Polite Politics

[Andie]

I hope the Dem party will at least offer some options. Give new or future blood a chance to have their say.  

But the Republicans are trotting out some oldie but goodies too.   They need a youngish Governor, not just DeSantis, to jump in. I see Arizona Gov Kari Lake in there one day.  But DeSantis will run.  He’d be smart to wait 4 yrs, but he’ll run.  His ego won’t let him pause.  
perhaps big Right donors don’t want Trump. Don’t know.  

[roadtonowhere08]

Unless someone dies of old age or is comitted, it's going to be Trump vs. Biden with Biden winning.  Bet money on it.

Nobody is happy, but time to move on.

[Andie]

I read that the Dems were even considering placing Obama in as VP. (Or perhaps Michelle)

Constitution allows a former Pres to be VP but creates issues should Biden die in office.  

[Stormy]

4 hours ago, SnarkyGoblin said:

Biden?

I'm not sure what planet you live on, but all indications here point to Biden being the nominee.  I know the right is trying hard to split the party, but it ain't going to happen if it means risking the orange bigot being prez again.  The stakes are way too high to have a progressive-like candidate go against Biden in the primaries.

I just had to laugh and wondering what alien planet you're living on! I'm seriously wondering if Biden still will last one term, as a few days ago he bumped his head pretty hard on the door frame top as he was exiting the helicopter. And he was wondering around on stage and didn't know where he needs to stand to speak before he tripped over a small sand bag and fell hard. And the press secretary says they didn't even check him out at the hospital, which they should for someone this old, after a fall, including the head bump. It's basically elder abuse to have someone with early stages of dementia to try and run the country! But we all should know someone else is trying to run the nation from behind the scenes....probably Obama. But the mainstream media is trying to downplay or cover up these things, so you may not be aware of Biden's gaffes. 

[Stormy]

3 hours ago, Anti Marine Layer said:

That's body painted for those who aren't aware. 

[Stormy]

On 6/2/2023 at 7:43 PM, SnarkyGoblin said:

You know you've lost an argument when....

Do you honestly think an actual tape was used?  It's just a common colloquialism that people use when things are recorded.

I knew there wasn't an actual tape used! Lol. But I think it's kinda of wierd to still use that analogy, though I knew they still do. 

[Stormy]

2 hours ago, Andie said:

I hope the Dem party will at least offer some options. Give new or future blood a chance to have their say.  

But the Republicans are trotting out some oldie but goodies too.   They need a youngish Governor, not just DeSantis, to jump in. I see Arizona Gov Kari Lake in there one day.  But DeSantis will run.  He’d be smart to wait 4 yrs, but he’ll run.  His ego won’t let him pause.  
perhaps big Right donors don’t want Trump. Don’t know.  

What do you mean by DeSantis will run? He's already running, and that's after he promised he wouldn't run against Trump, after Trump endorsed him for governor and helped him get to where he is now. Plus Ron had to change Florida law to run for federal office! 

[Stormy]

3 hours ago, Andie said:

I hope the Dem party will at least offer some options. Give new or future blood a chance to have their say.  

But the Republicans are trotting out some oldie but goodies too.   They need a youngish Governor, not just DeSantis, to jump in. I see Arizona Gov Kari Lake in there one day.  But DeSantis will run.  He’d be smart to wait 4 yrs, but he’ll run.  His ego won’t let him pause.  
perhaps big Right donors don’t want Trump. Don’t know.  

Well the Dems do have RFK as an option. He's rating fairly good in the polls, as he's more of a decent old school democrat, more like they used to be years ago. And he believes that the CIA was behind JFK's assassination! I used to think that's a conspiracy theory, but I'm thinking it could be true after all. I heard Steve Bannon was trying to get RFK to run,  and since Steve Bannon is close to Trump, it could've been Trump behind getting him to run, trying to devide the Dems. Because far left Dems definitely don't want RFK! 

[Rubus Leucodermis]

3 hours ago, Stormy said:

I knew there wasn't an actual tape used! Lol. But I think it's kinda of wierd to still use that analogy, though I knew they still do. 

And if you order something over the Internet, they will “ship” it to you, even though no actual ships are typically involved!

And people still talk about “hanging up” a phone call, even though no hookswitch and receiver is typically involved anymore, just an icon on a touch screen!

And people “drive” cars even though no teams of horses or other large hoofed animals are involved!

Etc.

[Andie]

6 hours ago, Stormy said:

What do you mean by DeSantis will run? He's already running, and that's after he promised he wouldn't run against Trump, after Trump endorsed him for governor and helped him get to where he is now. Plus Ron had to change Florida law to run for federal office! 

