So the elections are over .... now what?

[hntnhole]

Being a Liberal myself, I was of course gratified by the across-the-board ascension to elected office by the Dems/Liberals.  As I see it, this portends the beginning of a potential belittlement of the current Administration, and all it entails.  From  the East coast to the West coast, citizens have roundly rejected the current administration's policies.  Perhaps the fever is broken, and healing can finally begin? 

Too soon to tell yet, but hope is afoot in the land, and that's a good sign.  

[NWUSHorny]

I would not consider myself to be a liberal, but am happy to see some pull back from MAGA ideas. I hope this was the indicator that the negative consequences for at least some of the MAGA actions are impossible to ignore.

[tobetrained]

Well, as a centrist and data-junkie, I love election nights as I now rarely have a horse in the race. In work I did elsewhere, what was fascinating:

• Dems won at or better than Trump's first term, the 2017 elections for these race (NJ/VA Gov).
• Dem net approval fell to 0%, approve - disapprove, from +6% in 2017 (avg NJ/VA)
• Rep net approval improved to -9% from a disaster in 2017 at -24%

So, we're at a point where neither party is especially we like nor well hated. It's just most are in opposing camps spitting at each other.

The above was exit poll data I got from NBCnews.com as are below. These are post-overnight re-weights for anyone who saw similar on TV or online last night.

@hntnhole To answer your Q indirectly, the exits also had two Qs which will answer your clarify:

• Will Republicans pull back from their behavior relative to immigration? In the NJ/VA exits, 55% said Trump's immigration policies had gone to far with only 14% saying not far enough.
• Will Democrats pull back from their push on trans when 49% (NJ/VA) said we've gone too far while 24% said not far enough.

I'm not opposing or endorsing either. I'm just saying, what do you think will actually happen? We're in two camps, that's it. Both sides think facts are subjective.

To end on a positive, at least we're not in a parliamentary where governments collapse. We get out our ideological intramural debates in the primary process, for better or worse, instead of while governing.

[PozBearWI]

This is just a datapoint.  While the results of this election suggest the tides are shifting, be mindful that doesn't mean they have shifted. 

[Pozzible]

On 11/5/2025 at 5:24 PM, tobetrained said:

Will Democrats pull back from their push on trans when 49% (NJ/VA) said we've gone too far while 24% said not far enough.

As a liberal, supporting trans community is important to me. But I hardly think most Dems have been on a “push” for trans rights. Does anyone remember a single Democratic ad from ‘24 that emphasized that push? What I distinctly remember is Republican ads spouting extreme untruths. (Some of which were unfortunately  probably effective..)

So I just asked Chat GPT-5 about Republican ads…

“Here are the major aggressive, inaccurate claims made by Trump and Republican candidates in 2024 about what Democrats support regarding trans youth, and why they’re false — focused on policies, medical care, and schools.

Claim: “Democrats want to federalize puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries for minors nationwide.”

Why it’s inaccurate: Medical decisions for minors are governed by state laws, medical boards, and clinicians; there is no active federal plan to mandate such treatments for minors across all states. Most major medical associations (e.g., AAP, Endocrine Society) provide clinical guidance emphasizing individualized care, informed consent, and age-appropriate decision-making. Surgical interventions for minors are extremely rare and generally not recommended for prepubertal children.

Reality: Policies vary by state — some states restrict or ban gender-affirming care for minors, others allow it under clinical guidance. Federal Democrats broadly support access to gender-affirming care and oppose discriminatory bans, but do not propose a federal mandate that overrides state medical or legal authority.

Claim: “Democrats support routine genital surgeries on teenagers and even younger children.”

Why it’s inaccurate: Major medical bodies do not recommend genital surgery for minors except in very rare, carefully considered cases, and typically not for prepubertal children. Puberty blockers are reversible and used to delay irreversible changes; cross-sex hormones are started with caution, often at mid-to-late adolescence, with informed consent. Full surgical interventions for minors are rare and usually reserved for exceptional, multidisciplinary evaluation.

Reality: The mainstream medical stance is conservative about irreversible procedures on minors; claims of routine genital surgery are exaggerated.

Claim: “Public schools are teaching children how to transition and encouraging irreversible medical interventions.”

