USPOL April: An outline of Reagan's face appears. She screams.

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > USPOL April: An outline of Reagan's face appears. She screams.

ComradeCosmobot: Dec 4, 2004; USPOL July

One quarter down, three to go, and US Politics ain�t getting any simpler. Between the digging in of heels at a Supreme Court nominee and the wild riotous rallies of Donald Trump, the United States sure seems to be losing its center. But hey, it�s not all bad! The median low income person can no longer afford their median low income housing, food and transportation costs!

So sit tight, because before we get to the long, hot summer, we first need to take a wild ride in the USPOL thread for April 2016!

114th Congress Bingo Card

You will be unsurprised to learn that Congress has done quite well to uphold their vow to do very little this month, but that doesn�t mean we can�t check in on our favorite branch of government!

Nominations: Following a number of trial balloons to needle Senate Republicans, President Obama finally nominated moderate Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court. Praised by Republicans, Mitch McConnell regarded him well enough to immediately call him to reject him. After claims that Republicans would confirm Garland in the lame duck, NRA opposition forced McConnell to back down. At least one Senator who hasn�t stuck to the plan has faced primary threats.
Obamacare: Obamacare is working. ~or is it~
Banking and Finance: Following a court ruling, the Fed has removed its oversight of MetLife, as the insurer is no longer �too big to fail.�
Cybersecurity and Telecommunications: The FBI blinked. Meanwhile, the FCC is hard at work
Social Security and Entitlements: We must cut entitlements!
Gun Control: Shootings! Shootings! But hey! Who needs government action?
Environment: GMOS! Also, the FCC has made its first filing in the lawsuit against the Clean Power Plan.
Immigration: Arizona has enacted a law that would require illegal immigrants to serve 85% of their sentences.
The Torture Report and the NSA: The NSA is moving along with plans to share more data with the FBI.
Foreign Policy: Obama in Cuba is the new Nixon in China. Maybe.
Abortion: The FDA has closed a loophole anti-abortion activists used to ban Mifepristone for abortion uses.
Gay Rights: It's all about religious freedom! Don't hate the religious people who hate trans people in North Carolina! They�re free to do so! Well, except for banning same-sex adoptions anyway.
Pee-pee, doo-doo, Obama is a bad president Time to support another anti-Obama lawsuit, because Obama is a bad president.

Other News, featuring the Clinton Corner

Beware of Hillary, because she�ll control when you wake up! I think it goes without saying that that means you shouldn�t vote for Hillary!

In other news�

Well, Marco Rubio only won Minnesota and didn�t win Florida, so Lil' Marco dropped out� (Not like Kasich!) Of politics. But he�s still holding on to his delegates. Maybe that�s because Trump's loss in Ohio will make it really close, if Wisconsin doesn�t make it impossible.
Speaking of Trump, he may actually have peaked with his recent comments about women and his increasingly violent rallies, never mind that Cruz is playing the long game and might get the nomination anyway. The establishment seems to have accepted it.
Ted Cruz�s sex tape involves snot play.
Just remember that Hillary vs. Bernie chat is a fast track to a ban.
California just passed a $15 minimum wage.
Turns out that Obama isn�t quite so transparent as you thought. But maybe you knew that already.
It's okay if cops shoot people. They can still be hired as janitors by the police union!
More than half of Americans approve of at least some torture.
Is President Obama related to ol� Blagojevich's illegal schemes? HMMMMMM

Talk to other goons (why would you want to do that?)
Remember that we have an IRC channel at synirc in #poligoon for livesteaming stuff.

Goon Recommendations
Documentaries

Slavery by Another Name
Citizenfour (Laura Poitras's companion pieces My Country, My Country and The Oath are useful for additional context on the impact of the US war on terror in the Middle East)

Talks

Long pieces

The Atlantic
- "The Case for Reparations" by Ta-Nehisi Coates (systematic mistreatment of African Americans in the economic sphere)
- "The Tragedy of the American Military" by James Fallows (the US: the chickenhawk nation)
- "The Black Family in the Age of Mass Incarceration" by Ta-Nehisi Coates (the Moynihan report and the fragmentation of African-American families due to crime, 50 years on)
- "The Southern Captivity of the GOP" by Christopher Caldwell (still-applicable 1998 article about regionalism in the GOP)
The New Republic
- "The Rehabilitationists: The Libertarian Movement to Undo the New Deal" by Brian Beutler (Libertarians are arguably winning the fight to undo Lochner)

