American Politics 3.0 - Back to Brunch

[powderjunkie]

Originally Posted by Azure

Way to completely miss the point.

There are still major decisions that the President makes all the time. Biden isn't making those as he doesn't even know what century he is in. That means someone else is making THOSE decisions.

That someone else was not elected to make those decisions.

Obligatory caveat that I don't think Biden is sufficiently competent for the job right now - it's inexcusable to have someone in that seat who can't muster 100% at any given time...but I think he's actually about 90% there right now, and still better suited for the job overall than 99% of the population. Shouldn't be running though.

[ResAlien]

If having a dementia riddled president watching while others ran the country was good enough for conservative icon Ronald Reagan I don’t see why it should be an issue for Biden. There’s clearly precedent for a weekend at Bernie’s commander in chief.

[CliffFletcher]

Yeah, I don’t remember people being up in arms about Reagan’s senility. I guess the fact he was an actor and so could still muster a decent scripted speech when called on inspired a bit more public confidence. But by Reagan’s second term Nancy was running his day-to-day affairs, making sure he had his naps, etc. The country didn’t fall apart. People seem to have outsized expectations of what the job actually entails. Campaigning for president is probably more taxing than actually being president.

[marsplasticeraser]

Originally Posted by Azure

Way to completely miss the point.

There are still major decisions that the President makes all the time. Biden isn't making those as he doesn't even know what century he is in. That means someone else is making THOSE decisions.

That someone else was not elected to make those decisions.

What specific decisions do you think he's not making that he should?

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Yeah, I don’t remember people being up in arms about Reagan’s senility. I guess the fact he was an actor and so could still muster a decent scripted speech when called on inspired a bit more public confidence. But by Reagan’s second term Nancy was running his day-to-day affairs, making sure he had his naps, etc. The country didn’t fall apart. People seem to have outsized expectations of what the job actually entails. Campaigning for president is probably more taxing than actually being president.

That's the real question though.

Campaigning could make or break this election. Being able to win an election and being able to do the job of president are two different things, and it doesn't matter if you can do the second one if you can't do the the first.

I have serious doubts that Biden can win at this point. Any more senior moments like the debate last week, and I think he is toast.

[CliffFletcher]

Some hopeful studies show Americans aren’t nearly as polarized as people assume:

The Growing Evidence That Americans Are Less Divided Than You May Think

…Ordinary folks think Americans are much more partisan than they are. In the same study, people grossly overestimated (by 78%) the size of the most polarized group within each party—that is, Democrats who call themselves liberal and Republicans who call themselves conservative. At the same time, ordinary Americans grossly underestimated (by 77%) the share of the other party who are moderate. That share is, in fact, at least half of either party. “People probably are exactly right about how polarized their leaders are,” says Robb Willer, a sociologist at Stanford. “They get it very wrong for the general public.”

It gets worse: the more involved in politics a person is, the more distorted their view of the other side, a 2019 YouGov survey found. In other words, engagement in civic life actually serves to narrow one’s perspective on the world.

That hardly recommends today’s politics, and goes a long way toward explaining why many people avoid partisans. “They dislike people who are really ideologically extreme, who are very politically invested, who want to come and talk to them about politics,” says Matthew Levendusky, a University of Pennsylvania professor of political science. And it’s not as if they’re trying to avoid confrontation, he adds: “It’s also the case that people aren’t really that fond of people from their own side who want to talk to them about politics.”

So people who do like to talk about politics talk to each other instead, and a striking social dynamic plays out: political enthusiasts will pretend to be even more polarized than they are. For a 2023 study published in Public Opinion Quarterly, people who described themselves as heavily invested in politics admitted that they would dial up their anger to impress fellow partisans. According to Elizabeth C. Connors, the University of South Carolina professor who conducted the study, the falseness partisans described about their own behavior reached levels “rarely seen in social sciences.”

