American Politics Thread: Orange is the new POTUS

[direwolf]

Yikes.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world...=.05148222705a

North Korea has successfully produced a miniaturized nuclear warhead that can fit inside its missiles, crossing a key threshold on the path to becoming a full-fledged nuclear power, U.S. intelligence officials have concluded in a confidential assessment.

The new analysis completed last month by the Defense Intelligence Agency comes on the heels of another intelligence assessment that sharply raises the official estimate for the total number of bombs in the communist country’s atomic arsenal. The U.S. calculated last month that up to 60 nuclear weapons are now controlled by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Some independent experts believe the number of bombs is much smaller.

The nuclear progress further raises the stakes for President Trump, who has vowed that North Korea will never be allowed to threaten the United States with nuclear weapons. In an interview broadcast Saturday on MSNBC’s Hugh Hewitt Show, national security adviser H.R. McMaster said the prospect of a North Korea armed with nuclear-tipped ICBMs would be “intolerable, from the president’s perspective.”

“We have to provide all options . . . and that includes a military option,” he said. But McMaster said the administration would do everything short of war to “pressure Kim Jong Un and those around him, such that they conclude it is in their interest to denuclearize.” The options said to be under discussion ranged from new multilateral negotiations to reintroducing U.S. battlefield nuclear weapons to the Korean Peninsula, officials familiar with internal discussions said.

[photon]

Lol, timeline of Fox & Friends stupidity. First they poll if reporters should be prosecuted for publishing leaks. Then they quote a FOX story publishing leaks (which Trump retweeted himself, apparently confirming the classified info and supporting leakers), then agree with the UN Ambassador that the leaks have to stop, discarding the fact they reported the leaks and referring to "newspapers" instead.

The same Fox that rallied behind Fox journalist James Rosen as a free speech warrior by Fox when Obama was after a leaker and was named as a potential co-conspirator.

Just another day.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs...a-leak-o-rama/

[wwkayaker]

Originally Posted by direwolf

Yikes.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world...=.05148222705a

Yikes is right! North Korea having nukes is downright scary. The fact that the US has an idiot in charge of negotiating/in possession of the nuclear codes for the US is also frightening. It is unfortunate that the US can't take a mulligan and have another election.

[GirlySports]

Kim Yong Un would be insane to directly attack the US. He could be King for another 40 years or follow Saddam Hussein and sons into the grave.

[White Out 403]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

Kim Yong Un would be insane to directly attack the US. He could be King for another 40 years or follow Saddam Hussein and sons into the grave.

Are you under the impression Saddam Hussein attack the US?

[ResAlien]

Originally Posted by Resurrection

Are you under the impression Saddam Hussein attack the US?

I thought it was clear she meant don't poke the bear like saddam did and you won't end up dead like saddam did.

[Lanny_McDonald]

A good read on the state of the American mind.

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine...s-mind/534231/

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by New Era

A good read on the state of the American mind.

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine...s-mind/534231/

We've discussed this before. I don't believe America lost it's mind. Those people's feeling have never changed. As both parties pushed left, these people felt left out (rightly or wrongly). They just needed a voice. Trump became that voice. In fact some will say that Trump is the continuation of Goldwater and Reagan.

[Iowa_Flames_Fan]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

We've discussed this before. I don't believe America lost it's mind. Those people's feeling have never changed. As both parties pushed left, these people felt left out (rightly or wrongly). They just needed a voice. Trump became that voice. In fact some will say that Trump is the continuation of Goldwater and Reagan.

You think the Republican party has "pushed left"? That is an astonishing statement honestly. Both major parties in the U.S. are effectively far to the right of what we have in Canada.

Plus, keep in mind the "Bernie Sanders" phenomenon, which is quite plainly and expressly a reaction to the Democratic party's persistent center-rightism.

[wireframe]

I suspect that North Korea wants to threaten nuclear war to prevent a foreign power from overthrowing the regime. America was always a threat to that dynasty, only China could (and did) protect them. They need to be self sufficient in their protection, so they pushed hard to become nuclear capable. Nukes lead to respect. Respect leads to legitimacy. Legitimacy leads to longevity.

That's my opinion on what they're thinking. I don't approve of the Kim dictatorship.

[nik-]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

We've discussed this before. I don't believe America lost it's mind. Those people's feeling have never changed. As both parties pushed left, these people felt left out (rightly or wrongly). They just needed a voice. Trump became that voice. In fact some will say that Trump is the continuation of Goldwater and Reagan.

Which party pushed left, let alone both?

[Snuffleupagus]

Originally Posted by wwkayaker

Yikes is right! North Korea having nukes is downright scary. The fact that the US has an idiot in charge of negotiating/in possession of the nuclear codes for the US is also frightening. It is unfortunate that the US can't take a mulligan and have another election.

What's scary is the world allowed this dork to develop nukes in the first place, we're talking about a dictator that murdered his uncle with an anti-aircraft gun and fed another to the pigs, someone should have dropped a 5000 lb bomb down his chimney years ago

[photon]

That's been NK's contention all along it seems, they look at other nations get regime changed by the US, don't want that, and the only protection is to be a nuclear power.

