So, looks like the Democrats took both the House (185/99) and
the Senate (50/40) if the final tally doesn't change, although
people are saying don't expect a huge change in things, that
Trump will just keep doing things on his own and leave it up
to others to shut them down later..

Except now they will be more likely to get shut down later, and

>we won't have to worry about the inept house speaker putting that
>chamber on recess every time something comes up that he or Trump
>doesn't like.

There will still be issues no doubt but maybe there will be
some controls over bad decisions, or they won't last long or
get going in the first place.. one can hope..

I dunno. I would say that most Republicans lost due to

>association with MAGA and Trump. OTOH, if the Democrats
>nominated someone inept to run against him personally,
>he could very well win.

But Trump cannot run again so it would have to be another
very popular Republican to win the next Presidential election,
but it shouldn't be as bad since they've seen what has happened
to Trumps approval rating doing what he's been doing..

I heard something on the news tonight, highly speculative
of course, suggesting that there may be an impeachment in
the near future if Trump doesn't back off. The Democrat
leaders are constantly saying on the news how Trump is the
most corrupt 'criminal' to ever attain the Presidency.

Funny the way things are changing, people saying things they
wouldn't have dared to a few weeks ago..

In my own state, I was very disappointed that the AIPAC-purchased

>Republican house candidate won, but I think a Republican win
>(no matter who) was set up during the primaries when the Democrats
>were probably not trying very hard. That is not my district, though.
>Mine also remained Republican.

Yes, I saw where your state is long time Republican, like the
area I am in here has been (Conservative) for decades..
They seem to vote the one way regardless of what's going on..

Maybe interesting times coming..

Isn't that a Chinese curse? "May you live in 'interesting' times.." B)
---
þ SLMR Rob þ When trouble won't come to us...we go lookin' þ

--- Scorpio BBS
* Origin: capitolcityonline.net * KY, USA (1:2320/107)

Mike Powell wrote to Rob Mccart <=-

Except now they will be more likely to get shut down
later, and we won't have to worry about the inept house
speaker putting that chamber on recess every time
something comes up that he or Trump doesn't like.

The irony of a legislative body putting work minimums on
medicare
recipients when they themselves didn't meet the minimums they
set is
not lost.

It is sad that our state's one legislator who seemed to understand that is the one that the AIPAC fought to have unseated. :(

I have seem a lot of folks who think that the "blue wave" automatically means that things will be better. I would like to wait and see what they get up to before I start patting them on the back. They are politicians after all, and being disappointing is apparently part of the job.

Mike

--- ScorpioWeb v0.39a (Linux/x86_64)
* Origin: capitolcityonline.net * KY, USA (1:2320/107)

I dunno. I would say that most Republicans lost due to

>association with MAGA and Trump. OTOH, if the Democrats
>nominated someone inept to run against him personally,
>he could very well win.

But Trump cannot run again so it would have to be another
very popular Republican to win the next Presidential election,
but it shouldn't be as bad since they've seen what has happened
to Trumps approval rating doing what he's been doing..

Yes, I was working in his theoretical space there. ;) I would not call Trump a very popular Republican right now, seeing his approval ratings where they are.

I heard something on the news tonight, highly speculative
of course, suggesting that there may be an impeachment in
the near future if Trump doesn't back off. The Democrat
leaders are constantly saying on the news how Trump is the
most corrupt 'criminal' to ever attain the Presidency.

I honestly hope they concentrate on some other more important things first, like inflation, war, and the economy in general. Unfortunately, impeaching Trump is a low bar that would be popular with their most ardent supporters, so I am worried we will have two more years of nothing good happening for the actual people who elected them.

I have an "out" as none of the people I voted for this round won, so whatever they get up to, I didn't do it! :D

Funny the way things are changing, people saying things they
wouldn't have dared to a few weeks ago..

I think Democrats could have been saying that. It is only Republicans who would have been worried about stepping out of line when it came to impeachment talk.

In my own state, I was very disappointed that the
AIPAC-purchased

>Republican house candidate won, but I think a Republican win
>(no matter who) was set up during the primaries when the
>Democrats were probably not trying very hard. That is not
>my district, though. Mine also remained Republican.

Yes, I saw where your state is long time Republican, like the
area I am in here has been (Conservative) for decades..
They seem to vote the one way regardless of what's going on..

