Don't blame me, I voted for the other guy. (Politics General)

@CaptainXtra
Federal courts generally have no jurisdiction over state courts unless under certain circumstances.

Nigel Farage got milkshake’d again. Can we go for three one day.

Two weeks ago, I mentioned how the vandalism of a Shoah memorial in Paris was, in fact, proven to be a Russian psy-op.

And guess what? They made another attempt last Saturday (this time playing on a Russian hoax about French soldiers killed in Ukraine, by leaving fake coffins filled with plaster bags near the Eiffel Tower), only this time they didn’t manage a clean getaway: the cops immediately caught the driver of their truck (a 38-year-old Bulgarian who had already been linked to the aforementioned memorial’s vandalism and, upon being interrogated, confessed having also been paid for participating to the spray-painting of stars of David previously mentioned in this thread), and then his two accomplices (a 16-year-old Ukrainian and a 25-year-old German) got nabbed as they were trying to board a bus to Berlin.

@Ereiam
EU countries need to start charging people like this with proper shit, espionage, terrorism, etc. But I expect just “littering” and a strongly worded “We’re concerned” letter to the Russian embassy that won’t make it past the first secretary.

@The Smiling Pony
Russia’s already denied having anything to do with it. Not that their denials are fooling anybody.

So I hear that Biden is focused on the border.

GOP is likely angry at him for trying to take out one of their key platforms and the Progressives are calling him a fascist.

Being a president really sucks.

@CaptainXtra
Yes. Same as every time Biden has done exactly what the GOP asked for, they lose their shit when he does.

Stephen Miller, a man who would absolutely build concentration camps if he could, lost his shit screaming about how Biden is a “monster” for turning away asylum seekers and that the move was somehow “pro child trafficking”.

The man who engineered the strictest anti-immigration polices under Trump went after Biden for enacting a Trump era policy.

The GOP is a parody of itself and anyone that still votes for them after this shitshow is an idiot.

@Zincy
See, the thing is, those people need to have enough self-awareness to actually figure that out to begin with.

I honestly don’t understand what outflanking the GOP to the right on border policy is supposed to accomplish here. It’s pandering to people who weren’t going to vote for him regardless, and only making it harder and harder for progressives to justify voting for him.

Obama did this in 2014 in an attempt to show “moderates” that he was tough on immigration, and it didn’t win Democrats a single extra vote. Instead, 2014 was a very good year for Republicans.

To his credit this is a different time and different circumstance. Unfortunately, Republicans have been somewhat successful in making it a mainstream issue, far more so than in 2014.

It’s terrible, and most people are misinformed about immigration, but democrats failed to control the narrative, so now they have to jump into it with the window firmly shifted away from more open immigration policies.

Well that’s a terrifying prospect, and not just for immigrants and asylum seekers. A few weeks ago someone I follow claimed Democrats can and will discard LGBTQ people the instant that they decide they’ve become a political liability. If Republicans succeed in maintaining the narrative on that issue and turn public opinion against folks like me and mine, we’ll be screwed.

Already seems to be happening in places what with Sens. Fetterman and Casey (or, allegedly in the former’s case, his staff without consulting him) pulling support for funding for a LGBTQ center in Philadelphia after Libs of Tik Tok “reported” on it hosting sex stuff, and Governor Newsom vetoing a bill to protect the rights of transgender minors.

It’s an uncomfortable possibility, though I believe a less likely outcome.

Public perception of LGBTQ+ people (on the whole, specific subgroups not withstanding) is much higher than that of immigrants.

For better or worse, tribalism is likely to blame. “The Gays” are still part of “our tribe”, here in the US. Where immigrants represent an outside force. Very much a “devil you know” thing for a lot of Americans. The dems have also done a better job of controlling that narrative, and keeping it focused on human rights.

No one is worried about “the gays” coming to take jobs, or bringing hitherto unknown “crimes” to the country. So your average Joe and Jane don’t give as much of a shit about them. Even the trans issues are not giving the reps nearly as much mileage as immigration.

Let’s hope the GOP continues to get less mileage out of anti-trans attacks. Last thing I want is for my partner and a big chunk of my friend circle to be forced to flee the US.

In other ignoble news, Bill Maher tried to make that case (emphasis on ‘tried’) that Trump should not get jail time, arguing that doing so would trigger a race war. Specifically he thinks “MAGA nation will go nuts” because Trump was convicted by a Latino judge and a Black District Attorney.

Will the Trumpists throw a shitfit about it? For sure. Are they dumb enough to try to start a civil war over falsified business documents? Guess we’ll find out.

The Brain Worm Party is shaping up to be interesting.

Kennedy’s early support has collapsed, his aggregate unfavorable rating on 538 has risen to 48% unfavorable with a 33% favorable. This decline has an interesting caveat, and this is where shit gets spicy. The drops are occurring in left and moderate voters. Kennedy’s highest favorable ratings are among Republicans/right leaning folks and…Hispanics for some reason.

Recent swing states polling has Biden’s lead in several swing states grow when Kennedy is included. The biggest being Wisconsin where Biden gained an average of 7 fucking points against Trump when RFK was inculded.

The reasons are manifold, chief amoung them is that Kennedy’s campaign appeals to mostly far-right crowds.

Kennedy has tanked a lot of his support among the youth for his anti-vax and heavily (more than Biden) pro-Israel stances. He’s alienated centrist and fiscal conservatives with his isolationist rhetoric. He’s alienated the left for, obvious reasons…

But, stop me if this sounds familiar. What kind of crowd would a xenophobic, isolationist, anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist who questions the legitimacy of our elections, speaks foundly of dictators, and is prone to jingoistic populist rants appeal to?

It would be THE funniest fucking thing if Kennedy’s New Bruh-Tier is what wins Biden a second term.

@Zincy
The death of Orange Man will be Kennedy and Biden.

I haven’t even registered to vote. But I know I’m not voting Trump.

Kennedy is running 3rd party right?

@Kiryu-Chan
Independent actually.

Senate Republicans have voted to ban a bill that protects the right to obtain contraceptives.

SCOTUS threatened to go after birth control after they struck down Roe, and the GOP continues to attack access to it. So among other things, if Republicans have their way then there is no “safe sex”: everytime you get horny, you better be ready to have another baby.

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Trump had another interview. As always, the things he says is almost as telling as the things he doesn’t.

Pro GOP Women are prime “slugs for salt” fodder.

@Dustcan
“Attention all women: the contents of your uterus is property of the state! No exceptions!”

Insiders are saying that Trump’s VP picks have come down to North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum and US Senators Marco Rubio of Florida, Tim Scott of South Carolina, and JD Vance of Ohio.

Of the 4, Vance and Scott would do the most damage to his campaign. Burgum would be helpful, so let’s hope he’s not the pick. And Rubio would be a neutral pick.

@Zincy
Lets hope Vance and Scott are the best at sucking his dick, because that’s what Trump values the most.

You know, it would be hilarious if one day during a speech he just goes into a daze and talking about actually sucking dick, like he’s reliving a fond memory. Bonus points in he pops a boner live.

@Zincy
Rubio is a neutral pick. It ain’t gonna be Rubio sorry to say that. Why is it gonna be Vance and Scott at the end of the day.