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

NativeJovian Jupiterian Local from Orlando, FL Since: Mar, 2014 Relationship Status: Maxing my social links
Jupiterian Local
#174851: Feb 17th 2017 at 3:53:35 PM

Can we still not use the word that's meant to represent someone deciding to go out and straight up murder everyone of a specific population group?
For the record, the definition of genocide is broader than that. It's an attempt to destroy a targeted group. While simply murdering all members of the group is the most intuitive way to do that, it also includes things like forced religious conversion (there won't be any [insert religious minority here] left if all of them are forced to become [insert religious majority here] instead), campaigns of systematic rape (there won't be any [insert ethnic minority here] if all their women have [insert ethnic majority here] children), etc.

Under that definition, it's not unreasonable to consider it genocide when someone refuses to do anything about a deadly disease outbreak because it appeared to only affect a particular group (ie, the AIDS epidemic seemed to be limited to gay men). The main question there is whether refusing to do something can be seen as a genocidal act.

Really from Jupiter, but not an alien.
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?
#174852: Feb 17th 2017 at 3:54:20 PM

[up][up]I'd say he didn't win his bet so much as stepped on the other guy after he spontaneously passed out at the table.
[up]And it can under international law, just one'll have a hard time proving intent or dragging an American president before the ICC in the first place.

Top Georgia Democrats choose a side in race for DNC chair

The Democratic Party of Georgia’s two top officials endorsed former U.S. Labor Secretary Thomas Perez’s bid to lead the Democratic National Committee, saying Friday he’s the best candidate to bring the newly-energized party’s fight “straight to Donald Trump’s doorstep.”

“Secretary Perez has made a commitment to the return of the 50-state strategy strengthening the Democratic Party from the ground up by strengthening state parties, recently using Georgia’s victories in Cobb and Gwinnett as examples,” read their statement.
“Secretary Perez has never shied away from a fight, and we need that fight brought straight to Donald Trump’s doorstep,” it added. “He has the vision, he has the record, and he has our support to lead the DNC.”

The fight over DNC chair has all the makings of a repeat of the bruising Democratic primary... \\ Sanders and other progressive powerbrokers are backing Rep. Keith Ellison’s bid for DNC chair, as are party heavyweights like Sens. Chuck Schumer and Elizabeth Warren. Perez has support from allies of Clinton and former President Barack Obama.
Other leading contenders in the race include Jamie Harrison, the head of the South Carolina Democratic Party, Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of the Indiana city of South Bend, and Sally Boynton Brown of the Idaho Democratic Party.
This is not settled yet, and duumvirate's starting to look real good. Though that fifty state strategy sounds reasonable enough.

edited 17th Feb '17 3:56:13 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
#174853: Feb 17th 2017 at 3:59:06 PM

Wonder if someone has a breakdown of all the pros and cons of Perez vs. Ellison. The only thing I know is that the latter is a Muslim African-American congressman - one of the first muslims in Congress in fact (complete with a bogus controversy over using the Quran during the oath of office instead of the Bible)

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#174854: Feb 17th 2017 at 4:03:12 PM

I never understood why people got pissed off over a non-Christian refusing to swear an oath over a book that means nothing to them. If swearing over scripture is supposed to bind your soul to the oath, should it be a Scripture you believe in?

See, this is why my agnostic ass is grateful that I can forgo oaths and just take a solemn affirmation instead.

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
Wildcard Since: Jun, 2012
#174855: Feb 17th 2017 at 4:04:27 PM

I wonder how the republicans of tomorrow will see Trump in 30 years? I'm betting he will be worshiped and might as well be their messiah just like Raygun is today.

SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#174856: Feb 17th 2017 at 4:06:56 PM

Depends on how his presidency shakes out. You'll notice that Dubya is not fondly remembered.

(In the setting I've constructed, he's seen as a fool who caused a medical catastrophe that has reduced the States to a fourth rate superpower. And who consistently mishandled every disaster and tragedy)

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
Eschaton Since: Jul, 2010
#174857: Feb 17th 2017 at 4:13:51 PM

Wonder if someone has a breakdown of all the pros and cons of Perez vs. Ellison. The only thing I know is that the latter is a Muslim African-American congressman - one of the first Muslims in Congress in fact (complete with a bogus controversy over using the Quran during the oath of office instead of the Bible).

They're pretty similar in most respects. But I believe Ellison is very strong on messaging, which is what the Democrats need. Here's Trevor Noah's extended interview with Ellison.

edited 17th Feb '17 4:14:30 PM by Eschaton

Falrinn Since: Dec, 2014
#174858: Feb 17th 2017 at 4:16:17 PM

[up][up][up] It's hard to say because we are at such a volatile stage. If Trump actually gets impeached in his first year (which I'd caution against expecting, but it is a scenario that can't be ruled out), then pretty much everyone will remember the Trump presidency as that weird thing that happened in between Obama and Pence's presidencies.

But I think we need to keep in mind that Reagan had a lot of charisma (so does Trump in a sense, but it's an extremely unstatesmanlike form of charisma) and was president during the breakup of the Soviet Union and was much more popular during his tenure. The really bad stuff only comes up if you make it a point to dig below the surface.

DingoWalley1 Asgore Adopts Noelle Since: Feb, 2014 Relationship Status: Can't buy me love
Asgore Adopts Noelle
#174859: Feb 17th 2017 at 4:17:28 PM

[up][up][up][up] I have a sneaking suspicion that, by 30 years time, there won't be a Republican Party to have members in.

edited 17th Feb '17 4:17:55 PM by DingoWalley1

TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#174860: Feb 17th 2017 at 4:20:44 PM

If only.

