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[zethren]

I'll be watching Obama's speech tomorrow out of respect for him. But I do share some of the concerns in here, that it won't do much in the way of assuaging my fears and concerns for the incoming administration.

Our best days may very well be ahead of us, but we'll have to fight and wade through one hell of a mess to get there.

 

[whyamihere]

laugh or cry.

not sure.

 

[B-Dubs]

laugh or cry.

not sure.

I think cry, definitely cry.

 

[Teggy]

I've seen another like this on Facebook. Has to be trolls, right? No one is that dumb. I hope.

 

[BanGy.nz]

laugh or cry.

not sure.

Laugh until you cry.

 

[PantherLotus]

I'm not going to believe one of those until I see the realization hit on camera. NOT ONE.

 

[whyamihere]

I'm not going to believe one of those until I see the realization hit on camera. NOT ONE.

I just went through his twitter history. He is either doing the LONGEST CON of pretending being a Trump supporter, or this is real.

 

[Mobius and pet octopus]

wow, you really caught him in his lie this time!!

lol, wasn't me, also he has been caught many times in lies

 

[The Technomancer]

Okay its time for some game theory: assume that you have control over the GOP and Paul Ryan is not a problem. Assume that you have realized that the only way to not get slaughtered in repealing the ACA is for most of your constituents currently getting healthcare from it maintain their plans with premiums rising no faster than they are currently. What is the minimum change you can implement to convince the base that you "repealed Obamacare" while "leaving the ACA they benefit from" intact?

 

[royalan]

Considering all the polling that's been done over the years that suggests that people like the individual components of the ACA, but hate it when you connect it to the name "Obamacare" because of how effective Republicans were with their messaging vs Democrats, is it really that hard to imagine a large group of voters in this country so disconnected that they would believe that the ACA (Good) is a different thing apart from Obamacare (Bad)?

I mean, I'm not surprised that people like this exist. I'm sure there are a shit-ton of them.

 

[Mobius and pet octopus]

Okay its time for some game theory: assume that you have control over the GOP and Paul Ryan is not a problem. Assume that you have realized that the only way to not get slaughtered in repealing the ACA is for most of your constituents currently getting healthcare from it maintain their plans with premiums rising no faster than they are currently. What is the minimum change you can implement to convince the base that you "repealed Obamacare" while "leaving the ACA they benefit from" intact?

The minimum change is putting out a press release saying obamacare is over. Don't make any actual change to the law, because you don't need to (to meet the goal of this game). Send all your constituents a sticker saying "I beat Obamacare". They apparently don't know what obamacare is to begin with, so they'll buy whatever bullshit you feed them. Change the title of the ACA to the Freedom Affordable Care Act. Start a hashtag #FreedomCare.

 

[Aaron Strife]

The minimum change is putting out a press release saying obamacare is over. Don't make any actual change to the law, because you don't need to (to meet the goal of this game). Send all your constituents a sticker saying "I beat Obamacare". They apparently don't know what obamacare is to begin with, so they'll buy whatever bullshit you feed them. Change the title of the ACA to the Freedom Affordable Care Act. Start a hashtag #FreedomCare.

Change it to that but spell Care with K.

Bunch of FAKAs

 

[Maengun1]

laugh or cry.

not sure.

I used to love laughing at political morons.

But I'm currently insured through the ACA, so ... yeah.

 

[Chris R]

Considering all the polling that's been done over the years that suggests that people like the individual components of the ACA, but hate it when you connect it to the name "Obamacare" because of how effective Republicans were with their messaging vs Democrats, is it really that hard to imagine a large group of voters in this country so disconnected that they would believe that the ACA (Good) is a different thing apart from Obamacare (Bad)?

I mean, I'm not surprised that people like this exist. I'm sure there are a shit-ton of them.

After congress gets rid of a few parts of ACA expect the pressers to go out. 2018 is going to be a bloodbath for the left.

 

[Dan]

I need to believe this Obamacare/ACA misunderstanding that's cropped up a few times is some kind of deep trolling being done by conservatives.

---

GOP's just going to photocopy the ACA and switch some dates around. They'll repeal it and immediately enact the copy.

 

[The Technomancer]

After congress gets rid of a few parts of ACA expect the pressers to go out. 2018 is going to be a bloodbath for the left.

Thats what I'm asking though: what can they remove without it collapsing? Just about all I can think of is the pre-existing condition protections, but even those are going to have reverberations and people's premiums are still going to increase

 

[Holmes]

I used to love laughing at political morons.

But I'm currently insured through the ACA, so ... yeah.

Me too! And since my employee plan is more expensive for similar coverage, I opted not to enroll during the enrollment period. Now I have to wait 8 more months for the enrollment period again so yay.

