Biden losing in swing states

[Politesse]

So you think I'm overeducated, but also suppose that I have never heard of the concept of the "ivory tower"? Yes, I know it's a metaphor. A stupid metaphor. No, earning a Master's degree, and later living in the Bay area for a whopping four years, did not and indeed could not have erased my memories of growing up in the countryside, or my ability to empathize with those who have done likewise. I despise Trumpism because it harms those he promises to champion, not because I hate the people he's screwing over. That's like arguing that I must hate lions if I oppose lion hunting. Trump and his minions hate the rural poor more than anyone alive, if you measure hatred by impact rahter than rhetoric. Rightwing neo-fascism will not benefit a single farmer in all of food-producing North America, It just won't. It's a false promise, a lie knowingly and cynically told. And far less of the population even buys into that lie than the Republicans would have you believe. There are plenty of good people, wherever you go in this country. But the people screaming in the streets about how much better things would be if they were just allowed to line up their political enemies and let a Smith and Wesson sort the good from the bad aren't the good people. And believe it or not, I never believed that they were. Before I ever earned a degree in any subject. Before I ever stepped foot in the town where I live. I always rejected the rhetoric of hate and suspicion, and I always would have, no matter what profession I had landed in or what town I came to live in.

You know what the problem is, Poli? It's that you claim to hate Trumpism... but you simultaneously define anyone who isn't a true-blue-every-day-democrat as being a Trumpist. You seem incapable of separating the myriad of conservative and moderate positions in the world from your imagined frothing-at-the-mouth "trumpist". And then you wrap that up with your febrile fantasy of political jihadists wanting to literally kill people who disagree with them. It's nothing more than the rhetoric you wrap around your own brand of hate so that you feel righteously justified in treating other people with a truly disgusting level of disdain and contempt.

Look, you and I have had some interesting discussions over the years. And some interesting disagreements. But the one area where I really dislike interacting with you at all is when it comes to politics. Because you have repeatedly shown that you have zero compassion for "those people" and you tend to just ooze scorn and hate when you talk about "those people". And you're amazing quick to lump damned near anyone into the bucket of "those people" that you look down on so very, very obviously.

If it takes the sting out of it any, you're far from alone in that category. There's a reason that I have long tended to avoid most political discussions. It's because political ideologues are damned near zealots, and I just don't have the patience for that kind of hate.

I said nothing about moderates being Trumpists. People who support Trump and his politics are Trumpists. Moderates are playing a dangerous game when they urge patience and compromise with fascist politicians though, that I certainly do believe. Ultimately, his faction does not honor nor intend to honor any deal they make with their own moderate wing let alone the Democrats, and they make the offer - at all - with declining frequency. As the recent scrap over the House Speakership aptly demonstrates. The Republicans, be they radical or moderate or "classical liberal" or whatever they might be called did not freely choose their current House leadership. They were blackmailed, plain and simple, by parties that knew what they were doing and intended to do it.

Do you believe that Mike Johnson empathizes with, understands, and wishes well the rural folk of America, Emily? Because I sure as hell don't.

 

[Politesse]

I'm sorry if you don't have patience for zealotry, but when zealots are trying to upend the entire democratic system and using whole regions and cities as meaningless pawns to be dupe, pretending this is still 1996 and we don't have to play hardball if it makes us feel uncomfortable is a luxury we can no longer afford.

 

[Toni]

