American Politics

[QUOTE=PVMonger;2776768]And WAPO and the NYT articles are based on fact. [URL]https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/people-in-republican-counties-have-higher-death-rates-than-those-in-democratic-counties/[/URL] and [URL]https://insights.som.yale.edu/insights/once-covid-vaccines-were-introduced-more-republicans-died-than-democrats[/URL] Republican-leaning counties have higher COVID death rates than Democratic-leaning ones as well as higher overall death rates. You can spin this any way you like and you undoubtedly will.[/QUOTE]It would be interesting to see how the economies of the red and blue counties compared since COVID started. I'd expect the red counties did better.

[QUOTE=Tiny 12;2776644]Hey Elvis, I think a lot of it is a need by many Democrats to feel they are superior to others, morally and otherwise. And their desire to impose their values on others. ... [/QUOTE]

Hey, how wrong you are! It is more than likely quite the opposite. I think, it is the newly minted QAnon/Repubs/MAGA tribe, that have a persistent sense of inadequacy and a debilitating inferiority complex, which compels them to feel a constant need to exert "their power" over others.

And a moral code that often manifests itself, as hate, violence and cruelty, towards others that don't share their MAGA ideology.

On the other hand, as an aside, I'm enjoying the [b]inadequate, incompetent[/b] and [b]dysfunctional[/b] spectacle that is the QAnon/Repub House Caucus. So not all is lost, the QAnon/Repubs can be quite entertaining.

So popcorn, pizza, wine, beer and a buck of chicken at the ready...it is turning out to be, a "blockbuster" show, one we haven't seen in over a hundred years. (...kkkk!) Enjoy the Show!

[QUOTE=PVMonger;2776768]Your stating that diabetes was, by far, the leading comorbidity death factor is incorrect. At least one study has said that it was hypertension.[/QUOTE]You need to learn to read. That was the most common comorbidity. I think that is more correlation than causation. I said the sickest people I saw were diabetic. Elevated blood sugars impair immune function.

[QUOTE=PVMonger;2776768]Another study said that the leading comorbidity death factor was lung cancer. [/QUOTE]LOL. Lung cancer as comorbidity? Maybe we can see how many people died with Covid die diving 10,000 feet without a parachute next? That is probably the worst comorbidity of all. Our tax dollars at work. Eye roll.

[QUOTE=PVMonger;2776768]And WAPO and the NYT articles are based on fact. [URL]https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/people-in-republican-counties-have-higher-death-rates-than-those-in-democratic-counties/[/URL] and [URL]https://insights.som.yale.edu/insights/once-covid-vaccines-were-introduced-more-republicans-died-than-democrats[/URL] Republican-leaning counties have higher COVID death rates than Democratic-leaning ones as well as higher overall death rates. You can spin this any way you like and you undoubtedly will.[/QUOTE]I am not going to spin it. I just wish it would have been more relevant. How about Coke drinkers versus Pepsi? Burger King v McDonald's? Or tastes great versus less filing?

[QUOTE=PVMonger;2776768]Or just another who doesn't know the difference between weather and climate. Given your Miami comment, my assumption is the latter.[/QUOTE]Nah, I just thought once Biden got elected every day was going to be 80 degrees and sunny. What the hell happened?

[QUOTE=Spidy;2776868]Hey, how wrong you are! It is more than likely quite the opposite. I think, it is the newly minted QAnon/Repubs/MAGA tribe, that have a persistent sense of inadequacy and a debilitating inferiority complex, which compels them to feel a constant need to exert "their power" over others.

And a moral code that often manifests itself, as hate, violence and cruelty, towards others that don't share their MAGA ideology.

On the other hand, as an aside, I'm enjoying the [b]inadequate, incompetent[/b] and [b]dysfunctional[/b] spectacle that is the QAnon/Repub House Caucus. So not all is lost, the QAnon/Repubs can be quite entertaining.

So popcorn, pizza, wine, beer and a buck of chicken at the ready...it is turning out to be, a "blockbuster" show, one we haven't seen in over a hundred years. (...kkkk!) Enjoy the Show![/QUOTE]Please see my last paragraph from the post you're quoting.

