The Politics Thread

[DRW50]

I understand what you're saying. And I know a lot of people are working hard to elect Hillary. If I ever seem dismissive of that it's poor wording on my part. 

[JaneAusten]

If I sound condescending forgive me but I was where you were at. So I decided to channel my frustration through volunteering and trying to make a point of getting a better handle on how supporters really feel. I actually took @propane_jane's suggestions(follow her and read her stuff I beg you) and started paying attention to sources other than the same MSM talking points. It was a change and frankly uplifting. Are there concerns absolutely. And I don't think anything ends with the election. In fact it's probably going to be harder. But I am hopeful that there are enough good people, and yes I do think there are many of us white people who may not understand minority issues entirely, but who do respect and appreciate diversity and know what it represents and will work hard to help bridge that gap.  Maybe I am too hopeful and optimistic, but I want to believe that there are still enough good decent people in this country to make a difference.

[DramatistDreamer]

For all you folks who are on Nate Silver's Stats Watch:

 

Election Update: Clinton’s Debate Performance Is Helping Her In Swing States

 

This is one example that illustrates why I stated weeks ago that I would wait until the debates began before getting worked up over polls.

[Vee]

Yeah, taking Politico's spin at face value is not important or worth getting worked up over. I read Politico only to know and understand the perspective of the enemy - first, through the Republican and Trump sources who leak to the Beltway, and then to take the Beltway's temperature and see where they might track. But the Beltway is not reflective of the actual American consensus, it just pretends to be (and often fails). The good news is, Politico is now firmly against Trump, which means the media largely is as well. And it shows on TV everyday.

 

There are more than enough good people to win this election, just like the last two which weren't as close as a lot of the media pretended they would be. And IMO this one won't be too close either. It's been a long time since George W. Bush and his old apparatus' iron fist - they're all out of favor now and largely seen through or disgraced. We can't be scared of 2000 forever because that entire cabal is pretty much smashed up, and frankly a lot of the electorate is a lot smarter.

Edited October 1, 2016 by Vee

[Vee]

Oh, this is beautiful.

[JaneAusten]

 

I don't even get the logic here. The issues with Brexit are not the same, this country has a much more diverse population than ours. But rather than bringing in a Xenophobe why not bring in a debate coach to help him keep focus on the issues he might be able to make points on. His campaign frankly is way out of tune, not that I am stating anything not obvious, but this is a real head scratcher. Well Farage is kind of a pariah now in the UK so maybe he volunteered to get out of the country.

[Roman]

And Trump strikes again....apparently he did a late night phone interview with the NYT I think where he called out HRC and called her an enabler of Bill's affairs, but when Trump was asked about his cheating on Ivana and Marla he didn't want to talk about that at all. 

[Ms. Quartermaine]

He also said Hillary can be nasty, but I can be nastier than she can ever be. Very presidential. 

[Vee]

To their credit, a bunch of folks from Bernie's campaign team are coming out defending Hillary's quotes about the Sanders supporters - including Bernie himself, I think. When you look at it there's really nothing there. I think it's going to have the same minimal impact as Obama's "guns and religion" did, or less, frankly.

[MichaelGL]

The New York Times is reporting that they've obtained Trumps tax records from 1995 and it shows he had paid zero federal taxes in years.

[Ms. Quartermaine]

Well according to Trump, that makes him "smart."  But seriously, props to the NYT for stepping it up lately. 

 

Meanwhile, Trump: "I don't even think she's loyal to Bill, if you want to know the truth. And really folks, why should she be, right?" Projection, much?

 

And: "She's got bad temperament. She could be crazy. She could actually be crazy."

 

Edited October 2, 2016 by Ms. Quartermaine

[Vee]

 

Oh, shít. It looks like he may not have paid any in two decades.

 

I guess we know what he'll been tweeting about tonight at 3 AM.

 

Meanwhile in Trump:

 

 

Edited October 2, 2016 by Vee

[Ms. Quartermaine]

The first one is projection. The second one is just... I don't even know. Both are unacceptable. 

[Vee]

The even better part of the tax leak: It proves what everyone's always said about Trump and what he hates most - that he is a loser with a string of failed businesses that lost him millions.

 

This is what I always said would happen in the general election - he would be exposed, humiliated and torn apart. The only reason it's taken this long is because the mainstream media was baffled by his nomination, completely thrown a curve, and muddled around trying to treat him as just another candidate for months while protecting the usual rules of false equivalency, 'both sides' and horse-race noise, until he made it impossible.

[Roman]

https://thinkprogress.org/one-year-of-trumps-tax-returns-were-just-revealed-now-we-know-why-he-won-t-release-the-rest-a68e88a6038a#.o7d0744l2

Almost $1 billion in taxes not paid in 18 years.