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine...-earth/528717/

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by Iowa_Flames_Fan

You think the Republican party has "pushed left"? That is an astonishing statement honestly. Both major parties in the U.S. are effectively far to the right of what we have in Canada.

Plus, keep in mind the "Bernie Sanders" phenomenon, which is quite plainly and expressly a reaction to the Democratic party's persistent center-rightism.

Originally Posted by nik-

Which party pushed left, let alone both?

I think so unless i'm defining it wrong. Millennials are the most liberal age group as as they begin to enter politics they push both parties left. Those who identify with the GOP are less conservative than Republicans in other generations. Recently, the GOP was forcing out all their moderate conservatives for hardliners only. But how long can giving the entire party over to the hardliners really work?

I think the older generation could see this coming and they needed that voice. Cruz was campaigning on getting more Millennials into the workforce. Rubio being a young guy courted the young vote as well.

Trump was for that old white guy that never went away. We are going to get YOUR job back, and stop immigration and build that wall. And gay people suck too. Stuff any millennial would cringe at.

[DuffMan]

what a doofus

President Trump just issued a warning to North Korea:

"North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States. They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen," Trump said. "They will be met with fire, fury and frankly power the likes of which the world has never seen."

The consequences will never be the same

[GirlySports]

This NK-USA thing is really interesting now. Who's bluffing who, who's the madman?

[ResAlien]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

This NK-USA thing is really interesting now. Who's bluffing who, who's the madman?

They both are.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

We've discussed this before. I don't believe America lost it's mind. Those people's feeling have never changed. As both parties pushed left, these people felt left out (rightly or wrongly). They just needed a voice. Trump became that voice. In fact some will say that Trump is the continuation of Goldwater and Reagan.

Originally Posted by Iowa_Flames_Fan

You think the Republican party has "pushed left"? That is an astonishing statement honestly. Both major parties in the U.S. are effectively far to the right of what we have in Canada.

Plus, keep in mind the "Bernie Sanders" phenomenon, which is quite plainly and expressly a reaction to the Democratic party's persistent center-rightism.

Originally Posted by nik-

Which party pushed left, let alone both?

I'm going to pile on, but it's only because I think you're a little confused.

The American social issues have slowly been moving left, or as I call it, more inclusive. That's on the whole, but some issues have remained stagnant or regressed in recent years.

In terms of political policy, there is no doubt that the Republican party has moved to the extreme right: The restriction of voter rights (minority voters primarily) is a regular item up for legislation at the state level, including gerrymandering to isolate minority votes to have the least impact on elections; restricting access to abortion (going back to before Roe V. Wade); waging extreme war on the poor of the country (including their own constituents in many cases) while promoting legislation for businesses that are already doing so well they give their executives multi-million dollar bonuses every year; and ramping up xenophobic rhetoric to blame the problems of the country on foreigners. Long gone are the days where the party was about limited government, economic opportunity for all, and low spending. A balanced Republican budget has been laughable for many an election cycle, and in fact, the Democrats have become the responsible financial party. In a sense the Republican party has become a hybrid of terrible financial policies from the extreme left (spend and don't figure out a way to pay for it) and the horribly regressive social policies of the racist and prejudiced extreme right.

In an attempt to remain relevant, the Democratic party has been capitulating time and time again to the Republican far right in order to try and govern in some meaningful capacity. Obama was a prime example of this. Campagined on a fairly left leaning set of policies, and ended up having to govern as a center-right candidate as soon as he got in office due to obstructionism of the opposition party (some would say racism fueled a lot of that as the first black president). The Clintons being major Democratic party players for a few decades helped that as well, as they were centrists at best.

Add in the gerrymandered districts under Republican majority state legislatures for the last 10-15 years, and you have a no-win scenario for any far-left democratic candidate that is new to the political scene. Any emerging Democrat must be a centrist at best to even have a hope of winning a seat as a governor, senator, or carrying a state as a presidential candidate.

The system is so far right-leaning compared to the rest of the industrialized world, the U.S. is slowly becoming the most conservative major power in the world. China seems progressive by comparison.

[Swift]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

This NK-USA thing is really interesting now. Who's bluffing who, who's the madman?

NK would be incredibly dumb to launch an attack. As soon as they fire one off, they'd be obliterated. Where's the end game in that?

As was mentioned earlier, it gives them some protection against attacks.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

I think so unless i'm defining it wrong. Millennials are the most liberal age group as as they begin to enter politics they push both parties left. Those who identify with the GOP are less conservative than Republicans in other generations. Recently, the GOP was forcing out all their moderate conservatives for hardliners only. But how long can giving the entire party over to the hardliners really work?

I think the older generation could see this coming and they needed that voice. Cruz was campaigning on getting more Millennials into the workforce. Rubio being a young guy courted the young vote as well.

Trump was for that old white guy that never went away. We are going to get YOUR job back, and stop immigration and build that wall. And gay people suck too. Stuff any millennial would cringe at.

Here's the problem. Millennials are largely not even in the system. They're not in any traditional system of politics, economics, or even social structure. They're constantly being free agents and never commit to anything for any length of time. The vocal Sanders supporters aside, they mostly just want to ignore politics and government and live their life.