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[tmarg]

The receipts were found.

But why not have both candidates in the same tweet and John Lewis in a separate one? lol

I imagine they might have a standard policy for how they welcome notable people to their church.

 

[danm999]

Majority of US prisoners are in the State system right? So you'd need to flip most US States hard blue by 2020 to achieve that promise?

 

[Bam Bam Baklava]

Majority of US prisoners are in the State system right? So you'd need to flip most US States hard blue by 2020 to achieve that promise?

He could give out 500,000 pardons.

 

[ivysaur12]

So I know that up until now (and Nevada is the same way) that primaries for state offices are done on a different day that the original caucus/primary for president. Does that ever change? Do those days every sync up as the campaign goes on? Seems a bit foolish that they aren't done at the same time, at least for a primary if not a caucus.

 

[Dan]

free college is dangerous?

No?

But I would argue it is dangerous to use his large public platform to make highly, highly improbable promises to the electorate. Again, see his almost off-the-cuff promise at the last debate to magically release 20-25% of the country's prison population in his first term. I do think feeding an eager audience such bullshit is dangerously irresponsible.

He could give out 500,000 pardons.

No he can't. Even if he pardoned every single federal prisoner he'd fall way short of meeting his promise by more than half.

Majority of US prisoners are in the State system right? So you'd need to flip most US States hard blue by 2020 to achieve that promise?

Correct, the vast majority are in state and local systems. The federal prison population is right around 200,000.

 

[B-Dubs]

Scalia lobbied for Kagan on the Supreme Court

Interesting little Scalia anecdote from Axelrod.

Now that's interesting. Could be Scalia just liked arguing and wanted someone decent to spar with.

He could give out 500,000 pardons.

Actually, the president could only give out just over 210,000 since he/she can only pardon for federal crimes.

Of all the people incarcerated in the U.S., only about 13 percent are in the federal system. And while the Constitution grants the president pardon authority for "offenses against the United States," the president has no such authority over state prisoners. As the White House simply explained in response to a Change.org petition to pardon the two men featured in the Netflix documentary "Making a Murderer," "the President cannot pardon a state criminal offense." That power rests at the state level.

There are currently 210,567 people incarcerated in the federal system, according to the most recent Bureau of Justice Statistics report. Even if Sanders were to unlock every single federal prisoner and set them free, there would still be approximately 2 million people incarcerated – we'd still hold the global crown for most people incarcerated, because even with zero federal prisons we'd continue to lead China by about 400,000 prisoners. As NYU professor Mark Kleiman, who literally wrote the book on America's incarceration problem, put it, "Sanders was very specifically making a promise he has no way of keeping. Either he knows that or he does not."

 

[ivysaur12]

I heard about this the other night, but this is going to be part of a growing hit list of things the Kander campaign has on Roy Blunt. I don't think any of it can stick, but hey, if it makes them have to spend money in Missouri, sure:

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/senator-faces-controversy-over-vietnam-era-draft-deferments

It’s been quite a while since there was a political controversy surrounding a politician and Vietnam-era draft deferments, but the Kansas City Star’s Dave Helling reported this week on an unexpected flap out of Missouri.
Sen. Roy Blunt’s claims about his Vietnam-era draft record have emerged as an issue in his re-election campaign against Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander, a Democrat.

In a news story posted online Wednesday morning, The Star reported Blunt received three draft deferments while a college student in the late 1960s. Blunt’s office did not disclose the deferments in 2015, when the newspaper specifically asked Blunt’s office about the senator’s draft history.
That last part appears to be the key. Blunt, up for re-election this year, is facing Jason Kander, widely seen as a rising star in Democratic politics, and an Army veteran who volunteered to serve in the war in Afghanistan. This dynamic prompted local media to take a fresh look at the Republican incumbent’s background when it came to military service.

When the Kansas City Star specifically asked last year about Blunt’s draft history, the senator’s office last year talked about his low draft number, but failed to mention the three draft deferments.

Making matters slightly worse, VoteVets.org chairman and Iraq War veteran Jon Soltz took the opportunity to emphasize Blunt’s less-than-stellar voting record on veterans’ issues.

