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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.

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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

Luminosity Since: Jun, 2012 Relationship Status: Lovey-Dovey
#116051: Mar 16th 2016 at 5:07:59 AM

I do think it's a more likely result though. I think the sort of person who supports Sanders and hates Clinton is much more likely to not vote at all than go for a revenge vote for Trump. In that sense, Clinton's approach from here on out should be less "here's how I'm better than Sanders" and more "here's why I would be an acceptable alternative to Sanders", especially now that her coronation is basically guaranteed. She's got to make up for a lot of lost love, even if it costs her votes in the primary.

Considering how weak and worthless her attempts to deny her Wall Street accusations have been so far, I highly doubt she will pull that approach off or even consider attempting it. She, at the very least, is still more favorable towards them than Obama. Which is a bad thing. Very bad.

Besides, unless she becomes a single-payer supporter overnight or denounces her entire history of warhawkery(neither of which is even remotely possible), I, for one, won't ever consider her an alternative to Sanders. And that's ignoring all the corruption and just going by views she officially hasn't changed on.

edited 16th Mar '16 5:09:14 AM by Luminosity

Krieger22 Causing freakouts over sourcing since 2018 from Malaysia Since: Mar, 2014 Relationship Status: I'm in love with my car
Causing freakouts over sourcing since 2018
#116052: Mar 16th 2016 at 6:02:41 AM

Utah has declared pornography as a public health crisis.

Time to name the pathogen in Plague Inc. "Porn" again, I think.

I have disagreed with her a lot, but comparing her to republicans and propagandists of dictatorships is really low. - An idiot
Luminosity Since: Jun, 2012 Relationship Status: Lovey-Dovey
#116053: Mar 16th 2016 at 6:13:19 AM

"Catholic bishops, Protestant ministers, Jewish rabbis and Muslim mullahs have all spoken out on this sin because God Himself has spoken out on it," Elder Holland said.

Of all the things to unite different religions with... fucking prudes, bloody typical. Typical "freedom of religion to oppress others with religion".

Oh for the love of... they're in the comments. I think I'm gonna throw up.

edited 16th Mar '16 6:30:34 AM by Luminosity

Achaemenid HGW XX/7 from Ruschestraße 103, Haus 1 Since: Dec, 2011 Relationship Status: Giving love a bad name
HGW XX/7
#116054: Mar 16th 2016 at 6:15:13 AM

Wrong thread.

Insert pro-$hillary memes and dank praxes here instead.

edited 16th Mar '16 6:16:59 AM by Achaemenid

Schild und Schwert der Partei
CaptainCapsase from Orbiting Sagittarius A* Since: Jan, 2015
#116055: Mar 16th 2016 at 6:18:57 AM

@Luminosity: Historically, the American public is known for having an extremely short memory regarding a candidate's history, and you see a tremendous amount of single issue voters relative to other countries.

My fear isn't that Sanders' supporters will vote for Trump out of spite, it's that he'll put on a completely different act for the general election and will run left of Clinton on issues she's not allowed to (healthcare reform and campaign finance reform), and people who previously supported Sanders will forget about the awful things he's said and end up voting for him on those issues.

edited 16th Mar '16 6:20:06 AM by CaptainCapsase

Luminosity Since: Jun, 2012 Relationship Status: Lovey-Dovey
#116056: Mar 16th 2016 at 6:21:03 AM

[up] Trump is too famous, his toxicity is too well-known. There's no one in the US who doesn't know what Trump is about. Such a switch could be considerable if he was literally anyone else, but the most famous toxic bastard of modern day America.

FFShinra Since: Jan, 2001
#116057: Mar 16th 2016 at 6:26:44 AM

There is an assumption that apathy won't come to play, which is wrong. Until last night, Sanders had a chance. Now that that chance is gone, simply assuming Hil will win is a bad one.

edited 16th Mar '16 6:27:09 AM by FFShinra

Luminosity Since: Jun, 2012 Relationship Status: Lovey-Dovey
#116058: Mar 16th 2016 at 6:28:35 AM

[up]I was actually talking about Trump changing his strategy into passing himself as a legitimate leftie won't work, because he's literally the wrongest person in the world to attempt so...

Unless you weren't responding to me.

CaptainCapsase from Orbiting Sagittarius A* Since: Jan, 2015
#116059: Mar 16th 2016 at 6:30:01 AM

[up] I hope you're right, but after everything Trump has gotten away with, I feel as if you might be seriously overestimating the general American public. Voter turnouts and the overall level of political engagement is already abysmal in the United States.

I can't imagine he'd be selling himself as a leftist, but I could absolutely see him getting away with adding on some left leaning policies onto his platform once the nomination is assured, ie socialized healthcare and free public college because he's such a great businessman that he can make that work.

The whole reason the right wing in America is able to get away with insisting fascism was a left wing ideology is because, to a certain extent, fascists did adopt left wing rhetoric and enact left wing policy when it suited them; the lack of a consistent ideology, ad-hoc policymaking, and appeals to the lowest common denominator is very much consistent with historical fascism.

edited 16th Mar '16 6:36:08 AM by CaptainCapsase

JackOLantern1337 Shameful Display from The Most Miserable Province in the Russian Empir Since: Aug, 2014 Relationship Status: 700 wives and 300 concubines
Shameful Display
#116060: Mar 16th 2016 at 6:32:07 AM

The math is really bad for Bernie Sanders

I Bring Doom,and a bit of gloom, but mostly gloom.
Luminosity Since: Jun, 2012 Relationship Status: Lovey-Dovey
#116061: Mar 16th 2016 at 6:39:24 AM

I can't imagine he'd be selling himself as a leftist, but I could absolutely see him getting away with adding on some left leaning policies onto his platform once the nomination is assured, ie socialized healthcare and free public college because he's such a great businessman that he can make that work.

