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

sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#247451: Jun 27th 2018 at 5:26:11 PM

[up][up] So not the worst we could get, by the sound of it. No Justice Roy Moore at any rate

CrimsonZephyr Would that it were so simple. from Massachusetts Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
Would that it were so simple.
#247452: Jun 27th 2018 at 5:33:59 PM

That's a cold comfort, but I'll take what I can get, I suppose.

"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."
AlleyOop Since: Oct, 2010
#247453: Jun 27th 2018 at 5:36:17 PM

I can probably handle a "conventionally" conservative judge, it's nothing new to the court after having Samuel Alito shoved down our throats by Bush.

Kaiseror Since: Jul, 2016
#247454: Jun 27th 2018 at 5:38:06 PM

I've also noticed democrats tend to be more aware of their flaws which typically becomes more self-defeating when they fail.

They also just don't have the same..."enthusiasm" the republicans have.

Edited by Kaiseror on Jun 27th 2018 at 7:42:23 AM

Grafite Since: Apr, 2016 Relationship Status: Less than three
#247455: Jun 27th 2018 at 5:45:41 PM

@sgamer: Looking at the graph that 538 compiled on their website, very interesting, this Kavanaugh is basically as conservative as you can get, from the list of hopefuls, along with two other candidates. Hurray, just a smidge to the left of arch-reactionary Thomas!

The article in question.

Edited by Grafite on Jun 27th 2018 at 1:46:49 PM

Life is unfair...
sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#247456: Jun 27th 2018 at 5:45:50 PM

[up][up]Which ties into the Republicans higher zealotry

[down] Never said it wasn't.

Edited by sgamer82 on Jun 27th 2018 at 6:50:46 AM

Raptorslash Since: Oct, 2010
#247457: Jun 27th 2018 at 5:47:25 PM

Not being Justice Roy Moore is a very, very low bar.

PresidentStalkeyes Eats moldy bread and flies into windows from United Kingdom of England-land Since: Feb, 2016 Relationship Status: Do you like me? (Yes ⎕ Definitely ⎕ Absolutely!!! ⎕)
Eats moldy bread and flies into windows
#247458: Jun 27th 2018 at 5:48:16 PM

I've heard it said that Conservatives are much more willing to 'play dirty' and use underhanded tactics to win elections, while their Liberal counterparts are much more honest and concerned with ethics; which of course is part of their appeal, but may work against them at times. Not just America, I'd say it's probably true for Britain as well.

Those sell-by-dates won't stop me because I can't read!
CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#247459: Jun 27th 2018 at 5:51:14 PM

Puerto Rico has drafted a bill to become a US State.

This time it's going to pass from all accounts.

I fully expect brick shitting in the GOP.

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#247461: Jun 27th 2018 at 5:52:58 PM

Rightwingers are the type who hate giving up power in any way. And votes are power. That's part of why they tend to be a reliable voter base.

Disgusted, but not surprised
TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#247462: Jun 27th 2018 at 5:53:22 PM

The President has literally talked about removing due process, and people still support him. Literally nothing matters to them except whose team is winning. This idea that we still have shared "American Values" or that there's a line even they wouldn't happily cross seems disingenuous to me.

He's also hinted that he expects to still be President in 2026.

And also directly stated that we might try the "President for Life" thing sometime.

It's not even a case of thinking the centre-left is worse than the far-right. Since as previously noted, Clinton was not a centrist and Sanders was not the far-left. It was a case of misogyny coupled with "she won't give free college and free weed, man. Must be the Devil."

And the worst part is that Clinton was actually onboard with free college and was at worst neutral on weed.

Clinton supported a lot of policies that the Unicorn Brigade hated her for opposing. But they reconciled that logical disconnect by just saying that she was lying about all of her liberal platforms and was totally going to turn into Bush Jr. the second she got into office.

  • Bernie Bros.: Hillary Clinton hates puppies.
  • Hillary: I'm actually entirely in favor of puppies. I think puppies are great.
  • Bernie Bros.: Hillary Clinton is so wicked that she would lie to people about liking puppies! That just shows how devious she is!

She just couldn't win with these people.

The Blue Wave has to stop being accepted as a for sure thing. I hope there will be one, but thinking that it is for sure going to happen will only screw us.

When liberals are sure they're going to win, be it because they think everyone is on their side, or that the right-wingers can't really be that bad, they lose. That's the attitude that got us Brexit. It's the attitude that got us Trump. It's the attitude that got us Doug goddamned Ford as premier of Ontario.

So whenever I hear people saying things like "after the Blue Wave we have to do x" I start getting pretty concerned. Because until there is a Blue Wave our job isn't thinking about what we do after it. It's making sure one happens.

Quoted for truth.

The reason why Republicans have so much power as a voting bloc is because they take every election as a life or death battle for the very soul of this nation. Even if they don't like the candidates, they turn up in lockstep and they always vote Red because they're afraid that any second, the liberal agenda is going to show up, take away their guns and Bibles, eat their children, and then sell their homes to Muslim Mexican Gays.

They never take an election for granted. If anything, they reiterate over and over again in each election cycle that if you do not vote, Satan will win. ONLY YOU AND YOUR VOTE can save America from the liberal agenda. And their voters take this to heart. All of that fear-mongering? They do it because it works. Scared people vote.

