2020 US Election

  Quote

The Democratic online fundraising platform ActBlue says it raised $27.5 million in small-dollar donations in the five hours after President Joe Biden withdrew from the race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris.

https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/biden-trump-election-07-21-24#h_ce2278445a6430fa060cb6d4547955c2

$27.5mil in small-dollar donations? in 5 hours? lol goddamn, that should go some way to making clear that this was the will of the people, not just the party leaders/elites.

This will end up being quite the pricey avatar change 

Biden was just as bad as a president like Trump maybe even worse

Bring on the next shitshow

  On 7/22/2024 at 6:23 AM, Ivan Ooze said:

Biden was just as bad as a president like Trump maybe even worse

Bring on the next shitshow

nah.. i mean, i'm not a fanboy of the dems or american politicians in general but the various large bills passed were/are a big deal and will effect america and americans for a generation.  the infrastructure bill will roll out over 10 years. if they somehow don't fuck up the funding it'll continue to be a big deal for a long time.. or at least until climate change makes life even more difficult for people. 

when thinking biden vs trump or any dem vs any republican it's often the things that didn't happen that matter. for example, the affordable care act still exists which allows millions of people access to healthcare.  if it makes it through the courts (currently held up by a bunch of republican governors challenging in court) the debt cancellation for student loans will help countless people buried under school loans.  trump unwound a lot of agencies and left them hanging, unstaffed, unfunded etc.. things that are healthy to exist and help actual governance etc. even staffing the IRS was improved under biden and a few $ billion in taxes from upper crust tax cheats was able to be collected.. basic shit like that.. some of it matters.. some more than other.. 

child tax credit stayed active for quite a long time and was attempted to be made permanent but republicans shitcanned that idea.. that child tax credit lifted so many kids out of poverty.. stable food security etc..  if a democrat wins in november i hope shit like that comes back just for the sake of people who are suffering and barely keeping their heads above water. 

trump gave tax cuts to billionaires and paid for them by tax increases on the middle class over the next like 5 years. it's crazy shit. 

i'm one of those suckers who thinks in terms of harm reduction. there's usually an argument to be made.. sometimes it's about who will cut off only one finger and who will take the whole hand. but it's still worth voting imo.. though there are accelerationists who argue it's better to make things worse faster so the fall will happen and we'll get where we're going sooner.. or something.. but i don't buy that line of shit. 

  On 7/22/2024 at 6:23 AM, Ivan Ooze said:

Biden was just as bad as a president like Trump maybe even worse

Bring on the next shitshow

Exactly finally someone said it!

Wholy shit u gonna hurt the Biden fanboys here with that but man all the shit is exactly the same and yes maybe even worse. 

  On 7/22/2024 at 7:38 AM, cern said:

Exactly finally someone said it!

Wholy shit u gonna hurt the Biden fanboys here with that but man all the shit is exactly the same and yes maybe even worse. 

We really are at the point where most of the internet would rather be a constant emotional reaction rather than a place of understanding and reason, like not letting a child rapist pussy grabbing fascho sexist be the president again.

  On 7/22/2024 at 9:59 AM, chronical said:

We really are at the point where most of the internet would rather be a constant emotional reaction rather than a place of understanding and reason, like not letting a child rapist pussy grabbing fascho sexist be the president again.

Child rapist ?

  On 7/22/2024 at 10:06 AM, d-a-m-o said:

Child rapist ?

yeah like the fascist nazi notions aren't enough right? Granted I added that as a little discussion wasabi but I personally like my presidents of America to not be buddies with Jeffrey Epstein

Cern: Was Donald Trump really so bad?  Give me examples.

(given exhaustive examples)

Lol cry more Biden fanboys.

Yeah I don't think you're after a serious discussion here.

I know the bad stereotype is Middle America is full of Redneck, bible bashing chumps who have loads of guns and no passports but there must be something about Trump which connects to all these people? Just because they couldn't point at a map and tell you all the continents, or recite Wordsworth doesn't mean they are totally stupid. So for someone like myself who takes a modicum of interest in politics I can't work out all the Trump hate. Or is it really as simple as his nationalistic (I don't think he's Hitler level as the far left would have you believe which is absurd) slant on things and his MAGA slogan? Just saying as I'm interested. 

lol

lol

  On 7/22/2024 at 12:21 PM, beerwolf said:

I know the bad stereotype is Middle America is full of Redneck, bible bashing chumps who have loads of guns and no passports but there must be something about Trump which connects to all these people? Just because they couldn't point at a map and tell you all the continents, or recite Wordsworth doesn't mean they are totally stupid. So for someone like myself who takes a modicum of interest in politics I can't work out all the Trump hate. Or is it really as simple as his nationalistic (I don't think he's Hitler level as the far left would have you believe which is absurd) slant on things and his MAGA slogan? Just saying as I'm interested. 

