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

TheStarshipMaxima NCC - 1701 Since: Jun, 2009
NCC - 1701
#52076: Apr 2nd 2013 at 11:12:17 AM

Just because you have gay family doesn't mean you 'must' support gay marriage.

And then comes the comments which naturally are intelligent and balanced.

edited 2nd Apr '13 11:13:51 AM by TheStarshipMaxima

It was an honor
Euodiachloris Since: Oct, 2010
#52077: Apr 2nd 2013 at 11:19:33 AM

[up]<visits Facepalmsville> Wow... some of those... "encouraging" views really do make the heart sing. <_<

Do they honestly think before they type? As if that poison is going to help anybody evolve their world-view. <_< The son has the right of it: time may do it... but, love has a better chance. Quit the hate. tongue

DrTentacles Cephalopod Lothario from Land of the Deep Ones Since: Jul, 2012 Relationship Status: Having tea with Cthulhu
Cephalopod Lothario
#52078: Apr 2nd 2013 at 11:21:40 AM

[up][up] Certainly it doesn't mean you "must" support it.

It just means you're a dick. And that your lack of support can't be attributed to ignorance, like most people's.

edited 2nd Apr '13 11:22:42 AM by DrTentacles

Wildcard Since: Jun, 2012
#52079: Apr 2nd 2013 at 11:26:31 AM

I'm glad they can still love each other. Good for them. But in the son's position even though I would still love my dad I could not in good conscience support my father voting to keep my rights away.

Euodiachloris Since: Oct, 2010
#52080: Apr 2nd 2013 at 11:30:34 AM

[up]He knows his dad. <shrugs> I leave managing his family to him. Even if he can't talk to his dad over this, it's not all his dad is to him.

TheStarshipMaxima NCC - 1701 Since: Jun, 2009
NCC - 1701
#52081: Apr 2nd 2013 at 11:31:55 AM

Most people's positions aren't nearly as well-thought out as they'd like to pretend, as I've learned talking to many people on this site.

edited 2nd Apr '13 11:33:32 AM by TheStarshipMaxima

It was an honor
Wildcard Since: Jun, 2012
#52083: Apr 2nd 2013 at 11:35:03 AM

@Euo: Yeah, it would just bother me. I wouldn't support my dad in his voting anymore than a simple "good luck" and would probably be on the side of "I'm sorry dad but I can't help you do this."

@Ship: Yeah, hopefully were all doing our part to correct that. :)

DrTentacles Cephalopod Lothario from Land of the Deep Ones Since: Jul, 2012 Relationship Status: Having tea with Cthulhu
Cephalopod Lothario
#52084: Apr 2nd 2013 at 11:36:43 AM

[up][up] He had to use the race card.

...I really hope we didn't justify him using the race card...

Did we? I'd really like this to be a case of deflecting from the real issue.

Even if some Liberals did deserve it, that doesn't mean non-racially charged criticism (Which the majority was) isn't valid.

And wow. The GOP is really trying hard to pretend that they were in favor of immigration reform all along, aren't they?

Midgetsnowman Since: Jan, 2010
#52085: Apr 2nd 2013 at 11:41:04 AM

[up]

the funny thing is they think it'll fool anyone except white voters.

Wildcard Since: Jun, 2012
#52086: Apr 2nd 2013 at 11:42:18 AM

There were people who slured at him while in the process of saying his comment was bad for not being tolerant enough?

Ugh...hypocritical idiots. I don't think he was right, I think the "sanctity of marriage" and the laws have been broken for decades, but trying to legit say that he is bad because of his race is just an awful thing to do.

I can only hope that the doctor is wrong and most of the comments against him weren't racially charged.

TheStarshipMaxima NCC - 1701 Since: Jun, 2009
NCC - 1701
#52087: Apr 2nd 2013 at 11:44:02 AM

Contrary to MSNBC/Huffington Post hype, many Republicans/conservatives don't despise Mexicans and aren't against them living here. There's a problem with people totally ignoring the immigration rules and liberals justifying it with every thing under the sun.

