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

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#248101: Jul 1st 2018 at 10:31:13 PM

Rightwingers are all about power. They hate anything that either deprives them of it or implies that they don't deserve it. Which is why so many of them are regular voters. Votes are power.

Disgusted, but not surprised
CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#248102: Jul 2nd 2018 at 2:10:05 AM

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/former-ice-spokesman-james-schwab-opens-up-about-resignation-trump-administration/

More examples of ICE being evil. In this case intimidating ex-members...during interviews.

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
NickTheSwing Since: Aug, 2009
#248104: Jul 2nd 2018 at 3:01:32 AM

ICE is probably salty that they can't do as the SS did and simply kill anyone they want who speaks out against them. You just know they'd love to have that kind of power.

They're already putting people in camps, deliberately "misplacing" people and not saying where, and get very, very tellingly angry when people don't cooperate with them.

Edited by NickTheSwing on Jul 2nd 2018 at 3:04:37 AM

CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#248105: Jul 2nd 2018 at 3:35:05 AM

They also dress and claim to be cops when the local police say....no, you are not.

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#248106: Jul 2nd 2018 at 7:09:47 AM

So now there is talk about the viability of Ocasio Cortez's policies in the Midwest. On one hand, some are upset since they feel that the Democratic party doesn't bother to appeal to nonwhite people in the Midwest. On the other hand, others are coming from the angle that different areas require differing strategies. I myself am still processing how I feel about it. All I am hoping is that people not be blinded by Ocasio's victory.

Well, she's running in New York, so her platforms are probably built based on New York issues. So, yeah, there's every likelihood that her proposals won't necessarily work for the Midwest. As a federal Congresswoman, that's not going to fly. It is, however, entirely reasonable and to be expected at this stage of her professional development.

Her political experience in a nutshell:

  1. She was a staffer for Ted Kennedy.
  2. She was a campaign organizer for Bernie Sanders in his 2016 primary bid.
  3. The primary campaign she just won.

She's a populist candidate who, ironically, even invokes Sanders's much-loathd "Vote for me, I'm a woman" rhetoric in the viral video that first kicked off her grassroots movement. Literally the first words of her famous campaign ad are, "Women like me aren't supposed to run for office."

It doesn't get better from there. Half of the video is talking about who she is as a person and the other half is complaining about how much Democrats suck, along with a bunch of useless buzzphrases like "PEOPLE VERSUS MONEY". Actual platform proposals are given 7 seconds of a two-minute video.

Also lots of Us v. Them rhetoric about how someone who doesn't live in MY neighborhood and breathe MY air is unfit to represent ME. But keep in mind that she's running for a House district, not President of the United States, and there is a legitimate argument to be made that House representatives should actually be from the district they're representing.

So, yeah. Her first policy bills to not be based on faerie wishes and unicorn farts but instead on practical logistics are going to suck, because they always do. She is, in every way, the new kid on the block and that's an important context. In about eight or ten years, she'll probably be a competent politician. But in the battle against Trump, she's a trainee. Anyone expecting her to Messianically kick down the door and immediately solve all of Washington's problems is in for disappointment.

Edited by TobiasDrake on Jul 2nd 2018 at 8:16:01 AM

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
Silasw A procrastination in of itself from A handcart to hell (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#248107: Jul 2nd 2018 at 7:19:40 AM

She's a populist candidate who, ironically, even invokes Sanders's much-loathd "Vote for me, I'm a woman" rhetoric

I wonder if this is why neither Sanders nor “Our Revolution” endorsed her.

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#248108: Jul 2nd 2018 at 7:21:28 AM

I am so weary of Messiah populist politics.

Disgusted, but not surprised
math792d Since: Jun, 2011 Relationship Status: Drift compatible
#248109: Jul 2nd 2018 at 7:28:46 AM

I love reading all of these sizzling hot takes about how this would never fly in the Midwest as if the U.S labor movement just magically appeared out of nowhere in a neighborhood in the Bronx.

Like, if anything, the post-industrial Midwest would be an even better breeding ground for socialist ideas than in the 1930's. Obama won the Midwest in the first place by playing up his progressivism compared to the reality of the President Obama we got.

Still not embarrassing enough to stan billionaires or tech companies.
TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#248110: Jul 2nd 2018 at 7:34:40 AM

I didn't say her policies wouldn't fly in the Midwest. I said that having policies based on only a single region isn't going to fly in federal Congress, but is to be expected for a populist candidate who has never actually served in public office before.

That's part of that whole "In 8-10 years, she'll be a competent politician," thing. Nobody just walks into Washington and is Nancy Pelosi on their first day. There is a learning curve to working in the federal government.

