2022 US Mid-Term Elections Thread

[UKMikey]

What makes him think people will believe him this time round.

Cocaine's a hell of a drug.

 

[Biggles]

They're voting because of the economy and inflation. It's hard to get the average person to care about much when they can't afford groceries. The Democrats have done a terrible job touting any kind of accomplishments and while they have made moves to reduce inflation, they don't really kick in until next year.

Republicans had answers and while those answers are likely not feasible, they're still answers and it is what the struggling person wants to hear. They also saw that their life was better under Trump since prices were low and they could afford things and when Biden got elected everything went up in price. While the president has little bearing on that and there are a million and one reasons why inflation is happening, the average person won't understand this. Hell, I don't even understand all the reasons for inflation and I've actively researched it.

I don't think you can really fault Americans for voting the way they do because they hope things will change. At the end of the day, most Americans just want to live their lives, provide for their family, and not worry about whether or not they can afford rent, groceries, or fuel.

Should people research candidates more? Absolutely, but I would wager a majority of people don't have time or don't care too. You're not going to stop it either unless you restrict who can and cannot vote, which would be worse.

Ok. So perhaps it's unrealistic to expect people to be informed about what they're voting on. There's not much research required to distinguish between MAGA positions and that of the Democrats, but clearly the vast majority of American voters don't feel the need to do any research anyway as their allegiances are already set in stone. As Danoff says it's only a "small group in the middle" who's vote will sway an election one way or another. This is very different from 30 or 40 years ago when Ronald Reagan won sweeping victories. The small group in the middle this year seem to have gone for the Democrats, or at least against Republicans, to a greater degree than anticipated - than God for suburban women!

I haven't seen any policy ideas from Republicans tied at reducing inflation. Only drill baby drill. US "energy self-sufficiency" is a delusion, as oil is a global commodity and oil companies don't care about national boundaries.

 

[Joey D]

I largely agree with what you wrote, but I think it's a small group in the middle that is doing what you say. Most Americans seem to be in the either deep red or deep blue camps (and I understand that).


....and let's all keep in mind that the house is gerrymandered hard.

Ok. So perhaps it's unrealistic to expect people to be informed about what they're voting on. There's not much research required to distinguish between MAGA positions and that of the Democrats, but clearly the vast majority of American voters don't feel the need to do any research anyway as their allegiances are already set in stone. As Danoff says it's only a "small group in the middle" who's vote will sway an election one way or another. This is very different from 30 or 40 years ago when Ronald Reagan won sweeping victories. The small group in the middle this year seem to have gone for the Democrats, or at least against Republicans, to a greater degree than anticipated - than God for suburban women!

I haven't seen any policy ideas from Republicans tied at reducing inflation. Only drill baby drill. US "energy self-sufficiency" is a delusion, as oil is a global commodity and oil companies don't care about national boundaries.

It's hard to say. Per Gallup, about a third of people identify as "independent," and while they might lean a certain way, I don't think they're really deep in one side of another. I think many of those people who are independent vote based on how their life is currently going. Is everything good? Keep the status quo. Are things going poorly? Make a change. I get Gallup isn't 100% scientific though, and it leaves some pretty significant variables out there, but it's one of the only data sources I can find that's the most recent (10.30.22).

As for people being informed, not everyone cares to be, however no matter how uninformed they do have a right to vote. There are a bunch of single-issue voters out there that will vote for one party because X and ignore Y and Z completely. Abortion is a substantial single issue and some people will vote Republican because the party is supposedly against it. They don't care about anything else.

I do wish people were more informed, but I can't really blame them for not. It's challenging to find reliable information that isn't biased and you have to be willing to dig into a candidate's past, see where their money is coming from, what other politicians support them, and so on. For some, that's just not realistic. They're going to get their information from whatever news network they deem credible and run with it. And while that news network might be reasonably creditable, it's still going to bias in some way and likely omits things that should be known.

Universal mail-in voting would help with people being informed though because, in theory at least, they could take their ballot and research out the candidates before voting. That was one thing I really liked about Utah, you just got a ballot in the mail by default and you had weeks to sit down and figure out who you wanted to vote for. Unfortunately, in Michigan, it's not that easy nor is it that easy in many states.

