r/AskDemocrats

No angle, just an open thread. Interested in thoughtful takes. What should we take away from this?

Jonah Goldberg's recent op-ed challenges price controls. Historically, rent freezes have always been counterproductive. How long should they allow this experiment to go on? What are some measured and proven counterpoints to price controls? Seems every country that has imposed them always fails.

I've noticed an increase in concern trolling and basically all around bad faith lately in this sub. Mostly by those without a flair. Do you think flairs should be required to post in this sub?

Just genuinely curious in what some of you think. Asking in good faith so I can better understand the current tension within the Democratic Party. I have Jewish and Muslim friends.

Taking out your frustrations on regular, everyday Jewish people is wrong, period. But criticizing the Israeli government and wanting to hold them accountable should be what we should responsibly do. But apparently any criticism by El-Sayed, or Mamdani, or anyone about the Israeli government is automatically seen as antisemitism?

Hi I am a Strong Republican Voter From California just wondering why do Democrats hate trump so much. Personally I support Trump the only thing I have disagreed with his term is the Iran war but I support what he has done everywhere else He has been Cleaning Biden’s mess.

I’ve heard more about how trump is cracking down on Medicaid fraud. That includes recipients (even though most of the fraud is from providers).
I’m from Louisiana and I’ve seen quite a lot of people being arrested for Medicaid recipient fraud. Most of them were mothers.

Im curious of peoples thoughts on this, given it seems like small potatoes.
Some people make a little too much for Medicaid, but not enough for private insurance. When we’re talking about citizens receiving healthcare (and even food stamps), it seems a bit harsh to arrest and prosecute someone for just trying to survive.

I’m not saying fraud is ok, but something seems off about the push to prosecute.
Any opinions?

I have always voted my conscience. I am therefore not a registered Republican or a Democrat. I am however - & have always been - a proud never Trumper. He is an immoral, narcissistic, illiterate, misogynist & voting for him is contrary to all that has ever been meaningful, in my life.  Indeed, he is an assault on my soul.

If the Republicans win the House in November, we are a 100% guaranteed that Trump (ism) gets reelected in 2028.

I will vote for a door knob over Trump (ism) again. That having been said, it is time for the Schumers & the Jeffries of the world to hand over leadership to new blood. The Progressives have a deep bench, any of whom would be better than Trump and better than any of his sycophants: Jon Ossof; Wes Moore; Pete Buttgieg; Andy Beshear; Roy Cooper; Jason Crow; Alexandria Cortez; J.B. Pritzker; Josh Shapiro; Elisa Slotkin; Raphael Warnock; Dana Nessel; Madeline Dean; Jon Stewart. The Democrats have a bad habit of taking defeat from the jaws of victory. If they mess it up this November, the 2028 election may be moot. This is an election, more than ever where loyalty to country must come before party, ego or personal ambition.

Almost 55% of the electorate sat out in the 2022 midterms (only about 45% voted) . The Republicans gained control of the House &the Senate. In the 2018 midterms only about 3% more showed up (48.1% voted) & the Democrats flipped 40 seats in the House – 30 in States that Trump won.

Trump will do everything he can to deter us from showing up this November, but he should know by now that neither masked men with Confederate flags on the streets of D.C or VA.; nor armed, masked ICE agents in MN; or blackhawk helicopters in Chicago; nor the National guard in LA or the deployment of troops at our polling stations will deter us. We will show up in peaceful, overwhelming numbers & there is nothing Trump can do about it.

 

I posted a question on r/whatBidenHasDone about Trump vs Biden's economies, and tried to put it in a fairly neutral light. While y'all are generally polite on here, about 90% of their comments were calling me all sorts of derogatory names for even considering supporting Trump, and were keen set on villifying Trump on every single matter. Why can't they act like you guys? This is a legitimate question.

Edit: less than 90% called me names but that was the general demeanor.

Why do ignorant people think this is the answer to America’s problems? It sounds good on paper but the reality is much different. I hope supporters of this realize that before it’s too late❤️

Bernie Sanders tweet

Rama Duwaji endorsement

I know this is old news. To refresh, Zohran Mamdani endorsed Brad Lander and Darializa Avila Chevalier to primary challenge Dan Goldman and Adriano Espaillat. He also endorsed Claire Valdez to succeed retiring rep Nydia Velasquez.

On Election Day, Rama Duwaji told people to vote for Darializa and Valdez, but didn’t mention Lander. Why do you think she did not mention Lander?

Bernie Sanders endorsed Valdez and Lander in his tweets, but not Darializa. Why do you think he didn’t endorse her?

He was nicknamed "Deporter in Chief." He was very adamant about people who came over illegally--that they were going back, no matter what age they were or who they came with. He even had the cages-thing going!

Why were people alright with deportations then? Why are they mad now?

As a liberal-leaning Indian American, I haven’t watched too many Nick Shirley videos. I know he made videos in Minneapolis outside the “Quality Learning Center” (misspelled Quality Learing Center) and claimed there was rampant fraud going on, and that many of his videos plus claims from other MAGA influencers and politicians helped end Tim Walz’s political career. Otherwise, he seems to talk about fraud a lot.

Tyler Oliviera seems to visit different places. I disagree with many of his views, especially when he calls all forms of immigration as “invasion” (such as “Indian invasion of Texas”, or “Somali invasion of Minneapolis”). I also disagree with him insisting that immigrants should assimilate into America, as assimilate means fully take in. I believe immigrants should have to integrate, meaning learn the language and customs, but feel free to retain their traditions.

Many of Oliviera’s videos are about immigration in different parts of the world, scammers (mainly in Europe), different festivals, and “fraud” (such as when he visited Kiryas Joel and claimed that the people there are committing welfare fraud).

What kinds of policies do you like that Democratic Socialists will implement? What would be your ideal America?

I listen to some conservatives saying that the left want open borders. I can't imagine anyone actually wanting open borders. So are they lying or what's going on there?

Should Democrats try to convince Jack Smith to join their party and run in 2028? He's 57 years old, a triathlete, and well known.

I like to browse the conservative subreddit, mainly because I enjoy watching the echo chamber fall apart anytime trump says anything. Today I saw an article about Tim Walz pardoning an illegal immigrant and thought “how dumb do these people have to be to believe this stuff”? So I did my research and realized it was true. Am I missing something here?

I tell a Republican that I'm a very proud non-voter and they politely blame me for America's problems and send me on my way.

I tell a Democrat that I'm a very proud non-voter and it's a total crash-out / emotional breakdown of how America sucks because of me and the world would be better if I only were to vote for their team.

What gives?

I bought my first house in 1982. I was 27 years old and had a blue collar job. Today, both of my kids have advanced degrees, are 36 & 33 years old, and still cannot afford to buy a house. Is it any wonder that young voters are unhappy with both political parties? Young Republicans have turned to MAGA. Is is the same with young Democrats turning to DSA?

There’re a lot of media headlines assuming the momentum shift is exciting for Democrats, but my hunch is a huge chunk of the moderate democrats and independent base is turned off by this shift. I am not sure there are enough progressive democrats for these candidates to win in national election, though their fans are certainly the loudest. I myself am not sure I can bring myself to vote for AOC if she is running against a moderate republican in the presidential election. I may vote republican for the first time in my life. What about everyone else?