All purpose news and politics thread part v: The quickening

[WestPhillyPunisher]

This is the part that frustrates people the most. We know that if the GOP actually stand up to him he DOES respond sometimes. Syria pullout most recently he will adapt a little from his worst instincts. But, take the Impeachment inquiry for example. He tells them to stand up for him and go make a scene and they order dominoes and run into the secure room with cell phones.

Even though they KNOW what the process is. They know they did the exact same thing and followed the exact same rules in Benghazi hearings. This type of "bowing down" we have seen through his entire presidency. They act like they work for him its insane. I don't think Mitch McConnell does anything to help either when he refuses to allow House passed bills to even be voted on unless trump tells him he will sign them, which he obviously wont.

So all of that just adds to the lumping the entire spectrum of the GOP in together. Because the only time people criticism him is if they were fired already/quit, or retiring.

Those Republicans have nothing to lose, so they have no trouble calling Trump to task. As for the rest of the losers in the GOP, they're fearful of being primaried because Trump can literally end careers with a tweet, and those cowards are too scared of losing their jobs and the power that comes with their positions. As for Moscow Mitch, he doesn't give a ****, all he cares about is stacking the courts with right wing ideologues, and keeping Trump in power helps him further that objective, everything else is just background noise.

[Iron Maiden]

This is the part that frustrates people the most. We know that if the GOP actually stand up to him he DOES respond sometimes. Syria pullout most recently he will adapt a little from his worst instincts. But, take the Impeachment inquiry for example. He tells them to stand up for him and go make a scene and they order dominoes and run into the secure room with cell phones.

Even though they KNOW what the process is. They know they did the exact same thing and followed the exact same rules in Benghazi hearings. This type of "bowing down" we have seen through his entire presidency. They act like they work for him its insane. I don't think Mitch McConnell does anything to help either when he refuses to allow House passed bills to even be voted on unless trump tells him he will sign them, which he obviously wont.

So all of that just adds to the lumping the entire spectrum of the GOP in together. Because the only time people criticism him is if they were fired already/quit, or retiring.

It also says a lot that some prominent Republicans have left the party. George Will....GEORGE WILL is no longer a Republican. IIRC he just calls himself "unaffiliated". Michael Steele is a former chair of the RNC and though he is still in the party didn't vote for Trump in 2016 and won't vote for him in 2020 either. Joe Scarborough, former GOP congressman announced on Stephen Colbert's show in 2017 that he left the Republican party. There may be many average citizens that will or have done the same thing.

[PwrdOn]

I’m not from the US but as an outsider I think the most dangerous aspect of Trump is his colossal stupidity.

Let’s take the Ukraine crisis. Trump deciding to pressure another country to open an investigation into a domestic political opponent is not surprising for a would be autocrat who has contempt for (and it seems sheer failure to comprehend) constitutional norms. Doing it in the most cretinous way imaginable, getting directly personally involved, and somehow believing the transcript exonerated him... well that would be surprising, in anyone but Trump.

However, that sheer stupidity may lead to a political party’s representatives en masse defending this conduct as somehow acceptable.

In the world’s most powerful country with over 200 years of representative democracy? That is frightening.

I used to think Trump would be more dangerous if he is smarter, but I no longer believe that to be true.

The thing is, all Trump really did was strip the veneer of legitimacy off a government that had already been dysfunctional for some time. Getting rid of him won't return us to this mythical age of bipartisanship and civility, because all of that was never more than a facade to begin with. Trump is just saying what all of his predecessors have been thinking for some time now, and the people who are supposed to be stopping him can really only offer up token opposition, because fixing the problems that Trump has created also means dealing with a lot of other sticky issues under the surface that Americans would rather not deal with. For example, everyone agrees that the detention camps at the borders are cruel and inhumane, but ultimately that can't be addressed without completely overhauling the immigration system to be more fair and free of racial bias, something which is nearly impossible without massively increasing the flow of immigrants, and even the most left leaning types aren't willing to accept that.

[babyblob]

I appreciate that it must be difficult to watch. The party you identify with has gone completely off the rails fawning over a would-be dictator whose every move throughout his entire history spits on everything the Republican Party claimed it stood for.