My take on it is that a large portion of his (most vocal) supporters are people who, before Trump, had not really participated much in the whole self-governing thing.  My take again is that they didn't participate because they don't trust or like "the system" for whatever reason.  So the self-governing was left to somewhat reasonable people (shouldn't the people who have interest in the system be the ones to participate?).

Now that a candidate has come along that pretty much said he wants to disrupt and damage the system, these people have come out of the woodwork to rabidly support him.  The rest of us who want to try and keep a functioning democracy with a modicum of decorum hate that Trump is basically the catalyst to destroying that (along with R enablers going back who knows how long, and for the record, the left and left-leaning media is not helping in how they handle Trump and his supporters but that's a whole other ball of wax).

I'm not saying that our system isn't flawed, but I think the hate is coming from the real threat that these people really don't care if the system is severely damaged at the expense of many.

  On 7/22/2024 at 10:06 AM, d-a-m-o said:

Child rapist ?

Epstein Island I assume.

Adult Rapist confirmed though...

  On 7/22/2024 at 1:30 AM, decibal cooper said:

I was initially skeptical about Harris being able to manage American foreign policy, but I did some research and her view of the Ukraine conflict is actually quite nuanced

 

Expand  

That soundbyte is from when she was "was asked to 'break it down in laymen's terms for people who don't understand what's going on".

she continued with:

'It goes against everything that we stand for there are terms that we use we say we respect the sovereignty the territorial integrity of countries, right? their independence. Russia has gone into Ukraine militarily unprovoked, with no justification other than to exercise its power to take over another country.'

If we asked Trump to explain Ukraine/Russia conflict in laymans terms what would he say?

Probably some shit like "Well Ukraine, let me tell you, its all about Putin, great guy Putin, I went to see him last year ... anyway Ukraine is a country in Russia and (etc etc)'

  On 7/22/2024 at 1:09 PM, EdamAnchorman said:

My take on it is that a large portion of his (most vocal) supporters are people who, before Trump, had not really participated much in the whole self-governing thing.  My take again is that they didn't participate because they don't trust or like "the system" for whatever reason.  So the self-governing was left to somewhat reasonable people (shouldn't the people who have interest in the system be the ones to participate?).

Now that a candidate has come along that pretty much said he wants to disrupt and damage the system, these people have come out of the woodwork to rabidly support him.  The rest of us who want to try and keep a functioning democracy with a modicum of decorum hate that Trump is basically the catalyst to destroying that (along with R enablers going back who knows how long, and for the record, the left and left-leaning media is not helping in how they handle Trump and his supporters but that's a whole other ball of wax).

I'm not saying that our system isn't flawed, but I think the hate is coming from the real threat that these people really don't care if the system is severely damaged at the expense of many.

Expand  

Thanks. Appreciate you explaining a little of this 'ball of wax', a great saying I've never heard before

  On 7/22/2024 at 2:58 PM, hayhook said:

Epstein Island I assume.

Adult Rapist confirmed though...

if you want to know why a lot of working class people like trump it's because everyone else more or less abandoned them and he's their hero even though he will not help them at all.  as has been stated numerous times he's doing the thing to lure them in. "big strong man" bullshit, military bullshit, freedom bullshit, make america great bullshit, blaming immigrants and "the other" bullshit, promising big vague winning everywhere bullshit. it's not hard to understand. 

for a deeper look at it there's more than one article and video in here about how the working class/middle class has been left behind by both parties, how the dems through NAFTA, by deconstructing welfare and social safety nets with help of republicans eroded the gains of working class people and destroyed the path to homeownership and all the things part of "the american dream"... but also you have all the culture war bullshit, the gun 2nd amendment bullshit etc.. a lot of these people are triggered. same way the dems trigger people on different issues... the make up of both parties has shifted. college educated people mostly go left.. working class people (other than the sliver of remaining union members) tend to go right over social issues, taxes etc. 

regardless of all these things the billionaire class has captured democracy and policy making and it's clear what is happening. 

  On 7/22/2024 at 9:59 AM, chronical said:

We really are at the point where most of the internet would rather be a constant emotional reaction rather than a place of understanding and reason, like not letting a child rapist pussy grabbing fascho sexist be the president again.

The emotional reaction of the year! 

No but I hear u and I know the guy is a complete fucked up case like totally hungry for power only. But I say USA is a fucking roller coaster of political drama and shit from the White House every single year no matter who's in charge. 

In this topic I agree with Putin (Who is also a complete nuthead) 
In USA they change president and government every fourth year but in reality you can't just put a new tie and suit on every 4th year and becoming 100% up for the task. 
This task is far away too complex for being proven 4th years. 

