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2020 American Political Scene

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  • hboGYT
    replied
    Originally posted by Bigfella View Post
    Speaking of insulin, why does insulin cost so much in the US? It is fairly cheap all over the industrialized world, yet it can be very expensive in the US. The stuff has been out of patent since it was discovered, and the improved versions under patent are only marginally better. Seems emblematic of the whole US health system.

    Trump could probably win the election by promising decent price controls on drugs that the 'free market' (guffaw) make so expensive for many Americans. But hey, that is 'socialism'. Can't have that. Insane.
    He did promise to repeal Obamacare and replace it with a better one. So promises he can.

    Leave a comment:


  • Bigfella
    replied
    Speaking of insulin, why does insulin cost so much in the US? It is fairly cheap all over the industrialized world, yet it can be very expensive in the US. The stuff has been out of patent since it was discovered, and the improved versions under patent are only marginally better. Seems emblematic of the whole US health system.

    Trump could probably win the election by promising decent price controls on drugs that the 'free market' (guffaw) make so expensive for many Americans. But hey, that is 'socialism'. Can't have that. Insane.

    Leave a comment:


  • TopHatter
    replied
    Trump's favorite pollster shows his disapproval rating at 57%

    A new tracking poll from a Republican-leaning pollster shows Donald Trump's approval rating has taken a huge hit during the coronavirus pandemic.

    Wednesday's Rasmussen Reports' Daily Presidential Tracking Poll found Trump's approval rating at just 42% and his disapproval rating at 57%. The -15 point margin is his worst in the survey since late 2017.

    The poll was sponsored by pro-Trump activist Jack Posobiec of the far-right One American News Network.

    Trump has frequently praised Rasmussen's polls, calling the company "one of the most accurate in predicting the 2016 Election" and lauding the company for its "honest polling." As recently as February 25, he tweeted that he had reached "52% in the new Rasmussen Poll."

    Rasmussen itself has a distinct pro-GOP bias. After the 2016 elections, polling analyst Nate Silver noted that "the Republican lean in its polls ran pretty much wire to wire."


    "It had a significant Republican house effect early in the election cycle and a significant Republican house effect late in the election, and it would up turning into a significant Republican bias on Election Day," he wrote.

    In September 2018, Ipsos Public Affairs research director Mallory Newall told Hill.TV that Rasmussen's adjustment of data based on party identification tends "to be more along the partisan angle, leaning toward the Republicans."

    Rasmussen has consistently shown better numbers for Trump and his allies than other major polling firms. CNN analyst Harry Enten noted after the 2018 midterms that Rasmussen's polling had been the least accurate of any firm, actually showing Republicans ahead nationally by one point before the blue wave. "The midterm elections prove that at least for now Rasmussen is dead wrong and traditional pollsters are correct," he argued.

    Wednesday's Rasmussen data, by contrast, reflect the same trends as other national pollsters.

    Following a brief approval boost in March, as the coronavirus was first beginning to take hold, Trump's approval tumbled. FiveThirtyEight's current average puts him at 42.6% approval and 53.7% disapproval, while RealClearPolitics puts Trump's average at 43.5% approval and 54.5% disapproval.

    Trump has been criticized broadly for his botched response and downplaying the threat. Harvard Global Health Institute head Ashish Jha told Bloomberg in March that the administration wasted about two months failing to ramp up widespread coronavirus testing as the pandemic spread across the country.

    Though Trump has said that he does not "take responsibility at all" for the situation, the American people have increasingly blamed him, with a Pew Research Center poll as far back as April showing at least 65% of U.S. adults believed he had acted "too slow" in responding to the virus.
    _____________

    Rasmussen is pretty much the only poll I pay attention to since Double Edge brought it my attention.

    Trump's numbers are definitely not looking good....but they could just as easily rebound back up a few points come tomorrow or Monday.

    Certainly his conveniently-timed "insulin for seniors" discount will pull his numbers up. I wonder why he didn't make this great deal years ago...

    Leave a comment:


  • snapper
    replied
    Originally posted by TopHatter View Post
    GOP Senate Nominee 'Literally Physically In Tears' After Campaign Retracts QAnon Support

    The Republican nominee for Oregon’s U.S. Senate seat is a staunch supporter of QAnon and is fighting against her own campaign to promote the dangerous conspiracy network.

