So two people to do the job of one, which is to find efficiencies.
I’m sure there are efficiencies and reviews into government spending are prudent. However, the people doing the review shouldn’t have existing commercial interests in the review and who may benefit from privatisation of public service.
Disturbing and probably accurate analysis.
Democrats didn’t just lose an election: They lost a nation.
The war is over.
Reflections on the 2024 US Presidential Election Reflections on the 2024 US Presidential Election | by Christopher Robichaud | Nov, 2024 | Medium
"I’ll say this, and then I likely won’t be saying much more on here for quite some time, to the relief of some, I’m sure. But my farewell warning is this.
Everyone in the days and weeks ahead will use this loss as an opportunity to seek validation for their own hobby horse complaint. Harris lost because she campaigned with Liz Cheney. Harris lost because she didn’t embrace Gaza. Harris lost because she didn’t choose Shapiro. Harris lost because she wasn’t progressive enough (possibly my favorite one).
Take a good hard look at the map, my friends. Trump has won the popular vote. Trump ran the table. Explaining that with your hobby horse issue isn’t going to cut it, tempting and consoling as it may be.
The problem isn’t the electoral college. The problem isn’t that we didn’t have a full primary. The problem isn’t Harris. The problem isn’t that Dems didn’t have the right message. The problem isn’t even inflation or the border.
The problem is so much worse than any of those things. Those are all technical problems, with straightforward expertise fixes. If only it were so! No, our problem is not technical. It’s very much adaptive. A party that embraced the Big Lie, supported an insurrection, and has been selling conspiracy-addled madness for years was widely and enthusiastically embraced. Voter turnout was profound! People didn’t sit this out.
Simply put, the problem — as some of you have rightly posted — is cultural. America, culturally, has completely abandoned a politics of decency and respect and has embraced instead a politics of resentment, revenge, false nostalgia, and bullying. And if you look at the demographics, you also won’t be able to comfort yourself that it’s just a white thing, or a working class thing, or an education thing. It’s multi-class, multi-gender, multi-educational and multi-racial. That’s what winning the popular vote means. That’s what running the table amounts to.
A culture that has descended to this level of debasement is not easily fixed. In fact it may not ever be fixed. The timeline for changing something like this is decades — at best — not two-to-four year election cycles. You can extend that in this case, because with the GOP likely controlling all branches of federal government and the courts, they will ensure that mechanisms are in place to keep them in power long after their popularity has waned. You can count on that.
The GOP evolved into a party of rage, lies, and revenge — and it correctly diagnosed that there was and is a large appetite for that. That’s what the country wants. At least, enough of the country wants it to ensure broad appeal and widespread electoral success. The old GOP will never return, and the Dems have nothing to say to American culture at the moment. Nothing. They’ve been speaking to a country that’s gone, like dust in the wind.
And that’s my final thought, which my posts last night alluded to. The America I knew and loved is gone. This new America — nah, I won’t even bother. I will say that cultural change is less likely to occur in politics, or in the academy. You’re not going to get people to see how vulgar they’ve become through a clever argument or a nice campaign speech, that’s for sure.
This would be time for the arts, broadly understood, to step in. The arts can change hearts and minds. Too bad the arts have been systematically dismantled in education in this country, and on the other end, the tech industry’s assault on the arts through AI is sure to hollow out any good-faith efforts that might emerge.
And for the rest of the world, America’s rightward lurch is, I’m afraid, bad news for you too. I know you know this. Because it’s not isolated, is it? It’s just at the moment the most prominent example of a burgeoning trend. And this will embolden others in other countries, to be sure. We need not speculate what happens when countries become mired in lies, embrace resentment, and savor bullying. We know exactly what happens. Bloody conflict and global destabilization.
The first quarter of the 21st century will therefore in hindsight be viewed as the seed-planting stage for the absolute ■■■■ show that’s about to unfold globally over the next two and a half decades. Count on it.
Adopt whatever coping and endurance strategies you have available. You’re going to need it.
