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
He is counting on the idea that a lot of people in the USA are sick of the hyper polarized state of things. Even then, he still needs to go out and actually campaign more to get that message across. He also is not acknowledging that most of the polarization is due to the GOP pandering more and more to their own hardliners.
Also, concerning what he said to that kid... this is why I do not want Biden at all.
Edited by M84 on Jun 12th 2019 at 9:38:49 PM
Disgusted, but not surprisedhttps://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2019/06/12/day-874/
https://apnews.com/292e6a9a05f345ae83bff304efebf76b
2/ Trump Jr. said he's "not at all worried" about perjury charges over suspicions he previously lied to Congress. "There was nothing to change," Trump Jr. said following his closed-door meeting with the Senate Intelligence Committee today. In February, Michael Cohen testified that he briefed Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump about negotiations regarding the Trump Tower Moscow project. Cohen also told Congress that he believed he heard Trump Jr. talking with his father about the Trump Tower meeting between him, Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort, and a Russian lawyer promising damaging information on Hillary Clinton. (CNN / Washington Post / Politico / Talking Points Memo)
https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/12/politics/donald-trump-jr-testifying/
Michael Flynn's new attorney is one of the earliest and fiercest critics of the Justice Department and the FBI's investigation into a potential conspiracy between Trump's campaign and Russia. Sidney Powell, a former Justice Department attorney, claimed that Flynn was spied on as part of a "set-up" by the FBI and that his case should be "dismissed." Flynn pleaded guilty last year to lying to the FBI and agreed to cooperate with Mueller's investigation. (The Hill / Politico / CNN)
https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/12/politics/michael-flynn-lawyer-sidney-powell/
The House Intelligence Committee chairman threatened to subpoena FBI Director Christopher Wray for information related to the counterintelligence investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Adam Schiff said he has been unable to get information on the status or findings of the counterintelligence probe. (The Hill / Associated Press / Politico / CNN)
https://www.apnews.com/be67be02cbb44bd7a42d1429fdae8824
3/ Hope Hicks agreed to testify before the House Judiciary Committee next Wednesday. Hicks will be the first former Trump aide to go before the committee investigating whether Trump tried to obstruct a probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Her testimony will be behind closed doors but a transcript will be released to the public. (Washington Post / Wall Street Journal)
4/ Kamala Harris – if elected – said her Justice Department "would have no choice" but to prosecute Trump after his term in office. "There has to be accountability," Harris added. "Everyone should be held accountable, and the president is not above the law." (NPR / Axios)
poll/ 69% of voters said a sitting president should be subject to criminal charges, while 24% said a president should be charged with crimes after they leave office. 52% of Republicans, 83% of Democrats, and 68% of independent voters all support charging a sitting president. 55% of voters say Robert Mueller's report did not clear Trump of wrongdoing. (Quinnipiac)
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-northkorea-idUSKCN1TC256
Trump held up a document and claimed it was a "secret" deal with Mexico to avoid further tariffs. Mexican officials had already revealed most of it. Photographs of the document show language about "a regional approach to burden-sharing in relation to the processing of refugee status claims to migrants." The document also refers to a window of "45 days," and says Mexico has committed to examining and changing its laws in order to implement the agreement. Mexico's Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said the Friday agreement with the U.S. gave Mexico 45 days to prove that it could diminish migration without agreeing to a "safe third country" deal, in which Central American migrants would be held in Mexico while their claims are processed. (Washington Post / Reuters / The Guardian)
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-mexico-border-idUSKCN1TC1IP
Trump – without evidence – claimed he is "winning in every single state that we polled." Trump, however, was recently briefed on a 17-state poll by his campaign that showed him trailing Biden in many of the states he needs to win in 2020. He then instructed aides to deny the results of the campaign's internal polling. "We have great internal polling," Trump added. (Washington Post)
Mitch Mc Connell dismissed reports that his wife, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, helped steer federal funding to his home state of Kentucky. When asked about the allegations of special treatment, Mc Connell joked that he was disappointed that Chao wasn't able to steer enough funds his way. "You know, I was complaining to her just last night: 169 projects, and Kentucky got only five," Mc Connell said. "I hope we'll do a lot better next year." (Washington Post)
The U.S. budget deficit widened to $738.6 billion – a $206 billion increase from a year earlier. (Bloomberg)
At least 22 foreign governments have spent money at Trump Organization properties. According to news accounts and other public records, at least nine foreign governments were involved in hosting events at a Trump property, at least nine foreign governments rented or purchased property in buildings or communities owned by Trump businesses, representatives of at least five foreign governments have stayed at a Trump property, and at least eight foreign governments or their representatives attended parties or gatherings at Trump properties. (NBC News)
Edited by sgamer82 on Jun 12th 2019 at 7:38:15 AM
How naïve would he have to be to legitimately believe the partisan divide will cool back down as long as the biggest hold on propaganda in the nation will tell the republican base to want the head of any democrat politician? If that’s the argument Biden’s making, it is seriously in bad faith.
My musician pageEven if we go back to how things were when Obama was in office, it’s become apparent to me that “normal” in that sense isn’t good enough. That normal was able to get the wrong people motivated to put Trump in office, so who’s to say going back to that won’t end the same way?
Blah blah blah, pendulum... I realize these talking points aren’t anything new for this thread, so I’ll just cap it off by saying I hope Warren brings that point into the conversation during her campaign.
Edited by ShinyCottonCandy on Jun 12th 2019 at 9:56:07 AM
My musician pageRE: Warren's "we've got plans" approach to the filibuster.
I've always been sceptical about trashing the filibuster, as yes what might be good whilst the Dems are in power could come back and bite us when the GOP inevitably gets back in charge.
But, if the rule change was codified along the same lines as the Salisbury Convention in the UK then I'm all for it. The Salisbury Convention basically says the House of Lords will not oppose any legislation from the Commons if said legislation was part of the Government's manifesto from the previous election. Or in other words, if you were elected on the basis you would do X, then we shouldn't stop you.
Therefore, to adjust it to the US system - To enforce cloture, a 60 vote threshold must be reached unless the legislation being discussed is a part of the majority party's platform from the last presidential election, in which case only a simple majority of 51 votes is required.
If Warren was going to be in the cabinet of a future democrat I’d want her in something connected to the finance industry, commerce or treasury seem like the obvious ones to me.
“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ CyranShe’d be great at Do J or running the CFPB properly. And yeah, she was a law professor and one of the nation’s leading bankruptcy experts for decades.
I think she’d be a damn good president; this is back up speculation from my end.
Edited by wisewillow on Jun 13th 2019 at 7:17:07 AM
Basically, she'd be better suited to being a watchdog looking over the shoulders of the people making all the money instead of being in charge of making all the money.
That said, I doubt she'd mess things up as badly as that Randroid Greenspan did.
Edited by M84 on Jun 13th 2019 at 6:48:36 PM
Disgusted, but not surprisedIt's 2016 all over again.
Remember, these idiots drive, fuck, and vote. Not always in that order.> It's 2016 all over again.
He seems thinks so but he's wrong,Hillary isn't his opponent anymore,the same tactics that were effective against her and are now being directed against Warren,but I'm confident the mud he's slinging won't stick fast like it did with Hilary,hell if anything it might give Warren the resolve to shrug it off and power on through
That's an..optimistic forecast granted,but what might happen is that Trump directs his attacks at Warren and gets blindsided by Biden or one of the other candidates and loses to them instead because his strategy only worked on one type of person
have a listen and have a link to my discord serverHe's basically reserving the right for Russia to help him again in 2020. Which we already knew was going to be a thing, but at least now it's in the public eye.
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.As I mentioned when bringing it up on the previous page, though, the Clinton campaign allegedly got the dirt about Manafort's lobbying activities in Ukraine (and his subsequent Russian connections) from the Ukrainian government as a result of their investigation into him. So that's probably how I would parse it - if the information was legally obtained, it's fair game, but if it was the result of illegal activity, such as hacking, then it's off the table.
And the Warhawks just got a present in their laps, as a pair of oil tankers were victim of an apparent attack in the Gulf of Oman
. Personally, though, color me skeptical, primarily because of the aforementioned Warhawks in Trump's administration, the past history of such accusations (e.g. "Remember the Maine
"!) that later turned out to be false, and this little fact.
Iran's foreign minister described the attacks as beyond suspicious, given the timing with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe meeing in Tehran with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
"Suspicious doesn't begin to describe what likely transpired this morning," Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in a tweet. He didn't elaborate.
And I can't help but agree with his assessment, as it could have been a different nation/faction wanting to cast doubt on Iran and shake up their relations with Japan at a time of heightened visibility.
Edited by ironballs16 on Jun 13th 2019 at 10:22:01 AM
"Why would I inflict myself on somebody else?"

Yes, I think you're right.
He's trying to appeal to the idiotic centrists/'apolitical' people who confuse standing for nothing with being right.
Which is a terrible idea, such people are inherently unreliable and that sounds like the exact kind of strategy that results in low base turnout. All candidates should run on something actually substantive instead of mindless appeals to bipartisanship and 'moderation'.
Edited by Fourthspartan56 on Jun 12th 2019 at 6:27:30 AM
"Einstein would turn over in his grave. Not only does God play dice, the dice are loaded." -Chairman Sheng-Ji Yang