US Politics: Choking our Democracy

[DMC]

I know this is yesterday's news, but I'm surprised it wasn't mentioned here - and frankly not getting much coverage in general.  Kevin McCarthy warns Trump's war on mail could screw GOP:

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McCarthy said he's spent hours telling Trump that this preoccupation will hurt the president's own re-election, as well as Republicans running for Congress.

"I tried to show him ... you know who is most afraid of COVID? Seniors. And if they're not going to go vote, period, we're screwed," McCarthy told me.

Never thought I'd say these words, but I agree with Kevin McCarthy.  Hopefully Trump is stupid enough to ignore him....*checks notes and basic common sense*....Oh right, he is.  Cool.

[HoodedCrow]

Jace, if I were in better shape, I’d storm the barricades with you! 

Canada has more than two political parties. Splitting the vote between greens, progressives, moderates and conservatives often results in the winner is more conservative than the majority. In a minority government there is a lot of horse dealing, which means that there are negotiations. The good side is different shades of the left have voices. 

i do think the first order of business is getting Trump out, as otherwise there won’t be any more legitimate voting. We’ve seen how the opposition in Russia  ends up dead or just severely poisoned. Trump is a nightmare in every area. He seems to be advocating for wing nuts to kill other people and for individuals to act as if they are judge, jury and executioner.

[Varysblackfyre321]

1 hour ago, DMC said:

I know this is yesterday's news, but I'm surprised it wasn't mentioned here - and frankly not getting much coverage in general.  Kevin McCarthy warns Trump's war on mail could screw GOP:

Never thought I'd say these words, but I agree with Kevin McCarthy.  Hopefully Trump is stupid enough to ignore him....*checks notes and basic common sense*....Oh right, he is.  Cool.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nbcdfw.com/news/national-international/trump-campaign-sues-to-try-to-stop-nevadans-from-voting-by-mail/2420082/%3famp

I would not say he's ignoring the fact seniors would rely on Mail-in voting.

He's just being extremely hypocritical about it.

[A Horse Named Stranger]

3 hours ago, Fragile Bird said:

57 days to the US election.

1518. Fixed that for you.

Anyway, let's assume it's really just 57 more days. Remember those are Trump days. Time bends around this black hole of moral values and basic human decency. So every day feels like a life time. So many more scandals. And let's not forget the crazy shit he will do as a lame duck. Like selling Alaska back to Russia, and Hawaii to Ghina, because it's the art of the deal. Oh yeah, Canada will also be sold to Russia as an attachment to Alaska. I mean, what's the point of Alaska, if you don't have Prince Edward Island? And what's the point of Nova Scotia, anyway? That was an honest quesiton btw.

[A Horse Named Stranger]

2 hours ago, DMC said:

Never thought I'd say these words, but I agree with Kevin McCarthy.  Hopefully Trump is stupid enough to ignore him....*checks notes and basic common sense*....Oh right, he is.  Cool.

About the death bell for the GOP. Famous last words. I vaguely recall hearing those sentiments like four years ago?

[DMC]

5 minutes ago, Varysblackfyre321 said:

I would not say he's ignoring the fact seniors would rely on Mail-in voting.

He's just being extremely hypocritical about it.

I think you're missing the point.  The fact is Trump has polarized the issue among his supporters - only 11% claim they plan to vote by mail.  That means his fear mongering about vote by mail could indeed depress turnout, particularly among his senior supporters.

[DMC]

Just now, A Horse Named Stranger said:

About the death bell for the GOP. Famous last words. I vaguely recall hearing those sentiments like four years ago?

Who said it was a death bell?

[Jaxom 1974]

2 hours ago, DMC said:

I know this is yesterday's news, but I'm surprised it wasn't mentioned here - and frankly not getting much coverage in general.  Kevin McCarthy warns Trump's war on mail could screw GOP:

Never thought I'd say these words, but I agree with Kevin McCarthy.  Hopefully Trump is stupid enough to ignore him....*checks notes and basic common sense*....Oh right, he is.  Cool.

Is he ignoring it? Or does he not care? I mean, the gamelan is to declare any votes not in person to be tainted and fraudulent, right? So he doesn't need the mail in stuff, regardless whether the down ballot Republicans do. 

