MerryJaneDoe

Alas, I fear the US might be too far gone for ranked choice to have an effect.

The problem is quality of candidates. Since Citizen’s United opened the door for unlimited corporate money in elections, literally 90% of candidates are on someone’s payroll. “Grassroots” is a thing of the past. Mass media and name recognition are everything.

Absolutely!

Ummm…how though?

Where are progressives on that scale? Oh, and do fascists, I definitely want to know how a fascist stacks up against a liberal!

This is kind of an insane take.

Women have always been vulnerable. Women are easy targets because they are, on average, physically weaker than males.

Women get raped and sexually assaulted at rates far beyond men. 50% of women will suffer a sexual assault of some kind in their life. Just 3% of men report a sexual assault.

I don’t think mass media is brainwashing people, because I don’t think they’re making them adopt new beliefs.

And where did those beliefs originate?

“There was no brainwashing…”

Define brainwashing. Tell me why a farmer who lives 3,000 miles away from NYC should be emotionally affected by 9/11, but not by the countless other injustices in the world. How else do you define mass media if not “brainwashing”?

“Dumb and uneducated” is the same thing as brain-washed.

It’s not accidental.

In fairness, Bush’s rating declined steadily after 9/11, and was in the mid 50s when he asked Congress for a formal declaration of war in Iraq.

And that makes sense - Americans rallied in the days following the attack. Bush played his role perfectly. He was very presidential after 9/11. He was serious. Somber. He mourned and offered consolation. He was dignified.

The Trump administration missed a crucial step in starting a war. He forgot that Americans hate wars of choice - and especially when the gas prices are affected.