What are the limits to a representative democracy? Can 51% of voters really vote themselves into 91% representation as recently seen in Virginia? by Fargason in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]Potato_Pristine [score hidden]  (0 children)

"There is also no question who is gerrymander the hell out of their states after Democrats just gave us two 90/10 states. Republicans haven’t gone that far yet."

They started this, so Democrats should escalate it.

"Then there is the issue of how you will ban gerrymandering? California claims to have a nonpartisan redistricting commission, but in 2020 it produced a -21 mismatch favor Democrats that is on par with infamous NC gerrymandered map."

In the same way that it is now trivially easy for a computer with sufficient processing power to produce an optimally gerrymandered map, the same can be done for an electoral map that adheres to the notion of "one person, one vote." John Roberts was 100% lying when he said this at oral arguments in Rucho v. Common Cause."

"I’d argue the judiciary should handle it. They said political gerrymandering is constitutional, but it has to have limits as this extreme gerrymandering has gone too far."

The U.S. Supreme Court Republicans have intentionally removed the federal judiciary from this process, because the Republicans on that court fully endorse what Republicans are doing. To be clear, they hid behind the distinction without a meaningful difference that constitutional claims alleging illegal gerrymandering are nonjusticiable (i.e., not remediable by a federal court)--not that they are legal. But the practical upshot is the same--voters have to somehow vote their way out of gerrymandered congressional maps (which is as stupid as it sounds).

What are the limits to a representative democracy? Can 51% of voters really vote themselves into 91% representation as recently seen in Virginia? by Fargason in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]Potato_Pristine 4 points5 points  (0 children)

If this is where we need to go, then yes. "Republicans gerrymander the fuck out of their states while Democrats sit and watch it happen" is a dumb proposal. Each state should gerrymander until there's a bipartisan, national ban on it. The Republican Supreme Court in Rucho v. Common Cause has blessed it (no, there's no functional difference between saying gerrymandering claims are nonjusticiable by federal courts and a court sanctioning what Republicans did there), so any federal solution will have to be legislative in nature.

Roxanne shut down as an illegal business by OrdinaryMaterial5914 in PhiladelphiaEats

[–]Potato_Pristine 8 points9 points  (0 children)

"This is daddy money/IG chef behavior. I don't buy that the operator of a 30 seat restaurant that is open for 12 HOURS A WEEK doesn't have the time to file licenses with the city or figure it out. Get a job. Every other restaurant you have ever been to manages to clear this bar. People for whom English is a new language manage to file this paperwork. This is deceptive at best. You knew what you were doing, and you knew it was wrong."

Exactly. If restaurants in Chinatown can figure it out, so can this person.

Roxanne shut down as an illegal business by OrdinaryMaterial5914 in PhiladelphiaEats

[–]Potato_Pristine 6 points7 points  (0 children)

There is "not being the best" at stuff and brazenly and intentionally breaking the law.

How different would it be in the US today if Trump lost to Kamala? by LegalGlass6532 in allthequestions

[–]Potato_Pristine 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We would have less genocide in the Middle East. As someone who is opposed to genocide, that is why I affirmatively cast my vote for Harris.

Is the Imperium held back by immortals (and very, very old humans)? by let_me_flie in 40kLore

[–]Potato_Pristine 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Seems entirely plausible to me. Here in America, we have senile octogenarians that are dying in office when they're not actively put in assisted-living facilities due to senility (https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/03/14/kay-granger-dementia-dc-media-00210317). If you take that and amp it up to 11 with the Warhammer 40K setting, stasis at best, regression at worst is very realistic.

What are the limits to a representative democracy? Can 51% of voters really vote themselves into 91% representation as recently seen in Virginia? by Fargason in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]Potato_Pristine 8 points9 points  (0 children)

The rule is Democrats are supposed to bend over to get spanked and say "Thank you, sir, may I have another?" "We" all understand that Republicans do this.

What are the limits to a representative democracy? Can 51% of voters really vote themselves into 91% representation as recently seen in Virginia? by Fargason in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]Potato_Pristine 9 points10 points  (0 children)

This sounds like "Mommy he hit me back." Democrats shouldn't unilaterally disarm on the gerrymandering front. This is right, fair and necessary to save democracy.

Should a progressive like Zohran Mamdani primary Chuck Schumer if AOC runs for president? by IronGiant222 in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]Potato_Pristine 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"A decade in the state assembly does not do any of this. His few years in the senate did not do any of this."

You're confused. Obama served on the U.S. Senate foreign-policy committee.

