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

Silasw A procrastination in of itself from A handcart to hell (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#140451: Sep 26th 2016 at 7:59:51 PM

I'm sure you'll have found something else to be constantly pessimistic about by then.

edited 26th Sep '16 8:03:53 PM by Silasw

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
TacticalFox88 from USA Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Dating the Doctor
#140452: Sep 26th 2016 at 8:00:09 PM

Trump got shitstompped.

I can't believe I was worried.

Hillary brought out the zingers.

New Survey coming this weekend!
CaptainCapsase from Orbiting Sagittarius A* Since: Jan, 2015
#140453: Sep 26th 2016 at 8:01:55 PM

[up][up] "The optimist believes we live in the best of all possible worlds. The pessimist fears this is the case."

edited 26th Sep '16 8:02:29 PM by CaptainCapsase

Lightysnake Since: May, 2010
#140454: Sep 26th 2016 at 8:02:27 PM

This whole 'the sun can never shine' stance is just annoying.

CaptainCapsase from Orbiting Sagittarius A* Since: Jan, 2015
#140455: Sep 26th 2016 at 8:03:08 PM

[up] It's also a very necessary perspective to have. There is very little more dangerous than hubris.

edited 26th Sep '16 8:04:06 PM by CaptainCapsase

Draghinazzo (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: I get a feeling so complicated...
#140456: Sep 26th 2016 at 8:03:30 PM

I think this is the first time I've actually seen Trump in debate things. How the fuck do people even support this guy? Like, he literally acts like an immature child, and just about everything he says sounds wrong/terrible if you stop to think about it for half a second. Don't really see how people could see his opening as "strong."

I've gotten the impression that a lot of Trump supporters only really care about "sticking it to [insert racial/mysogynistic slur here]" and not very much else, to the point where they're willing to have everything else go down the toilet to prove that point to the country and the world.

I'm sure there are much smarter and more insidious white supremacists than Trump floating around.

edited 26th Sep '16 8:04:43 PM by Draghinazzo

smokeycut Since: Mar, 2013
#140457: Sep 26th 2016 at 8:04:15 PM

Please. The entire idea that pessimism is somehow more mature or reasonable is so ridiculous.

Silasw A procrastination in of itself from A handcart to hell (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#140458: Sep 26th 2016 at 8:04:38 PM

[up]X3 It's really not.

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
AngelusNox Warder of the damned from The guard of the gates of oblivion Since: Dec, 2014 Relationship Status: Married to the job
Warder of the damned
#140459: Sep 26th 2016 at 8:05:09 PM

Welp, my CNN preview expired.

The Trump supporters being in full damage control is hilarious.

I hope none of them drown in the Nile.

[down]Easy there, they call out on Jack for the same reasons they are calling out on you.

edited 26th Sep '16 8:06:43 PM by AngelusNox

Inter arma enim silent leges
CaptainCapsase from Orbiting Sagittarius A* Since: Jan, 2015
#140460: Sep 26th 2016 at 8:05:35 PM

[up][up] Would you rather have an echo chamber then?

What I am advocating is waiting for data rather than making gut leaps.

edited 26th Sep '16 8:13:46 PM by CaptainCapsase

KarkatTheDalek Not as angry as the name would suggest. from Somwhere in Time/Space Since: Mar, 2012 Relationship Status: You're a beautiful woman, probably
Not as angry as the name would suggest.
#140461: Sep 26th 2016 at 8:07:05 PM

I mostly thought that it was a little less Trump starting strong and more Clinton starting weak - her best stuff was after the first 30 minutes, I think.

Of course, trade is hardly my area of expertise, so maybe he did well on that front - CNN seems to think so, but that he fumbled it pretty badly after that. I talked to my dad just a moment ago - he feels the same way.

edited 26th Sep '16 8:07:54 PM by KarkatTheDalek

Oh God! Natural light!
SpaceWolf from The Other Rainforest Since: Apr, 2012
#140462: Sep 26th 2016 at 8:07:32 PM

This thread is about politics. It's not about shitting on each other's ideological views.