I can’t say with confidence whether a story like this will seriously affect the race in Missouri, but it’s worth noting that Republicans, who generally assumed Blunt was a lock for re-election, have been a little antsy about his prospects. In October – more than a full year before the election – Karl Rove’s Crossroads operation spent $800,000 on a media “blitz” to bolster Blunt’s in-state support.

As we discussed at the time, Blunt, a long-time fixture in Missouri politics, might seem like a safe incumbent in a red-ish state, but he isn’t particularly popular, Kander is a credible contender, and Crossroads wouldn’t spend $800,000 unless there was some evidence that Blunt is at least somewhat vulnerable.

With Trump or Cruz at the top of the ticket...

EDIT: HUH, I didn't realize the only poll done this far in the cycle (August '15) only had Blunt up by 5...

 

[Rafa=FedKilla]

Trump scheduled a press conference tomorrow afternoon in addition to his speech that night. Interesting....

 

[danm999]

I have to imagine of that 210,000 there are many who aren't say, non violent drug offenders. Doubtless there are many he absolutely would not pardon as well.

 

[Paskil]

Any of PoliGAF ever work polling places? Been wanting to for years and finally took the plunge and will be a chief inspector at a polling place in our city, on Tuesday. I live in Wisconsin so this is just a smaller election. I plan on doing the same for our Primary in April and future elections, as well. This is our first full election with Voter ID, so should be interesting. Working all day and basically the supervisor of the polling place. Pretty excited.

 

[ItWasMeantToBe19]

Scalia's greatest hits:

But it is obvious to anyone applying "reasoned judgment" that the same adjectives can be applied to many forms of conduct that this Court has held are not entitled to constitutional protection--because, like abortion, they are forms of conduct that have long been criminalized in American society. Those adjectives might be applied, for example, to homosexual sodomy, polygamy, adult incest, and suicide, all of which are equally "intimate" and "deep[ly] personal" decisions involving "personal autonomy and bodily integrity,"

"This Court has no business imposing upon all Americans the resolution favored by the elite class from which the Members of this institution are selected, pronouncing that "animosity" toward homosexuality is evil. I vigorously dissent...Coloradans are, as I say, entitled to be hostile toward homosexual conduct, the fact is that the degree of hostility reflected by Amendment 2 is the smallest conceivable"

"What a massive disruption of the current social order...Texas Penal Code Ann. §21.06(a) (2003) [the anti-sodomy law challenged by this case] undoubtedly imposes constraints on liberty. So do laws prohibiting prostitution, recreational use of heroin, and, for that matter, working more than 60 hours per week in a bakery This effectively decrees the end of all morals legislation.... Many Americans do not want persons who openly engage in homosexual conduct as partners in their business, as scoutmasters for their children, as teachers in their children's schools, or as boarders in their home. They view this as protecting themselves and their families from a lifestyle that they believe to be immoral and destructive. The Court views it as "discrimination" which it is the function of our judgments to deter."

Look at how he's only following his legal philosophy and isn't using personal, culture warrior, judgments!!1!

Trump scheduled a press conference tomorrow afternoon in addition to his speech that night. Interesting....

Got to remind people how racist he is after the RINO-esque debate last night.

 

[dramatis]

Any of PoliGAF ever work polling places? Been wanting to for years and finally took the plunge and will be a chief inspector at a polling place in our city, on Tuesday. I live in Wisconsin so this is just a smaller election. I plan on doing the same for our Primary in April and future elections, as well. This is our first full election with Voter ID, so should be interesting. Working all day and basically the supervisor of the polling place. Pretty excited.

They made your chief inspector right away? lol In NYC poll workers have to have worked at least two elections before being considered for the equivalent position (known as 'coordinator'). Needed to sit in a 4 hour class and everything.

For small election it's actually quite boring. If there's a lot of people though, I can see how it would get hectic.

Good luck and have some fun while you're at it.

 

[benjipwns]

Begala is running the largest pro Hillary superpac. The law makes it clear that there can be no coordination between the candidate and the pacs. So Begala cant be advising Hillary! Checkmate benji

Paul Begala doesn't run the lamestream media silly.

Shrum was crushed after the 2004 loss emotionally. There's that story of him calling Kerry "Mr. President" when it seemed like Kerry might pull it off. I can't imagine going through that.

IIRC, Shrum's the one Kerry told to keep John Edwards away from him because Kerry found him creepy.

