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TheStarshipMaxima NCC - 1701 Since: Jun, 2009
NCC - 1701
#52351: Apr 4th 2013 at 12:10:26 PM

Reagan actually said this regarding gays in the military, "What matters is if a soldier can shoot straight, not if they are straight."

Reagan wasn't teh anti-Christ no matter what Fighteer says. [lol]

It was an honor
DrTentacles Cephalopod Lothario from Land of the Deep Ones Since: Jul, 2012 Relationship Status: Having tea with Cthulhu
Cephalopod Lothario
#52352: Apr 4th 2013 at 12:12:09 PM

[up] No. He was center/center left socially.

His economic policies, by and large, were, charitable put, a scam.

However, it was only after him that things really started to go downhill.

However, his treatment of AIDS was damn near criminal, and his war on Drug was stupid beyond belief.

edited 4th Apr '13 12:12:51 PM by DrTentacles

shimaspawn from Here and Now Since: May, 2010 Relationship Status: In your bunk
#52353: Apr 4th 2013 at 12:12:32 PM

@Starship: Er, they don't currently pay for abortions. That's a myth. Well, save in cases where it would save the life of a mother. The abortion bit of Planned Parenthood and the like is paid by private donations. Not the government. The only way to get the government to pay for your abortion is to be dying and even then sometimes they still just let the woman die.

Reality is that, which when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. -Philip K. Dick
TheStarshipMaxima NCC - 1701 Since: Jun, 2009
NCC - 1701
#52354: Apr 4th 2013 at 12:14:01 PM

[up] Huh? Wait, so what was all this about blocking the provisions in Obamacare that force coverage for abortions? That whole thing with the Georgetown student and Rush Limbaugh, etc?

However, his treatment of AIDS was damn near criminal, and his war on Drug was stupid beyond belief.

Sadly, I can't argue with this.

edited 4th Apr '13 12:14:43 PM by TheStarshipMaxima

It was an honor
Wildcard Since: Jun, 2012
#52355: Apr 4th 2013 at 12:14:03 PM

I blame him for the fashion trends of the eighties. So anything is justified.

I wish rich people had to pay more taxes, maybe then our economic problems would be slightly better.

[up]It might just be forcing if it saves the mother's life. So that nobody dies on the table again for that reason.

edited 4th Apr '13 12:15:36 PM by Wildcard

PotatoesRock Since: Oct, 2012
#52356: Apr 4th 2013 at 12:15:22 PM

Reagan wasn't teh anti-Christ no matter what Fighteer says.
It's arguably less Reagan himself so much of a problem with as the political campaigns he ran to get into office resulted in some awful political behaviors down the line. And the results of those campaigns and 30 years after the fact have created a baffling personality cult of him being far more right than he ever was.

Basically Reagan's name, like Jesus's, tends to get invoked as a justification for doing some awful shit. "That he would of wanted it this way.".

That and Reagan basically let the extremist wings of his part have more of a voice than they should as a result of electoral strategies. Basically he legitimized a lot of problems that have come to fruition now.

edited 4th Apr '13 12:17:59 PM by PotatoesRock

DeviantBraeburn Wandering Jew from Dysfunctional California Since: Aug, 2012
SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#52358: Apr 4th 2013 at 12:15:30 PM

Obamacare can't use contributor money for abortions - the Stupak-Pitts amendment -, and other parts of the federal goverment can't do that either. That's what I recall, anyhow.

I am sure Rush and co. claiming otherwise are just making up things.

edited 4th Apr '13 12:16:22 PM by SeptimusHeap

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
TheStarshipMaxima NCC - 1701 Since: Jun, 2009
NCC - 1701
#52359: Apr 4th 2013 at 12:15:31 PM

I'm not a fan of the "penalize the rich" thing the liberals have going, but even I know that, duh, the rich should be footing more of the bill than those with less, or nothing.

