2020 Election Thoughts

[southsider2k5]

 

[Jack Parkman]

In order to have a solution to our problems, we first must accept that the system is corrupt and broken. 

Right now, The US is a covert plutocratic kleptocracy. It's a plutocracy because the rich are allowed, by law, to buy politicians, and it's a covert kleptocracy because the politicians enrich themselves by continuing to serve the interests of the plutocrat class, and they do so in secret and pass laws to make it legal to do so. The Plutocrats give money to the politicians through covert, legal means in return for their votes on policy.  Once the purchased politician is voted out of office, the politician then spends the remainder of their career as a lobbyist for the plutocrat class, working for one or all of their former owners. 

The US, while keeping the facade of democracy, is actually a Russia-lite. Russia is an overt plutocratic kleptocracy, where the US is a covert one. 

Edited December 3, 2020 by Jack Parkman

[Jose Abreu]

1 hour ago, Jack Parkman said:

In order to have a solution to our problems, we first must accept that the system is corrupt and broken. 

Right now, The US is a covert plutocratic kleptocracy. It's a plutocracy because the rich are allowed, by law, to buy politicians, and it's a covert kleptocracy because the politicians enrich themselves by continuing to serve the interests of the plutocrat class, and they do so in secret and pass laws to make it legal to do so. The Plutocrats give money to the politicians through covert, legal means in return for their votes on policy.  Once the purchased politician is voted out of office, the politician then spends the remainder of their career as a lobbyist for the plutocrat class, working for one or all of their former owners. 

 The US, while keeping the facade of democracy, is actually a Russia-lite. Russia is an overt plutocratic kleptocracy, where the US is a covert one. 

In recent years, the U.S. hasn't even been secretive about it. It's painfully obvious that billionaires are running and simultaneously ruining the country, but most people just don't care

[pcq]

2 hours ago, Dick Allen said:

The Roger Stone is saying some ships from North Korea docked in Maine and unloaded shipfulls of ballots for Biden. 

I really think these people want to test the tipping point. They want to see how far out they go until the lightbulb finally goes on in their cult members' heads that they are being fed a load of shit. Telling them their money is going into Trumps pocket doesn't matter. They think democrats run child sex rings from pizza joints and eat abortions. There may be no outer limit.

If enough people lose their flippin' minds we are all doomed.

[pettie4sox]

Greg getting dunked repeatedly brings joy to my day.

I could see the dems taking both GA seats even though both candidates are no good.  Momentum is even a thing in politics.

[pcq]

Has anyone heard if Biden is keeping Ivanka and Jared in the White House. They might be hard to replace. 

[southsider2k5]

 

[The Beast]

6 hours ago, Danny Dravot said:

Because I'm a right-leaning moderate? I do not want a Democrat-controlled Senate (my main desire on ED was Biden victory with Republican Senate). Also, I thought the stock market gamers were Loeffler, Burr (NC) and Feinstein. I don't recall Perdue having a hand in that.

Edit: just looked it up and he did. So, scratch that.

Even if you are a right leaning moderate, wouldn’t Biden keep the progressive wing in check if they controlled the senate too?

[Jack Parkman]

5 hours ago, Jose Abreu said:

In recent years, the U.S. hasn't even been secretive about it. It's painfully obvious that billionaires are running and simultaneously ruining the country, but most people just don't care

Yeah, and that's scary as fuck. Unlike Russia though, they can pretend they aren't the puppet master. Some of us know better. Others, not so much. 

[Danny Dravot]

1 hour ago, The Beast said:

Even if you are a right leaning moderate, wouldn’t Biden keep the progressive wing in check if they controlled the senate too?

Probably. I don’t at all buy into the right-wing talk that he is super progressive. I think his cabinet picks so far back me up on that (and I really like Blinken and Flournoy (likely SecDef)). I also think Manchin will protect the center in the Senate. That being said, I still don’t see a reason for a red state to go blue. I think Warnock and Ossoff would be negative influences in Congress as well so I’ll take the two Republicans instead, even if I have disagreements and dislikes with both.

[pettie4sox]

6 minutes ago, Danny Dravot said:

Probably. I don’t at all buy into the right-wing talk that he is super progressive. I think his cabinet picks so far back me up on that (and I really like Blinken and Flournoy (likely SecDef)). I also think Manchin will protect the center in the Senate. That being said, I still don’t see a reason for a red state to go blue. I think Warnock and Ossoff would be negative influences in Congress as well so I’ll take the two Republicans instead, even if I have disagreements and dislikes with both.

Ossoff is pretty much a republican.  He just doesn't have the skeletons that Perdue has in his closet.

