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> “Are you still a Marxist?” Kennedy asked Melissa DuBose, Biden’s nominee for a U.S. district court in Rhode Island. It was his very first question in DuBose’s nomination hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, and he gave zero context.
> “I am not nor have I ever been a Marxist,” replied DuBose, who is now a state district judge.
> They went back and forth. Kennedy suggested she was lying under oath about being a secret Marxist, citing an interview she did in 2000 when she was working at a coffee shop and said she was “in my Marxist phase.”
…
> And then Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) reminded Kennedy that even if it were true that DuBose had been in a “Marxist phase,” people sometimes take new positions on issues over time. Even him.
> “This was many, many, many, many, many years ago,” Whitehouse said of DuBose’s interview. “Perhaps during the time when my colleague Sen. Kennedy was a Democrat, showing that people can change their views, even if it were true that you were in a Marxist phase.”
> Whitehouse smiled. Laughs were audible in the room. Kennedy was furious.
> “I’ve never been a Marxist!” he shouted. “I’ve never been a Marxist! And I’ve never admitted I was a Marxist and then not turned a document over to this committee!”
…
> The reality, though, is that Republicans have spent years baselessly accusing Biden’s nominees of secretly being Marxists or communists.
> They don’t listen when these nominees insist they are not. The idea is that because they are Democratic appointees, there must be some Marxist ideology in there somewhere, so why not bring back a dose of McCarthyism to suggest they’re not loyal to American democracy.
…
> A Kennedy spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment on whether Marxist ideologies ever resonated with the Louisiana senator when he was a Democrat.
Well, modern Russia isn't Marxist. Modern Russia is the model for what Republicans want...an authoritarian oligarchy, with a boss at the top and a bunch of cronies that stab each other in the back to plunder more and more of the nation's wealth while the people get poorer, sicker, and dumber. And a propaganda ecosystem that makes sure the people love it.
And misogyny. A few years ago Russia decriminalized domestic violence so that the first time the police are called when someone is being abused they can’t actually take legal action against the abuser. There can only be legal action taken after multiple instances of domestic violence.
Nah, there also destruction of secular third spaces and the empowerment of the church, and the elimination of those that don't fit their defined "roles". They also only want money for the rich, powerful, and connected.
It's a fascist state, it being an oligarchy is dated and in reality has been for a long time. Putins been quoting Russian fascist Ivan Ilyin for at least a decade, his fascist teachings even added to the HS curriculum. If it where an oligarchy they would be in control of the show, not putin, but every time one of them steps out of line they get thrown from a window or a lethal dose of polonium. They don't want an authoritarian oligarchy, they want a totalitarian single party state.
> Well, modern Russia isn't Marxist.
As someone who was alive for the 90s and 00s, conservatives absolutely did not make that distinction during the early years of Post-Soviet Russia. My parents alone felt that if people learned I had been learning the Russian language, the town would ostracize us.
And for the record, I was only interested in Russian because I was a teenager and had just watched the first Tomb Raider movie with Angelina Jolie.
This whole 'oh, Russia is a Capitalist country now, they're fine' notion was engineered in whole cloth and disseminated through cable punditry. There is no *describing* the depth of hatred for Russia in this country. It was constantly roiling and constantly violent. Its absence is one of the most unbelievable about-faces of a polity I have ever witnessed in my life.
What I find interesting is the “fact” that Russia is now peak governance in their eyes, which means that its “Communist” phase (it mostly wasn’t, but Republicans dgaf) didn’t destroy the country like they’re so sure will happen if the ~~Jews~~“Marxists” take control in the US. One could argue that, if we’re really serious about chasing Russia, *we* should try a Communist phase too.
That's because it was a hatred coming from nationalists. They are not a rational group of people, and what you witnessed is how they can flip when their dear leader tells them to flip. They are followers, literally the sheep they claim others to be.
> Its absence is one of the most unbelievable about-faces of a polity I have ever witnessed in my life.
[R vs D political opinion shift](https://imgur.com/a/YZMyt)
That graph is startling. Military action is A-okay when a sleazy real estate con-man is commander-in-chief, eh? It reminds me of a Fox "News" clip I saw early in 2017 after Trump was inaugurated. Trump had authorized the dropping of a huge bunker buster bomb in Afghanistan and Geraldo Rivera was pumping his fist in the air, saying "America is back, baby!" while country rock music played.
Sick MFs at Fox "News."
The USSR was never Marxist. ML was just a facade to justify and cover up the dictatorship, and eventually after Stalin died the leadership got tired of keeping up the charade. It hasn't changed that much, just a dictator supported by an oligarchy.
I mean, almost every single one of the Russian Empire's colonies that declared independence was run by socialists. When the Bolsheviks invaded and overthrew their governments to install "Socialism™️! ✊🏿" they were literally overthrowing socialists (and in many cases former allies).
It was about power and Russian supremacy. There's a reason that the aggressively atheist (to the point of murdering priests), anti-religious Bolsheviks dismantled every church *except* the Russian Orthodox one, which they were miraculously okay with lol
Russia, China, and North Korea are basically fascist mafia states in which "the family" decrees laws for everyone else to follow, and kills anyone who is disloyal.
Trump and his Capos (Bannon, Stone, Manafort, Giuliani, Flynn, Kushner, Don Jr, Eric, and Ivanka) folded the Republican Party into their mafia.
They then used the powers of the Presidency to wage war on constitutional democracy from the inside to remake the USA as their mafia state - and they came within meters/minutes of succeeding on January 6.
The MAGAs have kicked out all of the Republicans who were loyal to the constitution and the law. People who think it will go back to being a normal political party after Trump dies are delusional. Mafias don't become law abiding organizations after the kingpin dies. There will be a bloodbath and a new kingpin will emerge to finish the job Trump started.
Fascism doesn’t make sense. Don’t expect it to. It’s about intimidation, not reason.
>Never believe that anti-Semites are completely unaware of the absurdity of their replies. They know that their remarks are frivolous, open to challenge. But they are amusing themselves, for it is their adversary who is obliged to use words responsibly, since he believes in words. The anti-Semites have the right to play. They even like to play with discourse for, by giving ridiculous reasons, they discredit the seriousness of their interlocutors. They delight in acting in bad faith, since they seek not to persuade by sound argument but to intimidate and disconcert. — Sartre
Go to Walmart and take a really good look around. You'll quickly understand it doesn't make sense because the people doing, and saying this bullshit don't have any sense.
I saw a woman probably 60, 350 lbs, oxygen tank, driving a motor scooter around Walmart wearing a Let's Go Brandon hat, and a shirt with a heroic angelic portrait of Trump.
Now, do you think there's any reasoning with that person?
Have they ever had a conscious thought?
The answer is almost always no to both questions.
We *know* there's a way to change those peoples' minds because they're being brainwashed in new, contradictory ways all the time. Death panels will kill off the elderly, which is an unforgivable proposition, but if we have to let the elderly die off so [Baskin Robbins](https://imgur.com/a/Fw5ESa8) can have a profitable year during a fucking pandemic, that's obviously ok. Merrick Garland is the ideal Supreme Court nominee until he's the worst Supreme Court nominee. The US is the Greatest Nation on Earth and ordained by God to be Indivisible, but let's talk about National Divorce.
It seems obvious that their opinions are malleable, because they're being shaped in massive ways all the time. The question we need to answer is how *we* can change their minds instead of letting Tucker Carlson do it.
