How Michigan explains American politics

[@Vox]

Hey, thanks for watching. There's a ton more to this story we had to leave out, even in a video this long: Flint! Bernie! The 2022 GOP primary! But out of all the hours of local Michigan news I watched for this, the one clip I was saddest to cut from the video was this one, about the Macomb County Republican Party. It's a real doozy: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iZyXgoWdr7Nqr8k Anyway, happy 2024. Election coming up, are you excited? For the election? Between the same two extremely old men from four years ago? Obviously we are. Still, we want to know what you think we should cover before then. What would help you understand this moment in US politics better? Let us know in the comments below. And thanks again for watching. -Adam

[@colin1444]

I hope trump wins

[@smoothcriminal5650]

Not American but my vote goes to Vox

[@colin1444]

I’m a proud American and I’m voting for Mr. Make America Great Again!

[@zuglymonster]

Oh I'd love to have heard about Flint being from there

[@mykki.d]

This video was really interesting! Can you please explain why we are in this situation again to begin with? (Same two old men for president again). What would have to happen for one or neither of them to be the official candidates? The majority of America doesn’t want this… can we stop it?

[@mikebronicki8264]

51% of the vote resulted in 51% of the representatives. Wow, what a concept! Did you hear that Wisconsin?

[@warriyorcat]

*crickets from republican majority*

[@PDXpackrat]

@@warriyorcat I'm sorry, do Republicans even WATCH this channel, or is this just another Democrat echo chamber? That's a rhetorical question, in case you missed it. I assume the crickets you're hearing is tied to the fact that you've chosen to only listen to the people that agree with you. Not surprising and not an indictment on you, as that tends to be the overwhelming majority of America right now. There's a bunch of hate-filled bigots on both sides, unwilling to engage in ANY dialogue that might somehow require them to think something other than what their cultist leaders tell them to think. Hopefully, at some point, calmer (and less emotional) heads can prevail and we can get back to treating this as the UNITED States, instead of the "Almost Ready for a Civil War" States.

[@SpaaceNathan]

trump 2024

[@LianaFoodie]

@@SpaaceNathan wow how creative

[@emojigran]

such a no-brainer policy, it should happen everywhere to get as close to a truly representative government as possible

[@eric_the_egggremlin]

watching this as a Michigander is truly just whipping back and forth between fierce glee that my state is actually important and soul-eating dread that we are actually important.

[@Dameworth]

Makes you want to get out to the polls and vote blue :)

[@Numina_]

@@Dameworth I’m in Michigan. I voted Bernie. I do not like trump. I cannot vote for genocide Joe. I live next door to a huge Muslim community. I will not vote blue no matter who. That’s cult thinking. Israel runs our country. Not dem or rep.

[@SunTzu-Fing]

@@Dameworth vote blue no matter whOOO am i right hahaha

[@clash8386]

Vote red before we get another misgendering law, we need a real governor that cares about the real problems

[@andrewgagne5063]

Thank God, I thought I was the only one with those feelings.

[@jspanos500]

I still cannot believe courts have declared gerrymandering Constitutional. Hats off to my home state for getting the drawing of district maps right.

[@theuglykwan]

what in the constitution means it is unconstitutional? only some of the racial gerrymandering is. an amendment or bill needs to be passed to control it. the real solution is multi member districts with ranked voting so both parties get their fair share.

[@LocalConArtist]

The courts only job is the rule in the constitutionality of things. What is unconstitutional about gerrymandering

[@jspanos500]

Where in the Constitution does it say elected representatives get to choose their voters? The trend and precedent in this country has been for more democracy (Senate is now an elected body, women and non wyts can vote, states like Michigan have voting on Constitutional ammendments, etc.). Gerrymandering is anti democratic.

[@LocalConArtist]

@@jspanos500 every American should know it’s not about what the constitution says you can do because the constitution is written to the government and not the people it says nothing about districts or anything of the matter and as such it is not the Supreme Court job to rule on that problem.

[@RibZe1]

As an Australian where we have independent electoral commission who determine electoral boundaries i find it anti-democratic that gerrymandering can occur.

[@dolomitearterius5036]

Blind Spot: Michigander here with many family members in the automotive industry. Bill Clinton's support of NAFTA in the 1990s marred Hilary's campaign here. That piece of policy is often a commonly cited reason for the hollowing out of our manufacturing base. Remember Michigan voted for Bernie Sanders over Clinton in the primaries, arguably for this reason as well.

[@dontmisunderstand6041]

More democratic voters supported sanders than clinton in the first place. She only became the leading candidate in 2016 through blatant and visible open corruption by the party.

[@rtyria]

Like I mentioned elsewhere here, if the Democrats had nominated _anyone_ other than Hillary they would have won in 2016. There were folks voting for Trump solely because they hated her so much.

[@MalcolmCir]

Yes. This was a major talking point in 2016 with my family in Ohio as well. We all know it was more than Bill Clinton (as much as we know it'll take more than Trump to fix it)--- but Clinton's signing of NAFTA sure colored voters' impression of his wife in the Rust Belt.

[@joestocking]

Ross Perot was right about nafta.

[@sub-zero710]

It didn't last long though. The auto workers went right back to the democrats because Trump never lived up to his promise on bringing manufacturing back to the states.

[@cmorillo2865]

I hope ALL states appoint independent redistricting committees. It will do so much to reduce political corruption.

[@theuglykwan]

it might not. quite a few states have them but they can be timed out or gamed. need multi member districts with ranked voting. at that point any game from line drawing is minimal and helps with geographical polarization.

[@Kc-dq7zj]

If that happens Republicans will never win anything again. So that would be wonderful!

[@boom2055]

I live in Illinois and it has also been incredibly gerrymandered in democrat's favor.

[@fridaylambda3494]

Problem is whether or not the Independent Committee is truly independent or just 'independent.' We've seen in the last redistricting cycle that an independent source can produce either fair maps (NY congressional districts) or heavily skewed maps (Virginia legislature). And if you want a clear example, 49 State Representatives in Virginia are in lean-solid blue districts. They essentially can't be voted out except during a primary. Similarly, 20 Blue State Senators are almost always going to win reelection which basically perpetuates entrenchment. This also happens at the national level with solid seats since you have to draw them somewhere and that continues the same issue. You can't avoid corruption no matter how hard you try especially when Independent committees can be influenced or distorted depending on what factors they deem as most important.

[@starsINSPACE]

We voted for that in Ohio and the GOP state government just won't let us have what we voted for.

[@TheMasterBlaze]

As a Michigan Resident I can say with confidence that the center of the Mitten is very conservative and the cities are very liberal. A lot of Michigan is rural, but our cities are densely packed relativity. You'll find passionate voters of both sides anywhere and everywhere.

[@-Zevin-]

Exactly this, most of the state is rural and unpopulated, and the majority of the population is in the bottom 1/3 of the state, in places like Holland, Kalamazoo, Ann Arbor it can be more left than most of California, everyone here lives in our own little bubbles. If you are born and raised in Ann Arbor for instance it's easy to think the entire state is like that, but drive just a hour or so away and suddenly your in rural Kentucky. Born and raised in Michigan too, writing this from rural west Michigan.

[@Astrosk1er]

Born and raised Macomb, both of you are completely right, cities very liberal, suburbs a mix, but drive another 10 minutes and it’s just forest and farm fields

[@warrenreid6109]

This is the story all over the US.

[@Poenas]

This is every state, spread out red and condensed blue

[@pangyang9989]

@@Poenas Can confirm even California is like this. The condensed coastal counties are all blue, the spread out rural counties are red. There's more red counties in CA than blue ones, but majority of the population lives condensed along the coastline where most of the poverty is.

