2020 Political Thread

[Mike S]

I haven't noticed any cognitive decline in Biden that is atypical compared to his age group. I believe his stutter has been intensely magnified due to the intense spotlight the RNC and Trump's campaign has placed on it. It's similar how they claimed Hillary had one foot in the grave yet 4 years later she's just fine.

Certainly the RNC has focused on his cognitive decline, that's just smart politics. But I'm not certain it has been magnified. I have watched too many independent videos of him over the last year that are just completely non-sensical. I'm not talking about ideology, but just basic sentence structure. He's not the same man he was 12 years ago and has no business running for President.

If you haven't seen it yet, I'd like to get your thoughts on the following video of Biden:



Sure, it's edited and staged, but it's inarguable he's driving the vehicle just fine, operating its systems, and multi-tasking while doing so. That's worth something, IMO.

If Biden were to pick Val Demings or Tammy Duckworth would you still be concerned about who might replace him if he were to be incapacitated or die?

That's it - the video is edited on a closed road and its not like he's completely gone. I have no thoughts on the video other than that's a pretty neat Corvette he's driving.

There's no one he could pick for VP outside of a hologram of Ronald Reagan capable of independent thought and actions that would cause me to vote for him.

 

[Evan]

Certainly the RNC has focused on his cognitive decline, that's just smart politics. But I'm not certain it has been magnified. I have watched too many independent videos of him over the last year that are just completely non-sensical. I'm not talking about ideology, but just basic sentence structure. He's not the same man he was 12 years ago and has no business running for President.



That's it - the video is edited on a closed road and its not like he's completely gone. I have no thoughts on the video other than that's a pretty neat Corvette he's driving.

There's no one he could pick for VP outside of a hologram of Ronald Reagan capable of independent thought and actions that would cause me to vote for him.

The biking video on Fox News today was obviously a candid moment and obviously not staged.

Biden seems pretty sharp to me know. Riding a bike in a pack while quipping with reporters as he sails by.



I gotta say, I hope I'm that fit and sharp at 77 -- plenty of people are not. I'm trying to imagine Trump riding a bike or driving a car and I just can't do it. I don't think he's physically capable of either. Do you?

 

[Mike S]

It does require some amount of physical health to ride a bike at 77 for sure. I'm not saying he is starring in Weekend at Bernie's, but he has fallen off sharply mentally. It reminds me of Ronald Reagan visiting the booth of a baseball broadcast a few short years after his presidency, and it was scary how noticeably different he was.

I wouldn't be surprised if you could count the time in decades since Trump has driven a car.

 

[Evan]

Justin Amash is far and away the politician who comes closet to my beliefs.

Pro-Life
Against the Death penalty
Wants to rein in the Executive Branch
Calls balls & strikes equally against both sides
Capitalist
Supports free trade
Wants to fix our immigration system
Voted to impeach Trump
Wants to cut taxes and reduce spending
Wants to end qualified immunity
Wants justice reform
Wants to reduce regulations & bureaucracy
Wants to protect and expand the individual liberty of American citizens
Actually reads bills
Stands up to leadership
Thinks DC and Fed Gov needs radical reform and change (which literally means following its own rules and the Constitution)
Strong of a supporter of the 2A
Refuses to play partisan games
Believes in religious freedom

Is there any surprise he's leaving Congress? Even on the few issues we disagree on, I can completely respect and understand his stance and he will engage any American on Twitter or other social media and explain why he holds the position that he does.

He's such a refreshingly honest, principled, and altruistic politician that of course he's leaving politics behind. He never got the media adulation or love that do-nothing politicians like Cruz, Rubio, Warren, AOC, etc have gotten. People think media bias along a left/right spectrum is the issue. It isn't. The issue with the media is that a dysfunctional and fractured Washington DC, full of warring partisans and gridlock, is what is best for their ratings. They don't want good government and principled politicians; they want the current circus that we have.

 

[Mike S]

Amash it's one of the names I'm considering writing in.

 

[Kory]

I was thinking Jo Jorgeson myself. She had me at abolish the ATF...I’ll accept a pro-choice candidate under those conditions.

 

[Evan]

Bolton says Trump is not competent. Won't vote for Biden for philosophical reasons. Pretty sharp words from a former cabinet member.

