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OOTB's Political Thread . ..

Did she really endorse Sanders last time? I doubt she came out in support of Hillary, but she may have, I dunno. I don't think she is obsessed with Trump as a lot of democrats seem to be.

She resigned from a position in the DNC in solidarity with him over the election rigging in the primary
 
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If you want people to think you think objectively then you probably shouldn't say stuff like this. It just shows you'll side with anyone on your side of the ticket, even if they are the worst. That sucks.
I can't think of anyone running who wouldn't be a big, big improvement over what we have. Anyone of them...
 
If you want people to think you think objectively then you probably shouldn't say stuff like this. It just shows you'll side with anyone on your side of the ticket, even if they are the worst. That sucks.

There are lots of democratic candidates that I don't like. But I think Trump is an existential risk so I want him out of office. I would take the worst democratic candidate over him in a heartbeat. I'd side with any one of the democrats because I think they're all better than trump. It shows that I would side with almost anyone over trump, because I think he is the worst. He's a dangerously irrational, narcissistic moron with access to nuclear weapons.
 
I can't think of anyone running who wouldn't be a big, big improvement over what we have. Anyone of them...

I would take the worst democratic candidate over him in a heartbeat. I'd side with any one of the democrats because I think they're all better than trump.

Proving my point for me, appreciate it fellas.
 
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Proving my point for me, appreciate it fellas.

Your point is a false premise. You're claiming I would choose any democrat just because they're a democrat. But I would also choose any other republican over Trump too. You're completely ignoring my actual argument so can you keep making the claim that my preferences are simply based on political bias.
 
If you want people to think you think objectively then you probably shouldn't say stuff like this. It just shows you'll side with anyone on your side of the ticket, even if they are the worst. That sucks.
I agree with you, here. But, to me, it's just indicative of how out-of-whack the political climate is in the country.
 
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I agree with you, here. But, to me, it's just indicative of how out-of-whack the political climate is in the country.

This was more my point. I just hate how the political climate has gone so far left vs. right.

@uncboy10 original comment wasn't "I'd take anyone over Trump". It was "I'd take any democrat over Trump." You're back tracking on it now and it's fine if you actually would take another Republican but that's not what you said so to me, it just showed that mindset that I absolutely hate.

I'm a moderate and I want moderate candidates to lead my country. It's a shame that doesn't work for 2019. That's my point on it.
 
This was more my point. I just hate how the political climate has gone so far left vs. right.

@uncboy10 original comment wasn't "I'd take anyone over Trump". It was "I'd take any democrat over Trump." You're back tracking on it now and it's fine if you actually would take another Republican but that's not what you said so to me, it just showed that mindset that I absolutely hate.

I'm a moderate and I want moderate candidates to lead my country. It's a shame that doesn't work for 2019. That's my point on it.
I would vote for almost any of the republicans that ran in 2016 over almost all the democrats running now. All they have to do is drop any support for Trump. Trump was the worst mistake the GOP has made in my lifetime.
 
This was more my point. I just hate how the political climate has gone so far left vs. right.

@uncboy10 original comment wasn't "I'd take anyone over Trump". It was "I'd take any democrat over Trump." You're back tracking on it now and it's fine if you actually would take another Republican but that's not what you said so to me, it just showed that mindset that I absolutely hate.

I'm a moderate and I want moderate candidates to lead my country. It's a shame that doesn't work for 2019. That's my point on it.

But my original repost was a reply to the discussion about democratic candidates. My point was they’re all better than trump. I’m not a democrat. I’ve said that countless times. The political issues that are most important to me are campaign finance reform, addressing climate change, and economic development that benefits the working class. The vast majority of the Democratic Party is still propped up by super PAC money.

From what I’ve seen, Trump is the least moderate candidate in the entire field, on both sides. If volatility is a concern, then he is the worst imaginable person to have in the White House.

Another concern I have is that ‘moderate’ in US politics is actually center-right. Ideas that are mainstream labor/liberal, are called socialism here. That’s not meant as qualitative argument about how good/bad those ideas are. I just think it would be helpful to properly align our political philosophies. That’s a big part of why everything is becoming more and more extreme. Ideas are being intentionally mislabeled by the opposition. Anything liberal is socialism, and anything conservative is fascism.
 
