What did the Biden win mean to you?

[Bama Chick 28596]

The Vice President WILL be a woman.

It’s unreal how much that means to me.

And Don Lemon is absolutely PREACHING right now about what this means. If I can find a video I’ll post it later.

[BearSchlong 8077]

4 years ago I voted against Hillary Clinton.  I underestimated the damage that a Donald J. Trump could to to this country.  I was wrong.  I kept pointing the finger at the democrats - "the best you could come up with was the Clinton machine?  It's Hillary's fault that Donald fucking Trump is president!

Oh boy was I wrong - and I've been kicking myself for the last 3 years.  Anyway. . .

My brilliant younger sister was a presidential inten the summer prior to Monica Lewinsky, then law school,  then a lawyer for the FTC, then an associate parliamentarian of the US House of Representatives.  She's the family token liberal.  I've got a photo of her sitting at a conference room table with Bill Clinton and Al Gore and I'll always cherish the earnest idealism in her eyes.

Being the lawyer/referee for the HOR seems glamourous - and it is -  until you wake up at 11pm in the house chamber hearing some freshman representative of no particular importance drone on and on having their pet cause read into the congressional record, and you realize that you're missing out on your kids lives.  She resigned from the House to go play full time mom for a few years and to run some marathons, always intending to return to law practice.  I always loved the fact that I could see her on C-span, sitting in the parliamentarian's pew to the right of the dais, finger on the mute button ready to cut off the legislator unlucky enough to run afoul of House precedent.

Then at 37 she had an ischemic stroke and experienced partial paralysis in her entire right side.  She's done quite a bit of physical and occupational therapy and the biggest lasting effect besides a paralyzed right hand (she's a lefty) is being unable to smile with her right lip and now she talks a little flat, like a Canadian.  Though a member of the Texas and DC bar, she never took the Oregon bar exam and to my mother's horror she's now a lowly legal secretary to the US Attorney in Portland, Oregon - a job that she really loves and allows flexibility for her to still stay super engaged with my nephews' activities.  At that courthouse that Donald J. Trump decided to make ground zero in his attempts to escalate the BLM protests this past summer.

Our summer 2020 conversations were surreal - she was unenthusiastically writing up charges against the people shooting fireworks at the Federal Courthouse, and loathing Bill Barr who wanted them all charged with sedition.  On the weekends, she took my nephews to protests - and had them chanting "No Justice, No Peace, No Racist Police."  The US Attorney, Billy Williams, was content to let protesters be heard, and in several threads I mentioned some emails that were shared with me where he basically said "we need to let these people be heard, we can remove spray paint and fix windows, that's a small price to pay."

Then Trump sent in his goons to escalate things, and we all saw how that turned out.

Tonight I'm so very happy that Biden won, mainly for my sister who still believes in and is dedicated to government service, and her colleagues at the Justice Dept.

 

Edited November 8, 2020 by BearSchlong

[SmokeyTheBear 5562]

The real (and the most experienced to do so) opportunity to reverse the damage this failed Presidency contributed to our Democracy and the previous agenda. Trust that the response to COVID will be substantial and put some controls on it. Quickly strengthening the network of allies to defend against the autocratic wave we are experiencing globally. Hopefully taking this massive engagement by our citizens and finding ways to grow it, as our apathy kills our democracy. 

[aggie08 21434]

10 minutes ago, BearSchlong said:

4 years ago I voted against Hillary Clinton.  I underestimated the damage that a Donald J. Trump could to to this country.  I was wrong.  I kept pointing the finger at the democrats - "the best you could come up with was the Clinton machine?  It's Hillary's fault that Donald fucking Trump is president!

I didn't vote for either, but I was sort of glad that Trump won out of curiosity. Sure, let's try a businessman, and get away from these lifelong politicians for a few years. I (incredibly, unforgivably stupidly) believed that he could bring in some bright minds and fresh ideas from the private sector.* Nope, apart from all of his other lies and failures, he brought in some of the swampiest mother fuckers who ever swamped in Bannon, Miller, Barr, etc., etc. Naive doesn't cut it. I was an idiot.

*What wildly successful CEOs would want to abandon their lives for the scrutiny of politics? And, even if you could find some, who the fuck would want to tie themselves to Trump?

[MC Fresh Breath 4074]

A sense of relief that the crazy and racist rhetoric goes away from the Oval Office.

A sense of despondency that nothing important will change and everything is going to get worse. The corporations didn’t lose.

[BehoId, The Underminer! 11668]

i watched his speech and just felt relief.  like we survived a famine or something.

[usmc0331horn 941]

It means that I can tell my student girls of color that they have representation in the highest office of the land and can fucking get there too.

[used2b 249]

The most personal impact for me is that my 3 tween/teen boys don't have this example of an American president anymore.

[Mole 4320]

The cake is mostly baked as far as the American carnage of COVID goes. You can’t undo the politicizing of basic mitigation measures. Biden will likely be sworn in during another peak of mass death and suffering.

