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

Swanpride Since: Jun, 2013
#192601: Jun 9th 2017 at 2:02:45 PM

[up][up][up] Voters above all want the feeling that someone is listening to them. This is why Macron managed to be so successful, he spend a LOT of time talking to voters, even those who were drifting towards the FN. I think what brought him the big win in the end was that he went to the workers and actually talked to them at length in order to explain to them why globalism is a good thing and to listen to their fears, while Le Pen turned up for a photo-op and then vanished again. The so called "Schulz effect" in Germany happened because people were hoping for a change, but when Schulz only offered the phrases they had heard multiple times, they turned their back again. Trump was so successful because he went to different groups and told them what they wanted to hear. It didn't matter that he often contradicted himself in the process, there was someone who finally told them that their idiotic world view was right. So, no, I don't think that a lot of voters actually care about the program. If they have a great life, they want the candidate who promises that it will stay that way, if they don't, they will go for whoever promises change.

The problem the far left always has is that it tends to simultaneously tell one segment of the population that they will make their life better while threatening the status quo of another segment of the population (the ones who actually have to pay for the plans of the far left - FAR left, I am not talking about the more reasonable left-leaning parties).

edited 9th Jun '17 2:03:16 PM by Swanpride

SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#192602: Jun 9th 2017 at 2:04:21 PM

@Wryte: A lot of people here wonder why people (usually liberals) enact policies that favour a certain segment of the population and wonder why this segment then votes in a suicidal fashion. So yes, it is a question worth pursuing.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
LSBK Since: Sep, 2014
#192603: Jun 9th 2017 at 2:07:36 PM

Honestly lot of that "wondering" comes off as less sincere and just more of a way to mock certain segments of the population for not being smart enough to get what's best for them. Ignoring that most people really don't understand these things, even the people who do vote the way they like.

Swanpride Since: Jun, 2013
#192605: Jun 9th 2017 at 3:03:14 PM

[up] The others are most likely just congratulating themselves that they refused to take his case.

Antiteilchen In the pursuit of great, we failed to do good. Since: Sep, 2013
In the pursuit of great, we failed to do good.
#192606: Jun 9th 2017 at 3:06:43 PM

Without the two big parties, that latter category would then be flooded with people from the former category who wouldn't have the convenient D/R labels to use as a quick reference, and demagogues would become much more common.

Where do you get this from? This is the first time I'm hearing that demagogues are more common in multi-party systems.

edited 9th Jun '17 3:07:07 PM by Antiteilchen

TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#192607: Jun 9th 2017 at 3:10:48 PM

In offering to testify against himself, has Trump just waived his right to a Fifth Amendment defense down the road, or would he still be able to play that card when the time comes?

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#192608: Jun 9th 2017 at 3:16:39 PM

Whether he can or not, what happens when he tries anyway?

AceofSpades Since: Apr, 2009 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
#192609: Jun 9th 2017 at 3:22:44 PM

He's not offered to "testify against himself", so he hasn't officially waived anything. I'm pretty sure that's something he has to do in a more formal legal setting than in a press conference. And, to address the "testify against himself" thing again, no, he's going to try and testify to the fact that he didn't do anything wrong. He's not going in there to purposefully incriminate himself. He's showboating to make himself look more credible against Comey.

TheAirman Brightness from The vicinity of an area adjacent to a location Since: Feb, 2011 Relationship Status: Historians will say we were good friends.
Brightness
#192610: Jun 9th 2017 at 3:23:42 PM

[up][up]Depends on who runs Congress.

edited 9th Jun '17 3:23:51 PM by TheAirman

PSN ID: FateSeraph | Switch friendcode: SW-0145-8835-0610 Congratulations! She/They
MadSkillz Destroyer of Worlds Since: Mar, 2013 Relationship Status: I only want you gone
Destroyer of Worlds
#192611: Jun 9th 2017 at 3:24:34 PM

So...Trump is 100% willing to testify under oath.

