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BearyScary Since: Sep, 2010 Relationship Status: You spin me right round, baby
#265101: Dec 26th 2018 at 9:23:43 PM

@wisewillow: Good point. I didn't know who Barack Obama was before he ran for president.

I feel like the candidates getting the most buzz are the ones with some of the most obvious PR disasters waiting in the wings. You have what Biden said during the Anita Hill hearings, you have Bernie being a racist old fool, you have Booker admitting to groping someone in his past...

While Booker and Biden have moved on from their past misconceptions regarding gender and sexual consent, it would also give a lot of red meat to the right-wing propaganda machine.

Edit: Yaaay, pagetopper.

Edited by BearyScary on Dec 26th 2018 at 8:24:27 AM

Do not obey in advance.
CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#265102: Dec 26th 2018 at 9:30:19 PM

I think the GOP's attacks on Biden wouldn't be about his handling of women but whatever they make up instead.

People assume they need facts for their attack ads.

Instead, they tend to accuse people of being part of a secret pedophile conspiracy.

Edited by CharlesPhipps on Dec 26th 2018 at 9:30:49 AM

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
RedSavant Since: Jan, 2001
#265103: Dec 26th 2018 at 10:25:57 PM

True, but they're not going to avoid the topic, either. They'll be throwing stuff at the wall to see what sticks, and it'll stick a lot better if there's something to build off of already there.

It's been fun.
Hylarn (Don’t ask)
#265104: Dec 27th 2018 at 12:17:54 AM

Biden's sort of prone to buffoonery in general and liable to get his campaign derailed by sticking his foot in his mouth at an inopportune time

SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#265105: Dec 27th 2018 at 1:33:04 AM

I'll admit that I don't think that sexual misconduct will be a big part of the GOP propaganda machine. After Trump, Kavanaugh, Moore et al. I suspect their strategists will worry about their dirty laundry being highlighted.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#265106: Dec 27th 2018 at 5:32:54 AM

Every scandal the Republicans throw at the Democrats tend to be No, You.

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!
(•̀⤙•́)
#265107: Dec 27th 2018 at 7:11:07 AM

Yeah. Republicans are not worried at all about their dirty laundry being highlighted. Bald-faced hypocrisy has always worked out for them before; why rock the boat?

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#265108: Dec 27th 2018 at 7:20:36 AM

One wonders why in the 2016 primaries we didn't see Republicans highlighting the unsoundness of Trump's economic policies, then. Or why in 2018 we didn't see a campaign focused on the budget deficits caused ("caused") by Democrats.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#265109: Dec 27th 2018 at 7:30:09 AM

The 2016 election for Republicans is something that was very interesting to study from a conservative perspective and I've enjoyed reading their write-ups on it, even when they come from professional assholes like Rick Wilson.

But boiled down to it, Trump won because he was the perfect Tea Party candidate writ-large.

The Republicans had been stoking them for years and losing more and more control over their own party to them until Trump put that momentum into place.

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#265110: Dec 27th 2018 at 7:32:50 AM

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/probe-trump-s-charity-could-crash-mack-truck-his-real-n950576

I hate that we live in a world where Trump stealing money from starving orphans is barely a blip on the radar of the investigations being done into him.

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
CrimsonZephyr Would that it were so simple. from Massachusetts Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
Would that it were so simple.
#265111: Dec 27th 2018 at 7:38:45 AM

[up][up][up]Because they first and foremost wanted to win.

They're not going to tear down a candidate that brings people to the polls for them, even if they and their base are degenerate.

Regarding debt specifically: because even a cursorily data-driven reading of the national debt would reveal that GOP government leads to systematic ballooning of the deficit. The old, establishment GOP might decry anything that doesn't fit their worldview as false, but they do have a talent for outright avoiding fights where they would be backed into a corner by sheer reality.

Edited by CrimsonZephyr on Dec 27th 2018 at 10:42:12 AM

"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."
SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#265112: Dec 27th 2018 at 8:05:24 AM

In other news I just found out that the Vermont Legislature is the only one in the US which has had a third party represented for a long time - the Vermont Progressive Party to this day.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
Fourthspartan56 from Georgia, US Since: Oct, 2016 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
#265113: Dec 27th 2018 at 8:23:06 AM

All this tells us is that the most popular candidates at the moment are the most well known ones. Are we really expecting your average Iowan on the street who doesn't follow politics to be familiar with Harris, Booker, or Castro?

