Trump supporters, how do you square this?

[Hay Man]

Democracy by Sortition

The Case for Sortition in America - Harvard Political Review

An ideal American democracy is not beholden to moneyed interests before the people it serves. It dismantles unjust and undemocratic systems. Sortition is not perfect, but it is far closer to this ideal than what we have.

harvardpolitics.com

That's a really interesting read. How could we ever get the people in power to allow something like that to happen?

 

[#1DieHardHawk]

Regardless of the outcome of today's election, I will make a few predictions:

1. Whoever wins will pardon Hunter Biden.

2. If Kamala wins, there will be a concerted effort at some point to designate Puerto Rico and Washington D.C. as states, the goal of which would be to add firmly democratic electoral votes, making it extremely difficult for a Republican to win the Presidency for at least 20 years.

3. Whoever ends up the House minority will complain about the Filibuster.

4. If Trump wins, there will be the expected social upheaval, most of which planned and supported by Antifa, and every executive decision he makes will be vehemently promoted as examples and/or proof of his planned "dictatorship," and,

5. The losing faction will claim various types of election interference and unleash a barrage of legal challenges, driving all of us crazy for the foreseeable future.

 

[Westernhawk]

Democracy by Sortition

The Case for Sortition in America - Harvard Political Review

An ideal American democracy is not beholden to moneyed interests before the people it serves. It dismantles unjust and undemocratic systems. Sortition is not perfect, but it is far closer to this ideal than what we have.

harvardpolitics.com

Thank you. It's a compelling article.

In our current state, extremely wealthy people and companies have a LOT more say in our government than they should.

 

[SCHawkeye2]

That's a really interesting read. How could we ever get the people in power to allow something like that to happen?

Never happen.
Unlike many in this country, career politicians DON'T vote against their best interests

 

[Fryowa]

Regardless of the outcome of today's election, I will make a few predictions:

1. Whoever wins will pardon Hunter Biden.

2. If Kamala wins, there will be a concerted effort at some point to designate Puerto Rico and Washington D.C. as states, the goal of which would be to add firmly democratic electoral votes, making it extremely difficult for a Republican to win the Presidency for at least 20 years.

3. Whoever ends up the House minority will complain about the Filibuster.

4. If Trump wins, there will be the expected social upheaval, most of which planned and supported by Antifa, and every executive decision he makes will be vehemently promoted as examples and/or proof of his planned "dictatorship," and,

5. The losing faction will claim various types of election interference and unleash a barrage of legal challenges, driving all of us crazy for the foreseeable future.

I am not a republican or democrat, but I firmly believe Puerto Rico should be made a US state if their population decides in a vote that they want it. 3M population (more than 19 current states), and they have to live under our governance for the most part. There's no reason they shouldn't be given the same social security and other benefits we get. They should also be allowed to vote. Adding another state would also benefit the US as a whole. Good for the goose and the gander. I don't care what their political affiliations are.

 

[#1DieHardHawk]

I am not a republican or democrat, but I firmly believe Puerto Rico should be made a US state if their population decides in a vote that they want it. 3M population (more than 19 current states), and they have to live under our governance for the most part. There's no reason they shouldn't be given the same social security and other benefits we get. They should also be allowed to vote. Adding another state would also benefit the US as a whole. Good for the goose and the gander. I don't care what their political affiliations are.

I'm not necessarily advocating one way or another, but, if there is an aggressive effort, you can bet that the motivation will be almost exclusively political, regardless of what a Harris administration states.

It's a bit of a slippery slope, though. The remaining territories would be quick to jump on board.

On a side note, I'm convinced that the whole "open border policy" was initially a clandestine scheme to turn Texas blue, but the idea got out of control and ended up blowing up in the face of the administration.

They didn't anticipate Abbott's move to bus the immigrants to sanctuary cities and the resulting backlash. By the time they tried to salvage the crisis after denying it existed for three years, it was a complete disaster that they are now trying desperately to spin.

Opinions obviously will vary on that issue, but the way it unfolded over such a large amount of time screams intent.

 

[Gibsonian]

I am not a republican or democrat, but I firmly believe Puerto Rico should be made a US state if their population decides in a vote that they want it. 3M population (more than 19 current states), and they have to live under our governance for the most part. There's no reason they shouldn't be given the same social security and other benefits we get. They should also be allowed to vote. Adding another state would also benefit the US as a whole. Good for the goose and the gander. I don't care what their political affiliations are.

No taxation without representation, same as it ever was.

