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Messages 1 - 62 of total 62 in this topic |
survival
Big Wall climber
Terrapin Station
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Topic Author's Original Post - Feb 5, 2016 - 01:55pm PT
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Right Wing Extremists Are More Dangerous Than Isis
http://www.newsweek.com/2016/02/12/right-wing-extremists-militants-bigger-threat-america-isis-jihadists-422743.html
Read the article.
Clearly, these were not the typical “Islamic terrorists” described in the boogeyman stories of American politicians who exploit fear for votes. Glendon Crawford, the industrial mechanic who conceived the plan, has all the panache of a Macy’s shoe salesman; Eric Feight, a software engineer who helped build the device, looks like a less impish version of Kurt Vonnegut. But their harmless appearance belies their beliefs—Crawford was a member of the Ku Klux Klan, and the plot he hatched with Feight involved killing scores of Muslims, as well as officials at the governor’s mansion in Albany, New York and at the White House.
They and untold thousands like them are the extremists who hide among us, the right-wing militants who, since 2002, have killed more people in the United States than jihadis have. In that time, according to New America, a Washington think tank, Islamists launched nine attacks that murdered 45, while the right-wing extremists struck 18 times, leaving 48 dead. These Americans thrive on hate and conspiracy theories, many fed to them by politicians and commentators who blithely blather about government concentration camps and impending martial law and plans to seize guns and other dystopian gibberish, apparently unaware there are people listening who don’t know it’s all lies. These extremists turn to violence—against minorities, non-Christians, abortion providers, government officials—in what they believe is a fight to save America. And that potential for violence is escalating every day.
“Law enforcement agencies in the United States consider anti-government violent extremists, not radicalized Muslims, to be the most severe threat of political violence that they face,” the Triangle Center on Terrorism and Homeland Security reported this past June, based on surveys of 382 law enforcement groups.
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survival
Big Wall climber
Terrapin Station
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 5, 2016 - 04:50pm PT
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White Nationalists Endorse Trump
http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/05/politics/donald-trump-white-supremacists-new-hampshire/index.html
Related story.
"We don't need Muslims. We need smart, educated, white people," according to the male voice on the calls, which began Thursday night and urge voters in New Hampshire to vote for Donald Trump.
Three white nationalist leaders have banded together to form their own super PAC in support of Trump, even though Trump doesn't want their support.
The American National Super PAC is funding the robocall effort, which is organized under a separate group called the American Freedom Party.
On its website, the American Freedom Party says it "shares the customs and heritage of the European American people."
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Craig Fry
Trad climber
So Cal.
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Good Topic
It needs a thorough analysis
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bluering
Trad climber
Santa Clara, CA
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surely this is a troll....
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nature
climber
Boulder, CO
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Angry white people don't want to talk about this.
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Fritz
Trad climber
Choss Creek, ID
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Bluering? Does Survival troll about these subjects?
Try to open your closed-mind. The extreme-right wing is a bigger threat to our society than Muslum Terrorists.
As Survival posted:
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survival
Big Wall climber
Terrapin Station
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 5, 2016 - 06:45pm PT
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382 law enforcement groups Blue. Read the article....
If you dare.
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two-shoes
Trad climber
Auberry, CA
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Do you mean Donald Trump?
I could see him using the right wing terrorist as volunteers for his very own Brownshirts.
Jesus, that's a scary thought!
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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Why is it so hard to accept that there are threats from a variety of sources?
ISIS (or whatever Islamic fundamentalist hate group). Check.
White supremacists? Check.
Brain-dead militias? Check.
Radical right-wing crazies? Check.
Radical left-wing crazies? Check.
Mexico-based drug syndicates? Check.
Etc. Etc. Etc.? Check
The list goes on. And on. And on. But most of you can only put a check mark beside the threat source that is your personal pet hate. Wake up.
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Fat Dad
Trad climber
Los Angeles, CA
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Terrific contribution from TradHog, the other "white" meat.
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nature
climber
Boulder, CO
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Why is it so hard to accept that there are threats from a variety of sources?
why ask? You really think you'll get a straight answer? We both know better.
