TVTropes Now available in the app store!
Open

Follow TV Tropes

Following

The General US Politics Thread

Go To

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

Raptorslash Since: Oct, 2010
#240651: May 1st 2018 at 8:27:23 PM

It's a much bigger issue when you have people like Zinke and Pruitt removing environmental protections, and the stakes are frankly a lot higher.

Why did Trump specifically go after Bear's Ears, anyway? That was an incredibly shitty thing for him to do. And what ended up happening with his idea to re-rename Denali/Mt. Mc Kinley?

edited 1st May '18 8:27:49 PM by Raptorslash

Hodor2 Since: Jan, 2015
#240652: May 1st 2018 at 8:31:48 PM

People seem to think genetic modification means 'this banana has grown a human child face'
.

They're called Minions.

edited 1st May '18 8:32:07 PM by Hodor2

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#240653: May 1st 2018 at 8:33:03 PM

[up][up][up]Except the backlash always died down after a bit and the industry went right back to abusive practices. Things are different this time because governments are actually looking at the industry more critically in ways besides "videogame violence is bad".

I've already lost hope that the industry will somehow regulate itself. They've proven time and again that they will not. At this point I'm just hoping we don't have yet another Videogame Crash.

I don't want to derail this thread too far. I just wanted to point how the game industry is an example of Libertarian politics at work and why it's not a good thing.

edited 1st May '18 8:41:12 PM by M84

Disgusted, but not surprised
megaeliz Since: Mar, 2017
#240654: May 1st 2018 at 8:50:14 PM

So what do you guys think Rosenstein meant by "the Department of Justice is not going to get extorted?" As I said before, that's surprisingly strong language, particularly from a DOJ Attorney.

“I can tell you that there have been people who have been making threats privately and publicly against me for quite some time,”

“I think they should understand by now that the Department of Justice is not going to get extorted. We’re going to do what’s required by the rule of law, and any kind of threats that anybody makes are not going to affect the way we do our job.”

edited 1st May '18 8:51:39 PM by megaeliz

Raptorslash Since: Oct, 2010
#240655: May 1st 2018 at 8:55:18 PM

I'm surprised Rosenstein hasn't been fired yet.

TrashJack Confirmed Doomer from beyond the Despair Event Horizon (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
Confirmed Doomer
#240656: May 1st 2018 at 9:06:07 PM

[up] I'm surprised he hasn't gotten a polonium sandwich.

"Cynic, n. — A blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are, not as they ought to be." - The Devil's Dictionary
Fourthspartan56 from Georgia, US Since: Oct, 2016 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
#240657: May 1st 2018 at 9:08:11 PM

That would be ridiculous, Putin is not stupid and assassinating a US government official would be the height of stupidity and would accomplish nothing good for their interests.

edited 1st May '18 9:08:17 PM by Fourthspartan56

"Einstein would turn over in his grave. Not only does God play dice, the dice are loaded." -Chairman Sheng-Ji Yang
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#240658: May 1st 2018 at 9:09:54 PM

Even in the UK — a place where the Kremlin can get away with a lot of crap because there's a lot of Russian oligarch money in the UK economy — they aren't so brazen as to go after UK gov't officials. Only ex-spies and such.

edited 1st May '18 9:10:07 PM by M84

Disgusted, but not surprised
Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#240659: May 1st 2018 at 9:21:43 PM

At this point, if Mueller or Rosenstein get struck by lightning or choke on their morning coffee, Trump (or his backers/allies) will get blamed. Them getting hurt is the last thing their opponents should want.

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
Ramidel Since: Jan, 2001
#240660: May 1st 2018 at 9:28:56 PM

[up]Not sure. If Trump had Mueller shot, his base would cheer.

Raptorslash Since: Oct, 2010
#240661: May 1st 2018 at 9:39:57 PM

The thing with Trump is that, while he has diehard supporters who would support him whatever he did, I'm not sure he can win reelection with his core base's help alone.

What does he have to point to as unambiguously positive accomplishments, anyway? Ones that aren't him taking credit from Obama, like the good economy?

edited 1st May '18 9:40:30 PM by Raptorslash

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#240662: May 1st 2018 at 9:44:00 PM

[up] The closest I can think of is not signing TPP...which he not too long ago seems to consider going back on.

Disgusted, but not surprised
Ramidel Since: Jan, 2001
#240663: May 1st 2018 at 9:55:01 PM

[up][up]Depends on how far the Republicans can suppress the vote of everyone who's not a Trumper, or maybe count the votes in battleground states.

CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#240664: May 1st 2018 at 9:55:25 PM

Trump has about some things going for him:

  • He has avoided needless military engagements
  • Trump's campaign promise for better healthcare than Obamacare utterly derailed the Republican plan to dismantle it in a way no other Republican president would have.
  • Trump fires his awful people as soon as he hires them, leaving a trail of career destroyed monsters behind him.
  • Questioning NAFTA isn't necessarily a bad thing since it literally has resulted in US backed slave labor.

edited 1st May '18 9:56:35 PM by CharlesPhipps

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#240665: May 1st 2018 at 9:58:14 PM

[up] All of those of course have qualifiers that make them not so good points though. Especially that health care one. The plan he pushed would have made things worse. It's extremely fortunate that it did not pass, and there's a good chance they will try to pass something worse this year.

