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

PhysicalStamina i'm tired, my friend (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Coming soon to theaters
i'm tired, my friend
#266651: Jan 11th 2019 at 7:49:46 PM

People liking the guy doesn't make him a good candidate nor does it erase all his foot-in-mouths moments in regards to non-white people.

[nja]

Edited by PhysicalStamina on Jan 11th 2019 at 10:50:08 AM

i'm tired, my friend
Euodiachloris Since: Oct, 2010
#266652: Jan 11th 2019 at 7:49:57 PM

"Saunders Sis" is a little too sibulent, really. Punchiness counts in name calling, as well as sound bites. <shrugs>

golgothasArisen Since: Jan, 2015
#266653: Jan 11th 2019 at 7:50:00 PM

Isn't he one of many of those, though?

yes but his policies overlap with many other candidates' policies (unlike between him and hillary) which would give him a large amount of support if he does decide to run for the democrat ticket, seeing as those other candidates have way less popularity and would most likely see a transfer of their supporters over to bernie's camp after inevitably dropping out.

just to be clear i'm responding originally to the person claiming that he's not what democrats want.

Edited by golgothasArisen on Jan 11th 2019 at 9:50:51 AM

"If you spend all your heart / On something that has died / You are not alive and that can't be a life"
sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#266654: Jan 11th 2019 at 7:50:54 PM

For the sake of returning to the original question, ~golgothasArisen, you asked why people dislike Sanders here. I think it's safe to say you've got your answer, from several people, and your method of arguing that they're all wrong is unlikely to change any minds, to say the least.

Edited by sgamer82 on Jan 11th 2019 at 8:51:03 AM

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#266655: Jan 11th 2019 at 7:50:56 PM

[up][up]...A lot of HRC's and Sanders' policies overlapped.

[up]If anything they are only reinforcing our mindsets.

[down]Yes, yes they were.

Edited by M84 on Jan 11th 2019 at 11:52:11 PM

Disgusted, but not surprised
sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#266656: Jan 11th 2019 at 7:51:23 PM

Weren't Clinton's and Sander's platforms like, 90-odd% identical?

LSBK Since: Sep, 2014
#266657: Jan 11th 2019 at 7:51:28 PM

I actually do think there was a fair bit of ignoring the diversity of Sanders following (the issue certainly came up a lot), but I don't think the term "Bernie Bro" has much to do with that.

It never referred to his supporters in general, just a specific segment of them, with specific behaviors you seem to be exhibiting. As far as I remember most supporters of Sanders were perfectly willing to vote for Hillary if she won, and vice-versa.

Edited by LSBK on Jan 11th 2019 at 9:52:22 AM

PhysicalStamina i'm tired, my friend (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Coming soon to theaters
i'm tired, my friend
#266658: Jan 11th 2019 at 7:51:54 PM

All that means is there are better people to vote for who share some of his better ideas while giving more of a crap about minorities.

i'm tired, my friend
golgothasArisen Since: Jan, 2015
#266659: Jan 11th 2019 at 7:52:11 PM

@sgamer - yeah, i see that now. i'll go back to lurking i guess, i'm having trouble just trying to keep up with the thread rn.

"If you spend all your heart / On something that has died / You are not alive and that can't be a life"
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#266660: Jan 11th 2019 at 7:52:53 PM

[up][up]Yeah, civil rights and economic reform shouldn't be an "either-or" situation.

Disgusted, but not surprised
Draghinazzo (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: I get a feeling so complicated...
#266661: Jan 11th 2019 at 7:58:54 PM

Part of the reason why I find that divide so frustrating is that the vast majority of civil rights advocates I have seen have also been strong supporters of progressive economic reform. Nobody wants to live in poverty.

MLK himself was a strong critic of capitalism, a fact which doesn't seem to be publicized very much.

