Mega-Thread: 2020 United States General Election

[beanman12345]

Sheer denial/desperation. Trump supporters right now are all residents of the great state of Denial.

This really, at this stage of the game in 2016 I was going through the same denial hoping for faithless electors, recounts actually affecting it, desperate for basically anything, so from personal experience, I know this is what it is.

[Kallisto]

Nothing would end the Trump term better than Mueller waiting at the bottom of the steps with handcuffs and what passes for a smile on that stonelike face.

I'll almost certainly have to settle for NYC making Trump poor.

Don't steal my wish for the final seconds of the Trump presidency. Get your own

[Omega10]

This was an insane read. Anyone who sees this and thinks AOC needs to "shut up" or "stop being divisive" needs to take a seat.

https://twitter.com/rgcooke/status/1325598436888961024

An article I recently read implies that the democrat's attacks on AOC have quite demoralized her. Hopefully she will unplug a bit and recharge her batteries.

My take is that with the 70 million people that voted for Donald Trump, our (as in left wing) best bet would be for her to work behind the scenes and build up her power base. Going to districts where the democratic party has really bad infrastructure and building her own would be a very good way for her to do exactly that.

From a power struggle standpoint, the US has a LOT of problems ahead of it. Right now, no one as President would have the ability to solve but a few of them. If the left is not involved in the content of the bills that are passed now, then the left will be harder to blame for the things that aren't going well in 2022. I would like to see the squad build up its infrastructure now so that we have more members and powers when there is a legitimate chance for our policies getting passed.

[Zaydin]

This really, at this stage of the game in 2016 I was going through the same denial hoping for faithless electors, recounts actually affecting it, desperate for basically anything, so from personal experience, I know this is what it is.

I have told a number of Trump supporters elsewhere "Losing sucks. We should know; we were in your shoes four years ago. The sooner you accept that you lost the sooner you can get over it".

[Kallisto]

On another note, while I doubt you will take it personally, I'm glad you were wrong that Trump would win. Your posts a few days ago were giving me anxiety attacks. I had to unplug from the news/social media for a bit to calm down.

I feel ya. Even though I'm not American (British/Greek living in the UK) my anxiety the first night seeing the Midwest looking red was through the roof. My partner is American and has health issues to the point she can't work. But reasons stopping her getting the help she needs to rectify it. With covid that makes things tougher for us due to distance and Trump's plans on health care would have pretty much wrecked us going forward. Biden not being perfect but at least he might be able to move US healthcare access to something more first world. Well more so than Trump.

Seeing the Midwestern states slowly turn blue felt like weight coming off my chest.

[Xyonai]

Honestly I find the idea that Democrats always need to capitulate and be the ones to meet Republicans in the middle nothing short of asinine. Left wingers are almost always expected to compromise their ideals when Republicans get to enjoy support while being a big tent to White Supremacists and other like-minded shitheels and it really never made sense to me.

[passingthrew]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWLj2-a6FLI

Sportswriter Rick Reilly Describes How Trump Cheated at Golf

I love golf even though I suck The stuff in that video is cringe like you cant believe. The scramble part of that is ludicrous.

[Veggie50]

I have told a number of Trump supporters elsewhere "Losing sucks. We should know; we were in your shoes four years ago. The sooner you accept that you lost the sooner you can get over it".

Sadly I believe one of americas biggest problems is that the winning side always feels the need to rub it in with the losing side. It does not promote reconciliation.

I get the sentiment, I do. But I urge all Americans (and especially democrats) to step over their own shadow and reach out to the republican voters.

[Kallisto]

Sadly I believe one of americas biggest problems is that the winning side always feels the need to rub it in with the losing side. It does not promote reconciliation.

I get the sentiment, I do. But I urge all Americans (and especially democrats) to step over their own shadow and reach out to the republican voters.

But how do you reach out to a base that supports such insane things to the point that they might as well say they believe 2+2=5

[passingthrew]

Sadly I believe one of americas biggest problems is that the winning side always feels the need to rub it in with the losing side. It does not promote reconciliation.

I get the sentiment, I do. But I urge all Americans (and especially democrats) to step over their own shadow and reach out to the republican voters.

I can only guess what this place was like four years ago. I bet trumpers were out in force.

[Omega10]

Makes me convinced that public polling in the USA just is broken. I remember the polls people kept pulling up to try and explain that americans didn't want M4A, time to come to the conclusion that any poll about american public opinion just shouldn't be taken seriously.

Not only that, but both campaigns seem to pay no attention to public polls and rely on their internal polls that often conflict quite a bit from what public polls say.

There are several times when campaign decisions made by both republicans and democrats did not make sense based on the public polls we get to see, implying that the decisions are made on the basis of polls we DON'T get to see.

[Fugus]

Sadly I believe one of americas biggest problems is that the winning side always feels the need to rub it in with the losing side. It does not promote reconciliation.

I get the sentiment, I do. But I urge all Americans (and especially democrats) to step over their own shadow and reach out to the republican voters.

I think the Democrats need to reach out to Republican voters as much as the Republican voters did in the first 2 years of Trumps presidency. I think the Democrats need to work with the Republicans as much as the Republicans worked with the Democrats during the last 2 years of Trumps presidency.