 

[CygnusXS]

I'm fully willing to believe that a shocking number of people don't know that Obamacare and the ACA are the same thing, and further, that their dislike of Obamacare is purely symbolic and they'd be perfectly OK with more of the same as long as it doesn't have Obama's name on it.

 

[shinra-bansho]

Nah. Bob sucks.

 

[Sirpopopop]

So the new Trumpster line is that Donald Trump was not specifically mocking that guys disability, but that he supposedly uses the same hand gestures to mock everyone. Which of course is a total lie.

It's a good thing I just have to read this shit because if someone said that to me in person I would reflexively punch them in the face. I can't even describe how angry this shit makes me. How did we get to a place where being a middle school bully is cool? Why is there so much contempt for the fucking disabled of all people? And on top of that they try and lie and cover up what anyone with two eyes knows is true.

Wait?

I thought the Trumpster line was that Meryl Streep can't speak because she didn't criticize what happened to the disabled kid in Chicago.

 

[Eusis]

To be fair.....what about the Trump voters that DIDN'T vote for him because of those two things?

I do imagine quite a few are operating more on ignorance than malice. Hell, probably even some of those that want the deportations or refusing refugees, they see a few bad stories and freak out rather than actually knowing people who fled those countries or what the actual statistics are.

It's kind of case by case though. And inversely some people seem willing to let friendships burn over sports so that in particular can be a toxic mindset when guided by irrationality.

 

[whyamihere]

After congress gets rid of a few parts of ACA expect the pressers to go out. 2018 is going to be a bloodbath for the left.

It would be very unusual for that to happen for the president's party in a midterm.

 

[Aaron Strife]

It would be very unusual for that to happen for the president's party in a midterm.

I mean the Senate map is bad enough that I could see Democrats losing a couple seats in an otherwise decent night, but I really can't conceive coming out of 2018 in worse shape in terms of governor or House races.

Trump would need a 9/11 and more importantly he would need people to rally around him.

Keep in mind also that Bush's gains in 2002 were pretty minimal. Democrats were in much better shape then than they are now (4 seats shy of a house majority, had a senate majority by 1)

 

[Bam Bam Baklava]

If you look back at it, Trump was in the most danger after his Curiel statements but that pathetic fuck Mateen decided to act on his perverted jihad and it gave Trump a lifeline and everyone forgot all about it.

That's the story of his campaign, every time he was in trouble something came along to bail him out. He might not have won the primary had the paris and san bernardino attacks not happened. He was too busy attacking Ben Carson for catching up to him in the polls before it happened.

 

[cartoon_soldier]

Don't expect any Trump nominees to not be confirmed.

 

[Diablos]

I'm fully willing to believe that a shocking number of people don't know that Obamacare and the ACA are the same thing, and further, that their dislike of Obamacare is purely symbolic and they'd be perfectly OK with more of the same as long as it doesn't have Obama's name on it.

Subsidies are dead. That's the tip of the iceberg.

 

[Plinko]

Don't expect any Trump nominees to not be confirmed.

Been saying this for weeks now. They'll all be confirmed.

The only one I'm hesitant about with that prediction is Sessions. With Booker breaking tradition and testifying against him, I'm curious if that will strengthen the case against him or just unify republicans in confirming.

 

[cartoon_soldier]

Been saying this for weeks now. They'll all be confirmed.

The only one I'm hesitant about with that prediction is Sessions. With Booker breaking tradition and testifying against him, I'm curious if that will strengthen the case against him or just unify republicans in confirming.

Unless they have some explosive evidence of the fact that Sessions is a racist nothing will change.

 

[Kid Kamikaze10]

Sanders said he'd listen to Sessions...

Sigh...

I'm done. I just keep thinking, "this ya mans".

 

[balladofwindfishes]

This is why many Democrats do not want Bernie or his crew leading the Democrats

That's the future of the Democrats. Right there.

 

[Aaronology]

This is why many Democrats do not want Bernie or his crew leading the Democrats

That's the future of the Democrats. Right there.

I've been trying to think positively of Sanders, and when I saw that topic my first thought was "at least Bernie would have the sense not to say something so politically counterproductive!" But then...

Sanders said he'd listen to Sessions...

Sigh...

I'm done. I just keep thinking, "this ya mans".

 

[Rebel Leader]

This is why many Democrats do not want Bernie or his crew leading the Democrats

That's the future of the Democrats. Right there.

I liked bernie but capping a limit as to how much a person can earn it not a bright idea (it sounds like one but it's not)

 

[kaskade]

What are the chances the senate blocks any of the picks for cabinet?

I started listening to Pod Save America and there do seem to be some people like McCain who could flip a vote on someone like Tillerson. It would be nice to think that at least a couple of them would like to do what's right and have proper vetting before confirming them.

 

[ShOcKwAvE]

Couple of guys wearing KKK outfits disrupted the room where Sessions is having his confirmation hearing. It hadn't started yet, but was interesting to see...