I forgot…after the dullest announcement in history.   
I like RFK.  And his hatred for the CIA is a plus with me.  They and the FBI top ranks and Justice Dept wonks need a good cleaning.   I was please he jumped in. Now if he can just appeal to the under 35 bunch. 

[Andie]

I just ran across this recent quote from James Comey, former CIA Dir. addressing 4 more yrs of Trump   

Too good to ignore.  Pot, meet Kettle.

"Think about what four years of a retribution presidency might look like. He could order the investigation and prosecution of individuals who he sees as enemies."

It truly IS a swamp. 

[GHweatherChris]

MAGA

[Anti Marine Layer]

8 hours ago, Stormy said:

That's body painted for those who aren't aware. 

It looked strange 

[Andie]

8 hours ago, Stormy said:

That's body painted for those who aren't aware. 

Oh hell, I thought that was my cousin Kenneth Eugene after Thanksgiving dinner.  Always the unwelcome guest

[SnarkyGoblin]

This place can be such a $hitshow sometimes...

[Andie]

Yep!   It is its charm.

[Deweydog]

Saw on Twitter that Ferris Bueller is donating his eyes Jaime Foxx.

[Andie]

Back to the real $hit show.  ……… This might get Putin’s enemies attention  

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The wall of a major dam in a part of southern Ukraine that Moscow controls collapsed Tuesday after a reported explosion, sending water gushing downriver and prompting dire warnings of ecological damage as officials from both sides in the war ordered residents to evacuate.

Ukraine accused Russian forces of blowing up the dam and hydroelectric power station, while Russian officials blamed Ukrainian military strikes in the contested area.

The fallout could have far-reaching consequences: flooding homes, streets and businesses downstream; depleting water levels upstream that help cool Europe’s largest nuclear power plant; and draining supplies of drinking water to the south in Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed.

[SnarkyGoblin]

Seems to be almost a guarantee trump is going to be indicted.  No reason to post a rant like that unless his lawyers told him he was in trouble after meeting with the DOJ.

https://www.mediaite.com/trump/trump-whines-no-other-presidents-were-charged-after-his-lawyers-visited-the-doj-over-the-classified-docs-probe/

[MossMan]

I don’t think Biden is going to make it through his current term…Yikes if he is re-elected as a dementia patient. 

[Andie]

I feel like I’m lost in the Carnival House of Mirrors.  

[hawkstwelve]

I highly encourage any Republican or Independent who is on the fence about Trump to watch this Nikki Haley townhall all the way through.

I will vote for Nikki Haley in a second. She is so smart, articulate, and a straight shooter. Her answer on abortion was very thoughtful and nuanced. More or less that she is very pro-life but realizes that any federal solution will need to pass through Congress and a national abortion ban will never be able to do that. So why even discuss it? It's just another media tactic to scare and divide people. I'm so over that shit.

She is also incredibly strong on foreign policy, owing to her time as Ambassador to the UN. Foreign policy is going to be a very large factor over the next decade with North Korea, China, Russia, Iran, and the Saudis (among others) seemingly teaming up behind the scenes while Biden is asleep at the wheel. Nothing like a cabal of countries who all want to see the destruction of America banding together while we are so focused on fighting ourselves that we don't even see it!!

Near the end she argues that we as a country need to go back to 'faith, family, country' as some of our founding principles. It is not possible for me to agree any more with her right there. I firmly believe the lack of faith, the loss of the nuclear family, and the loss of pride for our country has contributed to our current awful state of affairs. If we could restore just 2/3 of those things I think we'd be better off.

I am a firm never-Trumper now after supporting him for his first four years. I pray to God that he does not get the nomination because there is no doubt in my mind that he would lose to Biden next year. Lord only knows what another four years of the Biden catastrophe would do to this country. I am praying with everything I have that Nikki Haley (or Tim Scott) somehow scraps their way to the top and becomes a sleeper hit. I realize it's not likely but ~70-80% of the Republican Party does not want Trump to be the nominee so hopefully Nikki will be able to capitalize on that.

Unfortunately as the non-Trump lane continues to fill up with candidates it will be harder for any single one of them to get enough percentage of the vote to make a dent. I say any candidate who is not polling above 5% by Christmas of this year needs to drop out. At that point, the sane Republicans need to coalesce around the candidate with the best shot of beating Trump. I hope that it's not DeSantis but even if it is, I'd support him. Not a huge fan though.

Come on Nikki!!!

[Iceresistance]

1 hour ago, hawkstwelve said:

I highly encourage any Republican or Independent who is on the fence about Trump to watch this Nikki Haley townhall all the way through.

