2024 Election Discussion General

[Leo Gura]

This is a great Op-Ed:

https://www.theverge.com/24282022/kamala-harris-endorsement-presidential-election-2024

As least a few adults are around.

Edited October 30 by Leo Gura

[Husseinisdoingfine]

@DocWatts This was a really decent speech by Harris. Not like the hate fill disaster at Madison Square Garden.

And of Course, Bernie, being the saint and only good politician as he's always been.

[Thought Art]

@DocWatts Focus on the big picture Bernie. Is Bernie gonna vote for Trump? Come on!

Edited October 30 by Thought Art

[Thought Art]

@DocWatts I think, though I’m not an expert that Kamala Harris could be one of the best Presidents in US history.

[Joshe]

2 hours ago, DocWatts said:

After all, what's the point of pursuing this work if you can't get the most important moral question of your time correct?

I like that. 

[Husseinisdoingfine]

Arnold Schwarzenegger endorses Harris/Walz.

Read his full statement below:

 

 

 

 

''  I don’t really do endorsements. I’m not shy about sharing my views, but I hate politics and don’t trust most politicians.

I also understand that people want to hear from me because I am not just a celebrity, I am a former Republican Governor.

 

My time as Governor taught me to love policy and ignore politics. I’m proud of the work I did to help clean up our air, create jobs, balance the budget, make the biggest infrastructure investment in state history, and take power from the politicians and give it back to the people when it comes to our redistricting process and our primaries in California.

That’s policy. It requires working with the other side, not insulting them to win your next election, and I know it isn’t sexy to most people, but I love it when I can help make people’s lives better with policies, like I still do through my institute at USC, where we fight for clean air and stripping the power from the politicians who rig the system against the people.

Let me be honest with you: I don’t like either party right now. My Republicans have forgotten the beauty of the free market, driven up deficits, and rejected election results. Democrats aren’t any better at dealing with deficits, and I worry about their local policies hurting our cities with increased crime.

It is probably not a surprise that I hate politics more than ever, which, if you are a normal person who isn’t addicted to this crap, you probably understand.

I want to tune out.

But I can’t. Because rejecting the results of an election is as un-American as it gets. To someone like me who talks to people all over the world and still knows America is the shining city on a hill, calling America is a trash can for the world is so unpatriotic, it makes me furious.

 

And I will always be an American before I am a Republican.

That’s why, this week, I am voting for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.

 

I’m sharing it with all of you because I think there are a lot of you who feel like I do. You don’t recognize our country. And you are right to be furious.

 

For decades, we’ve talked about the national debt. For decades, we’ve talked about comprehensive immigration reform that secures the border while fixing our broken immigration system. And Washington does nothing.

The problems just keep rolling, and we all keep getting angrier, because the only people that benefit from problems aren’t you, the people. The only people that benefit from this crap are the politicians who prefer having talking points to win elections to the public service that will make Americans’ lives better. 

It is a just game to them. But it is life for my fellow Americans. We should be pissed!

 

But a candidate who won’t respect your vote unless it is for him, a candidate who will send his followers to storm the Capitol while he watches with a Diet Coke, a candidate who has shown no ability to work to pass any policy besides a tax cut that helped his donors and other rich people like me but helped no one else else, a candidate who thinks Americans who disagree with him are the bigger enemies than China, Russia, or North Korea - that won’t solve our problems.

 

It will just be four more years of bullshit with no results that makes us angrier and angrier, more divided, and more hateful.

We need to close the door on this chapter of American history, and I know that former President Trump won’t do that. He will divide, he will insult, he will find new ways to be more un-American than he already has been, and we, the people, will get nothing but more anger.

That’s enough reason for me to share my vote with all of you. I want to move forward as a country, and even though I have plenty of disagreements with their platform, I think the only way to do that is with Harris and Walz.

Vote this week. Turn the page and put this junk behind us.

And even if you disagree with me, vote, because that’s what we do as Americans. http://vote.org ''

[DocWatts]

Arnold is an absolute treasure, the country would be in a much healthier place if he was the face of the Republican Party rather than Trump.

Brings to mind how John McCain was capable of actually being a decent human being while he was running against Obama. Kind of shocking how much things have changed in just 16 years.
 

 

[zazen]

2 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

This is a great Op-Ed:

https://www.theverge.com/24282022/kamala-harris-endorsement-presidential-election-2024

As least a few adults are around.

Great read. On the topic of this new Tech-Trad alliance, this is a great short listen:

''Nick Land is a controversial figure within the 'Dark Enlightenment,' a neo-reactionary movement that rejects democracy, egalitarianism, and Enlightenment values. Land's philosophy of accelerationism embraces the rapid advancement of capitalism and technology, believing it will destabilize the current world order, paving the way for a new era ruled by a technocratic elite. Land's ideas intertwine a fetishization of technology with anti-democratic, deeply inegalitarian, and often racially tinged views. This episode explores Land's disturbing philosophy, its historical context, its potential appeal within a world of rapid technological change, and why it represents a dangerous threat to the core principles of a free and just society.''

