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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.

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

Galadriel Since: Feb, 2015
#336626: Nov 1st 2020 at 8:24:31 AM

[up][up], [up][up][up][up]Thank you! That’s very interesting! It sounds like the parties are far more a part of the basic institutional structure of government than they are in Canada.

(That system wouldn’t work here because, among other things, one of our parties’ guiding principles is opposition to Canada...)

The government runs the party primaries? I had been thinking the DNC ran the Democratic primary and the RNC ran the Republican primary.

Edited by Galadriel on Nov 1st 2020 at 11:27:23 AM

sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#336627: Nov 1st 2020 at 8:28:49 AM

Well, one of the Republicans' guiding principles is opposition to America, so we're not that different.

Galadriel Since: Feb, 2015
#336628: Nov 1st 2020 at 8:31:19 AM

No, this is like...imagine the Confederacy had a political party. Not in spirit, like the Republicans, but an actual CSA Party whose primary political objective was the secession of the southern states to form their own nation.

We have that, as one of the parties in parliament. (They’re also opposed to the basic civil liberties of ethnic minorities.) They were the second-largest party for a bit, back in the ‘90s.

It’s weird and frustrating.

Edited by Galadriel on Nov 1st 2020 at 11:33:17 AM

LSBK Since: Sep, 2014
#336630: Nov 1st 2020 at 8:41:52 AM

Already equating fully counting ballots with fraud, huh. Well, I don't think any of us are surprised by that.

RainingMetal (Handed A Sword) Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
#336631: Nov 1st 2020 at 8:45:12 AM

> Though, to be fair, the thread is moving quicker than normal since we're days from Election Day.

Come election day this thread will need a slow mode

It's why I was thinking this thread would be locked come election day regardless of the results. But the above suggestion would probably be more appropriate in the case of a Biden win.

No, this is like...imagine the Confederacy had a political party. Not in spirit, like the Republicans, but an actual CSA Party whose primary political objective was the secession of the southern states to form their own nation.

We have that, as one of the parties in parliament. (They’re also opposed to the basic civil liberties of ethnic minorities.) They were the second-largest party for a bit, back in the ‘90s.

It’s weird and frustrating.

Ah yes, the Bloc Quebecois. Every negative French stereotype in a single political party. Not sure if they're better or worse than out Conservative party. And the NDP getting beaten by the likes of them really doesn't bode well.

Edited by RainingMetal on Nov 1st 2020 at 11:45:23 AM

ASAB: All Sponsors Are Bad.
Draghinazzo (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: I get a feeling so complicated...
#336632: Nov 1st 2020 at 8:46:27 AM

The voting count has never been finalized on election night ever, and the US is in the middle of a pandemic, so this just becomes even more transparently an attempt to de legitimize elections and disenfranchise voters.

sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#336633: Nov 1st 2020 at 8:49:56 AM

No, this is like...imagine the Confederacy had a political party. Not in spirit, like the Republicans, but an actual CSA Party whose primary political objective was the secession of the southern states to form their own nation.

We have that, as one of the parties in parliament. (They’re also opposed to the basic civil liberties of ethnic minorities.) They were the second-largest party for a bit, back in the ‘90s.

It’s weird and frustrating.

That's still basically the Republicans, far as I can tell.

Ramidel Since: Jan, 2001
#336634: Nov 1st 2020 at 8:54:22 AM

The actual separatist movement in the Republican Party is functionally nonexistent. Occasionally we get some nutballs saying shit like that, but the party as a whole want to keep the blue states in the Union because that's where the corporate money is.

Galadriel Since: Feb, 2015
#336635: Nov 1st 2020 at 8:54:36 AM

@Raining Metal: The Bloc are, aside from racism/xenophobia, very different from the Conservatives in that they are (or were - they may have shifted lately) economically left-wing. The existence of the xenophobic left isn’t really a factor in US party politics - it’s more of an European thing.

I dislike them both.

The NDP’s chances in Quebec died the moment we chose Jagmeet Singh as leader. (He’s a Sikh who wears a turban. Quebec passed a law saying no one who wears anything religious - turban, hijab, yarmulke - can be hired or promoted in the civil service. He’s the exemplar of what they think should not exist.) We made the right choice - I don’t want to win by catering to leftist Trumpism.

The NDP have more support that the Bloc nationally, but they have fewer seats because their support is less geographically concentrated.

That Quebec law is something that not even the most right-wing US state could get away with, thanks to the First Amendment, so sometimes Canada can be even worse than the US.

Edited by Galadriel on Nov 1st 2020 at 12:05:20 PM

AlleyOop Since: Oct, 2010
#336636: Nov 1st 2020 at 9:15:32 AM

Ethnonationalism and economic leftism aren't as disparate as you'd think, based on some stories about the ethnocacerists of Peru and such. Hell, even the BNP were known for favoring a strong welfare safety net and even proletarian values so long as you were the right race.

Edited by AlleyOop on Nov 1st 2020 at 12:16:23 PM

Resileafs I actually wanted to be Resileaf Since: Jan, 2019
I actually wanted to be Resileaf
#336637: Nov 1st 2020 at 9:16:50 AM

I believe that the Bloc, for a time, had a place in Canadian politics. It's undeniable that Quebec used to be considered of secondary importance by the rest of Canada due to the french-speaking population there. The creation of the Bloc, a party that would represent the interests of the province, gave Quebecers enormous power in federal politics, allowing them to have a voice that had to be listened to by the rest of Canada, because Bloc votes had the near-entire province behind it and could swing things that the party in power wanted to implement.

