United States Politics Thread 47

[Karch]

This latest assassination has turned the general public decisively against the left and liberalism [...]

Trump will fuck up sooner or later, reversing the shift. After all, his second administration has been almost nothing but fuck-ups, and he's lost immense amounts of popularity.

[Torco]

the regime will likely use this kirk stuff to justify persecuting dissidents (and indeed there's a massive doxing campaign underway, i understand). but yeah, that's a longshot from "omg everyone has been turned into a maga by this one fellow getting shot". this is the 21st century in the news center of the world under perpetual news blitz in the age of social media in the age of the 24 hour news cycle, in a few months he'll very likely be old news. this won't be franz ferdinand.

[rotting bones]

this won't be franz ferdinand.

I hope so. My normie roommates have all heard of Charlie Kirk. They think crime is out of control in America. They are all Indian immigrants. Then again, you can't trust Indian immigrants: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aUUkx8J7d0

[Torco]

I mean, i'm not disagreeing that a lot of normies, perhaps normies in general, are becoming alarmingly right wing. here too, most people are panicked about crime and immigration and so on. what used to be exceptionally fash politics is now the politics of anyone who isn't into politics. the other day I went to play pool and the guy in the register spontaneously expressed his allegiance to fucking javier milei.

edit: then again, trump's popularity is going down, not up.

[jcb]

Jimmy Kimmel's show just got pulled off the air for making some very tame comments about the killing of Charlie Kirk.
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmWrXgPSWjo

I wonder if Dems have realized yet that courting corporations for all those years did nothing, and that the corporations just want more money at any cost, no matter how many rainbow flags they put up, and free speech be damned if necessary.

[jcb]

I mean, i'm not disagreeing that a lot of normies, perhaps normies in general, are becoming alarmingly right wing. here too, most people are panicked about crime and immigration and so on. what used to be exceptionally fash politics is now the politics of anyone who isn't into politics. the other day I went to play pool and the guy in the register spontaneously expressed his allegiance to fucking javier milei.

edit: then again, trump's popularity is going down, not up.

It's why Dems' strategy of presenting their 2024 campaign as "Protecting democracy!" was a bad idea. Dems think that nobody except the explicit fascists could oppose them if they present the choice as between democracy and non-democracy, but normies interpret "democracy" to mean the status quo, and if the status quo isn't delivering them a good life (as is the case for many in America right now), they're going to be unenthused about it and amenable to something else, regardless of how much that horrifies Dems.

[Travis B.]

I mean, i'm not disagreeing that a lot of normies, perhaps normies in general, are becoming alarmingly right wing. here too, most people are panicked about crime and immigration and so on. what used to be exceptionally fash politics is now the politics of anyone who isn't into politics. the other day I went to play pool and the guy in the register spontaneously expressed his allegiance to fucking javier milei.

edit: then again, trump's popularity is going down, not up.

It's why Dems' strategy of presenting their 2024 campaign as "Protecting democracy!" was a bad idea. Dems think that nobody except the explicit fascists could oppose them if they present the choice as between democracy and non-democracy, but normies interpret "democracy" to mean the status quo, and if the status quo isn't delivering them a good life (as is the case for many in America right now), they're going to be unenthused about it and amenable to something else, regardless of how much that horrifies Dems.

Anyone willing to vote for Trump (and especially those who did so over the price of eggs) ought to be crushed under the fascist boot. They deserve what they will get or have already gotten. Unfortunately, everyone else has to deal with Trump as well.

[jcb]

I mean, i'm not disagreeing that a lot of normies, perhaps normies in general, are becoming alarmingly right wing. here too, most people are panicked about crime and immigration and so on. what used to be exceptionally fash politics is now the politics of anyone who isn't into politics. the other day I went to play pool and the guy in the register spontaneously expressed his allegiance to fucking javier milei.

edit: then again, trump's popularity is going down, not up.

It's why Dems' strategy of presenting their 2024 campaign as "Protecting democracy!" was a bad idea. Dems think that nobody except the explicit fascists could oppose them if they present the choice as between democracy and non-democracy, but normies interpret "democracy" to mean the status quo, and if the status quo isn't delivering them a good life (as is the case for many in America right now), they're going to be unenthused about it and amenable to something else, regardless of how much that horrifies Dems.

Anyone willing to vote for Trump (and especially those who did so over the price of eggs) ought to be crushed under the fascist boot. They deserve what they will get or have already gotten. Unfortunately, everyone else has to deal with Trump as well.

Do you not believe that people are convinceable?

[rotting bones]

Anyone willing to vote for Trump (and especially those who did so over the price of eggs) ought to be crushed under the fascist boot. They deserve what they will get or have already gotten. Unfortunately, everyone else has to deal with Trump as well.

