2024 General Election Thread

Same bullshit every red hat/blue hat drone ALWAYS fucking says. A vote for 3rd party is a vote for the other guy. Back and forth forever, and nothing ever fucking changes.

Now we've moved onto "lol Ireland is small" nonsense. As for emboldening "literal dictators", give me a fucking break. Doing that is practically a central tenet of American foreign policy. You guys think you own the world.

We did a better job as world-owner than China ever would have.
Which isn't saying much, but it ain't nothing.

Of course Ireland is small compared to the super powers in the world. Only a child would say that isn't true.

The problem is not only are you guys small, you feel you can lecture everyone else on what they should be doing, when Ireland contributes absolutely nothing.

So nobody who disagrees with Ireland cares what they say. You literally hide behind the power you criticize constantly. Enjoy your irrelevancy.

China and Russia are not your friends. Again, even a child can figure that out.

Are we just doing jokes now?

‘Americans deserve to suffer under Trump because I disagree with your foreign policy’ is definitely a take.

It's not my take but it's at least as plausible as 'The world deserves to suffer Biden because I disagree with Trumps domestic policy'.

The world suffering under Biden because he's actively supporting the fight against dictatorial expansive powers such as Russia, China, and yes, Hamas, who has stated over and over again they want to destroy Israel for the greater Muslim caliphate they envision.

Putin, Xi, and Khamanei have their hand so far up your ass they are tickling your tonsils.

Another great one. Keep them coming!

You are just completely devoid from reality, aren't you? Russia isn't in Ukraine? Tibet free yet? How are the Uighurs doing? Hamas free the hostages or state that peace is possible with Israel? China tell anybody that Taiwan is free to do as they please, or that the international waters of the South China Sea are not theirs and theirs alone?

Rick has had a mental break.

No. He’s correct. Historically speaking. At least, as far as the period between 1945 and …2020. The US CIA has disrupted the politics of many third world countries and set up dictators who agreed to be a puppet for the US government.

At least, that’s what 80s movies and books would have us believe.

Does life imitate art or does art imitate life?

The reality is that if we had a list of all of the countries that the United States has attacked it would be vastly longer than that one. And you'll still pretend without irony that others are the real danger to world peace.

Which has absolutely nothing to do with whether my statement is true, it's just a whatabout.

The US has provided protection for dozens of countries. We've seen what the Warsaw Pact is and how the Chinese treat subject people. They haven't expanded successfully BECAUSE the US made sure they couldn't.

And the global standard of living has skyrocketed under Pax Americana, which has promoted free trade and provided technological assistance to half the world.


https://ourworldindata.org/a-history-of-global-living-conditions

The chart shows that almost 10% of the world's population live in extreme poverty. It also tells us that two hundred years ago, the same was true for almost 80% of the world’s population. In 1820, only a small elite enjoyed higher standards of living, while the vast majority of people lived in conditions that we call extreme poverty today. Since then, the share of extremely poor people fell continuously. More and more world regions industrialized and achieved economic growth which made it possible to lift more people out of poverty: In 1950 about half the world were living in extreme poverty; in 1990, it was still more than a third. By 2019 the share of the world population in extreme poverty has fallen below 10%.

The world is also making progress against poverty relative to higher poverty lines, as this visualization shows. In fact, no matter what poverty line you choose, the share of people below that poverty line has declined globally.

This despite the world's population growing fourfold since 1030.

But hey, who cares if the vast majority of people's lives are longer, they are wealthier, and education standards have improved while the US provided unfettered access to trade for the world over the last 75 years.

I'm a socialist, and I don't care about reality.

It has everything to do with your statement. It indicates that you're a hypocrite. Your problem is not expansionism and empire, it's their expansionism and empire. Do as we say, not as we do.

When was the last period of world history for which this statement is not true? This is the outcome of science and industry and lots of other stuff that are not dependent on the US as hegemon.

Yes, the US conquered Iraq and made it into the 51st state. You have to willfully not understand the difference.

Out of the last 5000 years of recorded history? Almost all of it. And the free trade and oh yeah, the US willingness to share much of it's scientific advancement with the rest of the world is one of the reasons science has prospered.

Clearly it isn't the only reason, but it is one of the reasons, and we've already seen dictatorships like Russia and China take aim at the lands they want to conquer that they are absolutely planning on annexing in totality and forcing the people to accept their inclusion into their greater regime by force.

