US Politics Thread |OT| THE DARKEST TIMELINE

[Joe Molotov]

Lou Dobbs really trying to sell this undercard debate. So fury, such jabs, wow Carly! Hillary and Trump might not recover from that beating.

[Great Rumbler]

Remember when people were actually trying to push Fiorina as a viable GOP alternative to Hillary?

Edit: And here's the comment Fiorina made during the debates that prompted the question:

"You know, I'm not a political insider. I haven't spent my lifetime running for office. The truth is I have had and been blessed by a lot of opportunity to do a lot of things in my life," Fiorina said in her statement. "And unlike another woman in this race, I actually love spending time with my husband."

[sarslip]

[brawndolicious]

So Trump and Cruz just offered VP to each other...  :'(

[Phoenix Dark]

BENJI ALERT


Carson just lamented the fact that internet comments sections are full of divisiveness and namecalling

[Joe Molotov]

Debate was kinda fun when Trump went birther on Cruz, but then it just turned into "bomb everyone, kill all terrorists!" and I kinda tuned out.

It's funny that all the candidates' strategies for dealing with foreign powers is "We'll make our military so powerful, no one will mess with us!" and for dealing with terrorism is "We'll bomb until there's nothing left!". Umm, yeah didn't we try both of those strategies, I dunno, fairly recently and neither one particularly worked? Remember "shock and awe"? Remember GWB telling the DPRK"WE WANT DEAL!" but they just shrugged and walked away and tested nukes anyway and we couldn't do shit? But we're supposed to believe Ben Carson is gonna knuckle down on Putin and restore peace in the middle east?

[Phoenix Dark]

Eagerly awaits Kara's response to the Cruz v Rubio debate over a 10% flat tax v a 16% VAT that "eliminates the payroll tax and corporate taxes" 

[benjipwns]

https://soundcloud.com/buzzfeedandrew/rand-paul-on-glenn-beck-show

Prominent conservative radio host Glenn Beck took Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul to task on his radio show Thursday for questioning Canadian-born Texas Sen. Ted Cruz’s eligibility to be president.

In the interview, Paul admitted after much prodding that he thought a court would most likely decide Cruz to be eligible for the presidency, but maintained that it was an open question.

Right off the bat, Paul found himself on the defense against Beck, who has notably supported Paul in the past.

“I have real respect for you and you are a constitutional expert. I mean that’s why I like you. And you’ve done something that I just don’t understand, that I just didn’t expect. I expected it from Rubio. I expected it from everybody, but I didn’t expect it from you,” said Beck to Paul on Thursday. “And that’s this birther nonsense with Ted Cruz where you joke — and I accept the joke at first, ‘eh, might be a good prime minister in Canada,’ I accept the joke — but then when you’re pushed on it you say, ‘well, I’m not a constitutional expert. I don’t know.’ Come on man, yes you do. Yes you do.”

...

“Well, I think the reason that nobody really knows the answer is it’s never been adjudicated,” Paul said. “You know, we’ve never had a nominee or a president who wasn’t born in the United States. I’m not saying that he isn’t eligible. I’m simply saying that Democrats of course will bring this up and it will have to be adjudicated because it’s never happened before.”

Beck cut off Paul, citing John McCain and Barry Goldwater. Goldwater was born in Arizona when it was just a U.S. territory and McCain was born in the Panama Canal Zone.

“The court decided in those cases that U.S. territories were part of the U.S. and Canada, frankly, is not a U.S. territory,” Paul answered.

“If you’re not a constitutional scholar, if you’re not a constitutional expert, then what the hell are we voting for you for,” Beck said to Paul.

Paul responded, “If we want debate what a natural born citizen is, you have to go back to either what the Founding Fathers said or the constitutional convention said, and the bottom line is it is ambiguous, and when things are ambiguous…”

Beck cut him off, saying, “Let me ask this question, what does Rand Paul say, not what the courts say, what does — you know you’ve studied this out in your head enough. If you weren’t running for president of the United States and I understand the politics of it, I really do, but if you weren’t running for president of the United States, come on man, if we’re justing sitting in a room together, what would you say? Is he qualified to run for president or not?”

“If I had to guess I would say the courts, in all likelihood, will say yes, but I would say that no court has ever decided what it means to be natural born with regards to eligibility of the president,” said Paul. “I think it’s an open question as far as the courts are concerned.”

rand u can't hold all these L's man

[benjipwns]

Ben Carson criticized Barack Obama for being naive on foreign policy, but in doing so outlined a terrifying scenario in which a nuclear blast takes out America's electric grid while they're also using dirty bombs to attack and using cyber attacks to take down American computer systems.

