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

sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#259526: Oct 31st 2018 at 8:10:40 AM

So when he says he wants to end birthright citizenship in certain cases, those certain cases are pretty much only for brown people, right?
It's a safe bet

From the in-Progress What the Fuck Just Happened Today feed:

Roughly a third of millennials say they will definitely vote in the midterms. Thirty-one percent of millennials ages 18 to 34 say they will definitely vote this month. Another 26 percent say they'll probably vote, while 19 percent say they will probably or definitely not vote this year. (NBC Gen Forward)

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/record-turnout-not-millennials-just-third-say-they-ll-vote-n926231

Edited by sgamer82 on Oct 31st 2018 at 9:11:20 AM

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#259527: Oct 31st 2018 at 8:10:47 AM

[up][up] Obviously. Maybe Jewish folks as well depending on which block of crazies he wants to dog whistle at.

Edited by Fighteer on Oct 31st 2018 at 11:10:58 AM

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
wisewillow She/her Since: May, 2011
She/her
#259528: Oct 31st 2018 at 8:17:28 AM

Could we say bigots, not crazies? Plenty of mentally ill people don’t support this bullshit.

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.
#259529: Oct 31st 2018 at 8:22:15 AM

Rest assured, plenty of nice, soft-spoken people see nothing wrong with this sort of blatant bigotry.

Oh God! Natural light!
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
wisewillow She/her Since: May, 2011
She/her
#259531: Oct 31st 2018 at 8:38:18 AM

Thanks :) noticing and avoiding ableist language is tricky; appreciate you being polite about it.

Lightysnake Since: May, 2010
#259532: Oct 31st 2018 at 8:39:13 AM

Yeah. Racism is a time honored American tradition, baked into the grand pie as soon as the country was formed, and well before.

People know you shouldn't be racist, but a lot of people have a hard time determining what racism is, all while we have pundits repackaging white nationalism for scared white people. All the framing of the 'migrant caravan' as an 'invasion' to the point people are frightened they'll return to their vacation homes in fucking Michiganto find them overrun? Yeah.

BlueNinja0 The Mod with the Migraine from Taking a left at Albuquerque Since: Dec, 2010 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
The Mod with the Migraine
#259533: Oct 31st 2018 at 8:40:09 AM

while 19 percent say they will probably or definitely not vote this year.
... the FUCK is WRONG with you kids.

That’s the epitome of privilege right there, not considering armed nazis a threat to your life. - Silasw
SteamKnight Since: Jun, 2018
#259534: Oct 31st 2018 at 8:43:17 AM

[up] Probably a bunch of both-siding "too cool to vote" crowd. They will still whine about everything that go wrong after the election whoever get elected in the end despite not voting, though. If only they can divert some of that energy from whining to voting...

I'm not as witty as I think I am. It's a scientifically-proven fact.
megaeliz Since: Mar, 2017
#259535: Oct 31st 2018 at 8:43:37 AM

[up][up][up] American as apple pie you say?

Edited by megaeliz on Oct 31st 2018 at 11:49:59 AM

wisewillow She/her Since: May, 2011
She/her
#259536: Oct 31st 2018 at 8:44:37 AM

[up][up] Lets also keep in mind voter suppression and apathy. Some people are too ground down and exhausted to follow the news.

ironballs16 Since: Jul, 2009 Relationship Status: Owner of a lonely heart
#259537: Oct 31st 2018 at 9:06:56 AM

Jim Jefferies had a really good segment about the rhetoric of the GOP and, more specifically, Fox News feeding into conspiracy theories.

"Trump and the Republicans like to brush off shootings and terrorist attacks by saying we have a problem with mental illness in this country, which is true. But you know what doesn't help when you're mentally ill? Being constantly told: 'You're being lied to, you're being lied to. Don't trust the news, it's fake news. You're the only one who can make things great again.'"

Also, fuck Kellyanne Conway for blaming the shooting on "anti-religiosity".

