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PoliGAF 2015-2016 |OT3| If someone named PhoenixDark leaves your party, call the cops

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First (EST) ;).

Happy 2016 everybody.

#FeelTheBern.

P.S. A little before midnight, donated extra $25, which hopefully helped Bernie make his 2015 year-end funding goal.
 
Daniel B·;190929141 said:
The point is Hillary's "achievements" are paper thin, and although you may minimise Bernie's, I'm sure veterans very much appreciate his hard work fighting for them in the reform bill, and whilst Bernie may not have been previously given the chance to make a splash on the national stage, by Grabthar's Hammer, he sure is making a "huge" one now :).

They are not paper thin. I mean, Bernie's record as a Congressman and Senator has been so stellar, the party has just been begging for him to run. It's why they've all lined up behind him. It's why he's suing the DNC.

I'm sure Elizabeth is very impressed with how Bernie is doing.

And yet....she hasn't endorsed him. But she did sign her name to a letter encouraging Hillary to run....And not a single Senator has endorsed him...not even his closet ally in the Senate, Sherrod Brown. Hmmm....


I have absolutely no doubt that Bernie would ensure that those who presently qualify for Medicaid, due to their low income, would not end up with less to live on. That would just go against everything he stands for. As for those that presently earn too much to qualify for Medicaid, but don't earn enough for private healthcare, again I'm sure that the system would be setup so no one, given their specific circumstances (e.g. how many children they have), would not be taxed into poverty.

The system would be setup in that there is no Medicaid or Medicare at all. They would all be incorporated into this new program.So, that mom that works and gets Medicaid now, pays nothing extra for it. Bernie's plan would raise her taxes, and provide her with care that may (or may not) be as good...depending upon what her state wants to do.

So, basically, all you have to do is sell the American people on socialism. Get them to agree that their taxes should go up. Convince people that their private health insurance is going to go away, and that they can trust their state government to do it all for them.

Absolutely! It's far more efficient to administer just one healthcare plan, than a handful of them.

Except this isn't one healthcare plan. It's 50. Each state is responsible for its own plan. That's ridiculous. You would have to have each state agree to accept another state's plan. What that means for seniors who are Snowbirds is that their plan may be good in Ohio but not in Florida. Medicare, as a federally run program, is national. Ohio and Florida? No problem.


A Gallup chart, that shows a Clinton peaking in public approval; well I never!

Do you even debate bro?

This chart has nothing whatsoever to do with Bernie or Hillary-freaking-Clinton. It has to do with Americans perception that they don't trust the government. You want to sell them on a government take over of healthcare. A real take over this time. Not the pretend ACA one that blew their minds.

That's one thing the GOP wouldn't use against him, as they love 'em some guns ;).

Again, this is not how a debate works.

I'm asking you a very, very simple question: Bernie Sanders voted against the Brady Bill five times. Do you agree or disagree with those vote. Period. Full stop. Agree or disagree.

I won't even bring up the fact that he voted for guns on Amtrak and guns in national parks.
 
Same, I'd be under mountains of medical debt if it wasn't for him getting elected.

I know that feeling. I would, very likely, be dead had it not been for the ACA, let alone have the opportunity to potentially restore my vision. Plus, all of the actions towards LGBT equality that were a direct result of the people he nominated/appointed.

Hillary was the first First Lady to march in a gay pride parade. She's said she wants to be the first President to march in a pride parade. She hired the first openly gay campaign manager at the Presidential level. These are small things, but they mean a lot to me. Hell, having a gay couple in her announcement video meant a lot to me. I see her policies as a continuation of Obama's, especially on LGBT issues. It's one of the reasons I adore her. I would love to see an increased focus on trans rights, though. I love my QUILTBAG. :)
 

NeoXChaos

Member
February can't come soon enough. So how does OT election coverage work?

Pending possible threads

-Iowa Caucuses
-New Hampshire Primary
-South Carolina Primary
-Nevada Primary

-Super Tuesday

Anything after Super Tuesday appearing in the OT?

I assume these will appear eventually

-X Republican Clinches Nomination
-Hillary Clinches Nomination
-Bernie Concedes

-DNC Convention
-RNC Convention

-Presidential Debate #1
-Presidential Debate #2
-Vice Presidential Debate
-Presidential Debate #3

-Election Day 2016
 
I keep getting in discussions with a friend of mine who is extremely anti-Hillary. I can argue effectively with him about her domestic policy, but every time he brings up her foreign policy I don't know how to respond because I'm clueless about it. He claims that her stance on a no-fly zone will lead to World War 3 with Russia.

