Hardkill

He kinda gave a soft endorsement to Trump. Again, RFK jr. has been all over the place with everything he has said or done. Many people including myself couldn't even understand clearly what he was saying when he mentioned during his suspension speech about how his name would be or not be on the ballot in the swing states or in red states or blue states.

I think that having RFK jr. on Trump's side will now make them even more "weird." Trump and Vance together have already been like "weird squared" or weird times weird. With RFK jr. on their team this probably makes the Trump/Vance campaign now come off as "weird cubed" or weird times weird times weird.

I also think that Democrats should use a lot of tough on crime and tough on border security rhetoric and stay quiet about racism and xenophobia. In fact, they should talk a lot more about how foreign countries such as China have been hurting our economy, the middle class, and the working class. When former Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan ran against JD Vance for the US Senate seat of Ohio in 2022, even though he lost to Vance, he ran one hell of a campaign back then. He especially did a great job with messaging on how "it's us vs. China": You guys are going to hate me for saying this, but honestly I really think that they should also do a lot more of what Carter and Bill Clinton for their presidential campaigns to court white and rural voters such as: Visiting places like the Stone Mountain Correctional Facility in Georgia to promote their "tough on crime" message. Stone Mountain was the birthplace of the second rendition of the KKK and was a "white supremacist mecca." Campaigning with a lot more white politicians from middle America or the South who have had a history of being confederate apologists.

I am glad that Facebook has conceded this. If anything, there needs to be even more regulation of content and information on the internet and social media. Look at the chaos what has happened to the since the 2010s with the rise of the internet, social media, right-wing media echo chambers, and Trumpism. All of it has tremendously contributed to widespread chaos, division, and brain rot in the US. The spread of false information on social media has led to the manipulation of public opinion, influencing elections and policy decisions. Conspiracy theories and fake news have become rampant, eroding trust in institutions and fact-based discourse. Social media algorithms prioritize engaging content, often creating echo chambers that intensify polarization and reduce constructive dialogue. The amplification of extremist voices has contributed to increased hate crimes, white nationalism, and social unrest. Excessive social media use has been linked to increased rates of depression, anxiety, and loneliness. The constant exposure to misinformation, negativity, and sensationalism can lead to a decline in critical thinking skills and a decrease in cognitive abilities. Online Harassment and Cyberbullying: The lack of regulation has enabled the proliferation of online harassment, cyberbullying, and hate speech. Privacy Concerns: The unregulated collection and use of personal data have raised concerns about privacy and surveillance. I believe that our country should ideally go back to having the kind of free and fair speech we had before the fairness doctrine was repealed. Sadly, I don't think that's going to happen anytime soon. That's why I think that the government needs to implement a lot of reasonable regulation of content and information on the internet and social media ASAP until all discourse and free speech returns to normal more like it was during the late 1900s and early 2000s. Plus, overturning buckley v. valeo (1976) and Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission would further return more real freedom of speech back to the people. In the mean time, the progressive media ecosystem needs to keep getting larger and more influential to fight back against misinformation and to win the messaging war.

Also FWIW, RFK jr's endorsement of Trump hasn't helped Trump close the gap in the polls:

I get that most Americans are either moderates or conservatives and usually fear radical change. So, then why have left-wing policies been more popular than right-wing policies for many years?

The Republican party also did him dirty. However, he ultimately has no one to blame, but himself.

Most people used to trust and truly believe in the government before Reagan became president.

This does resemble the hyper-partisan media environment that the US had during the late 1800s (Gilded Age), which was a big factor why the country back then was extremely polarized. We desperately need some kind of way to put a major check on all of these media echo chambers that have kept propagated extreme idealogical talking points, particularly from those on the right-wing.

I think the polls are now underestimated Harris's strength. They've been underestimating the strength of Democrats in the polls since 2022 and have been overestimating the strength of Trump and the GOP since 2022. Trump did much worst than expected in the 2024 GOP primaries. Besides, what most people don't realize is that polls months or weeks out from an election have no predictive value in the grand scheme of things because they've always been affected by too much change and too many errors.