Books

Punishment and Inequality in America by Bruce Western
The First Civil Right: How Liberals Built Prison America by Naomi Murakawa
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich
Matt Taibbi's
- The Divide: American Injustice in the Age of the Wealth Gap and
- Griftopia: A Story of Bankers, Politicians, and the Most Audacious Power Grab in American History
Drift: The Unmooring of American Military Power by Rachel Maddow
Rick Perlstein's trilogy on the history of the modern conservative movement:
Rule and Ruin: The Downfall of Moderation and the Destruction of the Republican Party, From Eisenhower to the Tea Party by Geoffrey Kabaservice
Dog Whistle Politics: How Coded Racial Appeals Have Reinvented Racism and Wrecked the Middle Class by Ian Haney L�pez
Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right by Jane Mayer
The Price of Inequality: How Today's Divided Society Endangers Our Future by Joseph Stiglitz
Austerity: The History of a Dangerous Idea by Mark Blyth
Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq, 2003 to 2005 by Thomas Ricks
Dreamland: The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic by Sam Quinones
Why the Right Went Wrong: Conservatism�From Goldwater to the Tea Party and Beyond by E.J. Dionne Jr.
America's Bitter Pill: Money, Politics, Backroom Deals, and the Fight to Fix Our Broken Healthcare System by Steven Brill

Twitter feeds

@costareports (Robert Costa, Washington Post, formerly National Review): Conservative-leaning journalist to whom Republican sources often leak backroom stories (Republican retreats, Presidential campaigns, etc.)
@daveweigel (Dave Weigel, Bloomberg Politics, formerly Slate): "Idiosyncratic libertarian" journalist who is second only to Robert Costa in connections/interviews with Republican officials. Contrary to popular belief, not D&D superstar Joementum.
@BruceBartlett (Bruce Bartlett, ex-Reagan/Bush official): "Lifelong conservative who now thinks the GOP panders to fools, whom he calls wankers. My tweets should not always be taken seriously."
The following are semi-random selections from a list offered by Rygar201 and may be good or bad.
- @owillis (Olivier Willis, research fellow, Media Matters)
- @mattyglesias (Matt Yglesias, executive editor, Vox)
- @JuddLegum (Judd Legum, Editor-in-Chief, Think Progress)
- @dick_nixon "37th President of the United States. Messages from the President are unsigned, others from Ronald Ziegler. "
- @EricBoehlert (Eric Boehlert, Media Matters)
- @JamilSmith (Jamil Smith, senior editor, The New Republic)
- @jonathanchait (Jonathan Chait, New York Magazine)
- @nielslesniewski (Neils Lesniewski, Senate coverage, Roll Call)
- @abwhite7 (Abraham White, former comms for Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chuck Schumer (D-NY))
- @DSenFloor (Senate D Floor Watch): "Live floor updates from the Senate Democrats"
- @billmon1 (Billmon)
- @ebruenig (Elizabeth Bruenig, The New Republic)

Related threads
"US Politics" is an incredibly broad topic, as A) the country is freaking huge and B) given our role in international events pretty much everything impacts us. So there are other subthreads
2016 Presidential Primary
2016 US Senate Elections
SCOTUS thread
Right Wing Media

There are also regional subthreads that are usually pretty slow, but sometimes cross-pollinate with this thread when something important is happening.
Pacific Northwest
Illinois
Texas
California

Lifted the rest of the above from FriedChicken. As before post suggestions for adding to the above and I'll edit them in if I see them.

And remember folks, drink chat goes in D&D chat thread. Drink responsibly. Your liver will thank you.

ComradeCosmobot fucked around with this message at 16:50 on Apr 1, 2016

# ¿ Apr 1, 2016 09:17

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# ¿ May 17, 2024 02:44

ComradeCosmobot: Dec 4, 2004; USPOL July

Junior G-man posted:

I'd say so, yes, but would make a few additions:

Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right by Jane Mayer
The Price of Inequality: How Today's Divided Society Endangers Our Future by Joseph Stiglitz
Austerity: The History of a Dangerous Idea by Mark Blyth
Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq, 2003 to 2005 by Thomas Ricks
The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East by Robert Fisk
Dreamland: The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic by Sam Quinones

Those all sound like good suggestions so I'll add them to the OP, except for Fisk, since, in my experience, that's really more appropriate reading for the Middle East thread. Yeah, it contains an indictment of America in the Middle East, but that's only part of a larger thesis.

# ¿ Apr 1, 2016 16:33

ComradeCosmobot: Dec 4, 2004; USPOL July

haveblue posted:

Should also mention in that section how we've realized Cuba doesn't have cooties any more, the President touched them and he's fine.

Was meaning to mention his trip last month, but forgot. Sorry. :shrug:

# ¿ Apr 1, 2016 16:49

ComradeCosmobot: Dec 4, 2004; USPOL July

On Terra Firma posted:

God, gently caress these people.

