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Record-High 89% in U.S. Say Government Corruption Widespread

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Re: Record-High 89% in U.S. Say Government Corruption Widespread

#111

Post by tstrimple »

Loughla wrote: post #54
yongjik wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's worse. It's not that the government doesn't care that the public hates it; it's more like the government is doing whatever it wants and half the public is going wild absolutely loving it. Well, maybe a bit less than half these days.

The half that supports this nonsense genuinely believes this level of corruption has always existed. They're just happy it's their team this time. I simply do not understand American politics.

Imagine there had been no Nuremberg trials. The Nazis just got a slap on the wrist and almost immediately let back into politics as usual. That's how we got here. We're still fighting the remnants of the confederacy. Germany and Japan in particular purged most of those elements from their society. Here we built statues to the evil fucks.

Re: Record-High 89% in U.S. Say Government Corruption Widespread

#112

Post by imoverclocked »

chris_wot wrote: post #53

I’m not an American. Those not American are frankly gobsmacked that U.S. citizens voted the current President in a second time. You all literally saw what he did in his first term!

> You all literally saw what he did in his first term!

False, unfortunately. Disparate news outlets covered events very differently and folks watching pro-Trump outlets (or only listening to friends who do) through the first term were under the impression that he did an excellent job. They may even still believe that the 2020 election was actually stolen. Heck, there are depositions this year while vetting appointees who refuse to admit (despite all available evidence) that the 2020 election was valid.

Re: Record-High 89% in U.S. Say Government Corruption Widespread

#113

Post by dangjc »

autoexec wrote: post #8

Corruption in the US isn't new, but it's never been done as openly as it has been recently. I don't think it's a good thing. It shows that the government isn't concerned about what the public thinks, which suggests that they believe they no longer have to be. That's not a healthy sign for what's supposed to be a democracy.

The Supreme Court opened the doors to this with Citizens United. You can’t expect one party to unilaterally disarm while another rakes in hundreds of millions. We all just need to come together and agree on a constitutional amendment to end this.

Re: Record-High 89% in U.S. Say Government Corruption Widespread

#114

Post by cucumber3732842 »

iamnothere wrote: post #108
jeffbee wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Implying that it's always been this way is part of the reason we are now here. For my entire life, bad faith commentators insinuated that the federal government was rife with corruption. When under Democratic control, of course. The time that Al Gore made one long-distance telephone call from his official desk, using his own personal calling card, birthed over 200 New York Times articles, 30 of them on the front page…

The problems that happened during the Clinton admin (with the exception of Whitewater) weren’t so much corruption as they were short-sighted neoliberal trade deals and hostility to organized labor, which accelerated the process of hollowing out the country. But this was also an unusual period in US history due to the end of the Cold War, so this administration could be an exception. Most of the scandals from this per…

An under-examined axis of this problem is that people choose to believe in corruption because it's better than the alternative.

It's way more comforting to believe that Bill Clinton's buddies (or whoever) got rich selling industrial America overseas to the cheers of the progressives who thought all that stuff was dirty any way because at least that way it looks sane and planned and rational, albeit selfish, than it was done out of ignorance or malice.

And once enough people believe in the corruption, it manifests itself because it's perceived as how things are.

Re: Record-High 89% in U.S. Say Government Corruption Widespread

#115

Post by paisawalla »

vannevar wrote: post #89
paisawalla wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Per the second chart: Since 2024, Democrats went from being the most trusting (57%) to the most skeptical (91%), bringing all groups to within 10 points of each other on the question. This is not a "both sides" situation: Republicans dropped from 87% to 83% after their guy was elected, whereas Democrats nearly 1.5x'd their number of skeptics. There is no universal implication here IMO, this is just Democrats joining…

>...Republicans dropped from 87% to 83% after their guy was elected, whereas Democrats nearly 1.5x'd their number of skeptics. This is not surprising; a big reason that Republican voters were able to justify voting for Trump and open corruption was that they were bombarded with claims that there was a "Biden crime family" in office for four years. No real evidence of that was ever uncovered, but it didn't stop Fox Ne…

[flagged]

Re: Record-High 89% in U.S. Say Government Corruption Widespread

#116

Post by michaelhoney »

ThunderSizzle wrote: post #102
irishcoffee wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nobody does. The amount of teenage angst posted in this forum about the current admin is amusingly pathetic. None of it matters. Congress constantly gets a free pass while we focus on a figurehead largely enabled by a passive and embarrassing congressional electorate. “We found the scapegoat, blame that guy!” It’s really embarrassing

Corruption has been rampant under multiple administrations. I actually had hoped Trump might root out more corruption in his 2nd term, but two things happened: Congress wouldn't go afraid the corruption that was being found, and Charlie Kirk was assassinated in broad daylight...after 2-3 assassination attempts on Trump himself too. It's easier to start looking the other way when bullets start flying. Having said that…

If you really can’t see the difference between Trump’s corruption and any other recent president, you have a reality problem.

Re: Record-High 89% in U.S. Say Government Corruption Widespread

#117

Post by bigfatkitten »

tstrimple wrote: post #111
Loughla wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The half that supports this nonsense genuinely believes this level of corruption has always existed. They're just happy it's their team this time. I simply do not understand American politics.

Imagine there had been no Nuremberg trials. The Nazis just got a slap on the wrist and almost immediately let back into politics as usual. That's how we got here. We're still fighting the remnants of the confederacy. Germany and Japan in particular purged most of those elements from their society. Here we built statues to the evil fucks.

The United States must be one of the only nations on earth that names its own military bases after enemy commanders.

Re: Record-High 89% in U.S. Say Government Corruption Widespread

#118

Post by tstrimple »

scrubs wrote: post #93
2OEH8eoCRo0 wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's more like a third. > 35% approve, 61% disapprove, 5% not sure https://www.economist.com/interactive/trump-approval-tracker

That 35% will change their tune if it screws their stuff up. Trump et al is great in the large unless he's your business partner or boss screwing your money and life up, hitting on your wife or daughter, owes you money etc. Cheap symbolism is appealing in a fog only, not in your face.

I think you’re underestimating the true believers. Plenty of conservatives are willing to suffer if they think it makes others suffer more. See Dying of Whiteness.

Re: Record-High 89% in U.S. Say Government Corruption Widespread

#119

Post by datsci_est_2015 »

paisawalla wrote: post #115
vannevar wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>...Republicans dropped from 87% to 83% after their guy was elected, whereas Democrats nearly 1.5x'd their number of skeptics. This is not surprising; a big reason that Republican voters were able to justify voting for Trump and open corruption was that they were bombarded with claims that there was a "Biden crime family" in office for four years. No real evidence of that was ever uncovered, but it didn't stop Fox Ne…

[flagged]

What’s the implication here? Trump actually isn’t corrupt? Or Biden was actually secretly as corrupt as Trump is?

Or more generally, the current state of affairs is somehow justifiable?

Re: Record-High 89% in U.S. Say Government Corruption Widespread

#120

Post by archonis »

tstrimple wrote: post #111
Loughla wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The half that supports this nonsense genuinely believes this level of corruption has always existed. They're just happy it's their team this time. I simply do not understand American politics.

Imagine there had been no Nuremberg trials. The Nazis just got a slap on the wrist and almost immediately let back into politics as usual. That's how we got here. We're still fighting the remnants of the confederacy. Germany and Japan in particular purged most of those elements from their society. Here we built statues to the evil fucks.

>> We're still fighting the remnants of the confederacy.

Consicely put, and not nearly present enough in contemporary discourse.

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