American Politics' Cult of Punishment

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

from Matthew Walther:

Punishment is the only meaningful use to which both of our two major political parties have put their victories in recent elections. It is why the Tea Party-era Congress is remembered almost entirely for repurposing the subpoena power of the House and holding a series of showboating hearings, and why the same body under Nancy Pelosi will be synonymous not with infrastructure legislation that it could have passed with the cooperation of Trump administration but with Adam Schiff's smug visage. The same impulse lies behind the bipartisan repurposing of myths about the American Founding and the Constitution, which provide a half-respectable cover for fantasies about exiling "socialists" or "fascists" to a place beyond that of supposedly rational debate. The response to our two most recent presidential elections, both of which have been rejected by the losing sides in favor of conspiracies about Russia and tech CEOs, has been the blind unseeing rage of factions deprived not of their chance to govern but of the opportunity to persecute their opponents.

[PSOL]

Generally when one does a violent crime and has no indication of stopping, actions appropriate to act as a deterrence and stop further crimes would be necessary. It must be primarily based on rehabilitation, but the punishment of having legal action taken is necessary.

[Buffalo Mayor Young Kim]

Hey look, a hypothetical in which Mitch McConnell doesn’t exist and coups are just an everyday part of politics as usual.

I also love that we are only hearing this stuff from lawnorder derps after their man committed the most blatantly outrageous crime by a President in more than a century.

[Indy Texas]

from Matthew Walther:

Punishment is the only meaningful use to which both of our two major political parties have put their victories in recent elections. It is why the Tea Party-era Congress is remembered almost entirely for repurposing the subpoena power of the House and holding a series of showboating hearings, and why the same body under Nancy Pelosi will be synonymous not with infrastructure legislation that it could have passed with the cooperation of Trump administration but with Adam Schiff's smug visage. The same impulse lies behind the bipartisan repurposing of myths about the American Founding and the Constitution, which provide a half-respectable cover for fantasies about exiling "socialists" or "fascists" to a place beyond that of supposedly rational debate. The response to our two most recent presidential elections, both of which have been rejected by the losing sides in favor of conspiracies about Russia and tech CEOs, has been the blind unseeing rage of factions deprived not of their chance to govern but of the opportunity to persecute their opponents.

Donald Trump had a chance to go to Washington and be a historic dealmaker who worked across the aisle to get things done.

Instead, the first thing he did was hamfistedly try to ban Muslims from the US.

This is not a "both sides" issue.

[7,052,770]

Imagine non-ironically blaming Pelosi (who didn't even become speaker until 2 years into Trump's presidency) for the failure to get anything done on infrastructure, rather than Trump.

[Del Tachi]

It goes without saying, one imagines, that in the coming months and perhaps even years punishing Trump himself and various administration officials, his congressional allies and other political associates, even members of his family, will be the main priority of the new Democratic majority. The calls for a second impeachment, his removal from Twitter, his Bedminster golf course being stripped of a major tournament next year — all of this is only the beginning of a lengthy series of recriminations that could end with him and goodness knows how many others imprisoned. A thousand justifications for these actions, which any of his opponents would have taken months or even years ago, will present themselves effortlessly. How fitting that a presidency that began amid raucous cries of "Lock her up!" will end with an echo of the same demands.

Seems on-point

[Cassius]

Yes it was quite fun seeing the mask slip for some of our Democratic posters during the events of last week, including a couple who had, only a few weeks earlier, flaunted their disgust at Trump pressing ahead with the executions of several serial killers and child murderers, calling for those involved in the storming of the Capitol to be gunned down en-masse and for the President and others to be given the death penalty.

[Ferguson97]

Yes it was quite fun seeing the mask slip for some of our Democratic posters during the events of last week, including a couple who had, only a few weeks earlier, flaunted their disgust at Trump pressing ahead with the executions of several serial killers and child murderers, calling for those involved in the storming of the Capitol to be gunned down en-masse and for the President and others to be given the death penalty.

There's a difference between the death penalty and using deadly force to stop an active terrorist attack, you know that right?

[Cassius]

Yes it was quite fun seeing the mask slip for some of our Democratic posters during the events of last week, including a couple who had, only a few weeks earlier, flaunted their disgust at Trump pressing ahead with the executions of several serial killers and child murderers, calling for those involved in the storming of the Capitol to be gunned down en-masse and for the President and others to be given the death penalty.

There's a difference between the death penalty and using deadly force to stop an active terrorist attack, you know that right?

It wasn’t a terrorist attack, and regardless of that, it’s clear that the police didn’t need to use deadly force (with one exception) to regain control of the building. Given that, firing indiscriminately on the crowd would have been a little disproportionate don’t you think?

[MarkD]

Imagine non-ironically blaming Pelosi (who didn't even become speaker until 2 years into Trump's presidency) for the failure to get anything done on infrastructure, rather than Trump.

FYI, Pelosi was speaker from 2007 to 2010 too.

[Del Tachi]

The left and even a bit of the populist right:  “Can we get healthcare and maybe make amazon pay some taxes like literally just ten dollars.”

Democrats, one month from now:  “We need to pass a new law allowing us to subpoena Barron Trump at the age of 12.”