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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#127801: Jun 27th 2016 at 9:00:26 AM

[up][up] No, but evangelicals were remarkably willing to join on the Trump bandwagon despite his obvious lack of religious faith and/or any particular convictions on issues that are generally seen as pet evangelical ones.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#127802: Jun 27th 2016 at 9:00:39 AM

Nah, it's a segment of evangelicals who aren't "Cruz or Bust" and are part of the Suckers Demographic.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
AmbarSonofDeshar Since: Jan, 2010
#127803: Jun 27th 2016 at 9:30:11 AM

Article I'd missed from last week on the so-called revolutionary left.

CaptainCapsase from Orbiting Sagittarius A* Since: Jan, 2015
#127804: Jun 27th 2016 at 10:21:37 AM

Obama was at most, a step back from neoliberalism; I'd still describe his administration as neoliberal, insofar as most of the economic policy from the neoliberal era remains intact. The American economy is still far less regulated than it was prior to the Reagen era. That's still a good thing, perhaps the best we could hope for at the time (I disagree) but it's by no means a revolution, just the political establishment not being suicidal.

Also, that article wonderful example of how not to unify a base. It's entitled to its opinion of course, but it goes out of its way to insult and belittle Sanders' supporters for no apparent reason other than clickbaiting.

It also centralizes the racism narrative to the point of all but saying dissaproval of the Obama administration (which is not the same thing as the man himself) is tantamount to racism.

edited 27th Jun '16 11:08:16 AM by CaptainCapsase

Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#127805: Jun 27th 2016 at 10:44:14 AM

Even if Obama wanted to, there was no way he could have pulled an economic reversal of that scale. This is the President who couldn't buy a dog for his daughters without taking heat from the GOP.

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
TacticalFox88 from USA Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Dating the Doctor
#127806: Jun 27th 2016 at 10:52:29 AM

I still love the fact that Obama, damn near singlehandedly, destroyed and fractured the GOP at the national level.

New Survey coming this weekend!
AceofSpades Since: Apr, 2009 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
#127807: Jun 27th 2016 at 10:56:52 AM

I'd think it's more accurate to say that the GOP fractured themselves by pandering to the extremes of their voters, then floundering uselessly when more extreme and younger candidates got voted into office.

CaptainCapsase from Orbiting Sagittarius A* Since: Jan, 2015
#127808: Jun 27th 2016 at 11:02:57 AM

@Rational: Obama the man is mostly irrelevant in this sense; at best he restrained the worst of the institution he was the nominal head of, at worst he was fully complicit in its numerous misdeeds (my own assessment of him is somewhat in between). The Obama administration as an institution was, for better or worse, distinctly part of the neoliberal era of American politics. Perhaps on the tail end, but I distinctly doubt that.

edited 27th Jun '16 11:05:24 AM by CaptainCapsase

TacticalFox88 from USA Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Dating the Doctor
#127809: Jun 27th 2016 at 11:05:23 AM

[up][up] And they stoked the flames by questioning his birth, calling him a socialist, Muslim, terrorist sympathizer, etc.

Dog whistles galore.

New Survey coming this weekend!
AceofSpades Since: Apr, 2009 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
#127810: Jun 27th 2016 at 11:08:53 AM

Which is nothing that Obama himself did, and all actions taken by the GOP. To do something singlehandedly implies he went and made them do all those things somehow, rather than them choosing to take those actions themselves. Now, Obama did mock these tendencies, but those things are imminently mockable.

TheHandle United Earth from Stockholm Since: Jan, 2012 Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
United Earth
#127811: Jun 27th 2016 at 11:09:43 AM

And Obama would do quite decently as a standup comedian or late night tv show host.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#127812: Jun 27th 2016 at 11:12:13 AM

The Obama movement of 2008 was not exaggerated; it was a sea change for left-wing politics and highlighted the old guard, Blue Dog Democrats being kicked out of Congress. What was left was a party far more dedicated to liberal principles than even during the Clinton era. It ran up against the rocks of Republican opposition, fueled in part by racism and in part by the culmination of the movement conservatism ethos, which views government as fundamentally illegitimate unless it narrowly serves the interests of the ruling wealthy and the religious right.

