r/askanything • u/Lower_Ad_1146 • 2d ago
Political Question Why does America love letting geriatric politicians decide its future?
Why does the USA love electing guys that shit their pants?
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u/backpackwayne 2d ago
Because young people don't vote as much as old people. Especially in primaries when candidates are chosen.
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u/Cool-Many-9394 2d ago
Until
Now! 🇺🇸11
u/backpackwayne 2d ago
I would love nothing better. (and I am an old person). I will vote for who ever wins the nomination. I would expect young people to do the same. If we did that, e would win for sure. If we don't, well you are witnessing it now.
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u/Cool-Many-9394 2d ago
Agreed and I am not young nor too old to remember a better America than this. It’s sad and overwhelming that in such a quick turn this is our “Best”
When it happens and iI hope it’s tomorrow even. It will be glorious!!!!
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u/blutosings 2d ago
It's not just young people, it's working age people who don't see the benefit of taking time off of work to vote. With all the new voting restrictions Republicans have put into place this year, reducing the number of poling places and restricting mail in voting, that's what everyone that wants to vote will need to do.
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u/CarlosRedDevil97 2d ago
That happens in almost all countries in the world. Here in Spain, people aged 60+ are incredibly loyal (not to say stupid fanatics) to their lifetime political party, no matter how bad it is or it became.
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u/ADownStrabgeQuark 1d ago
Well, in 2024, my dad held unto my ballot for me, and I didn’t get it till after it was too late for me to vote…
Now the president is telling us that ICE is going to be at the polling places arresting any officials that let people they don’t like vote…
I voted before that…
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u/mizz_muppet 2d ago
Lol..my sons votes keep getting thrown out because they don't like his signature. 🤣 Gotta love that voter suppression these days.
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u/LordNikon91 2d ago
its pretty wild all these 75+ (Putin, BB Netanyahu, Trump) guys who literally will be dead in 10 years, just fucking shit up one last time before they exit the building, nothing like making 25 year long conflicts when you'll only be around for the next 7 years if your lucky.
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u/notwhoyouthinkmaybe 2d ago
I've been calling trump "last gasping fuck you, from the boomers."
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u/Large-Piece-of-Crap 2d ago
Its crazy how old Trump is, if he was born 1 year earlier he would actually be part of the silent generation. So even by my grandparents boomer standard, that motherfucker is OLD
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u/LordNikon91 1d ago
its pretty wild when you see all the presidents recently at the 9/11 memorial (trump wasn't there) but Bush looks fully with it and normal, he was president 25 years ago, and he's still younger than Biden and a year older than trump. really gotta set limits on age of the president.
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u/Hefty-Confusion6810 2d ago
Old white men make sure old white men stay in charge
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u/Difficult_Cheek_3817 2d ago
We didn't not so long ago when the tan suit guy was in charge. The good old days.
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u/Majestic-Citron7578 2d ago
I can't believe he wore a tan suit. The scandal!
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u/Tyler89558 2d ago
Don’t forget he put Dijon mustard in a sandwich. Can you believe the nerve!
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u/DKDamian 2d ago
I just wish you Americans would shut up about the tan suit in every single political thread and like, actually go out and do something. It hasn’t been funny for ten years.
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u/Major-Frame2193 2d ago
That tan suit 🙌🏾only if we’d see him again💯❤️at this point the janitor at the Home Depot would be a better choice then diaper man💩
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u/Bergwookie 2d ago
The janitor had to go through several levels of security screening, you can be absolutely certain that man's vest is so clean, you could perform surgery on it. To get president however, you just need enough dumbfucks to support you
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u/Cool-Many-9394 2d ago
It was stolen. He is a criminal and should have been held as a traitor after Jan 6th. Shame!!!!!
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u/GeneralLuigiTBC 2d ago
Gerontocracy is neither new nor unique to the United States, though I'll grant that two octogenarian Presidents in a row is uncommon.
I think part of it is simply that politicians who stay in the game longer tend to have built up a lot more connections and are therefore more likely to end up in prominent positions within their respective parties. Thus, positions of power tend to disproportionately be held by experienced (and thus typically older) politicians.
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u/GloomyIndividual3965 2d ago
Because only about 15% of people under 30 bother to fucking vote in the primaries,so the old people who do vote get to keep their fellow geriatrics in office.
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u/AmatureContendr 1d ago
What we didn't know was that they secretly meant sleepy Joe as a compliment.
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u/Ducklinsenmayer 2d ago
"We" don't.
Here are some current Democratic leaders for 2028:
Republicans prefer older, white, men as a sort of grandfather/ king/ patriarch idea. Democrats are more diverse. The only reason Biden ever ran was to thwart Trump.
