iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

agentschmoop.bsky.social @agentschmoop.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Hey JD, can you provide a clip of James saying everything you accuse him of saying? For example, I can provide a clip of you saying you make things up; here it is: youtu.be/lAm4tTLb05I?... I bet you can’t because I’m familiar with what James said, so I know you’re once again making shit up.

youtu.be

J.D. Vance Admits He Lied To Get Media Attention

YouTube video by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

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agentschmoop.bsky.social @agentschmoop.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Everyone else seemed to already have the more direct pushback claimed. And rest assured, I don’t feel good about being a sassy dick. I wish the world we lived in was the one you described, but alas…

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agentschmoop.bsky.social @agentschmoop.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Tell me you don’t understand how contemporary media consumption or politics work without telling me you don’t understand how contemporary media consumption or politics work.

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agentschmoop.bsky.social @agentschmoop.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

You are allowed to evaluate both side’s claims, determine if one has more merit and/or if one or both are B.S., and then make that reporting your headline/tweet. That is, you are allowed to serve your intended function and inform the public, as opposed to sanitizing and normalizing serial liars.

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agentschmoop.bsky.social @agentschmoop.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

That’s interesting. Personally, I think of it as his legacy.

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agentschmoop.bsky.social @agentschmoop.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

The part of this I’m struggling to believe is that an official within this particular WH knows what the Tet Offensive is.

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agentschmoop.bsky.social @agentschmoop.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Federal civil rights protections for it

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agentschmoop.bsky.social @agentschmoop.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Also, small government federalism appeals might find purchase. I personally think trans youth in sports should be handled by ballot measures at the community level or state level at the highest, since that’s often the peak of high school athletics, until such time the public fully supports…

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agentschmoop.bsky.social @agentschmoop.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

And MSM is focused on it because they’re desperate for clicks and have given up on serving the American people and serving their role as intended by the founders. Whereas the Dems are animated by helping people, in all the forms that takes.

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agentschmoop.bsky.social @agentschmoop.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Necessarily their priority. It’s a position they’ll defend but not advance at the cost of fighting to improve affordability, fighting against corruption, etc. Make clear the Republicans are focused on it ‘cause fear mongering their perceived bogeymen is all they’ve got…

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agentschmoop.bsky.social @agentschmoop.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Last I saw, opposing gender affirming medical procedures for minors was a majority position but narrowly enough (i think ~55-57%) that I think Dems have more leeway to take an advocacy stance now. But, they still have to majorly effort to make clear to voters it’s their stance, but not…

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agentschmoop.bsky.social @agentschmoop.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

In swinging 2024 to Republicans. And notably, I wouldn’t argue for the same approach with other trans-related issues, and I think all these issues are unhelpfully collapsed together in these debates. The polling on opposing trans discrimination, IIRC, supports the Dem position of it being wrong.

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agentschmoop.bsky.social @agentschmoop.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

I suspect that it becomes a data point that reinforces a belief that Dems are overly focused on fringe issues and niche constituencies rather than on the issues that matter most to broad swaths of the electorate. I’ve seen a lot of polling and anecdotal evidence that that was a major factor…

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agentschmoop.bsky.social @agentschmoop.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Some kids are always going to have their safety threatened by that. Do you think it’s something we can or should legislate away? I’d like to think most people would recognize they’re a no on those counts.

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agentschmoop.bsky.social @agentschmoop.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

And for adults in general to worry about their safety of kids in general. The irrational part, imo, is that the threat of bigger and stronger children in youth sports exists, prominently, even without trans athletes.

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agentschmoop.bsky.social @agentschmoop.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Regular people (not talking about Republican fear mongers here) are worried bigger and stronger trans athletes will hurt female athletes. I don’t think that’s an irrational concern when viewed strictly through the lens that it’s normal for parents to worry about their kids’ safety…

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agentschmoop.bsky.social @agentschmoop.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

To really know that. And I think any cause that requires a significant amount of reading/research for average people to be convinced is facing an uphill battle. I’d like to experiment with an approach that tries to disentangle legitimate concerns from bigotry.