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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why ask? You really think you'll get a straight answer? We both know better.
Yeah, I know, it's probably a waste of my time and ST's space.
But it does get frustrating, listening to endless one-sided posts about how everybody but MY TEAM is the problem.
Come back to the PNW and we can get wasted on Sake and commiserate about the brain-dead community of people -- climbers -- that really should be a source of enlightenment, but is just as caught up in "Me and My Team" as the rest of the world.
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survival
Big Wall climber
Terrapin Station
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 6, 2016 - 10:04am PT
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According to Arie Perliger, director of terrorism studies at the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point, the three ideologies within the violent American far-right are racist, anti-federalist and fundamentalist. Each has subgroups—the racists include white supremacy groups such as the KKK, neo-Nazis and skinheads, which can differ in subtle ways. The anti-federalists include militias, self-defined “patriot” groups and what are so-called “sovereign citizens,’’ who hold that they are legally bound only by their personal interpretation of common law and are otherwise not subject to federal, state or local laws. The fundamentalists are primarily Christian identity groups that believe the biblical war of good vs. evil is between descendants of Anglo-Saxon nations and all other ethnic groups. Tangential to the fundamentalists are the anti-abortion attackers, who also invoke religion as a foundational motive for their violence. These disparate groups of people—violent and nonviolent—pine for different versions of a highly idealized past.
I wonder which group is tradhog's favorite?
*Racist? (KKK, Skinhead, Neo-Nazi)
*Pro-life bombers? (Eric Rudolph or other religious end times groups)
*Anti-federalist? (Pretend soldier Patriot, McVeigh, Bundyesque)
Tim McNutjob
Kevin Harpham, attempted to bomb MLK parade.
Unsuccessful
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dirtbag
climber
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It's curious why tradhog and bluering are so defensive about this.
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Escopeta
Trad climber
Idaho
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Seems ironic that the lefties trot out Tim Mcveigh and one of them said the Bundy's were the number one domestic terrorist threat but haven't virtually all mass murders in recent history been carried out by democrats or those associated with the left?
Funny how one man's terrorist is another mans freedom fighter.
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dirtbag
climber
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^^^^ Maybe because they suspect this is the first step?
That the next step(s) may be labeling Christians, war vets,
pro-lifers, global warming deniers, etc. as potential domestic terrorists?
Yes, the illuminati and SPECTRE are coming to get you.
BOO!
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survival
Big Wall climber
Terrapin Station
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 6, 2016 - 12:10pm PT
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Escopeta, I didn't name them right wing extremists. I didn't write the article, nor am I a member of the 382 law enforcement groups they surveyed. Newsweek is not your typical National Enquirer publication, but a pretty respected news outlet for what, 80 years or so?
I'm just sharing something that I personally believe to be true.
But if you prefer to trust the militias, KKK, Neo-Nazi, and End Times groups over your own elected federal government, I guess that's your business.
“It needs to be very clear that these buildings will never, ever return to the federal government,” said LaVoy Finicum, one of the leaders of the armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.
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Escopeta
Trad climber
Idaho
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Isn't it curious how defensive Survival is getting about this?
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Fritz
Trad climber
Choss Creek, ID
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Escopeta. Re your assertion: Seems ironic that the lefties trot out Tim Mcveigh and one of them said the Bundy's were the number one domestic terrorist threat but haven't virtually all mass murders in recent history been carried out by democrats or those associated with the left?
My, my, you have been drinking conservative spew cool-aid again. You had nearly convinced me you actually, shudder, gasp, were a free-thinker.
Never mind.