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If you want people to think you think objectively then you probably shouldn't say stuff like this. It just shows you'll side with anyone on your side of the ticket, even if they are the worst. That sucks.

Don't let out-of-touch people like this influence you, not that you are. The best candidate can be on either side. I would probably vote for Tulsi over Trump, but there's no way I'm voting for "The Sellout", "The Groper", or "Fauxchahontis" over this guy.
 
But my original repost was a reply to the discussion about democratic candidates. My point was they’re all better than trump. I’m not a democrat. I’ve said that countless times. The political issues that are most important to me are campaign finance reform, addressing climate change, and economic development that benefits the working class. The vast majority of the Democratic Party is still propped up by super PAC money.

From what I’ve seen, Trump is the least moderate candidate in the entire field, on both sides. If volatility is a concern, then he is the worst imaginable person to have in the White House.

Another concern I have is that ‘moderate’ in US politics is actually center-right. Ideas that are mainstream labor/liberal, are called socialism here. That’s not meant as qualitative argument about how good/bad those ideas are. I just think it would be helpful to properly align our political philosophies. That’s a big part of why everything is becoming more and more extreme. Ideas are being intentionally mislabeled by the opposition. Anything liberal is socialism, and anything conservative is fascism.

What is your definition of "moderate"?
 
From what I’ve seen, Trump is the least moderate candidate in the entire field, on both sides.

Comments like this are why I'll be placing my wagers on Trump to win in 2020 (assuming he hasn't been booted out of office by then). The far left doesn't seem to realize just how far left they, and their candidates, are. There are a ton of things Trump can be attacked on: being a blowhard, a liar, an idiot, no political experience prior to this, etc. but he's not ultra-right (I mean, even compare him to his VP who is well to the right of him).

If the Dems could take an honest look at the situation, they'd put out a slightly left-leaning competent moderate Democrat, that would destroy Trump in a general election. I think they saw that at first, by propping up Biden. But then he got torn apart for some of his more moderate decisions/votes/initiatives from 20-30 years ago (in addition to being kind of an idiot and a creeper, but that was secondary). So now the two most likely people to get the nomination are super left, but the Dem base doesn't realize how far left they are compared to the general population, so when they eventually lose to Trump by not getting enough of the moderate vote - it'll once again come as a complete shock to them.
 
Comments like this are why I'll be placing my wagers on Trump to win in 2020 (assuming he hasn't been booted out of office by then). The far left doesn't seem to realize just how far left they, and their candidates, are. There are a ton of things Trump can be attacked on: being a blowhard, a liar, an idiot, no political experience prior to this, etc. but he's not ultra-right (I mean, even compare him to his VP who is well to the right of him).

If the Dems could take an honest look at the situation, they'd put out a slightly left-leaning competent moderate Democrat, that would destroy Trump in a general election. I think they saw that at first, by propping up Biden. But then he got torn apart for some of his more moderate decisions/votes/initiatives from 20-30 years ago (in addition to being kind of an idiot and a creeper, but that was secondary). So now the two most likely people to get the nomination are super left, but the Dem base doesn't realize how far left they are compared to the general population, so when they eventually lose to Trump by not getting enough of the moderate vote - it'll once again come as a complete shock to them.

And then AOC is going to come in 2024 to take a big giant dump on any idea that party had of nominating a moderate.
 
Comments like this are why I'll be placing my wagers on Trump to win in 2020 (assuming he hasn't been booted out of office by then).
I think he could technically still run in the 2020 election even if he's kicked out. I don't think being thrown out prevents you from running in the future, assuming you've only served one term. I could absolutely see Trump doing that. Since there would be almost zero amount of time to hold primaries, he would probably win the nomination.
 
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I think he could technically still run in the 2020 election even if he's kicked out. I don't think being thrown out prevents you from running in the future, assuming you've only served one term. I could absolutely see Trump doing that. Since there would be almost zero amount of time to hold primaries, he would probably win the nomination.

