TVTropes Now available in the app store!
Open

Follow TV Tropes

Following

The General US Politics Thread

Go To

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

Balmung Since: Oct, 2011
#174776: Feb 17th 2017 at 10:36:32 AM

At least we're seeing that 40% isn't quite the floor on Trump support it previously seemed to be.

BonsaiForest Since: Jan, 2001
#174777: Feb 17th 2017 at 10:42:52 AM

In case you're wondering who supports Trump and how.

South Carolina Republicans have also learned to love the unilateral power of the presidency. Republicans, Sawyer said, hated President Obama's executive orders and called them "overreach" but now embrace Trump's orders. Consistency, he joked recently on Twitter, is so 2012. While Trump’s executive orders were widely derided in Washington for being vague, symbolic and ill-crafted, supporters saw them as proof he would get to work immediately.

Supporters also say they liked his Cabinet choices, which they deemed conservative. Asked about various allegations that have swirled around nominees, from not paying taxes to domestic abuse allegations, supporters shrugged and in some cases, blamed the media. "These are people who know the world, not the academics that Obama appointed. None of these people were based on identity politics. They were just the best people for the jobs," said Larry Kobrovsky, chairman of the Charleston County Republican Party. "In the media, you have this relentless over-the-top hysteria. No matter what he does, the media says he's terrible. Every time he opens his mouth, he's the worst in the world. You just learn to discount it."

Allegations about Russia are largely overblown, too, his fans say, and are an attempt to de-legitimize his victory. They largely agree with Trump over the executive order travel ban that has since been frozen by the courts. "He was smacked down by an activist judge," Sawyer said, of how Trump's supporters see it.

Harrison also said that Republicans would be howling if accusations swirled that Hillary Clinton's campaign worked covertly with Russian officials during the election. The double standard is infuriating, he said, and watching Republicans defend Trump amid chaos is difficult to swallow. "I have never seen anything like this," he said.

There are at least some people with brains there:

Trump could have other issues, Sanford and some critics say. Sanford expects protests at his town hall this weekend. They worry about Trump's anti-free trade policies hurting the state, particularly the large port in Charleston near where Trump is appearing. If the economy doesn't turn around, and he can't bring jobs back to the faded mill towns that dot the interstate between booming cities, people could tire of him. "The anti-trade talk could be a real double-edge sword — if some of that stuff took hold and trade barriers begin to go up around the world and it hurts companies like Boeing, that will have a consequence," Sanford said. "People are really expecting the economy to boom."

NoName999 Since: May, 2011
#174778: Feb 17th 2017 at 10:49:03 AM

[up]tl;dr- They really do want a king as long as he isn't a lib.

Trump supporters cheer his combative stance with the media

Richelle Kirk of Logan, West Virginia, watched some of Trump’s news conference on Thursday and didn’t see any head-scratching comments from the president.

“I back him 100 percent,” said the 42-year-old stay-at-home mom. “You either love it or get out, is my opinion."

...

Reporters, she said, “need to leave him alone. He’s just doing what he said he’s going to do.”

____

Kevin Felty of Norfolk, Virginia, said it was the “most impressive presidential press conference” of his life.

“Largely because it was so unorthodox,” said Felty, 48, who works as a surgical assistant and sells life insurance. “It was hyper adversarial between the president and the press. And yet he was able to control the questioning and the tone and the mood in the room.”

Felty said the media needs to move on regarding Russia and former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

“There was nothing illegal that General Flynn had done at that time,” Felty said. “What he did do is make a mistake in not being accurate with the vice president.”

He also said he believes Trump is trustworthy as president.

“He doesn’t need the media to chide him to make the right decisions,” Felty said. “It’s something he’s been doing well for decades.”

____

Regina Lenoir of Picayune, Mississippi, enjoyed watching Trump’s news conference and said the president “looked more relaxed.”

“We don’t know the conversation that happened between him and (Vice President Mike) Pence. Only they know. But the news media gets out there (and) says such and such with no corroboration,” she said. “I’m sick of them making up stories. You know, we’re intelligent people. We can make up our own mind on whether they’re telling the truth.”

