US Politics - 2020 Presidential Election - GOP v Dem cage fight (ENTER AT YOUR PERIL)

[Iron Lion]

"Trump is not a threat to democracy"

Except when he incited an attempted coup. ( and if you don't think that is what it was you are a naive or intentionally obtuse dumbass)

And now he has the House, the Senate, the Supreme Court and is filling his cabinet with a collection of yes men, lackeys and minor Bond Villains.

There are no guardrails to keep him in check

What could go wrong.

You fuckers asked for it. You better own it when it all goes to shit.

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All he did was ask for 11,000 votes and tell his base to vote twice, and also attempt to push back the election. And kneecap the post office right before an election by appointing the head guy who has conflicts of interest. And make Al Gore's ordeal look like nothing. And then watch hundreds of his people smear feces on the Capitol walls, steal laptops from congressmen, construct a gallows and chant "Hang the #2 and #3 in the country!", and bring zipties and invade the rotunda, and be the first confederate flag entering the Capitol by force in American history, and after all of that, tell him he loves them, and to flee the crime scene and go home instead of turn themselves in. But I mean aside from those minor issues I don't see what threat Trump poses to democracy.

[Blue Lagoon58]

One thing I will say, the right has done an incredible job of creating a whole alternate reality. Amazing.

[-Deborah-]

One thing I will say, the right has done an incredible job of creating a whole alternate reality. Amazing.

Exactly. This piece explains it well.

https://www.salon.com/2024/11/09/six-big-lies-that-won-the-election-how-donald-gaslit-america/

[kayrone]

I can't believe we have so many grown adult babies in this community. Trump was already president once and literally none of the stuff democrats have been screaming about happened. We had a great economy with no new global conflicts. That is a huge accomplishment. I am looking forward to more of that. Especially after all the Ukraine, Isreal, middle east carnage that has ensued under Biden. Along with record high inflation and cost of living. I will say I have thoroughly enjoyed watching the left absolutely melt down on social media. It has been quite entertaining. I am really looking forward to see what this administration can do. I will also be anxious to see all of you complaining about Trump apologies when things are better here in US 4 years from now.(joking of course as I know nobody will ever apologize or admit their daily life has improved) 😉

wellll, there were adults in the room during Trump's first term who kept him in check (look at some of the things John Kelly & Gen Milley have said - yikes). The fact that NO ONE from his first administration supports him, and raised the alarm about his fascist and authoritarian tendencies says a lot. And his economic agenda is comically bad, but perhaps an economist will manage to get in his ear before he implements his inane tariff plans. I genuinely hope his second term isn't the disaster that I fear - I am certainly no expert, maybe fascism is great, and maybe the women of Afghanistan are happy little clams, but neither scenario sounds particularly appealing to me. :shrug:

[klondike]

Lol now where the Taliban. I worry far more about the reaction of the left... like tearing and burning down whole blocks of cities.. than some one off on the Capital.

Overall nothing much will change in the economy or anything else.

So much drama

[Whitley]

Lol now where the Taliban. I worry far more about the reaction of the left... like tearing and burning down whole blocks of cities.. than some one off on the Capital.

Overall nothing much will change in the economy or anything else.

So much drama

Looking forward to Project 2025 are you?

[kayrone]

Overall nothing much will change in the economy or anything else.

In all sincerity, I really hope you're right!

[Marko69]

There is Russia / Ukraine war stuff on the BBC website. Thought the USA elections ended 5 days ago with the trumpet gaining power. What's going on?

Ah, wait......, I take it the war ends within 24 hrs of inauguration?

[klondike]

In all sincerity, I really hope you're right!

Also, look for a peace agreement in Ukraine. I know a lot won't like that but it's in the best interest for everyone and the previous administration could and would not think of that.

[chemiclord]

Also, look for a peace agreement in Ukraine. I know a lot won't like that but it's in the best interest for everyone and the previous administration could and would not think of that.

The Biden Administration's stance was that they would support Ukraine for as long as they wanted to fight for their country.

Mark my words, capitulating won't bring peace; just like it didn't in 2014 when Russia invaded Crimea. If that's okay with you, if you are okay with Russia continuing this invasion... then just say so.

[*JD*]

From Harvard ethics professor Christopher Robichaud:


“Everyone in the days and weeks ahead will use this loss as an opportunity to seek validation for their own hobby horse complaint. Harris lost because she campaigned with Liz Cheney. Harris lost because she didn't embrace Gaza. Harris lost because she didn't choose Shapiro. Harris lost because she wasn't progressive enough.

Take a good hard look at the map, my friends. Trump has won the popular vote. Trump ran the table. Explaining that with your hobby horse issue isn't going to cut it, tempting and consoling as it may be.

The problem isn't the electoral college. The problem isn't that we didn't have a full primary. The problem isn't Harris. The problem isn't that Dems didn't have the right message. The problem isn't even inflation or the border. The problem is so much worse than any of those things. Those are all technical problems, with straightforward expertise fixes. If only it were so!

No, our problem is not technical. It's very much adaptive. A party that embraced the Big Lie, supported an insurrection, and has been selling conspiracy-addled madness for years was widely and enthusiastically embraced. Voter turnout was profound! People didn't sit this out.