As for what plan Republicans have, they want to reduce spending and get energy independent. Will those work? I have no idea, but in all likelihood, they wouldn't. Reducing spending can help, but Republicans would likely reduce spending on things that don't really affect inflation in the slightest. With energy independence, the average person likely doesn't know about or understand the oil markets. If they have even the most basic understanding of economics, they're going to go to the idea of "more supply = cheaper prices" even though it doesn't work like that when singled out to just one country. The US could stand to be more energy independent, but it's impossible to be 100% energy independent when it comes to oil.

 

[Danoff]

As for what plan Republicans have, they want to reduce spending and get energy independent.

I think this is a bit too kind. A big part of the republican plan is essentially a coup. Deep red voters are voting to end democracy. I think we need to be honest about that.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

Couple of things -

• Really happy sports betting was soundly defeated in California, across nearly the entire state in big numbers. I am not even a huge sports fan, but sports betting ruins sports. (I don't care one way or another about gambling generally)
• LA mayor race looks telling - residents are not happy in that city. Could be a bellwether for future races in CA. A bit of moderation perhaps? (Note: Not decided yet, but very close)
• I continue to appreciate the way California formats and conducts elections. You get a booklet of everything on the ballot with detailed-enough information, and you get a ballot. And then you just read through the booklet and vote, then drop it in the mail. I honestly wish the election was no more than this. No TV ads, no radio ads, no billions of dollars spent on campaigns. Just the information and the ballot. I also appreciate the open primary that allows, I think, greater representation. See above point about LA mayoral race. Caruso would have stood no chance in a traditional closed primary-GE cycle but he may in fact be the best candidate for the job.
• GOP cannot get out of it's own way. This shouldn't have been close. Biden is not even popular within his own party. Inflation is the highest it's been in decades. And yet this is the best the GOP could do? How much longer does this need to continue before the party realizes that being an ***hole, and just about nothing else, is not a good platform? Trump is hurting the party in elections against democrats, period.
• Newsom, DeSantis, and Abbot cruised to easy victories in their states. It remains to be seen whether they would do well nationally. I suspect DeSantis could, I don't think Newsom or Abbot would though.
• Abortion rights seem to be far more popular throughout the country than I expected. Kentucky! Conservatives are clearly out of touch with the majority of the US population, at least on this issue.
• This election was way too ****ing expensive
• I'm pretty burned out on American politics right now. I feel like we have reached a certain level of professionalized campaigning, like the job is not the actual position but the election itself. It's like some dystopian meta democracy. It's abundantly clear that campaign finance reform is desperately, desperately needed. There is way too much campaigning and way too much money being thrown around. (See point 3)

 

[Joey D]

I think this is a bit too kind. A big part of the republican plan is essentially a coup. Deep red voters are voting to end democracy. I think we need to be honest about that.

Just looking at inflation, their plan is to drill for more oil and reduce spending, which likely wouldn't reduce inflation very much if at all. Their overarching plan for the country though is to make it a one-party state while significantly reducing or eliminating democracy altogether. They also, likely, want to turn the US into more of a theocracy.

 

[Danoff]

Just looking at inflation

Yea if you're just looking at inflation, I think the republican plan is perhaps that by the time they get control of anything it will have already reduced.

 

[TexRex]

Lots of talk about how amazing it is that Democrats weren't absolutely trounced in a mid-term with a Democratic executive, especially one with such low approval*, but that Democrats weren't absolutely trounced by this extremist to the extreme GOP is not something to celebrate. They also should have gotten their asses handed to them by extremists they dared to bolster.

*Worthless Trumpers (the Department of Redundancy Department approves) were always going to disapprove of the guy that beat their bronzer daddy while backing the latter fully, regardless of circumstance, but the guy that beat him did so because Trump is so thoroughly awful and those who came out against him simply can't be expected to support Biden unconditionally.

Anyway, nearly all Georgia precincts reporting fully and Warnock, while ahead by neither a terrible nor a comfortable margin, hasn't cracked 50%. A runoff is likely.

Edit: Between Fetterman in Pennsylvania and Walker in Georgia, this is a banner year for those with severe cognitive impairment.

