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
![]()
The Senate is all you need for Supreme Court nominees. If Dems have control of the Senate, then Republicans will have to filibuster to stop an appointment, which is rare and unpopular. If I were Clinton, I'd have a list of at least 10 different nominees, each one more liberal than the next, and every time the Senate Reps try to block one, I'd just pull out the next that was worse from their point of view, while their resistance gets worn down over time.
edited 13th Oct '16 7:59:42 PM by TheWanderer
| Wandering, but not lost. | If people bring so much courage to this world...◊ |Didn't the nuclear option on filibustering presidential appointees get activated a while ago? Meaning they'd have to actually filibuster, not threaten one, but actually stand there and talk for the whole time.
“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ CyranRegular presidential appointments were affected by that, but not the Supreme Court, iirc. Hence why I said I'd have that strategy to put the screws to them set up in advance were I in Clinton's place.
| Wandering, but not lost. | If people bring so much courage to this world...◊ |![]()
![]()
I'd enjoy that very much.
![]()
![]()
![]()
Again, I'm sorry - I'm afraid when it comes to this sort of thing, my ignorance shows itself. In this case, I'm afraid I don't know what the Stalin test is.
edited 13th Oct '16 8:06:55 PM by KarkatTheDalek
Oh God! Natural light!
The Stalin Test is something I came up with it's myself, so not knowing about it is fine.
It's a basic principle, is the world leader more crazy then Stalin, if not than they're actually okay to have nuclear weapons (well okay in the sense that they won't destroy the planet, there are other reason to not want proliferation), because even Stalin wasn't crazy enough to start WW3.
That's why Trump is so scary to me, I'm not sure he actually understand that launching a nuke would destroy the planet, he doesn't understand cause and effect, he doesn't understand that actions have consequences.
Put in is an ass, maybe even a villain, but he's not even Stalin level of crazy, and Stalin was sane enough to not start WW3, so we're fine with Putin.
edited 13th Oct '16 8:19:33 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.” ~ CyranI came up with it as a way to calm myself down, because it's easy to say someone's a crazy megalomaniac, but when you sit yourself down and go "yeah but are they crazier then Stalin was?" and realise that the inevitable no mean the person is sane enough to not start WW3 you calm down a hit.
“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ CyranIt's entirely possible Putin intends to employ Nixon's infamous "madman" strategy; acting like he's willing to start a nuclear war so that his adversaries won't dare test Russia.
If we want to be charitable/reassure ourselves in the event we roll a natural 1 and elect him in spite of everything that's happened this month, that could also be true of Trump.
edited 13th Oct '16 8:30:13 PM by CaptainCapsase
Anyway, in news I meant to link earlier, Trump said to block campaign's requests to do self-opposition research
.
Testing Russia in the sense of say invading Belarus? Yeah I'd say Putin's got that covered as is, that's not even madman strategy, that's just a strait up sphere of influence and defensive alliance.
Putin can't pretend to be a madman, it's not something you can fake, you have to live it and embody it like Trump does. Even Nixon didn't come across as crazier then Stalin.
As for reassurances in the case of a Trump victory, I'll take your theory that the secret service would put a bullet in him if he tried to launch a nuclear first strike, that or the international community would collectively deciding to eliminate Trump so as to protect planetary security. I think that Pence is crazy, but he at least passes the Stalin Test.
“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ CyranOn that note, if the Russian government is trying to disrupt the election/shill for Trump, they must realize by now that Trump's chances are sunk. That leaves them with two options I see: cut him loose and let things run their course or try to contribute to as much disinformation and chaos as possible to try and destabilize Clinton.
Well, they have already been "caught", given the suspicions regarding Guccifer 2.0 and Wikileaks.
And then there was that Russian politician. I hear that he's considered a loon even by other Russian politicians?
I have disagreed with her a lot, but comparing her to republicans and propagandists of dictatorships is really low. - An idiot![]()
Like I said it's my own thing, basically is a leader crazier then Stalin, because as much as Stalin was a madman he was sane enough to not start WW3.
As for Russia's actions now Trump loosing is looking certain, that assumes that Putin wants Trump to win. If this entire thing was a giant bit of trolling/an attempt to give Clinton a divided nation to run so that she can't focus on facing down Russia internationally, than a Trump lose is part of the plan, he just has to get enough votes to cause lots of domestic divisions within the US.
edited 13th Oct '16 9:41:07 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.” ~ CyranRussia benefits if people are disillusioned with democracy. Likewise if they believe its propaganda.
Blind Final Fantasy 6 Let's PlayI kinda think the level of bad things would have to get here to stop being a threat to Russia is pretty serious, maybe more than even Trumpists can generate. The President has a lot of power when it comes to foriegn policy, the only thing Congress needs to be called on for is declaring war and ratifying treaties.
edited 13th Oct '16 9:57:37 PM by Elle
To stop the US being a threat sure, you can't do that. But the US president can be distracted and have their attention focused domestically, it might not swing a lot of attention away from Russia but even a little could be a gain for the Kremlin.
“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ CyranThe last I heard of it, diversification of the economy was Medvedev's purview. Putin usually does strongman posturing in newspapers. Hence the hypermasculine photo ops.
Anyone willing to try to help decipher what exactly Ben Carson said here
?

Because he passes the Stalin Test (something Trump might not) you've provided no evidence or argument for Putin being unwinded mad willing to destroy the planet, just your own fears.
“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran