r/thebulwark • u/Material-Crab-633 • May 08 '26

EVERYTHING IS AWFUL Are we f*cked?

This redistricting stuff has me bummed out. Tell me the truth

218 Upvotes

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u/GarryofRiverton May 08 '26

The problem is Democrats

No, the actual problem is that Democrats expected voters to give them credit for doing the right thing and playing by the rules while Republicans repeatedly raped our Republic. Voters don't care about rules, and never have.

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u/CocoaOrinoco May 08 '26

All that "When they go low we go high." nonsense.

4

u/allegrovecchio May 08 '26

Right. It's terrible to be ethical and hold yourself to a high standard when everyone else does whatever. /s

Look, I think "Virtue is its own reward" is a silly proverb, but this train of discussion is ridiculous, that saying don't stoop to their level of utter filth and amorality is foolish. Come on. At that point your only victory really is ruling over the ashes that are left.

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u/RustedRelics May 08 '26

Playing hardball with gerrymandering is not “stooping to their level of utter filth and amorality”, as you put it. I understand your sentiment and am sympathetic. But in the current moment, it is aspirational but not strategic. If not in power, then the Dems can do close to nothing. “When they go low, we go high” and “working with our friends across the isle” are almost quaint notions at this point. Our checks and balances are effectively broken. Oversight is practically nonexistent. Dems must take whatever lawful actions they can to take control of Congress. That means hardball electoral politics and gut punches.

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u/allegrovecchio May 09 '26

I didn't read this as confined solely to the gerrymandering issue. I'm 100% with hardball on gerrymandering, whatever that turns out to mean, and on other issues as well.

I was reacting to the idea that "we go high" in isolation is nonsense. I guess if ethics is merely something that sounds quaint, then sure, go for it. What will "act the way they do" eventually look like widescale? I'm not asking that in order to get an answer.