All-purpose news and politics thread: Two Steps Beyond!(Part II)

[Mister Mets]

My issues with Buttigieg, again, stem from the fact that he needs to build his reputation before attempting anything close to a presidency. I still say he's better suited as the antithesis to the Eric Holcomb GOP for the 2020 Indiana governor's race, but since he's going to be in the presidential race, Hoosiers are going to be stuck voting for either Holcomb... or The Other Guy (the role of The Other Guy will most likely be John Gregg).

It sucks to be a Democrat in Indiana; your own party is full of wieners who refuse to fight back.

It would be tough for any Democrat to beat an incumbent Republican Governor in Indiana. It's a state Romney won by ten points, and Trump won by almost 19. Holcomb also remains broadly popular.

https://morningconsult.com/2019/01/1...rnors-q4-2018/

Some 'Predictions' for possible Presidential Candidate/Vice-Presidental Candidate pairings.

Kamala Harris/Sherrod Brown
Elizabeth Warren/Andrew Gillum or Elizabeth Warren/Pete Buttigieg
Joe Biden/Stacey Abrams or Joe Biden/Karen Weaver

Working on the others....

I could see Biden running with Abrams given her high profile, but Gillum and the mayor of Flint, Michigan probably don't have the resume for Veep. Buttigieg might elevate himself sufficiently in the primaries, although I don't know if a female candidate would pick a gay guy as a running mate.

The overwhelming majority of recent Democratic running mates have been Senators, which makes sense for a party that prioritizes the federal government and ensures that the #2 should be familiar enough with national issues to avoid embarrassing themselves. They might go in a different direction, although Beto and Julian Castro have similar advantages. I'm guessing the Democrats want balance on the ticket, so it's unlikely to be two white guys, two women or two minorities (there is a further argument that it's unlikely to be two white people.) Klobuchar would've been a good fit for some of the male candidates, but the staff abuse stories have hurt her.

Potential tickets...

Biden/ Tammy Duckworth (She's a midwestern Senator who served in the military, and adds diversity to the ticket.)
Biden/ Kamala Harris (This could be a unity ticket following a bruising primary.)
Bernie Sanders/ Amy Klobuchar (It's very tough to get a running mate for Sanders. He needs someone Democrats like who his base won't see as a sellout. Since he's Jewish and his only child was born out of wedlock, it would make sense for his running mate to be a Christian with children. Klobuchar would be a campaign surrogate in the midwest.)
Bernie Sanders/ Julian Castro
Kamala Harris/ Beto O'Rourke (Beto would be similar to Edwards in 2004, presumably without the personal flaws.)
Kamala Harris/ Sherrod Brown (Brown seems the closest thing to Biden circa 2008)
Kampala Harris/ Doug Jones (adds geographic diversity/ appeal to moderates) while doubling down on criminal justice, and appearing qualified enough without overshadowing her)
Beto O'Rourke/ Tammy Duckworth
Beto O'Rourke/ Kamala Harris
Elizabeth Warren/ Beto O'Rourke
Elizabeth Warren/ Julian Castro
Cory Booker/ Amy Klobuchar (He has explicitly promised to select a female running mate which limits his choices as he probably wouldn't pick a woman of color, or someone from the Northeast.)
Cory Booker/ Gretchen Whitmer (She's a swing state Governor from a politically important region.)

[ed2962]

Then again, the blue wave was carried by a lot of inexperienced, but passionate candidates.

I agree. I'm also glad Obama didn't listen to people who told him to wait.

[PaulBullion]

Some 'Predictions' for possible Presidential Candidate/Vice-Presidental Candidate pairings.

Kamala Harris/Sherrod Brown
Elizabeth Warren/Andrew Gillum or Elizabeth Warren/Pete Buttigieg
Joe Biden/Stacey Abrams or Joe Biden/Karen Weaver

Working on the others....

I think Sherrod Brown seemed very sincere when he said he wants to keep his old job. I doubt he'd accept a Veep post.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Democrats Demand Immediate Release Of Mueller Report

Democratic leaders and presidential candidates demanded the release of the special counsel’s report before Trump could interfere. I'm all for that. The sooner, the better!

**********

Nancy Pelosi Vows To Reject Classified Briefing On Mueller Report

The House speaker said any briefing must be unclassified so that members of Congress can talk publicly about the findings. I'm all for that too!

