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

tclittle Professional Forum Ninja from Somewhere Down in Texas Since: Apr, 2010
Professional Forum Ninja
#273051: Feb 27th 2019 at 3:07:30 PM

Dallas morning News sources say O'Rourke will not challenge Cornyn for Senate seat.

"We're all paper, we're all scissors, we're all fightin' with our mirrors, scared we'll never find somebody to love."
Fourthspartan56 from Georgia, US Since: Oct, 2016 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
#273052: Feb 27th 2019 at 3:10:20 PM

I swear if that moron decides to run for President instead...

Edit: God damnit he might.

Edited by Fourthspartan56 on Feb 27th 2019 at 6:10:47 AM

"Einstein would turn over in his grave. Not only does God play dice, the dice are loaded." -Chairman Sheng-Ji Yang
wisewillow She/her Since: May, 2011
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
#273054: Feb 27th 2019 at 3:19:31 PM

I’d way for it to be confirmed before I curse anyone, but if Beto and Castro both avoid senate runs because they want the presidency...

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
PhysicalStamina i'm tired, my friend (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Coming soon to theaters
i'm tired, my friend
#273055: Feb 27th 2019 at 3:22:15 PM

Why does Bob Gibbs sound like Boomhauer?

i'm tired, my friend
Ultimatum Disasturbator from the Amiga Forest (Old as dirt) Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
Disasturbator
#273056: Feb 27th 2019 at 3:22:42 PM

seriously is everyone running for senate at this point?

everyone

have a listen and have a link to my discord server
Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#273057: Feb 27th 2019 at 3:38:36 PM

What's the overall opinion of Julian Castro around here anyway? He's a bit light on executive experience, but does he have any nasty positions, or known scandals?

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
Oruka Since: Dec, 2018
#273058: Feb 27th 2019 at 3:42:16 PM

It'd be hilarious to gave a Castro become Potus so soon after a Hussein and a Putin.

BearyScary Since: Sep, 2010 Relationship Status: You spin me right round, baby
#273059: Feb 27th 2019 at 3:43:01 PM

I know very little about him, but I saw a brief overview of his presidential proposals and I like them.

Do not obey in advance.
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
#273060: Feb 27th 2019 at 3:48:31 PM

I find him very experience light, he’d make a solid VP choice or a good senate candidate, but I’m not sold on him topping a ticket. Honestly I find him pretty interchangeable with Beto, they’re both good younge candidates from Texas who would make solid choices for VP/senate but probably shouldn’t be a presidential candidate due to a lack fo serious experience.

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
RainingMetal (Handed A Sword) Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
#273061: Feb 27th 2019 at 3:51:14 PM

Good grief, the Republicans were so desperate to spin this hearing as some sort of Democrat conspiracy to take down Trump.

One could say there is a conspiracy; common sense conspires to take down the likes of Trump all the time.

ASAB: All Sponsors Are Bad.
Oruka Since: Dec, 2018
#273062: Feb 27th 2019 at 3:57:11 PM

My response would be more a "What of it?"

sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#273063: Feb 27th 2019 at 4:00:01 PM

https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2019/02/27/day-769/

Day 769: Spin this

    Overview 
During public testimony before the House Oversight Committee, Michael Cohen accused Trump of "criminal conduct" while in office, including the fact that Trump knew ahead of time about Wiki Leaks' plan to release DNC emails that were intended to damage Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign. Cohen testified that Trump "asked me to pay off an adult film star with whom he had an affair" with $130,000 of his own money weeks before the 2016 election "to avoid any money being traced back to him that could negatively impact his campaign." Cohen also described his relationship with Trump: "He is a racist. He is a conman. He is a cheat." (New York Times / Washington Post /Reuters / Vox / Wall Street Journal / Politico)

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-russia-cohen-idUSKCN1QG0IZ

✏️ LIVE BLOGS: New York Times (Video + Chat / Live Blog)/ Washington Post / The Guardian / NBC News / CNN / Wall Street Journal

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/live-blog/live-updates-michael-cohen-testimony-congress-n976196

📚 READ: Cohen's opening statement to Congress (CNN)

https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/27/politics/cohen-testimony-read/index.html

📝 ANNOTATED: Cohen's opening statement about Trump (Washington Post)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/02/27/michael-cohens-explosive-opening-statement-annotated/

📄 KEY EXCERPTS: From Cohen's testimony on the "truth about Trump." (The Guardian)

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/feb/27/michael-cohen-testimony-key-excerpts-to-reveal-truth-about-trump

    Key Moments 
This is a work in progress. Check back for updates. If a blurb isn't directly sourced, please see the live blog links above.

