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Nov 2023 Mod notice:


There may be other, more specific, threads about some aspects of US politics, but this one tends to act as a hub for all sorts of related news and information, so it's usually one of the busiest OTC threads.

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In line with the general forum rules, 'gravedancing' is prohibited here. If you're celebrating someone's death or hoping that they die, your post will get thumped. This rule applies regardless of what the person you're discussing has said or done.

Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#261151: Nov 8th 2018 at 7:31:13 PM

[up][up][up]

Which would make him not much better than your average "I don't really care about politics" guy.

Which is worse in his case, since he is a politician.

Edited by M84 on Nov 8th 2018 at 11:31:51 PM

Disgusted, but not surprised
Draghinazzo (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: I get a feeling so complicated...
#261152: Nov 8th 2018 at 7:35:21 PM

Got bottom-paged, so to reiterate:

Apparently these midterms had the largest governorship pickups for the dems in 36 years.

Also it's looking like Sinema might win, her lead keeps climbing.

I think people ended up being a bit hasty. The Dem's gains actually keep growing as more ballots get counted. Currently they have 30+ up in the House, and with the recount maybe Gillum can win Florida although I'm not getting my hopes up.

Edited by Draghinazzo on Nov 8th 2018 at 11:37:04 AM

ViperMagnum357 Since: Mar, 2012
#261153: Nov 8th 2018 at 7:47:40 PM

[up]Golden may win in Maine as well, but with the ranked choice voting it will likely be next week before we have an answer. He is less than a point behind Poliquin, and there are two Independents beneath them that are more likely to lean Golden.

I will also reiterate the Democrats secured a state level trifecta in Maine today after securing seat #18 in the state Senate.

nombretomado (Season 1) Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
#261154: Nov 8th 2018 at 7:48:20 PM

Didn't see this one yet - still Gov. Rick Scott (FL) is citing fraud in votes being yet counted in two counties in the senatorial race and calling for an investigation.

Scott questioned how "votes are coming out of nowhere" in Democratic-leaning Broward and Palm Beach counties during a Thursday night news conference at the governor's mansion. He blasted Palm Beach elections chief Susan Bucher and Snipes for what he called "rank incompetence."

"The people of Florida deserve fairness and transparency, and the supervisors are failing to give it to us," Scott said. "Every Floridian should be concerned that there may be rampant fraud happening in Palm Beach and Broward counties."

Edited by nombretomado on Nov 8th 2018 at 7:49:51 AM

CrimsonZephyr Would that it were so simple. from Massachusetts Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
Would that it were so simple.
#261155: Nov 8th 2018 at 7:50:45 PM

[up]Republican electoral solipsism at work yet again. "Only votes for me are real!"

"For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die."
ViperMagnum357 Since: Mar, 2012
#261156: Nov 8th 2018 at 7:54:47 PM

[up]Same crap up here with Poliquin: he has already stated he will not accept the ranked choice voting if he loses. He also tried to claim victory yesterday by claiming he had a widening 2,000 vote lead and 50%+1 (he has never lead by 2,000 nor broken 48% at any point.)

Draghinazzo (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: I get a feeling so complicated...
#261157: Nov 8th 2018 at 8:03:19 PM

Apparently it's estimated that by the time all the counting is done the Democrats could have around 38+ seats. We're sitting at 31+ right now.

kkhohoho (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#261158: Nov 8th 2018 at 8:04:54 PM

[up]Just about where 538 said we'd be. Wowza.

AzurePaladin She/Her Pronouns from Forest of Magic Since: Apr, 2018 Relationship Status: Mu
She/Her Pronouns
#261160: Nov 8th 2018 at 9:13:30 PM

[up] I'm thrilled that he's no longer Governor, tempered with the feeling that some of the damage he did is quite possibly irreversible...

[down] That's still too big! We need to make an even smaller violin.