    Insurance agent Jo Rae Perkins won the GOP nomination by a landslide earlier this week to run against Sen. Jeff Merkley, a Democrat. Part of her voter appeal might be her belief in QAnon, a right-wing conspiracy that claims President Donald Trump is involved in stopping a pedophile network of Satan-worshipping cannibals who have infiltrated every level of government and the mass media.

    Republicans, including the National Republican Senatorial Committee and The White House, have so far declined to comment on their new ally, ABC News reported. But Perkins own campaign team attempted to distance its candidate from QAnon on Wednesday, saying in a statement that Perkins “would never describe herself as a follower.”

    Perkins didn’t agree with that statement, telling ABC News the following day that she was “literally physically in tears” after she read the statement on her personal Twitter account.

    “My campaign is gonna kill me,” Perkins told the publication. “How do I say this? Some people think that I follow Q like I follow Jesus. Q is the information and I stand with the information resource.”

    That “information resource” is bunk and has led to dangerous real-world consequences. In 2018, a man took his AR-15 and his armored car to Hoover Dam to demand the government come clean about supposed crimes related to QAnon beliefs. A Colorado woman was arrested earlier this year after attempting to kidnap her son with the help of QAnon followers. And the New York Police Department arrested a woman in April who was carrying 18 knives and threatened political figures.
    _____________

    Hey, remember when Sarah Palin was considered "rock bottom" of the GOP gene pool? Good times...

    Speaking of the rock bottom of the GOP gene pool, I wonder how Donald Trump and his Campaign feel about these batshit posterboys for retroactive abortion?



    Oh.



    Ohhh...
    I wouldn't call 4chan or Jesus an 'information source'. Perhaps Jesus posts there as 'anon' but when he did he learn English?

    Leave a comment:


  • TopHatter
    replied
    GOP Senate Nominee 'Literally Physically In Tears' After Campaign Retracts QAnon Support

    The Republican nominee for Oregon’s U.S. Senate seat is a staunch supporter of QAnon and is fighting against her own campaign to promote the dangerous conspiracy network.

    Insurance agent Jo Rae Perkins won the GOP nomination by a landslide earlier this week to run against Sen. Jeff Merkley, a Democrat. Part of her voter appeal might be her belief in QAnon, a right-wing conspiracy that claims President Donald Trump is involved in stopping a pedophile network of Satan-worshipping cannibals who have infiltrated every level of government and the mass media.

    Republicans, including the National Republican Senatorial Committee and The White House, have so far declined to comment on their new ally, ABC News reported. But Perkins own campaign team attempted to distance its candidate from QAnon on Wednesday, saying in a statement that Perkins “would never describe herself as a follower.”

    Perkins didn’t agree with that statement, telling ABC News the following day that she was “literally physically in tears” after she read the statement on her personal Twitter account.

    “My campaign is gonna kill me,” Perkins told the publication. “How do I say this? Some people think that I follow Q like I follow Jesus. Q is the information and I stand with the information resource.”

    That “information resource” is bunk and has led to dangerous real-world consequences. In 2018, a man took his AR-15 and his armored car to Hoover Dam to demand the government come clean about supposed crimes related to QAnon beliefs. A Colorado woman was arrested earlier this year after attempting to kidnap her son with the help of QAnon followers. And the New York Police Department arrested a woman in April who was carrying 18 knives and threatened political figures.
    _____________

    Hey, remember when Sarah Palin was considered "rock bottom" of the GOP gene pool? Good times...

    Speaking of the rock bottom of the GOP gene pool, I wonder how Donald Trump and his Campaign feel about these batshit posterboys for retroactive abortion?

    On September 9, 2019, United States President Donald Trump retweeted a video from the QAnon-promoting Twitter account "The Dirty Truth". The video criticized former FBI director James Comey. Shortly after Christmas 2019, Trump retweeted over one dozen Qanon followers.
    Oh.

    QAnon believers commonly tag their social media posts with the hashtag #WWG1WGA, signifying the motto "where we go one, we go all." Hours after a published report in August 2019 that the FBI determined QAnon to be a potential source of domestic terrorism—the first time a fringe conspiracy theory had been so rated by the agency—a man warming up the crowd before Trump spoke at a rally used the QAnon motto, "where we go one, we go all", later denying it was a QAnon reference.
    Ohhh...