RainehDaze Nero Fangirl (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
Nero Fangirl
#266662: Jan 11th 2019 at 7:59:58 PM

And I'm sorry about ranting about the specifics of political terminology. [lol]

FFShinra Since: Jan, 2001
#266663: Jan 11th 2019 at 8:14:03 PM

I try to stay out of this thread because it attracts a certain toxicity over time, but I just came in to say that, as a Hindu who initially saw Tulsi Gabbard (before I knew what she was about) as finally showing that people of my faith can make it to the national stage, I say wait for the next one for that. Bootlickers of Assad the Chinless (Chinlicker?) be kept far from the reigns of power.

That's all I came to say. Back to your regularly scheduled program.

SciFiSlasher from Absolutely none of your business. Since: Dec, 2011 Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
#266664: Jan 11th 2019 at 8:38:22 PM

[up][up]

And I'm sorry about ranting about the specifics of political terminology.

Nah, we need people like you. Way too much "I do not think it means what you think it means" going on in politics today, as has been seen.

hell, two years ago i was a moderate democrat but by now i'm just a full on anarcho-communist.

That's an...erm...massive leap there. Not sure what else to say about it.

"Somehow the hated have to walk a tightrope, while those who hate do not."
RainehDaze Nero Fangirl (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
Nero Fangirl
#266665: Jan 11th 2019 at 8:56:53 PM

Nah, we need people like you. Way too much "I do not think it means what you think it means" going on in politics today, as has been seen.

On the other hand, the fight against linguistic drift is entirely futile. So it's also nothing but an annoying behaviour that might slightly slow the process.

Euodiachloris Since: Oct, 2010
#266666: Jan 11th 2019 at 9:03:32 PM

Is it really "linguistic drift" when it's deliberate distortion perpetrated for sound bite, political reasons which remain unchallenged because the media has no watch dogs toothy enough to bite back against the flashy con?

Or when the rest of the English speaking world (let alone the academic worlds of philosophy and political science) is going "wait, what?".

Sometimes, it's just a case of being wrong and needing to correct. The majority within a region isn't always right.

Edited by Euodiachloris on Jan 11th 2019 at 5:09:04 PM

LeGarcon Blowout soon fellow Stalker from Skadovsk Since: Aug, 2013 Relationship Status: Gay for Big Boss
Blowout soon fellow Stalker
#266667: Jan 11th 2019 at 9:54:23 PM

Just a reminder that Bernie lost the popular vote in the primaries by a significant margin.

Clearly Democrat voters didn't want him.

And Clinton won the popular vote in the general election by a significant margin too.

Oh really when?
Hylarn (Don’t ask)
#266668: Jan 11th 2019 at 10:03:35 PM

If we're piling on Bernie, I'd like to note that his foreign policy platform was largely nonexistent, and since the election it's become clear that he has suspicious ties to Russia

wisewillow She/her Since: May, 2011
She/her
#266669: Jan 11th 2019 at 10:06:07 PM

Meh, more looks like the Russians tried to help his campaign without his knowledge via bots etc. Not like the Trump stuff.

PushoverMediaCritic I'm sorry Tien, but I must go all out. from the Italy of America Since: Jul, 2015 Relationship Status: watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ
I'm sorry Tien, but I must go all out.
#266670: Jan 11th 2019 at 10:46:33 PM

Remember when Bernie Sanders was one of the only people to vote against putting sanctions on Russia because of their interference in the 2016 election?

Remember how Bernie's campaign was helped by Russia interference? Maybe it was without his knowledge, maybe it wasn't.

On race: Remember when Bernie Sanders did a speech on MLK Day, and in that speech he ranted about how bad the Democrats were, but apparently, no-one noticed because "Obama was a charismatic candidate"? No mention of Obama being the first black President for two terms, or any other qualities aside from his "charisma" (a classic back-handed compliment white people have for black people when they don't want to seem racist but can't think of a real compliment, right next to "educated"). No, he blamed people not seeing how terrible the Democrats apparently are and have been the for last decade solely on "Yes, We Can" acting as a smoke-screen.