This is a signature.
CaptainCapsase from Orbiting Sagittarius A* Since: Jan, 2015
#140463: Sep 26th 2016 at 8:08:12 PM

I'm waiting for polls before I come to a conclusion about how this effects the race. Content yourself with "feels" if you must, but do understand that, ideologically speaking, this thread is not representative of the nation as a whole ideologically, or in terms of education.

edited 26th Sep '16 9:08:17 PM by CaptainCapsase

TacticalFox88 from USA Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Dating the Doctor
#140464: Sep 26th 2016 at 8:08:20 PM

Chris Christie: "Fact Checkers have an Agenda as well".

looool

New Survey coming this weekend!
AngelusNox Warder of the damned from The guard of the gates of oblivion Since: Dec, 2014 Relationship Status: Married to the job
Warder of the damned
#140465: Sep 26th 2016 at 8:10:31 PM

[up][up][up][up]I wouldn't trust Trump to be in charge of a noodle stand let alone the US.

[up]Don't you know, reality is biased!

Scourge, not saviour

What small-businesses owners might wish to know about Mr Trump

“HE ALMOST bankrupted us,” says the retired owner of a construction business on the east coast. Thirty years ago he ran a small business with around ten employees, which was hired by Donald Trump to work on an 11-month project at his Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City. It was the biggest contract, by far, that the business had ever had. The builders worked as they had never done before to complete the job on time. As soon as they finished, Mr Trump stopped paying. He owed around $200,000 of a bill totalling about $700,000, a huge sum for a small company.

What followed was a nearly year-long battle to extract the money it was owed. Lawyers advised the company that Mr Trump would procrastinate with expensive litigation, as he had done many times before. Other contractors relayed their experiences with the “Trump discount”, the billionaire’s habit of rarely paying the full sum he owed. As the “Trump discount” made the rounds in the industry, wily contractors quoted a higher price at the outset to avoid suffering any losses. Then, one day in 1988, the phone rang at 9.30am. A sweet-voiced special assistant of Mr Trump’s announced she had a cheque for the builders which, she claimed, had been lying on her desk for a year. “We only got paid because of Merv Griffin,” says the retired contractor. In a surprising swoop, Mr Griffin, an entertainment-business tycoon, had bought the company that owned the Taj Mahal.

Owners of small businesses are among Mr Trump’s most dedicated supporters. They believe his biggest selling point is his business acumen. He is a consummate dealmaker, they say, and has made heaps of money, maybe as much as $10 billion. They also like his proposal to slash the corporate income-tax rate from 35% to 15%. A poll earlier this year by Manta, an online directory for small businesses, of 2,527 owners of small companies who were planning to vote in the primaries, found that 60% favoured Mr Trump as the Republican candidate.

Bryant Simon of Temple University, who wrote a history of Atlantic City, marvels at how the author of “The Art of the Deal” sells his failure there as a great success. Mr Trump paid too much to finance the Taj with junk bonds; he also overpaid for the casino’s interior, whose mirrors and chandeliers made the palace of Versailles look unadorned. Even though the Taj was the highest-earning casino in America for a while it could not cover its debt.

Even more impressive business accomplishments do not readily translate into success in the White House. Presidents who cut their teeth in business are among the least successful and least popular of the 43, according to the Siena College Research Institute (SRI), which ranks presidents in 20 areas such as integrity, intelligence, willingness to take risks and leadership ability. Harry Truman is the only president with business experience who ranks highly, says Don Levy, director of the SRI. (Truman, a former haberdasher, ranks ninth.) Warren Harding, a newspaper publisher, comes bottom, at 43. Calvin Coolidge, a corporate lawyer, ranks a lowly 29th and Herbert Hoover, who had a career in the mining industry, comes in at 36.

Those businessmen who became presidents eased into politics slowly. After making money in the oil business, George H.W. Bush served for years in Congress, as ambassador to the UN and as boss of the CIA. His son, George W., also started out in the oil business and then, after a false start when he lost a House race, was elected governor of Texas at the first attempt.