Edited by AzurePaladin on Nov 8th 2018 at 12:24:09 PM

The awful things he says and does are burned into our cultural consciousness like a CRT display left on the same picture too long. -Fighteer
Illven Since: Jun, 2016
#261161: Nov 8th 2018 at 9:14:48 PM

[up] I will play his hopes and dreams a dirge on the world's smallest violin. tongue

TheWanderer Student of Story from Somewhere in New England (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: Wishfully thinking
Student of Story
#261162: Nov 8th 2018 at 9:26:21 PM

I remember the second half of 2016 and early 2017 mentioning Sanders name was enough to kick off a flame war and a lot of hate, but its died down to just a general dislike. It helps that the consensus outside Tv Tropes also tended to move in the direction of "You know, maybe he's not infallible, and actually has problems too, especially on racial and gender issues."

Ironically enough, in late 2015 and early 2016 this thread had a bit of Berniemania, including some regular and semi-regular posters who are now some of his harshest critics here. We were really excited about his economic message and the chance for moving the Overton Window to the left economically, even if we tended to concede that he'd never get any of that stuff through Congress.

Then basic math errors in his plans started coming to light. Then it started showing how limited his knowledge could be on subjects outside the economy and economic justice. Then he wouldn't concede the primaries despite being mathematically eliminated and reduced to relying on courting the same super delegates that he had decried as a perversion of democracy earlier in the campaign. By that point most people were done with him. When tone deaf statements continued and he seemed to be doing as much to throw shade at Clinton as to try to rally people against Trump, he officially got on the shit list of most people on the thread.

And then Trump won, and quite a few people here will never forgive Bernie for the little things he did that unwittingly played into that happening.

| Wandering, but not lost. | If people bring so much courage to this world...◊ |
Draghinazzo (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: I get a feeling so complicated...
#261163: Nov 8th 2018 at 9:37:00 PM

My main issue with Sanders is that he often seems to care more about "winning" on his own terms and centering things around his person rather than being productive and supportive to try and sow the seeds for eventual progressive reforms.

LeGarcon Blowout soon fellow Stalker from Skadovsk Since: Aug, 2013 Relationship Status: Gay for Big Boss
Blowout soon fellow Stalker
#261164: Nov 8th 2018 at 9:38:40 PM

Thats a pretty good summation of what happened.

I mean I'll admit to voting for him in the primaries

Oh really when?
AzurePaladin She/Her Pronouns from Forest of Magic Since: Apr, 2018 Relationship Status: Mu
She/Her Pronouns
#261165: Nov 8th 2018 at 9:42:00 PM

[up][up][up] I'm actually aware of that: I was lurking for a good long while, and that's probably when I started visiting this thread regularly instead of irregularly. Its kind of weird, actually. I could tell you who was posting then and who backed whom, and boy howdy was the thread much different then.

I wonder what the thread will look like in four years time?

The awful things he says and does are burned into our cultural consciousness like a CRT display left on the same picture too long. -Fighteer
KarkatTheDalek Not as angry as the name would suggest. from Somwhere in Time/Space Since: Mar, 2012 Relationship Status: You're a beautiful woman, probably
Not as angry as the name would suggest.
#261166: Nov 8th 2018 at 9:43:03 PM

[up][up] As did I. In an attempt to sow those very seeds, really.

I appreciate that he helped bring these issues to the national level, but now he's probably best suited for the Senate. I do not think he would be well-suited to run for President.

Edited by KarkatTheDalek on Nov 8th 2018 at 12:43:40 PM

Oh God! Natural light!
CrimsonZephyr Would that it were so simple. from Massachusetts Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
Would that it were so simple.
#261167: Nov 8th 2018 at 9:43:31 PM

I flipped a coin before heading into the booth. It landed tails, so I voted Bernie. His Cult of Personality wasn't yet so bad and his hand-wringing about superdelegates was basically the same sort of thing Obama's campaign did. His behavior since losing the primary made me go from aloof to very much against.