Is there some kind of easy-to-understand foreign policy primer that I can reference to figure out what's going on?

(For reference, he is one of those "Both parties are the same, it's either Bernie or nobody!" guys. My superficial impression is that Dems and Reps are actually pretty similar on their foreign policy stances so it's hard for me to argue about that)
 
I'm not an expert on this, but I don't think he could do that. Here's the FEC Guide

I suppose he could create Feel the Bern Leadership PAC and then use the money to forward his goals in the Senate and/or as governor. The only real rule that I could find is that he can't pocket the money. He should donate some to the DNC to help elect Democrats, since he's such a good team player.

Already got all the team player cred he could get by not running third party.

(For reference, he is one of those "Both parties are the same, it's either Bernie or nobody!" guys. My superficial impression is that Dems and Reps are actually pretty similar on their foreign policy stances so it's hard for me to argue about that)

In the sense that both have horrendous track records with fopo? Sure. Republicans just manage to be even worse by a very wide margin.

If he fears ww3, i'd say that he so cray that you shouldn't even try to fix him, tbqh. Just bask in it.
 

dramatis

Member
I keep getting in discussions with a friend of mine who is extremely anti-Hillary. I can argue effectively with him about her domestic policy, but every time he brings up her foreign policy I don't know how to respond because I'm clueless about it. He claims that her stance on a no-fly zone will lead to World War 3 with Russia.

Is there some kind of easy-to-understand foreign policy primer that I can reference to figure out what's going on?

(For reference, he is one of those "Both parties are the same, it's either Bernie or nobody!" guys. My superficial impression is that Dems and Reps are actually pretty similar on their foreign policy stances so it's hard for me to argue about that)
Foreign Policy (the mag) had a detailed article a while back about her tenure as Secretary of State and how Hillary approaches foreign policy. It's not an article detailing Hillary's stances, but it is somewhat informative about the thinking process behind why she takes the positions she does regarding foreign policy.

Foreign policy is more complex than black-and-white. There's no easy primer that can break down everything into "good policy" and "bad policy"—that changes with the timing, it changes with the personalities, it changes with the conditions on the ground. From the article above:
Afghanistan produces evidence of this as well. Clinton had always been open to Holbrooke's case for diplomacy, but believed that it could not work until military force brought the Taliban to the negotiating table. By late 2010, Clinton believed that the time was ripe to pursue diplomacy. In December, however, Holbrooke died abruptly of a torn aorta. Both as a matter of conviction and as a torch-bearing tribute to her dear friend, Clinton became a vocal advocate for opening a new political front in Afghanistan. In a speech at the Asia Society in February 2011, Clinton said that the success of the military and civilian surge had set the stage for a new diplomatic surge and, crucially, accepted that the demand that the Taliban renounce violence, cut ties with al Qaeda, and acknowledge the Afghan constitution were not preconditions but "necessary outcomes" of negotiation. This helped provoke a flurry of diplomatic activity, all of it ultimately stillborn.

By 2011, in fact, Clinton and Obama had, in effect, reversed positions on Afghanistan, with the secretary lobbying for diplomacy and the president — though increasingly disillusioned about the effectiveness of COIN — authorizing ever more targeted killings by drones and special operations forces. Over the next two years, Clinton would often find herself blocked by a White House apparently in thrall to a counterterror approach to the fight against extremism. In The Dispensable Nation, Vali Nasr, a leading scholar of international relations who served on Holbrooke's staff, argues that Obama’s protectors in the White House feared that Obama would be seen as “soft” if he chose a political rather than a military solution in Afghanistan and elsewhere, leaving Clinton as “the lone voice making the case for diplomacy.” Many former Clinton officials consider the argument somewhat overdrawn—key White House officials were quite sympathetic to the call for talks — but fundamentally accurate. Clinton never did fully succeed in persuading Petraeus that the time had come to pursue peace talks. "It too often became surge surge surge, drone drone drone," says Harold Koh, Clinton's former legal advisor. Clintonism properly understood, he asserts, is "nesting a hard-power approach into a broader smart-power strategy — development, diplomacy, public-private partnerships, rule of law."

If that’s neoconservatism, then neoconservatism has changed unrecognizably since the Iraq war.
Hillary is hawkish, but not nearly as hawkish as some would like to portray. Ultimately I think in foreign policy, since there is no higher authority, they have to evaluate each event/case/nation as individually as they can and figure out a practical approach. Each administration is also not free from the troubles caused by the previous administration; I think part of why Hillary doesn't seem to have major accomplishments as secretary is simply because she had to spend her tenure repairing relationships the Bush administration wrecked (if you listen to Coriolanus's link, you'll hear exactly how awful Bush's admin was at foreign policy (aka sending a urologist to meet a major religious leader in Iraq (yeah...))).

