2018 US Elections

Pexbo said:
Only good thing? :lol:
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Yeah, the expected blue wave was more like a blue sprinkle. Not that big a majority in house and wider majority in Senate. Imo, 2020 will be on similar lines to 2016. Let's see if Dems manage to field any good candidate who can make a difference.

McConnell will have a relatively easier job stacking the judges in lower courts now.
 
Edgar Allan Pillow said:
Only good thing for Dems is lot of new blood. Beto, Gillum, Newsom....

Prospects for Trump 2020 seems lot more healthier than a month before.
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As per the Atlantic:

This was not a night of cleansing righteous fire. It was, instead, an election that accomplished three necessary things.

First, the 2018 vote delivered enough Democratic success to introduce some oversight and accountability into the federal government after two years of executive impunity. The House Intelligence Committee will resume protecting Americans rather than covering up for Russians.

Second, the vote administered enough Democratic disappointment to check the party’s most self-destructive tendencies. If Beto O’Rourke had eked it out in Texas, Democrats might well have nominated him for president in 2020, almost guaranteeing a debacle. There is no progressive majority in America. There is no progressive plurality in America. And there certainly is no progressive Electoral College coalition in America.

Third, the vote reminded all concerned Americans how very, very difficult will be the struggle to preserve and restore liberal democracy after Trumpocracy. The American system of government has always mixed majoritarian and anti-majoritarian features. It should not have surprised anyone that as the United States evolved toward being a “majority minority” nation, the anti-majoritarian features of its democracy have gained ascendancy over the majoritarian ones.
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Red Dreams said:
just look at the fat moron.

odds on for a heart attack with all the investigations.



ohh Dave Brat losing to Spanberger was sooo satisfying last night.
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Still think there's cause to worry.

The Rs now have two years blaming the lack of getting anything done (that would not have got done anyway) on those "pesky obstructionist Dems" running the house.

After two years of seeing what the Republicans are really all about and what they can deliver unobstructed I expected a much bigger blue wave than the one I missed a nights' sleep to witness last night!

Oh, yeah, and … feck you Florida!
 
InfiniteBoredom said:
They lost 5 seats to Dems. It was a big disappointment.

The whole ‘voters want balance so they vote alternatively’ is also a lazy conclusion and doesn’t hold up under closer examination. If that was the case Democrats wouldnt retain control of Congress from the 1940s to early 1990s. Mostly, the party who lost the previous election are more energised the next time around, which explain the swing, but it’s not absolute, and it was not until the early 90s that partisanship went back into overdrive, delivering big sweep in ‘wave’ midterm elections. Prior to 1996, the last meaningful wave was 1974, which I don’t have to explain the reason why.

Looking at a relatively small sample and drawing conclusion is unproductive. The US went through similarly turbulent period of swings in the 60/70s (civil rights movement+ Vietnam) before settling in for a relatively peaceful 20 years of Congressional elections. There’s nothing preventing it from happening again, which renders the alternate voting cycles theory null.
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Now that's spin - if GOP won the majority in the House what difference does it make if it's a majority of 5 or 15. They control Congress, the Speaker, the Agenda etc. If you think the Democrats won the midterm elections in 1998 you are thoroughly confused.
 
SqueakyWeasel said:
Still think there's cause to worry.

The Rs now have two years blaming the lack of getting anything done (that would not have got done anyway) on those "pesky obstructionist Dems" running the house.

After two years of seeing what the Republicans are really all about and what they can deliver unobstructed I expected a much bigger blue wave than the one I missed a nights' sleep to witness last night!

Oh, yeah, and … feck you Florida!
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Sure. They will play the 'obstruction' card.

That is why the Dems while they carry out full investigations also offer infrastructure and health care policies for starters.

A lot is about how you frame the message.

Trump's Hate & Fear can only go so far.

You just have to listen to former Republicans to know how much they hate the guy.
 
Red Dreams said:
Sure. They will play the 'obstruction' card.

That is why the Dems while they carry out full investigations also offer infrastructure and health care policies for starters.

A lot is about how you frame the message.

Trump's Hate & Fear can only go so far.

You just have to listen to former Republicans to know how much they hate the guy.
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But you forgot to comment on Florida :D
 
Charles Miller said:
So the Dems have nothing to lose because they are not planning to push any progressive agenda anyway.
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Not sure. I mean aggressively investigating his administration won't help their cause too much. You just cannot convert Trump believers. I guess it is okay to allow a few things Nunez didn't, and wait for special council's report. Better to focus on policy, especially on healthcare which seems to be the most important thing for the voters, rather than on how Trump collided with Russia.
 
Edgar Allan Pillow said:
Yeah, the expected blue wave was more like a blue sprinkle. Not that big a majority in house and wider majority in Senate. Imo, 2020 will be on similar lines to 2016. Let's see if Dems manage to field any good candidate who can make a difference.