"Why would I inflict myself on somebody else?"
BlueNinja0 The Mod with the Migraine from Taking a left at Albuquerque Since: Dec, 2010 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
The Mod with the Migraine
#259538: Oct 31st 2018 at 9:23:22 AM

Speaking of those darn millennials not voting, there's been some interviews into just why those cynical kids aren't casting a ballot. Some of the points make good sense, some of them don't.

    Full article text 
Emphasis mine. Also pothole.
On Tuesday, New York Magazine released a series of interviews with twelve young adults between the ages of 18 and 29 who say they probably aren’t voting in the upcoming midterm elections. The series perfectly (one might even say cynically) combined two of the Politically Online’s favorite foils: maddening non-voters and the apathy of The Youth toward treasured institutions. It’s not entirely surprising, then, that the piece immediately went hate-viral and set alight media Slack channels across the country.

There are, to be sure, some truly asinine rationales undergirding some of these non-voters’ decision-making processes. One former socialist mentions both Machiavelli and Cicero as key figures that provided so much nuance upon reading them that he no longer feels like he can make an informed decision. Another says mailing things makes him anxious. But despite the fact that some part of each of these nonvoters’ vignettes read like parodies of identity-obsessed millennials—surely not the result of selective editing—the immediate and visceral rage that is now being directed at them is misplaced. It fundamentally ignores the very real, to them at least, justifications for not voting that these millennial/gen-z cusps articulate—justifications that won’t be swayed by yelling at them online.

Let’s start with the one that’s probably the easiest to understand for those of you are probably hate-clicking on this right now: The plain simple fact that, for a lot of people, voting isn’t easy. “It was easier to get my medical-marijuana card—not a right, or even federally legal—than it was to register to vote,” said one respondent. “Massachusetts had online registration but only if you have a DMV-issued ID. I don’t drive, so I was like, okay, I can register in person, but I’m also dealing with a chronic illness.” The intentionally opaque process of getting adequate voter ID is compounded by a uniquely millennial problem: Never having a permanent address because you’re bouncing from rented apartment to rented apartment. If you choose to vote where your parents live—the most stable option unless, of course, your parents move—then welcome to the headache of absentee voting. “It’s such a tedious process to even get registered in Texas, let alone vote as an absentee,” said a 21-year-old in Austin.

Now, I’m sure most of you are rolling your eyes right now, saying Rachelle, being an adult is about doing the difficult but necessary things in life. And it’s true that no one is running to a gynecology appointment or gleefully looking forward to filing their income taxes. It’s also true that as a black woman, few people understand more than I do how hard-won the right to vote is or how important it is to push past the minutia to exercise that right. But maybe, just maybe, these interviews shouldn’t just act as an indictment of youthful laziness. They should hammer home that one of our primary political objectives needs to be making voting less difficult. Whether it’s something as mundane as untethering the absentee ballot process from the postage system (which apparently causes this age subset an undue amount of stamp-related stress), or striking down demonstrably racist voter ID policies or automatically registering everyone at the age of 18, it’s clear at this point that voter apathy on some level is fueled by the bureaucratic morass of the process.

When wading through that morass feels futile, or you don’t feel informed or excited about a candidate (as so many of these young adults noted), the choice to not vote doesn’t read as insanely as the naysayers’ preachy outrage suggests. It’s easy to forget that most of the people in this interview would only really remember three presidents, two of whom lost the popular vote by huge margins. They only know a stagnant, divided Democratic Party and a violently racist Republican one. They are, with a few notable exceptions, only familiar with the lesser of two evils. They have little tangible proof that the process works and are surrounded by constant news of how that process is being undermined by Russia and gerrymandering and voter fraud commissions. I know, I know, a plurality of people overcome all of that and still vote. But as one respondent notes, “I think you’ve got to have something besides just strategic voting, or people resigning themselves to a candidate they don’t love but who is at least a Democrat.” When voting is framed as moral imperative, which it often is, it’s not ludicrous to think that one might skip out on the hassle if no candidate in your district lines up with your own stated values.

