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

ironballs16 Since: Jul, 2009 Relationship Status: Owner of a lonely heart
#241926: May 12th 2018 at 12:26:42 PM

[up]

The FDA chief, Scott Gottlieb, seems to be pretty good, too. But that might be in comparison to the others.

"Why would I inflict myself on somebody else?"
Raptorslash Since: Oct, 2010
#241927: May 12th 2018 at 1:10:41 PM

How much of the deregulation from Trump's appointees can be fixed under a new administration? I get the feeling large-scale deregulation is unfortunately easier that putting regulations in place to begin with (partly because it's also easy to convince people that regulations hurt jobs and are expensive).

edited 12th May '18 1:12:09 PM by Raptorslash

Fourthspartan56 from Georgia, US Since: Oct, 2016 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
#241928: May 12th 2018 at 1:19:04 PM

No, it really doesnt. Nearly everything Trump does is political circus, designed to distract us. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, the largest scale deregulation in history is taking place.
Except this is false, do you really think that Trump didn't want to remove Obamacare? He and the Republicans absolutely did but they couldn't, the deregulation is simply the stuff that they can do that isn't stopped by their inability to govern.

It's dangerous to ascribe to them more competency then they actually have, Trump is almost certainly not engaging in a strategy and it would be a mistake to think that he is.

"Einstein would turn over in his grave. Not only does God play dice, the dice are loaded." -Chairman Sheng-Ji Yang
CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#241929: May 12th 2018 at 1:22:33 PM

Obama Care's repeal failed because the Republicans knew the truth:

1. They want it gone because they want to milk every single dime from their constituents like Scrooge Mc Duck

2. Their base will never give up free money (how they see it).

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
Fourthspartan56 from Georgia, US Since: Oct, 2016 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
#241930: May 12th 2018 at 1:35:32 PM

I'm aware of why Obamacare's repeal failed, this does not contradict my point. That the GOP's continual failure is not a strategy and to view it as one would be giving them far more credit then they deserve.

edited 12th May '18 1:35:46 PM by Fourthspartan56

"Einstein would turn over in his grave. Not only does God play dice, the dice are loaded." -Chairman Sheng-Ji Yang
CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#241931: May 12th 2018 at 2:00:45 PM

No, I agree but I'm pointing out that they haven't continually failed.

They've done a lot of what they wanted like dismantling the EPA.

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
Raptorslash Since: Oct, 2010
#241932: May 12th 2018 at 2:12:14 PM

Is there a reason why the Republicans are gutting the EPA rather than just destroying it outright, since they have the necessary control of Congress to do that?

Presumably a Democratic president can kick out Pruitt and restore the EPA, though that will take time and effort. I'm surprised they haven't dismantled it entirely since they have the opportunity.

edited 12th May '18 2:14:57 PM by Raptorslash

DingoWalley1 Asgore Adopts Noelle Since: Feb, 2014 Relationship Status: Can't buy me love
Asgore Adopts Noelle
#241933: May 12th 2018 at 2:15:32 PM

[up] That wouldn't pass the Senate; unless McConnell wants to go Nuclear, any attempt to destroy the EPA would be filibustered, and Republicans don't have 60 Votes to beat it.

pwiegle Cape Malleum Majorem from Nowhere Special Since: Sep, 2015 Relationship Status: Singularity
Cape Malleum Majorem
#241934: May 12th 2018 at 2:45:15 PM

Trump is not smart enough to engage in any sort of strategy. He makes all decisions based on his immediate gut reaction, and the Republicans can't manipulate him on every single issue.

This Space Intentionally Left Blank.
CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#241935: May 12th 2018 at 3:00:03 PM

http://www.businessinsider.com/john-kelly-family-separation-policy-illegal-border-crossing-2018-5

Yeah...

this.

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
Fourthspartan56 from Georgia, US Since: Oct, 2016 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
#241936: May 12th 2018 at 3:03:01 PM

No, I agree but I'm pointing out that they haven't continually failed.

