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

Friendperson Since: May, 2018
#259451: Oct 30th 2018 at 1:44:56 PM

6% of Americans is not a majority. Far right Americans are actually a minority.

LeGarcon Blowout soon fellow Stalker from Skadovsk Since: Aug, 2013 Relationship Status: Gay for Big Boss
Blowout soon fellow Stalker
#259452: Oct 30th 2018 at 1:47:38 PM

That's still 1 in 20 people that are blackshirts.

Oh really when?
Larkmarn Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Hello, I love you
#259453: Oct 30th 2018 at 1:51:48 PM

[up][up] What's that in response to, anyway?

Found a Youtube Channel with political stances you want to share? Hop on over to this page and add them.
wisewillow She/her Since: May, 2011
She/her
#259454: Oct 30th 2018 at 1:52:18 PM

And 6%... that’s... over 20 million people.

Fourthspartan56 from Georgia, US Since: Oct, 2016 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
#259455: Oct 30th 2018 at 1:53:52 PM

That's still 1 in 20 people that are blackshirts.

I think we should examine the far-right population in other developed countries before we declare it good or bad.

Because 6% is not a large number of people and in a nation of 325 million there are going to be quite a few bad apples.

The people who worry me far more are the 40% of the population who approve of Donald Trump, they are not a small minority and thus represent a far more serious problem.

Edited by Fourthspartan56 on Oct 30th 2018 at 4:55:09 AM

"Einstein would turn over in his grave. Not only does God play dice, the dice are loaded." -Chairman Sheng-Ji Yang
MarqFJA The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer from Deserts of the Middle East (Before Recorded History) Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer
#259456: Oct 30th 2018 at 1:54:15 PM

[up][up] In a population of 300+ million. Mind you, 20 million is nothing to sneeze it in absolute terms, but relatively speaking it's good that they only comprise that small a fraction of the whole.

Edited by MarqFJA on Oct 30th 2018 at 11:54:55 AM

Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.
Silasw A procrastination in of itself from A handcart to hell (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#259457: Oct 30th 2018 at 1:58:29 PM

With Texas I think the “good but not unrealistic” outcome for Democrats is that Beto makes things very close in Texas but looses, he then gets tapped for VP in 2020 and again Texas is very close before 2024 when following the passage of a new Voting Rights Act, and with the incumbency advantage Democrats are able to flip Texas on the third try.

Edited by Silasw on Oct 30th 2018 at 8:59:03 AM

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
Draghinazzo (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: I get a feeling so complicated...
#259458: Oct 30th 2018 at 2:13:32 PM

Yeah, I've seen some sobering polls where Cruz is almost 9 points ahead. I kind of expect Beto to lose but have a close race.

danime91 Since: Jan, 2012 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
#259459: Oct 30th 2018 at 2:26:06 PM

Some polls I've seen Cruz 9 points ahead, some other polls show the lead shrinking to 5 points. Either way, it's way closer than we'd have any right to expect from Texas, and it means we have a real shot at winning the seat.

singularityshot Since: Dec, 2012
#259460: Oct 30th 2018 at 2:47:14 PM

The thing that is worrying me is that this is Trump's behaviour when he is under pressure. The midterms are putting him under pressure.

But let's dream that the Blue Wave hits and that the Democrats take the House. Suddenly they get subpoena power. If Trump is feeling the pressure now, just imagine the pressure he will be under when faced with a House of Representatives **that is actually doing it's job.**

And then imagine how much further off the deep end he will go.

I do not want to imagine what a Trump pseudo-campaign rally will look like in six months time. But let's just say that I don't think that this weekend is the low point in this presidency. I hope I am wrong. But I doubt it.

megaeliz Since: Mar, 2017
#259461: Oct 30th 2018 at 3:03:10 PM

I thought there would be protests:

PITTSBURGH — President Trump arrived in Pittsburgh on Tuesday as the city began to bury the victims of Saturday’s synagogue attack and as many officials and residents made clear his visit was not welcome.

As Mr. Trump arrived with the first lady, Melania Trump, as well as his daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, about 1,000 protesters gathered on a leafy street near the synagogue in opposition to his visit.

