UKBouldering.com

U-S-A! The American Politics Thread. (Read 499986 times)

TobyD

Offline
  • *****
  • forum hero
  • Posts: 3827
  • Karma: +88/-3
  • Job offers gratefully accepted
#975 Re: Trump
February 10, 2019, 11:22:10 pm
He basically argues that the young Democrats arguing for things like a pan US high speed rail network and all energy from renewable resources with no nuclear ultimately play into the hands of right wing Republicans who will call socialism, which will not win 2020 for them. He argues that the Democrats can win as liberals but not socialists.

andy popp

Offline
  • *****
  • forum hero
  • Posts: 5525
  • Karma: +347/-5
#976 Re: Trump
February 10, 2019, 11:45:01 pm
I guessed that was the argument; I'm not fully convinced.

Schnell

Offline
  • **
  • menacing presence
  • Posts: 230
  • Karma: +5/-0
#977 Re: Trump
February 11, 2019, 11:36:41 am
Not that I post very often but the "realism" argument RE Democratic election strategy needs to be challenged. Medicare for All and the Green New Deal are both overwhelmingly popular policies. Second, how did establishment liberalism fare against Trump in 2016? It's a lifeless and technocratic ideology that has no answers to blood and soil nationalism.

Oldmanmatt

Offline
  • *****
  • forum hero
  • At this rate, I probably won’t last the week.
  • Posts: 7097
  • Karma: +368/-17
  • Largely broken. Obsolete spares and scrap only.
    • The Boulder Bunker climbing centre
#978 Re: Trump
February 11, 2019, 12:00:32 pm
Not that I post very often but the "realism" argument RE Democratic election strategy needs to be challenged. Medicare for All and the Green New Deal are both overwhelmingly popular policies. Second, how did establishment liberalism fare against Trump in 2016? It's a lifeless and technocratic ideology that has no answers to blood and soil nationalism.

The problem is, winning a popular majority is not going to win the Dems power in 2020.
They won that in 2016.

The Dems cannot succeed unless they win over the rural, evangelical, conservative minority. And the “S” word is the ultimate dog whistle, to those peoples.
As long as the GOP close ranks, contain their distaste for Trump and keep up the “Fake News” and “SOCIALISM!!!” mantra, the Dems will struggle.

andy popp

Offline
  • *****
  • forum hero
  • Posts: 5525
  • Karma: +347/-5
#979 Re: Trump
February 11, 2019, 12:41:33 pm
The Dems cannot succeed unless they win over the rural, evangelical, conservative minority.

Yes they can. In fact they have precisely zero hope of ever winning those folks over. More than that, targeting them would almost certainly guarantee losing as it would mean adopting positions that would alienate others for no gains. What they need to do is not lose states such as Pennsylvania and Wisconsin - states that they threw away in 2016 through complacency and neglect. Winning those states means refinding their appeal to working class whites, continuing to peel off the college educated increasingly disgusted by Trump (women especially), and not taking minority votes for granted, as they continue to do.

A story that probably didn't really appear in the UK is that over the last few days people have started receiving their 2018 tax refunds and a lot of people are very, very disappointed. Twitter blew up with the hashtag #GOPtaxscam (I think that's right); lots of disgruntled Trump voters.

Another shutdown is now looking likely, starting on the 15th. The Dems completely won the PR war over the last one and Trump was definitely damaged. If they can pull that off again, great. Even better would be capitulation from him on the wall as that would alienate some in his base.

Offwidth

Offline
  • *****
  • forum hero
  • Posts: 1767
  • Karma: +57/-13
    • Offwidth
#980 Re: Trump
February 11, 2019, 06:44:53 pm
He basically argues that the young Democrats arguing for things like a pan US high speed rail network and all energy from renewable resources with no nuclear ultimately play into the hands of right wing Republicans who will call socialism, which will not win 2020 for them. He argues that the Democrats can win as liberals but not socialists.

I wouldn't trust a word offered by this man on the subjecf as he is a past Republican advisor and strongly opposed Obama (nothing like a radical democrat) . Clinton arguably blew the last election simply  by campaigning in the wrong places.