If the Left had half as much voting discipline as the Right in this country, this place would be a liberal wonderland by now. But instead, we have this situation. A Republican will absolutely make sure to vote because he doesn't want Hillary Clinton to come to his home and rape his children in front of him. Meanwhile, a Democrat might choose to stay home because voting is a lot of work and Hillary Clinton isn't inspiring enough and besides, Trump can't win anyway and even if he did, it wouldn't affect anything, so why bother?

Republicans need a ton of convincing to even consider skipping election day. Democrats need it to consider attending. That is why a minority of extremist lunatics have such a stranglehold on power in this country.

Edited by TobiasDrake on Jun 27th 2018 at 6:54:42 AM

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
Fourthspartan56 from Georgia, US Since: Oct, 2016 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
#247463: Jun 27th 2018 at 5:53:54 PM

I've also noticed democrats tend to be more aware of their flaws which typically becomes more self-defeating when they fail.

They also just don't have the same..."enthusiasm" the republicans have.

Which mainly has to do with the fact that the Democratic Party is a diverse coalition of various interests which leads to a base that comparatively is much less unified then the ethnonationlism of the Republicans.

"Einstein would turn over in his grave. Not only does God play dice, the dice are loaded." -Chairman Sheng-Ji Yang
Mio Since: Jan, 2001
#247464: Jun 27th 2018 at 5:55:56 PM

[up][up][up][up]Probably not since there is no way that they will allow it.

Also I would not put it past Trump to try to get recently pardoned Joe Arpaio a seat, if nothing else then for the spectacle.

Hylarn (Don’t ask)
#247465: Jun 27th 2018 at 5:57:08 PM

People keep going on about a blue wave, but I think it's becoming increasingly clear that that won't be enough? Most of the problems currently faced are largely structural— The way the supreme court is chosen, gerrymandering, the overwhelming power of the presidency, all of this is from or allowed by the constitution. America's political system needs an overhaul, not just better congressmen

TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#247466: Jun 27th 2018 at 5:58:27 PM

That's the Catch-22. Better Congressmen is how you get that overhaul. We have to win with the deck stacked against us before we can start unstacking the deck.

Edited by TobiasDrake on Jun 27th 2018 at 7:01:09 AM

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
Fourthspartan56 from Georgia, US Since: Oct, 2016 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
#247467: Jun 27th 2018 at 5:58:51 PM

[up][up]And those structural problems will only be addressed with better congresspeople.

Ergo the importance of the Blue Wave.

Edit: Heh, I shake my fist at [nja] tongue

Edited by Fourthspartan56 on Jun 27th 2018 at 6:00:33 AM

"Einstein would turn over in his grave. Not only does God play dice, the dice are loaded." -Chairman Sheng-Ji Yang
AlleyOop Since: Oct, 2010
#247468: Jun 27th 2018 at 5:59:36 PM

True, but we can't get that without also getting the Congressmen in as a base minimum. Encouraging our generation to be more politically active by doing the minimum of going out and voting is just good civil service.

TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#247469: Jun 27th 2018 at 6:00:01 PM

And that means people need to f*cking vote. So help me, if we need 70% of the vote to beat the Republicans, then we need to goddamn get it. We have 70% of the people. They just need to get off their asses.

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
Raptorslash Since: Oct, 2010
#247470: Jun 27th 2018 at 6:01:55 PM

Trump does think of the presidency as a dictatorship, as far as I can tell, and treats it like one. I'm sure he would like to be President for Life if he could.

I'm not sure how he could realistically get past the two-term limit, though - at the very least he'd have to wait for another candidate to fill out a four-year term after 2024 before running again in 2028, if I have the rule right - and that's a Constitutional amendment, which are historically not easy to change.

(Ironically, that rule was a response to FDR, IIRC.)

CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#247471: Jun 27th 2018 at 6:03:42 PM

Trump is seventy.

6 more years is pushing it anyway.

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#247472: Jun 27th 2018 at 6:04:22 PM

Yes, the good news about Constitutional Amendments is that at least on that front, we still have bulwarks. Controlling the federal government in all branches still isn't enough. You also gotta get the states to sign off.

Something so significant as Trump successfully ignoring term limits remains in the realm of "unlikely". But there's still a lot of harm he can do within the existing limitations of the Constitution.

Edited by TobiasDrake on Jun 27th 2018 at 7:06:32 AM

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
Mio Since: Jan, 2001
#247473: Jun 27th 2018 at 6:04:28 PM

The question is, do the Democratic politicians realize we need big structural change, and if they do are they will to actual campaign on it and/or implement it?

I think at this point they probably realize the former, but I'm not so sure if they are willing to do the latter because they think it might be too underhanded or a losing strategy.

LSBK Since: Sep, 2014
#247474: Jun 27th 2018 at 6:04:34 PM

He's 72 actually. And also in pretty bad shape from the sound of it. Though we shouldn't actually be expecting him to die in office.

Fourthspartan56 from Georgia, US Since: Oct, 2016 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
#247475: Jun 27th 2018 at 6:07:44 PM

[up][up]They're not a hive mind so I imagine some do and some don't, those that don't (know or care) can be made to know/care through sustained effort in the base.

Edited by Fourthspartan56 on Jun 27th 2018 at 6:26:13 AM

"Einstein would turn over in his grave. Not only does God play dice, the dice are loaded." -Chairman Sheng-Ji Yang

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