Branch Trumpvidians 3: Too Many Deplorables

[Cartmann99]

Trump calling on OAN during press conferences was brought up recently, so I thought some of you might enjoy watching this:

 

Edited April 6, 2020 by Cartmann99

[AmericanRose]

Oh dear. John Oliver did make me laugh a few times, but my mother watches OAN ('cause you know, Fox is being too hard on Trump!) and it worries me to see them getting attention. From the president.
It does not, however, surprise me to hear that the blonde is Trump's favourite.

[Cartmann99]

Liz Wheeler has responded to John Oliver's segment about OAN:

 

[HerNameIsBuffy]

9 hours ago, Cartmann99 said:

Liz Wheeler has responded to John Oliver's segment about OAN:

 

The irony of her calling John not smart broke part of my brain.

[Cartmann99]

11 hours ago, HerNameIsBuffy said:

The irony of her calling John not smart broke part of my brain.

The part where she referred to his "Boomer social media practices" is what got me. It's extremely unwise while attempting to mock Oliver, to take a jab at the generation who makes up the bulk of her audience.

Don't bite the hand that's keeping you blonde, Liz.

[Henri205]

OAN is shocking. I was getting my car serviced at the dealership a few months ago and they were running that nonsense in the waiting room. 

[GreyhoundFan]

I would have to work hard to not flip off someone wearing this shirt:

 

[JMarie]

Who would order this?

https://www.ispot.tv/ad/onVl/chess-2020-battle-for-the-white-house-memorialize-the-election-song-by-john-knowles-michael-taylor

[Xan]

There's now a growing movement of rightwingers who are protesting the quarantine.  From the marvelous Digby's blog:

 

But this isn’t really new, is it? The hardcore right believes they have the god-given right to kill the rest of us. This is fundamental to their notion of what constitutes “liberty” — the right of another to stay alive never supersedes the right of others to kill you, whether from a virus or a gun or a lack of health care if you are sick. Under Trump it’s become a death cult.

That they fatuously call themselves “the party of life” because they care more about a potential life inside the womb than they care about any actually living human being is particularly rich.

I am not surprised they are doing this. In fact, I’m surprised it took them so long.

So am I, Digby.  So am I.

 

[GreyhoundFan]

18 hours ago, Xan said:

There's now a growing movement of rightwingers who are protesting the quarantine.  From the marvelous Digby's blog:

 

But this isn’t really new, is it? The hardcore right believes they have the god-given right to kill the rest of us. This is fundamental to their notion of what constitutes “liberty” — the right of another to stay alive never supersedes the right of others to kill you, whether from a virus or a gun or a lack of health care if you are sick. Under Trump it’s become a death cult.

That they fatuously call themselves “the party of life” because they care more about a potential life inside the womb than they care about any actually living human being is particularly rich.

I am not surprised they are doing this. In fact, I’m surprised it took them so long.

So am I, Digby.  So am I.

 

There's an article in today's WaPo about this: "Why Fox News and Republicans are promoting a social distancing backlash"

Spoiler

The social distancing backlash is here.

Like many such eruptions of anger, it’s partly genuine and partly fed by political actors with their own preexisting agendas — in this case, mostly to rescue President Trump’s imperiled reelection campaign. And it will get ugly.

On Wednesday in Lansing, Mich., thousands of protesters came to the state capitol to demonstrate against the stay-at-home order issued by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D). Though Michigan now has the fourth-highest total of covid-19 cases of any state, with nearly 2,000 deaths, the protesters argued that Whitmer’s order is unnecessary and overly strict.

“It wasn’t really about the stay-at-home order at all,” Whitmer said later on MSNBC. “It was essentially a political rally.”

Indeed, the event was organized by the Michigan Conservative Coalition. Though many protesters stayed in their cars, many others congregated on the sidewalks, making a point of not wearing masks. But some were wearing MAGA hats and carrying Trump signs, and Confederate flags appeared in the crowd (though I’m sure that was just about Michigan’s … um … heritage?). Similar though smaller protests have occurred in North Carolina and Ohio.

After the Lansing protest, Fox News swung into action, praising the protest on multiple programs. A representative of the MCC was interviewed on Tucker Carlson’s show Wednesday night, then came back for another interview on “Fox & Friends” Thursday morning.

The unmistakable message being communicated is that stay-at-home orders are a leftist plot, and conservatives should be rejecting them. It’s all over right-wing media:

• Fox News host and occasional Trump adviser Jeanine Pirro praised the Michigan protesters: “God bless them, it’s going to happen all over the country.”
• Pirro’s colleague Laura Ingraham tweeted a video of the protest, adding, “Time to get your freedom back.”
• Rush Limbaugh accused Whitmer of being a pawn of Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer.
• Twitter troll and acting director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell posted a picture of the Constitution with the caption “signed permission slip to leave your house.”

The natural comparison to make with these efforts is the tea party eruption, and there are some points of similarity, including conservative media fanning the flames of anger and the overblown rhetoric about liberty (though hopefully we can do without the Founding Father cosplay this time).

