2022 Midterm Election

[malchior]

This to me is fundamentally an argument about how people use social media. It comes down to many people feel they are expressing their opinions - including their inferences. They are often pointing you to the source too in most cases so I could argue it could be manipulative sometimes but in the end it's an opinion.

The other view appears to be some people want everyone to act like they are an unbiased journalist. Otherwise the influence value is diluted. Maybe that's true but I don't think this is a "mainstream" view on how social media is consumed.

In any case, I haven't seen this Florida sheriff business but unless they were a journalist then RM9's take is closer to how I think most people consume social media. Is that good or bad? I don't know but I don't think it's a black or white issue either.

[RunningMn9]

If you are talking about what to do about X, and you are talking about X didn’t use to happen because of Y, there’s an implication that you might be pro Y.

There's a difference between inferring what someone said, and tweeting your inference as *actually* what they said.

I don’t know what tweets you saw, so I can’t speak to that. The tweets I saw just said that he said kids misbehave because don’t fear that anymore. Which is exactly what he said.

Also, you *know* that he definitely believes that kids should fear having their asses tore up. So you’re quibbling because someone said out loud what we all *know* he believes, and implied.

[YellowKing]

It's not quibbling. This is the exact tweet:

Brevard Sheriff Wayne Ivey held press conference with new right-wing school board chair to call for more severe discipline of students, saying they need to fear "like in the old days" that they're going to "have the cheeks of their ass torn off for not doing right in class."

What he actually said, in the clip shown in the same tweet:

"They know nothing's going to happen to them. They know they're not going to be given after school detention. They're not going to be suspended. They're not going to be expelled. Or like in the old days they're not going to have the cheeks of their ass torn off for not doing right in class. So we have teachers that are handcuffed. We have principals that are handcuffed. And I will tell you and I've said this many times before. We got to get to these kids before they get to me here at the jail. And so starting right now it's a brand new day folks. It is a brand new day where school discipline is going to be put back in place in Brevard Public Schools. We have a school board that stands behind this. We have our teachers union that stands behind it. Uh I can tell you that our team all the way from the state attorney from School District Security to the principals to the teachers. We're all tired of this. Disruptive behavior by just a select few."

Nothing in that clip says students need to "fear" like in the old days, or that they're *going *to have the cheeks of their ass torn off. One could just as easily infer (and more accurately, I'd imagine), that the Sheriff is calling for a return to detention and suspension. Why was "ass tearing" cherry-picked from that list as the one he wants?

[RunningMn9]

I don’t know how many times I was supposed to say “I didn’t see the tweet you saw so can’t really address it”. I thought two was sufficient.

Anyway, yeah, that tweet is definitely saying the implication out loud. When I say you are quibbling, I mean that you are focused on the tweet saying he said that, and just moving right past the fact that the sheriff DEFINITELY THINKS THAT.

Without any doubt. You can tell by the crass language he chose to use.

[YellowKing]

This one triggered me more than most because the original tweet got me SO upset. Until I realized I had been essentially lied to and manipulated into being far more angry than I would have been just watching the clip.

[Jaymann]

And it's only one more shopping day until the GA Senate runoff. I am really rooting for a Warnock victory in order to offset the Manchin and Sinema DINOs. Does the GOP seriously think putting up Ted (Zodiak) Cruz and Lindsey (Cracker) Graham as bookends to talk over Hershel Walker is going to put him over the top? I guess their message is to whitey: It's OK to vote for this black man, he's just our house ______.

[Kurth]

This one triggered me more than most because the original tweet got me SO upset. Until I realized I had been essentially lied to and manipulated into being far more angry than I would have been just watching the clip.

And that right there is how you lose people.

If the point of all this is to get people to pay attention to issues that should matter to them and, ideally, act/vote accordingly, this kind of BS is really counter productive.

Unless the point is to just preach to the choir and run up those retweet numbers.

Which is probably the point.

[Zaxxon]

the point is to just preach to the choir and run up those retweet numbers.

Winner winner.

[RunningMn9]

The point of the tweet is to get engagement.

But I still don’t get the complaint here. The Sheriff didn’t explicitly say that, but he DEFINITELY thinks that.

So instead of focusing on a Sheriff that thinks this kind of insane shit, we are supposed to instead get mad at a tweet that said he said what he thinks?

[waitingtoconnect]

As an independent voter I vote for the best candidate. Who would vote for Walker over Warnock. In what rational universe is Walker a decent candidate? (Despite his undoubted sporting legacy.) I suppose you could do it for the laughs….