Edited by TobiasDrake on Jul 2nd 2018 at 8:34:49 AM

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
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?
#248111: Jul 2nd 2018 at 7:34:56 AM

Benefit cuts announced following Medicaid ruling

    Story 
LOUISVILLE, KY. —

Gov. Matt Bevin's administration is cutting dental and vision coverage for nearly a half-million Kentuckians after his Medicaid overhaul plan was rejected in court.

The state Cabinet for Health and Family Services calls the cuts an "unfortunate consequence" of Friday's ruling by a federal judge who said Kentucky can't require poor people to get jobs to keep their Medicaid benefits.

U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg's rejection of the Republican governor's plan to overhaul the state's Medicaid program is a setback for President Donald Trump's administration, which has been encouraging states to impose work requirements and other changes on the joint state and federal health insurance program for the poor and disabled.

Cabinet spokesman Doug Hogan sought in a weekend statement to place the blame squarely on the judge.

The ruling means there is no longer a "legal mechanism" in place to pay for dental and vision coverage for about 460,000 Medicaid beneficiaries, his statement said.

"This is an unfortunate consequence of the judge's ruling," Hogan said. "Once we ultimately prevail in this legal challenge ... then beneficiaries will have access to these optional services."

Democratic State Rep. Joni Jenkins said she's concerned about "rash decisions" in response to the ruling.

"We call for thoughtful discussions involving the administration and the many statewide stakeholders in the path forward in assuring Kentucky's working families have health care," Jenkins said in a statement.

The federal health care law championed by former President Barack Obama gave states the option of expanding Medicaid coverage to able-bodied adults. Kentucky, under former Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear, was one of 32 states that did so, and nearly 500,000 Kentuckians got Medicaid coverage as a result.

But Bevin, elected in 2015, said the program was too expensive to continue. He asked for permission to impose new rules, including charging monthly premiums and requiring at least 80 hours of "community engagement" per month, which could include working, volunteering or going to school.

Boasberg's decision blocks those rules, for now. Adam Meier, Bevin's secretary of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, has said if the ruling stands, the state would have "no choice but to make significant benefit reductions." He said the state faces a $300 million shortfall in Medicaid over the next two years, and the new rules would have helped the state save money.

Kentucky was the first state to get permission to impose new rules, which were scheduled to take effect Sunday in a northern Kentucky suburb of Cincinnati. In his ruling, the judge chastised Trump's administration for rubber-stamping the new rules without considering how many people would lose their health coverage.

Hogan said the state "made it clear" that dental and vision benefits for the approximately 460,000 beneficiaries were dependent on the new Medicaid changes.

Edited by CenturyEye on Jul 2nd 2018 at 10:37:38 AM

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
DeathorCake Since: Mar, 2016
#248112: Jul 2nd 2018 at 7:48:17 AM

Re: AOC policies in general, I can kind of see why she went for all that vacuous rhetoric. Hard to fit a deconstruction of centrist and republican economic policy into a couple of minutes of advert, and even if she could it would be ignored due to all young people being idealistic idiots in the public imagination.

Still irritates me. You want to run a populist left-wing economics campaign? Awesome, go get some graphs, work out a two-minute explanation of why the government can't run out of money and give a big speech on that job guarantee program of great complexity but great possible usefulness.

[up]

US States have hard budget constraints, right? Could a hypothetical Democratic administration extend the money pipes down from the federal level to the various states and say "we'll fund this program if you want it" to get around the red-governed states always having a decent reason for ideological budget cuts?

[down]

Not for the campaign trail, for the policy workings-out in the first place. Although maybe it might be worth a try if you actually use some stats showing the lower and middle classes getting systematically crushed for four decades and going back to the populism afterwards. Unfortunately, said stats aren't in short supply.

Edited by DeathorCake on Jul 2nd 2018 at 3:00:29 PM

KarkatTheDalek Not as angry as the name would suggest. from Somwhere in Time/Space Since: Mar, 2012 Relationship Status: You're a beautiful woman, probably
Not as angry as the name would suggest.
#248113: Jul 2nd 2018 at 7:50:15 AM

I'm going to be a bit cynical for a moment - when was the last time graphs helped someone get elected?

Oh God! Natural light!
Fourthspartan56 from Georgia, US Since: Oct, 2016 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
#248114: Jul 2nd 2018 at 7:52:26 AM

That's not being cynical, it's a simple fact that logos is a far inferior rhetorical strategy to either ethos or pathos in elections.

