Obviously there are differences between the Democrats and Republicans but under both parties, the working class have been shat on. When you see the Obama administration bail out the banks and fail to prosecute a single Wall Street executive for crashing the global economy, what do you think goes through the mind of the people the Democrats are supposed to represent?
63% of Americans cannot afford a $1,000 emergency in the richest country on the face of the Earth. While the ACA has protected people with pre-existing conditions, it was effectively written by Big Pharma and contains little to no cost controls. The price of insurance has sky rocketed and people have bankrupted themselves trying to pay for medical bills.
The Obama administration expanded the Bush wars and made the Bush tax cuts permanent. Just this year, 16 Democrat senators voted in a bill to decrease regulation in the banking industry, barely 10 years after crashing the global economy.
You seem to be under the impression that I am comparing the Dems vs. Rs directly, no. I am saying that the quality of life for your average American under both administrations continue to worsen despite what should be clear ideological differences between the two parties.
The Democratic party has been hostage to the ruling class for too long which has pushed progressive voices further and further away. At one point, the Obama had a super majority in the Senate yet as I said before, bailed the banks out and did not prosecute a single Wall Street exec. Further, he passed a right-wing healthcare plan which was effectively co-authored by Big Pharma. The Democrats could have introduced universal healthcare and declared an amnesty on student debt and loans but they didn’t and won’t ever because their donors don’t want it.
Mate, going to correct a few things since I lived in the US through all 8 years of President Obama’s tenure.
He inherited an economy on the precipice of collapse. He did not have any time to consider the best way to treat/save the patient. It was all or nothing and yes, with the benefit of hindsight, seeing bank execs being marched to jail would have been the visually appealing thing to do. But when over 800,000 people A MONTH are losing their jobs you have to do whatever it takes. Bailouts, deals with banks etc. And, it worked.
This notion that the “average American” is worse off after Obama is simply not true. Yes, there are pockets in the traditionally industrial parts (coal mining, steel production, other manufacturing) that struggled and did not participate in the recovery but they are by no means average or even a sizable chunk of the population. Could Obama have done more (for example subsidize education to help them transition to new industries)? Yes. Ofcourse.
But simple Math suggests that even if ALL those people voted for Trump it still only accounts for 23% of the voting-eligible population. Nowhere near the average.
Obama got 2 years before the Tea Party took over in 2010 with a specific aim to make him a “one term president”. What he focused on was saving the economy and trying to get healthcare passed and then faced challenge after challenge from the Republicans (FIFTY FOUR VOTES TO REPEAL Obamacare).
The narrative is flat out wrong. The Dems are no innocents but in the race with two options are by far the only workable solution.
You keep talking about Wall St not being punished by Obama. You seriously think a Republican president would have done it differently? I think Obama would have liked to do a lot more but in the end, the Republican outcry would have tied his hands. Who knows what might have gone on behind the scenes. Choosing Democrat is defo choosing the lesser of two evils in this case.
The whataboutery here is quite funny. Whether a Republican Prez would have done the same thing is beside the point, this was a slam dunk for the Obama administration.
@DonMania - why do you think Obama lost the House in 2010? It’s because 5.1 million families got kicked out of their homes after the GFC while the Banksters got off and got paid millions of dollars for wrecking the global economy.
He had a SUPER MAJORITY (albeit for a brief period) and control of both houses ffs. The ACA is a right-wing health care plan while giving many who previously couldn’t obtain insurance the ability to do so, cut off price controls so that premiums were rising as high as 24% YoY.
Because there were enough Dems in red states who wouldn’t have supported it that it wouldn’t have passed. And because he had ambitions of bipartisan statesmanship, and he was naive enough that the Republicans would have sufficient integrity to support a plan that had in the past been supported by one of their own.
Election Day is here. Let’s see which America stands up to be counted. The one that has been shocked, angered, and saddened the last 2 years. Or, just the angry one.
Here’s a state-by-state breakdown of when polls close:
10:00am AEDT (6:00pm Washington DC): Indiana, Kentucky
11:00am AEDT (7:00pm Washington DC): South Carolina; Florida; Virginia; New Hampshire; Vermont; Georgia (except Atlanta where polls close an hour later)
11:30am AEDT (7:30pm Washington DC): West Virginia, Ohio, North Carolina
1:00pm AEDT (9:00pm Washington DC): Arizona; Colorado; Louisiana; Minnesota; Nebraska; New Mexico; New York; South Dakota; North Dakota; Wisconsin; Wyoming; Washington
2:00pm AEDT (10:00pm Washington DC): Iowa; Montana; Nevada; Utah; Idaho
As the polls close, we’ll start seeing exit polls along with early tallies.
Here are some of the races to look out for:
Utah, Senate — former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is expected to be returned to Congress
Kentucky, 6th District, House of Representatives — this should be a close one because even though the district voted for Donald Trump in 2016 (and Mr Romney in 2012), it has strong Democratic roots. As well, the Democrats have a strong candidate in Amy McGrath, a fighter pilot and Iraq war vet. She’s up against the Republican incumbent Andy Barr
Minnesota, 2nd District — if she wins as polls indicate, Democrat Angie Craig would become first lesbian mum in Congress
West Virginia, Senate — the incumbent Joe Manchin is one of the few Democrat Senators left in Trump land. Note: he was the only Democrat who voted for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh . He’s likely to be re-elected
Texas, Senate — Republican Ted Cruz should still win here, but polls have the Democrats’ Beto O’Rourke is closer than you might have thought
North Dakota, Senate — Like Senator Manchin, Democrat Heidi Heitkamp is the incumbent in a state that voted for Mr Trump. But unlike Senator Machin, she voted against Mr Kavanaugh, and it’s looking like she’ll lose this election
Arizona, Senate — there’s no incumbent in this race, and even though the Republicans hold the seat, the Democrats are in with a decent chance (note: this was John McCain 's state)
On top of a Dem win, I’m really hoping progressives such as Ocasio-Cortez and Tulsi Gabbard within the party are given greater clout while I hope that Tim Canova ousts Wasserman Schultz.
Would also love for more Green candidates and Independents to get up.
4.5 I think. As luck would have it I am in Tokyo for work this week so will be able to follow the counts throughout the day here. Family back in SF. We are all on edge. For us personally this could mean the difference between whether we try to leave the US in the next few months or stick it out for 2 more years.