Something is wrong with this split-screen picture. On one side, former president Donald Trump rants about mass deportations and claims to have stopped ā€œwars with France,ā€ after being described by his longest-serving White House chief of staff as a literal fascist. On the other side, commentators debate whether Vice President Kamala Harris performed well enough at a CNN town hall to ā€œclose the deal.ā€

ā€¦

Letā€™s review: First, Harris was criticized for not doing enough interviews ā€” so she did multiple interviews, including with nontraditional media. She was criticized for not doing hostile interviews ā€” so she went toe to toe with Bret Baier of Fox News. She was criticized as being comfortable only at scripted rallies ā€” so she did unscripted events, such as the town hall on Wednesday. Along the way, she wiped the floor with Trump during their one televised debate.

Trump, meanwhile, stands before his MAGA crowds and spews nonstop lies, ominous threats, impossible promises and utter gibberish. His rhetoric is dismissed, or looked past, without first being interrogated.

  • @[email protected]
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    1ā€¢23 days ago

    Oh I get it. You literally canā€™t read anything longer than a tweet. You should have said that before hand. Again, the bill was a clone of a far right Republican bill from a year before that had even more items that Republicans wanted.

    The border security bill ā€“ nearly identical to legislation House Republicans passed last year ā€“ was an attempt by House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana to quell growing hard-right dissatisfaction

    Jerry Nadler of New York, said the bill was a ā€œfoolhardy attempt to pass for a second time one of the most draconian immigration bills this Congress has ever seen. This rehashing of H.R. 2 is a joke.ā€

    https://dondavis.house.gov/media/in-the-news/us-house-votes-down-border-bill-favored-conservatives

    The 370-page border bill that Democrats signed off on reads like a GOP wish list. Perhaps thatā€™s because Republicans helped write the bill (though many of them promptly turned around and helped tank it after Donald Trump announced his opposition) ā€¦ the legislation is a complete concession to the worst aspects of Trumpism that Biden and Democrats purportedly ran against in 2020

    https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/harris-trump-election-border

    While policies narrowing access to asylum and expanding the border wall were once demonized by Democratic Party leaders, they are now a core element of party orthodoxy,

    https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/democrats-border-bill-wrong/

    If passed in its current form, the Emergency National Security Supplemental Appropriations Act would be the most sweeping immigration bill of the twenty-first century. It would overhaul the process for seeking asylum in the United Statesā€”and impose an ā€œemergency authorityā€ that would leave asylum fully out of reach for those crossing between ports of entry for much of the next three years. It would attempt to address issues like work permits and years-long waits for asylum seekers, and also raise the initial standard a person must pass in order to access our asylum system.

    https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/analysis-senate-border-bill

    Literally can do this all day. You want me to go on? Probably no since youā€™re not gonna read any of that anyways or pretend those things donā€™t actually say what they say. You argue like Ben Shapiro (pejorative).

    republicans killed the bill ā€˜because it goes too far to crack down on the borderā€™, then thatā€™d be democrats moving to the right of Republicans

    Lol, desperate, desperate, desperate. Thatā€™s not that I said and thatā€™s not why they killed it. The bill IS farther right than anything that Republicans passed through the house. As you even admit, they only killed it because Trump didnā€™t want to give Democrats a ā€œwinā€. Then every Republican internally admitted that the border bill was the ā€œbest oneā€ they would have ever gotten and gave them everything they wanted and more. Like it or not, that IS running to the right of Republicans. Can the Republicans change their stance and go farther right? Yeah of course, theyā€™re fascists. But it doesnā€™t change the fact that Democrats were willing to go farther right than even fascists were proposing.

    First offā€¦technically,

    So she didnā€™t substantively say what youā€™re straight up lying about her saying? Apology accepted.

    She gave an open-ended answer about gender affirming care

    So ā€œopen endedā€ that she actually said nothing of substance. Iā€™ve been arguing with people on the internet for decades and this is probably the most pathetic attempt to weasel away from a politicians words Iā€™ve EVER seen. Itā€™s a yes or no question and she refused to answer.

