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News & Current Events Mar 30, 2026 at 11:24 PM

Democrats could win House as Republicans quit in numbers not seen since Depression

Posted by deraser


Democrats could win House as Republicans quit in numbers not seen since Depression
The Independent
Democrats could win House as Republicans quit in numbers not seen since Depression
A record number of House Republicans are not seeking re-election, the most since the Great Depression, with Republicans far outpacing Democrats. Eric Garcia breaks down the numbers

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Independent-Reader Mar 30, 2026 +1941
Republicans are crawling back into the woodwork, leaving Democrats to fix all their f****** blunders, once again.
1941
Cador0223 Mar 31, 2026 +518
Rats leaving the ship, more like.
518
SnuffleBull Mar 31, 2026 +184
We would be so fortunate if they were actually leaving.
184
MuffinOfSorrows Mar 31, 2026 +21
Spiders in the walls over winter
21
wontonphooey Mar 31, 2026 +8
That's an uncharitable comparison. Rats typically aren't the ones who sunk the ship.
8
InquisitorMeow Mar 31, 2026 +152
Don't make it sound like it's somehow bad for them. They've ran the grift and are getting out with their bags. It's always been the plan.
152
Vankraken Mar 31, 2026 +17
I think the damage that has been done will be impossible to ignore and the appetite for criminal and civil prosecution towards the people who pillaged our country is there. Legal retribution must be had to set the bar that such actions have long term consequences.
17
Dry-Chance-9473 Mar 31, 2026 +51
Sure would be a shame if some normal hard working Americans *personally* held them all accountable and were willing to put in a little effort to make sure they see *permanent, lasting consequences.*
51
Wendypants7 Mar 31, 2026 +6
Yeah, people call the staying Rs cowards but those are the willingly complicit ones; these fleeing pukes are the cowards.
6
MuchAd259 Mar 30, 2026 +16867
Always the same cycle..... 1. Republicans get us into a war. 2. Economy implodes. 3. Democrat is elected and the economy starts to recover and the country heals. 4. Republicans get re-elected. Repeat the cycle.
16867
PerformanceWeekly651 Mar 30, 2026 +6859
It’s the constant cycle of Republicans make a mess, electing Democrats to fix it then rage electing Republicans again when Democrats didn’t fix the mess fast enough
6859
Duna_The_Lionboy Mar 30, 2026 +3339
And the fixes kick in as the Republican takes office so things look good…until they do something utterly boneheaded and the sham is revealed for a short amount of time. I honesty don’t know how any xennials/millenials vote for the GOP.
3339
Distinct-Winner-6117 Mar 31, 2026 +1572
Which is why the BBB has a lot of the biggest cuts delayed. That bill was partly an insurance policy incase the Dems are in office
1572
BTJPipefitter Mar 31, 2026 +873
I keep forgetting that BBB is Big Beautiful Bill, not Better Business Bureau. Just more S-Tier marketing from our Pedo-in-Chief.
873
TeutonJon78 Mar 31, 2026 +675
They named it that because Biden had the Build Back Better bill, and Trump is a petty child. It was a very good plan for normal people that died in the Senate
675
Hips_of_Death Mar 31, 2026 +98
Oh wow. Didn’t realize
98
catboogers Mar 31, 2026 +294
There's also Biden's SAVE act: Saving on a Valuable Education. It was a student loan forgiveness program. Compared to Trump's SAVE act: Safeguard American Voter Eligibility. It's the one that will make it much more difficult for women and trans people to vote, since they're the ones most likely to have birth certificates that don't match their current id due to name changes.
294
TeutonJon78 Mar 31, 2026 +113
Didn't even know about that one. If there is anything positive associated with the Clintons, the Obamas, or Biden he tries to find a way to c*** on it. I feel lile this is Miller or a tech bros doing, though, because Trump is too dumb to thing of SEO keyword overwriting like that.
113
Qwerty1bang Mar 31, 2026 +9
> Didn't even know about that one. How about [uscis-save](https://www.uscis.gov/save)?
9
thuktun Mar 31, 2026 +16
Geez, he really is the pettiest man-baby.
16
MyWorkReddit12 Mar 31, 2026 +23
Thankfully, that's dead for now. Here's hoping it stays that way.
23
Traherne Mar 31, 2026 +56
Never thought of that.
56
Mabuya85 Mar 31, 2026 +212
Same with Melania’s slogan “Be Best”. A petty attempt to one up Michelle Obama’s “Be Better”
212
Tacoman404 Mar 31, 2026 +172
Honestly "Be Better" sounds like genuine continuous improvement while the other sounds like a self loathing superiority complex.
172
GrumpyCloud93 Mar 31, 2026 +53
"B Best" sounds like a breast reduction clinic.
53
1CUpboat Mar 31, 2026 +17
I still read it as Build Back Better then get real confused by the context
17
TeutonJon78 Mar 31, 2026 +37
Which is the point, especially for search engines. You remember this great BBB bill? All you'll find is references to Trump's version on the first page, not Biden's good plan the GOP killed.
37
linux_transgirl Mar 31, 2026 +29
I keep think brittle boned bitches but I also practically live on listnook and tumblr
29
octopornopus Mar 31, 2026 +119
Exact same as TCJA. They wrote it to f*** over the incoming 2025 administration, thinking they would be reelected in 2020. So instead of dealing with the worst of it, they just said, "Wrap it in the OBBB and make it permanent." Then they tossed the tiniest of bones (no tax on tips*, no tax on OT*, etc)
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13Zero Mar 31, 2026 +82
> Then they tossed the tiniest of bones (no tax on tips, no tax on OT, etc) And of course, *those* cuts expire.
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Tacoman404 Mar 31, 2026 +34
This what you get when you elect shady corporate businessmen. Shady corporate contracts for laws.
34
GrumpyCloud93 Mar 31, 2026 +42
Not to mention, negotiating the withdrawal from Afghanistan 6 months *after* the 2020 election when it wouldn't matter for the election. Then the silver lining of blaming it all on Biden in the 2024 election.