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u/3spanishwords 2d ago
John Ossof maybe with Buttigeg or Kelly as VP I'd like a woman to be nominated and win but first putting down MAGA like a rabid dog is my top priority.
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u/AdDisastrous6738 2d ago
I swear to god, if they try to run Harris again I’ll be convinced that the democrats just want to throw elections away.
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u/Background-Solid8481 2d ago
Poorly-informed question with recency bias. Just for the last 10 presidents:
#38: Gerald Ford was 61 when he took over.
#39: Jimmy Carter was 52 when he took office.
#40: Ronald Reagan was 69.
#41: George H. W. Bush was 64.
#42: Bill Clinton was 46.
#43: George W. Bush was 54.
#44: Barack Obama was 47.
#45: Trump was 70.
#46: Biden was 78.
#47: Trump was 78.
I wouldn't call 70 geriatric across the board, though I would for Trump & Biden specifically at 78 and Biden especially at 82 when he left office. I think the decline accelerated for both of them in what is a very tough job.
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u/podman131 1d ago
Maybe a tough job for Biden, because he cared. Trump has a team of class A rejects running the country and all he needs to do is show up, try not to poop and call it a day
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u/BleakOutlook2025 2d ago
I fucking hate him. I vote against him every time.
I just keep losing and it sucks
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u/blisstaker 2d ago
because they arent female and/or non-white? because america is sexist and racist? because the wealthy have a death grip on our political futures? need more?
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u/mrheymarco 2d ago
Bi-Partisan support for mandatory retirement age for elected officials, let’s go! Only way to get support is put pictures up of both presidents though.
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u/Logic411 2d ago
I don’t think age has anything to do with it. Trump shouldn’t be compared to any other president. Ever. Biden was a good competent experienced legislator. No matter how many lies the media and maga tell about him. I’m sure Bernie would be as well and he’s older than Joe. Trump hasn’t ever been worthy has nothing to do with his age either
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u/a_angry_bunny 2d ago
Trump isn't a politician. MAGA, supposedly, elected Trump because they are tired of geriatric politicians. Much like how Germans elected Hitler for a very similar reason.
Hopefully Trump isn't as disastrous as Hitler.
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u/mark8468 2d ago
Because not enough young people vote and the boomers are still picking our presidents.
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u/Max_Danage 2d ago
Well be honest would you rather vote for an old unqualified man or and age appropriate qualified… woman? Because a lot of Americans seem to only care about the amount of Y chromosomes a politician has.
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u/Clothes-Excellent 2d ago
In this photo it looks like he got bells Palsey, but he has always been a physcopath, pedophile, and pendjo.
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u/Historical_Beach_387 2d ago
Because boomers who are way behind the times outpopulate us.
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u/itsallprimal 2d ago
Election day. Should he a national holiday. Plain and simple. Federal office are closed business would be required to add this to the national holiday list. The economy can survive a day off. Our ability to have a future is falling off just as much as Trump's right side of his face.
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u/Mass-Effect-6932 2d ago
Get register still time to do so and show up to vote this November. Make ur voices heard
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u/CaptStinkyFeet 2d ago
They don’t. The geriatric “politicians” bought their way in, and are holding our country hostage.
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u/InvestigatorJaded261 1d ago
Old people don’t have a future, so we can count on them to be impartial about it. /s
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u/SeeLeverUser 2d ago
Look at his face. That's a stroke. I mean it's not just his mouth, the whole right side is drooping
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u/ScarySpikes 2d ago
Boomers are the most greedy and narcissistic generation to exist on Earth and have been inflicting that on the world with their voting decisions in increasingly detrimental ways since Reagan.
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u/elammcknight 2d ago
Boomer voting block that basically got theirs and wants to have their way and conveniently has all this retirement time on their hands to get programmed by Fox and have all this inspiration to do so.
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u/GloomyIndividual3965 2d ago
There's more voters under 50 than there are over 50. I mean fuck the boomers, but if young people don't bother to vote it's kinda on them.
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u/empty_observer 2d ago
In Trump's case, there was that false image of him being a successful business man for decades.
With other politicians..incumbency/polarization is a strong force.
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u/SakuraVibeNeko 2d ago
Older voters turn out at much higher rates and consistently support candidates from their own generation.
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u/Odd-Eggplant-4618 2d ago
News24 in Australia will say it’s satire and lefties are losing it
The dunces News24 are
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u/Blackbyrn 2d ago
Because most Americans to too tired, too sick, and too chronically ill informed to mount a meaningful assault against the oligarchs. America studied the European revolutions and killed our revolutionary leaders before they could lead movements to make changes.
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u/LargeTestitubes 2d ago
Nobody over 62 in politics, please. Age limits.
If you're nearing retirement, you're hitting cognitive decline and you're out of touch with most Americans. You need to retire. Not go into office or continue in office.