They've done a lot of what they wanted like dismantling the EPA.

They have not failed in the things that they are incapable of failing.

That doesn't really contradict my position that they're incapable of governing.

Doesn't surprise me in the slightest, Kelly is a hardcore nativist like Trump. If he didn't lack respect for Trump due to Trump's stupidity they probably would get along well.

edited 12th May '18 3:03:14 PM by Fourthspartan56

"Einstein would turn over in his grave. Not only does God play dice, the dice are loaded." -Chairman Sheng-Ji Yang
kkhohoho (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#241937: May 12th 2018 at 3:05:16 PM

[up][up]{reads headline}

It's Not Cruel to Separate Families at the Border

Yes it is. You dickbags.

edited 12th May '18 3:05:27 PM by kkhohoho

ironballs16 Since: Jul, 2009 Relationship Status: Owner of a lonely heart
#241938: May 12th 2018 at 4:16:27 PM

Here's the original interview conducted by NPR, for those interested in the John Kelly statement. The above-quoted portion is at the end.

Are you in favor of this new move announced by the attorney general early this week that if you cross the border illegally even if you're a mother with your children [we're going] to arrest you? We're going to prosecute you, we're going to send your kids to a juvenile shelter?

The name of the game to a large degree. Let me step back and tell you that the vast majority of the people that move illegally into United States are not bad people. They're not criminals. They're not MS-13. Some of them are not. But they're also not people that would easily assimilate into the United States into our modern society. They're overwhelmingly rural people in the countries they come from – fourth, fifth, sixth grade educations are kind of the norm. They don't speak English, obviously that's a big thing. They don't speak English. They don't integrate well, they don't have skills. They're not bad people. They're coming here for a reason. And I sympathize with the reason. But the laws are the laws. But a big name of the game is deterrence.

Family separation stands as a pretty tough deterrent.

It could be a tough deterrent — would be a tough deterrent. A much faster turnaround on asylum seekers.

Even though people say that's cruel and heartless to take a mother away from her children?

I wouldn't put it quite that way. The children will be taken care of — put into foster care or whatever. But the big point is they elected to come illegally into the United States and this is a technique that no one hopes will be used extensively or for very long.

edited 12th May '18 4:19:27 PM by ironballs16

"Why would I inflict myself on somebody else?"
Ingonyama Since: Jan, 2001
#241939: May 12th 2018 at 4:43:45 PM

@ Wyldchyld on the previous page: And I do believe that the Republican you mentioned, who did read the documents and afterward expressed his support for Mueller and the investigation, is none other than Trey Gowdy, he of Benghazi fame and the one who recently accompanied Nunes to the DOJ to keep things civil. That says a lot.

edited 12th May '18 4:44:06 PM by Ingonyama

Wyldchyld (Old as dirt)
#241940: May 12th 2018 at 5:10:42 PM

Yes, it was Gowdy. Gowdy has defended the House's claim that their investigation found nothing of concern, yet even he says Mueller should be allowed the independence to conduct and conclude his investigation properly. He has even suggested that Trump should go ahead with the Mueller interview.

Has anyone seen this? It's Buzzfeed, but it has been reported on The Hill as well.

In short, whereas past presidents have reached out to all families affected by school shootings, Trump has only offered condolences to the families that support him and ignored the rest.

These Families Of Parkland Shooting Victims Are Still Waiting To Hear From Trump

President Donald Trump last week invoked the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas while speaking to the nation's most prominent gun rights gathering. “Our entire nation was filled with shock and grief by the monstrous attack on a high school in Parkland, Florida,” Trump said. “We mourn for the victims and their families.”

The mention came as a surprise to the families of students and staffers who died, who wondered why Trump would discuss the mass shooting at a political event — but not reach out to them personally. Two dads of Parkland victims took to Twitter hours after his speech to say as much.

