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OAITW r.2.0

(23,812 posts)
Tue Oct 19, 2021, 06:27 PM Oct 2021

For Longtime DUers - say class of 2000/01......

are you more or less cynical today about our politics then back then? I'm about the same.*

* To add.....Cynicism might be like the boiling frog syndrome. As my cynicism increases, my outrage reaction decreases.

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For Longtime DUers - say class of 2000/01...... (Original Post) OAITW r.2.0 Oct 2021 OP
More cynical. Devil Child Oct 2021 #1
Mmmm less cynical but amazed at how the right has strengthened as it went over the edge underpants Oct 2021 #2
Trump changed alot GusBob Oct 2021 #3
More Thtwudbeme Oct 2021 #4
Same here Chautauquas Oct 2021 #49
Nothing shocks me anymore jpak Oct 2021 #5
I miss her. I wonder what she's up to these days. Crunchy Frog Oct 2021 #10
Indeed, jpak! OAITW r.2.0 Oct 2021 #13
I hope she found her keys! MuseRider Oct 2021 #17
Do you know what became of her? hlthe2b Oct 2021 #38
I know why she left DU. I can PM you if you want more info. Crunchy Frog Oct 2021 #43
Please do, CF! I've wondered for a long time. hlthe2b Oct 2021 #58
I do! I emailed her not that long ago Thtwudbeme Oct 2021 #54
Please tell NSMA is always welcome to share her thoughts here. if she gives a shit.nt OAITW r.2.0 Oct 2021 #56
Do tell her she is missed! I'm glad that you can reach out to her! hlthe2b Oct 2021 #57
Much more. BlueTsunami2018 Oct 2021 #6
Mobilized by having my 2000 Pantagruel Oct 2021 #7
Trump threw me off. jaysunb Oct 2021 #8
This message was self-deleted by its author jaysunb Oct 2021 #9
A lot more. meadowlander Oct 2021 #11
Me too....how could Bush win a 2nd term with 9/11, the Iraq War and Katrina OAITW r.2.0 Oct 2021 #29
Katrina was the last straw for many - but it didn't happen until 2005 hatrack Oct 2021 #39
class of 2004 rurallib Oct 2021 #12
Class of 2004 also. "Mad" is about the swiftboating of John Kerry. 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬 madinmaryland Oct 2021 #40
Same class, pretty much same response. Hope is still there, but clouded over and tentative. JudyM Oct 2021 #45
Class of '03 here. I found the place just as we were going into Iraq. Crunchy Frog Oct 2021 #14
The runup to the Iraq War was well discussed here. The vast majority predicted disaster there. OAITW r.2.0 Oct 2021 #25
I predicted disaster all on my own. Crunchy Frog Oct 2021 #36
We saw the future better....a lot better. OAITW r.2.0 Oct 2021 #37
2002. More. Deeply troubling but not surprising? sprinkleeninow Oct 2021 #15
More cynical, but, Obama and Harris are a beacon of light. lindysalsagal Oct 2021 #16
I agree....we have great instincts for promoting All-Americans First policies. OAITW r.2.0 Oct 2021 #19
2000 Gore and 2004 Kerry were kicks to the teeth. Saboburns Oct 2021 #18
Osama Bin Laden re-elected Bush in 2004... DemocraticPatriot Oct 2021 #53
I didn't think our government onethatcares Oct 2021 #20
One Party owns that label of a corrupt mess. OAITW r.2.0 Oct 2021 #27
About The Same ProfessorGAC Oct 2021 #21
I've been here since 2004. I've been cynical since Reagan won and FSogol Oct 2021 #22
Yes. That's when I became cynical. When the Democratic congrasman madinmaryland Oct 2021 #42
MORE bush the dummy was child's play demtenjeep Oct 2021 #23
MORE bush the dummy was child's play demtenjeep Oct 2021 #24
I'm a little less cynical. Aristus Oct 2021 #26
Well Gore was ahead of his time with climate change and he did "invent the internet". OAITW r.2.0 Oct 2021 #28
2006. roamer65 Oct 2021 #30
I was a pretty cynical green back then. Now I'm a pretty cynical dem. GPV Oct 2021 #31
Iget it, fellow Mainiac! OAITW r.2.0 Oct 2021 #33
More. And as devastated as I was on Jan 20, 2001 and for 8 yrs thereafter.... hlthe2b Oct 2021 #32
It's like our life's work to try to save the collective sanity OAITW r.2.0 Oct 2021 #34
More zipplewrath Oct 2021 #35
More, to keep it simple. Solly Mack Oct 2021 #41
About the same mcar Oct 2021 #44
Way more cynical. The system has become more corrupt than I could have imagined berni_mccoy Oct 2021 #46
Much more cynical. I never thought I would see a major party sell its soul to an neverforget Oct 2021 #47
2004 here Texasgal Oct 2021 #48
Definitely more cynical SharonAnn Oct 2021 #50
If you are a Republican operative tasked with reading DU.... OAITW r.2.0 Oct 2021 #51
Way more cynical PlanetBev Oct 2021 #52
I'm 2002 but read it for quite a while before joining. argyl Oct 2021 #55
Unfortunately dweller Oct 2021 #59