But the more useful comparison is to Donald Trump’s election itself.

Specifically, the way Trump’s campaign was built on the anger of working-class white voters, especially men. Like the protests against social distancing, it was based in legitimate grievances that were exploited by powerful forces on the right for their own political and economic ends. Those grievances were then channeled into an act — voting for Trump — that was primarily expressive in nature.

Liberals are quick to attribute the white working class’s support for Trump to racism and xenophobia, and there’s no doubt they played an absolutely critical role. But it’s impossible to ignore the fact that when Trump told voters in Rust Belt towns that the “the system” was rigged against them, they had reasons to think he was right.

They’d watched for years as union representation declined, stable manufacturing jobs departed, health coverage grew more costly, and wages stagnated. The recovery after the Great Recession left many people no better off than before. Unemployment was low, but if the only job around is one at Walmart and opioids are ravaging your town, it’s hard to feel like everything is going great.

Trump spoke directly to that dissatisfaction — then layered on top of it a heaping portion of hate directed at immigrants, minorities and liberals. Never mind that “draining the swamp” turned out to be more tax cuts for the wealthy and making it easier for corporations to exploit workers and befoul already-struggling communities.

Many of his voters have chosen to ignore his actual agenda, so intoxicated are they with the idea of giving a giant middle finger to the forces they thought were holding them down.

The pain people are now feeling is even more acute. Twenty-two million Americans have filed for unemployment, wiping out a decade of job gains in weeks. In Michigan, roughly a quarter of the workforce is now unemployed, an absolutely stunning figure. None of us have seen anything like this in our lifetimes.

If you’re not sick and you don’t know anyone who has died, it’s natural to say, “Why are we doing this? Why can’t we go back to work?” Then along comes a bunch of Fox News hosts and conservative activists who tell you, “You’re absolutely right. You’re being forced to suffer needlessly. Those snooty liberals in their coastal cities who can comfortably work from home are just trying to screw you over.”

And once again, the solution being offered will only make things worse. Voting for Trump didn’t help people who live paycheck to paycheck, and defying stay-at-home orders will only give new life to the coronavirus, prolonging the pandemic and making it harder to recover economically.

But if Republicans can convince people that the only way to understand this crisis is through a partisan lens, they can tamp down difficult questions about Trump’s performance and minimize the political damage he’ll suffer, making it possible for him to win in the fall. That’s the goal, one they’re pursuing with all their usual cynicism — even as they fight against Democratic efforts to provide more support to those being hit hardest by the recession.

Could it work? Probably not, but it just might.

 

[AmericanRose]

53 minutes ago, GreyhoundFan said:

There's an article in today's WaPo about this: "Why Fox News and Republicans are promoting a social distancing backlash"

  Hide contents

The social distancing backlash is here.

 

 

Do these complete idiots understand that essential workers want them to stay home, and not go out shopping?
Do they understand that if hospitals are over-run, people who didn't need to die will die?
Do they understand that if healthcare workers get sick, hospitals will become under-staffed, and people who didn't need to die will die?
Do they understand if farmers, processing plant workers, packaging workers, warehouse workers, transportation workers, stockers, get sick, we will be screwed?

Do they understand the more they keep doing this, the longer we'll be told to stay home?

What a bunch of mindless morons.

[fraurosena]

50 minutes ago, AmericanRose said:

Do they understand the more they keep doing this, the longer we'll be told to stay home?

But, this is precisely what the repugliklans trumplicans want. Only if everybody has to stay at home and they can't go out to vote* (or worse, if people are too ill to go out) will they have even the slightest chance of staying in power. 

So of course the trumplican politicians and propaganda machine are feeding the covidiots raw meat misinformation like this. Their political lives are worth so much more than your actual ones.

*note that mail in voting is being smothered right now and they are idly standing by whilst the struggling Postal Service goes under

[AmericanRose]

@fraurosena Possibly... but I can see how that could massively backfire on them. Of course, we don't know what the second wave of COVID-19 will do, but right now it's affecting older people, who are more likely to vote Republican. And of course, those that are going out protesting about how they're losing their freedom (?) are also more likely to vote Republican, and are also putting themselves in harm's way. Even if you put up impediments to voting, you're still at a disadvantage if you kill your base (or even if they 'just' get sick, and/or know someone who gets sick/dies, and finally realise Fox News was spouting shit).

ETA: I'm from rural Michigan, so losing the USPS would royally piss off the rural folk who can't pay $$$ for shipping. This is a place where Democrats could greatly benefit from messaging because you know Republicans are going to blame them if the USPS goes under!

Edited April 16, 2020 by AmericanRose

[thoughtful]

On 4/13/2020 at 7:51 PM, JMarie said:

Who would order this?

https://www.ispot.tv/ad/onVl/chess-2020-battle-for-the-white-house-memorialize-the-election-song-by-john-knowles-michael-taylor

On the red side, Trump is the king, and Pence is  . . .the queen.

https://chess2020.com/

Yeah, I'm 12.

