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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsStevie Van Zandt Says We Have Been At War For Years And Only One Side Is Fighting
He is talking about Republicans.
On Brian Williams.
That is kinda how I feel.
99% of Republicans are scum, lie constantly, and have power because we don't TAKE IT AWAY FROM THEM.
Democrats are way too nice in my opinion.
Sorry friends.
We can start by prosecuting CRIMINALS.
Rhiannon12866
(203,025 posts)Legendary musician, actor, and activist Stevie Van Zandt joins fellow New Jersey boy Brian Williams to discuss his storied career all detailed in his new memoir, 'Unrequited Infatuations.'
Drunken Irishman
(34,857 posts)Boomerproud
(7,889 posts)It will be too late.
brush
(53,475 posts)Of course I was a fan of his and the whole Sopranos crew, but he's got/had so many other irons in the fire that I wasn't aware of.
eTXwLA
(44 posts)Wounded Bear
(58,440 posts)Caliman73
(11,694 posts)I am not sure what people want when they say things like that. I understand that people are expressing frustration because of the seeming disparity, the whole "bringing a knife to a gun fight" thing. In fact, my wife and I got into a heated discussion about it after watching some Chris Hayes. She said, "The Democrats should do like the Republicans" meaning that we should have coordinated talking points and a media ecosystem dedicated to putting out liberal ideas. I tried to explain to her that the difference in "combat styles" are rooted in philosophical approach. I also tried to make her understand the reasoning and purpose behind the "conservative media ecosystem". She gets it, I think a lot of people get it, but it is highly emotional. People want to fight, and if you have ever been in a fight, there are typically no rules. Problem is a physical fight never really solves anything and may cause a lot more problems.
Democrats HAVE to fight by the rules. If we break the rules or the law to win, then what the hell are we fighting for anyway. Democrats are fighting to maintain our Democratic system. If we fight like Republicans, who are beyond democracy and who are shitting on democracy for POWER, then we have power just like them, if we win, but we do not have democracy. We may think that we can put democracy back together AFTER we win, but the reality is that we just burned the village down to save the village.
I don't know exactly what we can do, but the reality is that Democrats ARE fighting. Fighting and staying within the rules is very difficult, especially if your opponent has thrown the rules out. Like being in a boxing match and your opponent is throwing rabbit punches, and kidney punches, then starts kicking. If you start kicking too, then you are no longer in a boxing match and if you are dedicated to boxing, then you have lost what you value.
tinrobot
(10,848 posts)Sometimes that's the more difficult fight.
NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)Sigh... this is yet another bullshit "Democrats Suck" thread. It serves no good purpose at all. It only creates division and resentment. Even subtle backhanded smears like this cause distrust and suspicion. It's shit like that that weakens our party and creates a sense of negativity about Democrats.
stillcool
(32,626 posts)no one says anything about what the people that represent them are doing. No one names the Democrats that are way too nice, and what they should be doing as a Senator or a Congressperson to be meaner. No one says anything about the incessant noise coming from the GOP that involves no elected official, but large vocal PAC's. No one says what laws were provably broken by the criminals, and no one says anything about the wealth and power behind all things GOP. Even at this late date, they can't move beyond being fans at a sporting event, rather than being participants in a democracy right where where they live.
DanieRains
(4,619 posts)I have seen her on the Tee Vee 50 times, and never talks about the daily treason she is facing.
My Gawd.
Put Jim back in there.
At lease he will tell it like it is.
StarfishSaver
(18,486 posts)But what do you think would change if Pramila Jayapal went on television and, instead of talking about the work being done in Congress, she talked about "the daily treason she is facing"?
It probably wouldn't make any difference to you because you seem to already be aware of the problem. Do you think there are people watching her who aren't already aware of it? Are those people watching the same programs you're watching? Do you think there are people watching those programs who would say, "Wow! I didn't know any of that was happening but I saw Pramila Jayapal on MSNBC saying that she is facing daily treason and she really opened my eyes!"
FYI, Jayapal is one of a dozen or so Congresspersons suing Trump for trying to stop the vote count - she's appeared frequently on television to talk about the case.
NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)... and if they would just spend half as much time attacking the GOP and the other half challenging vulnerable Republican lawmakers, we may be able to flip enough seats to get a meaningful majority.
As it is, the ones who can only complain about Democrats (or challenge/primary Democrats they don't like) are the ones who weaken the party and who make things EASIER for the GOP.
StarfishSaver
(18,486 posts)Caliman73
(11,694 posts)The whole "Democrats are too nice" irritates me too.
What precisely should we be doing? Shanking Republicans on the Capital steps? I mean the violent aspects of me (in my youth) would have said, "Hell yeah! Shank a motherfucker" but that does absolutely nothing but get you into a whole hell of a lot of trouble, and destroys any credibility you may have had.
I think that it is okay to express frustration, but then, tell us what you think we should be doing that is better, and HOW we could accomplish what your suggestion is.
NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)LiberatedUSA
(1,666 posts)Stop worrying, our Democratic legislators are very much aware of the situation. Do you not think they see what is happening with the courts, with our Senate holdouts, with voting? They will do everything in their power to stop it.
We need to do our part and vote.
Kid Berwyn
(14,651 posts)Moscow Mitch prevented Democrats from even getting a vote on a nominee in 2016, then Putins Puppet installed three members 2017-2020.