underpants

(182,271 posts)
2. Mmmm less cynical but amazed at how the right has strengthened as it went over the edge
Tue Oct 19, 2021, 06:32 PM
Oct 2021

They are nothing like they used to be and are just so far gone...but people still follow them. Just amazing.

GusBob

(7,286 posts)
3. Trump changed alot
Tue Oct 19, 2021, 06:33 PM
Oct 2021

it seemed as if EVERY election was " the most important in our lifetime"

Trump proved that to be true for his, for the other elections....not so much, hey?

Since he lost I am less cynical and more casual about politics

Chautauquas

(4,434 posts)
49. Same here
Tue Oct 19, 2021, 11:44 PM
Oct 2021

I never thought we'd see anything as bad as the Trump admin. Thought Reagan, Bush, Cheney was as bad as it would get. Boy was I naive.

 

Thtwudbeme

(7,737 posts)
54. I do! I emailed her not that long ago
Wed Oct 20, 2021, 03:47 AM
Oct 2021

I'll email her and ask her if I can post something for her on DU. I DO miss her here-

We don't keep in touch on a regular basis- she's a west coaster, and I am on the east coast, so we don't get to see each other.

BlueTsunami2018

(3,461 posts)
6. Much more.
Tue Oct 19, 2021, 06:35 PM
Oct 2021

I was a little more optimistic when I was thirty. 2009-10 really soured me with the waste of the short filibuster proof majority and it’s only gone downhill. The GOP has always been bad but they’ve become far worse, they’re open fascists now. And don’t get me started on the two greatest Democratic senators ever.

I see very little reason to hope things will ever get better.

Response to OAITW r.2.0 (Original post)

meadowlander

(4,358 posts)
11. A lot more.
Tue Oct 19, 2021, 06:42 PM
Oct 2021

I thought the backlash from Bush's first term would mean Democrats controlling the executive and both branches of the legislative for most of the rest of my working life at least.

So much for that...

OAITW r.2.0

(23,812 posts)
29. Me too....how could Bush win a 2nd term with 9/11, the Iraq War and Katrina
Tue Oct 19, 2021, 07:27 PM
Oct 2021

his legacy. Also, another $2TT taxcut for the rich.

hatrack

(59,439 posts)
39. Katrina was the last straw for many - but it didn't happen until 2005
Tue Oct 19, 2021, 08:12 PM
Oct 2021

The next year the roof fell in on the Republicans.

D gains of six in the Senate and 31 in the House to win both chambers.

rurallib

(62,343 posts)
12. class of 2004
Tue Oct 19, 2021, 06:42 PM
Oct 2021

much, much more cynical especially about repugs. But also some Dems.
And really cynical about the intelligence of Americans. We seem to set new lows daily.

Crunchy Frog

(26,548 posts)
14. Class of '03 here. I found the place just as we were going into Iraq.
Tue Oct 19, 2021, 06:46 PM
Oct 2021

That whole thing was absolutely devastating for me, but I still thought the country could be salvaged.

