Trumps Presidency 2025

[Motown Bombers]

I called John James. His DC number I only get dead air, and his Michigan number I get a voicemail. I left a voicemail letting him know my intention to volunteer for the Benson campaign and tell as many people in Michigan as I can how he voted to take away their healthcare if he votes for this bill. I encourage others here to call his office. He's running for governor so he's the one rep we should be focusing on in Michigan. His DC number is (202) 225-4961 and Michigan number is (586) 498-7122.

[Motown Bombers]

2 minutes ago, gehringer_2 said:

While this is technically true in terms of claimed party membership, in the US in recent years very few independents really are - they call themselves 'independent' because they don't want the social 'stigma' of being 'responsible' for the crap in either party, but something like 90% of them always vote the same party all the time. 

I think independents are a complete myth. 

[1984Echoes]

7 minutes ago, gehringer_2 said:

... but something like 90% of them always vote the same party all the time. 

Yes, this is true... I get that. Of the 35%, let's sat 55% "normally" vote Republican and 45% "normally" vote Dem...

But this is where you'll get 3rd party votes, stay-at-home votes, and the biggest swings election-to-election.

Didn't Trump have a massive upswing in Independent votes between 2020 and 2024?

IIRC.

48 minutes ago, Motown Bombers said:

Harris got 6 million fewer votes than Biden. It's obvious a lot of Dems sat home. 

I don't remember how may registered Dems didn't vote in 2024 versus voted in 2020. It's in the numbers somewhere...

[Tiger337]

1 minute ago, Motown Bombers said:

I think independents are a complete myth. 

Of course, there are independents.  Most people don't spend their lives following every obscure election and  every political move that is made.  I appreciate the detail in which people on this board follow politics, but a very large percentage of Americans do not follow politics at all.  They vote for personalities, sound bites or just go off of how they feel about their lives in the current cycle.  These people can decide an election.  

[1984Echoes]

14 minutes ago, Motown Bombers said:

I think independents are a complete myth. 

I'm an Independent.

I've voted Republican. And I've voted Democrat.

[Motown Bombers]

1 minute ago, Tiger337 said:

Of course, there are independents.  Most people don't spend their lives following every obscure election and  every political move that is made.  I appreciate the detail in which people on this board follow politics, but a very large percentage of Americans do not follow politics at all.  They vote for personalities, sound bites or just go off of how they feel about their lives in the current cycle.  These people can decide an election.  

I think it's the opposite. I think people who claim they are independent are more politically engaged. Undecided voters are the ones who are not engaged. 

[Motown Bombers]

Just now, 1984Echoes said:

I'm an Independent.

I've voted Republican. And I've voted Democrat.

What Republican are you going to vote for today?

[1984Echoes]

Today?

There are no longer any Republicans to vote today. Only Trumpist-Fascist-Magats.

That doesn't make me NOT an Independent... It is simply a limitation of my choices based on circumstances.

And if these parties split into 3 (pipe dream, I know...): I would vote for the centrist Mainstream America Party.

Fevered Dream... I know... but I am a centrist through and through.

I would vote for Teddy Roosevelt if he were running (and in fact, his corpse would be a better President than the current guy), Colin Powell if he would have ever run, I was fine with George HW Bush, voted for W in 2004 (on one specific issue) ... etc.

But yeah... today's Republicans are Toxic beyond belief, with a capital T. Again, that doesn't make me NOT an Independent, it just limits my choices.

Call me "functionally" not an Independent...

But I am an Independent.

[Motown Bombers]

You're proving my point. You're a Democrat but you don't want to be labeled that even though you would never vote for a Republican. 

[gehringer_2]

1 hour ago, Tiger337 said:

These people can decide an election.  

 

1 hour ago, 1984Echoes said:

I'm an Independent.

I've voted Republican. And I've voted Democrat.

yeah - you guys are out there, but the polling tends to show there are fewer people like you than the conventional wisdom believes. And I don't think being disengaged makes you any less likely to keep voting for the same party out of habit. The GOP would never stay in power if even half of its voters actually paid attention to their budgetary irresponsibility instead of just falling back on the decades old meme habit of GOP=deficit hawks/DEMs=spenders.