42
themolestedsliver Mar 31, 2026 +6
> Then they tossed the tiniest of bones (no tax on tips, no tax on OT, etc) hearing a friends brother in law boast about that before he begrudgingly admitted after looking into it, there is a cap and a fair bit of tax work you need to do to even qualify.
6
honestlydontcare4u Mar 31, 2026 +39
In Dreamland, is there a way to like, pass a bill that undoes that BBB? A way to overturn it?
39
WhenSummerIsGone Mar 31, 2026 +140
congress has a TON of power, if they would just act in our best interests. they could fix Citizens united, they could fix abortion, all sorts of stuff that the Sureme Court has ruled on. They could get rid of Trump, the biased judges, they could release information, on and on. Instead, the Rs run away "brave, brave Sir Robin".
140
lolexecs Mar 31, 2026 +19
Ah, you mean the big beautiful betrayal (BBB)? since it is absolutely f****** over every rural community throughout the US that elected Trump and Republicans?
19
CurlOfTheBurl11 Mar 31, 2026 +8
On his way out of office in 2021, Trump left a number of bombs on Biden's desk to blow up in his face, like announcing the Afghanistan withdrawl. That is Trump's way.
8
padizzledonk Mar 31, 2026 +87
>And the fixes kick in as the Republican takes office so things look good…until they do something utterly boneheaded and the sham is revealed for a short amount of time. >I honesty don’t know how any xennials/millenials vote for the GOP. As an Xennial myself i dont f****** get it, at all, either. Its extremely apparent what the pattern is and i can only chalk it up to this country being absolutely, unequivocally dumb as a box of f****** rocks. Actually strike that, a box of rocks can probably do higher order mathematics compared to the average person....70 MILLION F****** PEOPLE voted for this absolute clown ass moron We're dumb...We're just a painfully stupid nation of people
87
naf165 Mar 31, 2026 +30
> i can only chalk it up to this country being absolutely, unequivocally dumb as a box of f****** rocks Good news! There's scientific evidence for your claim! [Generation X (born roughly 1965–1980) experienced the highest levels of childhood lead exposure of any U.S. generation, peaking in the 1970s due to leaded gasoline. Studies link this exposure to an estimated average loss of up to 6 IQ points, increased rates of mental health disorders, higher neuroticism, and reduced conscientiousness.](https://www.listnook.com/r/dataisbeautiful/comments/117h6n5/generation_lead_by_the_why_axis/)
30
therealstupid Mar 31, 2026 +12
Oh Yes! I remember eating as a child in the 1970s from red ceramic bowls that used lead oxide powder as a pigment. I'm sure that really helped with my brain development!!
12
snomeister Mar 31, 2026 +58
I thought for sure, that when Obama won in 2008 that there was no way a Republican could ever win again. Bush was such a disaster that no one would ever vote for a party that starts wars and recessions again... How wrong I was, lol.
58
acabandallthat Mar 31, 2026 +34
In a way, you were sort of right. Notice how no Republican has been able to win a primary, and none would win nationally. Some mad man just started shouting and took charge of a directionless Republican party, and now all the Republicans follow him because they know they're a bunch of losers without him. How he lifts them all up, I can never explain.
34
Genius-Envy Mar 31, 2026 +14
Don’t worry. When he dies, all the rats will come out and start the FDTGOP. “I never supported him, he’s a RINO. In fact, he was actually a Democrat” and all the racist and or selfish “don’t tax me bro” voters will still vote R. Hopefully, enough of the conspiracy nut job MAGA stop voting that they never gain power again.
14
datscray Mar 31, 2026 +20
I can’t prove this but I wonder if we didn’t have social media in the form that we do today, maybe we wouldn’t have. Obama in 2008 was still relatively early Facebook and Twitter days, MySpace was still pretty widely used. It wasn’t dominated by algorithms and monetized as much as it would start to be in the 2010s.
20
MegaPhunkatron Mar 31, 2026 +39
>I honesty don’t know how any xennials/millenials vote for the GOP. Because culture war bullshit is easier to understand for dum-dums that are too lazy to form a world view that's coherent with objective reality.
39
thetall0ne1 Mar 31, 2026 +49
I’ve been alive long enough to see this first hand 3 times now.
49
Timely-Hospital8746 Mar 31, 2026 +28
George W stole an election right in front of everyone.
28
OmniaII Mar 31, 2026 +9
Me too, and remember this? >The Iran hostage crisis began on November 4, 1979, when 66 Americans were taken hostage at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran >and didn't return 52 until some deal with Reagan January 20, 1981, ingratiation day shady as f***
9
peeinian Mar 31, 2026 +103
Since 2015 it seems to boil down to “orange man funny”
103
JoeChio Mar 31, 2026 +116
More like "there is nothing wrong with hating POC and LGBTQ because I also hate on POC and LGBTQ". I know a ton of casually racist and homophobic people in my state who don't see why Trump is hated on so much. It's starting to turn around though. Starting last year my life long republican grandfather started to open his eyes and see through the BS. He wants Trump impeached. Minneapolis (and Minnesota as a whole) can be thanked for that! Protests work and anyone who says otherwise is a liar.
116
CoffieQueens Mar 31, 2026 +21
I thought it was turning around before the election and I was wrong.
21
DAS_BEE Mar 31, 2026 +33
There was massive voter disenfranchisement prior to the 2024 election targeting... *drum roll* ... Black voters and minorities! Shocker there. Pretty sure that election was stolen through "legal" means. At least as far as that tactic is concerned. It's not surprising the SAVE act is meant to disenfranchise many more voters on a larger scale
33
ReserveFormal3910 Mar 31, 2026 +30
It's the whole conservatives are good at with the economy canard because of Reagan and is factually wrong.
30
CalamityClambake Mar 31, 2026 +25
Reagan was only "good at the economy" because Carter made a bunch of tough, unpopular decisions that got us out of the recession. 
25
TheHipcrimeVocab Mar 31, 2026 +20
More like Reagan got lucky because the price of oil fell drastically at the end of his first term: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980s_oil_glut
20
Towelie-Ban Mar 31, 2026 +6
And then it’s Obama’s fault!