So you think I'm overeducated, but also suppose that I have never heard of the concept of the "ivory tower"? Yes, I know it's a metaphor. A stupid metaphor. No, earning a Master's degree, and later living in the Bay area for a whopping four years, did not and indeed could not have erased my memories of growing up in the countryside, or my ability to empathize with those who have done likewise. I despise Trumpism because it harms those he promises to champion, not because I hate the people he's screwing over. That's like arguing that I must hate lions if I oppose lion hunting. Trump and his minions hate the rural poor more than anyone alive, if you measure hatred by impact rahter than rhetoric. Rightwing neo-fascism will not benefit a single farmer in all of food-producing North America, It just won't. It's a false promise, a lie knowingly and cynically told. And far less of the population even buys into that lie than the Republicans would have you believe. There are plenty of good people, wherever you go in this country. But the people screaming in the streets about how much better things would be if they were just allowed to line up their political enemies and let a Smith and Wesson sort the good from the bad aren't the good people. And believe it or not, I never believed that they were. Before I ever earned a degree in any subject. Before I ever stepped foot in the town where I live. I always rejected the rhetoric of hate and suspicion, and I always would have, no matter what profession I had landed in or what town I came to live in.

You know what the problem is, Poli? It's that you claim to hate Trumpism... but you simultaneously define anyone who isn't a true-blue-every-day-democrat as being a Trumpist. You seem incapable of separating the myriad of conservative and moderate positions in the world from your imagined frothing-at-the-mouth "trumpist". And then you wrap that up with your febrile fantasy of political jihadists wanting to literally kill people who disagree with them. It's nothing more than the rhetoric you wrap around your own brand of hate so that you feel righteously justified in treating other people with a truly disgusting level of disdain and contempt.

Look, you and I have had some interesting discussions over the years. And some interesting disagreements. But the one area where I really dislike interacting with you at all is when it comes to politics. Because you have repeatedly shown that you have zero compassion for "those people" and you tend to just ooze scorn and hate when you talk about "those people". And you're amazing quick to lump damned near anyone into the bucket of "those people" that you look down on so very, very obviously.

If it takes the sting out of it any, you're far from alone in that category. There's a reason that I have long tended to avoid most political discussions. It's because political ideologues are damned near zealots, and I just don't have the patience for that kind of hate.

Do you think it’s scorn? I think it’s grief and disappointment.

 

[Emily Lake]

So you think I'm overeducated, but also suppose that I have never heard of the concept of the "ivory tower"? Yes, I know it's a metaphor. A stupid metaphor. No, earning a Master's degree, and later living in the Bay area for a whopping four years, did not and indeed could not have erased my memories of growing up in the countryside, or my ability to empathize with those who have done likewise. I despise Trumpism because it harms those he promises to champion, not because I hate the people he's screwing over. That's like arguing that I must hate lions if I oppose lion hunting. Trump and his minions hate the rural poor more than anyone alive, if you measure hatred by impact rahter than rhetoric. Rightwing neo-fascism will not benefit a single farmer in all of food-producing North America, It just won't. It's a false promise, a lie knowingly and cynically told. And far less of the population even buys into that lie than the Republicans would have you believe. There are plenty of good people, wherever you go in this country. But the people screaming in the streets about how much better things would be if they were just allowed to line up their political enemies and let a Smith and Wesson sort the good from the bad aren't the good people. And believe it or not, I never believed that they were. Before I ever earned a degree in any subject. Before I ever stepped foot in the town where I live. I always rejected the rhetoric of hate and suspicion, and I always would have, no matter what profession I had landed in or what town I came to live in.

You know what the problem is, Poli? It's that you claim to hate Trumpism... but you simultaneously define anyone who isn't a true-blue-every-day-democrat as being a Trumpist. You seem incapable of separating the myriad of conservative and moderate positions in the world from your imagined frothing-at-the-mouth "trumpist". And then you wrap that up with your febrile fantasy of political jihadists wanting to literally kill people who disagree with them. It's nothing more than the rhetoric you wrap around your own brand of hate so that you feel righteously justified in treating other people with a truly disgusting level of disdain and contempt.

Look, you and I have had some interesting discussions over the years. And some interesting disagreements. But the one area where I really dislike interacting with you at all is when it comes to politics. Because you have repeatedly shown that you have zero compassion for "those people" and you tend to just ooze scorn and hate when you talk about "those people". And you're amazing quick to lump damned near anyone into the bucket of "those people" that you look down on so very, very obviously.

