The Democrat Thread

[chw42]

I am depressed. Sunday is the day she declares she's running for President of the United States? I read her main points of emphasis will be equal pay for women and some other women's rights issues. SO SMART!!! Keep it general and get 95 percent or more of the female vote. That is gonna help greatly as she becomes the first woman president. s*** ... she ought to just come out and say it. Run on that platform. Tell all women ... "it's time! A woman needs to get her chance to run this country!" Ah who am I kidding. She won't need to say it. The equal pay thing is genius. Nobody can disagree with her and she will be seen as a hero to all.

 

A female Presidential candidate appeals to women? Ya don't say...

[StrangeSox]

Oral arguments were held today in the SSM case at the Supreme Court. Several wrap-ups here, but the overall takeaway seems to be cautious optimism for at least requiring all states to recognize same-sex marriages from other states if not a requirement for same-sex marriages in all states.

 

http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015...ut-gay-marriage

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/cou...218e_story.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/29/us/supre...l?smid=pl-share

[farmteam]

Oral arguments were held today in the SSM case at the Supreme Court. Several wrap-ups here, but the overall takeaway seems to be cautious optimism for at least requiring all states to recognize same-sex marriages from other states if not a requirement for same-sex marriages in all states.

 

http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015...ut-gay-marriage

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/cou...218e_story.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/29/us/supre...l?smid=pl-share

I'd be shocked if Kennedy (and by extension the Court) doesn't go in favor of gay marriage. All the ingredients are there. It's long past due.

 

I'm more looking forward to what apoplectic diatribes Scalia comes out with in his 785 page dissent.

[StrangeSox]

Bernie Sanders announced that he's running for the D nomination

[Brian]

Bernie Sanders announced that he's running for the D nomination

 

I wish he had a chance. Sincerely.

[cabiness42]

Bernie Sanders announced that he's running for the D nomination

 

Hollow gesture. If he were really serious, he'd run as an independent.

[StrangeSox]

I can't think of anything less serious than a third party presidential campaign.

[cabiness42]

I can't think of anything less serious than a third party presidential campaign.

 

That's because the typical third party candidate is a crackpot who's never been elected to anything. Sanders has been elected to the House 8 times and the Senate twice as an Independent. If there were ever a person who could legitimize a third party presidential campaign, it's Sanders.

[StrangeSox]

Yeah, but I bet Bernie Sanders remembers how much good Ralph Nader's 2000 campaign did for the country and the world. Plus, he hasn't even had a (D) candidate to run against in Vermont in years. Don't get me wrong, I'd personally greatly prefer Sanders to Clinton or whoever the eventual dem nominee is, but I'd also greatly prefer not handing the Presidential election to whoever the Republican nominee is with a left-wing third party run that would only siphon votes from the Democrat. The national two party system is an artifact of the structure of our government and our elections. If you want a more-than-two-party system, you need something more like a parliamentary system, not a Presidential system with a legislature with tons of veto points like we have.

 

edit: also, a good portion of the country would consider an open socialist to be a crackpot

Edited April 30, 2015 by StrangeSox

[cabiness42]

Yeah, but I bet Bernie Sanders remembers how much good Ralph Nader's 2000 campaign did for the country and the world. Plus, he hasn't even had a (D) candidate to run against in Vermont in years. Don't get me wrong, I'd personally greatly prefer Sanders to Clinton or whoever the eventual dem nominee is, but I'd also greatly prefer not handing the Presidential election to whoever the Republican nominee is with a left-wing third party run that would only siphon votes from the Democrat. The national two party system is an artifact of the structure of our government and our elections. If you want a more-than-two-party system, you need something more like a parliamentary system, not a Presidential system with a legislature with tons of veto points like we have.

 

edit: also, a good portion of the country would consider an open socialist to be a crackpot

 

I know, just wishful thinking on my part. I'm never going to fit into American politics because I like several of Sanders' positions, but I like a lot of Rand Paul's positions as well.

[StrangeSox]

Texas is run by crazy people.

