American Politics Thread

[Aulos]

These kinds of lectures don't really do much to solve the problems in the electoral system which cause Republicans to take power, though, do they? It's not "leftists" who don't want to vote for Democrats - and they shouldn't, because Democrats have no more interest in pursuing the political goals of the left than Republicans - it's voter suppression, it's gerrymandering, it's voter intimidation and disenfranchisement. If you want specifically to keep the Republicans out of power, then focusing on mitigating these issues is what you want to be doing, not wagging your finger at leftists, who have not made up a significant voting bloc in the United States since the early 20th Century.

"Democrats have no more interest in pursuing the political goals of the left than Republicans".

This is a take I can not understand at all. I thought Leftists care about LGBT rights, women's rights, taxation on the rich. The Republicans, when in power, go on full-scale attack against all of these. Whereas, when Democrats are in power, they at best further these causes, at worst prevent them from getting worse. Thus, it very much should be in the interests of leftists to keep Democrats in power and keep Republicans out of power.

Not because Democrats are great. They aren't - they should be pushing hard for these causes. But over the top of that, the Republican party is a detriment to these causes. Like not just casually against them, but all-out against them. Proud of it. and attacking them every single chance they are given. With the full force of the Supreme Court they stacked because people couldn't get out and vote for Clinton in 2016. Letting the Republicans win just makes it more miserable for those of us who are effected by these things, and you have to understand it can make us a little bitter at the leftists who act like these differences between the Republicans and Democrats are so minor that they're all the same. My rights and the rights of others are not so minor.

As for your other point, yes, it is very true that voter suppression and the like is playing a role here. But even through all of that Biden won last year. I can't claim it to be as such on a large scale, but nearly every leftist I know who had been stubborn in the 2016 election got out and voted in the 2020 election. It's natural for me to draw a bit of a conclusion that they made a difference.

I get being frustrated with the inaction of the Democrats (as I often am), but I don't get saying that both parties are the same.

What infuriates me most is that all of this was obvious at the time, and so many people flat out refused to acknowledge it. I keep thinking of all the times I watched (mostly female) Clinton supporters screaming about the importance of the Supreme Court, only for supposed progressives to tell them they were being "dramatic" and "hysterical" or accuse them of "emotional blackmail", whatever the fuck that means.

As for who's to blame, that's easy: everyone who did not vote for Clinton, everyone who willingly chose not to do the only thing that would have prevented this disaster.

It is weird that the fate of the Supreme Court doesn't motivate the liberals and the left like it does the right. It is so darn bizarre.

 

[Dorothy]

"Democrats have no more interest in pursuing the political goals of the left than Republicans".

This is a take I can not understand at all. I thought Leftists care about LGBT rights, women's rights, taxation on the rich. The Republicans, when in power, go on full-scale attack against all of these. Whereas, when Democrats are in power, they at best further these causes, at worst prevent them from getting worse. Thus, it very much should be in the interests of leftists to keep Democrats in power and keep Republicans out of power.

No, Democrats pursue symbolic victories and half-measures which are built on foundations of sand. Democratic reforms target the superstructure, whereas leftist reforms target the base.

(In addition leftists do not, as a general matter, care about mere taxation on the rich; they care about wresting all political and economic power away from the capitalist class. Taxation is one route to achieving this - but Democrats don't really raise taxes on the rich anyway)

 

[Proxima Centauri B]

Oh hello. It's the long-term consequences of the 2016 election. As if we already don't have enough consequences of the same election with COVID being rampant and politicized, and the lack of taxation on the rich causing horrific economic inequality to contend with.

Listen up leftists. You can not let a Republican be president. Ever. Never again. Unless something goes awry with the parties like it did back in the 20th century (where the Republicans became conservative, and the Democrats became liberal). You must get out and vote, even if the Democrat candidate is bad. Because Republicans being in power always harms us immensely. Always. A Republican president is always going to be more harmful, the way things are right now.

I don't know how to fix the Democrat party. But letting Republicans win because the Democrat is not good enough is a horrible strategy and people have lost their rights and their lives and it's going to continue because the Supreme Court was stacked.

Thats a lot easier said than done with Republicans pushing all those voter suppression laws and gerrymandering and such. They do everything they can to keep people from voting against them. I do find it likely we will have a Republican president again and Republicans will take back the majority in Congress,Dems barely have a majority as it is. They need to be very careful.

 

[Volphied]

Thats a lot easier said than done with Republicans pushing all those voter suppression laws and gerrymandering and such. They do everything they can to keep people from voting against them.

Stacey Abrams proved that Democrats can win even in the Deep South. Voter suppression and gerrymandering backfired in Georgia, where it only motivated the democratic base.

She showed the way how to break through the GOP's dirty tricks. And I personally believe that the extreme laws Texas republicans are right now pushing will have a similar effect there too.

 

[Aulos]

No, Democrats pursue symbolic victories and half-measures which are built on foundations of sand. Democratic reforms target the superstructure, whereas leftist reforms target the base.

My point is that half-measures are the much better alternative to the party that is outright taking away rights when they're in power. The right is so extremist right now. The Democrats not doing enough is not a good argument to not vote to keep them in power when the only alternative is a party that does nothing but harm.

Politics in USA are in a very sorry state right now. We should have a true left party (in my eyes, the moderate Democrats right now are the ones that should be considered the right), but the solution is absolutely can't be letting the far right extremist party take power.

 

[zoroarctic]

Trump Suggests Robert E. Lee Would Have Won in Afghanistan

After a statue of the confederate general was removed, Trump also complained about “the Radical Left” extinguishing “our culture.”

www.thedailybeast.com

Robert E. Lee, famous for not losing wars.