This. I don't really see any reason to be excessively concerned if O'Rourke came from nothing and was successful then others can be too. There isn't really any reason to worry just yet.

Edited by Fourthspartan56 on Dec 27th 2018 at 11:23:22 AM

"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
#265114: Dec 27th 2018 at 8:40:22 AM

[up][up] Minnesota has a kinda similar situation, they had a strong Farmer-Labour party for a long time that eventually merged with the state democrat party to become the “Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party”, which is the banner under which all Minnesota democrats run (North Dakota has a similar situation with the “nonpartisan league” party having merged with the democrats).

It’s going to be interesting to see what happens in Maine in 2020-2022, once ranked choice voting is used for local elections we could see a growth in third-party candidates trying for seats and maybe winning.

If the Vermont progressives are smart they should both push for ranked choice in Vermont and look at expanding into Maine and becoming something like the “New England Progressive Party”.

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
3of4 Just a harmless giant from a foreign land. from Five Seconds in the Future. Since: Jan, 2010 Relationship Status: GAR for Archer
Just a harmless giant from a foreign land.
#265115: Dec 27th 2018 at 9:01:22 AM

Trump, ever striving to unite a fractured Nation, has made the 'bold' claim that the majority of furloughed Federal Workers are Democrats

And by 'Bold' I mean a [Citation Needed] so big it develops its own gravity well.

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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
#265116: Dec 27th 2018 at 9:11:17 AM

If he’s not correct about that he may well make himself correct if he keeps talking.

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#265117: Dec 27th 2018 at 10:23:26 AM

To be fair, I am sure that government employees tend to trend towards left wing parties, in part because of the tendency of rightwing governments to mistreat them.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
TheRoguePenguin Since: Jul, 2009
#265118: Dec 27th 2018 at 10:23:33 AM

Trump was criticized for not visiting the troops, but maybe it was a good thing he didn't.

Iraqi lawmakers demand U.S. withdrawal after Trump visit

    Article 
BAGHDAD — Iraqi lawmakers Thursday demanded U.S. forces leave the country in the wake of a surprise visit by President Donald Trump that politicians denounced as arrogant and a violation of Iraqi sovereignty.

Politicians from both blocs of Iraq’s divided Parliament called for a vote to expel U.S. troops and promised to schedule an extraordinary session to debate the matter.

“Parliament must clearly and urgently express its view about the ongoing American violations of Iraqi sovereignty,” said Salam al-Shimiri, a lawmaker loyal to the populist cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.

Trump, making his first presidential visit to troops in a troubled region Wednesday, said he has no plans to withdraw the 5,200 U.S. forces in the country.

Containing foreign influence has become a hot-button issue in a year that saw al-Sadr supporters win the largest share of votes in May elections. Al-Sadr has called for curbing U.S. and Iranian involvement in Iraqi affairs.

U.S. troops are stationed in Iraq as part of the coalition against the Islamic State group. American forces withdrew in 2011 after invading in 2003 but returned in 2014 at the invitation of the Iraqi government to help fight the jihadist group.

But after defeating IS militants in their last urban bastions last year, Iraqi politicians and militia leaders are speaking out against the continued presence of U.S. forces in Iraqi soil.

Qais Khazali, the head of the Iran-backed Asaib Ahl al-Haq militia that fought key battles against IS in north Iraq, promised on Twitter that Parliament would vote to expel U.S. forces from Iraq, or the militia and others would force them out by “other means.”

Khazali was jailed by British and U.S. forces from 2007 to 2010 for managing sections of the Shia insurgency against the occupation during those years.

His militia is represented in Parliament by the Binaa bloc, a rival coalition to al-Sadr’s Islah. Binaa favors close ties with Iran and is aligned with Tehran on regional political issues.

Trump spent three hours at a U.S. air base meeting with American troops during his visit. The president defended his decision to withdraw 2,000 U.S. forces from neighboring Syria, saying the U.S. military had all but eliminated IS-controlled territory there.

He left without meeting any Iraqi officials, though he spoke to Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi by phone.

The prime minister’s office said in a statement after Trump’s visit that “differences in points of view” over arrangements led to a face-to-face meeting between the two leaders to be scrapped.

Al-Shimiri said Trump’s visit “violated several diplomatic norms.”

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
#265119: Dec 27th 2018 at 10:29:33 AM

Not that Trump didn’t cock up making his visit (he also handed out MAGA hats and leaked the location and identities of special forces) but dear god can the Iraqi government get bent.

