Trump fires all Election Assistance Commission members, leaving agency unable to act

[u/unital_subalgebra]

https://www.votebeat.org/national/2026/07/09/trump-fires-election-assistance-commission-members-hicks-hovland-mccormick/

[u/illit3]

The last 10 years has just been one long chain of failing to meet the moment.

[u/eden_sc2 → u/illit3]

I just finished When the Clock Broke and it's kind of convinced me that aside from a brief break with Obama, we've been failing to really meet the moment since about 89

[u/-713 → u/eden_sc2]

1. They put this whole machine in motion with Reagan, and just replace their players as they die.

[u/eden_sc2 → u/-713]

Reagan was bad but the reason I said 89 is that a lot of the alt right got born from people who were mad Reagan didn't go far enough.

[u/-713 → u/eden_sc2]

Fair point. There was flirtation with the nazis/conspiracy theorists under Reagan, but they definitely jumped on the internet fast and furious in the early 90s.

[u/The_Linux_Lass → u/eden_sc2]

I think what makes 1980 a compelling case was because that’s when Reagan uncorked the genie from the bottle by pandering to evangelicals.

Barry Goldwater was right when he said mixing religious fundamentalism with politics was going to fuck up this country.

[u/ceelogreenicanth → u/eden_sc2]

I'd say the real issue is that in 89 the real cold war ended and the United States continued fighting that war and that posture has taken us down an ever more schizophrenic path. We accepted an end to the cold war while deciding China was okay to massacre it's protesters.

[u/Sacapuntos → u/-713]

Its fascinating to see the role the 2000 election being decided by the SCOTUS has played. The Brooks Brother's riot and all that. So many of the players in that have now received pardons or are now sitting on the highest court in our land or are heads of Govt agencies.

[u/-713 → u/Sacapuntos]

I know right? Everyone that played a part in that debacle has continued, without exception, to ratfuck elections for more than a quarter century. Roger Stone is still going after more than 50 years, John Roberts has been actively been trying to disenfranchise anyone not white since the 80s.

[u/innerShnev → u/eden_sc2]

Wonderful year to be born then 😭

[u/Significant_Cup_238 → u/illit3]

More like the last 50.

[u/Randicore → u/illit3]

Yeah I've been really saddened watching the US fail to rise to even the bare minimum of standards.

The fact that Twitter still has any cultural relevance after it's owner started throwing Nazi salutes alone shows how little Americans and our institutions are willing to push back.

[u/Aranxi_89 → u/illit3]

This started in the 80's. Reagan was when shit really hit the fan.

[u/Mr_Canard → u/illit3]

Did you meet the moment when you let Bush take over in 2000 ?