Danny Dravot

I think that is popular but I don’t think it’s all that progressive.

Health insurance isn’t a “basic human right”. Freedom of speech is a human right because it requires nothing of another person for me to run my mouth however I please. But if you are given a right to health insurance, we are granting you unconditional access to another person’s labor. So...not a human right. We should have a system where the truly needy have subsidized health insurance, but that’s much different than calling it a human right and it doesn’t address everybody regardless of their own situation. Why should the state pay for my health insurance or yours?

Really, a poll? Those are getting a great rep these days. What else happened recently that might demonstrate how Americans actually feel about progressive policies? I think there was something, but I can’t put my finger on it.

Matt Gaetz also kept his house seat. Marjorie Greene got into one. Is that because voters are obsessed with progressive policies? No. It’s because smaller house districts enable more heavily ideological candidates. AOC will retain NY-14 as long as she wants it, and those two Republican dingbats will do the same in theirs. However, none of them will ever be successful in running for statewide office. I’d put money on that. Progressivism isn’t as popular as you think. If it was, they’d have taken the Senate easily in a year with a favorable map and a historically unpopular incumbent opponent at the top of the ticket. But they likely won’t. And contrary to your condescending claims, it’s not because the evil mainstream parties brainwash the stupid rubes. How does that even come across as a convincing or endearing argument in your mind? @whitesoxfan99 what does “defund the police” (the popular concept) mean to you? How has it been marketed in your perception? I’m not trying to set you up, I’m legit curious what you think. Personally, I think Americans like the idea of taking some tasks away from police to make their jobs easier while providing more optimal responses to certain situations, but there have also been many of the hoi polloi who act like “defund the police” means they go away entirely.

Demographics change naturally, and voting trends change as a result. That's totally understandable. It was only a couple of decades ago that George HW Bush did this (NJ and Idaho on the same page????) and even more recently that Bill Clinton did this (Arkansas and Cali going together????). We take a lot of the current map for granted and just focus on WI/MI/PA/OH as the end all, be all, and everything else is a mega surprise when it doesn't go in its supposedly promised direction. But by 2040, the map is going to be completely revamped. As a right-leaning moderate, I think this system is great because it favors moderation. More immigration coming from south of the border? Well, Republicans are going to have to appeal to them. Nothing about being born poor in Guadalajara and struggling to learn a new language in a new country guarantees you to vote left, but in our current system it usually turns out that way. With the right message, Rs can change that. At the same time, Democrats got a nasty lesson in FL this round; I don't like AOC but she's still a long way from Castro- yet, try telling a Cuban in Miami that! So Ds will have to tailor their message or risk Florida becoming more permanently red. A Republican party that insists it is now the party of Trump will quickly lose relevance and die. A Democratic party that leans too far towards progressivism will do the same. Centrism is where it's at.

The only possible choice. Congrats, Jose!

What did Daryl Boston do?

Shit. I got an underage drinking citation fifteen years ago and I always wonder if it exists out there somewhere, and if I need to out myself on job applications that ask have I EVER been charged with or convicted of a non-moving offense, and I feel a real sense of anxiety when I inevitably decide that the answer is yes. If I got a DUI yesterday? I'd just throw the whole damn thing out the window.

Haha. If you want to masquerade as some sort of class act, you should probably take down your post about wanting to punch Kayleigh McEnany in the face, tough guy.

That's how I remember the conversation. If you had a different perception of it, you're welcome to share.

I wouldn't mind (I kinda think we should just move on), but I think you're going to be disappointed.

I was arguing with someone in this thread the other day who opposed the Electoral College because it was easily manipulated. He claimed that Silicon Valley could relocate to the Dakotas and Wyoming and turn those EC votes blue. I pointed out that it would take a lot of companies moving their entire worldwide operations into those states, all of their workers being reliable Democrats and accepting a move from Santa Monica to Laramie in the first place, and I got told that I was playing checkers instead of chess. I’m sure somebody on Twitter is raving about this great idea where an ideologically monolithic equivalent of a small city pack up their entire lives in a matter of weeks to secure a desired political result, but beyond the likely illegality of it as a tactic, most people don’t operate that way. Yeah I enjoy my gun rights but if my state came up with slightly more restrictive laws on that topic, I’d cast my vote against those legislators and be done with it. I wouldn’t quit my job, make my wife quit hers, pull my kids out of school and move to another state I’ve never been to. Oh, and one more thing, as ridiculous as that would be, it would actually work. If I though California’s gun laws were arduous, moving to Texas would be an immediate improvement, at least in that one small part of life. Enough people are never going to move to sway an election; you’d screw up your life AND fail to obtain your goal.

I’m Veterans Day shitfaced. 1) @joesaiditstrue, that suuuuuucks. 2) @greg775, unfortunately, I probably agree with you more on policy than I do with anyone else, so could you practice less victim hood, please? If AOC is divisive, point it out. Conservatism is about the creation of the modern world; practice stoicism and a stiff upper lip. “If I said these mean things about [insert liberal heroes], you’d ban me!” is not an effective argument. It’s just whiny. Stop. Good night, world.

Honestly, I'd pay money to see how military members voted for him compared to previous Republican presidents.

