Please don’t overthink this result. America is a fundamentally racist country and white people overwhelmingly rejected a Black/Asian woman.
More critically America is a deeply misogynistic country and so this time white people were helped by Latino and Black men in defeating an immensely qualified woman.
The only thing that trump ran on was hatred of people of color and diminishment of women. And it worked.
Oh stop! Racism and Sexism had something to do with it but not *everything*. I know lots of brown people who voted for him. Indian businessmen, Latinos, Muslims.
The fact is that he tells naive, angry, aggrieved people that the solution to their problems is easy and only he can “fix it”. It doesn’t matter if that problem is big, like an Israeli genocide and occupation or small - like the high price of eggs. It doesn’t matter if the problem doesn’t affect them in any way like immigrants or trans athletes in sports. It doesn’t matter if it’s just a perception like the “horrible economy” or “cancel culture” or “anti-white racism”.
People who are aggrieved about problems that aren’t real don’t like thinking about what they’re really aggrieved about. If their leaders and their media reassure them that they’re right to be aggrieved, then they have no reason to investigate further.
People who are aggrieved about a real problem, don’t like thinking about what it would take to solve that problem. They just want someone to tell them it will go away. If their leaders tell them there isn’t an easy fix or, even worse, don’t listen to them at all even to tell them why there is no easy fix, then they will abandon them and find someone who will listen to them and tell them there’s an easy solution.
Blaming everything on racism and sexism absolves black and brown people of their complicity in electing them. Victims of racism aren’t better or more noble because they are or were victims of racism. And they’re no less capable of being racist themselves. The victims of the holocaust had no problem persecuting Arabs when they had power. The Muslims who were persecuted in Hindu majority India had no problem persecuting Hindus and Ahmadis and Shias when they had power. The immigrants from Mexico and South America had no problem announcing their hatred for “illegals”. Some Latinos who live on the border even help authorities round up people crossing illegally.
Being a victim of abuse doesn’t make you better than others unless you learn the right lessons from it. Some people learn that abusing people without power is wrong. Others just learn that it’s better to be the people with power.
They chose an obviously immoral, damaged and corrupt man over a woman with an impeccable track record and talent. The fact that they make up shit to be aggrieved about is just to give them cover. And the thing they were told to be aggrieved about was the fact that people of color are migrating into the country. All his arguments are grounded in racism and bigotry and his voters hate the same people he hates. You ever watch these people at his rallies? They aren’t concerned about anything of substance they just like the license to loudly and aggressively assert their hate for the “others”.
>>>”The fact that they make up shit to be aggrieved about is just to give them cover.”
I don’t think they’re necessarily “making up shit” to be aggrieved about. I think some of the things they’re aggrieved about are real but they don’t understand the issues that well. But I think more often than not the grievance is real but it’s not *really* what they’re aggrieved about.
>>>”And the thing they were told to be aggrieved about was the fact that people of color are migrating into the country.”
They were “told” that they should be angry about lots of things…
In 2016 it was leaked emails and the corrupt government establishment/“swamp”…also immigrants.
In 2020, they were supposed to be outraged about Chinese people who “created Covid” and Bill Gates and 5G towers and birds and other things that caused Covid. They were also simultaneously supposed to be angry about masks and vaccines and other things that were supposed to protect you from Covid…
In 2022, they were told that they should be aggrieved about wokeism and CRT and black mermaids and gay penguins and gas stoves.
In 2024, it was two-tiered justice systems and inflation and sending all our money to Ukraine. Also immigrants.
Sure there is a common line of bigotry or fear of “others” that runs through much of this rhetoric but Trump and right wing media also exploit age old ideas like distrust of the government and government institutions and “systems rigged against the little man”.
That line of thinking works just as well on aggrieved black and brown people as it does on aggrieved white people. It works just as well on women as it does on men. MAGA supporters don’t have a monopoly on distrust of “the system”.
The 'right' lesson? As you point out, detachment from all the 'blame this' targets--distractions (shells which are claimed to have a pea under them)--is just the first part of figuring out that there's a lesson to be learned. How many of us are caught up in trying to figure out who's to blame? That's a passive state. Watching a shell game is powerless. Watching the ones who move the shells around isn't empowering; it is just as passive as trying to track the elusive pea's location.
Action means seeing all this for what it is, then noticing how we've gotten called to watch. Some real need we have brings us to these forums.
When some bystanders notice this, then we can form a group that does something, something that isn't a shell game where we just watch. Just watching is always passive until we figure out what we're trying to get from being here.
Mehdi's good will and intelligence is what I want to interact with, and yours, too. We need to share ideas that disengage from just being passive watchers!
We can do that. Mehdi, if you're listening, please.
THIS !!!!!! I'm an uncommitted and then Kamala voter.... her "failures" are in the context of appealing to racist sexist greedy America so I'm not even gonna blame her
I almost agree with you. However, Trump one with white racist woman as well. That IS history , they showed up for Trump as well. I will never discount them.
No, David, it is not nitpicking. It is an observation of the impact of Christian Nationalism in the nation, a disease that perhaps has been very much under appreciated. Too late now.
Absolutely, Sherry, Trump’s team must have had the “Diaries of Joseph Goebbels” sitting at their bedsides because the game they played was straight out of them. Sadly, there are a goodly number of women who also sided with Trump, women who I referred to in another post as those who think “The Handmaid’s Tale” was a comedy.
I disagree that this was the main premise for Harris’ defeat. Talib and Omar both won their respective seats they stuck to their values and principles, they had a clear narrative and policies. Harris failed to give her base a reason to vote, she aligned herself to Chaney (🤢), her response on the view was to add a republican to the to the cabinet ?!?! WTH? She made it too easy for people to be apathetic… I don’t see how people are surprised she that she lost?
Wow, Naz, Talia and Omar were elected by their constituents. Sadly they would have gone down in flames on the national stage because the populace has fallen victim to the fascist rhetoric of the far right. This is now what is the US, a violent, misogynistic and xenophobic nation wherein the underbelly of violence and hatred has been exposed in its full glory. This is a nation that prefers the slaughter of its own children over gun control, the right to control a woman’s body over self determination, and the asininity of religion over rational behaviour. Don’t blame Harris for her failure to provide her base a reason to vote, the reason was there screaming madness and hate at every single rally of his. Is her “base” really that impossibly stupid? I guess so. So, Naz, grow up, put your big boy pants on and understand that there is only one element to blame and that is the voting public. They did this all by themselves. Now the world has to live with it.
First of all this is unnecessary attack on my comment. And proves my point. I’m not denying that America is a racist place. However this was not the reason Harris lost, and framing it as so is didactic (just look at Trumps voter demographics). The fact is there was no discourse on Harris as a candidate, she was weak, she was not scrutinised as there was no primaries! Biden should have dropped out earlier, the Democrats should have had a selection process, her policies should have been tested, her ability to win a crowd, her leadership none of that was put to the test. Instead we got an incumbent who only really managed to get a lot of celebrities to endorse her and had a slight bit of momentum after Trump/Biden disaster of a debate and Biden dropping out. After that her campaign went downhill - aligned herself with Chaney, she couldn’t answer a question on what she would do differently (on the view), her running mate managed to normalise JD Vance, she refused to represent a single Palestinian voice at the DNC, she got Bill Clinton to lecture us about house were wrong about Gaza … sorry buddy but looking at this through one lens is just lazy.
Of course I know she would have had a hard time trying to win America - just look at the crap Obama had to deal with. But the fact is she did not convince her base to turn up, Trump managed to get his base to turn up for him
I am very sorry for the big boy pants comment, Naz, it was not acceptable and in truth I think we are very much soul mates. (However, in my defence I am more than slightly distraught.) I care about Palestine terribly, I have a very good friend who is living in a tent on the Gaza coast with her three children. I want them alive and well. You can read her story here, https://newyorkwarcrimes.com/i-have-lived-my-life-with-only-half-a-heart. But, Naz, bringing Nour to safety is so much further away today.
With Harris the progressives in congress would have had a direct path to the Presidency. Now they have nothing; they will be hard pressed to be allowed to speak. No, Naz, the problem now is how anyone with a progressive thought will be allowed to think, let alone speak.
