Yes, I think the house is toast but it has very little to do with actions taken or failed to be taken by the Biden administration. The sickness was in the mail - the economic overhang from COVID was going to happen this year and no president was going to fix it by executive order. Republicans haven't suggested a single thing to address the economic problems we are facing (or really any problems). They aren't interested in solutions because they get more traction from grievance and culture wars.calbear93 said:Unit2Sucks said:If you're saying immigration isn't really a nationwide issue, I would agree. It does appear to be a cornerstone of the Republican ethos for some reason however.calbear93 said:Unit2Sucks said:calbear93 said:They better hope so. They will not be able to run on how much better we are on inflation, immigration, or world stability. But at the end of the day, it will just come down to the inflation and upcoming recession and how long the stagflation will last when it hits. Voters will be angry and will be even further angered the more they talk about culture issues (other than abortion) instead of how they will fix this. And they will most likely take it out on the party that had control of both the white house and congress without thinking about inter-party fights, filibuster, etc.Big C said:Unit2Sucks said:calbear93 said:It seems that way. But it comes down to whether I prefer the do nothing Republicans who just fight stupid culture wars or whether I prefer the do all the wrong fiscal things Democrats who also fight stupid culture wars. The only thing that can tip the scales is Trump and his craziness. If I were the Republicans, I would not play up to that too much. Where are the MAGA going to go? To Harris? The idea of Harris being president won't motivate them to vote just because the platform is not focused on Trump or Trump is not the candidate?Unit2Sucks said:calbear93 said:Keep focusing on 2020 election would be an idiot move by the Republicans. This country is such a mess, both parties need to discuss things people care about, including inflation, economy and crime. The election has been over litigated with all claims of fraud shown to be mostly unsubstantiated and sometimes perpetrated by Republicans. If the Republican platform is let's do everything possible to worship and idolize at the temple of Trump and stroke his ego, then screw the party. If they discuss their plans to control inflation, get us out of the inevitable recession, restore energy independence, and reduce crime, this will be one of the biggest landslides for the Republicans in 2022 and 2024.oski003 said:
Why isn't the news making a big deal out of this?
I'm not sure it really matters. The entire message is and has been grievance and culture wars. There is no policy agenda - other than being oppositional. Is focusing on made up election fraud any worse than focusing on made up CRT or caravan crises?
What you want you won't find in the modern Republican Party. They aren't interested in governance, drafting legislation or making a difference in our country. They are interested in turning politics into professional wrestling because they have an advantage there.
What do you think the Republican Party is going to do? I bet you can guess with a high degree of accuracy and it's not going to be what you would propose they do.
"Dem Doom" in November might not end up being as bad as some predict. People are always looking for something to gripe about and that often falls on the incumbent politicians. But when the Dems getting blamed are actually put up against a Republican wacko, they suddenly might not look so bad. Overall, the Republican Party is gradually becoming more and more of a minority party.
Remind me again why immigration is a problem for democrats. Are immigrants stealing all our jobs or is it something else? As far as I can tell, immigration as a massive problem is mostly a construct of right wing media. I get why people complain about inflation and some other problems but how many people complaining about inflation actually experience any issues directly resulting from democrat policies that would be resolved by Republican politicians?
I think we both know that there is no meaningful policy that Republicans would enact if elected. They don't even have a wishlist except for rolling back individual liberties and fighting the culture war.
Doesn't mean that they won't be successful but I don't think we have to pretend like immigration is some differentiated advantage for Republicans just because they pretend to care about it.
It may not seem like an issue in the Bay Area but any chance of Arizona or Texas becoming purple states is fading with lack of sensical immigration policy at the border. I would like the old Republican policies on immigration - expand legal immigration to bring the smartest, create competition and help us innovate. It was the Democrats of old catering to working class who fought against immigration and global trade. But we really don't need more unskilled manual labor. There is a reason why even Democrats are complaining about Biden's immigration policies in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. Just because it is not a problem in the Bay Area does not mean it is not a hot topic for those closer to the border. Everything I am reading is that immigration will influence election in the border states. It is not a winning issue for the Democrats.
This is not really an opinion from me on immigration since neither party has logical immigration policies but an explanation on why I believe immigration will be another reason the Democrats will get slaughtered in 2022
and why, as retribution, every Squad member will get kicked out of every committee by the far right Republicans pressuring the new speaker.
I don't disagree with what you say the old Republican policies were, but when was that the case? As far as I can tell, Republicans are preventing the expansion of legal immigration because they aren't interested in having the smartest help us innovate, since they know those people will all come to blue states which Republicans have no interest in improving.
As far as I can tell, Republicans don't have any answers on immigration and merely seek to call it a problem for which they can blame the democrats. Other than cyclical variation as a result of economic factors, I don't see much difference in immigration outcomes from one administration to the next. The wall was stupid and inconsequential. I'm sure they will find another caravan to scare voters in the fall, and Fox News will pretend it's an invasion at the southern border to support the pravda campaign.
I will give the republicans credit for one thing, they are much tighter with their messaging and their base falls for it. As we've seen from Jan 6 texts, they keep Fox News personalities in lock step with their messaging and manage to stay pretty disciplined in how they gaslight their base. Too bad they aren't interested in helping this country.
I would say Reagan and the Bushes. Trump was really the first who started embracing what used to be Bernie Sanders' call against immigration and call for trade barriers.
I agree Republicans too often put Trump or party above country but I don't think most voters view Biden or congress exactly having helped this country since 2020. The polls bear that out pretty clearly. I may never vote for Trump or his acolytes but I am not looking to vote for Biden approaching 90 or Harris who has accomplished nothing or shown any level of competence or leadership. If those two are the best this country has to offer, screw it. But no matter what I believe on who is better, I am 100% certain both houses are going to the Republicans by a large margin.
I'm not sure why you think the senate will go republican by a large margin however. The democrats have a pretty good map - they are only defending 14 seats and at most will lose 3. Don't get me wrong, I think it's more likely than not that Warnock loses his seat and that the Republicans take the senate, I just don't think we're getting to a significant majority for Republicans. Not that it matters since with 50 seats + Manchinema + filibuster, the Republicans already have everything they need to prevent Democrats from doing anything about any of the problems Republicans pretend to care about.
