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[RedKing]

Or, you educate the lolnoobs on why gridlock is preferable to the rubberstamp that Trump previously had.
Cast it as Thermopylae if you have to -- we didn't beat back the Persian army, but by Zeus, we held the line. And 2020 can be the Dems' Plataea, because whomever controls state houses controls redistricting.

Was 2018 the "most important election" (especially for younger voters)? Yeah, it probably was.
Will 2020 also be "the most important election"? Yeah, it probably will. Without turning the tide in 2018, 2020 is just a re-coronation of Trump.
Nations aren't fixed in a single election cycle, especially when they're this fucked up.

[Maximum Spin]

educate the lolnoobs

This is the crux of your problem, you see.

[sluissa]

There's two groups I see truly shitting on the blue wave. One, is the republicans, through fox news and trump twitter, claiming it as a win because they picked up a couple of senate seats. Their reason for shitting on the blue wave should be obvious.

The second is a small minority of people who still can't understand the concept that Trump(and as a result Republicans) has any support at all.

Most people are okay with the outcome. It's sort of like buying a lottery ticket. It would have been nice if you'd won both houses, the possibility was there, however remote, but nobody reasonable actually expected to win both.

Personally I grabbed a snickers bar alongside the lottery ticket and I'm enjoying it.

[SalmonGod]

I can't remember an election post-2000 that hasn't been framed as the most important election of my lifetime.

[wobbly]

Arguably true. Short of building a time machine

[Maximum Spin]

Arguably true. Short of building a time machine

If every election since 2000 has been the most important of your lifetime

then why haven't any of the policies changed

[wobbly]

Arguably true. Short of building a time machine

If every election since 2000 has been the most important of your lifetime

then why haven't any of the policies changed

Presumably because it's a big country and you are not Emperor?

[Maximum Spin]

[sarcasm]

It was a rhetorical question. I know the answer, but I think you'll agree that, if an election is insufficient to change anything under the current system, it can't be the most important!

[wobbly]

You'd have to convince me that nothing ever changes. If nothing ever changes why does it matter that Trump was elected in the 1st place? The fact that Capitalist Plan A is replaced by Capitalist Plan B doesn't actually mean that nothing ever changes.

[RedKing]

educate the lolnoobs

This is the crux of your problem, you see.

Which -- that I'm calling them lolnoobs, or that I think they can be educated?

I can't remember an election post-2000 that hasn't been framed as the most important election of my lifetime.

It's kinda true. And 2000 was way, WAY more important than people realized at the time.

2000: Meh, Gore and Bush are the same thing. (oh wait, they're not)
2002: Oh God, everything is on fire, we're at war with Al-Qaeda but we why are talking about invading Iraq??
2004: Oh my God, we made a terrible mistake, can we please get rid of this moron? (And the Dems punch themselves in the dick by running John Kerry)
2006: Can we at least get Congress to stop letting Dubya do whatever the fuck he wants?
2008: Ok, let's NEVER do that again. (Which is why the majority didn't vote for anything connected with Sarah Palin, i.e. Dubya in drag)
2010: Obamacare! (And the hatred of a poorly-sold compromise bill is what allowed the Tea Party gang to roll into DC)
2012: Hey, this has been a nice change of pace but now Republicans want to put rich white guys back on top of everything.
2014: Can we at least get a Congress that doesn't stop Obama from doing anything?
2016: Meh, Clinton and Trump are the same thing. (gee, why do I feel like I've heard this before?)
2018: See 2006.
2020: See 2004 (including my fear that the Dems will straight up take a jackhammer to their collective dick by running Clinton again, or someone else utterly flawed and uninspiring).


As to the assertion that "none of the policies have changed", that's complete and utter bollocks. This country is vastly different than it was 18 years ago, in a number of policy areas.

