Mega-Thread: 2020 United States General Election

[Elegiac]

It doesn't matter. The only thing Trump had going for him with the Hillary investigation hit the airwaves right before the election is that he was still an unknown quantity and how he would be as a President. There were plenty of people willing to give him a shot because he wasn't what they viewed as a career politician with skeletons in her closet.

Well said. I would also like to point out something that has changed regarding the DOJ now than, saw, a few months ago:

Lafayette Square.

Barr's involvement in such (and you can be your ass he was, because otherwise he wouldn't be trying to distance himself from it) is a pretty universally condemned action - as you can see by the number of Republican defections - and it has had the effect of revealing Barr for the toady he is. It's difficult for people to take a claim of "Biden is working for Ukraine" seriously from an AG under investigation for using chemical weapons on peaceful demonstrators and clergy.

Basically, the next few months are going to have to be spent on damage control over these protests. And Trump doesn't do damage control.

[Omega10]

I fully expect something much worse to happen before the elections in November, namely a power grab by Trump and the GOP the kind the USA hasn't seen before.

I hope the people of the USA are ready to face such a thing, because as Biden claimed: "Americans don't want a revolution."

Biden is correct that Americans don't WANT a revolution. Depending upon the details of the power grab, well the US may get one anyways. And it won't be beneficial to Trump supporters.

People are more and more blaming Trump supporters for Trump's bad behaviors. The people who stormed the Wisconsin government building with weapons held high wanted to imprint their image around the country and around the world. They got what they wanted. They should have been more careful with what they wanted. And the disgust that people feel for these creeps is being transferred to the rest of the Trump supporters. The harder Trump supporters fight, the more disgust they generate.

[fwc577]

I fully expect something much worse to happen before the elections in November, namely a power grab by Trump and the GOP the kind the USA hasn't seen before.

I hope the people of the USA are ready to face such a thing, because as Biden claimed: "Americans don't want a revolution."

Won't happen. The GOP knows it won't succeed. They're constantly staving off Trump from doing stupid shit as it is. He doesn't have the power and authority of a king despite the fact Trump thinks he does. The GOP knows he doesn't have it and they're tolerating it for him hoping for a Biden win but with GOP Senate control remaining intact.

We're seeing bigger GOP politicians coming out against Trump now. His reign is near the end.

[kreationkin]

Obviously, the best rankings for America as a country are 3, 2, 1, 4.

I'm sure that 3, 4, 2, 1 is superior. The continual damage Trump is causing is accelerating and I don't know if we can handle 4 more years of him regardless of who controls congress.

[fwc577]

I'm sure that 3, 4, 2, 1 is superior. The continual damage Trump is causing is accelerating and I don't know if we can handle 4 more years of him regardless of who controls congress.

Short-term, this might seem correct. Long-term, if we have a Senate majority who handcuffs Biden with investigation and stalled legislation, they can go into 2024 and say, "See how terrible Biden is, he's done the least of any President ever."

[kreationkin]

Short-term, this might seem correct. Long-term, if we have a Senate majority who handcuffs Biden with investigation and stalled legislation, they can go into 2024 and say, "See how terrible Biden is, he's done the least of any President ever."

Yes, but I still find that outcome preferable to a scenario where Trump is president for 4 more years, riles his base further, and continues to accumulate executive power while people still think that legal constraints matter at all to him.

[Elegiac]

Joe Biden passes Hillary Clinton in polling milestones as multiple national polls indicate he has a majority - yes, that's over 50% - of support.

[SirBeef]

I fully expect something much worse to happen before the elections in November, namely a power grab by Trump and the GOP the kind the USA hasn't seen before.

I hope the people of the USA are ready to face such a thing, because as Biden claimed: "Americans don't want a revolution."

Don't worry the 2nd amendment so called patriots, will be doing nothing and LOLing becasue Trump is owning the libs. But we all know, if Trump was a Dem they would armed to the teeth at the WH daily screaming tyrannical gubment.

- - - Updated - - -

Joe Biden passes Hillary Clinton in polling milestones as multiple national polls indicate he has a majority - yes, that's over 50% - of support.

Yup. Still need to get out there and vote, but his numbers at this point are far better than HRCs at this point in 2016, especially in swing states.

[Elegiac]

Yup. Still need to get out there and vote, but his numbers at this point are far better than HRCs at this point in 2016, especially in swing states.

I mean, what is a swing state when Biden actually stands a solid chance of winning Texas AND Georgia?

I did not think I would live to see a more universally hated President than Dubya but, here we go. We might be looking at a 2008 redux.

[SirBeef]

I mean, what is a swing state when Biden actually stands a solid chance of winning Texas AND Georgia?

I did not think I would live to see a more universally hated President than Dubya but, here we go. We might be looking at a 2008 redux.

I don't think it's a sold chance, I would say they are in play. Beto was up in poling against Cruz and still lost.

[Omega10]

I mean, what is a swing state when Biden actually stands a solid chance of winning Texas AND Georgia?

I did not think I would live to see a more universally hated President than Dubya but, here we go. We might be looking at a 2008 redux.

