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OkRoll3915 t1_j7nycp4 wrote

next stop, the senate. Fuck the GOP.

155

[deleted] t1_j7nyrq7 wrote

It looks like Republicans just didn't bother showing up to these. HD-35, the least Democratic district, was won by Biden by around 16 points. Tonight, the Democrat won by 58. I think this might be a consequence of the educational divide. Educated voters are the most reliable, and they have become a Democratic group.

153

Ihaveaboot t1_j7o5itc wrote

Yay!

I'm GOP registered since 1990 and voted mostly D in the last cycle, incluing Biden.

Thanks for the downvotes, I guess. I'm willing to discuss where and why I diverge from the GOP (and have here before).

But - fuck the GOP is an easy way to get upvotes here with NO comments.

−44

Varolyn t1_j7o623x wrote

This is a pretty big victory. While the GoP controlled state senate will still make it difficult to pass things, the democratic controlled state house will ensure that "sneaky" ballot questions won't make their way on the ballot during off-year primary election cycles.

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ChUNkyTheKitty t1_j7odtj2 wrote

Wtg Allegheny County! Now don’t eff it up democrats!

22

suugakusha t1_j7ogz96 wrote

You know how even you - a registered GOP member - can't stand to vote for R anymore?

That's why "fuck the gop" is popular. Because they have gone from "the conservative party" to "the party of childish assholes", and you know it as well as anyone.

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Nezgul t1_j7oijvr wrote

Socialism is communism, and communism is when the government does stuff. The more stuff the government does, the more communister it is.

>!kidding, just in case that needed to be made clear!<

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Mortico t1_j7oiwkf wrote

They also die of old age pretty reliably. Just wait another 10 years and the boomers will start dying off in large numbers. Everything will get better when the boomers die.

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five_eight t1_j7oiz4h wrote

Look for more suicide pacts as the r/foxbrain 's think 'the wokes' are coming for them.

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gdex86 t1_j7ori7r wrote

Oy. Break out the school house rock.

But with out the fun song and dance with out control of the state Senate it is unlikely any bill decriminalizing pot will get from the legislative floor to the governor's desk.

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artful_todger_502 t1_j7owp6j wrote

Go PA! Very cool ... If Dems can take the time and make the effort to call these ghouls out on every wild conspiracy and austerity-based legislation designed to punish someone — like cutting SS — we might be able to neuter this iteration of Republicanism and get back to the time they are all just lame old white guys doing benign, lame old white guy stuff

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Goommba t1_j7owv2d wrote

Legalize it !! and not just half ass, don’t let work places test for it. It’s better and safer then alcohol

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mrid82 t1_j7p3kib wrote

Great now legalize it already!

5

linkdudesmash t1_j7p3si0 wrote

It’s Trump aftermath. The current Republican Party is so lost thinking they understand the population. They don’t understand the voter base. Source I am a registered republican. Fuck the current GOP.

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insofarincogneato t1_j7p4bc8 wrote

Sure, but it's literally the easiest no brainer you could do which would free up prisons and boost the economy. Why not do something that most people wants real quick? What, you think folks can't have more than one policy occupy their mind at one time?

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SgtBaxter t1_j7p7jq7 wrote

Because you are an intelligent and reasonable person.

I used to be Republican because like a lot of us, that's what people around me were. I came a voting age at the end of Reagan's administration. So I voted for Bush senior.

Fast forward to the next election, I was in college and Bill Clinton came and spoke. I was interested, so I went. He sat there and actually talked to us, he answered questions. I didn't necessarily agree with everything he said, but he made me feel like if he got into office my future would be better. After that, I immediately switch my voter registration to independent, and it's been there ever since.

Forward a few more years, and I remember a few times where I actually left a job and had a better paying one the very next day. Meanwhile, Republicans were wasting my tax money with their bullshit Whitewater investigation that led to us hearing about a bj. Nothing but a bunch of clowns.

I've said it before, I say it now, and it holds true. If all you do is vote for someone based on party affiliation, you are nothing more than a slave.

