2020 Election

It's definitely accurate with the alt-right.

I'm probably in the center-left, and there are a few traditional conservative positions I'm sympathetic with... perhaps our debt shouldn't be 100% of our GDP.

They're just too soon. Trump had 5% in may 2015.

QU Poll Release Detail

 

A big minority seems problematic enough. Especially if another big minority doesn't even vote.

 

I've been thinking about this lately, particularly in terms of those who think Democrats need to pander to those right of center in order to win elections

There's a giant population of people to the left of center who dont vote - and it isnt neccessarily because they're apathetic, it's because they're disillusioned and dont think the Democratic party will represent them

Those are the votes the Democratic party should be concerned with. We dont need two parties to represent the right of center

 

If one only watches Fox News, then I would say the answer is yes.

 

Flag

Probably true but the median age of a Fox viewer is supposedly 68 meaning half of the channel’s viewers are older than 68.

And the average life expectancy for Americans is 78.7 years

 

I get what you mean with that and agree with it. But still wanna nuance the quoted line: every proper functioning democracy should have at least two parties representing one side of the center (so it should have a minimum of 4 viable options/parties) in order to have a meaningful choice.

 

What I think this shows is that democrats can't afford to rest easy (like that "it was Hillary's turn" thinking). In the most pragmatic terms Biden is the only viable candidate. I'm assuming that democrats actually want a chance to win.

Otherwise they can take a lesson from the republicans and toss in the towel so they can play victim for 4 more years.

I have to say though, I think it's odd that Harris is doing so poorly. She should be right under Joe with Bernie a distant third. She's more qualified than most of the others. (And she's not an old white man)

 

What lesson is there to be taken from the republicans throwing in the towel and playing victim for 4 years (other than that its not the way )?

If a party or whole political 'side' like left or right loses they should and can be meaningful and constructive in the opposition.

 

When the GOP propped up McCain and then Romney, to face Obama, it seemed more likely they had been bought off. Especially with Romney pulling an MIA act on election week, just kinda vanished.

There's more "collusion" between the republicans and the democrats than either side with the Russians. Which might lead me to think they are working toward bipartisan goals. (That's actually funny). Instead they're fighting tooth and nail for funding for "legacy" projects, basically wasting time with the back and forth game while collecting a paycheck.

It's like our nation is being run by grocery clerks and tool booth operators.

 

I live in California, and know of Kamala's history. She's got some baggage, and I think others are finding that out.
As an aside, unfortunately I don't see any of the female candidates stepping up. Yeah, I know it's early, but if they want to make that debate next month, they need to be noticed.

 

It just goes to show you don't know what you're talking about.

 

Wow, that was really deep, and added so much to the discussion. I'm mesmerized, mesmerized I tell you.

 

sleepy joe just got out of bed..



we got a kick out of slow joe at work..
Best is the yawning person behind him in Pittsburgh.

 

You don't like her? Kamala Harris is a tough one.

Kamala Harris to Bill Barr: You made the decision not to charge the president

 

what is he suppose to know?

 

Panic

So stop electing grocery clerks and tool booth operators.

I’ve always said that the left have the better policy arguments and the right have the money the thing is if you have a political system where money is a major factor in who gets into power then you are more likely to get people into power that are promoting bad policies.

Garbage in garbage out - and the majority of current right wing ideas are garbage.

I mean look at this forum there is not one right winger that can defend their views, not one.

Oh they post asides, slogans and what they think of as jokes, but really they have nothing of any worth to say.

 

Continuing from the above some people say that we need to compromise and find middle ground between left and right and that’s great if both sides have ideas with some merit which can be discovered through honest and open debate.

But it seems to me that if you compromise to a indefensible bad idea then you still end up with a bad idea

*

Say you have a headache and someone, let call him Mister X, says he can cure it.

Mister X takes you to a room in which in the centre is a caged lion and tells you to place your head in the lion’s mouth

You ask if Mister X can give a rational and reasonable argument for doing that and he replies that they don’t need to because it’s obviously a good idea.

You say that given the nature of the animal it being a large meat eater and that by the way it seems to be very hungry that you think the most likely outcome of putting your head in its mouth is that the lion would bite it off.

Mister X says that your ideas are just based on your anti-lion prejudices and say’s you are an idiot for not following their advice.

Now do you put your head in the lion’s mouth?

How about a compromise says Mister X – you don’t put your head in the hungry lions mouth, but instead you should just put your hand in its mouth and see what happens?

To me a bad idea is a bad idea.

And if even the supporters of an idea cannot defend it from criticism in any rational or reasonable way then it is likely a bad idea.

*

Thing is that I’m hearing policy ideas from many of the Democratic candidates but from Biden and the Republican’s there seems to be very little Biden seems to be pushing the ‘safe pair of hands that can beat Trump’ line and the Republicans seem to be running in circles like a headless chicken lying through their teeth and mumbling ‘Hillary, socialism, no collusion, maga, Hillary, socialism, no……’.

 

Living here in Australia I'm separated from a lot of the debate by the tyranny of distance but my wife is still in Minnesota and we regularly discuss Trump and his policies,from my reading of the situation it looks to me like he will win again in 2020,as to whether that's a good or bad thing well it's probably not for me to say but if he does win again then you can bet your bottom dollar that in 2024 the USA will be a very different country to that when he took office..

 

Chef

If Trump got back in and the Republicans still controlled the Senate I think they could be heading in the direction of something like Turkey, Hungary or Poland.

You would get even further packing of the judiciary with ‘loyalty’ to the party or leader being more important than merit, same in the departments of states, with corruption of data and information to back up party and leadership goals, more gerrymandering and voter suppression been allowed (imagine armed right wingers outside of voting stations in Democrat areas to ‘protect’ against voter fraud), suppression or harassment of the media might even take place.

Some of that will be tried even if it is just Trump and the Republicans lose control of the Senate but even if there is a Democratic President, Senate and House the lessons for any future would be US dictator have been taught.

I mean if the President can close down US Justice Department investigations that they don't like especially those against themselves but order the opening up of ones against their opponents (as Barr seems to be promoting) then it’s not going to end well.

 

That Bernie Sanders is a viable candidate.