[@Mjwest23]

Anti-gerrymandering is what allowed democracy for state legislature in Michigan to be more representative of reality.

[@Obospeedo]

Yes. The independent redistricting commission that turned Michigan blue should’ve been noted much sooner into the video. Ohio should also have that on the ballot in 2024 (as long as it gets enough signatures) and it should finally stop the GOP gerrymandering problem in the state.

[@rev8739]

@@larry6601 Not only do I second this opinion, but I also note the source from which you are watching this... VOX is notoriously a blue news station. To get a more accurate view of the situation of 'Voting in America,' try looking at both ends of the isle and see what they claim, then look at a third, fourth, etc... opinion, and then maybe you might have enough data to START conjuring what may or may not be the possible climate of the United States voters.

[@Obospeedo]

@@larry6601 removing politicians from the map making process is what the independent redistricting commission does. There are also laws in place on who is permitted to be on the map making comission too!

[@rev8739]

To further this point of the whole biases I claimed VOX has that I made earlier... 7:18 creates claims that Trump is creating racial tension, and then uses the clip at 7:25 where trump says "... Nearly half of Detroit's Residence does not work..." this is too short of a clip to gain enough context to make such a claim as well as Trump's claim was too vague and does not speak about whom he is targeting in that statement... 7:45 then highlights that the county of which Detroit is in, is infact actually "78%" a racially minority... 78% is definitely not half, and I would argue a large majority... This further highlights what I said earlier that VOX, like every other major News outlet, is trying to push their own narrative. Just like politicians, news outlets receive money from "donors"... SO before anyone starts attacking me claiming I am a 'Trumper' or that I am pushing my own narrative. I would disagree with such statement. I have never voted for trump and doubt that I will in the future... I will also go as far to say that my "Naritive" is is want the internet to have less disinformation...

[@PixelSteveMC]

America is a republic not a democracy

[@jackcarey6441]

I really hope that anti-gerrymandering bill starts a trend. Our election integrity is vital in making sure the people in office feel held accountable by the vote. When that’s not the case you get tyrants.

[@schlechtgut8349]

no way republicans will allow it

[@itriedtochangemynamebutitd5019]

​@schlechtgut8349 Republicans seem to be advocating for more anti-gerrymandering policies than Democrats do. Vivek Ramaswamy had been mentioning related topics on his Twitter.

[@BBGOnYT]

@@schlechtgut8349 No way any side would allow it.

[@prosthoplus]

I'm from Michigan, and it wasn't until just the other day that I found out that not all states allow citizen-led ballot iniatives @@BBGOnYT

[@Cabbagery]

@@BBGOnYT Did you watch the video? The democrats got power back, took control of the governor's office, Senate, and House in Michigan, and promptly started a bi-partisan commission to take the ability to gerrymander away from BOTH PARTIES. You should probably revise your statement. Democrats DO advocate for fair elections and they put their money where their mouth is.

[@thekingcraig1]

I also want to note that the Flint water Crisis happened under Republican Leadership, and that played a role, at least in many of the state level campaigns.

[@MCWaffles2003-1]

that was a gigantic factor in 2018

[@DoWorkNP]

I thought that decisions was made by Flint city council to run Flints old water system again instead of using detriots. Wasn't it approved by Obamas EPA? Their city council was democratic was it not?

[@theuglykwan]

former gop governor directed the govt to sue them but the new democrat AG undid some charges and let them off.

[@thekingcraig1]

@@theuglykwan Snyder was trying to avoid personal liability to get the AG to sue the government instead of them personally. That said, you are correct Dana nessel did interfere with things in ways she shouldn't have. Either way, point is the crisis happened with the GOP in power, and 2022 was us michiganders sending them a message that they messed up.

[@spelcheak]

But it only happened because Democrats over built infrastructure and couldn’t tax enough to maintain it

[@steelerfaninperu]

Super true, I grew up in MI and it really is a microcosm of the whole country. You can drive through affluent conservative suburbs like Rochester, pass through a progressive wealthy suburb like Ferndale, visit the little Middle East of Dearborn, swing by Democratic Detroit, and be out in farmland in under 2 hours.

[@fredwerza3478]

That is a good example of why Democrats will always rule Michigan as God intended

[@lizarddog6959]

Even in the Northern Areas, Traverse City, and Petoskey, I'd say they are more progressive cities. But you can't get to them without driving through some white collar conservative sun down towns.

[@harrisonmorse3091]

This is my drive to work

[@steelerfaninperu]

I used to basically run a very similar route. I've traveled a lot and rarely see the same level of variety passing through cities and their metro areas. @@harrisonmorse3091

[@brittnay279]

@@lizarddog6959​​⁠​⁠blue collar* i think is what you meant… and you just sent me into an existential crisis realizing that I do in fact live in a sun down town (okay, maybe that’s strong phrasing, we do have two black families that are loved in the community) but I have literally had to tell my black friends that if they are driving through town at night they’re getting pulled over simply for being black. Idt they’re in any physical danger, but cops will definitely try to harass them.

[@TSSmith]

As a Michigander, I can confirm I am looking at myself when I look at Michigan

[@HG_Colin]

Same here :)

[@nasis18]

American democracy truly is special. The politicians pick their voters instead of the voters picking their politicians.

[@lynnstevens9666]

Impressive. As a former Chicagoan who lived in Michigan for 40 years, I'm delighted you got Michigan right. It's so often portrayed as Detroit plus fly-over by big-city based news entities, they believe their own simplifications and invariably get it wrong. You nailed it,

[@_PatrickO]

He left off that people really hate the clintons. It is the only reason trump won. With any other democratic candidate people wouldn't have rolled the dice on trump. In 2016, cnn had been interviewing michigan dems from around the state who were going to vote for trump. They all hated the clintons.

[@NONPOINT420]

Yeah right. Sorry to tell you but that nightmare state is still a fly-over-state. Maybe in another 60 years they'll finally fix that crumbled state.

[@Ir0nFrog]

@@NONPOINT420 nice anime pfp.

[@NONPOINT420]

@@Ir0nFrog it would be if it was an anime pic but it's a Deviant art pic someone made around headphones. You might want to squint harder.

[@jakuboronowicz8421]

@@NONPOINT420it’s an anime pfp

[@josephdalecy7285]

You missed how much the Flint water crisis and the Edenville Dam failure pushed the conversation in michigan away from Republicans.

[@HashimVal.]

was abt to mention this

[@fredwerza3478]

Very good point --- Republicans were correctly seen as the villains in these scandals

[@ShaneTheBane]

The flint michigan issue happened years before these elections. I dont believe it influenced it all that much. 2014, water crisis starts. Peaks in popularity of people learning/talking about it in 2015. 2016, still all republicans voted for. 2018, all republicans voted for again, except Governor. 2020, same story but went democrat for president.

[@cheeseninja1115]

@@ShaneTheBane As a Michigander I can tell you that the Flint Water Crisis never left the collective psych of the state. It peaked before 2016, but the influence it had is still being felt today. Especially with mistrust of republicans after they tried to cover it up.

[@fredwerza3478]

@@ShaneTheBane Michigan Republicans were correctly blamed for poisoning black folks in Flint --- that caused massive harm to their election chances in 2020 and 2022 and now 2024

[@kevinsweitzer4454]

Great video- as a Michigan native I think you missed one key thing which is out-migration. Since 2016 and especially since COVID, Michiganders have been moving to other states at a rapid rapid rate. MI Gov even put together a commission to study population loss. Many aging boomers (who lean red) have fled for Florida/Texas - corresponding to their explosion in GOP support. Those votes leaving Michigan have certainly tilted our demographics.

[@RibZe1]

Texas? They've been voting less red at each election. Florida, well you're on to something there.