My point about Ireland is that you can hide behind that country's irrelevance. It doesn't matter what you do, nothing will change on the world stage. So you can comfortably encourage people to throw away their vote, knowing that no matter who wins, nothing will change for you. And thus, like I said initially, you can stand behind that smug superiority and pat yourself on the back.

Gee, where have I heard things like this before?



https://time.com/6972021/donald-trump-2024-election-interview/

So, sometime after Trump takes office, you can expect the US military to start rolling into Mexico. The European powers will do little more than some embarrassed throat clearing as we no doubt smash our way through Central and South America as well.

Now, do you suppose that North Korea will see this as an opportunity to invade the South, or do you think that the South will invade the North because they know that without the US being there, it’s only a matter of time before the North invades them?

How’s things going to go in the Mid-East? Is everyone still going to pretend to play nice, you think? Oh, hey, and then there’s China. They no longer have to play nice with other countries, so they can act as freely and as viciously as the US has.

It’ll be like the Fall of the Roman Empire with WiFi, nuclear weapons, and global warming! Yeehaw!

But, but, but Gaza....

‘Not civilians’. That’s not ominous at all.

Over at the First Natal Conference funded by the Heritage Foundation and think tanks that helped create the Project 2025 framework, we had huge cheers for the concepts of ending no fault divorce, limited access to contraceptives, and withdraw all subsidies for single parents. It also got a rousing cheer for a complete repeal of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. They want more white people and fewer brown people. Same shit as the Confederacy always sold.

This is what they will certainly try to put in place if Trump wins.

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/04/28/natalism-conference-austin-00150338?cid=apn

Yeah, but that’s just domestic policy. It’s not like denying the humanity of our residents could ever impact our foreign policy.

Right on schedule, the DEA announces their intent to drop Marijuana from Class I to Class III, similar to anabolic steroids. It's still not full legalization, but it's a huge shift in federal drug policy and will greatly ease the sale of licensed providers for recreational and medical usage. The OMB will still have to sign off on this - which my guess will be in October of this year. Can't do good things and have people remember them, they've proven over and over again that they only care what you did lately.

https://apnews.com/article/marijuana-biden-dea-criminal-justice-pot-f833a8dae6ceb31a8658a5d65832a3b8

Thing I remember about Jill Stein in 2016 was that her campaign events were filled with very young people and very old, privileged people. So if you are in one of those groups, by all means, vote for her. But if you aren’t and you’re voting for her you’re kind of an idiot.

This is the only thing I remember about Jill Stein. And yes, even the guy to her right, Willy Wimmer, is a Russian stooge who parrots Russian talking points.

And oh look, the traitor Michael Flynn who plead the fifth under oath that he will support the peaceful transfer of power in the United States and is yet another criminal that Trump pardoned.

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-09-...ussia-Ukraine-conflict-1d1RhxkUUNy/index.html

If you want to know his views on vaccines watch the recent interview he did on Real Time, don’t rely on the media that lies.

We can disagree about how good a guy Biden is, but that aside, that's pretty much how I felt about Mitt Romney.
As far as pot going from Schedule I to Schedule III that's probably about as far as Biden could go. Kind of like Clinton going with "Don't ask, don't tell". Hopefully it won't take as long for full legalization as it did to just allowing gays to serve (more or less) openly.

I don't have time to watch it right now on my lunch break, did he clarify that he no longer believes there is a connection between autism and vaccines, and no longer suggests Covid was targeted at certain races?

Donald Trump on What His Second Term Would Look Like | TIME

Bill Kristol:

Some of us: A second term really would be far more dangerous than his first, it would be real authoritarianism--with more than a touch of fascism.
Trump apologists: No way, calm down.
Trump: Yup, authoritarianism all the way!

This one though:




Also...

What Makes “Project 2025” So Dangerous - by Thomas Zimmer (substack.com)

There is a nervous energy on the Right. A volatile mix of desperation and enthusiasm, delusions of grandeur and a feeling of impending doom – all of it being channeled into a feverish effort to devise detailed plans and strategies, policy agendas, personnel databases, and emergency “playbooks” for a return to power.

“Project 2025,” launched in April 2022 under the leadership of the Heritage Foundation, stands out among these planning efforts because it unites much of the conservative movement and the machine of think tanks as well as activist and lobbying groups behind the goal of installing a more effective, more ruthless rightwing regime.