Plus, I guess maybe it depends on whether you consider watching Faux as being 'engaged'. I would argue that is more an addiction to a mental narcotic that blocks anything like actual intellectual 'engagement' and the work of thinking. 

Though to be absolutely fair, that's somewhat true of all cable news, Faux is just the apotheosis of it.

Edited Wednesday at 05:36 PM by gehringer_2

[CMRivdogs]

Master Negotiator 

What ever happened to America First. Come on MAGA defend this

 

[Motown Bombers]

To think how many Latinos voted for this.

 

[CMRivdogs]

He’s Trump’s bitch alright 

 

[Tiger337]

2 hours ago, Motown Bombers said:

I think it's the opposite. I think people who claim they are independent are more politically engaged. Undecided voters are the ones who are not engaged. 

Some independents are engaged, some are not and there is a whole spectrum in between. Whether or not you want to call them independents or undecideds, these people can decide an election and you need to get their votes. 

[Tiger337]

1 hour ago, gehringer_2 said:

 

yeah - you guys are out there, but the polling tends to show there are fewer people like you than the conventional wisdom believes. And I don't think being disengaged makes you any less likely to keep voting for the same party out of habit. The GOP would never stay in power if even half of its voters actually paid attention to their budgetary irresponsibility instead of just falling back on the decades old meme habit of GOP=deficit hawks/DEMs=spenders.

Plus, I guess maybe it depends on whether you consider watching Faux as being 'engaged'. I would argue that is more an addiction to a mental narcotic that blocks anything like actual intellectual 'engagement' and the work of thinking. 

Though to be absolutely fair, that's somewhat true of all cable news, Faux is just the apotheosis of it.

I personally have no loyalty to either party.  I have been voting Democrat only because there is no other choice.  In the past, there have been local elections where I voted Republican and I'd like to be able to get back to that some day, but right now there is no other choice but to vote against Republicans.  If they keep winning, we'll lose the country as I know it.  

[Motown Bombers]

 

[pfife]

4 hours ago, 1984Echoes said:

This is NOT correct.

Trump won because of Independents.

Republicans = 30% of the electorate. NO ONE can win with ONLY the support of their party voters. Dems are 35%, BTW. Go back and crunch your numbers again.

Let us know how many Independents voted for Trump, because they are 35% of the electorate. And THEY are the "kingmakers" or the "backbreakers".

It is correct.   If those Republicans didnt vote for him he clearly would have lost by a lot

[pfife]

4 hours ago, Motown Bombers said:

Harris got 6 million fewer votes than Biden. It's obvious a lot of Dems sat home. 

If the Republicans didnt vote for trump he would have lost.   Its obvious.

[Motown Bombers]

I’m calling myself an independent now. 

[guy incognito]

If I leave the house at all this weekend, which isn't likely, I'll be sporting a black armband. Say "hi" if you see me.

[pfife]

Republicans win if Democrats dont vote for Democrats,  but Republicans also win if Republicans dont vote for Republicans?

Sweet argument.  Very consistent and also convincing.

 

[Motown Bombers]

If anyone here wants to call a congressman, I urge you to call John James. He’s most vulnerable since he’s running for governor. 

 

[Motown Bombers]

I don’t think Trump actually knows what’s in his bill. 

 

[Tiger337]

4 minutes ago, Motown Bombers said:

I don’t think Trump actually knows what’s in his bill. 

 

I know he doesn't.  He just wants a "win" and for everybody to give him credit if it passes.  

[LaceyLou]

5 hours ago, Motown Bombers said:

I called John James. His DC number I only get dead air, and his Michigan number I get a voicemail. I left a voicemail letting him know my intention to volunteer for the Benson campaign and tell as many people in Michigan as I can how he voted to take away their healthcare if he votes for this bill. I encourage others here to call his office. He's running for governor so he's the one rep we should be focusing on in Michigan. His DC number is (202) 225-4961 and Michigan number is (586) 498-7122.

You appear to have the same relationship with him that I do with whatever poor souls answer the feedback emails for the MBTA... I occasionally get a response but it's obviously a canned one that either doesn't answer my question or tells me that the train that never came actually did... such is life.