 

[Danoff]

Lots of talk about how amazing it is that Democrats weren't absolutely trounced in a mid-term with a Democratic executive, especially one with such low approval*, but that Democrats weren't absolutely trounced by this extremist to the extreme GOP is not something to celebrate. They should have gotten their asses handed to them by extremists they dared to bolster.

*Worthless Trumpers (the Department of Redundancy Department approves) were always going to disapprove of the guy that beat their bronzer daddy while backing the latter fully, regardless of circumstance, but the guy that beat him did so because Trump is so thoroughly awful and those who came out against him simply can't be expected to support Biden unconditionally.

Anyway, nearly all Georgia precincts reporting fully and Warnock, while ahead by neither a terrible nor a comfortable margin, hasn't cracked 50%. A runoff is likely.

Edit: Between Pennsylvania and Georgia, this is a banner year for those with sever cognitive impairment.

Given what @Joey D has been talking about, I'll take it. Crazy seems to be still unpopular by enough of a margin to prevent its takeover even on the titled scale. I agree with you that if they weren't so crazy, they'd have won. But then... they wouldn't be so crazy so that would be much more ok.

 

[TexRex]

Given what @Joey D has been talking about, I'll take it. Crazy seems to be still unpopular by enough of a margin to prevent its takeover even on the titled scale. I agree with you that if they weren't so crazy, they'd have won. But then... they wouldn't be so crazy so that would be much more ok.

I'll take it too. But the outcome, while unquestionally better than the alternative, is far from a good one.

 

[Biggles]

What's faintly amusing to me is that the Libertarian candidate for the Georgia Senate is effectively dictating the balance of power in the US right now. Hard to know how his voters would lean in the run-off ... or if they would vote at all.

 

[Blitz24]

Someone with better knowledge than I have on this: Would ranked choice voting solve the issue of run-offs?

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

What's faintly amusing to me is that the Libertarian candidate for the Georgia Senate is effectively dictating the balance of power in the US right now. Hard to know how his voters would lean in the run-off ... or if they would vote at all.

I suspect they are disillusioned "old guard" republicans who probably despise Herschel Walker. I wouldn't be surprised if they will sit out a runoff if they couldn't commit to vote for Walker in the GE.

Someone with better knowledge than I have on this: Would ranked choice voting solve the issue of run-offs?

Yes. Most ranked-choice systems basically function as instant run-offs to avoid run-offs. We need more of them and more open primaries, IMO.

 

[Jezza819]

This morning one of the conservatives I work with went into a bitchfit along the lines of (and I'm paraphrasing) "We're the only country in the world that has mail in voting or drop off voting. All the other countries you have to show up in person with an ID to vote"

I can't take the time here at work to go fact check that but I'm thinking other countries also have other forms of voting instead of in person voting.

 

[TexRex]

bitchfit

 

[Biggles]

This morning one of the conservatives I work with went into a bitchfit along the lines of (and I'm paraphrasing) "We're the only country in the world that has mail in voting or drop off voting. All the other countries you have to show up in person with an ID to vote"

I can't take the time here at work to go fact check that but I'm thinking other countries also have other forms of voting instead of in person voting.

Ask them if they would also prefer a system that offered actual democracy instead of the electoral college & senate tilted heavily in favour of Republican voters ... and a system that didn't allow partisan control of the electoral process and gerrymandering of constituency boundaries.

 

[Baka_Marimo]

This morning one of the conservatives I work with went into a bitchfit along the lines of (and I'm paraphrasing) "We're the only country in the world that has mail in voting or drop off voting. All the other countries you have to show up in person with an ID to vote"

I can't take the time here at work to go fact check that but I'm thinking other countries also have other forms of voting instead of in person voting.

Yes, you can indeed cast your vote by mail in Germany. It's absurd to claim that mail in voting is something exclusive to the US.

 

[Hayden]

This morning one of the conservatives I work with went into a bitchfit along the lines of (and I'm paraphrasing) "We're the only country in the world that has mail in voting or drop off voting. All the other countries you have to show up in person with an ID to vote"

I can't take the time here at work to go fact check that but I'm thinking other countries also have other forms of voting instead of in person voting.

You can mail-in vote in Australia. I did it on our last election because I was isolating.

 

[TexRex]

Mostly gibberish here with maybe a hint of concession?

