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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM
Well, part of my complaint with Trump is that, in addition to being a petty, xenophobic jerk, he's also very much a RINO and a Straw Hypocrite in my opinion. Cruz is less petty, less xenophobic, and isn't a RINO at all. Good Lord is he not a RINO!
To be fair, I do have my criticisms. He's an obvious fundie, as well as too aggressively conservative (IE, shutting down the government), but I don't think he's the worst thing ever, either (I put up with such people at least weekly without serious problems). And he also isn't free from the narrow-minded, self-defeating grasp of Islamophobia (which is a shame, Christian Conservatism could probably gain a lot from an alliance with socially conservative Muslims)
By contrast with Trump's Evil Is Petty Despotism Justifies the Means, Cruz is (at worst) an Affably Evil Well-Intentioned Extremist
By far my favorite candidate is Rubio, though. Since he's not a xenophobe, not a jerk, as right-leaning as I want a candidate to be. And even better yet, he'll greatly increase robot representation in politics.
edited 7th Mar '16 8:58:45 PM by Protagonist506
Leviticus 19:34On a related note, Bloomberg finally said that he won't run regardless of whether Clinton or Sanders gets the nomination
.
Was anyone actually seriously worried about Bloomberg doing that? Because it doesn't seem like anyone who was anyone in this race was actually concerned about that at all. Which basically makes his statements seem like a cry for attention.
Anyawy, Cruz would be a terrible president. At least partly because he seems to have pissed off most of the people who have to actually work with him. ESPECIALLY over that government shut down thing. That doesn't seem like it'd lead to him being a terribly effective president. He doesn't seem to understand how playing nice can benefit you later down the line.
Also good lord does my mom haaaaaate him. It's kind of funny to see her reaction actually.
@Republicans Stonewalling Clinton if she becomes president - They've been doing that with Obama for almost eight years now. Do they really have it in them to do another four to eight more? Aren't they going to have to work with her on the federal budget?
On another subject:
The Porn Star from the Cruz commercial is now endorsing Trump.
And being a minority (of any sort) doesn't mean you have to fit within a proscribed set of political positions; see Gay Conservative and Category Traitor.
edited 7th Mar '16 11:26:03 PM by Greenmantle
Keep Rolling OnIt was vehicular manslaughter, but yes. She's a rich white republican, she is not representative of anywhere close to a majority of trans women. She was already famous and someone the paparazzi already hounded (and speculated about her transness in often very frustrating fashions for quite some time before she came out) so no shit it was a big deal when she came out. That's celebrity culture for you.
That bird has flied. Trump has become the easy conversation piece. Whenever you want to create a sense of commonality, start a conversation in the theme of "Isn't Trump an asshole? What kind of people are there in America, that he's as popular as he is? Poor Americans..."
But if you make him president, the conversation will continue. With an added theme of "woe us, what will he do next?!"
Please don't let that conversation continue.
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
The US still has high popularity ratings in Africa and parts of Asia, especially the Philippines. In the Middle East and South America were more of an oppressive juggernaut than a source for comedy.
The whole smug concession and pity thing is really Europe's thing. The point being the US still has some respect left to loose.
If you think the oppressed won't take any chance to laugh at their oppressors, and if you think fear is in any way equivalent to respect... Well, for one thing, you clearly don't remember the Bush years. People laughed at the idiot manchild Bush even as his bombs fell.
If the USA have any respect left to lose, it's thanks to Obama. The Bush years burnt down a lot of goodwill. Even then, in the Middle East, it's not much. The CIA drones are credited to him, among others. You know, the wedding-crasher types.
edited 8th Mar '16 3:45:19 AM by TheHandle
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
I never said Bush didn't destroy our international reputation. And I know we aren't exactly beloved in the Middle East anywhere except Israel and Kuwait, which even then is only in the sense they don't hate us as much as their neighbors do. But the point being is that the US is not only highly respected in some parts of the world, it is adored. All that goes out the window if we elect Trump.
Bernie Sanders taking heat for saying "When your white you don't know what it's like to be poor.
An odd statement seeing as he wasn't exactly born in the lap of luxury. Probably just a gaff.
edited 8th Mar '16 5:01:16 AM by JackOLantern1337
I Bring Doom,and a bit of gloom, but mostly gloom.Sanders is probably gonna lose at this point. It'd take a miracle for him to win from how far behind he is. I think a Clinton v Trump showdown is inevitable at this point, unless the Republicans do something crazy at their secret meeting. In which case it'll still be Clinton v Trump except Trump will be running third party after the GOP kicked him out, and still doing better than the Republican candidate.
edited 8th Mar '16 6:10:13 AM by Clarste
Bernie is trying to find the angle that will give him credibility in racial politics without alienating his own base of support, and it's tricky, especially since the Clintons have long enjoyed high credibility with minority demographics. He's fighting an uphill battle; ironically, his core demographic is the same set of dwindling white voters that the Republicans are squabbling over.
His message is great, and it's needed, and it's timely, but America's political history is sadly one in which race is one of the most profound factors, drowning out other things.
Caitlyn Jenner is voicing her support for a man who would ban her from using public restrooms, or force her to use a man's restroom even though she looks like a woman. One wonders how she justifies it to herself.
edited 8th Mar '16 6:23:47 AM by Fighteer
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"

I dunno. If a major Democratic candidate actually openly calls themself a socialist, does that attract less criticism than more moderate views might get? At least with the latter, you can come up with conspiracy theories about them being Communazi Illuminati reptilian overlords who are illegal immigrants. But if they're open about it, you can't rely on fear of the unknown as much.