Now that's interesting. Could be Scalia just liked arguing and wanted someone decent to spar with.

Scalia was BFFs with RBG. Her and Thomas are friends too. And I believe Thomas and Sotomeyer get along best as well.

The way the Court works, you wouldn't last long if you took the political aspects of it so hard and personally.

You can even see that if you ever watch the en banc Ninth Circuit on some cases. The conservatives/progressives/libertarian will all team up to tear attorneys apart and crack jokes about each other.

Top favorite: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgafGnA4Eow

 

[ItWasMeantToBe19]

So, current Neocon thought is:

"We should have invaded Iraq harder and stayed there longer, we were doing well and everything was working and Dubya was great.

"We should topple the government of Iraq that Dubya installed via starting a civil war."

Furthermore, I understand the ideological conflict at the heart of this struggle and will apply the appropriate pressure to tip the scales in favor of peace and stability. As president, I would demand that Iraq’s Shiite-dominated government grant greater autonomy to Sunnis, and would provide direct military support to Sunnis and the Kurds if Baghdad fails to support them. I would back those demands with intense diplomatic pressure and the leverage of greater American military assistance to Iraq.

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/11/rubio-isil-strategy-213377

No position that Republicans take on Iraq has any logic consistency right now, they're really still shook from the war.

 

[shinra-bansho]

Well, I mean if you're going to invade do it right.

Also, the freak-outs right now are kind of glorious.

 

[RustyNails]

This has been my arc over the last six months or so: back in August Bernie's platform was "free college and single payer and major tax reform" and I was like "yeah okay I agree with those issues, I don't really know who you are or why you're qualified to implement them but you're a decent alternative to Clinton". But that was back in August when the campaigns were just getting started. I kept waiting for him to either temper his promises or go into more pragmatic detail about them as the months crept on, and he kept...not, and I started getting more nervous "wait is he really just running on and galvanizing the youth vote a platform this simplistic?"

Yep exactly my arc. I thought of him as a good harmless candidate early on. You will find my posts as such. Sometime over the Summer he drank his own piss about everything. Exploiting people's frustrations for votes. In my view he's more dishonest than anyone running at the moment. Even Jeb, Marco and Kasich don't promise ridiculous nonsense. In that regard he's very similar to Trump and Cruz. This guy has been in the congress for decades yet we are to believe he's completely oblivious about the way 2/3rds of the federal government works? Give me a break.

 

[Plinko]

Are republicans really heading into the general election with the paradigm of, "The lengthy war in the Middle East was fantastic and only would have been better if it was longer?"

Because I don't see that going over well in the GE.

 

[Paskil]

They made your chief inspector right away? lol In NYC poll workers have to have worked at least two elections before being considered for the equivalent position (known as 'coordinator'). Needed to sit in a 4 hour class and everything.

For small election it's actually quite boring. If there's a lot of people though, I can see how it would get hectic.

Good luck and have some fun while you're at it.

Yeah, there was a four hour training and an additional two hour thing tomorrow. It sounds like the city is always desperate for this position, since most people just want to work with no responsibility. At the same time, I do have a lot of experience leading and supervising groups of individuals, so that might have weighed in my favor.

Also, I work with law and government policy for a living, so I live and breathe regulations and statutes.

 

[TheBahaBlast]

PoliGAF going crazy. Secession soon.

 

[Metaphoreus]

Meta, you are highly intelligent yet also are acting completely irrationally and partisan. Yes, it's unfortunate that this happened because of a sudden death, but the president nominates. There is no reason why Obama should wait. Elections have consequences. See: 2012

I agree. There's no reason Obama should wait. If he nominates someone unobjectionable to the Senate, they should confirm his nominee. I have said nothing to the contrary.

That said, however, if they obstinately refuse to confirm any Obama nominee, they aren't violating a legal or Constitutional duty; that's their prerogative. Given how rare a vacancy on the Supreme Court during an election year is, it's hard to even say they'd be violating any established norms. The only considerations here are political.

The same was true when Chuck Schumer called for the Senate to block any further Bush nominees to the Supreme Court in July 2007.

 

[dramatis]

Yeah, there was a four hour training and an additional two hour thing tomorrow. It sounds like the city is always desperate for this position, since most people just want to work with no responsibility. At the same time, I do have a lot of experience leading and supervising groups of individuals, so that might have weighed in my favor.