    Leave a comment:


  • TopHatter
    replied
    Originally posted by tbm3fan View Post
    Now and then there are these lessons in politics that can pass by many without even thinking about it. Trump practices many of them, some you would say useful to him, and then some very bad for him as though he were an idiot. Ok, he is an idiot but still.

    So I see this story on CNN that I was not going to read but decided to take a look since it mentioned "basic rule" in politics. So I read the story and it made perfect sense overall. I don't tweet, don't have the phone for it, and so would have never seen what Trump had tweeted. However, I saw the story and what did I do after reading it? I looked up Lincoln Project and the ad. Thank you CNN, and Donald, for bringing it to my attention. I even made a donation, the second this year, and the only two in my life to help send DT back down his hole. So Donald keep up the good work...

    https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/05/polit...ump/index.html
    Trump is too much the spoiled toddler to allow even the most minor of slights to pass by without a full-on temper tantrum.

    It always fascinates me when Trump followers proudly proclaim how much of a "fighter" he is. How he always punches back.

    Yeah, he's "fighter" all right. *rolling my eyes*

    Leave a comment:


  • tbm3fan
    replied
    Now and then there are these lessons in politics that can pass by many without even thinking about it. Trump practices many of them, some you would say useful to him, and then some very bad for him as though he were an idiot. Ok, he is an idiot but still.

    So I see this story on CNN that I was not going to read but decided to take a look since it mentioned "basic rule" in politics. So I read the story and it made perfect sense overall. I don't tweet, don't have the phone for it, and so would have never seen what Trump had tweeted. However, I saw the story and what did I do after reading it? I looked up Lincoln Project and the ad. Thank you CNN, and Donald, for bringing it to my attention. I even made a donation, the second this year, and the only two in my life to help send DT back down his hole. So Donald keep up the good work...

    https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/05/polit...ump/index.html

    Famed Seven Kingdoms philosopher Tywin Lannister once said this when asked about concerns regarding his leadership: "A lion does not concern itself with the opinions of the sheep."

    Simply put: The lion is a lion. He does what he wants and what he needs to do. Worrying about what his prey think about him is pointless. Their opinions are of no consequence. Thinking about them at all is a waste of the lion's time.

    The "Game of Thrones" patriarch wasn't talking about American politics, but his lesson holds true here, too. We express it with the phrase "Never punch down," meaning that there is no value in a high-profile politician going after a lesser-known opponent. All it does is elevate the opponent, which is what he or she wants anyway!

    Which brings me to the curious case of Donald Trump and the Lincoln Project.

    The former you know. He's the President of the United States.

    The latter you probably don't. The Lincoln Project was formed late last year by some of the most prominent "Never Trumpers" in the country: George Conway, the husband of senior Trump counselor Kellyanne Conway, as well as Republican consultants John Weaver, Steve Schmidt and Rick Wilson.

    "Over these next 11 months, our efforts will be dedicated to defeating President Trump and Trumpism at the ballot box and to elect those patriots who will hold the line," they wrote in a New York Times op-ed announcing the group's formation.

    On Monday, the Lincoln Project released an ad entitled "Mourning in America" -- playing off the famed "Morning in America" ad by President Ronald Reagan in 1984.

    "Under the leadership of Donald Trump our country is weaker and sicker and poorer," says the ad's narrator. "If we have another four years like this, will there even be an America?"

    Its message is dark, foreboding and harsh. And it's very likely that almost no one would have even seen that message had it not been for Donald Trump.

    (Asked for more information, the Lincoln Project did not provide any specifics regarding how much they spent on the commercial. But the group only had $2.5 million in the bank at the end of March, so they aren't likely spending massive sums on it.)