Of course, the prospect of living in an ethno-state run by rich white men who separate children from their parents and refuse to condemn Nazis should be alarming enough to get most people out to vote. But as much as we all wish it was, it’s clear at this point that it’s not. It was clear in 2016, its clear now, and it will be painfully clear in 2020 if all we plan to do to convince non-voters is spew patriotic platitudes and righteous anger across Twitter. For anyone who has watched with horror the path this country has gone down over past two, four, twelve, hundred years, that’s a hard pill to swallow. But if you truly care about getting people like those represented in that series of interviews to vote, swallow it you must.

These interviews illuminate our dire need for a paradigm shift around the institution of voting, both in terms of the way we talk about it and the way we do it. Rather than sitting in an immediate outrage that reeks of self-righteousness and isn’t likely to sway anyone, we need to answer the questions these interviews raise. What have we done to frame politics in such a way that so many of these young adults are stricken with the fear that they’re not informed enough to make a choice? Where are they being socialized into the idea that voting is “an individual act with these moral consequences” or the “climax of democracy” rather than one part of a collective action? Why can’t we, in the year 2018, just vote on a secure government website that lets us post a sticker to Insta afterward?

These questions are not an excuse for nonvoters, nor a defense. But they are asking us to look at low voter enthusiasm and turnout with the same pragmatism that scoldy journalists and other upstanding citizens are telling these young adults to practice. The system is broken, and sneering at young people who are, in the final analysis, just pointing that out won’t fix it.

Now admittedly, being in the military means knowing a lot of 18-25 year old adults. Most of them don't vote. Most of them don't vote because they've bought into the bullshit both-sides crap. Some of them don't want the hassle of having to constantly reregister to vote in their home state of record (looking at you, NV), or worry about changing their voting to their duty station. Some of them claim to hate following politics, despite vomiting forth Fox News talking points.

For my part, when I talk to them about voting, I make clear that if they want anything to change in this country or in their hometown, the only way to do so is to vote. I even have explained how I go through the ballot, when I haven't lived in my voting place for two decades and don't know anyone running or much about the ballot initiatives. I don't know how many of them have turned around and voted from listening to me, but I'm hoping it's been at least a few.

That’s the epitome of privilege right there, not considering armed nazis a threat to your life. - Silasw
Ultimatum Disasturbator from the Amiga Forest (Old as dirt) Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
Disasturbator
#259539: Oct 31st 2018 at 9:28:00 AM

a Very helpful break down of the 14th amendment and Trump if anyone is interested

So it's not a link discus,the gist of it is that someone (most likely Stephen Miller according to the poster since a lot of more outrageous policies have come from his department) told Trump he could use an executive order instead of having to go through congress,which isn't true because congress is a check and balance against his Presidential authority

and with the mid term elections coming up Trump needs to fire up his supporters,and something as mad as bypassing congress and removing a constitutional amendment is a sure way of doing that,along with scaring them with the caravan that's going to be crossing their boarder,oh and throw in blaming the democrats by saying they want open boarders,that's another way he'll fire his fanatical cult

Edited by Ultimatum on Oct 31st 2018 at 9:28:32 AM

have a listen and have a link to my discord server
megaeliz Since: Mar, 2017
#259540: Oct 31st 2018 at 9:55:29 AM

this article on Democratic Dark Money groups from the NYT actually brings up a few really interesting points.

A structure unknown even to some of those involved, Floridians for a Fair Shake and 13 other groups around the country are funded and coordinated out of a single office in Washington, with the goal of battering Republicans for their health care and economic policies during the midterm elections.

At the center of the effort is an opaquely named Democratic organization, the Hub Project, which is on track to spend nearly $30 million since 2017 pressuring members of Congress in their districts. The great bulk of its funding has come from so-called dark money — funds from donors who are not legally required to reveal their names.