McConnell will have a relatively easier job stacking the judges in lower courts now.
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Hillary won by 3 points, Dems won the house (which is done on national level) by 9 points, and won the senate by double digits. It wasn't a blue tsunami, but it definitely was a blue wave.
 
Red Dreams said:
Racist question :lol: :lol: :lol:
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To be fair, it was a stupid question. His entire point was 'that I am a nationalist, not a globalist' which for once is the only thing he has been saying consistently starting from 'America first'.

While there is much to be mentioned about him and white nationalism on general, specifically about that quote, there was nothing there.
 
InfiniteBoredom said:
What’s your criteria to despise then because it seems entirely arbitrary? I obviously don’t live in Maryland but from what I see of his platform compared to Jealous, he seems like a run of the mill Republican without the batshit crazy conspiracy theories and a nice demeanor i.e John Kasich. If that’s all it takes to separate him from the pack then I still don’t think the criticism is fair given that he voted on consistent principles whereas much of what you can stomach is predicated on personality. If Trump is not a vulgar, deranged homunculus, would you be accepting the same policy package with a liberal New York behaviors?
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Reasons centrist Dems gave me for why they like Hogan (consider this a “retweets not an endorsement” situation):

His environmental action (Chesapeake, fracking, Climate Alliance) gets him a lot of positive press. A critic might say he does just enough to get that positive coverage but not as much as he could/should.

Opposed rescission of DACA, withdrew Maryland’s NG from the border.

Re gun control, said he would decline an NRA endorsement or funds, I think as a result they withdrew their endorsement of him.
Is considered someone genuinely interested in bipartisanship and “reaching across the aisle” to be fair he doesn’t have a choice in MD but he could not do it and not get elected I guess.

Scholarships for community colleges.

Everyone I know who talks positively about him brings up the fact he lowered the Bay Bridge toll. Easy positivity there. Plus he pushed schools opening to after Labor Day so people can go to the beach more easily. Not policy based but casual voters are swayed by shit like that.

Excellent PR. His videos and images constantly have him with democrats and minorities. And not to sound like a cnut but there’s sympathy for his fight with cancer as governor. That’s included in campaign videos.
 
Suedesi said:
Now that's spin - if GOP won the majority in the House what difference does it make if it's a majority of 5 or 15. They control Congress, the Speaker, the Agenda etc. If you think the Democrats won the midterm elections in 1998 you are thoroughly confused.
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But they didn't. Ultimately last night was good for the Democrats. Expectations had been increased to the point where some were expecting a Senate win but in 2016 a lot of people were talking about how they were utterly fecked this time around. The fact they've gained back the House can be seen as a job well done for them.
 
Suedesi said:
Now that's spin - if GOP won the majority in the House what difference does it make if it's a majority of 5 or 15. They control Congress, the Speaker, the Agenda etc. If you think the Democrats won the midterm elections in 1998 you are thoroughly confused.
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Not everyone votes as the party says, plus the 'majority of majority' rule is not forced from every speaker (see Pelosi and Boehner).
 
Edgar Allan Pillow said:
Yeah, the expected blue wave was more like a blue sprinkle. Not that big a majority in house and wider majority in Senate. Imo, 2020 will be on similar lines to 2016. Let's see if Dems manage to field any good candidate who can make a difference.

McConnell will have a relatively easier job stacking the judges in lower courts now.
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No matter how small the change is, it's still a change. Dems need to use this and focus on their races within the next 2 years. No need to get despondent about not getting back the Senate.
 
If Sessions has indeed gone, something is cooking.
 
Edgar Allan Pillow said:
Yeah, the expected blue wave was more like a blue sprinkle. Not that big a majority in house and wider majority in Senate. Imo, 2020 will be on similar lines to 2016. Let's see if Dems manage to field any good candidate who can make a difference.

McConnell will have a relatively easier job stacking the judges in lower courts now.
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I think the blue wave was there but there was also a high red wall to go over.
 
Cheesy said:
But they didn't. Ultimately last night was good for the Democrats. Expectations had been increased to the point where some were expecting a Senate win but in 2016 a lot of people were talking about how they were utterly fecked this time around. The fact they've gained back the House can be seen as a job well done for them.
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We are talking about 1998 Cheesy, sorry if you didn't follow the entire thread
 
Revan said:
To be fair, it was a stupid question. His entire point was 'that I am a nationalist, not a globalist' which for once is the only thing he has been saying consistently starting from 'America first'.

While there is much to be mentioned about him and white nationalism on general, specifically about that quote, there was nothing there.
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Nah. He brought up the globalist reply to deflect.
 
Red Dreams said:
Nah. He brought up the globalist reply to deflect.
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No man, he said something like that 'a lot of people call me a nationalist, and guess what, I am a nationalist, not a globalist'. Remember that speech of him.
 
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