 

[Evan]

If Obama did this, I cannot even begin to imagine how he would have been attacked and criticized:

Trump to release thousands of Taliban prisoners and fighters

Obama probably would've been impeached had he done this. They GOP will try to put Trump on Mt. Rushmore for doing it. It shows how absolutely ridiculous partisanship is.

For the record, I don't oppose the general idea of prisoner swaps, etc when done in a deliberate and balanced way. This appears to be neither. I'm almost certain it's a re-election ploy by Trump -- which makes it all the more contemptible.

 

[Kory]

How does everyone feel about Kamala Harris?

 

[Evan]

How does everyone feel about Kamala Harris?

Wouldn't have been my choice.

 

[gangstonc]

How does everyone feel about Kamala Harris?

It’s a safe pick, but still gets his base fired up.

 

[Kory]

I thought she was one of the least popular candidates out of the 2020 primaries. From reading around the interwebs, I feel like the far left people don't think she's on their level and the independents have the idea she's pretty left-wing and might not support her (her idea to eliminate private healthcare through attrition sticks out the most to me as to why that may be). Plus, with the contentious attitude around policing and the justice system...her history there seems like it might work against her.

I don't think it was a good choice at all...

 

[Evan]

What am I missing here Evan?

What about now? Do you see it? Seems pretty clear to me...

 

[Evan]

Lol. They are extremely mad, and I really don't understand why. It's like they actually expected Biden to pick Bass or AOC or some true radical.

And calling Joe Biden a radical Democrat? One of the funniest things I've ever read. Trump must be 20 points down if they are this unhinged.

 

[Jacob]

What about now? Do you see it? Seems pretty clear to me...

I just think it is Trump being his typical idiot self. I suppose it could be a racist dog whistle, which is what I assume you are arguing.

Like a handful of things, I agree with rescinding the 2015 AFFH, but it could be done without Trump being such a jackass.

 

[Kory]

Posted without comment.

 

[Kory]

As I said, her history as a prosecutor is dubious.

“Harris's career ascension was built with the bricks of injustice, misfortune, and the corruption of the prison-industrial complex.”

“Systemic racism courses throughout our justice system, and the cracks in the foundations have never been more visible than this summer. We need new architects, new designs, new visionaries. Instead, Joe Biden's running mate is one of the builders of the original flawed construction.”

Kamala Harris built her career on injustice - Washington Examiner

Brick by brick, Kamala Harris has methodically built a staircase to success, and on Tuesday, she strutted to the top of it as Joe Biden tapped her as his running mate.Harris is the first woman of color to be nominated for this position in either of the two major parties’ histories. I would love it

www.washingtonexaminer.com

 

[Kory]

I also find it troubling that Harris refused to cooperate with Catholic Church abuse victims who were seeking the public release of names of abusive priests along with information that would help their civil suits (the courts have made it nearly impossible to hold abusive priests criminally liable after the statute of limitations has expired). She branded herself as tough on child abuse, which she was in some cases. But when it came to not rocking the boat, so to say, she avoided it.

Victims question Kamala Harris' record on clergy abuse

Survivors of clergy abuse complain presidential hopeful Kamala Harris was consistently silent on the Catholic Church's abuse scandal when she was San Francisco district attorney and later California attorney general.

apnews.com

 

[gangstonc]

This is wrong:

“Now they need that money in order to make the post office work so it can take all of these millions &millions of ballots. But if they don’t get those two items that means you can’t have universal mail-in voting”

He’s intentionally sabotaging the USPS for his personal gain.

 

[Evan]

I just think it is Trump being his typical idiot self. I suppose it could be a racist dog whistle, which is what I assume you are arguing.

Like a handful of things, I agree with rescinding the 2015 AFFH, but it could be done without Trump being such a jackass.

Trump has made it abundantly clear in the past that in his mind low-income = minorities. He's made many past statements making this connection -- even before he was in politics -- and everyone has heard of the racial discrimination case Trump, his father, and their company settled where they intentionally violated previous Fair Housing laws by intentionally refusing to rent to minority renters.

There are elements of the Obama expansion of fair housing regulations/laws that were unwieldy, overly-bureaucratic, or imposed onerous requirements that few could meet. There are a whole lot of arguments to be made for why some/all of the Obama expansion should be rolled back. Notably, Trump is not making those arguments.

Let's make this simple. Do you think Trump is a racist?