Their signs read “Words matter” and “President Hate is not welcome in our state.” Though some people in Pittsburgh have pushed back on the idea that Mr. Trump has fomented an atmosphere of social division, many protesters had no doubt of what one called “the dotted line” between presidential rhetoric and violence.

Mr. Trump’s first stop was at the Tree of Life Synagogue, where he was greeted by Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, the spiritual leader of the congregation. Mr. Trump and the members of his family who accompanied him entered a vestibule to light candles for each of the 11 shooting victims. Outside the synagogue, Mr. Trump placed stones from the White House and white roses at a makeshift memorial comprised of white Stars of David bearing the victims’ names.

As Mr. Trump and Mrs. Trump lingered outside, a crowd could be heard in the distance chanting “No more hate!”

The mayor of Pittsburgh, Bill Peduto, had said on Monday that Mr. Trump should not come to the city while the community was just beginning to hold funerals for the fallen. The top four Republican and Democratic congressional leaders who were invited to join the president all declined.

sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#259462: Oct 30th 2018 at 3:51:06 PM

https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2018/10/30/day-649/

Day 649: Blatantly unconstitutional.

1/ Trump traveled to Pittsburgh to offer condolences to the families of the 11 victims of the mass shooting at Tree of Life synagogue hours after the first funerals were held. Pittsburgh mayor Bill Peduto explicitly asked Trump not to visit and did not appear with Trump. Mitch Mc Connell, Paul Ryan, Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi, and Pat Toomey also all declined to appear with Trump. More than 1,000 people declared Trump "unwelcome in our city and in our country." Earlier, Trump said: "I really look forward to going. I would have done it even sooner, but I didn't want to disrupt any more than they already had disruption." (CNN / NPR / Washington Post)

https://www.npr.org/2018/10/30/662017268/trump-to-visit-pittsburgh-but-not-everyone-will-welcome-him

Robert Bowers complained about immigrant "invaders" six days before the shooting. There is no invasion, but right-wing media has been heavily using the word "invasion" in relation to the Central American migrant caravan this month. (CNN)

https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/29/media/pittsburgh-suspect-invasion/index.html

Shep Smith breaks with Fox News on the migrant caravan: "There is no invasion. No one is coming to get you. There is nothing at all to worry about." The migrants are "more than two months away — if any of them actually come here," Smith added.(Huff Post)

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/shepard-smith-caravan-invasion-election-fearmongering_us_5bd77fc5e4b017e5bfd4de14

The Kansas man convicted of a 2016 plot to massacre Somali Muslim refugees asked for a more lenient sentence, arguing that Trump's rhetoric should be taken into account as the "backdrop" for the case. (Washington Post)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2018/10/30/pointing-trumps-rhetoric-attorneys-kansas-militiaman-convicted-mosque-bomb-plot-ask-more-lenient-sentence/

Pence hosted an election event with a so-called "Christian rabbi." Instead of opening up with prayers for the 11 Jews shot dead, Loren Jacobs praised Jesus Christ and then offered prayers for four Republican candidates. (Yahoo News)

https://www.yahoo.com/news/pence-stuns-jews-prayers-christian-rabbi-temple-massacre-151030236.html

2/ In an attempt to energize his base before the midterm elections, Trump claimed he can defy the constitution and end birthright citizenship via executive order. Trump said he discussed the idea with the White House counsel and that "it's in the process, it will happen, with an executive order." (Axios / Politico)

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/10/30/trump-end-birthright-citizenship-947962

3/ The consensus among legal scholars is that Trump cannot end birthright citizenship by executive order. To end the constitutional right to citizenship for babies born in the U.S. to non-citizen, Trump would have to find a way around the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, which states: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside." Amendments to the Constitution cannot be overridden by presidential action. (New York Times / Associated Press / Washington Post)

https://apnews.com/7bc17837af16492b81e1f3fff913e3e5

Paul Ryan: "Obviously" Trump cannot end birthright citizenship by executive order. It would involve a "very, very lengthy" constitutional process to change the 14th Amendment, which was adopted in 1868 to protect citizenship rights for freed slaves. (CNN)

https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/30/politics/donald-trump-ending-birthright-citizenship/index.html

The American Civil Liberties Union called Trump's plan "blatantly unconstitutional." (Twitter)

https://twitter.com/ACLU/status/1057260967015432192

Lindsey Graham said he will introduce legislation to support Trump's plan to limit birthright citizenship. (Reuters)

