American Politics Thread: Orange is the new POTUS

[Flash Walken]

oops

[Lanny_McDonald]

Back to Trump

[Ozy_Flame]

The Trump administration has shown that polls for approval ratings are basically meaningless. Americans are going to staunchly vote for the party no matter how poor a job a President is doing. Nothing he does will ever move the opinion of his core base. Trump or any other Republican candidate could probably brazenly obliterate Iceland with nukes and rationalize that he's trying to reactivate volcanoes to terraform earth for America's benefit and the base would still support their leader.

[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by Oling_Roachinen

Nothing to do with Trump.

Answering a question really loosely related to his original post. The second question completely changes the context, and turns it into a question of partisan politics rather than the question he was originally addressing, the response to the hurricane and the party who didn't support funding for responses elsewhere. Storey tried to explain that.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/...-backing-trump

In response to some immediate criticism from a follower, Storey wrote that “the good people there need to do more to stop the evil their state pushes. I’m only blaming those who support the GOP there.” Of Florida, he added, “those who voted for him here deserve it as well.”

That was his second tweet in full context. Complete context makes that less damning as well. And for this reason the firing is drawing legal heat as well.

“Many universities seem to decide, ‘Well, it’s not worth the trouble of sticking up for our faculty members’ rights,’ and that’s troubling,” said Ari Cohn, an attorney with the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. “The University of Tampa’s own policies say faculty members retain their rights to speak as private citizens, which is exactly what Ken Storey seems to have done.”

[Lanny_McDonald]

Fox News just got a little closer to the wacko fringe, hiring Tomi Lahren.

https://apnews.com/83a02ad98c224499b...&utm_medium=AP

[GreenLantern2814]

Originally Posted by New Era

Fox News just got a little closer to the wacko fringe, hiring Tomi Lahren.

https://apnews.com/83a02ad98c224499b...&utm_medium=AP

Someone at Fox News wants to #### Tomi Lahren. Or is that all in the past now?

[Senator Clay Davis]

Well at least Trump still has FOX News polls to pump him tir....nevermind.





Bonus: They really are ####ing deplorable



http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017...apart.amp.html

[missdpuck]

I realize we've kinda moved past Ken Storey's tweet. It was an idiotic tweet.

Maybe Valencia College will give him a job. " Pastoral" studies?




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[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

The Trump administration has shown that polls for approval ratings are basically meaningless. Americans are going to staunchly vote for the party no matter how poor a job a President is doing. Nothing he does will ever move the opinion of his core base. Trump or any other Republican candidate could probably brazenly obliterate Iceland with nukes and rationalize that he's trying to reactivate volcanoes to terraform earth for America's benefit and the base would still support their leader.

Not only that but the people who think Trump is unfit for office dont go vote.
35% or whatever approval is miserable, but (1) its still amazing given what's going on and (2) an engaged 35% beats a disengaged 65% every time.

[Iowa_Flames_Fan]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

Not only that but the people who think Trump is unfit for office dont go vote.
35% or whatever approval is miserable, but (1) its still amazing given what's going on and (2) an engaged 35% beats a disengaged 65% every time.

Where in those poll numbers do you see evidence that Trump's supporters are more "engaged" than his opponents? I would guess the opposite is true to be honest.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by Iowa_Flames_Fan

Where in those poll numbers do you see evidence that Trump's supporters are more "engaged" than his opponents? I would guess the opposite is true to be honest.

There's a lot of people who didn't participate in elections previously who are now engaged, but the question is how many of those people are out there and will they actually turn out to vote in 2018. It never gets discussed but the largest political party in the United States is "Did Not Vote".

[direwolf]

I'd like to think the GOP wouldn't seriously go through with this, especially considering the circumstances in Texas. But these are the same evil pricks that were ready to throw 22 million people off health care, so I wouldn't put it past them.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/polit...=.21d36895a73d

President Donald Trump is promising billions to help Texas rebuild from Harvey-caused epic flooding, but his Republican allies in the House are looking at cutting almost $1 billion from disaster accounts to help finance the president’s border wall.

The pending reduction to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster relief account is part of a massive spending bill that the House is scheduled to consider next week when lawmakers return from their August recess. The $876 million cut, which is included in the 1,305-page measure’s homeland security section, pays for roughly half the cost of Trump’s down payment on the U.S.-Mexico border wall that the president repeatedly promised Mexico would finance.