If it takes the sting out of it any, you're far from alone in that category. There's a reason that I have long tended to avoid most political discussions. It's because political ideologues are damned near zealots, and I just don't have the patience for that kind of hate.

I said nothing about moderates being Trumpists. People who support Trump and his politics are Trumpists. Moderates are playing a dangerous game when they urge patience and compromise with fascist politicians though, that I certainly do believe. Ultimately, his faction does not honor nor intend to honor any deal they make with their own moderate wing let alone the Democrats, and they make the offer - at all - with declining frequency. As the recent scrap over the House Speakership aptly demonstrates. The Republicans, be they radical or moderate or "classical liberal" or whatever they might be called did not freely choose their current House leadership. They were blackmailed, plain and simple, by parties that knew what they were doing and intended to do it.

Do you believe that Mike Johnson empathizes with, understands, and wishes well the rural folk of America, Emily? Because I sure as hell don't.

Lol, no. But neither do I think any democrats empathize with, understand, or wish well the rural folk of the US. I don't think either party has any interest other than entrenching their own power, for the sake of that power. If either party had an interest in actually serving the citizenry of the country, they would offer up different candidates than the two douches we're being force-fed.

 

[Emily Lake]

I'm sorry if you don't have patience for zealotry, but when zealots are trying to upend the entire democratic system and using whole regions and cities as meaningless pawns to be dupe, pretending this is still 1996 and we don't have to play hardball if it makes us feel uncomfortable is a luxury we can no longer afford.

Upend the entire democratic system like... warning that third-party bids are "undemocratic"?

Neither party is actually interested in upholding democracy. Both parties are seeking power for themselves and in their own interests. It's not even in the interest of their supporters, it's solely for the power of the parties themselves.

 

[Emily Lake]

So you think I'm overeducated, but also suppose that I have never heard of the concept of the "ivory tower"? Yes, I know it's a metaphor. A stupid metaphor. No, earning a Master's degree, and later living in the Bay area for a whopping four years, did not and indeed could not have erased my memories of growing up in the countryside, or my ability to empathize with those who have done likewise. I despise Trumpism because it harms those he promises to champion, not because I hate the people he's screwing over. That's like arguing that I must hate lions if I oppose lion hunting. Trump and his minions hate the rural poor more than anyone alive, if you measure hatred by impact rahter than rhetoric. Rightwing neo-fascism will not benefit a single farmer in all of food-producing North America, It just won't. It's a false promise, a lie knowingly and cynically told. And far less of the population even buys into that lie than the Republicans would have you believe. There are plenty of good people, wherever you go in this country. But the people screaming in the streets about how much better things would be if they were just allowed to line up their political enemies and let a Smith and Wesson sort the good from the bad aren't the good people. And believe it or not, I never believed that they were. Before I ever earned a degree in any subject. Before I ever stepped foot in the town where I live. I always rejected the rhetoric of hate and suspicion, and I always would have, no matter what profession I had landed in or what town I came to live in.

You know what the problem is, Poli? It's that you claim to hate Trumpism... but you simultaneously define anyone who isn't a true-blue-every-day-democrat as being a Trumpist. You seem incapable of separating the myriad of conservative and moderate positions in the world from your imagined frothing-at-the-mouth "trumpist". And then you wrap that up with your febrile fantasy of political jihadists wanting to literally kill people who disagree with them. It's nothing more than the rhetoric you wrap around your own brand of hate so that you feel righteously justified in treating other people with a truly disgusting level of disdain and contempt.

Look, you and I have had some interesting discussions over the years. And some interesting disagreements. But the one area where I really dislike interacting with you at all is when it comes to politics. Because you have repeatedly shown that you have zero compassion for "those people" and you tend to just ooze scorn and hate when you talk about "those people". And you're amazing quick to lump damned near anyone into the bucket of "those people" that you look down on so very, very obviously.

If it takes the sting out of it any, you're far from alone in that category. There's a reason that I have long tended to avoid most political discussions. It's because political ideologues are damned near zealots, and I just don't have the patience for that kind of hate.