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-immigration-citizenship-graham/u-s-senator-says-will-offer-bill-to-back-trump-birthright-citizenship-plan-idUSKCN1N426C

4/ Trump falsely claimed that America is the "only country in the world with birthright." At least 30 countries worldwide offer it, including Canada and Mexico. (Daily Beast / Axios)

https://www.axios.com/trump-says-us-will-build-tent-cities-to-host-asylum-seekers-1540867956-93aba61f-0b29-4d6a-b947-94d8356cbeaa.html

poll/ 40% of voters under 30 said they will definitely vote this year. In 2014, 26% said they would definitely vote. Trump holds a 26% approval rating among those age 18 to 29. (Washington Post)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/young-americans-are-more-likely-to-vote-this-year-than-past-two-midterms-new-poll-finds/2018/10/28/7af04fde-dabf-11e8-b3f0-62607289efee_story.html

Voting machines in five Texas counties have been changing ballots. The state blamed voters for the error, saying they were using the selection wheel before the screen finished rendering. (Washington Post)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/10/29/texans-say-glitchy-voting-machines-are-changing-their-ballots-state-blames-user-error/

Notables.

Robert Mueller asked the FBI to investigate a claim by a woman who was offered money to make up sexual harassment claims against him. The scheme was brought to the special counsel's attention by journalists who were told about it by a woman alleging that she had been offered roughly $20,000 by a GOP activist named Jack Burkman "to make accusations of sexual misconduct and workplace harassment against Robert Mueller." (The Atlantic)

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/10/special-counsel-refers-scheme-targeting-mueller-to-fbi/574411/

The Interior Department's Inspector General referred Ryan Zinke to the Justice Department for further investigation. Justice Department prosecutors will now explore whether a criminal investigation is warranted. An agency's inspector general only refers cases to the Justice Department when it has determined that there could be potential criminal violations. (Washington Post)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/energy-environment/2018/10/30/zinkes-own-agency-watchdog-just-referred-him-justice-department/

Trump wants Stormy Daniels to pay $342,000 for his attorney fees after defeating her defamation lawsuit. U.S. District Judge S. James Otero threw out the lawsuit earlier this month over a tweet by Trump in which he accused Clifford of "a total con job." The judge awarded Trump "reasonable" attorneys’ fees. (Bloomberg)

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-10-29/trump-seeks-342-000-in-attorneys-fees-from-stormy-daniels

The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to delay a trial over adding a citizenship question to the 2020 Census. (Washington Post)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-administration-asks-supreme-court-to-delay-census-trial/2018/10/30/85e1a292-dc06-11e8-b732-3c72cbf131f2_story.html

Fewer than 1,000 U.S. defense jobs would be created as a result of Trump's $110 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia, despite Trump's claims that the deal would create "500,000 jobs." One forecast shows the potential for up to 10,000 new jobs in Saudi Arabia. (Reuters)

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-arms-jobs-exclusive/exclusive-defense-firms-see-only-hundreds-of-new-u-s-jobs-from-saudi-mega-deal-idUSKCN1N40DM

Trump called Florida's Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum a "thief" who runs a corrupt city. Trump provided no evidence to support that claim, or his claim that Gillum was under investigation by the FBI. The Tallahassee city government, where Gillum is mayor, is currently being investigated, but there is no evidence that Gillum is personally under scrutiny, nor has he been charged with any wrongdoing. (NBC News)

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/trump-calls-gillum-thief-without-evidence-what-s-federal-investigation-n925961

The U.S. is preparing additional tariffs on all remaining Chinese imports if Trump and Xi Jinping fail to "make great deal with China" and reconcile the ongoing trade dispute. Trump added that "it has to be great because they've drained our country." (Bloomberg / CNBC) / Reuters)

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-china-trump/trump-says-he-expects-great-deal-with-china-but-more-tariffs-if-not-idUSKCN1N40LN

Trump: "If you want your stocks to go down, I strongly suggest voting Democrat." (CNBC)

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/30/trump-if-you-want-your-stocks-to-go-down-i-strongly-suggest-voting-democrat.html

Lightysnake Since: May, 2010
#259463: Oct 30th 2018 at 4:03:12 PM

Oh good god...some right wing idiots started a fake intel company to accuse Robert Mueller of a fake sexual assault allegation and bungled every step of this....

danime91 Since: Jan, 2012 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
#259464: Oct 30th 2018 at 4:04:38 PM

Well, it seems like the fake intel company has been around before this, possibly to be used in other such schemes. Still, the whole thing is quickly descending into ridiculous Hollywood levels of conspiracy.