It seems sure that GOP leaders will move to reverse it next week as floodwaters cover Houston, the nation’s fourth-largest city, and tens of thousands of Texans have sought refuge in shelters. There’s only $2.3 billion remaining in federal disaster coffers.

The disaster relief cut was proposed well before Harvey and the politically bad optics are sure to lead lawmakers to do an about face, though that would create a money crunch in homeland security accounts.

[driveway]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

It never gets discussed but the largest political party in the United States is "Did Not Vote".

November 8 November 9 November 10 November 10 November 11 November 12 November 13 November 17 November 20 November 21 November 30 December 20 December 31 January 5 January 18

From the first three pages of one Google search: "Most Americans Didn't Vote"

People talk about this literally all the time.

[Iowa_Flames_Fan]

Originally Posted by driveway

November 8 November 9 November 10 November 10 November 11 November 12 November 13 November 17 November 20 November 21 November 30 December 20 December 31 January 5 January 18

From the first three pages of one Google search: "Most Americans Didn't Vote"

People talk about this literally all the time.

It's also somewhat overblown. Voter turnout in 2016 (while still not great compared to other developed countries) was actually up slightly from 2012.

Honesty, I suspect that voter turnout is low in the US by design. No other democracy that I'm aware of makes it as hard for its citizens to vote.

[Itse]

Originally Posted by Iowa_Flames_Fan

It's also somewhat overblown. Voter turnout in 2016 (while still not great compared to other developed countries) was actually up slightly from 2012.

Honesty, I suspect that voter turnout is low in the US by design. No other democracy that I'm aware of makes it as hard for its citizens to vote.

No need to suspect, the GOP is quite open and shameless about it's voteblocking policies.

It's also the system. Not very encouraging to vote in states that are permanently "red" or "blue".

At least there's some push in the US to modernize their voting system. (And I don't mean electronic voting.) I think in general countries should take a hard look at the details of their voting systems.

[Lanny_McDonald]

Voter suppression is central to the GOP election strategy. Once they get into office they work the system to make it more difficult to vote, and make it almost impossible for people who would vote against them. Then they gerrymander the hell out of the districts and stack the deck. For the GOP it is not about governance, it is about winning. Politics is sports and the GOP does everything in their power to make sure their team wins, including cheating at every opportunity.

[GordonBlue]

Originally Posted by direwolf

I'd like to think the GOP wouldn't seriously go through with this, especially considering the circumstances in Texas. But these are the same evil pricks that were ready to throw 22 million people off health care, so I wouldn't put it past them.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/polit...=.21d36895a73d

to me this is also unsettling.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/trump-o...ange-1.4269250

Two weeks before Harvey's flood waters engulfed much of Houston, U.S. President Donald Trump quietly rolled back an order by his predecessor that would have made it easier for storm-ravaged communities to use federal emergency aid to rebuild bridges, roads and other structures so they can better withstand future disasters.

Now, with much of the nation's fourth-largest city underwater, Trump's move has new resonance. Critics note the president's order could force Houston and other cities to rebuild hospitals and highways in the same way and in the same flood-prone areas.

[octothorp]

Significant news on the Mueller investigation yesterday with the news that Mueller's working with the NY AG on investigations into Manafort. Significant because as they're trying to flip Manafort on Trump, Trump pardoned Arpaio as a reminder that he has broad pardon powers that he can protect allies with; but charges laid by a state cannot be pardoned by the president. I'm not clear on exactly what falls within state law, but at a minimum racketeering and money-laundering do, crimes that pretty much everyone suspects Manafort of.

[HockeyIlliterate]

Originally Posted by octothorp

I'm not clear on exactly what falls within state law, but at a minimum racketeering and money-laundering do, crimes that pretty much everyone suspects Manafort of.

I wouldn't be surprised to learn that Manafort engaged in some tax fraud too.

[calumniate]

Originally Posted by GordonBlue

to me this is also unsettling.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/trump-o...ange-1.4269250

Two weeks before Harvey's flood waters engulfed much of Houston, U.S. President Donald Trump quietly rolled back an order by his predecessor that would have made it easier for storm-ravaged communities to use federal emergency aid to rebuild bridges, roads and other structures so they can better withstand future disasters.

Now, with much of the nation's fourth-largest city underwater, Trump's move has new resonance. Critics note the president's order could force Houston and other cities to rebuild hospitals and highways in the same way and in the same flood-prone areas.

One billion? Pfft.. might as well build a new Saddledome on the Mexican border