Politics The 2016 US Presidential Election

Amen brother.

 

It is a little breathtaking, though, the sheer consistency of assholery represented in these campaigns and debates. It never fails to astonish me that somehow these races end up being close. That there are a stastically significant number of people who consider these cockmongers and assbaskets viable leadership potential is a true testament to how far education in America has fallen, how media illiterate most people are, and the eternal efficacy of panem et circenses as a strategy.

 

The Sanders campaign is claiming 28,000 including the overflow outside of the arena.



Impressive and he continues to build momentum!

 

I think he's more likely to step aside from people who he basically agrees with and doesn't want to get into a battle with then with someone he thinks is a bully and a savage.
I trust him to go toe to toe with Putin.

 

This Bernie Sanders crowd shot should make Hillary Clinton a little jittery - The Washington Post



Is there a reason Sanders is campaigning in Oregon? Not that I think it is a problem to build a big base of supporters and get momentum. Getting his name out there nationwide along with his polices would be a good thing too.

It would be nice if Oregon moved their primary ahead to be 3rd or 4th in the country in order to give the Democrats a real challenge instead of Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina picking who will get the media's attention as being the front-runner and then get the votes from the people who want to support the 'winner'. Or maybe the Democrats should be switching to a popular vote system so getting the big cities and the big population centers would matter to get more votes instead of the smaller states and the delegate system they currently use.

 

Following up on the interruption of his speech in Seattle by a small group of Black Lives Matter protestors, Sanders has released a comprehensive set of policy proposals on racial injustice and inequality. It hits on "four central types of violence waged against black and brown Americans: physical, political, legal and economic."

Bernie Sanders on Racism and Racial Justice

On the other side, Scott Walker's solution to racial injustice.....to focus on it will only make it worse and we should simply all join hands in unity and all that violence against minorities will take care of itself.

 

That is a decent answer from Walker though. I don't think it is ignoring it as much as much as peacefully protesting and getting the public on your side by being relatable.

Shooting someone at a church, in the back, for not having a license plate, or at a gas station will get people to wonder "what is going on, and that is wrong". I can support the victims and do something to help change things.

But if they are going to riot, burn down stores, interrupt speeches from presidential candidates that are on their side, and shoot guns near the protests, they will lose the public.

 

Of course, it is decent to suggest that victims act more like those in Charleston than Ferguson. No one would suggest that violent protest is the best response.

But that is hardly a policy proposal to address the issue of racial injustice and inequality. The typical Republican response is to blame the victims and/or democrat policies with no solutions of their own.

Where are the proposals to deal with police use of excessive force against minorities? Or racial profiling? Or disparities in sentencing? or discrimination in voting laws? Or the need for family friendly policies that particularly benefit working poor and minorities?

--- merged: Aug 11, 2015 at 9:49 AM ---
"If we focus on unity, we're going to get more of that..." is not a solution.

It is a deflection from the causes and effects of current policies and practices that are the problem.

 

Where are the proposals to deal with anything? Climate change, Healthcare, Education... It is the media's job to ask those questions, which they aren't always doing.

It's the right wing media that is easily able to spin these events and try to make the person who got shot at fault. Even if they just have to spread doubt, they are doing enough to keep the average person with a lot of other stuff to do distracted enough to care.

 

What we really need is candidates like they have in Canada.



I'm sorry if one of the American presidential candidates ran this ad I'm afraid I'd have to vote for them on general principles.

 

It looks like the candidates are coming up with some actual policy proposals on how they would deal with a few issues. What do you think of them, and what issues aren't being brought up that you would like to hear about?

Here is Donald Trump's immigration one and how it is supposed to work:
Immigration Reform | Donald J Trump for President

Scott Walker wants make health insurance for those who don't need it:
Scott Walker goes after fellow Republicans in health care pitch

Hillary has a plan to reduce college debt and get more kids in college:
Hillary Clinton to roll out $350 billion college plan - CNNPolitics.com

And Bernie Sanders has a racial justice plan which probably won't change much:
Bernie Sanders Rolls Out Racial Justice Plan - NBC News

 

The controversy surrounding the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution in the context of Trump's policy position on immigration is getting interesting. I had never given it much thought prior to Trump's position paper rollout - but i see his point. The key phrase seems to be "...and subject to the jurisdiction...". In 1868 it was clear that former slaves had been prior to 1868 and at the time subject to the jurisdiction, but it is not at all clear if the child of parents here illegally are subject to the jurisdiction of a state or the federal government. I think the federal government has made it perfectly clear that no immigration issue is in the jurisdiction of a state. And it appears that Congress does have the right to establish law on the issue children of illegal immigrants born in the US.

 

Ace,

How does Congress have the right to effectively deny citizenship to children born here of illegal immigrants w/o reversing the long standing Supreme Court decision (US v Wong in 1898) that those children born here are citizens and cannot be denied or overturned by an act of Congress?

And, do you really think the US govt could round up 11+ million undocumented workers and deport them?

 

14th Amendment: Well, look, we need to look at the context in which it was written

2nd Amendment; Hey, hey, hey, the context in which it was written is irrelevant!

 

More context: current Republican Party platform asserts that life begins at conception and Fourteenth Amendment protections should apply to all unborn "children."

But apparently not living, breathing children of undocumented immigrants.