The General 'Murican Politics Thread

[ClassicKnuckles]

Is it bad that I'm a liberal feminist democrat? I feel like there's a lot of hate towards us, but then again I'm not one of the "kill all white men" kind of people...

[Dizcrybe]

It's only bad if you're a straight white dude that think they're on the brink of extinction.

[KHCast]

5 minutes ago, ClassicKnuckles said:

Is it bad that I'm a liberal feminist democrat? I feel like there's a lot of hate towards us, but then again I'm not one of the "kill all white men" kind of people...

It’s not a “one extreme or the other” kinda thing,  you should be fine. Unless you’re calling for the death of straight white men  vs just fighting for basic equal rights, then we have a problem lol, but you’re not that ha so you good 

[ClassicKnuckles]

6 minutes ago, KHCast said:

It’s not a “one extreme or the other” kinda thing,  you should be fine. Unless you’re calling for the death of straight white men  vs just fighting for basic equal rights, then we have a problem lol, but you’re not that ha so you good 

Yeah. I think that we should all have equal rights.

[Tani Coyote]

http://www.cnn.com/2017/12/20/politics/trump-haley-un-vote/index.html

Nikki Haley issuing veiled threats to UN members that Trump is "taking names" of countries that vote against recognizing Jerusalem as the Israeli capital.

Most countries are laughing it off, as the UN is usually asked to lend support to American initiatives and rarely asks the US for support.

5 hours ago, PSI Wind said:

You honestly think conservative voters will blame the Republicans for this? The real shit is gonna hit in 2019 at the earliest and if the Dems are in control, they'll blame the Democrats because they are THAT fucking stupid.

Depends how conservative.

The hardcore Trumper people, who have a lot of overlap with birthers and the like, there's really no hope there.

The more moderate conservatives who just value free markets and some conservative social values? They might see who is to blame for their woes.

It's easy to think of the GOP as this homogenous mass, but let's remember the word "primary" and why it is the scariest word a lot of politicians can hear.

[Patticus]

I really do get the feeling that the corporate tax cuts were made permanent, while the middle income tax cuts were not, because the GOP knows Trump's going to drive the economy into a Gilded Age-Great Depression-esque ditch, and they want to preserve their tax cuts through that shitstorm, and want to force the Democrats to have to cut tax cuts for middle  income folks instead.

Please tell me that a tax cut being permanent, with no expiration date, doesn't mean it can't just be rolled back by the next Democratic majority.

[Tani Coyote]

http://www.cnn.com/2017/12/20/politics/republicans-shutdown/index.html

The GOP has two days to prevent a government shutdown and no real plan to prevent it from doing so.

Since the GOP keeps insisting on simple majorities, they're finding the uncomfortable position with healthcare where every idea alienates enough of the majority to hamper policy.

It would be nice if the Freedom Caucus would just shut up about Obamacare now that they have the mandate repeal, honestly.

23 minutes ago, Patticus said:

I really do get the feeling that the corporate tax cuts were made permanent, while the middle income tax cuts were not, because the GOP knows Trump's going to drive the economy into a Gilded Age-Great Depression-esque ditch, and they want to preserve their tax cuts through that shitstorm, and want to force the Democrats to have to cut tax cuts for middle  income folks instead.

Basically, yes. Democrats will be left holding the bag and will have to muster support for keeping the middle class tax cuts.

The GOP will use this as leverage to preserve the tax cuts for the wealthy and keep them from being repealed.

Of course... thanks to reconciliation rules, Democrats may be in a position to increase taxes on the rich with only 51 votes, and after McConnell's constant abuse of simple majority rules, they won't be interested in hearing what he has to say.

Quote

Please tell me that a tax cut being permanent, with no expiration date, doesn't mean it can't just be rolled back by the next Democratic majority.

Same concept as parliamentary supremacy, really. It's possible to repeal it at any time, but public and political support may not be there.