And questioning NAFTA is one thing. Threatening a fucking trade war is another.

Trying to find redeeming features in Trump and his administration is an exercise in futility.

edited 1st May '18 10:00:47 PM by M84

Disgusted, but not surprised
Fourthspartan56 from Georgia, US Since: Oct, 2016 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
#240666: May 1st 2018 at 9:59:16 PM

The thing with Trump is that, while he has diehard supporters who would support him whatever he did, I'm not sure he can win reelection with his core base's help alone.

What does he have to point to as unambiguously positive accomplishments, anyway? Ones that aren't him taking credit from Obama, like the good economy?

He cannot, to provide context a politician or political party's base is the demographics that offer them strong loyalty. The most a base can do to hurt their side is to simply stay home. Furthermore without the wider electorate a politician has no chance of winning an election.

Depends on how far the Republicans can suppress the vote of everyone who's not a Trumper, or maybe count the votes in battleground states.
I see no reason to assume that this is particularly likely.

edited 1st May '18 9:59:55 PM by Fourthspartan56

"Einstein would turn over in his grave. Not only does God play dice, the dice are loaded." -Chairman Sheng-Ji Yang
Raptorslash Since: Oct, 2010
#240667: May 1st 2018 at 10:04:51 PM

As far as avoiding pointless military engagements, he's placed a lot of hawks in high places (Mattis, Kelly, Pompeo, Bolton, among others). That doesn't inspire confidence that we'll stay out of a war.

archonspeaks Since: Jun, 2013
#240668: May 1st 2018 at 10:05:42 PM

Don't forget two largely pointless airstrikes on Syria.

They should have sent a poet.
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#240669: May 1st 2018 at 10:12:21 PM

To say nothing of continuing efforts to dismantle the Iran Nuclear Deal mostly because it was one of Obama's accomplishments. And no, that stuff Grafite brought up way back doesn't prove Trump right. The stuff Netanyahu brought up was from 2011 — before the Nuclear Deal.

Disgusted, but not surprised
Imca (Veteran)
#240670: May 1st 2018 at 11:19:45 PM

[up][up] One, as terrifying as the last one was when it happened, it was both supported by Non-US entities, and has had the unarguable result of setting Syria's chemical weapons program back decades.

Trump himself nearly fucked that up too though, what with warning the attack was going to happen on twitter.

edited 1st May '18 11:20:48 PM by Imca

unknowing from somewhere.. Since: Mar, 2014
#240671: May 2nd 2018 at 2:49:09 AM

One thing about anti intelectualism, in the case of the GMO, is that it appeal to two diferent fears: the first one is fear of Corporation(that is why being Anti GMO is such a left potition) and Fear of sciene midding with nature.

With climate change being right wing potition it appeal to diferent way: the fear of something big like climate can be change by human beings since nature is just something that happens and the idea if corpoeration killing nature by a system they enjoy so much, which goes agains the individualization ideas the US have(were things are only bad and good so far I can see right away).

"My Name is Bolt, Bolt Crank and I dont care if you believe or not"
Medinoc from France (Before Recorded History)
#240672: May 2nd 2018 at 3:03:53 AM

Yeah, AFAIK the best anti-GMO advocate is Monsanto, due to what they do with it (which includes farmers having to re-buy new GM seeds every year: We can't have most of our crops dependent on a single corporation steadily producing artificial seeds).

"And as long as a sack of shit is not a good thing to be, chivalry will never die."
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#240673: May 2nd 2018 at 3:07:12 AM

[up] That's not an anti-GMO argument any more than EA being EA is an argument against videogames. It's an anti-Monsanto argument. Or more generally, an anti-monopoly argument.

Disgusted, but not surprised
Medinoc from France (Before Recorded History)
#240674: May 2nd 2018 at 3:59:43 AM

[up]But it would sound as "good" as an anti-videogame argument if EA had the quasi-monopoly on videogames (and more importantly, videogame-related news) that Monsanto as.

Monsanto is the Vocal Majority of GMO.

edited 2nd May '18 4:00:17 AM by Medinoc

"And as long as a sack of shit is not a good thing to be, chivalry will never die."
Fourthspartan56 from Georgia, US Since: Oct, 2016 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
#240675: May 2nd 2018 at 4:08:22 AM

[up]It only sounds good because of fallaciousness.

The fact that it's dominant and does exactly what corporations do when they're not sufficiently reigned in is not an argument against GMO's, it's an argument against unrestrained corporate influence.

The fact that some people use it to smear GMO's is simply a reflection of their irrationality and existing bias.

"Einstein would turn over in his grave. Not only does God play dice, the dice are loaded." -Chairman Sheng-Ji Yang

Total posts: 417,856
Top