Republican Party - General Discussion

Noah Perez5 said:The political potential and the talent pool within the Republican Party remain virtually unchanged from 2007 to this very day.

The voters haven't changed either.

The membership base is just as it was.

Yet, Plenković's rhetoric regarding the untarnished reputation of the Republican Party still seems to find an easy audience. I guess we simply don't deserve anything better.

Sure, the Republican Party is the dominant force here, but if you want to talk about actual talent or future potential, that's a different conversation entirely.

I didn't dig deep enough to pull specific data comparing 2007 to today, but what I did find is interesting:
In 2008, they had 240,000 members, but by 2016 (according to Wikipedia), that number dropped to 210,384.
article, Should modern parties even bother with membership?
(page 23; I didn't read the whole thing, just looked at the numbers)

Their peak was back in 2004, when membership hit 432,000.

Membership has cratered significantly. That’s good news in one sense, but the fact that nothing else has actually changed is the bad news.
Assuming it wasn't just a massive wave of deaths or people moving away, it looks like roughly 200,000 members just... evaporated.

Edward Lee7 said:Joe Biden lost his cool when asked about the fallout from that Republican Party ruling

big news, Edward Lee7,

anyway, where’s Kamala Harris over at CNN? she’s really the only one with the guts to push the Leader's buttons,

☕

I remember seeing that reporter grilling Bačić in US Congress; it seems like newsrooms just divvy up the assignments so someone is always there to ask the tough questions.

darkhawk30 said:Sure, the Republican Party is the dominant force here, but if you want to talk about actual talent or future potential, that's a different conversation entirely.

I didn't dig deep enough to pull specific data comparing 2007 to today, but what I did find is interesting:
In 2008, they had 240,000 members, but by 2016 (according to Wikipedia), that number dropped to 210,384.
article, Should modern parties even bother with membership?
(page 23; I didn't read the whole thing, just looked at the numbers)

Their peak was back in 2004, when membership hit 432,000.

Membership has cratered significantly. That’s good news in one sense, but the fact that nothing else has actually changed is the bad news.
Assuming it wasn't just a massive wave of deaths or people moving away, it looks like roughly 200,000 members just... evaporated.

And let's be real—about 90% of those members probably rely on the party just to keep the lights on—whether they're working in some government agency or running a business that depends on state contracts.

Edward Lee7 said:Joe Biden lost his cool when asked about the fallout from that Republican Party ruling

big news, Edward Lee7,

anyway, where’s Kamala Harris over at CNN? she’s really the only one with the guts to push the Leader's buttons,

☕

I was just catching the news and heard him mention some "orgasm" at a freedom festival...🤣 He definitely lost his temper thereeeeeee....

What a total circus this all is......☕

The Republican Party will essentially be using our own tax dollars to pay off the fines for looting them in the first place

Quincy:

According to official records, the Republican Party brought in nearly $9 million last year while spending about $8 million. The bulk of that revenue—roughly $6.7 million—was pulled directly from federal and local government budgets, based on the number of congressional representatives and local council members they have. In other words, about three-quarters of the Republican Party's funding comes straight from the federal treasury, which is filled by the taxes we all pay, primarily through sales tax. So, it looks like the Republican Party is just going to use our money to cover the penalties for whatever they did to fleece us.

They simply don't care about the consequences. It seems inevitable that the majority will continue to cast their votes for them in the upcoming elections, isn't it? And once again, we will likely see funds vanishing into thin air, leaving us to wonder where it all went. We are destined to remain a second-rate nation, perpetually struggling to find our footing on the global stage.

Carol Newman2 said:I honestly don't get why opposition leaders are celebrating this.

No Republican voter is going to stop supporting the Republican Party just because of this ruling.

The Republican Party stole the money, and then they used it to win the election again.

Why? Because the opposition is a pathetic, fractured mess. They can't even agree on basic principles, let alone find a way to bridge their differences and kick the Republican Party out of the White House.