There are many routes to a Democratic President, not the least of which might just be to sit back and watch Trump continue to self destruct. Most white male college educated americans voted for Trump and some of these must be becoming pretty disgusted with his behaviour and frightened of the chances of their natural party of choice, with him at the helm.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niall_Ferguson

joel182

Offline
  • ***
  • obsessive maniac
  • Posts: 345
  • Karma: +49/-1
#981 Re: Trump
February 11, 2019, 06:54:09 pm
Clinton arguably blew the last election simply  by campaigning in the wrong places.

She won the popular vote by 2%, or around 3 million votes. I try not to remember that too often.

andy popp

Offline
  • *****
  • forum hero
  • Posts: 5525
  • Karma: +347/-5
#982 Re: Trump
February 11, 2019, 07:10:09 pm
Clinton arguably blew the last election simply  by campaigning in the wrong places.

She won the popular vote by 2%, or around 3 million votes. I try not to remember that too often.

And she lost the electoral college by a much smaller margin: literally just 10s of thousands of votes in a handful of key states.  The campaign stupidly assumed somewhere like Pennsylvania would never be in play and largely neglected to campaign here.

I was trying to be polite, but no, I don't trust Ferguson at all.

mrjonathanr

Offline
  • *****
  • forum hero
  • Posts: 5377
  • Karma: +242/-6
  • Getting fatter, not fitter.

andy popp

Offline
  • *****
  • forum hero
  • Posts: 5525
  • Karma: +347/-5
#984 Re: Trump
February 12, 2019, 10:57:43 pm
Yes, this has come out of nowhere: I'd seen no discussion before today.

In other good news, he looks to be completely cornered over the wall/shutdown. I can't see a way out for him that is in any sense a win. It seems the GOP has realised that leaving him in this position is preferable to another shutdown.

andy popp

Offline
  • *****
  • forum hero
  • Posts: 5525
  • Karma: +347/-5
#985 Re: Trump
February 15, 2019, 11:20:04 am
Dear God, so I looks like we're going to be heading into a "national emergency" later this morning. We've been in a national emergency since January 2017.

cheque

Offline
  • *****
  • forum hero
  • Posts: 3389
  • Karma: +522/-2
    • Cheque Pictures
#986 Re: Trump
February 15, 2019, 11:28:10 am

Oldmanmatt

Offline
  • *****
  • forum hero
  • At this rate, I probably won’t last the week.
  • Posts: 7097
  • Karma: +368/-17
  • Largely broken. Obsolete spares and scrap only.
    • The Boulder Bunker climbing centre

andy popp

Offline
  • *****
  • forum hero
  • Posts: 5525
  • Karma: +347/-5
#988 Re: Trump
February 16, 2019, 02:04:48 pm
So, this is playing well with his base:

https://www.newsweek.com/ann-coulter-donald-trump-scam-stupidest-base-national-emergency-1333033

Its not playing well with Coulter but its probably playing fine with the base.

I watched the announcement yesterday live (something I never really do) and it was fucking insane. Just unhinged.

I have a lot of problems with Nancy Pelosi but she has played an absolute blinder since taking back the house; by yesterday morning he basically had three options and all of them involved losing badly.

largeruk

Offline
  • **
  • player
  • Posts: 102
  • Karma: +7/-0
#989 Re: Trump
February 17, 2019, 01:48:39 pm
This is one of the best summations of Trump's character, as seen from a British sensibility, that I've read. A witty, articulate and brutal assessment.

"If being a twat was a TV show, Trump would be the boxed set."

https://qr.ae/TUKTVu

Falling Down

Offline
  • *****
  • forum hero
  • Posts: 4880
  • Karma: +333/-4
    • bensblogredux
#990 Re: Trump
February 17, 2019, 02:57:21 pm
I watched the announcement yesterday live (something I never really do) and it was fucking insane. Just unhinged.