Already, we see Bannon literally crowing from rooftops. He has longed for this day from his university years. Nick Fuentes has now pronounced that, “Women’s bodies are mine.” Neo-Nazi forums are pondering who will be the first to rape two handmaids. Any climate action is as dead as Trump’s soul.
So, Naz, the issue is NOT what was wrong with the Harris campaign, but what IS wrong with the U.S. people. Not voting was a vote for Trump. Voting for Jill Stein (and I like her a lot) was a vote for Trump.
No, the people who made those choices didn’t think, Naz. They didn’t get back at the Dems. They didn’t make ethical choices, they made absolutely vacuous choices that will set back social causes in the country, perhaps forever. The people who did vote for Trump? Well, they are the living embodiment of what is wrong with the U.S. of A.
I think perhaps you are framing of circa 14m ppl who didn’t show up for Harris as the problem, and not looking at why those people were not motivated to vote. Biden/Harris administration has been facilitating a genocide for over a year, this is the same organisation that haven’t even restored humanity aid through UNRWA despite every single other western govt restoring it, week after week Biden press secretary lying and gaslighting to journalists. No Doug - I see no evidence that that Nour’s life and family would be improved by a vote for Harris. Please tell me how you got to the conclusion that there was any hope for even a meaningful conversation on this?
Not only this, the economy and inflation has been a big issue in America, Harris’ only comment on this when asked what she would do differently was ‘Nothing comes to mind’ …..
Her campaign was essentially ‘I am not Trump’ and I’m sorry that’s not good enough to motivate people.
The fact is the democrats tried to court republicans voters through Chaney, they were too late off the mark in selecting a replacement for Biden, they gave Harris an impossible battle (no legitimacy through a primary, no time to create a meaningful campaign with a differentiation with Biden, no clear economic strategy, nothing to showcase Palestinians voices, nothing on free speech and right to protest, nothing on how they would improve the lives of the working class, nothing on inflation). If women’s rights was the issue then why did white women vote overwhelmingly for Trump?
All the Harris/Walz campaign did have was hype and celebrity endorsement (particularly celebrities who are wealthier than god, have no crossover with average people). Trying to court republicans through Chaney. Essentially the whole campaign relied on ‘I am not Trump’ instead of why we should vote for her.
I get you’re upset because people weren’t able to think like you, but framing them as ‘the problem’ is so lazy. For some, there wasn’t a choice - Democrats need to start listening to their base, the concerns of the working people and progressives. Instead of pandering to coastal elites.
Disagree. It's all on the candidate. You work with what you have and she did not do a good job. She couldn't even separate herself from the diminished self-proclaimed zionist Biden. How is that leadership ?!
This is still a democracy and he received the popular vote. And the electoral college not to mention the Senate So not sure how that adds up. The is well equipped now to turn this country into a dictatorship.
I will certainly hope for the best but I am truly afraid for this country because Trump is solid in his words about what he wants to do . He is something we have never encountered before and he does have a lot of support which is unbelievable to me
This country isn’t what it was 50 yrs ago! It’s occupied. Not of the people, by the people, for the people anymore. Constitution is trampled daily. As a Libertarian I like to see a smaller govt; let people decide on their liberties. Trump was a democrat all his life, till 2015 when H Clinton banned him from running as a Dem candidate. So he ran as a Rep.
Our presidents have very little power. They have to obey the establishment or be assass inated. Little will change.
Oh, Missy, you will soon understand that Trump is not about smaller government or you making your own decisions about your liberties. Trump is about control and the suspension of liberties. He is a psychopath, Missy. He is without compassion and is all about making you align with his wants and beliefs. You will have the liberty to bow down to him, Missy, because 50, 100, 1000 years have not changed the goals and desires of authoritarians. This is all about Trump and not only does he not care about you, he is incapable of caring for you.
Of course..."it's the economy , stupid". When you have Democrats and bureaucrats bragging about Bidenomics at the same time young people making six-figures/unable to afford a home, maybe it's time for a radical change. That said, the oligarchy is certainly capable of twisting the economy to fit the long-term needs of the uber-wealthy.
You know, LG, in 1978 I was a university grad, with a professional job making the equivalent of six figures and I couldn’t afford a home. I had a perfect credit record, a down payment and they just told me there was no way I could qualify for a mortgage. Interest rates were up around 20%. Nobody could afford a new car let alone two cars. We lived with our parents’ hand me down furniture, we didn’t have destination weddings and holidays were in a tent at a lake near home. I sure as hell couldn’t live like my children and their friends live. We didn’t change jobs weekly, we supported a professional union and fought for our worker rights, even as professionals. We ended up living in a trailer and that saved our future. We scrimped and saved and on my wife’s 40th birthday could buy a home. So, quit talking about how hard your six-figure lives are. You want to fight price gouging and shrinkflation then get off your butt and fight it. Boycott, form a co-op, do what you have to do, just don’t sit there waiting for a politician to do something for you.
Thompson...I'm not complaining about my six-figure life. I'm commiserating with young people who are very disenchanted with their situations. Your unfounded generalization about changing jobs etc...just an old string of Boomerisms.
Just to set the record straight, your arrogant self has no clue about the status of my butt...where it is and what its doing. I have been a very productive community organizer for 50 years.
And I bought my first house at 16.9%. But prices where not nearly as outrageous as now.
What rubs me wrong about loudmouths like Doug Thompson...you don't know squat. And your lifestyle over the years...what's your excuse for the chips on both of your shoulders?
I'm sorry to say I'm not that surprised by the election results. Harris had three strikes against her: 1) she is a women, 2) she is a person of color, and 3) she didn't distance herself from Biden's Gaza policies. I think 1) and 2) were probably more important than 3) in determining the outcome. Those of us who understand what Trump represents need to network, get organized, and fight like hell against what's coming our way!!
We had had person of color already, women sure but with abortion rights that should be an easy in the bag thing also. It's Palestine/Gaza and the fact that we had sleepy joe for 4 years doing nothing that is why. I would even add Ukraine/Russia into this also. The DNC in my opinion is a terrorist organization and Americans are waking up to this.
It is interesting that many of my non-professional talking heads who just followed the election from a distance had all predicted that there would be a full sweep in favor of trump. And yet all of the professional talking heads and pollsters seem to think that it was a close race at best. Maybe we should start listening to the people on the street more instead of these so-called professionals who just talk and talk all day but in the end what they have to say and what they predict turns out to be nothing more than a pack of inaccuracies. It is with certainty that there will be dark days ahead for the country, but the American people have chosen their leader with an overwhelming result and now they will have to live with their decision.
That's because non-professional talking heads talk to one another, not pundits and pollsters. We also know what the other side is actually talking about because they're our neighbors and family members. One of these days, Democrats are going to learn that big money donors and pollsters don't decide elections.
I agree. It seems time and time again that the polls and talking heads are wrong. Media, new and old typically feeds people click bait rather than nuanced or balanced analysis as well.
The professional talking heads aka corporate media is instrumental in creating consent for everything from candidates to policy and sadly also war. Just playback Iraq war propaganda, even PBS is not immune.
It does not matter it's all a game of persuasion. You make yourself looks like you're winning or close and that you are the winner so that you can sway votes one way. I am surprised that the blues even got as much as they got.
You know what I learned? I learned that the algorithms that rule our online lives are doing us a disservice when it comes to governance. The algorithms feed us what we want to see. We stay in our bubble and believe what our preferential news sources want us to believe. But we never get a full picture of reality. The reality is: 1/2 of our American brethren are crazy, and they are now in control.
I agree with everything you said up until the last sentence. Dems are DEFINITELY in a bubble and what that means is they live and govern like elitists, talking down to the rural communities and shaming them for being stupid and crazy rather than being on the ground WITH them and talking through their issues. The people who voted for Trump are not crazy as much as they are sick of being called stupid and crazy. Voting for Trump was their way of sticking it to the liberal elites. I know this because I'm from the liberal elite crowd but I opened businesses in a rural Trump town. When Kamala told peace-activists at her rally to shut up with "I'm speaking" she lost the election right then and there. It was a moment that showed the world what the Democrats have become - elitist and completely out of touch with most of America. I hope they spend the next four years stepping out of their bubble and taking a good hard look at what their values SHOULD be, rather than moving to the right and courting people like Dick Cheney.