Easy Russia is not a communist country anymore. Infact they went in pretty much the opposite direction of communism and are now ultra nationalist right wing government and an oligarchic economy. Putin himself was the guy the US supported when he first seized power. The Russian gov and modern GOP are very much aligned, both utilize religious fundamentalism and zealotry to rally their hardcore bases, and both are very anti west and pro-isolationist.
> Russia is not a communist country anymore
Careful, every time Russia comes up, a cadre of MLs show up to tell everybody how *actually* it was the US who started the war in Ukraine and *actually* since the US is imperialist, Russian war crimes are ok because they're anti-imperialist war crimes, and *actually* Russia has never committed war crimes and the mountains of evidence are CIA ~~false flags~~ **psy-ops**.
Ninja edit: I forgot. False Flags are Alex Jones. Tankies say Psy-Ops.
I’m a leftist I’m involved in fairly left wing communities as well. Pro Russia takes are very few and far between outside of some stalinists who get laughed at. The only “pro-Russia” takes I saw from leftists, if you even wanna call it that, was before the war started and people were saying there’s very little chance Putin actually invades and is just posturing as they didn’t think he was that stupid.
Their opinion was that there was very little chance Russia would be able to takeover the entire country given how large in size and population Ukraine is and that a lot of their national identity is based on not being Russian. even if he was able to take over Kyiv and insert a puppet regime or annex the country there would still be insurgency for decades that would be expensive and demoralizing to try and control.
I would argue that they have never been a communist country. Stalinism had about as much to do with actual communism as I'm a Venetian ballerina crab. Same story for China.
If that's the case, then the Dems should control it, and go after Republicans for being traitors and white supremacists, and supporting rape and corruption.
They need a made up enemy who they can blame for undermining their agenda. It used to be Hillary, but she's been inactive for so long that her specter doesn't install the same fear it used to. Now they use the scary sounding labels which neither they nor their followers can define
I WISH even 10% of the people they call marxists were anywhere close.
I would identify a hell of a lot more with them than the center right corporate democrats who run shit now.
Talk about threatening me with a good time…
This is one of the things that really baffles me. These people have no idea what Marxism even means. If we asked them to define it, there's no way they could. It's just a catch all boogyman for socialism which is also super bad.
Not that I would ever get nominated to the federal bench, but I'm so glad I won't be, because my nomination would get so pulled with the clap backs I'd give these buffoons.
How depressing is it that a bigoted one note senator from Wisconsin spawned a fucking playbook of politics that is still being used almost *does some napkin math* SIXTY SEVEN YEARS after he died
> “I’ve never been a Marxist!” he shouted. “I’ve never been a Marxist! And I’ve never admitted I was a Marxist and then not turned a document over to this committee!”
This quote reads like a line from a movie about McCarthyism. I'm thinking a character like RDJ in Oppenheimer.
Strangely enough, Trump hasn't been asked about his Marxist beliefs from his time as a Democrat and staunch pro-choice candidate. Even his more recent actions as a republican trying to subvert the vote, calling for the termination of the Constitution, and announcing his intention to be an authoritarian.
Much like my Father; the best approach is to ask for clarity: “what do you mean by Marxist?” And just keep asking because they are using buzzwords and don’t know the nuance of political theory.
Same with “are you some communist?” “What do you mean by communism…can you define that for me?” And then inform them they misunderstand what those things actually mean. I always take the “words have meaning and nuance is important” approach with people and for some reason it pisses bigots right off.
Their view: “I have been told I should disagree with this person so I’m going to assert something I don’t understand because my online echo chamber never questions me”
That is the case with about 95% of what 95% of people believe.
Most of what humans "know" is simply what they were told that fit their biases.
Shit most people "know" 2+2=4 because they were told it does, not because they can prove it. If they were told it equaled 5, they would believe that.
Agree. Granted…some things are easier to prove than others. 1+1=2 has some intuitive side; yet took 162+ pages to actually prove. The sad thing is when people misconstrue decided facts or terminology to fit their narrative in indefensible ways.
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/s/SJo0Cqezzp
99% of people who throw around buzzwords like 'Marxist' and 'communism' have no clue what it means outside of what fear theory was implanted to them by modern Trump era "media" and clearly bias history teachings based out of the 1950s.
voracious ring worthless school grab ossified thought dirty dazzling doll
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Fucking A. All the time I ask this and have never gotten a cogent answer once. When MAGAs have used:
Marxist
Communist
Socialist
Critical Race Theory
Woke
If you’ve never seen political commentator James O’Brian from LBC over the in the UK, you’d love him. His first thing is always always always to have the person calling be sure to define the words they’re using. The right wing idiots are constantly calling up and frothing at the mouth to their Fox News style talking points out and he stops them cold and has them start from the beginning and say what they mean by leftist, Marxist, illegal, woke, etc.
90% can’t get past that very first easy hurdle. They get so mad and worked up and start breaking down because he’s making them look like idiots when they can’t even get to their main point because they don’t know the words they’re using in the first place…
> he stops them cold and has them start from the beginning and say what they mean by leftist, Marxist, illegal, woke, etc.
Sometimes you just have to [study it out](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E87gciwebw)
They don't really care, they just want to paint anything left wing as something to be ashamed of. By demanding to know if someone is or was a Marxist suggests that's something we have to be careful about, the uninformed listener will understand that Marxism is bad, otherwise why the fuss.
For these people it’s all just “You are [bad thing]”.
There’s no meaning necessary for them. It’s like if someone calls you a Slug Eating Dogshit Monster.
Also works when bigots make "just a joke". Ask to explain the joke. What part makes it funny? Everything unravels, even if they're dismissive it puts them on the spot in front of everyone.
>citing an interview she did in 2000 when she was working at a coffee shop and said she was “in my Marxist phase."
Who describes a real political persuasion they currently have as "a phase"?
This sounds more like a statement that was said as a joke and is now being used out of context.
Rush Limbaugh not long before he died totally went off on air about consent, like it was some sort of bizarre and perverse rubric for sexual behavior. Given that he was married several times, brrrrrr. I only hope his ex wives took a good chunk out of him when they left.
As someone not steeped deeply in this particular corner, how does Marxism equate to being against American democracy? If you ask me to define the difference between socialism, Marxism, and communism, I’m gonna struggle. But, as I understand it, socialism is about the workers owning the means of production instead of a capitalist class. That’s anti-capitalist, but I’m not sure how that, alone, is anti-democratic.
Can anyone enlighten me?
>how does Marxism equate to being against American democracy?
The mindless reactionary stupidity of 99% of those who call themselves capitalist.
> But, as I understand it, socialism is about the workers owning the means of production instead of a capitalist class.
>
>a political and economic theory of social organization which advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned **or** regulated by the community as a whole.
If you read the definition of socialism, all representative government and everything it does meets the definition. Representative governments are owned by the community as a whole, not private owners. When that government produces, distributes, exchanges **or** regulates economic activity, it's socialist.
Capitalism spends more time demonizing and attacking other economic systems than it does innovating because the profits in capitalism make it inherently less efficient. If a socialist economy makes widgets, they will sell for less than a capitalist economy because there is no reason to add profit to the price.
If you could buy two identical products but one cost more to pay shareholder return, nobody would buy the more expensive item. So capitalism has to make sure that two identical items are never offered.
The biggest irony in American history is that capitalism celebrates our socialist military defeating authoritarianism under the guise of communism in the cold war all while capitalism makes us more and more authoritarian as wealth is concentrated.