I sincerely doubt it. Again, nobody knows for certain whom he has been taking more votes from. The sample sizes in all of those polls that include dRFK jr. were way too small to parse out for certain how many of his supporters were left-leaning and how many of his supporters were right-leaning and how many of his supporters were moderates. RFK jr. has been completely all over the place in terms of what he stood for. If anything, many of his voters and supporters are more than likely going to feel so betrayed by this along with the fact that they've always hated both parties that they'll decide to just stay home and not vote at all at the top of the ticket. Even Cenk, FWIW, really doesn't think this will really help Trump: Otherwise, yes RFK jr. has become a very despicable and mentally ill person.

Good call, Leo! I and a number of other commentators out there also lately had a feeling that RFK jr. was going to end his campaign this way. I am very relieved about this. Contrary to what many pundits and pollsters have been saying out there, with RFK jr. now having dropped out of the race, this will help Harris win the election because there are no longer any third party candidates who will pose as a serious threat to spoiling the election in any way. Democrats should perhaps now keep an eye on Jill Stein and Cornel West, but their polling numbers have dropped so much that they've only polling at about half of a percent to approx. 1 percent of the total votes at the most, respectively. So, there's no way that either Stein or West could cause the no third party key to turn against Harris and the Democrats as long as their poll numbers stay down that low if not drop even lower (which is probable).

Well, that's why I am still not 100% clear on that yet.

What consequences would there be for that, exactly?

I've noticed that the political polarization in developed countries such as Canada, UK, France, Germany, Scandinavia, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, etc. hasn't been nearly as great as it has been in the US. Do you any of you have any thoughts on why this is?

So, I guess things are going to continue to get worse until they get better with this issue. However, I can't see this problem getting better for the foreseeable future. I wish I knew how long will we all will have to suffer from this.

But we need a supermajority of Dems to pass real major progressive policies like during the New Deal era and the Great Society era. Otherwise, we are going to have to get rid of the filibuster in Senate. The Republicans no longer want anything good to pass Congress. Btw, what do you think about progressive media like TYT and Secular Talk? Do you think that their messaging has helped pushed our country forward towards progressivism or has their rhetoric only made things worse by further increasing the political polarization in our country?

Well, they've definitely winning big elections since 2018. But it's so maddening how close many of these elections have been in recent years and how much political power the Republicans still have even though they are so unpopular.

Maybe when Trumpism and MAGA go away or maybe when our country becomes greatly depolarized then we can go back to having much more substantive discussion about policies. Btw, do you think that the progressives and Democrats are still losing the messaging war? Or do you think that they have made real progress with fighting back against the Republicans and the extreme right-wing?

This is actually the kind of stuff that both Cenk and James Carville have been advocating for for a long time now. I hear what you're saying @aurum but I feel like we have no choice but to do whatever it takes to stop the radical right wing as long as it's legal.

Yeah, I get it now. I fear that we may have to suffer from the ills of hyper-capitalism until the end of our lives? I am afraid that all of our freedoms in our country could all be all gone within the next 30 to 40 decades, especially if Trump becomes president again. The terror of corporate greed and the radical right-wing will enslave our country if we don't figure this problem out before it becomes too late. May God help us all.

Yeah, but it doesn't seem as bad or as frightening as it has become in our country

Thank you everyone for all of your responses. The points you guys have made here make a lot of sense. but now, why do you guys think that there was much greater unity in American politics during the 1900s and early 2000s, particularly during the golden era of politics in the mid 1900s? Was it because the country during the 20th century was much more stage Blue and less stage Orange? Was it because the country had a stronger need for unity during WW1, WWII, the Cold War, and post 9/11 during the Bush presidency? Was it because it much less people during those times dared to question the establishment and new sources before the 2000s? Was it because the parties during the 1900s were much more similar to each in terms of what each of them stood for, especially during the mid 1900s? Was it because the end of Jim Crow laws by the late 60s followed by the growing influence of corporate lobbying in our country ever since the mid 70s? Was it because of Reaganism in the 1980s and then Trumpism in the 2010s? Was it because of the repeal of the Fairness Doctrine in 1987 and Democrats for decades did a terrible job with fighting the messaging war since then? Was it because there was little to no internet usage and no social media before the 2010s?

So, the media isn’t divided in countries like the U.K., Canada, France, and Australia?

Yeah, the Republican party ruined all of it. They used to be for all of the same social values as the Democrats have been.