US Politics Thread |OT| THE DARKEST TIMELINE

[Mandark]

Pretty much all candidates unite their parties in the general election.  Or rather partisans always wind up supporting their party's candidate.

Christie's different from Giuliani in that he doesn't (AFAIK) have any major breaks from standard/acceptable GOP positions.  People don't think of him as a social conservative but he's against gay marriage and abortion, no?

[Phoenix Dark]

Actually Christie has raised taxes and passed surprising gun control bills. He also accepted the Medicaid expansion.

[Great Rumbler]

HOST HOWARD KURTZ : So what about this bully narrative [surrounding Chris Christie]?

FOX SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST BRIT HUME: Well, I would have to say that in this sort of feminized atmosphere in which we exist today, guys who are masculine and muscular like that in their private conduct, kind of old fashion tough guys, run some risk.

[ToxicAdam]

What exactly does Christie offer that others do not? He has the ability to speak glibly, but that seems like a talent that only serves to make you more divisive than actually attract new people.

He doesn't have a great record of experience(s) or some kind of 'hook' that people can latch onto nor any kind of great charisma or leadership skills. At least not apparent to me.

I guess he seems a bit more secular in his approach to politics than someone like Rick Perry, but that's not saying much either.

[Joe Molotov]

Only demi appreciates masculine, muscular guys like Chris Christie.  :'(

[Phoenix Dark]

He's quite charismatic and very quick on his feet. I watched some of his press conference and was surprised at the Clintonian way he sailed through. During the press conference my twitter feed was quite negative between liberals claiming he was bombing and conservatives shaking their heads. Yet when I watched it he seemed to have effortless control and confidence; he didn't look or sound like a guy who dun goofed.

The Beltway loves him, as they do most republicans who somehow win the "above the fray" title (see: Paul Ryan). But unlike Ryan, Christie is actually a talented politician, probably the second best current politician. And while personally I think Obama is a bad politician in many ways, anyone who is named Barack Hussein Obama and wins election and reelection as president becomes the best living politician by default.

[brawndolicious]

I can't see him losing conservative voters but I do think he would mobilize the more relaxed moderate and liberal leaning voters. Just on the basis that he can't get through a primary season without saying some crazy partisan shit.

[Brehvolution]

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/mccain_censure

A group of Arizona Republicans on Saturday formally censured Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) in a resolution that essentially branded him a "Republican In Name Only."

The Maricopa County Republican Committee voted overwhelmingly at its annual meeting to censure McCain, who was described as having a "long and terrible record of drafting, co-sponsoring and voting for legislation best associated with Liberal Democrats," Phoenix TV station KNXV reported.

 

[Great Rumbler]

[helios]

FROM: Bob Carleton
SUBJECT: Spelling Bee Champ

My name be Eboneesha Hernandez, a African-Hispanic-American Girl who jus got a award for bein the bess speler in class. I gots a 47% on the spelin text and 38 points for being black, 10 points for not bringin drugs to class, 10 points for not bringin guns to class, and 15 points for not getting pregnut during the cemester. It be hard to beat a score of 120%.

White dude sit nex to me is McGee from Jaxon Mizipy. He got a 94% on the text but no extra points on acount of he have the same skin color as the opressirs of 150 years ago. Granny ax me to thank all dimocrafts and liberuls for suportin afermative axion. You be showin da way to true eqwallity.

I be gittin in medical skool nex an mabe I be yo doctor since Barrac takn over da healfcare in dis contry.

Yup

[Great Rumbler]

It's funny because minority children receive a sub-standard education due to a lack of proper funding and skilled teachers in inner-city schools. A good joke.

[Joe Molotov]

She should have lost points for not bring a gun to class. How else will she be able defend her self and her classmates from a bad guy with a gun?

[Great Rumbler]

That unauthorized Roger Ailes biography it out tomorrow and it basically confirms what everyone already knew: that Roger Ailes is total scumbag.