To: Ben Carson: Okay Doc, let it go. You're far too good to stoop down to this level of intentional baiting.

And your words on gays were kinda easy to misinterpret (not that I excuse the clear twisting MSNBC has done). Simply say "I meant no offense to them" and move on.

Class, not crass, Doctor.

It was an honor
DeviantBraeburn Wandering Jew from Dysfunctional California Since: Aug, 2012
Wandering Jew
#52088: Apr 2nd 2013 at 11:44:34 AM

Newt Gingrich Crowns Obama ‘Most Successful Salesman’ For Gun Ownership ‘In Modern History’

Everything is Possible. But some things are more Probable than others. JEBAGEDDON 2016
DrTentacles Cephalopod Lothario from Land of the Deep Ones Since: Jul, 2012 Relationship Status: Having tea with Cthulhu
Cephalopod Lothario
#52089: Apr 2nd 2013 at 11:49:22 AM

Re: Republican Immigration Reform

Starship...immigration is a mess. Very few liberals encourage allowing illegal immigration. Rather, we support more sane and less xenophobic immegration laws, and not deporting functioning members of society who pay taxes, (without receiving benefits in return), and work. You can't really defend the republicans on this, considering that they've basically have one party line "Build a fence, and deport the wetbacks" for the past three decades. They've only started [[strikethrough: desperately pandering for votes]] changing their mind of this issue as of the latest RNC. And even though they may have changed their policies, most people are smart enough to realize this is just a desperate grab for votes, and that the underlying message of lazy, scary foreigners who have no place in glorious pure 'Merica is unchanged.

Look at Arizona, Virginia, all of those states with the discriminatory laws, the harsh policies, the voting acts specifically meant to disenfranchise minorities.

And if Carson wasn't trying to be offensive, I'd rather he explain his intended meaning rather than simply saying he wasn't trying to cause offense.

Because it comes off like someone saying "No offense, but you're disgusting and unnatural, and don't deserve to experience the same level of human rights as non-freaks do."

edited 2nd Apr '13 11:51:51 AM by DrTentacles

TheStarshipMaxima NCC - 1701 Since: Jun, 2009
NCC - 1701
#52090: Apr 2nd 2013 at 11:53:37 AM

Dude, I don't deny the Tea Morons are a little nuts. But seriously, how many Republicans don't want more people to become legal taxpayers?

But some of your Democrat pals have gone just as insane in the reverse with these "Need a SS number to vote? Scoff! Perish the thought." And the whole, "We'll just call them legal and forget about the whole thing."

Meanwhile, folks are like "What?!"

re: Carson - It's clear he's trying to gun for a political career. But he's starting to go the minstrel show route, and that pisses me off.

edited 2nd Apr '13 11:54:58 AM by TheStarshipMaxima

It was an honor
Wildcard Since: Jun, 2012
#52091: Apr 2nd 2013 at 11:56:15 AM

I think this maybe could be solved by making it a little easier to legally immigrate honestly. And don't deport people who were born here as illegal immigrants, they had no say in the matter.

PotatoesRock Since: Oct, 2012
#52092: Apr 2nd 2013 at 11:56:36 AM

There's a problem with people totally ignoring the immigration rules and liberals justifying it with every thing under the sun.
Immigration laws are insane. So insane it's hard for people we educate in our own borders from other countries to actually live here. So insane entrepreneurs willing to move here to start their businesses are denied the chance to do so regularly.

So insane the above people who do get through? Can't bring their own families over because they aren't super skilled and trained workers.

DrTentacles Cephalopod Lothario from Land of the Deep Ones Since: Jul, 2012 Relationship Status: Having tea with Cthulhu
Cephalopod Lothario
#52093: Apr 2nd 2013 at 11:58:24 AM

The the majority already are legal taxpayers. They just don't receive the benefits of paying taxes. And frankly, amnesty for the ones currently living in the US, coupled with reformed immigration laws isn't a bad idea.

