Cut the Failed Red States Loose: Why America Can't Keep Carrying the Dead Weight (cmarmitage.substack.com)

submitted 2 weeks ago by IndridCold@lemmy.ca to c/politics@lemmy.world

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[-] Modern_medicine_isnt@lemmy.world 11 points 2 weeks ago

So. NO. This is what we are fighting against. We need to make a society where everyone can be included, happy, heallthy, and free. Not just exclude those we don't currently agree with.

Many of these hard core MAGA people are like super fans of a sports team. They are looking for something to identify as and a group to be part of. Give them better options and they wouldn't exist.

[-] bagsy@lemmy.world 5 points 2 weeks ago

Nope, fuck maga. i have no sympathy for nazis. they want to hate everything and everyone, let them be miserable in their little hate worlds.

[-] jdredbeard@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago

The problem is that you can't separate most of MAGA from the hate. If a black person in Mississippi benefits from a federal state service, that cannot be tolerated, even if many whites benefit as well.

It's more important to protect a non-viable embryo, according to these people, than to protect the mother's life or health.

I feel like King Theoden from LotR, who says "What can men do against such reckless hate?" Though, it's valid to substitute "hatred" with "stupidity"

[-] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 2 weeks ago

Give them better options and they wouldn't exist.

Straight up bullshit. They've been given better options over and over. They are small, hateful people.

[-] phutatorius@lemmy.zip 11 points 2 weeks ago

Never surrender a square inch of territory to those scumbags. Those states are ruled by corrupt, anti-democracy elites, and the decent people there deserve a chance, not to be written off.

[-] Treczoks@lemmy.world 0 points 2 weeks ago

The decent people can always get help to be resettled to civilization.

[-] frog_brawler@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

Care to elaborate on what you mean by that? Are you going to help pay the relocation expenses of left-leaning voters in red states?

[-] WatDabney@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 2 weeks ago

Yes.

They're hyperfocused on states rights. Fine. Here's the thing though - with rights come responsibilities. One can't claim the right to make one's own decisions, then dodge the responsibility for those decisions.

They.make their choices, they have to deal with the consequences themselves.

So they can grow the fuck up and join the modern world, or they can just wallow in their ignorance and incompetence. It's their problem - not ours.

[-] logicbomb@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago

with great states rights comes great states responsibilities

[-] Doomsider@lemmy.world -2 points 2 weeks ago

So instead of ignoring the fuckups of countries all over the world we are expected to ignore them here as well. Clearly ignoring the problem is not working.

Seems like we are playing right into their hands and sacrificing our own citizens in the name of politics.

[-] WatDabney@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 2 weeks ago

The mistake isn't ignoring the problem - it's subsidizing it.

They're free to continue to be ignorant, short-sighted fuckups because we're there to bail their pathetic asses out.

If we're going to bail them out, then that means we're taking responsibility, and if we're taking responsibility then they're going to sit the fuck down and shut the fick up and do as they're told, because obviously they can't take care of themselves.

And if, on the other hand, they're going to do as they please, then it's not our responsibility - it's theirs. And if they can't bail themselves out of the trouble they've caused for themselves, that's their own fucking problem.

It has to be one or the other. Authority without responsibility just creates moral hazard. Either they have the aurhority, in which case they also have the responsibility, or we have the responsibility, in which case we also have the authority.

[-] Doomsider@lemmy.world 0 points 2 weeks ago

I like this way of framing it because it doesn't abjectly give up responsibility.

[-] nymnympseudonym@piefed.social 1 points 2 weeks ago

It plays right into their Atlas Shrugged sensibilities.

I love it

[-] MisterOwl@lemmy.world 0 points 2 weeks ago

Maybe, but on the plus side it's the ignorant, hateful citizens. Win-win.

[-] Doomsider@lemmy.world -1 points 2 weeks ago

That is just pure propaganda. They are not anymore hateful than you or I. They have been led astray.

I get it, othering is as appealing as it is toxic.

[-] MisterOwl@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

If they are still "astray" at this point, it's by choice. Fuck them.

[-] the_q@lemmy.zip 1 points 2 weeks ago

So children raised in these environments, fed lies day in and day out are ultimately choosing to be a certain way?

[-] MisterOwl@lemmy.world -1 points 2 weeks ago

Republicans don't care about children, why should I?

[-] PowerCrazy@lemmy.ml 3 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

The dumbest most neoliberal take ever. Maybe poor people deserve it?

Actually I take it back, dude is probably a white supremacist.

Christopher Armitage @chrisarmitage1 Most tell you what's wrong. I try to tell you what works. Researcher, Former Law Enforcement Officer, Veteran, Author. Living in Spokane, Washington 🌲🌲🌲 with 3 feline roommates

[-] gustofwind@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Secessionists are dangerous and malicious

This is simply what the red states want and it will not improve your lives but leave us with highly dangerous neighbors and a completely destroyed society

Do not fall for this shit

[-] BlameThePeacock@lemmy.ca 3 points 2 weeks ago

No country can last forever, renewal is just as important for governments as forest fires are to restoring the balance in nature.

Is it painful? Yes.

Is it necessary eventually? Also yes.

[-] Montagge@lemmy.zip 2 points 2 weeks ago

So basically what we already have

[-] gustofwind@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

Do you think it can’t get much much worse?

[-] aeternum@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 2 weeks ago

Just because it can get worse, doesn’t mean it’s not already here

[-] blah3166@piefed.social 1 points 2 weeks ago

and plays exactly into what Putin wants, to weaken the US even further.

[-] corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca 1 points 2 weeks ago

Review "soft secession".

