[Discussion] Post-Election Optimistic Hope-All

This thread is for positive posts for how we'll get by after the 2016 US election. Articles about how we've been through worse and survived, analysis that points to there being a way forward, maybe even distractions.

From late January:

Democracy Wins One as a Federal Court Strikes a Big Blow Against Gerrymandering

Wisconsin’s gerrymandering was so extreme that, two months ago, a federal-court panel struck down Wisconsin legislative maps as unconstitutional. Walker’s Republican state attorney general appealed immediately, setting up a fight that will eventually be resolved by a US Supreme Court that legal experts say may finally be prepared to rule on behalf of competitive elections.

[The panel was asked to delay implementation of the ruling while it was under appeal.]

But on Friday the judges refused to delay democracy any longer.

In a decision that was hailed as a significant victory for democracy in Wisconsin and nationally, the federal panel enjoined Wisconsin officials from using existing maps in “all future elections.” At the same time, the judges ordered Walker and the state legislature to draw new legislative-district maps by November 1, 2017.

That's really great news, actually.

lol at this thread. Jesus.

DSGamer wrote:

lol at this thread. Jesus.

? I think I'm missing something?

I think he's noticing that there hasn't been much hope since February.

Nothing in the thread because nobody can find a damn thing to be optimistic about.

(Alternately, the people who are being hopeful are ignoring this whole sub forum. )

Katy wrote:

Nothing in the thread because nobody can find a damn thing to be optimistic about.

(Alternately, the people who are being hopeful are ignoring this whole sub forum. )

I consider myself hopeful but I also view the world in a much more grave manner than I did a year ago.

I think Paleo's links about Europe's increasing rejection of corruption and fundamentalist insanity are great signs of hope. Cause and effect, as it were.

I try to mainly keep my comments, short low-impact, and on-topic. These sorts of forums don't lend themselves to fully realized conversations but I think the fact people are still talking and thinking is hopeful as well.

May hoisting herself while Corbyn ran a traditional leftist campaign is pretty great.
Also I found a new shampoo I like.

I'm generally optimistic about the world. It takes a lot to make me pessimistic. That's why I have not been posting here, the political situation we are in has little to recommend it for the future, anymore.

boogle wrote:

May hoisting herself while Corbyn ran a traditional leftist campaign is pretty great.
Also I found a new shampoo I like.

When did you go back to shampoo?

wordsmythe wrote:
boogle wrote:

May hoisting herself while Corbyn ran a traditional leftist campaign is pretty great.
Also I found a new shampoo I like.

When did you go back to shampoo?

When I started having hair longer than a half inch again.

Robear wrote:

I'm generally optimistic about the world. It takes a lot to make me pessimistic. That's why I have not been posting here, the political situation we are in has little to recommend it for the future, anymore.

I actually often think of that quote, but in the context of the scene at the end instead.

It's one of the few things that gets me through. Especially since the last 6 months have also, personally, included the passing of my mom and terrible health problems. This year has been the worst year of my life. But there's nothing to do but go on.

I always thought Sam was the real hero in that movie.

I figured I might as well make a shameless plug for the Gamers With Hope project. The election spurred me to up my Patreon support so the site team could put together a series on gaming and inclusiveness. It's been great working with Wordsmythe on this and I'm super excited to see the community response.

Honestly, I've learned a lot posting here about other people's experiences and viewpoints. This is an awesome oasis in a desert of crazy. I also think that if I had been stuck in my old conservative paradigm of rugged individualism I would probably not have survived being diagnosed with bipolar.

I won't repeat what's already up on the main page but you can learn more here: https://www.gamerswithjobs.com/node/...

Scott Walker's weakness leaves Republicans wrangling over budget

The only thing that may be more anemic than Wisconsin’s performance on job creation over six years of Scott Walker’s administration is the political influence the governor now wields over his fellow Republicans in control of the state Legislature.

Looks like another Republican experiment is on its death bed.