Obama's list of accomplishments should, in a rational world, mark him as one of the greatest Presidents of modern history. Instead, it's gotten him savagely attacked by the extreme elements of the left who will not be satisfied unless they tear down the structures of power that keep our system working even as poorly as it is now. Sorry, no sell guys.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#127813: Jun 27th 2016 at 11:17:43 AM

Actually, many Blue Dogs were elected back in 2008.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
CrimsonZephyr Would that it were so simple. from Massachusetts Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
Would that it were so simple.
#127814: Jun 27th 2016 at 11:23:19 AM

The Blue Dogs were wiped out almost to a man in 2010. I personally don't really care, since they were replaced by Tea Partiers who were and are, at least, declared enemies rather than Fifth Columners. Better to be stabbed in the front than in the back. The Democrats are better off without them.

And that article on the "left revolution" is right on the mark.

As for "what Obama did"; sometimes the best play is to just sit there and be the jackass in a hailstorm. He accomplished plenty, but he gave the GOP the noose and they put it on and kicked out the platform.

edited 27th Jun '16 11:27:51 AM by CrimsonZephyr

"For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die."
CaptainCapsase from Orbiting Sagittarius A* Since: Jan, 2015
#127815: Jun 27th 2016 at 11:23:21 AM

[up][up][up] Once again Obama the man is mostly irrelevant. His was not an imperial presidency, and thus the achievements and the misdeeds of his administration are neither a personal achievement nor a personal indictment. For the same reason I dislike lists of "greatest scientists" or (for mediums like video games or film which generally require dozens if not hundreds of people) "greatest artists", I deeply detest the notion of "greatest leaders", particularly when it comes to the leaders of democracies where the agency of individual actors within the system is severely limited to prevent a dictator from seizing power.

edited 27th Jun '16 11:28:37 AM by CaptainCapsase

SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#127816: Jun 27th 2016 at 11:37:40 AM

Blue Dogs were decimated in 2010 and 2014, although some of them are left - Loretta Sanchez is running for Senate this dear and has moved left to have a chance. But they are without exception more liberal than Tea Partiers.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#127817: Jun 27th 2016 at 11:38:46 AM

[up][up] We all know how you feel about such things, but history will record otherwise.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
CaptainCapsase from Orbiting Sagittarius A* Since: Jan, 2015
#127818: Jun 27th 2016 at 11:39:27 AM

[up] We'll see. Popular history certainly will, but academic history focuses more on institutions, economics, sociology, and the underlying geographic factors than they do on individual personalities.

edited 27th Jun '16 11:51:40 AM by CaptainCapsase

LSBK Since: Sep, 2014
#127819: Jun 27th 2016 at 11:44:00 AM

I get what Capasse means, it's a bit annoying/unfair when you pile everything, good or bad, on one person.

At the same time some people are more instrumental and memorable than others and Presidents tend to be in the club for obvious reasons.

Ramidel Since: Jan, 2001
#127820: Jun 27th 2016 at 11:49:05 AM

Well, as for Obama the man, I'd like to see him on the Supreme Court if the Senate returns to Democratic hands. Both because he's qualified and would do well, and because it would be the biggest middle finger Clinton could give to the dudes who quashed Garland.

SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#127821: Jun 27th 2016 at 11:58:30 AM

Does Obama have judiciary experience? I am not sure if a law license would count, and Taft was a judge for a long while.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
CaptainCapsase from Orbiting Sagittarius A* Since: Jan, 2015
#127822: Jun 27th 2016 at 12:00:42 PM

[up], [up][up] Considering he's a major supporter of the TPP, I'm not sure about that.

SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#127823: Jun 27th 2016 at 12:01:09 PM

What has TTP to do with the Supreme Court?

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
CaptainCapsase from Orbiting Sagittarius A* Since: Jan, 2015
#127824: Jun 27th 2016 at 12:04:02 PM

[up] It's a potential predictor of which way his rulings would go were he put on the court.

megarockman from The Sixth Borough (Experienced Trainee)
#127825: Jun 27th 2016 at 12:05:19 PM

Wouldn't he have to recuse himself if that were to get there?

The damned queen and the relentless knight.

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