____

Scott Hiltgen, a 66-year-old office furniture sales broker from River Falls, Wisconsin, said he was glad to see the president push back against the media. He said reporters have no proof Trump or anyone around him did anything wrong.

“They’re trying to make up a story that Trump worked with the Russians to rig the election,” he said. “Now they’re trying to make a big deal out of (former national security adviser) Mike Flynn. He was doing what he was supposed to do. He was talking to his counterparts. He was talking to the Russians. He got fired because he lied to (Vice President Mike) Pence. There’s no story there. The left media is so excited. They think they took this guy down. No, he made a mistake. He just lied.”

Hiltgen said he remains squarely behind the billionaire president because he has done what he said he would do on the campaign trail.

“He’s accomplished more in, whatever, three weeks, regarding the stuff he talked about,” Hiltgen said. “That’s what people voted for. I can’t believe there’s actually a politician doing what he says he would do. That never happens.”

Just goes to show that there's no reaching these people. They're too far gone. It's not even low education or low intellect. These people are just willfully ignorant. People who are actually dim have more self awareness than these cultists.

edited 17th Feb '17 10:54:45 AM by NoName999

sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#174779: Feb 17th 2017 at 10:52:19 AM

[up] Or a Queen, in any sense of the term

Draghinazzo (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: I get a feeling so complicated...
#174780: Feb 17th 2017 at 10:55:46 AM

Of course they do. As I said, they'd rather reduce america to ashes than see it be anything different from their specific vision.

edited 17th Feb '17 10:56:37 AM by Draghinazzo

Proglottid Since: Mar, 2010
#174781: Feb 17th 2017 at 10:57:51 AM

At the end of the day Republicans don't mind living in a burning wasteland and being force-fed steaming excrement by a tyrant as long as said excrement steams a LITTLE less than the one force-fed to libs and pocs and LGBT and women

DingoWalley1 Asgore Adopts Noelle Since: Feb, 2014 Relationship Status: Can't buy me love
Asgore Adopts Noelle
#174782: Feb 17th 2017 at 11:07:00 AM

Rex Tillerson fires multiple senior staffers at the State Department. The Trump Administration just wants to be the emptiest, doesn't it?

Luigisan98 A wandering user from Venezuelan Muscat Since: Oct, 2013 Relationship Status: I <3 love!
A wandering user
#174783: Feb 17th 2017 at 11:07:02 AM

[up][up][up][up] So it's like if Huey from Metal Gear was multiplied by a thousand then...quite horrifying.

edited 17th Feb '17 11:07:16 AM by Luigisan98

The only good fanboy, is a redeemed fanboy.
ViperMagnum357 Since: Mar, 2012
#174784: Feb 17th 2017 at 11:12:27 AM

@No Name 999: "Love it or Get out" (Of my white, christian totalitarian regime)

Here, I FTFY, miss half-a-brain Trump Supporter. SMDH.

edited 17th Feb '17 11:13:18 AM by ViperMagnum357

DeMarquis (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#174785: Feb 17th 2017 at 11:15:20 AM

Sixty million + people voted for Trump. They aren't all uneducated brainwashed degenerate fanatics. Mostly they are people who thought they were voting for their interests. We just need a few red states to flip blue and we got this guy. Sounds to me, based on those very same articles, that he's already lost Michigan.

It just so happens I'm from Michigan, and you would be shocked, yes shocked, at how many people now claim never to have voted for him. Power is fleeting, esp for demagogues.

I'm done trying to sound smart. "Clear" is the new smart.
CenturyEye Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign? from I don't know where the Yith sent me this time... Since: Jan, 2017 Relationship Status: Having tea with Cthulhu
Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign?
#174786: Feb 17th 2017 at 11:27:54 AM

Tillerson's cleaning house? The State Department's already out of the decision loop, all but decapitated, and running on inertia.
I mean...why???

Look with century eyes... With our backs to the arch And the wreck of our kind We will stare straight ahead For the rest of our lives
kkhohoho (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
CrimsonZephyr Would that it were so simple. from Massachusetts Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
Would that it were so simple.
#174788: Feb 17th 2017 at 11:44:15 AM

This administration is burning so beautifully.