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V1198 t1_j7p8ju7 wrote

Sarah Huckabee Sanders said it best last night, the choice is between normal and crazy. And that’s why the Republicans keep losing. Because we keep choosing normal over their crazy.

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Heathen_Mushroom t1_j7p8wju wrote

Said every generation ever.

The popularity of this fallacy is timeless. In 50 years the generation of teens and 20-something will be eager for the deaths of the unrepentantly backward, greedy and immoral Gen Z.

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SpicyWokHei t1_j7p9d6x wrote

Millennials and Gen Z are turning out to vote and if you think any of us are in support of the current Republican ideology of more guns, more religion and anything to help out big corporations, then I'll stick a kazoo up my ass and run naked down the Scranton Expressway.

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30686 t1_j7p9xin wrote

Run crappy candidates, take crazy positions, and the result is a come-from-ahead loss.

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MongolianCluster t1_j7pa1pw wrote

Maybe. But I definitely see something in teens today that I didn't see much of in my own teen years - compassion. I'm sure it was there before, but in greater numbers teens seem to care about social issues and something bigger than themselves more than ever before.

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Azr431 t1_j7padd4 wrote

Only no. If you look at surveys or analysis of Boomers compared to every younger generation at relative age periods, Boomers have always been further to the right with narcissistic behaviors that aren’t seen in younger gens.

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linkdudesmash t1_j7pb714 wrote

Very true. I need to change to independent. I wish they would pick some average joe American. They would probably be the best (job title) we ever had. I find myself voting 3rd party a lot because the candidates are normal people.

−5

HeyZuesHChrist t1_j7pc2xp wrote

What option do I have? Let’s be realistic. The Republican Party is gross. Every single one of their social stances are dog shit and hateful. They openly support fascism. They are unvotable. Voting for an independent is throwing away my vote. While Democrats are not perfect they are easily the best option by a country mile. I only have one realistic option. I wish I had more realistic choices but I don’t.

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HeyZuesHChrist t1_j7pchfb wrote

I think this is the reason. Look at the midterms. A red wave that was supposed to be a massacre was not even close to that. It was a fantastic disappointment for the GOP. People are tired of the crazy morons and they have made it clear they’d rather stay home than vote for them. They won’t change anything for 2024 either. And the GOP will stay home.

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Mortico t1_j7pcns5 wrote

Nope. The boomers are a huge generation. They have immense political power, and they use it. They pass laws that are meant to help themselves at the expense of everyone else. When they were young, they voted for laws that help young people, and civil rights. Then they passed laws that help middle aged people starting careers. Then they passed laws that lowered their taxes because they were now rich.

At the expense of everyone else.

Our bridges are falling down around us, there's lead pipes, decades of pollution, and so on. It will take decades to undo the damage the boomers have done to America. All because they wanted lower taxes so they could keep more money for themselves.

My generation, and those that follow will have to pick up the tab for all of that neglect. It will cost 10x as much to fix all this shit than if we had just maintained it.

Don't even get me started on healthcare. Healthcare in this country is geared towards serving the boomers. They had pensions and good insurance when it was cheap, and now they have Medicare. They want to make sure we don't get universal healthcare because it doesn't benefit them at all.

This entire country was ruined by the boomers and I cannot 2ait until they all die. Bunch of selfish, short-sighted assholes who ruined this planet and are laughing all the way to the bank.

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djarvis77 t1_j7pdb4e wrote

That is great and all, though, i hope that the Democrats of PA eventually realize that they have to vote in those "sneaky" ballots during off-year primary election cycles. Cuz the problem is partially the republicans putting the questions there, true...but the real problem is Democrats not showing up to vote in local elections; that is far worse for PA.

Especially with mail in voting, there really is very little reason for most people not to vote.

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cyvaquero t1_j7pe9kc wrote

As a former registered PA Republican who was voting mostly Dem in state and national races by 2008, do not go independent in PA's closed primary system. You lose your voice in who is on the ballot come November.

