Can anyone explain why the GOP always pulls "class warfare" out of their asses?

[ColbertWatcher]

How can this possibly be a valid argument?

Can anyone help me understand what the hell the GOP means by it?

Is it a "dog whistle" phrase meant not to really have a meaning, but to rouse the rabble?

[KittyWampus]

1. Can anyone explain why Democrats don't call them out as the fascist they are?

[Confusious]

19. The Demos have no balls

Except Barney Frank, kucinich, and a couple others. harry reid is concave and so is pelosi.

I tend to think that the dems and REPUGS are so buried in washington BS that we would have a national fit if we found out.

I also think those dems have morals and when the get chummy with a repug, they don't want to stab him in the back, but the repugs have no such thought.

competing theories, we'll see which one is true. Or none.

[ColbertWatcher]

24. The Dems don't control the media- the GOP does. n/t

[B o d i]

2. Freudian projection

[ColbertWatcher]

3. Care to expand on that please? n/t

[Confusious]

4. It is to stop people from raising the taxes on the rich

Of course, they have been beating the shit out of the middle class for the past 30 years. Ahh well, par for the course.

Hypocrisy, thy name is republican.

[ColbertWatcher]

7. But, even if all the rich people start shouting "class warfare" ...

... that's no where near a majority.

Who else is helping them scream and why?

It makes no sense.

Maybe they mean something else when they say "class warfare."

[Confusious]

28. There are always the crazy, religous, and ass-lickers

who will scream with them. They make up 35% of the population. Thats why the undecided (uninformed) are so important in elections.

[ColbertWatcher]

30. I thought they were only 28%? n/t

[Confusious]

35. Bush had a 25%-35% APR

So, on the high side, 35%. I don't like being taken by surprise.

[ColbertWatcher]

56. Point taken. Thank you. n/t

[MadMaddie]

36. The Media

I think the Media is still getting right wing talking points.

We have to break up the media to reduce their power of influencing the public one way or another.

[ColbertWatcher]

57. One good reason to break them up: more jobs. n/t

[Mike 03]

5. Because people who are not intelligent buy this argument, and because more than half of the United

States is not all that bright. Sad to say.

But this is a valid, important question to ask. The sad thing is that the answer is tragic.

[ColbertWatcher]

12. What is the answer?

I'm starting to think they mean something else when they say it.

[Mike 03]

25. Great question. I don't know for certain, but I am guessing that when most Americans see that

phrase, it translates into something having to do with the media elite, or the wealthy.

Are they mentally painting a portrait of the "haves" against the "have nots". But the dishonest thing about this is that our politicians are the Haves.

My two senators are rich beyond my wildest dreams. McCain has even admitted he can't even count his homes.

They know full well that "class warfare" is a euphemism for taxing the rich. They want to twist it so that poor people think this is a war against them.

Sorry, I feel that I wasn't that effective in making my point. But your post is awesome, and your question deserves a probing, more thoughtful answer.

[ColbertWatcher]

29. Your answer makes sense.

The way I see it is this: this is a thread and eventually between you and me and everyone else posting we'll figure out the answer.

Thank you for posting.

[Confusious]

40. You ever suprised

that most Americans can feed and put their own clothes on?

I am.

[leftstreet]

6. They only call it 'class warfare' when we fight back

[ColbertWatcher]

10. Good point. What do they call it when we don't fight back? n/t

[DeepBlueC]

16. American values

[ColbertWatcher]

31. Or maybe "free market." n/t

[DeepBlueC]

33. oddly enough, since they want to charge for everything

[DeepBlueC]

37. I think they want to avoid the word "market"

Since none of them are thriving

[DeepBlueC]

41. the "free" markets are turning out to be rather expensive, aren't they?

[ColbertWatcher]

53. Good point. n/t

[anonymous171]

45. Correct. nt

[Mike 03]

8. Kick and rec. NT

[Xipe Totec]

9. Because they're anal marsupials?

Where else can they pull it our of? :shrug:

Besides, what's wrong with a little class warfare?

[ColbertWatcher]

13. They say it as though it's a dirty word.

I'm trying to figure out what it's supposed to mean and why they keep saying it.

[Xipe Totec]

26. It's a thought terminating cliche

a land mine designed to seize the cogs of any thinking brain.

While we go into seizures trying to figure out why it don't make no sense,

the morans just go FUCK YEAH! totally unaffected by the logical contradictions.

[ColbertWatcher]

32. Good point.

I think "class warfare" is long-hand for "socialism" or "communism."

[Xipe Totec]

38. True, but they don't know what that means either....

Heck, they don't even understand Democracy or Capitalism, and they live in it.

[ColbertWatcher]

52. They know they can no longer outright whine about European socialism ...

... especially since it hasn't failed as spectacularly as capitalism has (at least under their direction).

So, they've resorted to repeating euphemistic "dog whistles" like "class warfare" and anything else that simultaneously screams violence while only hinting at "communism" (at least to their followers).

They don't have to use the word correctly as long as they all agree the word describes either something good or something bad. (The one thing I know the GOP is still doing is simplistically polarizing everyone and everything.)

[TexasProgresive]

11. Methinks they do protest too much!

They are the ones who wage class warfare. We wish to enable all to succeed while they want to succeed by holding down everyone else. Who else would do their grunt work for poor wages?

[ColbertWatcher]

17. True, but it's a word they don't want spoken.

Probably as much as they push the lie that liberals control the media.

[havocmom]

14. They need to promote the misconception that liberals persecute

and they think they can make us feel guilty, like WE are the ones who have been unjust to the American people

Oh, and they are lying assholes who do not want the masses to notice the upper class has ALWAYS waged war.