Elon, Andreeson and co are tech-optimists that want to de-regulate enough to be able to accelerate us into a utopian future where technology solves all our problems. This can all too easily devolve into a dystopia. Musks wet dream of taking us to the stars can possibly have us facing a reality colder than the moon.

[Hatfort]

Tight match, as usual.

Choose the least evil, which is Kamala. Trump is a danger to Democracy, as he showed in 2020, he shouldn't be given another chance after that. Trump is in no way pro-peace. Did he end the war of Afghanistan when he could? No, he didn't, Biden did that. I'm not here to defend Biden though, even if he didn't start the two big wars of his term, he could have done much more to end them via diplomacy. A Vice President's job is to back the president or resign, in that sense, Kamala's hands have been tied. Yes, we can guess that some policies may get a continuation, but others can also differ.

Is Kamala the most eloquent person on Earth? No, that doesn't mean she is stupid, some people thrive in other ways. Is she as cool as Bernie? No, Bernie is cooler, of course. Is she an insecure narcissist like Trump to only allow yes-men beside her to make decisions? No, she has more common sense than that. Is she funded and influenced by AIPAC? Yes, but at least she didn't visit Epstein's island like Trump and RFK, which stinks like a Mosad blackmail scheme from far away.

[Lyubov]

39 minutes ago, DocWatts said:

Arnold is an absolute treasure, the country would be in a much healthier place if he was the face of the Republican Party rather than Trump.

Brings to mind how John McCain was capable of actually being a decent human being while he was running against Obama. Kind of shocking how much things have changed in just 16 years.
 

 

Damn things have changed a lot…. I remember even Mitt Romney was a decent guy. I remember people making memes about the most outspoken stuff from the 2012 election and it’s stuff no one would remotely side eye today. Trump really knew how to bring the worst out of these people, probably all going to MAGA rallies now. 

Edited October 30 by Lyubov

[integration journey]

26 minutes ago, Hatfort said:

Tight match, as usual.

Choose the least evil, which is Kamala. Trump is a danger to Democracy, as he showed in 2020, he shouldn't be given another chance after that. Trump is in no way pro-peace. Did he end the war of Afghanistan when he could? No, he didn't, Biden did that. I'm not here to defend Biden though, even if he didn't start the two big wars of his term, he could have done much more to end them via diplomacy. A Vice President's job is to back the president or resign, in that sense, Kamala's hands have been tied. Yes, we can guess that some policies may get a continuation, but others can also differ.

Is Kamala the most eloquent person on Earth? No, that doesn't mean she is stupid, some people thrive in other ways. Is she as cool as Bernie? No, Bernie is cooler, of course. Is she an insecure narcissist like Trump to only allow yes-men beside her to make decisions? No, she has more common sense than that. Is she funded and influenced by AIPAC? Yes, but at least she didn't visit Epstein's island like Trump and RFK, which stinks like a Mosad blackmail scheme from far away.

^^

[integration journey]

[zazen]

If ya ain’t fornicating enough, just Californicate lol. Tech Bro Naval Ravikant shared this.

[Joshe]

Now Elon is spreading election denialism and it's rampant on Twitter already. 

[zurew]

10 hours ago, Joshe said:

Now Elon is spreading election denialism and it's rampant on Twitter already. 

 

There is no way MAGA will accept the election results, if the result is Trump losing.

Democracy working = Trump winning. Fraudulence in action = Trump losing.

There is no other option or explanation in their mind  - those are foundational axioms to make sense of the world and to make sense of politics.

Edited October 31 by zurew

[mojsterr]

Based on polling, he won't lose

[Leo Gura]

43 minutes ago, zurew said:

There is no way MAGA will accept the election results, if the result is Trump losing.

That is not a problem. The only real problem is them actually winning.

Edited October 31 by Leo Gura

[zurew]

7 minutes ago, Leo Gura said:

That is not a problem. The only real problem is them actually winning.

I disagree.

I think a 10x more intense jan6 would be a really big problem or the potential of civil war.

[Leo Gura]

2 minutes ago, zurew said:

I disagree.

I think a 10x more intense jan6 would be a really big problem or the potential of civil war.

Nah, that is managable. They can mald all they want without real power.

What is not fine is if they actually get control of the legitimate government apparatus.

[DocWatts]

1 hour ago, zurew said:

I disagree.

I think a 10x more intense jan6 would be a really big problem or the potential of civil war.

Difference is that Biden, not Trump, is the president this time around.

This time, the MAGA fascists won't find soft targets that have been left deliberately undefended by traitorous allies in the government. If they try another Jan 6 stunt, they'll be resisted. Moreover, long prison sentences for the MAGA insurrectionists will dissuade many from a second attempt. Stochastic terrorism is of course an ongoing threat, but probably nothing as coordinated as another Jan 6.

That said, Trump is %100 going to try to overturn this election should be lose, since the presidency is what's standing between him and a prison sentence. But this will likely happen through lawfare and scheming rather than an armed uprising.

Edited October 31 by DocWatts