General US Politics

[XeKr]

I thought this was a good read.

http://www.cracked.com/blog/6-reasons-trumps-rise-that-no-one-talks-about/

Which was surprising, considering how Cracked normally handles Trump articles. Maybe because they talk about why he's popular rather than the man himself.

Yeah it’s mocking and doesn’t help matters (makes things worse, really), but economic anxiety is somewhat a meme among “liberal elites” for a reason.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/08/12/a-massive-new-study-debunks-a-widespread-theory-for-donald-trumps-success

I agree there’s often no nuance in labeling certain groups as racist/sexist/xenophobic. The implicit statement is that a majority is (who also tend to be the most vocal), which tends to overlook a huge number of people. Additionally, it’s not intentionally malicious, but a lot of thinkpieces/stats analysis use demographic labels for shorthand, which tends to dehumanize people and characterize them as a monolith.

I would disagree with the implication that Dems/liberals fundamentally don’t recognize or care about issues of inequality, including urban/rural (see Sanders, Warren. And honestly Clinton too but few believe her). And it turns out both sides (actually) are using populist rhetoric to a large extent.

I think a lot of the counter-backlash this cycle is because Trump was chosen as the champion. It indicates that racism, sexism, xenophobia, authoritarianism are okay (if ISIS is defeated, if jobs come back, etc). It’s not okay (and Trump has little specific policy for doing so anyway). Additionally, his nomination validated the same accusations flung toward McCain, Romney, and the GOP congress, despite the different tone of their campaigns, because it’s now clear what the base wants. Obviously that leads to a sense of smugness (“we were right”).

The whole situation is problematic. Culture wars suck.

So, here's something that I've started thinking about. Trump has started actively burning bridges between himself and the GOP. So if all the Democrats hate him, and the majority of the Republicans hate him, how is Trump even going to accomplish anything if he becomes president? Pretty much the entire Congress is going to hate his guts.

Trump is immediately impeached, it’s looking like…

[Moblin Major General]

Trump is immediately impeached, it’s looking like…

High Crimes and Misdemeanors. Unless Pence set's him up, which he won't, or unless he is actually caught doing something illegal, only then can he be impeached and then removed. Impeachment is very difficult, because although Congress can choose not like a president, trying to remove them is a great deal more difficult, even by legal means and on legal grounds.

[Tryhard]

that aside that pretty much mirrors my thoughts during the primary, up until the part about thinking she wouldn't stand a chance against any of the other presented republican alternatives: they were all pretty horrible except Kasich imo

I still think Ted Cruz is worse, because he's a theocrat on top of everything Trump is.

So there's been numerous stories about sexual assault leveled at Trump since the debate, and the same who are fully behind Trump when he lashes out at Bill Clinton's alleged sexual impropriety are the first to dismiss these. It's quite wonderful that he even went as far as to threaten to sue the New York Times over it, the champion of free expression that he is. http://www.gq.com/story/donald-trump-suing-nyt

The best was Rush Limbaugh talking about how 'the left' is too strict about consensual sex as a response to this.

"The left will promote and understand and tolerate anything, as long as there is one element. Do you know what it is? Consent," Limbaugh said during his namesake radio Show Wednesday. "If there is consent on both or all three or all four, however many are involved in the sex act, it's perfectly fine. But if the left ever senses and smells that there's no consent in part of the equation then here come the rape police."

No, Rush, that's the actual police.

Edited October 13, 2016 by Tryhard

[Just call me AL]

The best was Rush Limbaugh talking about how 'the left' is too strict about consensual sex as a response to this.

"The left will promote and understand and tolerate anything, as long as there is one element. Do you know what it is? Consent," Limbaugh said during his namesake radio Show Wednesday. "If there is consent on both or all three or all four, however many are involved in the sex act, it's perfectly fine. But if the left ever senses and smells that there's no consent in part of the equation then here come the rape police."

No, Rush, that's the actual police.

And here I was just reading up on an article that basically said the very same thing you said here.

[XeKr]

High Crimes and Misdemeanors. Unless Pence set's him up, which he won't, or unless he is actually caught doing something illegal, only then can he be impeached and then removed. Impeachment is very difficult, because although Congress can choose not like a president, trying to remove them is a great deal more difficult, even by legal means and on legal grounds.

Let’s wait and see what evidence the (((globalist))) conspiracy makes up.

