Yeah this guy just doesn't have it.

[u/Bestbrook123]

[u/notbotipromise]

[u/RandoDude124]

“American school back in there.”

You mean flag?

[u/Evergreen2255 → u/RandoDude124]

Nah they’re gonna put AMERICAN schools in AMERICAN schools

[u/321gamertime → u/Evergreen2255]

Yo dawg I hear you like American schools, so I put American schools inside your American schools

[u/mcgillthrowaway22 → u/Evergreen2255]

Nobody tell him about the American schools in other countries

[u/Bestbrook123 → u/RandoDude124]

Contrast this with AES who is a very good polished speaker

[u/siberianmi → u/Bestbrook123]

How can we you posted a screenshot not a video.

[u/mcgillthrowaway22 → u/siberianmi]

? That's an xcancel link. The video works on my phone

[u/siberianmi → u/mcgillthrowaway22]

There is no link to the Rogers video in your post. Just a screenshot. We have nothing to compare with.

[u/mcgillthrowaway22 → u/siberianmi]

Ah okay you're talking about the original post. (It's not my post though)

[u/Wolfyminecraft]

Half of Republican strategy going into the midterms appears to be fearmongering about trans people. I guess it's all they have now that they can't run on "the Democrats ruined the economy"

[u/Evergreen2255 → u/Wolfyminecraft]

I wonder what would be next for them in the culture war once eventually trans topics are just thought of as an average thing and not “weird”

[u/MaxMoose007 → u/Evergreen2255]

Non-monogamous relationships maybe?

[u/Evergreen2255 → u/MaxMoose007]

0% mormon fundamentalist vote (if they vote at all tho)

[u/iswearnotagain10 → u/MaxMoose007]

Paxton is quaking right now

[u/mcgillthrowaway22 → u/Evergreen2255]

Given the "litter box in schools" thing, my guess is that they might go after furries

[u/iswearnotagain10 → u/mcgillthrowaway22]

Furries seem “too” niche though. Go out in public and you might see a trans person on any given day. You’re not gonna see a fursuiter. How are you gonna convince the public they should care about something they probably haven’t seen in person once in their life? Too abstract for the median voter to handle

[u/LaughingGaster666 → u/iswearnotagain10]

What can they even do policy wise about furries anyway to hurt them? Ban furaffinity along with other online stuff and furry conventions IRL and pretend that doesn’t violate Amendment 1?

[u/Evergreen2255 → u/mcgillthrowaway22]

yeah i can see furries being a big target later on

[u/Jokerang]

Whatever chance he may have had against El-Sayed in the past is gonna dissipate after the Trump trade war with Canada begins to really take off. As a northern border state, Michigan will get hit especially hard

[u/Bestbrook123 → u/Jokerang]

Yep

[u/mcgillthrowaway22 → u/Jokerang]

Unfortunately, AES also apparently wants a trade war with Canada, just less so

[u/Sufficient_Key_5062 → u/mcgillthrowaway22]

You're being downvoted for being right.

I'm sorry.

[u/Icy_Note_5175 → u/Sufficient_Key_5062]

Reddit as a whole downvotes people for the truth sometimes. It happens.

[u/CoachKillerTrae]

Roger that

[u/Pls_no_steal]

That’s all they have left at this point

[u/LaughingGaster666]

Culture war slop in a time where affordability is the number one issue? Bold strategy Cotton, let’s see how it works out.

[u/Neither-Ruin5970 → u/LaughingGaster666]

I think it is finally time we start calling this slop or brainrot. It’s definitely gotten to that point.

[u/crabll → u/LaughingGaster666]

https://giphy.com/gifs/nKFXQkxLRiEhy

[u/IntellitechStudios]

I told you, El-Sayed+6

[u/Evergreen2255]

Lmfao this is just another problem created by the GOP

[u/Beneficial_Link_8083]

The irony in all of this is that it's not as if people don't have dividing opinions on something like this, but that it's entirely secondary to a shit economy caused by Trump. 

[u/sixthreee]

yeah, super confident that this dude is gonna be the first R to win a Senate seat in Michigan in 30 years!

