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

SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#42326: Dec 2nd 2012 at 11:48:18 AM

The "The majority of the majority" thing is already known. Didn't these folks use it during the Bush years?

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
Serocco Serocco from Miami, Florida Since: Mar, 2010 Relationship Status: Faithful to 2D
Serocco
#42327: Dec 2nd 2012 at 12:39:03 PM

Thank you, US Senate, for effectively restricting indefinite detentions.

At least until the House goes "lol no".

In RWBY, every girl is Best Girl.
#42328: Dec 2nd 2012 at 1:36:50 PM

Allen West: Lincoln only served one term, too

Just in case anyone else made the same mistake I made, he was referring to Lincoln's one term in congress prior to being elected to two terms as president.

<><
tricksterson Never Trust from Behind you with an icepick Since: Apr, 2009 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
Trivialis Since: Oct, 2011
#42330: Dec 2nd 2012 at 2:48:00 PM

Remind the libertarian wing of the Tea Party about this betrayal and watch the T Pers get ousted in 2014, perhaps?

Am I misunderstanding your post? I thought libertarians would be staunchly against a law like NDAA.

SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#42331: Dec 2nd 2012 at 2:51:16 PM

NDAA is the budget bill that pays the Defense Department. It's not something that you can vote "no" on, which is why it's used to sneak through all matter of unrelated stuff - unfortunately, the US legislative process doesn't have a Stick of Off-Topic Thumpingtongue

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
Kostya (Unlucky Thirteen)
#42332: Dec 2nd 2012 at 3:19:35 PM

[up][up]They would be. That's why they'd remove those responsible. I'm not sure if that's the Tea Party though. I'd have to check.

Zephid Since: Jan, 2001
#42333: Dec 2nd 2012 at 3:30:17 PM

These..."people" lost the election, and still, they pretend like they have a mandate, hopping along on their corporate puppetmasters strings. When will they accept that they lost?
I remember hearing that Mitt Romney was honestly shocked he didn't win the presidential election. He, his family, his close advisers, they were all taken completely by surprise.

At first I dismissed it as acting for the base, and to some extent I still hope this is true. I have an issue with believing better of people like that. As weeks passed after the election and the shock began to appear genuine, it was then that I realized just how pervasive the conservative media bubble is.

My point is that it's very likely they're not pretending. The Republicans misconstrue the structural advantage they possessed in the House due to gerrymandering as an electoral mandate. The hope was that this election would be a wake-up call, but I think only another shock to the system is going to do it. I would prefer it happen in 2014, but the Democratic base has a bad track record with voting in midterm elections.

It'll break by 2016 at the latest. Neither party can stand being out of the White House for three consecutive terms before there's internal revolt.

I wrote about a fish turning into the moon.
#42334: Dec 2nd 2012 at 3:47:35 PM

The Republicans misconstrue the structural advantage they possessed in the House due to gerrymandering as an electoral mandate.

In 2010, house Republicans gained 51.4% of the popular vote. The democrats earned 44.8% of the vote. That's a much stronger "mandate"*

than Obama's 50.5% to 48.0% margin.

edited 2nd Dec '12 3:53:52 PM by EdwardsGrizzly

<><
Euodiachloris Since: Oct, 2010
Trivialis Since: Oct, 2011
#42336: Dec 2nd 2012 at 3:50:54 PM

In fact, Democrats got more total votes for House than Republicans in this year's election. If we ever had proportionally allocated seats, Democrat gains would be greater.

edited 2nd Dec '12 3:51:08 PM by Trivialis

ohsointocats from The Sand Wastes Since: Oct, 2011 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
#42337: Dec 2nd 2012 at 3:53:49 PM

The problem is that people keep trying to manipulate who comes out to vote.

Like, in my state, they put out an anti-gay-marriage constitutional amendment thinking that it would draw out a lot of conservatives but instead it riled up the youth vote like crazy. This sort of thing has to stop.

deathpigeon Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: One True Dodecahedron
#42338: Dec 2nd 2012 at 3:56:40 PM

Yeah. Everyone should come out to vote. We should encourage everyone to vote indiscriminately.

Serocco Serocco from Miami, Florida Since: Mar, 2010 Relationship Status: Faithful to 2D
Serocco
#42339: Dec 2nd 2012 at 4:01:49 PM

You remember how Joe Scarborough was once a Congressman, right? Who abruptly resigned six months after getting re-elected to his seat?