While I have my issues with Texas politics I do enjoy being an Independent and being able to vote in the primary of the party of my choice for that cycle.

These days I the only Republican that gets my vote in the general is the county tax assessor because the Dem incumbent is from a political dynasty which I'm not a fan of. However, last year I voted in the Republican primary because O'Rourke had the Dem nomination sewn up (as much as I think he is unelectable in statewide elections).

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Excelius t1_j7peww6 wrote

> In 50 years the generation of teens and 20-something will be eager for the deaths of the unrepentantly backward, greedy and immoral Gen Z.

More like millennials probably. Millennials are the second largest generational cohort after boomers, so will have massive electoral heft once the boomers shed their mortal coil.

Gen Z are probably going to be another Gen X type situation, always living in the shadow of their numerically larger predecessors.

Edit: Correction, millennials outnumber boomers as of 2019.

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IrresponsibleScience t1_j7pf31g wrote

The number of angry and ignorant people that feel compelled to put people down in the PA political forums is embarrassing.

2

goplantagarden t1_j7pf4tb wrote

Boomers also handed over vast power to corporations in the name of their almighty god, capitalism; creating the billionaire class that sends dark money to any candidate who supports their investor's portfolios and unchecked growth.

Boomers and corporations quite literally made it legal to poison the environment, kill off habitats, and change the climate. To the point people are dying and they still don't care.

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Excelius t1_j7pfi2q wrote

There were three special elections to fill vacancies in the state house, all for districts within Allegheny County.

One member died before the November election, but too late for them to be replaced on the ballot. One was Austin Davis, who is now Shapiro's Lt. Governor. The last is Summer Lee, who was elected to a seat in the US House.

1

djarvis77 t1_j7pgsx5 wrote

One of the things we are pushing for the new house to pass is a people initiated ballot amendments bill.

https://ballotpedia.org/States_with_initiative_or_referendum

We are hoping to pass, convince the senate to pass and thus allow citizens to collect the signatures and put Constitutional Amendments, Veto Referendum and State Statues onto ballots as questions.

There is very little reason to not give this power to the people of PA.

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Heathen_Mushroom t1_j7pi126 wrote

People forget, or never knew, that the Boomers were considered (and considered themselves) a highly progressive generation. They were the generation that basically started the broad acceptance of the civil rights movement, sexual liberation, women's lib, the anti-war movement, anti-capitalism in the West, and the first to really broadly support environmentalism.

They couldn't wait until the older generation that started two world wars, committed genocides, and dropped nuclear bombs on civilian cities died off.

The famous saying, "Don't trust anyone over 30." was a Boomer invention.

Does any of this sound familiar?The lack of knowledge of social history of just the preceding generation, not to mention past centuries, is either down to a failure of schools or supreme narcissism.

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UnionThug456 t1_j7pj8c0 wrote

That may not be true because it's always been the case in the past that generations have gotten more conservative with age while younger generations were more progressive. That's the biggest reason older people are hated. It's the backwards, conservative "F you, I got mine" politics.

But studies show that millenials are just becoming more progressive with age. If the trend continues, millenials may not be hated for their politics the way that the current older generations are.

2

Tidusx145 t1_j7pjrnr wrote

Careful bud. If you actually live in PA we are a closed primary state (something I disagree with heavily) and as such once you register as independent you are cutting yourself entirely out of the primary process in this state. My in laws are independents and nothing gets my father in law more annoyed than the reminder he can't vote on primary day unless there's a referendum. I worked the primaries last year and had to refuse over a dozen independents from voting because there was nothing for them to vote for.

Not saying you shouldn't change registration, do you. Just be aware that it's more than a self identity thing here, it comes with consequences.

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Tidusx145 t1_j7pjz3o wrote

Yup my in laws are independents and have to stay home on primary day (unless there is a special vote like a referendum, but there wasn't one last year so expect to not be able to vote some primaries).

3

Mortico t1_j7pk0s0 wrote

I study history, economics, geography, geopolitics a dn so on as a hobby. For decades.