[fraurosena]

7 hours ago, AmericanRose said:

@fraurosena Possibly... but I can see how that could massively backfire on them. Of course, we don't know what the second wave of COVID-19 will do, but right now it's affecting older people, who are more likely to vote Republican. And of course, those that are going out protesting about how they're losing their freedom (?) are also more likely to vote Republican, and are also putting themselves in harm's way. Even if you put up impediments to voting, you're still at a disadvantage if you kill your base (or even if they 'just' get sick, and/or know someone who gets sick/dies, and finally realise Fox News was spouting shit).

ETA: I'm from rural Michigan, so losing the USPS would royally piss off the rural folk who can't pay $$$ for shipping. This is a place where Democrats could greatly benefit from messaging because you know Republicans are going to blame them if the USPS goes under!

Oh, but I didn’t say they were smart. 
 

[Ali]

18 hours ago, AmericanRose said:

Do these complete idiots understand that essential workers want them to stay home, and not go out shopping?
Do they understand that if hospitals are over-run, people who didn't need to die will die?
Do they understand that if healthcare workers get sick, hospitals will become under-staffed, and people who didn't need to die will die?
Do they understand if farmers, processing plant workers, packaging workers, warehouse workers, transportation workers, stockers, get sick, we will be screwed?

Do they understand the more they keep doing this, the longer we'll be told to stay home?

What a bunch of mindless morons.

Here is what they would say:

1) How dare you tell me I cannot go buy seeds from big box stores when it is snowing! How dare you tell me I cannot buy an American flag even though that evil liberal female governor clarified that buying an American flag is permissible!

2) Fake news! Hospitals are empty and they are laying off nurses.

3) Fake news! Everyone had the virus in November and December.

4) Fake news! See above.

5) See number 3. 

#KAG #Trump2020 #MyGovernorisanidiot

I do not agree with any of the above. 

This virus has more affect on people of color. I have seen a lot of blame placed in Detroit. I automatically assume racism when I see it.

 

Edited April 17, 2020 by Ali

[front hugs > duggs]

Republicans are all about the government not being allowed to tell them what they can do, until it comes to the government telling women what they can or can't do with their bodies.

[AmericanRose]

1 hour ago, Ali said:

Here is what they would say:

 

My mother just loves Trump, but she's all for me staying home (though her habits are unchanged): something bigger than the virus is happening, didn't you know!

[GreyhoundFan]

Sadly, I can see many BTs saying this:

 

[GreyhoundFan]

I thought "republicans" were supposed to love the actual US flag?

 

[47of74]

On 4/17/2020 at 3:29 PM, GreyhoundFan said:

I thought "republicans" were supposed to love the actual US flag?

 

What pisses me off is that if these people were anything other than white conservatives the police and national guard would have been there in force.  I called Walz out on it too that he needs to be pressing for these fucksticks to be dealt with the same as how the Ferguson Nazis police force dealt with the minority community there when they had enough of their Kluxer bullshit.

[Alisamer]

On 4/17/2020 at 4:06 PM, GreyhoundFan said:

Sadly, I can see many BTs saying this:

 

My boss made a point of saying "I've never got money from a democrat, you know."

Never mind that there was a stimulus check several years ago, and that this is a once-a-century global crisis unlike anything that's happened in his lifetime before...

[47of74]

Actually I think seeds for food should be available for sale and I think the Governors who are doing this are incredibly shortsighted about our food supply.  Especially if our food supply goes south having people able to grow their own food can help.  Some of these things aren’t the kind of things that can wait until July or August to be planted and there’s a pretty limited window for planting stuff. 
 

[AmericanRose]

3 hours ago, 47of74 said:

Actually I think seeds for food should be available for sale and I think the Governors who are doing this are incredibly shortsighted about our food supply.  Especially if our food supply goes south having people able to grow their own food can help.  Some of these things aren’t the kind of things that can wait until July or August to be planted and there’s a pretty limited window for planting stuff. 
 

Well, seeds are still available online and in smaller stores. But from memory, seeds at Meijer and Walmart were placed on movable racks that you definitely can't practise social distancing with. I suppose they could move them, though.

ETA: And by move them, I mean put them in an area where they can be more spread out.

Edited April 23, 2020 by AmericanRose

[Audrey2]

3 hours ago, AmericanRose said:

Well, seeds are still available online and in smaller stores. But from memory, seeds at Meijer and Walmart were placed on movable racks that you definitely can't practise social distancing with. I suppose they could move them, though.

ETA: And by move them, I mean put them in an area where they can be more spread out.

I checked out Burpee's and Gurney's, two seed catalogues that my dad always poured over and ordered from, and, as of April 8 or 9, they weren't accepting any more orders until after the 15th. Not sure what they are saying now.

Just checked- Gurney's said orders may be delayed. Burpee doesn't have a Covid banner delay announced.

Edited April 24, 2020 by Audrey2
new information and spelling