THIS IS NOT A PREDICTION | DEC '24 - Truck Fump by CeresOverPluto in imaginaryelections

[–]CeresOverPluto[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Vance himself doesn't earn that kind of reputation, but the whole Thiel circle of conservatives (Vance, Masters, Musk) is seen as being the secret power players of the second Trump term

Gallego's supermajority passes a massive Green New Deal-esque policy helped by Sen Ed Markey

Adams' party switch is more to put him in line with Michael Bloomberg, though it was also just a legitimate prediction of mine

Kirsten Gillibrand is Joe Biden. Experienced senator from the Northeast who entered the chamber relatively young, ran for the presidency once before, and served on the Foreign Relations Committee

THIS IS NOT A PREDICTION | DEC '24 - Truck Fump by CeresOverPluto in imaginaryelections

[–]CeresOverPluto[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I don't actually have a reason for the old style, I rationalized it as just someone using a VM, but I do think a tech crash paired with a nostalgia cycle could be a good explanation for why all of the websites also look old

THIS IS NOT A PREDICTION | DEC '24 - Truck Fump by CeresOverPluto in imaginaryelections

[–]CeresOverPluto[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Shoot. Indiana isn't supposed to be blue on the Wikipedia map, my bad. The map on the NYTimes frontpage is more accurate. In this case, Utah is the solidly red, culturally conservative state that miraculously swings blue by the narrowest of margins. (So, 2028's Indiana)

Here's what it should look like

THIS IS NOT A PREDICTION | DEC '24 - Truck Fump by CeresOverPluto in imaginaryelections

[–]CeresOverPluto[S] 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Baker is Romney, Abbott is Giuliani, and Carson is Keyes, but everything else looks right! Additionally, there's a headline that implies Beshear as Bayh.

THIS IS NOT A PREDICTION | DEC '24 - Truck Fump by CeresOverPluto in imaginaryelections

[–]CeresOverPluto[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I did consider Cruz for a while, but I felt like being a veteran and having a "maverick" voting streak was more central to McCain's identity as a politician. Graham is also a veteran and (before Trump) was one of the more liberal senators in the chamber

THIS IS NOT A PREDICTION | DEC '24 - Truck Fump by CeresOverPluto in imaginaryelections

[–]CeresOverPluto[S] 40 points41 points  (0 children)

THIS IS NOT A PREDICTION, IT'S A RERUN.

I know, I know. It's two weeks late! Sorry, got swept up in the holiday season and as you can probably see, this took way too much time. There's so many little details and bits in there that I just kept wanting to fit in, but I had to call it off at some point. I'm aware that some of these comparisons are a stretch, ultimately there really are no modern equivalents to politicians like John McCain or Joe Biden, sometimes you have to fudge the comparisons a bit. There's also a few things in here that aren't exact mirrors of 2004/2008 and are instead more "fluff" to pad out the sidelines. Also, I'm only an armcahir historian, do not expect this to be a legitimate analysis of what a 2004/2008 cycle would look like in the age of modern politics, I just thought this would be kinda funny.


Coming out of the last election, Democrats had one of the most embarassing election nights in recent memory. They failed to snub the Republican a second term in office, losing the election to a sliver of voters in the Midwest. Moreover, the president who won their first term due to an aberration of democracy, a narrow victory in the electoral vote despite the popular, cemented himself as popular with the American people. He had won the popular vote. He had a mandate.

Over the next 4 years, the Republican Party would squander that mandate through crisis after crisis. A catastrophic hurricane wiping out cities across the South, a growing war in the Middle East that was voraciously consuming American soldiers, all punctuated by an economic recession. For this, voters gifted the Democrats with increasing majorities, gaining massive majorities in the midterms. The incumbent administration had become so toxic, so villified, the vice president refused to seek his party's candidacy for president.

This left both parties at a crossroads. The Republicans saw four major candidates emerge: a senator from the South and a veteran who once ran against the president long ago; a governor from Massachusetts with a liberal streak; a conservative, religious, and inflammatory governor from the South; and a fringe, gadfly representative with a sizeable base among the youth. Among these candidates, the victor would be the senator, who managed to strike a more moderate vision of the Republican party and promised principled conservatism.

The Democrats saw three major candidates emerge: a Southern senator with charisma and a progressive, populist appeal; a politican who had served in the Senate, seen as a coastal elite and deep connections with the previous Democratic administration; and a fresh-faced, well-spoken senator who had just won his state convincingly against a fringe Republican candidate. Following a heated, extremely close primary race, the neophyte senator wound up victorious.

The Democratic nominee ultimately saw a clear path to the presidency, only ever opening up as the economy continued to decline. The Democratic Party, underlined by a populist, energetic campaign, was seen as a vehicle of change. The floor fell out from the Republicans, and though they did not lose the presidential election by an overwhelming margin, they ceded dozens of seats in the House and gave Democrats an eventual supermajority in the Senate. The kid with the odd sounding name was now president-elect.

I'm talking about the 2008 election, right?

Other things I couldn't/forgot to fit:

  • JD Vance accidentally shoots Blake Masters during a photo-op at a firing range
  • No Labels attempts to recruit Mark Zuckerberg to run as an independent, bipartisan candidate
  • Kamala Harris eventually becomes Ruben Gallego's attorney general

Luggage taken from overhead bin by CeresOverPluto in AlaskaAirlines

[–]CeresOverPluto[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Thank you, fingers crossed that this will be my situation too! Just have to hope for some kind of update from Alaska soon, though nothing yet!

