Quo Vadis GOP?

[Valmy]

The return of the Satanic Panic is very tiresome. We have enough problems in the real world without nuts talking about demons all the time.

[The Larch]

Theo Wold @RealTheoWold

Every Red State will have to wrestle with the fetid, urban Leftist vote sinks. That begins with asking the basic question: why does the GOP continue to push the annexation/development of rural land that only grows the size and power of Leftist strongholds?

Unhinged tweet by a random internet weirdo Idaho's solicitor general.


How come so many rotten brained GOPers can freely insult entire parts of the country with no repercussions whatsoever?

[Valmy]

So...preserve all undeveloped land? Sounds like the GOP wants to embrace environmentalism and limit property rights.

How come so many rotten brained GOPers can freely insult entire parts of the country with no repercussions whatsoever?

They can get away with it because they are talking shit about groups that already are never going to vote for them and/or the people who do vote for them also dislike.

It is the urban/rural divide stuff.

Though it isn't like urban areas are 100% Democrat, they still need the 30%-45% of urban voters who do vote Republican. So, you know, might not be too smart. Like some big city Democrat calling all rural people racist hicks or some shit. Sure it may get the smug urbanites feeling superior but it isn't like every rural area is 100% Republican either.

[viper37]

Now that kids are safe from Trans and Drag queens groomers, they can safely marry their friendly adult Republican:
MO Republican pushing trans care ban suggests 12-year-olds should be allowed to marry

A Missouri Republican state senator this week suggested that children as young as 12 should be able to get married as he pushes legislation that would ban gender-affirming care for minors. "Do you know any kids who have been married at age 12? I do. And guess what? They're still married," state Sen. Mike Moon, an Ash Grove Republican, said Tuesday evening in response to questioning by state Rep. Peter Merideth, a St. Louis Democrat.

Moon made the comment during testimony in the House General Laws Committee over his bill that would ban all "gender transition procedures" for people under 18, which passed the Missouri Senate last month. Moon has attempted to frame his legislation as a way to protect kids as LGBTQ rights advocates call the bill an attack on the transgender community.

[...]

[Sheilbh]

This feels like a new record in time from arrest to polarising:

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸
@RepMTG
Jake Teixeira is white, male, christian, and antiwar.

That makes him an enemy to the Biden regime.

And he told the truth about troops being on the ground in Ukraine and a lot more.

Ask yourself who is the real enemy?

A young low level national guardsmen?

Or the administration that is waging war in Ukraine, a non-NATO nation, against nuclear Russia without war powers?

[grumbler]

Of course MJT is going to defend him.  He's a fellow member of the death cult.

[Oexmelin]

Republicans of Tennessee are « at war », for the future of he Republic. The whole world is watching them, to see if they will stand their ground.

Leaked audio from their meeting following the expulsion of two representatives.

https://jezebel.com/leaked-audio-reveals-tennessee-republicans-are-pissed-a-1850333736

[grumbler]

Cults demand loyalty.  That tape just shows that, like all other cults, the Death Cult demands total loyalty or expulsion.

[Syt]

https://www.vice.com/en/article/y3wdpv/arkansas-makes-it-illegal-for-minors-to-be-on-social-media-without-parental-consent

Arkansas Makes It Illegal For Minors to Be on Social Media Without Parental Consent

The state's governor signed a new bill requiring social media companies to obtain a photo ID of every new user, to prevent teens from lying on the internet more.

It is now illegal for anyone in Arkansas under 18 to be on social media without asking their parents, according to a new bill signed by the state's governor on Wednesday.

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders enacted the Social Media Safety Act, also known as SB396, in the latest legislative push to restrict children and teens from using social media.

"A social media company shall not permit an Arkansas user who is a minor to be an account holder on the social media company's social media platform unless the minor has the express consent of a parent or legal guardian," the bill states. "A social media company shall verify the age of an account holder. If an account holder is a minor, the social media company shall confirm that a minor has consent...to become a new account holder."


The bill requires social media companies to verify the age of any new user who lives in Arkansas, by obtaining a "digitized identification card, including a digital copy of a driver's license...Government-issued identification; or any commercially reasonable age verification method." Age verification must also be done through a third-party vendor, which is not to retain any identifying information of the individual after verifying their age.

If a social media company fails to do this, it will be subject to $2,500 fines per violation, and also pay for a family's legal fees if the family decides to sue.

It's not overtly clear how this bill will help, given that it is chock full of loopholes. The bill states that it does not apply to "news or public interest broadcast, website video, report, or event," any news-gathering organizations, any cloud service providers, or internet service providers who provide links to social media platforms.

