I Don't Know If Joe Can Do It

[ivwshane]

Just because something was set up 200+ years ago does not mean it is fair. The constitution after all was written by men with motives of their own in a society that had the institution of slavery. It is grossly unfair that a state with so little population should get the same senate seats as a state with 5 or 10x the population. We could do something like 2 senators for every state and some sort of "bonus" additional seats based on population. Despite the reverence give to the constitution, both the senate seats and the electoral college were basically set up so the the government would be able to circumvent the popular vote.

That’s what the house is for.

The electoral college was setup to actually limit/balance states with slave populations as well as to act as a safeguard against an electorate enamored with someone who is unqualified or a threat to our democracy.

Considering the fact we don’t have slaves anymore and that it failed in it’s duty to keep someone like trump out of office, it should probably be abolished.

 

[MrSquished]

Considering the fact we don’t have slaves anymore and that it failed in it duty to keep someone like trump out of office, it should probably be abolished.

yes. As I've said the system is broken. But good luck with the EC. It will take 2/3 of the House and Senate plus 3/4 of the States. Never happening.

This is why I guess adding in DC as a state would help - would Puerto Rico really go Blue though? I'm not familiar with their politics.

 

[ondma]

Trump is revealing that a hell of a whole lot of them don't have much of that decent thing going on inside their hearts, souls and minds.

Sounds a bit (well actually a lot) judgmental. Obviously the most vocal get the most attention, but I dont pretend to have the ability to see into anyone's heart and soul, do you?

 

[ondma]

That’s what the house is for.

The electoral college was setup to actually limit/balance states with slave populations as well as to act as a safeguard against an electorate enamored with someone who is unqualified or a threat to our democracy.

Considering the fact we don’t have slaves anymore and that it failed in it’s duty to keep someone like trump out of office, it should probably be abolished.

Well, unfortunately the House cannot block Trump and his cronies in the Senate from stacking the Supreme Court with judges that meet his agenda, and the House is also powerless to bring any impeachment action no matter how Trump abuses his powers, because the Senate will never vote in favor of it.

 

[sportage]

"Some say" that if McConnell acts, it would put at risk senate republicans up for election. I don't know about THAT, but if that were true would McConnell risk losing the senate in order to get another Trump justice on the US Supreme Court? I believe that McConnell WOULD risk losing the senate because control of the supreme court is far more important than controlling the senate. Senators come up for election every 6 years, a justice on the high court last a lifetime. Congress has a hard time getting anything done, where-as decisions from the US Supreme Court can last FOR-EVER. And for McConnell, the power of the high court is all that matters in life. To have such influence on that great power is why Mitch McConnell gets up every day.

 

[K1052]

yes. As I've said the system is broken. But good luck with the EC. It will take 2/3 of the House and Senate plus 3/4 of the States. Never happening.

This is why I guess adding in DC as a state would help - would Puerto Rico really go Blue though? I'm not familiar with their politics.

A non-trivial problem with the EC is that we capped house seats. Increasing the number or representatives would substantially increase the number of electoral votes for high population states and would significantly reduce the possibility of a non-popular vote vote presidential win (which in recent decades is clearly a huge problem). This is probably the most worthwhile reform that could be implemented immediately and with a simple majority vote.

PR often elects Rs but they aren't exactly Rs in the usual conservative mold. Republicans could indeed compete for the new state but they don't seem very interested in that. The other territories and DC if added would be reliably Democratic.

 

[Commodus]

"Some say" that if McConnell acts, it would put at risk senate republicans up for election. I don't know about THAT, but if that were true would McConnell risk losing the senate in order to get another Trump justice on the US Supreme Court? I believe that McConnell WOULD risk losing the senate because control of the supreme court is far more important than controlling the senate. Senators come up for election every 6 years, a justice on the high court last a lifetime. Congress has a hard time getting anything done, where-as decisions from the US Supreme Court can last FOR-EVER. And for McConnell, the power of the high court is all that matters in life. To have such influence on that great power is why Mitch McConnell gets up every day.

