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

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#341726: Nov 30th 2020 at 5:42:16 AM

NVM

Edited by M84 on Nov 30th 2020 at 9:42:43 PM

Disgusted, but not surprised
clemont107 Mega Togekiss?! from Land of Missed Opportunities (Experienced, Not Yet Jaded) Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
Mega Togekiss?!
#341727: Nov 30th 2020 at 5:53:53 AM

[up][up]He's a sadist who wants to see people suffer and die. It's the same reason why he called for five innocent men of color to be executed in the 1990s, because he needs to find at least one person to make suffer for his own enjoyment.

He's like a dumber, less refined version of Freddy Krueger.

"Wow, no Mega Togekiss in Legends Z-A. Or any non-Froslass new Sinnoh Mega Evolutions. Round of applause, everybody." - Dawn
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#341728: Nov 30th 2020 at 5:55:12 AM

As a shallow, incurious, egotistical person, Trump loves spectacle, and he loves emulating people that he sees as "powerful". That means executions as an overt symbol of state authority. "I have the power to kill you if I don't like you."

Edited by Fighteer on Nov 30th 2020 at 8:55:45 AM

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
unknowing from somewhere.. Since: Mar, 2014
#341729: Nov 30th 2020 at 5:58:14 AM

It also fit him with his childish display of what it should be loyalty "you stick with me and What I tell you to do to the bitter end".

Trump wanna minions in the end.

"My Name is Bolt, Bolt Crank and I dont care if you believe or not"
ScubaWolf from South Carolina Since: Feb, 2020
#341730: Nov 30th 2020 at 6:01:34 AM

Call it a hunch, but I have a feeling it may be used against Republicans in the near future (within 10 years). Not that I'd wish it on them, but considering how much they've been trying to stage a coup, something like this would surely backfire on them spectacularly.

"In a move surprising absolutely no one"
PhysicalStamina i'm tired, my friend (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Coming soon to theaters
i'm tired, my friend
#341731: Nov 30th 2020 at 6:13:30 AM

I think it's just part of the tantrum he's throwing over having lost the election.

i'm tired, my friend
clemont107 Mega Togekiss?! from Land of Missed Opportunities (Experienced, Not Yet Jaded) Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
Mega Togekiss?!
#341732: Nov 30th 2020 at 6:15:04 AM

[up][up]Stephen Miller, DeJoy, and some others who have worked for their Orange Master in addition to the Orange Master himself absolutely deserve life in prison. I feel that a life sentence would be most fitting for them, them having to suffer with the consequences of their actions for the rest of their lives.

Edited by clemont107 on Nov 30th 2020 at 9:15:22 AM

"Wow, no Mega Togekiss in Legends Z-A. Or any non-Froslass new Sinnoh Mega Evolutions. Round of applause, everybody." - Dawn
MarqFJA The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer from Deserts of the Middle East (Before Recorded History) Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer
#341733: Nov 30th 2020 at 6:24:18 AM

Trump wouldn't last long in prison. He'd probably suffer a stroke from the sheer outrage at him being there, which is a very bad thing for someone as old and unhealthy as he is.

Edited by MarqFJA on Nov 30th 2020 at 5:24:51 PM

Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#341734: Nov 30th 2020 at 6:29:43 AM

Trump is a physical coward who uses personal privilege as a shield from consequences.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
speedyboris Since: Feb, 2010
#341735: Nov 30th 2020 at 6:39:56 AM

It's part of his LAW AND ORDER/tough-on-crime image. Just be thankful he didn't get re-elected, he would probably want to skip the due process part and just have firing squads execute people before trial.

Blueace Surrounded by weirdoes from The End Of the World Since: Dec, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Surrounded by weirdoes
#341736: Nov 30th 2020 at 6:43:31 AM

Surprising the last couple weeks haven't caused him a heart attack yet. Think he holds on to January 20?

