Democrats took the Senate

[Aseahawkfan]

That means we will likely get the following:
1. 2k stimulus checks.

2. Enhanced unemployment.

3. Return to Obamacare with Biden modifications.

4. Student loan forgiveness.

5. Legalized marijuana.

6. A big push for electric vehicles and alternative energy.

7. Increased money printing to further erode the value of the dollar.

8. Increased taxes on corporations and wealthy folk.

9. A better coordinated plan to deal with COVID supported by Congress.

Should be an interesting time. Democrats have all the balls in their court. Their time to shine. Let's see if they can step up and make it happen.

Adjust your investments as needed.

[Hawktawk]

We get adult leadership, serious people. We will have many disagreements but I will never need to question the patriotism and love of county of these people. Trump showed he has no love for anything or anyone but himself. Whether you are happy or sad the Dems won its because of DJTs ridiculous claims and actions along with way too many senators and house members. Polls in Georgia showed it as Warnock and Ossoff far outperformed Bidens % in the state.
Anyone freaked out about socialism and the new green deal can relax with Joe Manchin in the senate. Aint happening. Biden will simply be able to appoint his own cabinet, any scotus that comes up and pass mainstream legislation. Not gridlock. If they figure out this pandemic they have my vote till I die.

Im ecstatic.

[RiverDog]

That means we will likely get the following:
1. 2k stimulus checks.

2. Enhanced unemployment.

3. Return to Obamacare with Biden modifications.

4. Student loan forgiveness.

5. Legalized marijuana.

6. A big push for electric vehicles and alternative energy.

7. Increased money printing to further erode the value of the dollar.

8. Increased taxes on corporations and wealthy folk.

9. A better coordinated plan to deal with COVID supported by Congress.

Should be an interesting time. Democrats have all the balls in their court. Their time to shine. Let's see if they can step up and make it happen.

Adjust your investments as needed.

Not necessarily. The Dems can't afford to lose one Democratic Senator in any legislation they propose. There are a number of moderate Dems that could derail any radical proposal.

The real story will happen after the 2022 mid terms. The R's are at a disadvantage in the Senate as they have more seats to defend. But the Dems did poorly in the down ballot elections in 2020 and have just an 11 seat majority, so they could easily lose the House.

[I-5]

This is way too simplistic. There is no such thing as a slam dunk in government. Expect slow, serious, adult deliberation...and MAYBE one or 2 of the items on your list will move an inch or two. I think most of the work to be done is undoing a lot of damage by the current president, like restoring alliances, treaties, environmental protections while balancing business....and Covid response of course.

[Aseahawkfan]

I disagree. It is pretty rare for one party to hold all the government offices, when you get that you have to move fast and furious to push through legislation you want as you can lose your majority within a few years.

I imagine the Democrats have planned legislation for a majority they've been working on for years. They will move fast to push it through. Not likely the extreme stuff like the Green New Deal, but some semblance of it.

I expect moderate tax increases to happen quickly, legalization of marijuana, a renewal of Obamacare with Biden modifications, the push for clean energy and electric vehicles.

Now the full Green New Deal, medicare for all, and college tuition forgiveness I expect to move slower, but maybe once the pandemic is over.

First on the agenda will be a much bigger stimulus package.

But we're going to see the Democrats moving fast and furious as within a few years they could lose a majority in Congress and the presidency again in 4 years. You have to make things happen fast like the Republicans did when Trump first took office.

[I-5]

It is pretty rare for one party to hold all the government offices, when you get that you have to move fast and furious to push through legislation you want as you can lose your majority within a few years.

Are you talking about the speed at which the republicans passed the $1.5 Trillion (that's $1,500,000,000,000.00) for the rich, or the confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett?

[NorthHawk]

It's odd that more of a President's agenda isn't completed most of the time (at least the last few times when all 3 parts are held by one party). Obama didn't get all he wanted done before
McConnell blocked everything, Trump didn't get everything done he wanted, but he got more than Obama, so it seems they have to pick and choose what they really consider important
and concentrate on those smaller or perhaps fewer things.

