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Ujm It sounds like you would fit right in at the communications and outreach department over at the Orban propaganda factory. I’d be surprised you even truly believe the nonsense you’re saying on here. Also Freedom House isn’t a “very left wing outlet”. I even checked the Mediabiasfactcheck and they rated them as right-center (i still think it’s nonpartisan)
UJM, Orban is absolutely a strongman in a country steadily transitioning from Democracy to Autocracy. Orban just won in an election where playing field was completely slanted and the opposition was severely handicapped. It’s undeniable at this point that Hungary is no longer a full democracy and that Orban/ Fidesz are a hybrid regime in the gray area between democratic and full authoritarian. I could go through all the reasons but it would take me too long and it’s probably just a waste since i doubt you really care about the reality of the situation. If you actually care, you might want to read the (non-partisan) Hungary reports from Freedom House dot org.
It’s disturbing that you would would cheer on a very sad and unfortunate collapse of a once promising democratic country. At the same time you seem to be proving my (non-original) theory that the Republicans would be very willing to accept a strongman/dictator/autocrat if he was seen as fighting for their team interests and against the Democrat opposition.
Ujm, nice to know that you would prefer living under an authoritarian “strongman”. It remains to be seen how far down the authoritarian path they go, but at this point Hungary can no longer be credibly called a democracy. Maybe you should lay off the Tucker Carlson propaganda.
smerel, I’m voting Democratic since my main issue right now is preservation of Democracy. If you want to see acceleration towards authoritarianism vote for the Republicans. Orban’s Hungary is now their model. They just recently held a CPAC conference in Hungary.
Very well said ChZn.
Personally I’m quite upset by the unfolding events in Ukraine and I don’t understand how anyone can be indifferent to Russia’s ongoing crimes against HUMANITY and crimes against peace (as defined at Nuremberg) unless it somehow involves the Jewish people. It’s especially important that Ukrainian Jews are saved, but anyone who could show such indifference in regard to Russia’s barbarian acts against the Ukrainian people displays a toxic level of ethnocentrism.Ujm, Taiwan’s outdated claim to be the legitimate government of mainland China has been increasingly downplayed. I was just trying to make the point that Taiwan has recently been leaning away from mainland China in a more independent, nationalistic direction. If this keeps continuing, there might be a greater push for formal recognition of Taiwan as a sovereign county.
ujm, I’m not sure the Taiwan and Beijing agree that they are still part of the same nation. Taiwanese people are 95% Han Chinese but Taiwan has effectively been a separate country for over 70 years. Since the Hong Kong takeover, nationalist sentiment seems to be increasing. The ruling DPP party has held a majority since 2016 and favors a national identity separate from mainland China.
We wouldnt go to war with China if they ever invade Taiwan but we should continue to strengthen diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Both the Trump and Biden administrations are taking steps in this direction.Heath, His motives aren’t irrelevant when some decide to elevate Rittenhouse as a hero. That’s the part that bothers me. Although he seems to be innocent under the law, Rittenhouse is no hero for many reasons. Likewise, I saw no mention here that he was photographed drinking with Proud Boys and flashing white power signs just like the New Zealand mosque shooter. Personally I though he showed his true colors there. Im sure he’s really a BLM supporter and isn’t the least bit antisemitic either.
philosopher, I agree with Farby and AviraDeArah. I think it is pompous and arrogant to look down at individuals who no longer share your beliefs or practices. Regarding your comment about otd people, how can you look down at someone for thinking differently without rejecting them?
Shalom-al-Israel,
I disagree on a lot of media categorizations. Here’s my versionMSNBC: Left
CNN, The Guardian: center-left to Left
BBC and NYT: center-left
FOXnews (“news division”), NYPost: center-right
Tucker, Hannity, Ingraham, etc..: Right/ Questionable
Newsmax: Far right/ QuestionableTorahvaluesoverpary,
I think Kamala Harris’ politics are likely the future of the Democrat party come 2024. She’s a new-school progressive not a socialist, similar to other 2020 presidential candidates like Cory Booker, Mayor Pete, Beto, and Julian Castro. So I’m guessing that the 2024 nominee will be someone running in the Kamala Harris wing, rather than another Bernie, Elizabeth Warren, or even less likely AOC-type.
I’m both worried and have little idea where the post-Trump Republicans are headed. But I think Ron DeSantis would be a bad choice. His term started well but Covid really hurt him I think. He’s a divisive figure in Florida who has lost the support of non-party loyalists. He could face a tough challenge in 2022 and he only won by 0.4 percent last time.
