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Andrew Parker
@andrewparker.bsky.social
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Somehow it works remarkably well for Republicans. Are we just inherently less persuasive?
2 replies 0 reposts 0 likes
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Andrew Parker@andrewparker.bsky.social |
945 followers 144 following 5284 posts
Formerly of the birdsite as Apark2453, but staking my claim to the full name! Lawyer, overanalyzer of godawful subcultures, always up to dunk on some chuds. If you’re into all of that too… I’m sorry, but welcome friend!
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Andrew Parker
@andrewparker.bsky.social
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Somehow it works remarkably well for Republicans. Are we just inherently less persuasive?
2 replies 0 reposts 0 likes
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Andrew Parker
@andrewparker.bsky.social
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Kind of calling me a negligent asshole if I was capable of diagnosing my wife’s MS if I watched her for 90 minutes and just never did.
0 replies 0 reposts 2 likes
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Andrew Parker
@andrewparker.bsky.social
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There are lots of reactions to the debate (including very negative ones) I don’t really question. “I have the medical expertise to diagnose a degenerative neurological disorder based on this because I’ve seen medical shows” I question a lot.
2 replies 0 reposts 2 likes
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Andrew Parker
@andrewparker.bsky.social
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I’ve watched the west wing from beginning to end more times than I can count. I assure you “know from TV” did not give me the capacity to diagnose my wife as having MS. Her having MS also doesn’t let me diagnose anyone else. Come the fuck on.
1 replies 0 reposts 6 likes
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Andrew Parker
@andrewparker.bsky.social
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Have you considered part of the discounting may be the confidence with which random people with no medical training want to diagnose someone they’ve never met with a neurological disorder based on seeing them on television? My wife has MS, that doesn’t mean I can diagnose it.
2 replies 0 reposts 5 likes
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Andrew Parker
@andrewparker.bsky.social
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If it comes to pass I certainly hope you’re correct. Legitimacy isn’t quite as reliable as pledged delegates. Even if she does ultimately win, up to a dozen candidates at the convention with conflicting (potentially hostile) speeches could happen first.
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Andrew Parker
@andrewparker.bsky.social
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Like… there’s a mechanism for it in the same way there’s a mechanism in my house for getting the cats out if there’s a fire: expect to bleed a lot from injuries inflicted by creatures who you do care for but are freaking the fuck out.
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Andrew Parker
@andrewparker.bsky.social
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I have 938 and have apparently decided to fight half this damned site, does that count?
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Andrew Parker
@andrewparker.bsky.social
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Oh, yeah, no, that’s definitely not going to happen. The floor vote would be the biggest shitshow of intraparty knife fighting we’ve ever seen. It’ll make 1968 look like a well-oiled machine.
3 replies 0 reposts 2 likes
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Andrew Parker
@andrewparker.bsky.social
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If my choices are believe kayfabe or actively help a fascist by attacking his opponent I’ll be the most mark of any mark to ever be a mark.
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Andrew Parker
@andrewparker.bsky.social
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The rules do kind of cover this. If Biden didn’t submit his name for nomination the day before the first vote, his pledged delegates would be voting for an illegible nominee and be counted as present. It’d go to a second ballot where all delegates become unpledged. 4,700 delegates just pick someone
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Andrew Parker
@andrewparker.bsky.social
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Here we’d need to distinguish “do I think he should” from “should we be saying it”. If there’s no way to force him out, unless the chances of getting him to drop out voluntarily are greater than “literally said only god could make him”, no attacks.
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Andrew Parker
@andrewparker.bsky.social
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Your answer to “if he doesn’t want to withdraw” is “get people to convince him”?
1 replies 0 reposts 2 likes
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Andrew Parker
@andrewparker.bsky.social
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The anti-anti-Trump left isn’t even ready to hear the reality that the best tactic for getting Biden to resign would have been to give him full-throated support rather than the current scenario where resigning means admitting he’s in cognitive decline and unfit for office.