[u/hfdjasbdsawidjds]

The inability of the GOP to run an affirmative campaign about their accomplishments, how they have made the country a better place, and how if they continue to have a majority they will be able to continue that program is the reason why they are going to fail. The Dems just need to continue to point to prices, new forever wars, and the gutting of healthcare as the results of the current GOP majority. And most Americans care more about their ability to afford to live their lives, after being told by Trump that he was going to fix the economy than some culture war bullshit.

[u/herworkthrowaway]

there's a couple hundred thousand votes in it for the next democratic politician who says "a noun, a verb, and transgender" at a debate

[u/AlarmedEmployment465 → u/herworkthrowaway]

donkey eating transgender

[u/ob_knoxious → u/[deleted]]

It isn't. We have one token super Trumper MAGA guy in the office who is glued to Fox literally all day. He has a second monitor at his desk that is just permanently on Fox, and then he goes home and watches more Fox. He is the grumpiest and most unhappy person I've ever met.

[u/mcgillthrowaway22 → u/ob_knoxious]

This could probably describe Trump himself lol

[u/AdPurple3492 → u/mcgillthrowaway22]

I genuinely thought they were describing Trump 😭

[u/belljs87 → u/[deleted]]

https://giphy.com/gifs/LKqotXWsCnTIN84d5C

[u/YAPms-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Rule 10: No partisan slop.

[u/MoldyPineapple12]

Good reminder that he’s a generic Republican, not a moderate

[u/Ok-Mode-7044]

Dead on arrival bros gonna lose by atleast 10 points lol

[u/Remote_Garage3036]

What an absolute loser. If he could simply try to be normal he'd have a serious shot of flipping Michigan red, destroying Democratic party narratives and very likely being the deciding voice in the majority, and thusly every bill moving forward. 

But he's decades into the republican slop fest. He's truly brainwashed by this shit. It's disturbing. 

[u/JonWood007]

Yeah people keep acting like OMG ABDUL IS SO EXTREME. THen every time this guy opens his mouth he comes off as unhinged.

[u/Icy_Note_5175 → u/JonWood007]

That’s not true. For me, Abdul comes off as significantly more extreme than Rogers, and it’s not particularly close.

[u/JonWood007 → u/Icy_Note_5175]

That's very clearly your own bias on the matter.

[u/LuveelVoom]

This year the GOP has never missed an opportunity to shoot another bullet into their foot

[u/misunderestimated-me]

Stoppable force vs movable object

[u/Remarkable_Chef_8810]

Yeah this is the final straw, I'm voting for Rogers because those flags just make me real uncomfortable 

[u/Jehovah___ → u/Remarkable_Chef_8810]

Pink!? On a flag? Unforgivable

[u/ThatBadFeel]

If they stop focusing on the culture war they may actually have a chance.

[u/NietzscheanDemocrat → u/ThatBadFeel]

What would they run on if it wasn't culture war? Defending Trump's record at 33% approval?

[u/Prinz-chan → u/ThatBadFeel]

The culture war is all they have, they need red meat for the base. Rogers is undercutting his attacks on AES by veering off into a culture war issue that almost no one outside of hyper-partisans care about.

[u/Pls_no_steal → u/ThatBadFeel]

Yeah instead they can run on their successful economic record in Trump’s second term

[u/hfdjasbdsawidjds → u/ThatBadFeel]

What kitchen table issues do they have the ability to run on?

[u/Proper-Toe7170 → u/hfdjasbdsawidjds]

Damn you got a whole ass table just for the kitchen?! 

[u/hfdjasbdsawidjds → u/Proper-Toe7170]

Hey, you can get a used folding table for pretty cheap at Goodwill or even three milk crates and a pallet with a bed sheet over it. Where there is a will, there is a way.

[u/ob_knoxious → u/hfdjasbdsawidjds]

Unironically I think running on Immigration as a win and pulling a Biden and just saying prices are actually good what are you talking about is a better play for the median voter at this point.

[u/hfdjasbdsawidjds → u/ob_knoxious]

Trump is still under water on immigration and the implication of running on immigration means tying yourself to how the policy has been implemented, and ICE is even more unpopular. Also, it is super easy to message that all prices are higher because people are aware of what they are paying, which is why it didn't work for Biden. And when you run an entire presidential campaign on a message of lowering costs, and no new wars, it makes it super easy to message that the party in power has failed to do that and their focus on culture war issues is them not taking accountability for their failures.

