What are the key issues of US Election 2024?

[Brihaha]

So we're talking a solid 6 rating if Biden and Trump were added together lol. Ridiculous how Americans settle for so little. We deserve whatever happens if either one gets elected again.

 

[Desk trauma]

So we're talking a solid 6 rating if Biden and Trump were added together lol. Ridiculous how Americans settle for so little. We deserve whatever happens if either one gets elected again.

It wouldn’t be a presidential election if all the options weren’t lousy.

 

[Godsunworthyservant]

I believe that if the leftist Democratic party remains in power in the White House after January 2025, then America will never ever be the same again. .... and not in a good way, either.


As for the first post in this thread, the OP did make more than a couple very valid, interesting, and informed point

After reading your reply, I have a couple of questions. In your reply, you state your opinion that if the Democrats remain in power "then America will never be the same again...and not in a good way either". Personally, I don't believe America will ever be the same as in the past no matter who wins but that said, since you give no reasoning for your partisan belief, could I ask, strictly from a Christian standpoint, what do you believe will be worse? And you don't mention what you believe will happen if the Republicans take back Washington. From a Christian standpoint, do you have reason to believe that it will be any better? I'm curious as to what motivates your reasoning.

 

[Godsunworthyservant]

So we're talking a solid 6 rating if Biden and Trump were added together lol. Ridiculous how Americans settle for so little. We deserve whatever happens if either one gets elected again.

Those who desire political power are most often, by their very nature those we should least trust to wield it!

 

[Pommer]

As a non-citizen, you have some interesting observations about the American political system and some of the myriad of problems in our current situation. Since you don't mention if your relatives for whom you inquire are Christian, I'll assume since you are asking in this Christian forum that they are. With that said, I'll give you the readers version of my thoughts on Christians and politics in general and try to address your specific issues separately. First, as to how Christians should view politics and political matters in today's highly charged partisan and confrontational environment, we should always look first at what Christ said on the matter. When it comes to politics, it's relative simple. I can find only one reference where Christ even addressed the subject. It was when He was asked about whether Jewish people should pay tribute (or taxes) to Caesar. We read that Christ knew it was a trap but He answered in Mark 12:17 with the oft quoted “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.” So, Christ Himself refused to get into political debate and instead pointed out that we should leave political matters (such as taxes) to the politicians and that His mission (and presumably ours) is those things which are Gods. Christ never got Himself embroiled in political controversy. I think as Christians, we should follow Christ's lead and not let ourselves get involved in partisan political matters unless they directly affect our ability to worship God and do His will. Think of it this way. As a Christian, our main objective should be to do God's will and to share God's word with others. In today's hyper-partisan political arena, where the country is pretty evenly split between opposing views on just about everything, if we as Christians openly espouse views on either side, we risk damaging our Christian testimony with those of opposite beliefs. So, what is more important, stating some controversial political opinion or keeping our reputation clear of such things in order that no one can refuse to hear our Christian testimony because of them? That said, I will nonetheless attempt to give my personal opinion to your specific concerns. First, when you ask about partisanship and which candidate can best unite the country and reconcile the parties. I wish I had the answer to that one! I don't think that's feasible in the current environment, so might I suggest an alternate way of looking at the question. Since no matter who wins, the other side is still going to be overly dramatically adversarial, i would suggest listening to the candidates and choose the ones who are least likely to fan the flames any further. As for putting into proper perspective things such as lies, obsessions with certain issues and personality politics, I believe their proper prospective for a Christian is that they are all distractions from the real issues facing our daily lives and I would suggest voting for those candidates who are least involved in propagating them. As for wealth inequality, that's just a natural evolution of the greed that has plagued mankind from the very start and no politician will ever be able to address it. Our capitalistic economic system encourages personal wealth accumulation and those who have the wealth have the influence, so as Christians, I believe we should simply use what resources we are given with thanks to God and if someday things do change so that we have more, we should remember that Christ said, "To whom much is given, much will be required." As to the budget and the debt, under the last administration the national debt increased around $7 to $8 Trillion (depending on whose numbers you read) for an increase of around 33% and the current administration has added around $2.5 Trillion to date or around 8.8%. So, while the increase has slowed considerably, it's still a major issue that we must address. I would personally suggest, on this issue alone, if the Presidential candidates are the past two Presidents, then I would rely on past performance. I hope this has been some help or at least provided another perspective for you.

