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

sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#184851: Apr 26th 2017 at 7:45:40 AM

I think I've safely confirmed my assumption that, indeed, only one person here really cares about Obama giving speeches.

CaptainCapsase from Orbiting Sagittarius A* Since: Jan, 2015
#184852: Apr 26th 2017 at 7:49:13 AM

@NoName: Honestly, I'd say it's far less of a problem for Obama than it was for (Hillary) Clinton because his career as a public official is seemingly over, whereas Clinton was more or less known to be planning another run for the Presidency since the end of the democratic primaries in 2008. Had she opted to remain a private citizen, it would have remained a non-issue, and now that she's seemingly retiring from politics, it is once again a non-issue.

edited 26th Apr '17 7:49:56 AM by CaptainCapsase

Mio Since: Jan, 2001
#184853: Apr 26th 2017 at 8:04:58 AM

[up] More or less this. And like it or not Democrats are held to a greater degree of scrutiny over this sort of thing and should take greater care not to appear corrupt.

Speaking of money in politics, here is an interview with Elizabeth Warren on Vox where she talks about just how pervasive it is, and about how the struggle against Trump is going.

While I broadly agree with what she says I actually think she is being a little too generous with Republicans about Merrick Garland. I think it's safe to say that Republicans would have rejected any candidate Obama put forth for the Supreme Court regardless of how much money was involved.

edited 26th Apr '17 8:05:45 AM by Mio

NoName999 Since: May, 2011
#184854: Apr 26th 2017 at 8:17:15 AM

From Moderate GOP to Neo-Nazi in Record Time: Youth of America's Tomorrow

Kevin is a 17-year-old high school junior in Columbus, Ohio. He lives with his parents in a middle-class community and has a group of friends he’s known since elementary school. He likes history and politics and gets decent grades. Like lots of kids his age, he spends much of his free time online sharing memes and reading blogs.

But there’s something else about Kevin: He’s a self-described fascist who serves as a national recruiter for an emerging white nationalist organization.

American Vanguard advocates for a “Muslim-free America” and for white people to “take your country back.”

The way Kevin describes it, it didn’t happen overnight. “I used to be a regular conservative,” he said. His first brush with politics was campaigning alongside his dad for Mitt Romney, a middle-of-the-road Republican, in the 2012 presidential election.

Then Trump came along.

As his campaign progressed, Trump dragged Kevin and countless others toward right-wing radicalization with his nationalistic rhetoric and tales of Mexican rapists and murderers flooding the streets and taking jobs away from Americans like Kevin’s parents, who worked in a manufacturing plant until the plant relocated to Belgium.

“I became fed up because [Republicans] were failing to push our agenda against the Obama administration,” Kevin said. “Alt right is a rejection of mainstream conservatism. I’m now a right-wing authoritarian.”

We communicated in February the day after Trump gave a rousing speech in Florida in which he touched upon familiar themes: the “lying” media and criminal undocumented immigrants who should get “the hell out of here.”

“I thought it was one of his best speech[es],” Kevin said. He posted a handful of memes that day: One depicts an abstract image of Trump’s face with glowing eyes above a quote that says “I am growing stronger.” The caption reads, in all caps, “LONG LIVE THE TRUMP EMPIRE.”

And here's the stinger: Debating them just validates their views

“Every time a big controversy would appear, I’d do my own research and almost always found myself agreeing with Trump,” Thomas said. He reads Breitbart and watches Fox News. For the left’s point of view, he said, he reads Huffington Post and Salon. He rejects over-the-top racists like Andrew Anglin, the publisher of the uber-anti-Semitic, conspiracy theory pushing Daily Stormer website, because it’s “all just shocking and provocative.

Researching both sides isn’t necessarily the key to avoiding radicalization, though, experts say. A lot of times it just reinforces what a person already believes.

“I think that we have to acknowledge that the kinds of information that appeals to the alt-right is about ideas these individuals already believed in,” said Michael Stefanone, a communications professor at the University of Buffalo who specializes in social media and social psychology. “The difference now is that these alt-right news sources are treated as legitimate, and are effectively drowning out information coming from reputable journalistic enterprises. They’re taking over the conversation.”

edited 26th Apr '17 8:18:38 AM by NoName999

DingoWalley1 Asgore Adopts Noelle Since: Feb, 2014 Relationship Status: Can't buy me love
Asgore Adopts Noelle
#184855: Apr 26th 2017 at 8:22:38 AM

[up] If that's the Future of the Republican Party, then we can expect them to become a 3rd Party like the American Nazi Party. Americans, particularly the Millennial Generation, absolutely loathe out-and-out Racism like Neo-Fascist Racism.

Greens and Libertarians, now is your time to pounce.

