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

SatoshiBakura (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#286051: Jul 30th 2019 at 6:34:58 PM

O’Rourke has barely said anything this whole debate.

And Williamson mentions “dark psychic forces”.

Just why?

Edited by SatoshiBakura on Jul 30th 2019 at 9:38:38 AM

TheRoguePenguin Since: Jul, 2009
#286052: Jul 30th 2019 at 6:41:39 PM

Wait, I missed that. When did she say that?

CrimsonZephyr Would that it were so simple. from Massachusetts Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
Would that it were so simple.
#286053: Jul 30th 2019 at 6:41:58 PM

Warren and Bernie teaming up to destroy Delaney was the best part of the debate.

"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."
TheRoguePenguin Since: Jul, 2009
#286054: Jul 30th 2019 at 6:43:42 PM

Uh oh, Buttigeg is being called on his area's problems.

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#286055: Jul 30th 2019 at 6:44:43 PM

And Williamson mentions “dark psychic forces”.

Somehow I'm not surprised.

Please, please don't let her get into the next round.

Edited by M84 on Jul 30th 2019 at 9:45:13 PM

Disgusted, but not surprised
TheAirman Brightness from The vicinity of an area adjacent to a location Since: Feb, 2011 Relationship Status: Historians will say we were good friends.
Brightness
#286056: Jul 30th 2019 at 6:48:11 PM

Damn I took a nap earlier and missed the start, what's this about Warren and Sanders tag-teaming Delaney?

PSN ID: FateSeraph | Switch friendcode: SW-0145-8835-0610 Congratulations! She/They
MorningStar1337 The Encounter that ended the Dogma from 🤔 Since: Nov, 2012
The Encounter that ended the Dogma
#286057: Jul 30th 2019 at 6:56:59 PM

[up][up]Outside the debate, but relevant to Williamson is an article about how one of her quotes was misattributed (to Nelson Mandela) and that the context of the quote gives a little insight on her anti-vaxxer ways.

Going back to the debate, what wins did Warren get so far (outside smoking Delaney)?

Edited by MorningStar1337 on Jul 30th 2019 at 6:57:57 AM

PhysicalStamina i'm tired, my friend (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Coming soon to theaters
i'm tired, my friend
#286058: Jul 30th 2019 at 7:15:14 PM

Is Amy Klobuchar short or is Tim Ryan huge?

i'm tired, my friend
TheRoguePenguin Since: Jul, 2009
#286059: Jul 30th 2019 at 7:18:25 PM

Considering "height" is suggested in Google searches, I'd imagine it's the latter.

PhysicalStamina i'm tired, my friend (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Coming soon to theaters
i'm tired, my friend
#286060: Jul 30th 2019 at 7:36:17 PM

"I'm as progressive as anybody on this stage."

Okay, John.

i'm tired, my friend
Parable Since: Aug, 2009
#286061: Jul 30th 2019 at 7:38:31 PM

Beto was much more prepared this time.

AceofSpades Since: Apr, 2009 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
#286062: Jul 30th 2019 at 7:46:16 PM

Due to family drama I have missed the debates. Who's this John we're being dismissive of? [up][up]

Although I'm seeing the clip of Pete Buttigieg saying that we have to stop caring about what the Republicans think because they'll call us crazy socialists no matter what, and I'm kind of glad that someone finally flat out said it.

TheRoguePenguin Since: Jul, 2009
PhysicalStamina i'm tired, my friend (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Coming soon to theaters
i'm tired, my friend
#286064: Jul 30th 2019 at 7:48:08 PM

[up][up]John Hickenlooper, Governor (?) of Colorado and very much moderate. [nja]

And yes, Mayor Pete did get respect from me for that remark.

Edited by PhysicalStamina on Jul 30th 2019 at 10:48:54 AM

i'm tired, my friend
TheRoguePenguin Since: Jul, 2009
#286065: Jul 30th 2019 at 7:50:01 PM

I'm glad my hope for Bernie and Warren panned out.

Now to see how night 2 goes. Something tells me that group is going to be sniping somewhat harder.

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#286066: Jul 30th 2019 at 7:55:35 PM

The only thing I really want out of this is for Willaimson to be made totally irrelevant. I don't want another debate where someone spews shit about "psychic forces".

Disgusted, but not surprised
TheRoguePenguin Since: Jul, 2009
#286067: Jul 30th 2019 at 8:02:06 PM

Unless she shoots up in the polls, I think you don't have to worry about that one. These debates were very low bar.

Edited by TheRoguePenguin on Jul 30th 2019 at 8:03:08 AM

AzurePaladin She/Her Pronouns from Forest of Magic Since: Apr, 2018 Relationship Status: Mu
She/Her Pronouns
#286068: Jul 30th 2019 at 8:23:07 PM

Wow, that whole thing was alot...

There were a few good shutdowns, split between Sanders and Warren. The latter did not get to speak often, but she certainly made her answers count. She made great defenses of her policies and ideals, and took the other candidates to task for the half measures that were so frequently proposed. Sanders fell into his old flaws of reducing everything to economics, but did a great job of defending progressive policy. He also got in some rather brutal shutdowns. Even Buttgieg managed to get in some great lines about candidates playing into the Republican's hands.

Bullock, though, has immediately shot straight into my lowest tier. From the oozing condescension in his Establishing Character Moment on the healthcare question about how the system works for him so large change would be bad, to his outright advocacy of keeping and threatening (if not using) nuclear first strikes, to just how much he talked down to anyone and everyone, he's easily one of my least favorite candidates.