Agreed!! She lost the election that night and her campaign was an absolute travesty ever since. You can’t tell most of your voter base to fuck off in favor of some non-exist Liz Cheney republican.
Oh and whatever consultant thought that sending Bill Clinton to Michigan to do a whole soliloquy about arabs should be fired. That speech was disgusting
This is exactly true. Reinforcing any idea, superstition, slander, hits biological 'triggers' in our mammalian brain that stimulate fight, flight, freeze reactions. Is this crazy? Yes, if this herd instinct is manipulated to set off what amounts to 'mob' dynamics. That's what happened in Germany (and Italy, Spain) back in the 1930s. It's neurological--a mechanism that is non-verbal, thus words don't counter it. It is possible to not get swept up, only if there's a place to stand that's outside 'the herd.' This neurological track is a safety factor when it isn't stimulated very often, where conditions are generally peaceful and life is routine. But when crisis follows crisis this impulse to identify 'What is the threat?' and cast it out gets crazier and more panicky as it goes along. History illustrates this mechanism, usually at smaller scales of 'herd,' like, as an example, lynch mobs in the 1920s or witch burnings in the 17th century: Fear-based acting out by over-stressed populations finding an objective focus for their FEELINGS (that they can't control but can't escape.) I work in using the 12-Step program Steps as a process (which has a track record of being capable of 'restoring sanity' in addicts) to build peer groups that make a 'safe place' for themselves, thus can succeed in not being swept along. There is, indeed, a kind of magic, a spiritual ingredient, in such groups. I was an early student of set theory and fractal geometry as these can be applied to social sciences (psychology, sociology) large scale dynamics, which still aren't widely studied or understood. But I've been doing this--and seeing how it works--for more than sixty years now. It's amazing and it's hard to undercut because the ideas, not the personalities, are the focus topic in these kinds of groups (which are anonymous, to detach ideas from individual proponents.)
Primarily what we learned is that American voters are not much different from WWE fans -- they place spectacle above reality, and this includes white women who stood with Trump. Frankly, this country is far too ignorant and politically naive to continue as anything but an authoritarian shit-show. I also think it's time for gurus like James Carville and Michael Moore to step aside and shut their traps, because they got it completely wrong. The bigots and white supremacists won; Putin won; Bibi Netanyahu won; Musk, Bezos and Thiel won. The chaos and kleptocracy will be breathtaking; Trump's money worries are over as he now has the US Treasury as his personal piggybank. Sorry, I'm sleep-deprived and a tad bit upset with my fellow Americans. We're as ignorant as I have long feared.
I don't think Micheal Moore was wrong, he was optimistic and hopeful. I agree with the rest of your point but no, we need people like Micheal Moore to remain optimistic and keep fighting the good fight
At heart most people are fascists. At the very least, they don’t really like their fellow humans. The Rs won because they have something for everyone to hate. Dems have to protect all the minorities (including the poor)
I expect a big depression in the US & WW3 unless climate change beats us to it.
Sociological studies have shown that around 30-35% of the population has an authoritarian disposition. Then you just need to add another 15-20% of ignorant, easily manipulatable people to win an election.
Harris got what she deserves. DemocRATS can't take voters for granted. This is a punishment from the voters for silencing public opinion, suppressing free speech on college campuses, and supporting Israel's Genocide. This doesn't mean our support for RepubliCONS. DemocRATS and RepubliCONS are two evil sides of the same coin and this is a sad reality which will continue until an alternative is formed to save America. The next cycle, People will be fed-up with Trump and may vote for DemocRATS and the same cycle continues.
Mehdi should lead and work with 3rd party and independent candidates to establish his own coalition of revolutionary party to fix the problem.
You are no more bothered and hurt by the genocide in Gaza than many Muslims but your total disregard for understanding is short sighted. This was the plan from the start, to put Gaza in the headlines and make it something it has not always been - October 7th. What about the occupation that has been going on for more than 50 years? The Republicans in US feeds of Islamophobia repeatedly and people like you don't care because of your hatred and blame game. The reason MBS love Trump is because he got away with a domestic palace coup within the royal family with Trump looking the other way. I hope one day, that comes to bite him hard. He or you don't care about the plight of Palestinians.
Please note that in all my comments, I never pointed fingers at others, the way you are pointing at me. You need to learn to respect other people's views.
*"Verily, GOD will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves." - Q.13:11*
Stay firm in your belief that no one has the power to cause Pain or do any Good unless it is the WILL of GOD. Q-10:107
Democrats tried to put "lipstick on a pig" and Mehdi/Zeteo failed to assist.
I always said; DemocRATS and RepubliCONS are two evil sides of the same coin.
Make yourself content by saying that you alone cares for GAZA and the rest of the world does not, if that makes you feel better.
Moses didn't freed Israelites overnight. It took over 200 years of enslavement and oppression before Moses led them to freedom.
No, you people who chose not to vote for VP Harris AND are living in the good ole USA, where your families are being killed, do not care about the plight of Palestinians!!!! You all have become americanized (selfish and soft)! Actions speaks louder than words, but you all will see in a few weeks how stupid it was to support Trump! And the minute you all try and protest/ riot and take over campuses....again Trump is going to lower the boom on you, which is what you people voted for! So, let Trump do Trump!!!!!!!
Nope, just a VP Harris supporter hoping and praying you people, who chose not to support her, get EXACTLY what you all voted for! Many of you all, who are naturalized citizens, will find yourselves back in Gaza wishing your asses were back in the U.S.!!!!! Let Trump Do Trump!!!!
I think this is actually a very point, which is not been mentioned in the post analysis, the students who protested and their friends who may not have protested with them but saw what was done to them, also possibly rightfully very angry decided to wield their vote
Wouldn't this be great! Mehdi could definitely be the eyes and ears on the ground... and we could put real issues at the front, after a ceasefire EVERYWHERE. We could work on free public education, including college. Free healthcare for all. No one could be in the US with more than a billion dollars. Get rid of lobbyists. No more Big Pharma holding us hostage. Whew. A dream.
Harris screwed up but Trump is gonna screw us big time. See how that suits those with the big egos and what that will do for any human let alone the Palestinians. Thank you Medhi for all that you have done. Big egos won the day today. Even those who say they are outraged about Palestine yet they just flushed it down the toilet with Trump. You did that, if you are in a swing state and you voted third party. If you voted for Trump that is a whole different story.
This should be a wake-up call to the Dems even thinking of running another status quo neoliberal in 2028. But sadly as long as the mega donors keep doing their thing, it'll just be more of the same and nothing will be learned.
Oh but that is exactly what will happen. All over MSNBC this morning was "Progressivism must end". I think those were the pundit's literal words. "It's the fault of progressives that we can't speak our minds." "College campuses are out of control." What a joke. Ron Desantis ran on "wokeism" and lost. This is as much about what Trump represents symbolically as all of the cultural issues. It is not only the economy. What will happen is, Dems will truly become truly indistinguishable from Republicans by the next election. I don't know what Progressives will do because Jill Stein ain't it. Sorry. The Green Party has not been serious about establishing any local infrastructure in between elections. I definitely feel politically homeless and am very concerned about so many of those scapegoated during this election. JD Vance as Vice President to a 78 year old declining nutjob is even more frightening.
I'm interested in what you say about the American Green Party. I'm a former member of the Canadian Green Party at the federal level, and "establishing local infrastructure" (at the riding level) is exactly what the party can't seem to do. The same is true with provincial Green Parties. I don't know whether it's because there are too few Greens in most ridings -- when I attempted to run a Green riding association, nobody was interested in putting in the hard, often boring but always necessary, work to build up local support. My experience is that many Greens are more interested in discussing policies than in learning what politics is all about at the party level and beyond.