[RiverDog]

It's odd that more of a President's agenda isn't completed most of the time (at least the last few times when all 3 parts are held by one party). Obama didn't get all he wanted done before McConnell blocked everything, Trump didn't get everything done he wanted, but he got more than Obama, so it seems they have to pick and choose what they really consider important and concentrate on those smaller or perhaps fewer things.

Most Presidents that "got a lot of things done" did so within the first two years of their administration, like FDR, LBJ, and Reagan. But those Presidents had a large public mandate, winning their election by a landslide and had strong majorities in Congress (Reagan had a working majority in the House of R's and Reagan Democrats). Biden has a narrow margin in the House, a razor thin one in the Senate, and won a relatively close election. I don't think you're going to see a large laundry list of objectives, such as the ones ASF laid out, make it into law.

[Hawktawk]

The real story will happen after the 2022 mid terms. The R's are at a disadvantage in the Senate as they have more seats to defend. But the Dems did poorly in the down ballot elections in 2020 and have just an 11 seat majority, so they could easily lose the House.

Dems did excellent down ballot Tuesday. I think the demographic has changed in the last 2 months . 25 percent of republicans trust the results . How did they like idiot and his supporters dragging America through this . I think we know . For whatever reason Dems outperformed Biden in the state after losing by 90 k votes in the general .
I think this is gonna hurt the party a long time .

[Aseahawkfan]

Dems did excellent down ballot Tuesday. I think the demographic has changed in the last 2 months . 25 percent of republicans trust the results . How did they like idiot and his supporters dragging America through this . I think we know . For whatever reason Dems outperformed Biden in the state after losing by 90 k votes in the general .
I think this is gonna hurt the party a long time .

I always hear this garbage and it's never true. People forget stuff quickly. Heard the same thing about Clinton, not true. Heard it about Bush Jr. and the wars. Probably was even said about Obama and Obamacare. People forget and forget quickly. They get pissed off at the next person in office when they do things they don't like. Round and round again.

I bet anyone who was alive during Nixon probably heard this a ton of as well, yet the Republican Party recovered from Nixon because people forget.

People are very good at forgetting and moving on as a group.

[Aseahawkfan]

It's odd that more of a President's agenda isn't completed most of the time (at least the last few times when all 3 parts are held by one party). Obama didn't get all he wanted done before
McConnell blocked everything, Trump didn't get everything done he wanted, but he got more than Obama, so it seems they have to pick and choose what they really consider important
and concentrate on those smaller or perhaps fewer things.

This isn't even close to everything the Democrats want, just some key agenda items they will push early and fast that will be easier to pass.

The Obamacare changes will be easy because Obamacare hasn't been completely dismantled. It's mostly been resisted with executive orders.

The MJ legalization will find some support with the Libertarian Republican branch, is a quick influx of tax money, and decriminalizes a drug that a vast majority of people no longer want illegal.

The renewal of energy credits for electric vehicles and solar power also won't take much.

The tax increases are undoing or reaching a midpoint for an increase from the Trump Tax cuts which they likely get all Democrats on board for.

Everything I posted is something they can do with a simple majority that they can easily get all Democrats on board with.

Now Medicare for All, defunding the police, the Green New Deal, that will take some work as America is not all on board with it.

[RiverDog]

Dems did excellent down ballot Tuesday. I think the demographic has changed in the last 2 months . 25 percent of republicans trust the results . How did they like idiot and his supporters dragging America through this . I think we know . For whatever reason Dems outperformed Biden in the state after losing by 90 k votes in the general .
I think this is gonna hurt the party a long time .

I always hear this garbage and it's never true. People forget stuff quickly. Heard the same thing about Clinton, not true. Heard it about Bush Jr. and the wars. Probably was even said about Obama and Obamacare. People forget and forget quickly. They get pissed off at the next person in office when they do things they don't like. Round and round again.