The NDP's rise as a progressive party nearly killed the Bloc because the priorities of Quebecers changed when their position in Canada was more equal. I won,t deny that the Quebec government represents something ugly these days, but I feel that the progressive population is still trying to have its voice heard. But like anything, there are difficult parts where racist, conservative voices are regaining some power.

Edited by Resileafs on Nov 1st 2020 at 1:58:26 PM

AlleyOop Since: Oct, 2010
#336638: Nov 1st 2020 at 9:21:32 AM

It does seem to be a common issue that minority rights activism often has to be cautious about the risk of being hijacked by ethnonationalist strains. The Black Power movement certainly had this issue, and at times the Hong Kong democracy movement has faced issues with xenophobia towards their fellow Han for having the "wrong", insufficiently Hong Kongese attributes.

And speaking anecdotally I've seen a lot of people who belong to or speak on behalf of minority groups in their country, accidentally take inspiration from individuals who would be seen as rightwing nationalists in their native country where they are the dominant demographic. For example online leftists trying to perform Desi advocacy but quoting tenets of the notoriously Islamophobic Hindutva movement, as well as other more self-aware people calling them out on it.

Edited by AlleyOop on Nov 1st 2020 at 12:23:58 PM

Galadriel Since: Feb, 2015
#336639: Nov 1st 2020 at 9:38:37 AM

Fauci has given a very frank interview about Trump and COVID, including stating that Biden is “taking the pandemic seriously from a public health perspective” whereas Trump is “looking at it from a different perspective...the economy and reopening the country”.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/01/anthony-fauci-washington-post-covid-donald-trump

On White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows’ statement that they’re not going to control the virus, Fauci said, “I tip my hat to him for admitting the strategy...He is straightforward in telling you what’s on his mind. I commend him for that.”

The White House is pissed.

Edited by Galadriel on Nov 1st 2020 at 12:42:56 PM

Ramidel Since: Jan, 2001
#336640: Nov 1st 2020 at 10:51:49 AM

That Quebec law is something that not even the most right-wing US state could get away with, thanks to the First Amendment, so sometimes Canada can be even worse than the US.

Isn't Quebec the entire reason you have that never-to-be-sufficiently-damned notwithstanding clause?

I'm very thankful that we Americans don't have that. At least not officially. *glances at the SC*

CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#336641: Nov 1st 2020 at 11:12:58 AM

Texas Supreme Court denies Republicans' petition to throw out over 100,000 ballots in Harris County cast through curbside voting

On Sunday, the Supreme Court of Texas denied a request by the state's Republicans to reject over 100,000 ballots cast through curbside voting in Harris County, Texas. These efforts follow an October 22 decision by the Texas Supreme Court denying a GOP bid to shut down curbside voting — also know as drive-thru voting. The petition claims that drive-thru voting is an illegal expansion of curbside voting, the Austin American-Statesman reports.

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
RainehDaze Nero Fangirl (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
Nero Fangirl
#336642: Nov 1st 2020 at 11:18:53 AM

Yes, but it's the Federal court that's the problem, where they're trying to get it declared unconstitutional and thrown out that way.

Fourthspartan56 from Georgia, US Since: Oct, 2016 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
#336643: Nov 1st 2020 at 11:19:49 AM

Thank goodness. Even if that's not the end of it it's still a very real victory.

"Einstein would turn over in his grave. Not only does God play dice, the dice are loaded." -Chairman Sheng-Ji Yang
Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#336644: Nov 1st 2020 at 11:34:52 AM

@Ramidel, I'd be willing to elaborate on the Notwithstanding Clause, but we should move it over to the Canadian politics thread. This is not the time to go off topic here.

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
Ramidel Since: Jan, 2001
MichaelKatsuro Since: Apr, 2011
#336646: Nov 1st 2020 at 11:37:13 AM

Thank Jesus. I'm not even that religious but thank Jesus.

CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#336647: Nov 1st 2020 at 11:38:14 AM

Yes, but it's the Federal court that's the problem, where they're trying to get it declared unconstitutional and thrown out that way.

It would be a problem either way.

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
Ultimatum Disasturbator from the Amiga Forest (Old as dirt) Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
Disasturbator
#336648: Nov 1st 2020 at 11:41:16 AM

Thanking Jesus is weird when you're used to thanking God..

have a listen and have a link to my discord server
astrokitty Happiness is a cup of tea from Somewhere Out There Since: May, 2014 Relationship Status: Yes, I'm alone, but I'm alone and free
Happiness is a cup of tea
#336649: Nov 1st 2020 at 12:11:27 PM

Apparently, Scott Atlas, some white house COVID-19 advisor, just apologized for having an interview with "RT".

RT, also known as "Russia Today," is a registered foreign agent and is well known to be a Russian government propaganda outlet. Probably not very newsworthy, but whoops.

Somebody once told me the world was macaroni, I took a bite out of a tree
Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#336650: Nov 1st 2020 at 12:16:49 PM

Atlas was given a key position because he kisses Trump's ass. Despite being a MD, he has no background in infectious diseases.

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.

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