[FAKE NEWS] 'You were my guy,' Annoying Orange told Macron, French official says

[otto-san]

I'm perfectly content with watching people continue to act in the same way that got Annoying Orange elected in the first place. :^]

if you're going in the direction of "the left is the reason we're swinging right" then that's only slightly true. if people associate poor characteristics with an ideology they're already opposed to, then it will push them further in that direction, but in reality, this is happening both ways. the illusion that the left is the only one drifting is only apparent because you're standing on the right. in truth, both are drifting apart, and it's a self-sustaining cycle as common ground appears to continue deteriorating.

and really, our national political makeup can be considered pretty snugly within the margin of error. the senate is only barely held by republicans, the house only has a 55% majority, and the president landed in his seat with a popular loss, supposedly only winning due to the geographic advantages of being a republican candidate (that is to say, more regions tend to swing republican). if hillary clinton were not so distrusted and disliked by the american people, and if it weren't for the drama surrounding the DNC, we would almost certainly be seeing a democratic federal government right now, still within these margins of error, and i expect that, in either case, the president will likely suffer a significant midterm slump in 2018. of course, if hillary clinton weren't such a poorly viewed candidate, a different republican probably would have ended up winning the primaries as well.

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[Red Spy]

The national political swing is basically a football game

[Deus Ex]

if you're going in the direction of "the left is the reason we're swinging right" then that's only slightly true. if people associate poor characteristics with an ideology they're already opposed to, then it will push them further in that direction, but in reality, this is happening both ways. the illusion that the left is the only one drifting is only apparent because you're standing on the right. in truth, both are drifting apart, and it's a self-sustaining cycle as common ground appears to continue deteriorating.

and really, our national political makeup can be considered pretty snugly within the margin of error. the senate is only barely held by republicans, the house only has a 55% majority, and the president landed in his seat with a popular loss, supposedly only winning due to the geographic advantages of being a republican candidate (that is to say, more regions tend to swing republican). if hillary clinton were not so distrusted and disliked by the american people, and if it weren't for the drama surrounding the DNC, we would almost certainly be seeing a democratic federal government right now, still within these margins of error, and i expect that, in either case, the president will likely suffer a significant midterm slump in 2018. of course, if hillary clinton weren't such a poorly viewed candidate, a different republican probably would have ended up winning the primaries as well.

In at least this election cycle, the left lost more support than the right, and I think that will continue for at least another election at the rate the democrats are going. The pendulum will, of course, swing back, but it might be a while before it does. I guess we'll see next year though. I don't really have high hopes for the Democrats atm, there seems to be a severe lack of introspect and an abundance of tribalism. The Republicans do the same, but what I'm saying is, right now, as it stands, the Democrats are being far worse, and that is a huge part of what cost them the election. All the BS with the DNC snubbing Sanders and Clinton being a completely unelectable candidate was just icing on the stuff cake. I had thought Annoying Orange would have a four year run, and during that time the Democratic Party would revise their strategy of race baiting identity politics and things of that nature, but it only seems to have worsened. So I honestly don't know. I could be wrong. Like I said, we'll all see next year where the country stands.

[Maxwell.]

The national political swing is basically a football game

everything in europe is decided by a football match it sucks

[Nonnel]

everything in europe is decided by a football match it sucks

this is true. i was the football and can confirm it loving sucks

[otto-san]

In at least this election cycle, the left lost more support than the right, and I think that will continue for at least another election at the rate the democrats are going. The pendulum will, of course, swing back, but it might be a while before it does. I guess we'll see next year though. I don't really have high hopes for the Democrats atm, there seems to be a severe lack of introspect and an abundance of tribalism. The Republicans do the same, but what I'm saying is, right now, as it stands, the Democrats are being far worse, and that is a huge part of what cost them the election. All the BS with the DNC snubbing Sanders and Clinton being a completely unelectable candidate was just icing on the stuff cake. I had thought Annoying Orange would have a four year run, and during that time the Democratic Party would revise their strategy of race baiting identity politics and things of that nature, but it only seems to have worsened. So I honestly don't know. I could be wrong. Like I said, we'll all see next year where the country stands.