6
makishiP Mar 31, 2026 +29
As a non American, if you do get proper elections, you need someone that does everything trump does, but for the American people. F*** the house f*** congress let the next president do everything necessary for the people.
29
gauderio Mar 31, 2026 +21
Totally, but the supreme court is going to revert everything. Student loans forgivness? No. Healthcare for all? Not a chance.
21
TiberiusCornelius Mar 31, 2026 +28
That's when you do the Andrew Jackson "let us see him enforce it" but for good this time and not genocide
28
witchofpain Mar 31, 2026 +20
And they need to be. Impeach them. Remove them. Get liberal judges and then fix all the loop holes so the Pedo Party cant do this again.
20
WhoStoleMyBicycle Mar 31, 2026 +141
Literally what someone at my work said when they voted for Trump in 2024. They said Biden didn’t improve things fast enough. I guess voting for the guy who actively destroyed them was the better alternative.
141
MyPasswordIsMyCat Mar 31, 2026 +67
Conservatives get more mulligans. The more leftwing you get, the more competent you have to be because you probably have a value system based more on reason and results that can be empirically measured. Conservative values are based on traditional culture and religious faith, things that can't be tested by performance metrics, and instead are tested by their in-group just feeling that something is correct and normal.
67
DJ_Velveteen Mar 31, 2026 +20
And if you're in the US but get left wing enough to encounter EU/Scandinavian policies, you'd better be damn near perfect to succeed bc you'll end up with both political parties fighting you
20
chrisk9 Mar 31, 2026 +137
Not just that Democrats didn't fix the mess fast enough. Also the short term memory of electorate forgetting who is really to blame for long term problems and an effective right wing propaganda apparatus actively shifting the blame to political enemies or out groups.
137
disisathrowaway Mar 31, 2026 +58
Can't forget that the GOP is constantly putting time-released poison pills in their bills that always detonate during a Democratic administration, so then they have a second mess to clean up at the same time.
58
AnySwimming6364 Mar 31, 2026 +24
And actively obstructing efforts to address those problems when there's a (D) in the White House.
24
iCyou1213 Mar 31, 2026 +43
My wife has a work colleague that said he voted for trump in 2024 cause “it wasn’t that bad the first time, so whatevs”. She reminded him that trump incited an insurrection and the guy was like “oh yeah, I forgot about that”. So the electorate short term memory is right, that or they’re just full of shit. 
43
thrasiusgg Mar 31, 2026 +39
You give my fellow Americans far too much credit by assuming their choices are influenced by poor short term memories. The sad reality is that the vast majority are just too f****** stupid to know any better
39
WongUnglow Mar 31, 2026 +12
You're right. But ever noticed that they're the ones most vocal about it day to day? They wear it with pride that they're so enlightened, and in the know, with this new round knowledge they've shared with each other on... Facebook
12
AdZealousideal5383 Mar 31, 2026 +9
The electorate can’t even remember Trump was president through a lot of Covid.
9
kungpowchick_9 Mar 31, 2026 +25
And often the fixes are actively opposed and sabotaged by the Republican minority.
25
PermaDerpFace Mar 31, 2026 +22
The current mess will take generations to fix, if ever. It's not just a mess, they burned the whole house down. Astonishing how the US went from such a strong position to where it is now - in just over a year!
22
Kage_520 Mar 31, 2026 +19
If the entire economy were lumber, Democrats would be the ones replanting forests after a clear cut, then when it gets halfway back, Republicans get elected and just chop all those trees down and bring the cost of lumber way down very temporarily. Then they run out of forest so they cause a war to steal someone else's lumber. When even that stops working and there's no more trees, Americans elect a Democrat, who comes in and starts planting again... But it takes too long to grow so when it's halfway back, all anyone remembers is how c**** lumber was under the Republicans, so they elect them again...
19
HeuristicHoney Mar 31, 2026 +18
We have a country with the memory of a goldfish and the patience of a toddler. We demand a decade’s worth of healing in a single fiscal quarter, or we give the matches back to the person who started the fire.
18
turdferg1234 Mar 31, 2026 +8
nah, it's that once the economy is better for most people a lot of voters go back to the rage bait that the GOP spews. edit: it's like the racists are comfortable being racist when they have money to live, but once the money runs dry they care about the economy. then once they are feeling better about money, they get to vote with their racist ideals again. then the cycle continues.
8
aacawe Mar 31, 2026 +7
Personally I think it has a slight immoral twist. Democrats heal the economy, but it also comes with large doses of social services. Republican voters look around and become enraged that poor people got a free cell phone, or pay less health insurance premiums, or get welfare, etc, and they rage elect a republican president or congressman who promptly burns it all down again. Republican voters really are the absolute worst of humanity. We have lived in a time and country of unparalleled high standard of living when even being middle class or poor still means having a decent home, your own bedroom, hot water, toilets, electricity, unlimited entertainment, transportation, freedom of movement, food security… as a westerner you pretty much get to at least sample some the best things in life, even if it’s not very often. That’s not good enough for conservative christian right wingers. They must impose suffering on SOMEBODY! Even themselves.
7
AVeryVapidBadger Mar 31, 2026 +16
"the Democrats took longer than two years to fix issues that took decades to create. Those f****** assholes aren't getting *my* vote"
16
sillybear25 Mar 31, 2026 +6
The argument holds up even if it *didn't* take decades to tear it down. Huge buildings can take decades to build but only a day to tear down in a controlled implosion. Why should anyone expect rebuilding to happen faster than demolition?
6
Dr-Mumm-Rah Mar 31, 2026 +152
Republican does literal decades worth of damage. Democrat elected. ::8 years later:: Voters: "Times up bro. The economy is going nice and all now, but the party that screwed everything up says they can do better, if we just give them another chance. So, we are gonna switch things up."