[Oblivion]

She should have lost points for not bring a gun to class. How else will she be able defend her self and her classmates from a bad guy with a gun?

But by being black-hispanic, that would make her the bad guy with the gun.

[Great Rumbler]

Yeah, and the State Department specifically asked for additional funding for embassy security prior to the attack, a request that was shot down by GOP lawmakers. Not that anyone should be surprised by that.

[Great Rumbler]

[Great Rumbler]

DeMint op-ed kills more brain cells than a week in Vegas:

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/01/barack-obama-poverty-plan-102173.html?hp=l4#.UtY6h9JDuWk

Solyndra

[Phoenix Dark]

Politico Magazine is really hitting it out the park, huh

[Great Rumbler]

Commence the hand-wringing!

[Phoenix Dark]

In his signature legislative achievement alone, the Affordable Care Act, the president has unilaterally amended the law multiple times

I thought this would just be a GOP meme, but it's now mainstream. They realize that cabinet secretaries have broad power to administer passed laws correct?

[Brehvolution]

Obama isn't acting like a republican

[Joe Molotov]

Politico 

[Phoenix Dark]

Similarly, with the stroke of a magisterial pen, he has gutted large swaths of federal law that enjoy bipartisan support, including the Clinton-era welfare reform work requirement

literally not true

[Steve Contra]

Similarly, with the stroke of a magisterial pen, he has gutted large swaths of federal law that enjoy bipartisan support, including the Clinton-era welfare reform work requirement

literally not true

Yeah, it took several strokes #tcot

[Joe Molotov]

I just read the paragraph on the authors:

David Rivkin served in the Justice Department and the White House Counsel’s Office in the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations. He practices appellate litigation with particular focus on constitutional law at Baker Hostetler LLP and represented the 26 states that challenged the constitutionality of Obamacare. Elizabeth Price Foley is professor of constitutional law at Florida International University College of Law. She is the author, most recently, of The Tea Party: Three Principles.

[Great Rumbler]

[benjipwns]

[Phoenix Dark]

Poll: Support For Same-Sex Marriage Split In Utah

Utah residents are split evenly on support for same-sex marriage -- 48 percent feel gay couples should be issued state marriage licenses while 48 percent do not, according to a Tuesday Salt Lake Tribune poll.

The numbers mark a dramatic shift in attitude toward same-sex marriage in the state, according to the Tribune.

In 2004, 66 percent of Utah voters approved a constitutional ban on same-marriage, which was struck down by a federal judge in December.

The Tribune highlighted that while only 32 percent of Mormons supported same-sex marriage, 65 percent of Mormons supported civil unions for gay couples.

SurveyUSA, which conducted the poll for the Tribune, surveyed 600 Utahns via phone Jan. 10-13 with a margin or error between 3.7 percent and 5.3 percent.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/same-sex-marriage-support-split-utah

Holy shit. I had just assumed gay marriage would be wildly unpopular in Utah, and that fact would be used by conservatives to complain about the court ruling.

The writing is on the wall, folks. And this isn't like abortion, which imo will always be contentious to one degree or another. Folks realize gay marriage has no effect on them, they don't care. GG.

[Olivia Wilde Homo]

That is because people in Utah are hoping that by getting gay marriage on the books, they can overturn the polygamy ban next

[ToxicAdam]

Does this Obama NSA thing strike anyone else as just a shell game and blame shifting?

So, great that 'the government' doesn't hold any of the  phone data ... instead it will (most likely) be held by an outsourced public company that will be wholly dependent on government money. Not to mention being more susceptible to being compromised.

So, a crooked adminstration can still access files as long as they find one judge in their pocket to approve what they want to do. Shouldn't be too hard, with the amount of polarized and careerists judges we have in the country.

 

[Phoenix Dark]

Pretty much. It means congress can't blame the administration for laws they passed in 2001, but ultimately nothing changes.

Smear the shit around. Typical Obama reform.   

