Random Politics

The Sybian · Post by **The Sybian** » Wed Jun 07, 2017 10:37 pm

Johnnie wrote:Don't fuck with Angus King. He makes this admiral look like a bitch.

What are they hiding in their refusal to answer questions, btw?

It sounds like they were ordered not to speak (Executive Privilege?) but told not to say EP. He said he asked if Trump was invoking EP, and they never gave him an answer? Gross incompetence, or intentionally vague, so they felt they were fucked if they spoke, but Trump could deny invoking EP? So fucked up.

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Thu Jun 08, 2017 4:28 pm

Exit polls showing a minority Conservative government in the UK. Big lead blown. People really hate early election calls that exposes weaknesses of other parties and takes the voters for granted.

Joe K · Post by **Joe K** » Thu Jun 08, 2017 4:34 pm

degenerasian wrote:Exit polls showing a minority Conservative government in the UK. Big lead blown. People really hate early election calls that exposes weaknesses of other parties and takes the voters for granted.

If the exit poll projections hold up, all the Corbyn bashers are going to have to eat some serious crow.

Pruitt · Post by **Pruitt** » Thu Jun 08, 2017 4:41 pm

Joe K wrote:
degenerasian wrote:Exit polls showing a minority Conservative government in the UK. Big lead blown. People really hate early election calls that exposes weaknesses of other parties and takes the voters for granted.
If the exit poll projections hold up, all the Corbyn bashers are going to have to eat some serious crow.

A minority government every now and again is a good thing. And if these predictions are true, three things are certain:

1) Theresa May is done. She was a surprise choice as leader, and her campaign apparently was dreadfully run.

2) A lot of the Labourites who stormed away from the party in the last year are going to be sheepishly running back on board.

3) I suck at prognostication.

Joe K · Post by **Joe K** » Thu Jun 08, 2017 5:13 pm

Pruitt wrote:
Joe K wrote:
degenerasian wrote:Exit polls showing a minority Conservative government in the UK. Big lead blown. People really hate early election calls that exposes weaknesses of other parties and takes the voters for granted.
If the exit poll projections hold up, all the Corbyn bashers are going to have to eat some serious crow.
A minority government every now and again is a good thing. And if these predictions are true, three things are certain:

1) Theresa May is done. She was a surprise choice as leader, and her campaign apparently was dreadfully run.

2) A lot of the Labourites who stormed away from the party in the last year are going to be sheepishly running back on board.

3) I suck at prognostication.

I think one of the most likely explanations for May's collapse is that her coziness to Trump is much more of an electoral liability than Corbyn's leftism. It's also reassuring that May's extreme fearmongering in the last few days of the campaign, in which she threatened to crack down on individual freedoms to fight terrorism, appears to have backfired. But I expect that Corbyn is about to see an even nastier smear campaign than what he already went through. His economic and anti-imperialist views are a pretty big threat to the established power structure.

howard · Post by **howard** » Thu Jun 08, 2017 8:41 pm

The BBC really fucking hates Corbyn, more tonight than ever it seems. We won't know for sure for hours yet how well or poorly the exit poll forecast holds up. But I don't think it is too premature to say fuck Theresa May, (brilliant calling the snap election, frankly Cameron-esque) and, as always, fuck Tony Blair, your version of Labor is dead; may the Clinton version of the democrats meet the same fate quickly.

Rex · Post by **Rex** » Thu Jun 08, 2017 8:46 pm

So every Western election since November has been a rejection of Trump, except Montana I guess. And every election including November has been a rejection of the chick in favor of the dude. That is my expert analysis, please subscribe to my newsletter.

howard · Post by **howard** » Thu Jun 08, 2017 9:17 pm

In Corbyn's safe home district (he outpolled the Tory candidate nearly seven to one), Islington North, the guy on the left below, standing for the Monster Raving Looney Party, Nigel Napp, outpolled the socialist candidate, 106-21. He is framed by the live tv camera standing over Corbyn's shoulder as the Labor leader called for Mrs. May to resign. I thought our media was bad. This is Python-esque.

(personally I support the Looney Raving Monster Party, as well as the People's Front of Judea)

Rex · Post by **Rex** » Thu Jun 08, 2017 9:24 pm

Not pictured:

Pruitt · Post by **Pruitt** » Thu Jun 08, 2017 9:32 pm

howard wrote:In Corbyn's safe home district (he outpolled the Tory candidate nearly seven to one), Islington North, the guy on the left below, standing for the Monster Raving Looney Party, Nigel Napp, outpolled the socialist candidate, 106-21. He is framed by the live tv camera standing over Corbyn's shoulder as the Labor leader called for Mrs. May to resign. I thought our media was bad. This is Python-esque.

(personally I support the Looney Raving Monster Party, as well as the People's Front of Judea)

Now known as the "Official Monster Raving Loony Party"

Theresa May certainly no helped by her announcement of what became known as the "Dementia Tax."

One of the sickest things I've ever heard from a major party...

And note, this explanation comes from the Telegraph, the most Tory/Conservative of all the major papers in the UK.