  On 7/22/2024 at 12:21 PM, beerwolf said:

I know the bad stereotype is Middle America is full of Redneck, bible bashing chumps who have loads of guns and no passports but there must be something about Trump which connects to all these people? Just because they couldn't point at a map and tell you all the continents, or recite Wordsworth doesn't mean they are totally stupid. So for someone like myself who takes a modicum of interest in politics I can't work out all the Trump hate. Or is it really as simple as his nationalistic (I don't think he's Hitler level as the far left would have you believe which is absurd) slant on things and his MAGA slogan? Just saying as I'm interested. 

there was a great post on here probably years ago by I think JoshuaTX (hey where is that guy?) that broke down the psychology of trump supporters into categories. it did an excellent job explaining why people latched on to such an outright arrogant lying a-hole like trump. I wouldn't know how to find it now, may have been in that other trump thread...

anyway, I live in an R state with all those gun loving bible thumping rednecks, and have heard all sorts of reasons why people here say they're voting for him. "good for the economy" "life long republican never voting dem" "I support his view on immigration/abortion/taxes" (which we know he doesn't really have a view on any of these things, he reads the room to grift his way to an answer) are some of the ones I can think of right now.

another commonality they share is the people that say they're voting for him are almost always anti-progress, think that the way it used to be is better than the way it is now. bitch about how bad everything is constantly. they blame politics for how it got this way. they are reluctant to change, usually Jesus loving Christians, view things like science/logic as way too "progressive."  and of course there's the racism factor. they are majority all white people that are slightly (sometimes massively) racist.

most of trump's messaging is rooted from his own personal world view that is soaked in racism/bigotry. he pushes a very 1950's leave it to beaver view of America, which he yells has been ripped away by social progress, immigrants, liberals/dems, etc... trump yammers on about this time and time again. white people in rural pockets of America have somehow "lost" what they once had, and trump promises to give this back to them. he goes on tour to all the small towns shouting this over and over from his pulpit, bands them together in a fight against an invisible enemy...just like the old time religious preachers (or carnival barkers) did back in the good ol days!

I've given up trying to understand them more than at about that level. I know there is a stereotype at play here, and there are other non-white supporters of his that have other various reasons for supporting him. but I mean c'mon...he's the biggest con man the world has ever had to deal with. a con man doesn't really "know" anything. he only knows how to read people and take advantage of them. that is exactly what this guy does. he doesn't give a shit about you, only himself. it is just absolutely incredible that so many people in this country cannot see this, and buy into all his half baked bullshit that changes day by day.

How many percent neglect to vote and which party benefits from this?

I think it would have been smarter for the Democrats to take in someone like Michelle Obama. 
She looks more like a peoples person. 

Or is Kamala Harris a smarter pick to make people step away from the MAGA-Trap? 

  On 7/22/2024 at 6:21 PM, cern said:

Or is Kamala Harris a smarter pick to make people step away from the MAGA-Trap? 

Kamala Harris is a prosecutor. So with her on the ticket, we can finally see Trump being prosecuted. Public trial. XD

the niki haley voter PAC came out in support of Kamala. they're anti trump but conservative/centrist.. which should give some indication of where most people think kamala sits on the left/center/right spectrum. she's more a centrist than leftist and that's appealing (for better or worse) to a bunch of people who want stability and political norms. 

I'm a big fan of Harris' "don't appear as though you are actively in the process of dying" policy, I feel like that's a really positive break from Biden's position in the opposite direction.

I am very hopeful that she wins, since Trump in power could have an impact on my rights in this country for decades to come. Like his VP candidate introduced legislation that would make it illegal for trans health care to be taught in institutions of higher learning, and I'd really like it for doctors to continue learning about my healthcare.

good luck Merka, you're gonna need it at this rate.

  On 7/22/2024 at 7:20 PM, taphead said:

I'm a big fan of Harris' "don't appear as though you are actively in the process of dying" policy, I feel like that's a really positive break from Biden's position in the opposite direction.

I am very hopeful that she wins, since Trump in power could have an impact on my rights in this country for decades to come. Like his VP candidate introduced legislation that would make it illegal for trans health care to be taught in institutions of higher learning, and I'd really like it for doctors to continue learning about my healthcare.

100%. there's always a harm reduction argument to make when it comes to elections.  the idea that "both candidates are the same" fails immediately when taking the harm reduction argument into account.. even in gaza where obviously biden/dems/usa etc was atrocious it'd still be even worse with someone like trump at the helm. hard to imagine it being worse since it's an actual ethnic cleansing/genocide.. but it would be. and domestically, in a million little and big ways it would be so so so much worse for a lot of people already living a perilous life. 

some people have a hard time w/that argument though since it prioritizes health adn safety of privileged americans over the rest of the world but i think it plays out w/foreign policy as well.  but it's impossible to sort of balance the scales and easy to overthink it. i got booted and banned from the r/latestagecapitalism for even suggesting harm reduction arguments about various things. so it goes.