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Kathleen McCook's avatar

COINTELPRO seems forgotten. After years of fighting against government overreach including the USAPATRIOT Act (esp. The Librarians' Connecticut Four), the liberal democrats with whom I have always identified & voted now are pro-censorship when it comes to Big Tech and ready to give the state full-power over our every move. Maybe too many have COVID-safe paychecks. The ACLU is no longer a beacon. FISA passed the Senate yesterday. Bernie didn't even vote. The only thing that makes sense is they all have their secret deals (usually through their children or siblings like Biden) and they don't want to lose power and have that exposed.

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Sam's avatar

And you're leaving out the about-face on #MeToo. Look, the disparaged conservative critique of CBF was that the incorrect standard was being applied, and it would say the same thing about Tara Reade but for the fact that the groups that turned CBF's accusations into a national spectacle must now either admit their proffered standard was wrong, or acknowledge they hold a different standard when their guy is in the hotseat. The criticism by conservatives now isn't that we should adopt the absurd standard set by the outrage crowd, it's that the outrage crowd needs to own up to the standard they themselves set or take one on the chin. Democrats for some reason seem to have decided on the latter, even when there are probably more creative alternatives for them.

This was an entirely foreseeable outcome, but a disappointing continuation of the Democrats making very short-sighted political plays without any regard for the fact that they'll be bitten in the ass when their turn comes around. Some examples - burning Robert Bork's and Manuel Estrada's nominations; eliminating the filibuster; attempting to burn Kavanaugh's nomination; the long-term consequences of impeachment over strictly non-criminal charges are still TBD.

Right now, they push on three fronts that are guaranteed to be pyrrhic victories - Trumps tax returns; the prosecution of Flynn; state authoritarianism. All three of these are certain to be ass-kickers during the next Democratic administration. Buy popcorn futures.

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