Quote (Skinned @ 14 Jul 2020 20:37)

Americans form governments and then have elections to pick which government, And the spoils system dictates that there is no power sharing or working together.

European systems have elections and then form governments out of the winners which often forces different parties to work together and share power.

Its very different.

Quote (Black XistenZ @ Jul 14 2020 02:49pm)

The entire construction of the US Senate, with the filibuster and a required 60 votes supermajority for cloture, is designed to foster bipartisan cooperation. And back in a less polarized time, when Congresspeople of both parties didnt vote as a monolithic bloc yet, it was also far from guaranteed that the party holding the majority of House seats could ram any legislation through this chamber either.

Quote (Black XistenZ @ Jul 14 2020 02:49pm)

The entire construction of the US Senate, with the filibuster and a required 60 votes supermajority for cloture, is designed to foster bipartisan cooperation. And back in a less polarized time, when Congresspeople of both parties didnt vote as a monolithic bloc yet, it was also far from guaranteed that the party holding the majority of House seats could ram any legislation through this chamber either.

Quote (ofthevoid @ Jul 14 2020 12:22pm)

It's crazy to me how some of you guys know so much about american politics. I know like nothing about German, English or whatever other countries politics.

If you don't mind me asking, why do you stay so informed on US politics?

Quote (ofthevoid @ Jul 14 2020 03:22pm)

It's crazy to me how some of you guys know so much about american politics. I know like nothing about German, English or whatever other countries politics.

If you don't mind me asking, why do you stay so informed on US politics?

Quote (ofthevoid @ 14 Jul 2020 21:22)

It's crazy to me how some of you guys know so much about american politics. I know like nothing about German, English or whatever other countries politics.

If you don't mind me asking, why do you stay so informed on US politics?

Quote

i guarantee you, if the netherlands had a president who tore up crucial international agreements just because they hated their predecessor, if they committed war crimes all over the world, unilaterally imposed tariffs on goods because they didn't know how trade balances work, tried to ban certain countries and religions from traveling there, you would.

i mean, obviously the US, as the largest western economy, former leader of the so called "free world", and military hegemon, had an additional focus on their politics for many decades, as it directly impacts european trade and foreign policy like no other single country, so there is your 'historical reason'. also, europeans are, generally speaking, more curious about what's going on beyond their own country's borders.

furthermore, it's not quite as 'wild' as you may think, because while most europeans that aren't far-right bigots themselves are well aware of what a mess trump is, they are NOT as aware of american politics as the euros you encounter here.

Quote (ofthevoid @ 14 Jul 2020 21:22)

It's crazy to me how some of you guys know so much about american politics. I know like nothing about German, English or whatever other countries politics.

If you don't mind me asking, why do you stay so informed on US politics?

Quote (ofthevoid @ Jul 14 2020 08:22pm)

It's crazy to me how some of you guys know so much about american politics. I know like nothing about German, English or whatever other countries politics.

If you don't mind me asking, why do you stay so informed on US politics?

Quote (Black XistenZ @ Jul 14 2020 08:58pm)

I'm just a nerd I guess...


Also... the United States have been, and continue to be to this day, the political and ideological vanguard of the entire Western world. All the political and lifestyle trends, all the battles about ideology and specific policy that are fought in the U.S. are sooner or later also appearing here in Europe/Germany.


I used to only tune in to US politics to this degree quadrennially, in election years. After 2016, I stayed more tuned in because of Trump, but probably also because of my personal situation, having more downtime while I'm working that has to be filled with something I can do in a webbrowser on my PC. Reading up on politics and shitposting here on PaRD fits my current situation very well. ;)