From Examiner.com The idea that recent mass shooters are mostly registered Democrats is a myth http://www.examiner.com/article/the-idea-that-recent-mass-shooters-are-mostly-registered-democrats-is-a-myth
Based on the assertions of Roger Hedgecock a right-wing radio show host, the meme that the five worst recent mass shootings were committed by registered Democrats is making its way through e-mail chains and social media. Hedgecock asserts, without providing any evidence or sources, that the Ft. Hood shooter, the Virginia Tech shooter, the Aurora Theater shooter and Adam Lanza of Sandy Hook infamy were all “registered Democrats”. He acknowledges that Klebold and Harris (the Columbine Colorado shooters) were too young to be registered voters but asserts, again without providing any evidence, that Harris and Klebold’s parents were progressives or liberal Democrats. All of these charges are utterly baseless and perhaps do not even deserve a response. However, given the effectiveness of right-wing lies in saturating social media and duping the incurious (a far too numerous segment of the population), some more detailed debunking is in order.
To the best of my ability, I have attempted to research these claims with as much rigor as possible. If there is any evidence for or against my debunking, I welcome that evidence in the spirit of free inquiry. Let me also state that given that neither major political party condones mass shooter violence in any way, shape or form, and that all these acts are individual acts of violence that are not sanctioned by either elected Democrats or Republicans (at least not mainstream leaders in either party), the very notion that they are acting on behalf of a political party is itself problematic. This is not to say that mass shootings are apolitical acts, but rather it is to say that as political acts they may express an ideology (racism, misogyny, entitlement, psychosis, etc) but they do not in general express alignment with a political party or if they do it is not an association that the Democrats or Republicans would accept as legitimate (neither party wants to claim James Holmes or Adam Lanza as a member in good standing, no matter what Holmes or Lanza feels about them). In any case, we can categorically REJECT the notion that any of the shooters in question has been shown to be a registered Democrat on a case by case basis.
1. Nidal Hasan (the Ft. Hood shooter) lived in either Virginia (his state of residence prior to being sent to Ft. Hood) or Texas, neither of which has partisan registration. Therefore the claim that he was a "registered Democrat" is false. I do not know if he voted or how he voted, but I do know that unless he was registered in a state in which he did not reside, that the claim that he is a registered Democrat is FALSE.
2. Since Virginia does not have partisan registration there is also no way to tell whether Seung-Hui Cho was a Democrat, but again because there is no partisan registration in the state we can say that the claim that he is a registered Democrat is FALSE. (Update: A more obvious point is that Cho was a resident alien, not a US citizen, so he was not eligible to vote in the US)
3. The false allegation that James Holmes was a registered Democrat was based on a Breitbart blogger named Joel Pollack, who found voter registration records for a DIFFERENT James Holmes who was approximately the same age as the shooter James Holmes. Alex Jones’ Infowars and other right-wing websites then incredulously repeated the false information without verifying it. It was later determined that the Colorado Theater Shooter James Holmes was NOT registered to vote, as evidenced by this retraction: {Newly-released information on the suspect’s birthdate (which, as indicated in our initial report, was a slight mismatch), combined with new details Breitbart News has obtained about the suspect’s likely addresses, together suggest that the suspect may, in fact, not have been registered to vote.}. However, most conservative bloggers continued to promote the lie without printing the Breitbart site's retraction. The claim that James Holmes was a registered Democrat is FALSE.
4. The claim that Adama Lanza is a registered Democrat has been suggested based not on any evidence that he was registered as one, but on the rather dubious claim that because Connecticut has almost 2 to 1 Democratic registration over Republicans, he was probably a Democrat. (Claim: "Adam Lanza, NewtownConn murderer. Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by about a 2-1 ratio in Connecticut. The odds are therefore that the Lanza family are (sic) Democrats.") This of course is a bogus argument to begin with, but even if we were to make the claim that a mass shooter’s political affiliation must be the same as the majority of the people in his area, we can debunk this foolish idea by taking this shoddy analysis down to the local level. Yes, Connecticut voted for Barack Obama, BUT the city of Newtown voted for Mitt Romney. If we look at the results we find that Mitt Romney defeated Barack Obama in Newtown by 7451-6784 votes or 51.7 percent to 47 percent. Republican Senate candidate and Tea Party favorite Linda McMahon carried the city over Democrat Chris Murphy by an even larger margin. Add in the other information we have that Lanza’s mother was a “doomsday prepper” and a home schooler in a Republican-leaning city and we can pretty well dispense with the erroneous assumption that Lanza must have been a Democrat (UPDATE: According to at least one media source, Nancy Lanza was a registered Republican. The source does not provide a link, but the author of this article is seeking further confirmation). We can therefore claim that with no evidence to support the claim, the assertion that Lanza was a Democrat is not demonstrated and that in the absence of any evidence it is likely FALSE.