152
rW0HgFyxoJhYka Mar 31, 2026 +38
Democracy = dumbest people have way too much voting power
38
Aggravating-Wrap4861 Mar 31, 2026 +19
Hey look I don't agree with everything Trump did but we need to get this country back on track.  Jake Paul 2030! I guarantee this will be what 90 percent of Republicans will say. It's just pathetic really
19
BoomMcFuggins Mar 31, 2026 +69
Need to stop the propaganda from the likes of Fox, OANN in order to stop the cycle. Need to get rid of the dark money in politics.
69
slincoln2k8 Mar 31, 2026 +37
Watching Fox News is terrifying.
37
Pyju Mar 30, 2026 +437
This is why we **must** purge the Democratic Party of the milquetoast, do-nothing, status-quo corporate Dems and replace them with true progressives who relentlessly push for systemic reform. Decent, sound governance is not enough anymore. Americans are tired of the neoliberal system that takes more and more of the value of their labor, and if we elect a Democratic Party that continues to prop up the broken neoliberal system, they **will** get tired of it and elect Republicans again. We must take notes from FDR, the most progressive President of all time and succeeded in making sweeping progressive reforms. What followed was 40 years of political domination by a progressive Democratic Party. So we must all VOTE, not just in the general, but the primaries.
437
TAU_equals_2PI Mar 31, 2026 +54
The public only stuck with FDR long-term because the country had clearly been in the Depression for years under a Republican President before FDR took over. •The Black Friday stock market crash was in 1929. •FDR didn't take office until 1933. Compare that to what happened with the 2008 "Great Recession" where the public threw Republicans out in 2008 and then threw the Democrats out in 2010 because they weren't fixing things fast enough.
54
Pyju Mar 31, 2026 +83
I mean, partially, sure, but you don’t get uniparty dominance for a whopping ***40 years*** (*well* after FDR left office) by simply bringing the country out of a depression. Peoples’ memories don’t last that long. You might get 10-20 years worth of political capital from leading an economic recovery, but not 40. For power that lasts *that* long, you need lasting effects that tangibly and visibly the material conditions of the common working person, from *continually* passing sweeping progressive reforms. It wasn’t just FDR that did this, it was that he turned the Democratic Party into a distinctly more progressive one that continued ***delivering*** on his agenda of pro-working-class policies long after he left office. This golden era of progressivism CAN be repeated again, we the people just need to make it happen during the 2026 and 2028 Dem primaries.
83
SadhuSalvaje Mar 31, 2026 +46
You are aware that FDR only had power that long because he allowed the Dixiecrats to keep being shitty to black people, right? Southern whites were totally for progressive economic policy as long as they didn’t have to share it with black people. Many of their grandchildren and great grandchildren feel this way, it’s why they vote Republican now
46
MageBayaz Mar 31, 2026 +42
The most important thing he is forgetting, though, is that FDR also led the country through a world war that ended in total victory and a drastic improvement in the American standard of living. This is what cemented his legacy beyond doubt; without it he would have been far more controversial, and parts of the New Deal may have been reversed.
42
SadhuSalvaje Mar 31, 2026 +23
1000% The history of our country since the Civil Rights Act has been the Republican Party using wedge cultural issues to break that old coalition and reverse all the progress we made towards limiting the power of the plutocrats. Now their victory is at hand and we have arrived at this “boring dystopia” that we live in today. We got all the nasty surveillance and corporate power of a sci-fi novel without the super science. Excluding of course a pocket sized device that gives me access to unknowably large amounts of information (and instead I’m blathering my thoughts on)
23
2_Spicy_2_Impeach Mar 31, 2026 +65
People have the memory of a goldfish. I don’t think there was a candidate that could beat Trump last election. It was a vibes based election where anyone paying attention to his first term was warning folks of what is exactly happening now. But we were overreacting and he’ll fix everything. Well, what has he fixed? Housing? Economy? Iran? Ukraine? Venezuela? Healthcare? Inflation? Oil? Government waste? Elections?
65
PrometheusLiberatus Mar 31, 2026 +67
It was 'vibe based' from the corporate media angle. But that was just them intentionally sanewashing Trump. It was actually rigged based. The whole f****** deal.
67
FlailingScrotum Mar 31, 2026 +35
I remember when he came out and said that he rigged the election in PA with Musks help and nothing happened. Hell, if you bring it up, you're called a crazy person. I'm so tired.
35
Doctor_Shotbottom Mar 31, 2026 +7
He made many generous promises. Broke virtually all of the most important promises.
7
Recent_Tap_9467 Mar 31, 2026 +26
I wouldn't say that. Kamala came close enough to beating him in spite of being a milquetoast candidate who also had limited time to prepare *and* had to face sexism and racism side-by-side. 
26
LorthNeeda Mar 31, 2026 +29
If Biden had just stuck to one term like he said he would and they had a proper primary things could very well have gone a better direction.
29
Zebra971 Mar 31, 2026 +9
But the whole times it’s improving a republican congress is doing everything it can to make the economy worse. Party over country every time!
9
Anothercraphistorian Mar 31, 2026 +9
5. Voters have goldfish ass memories and can’t give Dems more than one four year term if the country isn’t f****** perfect right away.
9
codacoda74 Mar 31, 2026 +11
The only way out of that cycle is if DEM elected plug all the holes with as much enthusiastic grit as those who showed us the holes. Biden should have gone after J6 with same spitfire as they did trying the coup, but chose civility and bilateralism. The GOP is the child who needs to be sent to their room to think about their behavior before they're allowed to come back out and play Civilization
11
Adventurous_Test_296 Mar 30, 2026 +1879
Good. There was a 40 year, give or take, period of time there was enough sound thinkers to advance the country despite the stupidity such as we're currently struggling through.
1879
Significant_Cup_238 Mar 30, 2026 +1348
I really miss the days where I'd go into election day hoping my preferred slate of candidates would win, but not dreading what would happen if they lose. Like McCain vs Obama in 08, I vastly preferred Obama winning, but didn't fear the end of the Republic if McCain won.
1348
ubelblatt Mar 30, 2026 +556
I am honestly just looking forward to an election where Trump isn't on the ballot. 12 years of this shit.
