U.S. Politics: The Summer of Trump is Lasting Longer Than a Season in Westeros

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

Continue....

[OnionAhaiReborn]

Are we sure we're not in the Long Trumpian Night?

[Kalbear]

On lobbying, money and the NRA.

Since 2000 the NRA has poured $81 million into lobbying. Well, it and its allies in the gun manufacturing areas. Since the speech = money thing went into effect, the NRA and allies spent $18.6 million - on one election. Of the 46 senators that voted against stronger background checks, 43 have had donations from the NRA. Of the 54 who voted for it, only 18 received any money from the NRA. 

[Swordfish]

Money, access, influence, and stature.

If 9 peope from Mothers for Sensible Gun Control visit a Republican Congressman from a leans right district to advocate for a bill strengthening background checks and 1 person who represents the NRA visits the same Congressman and lobbyies against the measure, whose voice wins out? The 9 nobodies from a small group or the one person backed by a powerful organization?

Talk about stacking the deck, jeez.  There are so many qualifiers there i don't even know where to begin.

The point is, the nine moms have every right to vote against those who do not support their needs, just like the small minority of NRA supporters.  if they did that, then nothing that happened in this hypothetical right wing congressmans office would matter.

This is how democracy works.

If you're telling me that congressman are staying in office despite going against the wishes of 90% of their constituents, and that they get away with this because of the NRA, then we'll just have to agree to disagree.  I can find no logic trail that makes that make sense.

 

 

[Swordfish]

Money, access, influence, and stature.

If 9 peope from Mothers for Sensible Gun Control visit a Republican Congressman from a leans right district to advocate for a bill strengthening background checks and 1 person who represents the NRA visits the same Congressman and lobbyies against the measure, whose voice wins out? The 9 nobodies from a small group or the one person backed by a powerful organization?

Talk about stacking the deck, jeez.  There are so many qualifiers there i don't even know where to begin.

The point is, the nine moms have every right to vote against those who do not support their needs, just like the small minority of NRA supporters.  if they did that, then nothing that happened in this hypothetical right wing congressmans office would matter.

This is how democracy works.

If you're telling me that congressman are staying in office despite going against the wishes of 90% of their constituents, and that they get away with this because of the NRA, then we'll just have to agree to disagree.  I can find no logic trail that makes that make sense.

 

 

[Commodore]

On lobbying, money and the NRA.

Since 2000 the NRA has poured $81 million into lobbying. Well, it and its allies in the gun manufacturing areas. Since the speech = money thing went into effect, the NRA and allies spent $18.6 million - on one election. Of the 46 senators that voted against stronger background checks, 43 have had donations from the NRA. Of the 54 who voted for it, only 18 received any money from the NRA. 

glad my membership fees are going to good use

would expect nothing less from the largest and most effective civil rights organization in the country

[Swordfish]

On lobbying, money and the NRA.

Since 2000 the NRA has poured $81 million into lobbying. Well, it and its allies in the gun manufacturing areas. Since the speech = money thing went into effect, the NRA and allies spent $18.6 million - on one election. Of the 46 senators that voted against stronger background checks, 43 have had donations from the NRA. Of the 54 who voted for it, only 18 received any money from the NRA. 

makes you wonder how those 18 escaped the evil clutches of their oppressive NRA overlords.

I assume they've all vanished from the face of the earth, never to be seen or heard from again.

[Commodore]

scared, pandering politicians are a feature of our system, not a bug

[ThinkerX]

If you're telling me that congressman are staying in office despite going against the wishes of 90% of their constituents, and that they get away with this because of the NRA, then we'll just have to agree to disagree.  I can find no logic trail that makes that make sense.

 

Few folks are entirely single issue.  Said politician would also be wrangling a fat government contract into his district, pretend to do his best to ban abortion (to handy of a political issue to allow true resolution), attend local civic events, and so on.  Plus there is the power of incumbency.

 

So, even if 90% of said district voters disagree with him on one or two issues, he still wins if the voters support him on the other ten or twelve.

[DanteGabriel]

scared, pandering politicians are a feature of our system, not a bug

I think the bug is that they are pandering to interest groups and trade lobbies rather than to their constituents.

[Swordfish]

 

 

Few folks are entirely single issue.  Said politician would also be wrangling a fat government contract into his district, pretend to do his best to ban abortion (to handy of a political issue to allow true resolution), attend local civic events, and so on.  Plus there is the power of incumbency.

 

So, even if 90% of said district voters disagree with him on one or two issues, he still wins if the voters support him on the other ten or twelve.

So people just don't care that much about background checks?

I'll buy that.  I'm not sure how the NRA is magically inducing people to apathy here, but I'm sure it has something to do with money and sacrificing babies.