To be fair, going from unemployed to employed but working four part time jobs isn't that much of an improvement.

# ¿ Apr 2, 2016 22:19

ComradeCosmobot: Dec 4, 2004; USPOL July

In which Vox unironically posts a garbage pro-Trump essay which might just be an April Fool's Day joke three days late.

It's hard not to quote the whole thing, but here are some highlights:

quote:

My name is Pietro "Pete" Calautti. I am 32 years old. If you looked at the demographic data of my parents at the time of my birth � their income, their station in life, their country (and region within) of origin, where they lived, how long they had been in this country, and so on � a pretty reasonable guess as to where I would be right now would be "working in a pizzeria." Instead, I am a PhD student in cinema studies at a major public research institution.

I am also a Donald Trump supporter.

quote:

Largely defined in opposition to mainstream conservatism and encompassing a wide spectrum of beliefs, some not even close to what would be understood as conservatism in the present day, the alt-right nonetheless started to feel like home, even if it was an umbrella term itself. We knew we had made it when conservative pundit Rick Wilson said we masturbate to anime on an appearance he made on MSNBC.

quote:

Trump has a realistic shot of breaking the left's stranglehold on the black vote. Black voters are starting to see that they are hurt more than any other demographic group by outsourcing and illegal immigration, and that the left is in the active process of displacing them as a voting bloc and replacing them with the post-1965 immigrant vote.

I am not suggesting Trump wins a majority of the black vote, but I would not be surprised if he gets as much as 30 percent, possibly more if he ends up facing Bernie Sanders in the general election. Such a shift would put many blue states into play.

quote:

I like that Trump is confrontational. His success depends on it, I would say.

If anything, Trump is not a clown; he's the most serious candidate, Democrat or Republican, in decades. He is talking about actual issues that are on everyday people's minds. Whether or not over the span of several administrations an elaborate Rube Goldberg machine works out perfectly to deliver a Supreme Court capable of overturning Roe v. Wade is not something on normal people's minds when they vote.

quote:

The future, not just in America but effectively around the globe, will be defined by globalists and anti-globalists. The neocons can return home to the Democratic Party (being a mutant strain of Trotskyists that went "right wing"), and the few Democrats still under the delusion that they are members of a party that gives a drat about labor can join up with the anti-globalists. And that's the future of American partisan politics � an explicitly anti-globalist party versus a globalist party of transnational elites.

quote:

Look at the events of Chicago. The professional left thought that political violence would surely bring down his campaign. What did Trump do? He did not apologize, and instead went on the offensive. And what was the result with his supporters? On March 15, he made anime real.

quote:

Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann, who may or may not have been affiliated with the actual Nazi Party (and, yes, given the casual nature with which "Nazi" is thrown at the Trump campaign, the qualifier "actual" is necessary here), developed what she eventually called the spiral of silence. In short, if you don't see or feel your beliefs or attitudes reflected anywhere, you will assume you are in the minority and keep quiet, and this will form a negative feedback loop. You may not actually be in the minority, but because everyone like you also keeps quiet, it's only reasonable you'd believe this.

I know where I am. That is to say I know I am on enemy soil. I know I am indeed the minority, and for those of us on the bottom of the spiral of silence, free speech has never been "free" in any practical sense of the term.

It is assumed that when you get to this level in the academy, you are a leftist. Right-of-center thought of any kind is casually laughed at, dismissed, and crudely represented. Let me be clear: If Trump never entered the race and Jeb Bush were the nominee, my colleagues in the academy would be calling Bush a heartless Nazi and saying that anyone who voted for him was a fool who didn't know better come the general election.

The mere idea that anyone in any given room full of faculty and grad students could be a non-leftist is not even entertained. I have seen and heard others say that there is nothing of value being said outside of the left and such thoughts should not even be considered. The final concluding thoughts have been reached, and nothing else needs to be heard. Oddly enough, this is the exact reason a figure like Trump has emerged.

# ¿ Apr 4, 2016 16:50

ComradeCosmobot: Dec 4, 2004; USPOL July

RINO hunting is becoming quite popular of late.

# ¿ Apr 4, 2016 20:10

ComradeCosmobot: Dec 4, 2004; USPOL July

Lemming posted:

Which is glorious because Cruz winning the nomination after getting fewer votes will violently (as in literal fights at the convention) destroy the party

Why will there be fights at the convention when practically every Trump vote flips to Cruz on the second ballot thanks to moles like these in the delegates? :getin:

EDIT: Pretty sure Cruz gets the nom at this point. Trump needs more than 50%+1 because I bet he will have a number of faithless delegates (party rules be damned; you can be sure the party will gladly ignore their faithlessness because it was "for a good cause"), and that's BEFORE we get to the second ballot.