I’m genuinely curious about this though. What does this mean to you? I’ve heard the term, but due to my own personal experiences as a gay man in America, and of course, the meaningless nonsense that was ‘compassionate conservatism’ from Bush as he sought to delegitimize my relationships, strip me of what rights the LGBT+ community had fought and died for, and dehumanize us in every possible way in order to appease the same religious zealots Trump appeals to today, up to and including attempting to enshrine bigotry into the Constitution in the form of DOMA, I have a difficult time parsing the thought. But, at the same time, I HATE making assumptions about people, and since I have a chance to ask someone directly...I thought maybe I’d try listening.

Thank you for asking. I will explain as best as I can.
When I say common sense that is just the term I use. I dont know if its a term others use.

I believe in some things that democrats believe in. I believe in gay rights and gay marriage. As a gay man myself this is important to me. I believe in equal rights. Hating someone because of race, gender or sexual orientation is the dumbest thing I have ever heard of. I also believe in abortion.

I am not a fan of socialism. I am not a fan of the whole health care for all programs. The Taxes will go up and health care will suffer IMO.

But I also believe in many things that Republicans stand for. I want a strong border (not the wall, good god not the wall) I believe we have a crisis at the border with illegal immigrants coming onto our country. There is a legal way to become a citizen do that if you want int he country. I dont believe that illegal immigrants should have drivers licenses or the right to vote or get public funded social programs like food stamps or medicaid.

I want a strong military. I believe in gun rights.

I dont strongly believe in social programs over punishment for criminals. I have been to prison. I spent many years there and in a halfway house and have seen and dealt first hand with other criminals. And the hard truth is whether people want to hear it or believe it is that many people who brake the law are not sorry and are not looking to change. I fell into that group my first year and a half in prison. But I grew out of it. There were very few programs in my prison. And the ones we did have the waiting list was very long to get in. I am talking two years in some cases. They were full of people who were forced to take the program as part of their sentence or were taking it to look good to the judge for early release. The people who wanted to change, grow and overcome their crime had to suffer because of this. Coming for a criminal this may sound odd but I believe in a tough stance on crime. I broke the law and I paid for it end of story. No bitterness just a fact. If you come out of prison the saem way you went in you have just wasted your time there.

I dont have a problem with prayer in public school. But it cant be just a Christian Prayer. I would take the time and designate it as a moment of reflection. Let the Jewish kids have their prayers, let the Muslims have theirs etc. Take maybe a five or ten minute break for this if there has to be prayer in public schools.

Those are just a few things I believe in A little Liberal a little Conservative.

I didnt vote for Trump in 2016. I dint vote for Clinton either because I cant stand her and she is very flawed as well. I vote third party. I dont know who I will vote for in 2020. The dems dont really have anyone I am excited about or am on board with. I wont vote for Trump. I hate the idea of note voting at all, but as 2016 proved by Clinton winning the popular vote and still losing the election are votes dont really count for much in the presidential race.

[kidfresh512]

Those Republicans have nothing to lose, so they have no trouble calling Trump to task. As for the rest of the losers in the GOP, they're fearful of being primaried because Trump can literally end careers with a tweet, and those cowards are too scared of losing their jobs and the power that comes with their positions. As for Moscow Mitch, he doesn't give a ****, all he cares about is stacking the courts with right wing ideologues, and keeping Trump in power helps him further that objective, everything else is just background noise.

Absolutely. And my main point is that all of this is seen by everyone else as complete capitulation by the GOP. SO while there may be voters like tbaron that identify Republican and are disgusted by certain things they are seeing. The rest of the populace just see "bowing down" and trump rallies and only in rare cases do they see any standing up from the leadership other than trump.

So yes there is a sort of "All GOP" lumping in because that's all we are seeing. or hearing. Where are the alternate GOP policies and proposals? Its literally what trump wants or we don't even propose it or vote on it.

One of the guys at work said I didnt vote for trump hes a racist. But he would NEVER vote for a Democrat. He just didn't vote for trump specifically. The point is there is NO consequence really for his opposition to trump. Because you still voted for every single GOP that just bows down to him and his agenda.