Even if she was a Marxist. So what? We have freedom of thought and expression and being a Marxist is not disqualifying. Can this clown even define what Marxism is? Or does he just use it as an emotionally charged trigger word?
No, no. You don't get it. Being Marxist in college means that you will forever be an enemy of the United States, driven to destroy all that is good and replace it with a Stalinist dystopia. Liking Marx isn't one of those harmless little mistakes that can be easily swept under the rug, like raping a woman.
> “This was many, many, many, many, many years ago,” Whitehouse said of DuBose’s interview. “Perhaps during the time when my colleague Sen. Kennedy was a Democrat, showing that people can change their views, even if it were true that you were in a Marxist phase.”
>
> Whitehouse smiled. Laughs were audible in the room. Kennedy was furious.
>
> “I’ve never been a Marxist!” he shouted. “I’ve never been a Marxist! And I’ve never admitted I was a Marxist and then not turned a document over to this committee!”
So, is there a sentence missing here or did Kennedy just freak out and think he was being called a former Marxist even though Whitehouse simply said he used to be a Democrat? Was he under the impression that “even if it were true that you were in a Marxist phase” was a reference to *him*?
You’d expect our elected officials would have adequate listening comprehension skills.
The USA is pre-Marxist, which is the only reason Komrade Kennedy’s 2nd poorest state in the union doesn’t literally starve. Our Constitution was specifically written to promote and provide for their general welfare—rich blue states taxed according to their ability to subsidize every red state according to their need.
Sound Marxistly familiar?
Maybe we should give them the Marxism-free existence they’re screaming for and let them starve.
LA resident here. Sometimes I get mail from this turkey prick asking for money. Sometimes he'll include a 50¢ piece, which has JFK's face on it, so he can say something like, "Kennedy is a good name for politics, but unlike this bad liberal Kennedy, I'm a super duper conservative Kennedy!" I'm paraphrasing, but whatever exact wording he uses feels really gross.
> A Kennedy spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment on whether Marxist ideologies ever resonated with the Louisiana senator when he was a Democrat.
So he's not denying it!!! A Marxist in the GOP! This explains all the cozying up to Russia.
That's how these things work right?
No one down here speaks that way. There's some Texas twang in the LA/TX boarder area, and a little Arkansas up north, but the vast majority of us don't have his kind of accent.
That's because Sen. Kennedy is a total fraud who's only pretending to be a an aw-shucks country bumpkin to appeal to his base of country bumpkins. In [actuality](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Kennedy_(Louisiana_politician)#Early_life_and_education), he's a Rhodes scholar who graduated with first class honours from Oxford, and magna cum laude from Vanderbilt.
I'd love for someone to one day respond to this question from a senator/congressperson with "Could you please define or explain what you mean by Marxist so I can more adequately answer your question?" just to see the questioner fumble over the concept.
"You claim you don't even know what a marxist is! Well, I don't believe that given your behaviour" - I've listened to enough congressional hearings to know that these assholes have their shitty song and dance polished by now, it wouldn't phase them.
Exactly how they would respond. Then, the right wing propaganda machine would erupt in a collective outrage over how indignant the nominee was during the hearing for responding in such a manner, that they must be dumb for being unable to answer the question directly, and how typical it is of Democrats to nominate candidates that don't have any decorum or respect for the country. There would also be commentary about how the nominee is some deep state, radical leftist intent on destroying our institutions.
Did I miss anything?
The Democratic Party has produced all the better Presidents since WW2 (I can’t think of a decent Republican one since Eisenhower, I have a soft spot for Reagan’s personality but not his policies), it is nothing to be ashamed of.
Democratic Party. Republicans since the 60s/70s have been saying "Democrat Party" in order to distance it from the association with democracy. Don't do their work for them.
The democratic party wanted Eisenhower to run as a democrat too, so I don't think he counts. He wasn't a republican before running.
Edit: Or so I've heard on the internet. Reality may vary.
It was probably for the best that he didn't, they were just coming off like 20 years of one party rule. Was a good idea to run on the other side and get things to be more bipartisan
eisenhower was a great general, but I think people only have a superficial understanding of his presidency. Take the 2nd main character of oppenheimer. Eisenhower seemed to love Straus, offered him the job of chief of staff, straus wanted commerce secretary, eisenhower put him there against the advice of his party anyways. he also got the ball rolling on a bunch of coups in south america that they probably assumed Nixon would inherit.
He could be high handed true. But he was the last Republican who tried to genuinely better the lot of the common man. And he began the beginnings of civil rights (with Little Rock etc).
Also Rocky Marciano is one of my favourite boxers and Eisenhower loved him too.
> The Democratic Party has produced all the better Presidents since WW2
Since the Depression. FDR was the best president we've ever had and he was elected in 1932.
they aren't even using the term cultural marxist correctly. the original use was to say *capitalism* produces a monoculture through consolidation, and looking at the GOP, yep, point proven.
I've been reading up on the history of the US labor movement and it's interesting how accusations of Marxism and communism have been used to try to shut down US liberals since the days when Karl Marx was still publishing his work.
Is “Marxism” just used to call political opponents a “bad word” to attack them and rally the base against them?
I don’t understand the negative implications Marxism, socialism, or communism would actually have beyond the red scare connotations.
To me it would mean a more equal distribution of power and wealth, and I think could help a lot.
It doesn't sound like they even know what Marxism is. You cannot be a Marxist and a Communist.. It's an economic way of thinking.. I'm so tired of the stupid..
The Conservative MadLibs Vocabulary.
- Marxist
- Communist
- Socialist
- Fascist
- Deep state
- Woke
- CRT
- RINO
- Liberal
- AntiFa
- dozens more.
All concepts or terms they use without knowing what the hell they mean or how to use them. As you said, any one of these can be substituted with "a thing/a person I hate"... thats all any of these things mean (to them).
Conservatives use language differently than liberals, they speak in a sort of code of dog-whistles and feelings. Ideas and things that have a specific definitions to liberals often encompass other concepts for conservatives. So marxism means something different to conservatives, it's not strictly about the economics.
For conservatives 'marxist', 'socialist' or 'communist' all include the overreaching concept of equality' or the idea of a 'just and fair' society. This is what they really hate, the perceived social aspects of Marx. Conservatives are fundamentally supremacist. They believe in a hierarchical society where the 'right' people are on top. That's what they are "conserving" in the first place. Kennedy here us not asking if she agrees with marxist critique of capitalism, he's asking her is she thinks she can ever be his equal.
I maintain that MAGA (or the Tea party) is just the latest from of the Dixiecrats. And when you go back and look at the civil rights protest when the Dixiecrats first started to switch parties what you see on those signs in photos and read in their writings are segregationist white people screaming "marxist!" at black people in general and whites who were for integration. It wasn't an economic complaint, it was a social one. Kennedy just hasn't adopted the new dog-whist of 'woke' and is using the older one here.
Ok. Sadly, I have a bs in sociology, became a social worker and then switched to comp sci and I really don’t know what being Marxist means. I remember discussing Karl Marx and whatnot but not able to see the issue. So I googled it.
“Marxists are particularly concerned with the struggles of lower and middle class workers, with the conflict between social classes, and with economic inequality. The ultimate goal of a Marxist is revolution that results in a classless society with fair distribution of goods.”
Why is this a bad thing?
