American politics

[Rorschach]

I read an article a couple of weeks ago (in The New European, I think) which suggested they are purposely allowing things to unravel for a while, as they feel that’s the most effective way to allow the electorate to see the consequences of MAGA, and to therefore deal it a fatal blow in the longer term.

Seems extremely high-risk - and unlikely - to me. My reading is that they are disorganised, are being totally overtaken by the pace of change, and lack a clear figure to rally around.

Edit: with apologies to @Lost Mango above, who just beat me to it!

I think this is correct. There are a few notable exceptions where dems reps have come out loud and clear about what is happening but they are the exception to the rule. There seems to be a distinct lack of overall strategy as if they were surprised about what is happening. They shouldn't have been, as it was well-telegraphed beforehand with the publication of the 2025 document - an actual blueprint for what is happening now. The dems election message of protecting democracy was too nebulous and didn't resonate as well as saying 'eggs are expensive'.
The 'No Kings' slogan which is becoming a thing now is far better. Simple and clear, and getting a bit of traction at protests (which are also getting more frequent). There is a big protest on Mar 4th and every dem leader should be at front of that making the news rather than reacting to it.

It is not all bad though. The courts are getting involved and that will throw sand in the gears, and disgruntled red voters at town hall meetings are getting more frequent in deep red states as cuts begin to bite. There are protests at Tesla dealerships and polls show Trump and Musk favorability dropping fast. I think the breath of doge cuts has affected so many people, including GOP voters, that the bad stories are everywhere now and multiplying. While dems can really stop anything their mission should be the make sure that any fallout is attributed to Trump and his goons.

edit: I listened to this interview this morning. It is excellent IMO. It shows at least that the dems have somewhat belated but correctly identified their weaknesses, generally speaking. It's a bit long but if you in here reading this you are already dodging work.

 

[Grays_1890]

This is a fascinating and understandable sentiment.
But what does that look like?

Fascism being what it is, they already have those counter avenues sewn up.
What are people going to do? Protest? They'll be labelled lefty wokey and anti democracy, irrespective of how they voted. And they'll be met with a group of, well....we saw what they look like on 6 Jan.

It's difficult to see what can be done until the mid terms. Until then I guess the US political and judicial system needs to run interference. Partly that's how the US system is designed (the checks and balances), but partly it's also anti democracy. And that last bit is essential tipping point for fascism - make behaviour that retains the soul of the nation seem undemocratic.

Which does raise the question about democracy - we may not like or recognise what the current US looks like. That doesn't mean it isn't what Americans want (by virtue of vote, you'll never have consensus)

Well you would think they are making so many cuts and the sword is swooping so hard that some of his victims are going to be voters who will wake up and say "I didn't vote for this". He is already failing at the real promises in brining down the cost of food and living costs, you would hope that the deflection tactics and pointing at others to blame can only last so long but maybe I am being optimistic

 

[monkeybarry]

Well you would think they are making so many cuts and the sword is swooping so hard that some of his victims are going to be voters who will wake up and say "I didn't vote for this". He is already failing at the real promises in brining down the cost of food and living costs, you would hope that the deflection tactics and pointing at others to blame can only last so long but maybe I am being optimistic

"So what? What are they going to do?
Not vote for him again? Already have - don't need you to again, well not any time soon.
Protest? That's just wokey and anti democracy. We'll shut it down however we need to."

The last part might be the key. Will the police enforce that? And to what extent?

 

[Grays_1890]

"So what? What are they going to do?
Not vote for him again? Already have - don't need you to again, well not any time soon.
Protest? That's just wokey and anti democracy. We'll shut it down however we need to."

The last part might be the key. Will the police enforce that? And to what extent?

Well yeh thats the system and he won't get in again unless he changes the 2 term rule, how broken the country is after that is another argument.

 

[Mikey10]

Well yeh thats the system and he won't get in again unless he changes the 2 term rule

He's already floating that idea pretty regularly, as are others surrounding him.

I think the chances of a fair and free election next time are already limited.

 

[Jordinho]

Americans (or at least the religious, conservative type) don't mind if others suffer, as long as it doesn't affect themselves.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1893773944701747420