US Election & Presidency

The Taliban endorsed Trump

Then retracted it when they realised that would actually harm his campaign

(12-10-2020 14:16 )The Silent Majority Wrote:  The Taliban endorsed Trump

Then retracted it when they realised that would actually harm his campaign

Lol, now you're just throwing any shit, hoping it will stick. The Taliban will endorse any President that withdraws troops to make them look victorious.

I'm now feeling as confident of a Trump victory as I did in 2016. Feeling really nervous now. Although it's not a bad position to be in, Trump was trailing in 2016 and look what happened there. I was feeling as confident as Farage during referendum night. Which will make Trump's victory all the more sweeter if he wins.

The reported enthusiasm on the ground isn't quite translating to poll numbers.

(12-10-2020 20:56 )Slabhead Wrote:  I'm now feeling as confident of a Trump victory as I did in 2016. Feeling really nervous now. Although it's not a bad position to be in, Trump was trailing in 2016 and look what happened there. I was feeling as confident as Farage during referendum night. Which will make Trump's victory all the more sweeter if he wins.

The reported enthusiasm on the ground isn't quite translating to poll numbers.

poll numbers mean squat ....hes spreading peace everywhere and the lefty liberal Democrats cant stomach it

(12-10-2020 21:02 )papahet3969 Wrote:  poll numbers mean squat ....hes spreading peace everywhere and the lefty liberal Democrats cant stomach it

He's campaigning well in difficult circumstances, far better than the Biden corpse so far. I've just never been good with the minutiae of the arithmetic. The pollsters got it wrong last time and I'm hoping it's the same again. Personly I was hoping for a Trump landslide because I want to see the utter destruction of the Democrats but that doesn't look realistic so far.

As an aside, I would like to say that I've received a big telling off from the moderators. So to make peace to whomever is looking for it, I would like to... Wish you all a happy Christopher Columbus Day! A fine European pioneer who helped bring European Civilisation to the new world. And relating this to Trump, both share the same free spirit endeavour that makes the US great




Fuck I hope the fat left loonies don't turn out for Biden

(12-10-2020 06:04 )Slabhead Wrote:  1) Awww, he 'alienated' ickle bickle allies? Did he say meany things about world leaders to make them cry? Well they can cry me a river. One of the biggest issues Trump raised about America's allies was NATO spending and how almost all the other members scrounge off American protection. Even Britain, a very distant second place spender just about manages to meet the required 2%. This wasn't even a partisan issue, Obama raised this issue numerous times but was politically correct about so no one cared. These so called allies, many of them who would still be third world wastelands if it werent for the Marshall Plan can cry all they want about hurt feelings.

... mean things? Or you mean actually screwing around which the US's allies? Lets just name some allies to check.
Canada: Recently, Aluminum Tariffs and before that, renegotiating NAFTA. Forcing Canada into the US's fight with China with the arrest of Meng Wanzhou.
Mexico: How's getting Mexico to pay for that wall worked out? Not well?
South Korea: How's canceling military exercises and asking them to pay more for the US forces there?
You can pretty much pick any US ally and find Trump has fucked the relationship with in some way in the last 4 years.

(12-10-2020 06:04 )Slabhead Wrote:  2) The Paris Agreement was a piece of shit deal which aimed to punish the US whilst letting off China and India. Good for America

If only it was just the Paris Agreement, then most of us wouldn't bat an eye.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020...backs.html
68 completed rollbacks and 32 pending which they're ham fisting through as fast as possible now.

(12-10-2020 06:04 )Slabhead Wrote:  3) How?

How? There is a freaking website tracking his golfing days because he's golfed so much. This is rich coming from Trump since he criticized Obama for golfing, yet Trump's expenditures for Golf. Jesus.
https://trumpgolfcount.com/

(12-10-2020 06:04 )Slabhead Wrote:  4) WTF is that supposed to mean? He has his policy positions and orders and then he has thoughts, opinions and announcements through Twitter. Seems like you can't differentiate between policy and Twitter, not Trump.

... You don't seem to remember in Syria that the US military had to bomb their own base because Trump wanted them out faster? I bet the Russians were happy with the FOB that the US had to leave behind intact.