It was an honor
Wildcard Since: Jun, 2012
#52360: Apr 4th 2013 at 12:18:21 PM

How is it penalizing if your making everyone pay the same level of taxes based on the amount of money they make?

shimaspawn from Here and Now Since: May, 2010 Relationship Status: In your bunk
#52361: Apr 4th 2013 at 12:18:56 PM

The Obamacare abortions thing is lies made up by the conservative media, people over reacting about birth control, and emergency surgery. It does not in any way cover elective abortions. It will cover you if something goes wrong with your pregnancy, you start haemorrhaging uncontrollably, and they have to give you an abortion to stop you from dying. There are some people who are very opposed to that last bit.

Reality is that, which when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. -Philip K. Dick
DrTentacles Cephalopod Lothario from Land of the Deep Ones Since: Jul, 2012 Relationship Status: Having tea with Cthulhu
Cephalopod Lothario
#52362: Apr 4th 2013 at 12:19:16 PM

I doubt any but the fringe (Which hasn't co-opted the party, unlike the republicans) want to "penalize the rich."

Make the accountable? Yes.

Make them act like they care about the country? Yes.

Make them pay a reasonable amount? Yes.

DeviantBraeburn Wandering Jew from Dysfunctional California Since: Aug, 2012
Wandering Jew
#52363: Apr 4th 2013 at 12:20:22 PM

Huckabee Rebukes Critics Who Dismiss Hilter/Obama Gun Control Comparisons: ‘It’s The Truth'

Everything is Possible. But some things are more Probable than others. JEBAGEDDON 2016
PotatoesRock Since: Oct, 2012
#52364: Apr 4th 2013 at 12:20:39 PM

It's not so much "penalize the rich" as "The rich need to oblige to the social contract", and one of the things of a society whose social contract is working is generally the rich are the ones who have to foot the bill to improve tings for their fellow man, because they're the only ones with the excess cash to do so.

One of the problems with the U.S. is that a sizable number of wealthy people have effectively gone "fuck the social contract and Nobless Oblige".

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#52365: Apr 4th 2013 at 12:22:47 PM

Reagan was more right-wing than people think. I've been reading Krugman, and he started his political career by, essentially, appealing to racist fears among California's white voters. He was the first major movement conservative to learn how to mask his agenda in politically correct terms, while speaking the correct hidden language to let white voters know he was on their side.

It's actually rather amazing; after the Goldwater debacle, Reagan showed the modern Republican party how it could become mainstream and succeed. We have him to thank for much of what transpired since — even if his politics seem liberal now by comparison with today's conservatives, he started the ball rolling.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
deathpigeon Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: One True Dodecahedron
#52366: Apr 4th 2013 at 12:26:05 PM

Reagan's economic policy was horrid. He based it on monetarism which, oh my gods, is one of the worst things that anyone could possibly do economically.

TheStarshipMaxima NCC - 1701 Since: Jun, 2009
NCC - 1701
#52367: Apr 4th 2013 at 12:26:48 PM

That wasn't Reagan, that was Barry Goldwater

Goddamn Critical Research Failure!

re: penalizing the rich - Well, the reason I say that is because taxes go up and up the more money you make, but does that mean you're using more and more of the government's services.

That's why I get the concept of a flat tax. If I wrote The Adventures of Wildcard and Starship, a cross between Star Trek and Starsky And Hutch, and it sold 1 million copies, I got no beef with the government taking it's 20%.

But then I write Wildcard and Starship vs. the Space Nazis and it sells 10 million copies, now suddenly the government wants 30%. Well of course, I'm like, "why?"

It was an honor
Wildcard Since: Jun, 2012
#52368: Apr 4th 2013 at 12:26:54 PM

Why are republican politicians acting like their party is dying? I know I asked this this morning but I still don't understand it. They seem so paranoid about their power and the fact that they have less approval among young people lately. They had to acknowledge that there was a high possibility Obama was going to get reelected since he was the incumbent.

