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

MrHellboy The Shadow from A world of my own Since: Dec, 2017 Relationship Status: Yes, I'm alone, but I'm alone and free
The Shadow
#289251: Sep 4th 2019 at 8:08:58 PM

Slightly off-topic:

Am I the only one who finds the whole "Bernie is our savior" thing from that side to be a little disturbing? Their hatred of anyone who isn't him is just... I don't know

The hardest thing in this world is to live in it.
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#289252: Sep 4th 2019 at 8:10:22 PM

It's a Vocal Minority, but it's a vicious Vocal Minority. One that is amplified thanks to social media.

But they're not all that surprising. They're just the latest manifestation of the Unicorn Brigade.

Edited by M84 on Sep 4th 2019 at 11:11:24 PM

Disgusted, but not surprised
MrHellboy The Shadow from A world of my own Since: Dec, 2017 Relationship Status: Yes, I'm alone, but I'm alone and free
The Shadow
#289253: Sep 4th 2019 at 8:15:28 PM

Sam Seder, Michael Brooks and the Young Turks are particularly bad about this.

Like, every little thing Elizabeth Warren says makes her an evil neo-capitalist but all the truly questionable things Bernie has said... not a word

It's just such a double standard

Edited by MrHellboy on Sep 4th 2019 at 10:16:40 AM

The hardest thing in this world is to live in it.
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#289254: Sep 4th 2019 at 8:17:08 PM

I'm no fan of Warren, but trying to demonize her for actually recognizing that one needs to work within the party infrastructure to actually accomplish anything is pretty low.

But what else can you expect from people so invested in Sanders that they even bought fucking Sanders t-shirts?

Edited by M84 on Sep 4th 2019 at 11:18:49 PM

Disgusted, but not surprised
MrHellboy The Shadow from A world of my own Since: Dec, 2017 Relationship Status: Yes, I'm alone, but I'm alone and free
The Shadow
#289255: Sep 4th 2019 at 8:19:47 PM

If I may ask, what exactly don't you like about Warren?

For me, she is my number-one choice

The hardest thing in this world is to live in it.
Mio Since: Jan, 2001
#289256: Sep 4th 2019 at 8:26:01 PM

[up][up][up]All three of those outlets are pretty open about their ideological leanings, and there is some pretty fundamental disagreements on how far things should go. Though to be honest I’ve never really seen Sam Seder or Michael Brooks trash Warren that hard. Can’t say anything about the Young Turks though.

sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#289257: Sep 4th 2019 at 8:28:21 PM

[up][up] Like Clinton before her, she's easily the most competent person currently in the running.

Parable Since: Aug, 2009
#289258: Sep 4th 2019 at 8:32:18 PM

I've never heard the Young Turks being mentioned by anyone here in a positive light.

I've never heard of Sam Seder or Michael Brooks at all. Anyone got the run down on them or should I trust Google?

wisewillow She/her Since: May, 2011
She/her
#289259: Sep 4th 2019 at 8:39:12 PM

[up]x5 Uh... tons of people buy t-shirts for their preferred candidate. Weird detail to call out as a sign of cult-like obsession.

Edited by wisewillow on Sep 4th 2019 at 8:39:31 AM

Mio Since: Jan, 2001
#289260: Sep 4th 2019 at 8:42:05 PM

[up][up]They are two leftist podcasters (Michael Brooks significantly more so then Sam Seder) that do sort of talk radio style news and commentary shows.

MrHellboy The Shadow from A world of my own Since: Dec, 2017 Relationship Status: Yes, I'm alone, but I'm alone and free
The Shadow
#289261: Sep 4th 2019 at 8:43:52 PM

I don't watch TYT as much as the other two. They certainly have their problems, I will admit

The hardest thing in this world is to live in it.
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#289262: Sep 4th 2019 at 8:44:24 PM

[up][up][up]They're on par with those Che Guevara t-shirts that somehow became popular.

