Why are you guys still voting Republican?

fadedangler said:And I'm sure there's still 50% of Americans backing the Republican Party.

I actually started this thread because of this: A friend of mine told me today, "I don't care if the country sinks or if Sanders is looting us, I'm still voting for him."
Then another one said, "Yeah, me too. My parents voted for him and I will too, no matter what happens."
It honestly left me stunned. Even my neighbor said something similar the other day:
>"I'm embarrassed to be an American. These people are all so clueless; how can they mock our Prime Minister when he only wants what's best for America?"
And here's another thing he mentioned:
"The Democratic Party robbed General Dynamics and they're the ones responsible for this crisis—they're just trying to pin everything on Sanders." (He didn't say it exactly like that, but it was something along those lines... I didn't catch every word since it was a pretty long monologue).

And that’s how it’ll stay until our left wing clearly and unequivocally distances itself from that old American mentality, but it looks like we might be waiting a long time for that...☕

Brenda Ross47 said:And that’s how it’ll stay until our left wing clearly and unequivocally distances itself from that old American mentality, but it looks like we might be waiting a long time for that...☕

Basically.

First off, they need to distance themselves from that old-school pan-Slavic sentimentality. I mean, should Americans really be backing a party that still sings songs about stretching from the Mississippi to the Rockies?

Then, they need to reckon with those communist-era atrocities from back in the day,

actually start looking out for national interests instead of acting like patriotism is some kind of primitive relic,

and finally, prove that the Democratic Party is actually social democratic—you know, focusing primarily on workers' rights rather than wasting all their breath on nonsense. I won't even list it; we all know what kind of garbage they're peddling.

If I ever rolled into a small town like Imotski and told the first person I ran into that the Republican Party is robbing us blind and needs to be kicked out, the least I’d get is a punch to the head accompanied by shouts of "commie trash." It’s funny how in more developed areas—places like Istria, Varaždin, Čakovec, or even Washington, D.C.—you have much less chance of that happening... though lately, Washington, D.C. has seen such an influx of lowlifes that actual locals are becoming a rare breed.

Look, I've never supported the Republican Party, and I never will. I’m looking for a party that actually fights for America and the interests of its citizens, but as far as I can tell, a party like that doesn't even exist on the political stage yet. 😉

Joseph Wright4 said:Look, that happened back in the 90s, but in the last few elections, it's happened so rarely it's basically negligible—it doesn't change the outcome. I’ve actually served on an election commission myself, and I never saw anything like that. Not to mention, since around 2000, even in a tiny town of 100 people, you've got poll watchers from every single party present. So yeah, maybe it happens occasionally, but definitely not in numbers big enough to swing an election. And if it were happening as massively as you're claiming, the Democratic Party would be shouting it from the rooftops, along with other parties. It's just not true.

It absolutely happens. Maybe less than it did before 2000, sure, but I know plenty of small towns where voting still works that way. Sorry, but I take this personally. Why the hell am I following all the rules and only getting one vote if the system is rigged anyway?

George Morgan3 said:hmm, well, my cousin just registered my late grandfather for the Democratic Party... what's the penalty for that?

Joining the Independent Party and casting a vote in a dead man's name aren't even the same thing.

mistycyclist5 said:If I ever rolled into a small town like Imotski and told the first person I ran into that the Republican Party is robbing us blind and needs to be kicked out, the least I’d get is a punch to the head accompanied by shouts of "commie trash." It’s funny how in more developed areas—places like Istria, Varaždin, Čakovec, or even Washington, D.C.—you have much less chance of that happening... though lately, Washington, D.C. has seen such an influx of lowlifes that actual locals are becoming a rare breed.