I bet anyone who was alive during Nixon probably heard this a ton of as well, yet the Republican Party recovered from Nixon because people forget.

People are very good at forgetting and moving on as a group.

Nixon resigned in August of '74. The Republicans took a beating in the midterms a few months later, but 2 years later in '76, Ford nearly beat Carter and probably would have had he not pardoned Nixon. By 1980, Reagan won by a landslide, the R's regained control of the Senate for the first time in 20 some years, and narrowed their deficit in the House. So at least in this instance, the voters memory didn't last very long.

But I'm going to stay out of the prediction business. I learned my lesson this past fall.

[Hawktawk]

Carter was a weak candidate and a weak president. There's another HUGE difference between watergate and now. In 74 when the facts were known the R party and the american people turned on Nixon and forced his resignation.That Ford was punished for his pardon says how far we've gone off the deep end now. This is a guy who has been propped up for stuff that makes Nixon look like a choir boy. Nothing more so than his absolute botching of the pandemic response to this day but then this lunacy 2 months after the election. I said a few days after the election he should be removed under the 25th amendment. Well here we are.welcome to the party
Maybe the republican will mostly come home in 22 but the anti republicans went out and voted to the tune of 81 million votes not nearly so much for Biden as against fascism and lunacy. I think those voters in swing states aren't too happy about this attempt to steal the election either. As I say look at georgia. I dont think people will forget this very soon

[RiverDog]

Carter was a weak candidate and a weak president.

He was no weaker than Joe Biden. There's a reason why Biden was a two time loser in his efforts to gain the Democratic nomination.

There's another HUGE difference between watergate and now. In 74 when the facts were known the R party and the american people turned on Nixon and forced his resignation.That Ford was punished for his pardon says how far we've gone off the deep end now.

I was between my freshman and sophomore years in college when Nixon resigned, and I can tell you first hand that everybody and their dog was anti Republican. They were trounced in the mid term elections. I can remember clips of Ford standing in front of his TV, nervously laughing at the results as it was either that or cry.

[Aseahawkfan]

Nixon resigned in August of '74. The Republicans took a beating in the midterms a few months later, but 2 years later in '76, Ford nearly beat Carter and probably would have had he not pardoned Nixon. By 1980, Reagan won by a landslide, the R's regained control of the Senate for the first time in 20 some years, and narrowed their deficit in the House. So at least in this instance, the voters memory didn't last very long.

But I'm going to stay out of the prediction business. I learned my lesson this past fall.

I think we've all seen this back and forth long enough. People tend to move back and forth depending on the issue and the time for a variety of reasons. What might be a key issue now may not be by the next election. As long as we don't see the self-deluded, narcissistic loon back in the White House, then we will hopefully be ok.

And even though people won't give you credit, you were right. This loon believes with absolutely certainty the election was stolen from him. He hasn't changed his tune or his message once. That is a sign of the absolute conviction he has that his evidence is right and the rest of the world wrong. I think his mind snapped more than usual when he lost such a close election that he seemed to be winning before the mail in ballots were counted. Even though anyone with sense knew that the Democrats had set up mail in voting as a precaution to crowding the voting stations and that Trump's own supporters in other states prevented those ballots from being counted early, thus mail in ballots were likely to be highly in favor of Democrats because Trump himself poisoned the well against mail in voting. He screwed himself. He's too self-deluded and narcissistic to admit it.

Even I watching this election unfold with the tight races in PA, WI, and the like knew the mail in ballots were going to cost him and that he set up the poisonous idea of not using in mail in ballots. If he has pushed Republicans to use all means to vote including mail in, he probably could have clawed more votes from the mail in ballots if he hadn't poisoned the well against mail in voting making Republican voters afraid to use mail in ballots, while many were still afraid to go to crowded polling places.

The guy did so much to screw himself this election that I'm still surprised he almost won.