Simply put, the problem--as some of you have rightly posted--is cultural. America, culturally, has completely abandoned a politics of decency and respect and has embraced instead a politics of resentment, revenge, false nostalgia, and bullying.

And if you look at the demographics, you also won't be able to comfort yourself that it's just a white thing, or a working class thing, or an education thing. It's multi-class, multi-gender, multi-educational and multi-racial. That's what winning the popular vote means. That's what running the table amounts to.

A culture that has descended to this level of debasement is not easily fixed. In fact it may not ever be fixed. The timeline for changing something like this is decades--at best--not two-to-four year election cycles. You can extend that in this case, because with the GOP likely controlling all branches of federal government and the courts, they will ensure that mechanisms are in place to keep them in power long after their popularity has waned. You can count on that.

The GOP evolved into a party of rage, lies, and revenge--and it correctly diagnosed that there was and is a large appetite for that. That's what the country wants. At least, enough of the country wants it to ensure broad appeal and widespread electoral success. The old GOP will never return, and the Dems have nothing to say to American culture at the moment. Nothing. They've been speaking to a country that's gone, like dust in the wind. And that's my final thought, which my posts last night alluded to. The America I knew and loved is gone. This new America--nah, I won't even bother. I will say that cultural change is less likely to occur in politics, or in the academy. You're not going to get people to see how vulgar they've become through a clever argument or a nice campaign speech, that's for sure.

This would be time for the arts, broadly understood, to step in. The arts can change hearts and minds. Too bad the arts have been systematically dismantled in education in this country, and on the other end, the tech industry's assault on the arts through AI is sure to hollow out any good-faith efforts that might emerge.

And for the rest of the world, America's rightward lurch is, I'm afraid, bad news for you too. I know you know this. Because it's not isolated, is it? It's just at the moment the most prominent example of a burgeoning trend. And this will embolden others in other countries, to be sure. We need not speculate what happens when countries become mired in lies, embrace resentment, and savor bullying. We know exactly what happens. Bloody conflict and global destabilization.

The first quarter of the 21st century will therefore in hindsight be viewed as the seed-planting stage for the absolute shit show that's about to unfold globally over the next two and a half decades. Count on it.

Adopt whatever coping and endurance strategies you have available. You're going to need it. I think that's all I've left to say.”

[chemiclord]

Mr. Robichode going off the same deep end that he accuses everyone else of doing.

The actual vote swing in this election appears be around 2%. That's... it. The country has not particularly changed in any meaningful way. Here's another fact that the doomsayers don't want to acknowledge:

- There was a massive anti-incumbent push around the world, and it was pretty much completely divorced from any political leanings. The hard-conservative Tories in the UK were taken to the cleaners in the most recent election, for example. The message to glean was, if you were in office at the end of the pandemic, struggling with how to handle the inflation problem, your prospects were grim. The US handled it better than most, and their anti-incumbent push was (not at all coincidentally) the most blunted. But in a political climate decided by tens of thousands of votes in a country of 330 million... even the slightest nudge will completely flip election results.

Any "strategist" or "expert" that wants to tell you differently, don't believe them. And don't pay them money for the privilege. If anything, that's what the Democratic Party should be doing, ejecting that consultant structure, and start listening to people who aren't career political insiders.

[Cleggy]

Also, look for a peace agreement in Ukraine. I know a lot won't like that but it's in the best interest for everyone and the previous administration could and would not think of that.

In the best interest's of Putin maybe. Certainly not the best interests of Ukraine, the Russian Public or other independent countries bordering Russia. Probably not in the interest of China's neighbours either. If you think Putin is interested in Peace I think you may be in for a shock. All this would do is let him hail a great victory and allow him to rebuild for another land grab at a later date. What makes you think he would abide by a peace plan when he has taken absolutely no notice of current international law.

[froot loops]

Mr. Robichode going off the same deep end that he accuses everyone else of doing.

The actual vote swing in this election appears be around 2%. That's... it. The country has not particularly changed in any meaningful way. Here's another fact that the doomsayers don't want to acknowledge:

- There was a massive anti-incumbent push around the world, and it was pretty much completely divorced from any political leanings. The hard-conservative Tories in the UK were taken to the cleaners in the most recent election, for example. The message to glean was, if you were in office at the end of the pandemic, struggling with how to handle the inflation problem, your prospects were grim. The US handled it better than most, and their anti-incumbent push was (not at all coincidentally) the most blunted. But in a political climate decided by tens of thousands of votes in a country of 330 million... even the slightest nudge will completely flip election results.

Any "strategist" or "expert" that wants to tell you differently, don't believe them. And don't pay them money for the privilege. If anything, that's what the Democratic Party should be doing, ejecting that consultant structure, and start listening to people who aren't career political insiders.

Good points, I would add that he doesn't think about thermostatic effect in that sky is falling essay. To the extent that Trump ran on a platform, the main issues he vowed to implement were across the board tariffs, mass deportation (including denaturalization) and big tax cuts for the rich. Most people that voted for him either don't believe him or like the issue. I don't think these are actually good issues for electoral politics if they got implemented. But I could be wrong, maybe those two to three percent of swings voters are jazzed for that. We'll see

[Blue Lagoon58]

Seeing they have very few, if any, winners in the policy department, I'd guess these issues would fall in that basket. But MURICA!!, where minority rules!