An amendment introduced in the final days of negotiating the bill stated that subscription service providers and gaming services were exempt, but that "Social media company that allows a user to generate short video clips of dancing, voice overs, or other acts of entertainment in which the primary purpose is not educational or informative, does not meet the exclusion under subdivision (7)(B)(i) of this section."

The most affected social media company in question, then, would likely be TikTok, whose CEO was grilled by Congress for six hours last month about "protecting the children" and data privacy, and frequently accused of being an "extension of the CCP [Chinese Communist Party]."

This bill is the latest development in government officials trying to more strictly regulate what children and teens do on the internet, after coming to the realization that teens have been lying about their age on the internet since the dawn of the internet. Previously, age verification for certain social media platforms like Instagram and, back in the day, MySpace, involved clicking on a checkbox that affirms you are the required minimum age.

But now, in Arkansas—and also in Utah, which enacted a similar law a few weeks ago—it will be slightly more difficult to lie on the internet. Both of these bills also raise questions about infringing on the basic rights of younger users, who are often at the forefront of bills like these so that the government can look like it's protecting the children.

[Grey Fox]

This is the weirdest timeline. I guess she has to take away the socials if she wants the kids to go work.

[The Larch]

Big Republican donors getting cold feet on DeSantis due to his extreme social stances.

Top Republican donor sours on Florida governor's stance on social issues
Thomas Peterffy highlights actions of Ron DeSantis on abortion and book banning and warns against courting far-right


Top Republican donor Thomas Peterffy is halting plans to help finance the US presidential bid of Florida governor Ron DeSantis due to his extreme positions on social issues.

"I have put myself on hold," the billionaire told the Financial Times.

"Because of his stance on abortion and book banning . . . myself, and a bunch of friends, are holding our powder dry."

Though DeSantis has not formally announced a run, he has for months been considered former president Donald Trump's main rival for the Republican nomination for president in 2024.

But in recent weeks, the Florida governor's popularity among likely voters has wobbled as he has tried to appeal to Trump's far-right voter base while also presenting himself as an opponent with broader appeal.

DeSantis has aimed to ban books dealing with sexual and LGBTQ themes from Florida schools and supported a ban on abortions after six weeks in the state.

Peterffy said he no longer believed that DeSantis had the same odds to unseat Trump in the Republican primary than he did at the start of the year. "DeSantis seems to have lost some momentum."

Peterffy, who founded digital trading platform Interactive Brokers, has long been a top Republican donor. In 2022, he gave $7.7mn to individual Republicans' campaigns and to conservative political action committees, up from $7.2mn in 2020, according to OpenSecrets campaign finance data.

In January, Peterffy told the FT that he was a fan of DeSantis and was "looking forward" to backing a presidential bid by the governor.

But now, he says: "I am more reluctant to back him. We are waiting to see who among the primary candidates is most likely to be able to win the general, and then put all of our firepower behind them."

Until recently, Peterffy was the richest man in Florida with an estimated net worth of $26bn, according to Forbes. The title now belongs to Citadel founder Ken Griffin, worth $35bn, who relocated from Chicago to Florida last year for tax reasons. In 2022, Griffin donated $73mn to conservative campaigns, the most of any contributor, according to OpenSecrets.

Peterffy noted that he still supported the governor in his approach to business, including his battle with Disney. The company has gone head to head with the governor over Florida's "Don't Say Gay" bill, which restricts speech about gender and sexuality in schools.

"I think it's insane that a company would take a stand on gender issues," he said.

But if DeSantis continues to appeal to a far-right base of the Republican party to defeat Trump by banning books and restricting abortion access, "the Republicans have a very big problem".

[HVC]

So, America is getting trump again?

[Admiral Yi]

So, America is getting trump again?

I'll take that bet.

[The Larch]

So, when did guns stopped being considered tools to handle with the utmost care and became a fetishized object in the US?

South Dakota governor says her two-year-old grandchild has several guns
Kristi Noem tells audience at NRA forum toddler has a shotgun, a rifle and a pony

South Dakota's governor told an audience of people that her two-year-old grandchild has several guns.

While speaking on Friday at a National Rifle Association (NRA) lobbying leadership forum in Indiana, the Republican governor Kristi Noem told audience members her toddler grandchild has multiple guns, reported Mediaite.

During her remarks, Noem spoke about her grandchildren: Addie, who is almost two, and Branch, who is a few months old. Noem then said that Addie already had a shotgun and a rifle.

"Now Addie, who you know – soon will need them, I wanna reassure you, she already has a shotgun and she already has a rifle and she's got a little pony named Sparkles too. So the girl is set up," said Noem.

[HVC]

So, America is getting trump again?

I'll take that bet.

I may revisit if he makes it to the primaries without being jailed