I bring up the t-shirts because they're a visual sign of just how invested they are in Bernie.

Edited by M84 on Sep 4th 2019 at 11:46:43 PM

Disgusted, but not surprised
Mio Since: Jan, 2001
#289263: Sep 4th 2019 at 8:49:19 PM

[up]Why do you say that exactly? Do you think they represent similar ideas or phenomenon?

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#289264: Sep 4th 2019 at 8:51:57 PM

[up]A similar phenomenon of people becoming memes.

Disgusted, but not surprised
sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#289265: Sep 4th 2019 at 8:52:25 PM

https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2019/09/04/day-958/

    Day 958: "I don't know." 
1/ Trump displayed a doctored National Weather Service map to "prove" that Alabama would, in fact, be affected by Hurricane Dorian. The storm's projected path on the map was extended to include Alabama with a black marker in an apparent attempted to retroactively justify Trump's incorrect tweet over the weekend warning that Alabama could be affected. "This is original path that we thought – and everybody thought that this was about a 95 percent probably," Trump said. When asked whether the chart had been drawn on, Trump said: "I don't know; I don't know." By law, knowingly issuing a false weather report is a violation of the law subject to imprisonment and or fine. (Washington Post / NPR / ABC News / The Guardian)

https://www.npr.org/2019/09/04/757586936/trump-displays-altered-map-of-hurricane-dorians-path-to-include-alabama

📌 Day 957: Trump refused to retract his claim that Hurricane Dorian was poised to hit Alabama, even though the National Weather Service said he was wrong. The NWS office in Birmingham rejected Trump's assertion that Alabama was in the storm's path, tweeting: "We repeat, no impacts from Hurricane Dorian will be felt across Alabama." Trump, meanwhile, explained that it's "Always good to be prepared!" (CNN / New York Times / The Hill / Yahoo! News)

https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/02/politics/trump-hurricane-dorian-false-claims-alabama/index.html

2/ The Trump administration relaxed requirements for energy efficient light bulbs that Congress passed in 2007. The Energy Department's filing in the Federal Register will now prevent new efficiency standards for inefficient incandescent and halogen bulbs from going into effect on Jan. 1st. (New York Times)

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/04/climate/trump-light-bulb-rollback.html

3/ The FBI is tracking people protesting U.S. immigration policy at the border and monitoring their social media. The FBI office in Phoenix sent an "external intelligence note" to other law enforcement and government agencies saying these groups are "increasingly arming themselves and using lethal force to further their goals." Almost all of the evidence cited in the report involved nonviolent protest activity. Civil rights advocates say that the government is classifying legitimate protests and legally protected speech as violent extremism or domestic terrorism. (Yahoo News)

https://news.yahoo.com/exclusive-document-reveals-the-fbi-is-tracking-border-protest-groups-as-extremist-organizations-170050594.html

4/ Mitch Mc Connell reiterated that he is open to bringing gun legislation to the floor of the Senate – but only if Trump supports it. Democrats are urging Mc Connell to bring the House's universal background checks bill to the Senate floor. Mc Connell said he would be happy to put the bill on the floor if Trump "is in favor of a number of things that he has discussed openly and publicly, and I know that if we pass it it'll become law." (Politico)

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/09/03/mcconnell-guns-trump-senate-1479818

Trump said he hopes will Congress would reach an agreement on gun reform "soon," but didn't endorse the House-passed bill that would mandate universal background checks for all gun sales. (Politico)

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/09/04/trump-gun-control-1481315

San Francisco's Board of Supervisors labeled the NRA a terrorist organization, saying the organization intentional "spreads propaganda that misinforms and aims to deceive the public about the dangers of gun violence." The NRA called the resolution a "ludicrous stunt." (KTVU)

http://www.ktvu.com/news/ktvu-local-news/san-francisco-board-of-supervisors-designates-nra-domestic-terrorist-organization

