[fnimick]

Okay, say you're Joe Biden, or some prominent Democrat in office.

Republicans come to you and say: either we pass this bill without safety provisions, or we will gleefully destroy the entire economy and the public will blame you for it.

What do you do?

[AnIdiotOnTheNet]

You start by having the balls to say no. Then you hold a till-they-drop press conference explaining exactly why you're saying no and who is actually to blame for what is about to happen.

If the American people still decide to blame you and elect one of the saboteurs instead, well, they get what they deserve.

...I have learned that I have an above average capacity for spite, though.

[fnimick]

> If the American people still decide to blame you and elect one of the saboteurs instead, well, they get what they deserve.

Have you been paying attention since 2010? That is exactly what is happening. Republicans break government, say government is broken, then win elections with votes from people who are harmed by government disfunction.

[AnIdiotOnTheNet]

That's been the case since long before 2010, and democrats still manage to win elections, so I don't think your theory holds outside of certain areas of the country that likely have other systemic reasons for republicans being elected.

Besides which, I can't say we aren't getting what we deserve.

[lowercased]

It really shouldn't be THAT hard to hold press conferences and/or put out media releases that actually contain the text of the legislation and the specific areas of objection.

Section J, paragraph 2 indicates "blah foo bar".

The people seeking to pass this bill are trying to "bar" your "blah foo", and I don't believe "bar" should be "blah foo'd". "Bar" should be "bazzed", and I'm doing everything I can to 'baz' 'bars' whenever possible.

I realize that sometimes legislative language is dense or difficult, but that shouldn't be a reason to gloss over it.

I got hung up on the Clinton Health Care act in the early 90s. Right wing radio folks got me hung up on it - I was convinced it was evil. I bought a copy to review in detail. It was complex, but I found that many of the radio talking points I'd eaten up were, in fact, misrepresentations or distortions. But... I had to read the text myself to get to that point - it took a while to digest.

[mrguyorama]

Yeah but the problem is that half of the country explicitly DOESN'T get their information from anyone but Fox news, or worse like newsmax, or more specifically, Tucker Carlson and friends who officially claim their shows, on the "Fox News" channel, can not be considered reality by anyone "reasonable" so they aren't legally liable for the horseshit they spew.

Half the country will see "Democrats are the reason the nation is on fire right now" and believe it without an uncritical thought, and go back to facebook to repost memes about furry kids using litter boxes at school, or LBGTQ people trying to groom your kids to be child porn stars, and also uncritically believe that as well.

Half of the country reads below a high school level. You really think they will accurately be able to understand a legalese filled and often purposely confusing, 10 page document that usually has dense references to other legalese filled documents?

[AnIdiotOnTheNet]

...and they'll still believe that even if the country isn't on fire because Fox News will make up a fire and tell them it is because of the left anyway. Fox News indoctrinating people isn't a variable that Biden's actions actually changes in any meaningful way.

Refuse to play their bullshit game and do the right thing instead.

[fnimick]

Are you seriously suggesting that an economic depression would have no effect on the country's politics?

[AnIdiotOnTheNet]

I'm saying that even if it does, electing the people who caused it gives the people what they want and deserve.

Repubicans do not play fair and they do not care about anything but their own power. You have two options: play their game, which means they win, or refuse to play their game and call them out on their bullshit, which means they might win, but if they do then it will be because the public has been shown the truth and just doesn't care.

Obama made the mistake of playing their game a lot in his first term: assuming that republicans actually give a shit about the country and pre-emptively offering reasonable compromise. The republicans, of course, refused to compromise at all and still claimed he was a socialist tyrant.

What I'm saying is, do not negotiate with terrorists.

[Eisenstein]

Not sign it.

[kneebonian]

Well first off if I was Biden I'd probably mutter something about how playing with trains in the pool with Corn Pop and the ice cream.

But let's not pretend these are two different teams, all of congress is in the same business of screwing the little guy.

[encryptluks2]

"They used to come up and rub my leg hair. The kids loved to rub my legs."