[Joe Molotov]

Speaking on Fox News, [Rand Paul] reacted to Obama's repeated assertions that Republicans should win elections if they want to control the agenda in Washington. Obama has also suggested in recent days that he might pursue more executive actions -- changes made without Congress.

"The danger to majority rule -- to him sort of thinking, well, the majority voted for me, now I'm the majority, I can do whatever I want, and that there are no rules that restrain me -- that's what gave us Jim Crow," Paul said. "That's what gave us the internment of the Japanese -- that the majority said you don't have individual rights, and individual rights don't come from your creator, and they’re not guaranteed by the Constitution. It’s just whatever the majority wants."

Paul 2016, the REVOLUTION is not dead!

[Brehvolution]

Rand Paul hates democracy.

[Great Rumbler]

Majority rule is bad! Therefore, we should have a small group of wealthy, white men get together in a quiet room somewhere and make all of our decisions for us.

[Steve Contra]

Drinky/Prole/Jackfrost2012/TimRogers/Vestal/VanCruncheon tricked me into reading this elsewhere, so you're all going to have to suffer through it:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/17/opinion/brooks-the-inequality-problem.html

[Human Snorenado]

 

David Brooks is going to be the motherfucking death of me, I swear.

[Great Rumbler]

Not really, because if you pay people more then they have more to spend and the people at or near the bottom spend virtually every cent they get inside the same month they get it, which creates more demand for products which require greater production and service capacity which results in more jobs which results in less unemployment and less income inequality.

There. Now give me my weekly column, NYT.

[Great Rumbler]

An attorney for David Wildstein, one of the men at the center of the investigation into last September's lane closures on the George Washington Bridge, said his client has a "story to tell" if granted immunity from state and federal prosecution.

On MSNBC’s “Up with Steve Kornacki” this morning, Hoboken, N.J. mayor Dawn Zimmer offered an extraordinary account of her dealings with the administration of Governor Chris Christie concerning federal Hurricane Sandy relief aid. She described an effort by top state officials – the lieutenant governor and a cabinet member – to coerce Hoboken’s city government into fast-tracking approval of a proposed redevelopment project by withholding Sandy aid from the government and residents of her city. That project, she says she was told, was “very important to the governor.” And if she worked to get it approved, “the money would start flowing to you.”

[Brehvolution]

The rights view of income inequality is this:

$15 minimum wage is part of 'entitlement culture'.

Million dollar bonuses and golden parachutes are fair compensation.

[benjipwns]

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/01/18/romney-defends-christie-handling-bridge-controversy/

Former GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney is stepping up for New Jersey Republican Gov. Chris Christie amid more attacks and accusations this weekend about the bridge scandal and political retribution.

“I think Chris has handled this in a very effective way,” Romney told The Washington Post.

...

Romney also told The Post that Christie took swift and decisive action upon learning a member of his administration did something he found reprehensible.

“He faced the American people for two hours, took their questions,” Romney said. “He dismissed people who were responsible. He took personal responsibility. That’s what a leader does.”

Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts, also said he doesn’t think Christie chances of running for president in 2016 will be hurt by the controversy, should Christie choose to run. 

[Am_I_Anonymous]

So...anybody ever watch the West Wing?

[Am_I_Anonymous]

The rights view of income inequality is this:

$15 minimum wage is part of 'entitlement culture'.

Million dollar bonuses and golden parachutes are fair compensation.

One is worth what the market will bear. If you think making a hamburger is a 15 dollar an hour job god bless you. ..and I hope he does because nobody with a 6th grade or higher education will.

You either are or you aren't...stop fucking trying to force this shit down our throat

[Mandark]

So...anybody ever watch the West Wing?

Nope.  Sounds kinda lame.

[Great Rumbler]

The rights view of income inequality is this:

$15 minimum wage is part of 'entitlement culture'.

Million dollar bonuses and golden parachutes are fair compensation.

