Random Politics Thread

[Virtual ghost]

Ukraine’s allies plan US charm offensive

“We have a plan to travel … to separate states, meeting — for example — the companies that sell equipment that actually create jobs in the U.S. Most of the money that has been spent on Ukraine was actually spent in the U.S.”

As I mentioned a few times.

 

[The Cat]

Oh great, fucking Tim LaHaye is involved in this.

The temperament-based approach breaks people down into six types: Melancholy, Choleric, Sanguine, Supine, Phlegmatic and Fullofshit. Nobody ever talks about the sixth one, and everyone should, most have that type.

 

[ceecee]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1719031714574377357

 

[The Cat]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1719031714574377357

Ah the dogs of war come in so many shapes and sizes these days. I'd wonder who unleashed them, but I reckon I've got a feeling.

 

[ceecee]

Ah the dogs of war come in so many shapes and sizes these days. I'd wonder who unleashed them, but I reckon I've got a feeling.

Sitting on the House Intelligence Committee and feeling ok with saying "Never heard of Dagestan" in public is just breathtaking.

 

[Red Herring]

Ah the dogs of war come in so many shapes and sizes these days. I'd wonder who unleashed them, but I reckon I've got a feeling.

Antisemitism has always run deep in those parts, but according to the Kremlin it was evil Western/Ukrainian agitators.

 

[Virtual ghost]

The curious case of Dean Phillips's last-minute primary challenge


In other words: this is probably going nowhere.

 

[Tomb1]

The curious case of Dean Phillips's last-minute primary challenge


In other words: this is probably going nowhere.

The guy has no real platform and skirts around direct questions...he only distinguishes himself from Biden on age and is focused on persuading the democratic base that Maga's perception of Biden's mental fitness is accurate. That's his big, master plan. If Trump ever wanted a democrat Manchurian Candidate to troll Biden with, Phillips is a good fit.

 

[Virtual ghost]

The guy has no real platform and skirts around direct questions...he only distinguishes himself from Biden on age and is focused on persuading the democratic base that Maga's perception of Biden's mental fitness is accurate. That's his big, master plan. If Trump ever wanted a democrat Manchurian Candidate to troll Biden with, Phillips is a good fit.

Yeah, ex Republican as campaign manager is kinda the red flag.


However Biden's age is indeed a problem that shouldn't be overlooked. There is plenty of videos where he got lost on the stage and that can't easily become well placed adds. It isn't certain that in September of 2024 he will be able to walk or talk. Out there in the world there are leaders that can be his grandchildren when it comes to age gap. Also the question is how do you push enough of the people in 20s and 30s to vote for the guy that is in his 80s (and he is fairly unpopular). While Republicans that have older voters by default don't really have this problem. Young people care about stuff like climate change and Biden fell a sleep at one of the world wide congresses on that topic. What is to be expected since that is what 80+ people do, they fall a sleep in a chair. What again can be turned into a good add. Etc. Etc.


If it has to be Biden I just hope that someone around the top is smart enough to realize that the guy needs stronger VP. Since if Biden wins he will start the term at 82. What means that there are quite decent chances he will not be able to finish the term due to age. His age is indeed a problem with quite concrete consequences.

 

[Totenkindly]

All that being said, it's quite the double standard. I'm pretty certain Trump is far less lucid and physically in much worse shape than Biden. With life expectancy around 85-86 and just sheer optics / helping much younger generations feeling represented, sure, age is a concern-- but damn, why is it only being thrown at Biden when I'd bet Trump to be far more likely to keel over with a heart attack and/or spiral downwards further mentally? They're pretty much in the same ballpark age-wise.

 

[Tomb1]

Yeah, ex Republican as campaign manager is kinda the red flag.


However Biden's age is indeed a problem that shouldn't be overlooked. There is plenty of videos where he got lost on the stage and that can't easily become well placed adds. It isn't certain that in September of 2024 he will be able to walk or talk. Out there in the world there are leaders that can be his grandchildren when it comes to age gap. Also the question is how do you push enough of the people in 20s and 30s to vote for the guy that is in his 80s (and he is fairly unpopular). While Republicans that have older voters by default don't really have this problem. Young people care about stuff like climate change and Biden fell a sleep at one of the world wide congresses on that topic. What is to be expected since that is what 80+ people do, they fall a sleep in a chair. What again can be turned into a good add. Etc. Etc.


If it has to be Biden I just hope that someone around the top is smart enough to realize that the guy needs stronger VP. Since if Biden wins he will start the term at 82. What means that there are quite decent chances he will not be able to finish the term due to age. His age is indeed a problem with quite concrete consequences.

He is old but still sounds pretty sharp here answering a question off the cuff, not letting the reporter bootstrap him into a position outside his political aims:

[video]

 

[Virtual ghost]

All that being said, it's quite the double standard. I'm pretty certain Trump is far less lucid and physically in much worse shape than Biden. With life expectancy around 85-86 and just sheer optics / helping much younger generations feeling represented, sure, age is a concern-- but damn, why is it only being thrown at Biden when I'd bet Trump to be far more likely to keel over with a heart attack and/or spiral downwards further mentally? They're pretty much in the same ballpark age-wise.

As I said in my post: the problem is that Trump is old person that has to attracts older people, while Biden is old person that has to attract younger people. The problem is that democrats have to attract plenty of zoomers in order to win key swing states. What opens the legit question: is this very old person the best option to do the job. The guy was alive when Hitler and Stalin were burning down the world and therefore he isn't really what all those young people are looking for. Many will vote for him none the less but the question is will that be enough.


But I agree, Trump is also too old. However since he is trying to attract different base this isn't that much of a problem. Even if in the governing this will surely be a problem. But that is secondary issue. The key one is who will win 2024.

