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I haven't really dropped into any political cults before (though I did do a bit of a Ron Paul dabble a decade ago) but I'm thinking maybe I'm a good fit for the Yang Gang. What could go wrong?
The GTP Unofficial 2020 US Elections Thread
- Thread starter Sanji Himura
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He could be a chinese sleeper agent?
Sounds good.
- 6,425
- KCCO
It's a shame that the uninformed get to decide who makes it in the end. As of now it's simply a vote for the lesser of evils; there's no real chance for people to actually select decent politicians who don't live their lives on 24hr news cycles.
- 24,614
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I'm not so sure on that, in fact I think it's the opposite. PewDiePie just reached 100,000,000 subscribers on YouTube by doing little more than playing Minecraft*. Now, I'm not very familiar with him, but I'm guessing he didn't start with millions of fans.
Granted that subscriber total is worldwide, but it does show that one can get quite a bit of focus without spending gobs of money. We currently have the best opportunity we have ever had at getting rid of the antiquated party system, shunning the fact money buys power and electing people that actually want to improve the country. The problem is we as a society have apparently given up and seemingly convinced ourselves that we have lost our power when we are really just failing to utilize it.
*I haven't done more than browse his video page, so I have no clue if he does more than that.
- 13,865
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- Neomone
Except that Pewdiepie (and other major influencers) do get to where they are by spending gobs of money. They start out small, get some success which earns them money which they then channel back into more advertising and notoriety, as well as production quality. Word of mouth doesn't actually go as far as it used to when you can just flood social media.
The dude works really hard on his content as well, but there's a certain amount of timing and luck involved, and once you're the most popular thing on Youtube it's somewhat self-fulfilling as other creators will support just in order to be associated.
Technically, all the same stuff applies to politics. You can start small and become a run away success, but at some point in between those two steps to make it to the top is going to require money from somewhere and the support of the industry/populace and your peers. And that's not trivial.
P.S. I hate when people say "they do little more than play [insert video game here]" as if that's somehow really easy. Yeah, that might be true of random people on Twitch streaming for :censored:s and giggles, but professional content creators are professionals and random Twitch streamers aren't the ones making millions of dollars.
We don't say that Lewis Hamilton gets paid for just driving a car, as enthusiasts we know the skill and hard work that went into establishing and maintaining that profession even though on paper you can make it sound trivial. To suggest that any random could walk in and do what Pewdiepie does without the commensurate hard work seems dismissive and ignorant.
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The problem is however it isnt only about just content. His channel grew explosive by marketing, getting mainstream news coverage etc. and generating controversial content too. There are many tricks youtubers use like clickbait titles and manipulating the algorythms. Exactly how many politicians try to get elected just not in a digital world. Just content doesnt get you that far, just like how a policy driven campaign will fail.
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I seem to be having issues getting my point across as it really has nothing to do with YouTube, I was using that as an example.
We currently have more tools than ever at our fingers than anytime before when it comes to information and getting messages out. We also seem to be in a time where people are wanting massive changes to the way things are ran. So, what exactly is stopping these changes from happening? You can't just say "corporations and government" because they ultimately get their power through us.
If we want the world to change, we have to use the power we refuse to use (for some unknown reason). However apparently we are content with just spinning our wheels and making tons of smoke and noise without actually getting anywhere.
We currently have more tools than ever at our fingers than anytime before when it comes to information and getting messages out. We also seem to be in a time where people are wanting massive changes to the way things are ran. So, what exactly is stopping these changes from happening? You can't just say "corporations and government" because they ultimately get their power through us.
If we want the world to change, we have to use the power we refuse to use (for some unknown reason). However apparently we are content with just spinning our wheels and making tons of smoke and noise without actually getting anywhere.
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Than we're royally screwed...
