US Politics, October 2019 — I guess statement you could say with thread. I made a thread. The thread was PERFECT.

Trump's only scheduled activity for today: presenting the Presidential Medal Of Freedom to Ed Meese.

lol

Trump's only scheduled activity for today: presenting the Presidential Medal Of Freedom to Ed Meese.

― now let's play big lunch take little lunch (sic), Tuesday, October 8, 2019

which would've happened under President Jeb! or Rubio.

omg Ed Meese is still alive???

he thought it was ed grimley; when he discovers the truth, we're going to nuke monaco

his approval ratings are in line with historical norms

This is simply not true. Yes, previous presidents have had, at some point in their term, approval ratings in the low 40s. Some have even dipped below that. But they have all also gotten well above the 60% mark. On inauguration day, Obama had a 68% approval rating. On inauguration day, Trump had a 44% approval rating.

He is historically unpopular. He is, in fact, widely hated. That you persist in thinking otherwise may reflect a deep self-loathing, I don't want to speculate, but it's an empirically unsupportable position. He gamed the system to win. Period. If the Democratic candidate prevents him from gaming the system the exact same way a second time, he will lose.

howbout James Buchanan

unperson otm (in this instance)

The issue with the defeatism itt is that several times, people have called out that the constant, contextless negativity and bleak outlook was triggering to their anxiety and caused them to disengage.

And folks with higher stakes than some of us have also taken time to decry the occasional hyperbolic despair ITT.

So I get we all feel it, but I read this thread for recent news as I find it impossible to keep up, so it's helpful to get the greatest hits here .

I also enjoy everybody's takes on what a development might mean, even if it's not a positive development.

But the kneejerk driveby nihilism can be a put off.

Someone venting their personal anguish is one thing. Constant drivebys of "the world is fucked and we are all gonna die" are aggravating.

Xxxxxxposts

His inauguration numbers were low bc he ran the most scabrous and contemptible campaign ever. He should jave gotten less popular from there but he hasn’t.

I think I'm Big Meese
Herbert Hoover

xp

But point taken. I’m not alone in my dislike of Trump. He is beatable in 2020.

But the kneejerk driveby nihilism can be a put off.

Someone venting their personal anguish is one thing. Constant drivebys of "the world is fucked and we are all gonna die" are aggravating.

yeah I totally agree w this. Large chunks of these threads consist of this, and it's both frustrating and unhelpful and really I just skip huge swathes of them to get to whatever the next actual news/relevant analysis is.

Trump is banking on the fact that he’ll win the close-call states he took in 2016 while running against a candidate who (it doesn’t matter which candidate) will be more popular than the one he ran against in 2016, both due to any of the possible nominees being simply more well-liked than HRC and also Trump’s incoherent presidency coming into play.

That you persist in thinking otherwise may reflect a deep self-loathing, I don't want to speculate

lolol love when ppl go all armchair psychology on datazz

The issue with the defeatism itt is that several times, people have called out that the constant, contextless negativity and bleak outlook was triggering to their anxiety and caused them to disengage.

And folks with higher stakes than some of us have also taken time to decry the occasional hyperbolic despair ITT.

I've been playing shrink and terror on this thread since November 2016. I don't see myself relinquishing this role despite the croaking of despair from some of y'all.

I wonder if those of you who moan the loudest live in red states, therefore have more reason to. I'm surrounded by venomous Cubans and it makes me wanna win, not cry.

We've needed you!

Xpost

which would've happened under President Jeb! or Rubio.

I feel like either one of them might have scheduled at least one other meeting, or reading a briefing packet, into an eight hour day.

I live in one of the bluest of blue states, but my friends from Arizona told me last night that as worried as they were moving there it's nowhere near the red wasteland they expected. In fact, they were pretty adamant that Arizona was purple, which ... I guess, if you're feeling generous. Let's see how 2020 goes.

Defeating the caliphate singlehandedly is exhausting

Xpost

oh there are parts of AZ that are a red wasteland. anywhere not by a city, not by a college, or not on a rez.

That's true of every state, though.

yeah exactly

I think Trump may be losing the moron vote in AZ tho. Saw a jeep the other day that had this scrawled on it: "SICK OF 45. TRUMP HAS NO DIGNITITY"

got to bag it up

Haha

I wish it was 50/50, but red state governments have been in overdrive with voter purges and other forms of voter suppression. The amount of corporate anti-Warren or anti-Sanders advertising will be enormous.

