US Elections 2016

[Malcador]

Because Jordan is the same way!

 

 

 

If you only get half the point of it.

[Meshugger]

Bernie has adopted a new strategy to win the south on today's primaries:

 

 

//edit: he actually has the money to follow suit. He raised 42 million in february alone.

Edited March 1, 2016 by Meshugger

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

 

It's likely a combination of Blacks generally being conservative(ie more likely to back establishment candidates) and a lot of them not knowing who Bernie is.

 

 

Yes, I mean, apparently that seems to be the case - but that's just stating what we know. What we want to know is an explanation for this, why this is the case.

 

Hillary has been capitalizing on the former by appealing to their religious leaders and the latter is exacerbated by having few debates(and what debates there are happen at times people aren't likely to watch) and the lack of coverage Bernie gets in the media.

 

 

Yes, but Cruz also has the overwhelming support of evangelical pastors, yet evangelicals vote Trump.

 

The lack of debates is an invalid explanation, because while it might explain why people in general vote Clinton, it does not explain the absurd discrepancy between black and non-black voters.

 

So this leaves us with only the "religious leaders" explanation. But it also seems absurd that black religious leaders have a level of control over their congregations so much greater than that of any other religious group.

1. Blacks are among the most religious minorities in the US and have a lot of trust in their pastors. It's hard to explain to someone who isn't from the US(and the "South"), but most religious blacks take their religious leaders statements to heart more than other groups. Evangelicals aren't the same as the religious blacks and Cruz is a lot less "likeable" than Trump as well.

 

2. The lack of debates and the scheduling of then around sporting events and other times they won't be viewed is going to prevent name recognition and knowledge of the candidates' policies. Coupled with the tendency of blacks to vote for the establishment candidate(ie the one believed to be most electable by the party) and the view that Clinton will continue the Obama, who blacks overwhelmingly support, policies it isn't surprising they are supporting Hillary over a guy who they likely know little about and who challenges Obama on some things.

 

3. Bernie has had some negative encounters with black protesters and has tried to organize his rhetoric as being....economic stability for everyone. While this goes over well with working class whites and hispanics, some blacks view this as Bernie not caring about them.

[Rostere]

Oh, and Milo thinks that Rubio is a flaming homo. This is hysterical.

 

 

So... Rubio's boyfriend has left him over Trump?

 

The best thing is that this is not even photoshopped or anything...

[Keyrock]

Bernie has adopted a new strategy to win the south on today's primaries:

 

 

//edit: he actually has the money to follow suit. He raised 42 million in february alone.

The problem is that the south has much better fried chicken joints, even strictly speaking of chains.  Heck, we have better fried chicken chains up here in the northeast and our fried chicken chains aren't as good as those down south.  KFC is mediocre-tier fried chicken. 

Edited March 1, 2016 by Keyrock

[ShadySands]

Um, ok

[Drowsy Emperor]

 

Suppose the Ayatollah said that he was proud that his enemies were "the Jews". Or that Obama should say that "the Jews" have been undermining his talks with Iran. Does that sound racist to you?

 

It should, and those are all equivalent. If this is not apparent then it's a sign of how easy it is to objectify and lump together people in the public debate. It's not hard at all to say "the Iranian regime" or "the Iranian government". In fact, those are the two commonly used terms which Hillary seemed almost to deliberately avoid in this case, possibly to sound more brash and tough. It is very, very incriminating that someone who makes a living in part out of shilling for hawkish special interest groups fails to distinguish between an entire people and an authoritarian clique ruling them. It is this type of toxic and careless attitude which led to prejudice against Germans during and after WW1, with very awful resulting backlash.

Sure, if 'Iranian' was only the description of their race and not also one for their countrymen/government (people do this a lot, I'm sure you've come across people talking badly about "Americans" or "Russians" in the same vein), I guess that would be similar to your 'Jews' example. Reaching a bit far to jab her with racism with that, to be honest. A minor part of your post, but was one that made me raise an eyebrow.

 

 

Frankly, she's so beyond simple racism as to render this discussion moot. Even Hitler didn't cheer like a child after his political enemies were murdered.

 

She makes Trump look balanced and reasonable, and frankly, his foreign policy (such as it exists, I don't think he's very versed in international politics at all), makes more sense than hers does.

[Malcador]

What'd she do that was so vile, exactly ? Trump is still worse than she is, he's a high class prole.

[Drowsy Emperor]

What'd she do that was so vile, exactly ? Trump is still worse than she is, he's a high class prole.

 

You have seen the We came, we saw, he died clip?

 

How is he worse, in regards to foreign policy? He's explicitly said that the Iraq war was an unnecessary disaster and he's against intervention in Syria now. Also possibly the only US politician to have a balanced view of Putin

 

He just adopted a strategy of public appearances that sets himself apart from the other candidates and is deliberately being controversial at every juncture because he realizes that there may be benefits to playing the game outside the usual rituals. You could see that in the debates, how he dominates others by thinking quickly, adopting controversial points of view (for US standards anyway) and being loud and rude (which always goes far in politics, as people respect combativeness).