It boils down to needing flexibility and adaptability when it comes to the world stage—you need it for domestic governance too. This is partially why Bernie's stumble in the second debate where he devoted only 10 seconds to Paris was seen as Yikes, because it showed he wasn't versatile enough to deviate from his preparation and comfort zone.
 

params7

Banned
Hillary in foreign policy is beholden to the same hegemonies that outlines the goals for neocons and the Bushes. Democracy for any anti-West dictator, friendship with the Sunni Wahabi Monarchs. Was really showing how shamelessly she tried to tip toe around Bernie in the debate in trying to capitalize on anti interventionist cheering of the crowd that Bernie riled up then tried to justify her stance with the pro-Assad removal cabal.
 
Thank you both. I'll start reading your links today.

Hillary in foreign policy is beholden to the same hegemonies that outlines the goals for neocons and the Bushes. Democracy for any anti-West dictator, friendship with the Sunni Wahabi Monarchs. Was really showing how shamelessly she tried to tip toe around Bernie in the debate in trying to capitalize on anti interventionist cheering of the crowd that Bernie relied up then tried to justifying herself in aligning with the pro-Assad removal cabal.

You didn't tell us your friend had a GAF account.
 
Foreign Policy (the mag) had a detailed article a while back about her tenure as Secretary of State and how Hillary approaches foreign policy. It's not an article detailing Hillary's stances, but it is somewhat informative about the thinking process behind why she takes the positions she does regarding foreign policy.

Foreign policy is more complex than black-and-white. There's no easy primer that can break down everything into "good policy" and "bad policy"—that changes with the timing, it changes with the personalities, it changes with the conditions on the ground. From the article above:

Whew, that article was a long read. Gives the impression that Hills fares very well when discussing matters where the military option is not available, but would grotesquely fuck up whenever she thought she could threaten other players.

This, though, was annoying
When the Atlantic’s Jeff Goldberg asked Clinton if American action in 2012 could have prevented or muted the rise of the Islamic State, she said that, while that could never be known, "I know that the failure to help build up a credible fighting force of the people who were the originators of the protests against Assad ... left a big vacuum, which the jihadists have now filled." It is hard to imagine that a President Hillary Clinton would have drawn a “red line,” as Obama did, on the use of chemical arms, and then failed to make good on her threat once Assad crossed that line. She would have understood the cost to American credibility of walking back such a threat.

No, the problem wasn't the cost to american credibility. no one gives a toss about that. the problem is drawing a freaking red line in the first place. That's painting yourself into a corner for no good reason.

That last paragraph seriously rubbed me the wrong way too, but i just react badly to any hint of american exceptionalism.
 

Iolo

Member
Clinton campaign reports $37m raised in Q4, $112m for 2015, with $38m cash on hand. Plus $18m raised for the Democratic Party in Q4 (if I recall correctly, donors who have maxed out campaign contributions are asked to give to the party, which has a much higher limit. Many donors and Hillary herself still seem to be uncomfortable with super PACs).

Source: various reporters on Twitter. Haven't seen an article yet.
 

benjipwns

Banned
I would think millions gaining employment through things like the wpa during the worst economic depression in history benefited more than just large firms and cartels
It wasn't anything you'd consider actual employment it was one (mostly male) subsistence work gang (shipped to some other state) to another (usually shipped to Europe, Africa or Asia) mainly targeted for political purposes.

WPA and most of the New Deal ignored the poorest (and most black) region, the South, because it was guaranteed to vote Democrat. There were endless WPA restrictions that allowed local administrators to avoid all work laws and set their own wages/hours standards/etc. They even beat back the union demand for a prevailing wage standard. The WPA peaked at 3% of income despite paying 5% of the workforce and 25+% of families.

There were also, like today, absurd standards, if you stopped being poor and unemployable you were no longer eligible to participate in WPA. And it wasn't graduated, again like today, you were immediately prevented from working. And sometimes charged for wages you didn't "earn" because in the middle of the month you stepped over the threshold.

The WPA didn't leave behind things the working glass decided it wanted, it just forced people to work on projects elites wanted finished for lower costs.
infrastructure projects included 2,302 stadiums, grandstands, and bleachers; 52 fairgrounds and rodeo grounds; 1,686 parks covering 75,152 acres; 3,185 playgrounds; 3,026 athletic fields; 805 swimming pools; 1,817 handball courts; 10,070 tennis courts; 2,261 horseshoe pits; 1,101 ice-skating areas; 138 outdoor theatres; 254 golf courses; and 65 ski jumps.

