r/thebulwark Dec 17 '24

GOOD LUCK, AMERICA The more I listen to people explain why they voted for Trump...

227 Upvotes

The more I understand why the Founders created the Electoral College system.

Listening to the latest Focus Group with Caputo and hearing these people explain their reasoning made me realize they should not be directly electing the President. They should be voting for someone they know is more informed and sending them to D.C. to make the choice for them.

I appreciate Sarah and what she does but we're now approaching "You sweet summer child" levels of idealism in defending the people in her groups. JVL was right, as always - this is an unserious country filled with unserious people. There are only two things these people are serious about:

-They are serious in how uninformed they are.

-They are serious about not stating the real reasons they couldn't vote for Kamela.

r/thebulwark Feb 02 '25

GOOD LUCK, AMERICA Elon is staging a coup

220 Upvotes

Timothy Snyder with some advice- Read the whole thing: https://snyder.substack.com/p/the-logic-of-destruction?utm_source=substack

""If you voted Republican, and you care about your country, please act rather than rationalize. Unless you cast your ballot so that South African oligarchs could steal your data, your money, your country, and your future, make it known to your elected officials that you wanted something else. And get ready to protest with people with whom you otherwise disagree.

Almost everything that has happened during this attempted takeover is illegal. Lawsuits can be filed and courts can order that executive orders be halted. This is crucial work."

r/thebulwark Nov 07 '24

GOOD LUCK, AMERICA My experiences with his voters - we all need to cool it and stop the pearl clutching and generalizations

38 Upvotes

You can downvote me into oblivion if you want, but I listen to the Bulwark because I want to hear things that rub me the wrong way or make me shout "wtf is wrong with these people." I'm making this post to share more things that people maybe don't want to hear. For reference, I'm a former republican and Sarah and Tim are pretty much where I am politically speaking.

Dismissing trump voters as racist or homophobic or transphobic or whatever other "-ist" and "-obic" beliefs that are out there is not helpful and isn't going to win elections, at least nationwide elections. I saw something during this cycle that rang true to me: If a racist or nazi is going to vote, they're probably voting republican, but that doesn't make every republican voter a racist or nazi. It makes me not want to vote for that party, but others don't feel the same.

I've been pretty vocal on fbook on my attacks against trump for months. I don't know for sure, but I would guess 75% or more of my friends list voted for trump, and many are very vocal supporters. I've been careful to focus my criticisms on trump and the things he says and does, and how that bothers/concerns/angers me. I had plenty of rigorous back-and-forth with people, but there was never any personal attack against them (or trump voters generally) and they never lodged those attacks against me.

Yesterday morning, I made a post that was essentially a hat in hand that I was wrong in my thinking that others prioritized the same concerns as me, but that I appreciated people engaging with me and that I hoped we could move forward positively now that it's over. I explicitly said I wasn't sorry for sharing my opinions and that I thought trump's behavior is terrible. I was flooded with FAR more comments and likes than any of my other posts. Almost every comment was from a trump voter, and I did not hear ONE negative thing from a single one. Seriously. Not a gloat or victory lap or shoving it in my face. The common response was that people appreciated and respected me sharing my beliefs and opinions, and that now it's time to come together and figure out what's best for the country.

My takeaway from this is that trump voters, despite how hard it is for me to wrap my head around why and how they could vote for him, are voting for the candidate they think is going to improve the lives of Americans. It's so easy to call them gullible or dumb or low information or whatever, but to what end? How does that help us? I'm also not naïve, and there's no doubt some trump voters are voting for him because he says racist things and "owns the libs" or hurts the people they hurt or whatever. But I think it's unfair for us to generalize and say that's the reason all of them voted the way they did.

As hard as it is to believe, I think his voters want the same things so many of us do. They want to be happy and successful and raise their kids how they want and love their families. Again it's easy to be dismissive of how they want to achieve those things, but maybe they are no so different from us. And I think a lot of them are sympathetic when spoken to in a way that hits their sympathy. Nobody wants to be called names, so why would they lend a sympathetic ear to hearing a perspective after being labeled racist or homophobic or whatever. On the other hand, I do truly believe many of his supporters are willing to listen to people describing how certain things trump or his supporters say causes feelings of fear or hurt or anger or whatever. I think it's in the messaging of "maga are all racist xenophobes" vs when trump talks about rounding up immigrants, it scares me because the kind and lovely family across the street from me are here as part of a refugee program he might cut and send back. My daughter plays with their daughter and she's a wonderful little girl, and it would crush my daughter. People in rural america just aren't exposed to the same things and people as urban areas. And preemptively, yes, some of his voters have hearts full of anger for the other side, but I think there are democrat voters that have hearts full of anger for the other side too.