[@kevinsweitzer4454]

@@RibZe1 you’re not wrong - but I would suspect that the R leaning northerners moving to TX are outweighed by D leaning Californians and naturalized immigrants from outside of TX. Anecdotally, TX is def a destination for MI people looking to leave

[@splitzgymnastics2009]

Exactly. I'm a young boomer, retired and immediately moved out of Michigan.

[@Bmike5117]

@@RibZe1 there was a poll showing that Native Texans now lean blue and the immigration from rust belt states is what is keeping the state voting red. its from a couple years ago but I'm sure that its even more true after covid

[@jypsridic]

@@Bmike5117 lemme guess they were asking people in Austin and/or on university campuses exclusively?

[@ThuNguyen-jy2jt]

End gerrymandering by making an independent map-drawing committee and make MULTI-MEMBER DISTRICTS instead of the single member districts we see today. And get rid of the horrendous first-past-the-post system; opt for a proportional representation or ranked choice voting, which is already in place in Alaska. FIX AND SAVE OUR DEMOCRACY.

[@montybrown5410]

This.

[@EricGranata]

Yep

[@aerotheepic]

This. Yep.

[@Roftastic]

I keep hearing people 'say' they want a STV system but I never hear 1. How it's supposed to be implimented & 2. How we fix issues that the Electoral College & the 2 Party system were designed to resolve. I'm not against our votes having more power, but all I hear from anyone preaching Ranked Choice like the gospel is a bunch of hot air from people who don't really know what they want.

[@jasongrundy1717]

There is no such thing as independent in the US right now.

[@superpops97]

As a Michigan resident, this is well done but you also forgot the major things that Republicans did in the last 10 years. They covered up the Flint water crisis which believe it or not was big enough for a lot of voters to not want to vote for the Republican Party again.

[@fredwerza3478]

Very good point --- Republicans were correctly seen as the villains in these scandals and the people of Michigan had enough of right wing corruption

[@ShaneTheBane]

Eh, idk how much of an impact that really had. That started in 2014 and peaked in spotlight in 2015. After that, Trump, a Republic, was still elected as president and all the other offices listed in this video had republicans voted for as well in 2016. In 2018, all republicans again except for governor. I dont think it was brought up because it probably didnt influence this to a significant degree since it does happen before all of these election events.

[@seannewell397]

You could say that left a bad taste in voters' mouths, but that joke has run dry.

[@jcnash02]

Flint’s water commission and city council were 100% Democrat and the president at the time was a democrat….Republicans had nothing to do with the Flint water crisis.

[@badwolf9956]

@@ShaneTheBaneIt’s also important to not that Trump was distinct from other establishment republicans like Rick Snyder. He won the state by like 10,000 votes and it was entirely because democrats didn’t get out to vote.

[@slyde734]

I grew up in Macomb County, MI. I'm glad I left. I brought my wife back home to visit my family and her initial observation was, "this is where suburbia threw up." I think that sums up Macomb County.

[@talyahr3302]

No mention of how Hillary didn't even bother to campaign in the entire state of Michigan in 2016? Cockiness absolutely played a role in Hillarys loss. She didn't even try there.

[@brownwolf6280]

Don't forget Hillary poor choice of a running mate Tim Kaine. Corey Booker would have energized black folks to the polls ....

[@StayFreshMyFriends]

tbf when she showed up, her numbers got worse lol

[@denniss5505]

I was with Hilary Clinton the day before the election at Grand Valley State University, in West Michigan. It was an overwhelming joyous turnout that left me convinced she would win the state and election. The crowd was loud and proud for HRC, it was incredible. Unfortunately, that night at 11pm, the Donald came to some Grand Rapids arena for a late night hate rally that knocked that confidence out. Both parties knew michigan was important. I agree she should have campaigned harder in the mitten though

[@theuglykwan]

She did. Not as much as she should. Her campaign held back funds for a last minute blitz in detroit as they feared they'd win the electoral college but lose the popular vote. Ironic, I know.

[@Sleepingbear2222]

She did campaign in Michigan

[@dinominh10]

As someone who lives outside the US but is very intrested in it's politics, thank you vox for creating this learning opportunity!

[@colekarrh9114]

My best advice is don't touch it just look

[@hujjatghaffari551]

What did you learn?

[@akumabito2008]

​@@colekarrh9114 it's all extremely fascinating. From a safe distance, of course.

[@CyborgZeta]

I can't imagine why anyone would find US politics to be interesting. The two-party system and political (arguably cultural, too) polarization has done immense harm to this country.

[@mofik26]

@@CyborgZeta Thats exactly what makes it interesting, also if the US has some kind of crisis then everyone has a crisis due to the power dollar holds.

[@Knoxsinn]

It's interesting to view the poltiical history of Michigan and be able to relate it to trends of the entire nation! Great video from Livingston County

[@YourTripleScorpio]

Syphilitic Stinker?

[@Arretito]

livingston gang 🫡

[@BalkanBallMapping69]

As someone who not in the US, and as the 24 election comes closer, I want to see more videos by Vox like this!

[@onomatopoeia162003]

I wouldn't mind other videos like this, but a different state. :)

[@jasongrundy1717]

They just called convincing people who 98% vote Democrat to not vote for Hillary as "stoking racial division." You not only don't want to see more videos like this, you shouldn't.

[@jojoironboi]

@@jasongrundy1717 I think you missed the point completely. When they say half of detroit doesnt work and half of detroit is black they are pretty obviously saying black people dont work. That like the definition of stoking racial divisions and the fact that out of the whole video THIS is what you found a problem with shows a lot about your intelligence and ethics

[@treybutler3766]

Why do you care about America politics lol

[@bloodwargaming3662]

​@@jasongrundy1717 that's what he did ? You saw the video?

[@Johnnydhee]

Reason why 2020 election turnout was unprecedented was due to mail in ballots. Why did Vox leave this important detail out?

[@karakenio]

+1

[@JoeMac1983]

And legalized ballot harvesting.

[@thedruekefamilyadventures8890]

I personally know at minimum 10 close friends who never voted until 2020 and they voted Biden. Trumps mishandling of Covid and his lack of policy (and obsession with himself) disgusted them.

[@XMooseManX]

@@thedruekefamilyadventures8890yea well look at what you all got from that. Hyper inflation. 3 new wars. Food and gas prices skyrocketing. We’re way more divided than we were under trump and edging on civil war. But Biden did get rid of those junk fees!!

[@Poenas]

@@thedruekefamilyadventures8890 It was the largest voted election in our history wasn’t it? Say what you will about trump but he gained 10 million as well

[@darkreign24]

Something that is overlooked in Michigan is our Ballot Initiative. Only a handful of States even have it, and the ones that do can have those initiatives overturned by the State Legislature (Ohio). Basically, ANY citizen can write up a Proposal to appear in the next election, you then go around the State and get X-number of signatures from other citizens that support your idea. And voila, your Proposal appears on the ballot. If it passes, it immediately gets added to the State Constitution and as we Americans know, good luck repealing ANYTHING in a Constitution. There used to be a way for the State Legislature to mess with the process by pre-emptively passing legislation that addressed any Proposal they didnt like. We then passed ANOTHER Prop that disallowed that practice. Michigan is a unique place to live politically because of this wonderful Ballot Initiative process. Its quite literally citizens in action, bypassing the politicians completely, immediately enshrining those items in the State Constitution. They become almost literally untouchable.

[@j03man44]

The United States would be in a better place if there was a way for the citizens to directly initiate a constitutional amendment. Though I'd want a 2/3 majority of the population and 2/3 of the states to majority vote for it. A Simple majority is a little slim for a constitutional amendment to a country as large and diverse as the United States.