Do you think it’s scorn? I think it’s grief and disappointment.

It sure comes across as scorn.

 

[Politesse]

I'm sorry if you don't have patience for zealotry, but when zealots are trying to upend the entire democratic system and using whole regions and cities as meaningless pawns to be dupe, pretending this is still 1996 and we don't have to play hardball if it makes us feel uncomfortable is a luxury we can no longer afford.

Upend the entire democratic system like... warning that third-party bids are "undemocratic"?

That would indeed be a most damning contraduction if I had, in fact, made any such argument. But of course. I did not. The neo-fascist contingent with the American right wing is not undemocratic because it is a "third party". It has proven itself most flexible in partisan affiliation over time, and currently not associated strongly with any particular third party. No, the neo-fascist faction is undemocratic because it is currently seeking to undermine the very notion of rule by democratic consensus. In short, the vote.

It's not even in the interest of their supporters, it's solely for the power of the parties themselves.

It would be naive to expect anything else, from any political party. We are ruled, almost exclusively, by individuals of an uncommonly affluent background, who have very little access to or understanding of the realities of American life for most citizens, and who are beholden to the wellbeing or even good opinion of the voting public only in the context of the vote itself and the fundraising necessary to complete a successful campaign.

But cynicism about the political process, however justified, is not the basis of sound civic and political action on the part of tge common citizen.

 

[Politesse]

Do you think it’s scorn? I think it’s grief and disappointment.

Thanks, Toni. "Scorn" is an emotion I reserve for very few people on this earth, in truth. And though I wouldn't have thought to put it that way, I think you're right that I carry a good bit of grief over my home country, and the perversion of its values as I comprehend them.

 

[Politesse]

. If either party had an interest in actually serving the citizenry of the country, they would offer up different candidates than the two douches we're being force-fed.

People place too much stock in presidents. No "big man" is going to save us from ourselves.

 

[ZiprHead]

I'm sorry if you don't have patience for zealotry, but when zealots are trying to upend the entire democratic system and using whole regions and cities as meaningless pawns to be dupe, pretending this is still 1996 and we don't have to play hardball if it makes us feel uncomfortable is a luxury we can no longer afford.

Upend the entire democratic system like... warning that third-party bids are "undemocratic"?

Neither party is actually interested in upholding democracy. Both parties are seeking power for themselves and in their own interests. It's not even in the interest of their supporters, it's solely for the power of the parties themselves.

 

[Shadowy Man]

I’m in the upper half of the age category and I don’t pick up the phone when I don’t know who it is. I barely pick up the phone when I do know who it is.

I think the latter comes with being an introvert. At least, that's the excuse I give myself when I just really don't feel like talking to my sister or my mom or my husband...

I’ve always had a bit of “phone anxiety”, which makes me prefer written communication, which is why email and texts are better for me.

 

[Harry Bosch]

I'm sorry if you don't have patience for zealotry, but when zealots are trying to upend the entire democratic system and using whole regions and cities as meaningless pawns to be dupe, pretending this is still 1996 and we don't have to play hardball if it makes us feel uncomfortable is a luxury we can no longer afford.

Upend the entire democratic system like... warning that third-party bids are "undemocratic"?

Neither party is actually interested in upholding democracy. Both parties are seeking power for themselves and in their own interests. It's not even in the interest of their supporters, it's solely for the power of the parties themselves.

What in the world are you talking about??? Trump tried to steal an election that he clearly lost. And your side continues to embrace him. Name another election where the democrat tried to do this. The closest election that I can think of in my life time was Gore vs Bush. There is a good chance that Gore could have won. But rather than destroy our democracy, he conceded.

 

[southernhybrid]

I'd like to add, that the AJC did it's own poll regarding Trump and Biden. They are tied in the AJC poll, so while polls aren't usually accurate, this one is a lot more promising than the one that had Trump 6 points ahead of Biden. Plus, a lot of voters were undecided or said they might change to Biden if Trump was convicted. Hopefully, those who are currently upset about Biden will realize that, despite his age, he's not a threat to democracy and he has never tried to seek revenge on those who criticize him.

