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PoliGAF 2015 |OT| Keep Calm and Diablos On

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T

thepotatoman

Unconfirmed Member
I think one reason none of the Republican candidates appear ready is that they are too preoccupied with the fundraising primary to spend time worrying about the actual primary.

Nearly every single day they have to stage a new fundraiser, and prepare the messaging that speaks to the individuals in that room. And you expect them to have the messaging prepared for every question regarding every issue for a public interview?

It's not like you can improvise. The Republican platform sucks so much, messaging is the only thing keeping them afloat. A lot of well paid individuals spend a lot of time collaborating on crafting the perfect message that caters both to the republican base and moderates alike. You can't match that level of preparation when thinking on your feet, and messaging is so important to republicans, that the second you go slightly off message, you're going to piss off the base or the moderates, or simply sound like an idiot.

Eventually they'll have the time to prepare enough to avoid some of the more amateurish mistakes we're seeing now, but their reliance on perfect messaging assures that it'll be nearly impossible for anyone to avoid a big mistake somewhere.
 
W

Wilsongt

Member
Horrible Amtrak accident just happened?

Slash funding hours later!

https://www.yahoo.com/politics/amtrak-crash-hits-home-for-lawmakers-who-respond-118880314740.html

Meredith Shiner

Emergency personnel work at the scene of Tuesday’s deadly Amtrak train derailment in Philadelphia. (Photo: Patrick Semansky/AP)

The deadly Amtrak train derailment Tuesday night in Philadelphia was deeply personal for many lawmakers, especially those from the Northeast — as important as Vice President Joe Biden and as relatively anonymous as rank-and-file House members — who travel by train to and from Washington.

But just because the accident struck close to home does not mean Congress will increase an already shrunken budget for transportation. Just hours after the derailment, which claimed at least seven lives and left scores more injured, the House Appropriations Committee held an uncomfortably timed markup of its annual transportation spending bill and moved forward with a $250 million cut from last year’s Amtrak funding of approximately $1.3 billion.

Democrats urged Republicans to keep the accident in mind as the hearing progressed and members debated how much the government should contribute to modernizing and repairing transportation infrastructure, including Amtrak.

“[The bill] does not provide funding to address the capital needs required for safety,” said Rep. David Price, D-N.C., the ranking member of the transportation subcommittee of the powerful appropriations panel. Price called for a new budget agreement with higher spending levels because, without such a deal, transportation programs would continue to be “a victim of the majority’s self-imposed austerity.”
Amtrak crash hits home for lawmakers, who respond by, yes, cutting funding

Rep. David Price, D-N.C., decried transportation spending cuts before the House Appropriations Committee. (Photo: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via Getty)

“It decimates the investments that a great country must make,” Price said. “There’s no way to sufficiently address all the gaps in funding in this bill.”

Democrats unsuccessfully pushed an amendment, proposed by Pennsylvania Rep. Chaka Fattah, to fund Amtrak at the White House’s requested spending levels for 2016 of $2.45 billion, $550 million of which would have gone specifically to the Northeast Corridor and $220 million of which would have been directed to replace obsolete equipment on state-supported Amtrak routes. The measure failed on party lines, 30 to 21. Another Democratic amendment, from Price himself, would have restored the billions that the GOP cut from the White House’s overall transportation proposal, but that also failed, 29-21.

Republicans objected to the Democrats’ efforts to break mutually agreed upon budget caps and said any increases in spending, for Amtrak or any other program, would have been challenged on the House floor. Republicans also questioned Democrats’ focus on the Tuesday accident, saying their attempts to tie the derailment to the previously scheduled hearing was inappropriate in the wake of a tragedy whose cause was still unknown. Investigators will be looking at all possible causes of the accident, including those — such as excessive speed — unrelated to infrastructure problems.
Click to expand...

In Tuesday’s House hearing, however, Republican Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida, chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, pushed back against Democrats’ demands for more funding, denouncing “the concept that it is always more money that is the solution.”
Click to expand...

Oops! I bet that had to be a super awkward vote.
 
B

Brawndo Addict

Banned
NeoXChaos said:
Does anyone here actually think they could do a better job as a member of Congress than the current serving members?
Click to expand...

I think the educational, cultural, and latent knowledge gap is more than enough to make a random 30ish person a better candidate for congress than a random 50+ person.

Of course if you're talking about specific match-ups, i.e., the congress person in your area vs. you, that's a case-by-case analysis.

I'd also wager that a gender reversed congress would be a huge improvement as well.
 
A

Aaron Strife

Banned
Geez Jeb is really burning out. If he even makes it to the general election it's going to be a disaster for the GOP.