Williamson was uniquely frustrating, because she would mix in genuinely good points into the middle of her (hinted here) anti-vaxxor views and just general...whatever one would classify references to "Dark Psychic Forces" as. Some of her speeches there, I could see glimpses as to why people would support her. I am further convinced that she should never become President.

It'll be interesting to see tomorrow's debate. Harris, Booker, Castro, and Biden...the ball is now in their court.

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
wisewillow She/her Since: May, 2011
She/her
#286069: Jul 30th 2019 at 8:29:59 PM

Click here if you want to watch the moment Warren ripped Delaney’s soul from his body.

Delaney: whines about change being bad/scary/unrealistic

Warren: “I don't understand why anyone would go through all the trouble of running for President just to talk about the things we can't do and shouldn't fight for.”

AzurePaladin She/Her Pronouns from Forest of Magic Since: Apr, 2018 Relationship Status: Mu
She/Her Pronouns
#286070: Jul 30th 2019 at 8:36:10 PM

Evidently someone also edited Delaney's wikipedia page to reflect what happened!

[up] [lol][awesome]

Edited by AzurePaladin on Jul 30th 2019 at 11:37:04 AM

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
rmctagg09 The Wanderer from Brooklyn, NY (Before Recorded History) Relationship Status: I won't say I'm in love
The Wanderer
#286071: Jul 30th 2019 at 8:36:53 PM

Ronald Reagan's Long-Hidden Racist Conversation with Richard Nixon:

The day after the United Nations voted to recognize the People’s Republic of China, then–California Governor Ronald Reagan phoned President Richard Nixon at the White House and vented his frustration at the delegates who had sided against the United States. "Last night, I tell you, to watch that thing on television as I did," Reagan said. "Yeah," Nixon interjected. Reagan forged ahead with his complaint: "To see those, those monkeys from those African countries—damn them, they're still uncomfortable wearing shoes!" Nixon gave a huge laugh.

The past month has brought presidential racism back into the headlines. This October 1971 exchange between current and future presidents is a reminder that other presidents have subscribed to the racist belief that Africans or African Americans are somehow inferior. The most novel aspect of President Donald Trump’s racist gibes isn’t that he said them, but that he said them in public.

The exchange was taped by Nixon, and then later became the responsibility of the Nixon Presidential Library, which I directed from 2007 to 2011. When the National Archives originally released the tape of this conversation, in 2000, the racist portion was apparently withheld to protect Reagan’s privacy. A court order stipulated that the tapes be reviewed chronologically; the chronological review was completed in 2013. Not until 2017 or 2018 did the National Archives begin a general rereview of the earliest Nixon tapes. Reagan’s death, in 2004, eliminated the privacy concerns. Last year, as a researcher, I requested that the conversations involving Ronald Reagan be rereviewed, and two weeks ago, the National Archives released complete versions of the October 1971 conversations involving Reagan online.

When the UN took its vote to seat a delegation from Beijing instead of from Taiwan in 1971, members of the Tanzanian delegation started dancing in the General Assembly. Reagan, a devoted defender of Taiwan, was incensed, and tried to reach Nixon the night of the vote. Reagan despised the United Nations, which he described as a "kangaroo court" filled with "bums," and he wanted the U.S. to withdraw from full participation immediately. Nixon was asleep when Reagan called, so they spoke the next morning.

Reagan's slur touched an already raw nerve. Earlier that day, Nixon had called his deputy national security adviser, Al Haig, to cancel any future meetings with any African leader who had not voted with the United States on Taiwan, even if they had already been scheduled. "Don’t even submit to me the problem that it’s difficult to turn it off since we have already accepted it," Nixon exclaimed. "Just turn it off, on the ground that I will be out of town."

Nixon's anger at the UN delegations from African nations for the loss was misplaced. His own State Department blamed factors other than African voting, including maneuvering by the British and French behind the scenes, for the loss. But Nixon would have none of it. The Africans were to blame.

Hugging a Vanillite will give you frostbite.
Draghinazzo (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: I get a feeling so complicated...
#286072: Jul 30th 2019 at 9:51:27 PM

I can't say I'm terribly surprised. This is from the same guy who called african-american men "strapping young bucks" and fanned the flames of white resentment of the welfare state as part of his campaign.

NickTheSwing Since: Aug, 2009
#286073: Jul 31st 2019 at 12:31:03 AM

Williamson is an utter, abject quack - she peddles unscientific views, and someone should have told her "if you're talking about dark psychic forces, there's a clinic you should check yourself into."

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#286074: Jul 31st 2019 at 12:33:19 AM

Anyone else feel sick to their stomach that someone like Williamson has been on the same stage as the rest of the candidates? Twice? As if she's someone who should actually be taken seriously?

Anti-vaxxers just really really piss me off.

Edited by M84 on Aug 1st 2019 at 3:34:30 AM

Disgusted, but not surprised
Forenperser Foreign Troper from Germany Since: Mar, 2012
Foreign Troper
#286075: Jul 31st 2019 at 12:39:32 AM

Every election cycle has it's whack jobs.

Certified: 48.0% West Asian, 6.5% South Asian, 15.8% North/West European, 15.7% English, 7.4% Balkan, 6.6% Scandinavian

Total posts: 417,856
Top