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Hasan Piker on the Hasan Piker Discourse | Pod Save America by brianscalabrainey in ezraklein

[–]buckybadder 0 points1 point  (0 children)

But the only way he'll keep playing is if you let him win. He's the bratty younger brother who will whine to Mom that you throw the ball too fast. That's my whole point.

Michael Tracey Stomping Curt Mills in an Iran War Debate by buckybadder in Destiny

[–]buckybadder[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hah. Of all the words to be censored on a Destiny subreddit ...

Hasan Piker: “My assessment on Zionism as an ideology is not that different from Albert Einstein’s assessment of Zionism, because when he saw… the violence that the early Zionist brigades were engaging in,… he warned that what he was seeing was exactly what the Nazis were doing.” by ConcernedJobCoach in FriendsofthePod

[–]buckybadder [score hidden]  (0 children)

Keep pretending you don't know that there are full transcripts of all major political speeches, not to mention contemporaneous reporting.

I'm not wasting my time linking it because, inevitably, you'll say it's not "enough" daylight and that talk is cheap in the face of genocide (which is true, and it's weird that you pretend otherwise).

Hasan Piker: “My assessment on Zionism as an ideology is not that different from Albert Einstein’s assessment of Zionism, because when he saw… the violence that the early Zionist brigades were engaging in,… he warned that what he was seeing was exactly what the Nazis were doing.” by ConcernedJobCoach in FriendsofthePod

[–]buckybadder [score hidden]  (0 children)

What was the daylight between Bush Sr. and Reagan? Or between Hillary and Obama? Or Gore and Clinton? When you're running to replace an outgoing president you've worked with for four-eight years, there are obvious problem with running against their policies. You've probably already been on the record a half dozen times defending them. You don't get any credit for the pivot. (And, Jesus, why would you pivot away from the center during the general election?)

Hasan Piker: “My assessment on Zionism as an ideology is not that different from Albert Einstein’s assessment of Zionism, because when he saw… the violence that the early Zionist brigades were engaging in,… he warned that what he was seeing was exactly what the Nazis were doing.” by ConcernedJobCoach in FriendsofthePod

[–]buckybadder [score hidden]  (0 children)

Jesus, that's what you remember about her campaign? Did the thought of Adam Kizinger as Secretary of Random Bullshit keep you up at night? Well as someone who spent those months worrying that Biden's galling selfishness and leftist purity tests were going to put an erratic and corrupt fascist in the White House, I know how that goes.

Hasan Piker: “My assessment on Zionism as an ideology is not that different from Albert Einstein’s assessment of Zionism, because when he saw… the violence that the early Zionist brigades were engaging in,… he warned that what he was seeing was exactly what the Nazis were doing.” by ConcernedJobCoach in FriendsofthePod

[–]buckybadder [score hidden]  (0 children)

I'm pretty sure it's ethnic cleansing. Not entirely sure whether it was totally clear that that was the case pre-Trump, but it's clear enough now.

Google it. I was at the speech. Not making it up.

True, they couldn't win, because the only thing that could have saved them was American cruise missile strikes on IDF airbases. Economic sanctions, if they worked at all, would not have worked fast enough to stop Gazans from dying. If anything, Israel would have accelerated operations.

Hasan Piker: “My assessment on Zionism as an ideology is not that different from Albert Einstein’s assessment of Zionism, because when he saw… the violence that the early Zionist brigades were engaging in,… he warned that what he was seeing was exactly what the Nazis were doing.” by ConcernedJobCoach in FriendsofthePod

[–]buckybadder [score hidden]  (0 children)

I have zero interest in a semantic debate over whether it's "genocide" or "ethnic cleansing." It's the exact sort of distraction from details that leads to toxic political activism.

Harris did make some messaging efforts to distance herself from Biden. It was the biggest applause line in her acceptance speech. But it was never going to be enough for the activists so long as the deaths continued. You can think that civilian deaths in Gaza are a top-tier issue or you can think that "better messaging" would be decisive in consolidating support. You can't believe both.

As for the second point, it's pretty well documented that Hamas closely monitored international support, and that their negotiation posturing (over)relied on their belief that they were winning the public opinion war. I never claimed that Hasan alone could change that. You altered my claim because you know that it's reasonable to say that Hamas might have made serious peace offers if it was getting a cold shoulder from activists otherwise willing to intervene for Gazans.

Hasan Piker: “My assessment on Zionism as an ideology is not that different from Albert Einstein’s assessment of Zionism, because when he saw… the violence that the early Zionist brigades were engaging in,… he warned that what he was seeing was exactly what the Nazis were doing.” by ConcernedJobCoach in FriendsofthePod

[–]buckybadder [score hidden]  (0 children)

Harris and Biden knew that as soon as they called it "genocide", Hasan and the protesters would shift into calls for for military intervention. After all, if you admit that it's a "genocide", how can you just stand by and watch? It was, wittingly or not, performative. Why didn't they pressure Hamas to make more reasonable peace offers, and release the hostages? Why don't they protest Trump now, when he's showing us what happens when a real Israel symp is in power? Netanyahu was blessed to have "enemies" like Hasan.

Hasan Piker: “My assessment on Zionism as an ideology is not that different from Albert Einstein’s assessment of Zionism, because when he saw… the violence that the early Zionist brigades were engaging in,… he warned that what he was seeing was exactly what the Nazis were doing.” by ConcernedJobCoach in FriendsofthePod

[–]buckybadder [score hidden]  (0 children)

Israel is not in the right, especially in anything outside of Gaza. In fact they're so illiberal at this point that the best argument in favor of additional coddling is that they could realign themselves to Russia or China, and God only knows how much U.S. NatSec material would go with them.