"For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die."
AzurePaladin She/Her Pronouns from Forest of Magic Since: Apr, 2018 Relationship Status: Mu
She/Her Pronouns
#261168: Nov 8th 2018 at 9:49:18 PM

I'll admit I supported Bernie's run back in 2016. If I ended up back in time, I'd probably do it all over again, for the same reasons as Karkat The Dalek. If he were to run in 2020...well, I've got a list of grievances that's fairly long, and it would have to be a really bad field of candidates for me to even consider it.

Edited by AzurePaladin on Nov 8th 2018 at 12:52:20 PM

The awful things he says and does are burned into our cultural consciousness like a CRT display left on the same picture too long. -Fighteer
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#261169: Nov 8th 2018 at 9:49:39 PM

I had a feeling there was something off about him practically from the start. His behavior during the primaries made me more and more wary of him, to the point I was glad he lost the primaries.

Everything since has made me realize my Gut Feeling was right about him.

It could just be that I'm generally wary of people who use populist strategies, even when — especially when — they are saying stuff that sounds good to me.

Edited by M84 on Nov 9th 2018 at 1:52:41 AM

Disgusted, but not surprised
LSBK Since: Sep, 2014
#261170: Nov 8th 2018 at 9:56:21 PM

I also voted for Bernie in the primaries, but I would have been entirely fine with either at that point. Then as time went on, I became happier that Hillary actually won the nomination.

smokeycut Since: Mar, 2013
#261171: Nov 8th 2018 at 10:04:49 PM

I was just starting to have doubts about him when I voted in the primaries, but by a week or two later, I was already regretting not giving my vote to Hillary. Now I just want to never hear his name again, because it’s never anything good.

Hylarn (Don’t ask)
#261172: Nov 8th 2018 at 10:05:32 PM

I personally found Bernie's lack of any solid positions on anything outside of domestic economic policies very concerning, and while I liked said domestic economic policies, I didn't think he'd be able to get any of them through congress. While I appreciated him making those ideas more mainstream, I was entirely behind Hillary

Draghinazzo (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: I get a feeling so complicated...
#261173: Nov 8th 2018 at 10:16:47 PM

So uh, I've been doing a little digging into some statistics. Guess which demographic broke 59% for Ted Cruz, 76% for Kemp, and 51% for De Santis? White women. In fact from what I understand the percentage of white women who voted for Kemp is actually higher than white men by 4%. Like wut????

Some people thought the sheer inhumanity of the Trump administration would sober them to the reality of what allying themselves with the GOP means, but it doesn't seem to have happened. A lot of women of color are pretty disappointed with these results; for one counterexample, O'Rourke won the black women vote by 97%.Mona Eltahawy has dubbed them "the footsoldiers of the patriarchy" in response.

This actually reminds me of my mother. If we lived in the US, I strongly suspect that at best she would be a "never trumper" conservative but vote GOP in every other thing. My brother coming out as gay has made her more accepting of the LGBT+ community, but every time me or my siblings have tried to talk to her about racist power structures it's like she just freezes, in one ear and out the other. She grew up in a dirt poor family where she was emotionally abused for being on the spectrum, bullied by her classmates, always The Un-Favorite, and then because she managed to carve out a respectable middle class living with my father, has bought completely into the "bootstraps" narrative and refuses to accept that white privilege doesn't invalidate her story.

Edited by Draghinazzo on Nov 8th 2018 at 2:21:23 PM

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#261174: Nov 8th 2018 at 10:22:50 PM

[up]Those women of color are probably disappointed but not too surprised.

I'm pretty sure a similar thing happened in Alabama during the special election. More white women voted for Moore — the pedophile rapist — than for Jones. The ratio was 63 to 34 or something.

Edited by M84 on Nov 9th 2018 at 2:25:11 AM

Disgusted, but not surprised
CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#261175: Nov 8th 2018 at 10:25:58 PM

Why rich white women vote constantly for Republicans.

My mother, her friends, and my next door neighbors all are upper class white women and used the same arguments.

And they're ALL INSANE.

Edited by CharlesPhipps on Nov 8th 2018 at 10:26:36 AM

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.

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