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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM

Larkmarn Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Hello, I love you
#177851: Mar 13th 2017 at 7:52:55 AM

And if that does manage to pass, there's no way it won't hurt the GOP electorally. People refused to vote Clinton because they associated her indirectly with lost jobs. If the Republicans blatantly and directly take away their healthcare, they can kiss the Rust Belt, the suburbs and a lot of swing states goodbye. Even their gerrymandered maps might not be enough.

That's overly optimistic, in my opinion. Keep in mind that with the Republicans' strongest base, the expectation for the ACA replacement is ridiculously low. They're not going to be swayed, and the GOP will basically go "well gee, we tried but Obama ruined everything and we just couldn't fix his mess."

[up] I mean, antagonizing the opponent's voter base worked well this election.

I'm still genuinely shocked that there have been a bunch of articles coming out recently complaining about Hilary's ads didn't spend enough time talking about the issues. That boggles my mind compared to the opposition's ads that were... yeah.

edited 13th Mar '17 7:56:14 AM by Larkmarn

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Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#177852: Mar 13th 2017 at 7:57:44 AM

It's important to note that the current, most likely scenario for AHCA is that it simply will not pass, due to resistance from the Tea Party movement in the House. If that happens, PPACA will continue on its merry way and Trump will get in trouble with his base for failing his promise to repeal and replace it. So, he's got a lovely case of "screwed either way". Which I think Obamacare covers.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#177853: Mar 13th 2017 at 8:01:42 AM

[up][up]The GOP base is a write off. The voters who stayed home, or the Obama voters who went for Trump, are a different story.

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
Zendervai Since: Oct, 2009
#177854: Mar 13th 2017 at 8:18:36 AM

One of the big complaints about the ACA is the rising insurance costs. The AHCA, on the other hand does absolutely nothing to help that and will most likely increase the costs more.

carbon-mantis Collector Of Fine Oddities from Trumpland Since: Mar, 2010 Relationship Status: Married to my murderer
Collector Of Fine Oddities
#177855: Mar 13th 2017 at 8:24:49 AM

Just to use NC as an example there, ACA caused (or so said the company) rates to rise by around 45% for everyone enrolled in the lower tiers. Idle chatter with an agent I know said he'd expect another rise well of 50% at the bare minimum if trumpcare passed. Rates for the plan I'm in would be damn near $1,000 per month

Proglottid Since: Mar, 2010
#177856: Mar 13th 2017 at 8:26:00 AM

We all know a whole damn lot of their followers will be okay with being fucked over relentlessly because hey, at least the travel ban's more or less in effect, and they're still better off than poc's

Now if the years pass and Hillary continues to be non locked up, now that will rustle their jimmies

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#177857: Mar 13th 2017 at 8:27:57 AM

[up] And Lord help Trump if he tweets "Happy Hannukah" again.

Disgusted, but not surprised
carbon-mantis Collector Of Fine Oddities from Trumpland Since: Mar, 2010 Relationship Status: Married to my murderer
Collector Of Fine Oddities
#177858: Mar 13th 2017 at 8:28:47 AM

Oh lawdy, just imagine of he did Kwanzaa or something. They'd burn down the whitehouse.

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#177859: Mar 13th 2017 at 8:30:18 AM

I'm not sure I'd be comfortable with Trump losing his base because he wasn't ENOUGH of an authoritarian xenophobic bigot.

Disgusted, but not surprised
Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#177860: Mar 13th 2017 at 8:33:05 AM

As long as he loses. It would be the same thing if the "Justice Democrats" ditched the party for not being radical enough, they'd get nothing done other than cripple the party.

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#177861: Mar 13th 2017 at 9:21:34 AM

A rundown of the last day's political news for anyone needing a catch-up:
https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2017/03/13/Day-53/

AmbarSonofDeshar Since: Jan, 2010
#177862: Mar 13th 2017 at 9:53:17 AM

Sanders declares that government funding for Zika virus research will benefit Big Pharma.

I don't normally link Huffington Post, but since they think what he's doing is brilliant, and I think the rest of us can notice at least a few of the issues, I figured it was safe to do so.

danime91 Since: Jan, 2012 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
#177863: Mar 13th 2017 at 9:59:25 AM

Yeah, while one the one hand, jacking up prices for vaccines and potentially life-saving drugs is bad, on the other hand, what if they need that money to have the drug developed in the first place? I'd rather have an expensive cure than no cure at all, and work on getting the cost down after it exists.

SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#177864: Mar 13th 2017 at 10:02:27 AM

Considering medication prices, it's pretty conceiveable that pharmaceutical companies have the money. In fact, it's one of the more common rationales given for not controlling medication prices.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
CrimsonZephyr Would that it were so simple. from Massachusetts Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
Would that it were so simple.
#177865: Mar 13th 2017 at 10:05:07 AM

I tend to be leery about accusations of "muh Big Pharma" because it tends to go hand in hand with "try All-Natural Snake Oil for the real cure!" but Sanders does have a point that taxpayers shouldn't be gouged for a drug they helped develop through their tax funding. Unfortunately, the problem is bigger than this one drug, because research costs and the limited timeframe of the patent means that the company is encouraged to milk every penny out of a new drug as fast as possible.

"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."
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?
#177866: Mar 13th 2017 at 10:11:57 AM

New Ferguson video casting doubt on 'robbery' sparks protests

A newly disclosed surveillance video from the hours before a black man's death in Ferguson at the hands of police has triggered fresh protests.

A filmmaker has released the footage which he says shows Michael Brown did not rob a shop, as police claimed, but instead exchanged marijuana for cigars.

He says it contradicts video released by police showing Brown threatening the shopkeeper as he walks out with cigars.

The 18-year-old was moments later shot dead by a police officer.

However, the convenience store maintains it was a robbery.