With that money, the Hub Project — run by a former Obama administration official and public relations specialist, Leslie Dach, and Arkadi Gerney, a former political strategist for the liberal Center for American Progress — set up an array of affiliate groups around the country, many with vaguely sympathetic names like Keep Iowa Healthy, New Jersey for a Better Future and North Carolinians for a Fair Economy. The Hub Project then used them to mobilize volunteers and run advertising on policy issues against Republican members of Congress many months before the election.

More than a dozen of the targeted lawmakers remain among the most endangered incumbents this year, including Representatives Rod Blum of Iowa, Bruce Poliquin of Maine, Steve Knight of California and George Holding of North Carolina.

The quiet onslaught embodied two of the most important strategic choices by Democrats in the 2018 elections — putting health care and taxes at the core of their message, and using invigorated fund-raising on the left to challenge Republicans even in conservative-leaning areas. Several Democratic operatives involved in the group likened its role to that of Americans for Prosperity, the conservative advocacy network funded by the billionaire Koch brothers, during the Obama administration, albeit on a significantly smaller scale.

While some of its visible activities during the midterms have been previously reported, the Hub Project has never before disclosed the scale of its efforts or discussed them extensively on the record.

Mr. Gerney, the group’s executive director, said in an interview that the initiative targeting several dozen congressional districts had been designed to keep the focus on the Republicans’ legislative agenda in an election heavily dominated by President Trump’s personality. He described it as a test case for a larger theory of Democratic politics, defined by continuous attacks on Republican policies rather than on Mr. Trump.

“It’s a very chaotic media environment and, understandably, lots of people are chasing Trump’s Twitter feed,” Mr. Gerney said. “But for most people, their health care, their family finances, their economic future — these things really matter.”

Mr. Gerney displayed no ambivalence about using undisclosed contributions — traditionally a source of dismay for Democrats — to punish Republicans for last year’s $1.5 trillion tax law and their attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

“We don’t believe in unilateral disarmament,” Mr. Gerney said.

Mr. Gerney and others involved in the effort described it unfolding in stages, first targeting five congressional districts in the summer of 2017, then expanding to a map of 19 seats over the next 11 months. In some districts, the Hub Project’s state affiliates were running paid advertising months before other outside groups got involved — and before members of Congress mobilized to defend themselves.

A former senior official with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Jessica Floyd, has overseen the advertising

Mr. Dach said that the network of state groups had bolstered the Hub Project’s credibility with voters, connecting it with local activists who in some cases ended up starring in ads. Mr. Dach, a former Obama administration health care official, said the 14-month advocacy campaign had helped keep policy at the forefront of the midterm election.

Mr. Dach and Mr. Gerney both said they decided to go on the record with the details of the campaign because they hoped Democrats would adopt it for future election cycles. In the past, Mr. Dach said, Democrats had lacked the funds and focus to sustain an argument on core issues like health care.

“These issues are clear, they’re understandable to people, but I think we neglected and we were financially unable to sustain this kind of work before,” Mr. Dach said. “We have been on the same message — pre-existing conditions, age tax, health care costs, sabotage — from day one.”

TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#259541: Oct 31st 2018 at 12:17:03 PM

... the FUCK is WRONG with you kids.

I'm actually pleasantly surprised that it's only 19%. What's wrong with you kids is that kids don't vote. They just like to sit around and whine about how both sides are awful and there's no point in voting because every election is just between a giant douche and a turd sandwich anyways.

This is because the bulk of their cultural awareness is typically gleaned from TV shows, where they consume a steady diet of "All politicians for all parties are the same flavor of asshole." In the course of their five minutes of Googling, they can't find a politician that perfectly reflects 100% of their beliefs and values, so they give up and resign themselves to whining on 4chan and declare not voting to be a protest against a nebulous The Man and his corrupt regime.

As the old adage goes, young people are mad as hell and express that anger by not voting. Old people are mad as hell and express that anger by voting.

So it's actually impressive that the millennial polling is as positive towards voting as it is. I guess the Trump Administration might actually be terrible enough to break through the barrier of "BOTH SIDES BOTH SIDES". Here's hoping at least half of these kids actually put their ballots where their mouths are in November.

