All purpose news and politics thread part v: The quickening

[Malvolio]

Winning hearts and minds:

I would like to ask these people: What was the purpose of Bernie Sanders' campaign? Was it to make things better for every American, or was it to make anyone who supported any moderate Democrat to suffer?

[Tami]

https://www.mediaite.com/news/new-po...mpression=true

What’s happening to this country? I’m seriously depressed.

It's not the country, it's the small percentage of Republicans who would still vote for Trump even after everything that has happened. I predict that, by November, Trump's polling numbers are going into the 75% unfavorable range.

[aja_christopher]

I honestly doubt even other republicans could get away with the things he's said. Especially ones sitting in the White House, who have every single word out of their mouths filtered through a half dozen speech writers on their staff.

Again -- he's not "getting away" with it: this implies that people aren't aware of what he is doing when that's not the case.

People are aware and many are opposed to his actions -- it's the Republicans who openly support and enable said behavior.

Republicans have simply been waiting for a candidate who is just as corrupt and dishonest as they are as a whole but who also can win elections.

Some of them have left the party as a result but Trump is little more than the Frankenstein that they created before doing so.

I'm sure many would argue otherwise but said analysis is based on actions and not words.

[Amadeus Arkham]

Man, what if Trump shock the crap outta us and resigned from the presidency before the election? For me, one part of me wouldn’t want that as I want him to taste the sting of defeat but at this point I’d take almost anybody over Trump.

[XPac]

Again -- he's not "getting away" with it: this implies that people aren't aware of what he is doing when that's not the case.

People are aware and many are opposed to his actions -- it's the Republicans who openly support and enable said behavior.

Republicans have simply been waiting for a candidate who is just as corrupt and dishonest as they are as a whole but who also can win elections.

Some of them have left the party as a result but Trump is little more than the Frankenstein that they created before doing so.

I'm sure many would argue otherwise but said analysis is based on actions and not words.

I think getting away with it more than anything just means he can say what he wants free of consequence. And most politicians can't really say that.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Man, what if Trump shock the crap outta us and resigned from the presidency before the election? For me, one part of me wouldn’t want that as I want him to taste the sting of defeat but at this point I’d take almost anybody over Trump.

Trump won’t resign, period. His ego won’t let him, he’d rather eat ground glass and wash it down with antifreeze before he says “I quit”. Even if he loses the election, he’ll literally have to be dragged kicking and screaming out of the White House because there’s no way in hell he’ll go willingly.

[aja_christopher]

I think getting away with it more than anything just means he can say what he wants free of consequence. And most politicians can't really say that.

He can't just say what he wants free of consequence -- there have been plenty of times where both Democrats and Republicans have made it clear that he crossed certain lines and he's often toned down his rhetoric as a result, even admitting as much in speeches.

Trump isn't stupid -- he might say the quiet part out loud which upsets some Republicans but there are likewise many others who admire him for supposedly "telling it like it is". He openly and repeatedly called the former president of the United States a "Kenyan Muslim" and many Republicans agreed with him -- the consequence was that he was elected to the presidency because many Americans agree with that sentiment.



Homophobia, Islamophobia, xenophobia, racism -- Republicans don't mind Trump practicing these so long as he keeps his preaching within bounds.

I stress this to reititerate that Trump is merely a symptom and not the real problem itself.

[PaulBullion]

Man, what if Trump shock the crap outta us and resigned from the presidency before the election? For me, one part of me wouldn’t want that as I want him to taste the sting of defeat but at this point I’d take almost anybody over Trump.

He cannot resign. Somebody explained the Mueller report to him: The only reason Trump has not been charged with the kinds of crimes that sent Manafort and Cohen to jail is that the Justice Department will not indict a sitting president. So he sits. And will do ANYTHING to sit for 4 more years.

[jetengine]

Do I look pass those shortcomings, and vote Biden in this making myself look like the ultimate hypocrite or do I keep to my core principles and take a stance against sexual assault and risk the country and the quite frankly the world be ruined further by four more years of Trump by refusing to vote for Biden?

Needs of the many

[Darkspellmaster]

Ok, I'll bite.

Yes, I would vote for Biden, and let me tell you why. I believe that if the allegations were proven absolutely true, the Democrats would move to impeach Biden, get him out of office, and then whomever he picked for the VP would take over. And that as-of-yet-unnamed person is STILL far more qualified than the Orange Goblin.

In the end, is it voting for the lesser of two evils? Yes it is, but I'll take the evil that won't actively try to destroy the country over the one that is.

That's what I would do if the DNC didn't get him to step down. Which they probably would first.