Line-breaks are our friends.
EDIT: You make good points but duck the main issue of injecting religion into the political sphere.

In my view, mixing religion & politics is fraught with dangers because by doing so, because both domains are lessened and harmed; politicians are stymied at actually governing by clerics who hold the power of the electorate over the pols heads and the internal power struggles get in the way of crafting and implementing public policy that fulfills the Constitutionally mandated norms.

 

[Pommer]

I believe that if the leftist Democratic party remains in power in the White House after January 2025, then America will never ever be the same again. .... and not in a good way, either.

Please don’t play coy. Tell us your predictions if Democrats hold the White House in ‘25.
Merely saying “it bodes ill“ might not be the cogent political discourse you seem to think it to be.

As for the first post in this thread, the OP did make more than a couple very valid, interesting, and informed points.

You should learn to expand on these thoughts if you’re looking to further your views.

 

[Nithavela]

As a non-citizen, you have some interesting observations about the American political system and some of the myriad of problems in our current situation. Since you don't mention if your relatives for whom you inquire are Christian, I'll assume since you are asking in this Christian forum that they are. With that said, I'll give you the readers version of my thoughts on Christians and politics in general and try to address your specific issues separately. First, as to how Christians should view politics and political matters in today's highly charged partisan and confrontational environment, we should always look first at what Christ said on the matter. When it comes to politics, it's relative simple. I can find only one reference where Christ even addressed the subject. It was when He was asked about whether Jewish people should pay tribute (or taxes) to Caesar. We read that Christ knew it was a trap but He answered in Mark 12:17 with the oft quoted “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.” So, Christ Himself refused to get into political debate and instead pointed out that we should leave political matters (such as taxes) to the politicians and that His mission (and presumably ours) is those things which are Gods. Christ never got Himself embroiled in political controversy. I think as Christians, we should follow Christ's lead and not let ourselves get involved in partisan political matters unless they directly affect our ability to worship God and do His will. Think of it this way. As a Christian, our main objective should be to do God's will and to share God's word with others. In today's hyper-partisan political arena, where the country is pretty evenly split between opposing views on just about everything, if we as Christians openly espouse views on either side, we risk damaging our Christian testimony with those of opposite beliefs. So, what is more important, stating some controversial political opinion or keeping our reputation clear of such things in order that no one can refuse to hear our Christian testimony because of them? That said, I will nonetheless attempt to give my personal opinion to your specific concerns. First, when you ask about partisanship and which candidate can best unite the country and reconcile the parties. I wish I had the answer to that one! I don't think that's feasible in the current environment, so might I suggest an alternate way of looking at the question. Since no matter who wins, the other side is still going to be overly dramatically adversarial, i would suggest listening to the candidates and choose the ones who are least likely to fan the flames any further. As for putting into proper perspective things such as lies, obsessions with certain issues and personality politics, I believe their proper prospective for a Christian is that they are all distractions from the real issues facing our daily lives and I would suggest voting for those candidates who are least involved in propagating them. As for wealth inequality, that's just a natural evolution of the greed that has plagued mankind from the very start and no politician will ever be able to address it. Our capitalistic economic system encourages personal wealth accumulation and those who have the wealth have the influence, so as Christians, I believe we should simply use what resources we are given with thanks to God and if someday things do change so that we have more, we should remember that Christ said, "To whom much is given, much will be required." As to the budget and the debt, under the last administration the national debt increased around $7 to $8 Trillion (depending on whose numbers you read) for an increase of around 33% and the current administration has added around $2.5 Trillion to date or around 8.8%. So, while the increase has slowed considerably, it's still a major issue that we must address. I would personally suggest, on this issue alone, if the Presidential candidates are the past two Presidents, then I would rely on past performance. I hope this has been some help or at least provided another perspective for you.

Please, please, PLEASE break up your posts with paragraphs.

 

[durangodawood]

There is only ONE issue:

Will we have a president who is committed to the peaceful transfer of power following democratic elections, or not?

The rest we can sort out later.

 

[Godsunworthyservant]

Line-breaks are our friends.
EDIT: You make good points but duck the main issue of injecting religion into the political sphere.

