[mullingitover]

US voters chose to reduce their taxes by a margin they won't notice in exchange for increasing their energy prices by an amount they will absolutely notice.

The wild thing is that this is an extremely predictable thing that has happened every time this political party is given control of the military. The chutzpah of claiming to be anti-war is breathtaking, and it's stunning that voters fell for it.

[AngryData]

I mean we can't ignore the other side running garbage candidates either. DNC leadership doesn't care as much about their opposition party winning as they care about not losing leadership of their own party. That would mean all the established party politicians would be at risk of losing their job, where as republicans winning means they only lose a handful of positions while bolstering their next campaign season so they can push in more party toadies. Plus they are completely out of touch with the average American which makes their campaign messages and stated policies weak.

[fooqux]

I think politicians across the board are completely out of touch with the average US citizen. Some more than others, but in general they're from old money, Harvard educated, go golfing with CEOs, etc. It's always been this way, right down to the founding fathers.

Which isn't entirely a bad thing. The issues facing the world and the country are so much bigger than they used to be 200 years ago and aren't getting smaller. They require an entire team of educated people to fix. If only they weren't so corrupt. But since power corrupts, I'm not sure that's something that's even fixable at longer timescales.

[mullingitover]

There is one economic class that controls essentially all mass media, and even if their chosen candidates are 'out of touch' they can just blast every channel with propaganda until voters have the slogans burned into their memory.

There was a moment where a single channel, Tiktok, wasn't under their control, and they managed to force congress to force a takeover of that platform as well.

[ryanmcbride]

They didn't fall for it, this is what they want. They don't want low prices, they don't want cheap gas, they want war. They don't care how much they have to pay to get it. They want death and blood.

Engaging with their false narrative doesn't do anything but reinforce it.

[mullingitover]

> They didn't fall for it, this is what they want.

If it's what they wanted it's very odd that the winning candidate's platform swore no new wars. It's also weird that his approval rating is bouncing around at the lowest level ever recorded as he's prosecuting a war that his constituents want.

[ryanmcbride]

everyone on the planet who heard that knew it was a lie, including every person who voted for him. They voted for him because they KNEW he was lying not because they thought he was telling the truth.