 

[SCHawkeye2]

I am not a republican or democrat, but I firmly believe Puerto Rico should be made a US state if their population decides in a vote that they want it. 3M population (more than 19 current states), and they have to live under our governance for the most part. There's no reason they shouldn't be given the same social security and other benefits we get. They should also be allowed to vote. Adding another state would also benefit the US as a whole. Good for the goose and the gander. I don't care what their political affiliations are.

It's like the1850's except the battle is admission of liberal state v conservative state. The only way the Republicans will allow PR to become a state is the concurrent admission of some conservative territory to offset the legislative impact and negate the shift in balance of power.

 

[99topdawg]

 

[PCHawk]

I'm not necessarily advocating one way or another, but, if there is an aggressive effort, you can bet that the motivation will be almost exclusively political, regardless of what a Harris administration states.

It's a bit of a slippery slope, though. The remaining territories would be quick to jump on board.

On a side note, I'm convinced that the whole "open border policy" was initially a clandestine scheme to turn Texas blue, but the idea got out of control and ended up blowing up in the face of the administration.

They didn't anticipate Abbott's move to bus the immigrants to sanctuary cities and the resulting backlash. By the time they tried to salvage the crisis after denying it existed for three years, it was a complete disaster that they are now trying desperately to spin.

Opinions obviously will vary on that issue, but the way it unfolded over such a large amount of time screams intent.

You're probably right on Texas, but I'm thinking the swing states were probably more important to them. If you correctly place 5 to 10 million illegals around the country and fast track them to citizenship, our elections will be as pointless as 3rd world countries.

 

[NCHawker]

I'd be curious what Trump voters cite as 3-4 most important reasons were. What was even more interesting is the senate and house are now Republican.

They'll dismantle a lot of nonsense in Dept of Health and Human Services I hope...but that may be headed up by Kennedy.

The DEI / CRT / Gender Theory ideologies that is inculcated in the schools will be rolled back.

I'll be curious to see exactly what policies ensure related to illegal immigration.

I hope he does not abandon Ukraine, not sure Republicans will go along with that.

 

[PCHawk]

I'd be curious what Trump voters cite as 3-4 most important reasons were. What was even more interesting is the senate and house are now Republican.

They'll dismantle a lot of nonsense in Dept of Health and Human Services I hope...but that may be headed up by Kennedy.

The DEI / CRT / Gender Theory ideologies that is inculcated in the schools will be rolled back.

I'll be curious to see exactly what policies ensure related to illegal immigration.

I hope he does not abandon Ukraine, not sure Republicans will go along with that.

I assume he will push peace through strength everywhere. Hopefully he audits where all of our money went in the process.

 

[NCHawker]

I assume he will push peace through strength everywhere. Hopefully he audits where all of our money went in the process.

Someone said it, when we provide military aid we're just generating revenue for the American AeroSpace and Defense industry. And there are probably people in congress who quietly benfit from that. I think that is a bipartisan deal.

 

[#1DieHardHawk]

I'd be curious what Trump voters cite as 3-4 most important reasons were. What was even more interesting is the senate and house are now Republican.

They'll dismantle a lot of nonsense in Dept of Health and Human Services I hope...but that may be headed up by Kennedy.

The DEI / CRT / Gender Theory ideologies that is inculcated in the schools will be rolled back.

I'll be curious to see exactly what policies ensure related to illegal immigration.

I hope he does not abandon Ukraine, not sure Republicans will go along with that.

Not a Trump voter, and not necessarily looking forward to 4 years of watching him and cringing at what he says, and his sophomoric tweets and insults.

That said, do I think he is the Antichrist and second coming of Hitler, an unhinged maniac that will dismantle the constitution and rule as a dictator for life imprisoning any and all who oppose him? No.

I'm also no political expert, but I think there are several factors that allowed him to win.

1. Harris is a terrible candidate. Let's face it, I think even the majority that voted for her deep down would agree. When Biden was unceremoniously pushed aside, Pelosi, Obama, et al, had to choose her. Not doing so would seem highly disingenuous and not in line with their self-imposed identity politics. But, they did so with major reservations. She's vacuous, can't think on her feet, unable to answer pointed questions and has a history as the most left-wing voter in the Senate. A more measured Democratic moderate would have won this election.

2. In many ways, I think this is a referendum on far-left woke policies. The Democratic party gambled that moving far to the left and force-feeding woke policies to appease the coastal liberal elitists would be accepted. It wasn't. Hopefully, it's a lesson learned. I've respected many moderate Democrats over the years, and that shift was highly disconcerting.

3. Sanctimony and hypocrisy. Both parties are guilty here to varying degrees, but the same forces within the Democratic party that drove the far-left shift took both to the extreme the last 3-4 years. I think that a large portion of the American people grew tired of the holier-than-thou preaching from the pulpit, and being labeled and marginalized whenever there was resistance or push-back. There is a huge irony here, in that the party that has been preaching inclusivity and tolerance transformed into a party that dismissed and demonized any and all who questioned its ideals and policies.

