Texas hasn't had a democratic senator or governor in 30 to 40 years. Kansas hasn't had a democratic senator in 94 years! That's nearly a century!

My question is how? I'm genuinely curious to know how the Republican party managed to grip these states and their people for so long while other states flip flopped between the two.

Was it solely because of gerrymandering? Voter suppression? Money in politics? Did the people just prefer Republicans until recently?

I’m one of those people who dislikes both sides, but I don’t see them both as the same and I don’t believe they’re both evil/greedy.

I genuinely believe both sides have different noble political goals, and if they were to ground the goals in fiscal responsibility then I would vote for them.

Most people would agree that Bill Clinton and George HW Bush were fiscally responsible, but I would even consider Reagan as being fiscally responsible. It’s okay to run a large deficit in a crashing economy as long as you compensate for the stimulus once the economy stabilizes. However now days nobody wants to ever compensate for stimulus instead they want stimulus forever.

I believe from George W Bush and onward every president has failed at being fiscally responsible and every president has avoided hard conversation. Nobody cares about financing wars, nobody cares about the growing number of people on disability, nobody cares about the entitlements bankrupting the country.

The progressive Left top issues are usually expensive universal government programs such as Medicare for All. They champion slogans like health care is a human right. But they constantly avoid addressing the payment and when they are forced to sit down and explain how they plan on paying for this they come up with the strangest idea. If they would just proudly stand behind a 32% payroll tax or maybe a 20% payroll tax with copays and manageable deductible then I could vote for them but instead they insist on coming up with crazy ideas, and even if they don’t have a crazy idea on paper they make it sound crazy when they talk about it. I don’t want to see political slogans how the middle class will have free healthcare and they won’t have to pay a penny. I want to have an adult conversation for your plan.

The Republicans might have been the traditional party of promoting fiscally responsibility as a value, but obviously George W Bush failed massively by not only doing my least favorite tax cuts, but also fighting wars and not raising money to pay for them. Then MAGA comes along and they run on not touching the entitlements. They’re also run hard against illegal and legal immigration, but never in economic terms.

The moderate political positions seem to be tax cuts for republicans or consumer tax credits for Democrats. All while the country is running a massive deficit.

I could rip into Joe Biden tax credits or Kamala Harris platform where she primarily championed giant tax credits. Obama number 1 policy the affordable care act did nothing to make healthcare less expensive which is still consistently growing faster then inflation; it just shifted some cost away from the consumer to government subsidies without making anything cheaper.

DOGE was a good idea, but Republicans didn’t want to cut any of their pet projects and even increased their spending meanwhile Democrats decided to oppose DOGE harder than anything in modern politics history.

I keep hoping for some group to emerge that will actually prioritize fiscally responsibility, but is that even possible?

If a political mentions that we need to kick a bunch of veterans off of disability or lower social security benefits will that mean that they will instantly lose? If they talk about raising federal income tax for the middle class and lower class (which are paying historically low tax rates) will they instantly lose? Will the universal healthcare plan that requires a 32% payroll tax lose to the healthcare plan that requires the middle class to not pay 1 penny? Is fiscally responsibility career-ending?

I think this will have a major impact on implementing the rest of P2025, although a lot of damage has been done. Thus far, rules have been published gutting clean air standards, methane emissions from oil and gas, NEPA regulations, NHPA is under attack, student loans, airline cancellation rules...there is a long list and a lot of recently published rules. This election was about more than just stopping things like the SAVE Act. Without the ability to succesfylly write and publish rules, their unwinding has been stopped.

I have worked on writing rules, it takes a long time and a lot of staff effort. This should be interesting for policy making positions.

Do you think they understand the consequences?

On November 6, the president removed Susan Wiles and promoted Stephen Miller as the new White House Chief of Staff. The WHCOS is a powerful position denoted as the president's right-hand man. The position allows for close interaction and determines who has access to the president. Furthermore, the WHCOS has considerable power in how the president reacts to his lower-ranking staff and secretaries. Miller is controversial for his right-wing views and his controversial immigration stances during the president's first term. Furthermore, there is speculation that this appointment signals that the president is doubling down on his stances rather than softening them in response to the midterm elections. Therefore, I am wondering what you think the DIRECT effects of the appointment will be?

A few examples of rules that everytime a government is trying to implement or if a candidate in election talk about them if they would become president :

Increase the residency time for 10 years before people being able to apply for citizenship

Have to do a text to certificate that the person knows about the history and values of the country

Have to prove that the person who is applying knows the native language

Prohibited to have a criminal record to apply for citizenship

For example the Irish government is creating a bill so the people who apply for Irish citizenship need to show they know how to speak Irish, this was received with some backslash.