StarfishSaver
(18,486 posts)including blocking him at every turn in his attempt to steal the election.
Kid Berwyn
(14,651 posts)But, yeah! Theyre regular guardians of oligarchy.
StarfishSaver
(18,486 posts)and deliver it to Trump and not only did they not do that, they smacked him down pretty aggressively. They have also handed him a string of defeats in other areas, as well, so, while the Court bears close watching, things aren't as cut and dried in every respect as some are assuming.
Kid Berwyn
(14,651 posts)Regarding Trumps appointees:
Excerpt
August 26, 2021: In a per curiumorder, a majority including Justices Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett ruled to end the nationwide eviction moratorium enacted during the COIVD-19 pandemic. Because of this decision, the Biden administration will be unable to protect between 6 and 17 million people mostly in communities of color who are behind on rent and in danger of eviction. The majority wrote that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention exceeded its authority by enacting the moratorium and argued that a continuing moratorium would cause irreparable financial harm to landlords. Dissenting, Justice Breyer argued that given the rise of the Delta variant, spiking cases, and the risk of transmission during evictions, ending the moratorium poses the far greater harm.
Continues
https://www.afj.org/our-work/supreme-court-cases/trump-scotus-watch/
StarfishSaver
(18,486 posts)DanieRains
(4,619 posts)Who want to never pay any real taxes.
That about sums it up.
F the rules.
Take scalps.
Kid Berwyn
(14,651 posts)Uncle Sam used to play referee. Now the ref hops off the same bus as brought the red team.
Jim Freeman, an attorney I respect, wrote about this in
Civil Rights Attorney Jim Freeman Explores How the Ultra-Rich Profit from Racial Injustice in New Book
The author of Rich Thanks to Racism says that while not all of the countrys ultra-wealthy are necessarily conscious of their complicity in upholding systems of inequity and oppression, it is happening nonetheless.
by Detroit Today | April 6, 2021
Over the last year, our nations issues regarding socioeconomic and racial inequity have been laid bare in all their stark dysfunction, and theres been a lot of discussion around the role of the ultra-wealthy in the perpetuation of these systems.
There may not be a more significant racial justice issue than the massive over-investment in the criminalization of people of color. Jim Freeman, Author of Rich Thanks to Racism: How the Ultra-Wealthy Profit from Racial Injustice
Jim Freeman, one of the countrys leading civil rights lawyers, says that while not all of the countrys ultra-rich are necessarily conscious of their complicity in upholding systems of inequity and oppression, it is happening nonetheless.
Continues w link to Detroit NPR interview:
https://wdet.org/posts/2021/04/06/90816-civil-rights-attorney-jim-freeman-explores-how-the-ultra-rich-profit-from-racial-injustice-in-new-book/
For some reason, the author hasnt been invited on air by Corporate McPravda.
Caliman73
(11,694 posts)Yes. We are fighting against wealthy interests whose dual purpose is to not pay taxes AND also to impose a more explicitly hierarchical structure to society with them at the top and everyone else serving their interests in some way. That is what we are trying to prevent.
By "fucking the rules" what exactly are you proposing? Do we cheat? Steal elections? Suppress conservative voters by any means necessary? Spread untrue propaganda about conservative politicians and personalities? I am curious how that would look to you.
Also, by "taking scalps" are you implying that using violence is acceptable? Not sure what that would look like either and am curious as to how you see it happening.
DanieRains
(4,619 posts)Arrest the people who did crimes. Not political prosecutions.
There are thousands of tax cheats like TFG running around free. Get their scalps.
The Koch Empire is built on corruption. Take it down.
Just enforce the law.
Don't be afraid to arrest scum that should be behind bars.
Caliman73
(11,694 posts)Most great fortunes are built on corruption. We can look into Bill Gates, The Cook estate, Tom Steyer, Warren Buffet, and George Soros too. You do not become wealthy without breaking some laws or ethical guidelines.
So, prosecuting the Koch's or Trump for cheating on their taxes (which Trump is under investigation for) without also looking at say, Diane Feinstein, who has been in Senate for ever and whose husband was in on a company that was buying up Federal properties from the post office and got a windfall from it. Remember there was concerns that several Republicans AND Feinstein were possibly insider trading?
There are millions of tax cheats running around. Most of the wealthy ones have armies of lawyers that use their knowledge of the extremely complicated tax code to shield their client's from any serious penalties. There have been discussions about simplifying the tax code for decades because there are so many loopholes that someone with good attorneys can legally cheat the IRS. Both Republicans and Democrats have contributed to that. Obviously, in my opinion, Democrats have sought, in good faith, to be more equitable in legislation and the tax code. Republicans just want the wealthy to pay less and shift the burden of society onto the rest of us.
So, yes, I agree with you. We need to enforce the laws. Just know that those laws will catch some people that we may like, as well as "those scum". Remember that Rangel was under ethics investigations for a good long time, and there was Jefferson? the house rep that got caught with money in his freezer. People were also looking into Bob Menendez for some shady stuff. If we go after Republican scum and don't look into Democratic politicians too, then we will certainly be called out for political prosecutions.
For the record, I am all for going after ANYONE who is engaged in corruption, regardless of political affiliation. Regardless of whether I think they are cool or not.
Horse with no Name
(33,956 posts)And effective leadership (like in DOJ)
BradAllison
(1,879 posts)His battle with the music business against South African apartheid goes very deep.