Explained | The 'dementia tax'
What is the 'dementia tax'?
Reforms unveiled in the Conservative party manifesto outlined how more pensioners would have to contribute to the cost of their care, although not during their lifetime.

These reforms were criticised as a “dementia tax” because sufferers of the disease living at home would have to pay, while people with cancer in hospital would not.

What changed?
Four days after unveiling the plans, Theresa May announced the manifesto commitment would be changed by adding a cap on total contributions people will be asked to pay.

What are the reforms outlined in the manifesto?
Pensioners will stop paying for their own care once their savings and assets are down to £100,000. At present only £23,250 is protected.
But a person's home will be counted among their assets when they are means-tested for domiciliary care (currently this only applies to people needing residential care) meaning more people will pay.
No-one will have to sell their home during their lifetime, as they will be able to borrow money which will be paid back from their estate after their death.

howard · Post by **howard** » Thu Jun 08, 2017 10:26 pm

You mean the Torygraph. Read it every morning, along with the Daily Fail. (not)

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Thu Jun 08, 2017 10:32 pm

don't fuck with old people

rass · Post by **rass** » Fri Jun 09, 2017 6:29 am

Sounds like degen is anti-Lemon Party.

Joe K · Post by **Joe K** » Fri Jun 09, 2017 7:22 am

howard wrote:The BBC really fucking hates Corbyn, more tonight than ever it seems. We won't know for sure for hours yet how well or poorly the exit poll forecast holds up. But I don't think it is too premature to say fuck Theresa May, (brilliant calling the snap election, frankly Cameron-esque) and, as always, fuck Tony Blair, your version of Labor is dead; may the Clinton version of the democrats meet the same fate quickly.

For all the media's attempts to promote Blair/Clinton mealy mouthed centrism at the expense of true progressive politics:

Again, there's a lesson here for American politics. To reverse all its legislative losses over the past decade, the Democratic Party should embrace a bold economic agenda that actually inspires people, rather than just pushing technocratic tweaks to the status quo. Corbyn is way to the left of even Bernie Sanders, and had to deal with a vicious smear campaign from the British media, yet still led Labour to its best election results in years. (Ironically, after calling Corbyn a terrorism sympathizer, May is now relying on the DUP, a party with close ties to Ulster paramilitary groups, to try to keep her hold on PM.)

howard · Post by **howard** » Fri Jun 09, 2017 8:51 am

Well, one of the best lines I read last night, the DUP do possess some of the greatest minds of the 17th century.

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Fri Jun 09, 2017 9:55 am

hard to consider the Labour vote gain when the Conservatives also gained 5%. Not often does an election have a party (UKIP) go from 11% of the vote to less than 1% in 2 years, with that vote and the SNP's losses being split between Conservative and Labour.

May got 318 seats with 48% of the vote.
in comparison in 1997 Tony Blair got 418 seats with just 43.5% of the vote

May's stated reasoning behind calling a snap election was a desire to increase her party's majority to strengthen their position in Brexit negotiations. That was a big fail, but 40% of the Scottish National Party's seats went Tory, so that's rather interesting too. Talk about muddying the waters.

And it sounds like May lacks even the honour to admit her shortcomings turned a potential 100+ seat majority into a minority and step aside. She's going to try and form a coalition with a far right party

AND it is interesting this election went poorly for the SNP however if a coalition government is formed with a far right party support for Scottish independence may increase.

Post by **brian** » Fri Jun 09, 2017 12:17 pm

Joe K · Post by **Joe K** » Fri Jun 09, 2017 12:42 pm

brian wrote:

Great logic there. A leftist candidate greatly exceeding expectations in an election where the Tories were predicted to win a landslide is proof that the best we could've done here is an uninspiring centrist who lost an election to a monstrous buffoon who was thought to be unelectable.

Post by **brian** » Fri Jun 09, 2017 12:54 pm

That monstrous buffoon was going to win pretty much no matter what (and indeed did lose by 4 million votes anyway). But the real heroes were the Jill Stein voters in Wisconsin and Michigan who got to feel morally superior to everyone else.

Pruitt · Post by **Pruitt** » Fri Jun 09, 2017 1:04 pm

brian wrote:That monstrous buffoon was going to win pretty much no matter what (and indeed did lose by 4 million votes anyway). But the real heroes were the Jill Stein voters in Wisconsin and Michigan who got to feel morally superior to everyone else.

The Nader effect.

Joe K · Post by **Joe K** » Fri Jun 09, 2017 1:08 pm

Pruitt wrote:
brian wrote:That monstrous buffoon was going to win pretty much no matter what (and indeed did lose by 4 million votes anyway). But the real heroes were the Jill Stein voters in Wisconsin and Michigan who got to feel morally superior to everyone else.
The Nader effect.

Gary Johnson got more than 3 times the number of votes as Jill Stein. Given that he's pretty right wing on most issues, I'd bet that most Johnson voters would've picked Trump over Clinton. So blaming third parties for Clinton's loss is pretty weak, IMO.

