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

ShinyCottonCandy Everyone's friend Malamar from Lumiose City (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
Everyone's friend Malamar
#335376: Oct 26th 2020 at 8:40:34 AM

Farmers can't, but grocery stores sure can, especially since sell by dates don't mean the food is bad, but it still can(t be sold.

My musician page
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#335377: Oct 26th 2020 at 8:41:32 AM

They can legally do that (and many do), but a lot are hesitant to do so for risk of litigation in case someone gets food poisoning.

The actual logistics of donating food is also pretty complicated. It's surprisingly hard to give shit away.

The same is true of money btw. Trying to give away your assets can be a full-time job if your assets are large enough.

Edited by M84 on Oct 26th 2020 at 11:43:36 PM

Disgusted, but not surprised
DeMarquis (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#335378: Oct 26th 2020 at 8:56:05 AM

The Atlantic has published an article on what could happen if Trump and his campaign attempt to obfuscate the election outcome: The Election That Could Break America:

"A lot of people, including Joe Biden, the Democratic Party nominee, have mis­conceived the nature of the threat. They frame it as a concern, unthinkable for presidents past, that Trump might refuse to vacate the Oval Office if he loses. They generally conclude, as Biden has, that in that event the proper authorities “will escort him from the White House with great dispatch.”

The worst case, however, is not that Trump rejects the election outcome. The worst case is that he uses his power to prevent a decisive outcome against him. If Trump sheds all restraint, and if his Republican allies play the parts he assigns them, he could obstruct the emergence of a legally unambiguous victory for Biden in the Electoral College and then in Congress. He could prevent the formation of consensus about whether there is any outcome at all. He could seize on that un­certainty to hold on to power."

I'm not sure that the article makes it's case. There are a lot of things that, legally, the Trump campaign could do. They include challenging every mail-in ballot that has anything seemingly wrong with it (like a signature in the wrong place, or a postmark that isn't clear), states that are controlled by Republican legislature could throw out the popular count, on some thin accusation of fraud, and select a slate of electors that support Trump, or the Republicans can hire "poll volunteers" to harass voters of color (there used to be a consent decree that prevented this in many states, but that expired).

Most of this only matters if the election is close. The worst case scenario is that Trump pulls a lead on election night, only to lose it when the mail-in ballots are counted. Maybe that will happen, maybe it wont. Then it comes down to how many lawyers each party hires and how hard the Democrats fight in courts between election night and swearing-in day. I can say this: Biden won't down gracefully like Al Gore.

If the election isn't close, even on election night, it's goodbye Trump, though not goodbye Conservatives. With two of the three branches of government potentially under Democrat control, it could be a bad four years for them.

I'm done trying to sound smart. "Clear" is the new smart.
Forenperser Foreign Troper from Germany Since: Mar, 2012
Foreign Troper
#335379: Oct 26th 2020 at 9:10:29 AM

The Republicans think everybody who receives EBT is like this

https://youtu.be/xLTTX35LNJo

Certified: 48.0% West Asian, 6.5% South Asian, 15.8% North/West European, 15.7% English, 7.4% Balkan, 6.6% Scandinavian
Lightysnake Since: May, 2010
#335380: Oct 26th 2020 at 9:11:12 AM

You have to love these pieces that constantly murmur "But what if Trump does something."

Okay, we're eight days away of election day and Trump's dastardly schemes to date: Make the mail late, call Biden's win fake, maybe something with courts? I dunno, nobody's really been able to point to a case that says "The Supreme Court can declare President." Or convince state legislators to just, you know, don't let Biden win, or something...

It's a cottage industry of fearmongering that presupposes the Bush v. Gore election can be replicated in these conditions. Like Trump's latest plan was...have Rudy Giuliani announce Hunter Biden was....something or other.

The idea that just maybe Trump loses and having isolated every potential ally is dragged out of office regardless of how willing he is to go or not doesn't seem to occur to a lot of them because, well...they get paid to not consider it.

Draghinazzo (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: I get a feeling so complicated...
#335381: Oct 26th 2020 at 9:16:09 AM

Some people are just not going to stop fearmongering until/if Biden is firmly confirmed to be victorious. I can only hope all this fear and anger is going to motivate turnout so that it turns out the polls were underestimating Biden.