I don't think getting removed from office would prevent him from running again either. I was saying that if he did get kicked out, I would no longer be willing to bet on him to win even if he did enter. I think if he gets removed from office he wouldn't win the election.
 
I don't think getting removed from office would prevent him from running again either. I was saying that if he did get kicked out, I would no longer be willing to bet on him to win even if he did enter. I think if he gets removed from office he wouldn't win the election.
I would probably agree, but I think he might have a decent shot in that scenario. The vast majority of republicans don't want to see him impeached and last time I checked a majority of independents don't want him thrown out of office. I could definitely see republicans and independents turn out in huge numbers to tell congress they don't decide who the president is and they can GFY.
 
Comments like this are why I'll be placing my wagers on Trump to win in 2020 (assuming he hasn't been booted out of office by then). The far left doesn't seem to realize just how far left they, and their candidates, are. There are a ton of things Trump can be attacked on: being a blowhard, a liar, an idiot, no political experience prior to this, etc. but he's not ultra-right (I mean, even compare him to his VP who is well to the right of him).

If the Dems could take an honest look at the situation, they'd put out a slightly left-leaning competent moderate Democrat, that would destroy Trump in a general election. I think they saw that at first, by propping up Biden. But then he got torn apart for some of his more moderate decisions/votes/initiatives from 20-30 years ago (in addition to being kind of an idiot and a creeper, but that was secondary). So now the two most likely people to get the nomination are super left, but the Dem base doesn't realize how far left they are compared to the general population, so when they eventually lose to Trump by not getting enough of the moderate vote - it'll once again come as a complete shock to them.

There’s nothing moderate about climate change denial. Or suggesting that your political opponents are traitors and criminals that should be locked up. Proposing that we spend billions of dollars to build a border Wall is not moderate. Gutting environmental protections is not moderate. Claiming that an impeachment probe is a coup is not moderate. There’s nothing moderate about trump.

The democrats ran a “moderate” in 2016. Clinton is a textbook centrist Democrat. How did that work out?

This is exactly what I was talking about before. Neither Bernie nor Warren are that far left. Tulsi is frequently mentioned in this thread as being more moderate and she has almost exactly the same platform as Bernie. According to polls he is the most favorable and trusted politician in all of Washington. The fact that Bernie repeatedly polled stronger against trump than Hillary did undermines your theory. She was within the margin of error for the last several months leading into the election.
 
I would much prefer Trump be voted out of office if there was some way to stop the damage he is causing between now and Election Day.
 
There’s nothing moderate about climate change denial. Or suggesting that your political opponents are traitors and criminals that should be locked up. Proposing that we spend billions of dollars to build a border Wall is not moderate. Gutting environmental protections is not moderate. Claiming that an impeachment probe is a coup is not moderate. There’s nothing moderate about trump.

The democrats ran a “moderate” in 2016. Clinton is a textbook centrist Democrat. How did that work out?

This is exactly what I was talking about before. Neither Bernie nor Warren are that far left. Tulsi is frequently mentioned in this thread as being more moderate and she has almost exactly the same platform as Bernie. According to polls he is the most favorable and trusted politician in all of Washington. The fact that Bernie repeatedly polled stronger against trump than Hillary did undermines your theory. She was within the margin of error for the last several months leading into the election.

Lol @ you thinking Bernie isn't "that far left". He's the most dangerous thing to our economy since CDO's.
 
Speaking of Bernie, he might have to drop out soon. That would help out Warren.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/02/politics/bernie-sanders-artery-blockage-2020/index.html

And that stent that was put in was invented thanks to those “evil” corporations doing medical research on how we can unclog arteries without doing major surgery.

But sure, let’s tax them to death so their research gets limited because the guy scooping my ice cream at Baskin Robbins needs $18/hr.

I’m at a loss on how anyone can support that economic structure.
 
So free college, ridiculously high minimum wage, and insanely high taxes for the rich are moderate? Interesting view you have.

I never said he was a moderate. I said he isn’t that far left. He isn’t proposing we seize the means and modes of production.