That'd be a laughably ironic sight, but I don't think he'll actually do it. His strategy is too one-note random racism and "we just win ok", it'll far more likely he'll just keep repeating himself. You're giving him too much brain credit.

As for turnout... low turnout is a real possibility, and that's more on Hillary, than on Trump. If her campaign laments about Bernie voters not showing up, maybe demeaning, antagonizing, and stereotyping them for the entirety of the primaries, then claiming voting for Hilary is an obligation for them, wasn't such a good idea now, was it?

Ogodei Fuck you, Fascist sympathizers from The front lines Since: Jan, 2011
Fuck you, Fascist sympathizers
#116062: Mar 16th 2016 at 6:41:25 AM

Yeah, it's not time for Sanders to drop, and he should probably stay in, although people donating now should be wary of burning too much, and the "inevitability" aura may start kicking in for Clinton and suppressing on-the-fence voters like me (although in my case, i was going to vote Clinton if it was still close, and may vote Bernie now just to send a message. I'd rather have Clinton as the candidate but i prefer Bernie on the economic issues).

FFShinra Since: Jan, 2001
#116063: Mar 16th 2016 at 6:44:26 AM

@Lumi - Not directed at anyone. I legitimately think people will take Trump's unelectability for granted and simply assume he will lose. Which will make him win.

edited 16th Mar '16 6:44:39 AM by FFShinra

SolipsistOwl Since: Jan, 2016
#116064: Mar 16th 2016 at 7:08:59 AM

Boehner backs Paul Ryan for president

Former Speaker John Boehner said Paul Ryan should be the Republican nominee for president if the party fails to choose a candidate on the first ballot.

"If we don't have a nominee who can win on the first ballot, I'm for none of the above," Boehner said at the Futures Industry Association conference here. "They all had a chance to win. None of them won. So I'm for none of the above. I'm for Paul Ryan to be our nominee."

Wading into the GOP nominating battle for the first time since leaving office last fall, Boehner said that "anybody can be nominated" at the convention in Cleveland this summer.

JackOLantern1337 Shameful Display from The Most Miserable Province in the Russian Empir Since: Aug, 2014 Relationship Status: 700 wives and 300 concubines
Shameful Display
#116065: Mar 16th 2016 at 7:09:16 AM

You can bet though the media will be screaming about the possibility of a Trump victory in order to scare up some ratings.

I Bring Doom,and a bit of gloom, but mostly gloom.
Luminosity Since: Jun, 2012 Relationship Status: Lovey-Dovey
Krieger22 Causing freakouts over sourcing since 2018 from Malaysia Since: Mar, 2014 Relationship Status: I'm in love with my car
Causing freakouts over sourcing since 2018
#116068: Mar 16th 2016 at 7:21:13 AM

[up][up][up]How's the Breitbart collapse going?

I have disagreed with her a lot, but comparing her to republicans and propagandists of dictatorships is really low. - An idiot
JackOLantern1337 Shameful Display from The Most Miserable Province in the Russian Empir Since: Aug, 2014 Relationship Status: 700 wives and 300 concubines
ILoveDogs Since: May, 2010
#116071: Mar 16th 2016 at 7:42:36 AM

[up][up] Come on, really? I get that you want to appease the Republicans, but you had to pick a 63 year old to do it? You want at least a few decades out of him, don't you?

CaptainCapsase from Orbiting Sagittarius A* Since: Jan, 2015
#116072: Mar 16th 2016 at 7:52:44 AM

@speedyboris: While they're probably right about Trump not being able to accomplish very much in spite of his bluster, I can't say I agree with them about him not being much to worry about.

They said it themselves in fact; while President Trump would not able to declare war on his own, Presidents can and have gotten America involved in armed conflicts on their own initiative for centuries, and I can't imagine his corrosive attitude would improve American foreign relations at all.

There's also the matter of him potentially being able to appoint 3 supreme court justices, 4 if the GOP actually makes good on their promise to stonewall Obama's attempt to appoint a replacement for Scalia. That's a legacy that could haunt America for many decades to come.

edited 16th Mar '16 7:54:42 AM by CaptainCapsase

DrDougsh Since: Jan, 2001
#116073: Mar 16th 2016 at 7:56:33 AM

There are a few issues where Trump legitimately is to the left of Clinton. Notably, he could take a cue from Sanders and criticise Clinton for her vote in favour of the Iraq war, since he's already been pretty open about criticising Bush for starting it. That said, this criticism would carry less weight coming from Trump than Sanders, since even though Trump says he was always against it, there's no record of him speaking negatively of it until after it was already a massively unpopular war.

FFShinra Since: Jan, 2001
#116074: Mar 16th 2016 at 7:58:05 AM

That and Trump on Foreign Policy is basically Bravado Solves EVERYTHINGGGG

NoName999 Since: May, 2011
#116075: Mar 16th 2016 at 8:06:07 AM

Merrick Garland is not a Republican, right?


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