I have been an American patriot all my life, and honestly, Trump's version of patriotism really grates on me. First, if you want a cringefest, just google "Trump hugging American flag". I don't know about you, but when I signed up to offer my life for this country, my number one wish was to be represented nationally by a fat cheesedick who never misses an opportunity to hug the flag and transfer Stormy Daniels' bodily fluids onto one of the stars. Second, if military service isn't in your destiny, that's fine. Trump even tends more towards old-school GOP isolationism, so I won't even whip out the chickenhawk smear and beat him up about his deferments. But don't tell us that avoiding STDs was your own personal Vietnam. If someone offers you their Purple Heart, turn them away- don't take it and say, "I always wanted the Purple Heart. This was much easier." Don't claim that being at boarding school was akin to military service. He does this Billy Badass all over the place, including his shenanigans on The Apprentice, but everyone who talks to him says he's a wimp (totally unrelated, but fuck Ted Nugent for similar reasons- Obama should suck on his machine gun, but he peed himself to avoid 'Nam). Third, if it wasn't for Trump's trademark narcissism (and use of pointless adjectives), I would have thought this was a Bernie Sanders quote: "I’m not saying the military is in love with me—the soldiers are. The top people in the Pentagon probably aren’t, because they want to do nothing but fight wars so that all of those wonderful companies that make the bombs and make the planes and make everything else stay happy. But we’re getting out of the endless wars, you know how we’re doing." I don't care if Joe Biden's vision of the welfare state is a bit different from mine. I don't even care if he has different ideas on how to deal with Iran and/or North Korea (I'll leave out China because I think Biden will focus more on human rights violations and not just trade, and I think that is the correct approach). I don't care if he disagrees with me on abortion. I just want a POTUS who isn't a fucking tool.

I like that, and am stealing it for future use.

I don't really want to get into an Iraq War thing, but remember that a vast majority of Congress voted for it. So I think it (edit: unity) is more recent. Also, even though I am on the right, I enjoy watching old videos of Bush addressing Congress after 9/11 and in the crowd, Pelosi and Hillary both are giving a standing ovation. I ran by a house the other day that had a bunch of American flags in the yard and a sign that said, "Yes I'm a Trump girl, get over it!" I ran by the next day, when Biden was declared the winner, and all the flags were gone. Maybe they only put them out for Election Day, but it seemed a little weird to me. My only FB post (after the election but before Biden being declared the winner) said, "No matter what it looks like when the smoke clears, I'll still love our country. I hope you will too." I stand by that sentiment and always will. I saw several tweets late last Tuesday night where it looked like it might be taking a 2016-ish turn where people were saying how much they hated the US. I couldn't imagine conditioning your love of country on the outcome of an election, but maybe that's just me.

Popular vote is TOTALLY irrelevant. If you got more hits in a baseball game, it'd be ludicrous to say, "You can win by six hits and still lose." Well, hits don't determine a winner. Nothing about getting hits in and of itself equates to winning. Same with the popular vote. Saying as much just delegitimizes our system in the eyes of many people. I do believe you are correct that she never claimed she was actually president, FWIW.

Jill Stein filed for recounts in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. Hillary has also mentioned from time to time that she won.

Yeah, but him being an obnoxious sore loser and claiming fraud and verbally attacking our institutions is par for the course. It's a lot different from the civil war some of you guys are talking about. Also, in 2016, there was at least some talk on the left about using faithless electors to demolish Trump's victory and put someone else in the White House. It didn't happen, though. It was talk then, it's talk now. The EC will meet, Joe Biden will be officially "crowned" 46, Trump will whine but ultimately leave on January 20th. He'll probably skip the inauguration. It's ugly, it's stupid, but it's a far cry from any sort of coup.

When this doesn't happen, I hope you'll come to see it for the nutty conspiracy theory that it is.

Please please please know that would never happen. The military leans to the right, sure, but we swore an oath to the Constitution. If he sits behind his desk on Inaug Day and tries to postpone the transfer, the Secret Service is going to forcibly remove him and 99.99% of service members read about it on the news later. We're not going to have any part in that. Not to mention, his comments about McCain and POW/KIA in general, his overall incompetence, and his gross character (I had a soldier booted out for saying a female soldier would "throw pussy" at anyone during an upcoming deployment- sound familiar?) have made him, I think, the least popular Republican president among military members in DECADES.

As in, he needs to be dragged out of the White House? I don't see it. I see him beclowning himself probably up until that day and doing something shameful like skipping the inauguration, but to risk getting himself hurt in an assuredly futile physical confrontation? No way.

I just don't get why we need to have actual people fill the electoral roles. The faithless elector idea is ridiculous. If you win Georgia, you get 16 electoral votes. Period. There shouldn't be any "Will this ceremonial flunky appointed by so-and-so abide by the people of his state and cast his vote for so-and-so? Let's find out!" No way. If Biden wins Georgia, then the Trumpiest dude appointed by Kemp goes up there and casts his vote for Biden. If he tries anything else, the supervisor of the process says, "No, idiot, that's not how this works." Then he Sparta kicks him out the front door, takes the ballot, and casts it for Biden. Shouldn't be hard.

If I saw this comment with zero context, I would have figured you were talking about a mid-tier capo for the Gambino family. Pretty sad that this in reference to the President of the United States. I can't imagine Harry Truman running in 1948 thinking that he needed to win to preserve legal immunity and personal profitability.