The largest and core part of the first wave of the New Deal was the NRA cartels. And they were the epitome of corporatism. That's why the Supreme Court ruling was so damaging to administration's momentum and unveiled to FDR the real foe.

I agree that WW2 was probably a bigger boom for the average person than the immediate effects of the New Deal.
Who are you agreeing with? World War II was a disaster for the average person. Slavery, death, rationing, internment, etc.

You can argue the merits of fighting World War II, but it was a time of enforced austerity, not riches.

Pretty sure Prof. Pwns is a history teacher. Not necessarily one you'd seek advice from regarding economics.
This would matter except the New Deal had nothing to do with economics. You yourself noted above that it was a contradictory and endless set of random politically guided programs not a single program with a clear goal or underlying theory.

This is admitted in the answer you get from most people:
Morale booster


That government trust graph does make a good case for how terrible the dems have been at pushing against that narrative. Obviously also how successful the reps were in pushing it.
The Democrats haven't exactly been "pushing against" the narrative. They've supported it just as much. I don't remember being told to trust W. or H.W. or Reagan or Gingrich, for example.

The only real rule that I could find is that he can't pocket the money.
Yeah, you have to pay yourself a salary through the PAC.
 
Obama is certainly the weakest foreign policy president since Carter, and the red line did more damage to US credibility than anything since Bush's fuck ups. It was a disaster and remains one.

I'm glad we didn't attack Syria, obviously, but Obama did harm to the US. Ultimately I haven't supported any of the US' involvement there over the last few years.

Obama's horrible handling of this issue will continue to have consequences, and could harm Hillary's election chances. That's not to say her hands are clean: she supported intervention as well.
 
The most important number in Hillary's fundraising total is that $18 million for the Party. That's how you get things done, by making sure you get Democrats elected.
 
1501514_10154001816219238_7617976657652498342_o.jpg
 
Obama is certainly the weakest foreign policy president since Carter, and the red line did more damage to US credibility than anything since Bush's fuck ups. It was a disaster and remains one.

I'm glad we didn't attack Syria, obviously, but Obama did harm to the US. Ultimately I haven't supported any of the US' involvement there over the last few years.

Obama's horrible handling of this issue will continue to have consequences, and could harm Hillary's election chances. That's not to say her hands are clean: she supported intervention as well.
So 9/11 and Iraq didn't happen?
 

Wilsongt

Member
Gotta say good job to Benji. He finally gets rid of his junior status, makes a thread, and then it gets locked within ten posts lol
 

A Human Becoming

More than a Member
February can't come soon enough. So how does OT election coverage work?

Pending possible threads

-Iowa Caucuses
-New Hampshire Primary
-South Carolina Primary
-Nevada Primary

-Super Tuesday

Anything after Super Tuesday appearing in the OT?

I assume these will appear eventually

-X Republican Clinches Nomination
-Hillary Clinches Nomination
-Bernie Concedes

-DNC Convention
-RNC Convention

-Presidential Debate #1
-Presidential Debate #2
-Vice Presidential Debate
-Presidential Debate #3

-Election Day 2016
I already put in to make the NH Primary thread. It's where I live and have been involved with before.
 

benjipwns

Banned

Stinkles

Clothed, sober, cooperative
Obama is certainly the weakest foreign policy president since Carter, and the red line did more damage to US credibility than anything since Bush's fuck ups. It was a disaster and remains one.

I'm glad we didn't attack Syria, obviously, but Obama did harm to the US. Ultimately I haven't supported any of the US' involvement there over the last few years.

Obama's horrible handling of this issue will continue to have consequences, and could harm Hillary's election chances. That's not to say her hands are clean: she supported intervention as well.

Unless part of your brain was injured in a tragic accident you should literally be embarrassed to claim Obama is worse than Bush, given all his alleged "failings " are directly attributable to Bush/Cheney. I literally can't take you seriously.
 
I didn't say worse. I said weak. Obama's foreign policy is contradictory, aimless, and has created a disaster zone in Libya. The red line issue also embarrassed the US in front of allies and enemies alike.

There was a time when Obama's fp seemed comparable to HW Bush's, which is not a bad thing obviously. But now it's a disaster the next president will struggle to fix.
 

Teggy

Member
"Carly Fiorina says she loves America, but how could you trust in war she wouldn't root for the bad guys?"

You're free to tweet that out Mr. Trump.
 

benjipwns

Banned
I like imagining that Jeb keeps trying so hard because W. texts him "I beat Johm McCain and Al Gore; you're getting crushed by Donald Trump and Ben Carson" once a week.
 

