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

archonspeaks Since: Jun, 2013
#278751: Apr 25th 2019 at 3:34:35 PM

Yeah, this guy’s not being released. This is a procedural thing, I highly doubt the terms of release are going to go in his favor.

Also, I’m kind of surprised how small that stockpile looks. I expected more from someone this nuts.

They should have sent a poet.
Swanpride Since: Jun, 2013
#278752: Apr 25th 2019 at 3:37:30 PM

So...just to get this straight. He didn't apologize to Anita Hill back in the day. He apparently didn't have some sort of epiphany during the Kavanaugh hearing and felt the need to contact her about it. But now that he plans to run for president he suddenly wants her stamp of approval? All the while still downplaying his role in what she had to endure?

Yeah, f... this guy.

wisewillow She/her Since: May, 2011
She/her
#278753: Apr 25th 2019 at 4:05:21 PM

So, uh... Biden’s campaign didn't warn Heather Heyer's mother he would be invoking her daughter's murder in his campaign launch video.

Susan Bro, Heather Heyer’s mother responded “Most people do that sort of thing. They capitalize on whatever situation is handy.”

DingoWalley1 Asgore Adopts Noelle Since: Feb, 2014 Relationship Status: Can't buy me love
Asgore Adopts Noelle
#278754: Apr 25th 2019 at 4:28:27 PM

So why the hell isnt he being charged with terrorism offences?

Because the laws currently on the book make it really hard to charge someone with Attempted Terrorism unless they're associated with Radical Islam, at least according to the Article I read on this. They have to commit actual Terrorism, or they aren't treated as one (unless, again, they're Muslims).

But yeah, releasing every White Nationalist Terrorist because they can't be charged as Terrorists is a massive flaw in our law books that needs to be addressed immediately.

fruitpork Since: Oct, 2010
#278755: Apr 25th 2019 at 4:29:40 PM

[up][up] okay you know what? FUCK Biden.

wisewillow She/her Since: May, 2011
She/her
#278756: Apr 25th 2019 at 4:30:55 PM

[up][up]Judges and prosecutors have a decent amount of discretion (whether they should is a separate issue).

Prosecutors have flung Black kids in jail by stretching the law beyond belief to label kids who live in poor neighborhoods as gang members. Funny how now they claim it’s just too bad, they can’t do anything with the current law, their hands are tied.

Edited by wisewillow on Apr 25th 2019 at 4:31:08 AM

archonspeaks Since: Jun, 2013
#278757: Apr 25th 2019 at 4:34:31 PM

[up] Discretion is critical in the legal system, from enforcement to sentencing.

It just needs to be applied fairly and without discrimination, which is the issue.

They should have sent a poet.
wisewillow She/her Since: May, 2011
She/her
#278758: Apr 25th 2019 at 4:40:25 PM

Which is why I specified that the merits of discretion are a separate issue. I’ll note that discretion often cuts against poor people and people of color, while white people can get literally away with murder if they seem nice enough. From arrest to arraignment to sentencing, white supremacy in our legal system is blatant and horrific.

That’s been one of the most depressing parts of law school... sometimes, a case makes no sense on the law/merits, the judges were mind bogglingly generous/forgiving to one party... then you look up the parties involved... and the losing party, such as the parents of a dead kid “accidentally” killed by cops, turns out to be Black.

Edited by wisewillow on Apr 25th 2019 at 4:45:33 AM

tclittle Professional Forum Ninja from Somewhere Down in Texas Since: Apr, 2010
Professional Forum Ninja
#278759: Apr 25th 2019 at 6:30:21 PM

And the Bush dynasty might add another, Pierce Bush mulling a run in the 7th Texas US Congressional District, the West Houston district was formally held by the late George H.W. Bush in the 60s, but is currently held by first term Democratic Representative Lizzie Pannill Fletcher.

Edited by tclittle on Apr 25th 2019 at 8:30:32 AM

"We're all paper, we're all scissors, we're all fightin' with our mirrors, scared we'll never find somebody to love."
wisewillow She/her Since: May, 2011
She/her
#278760: Apr 25th 2019 at 6:32:31 PM

Oh for God’s sake. No more Bushes or Clintons or Kennedys, come on.

CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#278761: Apr 25th 2019 at 6:36:58 PM

To be fair, the introduction of non-discretionary sentencing made the sentencing and treatment of blacks in America's legal system even WORSE.

Edited by CharlesPhipps on Apr 25th 2019 at 6:37:13 AM

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
wisewillow She/her Since: May, 2011
She/her
#278762: Apr 25th 2019 at 6:37:22 PM

Mandatory minimums are also a disgrace, I agree.

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#278763: Apr 25th 2019 at 6:42:35 PM

For those who don't want Biden to win the primaries (ie pretty much everyone here), the 538 article about him does at least point out that his win is FAR from guaranteed even though the polling is in his favor as are past statistics.

Reposting for reference: How Joe Biden Could Win The 2020 Democratic Primary

Here's what 538 thinks are the main points against Biden winning:

  • Age is a factor against him
  • Actual party support is kind of lukewarm
  • "Electability" might be inflating his poll numbers
  • Harris and Booker are going to erode Biden's support among black voters (and recall that his polls were boosted by minority voters)
  • Unfriendly media coverage — mainstream media will consider him boring and left-wing media will...yeah.