[up]Because we can pay it and still be rich after the tax.

edited 4th Apr '13 12:27:47 PM by Wildcard

TheStarshipMaxima NCC - 1701 Since: Jun, 2009
NCC - 1701
#52369: Apr 4th 2013 at 12:28:55 PM

Or we could pay the same 20% on the 10 million copies, and the government gets it's appropriate bump.

It was an honor
Kostya (Unlucky Thirteen)
#52370: Apr 4th 2013 at 12:31:12 PM

That survey from a few pages back proves the Republicans haven't learned. Where't the "I don't care how many minorities you throw into the spotlight. I'm not voting for you because your message fucking sucks!" option on question 30?

TheStarshipMaxima NCC - 1701 Since: Jun, 2009
NCC - 1701
#52371: Apr 4th 2013 at 12:33:41 PM

The Obamacare abortions thing is lies made up by the conservative media, people over reacting about birth control, and emergency surgery. It does not in any way cover elective abortions. It will cover you if something goes wrong with your pregnancy, you start haemorrhaging uncontrollably, and they have to give you an abortion to stop you from dying. There are some people who are very opposed to that last bit.

Well...shit. I guess this is the part where you have a good laugh at my expense Shima.

It was an honor
DrTentacles Cephalopod Lothario from Land of the Deep Ones Since: Jul, 2012 Relationship Status: Having tea with Cthulhu
Cephalopod Lothario
#52372: Apr 4th 2013 at 12:33:42 PM

The government needs taxes. The poor can afford less than the Rich. Either we set a flat tax too high, and the poor are fucked, or too low, and the Government's dying.

It's not like the Rich are suddenly going to be poor from the Tax, or even much less rich. It's not like they can't afford it, or there's still not an incentive for making money.

deathpigeon Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: One True Dodecahedron
#52373: Apr 4th 2013 at 12:34:37 PM

[up][up] This is when we get angry at lies people get told.

PotatoesRock Since: Oct, 2012
#52374: Apr 4th 2013 at 12:36:10 PM

Because your 30% isn't as hard hitting to a poorer person at 30%. Wealth after a certain point is only good for luxuries. Wealth below a certain point however negatively impacts a person.

Again, the rich are able to live very comfortably at 30~50% of their income being taxed. The poor ain't. They'd be screwed.

Basically your income, if used correctly by politicians, goes to Infrastructure and Social Services. Social Services take the burdens of paying the bills and help insure preventative healthcare (a major issue in this country). Meanwhile, infrastructure and government related work can in theory enable part of the population.

That increase of work gives more money to the poorer people. The poorer people have more money? They can buy more of your books for themselves or others as a dispoable luxury. Ergo you get more money.

Mind you, this is absurdly over simplifying things.

edited 4th Apr '13 12:46:39 PM by PotatoesRock

DeviantBraeburn Wandering Jew from Dysfunctional California Since: Aug, 2012
Wandering Jew
#52375: Apr 4th 2013 at 12:43:35 PM

Reagan was more right-wing than people think. I've been reading Krugman, and he started his political career by, essentially, appealing to racist fears among California's white voters.

So did Nixon. Look at how "conservative" his policies turned out.

There is a large difference between Regan's polices and his rhetoric.

For Example:

Reagan promised to repeal Roe vs Wade. Not only did he not do that, he appointed Sandra O'Conner to the Supreme Court (much to the disdain of the Religious Right).

Reagan mocked environmentalism by saying 'A tree's a tree. How many more do you need to look at?' in his 1966 Gubernatorial campaign, but as Governor he endorsed the Redwoods National Park and the Wild and Scenic Rivers System.

And for all of his 'Evil Empire!' rhetoric; he was still very willing to engage in talks with Gorbachev.

Sadly many Right-Wingers would rather judge Reagan by his speeches rather than his actual decisions.

edited 4th Apr '13 1:05:28 PM by DeviantBraeburn

Everything is Possible. But some things are more Probable than others. JEBAGEDDON 2016

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