The Otherworldly Circus - The America Thread

[Freshwater]

If the Dem’s get serious and get rid of Biden quickly, I think Trumps chances are severely diminished.

There are still some serious voters in the US who do not want an international embarrassment running their country and changing US democracy to an autocracy.

Who would you prefer? I’d prefer Kennedy but he is not going to get the nod. But I reckon he would get much of the working class (middleclass in America) vote off Trump. Can/Would Barrack run again??

 

[BrisDog]

Who would you prefer? I’d prefer Kennedy but he is not going to get the nod. But I reckon he would get much of the working class (middleclass in America) vote off Trump. Can/Would Barrack run again??

Adam Kinzinger in a perfect world….

For the Dems, Josh Shapiro or Cory Booker. Perhaps Gretchen Whitmer as a VP running mate for either of those 2.

Shapiro is a class act:

 

[synchrodogcal]

If the Dem’s get serious and get rid of Biden quickly, I think Trumps chances are severely diminished.

There are still some serious voters in the US who do not want a international embarrassment running their country and changing US democracy to an autocracy.

they need to get bevo over there to orchestrate a backs to the wall victory

 

[Planet Dogs]

Biden will pull out in the next few days. Harris will be the candidate. Her running mate will be a white male (possibly North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper). The spotlight will shift to the Orange Traitors' age and cognitive decline. I'm still hopeful.

 

[Sharpiesadog]

Biden will pull out in the next few days. Harris will be the candidate. Her running mate will be a white male (possibly North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper). The spotlight will shift to the Orange Traitors' age and cognitive decline. I'm still hopeful.

Yep, long way to go.

 

[Mofra]

Who would you prefer? I’d prefer Kennedy but he is not going to get the nod. But I reckon he would get much of the working class (middleclass in America) vote off Trump. Can/Would Barrack run again??

RFK apologises over leaked call of Trump making an offer

“I would love you to do something,” Trump can be heard saying in the clip. “And I think it’ll be so good for you."

www.bbc.com

If Kennedy (a rabid anti-vaxxer with a brain worm: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/08/us/rfk-jr-brain-health-memory-loss.html ) is the US's best chance, they're in more trouble than we realize.

 

[Mofra]

Biden will pull out in the next few days. Harris will be the candidate. Her running mate will be a white male (possibly North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper). The spotlight will shift to the Orange Traitors' age and cognitive decline. I'm still hopeful.

I still think Trump wins but the Dems may only lose one house if they dump Biden. Biden just has to go

 

[Norm De Guerre]

RFK apologises over leaked call of Trump making an offer

“I would love you to do something,” Trump can be heard saying in the clip. “And I think it’ll be so good for you."

www.bbc.com

If Kennedy (a rabid anti-vaxxer with a brain worm: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/08/us/rfk-jr-brain-health-memory-loss.html ) is the US's best chance, they're in more trouble than we realize.

Putting aside his anti-vax views for a moment. See, Im a reasonable guy. His platform is a theoretically interesting one that I can see the surface appeal of in a non thinking, abstract, non-political world where everybody is playing with a straight bat. Or where they have a remote chance of be incoming law in a society and political system wholly owned by a donor class and corporations.

The reality is that he's like Trump in that he is just a populist, the only real difference is that his grift has somewhat of an idealistic platform designed to appeal to those on the margins of the left who might be attracted to a green candidate like Jill Stein and scythe off just enough democratic votes to swing what at the time of his nomination was shaping as a tight election.

Its why Kennedy has attracted so much Republican backing, whether he's in cahoots with them is not known, but all the indications are there that he is just a stalking horse put there for that exact purpose.

The much bigger issue he faces is Im not sure how a guy who is a registered independent. Whose campaign finances show is being majority financed by Republican mega donors with ties directly to Donald Trump and a pay for play VP nominee, has a path to the democratic nomination for president.

Other than all that. Sure why not? Its not the silliest thing Ive seen in this thread of late.

Now if you'll excuse me. Im going to go get one of the kids to kick me in the balls for a few minutes as penance for taking 5 minutes of my time taking the OP suggestion seriously.

 

[Freshwater]

RFK apologises over leaked call of Trump making an offer

“I would love you to do something,” Trump can be heard saying in the clip. “And I think it’ll be so good for you."

www.bbc.com

If Kennedy (a rabid anti-vaxxer with a brain worm: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/08/us/rfk-jr-brain-health-memory-loss.html ) is the US's best chance, they're in more trouble than we realize.

I couldn’t care if someone is pro, anti, or somewhere in between on the vaccination issue. As long as citizens get to choose what goes in their own bodies. Governments have no role deciding medical treatment for people. And governments have no right to influence their employees to have a medicine or not.
This is a general fundamental principle in a democratic republic.