AmbarSonofDeshar Since: Jan, 2010
#184856: Apr 26th 2017 at 8:30:44 AM

So I see the last few pages basically boiled down to a member of the thread going "how dare Obama make money". To which I say—who cares? Seriously, why should I care how much money Obama makes? Why should I care about how much money any politician makes? Sure, if someone—like say, a certain guy from Vermont—makes not being one of the 1% a part of their whole platform it might be worth talking about, but other than that? I do not give a good goddamn.

speedyboris Since: Feb, 2010
#184857: Apr 26th 2017 at 8:45:21 AM

[up]x3 This is why it's short-sighted to take the viewpoint "Once the old racists die off, the GOP will become a lot more sane." Nonsense. Young racists are just going to take their place.

Luigisan98 A wandering user from Venezuelan Muscat Since: Oct, 2013 Relationship Status: I <3 love!
A wandering user
#184858: Apr 26th 2017 at 8:47:13 AM

[up] Then it will be their downfall.

The only good fanboy, is a redeemed fanboy.
unknowing from somewhere.. Since: Mar, 2014
#184859: Apr 26th 2017 at 8:51:20 AM

More important, old racist will ensure that young people be racist to follow the party, consider how is becoming a political cult nowdays

"My Name is Bolt, Bolt Crank and I dont care if you believe or not"
CenturyEye Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign? from I don't know where the Yith sent me this time... Since: Jan, 2017 Relationship Status: Having tea with Cthulhu
Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign?
#184860: Apr 26th 2017 at 8:58:21 AM

@ 10 districts: Yes! Dana Rohrabacher is long overdue for retirement. (So, are Purdue and Isakson, but California has no excuse for its nuts).

This does a bit of preaching to the choir here, but tis also the clearest way I've seen it written.
The Wall epitomizes the Trump approach to politics

At some level, at a basic gut level, this Trump thing was always about The Wall: The Wall as an imposing physical entity, The Wall as a symbol. The Wall as the emotional centerpiece of every rally.

Donald Trump knows it. He knows it better than anyone. He knows that The Wall represents his covenant, his mutual pledge of faith to the people with the red MAGA hats on their heads and the adoring looks on their faces. The promise to build the Wall embodies his promise to serve as their protector and shield against unwanted outside influences.

Against immigrants. Against imported goods, imported ideas. Against demographic change and economic change. Trump would stop all that, and The Wall would be tangible proof of that commitment.

“People want the border wall,” as Trump told the Associated Press. “My base definitely wants the border wall, my base really wants it — you’ve been to many of the rallies. OK, the thing they want more than anything is The Wall.”

His base does want it. In poll after poll, large majorities of Americans reject the idea of a wall. They understand the futility and expense of it, and they want no part of it. But a consistent minority — 37 percent in a new ABC News/Washington Post poll — say they support it. Twenty-five percent say they support it strongly. That is the Trump base, the people to whom Trump feels a real connection, affection and obligation. They give him what he needs, which is adoration. And he owes them The Wall in return.

“I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose voters,” Trump has bragged, and he’s probably right. But abandon The Wall? That might be different.

The Wall would protect; it would divide and separate, us from them. It would do more than just prevent the flow of drugs and immigrants across the border, because in fact it would do none of those things. The Wall would make a statement.

That over there? That’s their side; this is our side.

And the fact that Mexico would pay for The Wall?

That has always been about power, about the joy of imposing our will upon and humiliating a weaker neighbor. The pledge to make Mexico pay for The Wall, which Trump still insists will happen, was about far more than finding the pesos for the construction costs. At the emotional level where this all found resonance, making them pay for the wall was about making “them” pay for a whole slew of perceived acts of disrespect against America, not just by Mexico but by the entire world.

The Mexicans understood all that — humiliation is not a subtle thing. They got it. And when, as a matter of national pride, Mexican leaders categorically refused to pay for The Wall, you no doubt remember Trump’s smug response.

“The Wall just got 10 feet taller, believe me. It just got 10 feet taller.”

And you probably also remember the raucous, gleeful response.

But in the end, here’s another way in which The Wall epitomizes all, because there will be no wall. Unable to generate support from Democrats in Congress and from a number of Republicans as well, Trump says he will delay his push to fund The Wall until September.

But September will come and September will go and there will still be no wall, for the same reason there’s no Nigerian prince wanting to put $10 million into your bank account.

Look with century eyes... With our backs to the arch And the wreck of our kind We will stare straight ahead For the rest of our lives
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#184861: Apr 26th 2017 at 9:05:05 AM

Yes, The Wall is a symbol of the intolerance of the body politic that supports it. Their insularity, their inability to cope with change, with new ideas. Their idealization of a fantasy past in which things were good for them.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
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
#184862: Apr 26th 2017 at 10:03:24 AM

The Chinese Dynasties build a wall, their dynasties fell.

The Soviets build a wall, the Soviet Union fell.

Trump's America wants to build a wall...