Why it’s inaccurate: Most school policies that Democrats support center on nondiscrimination, allowing students to use chosen names/pronouns, and access to appropriate facilities and support. School health services typically do not perform gender-affirming medical treatments — those occur in clinical settings with parents/guardians and medical teams.

Reality: Education policies vary; curriculum discussions about gender identity are limited and often focused on inclusion and anti-bullying rather than medical guidance.

Claim: “Democrats want to remove parental consent from all decisions about a child’s gender care.”

Why it’s inaccurate: Democratic positions generally emphasize parental involvement and oppose state bans that remove families’ ability to seek care. Where Democrats oppose restrictive laws, their aim is to preserve families’ access to medical advice and clinician judgment, not to bypass parents.

Reality: In most jurisdictions where care is provided, parental consent/participation is required for minors.

Claim: “Gender-affirming care is experimental, harmful, and unproven for youth — Democrats hide this from families.”

Why it’s inaccurate: While long-term randomized controlled trials are limited (as in many areas of pediatric medicine), decades of clinical experience and multiple professional organizations recognize gender-affirming treatments as evidence-based for alleviating gender dysphoria in appropriately assessed youth. Studies show mental-health benefits and reductions in suicidality among treated youth, though research continues.

Reality: Medical consensus supports carefully screened, multidisciplinary care; the claim that Democrats “hide” harms is a mischaracterization of the medical and policy debate.

Claim: “Democrats support allowing minors to legally change sex on birth certificates without parental or medical involvement.”

Why it’s inaccurate: Most policy proposals supported by Democrats focus on enabling people, including adults and sometimes older minors depending on state law, to update legal documents; they do not broadly advocate unilateral changes for young children without parental or medical processes. Rules vary by state; many require documentation and/or parental consent for minors.

Reality: Legal-change procedures differ widely; Democrats typically support reducing bureaucratic barriers rather than enabling unilateral, secret changes for young children.

Claim: “Democrats want to punish or criminalize parents who oppose their child’s social transition.”

Why it’s inaccurate: Democratic platforms and mainstream Democratic officeholders have not broadly advocated criminalizing dissenting parents; most oppose state intervention that removes parental rights. Legal actions that have occurred relate to alleged abuse or neglect in narrow cases, not a general policy to punish parents for disagreement.

Reality: The claim conflates rare child-protection cases with general Democratic policy.

Sources & context (summary):

Professional medical organizations’ guidance: American Academy of Pediatrics, Endocrine Society, World Professional Association for Transgender Health — endorse evidence-based, multidisciplinary, age-appropriate care; emphasize consent and clinical oversight.

State-level laws: Since 2021 many Republican-led states enacted bans or restrictions on gender-affirming care for minors; Democratic responses focused on opposing bans and protecting access.

Fact-checking outlets: Multiple fact-checkers examined ads/claims in 2024 and rated many of these assertions misleading or false where they portrayed routine, widespread, or federally mandated practices that do not exist.

If you want, I can:

List specific 2024 campaign ads or candidate quotes that made these claims with exact wording and fact-check links, or

Summarize state laws enacted in 2024 restricting or defending care by state. Which would you prefer?”

Edited 2 hours ago by Pozzible
Punctuation

[Pozzible]

Sorry that that was such a long AI response. 

On 11/5/2025 at 5:24 PM, tobetrained said:

We're in two camps, that's it. Both sides think facts are subjective.

So do you think the AI listing is an example of this? Because I don’t think those ideas are responding to anything mainstreamed by the Democratic party. The Republican ads set up straw men rather than respond to anything promoted by Dems.

[tobetrained]

@Pozzible I think you've down a different road.

You can see the exit polls here for VA and navigate to NJ too: [think before following links] https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2025-elections/virginia-governor-results

These are regular studies of voters done by a Edison Research, paid for and reported by all major media. I think NY Times and FOX News team up for a different service...that may be Presidential elections only.

Given the depth of questions and limited time, they asked / reported only two political questions this year -- one supported by each party as noted above. Again, you can see the results there on the site.

Additionally and on those topics, I'm not sure how many Republican governors or state legislatures led by same have passed pro-gay rights bills let alone trans. Equally, I'm not sure how many Democratic governors or Dem-lead state legislatures have passed law restricting migration.

The point of their work, as reported by media companies, is how divided we are. I'm not sure where you're going with your response.