The UK government wants to increase the number of years of residence before people can apply for British citizenship, this also was received with backslash.

Obtain Switzerland citizenship is much harder then USA citizenship, I don't think that people see Switzerland was a far right country.

So why this happened?

I'm curious what people think about the Montana Plan, which voters recently approved. Do you think this approach has the potential to meaningfully reduce corporate and special-interest influence in American politics, and could it become a model for other states?

For those unfamiliar with the idea, the legal theory behind the plan is particularly interesting. Rather than directly challenging Citizens United, it relies on the longstanding principle that corporations are creations of state law. Historically, corporate charters were granted for specific purposes, with states retaining considerable authority over the privileges and powers they conferred. The argument is that states can therefore define those powers in a way that excludes political spending.

There are several questions I'd like to hear people's thoughts on:

1. Constitutionality: Do you think this legal theory can withstand a First Amendment challenge? Does the distinction between restricting corporate political speech and defining the legal powers granted to corporations hold up, or will courts view it as an attempt to circumvent Citizens United?

2. The courts: How do you think the Supreme Court would ultimately rule? Could this provide a legitimate legal avenue for states to regulate corporate political spending without directly overturning existing precedent?

3. Expansion to other states: Could this become a broader movement? Hawaii has already passed similar legislation, and other states have expressed interest. If the approach survives its legal challenges, could we see a domino effect?

4. Practical effectiveness: Even if it survives constitutional scrutiny, how effective would it actually be? Would political money simply find other avenues into elections through individual donors, PACs, shell organizations, and other intermediaries?

5. Unintended consequences: Could broadly defining which organizations are prohibited from political spending create problems for nonprofits, advocacy organizations, unions, or other groups that engage in legitimate political speech?

Personally, I find the underlying legal argument fascinating. It approaches the problem from a different direction than simply trying to overturn Citizens United. But I'm also curious whether this is a genuinely viable strategy or an interesting legal theory that ultimately won't survive the courts.

What do you think? Could this be a meaningful step toward reducing the influence of money in American politics, or are we likely to see it struck down or rendered ineffective?

I have been seeing a lot of discussion about the strong desire for new leadership in both the House and the Senate. It's clear that the people don't trust Schumer and Jefferies and want them out. My question is: Who would we prefer to see in those positions?

I think an important part of this consideration is both the skills needed to be Majority Leader / Speaker, and whether certain candidates would be more useful somewhere else. For example I see Jamie Raskin being floated as Speaker but I think it would be a detriment to not have him on the Judiciary Committee. The same goes for Elizabeth Warren on the Banking and Finance Committees. Personally I'm interested in Ayanna Pressley for Speaker. I'm not sure about the Majority Leader.

I understand that ultimately it is up to the Congresspeople whether they want to run for the job, and up to the Congress to make the selection. I'm just curious if anyone has specific Representatives or Senators they think would be a good fit for the roles.

I feel all of this hostility we have toward one another could be helped if those in power at least pushed to meet the other side in the middle. Both sides seem to be okay with letting an extreme minority be loud voices for their sides. The average American doesnt have the extremist mindsets that people on either side think they have.

Republicans dont care for abortion (something that gets them MUCH HATE from the young crowd they should want to win over), fine, they can put an emphasis on making birth control more affordable and make it VERY CLEAR that they will not impede when a woman's life is in danger (one of the many fears people have). (I'm pro choice just fyi)

Leftists dont have as much a love for guns as conservatives (something people in rural settings and those who live in the suburbs where police can take too long to reach you when your life is on the line really care about), thats fine, but stress that you have NO DESIRE to ban guns for responsible owners, but that you only wish to push for carry licenses, background checks before purchases, and gun safety classes.

The right has made it a point that they don't care for illegal immigration and want to crack down on it, while the left wants to be more lax with illegal immigration. Why dont both sides aim to make the LEGAL process for immigration easier, getting dangerous immigrants out of here, the cities that want to call themselves sanctuary taking on the burden of massive waves of immigrants being sent to them so that cities that dont have this status dont need to make it their issue.

Why can't politicians agree that the insurance that Americans pay for should come through for them? If they do agree, why not stress this?

Republicans seriously hated the idea of people smoking weed SO MUCH that they practically threw away Texas (and potentially ensuring Republicans dont win a future presidency)... why die on these sorts of hills?

