aggie08

Humor us.

I agree with this to an extent. Once it became abundantly clear that nothing was going to be able to convince the majority of Americans that the economy was pretty good--or at least recovering decently--it was probably all over. People are going to vote for themselves and their own above all else--not that I blame them--and that makes it easier to ignore/rationalize the character of who you're voting for. And people have really short fucking memories. Those factors plus the built-in Trump base and, yeah, the VP pick probably don't make a shit.

Just so we're all on the same page, to which wacko policies are you referring?

Having difficulty deciding which is worse: This being the thing the Helobious is finally right about. Or four years of Brisket's doom and gloom somehow underselling the result.

He is brilliant at self-promotion, realizing there's no such thing as bad press, and the benefits of flooding the zone. He's the perfect candidate for our current social media/podcast/pure propaganda media sphere. I will not deny him that. He's also one of the least intellectually curious human beings ever to hold high office. I was specifically referring to winning a majority vote and having Jan 6 and classified documents swept neatly under the rug. Not financial. Though, I think he's done just fine with his various and many grifts. His first Presidency had a handful of competent people in the room, and a cabinet that wanted to win re-election. It's going to be off the walls. The safeguards will hold, but they will be stretched.

Trump isn't evil. He's just the biggest narcissist the world has ever encountered. He'll threaten prosecuting Jimmy Kimmel or some dumb shit, tweet out some insanity at 3am, then he'll get bored and go play golf. The concerns are who he appoints where and how much he lets them talk him into things when he knows he has absolutely nothing to lose.

Again, you guys thinking that this won't be much different than the first go round are being purposely naive. He's a petty, vengeful, profoundly stupid man who just found out that, not only are there no consequences for his actions, he gets richly rewarded for them. He now (rightfully) thinks the the majority of America wants him to enact his wildest desires. Do you think his comments about finding generals who would just obey is just more Trump speak? What about RFKjr running the CDC, among many other institutions? Anyone who he can appoint will absolutely be a loyalist, qualifications be damned. Sure, our institutions will probably hold, and Trump co. is lazy, old, and incompetent. There will be a new President in 2028. But it's sure as shit not going to be business as usual.

Definitely going to have to now. I think--even with how many of us actually ARE former reliable R voters--we all recognize that this is a bubble. And being educated and not having to live paycheck to paycheck is another bubble. The talks of a Kamala blowout were always hopium, but I felt the pollsters essentially predicting a coin flip were right on. I would have had to consume something to the right of Fox News to think that this reality was even a slight possibility. I'd wager that over 75% of my closest friends, family, and co-workers probably voted for Trump yesterday. Most educated and well-off themselves. So I'm not totally insular, and I obviously know Trump voters who aren't dumb, conspiracy-theorist nutjobs. While it would be easy to say, "Oh, it's just because, at the end of the day, people vote with their wallets no matter who that person is." But I feel like there's more to it than that to get this many non-traditional MAGA votes aligned on the side of someone who sounds absolutely batshit crazy every time he opens his mouth. So I am now out of touch with the majority of the electorate. Anecdotally, the transgender stuff probably made a bigger impact than expected. Yes, on the extremes, the GOP went to full-on transphobia and told hateful lies about surgeries in schools, litter boxes, and literally and girl who looked too masculine. But I know many parents with more reasonable concerns--unfounded or otherwise--and the Dems certainly didn't do much to reach out to quell those fears in a rapidly changing world.

And Pennsylvania.

So are you on "he's a liar" or "he's grossly incompetent" bandwagon as to why he won't be able to accomplish many of the fascist things he's blatantly stated? No, I don't think democracy is ending, but to act like a Trump administration filled with exclusively hand-chosen unqualified loyalists this time around is just another political term is being incredibly naive. The checks and balances will probably hold. Hopefully. But people are absolutely going to die in the process. They already have (women dying of miscarriages, for starters). You and I will be mostly fine though. Cool.