Maybe I've missed the point...

[DMC]

1 minute ago, Jaxom 1974 said:

I mean, the gamelan is to declare any votes not in person to be tainted and fraudulent, right?

I mean, that's certainly his gameplan politically.  But I can't..imagine even he thinks that's a good plan legally.

[Jace, Extat]

1 minute ago, Jaxom 1974 said:

Is he ignoring it? Or does he not care? I mean, the gamelan is to declare any votes not in person to be tainted and fraudulent, right? So he doesn't need the mail in stuff, regardless whether the down ballot Republicans do. 

Maybe I've missed the point...

My thoughts exactly. His fanatics are the ones who will brave the plague. It matters a total of none percent how many of his own mail-ins are discredited if he declares victory on night one with a pitiful percent of the vote calculated.

[Martell Spy]

2 minutes ago, DMC said:

I mean, that's certainly his gameplan politically.  But I can't..imagine even he thinks that's a good plan legally.

Possibly he has already concluded he is going to lose and his simply planning a shield for his ego. An excuse for why he lost. There was stories about how he thought he was going to lose 2016.

[DMC]

12 minutes ago, Martell Spy said:

Possibly he has already concluded he is going to lose and his simply planning a shield for his ego. An excuse for why he lost. There was stories about how he thought he was going to lose 2016.

Yeah, that's true.  I just think even those idiots would realize the danger in such a strategy causing a self-fulfilling prophecy.

[Mindwalker]

And that's all that McCarthy is concerned about, that it could screw their own votes? Oh right, he's a Republican.

[Fragile Bird]

17 minutes ago, DMC said:

I know this is yesterday's news, but I'm surprised it wasn't mentioned here - and frankly not getting much coverage in general.  Kevin McCarthy warns Trump's war on mail could screw GOP:

Never thought I'd say these words, but I agree with Kevin McCarthy.  Hopefully Trump is stupid enough to ignore him....*checks notes and basic common sense*....Oh right, he is.  Cool.

I saw Trump in a press conference saying "either you can get an absentee ballot or you will have to go and vote in person, and don't worry, you'll be safe! We'll keep you safe!"

[Zorral]

US Elections and Violence

https://www.salon.com/2020/08/15/when-elections-lead-to-violence-its-happened-before--and-were-heading-that-way-now/

 

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Pundits and scholars have generally lacked perspective in thinking about the bounds of mass partisanship in the U.S. We've underestimated what's possible because of a myopic focus on recent politics. Current research recognizes that ordinary partisans dislike each other, but — as crazy as it sounds — we've only recently begun to acknowledge that many partisans absolutely hate each other. Our main measure of partisan animosity in surveys is how "cold" you feel toward the other party on a 100-point thermometer.

Pundits and scholars virtually never consider that partisans might kill each other in extreme circumstances. Why is that? Well, we're beset by "presentism" that makes us forget the more distant past, including eras in which mass partisan violence was common. Likewise, we habitually overlook violent partisanship in other countries, or we insist that Americans are somehow immune from the group psychology driving those conflicts.

 

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/violence-has-long-been-a-feature-of-american-elections/

 

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The period between the 1820s and the onset of the Civil War was marked by a substantial increase in ethnic and religious diversity. This period was also notable for an increase in violent conflict surrounding politics and elections.

In a precursor of today’s politics, these clashes stemmed from heightened anxieties among native white Protestants about the consequences of Irish and German Catholic immigration for American identity and social harmony.

 

https://www.historyextra.com/period/modern/a-brief-history-of-election-rigging-in-the-united-states/

Note: This article was originally written in the autumn of 2016

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Until the introduction of what was known as the “Australian ballot” in the 1880s, when you voted you made your choice public. The “Australian” system, named after the practice of secrecy in elections adopted in the British colony of Victoria in 1856, meant a generic ballot paper produced by neutral election authorities. That replaced a chaotic electoral world in which the campaigns themselves produced their own ballots on coloured paper, which voters then deposited in round glass ballot boxes. Voters lined up to cast their ballot with party operatives pressing, persuading or bribing them. Voting against the prevailing mood in one’s own precinct took courage, often physical courage. Violence was common, and, up to a point, an accepted part of the process. If a voter was not “manly” enough to stand up for his chosen candidate against a little bit of rowdiness from the other side, then was he really a fit republican citizen?