I recall voting for exactly 1 Green Party candidate here in Brooklyn like 12 years ago. I don't even recall his name. He gave me a flyer on the way to the subway, and I was disgusted by the other options and thought, why not? That is the last time I recall seeing a Green Party candidate. I thought the Working Families Party could be that option but they've basically been cannibalized by Democrats except in a few cases. :/ I don't pretend that establishing a viable 3rd party in a system designed to quash that isn't difficult. But I just have an issue with the same one failed candidate popping up every 4 years having said nothing new or where she's been. Though the same could be said for many Democrats, fair enough. But between Stein and then the mess that was Cornel West, they are not exactly helping themselves or the cause be taken seriously. So now, here we all are.
If the candidates aren't there, it's because the grassroots support isn't there, which means there just aren't enough Americans who are prepared to work towards building a viable Green Party. I don't know how any third party is going to break through in your country. It took decades for the New Democratic Party in Canada to become established. It had its roots in the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation, founded in 1932 by a coalition of Prairie farmers, labour and socialist organizations, which, under the auspices of the Canadian Labour Council, became the New Democratic Party in 1961. It was a workers movement birthed on the Prairies that spread to urban BC; in order to grow, it needed to establish strong local riding associations across the country, to challenge the two big parties established at Confederation in 1867. Its fortunes have varied; from 2011 to 2015, the NDP was the Official Opposition to the Harper Conservatives. Then Justin Trudeau revived the Liberal Party and swept to victory in 2015. The federal Green Party, established in 1983, has attempted to run candidates to all ridings but has not been able to build strong riding associations in all but a few ridings across the country.
This is really interesting. Thank you for sharing the perspective from Canada. Does the Liberal Party take as active a role in trying to suppress any viability of Green Party candidates as the parties do here (for example Democrats trying to get 3rd party candidates removed from ballots in certain states)?
No, nothing like that would be possible here. Our system is very different from yours -- much more simple, it seems to me -- and we don't have anything resembling your Electoral College. Our federal parties run candidates in all 338 ridings (electoral districts) across the country, with the exception of the Bloc Québecois, which only runs candidates in ridings in the province of Québec, recognized as a "distinct society". Currently, Canada has a minority Liberal government with 153 seats. The Opposition Conservatives have 119 seats. The Bloc has 33 seats, ahead of the New Democrats with 25. The Greens have 2 MPs. There are 4 Independent MPs, and 2 seats vacant at the present time. Canadians vote for a candidate running for a federal party in their riding. We are not able to vote for the Prime Minister (the leader of their party), unless we happen to live in the riding in which they are running as a candidate. It's quite common for a party to win the most seats in an election but not the popular vote; it's the number of seats that counts. Ours is a minority Liberal government, often dependent on other parties for support to pass legislation, particularly budgets. After the 2021 election, the NDP entered into a Supply and Confidence agreement with the Liberals to keep the government afloat; NDP leader, Jagmeet Singh, cancelled that agreement at the beginning of September, so the government may fall at any time, although only the Conservatives, and perhaps the Bloc, really want an election soon.
The only “shocking” aspect of Trump’s win is that pollsters and pundits believed there were “undecideds.” Those who said they were “undecided” were - drum roll, please - lying. Shhhhhocking…
"Her answer? “There is not a thing that comes to mind."" Maybe she is just not smart enough and a bad candidate lost to a very cunning candidate
I do agree that she did not lose because of her stance on Gaza and Lebanon Genocide but a whole set of issues.
The Dems thought the economic indicators such as inflation, GDP, Balance of payment, stock market, and Unemployment rate bought the groceries for the masses. These indicators only work for the upper class with money, not the guys and girls just surviving and having difficulty putting food on the table.
It is time to redefine what we as democrats' are and want from the process.
For many working families, the rising cost of living—groceries, gas, housing, and more—is pushing us to the edge. This is the toughest economy I’ve felt in my lifetime, and despite talk of a “strong economy,” it doesn’t feel that way for those of us living paycheck to paycheck @Mehdi. People are struggling every day. Maybe some are surprised by recent election outcomes, but if more Democratic leaders and some media outlets truly understood the challenges facing middle-class and average American families, they might have seen this coming. Real change will come only when we have real plans for economic relief that address our reality. In recent races, it’s awful how close these elections have been—even at the presidential, Senate, and congressional levels. It shows a disconnect between politicians and working-class families. Look at their lifestyles compared to ours! Sadly, our party seems to have lost touch with us in recent years. If we don’t make major changes in policies and actions, this shift in our politics will only continue.
The fundamental issue with capitalism is that a booming economy doesn’t trickle down and improve the standard of living for all. It solely benefits those at the top. The 1% who need to keep everyone living from payday to payday. All the while selling people shit they don’t need and distracting them with “entertainment”. People are too busy trying to survive to focus on the real problems.
Ím keen to see how many votes Jill Stein got - that’s the clincher I bet. Anyway, I am preparing myself psychologically to news of trumps antics for the next 4 LONG YEARS. He already said what he wants to do and he will do it. 🤮 🤡
I believe now is the time for President Biden to take advantage of his immunity. It might take some time to develop a complete agenda, but we could start by sending arms to Ukraine that can't subsequently be taken back. Nationalize Starlink? Maybe Biden could resign, making Harris #47, and thereby voiding all the Trump mugs and tee-shirts. And then Harris could take advantage of the immunity. The possibilities are endless.
Right on Mehdi when you say it was more than the genocide. There are many who are happy that they stuck it to the Dems but they are going to have buyer's remorse. On the flip side, the Dems are going to have seller's remorse. They're going to realize they lost touch with their constituency.
So for now, everyone is going to stew in their own corners. Eventually, they're going to realize they've been played. They're going to realize they should have been working together and not so myopic. The evil one could see what was going on and used their hate against them. How dumb were they? How dumb were we?
As you said, now is the time for solidarity. Focus on what we need to accomplish. What are our common goals and how will we get them done. Form our alliances and make sure they're strong. Don't allow breaks again. The mischievous one schemes and even though his time is limited, there is always the next disciple to take the place so we must always focus and be ready to do the good and repel the wrong.
Demanding a person break with their most core principles for solidarity's sake won't work. Requiring any genocide tolerance - in any wording or silence - draws a line through 15 million of the Democratic now-abandoned left base
Mm, well this does make me feel a little better. And I'm still shocked that the "garbage island" comment didn't seem to move the needle any. But you're on your own with #7. I can only promise to be meaner to everyone online, in contrast to the "nice guy" persona I've built up here. With national pride gone for good, I'll at least enjoy the FO phase of this trainwreck. Ugh.
THIS TOPIC SUCKS AND IS NOW ABOUT FINDING NEW HOBBIES
Please don’t overthink this result. America is a fundamentally racist country and white people overwhelmingly rejected a Black/Asian woman.
More critically America is a deeply misogynistic country and so this time white people were helped by Latino and Black men in defeating an immensely qualified woman.
The only thing that trump ran on was hatred of people of color and diminishment of women. And it worked.
No other issues really mattered.
Oh stop! Racism and Sexism had something to do with it but not *everything*. I know lots of brown people who voted for him. Indian businessmen, Latinos, Muslims.
The fact is that he tells naive, angry, aggrieved people that the solution to their problems is easy and only he can “fix it”. It doesn’t matter if that problem is big, like an Israeli genocide and occupation or small - like the high price of eggs. It doesn’t matter if the problem doesn’t affect them in any way like immigrants or trans athletes in sports. It doesn’t matter if it’s just a perception like the “horrible economy” or “cancel culture” or “anti-white racism”.
People who are aggrieved about problems that aren’t real don’t like thinking about what they’re really aggrieved about. If their leaders and their media reassure them that they’re right to be aggrieved, then they have no reason to investigate further.
People who are aggrieved about a real problem, don’t like thinking about what it would take to solve that problem. They just want someone to tell them it will go away. If their leaders tell them there isn’t an easy fix or, even worse, don’t listen to them at all even to tell them why there is no easy fix, then they will abandon them and find someone who will listen to them and tell them there’s an easy solution.
