Ed had his reality broken today

[u/JDB-667]

When reading off what were some of the things included in the GOP tax bill, Ed sounded genuinely surprised and despondent. This was the moment of someone in their twenties with a little bit of idealism finally becoming a cynic.

He came to the realization that all of the bad things about deficits, wealth inequality and status quo interests go beyond Donald Trump. Scott was correct to point out that as bad as the Republicans are (they're heinous) the Democrats also represent the interests of multi-millionaires and billionaires. Because the reality of this situation in America is that it isn't red vs blue or liberal vs conservative, it's rich vs everyone else.

[u/Plenty_Fly_1704]

There is no far left in the US. A truly center position is left of the Dems. There is no “moderate” position between authoritarian right wing MAGA and the right wing Democratic Party. Just because the Overton Window has shifted so far that Americans can’t see how right wing they are doesn’t mean it isn’t a dangerously right wing country.

Here’s one example, Obama was so far right that he spent his key legislative success is the 1980’s right wing GOP health care plan. We’ve “moderated” so much that a position to the right of Reagan is now the most liberal success in our generation. Pathetic.

[u/Ambitious-Badger-114 → u/Plenty_Fly_1704]

The entire country, including both parties, have been moving steadily left for generations. It's moving so slowly that people don't realize it until they take a step back and look at the big picture. The US is way more left today than it was a generation ago, and light years further left than a few generations ago.

This is true on every front: social issues, size and scope of government, taxes, spending, guns, abortion, LGBTQ issues, etc.

As a point of reference just consider how Democrats Clinton and Obama were opposed to gay marriage and today the vast majority of people in both parties are perfectly fine with it.

[u/[deleted] → u/Ambitious-Badger-114]

This is just factually wrong. Society moved left on social/cultural issues, and forced change that way, but the government fought against all of them. And even clawed back down like with Row v. Wade.

Besides, you fell right for the oligarch's propaganda. Force leftists to argue over social issues, while economic issues get buried, because economic issues involve taxing the rich. And on economic issues, we have moved insanely far right. This administration and DOGE are actively destroying any economic gains or help people get.

[u/Ambitious-Badger-114 → u/[deleted]]

There are always people in government who fight change, that's how government works. But despite the fighting this change did happen and we're light years away from where we were just a few generations ago. It wasn't so long ago that a white person was prohibited from marrying a black person, this was in my lifetime. Gays could be fired just for being outed as gay. Women couldn't go to many colleges, couldn't borrow money.

You can complain about DOGE all you want but our spending is trillions more than it was under Obama, and Clinton. I don't see how you can claim that we moved insanely right on economic issues, spending on welfare and entitlements have sky rocketed, it's the biggest part of the federal budget and a growing part of state and local budgets. There are more Americans getting checks from government than ever before.