    Just after midnight Monday -- 12:46 a.m. ET Tuesday morning, to be precise -- Trump took to Twitter to rant about the ad and the group. Here's the full text, which took Trump four tweets:

    "A group of RINO Republicans who failed badly 12 years ago, then again 8 years ago, and then got BADLY beaten by me, a political first timer, 4 years ago, have copied (no imagination) the concept of an ad from Ronald Reagan, 'Morning in America', doing everything possible to get even for all of their many failures. You see, these loser types don't care about 252 new Federal Judges, 2 great Supreme Court Justices, a rebuilt military, a protected 2nd Amendment, biggest EVER Tax & Regulation cuts, and much more. I didn't use any of them because they don't know how to win, and their so-called Lincoln Project is a disgrace to Honest Abe. I don't know what Kellyanne did to her deranged loser of a husband, Moonface, but it must have been really bad. John Weaver lost big for Kasich (to me). Crazed Rick Wilson lost for Evan 'McMuffin' McMullin (to me). Steve Schmidt & Reed Galvin lost for John McCain, Romney's campaign manager (?) lost big to 'O,' & Jennifer Horn got thrown out of the New Hampshire Republican Party. They're all LOSERS, but Abe Lincoln, Republican, is all smiles!"

    So, yeah. But he wasn't done! Before leaving for Arizona on Tuesday morning, Trump again addressed the ad and the group, saying (in part):

    "I saw a Project, the thing called the Lincoln Project, and I would have them change their name to the 'Losers Project.' Because if you take a look -- it's (Steve) Schmidt, it's George Conway -- the guy, Kellyanne must've done a big number on him, but it's George Conway and some other people, (John) Weaver, every one of them, I either defeated or they lost by themselves. But it's a group of major losers. They're Republican losers. ... So they should not call it the Lincoln Project, it's not fair to Abraham Lincoln, a great president. They should call it the Losers Project."

    I can just imagine the folks at the Lincoln Project high-fiving when they read Trump's tweets. And dancing a jig when he talked about them -- and their ad -- before getting on Marine One.

    This is their ideal scenario. They literally don't have the money to buy this sort of publicity for their ad. Now lots of people who read Trump's tweets or saw him blasting the Lincoln Project outside the White House on Tuesday will got to their computers and look up "Lincoln Project." And watch the "Mourning in America" ad.

    It's a gigantic win for what is, in truth, a small group of prominent talking heads who were -- and Trump is right about this -- roundly crushed by him and his allies during the 2016 campaign.

    Trump's inability to ignore renegade voices within his party is a violation of the most basic of campaign rules. The more he talks about the Lincoln Project -- no matter how negatively -- the better for the group's profile and ability to raise money to oppose his reelection.

    Trump's best strategy toward dissenting voices within his own party would be to ignore them and stay silent. But that's not really a skill he possesses.

    Think Trump is letting the sheep bother him? Uh, yeah.

    Leave a comment:


  • Albany Rifles
    replied
    Originally posted by TopHatter View Post
    You might say that I'm killin' you?
    Smalls!!!

    Leave a comment:


  • TopHatter
    replied
    Originally posted by tbm3fan View Post
    I had heard Daddy bought it
    Yeah, we'll just be straight up: Without Fred Trump, Donald is just a mentally-stunted cockwomble.

    Leave a comment:


  • tbm3fan
    replied
    Originally posted by TopHatter View Post
    This is a particularly stupid and spoiled child who thinks that he owns the sandlot.
    I had heard Daddy bought it

    Leave a comment:


  • TopHatter
    replied
    Originally posted by Albany Rifles View Post
    Joe, don't do that. You are fucking up one of my favorite baseball movies.
    You might say that I'm killin' you?

    Leave a comment:


  • Albany Rifles
    replied
    Originally posted by TopHatter View Post
    This is a particularly stupid and spoiled child who thinks that he owns the sandlot.
    Joe, don't do that. You are fucking up one of my favorite baseball movies.

    Leave a comment:


  • astralis
    replied
    so, today Trump blamed both the intel community and Dr Fauci for telling him the virus was no big deal.

    Leave a comment:


  • TopHatter
    replied
    Originally posted by tbm3fan View Post
    Actually this is the point where the kid says they are going to take their ball and go home. Please, go away and take the ball...
    This is a particularly stupid and spoiled child who thinks that he owns the sandlot.

    Leave a comment:


  • tbm3fan
    replied
    Actually this is the point where the kid says they are going to take their ball and go home. Please, go away and take the ball...

    Leave a comment:

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