Is there a politics thread? Guess I'm making one

[superaielman]

I take offense, my two year old niece is much more mature.

[The Duck]

Encountered some bona fide white supremacists protesting Jews and international banking outside the federal reserve in Boston yesterday.  Told them they're racist shits and to get the fuck out of Boston (they said they're from Connecticut) to which one replied that I'm "obviously a Jew" if I object to them.

It really rattled me, honestly.  This fucking election cannot be over soon enough.

This kind of thing doesn't end with the election.

[NotMiki]

It doesn't, but I'm optimistic that in mid-November, with a president Clinton, a furious but impotent Trump, and cold weather, that they'll head back to their subreddits to hibernate.  This shit doesn't go away, but it needs a center of gravity.  And a loser can't be a center of gravity.

[Captain K]

And a loser can't be a center of gravity.

Tell that to Sarah Palin.

If Fox News and related Conservative media are smart, they'll pretend Trump doesn't exist after the election.  If they invite him on for interviews and as a guest correspondant, they give him legitimacy.  In order for Republicans to get their party back on track they need to ignore the crazy people for a while.

[NotMiki]

Oooh yeah, Palin.  Well, hopefully the same logic doesn't apply to the top of the ticket.  McCain certainly hasn't retained any potency.

Also women are mostly comfortable being alone in a room with Palin, so there's that.

As for Fox...earlier they were worried Trump would spin the election into a competing cable news channel, with one Roger Ailes in tow.  They've already got demographic problems and women problems.  I'm gonna guess they steer clear of Trump.

[OblivionKnight]

This makes things better:

http://mashable.com/2016/10/14/billboard-overwatch-donald-trump.amp

[NotMiki]

Yeah, it does.

[metroid composite]

Let's talk policy--Hillary Clinton in the debates kept talking about how Trump would in some cases raise taxes on the middle class.  I hadn't seen numbers on that.  Here's some:

http://www.vox.com/2016/9/26/12991790/donald-trump-tax-hike-middle-class

The first tax plan kept the bottom income tax rate at 10 percent, the same as under current law. But Trump then changed it to make the bottom rate 12 percent. That raises taxes on everyone with a positive tax burden, all else being equal. This is offset — and then some — for rich families by lower rates higher up the income scale (like a 33 percent top bracket, down from 39.6), but it's hardly offset at all for many middle-class families.

Trump's initial plan also saw a dramatic increase in the standard deduction, from $12,600 to $50,000 for married couples. Trump would've kept the personal exemption, an additional deduction that all taxpayers can claim for themselves and their family, at its current level of $4,050. But his updated plan not only cut the standard deduction to $30,000 for married couples, it eliminated personal exemptions entirely. So a family of five claiming a personal exemption for each would actually be worse off under Trump’s changes, as five times $4,050 plus $12,600 is greater than $30,000.

Trump’s initial plan left head-of-household filing status, which effectively lowers taxes for unmarried individuals caring for an adult or child dependent, untouched. His new plan eliminates it. That puts middle-class single parents, and single adults caring for a parent or relative, in a bind.

Batchelder provides several examples of families that would see their taxes go up under Trump’s plan. The biggest hikes number in the thousands of dollars, and are concentrated among single parents:

• A single parent with $75,000 in earnings, two children in school, and no child care costs (because the kids are in school) would pay $2,440 more.
• A single parent with $50,000 in earnings, three children in school, and child care costs of less than $6,000 would pay $1,188 more.
• A married couple with $50,000 in earnings, two kids in school, and no child care costs would pay $150 more because of the bottom bracket's increase from 10 to 12 percent.

[Grefter]

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2016/10/17/john-mccain-foreshadows-supreme-court-confirmation-fights-ahead/

Just a reminder that a deadlocked vote is functionally the same as a No result.  Deadlocks supports the status quo.

Also that this is literally what we elect people for and pay them to do.

[Cmdr_King]

Yeah but we don't pay nearly as good as Koch Industries so we don't get the final say.

[Grefter]

For what it is worth, I suppose another SCJ might die or quit.  So instead we just get a higher concentration of power rather than a breakdown of built in checks and balances.

[dunie]

Tee hee.

[Cotigo]

conspiracy: hillary wont release her remaining emails because it will reveal that she has been in the pockets of big pimpin all along

[Hunter Sopko]

Goddamnit Zenny I snorted my bourbon into my goddamn nose thanks to that.

[superaielman]

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/441319/donald-trump-alt-right-internet-abuse-never-trump-movement


Everyone responsible for the rise of Trump- the media who gave him a ton of free coverage because it was ratings to the Republican voters to  journalists who didn't even bother to do a cursory background investigation on Trump to the parasites in right wing media who helped fuel this insanity- deserves blame for this garbage.

[Luther Lansfeld]

[metroid composite]

Tee hee.

I see your death row records, and raise you one american flag

[dunie]

tee hee

[Fenrir]

I don't know how you all manage to not completely lose your mind
I feel so terrible about this and I've never even lived in America

[superaielman]

Trump is basically Le Pen  so yeah you've been through this particular hell before. It sucks.

[SnowFire]

No this is worse.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_presidential_election,_2002

Jacques Chirac   Rally for the Republic (Rassemblement pour la République)   25,537,956   82.21%
Jean-Marie Le Pen   National Front (Front national)   FN      5,525,032   17.79%

A crazy candidate getting past the primary occasionally due to good luck, cosmic rays, split vote, aliens, whatever is fine.  They just need to lose, and lose *big*, in the general.  Even if Clinton squeaks through, this will be entirely too close to call when one candidate is manifestly unfit for office even if you 100% agreed with him on every policy position he takes.

Granted, the French example isn't perfect, since that was a right-wing candidate & a far right-wing candidate, which would be the equivalent of a general election between Mitt Romney & Ted Cruz with no 3rd party candidates allowed, which would probably be a pretty easy win.  (Same with, uh, Clinton vs. Sanders in the general election somehow.)

[Fenrir]

I agree but

Chirac was helped by the lack of time between the first and second turn of the elections, nobody expected Le Pen to go to the second round so he couldn't develop a strategy and make himself look like a real solid choice like Trump did
And that was ages, things have changed

I really don't think the French are superior to Americans (or Brits) , I am pretty sure almost all of Europe could do something as dumb as electing Trump / choosing Brexit

[superaielman]

I'm not debating the relative good/bad of the people involved, just that you've been there when one of the crazies gets free run of things and gets to run for national office.

[OblivionKnight]

Anyone want to come to my house Tuesday?  Having an "End of America" party.  Cyanide-laced sangria for all!

[superaielman]

Oooh ooh I will, I will get to meet your wife and tell her all kinds of stories about you! (I need some kind of entertainment, this election is going to be fucking AWFUL)