I feel like 30% of the country are diehard Trump supporters and 30% are diehard Progressives. And the other 40% of us are fucked.

While I don't like Trump and would never vote for him, I could live in a country where he's President. The Trumpsters probably won't try to pick my pocket. I couldn't live in a country dominated by progressives. It would be adios USA, unless they made it financially impossible to exit, as Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders proposed when they were running for president.

Yes the Speaker's race is providing much entertainment for Democrats. The pundits on MSNBC can't talk about anything else! It's going to be interesting to see how it plays out. Any predictions?

[QUOTE=Spidy;2776868]Hey, how wrong you are! It is more than likely quite the opposite. I think, it is the newly minted QAnon/Repubs/MAGA tribe, that have a persistent sense of inadequacy and a debilitating inferiority complex, which compels them to feel a constant need to exert "their power" over others.

And a moral code that often manifests itself, as hate, violence and cruelty, towards others that don't share their MAGA ideology.

On the other hand, as an aside, I'm enjoying the [b]inadequate, incompetent[/b] and [b]dysfunctional[/b] spectacle that is the QAnon/Repub House Caucus. So not all is lost, the QAnon/Repubs can be quite entertaining.

So popcorn, pizza, wine, beer and a buck of chicken at the ready...it is turning out to be, a "blockbuster" show, one we haven't seen in over a hundred years. (...kkkk!) Enjoy the Show![/QUOTE]Blockbuster show?(I'm sure watching paint dry would be more exciting) wow bro you really should get out more, have you ever heard of something called pussy?

Or if not that, whatever trips your trigger LOL.

Well if you are a shut in?(or locked in a state psych ward) is that why you are on a political thread on a mongering website 24/7.

Free tip, do you know the internet has free porn? ANY kind you like bro? LOL.

Bon Appetit.

[QUOTE=Tiny12;2776909]Please see my last paragraph from the post you're quoting.

I feel like 30% of the country are diehard Trump supporters and 30% are diehard Progressives. And the other 40% of us are fucked.

While I don't like Trump and would never vote for him, I could live in a country where he's President. The Trumpsters probably won't try to pick my pocket. I couldn't live in a country dominated by progressives.
[/QUOTE]The trumpsters might not pick your pocket, but they won't think twice before threatening you for doing your job if if your job may endanger their dear leader like some Republican election workers found out for themselves. And they might try to blow you up or kidnap you if they believe that you're encroaching on their "liberties". Some of them won't even hesitate to show up in your pizza parlor looking for chained trafficked children in your basement (that doesn't exist).

I'll take pickpockets, thank you very much.

The following is the best report I've ever read explaining how "conspiracy theories" operate. While the report was written with Damar Hamlin in mind (the guy who collapsed on the field during this past MNF game), it delves into conspiracy theories in general and antivaxxers specifically.

Since many won't bother to read the source (they'll call it 'fake news' like they always do), I'll post the text also. FYI, the bolded text is mine.

[URL]https://www.thedailybeast.com/why-anti-vaxxers-pounced-on-damar-hamlins-collapse[/URL]

Nicholas Grossman.

Updated Jan. 04,2023 7:10 PM ET Published Jan. 03,2023 8:14 PM ET.

Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest and collapsed after making a tackle during a Monday Night Football game versus the Cincinnati Bengals. While most saw a tragedy, anti-vaxxers saw opportunity.

As of this writing, the reason Hamlin's heart stopped remains unknown—one possibility raised by cardiologists is an arrhythmia caused by blunt impact to the chest—but that didn't stop conspiracy theorists from baselessly claiming it was a COVID-19 vaccine.

Whether Hamlin has taken the vaccine or any boosters, and (if so) how many doses he's had, isn't publicly known either. He was in the league last season, when the NFL said "nearly 95 percent of players are vaccinated," so it's likely he's had at least one COVID shot, but even if that's the case, we have no idea if he's had any since, and most of the already rare heart issues that arose after vaccination have occurred within seven days of getting one.

Nevertheless, some MAGA influencers, such as radio host Tim Young and former Navy officer Andrew Rose, used the incident to declare that public health officials' were lying when they said approved COVID vaccines are "safe and effective. "

Celebrity doctors who have spread doubts about COVID shots got in on the action too. Drew Pinksy, the former host of VH1's Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, tweeted "Another athlete who dropped suddenly" to his 2. 6 million followers, implying the number of athlete collapses spiked in the last two years (it hasn't), and that medical examination has indicated the not-actually-real spike was caused by vaccines.

