One step above Alyssa Milano posting here, y'all, I know you're all better than that.

  • marxisthayaca [he/him,they/them]M
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    4 years ago

    counterpoint: The media doesn't have to push the narrative because that's what is going to happen. Your decision to vote or not should be up to you and not what the media says.

      • marxisthayaca [he/him,they/them]M
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        4 years ago

        you don't think Trump is going to do an election coup? In the country that welcomed the 21st century with Bush v. Gore?

        • gayhobbes [he/him]
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          4 years ago

          Woof. Long answer, here we go.

          Bush v Gore, while a dumbass miscarriage of justice, ultimately wouldn't have won Gore the election. By most recounts, Gore would have lost by a very thin margin. And that reflects polling at the time, Gore and Bush ran within a percentage point of each other. Now, did Jeb fuck with ballots to confuse voters? Sure, and that kind of tampering can impact the vote, but not by huge margins. And unfortunately that's not the legal challenge that Gore mounted anyway, they just wanted to recount the ballots which I maintain should have happened but the end result is that Gore would have lost anyway so I don't truly in my heart care also because the entire American electoral system is a fucking mess anyway.

          So what's Trump going to do? He's a spoiled rich kid who hates being president, who hates being bossed around and going to meetings and shit. He wants out of this. He'll put up a token resistance but anytime anyone has stood up to him he's backed down instantly. Why wouldn't that happen now?

    • gayhobbes [he/him]
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      4 years ago

      Probably, but the media clearly still wants to make sure EVERYONE shows up to vote. I don't think it was ever true that Trump's going to try anything. He's a coward and he just talks a lot. I don't take him at his word because he's rarely followed through on anything he's said.

      • crispyhexagon [none/use name]
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        4 years ago

        i mean.. hes actually pretty consistently given away the game about actions the administration plans to take by just blabbing them like its no big deal.

        im more inclined to think the coup is something hes been ked to believe is totally normal by the people around him that want to maintain power and thats why hes saying it than that he has any kind of conniving motives around voter enthusiasm manipulation.

        theyve literally got like a dozen different vote suppression, fraud, and otherwise schemes in the works, so... meh.

        • gayhobbes [he/him]
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          4 years ago

          It's interesting to me because when you look at what he actually says, you can see it's a dumbass rambling reply like everything he says. There seems to be no thought put in it. It sounded like he was trying to say, well, I'm not worried about transition of power because I'm not going to lose, but his pudding brain can't articulate that clearly.

          • crispyhexagon [none/use name]
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            4 years ago

            taaapiooocaaaa we just love our gelatin dont we folks the biggest beautiful puddins

            my worry is more that the military industrial complex views him as a useful idiot that allows them to do the imperialism at home, while continuing the forever wars that they love so dearly

            • gayhobbes [he/him]
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              4 years ago

              He's shit on them a lot and a lot of them fucking hate him, plus he hasn't kicked off a war in four whole years. The military definitely doesn't like him.

              • crispyhexagon [none/use name]
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                4 years ago

                ohh nooo, hes so mean to us while also letting us do exactly what we want, and drone striking an iranian general that was acting as a diplomatic envoy at our request, oh nooooo hes sooo bad for us

                • gayhobbes [he/him]
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                  4 years ago

                  Heh apparently he was advised NOT to do that and the advisers were mad about it

    • gayhobbes [he/him]
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      4 years ago

      Okay, but I doubt there will be a coup.

            • gayhobbes [he/him]
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              4 years ago

              I don't think it's a coordination, I think you've got libs who work in media and they worry this will happen, and their only response, as always, is VOTE. So they think publishing this will scare people into voting because that's what everyone thought Bush was going to do in 2004 and in 2008, which is still something I remember.

                • gayhobbes [he/him]
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                  4 years ago

                  I actually don't think Trump would, because he seems to fucking hate being president. He doesn't get to do whatever he wants and he gets criticized a lot, both painful things for a narcissist like him. He didn't want to win anyway. He's looking for an out so he can go Roger Ailes himself at OANN.

    • gayhobbes [he/him]
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      4 years ago

      I mean, when? Even in 2016, Hillary ate shit. Trump didn't somehow deftly outflank her. The dude's a complete dipshit and just openly says all the stupid shit he's going to do. It's caught him with his pants down a million times. Any remotely competent opposition would have had him drinking milk from a saucer by now.

        • gayhobbes [he/him]
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          4 years ago

          Yeah but I mean what exists for him to seize power? If he loses, there's not really anything keeping him in, informal norms or no. In fact the transition from administration to administration is probably one of the only godforsaken American institutions that actually HAS formal norms.

          Honestly our biggest fear should be whatever dumb shit he does on his way out as a lame duck because yeah he can tear a lot of shit out on his way.

  • Reversi [none/use name]
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    4 years ago

    I get the sense Trump is playing up the "I miiiiiiiiight not leave" thing as showmanship, and to fuck with liberals

    Going for a third might actually endanger him personally, I think he's smart enough to see that

    • Vayeate [they/them]
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      4 years ago

      Exactly. He plays it up because he knows it triggers the libs and makes his supporters laugh and cheer. There's zero fuckin chance he resists leaving office

    • gayhobbes [he/him]
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      4 years ago

      He's a business dork. They never say yes or no to anything. Plus like you said on showmanship, I think he's going to pretend to his base that he was forced out or whatever.

  • Mallow [any,comrade/them]
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    4 years ago

    I don't think we lose anything by considering it a possibility. It's not like anyone is getting this out of nowhere. He was just asked about it this week and then responded that he might have to throw out ballots to not hand over power. That could be him being offended that anyone would think he'd lose a fair election or it could be him announcing his intent to cheat. I don't see any reason to not think about it at all. Either way there's a good chance of there being unrest following the election.