5/ A former top Trump official at the Interior Department who oversaw oil and gas drilling on federal lands joined an oil and gas company less than a week after resigning from Interior. Joe Balash served as assistant secretary for land and minerals management for nearly two years, where he worked to open up the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to development and expand drilling on the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska to the west of the refuge. Now, Balash will be working for Oil Search, a Papua New Guinea-based oil company that is currently developing one of Alaska's largest oil prospects in years on state lands that are nearby — but not inside — those same federal reserves. (Washington Post)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2019/09/04/top-interior-official-who-pushed-expand-drilling-alaska-join-oil-company-there/

6/ The House Judiciary Committee subpoenaed the Department of Homeland Security over Trump's alleged offer to pardon officials who break the law while carrying out his immigration agenda. Trump has denied making the offer while his allies claimed the closed-door comment was a joke. (Politico)

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/09/04/judiciary-panel-issues-subpoena-on-trumps-alleged-offer-to-pardon-dhs-officials-1481317

📌 Day 951: Trump promised to pardon any official who breaks the law in order to get his border wall built by the 2020 election. Trump also directed officials to "take the land" necessary and "get it done" by eminent domain along the U.S.-Mexico border, ignore environmental regulations, and quickly approve billions of dollars' worth of construction contracts to fast-track his signature 2016 presidential campaign promise. "Don't worry, I'll pardon you," Trump reportedly told aides. (Washington Post / New York Times / CNBC / CNN / The Independent)

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/28/trump-promised-pardons-to-get-border-wall-built-before-election-report.html

7/ A federal judge blocked the White House's decision to revoke a Playboy reporter's press pass over a showdown in the Rose Garden with former Trump aide Sebastian Gorka. U.S. District Court Judge Rudolph Contreras granted a preliminary injunction to restore Brian Karem's "hard pass," because reporters weren't given a clear set of rules governing press conduct at events like the one in question in the Rose Garden. Despite objections from the White House press secretary that reporters are required to adhere to general standards of "professionalism" and "decorum," Contreras said that "without any contextual guideposts, 'professionalism,' standing alone, remains too murky to provide fair notice here." (Politico / Washington Post)

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/09/03/judge-press-pass-brian-karem-1479990

poll/ 62% of voters said they're somewhat or very concerned that there will be a recession in the next six months. 57% said they would blame Trump should America enter recession by the end of the year. (Newsweek / Harvard CAPS/Harris)

https://www.newsweek.com/trump-recession-voters-blame-poll-china-trade-war-1457568

wisewillow She/her Since: May, 2011
She/her
#289266: Sep 4th 2019 at 8:53:54 PM

[up][up]Literally every candidate sells t-shirts. Lots of people buy them, not just hardcore supporters.

Parable Since: Aug, 2009
#289267: Sep 4th 2019 at 8:58:22 PM

Klobuchar even has t shirts in Spanish.

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#289268: Sep 4th 2019 at 8:59:03 PM

Not all the shirts become as popular though. Nor do they all actually feature the candidate's face in a style that seems to invoke the Che Guevara shirt.

Warren's shirts for example seem to be in the style of Obama's posters.

[down]That's more or less what I'm talking about.

Edited by M84 on Sep 5th 2019 at 12:01:01 AM

Disgusted, but not surprised
RedSavant Since: Jan, 2001
#289269: Sep 4th 2019 at 9:00:13 PM

That said, I think there is a difference between '[X] 2020' shirts and a fanmade T-shirt with a candidate's face on it or something, which I assume is the kind of shirt M84 is talking about.

It's been fun.
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#289270: Sep 4th 2019 at 9:02:17 PM

I gotta admit, that one Warren shirt I found that was reminiscent of Rosie the Riveter looked pretty nice.

[up]Heck, I've even found shirts that combined Sanders and Che Guevara, complete with the words "Viva la Revolucion!"