I will vote for Nikki Haley in a second. She is so smart, articulate, and a straight shooter. Her answer on abortion was very thoughtful and nuanced. More or less that she is very pro-life but realizes that any federal solution will need to pass through Congress and a national abortion ban will never be able to do that. So why even discuss it? It's just another media tactic to scare and divide people. I'm so over that .

She is also incredibly strong on foreign policy, owing to her time as Ambassador to the UN. Foreign policy is going to be a very large factor over the next decade with North Korea, China, Russia, Iran, and the Saudis (among others) seemingly teaming up behind the scenes while Biden is asleep at the wheel. Nothing like a cabal of countries who all want to see the destruction of America banding together while we are so focused on fighting ourselves that we don't even see it!!

Near the end she argues that we as a country need to go back to 'faith, family, country' as some of our founding principles. It is not possible for me to agree any more with her right there. I firmly believe the lack of faith, the loss of the nuclear family, and the loss of pride for our country has contributed to our current awful state of affairs. If we could restore just 2/3 of those things I think we'd be better off.

I am a firm never-Trumper now after supporting him for his first four years. I pray to God that he does not get the nomination because there is no doubt in my mind that he would lose to Biden next year. Lord only knows what another four years of the Biden catastrophe would do to this country. I am praying with everything I have that Nikki Haley (or Tim Scott) somehow scraps their way to the top and becomes a sleeper hit. I realize it's not likely but ~70-80% of the Republican Party does not want Trump to be the nominee so hopefully Nikki will be able to capitalize on that.

Unfortunately as the non-Trump lane continues to fill up with candidates it will be harder for any single one of them to get enough percentage of the vote to make a dent. I say any candidate who is not polling above 5% by Christmas of this year needs to drop out. At that point, the sane Republicans need to coalesce around the candidate with the best shot of beating Trump. I hope that it's not DeSantis but even if it is, I'd support him. Not a huge fan though.

Come on Nikki!!!

I can't confirm this, but Trump is considering a female VP. Nikki Haley is one of his options.

[Andie]

He'd be smart to get her, but I don't know if she'd do it. 

Haley was a real bulldog in the United Nations.  I recall her verbally dressing down foreign nations that were our adversaries and she took no prisoners.  Direct, clear, and firm. 

I'm looking forward to the debates.

[Rubus Leucodermis]

3 hours ago, hawkstwelve said:

She is also incredibly strong on foreign policy, owing to her time as Ambassador to the UN. Foreign policy is going to be a very large factor over the next decade with North Korea, China, Russia, Iran, and the Saudis (among others) seemingly teaming up behind the scenes while Biden is asleep at the wheel. Nothing like a cabal of countries who all want to see the destruction of America banding together while we are so focused on fighting ourselves that we don't even see it!!

Biden is “asleep at the wheel” when it comes to dealing with Russia?

Biden, who got the Europeans on board when it comes to getting firm with Putin? Biden, who welcomed Finland into NATO, and who will soon welcome Sweden into the alliance?

I mean, I know “Democrats are weak on foreign policy” is something of a talking point in right-wing echo chambers, but this specific claim just doesn’t pass a rudimentary reality check. Especially when TFG let Putin all but lead him around on a leash at that conference in Helsinki and was all ga-ga over Baby Kim’s “love letters.”

You may not like Biden’s style or his domestic politics, but I really see just about zero evidence that he’s uniquely bad when it comes to letting foreign dictators take advantage of him.

[Rubus Leucodermis]

8 hours ago, SnarkyGoblin said:

Seems to be almost a guarantee trump is going to be indicted.  No reason to post a rant like that unless his lawyers told him he was in trouble after meeting with the DOJ.

https://www.mediaite.com/trump/trump-whines-no-other-presidents-were-charged-after-his-lawyers-visited-the-doj-over-the-classified-docs-probe/

We shall see. “Oh boy, we’ve really got Trump this time” is something like a scratched phonograph record.

[hawkstwelve]

2 hours ago, Rubus Leucodermis said:

Biden is “asleep at the wheel” when it comes to dealing with Russia?

Biden, who got the Europeans on board when it comes to getting firm with Putin? Biden, who welcomed Finland into NATO, and who will soon welcome Sweden into the alliance?

I mean, I know “Democrats are weak on foreign policy” is something of a talking point in right-wing echo chambers, but this specific claim just doesn’t pass a rudimentary reality check. Especially when TFG let Putin all but lead him around on a leash at that conference in Helsinki and was all ga-ga over Baby Kim’s “love letters.”

You may not like Biden’s style or his domestic politics, but I really see just about zero evidence that he’s uniquely bad when it comes to letting foreign dictators take advantage of him.