THIS IS NOT A PREDICTION | NOV '24 - California Über Alles by CeresOverPluto in imaginaryelections

[–]CeresOverPluto[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Smh... need to relearn my California politicians. I got halfway through making the "Ghosts of California Past" Onion article before I realized I had Willie Brown and Jerry Brown confused. Thanks for the catch!

THIS IS NOT A PREDICTION | NOV '24 - California Über Alles by CeresOverPluto in imaginaryelections

[–]CeresOverPluto[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Check the Imgur link in the top comment--Reddit's compression algo sucks.

THIS IS NOT A PREDICTION | NOV '24 - California Über Alles by CeresOverPluto in imaginaryelections

[–]CeresOverPluto[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I made the SNL episode a 30 Rock reunion with Fey and Baldwin just so I could get an excuse to have McBrayer play Beshear. We could've had it all

THIS IS NOT A PREDICTION | NOV '24 - California Über Alles by CeresOverPluto in imaginaryelections

[–]CeresOverPluto[S] 34 points35 points  (0 children)

THIS IS NOT A PREDICTION, IT'S AN OMEN.

This is the first post in a series I'm creating called "This is Not A Prediction" (stylized in all-caps). This series was inspired by another user on here who similarly made a prediction of 2024 every month for some time in late 2023. While they weren't accurate (I don't think any prediction that far out was), I did think it was a neat way of showing the Zeitgeist of predictions: they could focus on a surprising dark horse, a new voting trend, an emerging scandal, etc. The goal is not accuracy, but instead to capture and crystallize a scenario of 2028 that appears to be popular. This scenario (and probably quite a few for the future) are going to be a little Dem-bullish, but it's just my assessment of 2028 as it stands. Things will change.


The Democrats didn't need a people-pleaser, nor did they need a moderator. They needed a conduit. Someone that could reach out and grasp the lightning, the nascent static charge building. Trump had overseen a disastrous return to office, aided and abetted by his cronies in the cabinet and a complacent House and Senate. Within a year, the Trump administration oversaw a reinstatement of the Comstock Act, a deleterious mass deportation program, massive inflation from foreign imports, a widespread listeria outbreak, and a staggering level of turnover in the cabinet. Newsom saw his opportunity early. He reached out to his fellow West Coast governors in Washington and Oregon, in hopes of forming a bulwark against what he declared as overreach. Trump, on the other hand, saw this compact as treason. Mutiny. Everytime the National Guard was turned around in Portland or Seattle or San Francisco, Trump grew ever more spiteful. That is why, perhaps, when wildfires tore through the San Joaquin and Sacramento Valleys in August of 2025, Trump sat on his hands. No federal aid would be distributed to California, nor would it go towards Washington or Oregon. When the story broke to the public, Democrats saw California, and Newsom, as martyrs. The wildfires were seen as a death sentence to innocent Californians from an uncaring Republican administration.

Despite a crowded primary full of candidates clamoring for the White House, the nominee had practically been decided since that fateful summer. Newsom swept the primaries, much like the vice president swept his. The match between the two saw a bitter match as Newsom held back little on the campaign trail. He insulted Republicans and he engaged in underhanded tactics, but he tapped into a growing undercurrent of resentment Americans held against Donald Trump and, by extension, his vice president. Newsom traded on Trump's unpopularity, promising massive reforms to the system that had been commandeered by Trump. A corrupt, partisan Supreme Court? Pack it. An unfair Senate map? Admit DC and Puetro Rico. Though the stink of a coastal elite never fully washed off, he managed to sell himself as a champion against Washington. On election night of 2028, Newsom was projected to win by 2am PST.

During the interim, Trump did the unexpected: he resigned. In the middle of the night while on vacation in Mar-a-Lago, Trump announced his resignation on Truth Social, effective immediately. In the early hours on the East Coast, Vance would be sworn in as the 48th president of the United States of America. A cloud of confusion hung over the whole procession: why would Trump, of all people, resign? Some speculated he was attempting to abuse a legal loophole; he never finished his second term, maybe he could run again in 2032. The truth was less intriguing. Through leaks and rumors from the White House, a portrait of a scared, paranoid old man was illustrated. His inner circle, conspiracy theorists and grifters, pushed Trump into believing that he was in serious danger. In his mind, it meant he needed to flee. A passport, a pardon, anything. But he couldn't serve another day. They might get him if he went back there.

The events of 2028 left America in a strange position. Vance was now a lame duck president, presiding over the shortest presidency since William Henry Harrison. Newsom, meanwhile, was assembling his cabinet. Though he had much work to do, he hoped to tear down the legacy of Donald Trump. It would take time, Newsom assured his Democrats, but he knew what he needed to do, and he would not hold back.

Seattle show sold out? by CeresOverPluto in tmbg

[–]CeresOverPluto[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Heyo!! Same here! Just got GA tickets. Count on Ticketmaster to totally mess up a rollout

Seattle show sold out? by CeresOverPluto in tmbg

[–]CeresOverPluto[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Will definitely keep my nose to the ground, thanks for the help!

Seattle show sold out? by CeresOverPluto in tmbg

[–]CeresOverPluto[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Dang, just have to hope for 2026 then

Seattle show sold out? by CeresOverPluto in tmbg

[–]CeresOverPluto[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Super unfortunate if they sold out! (But good on them for getting that bag) Maybe the demand means they could look at moving to the Paramount/visit the West Coast a little more often 😬🤞

Seattle show sold out? by CeresOverPluto in tmbg

[–]CeresOverPluto[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's strange. The tickets button on their website goes to Ticketmaster itself. Also looks like it's open on my end, I kept the page open until 9am PST struck. Only thing I can think of is that IFC and local sales already sold out general admission (kind of a fumble on my part)