Random Rant Thread

[miscmisc]

For Dems, winning the Senate majority was as important as Biden winning the presidency, and they basically blew it spectacularly. For example, Biden won Maine by nearly 10 points, but in the same state Gideon(D) lost to Collins(R) by nearly 8%, despite the massive lead in the polls that Gideon enjoyed only a month ago.

Polls are polls of course, but they ought to be ashamed of themselves. Collins was at her weakest, and they failed to step in and completely kill her. Outboxing can't win you shit in politics.

So, basically we'll have to live under the shadow presidency of Mitch McConnell for another two years and probably beyond. Biden won't be able to do shit... unless they pull a miracle of winning the two runoffs in Georgia, both of them, in January. That would make it 50-50 in the Senate, and since the VP will be Harris, it would be practically a Dem majority, although a very weak one.

Yes, we'll have TWO Senate runoffs in Georgia in January, because none of the candidates could reach the 50% threshold.

I don't think Dems will be able to make it, but the idea of both Perdue and Loeffler (that super-wealthy Covid-insider trading woman, yes) getting reelected is just unbearable. These Republicans are absolutely two of the sleaziest, corruptest, horriblest senators.

Just beat one of them at least, Dems. Please. I'm begging you.

[miscmisc]

Getting rid of Trump won't get you shit as long as Mitch McConnell is controlling the Senate. Mitch got more than 70% of what he wanted under Trump's presidency, and didn't give Trump what he wanted. Trump broke more than 90% of his campaign promises mostly because he was just lying to get elected, but also because Congress, which basically means Mitch McConnell, didn't give it to him.

It's just silly of Stephen Colbert to express his disgust with McConnell pulling his "no comment" routine over Trump's crap, as if there was even 0.1% chance that he would make any comment at all.

If you want to talk about "evil," talk about Mitch instead of Donald.

But Colbert would never cry about McConnell's evil, would he? He just sarcastically pokes at him, because the kind of people that he often socializes with "respect" him.

He thinks McConnell is essentially one of the sane ones. That turtle man isn't. He's a fucking monster, as much of a freak as he looks.

[miscmisc]

Ah, Tufekci has already written an article and Twitter thread about Trumpism.

I think she *slighly* overstates her case, but basically agree with her, as is evident with my rants in this thread.

She's Turkish. Nothing about Trumpism is new to her.

[miscmisc]

Americans' childish and immature attitude toward the White House and what it represents poisons the discourses.

They keep saying the president isn't a King/Queen, but effectively keep treating them as such. Not a king in the Louis XIV mold, but basically an elected royalty with enormous political power.

There is nothing sacred about the White House. It's just one branch of the federal government. Stephen Colbert's "I didn't want the president to get Covid, because he's our president and that means something!" sounds ridiculous to most non-Americans, like he's a member of some fucking cult.

America is of course not a normal country, but they ought to realize that their own attitude exacerbates the irrationality around the US presidency.

And the "unequal weight of each vote" is a big issue in every country in the world, but few countries in the world have it as ridiculously horrible as the US does with the US Senate, where one Montana vote is 40 times as valuable as one California vote. That's a fucking joke.

So, again, abolish the Senate.

There are some very ridiculous things about the US system. American liberals often allude to them, but don't seem to truly understand how absurd they are by the international standards.

[miscmisc]

While the networks are wasting time by not calling Pennsylvania because of their cowardice and greed, when we have to move quickly to address so many issues, the Covid situation in the US is getting worse at an accelerated pace, sending the new case number into the stratosphere.

No action has been taken anywhere in the US. It's going to be a mayhem.

This is such an unfortunate timing, really, as if SARS-CoV-2 timed it for this opportunity.

[miscmisc]

ABC has just called PA, and the election for Biden.

They have confirmed something that we've known for more than three days now. What a travesty.

And Fox has just followed suits, calling both PA and NV for Biden.

Cowards.

[gols]

Nov 7, 2020 14:00:39 GMT 1 miscmisc said:

Ah, Tufekci has already written an article and Twitter thread about Trumpism.

I think she *slighly* overstates her case, but basically agree with her, as is evident with my rants in this thread.

She's Turkish. Nothing about Trumpism is new to her.

Way to harsh my buzz misc

[miscmisc]

Nov 7, 2020 17:58:42 GMT 1 gols said:

Way to harsh my buzz misc

Well, I believe that's what you are here for. Always pleased to serve you, mate. 

[miscmisc]

They didn't call Nevada for so long for no apparent reason, because Fox and AP, who share the same source, called Arizona prematurely. They would've had to call the whole thing for Biden if they had called Nevada for him, because that would've been exactly my Arizona-NE02 270 votes scenario. They couldn't do it since they weren't confident of their Arizona call anymore.

And the other networks read the room, so to speak. It's just stupid backroom stuff.

As things stand now, Biden is most likely to win Nevada with a fairly big margin in the end. It should've been called ages ago.

[miscmisc]

The provisional ballots in Pennsylvania have been so overwhelmingly pro-Biden so far (70-80%) that it's perfectly clear now that "skew Trump" nonsense was simply a delaying tactic.

[miscmisc]

One US president called me "tremendously bright," and another US president called me a "fool."

Guess who.

Congrats, Joe.

[miscmisc]

Oh, and of course, congrats, liberals. Perhaps it wasn't the overwhelming victory that you hoped for, but a win is a win.

But, for God's sake, learn to calm down, OK? When Florida fell into Trump's hands, and the early numbers looked bad in Midwest, many of you vomited for real. I thought you guys were dying.

[miscmisc]

Should I say this now?

Of course I should. You wouldn't be here if you weren't a little weird.

So, congrats to Joe Biden and everyone, but I assume you know what the Biden White House + McConnell Senate combo is capable of producing.

There's just no reason to be even remotely optimistic about the next four years especially since it's highly likely that the Republicans will retain the Senate majority. I've already mentally prepared myself for the worst-case scenario. All McConnell will do is sabotage, and Biden has the history of "reaching out across the aisle" for the sake of reaching out across the aisle.

He's rather keen on all the "united we stand" rhetoric, and of course that's the right message at this moment as the president-elect. But I suspect he seriously believes that nonsense. And I'll go livid if he ever misquotes Abe Lincoln's inaugural speech like so many other clueless politicians and alike. Lincoln said God shall punish them. That's a stronger condemnation than "We will punish them." But 99% of Americans aren't aware of that context for some reason, and misunderstand it as Lincoln's grand gesture of forgiveness.

Lincoln never forgave the Confederacy.

[miscmisc]

LOL. Brilliant.

[gols]

Nov 7, 2020 18:57:22 GMT 1 miscmisc said:

One US president called me "tremendously bright," and another US president called me a "fool."

Guess who.

Congrats, Joe.

Ok who the fuck are you?? Haha

Nice reminder about the great new pres from Thomas Frank: 

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/nov/07/trump-defeat-election

Although I think he is overrating what Biden could achieve even if he wanted to...