If there isn’t an apt response in the midterms, we’re far beyond the point of return.
Single-digit percentage points of turnout changes would swing the House and Senate. Double-digit percentage changes in voter turnout, as in 15 to 30 percent of unlikely-to-vote registered voters turning out for Democrats in deep-red Republican stronghods like Alabama and Mississippi, gives Democrats a Congressional supermajority.
MAGA voters aren't dropping their identity for a while. Possibly never. Most voters who aren't registered or don't vote are lazy and nihilstic and worth ignoring. But a tenth should be pitchable. In a reach, a third of them could find motivation.
i swear to gods, the australian method of mandatory voting is the benchmark best way to do it.
I kinda hope they bring back the old idea that oil is actually formed out of non-biological matter and so that means its just basically infinitly seeping up from the earth, we just have to drill a bit deeper. But I think that's a little too nerdy for them
It was only about 3 years ago when I learned that petroleum comes from almost anything organic. So, ferns and trees and moss, in addition to Velociraptor and Triceratops, I guess?
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED343791.pdf?utm_source=c...
Small nitpick: while Trump won the popular vote, he did not earn over 50% of the votes. There were enough third-party votes that he won with only 49.8%.
Only 65.1% of eligible voting-age citizens even voted. And of that 65.1% only 49.8% voted for Trump.
Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries. That's not particularly American election issue.
Energy prices are absolutely an American election issue. Variations in real personal disposable income growth and inflation predict a vast majority of the variation in election outcomes after accounting for incumbency.
And Iranian proxies seizing the Bab el-Mandeb–and the U.S. being unable to help Saudi Arabia respond militarily while Iran cements control of the Strait of Hormuz–is the direct result of an American foreign policy choice to, once again, blunder into a war in the Middle East.
Imho a peace over the old borders could have been possible without additional destabilisation from the US. The Iran war made that impossible. Hopefully a peaceful resolution can still be found, quickly.
Given the Iran war and Israels genocide only being possible through US support I'd say the US has a pretty big hand in the matter.
Gas is expensive. Food is expensive. Insurance is expensive. People will vote for whoever claims they'll lower prices, which usually means deregulation in the United States.
We have been borrowing against the environment for generations. Every burger we eat is a loan on the future. Every excessive piece of plastic that makes our lives more convenient is a loan on the future. No way in hell the average consumer chooses to give up anything while the rich and the politicians do nothing. Social media has convinced too many people that others are to blame and it's not their fault. Nobody will sacrifice their privilege while others carry on.
The time to take meaningful action was 40+ years ago. We are long past voters making a difference. Society needs to change drastically and now. That simply is not going to happen.