Get him to talk about his crowd size and he'll be instantly guilty of perjury.

edited 9th Jun '17 3:24:41 PM by MadSkillz

TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#192612: Jun 9th 2017 at 3:27:16 PM

[up][up][up] He has no control over whether his testimony is for or against himself. That's kinda the point of the Fifth; it's a double-edged sword. By pleading it, you are excused from testimony that could be used to incriminate you at the cost of being excused from testimony that could be used to defend you.

Testimony is testimony. Once you start delivering it, you forfeit the right to a Fifth Amendment plea.

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
nightwyrm_zero Since: Apr, 2010
#192613: Jun 9th 2017 at 3:30:01 PM

[up]Oh, I don't expect we'll ever actually have Trump testify to anything. I'm pretty sure he'll walk this back sometime tomorrow or next week. This is just showboating behaviour like the birth certificate thing. But it's another thing to have on record.

edited 9th Jun '17 3:31:23 PM by nightwyrm_zero

fruitpork Since: Oct, 2010
#192614: Jun 9th 2017 at 4:00:28 PM

[up] even if he did testify under oath, there's no way he wouldn't lie.

TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#192615: Jun 9th 2017 at 4:07:40 PM

Lying under oath is a federal crime. Specifically, it's perjury. That doesn't mean he wouldn't do it, but it'd be more fuel for the impeachment fire.

edited 9th Jun '17 4:08:58 PM by TobiasDrake

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NativeJovian Jupiterian Local from Orlando, FL Since: Mar, 2014 Relationship Status: Maxing my social links
Jupiterian Local
#192616: Jun 9th 2017 at 4:14:42 PM

Perjury is literally what Bill Clinton was impeached for. (Specifically, saying "I did not have sexual relations with that woman", meaning Monica Lewinsky. He was technically telling the truth, because the legal definition of "sexual relations" does not include getting your dick sucked, which Slick Willie was certainly aware of. Didn't stop the GOP from impeaching him.)

Really from Jupiter, but not an alien.
megaeliz Since: Mar, 2017
#192617: Jun 9th 2017 at 4:30:33 PM

I'm not sure how this is legal, but California signed a deal with China to combat climate change. Not that I'm complaining, but still.

http://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/336537-california-signs-deal-with-china-to-combat-climate-change?amp

MadSkillz Destroyer of Worlds Since: Mar, 2013 Relationship Status: I only want you gone
Destroyer of Worlds
#192618: Jun 9th 2017 at 4:35:14 PM

[up]California Uber Alles

Elle Since: Jan, 2001
#192619: Jun 9th 2017 at 4:35:39 PM

As long as it's legally nonbinding, maybe. I'm fairly sure these sorts of cooperation deals are sometimes made between, say, Canada and the various border states.

AceofSpades Since: Apr, 2009 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
#192620: Jun 9th 2017 at 4:36:53 PM

Well, the article does say it's a non-binding thing, so it appears basically to be a goodwill statement with the intent to have their businesses and such cooperate. It's not an actual, legal, government backed treaty of any sort.

And he does point out that California is the leading economic state. In many cases, where California goes, so to does the rest of the country simply to keep up.

megaeliz Since: Mar, 2017
#192621: Jun 9th 2017 at 4:38:21 PM

Also this is just funny:

Gingrich: Trump ‘invariably’ ate fast food in front of me

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) said President Trump’s “invariable” love of fast food shows he’s a middle-class guy at heart.

"Trump would wander through the line and get a cheeseburger and fries,” the former House Speaker wrote in his new book “Understanding Trump," according to a sneak peek in the Washington Examiner.

“It was a very practical reminder that in his heart Trump was raised as a middle-class guy from Queens, not a Manhattan socialite,” Gingrich wrote.

The Republican veteran also revealed the president is a fan of a group of fast food staples. "Any time a meal was served when I flew with candidate Trump aboard his nicely outfitted 757, it was invariably Mc Donald's, Wendy's, or a similar fast food," he said.