Maybe real leadership will make a dent in that, but I think that issue is largely poisoned. If another crisis hits though, I’m confident that we won’t maximize the death and suffering as a political strategy.

I think we’ll slowly drift away from the constant division in everything to a more normal level of division. A deadly and destructive alternative reality will no longer have the largest platform in the world.

There’s interpretations of facts and then there is the conjuring of alternative facts that we are currently casting off. We’ll eventually move back towards having a functioning society. I think once the normalcy of objective reality and decency returns, most will feel the difference.

It’ll take a lot of work from those who have felt the brunt of the pain from the past 4 years to make this happen. It’s unfortunate that this is the case, but I don’t see another way. Criminals should pay, but the rank and file MAGA will need some measure of grace. It’ll be hard to do, since they gleefully supported such depravity, but there’s no other way for a functioning society.

My hope is that the evangelical church will eventually repent. It’s a long shot, but they’ve killed the church’s witness in America. They’re rightly seen as cruel, selfish, and degenerate. Maybe seeing a decent man quoting scripture and talking about healing and reconciliation will remind them of what the gospel is. Or maybe they’ve grown too accustomed to the ticking of their ears with hatred and greed. Time will tell.

[Willfully Horn 7913]

It means there’s a chance that our executive branch will act on behalf of people. 

Jim Wright says it better than I.

http://www.stonekettle.com/2020/10/oblivion.html?m=1

[Firemans4Horn 17833]

I can breath

Biden isn’t perfect, he is flawed like you and me.

But he isn’t going to persecute transexuals, and minorities, and Guatemalan mothers escaping gang violence, and the poor, and the underemployed, and our soldiers, and people in states that didn’t vote for him. 

I can breathe. 

[fattyflattie 4636]

I’m just happy @Brisketexan won’t have a stroke. It was nice to see someone with a presidential demeanor back in the WH. As someone who leans center right, I have no problem with a Biden WH.  Of course I want a balanced house, but it’s time for the left to have a shot at some of their ideas. Was really fucking stupid for the right to blow their wad with Trump.  Here’s to hoping he’ll keep his promise about being “everyone’s president”, and that the shotgun thing was overblown.  

[yoladu 4067]

39 minutes ago, aggie08 said:

I didn't vote for either, but I was sort of glad that Trump won out of curiosity. Sure, let's try a businessman, and get away from these lifelong politicians for a few years. I (incredibly, unforgivably stupidly) believed that he could bring in some bright minds and fresh ideas from the private sector.* Nope, apart from all of his other lies and failures, he brought in some of the swampiest mother fuckers who ever swamped in Bannon, Miller, Barr, etc., etc. Naive doesn't cut it. I was an idiot.

*What wildly successful CEOs would want to abandon their lives for the scrutiny of politics? And, even if you could find some, who the fuck would want to tie themselves to Trump?

fuck... these past four years, i completely forgot Bannon was an advisor and residing in the West Wing for a year. Unreal.

I could give a long litany of things, but on a purely visceral level,  i will be glad to be rid of the style, the cadence, the way he spoke, the phrases he repeated over and over again, the lying, the slurring, the name calling, the grievance listing, etc.

I will never understand the "he loves America more than any President ever has" trope. Wake up, rubes! He was in it for himself, only himself - whether it be for monetary gain, or for the stroking of his massive ego and the need to be adored.

***and here is he big thing for me.. i am exhausted. He got under my skin. He made me hate him and i feel terrible/ashamed to the degree that I let that happen. I don't want to hate anyone. It's not good for the soul. It's not good for one's health. i fear this Presidency took years off my life; the finite energy I expended defending my sensibilities against his brazen awfulness.

[Helobious 9481]

That I’m an idiot. I truly, sincerely believed Trump was unbeatable. 

[Eskimohorn 5615]

Hopefully a return to something closer to center than Trump’s version of conservatism, to rational, thoughtful, and dignified leadership, and  to have an administration focused on including the concerns of all Americans and not just the card-carrying party line voters. And for my teenage daughter, a remarkable young woman of color, for her to have representation in the level of executive power. 

Imagine right-wing politics as an illusion, with no point on the political scale. If you do this, you realize there is no center because the right’s leadership actually don’t have beliefs. They have rhetoric because they have to, but that’s the extent of it. All they believe in is power. They are fascists. And while “they” are few, their followers are many. Fascists don’t have a big tent.

Biden’s victory and consistent messaging and decency let Trump and his side expose themselves as frauds, who planned to win this election by slowing down the mail, making it more difficult to safely vote in-person, and continue their efforts to purge voters and toss ballots. Oh, and let his buddies on the Supreme Court find a technicality to keep him in office. And they did this in the light of day. And Trump confessed to it all in advance.

I am relieved Biden won. But between Trump and Coronavirus sociopathy, I’m not bullish on Western civilization.