    Timestamp me the part where she says ā€œnoā€.

    She didnā€™t say no. But thatā€™s not how political support works. When you support something you say it loudly and clearly (e.g. ā€œI support M4Aā€) When you donā€™t support something you weasel out of it. (ā€œDo you support M4A? - Well I support Americans getting access to the coverage they need as part of an important conversation between themselves and their doctorsā€). Thatā€™s how politics works and only a literal child doesnā€™t understand that.

    to because it was too hard

    Because it was irrelevant and you were rambling. I never said shut off all fossil fuel tomorrow and you are once again just making up stuff to respond to and get big mad about. Why would I respond to you just making new stuff up when thereā€™s so many other places in this conversation that youā€™re also making stuff up that need to be addressed.

    Those voters donā€™t want Kamala to end the filibuster or to reign in the SCOTUS because thatā€™s bad for moderate and conservative politics, the politics those people believe in.

    Bro they donā€™t want any of Kamalas policies either! Thatā€™s the point. If you want ANY chance of getting these people out of the grasp of fascist Trumpian progapanda you need toā€¦ articulate. a. clear. alternate. vision. to. fascism. You are NEVER going to win them over by doing fascism lite. You are never going to win them over by running to the right - because the fascists can always just move more right. You will never win them over with feckless centrism. You MIGHT win them over by confronting their world view over a long period of time and making a MORAL case for why fascism is wrong. If you are not confronting the MORAL implications of fascism because you are agreeing with the base premises you are going to lose.

    Are you saying Iā€™m wrong to assume YOU arenā€™t voting for Kamala, or to assume youā€™re talking about not voting for Kamala in general? Iā€™ll hold onto both those assumptions for a bit longerā€¦

    Again, I personally am not voting for Kamala because our election system is a joke and I live in a safe blue state and do not have to vote for her. I have not said anything about telling anyone else how to vote - I canā€™t speak to anyone elseā€™s personal situation.

    Again, it doesnā€™t matter what you think, it matters what targets of Trumpā€™s appeal think.

    Do you not know how arguments work? Do you know where you are right now? What Trump supporters are part of this conversation? This is an online argument between you and me. I am arguing the things to you that I believe are correct. Because thatā€™s how arguments work. Did you expect me to come out here and argue for the opposite of what I believe?

    Even though thatā€™s just what YOU want, hence my accusation of projection that youā€™ve so far not addressed.

    Yes, itā€™s the strategy that I PERSONALLY BELIEVE is the best. That is why I am arguing for it, here on the internet. Presumably you donā€™t believe the same which is why youā€™re arguing something different. Thatā€™s how conversations work. Jesus Christ, can you even pass the Turing test? You see a turtle in a desert lying on itā€™s backā€¦

    • @[email protected]
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      1ā€¢22 days ago

      Again, the bill was a clone of a far right Republican bill from a year before that had even more items that Republicans wanted.

      You appear to be conflating bills.

      HR 3602, the focus of your first 2 quote blocks AND your first link is a REPUBLICAN bill. It was shot down overwhelmingly by democrats. Even Jerry Nadler, the guy your 2nd quote mentions, is a Democrat badmouthing the bill. (You conveniently cut right through the part of the text that said he was a Dem, which couldā€™ve clued you in that this doesnā€™t back you.)

      HR 3602 IS a clone of HR2, the Republican immigration proposal from last year, but itā€™s the wrong bill. The bipartisan border bill was HR815, before the border provisions were ripped out. BEFORE that happened, your very own 2nd link had this to say about the billā€™s substance:

      Beyond the enforcement measures, the scuttled Senate bill she supports includes 50,000 more green cards for employment and family-based visas for each of the next five years, which would be the first increase to legal immigration since 1990; funding for more asylum officers; government-funded legal representation for migrant children, which would be a first; and a pathway to citizenship for Afghans paroled in after helping the U.S. government during the war. The Democratic Party platform moreover includes plans to strengthen the legal immigration system, address case backlogs, increase digitization of immigration processing, and maintain high levels of refugee resettlement.