(12-10-2020 06:04 )Slabhead Wrote:  5) Couldn't give a fuck. Since when was it a crime to shuffle your cabinet or administration?

... Hiring incompetent corrupt cabinet members and then firing them for corruption at a later point doesn't make Trump a person that is weeding out corruption. It makes him seem even more incompetent as the person that hired them in the first place.

Put it this way, just about every person that seems to have left the Whitehouse in the last 4 years seems to have written a freaking book in the short duration of time that they spent there.

Writing books about your last job isn't a normal thing to do for most people. Much less the number that has come out over the last 4 years.

Even a Trump landslide wouldn't see the utter destruction of The Democrats because The Executive is just one branch of Federal Government. Though the President of the US is often called the most powerful man in the world, it is because he has the most powerful army at his disposal & he does not need congressional approval to initiate military action

Domestically the President of the United States is actually one of the weaker head of states because all the legislative power lies in congress. Domestically the most powerful person in The US is the Speaker of the House of Representatives, in this case Nancy Pelosi. Followed by the Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell

One might argue if Trump was to win in a landslide then a red wave would sweep the house along with him. While that has happened for Presidents recently, including Trump it is not a guarantee. Reagan's 49 state landslide in 1984 did not stop Democrats from retaining the house, in fact as hard as it is to believe during his 8 yr Presidency, Reagan never once had a majority in the house of representatives

Then there is the fact that even if the Republicans were to win all 3 like they did in 2016 it would not be terminal for Dems for several reasons

1. They won the house back 2 yrs later

2. The numbers are on their side, The Dems have won the popular vote 7/8 of the most recent Presidential elections. Trump's turnout of 62.9 in 2016 was the highest ever recorded for The Republicans where as Clinton's 65.8 was the lowest the Dems have had since 2004 which equals the Republicans second highest (59m) so the Democrats floor is higher than the Republicans ceiling & they know they can hit 70m. Obama's 08 results eviscerate Trump's 2016 numbers

3. The United States is a Federal Republic so even in the worst case scenario states rights means that there will still be Democratic states, with Democratic legislatures & Governors who can pursue & enact Liberal policy programmes

(12-10-2020 21:48 )Slabhead Wrote:  As an aside, I would like to say that I've received a big telling off from the moderators.

Guys, please don't ban him before the election

(12-10-2020 23:18 )southsidestu Wrote:  Domestically the President of the United States is actually one of the weaker head of states because all the legislative power lies in congress. Domestically the most powerful person in The US is the Speaker of the House of Representatives, in this case Nancy Pelosi. Followed by the Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell

Part of the flaw in US democracy -- in my opinion -- is the strength and composition of the Supreme Court.

We're seeing that play out right now, with the ACB nomination and its relationship to health care. Republicans have tried three times to repeal the Affordable Care Act, but they can't do it through legislative means for the simple reason that far more Americans want it than don't want it. Republicans have never proposed a credible alternative and they've never managed to persuade enough people that the ACA is 'bad' for them.

So they do what they always do. They fight it through the courts in the hope of winning a landmark case that strikes down the law. I watched some of the opening statements of the ACB confirmation hearing yesterday. If all you heard was the democrats, you might not know this was a Supreme Court hearing -- almost all they talked about was health care. Because that's where the battle for health care is now being waged. Not in the White House or the Capitol, but in the courts.

It's the same with abortion and gun control. Americans -- Democrat and Republican -- are overwhelmingly pro-choice and mostly for gun control. Republicans stopped trying to win those legislative arguments years ago, because they know they'll never persuade enough people that it's still the 1950s (in terms of family values) or the 1770s (in terms of the need for an armed militia!). But they don't have to win the argument; winning the argument is hard. They just have to win the case.

That's been the great damage of the Trump presidency. It's not about taxes and tweets. It's not about Putin or porn stars or pee tapes. It's about the THREE deeply conservative young judges that he's managed to appoint for lifetime terms.

Democrats can win the next ten elections. They will still have an uphill battle against a conservative bench to fix healthcare once-and-for-all, protect a woman's right to choose, and prevent people from buying Uzis to "hunt deer".