However, sudden cardiac arrest in young athletes has been a medical concern for years—see, for example, these peer-reviewed papers from 2016 and 2001—and there's no evidence indicating that a vaccine first administered in December 2020 is a significant cause of it. Some anti-vaxxers point to VAERS, a public comment system run by America's Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA). But since it allows anyone to say anything, medical professionals consider the data basically worthless, and the CDC emphasizes that VAERS reports do not show causality.

Aseem Malhotra, a you. K. Doctor whose writing on coronary artery disease the British Heart Foundation called "misleading and wrong," reacted to news of Hamlin's collapse by repeating his claim that COVID vaccines should be considered "a likely contributory factor in all unexpected cardiac arrests. Until proven otherwise. ".

That's not how science works. Evidence showing that X is a significant cause of why is necessary before scientists think it's a likely factor. Presuming otherwise violates a scientific principle so well known it's become a cliche: correlation is not causation. Just because two things happened around the same time doesn't mean one caused the other.

And with Damar Hamlin's cardiac arrest, we don't even know if there's correlation.

Scientific analysis requires a baseline of skepticism, where the burden of proof falls on those making a causal claim. That doesn't mean one should assume a theory is definitely false, just that it shouldn't be considered likely until tested and supported by evidence.

To test a theory, scientists need data; a universe of cases, a representative sample, not merely a few anecdotes that fit a preconceived conclusion. Otherwise a correlation between X and why could be coincidence, or X and why could both be caused by some factor Z. Telling people to assume, without evidence, that X caused why until someone else proves that it doesn't is the method of superstition, manipulation, and conspiracy theories.

Conspiracy theorists typically go further, not just insisting an unsupported theory is true, but continuing to insist it's true in the face of evidence that it's not. COVID vaccine conspiracy theories are an especially egregious example.

Over 13 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered worldwide. About 80 percent of the population in both the United States and United Kingdom have had at least one COVID shot. It's effectively the biggest scientific test of a vaccination program in history, and antivax theories of widespread negative effects have decisively failed.

If anti-vaxxers were right, there would be millions of vaccine-caused deaths and millions more hospitalizations. It should be like COVID itself, where just about every hospital in the USA, you. K. , and other countries has treated numerous patients, and most individuals know someone who died, or at least got seriously ill.

But that hasn't materialized. As with any medical procedure, there are some instances of complications, but they've been rare, nowhere near the scale anti-vaxxers presume. And yet, rather than breathe an epic sigh of relief that their fears were unwarranted, they've plowed ahead, pretending it actually happened.

They do this even at the anecdotal level.

Before pointing to Damar Hamlin's cardiac arrest as evidence of his antivax theories, Aseem Malhotra made similar claims about Foo Fighters' drummer Taylor Hawkins, who died last year at the age of 50. Hawkins "suffered a sudden cardiac death because of the mRNA jab he'the recently taken under coercion," Malhotra blared, prompting criticism from the late drummer's family and bandmates. A toxicology report found ten substances in Hawkins' system, including opiates, antidepressants, and benzodiazepines, indicating his death was likely caused by an overdose.

[B]Lack of evidence doesn’t pose a problem for conspiracy theorists, because they can always incorporate the absence into their theories.

If the public doesn’t see proof, that must be because everyone in a position to observe or publicize the evidence is in on the conspiracy. It doesn’t make sense if you really think about it—do you realize how many people need to have superhuman competence to pull off something that big without leaving tons of evidence?

But conspiracy theorists know some people won’t. One allure of conspiracy theorist communities is the shared feeling that they’re smarter than others, that they’ve figured out a secret most can’t see, or that the reason they’re unhappy with something in their life isn’t some combination of bad luck and their own bad decisions, but due to people they don’t like working to keep them down.

Whether deliberate or not, pushing conspiracy theories is effectively con artistry, exploiting the gullible with claims that boil down to “just trust me.”