556
Mestoph Mar 31, 2026 +190
His shit kids are gonna take a run at politics. If they have any success it almost certainly won't be at the same level, but they're gonna try...
190
earthceltic Mar 31, 2026 +101
We need to do like Germany does (although they're not completely successful): Make authoritarian political parties illegal.
101
TheGringoDingo Mar 31, 2026 +77
We need some amendments to protect against this ever again. Also, the rest of the world will not see us as remotely trustworthy until we protect our purported freedom and reign in what could possibly done by an Oval Office and DOD that are set on causing international conflict.
77
BrewerBeer Mar 31, 2026 +31
At this rate, Amendments wont happen unless we flip half of red state legislatures blue along with the governorships. Its a near impossible order that requires earth shattering changes in rural and suburban public opinions. The problem is that the other side is brainwashed so well and so entrenched in an onslaught of propaganda that we have nearly no options to maintain any change in tide long term.
31
Calgaris_Rex Mar 31, 2026 +11
Unless this polarization issue gets addressed in a really robust way, I don't think there will another amendment added, *EVER*.
11
SeaTurtleLionBird Mar 31, 2026 +19
Which is just f****** ironic considering you see the name Clinton twice and all of a sudden the f****** world is falling apart but don't blink at Bush and flog yourself over how great Trump forever sounds.
19
BusinessScientist898 Mar 31, 2026 +13
It's so *strange* how some of the people who screamed about the "Clinton Dynasty" are conspicuously quiet about the "Trump Dynasty" despite three of his children becoming billionaires since he got elected while his son-in-law is suddenly the principle negotiator for America in the Middle East. Not the majority by any means, but some. I'm not talking about MAGA folks either. I'm specifically talking about the subset of my fellow lefties who were clutching pearls in 2016 about the Clinton Foundation and "career politicians" and "did you know she accepted $100k to speak at an event?!" and on and on. They were all over my Facebook back then with rants about how they couldn't support Hillary's corruption but don't seem to have the same energy when Trump straight up *brags* about making geopolitical decisions based on who gives him the most money and gifts. There's this bizarre psychology of denial certain people have with Democrats where it's like they insist the security technician who installed your faulty alarm system is a worse person than the serial killer who actually broke in and murdered your whole family.
13
Randicore Mar 31, 2026 +56
Yup. My first presidential election that I was over 18 for was 2016. I have literally voted against this a****** for my entire life. I'm 30 now. Edit: clarified that I was over 18 because you guys will complain of I don't
56
Friendlyvoid Mar 31, 2026 +8
Same here. God it hurts
8
literallytwisted Mar 30, 2026 +201
That perfectly captures my feelings about it! How in the hell did we get here? This whole is insane.
201
Electrical-Tale-7623 Mar 30, 2026 +164
The Republican Party doesn't hold itself accountable, are great at propaganda, and most Americans are too busy staying afloat to the time needed to make sense of complexity, so slogans are usually what we get.
164
Independent-Reader Mar 31, 2026 +89
Half of US adults have less than a 6th grade reading level. ~22% are functionally illiterate. Information literacy is so important in today's world. Especially now with AI. There are so many people out there with anxiety disorders, from social anxiety, depression, PTSD, ADHD...it's a crazy world, and many of us are ill-equipped to deal with controversy or tragedy in ways that keep us out of trouble. We have so many people in the country not just trying to stay afloat, but who are failing miserably at doing so. These people are being abused by their wouldbe representatives, they are being misled into believing bullshit, they are being advised to hate...how the f*** have we let that shit happen? The president, who should be our nation's biggest role model, is turning out to be kind of a d***. A d*** who abused and raped and cheated on his own wives, who probably raped those children, who has made a mockery out of our institutions, who has wasted so much taxpayer money on the most fruitless and stupid ventures, that I've got to believe there is a God, and that Trump is God's ultimate punishment onto us. MAGA should be feeling a whole lot of f****** shame. The ones who don't aren't ready to join us again in reality.
89
AaronRulesALot Mar 31, 2026 +16
Jesus Christ this is the most well said summation of my thoughts this past year. Like insanely well put man ty.
16
Mestoph Mar 30, 2026 +29
The answer is quite literally Fox News.
29
TheoreticalUser Mar 31, 2026 +15
Fox News is a center beam. The architects of this shithouse are the whales in our P2W political model. US politicians simply optimize for their $upport. If you want a fair society, we have to sacrifice the wealthy to the God of Fairness, and we have skipped several payments. To make things right, we will probably have to do many at once.
15
Matt_cruze Mar 31, 2026 +7
Fox was made to be republican propaganda from day one. The owners were pissed that Nixon faced consequences and vowed it would never happen again. For info on how this was achieved here is some reading. https://theweek.com/articles/880107/why-fox-news-created And https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/how-roger-ailes-built-the-fox-news-fear-factory-244652/
7
Syjefroi Mar 31, 2026 +49
Yalls bar is so low, damn. John McCain's number one most recognizable foreign policy position was that we should bomb and invade Iran. And then on top of that he would have continued with Reagan/Bush style economic policy, what little we got out of 8 years of Obama would never have come to pass (ACA, CFPB, pick your favorite). We would have had VP Sarah Palin, putting a Trump style dipshit in office 8 years early. List goes on and on. John McCain would have accelerated the maga movement because what little Democrats did to hold back the floodgates, McCain wouldn't have lifted a finger for. Conservatives would take a majority on SCOTUS, so what few decent things the Roberts court has done would get erased (e.g. you'd get 6-3 against gay marriage). Like be serious people. Bush already did *incredible* damage to "the Republic" setting up the state of things that gave Trump the power he has with the Executive Branch, and McCain would have gone even further.
49
devolute Mar 31, 2026 +12
Yeah. People forget just because McCain could string a sentence together it's not like he wouldn't have caused huge suffering across the world as well as back home.
12
voodoodahl Mar 31, 2026 +30
McCain really wanted to bomb Iran. We need to strangle the myth there are any good Republicans. 
