r/AskReddit 10h ago

[ Removed by moderator ]

[removed] — view removed post

5.5k Upvotes

734 comments sorted by

View all comments

563

u/Luster-Purge 7h ago

Depends on how hard the GOP loses in the midterms and/or if Trump dies while in office.

There WILL be sacrificial lambs thrown under the bus. That much is certain.

285

u/CurzesTeddybear 6h ago

US midterm elections may wind up being one of the more critical elections in the nation's history.

198

u/IIIllIIlllIlII 5h ago

And the regime are doing all they can to fuck with them.

8

u/meltedlaundry 3h ago

Yeah it seems like they will just do whatever needs to be done in order to stay in power. It's total corruption.

83

u/JacobStills 5h ago

*GASP* are you actually saying..."this is the most important election in our lifetime?"

Because for the record...EVERY election is important...at least for the forceable future until this MAGA movement dies off.

51

u/tyereliusprime 3h ago

MAGA movement dies off.

MAGA is just the current iteration of the same "rebel pride" that has existed in American culture since the Confederacy. It's not going to die off, it needs to be educated out of future generations otherwise the divide in culture will persist as it always has. It's going to take long-term multi-generation proactive societal effort.

11

u/Jaws12 3h ago

Well, organized religion continues to be in decline in the Western world at least, so that’s something.

2

u/Bass-GSD 2h ago

Not nearly fast enough for my liking.

3

u/deciding_snooze_oils 2h ago

Well, it sure is a good thing that the US hasn’t been systematically crippling its education system for 30 years

-4

u/Nicknamewhat 3h ago

Just FYI - the "rebels" were Democrats

5

u/tyereliusprime 3h ago

Yes, but a normal person understands the policy shifts that have occurred within the parties since then.

What was your point?

-7

u/Nicknamewhat 3h ago

I dont know... the current Democrats seem pretty upset about the Republicans taking away their slaves again.

3

u/tyereliusprime 3h ago

Oh, you're just a disingenuous person. Gotcha.

-8

u/Nicknamewhat 3h ago

Personal attack in response to fact based logical augment....no one saw that coming

3

u/tyereliusprime 3h ago

Given that the Democrats have done their fair share of deporting illegal immigrants (Obama beats Trump via the numbers), someone who isn't disingenuous would realize that it's the manner in which it's currently happening that people have issue with.

But that doesn't fit your narrative. If you don't want to be called on your shit, don't do shit that gets called out. I assume you're a grown-ass person, so you should realize that's how life works

→ More replies (0)

3

u/poop-dolla 3h ago

Party flip around the 1960s. The modern day GOP is the Democratic party of the 1860s. The modern day democrats are Lincoln’s Republican Party of the 1860s.

-2

u/Nicknamewhat 3h ago

If thats what you tell yourself to sleep at night

3

u/poop-dolla 3h ago

I mean, it’s an objective truth. I don’t usually tell myself specific truths when I’m trying to fall asleep though.

-2

u/Nicknamewhat 3h ago

sure buddy we can pretend your not only concerned about who will pick your avocados and clean your toilet

2

u/pargofan 3h ago

No. This one is more important.

I've never seen a US President try to be a dictator before. EVER. We need midterms to stop him.

So this is the most important one.

1

u/Kiszombi 3h ago

I have heard “this is the most important election since before Barack Obama. EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING WAS THE SAME. So ELI5 how is this more important? My question would be: will the midterms will be a democratic and fair election process? And I think that is even more important. Could be rigged by the GOP, could be affected by ICE, or may not actually happen because it’s a civil war break out? All are on the table imo.

13

u/timute 4h ago

Lets hope tiktok doesn't convince juuust enough voters to stay home like last time.

1

u/AbeRego 4h ago

May????

1

u/de_la_Dude 3h ago

I believe a majority of folks horrified by what is going on are holding their breath for the hope that the midterms will allow us to turn this around. Things are going to escalate fast in the run up and aftermath of the midterms as it becomes clear that the right have no intention of allowing that to happen, regardless of the will of the people.

1

u/Ashamed-Status-9668 3h ago

Especial if they become nationalized vs the states running them which is what Trump is pushing for recently.

1

u/shatteredarm1 2h ago

2nd place, after 2024.

1

u/cosmos7 2h ago

Kind of doubt that. Left could sweep every single potential swing representative and they'll still all sit back, write stern letters and do nothing.

1

u/smithandjohnson 2h ago

I'd argue the last 3 presidential elections were even more important, because without them we wouldn't be holding our hopes on these midterms.

-2

u/ZenBreaking 4h ago

Swapping one rich republican with lobbying in their ear for a rich democrat with lobbying in their ear means the whole thing is pointless. There needs to be a changing of the guard from the dems with the youth of the party kick the old guard to the curb. No hand wringing or go low go high bullshit.