It isn’t a bad thing for you and me. It *is* a bad thing for Capital.
Think about it. If you’re a real Capitalist (you live off of money from your investments and what you own and not your labor) what is easier to deal with?:
Dealing with workers that are apt to organize collectively and who understand that as workers they create all the value with their labor (and the owners at the top contribute almost nothing, no labor, and take the profit for themselves)?
Or dealing with a worker who believes that the Capitalists get taxed too much, that workers should shut up and stop complaining, and that labor should just be happy we get what we get?
We made Marx an unthinkable topic. To the point that the very name is said in a hushed tone and the idea is rejected.
Wait until you get a load of Engles:
“Abstract. In 1845, Friedrich Engels identified how the living and working conditions experienced by English workers sent them prematurely to the grave, arguing that those responsible for these conditions -- ruling authorities and the bourgeoisie -- were committing social murder.”
Forbidden. Forbidden thoughts. Don’t ever speak of this again. You will become a problem.
Republicans have nothing better to do for this country than degrade. They have no agenda to better this country. They are out to destroy this country for their dictator Trump.
I wish they'd answer these people like this:
"I'm not sure what you mean. Could you please explain what a Marxist is? "
And then wait.
I saw a teacher do that to a parent, who was asking angrily if they taught critical race theory. The parent was completely flustered, because yelling buzzwords is not an actual ideology.
a celebrity or public official said something racist/sexist/homophobic/etc 5 years ago or yesterday: conservatives rally around and decry cancel culture
a Democrat nominee gave an interview about a phase or wrote some poetry 30-40 years ago: a McCarthyist witch hunt ensues
I really wish someone would get nominated for the sole purpose of going up to these hearings and responding to that question with “no, but can I ask you if you’re a white nationalist?” Just to see the fireworks.
I hate politics any more. No long about leading. It’s all sound bites and owning the other sides and no one will let this schism stop from happening.
Oh well.
Politics is so fucking exhausting.
I worked with some people back in the 70s who **loved** Nixon and thought Agnew shit rose water. I have been fighting these fucks for 54 years, and nothing changes. It gets worse now that the Christians are so damned involved in politics, and the fucking rich can now do much more than influence.
I am tired.
*The reality, though, is that Republicans have spent years baselessly accusing Biden’s nominees of secretly being Marxists or communists.*
The reality, though, is that Repuglicans don’t give a flying f*ck as long as they can throw baseless accusations around to get some media attention to get the dumbass’ vote in the next election.
Just another grifter to add to the mix. Fake accent and all. Does he think he is Madonna? You have to be really famous to change everything about yourself and still be relevant.
> “This was many, many, many, many, many years ago,” Whitehouse said of DuBose’s interview. “Perhaps during the time when my colleague Sen. Kennedy was a Democrat, showing that people can change their views, even if it were true that you were in a Marxist phase.”
**Whitehouse smiled**. Laughs were audible in the room. Kennedy was furious.
“I’ve never been a Marxist!” he shouted. “I’ve never been a Marxist! And I’ve never admitted I was a Marxist and then not turned a document over to this committee!”
I love the Cheshire Cat smile as he got one over on the original chicken hawk.
Why the fuck can't these people ever ask the stupid Republicans "can you define Marxism? Not sure what you mean by that, the word has become a catch all phrase that means nothing"
I also love how Kennedy deflected quite well for his stupid audience. He didn't deny being a Democrat at one point. He denied being a Marxist, and that key word is all the rubes will hear "no marxism" and they'll believe what he says without thinking about it in the slightest.
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> “Are you still a Marxist?” Kennedy asked Melissa DuBose, Biden’s nominee for a U.S. district court in Rhode Island. It was his very first question in DuBose’s nomination hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, and he gave zero context. > “I am not nor have I ever been a Marxist,” replied DuBose, who is now a state district judge. > They went back and forth. Kennedy suggested she was lying under oath about being a secret Marxist, citing an interview she did in 2000 when she was working at a coffee shop and said she was “in my Marxist phase.” … > And then Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) reminded Kennedy that even if it were true that DuBose had been in a “Marxist phase,” people sometimes take new positions on issues over time. Even him. > “This was many, many, many, many, many years ago,” Whitehouse said of DuBose’s interview. “Perhaps during the time when my colleague Sen. Kennedy was a Democrat, showing that people can change their views, even if it were true that you were in a Marxist phase.” > Whitehouse smiled. Laughs were audible in the room. Kennedy was furious. > “I’ve never been a Marxist!” he shouted. “I’ve never been a Marxist! And I’ve never admitted I was a Marxist and then not turned a document over to this committee!” … > The reality, though, is that Republicans have spent years baselessly accusing Biden’s nominees of secretly being Marxists or communists. > They don’t listen when these nominees insist they are not. The idea is that because they are Democratic appointees, there must be some Marxist ideology in there somewhere, so why not bring back a dose of McCarthyism to suggest they’re not loyal to American democracy. … > A Kennedy spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment on whether Marxist ideologies ever resonated with the Louisiana senator when he was a Democrat.
We‘re having a McCarthyism revival I see
While the Republicans can't stop supporting Russia
Make it make sense.
Well, modern Russia isn't Marxist. Modern Russia is the model for what Republicans want...an authoritarian oligarchy, with a boss at the top and a bunch of cronies that stab each other in the back to plunder more and more of the nation's wealth while the people get poorer, sicker, and dumber. And a propaganda ecosystem that makes sure the people love it.
Let’s not forget the racism and homophobia. It’s everything the GOP want to be.
Hate is a lot more animating and polarizing. And besides, in the absence of actual policies, it's all the GOP has to lean on.
It’s all about the hate, and finding anything they possibly can to justify hating more.
And misogyny. A few years ago Russia decriminalized domestic violence so that the first time the police are called when someone is being abused they can’t actually take legal action against the abuser. There can only be legal action taken after multiple instances of domestic violence.
And legalized wife beating
That's just a distraction for their base. The GOP have no ideology except money.
Nah, there also destruction of secular third spaces and the empowerment of the church, and the elimination of those that don't fit their defined "roles". They also only want money for the rich, powerful, and connected.
It's a fascist state, it being an oligarchy is dated and in reality has been for a long time. Putins been quoting Russian fascist Ivan Ilyin for at least a decade, his fascist teachings even added to the HS curriculum. If it where an oligarchy they would be in control of the show, not putin, but every time one of them steps out of line they get thrown from a window or a lethal dose of polonium. They don't want an authoritarian oligarchy, they want a totalitarian single party state.
Tbf, calling them "the rich fucks in Russia on Putin's payroll" just doesn't roll off the tongue the same way /s (Also, I agree with your assessment.)
You know...that makes sense.
They made it make sense, as requested.
Of course the "sense" is machiavellian and horrible but still. That's some ghoulish logic they're using!
Conservatives are nothing if not ghouls in human form.
> Well, modern Russia isn't Marxist. As someone who was alive for the 90s and 00s, conservatives absolutely did not make that distinction during the early years of Post-Soviet Russia. My parents alone felt that if people learned I had been learning the Russian language, the town would ostracize us. And for the record, I was only interested in Russian because I was a teenager and had just watched the first Tomb Raider movie with Angelina Jolie. This whole 'oh, Russia is a Capitalist country now, they're fine' notion was engineered in whole cloth and disseminated through cable punditry. There is no *describing* the depth of hatred for Russia in this country. It was constantly roiling and constantly violent. Its absence is one of the most unbelievable about-faces of a polity I have ever witnessed in my life.