TitanJump Since: Sep, 2013 Relationship Status: Singularity
#335382: Oct 26th 2020 at 9:17:00 AM

Be more worried if his death cult tries something more than Trump doing it himself.

After all, one of his cultists got caught in the middle of his preparations to assassinate Joe Biden (with a bomb on the list of things they found and confiscated once they arrested the guy) not that long ago...

Never underestimate the actions of a single deranged individual at any time or place.

They are the real imminent threat here, not Trump.

...

However, this election might be the most important one in the History of the United States so far...

Edited by TitanJump on Oct 26th 2020 at 5:26:37 PM

RedSavant Since: Jan, 2001
#335383: Oct 26th 2020 at 9:17:04 AM

I do think there's reason to be worried about another Florida situation, just because if there's any even pretense to muck up the outcome, you can bet the Republicans will seize on it. But I sincerely hope that's not the case.

It's been fun.
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#335384: Oct 26th 2020 at 9:22:40 AM

The moral of the story: if you're feeling anxiety and you can vote, vote.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#335385: Oct 26th 2020 at 9:25:34 AM

White House to host swearing-in event for Barrett on Monday night

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/522736-white-house-to-host-swearing-in-event-for-barrett-on-monday-night

    An Excerpt 
The White House plans to host a swearing-in ceremony for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett on Monday night following her expected confirmation, despite concerns that a gathering for her nomination in September was a super-spreader event for the coronavirus.

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows told reporters on Monday that if Barrett is confirmed by the Senate later in the day, "then we expect for a swearing-in to happen later this evening if all goes well."

"We’re doing ... the best we can to encourage as much social distancing as possible. It’ll be outdoors if it goes off as planned right now," Meadows said. "And still continue to do testing in and around those that are critical to the mission to try to get there."

Meadows brushed aside criticism that the ceremony would be a repeat of the late September Rose Garden event for Barrett by arguing that other factors may have contributed to the White House outbreak.

"The very first event, while there’s a whole lot of connects that have been made with who was at the event and who came down with it, we’ve been able to look at that and track as many as three different areas where the virus actually infected different people within the White House," Meadows said. "So it didn’t all come from that particular event."

Edited by sgamer82 on Oct 26th 2020 at 9:29:14 AM

RedSavant Since: Jan, 2001
#335386: Oct 26th 2020 at 9:25:53 AM

Yup. I was actually part of that giant early-voting wave in Harris County, TX. I'm still holding out hope to actually turn Texas around... because how amazing would that be?

It's been fun.
Draghinazzo (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: I get a feeling so complicated...
#335387: Oct 26th 2020 at 9:28:04 AM

Nate Silver elaborated a bit more on his prior statements about how much we'll know on election night.

Basically: the sun belt states (florida, north carolina, arizona) count their votes fairly quickly. If Biden wins in Florida decisively enough, he has a 99% chance of winning the election.

However if he doesn't win it the election becomes much closer to a toss-up and Biden would have to win multiple of the important rust belt states (pensylvania, michigan, wisconsin), and since they accept mail-in ballots as long as they're marked by election day, it could take a long while for all votes to be counted.

[up]Biden is basically statistically tied with trump in the recent texas polls, with him having a small margin of error lead between 1 to 3 points. I don't think it's likely to flip but also 538 presently gives it a 38% chance for biden victory, which is roughly equal to what trump had to win in 2016. So it's not implausible at all.

Edited by Draghinazzo on Oct 26th 2020 at 1:29:46 PM

RedSavant Since: Jan, 2001
#335388: Oct 26th 2020 at 9:35:46 AM

Uuuugh, god, I want the election to be over already. I've already taken the 3rd and the 4th off of work because I plan to be drunk the whole time. The waiting is the worst part.

It's been fun.
Nerevarine Since: Mar, 2016
#335389: Oct 26th 2020 at 9:39:20 AM

[up][up]Trump actually had a 29 percent chance of victory in 2016 according to 538, so that's significantly higher.

Still not expecting it to happen though.

Lightysnake Since: May, 2010
#335390: Oct 26th 2020 at 9:48:14 AM

Nate's problems are when he steps away from data to be a pundit. I don't think anyone says Trump can't win but Biden is polling astoundingly well in the "greatest against an incumbent since American polling began" levels. He has massive leads in the previously fallen Blue Wall states, and Trump jus put "fuck Pennsylvania" in his closing pitch!

