alt Hacker News#3 was probably more true in 2024 than it is today. Not realizing populism is becoming a bigger factor in both parties is a pretty big miscalculation though. Also media and tech were both common axe grinds in the first Trump term. So maybe they thought they would get ahead of the retribution which they probably did but at the cost of losing the other side. They also miscalculated that Trump will just do stuff even if you thought you paid him off, eg tariffs.
Definitely, and I think it was more true in 2022 than 24, and 20 than 22. Personally for 18 and 16 I feel like I have no idea what has happening. I think sometime around then polarization peaked and started to decline. Like the populist surge with Bernie and Trump (end citizens United/drain the swamp/etc) was 2016 but I don't trust my my own memories of what I felt at that time because what even was the pre pandemic era? Im sure people smarter than me can explain what was happening then and how it relates to now but to an idiot m like my it just feels like stuff was happening, then we all paused, put the world in a blender, shook it up, then hit play.
But since then every election has just felt (I keep qualifying "felt" because these are just the vibes in my bubble) like "can we have less chaos and good economy and [some vision of a government that is less powerful and controlling, anti covid or anti trump corruption or something] and also [a somewhat frustratingly contradictory vision go also, a government that is not inept and gridlocked and gets stuff done] and less war"
"No for real tho" "No for real tho let me try the guys on the right again" "No for real tho what about this socialist mayor" "No for real tho - uhh - this is not working - let's try some mashups. Jesus and single payer healthcare - or - no that's not really a mashup I guess that was sort of his original deal anyway. So uhh, Union Bros, but, they're pro immigration now and hate tarrifs. And what if we had like a younger Bernie type that's on about all the same things but he's Muslim and he calls himself a capitalist. We'll do an old senator in ohio and a young governor in Alaska, and, actually fuck it just reroll everything one of these gotta work" <- we are here
Who TF knows what we're gonna get for 2028s "No like for real tho" but somehow I feel like a dominant driving force is going to involve how stuff is expensive and people don't like war.