The minimum wage has been frozen for decades. The real purchasing power of that wage has decreased every year. Minimum wage should be locked to inflation. The idea is to make sure people can survive on the minimum wage. Either we force the private sector to pay people enough to live on, or they will have to turn to public assistance. I would rather employers pay people than our tax dollars go towards effectively subsidizing companies that won’t pay a living wage.

Free college won’t get passed. Not like Bernie could sign an EO to make that happen. But free tech and trade schools would be a good start. Education is a public good that helps our entire society.

He hasn’t proposed “insanely high taxes.” It’s a progressive tax plan that mostly focused on closing tax loopholes that allow companies like amazing to pay zero dollars in taxes.
 
The minimum wage has been frozen for decades.

Federal has been locked...but most states have raised minimum wage in accordance with inflation throughout this century.

Minimum wage should be locked to inflation. The idea is to make sure people can survive on the minimum wage.

Those are two different things. Locking it to inflation is fine. Raising it from $7.25 to $15.00 isn't about survival, it's about comfort. I don't feel someone should be living very comfortably in their minimum wage jobs that they never want to get out of it. I argue Americans should be better than minimum wage, unskilled jobs and our pay should reflect that.

Free college won’t get passed.

Agree, another reason why he's a lunatic with some stuff for even proposing it. Similar to Trump with the wall, etc...cater to the idiotic part of your base.

But free tech and trade schools would be a good start. Education is a public good that helps our entire society.

Again, agree, but I think "free" is tough. Is college of all types (trade, tech, 2 year, 4 year, masters, PHD) too expensive? Of course. Is reform needed or is a student loan bubble going to burst? Absolutely.

Free is too extreme to me. Let's reform it and make it affordable and have a goal that every student is out of loan debt by 22 for trade/tech/2 year, 25 for 4 year, 28 for masters, and 30 for PHD (assuming these ages for kids who go straight from HS). Figure out starting income for certain programs and then factor that into how much it should cost with the goal of someone being able to pay it off by those goal dates. I think that's more realistic.

He hasn’t proposed “insanely high taxes.” It’s a progressive tax plan that mostly focused on closing tax loopholes that allow companies like amazing to pay zero dollars in taxes.

Agree on the tax loopholes, disagree on the millionaire tax. If you start taking wealthy people's money away then they get more conservative and they stop doing things that make economies grow. I'm 10000% against that.
 
Federal has been locked...but most states have raised minimum wage in accordance with inflation throughout this century.



Those are two different things. Locking it to inflation is fine. Raising it from $7.25 to $15.00 isn't about survival, it's about comfort. I don't feel someone should be living very comfortably in their minimum wage jobs that they never want to get out of it. I argue Americans should be better than minimum wage, unskilled jobs and our pay should reflect that.



Agree, another reason why he's a lunatic with some stuff for even proposing it. Similar to Trump with the wall, etc...cater to the idiotic part of your base.



Again, agree, but I think "free" is tough. Is college of all types (trade, tech, 2 year, 4 year, masters, PHD) too expensive? Of course. Is reform needed or is a student loan bubble going to burst? Absolutely.

Free is too extreme to me. Let's reform it and make it affordable and have a goal that every student is out of loan debt by 22 for trade/tech/2 year, 25 for 4 year, 28 for masters, and 30 for PHD (assuming these ages for kids who go straight from HS). Figure out starting income for certain programs and then factor that into how much it should cost with the goal of someone being able to pay it off by those goals.



Agree on the tax loopholes, disagree on the millionaire tax. If you start taking wealthy people's money away then they get more conservative and they stop doing things that make economies grow. I'm 10000% against that.

But some states haven’t. And nobody is living a life of luxury on 15/hr. There are a lot places where you can barely make rent on that wage.

The idea that everyone should just move up to a better job is a fantasy. There are less high paying jobs than there are people, by a long shot. There will always be more people at the bottom of the pyramid than the top and federal law should prevent those people from being exploited. More unionization would help too.

The economy is totally imbalanced. Corporate profits are through the roof while purchasing power for the average American drops every year. That’s not sustainable.