Wake me up at your own risk.
PhysicalStamina i'm tired, my friend (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Coming soon to theaters
i'm tired, my friend
#341737: Nov 30th 2020 at 6:45:23 AM

Trump keeling over any time soon is just wishful thinking. Just as much now as it was in 2016. Stop it.

i'm tired, my friend
Lazlo74 from A tropical hell-hole Since: May, 2018
#341738: Nov 30th 2020 at 6:46:53 AM

If anything, I think it's his diehard supporters who are likelier to suffer from heart attacks right now

Scaled seeker
Redmess Redmess from Netherlands Since: Feb, 2014
Redmess
#341739: Nov 30th 2020 at 7:08:06 AM

Yeah, its wishful thinking and not helping, please stop it.

Hope shines brightest in the darkest times
Robrecht Your friendly neighbourhood Regent from The Netherlands Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: They can't hide forever. We've got satellites.
Your friendly neighbourhood Regent
#341740: Nov 30th 2020 at 7:09:22 AM

Given the... Eh... Well, the minority status of all of the people slated for speedy execution before Trump leaves office and his history of calling for the execution of others, including those proven to be wrongfully convicted (like the Central Park Five), I suspect it's less a power play and more that Trump genuinely derives some form of satisfaction or pleasure from the government executing minorities.

Although, you know, it could be that and a power play. He is still a narcissistic fascist, after all.

Angry gets shit done.
archonspeaks Since: Jun, 2013
#341741: Nov 30th 2020 at 7:10:49 AM

It's fast compared to the whole heap of nothing substantial that was achieved policy-wise from the 1870s to the 1950s.

It’s outright false to state that there was no substantial effort made on civil rights between 1870 and 1950. The NAACP was founded in 1909 and had successful campaigns to influence state law all over the country in the decades after its founding, and the ACLU was founded in 1920. Both were reflections of the grassroots activism of the era, which was widespread. Moreover, specifying “1870 to 1950” ignores that the civil rights victories after 1950 were built on things that happened prior to 1870.

Pretty much every example listed as a reason for why incremental change doesn’t work was built on decades of incremental change. That doesn’t mean we should only advocate for tiny changes, but it also doesn’t mean we should ignore their value.

They should have sent a poet.
Robrecht Your friendly neighbourhood Regent from The Netherlands Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: They can't hide forever. We've got satellites.
Your friendly neighbourhood Regent
#341742: Nov 30th 2020 at 7:20:46 AM

[up]Sort of thought we'd moved past this, but...

Yes. Small incremental acts of activism are pretty much essential to changing society for the better.

Small incremental policy and legislation changes do not work nearly as well, because every fucking time they're attempted, the opposition immediate negates or subverts them.

If you want a really good example of that, I recommend reading up on why segregation in public transport, particularly buses, was such a significant focal point for Civil Rights activism. (Or ask me to summarize it, if you prefer).

Angry gets shit done.
TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#341743: Nov 30th 2020 at 7:22:47 AM

Call it a hunch, but I have a feeling it may be used against Republicans in the near future (within 10 years). Not that I'd wish it on them, but considering how much they've been trying to stage a coup, something like this would surely backfire on them spectacularly.

Extremely doubtful. There isn't going to be some sort of mass arrest of all Trump Executive leadership and all Republican Senators when Biden takes office. Trump himself may face a DOJ criminal investigation, possibly, but what you're imagining isn't going to happen.

It's not a crime for elected leaders to lead poorly. It's not even a crime for elected leaders to lead cruelly. There is not a felony called Criminally Malicious Governance. It's a hard pill to swallow, but Republican leaders have been doing exactly what Republican voters elected them to do, and by the laws of the land, they are allowed to do it. There is no higher authority in the United States than the United States Government.

No matter how detestable their actions may be, you can't have Stephen Miller arrested for being a racist toolbag. You can't even have him arrested for the concentration camps. It is legal for the government to establish concentration camps. There is no felony for members of the federal government establishing concentration camps.

This is something that a lot of liberals have struggled with over the past four years: when the President or the Senate does it, so long as they were acting within the scope of their office, it's not legally considered a crime. Because their office is the government, and the government decides what crimes are. There is no higher authority above the federal level. The only people Watching the federal Watchmen are voters, and their only power is the vote.