 

[NWINFan]

Biden was asked about Trump attending the inagural. He had to laugh first. He often laughs when asked directly about Trump or his administration. There is good reason for that.

[southsider2k5]

27 minutes ago, NWINFan said:

Biden was asked about Trump attending the inagural. He had to laugh first. He often laughs when asked directly about Trump or his administration. There is good reason for that.

Trump is the kind of guy that will try to take the oath of office with Biden standing there and swear it makes him the President again.

[StrangeSox]

 

 

[southsider2k5]

Law and Order man, law and order.

[Middle Buffalo]

It’s ironic that if Trump (a pathological liar) had just lied and acted like he cared/had compassion for people from the outset of this pandemic, he most likely would have been re-elected. Just a little, white lie.

[southsider2k5]

2 minutes ago, Middle Buffalo said:

It’s ironic that if Trump (a pathological liar) had just lied and acted like he cared/had compassion for people from the outset of this pandemic, he most likely would have been re-elected. Just a little, white lie.

What's strange is if he had half a brain, he could have used this as a chance to unite the country and destroy the election process without a question.    If he sells this the same way W sold 9/11 his approval rate would have been through the roof.

 

[southsider2k5]

Tldr

Trump: Election Fraud.

Nevada: lmfao, gtfoh

https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2020/12/04/trump-campaign-has-no-credible-or-reliable-evidence-proving-voter-fraud-nevada-court-rules/?utm_campaign=forbes&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_term=Gordie

[Balta1701]

4 hours ago, southsider2k5 said:

What's strange is if he had half a brain, he could have used this as a chance to unite the country and destroy the election process without a question.    If he sells this the same way W sold 9/11 his approval rate would have been through the roof.

 

From someone smarter than me:

”Being president doesn't change who you are, it reveals who you are.” 

She continues being right.

[Two-Gun Pete]

On 12/3/2020 at 12:49 PM, Danny Dravot said:

Because I'm a right-leaning moderate? I do not want a Democrat-controlled Senate (my main desire on ED was Biden victory with Republican Senate). Also, I thought the stock market gamers were Loeffler, Burr (NC) and Feinstein. I don't recall Perdue having a hand in that.

Edit: just looked it up and he did. So, scratch that.

Yeah, if you're a moderate, I actually think that a 50/50 Senate would lead toward more moderation, not less. If you want moderates to run the Senate, you don't want Mitch McConnell to be the Senate Majority Leader. 

Hes shown himself to give exactly zero fucks about the success of this nation, and moreso about obstruction, so long as it scores him political points. Quite frankly, I trust the (relative) honesty of Manchin, Murkowski, Romney, and Tester and others over McConnell.

To get a big tent group like the Senate Democrats to vote together would take a bunch of moderation.  It wouldn't necessarily be automatic that Tester or Manchin would always go along with Biden, in all honesty. I dont see any of the shit that right-wing media blathers to scare people happening with a 50/50 Senate. (I.e. court packing, or any of the other shit greg heard from Ben Shapiro, oann, or fox.)

By contrast, we've already seen what McConnell is, and what he would do with a Dem POTUS. And to a moderate, he's antithetical towards moderation. He's party over nation, and he's shown himself to be dishonest in his actions.

During a pandemic, I definitely don't want to give McConnell more of a voice. I'd rather give the moderates the bully pulpit by means of a split Senate. FORCE Biden to come to the middle. FORCE McConnell to come to the middle. Force both of them to HAVE TO court the support of Manchin, Tester, Romney, and those in the center to get anything done. I think our nation would be better off as a result.

Edited December 5, 2020 by Two-Gun Pete

[southsider2k5]

 

 

[Danny Dravot]

3 hours ago, Two-Gun Pete said:

Yeah, if you're a moderate, I actually think that a 50/50 Senate would lead toward more moderation, not less. If you want moderates to run the Senate, you don't want Mitch McConnell to be the Senate Majority Leader. 

Hes shown himself to give exactly zero fucks about the success of this nation, and moreso about obstruction, so long as it scores him political points. Quite frankly, I trust the (relative) honesty of Manchin, Murkowski, Romney, and Tester and others over McConnell.

To get a big tent group like the Senate Democrats to vote together would take a bunch of moderation.  It wouldn't necessarily be automatic that Tester or Manchin would always go along with Biden, in all honesty. I dont see any of the shit that right-wing media blathers to scare people happening with a 50/50 Senate. (I.e. court packing, or any of the other shit greg heard from Ben Shapiro, oann, or fox.)