Looks like it's Walker, who's hated by his own state and whose biggest achievement is sticking it to the union at the expense of his state's finances. Wooooo~
 
B

B-Dubs

No Scrubs
Aaron Strife said:
Geez Jeb is really burning out. If he even makes it to the general election it's going to be a disaster for the GOP.

Looks like it's Walker, who's hated by his own state and whose biggest achievement is sticking it to the union at the expense of his state's finances. Wooooo~
Click to expand...

Walker is a political zombie, I'd bet money he won't last past the first debate. He'll be a serious candidate until he opens his mouth and speaks for the first time.
 
N

NeoXChaos

Member
Walker is a much worse disaster than Jeb. I really want to see them all pile on Bush in the debates though. I have my popcorn ready.
 
C

Coriolanus

Banned
B-Dubs said:
What a bunch of utter morons, I swear to god instead of fixing the problem they decide to make it worse.
Click to expand...

That's kind of the point. Make it shit, prevent it from doing its proper job, then blame government for its problems. From that, try to privatize for peanuts.

I mean, we past the stage where we believed that "republicans, they so cray", and firmly in "they playing the long con" territory.
 
Y

Yellowtail

Member
B-Dubs said:
You might be right about your read of him, but the money guys are going to push him all the way through the primary if they have to. So far no one else has stood up who isn't crazy or so weak that they'd be controlled by the crazies. Everyone else in the field is blatantly incompetent in one way or another. He'll have the money to outlast everyone and that's what will matter because once the primary actually starts everyone else will crash and burn in an instant under the spotlight while Jeb just limps along as he stabs himself in the leg over and over again. The GOP has no one on the sidelines that can rise above this fray and waltz to the nomination, it's going to be a bloodbath and all the donors and party leaders can hope to do is pick a guy and shove so much money at him that he can't help but win.
Click to expand...
The donors and party leaders have no loyalty. They were very close to ditching Romney and drafting Mitch Daniels and Chris Christie in late 2011. They could quite easily go all in for Rubio (who probably offers a better general election contrast for the GOP), or even Kasich if Jeb increasingly looks untenable. And all the money in the world is useless if you can't win one of the first four primary states. Mitt at least tied in IA and won in NH and NV to have the momentum to battle on. No nominee has ever lost both IA and NH and if you lose all four you're Giuliani. If that happens to Jeb he's DOA. The voters, media, and establishment will discard him. He probably wouldn't even make it to Florida and risk losing to Rubio there.

His team is now considering skipping Iowa.
 
P

PhoenixDark

Banned
APKmetsfan said:
poor training?

and you don't think money has to do with the second?
Click to expand...

Amtrak has begun installing components of a PTC system but the network is not yet functioning, federal officials said.
Click to expand...

The Association of American Railroads has said it wants PTC in place but blames logistical challenges like acquiring radio frequencies and placing transmitter towers for the delay.

"This is not off-the-shelf technology; it has had to be developed from scratch," said Ed Greenberg, spokesman for the trade group.

Installing radio towers and other hardware at congested rail junctions, like the site of the Philadelphia accident, poses unique challenges, according to former and current officials.

PTC control would go as far as overriding a train conductor who was exceeding posted speed limits, said Joseph Szabo, who stepped down in January as administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration.

"If there is a red signal you can't pass it, if there is a speed restriction, it will slow you down," he said of the override system. (Additional reporting by Mark Hosenball, Andy Sullivan, Bill Trott and Timothy Gardner in Washington; Editing by Eric Beech and Lisa Shumaker)
Click to expand...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/13/derailed-amtrak-train-safety-controls_n_7279166.html

Doesn't sound like a money problem. Sounds like a time and red tape issue.
 
T

thepotatoman

Unconfirmed Member
NeoXChaos said:
Does anyone here actually think they could do a better job as a member of Congress than the current serving members?
Click to expand...

If you're including the ability to be elected as part of the job description, no. Not many people are able to do that.

If you're talking about strict policy stances and decision making, yes, but who doesn't think that of themselves?

I do have a 30 year goal of becoming a city council member at minimum, and state level secretary of state at maximum. I'm only 26 and my current city council representative is already younger than me, so I'm guessing that's not a terribly difficult goal.
 
C

Coriolanus

Banned
NeoXChaos said:
Does anyone here actually think they could do a better job as a member of Congress than the current serving members?
Click to expand...

There's a hitchens quote (which i'm failing to track down) about how there's a moment in the life of every journalist where they get to meet a person in power, one of the shakers and movers, and generally, at that moment, the journalist will learn that 1. this person is not particularly bright, and 2. this person knows far less about "important issues than" you do. Paraphrasing and maybe even misremembering bits, mind.

As for the question, hell yeah. last election cycle one of those "tough on crime" radio personalities got a seat in the house, and i sure as fuck could do a better job than that particular shitstain.

