US Politics Mega-thread - Page 5561

On October 14 2016 11:57 Plansix wrote:
https://twitter.com/GHOSTFXCKER/status/786753908332982272

I mean, was there any doubt.

On October 14 2016 11:57 Plansix wrote:
https://twitter.com/GHOSTFXCKER/status/786753908332982272

I mean, was there any doubt.

If you’re not frightened by the thought of Donald Trump having his finger on the nuclear button, you should consider listening to these folks.

A group of former nuclear launch officers in the U.S. Air Force have signed an open letter saying they’re disturbed by the idea of Trump standing over what’s known as the “red button.” The letter, with 10 signatories, was first reported by The Washington Post on Thursday.

“Only the president can order a nuclear launch. That order cannot be vetoed and once the missiles have been launched, they cannot be called back,” the letter states. “The consequences of miscalculation, impulsive decision-making or poor judgment on the part of the president could be catastrophic.”

The letter concludes: “Donald Trump should not be the nation’s commander-in-chief. He should not be entrusted with the nuclear launch codes. He should not have his finger on the button.”

Throughout the campaign, Trump has shown a stunning propensity to lash out at his critics and attack anyone ― be it a fellow Republican or even a Gold Star mother ― who he believes crossed him. He’s taken to Twitter at 3 a.m. to assail a former Miss Universe whom he humiliated years ago. As the letter itself notes, Trump is “easily baited” by those who want to provoke him ― not exactly a quality you want in the leader of the world’s most powerful military.

All of that has made Trump’s “temperament” a focus of the campaign. Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton says he does not have the cool demeanor required of a commander-in-chief, and plenty of reputable military and security experts happen to agree. The nuclear launch officers are just the latest to air their concerns and issue an anti-Trump proclamation ahead of the Nov. 8 election.

Bruce Blair, who, according to the Post, organized the letter, told the paper that the writers deliberately did not endorse Clinton. “No one who signed the letter wanted to disclose a position who they would vote for,” Blair said. “The letter is focused entirely on Trump.” He said those who signed were “flabbergasted” by the possibility of a Trump presidency, and wanted to speak out before it was too late.

A fringy conspiracy theory about how the blockbuster 2005 tape of Donald Trump bragging about sexual assault was leaked to the Washington Post has gotten the endorsement of Jerry Falwell Jr., the social conservative activist and president of Liberty University, who brought it up on an Fox Business News appearance this week.

He joins David Duke, neo-Nazi web forums and -- of course -- Breitbart in peddling similar conspiracy theories, which vary in their specifics from merely absurd to virulently anti-Semitic.

The broad outline of the conspiracy theory alleges that GOP operative Dan Senor leaked the tape as a part of a coup by GOP elites like Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan (whom Senor worked for during the 2012 election) to get Trump knocked off the Republican ticket.

The theory appears to have originated with a tweet by Mike Cernovich, a Trump supporter and blogger known for his belief that date rape doesn't exist.

It was picked up by Jim Hoft of Gateway Pundit who added that he spoke with a "reporter tonight who believes the reports are true. It was GOP elites who released the audio to the Washington Post."

Hoft also noted that it came out the night before Ryan was set to appear with Trump and that Senor was -- shockingly, considering it was only the biggest news of the presidential campaign -- encouraging reporters to ask Trump surrogates about the tape at Sunday's debate.

A joke made by Senor's wife, Campbell Brown, a former reporter, only further fueled the fire, and she had to clarify that she did not in fact leak the tape.

The theory has already ricocheted across alt-right and neo-Nazi websites like Stormfront and Daily Stormer, while Falwell retweeted a meme labeling Senor, Ryan and Romney the "traitors behind the tape."

On some of the alt-right message boards touting the theory, anti-Semitic slurs are thrown at Senor. Former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke put triple parenthesis around Senor's name, a signal in alt-right circles that the person is Jewish.

In his appearance on Fox Business News on Tuesday, Falwell claimed that "six or eight weeks ago," he "got a call from people who are close to the top establishment Republican candidates."

"They said, 'Jerry, these guys are working on something they say will guarantee that Donald Trump is not the nominee on November 8 of the Republican Party.'"

Falwell said he didn't think anything of it at the time, but since the publication of the tape, has reported it to the "right people."

"If there was a conspiracy, I know from my days of practicing law, if any two people ever -- or more ever -- work together to harm a third person, that is criminal," Falwell Jr. said.

On October 14 2016 13:17 Nyxisto wrote:
Haven't followed the thread much yesterday so I've got no idea if the Michelle speech has been posted but it was pretty great, best one of the election imo

On October 14 2016 13:17 Nyxisto wrote:
Haven't followed the thread much yesterday so I've got no idea if the Michelle speech has been posted but it was pretty great, best one of the election imo

On October 14 2016 10:59 Plansix wrote:

So nothing has changed?

On October 14 2016 10:31 ShoCkeyy wrote:
See this is exactly what they wanted, everyone talking about the debate non stop as if it's really a reality show. I haven't seen one person mention the rising tension with between US and Russia recently. That is much more deserving to talk about.

On October 14 2016 16:56 WhiteDog wrote:

"This is so bad, this is so sad, Trump is obscene and brag about gropping women. He is so bad.
Moral, moral, moral, moral, moral."

I'm not defending Trump at all, especially if he actually did what he was bragging about. But the fact is that a campaign that has nothing to say aside than talking about the moral of its candidates is a failed campaign. It's the degree 0 of politics.

On October 14 2016 16:38 iPlaY.NettleS wrote:

Clinton was up +5 two days previously.
Looks like trumps support is growing after his debate victory.

BTW watch out for selection bias.The NBC/WSJ poll released after the debate was quite poor in this regard.
Poll showed a 9 point lead to Clinton but with a 6 point difference in favour of strong democrat over strong republican and a 1 point difference in favour of lean democrat over lean republican.

Raw data, original document : https://www.scribd.com/document/327216789/Public-161027-NBCWSJ-October-N900-Poll-10-11-RELEASE

On October 14 2016 16:56 WhiteDog wrote:

"This is so bad, this is so sad, Trump is obscene and brag about gropping women. He is so bad.
Moral, moral, moral, moral, moral."

I'm not defending Trump at all, especially if he actually did what he was bragging about. But the fact is that a campaign that has nothing to say aside than talking about the moral of its candidates is a failed campaign. It's the degree 0 of politics. And this is somewhat described as a great speech.