I can no longer see an end to the country's downward spiral, so I would definitely say more cynical now.

I still had a little naive idealism back then.

OAITW r.2.0

(23,812 posts)
25. The runup to the Iraq War was well discussed here. The vast majority predicted disaster there.
Tue Oct 19, 2021, 07:14 PM
Oct 2021

We didn't lose, but we could not win. And we burned trillions following the Project for a New American Century.

Crunchy Frog

(26,548 posts)
36. I predicted disaster all on my own.
Tue Oct 19, 2021, 08:00 PM
Oct 2021

I finally went looking for a discussion board with others who thought the same way I did, and found my way here.

I lurked without registering for several months. I was too shy to post for a long time.

It was a big relief to find DU since it seemed like people everywhere else online were super gung-ho, and buying the lies hook line and sinker.

lindysalsagal

(20,434 posts)
16. More cynical, but, Obama and Harris are a beacon of light.
Tue Oct 19, 2021, 06:48 PM
Oct 2021

Half the country voting for a failed casino money-launderer is pretty tough to forget.

OAITW r.2.0

(23,812 posts)
19. I agree....we have great instincts for promoting All-Americans First policies.
Tue Oct 19, 2021, 06:57 PM
Oct 2021

Obama is in my LBJ, JFK, Jimmy Carter (why can't I remember his initials?), WJC orbit of best Presidents in my lifetime. And now Joe Biden, the President 1/2 of American don't know that we need. Sadly, no Republican (OK, maybe Ike) made the orbit in my time.

Saboburns

(2,807 posts)
18. 2000 Gore and 2004 Kerry were kicks to the teeth.
Tue Oct 19, 2021, 06:53 PM
Oct 2021

2000 Florida was stolen and the Conservative Supreme Court fucked us. Somehow this has been lost to time.

2004 was my epiphany, when Americans re-elected W. after watching 4 years his buffoonary .I knew then that anything was possible. Anything.

Watching them denigrate Barack Obama, a man in which we will never see his like again, showed where were going. And Donald took us there.

And now I'm left believing that there will be some great tribulation, and truly evil times before things get better. I wish I felt differently, but I don't.

DemocraticPatriot

(4,170 posts)
53. Osama Bin Laden re-elected Bush in 2004...
Wed Oct 20, 2021, 03:37 AM
Oct 2021

that was the conclusion of CIA analysts. Too many Americans were just too gullible to be influenced by the 'reverse psychology' of our enemy.

Before that statement of Bin Laden the weekend before the election, Kerry had it won...

onethatcares

(16,130 posts)
20. I didn't think our government
Tue Oct 19, 2021, 07:07 PM
Oct 2021

was such a corrupt mess. Didn't realize how much it looks like organized crime. So I guess I'm more cynical.

ProfessorGAC

(64,413 posts)
21. About The Same
Tue Oct 19, 2021, 07:08 PM
Oct 2021

Remember, this site attracted us long timers due to our anger & disgust over what amounted to a stolen election in November 2000.
So, many of us who came here then were quite cynical. Finding like minded folks is what brought us here.
And, the T***p era didn't reveal any unknowns. It just made manifest what I was already certain to be true.
In 2001, I might not have been able to prove that there were nutjob and fascist big money behind the Rs.
The last 5 years isn't a revelation. It's evidence.

madinmaryland

(64,920 posts)
42. Yes. That's when I became cynical. When the Democratic congrasman
Tue Oct 19, 2021, 08:27 PM
Oct 2021

Would not stand up to Reagan and let him destroy unions, working people, healthcare, and the free press.

Aristus

(66,076 posts)
26. I'm a little less cynical.
Tue Oct 19, 2021, 07:14 PM
Oct 2021

In 2000, the GOP used the Supreme Court to throw an election to the loser. The true winner was a Southern white man. We have since elected an African-American man to be President, and a woman of color to be Vice President. Despite the horror of the mere existence of TFG, the nation rose up and threw him out of office, and secured majorities, however tenuous, in both Houses of Congress.

