Everything Is Great and Amazing

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Sabin
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Re: Everything Is Great and Amazing

Post by Sabin »

For the first time ever, if you google "I'm fucked," it won't take you to porn.
"How's the despair?"
Big Magilla
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Re: Everything Is Great and Amazing

Post by Big Magilla »

In his own words:

"This is the end of my Presidency. I'm fucked."
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Re: Everything Is Great and Amazing

Post by criddic3 »

Big Magilla wrote:Whenever I think things have gotten so low, they can't go any lower, Orange Hitler goes one lower.

He just announced that the Attorney General will be holding a press conference tomorrow morning as he releases the Mueller Report, after which he may hold one of his own.

...the antiquated electoral map could still throw a monkey wrench into things.
1. I haven't read the whole report yet, but there are some interesting bits in there. Apparently President Trump was really scared that his presidency was done when a Special Prosecutor was hired. Also, it does seem that Mr. Mueller was leaning toward a "yes" on whether Trump obstructed justice by trying to block the investigation in various ways. Both reactions by the president seem to indicate that he thought something would be found out that would hurt him. I think if we could have had a Independent Prosecutor of the type like Ken Starr, with unlimited scope to find out everything, he would be right in that assumption. But Mueller was limited in what he could actually investigate, so here we are.

2. I think it will be a lot harder for President trump to win the Electoral College without the popular vote this time around. Only one president has ever lost the popular vote and still won re-election (W), and that was by a much smaller gap than Trump lost the popular in 2016. Additionally, the 3 states that essentially won him the election last time (Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan) heavily voted against the Republicans in 2018 midterms. Trump isn't popular there.

3. Right now I would lean towards Pete Buttigieg or Beto O'Rourke to be on the ticket in some fashion. Both offer youth and vigor to voters, and both have much more governing experience than either of our two previous presidents (Trump, Obama) had when they ran. I won't rule out Joe Biden, but I can't see Bernie Sanders taking the top of the ticket. And I would say that that whoever winds up on the ticket, a woman will probably be the running mate (Though a Biden/O'Rourke or Biden/Buttigieg or a youthful Buttigieg/O'Rourke ticket would be formidable).
"Because here’s the thing about life: There’s no accounting for what fate will deal you. Some days when you need a hand. There are other days when we’re called to lend a hand." -- President Joe Biden, 01/20/2021
Big Magilla
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Re: Everything Is Great and Amazing

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Whenever I think things have gotten so low, they can't go any lower, Orange Hitler goes one lower.

He just announced that the Attorney General will be holding a press conference tomorrow morning as he releases the Mueller Report, after which he may hold one of his own.
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Re: Everything Is Great and Amazing

Post by OscarGuy »

Sabin, I don't think it will be an issue for the black community. The Republicans (and Sanders supporters) tried the "apex predators" line of attack on Hillary and it didn't work. Anita Hill is the only part of that that could since women are one of the reasons why the midterms swung so far towards Dems.
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Re: Everything Is Great and Amazing

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Registered voters fall fairly evenly into each of the three categories: Republicans, Democrats and Independents.

While most registered Republicans will vote for the Republican candidate no matter what, Democrats are more likely to cross party lines or stay home or vote for the candidate they deem the better one. Roughly half of independent voters favor one party or the other, which is why national elections are often as close as they are.

The 2018 midterm election was clearly anti-Trump, and the 2020 Presidential election will most likely be as well, but there are no guarantees. The Democratic candidate whoever it is, will most likely win the popular vote, but the antiquated electoral map could still throw a monkey wrench into things.

Getting out the vote is crucial. Older Democrats in the key states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Ohio will vote for Biden in a heartbeat. There will be no repeat of crossover voting for Trump in these states. With Bernie and the other progressives, it's more of a gamble whether they will vote for them or stay home.

One thing Biden must do, should he be the candidate, is pick an inspiring younger candidate to run with him to keep the rest of the electorate energized. At the moment, that would seem to be either Beto O'Rourke or Kamala Harris, but we're still a year away from the primaries.
Sabin
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Re: Everything Is Great and Amazing

Post by Sabin »

criddic3 wrote
He certainly has less baggage than Hillary Clinton did. However, you know the issues of plagiarism and being "touchy-feely" would be thrown at him (probably to minimal impact since those have been around forever).
Compared to Hillary Clinton, every candidate looks as fresh as Beto O'Rourke.