 

[Swordfish]

In other news, you cannot make this stuff up:

 

https://medium.com/@earlblumenauer/my-take-on-the-eastern-oregon-situation-fd5af7e2173d#.vr3odrzh3

 

One cannot help but wonder what the response would be if members of the Black Lives Matter movement took over a government building with firearms.

This morning, I discussed this situation with Attorney General Loretta Lynch. The Malheur National Wildlife Refuge is a federal facility on federal land. Armed thugs occupying the refuge and calling for more people to join them is dangerous.

 

[Larry of the Lawn]

In other news, you cannot make this stuff up:

 

https://medium.com/@earlblumenauer/my-take-on-the-eastern-oregon-situation-fd5af7e2173d#.vr3odrzh3

 

 

What's the issue?  The use of the word 'thug' by someone who also mentioned Black Lives Matter?  

[DanteGabriel]

Watching the Celtics game, during a commercial break, I just had the not-unpleasant surprise of watching an attack ad lambasting Chris Christie, paid for by Conservative Solutions PAC, a Rubio outfit. It was like 30 seconds of Ravens-Steelers.

[Shryke]

What's the issue?  The use of the word 'thug' by someone who also mentioned Black Lives Matter?  

Presumably, given it's swordfish.

If one were to look for a real argument it would have to be something else though since the idiots occupying the federal building in Oregon are not urban blacks and thus the use of the word "thug" carries no racist implications.

But again, it's swordfish so one must assume some ambiguous mix of dishonest framing and plain old ignorance 

[Shryke]

In other news, let's check in with Governor Synder in Michigan, he of the "Emergency Manager" laws where the state government essentially just stopped allowing municipal governments to exist if they didn't want them to and replaced them with appointees who answered only to the governor and dominant state-level party.

So how'd that work out again. What's that, an entire town of people suffering lead poising, including children who will suffer horrific permanent developmental issues because off it? And the governor completely ignored all evidence of it?

Nice! At least they've finally declared a state of emergency. Coincidentally the same day the feds launched an investigation into the issue:

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/michigan-governor-declares-emergency-in-flint-over-water-crisis/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/flint-michigan-water-lead_56784055e4b0b958f657595c

Just some nice upbeat news for y'all.

[Red Hermit]

It's a shame this nonsense with emergency managers has gotten so little attention the last few years.  The right likes to attack government for thinking it knows what's best for them and then they do shit like this.  

Despite their criminal negligence I doubt anyone involved will get prison time.  Hell I would be surprised if the emergency manager system was changed.

[BloodRider]

In other news, let's check in with Governor Synder in Michigan, he of the "Emergency Manager" laws where the state government essentially just stopped allowing municipal governments to exist if they didn't want them to and replaced them with appointees who answered only to the governor and dominant state-level party.

So how'd that work out again. What's that, an entire town of people suffering lead poising, including children who will suffer horrific permanent developmental issues because off it? And the governor completely ignored all evidence of it?

Nice! At least they've finally declared a state of emergency. Coincidentally the same day the feds launched an investigation into the issue:

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/michigan-governor-declares-emergency-in-flint-over-water-crisis/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/flint-michigan-water-lead_56784055e4b0b958f657595c

Just some nice upbeat news for y'all.

If decreasing gubmt oversight of public goods is wrong, then I don't want to be right!

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

Talk about stacking the deck, jeez.  There are so many qualifiers there i don't even know where to begin.

That's how it works in real life.

The point is, the nine moms have every right to vote against those who do not support their needs, just like the small minority of NRA supporters.  if they did that, then nothing that happened in this hypothetical right wing congressmans office would matter.

This is how democracy works.

In a general election you'd be correct. The example I gave highlights how politicians today often care more about how their vote will effect their primary rather than the general election. Maybe I could have made that more clear.

If you're telling me that congressman are staying in office despite going against the wishes of 90% of their constituents, and that they get away with this because of the NRA, then we'll just have to agree to disagree.  I can find no logic trail that makes that make sense.

Well in 2016 we will see most Republican incumbents get reelected, and many will come from districts  whose constituents will overwhelmingly have supported expanding background checks while said politican did nothing, but no, I'm not saying the NRA is magically keeping them in office.

[DanteGabriel]

Are Republicans starting to worry that Cruz's plan to slipstream in Trump's wake and then pick up his followers when he gets crowbarred out of the primary process might actually succeed? Because they're starting to turn their birther guns on him. Lead hatchet-swinger Ann Coulter expressed doubts about Cruz's natural-born-ness a couple of days ago, and now John McCain isn't so sure either.

Of course, Trump was the one who started in on Cruz's birth status a while ago, but it's interesting to see this now coming from operatives like Coulter and a sitting Senator who is not competing with Cruz.