ComradeCosmobot fucked around with this message at 16:43 on Apr 11, 2016

# ¿ Apr 11, 2016 16:38

ComradeCosmobot: Dec 4, 2004; USPOL July

stinkles1112 posted:

So that whole DC Madam story was a big ol' nothingburger, huh? Has the lawyer guy even said anything else lately?

SCOTUS blocked the madam from releasing any info.

# ¿ Apr 11, 2016 16:45

ComradeCosmobot: Dec 4, 2004; USPOL July

Stultus Maximus posted:

The Court isn't what stopped the madam from releasing info.

True. I'm just reporting the last info I know about it. Put quotes around "blocked" and there you go

# ¿ Apr 11, 2016 16:57

ComradeCosmobot: Dec 4, 2004; USPOL July

SquadronROE posted:

1(i)(a) - The petitioner shall not in any way, shape, or form be or support the Democrat party while participating in an election.

A Winner is Jew posted:

1(i)(b) - The petitioner shall not in any way, shape, or form be or support any candidate other than a senator from Vermont.

Finally, it's Jim Jeffords's day to shine!

# ¿ Apr 12, 2016 17:30

ComradeCosmobot: Dec 4, 2004; USPOL July

Christian persecution is real!

# ¿ Apr 12, 2016 21:27

ComradeCosmobot: Dec 4, 2004; USPOL July

zoux posted:

Do I just make out my check to China or what?

First we gotta balance our budget. If I asked for a $43k loan I'd never pay back, I'd get laughed out of the bank, so surely the United States is exactly the same because the country's finances are exactly like my own. And I don't like the idea of China laughing at us. Do you?

Now, since we obviously can't even consider not supporting our boys in uniform and stop buying F-35s (after all, I'd never sell my gun collection if I had that level of debt) which social security net should we gut? I'm thinking "everything those worthless non-boomers use". You?

ComradeCosmobot fucked around with this message at 16:19 on Apr 14, 2016

# ¿ Apr 14, 2016 16:16

ComradeCosmobot: Dec 4, 2004; USPOL July

Crabtree posted:

When Trump fails the next will probably sell the job of a soldier as the best pay and the best benefits, free to all sign up for. But we can't bring back Public Works because

I was wondering earlier this year how many lovely opinions I would overlook in a politician that vowed to recreate the WPA.

EDIT: And the PWA

ComradeCosmobot fucked around with this message at 20:26 on Apr 15, 2016

# ¿ Apr 15, 2016 20:21

ComradeCosmobot: Dec 4, 2004; USPOL July

Not mentioned here yet, but UnitedHealth is pulling out of (most) exchanges next year because it's not cost-effective for them.

# ¿ Apr 19, 2016 18:42

ComradeCosmobot: Dec 4, 2004; USPOL July

Warcabbit posted:

Isn't that three month old news?

They were considering it three months ago. The confirmation that they are pulling out is new.

# ¿ Apr 19, 2016 18:51

ComradeCosmobot: Dec 4, 2004; USPOL July

Boon posted:

So it looks like Trump will come up short in delegates after June 7th by anywhere between 40-80 delegates.

Assuming he wins over some unpledged delegates, how many votes would he have to fall short for chaos to completely ensue in the following rounds when he gets hosed out of the nomination and watches his delegates flip to Cruz?

If Trump fails to get the nom on the first ballot, Cruz's chances improve significantly because of his well-oiled control of the delegate selection mechanism. It won't be a 100% lock for Cruz but a Cruz nomination is considerably more likely than not at that point.

Personally, for maximum chaos, I want Trump to narrowly win pledged delegates by one or two votes and lose the nomination because a couple of faithless pro-Cruz moles refuse to vote for him despite being bound to do so. :getin:

Also remember that, thanks to Cruz's gaming of the delegate selection, this year's GOP platform will probably make 2012's look like it was written by Lenin regardless of who gets the nom. And if Trump thinks he's going to be able to pick his veep, well... That might be difficult.

ComradeCosmobot fucked around with this message at 16:18 on Apr 20, 2016

# ¿ Apr 20, 2016 16:13

ComradeCosmobot: Dec 4, 2004; USPOL July

Kalman posted:

Seriously: how do you distinguish between the NYT paying to print their endorsement of a candidate and TrumpPAC doing the same thing?

Or to put it more concretely with a hypothetical example, "Sure, Hillary wouldn't enforce limits on editorial speech under such a ruling, but how can courts protect it if Trump tries to do so?"