As the broader public turns its attention to these plans, and most people rightfully react with a mixture of horror and concern, a lot of skepticism remains. What is the role of Trump in all of this: Isn’t it more likely that he is going to mess things up, as he has never shown any interest in meticulous planning nor the necessary discipline to enact an ambitious agenda? The Right may try to present a unified front now, but there are so many groups and factions here, and they don’t all share the same ideas about what America should look like: Shouldn’t we expect a lot of infighting and self-sabotage rather than a well-oiled regime? And most importantly, perhaps, haven’t we been through this once before: Isn’t it more likely we get a repeat of the kind of chaos that was so characteristic of the first Trump presidency?

These questions are important. But too strong a focus on Trump’s erratic nature and the many rivalries on the Right obscures the fact that reactionaries are actually united by the desire to punish their enemies, “take back” the country, and restore the “natural order” of unquestioned white Christian patriarchal rule – a unity that is indicative of a broader realignment on the Right towards an aggressive embrace of state authoritarianism. And those who expect merely more of the same chaos that defined Trump’s presidency tend to overlook the fact that the Right would be operating under much more favorable conditions this time: With a fully Trumpified GOP, a reactionary super-majority on the Supreme Court, and with the omnipresent threat of escalating political violence intimidating anyone who dares to dissent.


Trump world wasn’t ready in 2016. The American Right more generally wasn’t ready – they didn’t have the know-how, the plans, or the personnel to get anywhere close to remaking the nation in accordance with their reactionary vision.

They are determined to not make that mistake again. “Project 2025” is evidence that the Right has concrete plans to take over and transform American government into a machine that serves only two purposes: Exacting revenge on the “woke” enemy – and imposing a minoritarian reactionary vision on society. Four weeks ago, in Part I of my analysis of “Project 2025,” I wrote about the worldview of the people behind these plans who see themselves as noble defenders of “real America” against a totalitarian “woke,” “globalist” assault. “Project 2025” is their declaration of war on multiracial pluralism. Three weeks ago, in Part II, I dove deep into the policy agenda “Project 2025” has produced and the concrete strategies to implement it. As a whole, “Project 2025” is a plan to execute what amounts to a comprehensive authoritarian takeover of American government. It envisions a vast expansion of presidential power over the executive branch. Moreover, “Project 2025” seeks to dismantle certain parts of government, the administrative state, and federal agencies – while simultaneously mobilizing and weaponizing others. Finally, “Project 2025” is a promise to purge from government anyone who is not all in on the Trumpist project and replace them with loyalists and ideological conformists.

There is no doubt “Project 2025” would transform America into a much nastier, much more dangerous, much more hostile place for anyone who dares to deviate from the white Christian patriarchal order. And mainstream America has definitely started to take note. The reporting on the planning operations currently underway on the Right is now extending beyond “Project 2025” itself, reflecting the fact that a variety of rightwing groups and organizations are in the process of channeling their vision for America’s future into blueprints for a second Trump presidency. There is not only what Trump is threatening to do in his deranged speeches, but also the more formalized “Agenda 47” his campaign is working on. There is the “America First Institute,” another decidedly Trumpian outfit that was founded in 2021 by Trump administration alumni: They are working on what they call “Pathway to 2025.” Meanwhile, the “Center for Renewing America,” a conservative think tank founded by Russell Vought, who served as Trump’s director of the Office of Management and Budget, officially hides behind a maybe somewhat innocuously sounding mission “to renew a consensus of America as a nation under God with unique interests worthy of defending that flow from its people, institutions, and history, where individuals’ enjoyment of freedom is predicated on just laws and healthy communities.” But this Center is actually an aggressively Christian nationalist operation that dreams of entrenching its vision of a white Christian America by an extremely restrictive immigration policy and staunchly authoritarian measures, including the invocation of the Insurrection Act, to suppress protest and dissent. All of these groups, just like “Project 2025,” are operating out in the open. But there is also a lot going on below the surface. In early March, for instance, Talking Points Memo reported on the so-called “Society for American Civic Renewal” – a secret society of white male theocrats who hope to use their combined political influence and financial power to overthrow pluralistic democracy and take the country back to at least the late nineteenth century, to before the Progressive Era supposedly alienated America from the natural order of wealthy white male Christian domination.