By contrast, we've already seen what McConnell is, and what he would do with a Dem POTUS. And to a moderate, he's antithetical towards moderation. He's party over nation, and he's shown himself to be dishonest in his actions.

During a pandemic, I definitely don't want to give McConnell more of a voice. I'd rather give the moderates the bully pulpit by means of a split Senate. FORCE Biden to come to the middle. FORCE McConnell to come to the middle. Force both of them to HAVE TO court the support of Manchin, Tester, Romney, and those in the center to get anything done. I think our nation would be better off as a result.

It’s a complicated answer and the mods probably don’t want the thread derailed so much. Honestly, what I truly want probably isn’t coming, ever, but I think Trump gone and split legis/exec is what will probably get me closest to my goals. Feel free to DM if you want to discuss more.

[The Beast]

3 hours ago, Two-Gun Pete said:

Yeah, if you're a moderate, I actually think that a 50/50 Senate would lead toward more moderation, not less. If you want moderates to run the Senate, you don't want Mitch McConnell to be the Senate Majority Leader. 

Hes shown himself to give exactly zero fucks about the success of this nation, and moreso about obstruction, so long as it scores him political points. Quite frankly, I trust the (relative) honesty of Manchin, Murkowski, Romney, and Tester and others over McConnell.

To get a big tent group like the Senate Democrats to vote together would take a bunch of moderation.  It wouldn't necessarily be automatic that Tester or Manchin would always go along with Biden, in all honesty. I dont see any of the shit that right-wing media blathers to scare people happening with a 50/50 Senate. (I.e. court packing, or any of the other shit greg heard from Ben Shapiro, oann, or fox.)

By contrast, we've already seen what McConnell is, and what he would do with a Dem POTUS. And to a moderate, he's antithetical towards moderation. He's party over nation, and he's shown himself to be dishonest in his actions.

During a pandemic, I definitely don't want to give McConnell more of a voice. I'd rather give the moderates the bully pulpit by means of a split Senate. FORCE Biden to come to the middle. FORCE McConnell to come to the middle. Force both of them to HAVE TO court the support of Manchin, Tester, Romney, and those in the center to get anything done. I think our nation would be better off as a result.

There’s no question that a 50/50 senate would bring moderation back to the senate and force leaders to compromise. What you have said about knowing who McConnell is is key because we have seen what he will do with a Democratic president. If they get 50/50 I bet my sweet bippy that McConnell says “get Joe on the phone” more often. I do not see a 50/50 split as something that will lead to radical shifts in policies because there simply won’t be the votes. The Democrats could learn a thing or two from Bill Clinton in the GA races with respect to how to appeal to a larger mass of voters and in the right way. And...Pelosi isn’t wrong when she said she’s good at counting votes. They need to have the votes which is why progressive and far right policies won’t stand, moderation prevails (sometimes).

17 minutes ago, Danny Dravot said:

It’s a complicated answer and the mods probably don’t want the thread derailed so much. Honestly, what I truly want probably isn’t coming, ever, but I think Trump gone and split legis/exec is what will probably get me closest to my goals. Feel free to DM if you want to discuss more.

I definitely want to know your thoughts on his post. I see a lot of validity in his reasoning.

[NWINFan]

19 hours ago, southsider2k5 said:

What's strange is if he had half a brain, he could have used this as a chance to unite the country and destroy the election process without a question.    If he sells this the same way W sold 9/11 his approval rate would have been through the roof.

 

But Trump didn't have a half a brain. He saw the pandemic as a political liability, and so he went into a denial mode. And once he got in that mode, there was no way out. Additionally, even after four years, Trump didn't know how to govern. If he had used the power of the federal government to battle the virus, things would have been much better. We still would have been in a crisis, but things would have better than they are now. Instead, the deaths mounted and he lost by 7 million. His refusing to concede won't change that.

[SoxKing3002]

31 minutes ago, NWINFan said:

But Trump didn't have a half a brain. He saw the pandemic as a political liability, and so he went into a denial mode. And once he got in that mode, there was no way out. Additionally, even after four years, Trump didn't know how to govern. If he had used the power of the federal government to battle the virus, things would have been much better. We still would have been in a crisis, but things would have better than they are now. Instead, the deaths mounted and he lost by 7 million. His refusing to concede won't change that.

Soooo I guess invoking the Defense Production Act to get private corporations to produce ventilators and other PPE when the previous administration depleted the supply. Providing a naval ship to NYC with hospital beds which the the stupid evil governor of NY forced nursing homes to accept covid patients and Operation warp speed to produce vaccines was not giving a damn to fighting the virus. I guess this all doesn't fit the narrative and leftist playbook when you get your news from exclusively the View.