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oDDmON t1_iyhbytw wrote

What strikes me as dysfunctional, and ludicrous, is that one representative is able to stall the confirmation process and keep it crawling.

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jonathanrdt t1_iyhdtm0 wrote

Not one, a purposefully dysfunctional cabal bent on preventing the government from operating properly. An entire party and their supporters are responsible for this.

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Its_Nitsua t1_iyi5llo wrote

The Republicans may be more brazen in their attempts to abuse democracy to their own and their financial backers benefit; but this is not a trait unique to them.

Reddit gets so caught up in the ‘republicans are the root of all evil’ mentality that we forget the few at the top seek to keep themselves and their friends there at the detriment of the whole.

They are two sides of the same coin, one may seem much more detrimental than the other but the truth is that the metaphorical ‘well’ has been poisoned for a while.

Democrat and Republican government officials as a whole, do much much more for the benefit of billionaires and corporations than they do for the common American.

We need to quit this ‘us vs them’ mentality and focus on the fact that our government is filled with what are essentially the political arms of trillions of dollars of corporate wealth.

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caspruce t1_iyicc13 wrote

Let’s get rid of the racist authoritarian seditionist party before we start taking on the Dem billionaire shills.

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[deleted] t1_iyio30m wrote

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Bagellord t1_iyiuzub wrote

Remind me, which party has attempted to overthrow democracy? Which party has tried to declare any election where they lost fraudulent, without any proof?

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[deleted] t1_iyixjye wrote

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Bagellord t1_iyiy595 wrote

What does that have to do with anything? Yes, we are a republic, not a direct democracy. But people still vote for their representatives. There's only one party I know of that constantly insists, without evidence, that there's massive fraud. There's only one party that has members insist that because of said "fraud" that the loser of the election should be instated, and not the winner.

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[deleted] t1_iyiyw7n wrote

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[deleted] t1_iyjrc40 wrote

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[deleted] t1_iyjrn99 wrote

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TheLycanSubScribe t1_iyjwlip wrote

Those are great questions! You'd have to tell me about being a jobless lout, but your mom and her basement were terrible lol.

As far as being a pathetic and truly miserable stalker type, you've also clearly got the experience there too.

So, get along with sewing your mouth shut then little boy.

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ClownCarnival t1_iyif130 wrote

I know that the Dems are corporate shills but at least they don't want to murder gay people and other minorities so I guess I'm stuck with them because Republicans are absolute fucking monsters. But yeah both sides.

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sleepydorian t1_iyjsrmx wrote

I'm disappointed in democrats. Angry even. But I'm scared of what elected Republicans say they want to do.

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GunpowderLad t1_iyiglh5 wrote

I like how you gave yourself gold as if what you wrote was an insightful comment and not just typical centerist “both sides bad” drivel.

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Its_Nitsua t1_iyiq1zz wrote

I didn’t give myself anything man, I wrote that on my 10 minute break and just took my lunch.

I find it hard to believe what I wrote is ‘typical’ when there are front page threads with top comments calling for the deaths of anyone who voted republican.

It’s so backwards that when it comes to minorities or ethnic groups Reddit as a whole touts the ‘you can’t strip a group of individuality by throwing them all together like that!’ but when it comes to what political party you choose every republican is suddenly a carbon copy of Donald Trump.

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TheDodoBird t1_iyiw0m2 wrote

> there are front page threads with top comments calling for the deaths of anyone who voted republican.

Show me one, just one thread on the front page of Reddit calling for the death of republicans. I will wait patiently, sir.

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Bagellord t1_iyizj6h wrote

And where it's been up for a decent period of time, without having been removed. Removal isn't instant, depending on the sub and can take a minute for someone to review.

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Its_Nitsua t1_iyjfiij wrote

Maybe that was excessive, but my point is that as a whole reddit tends to view the republican party as one big racist, woman hating, xenophobix zeitgeist.

I know and am friends with republicans who dislike the fact that roe v wade was overturned, but they do not trust the democratic party to put their interests first.

You can say ‘well the republican party doesnt either’ but for them they legitimately think that the republican party aligns with their views more than the democratic party.

Especially on issues like 2A, where they have been hoodwinked into thinking democratic views on gun control involve taking your guns away. You WILL NOT be able to convince them otherwise.

They aren’t evil, or racist simply for voting that way.

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caspruce t1_iyjwlw5 wrote

A majority of the Republican party refuse to condemn racists, bigots, anti-semites, neo-nazis or variations there of. Representatives like Gossar and MTG actively support these groups. Your friends don’t have to vote Dem, but they need to stop voting Republican. It is the only way to cure the disease in that party.

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RevLegoFoot t1_iyiqz54 wrote

> there are front page threads with top comments calling for the deaths of anyone who voted republican.

We must be subscribed to different subreddits.

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Maxievelli t1_iyizuiu wrote

Minority/ethnicity is not a choice, nor does it have any bearing on someone’s worldview. You can certainly note a demographic trend on Reddit without getting downvoted if you aren’t using it to justify bad policy ideas.