Malhotra, for example, said a “reliable source” backed up his claims about Taylor Hawkins, but the source was “afraid of speaking out for fear of losing his job.” If this supposed source never comes forward, others can’t evaluate his reliability or scientifically examine his evidence. How convenient.

Part of the trick is to cast conspiracy theorists and people who believe them as victims of shadowy forces. The source wants to show you the proof, but can’t, because his employers are in on it. The government and mainstream media “knows” the conspiracy is real, but they prevent you from finding out by punishing anyone who merely asks about it.[/B]

Alex Berenson—memorably dubbed by Atlantic writer Derek Thompson as "the pandemic's wrongest man" for how many debunked claims he aggressively pushed—denounced reports of doctors suggesting non-vaccine causes for Damar Hamlin's cardiac arrest as "spin. " The "media and league will do whatever they can to avoid the obvious question," Berenson insinuated. But in reality, the NFL and various media figures are asking obvious questions such as "what happened? "will he be okay? And in sports media, "when will the postponed game resume?

If a reporter asks a doctor about it, they don't have access to Hamlin's medical records—including his vaccination status—and offer possible explanations consistent with the scientific literature, usually with careful caveats. As for the doctors treating Hamlin, reporters and talking heads don't know what specifics they're asking, and Berenson doesn't either.

Charlie Kirk, who runs Turning Point USA (TPUSA), one of the most influential Republican organizations in the United States, also claimed to be a victim for asking questions.

After Hamlin collapsed, Kirk tweeted to his 1. 9 million followers a sentiment similar to Dr. Drew's: "Athletes dropping suddenly. " Kirk called that an "all too familiar sight right now," as if it was a recent phenomenon. Seventeen hours later, Kirk announced that, "For committing the crime of noticing that athletes are tragically collapsing on the playing field, I have been labeled 'human garbage'. Paying attention yet?

There's no evidence vaccines played a role in Damar Hamlin's cardiac arrest, but there is evidence someone harshly criticized Charlie Kirk. And the harsh criticism couldn't possibly be because just about every public figure gets harsh criticism on social media, and some people think Kirk is wrongly spreading misinformation that undermines individual and public health. No, it must indicate he's right and "not allowed" to say the things he's saying in public without any consequence besides harshly critical speech.

Early in 2022, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) did something similar in an appearance on Kirk's radio show, making the wildly inaccurate claim that "over 22,000 deaths" have been associated with COVID vaccines, and lamenting how there's "all these athletes dropping dead on the field, but we're supposed to ignore that. " When pressed, Johnson spokesperson Alexa Henning defended the senator by saying he was just asking questions, not making factual claims. For evidence that Johnson's concerns had merit, she linked to an anonymous blog post. Upon further examination by Washington Post reporter Glenn Kessler, the claims in that blog post could be traced back to an Austrian website associated with the country's far-right Freedom Party.

That's one way that fringe ideas become mainstream.

The problem with "just asking questions" is not that people are asking, it's that the questions they're asking have answers they refuse to acknowledge.

Anyone actually interested in the risks of various vaccines can look at data from clinical trials and real-world usage, consult peer-reviewed papers and public health officials, or just ask their doctor, almost all of whom recommend vaccination against COVID-19 and other diseases. Anyone who wants to know what caused Damar Hamlin's collapse will wait to hear from the medical professionals who are caring for him.

Anti-vaxxers, however, are interested in giving people the false impression that the answer is vaccines, so they pretend no one will answer the questions, and that someone somewhere is stopping people from asking them. It's not a coincidence that some of the most prominent figures "just asking questions" about COVID vaccines, such as Sen. Ron Johnson, Charlie Kirk, Fox News host Tucker Carlson, and Daily Wire pundit Candace Owens, also push political conspiracy theories. "Just asking questions"—whether about immigration, the 2020 election, or COVID vaccines—isn't pursuit of facts, it's rejection of them in favor of insinuation and grievance.

[B]If you can get people to reject authoritative sources of information, from professional medical associations to election administrators, you can get them to believe just about anything. It traps them in information bubbles where “everyone knows” that powerful forces are conspiring against them, they can’t trust anyone else, and have no choice but to fight back.