Look, I've never supported the Republican Party, and I never will. I’m looking for a party that actually fights for America and the interests of its citizens, but as far as I can tell, a party like that doesn't even exist on the political stage yet. 😉

It doesn't have to be. I heard the Democrats won in a place like Savannah. But the truth is, the Republican Party always has a massive advantage in towns like that because they're packed with veterans and people living off government handouts. I personally know a couple of thirty-year-olds in rural Alabama who are basically pensioners. I'd love to know what they plan on doing for the next forty years besides drowning themselves in booze.

nimblemarlin17 said:It absolutely happens. Maybe less than it did before 2000, sure, but I know plenty of small towns where voting still works that way. Sorry, but I take this personally. Why the hell am I following all the rules and only getting one vote if the system is rigged anyway?

You aren't getting my point, or maybe you just don't want to. I said it happens, but it's nowhere near the level you keep implying. It's not happening at a scale that would ACTUALLY AFFECT election results or decide whether the Republican Party stays in power. Get it now??

It reminds me of that nonsense when Democrats kept sheepishly repeating that they got the most votes in America—just because the Republican Party picked up everything in Canada and among expats. That isn't factually true. Again, I didn't vote for the Republican Party, but they got the most votes in the elections if we are only counting the US, without any overseas voters or Canada.

fadedangler said:It looks to me like the country is just sinking further into trouble. The Republican Party seems to be getting more corrupt by the day, and honestly, Sanders can't seem to get anything right. It feels like you aren't even allowed to speak your mind if you disagree with the administration. Sanders acts like he owns the place—he could probably pull off a full dictatorship if he really wanted to, since he can basically arrest whoever he feels like. The only thing stopping him is that we don't have Gulags here yet.
So, I have to ask you guys:
Why are you still sticking by Sanders? I mean, has he completely brainwashed everyone, or is there something else going on here?

It's because your signature is on a petition calling for a "new America."
In this country, Sanders is really just a necessary evil, mainly because the opposition consists of people who would gladly sign your little petition.
The American left needs to wake up and realize that so many people in this nation find any mention of communism or the old regime absolutely repulsive that they will vote for the Republican Party until the day they die, simply because of how much the left clings to those two things.

nimblemarlin17 said:It doesn't have to be. I heard the Democrats won in a place like Savannah. But the truth is, the Republican Party always has a massive advantage in towns like that because they're packed with veterans and people living off government handouts. I personally know a couple of thirty-year-olds in rural Alabama who are basically pensioners. I'd love to know what they plan on doing for the next forty years besides drowning themselves in booze.

I totally agree that we have way too many young retirees. Giving everyone a pension was pretty pointless—it basically did people a disservice because now they have no idea how to actually function on their own.
On the flip side, the Democratic Party is kind of to blame for losing those voters. They constantly marginalize them and talk down to them. They just push that old-school partisan rhetoric and keep repeating the nonsense that Josip Broz Marshall fought for America, or that we only exist because of those partisans. I mean, there might be some truth to that, but it’s definitely not how Stjepan Mason and his crew spin it.

nimblemarlin17 said:It’s not some myth, it’s reality. What do you think my grandma votes for? An uncle or a nephew rolls up and says, "Hey Grandma, I'll do this for you so you don't have to walk down to the polls." Just guess which party gets all those votes.

Then there’s the military. Back in the day, I was in a friendly weekend soccer league with a proud US Armed Forces colonel. He wasn't ashamed to talk openly in the pub about how they used to rig hundreds of votes for the Republican Party and how much it sucks now because it's become way harder.

When you hear things like that firsthand, they stop being urban legends or fairy tales. Tens of thousands of votes across America go to the Republican Party that way.

Look, as long as you keep treating the electorate with that kind of condescension and looking down your nose at them, they’re going to stay stubbornly committed to their choice. Seriously, since 2000, instead of the prominent Democrats in this country actually trying to figure out why they aren't winning people over, they just sit around complaining, "What's the deal with these voters? Why won't they vote for us?"
And what do you expect from that? It feels like the left is practically the main promoter for the Republican Party; I honestly used to wonder if they were getting paid to do it. If the Republican Party didn't have an opposition like the one they have now—which is mostly made up of old-school nostalgics, folks obsessed with division, proponents of weird conspiracy theories about "agreed-upon wars," and urban elitists who couldn't survive a single day without central heating—the Republican Party would have guaranteed victories every single time.

mistycyclist5 said:If I ever rolled into a small town like Imotski and told the first person I ran into that the Republican Party is robbing us blind and needs to be kicked out, the least I’d get is a punch to the head accompanied by shouts of "commie trash." It’s funny how in more developed areas—places like Istria, Varaždin, Čakovec, or even Washington, D.C.—you have much less chance of that happening... though lately, Washington, D.C. has seen such an influx of lowlifes that actual locals are becoming a rare breed.

