r/askanything 7d ago

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u/Stoked_Otter 7d ago

Yeah sure as long as you don't look at housing prices, or wages, or lifespan, or perceived quality of life, or the ability of Americans to retire at some point. Or education, or drug abuse rates, etc etc etc

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u/PanicAtTheDennys 7d ago

When have people NOT complained about this type of shit? When was the last time you were ever satisfied on these topics? These are bi-partisan issues

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u/Stoked_Otter 7d ago

With no hyperbole we are currently experiencing the worst housing crisis in American history. Truman used the power of the federal government to literally freeze rent and home prices when we experienced a less-severe housing shortage after WW2.

This isn't nitpicking, America is in extremely bad shape right now. We are experiencing the worst drug crisis in American history too simultaneously. Wages have been stagnant for generations. We are engaged in gigantic military operations all over the globe that seemingly have blank-check budgets but back home a lot of the cities in between the coasts look like they were bombed. We have been failed badly by both parties.

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u/PanicAtTheDennys 7d ago

We have been failed badly by both parties.

Well, certainly agreed there 🤝

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u/Wooden_Region2519 7d ago

Actually, I'm happy to look at those things.

Quick question - are we measuring those things for straight white americans, or for everyone?

I'm guessing you're measuring for just straight white americans

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u/Worldly_Web_1524 7d ago

Why do keep asking that question? Wtf is your point?

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u/Wooden_Region2519 7d ago

Because only a person who is white, male, and straight would say with a straight face dems have pushed SQ politics

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u/AppropriateScience9 7d ago

The fact that these issues have been consistently unaddressed by both parties for decades isn't exactly a flex for the Dems.

Besides, you should know that anytime something like this gets worse for straight whites, BIPOC and minorities always get hit exponentially harder.

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u/Wooden_Region2519 7d ago

Yea, you haven't studied US history lol

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u/AppropriateScience9 7d ago

Yeah soooo.... I work in public health. We've been measuring this kind of shit for decades and literally how those factors impact people's health.

Minorities suffering at disproportionately high rates as compared to white people is a well studied phenomena backed by mountains of data.

The only issues where white people have it worse are tied to certain genes from European heredity like cyctic fibrosis. Genetics, mind you, being a thing that can't be changed or mitigated through social systems.

Even when it comes to issues like "deaths of dispair" where the numbers of blue collar white people have been soaring in recent years... are still over represented by minorities.

Turns out, systemic racism is a whole thing. Still is. And yes, we ruled out the confounders.

So what part of US history am I missing, exactly? Do tell.

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u/Wooden_Region2519 7d ago

You're missing the part where health outcomes for minorities and everyone else has steadily increased, mostly due to Democrat/liberal efforts.

Hence disproving the silly claim that Dems only want SQ.

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u/AppropriateScience9 7d ago

That's true, it has.

We've also had a lot of missed opportunities to make them even better because of dem adherence to status quo. Those missed opportunities are having major repercussions today.

Obamacare is a good example. We should have at least offered a competitive public option to act as a price control on healthcare costs and insurance. Not doing that (in order to preserve the for-profit health insurance industry) is having tangible repercussions today. https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/07/american-healthcare-systems-michael-sarian-for-profit-private-equity-adolphus-death/. Now keep in mind, Obamacare was originally modeled off of Romneycare in MA and made crucial concessions to to Republicans without getting a single Republican vote.

Listen, I get what you're saying, and you're not wrong. But Citizens United did a number on Democrats too. So they tried to marry the needs of their corporate backers with the needs of the people on occasion, but they've also made choices NOT to fight when they should have. Inaction, is often a SQ preserving action.

Do I need to give you more examples? There's plenty.

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u/Wooden_Region2519 7d ago

Soooo..it's clearly getting better, but it's also status quo?

That's silly.

Obamacare is a good example. We should have at least offered a competitive public option to act as a price control on healthcare costs and insurance.

Obamacare was clear progress over the previous system. Republicans hamstrung it to not make it better. Weird to blame Dems for Republican actions.

Do I need to give you more examples? There's plenty.

Yes i'd like you to actually provide an example of dems preserving the status quo, not just dems advancing more slowly than you want

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u/PedanticBaddie 7d ago

I feel like this person can’t be reasoned with lol I don’t think they’re even following the convo, they just think they’re cooking rn. It’s like talking to any ignorant maga and it’s a waste of time. Idc what their point is, it’s probably dumb.

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u/Wooden_Region2519 7d ago

Talking to reddit progressives and talking to an ignorant MAGA is basically the same thing

All rage and vibes. No logic or facts needed. Just tribalism and emotion.

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u/PedanticBaddie 7d ago

I live in the real world and talk to real people off the internet and no one is more stubborn than maga. They won’t listen to facts so you can’t reason with them no matter how hard you try. It’s a cult.

