General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsDoes anyone else feel like America hit its limit?
Its easy to feel pessimistic about our country. We have so much work to do.
But this month feels like were turning around. That were just done with this man and the horror the Republican Party has become. More and more, Im hearing from people who arent normally invested in politics. Theyre over it. Theres a sense this just cannot go on. Were going to lance this boil on our body politic.
Joe Biden was never my guy. Im a progressive. He was my last choice. But now? Im excited for everything about the man. Hes going to fix this, and were going to help him.
beachbumbob
(9,263 posts)where Gringrich set this ball rolling. We are here today because of it. NO good way to "fix" what is wrong in the heads of 40% of americam but at least we can show them who is in charged and they best get used to it/ No matter what, we have to be sure NEVER allow GOP to be in control again
dalton99a
(81,426 posts)to their health and to the economy
Yeehah
(4,574 posts)which we will have still after Trump. I don't see it being marginalized, due to money in elections (Citizens United) and pervasive right-wing propaganda throughout the mass media.
SoonerPride
(12,286 posts)The right is crazier than ever.
But the good news is there are more of us than them.
A lot more.
If we eliminate minority rule we can make the country truly great.
Mike 03
(16,616 posts)area. I had to run an errand this morning and was nauseated by the Trump displays, banners, etc... I literally can't understand why anyone would vote for Trump at this point. You'd have to be a masochist and a moron. People in my area are not just putting up traditional yard signs--they are hanging banners, strange flags, unauthorized Trump banners with the "don't tread on me" snake, Trump banners side-by-side with the Thin Blue Line flag, and flags with the original 13 colonies. I'm really noticing how much racism plays into this. I thought my town was better educated than this.
Of course, this town is probably, hopefully, a sad aberration.
Sympthsical
(9,054 posts)Which feels just plain odd. I live in the Bay Area. My town is 62% Democratic. But its a little rural, so I see right-wing things now and then. Always hits strangely.
brush
(53,758 posts)Critical thinking skills absent.
unblock
(52,163 posts)my sense is that biden knows a strong political wave when he sees one and will ride it as he comes into office.
with both houses of congress and a nation eager for reform, i think biden will fix a whole lot.
i certainly hope so. if we don't make huge strides fast, republicans will be right back at it. assuming we win the trifecta in 2020, we can't lose either house in 2022. two years is not nearly enough to fix the damage.
Sympthsical
(9,054 posts)magicarpet
(14,143 posts)... having gone full Fascist is a clear indicator.
I think visionaries remain in America... 98.7 % reside in the progressive wing of the liberal party. They will be the ones to lead us from this contrived political, economic,and societal morass.
Much work to be done,.. so that this grand experiment of DEMOCRACY was not done all for not and totally in vein.
Truth,.. goodness,.. compassion,.. empathy,.. caring,.. hope,.. making of a better tomorrow must prevail or we as a people and commonwealth have failed the species of humankind. That is a war and a battle we can not ever surrender to.
Brush yourself off.. march to the poles,.. strive with all you effort and might to make the world a better place. Yesterday was your starting point.
Be Well,.. Be Brave,..Be Healthy.
Shermann
(7,409 posts)That was around 4 weeks ago, which is the point on the 538 chart where the election stopped tightening and reversed course.
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2020-election-forecast/
I've talked to a number of Trump voters who felt betrayed by the irrefutable reality that he knowingly downplayed the pandemic.
Arthur_Frain
(1,846 posts)Woodward...
RBG....
Losers and Suckers....
Trump catching Trumpflu....
Who knows what motivates the walking dead to finally vote, but maybe its here. Whatever the straw was, I hope I wake up November 4th happier than Ive been in 4 years, and then on Inauguration Day, I hope I get to burn a righteous splif which, (hopefully) will be legal for everyone else stateside, hopefully soon.
Shermann
(7,409 posts)I don't recall the subject being broached during the debates. I don't believe it is high on Biden's priority list either.
I say let the people smoke. Reel in the young vote. Personally it's not my thing but it is demonstrably a very low risk activity and seems to make people feel better. Occasional escapism is a healthy thing. Republicans have permanently escaped from reality.
Arthur_Frain
(1,846 posts)Doesnt really need to be, Ive fully expect a Biden/Harris ticket with majorities in the house and (hopeful) senate to be able to see the writing on the wall though.
Fully legal in Canada, good luck stopping the flow of BC Bud over that border. Legal per state law for recreational use in enough states now, good luck stopping that flow too.
Need revenue? Legalize it fully and tax it. Right now, its helping keep the economies running where its legal, dispensaries being deemed essential in most places once it gets in place.
I mightve even heard out of the Biden/Harris camp that removing it from sched one status is a first year goal thing.
Celerity
(43,240 posts)I am not say all of the following is even needed, but these are the only truly giant aces left to flop to utterly set the stage for either a kinetic civil war, or the semi-peaceful dissolution of the union. IF these listed below all do occur, there will indeed be dissolution attempts.
