USA Politics (redux)

[Todd]

voter turnout is not the only measure of democracies' health

True, but underlying the massive turnout were equally massive get out the vote drives, fundraisers, outreach programs, social media campaigns, etc.  Trump was the catalyst, but it took huge efforts by a lot of people to result in what happened November 3.  A lot of people have such a bizarre fixation on Trump, and so wholly believe the standard press narrative about failing democratic institutions and such forth, that they ignore what just happened. 

And related to the last paragraph: the polarization has become so sharp that the mere stating of facts contradicting, or expressing of opinions not in line with, anti-Trumpism automatically turns one into a Trumpist.

It's groupthink.  A lot of places, and a lot of internet forums, display it. 

[drogulus]

How much of Trum's ugly ascendency is an outcome of social media? I'm still not seeing the good side of that either (although here I am typing away).

     What's new is everyone has a printing press for their radical screeds. The content resembles past episodes of mass hysteria.

[Fëanor]

Just hearing a story on CNN now about dark money and ghost candidates who siphoned off votes to help other republicans win three positions in the Florida senate race.  It might not be illegal, but it certainly should be!

https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/23/politics/florida-dark-money-mystery-invs/index.html

PD

Trumpettes were asked to believe that only Democrats would cheat ... humm.

[arpeggio]

The bottom line is that if the conservative view of reality was correct, Trump would have won the election with over 51% of the popular vote.

[Herman]

this is third grade logic; the same as Trump used to use when he said "But I'm the president and you're not"  -  usually to reporters to had no desire to be president.

The reason why the evidence at the impeachment hearing went nowhere was that there were more republicans than democrats in the room.

[drogulus]

     Roger Stone-Tied Group Threatens GOP: If Trump Goes Down, So Does Your Senate Majority

The effort is representative of a broader push among some of President Trump's most devoted supporters to withhold support for the two Georgia Republican senators facing competitive runoff challenges, Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, in the hope of leveraging the party's fear of losing the U.S. Senate to get more establishment backing for their drive to change the result of the election. The goal, those operatives say, is to expose a supposed vast election-fraud conspiracy abetted by high-level Republicans in Georgia's state government, including Gov. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

     This is starting to remind me of the existentialist Godfather who makes you an offer no one understands.

     GMG groupthinkers should be baffled by this. We might have to regroup to confront this challenge.

[Florestan]

The bottom line is that if the conservative view of reality was correct, Trump would have won the election with over 51% of the popular vote.

If I understand your logic correctly,  the conservative view of reality was correct in 1984 when Reagan won 58.8% of the popular vote (and 525 electoral votes, the most ever), carrying all states but Minnesota and the District of Columbia. Is that right?

[arpeggio]

If I understand your logic correctly,  the conservative view of reality was correct in 1984 when Reagan won 58.8% of the popular vote (and 525 electoral votes, the most ever), carrying all states but Minnesota and the District of Columbia. Is that right?

No.  Your statement is based on the supposition that the Republicans of today are just like the Republicans of thirty-five years ago.  Back then the Republicans had a better grasp of reality.  I was a Reagan conservative and the Republicans of today are nothing like the Republicans of 1980.  The party has changed.  One can not compare the the Republicans of today with the Republicans of 1980.

[71 dB]

No.  Your statement is based on the supposition that the Republicans of today are just like the Republicans of thirty-five years ago.  Back then the Republicans had a better grasp of reality.  I was a Reagan conservative and the Republicans of today are nothing like the Republicans of 1980.  The party has changed.  One can not compare the the Republicans of today with the Republicans of 1980.

Yes, the Republicans had a much better grasp of reality in the 80's. Reagan was a mixed bag, but superior to the Republican 21st century presidents G. W. Bush and D. Trump. Obama was "Reagan of the 21st century", also a mixed bag president.

Both the Republicans and the Democrats have moved to the right on economic issues since the 80's. On social issues (gay marriage etc.) the Dems have been moving to left. On economic issues the corporate Dems today are what the Republicans used to be back in the 80's. ObamaCare for example is originally a Republican healthcare plan from the 80's. If you liked the Republicans of the 80's, corporate Dems of today should be your cup of tea unless you find them too liberal on social issues that is...

[Florestan]

No.  Your statement is based on the supposition that the Republicans of today are just like the Republicans of thirty-five years ago.  Back then the Republicans had a better grasp of reality.  I was a Reagan conservative and the Republicans of today are nothing like the Republicans of 1980.  The party has changed.  One can not compare the the Republicans of today with the Republicans of 1980.

None of this answers my question (it was a question, not a statement) but never mind.

[arpeggio]

None of this answers my question (it was a question, not a statement) but never mind.

I thought I did answer your question.  The Republicans in the 1980's had a better grasp of reality.

[Karl Henning]

I did answer your question.  The Republicans in the 1980's had a better grasp of reality.

Indeed. Any grasp of reality would be a better grasp.

[drogulus]

     Will we get transition missiles from Lil Kim? Watch the skies.

[MusicTurner]

Twitter has always been the worst.

Sorry, no. You can be ahead of most media & identify what they'll only later revise, and find a lot of real journalist material there, especially via links, for subjects not covered that much by main media, as I said. The problem is that it's been increasingly invaded by organized propaganda on a large scale, and ignorant or crazy, or ignorant+crazy, stuff.

[Zeus]

Trump has done damage. 

I particularly enjoyed watching Trump's attacks on the rule of law.  Good for lawyers' wallets, and everybody else.

Nothing more invigorating than being forced to fight for what you believe in.

All is for the best in the best of all possible countries.

[milk]

It Actually Was a Landslide: 80 Million Votes and Counting For Biden
The "red mirage" has vanished to reveal a blue mandate for President-Elect Joe Biden
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/landslide-80-million-votes-biden-trump-1092217/

[Todd]

I particularly enjoyed watching Trump's attacks on the rule of law.

It was fun to watch, especially with the thumping the rule of law gave Trump.

It Actually Was a Landslide: 80 Million Votes and Counting For Biden
The "red mirage" has vanished to reveal a blue mandate for President-Elect Joe Biden
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/landslide-80-million-votes-biden-trump-1092217/

Biden received 51.1% of the vote.  By definition, that is not a landslide, no matter how large the font.

[Todd]

Local yokels in action: Portland progressives plot recall effort against Mayor Ted Wheeler, Commissioner Dan Ryan

Ted Wheeler was a turd over the summer, but newbie Dan Ryan's recall worthy offense was not supporting a move to defund the police.  National politics may settle down, but Stumptown progressives are just getting started.

[milk]

It was fun to watch, especially with the thumping the rule of law gave Trump.


Biden received 51.1% of the vote.  By definition, that is not a landslide, no matter how large the font.

Granted. Regan (only in the second election) and Nixon did much better.

[Herman]

While Trump and Barr are preparing the pardons they'll issue, they're speeding up the executions in the various states where the death penalty is still, barbarously, on the books.

No president in the 20th century has allowed death sentences to be executed during the lame duck months. Trump, as we know since the Central Park Five, actually feels better when people get killed at his behest.