Same-sex marriage is the law of the land, and LGBTQ people can serve openly in the Armed Forces. Women can now serve in combat roles. There is an openly gay man serving on the President's cabinet. The Religious Right has become a paper tiger, roaring away in right-wing-friendly media, but holding nowhere near the political power they used to.

It's water wearing away stone, and we need positive change much faster than that. But change is still happening...

OAITW r.2.0

(23,812 posts)
28. Well Gore was ahead of his time with climate change and he did "invent the internet".
Tue Oct 19, 2021, 07:19 PM
Oct 2021


Think if we had built on Jimmy Carter's vision wrt to solar power. Instead of investing trillions in oil energy wars that we couldn't really "win"? I trust a Naval nuke engineer to give the best power investments for this country. Instead we got the Bush Family....what is their oil portfolio really worth?

OAITW r.2.0

(23,812 posts)
33. Iget it, fellow Mainiac!
Tue Oct 19, 2021, 07:35 PM
Oct 2021

I wanted to believe in a 3rd Party....then I realized how it was funded.

hlthe2b

(101,708 posts)
32. More. And as devastated as I was on Jan 20, 2001 and for 8 yrs thereafter....
Tue Oct 19, 2021, 07:35 PM
Oct 2021

Trump has taken even more from me.

I will always fight-- because we have to. But damn if I don't need some MAJOR wins and that includes JUSTICE wins.

OAITW r.2.0

(23,812 posts)
34. It's like our life's work to try to save the collective sanity
Tue Oct 19, 2021, 07:38 PM
Oct 2021

Last edited Tue Oct 19, 2021, 10:47 PM - Edit history (1)

of this country. How much reality do you need to see before your mindful head clears?

 

berni_mccoy

(23,018 posts)
46. Way more cynical. The system has become more corrupt than I could have imagined
Tue Oct 19, 2021, 10:59 PM
Oct 2021

Between Citizens United, the undoing of McCain-Feingold, the loss of two Presidential elections to bullshit cheating and misdeeds and after the most corrupt presidency in the history of the US… I gotta say, I have little hope for humanity.

Yet, I still persist in my efforts to make things better and for progress because that is the only way I can live in this reality.

neverforget

(9,433 posts)
47. Much more cynical. I never thought I would see a major party sell its soul to an
Tue Oct 19, 2021, 11:03 PM
Oct 2021

immoral, racist, misogynist, lying, criminal grifter but here we are. And I thought January 6 would change the Republican Party, but instead, they are all in on the Big Lie. The hold Trump has on the Party is incredible because his base is loud, violent and extremely dangerous.

Texasgal

(17,029 posts)
48. 2004 here
Tue Oct 19, 2021, 11:10 PM
Oct 2021

Definitely more cynical. I am also outraged of the state of where we are, more so than ever.

OAITW r.2.0

(23,812 posts)
51. If you are a Republican operative tasked with reading DU....
Wed Oct 20, 2021, 12:49 AM
Oct 2021

this thread can't help pretend reality is what Reagan/Bush/Trump tried to make us believe.

PlanetBev

(4,098 posts)
52. Way more cynical
Wed Oct 20, 2021, 01:48 AM
Oct 2021

America is breaking my heart so I need the support of our DU community. It keeps me sane.

argyl

(3,064 posts)
55. I'm 2002 but read it for quite a while before joining.
Wed Oct 20, 2021, 04:34 AM
Oct 2021

Got turned on to DU via BartCop, as many other old timers here.
After Bush's election by way of a really whacked out ruling by the SCOTUS I thought we'd hit bottom.
And then came The Dotard. Never thought he had a chance of winning; he probably didn't either. I'm living overseas right now, have been for a little over three years. Cast overseas ballots in 2018 and 2020.
As a Texan, I really wanted Beto to beat Count Chocula and I sure as hell was voting against The Dotard.
But if The Dotard or one of his sycophants wins in 2024 I'll probably only come back for visits. If it's as bad there as it looks to be here, God help us all. And hell, I'm basically an atheist.

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