I imagine the GOP would actually do something about it though

My state has a supermajority Republicans for the last ten or so years. The cities police are under control over the state instead of the cities themselves. Crime has risen… but they still parrot that “liberal cities are crime infested” (feature not a bug), we can vote on bills through a petition process, they’re trying to kneecap that, while the past few bills pass overwhelmingly progressive parts but the Republican supermajority either reintroduces the bill with confusing language to overturn it, overturns it directly while saying “People didn’t know what they were voting for”, or just outright ignores it (We put into our constitution for medicaid expansion. They’ve not implemented it in over five years, just ignoring it). We’re now a flyover state that is about to get rid of income tax and increase sales tax, despite the two major population centers are right on the border for other states.

Yet our idiots that live here keep voting for these assholes.

It’s not about the confederacy itself but look up the book “Forget the Alamo: The Rise and Fall of an American Myth” to learn how a relatively unimportant location in Texas has become an international symbol of defiance and American spirit… when it was a bunch of slave owners invading Mexico, ignoring the laws, then stealing the land.

The book covers the history of Alamo, and the battle of the Alamo is only in the first quarter, it goes all the way to modern era. It helps show how that group twists myths to their advantage.

The Confederacy should have been burned to the ground, its leaders and supporters hanged and their bodies left to rot in the sun.

I come from the south, I know my heritage has a confederate officer in it.

John Brown did nothing wrong.

“Will 2026 finally be the year when a critical mass of Americans wakes up and realizes that Republicans always screw up the economy?”

I live in a red state.

LOL. LMAO even.

They WILL vote against their interests as long as the R is next to the name.

I think the United States as we knew it is dying

I grew up in the US south.

This IS the US as I’ve known it.

The rest of the country got complacent about the people that supported the splitoff faction that wanted to own people as backwoods hicks and not as a viable threat despite them infesting many of the states that literally sent men to die to stop them. Laughed when they said “The south will rise again” despite them having an outsized power in politics and when called out were nice when they said “It’s heritage, not hate.”

They were ready to arrest those who went against the president during Bush Jr era. Nixon welcomed them into the fold after LBJ pissed off the Dixiecrats by signing in the Civil Rights Acts and every Republican since, just as the Democrats did before. The country never finished the job and now the house is infested.

Hey! I’ll give you credit that sounds like you might have been one of the rare unicorns on it when you were one. Honestly with Republicans I’ve heard the same “hate cops” unless the cops are going after people they like then they love them. Republicans treat cops like soldiers, they say they support them… riiiiiiiiiiiight up until supporting them individually. But yea, definitely on the war front is a nice change of pace.

I agree on the unrealistic and awful… I in a lot of theoretical ways like the libertarian concept, I’m very much a “leave me alone” type, I just know too many that didn’t have the support when they were growing up that if there is nothing to help them… it feels cruel to do the “pull yourself up by the bootstraps” mentality.

And I definitely understand where you’re talking about on growing up and the expectations. I’m a white middle class guy, grew up in the area surrounded by confederate flags that is the exact area where “God and guns” is aimed at so expectations of me being a Republican. I just was raised by an old school bleeding heart liberal so like my dad and I talk I comment it’s funny I’d hear “You’ll be more conservative” as you get older and I’m over here going man… I was WAY more conservative when I was in high school and college.

I’ll be blunt, I’ve never actually met a libertarian by the definition of libertarian.

I found the easiest way to find out. Ask about gay marriage and abortion, they’ll want them outlawed, want the government stepping in.

Libertarians were just Republicans who wanted to smoke weed, and now that Republicans are cool with weed they don’t really have anything left.

Dunno your country, but if you’re not from the US, the people that say those jingoistic celebrations of the country are the most right wing of us. I live in a very heavily right wing state and patriotism is laid on so fucking thick because if somehow people were to take off the patriotism glasses they’d figure out they’re getting robbed blind.

psst “States Rights” only really became an argument from the right wing when passing the civil rights acts.

I’m sorry, gonna call bullshit here on the last election.

The D candidate and running mate were gun owners and comfortable owning and using guns. The R candidate when he was President literally said “Take the guns first, go through due process second,”

YET when that’s discussed, somehow it’s (D)ifferent to the gun owners. The “Gun grabbing democrats” won’t stop but Trump saying that but not going through was fine.

So when coworkers are suddenly now worried he might be coming for their guns my response is just call me Cassandra because I saw it coming and here we are!

My dad has been saying that the Republicans were going to be the ones taking guns when people go on about “gun grabbing democrats” since Reagan apparently. I was only long enough to hear him say that around Bush era onward but this is my shocked face that he was right.

I live in Missouri where they’re trying everything they can to get guns into the hands of children as soon as possible, outlawing gun laws even in local municipalities.

Something tells me they’re not going to be having the same tune when it’s not white straight christians.

I could be wrong but I figured the most humane was was an oxygen displacement gas seeing as how quickly a body goes unconcious without o2.

My dad has always said it’d be the Republicans who would take guns.

They’re working for it.

I’ll believe MAGA is eating itself. They’re very much at each others throats trying to figure out how to maneuver to be the next king.

But the people will still vote for the R after a name no matter what, so it doesn’t really matter that MAGA is eating itself. Trump hasn’t done a quarter of the damage to the country that the party has done for decades, he’s just the newest phase of the cancer.

Add in Missouri while you’re at it.

Trump literally said last time he was President take the guns first, due process second. maga crowd still gargling.

We’re going to take the firearms first and then go to court, because that’s another system. Because a lot of times by the time you go to court … it takes so long to go to court to get the due process procedures. I like taking the guns early, like in this crazy man’s case that just took place in Florida; he had a lot of fires [and] they saw everything. To go to court would have taken a long time, so you could do exactly what you’re saying but take the guns first, go through due process second.

-President Donald J Trump

I mean… that’s a good fucking sell still.

I don’t have any illusions he doesn’t want to get higher up. I don’t have any illusions that he’d motorboat a few billionaires to get richer. But right now any step in the right direction is a far better situation than we’re in right now.

FWIW this is why I think it’s so important to keep the farmers and union workers on our side.

WHELP