Edited by Fourthspartan56 on Jul 2nd 2018 at 7:52:20 AM

"Einstein would turn over in his grave. Not only does God play dice, the dice are loaded." -Chairman Sheng-Ji Yang
sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#248115: Jul 2nd 2018 at 8:05:01 AM

A possible good sign from today's developing WTF Just Happened Today feed.

Susan Collins will not vote to confirm Trump's pick to fill Justice Robert Kennedy's vacant seat on the U.S. Supreme Court if the nominee has displayed "hostility" toward Roe v. Wade. "A candidate for this important position who would overturn Roe v. Wade would not be acceptable to me," Collins said, "because that would indicate an activist agenda that I don’t want to see a judge have." Collins is considered a moderate Republican Senator, and she could end up being the deciding vote in the upcoming confirmation hearings.

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/supreme-court-nominee-overturn-roe-wade-acceptable-sen/story?id=56286828

Fourthspartan56 from Georgia, US Since: Oct, 2016 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
#248116: Jul 2nd 2018 at 8:06:05 AM

That is good.

It's probably unlikely but it would be nice if we could get a less reactionary SC judge out of this.

Edited by Fourthspartan56 on Jul 2nd 2018 at 8:06:22 AM

"Einstein would turn over in his grave. Not only does God play dice, the dice are loaded." -Chairman Sheng-Ji Yang
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#248117: Jul 2nd 2018 at 8:06:38 AM

It's hopeful, but Collins has backtracked on other key votes. Let's not count the chickens just yet.

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#248118: Jul 2nd 2018 at 8:09:06 AM

I will give credit AFTER the vote is done and not a second sooner.

Disgusted, but not surprised
Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#248119: Jul 2nd 2018 at 8:09:12 AM

A Republican's word is ultimately worthless until its backed by action. We'll see.

In better news; Michael Cohen says that he respects the FBI, and asserted that he will put his family before anything else. Which is a roundabout way to say that he will turn on Trump if his lawyer advises it.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/02/politics/michael-cohen-loyalty-donald-trump/index.html

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#248120: Jul 2nd 2018 at 8:11:36 AM

It's hopeful, but Collins has backtracked on other key votes. Let's not count the chickens just yet.

A Republican's word is ultimately worthless until its backed by action. We'll see.

Hence why I only call it a possible good sign.

Edited by sgamer82 on Jul 2nd 2018 at 9:11:34 AM

Silasw A procrastination in of itself from A handcart to hell (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#248121: Jul 2nd 2018 at 8:25:42 AM

So there was another special election on Saturday, this one in Texas’ 27th district, the results aren’t super encouraging, the Dems only improved 5 points on the district’s partisan lean. That matches up with the 7 point generic ballot advantage that Dems currently have. A lead is a lead but the Dems need more than 5 points to win the House, it’s also a far cry from the 17 point average special election swing that Dems has going into Saturday (which is now 16 points once saturday’s results are factored in).

Now a 16 point win would still be easily enough, but with the narrower results being the latest result it’s likly to be lower unless this result is just a fluke. [1]

In more positive news, the Dems have a solid lead in the fight for the senate seat in Arizona, this lead is certain to drop due to Republicans still being mid-primary, but it’s still something substantial that if held on to could flip the seat.[2]

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
Mio Since: Jan, 2001
#248122: Jul 2nd 2018 at 8:26:33 AM

@math792d: I'm rather uncertain how people in the mid-west still align with the labor movement, especially compared to resurgent white supremacy. I get the feeling that the latter is still going to be a stronger force in the near term barring an actual Great Depression II.

@Tobias Drake: It's unlikely she is going to be making any leadership moves, and I don't think her election is going to inspire, nor is indicative of as much of a sea change as punditry. I don't really see the need to harp on her lack of experience when it is unlikely she is going to have a great effect on things in the near or even medium term.

razorrozar7 Migrated to Chloe Jessica! from Chloe Jessica Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: Hooked on a feeling
Migrated to Chloe Jessica!
#248123: Jul 2nd 2018 at 8:27:55 AM

[up] What would you expect to happen were the Democrats to run a Po C against Trump in 2020, in that case?

Migrated to Chloe Jessica!
Mio Since: Jan, 2001
#248124: Jul 2nd 2018 at 8:32:06 AM

[up]That depends. We are still a long way out from 2020 and to be honest I may be overestimating how strong white-nationalism is as a decision making force for people in the mid-west. By that time it may not matter if the Trump administration has gone poorly enough, of which I say there is a good chance of that happening.

Regardless I don't think that should stop the Democrats from choosing a POC to run for President.

SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#248125: Jul 2nd 2018 at 8:34:16 AM

Obama won in 2008 and 2012, so I don't think running a person of colour would be a problem.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman

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