2019-2020 US Elections Megathread I- It Begins

[Major-Tom]

Congress then? Realistically, what do you think would happen if November of 2020 rolls around and Trump just decides "hey, fuck it, I won't accept the results." We have an intricate system of checks & balances, along with other mechanisms to prevent that very thing from happening, in the off chance it would ever happen.

Trump basically has a cult of personality in his supporters and could absolutely set off a constitutional crisis which the GOP would have to back him in. It could be very dangerous physically.

A cult of personality among some supporters, definitely. But I think there's a fundamental difference between "immensely devoted supporter" and the "rabid, whatever it takes to keep Trump in power supporter." I'd like to believe the former, while still often fundamentally wrong about many issues and blindly loyal, would recognize the glaring issues with a blatant, completely out-in-the open power-grab.

[Valrifell]

The alternating logic of how, in one post, users here can rant about the stupidity of the Trump Administration but, in the very next post, quake in fear of the possibility of him becoming dictator. The two thoughts are so mutually contradictory that I think the mere thought process behind such is worth of examination by psychologists.

Did you know?: multiple different users with different views use this board?

[Confederate States of German America]

The alternating logic of how, in one post, users here can rant about the stupidity of the Trump Administration but, in the very next post, quake in fear of the possibility of him becoming dictator. The two thoughts are so mutually contradictory that I think the mere thought process behind such is worth of examination by psychologists.

I did not call him stupid, I talked about him becoming progressively more loony - and there have been plenty of loony dictators in history.

Loony after they secured themselves in power. There has not been an example of a large, relatively well established nation in recent memory seeing such occur as you propose. To become an effective dictator requires a great deal of skill and political finesse.

[Maineiacs]

Who said anything about leaving it in a courtroom?

Congress then? Realistically, what do you think would happen if November of 2020 rolls around and Trump just decides "hey, fuck it, I won't accept the results." We have an intricate system of checks & balances, along with other mechanisms to prevent that very thing from happening, in the off chance it would ever happen.

For the sake of what's left of my sanity, I have to believe that at the end of his term, Trump will either leave peacefully of the Secret Service will escort him out of the White House; bodily carrying him out, if necessary.

[Major-Tom]

The alternating logic of how, in one post, users here can rant about the stupidity of the Trump Administration but, in the very next post, quake in fear of the possibility of him becoming dictator. The two thoughts are so mutually contradictory that I think the mere thought process behind such is worth of examination by psychologists.

I'm not worried about him becoming a dictator, as I made clear in multiple posts here. I am naturally worried about Trump's mental state and the aftermath of a loss in 2020, though again, I never claimed it was feasible he would take on a "Tropico-esque" role in the likely event of his loss. The most far-fetched scenario I can think of, which is still within some realm of possibility, is that he doesn't accept the election results, but has to leave office anyways, resulting in multiple years of Twitter firestorms and his name slowly fading into historical obscurity.

I mean, the Trump administration has thus far managed to exceed my expectations in regards to lunacy and incompetence, but there has to be a ceiling for all of that somewhere. Right...?

Yes, I edited the post you were responding to as you were typing this to clarify my statements (see above), but the short of it is, I think that ceiling may be getting progressively higher as his time in office gets longer.

You could probably tell that my confidence even in my own statements were dwindling gradually as I was typing. No matter what shitstorm ensues, and I'm confident it could be a shitstorm of Herculean proportions, there are measures in place to ensure that Trump is removed in the off-chance he goes even more haywire, deciding he'd like to be President as long as he lives.

[Valrifell]

I did not call him stupid, I talked about him becoming progressively more loony - and there have been plenty of loony dictators in history.

Loony after they secured themselves in power. There has not been an example of a large, relatively well established nation in recent memory seeing such occur as you propose. To become an effective dictator requires a great deal of skill and political finesse.

Incorrect.

Bumbling idiots with garbage ideas have taken power because they were at the right place at the wrong time. People with no business running the State have lead coups.