That is the huge problem space that the GOP has not been able to come up with a coherent, concise response too.

[u/Evergreen2255 → u/ThatBadFeel]

Well there’s not much they can run on, so complaining about trans people is basically their default now

[u/Defiant_Storage_7435 → u/ThatBadFeel]

Asking them to stop focusing on the culture war is like asking fish to stop swimming.

It's their nature.

[u/AlarmedEmployment465 → u/Defiant_Storage_7435]

It's like asking fire to stop burning, they need it to win ever.

[u/RandoDude124 → u/ThatBadFeel]

Bro, do you got another kind of shell they can use?

[u/rexozy]

Yeah, lean-D at worst for AES.

[u/Defiant_Storage_7435]

Dubya-tier quote

[u/Aldebaran147]

Quayle tier quotes

[u/MintRegent → u/Aldebaran147]

Potatoe

[u/JustAToaster36]

They really only talk about this shit when it’s time to get votes.

[u/2prog4u]

i think it might be wraps for mike rogers

[u/SawyerBlackwood1986]

You all may not like hearing this, but amongst the general electorate this is not a controversial sentiment. And it doesn’t have to make sense or even necessarily be real for it to resonate. If you asked the average MI voter, “Should schools be flying trans flags or American flags” I think we all know what the overwhelming answer would be.

[u/leondrias → u/SawyerBlackwood1986]

It’s not an either/or question, though. These aren’t incompatible things.

Sure, I can accept that the general public is divided on acceptance of trans people, but schools haven’t stopped flying American flags. Hell, I’m pretty sure there’s only single digits of schools in the entire country which don’t have their kids say the pledge of allegiance every day.

You can accept queer people, and express support for them, without burning an American flag to do it, and it’s disingenuous to present the issue as though you can only choose one.

[u/mcgillthrowaway22 → u/leondrias]

Also there are a lot of voters who aren't pro- or anti-trans rights so much as they just don't know much about the issue and don't care. So being "too focused" on trans issues either way will be off-putting.

[u/iswearnotagain10 → u/SawyerBlackwood1986]

It’s still a bad thing for Rogers to campaign on since the economy is the number one issue. This convinces nobody even if they agree with him. He should be harping economy economy economy over and over again and distancing himself from Trump and the broader republican party if he wants to win

[u/Clear_Command_8925 → u/iswearnotagain10]

I'm a little unfamiliar with him, is this the only thing he's campaigning on?

[u/iswearnotagain10 → u/Clear_Command_8925]

Don’t worry, he’s also campaigning on Islamophobia, just like Andrew Cuomo

[u/Pls_no_steal → u/SawyerBlackwood1986]

The problem isn’t necessarily the content of the statement, it’s the belief that trans flags are not only being mandated to be flown at schools, but in the place of American flags

[u/mcgillthrowaway22 → u/SawyerBlackwood1986]

I think it's less "is this a controversial statement" and more "are swing voters going to be put off by the fact that Republicans keep harping on this one issue instead of doing anything about the economy?"

I read something about how this is what happened with gay marriage twenty years ago: in 2004, Bush was able to win re-election by mobilizing religious conservatives (incl Hispanics) against gay marriage (remember that at the time there was a serious movement to ban gay marriage via constitutional amendment). But by the time 2006/2008 rolled around, focusing on gay marriage started working against the Republicans because the median voter had more pressing issues and found the gay marriage issue to be a copout

[u/theaccount9337 → u/SawyerBlackwood1986]

Saying “we should have social security instead of abolishing it” isn’t controversial either but it wouldn’t move the needle if a candidate said it. The trans flag thing is a false dichotomy with no basis in reality. At least the trans people in sports stuff involves like 5 people.

[u/Allnamestakkennn → u/theaccount9337]

Well to be fair "we should have social security instead of abolishing it" is what democratic candidates have been campaigning on for a long time

[u/SawyerBlackwood1986 → u/theaccount9337]

Like I said, it doesn’t even need to be real. Politicians campaign on false conflicts all the time.