Ryan · Post by **Ryan** » Fri Jun 09, 2017 1:12 pm

That's why you don't blame third party voters, you blame Jill Stein voters.

Joe K · Post by **Joe K** » Fri Jun 09, 2017 1:22 pm

Ryan wrote:That's why you don't blame third party voters, you blame Jill Stein voters.

My point was that it's pretty dumb to take such a narrow view of the effect of votes for minor candidates when such voting likely helped Clinton on balance. But then again, I should remember that Clinton was an awesome candidate who only lost because of Putin, Comey, Sanders, Stein, Assange, Obama and countless other scapegoats.

The Sybian · Post by **The Sybian** » Fri Jun 09, 2017 9:01 pm

Pruitt wrote:
brian wrote:That monstrous buffoon was going to win pretty much no matter what (and indeed did lose by 4 million votes anyway). But the real heroes were the Jill Stein voters in Wisconsin and Michigan who got to feel morally superior to everyone else.
The Nader effect.

More like the Nadir result, ammirite?

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Fri Jun 09, 2017 9:09 pm

Ryan wrote:That's why you don't blame third party voters, you blame Jill Stein voters.

No No no. This was all my fault. Don't you remember?

The Sybian · Post by **The Sybian** » Fri Jun 09, 2017 9:12 pm

A_B wrote:
Ryan wrote:That's why you don't blame third party voters, you blame Jill Stein voters.

No No no. This was all my fault. Don't you remember?

Of course, I curse you every day.

Johnnie · Post by **Johnnie** » Mon Jun 12, 2017 9:53 pm

British politics are fucking lit.

https://youtu.be/fyVz5vgqBhE

LORD BUCKETHEAD.

And we think that electing Trump here was some lack of decorum. That stage is wild.

Pruitt · Post by **Pruitt** » Tue Jun 13, 2017 5:59 am

Johnnie wrote:British politics are fucking lit.

https://youtu.be/fyVz5vgqBhE

LORD BUCKETHEAD.

And we think that electing Trump here was some lack of decorum. That stage is wild.

The way the British reveal voting results is amazing to watch. There are no partial results given so you get the amazing scenario of watching the candidates learn whether they have won or lost live on TV.

And that episode of "Last Week Tonight" was gold from start to finish.

GoodKarma · Post by **GoodKarma** » Tue Jun 13, 2017 10:17 am

I've never been more interested in a foreign country election story as that one...I thought it was absolutely hilarious. All we need now is a U.S. version of Lord Buckethead that isn't Newt Gingrich.

Ryan · Post by **Ryan** » Tue Jun 13, 2017 10:44 am

Danny Ainge's son Tanner is running for Chaffetz's seat.

Johnnie · Post by **Johnnie** » Tue Jun 13, 2017 12:51 pm

Bipartisan bill introduced to stop use of municipal funds to finance stadiums

This is...actually pretty damn good. And like the article says, a similar bill was introduced in the House by a Republican too.

And, this isn't indicative of anything really, but when you sort by "other discussions" in Reddit, it's in 12 subreddits. Specifically, it's posted in The Donald, Neoliberal, and Libertarian subreddits. Posters in the first two are in agreement and the latter doesn't have any comments yet, but it was posted only a short while ago. I expect people to agree there.

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Tue Jun 13, 2017 4:32 pm

Ryan wrote:Danny Ainge's son Tanner is running for Chaffetz's seat.

Somehow, at first my brain interpreted that as "Danny Tanner".

rass · Post by **rass** » Wed Jun 14, 2017 10:45 am

Chris Christie is now the least popular NJ governor in recorded history. Approval rating: 15%. Disapproval: 81%.

Pruitt · Post by **Pruitt** » Tue Jun 20, 2017 6:28 am

As Slimy As It Gets

Trump-Loving PAC uses Obama's voice reading another person's opinion on an audio book to get Atlanta Blacks to vote GOP today.

Wow...

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Tue Jun 20, 2017 1:07 pm

Johnnie · Post by **Johnnie** » Tue Jun 20, 2017 1:53 pm

Good summary:

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Tue Jun 20, 2017 9:16 pm

2010 Pence

Johnnie · Post by **Johnnie** » Tue Jun 20, 2017 10:56 pm

Ossoff lost. I'm pretty sure Democrats are going to keep losing because them losing is the most important political issue for Republicans. I'm sure this will be a precursor to 2018.

Post by **brian** » Tue Jun 20, 2017 11:28 pm

I don't think losing a CD by a few points that had never been even competitive in 35 years is such a big deal.

Pruitt · Post by **Pruitt** » Wed Jun 21, 2017 5:57 am

brian wrote:I don't think losing a CD by a few points that had never been even competitive in 35 years is such a big deal.

I agree.

Has there ever been a more hyped one-off congressional election? Too much media, too much of a need to create a nationwide narrative.

More than $50 million spent on the Georgia congressional election.

For context, in the 2015 UK General Election, ALL of the candidates (649 constituencies - all of which had candidates from at least 4 parties) spent 39 million pounds. Which is approximately the same amount.