site banner
Goodguy  3d ago (text post)   Edited 3d ago   9795 thread views

Midterms Megathread

Cause otherwise midterms discussion will be scattered around a bunch of separate Culture War thread posts. And it's nice to have more off-the-cuff rapid reactions in a dedicated megathread.

The first thing I've noticed so far: if the exit polls are correct, Americans are very pessimistic about AI.

13
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

Idk. It's amusing to see inflation writ large so confidently laid at Trump's feet, when we have such a recent example of a Democrat-controlled federal government actively making the problem worse just a few years ago.

Until Venezuela or so I was very pleased with Trump’s foreign policy. The removal of America from various attempts at global governance, efforts to wind down various conflicts, the promise of no new wars... Bombing Iran had to be punished. Americans are sick of it. The gas prices just made it so, so much worse where normies are concerned.

As for Iran, that hornets nest can’t be unkicked. I’m very interested to hear the Democrats’ plan. Do they want to pack it in and allow Iran to charge for passage?

when we have such a recent example of a Democrat-controlled federal government actively making the problem worse just a few years ago.

There was very little fiscal policy could do to reduce inflation. The COVID inflation wave was 100% central banks going crazy. Politicians got punished for it worldwide, from Biden to Boris, because voters are too stupid to understand this.

In 2026, no, Democrats want any deal to fail so they can blame it on Trump in 2028. In 2028, Iran can probably get a deal to charge tolls with President Ossoff and Americans will be tired enough on the Iran issue that huge concessions are palatable as long as the problem goes away.

I find it pretty sickening. I'm in a situation where I'm forced, against my wishes, to watch MSNOW every few weeks. Here's the formula:

Some host: It's unbelievable that Trump is doing <whatever thing Trump did this week> when millions of Americans can't even afford homes or gas.
Some other host: And by the way, have you seen the latest gas prices? Unbelievable!

Meanwhile, I'm just remembering that all of these people were telling everyone that they should shut up and not worry about inflation, just a little over 2 years ago. What horrible hypocrisy.

If they pack it in a force Trump to do a bad deal he’ll still get the blame so maybe.

when we have such a recent example of a Democrat-controlled federal government actively making the problem worse just a few years ago.

And notably, they got their asses kicked because of those problems. As it turns out, voters care about the economy and affording their lifestyles. Who'd have thunk it?

What is this place?

This website is a place for people who want to move past shady thinking and test their ideas in a court of people who don't all share the same biases. Our goal is to optimize for light, not heat; this is a group effort, and all commentators are asked to do their part.

The weekly Culture War threads host the most controversial topics and are the most visible aspect of The Motte. However, many other topics are appropriate here. We encourage people to post anything related to science, politics, or philosophy; if in doubt, post!

Check out The Vault for an archive of old quality posts. You are encouraged to crosspost these elsewhere.


Why are you called The Motte?

A motte is a stone keep on a raised earthwork common in early medieval fortifications. More pertinently, it's an element in a rhetorical move called a "Motte-and-Bailey", originally identified by philosopher Nicholas Shackel. It describes the tendency in discourse for people to move from a controversial but high value claim to a defensible but less exciting one upon any resistance to the former. He likens this to the medieval fortification, where a desirable land (the bailey) is abandoned when in danger for the more easily defended motte. In Shackel's words, "The Motte represents the defensible but undesired propositions to which one retreats when hard pressed."

On The Motte, always attempt to remain inside your defensible territory, even if you are not being pressed.


New post guidelines

If you're posting something that isn't related to the culture war, we encourage you to post a thread for it. A submission statement is highly appreciated, but isn't necessary for text posts or links to largely-text posts such as blogs or news articles; if we're unsure of the value of your post, we might remove it until you add a submission statement. A submission statement is required for non-text sources (videos, podcasts, images).

Culture war posts go in the culture war thread; all links must either include a submission statement or significant commentary. Bare links without those will be removed.

If in doubt, please post it!


Rules


Recommended Posts And Communities

Recommended Realtime Chats