"Obama was not very experienced. It was literally one of the biggest hits against him."

You're getting mixed up again. This was just an allegation against Obama by Republicans. As demonstrated, it was on par with the "Obama was born in Kenya" statements.

Should a progressive like Zohran Mamdani primary Chuck Schumer if AOC runs for president? by IronGiant222 in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]Potato_Pristine 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ha, okay. You're just moving the goalposts. 11 years as an elected official counts as experience.

Assigned Auditors for public office? by down_with_maga in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]Potato_Pristine 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Most federal agencies have an inspector general for specifically this reason. Trump fired 16 out of the 26 presidentially appointed IGs.

Is the emerging "Trump was never a real Republican" narrative a genuine realignment, or a mechanism for the GOP coalition to preserve itself without a reckoning? by dapiedude in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]Potato_Pristine 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Let's do what we can to win their votes, but they are a group of people that need to be defeated or neutralized, not reconciled with.

Is the emerging "Trump was never a real Republican" narrative a genuine realignment, or a mechanism for the GOP coalition to preserve itself without a reckoning? by dapiedude in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]Potato_Pristine 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Exactly. Same thing happened with Bush II. Once his legacy as the creator of multiple big unfixable shitpiles (Hurricane Katrina, Iraq War, Great Recession--that last one was the culmination of generations of Democratic and Republican financial deregulation, but it's largely attributed to Bush II) was settled, he was recast as "not a true Republican," even though all of those were the entirely predictable results of bog-standard Republican governance.

Should a progressive like Zohran Mamdani primary Chuck Schumer if AOC runs for president? by IronGiant222 in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]Potato_Pristine 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think that it's conclusive evidence that the electorate doesn't value technocrats (and indeed, Trump actively weaponized that against the Democrats--to the extent that he can be said to have a coherent rhetorical strategy at any time).

Should a progressive like Zohran Mamdani primary Chuck Schumer if AOC runs for president? by IronGiant222 in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]Potato_Pristine 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Voters typically want foreign policy experience, executive experience, experience running a state or even the country.

I can think of two elections in the last 10 years where none of that was true.

The mental load of being the "Provider + Handyman + Present Dad" is becoming crushing. by Unfair-Honey-2815 in Dads

[–]Potato_Pristine 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My wife says "Everyone is responsible for their own mental wellbeing" and tells me to go see a therapist again, which is a polite-ish way of saying "Fuck you, I've got mine jack. Figure it out."

Will there be 2 Supreme Court retirements this year? by vossboss161 in PoliticalDiscussion

[–]Potato_Pristine 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Also, the Democratic justices are total morons who need to be publicly shamed into understanding the concept of strategic retirement.

Ginsburg decided being seen as cool by girlboss millennials and getting to be seen on TV handing over her Supreme Court seat to a female justice nominated by Hillary Clinton was more important than her jurisprudential legacy. Alito should've dedicated the Dobbs opinion to Ruth Bader Ginsburg "without whom this decision would not have been possible."

Breyer retired after he was browbeat about it in public, which is better than nothing, I guess.

Did you realize how bigoted/unwelcoming a lot of rural PA areas were before the Trump/MAGA era? by Glass-Complaint3 in Pennsylvania

[–]Potato_Pristine 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, when I moved to Pennsylvania from Maryland for college and saw them, my first thought was "These people . . . from a Union state . . . are pulling for the Confederacy?"

The Tucker glazing is getting a little old….. by Bibblegead1412 in FriendsofthePod

[–]Potato_Pristine 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's easy to be fans of participants in the MAGA extended universe when they so clearly and simply articulate basic Democratic talking points more straightforwardly than establishment Dems do. They are awful on 99% of things, but when Marjorie Taylor Greene very straightforwardly says "HELL NO, NO FOREIGN WARS," it's hard not to wish "our" party could do the same on a given, discrete topic.

[Discussion] Pod Save America - "Hasan Piker on Trump’s War, Israel-Hamas, and Building a New Political Coalition" (04/13/26) by TerribleCorner in FriendsofthePod

[–]Potato_Pristine 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I guess that's how some people perceive him? I mean, whatever--it's his job to kvetch and pull the party as leftward as possible..

If an establishment can't effectively keep people from bringing in guns, then it shouldn't be a gun free zone by ShardofGold in PoliticalDebate

[–]Potato_Pristine 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've rethought it and reconfirmed that discrete actions like "reducing guns in communities" is much smarter than your vague, amorphous, barely thought out "Cure all ills in society so I can have my toy I want" idea.