Blaming everything on racism and sexism absolves black and brown people of their complicity in electing them. Victims of racism aren’t better or more noble because they are or were victims of racism. And they’re no less capable of being racist themselves. The victims of the holocaust had no problem persecuting Arabs when they had power. The Muslims who were persecuted in Hindu majority India had no problem persecuting Hindus and Ahmadis and Shias when they had power. The immigrants from Mexico and South America had no problem announcing their hatred for “illegals”. Some Latinos who live on the border even help authorities round up people crossing illegally.
Being a victim of abuse doesn’t make you better than others unless you learn the right lessons from it. Some people learn that abusing people without power is wrong. Others just learn that it’s better to be the people with power.
They chose an obviously immoral, damaged and corrupt man over a woman with an impeccable track record and talent. The fact that they make up shit to be aggrieved about is just to give them cover. And the thing they were told to be aggrieved about was the fact that people of color are migrating into the country. All his arguments are grounded in racism and bigotry and his voters hate the same people he hates. You ever watch these people at his rallies? They aren’t concerned about anything of substance they just like the license to loudly and aggressively assert their hate for the “others”.
>>>”The fact that they make up shit to be aggrieved about is just to give them cover.”
I don’t think they’re necessarily “making up shit” to be aggrieved about. I think some of the things they’re aggrieved about are real but they don’t understand the issues that well. But I think more often than not the grievance is real but it’s not *really* what they’re aggrieved about.
>>>”And the thing they were told to be aggrieved about was the fact that people of color are migrating into the country.”
They were “told” that they should be angry about lots of things…
In 2016 it was leaked emails and the corrupt government establishment/“swamp”…also immigrants.
In 2020, they were supposed to be outraged about Chinese people who “created Covid” and Bill Gates and 5G towers and birds and other things that caused Covid. They were also simultaneously supposed to be angry about masks and vaccines and other things that were supposed to protect you from Covid…
In 2022, they were told that they should be aggrieved about wokeism and CRT and black mermaids and gay penguins and gas stoves.
In 2024, it was two-tiered justice systems and inflation and sending all our money to Ukraine. Also immigrants.
Sure there is a common line of bigotry or fear of “others” that runs through much of this rhetoric but Trump and right wing media also exploit age old ideas like distrust of the government and government institutions and “systems rigged against the little man”.
That line of thinking works just as well on aggrieved black and brown people as it does on aggrieved white people. It works just as well on women as it does on men. MAGA supporters don’t have a monopoly on distrust of “the system”.
Don’t believe me? Ask Darnell Hayes ;)
https://youtu.be/O7VaXlMvAvk?si=3cDc3Y2clWULoaRg
I just read this to my wife and we concur that this is a wonderfully succinct and brilliantly powerful piece of prose. We are still applauding!
Wow. I’m floored honestly. Thank you both!
Smart♥️
Wow, Maryah, I really enjoyed reading that, you are absolutely spot on; pointed, forceful and reasoned. Good stuff!
The 'right' lesson? As you point out, detachment from all the 'blame this' targets--distractions (shells which are claimed to have a pea under them)--is just the first part of figuring out that there's a lesson to be learned. How many of us are caught up in trying to figure out who's to blame? That's a passive state. Watching a shell game is powerless. Watching the ones who move the shells around isn't empowering; it is just as passive as trying to track the elusive pea's location.
Action means seeing all this for what it is, then noticing how we've gotten called to watch. Some real need we have brings us to these forums.
When some bystanders notice this, then we can form a group that does something, something that isn't a shell game where we just watch. Just watching is always passive until we figure out what we're trying to get from being here.
Mehdi's good will and intelligence is what I want to interact with, and yours, too. We need to share ideas that disengage from just being passive watchers!
We can do that. Mehdi, if you're listening, please.
THIS !!!!!! I'm an uncommitted and then Kamala voter.... her "failures" are in the context of appealing to racist sexist greedy America so I'm not even gonna blame her
This is deep. It's 1619 deep
I almost agree with you. However, Trump one with white racist woman as well. That IS history , they showed up for Trump as well. I will never discount them.
"WON" I've lost it in the moment. White woman don't get a pass.
Y not agree with her? U get what she's saying y nitpick
No, David, it is not nitpicking. It is an observation of the impact of Christian Nationalism in the nation, a disease that perhaps has been very much under appreciated. Too late now.
Whatever this is not how u coalition build u didn't change my mind
It’s OK. I got his point and agree.
Absolutely, Sherry, Trump’s team must have had the “Diaries of Joseph Goebbels” sitting at their bedsides because the game they played was straight out of them. Sadly, there are a goodly number of women who also sided with Trump, women who I referred to in another post as those who think “The Handmaid’s Tale” was a comedy.
I disagree that this was the main premise for Harris’ defeat. Talib and Omar both won their respective seats they stuck to their values and principles, they had a clear narrative and policies. Harris failed to give her base a reason to vote, she aligned herself to Chaney (🤢), her response on the view was to add a republican to the to the cabinet ?!?! WTH? She made it too easy for people to be apathetic… I don’t see how people are surprised she that she lost?
Wow, Naz, Talia and Omar were elected by their constituents. Sadly they would have gone down in flames on the national stage because the populace has fallen victim to the fascist rhetoric of the far right. This is now what is the US, a violent, misogynistic and xenophobic nation wherein the underbelly of violence and hatred has been exposed in its full glory. This is a nation that prefers the slaughter of its own children over gun control, the right to control a woman’s body over self determination, and the asininity of religion over rational behaviour. Don’t blame Harris for her failure to provide her base a reason to vote, the reason was there screaming madness and hate at every single rally of his. Is her “base” really that impossibly stupid? I guess so. So, Naz, grow up, put your big boy pants on and understand that there is only one element to blame and that is the voting public. They did this all by themselves. Now the world has to live with it.
First of all this is unnecessary attack on my comment. And proves my point. I’m not denying that America is a racist place. However this was not the reason Harris lost, and framing it as so is didactic (just look at Trumps voter demographics). The fact is there was no discourse on Harris as a candidate, she was weak, she was not scrutinised as there was no primaries! Biden should have dropped out earlier, the Democrats should have had a selection process, her policies should have been tested, her ability to win a crowd, her leadership none of that was put to the test. Instead we got an incumbent who only really managed to get a lot of celebrities to endorse her and had a slight bit of momentum after Trump/Biden disaster of a debate and Biden dropping out. After that her campaign went downhill - aligned herself with Chaney, she couldn’t answer a question on what she would do differently (on the view), her running mate managed to normalise JD Vance, she refused to represent a single Palestinian voice at the DNC, she got Bill Clinton to lecture us about house were wrong about Gaza … sorry buddy but looking at this through one lens is just lazy.
Of course I know she would have had a hard time trying to win America - just look at the crap Obama had to deal with. But the fact is she did not convince her base to turn up, Trump managed to get his base to turn up for him
I am very sorry for the big boy pants comment, Naz, it was not acceptable and in truth I think we are very much soul mates. (However, in my defence I am more than slightly distraught.) I care about Palestine terribly, I have a very good friend who is living in a tent on the Gaza coast with her three children. I want them alive and well. You can read her story here, https://newyorkwarcrimes.com/i-have-lived-my-life-with-only-half-a-heart. But, Naz, bringing Nour to safety is so much further away today.
With Harris the progressives in congress would have had a direct path to the Presidency. Now they have nothing; they will be hard pressed to be allowed to speak. No, Naz, the problem now is how anyone with a progressive thought will be allowed to think, let alone speak.
Already, we see Bannon literally crowing from rooftops. He has longed for this day from his university years. Nick Fuentes has now pronounced that, “Women’s bodies are mine.” Neo-Nazi forums are pondering who will be the first to rape two handmaids. Any climate action is as dead as Trump’s soul.
So, Naz, the issue is NOT what was wrong with the Harris campaign, but what IS wrong with the U.S. people. Not voting was a vote for Trump. Voting for Jill Stein (and I like her a lot) was a vote for Trump.
No, the people who made those choices didn’t think, Naz. They didn’t get back at the Dems. They didn’t make ethical choices, they made absolutely vacuous choices that will set back social causes in the country, perhaps forever. The people who did vote for Trump? Well, they are the living embodiment of what is wrong with the U.S. of A.
