US Politics Mega-thread - Page 3638

On April 20 2016 10:43 FiWiFaKi wrote:


The most recent Cali poll says +18 for Trump, and I think that's demographic that will only improve for him. But I suppose the other ones have been lower, so I can reserve my judgment, but I'd expect him to take 80-90% of the delegates.

On April 20 2016 09:28 kwizach wrote:

No, anti-Hillary sentiment is very largely the result of 25 years of GOP smears and attacks on her character, with the most recent attacks having the most effect. Saying "the fact is people don't like or trust Hillary Clinton" is meaningless without context. When she left her office of Secretary of State in 2013, Hillary Clinton was at an average favorability rating of +34,8. That was obviously partially the result of her association to Obama, but she was favorably seen throughout her mandate, and she also enjoyed pretty high favorability ratings as senator, with the exception of a relatively short period. This means that there are specific reasons for her drop in favorability since early 2013 -- "people don't like or trust Hillary Clinton" doesn't explain change. And the biggest reason for her drop in favorability has been the relentless character assassination Republicans have been engaging in over Benghazi; plenty of non-partisan reports have shown how deceptive their attacks have been, but they've been extremely effective none-the-less. The GOP then piled on the e-mail "scandal", completely blowing out of proportion an act of carelessness which was not more than that, and which certainly did not mean she was not serious about the job she was doing or the policies she was defending.

This was the state of affairs towards the end of 2015. Clinton's name had been dragged through the mud by Republicans & Fox News (and, to an extent, by others in the media who love a good scandal), and no matter how unjustified the shit that was thrown against the wall was, some of it stuck due to how often it was being repeated.

Enters Bernie. I and others have already extensively documented on this board the increasingly negative turn that his campaign has taken since early March, but some of the attacks on Hillary's character were already being used by many of his supporters and others on the left before that. This was exactly what the right was inciting some on the left to do -- they actively tried to get their traditional opponents to fall for GOP talking points by framing them in a way that would appeal to some on the left, in order to further weaken Hillary as a candidate. Now, is Bernie responsible for the 25 years of smears that Hillary has been facing from the right, and for the outrageous claims some have levied against her on Benghazi in particular? Of course not. But it doesn't change the fact that he has gone increasingly negative on her, and that instead of debating her on the issues like he initially claimed (and sincerely hoped) he would do, he has been attacking her character through dishonest attacks that seek to portray her as corrupt when 1. there is zero evidence of her ever being actually corrupted by any industry, 2. the evidence actually points to the opposite to be true, 3. she does not receive more money from the industries Sanders targets than Obama and plenty others on the left and 4. it is actually easier to make a case for Sanders to have defended the interests of the industries donating money to him, supporting his campaigns, or spending money in his state (the NRA, the dairy industry, the defense industry). Decrying Citizens United and the system in general is perfectly fine. His rhetoric against Clinton in particular isn't.

Hillary Clinton has been fighting for issues she cared about since way before she ever aspired to a public office, let alone the highest public office. I'm absolutely not saying she's perfect -- she has many flaws, and there are several areas on which I disagree with her. I would describe myself as to the left of Sanders, in fact. Yet that doesn't mean I can't recognize baseless character attacks for what they are, and how damaging they could end up being to the Democrats and the progressive cause in general. This election is a historic opportunity for Democrats to make their biggest gains in a long time, and it's a fundamental election to win given the state of the Supreme court membership. It is profoundly egoistical and irresponsible for Sanders to be accusing Hillary of being corrupt and of "stealing the election" -- he knows it's not true, and he's doing it as part of a last-ditch effort to win the nomination. In doing so, he's handing the GOP ammunition they'll happily be using in the general election. It's perfectly fair for Sanders to be still hoping and campaigning to become the Democratic nominee, but it's pathetic for him to be smearing Clinton's character like he currently is.

low education voters and young inexperienced voters not registering in time.

On April 20 2016 10:47 FiWiFaKi wrote:
Are we still expecting Bernie to go till the end or drop out?

He's going to need what, 70% of the popular vote after today to catch Hillary when neglecting super delegates after today?

On April 20 2016 10:53 Mohdoo wrote:


From the Sanders subreddit. Lets keep in mind Bernie massively outspent Clinton in NY.

On April 20 2016 10:53 Mohdoo wrote:


From the Sanders subreddit. Lets keep in mind Bernie massively outspent Clinton in NY.

On April 20 2016 10:52 oneofthem wrote:
out of state nyu kids cant vote. hahahahahaha

In addition, the Comptroller’s office said about 125,000 voters in Brooklyn alone had turned up to cast ballots only to be informed they were never on the voter rolls, had been removed from the voter rolls or were registered under a different party.

In a letter to Board of Elections director Michael Ryan, Stringer asked for information on polling site operations, voter communication processes, poll worker training and “voter disenfranchisement” related to the voter rolls.

“As a result of today’s reported irregularities, my office will be auditing the management and operations of the Board of Elections in order to identify the failings and make recommendations to improve performance going forward,” Stringer wrote.

On April 20 2016 10:49 GreenHorizons wrote:


It's not likely to stay 60 - 40, so yeah he's going to continue. I think regardless, he's going to stay in the spot light in case after a couple months of savaging from Trump, Hillary doesn't look like such a strong nominee.