[ndawg 1242]

8 minutes ago, Helobious said:

That I’m an idiot. I truly, sincerely believed Trump was unbeatable. 

The stupidest pack of nonsense I ever bought in to put me within a molecule or two of ending my life. The only people whose idiocy has cost them more than me aren’t alive to tell us about it.

Let me be blunt.

You aren’t an idiot, you just missed something about yourself that led you to ignore the broader reality around you. Everybody does that from time to time.

Learn to love being shown that you’re wrong. The more we get used to that, the stronger we *actually* become.

[atomheartbevo 89447]

3 hours ago, TexArcher said:

It means my country isn't dying after all.  At least not yet.

I have no doubt that if Donald Trump had gotten four more years, the America I grew up in would be gone forever.

I'm glad to see this nation get a second chance at being what it can be, instead of devolving into something unsalvageable.

I don't know how this ends, but I feel like we just had another quarter or two added to the game clock.

[Chuckie Finster 22600]

My son is two years old. He will grasp the general concept of what a President is within the next four years. I’m so fucking relieved that his first impression of that position will be of a good man.

My daughter is two months old. My allergies are already acting up at the thought of setting her on my lap and watching Kamala Harris get inaugurated together.

What a wonderful day.

[52-80 19094]

Nothing really.  US Politics is just reality TV for me.  The absurd-comedic bit of it is over.  Now back to the regularly-flavored shitshow.  If there's 1 thing I can hope for is higher corporate and personal income taxes, and less spending on military. 

[52-80 19094]

3 hours ago, aggie08 said:

I didn't vote for either, but I was sort of glad that Trump won out of curiosity. Sure, let's try a businessman, and get away from these lifelong politicians for a few years.?

The problem with this thesis isn't the thesis itself.  The problem is that Trump isn't a good businessman. 

[NWBuck 8547]

I grew up in a conservative Christian home... Conservative theologically and politically. 

My grandfather was a Republican county official in Indiana for thirty years. My other grandparents from West Virginia had no television, only listened to Rex Humbard and the Blackwood Brothers albums, and canceled their newspaper because Doonesbury made fun of Reagan. 

Like many minister's kids, I believed that the Democrats all carried the mark of the beast; a fact that was reinforced at the Christian College I attended... Where I cast my first presidential vote (GHWB). 

My thoughts and theologies have shifted significantly since then, as have my political alliances. But I have been most overwhelmingly heartbroken, angered, bewildered, and disgusted that the questionable alliance of evangelicals with the Republican party has, over the last four years, turned into a rotting heap of idolatry. That's been documented elsewhere on this site (and it's prior incarnation)... The party soul its soul to Trump, and many Christians followed suit in ways that deserve every bit of loathing and criticism that has arisen... And whatever will occur for them on the day of their judgment. 

So, an Biden electoral victory would provide an affirmation that the brokenness and corruption of the last four years will not ultimately win the day. It would be a glimmer of hope that many of my former spiritual sisters and brothers might now be able to self reflect and course correct... Although, with 81 percent continuing to vote for him on Tuesday, that correction would be a true miracle. 

That's what I thought it would mean to me as I considered the possibility on Tuesday night.

This morning, though, watching the news roll in... Sitting next to my African American daughter and realizing that she had a person at the highest level of our nation who she might now better identify with... I realized that the outcome of this might have a deeper meaning.

At least, that's how I rationalized the fact that I was crying. 

 

Edited November 8, 2020 by NWBuck

[UncleCharlie 334]

I don't think the average person actually understands how bad the last 4 years have been for the USA.  Our standing in the world as a leader has plummeted.  We can't even get our allies to side with us on sanctions against Iran.

The dollar as the world currency is what keeps us ahead of the game and I think 4 more years of our Doritos Locos President would have ruined it.

[youdunnf'dup 2147]

This was the first time I’ve ever voted, and it was in a county that was the center of attention for at least a day or so (Maricopa county Phoenix, AZ). I saw so many tiny dick trump supporters with their huge flags and caravan parades honking down every other street. I was surprised to learn Maricopa turned blue, and as corny as it sounds, I feel like my vote played a part in that. 

[Voldemort86 2259]

4 hours ago, Helobious said:

That I’m an idiot. I truly, sincerely believed Trump was unbeatable. 

I was truly dismayed at how close it was. Trump must have spent 4 years finding every white nationalist, racist, redneck, xenophobe, gay basher, Trans hater, nazi, redneck, trailer trash, confederates and white trash America to vote for him. 
 

I will never admit or say out loud that “ good” people vote for this man. They just don’t. He defies logic, shits on science, lies more than any president in history, has the worst temperament possible for a POTUS, has no empathy, doesn’t know what compassion is, and even half republicans in congress secretly hated him. The man was truly a disgrace. He will go down as a bottom 5 president in history next to incompetent fuckers like George W Bush and Herbert Hoover. Good riddance.