At the end of the day, I find it sad and depressing that we were forced to choose between the two. I couldn't find it in myself to vote for either, and I sincerely hope that the system will find a way to give us common sense candidates in the future that have at least a degree of honor and integrity.

 

[NCHawker]

Not a Trump voter, and not necessarily looking forward to 4 years of watching him and cringing at what he says, and his sophomoric tweets and insults.

That said, do I think he is the Antichrist and second coming of Hitler, an unhinged maniac that will dismantle the constitution and rule as a dictator for life imprisoning any and all who oppose him? No.

I'm also no political expert, but I think there are several factors that allowed him to win.

1. Harris is a terrible candidate. Let's face it, I think even the majority that voted for her deep down would agree. When Biden was unceremoniously pushed aside, Pelosi, Obama, et al, had to choose her. Not doing so would seem highly disingenuous and not in line with their self-imposed identity politics. But, they did so with major reservations. She's vacuous, can't think on her feet, unable to answer pointed questions and has a history as the most left-wing voter in the Senate. A more measured Democratic moderate would have won this election.

2. In many ways, I think this is a referendum on far-left woke policies. The Democratic party gambled that moving far to the left and force-feeding woke policies to appease the coastal liberal elitists would be accepted. It wasn't. Hopefully, it's a lesson learned. I've respected many moderate Democrats over the years, and that shift was highly disconcerting.

3. Sanctimony and hypocrisy. Both parties are guilty here to varying degrees, but the same forces within the Democratic party that drove the far-left shift took both to the extreme the last 3-4 years. I think that a large portion of the American people grew tired of the holier-than-thou preaching from the pulpit, and being labeled and marginalized whenever there was resistance or push-back. There is a huge irony here, in that the party that has been preaching inclusivity and tolerance transformed into a party that dismissed and demonized any and all who questioned its ideals and policies.

At the end of the day, I find it sad and depressing that we were forced to choose between the two. I couldn't find it in myself to vote for either, and I sincerely hope that the system will find a way to give us common sense candidates in the future that have at least a degree of honor and integrity.

great post.

the problem with most political discourse is that it quickly degenerates into competing juvinile monologues.


I saw a tweet last night that said something like I can't believe so many millions of people hate women. Think about that for a minute. The writer fails to consider that people are experts in their own motives. we can not determine another person's motive or consience for them. An alternative would be, those democrats are blood thirsty satanic baby killers. The point is that people should stop and at least consider that most people have good intentions...even if we think their missing something.

I hate the childish retoric.

 

[PCHawk]

Someone said it, when we provide military aid we're just generating revenue for the American AeroSpace and Defense industry. And there are probably people in congress who quietly benfit from that. I think that is a bipartisan deal.

It's not only bipartisan, it's mostly a Republican move. Trump's only a Republican by name tho. He clearly has no interest in feeding the military industrial complex. That should make almost everyone happy. With our track record of choosing which countries we need to "save" I'm surprised anyone still buys it.

 

[Glass1/2fullguy]

I’m most excited about the “make america healthy again” agenda. Not sure what that looks like but glad there’s going to be a major emphasis on health and getting healthy as a nation. It’s gonna take a long time but my hope would be someday American can be less dependent on pharmaceuticals.

 

[PCHawk]

Has anyone seen the total numbers of the popular vote? Harris is at 15 million less votes than Biden and Trump has less too. There's no doubt some can be explained by less mail in voting or Harris being a shitty option (Biden was better?). But 15 million less? Maybe those videos of all the ballot dumps had some merit? Or maybe Trump cheated this time and found a way to eliminate votes. That's equally possible.

 

[Will C]

If we want the parties to work together just propose a congressional pay raise. For the most part politicians are there to get rich and help themselves. That is why the parties give us two candidates we would rather not have. And the candidates are almost always too old. The great unspoken issue in this election seems to have been that the public is not ready for a liberal black woman. I thought she was a good campaigner and that Trump was not this time.

 

[PCHawk]

I’m most excited about the make “america healthy again” agenda. Not sure what that looks like but glad there’s going to be a major emphasis on health and getting healthy as a nation. It’s gonna take a long time but my hope would be someday American can be less dependent on pharmaceuticals.

I see a path where they kill Trump and force Vance to backtrack on Trump's promise to Kennedy. Either that or just off Kennedy. Either way, these are really rich powerful people Kennedy is going to try to expose. They aren't going to go down without a fight.