If I were in a pedantic mood, I’d say that the results skew because of bad voting mechanisms (state-level electors and first-past-the-post decisions) that encourage strategic voting, rather than directly from strategic voting.
Still, the electoral skew isn’t what you should fear, nor the actual election outcome. The signalling of the populace that such ideas are acceptable to a significant degree is very scary. It’s up to you just how personally to take the fear, and how to react to a risk increase from a small fraction of a percent to a less-small fraction of a percent.
I can imagine if you’re an activist or particularly stand out as a target group, or just a nervous person, it might be justified to maintain an exit plan you can execute over the course of few days if something changes your estimate of personal danger to the measurable range.
that such ideas are acceptable to a significant degree is very scary.
Which ideas? After John Yoo’s memos on torture, Snowden, assassination-by-drone as an entirely routine matter, Guantanamo, etc. what exactly is new and scary to you?
New and scary is the degree to which it’s become normal and accepted in mainstream press and the general populace. People with power have always been horrible, but until recently they’ve had to do it in secret and say they’re sorry when they get caught.
New and scary is the degree to which it’s become normal and accepted in mainstream press and the general populace.
So… if we’re talking presidents, this goes straight to Bush and Obama. I would say Obama in particular because he was supposed to be a bulwark against such things.
However we are discussing why is Trump scary. Why is he more scary than status quo or, say, Hillary? There is a pronounced trend towards a police state, Trump isn’t going to stop it, but then I don’t see anyone who would and who has a chance at getting to a position where he could.
If I were in a pedantic mood, I’d say that the results skew because of bad voting mechanisms (state-level electors and first-past-the-post decisions) that encourage strategic voting, rather than directly from strategic voting.
Still, the electoral skew isn’t what you should fear, nor the actual election outcome. The signalling of the populace that such ideas are acceptable to a significant degree is very scary. It’s up to you just how personally to take the fear, and how to react to a risk increase from a small fraction of a percent to a less-small fraction of a percent.
I can imagine if you’re an activist or particularly stand out as a target group, or just a nervous person, it might be justified to maintain an exit plan you can execute over the course of few days if something changes your estimate of personal danger to the measurable range.
Which ideas? After John Yoo’s memos on torture, Snowden, assassination-by-drone as an entirely routine matter, Guantanamo, etc. what exactly is new and scary to you?
New and scary is the degree to which it’s become normal and accepted in mainstream press and the general populace. People with power have always been horrible, but until recently they’ve had to do it in secret and say they’re sorry when they get caught.
So… if we’re talking presidents, this goes straight to Bush and Obama. I would say Obama in particular because he was supposed to be a bulwark against such things.
However we are discussing why is Trump scary. Why is he more scary than status quo or, say, Hillary? There is a pronounced trend towards a police state, Trump isn’t going to stop it, but then I don’t see anyone who would and who has a chance at getting to a position where he could.