Political party, on the other hand, is a choice. And it’s a worldview. I don’t think every Republican voter is a carbon copy of DT but I do think almost every Republican politician and Republican media completely capitulated to him. And anyone who remains a Republican voter after that doesn’t see how fundamentally bad that form of politics is. I can’t speak for Reddit as a whole but I do think that’s how most of the users you are talking about feel.

I actually did like your original comment. Reddit does get very caught up on how bad Republican politicians are and can forget that there are bad Democrats too. But the majority of Reddit does not like the “both sides are equally bad” argument because it’s obviously not true. Democrat media and politicians do not capitulate to Biden’s every whim the way Republican media/politicians capitulated to DT. Even if they had; it would have been more understandable because Biden is not a narcissistic trustfund dickhead.

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Its_Nitsua t1_iyjetsw wrote

I’m not saying both sides are equally bad, just that they’re on the same team.

They put on a show for the peasants but at the end of the day they all get richer together.

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PipeDream2000 t1_iyibe7r wrote

And why do you see so many billionaires voting red? The right wing politicians wants to keep the rich rich. Sure some Democrat politicians are like that, but it is way less. The right is a terroristic cabal dead set on instating a regime and making us a dictatorship. You can’t be all “BoTh SiDeS bAd” when one side is keen to slaughtering minorities. They’ve started with the antisemitism too, so when we repeat Germany’s mistake, I hope you’re still oh-so-bold enough to claim the left just as bad.

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Independent-World-60 t1_iyiv3ll wrote

So you're suggested alternative to an us versus them mentality is a different us versus them mentality.

Brilliant.

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CyberGrandma69 t1_iyibkkb wrote

Yeah it wasn't just republicans helping companies pass laws to deregulate industries so profits could be privatized or increased to ludicrous levels at the expense of the consumer/taxpayer

I'm left as fuck and even I can recognize there is too much wealth in politics and too many fingers in the purse at this point. Whole system is rotten with it.

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Allaroundlost t1_iyxv8xz wrote

But the Republicans MADE it normal people vs them. Dems are not the good guys but the Republicans are the biggest evil.

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thisplacemakesmeangr t1_iyiycgq wrote

I don't doubt the conservatives do more damage. They've got a larger wealth network and closer ties to the most egregious offenders. But yeah, while dems encourage social progress with one hand plenty of them are pickpocketing you with the other. And they're using the bifurcation of the parties to promote a culture war instead of the class war the wealth disparity would naturally bring by this point.

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SkunkMonkey t1_iyhdpl9 wrote

When they have the backing of the Party, it's not that hard.

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MonkeeSage t1_iyhiqdx wrote

That's kind of how it works though, unanimous consent requires...unanimous consent. And that is only required to expedite the process. The default is a full vote and confirmation, where everyone gets to interview the candidate, present arguments for or against them, etc.--the democratic process. Yes, refusing to consent unanimously can be used as a "stall" tactic, but there really should be no less than unanimous consent for Senate to be able to act outside the normal democratic process, even if it means shitheads sometimes get to be shitheads.

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Morgolol t1_iyht0uy wrote

>Hawley last year began a blanket hold on all Defense Department nominees, threatening to keep it in place until Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken resign over the chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal.

Hmmm? I'm sorry? Lemme just check some dates here and your own personal government page there Mr traitor

>Today U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO.) sent a letter to Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller expressing his support for President Trump’s plan to promptly withdraw American troops from Afghanistan. Senator Hawley writes that the original U.S. counterterrorism mission in Afghanistan has given way to nation-building, the costs of which are borne overwhelmingly by working Americans.

Wow to the absolute surprise of fucking noone.

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InsuranceToTheRescue t1_iyi59v0 wrote

Unfortunately, he isn't there to govern consistently. He's there to make the keys to power happy, and the keys that got him power don't like the Democrats.

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SAugsburger t1_iyivvqy wrote

This. Biden actually dragged out the withdraw from Afghanistan longer to give people who wanted/needed to leave more time. I can't imagine Trump's original faster timetable would have been less chaotic.

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Sweatytubesock t1_iyiyem6 wrote

Hawley is a worthless cretin who hilariously thinks he’ll be president one day.

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drawkbox t1_iyiyw6q wrote

Hawley is just an errand boy biiatch. Fix it Missouri wtf.

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reichjef t1_iyhm1bv wrote

Josh Hawley is a traitor and a scumbag. Any rational person can see that.

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halofreak8899 t1_iyi56c6 wrote

Connor Roy was interested in politics at a very young age.

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[deleted] t1_iyhbg3q wrote

Hmm i wonder why there stopped being one 7 years ago...🤔🍊

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SalSimNS2 t1_iyi4oil wrote

https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2022/08/08/dozen-pentagon-nominees-stalled-as-senate-leaves-for-august-recess/

Can someone ELI5 how this works? How one asshat senator can block the whole process?