“Surprising since I’ve never heard from him, Pence, or his staff since Carmen’s murder,” Schentrup wrote.

“I have not received any communication from the president or anyone in his administration,” Schentrup told Buzz Feed News. “Having said that, other lawmakers from both Republican and Democrat parties have reached out to my family.”

Buzz Feed News spoke to nine families of Parkland victims. Of them, eight have not heard from the president since the shooting nearly three months ago. One told Buzz Feed News they have heard from and met with Trump. The other eight families of victims declined to comment or didn’t respond.

“Our president has been very successful in kind of making people like me just say, ‘That’s who he is and so, I guess it doesn’t matter, because that’s who he is,’” Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter Jaime died in the shooting, told Buzz Feed News.

“But yeah, it ticks me off for this reason— I’m at a point where it’s like, you know what, if he doesn’t want to reach out to me, nobody has the obligation to offer condolence. To me, in his position, it would have been the right thing to do, but no one’s obligated.

“However,” Guttenberg said, “don’t use my daughter’s life for a political moment, and that’s what he did, and that pisses me off.”

Guttenberg is one of the parents who called Trump out on Twitter on Friday. He responded to a remark by Vice President Mike Pence, who said, “after these tragedies, America has seen President Trump’s leadership on full display.”

Trump has reached out to the the family of Meadow Pollack, an 18-year-old who was killed. Her friends honored her at the prom she would have attended on Saturday night, writing “Princess Meadow,” on their limo.

Meadow’s father, Andrew Pollack, who has been a vocal supporter of adding more armed personnel at schools, told Buzz Feed News said that he met with the president twice within a month of the massacre — once before a public listening session at the White House and again during a separate meeting on school safety.

Pollack said that the White House has been “very helpful.”

The president also sent a letter sent to the Pollack family, dated March 12. “I am deeply grateful for your presence at the White House for discussion regarding school safety,” the typed message reads.

edited 12th May '18 5:33:19 PM by Wyldchyld

If my post doesn't mention a giant flying sperm whale with oversized teeth and lionfish fins for flippers, it just isn't worth reading.
CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#241941: May 12th 2018 at 8:38:26 PM

  • sigh*

I keep hoping at some point the Trump=Nazi thing will STOP GETTING EVIDENCE.

http://observer.com/2018/05/juan-pablo-andrade-nazis-turning-point-usa/

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
CrimsonZephyr Would that it were so simple. from Massachusetts Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
Would that it were so simple.
#241942: May 12th 2018 at 8:54:31 PM

[up]M84, your signature is applicable again.

"For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die."
Raptorslash Since: Oct, 2010
#241943: May 12th 2018 at 8:57:41 PM

Who are those Turning Point USA people, and who invites them? I've seen them at my college a few times, with signs saying "socialism sucks" and stuff like that.

Wariolander Since: Nov, 2017
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#241946: May 12th 2018 at 9:42:11 PM

[up]x4 Yeah that was more or less my reaction.

Disgusted, but not surprised
Wariolander Since: Nov, 2017
#241947: May 12th 2018 at 10:46:33 PM

And the Nazis did try to keep going, but were stomped by the Russians when they went too far, and then the Allies came and beat their asses down.

edited 12th May '18 11:05:52 PM by Wariolander

Raptorslash Since: Oct, 2010
#241948: May 12th 2018 at 11:04:42 PM

I'm not too surprised that Latino Neo-Nazis exist. Milo exists, and he's gay.

CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#241949: May 12th 2018 at 11:11:46 PM

Russian Neo-Nazis actually struck me as the absolute nadir.

Even more than black Nazis would.

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
fruitpork Since: Oct, 2010
#241950: May 12th 2018 at 11:21:10 PM

There are white supremacist members of the Orthodox Jewish community. Basically its an easy way to prey on any community’s racism while convincing themselves that they won’t somehow be persecuted too. Being a minority doesn’t necessarily prevent that shit.


Total posts: 417,856
Top