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Doubtful. While Hillary may have won the popular vote last election, she still lost the EC and in my opinion it was not due to that of her policies and ideas, but rather her prior history and own personality. 2016 was simply a personality contest and Trump won it by a landslide, as seen in EC vote. Hillary's core base within major cities was simply not enough to overcome the hurdle of the rest of America who doesn't live in such. Donald was able to appeal to these voters, which was more than enough in 29 states to take the EC vote and overcome the heavily liberal urban population.
I see 2020 in an opposite result for the democrats but Trump still winning the EC again, potentially losing the popular vote again. From just the last 4 months of my observations, I haven't seen a single democrat reach out to the same people who elected Trump. Their ideas have only seemed to push people further away and cause more divide, without really expanding their reach outside of urban areas. Of the big three, Biden has the only chance against Trump. He has a likable personality akin to that of Trump but much more tempered, and his policies can be expected to be the same as the Obama era. Sanders also has a likable personality to a sizable portion of voters, but his policies are extreme when compared to conservative stances which won't be enough to overcome Trump (regardless of his decision making and judgement of the past). Warren unfortunately doesn't simply have anything going for her. Personality simply does not stand out, policies are not grabbing, and her past shows severe flaws that will be brought against her if in a primary race.
Trump is also still
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Highest? I dont see that in any polls? Trump is all smoke and noise. He isnt about policy but bullying either the dems, immigrants, europe, N-korea or China. His following see that as strength.
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/a...y-in-trump-s-approval-rating-in-fox-news-poll
edit: added link
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- Neomone
Do they really though? Or do they control enough of the power and rules and infrastructure that the people at large can have their voices muted or ignored when it's convenient?
To be fair, that's somewhat intentional. For the exact reasons that led to Brexit; sometimes giving the citizenry absolute control is not in the country's best interest. Sometimes you need experienced, qualified people in charge and to trust them to do what's best in the interests of all.
I feel like you're advocating for the ultimate in populist regimes.
The other option is that change is not actually as easy as you make it out to be, and that there are people out there trying really hard and failing for pretty good reasons. If the powers that be aren't interested in what's best for the country or what their constituents want, you really have very little sway over them.
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- mustafur
The Candidates are really Narrowing down.
At this stage it looks to be a big 3 way battle coming in the Primary's next year with Biden, Sanders and Warren.
Yang has grown a Bit as well but it's way too slow at this stage to be in contention, If he makes it to Iowa I don't see him lasting long without a huge endorsement.
At this stage it looks to be a big 3 way battle coming in the Primary's next year with Biden, Sanders and Warren.
Yang has grown a Bit as well but it's way too slow at this stage to be in contention, If he makes it to Iowa I don't see him lasting long without a huge endorsement.
- 6,060
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Trump won a personality show by a "landslide"?!
Two extremely unpopular candidates, with contrasting but unappealing personalities. A "landslide"? HRC won the popular vote by a fairly convincing margin. OK - the electoral college is an anachronistic hangover from foundational political manoeuvring 250 years ago ... but how is that an indication of "popularity"? Popularity, by definition, means "appealing to many people".
In reality, Trump won the electoral college vote by carrying the states of Michigan, Pennsylvania & Wisconsin (by a few hundred thousand votes). A reversal of the result in those three states would likely deliver the electoral college, as well as the popular vote to the Democrats. The key battle ground in the 2020 election is likely to be neither urban areas, which vote heavily Democrat, nor rural/small town areas, which vote heavily Republican, but suburban areas, which swung heavily towards the Democrats in the 2018 mid-terms. Educated, middle-class white voters are not happy with Trump. Trump had the opportunity to reach out to moderate, "Reagan-Democrats" & be a supra-partisan president. Instead he chose to pander to his base, "push people further away and cause more divide".
What strategy the Democrats decide to follow for the 2020 election is not clear yet.
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ROAD_DOGG33J
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Change we can believe in
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Novalee
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https://www.politico.com/story/2019/09/06/air-force-trump-scottish-retreat-1484337
if this is true, i cant see it helping trumps re-election .
if this is true, i cant see it helping trumps re-election .