[TailsTellsTales]

Giving massive tax cuts to extremely wealthy during times of extreme income inequality and when record people are homeless who are working but can't afford housing, when millions are in poverty struggling to get by, when millions of middle class people are getting squeezed tighter each day, when our education system is failing, when our infrastructure is failing, and somehow people who don't freaking need a bleeping tax cut are going to get tax cuts that are equivalent to several years of ordinary peoples yearly salaries. The fact that it takes an ordinary person working at a low wage job several months to make what a ceo makes in one hour screams stupidly in giving this same ceo, a massive tax cut!

I do not understand how people are okay with a majority of tax cuts going to the extreme wealthy. It makes no sense to me no matter how hard I try to comprehend it. If there is any group of people who desperately need a tax cut, it's the working people and middle class, so generally $100k and under. Here let have some fun and I will make my own tax rates. These are marginal tax rates by the way.

Made Up Marginal Tax Rates

90% >$1B

75% $100M-$999M

60% $50M-$99M

45% $10M-49M

30% $1M-9M

25% 500K-999K

20% 250K-499K

15% 100K-249K

10% 50K-99K

5% 30K-49K

3% 15K-29K

1% <15K

If you notice though only the extreme super mega wealthy pays highest tax rates. Even low end wealthy at 100K has a nice low tax rate. Above 10 million it starts pushing it. So which is better Trump tax or my tax lol. Again that was only for fun.

[Conando]

On 12/20/2017 at 8:46 PM, ClassicKnuckles said:

Is it bad that I'm a liberal feminist democrat? I feel like there's a lot of hate towards us, but then again I'm not one of the "kill all white men" kind of people...

No, that's absurd. There's nothing wrong with being progressive and wanting equality between genders. As for the "kill all men" types, the internet does tend to amplify the nutbags, so I wouldn't worry about it. That's not what a typical feminist is, no matter how much /pol/ and r/thedonald want you to think.

[Dark Qiviut]

Really terrible news tonight:

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

You guys are probably going to roast me alive for asking this but...who the heck is Erica Garner?

[Dark Qiviut]

10 minutes ago, Conquering Slay-bell Storm said:

You guys are probably going to roast me alive for asking this but...who the heck is Erica Garner?

The daughter of Eric Garner, who was killed in 2014 by police through a chokehold.

[KHCast]

Apparently trump “confirmed” climate change isn’t real because it’s cold outside...I mean even if he’s joking...wow lol. This can’t be real ohmygod haha.

[Dizcrybe]

6 hours ago, KHCast said:

I mean even if he’s joking

come on now

[Tani Coyote]

23 hours ago, KHCast said:

Apparently trump “confirmed” climate change isn’t real because it’s cold outside...I mean even if he’s joking...wow lol. This can’t be real ohmygod haha.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/12/28/politics/trump-global-warming-tweet/index.html

He asserted global warming isn't real because of how cold the East Coast is.

For one, that's not how that works, and for two, this is why the term "climate change" is preferred to global warming. While the Earth as a whole is growing warmer, the effects are felt differently region by region. Some areas are floodiing, some are undergoing droughts, etc.

Yet further evidence he's an idiot, nonetheless.

If the fact he's using a single data point to disprove a trend wasn't evidence enough. Sadly, that's a trait that's common regardless of one's political views. One doesn't like the statistic, so they reach for the first data point to "disprove" it, but that's not how statistics work, because statistics are based on averages of all the data points.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

In other news, world hunger isn’t an issue anymore because I just ate 30 minutes ago...

[SSF1991]

Utah GOP Senator Hatch is retiring. Don't know when his term ends, but the more GOP retirements the better.

EDIT: Apparently it ends at the end of the year?

 

[Chili Dawg]

Good riddabce to bad rubbish. Dunno if turning Utah blue is a realisticly attainable goal but hey, maybe GOP'll try to run another pedo and we can pull it off.

[RedFox99]

I have a question for you guys: what do you think of people with conservative views?

[Mad Convoy]

1 hour ago, RedFox99 said:

I have a question for you guys: what do you think of people with conservative views?