# ¿ Apr 20, 2016 16:47

ComradeCosmobot: Dec 4, 2004; USPOL July

Boon posted:

I don't really know what to say about this, as a white, well-off, middle class male. I have opinions, but I'll be told I don't understand. Which is true enough.

If I remember correctly, one major critique is that she died a pauper (because racism)

# ¿ Apr 20, 2016 20:41

ComradeCosmobot: Dec 4, 2004; USPOL July

zoux posted:

OH MY GOD

Amazing. But I think there's another related interpretation that could gain traction in the south that's equally problematic:

Is it appropriate to put the image of a person once considered to be tradable property of significant value on a piece of paper considered to be tradable property of some value? Will we see certain racial epithets applied to these bills? "I'm raking in the Benjamins" is one thing. "Hey, can you break me a [insert-a-distasteful-word-for-African-Anericans]" is another.

The intent is good, but I think it's going to turn out to show a really ugly side of America in practice.

# ¿ Apr 20, 2016 22:18

ComradeCosmobot: Dec 4, 2004; USPOL July

Kilroy posted:

The budget is one thing, but Kansas overall is in pretty terrible shape, balanced budget or not. Is he even trying to argue that liberal spending policies (also, lol) are the cause of that, or is he just hoping that if he says "liberal" enough folks will forget that all the tax cuts haven't done poo poo?

We must cut taxes to spur on the prosperity that was lost when we cut spending to make ends meet after we cut taxes to spur on the prosperity that was lost when we cut spending to make ends meet after we cut taxes...

# ¿ Apr 23, 2016 19:36

ComradeCosmobot: Dec 4, 2004; USPOL July

Shbobdb posted:

"Fiscally liberal, socially conservative" was a core plank of the New Deal coalition, most noticeable in Unions. With the weakening of unions and the collapse of the New Deal coalition people of that stripe needed a new home and a new label.

It taps into the important white suburban demographic, which still swings wildly. Especially in gubernatorial and local elections.

I was under the impression that "regressive" is what those people (the Bernie->Trump "progressive" voters) were calling "true" progressives in their ever-so-righteous way? As in the call-your-enemy-out-for-what-you-are-guilty-of "progressive? more like REgressive amiright? :smug:

" way.

# ¿ Apr 26, 2016 19:24

ComradeCosmobot: Dec 4, 2004; USPOL July

CelestialScribe posted:

So...can someone remind me again why Clinton is a sure win in the general against Trump when his vote rose above 50% for the first time in some states tonight?

3 words: 50% of Republicans

# ¿ Apr 27, 2016 02:32

ComradeCosmobot: Dec 4, 2004; USPOL July

I am still on record holding my breath for faithless delegates throwing the RNC into disarray and getting away with it because the alternative is Trump. :getin:

# ¿ Apr 27, 2016 05:08

ComradeCosmobot: Dec 4, 2004; USPOL July

Daniel Bryan posted:

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/apr/28/black-voters-gun-violence-police-misconduct-poll

Extremely sad.

Whoa now! It's not that police don't care about gun violence in their communities, it's that police have started taking vows to enforce their own personal views of what the Constitution says and reject any (pro-gun-control) alternatives :clint:

# ¿ Apr 28, 2016 23:48

ComradeCosmobot: Dec 4, 2004; USPOL July

Sir Tonk posted:

http://wonkette.com/601156/mr-tuff-guy-sen-tom-cotton-didnt-drink-gay-sparkle-water-when-he-was-at-army

Arkansas' favorite idiot got burned by the White House again and is pretty upset about it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJxJMiH6SnQ

Pretty sure Cotton would throw a fit if he ever found out something he ate had Grey Poupon on it.

Don't worry too much about his well-being. He's still got a Senate seat for life.

# ¿ Apr 29, 2016 03:24

ComradeCosmobot: Dec 4, 2004; USPOL July

FilthyImp posted:

The point is apt about it being fantasy. It's just dogma at this point.

You point to Kansas and someone moves the goalposts. "Well if the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT hadn't..." "OH well but you see it wasn't a TRUE free market" and so on ad infinitum.

Conservatism cannot fail, it can only be failed.

# ¿ Apr 29, 2016 07:32

ComradeCosmobot: Dec 4, 2004; USPOL July

In which Matthew Yglesias tries to convince Democrats that what they really need is more Blue Dogs.

# ¿ Apr 29, 2016 07:44

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# ¿ May 17, 2024 02:44

ComradeCosmobot: Dec 4, 2004; USPOL July

It's May.

# ¿ May 1, 2016 08:00

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > USPOL April: An outline of Reagan's face appears. She screams.