The Polarization of Politics

[Berzerker]

https://youtu.be/0lCzwDXrGZ4

Democrats are fighting to keep the Green Party off the ballot, but they're also giving millions to far right wing Republicans to win primaries so Democrats can face them in the general election.

Thats how we got Trump, the Clinton campaign told their media outlets to pump up Trump, Ted Cruz and Ben Carson in the hopes one would win the GOP nomination. I have to believe the Republicans do the same thing, eg they want the Green Party on the ballot and they want to face far left wingers in the general election.

https://youtu.be/sn1nQCEr5JU

more on ballot access

[ZEE]

You should change your avatar to Alex Jones.

[Berzerker]

if he ran for office the Dems would give him $$$

[giblets]

It seems unlikely they would give their money to right wing candidates instead of using it for their own campaigns. What evidence is there for this? I don't want to watch twenty minutes of Jimmy Dore.

[Geronimo]

It seems unlikely they would give their money to right wing candidates instead of using it for their own campaigns. What evidence is there for this? I don't want to watch twenty minutes of Jimmy Dore.

Strange indeed. But it makes sense they might find a wide array of strategies for their funds expected to deliver better results than everything to the most important strategies.

[Berzerker]

It seems unlikely they would give their money to right wing candidates instead of using it for their own campaigns. What evidence is there for this? I don't want to watch twenty minutes of Jimmy Dore.

https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/centrist-democrats-right-wing-gop/

In 2012, Claire McCaskill, facing a tough reelection campaign in Missouri, successfully used this strategy by running ads elevating the rabid Republican congressman Todd Akin. This paid off when Akin became the GOP nominee and promptly imploded after making deranged comments about rape and abortion, clearing the path for McCaskill. Tellingly, though, when interviewed recently by The New York Times, McCaskill emphasized that 2022 is very different than 2012, warning that a similar strategy could help elect extremists now.

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One of the Pied Pipers who deserved elevation, the memo argued, was Trump, seen as someone who could be easily defeated in the unlikely event he got the nomination.

Clinton’s Pied Piper strategy was too clever by half, a prime example of crackpot opportunism. It also illustrates the intellectual and political vacuity of centrist Democrats. They have no real substantive program they can sell, so they need the threat of an extreme right to keep the Democratic base in line.

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It’s revealing that Republicans who intervene in Democratic contests do the opposite: They try to tamp down insurgent left-wing candidates and support centrist Democrats. As Liza Featherstone reports in Jacobin, “Several rich Donald Trump supporters have been doing a curious thing this election cycle: sending thousands of dollars to New York Democrats running for state assembly.” The Democrats receiving support are all establishment figures fending off candidates backed by the New York City Democratic Socialists of America. The Republican donors are mimicking the broader policy of the Democratic Party establishment, which has been spending big bucks to swat down progressive insurgents in congressional races across the country.

In other words, both the Democratic establishment and Republican donors are pulling in the same direction—tugging away at the political spectrum to shift it to the right. In both cases, the desire is for a political spectrum that runs from the far right to the centrist Democrats, with the left excluded.

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So the GOP and DNC support centrist Democrats vs left wingers

[giblets]

It seems like we have one concrete example from 2012 and a memo discussing the idea form 2016? Like I thought, campaigns don't like to part with their own money.

[Berzerker]

you didn't want to watch the video, it has recent examples that McCaskill says could get further right people elected

[Andemagne]

I'm with giblets on this; needs more evidence.
Don't get me wrong, I like a good conspiracy theory as much as the next guy, but it seems like there is nothing there.

[Geronimo]

I'm with giblets on this; needs more evidence.
Don't get me wrong, I like a good conspiracy theory as much as the next guy, but it seems like there is nothing there.

If it is public it's not a conspiracy theory

[Berzerker]

https://www.npr.org/2022/06/20/1106256047/why-democrats-are-paying-for-ads-supporting-republican-primary-candidates

SHAPIRO: The House Majority PAC is affiliated with Democratic House Leader Nancy Pelosi. The strategy playing out in many states goes like this - Democrats give a boost to Republican primary candidates with extreme views, hoping they will be less competitive in a general election than a more moderate GOP candidate. It's a risky move with potential to backfire. Former Senator Claire McCaskill is a Democrat who has talked about how she used this tactic to win her race in Missouri in 2012. Welcome back to ALL THINGS CONSIDERED.

thats from 2022

[Jon Miller]

But how many Democrats have really went to vote Republican in the primaries? How much money has been spent to boost Republican candidates with extreme views?

I have also seen this claim this year, just like every election year for the last decade, but I have never seen it quantized or supported by numbers. The fact that it is reported in the mainstream media but without any direct facts is confusing.

Mostly the same thing isn't heard from the other side. Maybe a little bit about more serious things in Florida (putting in a fake candidate with the same name as the Democrat, etc) or maybe more Russian than Democrat (Jill Stein). But you don't hear about Republicans supporting Turner or AOC.

JM

[Jon Miller]

https://www.npr.org/2022/06/20/11062...ary-candidates

SHAPIRO: The House Majority PAC is affiliated with Democratic House Leader Nancy Pelosi. The strategy playing out in many states goes like this - Democrats give a boost to Republican primary candidates with extreme views, hoping they will be less competitive in a general election than a more moderate GOP candidate. It's a risky move with potential to backfire. Former Senator Claire McCaskill is a Democrat who has talked about how she used this tactic to win her race in Missouri in 2012. Welcome back to ALL THINGS CONSIDERED.

thats from 2022

This is about something that happened in 2012. There is an implication that Democrats might be doing it now, but no numbers or even solid accusations (about specific primaries/etc).

I have heard accusations about the Penn Governorship... I haven't heard accusations about the Georgian Senate.

JM

[Andemagne]

NPR is a known source of missinformation.


This(giving money to extreme GOP canditates) is something they could do. But are they doing it? Numbers say no.

[PLATO]

Sad strategy that is part of the overall problem in politics. If your position isn't good enough to win on the merits, then try and rig the game!