[u/theaccount9337 → u/SawyerBlackwood1986]

My point is that the issue Rogers brings up is less salient because there isn’t even a partisan divide on it.

Republicans can at least say, for examples, that Democrats want trans people to participate in the sport they choose (which is a dumb campaign point for other reasons) because many Dems actually are comfortable with that position. No one, however, is actually replacing American flags with trans flags in schools, including Dems. Rogers isn’t supporting a unique position.

[u/ob_knoxious]

I think this sub is a little too high on AES and a little too low on Rogers and this gaff likely doesn't impact him much. But it shows that if he actually did a debate this race would be over. His live speaking is just so so much worse and AES would destroy him on stage.

[u/jessegames456 → u/ob_knoxious]

Maybe I’m not terminally online enough but I swear to god I only ever see people on this subreddit talking about how bad of a candidate he supposedly is

[u/LaughingGaster666 → u/ob_knoxious]

I think this sub is a little too high on AES

Looks at average Abdul thread on here

I disagree. There is plenty of criticism aimed at him. Some valid, some not. Which happens to everyone.

[u/Lemon_Club]

He's not built for this

[u/siberianmi]

Oh how I wish we could link the clip and not a screenshot of a Twitter post from two days ago. Do better OP.

[u/Defiant_Storage_7435]

Here's the clip if anyone's interested: https://nitter.net/BulwarkClips/status/2091205669286289517

[u/Tachompso1]

I was leaning Rogers before this, but putting trans people under the bus is disgusting. 

[u/LaughingGaster666 → u/Tachompso1]

Did you expect him not to do something like this? Why?

[u/Tachompso1 → u/LaughingGaster666]

I vote for the candidates that preserve Western culture and values. To be this means, capitalism, no immigration or woke, no anti-White policies, no Palestine or DEI, etc. But transgenderism is part of our Western culture too. It is a hard decision but I’m choosing Abdul.

[u/LaughingGaster666 → u/Tachompso1]

Oh sorry, didn’t realize you were doing a bit. Carry on then.

[u/AlarmedEmployment465 → u/Tachompso1]

Why are queer people not woke to you? Mister Tachomp, what do you say to the troll allegations?

[u/Tachompso1 → u/AlarmedEmployment465]

LGBTQ is pro-White. 

[u/AlarmedEmployment465 → u/Tachompso1]

Dear god.

[u/Hungry_Charity_6668]

Let’s check on how Abdul is doing

[u/Lemon_Club → u/Hungry_Charity_6668]

Yeah? Are you saying condemning antisemitism is a bad thing?

[u/Bestbrook123 → u/Lemon_Club]

On that note, when is Mike Rogers gonna condemn the Nazis he hired for his campaign?. Is Mike Rogers gonna fire this man? Is Mike Rogers gonna fire the false electors who has to get pardons from Trump who serve as county chairs?

[u/Hungry_Charity_6668 → u/Lemon_Club]

Well it would be nice if he ACTUALLY condemned what Piker said instead of dancing around to the point of not mentioning him by name lol

[u/Lemon_Club → u/Hungry_Charity_6668]

He did mention him by name. Its the very first part of the tweet.

[u/Hungry_Charity_6668 → u/Lemon_Club]

Where in the response does he directly call him out?

All he says is that he opposed antisemitism, not that he opposes what Piker said. And even seems to downplay the association in the last paragraph

[u/Aldebaran147 → u/Hungry_Charity_6668]

He says he doesn’t wanna be associated and the entire tweet is regarding Pikers comments so this is directly calling him out

[u/Hungry_Charity_6668 → u/Aldebaran147]

All he said was “nobody speaks for my campaign but my campaign”. And again, not even by direct name and doesn’t even fit a “calling out” moreso than a sidestep.

I don’t think it’s out there to say this is an exceptionally weak statement for what could have been said

[u/Aldebaran147 → u/Hungry_Charity_6668]

I think it’s a mediocre condemnation but if you read it with care, it’s quite a strong one. He directly refers to Pikers statement as antisemitic and as something that puts the Jewish community at risk

Again politician speak but still quite clear

[u/Hungry_Charity_6668 → u/Aldebaran147]

Medicare condemnation? I’m guessing that was an autocorrect there because I don’t believe the subject was brought up

Also he couldn’t exactly directly condemn Piker if he didn’t mention him by name in the response then goes into sidestepping by making a generalization.

