The Biden Presidency - 2020

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by Lathum

It is really smart. The right blindly opposes everything he does despite it being beneficial for their constituents. They gonna become the pro cancer party?

They're teetering on the edge of supporting school shooters so probably.

[Lathum]

Dems just got a huge boost to keep the senate with the Trumpy candidate winning the NH republican primary.

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

ugh, that all these extremely extreme points of view, that have been considered highly extremist for decades, are now being pushed into mainstream thought, and have a less than 0 chance to see increasing support across courts, and public opinion makes me nauseous. It's almost like McVeigh and Nichols have finally become martyrs for a cause the world now believes in. Ask the right if that's what they support and I bet you they have record high marks across the ideology now.

Originally Posted by JPhillips

I think Masters is the most dangerous GOP candidate with an actual chance.

“I’ll probably get in trouble for saying this,” Masters responded. “How about, like, Theodore Kaczynski?”

I mean.....yes....this is the course the Republican party is on now.

[GrantDawg]

Lathum, I have learned better than celebrating a bad Republican candidate. Some of those nuts actually win.

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk

[Kodos]

Yeah, I’m not crazy about that strategy. Especially when employed against a republican who voted to be remove Trump from office.

[Lathum]

I love it. I think it is great. The Dems have been playing nice far too long. Time to mix it up and try something different. MAGA candidates are so toxic at this point not sure how anyone can say they would rather go against a more centrist republican who may draw the independent vote. When you run against a MAGA candidate the election become all about Trump, the big lie, Jan 6th, etc...as opposed to having to defend inflation, the border, etc...

[Ksyrup]

The danger is they bring out more crazies to vote, and you still get X percent of GOP identifiers who vote for the party regardless of who the candidate is. Like, they would prefer a sane candidate but any GOP is better than a Democrat.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

The danger is they bring out more crazies to vote, and you still get X percent of GOP identifiers who vote for the party regardless of who the candidate is. Like, they would prefer a sane candidate but any GOP is better than a Democrat.

And that is likely countered by people who come out to vote against the MAGA candidate and the crazy that comes with it.

We bash the Dems for trying to stick to the norms in what is clearly not a normal cycle but then when they try something different we say they shouldn't do it.

Obviously remains to be seen if the strategy works, but if the goal is to win seats IMO they have an easier time defeating MAGA over a centralist who will still strip away abortion rights, etc...Just look at Glen Younkin.

[Ksyrup]

I get it. But if a couple MAGA get elected along the way, that just props up the Jim Jordan wing that much longer.

[PilotMan]

Thomas Massie (KY) has voted consistently with MAGA (and Russia), and he's eyeing Mitch's seat when he decides to leave. He's so confident of winning (and will) that he's not even campaigning. His signs are just the same signs from the past 4 years. The Dem who is running against him is a good, solid candidate and by and large should be getting attention, but it doesn't matter Massie is untouchable in spite of this shit he's said and done. Once these fucking cockroaches get in, they never get out.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

Thomas Massie (KY) has voted consistently with MAGA (and Russia), and he's eyeing Mitch's seat when he decides to leave. He's so confident of winning (and will) that he's not even campaigning. His signs are just the same signs from the past 4 years. The Dem who is running against him is a good, solid candidate and by and large should be getting attention, but it doesn't matter Massie is untouchable in spite of this shit he's said and done. Once these fucking cockroaches get in, they never get out.

Apples and Oranges to the situation in NH.

Unfortunately some parts of the country won't be salvageable.

[larrymcg421]

Originally Posted by Lathum

Apples and Oranges to the situation in NH.

Unfortunately some parts of the country won't be salvageable.

Agreed. Massie's district is R+19

New Hampshire as a whole is dead even..

[albionmoonlight]

Rail Strike averted
Monkey Pox not a pandemic

One of the problems, politically, with competent administration is that when you do things well you keep them out of the news. It is hard to get voters excited about avoiding disasters that didn't happen.

As a citizen who cares more about quality of life than politics, I love competent administration. But it does not poll as well as it should.

[JPhillips]

Dark Brandon getting shit done.

[stevew]

Bad candidates are still scary. I gotta sleep for the next nearly two months hoping that Droz and Insurrection Dougy don’t win here. Droz over Fetterman would suck. On a statewide level, though, Dougy would gut this state whereas Shipiro is likely to just be competent no drama leadership.

