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

[Tami]

Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak is Washington's most dangerous diplomat

Some U.S. officials believe Kislyak to be more than a stubborn advocate for Russia’s foreign policy: On Tuesday, the Kremlin’s top spokesman, Dmitri Peskov, denounced as “fake news” a CNN report that cited unnamed U.S. officials alleging that Kislyak is an intelligence officer who recruits and runs spies.

A think tank expert who speaks regularly with Kislyak cast doubt on that claim, while saying that Kislyak is a highly trusted emissary who is regularly called back to Moscow on short notice for meetings.

“I have had no indication” that Kislyak is a spy, said Matthew Rojansky, director of the Kennan Institute at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington. He added that it’s possible U.S. officials consider any Russian official now in the U.S. to be an intelligence operative “by default."

At Russia’s fortress-like Embassy on Wisconsin Avenue, north of Washington’s Georgetown neighborhood, Kislyak also hosts parties for fellow diplomats, Russia specialists and other Washingtonians with personal or business ties to Russia. (Though elegant, those functions may also reveal hints of Russia’s economic malaise: At one recent event, bartenders served Kirkland vodka—the brand sold by the bulk-discount retailer Costco.)

The Russian Embassy did not respond to a request for comment.

When he’s not socializing, Kislyak generally toes the Kremlin’s tough line on U.S. policies. “He can be very charming, and he can be very tough,” Rojansky said. “He never backs down from intellectual combat. I’ve seen him debate a dozen rounds back and forth.”

Even so, two days after Trump’s election, Kislyak sounded hopeful about the prospects for a friendlier dialogue with his Washington counterparts.

“I still believe that there will be enough wisdom not only in your country but in ours to focus on what unites us,” Kislyak said in November. "Because we can do things together.”

Whether Kislyak still believes that, now that he is at the center of the biggest story of Russian intrigue since the Cold War, remains unclear.

I think he's dangerous.

[numberthirty]

The hell are you even talking about?
The defunding of Planned Parenthood is very much part of this.
Just because it's not affecting you does not mean you can handwave it away.

Your complete dismissal of something that will affect a huge amount of the population is rather disgusting.

Please explain, in detail, how clearly pointing out that something is a separate issue is dismissing it.

[numberthirty]

Except for the MAJORITY of voters who voted for her. Yes, he won because of the vagaries of process, but don't try to sell that the American people wanted Trump.

We still live in a country where the vote of The Electoral College is how someone wins the presidency. Nothing about that is some "Vagaries Of Process" scenario. It is how it has been decided for quite a while.

[InformationGeek]

Well here we go, I got stories for you all!

Tom Price spoke up about the new healthcare plan the GOP on unveiled, saying most Americans won't see any "significant changes" with the new health plan. First of all, BS. Second of all, then what was the point of anything if there's really no change? All those attempts at repealing the affordable care just for this? Ugh.

And then there's this *******...

A Virginia man is running for House of Delegates after spending 16 months in jail for threatening to kill then-President Barack Obama in 2009.

Nathan Daniel Larson told WUSA that he is running for Virginia’s 31st House District. Election officials confirmed that Larson had collected the required number of signatures to appear on the ballot.

In 2009, Larson sent Secret Service an email saying he wanted to kill President Obama. As a result of being convicted of a felony, Larson lost his voting rights, which Virginia lists as a requirement for running for office. But his rights were restored by Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) after he was released from prison.

Larson, however, believes that women should not have the right to vote, and he is running on a platform of suppressing the rights of women. He also believes that fathers should be able to marry their daughters.

“I think women want male leadership, and so men have to be strong,” Larson explained to WUSA. “Men have to take the stances they believe are right, and women will respect that.”

The Libertarian Party of Virginia has said that it will try to expel Larson, leaving the ex-convict to run as an independent.

“If you’re independent, it just means you’re the one who’s running an experimental campaign,” he said. “Sometimes it may mean you’re ahead of your time.”

Crazy. Pure crazy. Also, you're not ahead of your time. You are way back in time. Maybe the 1800's with that attitude.

