United States Politics Thread 47

[Ketsuban]

I've been hearing worrying news about a bunch of Somali daycare centers in MInnesota getting caught engaging in rampant fraud.

Here's some context. As I understand it, there was some fraud which was handled by the DOJ under Biden in 2022, but there was some procedural ugliness which drew the process out a little more than it should have. This reflects poorly on some Democrats, and a competent right wing could use that as political ammunition to win some points locally, but the American right wing is fascist so that's not good enough - they want a pogrom against Somalis. As such we get a conspiracy theory that the Democrats bought Somali-American votes by not adequately pressing charges against "fraudulent" daycares, with evidence manufactured by e.g. showing up at 10am to a daycare that opens at 2pm and acting like it's suspicious the daycare isn't currently open, or turning up as an armed gang demanding to "inspect the children" and acting like not being allowed in is suspicious.

[Raphael]

As such we get a conspiracy theory that the Democrats bought Somali-American votes by not adequately pressing charges against "fraudulent" daycares,

Yeah, without that theory, it's absolutely inexplicable why, in a place that has effectively a two party system where one of the parties is the current version of the Republican Party, and the other party is the Democratic Party, a lot of Somali-Americans might want to vote for the Democrats.

Really, one of the more ridiculous things about all too many right-wingers - and that's saying something - is their complete inability to acknowledge that some people have plausible reasons to oppose them and their policies and their ideas, with the results that their attempts to explain why other political camps than their own exist in the first place are often deep into "it would be funny if it wouldn't be so sad"-territory.

At a very basic level, they're in complete and systematic denial about the fact that they have serious political opponents.

with evidence manufactured by e.g. showing up at 10am to a daycare that opens at 2pm and acting like it's suspicious the daycare isn't currently open, or turning up as an armed gang demanding to "inspect the children" and acting like not being allowed in is suspicious.

Yeah, if you show up at a place where there are children, and you're an adult stranger, and the people in charge refuse to let you see those children, that clearly proves that there is something fishy going on.

[malloc]

Sure but the fact remains that the Democrats are suffering from terrible public image that will seriously impede their chances of winning the mid-terms even under the best of circumstances. Meanwhile they are facing incredible headwinds with MAGA having a massive propaganda advantage, numerous billionaires funding it, and the willingness to rig elections if necessary. Everyone calls me a doomer but nobody can explain away all those advantages.

[Raphael]

You predicted the 5 most recent Ends of the World, and in between, you predicted the 5 most recent Ends of Your Own Life, too.

Sure but the fact remains that the Democrats are suffering from terrible public image

Among whom?

that will seriously impede their chances of winning the mid-terms

The election version of the old wisdom about being hunted by a bear might apply here: You don't have to be popular, you just have to be less unpopular than your opponents.

Meanwhile they are facing incredible headwinds with MAGA having a massive propaganda advantage,

Spending enormous amounts of money and resources and efforts on telling people that the trains are running on time when they can see, every time they visit the train station, that the trains don't run on time, is not necessarily as effective as propaganda as the money and resources and efforts spent on it might suggest at first.

[Travis B.]

Even if people don't actually care about or for the Democrats' politics, they do see that the promises of things getting cheaper under Trump were a lie, and as recent elections have shown people are willing to bet on the Democrats on that alone. And sending masked people to drag innocent people off the streets is really bad optics, regardless of one's ideological views on immigration per se.

[rotting bones]

Yeah, if you show up at a place where there are children, and you're an adult stranger, and the people in charge refuse to let you see those children, that clearly proves that there is something fishy going on.

When I was in daycare, the teachers ushered us inside and locked the doors one time they saw teenagers with guns on the other side of the street.

Sure but the fact remains that the Democrats are suffering from terrible public image that will seriously impede their chances of winning the mid-terms even under the best of circumstances. Meanwhile they are facing incredible headwinds with MAGA having a massive propaganda advantage, numerous billionaires funding it, and the willingness to rig elections if necessary. Everyone calls me a doomer but nobody can explain away all those advantages.

What's your explanation for Trump's unpopularity?

Sure but the fact remains that the Democrats are suffering from terrible public image

Among whom?

Mainstream Democrats have low popularity, but left-leaning Democrats have high popularity. Maybe Hitler is better than Satan.

[Travis B.]

Yeah, if you show up at a place where there are children, and you're an adult stranger, and the people in charge refuse to let you see those children, that clearly proves that there is something fishy going on.