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

I'm guessing Alaska will go to Murkowski once ranked choice is in place. I can't see the democrat voters favoring the trump backed candidate.

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

Edit: double the post.

I'm looking at the charts on Google from the associated press. How do I find out where the seats were lost or gained?

 

[Liquid]

I can't take the time here at work to go fact check that but I'm thinking other countries also have other forms of voting instead of in person voting.

I voted in the 2019 United Kingdom general election all the way from Slovakia, where I currently live.

 

[Sprite]

This morning one of the conservatives I work with went into a bitchfit along the lines of (and I'm paraphrasing) "We're the only country in the world that has mail in voting or drop off voting. All the other countries you have to show up in person with an ID to vote"

I can't take the time here at work to go fact check that but I'm thinking other countries also have other forms of voting instead of in person voting.

My wife and I vote by post and have for years.

Also I’ve never taken an ID to vote when I rocked up in person. We’re given a polling card and you take that and confirm some details verbally.

 

[Jezza819]

Mostly gibberish here with maybe a hint of concession?

 

[TexRex]

lol. lmao.

 

[Liquid]

Accuse the other side of what you're doing has become a parody of itself.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

This morning one of the conservatives I work with went into a bitchfit along the lines of (and I'm paraphrasing) "We're the only country in the world that has mail in voting or drop off voting. All the other countries you have to show up in person with an ID to vote"

I can't take the time here at work to go fact check that but I'm thinking other countries also have other forms of voting instead of in person voting.

Even Iran has mail-in/absentee voting. Although it might not be the best example of Democratic process....

The Republican party does indeed have a rational* argument to oppose mail-in or drop-off ballots and sending ballots out to registered voters: Their performance is inversely proportional to voter turnout. More turnout, worse performance for the GOP. It's because they aren't as popular as the other side. Unfortunately, while "because we'll lose!" is rational argument (*as in it can be supported with reason), is not a legitimate and/or compelling one. So instead the reject reality & reason and substitute their fantasy where they can only lose if there is fraud.

 

[McLaren]

Republican analysts and commentators blamed Donald Trump for the party's disappointing performance in the midterm elections when hopes for sweeping victories fell short.

Republicans are blaming Trump after the GOP's midterm 'red wave' failed to materialize

"How could you look at these results tonight and conclude Trump has any chance of winning a national election in 2024?" said Scott Jennings, a conservative analyst who has been an advisor to Mitch McConnell.

www.businessinsider.com

According to a report, former President Trump is "furious" Wednesday over the disappointing showing by Republicans nationally, and blames people in particular who advised him to back Mehmet Oz in the Pennsylvania Senate race, including the former president's wife, Melania.

Trump 'furious' over Oz losing in Pennsylvania, blames wife Melania for endorsement: report | Fox News

Maggie Haberman reported some supporters are urging Trump to reschedule a planned announcement of a presidential run

www.foxnews.com

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

Republicans are blaming Trump after the GOP's midterm 'red wave' failed to materialize

"How could you look at these results tonight and conclude Trump has any chance of winning a national election in 2024?" said Scott Jennings, a conservative analyst who has been an advisor to Mitch McConnell.

www.businessinsider.com

Trump 'furious' over Oz losing in Pennsylvania, blames wife Melania for endorsement: report | Fox News

Maggie Haberman reported some supporters are urging Trump to reschedule a planned announcement of a presidential run

www.foxnews.com

Melania has been the inside source all along, I'm basically certain of it. It's not like he can fire her and I bet he is too scared to confront her in person.

edit: The comment section in that article is telling. The Fox News comment section seems to be turning on Trump. The top 2 comments by likes:

The Republican primary is going to be an absolute bloodbath.

 

[Jezza819]

Republicans are blaming Trump after the GOP's midterm 'red wave' failed to materialize

"How could you look at these results tonight and conclude Trump has any chance of winning a national election in 2024?" said Scott Jennings, a conservative analyst who has been an advisor to Mitch McConnell.

www.businessinsider.com

Trump 'furious' over Oz losing in Pennsylvania, blames wife Melania for endorsement: report | Fox News

Maggie Haberman reported some supporters are urging Trump to reschedule a planned announcement of a presidential run

www.foxnews.com

I think he's been looking to trade her in for a newer model for some time now.