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
Why are we whitewashing Romney?
He was rightfully dragged during 2012.
He flipped flopped more than Trump did.
Remember his "47% comment"?
This is what he said when asked about Muslims in his cabinet:
"They’re radicals. There’s no talking to them. There’s no negotiating with them."
And of course, like Trump, he's a chronic liar
Edited by NoName999 on Nov 24th 2020 at 6:36:08 AM
YouTube temporarily suspends, demonetizes OANN – The Google-owned platform took action over a video falsely promoting a COVID-19 cure.
Edited by sgamer82 on Nov 24th 2020 at 6:47:37 AM
It's really sad that Lindsey Graham was one of the saner republicans(not good, just relatively saner) and now he's sold whatever was left of his soul for political gaiin and he's whole hog now.
You can only write so much in your forum signature. It's not fair that I want to write a piece of writing yet it will cut me off in the mid
He was never sane to begin with.
I've read that he was one of the better ones (again better not good). It's telling that Al Franken once said "I might vote for you." and Graham responded with: "Yeah that's my problem." I guess he took that advice to heart...
Edited by jjjj2 on Nov 24th 2020 at 10:05:51 AM
You can only write so much in your forum signature. It's not fair that I want to write a piece of writing yet it will cut me off in the midI do think that some people were arguing that Romney was the worst Republican presidential nominee?
Of course, whether Bush was worse than him is a matter of opinion.
Oh God! Natural light!Romney was mediocre as far as candidates go, which as I and others have been pointing out, says more about the Republicans as a whole than anything about Romney.
And yeah, I'd agree that regardless of how bad Romney has been as is, there's still a deep trench before he reaches the likes of people like Strom Thurmond.
Edited by AlleyOop on Nov 24th 2020 at 11:09:10 AM
While there have been warning signs since Reagan, the GOP's degradation really got underway when Sarah Palin became the VP candidate. She was a harbinger of things to come.
Here's a 2018 Vox article on the matter.
John McCain, Sarah Palin, and the rise of reality TV politics
It’s one of the most important moments of Mc Cain’s career. He proved willing to empower a demagogue when he thought doing so would improve his political fortunes, exactly the sin so many of his colleagues in the Republican Party have committed since Trump won their party’s nomination.
“She’s not from these parts and she’s not from Washington, but when you get to know her, you’re going to be as impressed as I am,” Mc Cain said when he announced his decision. “She’s got the grit, integrity, the good sense and fierce devotion to the common good that is exactly what we need in Washington today.”
Palin’s big moment in front of a national audience was at the Republican National Convention. Her big opener was to ask the crowd: “What’s the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull?” Her answer: “Lipstick.”
Edited by M84 on Nov 25th 2020 at 12:13:12 AM
Disgusted, but not surprisedAt this point, it's kind of useless to sort Republicans into "good" and "bad" categories. Even the best of them are married to a fundamentally fraudulent ideology. That they occasionally do something principled is an aberration, not a rule. The last Republican that I would consider principled in any meaningful way was John McCain, and even he had quite a few problems.
If you have genuine moral and ethical standards, you don't become a Republican; you become a Democrat. On the other side of the line, you have "bad" and "worse". The least offensive Republicans are the ones who are merely cynical, rather than actively malicious or incompetent.
Edited by Fighteer on Nov 24th 2020 at 11:12:00 AM
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"And as the article I linked pointed out, Mc Cain empowered Palin, a move that culminated in Donald Trump.
Disgusted, but not surprisedFrankly, I think that people keep trying to look for a place where it went wrong and Palin is a poor place to start. Bill Clinton was impeached by the Republican Party digging for years into his background in hopes of finding SOMETHING to go after him. This is because they could not stand the fact he won a democratic election against him in the South.
Newt Gingrich was already a father of lies, falsehoods, reactionary politics, and corruption when I was a teenager.
Reagan created a fake Morning in America by destroying unions, ignoring disease, and slashing almost all social programs in the United States.
Nixon created the War on Drugs to disenfranchise blacks and hippies. He also absorbed all of the Southern Democrats.
And before Nixon, Southern Democrats were a party that existed for and by racism.
Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.She's the one who helped bring it into the realm of reality tv bullshit. And that's how we got a reality tv guy as POTUS for four horrible years.
Yeah, Sarah Palin is a ridiculous figure worthy of mockery. But she was also genuinely dangerous and is a key reason for the rise of Trumpism.
Edited by M84 on Nov 25th 2020 at 12:27:39 AM
Disgusted, but not surprisedYeah, it's been a pretty consistent decline in quality of arguments, political strategies, rhetoric and morality for the republican part since at least Nixon. Each president (and going beyond him to speakers of the house and senators like Newt Gingrich and Mitch Mcconell) have all contributed to making american politics worse by the year.
Even Mc Cain regretted picking Palin in the end, saying he'd have rather picked Lieberman instead.
I think back in the day people were too busy laughing at Palin (and tbf she was worthy of mockery) to realize how much harm she was inflicting on US politics. Much like how people were too busy laughing at Trump to realize the threat he posed.
Edited by M84 on Nov 25th 2020 at 12:31:04 AM
Disgusted, but not surprised
If I recall Tina Fey's impression of Palin on Saturday Night Live was genuinely funny, in stark contrast to the real-life Palin, who I think is actually not funny at all. It seemed to me that one reason why McCain and Palin lost that year was because that parody made her look like a fool and thus not fit for Vice President.
It's similar to how I find Alec Baldwin's Trump funny and not the real man himself; I cannot see how anyone could ever find Trump funny, let alone produce numerous disgusting memes about him (which is why I don't look at memes anymore).
Edited by clemont107 on Nov 24th 2020 at 11:37:24 AM
"Wow, no Mega Togekiss in Legends Z-A. Or any non-Froslass new Sinnoh Mega Evolutions. Round of applause, everybody." - Dawn

Edited by ScubaWolf on Nov 24th 2020 at 9:30:39 AM
"In a move surprising absolutely no one"