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[–] 152 points 2 months ago* (8 children)

Vance is an idiot. But on this point he is right. And that is by design of leading Republicans and Rupert Murdoch, that set out on a plan to achieve exactly this. That a Watergate situation should never destroy a Republican President again.
And it worked already under Reagan.

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  • [–] 40 points 2 months ago (2 children)

    Rupert Murdoch's Fox News, headed at its founding by former Nixon advisor, Roger Ailes, who in 1970 participated in the development of this memo:

    https://theintercept.com/document/a-plan-for-putting-the-gop-on-the-news/

    All those notes are written in Ailes' hand.

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  • [–] 20 points 2 months ago (1 child)

    The thinking is done for you.

    Like WTF? Republicans have been training sheep all along, it's not just a saying, it's literally true!!

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  • [–] 21 points 2 months ago (1 child)

    Yup. Ronnie Raygun had the most criminal administration in history - at least up until Donvict's anyway - by objective measures.

    And then topped all of that criminality with Iran/Contra.

    Also, I have no idea how the October Surprise theory was ever considered "absurd" by serious adults: https://jacobin.com/2023/03/ronald-reagan-jimmy-carter-1980-election-october-surprise-iran-hostage-conspiracy-theory

    And I'm sure their schemes did something to blunt what was arguably much, much worse than Watergate. Another part might simply be that boomers had less fire in their bellies at that point and were flipping over to yuppiedom.

    Most narratives today only mention Watergate, and forget about Iran/Contra. I would not be surprised if most of Gen Y and younger are not even aware of Iran/Contra, which is a shockingly brazen crime.

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  • [–] 4 points 2 months ago*

    I don't even think he's an idiot.

    Evil? Oh hell yes. But 95% of the time he is just saying stupid shit that inbred MAGAs want to hear, or that will make old guard Democrats stammer and guffaw at... (which is the desired effect, they just look privileged and haughty and holier than thou when they do that).

    The funny part is when they think he believes in anything other than how smart and cool he is.

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