American Politics 3.0 - Back to Brunch

[Manhattanboy]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Did she actually use the word "wokeness"? Or is that your take?

Will look for the “be woke” clip.

I think her word rhymed with toker.

[DownInFlames]

Honestly, I think she's a mediocre candidate, but her opponent is the worst human who has run for the job in my lifetime so I give her a pass on her shortcomings.

When black people use the word "woke" it's usually meant to convey an awareness of systemic racism. Is there something wrong with that?

[Mathgod]

Originally Posted by Manhattanboy

Wondering if others are in the same boat I am here:

This is the first US election where I am almost totally unfamiliar with a candidate going in.

Sure I have read about Harris, her early career, connections to Montreal, etc. But until she was added to the Biden ticket and became VP I don’t think I had ever heard of her.

She certainly is not impressive. Those videos of her rambling on about today and tomorrow, and wokeness and Venn diagrams are rather concerning.

I guess my (rhetorical) question is, why is she deserving of the office?

I think this line of thinking is what's wrong with politics.

"What did she do before running for president? Why does she deserve the office? What are her qualifications? She doesn't seem impressive." Etc. etc.

The way I see it, you can't get preoccupied with how "impressive" candidates seem, and only vote for the ones that impress you the most, and then complain when government is corrupt and things don't seem to get better over time.

What I want from a politician is someone who believes in the things I do and will get good policies passed. As long as the person can do that and communicate effectively, they're qualified for the job.

My 2c.

[driveway]

The first known use of the phrase 'stay woke' is in a recording by Leadbelly, discussing his 1938 song "Scottsboro Boys" which is about nine black teens who were falsely accused of raping a white woman in 1931 and sentenced to death.

It specifically means that black Americans need to remember that white Americans will kill them to maintain their power.

[Manhattanboy]

I did not know that. Thanks.

[Fuzz]

Huh, so it's not a mind virus? Someone tell Elon.

[KelVarnsen]

Education is a mind virus to people like Elon

[Manhattanboy]

Actually now that I think back Obama wasn’t exactly a household name when he became the nominee.

[Ped]

Actually I remember seeing news articles about Obama well before he became the nominee.

[nfotiu]

2004 Democrat convention is where he gave the keynote speech that had everyone talking about him.

He was making waves in his senate campaign a bit earlier, but that's when he got national attention.

There wasn't a lot of talk about him until primary campaigns started ramping up in 2007.

His whole political career up until then was as a state senator and US senator. So he had no governing experience to be judged on when he ran for president.

Harris's resume of California AG, US Senator and VP is on paper a lot more experience than Obama had.

[Mathgod]

Interesting. Harris also promising no taxes on tips.

[direwolf]

Originally Posted by Mathgod

Interesting. Harris also promising no taxes on tips.

Looks like the Hospitality Workers' Union has already endorsed her.


https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/...edge-112571248

The hospitality workers' union UNITE HERE has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president, a rejoinder to Republican Donald Trump's effort to woo restaurant and hotel workers by promising to make their tips tax-free.

Gwen Mills, the union’s president, said Trump was merely “making a play” for votes while Harris has credibility from having supported unions. She discussed the move with The Associated Press before the union’s announcement of an endorsement.


The endorsement includes a commitment by the union to have its members knock on more than 3.3 million doors for Harris in swing states that include Pennsylvania, Michigan, Nevada, Arizona and North Carolina.

[DownInFlames]

Originally Posted by Mathgod

Interesting. Harris also promising no taxes on tips.

I'm not sure how I feel about that. For most service workers it's fine, but I've known people who've pulled in six figures, or close to it, in tips working in a high-end restaurant. I would like to see how this would be applied.

[PsYcNeT]

In less scummy restaurants/venues it should be fine; most servers aren't claiming tips anyway.

In places that pool tips (and sometimes share with managers...) it probably won't make much of a difference either unless it was a corpo chain, which ofc still benefits servers/staff.

Can't imagine the feds get a ton of tax flow from claimed tips.

[nfotiu]

Might as well promise it if Donald is. It would probably be a giant mess to implement and would go in with a bunch of guardrails if either of them cared about keeping their promise.

We've already had thousand page threads on the pros and cons of tipping models. A flat out declaration that tips are untaxable would be somewhat humorous. There'd be no reason for your plumber to come over and say it's a $5 service call, but I expect a $450 tip.

[puffnstuff]

Originally Posted by Manhattanboy

Wondering if others are in the same boat I am here:

This is the first US election where I am almost totally unfamiliar with a candidate going in.

Sure I have read about Harris, her early career, connections to Montreal, etc. But until she was added to the Biden ticket and became VP I don’t think I had ever heard of her.

She certainly is not impressive. Those videos of her rambling on about today and tomorrow, and wokeness and Venn diagrams are rather concerning.

I guess my (rhetorical) question is, why is she deserving of the office?

So you didnt see her as the senator from California, on the Judiciary Com grilling Bill Barr about the Mueller report crap he pulled. Or her questioning of Crybaby Kavanaugh at his confirmation hearing?
I had seen plenty about her.

[puffnstuff]

Originally Posted by nfotiu

Might as well promise it if Donald is. It would probably be a giant mess to implement and would go in with a bunch of guardrails if either of them cared about keeping their promise.

We've already had thousand page threads on the pros and cons of tipping models. A flat out declaration that tips are untaxable would be somewhat humorous. There'd be no reason for your plumber to come over and say it's a $5 service call, but I expect a $450 tip.

It would be lawyers and doctors working for tips as well. I dont see an easy way to make it actually work for the low income servers without all the unintended consequences.

[driveway]

It would be pretty simple to write the law such that tips are only tax-exempt if you're being paid below a certain amount per hour. In my days serving you were always paid minimum wage and never any more than that. That included several high-end restaurants.

[Manhattanboy]

Originally Posted by puffnstuff

So you didnt see her as the senator from California, on the Judiciary Com grilling Bill Barr about the Mueller report crap he pulled. Or her questioning of Crybaby Kavanaugh at his confirmation hearing?
I had seen plenty about her.

Was so focused on Kavanaugh and his stories about Tommy and Dickie and Ritchie that I did not. But will watch again.

[Mathgod]

Originally Posted by MoneyGuy

Just watched Walz speaking at the rally in Philly. Great one-liners! “I can’t wait to debate the guy (Vance). If he’ll get off the couch and show up….See what I did there?”

I want to run up on the stage and hug the guy.

Best line I've heard all week: Why do so many Americans love Tim Walz? He's their dad Donald Trump took away from them.