      Your ā€œthenationā€ quote acknowledges that it is, in fact, written in part by Republicans. But it otherwise doesnā€™t really get into policy details so as far as Iā€™m concerned itā€™s just prose.

      And your ā€œamericanimmigrationcouncilā€ quote conveniently leaves out the very next sentences: ā€œIt would expand additional visas and future green card availability and offer a pathway to citizenship to Afghans, while also significantly increasing detention capacity. It is a mixed bag.ā€ I wouldnā€™t interpret ā€œmixed bagā€ to mean ā€œright of fascismā€.

      Thatā€™s not what I said and thatā€™s not why they killed it.

      What you said was itā€™s ā€œright of fascistsā€. To me ā€œright of fascistsā€ either means thereā€™re Republicans saying ā€œwhoa, this might be too extremeā€ or it means that comparing the democratic proposal and the republican proposal, the democratic proposal goes further right. In this case, HR2 is the republican proposal, HR815 was the bipartisan proposal. Can you come up with substantive differences where HR815 is MORE radical? If not, what you meant by your exaggeration doesnā€™t matter, itā€™s still an exaggeration.

      The bill IS farther right than anything that Republicans passed through the house.

      We agree that Democrats moved right on immigration. But thatā€™d necessarily mean that this proposal is to the right of previous compromises made in the House. Doesnā€™t mean ā€œto the right of fascistsā€.

      As you even admit, they only killed it because Trump didnā€™t want to give Democrats a ā€œwinā€.

      Yes

      Then every Republican internally admitted that the border bill was the ā€œbest oneā€ they would have ever gotten and gave them everything they wanted and more. Like it or not, that IS running to the right of Republicans. Can the Republicans change their stance and go farther right? Yeah of course, theyā€™re fascists. But it doesnā€™t change the fact that Democrats were willing to go farther right than even fascists were proposing.

      Slow down a sec. ā€œEveryā€ Republican said it gave them ā€œeverything they wanted and moreā€? Again, youā€™re exaggerating. Yes, ā€œsomeā€ Republicans admitted that it was ā€˜the toughest deal they were gonna getā€™, but that just means it was ā€˜the best compromise Dems were willing to giveā€™. (Like your own 2 links said, the substance of the bill contained stuff obviously to the left of Republicans.) From my POV, this was 2 parties meeting in the middle, closer to the right than democrats have ever gone, but still the middle.

      So she didnā€™t substantively say what youā€™re straight up lying about her saying? Apology accepted.

      Lol, you donā€™t have to make it a big deal, just proof-watch your own stuff next time

      So ā€œopen endedā€ that she actually said nothing of substance. Iā€™ve been arguing with people on the internet for decades and this is probably the most pathetic attempt to weasel away from a politicians words Iā€™ve EVER seen. Itā€™s a yes or no question and she refused to answer.

      Firstly, when you have to say youā€™ve been ā€œarguing with people on the internet for decadesā€, either thatā€™s true andā€¦something you should reflect on, or youā€™re just a kid lying about his/her age.

      Secondly: again, her answer was ā€œthat is a decision that doctors will make in terms of what is medically necessary. Iā€™m not going to put myself in a position of a doctorā€ How is that not equivalent to ā€œwe shouldnā€™t be restricting access to gender-affirming careā€, gender-affirming care being the specific focus of the question she was asked?

      She didnā€™t say no.

      Yay! We agree!

      But thatā€™s not how political support works. When you support something you say it loudly and clearly (e.g. ā€œI support M4Aā€) When you donā€™t support something you weasel out of it. (ā€œDo you support M4A? - Well I support Americans getting access to the coverage they need as part of an important conversation between themselves and their doctorsā€). Thatā€™s how politics works and only a literal child doesnā€™t understand that.