"I mean, just think about a scenario like that. They explode the bomb, we have an electromagnetic pulse. They hit us with a cyberattack simultaneously and dirty bombs," he said. "Can you imagine the chaos that would ensue at that point? He needs to recognize that those kinds of things are in fact an existential threat to us."

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Ben Carson droppin' spoilers for the next Call of Duty out of nowhere

[close]

EDIT: videah

[benjipwns]

On Thursday, Fiorina claimed that the U.S. does not provide “any” military hardware to its allies in the Middle East.

...

During the debate, Fiorina listed a series of U.S. allies [Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt, UAE, The Kurds] in the Middle East and said she “knows virtually all” of their leaders.

“They have asked us for very specific kinds of support,” Fiorina said. “Bombs, materiel, arms, intelligence. We are not providing any of it today. I will provide all of it.”

 

[Madrun Badrun]

what a circus

[sarslip]

So Trump and Cruz just offered VP to each other

[Brehvolution]

[tiesto]

Hey if New York values mean being secular, liberal and in support of gay marriage... that's fine by me!

[Great Rumbler]

[brawndolicious]

That whole debate was a shit storm with practically no discussion of real policies. It had the nuance of a DBZ battle. By the end they were mostly trying to be chummy though so I guess they don't want to be remembered as the angriest/pettiest dude in the room with two weeks to go. Except for Christie of course, he went total asshole.

[Joe Molotov]

Ben Carson criticized Barack Obama for being naive on foreign policy, but in doing so outlined a terrifying scenario in which a nuclear blast takes out America's electric grid while they're also using dirty bombs to attack and using cyber attacks to take down American computer systems.

"I mean, just think about a scenario like that. They explode the bomb, we have an electromagnetic pulse. They hit us with a cyberattack simultaneously and dirty bombs," he said. "Can you imagine the chaos that would ensue at that point? He needs to recognize that those kinds of things are in fact an existential threat to us."

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Ben Carson droppin' spoilers for the next Call of Duty out of nowhere

[close]

EDIT: videah

Pretty sure Ben Carson was telling us about a dream he just had. The guy fell asleep half-way through a question later on.

[octopushover]

every night i watch episodes from season 6 of the west wing because i want to disappear into their fictional, policy-centered primaries.

[Madrun Badrun]

Vote for who shares your ideals, your dreams, just don't vote for the Canadian ~ Matt Santos. 

[Madrun Badrun]

[benjipwns]

Senator Lindsey Graham Is expected to endorse former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush for president this morning, according to a source familiar with the plans.

JEBMENTIUM

[Tasty]

Senator Lindsey Graham Is expected to endorse former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush for president this morning, according to a source familiar with the plans.

JEBMENTIUM

Look at banner Jeb!

[Steve Contra]

My main take away from last night is the GOP has no problem starting WWIII because a few sailors were detained for 16 hours for entering foreign waters but cops killing unarmed black people is whatever let them do their job.

[brawndolicious]

Yeah the soldiers did exactly what they were supposed to do when your vessel breaks down and drifts over the border. You apologize for the distress it's causing and ask for help.

I really don't get what the Republican candidates thought the soldiers should do in that situation. Get behind a machine gun and act hard when you're outnumbered and one of your boats can't move? Would any navy in the world tow them to port if they did that?

[Madrun Badrun]

Well the Iranians acting like any other nation ruins the villain narrative the Republicans have going.  Pretty sure they would have been over joyed had the Iranians actually taken them as hostages.

[CatsCatsCats]

Yeah they must be pissed off that recent diplomacy led to that situation being handled swiftly and cleanly. Bu by but diplomacy makes us look weak

[Steve Contra]

Yeah they must be pissed off that recent diplomacy led to that situation being handled swiftly and cleanly. Bu by but diplomacy makes us look weak

Apparently the immediate capitulation of the Iranians is a show of Obama's weakness.  They would have kept them prisoner and possibly executed a few if we had a real leader.

[Phoenix Dark]

I thought that debate was a lot worse than the most recent ones. Not only the questions but the answers struck me as unhinged more often than not. IIRC the second question was about the recent market jitters and how a president can reassure the market/Wall Street. In reality the Dow has more than doubled since January 2009, and the current fears are exclusively focused on the global market/China.