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning...ation-in-texas/

Texas Guv Surrenders to Conspiracy Nuts

[Rex Kickass]

Yeah, but I bet Bernie Sanders remembers how much good Ralph Nader's 2000 campaign did for the country and the world. Plus, he hasn't even had a (D) candidate to run against in Vermont in years. Don't get me wrong, I'd personally greatly prefer Sanders to Clinton or whoever the eventual dem nominee is, but I'd also greatly prefer not handing the Presidential election to whoever the Republican nominee is with a left-wing third party run that would only siphon votes from the Democrat. The national two party system is an artifact of the structure of our government and our elections. If you want a more-than-two-party system, you need something more like a parliamentary system, not a Presidential system with a legislature with tons of veto points like we have.

 

edit: also, a good portion of the country would consider an open socialist to be a crackpot

 

He runs as an independent, but there's some degree of coordination with the party. The truth is, his run is really about nudging Hillary to the left a bit. She's a centrist pure and simple. So was Obama, at the end of the day. If Sanders as a competitor and Warren on the outside can make Clinton a little less cozy with Wall Street, its probably as good as they can hope.

[StrangeSox]

Yeah, it's been weird seeing my nominally progressive strongly pro Hillary brother insist that Sanders will push Clinton to the right.

[Brian]

If he ran as an independent, would he actually get invited to the debates? Nope.

[Jake]

If he ran as an independent, would he actually get invited to the debates? Nope.

 

Hell, in Ohio, the Democrat couldn't even debate the incumbent governor. There aren't a lot of avenues for access to these things without overwhelming demand.

[Balta1701]

If he ran as an independent, would he actually get invited to the debates? Nope.

He's extremely likely to get my vote in the primary and I would not vote for him in the general as an independent. I'd be furious with him for trying that after living through 2000 and the disastrous aftermath.

[Rex Kickass]

He's extremely likely to get my vote in the primary and I would not vote for him in the general as an independent. I'd be furious with him for trying that after living through 2000 and the disastrous aftermath.

 

That's not really his MO. If he lost in the primary, he'd just go back to the Senate where he can have a day to day impact.

[Brian]

That's not really his MO. If he lost in the primary, he'd just go back to the Senate where he can have a day to day impact.

 

He's got my primary vote at least.

[StrangeSox]

http://carlyfiorina.org/

[StrangeSox]

Potential candidate for the Republican nomination and current Senator Lindsey Graham declares war on the word "the"

 

"Everything that starts with 'Al' in the Middle East is bad news," Graham said at a dinner in Boston on Monday with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, according to investigative journalist Uri Blau.

 

Graham was referencing the Arabic word for "the."

[Jake]

Nobody is allowing for the possibility that Lindsey Graham knew what he was saying and was just using figurative language to explain that he thinks the entire Middle East is bad news (except for Farsi- and Hindi-speaking parts, I suppose)

[cabiness42]

Potential candidate for the Republican nomination and current Senator Lindsey Graham declares war on the word "the"

 

He's just mad that Al Ohio State University beat a southern team for the National Championship

[Balta1701]

Nobody is allowing for the possibility that Lindsey Graham knew what he was saying and was just using figurative language to explain that he thinks the entire Middle East is bad news (except for Farsi- and Hindi-speaking parts, I suppose)

Which is why he wants to bomb and occupy all of it.

[GoSox05]

My favorite new Senator hanging out with a group that used to run prison camps and bomb people. Don't worry they are super nice good guys now!!!

 

Tom Cotton Allies Himself with the MEK

[StrangeSox]

I know, just wishful thinking on my part. I'm never going to fit into American politics because I like several of Sanders' positions, but I like a lot of Rand Paul's positions as well.

Britain's elections yesterday illustrate one of the pitfalls of a multiparty first-past-the-post system. The Conservatives got about 37% of the vote, but they'll control pretty close to 50% of the government. UKIP received substantially more votes than SNP (the Scottish independence party), but will have many fewer seats in parliament. There are alternatives to FPTP (instant runoff, proportional representation), and our own system has some issues (e.g. Democrats collectively received a few million more votes for House than Republicans in 2012), but other systems have issues as well.