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
From my point of view, this is magnificent news (Justice Bork, thou art avenged at last!). However—list or no list—I don't 100% trust Trump not to hand the nomination to some incompetent crony with no judicial abilities or philosophy whatsoever. It's hard to rest easy until we hear an actual name.
Moreover, it's not clear that all of the sitting conservative justices (looking at you, Roberts) have the stomach to undo existing bad decisions in any sweeping way. So even if we right-wingers get our dream nomination, it might not lead to the results that I'd most like, and that so many of you fear. Things are not remotely in the bag yet. So take heart!
"Magnificent news." Yeah, I guess if you hate women and minorities this is, indeed, magnificent news.
People are going to end up dead because of the decisions this Supreme Court makes. They're going to lose access to medical care, lose access to equal protection under the law, lose access to decent wages, and consequently, they're going to end up dead. So crowing about how great this is for you is in pretty bad taste to say the least.
Edited by AmbarSonofDeshar on Jun 27th 2018 at 4:23:50 AM
It's pretty pointless to go over why x,y, or z people didn't vote for Clinton. What needs to happen now is to mobilize more people for 2018 and 2020, now with the knowledge that the system as it is can not stand if we want to keep social progress moving forward.
I'm almost certainly going to vote Democrat no matter what happens, but I'll be very disappointed if I don't start hearing about massive electoral and governmental reform coming from the Democrats.
I'll be honest, I'm getting the sense that people tend to start claiming that the Blue Wave isn't happening whenever something bad happens, even when it has nothing to do with the electorate.
![]()
![]()
...Are you gloating and being encouraging to the opposition at the same time?
How...bizarre.
Edited by KarkatTheDalek on Jun 27th 2018 at 7:23:44 AM
Oh God! Natural light!The Blue Wave has to stop being accepted as a for sure thing. I hope there will be one, but thinking that it is for sure going to happen will only screw us.
When liberals are sure they're going to win, be it because they think everyone is on their side, or that the right-wingers can't really be that bad, they lose. That's the attitude that got us Brexit. It's the attitude that got us Trump. It's the attitude that got us Doug goddamned Ford as premier of Ontario.
So whenever I hear people saying things like "after the Blue Wave we have to do x" I start getting pretty concerned. Because until there is a Blue Wave our job isn't thinking about what we do after it. It's making sure one happens.
I just want assurances that the Democrats are pulling out all the stops here. If I can be persuaded that they are, I can at least be content that we're doing as much as we possibly can.
Oh God! Natural light!There is certainly something to the idea that we should not count our chickens before they're hatched and absolutely never assume victory until it's actually happened.
But honestly I have not seen anyone (here or elsewhere) assume that a Blue wave is definitely happening while I certainly have seen people say the opposite, which is just as if not more harmful.
"Einstein would turn over in his grave. Not only does God play dice, the dice are loaded." -Chairman Sheng-Ji YangJust gonna answer this quick before the fighting starts.
They poll both, so Trump has both a disapproval raising and an approval raiting, 538 currently have his average disapproval raiting at 52%, compared to an approval raiting of 42%. You can follow both raitings (and compare them to past presidents) here. [1]
@Jhimmibhob, I wouldn't worry. The authoritarian stooges your party has flooded Congress with will elect whatever radical Trump tells them to.
Rest of us will worry for the same reason, because we carry about things like equality and democracy.
Edited by Rationalinsanity on Jun 27th 2018 at 8:35:08 AM
Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.Liberals didn’t count their chickens early on Brexit, the problem was that conservatives were running both the leave and remain campaigns. The entire thing was a bunch of conservatives trying to thread to needle and get the right Remain victory for their personal career, liberals didn’t enter into it due to being massively outnumbered and outspent on the issue.
“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ CyranSay, Ambar; do you have any tips for 'foreigners explaining to Americans why they need to vote'? Like, what would you say are the specific key reasons? As a Brit, I feel I might need to do this at some point, so. Plus, I remember a while back I basically denounced Trump in front of some people who had expressed admiration for him, but then they started making legit-sounding claims that I couldn't counter (at the time; of course I later looked into it and it turned out they were bogus).
@Silasw: Ah, thanks. I'll need to take a look at that.
Those sell-by-dates won't stop me because I can't read!Trump's new Supreme Court nominee could have the Confederate flag tattooed on his face, and a swastika on both arms, and the Republicans in the Senate would nod, and smile, and tell us he's a wonderful person. Various elements in the press would then, in an effort to be seen as impartial and bipartisan, start talking about how he's not really so bad, and did you know he really loves his kids, and the Intercept and other Unicorn Brigade mouthpieces would insist that hey, at least it's not $illary picking the nominees and did you know the Democrats are really just as bad as the Republicans?
I think we know the pattern by now.
Edited by AmbarSonofDeshar on Jun 27th 2018 at 4:39:08 AM
I’m just not a fan of the panicky doom and gloom that seems to be so common among the Democratic base. When the Republicans suffer a defeat it invigorates them, we’ve seen time and time again that when things are going wrong they batten down the hatches and come through with as much force as possible.
Right now the situation should be invigorating the Democratic base but it almost seems to be doing the opposite.
They should have sent a poet.Just that by stating that a Blue Wave cannot occur they are willfully or otherwise saying that it doesn't matter if you vote, because in the minds of most people who care there is no point in voting if you don't win (and anything less then a wave is probably a loss). Morale greatly matters and doomsaying regarding the wave doesn't really help with that.
Still who knows how the wider base is reacting to this.
Edited by Fourthspartan56 on Jun 27th 2018 at 4:42:16 AM
"Einstein would turn over in his grave. Not only does God play dice, the dice are loaded." -Chairman Sheng-Ji YangI’m not giving up totally, all it takes is one Republican Senator to find Trump’s nominee to much and things could be held up, still it’s unlikly, I expect Trumps handlers to be on point and make sure he doesn’t screw this up, they’ll pick a nominee who is a horrific reactionary but can be polite and personable and thus doesn’t upset their sensibilities.
“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran

"I've been looking around and i'm starting to believe the "Blue Wave" is just a delusion. The more I look, the more I notice that people rarely change for the better and never do anything to improve the situation even when they have the means to do so."
Doesn't matter if you think it's hopeless, just vote Blue.
If the shoe was on the other foot and conservatives were being marginalized, you can bet they wouldn't be this far in the doldrums. They would band together, raise money, vote, and win a crapton of elections by doing so.
Edited by CrimsonZephyr on Jun 27th 2018 at 7:20:42 AM
"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."