But factual reality is a constant threat to puncture the bubble, so conspiracy theorists exploit the human tendency to treat anecdotes on par with data to take things in the news, such as a football player’s tragic collapse on live TV—or the deaths of celebrities such as actress Betty White, rapper Coolio, or comedian Bob Saget—and claim they validate the theories, even if they don’t.[/B]

[QUOTE=Xpartan;2776945]The trumpsters might not pick your pocket, but they won't think twice before threatening you for doing your job if if your job may endanger their dear leader like some Republican election workers found out for themselves. And they might try to blow you up or kidnap you if they believe that you're encroaching on their "liberties". Some of them won't even hesitate to show up in your pizza parlor looking for chained trafficked children in your basement (that doesn't exist).

I'll take pickpockets, thank you very much.[/QUOTE]Trumpsters are on a tear to flush our tax dollars down the shitter into infinity right now without even being sworn in.

The Repubs, Bothsiders and Neithersiders who facilitated the Repub Redrawn Districts Pink Tinkle of 2022 must be livid that a whole week of their beloved Repubs' promised two full years of describing, envisioning and dwelling on the image of a naked Hunter Biden getting a footjob from an Asian hooker has been lost forever with possibly more lost weeks and months ahead.

Does anyone doubt that, should they ever actually take that Redrawn Districts Pink Tinkle majority in the House before November 2024, these Repubs will make the absolute worst decisions for the economy in order to pick all of our pockets in grand fashion just as Repubs have through every Repub-stewarded Great Depression, Great Recession, Massive Jobs Destruction and Mega Bear Crash and none of the Great Upside counterparts to those Repub accomplishments over the past 100 years?

As has been true since at least the middle of Reagan's first term as president, the reality for a greater American economy and stronger National Security is diminished and chipped away every time an American who is eligible to register and vote does not do so and vote Democrat straight down their ballot for every election every time.

[QUOTE=Tiny 12;2776909] While I don't like Trump and would never vote for him, I could live in a country where he's President. The Trumpsters probably won't try to pick my pocket. I couldn't live in a country dominated by progressives ...[/QUOTE] The "pick my pocket" phrase, was definitely an interesting turn of phrase you used, given MAGA Ideology. Meaning there is more than one way to "pick your pocket", as it were.

[QUOTE=Tiny 12;2776909] Yes the Speaker's race is providing much entertainment for Democrats. The pundits on MSNBC can't talk about anything else! It's going to be interesting to see how it plays out.[/QUOTE] Well, it seems I'm not the only one who likes [b] "watching paint dry" [/b](...kkkk!)

[QUOTE=Tiny 12;2776909] ... Any predictions? [/QUOTE] While very entertaining, sorry no real predictions of any consequence. Just more of the same, comical dysfunctional ineptitude on behalf of the QAnon/Repubs/MAGA fringe, to hijack legislative procedures, meaningful governing and and hold congress hostage. Like I said in a previous post, ...[b]MAGA Nihilist!!![/b]

Kevin McCarthy, [b]Nine[/b] rounds of voting for the speaker of the house and counting!!! I imagine, for those of us watching, this must seem like Kevin McCarthy's own personal version of [u][b]"Groundhog Day"[/b] [/u] (....kkkk!)

Yep! Wayyyyyyy better than watching paint dry...at least for some of us.

[QUOTE=Spidy;2777216]Yep! Wayyyyyyy better than watching paint dry...at least for some of us.[/QUOTE]Damn Spidy, We agree for once. I'd like your honest opinion about this video. I brought it to the attention of a Democratic friend who ironically said he'd rather watch paint dry than watch Sean Hannity and Lauren Boebert go at it. He honestly used those words. Anyway I think it's hilarious.

[URL]https://www.foxnews.com/video/6318208355112[/URL]

OK, I'll admit that listening to Alexandria Ocasio Cortez expound on Modern Monetary Theory or talk about the famed economist Milton Keynes is more entertaining. But that's mostly because AOC has nicer tatas. She and Boebert are both ditzes.

Hey,

How wrong you are! It is more than likely quite the opposite. I think, it is the newly minted QAnon / Repubs / MAGA tribe, that have a persistent sense of inadequacy and a debilitating inferiority complex, which compels them to feel a constant need to exert "their power" over others.

