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GoldenKaos Captain of the Dead City from Cirith Ungol Since: Mar, 2014 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
Captain of the Dead City
#333326: Oct 11th 2020 at 3:11:31 AM

The Republicans' current support of Trump shows that a good chunk of them would be completely ok with a fascist dictatorship as long as they were on top. If they cared a tiny shit about democracy they wouldn't have rigged the system so hard that they're basically relying on cheating to win by now.

"...in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach."
RedSavant Since: Jan, 2001
#333327: Oct 11th 2020 at 3:17:53 AM

Yeah, the takeaway from this is not "checks and balances don't work as designed", but "checks and balances don't work when two of the branches are eagerly awaiting the Executive branch to spit in their faces so they can say "thank you, may we have another"". Whether they work properly when applied properly is a related, but separate discussion.

It's been fun.
RedHunter543 Crimson Paladin Since: Jul, 2016 Relationship Status: Barbecuing
Crimson Paladin
#333328: Oct 11th 2020 at 3:20:52 AM

[up][up] And who would believe Trump would let the majority of Republicans enjoy a top spot?

Like how many republicans has Trump insulted? Like Ted Cruz or Mitt Romney.

I believe if he could, Trump would let business men in his circles enjoy Governance.

Edited by RedHunter543 on Oct 11th 2020 at 6:21:35 AM

"The Black Rage makes us strong, because we must resist its temptations every day of our lives or be forever damned!"
GoldenKaos Captain of the Dead City from Cirith Ungol Since: Mar, 2014 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
Captain of the Dead City
#333329: Oct 11th 2020 at 3:31:56 AM

By "on top" I mean "on the winning side", not neccessarily to be individually in a high office or something.

Edited by GoldenKaos on Oct 11th 2020 at 11:32:59 AM

"...in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach."
nova92 Since: Apr, 2020
#333330: Oct 11th 2020 at 4:50:48 AM

The State: Jaime Harrison raised $57 million in Q3 for his race against SC Sen. Lindsey Graham.

Edited by nova92 on Oct 11th 2020 at 4:51:12 AM

BearyScary Since: Sep, 2010 Relationship Status: You spin me right round, baby
RedHunter543 Crimson Paladin Since: Jul, 2016 Relationship Status: Barbecuing
Crimson Paladin
#333332: Oct 11th 2020 at 5:42:04 AM

So in other topics, how would the electoral college affect this election?

"The Black Rage makes us strong, because we must resist its temptations every day of our lives or be forever damned!"
Silasw A procrastination in of itself from A handcart to hell (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#333333: Oct 11th 2020 at 5:51:56 AM

You’re going to have to clarify what you mean by that, the electoral college is part of the electoral system, it’s not an outside effect that is applied to the election. I can go over some basic though.

The electoral college means that the winner is whoever gets 270 (or more) electoral votes, rather than the winner being the person who gets the most votes from the public. The current way states are organised and their demographics means that Republicans tend to get a higher percentage of the electoral votes than of the popular vote, however the divide isn’t infinite, current estimates are that Trump gains about 2-3 points in the tipping point state (the state which will decide the winner of the electoral college) compared to the popular vote.

However that’s not much help to him when he’s behind in the popular vote by around 10 points, if he looses Pensilvania by 7 points rather than 10 he’s still lost the election.

Edited by Silasw on Oct 11th 2020 at 12:52:54 PM

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
RedHunter543 Crimson Paladin Since: Jul, 2016 Relationship Status: Barbecuing
Crimson Paladin
#333334: Oct 11th 2020 at 5:58:24 AM

Alright.

"The Black Rage makes us strong, because we must resist its temptations every day of our lives or be forever damned!"
Galadriel Since: Feb, 2015
#333335: Oct 11th 2020 at 6:04:03 AM

If the Dems win the Senate, is it possible for them to pass a generalized voting rights law laying out more details about the conduct of elections (e.g., number of election stations in a county/neighbourhood must be proportional to population, so black voters stop ending up with long lines while white voters have no lines; felons cannot be disenfranchised)? Or is that entirely under the control of the states?

It would make a big difference if they could do something systematic about voter suppression.

Edited by Galadriel on Oct 11th 2020 at 9:05:07 AM

nova92 Since: Apr, 2020
#333336: Oct 11th 2020 at 6:08:37 AM

[up] The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the For the People Act both have the support of every Democrat in Congress, and both deal with voting rights/electoral reform, including fighting voter suppression and gerrymandering. I don't know if the specific examples you listed are included, but that should be the place to look.

Edit: The Voting Rights Advancement Act has this:

A state and all of its political subdivisions shall be subject to preclearance of voting practice changes for a 10-year period if (1) 15 or more voting rights violations occurred in the state during the previous 25 years; or (2) 10 or more violations occurred during the previous 25 years, at least one of which was committed by the state itself. A political subdivision as a separate unit shall also be subject to preclearance for a 10-year period if three or more voting rights violations occurred there during the previous 25 years.