i think a lot of that has to do with perspective here. at the end of the day, parties are grassroots organizations, and people will follow them because they seek representation, not because of the politics surrounding the parties at the highest organizational levels. people don't change their beliefs because of drama alone. our ideological composition is the most direct factor that plays into which major party is more successful, and on that front, we are still pretty evenly split. no party is actually losing any significant ground, but they are drifting apart over time, and this increasingly large ideological gap makes it harder to find common ground, and harder for people to favorably view individuals from the opposing side as them. people may find themselves experiencing the false-consensus effect when they achieve greater representation in divided climates, assuming that more people are probably on their side and probably feel the same way about the other side as they do, when in reality the ideological composition of the country hasn't been significantly altered

some interesting data on this stuff:
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/01/27/the-demographic-trends-shaping-american-politics-in-2016-and-beyond/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_ideologies_in_the_United_States

[Timestamp]

i think a lot of that has to do with perspective here. at the end of the day, parties are grassroots organizations, and people will follow them because they seek representation, not because of the politics surrounding the parties at the highest organizational levels. people don't change their beliefs because of drama alone. our ideological composition is the most direct factor that plays into which major party is more successful, and on that front, we are still pretty evenly split. no party is actually losing any significant ground, but they are drifting apart over time, and this increasingly large ideological gap makes it harder to find common ground, and harder for people to favorably view individuals from the opposing side as them. people may find themselves experiencing the false-consensus effect when they achieve greater representation in divided climates, assuming that more people are probably on their side and probably feel the same way about the other side as they do, when in reality the ideological composition of the country hasn't been significantly altered

some interesting data on this stuff:
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/01/27/the-demographic-trends-shaping-american-politics-in-2016-and-beyond/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_ideologies_in_the_United_States

speaking of which am i the only person who thinks there shouldn't be a "left-right" only sort of thing? i think the USA should be more open to the spectrum of politics, or have a centrist/independent president. i could say george washington is an example but a george washington that isn't stuck in the 1790's with his own exact beliefs.

would that be a weird idea or what? having a centrist president...

[Daswiruch]

let's go find george washington's bones and elect that

[Timestamp]

let's go find george washington's bones and elect that

[otto-san]

speaking of which am i the only person who thinks there shouldn't be a "left-right" only sort of thing? i think the USA should be more open to the spectrum of politics, or have a centrist/independent president. i could say george washington is an example but a george washington that isn't stuck in the 1790's with his own exact beliefs.

would that be a weird idea or what? having a centrist president...

i think it's an idea everyone loves in theory, but when it comes time to actually vote, they would rather opt for someone who's more likely to represent more of their interests.

[SeventhSandwich]

speaking of which am i the only person who thinks there shouldn't be a "left-right" only sort of thing? i think the USA should be more open to the spectrum of politics, or have a centrist/independent president (i could say george washington is an example but a george washington that isn't stuck in the 1790's).

would that be a weird idea or what?

It's not like everyone is left and right. But because of our first-past-the-post voting system, any number of political parties greater than two reduces the plurality by which the president wins. Meaning we could elect someone even crazier than Annoying Orange with only 29% of the vote. People realize this, and so third parties never really take off.

I would have liked Sanders to win the presidency, and technically there was nothing stopping me from voting for him. And obviously I didn't lol

[Nonnel]

ranked choice :-)

[otto-san]

ranked choice :-)

( - :

[Red Spy]

I feel like if the ff were alive today they'd want another revolution

[SeventhSandwich]

I feel like if the ff were alive today they'd want another revolution

I've sort of envisioned what it would be like if one of the founding fathers came back from the past. I figured we would need a couple weeks to keep them out of the spotlight while we train them not to hate women and/or blacks.