2020 Election Thread

[Nodack]

Now is the most dangerous time in our country. Trump needs to be stripped of all authority before he does something truly horrible in desperation or retaliation.

He have been reading up on that. He is President until January. I think any sabotage he does would come back to hurt him and his party. I don’t think he has any legal standing to reverse the election. I can see him pardoning some people on his way out. I can see him Tweeting insults from the golf course every day for the next two months. I worry if he calls his proud boys to stop standing by. That won’t win him the Presidency either.

[Cap]

[Nodack]

The number 1 song on iTunes this morning? “FDT” by YG featuring Nipsey Hussle, released on March 30, 2016. What does it mean? You figure it out.

[Superbone]

The number 1 song on iTunes this morning? “FDT” by YG featuring Nipsey Hussle, released on March 30, 2016. What does it mean? You figure it out.

I got it in less than 2 seconds.

[ShelC]

Good article on where Trumpism/Republicans may go from here. My fear going forward is that the genie is out of the bottle now. Trump may or may not be done, but the Trump/populist fire has only just started. If the Rs find someone younger, with as much charisma who can galvanize the base and has an actual brain in their head, this country could easily fall into autocracy. I think we dodged a major bullet this time but Rs were all too happy to fall in line, bend to Trump's will, flout laws and procedures, let his family make their money so long as the Trump train rolled on. What the left/liberals/Dems can't do is think they've "won". I think there's a little too much celebrating going on. Half the country still voted for Trump knowing full well what he is/was. And Romney made the point that down ballot Rs still won more races, which says more about Trump than R policies. There needs to be a sustained effort and campaign by the left to continue pushing voters to vote and not get complacent and give things right back in 2024.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-unique ... 27072.html

Liberals are right that a rightwing populist playbook has emerged in the 21st century; in theory, it could be copied successfully by a competent authoritarian in the US. As we’ve learnt, neither the Republican party nor significant parts of the electorate would stand in the way of such a figure. As we have also learnt, checks and balances are much more fragile that civics textbook wisdom and liberal complacency (“We are not Hungary or Turkey!”) would have led us to believe

[Nodack]

And people say there is no such thing as demonic possession.

[Superbone]

He who laughs last, laughs best. However, that was a joyless laugh if I've ever heard one.

[Mori Chu]

Shel: You and that article may be right about a "next Trump" who is more politically savvy and therefore dangerous. But I do think that what Trump did is hard to replicate. He had decades of fame and name recognition and the reputation as a billionaire businessman and media celebrity, which you can't just replicate overnight. And he had a lot of things fall into perfect alignment that are unlikely to align again now that folks on both sides have been bitten by Trump's run.

I could imagine another actor/celebrity to run for President again on the GOP ticket, like The Rock or Dennis Quaid or somebody like that, but I don't see anybody with Trump's wealth and cachet. And I could imagine another aspiring autocrat who's a more savvy politician running, like Hawley or DeSantis or Cornyn or whomever. But it's hard to put those things together into one person.

[jonh]

And people say there is no such thing as demonic possession.

[ShelC]

It's no doubt hard to replicate but I don't think celebrity or wealth has much to do with it at this point. If he's started the movement, it would just take someone who knows how to play to a crowd to continue it. Trump's celebrity and brand helped him break into the field, but it was his charisma, his catch phrases, his ability to connect that caught on. If there is a politician who can rally the crowd the way Trump could, that's all it would take. But we've seen his sons, Rudy, other Rs try at his rallies and fail. I haven't seen an R rile up an audience the way Trump can.

AOC didn't have celebrity or wealth but she broke thru similarly and makes headlines now with her tweets and quotes. She's almost the left's version of Trump, and they kinda hate her for it. Mark Cuban is richer and has actual business experience and savvy, makes good points on Twitter and his speeches but can he capture a crowd?

[jonh]

It's no doubt hard to replicate but I don't think celebrity or wealth has much to do with it at this point. If he's started the movement, it would just take someone who knows how to play to a crowd to continue it. Trump's celebrity and brand helped him break into the field, but it was his charisma, his catch phrases, his ability to connect that caught on. If there is a politician who can rally the crowd the way Trump could, that's all it would take. But we've seen his sons, Rudy, other Rs try at his rallies and fail. I haven't seen an R rile up an audience the way Trump can.

AOC didn't have celebrity or wealth but she broke thru similarly and makes headlines now with her tweets and quotes. She's almost the left's version of Trump, and they kinda hate her for it. Mark Cuban is richer and has actual business experience and savvy, makes good points on Twitter and his speeches but can he capture a crowd?

I think there are incredibly strong linkages between Trump and cult-leaders, such as narcissism, charisma, willingness to defy social norms, and being authoritarian. That charisma isn't always present in the next generation.

[AmareIsGod]

Watch all of it. Dave Chappelle really knows how to hit deep and towards the end, there's a lot of reflecting to be done. Definitely gave me the feels. Of course, being Chappelle, a little NSFW is to be expected.