No, Democrats pursue symbolic victories and half-measures which are built on foundations of sand.

Going to need a citation there.

 

[Juliko]

Welp, I'm not even surprised that certain people are booing Biden's most recent announcement on TV earlier. Why are people even making mask/vaccine mandates into an issue? They need to stop acting like receiving protection from the literal plague is some kind of attack on their integrity.

 

[Frozen Fennec]

Welp, I'm not even surprised that certain people are booing Biden's most recent announcement on TV earlier. Why are people even making mask/vaccine mandates into an issue? They need to stop acting like receiving protection from the literal plague is some kind of attack on their integrity.

Because the country's previous leader enabled terrible behavior and discouraged listening to Healthcare professionals and tried to convince people to listen more to snake-oil salesman type fixes that either do nothing or make things worse. Not to mention, a lot of those same people do not like when facts go against their narrow viewpoint of the world and how it works sadly. I don't even understand why it's such an issue to just wear a mask or get a vaccine, it's not restricting your ability to breath or complete stuff you would do on a day to day basis. You can lead a horse to water but you cannot make the horse drink the water, the horse has to do that on its own.

 

[Juliko]

And plus they're all going on about "But why won't you care about the Americans still stuck in Afganistan?!" Look, Biden's not perfect. Nobody is. There's only so much one person, even the president, can do, even with every possible resource they have. But it can't be denied that he's still a better president than the orange manbaby any day of the week! I'd rather have someone actually try to make things better, even if they don't always succeed, than someone like Trump ruling the country. Plus, I'm pretty sure the Taliban isn't exactly making fleeing the country easy on the people who are trying their damnedest to escape, even with the president's help.

 

[Volphied]

 

[zoroarctic]

@Volphied please don't scare me like that. For a moment, I thought he had been unbanned until I saw the date.

 

[LuxrayOfTheWild]

So former Presidents Obama and Clinton, along with President Biden were all present for the 9/11 memorial service. Former President Bush was at the Pennsylvania crash site giving a speech. Trump? Of course he was nowhere to be seen. He was instead commentating some MMA fight with his son....And he took the time to give a speech praising some disgusting cult known as the Moonies.... Supposedly he visited some firefighters and a police union, though he never took any time to be at any memorial event or give a speech to honor the victims. Also anyone remember how he sat there that day and bragged about how tall Trump Tower is and lied about seeing Muslims celebrating?

 

[Juliko]

At this point, I'm not even surprised by the orange manbaby's actions anymore. I mean, after inciting a literal insurrection at the Capitol, how much lower can he possibly go at this point?

 

[LuxrayOfTheWild]

At this point, I'm not even surprised by the orange manbaby's actions anymore. I mean, after inciting a literal insurrection at the Capitol, how much lower can he possibly go at this point?

I just wanna never have to hear about him ever again. I legit hope he faces legal trouble that can prevent a 2024 run so we don't have to deal with another incredibly stressful election cycle full of his petty and childish behavior, as well as another insurrection if he loses again.

 

[zoroarctic]

California people, don’t forget to vote tomorrow!

 

[LuxrayOfTheWild]

https://twitter.com/ABC/status/1437985799174332417?s=19

Great job, California! The Republicans' effort to recall Gov. Newsom has failed. Newsom stays and California will not be heading down a dark path similar to that which Greg Abbot and RonDeSantis have plunged Texas and Florida into.

Now we look ahead to 2022. We gotta keep hold of the house while expanding our majority in the senate so we can get around Senator Manchin. The biggest hope I have is being able to kick out the worst of the worst such as Marjorie Taylor Greene, Jim Jordan, Maddison Cawthorne, Devin Nunes, Matt Gaetz, Lauren Boebert, and Marco Rubio.

 

[Volphied]

Great job, California! The Republicans' effort to recall Gov. Newsom has failed. Newsom stays and California will not be heading down a dark path similar to that which Greg Abbot and RonDeSantis have plunged Texas and Florida into.

The fiscal conservatives in California just pissed away $300,000,000. Hilarious.

Then again, fiscal conservatism has always been a bankrupt (lol) ideology, whose sole purpose was to punish the poor.

 

[Phenom]

So, let me understand this. Is everyone on here a diehard Liberal then? Are you oblivious to the fact that Biden just sent millions, literal millions, to the very terrorist organization that caused the events of 9/11. And damn right, I refuse to get a vaccine. I refuse to inject myself with something that is still not proven to be completely without long-term side-effects. If you can't understand or appreciate the fact that it's my body, my choice, then there's nothing anyone can say to help you there. You may not agree with me and I respect your right to an opinion; but, you need to understand, even Dr. Fauci has stated that they do not know the true effectiveness of the vaccine long-term and the talk about booster shots? Hello?

 

[Contrainer]

So, let me understand this. Is everyone on here a diehard Liberal then? Are you oblivious to the fact that Biden just sent millions, literal millions, to the very terrorist organization that caused the events of 9/11. And damn right, I refuse to get a vaccine. I refuse to inject myself with something that is still not proven to be completely without long-term side-effects. If you can't understand or appreciate the fact that it's my body, my choice, then there's nothing anyone can say to help you there. You may not agree with me and I respect your right to an opinion; but, you need to understand, even Dr. Fauci has stated that they do not know the true effectiveness of the vaccine long-term and the talk about booster shots? Hello?

Ratio

 

[Dorothy]

So, let me understand this. Is everyone on here a diehard Liberal then?

Nah I'm a communist