Plus im sure we've got at least one texan here. Anyone can be better than gohmert.
 
B

B-Dubs

No Scrubs
Coriolanus said:
There's a hitchens quote (which i'm failing to track down) about how there's a moment in the life of every journalist where they get to meet a person in power, one of the shakers and movers, and generally, at that moment, the journalist will learn that 1. this person is not particularly bright, and 2. this person knows far less about "important issues than" you do. Paraphrasing and maybe even misremembering bits, mind.
Click to expand...

That sounds about right, I've spoken to a few state senators and haven't been at all impressed by them. Then again I could say the same about a lot of business people I've interviewed.
 
N

NeoXChaos

Member
The tough part would be getting in but once you get in I'm sure you can get the hang of it. But if your background isnt in law, how in the world will you know how to write legislation? Unless you are going to be the guy who cast votes, take a $140,000 a year paycheck and go home to rinse and repeat everyday for 2 years. Dont forget the great government insurance lol.
 
T

thepotatoman

Unconfirmed Member
NeoXChaos said:
The tough part would be getting in but once you get in I'm sure you can get the hang of it. But if your background isnt in law, how in the world will you know how to write legislation? Unless you are going to be the guy who cast votes, take a $140,000 a year paycheck and go home to rinse and repeat everyday for 2 years. Dont forget the great government insurance lol.
Click to expand...

Writing legislation isn't like writing in a different language. Most of the complicated parts are usually about accounting for the exceptions to the rule that you're most worried about, which requires research and experience in the the subject your law is covering, not experience in the law itself. Laws might have a different structure to them then every day writing, but it's not so hard to get a hang of using that structure.

You'd also want to account for conflicts with the state constitution, federal statute, and the US constitution, and you might want a legal council to look it over to cover yourself there. But in a world where states are constantly writing laws that ban sharia law, I don't think you need to be a constitutional lawyer to know how to write law better than a lot of politicians out there.

Edit: You could also just sponsor things straight from ideological think tanks like a lot of politicians do.
 
B

B-Dubs

No Scrubs
thepotatoman said:
Writing legislation isn't like writing in a different language. Most of the complicated parts are usually about accounting for the exceptions to the rule that you're most worried about, which requires research and experience in the the subject your law is covering, not experience in the law itself. Laws might have a different structure to them then every day writing, but it's not so hard to get a hang of using that structure.

You'd also want to account for conflicts with the state constitution, federal statute, and the US constitution, and you might want a legal council to look it over to cover yourself there. But in a world where states are constantly writing laws that ban sharia law, I don't think you need to be a constitutional lawyer to know how to write law better than a lot of politicians out there.
Click to expand...

Also it's not like you'd be doing it alone, Congressmen have staffers that can help with this.
 
N

NeoXChaos

Member
Well sign me up then! Government Health Insurance, Salary worth more than what many constituents in my state/district on minimum wage would make in 10 years. Write or sponsor a couple bills here and there, make a boring speech on the house floor and meet constituencies on a daily basis + PR appearances.

Come on Aaron, we can do it. I will move to Minnesota to campaign for you and become your staffer when you get elected. We will rule Capitol Hill. I know someone from GAF will become a member of Congress some day. Some of you are too passionate to not go for it if you had the chance.
 
T

thepotatoman

Unconfirmed Member
From what I've heard talking to city council members, the hardest part seems to be finding good legislation to sponsor when the only people that come to your office with ideas are overpaid corporate lobbyists and crazy people.

Edit: well, they didn't actually mention crazy people, but I've seen Parks and Recreation, so I can assume.
 
O

Oblivion

Fetishing muscular manly men in skintight hosery
John Stewart knocked it out of the park with today's opening segment.

Fox News (and really conservative media in general) is just so stunningly amazing. They can't even take responsibility for doing what they've clearly been proud of doing since their inception (attacking the poor).
 
M

Macho Madness

Member
Someone lost a tooth

CE75jRQWAAAOPTX.jpg:large
 
A

Aaron Strife

Banned
NeoXChaos said:
Well sign me up then! Government Health Insurance, Salary worth more than what many constituents in my state/district on minimum wage would make in 10 years. Write or sponsor a couple bills here and there, make a boring speech on the house floor and meet constituencies on a daily basis + PR appearances.

Come on Aaron, we can do it. I will move to Minnesota to campaign for you and become your staffer when you get elected. We will rule Capitol Hill. I know someone from GAF will become a member of Congress some day. Some of you are too passionate to not go for it if you had the chance.
Click to expand...
I'll remember this

I am eligible to run for Congress next year!
 