Edited November 8, 2020 by Voldemort86

[youdunnf'dup 2147]

7 minutes ago, Voldemort86 said:

I was truly dismayed at how close it was. Trump must have spent 4 years finding every white nationalist, racist, redneck, xenophobe, gay has her. Trans hater, nazi, redneck, trailer trash and white trash America to vote for him. 
 

I will never admit or say out loud that “ good” people vote for this man. They just don’t. He defies logic, shits on science, lies more than any president in history, has the worst temperament possible for a POTUS, has no empathy, doesn’t know what compassion is, and even half republicans in congress secretly hated him. The man was truly a disgrace. He will go down as a bottom 5 president in history next to incompetent fuckers like George W Bush and Herbert Hoover. Good riddance.

But he blindly supports all police and he makes people stand for the flag, so most white people love him. And I only say most because the numbers are the numbers.

Edited November 8, 2020 by youdunnf'dup

[Voldemort86 2259]

The victory is significant to me. Like the rest if you, I’m disappointed with our performance down ballot, but we will just have to live with it and hope for the best.

we’ve all heard the rumors of Trump idolizing dictators. Taking notes from them. Buddying up to them. Wanting to be like them. It’s discouraging that roughly 70 Million Americans were willing to turn a blind eye to this fact, it’s disturbing that 70 million Americans didn’t give a fuck that Covid has been mismanaged.

I also heard the rumors of Trump wanting to stay president indefinitely. Which is weird because he hates the job, he hates the daily intelligence briefings, he doesn’t like helping people, and he’s a narcissistic jackass. All he wanted was the attention and the power, everything else including the health and well being of this country was not a priority. He truly could care less. During Trumps second term, he would have spent consider time trying to figure out a way to either run for a third term or continue being president as long as he lives. I’ve even heard the rumors of a “Trump dynasty” where they wanted to keep Donald in office as long as possible, then pass it on to Donald jr, maybe give Eric a shot, then Barron Trump for good measure. 
 

we don’t have to worry about these sick nasty people anymore. Biden drove a stake through the heart of the Trump brand. What self respecting person would want to associate with a loser one term president whose been impeached?  Trump is damaged goods now. I can see him doing TV work, but we probably don’t have to worry about this jackass and any of his unqualified children getting close to the presidency ever again.

fuck Trump and fuck anyone who voted for him. He will forever be a giant steaming shit stain on this country. I’m glad this failed experiment is over. 

[Voldemort86 2259]

43 minutes ago, youdunnf'dup said:

This was the first time I’ve ever voted, and it was in a county that was the center of attention for at least a day or so (Maricopa county Phoenix, AZ). I saw so many tiny dick trump supporters with their huge flags and caravan parades honking down every other street. I was surprised to learn Maricopa turned blue, and as corny as it sounds, I feel like my vote played a part in that. 

Your vote will be very import going forward. Arizona is very competitive. Keep voting for the blue side.

[burntorangebongos 10681]

3 hours ago, MC Fresh Breath said:

A sense of relief that the crazy and racist rhetoric goes away from the Oval Office.

A sense of despondency that nothing important will change and everything is going to get worse. The corporations didn’t lose.

No. Don't have this attitude, please. That despondency is white man indulgence. You feel that you are insignificant against corporate power? That you have the ability to see the truth and you can't overcome the forces against the America you want? Dude! You have kids so you HAVE to fight against that despondency. Sorry to pick on you, but you are the one I followed to Shaggy from our old site and I have always seen you as a good dude and rooted for good things for you.

 I think you need to look at people like Stacey Abrams, for instance, and see a person that believes mountains can be moved. She is a black woman who is not many people's idea of beautiful since she is hefty and gap-toothed, and while that shouldn't matter, for women leaders it does greatly. Yet she is a beacon of light with her intelligence and will. She doesn't believe corporations can't be taken down a peg or two. If she thinks that, if Elizabeth Warren KNOWS that and has a plan to make it happen, then you don't get to indulge yourself in sad malaise. Either don't feel the despondency or fucking do something like they do. You don't get to declare a throwing up of hands against it and indulge yourself in other white guys writings about how bad it is and how the world sucks and become radicalized like a Rush Limbaugh listener from back in the day.  Slap yourself in the face and snap out of it. 

There are people that have the tenacity and will to push a giant rock up a hill because they believe it belongs there. They don't throw up their hands. Are they crazy? Maybe, but maybe it feels better to try than to become bitter at the thought of the work it takes.  Some people do and some people don't. But the worst people don't and bitch as if though they tried. 

I've learned this. Progressivism isn't something that will happen with a hard pull left, it happens when the slow steady work of natural leaders make change so. 

[Bama Chick 28596]

This was the first time I’ve ever voted, and it was in a county that was the center of attention for at least a day or so (Maricopa county Phoenix, AZ). I saw so many tiny dick trump supporters with their huge flags and caravan parades honking down every other street. I was surprised to learn Maricopa turned blue, and as corny as it sounds, I feel like my vote played a part in that. 