"For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die."
MadSkillz Destroyer of Worlds Since: Mar, 2013 Relationship Status: I only want you gone
SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#174790: Feb 17th 2017 at 12:03:25 PM

Not a good idea unless they can exclude people from other states from it. Otherwise all the poor folks from elsewhere will try to join and the thing will run out of money.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#174791: Feb 17th 2017 at 12:04:57 PM

Which would also not be an inherent problem except that California, unlike the United States itself, is balance sheet constrained. It cannot create new dollars and must rely on increasing revenue or borrowing against its credit to satisfy any deficits.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
DingoWalley1 Asgore Adopts Noelle Since: Feb, 2014 Relationship Status: Can't buy me love
Asgore Adopts Noelle
#174792: Feb 17th 2017 at 12:06:28 PM

[up][up] I think you're ignoring the fact that California would not be against raising taxes to pay for it. The only problem would be how long until the Californians pay too much and start leaving in mass.

edited 17th Feb '17 12:06:40 PM by DingoWalley1

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#174793: Feb 17th 2017 at 12:09:16 PM

The poor people flocking to the state would increase its revenue base if handled properly. But if a large number of them are coming because they are too sick to work, you end up with an adverse selection death spiral.

edited 17th Feb '17 12:09:34 PM by Fighteer

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
CenturyEye Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign? from I don't know where the Yith sent me this time... Since: Jan, 2017 Relationship Status: Having tea with Cthulhu
Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign?
#174794: Feb 17th 2017 at 12:11:10 PM

It's entirely possible to restrict the thing to residents—provided Cali has a great team of lawyers writing and defending the statute, and SCOTUS doesn't suddenly reverse its Dormant Commerce Clause cases.
[up]Don't think there are any defenses to that though...

edited 17th Feb '17 12:12:12 PM by CenturyEye

Look with century eyes... With our backs to the arch And the wreck of our kind We will stare straight ahead For the rest of our lives
SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#174795: Feb 17th 2017 at 12:11:11 PM

Nope. If memory serves, New York tried to do something similar a while ago (but as a social service) and had to back out due to it being overrun with poor people from other states. These things are inherently unsuitable for state level action.

Fixing transportation and housing issues is a much more worthwhile task to invest money in. As much as they are non-trivial issues to fix.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
CenturyEye Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign? from I don't know where the Yith sent me this time... Since: Jan, 2017 Relationship Status: Having tea with Cthulhu
Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign?
#174796: Feb 17th 2017 at 12:14:32 PM

Yes, but like maintenance, housing is politically invisible except when disaster strikes. Transit (at last in GA) is as likely to rally NIMBYs as supporters.

edited 17th Feb '17 12:15:56 PM by CenturyEye

Look with century eyes... With our backs to the arch And the wreck of our kind We will stare straight ahead For the rest of our lives
speedyboris Since: Feb, 2010
#174797: Feb 17th 2017 at 12:44:35 PM

"Trump supporters cheer his combative stance with the media"

Small world moment: One of my work friends actually knew one of the people quoted in this article from a previous job. He did not have kinds words about said person.

edited 17th Feb '17 12:53:28 PM by speedyboris

DingoWalley1 Asgore Adopts Noelle Since: Feb, 2014 Relationship Status: Can't buy me love
CrimsonZephyr Would that it were so simple. from Massachusetts Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
Would that it were so simple.
#174799: Feb 17th 2017 at 1:08:12 PM

I just find it hilarious that William Henry Harrison did nothing except die of pneumonia and still was rated better than five other presidents.

Edit: Man, the Presidents of Antebellum America in general are rated pure dogshit.

edited 17th Feb '17 1:09:27 PM by CrimsonZephyr

"For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die."
KarkatTheDalek Not as angry as the name would suggest. from Somwhere in Time/Space Since: Mar, 2012 Relationship Status: You're a beautiful woman, probably
Not as angry as the name would suggest.
#174800: Feb 17th 2017 at 1:15:34 PM

Well, we did have a Civil War right after that period, so I suppose it's no wonder that people think that.

Oh God! Natural light!

Total posts: 417,856
Top