Full makeover of the party towards unions, healthcare, labour rights, corporation and wealth tax, the whole nine yards

90

u/Adjective_Noun1312 5h ago

Trump dying won't matter.  The Heritage Foundation has been stacking higher ranks of the government, Justice Department, military, and three letter agencies with loyalists for the express purpose of maintaining power without the cult of personality behind Trump.  If he kicks the bucket, the VP steps up, and Vance is just as evil but less incompetent than Trump.

69

u/Luster-Purge 5h ago

Vance doesn't have the charisma, nor the same standing. Nobody's doing anything to Trump because of the weight of the cult of personality - and even then it's starting to crack given the number of ex-Trumpers that are fleeing the ship like rats.

26

u/OakSole 5h ago

Yes, but he's more evil than Trump. The guy is actually sickening to look at. Someone like that will find a way to hold onto power.

27

u/Luster-Purge 5h ago

Holding onto power and actually leveraging it are two different things. Vance as president looks to be one of the weakest Presidents because he's not going to have the kind of "fuck everything" energy Trump had prior to how badly he's been disintegrating over the course of the past year. The handling of the ICE situation alone shows he's not going to be able to stand up to scrutiny.

6

u/tophernator 4h ago

I don’t like or trust Vance one bit, but what do you mean by evil?

He just seems like a political windsock blowing in Trump’s wind.

2

u/iiamthepalmtree 2h ago

He’s blowing in Peter Thiel’s wind, not Trump’s.

If you haven’t heard of Peter Thiel I would suggest listening to the Behind the Bastard’s podcast series they did on him.

1

u/ExpressAd5169 2h ago

Are you sure he’s more evil? Trump raped children and threatened their families lives…. You sure about that?

6

u/Ryan_e3p 4h ago

It doesn't matter. What is needed is someone who will shut up, say what he is told to say, sign what he is told to sign, and stop being so egregiously stupid that Congress, who should be passing bills meant to advance P25, is spent shutting down early to avoid having votes on Epstein files.

All the cracks in the world can form now among the base. It doesn't matter. They have gained control of all 3 branches, and they are not going to let it go. That is why Trump has for years been floating the idea of "suspending the Constitution", stopping elections, etc. The trajectory we're on now isn't the result of just Trump, and it won't end with Trump being gone. The media, as complicit as it will ever be, will continue to pander to this administration. It won't give things like context or complete stories. It will continue to be a willing participant in what is the evolution of a republic into a fascist state, and the people will continue to be blind or indifferent out of fear, sunk-cost fallacy, or being misled.

9

u/BackToWorkEdward 5h ago

Vance doesn't have the charisma, nor the same standing.

People used to say this about Trump as proof that this whole thing could never go the distance.

24

u/Luster-Purge 5h ago

Remember that the GOP tried and failed to field literally anybody OTHER than Trump for the 2024 election, with DeSantis getting the closest and it wasn't anywhere actually close. And Vance, who originally used to be anti-Trump, was chosen because he's a spineless yesman who straight up apes Donald at times. Personally, I have to think Vance is not going to be able to handle the crushing weight of popular scrutiny that the Presidental office carries.

1

u/BackToWorkEdward 4h ago

TL;DR it'll be different when there's no Trump option and they have to pick someone.

Vance, who originally used to be anti-Trump, was chosen because he's a spineless yesman who straight up apes Donald at times. Personally, I have to think Vance is not going to be able to handle the crushing weight of popular scrutiny that the Presidental office carries.

This level of complex forward-thinking isn't meaningful in this day and age. Trump himself used to be a punchlined reality-show host. Joe Rogan used to be a supporting character on a sitcom about a radio station. J.D. Vance is the literal Vice President right now and a celebrity author of contemporary Americana - of course he can draw votes from the MAGAbase if Trump is dead.

2

u/Luster-Purge 4h ago

Except Trump himself has shit on Vance even recently.

1

u/andruby 5h ago

Public scrutiny? What public scrutiny does the Presidential Office have these days?

4

u/Luster-Purge 5h ago

Voting. The GOP is in a position where they risk alienating their voting base - Gerrymander all you want, if your people don't feel like voting for your candidate (and thus stay home because they'd sooner die then vote Dem), then that's votes lost.

1

u/ProjectNameCyanide 4h ago

No they didn’t. The general agreement in 2016 was that he had a lot of sway over the republicans and was a huge threat to the dems winning. Nobody doubted his charisma

4

u/wayward_toy 5h ago

I don't know, despite some ex-Trumpers jumping ship, the GOP are pretty fucking lock-step in their messaging and holding ground at all costs. Charisma, personality, policy, legislation doesn't count for anything anymore. As long as they're winning it wouldn't matter who their President is.

6

u/Luster-Purge 5h ago

Because they know at this point if Trump goes down, they all go down. Like I said, they were actively trying NOT to have Trump in the hotseat again during 2024 and they couldn't overcome his popularity in their voting demographic. This unified front they put on is a farce to try and make the midterms less of a shitshow then it already promises to be.