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Andrew Parker
@andrewparker.bsky.social
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Since apparently you missed it: I don’t care who’s to blame, I don’t care who will be blamed in the future. I don’t give a fuck about legacies. I care about stopping Trump. Attacking the candidate who won the Democratic primary and is running against Trump is the opposite.
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Andrew Parker
@andrewparker.bsky.social
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Yes, not attacking the candidate running against Trump is exactly like not going to the lifeboats on the titanic. I can see why you’ve come to the conclusions you have.
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Andrew Parker
@andrewparker.bsky.social
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Sure could be. Whether he does has zero affect on whether you’re choosing to help Trump right this second. I’d encourage you to… you know… not help fascists by attacking their enemies.
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Andrew Parker
@andrewparker.bsky.social
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In the sense that we live in a world where elected officials often make bad calls based on assumptions? Sure. In the sense that it justifies helping damage the candidate actually being nominated to stop Trump? Nope And I’ll say the same thing if Biden does resign and the ratfuck switches to Harris
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Andrew Parker
@andrewparker.bsky.social
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Aside from “I don’t trust their ability to calculate probabilities”, the actual result in the real world of this moment is attacking the candidate running to stop Trump.
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Andrew Parker
@andrewparker.bsky.social
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The substance is “don’t punch left, punch right”. Everything else is you desperately trying to concoct a scenario where you aren’t trying to damage the nominee opposing Trump.
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Andrew Parker
@andrewparker.bsky.social
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If your conscience tells you that attacking the nominee opposed to the fascist, while refusing to attack the fascist, helps stop fascism… Man you need a new conscience.
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Andrew Parker
@andrewparker.bsky.social
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Yes, an idiot can see there’s asymmetry between “if nothing changes this helps stop Trump” and “if I get a huge change that overturns an election this helps stop Trump otherwise it helps him win”. Why can’t you?
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Andrew Parker
@andrewparker.bsky.social
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You’d probably have to include the probability that attacking him causes him to drop out. But as I wrote, if someone wants to argue that saying “stop attacking the anti-fascist candidate, attack the fascist candidate” is helping fascists win? I can’t stop them.
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Andrew Parker
@andrewparker.bsky.social
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I, sincerely, cannot express to you the depth to which I do not give a single solitary shit who’s going to be “blamed for it”. That’s not the standard to which anyone should hold themselves in a fight against fascism. The desire to “I told you so” from a gulag is fucking stupid.
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Andrew Parker
@andrewparker.bsky.social
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1. Refusing to answer the straightforward question of “if Biden doesn’t drop out aren’t you helping Trump” isn’t good faith. 2. You can level the accusation that calling to defend the anti-fascist candidate and only attack the fascist one supports fascism, I can’t stop you from writing dumb shit
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Andrew Parker
@andrewparker.bsky.social
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It’s okay you don’t want to answer, I’d probably also hesitate to write the words “if I don’t get what I want I’m helping fascists win”. If I were you I’d also hesitate to *do* that but you do you I guess.
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Andrew Parker
@andrewparker.bsky.social
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And if you don’t get your higher probability from Biden dropping out, did you help Trump or hurt Trump by calling his opponent unfit for weeks or months?
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Andrew Parker
@andrewparker.bsky.social
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Fuck it, I’ll bite: If Biden doesn’t want to withdraw what’s your plan to replace the winner of a majority of pledged delegates?
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Andrew Parker
@andrewparker.bsky.social
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Okay, let’s once again say it doesn’t. If it doesn’t work, does spending however many weeks or months you’ll spend on “focus on criticizing Biden to maybe get him to drop out” help or hurt if Biden is on the ballot in November?
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Andrew Parker
@andrewparker.bsky.social
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Even ignoring that there’s no way to “hand off” the nomination, I don’t care if there were other off ramps or who’s at fault. It is utterly irrelevant to the goal of stopping fascism. We’ve seen tens of millions believing in illusions and delusions propel fascism, why can’t it stop it?
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Andrew Parker
@andrewparker.bsky.social
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Let’s assume it’s that worst-case scenario of “dude who won the primary really is the nominee”. Who benefits from criticism of the Democratic nominee?