Her takeaway: “If you’re a partisan and you’re going to say you’re a Republican or you’re going to say you’re a Democrat, you need to be a polarized one. Or else you’re not a good one.”

… So, yes, American politics has grown more divided—but largely among people who live and breathe politics. And these people exaggerate their own polarity to win the approval of other people who also live and breathe politics…

https://time.com/6990721/us-politics-polarization-myth/

[Ozy_Flame]

What does a Trump win have in store? Take an uncomfortable look.

https://twitter.com/user/status/1810373283768082639

[SutterBrother]

Originally Posted by rubecube

I don't think anyone in this thread actually thinks Trump is a better candidate than Biden. We're just aware that the general public are largely mouth-breathing morons and will focus primarily on aesthetics. The Dems would be running away with this thing if they had gone with anyone else.

Just take a second and think about the "average" American voter.

Now think about how stupid and uninformed they are.



NOW realize that that "average" person is smarter than HALF the voting pool!

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Some hopeful studies show Americans aren’t nearly as polarized as people assume:

There are lots of Pew Research studies that show that the majority of Americans (usually >60%) are on the same page when it comes to a number of issues and policies (abortion, health care, etc.). What really skews the politics in the U.S. is the outsized influence evangelicals have on the Republican party, and the amount of influence that a small segment of billionaires and corporations can buy through the media and campaign donations.

[iggy_oi]

Originally Posted by rubecube

There are lots of Pew Research studies that show that the majority of Americans (usually >60%) are on the same page when it comes to a number of issues and policies (abortion, health care, etc.). What really skews the politics in the U.S. is the outsized influence evangelicals have on the Republican party, and the amount of influence that a small segment of billionaires and corporations can buy through the media and campaign donations.

Thank goodness we don’t have that problem north of the border.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by iggy_oi

Thank goodness we don’t have that problem north of the border.

Yeah, it's pretty obvious the real reason PP wants to defund the CBC is to remove as much dissent from the public eye as possible.

[direwolf]

Pretty sure it’s only the hardcore MAGA cult and evangelicals who want to destroy their fellow citizens and turn their country into Gilead. From what my American friends and family tell me, the majority of people down there are in agreement on most things and would rather preserve their democracy. Now whether or not these people actually get off their asses and vote in November is another story.

[MoneyGuy]

Stuff’s getting (more?) nasty down south.

https://twitter.com/user/status/1810380064477057261

[Fuzz]

It's ok, they'll moderate when they get power.

[MoneyGuy]

Dems are coming after Stephen King and Rob Reiner for daring to say that Biden should step aside.

[iggy_oi]

Originally Posted by rubecube

Yeah, it's pretty obvious the real reason PP wants to defund the CBC is to remove as much dissent from the public eye as possible.

I’d say the real reason is it’s what he’s being told to do by the people who want certain parties in power to keep certain policies in place, not as if he came up with this idea on his own after all.

[The Fonz]

Originally Posted by direwolf

Pretty sure it’s only the hardcore MAGA cult and evangelicals who want to destroy their fellow citizens

Have you missed the mass shooter vibes from KelVarnsen the last 6+ months?

Originally Posted by The Fonz

Your post history almost seems to suggest you’re cheering for the end of the world?

Originally Posted by KelVarnsen

1000000% I do.

[ResAlien]

Originally Posted by MoneyGuy

Disagree. Biden is their best chance and our best chance at saving democracy in the U.S.

Originally Posted by MoneyGuy

Dems are coming after Stephen King and Rob Reiner for daring to say that Biden should step aside.

Shouldn’t you be on board with that? I was under the impression you were still team Joe all the way

[Sliver]

lol "Dems" aren't coming after Stephen King and Rob Reiner. Jfc. Can I pay you to get off Twitter? It's not real life, guy.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by The Fonz

Have you missed the mass shooter vibes from KelVarnsen the last 6+ months?

lol “mass shooter vibes”?

Out of the two of you it sounds like you’re the one who needs to get a grip.