There’s also the matter of jailing political opponents (and their lawyers), suppressing the press, etc. Or is he not “telling it like it is” anymore?

It can’t happen here.

Also, icymi, more reading material similar to the cracked article, from a deeply humanist perspective (I know, I'm usually the cynical one).

https://medium.com/@Chris_arnade/two-isolated-americas-fae2720fb48#.whalqosdc

That’s a start, but I strongly encourage reading all his articles. Trump needs a miracle at this point to win, but regardless, there are fundamental problems in this country (and capitalism?).

[Balcerzak]

When all the FBI agents and DOJ attorneys working the case unanimously agreed that Clinton should have been charged, I don't find Trump's claim that if he were president she would be in jail to be particularly disturbing, tbqh.

[Time the Crestfallen]

When all the FBI agents and DOJ attorneys working the case unanimously agreed that Clinton should have been charged, I don't find Trump's claim that if he were president she would be in jail to be particularly disturbing, tbqh.

Did I miss something? I'm 90% sure that any emails that did have classified material were classified retroactively.

[-Cynthia-]

1 supposed insider, Fox News story...a questionable source if there ever was one.

[Just call me AL]

1 supposed insider, Fox News story...a questionable source if there ever was one.

Not the only questionable source, considering Breitbart exists.

[XeKr]

Something like that (most probably) won't be publicly verified, so it’s used purely for political damage. (as everyone probably knows, Fox News has its own political leanings, much like the other media networks)

If you already think Clinton is corrupt (and many do), this confirms it. If you don’t think she’s corrupt, this reads like a politically-motivated smear piece. All we have is publicly available facts, and spins on them, and smoke blowing around, not the “truth”. Both Clintons (tbh all politicians) have relied on this technique (innocent until proven guilty) for political power since their ascension, that’s pretty well known (Hillary’s honesty metric is trash, even among Dems. This referring to public perception, not public statements that are fact-checked for which she's actually quite good about).

Trump said he’d direct his attorney general to appoint a special prosecutor to specifically go after Clinton. When Nixon, of Watergate fame, tried something similar, his attorney general resigned. It’s (considered) fundamentally undemocratic. That’s why those comments to jail her rose such alarm. (and the threat toward her lawyers is one step away from her supporters)

Trump is a “proven” misogynist to many given the recent tape and his past racism, business failures, etc are well-documented. Most of the stuff on the Clinton side can be spun easily as smears/conspiracy with little solid evidence.

Edited October 14, 2016 by XeKr

[Phoenix Wright]

even if we assume the source is legit, and i don't think fox would publish something they aren't at least somewhat confident in, it doesn't change much. yeah, clinton is a crook. the united states has had its fair share of crooks in the presidency. i don't want it, and am actively utilizing my vote to make it not so (sanders write-in), but trump is in a different universe. electing him would go down, i think, as a time when america was really fooled. republican candidates this year make romney look worthy of office; the party is imploding.

prosecutors won't take the case because "intent" couldn't be proved. well, if intent mattered there'd be thousands of people free right now...

Edited October 14, 2016 by Phoenix Wright

[dondon151]

When all the FBI agents and DOJ attorneys working the case unanimously agreed that Clinton should have been charged, I don't find Trump's claim that if he were president she would be in jail to be particularly disturbing, tbqh.

you're going to need a better source than that, dude

[Just call me AL]

prosecutors won't take the case because "intent" couldn't be proved. well, if intent mattered there'd be thousands of people free right now...

Not to mention, why the case was pushed in the first place had political motivations placed above all others. Fox and Friends even had one of the people in charge of the e-mail probe admit that very fact about the probe on their very channel. And I don't think that Fox and Friends is the kind of news station to at least want to admit that that kind of admission ever happened, whether if it was on their station or not.

[Etrurian emperor]

Letting the issue of Clinton's guild slide a bit I think its not Trump place to comment on the Email situation in the way he has.

If you hear a tale about the political leader of one party promising how he is personally going to ensure his opponent will be put in jail if he wins then doesn't that sound a lot like a banana republic, or a country like Ukraine ? It certainly doesn't sound like a healthy democracy.

[Ansem]

For those of you that were undergrad in 2012 or even 2008, was there this much discontent among the major parties? Did people find conspiracies with Obama/McCain/Romney as much as as they do today with Clinton and Trump?

[Lord Raven]

Nope, and the 2012 election was the most boring of all time in this regard. It helps that Obama was a very clean candidate in 2008 and Romney was the cleanest Republican candidate in 2012.