People like him for the simple reason is that he (at first glance) looks like a leader and not a technocrat.

 

In reality, he's about as much a leader as a hamburger is a hearty meal - but if the others are the same oatmeal you've been eating for decades, even a burger starts looking tasty.

Edited March 1, 2016 by Drowsy Emperor

[Malcador]

Well the wall, general attitude when dealing with opposition, personal manner. Foreign wise, did hear he wants countries to pay the US for protection, that was an interesting one - guess it's time to go all in for Empire

 

Edit : whoops that was about Gaddafi, wasn't it, d'oh.

Edited March 1, 2016 by Malcador

[Drowsy Emperor]

Well the wall, general attitude when dealing with opposition, personal manner. Foreign wise, did hear he wants countries to pay the US for protection, that was an interesting one - guess it's time to go all in for Empire

 

As for Clinton gloating about killing Bin Laden, eh, I am not that surprised or that outraged over it. People cheering the death of an enemy they (however accurately) blame for 3,000 deaths of their own is to be expected.

 

Its all bull**** pre-election talk. You can even see it in his face as he's speaking it. 

 

The clip was about Gaddafi, not Bin Laden. Just take a look:

 

Edited March 1, 2016 by Drowsy Emperor

[Elerond]

 

Somebody has had quite funny campaign idea

[Hurlshort]

Drowsy really loves that clip.  

[Malcador]

Eh, maybe, but is a fool's gamble that his crap won't carry over after the election - by then it's too late to do much. Legally, anyway, heh.

 

Yeah, rememberd it was about Gaddafi and not Bin Laden. Can understand at that level she or the US government being glad at him being offed, the one liner is beneath her though. Suppose one has to be a sociopath at some level when in the US State Dept (or just a major diplomat in general )

[ShadySands]

I've often wondered if and how much politicians struggle with possibly sending people to their deaths and outright ordering someone killed

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

Voted for the Sandman a few minutes ago.

[Drowsy Emperor]

Drowsy really loves that clip.  

 

It shows everything about her that anyone needs to know, that you can wear the finest suits, finish the best university and still be a worse piece of **** than most criminals prowling the streets.

 

What does the fact that you see it as a result of mere carelessness (so she should think it rather than say it? difference much?) rather than a sign of a sort of mental instability say about you?

Edited March 1, 2016 by Drowsy Emperor

[Drowsy Emperor]

Eh, maybe, but is a fool's gamble that his crap won't carry over after the election - by then it's too late to do much. Legally, anyway, heh.

 

Yeah, rememberd it was about Gaddafi and not Bin Laden. Can understand at that level she or the US government being glad at him being offed, the one liner is beneath her though. Suppose one has to be a sociopath at some level when in the US State Dept (or just a major diplomat in general )

 

Does Putin strike you as a sociopath? 

 

And why should they be glad at Gaddafi being killed, what has he done to the US (that they haven't returned several times over by killing his grandchildren in strikes on his palace) other than refuse to obey?

[Malcador]

 

 

Eh, maybe, but is a fool's gamble that his crap won't carry over after the election - by then it's too late to do much. Legally, anyway, heh.

 

Yeah, rememberd it was about Gaddafi and not Bin Laden. Can understand at that level she or the US government being glad at him being offed, the one liner is beneath her though. Suppose one has to be a sociopath at some level when in the US State Dept (or just a major diplomat in general )

Does Putin strike you as a sociopath?

 

And why should they be glad at Gaddafi being killed, what has he done to the US (that they haven't returned several times over by killing his grandchildren in strikes on his palace) other than refuse to obey?

Was an old target from the Cold War and involved in supporting terrorist groups abroad, no? Powers have long memories.

 

As for Putin..maybe. As I said you have to have that kind of mentality to be a leader of a big power.

[Meshugger]

Voted for the Sandman a few minutes ago.

 

How was the atmosphere? Did everything go well? Because I heard about the voting machines returning Jeb Bush when voting for any other candidater in Austin.

[Zoraptor]

 

 

Suppose the Ayatollah said that he was proud that his enemies were "the Jews". Or that Obama should say that "the Jews" have been undermining his talks with Iran. Does that sound racist to you?

 

 

Dislike of Iran could be xenophobia/ jingoism or probably most accurately, bigotry, but Iranian is not a race or ethnicity so it can't be racist. Persian, Azeri, Arab, Kurd and Arab are the main ethnicities in Iran. Realistically though it just plays well with the electorate under the calculation that anyone who likes Obama's foreign policy simply will not vote for a Repub candidate and are likely to vote for her despite her record, even if holding their noses while doing so.

 

I've indirectly addressed a lot of the other stuff below, too.