When I was in daycare, the teachers ushered us inside and locked the doors one time they saw teenagers with guns on the other side of the street.

And these days, where they regularly have drills in schools and like about threatening individuals, you'd only expect them to be even more careful.

Sure but the fact remains that the Democrats are suffering from terrible public image that will seriously impede their chances of winning the mid-terms even under the best of circumstances. Meanwhile they are facing incredible headwinds with MAGA having a massive propaganda advantage, numerous billionaires funding it, and the willingness to rig elections if necessary. Everyone calls me a doomer but nobody can explain away all those advantages.

What's your explanation for Trump's unpopularity?

malloc simply ignores everything that does not fit with his doomerism, including Trump's abysmal approval ratings and the many recent Democratic victories.

Sure but the fact remains that the Democrats are suffering from terrible public image

Among whom?

Mainstream Democrats have low popularity, but left-leaning Democrats have high popularity. Maybe Hitler is better than Satan.

And people have shown themselves willing to vote for even mainstream Democrats (not all the Democrats that won recently are Zohran), in spite of their low popularity on paper, if they simply present themselves as an alternative to Trump's tariffs, healthcare cuts, and ICE raids.

[rotting bones]

The home of the brave is at it again: https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/ ... dates-live

Who will free us from the freedom that the Americans want for us?

[Lērisama]

The home of the brave is at it again: https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/ ... dates-live

Who will free us from the freedom that the Americans want for us?

I don't see Venezuela becoming more free from this, especially in the short term. Yay! The path is cleared for regime hardliners to take over¹

¹ Isn't the defence minister who's commented a known hardliner? That spells no trouble at all.

[rotting bones]

No shit. Machado, winner of the Quisling Prize, would also be worse. She promised maximum exploitation of Venezuelan national resources by foreign corporations. China might actually be the least bad global power at this point.

[malloc]

Once again my pessimism is vindicated. This is probably just the start and soon enough I expect to see Trump make good on his threats to annex Greenland and so forth.

[WeepingElf]

I never was a friend of Maduro's regime, but Trump's move is dumb and illegal. It won't restore democracy in Venezuela. The only people who can restore democracy in Venezuela are the people of Venezuela, and if anything, Trump's coup only makes things worse.

[Travis B.]

I never was a friend of Maduro's regime, but Trump's move is dumb and illegal. It won't restore democracy in Venezuela. The only people who can restore democracy in Venezuela are the people of Venezuela, and if anything, Trump's coup only makes things worse.

Agreed completely -- what Trump has done will only result in someone else in Maduro's regime taking his place, and likely will entrench the regime further, unless Trump really puts boots on the ground, which will only result in a bloody war like in Iraq.

[WeepingElf]

I never was a friend of Maduro's regime, but Trump's move is dumb and illegal. It won't restore democracy in Venezuela. The only people who can restore democracy in Venezuela are the people of Venezuela, and if anything, Trump's coup only makes things worse.

Agreed completely -- what Trump has done will only result in someone else in Maduro's regime taking his place, and likely will entrench the regime further, unless Trump really puts boots on the ground, which will only result in a bloody war like in Iraq.

Precisely that.

[rotting bones]

Once again my pessimism is vindicated.

The world is always like this. It progresses in some ways and regresses in others.

This is probably just the start and soon enough I expect to see Trump make good on his threats to annex Greenland and so forth.

I doubt it. Trumpists said they "had to" take out Maduro because he wasn't interested in making deals with Trump.

[rotting bones]

I think I'm going to switch to China-aligned outlets as my primary news source: https://youtu.be/YnD0p5F7MNs

[Travis B.]

I think I'm going to switch to China-aligned outlets as my primary news source: https://youtu.be/YnD0p5F7MNs

As mainstream media goes I prefer the Grauniad.

[Travis B.]

I should note that for all the faults of the American mainstream media, Chinese media really is not an improvement.

[rotting bones]

I should note that for all the faults of the American mainstream media, Chinese media really is not an improvement.

I have seen NBC and CBS explicitly justifying this operation. If they are willing to support this, I'm not sure I trust their judgment on anything else.

[Travis B.]

I should note that for all the faults of the American mainstream media, Chinese media really is not an improvement.

I have seen NBC and CBS explicitly justifying this operation. If they are willing to support this, I'm not sure I trust their judgment on anything else.

But your logic here is akin to that of those who call for support of "actually existing socialism" (read: China, Vietnam, North Korea, or even strangely (as the Soviet Union has been dead since 1992) Russia) because American imperialism is bad.