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

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#143426: Oct 11th 2016 at 11:56:29 PM

No idea. The GOP seems to be fighting itself.

edited 11th Oct '16 11:57:00 PM by M84

Disgusted, but not surprised
Clarste One Winged Egret Since: Jun, 2009 Relationship Status: Non-Canon
One Winged Egret
#143427: Oct 12th 2016 at 12:15:14 AM

The GOP recognizes Trump as a loser and focuses their attention on the down ticket so they can keep their state/senate positions by distancing themselves from Trump.

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#143428: Oct 12th 2016 at 12:20:11 AM

[up] They are essentially betting on "moderate" Republicans helping them keep their seats. They know distancing themselves from Donald will alienate his more rabid cultists.

edited 12th Oct '16 12:21:04 AM by M84

Disgusted, but not surprised
thatguythere47 Since: Jul, 2010
#143429: Oct 12th 2016 at 3:28:25 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?
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#143430: Oct 12th 2016 at 5:01:51 AM

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!"
Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#143431: Oct 12th 2016 at 5:05:19 AM

And the paid cronies generally don't get the top tier posts, you can bet the people assigned to core allies (to say nothing of a county's rivals) are there for their skills and background.

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
megarockman from The Sixth Borough (Experienced Trainee)
#143432: Oct 12th 2016 at 5:09:14 AM

At least for long-standing allies AFAIK (e.g., US to UK). From what I understand, more critical ones (e.g., US to China or Russia) are reserved for veterans who need to take the job seriously.

The damned queen and the relentless knight.
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#143433: Oct 12th 2016 at 5:22:28 AM

"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!"
CaptainCapsase from Orbiting Sagittarius A* Since: Jan, 2015
#143434: Oct 12th 2016 at 5:24:31 AM

You know, even with all this talk about how Trump is finished, I'm deeply worried that things might turn violent at polling places. Trump has certainly cultivated a cult of personality and has given his tacit encouragement of political violence.

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#143435: Oct 12th 2016 at 5:26:23 AM

[up] 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!"
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
#143436: Oct 12th 2016 at 5:34:46 AM

[up]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.

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#143437: Oct 12th 2016 at 5:40:04 AM

[up] 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*

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
IFwanderer use political terms to describe, not insult from Earth Since: Aug, 2013 Relationship Status: Wishfully thinking
use political terms to describe, not insult
#143438: Oct 12th 2016 at 5:45:38 AM

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
Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#143439: Oct 12th 2016 at 5:51:25 AM

Hillary Clinton winning Arizona and goddamn Utah isn't out of the question...? This freaking election.

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
TheHandle United Earth from Stockholm Since: Jan, 2012 Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
United Earth
#143440: Oct 12th 2016 at 5:54:07 AM

Told you, Mormons actually try to be moral.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
speedyboris Since: Feb, 2010
#143441: Oct 12th 2016 at 6:07:37 AM

[up]x4 And in this hypothetical scenario, what if the Trump supporters standing outside polling places ARE police officers?

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#143442: Oct 12th 2016 at 6:12:38 AM

[up] 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!"
LeGarcon Blowout soon fellow Stalker from Skadovsk Since: Aug, 2013 Relationship Status: Gay for Big Boss
Blowout soon fellow Stalker
#143443: Oct 12th 2016 at 6:20:59 AM

Wouldn't surprise me any. I see many a Trump sign outside officer's homes.

Oh really when?
megarockman from The Sixth Borough (Experienced Trainee)
#143444: Oct 12th 2016 at 6:21:58 AM

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.
Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#143445: Oct 12th 2016 at 6:27:10 AM

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?tongue

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.
nightwyrm_zero Since: Apr, 2010
#143446: Oct 12th 2016 at 6:36:20 AM

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?tongue

"The Canadians are stealing our trophies. Build a wall around Canada!!"

BestOf FABRICATI DIEM, PVNC! from Finland Since: Oct, 2010 Relationship Status: Falling within your bell curve
FABRICATI DIEM, PVNC!
#143447: Oct 12th 2016 at 6:37:14 AM

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.
thatguythere47 Since: Jul, 2010
#143448: Oct 12th 2016 at 6:40:09 AM

@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?
Ramidel Since: Jan, 2001
#143449: Oct 12th 2016 at 6:51:31 AM

DOJ files criminal charges against Maricopa Joe. Misdemeanor contempt, with a possibility of felony obstruction of justice on the way.

MarqFJA The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer from Deserts of the Middle East (Before Recorded History) Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer
#143450: Oct 12th 2016 at 6:54:04 AM

If the police themselves are intimidating voters, it would be within Obama's duties as President to send federal troops to those precincts.
It definitely has precedent in Eisenhower sending the 101st Airborne and federalizing the entire Arkansas National Guard (yes, all 10,000 of them) in response to the Little Rock Crisis.

edited 12th Oct '16 6:54:41 AM by MarqFJA

Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.

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