Don't blame me, I voted for the other guy. (Politics General)

@Dustcan
To mangle a phrase from The Simpsons, “I don’t agree with their Pence-killing policy, but I do approve of their Pelosi-killing policy.”

In the latest “It’s all one big club. And you ain’t in it” news, Biden gives Moscow Mitch a verbal handjob during the first National Prayer Breakfast since the pandemic started.

Biden was the VP when the GOP turned into the Tea Party. It was during Biden’s vice presidency when Republicans, spearheaded by McConnell, became nothing more than the obstruction party. McConnell just the other day admitted a reaffirmation of that ideology, where just like during Biden’s vice presidency the Republican’s sole goal going forward during Biden’s presidency is to oppose any and all of Biden’s policies. The GOP, now more accurately the GQP, still hesitates to even admit that Biden’s the president at best and at worst actively punishes their own members who don’t deny Biden’s victory.

And Biden is nothing but high compliments for those exact people. I get that you need unity. I get that you need to extend an olive branch to the party that controls half the government. But you don’t need to be their PR team. You don’t need to actively rehabilitate their image, especially as they are actively slandering yours.

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And in related news to the above, McTurtle admits that they’ll have no policy going forward. He outright says he’ll tell you what they’ll do - AFTER they take back power.

This is the Republican party now. They stand for nothing. The 2020 election also had no policy; they literally just ran on “Trump”. The Virginia Governorship race reinforced that: Youngkin ran on nothing…and he won. The Republican party literally stands for nothing now.

“Vote for me because” followed by an awkward silence.

@Dustcan
If you haven’t experienced it first hand, most of the people at the American capital are, in fact, friends outside of work. They go to the same churches, attend the same shows and parties, and it’s not unusual for them to have known each other for years.

This has been changing with the new legislators who have been elected, but especially for old timers I believe Biden is talking to McConnell this way because they are, in fact, friends when the cameras are off.

And, personally, I think Biden is trying the “If I make my enemy my friend have I not destroyed my enemy?” approach.

With Trump continuing to be … Trump … I don’t think McConnell sees a way out of his current situation, and given the amount of behind the scenes work Biden and McConnell do before saying anything publicly, this olive branch might be both of their ideas.

“Vote for us to own the libs” _{(who cares if you’re the ones getting owned next? certainly not us)}

Did anyone see the video of Biden calling Doozy a Stupid SOB?
https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/24/politics/biden-calls-reporter/index.html

@Anoncrsh
yes, I published it a few days ago but from what they told me here it seems to be something normal in America

It’s not.

It was and is normal for Trump and his sycophants. Outside of them? Not really.

I mean, I get that.

And thanks to WWE I understand how kayfabe works.

But. Like. When a bunch of half-naked roided up stuntmen are screaming about abortions at each other in a ring, I’m relieved to know that they are having a drink together at the local bar. They’re working together to provide a distraction that is all entertainment and nobody is dying over it.

When a bunch of geriatric dinosaurs whom half are medicated for Alzheimer’s highballing but not untrue according to a report a while back. are screaming about abortions at each other in Congress, I am worried when I remember that they are probably having a drink together at the local bar right after. They’re working together to provide a distraction that is not entertainment and people are dying because of it.

Some recent news from India

Naturally a lot of feminist movements in India are not happy about this and are demanding that marital rape be criminalised.

Honestly disgusting to know that India is still ok with this

@Dustcan
Kayfabe is a great word for it. I think when we see politicians in front of a camera, it really is stuntmen screaming at each other in a ring. And I agree there is very little entertainment in it.

I was looking some USA elections transmitions and I like the electoral votes system, the result of each state is relevant and the broadcast announces the winner in everyone.
Here the media only talks about the province of Buenos Aires (37% of the voters) and Buenos Aires City (7%
of voters but it’s the capital). Also the media only show the results when the election is almost over :p

Past year elections with electoral votes would be:
Republicans 229
Peronism 78
Río Negro party 7
Neuquén Party 6

Popular vote (actual results):
Republicans 41,72
Peronism 33,64
Liberal 7,32
Third way 5,65

Maybe the popular vote can lose sometimes but I like the fact that the elections are really federal.

Btw I used midterm elections as example, that’s probably wrong. I’ll try to learn how midterm elections work in USA this year.

@Background Pony #1F81
Those shitheads in India are giving other sensible Men’s Rights Activists around the world a bad name.

Believe me, India undoubtedly has some gender issues.

Fucking acid throwers are scum of the earth.

So how long until the evil Turtle gets his way again by blaming the democrats.

@CaptainXtra
Wait, there are people in India who use acid to do something horrible to women? Or is that a metaphor?

@Wiimeiser
Oh, it’s extremely literal.

It’s been common practice for decades in India to throw sulfuric acid into womens’ faces in order to permanently disfigure them, generally for the crime of refusing a man’s advances, not accepting a forced marriage, eloping with the wrong man, or generally just not being a sex slave.

It’s a practice that since been exported to England as well.

I was going to edit the post to have “crime” in quotes, but honestly it probably is a crime in India for women to not be utterly subservient to the needs of men of their caste or higher castes.

@Jojodidu
Interesting - Americans seem to have become increasingly discontent with it lately. Well, perhaps more the left, cause without it they’d win more - is it really much of a democracy if most of the country supports you but you can still lose?

Rolling news coverage seems like a no-brainer to adopt, though.

@The Smiling Pony
I’m just gonna assume that the country is run by a bunch of sexist pigs.

Oh you have no idea.

India is so fucking backwards.

@Latecomer
Electoral votes could be taken away, but it won’t make things that much more Democratic since the US would still use First Past the Post. In both 2000 and 2016, the Democrat “winner” actually received less than 50%; most of the country voted against them. To really be Democratic, we’d need to adopt some system that takes preferences of third party voters into account.

Since it’s inception the Constitution has been amended 17 times. Hell, the initial Bill of Rights laid out instructions on how to amend it. For that matter the only reason Boebert is allowed a position in government, let alone allowed to vote, is due to one of those evolutions.

One of these days we’ll find a Republican that’s read the Constitution. But that’s as unlikely as finding a Christian who’s read the bible.

@Natry
Given that their opponents got elected despite losing the popular vote, getting rid of that absurd “winner-takes-all” rule that all states bar Maine and Nebraska stubbornly cling to would already be a step up.
@Dustcan
He means “winner of the popular vote” (which both Al Gore and Hillary Clinton did). The thing is, many among that majority who didn’t vote for them actually didn’t vote at all (2020 was the first presidential election in half a century to get a turnout above 60%).

@Dustcan
@Ereiam
My point was the Democrats didn’t actually win the popular vote either. We’d just move the absurd “winner-takes-all” state rule to an absurd “winner-takes-all” national rule.

@Natry
Except third party voters are a tiny minority in the US (with 95% voting either Democratic or Republican), so as long as your electoral rules remain as they are, that situation isn’t about to change.
France has direct suffrage, and while there are undoubtedly things that could be better (for example, with our MPs being picked through a weird hybrid of first-past-the-post and proportional vote while the senators are voted in by indirect suffrage), at least it allows a little more pluralism than the American bipartisanism.

Probably not but I like the federalism in that system.
Actually the 2015 presidential election would have ended very differently:

Electoral vote:
Kirchnerism 192 (15 provinces)
Republicans 127 (9 provinces)

Popular vote:
Republicans 51,34% (12.988.349)
Kirchnerism 48,66% (12.309.575)