I don't care who deserves what. Despite the rising tide of right-wing populism worldwide, we need to reverse that trend and fight for a leftist victory, even if that requires us to talk to the voters you hate so much.

[zompist]

Anyone willing to vote for Trump (and especially those who did so over the price of eggs) ought to be crushed under the fascist boot. They deserve what they will get or have already gotten. Unfortunately, everyone else has to deal with Trump as well.

Do you not believe that people are convinceable?

People are convinceable, and are increasingly convinced the GOP is bad. It's just not happening in a way that matches either of your preferences.

It's worth looking closely at the chart Torco linked to. Over 9 months, there's been basically no movement among Republicans and Democrats. (Specifically, 2% less approval among Reps, 4% less among Dems.) But there's been a drop from 46% to 29% among independents. That in turn (given that independents make up 43% of the public) has driven Trump's approval rating to 37%.

(This is a lower figure than the one I quoted earlier, because this is a single poll, from Gallup, while Silver's number aggregates multiple polls.)

People who voted for the GOP decisively turning against the GOP is precisely what we need, and is the only route to a better outcome in 2026.

The topic by topic ratings are also worth a look, as showing the Republican's biggest vulnerabilities: the economy, foreign trade, immigration, and the budget.

Another poll finds that 79% of independents think Trump is "going too far". So I don't think it's bad to tell voters that democracy is under threat. Worries about the economy are probably more effective though, especially if the economy continues to slow down.

[Travis B.]

I am not of the view that voters are unconvinceable -- whether people deserve the consequences of their vote and whether they will learn from them are two separate matters. Hopefully they will learn that voting for face eating leopards does indeed tend to result in your face getting eaten and vote differently next time.

[jcb]

Memecoiners erect a 12-foot golden Trump Bitcoin statue near US Capitol

[Raphael]

Memecoiners erect a 12-foot golden Trump Bitcoin statue near US Capitol

Wasn't there a time when people in the USA - especially political right-wingers - liked to mock other countries for having that kind of stuff?

[MacAnDàil]

I mean, i'm not disagreeing that a lot of normies, perhaps normies in general, are becoming alarmingly right wing. here too, most people are panicked about crime and immigration and so on. what used to be exceptionally fash politics is now the politics of anyone who isn't into politics. the other day I went to play pool and the guy in the register spontaneously expressed his allegiance to fucking javier milei.

edit: then again, trump's popularity is going down, not up.

Also on the same site and relevant to your post: More People Feel Safe Even as Global Conflicts Rise

Also, crime in itself is not necessarily far-right. It is only when it is taken from an angle of assuming the crimes were committed by immigrants and other supposedly less-desirables and using that as an excuse for violence and right removal. It may be tackled from public service and equality perspectives.

[jcb]

Jimmy Kimmel's show just got pulled off the air for making some very tame comments about the killing of Charlie Kirk.
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmWrXgPSWjo

I wonder if Dems have realized yet that courting corporations for all those years did nothing, and that the corporations just want more money at any cost, no matter how many rainbow flags they put up, and free speech be damned if necessary.

For comparison, Brian Kilmeade, a host on Fox News, who recently suggested that homeless people who refuse help be given an "involuntary lethal injection", is still on the air after later apologizing.
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mq3oKI2KhY

[alice]

Jimmy Kimmel's show just got pulled off the air for making some very tame comments about the killing of Charlie Kirk.
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmWrXgPSWjo

I wonder if Dems have realized yet that courting corporations for all those years did nothing, and that the corporations just want more money at any cost, no matter how many rainbow flags they put up, and free speech be damned if necessary.

For comparison, Brian Kilmeade, a host on Fox News, who recently suggested that homeless people who refuse help be given an "involuntary lethal injection", is still on the air after later apologizing.
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mq3oKI2KhY

yes but everyone knows that OF COURSE he wasn't being serious

[jcb]

Formal proto-balkanization begins. The American west coast states and the American north east states have created their own regional public health coalitions to counter RJK Jr's nonsense.

- https://www.reuters.com/business/health ... 2025-09-18

[jcb]

More great news from the dear leader: He has ended the war between Aberbaijan and Albania! What true diplomatic (and geographic) talent he must have to have completed such a feat!
- https://www.reddit.com/r/azerbaijan/com ... berbaijan/

[jcb]

RFK Jr thinks that pregnant women taking tylenol/acetaminophen/paracetamol causes the child to become autistic.
- https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-n ... rcna232909

[malloc]

RFK Jr thinks that pregnant women taking tylenol/acetaminophen/paracetamol causes the child to become autistic.
- https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-n ... rcna232909

They complain about declining birthrates and then they take away pain relief in pregnancy.