5. Klebold and Harris of course were not old enough to vote and they had no apparent political affiliation. Allegations that they came from families of Democrats or liberal progressives appear to have no sources to substantiate those claims. What little ideology the boys demonstrated owed mostly to an admiration for Timothy McVeigh not Ted Kennedy. Harris’ father was a retired Air Force pilot and Eric Harris wanted to join the Marine Corps. The boys lived in Littleton, Colorado a relatively conservative and affluent suburb of Denver. The claim that their parents were Democrats is UNSUBSTANTIATED. Any suggestion that the two boys were Democrats is demonstrably FALSE.
Interestingly, Hedgecock and those on the far right have conveniently overlooked a number of cases where ideology is clearly right-wing. The acts below are instances of right-wing violence that are unequivocally committed by people who are openly hostile to liberalism. While this does not mean these killers are Republicans, it is quite clear that they are RIGHT-WINGERS and that they have far more in common with Mr. Hedgecock, Alex Jones and the other gun-toting conspiracy nuts on the right than with any evils associated with the Democratic Party or liberalism. In addition, to the list below is the obvious case of Timothy McVeigh, who I have not included because his crime was not committed with firearms. It was however, committed by a right-winger and the carnage was on a massive scale.
For example, on July 18, 1984 James Oliver Huberty, who told his wife he hated “children, Mexicans and the United States” opened fire inside the McDonald’s Restaurant in San Ysidro, CA using a Browning P-35 Hi-Power 9mm pistol, Winchester 1200 pump-action 12-gauge shotgun, and an Israeli Military Industries 9mm Carbine (Uzi) – all legally acquired. He killed 21 and injured 19 before he was shot dead by police.
On Aug. 10, 1999 White supremacist Buford O. Furrow, Jr., fired 70 rounds with an Uzi-type submachine-gun inside the lobby of the Jewish Community Center in Granada Hills, CA wounding three children, a teenage counselor and an office worker. He then carjacked a woman’s Toyota at gunpoint, dumped it behind a motel and murdered US Postal Worker Joseph Santos with a Glock 9mm handgun.
On July 27, 2008 Former U.S. Army private, Jim David Atkinsson, who hated Democrats, liberals, African Americans and homosexuals, using a Remington Model 48 12-gauge shotgun, murdered two people and injured seven others inside the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church in Knoxville, TN.
The day after Obama’s inauguration, white supremacist Keith Luke went on a killing spree in Brockton, Massachusetts. His goal was to kill as many Jews, blacks and Hispanics as possible. When questioned by investigators, the deranged gunman who had stockpiled hundreds of rounds of ammunition, proclaimed that he was fighting the extinction of the white race.
A little over a month later, Dannie Baker, a former Republican campaign volunteer shot five Chilean immigrants in Florida. Those who knew him said he was obsessed with the fear that illegal immigrants were taking over the country.
In April of 2009, Richard Popalowski, a white supremacist in Pittsburgh, shot and killed three police officers following a domestic disturbance call. He apparently thought that Obama was part of a government conspiracy to seize all guns, and he feared the government would take his guns away.
Later the same month, a Fort Walton Beach Florida man who thought the Obama administration was conspiring against him, shot and murdered two sheriff’s deputies.
On May 31, 2009 Dr. George Tiller was murdered in his own church by a right-wing “pro- life” gun man who decided to express his belief in the sanctity of human life by executing a medical doctor.
Eleven days later a right-wing white supremacist and Holocaust denier walked into the National Holocaust Museum and killed an African-American security guard. Two weeks later, three Neo-Nazis were arrested for bombing a diversity office in Scottsdale, Arizona.