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RoboMan106 t1_iyibcmv wrote

Broken system being abused by republicans

Pretty regular occurrence these days

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yuanshaosvassal t1_iyivfus wrote

He isn't blocking the whole process, just the easy process (the senate equivalent of saying everybody agree?) . In order to bypass this asshat every DoD appointee would need to be brought to a full floor vote (which is time consuming).

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galloway188 t1_iyjpd9w wrote

I’m fine with that. Make them go to the entire floor. That’s what we pay them for. They get to live with a fat paycheck, full healthcare, insider trading, what else?

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trogon t1_iyk3fht wrote

Seriously. And now that the Senate won't have any legislation to deal with (because nothing the GOP House produces will go anywhere), they have lots of free time.

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galloway188 t1_iyk42l5 wrote

Well they got that stacks of stuff the house passed in the last two years do they not? Lots of catch up to do once they get Georgia to filibuster crap? Or is that not how it works?

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trogon t1_iyk4joh wrote

No, you have to start from scratch with each new Congress.

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galloway188 t1_iyk5f9j wrote

Oh that sucks well 1step forward two steps back every time

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skybluecity t1_iykjjhl wrote

R congress wouldn't want to proceed with any D legislation passed in current term.

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kegster2 t1_iyksejg wrote

Seriously. If I have to go to a meeting that could have been an email at work, guess what? I still have to go. 😂

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SalSimNS2 t1_iyml55w wrote

Well, the could do their homework and study the list of nominees before the floor vote. And any gripes... they could work out by talking to each other before the floor vote. Jeez, that's how my company meetings go. And then when they get to the meeting, they could... VOTE! And get it done in a few minutes.
Instead of farting like mules in front of the cameras.

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GaryofRiviera t1_iyifyx1 wrote

7 Years without an IG. What the fuck.

The people in Government that allow this to happen are sabotaging traitors.

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starmartyr t1_iyjoq9z wrote

I'm not sure that it matters. Every time we audit the Pentagon we find that billions of dollars are unaccounted for and nobody is ever held accountable.

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Aazadan t1_iysqlly wrote

Not for lack of trying. The Pentagon does try to account for the money, and in fact they can with enough looking. But it’s the most complex accounting system in the world, plagued with legacy systems that don’t talk to other legacy systems, doesn’t have a way to move those systems to newer systems, and so on.

A bunch of companies have tried to come in and build new accounting systems for the Pentagon, every single one of them has either dropped the bid after looking at the problem, or been unable to fix it.

It’s probably an unfixable problem.

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ataraxic89 t1_iyhhyr7 wrote

This is misleading in that there has been an acting DOD IG that whole time.

Obviously confirmation is good but its not like no one was there.

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ghrarhg t1_iyhjglv wrote

True, it just means our institutions are failing us because of political agendas.

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fvb955cd t1_iyi1rbn wrote

Acting is different than actual though, in practice. 9/10, acting officials are career feds, who, to avoid the legal uncertainties of appointee vacancy requirements and restrictions, rock the boat as little as possible. This is generally fine for obscure, deputy level officials, but the IG office in particular needs to have someone who can rock the boat, and stand up to senior agency officials, and if necessary, be the canary in the coal mine and take the bullet to bring a major issue to the attention of congress. Senate appointees know their tenure is limited. They haven't planned their career around the federal retirement age like an acting Civil servant has.

I agree that the article could be clarified, but its important not to treat acting officials as the same as appointed officials when in practice they aren't.

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SAugsburger t1_iyiw84w wrote

This. There are a lot of mundane low level roles that are appointed that the difference from acting and actual probably isn't that significant. IG isn't one of them.

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notcaffeinefree t1_iyio2s0 wrote

An illegal acting DOD IG.

>A June legal opinion from the Government Accountability Office found O’Donnell has been serving as acting Pentagon inspector general unlawfully per the Vacancies Act, which “limits the service of an acting official to 210 days beginning on the date the vacancy occurs.”

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TheHomersapien t1_iyi8nwj wrote

The unconfirmed people in that role were installed by Trump, so yeah, in effect there was nobody there. And that's the reason he didn't have anyone confirmed: he wanted to install a flunky that would work to deepen and broaden that swamp he was gonna "drain."

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RoughHouse522 t1_iyk2d01 wrote

Anyone against accountability in our Pentagon needs to be investigated. Period.

Josh Hawley needs to be investigated. Why didn't he want an Inspector General in the Pentagon? What was he doing that hes so worried about accountability?

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SunGazing8 t1_iyl7a6h wrote

Republicans calling for oversight on spending.

#fucking hypocrites

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EvlMinion t1_iyiswd6 wrote

The names of the 'no' voters aren't unexpected, but I'm a little surprised Ted Cruz wasn't one of them.

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Own_Arm1104 t1_iyk1mv3 wrote

When people's lives are on the line they act accordingly. The politicians know this that's why they're laughing at you

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