30
Flobking Mar 31, 2026 +24
> I vastly preferred Obama winning, but didn't fear the end of the Republic if McCain won. Republicans spent bushes entire term burning the country down and you think one of those Republicans who was instrumental in helping them burn everything down wouldn't continue that trend? His whole plan was to cut taxes for the ultra wealthy again.
24
chrisk9 Mar 31, 2026 +10
I mean Sarah Palin as VP and heartbeat away from Presidency should have given some pause...
10
Plant_Nerd15 Mar 30, 2026 +60
F***...Trump is making Dubya look alright at this point.
60
theomorph Mar 30, 2026 +62
Yes, but after Trump, I will *never* vote for *any* Republican *ever* again.
62
AnonymousCelery Mar 30, 2026 +28
Agreed. At any level of governance, ever. No “best candidate” bullshit. If you carry an R next to your name, that’s all I need to know.
28
theomorph Mar 31, 2026 +16
Even for nonpartisan local office. Unless I can confirm they’re *not* a Republican, I won’t even consider them. Somebody said to me recently that the only relevant questions are “Did you vote for Trump?” and “If so, do you regret it?” But even if their answers are “No” and “Not applicable,” or “Yes” and “Yes,” and they still call themselves a Republican, that’s a problem, in my book.
16
Significant_Cup_238 Mar 31, 2026 +7
Even the Yes and Yes are problematic to me. I'll take them if the only other option is a Yes and No, but a person who never voted for Trump will always score higher in my book than a person who did.
7
Olivetax228 Mar 31, 2026 +6
I used to at least pretend to go through the motions of looking at each candidate individually. It just so happened that when I looked at them they were all ghouls. But I at least tried. The last few election cycles though it has just been down the line Democrat in and out in 30 seconds flat. I will never ever vote R the rest of my life.
6
civil_politician Mar 30, 2026 +37
Another economy destroying war criminal
37
Mestoph Mar 30, 2026 +14
Yeah, but he probably didn't f*** kids. And it's sad that's the bar you have to clear these days.
14
WilfredGrundlesnatch Mar 31, 2026 +14
McCain also ran on bombing Iran. Republicans of the past may not have been demented lunatics like Trump, but their goals were just as stupid and vile.
14
illegal_deagle Mar 31, 2026 +21
The internet combined with the structure of our system of government have made republicans a permanent and honestly inevitable threat. The dumbest of the country band together and amplify their idiocy, and they’ll never need to form anything close to a majority to do grave harm. South Dakota = California in the senate.
21
Stennick Mar 31, 2026 +14
Please don’t fall for this. Every year it’s some version of republicans being doomed and yet here we are
14
Bubba_Gump_Corp Mar 30, 2026 +876
Classic republican move. Execute a massive heist of wealth and leave everyone holding the bag when the shit crashes down. Then blame whoever is cleaning up the mess for not cleaning it fast enough, get reelected, repeat.
876
Asleep_Management900 Mar 31, 2026 +185
They blamed Hillary Clinton at one point. She was _never_ even POTUS. The mental gymnastics are insane
185
laplongejr Mar 31, 2026 +49
People blamed Biden for the supply shortage in 2020 *during his election campaign*.  
49
FabFebFob Mar 31, 2026 +55
Well they can easily scapegoat all the problems on Trump, who is term limited, since he is not very popular right now. Blaming the democrats at this time seems stupid because the midterms seem to be drawing targets on the Republicans’ backs due to Trump dragging them all down. If they really want to save their political careers and avoid a massive blue wave, they can easily turn on Trump and impeach him, which actually will boost their careers.
55
pourtide Mar 31, 2026 +48
You're not looking far enough down the road, considering that too many voters have very short memories and can't see farther than their own nose. This administration is going to leave our nation in a really big, really deep hole. It's gonna be a tough slog. Immediately, immediately, immediately after democrats get a strong foothold, republicans will start crying for austerity measures, the national debt is out of control, there are too many lazy poor people wanting too many handouts (like food and health care and help keeping a roof over their heads). And the next election cycle, it's 'obvious' to that certain short-sighted demographic that democrats aren't running the country very well because the price of eggs and we need to get our government back on an austerity footing. And Pubs get back in power, and they loot, pillage, and plunder the nation's finances ... Rinse and repeat. I mean, look at America today. Groceries have been going through the roof, but The Rump states that prices are going down ... and his supporters sing his praises. I mean, WTF? "Prices are going down, they're the best they've ever been, nobody has made grocery prices better than I have ...." and his believers basically throw themselves on their own swords as they sing his praises and wave their flags and wear the jacket with the eagle on the back and call themselves the true patriots who are going to save our nation. After finishing their Lucky Strikes (none of that wimpy vape shit) they kickstart the Harley they can't afford the payments on anymore, or climb into the truck that requires a stepladder just to check the oil they can't afford to change, and coal-roll that Prius on the highway while screaming yee haw, looking for others with eagle wrapped tailgates and flag shades across the back cab window as they seek mental reinforcement of their self-righteous views The leopards are still real real hungry ...
48
ShadowTacoTuesday Mar 31, 2026 +10
Come on, they blamed Democrats for existing during their mess and claim Democrats caused it after literally 1 month in office.
10
Verum_Orbis Mar 30, 2026 +401
Ran the country in to the ground and then quit with lifelong benefits. Almost like the executives of big corporations and private equity do then f*** over all the working class employees and take their golden parachute.
401
Fochlucan Mar 30, 2026 +73
the new elected officials should vote to take away any health insurance and other lifetime benefits for those who left Congress - so they can live like regular people - when you leave a job you lose the perks, and also so they can experience the pain of losing your healthcare due to Congress votes (like the people who lost ACA or medicaid due to the BBB cuts). plus saving that money could be used to help pay down the deficit that Congress allowed to get that high by not curbing Trumps spending.
73
PWL51 Mar 30, 2026 +300
Trump is doing everything possible to centralize everything in the oval office so the other branches of government won’t be necessary.
