Don't blame me, I voted for the other guy. (Politics General)
marinus18
@igotnopicks
That Trump is stupid is not something they need to remind people of. However what they do need to remind people of is how hawkish he is. That he talked about pulling out of Afghanistan but Biden is the one who actually did it.
But also the long term effects of the Abraham accords and moving the embassy should be pushed. I know with that one why the democrats aren’t doing it cause they want people to forget that Gaza exists but I don’t think that’s going to happen.
I think they are doing a good job exposing his corrupt pro-corporate side but they aren’t emphasizing his hawkish side nearly enough.
That Trump is stupid is not something they need to remind people of. However what they do need to remind people of is how hawkish he is. That he talked about pulling out of Afghanistan but Biden is the one who actually did it.
But also the long term effects of the Abraham accords and moving the embassy should be pushed. I know with that one why the democrats aren’t doing it cause they want people to forget that Gaza exists but I don’t think that’s going to happen.
I think they are doing a good job exposing his corrupt pro-corporate side but they aren’t emphasizing his hawkish side nearly enough.
lonewolf
U mad?
JASDF wires warning missiles at Russian aircraft.
That’s a pretty serious warning. The next stage would likely be shooting it down. Putler really wants to start WW3 doesn’t he?
That’s a pretty serious warning. The next stage would likely be shooting it down. Putler really wants to start WW3 doesn’t he?
Background Pony #D717
@lonewolf
Would not be surprised if that’s plan B if Harris makes it into office.
Would not be surprised if that’s plan B if Harris makes it into office.
marinus18
@lonewolf
Russia is not the USSR though. The USSR had about twice the population and had a far more efficient economic system. The USSR’s economy of course wasn’t perfect but Russia’s is far worse. Russia’s economy is pretty much entirely build around it’s oligarchy and just keeping them in power.
Russia is not the USSR though. The USSR had about twice the population and had a far more efficient economic system. The USSR’s economy of course wasn’t perfect but Russia’s is far worse. Russia’s economy is pretty much entirely build around it’s oligarchy and just keeping them in power.
BlitztheDragon
The media is making hay with a new survey showing Republican support among Latino voters is the highest it’s been since George W. Bush in 2004. Now, this is one poll and for all we know it could be an outlier, but it’s fairly similar to another one Pew Research did that showed Harris is winning a similar share of the Latino vote to Biden in 2020, continuing the trend of that Democratic lead eroding.
Now, folks on social media are being really quick to blame “machismo” and being like “Oh well Latino voters are misogynistic and anti-gay” and leaving it at that, but I think there’s more factors at play here. One Latina activist warned that this does not explain why - as seen in the crosstabs of the NBC poll - the growth in Trump support does not appear to have a gender gap, with both men and women under 50 driving the increase in his numbers. She also pointed out that Trump’s improvement could be attributed to a surge of young Latinas registering as Republican in 2020.
One important correlation that has been drawn here and in previous studies is one between voting Republican and anti-Black racism. In that context, it makes sense why Trump and the GOP have pivoted to demonizing Haitian immigrants in particular. By aiming all the anti-immigrant vitriol at Black immigrants, they can keep up the nativist rhetoric without scaring off Latinos, and even courting them.
More broadly, since Latino voters are NOT a monolith and the breakdown by nation of origin is a huge factor, the national and ethnic makeup of immigrants coming into the country at a given point in time is important. Many immigrants who navigated our broken, byzantine, and horrendously unfair legal immigration process tend to resent the ones getting in as asylum seekers or undocumented workers, seeing them as cheating or cutting in line. This gets amplified if those immigrants are coming from a nation a given community has a rivalry with.
Leaving aside the fluid and complex attitude toward immigration policy that Latino voter blocs hold, it’s also important to remember that many Latinos are either small business owners or aspire to become business owners. In that context, Trump’s plans to slash taxes and gut government regulations and oversight become attractive. Latino focus groups have consistently found that besides immigration, the economy and inflation are most important issues to them. And so long as Trump leads on these issues, he’s going to pick up Latino votes.
Then again, all this might be a mirage and the ones who prefer Trump might not vote this year. It’ll be interesting (and frightening) to see what happens, but it’s exactly this reason why Harris flipping Florida and Texas is a longshot.
marinus18
@BlitztheDragon
The myth of republicans being economically competent is very strong even though there isn’t any evidence to support it.
The myth of republicans being economically competent is very strong even though there isn’t any evidence to support it.
Trump actually INCREASED taxes on small business which is something very successfully swept under the rug and the biggest thing regulations usually do is protect small business from big business. The democrats really need to remind people that Trump’s tax “cuts” were only cuts for the megacorps, for small businesses taxes went up. In a deregulated economy small business is at the mercy of the megacorp. But people often find it more appealing to fantasize rather than acknowledge their interests and vote accordingly.
The democrats really need to push the pro-small business angle more. They have a lot of strong arguments there to make especially protecting small shops from corporate giants and cutting taxes for small business.
