MAGA take note. This is your future.

[fd-guy]

Originally Posted by 1blackman1

Real ID doesn’t count under the SAVE Act. But since it’ll never pass, who cares. Republicans should stop whining about it.

I suspect the Dems will pick up at least 30 House seats and maybe get to 50 or 51 in the Senate. Authoritarianism is on the way out in actual democracies. Except it won’t take the US 16 years to pimp-slap ours outta power.

Right? It's almost as if the people in love with the SAVE act have never actually read it. Not going to bother responding to the gish gallop bullshit that precipitated this.


Anyway, back to the subject. It will be interesting to see how MAGA reacts when they get bounced out like the hero of CPAC Orbán.

[Why_Yes_I_Do]

Originally Posted by fd-guy

...I said "citizen"...

As did I, after quoting you directly.
But if it helps you to catch up, I'll post the answer to an AI query:

Valid identification documents for voting in Hungary’s 2026 parliamentary elections include a national ID card, a laser-engraved passport issued since late 1998, or a card-format driving licence. The digital identification application (DÁP) is not accepted as a valid form of ID at polling stations.

Voters must present their ID in person at their designated polling station to receive a ballot. The ID is verified by the vote-counting committee, and the voter must sign the electoral register to confirm receipt.

Voting is only possible between 6:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. local time on election day, with those already in line at 7:00 p.m. still allowed to vote.

Only Hungarian citizens aged 18 or older (or minors who married before 18) are eligible, provided they are not disenfranchised by court order.

No electronic or proxy voting is permitted, and early voting is not available.

FWIW: They do have some additional parameters, i.e. hoops to jump through, for dual-citizens as well.

[fd-guy]

Originally Posted by Why_Yes_I_Do

As did I, after quoting you directly.
But if it helps you to catch up, I'll post the answer to an AI query:
FWIW: They do have some additional parameters, i.e. hoops to jump through, for dual-citizens as well.

Once again, the ID you mention is at no-cost to the "citizen." Nothing like the SAVE act. So still not sure what your greater point is other than trying to derail the thread.

[1blackman1]

I love when folks get to looking at other countries and make comments like “if they can have voting by paper and same day and no mailing, why can’t we.

Hungary is about the size of Indiana.
France is about the size of Texas.
England is about the size of Alabama.
Germany is about the size of Montana


I’ll just end the conversation right there.

[Why_Yes_I_Do]

Originally Posted by fd-guy

...the ID you mention is at no-cost to the "citizen." Nothing like the SAVE act. So still not sure what your greater point is other than trying to derail the thread.

But how does one secure said "free" ID?

...Applicants must submit one of the following valid documents to prove their identity:

• A valid permanent ID card or an ID card that expired less than one year ago.
• A valid Hungarian passport or a passport that expired less than one year ago.
• A valid Hungarian driving license (card format) that expired less than one year ago.
• If no Hungarian document is available, a valid foreign ID card or passport may be accepted, provided the applicant also submits the specific address and citizenship documents

...

Does everything free come without a cost? To the OP topic at hand: I'm fine with "valid voter" sentiment driving the outcome of an election. I just don't read we're ALL DOOMED into it.

I just do not read into it that the government proactively sends ID cards out, without the voter doing something to secure one at zero cost to themselves.

[fd-guy]

Originally Posted by Why_Yes_I_Do

To the OP topic at hand: I'm fine with "valid voter" sentiment driving the outcome of an election...

Cool. Thanks for the portion that's relevant to the thread. Try harder to stay on topic.


Feel free to go start your own thread about the SAVE act.

[Why_Yes_I_Do]

As I've said here and elsewhere: I'm fine with a valid electorate essentially tossing out the entire slop of government, if it is the will of it's legal and legitimate citizens.

I doubt that will be the case here (USA), for a wide range of reasons, mostly the "other" team being devoid of any clear path to anything other than 'get Trump' and the general distaste of all things Socialism in our legal and legitimate electorate.

Besides, we would still have 14 years of control to go if'n it goes the same as for Orban.