This is why you don’t throw unrestricted democracy at a country with no democratic norms, because you end up with idiots like this in power.

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
3of4 Just a harmless giant from a foreign land. from Five Seconds in the Future. Since: Jan, 2010 Relationship Status: GAR for Archer
Just a harmless giant from a foreign land.
#265120: Dec 27th 2018 at 11:11:08 AM

I mean, surprise Visits on Foreign Soil (even if its your Base) without giving the country some forewarning is quite rude. Normally its expected that a Foreign Head of State gets at least pro forma permission.

I kinda doubt the German Foreign Ministry is happy either about his visit to Ramstein.

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TechPriest90 Servant of the Omnissiah from Collegia Titanica, Mars, Sol System Since: Sep, 2015 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
Servant of the Omnissiah
#265121: Dec 27th 2018 at 11:25:17 AM

[up] I wasn't aware that he'd visited AFB Ramstein. When was this?

I hold the secrets of the machine.
Deadbeatloser22 from Disappeared by Space Magic (Great Old One) Relationship Status: Tsundere'ing
#265122: Dec 27th 2018 at 11:25:42 AM

[up][up][up]Can I get a link to somewhere reporting on Trump's OPSEC / PERSEC fuckup? Need it for elsewhere.

Edited by Deadbeatloser22 on Dec 27th 2018 at 7:25:55 PM

"Yup. That tasted purple."
3of4 Just a harmless giant from a foreign land. from Five Seconds in the Future. Since: Jan, 2010 Relationship Status: GAR for Archer
Just a harmless giant from a foreign land.
#265123: Dec 27th 2018 at 11:27:58 AM

[up][up]Way back from Iraq. Made a waystop in Ramstein and did the same dog and pony show there.

"You can reply to this Message!"
speedyboris Since: Feb, 2010
#265124: Dec 27th 2018 at 12:18:12 PM

If you take the story at face value, it seems just so golly great: "Oh, he visited the troops on Christmas! And a surprise visit, no less! He really cares!"

...Then you look at the story more and find all sorts of problems: Using the visit as another excuse to have a rally (i.e. bashing his opponents, which raises all sorts of ethical concerns regarding politicizing the military), doing things that would normally be a violation of the Hatch Act for anyone else, not telling the foreign governments that he was going ahead of time, and there's the usual gaffes/lies while he was there (America is not the "suckers of the world" anymore; saying he gave the troops a pay raise).

If I had to guess, he took the impromptu trip because he was bored as hell in the White House on Christmas. Which is understandable, but hey, HE'S the one who shut down the government because he didn't get his precious wall money.

Edited by speedyboris on Dec 27th 2018 at 2:50:57 PM

megaeliz Since: Mar, 2017
#265125: Dec 27th 2018 at 12:23:02 PM

Do any of you guys remember how way back in April, Mc Clatchy reported that Mueller had obtained evidence that Cohen had gone to Prague in late summer as alleged in the Dossier?

Turns out he accidentally left his cellphone data on.

A mobile phone traced to President Donald Trump’s former lawyer and “fixer” Michael Cohen briefly sent signals ricocheting off cell towers in the Prague area in late summer 2016, at the height of the presidential campaign, leaving an electronic record to support claims that Cohen met secretly there with Russian officials, four people with knowledge of the matter say.

During the same period of late August or early September, electronic eavesdropping by an Eastern European intelligence agency picked up a conversation among Russians, one of whom remarked that Cohen was in Prague, two people familiar with the incident said.

The phone and surveillance data, which have not previously been disclosed, lend new credence to a key part of a former British spy’s dossier of Kremlin intelligence describing purported coordination between Trump’s campaign and Russia’s election meddling operation.

The dossier, which Trump has dismissed as “a pile of garbage,” said Cohen and one or more Kremlin officials huddled in or around the Czech capital to plot ways to limit discovery of the close “liaison” between the Trump campaign and Russia.

The new information regarding the recovery of Cohen’s cell phone location doesn’t explain why he was apparently there or who he was meeting with, if anyone. But it adds to evidence that Cohen was in or near Prague around the time of the supposed meeting.

Both of the newly surfaced foreign electronic intelligence intercepts were shared with Special Counsel Robert Mueller, people familiar with the matter said. Mueller is investigating Russia’s 2016 election interference and whether Trump’s campaign colluded in the scheme. Mueller also is examining whether Trump has obstructed the sweeping inquiry.


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