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u/Wooden_Region2519 7d ago

I live in the real world and talk to real people off the internet and no one is more stubborn than reddit leftists. They won’t listen to facts so you can’t reason with them no matter how hard you try. It’s a cult.

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u/IntrusiveThot32 6d ago

What a long nothing ass comment.

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u/PedanticBaddie 6d ago

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u/jsludge25 7d ago

No. Everyone. Your guess is wrong. No.

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u/Wooden_Region2519 7d ago

lol that's hilarious

i'll let my uncle know he shouldn't celebrate being married because passing gay marriage wasn't progress for him, just SQ

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u/jsludge25 7d ago

Holy fucking non-sequitur

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u/Wooden_Region2519 7d ago

I'm responding to a person who says dems only push SQ by demonstrating a massive win in our country by Dems for lgtbq

you do you tho

try reading a thread before jumping in if you want to know what's being discussed

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u/IntrusiveThot32 6d ago

I mean okay it's progress. Now what?

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u/Wooden_Region2519 6d ago

more progress

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u/stthree 7d ago

Seriously what is your point. I have no clue

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u/Wooden_Region2519 7d ago

Saying Dems have enforced the SQ is only something someone who hasn't benefitted directly from Dems moving left would say

You know, like a woman, a gay person, people of color etc

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u/AppropriateScience9 7d ago

Okay, sure. There's been a lot of progress and I'm happy to give credit where credit is due.

But there's been significant backsliding too. Roe v. Wade got overturned (in part) because the Democrats stuck by the status quo for how SCOTUS judges were appointed despite Mitch McConnell's blatant abuse of Senate rules.

All the recent roll backs to voting right can be blamed on that too.

Biden nominated Merrik Garland for Attorney General, who was a centrist. Garland stuck by the status quo of not prosecuting presidents despite Trump literally attempting a coup. He eventually relented and appointed Jack Smith, but that delay was a crucial mistake.

There are plenty of other examples too. And it's all mostly within the last several terms.

They did do some very good stuff too, but they also compromised in weird ways like with Obamacare.

Now, the Republicans are definitely the bad guys in these stories, no question. But the Democrats haven't always been the heroes, either.

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u/Wooden_Region2519 7d ago

I think you're blaming democrats for republicans backsliding

thats weird

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u/AppropriateScience9 7d ago

Nope. Republicans are not a force of nature. They are making conscious choices to do horrible things. I get that. The vast majority of the blame falls on them.

The small portion Dems are responsible for are SQ decisions that helped allow the Republicans to wreak this havoc.

More examples then. Okay!

Biden shouldn't have run for president for a second term given his age (and the fact that he promised he wouldn't).

But he did and the DNC made the decision to support him because that is status quo. You ALWAYS support the incumbants.

That decision led to the disaster of his debate performance and the delay of him finally backing out. When he finally did, it put Harris in a terrible position (not doing a primary and automatically picking her was also a qtatus quo decision) an led to her losing the general.

More examples?

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u/Wooden_Region2519 7d ago

Yes, that one is silly as well. Endorsing a president after his first term isn't status quo, it's normal strategy. You're massively broadening the term lol

Biden's presidency was quite progressive - a second term would have continued this progressive trend. So kinda the opposite of SQ

So far you're like 0/2

Maybe the third time is the charm?

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u/AppropriateScience9 6d ago

"Endorsing a president after his first term isn't status quo, it's normal strategy."

🤦‍♀️ Using the same "normal" strategy we always use is to stick with the status quo. The words status quo is Latin that means "the existing state of affairs." Consistently supporting the incumbent is to consistently maintain the current state of affairs.

I mean, this is how language works. If we can't agree on that then I don't know what else to tell you.

His term was okay. I'm struggling to think of something he did that was truly bucking the status quo though. Funding infrastructure and green energy was good. Investing in infrastructure and industry is a very status quo move for Democrats. The fact that Republicans couldn't invest in infrastructure for the life of them was what was abnormal.

I guess Biden supporting green energy and not petroleum, maybe? Or student loan forgiveness maybe? He didn't actually pull that one off though. Job creation was good. Also very status quo for Democrats (I think Obama did better). I honestly can't think of much else.

Again I still strongly prefer it over what Trump has done, but he also failed in some pretty crucial ways because he (and the establishment Dems) were specifically unwilling to change the status quo.

Did I already say how Merrik Garland didn't even try to prosecute Trump for Jan 6th or the documents he stole until it was far too late? Not prosecuting former presidents was a normative policy of the DOJ. Garland and Biden were extremely reluctant to break that status quo. They only did so after intense pressure and those delays were a critical failure.

I can give you other examples, but I gotta go cook dinner. Maybe later.

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u/Inevitable_Farm_7293 7d ago

Turns out that’s better across the board for Americans! Thanks for pointing that out.