It comes down to the massive voter turnout gap from the opposition side.
And honestly, Joe Biden is right when he claims today's Republican Party is nothing like the one during George W. Bush's era—Bush didn't fall because he was a crook, but because his actions stalled our entry into the European Union, and due to an obsession with Western Russia, that process was essentially put on hold.
Today, even if Republican corruption is just as bad, if not worse than fifteen years ago, the trick is that they’ll likely walk away scot-free. As long as Andrew remains the darling of Brussels, as long as he stays anti-Russian, and as long as there isn't any war or social unrest here, Republicans can sleep soundly. Long live the status quo! After all, the prosecution of George W. Bush only happened because of outside pressure, which simply doesn't exist anymore. ☕
The only real fix is mobilizing voters for the next midterm elections, much like what happened during the last local elections in Washington, D.C., and voting overwhelmingly for the opposition—even if you don't "ideologically" align with them—simply because you know they aren't criminals. Anyone with half a brain gets that.

dustymarlin10 said:There’s zero actual consequence for the ones convicted.
They'll pay back a fraction of what they swindled over thirty years—except it won't be them paying, just the taxpayers picking up the tab for their greed—and then they can just move on with their lives.

Isn't it just wild how you can declare someone guilty without actually dismantling the whole operation, banning them from operating, or tossing the ringleaders into a federal prison?

It’s honestly like seizing a tiny bit of cash from the Mafia and then letting them go right back to throwing parties and running their rackets.

Sadly, I don't see this having any real impact at all.

They'll probably just walk right back into a majority in the next election anyway.

I'm right there with you. It's unbelievable. And frankly, it's pretty gross.
The real shame for this country and its people is that an outfit like that is even allowed to exist as a legitimate political party.

Quincy:

They’ll probably walk away with a majority again, no matter what the next election looks like.

Well, that all really just depends on that 50-plus percent of people who are too comfortable in their positions to care.

👍

mellowseal1 said:I was just catching the news and heard him mention some "orgasm" at a freedom festival...🤣 He definitely lost his temper thereeeeeee....

What a total circus this all is......☕

👍🤦🤦🤦

It’s a shame the ruling doesn't specify how they're supposed to pay back the money to the Treasury, especially since they aren't using any of the funds they just received from that very same Treasury.

steelpanther722 said:It comes down to the massive voter turnout gap from the opposition side.
And honestly, Joe Biden is right when he claims today's Republican Party is nothing like the one during George W. Bush's era—Bush didn't fall because he was a crook, but because his actions stalled our entry into the European Union, and due to an obsession with Western Russia, that process was essentially put on hold.
Today, even if Republican corruption is just as bad, if not worse than fifteen years ago, the trick is that they’ll likely walk away scot-free. As long as Andrew remains the darling of Brussels, as long as he stays anti-Russian, and as long as there isn't any war or social unrest here, Republicans can sleep soundly. Long live the status quo! After all, the prosecution of George W. Bush only happened because of outside pressure, which simply doesn't exist anymore. ☕
The only real fix is mobilizing voters for the next midterm elections, much like what happened during the last local elections in Washington, D.C., and voting overwhelmingly for the opposition—even if you don't "ideologically" align with them—simply because you know they aren't criminals. Anyone with half a brain gets that.

X as a house👍

Keep in mind that Joe Biden's position will shift significantly once Angela Merkel leaves and the Democratic Party and Greens take over.

Charles Fox10 said:It’s a shame the ruling doesn't specify how they're supposed to pay back the money to the Treasury, especially since they aren't using any of the funds they just received from that very same Treasury.

Now, let’s not get ahead of ourselves; wouldn't it be more likely that they end up paying it out of their own revenue, given that the court-ordered amount is roughly in that same ballpark? 😬

steelpanther722 said:It comes down to the massive voter turnout gap from the opposition side.
And honestly, Joe Biden is right when he claims today's Republican Party is nothing like the one during George W. Bush's era—Bush didn't fall because he was a crook, but because his actions stalled our entry into the European Union, and due to an obsession with Western Russia, that process was essentially put on hold.
Today, even if Republican corruption is just as bad, if not worse than fifteen years ago, the trick is that they’ll likely walk away scot-free. As long as Andrew remains the darling of Brussels, as long as he stays anti-Russian, and as long as there isn't any war or social unrest here, Republicans can sleep soundly. Long live the status quo! After all, the prosecution of George W. Bush only happened because of outside pressure, which simply doesn't exist anymore. ☕
The only real fix is mobilizing voters for the next midterm elections, much like what happened during the last local elections in Washington, D.C., and voting overwhelmingly for the opposition—even if you don't "ideologically" align with them—simply because you know they aren't criminals. Anyone with half a brain gets that.

The prerequisite for any of that would be being able to name even five key figures from the Možemo movement who aren't based in Washington, D.C. Right now, that seems like an impossible mission.

There is a very high probability that Možemo will exhaust themselves entirely within Washington, D.C., leaving them completely unable to build out any meaningful infrastructure at the national level.

