U.S. Politics: We're Saying Merry Christmas, Again

[Darth Richard II]

*looks around slowly*

Am I dead? Is this hell?

[Sivin]

I stopped by to share an amazing outburst of humanity I just experienced and I have to stop and dedicate my time to an actual Steve Bannon fan. 

Wow! What a day. But you know what, like the Pickle Rick penciled into my pizza box I'm gonna keep feeling great. 

And no, now I'm not going to give any context on how the Pickle Rick sketch ended up there or its significance. 

That's your punishment, board. You harbor a Bannonite and I take away my fantastic cheer. 

Good day to you, Citizens. 

[Darth Richard II]

 

I'm so confused.

[Week]

32 minutes ago, WinterFox said:

And no, now I'm not going to give any context on how the Pickle Rick sketch ended up there or its significance. 

That's your punishment, board. You harbor a Bannonite and I take away my fantastic cheer. 

Good day to you, Citizens. 

I would listen to more about Pickle Rick. ☹

[Shryke]

1 hour ago, Darth Richard II said:

*looks around slowly*

Am I dead? Is this hell?

You weren't here for the election were you?

Say the same stuff during that time from the same people and others too.

"Trump totally has some good points!" and all that.

[Darth Richard II]

22 minutes ago, Shryke said:

You weren't here for the election were you?

Say the same stuff during that time from the same people and others too.

"Trump totally has some good points!" and all that.

Good point. :/

Although if you mean in this section of the forum. no I wasn't.

I also believe that David Bowie was a cosmic entity who kept reality together through the sheer force of his awesomeness and since his death reality is just fucking collapsing.

[all swedes are racist]

2 hours ago, Darth Richard II said:

*looks around slowly*

Am I dead? Is this hell?

lol, yes, welcome my dude let me show you around

[karaddin]

2 hours ago, Darth Richard II said:

*looks around slowly*

Am I dead? Is this hell?

9 months ago we had "pretend we don't support Trump, but he makes good points and he's definitely not a Nazi". Now we pull the same act for the more open Nazi. Give it a couple more months and maybe the act will be dropped completely 

[Darth Richard II]

Man, Indiana Jones 5 just kinda writes itself.

[ants]

4 hours ago, WinterFox said:

I stopped by to share an amazing outburst of humanity I just experienced and I have to stop and dedicate my time to an actual Steve Bannon fan. 

Wow! What a day. But you know what, like the Pickle Rick penciled into my pizza box I'm gonna keep feeling great. 

And no, now I'm not going to give any context on how the Pickle Rick sketch ended up there or its significance. 

That's your punishment, board. You harbor a Bannonite and I take away my fantastic cheer. 

Good day to you, Citizens. 

The board "harbor's" him? Since when did this become only a left-leaning sounding board?  People are free to come and post here, and when their statements are rubbish, biased, racist, etc. or just plain stupid they'll be debated and disputed.  

[ThinkerX]

5 hours ago, DireWolfSpirit said:

I was surprized by the sheer magnitude of awful citizens the nation harbors. The citizenry that elected this asshat are 100% complicit in this horror show. 

Well, at least you are not faced with the political choice I am.  We had local municipal elections here a couple weeks back - city council, that sort of thing.  Heavily conservative area, so lots of promises about balanced budgets and promoting growth.  But, the contest for Borough Mayor (County to most of you) ended in a tie, requiring a runoff election next week.  The contenders are:

- a not-quite far right corporate shill, endorsed by the republican party (used to be with the utility company); and

- the slightly more liberal but very probably corrupt part owner of the local auto dealership (and yes, they have a used car lot full of lemons)

Decisions, decisions.  (I didn't vote for either one first time around btw) 

Suggestions?

 

[Morpheus]

6 hours ago, Darth Richard II said:

 

I'm so confused.

You are entering the vicinity of an area adjacent to a location. The kind of place where there might be a monster, or some kind of weird mirror. These are just examples; it could also be something much better. Maybe a Nazi is President. Prepare to enter: The Scary Door.

[maarsen]

15 hours ago, Fragile Bird said:

Lol, more news on the Bill O'Reilly front.

Early in the year he settled a sexual harassment claim with a Fox employee for THIRTY TWO MILLION DOLLARS!

WTF did he do to agree to such a ginormous settlement?

And the Murdoch organization knew there had been a claim of harassment, but O'Reilly told them he had settled the matter privately. He then got his contract renewed for $25 M a month later, but the company added a clause saying he could be dismissed if more sexual harassment claims were made.