As a gesture of goodwill, I'll cover you a pallet of 2x4 lumber, so you can try to prop up your narrative that this is how the midterms are gonna roll. Or are you banking for 2028, which could mean you'll need steel instead of renewable lumber?

In the meantime, just keep on RTMing and passing the hopium of your party on down the line, regardless of how challenging it may be to grasp at strawmen.

[fd-guy]

Originally Posted by Why_Yes_I_Do

As I've said here and elsewhere: I'm fine with a valid electorate essentially tossing out the entire slop of government, if it is the will of it's legal and legitimate citizens.

I doubt that will be the case here (USA), for a wide range of reasons, mostly the "other" team being devoid of any clear path to anything other than 'get Trump' and the general distaste of all things Socialism in our legal and legitimate electorate.

Besides, we would still have 14 years of control to go if'n it goes the same as for Orban.

As a gesture of goodwill, I'll cover you a pallet of 2x4 lumber, so you can try to prop up your narrative that this is how the midterms are gonna roll. Or are you banking for 2028, which could mean you'll need steel instead of renewable lumber?

In the meantime, just keep on RTMing and passing the hopium of your party on down the line, regardless of how challenging it may be to grasp at strawmen.

I'm not sure it matters whether you're ok with it or not. A couple things worth clearing up here.

Orbán didn't go down because the opposition pulled off some genius campaign. He lost because a whopping 77.8% of Hungarians turned out to vote — that's a post-Communist record — and they gave his opponent a two-thirds supermajority. That's not me reaching; that's a straight-up landslide.

The "14 years of control" thing as a consolation? Cute angle, but Orbán actually had 16 years and ended up as the warning story, not the blueprint. JD Vance jetted off to Budapest last week to throw an arm around him — that photo-op is looking rough already, kinda like most of Vance's calls.

Keep your lumber; the story's holding strong on its own. It just got a big boost from today's results.

And that "socialism" dodge is working overtime. Magyar's Tisza party ran on a pro-EU platform, real democratic checks, and fighting corruption — not some Bolshevik comeback. The MAGA parallel was always about the authoritarian playbook, not the economics. Guess that nuance got lost somewhere between the toolbox and the wishful thinking.

[lustylad]

Originally Posted by 1blackman1

I love when folks get to looking at other countries and make comments like "MAGA take note. This is your future."

Hungary is about the size of Indiana.

FTFY. I agree.

I prefer to draw lessons from local US political currents and not suggest that an election in a small, remote, landlocked European nation of less than 10 million people is somehow a harbinger for how Americans will vote.

[Why_Yes_I_Do]

So Hungary is about the size of Indiana, they say?
From the who'd a thunk it files:

Soros has ‘taken over’ Hungary – Musk
The billionaire weighed in on Viktor Orban’s defeat in the parliamentary election Published 13 Apr, 2026 08:04

The pro-EU Tisza party’s victory over Prime Minister Viktor Orban in the Hungarian election means that the country has essentially been taken over by the Soros network, Elon Musk has said.

In a post on X on Monday, Musk lashed out at Alexander Soros – the son of Hungarian-American billionaire George Soros and chair of the Board of Directors of the Open Society Foundations (OSF) – who celebrated Orban’s fall as “a resounding rejection of entrenched corruption and foreign interference.”

“Soros Organization has taken over Hungary,” the SpaceX and Tesla owner said. In a separate post, Musk responded to a post by an X user who listed figures who cheered the result – among them, former US President Barack Obama, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky, and various EU officials – and wrote: “This should tell you everything.” Musk replied with a “100%” emoji.

Musk’s comments came after Peter Magyar’s conservative Tisza party secured 138 seats in the 199-seat Hungarian parliament with 53.6% of the vote, while Orban’s right-wing Fidesz took just 55 seats with 37.8%, with an extremely high voter turnout of almost 80%.

Though conservative in profile, Tisza has pledged to dismantle core pillars of Orban’s policies – drawing once again closer to the EU and NATO.

Orban – who will see his 16-year tenure as prime minister come to an end – has long clashed with Budapest-born Soros, accusing him of fomenting ‘woke’ ideologies, “liberal internationalism,” and an intention to turn native Europeans into a minority through an “invasion of immigrants.”...