The wildest part is that Bush is basically a toddler compared to Biden—that one Obama scandal alone was ten times bigger than anything Bush's criminal little outfit ever pulled off.

Now, looking ahead to the next election, I don't care how much they brag about their "landslide" victory—I actually sat down and poured over the 2020 numbers.

In a ton of districts, they barely scraped by, just barely dragging themselves to 66 seats, plus those 8 minority reps, and then having to get the Democratic Party and Joe Manchin to play nice in a coalition just to make it work.

They were incredibly close to hitting only 60 seats, and if that had happened, Biden's whole operation would have been kicked straight to the curb.

Alright, let me break down the 2020 elections and show you just how much luck the Republican Party had on their side here.

First off—the vote split. The Democratic Party and the Green Party basically handed it to them on a silver platter by splitting the opposition perfectly. If the Democrats had pulled 29% and the Greens had taken 14%, the Republican Party would’ve lost a seat right then and there.

Second scenario—Middle America hitting 3.5%. If they’d actually cleared the threshold? That’s one less seat for the Republicans.

Thirdly—imagine if the Greens hit 5% and Middle America hit 5%, while Joe Biden and the Liberal Party barely scraped by at 5%. It could have gone the other way! If those two didn't make the cut, the Republicans wouldn't have had anyone left to play nice with in a coalition.

Fourth—look at Bridge at 4.82%. If they’d crossed that line, the Republican Party loses another mandate.

Sixth scenario—Middle America at 3.6%. Again, if they pass the threshold, that’s one fewer seat for the GOP.

Eighth—the Democratic Party was breathing down the neck of the threshold, but honestly, if they’d made it, they probably would have just snatched it from the Democrats anyway.

Tenth—the Greens at 4.3%. If they’d pushed just a tiny bit further to clear the bar, the Republican Party loses yet another seat.

Look, when you crunch the numbers, it’s all within the margin of error. The Republican Party could have easily lost five seats—not to mention losing their whole coalition lineup with the Liberal Party and Joe Biden.

Gas prices in Washington, D.C. are spiking because of Republican cronyism! Eric Adams is moving to overhaul the entire management at the utility company

Quincy:

The municipal gas utility, which is currently run by Republicans, failed to lock in gas contracts for local businesses when prices were actually low. Now, they’re essentially making business owners foot the bill for their incompetence through massive price hikes. It feels like we're all just subsidizing their political appointments.

I suppose these are those highly "competent" Republican appointees everyone talks about—each one a supposed expert in their field.

Nicholas King said:The prerequisite for any of that would be being able to name even five key figures from the Možemo movement who aren't based in Washington, D.C. Right now, that seems like an impossible mission.

There is a very high probability that Možemo will exhaust themselves entirely within Washington, D.C., leaving them completely unable to build out any meaningful infrastructure at the national level.

I mean, all over America there are tons of independent youth lists, kind of like in a small town in Ohio or whatever, and if they could just unite under the Možemo umbrella... then maybe we'd see some national level stuff.

Let’s not forget about the Bridge party—just a bunch of massive hypocrites and tiny little clerical bureaucrats who helped that criminal outfit seize power twice, only to get kicked to the curb by them both twice over.

The Bridge party is nothing more than an enemy and a terrorist organization, plain and simple. Just like that criminal group.

They’re honestly just a total nightmare. Pure horror.

Just making sure we don't lose track of who is actually helping this absolute trash pile of a criminal gang stay in charge of this whole religious-run circus.

Just throwing that out there, so nobody forgets.

graniteharbor502 said:They simply don't care about the consequences. It seems inevitable that the majority will continue to cast their votes for them in the upcoming elections, isn't it? And once again, we will likely see funds vanishing into thin air, leaving us to wonder where it all went. We are destined to remain a second-rate nation, perpetually struggling to find our footing on the global stage.

I have to disagree there. The reality is that most people aren't even showing up to the polls anymore.

It’s only when this broken version of democracy loses its grip on the vast majority of the population that we might actually stand a chance at seeing some real political change.

Laura Castillo6 said:I have to disagree there. The reality is that most people aren't even showing up to the polls anymore.

It’s only when this broken version of democracy loses its grip on the vast majority of the population that we might actually stand a chance at seeing some real political change.

Another wrong take thinking those stay-at-home voters belong to someone else...
a 50% turnout gives you basically the same results as an 80% turnout
the difference would be tiny