And let us not forget the 2000 election in Florida..

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000_United_States_presidential_election_recount_in_Florida

 

 

 

 

[Gaston de Foix]

Good piece for the unconvinced that the filibuster has to go: 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/09/07/senate-filibuster-rule-repeal/

[Varysblackfyre321]

5 hours ago, DMC said:

I think you're missing the point.  The fact is Trump has polarized the issue among his supporters - only 11% claim they plan to vote by mail.  That means his fear mongering about vote by mail could indeed depress turnout, particularly among his senior supporters.

Again I think he's aware of this, and trying to skirt a line.

Hence actively encouraging the parts of his base who'd be the most reluctant to vote-the elderly-while simultaneously, discouraging any attempts by Democrats to make it easier for any one not in his base.

Again it's hypocrital, but I see it as a calculated gamble, where his elderly supporters will pay more attention to his rhetoric of ”voting by mail is okay for you in particular” than they will  ”Voting by mail is a threat to democracy.”

Which I think many will.

[DMC]

6 minutes ago, Varysblackfyre321 said:

Again it's hypocrital, but I see it as a calculated gamble, where his elderly supporters will pay more attention to his rhetoric of ”voting by mail is okay for you in particular” than they will  ”Voting by mail is a threat to democracy.”

Which I think many will.

Again, the point is this is not what the numbers suggest.  The effect of his messaging has been that most of his supporters are determined not to vote by mail.  That has the potential to be devastating among seniors.  Florida, for instance, has had the functional equivalent of mail-in ballots since I moved there in 2007.  I've voted no excuse absentee for six cycles since.  Many seniors there rely on that.  If his senior supporters appear as disinclined to vote by mail as the numbers suggest, then that effect on turnout may well make the difference between winning and losing the state.

[Martell Spy]

‘A tale of 2 recessions’: As rich Americans get richer, the bottom half struggles
The trend is on track to exacerbate dramatic wealth and income gaps in the U.S., where divides are already wider than any other nation in the G-7.

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/07/income-inequality-wealth-gap-409234

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Some economists have begun to refer to the recovery as "K-shaped," because while some households and communities have mostly recovered, others are continuing to struggle — or even seeing their situation deteriorate further.

“If you just look at the top of the K, it’s a V — but you can’t just look at what’s above water,” said Claudia Sahm, director of macroeconomic policy at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth. “There could be a whole iceberg underneath it that you’re going to plow into.”

The burden is falling heavily on the poorest Americans, who are more likely to be out of work and less likely to have savings to lean on to weather the crisis. While recessions are always hardest on the poor, the coronavirus downturn has amplified those effects because shutdowns and widespread closures have wiped out low-wage jobs in industries like leisure and hospitality.

Highly touted gains in the stock market, meanwhile, help only the wealthiest 10 percent or so of households, as most others own little or no stock.

The disconnect between the stock market and the broader economy has been stark. On the same day in late August that MGM Resorts announced it would be laying off a quarter of its workforce, throwing some 18,000 workers into unemployment, its stock price jumped more than 6 percent, reaching its highest closing price since the start of March.

“The haves and the have-nots, there’s always been a distinction,” Sahm said. But now, she added, “we are widening this in a way I don’t think people have really wrapped their head around.”

 

 

[Luzifer's right hand]

I just read a local news article about the fact that some Austrians who worked in the USA at some point in their life and their spouses got the US corona stimulus checks. A local guy who worked in the USA in the 60s and his wife got one for example. At least a hundred checks were cashed in the state I live in. It was caused by some database fuckup according to the article.

The local banks recommend cashing such checks because it is unlikely that the USA goverment will bother to demand the money back. People even got some kind of bonus if they have kids.

 

It seems a lot of former au-pairs got them for example. It is good to have a SSN it seems and the US gov keeps good track of people who have one because people even got the bonus for kids...