When it comes to Israel, I see him being in an extremely difficult situation. He's trying to reason with a far right nut job, while also trying to support the only country in the mideast, that at least until recently, was a democracy. I can't imagine the stress he is facing, and I'm not convinced that a younger person with less experience could do better.

 

[Harry Bosch]

I'd like to add, that the AJC did it's own poll regarding Trump and Biden. They are tied in the AJC poll, so while polls aren't usually accurate, this one is a lot more promising than the one that had Trump 6 points ahead of Biden. Plus, a lot of voters were undecided or said they might change to Biden if Trump was convicted. Hopefully, those who are currently upset about Biden will realize that, despite his age, he's not a threat to democracy and he has never tried to seek revenge on those who criticize him.

When it comes to Israel, I see him being in an extremely difficult situation. He's trying to reason with a far right nut job, while also trying to support the only country in the mideast, that at least until recently, was a democracy. I can't imagine the stress he is facing, and I'm not convinced that a younger person with less experience could do better.

Totally agree. Yes, Biden (and most US politicians) has always been pro-Israel. But he really wants less conflict and stability in the area. Behind the scenes, he's pushing Israel very very hard to find a solution that minimizes civilian deaths. He publically supports Israel in order to privately attempt to moderate their actions.

I'm surprisingly happy with Biden. I think that he's surpassing expectations. Most on the left are more difficult to corral. I'm confident that Biden's numbers will be far greater as the election gets closer. Trump's negatives are much higher today. It appears to me that the economy is stabilizing and starting to improve. Wall Street is higher. It will get brighter for Biden. I'm open to alternatives on the democratic side. But no doubt, Biden is by far the best possible option today for president in 2024.

 

[Toni]

So you think I'm overeducated, but also suppose that I have never heard of the concept of the "ivory tower"? Yes, I know it's a metaphor. A stupid metaphor. No, earning a Master's degree, and later living in the Bay area for a whopping four years, did not and indeed could not have erased my memories of growing up in the countryside, or my ability to empathize with those who have done likewise. I despise Trumpism because it harms those he promises to champion, not because I hate the people he's screwing over. That's like arguing that I must hate lions if I oppose lion hunting. Trump and his minions hate the rural poor more than anyone alive, if you measure hatred by impact rahter than rhetoric. Rightwing neo-fascism will not benefit a single farmer in all of food-producing North America, It just won't. It's a false promise, a lie knowingly and cynically told. And far less of the population even buys into that lie than the Republicans would have you believe. There are plenty of good people, wherever you go in this country. But the people screaming in the streets about how much better things would be if they were just allowed to line up their political enemies and let a Smith and Wesson sort the good from the bad aren't the good people. And believe it or not, I never believed that they were. Before I ever earned a degree in any subject. Before I ever stepped foot in the town where I live. I always rejected the rhetoric of hate and suspicion, and I always would have, no matter what profession I had landed in or what town I came to live in.

You know what the problem is, Poli? It's that you claim to hate Trumpism... but you simultaneously define anyone who isn't a true-blue-every-day-democrat as being a Trumpist. You seem incapable of separating the myriad of conservative and moderate positions in the world from your imagined frothing-at-the-mouth "trumpist". And then you wrap that up with your febrile fantasy of political jihadists wanting to literally kill people who disagree with them. It's nothing more than the rhetoric you wrap around your own brand of hate so that you feel righteously justified in treating other people with a truly disgusting level of disdain and contempt.

Look, you and I have had some interesting discussions over the years. And some interesting disagreements. But the one area where I really dislike interacting with you at all is when it comes to politics. Because you have repeatedly shown that you have zero compassion for "those people" and you tend to just ooze scorn and hate when you talk about "those people". And you're amazing quick to lump damned near anyone into the bucket of "those people" that you look down on so very, very obviously.