One is worth what the market will bear. If you think making a hamburger is a 15 dollar an hour job god bless you. ..and I hope he does because nobody with a 6th grade or higher education will.

You either are or you aren't...stop fucking trying to force this shit down our throat

So what jobs should the 50 million people living in poverty be working towards if the jobs they currently have [or don't have, with the way things are right now] won't pay them enough for them to not live in poverty?

[benjipwns]

There's a lot more than fifty million people living in poverty.

[Positive Touch]

plus its stupid to think that a company like mcdonalds or walmart would just have extra money on hand to pay their employees more

[Joe Molotov]

plus its stupid to think that a company like mcdonalds or walmart would just have extra money on hand to pay their employees more

Better to just let the government subsidize them in the form of food stamps. Then they can afford to buy t-bone steaks and cadillacs and everyone wins.

[Phoenix Dark]

So...anybody ever watch the West Wing?

Felt too much like fantasy nonsense for me, I only lasted a couple episodes. I liked House Of Cards though...

[Phoenix Dark]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/local/2014/01/18/one-family-two-sacrifices/?hpid=z1

[benjipwns]

From the latest PPP primary poll in NH, this is Republicans only:

Q17 Has the legalization of gay marriage in New
Hampshire had a positive or negative impact
on your life, or has it not had any impact at all?
Positive impact 6% ........
Negative impact 23% ......
No impact at all 71% .......

Q18 Do you think same-sex marriage should be
allowed, or not?
 41% It should be allowed
 46% It should not............
 13% Not sure ..................

Also:

Q2 If Mike Huckabee was not a candidate for
President in 2016
Jeb Bush 14% .................
Chris Christie 28% ..........
Ted Cruz 10% .................
Bobby Jindal 4% ...........
Rand Paul 14% ...............
Marco Rubio 8% ...........
Paul Ryan 9% ...............
Scott Walker 4% ...........
 10% Someone else/Not sure..........

Q13 Has your opinion of Chris Christie gotten
higher, lower, or stayed about the same this
week?
Higher 14% .............................................................
Lower 18% ..............................................................
About the same 64% ...............................................
Not sure 3%

From the Dems, who they asked far fewer questions of:

If neither Hillary Clinton nor Joe Biden ran for
President in 2016, who would you most like to
see as the Democratic nominee?
Cory Booker 9% ............
Andrew Cuomo 19% .......
Kirsten Gillibrand 4% ....
Martin O'Malley 5% .......
Brian Schweitzer 2% .....
Mark Warner 2% ...........
Elizabeth Warren 30% ....
 28%

Q6 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Hillary Clinton?
Favorable 86% ........................................................
Unfavorable 10% ....................................................
Not sure 4%

[benjipwns]

For comparison, a PPP NH poll from May 2012, also Republicans only:

Same-sex Marriage Legal/Illegal
Legal 21%
Illegal 69%
Not sure 10%
 
Gay couples should be allowed to legally marry 19%
Gay couples should be allowed to form civil unions but not marry 50%
There should be no legal recognition of a gay couple's relationship 28%
Not sure 2%

[Human Snorenado]

Shit is done with. Weed legalization, too. In the next 10 years for sure.

[benjipwns]

Barely encouraging sign (for me anyway because you gotta take what you can get) from the crosstabs of the legal gay marriage positive/negative/no impact:

Positive: Paul 35%, Christie 32%, Bush 13%, Cruz/Rubio 3%, Ryan/Jindal 2%
Negative: Cruz 20%, Christie 18%, Bush 17%, Paul 14%, Ryan 9%, Rubio 6%, Walker 5%, Jindal 4%
No Impact: Christie 31%, Bush 13%, Paul 12%, Ryan 10%, Rubio 9%, Cruz 7%, Jindal 4%, Walker 3%

Now the amusing thing, from the favorable/unfavorables for Paul:
Positive: 31%/46%
Negative: 69%/10%
No Impact: 54%/23%

He has the largest favorability gap for any of the candidates (among any of the gay marriage categories) with people who think gay marriage is a negative thing, but he's the most popular candidate only in the positive group. Oh statistics, you old scamp!