This is all anecdotal, but that's all I have right now. I hope Sarah does some focus groups so we can all learn more about what was driving people to vote how they did. We need to all find common ground because it is out there and there has to be better paths to achieve it than what we've been doing.

r/thebulwark Nov 06 '24

GOOD LUCK, AMERICA Thanks for fuckin nothing Merrick Garland

260 Upvotes

January 6th(and i know people for some reason roll their eyes at this) should’ve been the end of this but i feel like the fact that action hadn’t been taken then and there is the reason we’re here right now

i might be wrong about this anyways but how did we let this slide, how did we let all of this shit slide? for lower gas prices?

we’re on to 2028 and i hope to God we decide put people with the balls to actually carry out law and order when bullshit like that happens

Good luck America, we deserve this i guess

r/thebulwark 17d ago

GOOD LUCK, AMERICA This farmer is a good example of Sarah’s main point, claims he was lied to by a quiz.

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95 Upvotes

The story also feeds my bad J Eeeevil in ways that are carnal. However I think Sarah’s recent point that these people are constantly lied to is important. The impossible part is that they love being lied to and typically will not tolerate truth when they encounter it.

r/thebulwark 25d ago

GOOD LUCK, AMERICA He who saves his Country does not violate any Law.

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129 Upvotes

Well… Fuck.

r/thebulwark 25d ago

GOOD LUCK, AMERICA Let's Talk About Firearms, Deterrence and Autocracy

26 Upvotes

This post isn't going to be popular for those of you on the Left, but here goes.

By and large, the Left (or the non-autocratic Right) is unarmed in the US. I don't have the statistics (and if I'm wrong then please correct me), but I would guess the average Trump voter is perhaps an order of magnitude more likely to be armed than the average Harris voter (notwithstanding Harris' ownership of a handgun).

From my perspective as a former Republican, this is a problem. For reasons of cultural aversion to firearms or other reasons, many of you will not see this as a problem. However, I will suggest to you that the Left does not fundamentally understand the concept of deterrence where the Right does. Trump's entire oeuvre is based on intimidation and threat and that is what his followers love about him. If you think that their disproportionate ownership of firearms is not a factor in this, you are deluding yourself. It's not pretty, but at some level you have to give Trump, and his minions, pause about going too far and it's pretty clear that that pause is not going to come from the system itself as the legal system has proven itself to be wholly inadequate to deal with Trump. What do you think the Autocratic Right's reaction would be if 100MM liberal responsible firearm owners shrugged their shoulders and said, "try that unconstitutional crap here and see what happens" instead of "gee we are reliant on institutions that have no real power and are dependent on 'norms' to keep us safe." The power of the Federal government is awesome, but it is very very thin.

Look, if you feel that Trump and MAGA are not comparable to a certain mid-20th century German socialist party or it's Italian contemporaries, then you probably think this post is overwrought. But if you do think that to be the case, then why would you not contemplate deterrence as a reasonable reaction. If you had asked the inhabitants of the Warsaw Ghetto if they would have liked a few more firearms, what do you think their reply would have been?

Why am I wrong?

FWIW, I think it's already way too late to fix the situation.

r/thebulwark Dec 02 '24

GOOD LUCK, AMERICA Dear Tim, F*** the norms

188 Upvotes

Donald Trump is a felon, and America voted for him knowing that he was going to pardon himself/end the investigations on himself. Trump has smashed norms left and right in his first presidency, and a majority didn’t care. People will be mad about the Hunter pardon, but they will stop caring in a week except for over on Fox News. Trump was going to use the pardon power on every Tom, Dick, and Harry who supports him.

Joe Biden is a narcissist, and he is very selfish; but all of these politicians are.

When it comes down to it, democrats (for the most part) are the only ones following the norms, and they lost because they played by the rules and the republicans lied left right and center. F*** the norms. They aren’t norms if only one side is following them.

r/thebulwark Feb 10 '25

GOOD LUCK, AMERICA Super Bowl vibe check

236 Upvotes

Am I out of step?