Swanpride Since: Jun, 2013
#259465: Oct 30th 2018 at 4:08:28 PM

It's not new that they do something like this. Part of the reasons why their "everyone can just accuse anyone" scaremongering is so idiotic is because they already tried that. Remember, during the whole Roy Moore affair, there was also a woman who came to the newspaper with accusations against him - in this case the point was to discredit the newspaper once they run the story. But since reputable newspapers do their research, they figured out pretty much immediately that it was just a ruse.

(Btw, I did the math and realized that a man is more likely to get sexually assaulted himself than getting falsely accused of sexual assault).

BearyScary Since: Sep, 2010 Relationship Status: You spin me right round, baby
#259466: Oct 30th 2018 at 4:11:10 PM

Lindsey Graham is up for reelection in 2020. If he wants to continue having power, I hope he doesn't get it.

Do not obey in advance.
Lightysnake Since: May, 2010
#259467: Oct 30th 2018 at 4:16:25 PM

It's South Carolina, sadly. It's a long shot.

C Olorado is the obvious Dem pickup then. Iowa is almost certainly doable. Maybe even Kentucky.

Draghinazzo (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: I get a feeling so complicated...
#259468: Oct 30th 2018 at 4:19:42 PM

Kentucky will be a tough race; apparently Mc Connell, despite being the most unpopular senator in the country, is a notoriously ruthless campaigner who not long ago won a very well-funded, respectable primary challenger. He's already started preparing for his 2020 bid.

Lightysnake Since: May, 2010
#259469: Oct 30th 2018 at 4:20:25 PM

This is very true. But hey, nothing venturied, nothing gained. He's tough to beat, not invincible.

megaeliz Since: Mar, 2017
#259470: Oct 30th 2018 at 4:22:05 PM

So it appears the false Mieller accusations were a full blown (if rather half baked) conspiracy.

At the center of the scheme is publicity-hungry Republican lobbyist Jack Burkman, who has repeatedly dabbled in internet conspiracy theories in the past, including promoting the idea that murdered Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich was killed by deep-state government operatives.

Burkman denied involvement in any attempt to pay people to frame or accuse Mueller. But he also claims that he has witnesses who will expose the Special Counsel as a sexual harasser and has scheduled a Thursday press conference in Northern Virginia to introduce his first accuser.

“We’re going to prove that he is a drunk and a sexual abuser,” Burkman told The Daily Beast.

Burkman has not any offered any evidence at all of his accusations and his previous “bombshell” press conferences on other stories have become notorious flops in Washington media circles. In July, he promised that he had a whistleblower who would prove the government killed Rich. But Burkman’s witness never showed in person, instead calling in anonymously via speakerphone—a stunt that enraged Burkman’s fellow conspiracy theorists.

Burkman’s latest gambit has far higher stakes than his previous ones; but it too seems similarly bound for self-destruction. Allegations that he was offering to pay women to accuse Mueller come from an uncorroborated email sent to a number of media outlets, including The Daily Beast, by a person who identified herself as a Florida resident, Lorraine Parsons.

In her emails, Parsons claimed that Burkman and his associates were pressuring her to make accusations of sexual misconduct and workplace harassment against Robert Mueller and to sign a sworn affidavit to that effect. In exchange, she said, they were offering tens of thousands of dollars. Parsons repeatedly declined to talk to The Daily Beast on the phone, and internet searches have failed to provide any background on her. Parsons didn’t respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.

Asked last week if he was paying women to accuse Mueller, Burkman said he couldn’t comment. But on Tuesday, Burkman insisted that he had not offered remuneration.

“Be careful with the internet,” Burkman told The Daily Beast. “It’s a mirage, it’s just a wasteland of crazy stuff.”

