U.S. Politics megathread (merged)

[Angel eyes]

On 03/04/2020 at 23:10, Joey J J Jr Shabadoo said:

He's struggling. Its funny as ****.

Isn’t he just.

[Maple Leaf]

And above it all — above the 40 years of anti-government, anti-science, anti-working-class, anti-poor, anti-public state — it is obvious to anybody who watches Donald Trump for five minutes that the man is a wicked, lying child who bluffed his way into being in charge of an aircraft carrier, and has no idea what to do now. The Associated Press reported the United States waited until mid-March to start ordering ventilators, and medical supplies.

The president is in denial, and spends every day going on television performing a grotesque improvisational opera of empty promises, disinformation and blame, while agitating to reopen the country for the sake of the stock market. Trump’s allies are already starting to target the nation’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, because the doctor disagrees that there is evidence the drug hydroxychloroquine can be used to ward off the coronavirus. And he’s right.

 

At least Canada is not alone. Red states and blue states are getting different amounts of PPE, but it sounds as chaotic as anything. After several shipments of PPE destined for the states were essentially hijacked by the federal government, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker had to go on a stealth mission to China with the owner of the New England Patriots under the guise of a humanitarian mission to secure 1.5 million masks.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported an Illinois official had to race to a McDonald’s rest stop outside Chicago with a $3.4 million (U.S.) cheque to beat out other bidders for N95s. California is putting together a consortium of states to bid collectively. If only there were another way to say “A Consortium of States.”

So it’s not just Canada. But we don’t have a North American ally anymore, not in the same way. We have a sick gorilla in a cage, and we have to constantly worry how it might lash out.

[Cade]

Bernie chucks it in

 

It's Biden v Trump now.

[Justin Z]

2 hours ago, Cade said:

Bernie chucks it in

 

It's Biden v Trump now.

 

As usual, Scots ken.

 

[Jambo-Jimbo]

Another 6.6 million register for unemployment again this week.

 

That's almost 17 million in the last 3 weeks.

 

[The Real Maroonblood]

16 minutes ago, Jambo-Jimbo said:

Another 6.6 million register for unemployment again this week.

 

That's almost 17 million in the last 3 weeks.

 

As he blamed the Democrats yet?

[ri Alban]

He's blaming everyone and everything, but himself. Hopefully, the penny will drop in the population. He needs to be removed, immediately.

[Mac_fae_Gillie]

I don't really see how this unemployment drop is his fault, it is a result of the lockdown. It is how he helps people and keeps companies from going under that matters. I strongly dislike Trump and there is plenty to throw at him but as we all think the lockdowns should be tighter that would just mean more unemployed so you really can't have it both ways.

[Sharpie]

 I don't think in general anyone is blaming Trump for the virus situation and resulting unemployment. The criticism I see is that he failed to act on information he was receiving from his Intelligence advisers and even people he has high trust in like Navarro.  As is usual he also twists facts to suit his arguments and denies statements that he made where he downplayed the seriousness of the virus comparing it to the "flu. He made statements about the end of lockdowns when he gave precise dates, in his mind, he now uses a new word he learned "aspirational" as the descriptor of what he was saying, He constantly blames Obama for the lack of equipment needed to deal with the epidemic, he states when he came into office he saw that  cellar was empty as was the military munitions one, he has had three and a half years to refill the depleted supply and has done nothing to  replenish them. He is pushing a drug that Dr Fauci and others say may be good for some but can be highly dangerous for others, Trump says what do you have to lose?, well your life is something. He is using the daily briefings as a place to exercise his election campaign rhetoric, I did, worlds greatest, greatest in history, we'll have six hundred miles of wall next year etc.

[Maple Leaf]

1 hour ago, ri Alban said:

He's blaming everyone and everything, but himself. Hopefully, the penny will drop in the population. He needs to be removed, immediately.

 

He'll continue to accept no responsibility and will blame someone, anyone, for anything that goes wrong.  And it's working for him. The majority of Americans think he has handled the pandemic well.

 

The penny will not drop.  He'll win re-election because millions of Americans like his right-wing policies. He has spoken lies and misstatements by the thousand, literally, since he was elected, but it doesn't make any difference.

 

He expected to be a shoo-in for re-election because of the booming economy, robust stock markets, and low unemployment numbers. Well, all of those have gone to hell in a hand basket, but his popularity has nevertheless gone up in the last month.

