The Kraken Is Such A Big Meanie

I get occasional feedback on what I write and I can read statistics, so I understand that there are some readers who felt I went to far in my characterization of the Republican Party and their voters. This is not some dry, academic journal it is my personal blog and I am under no real obligation to play the "both sides" card or pull punches out of some outdated sense of professional detachment. These are transparent excuses used by journalists in big media corporations trying not to offend their right-wing editors and owners. My anger at the mean-spirited ignorance of conservative voters is sincere, second only to Republican office holders because the latter can actually change laws and make decisions that hurt me and the people I care about. So yes, I am sick of holding back for politeness sake. But man, for all the harm they do to others conservatives are incredibly thin-skinned. You would think people willing to fuck over their neighbors for gain might not get their feelings hurt so easily or cry foul and act all butt-hurt about it but you would be wrong.

Sarah Wood, AKA the Opinionated Democrat, nailed the conservative strategy that has done so much damage to this country they claim to love but screw at every chance:

Republicans cut funding for critical programs then sit back, and when these underfunded programs start to falter or suffer or seem inefficient they blame the president and Democrats.... "See! Look! These programs don't work!" and they call them a waste of money, or job killers, or hazardous, blah blah blah. Then they shovel money to Wall Street, monopoly corporations, and wars in the blink of an eye and complain about the debt and our failing domestic policies they've stripped all the funding from.

For the love of all that is good and decent.... Stop. Voting. Republican.

 Do people this cynical and downright evil, these liars, deserve courtesy and nuanced, reasonable debate? No.

How about this screwhead that I found while browsing comments' sections:
Lawrence Wheaton · Top Commenter · Buena Park High

BS. What democrats consider a right to vote is illegal. No ID to prove you are a citizen. And I have heard your stupid argument about in person voter fraud. It's a BS issue as registering to vote does not require an ID so you can lie and then vote. There won't be a conflict at the ballot box yet a non citizen will get to vote. And yes, many people, especially college students register and vote twice in elections in more than one state. Hopefully there will be a better cross check between states and that will finally stop. You can go ahead and start with your liberal platitudes now.

This was Lawrence's polite and reasonable response to the Constitutional Amendment on the ballot in Illinois to actually give everyone the right to vote. No Larry, college students do not vote more than once, you're thinking of Republican office-holders and conservative hypocrites who whine about "illegals" voting. Can you take this lout seriously? I mean he even knows he is wrong and pulling his "argument" directly from his third point of contact by denigrating the empirical evidence as simply "liberal platitudes."

Okay, maybe he is just a dick troll online and would be civil if face to face. But what about all these open-carry gun suckling children? Brandishing weapons in public to intimidate everyone else because it is their "right" to trample everyone else's. Especially those brave "men" threatening the Moms' group. This is fascism, a right-wing populist movement to destroy democracy and install dictators who promise oppression and loss of freedom, maybe it is couched in attacks on scapegoats at first but it never stays there. I guess... we should be happy that the scumbags these fascists elect are only interested in rigging the economy in favor of their friends and undermining the existing government instead of actually implementing a totalitarian version.

"Oh," you say, "but Mr. Kraken, that's just Texas, they are all assholes down there." Well, say I, that would be bad enough but then this "militia" group in Wisconsin got caught (because the feed to their group was public, dumbasses) discussing, seriously, showing up at polling places to challenge black voters while armed. Has this kind of crap ever been so brazenly visible in America?

These are just a few reasons why I not hold back, these people must be stopped. They will never go away but the good people of this country must defeat them now, and every election in the foreseeable future. Until conservatism is again a realistic alternative that can coexist with democracy and justice, i.e. when it stops being authoritarian, it cannot be allowed to hold power.