300
01wax Mar 31, 2026 +75
Sounds like a terrible idea
75
bareback_cowboy Mar 31, 2026 +59
Only if the Democrats refuse to take advantage of it. When they take over, they absolutely must use those same powers to reshape everything and to dismantle everything Project 2025 has brought us. Otherwise yes, it's going to be terrible.
59
YesDone Mar 31, 2026 +23
I swear I'm about to vote for ANY Dem who owns a damn pitchfork or torch.
23
mabden Mar 31, 2026 +86
My theory is it will be harder for democrats to run against "fresh face" republicons, than the "retiring" republicons responsible for all this bullshit. Gives independents the false choice of voting for the new guy who is not a democrat.
86
mormonbatman_ Mar 31, 2026 +24
Republicans who won't support Trump are dropping out. They will be replaced by Republicans who will support Trump.
24
PradaDiva Mar 31, 2026 +35
I agree with your theory. Pin the fiasco on the outgoing idiots and reset with squeaky clean “never maga” image.
35
BudgetLaw2352 Mar 30, 2026 +704
The key is whether or not Republicans are successful in their efforts to rig all future elections.
704
forthewatch39 Mar 30, 2026 +162
But if they are going to rig why quit? Why not stay and keep raking it in? 
162
iAMguppy Mar 30, 2026 +99
So if/when it doesn’t work out they can point directly at the opposing party to blame them for the mistakes of this administration
99
Pretend_Handle_7639 Mar 30, 2026 +44
They lack some degree of faith that they (those particular politicians) will end up in the winning faction going forward. They are looking at the likes of MtG, Cawthorn, and Liz Cheney and not liking what they see for the losers of the internal power jockeying
44
LeavesCat Mar 31, 2026 +26
Yeah, once a faction wins decisively, it'll immediately turn on itself. People who win by stomping on others will always look for others to stomp on.
26
P-Rickles Mar 31, 2026 +15
Fascism always eats the baby, as the saying goes…
15
GrandmaPoses Mar 31, 2026 +19
People trying to rig it aren’t the same ones who are quitting.
19
Rolandersec Mar 31, 2026 +6
If we don’t fix the media the population will do whatever those with the money want them to.
6
Sufficient-Yam6787 Mar 30, 2026 +62
They broke America, and then retire in a record speed for their big fat retirement check
62
Ncav2 Mar 30, 2026 +428
If we lived in a sane country there would be no Republicans in power and they’d be as irrelevant as the Libertarian party.
428
_Phil_McCracken_ Mar 31, 2026 +226
There will be no sanity until the right wing propaganda/disinformation media ecosystem is addressed. 
226
FlameHaze Mar 31, 2026 +115
Whelp, we're going to need to take care of the billionaire problem then.
115
JarOfNightmares Mar 31, 2026 +67
Yes, let's :) :) :)
67
[deleted] Mar 31, 2026 +14
[removed]
14
PathOfTheAncients Mar 31, 2026 +17
A lot of them have been blatantly giving bribes to the white house, which is a crime. I hope we get a chance to see all of them who played along get arrested.
17
maryummy Mar 31, 2026 +21
Exactly this. Half of voters only watch right wing media. So they say whatever they want, and their viewers are never exposed to any counterpoints. When they get sued for lying , they claim to be entertainment. But of course, their viewers never hear about that either.
21
Realistic_Earth1913 Mar 31, 2026 +11
Money. That’s the problem.
11
roughingthesuspect Mar 30, 2026 +37
So they did the last depression and beat feet. Now doing the same.
37
Morgan-Explosion Mar 30, 2026 +71
GOP destroyed everything they touched in just a year and a half. Its truly mind blowing.
71
Proper-Exercise-2364 Mar 31, 2026 +19
Typical! Hand the Democrats a pile it shit. Make them clean it.  Fix the economy, AGAIN! Complain and armchair quarterback the entire time.  Scapegoat some women, immigrants, and minorities to get back in power. Soon as they do? Tax cuts for the rich. Gut the middle class. Start a war in the middle east. Every. Single. Time. 
19
Smart-Difference7290 Mar 31, 2026 +17
They're quitting because they're COWARDS. Boot-licking COWARDS 
17
D3dshotCalamity Mar 31, 2026 +37
I can't wait for most of the country to get mad at the Dems for not cleaning up the mess instantly and then halfway through them actually cleaning it up they elect Republicans again who promise to fix things instantly and then they make things worse and then we elect Dems again to clean up the mess but they don't do it fast enough and...
37
AcanthisittaNo6653 Mar 31, 2026 +14
If the ones who are not running for re-election were to resign en mass, democrats could take control before the next Congress.
14
clam-caravan Mar 31, 2026 +27
Despite their many flaws, the Democratic Party is the only party capable of effectively and competently running our country as things stand currently. Republicans should never come close to this level of power ever again.
27
FabFebFob Mar 31, 2026 +13
Unfortunately, our elections will flip flop every 4 years because Americans are reactive.
13
SpudgeBoy Mar 31, 2026 +14
If the Democrats don't win the House and Senate, America is truly fucked.
14
DamnDame Mar 31, 2026 +13
Forget the labels. Research every candidate to know their background. (So many wolves wrapped in sheep's clothing.) Have lunches with your friends and compare notes on people running for office. Elect grassroots progressives who've proven their worthiness by working for the best interests of your community. Vote in every election - from dogcatcher all the way up the ladder. It ALL begins at the local level. Time to clean up our collective act and get this country back working for the people.
13
Motor_Somewhere7565 Mar 30, 2026 +10
The writing is on the wall of the House. I just hope they take the Senate, too.
10
TemetN Mar 31, 2026 +10
This is the thing, the House hangs by a thread and a historically unpopular Republican president is in power. It would be shocking if Democrats didn't take the house - and that's not news. The question is what happens in the Senate, and whether there's an actual wave.
10
Beneficial_Equal_324 Mar 31, 2026 +9
Midterms almost always favor the party opposing the President, and the Republicans are currently holding a tiny majority in the house. Why "could"?