[fd-guy]

Originally Posted by Why_Yes_I_Do

So Hungary is about the size of Indiana, they say?
From the who'd a thunk it files:

Pretty obvious who would thunk it...people that don't think much.

Let's clarify a few things so maybe some can thunk more clearly.

77.8% of Hungarian voters participated in voting — the highest rate in post-communist Hungary. The opposition gained a two-thirds majority. There is no way this could be anything else but the will of the Hungarian people, by any democratic measure.

That's Elon Musk's take on the matter. It must have been George Soros that did it.

The same Elon Musk who spent hundreds of millions interfering in American, British, and German elections. This Elon Musk is worried about rich foreigners influencing elections.

Magyar's Tisza is a conservative, EU-friendly party running on an anti-corruption platform. They won because of sixteen years of political and economic stagnation. Not because some 93-year-old billionaire waved his magic wand.

When 80% of the electorate votes against your candidate and you simply blame George Soros, that's not analysis. That's a failure to accept the democratic result.

I realize that distinction may be lost on someone purposely avoiding it.

[txdot-guy]

What might surprise some is that the resounding success of this campaign came about because Magyar and the Tisz party successfully won over rural voters across the country. If only Democrats could do the same here in the USA.

https://www.theedgesingapore.com/new...-he-cared-more

Hungary’s new leader Magyar convinced rural voters he cared more

(April 13): Opposition leader Peter Magyar won resoundingly in Hungary, with key and unexpected backing coming from Viktor Orban’s most important fan base: the nation’s countryside.

The 45-year-old former Orban party insider bet that visiting even the smallest constituencies around the country of 10 million would pay off as he cast the ballot as a decision on whether to stay in the European Union. He spent much of the past two years on the road stumping for his Tisza party, culminating in a final before the vote where he visited as many as seven campaign stops a day.

Magyar’s determination won him a two-thirds parliamentary majority on Sunday, a strong mandate to undo Orban’s 16 years in power. The upstart party made its strongest gains in mid-sized cities that bridge the country’s capital with towns in rural Hungary such as Szekesfehervar, Orban’s birthplace, or Nyiregyhaza close to Ukraine’s border.

“He showed up literally everywhere,” Matyas Bodi, a political analyst at ELTE University who runs the Electoral Geography blog, said by phone on Monday. “Almost every Hungarian family has a picture with Peter Magyar or they know someone who has such a photo.”

Results showed that Orban’s Fidesz party managed to cling on to only to a handful of constituencies dominated by small villages and suffered surprise losses even in deeply rural districts considered to be its stronghold, like Satoraljaujhely in the country’s northeast and Mohacs in the southwest. The largest settlement it won was Kiskoros, a town of 13,000.

Magyar’s party took majority of votes among Hungarians aged 18 to 40, compared with about a third of votes among pensioners.

But it wasn’t just Magyar’s omnipresence. It was his focus on domestic issues such as the need to fix the country’s stagnant economy, underfunded healthcare and uproot widespread corruption. Orban, who has built cozy ties with US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, kept his focus on being a big international player who gets things done for Hungary.

Many rural voters just thought Orban “left them behind,” Bodi said.

[fd-guy]

Vance, after rallying in Hungary for Orbán, says he wasn’t surprised by the autocrat’s defeat

I wonder if he can read the polls in the US as well as he indicates they read them for Hungary.

Here's some relevance on why this is bad for MAGA:

Still, Vance’s inability to help Orbán avoid a crushing loss opens the administration up to criticism that its ideas and officials are not the draw they hoped — and deeper existential questions about the future of populist nationalism.

“It’s embarrassing for them, and shattering in a way,” said Johan Norberg, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank in Washington. “Much of the temptation of this whole populist right movement has been [the idea] that ‘we have people, real people, on our side — we have the future.’ Orbán being re-elected again and again was a very powerful sign of that to them. So his suddenly being voted out with the largest majority ever in a democratic Hungarian election is a devastating blow to that whole narrative.”

Steve Bannon, a senior White House counselor to Trump during his first term, said in a text message that Orbán’s defeat “better be a warning flare for November” and the looming midterm elections.