All-purpose news and politics thread: Two Steps Beyond!

[worstblogever]

30 percent is not a win. I mean, it says a further left candidate has SOME support, but if they can't even get past 30% in a primary, they ain't gonna win a statewide race in West Virginia, man. Come on.

Are you sure liberals shouldn't take the advice of what's good for Democrats from someone who argues against all their policies and candidates?

[Handsome men don't lose fights]

Mike Braun is the GOP candidate for the Indiana senator race.

Holy shit! I was expecting Todd Rokita to win by default m

Rokita is just repeating a delightful pattern of senior republicans invoking the name of Donald Trump in order to try to rally their base, and getting a glorious thumping instead. Whatever black magic fuels Trump's popularity with his people, it isn't communicable to anyone else.

[Tendrin]

Whenever someone says a LEFTIST can't win West VA...

Democrats kill me with the defeatism attitude. I hope the Blue Wave truly happens, but after that if Democrats do nothing while in power, they can eat one...

Sanders wins in West Virginia

Not more left than this dude.



Democrats’ civil war flares after Lamb’s upset win
Conservative Democrats argue the party needs to embrace his centrist message in other battleground races. Nonsense, say liberals.

I think Sanders' win in west Virginia has less to do with his leftist politics and more to do with identity politics, at least as far as West Virginia is concerned. I think Sanders' success won't necessarily translate to support for his policies coming from, say, a member of a minority group.

[TakoM]

I've been thinking the world is not looking to America for anything more than Back whatever Israel wants and the two of our countries being the bullies on the block.



Israel has never seen a potential war they couldn't get us t back.




Yep.



How ANYONE, even Conservatives take this Administration seriously is crazy.




The Blue wave might come and as soon as they win, Democrats will bow to Trump from fear, especially when it comes to this shitty potential next conflict.

MSNBC COMEPLETELY SUCKS

This is the reason how this will have consequences the EU don't get out of the contract because it took a lot of effort to do it. The EU does take a blind eye to Israel and Saudi-Arabia because of the alliance with the US and in case of Israel and Germany because of some guilt mentality. Israel do ignore international contracts it has done with the built of new settlement in Palestinian regions besides the assassination of Palestinian politicians and other stuff. Saudi-Arabia support civil war against either elected governments or governments which are international accepted basically supporting terrorist there you can call it the Latveria of the middle-east.

The point is with basically saying bye bye to the EU as a partner they will one day sanction one or both of those countries and then you have the opposite problem of the current. US companies can't make deals with those countries and with the EU at the same time e.g Microsoft can't sell its OS in the EU when they sell it also to Israel (or better example Apple with its Smartphones).

And then things could get really serious this doesn't mean war but the end of the NATO basically all the US bases in the EU would be closed(with hospitals and drone control centers and so on) besides GB and Australia perhaps no other troops would support the US in the middle-east.

Trump did a lot of stuff you can reversed easily later or can be easily renegotiated this is not one of those things. Problem is here politician expected from him when he came to Europe the first time to make a speech that he and the US staying to the NATO and the defense alliance he didn't also the relation is stressed because of the new (coming)boarder taxes and everyone(media politics) was already saying the US can't be trusted anymore.

This is serious 10/10

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Iranian Lawmakers Mock Trump’s ‘Mental Capacity,’ Burn U.S. Flag After U.S. Pulls Out Of Nuke Deal

Trump’s decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Iran nuclear deal did not receive a positive reception from Iranian lawmakers. No positive reception? What a surprise! Didn't see THAT coming! Meanwhile....

**********

Trump’s Iran Deal Exit Is A Win For Russia

It’s a striking example of the president again making a move condemned by U.S. allies but likely to help Vladimir Putin. I guess Dolt45's bromance with Bad Vlad isn't dead after all.

**********

Michael Cohen Accepted $500,000 From Firm Tied To Russian Oligarch: Reports

Robert Mueller has reportedly interviewed the Russian oligarch about the payments to Trump’s lawyer. Money sure talks, especially half a million.

**********

Ohio Voters Pass Gerrymandering Reform Measure

The Ohio plan had overwhelming bipartisan support in the state legislature when lawmakers approved it for the May ballot. Good news for voters in Ohio. I hope more states pass similar measures.

**********

Orrin Hatch Is Sorry He Suggested Trump Should Be Allowed At John McCain’s Funeral

“I felt like I shouldn’t have said what I said,” the senator said. This is what happens when you slurp Trump too much, your common sense goes right down the toilet.