In my view, mixing religion & politics is fraught with dangers because by doing so, because both domains are lessened and harmed; politicians are stymied at actually governing by clerics who hold the power of the electorate over the pols heads and the internal power struggles get in the way of crafting and implementing public policy that fulfills the Constitutionally mandated norms.

I didn't mean to duck the issue. I began with my personal opinion that we, as Christians should follow the example of Christ and steer clear of partisan politics. It's a no win situation when we try to mix the two. I believe I related the idea that by touting partisan political beliefs, one runs the risk of undermining their Christian testimony with those of opposite opinions, given the current contentious state of affairs. Personally, I believe that if all the time, effort and money that Christians spend on political matters were spent doing God's work, the world would be a much better place. For instance, there was around $4 Billion spent just by presidential campaigns in 2020. These days approximately 60% of Americans self identify as Christian. So, assuming that 60% of those contributions came from Christians, that's about $2.4 billion that could have been used doing God's work. Think of all the good work that could have been done with that money.

 

[Godsunworthyservant]

Please, please, PLEASE break up your posts with paragraphs.

Not sure how. I'm new at this

Hey, when I hit the enter, it made a break. I was afraid it would post the unfinished post. Thanks. I'm learning already.

 

[Nithavela]

Not sure how. I'm new at this

Hey, when I hit the enter, it made a break. I was afraid it would post the unfinished post. Thanks. I'm learning already.

There are some places where hitting enter posts the stuff. This isn't one of them.

If you ever encounter a place where hitting enter sends your post, you can usually add a linebreak by holding shift while pressing enter.

 

[Pommer]

I didn't mean to duck the issue. I began with my personal opinion that we, as Christians should follow the example of Christ and steer clear of partisan politics. It's a no win situation when we try to mix the two. I believe I related the idea that by touting partisan political beliefs, one runs the risk of undermining their Christian testimony with those of opposite opinions, given the current contentious state of affairs. Personally, I believe that if all the time, effort and money that Christians spend on political matters were spent doing God's work, the world would be a much better place. For instance, there was around $4 Billion spent just by presidential campaigns in 2020. These days approximately 60% of Americans self identify as Christian. So, assuming that 60% of those contributions came from Christians, that's about $2.4 billion that could have been used doing God's work. Think of all the good work that could have been done with that money.

EDIT: Welcome to CF and forum 909!
Good post.
i see nothing “wrong” with individual Christians voting their conscience, that’s how it works for us heathens too.
But when we see these Christian Nationalists running around trying to bend history to make the case for a theocracy-lite ruling in this land, then I see the need for more folks like yourself to become active in suppressing their ”more proactive” brethren.

This will lead to problems within the (various) churches; but that’s also a downside of letting politics into the pews.

 

[essentialsaltes]

I cannot vote in your election though close relatives can. But it seems to me that this election is one of the most important ever. So what advice would you give my relatives as to the most important issues in this election?

From my European perspective, the following seems most pertinent. But I would be interested to learn what Americans think are the key issues:

Immigration reform/border control. A bipartisan reform of immigration is much needed and may not be impossible. Biden has shown some flexibility in adding border control funding to the Ukraine/Israel funds. That's a long way from the overhaul we need, but it's something. Trump has no interest in a bipartisan solution.

Isolationism vs. Protecting our Allies

Election Security and Trust based on Best Practices

Managing a Modernizing Economy

1) POLITICAL PARTISANSHIP threatens to split the country and even provoke a civil war - much to the delight of America's rivals. So what candidate can best unite America and reconcile those on both sides?

I don't disagree about the importance, but no candidate running can provide that. Possibly Chris Christie (blue state Republican governor) would have the best shot of those left.

2) AMERICAN PROSPERITY AND POWER ARE UNEQUALLY SHARED - Your super-rich grows richer while those at the bottom struggle with high prices, debt...

3) PUBLIC DEBT levels are at a record high and this is becoming unsustainable. The political culture seems to disallow the possibility of a balanced budget.

I agree that no one has a viable plan to reduce spending enough to make any significant difference. The GOP has had control of the House for a year, and have been able to do nothing more than kick the can down the road, despite all of them giving lip service to debt/deficit reduction. Whether it's vital services or pork ... it's popular and not going away. A real solution almost certainly requires addressing the revenue side of the equation. A more progressive tax structure could help solve #2 and #3.