On April 20, 2010 a member of the Sovereign Citizen movement was arrested after a failed attempt to take over a Tennessee county courthouse.
Exactly one month later, in West Memphis Arkansas, Sovereign citizens Jerry and Joe Kane murdered two police officers before they themselves were shot and killed in the ensuing shoot out with police.
On July 18, 2010 Byron Williams, an angry unemployed man, was arrested by police after they discovered a car full of weapons and ammunition that he had planned to use to kill progressives. He was on his way to the non-profit Tides Foundation Center, a favorite target of vitriol from Glenn Beck’s radio show.
On Jan. 8, 2011 22-year old Jared Lee Loughner killed six people, including a judge and a nine-year old child, and wounded 13 others, including U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), using a 9mm Glock 19 pistol during a public meeting in a supermarket parking lot near Tuscon, AZ.
On Aug. 5, 2012 Wade Michael Page, a 40-year old white supremacist and U.S. Army veteran murdered six people and wounded four others inside a Sikh Temple in Oak Creek, WI with a Springfield XD(M) semi-automatic pistol.
Speaking for myself, I am surprised that you would ever think that liberals would be capable of using firearms. I thought that was an important conservative myth?
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Escopeta
Trad climber
Idaho
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I just like getting the lefties all riled up. Seems to have worked on you. The righties are all riled up by default and this is much more fun.
EDIT. Nice wall of text btw. You can drop the mic and walk off after that one.
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nature
climber
Boulder, CO
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Another liberal pinko commie with a gun for ya fritz.
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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"We need smart, educated, white people,"
Yes, we need smart, educated people. Part of that means we have to keep pointing out just how ignorant an uneducated statements like this are.
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Escopeta
Trad climber
Idaho
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Another liberal pinko commie with a gun for ya fritz.
With a murse. Lol
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kattz
climber
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Lunatics always can take over the country (not necessarily via armed uprising), no guarantees. Left or right wing, they're equally bad. Look at Europe now.... Good to have several citizenships... Just got to pray dollar won't get devalued while you're alive.
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WBraun
climber
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Lunatics are already running the country and more lunatics are getting ready to get voted into office this year to keep the insanity going.
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Escopeta
Trad climber
Idaho
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I like it. Would be a good Bumper sticker.
Clinton/Trump 2016....
Keep the insanity going
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bluering
Trad climber
Santa Clara, CA
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It's curious why tradhog and bluering are so defensive about this.
Because it's an unusual time to bring up right-wing extremism. Anytime there's an uptick in an Islamist terrorist threat or activity, we're always reminded that right-wingers are just as bad.
Not only is the right-wing extremism thing not an issue/threat to public, but you types are amazingly silent on real extremism.
There always has to be some equivocation. "Those right-wingers have done worse sh#t than those terrorists".
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tuolumne_tradster
Trad climber
Leading Edge of North American Plate
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Homegrown lethal terrorist incidents since 9/11...
http://securitydata.newamerica.net/extremists/deadly-attacks.html
Violent Jihadist Attacks
Total number of people killed:
45
Plot name Persons killed
2015 San Bernardino Shooting 14
2015 Chattanooga, TN Military Shooting 5
2014 Washington and New Jersey Killing Spree 4
2014 Oklahoma Beheading 1
2013 Boston Marathon Bombing 4
2009 Little Rock Shooting 1
2009 Fort Hood Shooting 13
2006 Seattle Jewish Federation Shooting 1
2002 Los Angeles Airport Shooting 2
Far Right Wing Attacks
Total number of people killed:
48
Plot name Persons killed
2015 Colorado Planned Parenthood Shooting 3
2015 Charleston Church Shooting 9
2014 Las Vegas Police Ambush 3
2014 Kansas Jewish Center Shooting 3
2014 Blooming Grove Police Shooting 1
2012 Tri-State Killing Spree 4
2012 St. John's Parish Police Ambush 2
2012 Sikh Temple Shooting 6
2011 FEAR Militia 3
2010 Carlisle, PA Murder 1
2010 Austin, TX Plane Attack 1
2009 Pittsburgh Police Shootings 3
2009 Holocaust Museum Shooting 1
2009 George Tiller Assassination 1
2009 Flores Murders, Pima County, AZ 2
2009 Brockton, MA Murders 2
2008 Knoxville, TN Church Shooting 2
2004 Tulsa OK, Bank Robbery 1
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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These days, Escopeta, I have to carry so many different glasses, pills, devices, that I now carry a murse (which can hide more weapons). So don't knock it.