[numberthirty]

It's also worth noting that the "MAJORITY" that folks insist on discussing was a three percentage point difference that still amounted to two points under fifty percent of cast votes.

Let alone what her "MAJORITY" amounts to among the actual number of voting age folks in America.

[Kirby101]

We still live in a country where the vote of The Electoral College is how someone wins the presidency. Nothing about that is some "Vagaries Of Process" scenario. It is how it has been decided for quite a while.

"People wanted change from Obama's directions and tone so much that they voted Trump over a Hillary "

No the majority of people did not vote for Trump over Hillary. The people chose Hillary, the process chose Trump.

But your complete loathing and hatred of Hillary will never let you see that. So there it is.

[Kirby101]

It's also worth noting that the "MAJORITY" that folks insist on discussing was a three percentage point difference that still amounted to two points under fifty percent of cast votes.

Let alone what her "MAJORITY" amounts to among the actual number of voting age folks in America.

And that says what about Trump's mandate?

[numberthirty]

And that says what about Trump's mandate?

Neither of them had any kind of a mandate.

[numberthirty]

"People wanted change from Obama's directions and tone so much that they voted Trump over a Hillary "

No the majority of people did not vote for Trump over Hillary. The people chose Hillary, the process chose Trump.

But your complete loathing and hatred of Hillary will never let you see that. So there it is.

When "The People" actually decide a presidential election, we will have something to discuss.

Otherwise, folks will only bring up The Electoral College when they don't like the result. Doing so does nothing to change that The Electoral College's vote is how the presidency is decided.

Casting a majority run up in less states won as some sort of a "Win Among The People" is wonky, at best. Particularly when that "Win Among The People" is still under fifty percent of the popular vote.

[mojotastic]

didnt only 62% of the population voted during this election?

[numberthirty]

didnt only 62% of the population voted during this election?

http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/11/politi...-turnout-2016/

Voter turnout at 20-year low in 2016

Voter turnout this year dipped to nearly its lowest point in two decades.

While election officials are still tabulating ballots, the 126 million votes already counted means about 55% of voting age citizens cast ballots this year.

That measure of turnout is the lowest in a presidential election since 1996, when 53.5% of voting-age citizens turned out.

As election officials go through outstanding ballots -- such as provisional ballots and those with write-ins -- the turnout figures will change.

But it would take another 18.7 million votes to reach the high point for turnout of 2008, when nearly 64% of voting age citizens cast a ballot.

Early results in some of the key states that propelled President-elect Donald Trump to his win reveal that more voters cast ballots this year than in 2012, even though overall turnout was down.

In Florida, nearly 9.4 million ballots were cast, compared to 8.5 million in 2012. Michigan saw 4.8 million compared to 4.7 million four years ago. And in North Carolina, the 4.7 million ballots this year was about 138,000 more than last cycle.

Full measures of turnout won't be clear for as long as several more weeks, when election officials in the various states finish tabulating and certify the results. The figures also do not include people of age who are ineligible to vote or have not registered.

Other pieces I've seen have votes cast closer to fifty-eight percent.

[mojotastic]

http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/11/politi...-turnout-2016/



Other pieces I've seen have votes cast closer to fifty-eight percent.

55%? wow i was far away from guessing, i wonder why did i think about 62%

[Kevinroc]

Trump warns House GOP members of electoral 'bloodbath' if repeal and replace fails

http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/07/politi...are/index.html

Trump is going all in on repealing Obamacare and replacing it with this disaster.

[Tazirai]

Trump warns House GOP members of electoral 'bloodbath' if repeal and replace fails

http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/07/politi...are/index.html

Trump is going all in on repealing Obamacare and replacing it with this disaster.

It's going to be a bloodbath regardless. I honestly believe that the GOP has finally overstepped their bounds.

[Malvolio]

Trump warns House GOP members of electoral 'bloodbath' if repeal and replace fails

http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/07/politi...are/index.html

Trump is going all in on repealing Obamacare and replacing it with this disaster.

When Trump says "fails," does he mean fails to get the votes to get passed, or passes, but turns out to be a huge failure for the American people?