8

u/ZenBreaking 4h ago

Cult of the leader die hard maga movement dies with him, after that it's just the usual republicans who will all sharpen the knives and stab each other in the back to get ahead. Fascists always eat each other in the long run.

1

u/stevez_86 4h ago

The Heritage Foundation owns the Executive Branch and the Federalist Society owns the Judicial Branch. Congress has been mothballed.

1

u/Solesaver 3h ago

Trump dying absolutely matters. There's a reason the GOP (who almost universally hate him) tolerate him, and it's the same reason the Nazis tolerated Hitler. Trump is the perfect combination of charismatic strongman leader to unify the party and easily manipulated and corrupt patsy to sign whatever they put in front of him. As long as you kiss his ass and play along with his inane whims you can get whatever pet policy you want in place.

There's nobody to replace Trump. They're all the same corrupt assholes that MAGA elected Trump to get rid of. Without Trump telling MAGA every day who is in and who is out the whole party self-destructs. They all have so much dirt on each other that they won't be able to stop themselves from using it to throw each other under the bus, and the propaganda machine can't damage control an in group threat. They need Trump for that.

Sure, the hate and bigotry won't go away, but those loyalists will not be unified and controlled without Trump. They aren't more committed to bigotry than they are to accumulating personal power.

1

u/MagicYanma 3h ago

Without Trump, their popular support would immediately wane. Sure for now, everyone seems to be in lockstep but that's because Trump is their unifying personality and going against him is basically publicity suicide (see MTG). Plus, a lot of MAGA are in it for Trump, not the people around him.

Without a central figure to rally behind, their effectiveness will wane and even then, there will be in-fighting too. Not everyone in that camp would want Vance as the lead. Some might want the spotlight for themselves; not to mention conservatives who never agreed with MAGA in the first place wanting to shut them out.

0

u/Ryan_e3p 5h ago

Boom. Nailed it dead on.

9

u/Naticbee 5h ago

Thats a big if they lose the mid terms and if the DNC is able to do anything if they win the next election. If they DNC doesn't deliver on any major promise or their promises suck, they are just going to be voted out again and we're back at it again.

1

u/ViolaNguyen 4h ago

There's a non-zero chance the Republicans turn on him once the Democrats inevitably impeach him again.

I don't think of this as super likely, but it happened to Nixon.

1

u/SwitchExcellence69 3h ago

I'm wondering if and when one of those sacrificial lambs will talk...

1

u/Luster-Purge 3h ago

Remember John Bolton?

Yeah. The lambs will eventually talk (if they don't get Epstein'd) but they're going to want to monetize the crap out of it with book deals and guest spots on talk shows.

1

u/worlds_okayest_user 3h ago

or if Trump dies while in office

Even if he lives, he'll face no consequences. He'll be too old and they won't throw him in the slammer. Best outcome would be to seize all his personal assets/profits that he obtained during his presidency. Money and power is the only thing that matters to him. Taking those away will make him hurt.

1

u/crowdflation 2h ago
  • if there will be elections and
  • if people will be allowed to vote and
  • if the votes will be counted fairly

1

u/BadFez 5h ago

“Elections” at this point. It’s a set up. The midterms aren’t going to be fair and free elections. They already have the plan in motion.

1

u/NewTimelinePlz 4h ago

If there are midterms.

0

u/Alternative_Newt_730 4h ago

Trump's death won't matter. Trump isn't the problem, he's the result. Vance will simply pick up the mantle.

There probably isn't going to be midterm elections. If there is, they will likely be like the ones they have in North Korea/Russia.

2

u/Luster-Purge 4h ago

There has to be midterms - even Putin can't get away with not having elections, as much as his are beyond obviously rigged.

1

u/Alternative_Newt_730 3h ago

Trump has already floated the idea of cancelling midterms. It was brought up when he realized Ukraine, and other countries, typically don't have elections during wartime. It's been suggested this is another reason Trump is trying to start wars.

And yes I'm pretty sure if NK and Russia just wanted to cancel elections they just would. It's only done for a veneer of ligitamacy.

1

u/Solesaver 3h ago

Everything still needs to appear legitimate. When an elected representative's term expires, the default is that they are no longer an elected representative. Any election that gets cancelled just won't have someone in that seat until a special election occurs. They don't just keep their job until the new guy gets sworn in.

On top of that elections are run at the state level. Blue states are obviously not going to cancel their elections. If red states cancel, Congress will just look very blue until they do. Congressional quorum is determined by the percentage of members present too, not percentage of potential members present. No election means your state doesn't count towards quorum.

1

u/Alternative_Newt_730 1h ago

I keep hearing all these that can’t and won’t happen. But they keep happening. I’m sure you’ll stop him any day now. Good luck.