2021 Elections

[SassyPants]

I am so angry right now. I am angry that politicians can outright lie and that there are no personal repercussions. I am angry that the electorate, as whole, is lazy and believes things that are not true and vote accordingly, instead of doing their homework. I’m tired of political gridlock, and voter apathy. The broken system is a big part of why we had a president Trump in the first place. What good is winning an election when nothing can get accomplished? 
 

What we need: term limits. House, Senate and SC seats should have strict limits. Maybe there should be a total limit on the years you can hold any elected, federal position. I also think that there need to be more requirements for presidential candidates , including an upper age limit, as there’s already a minimum age limit. Lastly, campaign finance reform, major reform.

The Republican put it all out there (including massive lies). Had the Dems done the same, we might have had a President Pete or Warren. 
 

Lastly, FFS, Manchin and Sinema  are not Democrats. They are obstructionists. 
 

Good thing about this election, perhaps it was a MAJOR awake up call.

[Destiny]

7 minutes ago, SassyPants said:

Good thing about this election, perhaps it was a MAJOR awake up call.

I want to believe that, but frankly if 2016 wasn't a wake up call, nothing will be. I've lost hope.

[fraurosena]

A couple of thoughts:

How much influence does gerrymandering and voter suppression have in Virginia?

How good is the educational system in Virginia, and/or how many Virginians have access to good education? What percentage of Virginians have a good educational background? I ask this because I think a lack of education may (emphasis on may) influence ones ability for critical thinking.

What was the voter turnout? And how was the division between D's and R's?

Have all the votes been counted yet? Or are there still (enough to make a difference) mail in ballot results forthcoming?

Is there a state level version of the electoral college in Virginia, and if so, who actually won tbe popular vote?

The current political system in the US is rigged against democracy. If the will of the majority can be ignored, how can there be a democracy? If lobbyists can buy policies, how can there be a democracy? If the minority party can hold the majority party hostage, how can there be a democracy?

I wholeheartedly agree with @SassyPants suggestions in her post above. Term limitations, as well as basic educational and/or aptitude requirements should be mandated.

My belief that the vast majority of American voters are not ignorant, conspiracy-believing Q-nut Trump-humpers still stands firm. That said, the power of desinformation should not be underestimated. If lies are repeated often enough, if lies are not continuously and strenuously pointed out and the truth exposed, and if liars are not immediately and vociferously called out, then even Democratic leaning people will start believing them.

It's past time to break up Facebook, or Meta, or whatever they call themselves, and all other social media companies that enable the spread of political desinformation. Their influence is detrimental to democracy.

FFS do something about far right propaganda machine Fox News.

[Audrey2]

@SassyPants, please neither forget nor underestimate the power of Fox propaganda. (I refuse to call up Fox News since it has nothing to do with news.)  That is the only news source that these people trust and the only place where they get their news. I have seen students as young as elementary School who choose not to learn, despite a teacher's best efforts.

Sadly there are too many people who find it easier not to think critically despite the best efforts of their teachers and if Tucker Carlson tells them that it's a hot day they will go outside in minimal clothing despite it being 32 below with a foot of snow on the ground.

[Melbelle]

@fraurosena I can't answer all those questions, I don't live in Virginia, but I can tell you there is no electoral college.  Youngkin won the popular vote.  I can tell you, without a doubt (in my opinion), that the reason Youngkin won was the statement McAullife made "I don't think parents should be telling schools what they should teach."  I'm in a group chat with some friends that are super interested in politics, and everyone in the group, even the most liberal/progressive person in that group was completely aghast by that comment.  Most people in the US, of every political persuasion, believe that education is the way to be upwardly mobile in life.  Parents, from the poorest to the wealthiest socioeconomic classes, will go out of their way to be involved in their children's school, people move to new cities or states for better schools, people lie about their address for better schools, people send their kids to live with family to get them into better schools.  The moment he said those words, it was over.  Now, the real question the dems will need to figure out, is why is the NJ race so close?

[Melbelle]

@fraurosena Okay, you asked such good questions, I got curious and had to research further! 

Gerrymandering isn't a factor in this because it's popular vote, no districts carry more or less weight. 

Voter suppression is always hard to account for, but this was record turnout in the state for a governor's race and a non-presidential election, so it seems unlikely much suppression, if any, played a factor in this one. 

Education is always hard to quantify as you mentioned, but a study done in 2020 accounting for "the key factors of a well-educated population: educational attainment, school quality and achievement gaps between genders and races" ranked Virginia as the 6th best state in the US for education.  Considering Virginia contains many of the suburbs for the Washington, D.C. area and our political class is extremely well educated this seems reasonable.  Additionally, the University of Virginia is consistently ranked in the top 5 for public colleges in the United States and colleges like William & Mary, James Madison, George Mason, and Washington & Lee are all located within the state and these are all highly ranked colleges as well.  The same company did a study for public schools and ranked Virginia 4th in the nation for best public schools at the K-12 level.  

Technically, not all votes are counted yet but McAullife has conceded so him and his team clearly do not believe there are enough votes remaining to be counted for them to achieve victory or even request a recount.  

Thanks for asking these!  I've spent way too much time this afternoon looking into this, but it's been interesting to get a little insight into a different state's political process!  

[JoyfulSel]

2 hours ago, Melbelle said:

 Now, the real question the dems will need to figure out, is why is the NJ race so close?

I don't know why but this state always tends to go the way of the opposite party that's currently holding the Presidency. Currently Murphy is up around 19k votes with 87% reporting.

[JoyfulSel]

AP has called! Governor Murphy becomes the first Democratic governor to win a second straight term in 44 (!!) years here!

 

[WiseGirl]

7 minutes ago, JoyfulSel said:

AP has called! Governor Murphy becomes the first Democratic governor to win a second straight term in 44 (!!) years here!

Thank Rufus!!!!!

[Cartmann99]

 

[Audrey2]

3 hours ago, Cartmann99 said:

 

Sounds like voter fraud to me. Now what is it that conservatives say about voter fraud? All yes I remember! Lock him up! Lock him up!

[GreyhoundFan]

On 11/5/2021 at 4:00 PM, Cartmann99 said:

 

I've been absent from FJ since election night because I've been heartsick over the results. I stopped watching any news or reading any newspapers. I did, however, hear about this, because a friend told me about it. What a typical entitled white kid to think he could vote. And then to show up twice. So freaking entitled. I normally give minor children a pass, but this is ridiculous. About 200 years ago, when I was a 17 year old in a Virginia school, I had to take a U.S. Government class as a graduation requirement. I remember voting was discussed. I guess this young punk thinks it doesn't apply to him because daddy is a multi-millionaire and a Repug.  If a 17 year old black student showed up twice to try and vote, the repug poll watchers would have called the police and demanded the student be led away in handcuffs.

And a note to @fraurosena, gerrymandering doesn't impact the gubernatorial election, but it does impact the state legislature election -- the Dems lost the majority in the state house of delegates. There is a new "non-partisan" committee that is supposed to draw fair boundaries, but they've been gridlocked because the repugs on the committee have been extra awful.

 

[Cartmann99]

 

[Audrey2]

15 minutes ago, Cartmann99 said:

 

I know I've said this before, but remember your fellow high school students who really didn't care about being in school and didn't really pay attention in many classes, if any? These are the people who went on to become Republican voters.