Nemo

Chicago City Gov't: Moderately unhappy in general, unhappy with my Alderman specifically.

Illinois State Gov't: Very happy. Pritzker is amazing and I hope he doesn't run for president because we need him here for a few more years to keep cleaning up these messes. I'm very unhappy with my State Representative specifically, but he runs unopposed in both primary and general so my options are limited. And by "unopposed" I mean he's the stepson of my Alderman, the Alderman whose wife held the State Rep seat previously, and it's a whole nepotism / Machine thing.

US Federal Gov't: Very unhappy. You've read the news, you know why.

Yes. It would be stupid. You can always get married later if you change your mind, but for now focus on supporting her through the pregnancy and prepping to be good parent to the kid and a good coparent to the girl.

All battles are hopeless when no one fights them.

You're not wrong, though. But even thirty years would be enough to make a change, perhaps... or maybe it seems that way to me because that's when I started paying attention.

Friggen Tea Party bullshit was when it really started sliding downhill fast, IMO.

The government needs to adapt, yes, but carefully. You can't just run with the first or second option, that's a recipe for regulatory capture.

It's not "no change is good" but rather "most change isn't good, so we need to test them until we find the best change".

that's what your politics are, you're basically just politically homeless...and have been since you started calling yourself that.

This, at least, is correct.

What is the point of labels like this if they don't signal what it is you believe, relatively accurately?

This is exactly why it's necessary to push back on those who would twist it to mean something else.

The point? We can't interact directly with reality, only with our perception of reality. People don't see what you've done unless you draw attention to it. Hard work isn't enough to succeed in social situations, you also need to persuasive present your accomplishments to those who can reward you for them.

I know what the generally accepted definition is, I just don't accept it. Regressives don't have a right to call themselves conservative and I won't stop calling them out on it.

Conservatives and progressives should agree on a whole lot, especially when we're all trying to fight off an alarming resurgence of fascism, authoritarianism, and illiberalism worldwide. The disagreement was rarely about goals, but rather methods. And right now the method is clear: Get these Nazi fucks out of power, ASAP.

Exactly right.

This list is all things under attack by the current administration that I want to push back and protect, that's the point. That was the question I was answering.

A non-stacked Supreme Court

The Electoral College

Human Rights

Civil Rights

Checks on Presidential power

the American melting pot

Birthright Citizenship

Separation of Church and State

basically all of the Enlightenment ideals the country was founded on and have been working towards, it fits and starts, for most of her existence