Besides, looks like nature's got a .44
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Escopeta
Trad climber
Idaho
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No, it looks like he's likely to chip a tooth while firing a pistol.
Maybe he's got some temporary tooth repair in that murse.
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Crimpergirl
Sport climber
Boulder, Colorado!
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That's not Nature in the photo. That's Tarbuster. Classy people, classy.
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nature
climber
Boulder, CO
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That's not Nature in the photo. That's Tarbuster. Classy people, classy.
That's true. Roy just "borrowed" the .44
Leave it to a bunch of liberal newbs to spray such a wide cluster
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Escopeta
Trad climber
Idaho
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Based on that picture, I don't care who was running the pistol and who was taking the photo, but you are BOTH complete friggin morons.
You should have had that pistol taken away from you and beat to within an inch of your life with it just on principle.
At least the "extreme" militia men around here have enough basic common sense to shoot into a backdrop and not some stand of trees you can't see into.
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HighDesertDJ
Trad climber
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Escopeta posted Seems ironic that the lefties trot out Tim Mcveigh and one of them said the Bundy's were the number one domestic terrorist threat but haven't virtually all mass murders in recent history been carried out by democrats or those associated with the left?
No.
Based on that picture, I don't care who was running the pistol and who was taking the photo, but you are BOTH complete friggin morons.
You should have had that pistol taken away from you and beat to within an inch of your life with it just on principle.
Freedom!
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JEleazarian
Trad climber
Fresno CA
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While this thread drifted to violence and some rather questionable statistics promulgated from both ends of the political spectrum, both political parties are drifting toward their hind ends. Polling data from Pew and others show that populist extremes dominate both political parties pretty much everywhere.
All we need to repeat the Great Depression (i.e. the one in the 1930's, not the comparatively mild "great recession") would be for the U.S. to adopt the foreign and immigration policies of Cruz/Trump and the economic policies of Sanders. Those of us whose opinions lie somewhere between the extremes will be increasingly disenfranchised in either major party.
One conclusion, however, is that the first party that can extricate itself from its idiot faction will be the majority party for a long time to come unless the other party follows suit quickly.
John
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HighDesertDJ
Trad climber
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It's frustrating indeed. While I think that many of the policies that make Sanders an appealing candidate to the left would be good for this country, we aren't going to achieve them by making him the Ted Cruz of the democratic party.
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JEleazarian
Trad climber
Fresno CA
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And for my part, I see Ted Cruz as the Barak Obama of the Republican party -- completely unable to obtain any support outside his own party. It's partly for that reason that I'd be inclinded to vote for Hillary over Cruz (and, of course, Trump), despite my serious reservations about her.
John
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HighDesertDJ
Trad climber
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Obama had tons of support outside his own party. Maybe you're thinking of Bush?
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JEleazarian
Trad climber
Fresno CA
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No. Both Presidents Bush, but particularly W. had significant support outside their party, and specifically with centrist Democrats. It was only after Dean, Reid and Pelosi took over the Democrats' leadership that the extreme partisanship emerged.
I find it ironic that one of the few areas where Obama has worked with Republicans - the TPP - has now become toxic to the extremes of both parties. I continue to maintain that foreign trade remains the area of economics least understood by the electorate.
John
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rbord
Boulder climber
atlanta
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I mostly agree John. But it's the same pressures in our evolving society that are affecting humans on the right and left (eg social media, 24 hour news cycle, etc.). I think as those pressures cause changes in how one extreme operates, that will trigger changes in how the other extreme operates.