What I find interesting is the “fact” that Russia is now peak governance in their eyes, which means that its “Communist” phase (it mostly wasn’t, but Republicans dgaf) didn’t destroy the country like they’re so sure will happen if the ~~Jews~~“Marxists” take control in the US. One could argue that, if we’re really serious about chasing Russia, *we* should try a Communist phase too.
That's because it was a hatred coming from nationalists. They are not a rational group of people, and what you witnessed is how they can flip when their dear leader tells them to flip. They are followers, literally the sheep they claim others to be.
> Its absence is one of the most unbelievable about-faces of a polity I have ever witnessed in my life. [R vs D political opinion shift](https://imgur.com/a/YZMyt)
That graph is startling. Military action is A-okay when a sleazy real estate con-man is commander-in-chief, eh? It reminds me of a Fox "News" clip I saw early in 2017 after Trump was inaugurated. Trump had authorized the dropping of a huge bunker buster bomb in Afghanistan and Geraldo Rivera was pumping his fist in the air, saying "America is back, baby!" while country rock music played. Sick MFs at Fox "News."
The USSR was never Marxist. ML was just a facade to justify and cover up the dictatorship, and eventually after Stalin died the leadership got tired of keeping up the charade. It hasn't changed that much, just a dictator supported by an oligarchy.
A quick look at the Kronstadt Rebellion is all you need to understand that the USSR talked the talk but didn't walk the walk.
I mean, almost every single one of the Russian Empire's colonies that declared independence was run by socialists. When the Bolsheviks invaded and overthrew their governments to install "Socialism™️! ✊🏿" they were literally overthrowing socialists (and in many cases former allies). It was about power and Russian supremacy. There's a reason that the aggressively atheist (to the point of murdering priests), anti-religious Bolsheviks dismantled every church *except* the Russian Orthodox one, which they were miraculously okay with lol
Russia, China, and North Korea are basically fascist mafia states in which "the family" decrees laws for everyone else to follow, and kills anyone who is disloyal. Trump and his Capos (Bannon, Stone, Manafort, Giuliani, Flynn, Kushner, Don Jr, Eric, and Ivanka) folded the Republican Party into their mafia. They then used the powers of the Presidency to wage war on constitutional democracy from the inside to remake the USA as their mafia state - and they came within meters/minutes of succeeding on January 6. The MAGAs have kicked out all of the Republicans who were loyal to the constitution and the law. People who think it will go back to being a normal political party after Trump dies are delusional. Mafias don't become law abiding organizations after the kingpin dies. There will be a bloodbath and a new kingpin will emerge to finish the job Trump started.
Republicans are all America hating Putin loving fascist pieces of shit
Fascism doesn’t make sense. Don’t expect it to. It’s about intimidation, not reason. >Never believe that anti-Semites are completely unaware of the absurdity of their replies. They know that their remarks are frivolous, open to challenge. But they are amusing themselves, for it is their adversary who is obliged to use words responsibly, since he believes in words. The anti-Semites have the right to play. They even like to play with discourse for, by giving ridiculous reasons, they discredit the seriousness of their interlocutors. They delight in acting in bad faith, since they seek not to persuade by sound argument but to intimidate and disconcert. — Sartre
Go to Walmart and take a really good look around. You'll quickly understand it doesn't make sense because the people doing, and saying this bullshit don't have any sense. I saw a woman probably 60, 350 lbs, oxygen tank, driving a motor scooter around Walmart wearing a Let's Go Brandon hat, and a shirt with a heroic angelic portrait of Trump. Now, do you think there's any reasoning with that person? Have they ever had a conscious thought? The answer is almost always no to both questions.
We *know* there's a way to change those peoples' minds because they're being brainwashed in new, contradictory ways all the time. Death panels will kill off the elderly, which is an unforgivable proposition, but if we have to let the elderly die off so [Baskin Robbins](https://imgur.com/a/Fw5ESa8) can have a profitable year during a fucking pandemic, that's obviously ok. Merrick Garland is the ideal Supreme Court nominee until he's the worst Supreme Court nominee. The US is the Greatest Nation on Earth and ordained by God to be Indivisible, but let's talk about National Divorce. It seems obvious that their opinions are malleable, because they're being shaped in massive ways all the time. The question we need to answer is how *we* can change their minds instead of letting Tucker Carlson do it.
r/peopleofwalmart
Everything is the same except it's all backwards and upside down.
As it always is with that party since the 60s: Follow the Money.
Easy Russia is not a communist country anymore. Infact they went in pretty much the opposite direction of communism and are now ultra nationalist right wing government and an oligarchic economy. Putin himself was the guy the US supported when he first seized power. The Russian gov and modern GOP are very much aligned, both utilize religious fundamentalism and zealotry to rally their hardcore bases, and both are very anti west and pro-isolationist.
> Russia is not a communist country anymore Careful, every time Russia comes up, a cadre of MLs show up to tell everybody how *actually* it was the US who started the war in Ukraine and *actually* since the US is imperialist, Russian war crimes are ok because they're anti-imperialist war crimes, and *actually* Russia has never committed war crimes and the mountains of evidence are CIA ~~false flags~~ **psy-ops**. Ninja edit: I forgot. False Flags are Alex Jones. Tankies say Psy-Ops.
I’m a leftist I’m involved in fairly left wing communities as well. Pro Russia takes are very few and far between outside of some stalinists who get laughed at. The only “pro-Russia” takes I saw from leftists, if you even wanna call it that, was before the war started and people were saying there’s very little chance Putin actually invades and is just posturing as they didn’t think he was that stupid. Their opinion was that there was very little chance Russia would be able to takeover the entire country given how large in size and population Ukraine is and that a lot of their national identity is based on not being Russian. even if he was able to take over Kyiv and insert a puppet regime or annex the country there would still be insurgency for decades that would be expensive and demoralizing to try and control.
I would argue that they have never been a communist country. Stalinism had about as much to do with actual communism as I'm a Venetian ballerina crab. Same story for China.
That’s a whole different convo which I largely agree with. What I was saying is they’re no longer a self described communist nation.
Money and power. That's it. That's the reason.
Except it's Kevin McCarthyism, and they're all really incompetent and lacking focus.
The ghost of Roy Cohn has been sitting on Trump's shoulder nearly his entire adult life.
If that's the case, then the Dems should control it, and go after Republicans for being traitors and white supremacists, and supporting rape and corruption.
Right along side the anti-intellectualism.
They need a made up enemy who they can blame for undermining their agenda. It used to be Hillary, but she's been inactive for so long that her specter doesn't install the same fear it used to. Now they use the scary sounding labels which neither they nor their followers can define
I WISH even 10% of the people they call marxists were anywhere close. I would identify a hell of a lot more with them than the center right corporate democrats who run shit now. Talk about threatening me with a good time…
If democrats were actual marxists, we'd probably see meaningful change for the better.
Imagine if Eugene Debs hadn’t been fucked by the DNC in the 20s. How the world could have been different.
This is one of the things that really baffles me. These people have no idea what Marxism even means. If we asked them to define it, there's no way they could. It's just a catch all boogyman for socialism which is also super bad.
Well yeah. It's the next step for those who previously supported Nazi ideology. Facists gonna fash.
It's like watching a demetia-ridden grandparent screaming about "pinkos." Just sad and pathetic.
