What do you think of the job our PA delegation is doing to represent us in Washington? (Penn: millionaire, out of state)

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by Jessie Mitchell

This is true. The R's hate this whole voting thing. They're scared of everything, panicked, about people actually voting more easily, vaccines, gender stuff, CRIME!, Jewish cabals, bodily autonomy for women, tech, children's books. Just as weird as it could be.

The reason Republicans "hate this whole voting thing" is: When more people vote, Democrats win.

I believe the GOP candidate for President has lost the popular vote in 7 of the last 8 national elections. The Electoral College saves the GOP's bacon because it often produces a win for the popular-vote loser when the electorate is closely divided, as it is now.

As it is now, today's MAGAtized GOP risks becoming a permanent minority party because right-leaning independents don't lean that far right, and many — nay, most — of them are like Gen. Milley and put the country ahead of any one individual or party. (I would say the same for left-leaning independents.)

This liberal joins lots of NeverTrumper conservatives in hoping that the country gets a center-right party again. We don't have one right now, and Speaker McCarthy's inability to bring his far right flank to heel proves it.

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by Jessie Mitchell

This is true. The R's hate this whole voting thing. They're scared of everything, panicked, about people actually voting more easily, vaccines, gender stuff, CRIME!, Jewish cabals, bodily autonomy for women, tech, children's books. Just as weird as it could be.

The reason Republicans "hate this whole voting thing" is: When more people vote, Democrats win.

I believe the GOP candidate for President has lost the popular vote in 7 of the last 8 national elections, including the one that made Donald Trump President in 2016. The Electoral College saves the GOP's bacon because it often produces a win for the popular-vote loser when the electorate is closely divided, as it is now.

As it is now, today's MAGAtized GOP risks becoming a permanent minority party because right-leaning independents don't lean that far right, and many — nay, most — of them are like Gen. Milley and put the country ahead of any one individual or party. (I would say the same for left-leaning independents.)

This liberal ("left-libertarian" is how I prefer to describe myself — yes, there is such a thing) joins lots of NeverTrumper conservatives in hoping that the country gets a center-right party again. We don't have one right now, and Speaker McCarthy's inability to bring his far right flank to heel proves it.

[gg]

Originally Posted by NewtownBucks

"My Fetterman"? I'm a Republican, although I vote more like an independent and wrote in Connor Lamb in that election. Oz was an absolutely terrible candidate and not even a Pennsylvanian. If the Republicans don't wise up to the nonsense and excise Trump and the entire MAGA cult before that cancer metastasizes even further, they are going to continue to lose until the party dies, and then all that's left to run the country will be far leftists pushing for handouts and degeneracy.

Thanks to not voting for a successful intelligent man (Oz) we now have an incompetent spoiled rich brat in there that can't dress himself and can't speak or understand anything. I am just waiting for him to show up in a diaper and curl up in the fetal position at a meeting. I suspect he does it in private often. Just a spoiled rich kid that never worked a day in his life. Oz? A workaholic.

[gg]

Originally Posted by Duderino

Republicans hate democracy. That's the long and short of it.

How else do you explain a party that's now contemplating a lawsuit over a completely legitimate streamlining of voter registration?

"Moter Voter" registration has existed for years, yet here we are with the right-wing "fraud" hackles going up again because Shapiro made a common-sense policy change when obtaining/renewing a driver's license.

You can't make this stuff up.

https://www.sungazette.com/news/top-...-registration/

Democrats hate freedoms. I went back and forth to Florida during the pandemic. PA shut everything down including all the liquor stores! It was ridiculous and we are paying the price as FL is still growing like crazy and PA is NOT. We are a pathetically run state.

[selhars]

Can we stay on topic, please.

[NewtownBucks]

Originally Posted by gg

Thanks to not voting for a successful intelligent man (Oz) we now have an incompetent spoiled rich brat in there that can't dress himself and can't speak or understand anything. I am just waiting for him to show up in a diaper and curl up in the fetal position at a meeting. I suspect he does it in private often. Just a spoiled rich kid that never worked a day in his life. Oz? A workaholic.