BlitztheDragon
Yeah, it’s a VERY powerful myth that continues to persist due to the lip service to “negative liberty” and “muh free market.”
And to be fair, it is going to be a tough myth to shake due to how long that perception has been baked into public life since the nation’s founding. The GOP and its predecessors - the Federalists, Adams’ Men, the National Republicans, and the Whigs - have always presented themselves as the party of industrial capitalism and business. Hence why for most of the 19th and early 20th century one of the biggest hard ideological divides between the two parties was over trade (the Democrats supported free trade, while the GOP and its predecessors wanted tariffs to protect and grow domestic businesses).
Background Pony #D717
@marinus18
Bold of you to assume the median voter can think that far and read between the lines.
Bold of you to assume the median voter can think that far and read between the lines.
marinus18
@BlitztheDragon
In a free market the stronger corporations will always dominate the weaker one. So a free market means an oligarchy of corporate giants since everyone else will just be crushed by them. After all why wouldn’t they be?
In a free market the stronger corporations will always dominate the weaker one. So a free market means an oligarchy of corporate giants since everyone else will just be crushed by them. After all why wouldn’t they be?
There is indeed this idea that the interests of small business align with those of big business even though they don’t. The more regulated an economy is the more small business can thrive cause the regulations allow them. Without regulations the weak live at the mercy of the strong. It is likely a very appealing fantasy that someone’s small grocery store can take Wallmarkt head on and win but it’s not realistic.
@marinus18
Bold of you to assume the median voter can think that far and read between the lines.
They indeed can’t read it between the lines. That’s why there needs to be more national media including a far more funded public broadcast to help with that. Corporate media will always side with corporations cause that’s what they are themselves. They also want to attract as many people as possible so they will prioritize neutrality over objectivity. They want the narrative to be that democrats appeal to 50% and republicans appeal to 50%. Rather than the reality that democrats fight for 99% and republicans for 1%.
Commune
🚙
The ridiculous thing about the fearmongering of Haitian immigrants and Haitian voodoo as an extension is that there are legitimate criticisms to be made of Haitian Vodou, but they don’t have anything to do with animal sacrifices or eating pets or curses
Really, the worst thing about Haitian Vodou I can find is that it practices faith healing. And while this is obviously really bad for reasons I don’t have to explain, it’s worth noting that faith healing is only so prevalent in Haiti is because the country is poor as fucking shit and actual healthcare is out of reach for most Haitians
But that doesn’t allow conservatives to fear monger about Haitian immigrants because the only harm being caused is to themselves
BlitztheDragon
Indeed not, and I think Harris is trying to remedy that with her “Opportunity” platform as laid out in her 80+ page economic policy that MSM is now lambasting as too details (nevermind they were haranguing her for weeks for “not having policy positions”)
And it’s why although I am a socialist, in a hyper-capitalist hellscape like the US I have to be pragmatic about it. And I think market socialism would thus be the most viable path towards a non-Civil War end to capitalism in the country. The first steps toward that would be reorienting the country’s regulatory framework to favor small and medium size businesses over big ones, and nationalizing + democratizing industries that tend toward natural monopolies.
Honestly I should put together a roadmap to show how that transition would work.
Background Pony #D717
@marinus18
It’s that dream of “making it big” that’s plaguing that progress and the baked in stigma of “regulations bad” that just gives the smaller businesses the rope to lynch themselves.
It’s that dream of “making it big” that’s plaguing that progress and the baked in stigma of “regulations bad” that just gives the smaller businesses the rope to lynch themselves.
marinus18
@BlitztheDragon
“Opportunity” is just far too vague. They need to be far more direct and say “Trump raised taxes on small business!!!”.
The MSM is too long though not because of excessive detail but rather because of redundant words. It reads like every statement is the first so they go over the basic attitude over and over and over again. There also are a lot of pretty words in it that can and should be cut.
“Opportunity” is just far too vague. They need to be far more direct and say “Trump raised taxes on small business!!!”.
The MSM is too long though not because of excessive detail but rather because of redundant words. It reads like every statement is the first so they go over the basic attitude over and over and over again. There also are a lot of pretty words in it that can and should be cut.
Germany had a very successful system that benefitted small and medium business. It’s been eroded somewhat by the EU but it’s still a model. Democratizing big business is something that Theodore Roosevelt did try but he was defeated before that could get anywhere.
I think the biggest thing is to make it clear how small business is part of the 99% and not the 1%.
marinus18
@marinus18
It’s that dream of “making it big” that’s plaguing that progress and the baked in stigma of “regulations bad” that just gives the smaller businesses the rope to lynch themselves.
The problem there is that those who already made it big don’t like to have rivals so they will sabotage you to make sure you don’t succeed. Lords would also never seriously allow peasants to gather enough power to challenge them.
marinus18
Hey Argentina, how’s that an-cap President treating ya?