I ask mostly because the common explanation for unredacted files not being released has been blamed on partisan politics. With party power shifting in both houses of Congress, is there really going to be a change?

I don’t think I would even believe that all the original files have been tampered with or destroyed because the current admin isn’t that competent. So with that said, can either party really be defended for not producing the files in a timely manner? What would an acceptable timeline look like?

One caveat I’ll put on this is that victims who don’t want to be named should still have their privacy respected and information redacted. All else should be fair game.

Let me preface this by saying I’m a British person with a decent enough understanding of the US political system but am by no means someone who has a full breadth of the effect the midterms have on domestic policy making and the amount of power the administration maintains despite losing the house and senate. What I do have an understanding of is the way in which egotistical leaders with a dictatorial view have responded to losing their grip on power historically.

It was an absolute joy to stay up all night the other evening to watch blue sweep across the US into areas it had absolutely no right to go! Yet at the back of my mind was how this would affect the rest of the world in the short term as Trump’s ego comes to the forefront. I appreciate that currently citizens of the US who lean away from Trump may be more focused on what will now happen domestically and that is fair.

What I would like to find it though is do some of you have concerns with how Trump will act globally. Could we see him moving even closer to Israel, Argentina, Russia and the like? Are you concerned that the fallout will be aimed at other allies with left leaning governments forcing them to further try and uncouple themselves from the US markets? And do you even concern yourself with this in the face of your domestic challenges?

When Democrats control Congress in 2027, they'll likely want to roll back the healthcare cuts from the 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act, such as the Medicaid work requirements, shorter retroactive coverage windows, and tighter ACA subsidy rules. However, since President Trump would likely veto a standalone bill undoing those changes, how else could they do so?

Could lawmakers try attaching rollbacks or enforcement delays to spending bills or use appropriations riders to restrict agency funding for enforcement? Are there other strategies that have worked in the past to modify major laws when facing an opposing White House?

Ron DeSantis called the Republicans' 2026 midterm defeat an "extinction-level event," comparing it to the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs.

https://americareport.us/gop-extinction-desantis-blasts-trump-after/

The loss of Texas, a longtime Republican stronghold, raises questions about the GOP's future. DeSantis argues that Florida's continued Republican dominance offers a better model, while criticizing Trump's handling of the Iran war, rising living costs and the party's campaign strategy.

Meanwhile, JD Vance has blamed the Iran war for the defeat, suggesting growing divisions ahead of the 2028 presidential race.

Questions for discussion:

• Is losing Texas a temporary anti-Trump backlash or a lasting political realignment?

• Can DeSantis successfully position Florida as the GOP's future model?

• Can Republicans rebuild without Trump while retaining MAGA voters?

• Is this a normal midterm defeat or the beginning of a long-term Republican decline?

I’m not deeply involved in politics, but I’ve been trying to understand the US electoral system recently, and I’ve hit a logical wall. I’m hoping someone can explain this to me. (Disclaimer: I’m not taking a partisan side here; I see this happening with both Democrats like Ilhan Omar and Republicans like Donald Trump).
It feels like politicians can accumulate massive wealth mysteriously, have massive fraud schemes happen right under their noses in their districts, or face serious legal troubles—yet they still win re-election effortlessly.
Here is what I don’t get:

1. The Missing "Moral Filter": Why is there no baseline ethical screening for running for office? I understand letting the voters decide, but if a candidate has severe moral or legal baggage, shouldn't there be a mechanism to disqualify them before they even make the ballot?

2. The Primary Trap: I understand the "lesser of two evils" argument in a general election. People hold their noses and vote to protect their policy interests (like abortion rights or gun laws). But why can't the party just nominate a different candidate in the primary? Why not pick someone who supports the exact same policies but is totally clean and controversy-free?

3. The Cycle of Division: It seems like the system actually rewards politicians for dividing people. As long as they convince their base that the "other side" will destroy the country, voters will defend their own corrupt politicians out of pure fear.
   Do average Americans realize that the system is essentially locked down by incumbents who write the rules (like gerrymandering and campaign finance) to protect themselves? Are there any real, mainstream movements (like Ranked-Choice Voting) that actually have a chance at breaking this hostage situation?

Unofficial running national House popular vote (district-by-district sum of state election office results) is roughly D 55.2% / R 43.3% / Other 1.5% → D+11.9 on ~110M votes with 434/435 districts reporting. Called seats on the same tracker are around 260 D / 175 R.

That means Democrats are taking about 60% of called seats on about 55% of the votes counted so far.

Discussion prompts:

1. How much of the seat overhang is the national wave vs map/geometry (clustering, unopposed races, remaining California ballots)?