[Lathum]

This is why I love the strategy. We all know MAGA voters are idiots, but he already has them. There are very few, if any, voters who will be fooled by this. If you are that stupid and gullible you are likely already MAGA.

On Fox News, New Hampshire Republican Senate candidate Don Bolduc tries to distance himself from comments he made just last month (!) claiming Trump actually won the 2020 election pic.twitter.com/V1NgkNs4Am

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 15, 2022

[JPhillips]

GOP pundits are so upset that they won't have a rail strike to blame on Biden.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by Lathum

This is why I love the strategy. We all know MAGA voters are idiots, but he already has them. There are very few, if any, voters who will be fooled by this. If you are that stupid and gullible you are likely already MAGA.

On Fox News, New Hampshire Republican Senate candidate Don Bolduc tries to distance himself from comments he made just last month (!) claiming Trump actually won the 2020 election pic.twitter.com/V1NgkNs4Am

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 15, 2022

I don't think we disagree on Trump supporters. I think the mistake you are making - the same one that was made about Trump himself - is that there is a certain percentage of people who simply don't care about the actual person they are voting for. They don't like Trump, but they know capital gains is going to be cut by virtue of GOP control. That kind of stuff. And if "the cray cray" doesn't tangibly impact your life, what does it matter, it's a non-issue.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

I think Masters is the most dangerous GOP candidate with an actual chance.

He also believes military leadership is too liberal and wants all generals "fired' and replaced with "the most conservative colonels".

It's also not a one off comment. He's mentioned it several times.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I don't think we disagree on Trump supporters. I think the mistake you are making - the same one that was made about Trump himself - is that there is a certain percentage of people who simply don't care about the actual person they are voting for. They don't like Trump, but they know capital gains is going to be cut by virtue of GOP control. That kind of stuff. And if "the cray cray" doesn't tangibly impact your life, what does it matter, it's a non-issue.

There is also the possible "October Surprise" factor. What if the Democratic candidate has pictures in black-face come out right before the election? They had hired nanny not legally in the country? They secretly flew to Argentina to sleep with a lover on tax-payer dime? These nut bags can still win, and do damage to our democracy. Remember the celebration among Democrats when Trump won the nomination against Hilary? Never again.

[RainMaker]

Masters is part of the Thiel crowd that wants to do away with democracy and move toward some sort of monarchy where tech guys are made Kings of regions. I'm not kidding.

[GrantDawg]

Sound familiar?

To embarrass Northern liberals and humiliate Black people, southern White Citizens Councils started their so-called "Reverse Freedom Rides," giving Black people one-way tickets to northern cities with false promises of jobs, housing, and better lives.https://t.co/xLpTjxG0PD pic.twitter.com/voiPBbwRuN

— JFK Library (@JFKLibrary) September 15, 2022

[GrantDawg]

How does DeSantis spend $12 million dollars of Florida taxpayers money to fly immigrants from Texas to Massachusetts? Is he just begging to get arrested?

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[Ksyrup]

I'm still not clear on where they are from. I thought I saw something about these people actually coming from Texas? So they aren't Florida immigrants and Abbott and DeSantis appear to have coordinated flights going through Florida so DeSantis could get publicity for sending them to MA?

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I don't think we disagree on Trump supporters. I think the mistake you are making - the same one that was made about Trump himself - is that there is a certain percentage of people who simply don't care about the actual person they are voting for. They don't like Trump, but they know capital gains is going to be cut by virtue of GOP control. That kind of stuff. And if "the cray cray" doesn't tangibly impact your life, what does it matter, it's a non-issue.

I think the electorate is a lot different than it was 6 years ago.

[Ksyrup]

I've talked to enough people who are seemingly "normal," don't really like Trump but are loyal to the GOP and/or self-interest, and the best answer I've heard is someone's said they just won't vote. The rest are still anti-Democrat above all else and wish Trump was gone, but they aren't changing their vote.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I'm still not clear on where they are from. I thought I saw something about these people actually coming from Texas? So they aren't Florida immigrants and Abbott and DeSantis appear to have coordinated flights going through Florida so DeSantis could get publicity for sending them to MA?

They were apparently promised expedited work visas once they got there in order to get them on the plane.

I'm not sure how this isn't breaking multiple federal crimes.