His policies are the same as those of Russia in the 90’s, almost to the point that I think he’s copied them literally. They failed in Russia and they are failing now. One of the reasons Poetin was able to be so popular despite being clearly authoritarian is because he moderated those failed policies, brought the abusive oligarchs in line and restored stability in the completely free economy. If you want to see what a completely free economy is like then look at 1990’s Russia. Within a year it became pretty much just a battleground between a handful of oligarchs and any notion of fairness, efficiency or anything else went out the window. If you’re a billionare you usually care more about undermining your rivals than getting more money.
BlitztheDragon
Mmhmm, the fact they’re even calling Milei’s plans “shock therapy” is a bigass tell.
Meanwhile, back stateside, there’s growing evidence that the viral Times/Siena poll showing a yawning gender gap between young voters - with a narrow majority of young men supporting Trump - is one helluva outlier. For reference, those findings are below.
HOWEVER, the results of that poll are not being replicated across other polls.
For a contrast, these polls by YouGov and Pew are more in line with the overall trend that’s emerging:
So while there is indeed a gender gap of about ten or so points between men and women among Zoomers and younger Millennials, both overwhelmingly prefer Harris over Trump.
marinus18
@BlitztheDragon
I think if Trump wins he will be convinced to send hundreds of billions to prop up Argentina’s failed system so that anarcho capitalism doesn’t lose credibility. It’s not the first time this would happen. South-Vietnam had a pretty high GDP and look quite prosperous despite having a horrible economy because the US was propping it up. When the US left the entire system collapsed like a house of cards.
I think if Trump wins he will be convinced to send hundreds of billions to prop up Argentina’s failed system so that anarcho capitalism doesn’t lose credibility. It’s not the first time this would happen. South-Vietnam had a pretty high GDP and look quite prosperous despite having a horrible economy because the US was propping it up. When the US left the entire system collapsed like a house of cards.
There is still this notion that the economy of the Soviet-Union was a failure but I have never seen evidence of that. I mean the economies of most of Eastern Europe weren’t very good but they had to pay huge tributes to the USSR so that’s like saying capitalism doesn’t work because central America is a mess.
With the Soviet-Union itself from most indicators it seemed to do fairly well. There was inequality especially along ethnic lines and economic failures could compound but most people seem to get what they wanted without too much issue. Also most things considered needs were for free and very dependable. Most people of the 90’s seem to think of the USSR quite fondly to the point there was a massive protest to bring back communism that Yeltsin violently crushed.
With the Soviet-Union itself from most indicators it seemed to do fairly well. There was inequality especially along ethnic lines and economic failures could compound but most people seem to get what they wanted without too much issue. Also most things considered needs were for free and very dependable. Most people of the 90’s seem to think of the USSR quite fondly to the point there was a massive protest to bring back communism that Yeltsin violently crushed.
Zincy
In Vino Veritas
Harris raised 55 million at a 2 day event in California, her last major donor fundraiser in Cali until the election.
The haul pads out her already pretty extreme cash advantage on Trump, paving the way for a considerable investment.
Accounting for inflation, the dems have never had this kind of a cash advantage over the Republicans, not even Hillary’s haul over Trump the first go-round.
BlitztheDragon
Just read an interesting thread over on Bluesky that I will transcribe here. Will provide my own added thought to it below.
thinking about how the male loneliness epidemic of late is most likely a direct result of an entire generation of men being socialised in their formative teens and twenties by playing online video games where their only form of communication is engaging in casual cruelty and swapping slursthese men then hit their thirties and only have two set learned behaviours: at work (professionally detached) and at home (can’t discuss emotions because don’t know how, have radicalised themselves to be racist/sexist/trans or homophobic so can’t form friendships with anyone except other gamers)this then creates a feedback loop where they become angry that they can’t find a romantic partner (because women in their 30’s don’t want a boyfriend who can’t talk about life goals and commitments) and complain that women are doing this to them when they’ve done it entirely to themselves
which leads them to joining MRA forums with other disaffected men who are incapable of introspection b/c that’s “gay”; this is the only support system they’re capable of sustaining long term, without realising that it’s just worsening their core issue of not knowing how to connect to other peoplewhich is why the venn diagram of “male loneliness epidemic” and “online hate campaigns against wokeness” are the same goddamn circle. these men have exchanged possible friendships for debate clubs where they say slurs and demean anyone who isn’t them because this is it, this is all they havemen like this demand engagement online (“debate me!!1”) because they don’t understand that friendships aren’t sitting around discussing whether people should have rights; they don’t know how to love people as friends or desire a community where there’s give and take.as someone who’s been on the receiving end of online misogyny, I’m at the point where it’s just sad. I get to hang out with cool people who I love & who love me; these guys are stuck in a cycle of lonely hatred not realising most of that anger is made by the hole they shot in their own hearts
My one main addition to this thread is identifying the on-ramp that led to this toxic feedback loop. I wouldn’t call it 100% self-inflicted as OP does. Rather, the rapid vanishing of in-person third spaces for young adults to meet, bond, and network, alongside the increasing stress and hardships of our profoundly unnatural and unhealthy late-stage capitalist society is what pushed these young men online, where they never learned how to socialize like human beings.
We as a society have failed these young men.
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