 

[Wilsongt]

A couple of hearings got pushed back a day, it seems

 

[woodland]

Assange doing an AMA on reddit in case anyone's interested. Doubt there will be anything of substance, or not shillish. So far it's been people legitimately worried about his well-being.

Front page btw.

https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/5n58sm/i_am_julian_assange_founder_of_wikileaks_ask_me/?utm_content=title&utm_medium=hot&utm_source=reddit&utm_name=frontpage

 

[Veritigo_X]

Assange doing an AMA on reddit in case anyone's interested. Doubt there will be anything of substance, or not shillish. So far it's been people legitimately worried about his well-being.

Front page btw.

https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/5n58sm/i_am_julian_assange_founder_of_wikileaks_ask_me/?utm_content=title&utm_medium=hot&utm_source=reddit&utm_name=frontpage

There was a bit of time a couple weeks ago where people on reddit was convinced Assange was either dead or in US custody and WikiLeaks was compromised. I wonder if that's still the case there and they think this is some CIA ruse.

Edit: Clicked on the link and read the first question. LOL

 

[Wilsongt]

Charlotte Church turned down Trump. Yaaaas Queen

On the concern for Assange thing... The fact that young male Americans are becoming pro-Russian youth is a bit concerning...

Thanks, Trump.

 

[Pixieking]

Charlotte Church turned down Trump. Yaaaas Queen

On the concern for Assange thing... The fact that young male Americans are becoming pro-Russian youth is a bit concerning...

Thanks, Trump.

Russia's anti-feminist, anti-gay/LGBTQ, anti-free speech (when it comes to liberal papers) and pro-nationalist. I mean, that's your average Trump supporter/Breitbart reader. The cross-over into being pro-Russia isn't that shocking, sadly.

 

[Wilsongt]

Russia's anti-feminist, anti-gay/LGBTQ, anti-free speech (when it comes to liberal papers) and pro-nationalist. I mean, that's your average Trump supporter/Breitbart reader. The cross-over into being pro-Russia isn't that shocking, sadly.

It makes for interesting times ahead as a lot of these kids won't grow up out of it if they continue to stay the course.

 

[woodland]

There was a bit of time a couple weeks ago where people on reddit was convinced Assange was either dead or in US custody and WikiLeaks was compromised. I wonder if that's still the case there and they think this is some CIA ruse.

Edit: Clicked on the link and read the first question. LOL

Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. I remember the first time he lost internet at some point in the election, but honestly haven't followed him at all outside of Trump's tweets from time to time. Good to know "are you alive and free" is getting upvoted past questions about his actual releases.

 

[chadskin]

There was a bit of time a couple weeks ago where people on reddit was convinced Assange was either dead or in US custody and WikiLeaks was compromised. I wonder if that's still the case there and they think this is some CIA ruse.

Edit: Clicked on the link and read the first question. LOL

Kind of ironic that the man who happily feeds conspiracy theories has himself become the center of conspiracy theories.

 

[royalan]

Sanders said he'd listen to Sessions...

Sigh...

I'm done. I just keep thinking, "this ya mans".

Said it before, will say it again:

When black people as a group aren't feeling you, there's usually a reason.

WHO is surprised by this?

 

[Pixieking]

It makes for interesting times ahead as a lot of these kids won't grow up out of it if they continue to stay the course.

Mmmm... I can see the people who stay the course graduating into anti-government militia and the KKK. If they're not already in them. I fear the next Tim McVeigh won't be far behind, but instead of Waco/Ruby Ridge, they'll be citing RBG's pro-abortion rights stance, or feminism.

 

[tedrotheredro]

Another protester at Session's hearing. What a circus.

Edit: And more now

Edit 2: And another

 

[woodland]

Just turned on the news and saw the KKK-dressed protesters with the "Go Jeffie boy!" foam fingers lmao.

Can anyone provide me some good reading on Sessions's past? Saw his stuff ontheissue but was looking for the racist stuff came from, aka, I suck at searching and need succinct article if anyone has time

 

[cooljeanius]

So THIS one is the correct thread? Okay, subbed. (But I subbed to the other [locked] one, too... so whatever)

 

[mid83]

Just turned on the news and saw the KKK-dressed protesters with the "Go Jeffie boy!" foam fingers lmao.

Can anyone provide me some good reading on Sessions's past? Saw his stuff ontheissue but was looking for the racist stuff came from, aka, I suck at searching and need succinct article if anyone has time

I think this is a pretty fair assessment of his history.

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/01/08/us/politics/jeff-sessions-attorney-general.html

 

[woodland]

I think this is a pretty fair assessment of his history.

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/01/08/us/politics/jeff-sessions-attorney-general.html

Awesome, will check it out. Just read two articles from the Atlantic/WAPO

 

[TheAbsolution]

Ugh, I hope they don't confirm Sessions. He's awful.