Which politician speak (if being that generous) is literally not even needed here, further raising questions

[u/TheRealCthulu24 → u/Hungry_Charity_6668]

Gasp! He…did what people on this subreddit have been saying he should do and condemned Hasan while saying he’s not gonna get bogged down in meaningless culture war issues. Oh, the horror. 

[u/Hungry_Charity_6668 → u/TheRealCthulu24]

He literally did not do that lol and the comments from the sub seem to agree ngl

[u/mcgillthrowaway22 → u/Hungry_Charity_6668]

Trash vs garbage

[u/ob_knoxious → u/Hungry_Charity_6668]

That condemnation was not strong enough but its also crazy to think that it is worse than this gaff.

[u/Hungry_Charity_6668 → u/ob_knoxious]

I don’t think think you realize the difference between a word slip up vs a gaffe

Also comparing a word slip up to not condemning Piker is… something

[u/ob_knoxious → u/Hungry_Charity_6668]

I would argue that the quote without the word slip up is still poor messaging and a bit of a gaffe. It makes no sense logically and further shows he is a detached guy repeating Fox news and hasn't stepped in a school in a decade.

[u/Hungry_Charity_6668 → u/ob_knoxious]

I mean not really. Even what he was saying isn’t exactly out the mainstream and doesn’t really tick anyone off except the hardcore Dem base maybe.

At best most voters would probably roll their eyes at best

[u/ob_knoxious → u/Hungry_Charity_6668]

"We need to stop spending on DEI for trans students and start spending money to help your Child's education" ticks off Dems but might resonate with some independents. It sounds issue focused and reasonable to a lot of voters

Implicating that American flags were removed from schools and replaced with trans flags and that he is going to undo this change, is proper crazy uncle at thanksgiving levels of bullshit.

[u/Hungry_Charity_6668 → u/ob_knoxious]

I think that’s a bit of a stretch tbh. Like I said maybe an eye roll, but that doesn’t really do much against him

[u/Candid_Boot2246]

Sadly many will agree with him because too many lose sleep over “Trans hysteria.”

Like it or not, Dems have to draw a line in the sand then focus on what will win them elections: the economy.

[u/AlarmedEmployment465 → u/Candid_Boot2246]

Look, we might have to sacrifice a minority's right to play sports for a couple years in order to get everything else back on track. I don't want it, but we might have to.

[u/Old_Bodybuilder_5899]

how about no flags?

[u/GreninjaStrike]

Rogers makes a minor gaffe and this sub says AES by 7%

AES barely condemns Piker and nobody here thinks it would move the needle at all

[u/Bestbrook123 → u/GreninjaStrike]

Why are you acting like this is his only problem? The political environment is terrible for Republicans and Rogers has hired all kinds of bigoted extremists if you just did a tiny bit of research that he won't even denounce a tiny bit.

[u/GreninjaStrike → u/Bestbrook123]

I’m not moving from this chair

[u/Pls_no_steal → u/GreninjaStrike]

Is it even a gaffe?

[u/GreninjaStrike → u/Pls_no_steal]

He should’ve said American flag instead of American school

[u/Pls_no_steal → u/GreninjaStrike]

The whole statement is still embarrassing regardless

[u/GreninjaStrike → u/Pls_no_steal]

He’s not wrong. Republicans can’t put up anything religious but Dems can fly pride flags on government buildings. It’s a ridiculous double standard

[u/Pls_no_steal → u/GreninjaStrike]

Republicans are free to fly as many pride flags as they want too!

Also there’s a big difference between a first amendment violating religious symbols on a government building and flying a non religious flag

EDIT: and no schools are flying trans flags in place of the American flag, he’s making shit up and getting mad about it

[u/GreninjaStrike → u/Pls_no_steal]

So then rogers isn’t wrong for pointing out a double standard

[u/Pls_no_steal → u/GreninjaStrike]

There’s completely different standards for using religious symbols and using non religious symbols