[YellowKing]

So instead of focusing on a Sheriff that thinks this kind of insane shit, we are supposed to instead get mad at a tweet that said he said what he thinks?

It's just one example of a common practice on Twitter of twisting words for clickbait. I'm not particularly focused on this one specifically, it's just a good example of what I'm talking about.

In this case, a person we mutually disagree with was misrepresented. Next time it may be someone we agree with. Or me. Or you. I don't want my words taken out of context, or in this case, completely ignored and then misrepresented to generate outrage. If we're willing to accept it for Sheriff McSpankyPants, we need to be willing to accept it for our friends and colleagues. I don't want to live in the kind of world where people presume to know 100% what I believe based on a 45-second video clip, and then shout it to the world as fact.

[RunningMn9]

I get what you are saying. I’m just saying that he wasn’t really misrepresented. He definitely thinks that. It’s an accurate representation of who he is, just not the exact words he said.

He’s actually is the piece of shit you thought he was after reading the offending tweet.

It’s certainly true that sometimes things are taken out of context, and completely misrepresented. And that creates a false impression of the target of the misrepresentation.

But a lot of times the target really is the piece of human garbage described by the clickbait headline.

[RunningMn9]

I really do get what you’re saying. The concept was a key contributor to me walking away from the GOP back in 2008, once I really started to see the GOP propaganda machine try to spin up outrage about Obama.

I just think sometimes, the outrage (to the extent that I’m outraged by a shitty Sheriff in a state 1000 miles away) is kind of warranted despite the intentional outrage baiting. That guy sucks, and definitely believes we should be beating kids back into behaving in school.

[hepcat]

Social media is often manipulative. It’s a bullhorn and anyone who isn’t a hostage negotiator is a dick when they have a bullhorn.

[Kraken]

I had my ass cheeks torn off once. They grew back.

Being marched into the hallway and grabbing one's ankles was a rite of passage for boys, because bad boys are cool.

My offense was being a smartass about the teacher a little too loudly and once too often.

[Jaymann]

By Christopher Hickey and Nicholas Anastacio, CNN
CNN Poll: Warnock holds a narrow edge over Walker in final undecided Senate contest

By Nicquel Terry Ellis and Brandon Tensley, CNN
Senate Runoff: Georgia
Warnock
62.2%
Walker
37.8%
Est. vote in: 32%

That's the kind of narrow edge I like.

[Isgrimnur]

[Unagi]

Warnock: 49.5%
Walker: 50.5%

I cannot believe this crap.

[Octavious]

Well it all depends on what has and hasn't been counted. Warnock is doing better in most places compared to the previous election. I think he wins.

[Alefroth]

Well it all depends on what has and hasn't been counted. Warnock is doing better in most places compared to the previous election. I think he wins.

As close as it is now, NYT and WaPo think so as well.

[Octavious]

538 has the numbers comparing to the previous election and I just don't see how Warnock loses. he's outperforming almost everywhere. Walker only is doing that in a few places.

[Holman]

Warnock is going to win this, but I can't imagine how Georgia Republicans aren't nauseatingly embarrassed to vote for Herschel Walker.

[Skinypupy]

To my knowledge, Wasserman has never missed.

[Octavious]

It's over. Unless something really weird happens. Trump loses them Georgia again. Woo

[Kurth]

It's over. Unless something really weird happens. Trump loses them Georgia again. Woo

That's great news, not just because of the immediate impact that the Dems get 51-49 control of the Senate, diminishing the power of some rogue Democrat senators who shall remain nameless, but also because it goes right at Trump and his chances in 2024. Without Trump, there wouldn't have been a Hershel Walker senate campaign. It's like Dr. Oz's defeat, except so much worse because it's in Georgia in a race that the GOP should have been able to waltz through. Even better, enough Republicans in Georgia voted for Trump's nemesis, Kemp, for governor, but wouldn't vote for his chosen candidate for senate.

Any way you look at it, this is bad for Trump. Really, really bad. And that means it's good for this country. Really, really good.

[Octavious]

Yes if you look across the country people are done with with Trump's nonsense. They are totally up FOR nonsense just not his. I really think he's done. They only put up with his shit as it was winning.

[Defiant]

It's over. Unless something really weird happens. Trump loses them Georgia again. Woo

That's great news, not just because of the immediate impact that the Dems get 51-49 control of the Senate, diminishing the power of some rogue Democrat senators who shall remain nameless, but also because it goes right at Trump and his chances in 2024.

IIUC, it also will make judicial confirmations quicker.