Here's the poll, they also asked if Republicans support $10 minimum wage, believe man made climate change is occurring and if the recent cold weather disproves global warming: http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/2014/PPP_Release_NH_116.pdf

Christie leads 45-12-11 (Bush-Paul) among Republicans who think man made climate change is real, 0% of them support Cruz...while he barely leads the opposite: 20-18-15-14 (Christie-Cruz-Bush-Paul)
Similar for the polar vortex proves it's a fraud, those who agree go 20-19-16-15 for Cruz-Paul-Christie-Bush while the fraud deniers go: 45-16-9-9 (Christie-Bush-Rubio-Ryan) and Cruz drops to 2%.

Cruz seems to be the front-runner in the whatever you want to call it group that often makes up GOP caricatures. I wonder if he similarly goes from 0-5% to 20% in other states/nationally/etc. I'll have to try and remember to peek at that in future polls.

Andrew Cuomo is 58%/10% fav/unfav with those over 65, but 20%/30% with those 18-45. Do the old folks think he's his dad? 

[Phoenix Dark]

I talked to some folks who are setting the stage for Paul's run here. There was some concern over whether Ron Paul's fanboys would support the less orthodox Rand, but apparently they're pouring in, especially after the drone filibuster.

I think 2016 will boil down to Scott Walker v Rand Paul. Cruz is the hot shit right now and will have an impressive grass roots but I still think he's going to get torpedoed by the party.

[benjipwns]

He's already one step ahead of Obama, he put that birth certificate out months ago.

[Phoenix Dark]

Another thing: Paul understands the importance of a well run internet infrastructure than most potential GOP candidates. Romney didn't have one until he became the nominee, and we all know how it turned out on election day (crashing within an hour of polls opening).

Republicans were four years behind Obama's online infrastructure in 2008, and 8 years behind him in 2012. Hillary is already snatching up Obama's campaign talent, she'll be well positioned for the general. Whereas I think Paul will run circles around his GOP opponents online, but ultimately lose to the establishment candidate because that's what republicans do.

[brawndolicious]

Shit is done with. Weed legalization, too. In the next 10 years for sure.

Not in half the states.

[Mandark]

IIRC in the 2008 primaries McCain led among GOP voters who said the Iraq war was a mistake, despite famously staking his comeback on support of the war and the surge.

Also, people who answered "negative impact" on the gay marriage question gave much better ratings to all the prospective candidates except for Jeb Bush and Christie.

[benjipwns]

That's interesting, I'll have to look into it more. There's something there about marketing vs. content. Is Ted Cruz seemingly the darling of this GOP faction because of what he's saying or is there choice-supportive bias at work? Or does he get favorable marketing from Hannity, Rush, etc.? Similarly with McCain, was he supported that way because he was perceived as anti-Bush/RINO or is there an explanation like they thought it was a mistake so McCain's surge should be used to fix it!

I've seen a few things where Republicans were asked about Christie and they couldn't really tell if he was for gun control, abortion, etc. Some speculation that whether or not they liked him played a large role in what positions they think he holds. I think there were some Obama v. Romney versions of that from 2012, where the pollsters would swap their positions or something.

I'm sure there's something very similar to this if not exactly this but I can't remember the terms for it so finding research has been unfruitful.

[Human Snorenado]

Ted Cruz is the favorite of a lot of different groups that make up the GOP base... religious nutbars, teahadists, what have you.  Most of the true believers love them some Ted Cruz. I could see him winning Iowa, Nevada, and South Carolina HANDILY. He'll probably lose NH to whatever RINO the Chamber of Commerce establishment types want to be the nominee, but I sincerely think we're looking at Ted Cruz as the nominee in 2016, which should scare the everliving shit out of everyone.