Actually, is has not been that long *at all*. It used to be that you could count on Kentucky to vote Democrat in all but a couple of areas of the state. When I registered to vote in 1988, the general consensus was that you didn't register Republican if you wanted your vote to count towards anything. Most state and local elections were decided during the Democrat Primary, with most Democrat candidates running unopposed (or against a candidate the Republican party didn't support) in the General elections.

We never had a majority of Republicans in our Congressional delegation in my lifetime until the census caused Kentucky to lose a House seat. That seat was likely to be one of the only two Republican districts. The Democrats, who were also in full control of the state legislature, decided that they'd get creative and try to gerrymander the state up to get rid of the one remaining Republican House district. It backfired on them badly. Instead of getting rid of the one Republican left, they lost 3 Democrats and, later, 4. They just regained that one seat in this mid-term, and are now outnumbered 6-2 across the delegation.

That gerrymander attempt also corresponded with when the national Democratic party started openly moving left. They got too left for a religiously conservative state. The two senatorial seats, which are state-wide and cannot be gerrymandered, then both went Republican. Between the left shift and the gerrymander attempt, the Democrats really lost ground here. After ~100 years of control of both state houses, Democrats soon lost the state legislature and have yet to get it back. Unless the party moves back towards the center, or there is some major statewide anti-MAGA backlash, I doubt they ever will get it back.

Mike

--- ScorpioWeb v0.39a (Linux/x86_64)
* Origin: capitolcityonline.net * KY, USA (1:2320/107)

Surprisingly (so far) Trump hasn't blamed the results on election
fraud or Canadian interference
No doubt he'll have more to say over the next few days..

I'm still expecting using unproven voter fraud to tie up the courts and

> try to delay seating the house. We'll see if they appoint a new house
> clerk in the next few days.

Yes, he's been very quiet over the last few days..

That's probably something to worry about.. B)

They were suggesting on the news tonight that a deal with Canada
is 'imminent', or should at least come before the end of the year.


But he's also suggesting that Canada will (for some reason) agree
to a worse deal than the last 2 offers he made us that were turned
down flat..

I suppose he's talking about those 50% tariffs set to start on
January 1st on Automotive and Steel products.. But, under the
changes there, I wonder if there's any chance at all he can pull
that off now..

Definitely not if Michigan has anything to say about it..

---
þ SLMR Rob þ What we have here is a failure to communicate þ

--- Scorpio BBS
* Origin: capitolcityonline.net * KY, USA (1:2320/107)

Mike Powell wrote to Kurt Weiske <=-

I have seem a lot of folks who think that the "blue wave" automatically means that things will be better. I would like to wait and see what
they get up to before I start patting them on the back. They are politicians after all, and being disappointing is apparently part of
the job.

If I keep hearing about equating accountability with "revenge" and
hoping they'll be able to work with Trump, I expect nothing will
change, except politicians will get more powerful and more wealthy.



... alphabetise the alphabet (it's all wrong. will explain later)
--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
* Origin: http://realitycheckbbs.org | tomorrow's retro tech (1:218/700)

I heard something on the news tonight, highly speculative
of course, suggesting that there may be an impeachment in
the near future if Trump doesn't back off. The Democrat
leaders are constantly saying on the news how Trump is the
most corrupt 'criminal' to ever attain the Presidency.

I honestly hope they concentrate on some other more important

>things first, like inflation, war, and the economy in general.
>Unfortunately, impeaching Trump is a low bar that would be popular
>with their most ardent supporters, so I am worried we will have
>two more years of nothing good happening for the actual people
>who elected them.

Wouldn't getting rid of Trump, followed by some reasonable thinking
about things, reverse much of what he did that caused the problems?

I have an "out" as none of the people I voted for this round won,

>so whatever they get up to, I didn't do it! :D

Oh, You were the one!.. B)

Funny the way things are changing, people saying things they
wouldn't have dared to a few weeks ago..

I think Democrats could have been saying that. It is only

>Republicans who would have been worried about stepping out of
>line when it came to impeachment talk.

Well if the Democrats were saying such negative things earlier
it wasn't getting much news coverage, at least not in Canada.

Yes, I saw where your state is long time Republican, like the
area I am in here has been (Conservative) for decades..
They seem to vote the one way regardless of what's going on..

Actually, is has not been that long *at all*.

