American Politics Thread: Orange is the new POTUS

[Senator Clay Davis]

Originally Posted by killer_carlson

Criticize Trump all you want, but references to Hitler are inappropriate.

it de-stigmatizes the brutality of what Hitler did

and while Trump's approach is chaotic (to be polite) he is not legislating genocide.

Sorry but ignoring that speech yesterday that resembled a Hitler youth rally is much more dangerous. That doesn't mean he's genociding (yet), it just means he's using many tactics we've seen before, employed by, you know, Hitler. Makes sense given he owns and reads a book of Hitler speeches.

[nik-]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

Sorry but ignoring that speech yesterday that resembled a Hitler youth rally is much more dangerous. That doesn't mean he's genociding (yet), it just means he's using many tactics we've seen before, employed by, you know, Hitler. Makes sense given he owns and reads a book of Hitler speeches.

It may look like a Hitler Youth rally, but it's just literally what he always says. Yesterday is just another example of the full extent of his repertoire. He legitimately has nothing else than this same stump speech.

Zero substance, so the same message, regardless of audience.

[oldschoolcalgary]

Originally Posted by killer_carlson

Criticize Trump all you want, but references to Hitler are inappropriate.

it de-stigmatizes the brutality of what Hitler did

and while Trump's approach is chaotic (to be polite) he is not legislating genocide.

Late Hitler no...

but early Hitler, when he was just getting his feet on the ground?

Not so sure that his policies now, like undercutting that legitimacy of the press and limiting access, interfering with investigations, putting out blatant lies and propaganda, questioning the very legitimacy of institutions like the courts and the elections, scapegoating political enemies and specific groups of people...are they that different?

Seems like they are using the same early chapters to me

[mrdonkey]

Originally Posted by nik-

It may look like a Hitler Youth rally, but it's just literally what he always says. Yesterday is just another example of the full extent of his repertoire. He legitimately has nothing else than this same stump speech.

Zero substance, so the same message, regardless of audience.

What you've just described is the authoritarian dictator's handbook chapter one. Everything this man has done in the last 6 months has centred around the focus of undercutting all opponents and criticism, and establishing himself and his party as the sole voice of reason and authority.

If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck...

[nfotiu]

Originally Posted by Regorium

While true, the insurance companies would have calculated their risk as if the individual mandate existed (with a certain expected % of non-conformers).

The math drastically changes when it's no longer the law of the land, regardless of how effectively enforced it was in the first place.

I doubt it changes drastically. I think that it would have more of an affect on future projections, and don't think it came into play much for existing years, since the penalty was so low. To be honest, I suspect the individual mandate ended up being pretty ineffective and probably wasn't worth the political capital. I'd guess Obamacare survives without it, and if that is the only thing that changes, it is probably a best case scenario all things considered.

[direwolf]

Great Facebook post from Dan Rather today. This guy is on a roll lately.

Donald Trump's speech last night in front of the Boy Scouts of America was not only highly inappropriate. It was disgusting.

I would like to hope it is a nadir in our country's political discourse, but it seems like the slide downward only accelerates. So it stands as a sad encapsulation of our current age.
No doubt many in the crowd were riled up by Mr. Trump's stale rhetoric of "fake news" and lies about his "massive" electoral victory. But the Boy Scouts is a diverse organization with chapters in every corner of this nation. And today, many are no doubt wondering whether they belong in a group that is supposed to be built on community and service. Many of these boys may be wondering more broadly whether they belong in a country led by a man like this.

Scouts learn the importance of being “trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.” How few of those adjectives apply to our current Commander in Chief. A man who can't control himself to act in a manner befitting the setting, is a man without the steadiness of character to run a nation. A grown man who is so insecure as to seek affirmation in a group of teenagers is not a man with the maturity to lead a nation. A man who is so self-absorbed as to make every utterance about himself and his needs is not a man with the vision to elevate a nation.

Part of being president is to be the leader of the entire country. And every president I can remember (and that's a lot of them) revelled in moments when they had a venue to shake off the partisanship of Washington and speak in exalted tones to the people. But whether it's dedicating an aircraft carrier or talking to Boy Scouts, Mr. Trump so far has seemed incapable of performing that simple task.

Bluntly put - and there is no joy in having to say this – he is tearing apart the norms of our nation. So it is incumbent on those who recognize the damage being done to stitch back the bonds that unite us and work hard to muffle the echoes of his divisiveness.

[Lanny_McDonald]

It's open season for psychologists and psychiatrists to comment on Trump's mental state! The Goldwater gag rule has been lifted by the American Psychoanalytic Association.

https://www.statnews.com/2017/07/25/...er-rule-trump/

[wwkayaker]

http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/25/politi...ech/index.html

So presidential...

[direwolf]

Originally Posted by wwkayaker

http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/25/politi...ech/index.html

So presidential...

I only watched about a minute of the actual speech, so I missed some of these insane and ridiculous quotes. Holy crap, what an embarrassment.

[direwolf]

CBC reporting that 2 GOP senators have already voted no on the HC repeal. That leaves them a VERY slim margin. Pence might have to break the tie.

[oldschoolcalgary]

Originally Posted by direwolf

CBC reporting that 2 GOP senators have already voted no on the HC repeal. That leaves them a VERY slim margin. Pence might have to break the tie.

incredibly disappointing...

at this point, i almost hope that they repeal the whole thing to penalize those idiotic GOP voters...

unfortunately, a lot of democrats will also be hurt as a result...

its pretty mind numbing...

wake up every morning thrilled I am not an american under this potus

[photon]

This is just the vote to start floor debate on... well no one knows what they'll be debating, but debating something. So 20 hours to fix 1/6th of the economy.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Ron Johnson, it's all on you. And seeing as he and McConnell don't like each other and he's not running next time...he'll still take the cowards way out

[direwolf]

Originally Posted by oldschoolcalgary

incredibly disappointing...

at this point, i almost hope that they repeal the whole thing to penalize those idiotic GOP voters...

unfortunately, a lot of democrats will also be hurt as a result...

its pretty mind numbing...

Yup, a lot of spineless d-bags in the GOP. It would be really encouraging to see more than 2 people actually stand up to this crap and do the right thing, but sadly that's not likely. Just par for the course when it comes to Republicans. Party over country every single time.

[Bane]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

Ron Johnson, it's all on you. And seeing as he and McConnell don't like each other and he's not running next time...he'll still take the cowards way out

Yep, he took the cowards way out. Pence will have the tie breaking vote.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Which he sure enough did. And McCain took the axe to the remains of his legacy.

[Lanny_McDonald]

Republicans win another vote, and America loses again.

[direwolf]

Way to destroy your legacy, McCain. You spineless jackass.

[nik-]

I mean his legacy kind of is spineless jackass in the Senate. A lot of tough talk and then a lot of towing the line. So he basically is just reaffirming his legacy.

[Senator Clay Davis]

McCain could only salvage some legacy. Now its Palin and coming off the death bed to be Trump's bitch. A maverick indeed.