I absolutely whiffed on that one. There were more than a handful on the D side brave enough to sound the alarm months (years?) ago. I talked myself into the power of the incumbent (with tanking approval and a perceived terrible economy?), and SOTU speeches not being a complete disaster. His legacy is going to be much, much worse than what his accomplishments actually were. Didn't run in 2016 when he would have won handily. Didn't leave with nearly enough time in 2024 for a full process.

Biden didn't give them many options. Biden had absolutely zero shot post the debate (and probably similar before the debate, if we're being honest). Seriously, imagine him having to come out and speak in front of crowds on a regular basis down the stretch of this campaign. His cratered approval was going to start any replacement candidate in a hole. They chose what seemed to be the least shitty option. It is what it is.

You're probably right. Most of us in non-vulnerable communities, generally speaking, will be mostly fine. But we're banking on Trump being an incompetent liar, correct? I posted this in another thread, but it fits here: I get it, man. We're all blowing this "threat to democracy" thing out of proportion, and maybe none of our fears will transpire if Trump is reelected (you know, just like Dobbs). But, for that to be the case, you have to believe one of three things: 1) Trump doesn't mean, or is lying, about virtually everything he says. Because he blatantly says anti-Democratic shit every day. So nothing be says should be taken at face value. Who gets to decide what he does mean? 2) Trump and co. are too incompetent to carry out any of their radical agenda. Cool, sounds like someone who should be given the Presidency again with nothing but his sycophants this time at his side. 3) We have checks and balances in place to restrain his more competent attempts at fascist tendencies. Why the fuck do we have to keep testing our system to the absolute limit to see what breaks?

That's not at all what happened with the Haitians, if that's what you're referencing. The mayor was pretty damn emphatic about a labor shortage. They were taking jobs poor white people wouldn't. Only to then be targeted by them. But that's Trump's America. That allows Ukraine to retain its sovereignty? Obviously a positive. Just like unicorns flying down from rainbows to attend my daughter's bday would be positive.

To Trump's team's credit, I noted a couple of weeks ago that his TV ads down the stretch during every football game were actually really good (lies, but not so blatant and crazy, portraying strength, and zero of Trump actually speaking). Hers were just okay. A completely uninformed voter, seeing his and her ads side by side probably picks him. Might have helped shore up the late deciders.

America just proved that it doesn't actually give a flying fuck about issues. The economy was the number one stated concern, but economists were virtually unanimous that Harris's plan has more potential to reduce costs than Trump's incredibly short-sighted tariff nonsense. No one cares what experts say anymore. It's all feels and propaganda.

So, just so we're clear, a whole shit ton of people just voted the way they did because inflation/costs are too high, and their candidate is going to roll in with tariffs and promises of deporting what you'd agree is a pretty valuable workforce. Leopards and faces and what not. But I'm sure not sending our old military stock to Ukraine will offset those additional costs. Or something.

Thank you for an actual response. I think you're being willfully ignorant about Putin's influence in the country and why Russia wanted desperately for Trump to be President. But we'll see. Also, we both know what would actually put a real dent in illegal crossings: real, significant penalties to any company caught employing an illegal citizen. Why do you think it is that the GOP would never, ever vote for something like that?

Unless they buy up a bunch of blatant propaganda outlets, not sure how it changes.

Care to let me know which fascist shit he says that I should take seriously? Thanks. It gets really confusing who is allowed to properly parse his words.

For sure. I doubt it would have made a difference--and certainly a tight rope to walk--but she should have tried harder.

No response to this?

I obviously meant under the circumstances. What else could have have done that she didn't in 4 months? If anyone says, "Go on Rogan," so help me God.

Bruh.

Well, not everyone. Not even close. But yes, most. And we will have a new President in 2028. Between now and then, Ukraine will almost certainly be abandoned. Russia will regain their strength and be more meddlesome than ever. Harlan and Koch will pay off Thomas and Alito to retire early so evangelical Trump appointees can make up 5 of 9 SC seats for a generation. I'll let you decide what that means for LGBTQ rights. So, not the end of the world. But pretty damn shitty. Do you think he'll actually make an attempt at mass deportation, or are those just empty campaign promises?