Some companies are considering skipping the Republican convention in Cleveland. Presented with a choice of Trump v Clinton, the owner of the construction business that worked on the Taj would set aside his dislike of Mrs Clinton and vote for her. The Clinton campaign can look forward to plenty more stories like this from those who have worked with Mr Trump during his freewheeling career.

edited 26th Sep '16 8:11:04 PM by AngelusNox

Inter arma enim silent leges
thatguythere47 Since: Jul, 2010
#140466: Sep 26th 2016 at 8:14:20 PM

Something I haven't seen mentioned here yet is that after the first third Clinton was in complete control of the debate. She would toss in one thing to annoy him and he'd take his entire time to go after whatever thing she had said no matter how small or large. She managed to divert him from the emails despite that being his biggest applause break and she managed to get him on the defensive for the rest of the night.

I'm with captain in that I'll wait a day to see how the public has reacted. I'm wondering if Trump trying to interrupt her every single time she talked will hurt him or not. On the one hand it sort of proves her point about how easy it is to bait him but she didn't bring that up like I expected her too.

I watched the whole thing with my dad who's not very politically minded. In fact he's said this is the first time he's watched an entire debate and his big takeaway was how ridiculous the whole thing was. He's even more confused now that Trump has fans.

Is using "Julian Assange is a Hillary butt plug" an acceptable signature quote?
SpaceWolf from The Other Rainforest Since: Apr, 2012
#140467: Sep 26th 2016 at 8:15:41 PM

[up][up][up][up]You misunderstand. I'm not disagreeing with you; I'm just pointing out that you two are engaging in a pointless ideological argument.

edited 26th Sep '16 8:15:52 PM by SpaceWolf

This is a signature.
CaptainCapsase from Orbiting Sagittarius A* Since: Jan, 2015
#140468: Sep 26th 2016 at 8:16:45 PM

Intuitively, there's two things that worry me right now:

Firstly, the first third of the debate reflected about as well on Trump as Gore vs Bush, and viewership is typically concentrated the most in the first third of a particular television program.

Secondly, there was very little of substance in the entire debate. Clinton was vastly better, but the soundbites are going to be utterly dominated by the personal attacks and defenses, even more than is normal, since this debate was, correct me if I'm wrong, unusually focused on that sort of stuff.

edited 26th Sep '16 8:19:12 PM by CaptainCapsase

CrimsonZephyr Would that it were so simple. from Massachusetts Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
Would that it were so simple.
#140469: Sep 26th 2016 at 8:19:00 PM

This debate was incredible. I haven't been this happy in weeks.

"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."
LSBK Since: Sep, 2014
#140470: Sep 26th 2016 at 8:19:14 PM

Capsase, I think the point is that pessimism and realism aren't the same thing. You seem like you shoot for the latter but often go towards the former and it gets really annoying after awhile.

CaptainCapsase from Orbiting Sagittarius A* Since: Jan, 2015
#140471: Sep 26th 2016 at 8:20:02 PM

[up] I vastly prefer to be pleasantly surprised than let down. It's partially personal preference, and partially a desire to provide a more cautious perspective.

edited 26th Sep '16 8:20:46 PM by CaptainCapsase

BearyScary Since: Sep, 2010 Relationship Status: You spin me right round, baby
#140472: Sep 26th 2016 at 8:20:04 PM

I think that some of Trump's supporters are as immature, flippant, and reactionary as he is. Hell, I know it.

Some, I assume, are good people, but let's wait and see of they're sending their best into this country. tongue

Do not obey in advance.
Elle Since: Jan, 2001
#140473: Sep 26th 2016 at 8:20:10 PM

I want to say it was even less than the first third. His first response came off sounding calm and composed (and had me thinking Oh, Crap!); that lasted maybe ten minutes if that...

edited 26th Sep '16 8:20:58 PM by Elle

smokeycut Since: Mar, 2013
#140474: Sep 26th 2016 at 8:21:09 PM

I must have been watching a very different debate, Capsace. Hillary laid down her plans, she proved she has the temperament to be commander in chief, and she showed that she's trying to help improve people's lives. And that was something I saw in the first half hour.

golgothasArisen Since: Jan, 2015
#140475: Sep 26th 2016 at 8:21:35 PM

Nah, he was already in full Trumpism mode by five minutes.

"If you spend all your heart / On something that has died / You are not alive and that can't be a life"

Total posts: 417,856
Top