4 ms·

That's not wrong, we have an issue with politicians promising things that are impossible or at a minimum highly implausible - because the structure of our polit

by Aloha 3y ago

That's not wrong, we have an issue with politicians promising things that are impossible or at a minimum highly implausible - because the structure of our political system means they won't be thrown out on their ear for making promises they can't keep.

darkerside 3y ago
I actually think it's that politicians have been unwilling to promise things that they feel are politically infeasible, and arguably make no sense, like building a wall to Mexico
- Aloha 3y ago
  Once Trump and his ilk came in, Those people lost elections.
Gud 3y ago
It's not that they promise things that they can't deliver. It's that they pretend to be fighters for good, while instead using the system for cynical self gain.
- Aloha 3y ago
  But they do promise lots of things they can't deliver as well.
kergonath 3y ago
It kind of makes sense on an intellectual level, but I don’t think it is very plausible. Trump promised a lot of things when he was elected, most of which are practically impossible. I think he just promised the right things for his audience, whereas most politicians are so far up their arses that they don’t know what actual people want or care about.
- Aloha 3y ago
  How is that different than anyone else? Republicans and Democrats alike say whatever they need to win a primary and general election, democrats do that in smaller quantities - but it's still the same bullshit. And before anyone says I'm "both sidesing" the green new deal (which was little more than a messaging bill with lots of words and little substance) was no more passable than building a southern border wall was, or repealing Obamacare (though this got close) for that matter.
- chmod775 3y ago
  I don't think that's what GP meant: Voters just wanted to set the whole circus on fire. That the person they chose for the job also made impossible promises didn't matter. This happens a lot on a smaller scale in other democracies that aren't a two party system - people vote for some nonsense radicals or weirdo upstart party to signal the establishment it needs to change. Sometimes this has quite funny outcomes: Pirate party, the Greens in Germany in 1983, etc. Other times it's scary nutjobs. Rarely the parties stick around for longer, slowly becoming the establishment.
rayiner 3y ago
> we have an issue with politicians promising things that are impossible or at a minimum highly implausible That's every democracy. The issue we have is that we're in a period where trust in elites is at rock bottom. (Both sides' elites--Mitch McConnell isn't much more popular among Trump voters than Biden.) The normal function of elites keeping the unwashed masses grounded in reality isn't working.

by Aloha 3y ago

darkerside 3y ago

I actually think it's that politicians have been unwilling to promise things that they feel are politically infeasible, and arguably make no sense, like building a wall to Mexico

Aloha 3y ago
Once Trump and his ilk came in, Those people lost elections.

Gud 3y ago

It's not that they promise things that they can't deliver. It's that they pretend to be fighters for good, while instead using the system for cynical self gain.

Aloha 3y ago
But they do promise lots of things they can't deliver as well.

kergonath 3y ago

It kind of makes sense on an intellectual level, but I don’t think it is very plausible. Trump promised a lot of things when he was elected, most of which are practically impossible. I think he just promised the right things for his audience, whereas most politicians are so far up their arses that they don’t know what actual people want or care about.

Aloha 3y ago
How is that different than anyone else? Republicans and Democrats alike say whatever they need to win a primary and general election, democrats do that in smaller quantities - but it's still the same bullshit. And before anyone says I'm "both sidesing" the green new deal (which was little more than a messaging bill with lots of words and little substance) was no more passable than building a southern border wall was, or repealing Obamacare (though this got close) for that matter.
chmod775 3y ago
I don't think that's what GP meant: Voters just wanted to set the whole circus on fire. That the person they chose for the job also made impossible promises didn't matter. This happens a lot on a smaller scale in other democracies that aren't a two party system - people vote for some nonsense radicals or weirdo upstart party to signal the establishment it needs to change. Sometimes this has quite funny outcomes: Pirate party, the Greens in Germany in 1983, etc. Other times it's scary nutjobs. Rarely the parties stick around for longer, slowly becoming the establishment.

rayiner 3y ago

> we have an issue with politicians promising things that are impossible or at a minimum highly implausible That's every democracy. The issue we have is that we're in a period where trust in elites is at rock bottom. (Both sides' elites--Mitch McConnell isn't much more popular among Trump voters than Biden.) The normal function of elites keeping the unwashed masses grounded in reality isn't working.