[worstblogever]

On this date in 2015, 2016, as well as 2017, “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” presented profiles of North Carolina State Senator Wyatt “Tommy” Tucker, who was first elected to office back in 2010, in the Tea Party Wave. Tucker, as seen in his profile picture, gained notoriety in April of 2013, when he suggested print reporters should be banned from the legislature, and that its business should only be reported on the internet. After much arguing from the actual reporters in the chamber, Tucker advanced the legislation out of committee by a verbal vote, that Democrats argued was not the actual 6-5 win Tucker claimed it was. He refused to conduct a simple hand count vote, and tried to leave the chamber, telling a reporter, "I am the Senator. You are a citizen. You need to be quiet." As shocking of an attempt to restrict the freedom of the press as this was, Tucker also tried arguing against paying victims of North Carolina's eugenics program that was conducted from 1933 to 1974, trying to pass of the settlements onto individual counties, and not the state. He has voted for North Carolina's attempt to amend their constitution to ban same sex marriage, to ban climatologists from studying rising sea levels along the state coasts, for stricter Voter ID measures to disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of citizens from their right to vote, supported North Carolina Republicans efforts to block the Medicaid Expansion in the state, voted for the "motorcycle safety law" in the state that through amendments by Republicans, became one of the most restrictive anti-abortion laws around the country, and of course, he voted for the disastrous anti-gay law HB 2, that saw North Carolina face a boycott from several industries, musicians performing concerts, and sports league events that amounted to almost a billion dollars of lost revenue. Tucker drew some heat in North Carolina in the summer of 2016, as well, for sponsoring a bill in the North Carolina State Senate that would lead to 7 acres of land from the city of Marvin to be placed under the jurisdiction of the county… specifically so a developer could buy it up for his own purposes, and much to the chagrin of the people of Marvin, as well as commentators who feared the practice could become commonplace.

Tommy Tucker has not faced a challenge from a Democrat since winning office for his seat representing District 35 back in 2010, and won re-election simply by advancing out of the GOP Primary in 2016 with 61% of the vote. We were wondering if perhaps the 2018 Blue Wave would be enough momentum to ensure a loss by Tucker, and apparently, so was he. That’s likely got something to do with why Tommy Tucker has decided to call it quits and leave office after four terms doing his part to make the Tar Heel State a national embarrassment. And to his impending retirement, we would like to salute him by saying, “Good riddance.”

[ZombieHavoc]

I swing very far left...but it's laughable to me the idea that far left/ultra progressive candidates are gonna win general elections in certain parts of the country. In most parts of the country.

I hate Manchin...but as far as your average WV voter goes, I'm pretty sure he's just shy of being a lefty pinko commie.

Some of you put way too much faith in people. I feel like a centrist dem or centrist republican is usually gonna have a better shot. And I'd rather a centrist dem than a 100% Trump crony any day

Though I do semi admire some of you guys' conviction that any kind of change is possible. Even though it's not.

[JBatmanFan05]

[The Iran nuclear deal] amounted to bribing Iran to suspend its nuclear program, which is like feeding a wild animal scraps of meat to dissuade it from biting you. The deal lifted sanctions, threw the regime an economic lifeline and effectively recognized it as part of the international order. It moved toward the regularization of a pariah state.

The problem is that Iran's regime is not regular. Look at what it's been doing since the deal was signed. Even if uranium enrichment has been stopped, Tehran has continued, quite openly, to invest in its missile program. It has harassed foreign citizens.

It has also hugely expanded its power within the region, establishing a presence in Yemen, Syria and Lebanon. Indeed, a country's attitude toward the Iran deal depends in part on its proximity to Iran. Israel, for instance, cannot tolerate its neighbors being turned into military colonies of a hostile foreign power. It feels vulnerable to attack.

If the deal stands as it is, there is a risk that it actually enables the emergence of Iran as a hegemonic power on the brink of attaining the bomb. It would have the same effect as the SALT treaties of the 70s, which were meant to limit Soviet arms growth, but in fact provided cover for the Soviets expanding into Africa, Central America and Asia.

It was the collapse of SALT and the early 80s arms race that really pushed the Soviets to the negotiating table, not détente -- and the same logic, I suspect, is applied by the Trump administration to Iran. Why give Iran money, and thus stability, just as its economy is teetering and its people are demonstrating in the streets?

Confrontation with Iran is, for its neighbors at least, inevitable and more or less already happening. Trump's decision to draw a line by pulling out of the Iran deal brings in two new dynamics. First, it shifts the focus of present US policy away from just tackling Islamist terrorism that tends to be Sunni (the Islamic State), and toward identifying Iran as a key destabilizer of the Middle East.

Second, with Trump's decision, the center of gravity in policymaking shifts. The Europeans -- principally Germany, France and Britain -- staked everything on saving the deal. Their diplomatic failure was humiliating. Instead, momentum is now with the United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia. Of these, the most unreliable partner is viewed as Saudi: the United States is allying with a religious dictatorship to contain a religious dictatorship. Life is full of surprises. Trump was elected, many thought, to get America out of the Middle East. Instead, he's helped forge a new local coalition and backed it against Iran.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/08/opini...ley/index.html

[ZombieHavoc]

Yeah, that seems credible.