 

Go figure.

 

 

[Sawdust Caesar]

3 hours ago, bobsharp said:

 I don't think in general anyone is blaming Trump for the virus situation and resulting unemployment. The criticism I see is that he failed to act on information he was receiving from his Intelligence advisers and even people he has high trust in like Navarro.  As is usual he also twists facts to suit his arguments and denies statements that he made where he downplayed the seriousness of the virus comparing it to the "flu. He made statements about the end of lockdowns when he gave precise dates, in his mind, he now uses a new word he learned "aspirational" as the descriptor of what he was saying, He constantly blames Obama for the lack of equipment needed to deal with the epidemic, he states when he came into office he saw that  cellar was empty as was the military munitions one, he has had three and a half years to refill the depleted supply and has done nothing to  replenish them. He is pushing a drug that Dr Fauci and others say may be good for some but can be highly dangerous for others, Trump says what do you have to lose?, well your life is something. He is using the daily briefings as a place to exercise his election campaign rhetoric, I did, worlds greatest, greatest in history, we'll have six hundred miles of wall next year etc.

I was watching one of his press briefings and, after mentioning again that Obama had left the shelves empty, he said that he had restocked them twice since. If that was true then his administration is too blame for the lack of stock.

I reckon that he couldn't help himself by bragging about how great a job he is doing and forgot about his (probable lie) that there was no stock left. Like a lot of people who lie so much they end up forgetting what lies they have told previously and end up tripping themselves up. I was surprised none of the press there picked him up on it. Mind you, he doesn't let half of them speak.

[Jambo-Jimbo]

12 minutes ago, Sawdust Caesar said:

I was watching one of his press briefings and, after mentioning again that Obama had left the shelves empty, he said that he had restocked them twice since. If that was true then his administration is too blame for the lack of stock.

I reckon that he couldn't help himself by bragging about how great a job he is doing and forgot about his (probable lie) that there was no stock left. Like a lot of people who lie so much they end up forgetting what lies they have told previously and end up tripping themselves up. I was surprised none of the press there picked him up on it. Mind you, he doesn't let half of them speak.

 

If any did, all he'd cry is 'Your fake news media, fake news, no wonder your ratings are so low' and then take another adulation, I mean question from Fox News

[Maple Leaf]

Now that Biden has been acclaimed as the Democratic nominee, who should he pick as his running mate?

 

I'd go with Kamala Harris.

 

 

[redjambo]

3 hours ago, Maple Leaf said:

Now that Biden has been acclaimed as the Democratic nominee, who should he pick as his running mate?

 

I'd go with Kamala Harris.

 

 

Stacey Abrams?

 

I would like to see Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez get the spot, despite (or perhaps even because of) her youth, politics and the right-wing media witch-hunt against her, but can't see it happening.

[Maple Leaf]

5 hours ago, redjambo said:

 

Stacey Abrams?

 

I would like to see Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez get the spot, despite (or perhaps even because of) her youth, politics and the right-wing media witch-hunt against her, but can't see it happening.

 

She would be a great choice as well.

[The Mighty Thor]

1 hour ago, Maple Leaf said:

 

She would be a great choice as well.

She would get right under the Donald's skin.

Female

Sharp as a tack 

Latin American heritage

 

Everything Trump can't deal with. I reckon someone like her up in his face every day would see his mask slip and you'd get him in a racist/sexist meltdown. 

[The Real Maroonblood]

23 minutes ago, The Mighty Thor said:

She would get right under the Donald's skin.

Female

Sharp as a tack 

Latin American heritage

 

Everything Trump can't deal with. I reckon someone like her up in his face every day would see his mask slip and you'd get him in a racist/sexist meltdown. 

That would be pleasing.

[Norm]

2 hours ago, Maple Leaf said:

 

She would be a great choice as well.

I'm actually quite liking the cut of Katie Porter's gib. I know she probably doesn't have the same clout AOC does but I like the way she puts the arseholes on the spot and gives them a decent grilling. 

[SpruceBringsteen]

AOC is too young, you need to be 35 to be vice president. 

 

Immaterial because there's as much chance of Biden picking someone like her as there is of me growing a third arm out of my arsehole, but still.

[redjambo]

7 minutes ago, SpruceBringsteen said:

AOC is too young, you need to be 35 to be vice president. 