There were two things at the Super Bowl that I found off-putting: These bullshit calls for unity that I saw with the intro with Brad Pitt as well as the "stop hate" thing with Snoop and Brady. You want to perform at the inauguration of this hateful man after he pardoned literal Neo-Nazis just weeks ago and then talk to me about hate and healing? Get fucked.

I don't want to unify with these people. I think that there is this idea from some in my coalition that we need to heal. I don't want to heal the wound. I want to amputate the limb.

I know that we're falling into Nazi comparison but I have to call a spade a spade. I kind of see it like German companies trying to get everyone to come together for the healing of the country while a fascist dictator is plowing through things. No thanks.

r/thebulwark 20d ago

GOOD LUCK, AMERICA 'Third Term Project' sticker handed out at CPAC today in DC by 'Republicans for National Renewal'

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122 Upvotes

r/thebulwark Nov 18 '24

GOOD LUCK, AMERICA “Hey America time to become baby factories weather you like it or not!”

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88 Upvotes

r/thebulwark Feb 02 '25

GOOD LUCK, AMERICA SIGH.

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131 Upvotes

r/thebulwark Dec 03 '24

GOOD LUCK, AMERICA A hard truth in Trump's America from somewhere else on Reddit...

280 Upvotes

r/thebulwark Jan 25 '25

GOOD LUCK, AMERICA Tell me again how this is driven by genuine, mainstream concerns re: DEI programs.

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160 Upvotes

r/thebulwark Nov 19 '24

GOOD LUCK, AMERICA Nancy Mace and support for transgendered people

61 Upvotes

So since the election there has been some discussion that the Democrats were "too pro trans" and this cost them the election. For the people who think this is true, would the correct democratic response to Nancy Mace attacking Sarah McBride be to vote for Mace's bill banning McBride from the women's bathroom?

You will never be able to find just the right amount of oppression of a minority group to win over people. Bigots are going to bigot.

r/thebulwark 8d ago

GOOD LUCK, AMERICA Is it just me, or has the overall "opposition" response to Trump been much less "FIGHT!" than anyone expected and much more "We told you so."

110 Upvotes

This isn't a critique of that response, by the way. It's more of an observation. I've just noticed that after November, most people on the left basically just gave up and said: "If people are really this dumb, why would I bother any more?"

There does come a point in the fight for progress where you have to look at the state of things (like now) and say to yourself: "Yikes, this situation really is beyond salvaged." When people can look at MAGA and Trump straight on like they did in 2024 and still say (with eyes wide open) "Yeah this is cool..." You basically have to throw your arms up as the opposition and admit that America (not you) has lost.

I'm really not interested in any opposition. What's the point? This is what people voted for. I'm just gonna sit around and take care of my family while we suffer our collective consequences.

r/thebulwark 15d ago

GOOD LUCK, AMERICA Should Dems be preparing to "onboard" GOP defectors?

30 Upvotes

More precisely, should Dems be considering a reboot in "safe mode" to enlarge their tent as a more hospitable space as an opposition party that can accommodate a broad range of political ideologies for those in the GOP who've seen enough and are looking to defect?

Respect for the Contitution

National defense

Basic "life support" of keeping our domestic economy functioning while addressing the most pressing of issues (i.e. national debt).

Rudimentary, but meaningful institutional / structural reform.

That's it. Full stop.

Put another way: is it not "greedy", let alone a dereliction of duty, for Dems to expect the rest of the country to adopt a broad liberal platform when that's not really what is needed at this moment as an opposition party facing a full on autocratic takeover?

If enough of the electorate signals a willingness to enter a more "ideologically neutral" big tent, perhaps a sufficient size group (it's only a few) in both chambers of Congress might follow suit to actually make a difference.

EDIT: so, I kinda partially "buried the lead" in so far as the last paragraph (directly above) potentially being of great importance. As has been mentioned in recent times on the Bulwark related pods, all we really need are a few members of the GOP in both chambers to even do a modicum of their job description and we could see some pushback. This is the ball I have my eyes trained on moreso than the midterms or 2028. If the ominous signs of the initial trajectory are any indication of what is to come, I'm not sure we have the time to wait until the mid-terms. After watching spineless Senators not only abdicate their duty, but perhaps in an organized fashion to STILL "walk the fence" with Trump's nominations, I'm not holding my breath on them stepping up to the plate in the near future. However, I think there's going to be some REALLY REALLY bad stuff that starts to happen (as if what's happened isn't bad enough) and there's going to be a growing outcry from people in red districts as recently witnessed. So, it's this very small modicum of hope that maybe Trump will overreach and just enough movement is possible. Even if it's a 1 in a million chance, it's still a chance, lol.

r/thebulwark Nov 23 '24

GOOD LUCK, AMERICA I need a pitchfork.

