The Politics Thread

[ThePrinceOfSunspear]

I hope Grimes is ready cuz Mitch is not gonna play fair or nice.....this is gonna be one ugly senate race....

[DRW50]

Grimes seems tough, but I don't think she has much of a chance against McConnell. I don't think anyone does.

What an idiot this man is. I haven't watched Wheel of Fortune in recent years and that is not likely to change.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/pat-sajak-global-warming-tweet

[ThePrinceOfSunspear]

I think she has a shot. And by several accounts she seems to have gotten a lot better on the stump and campaigning. Plus there was a poll out that showed that 25% of those who voted for Bevin said they might support Grimes in the general. And upon a closer look the 25% were younger, more libertarian people who wanted a "fresh face" or someone new. I think they're tired of old grumpy McConnell and will either vote for Grimes or stay home. Either way is a big boost for her. All she has to do is avoid the media pitfalls and attacks in the next 60 days of trying to paint her as an Obama disciple, etc etc...

[marceline]

Plus Obamacare is working in that state big time so McConnell already has that strike against him.

But in the end it's going to be - as it always is - about turnout.

[ThePrinceOfSunspear]

Very true. Chris Matthews is starting to annoy me though. He likes to act all cute as if he knows for a fact that HIllary Clinton is running just because Bill defended her last week over the headache bs from Karl Rove. Have a seat Chris. She hasn't officially announced anything yet and until she does she's not a candidate...so stop acting like you know for certain.

Meanwhile he likes to pretend like he doesn't know why Mitch is doing his best to tie Grimes to the President, Harry Reid, and the donors who are donating lots of money to her. GMAB....I'm starting to see why the right has lost a little bit of respect for him. He's barely able to contain his center left tendencies these days on Hardball and I can only imagine how unobjective he's gonna be when 2015 rolls around....

[DRW50]

Local council election results in the UK tonight. UKIP, a right wing party in the UK, made strong gains. This will likely cause heartburn for Labour most of all, as it will potentially thwart their comeback. And some Tories are already suggesting they team up with UKIP.

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/may/23/local-election-ukip-nigel-farage-labour-tories-lib-dems

I read a frightening article a few days ago (I can't remember where) about fringe parties in various European locales and their love of Putin.

What is the difference between UKIP and BNP? I was trying to remember.

[I Am A Swede]

Right-wing parties are gaining ground all over Europe. It's a frightening development. You'd think that after the horrors of WWII it couldn't happen again, but we humans seem unable to learn from the past.

[DRW50]

Media darling Ben Carson says the VA scandal is a "gift from God." Yes that's right. God is happy about dying and horribly sick veterans. And as far as I know, no Republican has made a peep disagreeing with this.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/ben-carson-va-scandal-gift-god

That this man is considered a mainstream Republican and has a good chance of getting the nomination if he runs for President speaks volumes.

Edited May 26, 2014 by DRW50

[DRW50]

More far right gains in Europe.

http://www.politico.com/story/2014/05/european-parliament-election-national-front-euroskeptics-107083.html?hp=l11

I'm also reading about increased attacks against Jews in places like Brussels.

Very scary world we are living in, moreso every day

[I Am A Swede]

The election results here in Europe are shocking. Parties that are virtually neo-nazis are gaining ground rapidly in countries like Greece, Hungary and, perhaps most shockingly, Germany! Our own far-right party here in Sweden got close to 10% of the votes!

I can't understand how this can happen. Are we really that incapable of learning from history?

[AdelaideCate007]

UKIP doesn't mind free market trade with the rest of the world while BNP wants to keep the economy in Britain and keep everyone else out. UKIP will also accept anyone as long as they identify as British while BNP only basically wants white, Protestant, British born people.

UKIP is pretty much accepted as a legitimate but fringe group while BNP is seen as a neo nazi hate group. BNP, if not already, will certainly line up with Putin. UKIP I don't think will.

UKIP is full of hate and loud mouths but they probably won't be able to do much harm. They'll be more a headache than anything else. BNP is the one to really worry about.

The far Right Wing gains in Europe are frightening. Here in Australia, we have our most ring wing government yet led by laughingstock and all around buffoon Tony Abbott who is absolutely incompetent. Other than Fred Nile and his gang of crazies managing to keep getting a few seats on the state level, we've pretty much kept the extreme far right wingers and fringers out. Tony Abbott and the Liberals managed to rise up and win the election basically because the Labor party got overtaken with fighting between Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd and then they blew the election.

[Roman]

I still and will always remember....."Those Who Do Not Remember The Past Are Doomed To Repeat It." Millions of people need someone to blame for their lot. That's why all this arguing and fighting needs to end. And by what you and others have posted....we are now destroying each other.

it took one loudmouth to do harm decades ago....and it plunged this entire planet into world war.

[I Am A Swede]

While the results in the elections here in Europe are frightening and should serve as a wake-up call to us all, it's perhaps worth remembering that the numbers are slightly misleading. Voter turnout is on a really low level. The average for the 28 countries that voted is only 43%.

Worst was Slovakia with 13%, followed by the Czech Republic with 19,5%.

France had 43,5%, UK 34%, Germany 48%, Hungary 29%, Netherlands 37% to name just a few.

Here in Sweden only 49% voted, and if you compare that to the 84,6% who voted in our latest domestic election in 2010 you can see the huge difference in interest from people.

[marceline]

Low turnout always benefits the right wing.

[AdelaideCate007]

You are required to vote here. If you don't show up to vote, you go to jail.