O

Oblivion

Fetishing muscular manly men in skintight hosery
Wow, I'm surprised at this:

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was asked yesterday about how he would have approached the invasion of Iraq, given the benefit of hindsight. “Knowing what we know now, of course we wouldn’t go into Iraq,” the Republican senator said. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) offered a similar assessment, telling CNN, “If we knew then what we know now and I was the President of the United States, I wouldn’t go to war.”
Click to expand...

Even the smart Bush is dumber than Ted Cruz.
 
P

PhoenixDark

Banned
It makes sense to not give a damn about the Iowa straw poll. Michelle Bachman and Pat Buchanan winning it tells you everything you need to know. However skipping the state completely seems like a bad idea. I understand Jeb plans on dominating the winner take all states in late March but how will he do that without building momentum.

If he loses NH, which seems very likely, he won't win any of the early states. That's not a good look for an alleged front runner. And I'd expect Romney and other Bush doubters to endorse whoever comes out of March the strongest. Walker Rubio....or Rubio Walker.
 
B

B-Dubs

No Scrubs
PhoenixDark said:
It makes sense to not give a damn about the Iowa straw poll. Michelle Bachman and Pat Buchanan winning it tells you everything you need to know. However skipping the state completely seems like a bad idea. I understand Jeb plans on dominating the winner take all states in late March but how will he do that without building momentum.

If he loses NH, which seems very likely, he won't win any of the early states. That's not a good look for an alleged front runner. And I'd expect Romney and other Bush doubters to endorse whoever comes out of March the strongest. Walker Rubio....or Rubio Walker.
Click to expand...

It's impossible for Jeb to do well in Iowa, he's nowhere near extreme enough to appeal to the voters there. If anything he has a better chance in New Hampshire. Like I've said before, Walker is only doing well because no one is paying attention to him yet. The second his candidacy becomes real he's going to melt under the national spotlight.
 
W

Wilsongt

Member
Oblivion said:
John Stewart knocked it out of the park with today's opening segment.

Fox News (and really conservative media in general) is just so stunningly amazing. They can't even take responsibility for doing what they've clearly been proud of doing since their inception (attacking the poor).
Click to expand...

Always a shame that Jon Stewart is just preaching to the choir.

Nothing's going to change.
 
Metaphoreus

Metaphoreus

This is semantics, and nothing more
thepotatoman said:
Writing legislation isn't like writing in a different language. Most of the complicated parts are usually about accounting for the exceptions to the rule that you're most worried about, which requires research and experience in the the subject your law is covering, not experience in the law itself. Laws might have a different structure to them then every day writing, but it's not so hard to get a hang of using that structure.

You'd also want to account for conflicts with the state constitution, federal statute, and the US constitution, and you might want a legal council to look it over to cover yourself there. But in a world where states are constantly writing laws that ban sharia law, I don't think you need to be a constitutional lawyer to know how to write law better than a lot of politicians out there.

Edit: You could also just sponsor things straight from ideological think tanks like a lot of politicians do.
Click to expand...

The best laws are written in plain English, anyway. And it isn't as if the legislators are left to their own devices in drafting the text of the bills they vote on. At least, it isn't like that in civilized states.
 
E

ErasureAcer

Banned
Mike M said:
Watch Santorum become the nominee. Just watch...
Click to expand...

I'm going with Santorum or Huckabee as well. I think they play best towards the Republican base. The only hiccup here is if they cancel each other out by splitting the vote. Letting Walker or Bush take the media horse race narrative.
 
P

Plinko

Wildcard berths that can't beat teams without a winning record should have homefield advantage
Oblivion said:
John Stewart knocked it out of the park with today's opening segment.

Fox News (and really conservative media in general) is just so stunningly amazing. They can't even take responsibility for doing what they've clearly been proud of doing since their inception (attacking the poor).
Click to expand...

Speaking of attacking the poor, Michigan's republican Congress just decided they want to completely eliminate the EITC to pay for the roads.

They've given literally billions in tax breaks to corporations ($1.8 billion being the latest handout) over the past few years, and the amount cutting the EITC will save them?

$114 million.
 
D

Diablos

Member
I love how they are already talking shit on the Amtrak guy despite not even having all the facts. Clearly he fucked up somewhere along the way. Clearly. But I'm reading articles digging into his personal life, i.e. his rant about how he's tired of gay marriage always being front and center and how ridiculous it is that the gay community has to keep begging for it to be lawful. It's like they're trying to make him look radical already just given the context. It's very poor journalism.

He most likely made a grave mistake, and it's critical to find out why -- but let's leave it at that for now until we know more. The facts will come to light. Mayor Nutter should especially be ashamed of himself.

HylianTom said:
Feingold is running for Senate. Fantastic news.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/polit...a12926-fa3d-11e4-a47c-e56f4db884ed_story.html
Click to expand...
Fantastic news indeed.
+1 Dem Senate gain.
 
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