Edited by PushoverMediaCritic on Jan 11th 2019 at 11:46:50 AM

Eschaton Since: Jul, 2010
#266671: Jan 11th 2019 at 11:13:27 PM

So the impression I'm getting from these last few pages is that Bernie Sanders is a racist old kook, used as a Russian agent, who wants to literally bring America back to pre-Civil Rights era social policies.

What.

Criticism of a lack of integrating economic and racial justice is one thing. But these are some weird vibes I'm getting.

Edited by Eschaton on Jan 11th 2019 at 11:26:56 AM

nombretomado (Season 1) Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
#266672: Jan 11th 2019 at 11:15:41 PM

I'm having flashbacks to 2016, and the state of this thread at the time. Let's not get into this mess again, especially as the last few pages have already been devoted to this topic.

Edited by nombretomado on Jan 11th 2019 at 11:19:36 AM

AzurePaladin She/Her Pronouns from Forest of Magic Since: Apr, 2018 Relationship Status: Mu
She/Her Pronouns
#266673: Jan 11th 2019 at 11:22:16 PM

Of all the things I wanted to see when I checked in, Gabbard running was not one of them. Dear lord, that is not a recipe for anything good. Hopefully she loses early, before she has too much time to influence the discussion and talking points.

And apparently other Democrats are trying to get AOC to stop tweeting criticism and toe the line. You know, if they're so concerned about getting criticism tweeted their way, maybe they should look at what is causing the criticism in the first place? Or maybe, and here's a thought: maybe they can stop obsessing over every word she says. Seriously, I'm a fan of hers, and even I'm getting uncomfortable with the sheer amount of attention focused in on her.

Also yeah, we've had this argument on and off about Sanders for actual years now. Surely, with him largely (if probably temporarily) out of the limelight, we can find someone else to argue incessantly over. grin

The awful things he says and does are burned into our cultural consciousness like a CRT display left on the same picture too long. -Fighteer
Oruka Since: Dec, 2018
#266674: Jan 11th 2019 at 11:24:13 PM

"That's an...erm...massive leap there. Not sure what else to say about it."

It's more common than you think. Trump has been acting like a naked representation of everything wrong with capitalism and imperialism. Obama's policies have done nothing to stop the explosion of wealth disparity.

Look at the evolution of You Tube channels such as Contra Points, Shaun, Hbomberguy, Philosophy Tube, Thought Slime, Peter Coffin, etc.

People are finding out that 'anarchism' just means "people shouldn't look down kn people and treat them as lesser just because they're serving a coordinating function" and communism just means "the big important stuff that's used to make the smaller stuff shouldn't be hoarded by a small minority, who decide how and for whose benefit it's used; everyone should get a say in that, especially the people who work with the big stuff and deserve to have a meaningful say in what their hard work is used for", very roughly.

The Soviet Union, orthodoxy, 'Red' heritage, that's all trash. This is about the fundamentals of human compassion, fairness, and enlightened self interest. That people shouldn't make other people feel small and powerless and insignificant, and that people should get paid the full value of their work and get a say in what their work is for. Does that seem so unreasonable?

Edited by Oruka on Jan 11th 2019 at 11:26:03 AM

AzurePaladin She/Her Pronouns from Forest of Magic Since: Apr, 2018 Relationship Status: Mu
She/Her Pronouns
#266675: Jan 11th 2019 at 11:28:28 PM

[up] Uh...no, those words hold WAY more baggage than that.

Like, I'm not going to start a conversation or argument or anything, or at least I'd rather not, but those words mean something a bit more specific.

Edited by AzurePaladin on Jan 11th 2019 at 2:30:26 PM

The awful things he says and does are burned into our cultural consciousness like a CRT display left on the same picture too long. -Fighteer

Total posts: 417,856
Top