538 concludes that Biden would either have to try to form a consensus like a traditional party front-runner or double down on appealing to "moderate" older Democratic voters like a factional party runner.

Edited by M84 on Apr 25th 2019 at 9:43:15 PM

Disgusted, but not surprised
Draghinazzo (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: I get a feeling so complicated...
#278764: Apr 25th 2019 at 6:44:53 PM

Hasn't Biden botched multiple attempts at running before too? What are the chances he'll do it again this time?

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#278765: Apr 25th 2019 at 6:47:18 PM

[up]538 doesn't think that's going to be a major factor

Third, while it’s worth noting that Biden’s previous presidential campaigns, in 1988 and 2008, flopped, the boilerplate criticism that he’s a “bad candidate” also strangely ignores his mostly controversy-free performances as a vice presidential candidate in 2008 and 2012 (and as a surrogate for Clinton in 2016). Plenty of politicians have learning curves as candidates, and although Biden will make his share of gaffes, I’m not sure that he’s necessarily more at risk of them than other, less-experienced candidates.

Basically, the fact that he was a mostly okay VP indicates that he's probably learned from the mistakes of his past campaigns.

Edited by M84 on Apr 25th 2019 at 9:48:41 PM

Disgusted, but not surprised
CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#278766: Apr 25th 2019 at 6:47:19 PM

I think a big part of the issue here is that he's a lunatic bad choice to this forum but this forum doesn't represent the average Democratic voter.

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#278767: Apr 25th 2019 at 6:47:23 PM

He has attempted multiple runs, though I'm not sure I'd call them botched. He lost to more popular opponents, he didn't go down in the way that say, Jeb Bush or John Edwards did.

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#278768: Apr 25th 2019 at 6:55:20 PM

538 also did a bit on Warren in January 2019 about her 2018 Senate race and what could say about her (then) future run for President.

What Elizabeth Warren’s Last Election Can Tell Us About 2020

They note that while she did cinch it, she did indeed arguably underperform considering how blue Mass. is.

Here are the four takeaways they had:

  • She’s weak in elite suburbs — understandable given a big part of her stances involves "screw rich people"
  • She could win back Obama-Trump voters — which seem to be mostly white blue-collar workers
  • Young people seem to like her — which would probably mean more if more young people actually voted
  • Nonwhite voters are a wild card — she's about as good (or as bad) as Hillary Clinton in this regard

538 seems to consider that last point to be especially important, given that this is one advantage she has over Sanders, whose constituencies overlap with hers. But she does need to put in a lot more effort to reach black and Asian voters.

Disgusted, but not surprised
wisewillow She/her Since: May, 2011
She/her
#278769: Apr 25th 2019 at 6:56:14 PM

Hopefully she’ll continue to do as she did at She the People; reporters said she got the only standing ovation.

Edited by wisewillow on Apr 25th 2019 at 7:05:34 AM

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#278770: Apr 25th 2019 at 7:01:17 PM

Point Number 1 is pretty much a lost cause for her of course. There's no way she's going to appeal to that group.

538 also pointed out that there are other candidates who do a better job of appealing to minority voters overall than Warren does: Why Harris And O’Rourke May Have More Upside Than Sanders And Biden

Edited by M84 on Apr 25th 2019 at 10:03:49 PM

Disgusted, but not surprised
Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#278771: Apr 25th 2019 at 7:02:09 PM

Maybe more socially progressive suburbanites hate Trump enough to vote for her?

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#278772: Apr 25th 2019 at 7:04:36 PM

[up]More likely they will simply stay home on Election Day. Warren's made it very clear that she sees people like them as an "enemy". It's more or less been the basis of her entire career.

Edited by M84 on Apr 25th 2019 at 10:05:23 PM

Disgusted, but not surprised
Parable Since: Aug, 2009
#278773: Apr 25th 2019 at 7:06:10 PM

They might not vote for her in the primaries, but no progressive suburbanite worth that label will vote Trump over her.

Which means the question is just how many progressive elite suburbanites are there vs Trumpist elite suburbanites.

wisewillow She/her Since: May, 2011
She/her
#278774: Apr 25th 2019 at 7:06:18 PM

Warren was just asked about Biden and she’s... well, she’s forthright.

Reporter: “You’ve disagreed with Biden on Wall Street. Do you think he’s too cozy with Wall Street to be an effective leader?”

Warren: “Our disagreement is a matter of public record. At a time when the biggest financial institutions in this country were trying to put the squeeze on millions of hardworking families who are in bankruptcy because of medical problems, job losses, divorce and death in the family, there was nobody to stand up for them. I got in that fight because they just didn’t have anyone and Joe Biden was on the side of the credit card companies.”

Here’s an article from back in March summarizing Warren and Biden’s, uh... unfriendly history. Good lord.

She doesn’t see the wealthy as “the enemy”; she wants them to pay their fair share to society.

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#278775: Apr 25th 2019 at 7:07:45 PM

[up]When one proposes something like a wealth tax, which Deathorcake here rightly pointed out is little more than a club to swing at rich people...

This sort of thing is why they perceive her to be an enemy even if that is not her intent.

Edited by M84 on Apr 25th 2019 at 10:08:38 PM

Disgusted, but not surprised

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