The General US Politics Thread

I hope that the Democratic Party has a spirited primary season, not a pro-forma crowning of Hillary. The debate is necessary for a healthy political system. I am not labeling and dismissing her out of hand, though I hope that as things draw closer to the election she settles down on some concrete platform items so I can better judge her as a candidate, not just as a legendary figure that everybody thinks will win by default.

In other news, a man dressed in Pokemon clothing jumped the White House fence on 9/11. "When he asked about [not being eligible for mental healthcare] further, he was told that was how the healthcare system is set up and he should talk with the president about it. He then traveled to Washington, D.C."

That's both awesome (and I really hope they don't charge him with anything, since he was unarmed) and depressing as all hell. Hopefully it'll help put a spotlight on how broken that setup is, when the most at-risk people for developing a mental illness have so little support in terms of treating it.

edited 17th Sep '14 7:48:39 AM by ironballs16

...is it bad that I'm actually a little disappointed? I was hoping that he was cosplaying as Ash or something and was planning to challenge the president to a Pokemon battle. Instead he was just wearing a pikachu t-shirt. (And hat. And carrying a pikachu doll.)

Seriously though, here's hoping that he gets help rather than has the book thrown at him.

edited 17th Sep '14 7:57:25 AM by NativeJovian

I was expecting a pikachu cosplayer.

Guy didn't have enough badges to challenge the American League Champion

Rand Paul's "thinking out loud" problem

It must be an awful job being his aide.

Having to run about doing damage control every time he shoots himself in the foot.

x4 Those damned Badge Check gates man.

Rand Paul is an unconscious caricature: like a child's idea of what a politician should look like.

Vice President Joe Biden said on Wednesday his use of the term "Shylocks," which some consider anti-Semitic, was "a poor choice of words."

Vice President Biden on Wednesday referred to parts of Asia as "the Orient" during a speech in Iowa, only hours after apologizing for a separate gaffe.

Vice President "Open Foot Insert Mouth."

Yeah, he wouldn't have made it as President. Joe, we love you, but you are plainly awful at public communication.

I'd still wanna party with the guy.

Yeah, Biden is not a great public speaker. I think he does a better job than Rand Paul though, if only because everyone knows Biden says dumb things but he's not an idiot, just kind of out of touch, while Rand Paul might well seriously mean all the bizarre things he says.

I'm listening to Hannity interview Pat Buchanan.

And holy shit, Buchanan is the Only Sane Man. He's essentially countering all of Hannity's warmongering and saying "No" to war. He even called out Hannity's bullshit regarding Iran's nuclear program. Hannity had to cut him off when he realized he was losing the argument.

edited 17th Sep '14 1:52:11 PM by Sledgesaul

It's not hard to come across as saner than Hannity. Buchanan has... other problems.

edited 17th Sep '14 1:50:39 PM by Fighteer

That. . .really doesn't say much for Hannity.

I will always be wondering if people like Hannity are properly crazy or if it's just an act.

edited 17th Sep '14 1:51:40 PM by LeGarcon

Biden occasionally says stupid things accidentally, but his reputations for being a gaffe machine lets him get away with saying stuff seriously that no one else would dare to. Remember back in the 2012 campaign when he told a predominantly-black audience that Republics would "put y'all back in chains"? It was part of a play on words about the Republicans "unchaining Wall Street" with deregulation, but come on — he knew exactly what he was saying, and he said it deliberately, because he knew his "lol another Biden gaffe" reputation would let him get away with it.

Biden can speak truth to power because he has a reputation of saying stupid shit. I don't that reputation is entirely feigned, but I do think he sure as hell makes good use of it.

Biden's never topped this:

One of the major points of contention was about how to deal with ISIS.

Hannity said "They've declared war on the United States." Buchanan countered with "And you want war? To defend a bunch of territory that the Shias and Kurds have no interest in defending? Which would push the displaced and already marginalized Sunnis into ISIS' thralls once sectarian violence inevitably flares up due to the air strikes?"

Hannity had to change the topic to Iran's nuclear weapons after that, and Buchanan even said "People have been saying Iran is close to developing a nuke for the last twenty years, and the latest deal has pushed back their enriched uranium to below military levels anyway. They're not making a nuke and they're not anywhere near willing to attack us either."

Hannity's problem, like that of some of the other Fox pundits, is that he's staked his entire narrative on the idea of there being an imminent threat to the United States and its freedom-loving, white, Christian people. If the facts don't support that narrative, he just makes them up or ignores them.

If he has to talk about the nuances of the politics and culture of the area, he's completely ignorant, so he will do anything to avoid it.

Pat Buchanan has always been a non-interventionist.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani denounced ISIS for taking the lives of innocent Western bystanders, but he also called the coalition put together by the United States to fight them “ridiculous.”

The NYPD said today that it is increasing its presence in Times Square after a blog post to an ISIS chat room called for attacks on the famous tourist spot.

Barak Barfi, spokesman for the family of beheaded American journalist Steven Sotloff, claimed Wednesday that the Obama administration “bullied and hectored” the Sotloff family as they tried to rescue their son from terrorist captivity.

edited 17th Sep '14 8:08:20 PM by deviantbraeburn