Politics as team sport

[neutral]

Like it or not, we are a heavily divided nation.  One side hates the other's existence.  Right now, we have single party rule under an erstwhile despot.  For many of us, this is a frightening prospect.  Donald Trump makes some awful people very comfortable being their worst selves.  And others watch with glee knowing we are uneasy.  Enjoy your victory, and be careful what you wish for.  None of this is going to turn out like you think.

[ionel]

Not very 'neutral there neutral.  

[Offthemat]

13 minutes ago, ionel said:

Not very 'neutral there neutral.  

Maybe it’s neutral like not in gear. 

[WrestlingRasta]

Tim Milton has an excellent monologue on the Joe Rogan Experience that talks about where we’re headed.  And he’s not talking Rep vs Dem, he’s just simply talking about our society.  Worth a listen. 

[mspart]

15 hours ago, neutral said:

Like it or not, we are a heavily divided nation.  One side hates the other's existence.  Right now, we have single party rule under an erstwhile despot.  For many of us, this is a frightening prospect.  Donald Trump makes some awful people very comfortable being their worst selves.  And others watch with glee knowing we are uneasy.  Enjoy your victory, and be careful what you wish for.  None of this is going to turn out like you think.

Do you want a federal gov that prosecutes political enemies?   You have that now.

Do you want a federal gov that spends money with no thought of result?   You have that now.

Do you want a federal gov that favors censorship?   You have that now.

Do you think Kamala would have slowed any of these down?    Do you think Trump will accelerate any of these?

mspart

[Offthemat]

38 minutes ago, mspart said:

Do you want a federal gov that prosecutes political enemies?   You have that now.

Do you want a federal gov that spends money with no thought of result?   You have that now.

Do you want a federal gov that favors censorship?   You have that now.

Do you think Kamala would have slowed any of these down?    Do you think Trump will accelerate any of these?

mspart

Case in point.  A Northern California dimocrat representative was explaining that the reason why they lost the election was they didn’t get their message out right.  That they had passed multiple bills to spend billions that were to create jobs. 
 

And they were moving ahead with the process of shutting down five oil refineries and moving toward ‘renewable’ energy, away from fossil fueled energy.  The problem was the people didn’t hear that message. 
 

From his elite perch he exudes the premise that good intentions are what counts.  The voters get the message alright, and they want results, not intentions.  California has already stressed itself with energy production restrictions and regulations, and experiences the occasional brown out or black out as a result. 
 

His thinking is the kind that allocates seven billion dollars, that after two years, manages to install eight charging stations to charge electric cars that nobody is buying.  And now that the AI bubble burst is on the horizon, the hesitancy of some manufacturers to commit will be beneficial to them, but spells the same ol’ story for the jobs. 
 

Dimocrats would do well to refrain from giving messages and start listening to the messages the people are sending.  

[Lipdrag]

22 hours ago, neutral said:

Like it or not, we are a heavily divided nation.  One side hates the other's existence.  Right now, we have single party rule under an erstwhile despot.  For many of us, this is a frightening prospect.  Donald Trump makes some awful people very comfortable being their worst selves.  And others watch with glee knowing we are uneasy.  Enjoy your victory, and be careful what you wish for.  None of this is going to turn out like you think.

 

I heard this same statement almost word for word 4 years ago.  Simply put the narrator on the other side of the political divide, take out one name and put in the other, and there you go.  Were you careful with your wishes and have things turned out how you thought?

"One side hates the other's existence."

This part is telling.  You did not say both sides hate the other's existence.  I agree with you that one side hates the other.  And that the hate is not returned.

There is a meme that dems think repubs (and indies who don't vote for them) are evil while repubs think dems are unwise. I find this article pretty level-headed in describing the phenomenon.  The article is a bit long.

https://igeek.mywikis.wiki/wiki/Dumb_Democrats_and_Evil_Republicans

That was before the past 8 years when dems started breaking all rules, laws (yes, laws), and using the federal government to politically target Americans (from Lois Lerner at the IRS through the latest outrages by the DOJ).  So, people who vote for democrat politicians are not actively thinking about the weaponization of the state and federal bureacracies against political opponents but the democratic operatives - elected, appointed, and part of the existing bureacracy - think and act on it.

This article is shorter.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/opinion-democrats-and-democratic-norms/ar-AA1p8F1A