We're at the point where Biden's lead is well past Hillary's, where he has already realistically won the states to kick Trump out and we're almost taking it for granted Arizona, North Carolina Georgia, Iowa, Florida and Texas are at the very least super competitive if not some being firmly eased into Biden's column.

It's possible Trump can win and I get a lot of us have PTSD from 2016, damn right I won't sleep truly sound until I see it called for Biden but the most likely result is Biden wins in a complete and utter route

The words "swing state of Texas" should send chills down Republicans' spines.

Edited by Lightysnake on Oct 26th 2020 at 9:49:30 AM

Draghinazzo (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: I get a feeling so complicated...
#335391: Oct 26th 2020 at 9:53:32 AM

I will be quite curious to see what the results of texas are, not just who wins but by what margins. It's possible that if Biden wins that's mostly just because of a historically unpopular candidate (i.e some of the voters who voted for him this time wouldn't do that again for another democrat unless they were up against someone very similar to trump) but that will also have a knock-on effect on downballot races and really increase the democrats' confidence in being able to win the state in the future.

WillKeaton from Alberta, Canada Since: Jun, 2010
#335392: Oct 26th 2020 at 10:12:03 AM

My biggest concern isn't Trump wining, it's Biden winning, but the Senate remaining Republican and preventing any legislation from passing.

Lightysnake Since: May, 2010
#335393: Oct 26th 2020 at 10:24:50 AM

Thankfully, that's also growing more unlikely. Trump is so awful he's dragging them down

Aszur A nice butterfly from Pagliacci's Since: Apr, 2014 Relationship Status: Don't hug me; I'm scared
A nice butterfly
#335394: Oct 26th 2020 at 10:25:57 AM

Still a threat, though. The Lincoln Project and NeverTrumper Republicans are still Republicans and would oppose everything progressive.

Edited by Aszur on Oct 26th 2020 at 11:26:10 AM

It has always been the prerogative of children and half-wits to point out that the emperor has no clothes
DeMarquis (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#335395: Oct 26th 2020 at 10:26:35 AM

And if that happens, it isn't just Trump losing, it's Trumpism. We may see the return of the Republican Establishment.

From our point of view, that's probably a slim net gain, though not by much.

I'm done trying to sound smart. "Clear" is the new smart.
ScubaWolf from South Carolina Since: Feb, 2020
#335396: Oct 26th 2020 at 10:30:44 AM

[up]x4 That is not probable. With how the Republicans have shackled themselves to Trump, people are not only for getting rid of Trump, but for getting rid of EVERY Republican currently in the Senate. Getting rid of Trump will most likely lead to getting rid of the Republican majority in the Senate.

Edited by ScubaWolf on Oct 26th 2020 at 1:30:54 PM

"In a move surprising absolutely no one"
Falrinn Since: Dec, 2014
#335397: Oct 26th 2020 at 10:31:18 AM

Looks like there's some evidence suggesting that the polls tightening and Biden's lead may have even started to rebounded slightly.

Currently 538 has Biden at a 9.2% popular vote advantage after it bottomed out at 9%.

archonspeaks Since: Jun, 2013
#335398: Oct 26th 2020 at 10:32:14 AM

Be more worried if his death cult tries something more than Trump doing it himself.

Frankly, we haven’t really seen much to indicate a massive wave of domestic terrorism is imminent. A single guy with a few pounds of tannerite getting wrapped up by the FBI isn’t exactly the most credible evidence of a threat.

They should have sent a poet.
TitanJump Since: Sep, 2013 Relationship Status: Singularity
#335399: Oct 26th 2020 at 10:34:31 AM

[up] That's because Trump hasn't lost... yet

I will withhold further comments and hope that I am wrong once the election is over.

Hopefully with an end to this four year long nightmare.

Nerevarine Since: Mar, 2016
#335400: Oct 26th 2020 at 10:35:26 AM

The republican establishment of old really isn't much of an improvement over the current Trump party. They'd still suppress voters and strike down voting rights, hurt LGBT people, push evangelical Christianity onto the country, destroy abortion rights, give the rich tax breaks, dehumanize immigrants and serve the military industrial complex. They'd just be more subtle about it.

The Lincoln Project doesn't hate Trump for his policies but because he's an impulsive idiot and disastrous for the long term health of the party.


Total posts: 417,856
Top