What was it:

AZ: 11000 votes 11 electoral votes
GA: 12000 votes 16 electoral votes
MI: 155,000 votes 16 electoral votes
PA: 81,0000 votes 20 electoral votes

He lost by about 100,000 to 180,000 votes depending on the states that flipped. About the same margin he won by last time.

CA was a 5 million popular vote advantage by itself. They are main reason I would hate a move to a popular vote. When one state has that much influence over the popular vote, you should be glad we use the electoral college.

The biggest Democratic supporter the Dems have to thank is COVID19 and Trump's terrible handling of it. If the economy had been trucking along at 3% unemployment and people partying making money in the stock market, we would have had four more years of this clown.

What a fitting end to the chaos of Trump. I hope this slams the door on this guy hard with or without impeachment. But who knows, America is crazy town right now.

[RiverDog]

I think we've all seen this back and forth long enough. People tend to move back and forth depending on the issue and the time for a variety of reasons. What might be a key issue now may not be by the next election. As long as we don't see the self-deluded, narcissistic loon back in the White House, then we will hopefully be ok.

And even though people won't give you credit, you were right. This loon believes with absolutely certainty the election was stolen from him. He hasn't changed his tune or his message once. That is a sign of the absolute conviction he has that his evidence is right and the rest of the world wrong. I think his mind snapped more than usual when he lost such a close election that he seemed to be winning before the mail in ballots were counted. Even though anyone with sense knew that the Democrats had set up mail in voting as a precaution to crowding the voting stations and that Trump's own supporters in other states prevented those ballots from being counted early, thus mail in ballots were likely to be highly in favor of Democrats because Trump himself poisoned the well against mail in voting. He screwed himself. He's too self-deluded and narcissistic to admit it.

Even I watching this election unfold with the tight races in PA, WI, and the like knew the mail in ballots were going to cost him and that he set up the poisonous idea of not using in mail in ballots. If he has pushed Republicans to use all means to vote including mail in, he probably could have clawed more votes from the mail in ballots if he hadn't poisoned the well against mail in voting making Republican voters afraid to use mail in ballots, while many were still afraid to go to crowded polling places.

The guy did so much to screw himself this election that I'm still surprised he almost won.

What was it:

AZ: 11000 votes 11 electoral votes
GA: 12000 votes 16 electoral votes
MI: 155,000 votes 16 electoral votes
PA: 81,0000 votes 20 electoral votes

He lost by about 100,000 to 180,000 votes depending on the states that flipped. About the same margin he won by last time.

CA was a 5 million popular vote advantage by itself. They are main reason I would hate a move to a popular vote. When one state has that much influence over the popular vote, you should be glad we use the electoral college.

The biggest Democratic supporter the Dems have to thank is COVID19 and Trump's terrible handling of it. If the economy had been trucking along at 3% unemployment and people partying making money in the stock market, we would have had four more years of this clown.

What a fitting end to the chaos of Trump. I hope this slams the door on this guy hard with or without impeachment. But who knows, America is crazy town right now.

Add New York's popular vote margin of 2 million to California's 5 million and it equals the difference by which Biden beat Trump in the popular vote. I see nothing magical or divine about a simply majority. There are all sorts of places that we don't use simple majorities, including criminal trials, tax levies, congressional actions, etc. Besides, in the vast majority of elections, the two methods agree. The margins in this past election look pretty similar IMO.

I still think that it's very speculative to conclude that Trump would have beaten Biden absent the pandemic. Would there have been the months long riots and violence this past summer that drove a lot of moderates, like our friend Mack, away from the Dems? We wouldn't have had the unpopular lockdowns that were blamed on the Dems. How would people have voted under normal conditions? It would have changed the debate, but I don't think it would necessarily have changed it in Trump's favor.

I don't think that there's any doubt that Trump genuinely believes that he won the election. It's a classic sign of narcissism to deny what is otherwise an undeniable fact in order to protect his ego, and every single one of us have agreed that narcissism is the dominant trait of Trump's personality.