They don't change or stand up to him because yes trump is unpopular and can destroy them with a tweet. But, the GOP electorate in general doesn't hold them accountable either. They don't care what the "libs" have to say or minorities or LGBT. They care what their base says only. And their base still votes for them and isnt telling them what they are doing is not what they voted them in for.

[babyblob]

Absolutely. And my main point is that all of this is seen by everyone else as complete capitulation by the GOP. SO while there may be voters like tbaron that identify Republican and are disgusted by certain things they are seeing. The rest of the populace just see "bowing down" and trump rallies and only in rare cases do they see any standing up from the leadership other than trump.

So yes there is a sort of "All GOP" lumping in because that's all we are seeing. or hearing. Where are the alternate GOP policies and proposals? Its literally what trump wants or we don't even propose it or vote on it.

One of the guys at work said I didnt vote for trump hes a racist. But he would NEVER vote for a Democrat. He just didn't vote for trump specifically. The point is there is NO consequence really for his opposition to trump. Because you still voted for every single GOP that just bows down to him and his agenda.

They don't change or stand up to him because yes trump is unpopular and can destroy them with a tweet. But, the GOP electorate in general doesn't hold them accountable either. They don't care what the "libs" have to say or minorities or LGBT. They care what their base says only. And their base still votes for them and isnt telling them what they are doing is not what they voted them in for.

I agree with this one 100 percent. People who bitch about Trump will still vote for Tramp backers to go to Congress. I dont know what the fix to this problem is sadly. I fall into this trap at time as well because I agree with the Republican candidate more then the Dem. There really is no easy solution to this problem because too many Republicans blindly follow Trump. I have stopped voting for a few Republican candidates and gone third party when I agree with most of what the third party has to say. But sadly we are a two party country.

[AnakinFlair]

I agree with this one 100 percent. People who bitch about Trump will still vote for Tramp backers to go to Congress. I dont know what the fix to this problem is sadly. I fall into this trap at time as well because I agree with the Republican candidate more then the Dem. There really is no easy solution to this problem because too many Republicans blindly follow Trump. I have stopped voting for a few Republican candidates and gone third party when I agree with most of what the third party has to say. But sadly we are a two party country.

Two questions for you:

1. As someone who believes in gun rights, do you also support background checks and closing the gun show loophole, or do you think that infringes on the right to bear arms?

2. I understand wanting to vote for a third party because neither of the two major party candidates appeal to you. But seeing what Trump has done to this country over the past 3 years, wouldn't you be willing to vote for the Democrat just to make sure he doesn't win a second term?

For the record, I consider myself to be a very liberal Democrat, but I do appreciate some conservative views. For instance, I would like a balanced budget, a strong Military, and a secure border. On the other hand, I believe the 2nd Amendment was talking about militias, not necessarily individual citizens like it is interpreted today, and I recognize the fact that when the amendment was written, firearms were very rudimentary and were lucky to get 2 shots off in a minute, and not fully automatic assault rifles.

[babyblob]

Two questions for you:

1. As someone who believes in gun rights, do you also support background checks and closing the gun show loophole, or do you think that infringes on the right to bear arms?

2. I understand wanting to vote for a third party because neither of the two major party candidates appeal to you. But seeing what Trump has done to this country over the past 3 years, wouldn't you be willing to vote for the Democrat just to make sure he doesn't win a second term?

For the record, I consider myself to be a very liberal Democrat, but I do appreciate some conservative views. For instance, I would like a balanced budget, a strong Military, and a secure border. On the other hand, I believe the 2nd Amendment was talking about militias, not necessarily individual citizens like it is interpreted today, and I recognize the fact that when the amendment was written, firearms were very rudimentary and were lucky to get 2 shots off in a minute, and not fully automatic assault rifles.

I believe in back round checks. There are a lot of people who should not own guns. I have a mental health disorder called Schizoaffevtive disorder. I get very depressed at times and have attempted suicide two times in my life. If I had a gun it would be game over for me. I also hear voices and have hallucinations so it would be dangerous of me when my meds are not working right to have a gun. As a felon its a moot point. I am forbidden to own a firearm. I even had to give up my civil war era breech loader because it was in firing condition. There were many people in prison I have met who should never own a firearm. So yes Back Round checks are a must. I just dont know how good they do. I know they help but to be honest if someone really wants a gun a back round check will not stop them. Just make it harder. gang members arnt going to the gun shop for their weapons.
I dont know what the gunshow loop hole is so I cant say one way or the other.