Thank you for voting!

I hope it won’t be your last - find a cause that’s important to you and get involved, especially locally. Most of the political decisions that effect people are the ones made on a city, county, or state level.

There’s plenty of work to be done between elections and Arizona - as a newly flipped blue state - will need people ready to help build a foundation to make it stay blue.

The only good thing that has come out of this last four years is that so many previously apolitical citizens have gotten off the sidelines.

Seriously, your vote and voice matters! Thanks again for using it!

[Wanker Bob 379]

53 minutes ago, Voldemort86 said:

 

I will never admit or say out loud that “ good” people vote for this man. They just don’t. He defies logic, shits on science, lies more than any president in history, has the worst temperament possible for a POTUS, has no empathy, doesn’t know what compassion is, and even half republicans in congress secretly hated him. The man was truly a disgrace. He will go down as a bottom 5 president in history next to incompetent fuckers like George W Bush and Herbert Hoover. Good riddance.

Some good but ignorant people voted for him in 2016 when he was mainly an unknown and people actually bought into his reality TV bullshit. After 4 years of this shit it's impossible for a good person to support him. America has a ton of shitty people in it and a ton of them live out in the country in every state. 

[youdunnf'dup 2147]

Just now, Wanker Bob said:

Some good but ignorant people voted for him in 2016 when he was mainly an unknown and people actually bought into his reality TV bullshit. After 4 years of this shit it's impossible for a good person to support him. America has a ton of shitty people in it and a ton of them live out in the country in every state. 

I know so many people that I grew up with in Texas that just look the other way. They’re essentially voting against the “woke liberal mob” and they’re voting for “supporting police” with their fake American flag that they changed the colors of (yet kaepernick was the one who disrespected the flag lol). I don’t think they’re bad people, but their priorities are so fucked I have a hard time believing I’ll ever be as close with them again. They definitely aren’t racist, but I can’t fuck with people that tolerate or look the other way from racism for their own personal beliefs. 

[iodeac 138]

I know so many people that I grew up with in Texas that just look the other way. They’re essentially voting against the “woke liberal mob” and they’re voting for “supporting police” with their fake American flag that they changed the colors of (yet kaepernick was the one who disrespected the flag lol). I don’t think they’re bad people, but their priorities are so fucked I have a hard time believing I’ll ever be as close with them again. They definitely aren’t racist, but I can’t fuck with people that tolerate or look the other way from racism for their own personal beliefs. 

This is kinda where I am. I can understand voting for him once, but if you do it again after the last four years I really don't want to spend much time with you. The cognitive dissonance of knowing the same old lady who lives two doors down that brings us spaghetti is the same person who voted for Trump a second time is really hard to reconcile, and I have a lot of other relationships where it'll always be in the back of my head who they supported. I really feel like in several years you won't be able to get a lot of people to admit they supported Trump. I've also seen lots of stories of people already getting rid of their Trump flags and other maga crap

Enviado desde mi SM-G973U mediante Tapatalk

[Horn Dog 9672]

8 hours ago, used2b said:

The most personal impact for me is that my 3 tween/teen boys don't have this example of an American president anymore.

This is an important point.  Trump was amazingly popular with teenage boys cause he has the same mentality.  My previously respectful teenage son and his friends have become turds and spout trumpy one-liners as justification to put down others, especially their sisters.  I don’t think they are being serious, but it takes a toll and seeing the leader of the country act this way definitely leaves an impression on young boys.

For me, Biden winning means that I look forward to causally, and occasionally lurking this forum like before.  That being said, none of us can go back to being politically unengaged.  That is how this shit started.

[Thatguy 8503]

This is kinda where I am. I can understand voting for him once, but if you do it again after the last four years I really don't want to spend much time with you. The cognitive dissonance of knowing the same old lady who lives two doors down that brings us spaghetti is the same person who voted for Trump a second time is really hard to reconcile, and I have a lot of other relationships where it'll always be in the back of my head who they supported. I really feel like in several years you won't be able to get a lot of people to admit they supported Trump. I've also seen lots of stories of people already getting rid of their Trump flags and other maga crap

Enviado desde mi SM-G973U mediante Tapatalk

Took the family out to celebrate last night.

This is where I am as well. There are people in my life that are going to have a hard time washing the stink of maga off of them, and I am a pretty forgiving person. However, the amount of rhetoric they spewed on social media will be hard to forget. They actually let the hate come out for all the world to read and see. No tucking that back in buddy.

