Good lord, there's a conspiracy theory about Elon Musk and Starlink changing votes in swing states and I just can NOT.
The less time I spend on the bird site, the less time I want to spend on the bird site.
CoSo is so much better.
@LauraWalkerKC it is here too but just people trying to make sense of the madness and despair 😞
@Razdawg22 I honestly think most Americans who voted just remember lower prices during Trump's first term and punished Biden/Harris for inflation. The economy is the number one reason Americans will vote out an administration. I feel sorry for people getting all rabbit holed on "stolen election" nonsense. They are becoming what they knew was nuts in the past four years.
@LauraWalkerKC I agree but I also think misogyny and racism played a large part as well. I mean if it does come to light there was massive fraud, I wouldn't be surprised but I am just not sure it would be possible on this scale without anyone raising alarms immediately 🤷♂️
@Razdawg22 Oh I agree - lots of reasons. I was thinking about people who don't pay all that much to politics who voted for Trump. And there are a surprising lot of people who vote without really following what is going on or what policies are at stake.
@hallmarc Ahh, I hadn't seen the updated numbers. That makes more sense, actually. Not happy he won, but this was not a landslide.
@LauraWalkerKC @hallmarc It was a landslide considering no Republican has won popular vote in 20 years. 20
The base of deplorables was still there, but the shift was in those who only view the economy as inflation. Explanations it was global after the pandemic fall flat with them.
Most simply react to their feelings, not an analysis of all the facts.
Economy bad in 2020, Trump loses. Bad in 2024, let's switch back to the same guy?
@LauraWalkerKC @hallmarc There are emotional reactions to the inherent racism, and I get it. being "okay with the racism" is a distinction without a difference to being overtly racist. But those simply rationalize the racism as overblown.
The shift between 2020 and 2024 wasn't mostly white though. For those non-whites it had to be the economy. (They were wrong, but ...)
Biggest issue IMO is all the people who didn't bother to vote. "Progressives" manipulated to focus only on Israel.
@LauraWalkerKC @hallmarc Manipulated meaning I fully credit Russian influence stoking the fire, getting people worked up, and Netanyahu giving them plenty of real issues to navigate.
Biden and Harris were in a no win scenario between hardline Israel supporters and the progressive protesters of Israel excesses in retribution.
Maybe they should have stopped trying to walk a tightrope and publicly denounced Netanyahu? But wavering in Israel support is unprecedented for the U.S.
@S_r_stone @LauraWalkerKC I mean, of all the shit going on in the world, Ukraine, civil wars, totalitarian regimes killing their people, truly genocidal terrorist groups and "progressive" protestors focus almost exclusively on the situation in Gaza. I'm not advocating for whataboutism, only for perspective. The Arab world and Iran (and all their terrorist proxies) have been trying to destroy Israel in every way possible since the founding. What did people really expect?
@S_r_stone @LauraWalkerKC what they should have done is said outright: we continue to support Israel because they share our values regarding democracy and pluralism. There is no attempt at genocide or ethnic cleansing. The Palestinians have the right to self determination but that does not include the destruction of a sovereign nation with its own rights. And if you're thinking of voting for the other guy, just know that he won't even *try* to pressure Bibi, he will give him carte blanche.
@hallmarc @S_r_stone @LauraWalkerKC I mean, conditions in the West Bank pretty firmly demonstrate there is no interest in pluralism, BUT that doesn't mean the only Jewish nation in existence should be wiped off the map, which is what will happen if we withdraw our support entirely. by all means, put the screws to Bibi, and maybe even do some outreach to the Israeli people so they stop electing these hardliners, but I guess there's no stopping the human condition: scared people turn to fascism.
@dietotaku @S_r_stone @LauraWalkerKC Israel has only become more pluralist over time. I agree that the settlements are ridiculous but the territories have nothing to do with pluralism. The right of return of millions of Palestinians would demographically destroy Israel as assuredly as the wars they defended against. People of all faiths are allowed to live and worship freely in Israel. 20% of the citizens are Arabs, many of whom identify as Palestinians.