I would add a link but for some reason the story won't open anymore.....

Maybe the Russians taped him getting a golden shower? 

[LongRider]

22 minutes ago, maarsen said:

Maybe the Russians taped him getting a golden shower? 

N'ah, that's not his style as he likes bread products.

[denstorebog]

16 hours ago, dmc515 said:

208 safe GOP seats sounds about right.  The Dems do indeed need to win at least 27 of the 36 "favor" or "lean" GOP seats, as well as hold all their own.  If you're looking for optimism, one important caveat is retirements can and often are integral to House shifts:

And, the GOP is indeed fearful that those four retirements (three of which announced in the past month or so) may set off a wave.

ETA:  While he doesn't fit into those 48 districts, Pat Tiberi just announced his retirement as well.  His district has a Cook PVI of R+7.

It does look pretty grim when the Dems' best hope for retaking power is that the de facto powerholders choose to throw the towel in the ring. Especially if four more are needed after Tiberi's resignation.

But it does point to a rather interesting (and depressing) problem: If the system is currently so locked by gerrymandering that there's like a 5% chance that Dems will retake the House while Republicans and their president are historically unpopular, what do you do? Do you go all in on shedding light on how unfair and ossified the system has become - at the risk of demoralizing Democratic voters by informing them how little their votes and efforts will mean in the end? This could destroy what little chance you have of an effective wave election. Or do you largely ignore the subject until after the election and hope for the best?

(EDIT: I do realize there's supposed to be an out through strong performances in the gubernatorial races, but the actual nitty-gritty of whether that'll lead to a more favorable map for sure and how soon is beyond my knowledge.)

[Larry of the Lawn]

29 minutes ago, denstorebog said:

It does look pretty grim when the Dems' best hope for retaking power is that the de facto powerholders choose to throw the towel in the ring. Especially if four more are needed after Tiberi's resignation.

But it does point to a rather interesting (and depressing) problem: If the system is currently so locked by gerrymandering that there's like a 5% chance that Dems will retake the House while Republicans and their president are historically unpopular, what do you do? Do you go all in on shedding light on how unfair and ossified the system has become - at the risk of demoralizing Democratic voters by informing them how little their votes and efforts will mean in the end? This could destroy what little chance you have of an effective wave election. Or do you largely ignore the subject until after the election and hope for the best?

(EDIT: I do realize there's supposed to be an out through strong performances in the gubernatorial races, but the actual nitty-gritty of whether that'll lead to a more favorable map for sure and how soon is beyond my knowledge.)

You call attention to it and emphasize that the only way to win is with massive Dem turnouts

[Michael Seswatha Jordan]

On 10/16/2017 at 6:25 PM, Rippounet said:

And yet, as hard as it may be to believe, members of minorities will still, statistically, have it harder.
White privilege hasn't vanished. It's simply a smaller advantage than it used to be.

That's exactly what I said. That the Gap is closing. And, why, are people so insistent upon the fact that if white person A and Black person B face the same economic strain, that B will have it harder? Makes zero sense. Just holding on to an ideology that is fading, as you said yourself.

[Michael Seswatha Jordan]

@TerraPrime

Also, I am not going to excuse their misogyny or racism just because they rightfully feel economically marginalized. Plenty of poor people are NOT racist or sexist. The two do not go hand in hand, always. I cannot sell out one group I care about to help another group I care about.

Exactly they do not go hand in hand, your validating my point for me. Yes, many a Trump.supporter a racist, bigots that are gullible and believe Trump will bring us back to "Make America Great Again". I don't understand these peoples thinking and have never tried to. Quite frankly, I could give a shot less about them. Also, @DanteGabriel asked me to bring the discussion here, so I did.

But, regardless of what you or any other poster claims, politicians can make all the proposals they want, is don't care, I want action. Obamacare was a good first step, that I think needed revisions to make it better. I voted for Obama, like most of what he did. 

[Michael Seswatha Jordan]

On 10/16/2017 at 8:42 PM, DanteGabriel said:

I can see, however, why you could think I was personally attacking you. I said that your arguments sound a lot like the same kind of stale arguments that come out of Republican propaganda. I've seen far too many people, especially here, claim to be centrists, and to not really belong to either party, but then argue 100% Republican talking points (Curt Schilling used to claim he was an independent before he went full Breitbart). Your arguments sounded similar. So I characterized them that way.