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Andrew Parker
@andrewparker.bsky.social
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Yes I now see the typo which undercuts the rousing rhetoric a bit. Turns out flubs in the moment happen even for those of us not in cognitive decline I guess.
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Andrew Parker
@andrewparker.bsky.social
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How does deciding who will be to blame in the scenario where we lose help us stop Trump? Fine, Biden is derelict of duty and being just such an irresponsible jerk not dropping out after winning the primary, does saying that help us stop Trump?
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Andrew Parker
@andrewparker.bsky.social
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Trump is too dangerous to settle, but not so dangerous as to demand a unified opposition? And if Biden doesn’t drop out or have the primary overridden you just… roll with fascism taking over?
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Andrew Parker
@andrewparker.bsky.social
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That is your answer. Not only do I not know his actual thoughts about Trump, they (and any other question about Biden) is utterly irrelevant to stopping Trump.
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Andrew Parker
@andrewparker.bsky.social
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I’m happy to say ratfuck as many times as it takes for people to recognize that expressing their opposition to Trump through the medium of constant attacks on Biden is just goddamned dumb.
3 replies 10 reposts 116 likes
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Andrew Parker
@andrewparker.bsky.social
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That’s a pretty big maybe (especially considering the primaries are already over and he won them). If that doesn’t work, who is helped by focusing attention on concerns about Biden rather than Trump’s misconduct or… you know… policy?
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Andrew Parker
@andrewparker.bsky.social
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Sure isn’t! Here’s my answer to any “but isn’t Biden bad tho” inquiries:
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Andrew Parker
@andrewparker.bsky.social
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In the future you should probably just start with “I think Biden vs Trump is a distinction without a difference” and save a bunch of time discussing other topics.
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Andrew Parker
@andrewparker.bsky.social
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I think Biden probably isn’t reading this thread.
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Andrew Parker
@andrewparker.bsky.social
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I’m honestly not sure which of those goals you don’t see as harder to do under a fascist strongman, but I guess I’ll just be jealous of the lived experience necessary to support that nonchalance about the threat.
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Andrew Parker
@andrewparker.bsky.social
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I do not care who fucked up last year. I don’t care what other people did or didn’t do in this fight. Is Trump an existential threat who must be stopped? Good let’s stop making it less likely through internecine knife fights. If you don’t think he is? I’m glad you have that luxury I guess.
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Andrew Parker
@andrewparker.bsky.social
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One involves overturning an election based on “I don’t think he’s good enough now” so… also pretty bad. And also requiring a massive number of people set aside their principles. I’d pick the one that just requires those people suck it up for a single day in November myself.
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Andrew Parker
@andrewparker.bsky.social
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Mechanically it’s a whole lot easier for us to decide “let’s vote against fascism” than “let’s override the results of the presidential primary”. I don’t want to discuss what I’d do if I sincerely believed there was no way to stop fascism from taking permanent power in this country.
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Andrew Parker
@andrewparker.bsky.social
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I don’t care whose fault it will be. At every juncture we have a choice of picking the option that makes stopping Trump more likely or less likely. The fact that someone else fucked up previously doesn’t change what we have to do today.
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Andrew Parker
@andrewparker.bsky.social
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Maybe not. Damn the apparatus. Now what? We have a candidate and that’s not going to change unless he dies. So either you think spending time fixated on doubting Biden rather than attacking Trump helps stop Trump, or you think there’s a more important goal than stopping Trump.
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Andrew Parker
@andrewparker.bsky.social
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Does the focus on that news and big fucking deal increase the chances we stop Trump?
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Andrew Parker
@andrewparker.bsky.social
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Which under normal circumstances is a laudable attribute and why I’m on the side I am. In the face of fascism if we’re not fighting it by any available means including “being less principled” we’re not doing our job.
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Andrew Parker
@andrewparker.bsky.social
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It’s almost like we should be skeptical of media narratives about this election. Almost like that. Just like… on the edge of that.
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Andrew Parker
@andrewparker.bsky.social
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But it is a difference in the reaction of the base (I assume you include party officials in that) which makes the difference?
1 replies 0 reposts 1 likes