There were multiple questions like that, and the answers were equally ridiculous. Worse yet nearly every candidate had something utterly extreme to say about either Obama or Hillary Clinton's marriage or whether Hillary and Obama essentially committed treason. Kaisch and Bush sounded like the only candidates who could appeal to a general electorate, and both of them didn't do particularly well in the debate overall.

Most interesting part was Rubio napalm bombing Cruz. I wonder if it'll have any impact on things. Cruz seems to be betting that Rubio's former support of immigration reform is going to invalidate anything he says.

Speaking of Rubio and bullshit statements, the comment that Obama is more interested in funding Planned Parenthood than the fucking military...jesus. One glance at a US budget would clear that up.

[Syph]

RE: soldiers

http://www.steynonline.com/7420/the-humiliation

A take on it from the GOAT Mark Steyn

[Yeti]

https://twitter.com/Wario64/status/688081610810327040

amiibogate

[Joe Molotov]

https://twitter.com/Wario64/status/688081610810327040

amiibogate

Obama lied, resale value died.

[Oblivion]

Jebus flipplin Christ. Wario64 has 27k followers? 

[Oblivion]

Remember when people were actually trying to push Fiorina as a viable GOP alternative to Hillary?

Edit: And here's the comment Fiorina made during the debates that prompted the question:

"You know, I'm not a political insider. I haven't spent my lifetime running for office. The truth is I have had and been blessed by a lot of opportunity to do a lot of things in my life," Fiorina said in her statement. "And unlike another woman in this race, I actually love spending time with my husband."

Like I said before, in many ways, Carly's the most revolting GOP candidate. Look at the way she's making that stupid smug smile and bobbing her head around. She's a goddamned spoiled child.

[Phoenix Dark]

Fiorina is gonna make so much money if Clinton is elected lol. The market for "conservative white women who defend sexism while attacking Clinton on gender grounds" is gonna be lucrative.

[Madrun Badrun]

edit : a

[Steve Contra]

I met a black libertarian last night.  Apparently making a joke about jaywalking is an invitation to lay out an entire political philosophy

[chronovore]

I met a black libertarian last night.  Apparently making a joke about jaywalking is an invitation to lay out an entire political philosophy

So what /does/ AiA look like, for reals? 

[benjipwns]

http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-terrorists-freed-by-obama-1452901430

The Obama administration in recent days has proclaimed a “milestone” in its efforts to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, after achieving its long-held goal of reducing the remaining population to fewer than 100 detainees. With the expedited release this month of 14 detainees, the total now stands at 93.

This is nothing to celebrate.

In reducing these numbers, the White House has freed dangerous terrorists and set aside military and intelligence assessments warning about the risks of doing so. The Obama administration has deceived recipient countries about the threats posed by the jihadists they’ve accepted. And President Obama has repeatedly misled the American people about Guantanamo, the detainees held there, and the consequences of releasing them.

On Jan. 6, as part of the Obama administration’s accelerated Guantanamo process, Mahmmoud Omar Mohammed Bin Atef was transferred to Ghana, along with another detainee named Khalid Mohammed Salih al Dhuby. Ghana’s government portrayed the deal as an act of “humanitarian assistance,” likening the Yemeni men to nonthreatening refugees from Rwanda and Syria, noting that they “were detained in Guantanamo but have been cleared of any involvement in terrorist activities, and are being released.”

...

Most ominously, the report warns that he “has threatened to kill US citizens on multiple occasions including a specific threat to cut their throats upon release.”

The obvious question: Why did officials in Ghana claim that Mr. Atef had been “cleared”? Perhaps because that is what the Obama administration led them to believe. Jojo Bruce-Quansah, the information minister at Ghana’s embassy in Washington, D.C., told us that the U.S. government provided assurances that Mr. Atef was “never involved in terrorism” and presented little risk. “If that assurance was not there,” he said, there is “no way” his government “would have taken the detainees.”

How does the White House square the intelligence assessment of Mr. Atef with the assurances the administration gave Ghana? Myles Caggins, a spokesman for the National Security Council, wouldn’t address that question directly, instead telling us that Mr. Obama’s Guantanamo Review Task Force, which included officials from six government agencies, approved him for transfer “nearly six years ago.” Mr. Caggins declined to address the damning JTF-GTMO assessment.