 

 

What'd she do that was so vile, exactly ? Trump is still worse than she is, he's a high class prole.

 

You have seen the We came, we saw, he died clip?

 

 

The problem with Hillary is basically that she's always been running for President since she got back into politics. That is one of the reasons why she is actively disliked by so many people, everything seems to be calculated and there's a feeling that she's just a walking aggregate focus group response form. In terms of her foreign policy specifically she knows perfectly well that she's going to be labelled as "weak on america's enemies!" or similar because she's female and a Democrat, so her history is strident arch hawk to counter that. Ironically, while an asset vs a Republican that was one of her weaknesses as a primary candidate vs Obama. But in any case that may or may not reflect her real views and what she would do if actually elected, but it certainly reflects a calculated long term strategy to counter an obvious weakness. Same with distancing herself from Obama's policies. Personally, I'd be amazed if she tore up the Iran agreement or significantly changed anything. Rhetoric and posturing as a candidate is risk free, putting that stuff into action isn't.

 

As for Gaddafi, very few americans were going to mourn the passing of The Mad Dog of Tripoli, celebrating it with giggly, crappy classical allusions may seem decidedly sociopathic and the whole intervention was moronic; but that response will have been popular and makes her look strong, and that is what counts.

 

Does Putin strike you as a sociopath?

 

I'd go a bit further than Malcador and say he probably is*. Most large organisations as a whole are sociopathic, and Putin in practically a large organisation by himself.

 

*or whatever form of psychopathy sociopathy is formally defined as nowadays

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

 

Voted for the Sandman a few minutes ago.

 

 

How was the atmosphere? Did everything go well? Because I heard about the voting machines returning Jeb Bush when voting for any other candidater in Austin.

It was run out of a middle-school gym by six people. I had to wait in line to get my card and waited in another line to use a machine. There were maybe 8 democratic candidates on the ballot and a lot of other primaries were uncontested. After selecting my choices there was a two screen summary and it wouldn't let me "cast ballot" on the screen showing Bernie as the presidential candidate. Near as I can tell though it was a vote for Bernie.

 

Most of the people there to vote looked like they were on break. With a few stay at home moms(one I almost hit on before noticing the ring) and some hipsters I assume were neets. The guy behind me talked how he was a republican until GWB and that he was scared of more war and Israel, but I didn't really talk to anyone so I can't really comment on the general consensus.

[Raithe]

[Bartimaeus]

I like that "demagogue" is becoming a more commonly used word with the rise of Trump. Always been one of my favorite words.

 

Minnesota is a caucus state, so I have to wait until 7PM to cast my vote...

[Drowsy Emperor]

 

 

 

Suppose the Ayatollah said that he was proud that his enemies were "the Jews". Or that Obama should say that "the Jews" have been undermining his talks with Iran. Does that sound racist to you?

 

 

Dislike of Iran could be xenophobia/ jingoism or probably most accurately, bigotry, but Iranian is not a race or ethnicity so it can't be racist. Persian, Azeri, Arab, Kurd and Arab are the main ethnicities in Iran. Realistically though it just plays well with the electorate under the calculation that anyone who likes Obama's foreign policy simply will not vote for a Repub candidate and are likely to vote for her despite her record, even if holding their noses while doing so.

 

I've indirectly addressed a lot of the other stuff below, too.

 

 

What'd she do that was so vile, exactly ? Trump is still worse than she is, he's a high class prole.

 

You have seen the We came, we saw, he died clip?

 

 

The problem with Hillary is basically that she's always been running for President since she got back into politics. That is one of the reasons why she is actively disliked by so many people, everything seems to be calculated and there's a feeling that she's just a walking aggregate focus group response form. In terms of her foreign policy specifically she knows perfectly well that she's going to be labelled as "weak on america's enemies!" or similar because she's female and a Democrat, so her history is strident arch hawk to counter that. Ironically, while an asset vs a Republican that was one of her weaknesses as a primary candidate vs Obama. But in any case that may or may not reflect her real views and what she would do if actually elected, but it certainly reflects a calculated long term strategy to counter an obvious weakness. Same with distancing herself from Obama's policies. Personally, I'd be amazed if she tore up the Iran agreement or significantly changed anything. Rhetoric and posturing as a candidate is risk free, putting that stuff into action isn't.

 

As for Gaddafi, very few americans were going to mourn the passing of The Mad Dog of Tripoli, celebrating it with giggly, crappy classical allusions may seem decidedly sociopathic and the whole intervention was moronic; but that response will have been popular and makes her look strong, and that is what counts.

 

Does Putin strike you as a sociopath?

 

I'd go a bit further than Malcador and say he probably is*. Most large organisations as a whole are sociopathic, and Putin in practically a large organisation by himself.

 

*or whatever form of psychopathy sociopathy is formally defined as nowadays

 

 

If that is what will give her popular support then I know even less of the US "average Joe" than I thought.