Worse yet. My 12 year old daughter got dragged into politics, and it wasn't us. Last year as a 6th grader she got called n**ger by another kid in her grade. A couple days ago a kid called her friends "fags". Kids are coming to school with Trump flags and masks, though the teachers are handling them the best they can. Kids are making comments like Black Lives don't Matter, and all kinds of political bullshit. So we are having to deal with this WAYY before any parent should. To have your daughter ask you why the President and other people hate Black People is a question no parent wants to have to answer, especially when the person asking it is in tears, and you can remember years ago what that felt like when you first felt that same pain. Then having that MAGA shit forced in her face after what she has learned, on her own, what is associated with it is an absolute beating. Nice day at the beach? Here come the MAGA flags. When your 12 year old keeps running in the room to ask who is winning the Presidential election that's a damn shame. They shouldn't even care, but she wants the shit gone as much as we do.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

[Anastasis 23395]

A slight slowing of our nation’s political death spiral. 

[UTGrad98 2258]

7 minutes ago, Anastasis said:

A slight slowing of our nation’s political death spiral. 

The math says you are wrong. Hate is dying off albeit more slowly than we want. What I saw though is that the mountain of current hate will take far longer to chip away. I did not see that coming and that's a shame.

[Mez2 4021]

Van Jones is me 

 

I came home from work yesterday and hugged my two sons and cried tears for them because they wont live in a country whose leader is a racist and denounces minorities. Character matters

[MC Fresh Breath 4074]

5 hours ago, burntorangebongos said:

No. Don't have this attitude, please. That despondency is white man indulgence. You feel that you are insignificant against corporate power? That you have the ability to see the truth and you can't overcome the forces against the America you want? Dude! You have kids so you HAVE to fight against that despondency. Sorry to pick on you, but you are the one I followed to Shaggy from our old site and I have always seen you as a good dude and rooted for good things for you.

 I think you need to look at people like Stacey Abrams, for instance, and see a person that believes mountains can be moved. She is a black woman who is not many people's idea of beautiful since she is hefty and gap-toothed, and while that shouldn't matter, for women leaders it does greatly. Yet she is a beacon of light with her intelligence and will. She doesn't believe corporations can't be taken down a peg or two. If she thinks that, if Elizabeth Warren KNOWS that and has a plan to make it happen, then you don't get to indulge yourself in sad malaise. Either don't feel the despondency or fucking do something like they do. You don't get to declare a throwing up of hands against it and indulge yourself in other white guys writings about how bad it is and how the world sucks and become radicalized like a Rush Limbaugh listener from back in the day.  Slap yourself in the face and snap out of it. 

There are people that have the tenacity and will to push a giant rock up a hill because they believe it belongs there. They don't throw up their hands. Are they crazy? Maybe, but maybe it feels better to try than to become bitter at the thought of the work it takes.  Some people do and some people don't. But the worst people don't and bitch as if though they tried. 

I've learned this. Progressivism isn't something that will happen with a hard pull left, it happens when the slow steady work of natural leaders make change so. 

 

Hey, I'm honored you followed me, and thanks for the kind words. I'd like to think I'm still a  good dude.   I posted how I felt.  "Despondent" was a poor word choice, but I'd had a few drinks.  To go further and argue the points would in effect be thread shitting and there are many on this site, including yourself, who I may disagree with, but I respect and don't want to crap on their celebrations.  I'm glad Trump's out of office.  I should leave it at that. 

 

Edited November 8, 2020 by MC Fresh Breath

[aggie08 21434]

5 hours ago, Voldemort86 said:

The man was truly a disgrace. He will go down as a bottom 5 president in history next to incompetent fuckers like George W Bush and Herbert Hoover.

Man, don't put W in the same sentence as this fuck. You can have legitimate criticism about W's politics and the people he chose to have around him, but, by all accounts, he is a good and decent man. That keeps him out of whatever shit tier Trump's ass is in.

[52-80 19094]

3 minutes ago, aggie08 said:

Man, don't put W in the same sentence as this fuck. You can have legitimate criticism about W's politics and the people he chose to have around him, but, by all accounts, he is a good and decent man. That keeps him out of whatever shit tier Trump's ass is in.

Nice dude, minus all the millions of people that died throughout the wars

[Bat Guano 359]

In the moment, there's a great sense of relief, and that it will be nice to NOT have a leader that is a laughingstock around the world; not having to dread looking at the headlines every morning and wonder, what kind of crazy shit has that asshole done now? There will be a chance to undo some of the damage done in the last 4 years. Some.

But it's going to be a hard road. When Trump made it clear in 16 that he was going to make it a white-male, base election, I thought, well, good luck with that; that demographic has been shrinking for years. And then he managed to just pull it out, and I blamed Hillary: you had one job, and you turned out to be the only person in the country who couldn't beat the orange piece of shit. I think I, and many other people, owe her an apology now. As shown by this election, there are a lot more racist, reactionary, backwards redneck assholes in the country than I thought, and they crawled out from under their rocks in even greater numbers this year than 4 years ago.

