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

CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#257201: Oct 8th 2018 at 10:36:56 PM

Putin has killed or attempted to kill multiple reporters.

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#257202: Oct 8th 2018 at 11:23:09 PM

Is there any chance that this is actually a murder disguised as a suicide? Because I wouldn't put it past Putin to have ordered a hit on that guy for being some sort of liability, especially given this later bit of news from the same feed...

Well, he left a suicide note that read "NO FOUL PLAY WHATSOEVER - ALL SELF INFLICTED".

So. Y'know. That is pretty conclusive evidence one might reasonably see at a suicide, which eliminates any reason for suspicion entirely.

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
Shaoken (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Dating Catwoman
#257203: Oct 8th 2018 at 11:37:15 PM

[up]Are you engaging in hyperbole or did his suicide note actually say that?

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#257204: Oct 8th 2018 at 11:44:39 PM

Yes, one of the suicide notes he left behind actually said that.

Disgusted, but not surprised
CookingCat Since: Jul, 2018
#257205: Oct 8th 2018 at 11:56:25 PM

[up] Not to mention the note is written in all caps. I wonder who tweets a lot in all caps...

LeGarcon Blowout soon fellow Stalker from Skadovsk Since: Aug, 2013 Relationship Status: Gay for Big Boss
Blowout soon fellow Stalker
#257206: Oct 8th 2018 at 11:59:35 PM

With Putin's assassination of journalists though you have to remember that a lot of them aren't ordered by Putin, they're usually done by some lesser crony or local politician who wants to try and get on Putin's good side.

Putin is fairly hands off from most domestic going ons in Russia and spends most of his time micromanaging foreign affairs and military matters.

Oh really when?
Shaoken (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Dating Catwoman
#257207: Oct 9th 2018 at 12:01:42 AM

Makes sense, easier to maintain plausible deniability if you don't get involved and just let people do your hits for you of their own initiative.

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#257208: Oct 9th 2018 at 12:01:52 AM

He's still culpable since he does jack shit to discourage this. And he probably does order a few of them directly.

Disgusted, but not surprised
FluffyMcChicken My Hair Provides Affordable Healthcare from where the floating lights gleam Since: Jun, 2014 Relationship Status: In another castle
My Hair Provides Affordable Healthcare
#257209: Oct 9th 2018 at 12:22:02 AM

Yeah a control freak like Vlad isn't going to want hitmen smacking people will nilly on his turf, lest one of his underlings get too cocky and order a hit on someone who was probably left better off in the long run.

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#257210: Oct 9th 2018 at 12:24:37 AM

Rather than a kill-list, he probably has a Don't Kill-list.

It's probably less than a page long.

Edited by M84 on Oct 10th 2018 at 3:27:04 AM

Disgusted, but not surprised
FluffyMcChicken My Hair Provides Affordable Healthcare from where the floating lights gleam Since: Jun, 2014 Relationship Status: In another castle
My Hair Provides Affordable Healthcare
#257211: Oct 9th 2018 at 12:28:51 AM

Navalny's probably at the top. Given how long he's lasted without being poisoned through radioactive tea thus far. tongue

LeGarcon Blowout soon fellow Stalker from Skadovsk Since: Aug, 2013 Relationship Status: Gay for Big Boss
Blowout soon fellow Stalker
#257212: Oct 9th 2018 at 12:41:11 AM

Vlad isn't really a control freak though.

He's remarkable uninvolved in most of the awful shit that happens instead preferring to live out his Cold War fantasies.

Not that this excuses him any when it's very much in his power to stop it but it's important to actually get things correct when we're dealing with someone who's got that kind of power.

Oh really when?
Ramidel Since: Jan, 2001
#257213: Oct 9th 2018 at 2:40:36 AM

Suffice to say, a meme of Pepe the Frog openly weeping with a gun to his head appeared in one of the most popular threads, more or less summing up the mood.

Since it's about an internet meme rather than a person: LOL.

Swanpride Since: Jun, 2013
#257214: Oct 9th 2018 at 2:50:20 AM

I don't really buy the idea that people kill other people to "please" Putin without clearing with him first if he would actually be pleased about it.

