US Politics Mega-thread - Page 2883

On February 11 2016 03:21 oBlade wrote:

Executives are supposed to be switched often in the US system. The rest of your political career can be somewhere else doing long-term things, like as a legislator. We should be skeptical (but open) right off the bat of the likelihood of people with the same last name all being exceptional enough to hold the highest office arguably on the planet.

On February 11 2016 03:28 travis wrote:


I feel like this is very naive when you start examining the friends and family connections between those in power in the U.S. "Merit" is interesting. Do you think it's harder or easier to get jobs in politics when you are deeply entrenched in a network of super rich politicians and businessmen?

On February 11 2016 03:21 Plansix wrote:

Extent of “their” politics? Are you for real right now? Are you sure that blacks don’t vote with Clinton because Bill listened to their issues and they expected the same from his wife? And the Republicans have really be courting the black vote for a while, right? And by courting it, I mean not making any effort to attract black voters.

But there is evidence that Clinton's unmatched popularity among blacks confused many about the true economic impact of his presidency. In a 2005 article I co-authored in the Journal of Black Studies, I analyzed five national surveys from 1984 through 2000. The data show that nearly a third of black Americans held false understandings of black economic conditions during the Clinton years. By the time Clinton left office, many African-Americans incorrectly believed that blacks were doing better economically than whites. In the '80s, barely 5 percent of blacks believed blacks were economically better off than whites. By 2000, nearly 30 percent of African-American respondents believed that blacks were doing better economically than whites. This belief is simply wrong.

On February 11 2016 03:28 travis wrote:


I feel like this is very naive when you start examining the friends and family connections between those in power in the U.S. "Merit" is interesting. Do you think it's harder or easier to get jobs in politics when you are deeply entrenched in a network of super rich politicians and businessmen?

On February 11 2016 03:28 travis wrote:


I feel like this is very naive when you start examining the friends and family connections between those in power in the U.S. "Merit" is interesting. Do you think it's harder or easier to get jobs in politics when you are deeply entrenched in a network of super rich politicians and businessmen?

On February 11 2016 03:26 Gorsameth wrote:

Some people will think like that, the vast majority will not.

If Carson won the republican nomination, would he sweep in 80% of the black vote because he is black?
Is Fiorina getting every female republican's vote?

If your message is shit, it doesn't matter what your race or gender is.

MANCHESTER N.H. – For the establishment wing of the Republican Party, the picture just keeps getting bleaker.

Far from winnowing the crowded field of mainstream GOP contenders and allowing it to unify around a standard-bearer, New Hampshire thrust it further into chaos. Marco Rubio, after taking steps last week to coalesce the backing of the party’s upper echelons, saw his momentum halted in the state, which punished him for delivering an overly scripted debate performance.

The establishment picture is now more clouded than ever, with Rubio, Jeb Bush, and New Hampshire runner-up John Kasich heading for a brutal fight in South Carolina – a state known for its rough-and-tumble political culture. Chris Christie, who was also competing for establishment support, is reassessing his campaign’s future.

All of this, many in the mainstream wing of the GOP worry, is excellent news for one man: Donald Trump.

“This is the perfect storm for Trump,” said Matt Dowd, who served as chief strategist on George W. Bush’s 2004 reelection campaign. “He got his poll numbers, won by double digits, recovered from a loss, and has multiple opponents. You couldn’t design a better scenario for him.”

By the time the party gets around to unifying around a mainstream contender, Dowd added, it’s possible Trump will have gained enough momentum to be unstoppable.

It will also complicate the efforts to halt Ted Cruz, who like Trump is running in the insurgent lane. After winning the Iowa caucuses, Cruz coasted to a third-place finish in New Hampshire. But he is well positioned in evangelical-rich South Carolina and a series of southern states that vote in March.

On February 11 2016 03:32 Deathstar wrote:


Bill intensified the war on drugs and his welfare reform programs specifically hurt black people more than white people. But he played the saxophone and had a bj scandal so that's all that matters.

Republicans doing a poor job with black voters is different from black people, for some reason, considering Bill the first black president. It's delusional.


http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2008/01/the_clinton_fallacy.html

In a letter to president Obama, a former federal judge is asking that a sentence he handed down in 2004 be commuted.

"In looking back on the case, it was one of the most troubling that I ever faced in my five years on the federal bench," Paul G. Cassell wrote on Tuesday.

Because of prison terms mandated by law, Cassell sentenced Weldon Angelos to 55 years in prison.

As the court documents describe, Angelos was a first-time offender when he was convicted of dealing marijuana at 24-years-old. But his case was complicated by the fact that Angelos carried a gun to two drug deals and then a third offense was added when police executed a search warrant and found more guns at Angelos' home.

Because of the weapons charges and because of the mandatory minimums crafted by the law, Cassell was forced to issue the 55-year-sentence.

At the time, Cassell, who was nominated to the federal bench by George W. Bush in 2001, complained that the sentence was "unjust, cruel and even irrational."

"The 55–year sentence substantially exceeds what the jury recommended to the court," Cassell wrote in his sentencing memorandum. "It is also far in excess of the sentence imposed for such serious crimes as aircraft hijacking, second degree murder, espionage, kidnapping, aggravated assault, and rape. It exceeds what recidivist criminals will likely serve under the federal 'three strikes' provision."

In his letter to Obama, Cassell said that this sentence was hard to defend when it was imposed, but that he is glad that Obama and his Justice Department have started reviewing these unfair sentences.

On February 11 2016 04:08 farvacola wrote:

Bush was an excellent political vehicle with which the Republican establishment could fairly easily unite the party; his family and background (the establishment aspect) married with the reactionary impulses brought on by 9/11 quite nicely and the man himself was so lacking in substantive motivation that it wasn't exactly difficult for the Republican party to basically place who it wanted among his cabinet. The machine that turned Kerry into a swiftboat disaster is no longer operating, and Trump's performance in NH and elsewhere is pretty good evidence of that.

On February 11 2016 04:01 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:


If she's the best candidate for the job, it shouldn't matter who her relatives are. Same goes with Jeb or any other candidate who's related to a previous president/ candidate.