Also, I work with law and government policy for a living, so I live and breathe regulations and statutes.

It's actually a lot easier than it seems from afar. I think it's for NY the state as a whole, but at the training class I received this neatly printed 100-page book that they spent the 4 hours going over. On election day we were basically told to carry the book and follow its instructions for anything except minor things that the coordinator would inform the workers about on the day of. Don't know if other states have this kind of instruction book.

So almost any unusual situation would have an answer in the book. On the day we worked we did have a problem that didn't get resolved until the end of the day though, and our coordinator was awful, so it wasn't a wholly good experience.

You better do good, I was so annoyed with my coordinator that at the end I left him to stew in most of his mistakes rather than help out

 

[NeoXChaos]

Yep exactly my arc. I thought of him as a good harmless candidate early on. You will find my posts as such. Sometime over the Summer he drank his own piss about everything. Exploiting people's frustrations for votes. In my view he's more dishonest than anyone running at the moment. Even Jeb, Marco and Kasich don't promise ridiculous nonsense. In that regard he's very similar to Trump and Cruz. This guy has been in the congress for decades yet we are to believe he's completely oblivious about the way 2/3rds of the federal government works? Give me a break.

This whole thing is the biggest fairy tale I've ever seen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWoHV0w051s

"The skies will open, the light will come down, celestial choirs will be singing and everyone will know we should do the right thing and the world will be perfect. "Maybe I’ve just lived a little long, but I have no illusions about how hard this is going to be. You are not going to wave a magic wand to make special interests disappear."

 

[Aaron Strife]

I agree. There's no reason Obama should wait. If he nominates someone unobjectionable to the Senate, they should confirm his nominee. I have said nothing to the contrary.

That said, however, if they obstinately refuse to confirm any Obama nominee, they aren't violating a legal or Constitutional duty; that's their prerogative. Given how rare a vacancy on the Supreme Court during an election year is, it's hard to even say they'd be violating any established norms. The only considerations here are political.

The same was true when Chuck Schumer called for the Senate to block any further Bush nominees to the Supreme Court in July 2007.

Fair enough, guess I misinterpreted something you said earlier.

 

[Retromelon]

No candidate is perfect. He made a wild promise, so what. Dudes heart is in the right place and he will do the right things when it comes down to making decisions. #stillfeelingthebern

 

[Holmes]

No candidate is perfect. He made a wild promise, so what. Dudes heart is in the right place and he will do the right things when it comes down to making decisions. #stillfeelingthebern

If only a lot of Obama supporters pre-2009 held the same opinion. They dumped him as soon as he tried to compromise with Republicans.

 

[Coriolanus]

No candidate is perfect. He made a wild promise, so what. Dudes heart is in the right place and he will do the right things when it comes down to making decisions. #stillfeelingthebern

That is code for shutting down the nsa aint it?

 

[teiresias]

This whole thing is the biggest fairy tale I've ever seen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWoHV0w051s

"The skies will open, the light will come down, celestial choirs will be singing and everyone will know we should do the right thing and the world will be perfect. "Maybe I’ve just lived a little long, but I have no illusions about how hard this is going to be. You are not going to wave a magic wand to make special interests disappear."

And she was damn right, given how long and how often Obama has foolishly tried to engage the GOP in good faith bipartisan governing when even a preschooler could see how much of a fool;s errand that was.

 

[dabig2]

If only a lot of Obama supporters pre-2009 held the same opinion. They dumped him as soon as he tried to compromise with Republicans.

Obama did a little more than that but yes, it'd be nice for people to be active and remain active in ensuring the well-being of their country. Organizing and continuing to write and protest your representatives is how the country can move forward. Staying in and just saying "fuck the system" is not the way to go.

 

[shinra-bansho]

So you get to pick between a shameless charlatan and a soulless murderess. Win, win.

 

[Yoda]

If I'm not mistaken Bernie's prison reduction "policy" is from his debate remark? If so he's right to be called out on it's impossibility... Due to the fact the office he is running for has no say in a lot of the inmates who'd need to be released; saying he's now being deceitful is beyond a stretch though, as it was clearly an off-the-cuff remark.