If the Dems run someone I can live with I will vote for them. I wont vote for them just becasue Trump is running. Nothing could get me to vote for Sanders or Clinton.

[Theleviathan]

Thank you for asking. I will explain as best as I can.
When I say common sense that is just the term I use. I dont know if its a term others use.

I believe in some things that democrats believe in. I believe in gay rights and gay marriage. As a gay man myself this is important to me. I believe in equal rights. Hating someone because of race, gender or sexual orientation is the dumbest thing I have ever heard of. I also believe in abortion.

I am not a fan of socialism. I am not a fan of the whole health care for all programs. The Taxes will go up and health care will suffer IMO.

But I also believe in many things that Republicans stand for. I want a strong border (not the wall, good god not the wall) I believe we have a crisis at the border with illegal immigrants coming onto our country. There is a legal way to become a citizen do that if you want int he country. I dont believe that illegal immigrants should have drivers licenses or the right to vote or get public funded social programs like food stamps or medicaid.

I want a strong military. I believe in gun rights.

I dont strongly believe in social programs over punishment for criminals. I have been to prison. I spent many years there and in a halfway house and have seen and dealt first hand with other criminals. And the hard truth is whether people want to hear it or believe it is that many people who brake the law are not sorry and are not looking to change. I fell into that group my first year and a half in prison. But I grew out of it. There were very few programs in my prison. And the ones we did have the waiting list was very long to get in. I am talking two years in some cases. They were full of people who were forced to take the program as part of their sentence or were taking it to look good to the judge for early release. The people who wanted to change, grow and overcome their crime had to suffer because of this. Coming for a criminal this may sound odd but I believe in a tough stance on crime. I broke the law and I paid for it end of story. No bitterness just a fact. If you come out of prison the saem way you went in you have just wasted your time there.

I dont have a problem with prayer in public school. But it cant be just a Christian Prayer. I would take the time and designate it as a moment of reflection. Let the Jewish kids have their prayers, let the Muslims have theirs etc. Take maybe a five or ten minute break for this if there has to be prayer in public schools.

Those are just a few things I believe in A little Liberal a little Conservative.

I didnt vote for Trump in 2016. I dint vote for Clinton either because I cant stand her and she is very flawed as well. I vote third party. I dont know who I will vote for in 2020. The dems dont really have anyone I am excited about or am on board with. I wont vote for Trump. I hate the idea of note voting at all, but as 2016 proved by Clinton winning the popular vote and still losing the election are votes dont really count for much in the presidential race.

I appreciate you taking hte time to post and respond. (And to those posters having this dialogue with you) I've lived in heavy blue and heavy red places to the point that I've had a lot of interactions with hardcore left and right wingers....and there is one really strong commonality: both of those groups really don't understand most Americans. You see it in the comment sections of right-wing sites. You see it in this mostly hard-left group on this forum at times.

So many Americans have views that are something of a mixed bag. They don't fit cleanly on the political spectrum and, when forced to be put on it, usually look like liberals to conservatives and conservatives to liberals. So they constantly feel pushed out of the process by the very people that should be finding ways to make them part of it. They want people that can talk to them, understand the nuance and balance of their views, and engage with them in a way that doesn't ostracize them. So I hope you feel that way in these discussions. I disagree with you (strongly in some cases, mildly in others) in many ways, but we'd also have many points of agreement. Seems pretty self-evident to me which of those is a better place to start from.

[worstblogever]

Trump, fresh off of getting booed in DC last night, traveled to Chicago for a closed-door fundraiser with folks like the Ricketts family, where he starting s***ting on the city of Chicago and declaring Afghanistan "safer by comparison".

Good luck winning Illinois, F***face von Clownstick.

[PwrdOn]

The idea of keeping the populace armed to protect against government tyranny is actually much sounder than most people care to admit. While armed uprisings are rarely successful, the threat of violence can be quite a potent force in driving reforms. Even non-violent movements are usually backed up by an implicit understanding that you can either negotiate in good faith with them, or deal with a much more radical resistance later on.