 

[Virtual ghost]

He is old but still sounds pretty sharp here answering a question off the cuff, not letting the reporter bootstrap him into a position outside his political aims:

[video]

Ok, but there are also videos where he got lost in his answer.
Plus people are forgetting that he still has about 30% of his current term. What means that he will only decline as the debates come closer. At that age the declines can be quite rapid. What is a risk for which it is uncertain that is has to be there .

Also there is one more hole in plan: what happens if Trump's legal problems really remove him from the race ? Will Biden be able to keep up with someone that is about 30 to 35 years younger ?



But if you guys want to go with Biden and it seem that all of you made your peace about that ... then this is it. In that case the case is basically closed.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

Ok, but there are also videos where he got lost in his answer.
Plus people are forgetting that he still has about 30% of his current term. What means that he will only decline as the debates come closer. At that age the declines can be quite rapid. What is a risk for which it is uncertain that is has to be there .

Also there is one more hole in plan: what happens if Trump's legal problems really remove him from the race ? Will Biden be able to keep up with someone that is about 30 to 35 years younger ?



But if you guys want to go with Biden and it seem that all of you made your peace about that ... then this is it. In that case the case is basically closed.

As I see it, the decision was made in 2020. All these points were raised then and subsequently ignored. This is incredibly grouchy of me, but I don't see the point in backtracking from it now ( I feel like that now that I've come around on the guy, I'm supposed to dislike him and pick some middling uninspiring candidate who wouldn't do any better, which irritates me). I think the only case in which that might be useful would be if Obama could run a third term (I think he could easily defeat Trump), or someone that's a lot like him, someone charismatic and capable of inspiring people. I think Trump's whole thing would be extremely effective against a bloodless moderate, and practically useless against someone many people still look up to years later and also understands how to emotionally move people to get them mobilized.

 

[The Cat]

I think getting old sucks, but everyone's doing it. I hope that the younger folks currently and coming up don't make the mistake of filling in all older and old people with the same basic crayons. The future is coming faster than anyone would like, but I hope its a future that's not based on Logan's Run. Sometimes age brings, experience, wisdom, and a perspective, that can be all too often, not ripe yet in youth.

The Aged and the Young need to work together, or they'll die together and no one will be left to wonder what we could have done different.

 

[SensEye]

What opens the legit question: is this very old person the best option to do the job.

And the answer is incredibly clear: NO.

Even if the criticism of Phillips is legit, that he is just a younger Biden, that alone puts him in a far superior place. I have not yet fully formed an opinion on Phillips, but I hope he gets some traction. He probably won't with the Democratic establishment working against him, but I'll give him some credit for trying.

I'm still of the opinion only Biden can lose to Trump. Admittedly, I may be underestimating how truly crazy the right wing are, but I believe any competent Democrat who holds the same political positions as Biden (who I consider pretty mainstream) would beat Trump handily. In any event, time will tell.

 

[The Cat]

 

[Virtual ghost]

And the answer is incredibly clear: NO.

Even if the criticism of Phillips is legit, that he is just a younger Biden, that alone puts him in a far superior place. I have not yet fully formed an opinion on Phillips, but I hope he gets some traction. He probably won't with the Democratic establishment working against him, but I'll give him some credit for trying.

I'm still of the opinion only Biden can lose to Trump. Admittedly, I may be underestimating how truly crazy the right wing are, but I believe any competent Democrat who holds the same political positions as Biden (who I consider pretty mainstream) would beat Trump handily. In any event, time will tell.

I fully agree with you. This is kinda why I am basically playing the devils advocate here, even of that wasn't really my original intention. But I can't imagine that in the country of 335 million people you can't find someone more refreshing to go against Trump ? Just in the establishment of the democratic party you have at least thousands of people. However US politics isn't based on change and that is pretty much it regarding this topic. Maybe the dude will win in the end but all of this just seem as pointless risk. However if the people made their peace with idea that it will be Biden then I as an outsider from other continent have to accept that. We will just have to work with what we have.

 

[Virtual ghost]

As I see it, the decision was made in 2020. All these points were raised then and subsequently ignored. This is incredibly grouchy of me, but I don't see the point in backtracking from it now ( I feel like that now that I've come around on the guy, I'm supposed to dislike him and pick some middling uninspiring candidate who wouldn't do any better, which irritates me). I think the only case in which that might be useful would be if Obama could run a third term (I think he could easily defeat Trump), or someone that's a lot like him, someone charismatic and capable of inspiring people. I think Trump's whole thing would be extremely effective against a bloodless moderate, and practically useless against someone many people still look up to years later and also understands how to emotionally move people to get them mobilized.

Ok, but this is in my opinion the fundamental flaw of the US politics. That choice was made in 2020 and we can say that it worked. However there is no reason to link 2020 and 2024 this closely. All of you are constantly looking for some form of continuation, while in turbulent times that can be a mistake. Since the right path can quickly shift in this case. We have to be honest here, the only real reason why Trump lost 2020 was COVID. Plus to make things worse in that year Biden wasn't fairly unpopular candidate. You can't just project same thing into the future over and over and think that the result will always be the same. But if you guys are going with Biden than ok, it will just have to do. From what I understand it is already too late to start a new campaign with someone else. Since some deadlines have passed when it comes to being on a ballot.

 

[Virtual ghost]

New Quinnipiac poll:


Biden: 39%
Trump: 36%
Kennedy: 22%


From what I understood Kennedy is going third party. But if he is having this much support you can freely forget the standard wisdom of US elections. With this much support he may even win some of the states and crash the conventional wisdom completely. Not to mention that he could pull Biden bellow Trump in certain states. 3 competitive candidates is the lesson one of multiparty system and the idea was that this should be election based on 2 parties. It is time to buy some popcorn I guess.