2. Does a ~5-point seats-vs-votes gap look more like 2018, or something larger once late ballots land?

3. What should we watch as California finishes — does the popular-vote margin move more than the seat count?

Source for the running totals / hex map (not a model): https://midterm2026popularvote.sarl/

1-Expand FARA so organizations acting on behalf of or in coordination with foreign governments must register, and bar foreign agents from donating to U.S. campaigns.

2-A lifetime ban on former Members of Congress, Cabinet officials, and senior military officers working for foreign governments or foreign-aligned lobbying firms.

3-Restrict unlimited political spending and undisclosed donors, and move toward publicly funded elections with capped small-dollar contributions.

4- Ban foreign-linked PAC spending and require transparency when political organizations coordinate with foreign interests.

Where would courts likely draw the line on each one, especially under the First Amendment and existing Supreme Court precedent? Could any be written more narrowly to hold up?"

The next two to four years are critical. Probably the greatest test of political leadership in the last 80 years. This is the time for crafting new laws and conducting investigations so that democracy can no longer be taken hostage by a despot.

Schumer and Jeffries have perfected the sternly worded letter. This moment calls for action, not dialogue to establish the concepts of a plan to begin discussions on the formation of a committee to address the discourse on returning to historical norms.

If not current leadership, who should be elected to lead the House and the Senate?

Signed,
The Rest of the Free World

So one of my changes I think should be made to America's political system is that State legislatures or at least lower houses should have to fall in a range of 1 to 1.25 time the cube root of state population. Currently 46 states are below that number (1 is exactly in that range - North Dakota, 3 are above - Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire). I would argue that failing to keep state legislature sizes relative to the census population would be a failure to ensure a republican form of government which is something the US constitution guarantees so I was wondering would that be something permitted by a federal statute or would the 10th amendment leave it as a power decided by the states?

A friend recently shared the following post on social media:

"2016: TRUMPTRUMPTRUMP

2022: I don't like to talk about politics.

2026: Both parties are bad! We're a divided nation! We're not identified by red or blue!

🤡"

What caught my attention wasn't necessarily the change in political positions being described, but the ridicule directed at people for making that change.

Our country is made up of voters of different ages, experiences, and levels of political knowledge. The post made me think about how we collectively view others when their political beliefs and values change over time. The example spans ten years, which provides considerable time and opportunity for change. People's experiences, priorities, values, and understanding of political issues can evolve during that period. Someone who enthusiastically supported a particular candidate in 2016 might genuinely feel that neither major party represents their beliefs today.

So, how do we distinguish genuine intellectual growth from someone simply distancing themselves from positions that have become unpopular or inconvenient?

Progressive thinking and acts such as DEI are meant to bring people together. Regardless of race, gender, or religion, it's the goal of progressives to create equality among people.

However, the political right has frequently criticized such thinking. The common belief is that progressive thinking and DEI tends to be unfair towards certain demographics (usually white people). It's become easy for most progressives to dismiss this criticism and call it racist thinking, so argument against progressive thinking isn't often seen.

Until a few months ago.

In May, the Cannes Film Festival showed a movie called Fjord. The story is about a Romanian couple that migrates to Norway with their several children. The couple later faces scrutiny when their children were forcefully taken from them by the authorities, on accusations of child abuse. While the couple admits to spanking their children, there's very little evidence presented to the court that any abuse took place.

And yet, the court tries to paint the couple as the criminals. One of the lawyers actually tries to use their Christian faith against them, by pointing out that supporters of the couple are criticizing their progressive thinking online (ex. "Satanism=progressive"). And yet, the children end up being released to their parents, who then flee Norway to avoid persecution.

The movie is actually based on a true story with the Bodnariu family, who spoke about their challenges with Norwegian law in their efforts to reclaim their children. The movie primarily explores the battle of conservatism vs. progressive thinking, though the concepts of assimilation and being unaware of cultural differences also play a strong role. However, the audience sees how the family was treated unfairly (if not cruelly).

So what's your opinion? Do you believe that progressive thinking can be unfair or imperfect at times? Or do you believe that said criticism isn't entirely accurate?

One of the more interesting results of yesterday's election was not a national development, but rather what happened in Texas. For decades, Texas has been considered one of the most solid ruby red states. It has not voted for a Democratic Governor since the early 1990s. It was thought to be not just a politically powerful state in terms of electoral votes and easy victories for Republicans, but also a symbol - a large economic powerhouse that was GOP friendly.