And a moral code that often manifests itself, as hate, violence and cruelty, towards others that don't share their MAGA ideology.

On the other hand, as an aside, I'm enjoying theinadequate, incompetent and dysfunctional spectacle that is the QAnon / Repub House Caucus. So not all is lost, the QAnon / Repubs can be quite entertaining.

So popcorn, pizza, wine, beer and a buck of chicken at the ready. It is turning out to be, a "blockbuster" show, one we haven't seen in over a hundred years. (. kkkk!) Enjoy the Show!

Something tells me the more it drags on the less you're going to like the final outcome and the more we will!! LMAO.

Please keep your chin tho LMAO.

I'm guessing the only 2 really shitting their diapers are those criminal Bidens.

MAGA 2024!

Maybe there will be an impeachment marathon after all this, Biden Harris Garland Wray and Mayorkas Lolol.

[QUOTE=EihTooms;2777209]Trumpsters are on a tear to flush our tax dollars down the shitter into infinity right now without even being sworn in.

[b]The Repubs, Bothsiders and Neithersiders who facilitated the Repub Redrawn Districts Pink Tinkle of 2022 [/b]must be livid that a whole week of their beloved Repubs' promised two full years of describing, envisioning and dwelling on the image of a naked Hunter Biden getting a footjob from an Asian hooker has been lost forever with possibly more lost weeks and months ahead.

Does anyone doubt that, should they ever actually take that[b] Redrawn Districts Pink Tinkle majority in the House[/b] before November 2024, these Repubs will make the absolute worst decisions for the economy in order to pick all of our pockets in grand fashion just as Repubs have through every Repub-stewarded Great Depression, Great Recession, Massive Jobs Destruction and Mega Bear Crash and none of the Great Upside counterparts to those Repub accomplishments over the past 100 years?

As has been true since at least the middle of Reagan's first term as president, the reality for a greater American economy and stronger National Security is diminished and chipped away every time an American who is eligible to register and vote does not do so and vote Democrat straight down their ballot for every election every time.[/QUOTE]Three million more votes were cast for Republican House candidates than Democrat House candidates. And Republicans control the House by a c*nt hair.

[URL]https://www.cookpolitical.com/charts/house-charts/national-house-vote-tracker/2022[/URL]

Republicans received 2.8 percentage points more of the popular vote, and hold about 2.06 percentage points more seats in the House.

Woe be to the repubs, bothsiders and neithersiders who facilitated redrawn districts that resulted in a fair outcome, with party representation in the House approximately the same as the parties' respective share of the popular vote. For by facilitating fairer redistricting they have enabled the evil Republicans to control the House.

This is actually an excellent illustration, that the 40% of Americans who believe that Trump won the 2020 election are no more irrational than many Democrats. Democratic politicians are always dreaming up imaginary ways Republicans are disenfranchising voters.

Admittedly both sides try to disadvantage the other through redistricting. But every time a Republican legislature or Secretary of State comes up with some innocuous safeguards against voting fraud, the Democrats cry foul. Which just makes Republicans more suspicious of drop boxes and mail in voting and the like.

[QUOTE=Tiny12;2777240]Damn Spidy, We agree for once. I'd like your honest opinion about this video. I brought it to the attention of a Democratic friend who ironically said he'd rather watch paint dry than watch Sean Hannity and Lauren Boebert go at it. He honestly used those words. Anyway I think it's hilarious.
[/QUOTE]It is boring because Hannity has already made up his mind. He is of the we need to move the country along mindset. Tucker Carlson is more of Democracy is messy, and conflict is not always a bad thing.

When I went to my objective sources, the people I trust the most, you learned that this conflict existed with Dems before. AOC and her squad bucked Pelosi and Jimmy Dore was cheering them on. He wanted the squad to demand that the house vote on the single payer option of Medicare for all. What we learned with Obama is he was going to reform health care and he did, by letting the insurance companies right the new law. With Obama, we learned from wikileaks that Citigroup picked the whole Obama cabinet.

And of course, the vote for Medicare for all never hit the house floor as the squad caved.