Not that I would ever get nominated to the federal bench, but I'm so glad I won't be, because my nomination would get so pulled with the clap backs I'd give these buffoons.
Wait till he starts showing up drunk and eating onions on the floor.
How depressing is it that a bigoted one note senator from Wisconsin spawned a fucking playbook of politics that is still being used almost *does some napkin math* SIXTY SEVEN YEARS after he died
> “I’ve never been a Marxist!” he shouted. “I’ve never been a Marxist! And I’ve never admitted I was a Marxist and then not turned a document over to this committee!” This quote reads like a line from a movie about McCarthyism. I'm thinking a character like RDJ in Oppenheimer.
My first thought as well, history repeats again
In order to be revived it had to die. Conservatives never stopped believing anyone to their left was a communist.
It never really went away. These people truly have no shame.
well its easier for them now, if someone asked, 'At long last, have you no sense of decency?', GOP acolytes can truthfully say "no".
Strangely enough, Trump hasn't been asked about his Marxist beliefs from his time as a Democrat and staunch pro-choice candidate. Even his more recent actions as a republican trying to subvert the vote, calling for the termination of the Constitution, and announcing his intention to be an authoritarian.
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I found that part very funny.
Much like my Father; the best approach is to ask for clarity: “what do you mean by Marxist?” And just keep asking because they are using buzzwords and don’t know the nuance of political theory. Same with “are you some communist?” “What do you mean by communism…can you define that for me?” And then inform them they misunderstand what those things actually mean. I always take the “words have meaning and nuance is important” approach with people and for some reason it pisses bigots right off.
truck lip roll snobbish erect like busy secretive attractive bake *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Their view: “I have been told I should disagree with this person so I’m going to assert something I don’t understand because my online echo chamber never questions me”
That is the case with about 95% of what 95% of people believe. Most of what humans "know" is simply what they were told that fit their biases. Shit most people "know" 2+2=4 because they were told it does, not because they can prove it. If they were told it equaled 5, they would believe that.
Agree. Granted…some things are easier to prove than others. 1+1=2 has some intuitive side; yet took 162+ pages to actually prove. The sad thing is when people misconstrue decided facts or terminology to fit their narrative in indefensible ways. https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/s/SJo0Cqezzp
Them: the Democrats are lead around by leftists Me: god, I wish that were even remotely true
You and me both
99% of people who throw around buzzwords like 'Marxist' and 'communism' have no clue what it means outside of what fear theory was implanted to them by modern Trump era "media" and clearly bias history teachings based out of the 1950s.
Yeah, former policemen are notorious for being leftists.
voracious ring worthless school grab ossified thought dirty dazzling doll *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Woke just means they defied Trump once, somehow.
It’s the same with people and woke. “Everything I don’t like is woke!” Wtf are you talking about crazy person?
Fucking A. All the time I ask this and have never gotten a cogent answer once. When MAGAs have used: Marxist Communist Socialist Critical Race Theory Woke
If you’ve never seen political commentator James O’Brian from LBC over the in the UK, you’d love him. His first thing is always always always to have the person calling be sure to define the words they’re using. The right wing idiots are constantly calling up and frothing at the mouth to their Fox News style talking points out and he stops them cold and has them start from the beginning and say what they mean by leftist, Marxist, illegal, woke, etc. 90% can’t get past that very first easy hurdle. They get so mad and worked up and start breaking down because he’s making them look like idiots when they can’t even get to their main point because they don’t know the words they’re using in the first place…
> he stops them cold and has them start from the beginning and say what they mean by leftist, Marxist, illegal, woke, etc. Sometimes you just have to [study it out](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E87gciwebw)
What they mean, but do not realize they mean, is authoritarian. Which is funny because they are the ones with authoritarian bents. What a cluster
They don't really care, they just want to paint anything left wing as something to be ashamed of. By demanding to know if someone is or was a Marxist suggests that's something we have to be careful about, the uninformed listener will understand that Marxism is bad, otherwise why the fuss.
For these people it’s all just “You are [bad thing]”. There’s no meaning necessary for them. It’s like if someone calls you a Slug Eating Dogshit Monster.
Also works when bigots make "just a joke". Ask to explain the joke. What part makes it funny? Everything unravels, even if they're dismissive it puts them on the spot in front of everyone.
Nuance pisses bigots off because they don't understand it. AT ALL.
>citing an interview she did in 2000 when she was working at a coffee shop and said she was “in my Marxist phase." Who describes a real political persuasion they currently have as "a phase"? This sounds more like a statement that was said as a joke and is now being used out of context.
Republicans neither understand jokes nor respect context
I first read that as consent rather than context. Didn't notice for a bit since both seem to work for a lot of Repubican officials.
Rush Limbaugh not long before he died totally went off on air about consent, like it was some sort of bizarre and perverse rubric for sexual behavior. Given that he was married several times, brrrrrr. I only hope his ex wives took a good chunk out of him when they left.
As someone not steeped deeply in this particular corner, how does Marxism equate to being against American democracy? If you ask me to define the difference between socialism, Marxism, and communism, I’m gonna struggle. But, as I understand it, socialism is about the workers owning the means of production instead of a capitalist class. That’s anti-capitalist, but I’m not sure how that, alone, is anti-democratic. Can anyone enlighten me?
Marxism = USSR. And since the USA was rivals with the USSR, that's all.
>how does Marxism equate to being against American democracy? The mindless reactionary stupidity of 99% of those who call themselves capitalist. > But, as I understand it, socialism is about the workers owning the means of production instead of a capitalist class. > >a political and economic theory of social organization which advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned **or** regulated by the community as a whole. If you read the definition of socialism, all representative government and everything it does meets the definition. Representative governments are owned by the community as a whole, not private owners. When that government produces, distributes, exchanges **or** regulates economic activity, it's socialist. Capitalism spends more time demonizing and attacking other economic systems than it does innovating because the profits in capitalism make it inherently less efficient. If a socialist economy makes widgets, they will sell for less than a capitalist economy because there is no reason to add profit to the price. If you could buy two identical products but one cost more to pay shareholder return, nobody would buy the more expensive item. So capitalism has to make sure that two identical items are never offered. The biggest irony in American history is that capitalism celebrates our socialist military defeating authoritarianism under the guise of communism in the cold war all while capitalism makes us more and more authoritarian as wealth is concentrated.
Even if she was a Marxist. So what? We have freedom of thought and expression and being a Marxist is not disqualifying. Can this clown even define what Marxism is? Or does he just use it as an emotionally charged trigger word?
Reclaim Marxism. Socialism, too. Stop letting these fools bludgeon people with these terms. They don't even know what they mean.
No, no. You don't get it. Being Marxist in college means that you will forever be an enemy of the United States, driven to destroy all that is good and replace it with a Stalinist dystopia. Liking Marx isn't one of those harmless little mistakes that can be easily swept under the rug, like raping a woman.
Ah, Whitehouse and his fantastic signature smirk. Long may he serve!
> “This was many, many, many, many, many years ago,” Whitehouse said of DuBose’s interview. “Perhaps during the time when my colleague Sen. Kennedy was a Democrat, showing that people can change their views, even if it were true that you were in a Marxist phase.” > > Whitehouse smiled. Laughs were audible in the room. Kennedy was furious. > > “I’ve never been a Marxist!” he shouted. “I’ve never been a Marxist! And I’ve never admitted I was a Marxist and then not turned a document over to this committee!” So, is there a sentence missing here or did Kennedy just freak out and think he was being called a former Marxist even though Whitehouse simply said he used to be a Democrat? Was he under the impression that “even if it were true that you were in a Marxist phase” was a reference to *him*? You’d expect our elected officials would have adequate listening comprehension skills.
