with his all-out assault on American democracy in Florida that his father's SCOTUS cronies then rubberstamped. Trump is following the same playbook.

…was the first shot in the new war against free and fair voting (i.e. democracy). It was a very effective shot. It led to the institutionalization of surveillance of the people and militarization of policing following 9/11. It led to Iraq and Afghanistan war, with congressional and media acceptance of blatant lies regarding WMD’s and further inflation of Executive branch power. It also included the change-over to the complete digitalization of voting via corporate control of voting machines. Thanks to Bush/Cheney we are now a quarter of a century into their New American Century. Say what you want about Republicans, they plan ahead.

After it became apparent that they fucked it up so bad they stopped counting Iraqi deaths. Hideous monsters. His whole admin. Just like the fat orange imbecile's.

came from either Amnesty International or Doctors Without Borders was closer to 1,000,000.

I meant to write 500,000. Thanks

by my recollection.... but I'll ask Google:

AI Overview
Estimates of Iraqi deaths in the Iraq War (2003–2011) vary widely, ranging from roughly 150,000 to over 500,000, with some estimates exceeding one million. Most studies distinguish between direct violence and indirect causes, with roughly 60% of casualties attributed to direct violence and the remainder to the collapse of infrastructure, health services, and increased poverty.

Iraq Body Count (IBC): Documents civilian deaths from violence, recording 183,000–205,000 as of 2019, which is often considered a minimum "floor" for total deaths.
Academic Studies: A 2013 university study estimated approximately 461,000 deaths from 2003 to 2011 (including 56,000 uncounted due to emigration), attributing 60% of these to direct violence.

Dammit! Boomer fail, and thanks

This is how they're starting to reinvent themselves

"Let's get back to our misogynistic, racist, homophobic, christo-facist, liberal-hating core values!"

DURec

Seriously, though, I don't see any way that repubs could "rehabilitate" their party enough for me to consider voting for them before I shuffle my way off this mortal coil. That party has long been dead to me and I'll most likely be dead - literally - before they make up for what they've done since Nixon.

Also note, I don't trust those who have been "switching party affiliation" lately. DINOs in waiting as far as I'm concerned.

these control freak conservatives aren’t die-hard Republicans. To them, it’s just a name. Remember, they were Southern Democrats back in 1900s to 1950s. Then Dixiecrats before becoming Republicans. They will worm their way into the Democratic Party (if some haven’t already). Sinema, Manchin, Gabbard were of this ilk. Fetterman is a special case. But look out for Platner.

They need to be identified not by the “R” after their name. All potential candidates need to be thoroughly vetted. And after the eventual destruction of the GOP, these cretins won’t stay humbled. They’re definitely going to work their way into the Democratic Party, the Green Party, and even a possible progressive party, should such a thing exist.

I'll take any changes of heart I can get. We will either have to get past all this, or get to killing each other eventually. We'll need plenty of disgruntled conservatives to help take out the oligarchy, rather than dying for them, in the end.

I don't think they will. They will fall for the propagand of the "new" MAGA leadership without a change in their views. Their only complaint about Trump is that he got into a foreign war and did not win it quickly, and therefore exposed his own weakness on the world stage.

They will continue to follow the MAGA agenda of White supremacy, Christian Nationalism, hatred of immigrants and "the other," and keeping women and minorities "in their place."
.
They will continue to believe that radical leftists are to blame for inflation and for the shortages of goods yet to come due to the Iran War. They will blame "liberal, socialist" European nations for not joining Trump's war.

Nothing in their belief system will change except that they will be disappointed that Trump did not stay true to his promises.

They might be useful in getting rid of Trump, but after that, they will not be helpful in restoring democracy. They don't believe in it.

actually have made this clear for years with their idiotic refrain about the United States being “a republic not a democracy”. In their minds, only the elite should have a vote when it comes to the Presidency.

this country, but under different names. Now the name is "Republican". Even if we are very successful in '26 and '28, it will still be with us in the future, even if it may go underground at times.

We have to be eternally vigilant.

stunt somehow even more right-wing on the national level than they were before.

It’s what they were doing well before him and the same thing they will be doing after him.

GW Bush is a war criminal, and no one needs his advice on anything.

Tucker Carlson is still selling vaccine lies, so that man will never be trustworthy imo.

Or, as Dad would have put it, "I believe you where THOUSANDS wouldn't", massive eyeroll accompanying.


.

He had been studying Marxism - not just the economic philosophy, but the historical theory, which posited that communism would arise from feudal agrarian societies through urbanization, industrialization, an expanding middle class, and more equal representation in leadership.

But where were Marxist revolutions happening? China, Russia, Cuba, Southeast Asia, subsaharan Africa - places that were still largely feudal and agrarian at the time, and where leadership was decidedly authoritarian. The historical theory didn't seem to work.. The only Marxist governments in industrialized countries were in Eastern Europe, where they were imposed by occupying Soviet forces after the Second World War.

This would seem to have proved the Marxist view of history wrong, but Marxists would find ways to explain them away. "That example doesn't count," they'd say. "Governments were less stable in the wake of the First World War, or there were major efforts to overthrow colonial systems after the Second World War. Or maybe something else. But the Marxist theory of history is still valid!"

He still can't believe how easy it was for a failed reality show host. Twice!

….vote for a reptilican! Never!

The 'I come not to praise trump' bullshit from them is gonna start in January.

Surely one didn't discover the perfidy, avarice, sociopathy, racism, misogyny, and criminality of Republicans just when Trump came on the scene??

Hello, 20th Century history?!

we can accept their votes for dems.

Only that.

I never forget and will never forgive!

I have never voted for a Republican, and probably never will.

Out of the entire universe of Republicans, there is only one, ONE, I would consider voting for, and he is outside of my voting district (he is almost certainly labeled a RINO in GOP circles).

all that goes out the window once Trumpsky is out. We know there are plenty of these motherfuckers whose only problem with Trump is that he wasn't fascist enough.

Trump is too blatant about pushing our philosophy of rape, pillage and White Supremacy.

We need to go back to the old days where those values were better camouflaged!

100% There is no good faith with them to be had. Those who are actually redeemed, need to earn trust back.

They all know their transgressions carry the minimum penalty. Example: 34 felony count prolific lying conman who led an insurrection to overturn an election who happens to be republican gets elected president.

If your group looks like the picture below, you get all the passes, all the credit and all the forgiveness.

It has happened time and time again.
They are the party of the well-to-do, they are NOT going anywhere. They will continue to cheat, lie and seduce voters to vote against themselves.

Or an elf.

Do not buy into this 'regret'.

It is the regret of not getting their way, not the regret of understanding their actions and how evil they are.

They are children who will lie their assess of if it means they won't have to be held accountable for what they have done.

Only a fool would stick their back hand into a machine after it has already removed a finger. The Democratic Party needs to keep that in mind whoever they have to deal with a rethug at any level.

I am not forgetting shit.