Look, I've never supported the Republican Party, and I never will. I’m looking for a party that actually fights for America and the interests of its citizens, but as far as I can tell, a party like that doesn't even exist on the political stage yet. 😉

Unfortunately, that’s just the reality for most of the country. People either stay home, or they end up reluctantly voting for a corrupt Republican Party because they feel like the alternatives are just as crooked or stuck in some outdated, old-school ideology.
We really are in a sad state of affairs.

Joseph Wright4 said:You aren't getting my point, or maybe you just don't want to. I said it happens, but it's nowhere near the level you keep implying. It's not happening at a scale that would ACTUALLY AFFECT election results or decide whether the Republican Party stays in power. Get it now??

It reminds me of that nonsense when Democrats kept sheepishly repeating that they got the most votes in America—just because the Republican Party picked up everything in Canada and among expats. That isn't factually true. Again, I didn't vote for the Republican Party, but they got the most votes in the elections if we are only counting the US, without any overseas voters or Canada.

I agree it doesn't swing elections as much anymore, but the core issue is that this stuff happens, and most of the time, it targets Republican votes. I won't call voters from other parties less honest than Republican voters because that's too broad a generalization, but these types of fraud cases clearly reflect the moral and social "values" that party has been pushing since the 90s. Honestly, the opposition is to blame for failing to push back against that aggressive, backward spirit and losing control of the government. I agree with the assessment that Joe Biden lost because he didn't hit the Republican Party where it hurts—which is everywhere, really. Instead, he wasted all his energy on trivial things like religious education, which only serves to alienate the dim-witted majority. Branding and marketing are everything today. Barack Obama spent way more money than John McCain to win against a militant conservative majority. Sure, the terrible state of the US economy helped him, but without building that "youth and change" brand, he would have lost regardless. That’s what the Democratic Party needs. I don't think Joe Biden is a bad guy, he's just inexperienced and doesn't understand how the electorate breathes. You have to get inside the heads and ears of the masses. The Democratic Party can't act like "the outsiders"; they need to be front and center, just like the Republican Party was with their "Move America Forward" slogan and those cheesy family commercials.

What's actually going to bring change is next year. Once the gap widens between the leeches living off the state and the actual working class, the Republican Party is in deep trouble.

nimblemarlin17 said:It’s not some myth, it’s reality. What do you think my grandma votes for? An uncle or a nephew rolls up and says, "Hey Grandma, I'll do this for you so you don't have to walk down to the polls." Just guess which party gets all those votes.

Then there’s the military. Back in the day, I was in a friendly weekend soccer league with a proud US Armed Forces colonel. He wasn't ashamed to talk openly in the pub about how they used to rig hundreds of votes for the Republican Party and how much it sucks now because it's become way harder.

When you hear things like that firsthand, they stop being urban legends or fairy tales. Tens of thousands of votes across America go to the Republican Party that way.

What you're saying just isn't true... Poll workers at the precincts represent various different parties, and every single polling station also has observers from the parties not sitting on the commission... It is practically impossible for someone to vote on behalf of another person (and my own experience working on these commissions gives me every right to claim that)...

When citizens can't make it to the polling place due to health issues, they call in or find another way to request that commission members come to them. In those cases, three commission members visit that citizen at their home to ensure they can cast their vote legally...