Furthermore, voter fraud isn't statistically significant. The only fraud that's had any major influence on an election was the 2000 fuck-up in Florida, and that's ambiguous, and was at the government level, not at the local level. Fraud is a paper tiger.

The existence of people like Limbaugh, Beck, and even to a degree O'Rielly, and their massive success shows that racism and xenophobia is a core part of the Republican party as it stands. It wasn't always the case, but they had to absorb the Dixiecrats, who ended up co-opting the party.

DeviantBraeburn Wandering Jew from Dysfunctional California Since: Aug, 2012
Wandering Jew
#52094: Apr 2nd 2013 at 11:58:48 AM

Governor Bobby Jindal’s approval rating drops below that of President Obama in Louisiana

I'm personally fine with most immigration laws as they are.

edited 2nd Apr '13 12:02:37 PM by DeviantBraeburn

Everything is Possible. But some things are more Probable than others. JEBAGEDDON 2016
TheStarshipMaxima NCC - 1701 Since: Jun, 2009
NCC - 1701
#52095: Apr 2nd 2013 at 12:00:42 PM

A busted system doesn't mean you simply do whatever the hell you want. If we all decided the answer to an insane system was to say "fuck the rules", well, we'd be living in Somalia.

It was an honor
DrTentacles Cephalopod Lothario from Land of the Deep Ones Since: Jul, 2012 Relationship Status: Having tea with Cthulhu
Cephalopod Lothario
#52096: Apr 2nd 2013 at 12:00:46 PM

There is hope for this nation yet.

[up] I don't think anyone (or anyone worth listening to) is saying to ignore the system. We're saying we need to reform, to make it easier for people to actually immigrate legally. A busted system needs to be fixed. We're also saying that it would cause far too much suffering, and would also cause a massive (negative, likely) effect on our economy to try mass deportations. We can't just uproot people who have been living here for decades, who have jobs, families, lives. Yeah, they shouldn't have come over illegally. What's done is done, however, and we have to move forward. It's better to either give them a path to citizenship, or outright make them citizens, so they're protected, regulated, accounted for, and not exploited than to try to turn back the clock.

edited 2nd Apr '13 12:04:05 PM by DrTentacles

Wildcard Since: Jun, 2012
#52097: Apr 2nd 2013 at 12:01:42 PM

@Starship: Rules are made to be broken but somebodies gotta make em first.tongue

Seriously though what he said.[up]

edited 2nd Apr '13 12:07:21 PM by Wildcard

deathpigeon Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: One True Dodecahedron
#52098: Apr 2nd 2013 at 12:05:32 PM

@Tentacles: I support complete international open borders so that illegal immigration doesn't exist because there is no type of immigration that is illegal.

But, then again, I'm not exactly liberal, in the same way the Republican party isn't exactly conservative. I'm a radical through and through.

edited 2nd Apr '13 12:06:01 PM by deathpigeon

Wildcard Since: Jun, 2012
#52099: Apr 2nd 2013 at 12:08:09 PM

@deathpigeon: I see that point of view, I just have my doubts it would be possible for a long time.

PotatoesRock Since: Oct, 2012
#52100: Apr 2nd 2013 at 12:09:31 PM

A busted system doesn't mean you simply do whatever the hell you want. If we all decided the answer to an insane system was to say "fuck the rules", well, we'd be living in Somalia.
The point we're making is "The rules don't need to go, they need to be untightened, because they make it very hard to get in fresh blood that got most of the US Tropers here in the first place, and will help refresh the country and make sure we don't start suffering a population decline that hurts the economy.

I repeat: The current laws regarding immigration make it very hard for wealthy entrepenurs to live here, set up shop and revitalize the economy. That's how bad it is.

And most of these Latin American families would probably follow the legal immigration process IF THEY COULD GET INTO THE PROCESS. The current immigration laws only allow a very tight bottleneck of immigrants to legally get in each year.

edited 2nd Apr '13 12:10:52 PM by PotatoesRock


Total posts: 417,856
Top