2016 USA Presidential election thread I: The warm-up

[Sho]

Paul SuperPAC suspends funding to his campaign:

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/0...ac-dark-214221

Comes off the heels of Paul stating that he will "outlast" Trump.

[Andalusian girls]

he looked lifeless at the last debate, his heart clearly out of it. guess he doesn't have dad's grit to push through a libertarian message in a party where 75% of the members hate your ideology

[Quicklet]

The sad thing is he's barely pushing a strong libertarian message anymore, so he's not even able to distinguish himself from the rest of the field enough to garner any interest. Instead of forcefully advocating for more libertarian-leaning principles on things like marijuana, abortion, and privacy, he gets bogged down in junior debate club talking points that get drowned out by sexier sounding rants by the likes of Fiorina and Christie who are willing to invoke dead babies and 9/11 and don't get called out when they do.

[Sho]

Ted Cruz fully neutered:

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/0...ed-cruz-214233

GOP in the Senate not having any of his shit this time concerning shutting down govt. Rubio ironically absent.

Looking like Cruz gonna have a hard time keeping his seat as well. No Presidency, No Senate Seat. Cruz done.

[Ragnus]

So my wife is dragging me along to a Sanders gather this weekend. Anyone have any good questions?

[Gredival]

So my wife is dragging me along to a Sanders gather this weekend. Anyone have any good questions?

No, but prepare for some insufferable scene kids openly weeping all around you. I'm not joking.

[Ragnus]

No shit. I support the guy, but this is going to be one of the largest, circle jerkiest, echo chambers I'm ever going to experience. I might have to pregame to get through it.

[Andalusian girls]

ask him how he plans to push Socialist legislation through a Congress that will be either entirely or partially Republican

[Tyrath]

Because he has never been asked that question

[Andalusian girls]

rather one he's never adequately answered. his conception that the American people will rise en masse to support his legislative proposals after the election and force congressional Republicans to make concessions at pain of populist insurrection is pure fantasy and the kind of ideological rather than pragmatic governing ethos that is so often vilified around here when it comes from someone on the opposite side of the aisle

[notorious bum]

Translation: "How will your dank memes help you change America?"

[Tyrath]

He has answered it.



20:14 - Bernie on creating real change/political revolution

[Byrthnoth]

Ted Cruz fully neutered:

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/0...ed-cruz-214233

GOP in the Senate not having any of his shit this time concerning shutting down govt. Rubio ironically absent.

Looking like Cruz gonna have a hard time keeping his seat as well. No Presidency, No Senate Seat. Cruz done.

The proper caption for the top image there is, "Come at me, bro!"

[Andalusian girls]

He has answered it.



20:14 - Bernie on creating real change/political revolution

as i said refusing to negotiate with the other side of the aisle and expecting populist engagement to affect legislative change is fantasy, intransigent ideological fantasy

[Quicklet]

Government is funded until December 11 now. Two-thirds of Republicans in the House voted against, almost all Democrats voted for. Leaders from both parties are trying to hammer out some longer-term deals to avoid any new shutdown fights until after the 2016 elections, but based on past attempts to strike long-term deals I think we'll be right back to Republicans holding the government hostage in order to defund Planned Parenthood two months from now.

[Sho]

No way they'll not fund government. They'll be kicking the can right into 2017.

[archibaldcrane]

No way they'll not fund government. They'll be kicking the can right into 2017.

Thing is, come December 11th we'll have a new Speaker of the House, and he'll have to either shut down the government or put up a bill that will require democrat votes to pass. That's a hard pill to swallow for the new speaker given that his predecessor was ousted for doing that exact thing.

[Quicklet]

Yeah, there would need to be a HUGE amount of pressure on Republicans for them to balk at shutting down the government without extracting some kind of punitive ransom.

My three-month prediction: anything significant that Boehner doesn't pass in October has no chance of passing once McCarthy gets in. If he doesn't pass at least a debt ceiling increase, we're going to see political chaos come December. Conventional wisdom suggests he will get those things done before he leaves, but that's going to require him shutting down his own party in a way that he hasn't done since he became Speaker. I don't know if he's willing to do that, even if it's for the long-term good of the country and his own party.

[Ragnus]

Given the unabashed shade he's been throwing at his party lately, I wouldn't be surprised if this is the final middle finger on the way out the door.

[Sho]

They'll put out a Dem backed bill. I have a feeling that McCarthy will convince enough of his base to shelve the Planned Parenthood agenda until after the 2016 elections with the promise that they will go at it full force in 2017 if another Dem is elected in office.

I also have a feeling that McCarthy will have the exact same problems that plagued Boehner in keeping his far right brethren in line.