Why would the Europeans not get firm with Putin when a Russian win in Ukraine would be a direct threat to their borders? It was a pretty widely held belief that if Putin won in Ukraine he wouldn't stop there. Poland, The Baltics, Moldova... If he had a decisive victory, he would have moved on to the next country. Thankfully that didn't happen, largely due to Western equipment and ammunition paired with the Ukrainian peoples astounding resolve. But it didn't take much strong arming from Biden to encourage Europe to defend itself through a proxy war in Ukraine. Basic geopolitics here, at least on the level we are discussing. No credit.

Same sentiment applies to recent NATO additions. Which country in Europe wouldn't want to join NATO at a time when Putin wants to create a Soviet Union 2.0? If you were leading Finland and bordered Russia, wouldn't you want to join an alliance with powerful nations who would agree to have your back if Putin turned his sights on your country after the botched job in Ukraine? You'd have to be a pretty stupid leader to not want to join NATO. Again, no credit.

If I was to give Biden credit somewhere vis-a-vis Ukraine I would say he's done a fairly decent job at keeping the rhetoric and tone of our response at a low simmer. I think letting our weapons/ammunition do the talking is pretty important right now. He's called out certain particularly heinous acts but has otherwise kept fairly quiet. That's the right move.

As to Trump and Putin, my qualms with Biden don't excuse Trump's idiotic statements and behaviors. They can both be idiots, it's not mutually exclusive. And while Trump may have been an absolute idiot at times, he was not weak. Biden is weak. Both abroad and home. Only the most ardent Democrats can't admit that.

It's time for both the old idiots to retire and get some new generational leadership, on both sides. We have a minimum age for becoming president. Why don't we have an age limit? Why should we have to decide between two men who are a stones throw away from a nursing home? Hell, throw some term limits for Congress in there and we might finally start fixing some things in Washington. 

[Rubus Leucodermis]

1 hour ago, hawkstwelve said:

Why would the Europeans not get firm with Putin when a Russian win in Ukraine would be a direct threat to their borders? It was a pretty widely held belief that if Putin won in Ukraine he wouldn't stop there. Poland, The Baltics, Moldova... If he had a decisive victory, he would have moved on to the next country. Thankfully that didn't happen, largely due to Western equipment and ammunition paired with the Ukrainian peoples astounding resolve. But it didn't take much strong arming from Biden to encourage Europe to defend itself through a proxy war in Ukraine. Basic geopolitics here, at least on the level we are discussing. No credit.

Why not take a hard line with Putin after he invaded Ukraine? Same reason they didn't take one before the invasion*: because it is economically inconvenient to do so. Germany in particular had cut a bunch of deals with Putin so they could use Russian natural gas to both shut down all their nuclear reactors and not ramp up coal mining like crazy. The whole fallout from the Russia/Ukraine war has hit many European economies quite hard.

 * The most recent invasion, that is. No hard line was taken after Putin grabbed Crimea.

Quote

If I was to give Biden credit somewhere vis-a-vis Ukraine I would say he's done a fairly decent job at keeping the rhetoric and tone of our response at a low simmer. I think letting our weapons/ammunition do the talking is pretty important right now. He's called out certain particularly heinous acts but has otherwise kept fairly quiet. That's the right move.

Of course, this all could play into the “Biden is weak!” line because he prefers to hash out disagreements with allies quietly via back channels and not by publicly trading insults. (And yes, it is the right move, particularly in the current context.)

[MossMan]

Well alrighty then…

[Iceresistance]

12 hours ago, Rubus Leucodermis said:

We shall see. “Oh boy, we’ve really got Trump this time” is something like a scratched phonograph record.

Legend has it that the Media has been claiming that “Walls have been closing in on Trump” since he got elected in 2016!

[SnarkyGoblin]

11 hours ago, hawkstwelve said:

As to Trump and Putin, my qualms with Biden don't excuse Trump's idiotic statements and behaviors. They can both be idiots, it's not mutually exclusive. And while Trump may have been an absolute idiot at times, he was not weak. Biden is weak. Both abroad and home. Only the most ardent Democrats can't admit that.

What the f*ck does "weak" even mean in this context? You wrote a lot of text disagreeing with Rubus on that point, but I didn't read anything supporting your weak point.  Then you double down and claim "it's so obvious he's weak!"

Is it just part of the age narrative you are inundated with? 

And somehow the man who couldn't even publicly stand up for the US against Putin in Helsinki definitely isn't weak?!?  Makes no sense.

I agree with you on the age and term limits though. 