In a way, Dubya set the stage for Trump. The biggest difference is that people are putting a lot more blame on Trump supporters as compared to Bush and his supporters.

Dubya won 2 Presidential elections, and America was rewarded with the Great Recession, otherwise as the Mancession due to the number of jobs lost by males.

[Felya]

In a way, Dubya set the stage for Trump. The biggest difference is that people are putting a lot more blame on Trump supporters as compared to Bush and his supporters.

Dubya won 2 Presidential elections, and America was rewarded with the Great Recession, otherwise as the Mancession due to the number of jobs lost by males.

Indirectly... he was so unpopular, he created the Tea Party, to even justify voting republican.

[Omega10]

Indirectly... he was so unpopular, he created the Tea Party, to even justify voting republican.

His approval numbers were low 30s I believe at the end of his term.

Here is another reason (as if we need more reasons) he is so disliked. Bush broke a lot of stuff while he was President.

This is from https://www.thebalance.com/national-...events-3306287

National debt numbers (debt is in millions of dollars). The stop points are the third quarter of each year.

Let's look at selected years:

Near end of Clinton Presidency:

1998: $5,526 (5 and a half trillion)
2001: $5,807

So at the end of the Clinton Presidency, and the first year of the Bush Presidency, we had an average of less than 100 billion a year deficits.

The last years of the Bush Presidency were quite different:

2007: $9,008 (note that even before this, he had jumped up the deficit by a LOT, some of which can be attributed to 9/11.
2008: $10,025 (our first year the deficit climbed by over a trillion dollars a year. He multiplied the annual debt increase by a factor of 10.

Note that the official national debt was considerably lower than this 1.017 trillion because so much spending was "off budget".

2009: $11,910 (the year shared between Bush and Obama was the peak of the deficit at this time because Obama slowly but surely healed the economy that Bush broke so badly)

Bush started with deficits of around 100 billion a year, and ended up with deficits of 1 Trillion a year, or 1,000 billion a year.

Bush broke the US economy in a lot of ways. Fortunately, Obama was able to repair a lot of the damage that he did.

Make sure Trump loses in November, because so far he has been significantly worse than Bush in so many ways. A democratic President in 2028 may not be able to repair all the stuff broken by Trump.

[Ghostpanther]

Won't happen. The GOP knows it won't succeed. They're constantly staving off Trump from doing stupid shit as it is. He doesn't have the power and authority of a king despite the fact Trump thinks he does. The GOP knows he doesn't have it and they're tolerating it for him hoping for a Biden win but with GOP Senate control remaining intact.

We're seeing bigger GOP politicians coming out against Trump now. His reign is near the end.

He still enjoys a 87%+ approval rating within the Republican Party. It is just some of the establishment Republicans do not like him because some of them are still suffering from personal reasons they dislike him. Like how could he beat so soundly, a member of a long time political career family ( Bush )? And how could he win the Presidency when I failed so badly ( Romney ) ? Or I could have beat Hillary and he comes along and takes it away from me. ( Kasich. )

If he loses, it will be because he lost too many in the groups he carried when he won in 2016 ( namely independents ) and could not pick up enough in other categories to make up for it.

[Elegiac]

He still enjoys a 87%+ approval rating within the Republican Party.

Uh huh.

And "the Republican Party has essentially become the party of "white males without a college education", that "87% of Republicans" number becomes a lot less impressive. The protests over the past fortnight have finally killed the myth of the "Silent Majority", hun. Even if Trump wins reelection, he will have no popular mandate and his rule will be one entirely maintained by force, not democratic consent.

You had your chance to fix things in 2012. Reince Priebus of all people laid it out in black and white; refusing to give up the bigotry and xenophobia that has characterised the party since Reagan is a demographic time bomb that is, finally, going off.

But no. Instead the GOP decided to double down and go full on Neo-Confederate, and now they're likely to be swept away by a second push for Reconstruction just like the dead racists they idolise.

[Felya]

If he loses, it will be because he lost too many in the groups he carried when he won in 2016 ( namely independents ) and could not pick up enough in other categories to make up for it.

If Trump carried independent voters by 1%, what do you call all of electorate going to Hillary by 3%? Total domination?

[SirBeef]

If Trump carried independent voters by 1%, what do you call all of electorate going to Hillary by 3%? Total domination?

Well considering Trump considers a historical bottom third electoral win a landslide, then yes.

[Hobb]

More good news, Biden now leads Trump in Michigan by 12%.

Making it Biden 53% and Trump 41%, placing the state further out of Trump's hands.

And as a side note:

Fox News polls released Wednesday showed Trump trailing Biden in three other battleground states the president won in 2016: Ohio, Wisconsin and Arizona.

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaig...-michigan-poll

[DocSavageFan]

Which is considerably lower than it had been. His GOP approval ratings beginning to drop is actually a huge deal. Thanks for pointing that out.

Looks like Biden is a slam dunk.

[Hobb]

A big race to keep an eye on is going to be Texas. With Biden and Trump polling neck and neck those 38 votes could be yuge.

Well, as a Texan I'll be doing my part to change it blue this election