9
starbucks77 Mar 31, 2026 +8
"Could"? I'm seeing *orders of magnitude* more hatred and disgust for Trump and the GOP over the 2018 midterms - the midterms which has been described as a "Blue Wave". I can't remember the last time I saw a Trump poster in someone's yard, or bumper sticker on a car. And I live in Ohio. This is going to be the biggest gain by Democrats in a midterm in the last 100+ years. The gains in 2018 in the house were huge, but this time is going to be different. Now we have Epstein/pedophile accusations, war in Iran, gas prices, tariffs, tax plan, etc. They're screwed. Get out and vote, folks.
8
Floreat_democratia Mar 31, 2026 +9
Bring the troops home, end the war, prosecute the criminals in the White House, pass laws, not norms, legislate universal health care and education for all, regulate industry, fully fund the green new deal, build out public transportation and make cities walkable, stop subsidizing red state confederates. Books not bombs; fully fund libraries as tech hubs and institutions for free training and career development.  Insure no future admin can ever rollback democracy again by enshrining it with a new bill of rights, pass an equal rights amendment, make voting a national holiday and mandate it like most democracies; regulate the corporate media and end media consolidation; fund public broadcasting and scientific research that benefits the public, not billionaires.  Form working coalitions with indigenous people and promote native knowledge. Eliminate government contracts from companies who are fighting against democracy; end the war on immigrants and minorities; close the private prison pipeline; eliminate funding for the crypto pyramid scheme and focus on funding human-oriented projects that deliver real benefits to 90% of Americans. End the AI and venture capital boondoggle. Return to open source solutions and public windfall.  Return to promoting the humanities and the arts and teaching people why democracy is good and authoritarianism is bad. Fund artists, musicians, craftspeople, and people who actually make stuff.  Return productivity to the people, not companies. Restore the separation between church and state. Elect non-believers and scientists to political positions.  Restore the position of religion to the private sphere. Legislate based on evidence not beliefs. End the war on the imagination.   Solve climate change and stop subsidizing fossil fuel.  End the tax loopholes for charitable orgs that allows conservatives to lobby against America in favor of monarchy and dictatorship. End the financialization of government and bring back public service.  Clean up private industry by taxing billionaires and giving tax breaks to working people to increase the middle class.  Raise the minimum wage to a livable wage.  Nationalize and municipalize industries that are robbing and stealing from Americans, including tax filing companies.
9
Temporary_Heron6944 Mar 31, 2026 +18
This country is such an abusive relationship. GOP makes a mess, Dems fix it, GOP comes back to steal everything and make another mess then leaves, Dems fix everything again, etc etc. Except what is happening in recent history is, Dems are in on “the take” and have little incentive to actually fix the broken cycle. It’s really going to take a strong populist movement, true democratic socialist leadership, if we have any hope of breaking the cycle. Or we can let it go on until the planet implodes and everyone goes to mars.
18
nonubiz Mar 31, 2026 +8
Rats jumping off a sinking ship no one likes what and how this administration is doing things. The heritage foundation is slowly decaying and they know it. They are trying to save the petrodollar by consolidating oil from other countries keeping control. Renewables are not part of that plan. That’s why they are against wind and solar. Epstein Epstein Epstein just to keep it viral
8
iyamwhatiyam8000 Mar 31, 2026 +8
It would only take a handful of these retirees- showing some guts and spine - to form a breakaway factional voting bloc but these qualities are clearly absent in the GOP.
8
MyFirstCarWasA_Vega Mar 31, 2026 +6
And when everything is shit because of Maga, they will become the minority populist party all over again. And start blaming all the shit THEY created on the opposition. It's a story that writes itself and can be seen coming many months away.
6
eltjim Mar 31, 2026 +7
Republicans are quitting in numbers not seen since the Great Depression because they've set the stage for the next Great Depression.
7
[deleted] Mar 31, 2026 +7
Of course. After the country is bled dry financially anf f****** everything up as distraction, it is pointless to govern because they know they will be blamed for it. Republicans cower to let the Democrats fix their mess at the same time spreading misinformation for their idiotic and stupidly gullible voters. After the Democrats restore the country, these politcal and financial parasites called Republicans will come out, spread lies left and right to discredit the Democrats and win the next elections to start harvesting again. TLDR, Republican Americans are idiots and stupidly gullible voters.
7
KasreynGyre Mar 31, 2026 +7
There is only one metric that has predicted every US presidential election correctly: If the economy is doing well, people want less taxes and less social net and thus vote Republican. If the economy is doing poorly, people want the government to provide safety and vote Democrat. These swing voters are an extremely short-sighted, egiostical bunch. "I have a good job. I hate taxes!" / "I might lose my job. Everyone should pay taxes so I have social security!" Interestingly, this also means that under Democrat rule, the economy flourishes while it declines under Republicans.
7
housecatapocalypse Mar 31, 2026 +6
Don’t believe the headlines. Vote. 
6
MentalDisintegrat1on Mar 31, 2026 +13
If we take everything we need to officially designate Republicans as domestic terrorists and hit the whole party with RICO.
13
BadLuckBlackHole Mar 31, 2026 +8
Can this include state governments? Asking for Florida
8
itsaconspiraci Mar 30, 2026 +7
"The Great Depression" Another Republican f*** up.
7
Unusual_Specialist Mar 31, 2026 +6
My hope is the new elected find a way to release and prosecute everyone listed in the Epstein files.
6
TrainingSword Mar 31, 2026 +6
Republican voters hate the democrats because every time one is elected they think it takes too long to fix what the republicans did like the democrats should just be able to snap their fingers and have a perfect economy after th republicans spent their time driving it to the center of the earth
6
winglesscanary Mar 31, 2026 +6
The classic “f*** everything up and dip” maneuver
6
martyqscriblerus Mar 31, 2026 +6
Every one of these Rs who sees the writing on the wall should stay and fight by voting against their party instead of running away. But not one of them will.
6
Overall_Curve6725 Mar 31, 2026 +5
Cowards running away from the hard work that requires morals
5
WebInformal9558 Mar 31, 2026 +5
Easier than doing something, I guess.
5
penny-wise Mar 31, 2026 +5
Rats leaving the ship they have made sink.
5
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