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agentschmoop.bsky.social @agentschmoop.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

And one of the challenges I think the movement faces is that there is a barrier to entry for changing minds on the science. It’s not as simple as people think it, but you have to make the investments of gaining(/already having) scientific literacy and doing a fair amount of reading/listening…

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agentschmoop.bsky.social @agentschmoop.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

(*”perverse” in that, as much as it matters to them in some cases, they seem irrational unaware or unmoved by it in other cases.)

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agentschmoop.bsky.social @agentschmoop.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

“Men are just naturally bigger and stronger and more athletic than women. It’s just a self-evident biological fact.” That, combined with, imo, Americans/people having a deep but perverse* relationship with the concept of fairness.

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agentschmoop.bsky.social @agentschmoop.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

I’ve actually come to think this issue has an outsized hold on voters’ minds exactly because of that: amidst a soup of complex political issues they recognize are beyond them, this is one they think they really, really grasp, so they cling to it.

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agentschmoop.bsky.social @agentschmoop.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Part, maybe, but not a significant factor I would make a key target when trying to change minds. When I hear from people in the 70 camp on why they hold that position, the main factor I hear is that they think the issue is so simple, even they can understand it.

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agentschmoop.bsky.social @agentschmoop.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

And I think Talarico is taking the more effective and defensible strategy toward that.

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agentschmoop.bsky.social @agentschmoop.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

I can’t speak to their motivations in that situation, but I can say that my motivation is seeking the most expansive and sustainable long-term good and justice for everyone, very much so including, if not emphasizing, people who aren’t treated fairly in society.

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agentschmoop.bsky.social @agentschmoop.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Liberals did things like vote for Dems who did homophobic bullshit like opposing gay marriage, even though they themselves supported gay marriage and found homophobia abhorrent. I know many such liberals.

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agentschmoop.bsky.social @agentschmoop.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

From my perspective, you’re arguing for a strategy that has no historical precedent for success and doesn’t seem to match observable reality, against one to does — could that not also be characterized as absurd? Example: all throughout the 90s and 2000s…

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agentschmoop.bsky.social @agentschmoop.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Joe Liberman blocked the public option.

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agentschmoop.bsky.social @agentschmoop.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Because swing voters felt Dems were out of touch with the average person’s concerns and too wedded to “extreme” stances, taking the 30 side on a 70/30 issue is not a good strategy and plays right into how Republicans won a trifecta last election.

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agentschmoop.bsky.social @agentschmoop.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

That’s not what I’m arguing, but it is true. I’m arguing that Dems running on the 30 side of a 70/30 issue is a recipe for defeat because 30<70. And I know not everyone is gonna vote Republican because of this one issue, but with the amount of evidence suggesting Trump one in ‘24 in part…

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agentschmoop.bsky.social @agentschmoop.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

It sounds like you’re saying Dems are bad at leading a shift in public opinion, and if so, yes, I agree, and that’s another reason I think that being a strategy for electoral victory right now is a bad idea.

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agentschmoop.bsky.social @agentschmoop.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

It being a byproduct of transphobia. Not to say I don’t think that’s a contributing factor. I just disagree about its primacy.

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agentschmoop.bsky.social @agentschmoop.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

No, and I have no reason to believe that will happen. I would also argue that Trump/MAGA creating a permission structure, if not incentives, for Republicans to be shitty and let their true colors show is more responsible for the downward trend in support for gay rights than…

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agentschmoop.bsky.social @agentschmoop.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Electoral success, political power and what’s best for people, especially marginalized people, in the future.

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agentschmoop.bsky.social @agentschmoop.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

And I have current events to support my position that allowing Republicans to retain power will only lead to greater harm. I don’t trust Dems absolutely, but I’m also not hearing a trustworthy argument for why/how max advocacy for trans rights right now leads to…

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agentschmoop.bsky.social @agentschmoop.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

I have past precedent to support my theory: I don’t think Dems are backing down from their support of gay rights or civil rights now that those have gained overwhelming support outside the Republican base.