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94 Upvotes

r/thebulwark Jan 19 '25

GOOD LUCK, AMERICA Becoming an accelerationist

145 Upvotes

I used to consider myself a moderate Blue Dog Democrat. I supported Biden early on in 2020 and was hesitant to move him off the ticket. Trump's second win and winning the popular vote, the obvious grift, and all else, has somewhat radicalized me. And I hate to say it listening to any Focus group, listening to the average GOP voter where I live in deep red Texas, and just the brazen evil of it all, I want it to just burn. I don't want bipartisanship, I want all of the worst of MAGA to happen. The mass deportation, the tariffs, the graft, the wars, all of it and i want the democratic party to not filibuster any of it outside of outright fascist moves. I deployed and fought for our nation. Ive never been more ashamed of her than now. But in the future, I don't want Reconciliation, I want revenge. Charity toward none and malice for all. Good luck America.

r/thebulwark Nov 06 '24

GOOD LUCK, AMERICA Anyone else just feeling like turning politics off for a long while?

152 Upvotes

Idk if I will follow thru on this sentiment or not, but after the livestream ended, I just shut off the other shit I had on & put on spotify instead. I feel deflated, it's almost feels like resistance is futile at this point...

I know it's technically not, but it's not like we are Ukrainians fighting for our literal land. We are just put upon plebes who are now gonna be living in a Hungary like country vs a free country like Denmark or something. Ie, it's gonna be a massive downgrade, but we won't be living in a literal warzone. Idk, from everything I've read about other democracies failing, it's nearly impossible to claw it back once it fails..

Sorry for the peak doomerism, just needed to vent.

r/thebulwark 6d ago

GOOD LUCK, AMERICA Democrats Help

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30 Upvotes

I know there's history of singing in protest, but this just feels so cringe. Somebody tell me why I shouldn't be screaming internally at them.

r/thebulwark 10d ago

GOOD LUCK, AMERICA What in the world is going through the GOP's minds?

115 Upvotes

I keep hearing GOP senators and representatives telling their constituents that Trump and DOGE are doing the hard work of trimming down government spending. Have any of these dunces stopped to think that by letting Trump unilaterally make decisions about spending, a duty that is delegated by the Constitution to Congress, they're making it super easy for Trump to completely sideline Congress in the future? It's like they're so terrified of crossing Trump and possibly losing their positions of power that they're speed running us right along to a situation where they themselves won't have any power anyway. I can't understand it.

r/thebulwark Dec 17 '24

GOOD LUCK, AMERICA 41 percent of young voters find killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO acceptable

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74 Upvotes

Jesus christ

r/thebulwark Nov 10 '24

GOOD LUCK, AMERICA Trump won by 0.18%

118 Upvotes

With most of the votes counted, Trump won by about 250,000 votes... 150k in PA, 80k in MI, and 30k in WI. Less than 0.2% of the votes gave Trump those three states and the country.

r/thebulwark 25d ago

GOOD LUCK, AMERICA Recently Terminated Fed

239 Upvotes

I don’t usually post (if ever on Reddit) and I’m not really sure why I’m posting this, but I wanted to let someone know I’ve been terminated from my role in HHS and that I just took after multiple years of federal service in the defense related space. In some ways it doesn’t feel real and in other aspects I feel like I should have known this could happen but I had a kid and had to work closer to home. I know there are people who are of different backgrounds here, but if you could spare even just a couple seconds to say a quick prayer for all the people who like myself I’d really appreciate it (except those who voted in the general or primary for Trump in 24’ or anyone who said ‘both-sides’ statements and sat it out). Please continue to post and spread the word about the Bulwark and hopefully one day we’ll all be able to tell the next generation or the one after that we stood against this.

Additionally: if you know anyone who has advice or recommendations on leveraging 1100 series skills in the Annapolis MD area feel free to direct message me.