 

[The Technomancer]

If I'm not mistaken Bernie's prison reduction "policy" is from his debate remark? If so he's right to be called out on it's impossibility... Due to the fact the office he is running for has no say in a lot of the inmates who'd need to be released; saying he's now being deceitful is beyond a stretch though, as it was clearly an off-the-cuff remark.

Its really two things: that remark taken in conjunction with the complete dodge on "how do you get governors to pay for your education plan?" question were sort of a one two punch of "wait...shit he really is just throwing stuff out there isn't he?"

 

[Wilsongt]

Holy shit these debate highlights on NBC Nightly News.

 

[Retromelon]

That is code for shutting down the nsa aint it?

I dont want to sound like a broken record and keep bringing it up, but u arent wrong corey

 

[teiresias]

If I'm not mistaken Bernie's prison reduction "policy" is from his debate remark? If so he's right to be called out on it's impossibility... Due to the fact the office he is running for has no say in a lot of the inmates who'd need to be released; saying he's now being deceitful is beyond a stretch though, as it was clearly an off-the-cuff remark.

So at the very least he doesn't understand the responsibilities and limitations of the office for which he is running, which makes him make promises he can't keep . . . hey, that sounds like his whole platform!! Imagine that!

 

[NeoXChaos]

Sanders supporters revolt against superdelegates

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/02/bernie-sanders-superdelegates-democrats-219286

 

[Yoda]

Its really two things: that remark taken in conjunction with the complete dodge on "how do you get governors to pay for your education plan?" question were sort of a one two punch of "wait...shit he really is just throwing stuff out there isn't he?"

On Education if he opts to reform the system of student loans so its a direct payment to the school vs. a loan to the student, it's a matter of accounting. The law would simply ban any public university which takes said program (which would be > 50% of an institutions revenue) from charging students tuition. The state-funding would probably remain @ current levels. In terms of where the extra revenue comes from, he's clearly stated he'll raise taxes / defense cuts to account for the extra spending. He'd also not allow payments to for-profit universities. So in this case unless the states CUT their current funding it wouldn't be a significant factor in the calculus.

Sanders supporters revolt against superdelegates

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/02/bernie-sanders-superdelegates-democrats-219286

Super-delegates are by design to stop candidates who aren't aligned w/the elite of the party (Sanders). However, if Sanders is the clear winner of the delegates from votes, it'd be political suicide for the party to push her over the finish line w/super delegates.

 

[Iolo]

Sanders supporters revolt against superdelegates

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/02/bernie-sanders-superdelegates-democrats-219286

The effort, which will begin this week after MoveOn.org polls its supporters to pick which superdelegates to petition first, comes amid growing criticism from Sanders supporters who complain that the game is rigged in the former secretary of state's favor.

everything is rigged for these guys

 

[B-Dubs]

everything is rigged for these guys

The ESTABLISHMENT is trying to stop the REVOLUTION!!!

 

[Officerrob]

A Politico story about what Bernie supporters on reddit are doing, that's quality journalism

 

[shinra-bansho]

I think you guys need to dial down the rhetoric. He's doing what politicians do. There's no need to go down the road of vilifying him, in the way that Hillary Clinton is literally personally an evil war criminal bought and paid for by the Rand Corporation under supervision by reverse vampires.

Anyway, I thought I'd touch upon an earlier point. That the current state of the race implies an implicit weakness in the campaigns. I don't know if that's really the case, as I'd say that strengths can very easily be weaknesses given the particular set of circumstance and vice versa.

25 years in the spotlight has powered a brand name that surpasses the sitting VP; enough to scare him out of the race. It's also subjected that brand to persistent smearing by the other side (that gets bought into by people who should know better). It creates a caution, which would normally be a positive in a candidate, but is taken as coldness and calculation and leads to retrospectively foolish own-goals. It's created a network of allies and liberal-leaning benefactors that is probably unsurpassed; normally a boon, but turned into a bust. Her association with current administration, being the closest thing to an incumbent there is would normally help; and yet she has none of the trappings of incumbency and even to the extent that she can claim the President's mantle it only goes so far. Her knowledge of policy both in breadth and depth is really unmatched by anyone on either side; but this leads to a lack of focus.

