r/PoliticalOptimism

Regardless of your feelings over the Israel Palestine war, wanting to bring Jewish people (doesn't matter if they're Zionsts or however you wanted to call them) to camps gives off Holocaust vibes and is not acceptable. I'm glad the Democrats have stepped in to say this is wrong

I am from Wisconsin, and one of our towns has made national news when the Watertown, WI school board voted to remove an instrumental piece tied to LGBTQ history from their upcoming spring concert. The controversy began when the Watertown Wind Symphony, made up of about 40 high schoolers, was set to perform "A Mother of a Revolution" - a song composed about the Stonewall riots, at their spring concert on May 18th.

In a statement, the Watertown School Board defended its decision, saying, "The board decided to remove the song from the concert due to its celebration of violence. The Watertown School Board remains committed to providing academic education free from indoctrination."

Last night, despite the ban, the Wind Symphony performed the piece - with its composer present - to an outpouring of community (and national!) support and defiance. I highly recommend watching the speeches if you are in need of assurance that hope exists.

As Sauk Prairie school district band director said, "They forgot one fundamental truth: you cannot extinguish light by closing your eyes."

Watch on Youtube:
A Community Performance of "A Mother of A Revolution" - Watertown, Wisconsin

(ETA: Speeches begin at ~32:00)

The punchlines write themselves

So I had been debating on whether I should make a post on Massie losing being not the end of the world (FYI it isn't), and about people's reaction to the ballroom. I've heard a lot of people talking about the ballroom and dooming about the reported bunker that is being built for a while now. The fear being that the ballroom is just a cover for this elaborate installation that is meant to give Trump the ability to hide away when he is meant to leave office so he can stay in power. And from there the doomers either believe in him declaring Civil war afterwards and/or dropping a nuclear bomb (Because that conspiracy never gets old I guess).

And this theory has grown since an interview where Trump mentions that the bunker is going to be 6 stories deep, having a full military installation, research stations, and more. Immediately the internet does what it does and spreads this as the inevitability that he will stay in power forever.

I'll try to make this quick (didn't work) but there is no way that Trump is going to be able to stay in power post this term.

First of all, when the inauguration happens, all of his security clearance and access to things like the nuclear codes are revoked automatically.

Secondly, the logistics of building this bunker are impossible. Not just in terms of courts stopping it but in how they are going to manage building something this elaborate in only three years. Sure they could avoid most of the safety requirements and typical safeguards that might slow the project down, but that doesn't mean that it would successfully be built in time for him to leave office, but it also could mean that getting in it would actively endanger him and those inside of it.

And thirdly, the people in both his cabinet and in the military are not only the ones who would likely suffer the legal consequences of an attempted coup, but are in the desire of having careers after this admin is over. Military members would surely be court marshaled for such an unconstitutional move, and the cabinet members would face not only charges from this but lose credibility for any races they run in from that point on.

Even looking at Trump's history of embellishing the details of a story, you could take away that he is making a bigger case for something that might look a lot smaller and less extravagant when finished. And while this could be used to argue that he might be able to finish the smaller bunker in the remaining time in office, not only is the risk of a democratic congress investigating the bunker and stopping it a lot higher after the midterms, but the amount of logistical safety concerns is still incredibly high for the project even if it is smaller.

The most logical guess as to the bunker is that it could be a sign of creating an unnecessary expenditure for taxpayers to create a monument to his legacy or it could be some sort of other smaller scheme relating to financials rather than the bigger one that people are imagining it could be. I get being worried about Trump being a sore loser and trying to stay in power, but there is a number of factors that need to be considered before believing that he is going to create an underground oval office for him to take control of. This isn't just a move that could get blocked by courts, but blocked by feasibility, time, logic, and the simple understanding of how the transfer of power works.

It's been suggested that the potentially transphobic EHRC guidance may be laid out in UK Parliment tomorrow. The idea of it being tomorrow stems from an interview with Phillipson on BBC Radio 4 suggesting she could lay it out this week as it is the last week before Parliment goes into recess.

I fear the Telegraph may have confirmed it. I don't trust it as it is a right wing paper. But this line concerns me: "government sources confirmed that the code would finally be laid before MPs on Thursday, before Parliament enters recess."

What are your thoughts and optimism on this?

I understand why people are concerned after seeing Massie lost his primary. Of the Republicans in the house he is the most “ok”. (If you want to know why I put ok in quotes, just look at his Wikipedia page and you’ll see why.)

But I feel we will be ok. 1. The most conservative people vote in the primaries, this is where the ride or die Trumpers come to vote. Come November they will be way outnumbered by the blue wave. 2. Speaking of the blue wave, Dems are polling at well over 10 points for the midterms. We will take the house and hopefully the senate too

A good video sharing the resources to how to spread the word about educating people about the lies in the admin, and remember the positivs changes happening right now.

It can be a hard listen, but it did leave me optimistic at the end

Amanda’s Mild Takes released a video going over our wins (and one loss) from last night, and also explained why Thomas Massie losing isn’t exactly a bad thing. Let’s keep it going, freedom fighters! We’re still on a roll, and we still will win!

I’m worried that Trump will start being as friendly to China as he is to Russia. Is this likely?

Kentucky: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2026-primary-elections/kentucky-house-results

Oregon: https://www.washingtonpost.com/elections/2026/05/19/oregon-house-primary-election-results-2026-live-updates/

Alabama: https://www.cnn.com/election/2026/primaries/alabama?admin1=01&election-data-id=2026-SD&election-painting-mode=single-party-candidates&filter-key-races=false&filter-flipped=false&filter-remaining=false

Idaho: https://www.cnn.com/election/2026/primaries/idaho?admin1=16&election-data-id=2026-SD&election-painting-mode=single-party-candidates&filter-key-races=false&filter-flipped=false&filter-remaining=false

Pennsylvania: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2026-primary-elections/pennsylvania-house-results

That should be all six with Georgia in the main post link. Keep all discussion here please

Bill Cassidy was the deciding vote after he lost his primary and promptly found his spine

I love this so much. This dude spoke truth.

MAGA Republicanism is the last stand of Confederacy