2018 US Mid-Term Elections Chat Thread

[Phosphor 11,522]

2 hours ago, Twiggy said:

I’m most interested in the dynamic between Trump and the House democrats at this point. It could go one of two ways. They can obstruct and make Trump a lame duck until 2020, or they could try to work with him on common interests. There are plenty of policies Trump promised on the campaign trail that Dems should happily pass in the house, and that Trump can shill for to get passed in the senate. I think the latter is more likely if Pelosi gets the Speaker position, so I’m hoping for that.

#Resist or a symbiotic relationship. The choice is theirs. 

Infrastructure spending is something that Trump and the Democrats like. I could see the GOP getting on board with that as well. 

[RiseofSpectrum 359]

1 hour ago, Phosphor said:

Infrastructure spending is something that Trump and the Democrats like. I could see the GOP getting on board with that as well. 

They would never accept that as it would make their position on the 2020 Presidential Election weaker. The only way they would be willing to do so is if such proposal came from their own camp in the first place.

[Twiggy 2,965]

29 minutes ago, RiseofSpectrum said:

The only way they would be willing to do so is if such proposal came from their own camp in the first place. 

Trump could let them do that and then just remind everyone that infrastructure spending was one of his campaign talking points. Also, Pelosi stated earlier today that she thinks that bipartisan cooperation is possible.

See, the dirty little secret is that Trump and Pelosi actually get along pretty well and might actually like each other on some level.

[Denim&Venöm 16,439]

Welp, that failed spectacularly.

It was a close race, but Walker will not be getting a third term, and democratic governor Tony Ievers vows to reverse the policies Walker made, policies that have been very beneficial to the state thus far. Republicans also lost the majority of other races in the state. 

The only solace is that Bryan Steil has won the bid for Paul Ryan's congressional seat, and that the state legislature is in republican control. 

Basically that means the state government will be deadlocked.  

Which isn't the worst thing in the world if you happen to be libertarian. 

[Singe 2,109]

The House isn't much of a loss for Trump and Democrat control gives him a heel to fight against. Republicans gaining more seats in the Senate will give him more room to continue nominating judges and replacements like the AG. Also the Senate can kill anything the Democrats try to push or repeal.

[Anneal 2,194]

On 11/6/2018 at 8:21 AM, Twiggy said:

I actually voted early by mail. Voted for Cox for governor of California, and bit the bullet and voted Feinstein for Senate. 

As far as the California props go, I voted no on every new tax and fund as California politicians seem to have a bad habit of siphoning money for things that the vote wasn’t originally for. A good example would be the gas tax, which I voted to repeal, where the majority of it was funneled away from roads and bridges in order to pay of deficits so that the California government could spend elsewhere. Also gas is expensive enough as is. 

For local measures, the only thing I had strong feelings on was the legalization of recreational weed. My county was one of the few that kept recreational illegal because our county board members are corrupt/boomers. I hope to see them gone and the plant legalized. 

Curious as to what everyone thinks are winning conditions for the parties. I would keep it simple and say that Republicans keeping both chambers is a win, Dems winning both is a win for them, and Dems taking the house and Reps keeping the senate is a draw as everyone gets something.

Whatever the results, be cool to each other. Thanks again for making the thread @Jeric

Same here, I voted two weeks early or so when I was back home for a bit. I doubt Cox would have won (and he didn't), but I ended up voting for him anyways because there is no way I'm putting my vote on Newsom. I ended up voting de Leon, mostly because I really didn't want Feinstein to stay...but she did, so oh well. When it came to California props, I voted "no" on Prop 6 (increased gas tax) and "no" on Prop 10 (rent control expansion). I also voted "no" on 3 ($8.8B water infrastructure measure). 

17 hours ago, VG_Addict said:

And his approval rating is only still at 40% because the economy is good. When the inevitable recession happens, it'll plummet. 

His approval rating is at 40% because Trump mostly just uses his rhetoric towards people who already support him. People who liked him in the first place will continue to like him, and people who disliked him before will continue to dislike him. This kind of divisiveness though might end up hurting him in the long run if independents and other conservatives who were persuaded and voted for him back in 2016 choose not to in 2020. Previous presidents had higher approval rates because they didn't lean as much to the left or right and were more open to compromise. Trump being in office is really just a sign of how divisive and polarized our politics have become. 

Edited November 8, 2018 by Anneal

[ChB 18,532]

1 hour ago, Anneal said:

When it came to California props, I voted "no" on Prop 6 (increased gas tax) and "no" on Prop 10 (rent control expansion). I also voted "no" on 3 ($8.8B water infrastructure measure). 

I think you might have misunderstood Prop 6. Voting “No” meant that they would keep the gas tax. Voting “Yes” meant that they would get rid of it.

[Starlighty 790]

It was really hard to vote this year in Oregon... Kate Brown is not a good governor and I knew everyone wanted her out but the Republican was MEH IN ITSELF... so i had to vote for the  constitutionalist. 

[BornAgainBrony 2,394]

16 hours ago, Twiggy said:

Trump could let them do that and then just remind everyone that infrastructure spending was one of his campaign talking points. Also, Pelosi stated earlier today that she thinks that bipartisan cooperation is possible.

See, the dirty little secret is that Trump and Pelosi actually get along pretty well and might actually like each other on some level.

Sad thing is Trump actually encourages non-partisanship. Even when it's something just his own party does, he himself, takes all the credit (and then also uses that to put even more distrust in the free press). I've never seen nor heard of a President acting that way on either side. The problem now is that the way he flaunts success, ANYTHING that goes well is all going to be about him, pretty much guaranteeing his reelection, since nothing he does wrong causes him to lose support, but anything he does right will earn him more.

[Anneal 2,194]

9 hours ago, ChB said:

I think you might have misunderstood Prop 6. Voting “No” meant that they would keep the gas tax. Voting “Yes” meant that they would get rid of it.

Oh, I think I ended up voting yes on that then. I don't remember keeping it lol, probably just misremembered.