[ColbertWatcher]

20. "the upper class has ALWAYS waged war" QFT. n/t

[DeepBlueC]

15. They don't call it class warfare when they are unopposed and winning

[ColbertWatcher]

21. What do they call it? n/t

[DeepBlueC]

34. American values

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

18. A better question would be why they keep shoving things up their asses in the first place. n/t

[ColbertWatcher]

23. LOL! n/t

[Canuckistanian]

22. It's classic projection

They know damned well that it's THEM that are firing the first shots in a culture war.

They're hoping to deflect criticism because they know that in a full-blown war, it's MILLIONS of tiny little ants against a few greedy grasshoppers.

[ColbertWatcher]

27. Culture war, class war. It's seems all the GOP can do is wage war. n/t

[anonymous171]

46. The "Culture War" is really just a distraction from the class war.

Gets the poor people to fight amongst themselves rather than unite and fight the rich.

[hatrack]

39. Because they've already worn out "tax cuts!"

It's. All. They. Have.

They'd down to just two phrases.

[ColbertWatcher]

51. Agreed. All the GOP has is slogans and clichés. n/t

[Odin2005]

42. It is a tenet of GOP faith that we are just "jealous" of "successful people"...

...and want to "steal" their money. It ties in to their irrational hatred of taxes and welfare.

[ColbertWatcher]

54. Hmm. I hadn't thought about that.

Good point.

Much to think about in this thread.

[atommom]

71. And not just the rich "successful" people, but also the middle class are

victimized by those lower class people, who are lower class because of their lesser virtue in the first place. These lower class people want nothing more than to take away what hard-working folks have earned, and the Democrats want to help them!1!111 :sarcasm:

That's how I understand the Republican concept of class warfare. They are actively involved in fleecing the middle and lower classes, while at the same time trying to turn their victims against each other. They make false claims of class warfare, while carrying out true class warfare at the same time.

[L0oniX]

43. Ya know ...uhm so what if there is a class warfare? I'm all for class warfare!

F*ck the rich sociopath pigs.

[anonymous171]

47. Me too! nt

[ColbertWatcher]

58. "F*ck the rich sociopath pigs." You need to trade mark that phrase.

I suspect that would make you a butt load of money if you sold it on t-shirts and whatnot.

[L0oniX]

65. Feel free to go into business making t-shirts with that phrase. Just send me one is all I ask.

[ColbertWatcher]

68. LOL! n/t

[drm604]

44. It's a canned talking point.

My response is always something along the lines of "if it is, we didn't start it".

[ColbertWatcher]

60. Good answer.

But, I'd like to annihilate GOP talking points, not with just one answer (as good as it is).

[Warren Stupidity]

48. Rush has a HUGH ASS. Lots of shit up there. nt

[applegrove]

49. Cause they have been mired in it and they always accuse others of what they have done..because

they are hypocrites.

[ColbertWatcher]

61. That's true.

We can always tell what the GOP will attack about us: when they adopt/co-opt it.

[CANDO]

50. It validates that there are classes in America...

which those in the upper ranks would rather we not pay any attention to. I've never understood the argument. They are admitting to economic stratification and also warning you not to challenge it in the same breath. Warren Buffet says to the extent of there being a class war, his side is winning rather handily.

[ColbertWatcher]

63. "... also warning you not to challenge it in the same breath." That's the part that's been missing.

It's the acknowledgment that there are rich and there are poor, but an implied threat that it must remain this way with no explanation for why.

Interesting.

Much to think about here.

[leftyclimber]

55. They think it sounds "Marxist"

even though they haven't the foggiest idea what Marx had to say. They haven't read his stuff, after all. Yanno, because Marx is a badguy and all... :eyes:

[ColbertWatcher]

64. Could it be that this argument exists solely to hide the fact that ...

... the GOP sided with the fascists?

That would be pretty fucking pathetic.

[Hannah Bell]

59. projection.

[ColbertWatcher]

66. I'm glad you responded, Hannah.

But, would you mind expanding that idea a bit more?

[Hannah Bell]

76. "In psychology, psychological projection

(or projection bias) is a defense mechanism in which one attributes one’s own unacceptable or unwanted thoughts or/and emotions to others...

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Projection_(psychology)

Though in the case of the GOP, the projection is undertaken with full consciousness.

[BlooInBloo]

62. It's an outgrowth of "it's not race, it's class".

[ColbertWatcher]

67. Oh, because we're "post-racial" now? Right?

Pfft.

The GOP-controlled media made up the idea of "post-racial" now they're trying to create the next conflict.

[anonymous171]

70. It never was race to begin with.

Race was used to keep the poor whites from poor whites from allying with the poor blacks against the rich. Racism is just a symptom of the Class War.

[BlooInBloo]

73. Thanks for providing an excellent example.

[anonymous171]

74. Of what?

Race exists, racism exists, no one should deny that. What I am saying is that the whole "racial struggle" is borne from the Class Struggle.

[backscatter712]

69. They only cry "Class warfare!" when we fight back against their class warfare. n/t

[Naturyl]

72. It's a classic Orwellian technique called "projection."

Conservatives are the true perpetrators of class warfare. To disguise this, they attribute class warfare to their opponents. It's just like the closeted (often Republican) gays who use homosexuality as a term of abuse. One of the most effective ways to disguise one's own proclivities is to loudly and persistently attribute them to one's opponents.

[Eryemil]

75. Nothing wrong with a little class warfare now and then

Bring out the guillotines!