Meh. Give me a candidate who is acceptable, and I will vote for him/her. Oz didn't pass the smell test, sorry. Be better. I didn't vote for Fetterman, either, if it makes you feel any better. I don't believe voting for the "lesser of evils" is ever the right thing to do if I really don't believe in either candidate. The two "teams" keeping their mindless votebots in line through fear of the other side is how we wind up with Trump vs Clinton elections where the best candidate in the race by every objective measure, Gary Johnson, can only get 3%.

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by NewtownBucks

Meh. Give me a candidate who is acceptable, and I will vote for him/her. Oz didn't pass the smell test, sorry. Be better. I didn't vote for Fetterman, either, if it makes you feel any better. I don't believe voting for the "lesser of evils" is ever the right thing to do if I really don't believe in either candidate. The two "teams" keeping their mindless votebots in line through fear of the other side is how we wind up with Trump vs Clinton elections where the best candidate in the race by every objective measure, Gary Johnson, can only get 3%.

Some of that, however, is structural.

Since we have winner-take-all elections and single-member electoral districts, we get a Manichean split where only two parties dominate. Unless there is a seriously disruptive event (such as the slavery constroversy, which led to the Whigs' demise and their replacement by the Republicans), the two dominant parties will continue to dominate.

Because of this, what we're now experiencing is an insurgent takeover of one of the parties, mainly by members of a formerly dominant group that feels the loss of its dominance. "Power never surrenders without a fight," and what Trump represents is a rear-guard action of sorts by those unwilling to surrender power (which Trump wasn't either once he lost).

Unfortunately, the casualty in this fight is the center-right — the fiscally conservative, socially liberal folks who had been steering the GOP into the future (such as former RNC Chair Michael Steele). They may have to form a new party in order to restore sanity to conservatism, but right now, I'm afraid that if Trump is the nominee, voting for the "lesser evil" will be a moral imperative for most of us because of what Trump has signaled to us he will want to do.

[NewtownBucks]

Originally Posted by MarketStEl

I'm afraid that if Trump is the nominee, voting for the "lesser evil" will be a moral imperative for most of us because of what Trump has signaled to us he will want to do.

Definitely not for me. My moral imperative is to vote for the best candidate regardless of the implications on who could win. I certainly will never vote for Trump. He is the worst thing that has happened to our country in my lifetime. But Joe Biden is a tough pill to swallow as an alternative. He's clearly not competent to perform the duties of the office, the Democratic agenda is too liberal, and he has serious character issues, including credible allegations of sexual assault and a trail of breadcrumbs pointing to serious corruption and bribery funneled through his son. He's not it, and I would hope Dems see that in time to nominate someone else. Of course, I feel the same about Trump and the GOP, so it's looking more and more like a third straight Libertarian election for me.

Anyway, this is off-topic from the OP re: the PA Congressional delegation, so I'll stop with Presidential politics now.

[gg]

Originally Posted by NewtownBucks

Meh. Give me a candidate who is acceptable, and I will vote for him/her. Oz didn't pass the smell test, sorry. Be better. I didn't vote for Fetterman, either, if it makes you feel any better. I don't believe voting for the "lesser of evils" is ever the right thing to do if I really don't believe in either candidate. The two "teams" keeping their mindless votebots in line through fear of the other side is how we wind up with Trump vs Clinton elections where the best candidate in the race by every objective measure, Gary Johnson, can only get 3%.

It is an interesting study. Sadly we were in the end given two choices. A very successful doctor vs someone that never grew up and got a job because he could live off his rich parents. I chose the successful second generation guy. I like first and second generation types a lot of the time because they understand how much opportunity is out there.

I haven't liked a choice in a very long time. There are some good people out there I think, but it seems extreme is what gets the votes. A kind honest person isn't enough for our media machine it seems.

Good points. I sort of given up on PA as far as our leaders. I don't think I will see anyone I'm excited about. I wasn't excited about Oz, but given the choice, I really don't like spoiled brats as they don't really see reality as they never lived in it. Maybe I will go for just the person I like most and forget about trying to vote for the lesser of two evils. It is like throwing a vote away, but in the end, I don't think it matters much. Pittsburgh has been a depressed city all my life and I'm over 50 years old. It is really in a sad state now. I don't think any PA leader is going to make any difference in my area.

[SteelCityRising]

I'm happy I voted for Shapiro.