 

[USincognito]

I believe that if the leftist Democratic party

The Democratic party is in no way, shape or form "leftist".

remains in power in the White House after January 2025,

That's goes all the more so for the Biden administration.

then America will never ever be the same again. .... and not in a good way, either.

Don't be coy. Tell us how.

 

[USincognito]

America only has 1.5 parties: Democrat and Democrat-lite.

Not even close. We have one party that is interested in governing and one party that is interested in showboating, Tweeting and appearing on Fox, OAN or Newmax.

The religion of equality is now the dominant religion in America. America is not America anymore. America is also not America due to 50 years of massive immigration.

Meaning what? Too many brown people? Because as a percentage of population, we have higher amounts between 1890 and 1925.

 

[KCfromNC]

If Americans are saddled with Biden vs Trump again, it may be difficult to motivate us to vote at all.

Luckily the Conservative Supreme Court gave us a gift which seems to be doing wonders for turnout in the elections since.

 

[KCfromNC]

I believe that if the leftist Democratic party remains in power in the White House after January 2025, then America will never ever be the same again. .... and not in a good way, either.

I guess a vague bad feeling backed up by nothing but far right infotainment sources is just as good as actually understanding policy when deciding who to vote for. What could go wrong?

 

[essentialsaltes]

Managing a Modernizing Economy

An object lesson in how-not-to

MTG Blasted Georgia EV Industry: “We’re the Bible Belt …We Don’t Want to Be the Battery Belt”​

Greene also attacked battery plant initiatives, claiming it allows China into the country. The plant in Cartersville is [run] by SK Innovation, a South Korean company.

Greene also ... mocked Joe Biden’s statement that it means more jobs, and took a strong position against it: “I’m very concerned over it and completely against it.”

“We’re the Bible Belt down here. We don’t want to be the battery belt.”

I guess we can expect MTG to push for subsidies for Bible factories.

 

[mindlight]

The problem is everything.

America only has 1.5 parties: Democrat and Democrat-lite. Elections are mostly an illusion as the candidates are mostly preselected by the wealthy and powerful, with the occasional exception slipping through.

The religion of equality is now the dominant religion in America. America is not America anymore. America is also not America due to 50 years of massive immigration.

What about wealth? Turns out that wealth follows the Power Law. That means most of it goes to the few. That's the natural order of things. Forcing more equal is going to be a problem.

The mathematical law that shows why wealth flows to the 1% | Alok Jha | The Guardian

The mathematical law that shows why wealth flows to the 1% | Alok Jha

Alok Jha: No one who is interested in an equitable society can fail to be irked by unfairness in wealth distribution – but it is not unexpected

www.theguardian.com

What about debt?

The situation is hopeless. Eventually there will be a big crisis.

As Jefferson once said, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

I guess it does depend on what you mean by equality but most of those who phrased the Constitution believed that all men and women were created in God's image, offered an equal chance of salvation by Christ, and have the same eschatological potential in eternity. So there is nothing unAmerican or unChristian in affirming equality. There have always been disparities between rich and poor but for much of its history the American dream has been that anyone could make it and that there was the same equality of opportunity shared by all. Since social mobility is no longer working the reality of that dream has faded. But there is nothing to stop extra taxes on the rich, infrastructure projects that favor everybody in the long run rather than just the portfolios of the fabulously rich, and better education investment to increase the skills of the next generation and their earning potential regardless of where they have come from. Nor would such investments jeopardize America's place in the world. The major hurdle here is an ideological one and a matter of exchanging greed for generosity.

 

[mindlight]

I'd put

0. Leadership in one of the 2 major parties openly advocating for violently overturning an election they didn't win. And a small but vocal minority of followers uncritically accepting a regurgitating that lie.

Seems like a biggie. This isn't normal.

Hopefully some of the other mistakes of that party will make it clear they can't be trusted and drive turnout. Marginalizing the party might additionally radicalize their remaining members but at least they would lose the power to do anything about it (politically, at least, there's always additional terrorism).

Trump lost the election and his lies render him unfit for office. But the reason that people want these lies to be true and cling to Trump, despite his obvious deceit, has more to do with the ideological divide between right and left. He feeds this divide because he benefits from it but this is not good for American stability or credibility in the world.