He’s not a lunatic. Free college is not that extreme. It’s a subsidy for a public good which makes good economic sense. That being said, we are probably closer to each other than I am to Bernie on this. Just because I think he’s the best candidate doesn’t mean I have to agree with every policy. Starting at tuition free college gives room for compromise.

If his wealth tax slows down the economy like you’re suggesting then those people need new financial planners. People like Warren Buffett have refuted these claims. He’s said numerous times that if the numbers check out then he will make the investment. A profit is a profit, even if a chunk of it is taxed.

And this isn’t very extreme...

Sanders wants to levy a 1 percent tax on wealth above $32 million, for married couples, and then slowly increase the tax for wealthier households: a 2 percent for wealth between $50 to $250 million; 3 percent for wealth from $250 to $500 million; 4 percent from $500 million to $1 billion, 5 percent from $1 to $2.5 billion, 6 percent from $2.5 to $5 billion, 7 percent from $5 to $10 billion, and 8 percent on wealth over $10 billion. Same thing goes for super-rich single people, except the wealth thresholds are cut in half. In other words, an unmarried person with $16.5 million in wealth would pay a $5,000 tax, as would a married couple with $32.5 million in net worth.
 
Hopefully, Tulsi gets some of Bernie's % points!
I saw a poll a few weeks back that said Warren was in the lead for back up options. Bernie is closer to Warren than Biden, so my guess is most of his support will go to Warren. I guess the 6 people who know Tulsi could support her. If I absolutely had to bet today , I would say Warren vs Trump (assuming he's still in office) in 2020.
 
I saw a poll a few weeks back that said Warren was in the lead for back up options. Bernie is closer to Warren than Biden, so my guess is most of his support will go to Warren. I guess the 6 people who know Tulsi could support her. If I absolutely had to bet today , I would say Warren vs Trump (assuming he's still in office) in 2020.
I just hope she retains her house seat, actually. She's being challenged by another democrat before the general election.
 
There’s nothing moderate about climate change denial. Or suggesting that your political opponents are traitors and criminals that should be locked up. Proposing that we spend billions of dollars to build a border Wall is not moderate. Gutting environmental protections is not moderate. Claiming that an impeachment probe is a coup is not moderate. There’s nothing moderate about trump.

Yes, there's nothing moderate about any of that stuff. There's also nothing ultra right about any of that stuff, because none of it is a political issue. Climate change denial and environmental protection gutting are issues with his understanding of science - not of him being ultra right.. His ranting on opponents and the impeachment probe are again part of him being a blowhard, not being ultra right.

Minimum wage should be locked to inflation.
I do agree with this. And as has already been pointed out, this happens at the state level. It should also happen at the Federal level though.

More unionization would help too.
*barf*
And this isn’t very extreme...

Sanders wants to levy a 1 percent tax on wealth above $32 million, for married couples, and then slowly increase the tax for wealthier households: a 2 percent for wealth between $50 to $250 million; 3 percent for wealth from $250 to $500 million; 4 percent from $500 million to $1 billion, 5 percent from $1 to $2.5 billion, 6 percent from $2.5 to $5 billion, 7 percent from $5 to $10 billion, and 8 percent on wealth over $10 billion. Same thing goes for super-rich single people, except the wealth thresholds are cut in half. In other words, an unmarried person with $16.5 million in wealth would pay a $5,000 tax, as would a married couple with $32.5 million in net worth.
How is that not very extreme? We've never had a wealth tax like that, and it would have major implications to some people (granted, a small fraction of the population). It's easy to say "ya, lets F over the rich people", and the majority of the population would be ok with that because they're not the ones getting fvcked, but is that even close to fair?

I saw some analysis that if Jeff Bezos (currently worth ~$107B) had been subject to the wealth tax Sanders is proposing since 1982 (i.e. the start of his career), he would currently be worth $9.9B. Now, it's easy to say "$10B is still filthy rich", and you'd be right - but is it fair to steal $97B, over 90% of his current net worth, from him in wealth taxes over time?
 
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