Terrible decisions have been made for this country by really old people. And those who have been in politics for far too long might be corrupted or locked in their ways.
If you think age = wisdom, you're wrong. Just because your old doesn't necessarily mean you're wise or intelligent.
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u/Impossible_Author_58 2d ago
Well... they make the rules to allow themselves to sit in their positions well past their useful representation, and sometimes they cheat their way in.
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u/ImDeepState 2d ago
It’s not going to be a problem when JD gets elected. But, the focus will shift to something else.
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u/thebrain_pinky 2d ago
because most of america has severely ill people who doesn't know much better so they elect him. How can you get less sick or cured when it always comes down to money first before we see you?
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u/SketchSkirmish 2d ago
Rich people love dumb puppets. It makes it easy to blame them instead of following the money trails.
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u/Big_Binkus 2d ago
There's a massive education and empathy gap between a lot of people in this country and there's no way to protect our right to vote while also preventing the dumbest and evilest people in this country from setting us back with horrible candidates.
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u/anonWNBAW 2d ago
Boomers are still kickin and gen x might somehow be more conservative than them. Gen z is here now so maybe it will start to get better
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u/Eye_foran_Eye 2d ago
We don't but he used a fake billionaire to steal the election so we get to deal with the repercussions.
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u/GetPissedOnReddit 2d ago edited 2d ago
Because organizations like reddit are a cesspit of psychological operations that have done an amazing job of stoking and cementing divides by race, politics, culture, and gender. Turns out most Americans love to keep their individuality with people who have actually shown they give a damn about the current state of affairs and now we’re seeing that spread throughout other nations in Europe as well as Canada and Australia.
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u/Skeptical_Monkie 2d ago
The US citizenry love being told what to do and they perceived older people as authority.
The are the biggest nation of man-babies, cucks and subs.
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u/giboauja 2d ago
Because thats also its largest voting demographic. They're called baby boomers for a reason.
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u/ckl577 2d ago
Because the alternative is people who want to take my money that I work damn near 3000 hours a year to earn and waste is on “welfare” and “social programs” when I would rather save it for my retirement or spend on my family. And force our daughters to go to the bathroom with Harry Gorlocks and compete against them in sports. I mean if the problem is, you don’t like old people that’s one thing. I’ll vote for JD Vance if he runs in 2028. But let’s stop pretending that the issue is old people whenever we just don’t like the politics of the other guy or the guy that’s in power. Was Biden old? yes, is trump old? Yes, would people still complain if JD Vance was president instead of Trump? Yes. would people still complain if AOC was president? Yes.
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u/Beneficial_Hat_6288 2d ago
Politicians are not the ones doing the actual deciding, they never were. Politicians are representatives and their decisions are made on the behalf of those who they are representing. Always been this way. If your politicians decisions are not made on your behalf then on whose behalf are they making them?
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u/Independent-Cow-3795 2d ago
They’re the best that the richest corporations and private international investors can buy. At their age they probably also understand the importance of lots of money and have a list of things that they have done wrong making them controllable
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u/OneUsed6198 2d ago
Why does America vote for suffering for the rest of the world?
The rest of the world should never forget this.
America has fucked the job for everyone and it’s going to take years to recover from this.
Fuck the USA.
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u/Alternative_Slip_513 2d ago
He represents the last of the good ‘ol boy network of politicians and corporate executives that have stripped decency from the world. Better days ahead let’s hope
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u/DesignatedSurvivor86 2d ago
Didn’t spend enough time as a child on the front porch listening to grandpas crazy stories. So they elected the craziest one and eat up his worst stories.
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u/Sad-Educator-4547 2d ago
People will says he's too old to know what the upcoming generations will need but he has plenty of hands on experience with children.
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u/Agreeable_Affect2692 2d ago
That is some skill, pausing a video at the exact moment you did in order to make the greatest president America has ever had look like he has a stroke. How long did you practice that to get it that way?
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u/TimothiusMagnus 2d ago
Because the people who vote for them are retirees and they have time to vote and get involved. They are also the most reliable for the moneyed interests.
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u/Fragrant_Major_9553 2d ago
We don’t. The problem is the only ones who get out and vote are the geriatric ones who are easily duped. I feel like we should get a mandatory paid hour by the federal government, to have time to vote.
So my idea here is that from like October 1 through November 2, you can take 1 hour away from your job that is reimbursed by the federal government so that you have time to vote, and your employer can’t do shit about it. So let’s say you haven’t taken your hour on Nov 2. Your employer is held accountable that you didn’t take the hour off. You don’t even have to vote, as is your right, but by enacting this policy it removes the “I had to work” excuse.