The problem, however, is that the way that the 2nd Amendment is enforced in this country means that people who are actually being oppressed are often forcibly disarmed or even summarily executed under the most flimsy of pretexts, while those who are privileged under the current system and thus have no reason to rebel against it are still able to use their guns to terrorize their fellow citizens with no consequences. Whatever laws we make will not fix the problem unless we can address this disparity, but that would require a serious re-evaluation of our country's history of racial policy which I doubt anyone wants to do at this stage.

[worstblogever]

Oregon Republican Congressman Greg Walden has announced he will not be running for re-election in 2020, and will retire, after a 22 year career in Congress. This would be Oregon's 2nd Congressional District, which is supposed to be +11, but Walden only got 56% in 2018. It's possible without an incumbent that it could flip blue, but pretty unlikely.

What it is, though, is a continuing pattern of veteran Republicans looking at their chances of retaking the House in 2020, so they can avoid having the gerrymandered Congressional map unf***ed by Democrats for 2022... and realizing that they're going to be in the minority in the House for likely another decade or more. So rather than flail about like a Gaetz, Gohmert, or Jordan, a lot of the adults in the room are calling it a career.

[Gray Lensman]

I believe in back round checks. There are a lot of people who should not own guns. I have a mental health disorder called Schizoaffevtive disorder. I get very depressed at times and have attempted suicide two times in my life. If I had a gun it would be game over for me. I also hear voices and have hallucinations so it would be dangerous of me when my meds are not working right to have a gun. As a felon its a moot point. I am forbidden to own a firearm. I even had to give up my civil war era breech loader because it was in firing condition. There were many people in prison I have met who should never own a firearm. So yes Back Round checks are a must. I just dont know how good they do. I know they help but to be honest if someone really wants a gun a back round check will not stop them. Just make it harder. gang members arnt going to the gun shop for their weapons.
I dont know what the gunshow loop hole is so I cant say one way or the other.

If the Dems run someone I can live with I will vote for them. I wont vote for them just becasue Trump is running. Nothing could get me to vote for Sanders or Clinton.

It's really the private sales loophole - it just pops up at gun shows a lot. Background checks should be as easy as a credit check - 15-30 minutes and you have an answer. If the answer is no, you get to appeal, but not buy the gun right away. I also think straw buying in quantity should be outlawed. Nobody should need to by a dozen guns for someone else unless they represent a business or a local government (and then they wouldn't qualify as straw buyers) - buying one or two is something I can see, I know people who have received a weapon as a gift (including me, although it sits at my father's house since I have no need or use for it currently) and it isn't just far right gun worshippers who do that. At the time I was given one, I was still a teenager but living in the country - my father still attempted to hunt every year and it was expected I would also do so when I grew up, plus it was a hand me down from an uncle who wouldn't be ale to take it with him when he deployed with the Navy.

As far as voting in 2020, though - it's going to be the Democrat no matter who it is. Trump doesn't believe in democracy, so even someone who holds positions I am against on every other issue is preferable. Because democracy itself IS what's on the ballot this time around.

[Gray Lensman]

Oregon Republican Congressman Greg Walden has announced he will not be running for re-election in 2020, and will retire, after a 22 year career in Congress. This would be Oregon's 2nd Congressional District, which is supposed to be +11, but Walden only got 56% in 2018. It's possible without an incumbent that it could flip blue, but pretty unlikely.

What it is, though, is a continuing pattern of veteran Republicans looking at their chances of retaking the House in 2020, so they can avoid having the gerrymandered Congressional map unf***ed by Democrats for 2022... and realizing that they're going to be in the minority in the House for likely another decade or more. So rather than flail about like a Gaetz, Gohmert, or Jordan, a lot of the adults in the room are calling it a career.

Sadly, gerrymandering is done at the state level. So unless some of those state legislatures flip we will have more of it.