Remember that Romney was against proto-Trump, Michael Steele, and Herman Cain, and those guys weren't exactly saints. Steele and Cain had controversies out the asshole, and I remember dudes like Gingrich who had some controversy about cheating on his wife and eventually leaving her due to a cancer diagnosis.

McCain vs Obama was actually a battle between two pretty good candidates, with McCain being derailed by his party and his VP being Sarah Palin.

Edited October 15, 2016 by Lord Raven

[Ansem]

im probably gonna write harambe in

hilary clinton the millionaire is not the voice of the middle class, and my parents are muslim immigrants so trump is a no.

Edited October 15, 2016 by Mimikyu

[-Cynthia-]

im probably gonna write harambe in

hilary clinton the millionaire is not the voice of the middle class, and my parents are muslim immigrants so trump is a no.

American politicians are significantly wealthier than the average American overall. http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2015/01/one-member-of-congress-18-american-households-lawmakers-personal-finances-far-from-average/ It's an unfortunate reality, but not voting for politicians because they aren't middle class isn't going to give you many options (Bernie Sanders for instance owns three homes and has a $2 million retirement nest egg).

[Radiant head]

all politicians are bourgeois pigs tbh

edit: that was a joke, but in all seriousness, it is true that the system is pretty much built so that the country is run by the rich for the rich.

Edited October 15, 2016 by Radiant head

[euklyd]

So Washington Post finally came to their senses and retracted their endorsement of Clinton. They also published a groundbreaking expose that proves that Trump was right all along.

I expect Clinton to drop out of the race by Tuesday at the very latest.

Time to write in Harambe.

[Just call me AL]

So Washington Post finally came to their senses and retracted their endorsement of Clinton. They also published a groundbreaking expose that proves that Trump was right all along.

That article would be 100% more accurate if it ended up calling Frump the devil. Edited October 16, 2016 by Just call me AL

[Phoenix Wright]

So Washington Post finally came to their senses and retracted their endorsement of Clinton. They also published a groundbreaking expose that proves that Trump was right all along.

I expect Clinton to drop out of the race by Tuesday at the very latest.

Time to write in Harambe.

the sad thing is this article is accurate :(

[eclipse]

So Washington Post finally came to their senses and retracted their endorsement of Clinton. They also published a groundbreaking expose that proves that Trump was right all along.

I expect Clinton to drop out of the race by Tuesday at the very latest.

Time to write in Harambe.

It's very clear that this is a serious article. Just LOOK at the shade of teal Clinton is wearing. I think that jacket will appear in my nightmares.

Also, the comments below the article are worth reading, which is something I almost always never say in regards to a news site.

[Excellen Browning]

See? Even the Washington post now agrees that Hillary is the devil.

[Life]

Haven't been here in a while (internet issues).

I might be a week and a half late to the party but here was my Facebook post regarding "grab her by the pussy".

So I'm finally watching the second debate. And all I can do is hang my head in shame and watch as the right wing collapsed in America before my eyes.

I hadn't seen the extent of the Billy Bush tape until now and now that I have, I can safely say that Donald Trump is a terrible human being. I will absolutely agree with the left on this now with more information. And I'm not ashamed to change my opinion on Donald Trump's character.

What shames me is knowing that the right voted for this buffoon. We did it. Not the left. Us. Our house. He doesn't even respect our views on most things.

At this point, I am jumping off the Trump train. I am done. I gave him eleven months to convince me. He did. It took me less than two to abandon ship. I can't support him because he's too vile to palate for me anymore. Idiocy is one thing. This crosses a line for me.

And it was because of us on the right. Well, shit. Time to start cleaning house, boys.

Regarding the sexual abuse allegations, I think that it is suspicious about how perfectly it lined up for the Clinton campaign. Not saying that they're necessarily false but the timing and locations (one in Ohio and another in Florida) make me think that the Clinton campaign had a hand in it.

I view them like I did regardinh Jian Ghomeshi. Trump is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. That does not make me think that he isn't capable of doing such acts or isn't a terrible human being.

Since I now think that Hillary has an easy path to the White House, it's time for me to start getting involved in Israeli politics because I am starting to get worried about what this means for us. I'm assuming that there will probably be an election by June (Bibi is going to ride the UNESCO decision if he's smart) so that way, I can start working on a campaign and start learning about the finer details of our situation.