[@sgtNACHO]

​@j03man44 there is. I believe it is 2/3 of the states can come together under Article 5 to appeal the Consitution

[@graces1stpsata]

@@sgtNACHOthat’s the states, not the people living in the states.

[@j03man44]

@@sgtNACHO it has to be initiated by the state Congresses. I'm talking about a popular ballot measure that bypasses state houses and the federal Congress.

[@JeremyZao]

Oh wow! So THAT's why I always ran into all these people asking for signatures when I lived in Ann Arbor

[@biglegcatluvr]

I remember first learning about gerrymandering a while ago and as a non US citizen, it completely shocks me that government officials that are partisan are allowed to do that. It almost really just defeats the purpose of voting and puts the outcome of voting results more in the statisticians and number crunchers for each party, trying to figure out the best way to skew results so that they have the highest outcome of winning that does not necessarily represent the proportional outcomes voted for by the voters.

[@MeepChangeling]

Between that, the Electoral College being allowed to vote any way they please, and the fact that its the PARTIES who decide what gets to be voted on and not the people, I genuinely do not vote. There's no point. Nothing I want to vote on will ever make it to the ballot, and the parties decide who gets what office in advance while not representing me at all because I align with neither of the two groups. So why should I vote? "Blah blah blah civic duty!" Yeah, no... Not how it works dude. No one votes matter here.

[@scottyee707]

voting is basically pointless when your don't require ID and allow non US Citizens to vote like California and New York are...

[@Idontwantone950]

@MeepChangeling Faithless electors have never swung an election and some states have laws against it where their vote wouldn’t count and/or they could face punishment. The parties do push their agendas, but so can groups of citizens and individuals. It’s called lobbying. If nothing you want to vote on will ever make it on the ballot than at some point you might want to consider that the problem is you and not everyone else. Sounds like what you want voted on is about you and not the population at large. I’m personally glad you don’t vote. We could use less of the me, me, me, uneducated voters.

[@SigmundJaehn]

@@MeepChangelingI don’t think you understand how the electoral college works. It’s not that they can vote how they want, but that votes are allocated in a first past the post manner in most states and so the closish results in the actual vote counts are averaged out and distorted.

[@Rob2068]

Yes as was mentioned our entire way of electing a president is ridiculous too. Ironically our Electoral College was meant to keep somebody like trump from being president. It ended up doing the opposite.

[@woodbuse]

As a Michigan native, I can personally attest that the Trump era and anti-abortion radicalism + a simultaneous women empowerment movement that started with the MeToo movement and the Larry Nasar stuff has really changed a lot of voters (namely women) blue. My mom and her family used to be hard republicans but my mom is not a supporter anymore and she’s actually quite appalled with the red party and the power they’ve tried to revoke from women

[@tbmprodutionsjason5585]

also most people i know dont even care to vote anyway unless their parents are super slanted one way or the other

[@thats_so_sb]

I live 30 minutes south of Grand Rapids. My parents divorced when I was 7. So my sister and I were raised by a single mother. We're not feminists persay, but we've all determined that we're not voting Republican again due to their treatment and attitude towards women.

[@SnappyWasHere]

It’s such a shame that Michigan proves proper districts produce results that reflect the people but you will never convince Republicans to give up their power willingly and let the people choose their leaders.

[@previnwitana3576]

it might in the long run, the GOP lost so many state trifectas in the past few election cycles we're getting closer to point being anti-gerrymandering would have more upsides for the GOP than without

[@X2LR8]

Democrats gerrymander all over the country so not really.

[@killmebut509]

So I just lose the state I love? I'm supposed to do nothing? The two sides will always play their game. a new solution is needed.

[@redwater1995]

Its less of a democract or republican thing both sides gerrymander after all. It is something that needs to stop its been going on for centuries.

[@lowboyyy]

I agree, let the people choose their leader

[@thejungwookim]

As an Oakland Country resident (and US citizen since 2019), I assumed that the activist marches were commonplace. This videos does a great job of representing one of several major reasons why Michigan swung so hard in both directions.

[@FalafelUnited]

Which city do you live in?

[@Fooney1]

There were no marches in Oakland County or even Detroit. You can't break the law here like a lot of other states so the "marches" for some reason just stay away.

[@LilyJ0000]

Hi neighbor!❤

[@grmpEqweer]

There's quite a few of us marchy people, we're just not that concentrated in any given area.

[@ExtraordinaryDork]

The traffic between the protests and the road work was horrific this past summer 😭

[@chashahjohnson]

As a Michigander who WORKED the 2020 & 2022 elections, you did a great job explaining all the nuances. Michigan is a deeply purple state but we're going to fight to keep it blue. We're not going back.

[@marsretrograde]

As a native Michigander, I’ve always felt like Michigan was a very “average” place, as in most everyone would find some comfort here or fit in with the vibe. It’s good to get confirmation of this in a different way!

[@boiledpepsi]

thats exactly why i enjoy living here. dont plan on leaving any time soon. probably just moving across state.

[@darrinthurston3308]

​@boiledpepsi i feel like Minnesota is very similar.

[@justanotherwhitegirla7093]

I think we are very accepting of people from different ethnic backgrounds. In my workplace we have blacks, whites, Asians, Hispanics, and Muslims all together 10hrs a day. I consider myself as a fairly progressive person but I get along with the Trump supporters that I work with. We're all like "that's your opinion" then move on. It's not worth getting into a physical fight. Being average isn't a bad thing.

[@darrinthurston3308]

@justanotherwhitegirla7093 agreed, I live in Southern Minnesota and that are many differences in politics between where I live and Minneapolis St Paul. Same could be said for Michigan and the Detroit metro.

[@gengushmurda6448]

As a non-Michigander I've thought Michigan was a weird state cause it is made of two peninsulas that aren’t connected and are different enough to be their own states.

[@ΘάνοςΚολωνιας-ψ5ε]

Please make one for Ohio.... It used to be a swing state, and now it's headed more and more republican...

[@Justinchhay]

As someone who lives in Ohio, I’m curious to see what’s changed.

[@moclock7241]

​@@Justinchhaylook at college graduation rates

[@johndebono1870]

Imagine Macomb county as a state and you got Ohio.

[@NorthernChev]

Speaking with a friend the other day, who lives in Ohio, he said he finds it very strange how the state keeps coming up Red as he very seldom runs into “conservatives”. He thinks it has to be recent gerrymandering, because Republicans don’t seem to be the majority out in the wild when you get out there.

[@Proteus_Ridley]

Florida is heading to a red state While Texas is a weird one, not blue but leaning to be less extreme red as I thought Texas was the Republican California

[@ExtraordinaryDork]

Absolutely phenomenal video. As a young Michigander who went to school in Macomb and Oakland county during this time, we experienced so much change in our local politics as new voters. It was life changing after watching our parents, blue or white collar, all get affected when the recession killed Detroit. Everybody was (and still are in some areas) on strike in these three counties, including the teachers for years. So in turn, Michigan’s youth turnout in the 2022 election was best in the nation. I really do think that we can make changes for the better here 💙💛

[@whideoreviews573]

As a former resident, I would add that Grand Rapids, Michigan, experienced a similar trend to Oakland County. That's another "traditionally Republican, well-off" county that has trended leftward over the last eight years. Not as left as Oakland County, but Grand Rapids/Kent County is arguably swing territory now (after being reliably Republican for so long).

[@marsretrograde]

Yes I noticed this as well!! Within the last few years, it’s been much less obviously red in the area!

[@ericscottstevens]

Grand Rapids is a micro chasm as it is mostly ancestral Dutch heritage. A conservative mindset the permeated into business routines and planning in that area . Living in the area for almost 6 years the regional quip was "If you ain't Dutch you ain't much" meaning it was an enclave with it's own mindset It was not uncommon for the locals who were not Grand Rapids natives to say the town's businesses rolled up the sidewalks at 4PM.