So the guys like Jimmy Dore, Aaron Mate, and Glenn Greenwald, guys I trust, are asking are these Republican for real? Are they really going to get concessions for the citizens or is Kevin McCarthy going to rule and be a big money guy who does what is best for the big corporations paying him off? And the other possibility is: are these Republican rebels really going at McCarthy for selfish reasons and juicy committee seats?

So which way does it go? Do we get real concessions and reform, or is this just a ploy by these Republican rebels for more money and power? I want to believe the former, but if I had to bet, I would pick the latter. It is Washington after all.

[QUOTE=Tiny12;2777322]Three million more votes were cast for Republican House candidates than Democrat House candidates. And Republicans control the House by a c*nt hair.

[URL]https://www.cookpolitical.com/charts/house-charts/national-house-vote-tracker/2022[/URL]

Republicans received 2.8 percentage points more of the popular vote, and hold about 2.06 percentage points more seats in the House.

Woe be to the repubs, bothsiders and neithersiders who facilitated redrawn districts that resulted in a fair outcome, with party representation in the House approximately the same as the parties' respective share of the popular vote. For by facilitating fairer redistricting they have enabled the evil Republicans to control the House.

This is actually an excellent illustration, that the 40% of Americans who believe that Trump won the 2020 election are no more irrational than many Democrats. Democratic politicians are always dreaming up imaginary ways Republicans are disenfranchising voters.

Admittedly both sides try to disadvantage the other through redistricting. But every time a Republican legislature or Secretary of State comes up with some innocuous safeguards against voting fraud, the Democrats cry foul. Which just makes Republicans more suspicious of drop boxes and mail in voting and the like.[/QUOTE]So now a greater percentage of Repubs will suffer the House Repub Crap Behavior and Results in their distrcts and nationally than they had to before the Repubs redrew them and took them from the Dems.

How lucky for them and the country. And much more fair. I wonder what results a do-over election today after just this first week of House "leadership" would produce.

I take it you are 100% in favor of determining the number of Senate Seats by population and abolishing the Electoral College system for a popular vote for POTUS, right?

I mean, to be fair and all that.

[QUOTE=EihTooms;2777385]
I take it you are 100% in favor of determining the number of Senate Seats by population and abolishing the Electoral College system for a popular vote for POTUS, right?

I mean, to be fair and all that.[/QUOTE]I favor a system like what Thomas Jefferson envisioned, where governmental authority and the power of the purse rest with the states to the extent that it makes sense. If we had that, it wouldn't matter so much which party controlled the federal government. Or how presidential and congressional elections were decided. People like you would be freer to be governed and live the way you want to live in California. And the same would be true for people like me in Texas, who don't appreciate northeastern and west coast politicians fucking us over with, for example, climate and border policies that don't make sense for our state. And taking our money and flushing a big % of it down the drain.

To answer your question, the way the Senate is set up, with 6 year terms, without the power to initiate spending bills, and with each state receiving equal representation, makes sense to me. And if we were writing a new Constitution, it would make sense to do away with the Electoral College and elect the winner based on the popular vote.

The only two presidential elections in modern times where the winner lost the popular vote were Bush vs. Gore in 2000 and Trump vs. Clinton in 2016.

If Gore had won in 2000, maybe we wouldn't have invaded Iraq. Many lives, mostly Iraqi, and many American dollars would have been saved. If Gore governed like Bill Clinton in his second term , he might have made a good president, if the House were in Republican hands and and people like Larry Summers and Robert Rubin were in his administration.

If Clinton had won in 2016, she couldn't have done much harm with a Republican House and Senate. She wouldn't have gotten re-elected in 2020, because of the Clinton Pandemic. (That's what you'd call it, right?) Our national debt wouldn't be as outrageously high as it is today, because split government results in less spending. And because there's no way the Republicans who would have won the 2020 elections would have been as profligate as Biden, Schumer and Pelosi. Another positive, Clinton probably wouldn't have engaged in Trade Wars, like Trump did. Finally, Trump is a blight on the Republican Party. If he'd lost in 2016, he probably would have disappeared into the sunset.

The big downsides would be that we never would have implemented corporate tax reform, including a cut in rates. And we probably wouldn't have had vaccines ready to go in January, 2021 with Clinton in charge.

So anyway, in summary, if we picked presidents based on the popular vote, maybe we'd be better off today.