[worstblogever]

On this date in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, as well as 2018, “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day posted profiles of Florida Governor Rick Scott, who may or may not be a skeleton dipped in wax and given life. While still the CEO of a health insurance company that was caught illegally gouging the public on billing, Scott had to plead the Fifth Amendment a staggering 75 times to help himself avoid prosecution, as the company, HCA, was smacked with the largest fine in a fraud settlement case in United States history. His leadership in running Florida has been as equally questionable, with Scott cutting government funding to state run hospitals, education, and welfare whenever possible. He lost the state a mint’s worth of taxpayer money on a quest to drug test people on welfare that found statistically minimal drug use compared to the national average (go figure, poor people can’t afford drugs), and was eventually thrown out as an unconstitutional violation of the 4th Amendment by the courts. Gov. Scott has had ethics investigators breathing down his neck almost his entire tenure, as his friends and donors get lucrative government contracts, and that he failed to disclose his personal assets during campaign finance reports (he’s worth somewhere between $200 and $340 million). By December 2014, media investigations started to reveal that Scott’s decision to outsource prison medical care to Corizon Health for $1.2 billion had additional fees… the cost of over 660 malpractice lawsuits from shoddy care it provided Florida inmates that left as many as 30 people dying a month. Two months later, in February 2015, Scott is handed three more lawsuits that accuse his administration of widespread corruption, including his previous failure to disclose his finances while running for office, and a refusal to obey transparency laws, particularly over the firing of the former executive director of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Gerald Bailey, who Scott wanted to replace with party loyalists (when the FDLE is supposed to be non-partisan). From there, a series a lies and cover-ups started shaking out, including a time where Gov. Scott was claiming Bailey resigned (as if he wasn’t going to correct him). Scott and the state of Florida settle these lawsuits in August at a cost of $700,000 to taxpayers.

The only reason this Voldemort-with-rhinoplasty wasn't impeached is because Florida election law makes it nigh-impossible to impeach or recall a governor, and the people opted to just wait him out. Rick Scott also is prone to tantrums, like when he refused to take the stage during the 2014 debates for Florida governor because his opponent, Charlie Crist, had a fan under his podium to blow cool air at his crotch (seriously) or the time Gov. Scott tried heading into a local Starbucks for some coffee, a woman spotted him, told him how choices he'd made had cut her Medicaid funding, and she shamed him for it, not taking his comeback of "creating jobs" before calling him an "***hole". Now, normally, CSGOPOTD doesn't make much of hecklers politicians might get... but it's how you react to them that counts. And Rick Scott, no lie... released an attack ad against the woman, calling her “a terribly rude woman,” a “latte liberal” and someone who “clearly has a problem.” And perhaps most Mr. Burns-like of any of his actions was how Scott adopted a rescue dog that he named “Reagan” during his 2010 election to look like a real softie, and then reporters realized it wasn’t ever around and started to ask about it… only to finally have his staff admit that Scott had “gotten rid” of the dog because it “acted too crazy”, and that they, to this day, have no idea what fate befell the poor canine.

In 2018, Rick Scott was term-limited as Governor of Florida, and Donald Trump started pressuring Scott to run for U.S. Senate the middle of relief efforts after Hurricane Irma (that’s tacky, but that’s Trump). While most sane people should realize the last person you should take advice from is Donald Trump, Rick Scott figured he and the Florida GOP gerrymandered elections there enough to win statewide office twice already, so he ran for U.S. Senate in 2018, making the announcement official in April.

While most polls show Nelson with a modest lean, the race is still extremely close. Going into the final weeks of the campaign, though, the headlines in Florida are a constant reminder of how corrupt and incompetent Rick Scott has been over the past 8 years, whether its gun control advocates who survived the Parkland shooting campaigning against his election to the Senate, Scott being rebuffed for trying to pack the Florida Supreme Court before leaving office, red tides and green slime algae manifesting as a testament to his negligence on the environment, (and yes, his decisions did pave the way for this ecological disaster) or watching him try to distance himself from Donald Trump especially after a lackluster response from FEMA and the Scott administration after Hurricane Michael.

And much as we’ve discussed over the past several years, Rick Scott is a coward, and continues to be one now that he’s been elected to the U.S. Senate, whether in being unable to grow enough of a backbone to stand against Donald Trump after his racist attacks on four Congresswomen, or even seeing Scott try and defend Trump after he admitted to a quid pro quo in the Ukraine whistleblower scandal. Florida, as a state, keeps electing this reptilian jagoff, and we can’t begin to understand why.