 

Immaterial because there's as much chance of Biden picking someone like her as there is of me growing a third arm out of my arsehole, but still.

 

You already have two arms growing out of your arsehole? That's impressive.

 

Thanks for the heads-up on the minimum age requirement for the VP.

[Sharpie]

Although Sanders has closed his  campaign has he not stated that he is going to hold on to delegates until the party convention when the declarations are made. He may try to use some influence to persuade Biden to appoint someone who will continue to push his concepts, medical e.g. I am ashamed to say I have forgotten his name but I have wondered if Biden may consider the young African American who was looking good early on in the selection process and debates. That if done would ensure Obamas support and would help with African American voters

 

[dobmisterdobster]

11 hours ago, redjambo said:

 

Stacey Abrams?

 

I would like to see Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez get the spot, despite (or perhaps even because of) her youth, politics and the right-wing media witch-hunt against her, but can't see it happening.

 

Socialism is rapidly dying in Latin America.

AOC represents the past not the future.

[dobmisterdobster]

3 hours ago, bobsharp said:

Although Sanders has closed his  campaign has he not stated that he is going to hold on to delegates until the party convention when the declarations are made. He may try to use some influence to persuade Biden to appoint someone who will continue to push his concepts, medical e.g. I am ashamed to say I have forgotten his name but I have wondered if Biden may consider the young African American who was looking good early on in the selection process and debates. That if done would ensure Obamas support and would help with African American voters

 

 

Bernie lost to Hilary and Biden precisely because African American voters overwhelming rejected him in the primaries

[Maple Leaf]

3 hours ago, bobsharp said:

Although Sanders has closed his  campaign has he not stated that he is going to hold on to delegates until the party convention when the declarations are made. He may try to use some influence to persuade Biden to appoint someone who will continue to push his concepts, medical e.g. I am ashamed to say I have forgotten his name but I have wondered if Biden may consider the young African American who was looking good early on in the selection process and debates. That if done would ensure Obamas support and would help with African American voters

 

 

You might be referring to Cory Booker, and I agree that he was impressive in the early going.  I liked him as well.

[Sharpie]

7 minutes ago, dobmisterdobster said:

 

Bernie lost to Hilary and Biden precisely because African American voters overwhelming rejected him in the primaries

 

Yes I agree with that, it did have something to do with my comment, the fact that Obama has not given Biden his support has already been jumped on by Trump who stated he knows why Obama has not endorsed Biden.

[ri Alban]

Will the election still happen. Cannot see it, myself.

[redjambo]

50 minutes ago, ri Alban said:

Will the election still happen. Cannot see it, myself.

 

One thing that the US constitution is not renowned for is its flexibility. The election, in December, will be happening.

[ri Alban]

1 minute ago, redjambo said:

 

One thing that the US constitution is not renowned for is its flexibility. The election, in December, will be happening.

👍

[Maple Leaf]

55 minutes ago, redjambo said:

 

One thing that the US constitution is not renowned for is its flexibility. The election, in December, will be happening.

 

Which will be a bit of a surprise, because it's scheduled for November!

[redjambo]

1 minute ago, Maple Leaf said:

 

Which will be a bit of a surprise, because it's scheduled for November!

 

Oops. Hoisted on my own petard. I speed read the article in question. Reading it more slowly this time, I had no idea that the Presidential election in November actually elects electors who then officially elect the President in December. That's me told. Now if only I could go back and edit my post...

[Shanks said no]

Biden VP Odds

Candidate                    Odds
Kamala Harris            +200
Amy Klobuchar          +300
Stacey Abrams          +600
Gretchen Whitmer     +800
Catherine Cortez Masto    +800
Elizabeth Warren         +1200
Hillary Clinton              +2000

[Justin Z]

22 hours ago, dobmisterdobster said:

 

Socialism is rapidly dying in Latin America.

AOC represents the past not the future.

 

[Justin Z]

A couple of people in this thread have consistently bent over backwards to claim that Trump may be incompetent, but he's not especially different than any president in the last hundred years--he's certainly not the worst president in modern history according to these posters. He's either controlled from the outside by shadowy cabals, like all the others, or he may be unpalatable but so are all of them.

 

This article, written by a former Republican civil servant, lays bare just have superficial and, in a picture--

 

 

-- these opinions are.

