Why stop there? Why did voters vote the way they did?

In a democracy where everyone has the right to vote, I think the “downside” that must be accepted is there will exist a spectrum of voters. Voters who only listen to sound bites, voters who mindlessly vote tribally, to voters who research, voters who understand second and third order effects. We also can’t assume we have total information of how the elected official will act throughout their term.

Even something as simple as, attractiveness mattering more in presidential candidates since the advent of television in homes.

At the same time, we had a system whose establishment largely looked down on middle class Americans who didn't go to college. Early to mid 2000’s through the great recession saw the middle class tighten, with no real improvement to healthcare or affordability (attempts were made but ultimately medical costs are still rising). Many middle class people rely on things like cheap gas, child care, and affordable heating among others.

Then you have a system whose leaders actively works to increase gas prices (regardless of EV incentives, you’re asking individuals to purchase new cars when a difference of 1 dollar in gas goes a long way), some states subsidizing green energy programs by additional taxes on oil and natural gas heating costs (just switch to heat pumps and take on a 0 interest loan for 10 years), and rising childcare costs partly due to regulations in childcare businesses.

Then you have someone who claims to be an outsider (he wasn’t), who clowns on the existing elites in debates, and makes vast promises. The other party doesn’t say anything about positive change they’ll bring, just that they aren’t Him. Why not try something different than the status quo over the last 2 decades?

With gas prices up, the Epstein scandal still unresolved, and another ME war, i think if many of middle America were told these would be the outcomes they would not have voted him in again.

We should have more empathy for our fellow Americans, and try to understand each other instead of assuming they want the worst for your side.

> Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate. Such ingratitude.

- Elon Musk, June 5 2025 (https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1930667528696828120)

Voters obviously bear ultimate responsibility, but there's a lot more going on than just "voters are responsible." If that were true, corporations and wealthy individuals would have no interest in injecting money into politics, but alas... they do.

You can use your own proprietary information (for example knowledge about a coffee blight) to trade, but you can't use information stolen, misapropriated and specifically "non public government information" - The Eddie Murphy rule:

https://www.akingump.com/en/insights/alerts/the-eddie-murphy...

The bar for insider trading is higher but it’s not missing. Governmental employees for instance have explicit laws about their behavior as insider trading in commodities.

Ossoff does not really seem like a centrist on this point. He's pretty vicious about the whole Trump criminal organization.

Techno-feudalism has many practical applications that benefit techno-royals.

>>See the raid on Ilhan Omar, for example.

I don't think congresspeople should be above the law. If she committed immigration fraud she should be convicted and deported.

Articles like this make a pretty good case against "only slightly less corrupt than this", the difference in scale really is extreme: https://reason.com/2026/07/09/the-most-corrupt-presidency-in...

I never saw anything remotely close to the Trump 2 level of corruption in any previous administration, Democrat or Republican.

It really is mind boggling to watch a months long committee investigation of Jan 6th and then Merrick Garland just nopes out.

>> only slightly less corrupt than this

The values do not bare comparison. Lookup the whitewater controversy (Clintons, 1990s). The loans in that fiasco were in the low hundreds of thousands of dollars. Trump just earned over 2,400,000,000$ in one year as president. One man. One year. And only the money he felt the need to report. There is simply no meaningful comparison to any previous corruption scandals. Nothing touches the numbers 10-digit gain numbers spiraling around the current administration.

I am not sure the old pardon system will function here. The second half of that system involved the pardoned people slipping into a quiet retirement. The Trumps are not going to go quietly.

> Most of them are only slightly less corrupt than this, and definitely not enough to actively punish corruption.

This feels like one of those "and that's why I blame the Democrats for everything Trump does, so I guess I have to vote for Trump's enablers" bit of horseshit, fwiw.

Both parties are completely in the pocket of special interests (billionaires, Israel, among others), however on the corruption file the GOP has an absolute monopoly. The corruption in the modern Republican party is simply off the charts. And this presidency has turned the corruption to the max, in the open. Every criminal knows that if you think you're going to get caught, the first thing to do is profess your love of Trump and declare yourself a Republican, and in a moment your crimes will be exonerated and it will all be called "lawfare".

> Most times they just say "let's move on" and grant a pardon.

The Democrats have constantly tried to be the "high road" party. The law and order, let the process run out party. The "let's make bridges and not walls" party. The Republicans have completely taken advantage of it. If they take power -- which I think there is going to be a "Surprise" by this criminal fascist -- they need to go absolutely scorched Earth. And screw slow walking with some Merrick Garland type of snail, speed-run sending every Trump and enabler to jail. Hegseth needs to spend his remaining days rotting in a dungeon.

I mean, Trump still sincerely calls Democrats "divisive". From the guy who gets his chuckling audience of halfwits to cheer on blowing up American cities, and who constantly attacks and disparages "blue states" and their residents.

I cannot for the life of me understand how Americans in the better states aren't talking about secession. You simply must send some of the ignorant, garbage states packing.

And seriously, the "both parties are the same" trope is so transparent now. It's a coping mechanism that terrible people use to try to justify why they're how they are.

> Most of them are only slightly less corrupt than this

not slightly. Just less openly.

And given how there's no punishment for the current regime, they might start thinking they could also get away.

Americans need to take a page out of france. Look at how they protest!

It's only a valid argument to this invalid Supreme Court filled with bribed judges, rapists, and racists.

It is an argument that is baldly non-nonsensical, but the Justice Department is not going to complain.

It'a not abt whether it keeps running. It's whether its citizens are able to maintain their rights.

I think it’s sarcasm. In other counties such corruption would trigger revolution, and the political system would grind to a halt

Just don't look at how the bottom half is doing!

>What would be your definition of not running?

inflation combined with little to no wage increase leading to total economic stall outside of the scope of any safety mechanisms, which precipitates an extreme cliff-face degradation of everyday life and commerce for citizens at every level.

or, another way : conditions that would lead to public rebellion en masse, which further stalls things past the economic strife.

the type of thing 1780s France saw.

It’s way worse, the accumulated covid deaths in the US was above 1.1M in 2023

And weaken the brass, Russia style, until the military is just the personal Army of the King.

Russia also "keeps running". The floor is a long way down, doesn't mean it's a good idea to go in that direction.