1/ Cohen said Trump knew that Roger Stone was communicating with Wiki Leaks during the 2016 election and had advance knowledge that Wiki Leaks planned to publish the hacked Democratic National Committee emails intended to damage Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. In his prepared written testimony, Cohen alleged that, in July 2016, he witnessed Trump taking a phone call from Roger Stone, who was on speakerphone. During the call, Stone told Trump that "he had just gotten off the phone with [Wiki Leaks founder] Julian Assange and that …within a couple of days, there would be a massive dump of emails that would damage Hillary Clinton's campaign." Stone pushed back against Cohen's claim, saying in a text message to Buzz Feed News: "Mr. Cohen's statement is not true." Stone, however, is under a gag order not to publicly comment on his case, Mueller's investigation, or any "participants" in his case or the investigation. (Washington Post / CNN / Buzz Feed News)

https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/27/politics/michael-cohen-testimony/index.html

📌 Day 678: Trump told Robert Mueller that Roger Stone did not tell him about Wiki Leaks and that he was not told about the 2016 Trump Tower meeting between Trump Jr., campaign officials, and a Russian lawyer promising dirt on Hillary Clinton. Trump added a caveat that his responses were to the best of his recollection. For comparison, Trump also does not “remember much” from the meeting with George Papadopoulos, where Papadopoulos offered to arrange a meeting with Putin. Trump, however, has previously claimed to have “one of the great memories of all time,” using it as justification for not using notes during his meeting with Kim Jong Un, and blaming Sgt. La David Johnson’s widow when he stumbled over the solider’s name during a condolence call. (CNN)

[Perspective] Why it Matters if Trump Knew About Stone’s Contacts with Wiki Leaks. It matters because Wiki Leaks has a long and documented history of engaging in activities damaging to U.S. national security. (Lawfare)

2/ Cohen said he doesn't "know of direct evidence" that "Trump or his campaign colluded with Russia" during the 2016 election, "but I have my suspicions." Cohen said that he was in the room with Trump, "probably in early June 2016," when Trump Jr. "came into the room and walked behind his father's desk," leaned over "to his father and speaking in a low voice, which I could clearly hear, and saying: 'The meeting is all set.' I remember Mr. Trump saying, 'Ok good…let me know.'" Cohen added that "Trump had frequently told me and others that his son Don Jr. had the worst judgment of anyone in the world." (Daily Beast)

https://www.thedailybeast.com/cohens-leaked-testimony-don-jr-had-the-worst-judgment-of-anyone-in-the-world-and-more

📌 Day 172: Donald Trump Jr. met with a Kremlin-connected Russian lawyer to acquire damaging information about Hillary Clinton in June 2016 at Trump Tower in New York City. On Saturday, Trump Jr. said the meeting was about the issue of US adoptions of Russian children and not the campaign. However, in March, Trump Jr. said he never met with any Russians while working in a campaign capacity. The meeting – attended by Trump Jr., Paul Manafort, and Jared Kushner – was disclosed when Kushner filed a revised form in order to obtain a security clearance. Manafort also recently disclosed the meeting, and Trump Jr.’s role in organizing it, to congressional investigators looking into his foreign contacts. (New York Times / Washington Post)