People with conservative views are fine in my books. They're strong traditionalists and usually cynics, but they have a heart, really mean it when they say they just want to have a discussion about this or that with you, and understand that times have changed for good reasons even if they don't like every change. They probably don't even consider stuff like being gay, race, etc. a big issue and so don't consciously prod people about these kinds of things, but may privately hold some outdated views on those subjects-- though not strongly enough that they can't be convinced to reconsider and recant those views. Usually the problem is indeed getting them to consider those things a big deal-- not because they think its okay to, for example, treat black people like second class citizens, but because they don't want to believe that those barbaric, horrible sorts of things could still exist in the modern world on a systemic and significant scale and are being enabled by an exploitation/twisting of their own value system, even though those things unfortunately do happen and are enabled despite progress made over several decades. However, they have their hearts in the right place and do have plenty of good ideas that are worth hearing and considering.

People with extreme conservative views aren't good though. I don't really think I need to explain why on this forum but I'm willing to elaborate if anybody's curious.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

1 hour ago, RedFox99 said:

I have a question for you guys: what do you think of people with conservative views?

It depends really on what their specific views are.

My biggest beef tends to be those surrounding issues regarding race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and wealth/economic (this last one I admittedly have very little insight on as oppose to the other listings), and to be frank I tend to believe the more radical folks who claim to be “conservatives” around these issues aren’t really conservatives and are really just bigots using their political affiliation as a shield to justify shit that would be unacceptable to them if the shoe was on the other foot. These people know better, but are milking whatever allows them to get away with their hypocrisy any chance they get.

As far as actual conservatives go, one thing I definitely agree with them tends to be regarding the military. That, however, isn’t 100% as I don’t always agree with how it should be used whenever a more peaceful use of diplomacy is more appropriate.

[RedFox99]

Interesting points. I do hold conservative views that many would find to be "outdated" so to speak (especially with the issues that @Mad Convoy). However, just because I don't condone or support another person's lifestyle, doesn't necessarily mean I can't love them in a neighborly way.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

Really, as long as you’re treating me and others with the same respect as you would like to be given back, allowing people to live the way they want without harming or pointlessly inconveniencing them with the way you want to live (and no, being upset that the use of bigoted slurs isn’t tolerated does not fall under this, even if certain non-violent nuances of it are protected by the 1st Amendment), and aren’t demanding sympathy while refusing to give it in return, it really doesn’t matter to me if you’re conservative or liberal in views.

Although a lot of people who don’t do that “claim” to be conservatives protecting their values, when in reality they’re just selfish bigots only in for themselves and want to force others to their will at their expense.

[KHCast]

Pretty much what storm has said. As long as you aren’t say being a full on extremist publicly expressing distaste’s of certain progressive actions being taken to accommodate everyone, misusing freedom of speech to impose hate and ignorance while also expecting freedom from consequence like the fuckwits at Charlottesville, blindly supporting those that wish to harm society and certain sects of it just because they’re not dems, or ear plugging and being unsympathetic regarding other points of views on a subject, conservatives at their core are fine. It just is that the loudest group in that bunch online, surprise surprise, are the more aggressive unsympathetic ignorant defensive idiots that will defend, argue, etc to no end against anything that doesn’t fit their ideal America.

[Tani Coyote]

https://www.wsj.com/articles/moderate-democrats-get-a-boost-as-doug-jones-joins-the-senate-1514889001

Doug Jones will be sworn in tomorrow, officially making the Senate 51-49.

6 hours ago, Chili Dawg said:

Good riddabce to bad rubbish. Dunno if turning Utah blue is a realisticly attainable goal but hey, maybe GOP'll try to run another pedo and we can pull it off.

Not realistic. Mitt Romney has previously said he would run for the seat if Hatch retired. Romney carried Utah by 70% or so in 2012, so he should crush it.

On the plus side, Romney is a routine critic of Trump.

However, Romney (based on his previous campaigns) is a step backward. Hatch was a moderate on LGBT rights and marijuana, whereas Romney is pretty conservative there.

5 hours ago, RedFox99 said:

I have a question for you guys: what do you think of people with conservative views?

I'm fine with the people, but not usually the views.

I don't think one should normally completely exclude people based on viewpoints because then there's no possibility to change them.