They did start these movements, yes. I said as much when I said they voted for civil rights and freedoms for young people. WHEN THEY WERE YOUNG PEOPLE.

They voted for whatever suited their demographic the best. Most generations do that, but because they are a huge portion of the electorate, they always go their way.

They are the same people who run universities like businesses, charge too much for shit education, and then vote against student loan forgiveness.

They own the universities now, that's why. They don't care about young people now, they only cared about young people when they were young.

I had my college tuition paid for by rich boomers. But I still empathize with students today, because they get such a shit deal. I was fortunate, but the boomers don't see things that way. They feel they earned everything they stole through hard work and determination. But they are totally blind to the fact that they've been rigging the system in their favor for decades, and that they happen to come of age during one of the most productive and prosperous times in American history. Sure they contributed to that, but college was cheap, houses were cheap, jobs were plentiful, they paid well, people had job security and pensions and unions.

Then they voted to TAKE ALL OF THAT AWAY from everyone else the second they sat in the manager's chair. Pensions have been looted, college is a scam, houses are criminally overpriced, wages haven't changed in 30 years. How old were boomers 30 years ago? They were 40 years old. They froze wages and gave themselves raises and lower taxes the second they didn't need them for themselves anymore.

Boomers own 65% of the square footage of this country's housing. Millennials own 4%.

The only saving grace is that housing prices will crash when no one can afford to buy all these boomer mansions. But it will destroy the entire world economy. The boomers won't care, because they will be dead. The rest of us have to clean up the mess they made.

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Tidusx145 t1_j7pk6s0 wrote

That's why I'm always impressed with folks who admit they were in a cult. It's easier to just pretend it didn't happen and that you weren't conned into giving your time and identity to another person. But those who admit at least have a chance to grow and not repeat the same mistakes. Not so sure about those who try to forget.

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baldude69 t1_j7pk7vh wrote

Fetterman feels pretty close to “average Joe”

I know his parents were middle class and helped support him, but he is definitely not an elite and relates to normal peoples issues way more than most politicians. I wish to see more politicians like him run for office

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KFCConspiracy t1_j7pl0ut wrote

The other thing I'll point out about the sneaky primary ballot questions... Independent turnout during primaries is very low, and most independents I've talked to about ballot questions have no fucking clue they can even vote for anything during a primary.

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baldude69 t1_j7ploxm wrote

Perhaps. I am a believer in generational progressivism, and millennials grew up in a time where many progressive ideas were in mainstream education - gay rights, racial equality, recycling/environmental activism

Of course most of these things were ideas that boomers propagated in the cultural Revolution of the 60s/70s, but I believe the Reagan years supported largely by the “Golden Generation” fucked this country up pretty good

I also recognize that millennials will become slightly more conservative as they age, but we have also been witness to multiple recessions, 9/11, MAGA, growing wealth inequality, striking of Roe V. Wade, and a tough job market. I don’t think that we will slide as far to the right as Boomers. The thing I worry about most is the erosion of education and the long term implications that has for Gen Z and Alpha. I do believe in them to demand better, and believe Millenials will not go the same route as Boomers to obstruct them.

−2

nouveau_user t1_j7pls61 wrote

but isn't it true?

with the 'greatest generation' the jim crow era died

with the 'silent generation' mcarthyism died

with the 'baby boomers' this rebirth of racism will fade

I'm hoping with GenX religion will die

3

baldude69 t1_j7pmfmr wrote

Yes but you also live in Erie according to your flair.. big cities are growing, fueled by young adults flocking to them, and these metros and their surrounding suburbs are where progressive thought is causing all these state election upsets.

There will always be conservative young adults thanks to their conservative parents, but most of them are located in rural or rural-adjacent areas, so I wouldn’t trust this anecdotal sample as a solid indicator, for the same reason I wouldn’t trust West Philadelphia as a sample for what the rest of the state is like

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Sybertron t1_j7pmqq0 wrote

Good maybe some stuff can actually happen.