This will help them keep the Senate, but Trump has only his die hard fan base and he no longer gets the benefit of the doubt about how he will act as president. Unlike the last election, which was a referendum on maintaining the Obama status quo under a less-likeable politically-damaged candidate, this election will be a referendum on Trump's first term, no matter how hard the right wing machinery tries to make it about anything else. They'll sell 'fear of the Democrat' as hard as they possibly can, but the only eager buyers for that will be the 35% to 40% who consistently approve of Trump.

Mainly, the democrat has to look reasonably attractive and sane, and have a hell of a good GOTV organization. Unless Trump causes a reverse-coattails landslide, I doubt the Democrats will get the Senate, but they sure as hell need to try.

got to bag it up

irl inadvertent snort

Once you grasp that a sizeable portion of the country will absolutely HATE whatever Democrats get into office and consider all of their policy proposals as treason or a sure-fire catastrophe (even when they are retread Republican proposals), then the next step is realizing you need to play McConnell-style hardball, ram through whatever bills you can, and be willing to run on the results. There's no better alternative.

perhaps worth noting that McConnell has been unable to "ram through" literally *any* legislation. To do so he (or the Dems) would need to gut the filibuster.

(a measure I support fwiw)

I generally have a pretty sunny outlook. My most defeatist/pessimistic thought is that there may always be 30-49% of the electorate who hates the president's guts. It'll just be a different 30-49%. Perhaps that will become the new normal: a pendulum swinging back and forth forever.

Further, I wouldn't be too surprised if every time you have a House majority of the opposite party from the president you will see impeachment rumblings begin on inauguration day.

My more optimistic side does still kinda cling to the notion that a lot of the teahadis / MAGA chuds are pretty old and pretty white. While the electorate of the future will still be full of problematic mofos, those particular problematic mofos will gradually recede from the picture.

"SICK OF 45. TRUMP HAS NO DIGNITITY"

November thread title imo

DIGNITITY

His inauguration numbers were low bc he ran the most scabrous and contemptible campaign ever. He should jave gotten less popular from there but he hasn’t.

Why? He's still the same guy those people voted for. Anyone dumb enough to believe he was gonna have Mexico fund a wall is also dumb enough to believe that the only reason why he can't is because of Deep State or the fact that the swamp hasn't been fully drained yet. They don't care about the racism (in fact, they love it), they don't give a shit that he lies (who cares, FAKE NEWS CNN does it!!!), and they love that liberals get massively triggered by his brain trying to escape through his ears. Only thing that's gonna move the needle is a recession, or perhaps another unwinnable war.

perhaps worth noting that McConnell has been unable to "ram through" literally *any* legislation. To do so he (or the Dems) would need to gut the filibuster.

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, October 8, 2019 1:09 PM (seventeen minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

he's been saving his ramming for the judiciary

yeah but the thing about the judiciary is its a rearguard action, filling the courts with rightwing apparatchiks is a strategy to get legislation blocked/overturned - but what the Dems need is actual legislation passed: on climate change, healthcare, taxes etc. Dems adopting McConnell's strategy will not in and of itself allow them to achieve any goals.

he did abolish the filibuster on supreme court noms

Dems will need to be similarly aggressive with the SC (court packing etc.)

President Dem needs to ram through 7 justices

10-15 just to make a point imo

Buttigieg has a plan for that iirc.

"No way, that's how they got Nixon," is an airtight defense that raises zero eyebrows. https://t.co/XVCx1IhDw3

— Cody Johnston (@drmistercody) October 8, 2019

"Wow, O.K.," responded U.S. Chief District Judge Beryl A. Howell of Washington, D.C., sounding unpersuaded. "As I said, the department is taking an extraordinary position in this case."

— Spencer Hsu (@hsu_spencer) October 8, 2019

Trump team really doesn't get that their reasoning sounds like utter nonsense to anyone with the smallest shred of professionalism.

loyalty first, professionalism...tbd

"Wow, O.K." better be next month's thread title

the only good thing about this administration is the promise of ever better thread titles every day