[@darth_chipmunk]

current Grand Rapids resident here, I have no honest idea why it's trending leftward so much, everyone I talk to says their voting for Trump this next election

[@MissNayNay]

​@@darth_chipmunk I am voting Biden.

[@darth_chipmunk]

@@MissNayNay didn't ask

[@theflev-matic4892]

I'm a proud Michigander so this video means a lot to me

[@abdihashi6225]

Hello

[@tiagosstudio]

I love listening to how deliberate the music scoring is for this video

[@togomy6975]

Representation in government is meant to show what majority of the people want. Gerrymandering and electoral college defeats the people’s representation

[@jasongrundy1717]

College IS representation. You have no idea what you're even saying.

[@rocksolid369]

​@@jasongrundy1717 In what world? How is someone in Wyoming having three times as much voting power as someone in Ohio in any way fair representation? It's an outdated system that needs to go.

[@stevena105]

​@@jasongrundy1717The electoral college is how we've ended up with presidents **who didn't win the majority.** By your own statement, if the electoral college is representation, that should never happen.

[@surfjax23]

@@rocksolid369it prevents groupthink. Otherwise states like Wyoming have no power whatsoever and no real representation and all of the representation comes from people in cities who’ve grown up with the same ideologies, biases, etc and make laws that impact the entire country without understanding the impacts on others outside of their limited social circle. I’m not saying that the college is “right or just” but if you’re asking why it’s around, that’s why.

[@rocksolid369]

@@surfjax23 I think the people living in more rural areas are the ones with "limited social circles". I understand why the founding fathers created the electoral college, but back then the largest state barely had a population of a million. It's outdated and at the very least needs an overhaul

[@MatthewStidham]

Look at the raw voter turnout in Detroit elections graph at 9:23. The turnout drops not in 2016, it drops in 2010. The entire narrative we have been fed is that 2010 was a tea party style revolution against Obama with people rising up against him, but this graph proves that wrong. What really happened between 2008 and 2010 is we saw a change in the chair of the DNC it went from Howard Dean and his 50s state strategy. To Tim Kane, who decided that he would only focus resources on a handful of swing districts and Michigan’s specifically Detroit was one of those places the DNC divested from, that is when turn out plummeted. Following that divestment from Michigan by Tim Kane is when we see Republicans take over the state before redistricting. As soon as Jamie, Harrison is chair in 2018 and invested in Michigan again, we win the state legislature again. I believe based on this that the funding strategy of the Democratic Party is the driving force in what caused the 2016 election to go in Trump’s favor. Because he was the only National candidate going to these communities campaigning.

[@aquatic4699]

Michigander from Oakland county here! Its awesome seeing my state being talked about!!

[@mambamolt7353]

Despite Detroit improving and progressing a lot in the last few years. Michigan is still a prime example, Of how politics can divide and make separatist in it’s own neighborhood’s.

[@TheStarSquid]

Easy to do when politicians give up on half the population, making them drink lead water and outsource our jobs overseas

[@thepatriarchy819]

Okay most of Detroit is still a no go zone.

[@AdamYusuf-3]

​@@thepatriarchy819 Sure but that's subjective. Detroit nowadays is safer than San Francisco.

[@alexrogers777]

​@@thepatriarchy819 funny how ""no go zone"" is the exact same phrase I only hear from my racist boomer relatives

[@vandreadparty]

@@AdamYusuf-3This is not even close to true. SF is by far safer, even though Detroit has done a lot to fix up the city.

[@peterk9971]

Me, from germany only like: Whats wrong with your election that the party that the majority voted for is not the party that's been elected?

[@davidperin9938]

Thank the electoral college and gerrymandering. Gerrymandering is manipulating electoral maps to artificially boost your chances of winning.

[@sharinaross1865]

Why are you so invested in American politics

[@magerquark6833]

im from germany as well.​@@sharinaross1865

[@alexrogers777]

​@@sharinaross1865why are you so worried that others are noticing how broken your system is?

[@sharinaross1865]

@@alexrogers777 far from worried about a political system that I vote in. I know how important travel (tourism) and immigration is. Its the post-covid era and election year in America.

[@thekataclysm4493]

Hello, Michigander here. I’d be incredibly interested to see how this applies to Biden stepping down and Kamala becoming the democratic nominee.

[@paulstewart1557]

As an Australian, I found this analysis fascinating - congratulations

[@trauma50disaster1]

remember this is a liberal party agenda piece, not an independent documentary.

[@alokotta5466]

Didn't Joh-Bjelke Petersen have his hold on QLD as a result of Gerrymadering?

[@RibZe1]

@@alokotta5466 yes

[@amlxr99912]

As a native New Yorker I absolutely love Michigan and it’s people. It has some of the most underrated cities in the country, With lots of beautiful scenery. Downside is it’s laws and politics can get really confusing.

[@onomatopoeia162003]

We are probably the base of the midwest here in MN :) Time to tie our record this year. When it was 1860-1908.

[@shirairyu9806]

Paperboard over sealed windows stop the spread, only in Michigan politics.

[@lightfeather9953]

I could say the same about ny. Amazing state, plenty of bad politics. If it was so good then millions of citizens wouldn't have left the state.

[@brooksdaniel]

@amr44499, quiet you. We don't mind more people coming, just don't make a thing about it

[@outlawruby]

@@lightfeather9953 it's been tens of thousands that have left ny, not millions. There are definitly problems with it as a state but the over exaggeration is disingenuous.

[@mikeoze]

The black vote is the key to ending trumpism for ever

[@RobertMaxwellBell]

If you think black people are a monolith with one way of thinking and believing, you’re gonna have a bad time. Majority of black people I’ve spoken to overwhelmingly want Trump back. They understand the Dem party panders to them and they are socially more conservative on “progressive” issues.

[@6z0]

Thats funny because the black vote for trump has only increased each time he ran. This time around he’ll get even more

[@pineconehatfaludi6890]

I think it depends on how much the democrats do for the people. I feel like it has always been like this. Focusing money and attention to things that ignore the masses always pushes people towards republicans. So just keep investing into jobs, energy and and Social safety nets

[@TYBG85]

I don't agree. I think to reach the people the Democrats need to focus on trans issues, double down on funding Ukraine and Israel and propose a tax rebate to cover transition surgeries for children of color. Those are meat and potato issues in those communities.

[@fredwerza3478]

@@TYBG85 the Republicans will keep losing elections in Michigan and many other red states because they only focus on keep a career crook like China Donnie out of prison and enabling his syndicate of evil to persist and drag down the state

[@ryananderson238]

@@TYBG85 you are grossly overstating the support for trans issues.

[@TYBG85]

@@ryananderson238 I don't think I am. Pretty much all progressives support it and the vast majority of Democrats. Only Republicans don't support paying for transition surgery for small children And once gerrymandering is gotten rid of that will no longer be a problem.

[@DSAK55]

@@ryananderson238 don't feed the troll

[@mage1over137]

Trump wasn't the reason Macomb voted for Trump, they voted because Hillary is a deeply unpopular candidate for most Americans. She was literally the only candidate who could have lost. I had a professor who was all in for Hillary since the primary, and because of his social bubble he thought everyone else liked her. I explained to him she's literally hated by most Americans.

[@defaultusername1145]

Then why did trump win it in 2020?

[@Overlord_6]

​@@defaultusername1145he didn´t

[@defaultusername1145]

@@Overlord_6 well according to CNN he won it 53-45

[@dontmisunderstand6041]

Yeah, that's just how it was in 2016. Donald Trump was never a popular candidate, he was just less abhorrent than Clinton for some. Trump only became popular after he won and became a laughingstock, which voters who only voted AGAINST Clinton and not necessarily FOR Trump took personally and started to support Trump as a direct result of feeling attacked for their decision.