Gingrich’s book, which is set to be released June 13, chronicles what he learned advising Trump throughout the presidential campaign and the early days of his administration.

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/337180-gingrich-trump-invariably-ate-fast-food-in-front-of-me

sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#192622: Jun 9th 2017 at 4:40:35 PM

So, wait, he's potentially impeachable for the charge that got Nixon and he's offering to put himself into a position to perform the act that got Bill Clinton impeached? Is he working up to some super original act 3 all his own?

FluffyMcChicken My Hair Provides Affordable Healthcare from where the floating lights gleam Since: Jun, 2014 Relationship Status: In another castle
My Hair Provides Affordable Healthcare
#192623: Jun 9th 2017 at 4:41:18 PM

[up][up] If anything Trump should be encouraged to continue eating as unhealthily as possible for good of the health of the entire nation as a whole.

Which I can't help but chuckle at the thought of Newt purposely praising the habit in order to do so.

edited 9th Jun '17 4:41:37 PM by FluffyMcChicken

Aszur A nice butterfly from Pagliacci's Since: Apr, 2014 Relationship Status: Don't hug me; I'm scared
A nice butterfly
#192624: Jun 9th 2017 at 4:48:23 PM

"I swear the guy who is known for making gigantic buildings with his name on it and who is defensive about how much money he makes totally empathizes with your middle class struggles I swear promise"

It has always been the prerogative of children and half-wits to point out that the emperor has no clothes
MadSkillz Destroyer of Worlds Since: Mar, 2013 Relationship Status: I only want you gone
Destroyer of Worlds
#192625: Jun 9th 2017 at 4:51:06 PM

Trudeau wimped out along with the UK and Japan.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel had actually thought that Canada's young, charismatic prime minister, Justin Trudeau, could be counted among her reliable partners. Particularly when it came to climate policy. Just two weeks ago, at the G-7 summit in Sicily, he had thrown his support behind Germany. When Merkel took a confrontational approach to U.S. President Donald Trump, Trudeau was at her side. But by Tuesday evening, things had changed. At 8 p.m., Merkel called Trudeau to talk about how to proceed following Trump's announced withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement. To her surprise, the Canadian prime minister was no longer on the attack. He had switched to appeasement instead.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel had actually thought that Canada's young, charismatic prime minister, Justin Trudeau, could be counted among her reliable partners. Particularly when it came to climate policy. Just two weeks ago, at the G-7 summit in Sicily, he had thrown his support behind Germany. When Merkel took a confrontational approach to U.S. President Donald Trump, Trudeau was at her side. But by Tuesday evening, things had changed. At 8 p.m., Merkel called Trudeau to talk about how to proceed following Trump's announced withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement. To her surprise, the Canadian prime minister was no longer on the attack. He had switched to appeasement instead.

What would be wrong with simply striking all mentions of the Paris Agreement from the planned G-20 statement on climate, Trudeau asked.He suggested simply limiting the statement to energy issues, something that Trump would likely support as well. Trudeau had apparently changed his approach to Trump and seemed concerned about further provoking his powerful neighbor to the south.

But even before Trump announced the American withdrawal from the Paris Agreement that evening in the White House Rose Garden, it had become clear in Berlin that they would miss their first target. Led by the Italian G-7 presidency, the plan had been for a joint reaction to Trump's withdrawal, an affirmation from the remaining six leading industrial nations: We remain loyal to Paris.

Suddenly, though, Britain and Japan no longer wanted to be part of it. British Prime Minister Theresa May didn't want to damage relations with Trump, since she would need him in the event of a hard Brexit, the Chancellery surmised last week. And given the tensions with North Korea, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe couldn't put his country's alliance with the U.S. at risk. In other words: Climate policy is great, but when it comes to national interests, it is secondary.

The EU is basically the North.


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