US Politics: Happy Anniversary.

[DireWolfSpirit]

As long as were embracing spitballing I think it woild be nice if a few posters could layout some vision on how the hell the trend turns around.

The traction away from Biden is terrifying to me right now. I feel like this election is like grabbing a fist of super dry sand and im watching it all slip away and see nothing to slow or change that.

How praytell, does this disaster not materialize, at least your convincing vision of how Trump is stopped?

The more hes in court, the more his idiot followers embrace him.

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

25 minutes ago, DireWolfSpirit said:

As long as were embracing spitballing I think it woild be nice if a few posters could layout some vision on how the hell the trend turns around.

The traction away from Biden is terrifying to me right now. I feel like this election is like grabbing a fist of super dry sand and im watching it all slip away and see nothing to slow or change that.

How praytell, does this disaster not materialize, at least your convincing vision of how Trump is stopped?

The more hes in court, the more his idiot followers embrace him.

Remember this time in 2020…

[DireWolfSpirit]

40 minutes ago, Ser Scot A Ellison said:

Remember this time in 2020…

Its the slippage with minorities and the youth voters thats has my 5 alarm fire sirens flashing.

Those are the core votes that are needed to have any chance and even 2020 we were always strong in that category, this polling weakness with Biden is like the lowest incumbent numbers in a generation.

Im unsure what plugs the drain in the next 6mos?

[A Horse Named Stranger]

Maybe stop parroting Republican talking points about this being a failed Presidency. It really isn't by any reality based metric.

Contrast what Biden achived to what 45 did. Inflation Reduction Act etc.

Add that to this MAGA clown show in the House.

[Kalbear]

9 hours ago, Ser Scot A Ellison said:

 

@Kalbear

 

It is always better to try for the best from a bad group.

But people don't do that. So you're back to wanting people to not be people.

[Zorral]

I have always wanted people to be horses instead.

Or elephants.

 

Edited January 15 by Zorral

[kissdbyfire]

11 minutes ago, Zorral said:

I have always wanted people to be horses instead.

Or elephants.

 

Me too. I’d understand them much better. 

[maarsen]

5 hours ago, sologdin said:

these are the sort of articles that flatter my prejudices.  the top ten most unhealthy states, it argues, are shithole states, i.e., run by the rightwing:

meanwhile, the top ten most healthy are predictably more progressive, except for utah, the relative health of which might be attributable to clean LDS living.  good on them:

the question accordingly becomes whether rightwing policy causes bad health outcomes generally or that bad health exists for other reasons and leads inexorably to a fascistic electorate.

This seems to hold in other countries also. Look at Canada. The more progressive the government of any province, the higher the standard of living seems to be. When one considers the child mortality rate around the world, the more progressive the country, the lower the rate of childbirth deaths.

I have been on this world for almost 68 years, and being a keen observer during the entire time with a phenomenal memory, anecdotal evidence I have collected tends to show that electing a more right leaning government tends to slow economic growth, even though they claim to be the 'open for business' types.

[Kalbear]

2 hours ago, DireWolfSpirit said:

Its the slippage with minorities and the youth voters thats has my 5 alarm fire sirens flashing.

Those are the core votes that are needed to have any chance and even 2020 we were always strong in that category, this polling weakness with Biden is like the lowest incumbent numbers in a generation.

Im unsure what plugs the drain in the next 6mos?

Weren't you the one that was refusing to vote for Biden because you were worried Biden would lose?

 

3 hours ago, DireWolfSpirit said:

As long as were embracing spitballing I think it woild be nice if a few posters could layout some vision on how the hell the trend turns around.

The traction away from Biden is terrifying to me right now. I feel like this election is like grabbing a fist of super dry sand and im watching it all slip away and see nothing to slow or change that.

How praytell, does this disaster not materialize, at least your convincing vision of how Trump is stopped?

You're asking the wrong question.

Trump is reasonably likely to win, but even if he doesn't and we get a Biden second term that just staves off some of the inevitable. Trump showcased to the rich and powerful something that was unexpected - that the rich can significantly speed up the timeline of the oligarchical dream that they have. The US populace is more than willing to accept a whole lot of illiberal policies provided they're not too inconveniencing or can be dressed up in outrage. That means you will get more bought courts, more bought politicians, more influence from both rich media systems and outside governments, less overall representation and more insular behaviors with respect to other countries. 

Much like Sandy Hook showed us that the US is absolutely not going to change its policies with respect to guns and we're just going to have to live with it for a very long time, Trump and the general response to 1-6 should have showed everyone that we're going to have to live with this behavior for a long time. This isn't something that can be reformed in our system; it would require people who currently have the power and are utilizing it for their own desires to willingly give that power up, and that isn't going to happen. You will likely see some progress in some states but that won't move the needle nationally, and will likely cause liberals to lose power nationally as they get more 'fair' policies in place. 

So the question is not 'how do we stop Trump'. Trump is a very powerful symptom, but the disease is far more pervasive and has set in hold. If you want to stop that disease you'll need to excise the massive influence that the rich and the corporations have on US politics and combine that with some ability to deal with a multiethnic society in a place that has deep ethnic rivalries. What is more likely to happen is that this will continue for quite a while, we will get more wealth inequality and ethnic instability, and the world will get significantly less stable. 

I guess the 'good' news is that with the US being less stable you're likely to see significant recession/depression in the global market and the US will hurt a lot, which may result in a progressive party being elected which can make massive reform and change. The other possibility is a slow, steady decline that doesn't piss people off enough to get serious change and we get more of the same, with things getting worse across the board. 

[Zorral]

A Fargo guy got arrested for trying to clear snow with a flamethrower -- "I'm sick of trying to move that white bullshit myself," was his defense.  Nor does he understand why he was arrested.