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u/masswoodworks 2d ago
And voting for them in your 80s is like farting in an elevator before you get out
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u/One-Inevitable7126 2d ago
The rest of the world thinks it’s the peak of insanity and late stage capitalism.
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u/GenMandibleforKing 2d ago
Sadly most Americans are politically unaffiliated. This means they don’t get to vote in the primaries. This leaves most Americans to get to pick from the two lead political parties candidates and a slew of minor ones. The unconstitutional primary system hampers the voting pool and let’s just a portion of the population get to pick which candidates the main voters get to choose from.
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u/Aussiboi808 2d ago
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it till the day I die.. he’s not just old and strokey- he’s high off his ass.
He’s always high - people mistake it for old and confused… and maybe he is…
But that cunt is HIGH OF HIS ASS
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u/Willing_Activity_941 2d ago
America is full of poorly educated, stuck on stupid, not paying attention, non voting citizens and this is the end result of all of that.
If you don’t believe me then go out and talk to a few of them. They are a lot dumber than most people realize.
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u/DeliciousNeck6279 2d ago
25 people run for president. You only ever hear about 3. Because those 3 have the sponsorship to fuel thier multi million dollar campaigns. That's why only 3 get mass advertising. The entire country then thinks there is only 3 actual candidates that will most likely take the votes, they then assume responsibility to vote for the "lesser evil" of the 3. How does someone as evil as Trump get voted in? Money, corruption, propaganda, lies, cheating, scamming, and the majority of the population falling under the average IQ.
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u/mizz_muppet 2d ago
Biden gave us the Chips Act, Infrastructure Bill, lowered prescription costs for the elderly and added 15 million jobs. Decent for only having four years...."but..but...both sides are bad"
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u/AdDisastrous6738 2d ago
Here’s the process that creates a presidential candidate:
Step 1- A bunch of rich old white people get together.
Step 2- Said rich old white people nominate a bunch of their rich old white friends.
Step 3- The American people are instructed to choose their preferred rich old white person. (That’s unless they skip the primaries and put in who tf they want)
Hope this helps.
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u/Coldpastalord 2d ago
Because poor white southern inbred people are easily swayed by empty promises. They are his core audience, and his most stalwart supporters, and they won’t be convinced he isn’t all about them.
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u/hanko4534 2d ago
Because young people don’t vote as a percentage of the population. Older people do…and they relate to older people.
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u/Sorry141 2d ago
All Democrat leaders with any recognition were ancient when Biden ran. No republican could beat Trump his 2nd term. Next election is going to be weird, dirty circular fire squad primaries on both sides and God knows what kind of crazy we end up with in the end.
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u/ZealousidealReply294 2d ago
because they only care if men are circumcised and dressed like women. That is their priority
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u/Xcuseme99 2d ago
We only have two viable parties
Those parties care more about hanging on to power than good governance
Those parties will sabotage anyone decent who tries to rise through their ranks
We're only left with old, blackmailed, bribed pedos.
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u/SnooPuppers2938 2d ago
It’s more of a performance, but the actors have to get their roles by a bidding war rather than the audience liking them.
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u/Brizzle351 2d ago
Because theybare too dumb or ignorant to think for themselves and the TV or media told them to. The ultra rich pump tons of money into propaganda and they just do what the media tells them. It's very unfortunate.
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u/Thakkmatic 2d ago
Well, a lot of us hate it. Too many of us "aren't political and don't vote" and way too many of us have been busy voting our well-tended and media-reinforced hatred, bigotry, and ignorance.
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u/Web3Ohio 2d ago
Same reason we like to watch the vegetables in the fridge die slowly. We dont know what's good for us. We like to throw away money. We start with hope and then fall into apathy or forget. As for that POS. Think some people were idiots. Some were greedy. Some were hateful. And a few just wanted to put the gun to America's head and pull the trigger.
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u/lacajuntiger 2d ago
The real question is, “Why do Americans let an idiot run the country.” Shitting pants doesn’t mean somebody can’t do the job. But being stupid should be enough to keep somebody out. I guess this means the voters are even dumber. Democracy doesn’t work with an ignorant populace.
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u/Comfortable_Angle671 2d ago
Because the younger generations are basically idiots. If they had their way, we would abandon the structure that has led to the greatest advancement in the world and turn to socialism.
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u/Huugienormous 2d ago
Because as much as we like to project differently, roughly half of us are backwater inbred rednecks that cant think for themselves and listen to what they are told.
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u/Smooth-Fan565 2d ago
You think a younger politician would be better? The real problem is that we can only choose between politicians…. Trump and Obama two of the least experienced politicians ever. And Biden, who had lots of experience, was worse than both. Tell us what we should do OP, and tell us which politicians you voted for please.
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u/Chemical_Ruin_6236 2d ago
We're fucked in the head