 

The irony here is that Republicans once cautioned about this exact thing before Trump infected them and they abandoned every principle they once proclaimed to stand for. There was a time when oversight over massive government spending was the centerpiece of the Republican oversight agenda. My former boss and House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa actually declared, “This money, at the American people’s expense, going through the hands of political leaders, is in fact corrupting the process.” He literally called the Obama administration “the most corrupt government in history.” Where are those Republicans now?

. . .

By taking a wrecking ball to independent oversight, Trump has made the presidency into a dictatorship. At this point, the only recourse we will have left to save our democracy, repair the institutions of government, and restore accountability to the American people, is to vote in November to save “the soul of this nation.” That is, assuming Trump, the Republicans and the Supreme Court let us.

 

I disagree with the author's conclusion--I've basically reached the point where the only way forward I see is a wrecking ball in the hands of the People. But that's a bit outside the scope of this.

[Dawnrazor]

38 minutes ago, Justin Z said:

 

Is there anywhere socialism has been a success?

[ri Alban]

3 minutes ago, Dawnrazor said:

Is there anywhere socialism has been a success?

Aye, cause capitalism is really successful. 

[Dawnrazor]

Just now, ri Alban said:

Aye, cause capitalism is really successful. 

Not the question is it, I'm genuinely interested, where has been a success? And what is the diffirence between a socialist and a democratic socialist?

[Norm]

10 minutes ago, Dawnrazor said:

Is there anywhere socialism has been a success?

Depends what you class as socialism. Some folk in the States would see Scotland as an extreme pinko commie state, with free health care, prescriptions and higher education. 

[Dawnrazor]

Just now, Normthebarman said:

Depends what you class as socialism. Some folk in the States would see Scotland as an extreme pinko commie state, with free health care, prescriptions and higher education. 

How would you describ.......   never mind, to off topic.

[Maple Leaf]

24 minutes ago, Normthebarman said:

Depends what you class as socialism. Some folk in the States would see Scotland as an extreme pinko commie state, with free health care, prescriptions and higher education. 

 

Many Americans would describe Canada the same way.

 

There is no such thing as 'free' health care, of course.  It's just that the UK and Canada divert some of their tax revenue towards health care for all, whereas in the USA health care is viewed as a commodity, to be purchased like a car or a TV, if you can afford it.  Insurance companies make massive contributions to American politicians' election campaigns to ensure that the current system stays in place.

 

To keep this post on topic, Trump is an odious buffoon. 

[Jambo-Jimbo]

I wonder who Trump will blame for America now having the World's highest death toll from this virus.

 

Stands at just over 20,000 deaths with nearly 20,000 new cases reported today.

According to Worldometers America has over 470,000 active cases and nearly 11,000 in a serious or critical condition.

[The Real Maroonblood]

30 minutes ago, Maple Leaf said:

 

Many Americans would describe Canada the same way.

 

There is no such thing as 'free' health care, of course.  It's just that the UK and Canada divert some of their tax revenue towards health care for all, whereas in the USA health care is viewed as a commodity, to be purchased like a car or a TV, if you can afford it.  Insurance companies make massive contributions to American politicians' election campaigns to ensure that the current system stays in place.

 

To keep this post on topic, Trump is an odious buffoon. 

ML I would’ve been disappointed if you didn’t finish your post without the last sentence.

[Justin Z]

16 minutes ago, Jambo-Jimbo said:

I wonder who Trump will blame for America now having the World's highest death toll from this virus.

 

China/Democrats primarily

[Maple Leaf]

24 minutes ago, The Real Maroonblood said:

ML I would’ve been disappointed if you didn’t finish your post without the last sentence.

 

Gotta be mindful of the forum's rules.

[Jambo-Jimbo]

36 minutes ago, Justin Z said:

 

China/Democrats primarily

 

Followed by the fake news media, probably.

[Justin Z]

10 minutes ago, Jambo-Jimbo said:

 

Followed by the fake news media, probably.

 

Absolutely spot on.

[DETTY29]

A lighter note

 

 

However more seriously

 

 

 

[milky_26]

bernie has now endorsed biden for democrat nominee

[Rudi Skacel]

His media conference today is classic. Playing a video about the media. 

[Dagger Is Back]

I've never watched a whole DT press conference before, only picked up soundbites

 

This defies belief, it really does,

 

Folks are dying and he's using it as as part of an election campaign

 

No fecking shame 

[jambostuart]

All out brawl with the lassie reporter. He's properly raging.