I don't know.

Doesn't make me hard.

Quote from: Dark Lightning on May 31, 2024, 09:32:41 PMMy take. Union busting and off-shoring of production led to loss of jobs among the lesser-educated. It used to be that there was a blue-collar living wage. Corporate greed killed that. Now, all those disenfranchised people are understandably angry, and the chump whips the anger, all the while working on making those people's situations worse.

This is really horrible, because they actually do have legitimate grievances.  But falling for fake news and con men (people who say covid is a hoax while getting their own jab) and sucking up to oligarch-billionaires (who do they think killed their unions, kept wages stagnant while inflating CEO pay, and shipped jobs overseas?) is such an enormously bad take that it arouses more pity and frustration than anger.

Unfortunately, there's no real way of really getting through to them anymore.  They're just going to have to be outvoted by people with more class solidarity and empathy for fellow Americans.  Decent people still exist and in large numbers - they simply have to vote.  And unfortunately, this frustrated (and frustrating) class of Americans will either die mad that they were helped in some small way or die miserable in a "traditional" conservative backwater without ever putting two and two together.  More's the pity.

edit - this upsets me more than most because I'm somewhat partial to "populism" (the idea that regular people should have more say in politics and political leaders should devote more attention to their needs, rather than the needs of people who own mansions) and there's theoretically a lot of common ground between the American left and right in this, but you start talking details = like a $15 minimum wage - and these people lose their top.  *sigh*  Also, I'm not super thrilled about populism getting dragged through the mud by people like Trump.  I got some flak in 2020 from Democrats who didn't like "populist demagogues" like Trump and Sanders, as if the two were batting on the same team or something.  Elites love Trump not only for the support he gives them, but the support he takes away from people who would actually help the working class.

"Hey!  Wake up, asshole" 😂

Man, Lawrence O'Donnell was on fire tonight.  Reading 34 count of 'guilty'.  Ouch.

https://i.imgur.com/gI77P7R.mp4

hell yeah!

Quote from: ferdmonger on May 31, 2024, 09:04:22 PMThe entire platform is 'retribution'.  It's the only platform needed with MAGAs.   

My take. Union busting and off-shoring of production led to loss of jobs among the lesser-educated. It used to be that there was a blue-collar living wage. Corporate greed killed that. Now, all those disenfranchised people are understandably angry, and the chump whips the anger, all the while working on making those people's situations worse.

Quote from: Dark Lightning on May 31, 2024, 08:14:11 PMIf the chump does get re-elected, we will see what a "banana republic" really looks like. It's all projection and/or fantasy with his cult followers.

The entire platform is 'retribution'.  It's the only platform needed with MAGAs.   

If the chump does get re-elected, we will see what a "banana republic" really looks like. It's all projection and/or fantasy with his cult followers.