**********

John Brennan: North Korea ‘Duped’ Trump Into ‘Mindlessly’ Quashing Sanctions

The former CIA director expressed concerns over the president’s “very abnormal” and “bizarre” behavior. I maintain Trump's actions aren't abnormal or bizarre because of his desire to build a hotel in Pyongyang, and kissing up to Kim by ending sanctions was the best way to achieve that goal. Meanwhile....

Twitter Users Go Nuclear After ‘Mad King’ Donald Trump Lifts North Korea-Linked Sanctions

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Immigration Officials Snatch 9-Year-Old U.S. Citizen Heading To School, Hold Her For 2 Days

“I was scared. I was completely by myself,” says sobbing fourth-grader. A 9-year old, held in custody. A NINE-YEAR OLD. What the flaming ****?

**********

Anderson Cooper Rips Rep. Steve King For ‘Racist Stereotypes’ In Katrina Remarks

The CNN anchor called out the congressman’s offensive comparison of New Orleans flood victims to those in his own state.

[worstblogever]

On this date in 2015, “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” profiled Marg Baker,
http://republicinsanity.tumblr.com/p...403/marg-baker
a former candidate for the Florida House of Representatives in 2012 who would give her stump speech and use words like “earmarks” and “pork” without understanding what those terms actually mean. She also demonized ACORN, thinking that it was a sinister plot to commit massive voter fraud based on the bogus investigative report released by Breitbart journalist James O’Keefe that demonized the organization, and she never did wise up to the fact that it was all a hoax. Baker’s campaign website also only would release statements that were directly from her, without the benefit of having any proof-reading done, either by editing software or by a human being and thus, filled with a variety of glaring spelling errors. And one of those garbled screeds on immigration featured Baker’s idea to round up all the undocumented workers and put them in internment camps. When asked about this stance, Baker seemed to think it was a practice used against immigrants in the 1940s and 1950s, and there is still some uncertainty if she can’t tell a free immigrant from a captive one, or if she remembers Japanese internment camps as having been filled with Mexicans. Baker obviously flopped in the primary for her seat, and is no longer being propped up by Glenn Beck’s 9/12 movement as a Tea Party candidate, fading from view entirely.


In 2016, 2017, as well as 2018, “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” published profiles of Matt Schaefer, who has served in the Texas House of Representatives now since 2012, and seems to be brain-damaged in a way that makes him focus on certain issues more than Texas Republicans usually do. On firearms, he co-sponsored HB 910, to authorize the concealed carry of handguns, voted for SB 11, to authorize concealed handguns on college campuses, and co-sponsored HB 928, a bill to cut funding to any state law enforcement agency that attempts to enforce federal firearms laws. Schaefer also has voted to drug test welfare recipients (always a failed conservative policy), voted against equal pay for women, and voted for Texas' HB 2, one of the most restrictive anti-abortion laws ever passed in the United States. That still didn't sate his appetite for anti-abortion fanaticism, as he proposed an amendment to Texas HB 2510 that would force pregnant women to carry even non-viable fetuses to term after 20 weeks of pregnancy, even if the fetus had a "severe or irreversible abnormality" or it meant the fact that carrying a stillborn child to term could risk them dying of sepsis or other unnecessary suffering. He defended the move by citing scripture, saying that suffering is "part of the human condition, since sin entered the world." Oh, and in August of 2014, Schaefer provided a unique solution to our nation's immigration dilemma... he called for "covert" and "overt" military operations to be carried out in Mexico against crime cartels. Yes, that's correct... he called for American forces to invade one of our allies. In the past session of the Texas state legislature, Schaefer was working to pass transphobic bathroom legislation to keep people at the state capitol from using the bathroom of their biological gender.

And, wouldn't you know it, Matt Schaefer was elected to a fourth term in 2018 on the benefit of running unopposed by a Democrat, and only having Rabbi Neal Katz run against him as an Independent candidate in the general election. Schaefer continues to take the hardest of hardline stances on all issues, including spreading misinformation about federalized healthcare on his website, and remaining completely opposed to same sex marriage. We'll keep an eye on him for another two years at least, as many Republicans in the Texas Freedom Caucus have designs on making him the next Speaker of the Texas House. And THAT is a terrifying thought.