How about free healthcare for all Pennsylvanians at facilities that don't pay taxes? (Looking at you UPMC)

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baldude69 t1_j7pnxfj wrote

For sure they pioneered much of this thought, but they grew up in fat times, and when things got tough(er) they turned to Reagan, who granted was largely buoyed by their parents generation. Their turn to conservatism is nothing short of astounding and honestly seems very self-serving.

I do credit them with bringing ideas like gay rights, racial equality, environmental stewardship, and much more into mainstream thought and education, and doing some amazing things along the way, but the shift to the right blows me away, even among some of my childhood friends parents.

I’m not going to say Millenials grew up in the toughest of times, but we have witnessed a large erosion of the middle class in our own lifetimes, seen the hypocrisy of the billionaire class and their purchased politicians, and the complacency (at best) of the boomer generation, seen good jobs become more and more out of reach, healthcare worsen, pensions disappear, and more. So I don’t think we will go the same route as boomers, and I do think we are to and demand change, because right now we have a broken system that is propping up the oldest generation and not doing much for anyone else. The boomers and golden generation have obstructed this change at every opportunity, but their time is nigh, and change will come

1

Finrodsrod t1_j7ppuas wrote

Jimmy Carter was an average Joe. Great guy, inept when it came to knowing how to navigate the Washington scum. I want more like Clinton and Obama in office.

It's such a shame that Hilary Clinton lost 2016. This country would have been so much better off economically and perhaps COvid would have not been as bad globally with a competent US lead.

2

Heathen_Mushroom t1_j7ppu9u wrote

This is basically my point. Ethics and morals tend to change incrementally. The idea that one generation holds the key to a moral evolution that will usher in an epoch of utopian social harmony is just painfully naive, and rolls around every 20-30 years or so. I have seen it twice in my lifetime already.

My parents thought their grandparents' generation's passing would solve the world's problems.

I thought the passing of my grandparents' generation would solve the world's problems.

Now Gen Z thinks the passing of my parents' generation will solve the world's problems.

Gen Z's children will think my generation's passing will solve the world's problems.

Gen Z's grandchildren will think Gen Z's passing will solve the world's problems.

And each of these generations think they are the pinnacle of moral enlightenment rather than a step on the ladder.

2

PGHNeil t1_j7psmcc wrote

No, that just means you have to abide by others' bad choices from the primary because you had to stay home in May. I hate to say it, but in the primaries it's best to vote for the weakest candidate so that you can vote for the lesser of two evils in the general election.

2

Finrodsrod t1_j7psn5e wrote

She's a crazy enabler. Fuck her, she ran interference for the king of the crazies. The reason the Republican crazies even have a shot at elections is because of fucks like Sarah Huckabee Sanders placating and trying to tap an unhinged voter base.

3

Heathen_Mushroom t1_j7psz2m wrote

Like I said, history repeats itself.

If you don't think that Gen Z are navel gazers, allow me to present TikTok, r/imthemaincharacter, and look-at-me-ism.

I think Gen Z is comprised of a majority of good people, but there is a mega strain of narcissistic, self-righteous, attention whoring, and it is all laid out on social media.

4

mcs0301 t1_j7pt1xm wrote

I sincerely hope one of Trump's historical legacies is that his radicalization of the GOP caused Pennsylvania to turn bluer every election since 2016. He has single handedly set the GOP in non MAGA states back 10 years, or more. Guess he at least made Pennsylvania great again.

9

69FunnyNumberGuy420 t1_j7pwoxg wrote

Boomers are the only generation I can think of in human history who actively and deliberately made things worse for their own children so they could prolong their own hedonism a little longer.
&nbsp;
They are a historically terrible generation.

−1

wagsman t1_j7q6oz6 wrote

Yeah, I honestly can't remember the last policy the party has tried to make a reality besides the 2017 tax cuts. Republicans have to stop fighting culture wars and start winning the war of ideas if they want to win back voters. The average voter wants solutions not complaints.

