The Politics Thread

[DRW50]

 

[Juliajms]

I'm running out of words to describe how awful some of these events are.

 

[Khan]

Far Lefties: "But...Hillary [as President] would have been So. Much. Worse."

 

Really?  How?  How would anything that Hillary might have done as President, Commander-in-Chief and CEO of the United States been worse than separating children from their parents and then having them die in captivity?

 

Don't get me wrong.  I, too, bought into the "Hillary Would Be TERRIBLE" hype (although, not enough to vote for Trump).  But, there comes a point when you have to admit you were wrong.  

Edited May 23, 2019 by Khan

[DramatistDreamer]

[Khan]

If he's found guilty, will they hang him?

 

Asking for 150+ million people.

[IvanBraith]

But you didn't vote for her, either. We're in this mess because of people like you.

[marceline]

 

At least he admits his mistake.

 

I voted for Nader. It took me years to be able to admit to myself what a mistake that was and years more before I could admit it out loud to other people. Khan has made that journey in a fraction of the time and has become one the most politically thoughtful people I know. If you want to go after somebody, go after the people still defending staying home or spite voting.

[DRW50]

Yet another reason not to trust loud Twitter voices.

 

 

[Juliajms]

I agree with you spite voting is particularly galling. I'll never understand it. 

 

Beyond that all anyone can do now is move forward and vote in 2020.

[Khan]

 

I do.  People who voted for Trump, for third parties, or for no one at all, simply because "their man" (or woman) was not on the ballot, did so, because their station in life afforded them the opportunity.

 

I mean, it's easy for Berners who are predominantly Caucasian, predominantly upper- and upper-middle class, and predominantly Christian and heterosexual to vote for Jill Stein or Gary Johnson, or to stay home, isn't it?  Because, even if Hillary had won and had made a gigantic mess of everything, how much would they have lost -- I mean REALLY lost -- by the time she was through?  For that matter, how much do you think they will actually lose before TRUMP is finished (if he ever finishes)?  Only those who TRULY stood to lose a lot with Trump getting elected (and who knew it) were willing to set aside their hurt feelings and everything else, and vote for Hillary.  Otherwise, voters saw 2016 as nothing more than a game.

Edited May 24, 2019 by Khan

[Juliajms]

^ I also think a lot of people just thought Hillary had it in the bag.  If elections are covered like horses races than the press covered 2016 like it was the '73 Belmont and Hillary was Secretariat.  Not even Trump's own team thought he was going to win, so I can see why some people stayed home or thought that they could afford to vote for JS because Hillary was sure to win in any case.

[Khan]

 

That, too, lol.  Before 2016, we thought it was INCONCEIVABLE for someone like Donald Trump -- a "reality" TV series "star," who had never run for political office before -- to attain the highest office in the land.  But, you know, part of the reason why I ultimately sat out the election, is because I called it waaaaaay before Super Tuesday.  When friends on FaceBook (and elsewhere) were EMPHATIC with me that Trump wouldn't make it to the primaries, I knew otherwise -- and that's because I could see where this country was heading post-Obama.

Edited May 24, 2019 by Khan

[Juliajms]

Ugh. How sad. We've fallen so far.

[DramatistDreamer]

 

Which is why, even after I returned from the polls where I had cast my vote, about an hour later, I began to have a sinking feeling. I mentioned it to no one, I tried to brush away the thoughts that were creeping into my thoughts but as the day went on and I saw news reports about HRC campaign headquarters' itinerary shifting, I felt a genuine sense of unease.

I'm glad I cast my vote because, honestly had I not...I'm the type of person who would've been haunted by this for decades.  My state went for HRC but, as they say, no man is an island and I'm not shielded from the anger I feel as I read about each child migrant death in custody or every religious building being shot up, set fire to or sprayed with racist graffitti or women having to demonstrate for rights that should be ours and enshrined in law since before I was born!

 

Even though I try to avoid thinking about it all the time, on some level I knew that with Trump in the WH, the U.S. would transform into an ungovernable hellscape.  Unlike Susan Sarandon, I bore no illusions about the people rising up to fight this new menace.  Being black in America has taught me not to make such assumptions.

 

Also, I don't care what happens to Julian Assange. Don't know why I felt the need to write that.

[Khan]

 

Exactly.  The only thing you and I and other African-Americans can do in times like these is what we ALWAYS do in times like these: take care of ourselves, and each other.  (Oh, God, did I just quote Jerry Springer?).

 

Meanwhile, in other news, Theresa May is DONE.

Edited May 24, 2019 by Khan