I can't give you the link since it's on zitter, which was sent to me.

[hauberk]

40 minutes ago, Zorral said:

A Fargo guy got arrested for trying to clear snow with a flamethrower -- "I'm sick of trying to move that white bullshit myself," was his defense.  Nor does he understand why he was arrested.

I can't give you the link since it's on zitter, which was sent to me.

Googling news articles for "Fargo man arrested flamethrower," it ties back to February of 2015.

[Zorral]

That zitter!

And people complain -- and puzzle -- over the years why I've never subscribed or had an account.

Edited January 15 by Zorral

[Altherion]

4 hours ago, DireWolfSpirit said:

How praytell, does this disaster not materialize, at least your convincing vision of how Trump is stopped?

The most likely way this happens is that he starts talking to a wider audience again. Right now, everyone knows what Biden is doing and a non-trivial fraction of the Democratic party is upset about some aspect of it or another as are some independents and most Republicans. On the other hand, Trump has not said anything for a long time -- at least not in a way that people who are not already very committed to his cause can hear. If he becomes the Republican nominee again, he will almost certainly say outlandish things, but now they will be heard by everyone and suddenly Biden won't look so bad anymore.

[ThinkerX]

3 hours ago, Zorral said:

That zitter!

And people complain -- and puzzle -- over the years why I've never subscribed or had an account.

strangely enough, flamethrowers are legal in many states. One common use is cleaning stadium seats. (At least according to a video that popped up on my FB a few months back.)

 

[Makk]

4 hours ago, Altherion said:

The most likely way this happens is that he starts talking to a wider audience again. Right now, everyone knows what Biden is doing and a non-trivial fraction of the Democratic party is upset about some aspect of it or another as are some independents and most Republicans. On the other hand, Trump has not said anything for a long time -- at least not in a way that people who are not already very committed to his cause can hear. If he becomes the Republican nominee again, he will almost certainly say outlandish things, but now they will be heard by everyone and suddenly Biden won't look so bad anymore.

He has said plenty of stupid things (magnets don't work underwater) and immoral things (as a president I have immunity for everything even killing people) but his voters don't seem to care. The rest of the republican party has been just as stupid and disfunctional. The only hope is that the economy improves. 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

So that went well for Haley.

 

[Jace, Extat]

So I watched his victory speech. 

We're in trouble. The motherfucker looks good. Y'know, for him. And when his opponent is, well... 

Also, he's gotten better at this. He opened up by calling for unity between Democrats and Republicans, talking up his opponents instead of tearing them down. It's a little like watching a snake sing a birthday song, but I'll be goddamned if he ain't being GRACIOUS in triumph. 

I had to go smoke a cigarette.

At one point he was having a discussion with his dead mother-in-law and... it went over better than you'd think. He's somehow managed to maintain his manic energy but learned how to stick to talking points and prescribed attitudes. Real fucking problem!

He didn't shriek or shake or scream. His cadence was steady. Calm, except for when he wanted to get a little excited. 

I hadn't heard him speak in so long, it's actually disturbing.

Of course he's still spouting lies. He doesn't want unity, we all know that. But his bit about election interference was actually pretty short.

He stated that he's gonna get Putin and Zelensky in a room and end that war = he's gonna stop aid and lean on Ukraine hard.

Says Israel would not have been attacked if he was still president, blamed Iran = Full backing of Israel

He's got his boogeyman in Iran. Call backs to his travel ban. 

He invited a guy dressed like a wall up on stage and, again, it's all in purpose of a hideous design but... I mean, can you imagine Joe Biden picking someone out of the crowd to join him on stage? No Democrat has that kind of stage presence, and Trump just does.

God, I'd hoped he'd be a dribbling moron by now but he's grown as a political advertiser, not diminished. 

FUCK!!!

[IheartIheartTesla]

16 hours ago, DireWolfSpirit said:

The traction away from Biden is terrifying to me right now. I feel like this election is like grabbing a fist of super dry sand and im watching it all slip away and see nothing to slow or change that.

How praytell, does this disaster not materialize, at least your convincing vision of how Trump is stopped?

The more hes in court, the more his idiot followers embrace him.

Luckily it isnt just his idiot followers who decide the election. Anyway, regarding practical advice, I'd probably look to 2012 when Obama's polling numbers were in the tank (not as much as now), and how he managed to pull it off fairly comfortably. I think Romney supporters were surprised they lost, but the polling was pretty clear leading up to the elections. 

The boring answer was GoTV with a highly advanced data-driven organization that did very specific targeting of voters. Obama didnt really go after independents, but this time around I would.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/15/politics/vivek-ramaswamy-ends-presidential-campaign/index.html

 

[Phylum of Alexandria]

1 hour ago, Jace, Extat said:

Also, he's gotten better at this. He opened up by calling for unity between Democrats and Republicans, talking up his opponents instead of tearing them down. It's a little like watching a snake sing a birthday song, but I'll be goddamned if he ain't being GRACIOUS in triumph. 

I didn't watch this event, but the reporting on Trump this past year is that he's patchy at best. Sometimes he's on, sometimes he's off but entertaining, sometimes he's low energy, sometimes he's incoherent. 

Still, his team does largely seem well organized, much more than ever before. I imagine Trump will be trying to pivot away from primary campaign insanity to "Hitler who? I'm the world's most moderate moderate!" So Democrats need to hammer home all of the crazy dictator shit he's already said.

Still, solid team or not, Trump's rage at his trials will come out again. And I'm sure he could be goaded into saying some crazy shit during the general campaign.

Edited January 16 by Phylum of Alexandria