Edited by M84 on Sep 5th 2019 at 12:04:52 AM

Disgusted, but not surprised
CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#289271: Sep 4th 2019 at 9:30:19 PM

7/ A federal judge blocked the White House's decision to revoke a Playboy reporter's press pass over a showdown in the Rose Garden with former Trump aide Sebastian Gorka. U.S. District Court Judge Rudolph Contreras granted a preliminary injunction to restore Brian Karem's "hard pass," because reporters weren't given a clear set of rules governing press conduct at events like the one in question in the Rose Garden. Despite objections from the White House press secretary that reporters are required to adhere to general standards of "professionalism" and "decorum," Contreras said that "without any contextual guideposts, 'professionalism,' standing alone, remains too murky to provide fair notice here." (Politico / Washington Post)

I vote this one for this week's "This seems most like it should belong in the Onion."

Edited by CharlesPhipps on Sep 4th 2019 at 9:30:35 AM

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
Pachylad (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#289272: Sep 4th 2019 at 9:56:30 PM

I'm no fan of Warren, but trying to demonize her for actually recognizing that one needs to work within the party infrastructure to actually accomplish anything is pretty low.
If I may ask, what exactly don't you like about Warren?

Yo M84, still interested in this

Forenperser Foreign Troper from Germany Since: Mar, 2012
Foreign Troper
#289273: Sep 4th 2019 at 11:14:22 PM

I am Pro Bernie, but yeah, these cultish fans are pretty creepy.

[up] For that matter, do you even like ANYBODY from the DNC?^^ Also seen you say that you don't like AOC.

Edited by Forenperser on Sep 4th 2019 at 8:49:55 PM

Certified: 48.0% West Asian, 6.5% South Asian, 15.8% North/West European, 15.7% English, 7.4% Balkan, 6.6% Scandinavian
TheRoguePenguin Since: Jul, 2009
#289274: Sep 5th 2019 at 12:25:40 AM

The climate change CNN debate has come and gone. Evidently, Biden didn't fare so well. Some highlights:

  • Biden was called on having a fundraiser with Andrew Goldman — a co-founder of Western LNG, a natural gas production company based in Houston, Texas — and couldn't give a good answer other than his staff didn't catch it because he's currently just an investor.
  • He evidently kept jumping between points without finishing his thoughts, and wasn't all that clear on his ideas.
  • He sat through most of it —others stood — and had a burst blood vessel in his eye by the end.

Or, as the article sums it up.

Yet for all of Biden’s well-reported troubles, he has remained the 2020 front-runner from the moment he announced his candidacy. By now, he and his campaign have to be aware of the political adage: “Sooner or later, every front-runner takes a punch.” For Biden, those punches are flying, and he does not seem prepared to deal with them. Eventually, unless he starts to defend himself better, one of them is going to floor him.

Edited by TheRoguePenguin on Sep 5th 2019 at 12:26:54 PM

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#289275: Sep 5th 2019 at 12:29:07 AM

Elizabeth Warren Says ‘No’ to Nuclear Power: Campaign Update

As an advocate for nuclear power, this is...yeesh.

Not that the other candidates fare much better.

We've got Biden who claims he "didn't know" the host of an upcoming fundraiser was a founder of a natural-gas company even though he promised he wouldn't take money from the fossil-fuel industry.

We've got Sanders saying it's "pretty stupid" to help coastal residents rebuild their homes in the wake of natural disasters...in the wake of Hurricane Dorian.

We've got Klobuchar who decided to prioritize hamburgers and cheese in a climate change debate.

We've got Harris actually giving weight to the plastric straw thing, vowing to replace them all with paper straws while admitting they get droopy.

We've got Yang who gets the Green New Deal wrong by repeating an erroneous claim that it would ban air travel.

We've got Castro defending fracking and refusing to support a nation-wide ban.

Oh, and apparently a recent poll gives Biden a considerable lead in Wisconsin.

Edited by M84 on Sep 6th 2019 at 3:29:32 AM

Disgusted, but not surprised

Total posts: 417,856
Top