5

ho_merjpimpson t1_j7q8i7s wrote

note the irony in suggesting one is stating something for upvotes and then proceeding to make a point to say you voted mostly D in the last cycle. as if that was done for any reason other than to buffer you from downvotes.

1

martinojen t1_j7q8lv9 wrote

How do the volunteers choose who to call? I vote in every election big and small and get HOUNDED by the calls/texts asking me to vote…. Can’t they check my voting record and spend time on people who don’t vote, but might with reminders? It’s exhausting.

6

djarvis77 t1_j7qbyde wrote

We (polling or election workers...the state folks) are not sending out texts to vote. That is pacs, parties and special interests that get voter roles and buy data.

I get hounded too. It's fucking ridiculous, i agree.

Generally though, at least with the specific party/special interests, they make sure the "text STOP to end messages" works. The people i have talked to about it point out that hounding people can lead to them deciding to vote against whoever is hounding them on principle or as a type of revenge.

Which makes sense. I don't buy shit when the advertisers annoy me.

10

YESHUAsChild_354 t1_j7qd6dj wrote

Democrats are the worst… how do they still win anything? 🤔 50 yrs of failure

−18

ravenx92 t1_j7qkmpn wrote

LFG get these crazies out of our state!! go get em dems

3

Atrocious_1 t1_j7qlwu2 wrote

Or even their own parents.

It's really even more important that boomers are removed from any sort of decision making, political and corporate, than it is them being unable to vote. They've been incompetently running things for the past 30 years and it needs to stop.

3

Redlar t1_j7qxezj wrote

>The only saving grace is that housing prices will crash when no one can afford to buy all these boomer mansions

As much as I would love for this to happen you may be forgetting that houses are being bought by investment firms as part of investment portfolios that are then rented out or bought by companies solely to use as airbnbs

Boomer money isn't going to the younger generations, it's going to be vacuumed up by nursing homes, expensive healthcare, and reverse mortgages.

Corporations not people will be seeing the money, we will be left with the scraps that they so generously bestow upon us

1

raven4747 t1_j7rwpt3 wrote

politics is complicated enough that you probably want someone in that seat who knows the landscape. associating politicians with corruption but not CEOs and businessmen is hilarious.

1

Yourlordensavior t1_j7rxqe9 wrote

Pennsylvania falls further into fascism. It’s sad to watch what’s happening.

−5

Yourlordensavior t1_j7ry1z7 wrote

Yup. One side wants everyone to be treated equal and on merit/qualifications and the other side wants to pretend boys can be girls and let perverted men to use the women’s bathroom with their daughters. The choice is pretty obvious to me.

0

Marv95 t1_j7s9w2o wrote

You can sit out the election.

Voting for an independent isn't throwing away your vote if you know you did the right thing, and if they align with your policies more than the other 2 parties.

1

Marv95 t1_j7sat6t wrote

Conservatives are leaving the state for down south or nearby Ohio/WV. It was bound to happen. Unless there's a major scandal, an economic crash rivaling or exceeding 2008 occurs, or if Kamala vs a non-MAGA, I expect PA to remain blue for 2024.

1

SpicyWokHei t1_j7smiak wrote

Voting for an Independent is not throwing away a vote. It shows people are voting for them and continues to build momentum over time. It's only a wasted vote if you dont bother voting causing a self fulfilling prophecy.

"I'm going to fail the exam, so why study?" fails exam because didn't study

1

Ihaveaboot t1_j7spg02 wrote

I'm happy to see the it play out the way it did. Kind of proves my point on the state of this sub, and reddit in general.

I noticed a bunch of my comments in unrelated subs took big downvotes out of the blue as well.

Yay.

1

Pantera1O1 t1_j84rn3b wrote

still won't get anything done for the middle class, they'll just look out for their donors.

0

Jaunty-Dirge t1_j9dsra9 wrote

...and? I've lived here most of my life.

The Democrats haven't indicated that they want to better my life beyond their chosen talking points any more than the GOP does.

1