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
@cnn vid last page: Conway must be the worst campaign manager on the planet. Any half way competent talking head would've been able to answer those questions satisfactorily enough for cooper then pivot to taking down their opponent without being so obvious about it. "my candidate did a bad thing but my opponent did worse" is pretty textbook stuff and the fact that she can't manage that is impressive.
@paid diplomats: ambassadorship comes in about 3 varietys: people who really want to be ambassadors for their nation, people who paid enough money to the right people to get a 4 year vacation and spies. Paid ambassadorships are one of those seedy things that have been done since the dawn of time.
edited 12th Oct '16 3:30:30 AM by thatguythere47
Is using "Julian Assange is a Hillary butt plug" an acceptable signature quote?Also, ambassadorships used to be much more important positions, before the era of instant global communication. It could take months to settle an ambassadorial gaffe at the speed of paper. Nowadays, it's basically a sinecure.
Regarding the other thing, I'm a white, middle-aged, middle-class guy, and I'm a straight Democrat voter who thinks that Trump's entire existence is an affront to civilized society. Even in the realm of white males, Trump's only got support in the mid fifties.
edited 12th Oct '16 5:04:41 AM by Fighteer
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!""You raised a million dollars for me, so you can be the ambassador to Jamaica. Go have fun in the sun on the government's dime."
As far as corruption goes, it's trivial, and it's been a standard political reward for as long as politics have existed, across all of recorded history. Doing favors for people who helped you win is part of what keeps the system functioning.
edited 12th Oct '16 5:25:11 AM by Fighteer
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
I agree, and it's a serious concern. I don't expect my polling location to be stalked by scary Trump supporters, but I'm going to keep my cell phone handy just in case. "911? I'm at the polling location at X, and there's an armed man outside threatening people. Please send someone right away!"
Bonus points if they think he's a black guy and come in shooting.
edited 12th Oct '16 5:28:00 AM by Fighteer
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
X3 I mean it is a shitty thing to do, it's insulting to the pretty island nations that get stuck with such ambassadors, insulting to the veteran diplomats who deserve a nice final few years in the service and it's insulting to the people who have to work under such inexperienced ambassadors. There's a reason most of the developed world doesn't act that way, now it's far from anything new and is standard practise in the US, but it's a shitty standard practise that should stop at some point.
If you say so. It's way down on my personal priority list for things to clean up in government.
You know, while going through that hypothetical voter intimidation scenario, I had a brilliant idea. (Disclaimer: It is a terrible idea that nobody should ever try.)
"Dude, get out of here. I'm calling the police."
"I'm just exercising my rights as an American citizen."
"I'll tell them you're black."
*flees in terror*
Trump is tied with Clinton in Utah
.
edited 12th Oct '16 5:45:51 AM by IFwanderer
1 2 We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be. -KV
Then we are in serious trouble, because that is so illegal as to be off the scale. It's the sort of thing that, in other countries, gets the UN to send in election monitors. If the police themselves are intimidating voters, it would be within Obama's duties as President to send federal troops to those precincts.
edited 12th Oct '16 6:15:02 AM by Fighteer
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"I would need more than one tied poll for me to buy Utah going to Clinton.
Though as Nate Silver pointed out on Twitter
, a Chicago Cubs-Cleveland Indians World Series is now more likely than a Trump presidency. (For non-baseball fans, those two hold the longest World Series droughts in Major League Baseball - the Indians last won the World Series in 1948, the Cubs last won in 1908.)
edited 12th Oct '16 6:24:04 AM by megarockman
The damned queen and the relentless knight.Though the Cubs were the best team in the regular season this year.
I wonder if Trump will freak out a bit if the Blue Jays (the only Major League team not based in the US) win the World Series?
And I'm not confident about Clinton's chances in Utah this year either. But the fact she's even close in a few polls reflects on how poorly Trump is doing at the national level.
Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.Just as a side note, I'm always amused by how the baseball competition is called the "World Series" - as if clubs from all around the world are participating. It's a bit of marketing, I know, and it's justified because so few countries other than the US care about baseball at all (so the best players of Japan would still play in the US) and all that, but it's still funny/annoying.
Imagine if someone did that with a globally popular sport. If the NHL started calling its winners the World Champions I'm sure the KHL would have something to say about that. Or, to use an extreme example, if the Spanish Football Association decided that their league is the Football World Series.
edited 12th Oct '16 6:37:56 AM by BestOf
Quod gratis asseritur, gratis negatur.@poll watching: this is a thing (at least in canada) where parties send people to monitor the polls but there are a shit ton of laws about it and they're not allowed to actually talk to people or advertise. They mostly stick to the sides or check out the big book of voters for any irregularities which I'm proud to say I've never had. If one of these folk tried to intimidate or directly talk to a voter we'd have them thrown off the property and their local office would get chewed out by elections canada and possibly face fines.
Is using "Julian Assange is a Hillary butt plug" an acceptable signature quote?DOJ files criminal charges against Maricopa Joe
. Misdemeanor contempt, with a possibility of felony obstruction of justice on the way.
edited 12th Oct '16 6:54:41 AM by MarqFJA
Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.

No idea. The GOP seems to be fighting itself.
edited 11th Oct '16 11:57:00 PM by M84
Disgusted, but not surprised