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Comment by cmckn | Hacker News Reader

A ton of Americans think of it as a lesser of two evils; because many (most?) Americans have the luxury of being comfortable. They don’t really think about politics, they don’t really have policy wants/needs. It’s just sensationalism on Facebook and celebrity on Instagram. It’s more about sports-team tribalism than participating in a society. At the risk of sounding morose, I don’t know where we go from here. Everyone, myself included, is going insane.

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Here is a good read on where it goes: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/09/magazine/trump-coup.html

All I know is that there is no way that I am going to be physically in the US for the next presidential election(s), if there is a neoliberal political candidate in that election.

You’re not worried about neoliberalism than Trumpism? Lol

even if people cared a lot, you think they’d get presidential primary candidates that they want? or a vice president that they want? these things are faze choices.

For what it’s worth, I did have a candidate in the primary that I liked a lot. I think all of my friends did too. They didn’t get elected, but I also did nothing outside of casting the ballot to help get them elected.

(And, part of caring a lot is paying attention to the other 99% of elected positions)

It's interesting to consider how those primary candidates got there and to what extent it would be possible to change who shows up in that position.

Check out "Hate, Inc." by Matt Taibbi. He details the process by which party bosses essentially determine the primary field (and have done so for decades), and the media complex reinforces these choices using terms like "electable" or "wise choice" or "stubborn" or "off reservation".

Yes, this is only about the single off of the President (the Vice President choice is even less available to the people), but there is something to be said about the most visible and paid-attention-to office being the one that is categorically the least in the hands of the people. ...yet nobody seems to mention it.

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