If it takes the sting out of it any, you're far from alone in that category. There's a reason that I have long tended to avoid most political discussions. It's because political ideologues are damned near zealots, and I just don't have the patience for that kind of hate.

I said nothing about moderates being Trumpists. People who support Trump and his politics are Trumpists. Moderates are playing a dangerous game when they urge patience and compromise with fascist politicians though, that I certainly do believe. Ultimately, his faction does not honor nor intend to honor any deal they make with their own moderate wing let alone the Democrats, and they make the offer - at all - with declining frequency. As the recent scrap over the House Speakership aptly demonstrates. The Republicans, be they radical or moderate or "classical liberal" or whatever they might be called did not freely choose their current House leadership. They were blackmailed, plain and simple, by parties that knew what they were doing and intended to do it.

Do you believe that Mike Johnson empathizes with, understands, and wishes well the rural folk of America, Emily? Because I sure as hell don't.

Lol, no. But neither do I think any democrats empathize with, understand, or wish well the rural folk of the US. I don't think either party has any interest other than entrenching their own power, for the sake of that power. If either party had an interest in actually serving the citizenry of the country, they would offer up different candidates than the two douches we're being force-fed.

I'm a democrat. I consider myself to be fairly progressive. On this forum, I am sometimes referred to as a radical feminist and pretty close to a communist, although I am certainly not a communist or even particularly a socialist.

I live in a very small city surrounded by farmland. I grew up in an even smaller city, surrounded by farmland. My family were farmers, until my parents' generation and I grew up with grandparents and an uncle who farmed. I couldn't wait to get away from where I grew up but not because I wanted to shake off my farmer roots or because I didn't have a lot of respect and empathy for farmers. I left because I felt too restricted there. The opportunities I wanted meant leaving. I needed to leave for myself.

I see what happened to the family farms that I grew up surrounded by and know how hard former classmates struggled to make a go of their family farms, often working full time jobs off the farms. I know what it means to people who want to farm to have to struggle every day to keep it going. I've seen family farms sold and have watched the generosity and compassion of those who come to auctions at farms to try to help the family in need. I grew up with people coming together to help those in need, bringing in crops or getting crops out when the farmer was injured, sick or had died. And the every day sharing of resources in good times and in bad.

The biggest reason I moved away was for my own benefit. But also because I was naive enough to believe that outside of my particular family and my particular small town, racism was mostly dead. Same with sexism. I learned differently, long before Donald Trump. I thought I could move away from racism, sexism, bigotry but nope, they exist everywhere. It's just harder to ignore in a small town. Because you know everyone and their business and they know you and yours, too.

 

[southernhybrid]

I'm a Democrat who likes rural people, at least the ones I've met, Btw, former poster Jobar has lived in rural or exurban Georgia his entire life. He hates the city and loves living in the sticks, yet he's never voted for a Republican. We are still friends but I can't get him to come back here.

I live in the suburbs of a small city. My street is middle class and mixed race. We have an assortment of Trump supporters on my street, mixed in with a lot of Democrats. All of the Trump supporters that I or my husband have met are nice people. They have just been heavily indoctrinated by right wing media. An example is my neighbor across the street. He is the kindest, most helpful neighbor we've ever had. He rescued us once when we had a car problem down town. He used to mow the lawn for a neighbor next to him who no longer lives there. He helped fix my husband's riding mower. We've done some things for him in return. Yet, he believes a lot of crazy stuff, like Obama really was born in Kenya.

When I worked in home health in SC, many of my patients lived in rural areas. They took better care of their elders, with one exception that I remember, than most of the city folks. They always treated me with respect and I did the same in return.

I don't carry grudges. A person I work out with, once tried to "save" me from hell. I gave it back to her, at the time, but then I went out of my way to be friendly towards her. We get along very well now. She is another victim of indoctrination. Many of my workout companions live in exurban areas. They are all kind, caring people, regardless of how they vote. So, we should never make assumptions about others, based on where they live, what they believe, as well as race or cultural background.

