffin, that we will never begin to become wiser again. They may be right. You may be very, very correct. But, hope is an important thing. In this, I think one should believe what’s necessary for personal morale.
You made me think more about pot smokers. I think you’re correct. Even in my own observation they’re a much more diverse group than I present. And, I bet a lot of them keep their habit totally private.
I came down on you pretty hard there. I think you saw I wasn’t attacking you personally. You received it so well you even changed my perspective. This is why I’ve faith in humanity. We’ve still got the special sauce.
No hard feelings at all. I made a well-intentioned but dumb joke that wasn’t well-received and you had the guts to call me out on why people were reacting so badly. I respect that, and am always open to changing my perspective in the face of new evidence.
For what it’s worth, it sounds like we’re largely on the same side here. With Lemmy being such a small place, I even recognize your user name as someone I’m pretty sure I’ve come across before and thought, “this sounds like a smart person.”
Perceptions are also easily swayed because we’ve been on an unusually long objectively (not relative) downward slope.
I’m definitely with you here. I used to buy into the liberal notion that the world is objectively getting better (liberal as in the classic/European meaning, not how it’s typically used here in North America). I think that was largely true for a long time since WWII, and it’s probably still true in several metrics. Overall though, it feels we’re on a major downward trend in many places where it really matters such as the climate, wealth inequality, global strife, etc. I’ll admit that’s had me pretty demoralized but then I have some good interactions with folks in here that helps me see a little light in all the misery, so thanks for that.
Thank you for the compliment. But, in this facet the biggest difference between us is probably only how much time our parents bought us before we had to fend for ourselves. My ideas aren’t special, just regurgitated and stitched together pieces of work by actual smart people.
We’re on the same side because any reasonable and intelligent person is on our side. We came from all directions, reasoning our way to the same basic conclusions: It’s broken and humans suffer. We’ll sacrifice to fix it together.
Handburger Vaper
I’m trying really hard to keep the faith in my fellow Americans. This really makes it hard. 😩
Faith is what the conman calls denial.
Did she promise a handy to everyone?
Gross.
I’m so glad she got a happy ending.
