jfv wrote: Sat Jul 27, 2024 10:03 pm I’m envious of all you folks living in ANZ.

I know you all are not without problems but there are so many things to love about your countries.

I very much hope to be able to visit again.

NZ is a weird one. We were vaguely the Sweden of the Pacific for quite some time… if you were of European descent. It started going south in the 2000s. We’d started down the neoliberal path with the 1984 Labour government. Subsequent National (our Conservative Party) Governments kind of weaponised the changes… we had a brief respite from 1999 with a fairly milktoast left wing government, then some more to improvements during the Ardern administration (which according to Andrew were reasonably significant).
But I choose to live in central London over New Zealand. That says it all really.

All the Ardern reforms are in the toilet now that the arseholes are in charge. Atlas-network funded libertarian bot and all-round vile human being David Seymour is now the associate minister of everything. There's this big lie that the Ardern government and the successful covid response wrecked the economy. Out only hope is that this bunch of shits are so incompetent, so racist, and piss off enough people that we wake the fuck up and throw them out, but you know, the rural vote...

Watching the things on YT lately, Buttigieg has really stepped his game on the VP trail. It was kinda fun seeing him doing the rounds on Fox News, I think it's really important to make go rounds on the other isle and see how much you can swing back around in this election.

This seems like it's gonna be a fun campaign!

Lu Zwei wrote: Tue Jul 30, 2024 9:35 am Watching the things on YT lately, Buttigieg has really stepped his game on the VP trail. It was kinda fun seeing him doing the rounds on Fox News, I think it's really important to make go rounds on the other isle and see how much you can swing back around in this election.

This seems like it's gonna be a fun campaign!

Honestly I have always liked Mayo Pete. I’m gay and I lived in South Bend for a couple of years before he was mayor. He’s a good public speaker and comes off as an intelligent guy. He has done a pretty good job as transpo secretary. However in 2020 he was seen as too corporate and “not gay enough” for a lot of the progressive/queer left and that was a death blow. I’m not sure if he’ll be able to shake that perception in 2024.

I would really love to see Harris pick another woman of color

turnbullac wrote: Tue Jul 30, 2024 10:15 am

Lu Zwei wrote: Tue Jul 30, 2024 9:35 am Watching the things on YT lately, Buttigieg has really stepped his game on the VP trail. It was kinda fun seeing him doing the rounds on Fox News, I think it's really important to make go rounds on the other isle and see how much you can swing back around in this election.

This seems like it's gonna be a fun campaign!

Honestly I have always liked Mayo Pete. I’m gay and I lived in South Bend for a couple of years before he was mayor. He’s a good public speaker and comes off as an intelligent guy. He has done a pretty good job as transpo secretary. However in 2020 he was seen as too corporate and “not gay enough” for a lot of the progressive/queer left and that was a death blow. I’m not sure if he’ll be able to shake that perception in 2024.

I would really love to see Harris pick another woman of color

Dunno about his gay credentials, as I never got into his background beyond his public speaking, but I really kinda like his transparent speaking side. I would also feel like he is a swing towards what is currently flaming the democratic vote, but I would expect that from any up to date politician going into 2024. I see that they're all feeling like a workers vote is a swing thing and he's also gravitating towards that. It just makes him a competent "politician" reading the needs of his community. Not a compliment.

I feel like Pete is in the driving seat for a VP nod. A family gay man that does not get rattled on Fox News or in front of deranged Maga Republicans. Not a tall task, but still.

Pete's killing it, as he's a great communicator. I've forgotten the reasons why I didn't like him, probably his connection to McKenzie. But I digress. I think for a more broad appeal for Harris, there's a few names out there that seem totally plausible, the democratic bench seems pretty deep compared to republicans. Anyone who can make JD Vance look like a real couch fucker is all that they really need, because Harris seems to be selling it on her own.

Real question though: you think our brain-drained electorate would accept a two-woman or bi-racial woman/gay man ticket? I don't have a lot of faith in independent voters or moderate republicans: they are afraid of change, so much so they would rather join a cult.

cakes wrote: Tue Jul 30, 2024 11:01 am Anyone who can make JD Vance look like a real couch fucker is all that they really need, because Harris seems to be selling it on her own.

If anyone told me in 2020 that the real debate in the VP race would be if one or the other fucked a couch, I would put my money on a tractor or a circular saw. It's so easy to fuck a couch, try fucking a John fucking Deere.

cakes wrote: Tue Jul 30, 2024 11:01 am Real question though: you think our brain-drained electorate would accept a two-woman or bi-racial woman/gay man ticket? I don't have a lot of faith in independent voters or moderate republicans: they are afraid of change, so much so they would rather join a cult.

Yeah, you have to think about the centre left voters that still love to see a blonde combed over 50ish hetero candidate, but I feel like this country has moved on from that type of candidate in praxis more than it has on the political spectrum.

Trump brought a lot of change; the American kleptocracy was never so flagrant. Acting secretaries on contract...

mayor pete is textbook mckinsey guy, just like my brother. textbook navy guy, just like me.
i laughed at him trying to promote abortion to the white dudes on youtube. give me more of that!

Pete had a more than a few difficulties handling race issues in South Bend. Looking at it in the best light it had more to do with politics than some sort of moral deficiency. That being said it's so wrong to have to dismiss or play around with glaring racial inequities because to solve these crises wouldn't be politically expedient. Please don't come for me. I like Pete Buttigieg but politicians are gonna politic, 'specially the ones mired in our two-party system.