Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

Ted Cruz

7 (6.5%)

Rick Santorum

16 (14.8%)

Michelle Bachmann

13 (12%)

Chris Christie

23 (21.3%)

Rand Paul

49 (45.4%)

Total Members Voted: 107

[Jervill]

Just as a geography aside, states are more than just red and blue; many states have heavily Democratic voting areas, heavily Republican voting areas, and areas that slide between either party.  Utah, for example, has Salt Lake City that votes about 60-70% Dem most of the time (Romney, being Mormon, inflated the Republican margin in 2012).  On the flip side, Eastern Oregon votes about 50-70% Republican in a largely blue state.

And then there's the regions that split their tickets such as Southwest Wisconsin (mostly in Wisconsin's 3rd District), which voted for Obama (and for their Democratic House Rep) with about 60% of the vote but routinely sends Republicans to the state legislature with similar margins.

Of course, then there's the difference between the more Libertarian Republicans in say Eastern Washington and the more socially conservative ones in Alabama.  Or the urban Dems out of Chicago & New York City compared to rural Dems out of Minnesota and Vermont.

[smeeprocket]

I don't feel I dehumanize anyone. Quite the opposite. I tried to empathize with everyone. Some people are less easy to empathize with, especially those that seek to oppress others.

I don't have some kind of irrational hatred for conservatives. I think their policies hurt the people, but a pragmatic conservative could argue good points.

Really, conservatives exist to reign in liberals in the grand scheme of things. Liberals want to move forward, but they often move to quickly for the public, Conservatives should mitigate that. That's not what has been happening since Obama took office though.

I'm pretty sure this all stems from us having a black president. I can't explain the sudden rise in proud racism among conservatives otherwise.

edit: I find libertarians more problematic than old school conservatives, tbh.

[Descan]

"States with more than one senator" They all have more than one. That's the whole point, every state gets two.

[FearfulJesuit]

Rick Santorum to run again.

I'm honestly a little afraid he'll win the nomination, especially if he's more diplomatic than last go-round. The GOP has a habit of picking former also-rans as its nominees- Romney in 2012 (came second in 2008), McCain in 2008 (came second in 2000), Bush senior in 1988 (came second in 1980), Reagan in 1980 (came second in 1976)...

[misko27]

I for one think this is Joseph Pulitzer's and William Hearst's fault. Started the damn Spanish-American War

And wasn't Bush challenged many times on his stance on the use of torture while he was still in office, and always defended it as useful and necessary?

The answer is yes, and indeed he is doing it, right now. However, it seems he defended this without being told the details of what was actually happening. Colin Powell wasn't even informed fully until 2003 it appears.

And everyone wonders why otherwise normal conservatives are so eager to paint coastal liberals as a bunch of arrogant, stuck-up, petulant hypocrites.

Harsh. I don't know how that makes me any of that. I volunteered my state.

I don't think it's acceptable to have Guantanamo open. We could just release everyone. The point is, it has to go. it's wrong on every level. We can't just hold them forever, especially in a place where they don't have rights.

Painting "red states" as a monolithic, irredeemable entity is a pretty good indication of being an insufferable, sanctimonious liberal, yes.

Whether or not the person you are attacking is wrong or is themselves rudely insulting, I'd appreciate it if you could not yourself insult people, especially after having attacked someone as hypocritical; you dull the point of your argument in exchange for venom, which merely inflames the situation (that was an unusually self-consistent metaphor).

The detainees remaining at Gitmo are a mixed-bag. Quite a large proportion, around half I believe, are slated for release. There are Yemenis being held there until the security situation in Yemen improves. The rest are a mix of potential trial pending investigation, those designated as too dangerous to release and to be held indefinitely, and probably a few others in odd situations.

Rick Santorum to run again.

I'm honestly a little afraid he'll win the nomination, especially if he's more diplomatic than last go-round. The GOP has a habit of picking former also-rans as its nominees- Romney in 2012 (came second in 2008), McCain in 2008 (came second in 2000), Bush senior in 1988 (came second in 1980), Reagan in 1980 (came second in 1976)...

The field is wide open right now, ranging from Ted Cruz to Jeb Bush. I'm not betting on any horse until it develops a bit.

[smjjames]

I only wish the field was as wide open for the democrats as it was for the republicans, people are focusing too much on Hillary being the crowned nominee before things even start.

Hopefully things get whittled down faster before the debates start though.

[nenjin]

We talking about the Spending Bill yet?

From CNN:

The $1.1 trillion spending bill, which would fund most of the government until next September, includes provisions that will allow donors to give a lot more money to Republicans and Democrats to help fund conventions, building projects and legal proceedings like recounts.
We have a deal (or do we?)

Rather than facing the current cap of $32,400, donors would be able to give up to $777,600 each year to funds and committees run by the parties or their campaign arms. That means individuals could give $1,555,200 per two-year election cycle and couples could give $3,110,400 in a cycle, according to several campaign finance groups who have studied the legislative language.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/10/politics/spending-bill-campaign-donations/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

It basically seems like you can't stop the Republican plan for victory. They stall the Spending Bill until they can attach insane riders to it, voters get angry at them, they win Congressional elections anyways, and they start the cycle over again. At best Democrats can stall the spending bill and take the political heat, and in the end get nothing because they actually understand how not to completely ruin the government. For a party that says they like Small Government, they sure do like Big Government donations.