[-] pulsewidth@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

Article author doesn't actually elaborate on what they mean precisely by "cut them loose" but from context it seems to be cut off all their federal funding.

Not even sure how you'd do that to be honest - even Trump's admin has struggled to legally withhold federal funds from states he hates, the funding gets pushed through in the end by legal action. So you wanna out-crime Trump? Dumb article.

If the author wants to make bold demands then along with that comes the requirement of suggesting how to achieve them, else it's just performative whining.

[-] zbyte64@awful.systems 1 points 2 weeks ago

I've got bad news: the oligarchs run the blue states as well. California gave us Palantir and X. Peter Thiel advocates for this exact same thing for fuck sake.

[-] ameancow@lemmy.world 0 points 2 weeks ago

They're the ones who benefit from stories or headlines like this.

As long as we think we're an "us versus them" across state lines, we're ignoring the fact that we're all under one management team, the wealthy assholes and deranged morons with all the money who play games with civilization like it's a game of... civilization.

[-] Juice@midwest.social 1 points 2 weeks ago

Pure psychopath shit.

[-] M0oP0o@mander.xyz 1 points 2 weeks ago

Cut the Failed ~~Red~~ States Loose

[-] phoenixz@lemmy.ca 2 points 2 weeks ago

Failed and red basically are synonymous here

[-] M0oP0o@mander.xyz 0 points 2 weeks ago

I meant the nation, in its entirety.

[-] Formfiller@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Cut them loose and trail of tears every republican voter out of the blue states to live in their own backwards pedofile supporting cesspool

[-] drunkpostdisaster@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

I would never forgive this country if it abandoned me.

[-] ameancow@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

The headline alone tells me this is bad-faith drivel, either meant to inflame tensions or to pander to the unrealistic "leftists" who think we'll have our glorious revolution aaaannnyyy day now.

The country is not "divorcing" we are nowhere close to a "civil war" and there will be a tomorrow. And a day after. And a day after that.

We can start pushing the pendulum back the other direction on the momentum of whatever the latest scandal is, we can have grass-roots campaigns for people who represent us, we can be more social and more active, we can plant gardens and donate to food banks and attend city council meetings. The whole thing goes on.

Do not trust or even believe headlines that inflame tensions or make things worse. We can work harder to make sure nobody is getting abandoned. We had huge setbacks but over the long arc of history, we are still making progress.

[-] pupbiru@aussie.zone 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

but also… they’re arguing for small government. maybe y’all should start pushing in the same direction: make the federal government smaller, keep your blue state tax money, stop giving them as much… it’s what they want after all

and then use that money to form blue state coalitions: form a new, voluntary CDC, FDA, etc between aligned states that are far more robust than what you’ve been able to achieve with republican bad faith tampering

kinda like the EU model, but less central

(and if you didn’t see my instance, i’m aussie so i don’t really get a say, and nobody should let me influence anything - im not a citizen and i don’t live there or have to deal with as many consequences - unless you legitimately agree)

[-] ameancow@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

What you're describing is exactly what I said will happen down the road as the states start making wars of redistricting. When states here like Texas gerrymandered their districts they are basically saying "only the red/republicans get representation." It invalidates the constitution to some degree. But it also creates such an unfair advantage when trying to pass national policy that the only possible choice is for another state to do the same to balance seats in federal government. Then if they respond in another red state and do the same, well now this is just a slide until every state is one solid color or another and parties are meaningless. Representation is meaningless. At that point, like-colored states are just going to start forming coalitions and negotiating or reducing federal contributions and doing their own trading, their own new systems of representation between them, and so on. At some point, every region or power bloc will have it's own international policies and defense forces.

At that point, Washington DC is just for show, for ceremony and rivalry and making trade deals and hurling shit at other regions. Some say it's already like that, but we still do have a working and vastly complex federal/state relationship.

It isn't wrong per-say for all this to happen this way, but a lot of people here want the USA to continue, it was an effective system for a long time. It will never just "go away" entirely, but many people feel like the erosion is beginning, or accelerating with events of the last decade or so. Losing a cohesive USA could be very destabilizing. Not because I'm under any illusion that the USA preserves order, but because some of the power-blocs that arise from the division may be very dangerous.

[-] ChonkyOwlbear@lemmy.world 0 points 2 weeks ago

I've said it before, but we need to start shutting down all these miniscule towns that have no reason for existing. They are nothing but an economic and social drain on the country.

[-] bestagon@lemmy.world 0 points 2 weeks ago

Kick someone out of their home because they aren’t profitable enough wtf?

[-] ChonkyOwlbear@lemmy.world 0 points 2 weeks ago

Hey, if they want to stay when the water, electric, sewage, roads, fire department, police, and all other publicly subsidized services are removed they are welcome to it. We all shouldn't have to pay because a handful of people can't adjust to the century they live in.

[-] drunkpostdisaster@lemmy.world 0 points 2 weeks ago

Uoj going to pay for my housing? How will your state handle the refugee crisis?

[-] ChonkyOwlbear@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

It would be more economical to pay for people to relocate and train them for new jobs. There's plenty of room in cities and suburbs for the displaced. To be clear, I'm not talking about getting rid of towns of 5000; I'm talking about towns of a population of 500 or less.

[-] buzz86us@lemmy.world 0 points 2 weeks ago

I agree sell them off to Mexico if were going to run the US like a business let's run it like private equity. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[-] frog_brawler@lemmy.world 0 points 2 weeks ago

why would Mexico take on bad debt?

[-] Blackmist@feddit.uk 1 points 2 weeks ago

Might encourage them to build that wall after all.

this post was submitted on 22 Nov 2025

30 points (82.6% liked)

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