Which would probably cover stuff like blocking polling places from being reduced. Not sure if felon disenfranchisement is under the jurisdiction of the federal government.

Edited by nova92 on Oct 11th 2020 at 6:11:02 AM

Xopher001 Since: Jul, 2012
#333337: Oct 11th 2020 at 6:15:48 AM

I think giving voting rights back to ex-cons is part of Biden's current platform

Redmess Redmess from Netherlands Since: Feb, 2014
Redmess
#333338: Oct 11th 2020 at 6:58:11 AM

The other thing about US wars is that their refugees tend to end up in Europe, so we end up having to deal with the fallout of US wars, while refusing to take in refugees themselves. Of course the EU must do better with that as well, but the US should take more responsibility in destabilizing half the Middle East and causing these problems in the first place.

Hope shines brightest in the darkest times
RainehDaze Nero Fangirl (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
Nero Fangirl
#333339: Oct 11th 2020 at 7:16:17 AM

The Middle East was never stable.

Reflextion from a post-sanity world (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: What's love got to do with it?
#333340: Oct 11th 2020 at 7:23:13 AM

Because every time it looks like things might be getting stable, or even just slightly less unstable, someone has to go and ram their oilboner (you're welcome) into the region and shake things up again.

Edited by Reflextion on Oct 11th 2020 at 10:24:56 AM

Someone did tell me life was going to be this way.
RainehDaze Nero Fangirl (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
Nero Fangirl
#333341: Oct 11th 2020 at 7:26:16 AM

5,000 years of instability and counting.

Silasw A procrastination in of itself from A handcart to hell (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#333342: Oct 11th 2020 at 7:31:45 AM

I wouldn't say it was less stable than anywhere else until the decline of the Ottoman Empire.

Stability is relative, by today’s standard nowhere was stable that long ago.

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
Balmung Since: Oct, 2011
#333343: Oct 11th 2020 at 8:09:31 AM

Probably didn't help that after the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the French and British gleefully carved up the Middle East. Or that even after they left (and saddled everyone with arbitrary borders drawn solely for colonial convenience), both of them plus also the US overthrew any head of state that was communist, considered nationalizing their country's oil industry, or bought arms from the wrong country.

It's not solely the US's fault, but we've done an awful lot to prevent anything from ever stabilizing.

Edited by Balmung on Oct 11th 2020 at 10:10:24 AM

DeMarquis (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#333344: Oct 11th 2020 at 8:13:00 AM

Sadly, Red Waves that actually have little popular support are going to become a regular feature of our political system until Citizens United is overturned, and gerrymandering is dealt with.

In other news, ICE Is Planning To Fast-Track Deportations Across The Country: "The new policy will give agents the ability to arrest and deport undocumented immigrants without a hearing in front of a judge.'

Better work fast, boys. You don't have much time left.

I'm done trying to sound smart. "Clear" is the new smart.
Forenperser Foreign Troper from Germany Since: Mar, 2012
Foreign Troper
#333345: Oct 11th 2020 at 8:21:47 AM

It's true that the Middle East has a long history of instability, but the US are certainly the biggest offender of fucking things up there in the recent past.

Certified: 48.0% West Asian, 6.5% South Asian, 15.8% North/West European, 15.7% English, 7.4% Balkan, 6.6% Scandinavian
RedHunter543 Crimson Paladin Since: Jul, 2016 Relationship Status: Barbecuing
Crimson Paladin
#333346: Oct 11th 2020 at 8:25:04 AM

Yeah, the Middle East is chaotic but the USA did not help matters and only breed resentment there.

"The Black Rage makes us strong, because we must resist its temptations every day of our lives or be forever damned!"
CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#333347: Oct 11th 2020 at 8:26:20 AM

The US support of dictatorial regimes certainly didn't help either as did support of them against the US.

Proxy War during the Cold War is hard to measure the sheer amount of devastation and aftereffects.

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
RedHunter543 Crimson Paladin Since: Jul, 2016 Relationship Status: Barbecuing
Crimson Paladin
#333348: Oct 11th 2020 at 8:29:25 AM

Speaking of dictators, didn't Jimmy Carter support Marcos from the Philippines?

Or at least not mention him when talking about human rights?

"The Black Rage makes us strong, because we must resist its temptations every day of our lives or be forever damned!"
HallowHawk Since: Feb, 2013
#333349: Oct 11th 2020 at 8:33:54 AM

[up]

Operation Condor happened during the Carter Administration.

RedHunter543 Crimson Paladin Since: Jul, 2016 Relationship Status: Barbecuing
Crimson Paladin
#333350: Oct 11th 2020 at 8:35:18 AM

Damn, we suck.

"The Black Rage makes us strong, because we must resist its temptations every day of our lives or be forever damned!"

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