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I've talked to enough people who are seemingly "normal," don't really like Trump but are loyal to the GOP and/or self-interest, and the best answer I've heard is someone's said they just won't vote. The rest are still anti-Democrat above all else and wish Trump was gone, but they aren't changing their vote.

Those people right there are the ones I genuinely do not understand. It's like they are willing to go along with just about anything in the name of "these people want what I want even if they are bad people doing bad things". Come to think of it, that's what the Germans said after they found out about the gas chambers. The Nazi's were Germany, and they supported Germany, even if they were doing back things, then found out just how bad those things were and thought, "how did they do this and we did nothing? or We just went along, but we really didn't know or understand what was going on." That makes more sense to me now honestly.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by Atocep

They were apparently promised expedited work visas once they got there in order to get them on the plane.

I'm not sure how this isn't breaking multiple federal crimes.

It's human trafficking but legal for people who are powerful and white.

[JPhillips]

The 5th Court of Appeals upholds the TX social media law that makes it all but impossible for any content moderation.

4Chan for everyone!

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

The 5th Court of Appeals upholds the TX social media law that makes it all but impossible for any content moderation.

4Chan for everyone!

Businesses have the 1st Amendment right to determine whether you can get birth control on your health insurance plan but do not have the 1st Amendment right to ban someone from their site if they are a Nazi.

So technically can this forum even ban people now without getting in legal trouble in Texas?

[RainMaker]

It also has to be so weird for lawyers when the rules are just arbitrarily enforced. I mean I know there were weird aspects of the justice system before, but how do you interpret anything anymore? It's all based on whether the judge likes the politician who made the law.

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

The 5th Court of Appeals upholds the TX social media law that makes it all but impossible for any content moderation.

4Chan for everyone!

Does this mean if I get banned here then I can sue FOFC?

[RainMaker]

The law bans email spam filters which is going to be hilarious. We are going back to the early days of e-mail.

[Lathum]

Cruz and these other idiots are doubling down on this shit with flying migrants to places like MV. Do they actually think this plays well with anyone but their base? Do they honestly think some suburban mom is going to watch images of migrant children walking off planes looking traumatized and vote for more of that?

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by Lathum

Cruz and these other idiots are doubling down on this shit with flying migrants to places like MV. Do they actually think this plays well with anyone but their base? Do they honestly think some suburban mom is going to watch images of migrant children walking off planes looking traumatized and vote for more of that?

Pretty sure that's what makes their base hard. And at this point, I feel like they've given up on winning popular votes and will just restrict access to voting and hope the courts will legislate for them.

These are also the people that pretend to be Christians.

[whomario]

Not exactly a surprise but bears repeating:

Subscribe to read | Financial Times

NEW: income inequality in US & UK is so wide that while the richest are very well off, the poorest have a worse standard of living than the poorest in countries like Slovenia https://t.co/gtHvhNsnuT

Essentially, US & UK are poor societies with some very rich people.

A thread: pic.twitter.com/fXFsULsrQ3

— John Burn-Murdoch (@jburnmurdoch) September 16, 2022

(Thread by author)

This is also why the discussion over that 'Moonshot' on cancer is low key infuriating. Because you know what would lower cancer rates, too ? Better access to cheaper healthcare and less poverty (with which generally comes better health). You know what, ironically, would slow the decline of that rate? A higher age, meaning people not dying of other shit way earlier than in other somewhat comparably wealthy countries and a ton less wealthy.

[Edward64]

We're already in an economic and (undeclared) technology war with China, so why not. I think we've pretty much decided to decouple from China in many areas (let's call it selective globalization) and Taiwan is a key chip manufacturer for us (or until we ramp up our own domestic production).

I like what Biden is doing in Asia. He's developing ANKUS, QUAD and not trying to rejoin TPP. Kudos to him, he's come a long ways in recognizing the real threat and from his "com'on man" statement on China.

Not convinced that India is a true, dependable alliance partner though. And Chinese investments will be hard to say no to for many countries in Asia.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-62951347

US President Joe Biden has again said the US would defend Taiwan in the event of an "unprecedented attack" by China.

Speaking in a CBS interview, Mr Biden replied "Yes" when asked if that meant US forces would defend Taiwan.

The interview aired on Sunday, prompting the White House to reiterate that US policy had not changed.