Mitch McConnell is worse than Trump, because he's smarter and knows how to get things done, and he's got a all too good chance at holding power (if one of the GA seats flips, is it too much to hope for one R - I'm looking at you, Romney - to switch sides? Yeah, probably, but one can dream, no?). Maybe Biden can work some kind of compromise magic mojo and get some things done, but I'm not getting my hopes up.

But the real problem is when someone smarter and more polished than Trump comes along and runs his campaign again; there will be trial balloons in '22 and a full-fledged authoritarian on offer in '24. Anyone who runs for president is by definition a power-hungry maybe-megalomaniac, and there's a fine line between someone who has the ambition to take on the most powerful job in the world and willingly give it up if he loses, and someone who won't, if he has the chance to hold on to it. Hawley seems to be the front runner so far, but who knows; I don't think he has all that much charisma, but I've been wrong before. The point is, we could be looking at a real fascist next time around, not an incompetent wannabe, and it's been shown all too well that our system is not as strong as lots of people thought or hoped, and may not hold up. And the next one will have the advantage of a pre-stacked federal court system, including the Supremes. Will anyone be able to rouse the racists like Trump did? We're going to find out. I'm not sure I want to know the answer. 

Sorry for being Debbie Downer, and this is a good and necessary step, but it's just the first one of a long march.

Edited November 8, 2020 by Bat Guano

[tbone_ 14024]

I’ve been a regular poster on Hornfans, Shaggy, and Surly for over 20 years. This will be my first post ever in a political forum.

I have only voted for the Democrat candidate for president twice in the 34 years I’ve been voting: the two times Trump was running. I felt like the first time it really was the lesser of two evils because while I didn’t care for Hillary, my belief was that Trump was such an immature narcissist that there was no way he would be good for the country. Turns out he was way worse than I thought he was going to be.

The thing that strikes me about this election is that if it werent for his continual disgusting behavior, and as a result the votes of people who might have otherwise continued to vote Republican who voted for Biden, he would have won a second term. In other words, someone who pursued the exact same policies but was less of a complete jackass at every opportunity might well have been re-elected. I’m not sure I like what that says about us, which clearly I’m not the first to say.

While I generally try to ignore politics as much as possible because ultimately I think it all averages out in the long term and is generally a waste of my energy to follow the minutia, I’m not gonna lie...I really liked Biden’s speech last night. Very refreshing and calming to hear actual mature grown up thoughts and ideas coming from the one in charge.

As an aside, I’m at the point now where neither party really speaks to me. I’ve always been Republican but while I like the low tax fiscally conservative platform, I dont like having the Bible thumping backward social policy crammed down my throat. And honestly, I’m going to have a hard time getting back on board with the Republican Party after watching them embrace Trumps disgusting antics they way they did. And to get the progressive social and climate stuff from the Democratic side you have to accept the big government, high tax side of equation. So basically I’ve decided to completely ignore party politics and try as best I can to decide on character and behavior. (Good luck with that, I know. This is politics after all).

And that’s why I voted for Biden. He’s got his work cut out for him and I wish him the best.

[pacman 7329]

As others noted, it does bring hope of a return to normalcy with Trump fading from the national spotlight.

However, it is also politics as usual with a career Democrat in the White House.

I voted against Trump and fully expect to spend the next four years cussing Biden.

Then, I will likely, once again, vote against whomever is running for the Republicans because they seem content to ride the crazy train of the far right part of their party.

[Bullneck 18987]

4 hours ago, Thatguy said:

Took the family out to celebrate last night.

This is where I am as well. There are people in my life that are going to have a hard time washing the stink of maga off of them, and I am a pretty forgiving person. However, the amount of rhetoric they spewed on social media will be hard to forget. They actually let the hate come out for all the world to read and see. No tucking that back in buddy.

Worse yet. My 12 year old daughter got dragged into politics, and it wasn't us. Last year as a 6th grader she got called n**ger by another kid in her grade. A couple days ago a kid called her friends "fags". Kids are coming to school with Trump flags and masks, though the teachers are handling them the best they can. Kids are making comments like Black Lives don't Matter, and all kinds of political bullshit. So we are having to deal with this WAYY before any parent should. To have your daughter ask you why the President and other people hate Black People is a question no parent wants to have to answer, especially when the person asking it is in tears, and you can remember years ago what that felt like when you first felt that same pain. Then having that MAGA shit forced in her face after what she has learned, on her own, what is associated with it is an absolute beating. Nice day at the beach? Here come the MAGA flags. When your 12 year old keeps running in the room to ask who is winning the Presidential election that's a damn shame. They shouldn't even care, but she wants the shit gone as much as we do.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

 

Birkin with the place of honor!

[52-80 19094]

8 minutes ago, tbone_ said:

 I really liked Biden’s speech last night. Very refreshing and calming to hear actual mature grown up thoughts and ideas coming from the one in charge.

 

His speechwriter appreciates the compliment. 

