mtutiger

Maybe one expects more from the party that, up until 5 mins ago, claimed they were against government intrusion into local matters.

And, to the extent that policies on masks have anything to do with politics, when the majority nationally *wants* them to end. I understand Buddha's perspective here, and the science with this new variant as to the efficacy of masking seems to suggest that they are less effective against Omicron, but again, when things like requiring masks in school go from being a "55%" issue to a "30%" issue, maybe you will see more movement. As it exists, we aren't there yet. Maybe if Omicron continues to fade, the ground will shift.

Not sure if this is directed at me or not, I dont doubt any of what you are saying. I'm just suggesting that we are a large country and what people in Allen County want may be different than what someone in Chesterfield County VA wants. As for us here in Texas, we've had schools shut down, even in red areas, for days at a time on account of this latest outbreak. I'm sure there are reasons for that, who knows.

I would just add that, in terms of Virginia, I saw a map of the counties who were ignoring the Governors order on Twitter... and it wasn't just blue ones. Again, I don't think that would be happening if this issue were just "shirts and skins" at this point. Even though it's often how it gets portrayed

This has been a continual gripe of mine throughout this pandemic. Republicans used to hate big government and love local control... now they seem to just talk about hating big government in Washington while telling local governments how to run themselves at the state level. In terms of things like mask orders, again, policies may reflect more the desires of the community than some are willing to recognize.

This probably fits well with the discussion going on over in the actual COVID thread, but I almost think that people just assume that it's big government or teachers driving decisions on masks when the decisions may just reflect the wishes of the majority in communities where rules are put into place. And that's seems to be reflected in polling - Americans are shifting on COVID precautions, but masking is still above water nationally. Let's see where we're at after Omicron fades.... maybe then we'll get discussions about transitioning from "pandemic" to "endemic"

Amazing we live in a time where this is newsworthy

My personal favorite is Steve Doocy declaring "it could be a morning of pain", all while wearing a shit-eating grin on his face.

Quite a statement from the same people that complain about sneering liberals who look down on average Americans.

The big thing is that all the lawsuits happened after the election (ie. before rules could be changed in the states). To me, that's where the danger lies.... what if these states and their legislatures pass laws that allow them to select the electors versus the people? This was shot down in Arizona recently, but who knows, maybe it's something that's attempted after the 2022 midterms in some of these places.

Whoever does the projections should be sacked lol

Rudy Giuliani, who seeked to cancel millions of votes in across multiple states, being defended against 'cancel culture'. Irony.

It's ironic given that Russia, IIRC, has lower church attendance rates than the good ol' US of A.

Which genius thought that rehabbing an insurrectionist was a good idea?

Where's Archie to tell us now selling more American LNG actually projects weakness?

I just don't think he expected as much of a unified approach as he has gotten not only internally here in the states, but with NATO states at large. On the former point, as much intransigence exists and as much as guys like Tucker talk about how we need to leave Russia alone, the reality is that the majority of GOP politicians seem to be either relatively behind the President's approach in terms of moving troops to Eastern Europe or advocate for being more aggressive (ie.things like Sanctions pre-invasion). In other words, I think he expected a lot more division in the US than has manifested itself. On the latter point, NATO countries seem relatively attuned to their aggression, particularly more than they were a week and a half ago. Countries are sending supplies and aid to Ukraine. And even Germany, which has been relatively beholden to Russia because of North Stream 2, seems to be signaling that an invasion would follow with sanctions. Putin expected a divided west and ultimately he bet wrong. I dont know if he will invade or not, but I suspect that the goal from a diplomatic POV is to come up with an off-ramp so he can save face / declare a victory.

I would just add that one thing the EC does do is that it badly disincentivizes the development of viable third party options. It'd be nice if the system were ever reformed (it won't be) that it would rethink the parts of the system that cause that to happen... for instance, that an election where 270 isn't achieved goes to the House who then selects the President. Instead, how about the top two EC vote getters participate in a runoff election two weeks later in that instance?

Anybody starting to get the sense that the reaction from the west isn't what Russia was expecting when they started escalating?

Wyoming Rule This would be the best option IMO.... basically, the size of Congressional districts would be based on the smallest possible population for a district, which is Wyoming. Would result in 573 seats, but would be more proportional and would reduce the population of the average district, the hope being better representation for people in those districts.

Also, why should votes in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada, Arizona, North Carolina, Florida and Georgia matter more than in the rest of the country?

Even if this were the case (which I don't believe it is), under the current system, don't Iowa, New Hampshire, Vermont, Wyoming, both Dakota's, Rhode Island, Delaware, Kansas, Montana, Idaho, Maine, West Virginia have to stfu and just accept the President that Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada, Arizona, North Carolina, Florida and Georgia select for them? The current system is what it is, it's not gonna change, but this idea that a national popular vote ***** over the rest of the country more than the EC does, just can't agree with that. I'll admit maybe my perspective is different though because I live in a state where my vote is pretty worthless...

I'd be curious to know myself, but I suspect the answer to this is "yes".

I disagree with you on this one. There are too many voters in the rest of the country to just campaign on the coasts and expect to win an election. The more likely result is that Rs and Ds would be more incentivized to visit places where they don't necessarily excel in order to maximize their margins. You'd see Rs visiting places like California and Ds spending time in places like Omaha or Kansas City or OKC or Little Rock trying to get votes. As opposed to our current system, where candidates spend time in eight states and ignore the rest.