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[Starver]

Second: I surmise that we are now dealing with dog ninjas. This means that the Ameripol thread has evolved into advocated Canine Supremacy via Trained Assassinations curated by a Supreme AI overlord. As was always intended.

I think you'll find that Canine Assassins Trained by a Supremacy have a different kind of overlord. And it purrs.

[Dunamisdeos]

Second: I surmise that we are now dealing with dog ninjas. This means that the Ameripol thread has evolved into advocated Canine Supremacy via Trained Assassinations curated by a Supreme AI overlord. As was always intended.

I think you'll find that Canine Assassins Trained by a Supremacy have a different kind of overlord. And it purrs.

Muscle Cars, no doubt.

Hail the Benevolent Supreme AI Overlord and his Cadre of Canine Ninja Assassins! See them patrol the neighborhoods of good and loyal citizens in the symbol of their office, a 1964 Pontiac GTO! Hail! Hail!

[Hanslanda]

What the fuck just happened.

[Rolan7]

It's Bay12, Hans.

[ChairmanPoo]

In fiction, it's really common to have a thing where if you personally kill the old leader, you become the new leader.

While it makes for nice dramatic action, I'm pretty certain no actual society or group ever worked in that fashion,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rex_Nemorensis

[Rowanas]

What the fuck just happened.

Forget it Hans, it's Bay12town

[Rolan7]

Thanks, that's what I was going for.  I continue to be uncultured.

Now we just need a system of electing professionals who are motivated by the good of the nation, rather than a popularity contest whose winners are allowed to be subsidized by lobbies...

And what, precisely, does an election that is not a popularity contest look like systemically?

Other than a rigged election, of course.

Yeah, I wasn't sarcastically hinting at a better system.  I don't have an answer.
"Democracy is the worst form of government except for all the others", after all.

I guess the British House of Lords?  Though I remember very little about that.
The concept of "statemen", leaders who care about the nation above themselves, is very old though.  We used to have a lot more of them in government, but ideals seem to struggle against well-funded campaigns.

tldr; Campaign finance reform, duh.

I hope you're not thinking the House of Lords is a better system, seeing as they're all unelected and there are still hereditary titles in there.

That was vaguely my point, though I don't know how well it really works.  It's obviously undemocratic, but the idea of it being fused into a democratic system as a stabilizing mechanism is just interesting.  Kinda like the mostly-powerless-sorta-not monarchy.

But the more serious way to get more statesmen (statespeople?) in America is campaign finance reform, so they can at least compete fairly against those favored by lobbyists.  That's something we could definitely learn from the British about:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egeMAIXYIvI

[sluissa]

Personally, I think cloning is the future of politics. Just churn out vats of history's most recognizable leaders, or let corporations create their own recognizable brands of politician that offer competitive suites of features for the discerning voter. Whether your party's looking for a Zesty Ranch Maverick, a Sweet 'n' Sour Partisan, or just a Classic Hitler, the market will provide.

Can we also make sure to clone Jeff Goldblum to have someone around to make sure we know what a bad idea all this is?

[Kagus]

Y'know what I like about British parliament?

They don't even pretend to be civilized. Just a bunch of chaotic yelling and name-calling.

Shows their true character a lot better than the sterile, prim-and-proper affairs politicians put together over here, before immediately spinning around and spewing filthy muck onto Facebook/Twitter afterwards when in private...

[sluissa]

Y'know what I like about British parliament?

They don't even pretend to be civilized. Just a bunch of chaotic yelling and name-calling.

Shows their true character a lot better than the sterile, prim-and-proper affairs politicians put together over here, before immediately spinning around and spewing filthy muck onto Facebook/Twitter afterwards when in private...

Pretty sure until relatively recently, that filthy muck WAS the face politicians put on. I've heard too many stories of politicians who seem to be impossibly opposed politically having quite decent interactions after hours.

Let's not forget this little gem where that showed through only a decade ago.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTMloaj6b68

You have to remember, these people work together. Routinely have to sit on committees together, have to sit in the same chamber and vote together. They populate a relatively small area of D.C. when they're there so they run into each other getting lunch, shopping, at the airport, etc. It's not impossible to hate the people you work with, but when you see people that often and have to actually interact with them, and see them outside of work, it's easier to humanize them and harder to outright hate them.

Obviously there are exceptions, and I think this applies more to older politicians than the new young group that are rising up in this environment of division, but I think the majority of congress would have no problem sitting down with someone from across the aisle and having a pleasant meal with them... as long as the cameras weren't rolling.

[Madman198237]

In Hardball there is a comment to that effect, made by some President walking into a rec room filled with the other party's members. I can't recall exactly what it was, but it was something like "Oops, all my enemies." to which a Senator replies "Not after 5, Mr. President."

[Dunamisdeos]

After 5, the death games start.

[Trekkin]

Of course politicians can befriend each other across partisan lines. The other party is merely the opposition; the true enemy is the voting public.

Do recall that these people spend their entire careers sucking up to political donors. Open contempt for the unwashed masses, the working men and the ladies who do not lunch (and the regressive attitudes required to divide them so) has been a prerequisite for attaining political office for most of our history.

[Reelya]

Pretty sure until relatively recently, that filthy muck WAS the face politicians put on. I've heard too many stories of politicians who seem to be impossibly opposed politically having quite decent interactions after hours.

Here's the thing: if you're a career politician in a safe seat (which is most seats), then the guy gunning for your job is on the same side of the aisle, not the other side. It's similar with ministers/shadow ministers (those are the wannabe ministers in the opposition side). The person next in line for your actual job is your own party member, not the opposition. In other words, the guys on the other side pose less immediate threat to a politician's position than their own "allies". There's always an excess of ambition vs available positions.

This kind of thing was satirized in Monty Python's Life of Brian, in the scene with the rival factions trying to off each other, rather than the Romans. The first up against the wall during the revolution will be your own co-revolutionaries (which was seen in Russia when the Bolsheviks crushed all democratic socialists and similar groups).

[smjjames]

lol, it looks like Trump's own hubris, contempt for polls (because 2016), and his base's similar contempt for polls and just complacency could come and bite the GOP in the butt in November. It's basically the same kind of mistake that the Democrats did in 2016 with the polls.

While I wouldn't blame them for being skeptical of the polls after 2016, only thing is that this time, it's not just the polls that are showing the wave, it's every special election that happened since January 2017 and all of the primary results that are showing it too. The strategists and analysts are the ones screaming "Pay attention dammit!" while Trump is all "Nah, it'll be a GIANT RED TSUNAMIIIII!!!" and making Trump's base complacent.