2016 USA Presidential election thread I: The warm-up

[notorious bum]

The Clinton apparatus is pretty quick on the dial.


An Ex-Obama aide was slamming Bernie's bank plan. He markets himself as "Hedge Funds' Secret Weapon" https://theintercept.com/2016/01/06/...n-wall-street/

[Yuri-G]

I sure hope it's Carmen Sandiego

Oh man that ad was great though. I am highly curious how he plans on making Mexico pay for said wall though. Really shooting for the moon

where in the world did this reference come from...?

[Dantrag]

where in the world did this reference come from...?

The fact that people think the ad is real... no one is /s after they talk about it lol.

[kuronosan]

The fact that people think the ad is real... no one is /s after they talk about it lol.

Did you really walk into that?

[quote name="dasva" post=6608089]Carmen Sandiego[/QUOTE]

where in the world did this reference come from...?

[Ragnus]

This primary season is starting to turn into a really entertaining, if not totally frightening shitshow.

Trump sees Cruz rising in the polls. What's he do? Try and revive the birther movement.

http://www.npr.org/2016/01/05/462083...er-on-ted-cruz

[Fiye]

You know what, I'm ok with this.

Fuck Ted Cruz.

[Tyrath]

I know Cruz is actually naturalized but I take some pleasure in him getting a dose of his own birther medicine.

[Ragnus]

Pretty much. The GoP has been clutching onto their lunatic fringe for so long that it's turned into the metastasized cancer they're living with now. The cancer has grown into Donald Trump at the moment. I don't think that there could have been a more accurate walking caricature of the fear mongering, sexist, racist, xenophobic, hate machine that this party has turned into.

It's almost enough to start believing that Trump is actually a deep cover liberal just as a coping mechanism. There shouldn't be someone this bullet proof doing what he's doing.

[kuronosan]

Wasn't Trump a Democrat anyway?

[Ksandra]

Wasn't Trump a Democrat anyway?

Yes, and this has been a theory mentioned now and then. It is hard to tell with him. When he was a little less crazy, he was a fulfill on Democrat, and your can even see some of his policies are Democratic.

However, he switched right around his birther movement craziness. Which either means he really went nuts or thought this was the easiest way to get attention again. Something he's always loved.

[Tyrath]

[Marootsoobutsu]

I know Cruz is actually naturalized but I take some pleasure in him getting a dose of his own birther medicine.

He's not actually naturalized. I mean, I don't want Cruz as President, but his mother was a citizen when he was born; that makes him a natural-born citizen. It's murkier than it was for Obama, because she later became a Canuck, but still. He's a natural-born citizen, period. And really, I'd rather almost ANYONE (except Trump) represent the GOP, but still. He's not naturalized.

[Tyrath]

I meant to say natural born lol The rest of my comment follows that logic.

[Yuri-G]

The fact that people think the ad is real... no one is /s after they talk about it lol.

I know. I was making a funny.


where in the world... Carmen sandiego... you know.


or maybe you're younger than me and you really don't know, in which case the woosh can be excused I suppose

[Yuri-G]

I know Cruz is actually naturalized but I take some pleasure in him getting a dose of his own birther medicine.

the thing that both satisfies and infuriates me is the exposing of gross hypocrisy in the ranks of the birther movement. it was always obvious that it was about politics, not policy - but it's nice to see some proof of that.. and yet it's frustrating how hypocritical the response to Cruz vs. Obama is.

[Marootsoobutsu]

the thing that both satisfies and infuriates me is the exposing of gross hypocrisy in the ranks of the birther movement. it was always obvious that it was about politics, not policy - but it's nice to see some proof of that.. and yet it's frustrating how hypocritical the response to Cruz vs. Obama is.

Why? The same fringe loons that believed it about Obama have been saying the same thing about Cruz; they just aren't getting media attention. And most folks on the right now, just like then, roll their eyes.

[Andalusian girls]

the difference being 43% of Republicans believe Obama is Muslim and 29% believe he is not a U.S. citizen

it's beyond a fringe and i strongly doubt the numbers are comparable when posed to Democrats vis-a-vis Cruz, an individual whose citizenship status actually raises questions of jus sanguinis (admittedly a question easily answered in the affirmative), as opposed to the baseless nativist demonize-the-other misinformation surrounding the president

[kuronosan]

He's not actually naturalized. I mean, I don't want Cruz as President, but his mother was a citizen when he was born; that makes him a natural-born citizen. It's murkier than it was for Obama, because she later became a Canuck, but still. He's a natural-born citizen, period. And really, I'd rather almost ANYONE (except Trump) represent the GOP, but still. He's not naturalized.

Actually it doesn't. His citizenship would still have to be applied for if he was born in Canada, even if his mother was American.

[Marootsoobutsu]

the difference being 43% of Republicans believe Obama is Muslim and 29% believe he is not a U.S. citizen

it's beyond a fringe and i strongly doubt the numbers are comparable when posed to Democrats vis-a-vis Cruz, an individual whose citizenship status actually raises questions of jus sanguinis (admittedly a question easily answered in the affirmative), as opposed to the baseless nativist demonize-the-other misinformation surrounding the president

Enh? 20% of the total population believes Obama's a feriner. 29% of Republicans (it's down to about 25% in the lastest poll I found), means that, unless Republicans now make up a lot more of the population than I thought, it's not just Republicans who think it. Sure, more than others, but it still goes to the issue. But I'll be willing to bet that you get to the 2/3 Trump supporters calling Cruz not natural born, and a good chunk of Democrats/Libertarians who jump on that, too, before the election happens. The 20% mark should be pretty easy to reach-- the question is going to be how widely the "he's not a citizen" claims get screamed. The media loved quoting the Tea Party for lulz; they love doing the same to Trump. And with Ann Coulter already parroting Trump, I think there's a good chance of it getting there.

Don't worry-- you can still have your racism card, since Cruz is of Cuban descent.

For the Muslim thing, /that/ has its roots mostly in racism. But that's a different issue entirely (and one that's even more not-limited to Republicans).

[Marootsoobutsu]

Actually it doesn't. His citizenship would still have to be applied for if he was born in Canada, even if his mother was American.

All the sources routinely used to interpret the Constitution confirm that the phrase “natural born Citizen” has a specific meaning: namely, someone who was a U.S. citizen at birth with no need to go through a naturalization proceeding at some later time. And Congress has made equally clear from the time of the framing of the Constitution to the current day that, subject to certain residency requirements on the parents, someone born to a U.S. citizen parent generally becomes a U.S. citizen without regard to whether the birth takes place in Canada, the Canal Zone, or the continental United States.

Harvard Law seems to disagree with you. He might need to file for recognition, but he doesn't have to apply for citizenship, and that's a pretty big difference.