 

[BEaston]

Nice try. You are good at avoiding the entirety of a post. Goebbels would be proud. Bait and switch is so you.

Goebbels, haha. Way to prove the point.

 

[Werewolf]

That looks like Ritter/McGregor stuff, both of whom have been predicting imminent collapse of Ukraine's defence for 2 years, now. Does anyone have an opinion based upon more than whatever propaganda they read and of that, which they want to believe ? Discussion about conflicting opinions can be informative but getting personal about recycled opinions is absurd. Seek counsel from Sirs/Mesdames Brisdog and /or Waiting, Freshwater an option.

Ritter is a sex offender who really likes the sound of his own voice - avoid. McGregor seems like a smart guy, apparently his "different" views held back promotions, but like you said doesn't have the best track record with predictions.

Daniel Davis is one of the best analysts I've seen so far (on Afghanistan, Israel/Gaza, Russia/Ukraine):

https://www.youtube.com/@DanielDavisDeepDive

 

[LittleG]

Polls are currently being taken for a new Democrat nominee. As in, pollsters are calling independents and democrats to get an idea of who to pick.

My take is that Harris will 90% be the nominee but I prefer Shapiro…. Shapiro might want to wait for 2028, as he will then have a longer campaign that he can run.

 

[H Dolphin]

Ritter is a sex offender who really likes the sound of his own voice - avoid. McGregor seems like a smart guy, apparently his "different" views held back promotions, but like you said doesn't have the best track record with predictions.

Daniel Davis is one of the best analysts I've seen so far (on Afghanistan, Israel/Gaza, Russia/Ukraine):

https://www.youtube.com/@DanielDavisDeepDive

Thanks for the tip on Davis, the most recent of his material I found on youtube was 2 months old, a reporter, not a barracker like the other 2. Whilst none of them say what I want to hear, Davis is credible.

 

[LittleG]

Adam Kinzinger in a perfect world….

For the Dems, Josh Shapiro or Cory Booker. Perhaps Gretchen Whitmer as a VP running mate for either of those 2.

Shapiro is a class act:

Josh Shapiro is Presidential. Absolutely the best Democratic option.

 

[BrisDog]

Josh Shapiro is Presidential. Absolutely the best Democratic option.

Shapiro should run now. Everything should be done (apart from shooting him) to make sure Trump is defeated in November. Shapiro may not get a chance in 2028 if Trump continues to destroy democracy in the US.

 

[geoffjennings79]

Not that it should come into it, but someone will ask, so may as well be me.

Shapiro, also a practising Conservative Jew, is a strong backer of Israel, and has pushed universities to disband embedded pro-Palestinian protesters.

Harris in contrast has spoken out about the need for a ceasefire.

Is Shapiro the best Dem option in this respect?

Edit: in fact Shapiro has compared the protesters to the KKK.

 

[H Dolphin]

Shapiro should run now. Everything should be done (apart from shooting him) to make sure Trump is defeated in November. Shapiro may not get a chance in 2028 if Trump continues to destroy democracy in the US.

Given your stalwart performance in your dispute with Now Waiting, do you diminish your stature by your racist and sexist promotion of Shapiro ahead of Harris ?

 

[Norm De Guerre]

Without even considering the monumental of money, work and on the ground infrastructure it takes to get a campaign up and running.

Or the fact that the states control elections and the cluster**** that they will make of any change, should there be a change on the ballot.

If a president dies or resigns it's automatically the Vice President who takes over and then the speaker and so on and so forth down the line.

The only time that an unelected person has become president is when Nixon brought in Ford to replaces VP Agnew after he resigned. Which itself required a vote of both houses. Something that is just not going to happen in the current climate and on the cusp of an election. Then Nixon resigned and Ford became president, because thats system functioning as it should given it's not a parliamentary model where the prime minister ultimately serves at the pleasure of the party. A US president is essentially an elected King.

So it's technically possible for somebody outside the executive to ascend, the likelihood of it happening is very, very remote. Ford of course went on to become a one term president.

Polling or not. Its why the likes of Newsome, Whitmer or Shapiro aren't seen as serious contenders until 2028.

It'll be Harris or it won't happen at all.

I'd put my money on the latter.

 

[Freshwater]

Without even considering the monumental of money, work and on the ground infrastructure it takes to get a campaign up and running.

Or the fact that the states control elections and the cluster**** that they will make of any change, should there be a change on the ballot.

If a president dies or resigns it's automatically the Vice President who takes over and then the speaker and so on and so forth down the line.

The only time that an unelected person has become president is when Nixon brought in Ford to replaces VP Agnew after he resigned. Which itself required a vote of both houses. Something that is just not going to happen in the current climate and on the cusp of an election. Then Nixon resigned and Ford became president, because thats system functioning as it should given it's not a parliamentary model where the prime minister ultimately serves at the pleasure of the party. A US president is essentially an elected King.