Iolo

Member

According to this Reuters article, 20 people left.

U.S. Republican Ben Carson's 2016 presidential bid was thrown into chaos on Thursday when his campaign manager and some 20 other staff members quit amid infighting, dropping poll numbers and negative media coverage.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-carson-idUSKBN0UE17520160101
 


The guy we gave the award to this year is a person who might fundamentally change American politics, and has already begun to do that, by changing the conversation entirely, by saying things that the press did not allow before, and that they considered outside the mainstream, against conventional wisdom, radical. Well guess what? He's saying them and he's enormously popular. His name is Bernie Sanders, and what he has said is, I'm actually going to represent the average man

Adam suggested that I was not willing to debate him, on Bernie's gun voting record (I thought my GOP dodge was actually quite good, and accurate, too ;) ), while at the same time not responding to my comment on marijuana legalization, which Hillary remains stubbornly against, and is a shameful position to hold, unless she is also proposing to re-introduce alcohol prohibition, as there is no question that alcohol has, and would remain to have, a far greater negative effect on society. The only groups that benefit from maintaining a ban are private prisons and the pharmaceutical industry, and guess who has received campaign contributions from both?

I am happy to concede that Bernie's 500 votes against the Brady Bill, merit condemnation, but that was twenty years ago, and just as Hillary has evolved on gay marriage, Bernie has moved to the right position on guns. As I explained [post=184589087]before[/post], his support for allowing guns to be securely transported on Amtrak trains, is perfectly reasonable, as is his defense of any industry, whether it's gun manufacturers or firework sellers, who should not face prosecution for product misuse.
 

benjipwns

Banned
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX)97% tells his volunteers about the need to energize and mobilize Christians.

“If we awaken and energize the body of Christ– if Christians and people of faith come out and vote our values– we will win and we will turn the country around,” Cruz told volunteers on a conference call Tuesday.

Cruz also said that he is organizing a coalition of pastors in early states including Iowa and South Carolina.

“We’re working to have a lead pastor in each of the 99 counties in Iowa, 99 pastors are organizing other pastors,” Cruz said. “We’re doing the same thing in South Carolina, organizing pastors in 46 counties to motivate and organize other pastors.”

Cruz warned that, as the election nears, the attacks on his campaign will become more vicious.

“I want to tell everyone to get ready, strap on the full armor of God, get ready for the attacks that are coming,” he warned. “Come the month of January we ain’t seen nothing yet.”

Disagreement in the Breitbart comments:
Glory • a day ago
It's true. Without Evangelical support Ted Cruz cannot win.

I would also argue that unless the United States is willing to submit to God's natural laws, it will also fail.


rgeno Glory • a day ago
Evangelicals with all due respect don't be stupid. Cruz can't win. But if we loose to Clinton/libs/commies you'll loose your religion. You'd 've walked on by libs. All your belives and devotion will be persecuted by govermant as it happened with two cake backers in Oregon.

TRUMP is our ONLY hope.

GO TRUMP!!!!!!


itmatters247 rgeno • a day ago
No GOD is our only hope and dont you ever forget that!

Free People Sharon Morgan • 3 hours ago
Exactly! + 100 ^^^^^^^ excellent post there Sharon!

HAPPY TRUMP YEAR to you and yours!
 
Disagreement in the Breitbart comments:

Those poor cake backers.

I didn't say worse. I said weak. Obama's foreign policy is contradictory, aimless, and has created a disaster zone in Libya. The red line issue also embarrassed the US in front of allies and enemies alike.

There was a time when Obama's fp seemed comparable to HW Bush's, which is not a bad thing obviously. But now it's a disaster the next president will struggle to fix.

Sometimes i wonder what you'd consider strong fp.
 

Wilsongt

Member
I like imagining that Jeb keeps trying so hard because W. texts him "I beat Johm McCain and Al Gore; you're getting crushed by Donald Trump and Ben Carson" once a week.

I'd imagine it's his father calling him everyday telling him he is a giant disappointment.

"Your brother who people called a dumbass was elected twice and started a war, and people still like him better than you."
 

dramatis

Member
I'd imagine it's his father calling him everyday telling him he is a giant disappointment.

"Your brother who people called a dumbass was elected twice and started a war, and people still like him better than you."
It wouldn't be his dad, it would be his mum
When Jeb Bush told his father he was going to run for governor of Florida, his father said, “Go for it.”

When George W. Bush told his mother he was going to run for governor of Texas, his mother said, “You can’t win.”
 
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