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agentschmoop.bsky.social @agentschmoop.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

I understand some people, even some liberals, don’t consider Obama an effective politician, but if you do consider him that, he’s a counter example to your theory.

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agentschmoop.bsky.social @agentschmoop.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

I would like for reality to match your position, but based on the evidence I’m aware of, I fear it doesn’t.

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agentschmoop.bsky.social @agentschmoop.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Ok, so offer examples of politicians who fit that theory. Who is a politician who has taken the 30 position on a 70/30, with their voters on the 70 side, won their election and influenced a sea change in public opinion, let alone in the time span people are asking of with Talarico?

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agentschmoop.bsky.social @agentschmoop.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

I applaud Newsome for legalizing gay marriage in SF — it allowed my parents to get married — but that wasn’t him defying his voters.

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agentschmoop.bsky.social @agentschmoop.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

How so? Was there a politician who took a position on gay rights that dramatically differed from the position on gay rights held by their voters, who won their election despite being at odds with their voters on that issue?

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agentschmoop.bsky.social @agentschmoop.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

I think the answer to that question needs to be factored into how we approach this politically. And I don’t think “force an extreme underdog candidate to take an unpopular position in a pivotal race that could determine the extent to which Republicans can further harm people” does that.

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agentschmoop.bsky.social @agentschmoop.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

And hate Republicans. So, it was likely something else that influenced them to have that opinion (which I agree is morally wrong in isolation) and care about this issue (which I agree is dumb to prioritize). Why do they believe those things?

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agentschmoop.bsky.social @agentschmoop.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

I’ll take the criticism that Talarico and I are compromising on other peoples’ right—I think that’s fair, and I don’t like it either—but I think the analogy is flawed and unconvincing in other respects. For one, that 70% includes a significant, possibly double digit, % of people who hate Trump...

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agentschmoop.bsky.social @agentschmoop.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Other societal forces, beyond elected pols, work to change public opinion so that Dems can eventually take the correct moral positions and so that independents become so convinced of your position that Republicans can’t ever roll things back (democratically)

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agentschmoop.bsky.social @agentschmoop.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

I’m actually arguing in favor of the path by which being gay isn’t illegal today. Let Dem pols temporarily take morally objectionable positions that align with/ public sentiment in order to beat Republicans (eg, Obama with gay marriage) and prevent GOP from making things worse. Meanwhile…

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agentschmoop.bsky.social @agentschmoop.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

news.gallup.com/poll/651092/... news.gallup.com/poll/651719/... www.progressivepolicy.org/ppi-2024-ele... blueprint-research.com/wp-content/u... blueprint-research.com/polling/swin...

news.gallup.com

2024 Election Environment Favorable to GOP

Most key measures of the political environment for the 2024 election favor the Republican Party over the Democratic Party.

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agentschmoop.bsky.social @agentschmoop.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

abolitionism, civil rights, gay rights, etc. — letting politicians take morally flawed positions to appease an evolving public while forestalling worse harm and buying time for other societal actors/forces to change public opinion over time

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agentschmoop.bsky.social @agentschmoop.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Yes, the idea has occurred to me; it’s a noble idea—a politician single-handedly reversing 70/30 public opinion in a two month span—but I’m not aware of it ever working. Do you have examples from history you can share? Being unaware of any, I’ll keep pursuing the approach that worked for…

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agentschmoop.bsky.social @agentschmoop.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

… we can keep the GOP out of power and unable to continue hurting trans and other marginalized communities, buying time for the public to learn through the gradual processes these things take that they’re wrong.

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agentschmoop.bsky.social @agentschmoop.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

How you fight matters. I would argue this is like war, where you temporarily concede some areas in order to marshal resources in other areas, and then once you win the second area, you retake the first. We’re conceding to the ignorance of the American public in this area, so…

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