The problem with losing the Senate: that also likely means they lose Trump in the election, which means Democrats are free to rebalance the Supreme Court. Virtually everything McConnell has done to stack the court gets thrown out the window.

I'm not counting the proverbial chickens right now, but I do think McConnell and crew realize that the 'paradise' they've had might be short-lived, and that they might have to care what people think if they want to hold on to something in 2021.

 

[eelw]

Was just on CNN. But this justice fight has energized Dems more as expected. Swing state voters, 49-37 want Biden to pick next SCOTUS.

So while GOP will desparately attempt to fill this vacancy in their last gasping breath of power this will probably ultimately cause them to lose more Senate seats. Wonder if it will swing the Kentucky seat just to screw cheater Moscow Mitch

 

[K1052]

Was just on CNN. But this justice fight has energized Dems more as expected. Swing state voters, 49-37 want Biden to pick next SCOTUS.

So while GOP will desparately attempt to fill this vacancy in their last gasping breath of power this will probably ultimately cause them to lose more Senate seats. Wonder if it will swing the Kentucky seat just to screw cheater Moscow Mitch

Mitch, barring a total miracle, won't be losing his seat.

These events do make places with heavy suburban female votes and unique local dynamics (Alaska and and Montana are very pro abortion rights for example) far more treacherous for Republicans. Anecdotally I've never heard people who typically only follow politics superficially so totally fucking furious. The paradigm that a court fight can only energize the right seems like an uncertain prediction, though one driven by R experiences in recent decades.

 

[Wreckem]

Mitch, barring a total miracle, won't be losing his seat.

These events do make places with heavy suburban female votes and unique local dynamics (Alaska and and Montana are very pro abortion rights for example) far more treacherous for Republicans. Anecdotally I've never heard people who typically only follow politics superficially so totally fucking furious. The paradigm that a court fight can only energize the right seems like an uncertain prediction, though one driven by R experiences in recent decades.

I think that they are hellbent on pushing it through because they fear their base will start cracking by Election Day not that they are fit to extract more votes from their base but to maintain it and maybe pick up a few new voters.

The Caclcus in normal years tend to have republicans in scotus seat fights and turnout. That’s not looking to be the case this time around. I expect the GOP to lose most of the close Senate races, giving the Dems a net of 5 or 6.

 

[hal2kilo]

If accurate Trump potentially in real deep shit in the rust belt/upper midwest

https://twitter.com/x/status/1307455539144724480

How is that possible. She's working her hardest to get a big COVID toll in a low population state.

 

[hal2kilo]

This seems to be the Biden strategy, not sure if I'd want to rely on just Trump self emolliating.
The term lid caught my eye. The last time I heard that term used, it was in reference to a very anemic "ounce" of Mexican before triple beams became de rigueur for dealers.

When Biden calls a 'lid,' Democrats wet the bed — and Trump starts mocking

The Democratic nominee is sticking to his strategy: Keep a low profile, and let Trump light himself on fire.

www.politico.com

 

[Wreckem]

Well the debate drowned out polling data yesterday.

The polling data doesn’t look good for Trump or the GOP.

In Georgia Biden is up by 3 and the Dem Senate candidates in both races are polling ahead of their GOP counterparts. Ossolf is ahead of Perdue with 50% support. Warnok is polling at 49% against both GOP candidates when going head to head against them.

The Kansas Senate seat is now officially in play with.

The Alaska Senate seat is now officially in play.

So now you have the following GOP Senate seats in play.

Maine - Dem Leading
North Carolina - Dem Leading
Georgia - Dem Leading
Georgia - Dem Leading
Iowa - Dem Leading
Arizona - Dem Leading
Colorado - Dem Leading
South Carolina - Tie
Alaska - GOP Leading by 1%
Montana - GOP leading by 2.5%

The only democrat seat in danger is Alabama and it is already lost.

If the GOP isn’t careful they are going to get decimated down ballot. Last night may have helped Trump with his base but it damaged their chances down ballot.

 

[TheOnlySuperdog]

...
The only democrat seat in danger is Alabama and it is already lost.
...