Pray tell me. How, do my arguments reflect the Trump supporters? I am for gun regulations. I don't believe a word that comes out of his mouth and think him trash. How does that sound like the same arguments? You are lumping me in with your preconceived notions and it's why I take offense to it. You are clearly delusional, see things how you want to see them. Because, I have offered no opinion that would be considered right. And, so what if I did, I say that I'm a centrist, that's what you call it. I'm just not affiliated with either party and have views on both sides. You are attacking me in your passive-aggressive way you have always attacked me. Point Blank.

On 10/16/2017 at 8:42 PM, DanteGabriel said:

I ranted about my frustration with the "white working class" who complains that neither party does anything for them. I think their assessment that they have been abandoned is wrong. It's like you didn't even bother to read the case I made about how the Democrats have actually tried to help the white working class, in the spirit of trying to help all low-income people. But due to well-honed Republican appeals to racial resentment (please don't deny it exists in these communities), the people who would be helped most by Democratic policies are the ones who vote against them. Do you think it's a coincidence that the states with lowest standard of living, lowest educational attainment, and lowest social mobility are the most Republican states? Maybe if the "white working class" actually voted for some Democrats and got some Democratic policies, shit might start to turn around. You might get health care, and environmental regulations to keep companies from poisoning you, and maybe some job training like Hillary Clinton promised.

Again, I did read your posts. But, nothing was done. Hillary didn't win the presidency, because she was a crooked politician, with a history of lying and manipulating. And, she was a woman. If she won and implemented those reforms, it would be a win in my book. But, that's me, and you seem to want me to speak for the Trump supporters or "centrists" and Dante, I just can't do that. I can speak for myself. Nothing has been done. Would've, could've, should've. You dealing in hypotheticals. Which is quite frankly, meaningless.

On 10/16/2017 at 8:42 PM, DanteGabriel said:

It's amazing to me to see you complaining about how no one pays attention to the white working class. Literally the entire election was about trying to see which way the "white working class" would vote. There have been a million think pieces and soul-searching editorials from dipshit pundits trying to figure out why the "white working class" does what it does. I already talked about how much campaign energy gets devoted to coal, an industry that represents such a tiny fragment of the economy. To hear the candidates talk, you'd think coal was the linchpin of the economy. There are writers getting whole careers and speaking gigs out of their insight into the mind of the resentful white working class. The white working class gets plenty of fucking attention from where I'm looking.

Do you see how you talk and then wonder why one might get offended? Seriously? You are on a high horse sir, and maybe being knocked down from that horse might open your eyes. You trying to convince, or show proof, from dip shit pundit? Your from New England, right? Explains it all.

On 10/16/2017 at 8:42 PM, DanteGabriel said:

So please go back and ignore the imagined slights and insults, and just tell me if you think I'm wrong that the Democrats have tried to help working-class people,and the Republicans have consistently fucked them over. Please start there.

Where did I ever say that the Rep care about working class America? I know they don't. Buy, what does that have to do with me being a centrist? You need me to be one or the other? I am against abortion to a certain extent (different thread). I have other views that I don't care for that the Dems advocate. So, why are you so worried about my political position?

On 10/16/2017 at 8:42 PM, DanteGabriel said:

And no, I'm not going to debate privilege with you, because I can see from what you've written that it's no use. But I'd at least like for you to take a long hard look at the policies of the two parties and really assess whether or not they are both ignoring you.

No, you shouldn't. Because your stuck in the 70's and early 80's. I could link a dozen videos from well respected Black men and woman who say that it's fading away. That find it funny that the only people who use it in their arguments is white boys. Like they're on some crusade for rightenous.

Good day, sir. You need to evaluate your posts and look at your angst and judgements of people you know nothing about. Your a hard-core leftist and are not willing to listen to anyone else's opinion. Exactly what's wrong with the world today.

[Relic]

1 hour ago, Michael Seswatha Jordan said:

And, why, are people so insistent upon the fact that if white person A and Black person B face the same economic strain, that B will have it harder?

A and B will very rarely face the same amount of economic strain, for a variety of factors. Some of those factors are as simple as systemic racism, while other factors are more complicated, like housing segregation which created entire neighborhoods wherein the impoverished had a VERY difficult time moving up and on. If you want an example of the latter go visit the Canarsie Projects in Brooklyn, or re-watch The Wire.