📌 Day 544: Michael Cohen says Trump knew in advance about Trump Jr.'s meeting at Trump Tower in June 2016 with a Russian lawyer promising dirt on Hillary Clinton. Cohen doesn't have evidence to back up his claim, but he is reportedly willing to make the assertion as part of his testimony to Robert Mueller. Cohen claims that he, along with several others, were in the room when Trump Jr. told Trump about the Russian's offer. According to Cohen, Trump approved the meeting with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya. Cohen's claim contradicts Trump, Trump Jr., their lawyers, and administration officials who have repeatedly said Trump didn't know about the meeting until he was asked about it in July 2017. Trump's response at the time was: "No. That I didn't know. Until a couple of days ago, when I heard about this. No I didn't know about that." A few days later, Trump was again asked whether he knew about the meeting. His response: "No, I didn't know anything about the meeting…. must have been a very unimportant meeting, because I never even heard about it … nobody told me."(CNN / NBC News / Washington Post)

📌 Day 554: Trump tweeted that he "did NOT know" in advance about Trump Jr.'s Trump Tower meeting , disputing Michael Cohen's assertion that he did and accusing him of "trying to make up stories." Cohen said he's willing to testify that then-candidate Trump knew in advance about the 2016 meeting in Trump Tower. In July 2017, it was reported that Trump personally dictated Trump Jr.'s statement about the latter's meeting with the Russian lawyer, claiming they had "primarily discussed a program about the adoption of Russian children." (Washington Post / CNN)

3/ Cohen suggested that federal prosecutors in New York are investigating an unspecified crime involving Trump that has not been made public yet. Cohen said he has "been asked by them not to discuss, and not to talk about these issues." Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York recently issued a request for documents related to donations and spending by Trump's inaugural committee. Cohen also said prosecutors in New York are investigating conversations that Trump or his advisers had with Cohen after his hotel room was raided by the FBI in April 2018. (Washington Post / Associated Press)

https://apnews.com/96a0af56e8e14c1a8956a3b484ef0c52

4/ Cohen provided a copy of a $35,000 check that was personally signed by Trump in 2017 to reimburse him for paying off Stormy Daniels, who had alleged having an affair with Trump. Cohen also submitted copies of additional $35,000 checks that Trump Jr. and the COO of the Trump Organization made "to reimburse me for the hush money payments." Cohen said that Trump directed him to lie about the hush payments to Stormy Daniels by telling Congress that Trump had no knowledge of payments. Trump was president when this happened. (Washington Post / Axios / The Guardian)

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2019/feb/27/michael-cohen-testimony-trump-news-latest-live-updates-hearing-payments-stormy-daniels-today?page=with:block-5c76d4f9e4b01c747a0e5140#block-5c76d4f9e4b01c747a0e5140

5/ Cohen: "I've never been to Prague. I've never been to the Czech Republic."

📌 Day 707: Michael Cohen's cell phone was briefly activated near Prague around time of the Russia meeting described in the Steele dossier, which purports that Cohen and one or more Kremlin officials met in or around the Czech capital to plot ways to limit discovery of the close "liaison" between the Trump campaign and Russia. Additionally, around the same period of late August or early September 2016, electronic eavesdropping by an Eastern European intelligence agency picked up Russians remarking that Cohen was in Prague. The cell phone and eavesdropping evidence was shared with Robert Mueller. (Mc Clatchy DC)

📌Day 450: Robert Mueller has evidence that Michael Cohen made a secret trip to Prague during the 2016 presidential campaign, entering through Germany in "August or early September." Confirmation of the trip corroborates part of the Christopher Steele dossier that Cohen met with an ally of Putin. Cohen has denied that he has ever been in Prague and that he colluded with Russia during the campaign. (Mc Clatchy DC)

6/ In October 2016, Cohen said he received a call from Hope Hicks asking for help dealing with the "Access Hollywood" tape, where Trump had bragged about kissing, groping and trying to have sex with women, saying he'd "grab them by the p—y. You can do anything," because "when you're a star, they let you do it." Hicks told Cohen: "We want you to just spin this." (Washington Post)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/michael-cohen-testimony/2019/02/27/089664f0-39fb-11e9-a2cd-307b06d0257b_story.html

7/ Cohen claimed that Trump asked him to threaten people "probably" 500 different people and entities over a decade.