Conversely, in a different race 25 years of relative obscurity getting little legislation passed and being laser-focused to a fault during that career would probably be of detriment; in a race with more contenders. Having to defend what you've done instead of how pure you've been. I think the complacency of incumbency, with the idea of holding he WH helps him here too. After 8 years of President Obama a certain constituent is left wanting more, better, faster which aligns well with his "radical" message as opposed to being 8 years in the wilderness and just thirsting for any win. His lack of ties to the party he's running for would probably normally be a penalty, but the continued dysfunction due to obstructionism has led to a view among a segment that both parties are the same and/or inherently broken anyway and he's leveraging this to good effect.

This setting aside the primary map.

 

[disastermouse]

I think you guys need to dial down the rhetoric. He's doing what politicians do. There's no need to go down the road of vilifying him, in the way that Hillary Clinton is literally personally an evil war criminal bought and paid for by the Rand Corporation under supervision by reverse vampires.

Anyway, I thought I'd touch upon an earlier point. That the current state of the race implies an implicit weakness in the campaigns. I don't know if that's really the case, as I'd say that strengths can very easily be weaknesses given the particular set of circumstance and vice versa.

25 years in the spotlight has powered a brand name that surpasses the sitting VP; enough to scare him out of the race. It's also subjected that brand to persistent smearing by the other side (that gets bought into by people who should know better). It creates a caution, which would normally be a positive in a candidate, but is taken as coldness and calculation and leads to retrospectively foolish own-goals. It's created a network of allies and liberal-leaning benefactors that is probably unsurpassed; normally a boon, but turned into a bust. Her association with current administration, being the closest thing to an incumbent there is would normally help; and yet she has none of the trappings of incumbency and even to the extent that she can claim the President's mantle it only goes so far. Her knowledge of policy both in breadth and depth is really unmatched by anyone on either side; but this leads to a lack of focus.

Conversely, in a different race 25 years of relative obscurity getting little legislation passed and being laser-focused to a fault during that career would probably be of detriment; in a race with more contenders. Having to defend what you've done instead of how pure you've been. I think the complacency of incumbency, with the idea of holding he WH helps him here too. After 8 years of President Obama a certain constituent is left wanting more, better, faster which aligns well with his "radical" message as opposed to being 8 years in the wilderness and just thirsting for any win. His lack of ties to the party he's running for would probably normally be a penalty, but the continued dysfunction due to obstructionism has led to a view among a segment that both parties are the same and/or inherently broken anyway and he's leveraging this to good effect.

This setting aside the primary map.

See, that's the thing. I don't want Hillary as the Democratic candidate, but I don't think she's evil or even particularly corrupt. I don't think she's a bad person.

I'm not going to vilify her if I can avoid it, although perhaps I already have without being aware of it somewhere on here. The thing is, deep in my own feeling, I dislike her tactics and I dislike her agenda. I don't dislike her.

 

[benjipwns]

Thankfully, Hillary Clinton has not once in this campaign lied or made unrealistic promises. You can't find a single one on her website! Not even outlandish claims about the state of the world's climate in 2030 being set in stone within ten years of her taking office! Not even the pushed-ahead date ones when I accurately quote from her 2016 site instead of the 2008 one.

I think you guys need to dial down the rhetoric. He's doing what politicians do. There's no need to go down the road of vilifying him, in the way that Hillary Clinton is literally personally an evil war criminal bought and paid for by the Rand Corporation under supervision by reverse vampires.

lol u bought the conspiracy that it's the reverse vampires? what a rube

 

[aspiegamer]

Sanders supporters revolt against superdelegates

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/02/bernie-sanders-superdelegates-democrats-219286

Hm. That sounds like it's something that could happen...

Pro-Sanders threads on Reddit have been burning up with calls for action, with some supporters even reaching out to superdelegates (who are typically Democratic governors, members of Congress, and top state and national party leaders) to lobby them on the Vermont senator’s behalf.

Those two terms combined have never, ever led to anything other than misery for the people "reached". In the past this has been code for doxxing if the said persons contacted don't give in to threats. And yes, they're typically threats. Perhaps things will be different this time, so let's see...