LGBT rights -- hugely expanded (gay marriage, military service, etc.)
Consumer rights -- we actually have the CFPB now. That didn't exist in 2000.
Banking regulation -- went through a trough of deregulation in the Bush era, then re-regulation in the early Obama years, and now heading towards deregulation again.

And that's all just off the top of my head.

[Maximum Spin]

It just takes a lot of elections, okay?

Sure, that's my point! No one election is the most important.

[RedKing]

Biden?

I love Uncle Joe, but no. Too old, too much baggage. Easy lightning rod for the Right to coalesce against. Would be an....interesting campaign though. If I could safely reset the timeline, I'd push for it just to see if the Presidential debate would turn into a three-round cage match.

It just takes a lot of elections, okay?

Sure, that's my point! No one election is the most important.

Or, the stakes keep incrementally increasing. "You are the tallest you have ever been" is an accurate statement for the first 20 years or so of your life.

Personally, I miss the days when the election was about "restoring dignity to the White House" rather than "preserving the Republic from collapse". Though as I pointed out, that election that we thought was all about who was less likely to get a hummer in the Oval Office turned out to be profoundly important, perhaps the most important Presidential election in 20 years or more.

[Maximum Spin]

Yeah, but "all elections are important!" doesn't flow as well.

I can agree with that, but calling each election the most important just leads people to form unreasonable expectations that are inevitably disappointed and then they stop voting because "they always say that".

[RedKing]

Biden?

I love Uncle Joe, but no. Too old, too much baggage. Easy lightning rod for the Right to coalesce against. Would be an....interesting campaign though. If I could safely reset the timeline, I'd push for it just to see if the Presidential debate would turn into a three-round cage match.

Oh, I meant that as the equivalent of running Kerry in 2004.

Ah. No, I think Biden is more charismatic (hell, dry toast is more charismatic than John Kerry). But I think Biden's time is past. I think if he had run in 2016, he would have won handily. Now...I'm not so sure.

As to whether there's a big "disappointment" problem lurking for the Democrats, polls seem to indicate otherwise.

64% of voters who voted Democrat said they were happy with the results.
Only 34% of voters total were disappointed (and it can be assumed that that's going to be a roughly even split, or even larger for Republicans after all the #RedWave and #WalkAway memes).

[SaberToothTiger]

Or, you educate the lolnoobs on why gridlock is preferable to the rubberstamp that Trump previously had.
Cast it as Thermopylae if you have to -- we didn't beat back the Persian army, but by Zeus, we held the line. And 2020 can be the Dems' Plataea, because whomever controls state houses controls redistricting.

Over the last two years every day was supposed to be the big push to finish off the toupee boy. Every day I read news that said that it was going to be the last straw, that Americans would have enough, that Democrats would mobilize and restore order to the world, that the Republicans would have enough and remove Trump to replace him with someone less orange. Every scandal was to be the last, each controversy would break the mould, and yet each day brought no change whatsoever. The status quo remained. The midterms were to be the blue wave that would have been the knock out blow to end Trump's reign of terror forever to usher in a new era of peace and equality. The victory of the midterms was not to be a heroic defeat, but a triumph. It was to be Salamis.

This was however not to be.

The hard fought battle was lost from the get go. The strategic goal was to reach a stalemate, a gridlock with which to continue the fight to another day. The greatest victory was to simply stave off defeat and pray for more time to fight on and on and on. It was not Salamis. It was not Thermophylae. Everything for nothing, utter dedication sacrificed for another go at starving the enemy.

But you are not the Greeks. The time is not on your side. There will be no wunderwaffe in this war. The battle drags on as it has for two years and you are no closer to victory. Sun Tzu said that "invincibility lies in the defence; the possibility of victory in the attack."

When all that remains is defence, no matter how determined, there can be no victory, only heroism in defeat. You managed to stop the enemy by throwing everything you could at him, a victory hollow and devoid of joy.

You may call this Thermophylae, but this was no Thermophylae.

This was Asculum.

If this is victory, I hope for the Democrats' sake they do not win anymore.