[Confederate States of German America]

Loony after they secured themselves in power. There has not been an example of a large, relatively well established nation in recent memory seeing such occur as you propose. To become an effective dictator requires a great deal of skill and political finesse.

Incorrect.

Bumbling idiots with garbage ideas have taken power because they were at the right place at the wrong time. People with no business running the State have lead coups.

Then I'm sure you can provide some examples of people with verified mental issues seizing power? Particularly in a country with a broadly comparable profile to the United States?

[Hediacrana]

You could probably tell that my confidence even in my own statements were dwindling gradually as I was typing. No matter what shitstorm ensues, and I'm confident it could be a shitstorm of Herculean proportions, there are measures in place to ensure that Trump is removed in the off-chance he goes even more haywire, deciding he'd like to be President as long as he lives.

I sort of could

I hope you're right, but I also think this is a time of rapid change, and the political life of the US is much more unpredictable than it has been.

[Ayytaly]

The Democratic party keeps shooting themselves on both feet by emphasizing on candidates like Kamala or AOC simply because they're empowered women of color who "don't need no man". The truth is, majority of the US population still consists of old white Conservative-leaning boomers and war supporters (be it veterans or chickenhawks), and by pushing a candidate's ethnicity or sex as a higher priority to vote for than their actual policies is a huge turnoff for them.

I'm going on a bend and say this: The eventual disappearence of the homogeny of English-speaking whites dominating demographics will lead to even bigger disputes between races and economical classes, and the diminishing WASP population won't be there to mediate or become the perennial scapegoat anymore. In a way, I understand why they voted for Trump, and Democrats have no one to blame but themselves for losing.

[South Odreria]

If Trump loses, would he run again in 2024?

[Cannot think of a name]

The Democratic party keeps shooting themselves on both feet by emphasizing on candidates like Kamala or AOC simply because they're empowered women of color who "don't need no man". The truth is, majority of the US population still consists of old white Conservative-leaning boomers and war supporters (be it veterans or chickenhawks), and by pushing a candidate's ethnicity or sex as a higher priority to vote for than their actual policies is a huge turnoff for them.

I'm going on a bend and say this: The eventual disappearence of the homogeny of English-speaking whites dominating demographics will lead to even bigger disputes between races and economical classes, and the diminishing WASP population won't be there to mediate or become the perennial scapegoat anymore. In a way, I understand why they voted for Trump, and Democrats have no one to blame but themselves for losing.

Yeah, I mean...look how poorly it went when they ran women and people of color in 2018...

[Confederate States of German America]

Venezuela was stable, but then Maduro or Chavez(Depending on who you ask) came along.

Any dictator would try their best to stop news of mental issues from coming out(Theoretically Trump could just be too incompetent.).

Jair Bolsonaro according to some, Macron according to some, Erdogan according to some, Netanyahu according to some(Though even if you disagree with him, calling him mentally challenged is a stretch), Putin according to some(Then again...The USSR fell....), etc.

Literally none of these meet the criteria established, nor even basic thinking concerning them; your reasoning literally boiled down "x person says this about y", which should automatically set off alarm bells.

Oh, also, "broadly comparable to the united states" is a too narrow category and moves goalposts somewhat, not many are nearly as democratic or strong. We prevent dictators in the West, mainly, as most are affiliated-even if not in-NATO and the EU.

No, it really isn't. We expect insanity in third world hellholes like in Africa, but those nations aren't broadly comparable to the United States or indeed much of the world.

[The Republic of Fore]

I'd like to see AOC run just for the hilarity. Imagine having a presidential candidate who doesn't know the branches of government. Oh and who despite having a degree in economics, a field of study you would think would involve some math classes, claimed that the DOD somehow spent more money than It's received in It's entire existence in only 17 years.