Edited by TobiasDrake on Oct 31st 2018 at 1:18:09 PM

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
TroperOnAStickV2 Call me Stick from Redneck country Since: Dec, 2009 Relationship Status: is commanded to— WANK!
Call me Stick
#259542: Oct 31st 2018 at 12:27:40 PM

Well I finally got a chance to vote, thank Arceus I could stand in a library where it's actually comfortable. The crowd seemed to be mixed in terms of age, sex, and ethnicity, so I can't read much from that. I'm comfortable enough with the local candidates at this point to have voted straight Democrat.

... except I think I forgot to return the little card thing you get to the people running things and just left it in the machine. Hopefully that's okay. At least I didn't take it home

Edited by TroperOnAStickV2 on Oct 31st 2018 at 3:39:03 PM

Hopefully I'll feel confident to change my avatar off this scumbag soon. Apologies to any scumbags I insulted.
Fourthspartan56 from Georgia, US Since: Oct, 2016 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
#259543: Oct 31st 2018 at 12:29:52 PM

Well I finally got a chance to vote, thank Arceus I could stand in a library where it's actually comfortable. The crowd seemed to be mixed in terms of age, sex, and ethnicity, so I can't read much from that. I'm comfortable enough with the local candidates at this point to have voted straight Democrat.

Good to hear grin

I'm planning to vote on election day and I've checked my transportation and registration status to make sure, I simply cannot wait for the midterms.

"Einstein would turn over in his grave. Not only does God play dice, the dice are loaded." -Chairman Sheng-Ji Yang
Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#259544: Oct 31st 2018 at 12:30:13 PM

Good article on CNN that demonstrates the statistical and historical advantages the Democrats have going into the House races. TLDR; assuming that the polls are at all accurate, every sign points to the Democrats comfortably taking the House.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/31/politics/nancy-pelosi-house-democrats-midterms-voting/index.html?utm_content=2018-10-31T18%3A35%3A18&utm_medium=social&utm_term=link&utm_source=fbCNN

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
TheWanderer Student of Story from Somewhere in New England (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: Wishfully thinking
Student of Story
#259545: Oct 31st 2018 at 12:44:45 PM

This is more adding onto youth voting, (haven’t read the CNN article yet, so I don’t know if this is mentioned) but some states are seeing the youth vote, at least in early voting, go up by 300% or more from the usual midterm rates.

If true, I will owe a very sincere apology to the under 30 crowd. I wish we could have avoided this mess in 2016, but I’m grateful to see a change now.

Edited by TheWanderer on Oct 31st 2018 at 3:45:19 PM

| Wandering, but not lost. | If people bring so much courage to this world...◊ |
Ludlow Since: Apr, 2013
#259546: Oct 31st 2018 at 12:58:39 PM

So, did none of you read Blue Ninja 0's post about that article that went into why exactly youth turnout might be so low? Or are you going to complain more about Millenial stupidity and laziness like a bunch of old teachers?

[down] Its just a little further up on this page.

Edited by Ludlow on Oct 31st 2018 at 1:13:21 AM

Ultimatum Disasturbator from the Amiga Forest (Old as dirt) Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
Disasturbator
#259547: Oct 31st 2018 at 1:12:05 PM

Could you quote the important parts>I'll admit I missed his link

have a listen and have a link to my discord server
danime91 Since: Jan, 2012 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
#259548: Oct 31st 2018 at 1:14:04 PM

[up][up]Isn't that blatantly contradictory to the report that the youth vote is up by incredible numbers?

CookingCat Since: Jul, 2018
#259549: Oct 31st 2018 at 1:25:43 PM
Thumped: Wow. That was rude. Too many of this kind of thump will bring a suspension. Please keep it civil.
Eschaton Since: Jul, 2010
#259550: Oct 31st 2018 at 1:26:13 PM

The youth vote could be a up by a considerable percentage, and still have low numbers due to the low baseline. But any increase matters, of course.

Edited by Eschaton on Oct 31st 2018 at 1:26:38 AM


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