I watched it when I got home from work on Friday.  You're right, it was all of those things and more.  It was weird when he kept pausing as if he was at a rally and was expecting applause.  It's way beyond 25th amendment time.

tomtom

Offline
  • *****
  • forum hero
  • Posts: 20282
  • Karma: +641/-11
#991 Re: Trump
February 20, 2019, 09:54:06 pm
Oh my - its worth listening to all of this. A not aired interview between Rutger Bregman (the Dutch historian who gave a speech at Davos pointing out a few hypocracies) and a Fox News Anchor... a systematic take down....

https://twitter.com/nowthisnews/status/1098282209834950657?s=20

mrjonathanr

Offline
  • *****
  • forum hero
  • Posts: 5377
  • Karma: +242/-6
  • Getting fatter, not fitter.
#992 Re: Trump
February 20, 2019, 10:10:59 pm
Sounds interesting. Any chance of a summary?
« Last Edit: February 20, 2019, 10:23:55 pm by mrjonathanr »

andy popp

Offline
  • *****
  • forum hero
  • Posts: 5525
  • Karma: +347/-5
#993 Re: Trump
February 20, 2019, 10:43:21 pm
He points out Carlson's hypocrisy: Carlson flips out and tells him to go fuck himself. Its pretty funny.

Oldmanmatt

Offline
  • *****
  • forum hero
  • At this rate, I probably won’t last the week.
  • Posts: 7097
  • Karma: +368/-17
  • Largely broken. Obsolete spares and scrap only.
    • The Boulder Bunker climbing centre
#994 Re: Trump
February 20, 2019, 11:41:43 pm
I see the Cheese Puff is trying to get the NYT on the list of “work place massacres”, after trying set his zombies on the SNL crew, again.

Bizarre, that this is the US, that I’m talking about, and not some tinpot, third world, dictatorship.

Offwidth

Offline
  • *****
  • forum hero
  • Posts: 1767
  • Karma: +57/-13
    • Offwidth
#995 Re: Trump
March 01, 2019, 03:18:58 pm
How the craven house Republicans continue to cover for Trump in the face of clear evidence of criminality.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/mar/01/michael-cohen-hearing-republicans-trump

TobyD

Offline
  • *****
  • forum hero
  • Posts: 3827
  • Karma: +88/-3
  • Job offers gratefully accepted
#996 Re: Trump
March 12, 2019, 11:08:24 pm
The President of the United States on the recent controversy post second 737 max crash:

Trump’s intervention on Twitter:
The president said manufacturers were “always seeking to go one unnecessary step further, when often old and simpler is far better. Split second decisions are needed, and the complexity creates danger. All of this for great cost yet very little gain.”

He added: “I don’t want Albert Einstein to be my pilot. I want great flying professionals that are allowed to easily and quickly take control of a plane!”


What the fuck is this idiot talking about? He sounds like a participant in a third rate local radio phone in. With every day he becomes more like a spoilt five year old with a serious ego problem. He is the only human being who has a chance of making Theresa May or Jeremy Corbyn look like they might know what they're doing.

andy popp

Offline
  • *****
  • forum hero
  • Posts: 5525
  • Karma: +347/-5
#997 Re: Trump
March 12, 2019, 11:25:34 pm
That's actually one of the more sensible things I've heard him say in many months (I'm not saying it is sensible, just more sensible than most other things).

TobyD

Offline
  • *****
  • forum hero
  • Posts: 3827
  • Karma: +88/-3
  • Job offers gratefully accepted
#998 Re: Trump
March 13, 2019, 09:41:57 am
That's actually one of the more sensible things I've heard him say in many months (I'm not saying it is sensible, just more sensible than most other things).
I don't disagree with you, Andy. My point still stands, what the fuck is he talking about? It beggars belief that this man is in charge of a country, he is just in the wrong job:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-us-canada-47533237/would-president-trump-make-a-good-comedian

Teaboy

Offline
  • *****
  • forum hero
  • Posts: 1176
  • Karma: +72/-2
#999 Re: Trump
March 22, 2019, 11:58:20 pm
We'll this is it folks, the report is finished. End of the beginning, beginning of the end or a damp squib?

My personal guess is that there will be a litany of reprehensible behaviour documented, much of it illegal involving corruption and money laundering but no direct collusion. Any right minded person will be appalled and his base will probably crow about no collusion. It was always going to be like this and not a single mind will be changed.
« Last Edit: March 23, 2019, 12:23:59 am by Teaboy »

 

SimplePortal 2.3.7 © 2008-2024, SimplePortal