[SilverFallsAndrew]

31 minutes ago, SnarkyGoblin said:

What the f*ck does "weak" even mean in this context? You wrote a lot of text disagreeing with Rubus on that point, but I didn't read anything supporting your weak point.  Then you double down and claim "it's so obvious he's weak!"

Is it just part of the age narrative you are inundated with? 

And somehow the man who couldn't even publicly stand up for the US against Putin in Helsinki definitely isn't weak?!?  Makes no sense.

I agree with you on the age and term limits though. 

The guy can hardly stand or put a sentence together. Looks pretty weak in an old feeble and near death kind of way. I still have a hard time believing he makes it to Election Day without being replaced because he’s no longer alive or just can’t go on. 

Edited June 7, 2023 by SilverFallsAndrew

[SnarkyGoblin]

34 minutes ago, SilverFallsAndrew said:

The guy can hardly stand or put a sentence together. Looks pretty weak in an old feeble and near death kind of way. I still have a hard time believing he makes it to Election Day without being replaced because he’s no longer alive or just can’t go on. 

 

1 hour ago, SnarkyGoblin said:

Is it just part of the age narrative you are inundated with? 

So I guess the answer to this is yes.

[SnarkyGoblin]

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/4024613-feinstein-expressed-confusion-over-kamala-harris-presiding-over-senate-report/

Now there's a case of someone (irresponsibly) refusing to let go.

[hawkstwelve]

56 minutes ago, SnarkyGoblin said:

What the f*ck does "weak" even mean in this context? You wrote a lot of text disagreeing with Rubus on that point, but I didn't read anything supporting your weak point.  Then you double down and claim "it's so obvious he's weak!"

Is it just part of the age narrative you are inundated with? 

And somehow the man who couldn't even publicly stand up for the US against Putin in Helsinki definitely isn't weak?!?  Makes no sense.

I agree with you on the age and term limits though. 

I'm not going to waste much breath trying to convince someone who can't already admit that Biden is a weak president. Again, even Democrats admit he's weak. This isn't a right-wing talking point. Multiple articles and pundits from across the political spectrum, including the Democrat's own fanboy Stephen Colbert, have brought up his weakness. If you can't admit that at this point, you are just a blind partisan hack.

Don't really care how much you might love ol Joe - he makes our country look like it's being run by a grandpa who can't remember which Congress person died, or where he's at, or what the President of South Korea is named, or how to complete a sentence. If it wasn't so embarrassing it'd actually be pretty sad.

Unfortunately the state of our politics in this country means old geezers like him can still get into the highest office.

https://www.bostonherald.com/2023/04/15/lucas-biden-looks-weak-to-the-world/

https://www.newsweek.com/joe-biden-g7-appearance-gaffes-1801642

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2023/04/13/biden-ireland-gaffe-black-and-tans-makes-waves-england/11650836002/

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/3674171-gop-seizes-on-biden-gaffes-to-attack-competence/

[SnarkyGoblin]

Friendly reminder that a Lt recently got 3 years in prison for knowingly taking/storing classified materials.  The materials were never even distributed.

https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2023/06/02/retired-air-force-officer-gets-3-years-for-having-classified-documents/

[Stormy]

On 6/5/2023 at 8:59 PM, Anti Marine Layer said:

It looked strange 

I saw a video of 'her' being painted.

[Anti Marine Layer]

Just now, Stormy said:

I saw a video of 'her' being painted.

I saw it too

[MossMan]

1 hour ago, SilverFallsAndrew said:

The guy can hardly stand or put a sentence together. Looks pretty weak in an old feeble and near death kind of way. I still have a hard time believing he makes it to Election Day without being replaced because he’s no longer alive or just can’t go on. 

He’s been dead for about a year now! 

[Andie]

On 6/6/2023 at 6:00 AM, Andie said:

Back to the real $hit show.  ……… This might get Putin’s enemies attention  

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The wall of a major dam in a part of southern Ukraine that Moscow controls collapsed Tuesday after a reported explosion, sending water gushing downriver and prompting dire warnings of ecological damage as officials from both sides in the war ordered residents to evacuate.

Ukraine accused Russian forces of blowing up the dam and hydroelectric power station, while Russian officials blamed Ukrainian military strikes in the contested area.

The fallout could have far-reaching consequences: flooding homes, streets and businesses downstream; depleting water levels upstream that help cool Europe’s largest nuclear power plant; and draining supplies of drinking water to the south in Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed.

A follow up on this insanity is a fairly large popular zoo was flooded. Many animals didn’t make it.  Drowned. 

You know if people want to make war they need to confine their actions to 1 species.  
But overall, Russia is committing a kind of suicide.  it’s a shame we can’t just give Putin a gun and let him finish himself. This dying by inches is too costly.