Ramidel Since: Jan, 2001
#257215: Oct 9th 2018 at 3:12:17 AM

Plausible Deniability.

If Putin weren't pleased by such events, he'd have the responsible parties' heads on pikes. By not being directly involved, he gets that much more shielding from direct responsibility, particularly because Europe doesn't want to risk meeting Putin in kind (such as by inviting Ukraine into NATO and sending troops to clear the "volunteers" from the Donbass, and maybe taking back Crimea as well).

Edited by Ramidel on Oct 9th 2018 at 2:11:42 AM

Swanpride Since: Jun, 2013
#257216: Oct 9th 2018 at 3:40:07 AM

I don't think that Putin need plausible deniability. He is lying through is teeth about, well, everything anyway. And everyone knows it.

LeGarcon Blowout soon fellow Stalker from Skadovsk Since: Aug, 2013 Relationship Status: Gay for Big Boss
Blowout soon fellow Stalker
#257217: Oct 9th 2018 at 3:40:51 AM

Domestic Russian politics is also a bunch of oligarchs and wannabe political and military figures squabbling with each other.

Putin is at the top but he doesn't micromanage most internal matters. He seems to consider them to be unimportant.

Oh really when?
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#257218: Oct 9th 2018 at 3:43:33 AM

A lot of Russians still approve of Putin in large part because he put a leash of sorts on the oligarchs.

Disgusted, but not surprised
Swanpride Since: Jun, 2013
#257219: Oct 9th 2018 at 4:06:25 AM

He doesn't, he just helps them to hide their crimes better.

LeGarcon Blowout soon fellow Stalker from Skadovsk Since: Aug, 2013 Relationship Status: Gay for Big Boss
Blowout soon fellow Stalker
#257220: Oct 9th 2018 at 4:11:48 AM

No, he has. The 90s were far far worse than anything you see in Russia today.

He's brought them under his heel for the most part and directed most of their crimes to benefit the Russian state. Most of them, not all of them.

Don't go mistaking Putin for the run of the mill tin pot dictator or for some over inflated crime boss.

He's a hell of a lot more dangerous than that and not just because he's got the keys to Russia's nuclear arsenal.

Oh really when?
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#257221: Oct 9th 2018 at 4:16:39 AM

I remember the 90's. It was indeed a very bad time for Russia.

Disgusted, but not surprised
Swanpride Since: Jun, 2013
#257222: Oct 9th 2018 at 4:27:21 AM

It's still a bad time. A lot of what allowed Russia to seemingly improve is way more related to energy prices than anything else.

Anyway, this is the US politics threat. Looks like the Republicans plan on running adds pointing to their heroic fight to install Kavanaugh for the upcoming elections. Oh boy, that strategy will soooo backfire, because it will not just pump up Republican voters, it will also enrage Democrats and swing voters (and might put off even more Republicans of their own party).

archonspeaks Since: Jun, 2013
#257223: Oct 9th 2018 at 5:15:50 AM

Putin might not be personally ordering every hit, but the difference is close enough to be academic. He has pretty absolute power in the Russian government, the left hand right hand stuff is more common in the military, which doesn’t always get along with political organizations, and in local politics, which are hilariously corrupt.

It seems likely Putin is at a minimum aware these hits are going on, or worse.

They should have sent a poet.
TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#257224: Oct 9th 2018 at 5:42:49 AM

It actually is a fairly important distinction because if people are ordering those hits to please Putin, that means that the culture of murder extends beyond him. Which in turn means that "Wait for Putin to die" is not a viable option for dealing with Russia; his M.O. will outlive him.

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
MarqFJA The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer from Deserts of the Middle East (Before Recorded History) Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer
#257225: Oct 9th 2018 at 6:05:11 AM

I've seeing claims that Christine Ford has "dropped" her case against Kavanaugh following him being voted into the SC and that she does not want him impeached if the Democrats do retake Congress. Can someone please confirm this?

On a related note, it appears Avenatti's involvement in the Kavanaugh debacle, however well-intentioned, was ultimately counterproductive by shifting the narrative away from Ford.

Edited by MarqFJA on Oct 9th 2018 at 4:06:21 PM

Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.

Total posts: 417,856
Top