Upon further review, these threads do not seem prevalent in the Sanders subreddit. In fact a search of /r/sandersforpresident for "superdelegate" turns up zero threads with such a call to action. The thing remotely closest is a thread from 4 days ago asking followers to NOT contact the delegates directly and to support general Nevada efforts instead. The petitions linked have no dates on them (though do reference NH, so at max 6 days old). So it's sensationalist Politico 100% bullshit. And people wonder why things are so needlessly tense. Internal mental apologies to any Sanders supporters I thought might be capable of such chicanery.

 

[Wilsongt]

Scalia died of a heart attack.

Well then.

Omg! anderson cooper moderating a GOP town ball.

I can only get -so- erect!

 

[OrangeGrayBlue]

I think you guys need to dial down the rhetoric. He's doing what politicians do. There's no need to go down the road of vilifying him, in the way that Hillary Clinton is literally personally an evil war criminal bought and paid for by the Rand Corporation under supervision by reverse vampires.

Anyway, I thought I'd touch upon an earlier point. That the current state of the race implies an implicit weakness in the campaigns. I don't know if that's really the case, as I'd say that strengths can very easily be weaknesses given the particular set of circumstance and vice versa.

25 years in the spotlight has powered a brand name that surpasses the sitting VP; enough to scare him out of the race. It's also subjected that brand to persistent smearing by the other side (that gets bought into by people who should know better). It creates a caution, which would normally be a positive in a candidate, but is taken as coldness and calculation and leads to retrospectively foolish own-goals. It's created a network of allies and liberal-leaning benefactors that is probably unsurpassed; normally a boon, but turned into a bust. Her association with current administration, being the closest thing to an incumbent there is would normally help; and yet she has none of the trappings of incumbency and even to the extent that she can claim the President's mantle it only goes so far. Her knowledge of policy both in breadth and depth is really unmatched by anyone on either side; but this leads to a lack of focus.

Conversely, in a different race 25 years of relative obscurity getting little legislation passed and being laser-focused to a fault during that career would probably be of detriment; in a race with more contenders. Having to defend what you've done instead of how pure you've been. I think the complacency of incumbency, with the idea of holding he WH helps him here too. After 8 years of President Obama a certain constituent is left wanting more, better, faster which aligns well with his "radical" message as opposed to being 8 years in the wilderness and just thirsting for any win. His lack of ties to the party he's running for would probably normally be a penalty, but the continued dysfunction due to obstructionism has led to a view among a segment that both parties are the same and/or inherently broken anyway and he's leveraging this to good effect.

This setting aside the primary map.

Yeah, the vitriol is really ramping up. Like, y'all realize you're voting for Bernie if he gets the nomination, right? Same thing if Hillary wins. Some folks are talking like they're gonna hop on team Rubio or who ever if their candidate doesn't get the democratic nomination and that's just reckless regardless of whether Hillary or Bernie come out on top.

 

[Joey Fox]

See, that's the thing. I don't want Hillary as the Democratic candidate, but I don't think she's evil or even particularly corrupt. I don't think she's a bad person.

I'm not going to vilify her if I can avoid it, although perhaps I already have without being aware of it somewhere on here. The thing is, deep in my own feeling, I dislike her tactics and I dislike her agenda. I don't dislike her.

Not even "particularly corrupt". I hate how so many find that acceptable on any side.

 

[kirblar]

I don't understand the request to stop "villifying" Sanders. I (as well of a few others) have a very strong negative opinion of him, and I don't believe my criticism of him is unfair in any way, so this comes off as a request to pull punches to me.

 

[Gruco]

Yeah, the vitriol is really ramping up. Like, y'all realize you're voting for Bernie if he gets the nomination, right? Same thing if Hillary wins. Some folks are talking like they're gonna hop on team Rubio or who ever if their candidate doesn't get the democratic nomination and that's just reckless regardless of whether Hillary or Bernie come out on top.

Honestly not obvious to me. Bloomberg may be running then. Similarly ridiculous, just in different ways. Would depend on polling nationally.

 

[tmarg]

.

Even if they did, you are talking about people eating cheetos in their underwear threatening literally the most powerful people in the world.

Superdelegates are not indie game devs or whoever else usually ends up as the target of Reddit's ire. I don't think it would play out quite the same way.

 

[Rafa=FedKilla]

Scalia died of a heart attack.

Well then.

Omg! anderson cooper moderating a GOP town ball.

I can only get -so- erect!

A two night event!

I need polls! I'll take anything, even Gravis.