[aja_christopher]

He cannot resign. Somebody explained the Mueller report to him: The only reason Trump has not been charged with the kinds of crimes that sent Manafort and Cohen to jail is that the Justice Department will not indict a sitting president. So he sits. And will do ANYTHING to sit for 4 more years.

"Barr backs Trump on firing of intel IG, calls Russia investigation baseless"

"Trump was impeached for abuse of power and obstructing Congress in its investigation after pressuring Zelensky into launching a public investigation designed to damage Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.

Barr has repeatedly come to Trump's defense on Ukraine and the Russia scandals, and in October 2019 opened a criminal investigation into the FBI's own Russia investigation for possible abuse or improprieties. The U.S. attorney for Connecticut, John Durham, heads that investigation.

Barr wouldn’t tell Ingraham how far Durham had advanced in the investigation, but said it was a “sprawling case” that “takes some time” to fully investigate.

"I think a report may be and probably will be a byproduct of his activity but his primary focus isn't to prepare a report. He is looking to bring to justice people who were engaged in abuses if he can show that they were criminal violations and that's what the focus is on," Barr told Ingraham.



Trump's allies are hoping any report from Durham’s investigation would serve as a counter to the long trail of scrutiny around the 2016 election.

Barr argued that the FBI investigation into Trump's presidential campaign was riddled with abuse of power and had no evidence to back it up. He did not mention the intelligence that prompted the investigation, including a Trump campaign adviser boasting that he knew Russia had damaging information on then-Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton."

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/0...-durham-178690

[TheDarman]

May I ask you (and other members here) this hypothetical question: What if Biden was credibly accused of sexual misconduct to the same level as Trump would you still support him and vote for him out of necessity to avoid four more years of Trump? Or is voting for another accused sexual predator simply because he’s the better alternative simply a line you personally won’t cross even it is for the sake of saving the country?


For the record, I’m in the same boat as you in regards to the Tara Reade allegation. I find her story to be quite dubious.

To be honest, I’m not entirely sure. I definitely think I wouldn’t be imploring anyone to vote for him, especially if they reached the number that they are at for Trump. Before the convention, I might implore Biden to drop out and hope for Bernie to just outright secure the nomination with the remaining states or to have Biden’s delegates be pledged to whomever he was gonna pick to be VP. If he had the nomination? I might still have to hold my nose and hope he gets primaried if he chooses to run for re-election (something I find unlikely either way). But I definitely wouldn’t condemn anyone for not bringing themselves to cast a vote for him.

[worstblogever]

The only person close to Trump's in sexual assault is Harvey Weinstein.

Well, also Trump's dear old friend Jeffrey Epstein.

[SquirrelMan]

Wondering if Tulsi Gabbard regrets dropping out now.

[Tami]

A plan to defeat coronavirus finally emerges, but it’s not from the White House

A national plan to fight the coronavirus pandemic in the United States and return Americans to jobs and classrooms is emerging — but not from the White House.

Instead, a collection of governors, former government officials, disease specialists and nonprofits are pursuing a strategy that relies on the three pillars of disease control: ramp up testing to identify people who are infected. Find everyone they interact with by deploying contact tracing on a scale America has never attempted before. And focus restrictions more narrowly on the infected and their contacts so the rest of society doesn’t have to stay in permanent lockdown.

But there is no evidence yet the White House will pursue such a strategy.

Instead, the president and his top advisers have fixated almost exclusively on plans to reopen the U.S. economy by the end of the month, though they haven’t detailed how they will do so without triggering another outbreak. President Trump has been especially focused on creating a second coronavirus task force aimed at combating the economic ramifications of the virus.

“It’s mind-boggling, actually, the degree of disorganization,” said Tom Frieden, former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director. The federal government has already squandered February and March, he noted, committing “epic failures” on testing kits, ventilator supply, protective equipment for health workers and contradictory public health communication. The next failure is already on its way, Frieden said, because “we’re not doing the things we need to be doing in April.”

In recent days, dozens of leading voices have coalesced around the test-trace-quarantine framework, including former FDA commissioners for the Trump and George W. Bush administrations, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and top experts at Johns Hopkins, Columbia and Harvard universities.

On Wednesday, former president Barack Obama weighed in, tweeting: “Social distancing bends the curve and relieves some pressure. … But in order to shift off current policies, the key will be a robust system of testing and monitoring — something we have yet to put in place nationwide.”

And Friday, Apple and Google unveiled a joint effort on new tools that would use smartphones to aid in contact tracing.

What remains unclear is whether this emerging plan can succeed without the backing of the federal government. Some states such as Massachusetts and Utah are already trying to implement parts of it. In the absence of federal leadership — as happened last month with stay-at-home orders — other states may watch and follow suit. But without substantial federal funding, states’ efforts will only go so far