The Florida Bar has opened an investigation into whether Rep. Matt Gaetz violated professional conduct rules by threatening Michael Cohen ahead of Cohen's congressional testimony. Yesterday, Gatez threatened Cohen with revealing Cohen's "girlfriends" over his testimony, adding that "maybe tonight would be a good time for that chat." (Daily Beast)

https://www.thedailybeast.com/matt-gaetz-under-investigation-by-florida-state-bar-over-michael-cohen-threat

8/ Cohen said he never saw proof that Trump's tax returns were being audited, which was Trump's reasoning for not releasing his tax filings during the 2016 campaign. Cohen said he presumed that Trump did not want to release his tax returns because he "didn't want an entire group of think tanks, who are tax experts, to run through his returns and start ripping it to pieces" out of fear that he would then "end up in an audit and he'll ultimately have taxable consequences, penalties, and so on." (NBC News / The Guardian)

https://www.nbcnews.com/card/cohen-says-he-hasn-t-seen-proof-trump-s-tax-n977341

     Notables 
The House Oversight Committee wants to depose both Trump's long-time tax lawyer and the former deputy White House Counsel in charge of compliance and ethics. The panel wants to ask about Trump's legally mandated financial ethics disclosures for the payments made before the 2016 presidential election by Cohen to buy the silence of women who claimed they had affairs with Trump. (Reuters)

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-russia-lawyer-exclusive-idUSKCN1QG1WZ

Trump met with Kim Jong-Un in Vietnam for the first day of his second summit with the North Korean dictator. Trump called Kim a "great leader" and promised to help North Korea to become a "great economic power." At a dinner between the two men, Trump said he believes the summit will "lead to a wonderful, really a wonderful situation long term." (Daily Beast / Associated Press / Washington Post)

https://apnews.com/59ce7efa8b9f4dfa9fcf366c9cb607e3

The White House banned four U.S. journalists from covering Trump's dinner with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un after they shouted questions earlier in the day. Reporters from the Associated Press, Bloomberg News, the Los Angeles Times and Reuters were excluded because of what White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said were "sensitivities over shouted questions in the previous sprays." (Washington Post / Politico)

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/02/27/trump-kim-summit-2019-journalists-1190214

The House passed legislation mandating federal criminal background checks on all gun sales – the most significant gun control measure in more than two decades. The Senate, however, is unlikely to take up the measure and, even if it does, Trump has already said he would veto it because they impose unreasonable requirements on gun owners. (Politico / NPR / Buzz Feed News)

https://www.npr.org/2019/02/27/698512397/house-passes-most-significant-gun-bill-in-2-decades

Former acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker has agreed to return to Congress and meet with lawmakers behind closed doors to "clarify" parts of his previous public testimony, during which he claimed he never made "any promises or commitments concerning the special counsel's investigation or any other investigation" to Trump. The House Judiciary Committee, however, believes it has evidence that Trump asked Whitaker while he was acting AG whether he could install a Trump ally to oversee the investigation into Michael Cohen. (Wall Street Journal)

http://www.wsj.com/articles/whitaker-agrees-to-request-to-return-to-house-to-clarify-testimony-11551230174

Pence's new chief of staff disparaged people with HIV and AIDS in an early '90s college newspaper column, claiming that the transmission of the disease was largely the result of "repugnant" homosexual intercourse. The column was published in The Spectator, a conservative student newspaper that Marc Short started as an undergraduate in 1989. Short served as an editor for the publication until he graduated in 1992. (Daily Beast)

https://www.thedailybeast.com/pences-incoming-chief-of-staff-marc-short-disparaged-aids-victims-for-repugnant-gay-sex-in-college-column

68% of Americans say they want the Robert Mueller report to be made public, while 10% say it shouldn’t be made public, and 22% are undecided. (Politico)

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/02/27/mueller-report-release-public-support-poll-1188068

megaeliz Since: Mar, 2017
#273064: Feb 27th 2019 at 9:55:44 PM

I was stunned by how frank Cohen was in his testimony.

He confirmed that Trump didn't actually want to be president, was aware of Rodger Stone's Negotiation with Wikileaks, and that his lawyers went over Cohen's Statement to Congress about Trump Tower Moscow.

