Nov 2023 Mod notice:
There may be other, more specific, threads about some aspects of US politics, but this one tends to act as a hub for all sorts of related news and information, so it's usually one of the busiest OTC threads.
If you're new to OTC, it's worth reading the Introduction to On-Topic Conversations
and the On-Topic Conversations debate guidelines before posting here.
Rumor-based, fear-mongering and/or inflammatory statements that damage the quality of the thread will be thumped. Off-topic posts will also be thumped. Repeat offenders may be suspended.
If time spent moderating this thread remains a distraction from moderation of the wiki itself, the thread will need to be locked. We want to avoid that, so please follow the forum rules when posting here.
In line with the general forum rules, 'gravedancing' is prohibited here. If you're celebrating someone's death or hoping that they die, your post will get thumped. This rule applies regardless of what the person you're discussing has said or done.
Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM
Oh, bother.
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
And if anyone thinks this is too unbelievable, remember that a good chunk of these voters thought the ACA and Obamacare were two different things.
This is an interesting theory, but do we have proof that it applies? Coincidences happen.
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
Blowout soon fellow Stalker
What are you talking about?
Oh really when?
The story that Sanders bringing up his healthcare bill did motivate the GOP to try again with their repeal and hurt efforts.
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
If I had to guess, he's claiming that the bros threatening to primary anyone who didn't support Sanders' agenda and people who previously didn't care for Sanders suddenly coming on board and supporting his bill are entirely unrelated coincidences.
EDIT: ![[nja]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/user_ninja_2074.png "[nja]"){kind=small}
Apparently it's disputing the claim that Sanders introducing his bill motivated Republicans to try again. Leaving my original comment up in the interests of honesty.
edited 21st Sep '17 7:40:19 AM by AmbarSonofDeshar
It's hilarious also considering that way back in 87, Sanders said that if we expanded Medicare or Medicaid to everyone we'd bankrupt the nation, yet Hilldawg was dragged for saying single-payer would never ever happened years ago.
New Survey coming this weekend!
To answer that question, Graham and Cassidy have specifically referenced Sanders' bill when drumming up support for their new bill, stating that it's now a choice between socialism and repeal.
Sounds likely, but for future reference, source?
Found a Youtube Channel with political stances you want to share? Hop on over to this page and add them.
great. They’re already shifting the blame.
edited 21st Sep '17 7:45:09 AM by fruitpork
I mean, of course. It makes sense to and I don't blame them for that. It's common sense to take advantage of an opening provided.
If they can justify to their voter base why this has to happen now of course they'd do it.
Found a Youtube Channel with political stances you want to share? Hop on over to this page and add them.
use political terms to describe, not insult
Seems like the nightmare of Senator Kid Rock is dead, a poll has found him trailing Stabenow by 20 points.
Also, reposting this because it got buried in "let's all hate on Sanders take 97":
[538] The Media Has A Probability Problem. This article is (possibly the last) part of 538's The real story of 2016 series of articles analyzing what the media (and everybody else) got wrong about the election. Here they talk about how the media is incapable of understanding how probability works, not just in politics but also in disaster and sports forecasts. You should read at least the bullet points in the section titled "How a probabilistic election forecast works — and how it can be easy to misinterpret", but the entire article is interesting.
edited 21st Sep '17 8:02:15 AM by IFwanderer
1 2 We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be. -KV
Asgore Adopts Noelle
Thank the good lord Kidd Rock won't be a repeat of Trump.
Good riddance to the possible horror show of Senator Kid Rock. That's one more problem in the world that we absolutely do not need. Hopefully that trend continues, and other celebrities who have been talking about running bow out accordingly.
Oh, bother.
Oh thank goodness. Though admittedly, Senator Rock does sound pretty cool.
Disgusted, but not surprised
Regarding who to blame among the Democrat coalition for last chance to repeal the ACA, if anyone* Denocratic leadership may have inadvertently given them this opportunity by cutting a deal over the debt ceiling with Trump; normally around this time of year we would be playing debt ceiling chicken, leaving no time for additional legislation to get put forwards.
* For the record I don't particularly blame anyone other than the GOP in the slightest, since this took basically everyone by surprise.
edited 21st Sep '17 8:28:54 AM by CaptainCapsase
Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign?
Just some Miscellaneous Things:
- Woman: I'd rather go to jail than take down Trump sign
- Spicer Claims He Never 'Knowingly' Lied To The American People
- White House ratchets up its attacks on 'hypocritical' ESPN
Woman: I'd rather go to jail than take down Trump sign
Susan Reitman of Rockland, Maine is displaying two signs in her hometown that read "I Love Trump" and "He Won, Get over it," according to New England Cable News.
But the signs are in violation of local law because they are larger than allowed by the town, meaning she could face fines of $100 or more every day they're up.
Assistant code officer Bill Butler told NECN that another resident had complained about the signs, and that they are not allowed to be displayed without a permit.
Signs in the town can be no larger than two square feet, while Reitman's come in at more than three feet by two feet.
Reitman is pushing back, saying her right to free speech is more important the law and has no plans to remove the signs or pay any fines.
"If I have to sit in jail for the rest of eternity, that's my choice," Reitman said.
"I guess I'm being stubborn ... but I'm not going to back down from what I believe."
Spicer Claims He Never 'Knowingly' Lied To The American People
“In some cases, there were things that I did that until someone brought it up, I said, ‘Gosh, I didn’t realize that was a mistake, I’m sorry about that.’ But to watch some of the personal attacks questioning my integrity, questioning what my intentions were, I think were really over-the-top,” Spicer said.