      Disagree with your analogue. The real question/answer is closer to ā€œBroadly speaking, do you support abortionā€ - ā€œWell, I belive that Americans should be able to have that conversation with their doctors, and I shouldnā€™t have a say in thatā€. Iā€™m personally fine with that answer to that question.

      I never said shut off all fossil fuel tomorrow

      No, you said we should be ā€œtaking it as seriously as the end of the world doomsday scenario it isā€. And the most appropriate action combat a threat of that magnitude is to shut off fossil fuels tomorrow. But thatā€™s obviously not pracical, because it can lead to backlash and the US doubling down harder on fossil fuels. So the point is: where do we draw the line between urgent climate action and practical, long-term climate action?

      you are once again just making up stuff to respond to and get big mad about.

      ā€œget big mad aboutā€? Kinda outting yourself further as a kid there, lol

      I feel like weā€™re going back and forth as far as the next paragraph is concerned, except for this nugget:

      You MIGHT win them over by confronting their world view over a long period of time and making a MORAL case for why fascism is wrong.

      I agree with you on that. I think thatā€™s what many of those people need - someone to confront them with patience and empathy, who can slowly deradicalize them over time. But itā€™s not Harrisā€™ job to deradicalize them, or to show them an ā€œalternate worldviewā€, thatā€™s the job of a Trump supporterā€™s loved ones. Harrisā€™ first job is to win the election, no matter what she needs to say (ā€˜weā€™ll be tougher on immigration going forwardā€™) or not say (ā€˜weā€™re gonna overhaul the courtsā€™). Her second job is to do the things that need to be done as president. And if Harris gets elected and she neither does anything about the courts, nor does she do anything about the filibuster by end of 2028, then youā€™ll have been right to suspect her of not being ā€œTHAT strongā€ on abortion. But no matter what she says now, we simply wonā€™t know that until end-of-term.

      What Trump supporters are part of this conversation? This is an online argument between you and me.

      Yes, a discussion between you and meā€¦that started with being about Trump supporters. The beliefs that Trump supporters have is relevant to a discussion about Trump supporters.

      Yes, itā€™s the strategy that I PERSONALLY BELIEVE is the best. That is why I am arguing for it, here on the internet. Presumably you donā€™t believe the same which is why youā€™re arguing something different.

      Not saying I donā€™t want her to BE a progressive candidate. Iā€™m saying itā€™s foolish for her to campaign like sheā€™s the polar opposite of Trump. I donā€™t really care how she campaigns, as long as her campaign sits literally anywhere on the spectrum between ā€œunabashedly socialist/communistā€ and ā€œa little left-of-centerā€. I think sheā€™s closer to left of that spectrum than youā€™ll admit, but regardless of how she actually leans, I donā€™t think itā€™s wise for her to campaign to the left side of that spectrum - there are MILLIONS of centrists looking for an excuse not to vote for Trump, and there are WAY MORE of them than progressives who will ONLY vote for her if she campaigns like a radical leftist.

      Oh I get it. You literally canā€™t read anything longer than a tweet. You should have said that before hand. You argue like Ben Shapiro (pejorative). this is probably the most pathetic attempt to weasel away from a politicians words Iā€™ve EVER seen. Why would I respond to you just making new stuff up when thereā€™s so many other places in this conversation that youā€™re also making stuff up that need to be addressed. Do you not know how arguments work? Thatā€™s how conversations work. Jesus Christ, can you even pass the Turing test? You see a turtle in a desert lying on itā€™s backā€¦

      The harder you go on the insults, and the exaggerations, the more convincing it is that youā€™re either too chronically online for your own good, or a kid, or both.

      But Iā€™m actually not saying those things to insult you, just trying to point out behaviors that you should consider toning down on. Iā€™m sure flaming can be fun, but itā€™s not very good for your own mental health - it can degrade your ability to empathize and affect your real life relationships more than you might think.

      I know Iā€™m just a random internet strangerā€¦but just food for thought.