Which is sad. I hate that people here are so partisan that they can't choose someone who voices his stance on issues and talks about what he is going to do over a blow-hard former football coach whose head is firmly up Trump's ass.

I, for one, am voting for Jones.

Sent from my SM-G965U1 using Tapatalk

 

[MrSquished]

Anecdotal observation. Driving around Morris county in NJ to see family today, a county Trump won by 4.5 points over Hilary. Saw way more Biden signs than Trump. Brother in law who lives there said that's pretty much the norm in the area on his travels. Of course, may be many Trump supporters who are just ashamed to advertise it.

 

[fskimospy]

Joe does appear to be doing it, haha.

 

[woolfe9998]

Indeed he does. 538 is giving Trump an 18% chance to win as of today. A month ago it was 30%.

Our main hope for Trump not being able to challenge the result is that it won't be close. Or, specifically, if there are one or more "close" states, that they are not the tipping point states and hence the outcome in those states won't matter.

If the election was held today, I think that's how it would turn out.

 

[K1052]

Indeed he does. 538 is giving Trump an 18% chance to win as of today. A month ago it was 30%.

Our main hope for Trump not being able to challenge the result is that it won't be close. Or, specifically, if there are one or more "close" states, that they are not the tipping point states and hence the outcome in those states won't matter.

If the election was held today, I think that's how it would turn out.

Really deeply hoping Biden wins FL on election night by a good margin so we can put this thing to bed.

 

[soundforbjt]

If Trump is behind significantly, he may end up being the one to whine for/about extending counting...wouldn't that be delicious?

 

[Fanatical Meat]

If Trump is behind significantly, he may end up being the one to whine for/about extending counting...wouldn't that be delicious?

Not really because he and his supporters will give zero fucks

 

[K1052]

Trump's poor polling should be considered with the fact that voting is happening right now at this minute. Almost 4 million ballots have already been cast. Another half dozen states start early voting today.

 

[zinfamous]

You flunked American history didn’t you?

Nah, he's just fed really terrible talking points but generally lacks the critical thinking skills to understand/care that he's being deliberately misled. It's what happens when you fear a "liberal education." --which simply means: critical thinking above all else.

 

[zinfamous]

Most definitely not. When you ignore those with little representation you aren't making America better you are making it worse. The goal is to form a more perfect nation and to provide for the general welfare of its people, all people.

The best thing we can do for this country is to expand the number of representatives in the house by at least double. The senate is where looking out for the "little" states should happen.

agreed. If you want to add senators, you have to add states. It's the only way. The bicameral House was set up with proper purpose and while the model is fine, representation is still clearly being lost....which is where House districting comes into play. Increase the seats and fix the district boundaries to properly represent the people that actually live there.

 

[nickqt]

agreed. If you want to add senators, you have to add states. It's the only way. The bicameral House was set up with proper purpose and while the model is fine, representation is still clearly being lost....which is where House districting comes into play. Increase the seats and fix the district boundaries to properly represent the people that actually live there.

Should add about 1000 House of Reps.

Abolish the Senate and give the powers to the House. Or, keep the default "at least" 2 Senators per state, and then add Senators based on population..if we're going to keep the dogshit-tier Senate.

That we're afraid of changing how our government's constitution provides representation... after 250 years and a population increase of approximately 9000%...is pretty exemplar of why the government is dysfunctional. i.e. the people can speak all they want, but the gerrymandered-to-fuck government doesn't have to give a shit.

 

[ondma]

Should add about 1000 House of Reps.

Abolish the Senate and give the powers to the House. Or, keep the default "at least" 2 Senators per state, and then add Senators based on population..if we're going to keep the dogshit-tier Senate.

That we're afraid of changing how our government's constitution provides representation... after 250 years and a population increase of approximately 9000%...is pretty exemplar of why the government is dysfunctional. i.e. the people can speak all they want, but the gerrymandered-to-fuck government doesn't have to give a shit.

Excellent post. The real problem is the senate. Huge disparity in representation between the populous states and the low population ones. One could allow 2 senators per state, and add more based on population. In addition to that, term limits are definitely needed for the Senate and even more drastically needed for the Supreme Court.