He insisted that he’s corrected the record in the aftermath of his mishaps. “I know there are some folks that no matter what we say or do, they think that everything we did was wrong and want a blanket apology, that’s not happening.”
Spicer also indicated he would be willing to testify in the investigation into Trump’s ties to Russia.
Axios’ Mike Allen reported Thursday that he had reached out to Spicer for comment about the many notes he’d reportedly taken during his time at the White House, which Allen speculated could be used as evidence in the Russia investigation. Spicer responded to the question by threatening to call the authorities, Allen said.
“Please refrain from sending me unsolicited texts and emails,” Spicer replied, according to Allen. “Should you not do so I will contact the appropriate legal authorities to address your harassment.”
White House ratchets up its attacks on 'hypocritical' ESPN
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders noted the network suspended longtime anchor Linda Cohn, who said earlier this year in a radio interview that left-wing bias at the network had contributed to a loss of subscribers.
The latest political controversy at ESPN involves Jemele Hill, who this week called President Trump a white supremacist. The network distanced itself from the anchor but did not fire or suspend her.
"The point is that ESPN has been hypocritical, they should hold anchors to a fair and consistent standard," Sanders said. "ESPN suspended a long-time anchor, Linda Cohn, not too long ago for expressing a political viewpoint. The network's public editor has said there is a perception that ESPN has become political and that it harms the network. This is clearly a political statement, they should be consistent in whatever guidelines they have set themselves in that front."
Over the weekend, Hill, who co-hosts the "Sports Center" spin-off "SC 6 with Michael and Jemele," lashed out at Trump and his supporters over Twitter. She called Trump a "white supremacist" and said his rise to the White House was directly attributable to racism.
Sanders has described Hill's remarks as a "fireable offense" and Trump on Friday demanded an apology for the "untruth" over Twitter.
...Hill has apologized to ESPN for dragging it into a political fight but has not apologized to Trump.
The network said it accepts Hill's apology and will not punish her.
"Jemele has a right to her personal opinions, but not to publicly share them on a platform that implies that she was in any way speaking on behalf of ESPN," a spokesperson said. "She has acknowledged that her tweets crossed that line and has apologized for doing so. We accept her apology."
use political terms to describe, not insult
I pray that espn doesn’t cave and fire her. If they do, it sets a terrifying precedent.
Thought Trump couldn't make more of a fool of himself at the UN than he has already? Get ready to be proven wrong! (Unfortunately.)
Trump Praises Health Care of Nambia, a Nonexistent African Country
"In Guinea and Nigeria, you fought a horrifying Ebola outbreak," Trump told African leaders gathered Wednesday. "Nambia's health system is increasingly self-sufficient."
Trump mentioned Nambia twice during the session attended by leaders of several nations, including Ghana, Namibia and Uganda.
The gaffe lit up social media, with many speculating whether he meant Namibia, Zambia or Gambia, all of which have names that sound similar.
The White House later clarified that Trump was talking about the southwestern African nation of Namibia. Namibia dodged the Ebola outbreak that killed thousands in Africa two years ago and affected several nations, including the United States.
At the time, Namibia revamped its health care system to ward off an Ebola outbreak and treat sudden infections.
The tiny nation of 2.5 million people is one of the world's biggest producers of uranium. It shares borders with Angola, Zambia, South Africa and Botswana.
Nambia aside, Trump also applauded the continent's economic progress during the speech.
"Africa has tremendous business potential," he said. "I have so many friends going to your countries, trying to get rich. I congratulate you. They're spending a lot of money."
This is just fucking hilarious. It's depressing as hell, but it's still fucking hilarious.
Since he represents the US I have a hard time finding that funny. Shit like this is why I will never willingly associate with Trump supporters, they put that man in the White House and thus they're responsible for him.
edited 21st Sep '17 8:51:39 AM by Fourthspartan56
"Sandwiches are probably easier to fix than the actual problems" -Hylarn
use political terms to describe, not insult
Let's be fair, he's just fucked up at mentioning one of those three countries, not praised one that doesn't exist. I mean, he's got enough true stupid statements we don't need to invent more.
edited 21st Sep '17 8:56:48 AM by IFwanderer
1 2 We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be. -KV
Regardless, it was still a stupid statement.
edited 21st Sep '17 9:00:33 AM by kkhohoho
A procrastination in of itself
I could totally see myself pronouncing Namibia that way, if it was my first time speaking about it. That's why if I was giving a speech about it I'd get someone to help me go vote it and make sure I got all the names right.
“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
Queen of Good Things, Honest
He probably mistook NAMBLA for an African country.
My Tumblr. Currently liveblogging Haruhi Suzumiya and revisiting Danganronpa V3.
Sanders' fanboys tend to use the defense "he got us all talking about healthcare again". Indeed he did. And "us all" includes the Republicans, who were happy enough to leave the subject behind.
Even worse in some ways, if the ACA does get repealed, the Republicans now have perfect political cover—tell their voter base, who are only loosely attached to reality, that this was because of the Single-Payer For All bill. Yes, the thing never passed, but it won't matter—Republican voters will vaguely remember it being a thing that existed, and will cheerfully blame it for the loss of their own healthcare.
edited 21st Sep '17 7:33:58 AM by AmbarSonofDeshar