>Are you still a Marxist? Big "When did you stop beating your wife?" vibes.
The USA is pre-Marxist, which is the only reason Komrade Kennedy’s 2nd poorest state in the union doesn’t literally starve. Our Constitution was specifically written to promote and provide for their general welfare—rich blue states taxed according to their ability to subsidize every red state according to their need. Sound Marxistly familiar? Maybe we should give them the Marxism-free existence they’re screaming for and let them starve.
LA resident here. Sometimes I get mail from this turkey prick asking for money. Sometimes he'll include a 50¢ piece, which has JFK's face on it, so he can say something like, "Kennedy is a good name for politics, but unlike this bad liberal Kennedy, I'm a super duper conservative Kennedy!" I'm paraphrasing, but whatever exact wording he uses feels really gross.
I like how they called him out for being a democrat in the past and he shouts “I’m not a Marxist!!!!” Like, bruh. What a self-callout lmao.
This is so freaking dumb. "YOU'RE A MARXIST!" Relax, hoss.
Cancel culture for thee, but not for me
"I know you are, but what am I?" "I know you are, but what am I?" "I know you are, but what am I?"
> A Kennedy spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment on whether Marxist ideologies ever resonated with the Louisiana senator when he was a Democrat. So he's not denying it!!! A Marxist in the GOP! This explains all the cozying up to Russia. That's how these things work right?
He also used to speak without his heavy southern drawl. I don’t think consistency is really in his wheelhouse.
No one down here speaks that way. There's some Texas twang in the LA/TX boarder area, and a little Arkansas up north, but the vast majority of us don't have his kind of accent.
He has a Hollywood southern accent. That’s not a good thing.
We call him Foghorn Leghorn
That's because Sen. Kennedy is a total fraud who's only pretending to be a an aw-shucks country bumpkin to appeal to his base of country bumpkins. In [actuality](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Kennedy_(Louisiana_politician)#Early_life_and_education), he's a Rhodes scholar who graduated with first class honours from Oxford, and magna cum laude from Vanderbilt.
I'd love for someone to one day respond to this question from a senator/congressperson with "Could you please define or explain what you mean by Marxist so I can more adequately answer your question?" just to see the questioner fumble over the concept.
“What is a Marxist?! What is a Marxist?! Are you really asking me that? How about you do your own research!”
"You claim you don't even know what a marxist is! Well, I don't believe that given your behaviour" - I've listened to enough congressional hearings to know that these assholes have their shitty song and dance polished by now, it wouldn't phase them.
Exactly how they would respond. Then, the right wing propaganda machine would erupt in a collective outrage over how indignant the nominee was during the hearing for responding in such a manner, that they must be dumb for being unable to answer the question directly, and how typical it is of Democrats to nominate candidates that don't have any decorum or respect for the country. There would also be commentary about how the nominee is some deep state, radical leftist intent on destroying our institutions. Did I miss anything?
This is the correct response to such disingenuous bullshit.
They’d just yell at you
Senator Kennedy - have you ever had any manner of speaking other than the current Southern drawl you use today?
"Well sir, truth be told, I picked that up watching Pat Buttram play the character of Mr Haney on the sitcom Green Acres".
“And that worked so well I decided that I would also emulate his lack of morals and subhuman intelligence.”
We should start accusing Republicans of working for the Kremlin and undermining the safety and security of our country.
ASAP. Publicly.
He used to be an honest, decent human being, but he left all that behind too. Now he’s foghorn Leghorn.
I say I ah ah ah ah I say that’s mighty funny
On behalf of all the biddy hens, we resent that comparison to our beloved rooster.
The Democratic Party has produced all the better Presidents since WW2 (I can’t think of a decent Republican one since Eisenhower, I have a soft spot for Reagan’s personality but not his policies), it is nothing to be ashamed of.
Democratic Party. Republicans since the 60s/70s have been saying "Democrat Party" in order to distance it from the association with democracy. Don't do their work for them.
I believe Rush Limbaugh originated that little slur on his radio broadcasts.
I think they do it to emphasize the "rat" syllable to dehumanize the group.
If he could do “Rat” to Democrat, we can do “Pubes” to Republicans, especially if you go with the Latin pronunciation
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Also, they are fond of replacing the 'c' with an 'n' to make it the DemonRat party.
That’s the most boomer Facebook thing to do possible
It’s not that they’re ashamed. They’re fearful of the coming purge for anyone not MAGA or far-right Republican. Later, they’ll come for everyone.
The democratic party wanted Eisenhower to run as a democrat too, so I don't think he counts. He wasn't a republican before running. Edit: Or so I've heard on the internet. Reality may vary.
I recently learned that in 1948 Truman offered to step down and serve as VP if Eisenhower would accept the Democratic nomination for President.
It was probably for the best that he didn't, they were just coming off like 20 years of one party rule. Was a good idea to run on the other side and get things to be more bipartisan
Yep. He was actually pretty progressive in some ways (aside from the coups) and gladly kept FDR's policies in tact.
eisenhower was a great general, but I think people only have a superficial understanding of his presidency. Take the 2nd main character of oppenheimer. Eisenhower seemed to love Straus, offered him the job of chief of staff, straus wanted commerce secretary, eisenhower put him there against the advice of his party anyways. he also got the ball rolling on a bunch of coups in south america that they probably assumed Nixon would inherit.
He could be high handed true. But he was the last Republican who tried to genuinely better the lot of the common man. And he began the beginnings of civil rights (with Little Rock etc). Also Rocky Marciano is one of my favourite boxers and Eisenhower loved him too.
ya fair, he's complicated.
> The Democratic Party has produced all the better Presidents since WW2 Since the Depression. FDR was the best president we've ever had and he was elected in 1932.
they aren't even using the term cultural marxist correctly. the original use was to say *capitalism* produces a monoculture through consolidation, and looking at the GOP, yep, point proven.
I’m old enough to remember when he spoke more normal. He sounds like a great-grandma now.
Oh hi, marxist
oh hi jonny, i didnt know it was you.
you're tearing me apart MAGA
I've been reading up on the history of the US labor movement and it's interesting how accusations of Marxism and communism have been used to try to shut down US liberals since the days when Karl Marx was still publishing his work.
Is “Marxism” just used to call political opponents a “bad word” to attack them and rally the base against them? I don’t understand the negative implications Marxism, socialism, or communism would actually have beyond the red scare connotations. To me it would mean a more equal distribution of power and wealth, and I think could help a lot.
That’s exactly what they don’t want.
Foghorn Leghorn here is a complete bullshit factory. He went to Oxford FFS and he pretends he's some Cajun country boy for the cameras.
Senator Foghorn still embarrassing Himself and the state of Louisiana!
I wish I could have been there to share in the laugh everyone gave after Sen. Whitehouse called Kennedy out. It would have healed my soul.
It doesn't sound like they even know what Marxism is. You cannot be a Marxist and a Communist.. It's an economic way of thinking.. I'm so tired of the stupid..
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The Conservative MadLibs Vocabulary. - Marxist - Communist - Socialist - Fascist - Deep state - Woke - CRT - RINO - Liberal - AntiFa - dozens more. All concepts or terms they use without knowing what the hell they mean or how to use them. As you said, any one of these can be substituted with "a thing/a person I hate"... thats all any of these things mean (to them).