I found a pretty telling story about Scarborough. Normally I'm not one for sensationalist, tabloid-ish headlines, but I think it's a question that should be asked: What were the circumstances behind the death of one of Scarborough's aide?

The linked story claims that Scarborough is the murderer, but I'm not sure of it myself. What about you?

edited 2nd Dec '12 5:17:06 PM by Serocco

In RWBY, every girl is Best Girl.
TheyCallMeTomu Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
#42340: Dec 2nd 2012 at 4:02:50 PM

Midterm elections are a different voting demographic. They have been for a while. Now, whether that carries into 2014, I don't know. But a lot of people just don't care about the midterms. They don't think it's important. The Daily Show used to have a SONG about it.

Trivialis Since: Oct, 2011
#42341: Dec 2nd 2012 at 4:06:04 PM

[up]If there was a presidential duty every two years around that time, maybe an Address speech, that might change.

Serocco Serocco from Miami, Florida Since: Mar, 2010 Relationship Status: Faithful to 2D
Serocco
#42342: Dec 2nd 2012 at 4:12:01 PM

Scarborough was on Don Imus' radio show at one point. Imus asked, right out of left field, "You said you had sex with that intern and then you had to kill her."

Scarborough, laughing, replied, "Yeah, well what are you gonna do?"

I guess that whole thing was meant as a joke, because of how deadpanned Imus was about it.

edited 2nd Dec '12 5:24:06 PM by Serocco

In RWBY, every girl is Best Girl.
deathpigeon Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: One True Dodecahedron
Zephid Since: Jan, 2001
#42344: Dec 2nd 2012 at 4:26:02 PM

In 2010, house Republicans gained 51.4% of the popular vote. The democrats earned 44.8% of the vote. That's a much stronger "mandate"* than Obama's 50.5% to 48.0% margin.
Emphasis mine. I was speaking about the recent 2012 election. The Republicans won 2010 and picked up, what, 60+ seats in the House? No one denies that. That was the Tea Party's electoral debut, and man, did they take advantage of that.

Interesting that you bring up 2010 though. In 2012, Democratic candidates in the House earned something around a million votes countrywide more than Republican candidates, and yet the Republicans only lost a few seats. That's what I meant by a structural advantage. The Census being done in 2010 gave state legislatures the opportunity to redraw congressional districts, and as has been done time and again, the party in power (again, Republicans, due to the Tea Party wave) drew the districts to solidify control over as many seats as possible.

edited 2nd Dec '12 4:26:10 PM by Zephid

I wrote about a fish turning into the moon.
Serocco Serocco from Miami, Florida Since: Mar, 2010 Relationship Status: Faithful to 2D
Serocco
#42345: Dec 2nd 2012 at 4:28:09 PM

Once again, people bypass my posts in favor of continuing their own.

In RWBY, every girl is Best Girl.
tclittle Professional Forum Ninja from Somewhere Down in Texas Since: Apr, 2010
Professional Forum Ninja
#42346: Dec 2nd 2012 at 4:32:37 PM

[up] Sometime people have views they want to express about something else, or they don't want to get into discussions of those kinds of topics.


@ Midterm elections: Some states have governors elections during midterms, but sometimes that isn't even enough.

My first vote was trying to get Perry out of office by voting for Friedman in '06.

edited 2nd Dec '12 4:32:53 PM by tclittle

"We're all paper, we're all scissors, we're all fightin' with our mirrors, scared we'll never find somebody to love."
terlwyth Since: Oct, 2010
#42347: Dec 2nd 2012 at 4:34:03 PM

With tabloid stuff like that that we could watch Fox News for but don't because we hate that stuff why not skip it to better more on-topic stuff?

TheyCallMeTomu Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
#42348: Dec 2nd 2012 at 4:36:57 PM

We have no idea WTF you're talking about.

tclittle Professional Forum Ninja from Somewhere Down in Texas Since: Apr, 2010
Professional Forum Ninja
#42349: Dec 2nd 2012 at 4:37:56 PM

[up] post 42339 and 42342.

"We're all paper, we're all scissors, we're all fightin' with our mirrors, scared we'll never find somebody to love."
TheyCallMeTomu Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
#42350: Dec 2nd 2012 at 4:38:26 PM

I know-I'm not familiar with that incident or who any of those people are.


Total posts: 417,856
Top