As for the center being disenfranchised - I don't really buy it - we have the same rights and powers that we've always had, nothing has been taken away from us, we've just become less effective at influencing the extremes. It's not like our perspective has the right to be more influential, and that's been taken away from us ...
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JEleazarian
Trad climber
Fresno CA
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rbord, I agree about disenfranchisement at the national and statewide level, but gerrymandering has produced districts in California that are more likely to produce extreme outcomes. A liberal or even a moderate Democrat in my state legislative districts has no realistic ability to affect who the Republicans nominate. The registration in my districts, per the gerrymander, is overwhelmingly Republican, so the nominee almost always wins the election. When the extremes dominate the party, the extreme candidate most likely wins the election.
We tried to end this by taking selection out of the hands of the Legislature, but the commission didn't see maximizing the number of "contestable" districts as being particularly important. WIthout gerrymandering, extremes would have a harder time controlling the government. With it, we can end up with a government, such as that in California, more extreme than the electorate as a whole.
John
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c wilmot
climber
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Just go to the middle east and find out for yourself who is the real threat
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HighDesertDJ
Trad climber
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John posted It was only after Dean, Reid and Pelosi took over the Democrats' leadership that the extreme partisanship emerged.
John you have an impressively selective political memory when you choose to. The years you cite were all times when there were considerable numbers of blue dog democrats and even still some moderate republicans. Democrats swung hard to the right on many issues after 9/11 out of fear of losing those elections (and then lost them anyway as Republicans gerrymandered more conservative districts). Bush and company frequently put provisions into bills specifically to make democrats oppose them such as when they added the provision to strip labor protections from employees of the Department of Homeland Security. The democrats who conceived of the idea and authored the bill wound up voting against it as a result. This kind of thing happened over and over again and huge numbers of laws were passed under Bush with almost no democratic support. If we went back and took out those blue dogs, I'm willing to bet it would be strict party line a lot of the time. Trying to lay hyper-partisanship at the feet of Pelosi and Reid just because you started noticing it once you stopped agreeing with the legislation is more than a little disingenuous.
*edit* Also, arguing that the bipartisanship was due to the strength of congressional/presidential leadership instead of the willingness of dems to cooperate (and fear of the repercussions if they didn't) is a neat trick.
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NutAgain!
Trad climber
South Pasadena, CA
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It was only after Dean, Reid and Pelosi took over the Democrats' leadership that the extreme partisanship emerged.
That jumped out at me as odd too....
My first reaction is that governments will naturally tend toward extreme partisanship over time; even in multi-party systems, they must coalesce parties into voting blocks to get what they want... and often the decisions come down to yes/no, leaving only 2 choices. If people on each side feel strongly, they will dig in, and use whatever tools they have to increase their power. This means that we lose the ability to make per-issue decisions, and get stuck stuck with two factions that have pre-defined positions on all issues.
This evolution was accelerated in USA by the Contract with America in the 1994 campaign. It was very effective and gave more power to the Republicans when they used the single-block agenda with party members towing the line. That rewrote the rules, and basic game theory says that both sides have to do it now or they'll be crushed by the other side.
But to be fair, academic analyses of partisanship have shown an exponential rise over the last 60 years:
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0123507#sec008
Hmmm... lower left graph does show a serious drop-off in collaboration in 2000-2004 timeframe. Whether that is caused by policies of new Democratic leadership, or retirement of the old stalwarts who worked through the partisanship, or turn-over of seats to more fiery newcomers, changing policies and management within both parties, or something else, is a different question. I'm leaving it there for now, work break done for me.
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Sierra Ledge Rat
Mountain climber
Old and Broken Down in Appalachia
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I have been saying for years that Republicans are a greater threat to America, liberty and Democracy than any of our other enemies.
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Escopeta
Trad climber
Idaho
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than any of our other enemies. including but not limited to Democrats.