“The Republican base has grown considerably more diverse in the recent years, and not thanks to the rinos”
I’d give it more than one election before you start saying that. The Republicans made clear gains among segments of the Hispanic population in the last election, but it’s too soon to call them part of the base.
gadolhadorah, your both sides argument doesn’t really work. There is clearly a growing backlash to partisan gerrymandering around the county, with voters approving ballot referendums in both red and blue states. Partisan fairness is not as much of a priority for the Republicans.
Virginia is moving forward with independent redistricting and the legislature is giving up power. The same is true in Colorado. Utah voters approved a redistricting measure but the legislature altered it so that they may ignore the independent maps and pass gerrymandered maps. The Ohio legislature allowed for a nearly worthless redistricting amendment. In Missouri, after voters approved independent redistricting in 2018, state lawmakers and GOP voters were able to repeal it. The Kansas Senate President openly embraced gerrymandering when she revealed plans for a map that would eliminate the lone Democratic Representative. Democrats have almost no chance in the near future of taking a legislative chamber in battleground states like Georgia or Wisconsin. The system is broken.Ujm, I’m a little late but you’re clearly wrong. Democrats won the majority of the overall votes for the House of Representatives from 1946 to 1994. The lines were drawn more to protect incumbents than to completely transform the playing field.
“Well, we can keep the current Republican advantage for sixty years too.
In 2070 lets reassess whether to even the playing field.”It’s becoming increasingly apparent that if Democracy isn’t working in the Republicans favor they will abandon it.
Of course you know you can find examples of gerrymandering in the past several decades or the period before the VRA was passed but REDMAP in 2010 changed things for the worse. Also, I don’t know another period when the overall political system has been so stacked in one direction. The Republican Senate majority will represent 40 million fever people, even if Democrats win both Georgia races. Finally, the electoral college has never been so lopsided.
How healthy is it when there are no competitive districts in an entire state for a whole decade? Besides Maryland and maybe Illinois, what deep blue gerrymander can compare with Texas, Ohio, or any of the other Republican ones?
Democrats won the overall house margin by about 3% but still lost a bunch of seats. Republicans lost the popular vote for state legislatures but still maintained a majority. If the current maps continue in purple states like Wisconsin, North Carolina, and now Georgia, Democrats have practically no chance of taking the legislature in the near future.
Regarding the upcoming redistricting, Republicans will have total control of the process for 43 percent of districts, while Democrats will just control just 17%, partially because the have taken the high road and opted for independent redistricting. Also, it’s not just “high tax” states projected to lose representation. Alabama, West Virginia, Minnesota, Ohio, Michigan all might lose a district. We’ll see what happens. 2022 is still a long way off.common saychel,
The GOP holds disproportionate power due to gerrymandering, Democrats concentrating in urban areas, the makeup of the Senate, etc.. You can’t argue that they represent a majority of voters. I’m concerned about the upcoming redistricting and what will mean for the health of our democracy.I don’t believe that the democrats are responsible for our current level of judicial partisanship because of the Bork nomination. That’s a revisionist history argument from McConnell. Bork didn’t even get all the votes of the Republican senators and was rejected primarily due to his publicly stated views. He should have been disqualified anyway for his role as a hatchet man in the Watergate scandal. Anyway, Reagan got to confirm Anthony Kennedy, who was a more appropriate choice. McConnell really deepened the mess by blocking the confirmation process of Merrick Garland in a pure power move. I’m not in favor on “judicial activism” from either side and would obviously prefer a functioning legislative branch. The courts have too much power at the moment and we should have term limits for judges. The invoking of the nuclear option in response to obstructionism has been a disaster. In my opinion, a 6-3 conservative majority court will be too friendly to powerful interests
Always_Ask_Questions, both sides are trying to use the the courts since Congress is broken and the courts have a huge amount of power at the moment. Yet they are unelected and serve lifetime terms. At the same time, the courts have become more politicized than ever. In 1993, RBG was confirmed 96-3. Just 15 years ago, Roberts was confirmed 78-22. Unfortunately, the more undemocratic Senate has all the nominating power and I blame McConnell for a lot of the problems we’re facing now. Also, since there is no longer a filibuster, McConnell and the Republicans can confirm unqualified ideologues in their 30’s. Everything hinges on the next Senate and President.
Joseph, where are you getting your information? Our infection rate is higher than all the countries you listed. You are correct that the per-capita deaths are higher in those countries, but Belgium is the only one that has doubled our rate.
I feel we’re all denying the reality of the pandemic by failing to mourn the nearly 100,000 victims on a national level.
Do you really think Trump can handle three debates? He didn’t exactly do very well against Hilary