[Nodack]

It's no doubt hard to replicate but I don't think celebrity or wealth has much to do with it at this point. If he's started the movement, it would just take someone who knows how to play to a crowd to continue it. Trump's celebrity and brand helped him break into the field, but it was his charisma, his catch phrases, his ability to connect that caught on. If there is a politician who can rally the crowd the way Trump could, that's all it would take. But we've seen his sons, Rudy, other Rs try at his rallies and fail. I haven't seen an R rile up an audience the way Trump can.

AOC didn't have celebrity or wealth but she broke thru similarly and makes headlines now with her tweets and quotes. She's almost the left's version of Trump, and they kinda hate her for it. Mark Cuban is richer and has actual business experience and savvy, makes good points on Twitter and his speeches but can he capture a crowd?

I think we talked about this before and I agree. It takes a very special person to do what Trump does. I just got home from a gig and I was band leader and was expected to talk to the crowd. I enjoy singing and playing but, I cringe and can sound like a drunk older Biden when I speak in public. I have seen a lot of great singers not be able to command a crowd and I have seen some crappy singers completely win over a crown with their personality. It’s a rare gift. Trump has it. He also has the ability to lie right to your face with conviction. Another rare gift.

Trump was extremely dangerous to our democracy from mine and a lot of people like yourselves perspective and I am proud that American democracy is has won out over what was going on. I saw the jubilation videos in all the big cities. I have been beaming for a couple of days.

Trumps still doing his BS and nobody is biting. Even FOX has been cutting off the WH briefings when they get weird. Republicans like McConnell still standing by Trump and now Barr announced the DOJ was going to get involved if they found any substantial evidence.

Meanwhile Covid has been raging. Biden has put together a task force of medical experts to tackle Covid and did a video conferenced. He has started doing some spots where he talks about it being our duty to wear the masks to save lives.

[Nodack]

Watch all of it. Dave Chappelle really knows how to hit deep and towards the end, there's a lot of reflecting to be done. Definitely gave me the feels. Of course, being Chappelle, a little NSFW is to be expected.

Awesome!

[Mori Chu]

AOC didn't have celebrity or wealth but she broke thru similarly and makes headlines now with her tweets and quotes. She's almost the left's version of Trump, and they kinda hate her for it.

I've heard that argument before, that AOC is like the left's Trump. I totally disagree. Trump is rude, mean, and egotistical. He insults his opponents, he's arrogant, he's thin-skinned, he demands attention at all times. He has no respect for norms, for laws, for history, for institutions, for this country really. AOC is none of these things. Why would anybody say they are similar? Because they're both popular? What a shallow comparison. Because they are both "edgy" and go against what the mainstream of their party says? Plenty of people are like that. I just don't see any similarity at all.

[Nodack]

Maybe because he represents the extreme right and she supposedly represents the extreme left. FOX news has made AOC and the other three the face of the Democrat party as much as possible. They are obviously very different people. She is much hotter and younger than Trump by a pretty wide margin. She fights for the poor. Trump fights for the rich white guys.

[ShelC]

They're not similar in terms of character, morals, principals but more in how they're "outsiders" who broke thru and know how to capture/hold an audience. The media and the public tend to cling to what they say. Whatever "it" is, they both seem to have it. Trump trolls on twitter and it gets reported, she "claps back" and gets as many likes/retweets and it gets report. Others do the same and it barely gets noticed.

[Nodack]

McConnell blasts Dems for accepting Biden win after questioning validity of 2016 election
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/mcconn ... 6-election

I don’t remember any Dems questioning the validity of the 2016 election. I don’t remember any law suits filed by Hillary Clinton over fraudulent vote counting. I seem to recall a lot of dems being bummed but I don’t recall them calling the election fraudulent. Trump even in his win in 2016 claimed fraud. He claims fraud everywhere by everyone every day. The story is McConnell, Pompeo, Barr and other Republicans going along with Trumps BS and not minding threatening our democracy for their gain.

[Cap]

PredictIt has Trump priced at 17¢, and PolyMarket at 15¢.

I wish I could say, “No way that happens, put your money on Biden,” but I can’t.

[ShelC]

The left and the left wing media said his Presidency was illegitimate because of Russian/foreign interference. But in a closer election in 2016 there weren't lawsuits or claims of voter fraud, and the only recount to my knowledge came from Jill Stein with Wisconsin which felt like more a cash grab from donors. Hillary hemmed and hawed a bit but conceded and moved on.

The Rs now are using PA to drag this out to delegitimize Biden's win and undermine faith in the election and its process. I'm growing more and more convinced that somehow, someway they'll end up flipping PA back for Trump and then will use it as a means to flip GA as well. These people do not sound like they have any intention of leaving - Trump, Barr's DOJ or Pompeo with his quote today about a smooth transition to a second Trump administration. Top people in the admin are being replaced/fired and questionable replacements most likely loyal to Trump are being installed.

Worst case, the admin will try and antagonize the left to protest and take to the streets so Trump and Barr can call in the National Guard/military and institute some form of martial law or Insurrection Act.