McLaren
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I would prefer Yang to run til' the end as an Independent b/c I think he'd be the strongest 3rd party candidate ever (Sanders probably could've if he didn't bend the knee to Hillary & stuck with it), but I think he's said he'll drop out and support the Dem. nominee to avoid splitting the voter base.
Felix gained mainstream news coverage b/c the media took his content and misconstrued it to picture him as a Nazi. Been done quite a few times; his only real blunder has been the N-word. He apologizes for any of it & explains at least once or twice a year.
Clickbaiting and manipulating the algorithm is also not Felix's game because YouTube rarely ever trends him despite pulling in millions of views. In fact, the algorithm works somewhat against Felix because the Trending tab is usually for creators (that aren't already Hollywood-established or YouTube favored), who suddenly amass a large amount of views on a video beyond their average; Felix consistently rakes in 5-7 million views which is far more than most of Trending. He's also not considered ad friendly by the algorithm so even his wedding video at 27 million views, I don't think it hit the Trending page. He's like a Black Sheep to YouTube; they acknowledge him, but they rarely ever actually support or endorse him. They don't even put him in their Rewinds which is supposed to be a year-end celebration of their biggest stars (it's been trash the last 2 years though, to be fair).
I get Northstar's point. He doesn't spend a lot of money, his production quality is a running gag among his fans and he just films in a little room in his home. He dumps more money on charity than anything. But, his rise to fame is also due to the fact that's he got 13 years in the business, he's built up his fan-base pretty legitimately. Presidential candidates don't have that kind of time to build up the mass of support, so obviously, money talks in getting your name & face out there immediately. Biden & Sanders were very active before their time as either VP or running against Trump Round 1, but the media never focused on them, so average not-Joe Biden never heard much about them. I think only a big-name star could replicate Felix by being in the spotlight for so long, that once they decided to run for President, they'd have a ton of support already without major backers. Best example would probably be if The Rock ran in the future.
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Going 3rd party under America's system is probably the stupidest thing you can do, It will split the vote and the other party will win 100% of the time.
Here is a map of each Districts favoured Candidate based on Donations, the Bottom map is when Sanders is taken off the list as he dominates the map.
Here is a map of each Districts favoured Candidate based on Donations, the Bottom map is when Sanders is taken off the list as he dominates the map.
Novalee
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might not be a choice .
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/09/06/republicans-cancel-primaries-trump-challengers-1483126
what is next ? firing squad for any trump challengers ?
judging by this article it might not be that much of a stretch
The head of the Arizona Republican Party faced a backlash Friday after sending a fundraising email that said Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Mark Kelly, who rose to prominence when his wife was shot in the head, will be stopped "dead in his tracks."
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/20...-after-calling-mark-kelly-be-stopped-n1050956
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- ryzno
Looking at the whole Brexit debacle, I think we're fine with 2. They have what? 6? And from my PoV it looks like their government is literally falling apart.
Can't say the same for us.
Edit: I know, I know, there's more to the Brexit debacle...
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Looking at the whole Brexit debacle, I think we're fine with 2. They have what? 6? And from my PoV it looks like their government is literally falling apart.
Can't say the same for us.
Edit: I know, I know, there's more to the Brexit debacle...
No it isnt. Brexit is a lot more complicated then blaming it on too many parties. Most countries in europe have a multiparty system. It represents the people much better. A 2 party system kind of forces people to vote on the candidate they dislike instead of the candidate that represents their own beliefs. Governments are formed by a coalition and not us against them. A 2 partsystem always splits the people in 2 camps.
edit: Brexit is caused by a referendum and a prime example what can happen with a "mob" mentality.
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- ryzno
Well our mobs gets to vote next year for possibly another President, if Trump doesn't get voted out next year he'll definitely be out in 5.
When is the last time they voted for a King or Queen? Oh wait...
And don't try to dethrone the Queen!
Talk about a mob!
I know, the UK is more than England but you get my point right?
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