In his efforts to dig up dirt on Mueller, Burkman appears to have enlisted outside help. Jacob Wohl, a right wing Twitter personality and a self-described friend of Burkman, said Burkman had told him he had hired Matthew Cohen, who claims to be a managing partner at the private investigations company Surefire Intelligence, to assist with the investigation. In fact, it appears that Cohen is Wohl.

Surefire is a bit of a mystery. Since-deleted Craigslist advertisements for the company said it “was founded by two members of Israel's elite intelligence community.” The ads billed services including “counter intelligence,” “private spies,” and “ethical hackers.”

At least seven supposed employees of the company use fake headshots on their Linked In profiles. Talia Yaniv, whose page lists her as Surefire’s “Tel Aviv station chief,” uses a photo of Israeli supermodel Bar Refaeli. The photo of Surefire’s “financial investigator” is actually actor Christoph Waltz. The company’s “station chief” in DC uses a photo of Sigourney Weaver’s husband. And its deputy director of operations ripped off a headshot from a Michigan pastor.

Among the little public information available on the company is a pair of suspiciously vague posts on the publishing platform Medium. Both posts were written to appear as journalistic exposes of the company but neither does much beyond extolling its supposed expertise and impressive client list—without naming any of the clients. Both the posts were written by self-described journalists whose Twitter accounts were created in the last three months, and neither has done much beyond promote their Medium posts on Surefire.

The website lists offices in Los Angeles and nearby Irvine, CA, Washington D.C., New York, Tel Aviv, London, and Zurich. All of the U.S. phone numbers are Google Voice contacts that redirect callers to a single phone number with an area code corresponding to Orange County, CA, from which Wohl’s family also hails.

After about a dozen attempted calls to that number, someone finally picked up. The man, who refused to identify himself, would not discuss Surefire. “I don’t know, man, I can’t help you with that,” he said. Asked again who was speaking, the man hung up.

Surefire’s website domain data lists an email address bearing Wohl’s name and that of a legally suspect financial firm he led, Ne X Management. Surefire’s website also contains images uploaded to the same Google cloud account as images uploaded to the now-defunct websites of Ne X Management and two other asset management firms that Wohl ran, Montgomery Assets and Beverly Hills Management.

Edited by megaeliz on Oct 30th 2018 at 7:22:40 AM

Draghinazzo (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: I get a feeling so complicated...
#259471: Oct 30th 2018 at 4:22:51 PM

Oh, by all means; I think the democrats should be getting ready to beat him *now* as well, a fact which the Kentucky democrats are very keenly aware of fortunately.

Fourthspartan56 from Georgia, US Since: Oct, 2016 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
#259472: Oct 30th 2018 at 4:23:21 PM

Oh good god...some right wing idiots started a fake intel company to accuse Robert Mueller of a fake sexual assault allegation and bungled every step of this....

Yeah, it's a hilarious example of how literally everything they complain about is nothing more than projection.

At this point, I'm just waiting for it to turn out that prominent members of the alt-right have stashed child sex-slaves under a pizzeria.

"Einstein would turn over in his grave. Not only does God play dice, the dice are loaded." -Chairman Sheng-Ji Yang
Silasw A procrastination in of itself from A handcart to hell (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#259473: Oct 30th 2018 at 4:26:28 PM

The thing that is worrying me is that this is Trump's behaviour when he is under pressure. The midterms are putting him under pressure.

I’m less worried about him and more worried about his supporters, remember that the new Congress doesn’t sit strait away, if Trump starts questioning the valadility of the election results his followers may lash out with violence as a response.

We just had a bunch of failed assassination aimed at democrats, I’m worried that we are going to see an even greater increase in violence once the midterm results roll in.

Edited by Silasw on Oct 30th 2018 at 11:27:28 AM

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
DrunkenNordmann from Exile Since: May, 2015
#259474: Oct 30th 2018 at 4:27:04 PM

[up][up] I really hope this one doesn't turn out to be another example of projection.

Edited by DrunkenNordmann on Oct 30th 2018 at 12:27:13 PM

We learn from history that we do not learn from history
sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#259475: Oct 30th 2018 at 4:27:05 PM

[up][up][up] The Purple Guy is a Republican?

Edited by sgamer82 on Oct 30th 2018 at 5:27:15 AM


Total posts: 417,856
Top