[@Arkiasis]

@@Overlord_6 Because he was unpopular. In most elections in most countries actually people vote OUT someone rather than vote IN someone. It's why 2024 doesn't spark much optimism. It's the same 2 people running and because of that, there will be little enthusiasm. If I had to guess voter turnout this year will be very low. And Trump will win because of that because his base is energized. Democrats were energized in 2020 to get rid of Trump, but they're not gonna be energized to keep Biden in.

[@georgecasseus6893]

Hats off to the people of Michigan who in a bipartisan effort destroyed gerrymandering and are attempting to uphold democracy.

[@Tlrcorbin]

As somebody who grew up in Michigan that moved in 2016 to Washington, and now in Utah it has been very interesting to watch what has happened there while also exploring each end of the political spectrum geographically

[@richardhouston736]

I live in Michigan specifically macomb county and the 2022 state election was the first time I’ve seen a lot of people vote and the first time I ever got to vote, mostly the whole reason people were going out in droves was simply because of that prop 3, that was the whole reason I went out and now I’m much more inclined to participate in my elections 😊

[@shirairyu9806]

Not deterred by the paperboard put over the windows?

[@elli6220]

@@shirairyu9806 ???

[@silentotto5099]

@@elli6220 I think it's referencing a conspiracy lie about voter fraud in Detroit.

[@darkreign24]

@@elli6220 He's saying you live in ****-hole thats abandoned.

[@Cabbagery]

@@elli6220 He's an election denier :)

[@jw4451]

We’re not going back!💙

[@Lockieez]

I'd like to see the US introduce voter preferencing. So that voting for a 3rd party isn't just throwing your vote away, but instead the candidate preferences it to a top 2 candidate who most aligns with their views (assuming said 3rd party candidate isn't in the top 2).

[@squeaksquawk4255]

You mean Instant Runoff Voting?

[@electron8262]

Agreed. A society as diverse as the USA deserves to be represented by at least 6 political parties

[@doujinflip]

It'd have to be forced from the federal level, which itself is a legal hurdle due to the recognized sovereignty of the individual states. A few Red states have already preemptively banned anything but the winner-take-all method.

[@kberkstr]

@@doujinflipsome states already do have instant runoff though, it was a relatively big deal for Maine and Alaska within the last few years.

[@_blank-_]

@@electron8262 6 parties all owned by big money, coming in different flavors. You will NEVER have actual representation.

[@onurbschrednei4569]

Michael Moore made a movie about this exact topic, how and why Michiganders voted in 2016, 8 years ago and already explained all of this. If you looked closely, it was all very clearly foreseeable.

[@codyshi4743]

I never know that my home state would receive this much attention in an election. Most of the time I thought Texas, Florida, and California are the state that gets most of the political attention.

[@Diamondking599]

No, everybody knows that Texas and Florida goes red and California goes blue. They get very little attention

[@Kevbot6000]

Idk what you’re talking about since Michigan has gotten a bunch of attention in elections since 2016. Florida used to be a swing state not anymore. Texas is solid red and California is solid blue so no one cares about them.

[@TheSupremeTsar]

I really like these deep dives you’ve done on Florida and Michigan politics. I think it’d be really cool to see an equivalent video done on political shifts that have occurred in Georgia. Georgia has been a red state for most of the 21st century but has voted blue in the past 2 federal elections.

[@oscarrangel5774]

As a resident of georgia I can state, what has changed it so much over the years is the amount of people moving to the Atlanta metro. It’s just astonishing how much construction has gone underway.!

[@Ultizer]

GA's low taxes has attracted a lot of wealthy liberal people, especially the movie industry.

[@seangt]

I need to say that I'm thankful I'm reading a story about michigan that doesn't completely ignore the most important part - the redistricting ballot proposal. HOWEVER, I need at least one line giving props to the tireless work of all the volunteers that made that possible. A genius idea and a great organizing effort really turned our state around and I'm so grateful to all the - mostly women - who stood outside every event across the state for an entire year collecting signatures and promoting this idea. Voters Not Politicians is the organization.

[@jamesandrews3016]

In 2016 I voted for Clinton in michigan. In 2020 I received in the mail my voting history and found out that my vote was challenged and thrown out in 2016. Will never get over this.

[@woodencheck6181]

I would honestly love if VOX did this kinda video for every state. As an Ohioan i think it would be very informative

[@donovanphillips419]

Fellow Ohioan here and I agree. Curious to see how Ohio because the primary example of a swing state to whatever it is now.

[@Singlemethod4217]

They only do videos against republicans, not informative videos.

[@or2wheels]

You lost your privileges when City Chili became a thing. (Kidding, mostly)

[@samuelabdul7336]

Seeing someone you’ve known personally being a guest speaker on Vox is pretty funny. Shoutout Mr. Dulio

[@Burglecutter]

We need to get rid of all Gerrymandering.

[@FranklyAlex7]

Looking at the Presidential Election Margins by state, I would love to see this kind of break down for North Carolina and Georgia.

[@AndrewPonti]

RIGHT! We have seen that these 2 states would NOT go to MAGAts as frequently as most thing if voter suppression didn't happen and voter turnout was high. Most people just hope that the system will fix itself so "why vote"? When Repugnat-cans started taking away rights we have had for many many years, that's when people woke up. I firmly believe in our "Liberal Democracy", most people are center-left in one form or another.

[@SeeNickView]

Georgia would be very interesting

[@louisrobbins475]

@@AndrewPonti Voter suppression is code for I can't vote multiple times.

[@galucon1033]

@@louisrobbins475 The Dems have perfected election fraud to a science. Because they've been doing it for so long now. It is taught in Obama's favorite book (Rules for radicals) so the radical branch of their party always stuff the ballot boxes with fraudulent votes. They are metaphorically bringing a gun to a knife fight (cheating)every time. We need to return to the paper Ballot/ one day elections and the only way to Get back to that is to level the playing field and do exactly what they do until they agree to it.

[@tavarisp452]

This video was extremely informative. Thank you Vox and everyone involved

[@rox4884]

We've got another way to show that Michigan is blue, early voting. It doesn't matter your district, go to the library and vote, any day, while the library is open. I don't know how many other cities, in Michigan, have it, but it should be enough to keep the Fellon out of office.

[@breaderikthegreat3224]

The reason Trump won in these 3 states, was his Opposition to NAFTA, which did hurt the Rust Belt

[@cjhenderson690]

If I remember correctly, Bill Clinton was very supportive of NAFTA. So when Hillary came around, that might have left some sour tastes in voters' mouths. It was also Sanders that won the primary, not Hillary. Since many Michiganders didn't identify with Clinton, it's not hard to believe that Trump gained a foothold.

[@Lincolnator721]

Another thing not mentioned in the video

[@agcaoiliproductions9580]

I’m loving these videos. Maybe one on how states perceived as liberal/conservative elect people of the party but opposite the views, mainly conservatives Democrats as there really are no nationally known Liberal Republicans anymore.

[@sankimalu]

Yeah, like Montana. That’s a fascinating state when you look at its elections.

[@sniceverything4944]

Well there are some, Chris Sununu and Phil Scott come to mind, but they are definitely a dying breed

[@dontmisunderstand6041]

The term "liberal" refers to a political ideology called liberalism. Both the Democrats AND Republicans have liberalism at the core of their ideologies. Democrats favor classical liberalism, while Republicans favor neo-liberalism, but they're BOTH still liberals.

[@Cabbagery]

@@dontmisunderstand6041 Relative to world politics, yes. Relative to domestic US politics, no. And the GOP of today is less liberal than ever as they continue to lean toward authoritarianism and demagoguery.