So it's technically possible for somebody outside the executive to ascend, the likelihood of it happening is very, very remote. Ford of course went on to become a one term president.

Polling or not. Its why the likes of Newsome, Whitmer or Shapiro aren't seen as serious contenders until 2028.

It'll be Harris or it won't happen at all.

I'd put my money on the latter.

They are not really an elected king, because the president has such limited power. But time and practice and cultural change has given the presidency more power than they actually legally have. And you’re correct the only other person with official power is the vice president, all the others in the cabinet are only workers for the president and have no ‘real’ legal authority.

 

[Norm De Guerre]

They are not really an elected king, because the president has such limited power. But time and practice and cultural change has given the presidency more power than they actually legally have. And you’re correct the only other person with official power is the vice president, all the others in the cabinet are only workers for the president and have no ‘real’ legal authority.

I obviously didn't mean a King in a literal sense.

Although recent Supreme Court rulings have blurred the line between the two significantly.

 

[dogwatch]

They are not really an elected king, because the president has such limited power. But time and practice and cultural change has given the presidency more power than they actually legally have. And you’re correct the only other person with official power is the vice president, all the others in the cabinet are only workers for the president and have no ‘real’ legal authority.

As the Supreme Court has clearly indicated it will bow to Trump's bidding and certainly won't stand in his way, how much is this limitation of presidential power really worth? I mean who is meant to enforce the limitation on power? And would they actually do so if Trump insisted he was going ahead anyway?

I'm not saying it will necessarily happen, but if the Republicans won both houses and Trump was in the White House what is to stop the USA becoming an authoritarian state?

 

[BrisDog]

Given your stalwart performance in your dispute with Now Waiting, do you diminish your stature by your racist and sexist promotion of Shapiro ahead of Harris ?

Myself and Next Waiting has a gentlemanly quibble over a joke after a few drinks. He/she is a a good poster.

My promotion of Shapiro is performance based. That’s the way I role. Doesn’t seem to bother the Trump mob who have 2 white blokes as Presidential candidate and another white man as VC who compared Trump to Hilter in 2016.

Not too worried what you think of me, champ.

 

[Freshwater]

As the Supreme Court has clearly indicated it will bow to Trump's bidding and certainly won't stand in his way, how much is this limitation of presidential power really worth? I mean who is meant to enforce the limitation on power? And would they actually do so if Trump insisted he was going ahead anyway?

I'm not saying it will necessarily happen, but if the Republicans won both houses and Trump was in the White House what is to stop the USA becoming an authoritarian state?

History. It hasn’t happened yet, I don’t see it happening this time. Their whole system was wisely set up for a massive federal nation which learned to live the best they could with differences. They’ve had a mighty civil war over an issue that was feared by the founders, but they couldn’t yet confront because, they had the world’s first democratic republic to establish.
I posted a right/left authoritarian/libertarian matrix chart the other day, Donald Trump was definitely one of the highest towards authoritarianism in their history, and that is a concern. But authoritarianism is growing in both left and right wing governments generally.
I remember the panic and fear in 2016 when he came in, but really he wasn’t anything like the fear they portrayed.
Either way they’ll be alright and muddle along, but at least in a free country.

 

[dogwatch]

History. It hasn’t happened yet, I don’t see it happening this time. Their whole system was wisely set up for a massive federal nation which learned to live the best they could with differences. They’ve had a mighty civil war over an issue that was feared by the founders, but they couldn’t yet confront because, they had the world’s first democratic republic to establish.
I posted a right/left authoritarian/libertarian matrix chart the other day, Donald Trump was definitely one of the highest towards authoritarianism in their history, and that is a concern. But authoritarianism is growing in both left and right wing governments generally.
I remember the panic and fear in 2016 when he came in, but really he wasn’t anything like the fear they portrayed.
Either way they’ll be alright and muddle along, but at least in a free country.

I don't share your confidence but I hope you are right. You seem to be suggesting that there's no structural or procedural obstacle to the USA becoming a quasi-authoritarian state, just historical inertia. That doesn't fill me with hope.

Trump* is not the newbie he was in 2016. He now knows how the system works and where the blockages are. He has had four years to reflect and seems inclined to do things differently this time if he gets in. He loves being a disrupter.

I'm wondering if he'll even seek a way to circumvent the limitation of only two terms for presidents. If he doesn't slide into dementia or some other degenerative condition associated with old age he may well try for a third term. Works OK for his mates Xi Jinping, Putin and Kim Jong-Un. Modi seems headed that way too.

* References to Trump should be read to include his minders/backers.

 

[BulldogMuscle]

Its official.
Joe is out of the race.