But there is another problem with Mr. Caggins’s explanation. The president’s Guantanamo task force, which finished its work in January 2010, didn’t clear either Mr. Atef or Mr. Dhuby of involvement in terrorist activities, nor did the task force recommend their release.

The Obama administration is understandably reluctant to be forthcoming about the risks associated with closing Guantanamo—because the risks are significant. If the two detainees released to Ghana, or any of the 10 Yemeni men sent from Guantanamo to Oman on Thursday, return to waging jihad, they will hardly be alone among their former fellow detainees. According to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, 196 ex-detainees are now confirmed as, or suspected of, having returned to the fight; 122 of these recidivists are currently at-large.

...

In July 2010, Ibrahim al Qosi, a high-risk detainee who had served Osama bin Laden in a variety of roles, accepted a favorable plea agreement from military prosecutors. Two years later, he was transferred to his home country of Sudan. By 2014 he had joined al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which has repeatedly tried to strike the U.S. Last month AQAP revealed that Mr. Qosi has become one of its senior leaders.

...

Mr. Obama’s obfuscation is not limited to his specious claim about Guantanamo’s importance for jihadist recruitment. In an interview last month with Yahoo News, the president said he expected that “a handful” of detainees would return to the fight once freed. “The bottom line,” he said, “is that the strategic gains we make by closing Guantanamo will outweigh, you know, those low-level individuals who, you know, have been released so far.”

As the numbers from the Director of National Intelligence and the examples above make clear, that’s simply not true. Nearly 200 former detainees have returned to jihad or are suspected of having done so, and they include senior leaders of al Qaeda and the Taliban.

In a quest to burnish his record by fulfilling a campaign promise to close Guantanamo, President Obama is courting a dangerous legacy.

[Phoenix Dark]

(Image removed from quote.)

I didn't know Obama was a western rpg game developer
 

[benjipwns]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/tavis-smiley-obama-black-wealth_569820dbe4b0ce496423f053

TAVIS SMILEY: Sadly, and it pains me to say this, over the last decade black folk, in the era of Obama have lost ground in every major economic category. Not one, two or three [categories], but every major economic category, black americans have lost ground...

Although black folk have caught the most hell in the last 10 years, including being shot and killed in the streets by cops who keep getting away with that... black people are still the most optimistic people, they're still the most hopeful about their future. That has a lot to do with our faith, with our belief in each other, with our love for Barack Obama...

We've been so caught up in the symbolism of the Obama presidency, we haven't pressed as hard as we should on the substance of this presidency... Black people and black leaders have been too deferential to this president. They've been deferential because they know he was being piled on by the Republicans. They saw the obstructionism. They saw the name calling… They've heard about the death threats, they've seen people breaking into the white house and climbing the fence, stuff that never happened with white presidents. So there's a skepticism, if not a cynicism, about what's happened to this president on his watch.

Finally, somebody stands up and says what we're all thinking.

[Phoenix Dark]

Smiley still mad Obama won't go on his show anymore 

I don't think he's wrong about black people struggling over the last decade, the numbers speak for themselves. However my question remains "what should have been done" because there are no easy, 8 year solutions to the structural problems here.

He then claims Obama tackled health care before the economy which isn't really accurate (the stimulus?). Yea you could argue other measures should have been taken and I wouldn't disagree. But the ACA is pretty important and has helped black people. And guess what: it would help a lot more if not for southern GOP governors refusing to expand Medicaid...

In terms of Obama's handling of race issues...what can you do. Do I like it? Of course not. But he can't say much without an immediate backlash, and attaining a second term was more important than being Chuck D. That entire beer-gate fiasco really showed that (white) people cannot discuss race intelligently in most cases.

[benjipwns]

I always forget about the beer summit. Obama's first "slow news summer crisis" I think?

Obama had a Bud Light, Crowley had a Blue Moon, Gates had a Sam Adams Light and Biden, who does not drink alcohol, had a Buckler, which is a low-alcohol beer. Some local brewers had lobbied for a Boston-based beer to be served; Obama is generally said to prefer Budweiser.