Sorry about that.. I must have heard that about another state and
thought it was Kentucky. I suppose I sort of thought you were far
enough South to have their more common Republican leanings.

Here it doesn't seem to be a North/South or other thing that
makes most voters in an area vote one way. For the most part
Big Cities vote Liberal and Farmers and rich people vote
Conservative. There will be exceptions of course.

I was going to say Alberta would be mostly Conservative but
that's mainly been since 2019. For several years before that
they voted in the NDP party, which is more Liberal than the
Liberals.. But Alberta is unique in a lot of ways..

Lots of super rich people and not the best healthcare system
since rich people are less worried about that. Why pay the
taxes to support healthcare for the 'regular' people if you
can afford good private insurance to cover yourself?..

---
þ SLMR Rob þ Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever - N Bonaparte

--- Scorpio BBS
* Origin: capitolcityonline.net * KY, USA (1:2320/107)

I have seem a lot of folks who think that the "blue wave" automatically

>means that things will be better. I would like to wait and see what
>they get up to before I start patting them on the back. They are
>politicians after all, and being disappointing is apparently part
>of the job.

True but they have seen what affect the recent changes have had on
people's finances and party popularity so you'd expect them to do
something different (opposite?) so they become/stay more popular..

---
þ SLMR Rob þ Old chemists never die, they merely fail to react þ

--- Scorpio BBS
* Origin: capitolcityonline.net * KY, USA (1:2320/107)

Mike Powell wrote to Kurt Weiske <=-

I have seem a lot of folks who think that the "blue wave" automatically means that things will be better. I would
like to wait and see what they get up to before I start
patting them on the back. They are politicians after all,
and being disappointing is apparently part of the job.

If I keep hearing about equating accountability with "revenge"
and
hoping they'll be able to work with Trump, I expect nothing
will
change, except politicians will get more powerful and more
wealthy.

If they spend the next two years on nothing but "accountability" or "revenge," how much good are they going to do our pocketbooks? Those things are the low-hanging fruit that will play well to many of their supporters but won't fix any of the problems affecting the average citizen.

I want Trump held accountable, but not if that is all they plan or manage to get done, and I have my doubts about how far they will actually even pursue that seeing as it would expose some of them to also being held accountable for the things they've done to become more powerful and wealthy.


--- ScorpioWeb v0.39a (Linux/x86_64)
* Origin: capitolcityonline.net * KY, USA (1:2320/107)

Mike Powell wrote to Rob Mccart <=-

Yes, I was working in his theoretical space there. ;) I
would not call Trump a very popular Republican right now,
seeing his approval ratings where they are.

I don't think anyone in the old, compromised guard are polling
over
Trump -- democrat or republican!

Yeah, maybe not. Sad thing is that some of those "old guard" might not even be compromised, but regardless most are likely to keep getting elected. The big exceptions being, of course, those that Trump and AIPAC primaried in order to get their lackeys in.

Mike

--- ScorpioWeb v0.39a (Linux/x86_64)
* Origin: capitolcityonline.net * KY, USA (1:2320/107)

I heard something on the news tonight, highly speculative
of course, suggesting that there may be an impeachment in
the near future if Trump doesn't back off. The Democrat
leaders are constantly saying on the news how Trump is the
most corrupt 'criminal' to ever attain the Presidency.

I honestly hope they concentrate on some other more
important

>things first, like inflation, war, and the economy in
>general. Unfortunately, impeaching Trump is a low bar that
>would be popular with their most ardent supporters, so I am
>worried we will have two more years of nothing good
>happening for the actual people who elected them.

Wouldn't getting rid of Trump, followed by some reasonable
thinking about things, reverse much of what he did that caused
the problems?

Impeachment doesn't automatically mean removal. If it did, Trump would have been removed during his first term, and Clinton would have been removed before finishing his Presidency.

I don't think they have the numbers in the Senate to get a removal so "getting rid of" isn't really on the table.

I cannot remember any President being removed as a result of a successful impeachment but I might be forgetting one somewhere.

I have an "out" as none of the people I voted for this round
won,

>so whatever they get up to, I didn't do it! :D

Oh, You were the one!.. B)

Most of the people I vote for don't win. ;) I actually did ok on the local level this time. We have a non-partisan city council, and both of the people I voted for got 2 of the 4 open seats.