[Kaleredar]

I think the Democrats need to reach out to Republican voters as much as the Republican voters did in the first 2 years of Trumps presidency. I think the Democrats need to work with the Republicans as much as the Republicans worked with the Democrats during the last 2 years of Trumps presidency.

The "appeal to unity" thing is a good sentiment. But it's too vague.

Right wing people will interpret it as "yes, yes, yes, the left-wing needs to move more towards what we want! They're far too left!" Which is, of course, nonsense. But it leaves room for that interpretation.

Left-wing politicians really need to make what they're saying clear in that regard. "We all need to work together. Americans have chosen to pursue these liberal policies, and we all need to work together to implement them and make them work." Don't frame this "working together" as some sort of meeting in the middle. Frame it as working together... on implementing more liberal policies.

[Resurgo]

Sadly I believe one of americas biggest problems is that the winning side always feels the need to rub it in with the losing side. It does not promote reconciliation.

I get the sentiment, I do. But I urge all Americans (and especially democrats) to step over their own shadow and reach out to the republican voters.

I'm a case by case basis...

For those that I interact with and know them to be generally 'good' people, yeah sure.

For those that I (used to) interact with that were of the 'fuck your feelings' crowd? No quarter. They're getting 'fuck your feelings' and way more tossed right back in their faces.

[Xyonai]

I can only guess what this place was like four years ago. I bet trumpers were out in force.

They were somehow louder and more obnoxious than they are now. But the loudest and most obnoxious have gotten themselves banned for being loud and obnoxious (Or posting Death Threats/Doxxing people).

If you can find it, just check out the previous election thread and the earlier posts in the Trump Shitshow/Discussion thread. Providing the posts haven't all been deleted due to the users no longer existing.

[Fugus]

The "appeal to unity" thing is a good sentiment. But it's too vague.

Right wing people will interpret it as "yes, yes, yes, the left-wing needs to move more towards what we want! They're far too left!" Which is, of course, nonsense. But it leaves room for that interpretation.

Left-wing politicians really need to make what they're saying clear in that regard. "We all need to work together. Americans have chosen to pursue these liberal policies, and we all need to work together to implement them and make them work." Don't frame this "working together" as some sort of meeting in the middle. Frame it as working together... on implementing more liberal policies.

And, if you look at what I posted, it still applies.

The Republicans REFUSE to do that, we can even include the Obama years if you want. Look at their actions in the ACA, they attached like 150 amendments to it to water it down and then still refused to vote for it.

They simply won't work together with anyone unless it is to get what THEY want. So no, they won't work with Democrats on policies they dislike except to damage them.

Edit: Quite literally, we have examples of them purposefully damaging the nation just for their own gain and lying about it. Sorry but that version of working together just isn't in the cards with the Republican party in their current incarnation.

[Xyonai]

Sadly I believe one of americas biggest problems is that the winning side always feels the need to rub it in with the losing side. It does not promote reconciliation.

I get the sentiment, I do. But I urge all Americans (and especially democrats) to step over their own shadow and reach out to the republican voters.

Like, sure, some outreach to the point where we can assure them that we're not going to Ban guns, god, or their favorite burgers but beyond that I say fuck 'em. Their stupid policy choices lead us to a tanking economy riddled with disease and internment camps on our border. If they're going to get a hernia because we dare make getting sick not lead to financial ruin then they can suck it up and deal with it?

[passingthrew]

They were somehow louder and more obnoxious than they are now. But the loudest and most obnoxious have gotten themselves banned for being loud and obnoxious (Or posting Death Threats/Doxxing people).

If you can find it, just check out the previous election thread and the earlier posts in the Trump Shitshow/Discussion thread. Providing the posts haven't all been deleted due to the users no longer existing.

I'm sure it was mostly the same as facebook, in which I purged most of my friends list sadly.

[Xyonai]

I'm sure it was mostly the same as facebook, in which I purged most of my friends list sadly.

A petty part of me wishes the lot of them didn't get banned or outright vanish so we can watch the conspiracy riddled meltdowns... But also fuck 'em. The lot of them were either trolls or deranged shitheads anyway and we don't need to hear from them again.

[Veggie50]

I can only guess what this place was like four years ago. I bet trumpers were out in force.

I know. They did a bad thing, so now you feel it’s your turn to screw them. The cycle continues, as does the polarisation.

Incidentally, this makes a democrat win feel as bad as they feared.

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But how do you reach out to a base that supports such insane things to the point that they might as well say they believe 2+2=5

I know it’s tough, but let branding that “impossible” be their failing, not yours

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I think the Democrats need to reach out to Republican voters as much as the Republican voters did in the first 2 years of Trumps presidency. I think the Democrats need to work with the Republicans as much as the Republicans worked with the Democrats during the last 2 years of Trumps presidency.

An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. Don’t let their failings be yours.

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Like, sure, some outreach to the point where we can assure them that we're not going to Ban guns, god, or their favorite burgers but beyond that I say fuck 'em. Their stupid policy choices lead us to a tanking economy riddled with disease and internment camps on our border. If they're going to get a hernia because we dare make getting sick not lead to financial ruin then they can suck it up and deal with it?

Im not saying ppl need to give republicans what they want politically. Just that people should stop mocking others for being on the losing side