Thank you for you apology Doug.
I think perhaps you are framing of circa 14m ppl who didn’t show up for Harris as the problem, and not looking at why those people were not motivated to vote. Biden/Harris administration has been facilitating a genocide for over a year, this is the same organisation that haven’t even restored humanity aid through UNRWA despite every single other western govt restoring it, week after week Biden press secretary lying and gaslighting to journalists. No Doug - I see no evidence that that Nour’s life and family would be improved by a vote for Harris. Please tell me how you got to the conclusion that there was any hope for even a meaningful conversation on this?
Not only this, the economy and inflation has been a big issue in America, Harris’ only comment on this when asked what she would do differently was ‘Nothing comes to mind’ …..
Her campaign was essentially ‘I am not Trump’ and I’m sorry that’s not good enough to motivate people.
The fact is the democrats tried to court republicans voters through Chaney, they were too late off the mark in selecting a replacement for Biden, they gave Harris an impossible battle (no legitimacy through a primary, no time to create a meaningful campaign with a differentiation with Biden, no clear economic strategy, nothing to showcase Palestinians voices, nothing on free speech and right to protest, nothing on how they would improve the lives of the working class, nothing on inflation). If women’s rights was the issue then why did white women vote overwhelmingly for Trump?
All the Harris/Walz campaign did have was hype and celebrity endorsement (particularly celebrities who are wealthier than god, have no crossover with average people). Trying to court republicans through Chaney. Essentially the whole campaign relied on ‘I am not Trump’ instead of why we should vote for her.
I get you’re upset because people weren’t able to think like you, but framing them as ‘the problem’ is so lazy. For some, there wasn’t a choice - Democrats need to start listening to their base, the concerns of the working people and progressives. Instead of pandering to coastal elites.
Disagree. It's all on the candidate. You work with what you have and she did not do a good job. She couldn't even separate herself from the diminished self-proclaimed zionist Biden. How is that leadership ?!
She didn’t loose bcz she’s female or Asian, as I am. She lost bcz she was not elected by the people, but installed by the establishment. 🙌
This is still a democracy and he received the popular vote. And the electoral college not to mention the Senate So not sure how that adds up. The is well equipped now to turn this country into a dictatorship.
Leslie, on the contrary, I think we just averted a total takeover by globalist!
Freedom is ours to choose. Trust the intuition of those who refuse to be indoctrinated by the rhetoric ultra left legacy media puts out.
Majority of ppl live in the center aisle, where living in peace & harmony is possible.
Don’t let fear mongering of establishment get the better if you.
I will certainly hope for the best but I am truly afraid for this country because Trump is solid in his words about what he wants to do . He is something we have never encountered before and he does have a lot of support which is unbelievable to me
This country isn’t what it was 50 yrs ago! It’s occupied. Not of the people, by the people, for the people anymore. Constitution is trampled daily. As a Libertarian I like to see a smaller govt; let people decide on their liberties. Trump was a democrat all his life, till 2015 when H Clinton banned him from running as a Dem candidate. So he ran as a Rep.
Our presidents have very little power. They have to obey the establishment or be assass inated. Little will change.
Oh, Missy, you will soon understand that Trump is not about smaller government or you making your own decisions about your liberties. Trump is about control and the suspension of liberties. He is a psychopath, Missy. He is without compassion and is all about making you align with his wants and beliefs. You will have the liberty to bow down to him, Missy, because 50, 100, 1000 years have not changed the goals and desires of authoritarians. This is all about Trump and not only does he not care about you, he is incapable of caring for you.
We almost forgot that the end of the day we are all still living in AmeriKKKa.
Well said, very precise.
I agree very much except that I think the economy played the biggest part.. the reaction of stock market is a n indicator
Of course..."it's the economy , stupid". When you have Democrats and bureaucrats bragging about Bidenomics at the same time young people making six-figures/unable to afford a home, maybe it's time for a radical change. That said, the oligarchy is certainly capable of twisting the economy to fit the long-term needs of the uber-wealthy.
You know, LG, in 1978 I was a university grad, with a professional job making the equivalent of six figures and I couldn’t afford a home. I had a perfect credit record, a down payment and they just told me there was no way I could qualify for a mortgage. Interest rates were up around 20%. Nobody could afford a new car let alone two cars. We lived with our parents’ hand me down furniture, we didn’t have destination weddings and holidays were in a tent at a lake near home. I sure as hell couldn’t live like my children and their friends live. We didn’t change jobs weekly, we supported a professional union and fought for our worker rights, even as professionals. We ended up living in a trailer and that saved our future. We scrimped and saved and on my wife’s 40th birthday could buy a home. So, quit talking about how hard your six-figure lives are. You want to fight price gouging and shrinkflation then get off your butt and fight it. Boycott, form a co-op, do what you have to do, just don’t sit there waiting for a politician to do something for you.
Thompson...I'm not complaining about my six-figure life. I'm commiserating with young people who are very disenchanted with their situations. Your unfounded generalization about changing jobs etc...just an old string of Boomerisms.
Just to set the record straight, your arrogant self has no clue about the status of my butt...where it is and what its doing. I have been a very productive community organizer for 50 years.
And I bought my first house at 16.9%. But prices where not nearly as outrageous as now.
What rubs me wrong about loudmouths like Doug Thompson...you don't know squat. And your lifestyle over the years...what's your excuse for the chips on both of your shoulders?
100%
The stock market didn't crash...??
No, the stock market didn’t crash.
Bingo!
I'm sorry to say I'm not that surprised by the election results. Harris had three strikes against her: 1) she is a women, 2) she is a person of color, and 3) she didn't distance herself from Biden's Gaza policies. I think 1) and 2) were probably more important than 3) in determining the outcome. Those of us who understand what Trump represents need to network, get organized, and fight like hell against what's coming our way!!
I don’t think it had to do with her color or gender. Economy Economy Economy GENOCIDE Border
Naive
We had had person of color already, women sure but with abortion rights that should be an easy in the bag thing also. It's Palestine/Gaza and the fact that we had sleepy joe for 4 years doing nothing that is why. I would even add Ukraine/Russia into this also. The DNC in my opinion is a terrorist organization and Americans are waking up to this.
It is interesting that many of my non-professional talking heads who just followed the election from a distance had all predicted that there would be a full sweep in favor of trump. And yet all of the professional talking heads and pollsters seem to think that it was a close race at best. Maybe we should start listening to the people on the street more instead of these so-called professionals who just talk and talk all day but in the end what they have to say and what they predict turns out to be nothing more than a pack of inaccuracies. It is with certainty that there will be dark days ahead for the country, but the American people have chosen their leader with an overwhelming result and now they will have to live with their decision.
I agree with you. The professional talking heads, pollsters etc. have lost all credibility with me. We’ll all have to live with the consequences
And the people on the street you referenced can find out, again, what DT will get them.
That's because non-professional talking heads talk to one another, not pundits and pollsters. We also know what the other side is actually talking about because they're our neighbors and family members. One of these days, Democrats are going to learn that big money donors and pollsters don't decide elections.
I agree. It seems time and time again that the polls and talking heads are wrong. Media, new and old typically feeds people click bait rather than nuanced or balanced analysis as well.
The professional talking heads aka corporate media is instrumental in creating consent for everything from candidates to policy and sadly also war. Just playback Iraq war propaganda, even PBS is not immune.
It does not matter it's all a game of persuasion. You make yourself looks like you're winning or close and that you are the winner so that you can sway votes one way. I am surprised that the blues even got as much as they got.
Yes, spot on comment
You know what I learned? I learned that the algorithms that rule our online lives are doing us a disservice when it comes to governance. The algorithms feed us what we want to see. We stay in our bubble and believe what our preferential news sources want us to believe. But we never get a full picture of reality. The reality is: 1/2 of our American brethren are crazy, and they are now in control.