A few other things worth noting (not a through list)

  • "I am ashamed because I know what Mr. Trump is. He is a racist. He is a conman. He is a cheat. He was a presidential candidate who knew that Roger Stone was talking with Julian Assange about a Wiki Leaks drop of Democratic National Committee emails."
  • "A copy of an article with Mr. Trump’s handwriting on it that reported on the auction of a portrait of himself – he arranged for the bidder ahead of time and then reimbursed the bidder from the account of his non-profit charitable foundation"
  • " Copies of letters I wrote at Mr. Trump’s direction that threatened his high school, colleges, and the College Board not to release his grades or SAT scores."

and perhaps most notably:

"I lied to Congress about when Mr. Trump stopped negotiating the Moscow Tower project in Russia. I stated that we stopped negotiating in January 2016. That was false – our negotiations continued for months later during the campaign."

"Trump did not directly tell me to lie to Congress. .In conversations we had during the campaign, at the same time I was actively negotiating in Russia for him, he would look me in the eye and tell me there’s no business in Russia and go out and lie to the American people"

"last fall I pled guilty in federal court to felonies for the benefit of, at the direction of, and in coordination with Individual #1. For the record: Individual #1 is President Donald J. Trump."

Edited by megaeliz on Feb 27th 2019 at 12:57:01 PM

Parable Since: Aug, 2009
#273065: Feb 27th 2019 at 11:33:13 PM

The summit with North Korea has been cut short and no agreement was reached.

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.
#273066: Feb 27th 2019 at 11:40:28 PM

Because of something there or because Trump blew a gasket over Cohen?

"You can reply to this Message!"
Parable Since: Aug, 2009
#273067: Feb 27th 2019 at 11:43:08 PM

Apparently it's because North Korea was insisting on an end to all sanctions before anything else could happen.

AzurePaladin She/Her Pronouns from Forest of Magic Since: Apr, 2018 Relationship Status: Mu
She/Her Pronouns
#273068: Feb 27th 2019 at 11:58:10 PM

[up] Greatest negotiator in history, folks.

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
CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#273069: Feb 28th 2019 at 12:11:39 AM

The fact Trump didn't want to be President officially moves our world in parody territory.

I need that scene from The Killing Joke where Batman and the Joker break down laughing before Batman breaks his neck.

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
Ramidel Since: Jan, 2001
#273070: Feb 28th 2019 at 12:20:38 AM

If Cohen manages to avoid lying this time, I think he's earned his reduced sentence. Maybe a cell with a view.

Now, Trump had just better hope he dies in office, because New York is going to have cuffs waiting when he leaves (assuming the new President doesn't call dibs).

CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#273071: Feb 28th 2019 at 12:21:24 AM

Trump would probably do better if he just chose not to run for re-election and spent his money saving up for better lawyers.

Man, wouldn't that be awesome?

Edited by CharlesPhipps on Feb 28th 2019 at 12:21:44 PM

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
DrunkenNordmann from Exile Since: May, 2015
#273072: Feb 28th 2019 at 12:32:43 AM

[up] A good lawyer knows when not to take somebody's case.

Also good lawyers usually care about their reputation and defending Trump would be bad for it.

Edited by DrunkenNordmann on Feb 28th 2019 at 10:01:47 AM

We learn from history that we do not learn from history
SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#273073: Feb 28th 2019 at 12:59:35 AM

That has been discussed a number of times. Trump has difficulties at getting lawyers because:

  • He has a reputation of not listening to them.
  • He has a reputation of not always paying them.
  • It's a hazard for your credibility.
  • Trump's tendency to say demonstrably untrue things can land a lawyer in trouble.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
Medinoc from France (Before Recorded History)
#273074: Feb 28th 2019 at 1:05:41 AM

That means that nowadays, only a lawyer who drinks Trump's kool-aid would work for him, right?

"And as long as a sack of shit is not a good thing to be, chivalry will never die."
LeGarcon Blowout soon fellow Stalker from Skadovsk Since: Aug, 2013 Relationship Status: Gay for Big Boss
Blowout soon fellow Stalker
#273075: Feb 28th 2019 at 1:10:05 AM

Or a stupid one

Oh really when?

Total posts: 417,856
Top