I think that’s all I’ve left to say.
I may have to just take the George Carlin approach… sit in my den down here at the other end of the planet and enjoy my front row seat to the freak show.
I don’t really have any other way to cope. At some point there will be chaos… maybe it happens when Elon falls out, maybe when Trump fails to pay some Russian hackers and the mob kills him… who knows.
“it’s not our fault we lost, it’s the people that suck”.
I guess half of its mostly correct (obviously there’s alot more nuance there).
Popular vote difference is nearing 3 mil and still shrinking.
There’s alot of cooked people out there, but definitely could have had a different outcome if Bidens deterioration wasn’t denied for so long. Primary would have given a better idea as to where the popularity was, time to run a better/longer campaign.
Losing this one makes things look alot worse for the future though
USAID is ready for Elon. It has done a position paper on cost effectiveness and how direct donations at community level could be more effective.
In September USAID announced nearly $336 million in humanitarian aid to assist Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, with the objective of empowering Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank to build thriving communities, increase stability and improve lives.
In October it announced a further $45.5 million to support the East Jerusalem Hospital Network.
Joe took too long. As the incumbent getting him out unwillingly is nigh on impossible.
There was no realistic option for a second lightning primary.
I agree that this result was decided well before any of that.
Cost of Living/Inflation primarily and the border secondarily. First one is Covid and different choices might have slightly reduced it, but the second they should/could have acted sooner. Inflation is an incumbent killer.
Biden showing all class in his Trump meeting and promising a smooth handover today. Gracious and should be congratulated
Trump probably sees decency as weakness
The Democrats simply did not inspire their voters to come out and vote. They had a massive drop off of voters from the previous election.
On the other side, Trump’s campaign went into areas that they were traditionally strong in and simply tried to register as many unregistered voters as possible rather than try and convert Democrats. One of the examples was going in and recruiting entire fraternities and getting them all registered to vote for their party. They did this type of thing right across the country and it paid off big time.
You are right with a lot of what you say, but the simple fact is Democratic voters stayed home. The Democrats normally have a lot more voters. I was surprised as anybody with the low turnout.
Why were you surprised ?
If I was a Yank having a vote in this election, I probably would have stayed home as well.
Most Americans I know are good and decent people, and they are appalled by Trump and his morals and his actions. So you may think they would be stirred into action to keep him out, but the alternative was hardly inspiring.
Voter turnout was down a bit but 63.5% was a typical number and higher than many past elections.
I reckon if voting wasn’t compulsory here, then our turnout would be similar.
I keep thinking of Hunter Thompson’s ‘obituary’ for Nixon , and wonder what he’d say about Trump and his minions. If he thought Nixon and Co were a bunch of crooks and grifters…
And so it begins.
Gaetz and Gabbard. A child sex trafficker for attorney general, and putin’s bestest buddy for director of national intelligence. It’s beyond parody at this point.
How Mitch McConnell must want his time back.
Would have been the perfectly played hand if he’d voted to impeach in 2021.
Could have taken his coveted judicial wins and waltzed off into the sunset knowing he’d gotten the better of the deal maker.
Underestimated Trump’s capacity to survive his own disasters, and so sent a signal that it was okay.
remember when trump refused to participate with any handover of power when he lost?
I really dont think Americans truly understand yet whats coming. Gaetz pick is very much confirming a dictatorship is coming.
Yes Markwayne, let’s hope Matt can “answer the questions right”. Wow, it’s going to be more cartoonish and awful than I imagined.
“Oklahoma senator Markwayne Mullin has previously accused Gaetz of sharing videos of girls he slept with on the House floor. He told CNN last year that Gaetz would “brag about how he would crush ED medicine and chase it with an energy drink so he could go all night”.
On CNN just now, he said, “I completely trust President Trump’s decision making on this one.”
Mullin admitted that Gaetz is likely to face tough questions at his hearing. “Hopefully he;s able to answer the questions right, and if he can then we’ll go through the confirmation process.”