I agree with everything you said up until the last sentence. Dems are DEFINITELY in a bubble and what that means is they live and govern like elitists, talking down to the rural communities and shaming them for being stupid and crazy rather than being on the ground WITH them and talking through their issues. The people who voted for Trump are not crazy as much as they are sick of being called stupid and crazy. Voting for Trump was their way of sticking it to the liberal elites. I know this because I'm from the liberal elite crowd but I opened businesses in a rural Trump town. When Kamala told peace-activists at her rally to shut up with "I'm speaking" she lost the election right then and there. It was a moment that showed the world what the Democrats have become - elitist and completely out of touch with most of America. I hope they spend the next four years stepping out of their bubble and taking a good hard look at what their values SHOULD be, rather than moving to the right and courting people like Dick Cheney.
Agree.
The thing is, Trump isn’t the anti-elite. Thats one of the reasons more than half the country seems “crazy” rn.
He doesn’t give a F about anything but power and money and he was born into the lot.
In my view that means that anyone voting to “stick it to the liberal elite” just cut their noses off to spite their face.
Agree. It's insanity. It's a sickness, and it's crazy.
Agreed!! She lost the election that night and her campaign was an absolute travesty ever since. You can’t tell most of your voter base to fuck off in favor of some non-exist Liz Cheney republican.
Oh and whatever consultant thought that sending Bill Clinton to Michigan to do a whole soliloquy about arabs should be fired. That speech was disgusting
This is exactly true. Reinforcing any idea, superstition, slander, hits biological 'triggers' in our mammalian brain that stimulate fight, flight, freeze reactions. Is this crazy? Yes, if this herd instinct is manipulated to set off what amounts to 'mob' dynamics. That's what happened in Germany (and Italy, Spain) back in the 1930s. It's neurological--a mechanism that is non-verbal, thus words don't counter it. It is possible to not get swept up, only if there's a place to stand that's outside 'the herd.' This neurological track is a safety factor when it isn't stimulated very often, where conditions are generally peaceful and life is routine. But when crisis follows crisis this impulse to identify 'What is the threat?' and cast it out gets crazier and more panicky as it goes along. History illustrates this mechanism, usually at smaller scales of 'herd,' like, as an example, lynch mobs in the 1920s or witch burnings in the 17th century: Fear-based acting out by over-stressed populations finding an objective focus for their FEELINGS (that they can't control but can't escape.) I work in using the 12-Step program Steps as a process (which has a track record of being capable of 'restoring sanity' in addicts) to build peer groups that make a 'safe place' for themselves, thus can succeed in not being swept along. There is, indeed, a kind of magic, a spiritual ingredient, in such groups. I was an early student of set theory and fractal geometry as these can be applied to social sciences (psychology, sociology) large scale dynamics, which still aren't widely studied or understood. But I've been doing this--and seeing how it works--for more than sixty years now. It's amazing and it's hard to undercut because the ideas, not the personalities, are the focus topic in these kinds of groups (which are anonymous, to detach ideas from individual proponents.)
Thank you for this. It's so excellent.
Primarily what we learned is that American voters are not much different from WWE fans -- they place spectacle above reality, and this includes white women who stood with Trump. Frankly, this country is far too ignorant and politically naive to continue as anything but an authoritarian shit-show. I also think it's time for gurus like James Carville and Michael Moore to step aside and shut their traps, because they got it completely wrong. The bigots and white supremacists won; Putin won; Bibi Netanyahu won; Musk, Bezos and Thiel won. The chaos and kleptocracy will be breathtaking; Trump's money worries are over as he now has the US Treasury as his personal piggybank. Sorry, I'm sleep-deprived and a tad bit upset with my fellow Americans. We're as ignorant as I have long feared.
We're seeing the movie "Idiocracy" come to life now.
I don't think Micheal Moore was wrong, he was optimistic and hopeful. I agree with the rest of your point but no, we need people like Micheal Moore to remain optimistic and keep fighting the good fight
Fair point.
Agreed. Michael Moore is someone else we should listen to!♥️
💯
At heart most people are fascists. At the very least, they don’t really like their fellow humans. The Rs won because they have something for everyone to hate. Dems have to protect all the minorities (including the poor)
I expect a big depression in the US & WW3 unless climate change beats us to it.
Sociological studies have shown that around 30-35% of the population has an authoritarian disposition. Then you just need to add another 15-20% of ignorant, easily manipulatable people to win an election.
Harris got what she deserves. DemocRATS can't take voters for granted. This is a punishment from the voters for silencing public opinion, suppressing free speech on college campuses, and supporting Israel's Genocide. This doesn't mean our support for RepubliCONS. DemocRATS and RepubliCONS are two evil sides of the same coin and this is a sad reality which will continue until an alternative is formed to save America. The next cycle, People will be fed-up with Trump and may vote for DemocRATS and the same cycle continues.
Mehdi should lead and work with 3rd party and independent candidates to establish his own coalition of revolutionary party to fix the problem.
Unfortunately Palestinians will have to live with the outcome as well.
Stay firm in your belief that no one has the power to cause Pain or do any Good unless it is the WILL of GOD. Q-10:107
DemocRATS and RepubliCONS are two evil sides of the same coin.
What makes you think that Harris would have changed the outcome or solved it.
😂😂😂! And this why you clowns will get what you deserve! The stupidity of you people is astonishing!!!😂😂😂
A clown thinks the entire world around him is filled with clowns. A good man thinks all people around them are good.
an astonishing reply from Liberty U.
meant for mister doctor Robert Harris.
You are no more bothered and hurt by the genocide in Gaza than many Muslims but your total disregard for understanding is short sighted. This was the plan from the start, to put Gaza in the headlines and make it something it has not always been - October 7th. What about the occupation that has been going on for more than 50 years? The Republicans in US feeds of Islamophobia repeatedly and people like you don't care because of your hatred and blame game. The reason MBS love Trump is because he got away with a domestic palace coup within the royal family with Trump looking the other way. I hope one day, that comes to bite him hard. He or you don't care about the plight of Palestinians.
Please note that in all my comments, I never pointed fingers at others, the way you are pointing at me. You need to learn to respect other people's views.
*"Verily, GOD will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves." - Q.13:11*
Stay firm in your belief that no one has the power to cause Pain or do any Good unless it is the WILL of GOD. Q-10:107
Democrats tried to put "lipstick on a pig" and Mehdi/Zeteo failed to assist.
I always said; DemocRATS and RepubliCONS are two evil sides of the same coin.
Make yourself content by saying that you alone cares for GAZA and the rest of the world does not, if that makes you feel better.
Moses didn't freed Israelites overnight. It took over 200 years of enslavement and oppression before Moses led them to freedom.
No, you people who chose not to vote for VP Harris AND are living in the good ole USA, where your families are being killed, do not care about the plight of Palestinians!!!! You all have become americanized (selfish and soft)! Actions speaks louder than words, but you all will see in a few weeks how stupid it was to support Trump! And the minute you all try and protest/ riot and take over campuses....again Trump is going to lower the boom on you, which is what you people voted for! So, let Trump do Trump!!!!!!!
Bro, you bot?
Nope, just a VP Harris supporter hoping and praying you people, who chose not to support her, get EXACTLY what you all voted for! Many of you all, who are naturalized citizens, will find yourselves back in Gaza wishing your asses were back in the U.S.!!!!! Let Trump Do Trump!!!!
while your families are being killed
I think this is actually a very point, which is not been mentioned in the post analysis, the students who protested and their friends who may not have protested with them but saw what was done to them, also possibly rightfully very angry decided to wield their vote
Wouldn't this be great! Mehdi could definitely be the eyes and ears on the ground... and we could put real issues at the front, after a ceasefire EVERYWHERE. We could work on free public education, including college. Free healthcare for all. No one could be in the US with more than a billion dollars. Get rid of lobbyists. No more Big Pharma holding us hostage. Whew. A dream.
Medhi, come on. You can not say “Harris screwed up” and then say we all need to stick together.
Harris screwed up but Trump is gonna screw us big time. See how that suits those with the big egos and what that will do for any human let alone the Palestinians. Thank you Medhi for all that you have done. Big egos won the day today. Even those who say they are outraged about Palestine yet they just flushed it down the toilet with Trump. You did that, if you are in a swing state and you voted third party. If you voted for Trump that is a whole different story.