[Page]

The Democratic party keeps shooting themselves on both feet by emphasizing on candidates like Kamala or AOC simply because they're empowered women of color who "don't need no man". The truth is, majority of the US population still consists of old white Conservative-leaning boomers and war supporters (be it veterans or chickenhawks), and by pushing a candidate's ethnicity or sex as a higher priority to vote for than their actual policies is a huge turnoff for them.

I'm going on a bend and say this: The eventual disappearence of the homogeny of English-speaking whites dominating demographics will lead to even bigger disputes between races and economical classes, and the diminishing WASP population won't be there to mediate or become the perennial scapegoat anymore. In a way, I understand why they voted for Trump, and Democrats have no one to blame but themselves for losing.

Your suggestion that the WASPs of America are the mediators of race relations and the only thing holding back different minority groups from conflict is extraordinarily condescending. "White man's burden."

[Juristonia]

I like how the "dems have 2 to do X or dey will l00se!" arguments almost always come down to X being "Be more republican".

[Phoenicaea]

Trump may be a buffoon, but he's not going to declare himself some tinpot dictator if he loses.

Can we really predict how his grasp of reality is going to evolve over the next two years, though?

..

this is precisely what is realistically going to happen, Trump will refuse to step down. not 'democratically'. even younger guys are capable of forsesee it.

[Valrifell]

Incorrect.

Bumbling idiots with garbage ideas have taken power because they were at the right place at the wrong time. People with no business running the State have lead coups.

Then I'm sure you can provide some examples of people with verified mental issues seizing power? Particularly in a country with a broadly comparable profile to the United States?

Stupid isn't a mental illness, brochinksky.

[Valrifell]

I like how the "dems have 2 to do X or dey will l00se!" arguments almost always come down to X being "Be more republican".

You'll also see this arguments coming from people who are right-leaning and/or Republican.

[Cannot think of a name]

Can we really predict how his grasp of reality is going to evolve over the next two years, though?

..

this is precisely what is realistically going to happen, Trump will refuse to step down. not 'democratically'. even younger guys are capable of forsesee it.

Alright, I'm curious...exactly how do you cats see this playing out? Lay it out step by step for me. Like, do you guys assume that presidential power is like holding on to a conch shell or something, that if he doesn't let go everyone just has to do what he says?

[Prusenreich]

It's sad but Trump has made the position of president into a joke

[Valrifell]

this is precisely what is realistically going to happen, Trump will refuse to step down. not 'democratically'. even younger guys are capable of forsesee it.

Alright, I'm curious...exactly how do you cats see this playing out? Lay it out step by step for me. Like, do you guys assume that presidential power is like holding on to a conch shell or something, that if he doesn't let go everyone just has to do what he says?

It's hard to see a scenario where Trump refuting the results doesn't result in him being forcefully escorted from the White House.

[Cannot think of a name]

Alright, I'm curious...exactly how do you cats see this playing out? Lay it out step by step for me. Like, do you guys assume that presidential power is like holding on to a conch shell or something, that if he doesn't let go everyone just has to do what he says?

It's hard to see a scenario where Trump refuting the results doesn't result in him being forcefully escorted from the White House.

Not gonna lie, watching Trump get thrown out eviction style would be a bit cathartic.

[Ifreann]

Like the midterm election thread, this is pretty much an American politics thread. Also, considering how many candidates rushed to endorse the Green New Deal, stuff related to it seems pretty relevant.

We can't have three American politics threads for general use, that's just absurd.

While I'd agree that the policies mentioned are relevant since they're (technically) part of candidates' platform if they've voiced support.

A typo/misstep/mistake on AOC's website is not that.

Any thread about any element of American politics is a general American politics thread, because diverting attention, changing the topic, distraction and spin are all critical parts of American politics.

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I'd like to see AOC run...

I, too, support lowering the minimum age requirement for US presidents. Personally I'd put it down to 18, let any adult run. Where would you set it?

[Internationalist Bastard]

So I have literally no hope of Trump losing so who am I going to waste my vote on this time?

[Valrifell]

So I have literally no hope of Trump losing so who am I going to waste my vote on this time?

Me