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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM
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Given that there's enough support for outright socialism (plus a general antipathy for capitalism) among millenials, (and this would definitely be something that would happen when the millenial generation is in power), I wouldn't rule out an openly socialist party being a viable opposition.
edited 14th Jun '16 7:09:11 PM by CaptainCapsase
It's hard to imagine the Republican Party collapsing to the point of no longer being electorally viable. It's far too entrenched, with enough people conditioned to vote "R" no matter how odious the candidates on that side of the ballot are. It's got a media empire backing it and vast wealth propping up its candidates.
The Trump "revolution" is backing a straw candidate with a devastating lack of electability, and when he inevitably fails (barring some unimaginable catastrophe), the interests backing him will be disheartened and will probably cede control of the party, at least temporarily, to the establishment. It's far more likely that we'll get a Paul Ryan style candidate for 2020/2024 than another Trump or Carson. They'll be laughed out of the race.
I could be wrong but I don't think so. The real problem facing the country will be the continued obstructionism of Republicans in Congress, something we can't hope to reasonably fix until 2020 at the earliest, and which may result in any Democratic President, no matter how revolutionary, being shut out of any real legislative accomplishments.
There is not nearly enough support for a "true socialist" party in the U.S. If the Greens can't win more than 1% of the national vote, your idea is a pipe dream. To be brutally honest, U.S. socialism is basically college kids who have big dreams, all the fiery outrage of the young, and little concept of true privation.
edited 14th Jun '16 7:14:06 PM by Fighteer
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Not with the current electoral base no, but among millenials, socialism vs capitalism is about 32% vs 48%, and it's actually in favor of socialism (though the people who answer "neither" get even higher) when you're specifically looking at young (~18-23) millennials. The events of the past few decades have more or less been a perfect storm for fostering a strongly left-leaning generation; deeply unpopular right wing administrations, a military disaster on par with Vietnam, and the worst economic downturn since the great depression.
edited 14th Jun '16 7:15:57 PM by CaptainCapsase
Can't be much worse than the libertarians though.
However, turning that into a viable party platform depends on the kind of "socialism" they want to implement.
edited 14th Jun '16 7:16:59 PM by Eschaton
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Young people who don't vote, and see my comment about starry-eyed college kids. Reality hits you hard once you graduate.
If he's smart, he'll take the opportunity to prove that the party isn't all insane racist demagogues. If the public's memory of Trump is strong enough, it might not work, but he's certainly welcome to try.
edited 14th Jun '16 7:16:21 PM by Fighteer
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"@Adric/Fighteer: The "voters become more conservative" as they age assumption was something that was only really true for the baby boomers; it'll take a modern Ronald Reagan (and an extremely good economy under a right-wing administration) to make that happen with the millenials. Especially with the Soviet Union dead and gone, the Red Scare is more or less defunct.
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They had to reinvent themselves as a party to survive; Eisenhower era Republicans were about where the modern democrats are on economics, it wasn't until Goldwater that the GOP started down the path towards the utter shitshow they are today. For millenials, that's going to entail becoming much more libertarian, and dramatically improving on social issues.
edited 14th Jun '16 7:23:45 PM by CaptainCapsase
I'm not hostile to it.
I'm saying that it'll take a long time for people to even think of accepting it, not to mention the kind of changes necessary for such a system that'll no doubt require a lot of money and a lot of taxes, and if there's one thing this country agrees on, it's that taxes suck.
Have you any dreams you'd like to sell?@Fry: AFAIK the places socialism (not social-democracy) was tried out didn't fare too well (for example the kibbutzim).
On empty crossroads, seek the eclipse -- for when Sol and Lua align, the lost shall find their way home.This ain't socialism, that's what I call social democracy.
On empty crossroads, seek the eclipse -- for when Sol and Lua align, the lost shall find their way home.Socialism as in "tear down capitalism and live in communes with shared property" is a failed ideology. The kind most people think of is the social democracies of the Nordic states, which are not without their flaws but seem to handle the tradeoffs between capitalism and socialism with reasonable aplomb.
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"

I'd like to believe that this theoretical leftist opposition to Democrats would be smart enough to avoid red. They're more likely to be Green.
edited 14th Jun '16 7:08:04 PM by Eschaton