James Nguyen13 said:Look, as long as you keep treating the electorate with that kind of condescension and looking down your nose at them, they’re going to stay stubbornly committed to their choice. Seriously, since 2000, instead of the prominent Democrats in this country actually trying to figure out why they aren't winning people over, they just sit around complaining, "What's the deal with these voters? Why won't they vote for us?"
And what do you expect from that? It feels like the left is practically the main promoter for the Republican Party; I honestly used to wonder if they were getting paid to do it. If the Republican Party didn't have an opposition like the one they have now—which is mostly made up of old-school nostalgics, folks obsessed with division, proponents of weird conspiracy theories about "agreed-upon wars," and urban elitists who couldn't survive a single day without central heating—the Republican Party would have guaranteed victories every single time.

My point was aimed at anyone who thinks it's okay to claim votes for their entire family, or people using military rank to cast ballots for others. You can call the electorate whatever names you want if they allow that kind of manipulation. People like that deserve nothing but poverty and misery because they aren't even using the most basic social right of choosing leadership. One person, one vote. It’s simple. Everyone has the right, and the responsibility, to decide for themselves. Whether it's the Republican Party, the Democratic Party, the Progressive Party, the Libertarian Party, or the Patriot Party—it doesn't matter, as long as you make the choice yourself.

darkfox5 said:What you're saying just isn't true... Poll workers at the precincts represent various different parties, and every single polling station also has observers from the parties not sitting on the commission... It is practically impossible for someone to vote on behalf of another person (and my own experience working on these commissions gives me every right to claim that)...

When citizens can't make it to the polling place due to health issues, they call in or find another way to request that commission members come to them. In those cases, three commission members visit that citizen at their home to ensure they can cast their vote legally...

You really only need to look at where the League of Women Voters places its observers—they seem to focus almost exclusively on areas where the Republican Party is winning. Then, once the League of Women Voters releases their data, it looks like the Republican Party is pulling in two-thirds of the vote. Every single precinct where the Republican Party is strong is practically swarmed by observers from other parties and various "independent" leftist groups.
But honestly, these folks are essentially engaging in political suicide. They claim the Republican Party won because of support from overseas voters (which isn't true), or that they won because the local voters are narrow-minded, or even that the voters are corrupt and stealing ballots. By making those accusations, all they're really doing is reinforcing the resolve of those voters to stick with the Republican Party.

darkfox5 said:What you're saying just isn't true... Poll workers at the precincts represent various different parties, and every single polling station also has observers from the parties not sitting on the commission... It is practically impossible for someone to vote on behalf of another person (and my own experience working on these commissions gives me every right to claim that)...

When citizens can't make it to the polling place due to health issues, they call in or find another way to request that commission members come to them. In those cases, three commission members visit that citizen at their home to ensure they can cast their vote legally...

I appreciate the work you put in on the commissions, but since you're based out of Washington, D.C., let me tell you something: America isn't just D.C., and plenty of things happen behind the scenes. Or, as Morpheus said in The Matrix, "You've been living in a dream world, Neo." On paper, everything in America looks perfect, but my grandma has already voted for herself for a few elections now.

James Nguyen13 said:You really only need to look at where the League of Women Voters places its observers—they seem to focus almost exclusively on areas where the Republican Party is winning. Then, once the League of Women Voters releases their data, it looks like the Republican Party is pulling in two-thirds of the vote. Every single precinct where the Republican Party is strong is practically swarmed by observers from other parties and various "independent" leftist groups.
But honestly, these folks are essentially engaging in political suicide. They claim the Republican Party won because of support from overseas voters (which isn't true), or that they won because the local voters are narrow-minded, or even that the voters are corrupt and stealing ballots. By making those accusations, all they're really doing is reinforcing the resolve of those voters to stick with the Republican Party.

They aren't wrong when they call Republican Party opponents communists, globalists, Masons, or anti-Christs and all that nonsense. You think the right to be an asshole is reserved just for the ruling dynasty?