Arrogant Obama ignores elderly man while heroic cop helps him down the stairs:

[Phoenix Dark]

I apologize if this seems silly, but, personally, the first red flag post governance was when Snyder made “The Dark Knight Rises” leave Michigan. He’s supposed to be a nerd… what the hell, man?! But all he saw was the numbers. He didn’t see how giving a movie of that magnitude tax breaks and incentives helped Detroit and its surrounding areas. The caterers, restaurateurs, trinket store owners, tour guides, Pure Michigan, cab drivers, Meijer, Eastern Market, and the residents could, but not the governor… okay.

https://rufiojones.wordpress.com/2016/01/15/i-wanted-rick-snyder-to-succeed/

 

tell me Benji, was that also the moment you realized The Nerd betrayed us like George Lucas?

[Phoenix Dark]

Just realized Rahm Emmanuel hasn't been mentioned once at a democrat debate.

[Madrun Badrun]

45 mins in Colin Powell talking about how when you demonize someone you raise expectations that you know how to deal with that person.  Totally reminded me of the current feeling of ISIS. 

[Brehvolution]

Why is Snyder not being carried by a mob to the proverbial stockade in the public square?

[Brehvolution]

From today at Liberty U.:

"The Art of the Deal is second to the Bible," Trump said, referring to his own book.

 

[benjipwns]

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/266222-top-google-debate-question-will-hillary-be-prosecuted

Some of the top trending questions on Google during Sunday's Democratic presidential debate related to Hillary Clinton's legal troubles.
 
"Will Hillary Clinton get prosecuted?" is the top question being asked on Google searches concerning the Democratic front-runner during the debate, in Charleston, S.C.
 
...
 
And the top trending question for third-place candidate Martin O'Malley is, "Why is Martin O'Malley running for president?"

[benjipwns]

I apologize if this seems silly, but, personally, the first red flag post governance was when Snyder made “The Dark Knight Rises” leave Michigan. He’s supposed to be a nerd… what the hell, man?! But all he saw was the numbers. He didn’t see how giving a movie of that magnitude tax breaks and incentives helped Detroit and its surrounding areas. The caterers, restaurateurs, trinket store owners, tour guides, Pure Michigan, cab drivers, Meijer, Eastern Market, and the residents could, but not the governor… okay.

https://rufiojones.wordpress.com/2016/01/15/i-wanted-rick-snyder-to-succeed/

 

tell me Benji, was that also the moment you realized The Nerd betrayed us like George Lucas?

I don't think I could have handled the second half of the film where everyone spends an hour running around the same empty streets.

[Phoenix Dark]

But Joker would have crashed Bruce Wayne's fancy party with a switchblade and a bottle of red Faygo.

[benjipwns]

That was The Dark Knight, not Rises! Pittsburgh can have that stain on its record.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

There was a rumor that TDKR had something like $50+ million in tax credits when all the locations were added up.

[close]

[benjipwns]

Palin likely endorsing Trump in Iowa tomorrow.

[Phoenix Dark]

Well that goes to show what I remember about Rises.

[Phoenix Dark]

http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3385406/posts



edit:
11 posted on 1/18/2016, 8:52:26 PM by Sarah Barracuda
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

And all of the Cruz kids will gnash their teeth, scream that she’s a liberal, and cry themselves to sleep.

[Atramental]

Well fuck a duck... 

[benjipwns]

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/01/how-donald-trump-defeats-hillary-clinton-217868

[Joe Molotov]

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/01/how-donald-trump-defeats-hillary-clinton-217868

Trump has a great relationship with the blacks, says noted truth-knower Frank Luntz.

[benjipwns]

A selective description of him also polls great against a selective description of Hillary:

Nunberg asked women in Connecticut who opposed marijuana legalization who they respected more: a politician who is also charitable and a world-renowned businessman, father and grandfather or an “Elderly woman who not only openly allows her husband to have affairs but tries to silence the women.” The figure with the favorable abstract framing of Trump beat the figure with the negative abstract framing of Clinton by more than 20 points, according to Nunberg.

[Brehvolution]

"We're going to keep working on putting solutions in place," Snyder told The Detroit News. "And what I would say is: Politicizing the issue doesn't help matters. Let's focus in on the solution and how to deal with the damage that was done and help the citizens of Flint and make Flint a stronger community."

[Phoenix Dark]

That laughable Frank Luntz quote might as well read "hire me pls." There was an article last week about major GOP donors and figures realizing Trump could be the nominee and now trying to find a way into his orbit. Luntz spent the last few months doing establishment hit jobs on Trump with his trademark bullshit focus groups. It didn't work, now it looks like there won't be an establishment candidate so he must be hoping senpai Trump notices him.