The Politics Thread

[GMac]

And it makes me sad as a resident of Florida.

Why doesn't this surprise me. Jeez. And how can the people that vote for him justify it??

[marceline]

Enjoy it. I'd like one election where Ohio didn't become the be all and end all of swing states. 2016 is going to be hell. Especially when our lowlife governor throws his hat into the ring for the White House.

[Juliajms]

I can see that. I used to live in the Tampa area (Brandon). Florida doesn't need more development. It's a beautiful place and I hate to see it paved over any more than it already has been.

[GMac]

Exactly. I'm FL born and raised. There used to so many special out of the way "old Florida" places but they are all disappearing. Our governor is a "business man" that is removing every environmental protection he can, while raising taxes for individuals so he can give tax breaks to big companies. It's sad.

[marceline]

Ugh. Rick Scott. He's one of the worst. You have my sympathies. My governor (Kasich) may be a right-wing tool but he's a right wing tool who wants to run for President someday so he occasionally does something decent. (About five decent things at my last count but I haven't updated the list in a long time.) Scott is just a morally bankrupt profiteer. He'd kick puppies and step on baby chicks if he thought it would make a profit.

[GregNYC]

But, Senator Robert Byrd (D) was a member of the KKK, and Democrats never called on him to resign.

[ReddFoxx]

Number one, his civil rights record was better than most Republicans post civil rights movement and number two, something that happened in the 1940s is a lot different than something that happened in 2002. And considering that Byrd is dead, he can't resign from anything.

Edited January 1, 2015 by ReddFoxx

[GregNYC]

2002 is a long time ago. That is a long time to change one's opinions. Why can Byrd be forgiven for something that happened decades ago, but Scalise cannot? In addition, Byrd was an actual member of KKK and voted against the Civil Rights Act, while Scalise just gave a speech to pander for votes.

Edited January 1, 2015 by GregNYC

[DRW50]

Pandering to racists isn't something to shrug off. It shows that he (and by extension the GOP) are more than happy to cater to those views. He also doesn't seem to give any indication he regrets his views or that he even has any views. He struggled to even admit he spoke to them.

What I'm confused about is who forgave Byrd. I remember the GOP hammering him time and time again in the last years of his life, doing their best to show us he was a racist and Democrats were racists if they didn't denounce him.

How many of those Republicans have said a word about Steve Scalise?

Edited January 1, 2015 by DRW50

[ReddFoxx]

2002 is not a long time ago, not by any stretch. And even in death, Byrd's civil rights record is still better than Scalise's and always will be, despite voting against the Civil Rights Act, his later voters were much more liberal. Records matter.

And if you think giving a speech to pander for voters is something minor, you are incredibly wrong.

[GregNYC]

Scalise doesn't remember giving that speech because now it appears that it may not have happened after all.

http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/12/david_duke_adviser_kenny_knigh.html

Reports that Rep. Steve Scalise, the third-ranking Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives, gave a speech to a white nationalist conference connected with David Duke in 2002 are not accurate, the man who organized the events said Wednesday (Dec. 31).

Kenny Knight, a longtime political adviser to Duke, said Scalise spoke at a meeting of the Jefferson Heights Civic Association -- not affiliated with the European-American Unity and Rights conference that was held in the same Metairie hotel -- two-and-a-half hours before the white nationalist event started.

[GregNYC]

Voting records matter, and Scalise's record shows that he's a moderate Republican. That's why Democrat congressmen like Cedric Richmond have been defending Scalise. If Scalise is removed, he may be replaced by an ultra-conservative tea partier. Be careful what you wish for.

[DRW50]

How convenient.

If this is how he handles PR it's messy as hell.

[ReddFoxx]

Moderate how? His district is like 70%+ Republican, he can't be that moderate to get elected there. He scored a low 21% on Civil Rights, which well below where supposedly moderate Republicans score.

I really don't care who replaces him, I'm not a Republican, so whoever is in their leadership is of no concern to me.

[Roman]

He now says he accidentally walked into a KKK meeting. How do you not know that is a Klan meeting? And instead of pointing fingers, kick them out, regardless of party. To say "Well Byrd did it too" truly misses the whole point. Because it sounds like there are some who have no problem with a racist as long as that person belongs to their party. That's just disappointing. Is this where we all are at now in 2015? It's cool for a person to lie about what their leanings and feelings are as long as we vote for them? Really?