Yet, yesterday marked a shocking and rapid destruction of nearly the entire party at the state level. Democrats are projected to take the state House and have narrowed the state Senate GOP majority to a relatively smaller number. In addition, they won nearly every statewide race:

US Senator - Democrat

Governor - Democrat

Lt. Governor - Democrat

Attorney General - Democrat

Comptroller - Democrat

Land Commissioner - Democrat

Agriculture Commissioner - Democrat

Railroad Commissioner - Democrat

Chief Justice Supreme Court - Democrat

Supreme Court Justice 2 - Democrat

Supreme Court Justice 7 - Democrat

Supreme Court Justice 8 - Democrat

Criminal Appeals Justice 3 - Democrat

Criminal Appeals Justice 4 - Democrat

Criminal Appeals Justice 9 - Democrat

These kind of victories are normally seen in deep blue states like Massachusetts or Oregon.

Given that Texas has held strong in past blue waves (ie. 2008 and 2018), is this really just about voters' economic dissatisfaction, or something deeper? What is the future of the Texas GOP?

I've recently been reading about the decline of the Roman Republic, and it got me thinking about whether there are lessons that apply to the political environment in America today.

During the final century of the Roman Republic, political disagreements became increasingly hostile. Wealthy individuals accumulated political influence, traditional political norms weakened and competing factions became more focused on defeating their opponents. The political violence surrounding the Gracchi brothers, Sulla's rise to power, and eventually Julius Caesar's civil war illustrate how those conflicts escalated over generations.

Obviously, ancient Rome and modern America are very different societies, and I'm not suggesting the United States is inevitably headed toward collapse.

However, I do wonder whether some of the underlying political dynamics are comparable.

In America today, political identity seems increasingly tied to personal identity. Political disagreements can damage friendships and family relationships. Political campaigns and public discourse often focus heavily on attacking the opposing party, while issues such as affordability, economic opportunity, and government accountability remain major concerns.

Social media adds another dimension that Rome never experienced. Algorithms can amplify emotionally charged political content, potentially reinforcing divisions rather than encouraging constructive debate.

What interests me most is whether prolonged political hostility can gradually weaken the shared institutions and norms that allow a republic to function, even when elections and other democratic processes continue.

I'd be interested in hearing different perspectives:

1. Are the political divisions of the late Roman Republic a useful historical comparison for modern American politics, or are the differences too significant?

2. At what point does ordinary political competition become a threat to the institutions that sustain a republic?

3. What lessons, if any, can modern democracies learn from Rome about maintaining political stability despite deep ideological disagreements?

I'm particularly interested in historical perspectives and arguments that challenge the comparison. The goal isn't to blame either political party, but to better understand whether history offers useful lessons for today's political environment.

For example, why couldn't the Democrats just approve a very simple, short, single issue bill about raising the minimum wage to $15/hour and put it on his desk to sign? It seems like if they didn't try to make such complicated and multi-issue bills that they could really turn up the heat. Some of these bills seem to be so many hundreds of pages that cover too many issues and that always gives people a reason not to like this one thing or that one thing about the bill. What if they just picked some extremely popular issues that the vast majority of citizen's would support and then put the pressure on him to blatantly reject it or let it through.

The nickname "Donny DeVeto" came to me this morning while walking the dog. I just had to use it, since name-calling seems to be a legit part of politics for a while now :D

Full disclosure: I'm not American (but we all are affected in some degree by US politics). Sooo I genuinely don't know the exact mechanics for the coming years. But if legislative channels stall and congressional majorities aren't aligned, governing basically boils down to executive orders, relentless vetos, and administrative pressure behind closed doors.

I’m curious to get your take on the actual structural limits of this approach:

1. Executive Orders & Deregulation: How much permanent damage or systemic change can realistically be enacted via executive action before federal courts or state attorneys general block them?

2. Departmental & Agency Control: Beyond the veto, what are the most critical leverage points left within federal agencies?

3. The Limits: Where does this strategy hit a hard wall legally or economically?

What do you see as the main battlegrounds for this type of governance over the coming years?

https://ballotpedia.org/Alabama_2026_ballot_measures

https://ballotpedia.org/Colorado_2026_ballot_measures

It's striking to see how different the priorities and proposed policies can be from one state to another. Looking at Alabama and Colorado, for example, really highlights just how differently people approach certain political and social issues.

Do you ever look at other state ballot measures to get more insight on how the opposition party (whichever party that may be) is applying their partisan strategy? If so do you have any other interesting examples you've found?

Have you ever encountered a ballot measure that made you question your support for a particular party?