We can only hope.

The article doesn't really explain why Walker lost his local party's support though.

Sheriff Whack-a-Doo Clarke is out of running for Homeland Security job.

EDIT: A different story I read seemed to indicate that he took himself out of the running. This story says that DHS rescinded the offer. Updated the link text to reflect the CNN article.

Reaper81 wrote:

Sheriff Whack-a-Doo Clarke is out of running for Homeland Security job.

EDIT: A different story I read seemed to indicate that he took himself out of the running. This story says that DHS rescinded the offer. Updated the link text to reflect the CNN article.

This is good news. When Trump was elected I was positive someone like him would literally be Attorney General, so, you know, small mercies.

Ted Nugent said he's going to tone down his hateful, violent rhetoric, so that's good.

Then again, maybe he's doing this because he plans to run for office down the line.

gewy wrote:

Ted Nugent said he's going to tone down his hateful, violent rhetoric, so that's good.

He can afford to do that now. He won. His kind of rhetoric won and now people who can (and will threaten violence on a whim) control all the levers of power.

DSGamer wrote:
gewy wrote:

Ted Nugent said he's going to tone down his hateful, violent rhetoric, so that's good.

He can afford to do that now. He won. His kind of rhetoric won and now people who can (and will threaten violence on a whim) control all the levers of power.

And you can bet your house that he will bring it out again if the American people have the temerity to elect another black president.

Let's not forget that Nugent decided to take a muted position after a leftist took Nugent's advice and exercised his first amendment rights with his second amendment rights. My feel is; 1) Nugent folded like a coward when confronted with his own rhetoric, and 2) for better or worse, Nugent confirmed to the left that violence is a viable tactic for progress.

Based on recent special elections. Including just recently Georgia, it appears the only thing more unpopular than Trump are Democrats.

I didn't find that optimistic at all.

Depends on how you look at things. Near losses in deep red districts are still losses, but.. 25 point margins are turning into 2-3 point margins.

Tanglebones wrote:

Depends on how you look at things. Near losses in deep red districts are still losses, but.. 25 point margins are turning into 2-3 point margins.

538's Nate Silver agrees.

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/Qn868PX.png)

538 wrote:

The historical constant is that midterm elections have usually yielded a backlash against the president’s party — and the results of the special elections so far suggest that Republicans’ risk is higher than average.

As compared to the 2016 presidential results, Democrats have outperformed their benchmarks by an average of 14 percentage points so far across the four GOP-held districts to have held special elections to date. As compared to the 2012 presidential election, their overperformance is even larger, at almost 18 points. They’ve also outperformed their results from the 2016 and 2014 U.S. House elections by roughly 11 points, after one accounts for the fact that the special elections were open-seat races rather than being held against incumbents.

How might this translate for Democrats next November, when all 435 seats are up for grabs? The results simultaneously suggest that an impressively wide array of Republican-held seats might be competitive next year — perhaps as many as 60 to 80 — and that Democrats are outright favorites in only a fraction of these, perhaps no more than a dozen. To some extent, this configuration is a result of Republican-led gerrymandering in 2010. Republicans drew a lot of districts where their members are safe under normal conditions, but not in the event of a massive midterm wave.

In order to win a net of 24 seats next year — enough to flip the House — Democrats may therefore need to target dozens of Republican-held seats and see where the chips fall. They can variously attempt anti-Trump, anti-Republican or anti-incumbent messages depending on the district.

The 2018 midterms will be strange in that a “pretty good” year for Democrats might yield a gain of only 15 seats for the party, whereas a “very good” year — if the political climate is just a few points more Democratic-leaning — could produce a 50-seat swing instead. Because they run the government, Republicans and Trump will have more influence on the macro-level political environment. But Democrats will have at least as much say on the district-level environment based on where they recruit strong candidates instead of giving Republican incumbents a free pass.

Gunning for Paul Ryan's seat.