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Biden wins White House, vowing new direction for divided U.S.

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Re: Biden wins White House, vowing new direction for divided U.S.

#401

It's amazing. My friends on the left think the only reason for voting trump is racism, and friends on the right think the only reason for voting biden is socialism. Where did all the intellect go? The social dilemma documentary I think is very useful. It feels like social media bubbles are a large component, although of course there have been many contentious elections in the past. Being centrist I can relate to part…

Being a centrist doesn't magically save you from being in an information bubble.

Re: Biden wins White House, vowing new direction for divided U.S.

#402

What is really keeping me up at night is the existential problem the US faces for the next 50 years: the ever increasingly large divide that is the polarizing of the electorate. We have to come together as Americans or someone will divide and conquer us.

That is a very interesting point of view. I fully agree with it, I think it will be an existential threat to the country as we know it now.

Do you think that the bipartidism is to blame, amongst other factors? If there were more options then some of the most radical electorate will have their own candidate and it could help divide the support they get at the Chambers.

Also smaller parties could help in having more negotiation for bills and laws.

Re: Biden wins White House, vowing new direction for divided U.S.

#403

Biden’s focus ought to be making sure a crazy person like Trump is never elected again and that if he is, that government institutions cannot be abused the way they were under Trump. It should be made easier to prosecute a president for illegal activity. Things like showing tax returns should be formalized. New regulation needs to be put in place to limit the spread of falsehoods and conspiracy theories over facts. S…

> It should be made easier to prosecute a president for illegal activity.

It’s already easy. The House made their case and the Senate disagreed. The same thing happens in real court (prosecution makes a case and jury disagrees). It absolutely should not be so easy that the house alone can remove the president with a simple majority.

> Things like showing tax returns should be formalized.

Why? Anything really insidious isn’t going to be on a return anyway. And if it’s required for the President, why not literally every other government position?

Re: Biden wins White House, vowing new direction for divided U.S.

#404
post #343

The media doesn't have a role in declaring victory in elections.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_Estate

Not an official one, but certainly one of political influence:

“Though it is not formally recognized as a part of a political system, it [News Media] wields significant indirect social influence.”

The media “shifts ground” - in this case making it very hard for President Trump to continue to frame the issue in a way to suit himself.

Re: Biden wins White House, vowing new direction for divided U.S.

#405

Shouldn't we wait for the states to go through , in some cases, mandatory recounts and certification of the results and then the actual electoral college vote after any legal appeals?

Is this your first election? This has never been the case before (even in 2000 when the media got it wrong due to Florida). Why would or should it be the case now?

Re: Biden wins White House, vowing new direction for divided U.S.

#406

What is really keeping me up at night is the existential problem the US faces for the next 50 years: the ever increasingly large divide that is the polarizing of the electorate. We have to come together as Americans or someone will divide and conquer us.

What country in the world could conqueror America? You would need a better blue water navy and the ability to sustain 3 thousand miles supply lines over contested waters.

As for dividing the US, I hope the lesson of this election is that you shouldn't assume what you see online is representative of the real US - otherwise it would have been a landslide for Biden.

Re: Biden wins White House, vowing new direction for divided U.S.

#407

Doesn't the actual election happen later? If I recall in 2000, they had some trouble until December with Al Gore.

Because vote counts in Florida 2000 were a) absurdly close and b) alone would have determined the winner of the election.

Neither is the case here.

Re: Biden wins White House, vowing new direction for divided U.S.

#408
Personally I think we are watching the slow death of the USA. May be from France I am not getting all the subtle details about the situation on the ground but the country seems to be completely divided.

There is almost nothing now that holds America coherent as a country. It has too much variance to form a sensible cluster. It went from a basically almost racially homogeneous, English speaking, Christian - with a lot of flavours I recognise but still - and ideologically united country to a multi racial, multi confessional, and now in some part multilingual with radically opposing views and interests country.

There is more in common on many points between Estonia and Ireland than between California and Arkansas.

Trumpism was not an outlier but an indication of how strong the centrifugal forces became...

Re: Biden wins White House, vowing new direction for divided U.S.

#409
Skimming through this thread, it certainly verges on flame - but I'd just like to remind you all that officially, Biden hasn't won yet. Several (not all) media outlets have called the race, and it sure looks like he will; but the elections haven't yet been certified. With the coming legal challenges, it looks a lot like 2000. Patience.

Re: Biden wins White House, vowing new direction for divided U.S.

#410

It's amazing. My friends on the left think the only reason for voting trump is racism, and friends on the right think the only reason for voting biden is socialism. Where did all the intellect go? The social dilemma documentary I think is very useful. It feels like social media bubbles are a large component, although of course there have been many contentious elections in the past. Being centrist I can relate to part…

>Being centrist I can relate to parts of both sides but my experience is they both dislike centrists.

Is Biden not a centrist? He seems to be a right-of-center christian democrat like Merkel for example.

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