I don't think either issue (plagiarism or touchy-feely) will be brought up. I think it's going to be Anita Hill and the Crime Bill, for which he was the primary author. We live in the era of MeToo and Black Lives Matter. It's hard for him to position himself as a champion of either with those two albatrosses around his neck.
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criddic3
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Re: Everything Is Great and Amazing

Post by criddic3 »

Big Magilla wrote:It's sad to say, but only Joe Biden has the wherewithal and the gravitas to not only win but get the support of both parties to get things done.
He certainly has less baggage than Hillary Clinton did. However, you know the issues of plagiarism and being "touchy-feely" would be thrown at him (probably to minimal impact since those have been around forever). There will also be some issue of his age (though Bernie Sanders also could have this problem). As the incumbent, Trump might not be confronted as much about his age (though Ronald Reagan was until his famous quip at the 2nd 1984 debate vs. Walter Mondale: "I will not exploit -- for political purposes -- my oponent's youth and inexperience.") Biden could bridge the gap between those who hated Hillary for various partisan reasons and those who yearn for less chaotic governing. Meghan McCain, not a Trump fan but a loyal Republican, has said she might consider voting for Biden or staying out of it altogether because of their family friendship. I can imagine some Republicans taking a similar view of the former vice president, despite disagreeing with some of his policy ideas. If Biden runs as a traditional Democrat, he could appeal to independent voters in a way that seems less possible for President Trump at this point.
"Because here’s the thing about life: There’s no accounting for what fate will deal you. Some days when you need a hand. There are other days when we’re called to lend a hand." -- President Joe Biden, 01/20/2021
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Re: Everything Is Great and Amazing

Post by Big Magilla »

Greg wrote:Setting the record straight on GND and Modern Money Theory

https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/433 ... ary-theory
Nah. It just muddies the water further.

The Green New Deal is at least a decade old Green Party goobledegook dressed up to mirror Roosevelt's New Deal of the Great Depression that isn't fully thought out. To quote the Green Party's own Steve Cohen, a Columbia University Earth Institute writer who wrote in January of this year: "FDR’s New Deal was a series of improvisations in response to specific problems that were stalling economic development. There was no master plan, many ideas failed, and some were ended after a period of experimentation. But some, like social security and the Security and Exchange Commission’s regulation of the stock market, became permanent American institutions." The devil, as always, is in the details.
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Re: Everything Is Great and Amazing

Post by Greg »

Setting the record straight on GND and Modern Money Theory

https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/433 ... ary-theory
Sabin
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Re: Everything Is Great and Amazing

Post by Sabin »

Big Magilla wrote
Probably infrastructure first, but I think he wants the same things as all the other Democrats. He just has a smoother way of promoting them.
It seems as though there are two wings of the Democratic party: the values wing and the policy wing. One half of the party is obsessed with the promotion of responsible values while the other is all about policy. It's certainly possible that one of these candidates will win outright, but I think whoever the candidate is going to be will have to cater to both wings. Incrementalism seems out of fashion this year.
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Big Magilla
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Re: Everything Is Great and Amazing

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Probably infrastructure first, but I think he wants the same things as all the other Democrats. He just has a smoother way of promoting them.
Sabin
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Re: Everything Is Great and Amazing

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Big Magilla wrote
It's sad to say, but only Joe Biden has the wherewithal and the gravitas to not only win but get the support of both parties to get things done.
What would he want to get done though?
"How's the despair?"
Big Magilla
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Re: Everything Is Great and Amazing

Post by Big Magilla »

It's sad to say, but only Joe Biden has the wherewithal and the gravitas to not only win but get the support of both parties to get things done.

For all their intentions, none of the other candidates at this point seem to have enough support to insure a win over Trump and the numbskulls who will vote for him again, I hope he enters the race and shifts the momentum away from Sanders who would need a fool-proof progressive majority to get things done. The country isn't there yet.

I hope Biden enters the race soon.
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Re: Everything Is Great and Amazing

Post by Heksagon »

It's too early to say which way the Democratic Party is headed in. One part of the candidates seem to be intelligent opportunists who are willing to say what it takes to get elected but whose actual competence and interests are difficult to determine. Another group consists of populists who appear to lack any ability to think critically, and who would certainly lack the ability to govern effectively.

Donald Trump was elected by running on a platform of empty populism, and while Trump isn't going to be around for very long (and fortunately he's not the type who get things done anyways), there is a wider risk that he has shifted the whole political ground to make populist platforms more acceptable and appealing. More than a few Democrats would like to take that opportunity and drown their party in their own brand of promises that they couldn't fulfill even if elected with overwhelming majorities in both chambers.
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