[Phmcw]

Just a reminder that torture by the CIA has been a constant through history.

[smjjames]

Just a reminder that torture by the CIA has been a constant through history.

I should also note that the UK was in on it too.

Don't tell me you don't have some dark embarrassing secrets in Belgium.

[Sheb]

Of course we do. The Congo for starter.

[smjjames]

I meant more modern ones, but okay.

*is done trying to prod and poke fun at the Europeans* Okay, sorry for being a stupid American here. lol

[Phmcw]

Yeah one rather important thing is : every governement tend to do that kind of stuff. You have to keep a short leach on them if you don't want it to happen.

I think that the problem is more that the population doesn't believe it happen/may happen than the fact that it happen.
Let anyone have total control on someone without oversight, and 50% of the time you end up with this.

American MUST take a serious look into the CIA actions and I can tell you what you'll find : vast operations of domestic opinion shaping, funing of terrorist groups operating on ennemie's country soil, diverse operations of destabilistation of ennemies/rival countries, a rather large network of agent infiltrated in various European/Australian/japanese institutions, large scale collusion with American corportations, decrebilisation campains against opponent (including Assange)... ... ...

How do I know that? Well, partly because you can see them in action, partly because that's what every secret services ever has done.  And there is a possibility that they knew that they let 9/11 happen on purpose. We know that the higher up knew that something may happen, and they took it suspiciously lightly.
It also was used to attack Iraq, which is suspiciously convenient, since it was a good way to repay the Saudi for the USSR demise.

[smjjames]

Uh, what do the Saudis have to do with the demise of the USSR?

Anyways, you may or may not have heard, the Department of Justice decided not to prosecute any of the torturers, for uh, various reasons. The debate is out there, yes, but I don't see anybody taking it seriously anytime soon.

[Phmcw]

They help the US lower petrol price anytime the US need it. It destroy Russia economy since it's so reliant on its petrol exportation.

It's especially blatant this time, but it was basically the same strategy that allowed the US to bankrupt the USSR.


Also I called it.

The US is torturing prisoners to death and I'm not even surprised. Keep in mind that they were put there without trial and that a fair number of them have been found innocent. They even put one of Al jazzra's journalist in there.

I feel like Americans will end up finding this clip slightly less humorous in the coming years.

The CIA is not supposed to be doing that anymore, though I'm not entirely sure that they stopped. The torture stuff is old, back in the Bush adminstration, the report is simply getting released just now because it took so long to make it.

Yes the world is recoiling at the torture report, and they should, because it's our shame to bear. Better to be honest and bear the shame and move past it than hide it like an embarrassing secret and deny it never happened.

Also, the ACLU apparently thinks Obama should pardon everybody involved in that whole thing.

I'm sorry to infom you of this but the CIA has been supposed to stop doing things like that for most of its existence, they never did.

In all probabilities, this rapport change nothing, the government will say "this is very bad and not the American way", and they will punish absolutely no one, or maybe a few low level scapgegoat. Politicians will say that "they didn't know" and the American public will find that normal.


This IS the American way, and it has been the American way since the Vietnam at least.

[smjjames]

They help the US lower petrol price anytime the US need it. It destroy Russia economy since it's so reliant on its petrol exportation.

It's especially blatant this time, but it was basically the same strategy that allowed the US to bankrupt the USSR.


Also I called it.

The US is torturing prisoners to death and I'm not even surprised. Keep in mind that they were put there without trial and that a fair number of them have been found innocent. They even put one of Al jazzra's journalist in there.

I feel like Americans will end up finding this clip slightly less humorous in the coming years.

The CIA is not supposed to be doing that anymore, though I'm not entirely sure that they stopped. The torture stuff is old, back in the Bush adminstration, the report is simply getting released just now because it took so long to make it.

Yes the world is recoiling at the torture report, and they should, because it's our shame to bear. Better to be honest and bear the shame and move past it than hide it like an embarrassing secret and deny it never happened.

Also, the ACLU apparently thinks Obama should pardon everybody involved in that whole thing.

I'm sorry to infom you of this but the CIA has been supposed to stop doing things like that for most of its existence, they never did.

In all probabilities, this rapport change nothing, the government will say "this is very bad and not the American way", and they will punish absolutely no one, or maybe a few low level scapgegoat. Politicians will say that "they didn't know" and the American public will find that normal.


This IS the American way, and it has been the American way since the Vietnam at least.

Lemme check really quick, are you going on a conspiracy theory about the US 100% controlling the oil market? Because the current low prices are due to supply and demand. Also, the fall of the USSR isn't as simple as 'Oh no! low oil prices are ruining economy!'

Besides, if we actually COULD force them to lower prices, the prices wouldn't have kept rising as they did and the oil crisis of the 70's wouldn't have happened.