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
theLibrarian Since: Jul, 2009
#174861: Feb 17th 2017 at 4:22:01 PM

I saw the word "Eisenhower" somewhere and my mind went to that. Wilson was an awful president though. Well-intentioned in forming the League of Nations but he caused a lot of bad stuff decades after his presidency.

And yeah, it's time for the Republicans to go the way of the Federalists. The last few presidencies have shown that their ideas are unpopular at the best of times, and in the rare moments these days where they can get a president elected the president ends up being terrible.

edited 17th Feb '17 4:24:06 PM by theLibrarian

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?
#174862: Feb 17th 2017 at 4:29:37 PM

Well, the Republicans were going the way of the Dodo before Gingrich and his "Contract with America."

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
Elle Since: Jan, 2001
#174863: Feb 17th 2017 at 4:31:00 PM

You were saying about "paid protestors"?

(It's a pic of a craigslist ad apparently trying to recruit people for Drumpf's FL rally this weekend)

Eschaton Since: Jul, 2010
#174864: Feb 17th 2017 at 4:32:07 PM

[up][up]And openly embracing white "populism" and nationalism and has given them yet another shot in the arm, and it will take their xenophobia and racism, Christian supremacy, and predatory capitalism to new heights. They're not going anywhere.

edited 17th Feb '17 4:32:46 PM by Eschaton

theLibrarian Since: Jul, 2009
#174865: Feb 17th 2017 at 4:36:28 PM

So it's gone from the "not racist party" to "the elitist party" now "the racist elite party".

After Trump I think it's going to be decades before any Republican gets elected again.

math792d Since: Jun, 2011 Relationship Status: Drift compatible
#174866: Feb 17th 2017 at 4:48:30 PM

I mean, Eisenhower only signed up with the Republicans because there hadn't been a Republican in office since the first FDR administration in 1932. On the whole he was a very bipartisan President.

Which seems to fit Ike's MO. Also his warnings about a military industrial concept and the consequences of defense spending are prophetic, almost.

Still not embarrassing enough to stan billionaires or tech companies.
fruitpork Since: Oct, 2010
#174867: Feb 17th 2017 at 4:48:44 PM

[up][up]Don't be so confident-Republicans have gerrymandered the shit out of state legislatures already.

edited 17th Feb '17 4:49:02 PM by fruitpork

theLibrarian Since: Jul, 2009
#174868: Feb 17th 2017 at 4:54:06 PM

Yes, but Republicans in other states are also working to be awful, such as North Carolina, where they attempted to strip the governor of some of his power because he was a Democrat.

sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#174869: Feb 17th 2017 at 4:59:29 PM

The last few presidencies have shown that their ideas are unpopular at the best of times, and in the rare moments these days where they can get a president elected the president ends up being terrible.
To go along with this, the two most recent incidents of a President winning the Electoral College and losing the popular vote were both Republicans.

That reminds me. I saw a Fox News article today that actually acknowledged Clinton's 3 million popular vote win

math792d Since: Jun, 2011 Relationship Status: Drift compatible
#174870: Feb 17th 2017 at 5:02:02 PM

Never let yourself be persuaded that any one Great Man, any one leader, is necessary to the salvation of America. When America consists of one leader and 158 million followers, it will no longer be America.

Speaking of Ike and prophecy.

Still not embarrassing enough to stan billionaires or tech companies.
IFwanderer use political terms to describe, not insult from Earth Since: Aug, 2013 Relationship Status: Wishfully thinking
use political terms to describe, not insult
#174871: Feb 17th 2017 at 6:30:02 PM

[Washington Monthly]: How the Opposition Can Wound Trump basically: Trump's supporters support him because he looks strong: install the idea that he's weak and his support will evaporate.

1 2 We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be. -KV
theLibrarian Since: Jul, 2009
#174872: Feb 17th 2017 at 6:31:00 PM

He's been doing that himself for the past month.

IFwanderer use political terms to describe, not insult from Earth Since: Aug, 2013 Relationship Status: Wishfully thinking
use political terms to describe, not insult
#174873: Feb 17th 2017 at 6:32:11 PM

That's true, but the point is that you have to keep up the pressure.

1 2 We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be. -KV
DeMarquis (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#174874: Feb 17th 2017 at 6:35:21 PM

The Republican party itself will have to realign in order to survive at some point in the future. The demographics are against it. One reason why white working class males are so inclined toward extremist politics is because they can feel their majority-status privileges slipping away. That's not a trend any President or Congress can reverse.

I'm done trying to sound smart. "Clear" is the new smart.
DingoWalley1 Asgore Adopts Noelle Since: Feb, 2014 Relationship Status: Can't buy me love
Asgore Adopts Noelle
#174875: Feb 17th 2017 at 6:45:18 PM

[up] The Problem with the Modern Republican Party is that they are beholden to the Baby Boomers that vote for them: They could've reformed in 2012, and maybe not get elected until 2020, but they would at least become palatable. Instead, they doubled down on their path, and are now full of Alt-Righters, Conspiracy Nuts and Openly Racist White Supremacists. The Republican Party is now complete poison to (almost) everyone younger then 40, and is only on good terms with Baby Boomers who support these things for a variety of reasons.

If by 2020, the Republicans have lost most of their power (and I'm expecting they will), they will be a dying party. Hell, they'll be a dying party by the 2030's when most Baby Boomers are gone.


Total posts: 417,856
Top