[@badwolf9956]

@@dontmisunderstand6041Classical liberalism is free-market economics. Democrats do not support that. They’re Keynesians.

[@masonr1666]

Living in Michigan, a lot of people have grown angry at Republican Leadership, or simply the status quo. Michigan roads are considered to be the worst in the nation, because they haven't been properly funded. You also have the Flint water crisis; where due to mismanagement you had millions consuming lead tainted water. Because this happened under Republican leadership, I would expect Flint residents to never vote for a Republican for the rest of their lives.

[@AdamYusuf-3]

Thanks Vox excellent video. As Michigander I must say politics gets complex here. The problem isn't the people it's the flase promises that are given. Detroit showcased how folks can vote for the same thing, Yet literally live in 2 completely different realities. Edit - Also ironically the person who's done the most for the Moto City. 'Dan Gilbert' isn't even a politician.

[@bongo9384]

As much as I commend Michigan women for turning out and turning up for their rights, it infuriates me to no end that /this/ was what drove them to do that. The complete ignoring of women of color when we were talking about how Republicans didn't care about us - but when it affected them, now it was an issue?

[@jeffm9770]

Really great informative video. I'd love to see one of these on PA as well.

[@chillmemes5865]

And Wisconsin, Georgia, Texas, and pretty much every other toss up state 😂

[@dkdjr2005]

This was a great video. As a person who has lived in the metro Detroit area my entire life I am glad that they did not shy away from discussing Macomb county and that one of the contributing factors to their vote swing was race. I have lived and worked in all three counties (Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb) and by far you can tell a difference in Macomb. I was not surprised by the 2016 swing listed here at all.

[@Astrosk1er]

Born in raised Macomb, I can tell you I saw a ton more signs and flags and all that during 2016 definitely shows just how much an impact Trump had

[@alexfido2935]

This is a legitimately excellent video. Smashed it with the analysis, answering pretty much every question that was brought up.

[@pulse3554]

This video is the issue with American politics - over indexing on racial sub groups. You reinforce these temporary phenomena even as they constantly switch, AS SHOWN in the video

[@alexfido2935]

@@pulse3554 I agree that overanalysing the minutia of how ethnic subgroups vote is ridiculous, but that was a small part of the analysis. The point made about Gerrymandering, and about how clearly what Trump said had an effect on the Working Class communities of Macomb hit home very well.

[@pulse3554]

@@alexfido2935 it was no small part at all, I would watch the video again and measure the volume of rhetoric that was focused on racial subgroups predicting Michigan in different eras. I could find other indicators that were as or more predictive, but my experience with Americans is that as every culture in the world, they’re bogged down in their bubble and what they perceive as normal - so they turn to race. I’m a young global citizen tapped into various cultures in the west - race is a predictive factor but not the origin anymore lol, and it hasn’t been for a while. They’re missing out on underlying phenomena, but western and anglo thinking tends to be very surface level anyways, it’s a young civilization Agree that gerrymandering is the most consequential artifact here

[@michellegiacalone1079]

The greater message is this: When Michigan was solidly democratic and pro-union, they had a fantastic economy and prosperity at all levels. When Republicans moved in, destroyed the unions (using racism) and took over politics, the economy tanked. I lived it; I know. This is not a difficult choice.

[@avatarmikephantom153]

I’m an independent in Macomb county. Basically the current political standings are mostly due to the incompetence of the MIGOP. Essentially the best way to describe Michigan as a whole would be moderately conservative democratic…

[@connor4955]

Yep. I really wish people voted on fact vs. emotion and taking face value words from politicians. We’d see new parties that’d do what they’d say but that’s just not the case.

[@avatarmikephantom153]

@@connor4955 oh yeah, for sure. I really want the republicans to go away right now because once they are no longer the party that they are, most democrats will jump ship too. They vote democrat to oppose the republicans. If that’s no longer needed, it’s a bye Felicia moment. And the DNC would never see it coming.

[@Astrosk1er]

Also from Macomb, yep pretty average although more decisive issues do increase turnout

[@vinamraaggarwal4988]

Usually find videos on politics to be partisan, but this has been one of the most comprehensive analysis of an issue that would usually fly under the radar. It’s fascinating to see what kind of factors play a role in politics and how that can snowball and have a larger effect on the country as a whole. Hope Vox keeps producing content like this

[@mistercohaagen]

We tried having "pro-business" Republicans here in MI... they sent Auto jobs to Mexico, China and India, and poisoned Flint's water. Never again!

[@alexcarbery8189]

Wrong. A bad NAFTA deal sent jobs back to Mexico. If you want to go after Right to Work, go ahead. But Michigan is not allowed to touch international politics the way the federal government is.

[@alexcarbery8189]

Also, Flint?? The notorious Democrat stronghold in Flint is pro-business?

[@mistercohaagen]

@@alexcarbery8189 Rick Snyder was a Republican; he's the most directly responsible for the Flint Water Crisis. He's one of the major reasons why we have Whitmer now. Do you not know how to look up things on google?

[@alinoer.6569]

I'm impressed with the amount of information you are able to present in such a digestible manner, I paused for some of the diagrams whenever i wanted extra info not directly relevant to the video topic and loved the production. Thank you!

[@KevinBauman]

I'm originally from Michigan, and I can't figure out how anyone can vote for Trump once, decide he needs go four years later, and then think, "hmm...maybe he's our guy", four years after that. As a comedian once said, "it's like putting spoiled milk back in the fridge, and hoping it will be better later"

[@lk29392]

And am I to assume you voted for a nearly 80 year old senile Biden, feel good about it, and are pumped to do it again late this year?

[@anton1713]

@@lk29392Exactly, it's not like there's much to choose from

[@alexrogers777]

​@@lk29392 As opposed to trump who is nearly 80 years old and senile?

[@Astrosk1er]

I mean at first I guess autoworkers stuff but now a days I think Biden is gonna look a bit better with what Trumps been rambling on about lately

[@miatilli9643]

Another Michigander with something to add: since the 2020 election, gun legislation has become increasingly more important to voters, especially Oakland county voters because of the Oxford school shooting in 2021.

[@WDSimp]

The current state of the Michigan GOP is it's own sideshow. The podcast This American Life has a fantastic episode about them titled 'It Wouldn’t Be Make-Believe If You’d Believe In Me' that I couldn't recommend highly enough.

[@Astrosk1er]

They just recently threw out the chair or whoever she was they elected

[@warriyorcat]

Karamo? Good riddance. There's also the Ottawa County shitshow if you're interested. It's a real-time governing social experiment and it's terrifying to live through and know that some of my neighbors voted for it.

[@NicklasZandeVGCP2001]

Here's the problem with Michigan ever going Republican in 2024. The state's GOP is in really bad shape, with its own leaders arguing over who should be the leader more than actually fundraising. It is almost as bad, if not worse than the Florida Democratic Party. Even with Arab Americans unlikely to vote for Biden in 2024, the GOP, due to its stance on abortion, has angered many suburban women who backed them previously, to the point where once strong GOP counties like Kent, Grand Traverse, and Isabella have now gone for the Democrats.

[@EvenFlow391]

Truth. I'm still not sure on which way Michigan will end up going, because they have a year to try and turn things around.Still, Karamo was just reconfirmed for her position, which means the party is going to stay extremist for the time being and alienate the moderates who are left.

[@Torquematterz]

very good video, hopefully we can keep that blue streak because Michigan doesn't need another run of Trump.