[malchior]

It's over. Unless something really weird happens. Trump loses them Georgia again. Woo

That's great news, not just because of the immediate impact that the Dems get 51-49 control of the Senate, diminishing the power of some rogue Democrat senators who shall remain nameless, but also because it goes right at Trump and his chances in 2024.

IIUC, it also will make judicial confirmations quicker.

But only slightly. The bigger problem with judicial confirmations are holds. Which is backing up official appointments...which is backing up other things. The best outcome is that they'll have full control of committees. Everything else is sort of more of the same. The Senate is still mostly broken as an institution.

Edit: Note they also can potentially change rules but they need Manchin and/or Sinema to come along. Which seems unlikely.

[Kurth]

It's over. Unless something really weird happens. Trump loses them Georgia again. Woo

That's great news, not just because of the immediate impact that the Dems get 51-49 control of the Senate, diminishing the power of some rogue Democrat senators who shall remain nameless, but also because it goes right at Trump and his chances in 2024.

IIUC, it also will make judicial confirmations quicker.

But only slightly. The bigger problem with judicial confirmations are holds. Which is backing up official appointments...which is backing up other things. The best outcome is that they'll have full control of committees. Everything else is sort of more of the same. The Senate is still mostly broken as an institution.

Quick: Top 10 OO posters you wouldn't want to celebrate a victory with . . .

[malchior]

It's over. Unless something really weird happens. Trump loses them Georgia again. Woo

That's great news, not just because of the immediate impact that the Dems get 51-49 control of the Senate, diminishing the power of some rogue Democrat senators who shall remain nameless, but also because it goes right at Trump and his chances in 2024.

IIUC, it also will make judicial confirmations quicker.

But only slightly. The bigger problem with judicial confirmations are holds. Which is backing up official appointments...which is backing up other things. The best outcome is that they'll have full control of committees. Everything else is sort of more of the same. The Senate is still mostly broken as an institution.

Quick: Top 10 OO posters you wouldn't want to celebrate a victory with . . .

Fair enough. I'm certainly happy Warnock won FWIW. Even if just because a decent man prevailed.

[Octavious]

You should watch a sports match with our father. "This team sucks. Why did they do that. Are they ever good?"

[Octavious]

And on a more constructive point. We legit could have gotten steamrolled to be setup to have an election flat out stolen. People rejected these people in most places. The Dems didn't lose a single seat in the Senate with a shit situation going on with the economy. There is hope.

[Jaymann]

Republicans already blaming Trump for Walker performance

From CNN's Kristen Holmes

Republicans are already using Herschel Walker’s loss to call on the GOP to move away from Donald Trump in 2024.

Prominent Iowa Republican Bob Vander Plaats, a former supporter of Trump, tweeted that a Walker loss would be “another blow to former President Trump,” adding that “conservatives across the country are tired of losing. #2024 is key to winning the future again: #Choosewell”

As some Republicans and donors shift away from the former president, Trump’s team was hoping for a win in Georgia to turn the tide and breathe energy into Trump’s lackluster third presidential campaign.

They believe the Vander Plaats tweet will be just the beginning of a deluge of blame placed on Trump for the outcome.

Many in Trump’s orbit are concerned that this loss will build momentum in the anti-Trump movement within the Republican Party and make a 2024 run more challenging.

[Octavious]

I mean the Senate is 100 percent his fault. This was an easy win and he forced in shitty candidates in every single area. Any big race he fronted lost. Not a banner day in Marlogo.

[malchior]

And on a more constructive point. We legit could have gotten steamrolled to be setup to have an election flat out stolen. People rejected these people in most places. The Dems didn't lose a single seat in the Senate with a shit situation going on with the economy. There is hope.

One big takeaway is that Kemp won by 8 points. Walker is about to lose by 2-4 points. A lot of folks did not hold their noses.

[malchior]

Side note I checked out Fox to see the coverage. It seems they are blaming this on McConnell and Rick Scott. Interesting take. I mean I'm not onboard the this is all on Trump train but McConnell and Scott? I'm struggling with that.

[Kurth]

You should watch a sports match with our father. "This team sucks. Why did they do that. Are they ever good?"

Wait, your dad is an Eagles fan, too?

[malchior]

You should watch a sports match with our father. "This team sucks. Why did they do that. Are they ever good?"

Wait, your dad is an Eagles fan, too?

It's even less rational. He talks about the Giants and Mets this way. The Giants were great for many years until Reese bungled them. The Mets. Well they are the Mets.

But those are "factish"-like opinions and the "facts" do not matter!

[malchior]

Fox has given up covering this with straight news people - they just cut to Gutfeld who is babbling about Avenatti. That seems topical.

[Octavious]

Now on to the real story. HUNTER BIDEN