 

A hopeful thought for the next election might be for more centrist candidates, running on ideas, rather than just a storyline around crazy vs anti-crazy

 

[LTbear 4161]

Optimism. Again, finally. 

[Nivek 16859]

15 hours ago, Irwin F Fletcher said:

To me it means a couple of things. (1) I'm able to right a wrong. As someone who voted for Trump in 2016 it has eaten away at me for the last three years. It was the eye opener I needed to make my own change. Voting in the Democrat primary for the first time ever and voting straight ticket Democrat party in early voting was cathartic for me. (2) It reinforces my belief that there is a ton of good in America that can rise to a challenge and persevere. (3) It means hope for my kids and the future of this country. The fights not done, but we've got some great members in our ranks to carry us through.

Quote

 

 

[Nivek 16859]

15 hours ago, aggie08 said:

I didn't vote for either, but I was sort of glad that Trump won out of curiosity. Sure, let's try a businessman, and get away from these lifelong politicians for a few years. I (incredibly, unforgivably stupidly) believed that he could bring in some bright minds and fresh ideas from the private sector.* Nope, apart from all of his other lies and failures, he brought in some of the swampiest mother fuckers who ever swamped in Bannon, Miller, Barr, etc., etc. Naive doesn't cut it. I was an idiot.

*What wildly successful CEOs would want to abandon their lives for the scrutiny of politics? And, even if you could find some, who the fuck would want to tie themselves to Trump?

They arrogantly thought they could work with Trump and manage him.  They were wrong.  

 

1 hour ago, pacman said:

As others noted, it does bring hope of a return to normalcy with Trump fading from the national spotlight.

However, it is also politics as usual with a career Democrat in the White House.

I voted against Trump and fully expect to spend the next four years cussing Biden.

Then, I will likely, once again, vote against whomever is running for the Republicans because they seem content to ride the crazy train of the far right part of their party.

I hope so. 

[Gunsup 56]

12 hours ago, NWBuck said:

I grew up in a conservative Christian home... Conservative theologically and politically. 

My grandfather was a Republican county official in Indiana for thirty years. My other grandparents from West Virginia had no television, only listened to Rex Humbard and the Blackwood Brothers albums, and canceled their newspaper because Doonesbury made fun of Reagan. 

Like many minister's kids, I believed that the Democrats all carried the mark of the beast; a fact that was reinforced at the Christian College I attended... Where I cast my first presidential vote (GHWB). 

My thoughts and theologies have shifted significantly since then, as have my political alliances. But I have been most overwhelmingly heartbroken, angered, bewildered, and disgusted that the questionable alliance of evangelicals with the Republican party has, over the last four years, turned into a rotting heap of idolatry. That's been documented elsewhere on this site (and it's prior incarnation)... The party soul its soul to Trump, and many Christians followed suit in ways that deserve every bit of loathing and criticism that has arisen... And whatever will occur for them on the day of their judgment. 

So, an Biden electoral victory would provide an affirmation that the brokenness and corruption of the last four years will not ultimately win the day. It would be a glimmer of hope that many of my former spiritual sisters and brothers might now be able to self reflect and course correct... Although, with 81 percent continuing to vote for him on Tuesday, that correction would be a true miracle. 

That's what I thought it would mean to me as I considered the possibility on Tuesday night.

This morning, though, watching the news roll in... Sitting next to my African American daughter and realizing that she had a person at the highest level of our nation who she might now better identify with... I realized that the outcome of this might have a deeper meaning.

At least, that's how I rationalized the fact that I was crying. 

 

Biden did a better job in 15 minutes speaking about the Bible than Trump did in 4 years, and he means what he says (I hope).  I really can't fathom how evangelicals could follow someone who's actions go against everything Jesus himself would do (or not do).  

[Mrs Whiggins 13049]

"What did the Biden win mean to me?"

The first thing: it wasn't about me. That is what the Biden win meant to me. It was about America, the country. And that meant the Biden win was about others. That was important to me. That the Biden win be about others.

My children, your children. Children of all different backgrounds and experiences. Children whose parents brought them here to seek a better life and now are lost from them. Children who have lived here their whole lives and are being returned to a country as strangers. Children whose fathers or mothers were put in jail because the criminal justice system penalizes them for the color of their skin at a far greater rate than people like me.

It was about people who have suffered great injustices and small ones.

People who have to wake up afraid to be who they are because they exist.

People who are isolated.

People who are shouted at, criticized, and hated for pointing out harms to themselves or others like them.

I am one person, and my vote counted for sure, but I wanted that vote to be for the people. That is what I believe our country should be about. Forward.

 

 

The selfish part of my vote is about corruption. It got so tiring to log each and every act of corruption. I'd like a little more circumspection on greed and power in America. That Biden won was hopefully a dent in the armor of unregulated, unmitigated, unrepentant corruption.

 

Edit to add: Oh, and having a woman VP is pretty damn fine, too.

Edited November 8, 2020 by Mrs Whiggins