This should be a wake-up call to the Dems even thinking of running another status quo neoliberal in 2028. But sadly as long as the mega donors keep doing their thing, it'll just be more of the same and nothing will be learned.
Oh but that is exactly what will happen. All over MSNBC this morning was "Progressivism must end". I think those were the pundit's literal words. "It's the fault of progressives that we can't speak our minds." "College campuses are out of control." What a joke. Ron Desantis ran on "wokeism" and lost. This is as much about what Trump represents symbolically as all of the cultural issues. It is not only the economy. What will happen is, Dems will truly become truly indistinguishable from Republicans by the next election. I don't know what Progressives will do because Jill Stein ain't it. Sorry. The Green Party has not been serious about establishing any local infrastructure in between elections. I definitely feel politically homeless and am very concerned about so many of those scapegoated during this election. JD Vance as Vice President to a 78 year old declining nutjob is even more frightening.
I'm interested in what you say about the American Green Party. I'm a former member of the Canadian Green Party at the federal level, and "establishing local infrastructure" (at the riding level) is exactly what the party can't seem to do. The same is true with provincial Green Parties. I don't know whether it's because there are too few Greens in most ridings -- when I attempted to run a Green riding association, nobody was interested in putting in the hard, often boring but always necessary, work to build up local support. My experience is that many Greens are more interested in discussing policies than in learning what politics is all about at the party level and beyond.
I recall voting for exactly 1 Green Party candidate here in Brooklyn like 12 years ago. I don't even recall his name. He gave me a flyer on the way to the subway, and I was disgusted by the other options and thought, why not? That is the last time I recall seeing a Green Party candidate. I thought the Working Families Party could be that option but they've basically been cannibalized by Democrats except in a few cases. :/ I don't pretend that establishing a viable 3rd party in a system designed to quash that isn't difficult. But I just have an issue with the same one failed candidate popping up every 4 years having said nothing new or where she's been. Though the same could be said for many Democrats, fair enough. But between Stein and then the mess that was Cornel West, they are not exactly helping themselves or the cause be taken seriously. So now, here we all are.
If the candidates aren't there, it's because the grassroots support isn't there, which means there just aren't enough Americans who are prepared to work towards building a viable Green Party. I don't know how any third party is going to break through in your country. It took decades for the New Democratic Party in Canada to become established. It had its roots in the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation, founded in 1932 by a coalition of Prairie farmers, labour and socialist organizations, which, under the auspices of the Canadian Labour Council, became the New Democratic Party in 1961. It was a workers movement birthed on the Prairies that spread to urban BC; in order to grow, it needed to establish strong local riding associations across the country, to challenge the two big parties established at Confederation in 1867. Its fortunes have varied; from 2011 to 2015, the NDP was the Official Opposition to the Harper Conservatives. Then Justin Trudeau revived the Liberal Party and swept to victory in 2015. The federal Green Party, established in 1983, has attempted to run candidates to all ridings but has not been able to build strong riding associations in all but a few ridings across the country.
This is really interesting. Thank you for sharing the perspective from Canada. Does the Liberal Party take as active a role in trying to suppress any viability of Green Party candidates as the parties do here (for example Democrats trying to get 3rd party candidates removed from ballots in certain states)?
No, nothing like that would be possible here. Our system is very different from yours -- much more simple, it seems to me -- and we don't have anything resembling your Electoral College. Our federal parties run candidates in all 338 ridings (electoral districts) across the country, with the exception of the Bloc Québecois, which only runs candidates in ridings in the province of Québec, recognized as a "distinct society". Currently, Canada has a minority Liberal government with 153 seats. The Opposition Conservatives have 119 seats. The Bloc has 33 seats, ahead of the New Democrats with 25. The Greens have 2 MPs. There are 4 Independent MPs, and 2 seats vacant at the present time. Canadians vote for a candidate running for a federal party in their riding. We are not able to vote for the Prime Minister (the leader of their party), unless we happen to live in the riding in which they are running as a candidate. It's quite common for a party to win the most seats in an election but not the popular vote; it's the number of seats that counts. Ours is a minority Liberal government, often dependent on other parties for support to pass legislation, particularly budgets. After the 2021 election, the NDP entered into a Supply and Confidence agreement with the Liberals to keep the government afloat; NDP leader, Jagmeet Singh, cancelled that agreement at the beginning of September, so the government may fall at any time, although only the Conservatives, and perhaps the Bloc, really want an election soon.
The only “shocking” aspect of Trump’s win is that pollsters and pundits believed there were “undecideds.” Those who said they were “undecided” were - drum roll, please - lying. Shhhhhocking…
"Her answer? “There is not a thing that comes to mind."" Maybe she is just not smart enough and a bad candidate lost to a very cunning candidate
I do agree that she did not lose because of her stance on Gaza and Lebanon Genocide but a whole set of issues.
The Dems thought the economic indicators such as inflation, GDP, Balance of payment, stock market, and Unemployment rate bought the groceries for the masses. These indicators only work for the upper class with money, not the guys and girls just surviving and having difficulty putting food on the table.
It is time to redefine what we as democrats' are and want from the process.
For many working families, the rising cost of living—groceries, gas, housing, and more—is pushing us to the edge. This is the toughest economy I’ve felt in my lifetime, and despite talk of a “strong economy,” it doesn’t feel that way for those of us living paycheck to paycheck @Mehdi. People are struggling every day. Maybe some are surprised by recent election outcomes, but if more Democratic leaders and some media outlets truly understood the challenges facing middle-class and average American families, they might have seen this coming. Real change will come only when we have real plans for economic relief that address our reality. In recent races, it’s awful how close these elections have been—even at the presidential, Senate, and congressional levels. It shows a disconnect between politicians and working-class families. Look at their lifestyles compared to ours! Sadly, our party seems to have lost touch with us in recent years. If we don’t make major changes in policies and actions, this shift in our politics will only continue.
The fundamental issue with capitalism is that a booming economy doesn’t trickle down and improve the standard of living for all. It solely benefits those at the top. The 1% who need to keep everyone living from payday to payday. All the while selling people shit they don’t need and distracting them with “entertainment”. People are too busy trying to survive to focus on the real problems.
Ím keen to see how many votes Jill Stein got - that’s the clincher I bet. Anyway, I am preparing myself psychologically to news of trumps antics for the next 4 LONG YEARS. He already said what he wants to do and he will do it. 🤮 🤡
The planet is also crying along with you all..
Not as many as we think
I believe now is the time for President Biden to take advantage of his immunity. It might take some time to develop a complete agenda, but we could start by sending arms to Ukraine that can't subsequently be taken back. Nationalize Starlink? Maybe Biden could resign, making Harris #47, and thereby voiding all the Trump mugs and tee-shirts. And then Harris could take advantage of the immunity. The possibilities are endless.
Right on Mehdi when you say it was more than the genocide. There are many who are happy that they stuck it to the Dems but they are going to have buyer's remorse. On the flip side, the Dems are going to have seller's remorse. They're going to realize they lost touch with their constituency.
So for now, everyone is going to stew in their own corners. Eventually, they're going to realize they've been played. They're going to realize they should have been working together and not so myopic. The evil one could see what was going on and used their hate against them. How dumb were they? How dumb were we?
As you said, now is the time for solidarity. Focus on what we need to accomplish. What are our common goals and how will we get them done. Form our alliances and make sure they're strong. Don't allow breaks again. The mischievous one schemes and even though his time is limited, there is always the next disciple to take the place so we must always focus and be ready to do the good and repel the wrong.
Demanding a person break with their most core principles for solidarity's sake won't work. Requiring any genocide tolerance - in any wording or silence - draws a line through 15 million of the Democratic now-abandoned left base
Mm, well this does make me feel a little better. And I'm still shocked that the "garbage island" comment didn't seem to move the needle any. But you're on your own with #7. I can only promise to be meaner to everyone online, in contrast to the "nice guy" persona I've built up here. With national pride gone for good, I'll at least enjoy the FO phase of this trainwreck. Ugh.
THIS TOPIC SUCKS AND IS NOW ABOUT FINDING NEW HOBBIES