Trump himself is guilty of crimes outside the scope of his office, and he may face consequences for those if the DOJ decides that the kicking the political hornet's nest and arresting a former POTUS is worth the consequences guaranteed to ensue. But the things people actually want Republicans prosecuted for aren't actually felonies for which they can be. They can only be voted out, as Trump and his administration were earlier this month.

Edited by TobiasDrake on Nov 30th 2020 at 7:30:04 AM

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
Wildcard Since: Jun, 2012
#341744: Nov 30th 2020 at 7:35:42 AM

I do want Trump arrested for the rapes he "allegedly" committed and those business partners who "disappeared" and for his deals with Epstein. But I think the statue of limitations has probably run out on those, it is horrible that he won't be held accountable for those and won't even be investigated.sad

Edited by Wildcard on Nov 30th 2020 at 10:36:39 AM

Draghinazzo (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: I get a feeling so complicated...
#341745: Nov 30th 2020 at 7:42:37 AM

New York has a bunch of stuff they want to charge him with, as I understand it. So the DOJ doesn't even necessarily have to get involved.

TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#341746: Nov 30th 2020 at 7:50:39 AM

No, they will. Trump can evade New York state charges by the simple act of being in Florida instead. State troopers can't cross state lines to apprehend a criminal.

Even if they move forward with prosecuting, New York will have to negotiate with either the state of Florida or the federal government to have Trump retrieved and extradited. I don't really expect Florida to cooperate, so it's likely that the DOJ will have to send people to grab him all the same.

New York has been making buzz about wanting to investigate Trump for years. I don't expect him to ever return to Trump Tower in person. He knows, just as well as every other American, what might be waiting for him there.

Edited by TobiasDrake on Nov 30th 2020 at 7:53:28 AM

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
Khudzlin Since: Nov, 2013
#341747: Nov 30th 2020 at 7:56:10 AM

The big problem with firing squads... well, one of the big problems... is what it does to the people shooting the guns. The trauma is severe and permanent.

Wouldn't that happen with any method where the executioner(s) can see their actions directly resulting in death?

Also, even assuming an execution is justified (which I assume is required to order it or carry it out), it's still intentionally killing someone in cold blood and it shouldn't be easy.

Edited by Khudzlin on Nov 30th 2020 at 4:56:22 PM

Memers Since: Aug, 2013
#341748: Nov 30th 2020 at 7:56:27 AM

With the governor in charge of Florida... they arnt going to work with New York on squat.

Robrecht Your friendly neighbourhood Regent from The Netherlands Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: They can't hide forever. We've got satellites.
Your friendly neighbourhood Regent
#341749: Nov 30th 2020 at 8:02:28 AM

[up][up] Psychologically? No.

A lethal injection, for instance, is still, you know, actively killing someone, but it's also relatively easy to distance oneself from. The condemned person being executed just simply... Peacefully goes to sleep and doesn't wake up.

Firing a gun is already in and of itself a pretty violent act, there's the loud bang and flash just a few feet from your face and the sharp push of recoil into your shoulder that all make it feel more real and impactful. Firing it into a person and seeing what the bullet does to their body and then standing there as they bleed out and the life fades from them? Muuuuuuch more traumatizing.

Edited by Robrecht on Nov 30th 2020 at 5:04:41 PM

Angry gets shit done.
Redmess Redmess from Netherlands Since: Feb, 2014
Redmess
#341750: Nov 30th 2020 at 8:02:49 AM

And that's assuming Biden is willing to kick that hornet's nest and go after Florida over extraditing Trump.

[up] They, uh, don't go peacefully to sleep. That's the propaganda around lethal injections, but it is rather far from the truth. You should read up on it, if you can stomach it. It's not pleasant.

Edited by Redmess on Nov 30th 2020 at 5:04:18 PM

Hope shines brightest in the darkest times

Total posts: 417,856
Top