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rbord
Boulder climber
atlanta
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Yea I see what you mean. I guess for my part, that we humans are gravitating to extremes given current conditions like social media is just a natural part of who we are. That's not to say that we can't make it worse by gerrymandering legislative districts, or make it better by purposefully and consciously reaching across the aisle to embrace a perspective different than our own. But whether we see moving in a centrist direction or moving in an extremist direction as good or bad is something that we each decide for ourselves differently. And mostly I think we don't do it by consciously analyzing facts, but more by unconsciously responding to the pressures and constraints of our (informational) environment.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Well, Nut, we won't address the methodology, or lack thereof, but even
taking those graphs at face value it is pretty academic and, in the end,
it takes two to tango, or knott. ;-)
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survival
Big Wall climber
Terrapin Station
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 9, 2016 - 01:22pm PT
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Funny how one man's terrorist is another mans freedom fighter.
Freedom Fighter.
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Norton
Social climber
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Nutsagain said
Hmmm... lower left graph does show a serious drop-off in collaboration in 2000-2004 timeframe. Whether that is caused by policies of new Democratic leadership,
I assume you are talking about the national level
if so, from 2000-2006 this nation was "governed" by a Republican President,
Republican Senate and Republican House
could that reason possibly, maybe have something to do with the drop off in collaboration or is that merely coincidence?
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c wilmot
climber
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I find it funny the left has conditioned its followers to think that white men in the US are a bigger threat than Islamic terrorists.
I suppose you just cant make this stuff up....
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c wilmot
climber
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be afraid of cliven bundy...he might want to illegally let his cattle on your land...
be welcoming of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi..he only wants to rape your daughters and slice your throat....
remember- its cliven you need to worry about ....
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survival
Big Wall climber
Terrapin Station
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 9, 2016 - 02:40pm PT
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wilmot, you need to read the article too.
It's not Cliven, it's the whole array of Nazi, White Supremacist, Anti-Federalist, Militia, End Times groups.
Again, I didn't make it up. This was reported from 382 law enforcement groups. We do believe in laws and enforcing them don't we?
The part many people don't seem to understand is that they and all their weapons and explosives are already here, Baghdadi's are not.
At least we should be able to agree which groups have the largest current presence among us.
http://www.newsweek.com/2016/02/12/right-wing-extremists-militants-bigger-threat-america-isis-jihadists-422743.html
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Sierra Ledge Rat
Mountain climber
Old and Broken Down in Appalachia
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I find it funny the left has conditioned its followers to think that white men in the US are a bigger threat than Islamic terrorists.
Look at the numbers:
There are roughly 170 million right-wingers and republicans in the USA compared to a few thousand ISIS.
Millions and millions of right-wingers and republicans are registered to vote. Doubt that anyone from ISIS is registered to vote.
Millions of right-wingers and republicans are in official government positions in the USA. I doubt that anyone from ISIS is an elected USA government official.
So who is the greatest threat to America? The threat of ISIS is utterly trivial compared to the threat of republicans and right-wingers who have infiltrated our government.
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JEleazarian
Trad climber
Fresno CA
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There are roughly 170 million right-wingers and republicans in the USA compared to a few thousand ISIS.
Am I the only one appalled that the leading candidate of a major political party has called every member of her opposition party enemies of the country? Such rhetoric should be prima facie evidence of extremism. The sad thing is that I'd vote for her in preference to some Republican candidates I could name.
John
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Reptyle195
Trad climber
Ca
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There are three people you can never, repeat, never trust in this world.
Never trust an addict, they will always choose their addiction.
Never trust a coward, they will always.throw you under.the bus.
And never.trust an idealogue (extremist), they will twist everything they hear into a fit for their ideology, and if you dare disagree with them, they will pai t you as the worst possible sub- human.
Word to the wise...
D-<
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c wilmot
climber
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The numbers are clear?
how many have ISIS killed vs "right wing" terrorists?
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bluering
Trad climber
Santa Clara, CA
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Never trust an addict, they will always choose their addiction.
Never trust a coward, they will always.throw you under.the bus.
And never.trust an idealogue (extremist), they will twist everything they hear into a fit for their ideology, and if you dare disagree with them, they will pai t you as the worst possible sub- human.
Word to the wise...
D-<
yep.
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