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In the dichotomy of US politics you have Democrats on the left and Republicans on the right. Within each group there are those that bleed into the other side ('Blue Dog Democrats, Never Trump RINOs), those that are more extreme (Bernie the Squad and other Socialists, The Tea Party libertarians) and everything in between (Liberals like Obama, Neo Cons like Bush).
Overall it makes conversation easier to refer to each side in the broad brush left & right. If I was speaking to a US audience I would probably use liberal and conservative but left and right would still convey the same meaning. I could be totally pedantic every time and reference the niche of specific politics but it would be long winded and unnecessary.
It would make good sense, except that by the standards of any civilised country in the world, Bernie Sanders is not remotely left wing. He's a centrist who supports free enterprise with a few basic protections like health insurance - way, way less "left wing" stuff than we all take for granted in countries like Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, and pretty much anywhere else in the civilised world.
^ That's the problem with the US, of course - it's an unsophisticated political backwater full of ignorant people who have no idea at all what might be good or bad for them as individuals or as a collective and consequently run straight into the arms of an actual moron who doesn't represent their interests at all (no matter how many of them are silly enough to vote for him).
^ Sour grapes and nonsense. Biden is squarely in the centre of the conservative, moderate ideal that most Americans hold dear. The fact that he is a bit senile is irrelevant. The main thing is that he is competent. Americans don't mind senile; they elect senile leaders regularly and seem to like them better than the lively ones. (Think Regan, of course, and both the Bushes.)
Biden is a massive contrast to Trump, and exactly what America needs.
(Me, I'd like to see Elizabeth Warren in the job, but Americans don't like Presidents who actually do anything. Biden is perfect.)
Despite his woefully inadequate and slow response to the COVID-19 threat this pandemic will likely and perversely benefit Trump and become his best hope of winning a second term.
If history is any guide then during times of war or crisis people will generally stick to what they know when it comes to elections.
Trump himself is already looking to exploit the situation and likening himself to a wartime President in his press appearances. Kind of sickening really given his lack of urgency in dealing with the pandemic will lead to many more dying that otherwise could have been prevented.
This time though who knows what the response will be from the voting public as the body bags of the American dead wont be piling up on the shores of some foreign land while mass mourning at the loss of life should be more powerful than the emotional response to the GFC.
Pies4shaw wrote:^ That's the problem with the US, of course - it's an unsophisticated political backwater full of ignorant people who have no idea at all what might be good or bad for them as individuals or as a collective and consequently run straight into the arms of an actual moron who doesn't represent their interests at all (no matter how many of them are silly enough to vote for him).
United States:
Put a man on the moon over 50 years ago.
Roughly 3 times as many Nobel Prize winners as the next nation.
Consistently invests more in R&D than states like the EU, China or Japan.
Home of Silicon Valley and the epicentre of the digital revolution that has transformed the world.
I think the place is a bit more complex than your generalisation suggests.
Trump will beat Biden which means the Democrats will have 4 more years to try to figure out what they stand for and what their policies are other than just focusing on not being Trump and beating Trump.
The thing is, I'm not sure the Democrats can morph into the centre left party the progressives want it to become. The USA has 2 right wing major parties to chose from at the moment and minimal recent history of taking on board progressive ideals.
Every dead body on Mt Everest was once a highly motivated person, so maybe just calm the **** down.
If decency, some sort of honesty, and basic competence is "misplaced nostalgia", I'll take it.
This is not the time for "vision", or any other foolish fancypants notion.
"Simply warming the seat, overseeing a more or less functional administration ... and not being a 24-karat psycho" is EXACTLY what this is all about. This is NOT the time to faff about with idiot idealism or moronic ideological purity fetishes. This isn't just another election. This is a fair-dinkum emergency. It isn't just a good idea to get rid of Trump. It is vital, as vital as it was to get rid of Hitler and Tojo. This is not the time to buggerise about.
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FIRST fix the worst problem the USA has faced since the Civil War. (His name is Trump.)
THEN, at the following election, go for something more ambitious, if you wish. But first, STOP THE BLEEDING. Triage 101.
If you don't see that, then, frankly, you simply haven't been following the horrendous damage of the Trump administration in all its horrible detail.
But for starters, consider just one factor: four more years of Trump means a hopelessly stacked Supreme Court (if you think it's stacked now, you ain't seen nothing yet), and that means an end to civil rights, including the right to vote. Already, the Republicans have rigged the electoral system such that it is very, very difficult to unseat them, and they are quite openly planning to do more.
