119th U.S. Congress: Good LORD what is Happening in There?

[Madeline]

All I can say is that stating that doesn't do any good, doesn't make anyone else feel any better, and in a time where all we've fucking got is ourselves, I'd be considering that consistently being /thatguy/ probably isn't good for you, or anyone around you.

You can do, and be better with a better mindset than that doomer shit. Consider when this shit's all over the effect thinking like that may have had on you and those around you.

I dunno man, shit sucks but chin up and all that shit.

[kuronosan]

I just want the leader of the free world to not be a manchild. It's not really a shtick.

And while we currently have one, and no one is going to be the adult, there's no point in any of it.

It doesn't matter how many seats they lose. or win. He's going to do whatever the fuck he wants and there's no adults to put him in time out.

You're like 2 bad days away from being that guy on the corner calling it the end times

[Emphasis]

Democrats flipped a red seat in a special election upset. Dems have been doing well with these races, even unexpectedly over-performing in their losses.

Even with the GOP's usual garbage election tampering and unsubstantiated claims of fraud, Republicans losing races they were expected to dominate while underperforming in wins, is at least some good news on the road to the midterms.


https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-...ear-rcna199243

In 2025 Special elections, Voters Keep Telling Republicans What They Don’t Want to Hear

The more Democrats win in special elections this year, the more obvious the public backlash to Donald Trump and Republicans becomes.


As 2025 got underway, there was a closely watched state Senate special election in Iowa, in a race Republicans expected to win. It was, after all, held in a district that Donald Trump had won a few months early by 21 points. A Democratic candidate nevertheless managed to flip the seat from red to blue.


This week, it happened again. NBC News reported on Democrats flipping another state Senate seat in Iowa:

"Iowa Democrats scored a significant victory Tuesday by flipping a Republican seat in a special election and breaking the GOP supermajority in the state Senate. Catelin Drey won the Sioux City-area district with 55% of the vote to Republican opponent Christopher Prosch’s 44%, according to unofficial results with all precincts reporting."

As a practical matter, in Iowa’s state capitol, Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds has relied on her party’s two-thirds supermajority in the chamber to confirm her nominees, but thanks to the latest Democratic victory, that supermajority is now gone. (Drey will succeed Republican Sen. Rocky De Witt who died of cancer in June.)


But even more important in a national context is the familiarity of these circumstances: In elections and special elections throughout the country this year, results like these have become rather common lately, with Democrats winning races they were expected to lose, while other Democrats have won races they were expected to win by enormous margins.

[Byrthnoth]

Democrats now have the highly engaged vote, so the more special the election, the more likely they are to win.

[Tyrath]

I thought we did after Roe v Wade too

[Emphasis]

With Trump's approval numbers continuing to slide -- https://www.realclearpolling.com/pol...issues/economy

and the the incumbent party historically underperforming and losing seats in congress, next years midterms will be particularly interesting to watch and analyze.

[kuronosan]

They will, if only because Republicans still have an entire year to fuck shit up for voting everywhere

[Tyche]

The only thing making the midterms interesting is the gerrymandering, otherwise, the GOP wouldn't get to 200 seats.

[Sirious]

Oh, but that's where you're wrong. Gerrymandering is only the tip of the iceberg.

National Guard will be "overseeing" voter integrity. And they're going to take away mail in ballots. Removing "blue" voting locations. Purging more voter registrations. Removing day of registration. All the standard things.

Refusing to certify. Manually overturning. All the fun stuff, too.

[synistar]

The only thing making the midterms interesting is the gerrymandering, otherwise, the GOP wouldn't get to 200 seats.

Or this laughable proposal to break up California into two (or more) states again

[Salodin]

The only thing making the midterms interesting is the gerrymandering, otherwise, the GOP wouldn't get to 200 seats.

Oh, but that's where you're wrong. Gerrymandering is only the tip of the iceberg.

National Guard will be "overseeing" voter integrity. And they're going to take away mail in ballots. Removing "blue" voting locations. Purging more voter registrations. Removing day of registration. All the standard things.

Refusing to certify. Manually overturning. All the fun stuff, too.

Yeah idgi. The interesting part is gonna be how bad do the armed services interfere with the midterm elections. It doesn't have to be systemic and widespread, you just need a few good soldiers here and there to do what you order to start changing some results, and you know full well there are soldiers ready and willing to fight the good fight for their commander and chief

Sent from my SM-S936U using Tapatalk

[Tyrath]

Don't forget the voter intimidation majority blue areas

[6souls]

https://x.com/Phil_Lewis_/status/1961470995501330870

[Tyche]

Oof, that's another Senate seat Dems would certainly not be favored in, but could potentially steal if we hit another recession by then or Trump finds some other way to fuck over his own party of dick riders by doing something heinous.

[Emphasis]

With Trump's approval numbers continuing to slide -- https://www.realclearpolling.com/pol...issues/economy

and the the incumbent party historically underperforming and losing seats in congress, next years midterms will be particularly interesting to watch and analyze.

I'll clarify-- interesting and analytical in a fucked up way to see what lengths Republicans will go to not give up power.

The fact that Dems have been succeeding and over-performing in elections since January certainly challenges the notion that the party is completely in the wilderness, with no optimism going forward.

I do believe voter dissatisfaction with the economy in the midterms and 2028 will remain a crucial weakness for Republicans that will be very difficult for them to overcome even with their tampering. Trump was largely voted in on the mandate of lowering the cost of living, and with no real policy to address the issue in combination with the tariffs agenda, consumer costs will continue to go up and this will provide ample ammunition for Democrats in the next election cycles.

[arus2001]

I'm not sure if it can be attributed as a boon of the party so much as the individual and timing. On the national level, perception still isn't hot and we're still in that limbo of not knowing who will assume leadership despite the likely establishment desires that'll get hammered down our throats. If 2028 turns out to be DINO vs. Far-Right Republican, I wouldn't be shocked at all if the DINO loses. For all the shittiness Trump and Co. brings, all they have to do is whine about the left and how they still need more time to fix things and their base will scarf it up regardless of truth. And if the D platform isn't implicitly and emphatically anti to all this stuff, you can kiss enthusiasm and interest goodbye. The can can't be kicked further.

[Emphasis]

I'm not sure if it can be attributed as a boon of the party so much as the individual and timing. On the national level, perception still isn't hot and we're still in that limbo of not knowing who will assume leadership despite the likely establishment desires that'll get hammered down our throats. If 2028 turns out to be DINO vs. Far-Right Republican, I wouldn't be shocked at all if the DINO loses. For all the shittiness Trump and Co. brings, all they have to do is whine about the left and how they still need more time to fix things and their base will scarf it up regardless of truth. And if the D platform isn't implicitly and emphatically anti to all this stuff, you can kiss enthusiasm and interest goodbye. The can can't be kicked further.

You have valid considerations and points, but we also have to remember and take into account the impact of the DOGE and congressional bill cuts going forward.

Federal services and aid declining, with at least 10-12 million people losing their health coverage because of Medicaid and ACA marketplace cuts are not in Republicans favor. The cuts to renewable energy (that would have passed along savings in utilities to consumers) also badly goes against Trump's repeated promises to lower the cost of living.

The Democrats admittedly have their work cut out in restructuring and unifying meaningfully, but the GOP platform is so regressive that it does objectively provide key opportunities for Dems to campaign and counter heavily against.

[Dimmauk]

If you thought RFK was the only Kennedy saying stupid shit......
https://x.com/OGBeefJones/status/1963396842588455283

Alien Earth is fantastic btw

[kisada]

omg it's airing already? i've been waiting!

[Tyrath]

It's like many eps in . I havent started yet though