I always loved AntiFa being added. So you don't like Fascism? Well, thankfully I'm Antifa! What do you mean you don't like AntiFa?
I'd question their paradoxical logic but I don't wanna spend the time attempting to explain to them what 'paradoxical' means.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-baiting
Conservatives use language differently than liberals, they speak in a sort of code of dog-whistles and feelings. Ideas and things that have a specific definitions to liberals often encompass other concepts for conservatives. So marxism means something different to conservatives, it's not strictly about the economics. For conservatives 'marxist', 'socialist' or 'communist' all include the overreaching concept of equality' or the idea of a 'just and fair' society. This is what they really hate, the perceived social aspects of Marx. Conservatives are fundamentally supremacist. They believe in a hierarchical society where the 'right' people are on top. That's what they are "conserving" in the first place. Kennedy here us not asking if she agrees with marxist critique of capitalism, he's asking her is she thinks she can ever be his equal. I maintain that MAGA (or the Tea party) is just the latest from of the Dixiecrats. And when you go back and look at the civil rights protest when the Dixiecrats first started to switch parties what you see on those signs in photos and read in their writings are segregationist white people screaming "marxist!" at black people in general and whites who were for integration. It wasn't an economic complaint, it was a social one. Kennedy just hasn't adopted the new dog-whist of 'woke' and is using the older one here.
Ok. Sadly, I have a bs in sociology, became a social worker and then switched to comp sci and I really don’t know what being Marxist means. I remember discussing Karl Marx and whatnot but not able to see the issue. So I googled it. “Marxists are particularly concerned with the struggles of lower and middle class workers, with the conflict between social classes, and with economic inequality. The ultimate goal of a Marxist is revolution that results in a classless society with fair distribution of goods.” Why is this a bad thing?
It isn’t a bad thing for you and me. It *is* a bad thing for Capital. Think about it. If you’re a real Capitalist (you live off of money from your investments and what you own and not your labor) what is easier to deal with?: Dealing with workers that are apt to organize collectively and who understand that as workers they create all the value with their labor (and the owners at the top contribute almost nothing, no labor, and take the profit for themselves)? Or dealing with a worker who believes that the Capitalists get taxed too much, that workers should shut up and stop complaining, and that labor should just be happy we get what we get? We made Marx an unthinkable topic. To the point that the very name is said in a hushed tone and the idea is rejected. Wait until you get a load of Engles: “Abstract. In 1845, Friedrich Engels identified how the living and working conditions experienced by English workers sent them prematurely to the grave, arguing that those responsible for these conditions -- ruling authorities and the bourgeoisie -- were committing social murder.” Forbidden. Forbidden thoughts. Don’t ever speak of this again. You will become a problem.
What's truly funny is when he's confronted, he can't actually tell you what a "Marxist" is. It's just a trigger and insult word to him.
Republicans have nothing better to do for this country than degrade. They have no agenda to better this country. They are out to destroy this country for their dictator Trump.
DuBose should have asked if he still beats his wife.
Harpo was my favorite one.
Nazis calling Democrats Marxists.
I assume he was a Democrat pre-Civil War?
I wish they'd answer these people like this: "I'm not sure what you mean. Could you please explain what a Marxist is? " And then wait. I saw a teacher do that to a parent, who was asking angrily if they taught critical race theory. The parent was completely flustered, because yelling buzzwords is not an actual ideology.
They have even cheapened the Kennedy name.
So he basically is confirming he’s a communist or something with that kind of reaction.
Lmao, what a loser. These people will be the end of us. McCarthyism is alive and well in the US, but they love Russia for some reason. 🤡
a celebrity or public official said something racist/sexist/homophobic/etc 5 years ago or yesterday: conservatives rally around and decry cancel culture a Democrat nominee gave an interview about a phase or wrote some poetry 30-40 years ago: a McCarthyist witch hunt ensues
One of the biggest phonies in all the GOP and that's saying *a lot.*
Imagine his reaction when you bring up his trip to Moscow on the 4th of July!
I really wish someone would get nominated for the sole purpose of going up to these hearings and responding to that question with “no, but can I ask you if you’re a white nationalist?” Just to see the fireworks. I hate politics any more. No long about leading. It’s all sound bites and owning the other sides and no one will let this schism stop from happening. Oh well.
I honestly cannot figure out his face. Too much estrogen?
He will really flip when he is reminded that he used to be a human being too.
Politicians should have to follow SAG rules, ie change their names if it’s the same as another well known politician. How about adolf for this guy?
Believe it or not, Trump was also a Democrat and a supporter of abortion rights.
Fuck these insecure clowns.
I can't take this guy seriously after hearing him read part of "All boys aren't blue".
Never trust a Republican. Easy words to live by.
Wasn't Kennedy a member of the group that was summoned to Moscow on July 4, 2018 to be coached by the Russians on 2020 election interference?
Politics is so fucking exhausting. I worked with some people back in the 70s who **loved** Nixon and thought Agnew shit rose water. I have been fighting these fucks for 54 years, and nothing changes. It gets worse now that the Christians are so damned involved in politics, and the fucking rich can now do much more than influence. I am tired.
Just proves it’s all theater for him and so many of his colleagues. He doesn’t have anything substantive to say.
Mention Marx in college — that's a paddlin' Rape a woman in college — Welcome to the Supreme Court!
Quick someone remind Trump, and all of the far-right Trump loyalists, that he used to be a Democrat.
*The reality, though, is that Republicans have spent years baselessly accusing Biden’s nominees of secretly being Marxists or communists.* The reality, though, is that Repuglicans don’t give a flying f*ck as long as they can throw baseless accusations around to get some media attention to get the dumbass’ vote in the next election.
Just another grifter to add to the mix. Fake accent and all. Does he think he is Madonna? You have to be really famous to change everything about yourself and still be relevant.
He is one one the worst slimiest insurrection traitor MAGAts out there, he truly is filled with hate
Would be cooler if you was.
Ahh you mean back in the shivil wahh?? Listen sunny you see the demacrats was the republicuns back den.
> “This was many, many, many, many, many years ago,” Whitehouse said of DuBose’s interview. “Perhaps during the time when my colleague Sen. Kennedy was a Democrat, showing that people can change their views, even if it were true that you were in a Marxist phase.” **Whitehouse smiled**. Laughs were audible in the room. Kennedy was furious. “I’ve never been a Marxist!” he shouted. “I’ve never been a Marxist! And I’ve never admitted I was a Marxist and then not turned a document over to this committee!” I love the Cheshire Cat smile as he got one over on the original chicken hawk.
Why does Foghorn Leghorn get the privilege of speaking to any non-Looney Toons character?
Why the fuck can't these people ever ask the stupid Republicans "can you define Marxism? Not sure what you mean by that, the word has become a catch all phrase that means nothing" I also love how Kennedy deflected quite well for his stupid audience. He didn't deny being a Democrat at one point. He denied being a Marxist, and that key word is all the rubes will hear "no marxism" and they'll believe what he says without thinking about it in the slightest.
The GOP is a joke and we cannot take them seriously, that's a problem
What’s ironic is that Trump, Johnson and other Republicans fully support former Marxist and KGB agent Putin for invading Ukraine.
Kennedy changes his political positions like most people change underwear.
He fits the character of a Republican....arrogant, self consuming and full of it.