(01-21-2025, 03:18 PM)gorzek Wrote: It is often argued that the US doesn't have two parties, but one. Then, people criticize the notion by showing how Republicans and Democrats reverse each other's policies whenever the Presidency or Congress changes hands.
This.
I fucking hate this back and forth "button pushing" between administrations, even before Trump was a thing.
i.e.
Republican in office - button pushed for less science and arts
Democrat in office - button pushed for more science and arts
But the caveat is that the wires for the buttons have long been severed, so the button pushing is performative at best.
I remember back in 2010 saying in passing that the two parties were essentially two sides of the same coin and people got mad at me for saying that. Despite me voting for Obama I never innately had faith in the government, or that his supposed "change" would happen. End the war in Afghanistan? Okay. End Guantanamo Bay? Aight buddy, sure. If you say so. I'll believe it when I see it.
Some of my darkest thoughts believe that Trump 2.0 had to happen in order for the Democratic party to disintegrate to make way for a new party to rise. Alternatively, for civil war/unrest to break out and both parties will collapse, effectively ending this "controlled opposition" once and for all.
Kamala did feel like an Obama 2.0 for a hot minute, but you know the "uh-oh" moment I realized this wasn't going to happen? When she did that "I AM SPEAKING!" cry against a pro-Palestine activist in her rally. I immediately shook my head and muttered, "Fuck. It's not going to work." Granted, a Kamala administration would a have been similar to Biden administration anyway, which reinforces my belief that this whole shit just needs to be torn down ASAP. We can't keep playing this "lesser evil" game every election.