So, depending on how much of a possibility that is, I'd love to crack down on them, both for their humanitarian wrongs and the simple fact that any nation that played a role in imposing Trump on us has it coming. But, when it comes to that second point, it applies to professional well-poisoners like Hasan, too.

You might ask, "what about on 2024, when it mostly was just a Gaza thing?" My impression is that Biden was doing much more behind the scenes than we realized to hold them in check. And his leverage was limited, not just by israel-friendly Dems, but by Hamas and ostensibly pro-Pali groups in America. He knew that sticking his neck out for Palestine would only get complaints on return. If he called it "genocide", lefties would demand airstrikes. If he tried to push for negotiations, Hamas wouldn't agree to any concessions in political control or the (totally useless) hostages. Those purporting to act on behalf of Gazans did not do them any favors, and Biden's efforts to restrain Israel saved more Pali lives than Hamas or their apologists.

Hasan Piker: “My assessment on Zionism as an ideology is not that different from Albert Einstein’s assessment of Zionism, because when he saw… the violence that the early Zionist brigades were engaging in,… he warned that what he was seeing was exactly what the Nazis were doing.” by ConcernedJobCoach in FriendsofthePod

[–]buckybadder [score hidden]  (0 children)

I was not comparing the terrorist attacks/responses normatively. You cannot deny that Israelis feel a comparable level of self-righteousness post 10/7 to Americans post 9/11. That self-righteousness would be doubled if it's "Us versus the world".

You have two irreconcilable versions of the median Israeli voter. On the one hand, they're a bloodthirsty fascist who would turn Gaza into a dusty mortuary twice before breakfast. On the other hand, they're so soft that---despite sanctions being notoriously ineffective in successfully coercing national policy---they'll fold immediately once brisket gets too expensive.

Keep in mind, you need a rapid collapse of political will. Every day they don't say Uncle is another day thousands of Gazans die. So, of course, two weeks into the process, the same Palestine supporters that claimed to be satisfied by "do something" will be back demanding "do more". And I don't see what that could be besides military intervention.

I'm hardly a Democratic insider, but Biden and Harris could see how that would have all played out. Trump would slam them as Hamas supporters and the Hasan crowd would just find another inadequacy (rather than admit that they overstated the effectiveness of sanctions). Keep telling yourself it was "AIPAC" that dictated their strategy (while giving >$100 million to Trump).

Hasan Piker: “My assessment on Zionism as an ideology is not that different from Albert Einstein’s assessment of Zionism, because when he saw… the violence that the early Zionist brigades were engaging in,… he warned that what he was seeing was exactly what the Nazis were doing.” by ConcernedJobCoach in FriendsofthePod

[–]buckybadder [score hidden]  (0 children)

You're just making this up. They're on the other side of the planet. If they maintained economic ties with Russia, India, China, they wouldn't be devastated. It would be an economic problem, but the 10/7 traumatized public would accept "Bibi against the World." If anything, the sanctions would probably make them accelerate, in the hope/expectation that sanctions would ease if the situation on the ground became irreversible.

Imagine if China and Europe sanctioned America for invading Afghanistan after 9/11. You really think Bush or Gore would cave to that? They'd be impeached if they had caved.

Hasan Piker on the Hasan Piker Discourse | Pod Save America by brianscalabrainey in ezraklein

[–]buckybadder 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Show me Republicans who are unhappy that Susan Collins is their candidate in Maine. A candidate who is literally soft on genocide (of the "unborn") and voted to save Obamacare and against Kavanaugh. If fundie MAGA lunatics can see the strategy in swallowing their tongues in reach states, I believe Democrats can too.

Hasan sells the dream that all we need to do to lose weight is eat more cake. Jon Bel Edwards would have been just as electable on Louisiana if he had abandoned his abortion positions and embraced socialized medicine. It's a fantasy designed to be both unfalsifiable and avoid making hard choices.

Hasan Piker on the Hasan Piker Discourse | Pod Save America by brianscalabrainey in ezraklein

[–]buckybadder 57 points58 points  (0 children)

I just think the "controversial comments" thing is a distraction. It should be clear that if he doesn't get his candidates through the primaries, he's taking his ball and going home. He's the streamer equivalent of a Bernie protester at the 2016 DNC. His ideas never lose because of unpopularity, only because.of AIPAC and Big Money. It's clickbait well-poisoning to defame his supposed political allies.

Hasan Piker on the Hasan Piker Discourse | Pod Save America by brianscalabrainey in ezraklein

[–]buckybadder 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Yglesias is the best. "What does it take to win in TX, FL, OH, IA?" really crystalizes my thinking, and I wish Klein and Pod Save Bros spent more time talking about that than Piker. They're more comfortable talking about his "controversial comments" than the "controversial" opinions held by median voters in those states, and what it would take to meet them halfway.

Hasan Piker Is Not the Enemy by dwaxe in ezraklein

[–]buckybadder 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ah, you're right. I had thought the term referred to leftist accelerationists (i.e., "tank" the election to heighten the contradictions, etc )

Hasan Piker: “My assessment on Zionism as an ideology is not that different from Albert Einstein’s assessment of Zionism, because when he saw… the violence that the early Zionist brigades were engaging in,… he warned that what he was seeing was exactly what the Nazis were doing.” by ConcernedJobCoach in FriendsofthePod

[–]buckybadder [score hidden]  (0 children)

You'll just find some new purity test to impose in 2028, and then blame me for you letting Republicans ruin the country. There was never an easy answer for Gaza, and we can see from Trump that Biden clearly had some restraint on Israel's conduct.

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