And has this been a major contributor in widening the chasm between the two major political parties? My apologies if it seems like I spent too long in the shower this morning. I am an expatriate of 13 years and I often felt like my tax dollars were being thrown into a massive pool from which I seemed to gain little benefit.

I’ve always voted for the Libertarian Party candidate since I’ve been old enough to vote- save for Ron Paul.

I really had a lot of respect for him- yet after his two losses I returned to voting straight Libertarian Party.

This year is no different, I really have no interest in voting for either Donald Trump nor Kamala Harris.

In addition, the fear-monger that goes on between the two major parties has an effect on me in which further drives me to not wanting to cast a ballot for either outcome both parties warns will happen if the other is elected: they both end up canceling eachother out for me.

The Democratic and Republican parties effectively talk me out of voting for the other, and the fact that I’m a Libertarian positions me to already see that the two parties have successfully led the country into a place that I wish it wasn’t in.

That being said, if either party were to pick up Libertarians for their administration I would most likely vote for that candidate.

I came to this realization when I saw an article suggesting that Ron Paul might get picked up for Trump’s team, I’ve had to sit and really consider if I’d vote for Trump if Ron Paul was in his administration.

The way I thought about this was to consider if I’d vote for Kamala Harris if she were to pick up Ron Paul, and I realized I absolutely would

Do you think Howard Dean ever gets upset about stuff like this?

Maybe we shouldn’t force everyone to agree with us.

Maybe we aren’t right.

Maybe there is a compromise of ideas we could all strive to achieve

Maybe your neighbor isn’t the devil because he doesn’t agree

Why can’t we be better at disagreeing and moving forward despite that disagreement

We can do better. The only thing stopping us is us.

We are good people. Stop treating us as the enemy.

Stop letting politicians treating us as the enemy

All we have is each other. It’s not complicated.

https://youtu.be/95EyVVEBid0?feature=shared

One of the points I found interesting was that undocumented workers pay 12 billion in taxes for programs they don’t even take advantage of.

What do you guys think? The video is 3 minutes long. Check it out.

https://www.instagram.com/profgalloway/reel/DBXJxF0PtGh/

I'm tired of having to be on the side that has to be respectful. I'm tired of being on the side that is supposed to take the "high road" while Trump supporters continue to get away with the most atrocious shit in the world.

Sorry, I'm done. If you find what I say on this forum from here on out distasteful that's on you.

Trump is a fascist, a convicted felon, a serial liar, a narcissist, and mentally unstable. You couldn't pick a worse candidate for the presidency and his supporters are insane.

If you support Trump I don't respect you. You don't deserve my respect. If you are undecided then honestly, same thing. You're undecided either out of ignorance or because you're secretly voting for Trump anyways.

I'm done. Call me out for being a hypocrite. I literally do not care. Feel free to act like it's because of me that Democrats won't win if you want to.

In the event of a Trump victory, I was planning on supplying the rope this country wants to hang itself with anyways.

These double standards are ridiculous and I'm tired of it.

Edit: I see I'm attracting the trolls with this post lol.

Edit 2: Holy shit, never thought I'd see the day where negative karma accounts spouting MAGA talking points are getting upvoted in this sub. I really poked the alt-right hornets nest with this post...

In the October 31, 2024, episode of "The Joe Rogan Experience," Republican vice-presidential nominee JD Vance engaged in a wide-ranging discussion with host Joe Rogan. The conversation covered several key topics:

Critique of Vice President Kamala Harris: Vance humorously likened Harris's speaking style to "word salads," comparing her to the "Michael Jordan" of this manner of speech. He suggested that her communication often lacks clear meaning, a sentiment Rogan echoed.

Free Speech and Censorship: Vance emphasized the importance of free speech, accusing Harris and the Democratic Party of censoring dissenting voices. He criticized what he perceives as efforts to suppress opposing viewpoints.

Transgender Issues: The discussion also touched on transgender rights, with Vance expressing concerns about policies related to transgender individuals, particularly in sports and education. He suggested that some parents might encourage their children to transition for advantages in college admissions, a claim that lacks supporting evidence and has been widely criticized.

Media Bias and Political Allegations: Vance addressed allegations against second gentleman Doug Emhoff and discussed perceived media bias in covering political issues. He also commented on Hunter Biden's controversies and speculated on Mark Zuckerberg's political inclinations.

