It really is hard to put Republican assholery on a scale of "worst in our lifetime".
GWB got us in multiple multiple decade long wars.
Mitt Romney or Dick Cheney might have turned the great recession into another great depression.
Trump nearly got us into another full blown recession, got rid of Roe V Wade, tried to overturn Democracy, and nearly got us into a war with Iran.
Trump this time around will try to overturn Democracy again, might bring back the full blown recession we almost had, will let Russia steamroll Ukraine, will support Israel harder than any US president, etc. etc.
It looks like a conspiracy if you ask me - all those "scientists" with their... "facts"! Everyone saying the same thing all the time - it sure sounds like they are pushing an agenda to me! What if I don't want to be educated though - did they ever stop to think about that, hrm!?
And they aren't wrong. Every current election is the most important of your life. Not just presidential. If you choose not to participate intelligently. And loose access or rights as a result. You will likely never get them back.
What Republicans realized decades ago is this is fundamentally true. Every election is the most important election. They just leave off the "...so far" that should be at the end of the statement.
I think before Reagan (or maybe Gingrich) people could reasonably see some elections as less consequential than others. But the Republicans realized that it's all about building. Build a bench of charismatic, intelligent, possibly sociopathic individuals. Get them in local government and then state government and then federal government. Tell your base voters that you're building something that will one day pay off.
Just keep building, just keep building, and one day you have a juggernaut. Especially if your opponents didn't build to match.
Democrats spent the 80s and 90s assuming the status was quo. They spent the last half of the 90s and the 00s living in the fantasy that what people liked about Clinton was the fiscal conservatism without the religion, so they should be more conservative.
Only very recently have progressives started breaking through.
Now we have to build.
Luckily the Republicans have hitched their wagon to a human wrecking ball. That might let Democrats catch up sooner than they otherwise would.
the most important election of your lifetime was the one that didn't land us here
ship's sailed, bitches
I'd go so far as to say it was bush v gore but it doesn't fuckin matter now; mighta been whoever lost to reagan's fault, him and thatcher really fucked everything up
I know I'll get downvotes to hell for saying this, but I think RFK would make a great president.
I know he's said some shit before. I'm aware of the ivermectin solution against COVID and some other bad stuff he said. But I think he based these ideas on the wrong information and wrong advice that he received. But his heart is at the right place.
He's done some great work at defending the environment and defending workers' rights and fight against corporations, which are things he genuinely cares about very much.
I think with the proper counsel that white horse experts can provide him, he can be a very good president.