The Politics Thread

[JaneAusten]

Sadly we have to endure him for 6 more years. And he still has that shill Cilizza with the Post sucking up to him.

Edited February 27, 2017 by JaneAusten

[Vee]

[Wales2004]

He has indeed withdrawn so now Spicer is the one who is wrong.

[DRW50]

Spicer just says what he's told to say. As soon as he goes someone else will do the same and be the latest shiny object for sycophants like SNL. 

[JaneAusten]

I have a lot of respect for Al Giordano. Great thread to read thru. Note who Stephanie Hansen was helped by to win her seat in Delaware and it was not the DNC, Bernie Sanders, Our Revolution, Bernie Bros etc. Although Joe Biden did show up to help a bit.

[rhinohide]

 

I hope you are right, but it's a gamble to count on that. Unfortunately, I live in a county that voted for the orange filth 4-1. What I hear (wholly unscientific survey) are Republicans doubling down. 

[GMac]

 

He's claiming it wouldn't be productive because the mean ol liberals would stack the deck against him 

 

http://www.wesh.com/article/rubio-says-holding-a-town-hall-wouldnt-be-productive/8984202

[DRW50]

 

The biggest difference from 2006 to now is even more precise gerrymandering and an increase in voter suppression. That will have an impact. 

[marceline]

 

So will the inevitable recession.

[DRW50]

 

True, although I'm wary of who that will drive to the polls and who they will blame. 

 

It looks like China and North Korea are having more tension. Just what the world needs now. Kim seems to be getting more and more brazen.

 

https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-02-26/china-s-spat-with-kim-jong-un-shows-difficulties-in-stopping-him

[DramatistDreamer]

 

Gabby Giffords chided several Senators and Representatives when she commented that two days after she'd been shot, her office was open to constituents. 

[rhinohide]

 

1). But voter suppression isn't new. The strategy was most egregious during Jim Crow and was openly pursued under Reagan. Yet it continued and was allowed to gather steam primarily through state governments even under Clinton and Obama and the Supreme Court is a co-conspirator. Gerrymandering districts is an equally troublesome reality, but southern Democrats were doing that long before the GOP embraced the tactic and unfortunately the Supreme Court rarely appears to rule against the states.  Complaining about it (and the Electoral College) is the same as Bernie supporters complaining about super delegates IMO.

 

2). I don't feel picked on. Urban was a poor choice of words. I meant it simply to identify highly populated metropolitan areas, but the word urban has developed racial connotations.  That's not at all how I intended it or thought of it.  And I don't think it's a dirty word for most people. But it's become very clear to me that the concerns for most city dwellers are very different than for large swatches of lesser populated geography. And it's not entirely about jobs.  It's about social issues as well. The hub(s) of most small towns and rural areas are the churches and the schools. Moving here was a culture shock and changed what "diversity" means to me. While people here are almost entirely white, they cross all kinds of socio-economic boundaries. The primary school my children attended was more than 70% free or reduced lunch. My daughter's best friend and her college roommate is a young man who is gay. Their other roommate also grew up with them. Her family are "bible-thumpers" and her dad is a bona-fide survivalist with a full arsenal in his basement who openly discusses how he's preparing for whatever constitutional or environmental crisis will inevitably befall. There's one family that basically has a compound on their own mountain where three generations live and have lived for a century.  That's pretty diverse.  And if I lived in Dallas I wouldn't know many (any?) people like these and I would have a very different view of them. Just like my neighbors don't know many minorities, my friends from the city don't socialize with farmers, or bus drivers or volunteer firefighters etc.  

 

 

[DramatistDreamer]

Two stories of how the new administration's immigration policies are complicating how people perceive immigrants and migrants (in the U.S. and abroad) and how the U.S. regards them.

 

After Kansas Shootings, Indians Are Wary of Coming to U.S.

 

He’s a Local Pillar in a Trump Town. Now He Could Be Deported.

[DRW50]

I wish them luck finding much more of a safe haven in Europe these days. The part where someone was disappointed in part because Trump didn't make a statement on the shootings stood out for me, because I think it reinforces how many people likely took for granted that Trump only had an issue with certain types of immigrants. The reality is it's any immigrant who isn't white (or white and Gentile) that he will be more likely to ignore, or persecute. And he doesn't really care about most white people either. He just doesn't care. It must be difficult for people who have been told about America to realize just how dead inside the supposed symbol of America is. 

 

That second article was very interesting. I hope he can stay in the US. It's nice that people wrote letters and didn't just shrug. That's more than I would have expected, to be honest. 

Edited February 27, 2017 by DRW50

[NothinButAttitude]

Did everyone see H.W. this morning? 

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He's so damn sneaky, IMO. 

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Bush out here helping to plant them seeds to Trump's demise. Bush pushes moderates like McCain and Graham into succumbing to an investigation of the election, Trump gets impeached and legacy is smeared (even more), and Bush becomes a bit more revered by Americans. 

 

I do hate though how Bush won't get as much heat for speaking out as Obama would if he spoke out.