[@MoaiHeadEmoji]

Trumps will come back its inevitable, Biden looks horrible right now with no sign of changing that, trump is looking amazing with common sense proof of being 𝔞 better president, 𝖎 live in California and 𝖎 see tons of patriots everyday and few progressives

[@MoaiHeadEmoji]

Im also surprised to see you riding motorcycles while being such 𝔞 strong democrat😂

[@Torquematterz]

@@MoaiHeadEmoji not a strong democrat I believe you implied that from me not liking Trump. I don’t have party affiliation but I do have my own values and beliefs. There are plenty of sport bike riders that are progressive but I would say majority of Harley riders are republican or alt right

[@MoaiHeadEmoji]

@@Torquematterz aside from you trying to take the middle ground stance, moto riders are not progressive or liberal at all aside from the stunt riders, moto was founded on military veterans coming out of war and wanting 𝔞 hobby that gave them 𝔞 thrill, and what are military veterans notorious for? Being conservative.

[@Torquematterz]

@@MoaiHeadEmoji It’s not only vets but things change. America was founded on slavery so does that mean everyone still has those values? You obviously aren’t very active in the motorcycle community if you think everyone is a republican. There’s plenty of diversity of cultures and beliefs.

[@seventeenfeet]

As a lifelong Michigander, I am so happy to witness the end of gerrymandering, and the wishes of the majority finally being fulfilled ❤ next up, the national electoral college!

[@LyonKing779]

I' m afraid that requires a constitutional amendment which seems unlikely

[@everettschoenke2659]

I am not convinced that’s a good idea. Full democracy is mob rule.

[@Cabbagery]

It took the Democrats getting elected to all branches to make it happen. The only party willing to do what's best for all the people, not just the people that voted for them.

[@kennethvanoosten3202]

​@@LyonKing779The only alternative would be if the majority of states agreed to give their electoral college votes to the candidate who wins the popular vote through the National popular voter interstate compact. Wouldn't be a permanent solution if some states decided to back out afterwards, but if it got more than 270 electoral college votes it would effectively guarantee that the winner of the popular vote would always win the presidency once it takes effect.

[@riplikatlnloki5091]

Did the video just leave it out at 10:41? No reason is given when they didn’t vote for trump.

[@EveloGrave]

I was 19 in 2016 and didn't vote because I thought my vote didn't matter. That was the biggest mistake I have ever made.

[@alquinn8576]

but it didn't matter. a single vote never determines the outcome of presidential elections, so it's irrational to vote

[@pranavm6214]

@@alquinn8576 problem lays if everyone thinks like that.

[@wingsoverfries]

What an amazing piece. I will start watching this channel again just because of this video. yall deserve praise

[@realistwan]

As an Oakland County Resident for all of my Adult years (I’m only in my late 20s), it’s one thing to see all these things unfold and the tension they brought during my voting years, but to see just how much it reflects the country as a whole is both scary and fascinating!

[@andalilbitqueer]

Something of note that I'm suprised wasn't mentioned, Bernie Sanders won Michigan's democratic primary in the most surprising upset of 2016.

[@brooksdaniel]

It wasn't that surprising to us, as I remember it, dude is all about working people, healthcare, and job. Helps too that he doesn't know how to not yell

[@hakaigaming3176]

Incredible reporting! Well done. We should take a page from Michigan and institute anti-gerrymandering.

[@bombermane]

This was a very interesting and well done piece, as a Michigan native who follows politics I’d like to bring to the attention of viewers that in 2018, we had the legalization of cannabis on our ballot initiative, this is the main reason why we had an increase in voter turnout, and most of those who voted for marijuana legalization voted democrat. Again really great piece and very informative and interesting.

[@Astrosk1er]

And there was a lot more trump signs around 2016, also why didn’t you say you’re a Michigander :p

[@aj1218]

Funny what allowing unchecked mail in voting will do.

[@ItReignItPour]

As a non American facinated with American politics, this video was really informative and well put together.

[@MetalAsFork]

If you were truly fascinated, you'd look for info that isn't Vox.

[@Zeoytaccount]

Michigander here. Loving the calm political discourse on both sides of the spectrum. Let’s keep being a role model for the nation!

[@darexinfinity]

I never considered Michigan to be a blue state. They made have gone all-blue in 2022 but I would not underestimate Republican's ability to make up lost ground.

[@alquinn8576]

Trump v Biden polling average has Trump at +5.3% in Michigan at the moment. Dems still have time to yank Biden, though, I guess..

[@lsedge7280]

As someone who isn't in the US (but rather the UK), reading about the 'Right to Work' legislation and how y'all manage unions is...really weird. I'm not aware of the UK having any sectors where there is compulsory union membership, if that is even legal here? Yet almost every sector has a large union, and any large business has a deal with a large union in it's sector.

[@covfefe1787]

that’s why the UK is so poor and in the gutter because Unions are paralyzing the economic system. Accept short term lower pay for more competitive salary rises in the future. Unions need to be illegal it’s an old outdated concept that doesn’t work anymore.

[@Nonya-uj2gv]

Compulsory union membership seems almost designed to make people hate unions.

[@Mr1wd]

Trump single-handedly ruined Republican image

[@scruffy7443]

Thank God's he's sort of like Ron Paul, exposed the Rino's!

[@lucasetten]

Still baffling how any person with an least a kindergarten level of education can look at Trump and think, "Yep, that's my guy."

[@topapo3661]

remember, trump loves the poorly educated

[@dontmisunderstand6041]

They didn't. They looked at Hillary Clinton and thought "never, not if she was the only person on earth".

[@JesusOrDestruction]

Cry lol

[@JesusOrDestruction]

Trump 2024

[@alquinn8576]

And Biden makes you proud? You know, when my grammaw got up in years, she'd occasionally misplace her keys; however, she never once misplaced a Secretary of Defense!

[@baehr4308]

how you explain a lot of states going blue? mail in ballots

[@___beyondhorizon4664]

I need to vote for a third candidate this time No dictator No genocide supporter

[@carbonmolecules4504]

All I’m going to say as a resident of Oakland County whos not a republican, I’m a little worried about the upcoming elections. Based on interactions I’ve had with people, it seems like ALOT are voting for Trump. People GENUINELY hate Biden, and until we get a better candidate, I will be worried.

[@wullahblack6452]

Sorta is the problem isn't it? Hillary lost because she offered people absolutely nothing other than "im not trump" and picked an anti union, pro life candidate as her VP. People in this state were hurting and it was a choice of status quo which was making the people of this state suffer, or take a chance on the guy who at least promised people something. Now Trump was so bad he got beat by a senile child sniffer in 2020, but dems are playing the same exact card that made them lose in 2016. "I'm not trump" is not enough to make people get out there. They have to actually offer people something. And dems in 2016 and 2020 have shown us what they do to better candidates running in their own party.

[@geteven3107]

selling americas future to china is a good global move you think?

[@rtyria]

Here in very blue Kalamazoo there are a lot of Trump supporters, however if Biden stepped down tomorrow and the party nominated a more likeable candidate it could very well be a different story. Trump's not the worst, though. If my only choices were 4 more years of Biden or 4 more years of Trump I'll take Trump. I would prefer a better option from both parties, but that will never happen.

[@thebutterlegion9263]

It's because Biden is just a big doof, he's not good with speeches or foreign relations. Also mixhigan will most likely be republican because of the Middle Eastern population and Biden saying that he backs isreal.

[@larryalvares1369]

I live in Michigan. So disappointed that our last Republican governor added what I assume are taxes on filming movies in our state Correction: “got rid of the credits”

[@johnsonspark171]

Not true. Snyder just got rid of the credits that Granholm gave. That's all

[@larryalvares1369]

@@johnsonspark171oh ok

[@TakenTook]

But the point is our movie industry was starting to actually get established here and become something we thought would create jobs. And then Snyder went and ruined it.

[@ericscottstevens]

The state of Georgia says thank you. So much is filmed in the peach state now.

[@reality_bites7887]

Nothing can explain American Politics