We all know the saying, but MAGA that wall ain't makin'.

Inter arma enim silent leges
Luigisan98 A wandering user from Venezuelan Muscat Since: Oct, 2013 Relationship Status: I <3 love!
ViperMagnum357 Since: Mar, 2012
#184864: Apr 26th 2017 at 10:16:47 AM

[up]Yes, though his popularity is a result of running on a populist, anti-establishment platform then having to do nothing to back up his rhetoric.

Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#184865: Apr 26th 2017 at 10:24:47 AM

Its easy to be popular when you have been in perpetual opposition, to both parties, your entire career and not in government where people expect you to follow through.

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
Krieger22 Causing freakouts over sourcing since 2018 from Malaysia Since: Mar, 2014 Relationship Status: I'm in love with my car
Causing freakouts over sourcing since 2018
#184866: Apr 26th 2017 at 10:30:03 AM

[up][up][up]That's because nobody in the primaries pointed out that his track record is largely ineffectual.

If every other Democratic primary candidate pointed out that Sanders' crowning achievement as a lawmaker appears to be renaming a post office, that he is very much the elite he rails against, and his wife getting a $200K golden parachute for driving a college into debt it could not repay, things would be very different. And they will be should he run again.

edited 26th Apr '17 10:31:24 AM by Krieger22

I have disagreed with her a lot, but comparing her to republicans and propagandists of dictatorships is really low. - An idiot
sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#184867: Apr 26th 2017 at 10:34:05 AM

That's not even getting into that whole "not in my backyard" thing with the nuclear waste

Also, some Trump ignorance for laughs, courtesy WTF Just Happened Today:

Trump attacks “ridiculous” 9th circuit judge who blocked his order to deny federal funding to “sanctuary cities.” Judge William Orrick doesn’t sit on the 9th circuit. He sits on the court of the Northern District of California, which appeals to the 9th circuit.

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/04/26/trump-tweets-sanctuary-cities-237620

edited 26th Apr '17 10:40:35 AM by sgamer82

SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#184868: Apr 26th 2017 at 10:42:57 AM

Probably because it's too old and not really statistically significant. And the metric that Krieger cites is not that ... effectual at gauging a lawmaker's performance.

I personally guess that Sanders does not evoke negative reactions to the degree that Trump, Obama and Hillary do.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
AmbarSonofDeshar Since: Jan, 2010
#184869: Apr 26th 2017 at 10:46:19 AM

[up][up]Or the fact that his wife sat on the committee that got the nuclear waste contract.

Krieger22 Causing freakouts over sourcing since 2018 from Malaysia Since: Mar, 2014 Relationship Status: I'm in love with my car
Causing freakouts over sourcing since 2018
#184870: Apr 26th 2017 at 10:47:00 AM

[up][up]Among the far left. The far left does not actually go wading into Bible Belt coffee shop talk as far as I know. Of course, it could just be that they actually do agree with said coffee shop goers about people who aren't white..

And there we have it: The Trump tax reform plan.

edited 26th Apr '17 10:47:34 AM by Krieger22

I have disagreed with her a lot, but comparing her to republicans and propagandists of dictatorships is really low. - An idiot
SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#184871: Apr 26th 2017 at 10:50:40 AM

The far left is not large enough to explain such a statistic. You may notice that Trump is far less popular despite a loyal base.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
Krieger22 Causing freakouts over sourcing since 2018 from Malaysia Since: Mar, 2014 Relationship Status: I'm in love with my car
Causing freakouts over sourcing since 2018
#184872: Apr 26th 2017 at 10:56:06 AM

The "negative reactions" part.

I have disagreed with her a lot, but comparing her to republicans and propagandists of dictatorships is really low. - An idiot
Balmung Since: Oct, 2011
#184873: Apr 26th 2017 at 10:57:36 AM

*looks at tax plan outline* Dafuq is the "death tax"? There's no such tax on the books.

If you want to repeal the tax on massive inheritances, then just fucking say "estate tax" instead of inventing a fake tax to crusade against.

And by and large, it's just a standard GOP "coddle the rich until the confidence fairy uses her magic want to make the economy boom forever and never bust until a filthy cuck democrat takes office and smothers all the confidence with their communism" tax plan.

CaptainCapsase from Orbiting Sagittarius A* Since: Jan, 2015
#184874: Apr 26th 2017 at 11:01:34 AM

@Luigisan98: You just had to mention Sanders, didn't you. Well, here we go again.

edited 26th Apr '17 11:01:45 AM by CaptainCapsase

TheRoguePenguin Since: Jul, 2009
#184875: Apr 26th 2017 at 11:01:39 AM

"Eliminate tax breaks that benefit the rich"

"Repeal the death tax"

The lack of self-awareness there is painful, but then they're probably counting on people taking "death tax" at face value and not realizing it's BS.


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