nobody is draining my pockets but the insurance companies - all of them. This has been going in for years, not Trumps fault. i dont live paycheck to paycheck like a peasant
what does liberals have to donwith this thread? Weird. i criticize a republican and you lose your mind. Obsessed
bro you've been open about your struggles in a rare authentic post. You do you, we can all see it though
You admitted your insurance premiums went up after Trump failed to extend the subsidies. You continue to suck his dick cuz you get told what to think from MAGA grifters on X.
MAGA SG cannot handle this level of lunatic from Massie: "I like to say that I vote 91% of the time with Republicans, but when they're covering up for pedophiles or bankrupting the country or starting another war, you can count me out," - Massie
+ Super PAC tied to Trump spent at least $7M to boot Massie Billionaires and super wealthy special interests continue to buy congressional seats, thanks to the Roberts Court's anti-democratic decision years ago.
Don't forget to mention that Trump pardoned white collar criminals in exchange for super pac donations. How in the hell can anyone pretend we have a Democracy anymore? Pardoning felons in exchange for campaign donations which is used to target politicians who expose pedophiles.
Democracy is strained, but it's not lost. The authoritarians would love nothing more than for you to give up and stay home. But as we just saw in Hungary, a country far worse off than the US today, votes still matter. Hungarians just ousted a 16-year authoritarian gov in a landslide.
This isn't really directed at you just an interesting article I read a month or so ago. How Viktor Orbán’s Hungary Eroded the Rule of Law and Free Markets Many on the right see Viktor Orbán’s Hungary as a model. In fact, it is a cautionary tale of unrestrained executive power and crony capitalism. Some US conservatives see Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s Hungary as a model for America’s future. In reality, Orbán’s crude majoritarianism has undermined the rule of law and media freedom in Hungary to take control of the economy and funnel resources to loyal oligarchs. The dismantling of institutional constraints on state power has gone further than in other modern democracies, and the results have consistently disappointed, even in areas where the government claims achievements such as strengthening the economy or increasing fertility rates. Far from being a model, Orbán’s Hungary is a cautionary tale of what results from an unrestrained executive with strongly centralized power, crony capitalism, and the systematic dismantling of the rule of law. Introduction Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has been called “one of the great moral leaders in this world” by Donald Trump’s former chief strategist Steve Bannon.3 Praising Orbán from Hungary in 2022, political commentator Tucker Carlson declared: “If you care about Western civilization … you should know what is happening here right now.”4 Meanwhile, the postliberal theorist Patrick Deneen thinks that Hungary offers “a model”—one in which “the state and the political order can be oriented to the positive promotion of conservative policies.”5 Like many other national conservatives, these figures portray Orbán’s Hungary as a bastion of conservative values in Europe. They often describe it as a country where a self-confident, right-wing government has defeated the woke left, repeatedly been reelected by huge majorities, and changed institutions to promote conservative ideals. Part of Orbán’s appeal stems from a genuine and arguably reasonable sentiment shared by many Hungarians and others in Central and Eastern Europe: The European Union can be a heavy-handed, distant bureaucracy that constantly imposes rules and values from above. Orbán’s defiance of what some see as EU overreach or bullying feeds into his image as a defender of national sovereignty. However, Orbán’s main grievance with the EU is that Brussels stands in the way of his ability to enforce his personal preferences on the Hungarian population, funnel rewards to cronies, and dismantle media freedom and judicial independence. The system that Orbán and his government has built is the very opposite of the American tradition of limited government, rule of law, and free markets. Transitioning from communism to democracy has famously been compared to turning fish soup back into an aquarium. Remarkably, most of the former Eastern Bloc countries have pulled it off. Hungary stands out as the country that, after having finally restored a functioning aquarium, chose to turn it back into fish soup. When Orbán Was a Liberal Viktor Orbán was once very different. He represented hope for the future of Europe. As communism was falling apart in Central and Eastern Europe in the late 1980s, an exciting new anti-communist youth movement was launched in Hungary. This was the Alliance of Young Democrats (Fiatal Demokraták Szövetsége, or Fidesz), founded in the great hall of Bibó College on March 30, 1988, by Viktor Orbán and 36 other students. At the time, Fidesz members were classical liberals, advocating an open society characterized by the rule of law and free markets, and they attacked both the left’s socialism and the right’s nationalism and xenophobia. They often criticized the alliance between government and church. Fidesz welcomed outside forces that helped break down insular power structures inherited from communism, including foreign businesses and philanthropists such as the Hungarian-born billionaire George Soros, who supported students, including Orbán, with language courses and study-abroad programs. Knowing that this irritated local elites, an official Fidesz statement in 1992 defended Soros against “malicious attacks,” saying that he “actively contributed to the creation of a freer and more open intellectual atmosphere through his support of the younger generation and university colleagues.”6 Whatever came later, it is worth recalling that in those years, Orbán and Fidesz genuinely helped open up Hungary. Far from today’s illiberal project, they challenged one-party rule and played a courageous role in building the very democratic institutions that would later come under assault. Rarely has a leopard changed its spots so quickly. Initially, Fidesz failed to make the electoral breakthroughs it had expected. In April 1995, Orbán, who had risen to party president, concluded that “in the center we have, if we stand alone, no chance against either left or right.”7 It was obvious where he intended to go, as the right was largely vacant after those parties had a troubling spell in power and the socialists and a center-left party formed a coalition government. Fidesz moved in a nationalist, conservative direction, and many of the classical liberals left the party. Whether or not it reflects political ambition or actual conversion, Orbán has always been quick to move to where it is politically convenient for him to be. The previously atheist Fidesz leader soon observed, “I was not aware that the Church is so important.… I cannot talk to the people about politics if I don’t understand that!”8 Orbán had a church wedding 10 years after his civil marriage, started using religious rhetoric, and fostered the kind of close alliance with the churches that the party had previously criticized. Once a party of free marketeers, Fidesz began to rally against austerity measures, hospital fees, and privatization. Later, when a far-right party rose quickly in the polls, Orbán added an aggressive anti-immigration message, talking about how Hungarians “do not want to become peoples of mixed-race.”9 Orbán’s political acumen paid off. After 1998, he led a coalition government of three right-wing parties, but he did not have the power to transform the country. Then followed two terms in opposition, after which a left-liberal coalition crumbled under the weight of the global financial crisis, austerity policies, and a leaked scandalous speech in which the then–prime minister admitted to having lied to the public about the economic situation, opening the door to Fidesz’s sweeping return to power. Riding this wave of discontent in the 2010 elections, Fidesz received 53 percent of the vote. Since the party was particularly strong in single-member districts, it ended up with an extraordinary 68 percent of the seats in parliament and a constitutional majority, enough to change the rules of the game. As Orbán had said during his time in opposition: “We have only to win once, but then properly.”10 Rest: https://www.cato.org/policy-analysis/how-viktor-orbans-hungary-eroded-rule-law-free-markets
I don't believe Americans are too stupid or gullible to let money influence elections. I didn't agree with the Citizens United decision but I also didn't believe Trump's first victory was because of Russia and I think Democrats not talking responsibility for pushing Mrs Clinton caused damage to their brand. Trump winning an election after Jan 6th says a lot about America's values. People's opinions about politics are formed over time starting with what they hear at the dinner table growing up. A member recently posted about the right wing tweets AI started funneling to them after googling some alt right nonsense. Money in advertising reinforces beliefs, it doesn't change minds. Most Americans, definitely over 90% vote the same way their whole lives. Money gets candidates to the forefront of their party, it's gets them on the ballot. The final decision of who wins office is based on the mood of the very few truly undecideds
Massie? I don't really have an opinion on Massie, other than I agree with him that I do not like the level of influence that AIPAC and other PAC's have in politics. While the media is making a big deal about Massie (on the left and the right), guys like him lose all the time because of money injected into the election. At the end of the day, the voters decided Massie wasn't their guy.... and it also shows the level of pull that Donald Trump and AIPAC have in politics.
Congress is littered with too many people like this. Structurally, our country has become disconnected with reality. I often hear from people who's perspective I respect start babbling on about founding fathers and the constitution and blah blah blah. Even in recent years I have been guilty of this. The reality is the people who want the 18th century government mindset also want all the fringe benefits of being the global super power. Grounded in reality, these expectations contradict each other. We can't be the global super power, appreciate all the cheap goods and services, while also maintaining a small central government. When we load up the government with these idealist across the spectrum, specifically congress, we end up with gridlock. I used to be pro-gridlock. Now its an effective tool for bad actors to get their way. Why does we have such a shitty healthcare system given the amount of money that flows through the medical cartel? The answer is obvious. Will we ever get back to a more reasonable government? Im starting to think we never will and it will be those with access to massive amounts of wealth who will dictate policy. All we can hope for is the wealth builders, regardless of political faction, build. And we push out the grifters who offer little to society.
Having the balls to stand up for your beliefs isn't what Trump wants. He needs neutered lapdogs in place, who will lick his balls if he says to.
While every other Republican bends two...don't have much faith in the future of this country. @JuanValdez might be on to something by trying to just get out of Dodge if it comes to that. Is fighting for democracy worth the toll it may take on my family, kids especially? I don't mind the wear and tear on these old tires but I strive everyday to make sure they have a better future just like parents before me. We all will have to make major decisions coming soon...
I have joked many a time to my sister that if this sheet keeps up, I may retire down in Mexico or Croatia, I have about 6-7 years left but I really had no intention to retiring 100% but I would now, I love this country and am proud to be an American but this sheet is going downhill faster than even I expected. The oligarchs who are buying up the media and bending the knee to tramp is the scariest thing, misinformation is so high, you get some of these a$$ kissers like Musk, Bezos, Cook, facebook nerd, Ellison`s and they can change the "perception" of these low IQ people I am holding out hope but dam this admin is so corrupt and there not hiding it at ALL.............paying the J6`ers is probably the biggest FU I have ever seen, hell even the GOP folks left early in protest of this BS but they have no one to blame but themselves, you cant have it both ways and this will make tramp think he can do anything and no one will stop him tramp will go down as the most CORRUPT Prez in history...................and for the sheep who say, but what about Hunter? If they had one ioda of evidence against him they would unload on him, but instead they have rock solid cases against the likes of people like Comey, who snapped a pic of seashells LOL..........I cant wait to see how the lawyer tries to explain this to a judge