1 Trump steals re-election, and the now 6-3 RW SCOTUS yawns and wishes him well
2 The Rethugs hold the Senate in both 2020 and 2022 (and only two years are needed if the 2 liberal-SCOTUS justice-affecting events below do indeed become reality)
3 Breyer dies or steps down, as does Sotomayor (due to her chronic severe Type-1 diabetes) and Thomas retires and is replaced with a far younger model of RW thug, all with Trump ramming through 3 replacements into a Rethug Senate, this yields a HARD RW 8-1 SCOTUS, and a fairly young one at that
4 The 2020 Census is tampered with to a large extent by the Rethugs, and the Rethugs continue to hold vast majorities in state legislatures. This will FUCK us in EV apportionment, as well as resulting in further illegal (but not struck down) gerrymandering, and massive (trillions of dollars at a multiplicity of levels over the next ten years) are robbed from the American people, especially within the Blue states and within the most vulnerable people nationwide.
5 The radical RW SCOTUS (even if 6-3), spurred on by hundreds (thousands?) of radical RW test cases sent up the already RW-stacked Federal Court food chain from Red State AG's, dismantle the vast majority (including Roe v Wade) of most all civil rights and minority protections gain post 1954 (Brown v Board) including, quite possibly, Brown itself. Women, workers, LGBTQ+, African Americans, the poor, and all ethnic/religious minorities are stripped of most legal class protections. Trump or the next Rethug POTUS nationalises the tyranny, sending in the feds to enforce this hellscape on the Blue states who viciously (and rightfully) resist.
That dystopian nightmarish series of events will yield a breakup (or a massive civil war attempting to do so) of the union by 2040 at the latest. The Blue states will never submit to the christofascist Gilead-style rule of law, governance, and RW power projections, especially when it is brought inside their borders.
Bonus insanity:
Trump makes a play for a 3rd term, the Rethugs back him, and the radical RW SCOTUS says his manoeuvre IS constitutional, (they have absolute leeway to rule ANY WAY they wish, there is no constitutional force to stop them other than impeachment and removal, which will be impossible at that point). At that horrific inflection point, only extra-constitutional measures (or his death) can remove Trump. Those measures would quite likely require a military coup d'état, which in and of itself, is the death of the nation as we know it.
Turin_C3PO
(13,941 posts)I don't think Trump will be able to steal this election. I believe he'll be behind on election night and will have to accept mail in votes as his last hope.
If we win the Senate, I think we'll have the votes to eliminate the filibuster and expand the court as well as adding DC and PR as states. I believe even our most conservative Dems will go along with this as long as Biden and Schumer twist their arms.
Remember, even though Repubs unfairly have power, the demographics heavily favor liberals. As the minority population increases and the more liberal younger generations start voting in larger numbers, more and more red states will flip blue. Hell, once Texas turns blue, it will be almost impossible for the Republicans ever win the Presidency unless they moderate towards the center. I think our future is likely pretty good as long as Dems get out and vote.
Celerity
(43,240 posts)and that statement is based off us holding a 53-47 majority, probably even 54-46.
I have posted extensively with links and lists on all this. feel free to check them out.
here is one
https://upload.democraticunderground.com/100214264999#post15
It is insanity, IMHO. I tried my best to get rid of Feinstein (and not just for this) but Kevin de León (whom I voted for in the jungle CA primary and then in the general) lost despite me working my social set HARD (obviously I am but one person, so taken in the totality of things, I have fuckall for power, and it takes tens of thousand, hundreds of thousands of 'Celerities' to make an impact in CA state-wide elections)
We have far too many bi-partisanship-loving moderates and centrists to effectively combat an completely radicalised Rethug congressional group. A pack of rattlesnakes (the Rehugs now) will bite yer arse even it you talk nice to them. People who champion continued attempts at comity and working with 'moderate Rethugs' are leading us down the path to ruination from multiple perspectives. Rethugs now want total power, and want us (literally) dead or enslaved in a christofascist Gilead of their choosing. There is no compromising with them (although when it comes to expansion of the MIC and a continued patting on the back of systemic banking control, I am sure bi-partisanship will magically appear ) It will also magically appear, I fear, to scupper the public option (forget about M4A ever passing for decades, if ever) Also, if our party is driven even further to the right (chasing the mythical moderate Rethugs, etc) we are going to bleed out HARD on our left flank. I can hear the new mantra from that centre.right friendly crowd now: It will be some variant of 'We can never ever have a Trump again, and if we do not accept and attract the centre right, we will have another Trump and will have less power, as it is a centre-right nation now if we do not make ourselves centre-right friendly'.
Peacetrain
(22,873 posts)He never promised anything would be easy.. that there was a lot of work ahead of us to correct the ship.. and we are up for this..
Sympthsical
(9,054 posts)I was a little feet to the fire with Obama. Critical and contrary. Im not doing the with Biden. I dont care what that man does. Ill be his biggest cheerleader.
Tommy_Carcetti
(43,157 posts)On the other hand, I worry it's almost a little too quiet at this point.
Aristus
(66,307 posts)a little to the left.
Kamala Harris is further to the left than he, and she may be a positive influence on him. Then if he chooses to serve only one term, Harris is positioned very well for a Presidential bid.
leftyladyfrommo
(18,868 posts)I think people are just sick to death of politics.
SlogginThroughIt
(1,977 posts)We need everyone to know that we are going to have to keep democrats in power longer than just this one election. The damage that has been done is going to require that republicans are not to be trusted. This is going to take a decade to fix. And to be honest we also need to keep on our own team and make sure they are doing what we are putting them in place to do.