Yeah, in case you hadn't figured it out, I absolutely loathe the Republican Party.

nimblemarlin17 said:My point was aimed at anyone who thinks it's okay to claim votes for their entire family, or people using military rank to cast ballots for others. You can call the electorate whatever names you want if they allow that kind of manipulation. People like that deserve nothing but poverty and misery because they aren't even using the most basic social right of choosing leadership. One person, one vote. It’s simple. Everyone has the right, and the responsibility, to decide for themselves. Whether it's the Republican Party, the Democratic Party, the Progressive Party, the Libertarian Party, or the Patriot Party—it doesn't matter, as long as you make the choice yourself.

But you missed the point entirely—he was just politely explaining why that isn't actually happening. Wherever the Republican Party seems strong, it's usually just a handful of loudmouths acting as mouthpieces.
I'd even go so far as to say the idea of widespread surveillance is a bit of a joke here. I highly doubt groups like the Regionalist Party or the Democratic Party aren't running their own little maneuvers behind the scenes, yet you don't see any right-wing observers claiming the same. It would be much more realistic to assume they are the ones pulling the strings, rather than the Republican Party, since the GOP basically has a whole fleet of "independent" observers sitting right on their doorstep just watching their every move.

mistycyclist5 said:If I ever rolled into a small town like Imotski and told the first person I ran into that the Republican Party is robbing us blind and needs to be kicked out, the least I’d get is a punch to the head accompanied by shouts of "commie trash." It’s funny how in more developed areas—places like Istria, Varaždin, Čakovec, or even Washington, D.C.—you have much less chance of that happening... though lately, Washington, D.C. has seen such an influx of lowlifes that actual locals are becoming a rare breed.

Look, I've never supported the Republican Party, and I never will. I’m looking for a party that actually fights for America and the interests of its citizens, but as far as I can tell, a party like that doesn't even exist on the political stage yet. 😉

You’re spreading falsehoods again!

I’m just quoting the Imotski Portal here (not that I had any idea who was actually running things in Imotski until now...)

..."With less than a year until local elections, all the serious parties and individuals across the nine local government units of the Imotski Hinterland are ramping up their pre-election activities. It’ll be interesting to see who steps up to lead—which essentially means choosing our mayors and council heads. In the city, the ruling coalition consists of the American Social Liberal Party, the Progressive Party led by the Right-wing Party, and Mayor Ante Đuzel. This administration hasn't dealt with major scandals this term, but they haven't exactly delivered massive development projects either. The Right-wing Party dominates the coalition, so we expect Ante Đuzel to be a very strong candidate for mayor once again. While the American Social Liberal Party president Luka Kolovrat has been talked about as the future of Imotski politics for years, he clearly lacks the guts to take the initiative, making him ill-suited to be the top leader in Imotski. Mića Škeva tried his best to please everyone, but we fear he ended up pleasing nobody; at this rate, he'll likely head back to his home in Vinjan after the next election. The opposition Republican Party is still in crisis, though Željko Petic is attempting to reconcile the warring factions within his ranks. If he succeeds, and if all the local Republican Party supporters back their guy, there's a good chance the Republican Party regains the mayoralty. Meanwhile, Branko Milardović and his Democratic Party obviously have zero ambition to seize power—they seem much more comfortable ruling from the shadows right now..."

James Nguyen13 said:But you missed the point entirely—he was just politely explaining why that isn't actually happening. Wherever the Republican Party seems strong, it's usually just a handful of loudmouths acting as mouthpieces.
I'd even go so far as to say the idea of widespread surveillance is a bit of a joke here. I highly doubt groups like the Regionalist Party or the Democratic Party aren't running their own little maneuvers behind the scenes, yet you don't see any right-wing observers claiming the same. It would be much more realistic to assume they are the ones pulling the strings, rather than the Republican Party, since the GOP basically has a whole fleet of "independent" observers sitting right on their doorstep just watching their every move.

I’m basing my arguments on firsthand data. Yours are pure speculation. Most election fraud examples involve groups that gain something direct from the outcome—think veterans or military factions—and there isn't much room for the left to pull those kinds of stunts. There's nobody on their side with enough to gain to bother cheating.