this post was submitted on 25 Jul 2023
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I wasn't talking about extremism. The mainstream right wing is as I described above.
Exhibit A: abortion bans. Exhibit B: election rigging. Exhibit C: crackdowns on LGBT+. Exhibit D: DeSantis literally advocating for slavery.
This isn't stuff that fringe groups talk about. It's stuff that mainstream right-wing politicians are actually doing as we speak, and they do it with the votes and approval of the people you know/have met in real life.
So are we talking politicians or are we talking regular citizens? Because there’s a big difference.
I read somewhere that over 80% of Americans were against the total abortion ban, for example. Another is an overwhelmingly majority of the country thinks career politicians are a bad idea, yet neither party does.
The problem is not the average American’s views. Very few are extreme. The problem is our politicians are progressively more extreme.
Most people vote Democrat or Republican and are biased one way or the other. If you want to commit career suicide as a politician, do anything that alienated the party you are closer aligned with. I hear people all the time, whether they voted Democrat or Republican, say aiming along the lines of “I don’t agree with a lot of things about (who they voted for) , but it’s better than the alternative!”
And that, in a nutshell, is why career politicians are killing the US.
No, there isn't. Regular citizens demonstrate their leanings in who they vote for. If you knowingly vote for a progressive/fascist/communist/theocrat/whatever, then that makes you a progressive/fascist/communist/theocrat/whatever.
Then why did they vote for candidates from a party that's spent the last several decades promising to ban abortion?
Over 80% of Americans may not be willing to directly admit that they want a total abortion ban, but significantly fewer than 80% of Americans are actually opposed to it. That was firmly proven when they voted for the Republicans who passed said ban, and unless there is a blue wave next year, it will be proven once again.
The Republicans want to institute a dystopia of slavery and christofascism, and that's somehow better than the alternative? No. No, it is not. That's absurd.
What's killing the US is the extreme cruelty of a significant and growing fraction of its populace. Career politicians are merely doing what the populace wants.
Why, because most people vote for a party and side with a party, not issues.
I’m not saying that’s right, in fact I feel the exact opposite. That’s just my observation of the world we live in in why that disconnect exists.
That's no excuse. When your side turns evil, you're supposed to switch sides, not support evil.
I’m not making an excuse, I gave you my opinion on why it is the way it is and why politics in the US are screwed up.
The other element is not all Democrat politicians are the same the same way not all Republican ones are either.
The problem is there is constantly less moderation in political positions in both parties. But if you think Presidents like Eisenhower and Trump are exactly the same just because they are Republicans, or Senator Masto vs Pelosi just because they are Democrats you’re being ignorant.
The world isn’t black and white either
The Democrats are moderate. The most extreme "Democrat" I can think of right now is Bernie and he lost his election. And all he was mainly pushing for was Universal Healthcare - something literally EVERY OTHER FIRST WORLD NATION has. So even that isn't extreme in an expanded worldview. Democrats are moderate, maybe even center right-wing in the grand scheme of the world.
The Republicans are extreme. I can't even pick one Republican that is extreme. Boeburt, Greene, Trump, DeSantis, Abbott. That's just the ones that stick in the news the most because of their insane choices and behaviors. Their party literally attacked the capital and tried to overthrow the government and install their own leader. They are as extreme as they can be without causing an all out civil war.
It's consistent and repeated events that show this.
What are you even talking about about?
What is this even in reference to? Nothing the other guy has said is a black or white interpretation - it's an observation of reality. Don't just give platitudes, actually give explains and evidence.
I mean... They're called Representatives right? Because they represent the people?
So, those politicians (Representatives) represent people, yes.