I've had both rural and urban patients who were dirt poor, didn't have running water or heat etc. This was a long time ago, but poverty remains a huge problem in this country and Republicans sure don't want to help this group of people. At least Democrats try, but as the saying goes, it takes two to tango, and the Republican Party has obstructed many bills that would have helped poor people, both on a state and national level. For example, despite turning bluer, my Republican lead state continues to refuse to expand Medicaid. WTF! Even the more reasonable Republicans, like Romney, talked about the "takers", when he ran for president. Remember that?

Republicans would like to harm Medicare, Social Security and M'caid. People depend on these programs for survival. I just don't think that a lot of older people realize they are voting against their own interests when they vote Republican. Many of my former patients in the ALF where I worked, were Trump supporters. They were in their 80s and 90s at the time. They usually had their tv tuned to Fox. That is why I try not to be judgmental when it comes to the average person. As an atheist, I know what it's like to be stereotyped, so I try not to do that to other groups. But, when it comes to those in power, the game is on.

Okay. Who's up next?

 

[ZiprHead]

Looking at the stats in this poll, the largest number of responses to the questions were 3,662. The total number of registered voters in those states is 33,572,738. So the polls were .01% of the total.

Considering polling this past decade has been far less than stellar in accuracy, giving any weight to OP poll this far out from election day appears to me to be a fool's errand.

 

[Emily Lake]

I'm sorry if you don't have patience for zealotry, but when zealots are trying to upend the entire democratic system and using whole regions and cities as meaningless pawns to be dupe, pretending this is still 1996 and we don't have to play hardball if it makes us feel uncomfortable is a luxury we can no longer afford.

Upend the entire democratic system like... warning that third-party bids are "undemocratic"?

That would indeed be a most damning contraduction if I had, in fact, made any such argument. But of course. I did not. The neo-fascist contingent with the American right wing is not undemocratic because it is a "third party". It has proven itself most flexible in partisan affiliation over time, and currently not associated strongly with any particular third party. No, the neo-fascist faction is undemocratic because it is currently seeking to undermine the very notion of rule by democratic consensus. In short, the vote.

The Democratic Party has made that argument.

It's not even in the interest of their supporters, it's solely for the power of the parties themselves.

It would be naive to expect anything else, from any political party. We are ruled, almost exclusively, by individuals of an uncommonly affluent background, who have very little access to or understanding of the realities of American life for most citizens, and who are beholden to the wellbeing or even good opinion of the voting public only in the context of the vote itself and the fundraising necessary to complete a successful campaign.

But cynicism about the political process, however justified, is not the basis of sound civic and political action on the part of tge common citizen.

Okay, so if you acknowledge that both parties serve only their own interests, not the interests of the citizens... Why is it that you consistently denigrate only one of those parties? What makes the self-serving power-seeking grift of one party more palatable to you?

 

[Emily Lake]

. If either party had an interest in actually serving the citizenry of the country, they would offer up different candidates than the two douches we're being force-fed.

People place too much stock in presidents. No "big man" is going to save us from ourselves.

I don't put stock in the president. I'm wary of the combined power of the executive and legislative branches. I want both parties torn down and scrapped for spare parts. Neither one is worth having, not in a president, not as a congresscritter, not as a state legislator.

Maybe as mayor or governor. Maybe. I'll have to think on that.

 

[Emily Lake]

I’m in the upper half of the age category and I don’t pick up the phone when I don’t know who it is. I barely pick up the phone when I do know who it is.

I think the latter comes with being an introvert. At least, that's the excuse I give myself when I just really don't feel like talking to my sister or my mom or my husband...

I’ve always had a bit of “phone anxiety”, which makes me prefer written communication, which is why email and texts are better for me.

Texts, absolutely. I don't know when it happened, but email is on my permanent ignore list nowadays. I currently have... 1,401 unread emails. 99% of those are going to be junk... and the other 1% are going to be telling me about a bill that autopays.