[Malvolio]

Democrats Demand Immediate Release Of Mueller Report

Democratic leaders and presidential candidates demanded the release of the special counsel’s report before Trump could interfere. I'm all for that. The sooner, the better!

**********

Nancy Pelosi Vows To Reject Classified Briefing On Mueller Report

The House speaker said any briefing must be unclassified so that members of Congress can talk publicly about the findings. I'm all for that too!

**********

John Brennan: North Korea ‘Duped’ Trump Into ‘Mindlessly’ Quashing Sanctions

The former CIA director expressed concerns over the president’s “very abnormal” and “bizarre” behavior. I maintain Trump's actions aren't abnormal or bizarre because of his desire to build a hotel in Pyongyang, and kissing up to Kim by ending sanctions was the best way to achieve that goal. Meanwhile....

Twitter Users Go Nuclear After ‘Mad King’ Donald Trump Lifts North Korea-Linked Sanctions

**********

Immigration Officials Snatch 9-Year-Old U.S. Citizen Heading To School, Hold Her For 2 Days

“I was scared. I was completely by myself,” says sobbing fourth-grader. A 9-year old, held in custody. A NINE-YEAR OLD. What the flaming ****?

**********

Anderson Cooper Rips Rep. Steve King For ‘Racist Stereotypes’ In Katrina Remarks

The CNN anchor called out the congressman’s offensive comparison of New Orleans flood victims to those in his own state.

You're pointing out that Immigration officials held a nine-year-old? They've held two-year-olds! Age doesn't matter to them. They'll hold anyone who has skin darker than theirs.

[JCAll]

You're pointing out that Immigration officials held a nine-year-old? They've held two-year-olds! Age doesn't matter to them. They'll hold anyone who has skin darker than theirs.

I was always told guys in vans would snatch up children, I just never expected them to work for the government.

[zinderel]

**********

Immigration Officials Snatch 9-Year-Old U.S. Citizen Heading To School, Hold Her For 2 Days

“I was scared. I was completely by myself,” says sobbing fourth-grader. A 9-year old, held in custody. A NINE-YEAR OLD. What the flaming ****?

**********

Yeah, but see...she's brown, so she deserved whatever happened to her. Why did she have to be such a thug? If she had just chosen to be born white, like a good Christian, this would never have happened. It's her parent's fault, really, for bringing her here. Or birthing her here. Same difference. Anchor baby. False flag. Fake news. 'Murica. MAGA.

[PaulBullion]

"This report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him."

[BeastieRunner]

"This report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him."

Rod said it is clear to him the POTUS obstructed justice.

So he did nothing wrong but attempted to cover it up and interfered, poorly.

Nixon 2.0 folks.

[master of read]

Rod said it is clear to him the POTUS obstructed justice.

So he did nothing wrong but attempted to cover it up and interfered, poorly.

Nixon 2.0 folks.

makes sense. it's not a win or a loss for trump and his gaggle of goons.

[PaulBullion]

makes sense. it's not a win or a loss for trump and his gaggle of goons.

They will declare it a win, and it won't just be Fox agreeing with them.

[KNIGHT OF THE LAKE]

I said I'd never post in this thread again, but I fucking hate today. I didn't expect much to come from this report, I thought it would be a bunch of messy bullshit that would just be another game of PR spin to see which side could save face (aka: I never thought there would be some smoking gun that would totally screw Trump in the eyes of America). But this was almost the opposite. I fucking hate the media for making this there golden carrot on Trump when there is so much other **** he's guilty of.

I guess the only good news is that the President didn't conspire with Russia. Our country is just completely fucking incompetent to the highest degree and we elected a moron who may or may not have obstructed an investigation he ultimately wasn't even at risk in.

Distraught. **** this. And those assholes are already celebrating their win.

Thank god this happened now, and not around the 2020 election where it could sway an election. Hopefully this cools off by then. ****

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Rod said it is clear to him the POTUS obstructed justice.

So he did nothing wrong but attempted to cover it up and interfered, poorly.

Nixon 2.0 folks.

I suspect there was some sort of apparatus in place to do all that juicy obstructing, but purposefully kept Trump out of the loop so if it all went to hell, Caramel Caligula would be safe from direct indictment. Just an opinion.

[PaulBullion]

They will declare it a win, and it won't just be Fox agreeing with them.