Funny the way things are changing, people saying things
they wouldn't have dared to a few weeks ago..

I think Democrats could have been saying that. It is only

>Republicans who would have been worried about stepping out
>of line when it came to impeachment talk.

Well if the Democrats were saying such negative things earlier
it wasn't getting much news coverage, at least not in Canada.

A few were but they may become more vocal now. I don't think they were getting much coverage here, either, unless they found themselves in a heated election race.

Yes, I saw where your state is long time Republican, like
the area I am in here has been (Conservative) for decades..
They seem to vote the one way regardless of what's going
on..

Actually, is has not been that long *at all*.

Sorry about that.. I must have heard that about another state
and thought it was Kentucky. I suppose I sort of thought you
were far enough South to have their more common Republican
leanings.

People even in the US, and some from within the state with short memories, make that mistake. The governor's office is still very rarely Republican and, if they win, so far one has never be re-elected.

Here it doesn't seem to be a North/South or other thing that
makes most voters in an area vote one way. For the most part
Big Cities vote Liberal and Farmers and rich people vote
Conservative. There will be exceptions of course.

It is not entirely North/South here, either. It is mostly Big Cities vs. Rural here also. The North(east), Illinois, and West Coast typically are dominated by their big city voters. The South, and large portions of the middle of the country, tend to be more rural.

As cities have grown bigger in the traditionally rural areas, they are also becoming less conservative.

Mike

--- ScorpioWeb v0.39a (Linux/x86_64)
* Origin: capitolcityonline.net * KY, USA (1:2320/107)

I have seem a lot of folks who think that the "blue wave" MP>automatically

>means that things will be better. I would like to wait and
>see what they get up to before I start patting them on the
>back. They are politicians after all, and being
>disappointing is apparently part of the job.

True but they have seen what affect the recent changes have had
on people's finances and party popularity so you'd expect them
to do something different (opposite?) so they become/stay more
popular..

The issues with personal finances didn't start when Trump got elected, though. Those of us with decent long-term memory know it started before that. Gas prices got out of hand during the previous administration, for example, and food prices were also on their way up.

IMHO, that is a big reason that Trump got re-elected... people were not confident that continuing with the "Trump-alternative" would make things better.

What Trump did was campaign on fixing those things and then not really doing anything to address them, so they continued to get worse. It could be argued that he did things that instead made them worse.

They need to do something different than what they were doing before Trump got re-elected, too, and not just different than Trump. While I am confident they may try to do the latter, I have doubts about the former. I honestly have doubts that they (of both parties) even know what to do.

Mike


--- ScorpioWeb v0.39a (Linux/x86_64)
* Origin: capitolcityonline.net * KY, USA (1:2320/107)

Mike Powell wrote to Kurt Weiske <=-

If they spend the next two years on nothing but "accountability" or "revenge," how much good are they going to do our pocketbooks?

We've seen in the Trump 47 administration what a Ego/Revenge Tour looks
like, and we're paying the price. I'd claim that government has the
ability to focus on the economy, repairing bridges and enforcing the
rule of law.

I can imagine the republicans taking the stance that the ecomomy is in
such bad shape that we can't afford to focus on the rule of law and
accountability - glossing over their party having complete control of
the senate, congress, the executive branch and a supreme court arguably
in collusion with the party.

Let's see how long it takes for the calls for the democrats to take
urgent action regarding the debt - again, glossing over the cause.



... ALL HAIL THE CODE!
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Mike Powell wrote to Kurt Weiske <=-

If they spend the next two years on nothing but
"accountability" or "revenge," how much good are they
going to do our pocketbooks?

We've seen in the Trump 47 administration what a Ego/Revenge
Tour looks
like, and we're paying the price. I'd claim that government
has the
ability to focus on the economy, repairing bridges and
enforcing the
rule of law.

They have not seemed to for the past two years, and I would argue that they didn't seem to have such an ability during the last two years of Trump's first Presidency, when the House was controlled by the Democrats. They also didn't seem too able during Biden's Presidency, when inflation and the economy in general was already a problem.

Their ability to focus on more than one thing seems to be going down, not up, and I don't think that is only because of which party is in control.

But have no fear. If the past several years is any indication, there is a high likelihood that they will appeal to their supporters and "get Trump" while everything else continues down the toilet.


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* Origin: capitolcityonline.net * KY, USA (1:2320/107)