5 ms·

The hardcore political establishment is corrupt head to tail. It is corrupt in Silver Spring Township, Pennsylvania, it is corrupt down in the good town of Mech

The hardcore political establishment is corrupt head to tail. It is corrupt in Silver Spring Township, Pennsylvania, it is corrupt down in the good town of Mechanicsburg, PA, it is corrupt in the whole of Cumberland County, and I swear it is rotten in these United States. Every day, I feel like we inch closer and closer to a rupture that will cannot be repaired without severe measures. The class of people who control Silver Spring Township are the same people who tell you what to think and how to vote nationwide.

commandlinefan 5y ago
And the same people who count the votes.
- Retric 5y ago
  Counting the votes is currently less important than deciding who can vote, and what they can vote for. Over 1% of the US population lives in non states. The majority of the US population lives in areas gerrymandered into irrelevance. Beyond that the vastly expanded definition of felon has eroded the ability for at least 5.1 million Americans to vote. Immigration is almost more a question of voting than anything else. Add in various forms of voter suppression and frankly Americans politics has almost completely been separated from the “will of the people.”
throwaway6734 5y ago
Your attitude is much more "corrupt" and corrosive than you accuse the "political establishment" of being
- yeetaccount5 5y ago
- ttybird2 5y ago
  Kinda curious as to why you think so.
  - throwaway6734 5y ago
    It's a pessimistic, lazy critique that corrodes faith in necessary institutions.
    - 9wzYQbTYsAIc 5y ago
      Your critique reminds me of colonial British complaints against the colonies’ complaints.
      - mrexroad 5y ago
        Source?
        9wzYQbTYsAIc 5y ago
        “It was essential to the maintenance of order and hierarchy that the colonies acknowledge the supreme authority of Parliament.” https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-men-who-lost-america-andrew-jackson-oshaughnessy/1119330265 https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-men-who-lost-america-an...
    - beeboop 5y ago
      I don't think a potentially valid complaint about something should be accused of "corroding it", especially when there is very blatant and obvious problems with the political system in the US in general. Respond with substantial counter evidence if you want to be persuasive
      - krapp 5y ago
        What evidence did legerdemain provide that needs to be countered? They made sweeping but unsubstantiated claims amounting to "all government is corrupt at all levels" and vague warnings about "a rupture that cannot be repaired without severe measures," whatever that means. A comment lacking in substance doesn't really warrant a more substantive rebuttal than was given.
      - 5y ago
hash872 5y ago
The United States is consistently in the top decile of least corrupt countries globally. Don't really care for your second to last sentence either, let's tone that kind of rhetoric down. (The author of the Twitter thread should absolutely sue- he'll probably get a pro bono attorney from a libertarian or good government nonprofit after his thread gets attention) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_Perceptions_Index https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_Perceptions_Index
- tdeck 5y ago
  This list measures how corrupt people think their own governments are, which is not necessarily the same thing as a measure of actual corruption.
  - Retric 5y ago
    That’s a very important difference. US corruption especially at the local level is well hidden in part due to a recent drop off in investigative reporting. It’s also been institutionalized via regulatory capture etc such that things often go unnoticed by the general public. On top of this trying to bring up how corrupt other countries are perceived is pure whataboutism.
- tonfreed 5y ago
  It's not corruption when you call it lobbying
  - gruez 5y ago
    As it relates to this story, it most certainly isn't caused by lobbying.
  - gunfighthacksaw 5y ago
    Heh I see lobbying as equal opportunity corruption. You don’t need to be from the right family or even have gone to the right school. As long as you can pay, you can play.
- 5y ago

commandlinefan 5y ago

And the same people who count the votes.

Retric 5y ago
Counting the votes is currently less important than deciding who can vote, and what they can vote for. Over 1% of the US population lives in non states. The majority of the US population lives in areas gerrymandered into irrelevance. Beyond that the vastly expanded definition of felon has eroded the ability for at least 5.1 million Americans to vote. Immigration is almost more a question of voting than anything else. Add in various forms of voter suppression and frankly Americans politics has almost completely been separated from the “will of the people.”

throwaway6734 5y ago

Your attitude is much more "corrupt" and corrosive than you accuse the "political establishment" of being

yeetaccount5 5y ago
ttybird2 5y ago
Kinda curious as to why you think so.
- throwaway6734 5y ago
  It's a pessimistic, lazy critique that corrodes faith in necessary institutions.
  - 9wzYQbTYsAIc 5y ago
    Your critique reminds me of colonial British complaints against the colonies’ complaints.
    - mrexroad 5y ago
      Source?
      - 9wzYQbTYsAIc 5y ago
        “It was essential to the maintenance of order and hierarchy that the colonies acknowledge the supreme authority of Parliament.” https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-men-who-lost-america-andrew-jackson-oshaughnessy/1119330265 https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-men-who-lost-america-an...
  - beeboop 5y ago
    I don't think a potentially valid complaint about something should be accused of "corroding it", especially when there is very blatant and obvious problems with the political system in the US in general. Respond with substantial counter evidence if you want to be persuasive
    - krapp 5y ago
      What evidence did legerdemain provide that needs to be countered? They made sweeping but unsubstantiated claims amounting to "all government is corrupt at all levels" and vague warnings about "a rupture that cannot be repaired without severe measures," whatever that means. A comment lacking in substance doesn't really warrant a more substantive rebuttal than was given.
    - 5y ago

hash872 5y ago

The United States is consistently in the top decile of least corrupt countries globally. Don't really care for your second to last sentence either, let's tone that kind of rhetoric down. (The author of the Twitter thread should absolutely sue- he'll probably get a pro bono attorney from a libertarian or good government nonprofit after his thread gets attention) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_Perceptions_Index https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_Perceptions_Index

tdeck 5y ago
This list measures how corrupt people think their own governments are, which is not necessarily the same thing as a measure of actual corruption.
- Retric 5y ago
  That’s a very important difference. US corruption especially at the local level is well hidden in part due to a recent drop off in investigative reporting. It’s also been institutionalized via regulatory capture etc such that things often go unnoticed by the general public. On top of this trying to bring up how corrupt other countries are perceived is pure whataboutism.
tonfreed 5y ago
It's not corruption when you call it lobbying
- gruez 5y ago
  As it relates to this story, it most certainly isn't caused by lobbying.
- gunfighthacksaw 5y ago
  Heh I see lobbying as equal opportunity corruption. You don’t need to be from the right family or even have gone to the right school. As long as you can pay, you can play.
5y ago