I knew there was at least one other time when Biden said similar and the Whitehouse walked it back. Apparently it's been 3 times. My guess is this is intentional and not Biden misspeaking.

But this is the third time in a year that President Biden has gone further than the official stance in indicating a promise of military action - in October 2021 and then again in May this year.

Earlier this month, the US agreed to sell $1.1bn (£955m) in weaponry and missile defence to Taiwan, provoking anger from China.

[Lathum]

bold strategy is it pays off Cotton

Breaking: Herschel Walker speaks the truth: “I'm a country boy. I'm not that smart. He's a preacher. (Warnock) is smart and wears these nice suits. So, he is going to show up and embarrass me at the debate Oct. 14th, and I'm just waiting to show up and I will do my best.”

— Duty To Warn �� (@duty2warn) September 19, 2022

[Ksyrup]

Caveman Lawyer strategy.

[Atocep]

I don't think there's a debate I've ever wanted to watch more.

[cuervo72]

I mean, that's the question, right? Do we really want smart people running things? The answer to that for a lot of people is, assuredly, no.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

I mean, that's the question, right? Do we really want smart people running things? The answer to that for a lot of people is, assuredly, no.

As long as he's on "your" side, the smart(er) people can just tell him what to do. It's not him they care about, it's the +1 seat he occupies. They'd vote for a potted plant if it meant +1 GOP Senate seat.

This is why all that matters is turnout.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by Atocep

They were apparently promised expedited work visas once they got there in order to get them on the plane.

I'm not sure how this isn't breaking multiple federal crimes.

If this is true, surely this violates SOMETHING, right? RIGHT?!

!!! a fake brochure promising eight months cash assistance, food, job training/placement, help with housing + more was given to migrants who were lured by @GovRonDeSantis into boarding a flight to martha’s vineyard. @JuddLegum obtained a copy: https://t.co/nSIwWOE6Zh pic.twitter.com/RLtqoeLPC8

— Marisa Kabas (@MarisaKabas) September 19, 2022

[albionmoonlight]

And people have, of course, been investigating (i.e. trying to find) the "companies" that transported the asylum seekers to Massachusetts. But it is looking more and more like they are shell corps that don't really exist.

But (and here's the good part), they also were companies that got PPP loans, representing that they had 30+ employees. Which seems like complete and total fraud at this point.

So it may be that someone decided to use their PPP fraud company as an essential part of a scheme designed to draw lots and lots of public attention and scrutiny.

We will have to see how it all shakes out, but this seems to be going into "Are you taking notes on a criminal fucking conspiracy?" territory.

[albionmoonlight]

dola: to continue to describe this with movie/TV quotes, I imagine that this was one of those get high on your own supply moments.

I am sure the folks behind this were so convinced that the people in liberal Massachusetts would act so horribly that that would be the only story to come out of it. They didn't think that anyone would have any other reaction. The problem with living only in your own bubble.

[Atocep]

I'm curious to see how it plays out. I'm not a legal expert but I'm not sure what laws, if any, were broken by transporting them. It's not kidnapping or trafficking. I think misuse of government funds and fraud are the most likely investigation targets, but again I'm not a legal expert.

[albionmoonlight]

Federal kidnapping requires force or threatened force. I think that some states have a kidnapping by fraud type law. But I really am not sure.

I don't know if the stunt itself was illegal. But it seems like a pretty shady conglomeration of organizations was behind it, and they have now shown a pretty big spotlight on themselves.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by Atocep

I'm curious to see how it plays out. I'm not a legal expert but I'm not sure what laws, if any, were broken by transporting them. It's not kidnapping or trafficking. I think misuse of government funds and fraud are the most likely investigation targets, but again I'm not a legal expert.

But with those two, you can add the RICO statute as well I'm pretty sure. There is definitely a multi-state conspiracy to commit multiple crimes.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

dola: to continue to describe this with movie/TV quotes, I imagine that this was one of those get high on your own supply moments.

I am sure the folks behind this were so convinced that the people in liberal Massachusetts would act so horribly that that would be the only story to come out of it. They didn't think that anyone would have any other reaction. The problem with living only in your own bubble.

What's been so transparently ridiculous is the "Libs DEPORTED the migrants from Martha's Vineyard" narrative they've tried to spin. I suppose it works with the people they want it to.