The previously unreported footage shows Brown entering the Ferguson Market and Liquor around 01:00 on the day of his death.

He approaches the counter and hands over an item that appears to be a brown bag, and in exchange takes a shopping bag filled with cigars.

After walking towards the door, he then turns around and returns the cigars to the counter before leaving.

Jay Kanzler, a lawyer for the convenience shop, said they would release more footage to prove it was a robbery.

"There was no understanding. No agreement. Those folks didn't sell him cigarillos for pot. The reason he gave it back is he was walking out the door with unpaid merchandise and they wanted it back."

Must admit, my (second) response to this is "uhhhh...." Too many points. This is perfectly in character for the local police (at least as of that report), and of course the store would lie about that. But then, why is this video coming out now, and by itself it warns about edited video evidence.
Just realizing how much 2016 has affected me. I'm not quite willing to believe video at first glance. But then, that lawyer still has to put up...

edited 13th Mar '17 10:13:17 AM 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
TheWanderer Student of Story from Somewhere in New England (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: Wishfully thinking
Student of Story
#177867: Mar 13th 2017 at 10:13:04 AM

The GOP base is a write off. The voters who stayed home, or the Obama voters who went for Trump, are a different story

In addition to this, there should be constant outreach to register new voters, (including those legit voters the GOP is trying to disqualify) and get the ones who've been sitting things out off their asses.

In my mind at least, a bigger problem than malice or apathy is ignorance. A lot of people, particularly, in my experience, among the young, seem to be convinced of a number of myths, including that if an honest person got elected president they could wave a wand and magically fix everything in a day, (I half jokingly, half seriously blame this on people consuming too many Rightful King Returns narratives) and that showing up once in awhile when they're really motivated/during presidential elections is enough, and that politics is some sort of art of self-expression where you should only vote for someone you agree with 100%, among others.

It really has to be hammered home, especially to those who otherwise try to tune out, that changing a country is a marathon effort, you have to keep up years or decades of continual effort and repeatedly pushing the system in the direction you want it to go. You have to keep your legislators on their toes, keep making them go in the direction you want, which includes voting locally, voting in primaries, and voting in off years and mid-terms.

Anything less is the equivalent of competing in a long race by taking a few steps, stopping, then sitting in place until you notice that everyone has gotten way ahead of you, taking a few steps again, and then stopping again. You're not going anywhere, and your competitors are lapping you constantly.

Leftists, especially young leftists, need to get their shit together. Politics is about the practical solutions you want to see people in place to deal with the problems of your country, and those problems don't wait until you feel really inspired or motivated. You want change, you have to do something about it, and you have to be willing to change too.

edited 13th Mar '17 10:14:55 AM by TheWanderer

| Wandering, but not lost. | If people bring so much courage to this world...◊ |
sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#177868: Mar 13th 2017 at 10:15:48 AM

[up][up] Frankly the thing that nabbed my attention was the person bringing forward this until now unseen evidence is a filmmaker.

edited 13th Mar '17 10:27:37 AM by sgamer82

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#177869: Mar 13th 2017 at 10:17:17 AM

[up] Yeah, my first thought was "hmm, it took him this long to edit the thing?"

edited 13th Mar '17 10:17:31 AM by M84

Disgusted, but not surprised
TheWanderer Student of Story from Somewhere in New England (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: Wishfully thinking
Student of Story
#177870: Mar 13th 2017 at 10:20:39 AM

Also, the box of cigarillos Brown is supposedly taking as payment in this new video doesn't look anything like what he had in his hand in the official video.

The whole thing seems dubious at best, which is not to back up the Ferguson PD, everything about their response and their way of operating and interacting with the community is wrong, but I'm already dreading this being revealed as a fake and the right-wing celebration/circle jerk/"See, everything the left says is a lie" response if that does happen.

| Wandering, but not lost. | If people bring so much courage to this world...◊ |
speedyboris Since: Feb, 2010
#177871: Mar 13th 2017 at 10:26:28 AM

Sean Spicer gets criticized in an Apple store. Posting here 'cause Spicer=politics, though it could fit into the Race topic too, since the criticizer is Indian-American and his response could be interpreted as racist.

sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#177872: Mar 13th 2017 at 10:30:29 AM

[up]

[[quoteblock]] Spicer: Such a great country that allows you to be here. [[/quoteblock​]] Could be?

EDIT: Any idea why the quote formatting isn't working?

edited 13th Mar '17 10:35:50 AM by sgamer82

danime91 Since: Jan, 2012 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
#177873: Mar 13th 2017 at 11:00:38 AM

[up][up]The comments in that article would make me lose faith in humanity, but at this point I don't think I have any faith left to lose.

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?
#177874: Mar 13th 2017 at 11:20:31 AM

Well, one of them cited the 'the Daily Mail. Doesn't quite say it all, but it's hopefully enough to filter out as "not a good representation of humanity."
Plus the article itself says something. The USA isn't (yet) being written off by everyone who's not white, rich, and deplorable. note 

And the answer to 90% of the comments was in the article.

I was not polite. But when does being impolite mean that I should be thrown out of the United States of America? The country I was born in, the country I was raised in, the country I love despite its flaws.
Sure Spicer might not like being bothered off the clock, but that was not the proper response of a public servant (in normal times in any case).

edited 13th Mar '17 11:22:54 AM 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
IFwanderer use political terms to describe, not insult from Earth Since: Aug, 2013 Relationship Status: Wishfully thinking
use political terms to describe, not insult
#177875: Mar 13th 2017 at 12:22:24 PM

Crossposted in the French Politics thread (and if there's a homophobia thread, someone should probably post it there): French LGBT activist 'kidnapped and raped by man angry at Donald Trump being mocked'

1 2 We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be. -KV

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