[TakoM]

I swing very far left...but it's laughable to me the idea that far left/ultra progressive candidates are gonna win general elections in certain parts of the country. In most parts of the country.

I hate Manchin...but as far as your average WV voter goes, I'm pretty sure he's just shy of being a lefty pinko commie.

Some of you put way too much faith in people. I feel like a centrist dem or centrist republican is usually gonna have a better shot. And I'd rather a centrist dem than a 100% Trump crony any day

Though I do semi admire some of you guys' conviction that any kind of change is possible. Even though it's not.

Yes and No in 2/3 of the time conservatives are in power but how could I say in most of the countries in the EU all the big parties went to the center the problem with this is the middle class is the backbone for them but their politic hurt them they pay the most taxes in % and they had/have the most job loses. In addiction to this they left the political spectrum left and right open

In the US the middle class is basically imploded even with new jobs because they don't earn in most cases not as much as before with their new job what also different is in the US is the reps went more and more to the right so they evolved with it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TImO_RquoW8&t=201s

On the other hand dems can't handle stuff like bringing back troops or in general its always complicated to talk with lefts about national identity there is a lot of stuff which people aren't comfortable from the left e.g in the EU giving the EU more power

Basically this means you need a left but a real left which knows how far they can go about changes but also do the stuff which others had avoided doing economically and social but also how could I say is able to let the US make peace with itself. I know its sound funny but I see some cultivated anger which is fuel for a lot of bad stuff in the US.

[ZombieHavoc]

I know its sound funny but I see some cultivated anger which is fuel for a lot of bad stuff in the US.

Oh yes, that is 100% true and the current administration is riding that anger. They aren't doing anything to fix anything, but you know, they are harnessing it for winning elections.

A strong left would be good, but it's not gonna happen here.

Nothing is going to change, and whenever any strides have been made by the fraction of the country that seeks change, the resulting backlash is Trump.

The best we can possibly hope for in the US at this point is getting some status quo dems in charge to just keep at bay the sinister shit Trump and his goons are seeking, and keep things status quo, broken as that is.

[4saken1]

A strong left would be good, but it's not gonna happen here.

Dems are in a tough position. They want to appeal to independents to gain more votes, but this often turns many of their own base against them. To quote Mister Miyage: “Daniel-san, must talk. Walk on road. Walk right side, safe. Walk left side, safe. Walk middle, sooner or later, get squish, just like grape."

[Tami]

I swing very far left...but it's laughable to me the idea that far left/ultra progressive candidates are gonna win general elections in certain parts of the country. In most parts of the country.

I hate Manchin...but as far as your average WV voter goes, I'm pretty sure he's just shy of being a lefty pinko commie.

Some of you put way too much faith in people. I feel like a centrist dem or centrist republican is usually gonna have a better shot. And I'd rather a centrist dem than a 100% Trump crony any day

Though I do semi admire some of you guys' conviction that any kind of change is possible. Even though it's not.

I agree, and this has been my concern. There are those on the far left who have become so tribalistic and narrow minded that they can't see the bigger picture. To them, I would say, you are not going to create a 'Far Left Utopia' which wouldn't be a Utopia. The principle behind a democracy is Freedom, Freedom of Religion, Freedom of Speech, and Freedom of Political Ideology [so long as it is not one that seeks to violate human rights, destroy the country and/or undermine the constitution and rule of law].

This means respecting other people and accepting that you can't force-feed a Far-Left Political Candidate down the throat of a community of conservatives or even moderates. They will vote for the candidate that is most in line with their own beliefs. That is the way things work.

[Tendrin]

Ignore. /10char

[ZombieHavoc]

I agree, and this has been my concern. There are those on the far left who have become so tribalistic and narrow minded that they can't see the bigger picture. To them, I would say, you are not going to create a 'Far Left Utopia' which wouldn't be a Utopia. The principle behind a democracy is Freedom, Freedom of Religion, Freedom of Speech, and Freedom of Political Ideology [so long as it is not one that seeks to violate human rights, destroy the country and/or undermine the constitution and rule of law].

This means respecting other people and accepting that you can't force-feed a Far-Left Political Candidate down the throat of a community of conservatives or even moderates. They will vote for the candidate that is most in line with their own beliefs. That is the way things work.

I do think far left/ultra progressive candidates should run in primaries and let the voters vote...but it's just, if that progressive doesn't win the primary, we gotta stop then demonizing the centrist dem...because then the conservative candidate wins when part of the other side sits it out. The conservatives seem to vote in the primary for their far right or moderate candidate, but then they all vote for the one that wins...so.