The interview highlighted Vance's perspectives on current political and social issues, reflecting his positions as the Republican vice-presidential candidate.

Summary of statements that were false or misleading:

1. Transgender Youth and College Admissions: Vance claimed that white liberal parents encourage their children to transition genders to gain an advantage in Ivy League admissions. There is no evidence supporting this assertion, and it has been widely criticized as unfounded.

2. Transgender Athletes and Safety: He suggested that allowing transgender women to compete in women's sports endangers cisgender female athletes, implying a significant risk of injury. This claim has been debunked, with studies showing no substantial evidence that transgender athletes pose a safety threat to others.

3. Pharmaceutical Companies and Transgender Youth: Vance alleged that pharmaceutical companies are exploiting transgender children for profit by promoting gender-affirming treatments. This conspiracy theory lacks credible evidence and has been refuted by medical professionals.

The more I read about polling and the election, from both sides the rhetoric is always about "my candidate is going to win, can't wait to see the other side cry about it for the next four years". It's really struck me how this is sounding more and more like a sport, a game. You'd hear that from fans in a stadium.

There's some nuance here as we've become more divided as a nation, but why would you possibly want 75+ million people to be miserable for 4 years? The majority of the nation is in the same boat. We're all trying to make our way, make a life, be happy. There are outliers and extremists, of course, but most people are closer aligned than the media would want you to believe. My hope is that less divisiveness in the future brings for more sane candidates so neither side is voting through fear.

For context: I am a democrat in very blue NYC. Recently went to lunch with a friend I grew up with who is very staunchly republican. I realized she is as fearful of Trump losing as I am of him winning. She truly feels like if Harris wins, there will be irreparable harm done to democracy. I feel the same about Trump.

All this to say, the media is great at stoking fear and rage and campaigns run on it. Is there a world in which we get back to running on excitement for the future, working together as a nation and across the aisle? Do we think in 4 years when Trump is out of the picture, a new slate of candidates will bring for different campaigning strategies?

We live in a bubble in Reddit.

This won’t move a likely voter either way but it takes Kamala and Trump out of news cycle.

The more people see Trump and Kamala side by side, the more her numbers go up and low propensity voters will be more to come out

The reality is old people mistakes get more clicks than Presidential threats.

Trump almost slipping getting on truck got more attention than anything else besides Puerto Rico comedian comment until Biden gaffe.

Finally if he just apologized then they can even use it as campaign fodder saying that Biden is willing to apologize while Trump is not going to accept responsibility

Instead he altered the transcript to guarantee it stays in media through the weekend.

Bottom line, saving democracy takes precedent over hurting a man’s feelings. Even if Biden is responsible for saving us from recession

You guys are right that media should focus on other stuff but this is why Kamala is careful.

I say this because whenever I pose the question to people: "how would Trump fundamentally and permanently change our government?" I mostly get fanfiction responses. I hear things like "Trump would install sympathetic bad actors to ensure we never have another fair election."

Okay, but how? The Supreme Court really sucks right now, but they aren't SO corrupt that they would change the law in such a dramatic way as to restructure our entire process. And the house/senate may turn red, but the majority of them are just superficial Trump supporters who would gladly dump him whenever the public found it permissable. I think people often forget that the vast majority of Trump's surrounding GOP members only support him out of fear. I mean...Vance himself is so obviously just in it for the grift. He's a smart guy who understands the game he's playing.

My point is, I just don't understand how the machinations would work. Some of this stuff was tried during 1876. People were killed in the streets. Ballot boxes were stuffed. One state had 101% of the voters vote (lol). Massive voter fraud. But we obviously survived. My point is: this stuff has been attempted before. Walls were tested. Barriers were pressured. And we are fine. So what is going to go differently this time around if Trump is elected?

EDIT: Supreme court refused to take RFK off the ballots today. And people are in here trying to tell me Supreme Court is corrupt for Trump. Come on, guys.

At this point I think we all have to know much of the Trump campaign is straight up Russian/Iranian/Chinese PsyOps; an open attack on our country & freedoms by foreign govs.

Weapons-grade disinformation intentionally targeted to cause confusion, sew division & false narratives that help him get votes & support their positions on the world stage.

I mean... look who stands to benefit most from some of his rhetoric:
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/29/technology/election-interference-russia-china-iran.html

https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2024/10/23/as-the-u-s-election-nears-russia-iran-and-china-step-up-influence-efforts/