And poof Biden's candidacy is gone.

[Geeko Sportivo]

And Poof! Donald Trump is off to jail!

 

[Hawkeye10]

Ads showing folks spraying human feces from the sidewalk in front of their business, tent cities, drug needles in the streets... Newsom is not a good candidate. I'd prefer, and continue to hope, that Brandon will be the only option for them by the time it comes to decision day at the DNC Convention. The tighter he grasps onto the power the more it slips between his mitts...

I also have been hoping that Republicans come to their senses and realize Trump's "I've been indicted" plan for his campaign is not a winning campaign strategy and select someone a bit less problematic.

Other than promoting the Revolutions agenda which has quickly wrecked California Newsom has no resume, but that is certainly no problem for the Revolution, if it was we would not currently have Biden/Harris. BUT, he is loyal, he is young, he talks well, he stays on message, he is IQ smart, he has had few staffing debacles, and he has the same power base as Harris making it easier to dump her....I get the sense that there is broad excitement in the Revolution to move from Biden to Newsom.

 

[anonymoose]

People PM you about other posters? That is just fucking weird.

Light hearted toying w/ APL. He's cool w/ that kinda stuff.
I get the sense he doesn't take this place very serious.

 

[christiefan915]

Always happy to have these discussions. (A reminder too that voting in 2016, before he took office, was different than voting in 2020 when he had a record to run on.)

<snip>

Trump is a brilliant marketer, he knew what he was doing with his racial rhetoric on the campaign trail in 2016. I recognize as a Republican that Democrats will always default to calling us racist because 1) that's what they do and 2) they think it gives them cover for their own racism. That said, Trump knew what he was doing with his rhetoric. My concern was (and still is) that he's creating a new young generation that will be anti-Republican and politically active because of it.

Those were the two biggest reasons for 2016.

I snipped the part about trade because I wanted to address your second paragraph. You said trump knew what he was doing with his racial rhetoric. Do you mean that he isn't really a racist but is playing one to appeal to certain voters? I disagree with that. I believe that trump is both a racist and a bigot by definition.

racist: a person who believes in racism, the doctrine that one's own racial group is superior or that a particular racial group is inferior to the others.

bigot: a person who is intolerant or hateful toward people whose race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, etc., is different from the person's own.

From the time trump came down the escalator he showed his true colors. Racism: He doesn't want brown people immigrating to the US; he wants Scandinavians here but not Hispanics. You don't get much whiter than Scandinavians.

Bigotry: He doesn't want Muslims here because he thinks they're all terrorists. He doesn't want people with different sexual orientations here because he thinks they'll corrupt the purity of heterosexuals. He doesn't want arabs because he thinks they'll overthrow the government in favor of Shari'ah law. He doesn't want central and south Americans because he thinks they're all losers who are looking to suck on the US public teat.

It's as clear as day that trump's both a racist and a bigot and that his supporters don't want to acknowledge it. Democrats don't call all repubs racist, that's an exaggeration. I don't think they all are, but a sizeable number came into the open after trump was elected because they felt safe showing their true colors after trump showed his. These are the people who are in the news today, not the silent majority. And they deserve to be called out.

 

[cawacko]

I snipped the part about trade because I wanted to address your second paragraph. You said trump knew what he was doing with his racial rhetoric. Do you mean that he isn't really a racist but is playing one to appeal to certain voters? I disagree with that. I believe that trump is both a racist and a bigot by definition.

racist: a person who believes in racism, the doctrine that one's own racial group is superior or that a particular racial group is inferior to the others.

bigot: a person who is intolerant or hateful toward people whose race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, etc., is different from the person's own.

From the time trump came down the escalator he showed his true colors. Racism: He doesn't want brown people immigrating to the US; he wants Scandinavians here but not Hispanics. You don't get much whiter than Scandinavians.

Bigotry: He doesn't want Muslims here because he thinks they're all terrorists. He doesn't want people with different sexual orientations here because he thinks they'll corrupt the purity of heterosexuals. He doesn't want arabs because he thinks they'll overthrow the government in favor of Shari'ah law. He doesn't want central and south Americans because he thinks they're all losers who are looking to suck on the US public teat.

It's as clear as day that trump's both a racist and a bigot and that his supporters don't want to acknowledge it. Democrats don't call all repubs racist, that's an exaggeration. I don't think they all are, but a sizeable number came into the open after trump was elected because they felt safe showing their true colors after trump showed his. These are the people who are in the news today, not the silent majority. And they deserve to be called out.

Plenty of politicians say things they don't believe or mean. I didn't really have the desire to try to analyze whether Trump actually believed what he said or not regarding his racial comments because it wasn't going to change how I felt. I know I didn't like them and that played a big role in me not voting for him.

The Dems calling Republicans racist thing is a whole other discussion and goes back well before Trump.

 

[ExpressLane]

And Poof! Donald Trump is off to jail!

Not in your wildest dreams my little Lizard reptilian friend. Think of Trump as a hawk and you as an iguana.

 

[Dutch Uncle]

And Poof! Donald Trump is off to jail!

...or house arrest in Georgia or Mar-a-Lago.

Still, it would be best of someone was on the ticket other than Biden or Trump. Not an expert, but it appears it's too late to add more Democrats to the ballot in some states.

 

[Dutch Uncle]

Not in your wildest dreams my little Lizard reptilian friend.

Stop snorting HCQ, Herr Doktor. It's a real possibility that Trump will be convicted of a felony and have his movement restricted regardless if it's a cell or house arrest.

 

[ExpressLane]

Always happy to have these discussions. (A reminder too that voting in 2016, before he took office, was different than voting in 2020 when he had a record to run on.)

I'm a full on free trader. I acknowledge that as a result of free trade there are individuals and certain areas that can be left behind, but on the whole, free trade is a boom to the American economy and the rising standard of living in this country. So I understand there are issues with China but tariffs are a tax increase on Americans and slow economic growth. (I support free trade for the reasons stated but from a political perspective the fact that Bernie used the same language as Trump on trade just reinforced what I already believed. And even Democrats who complained about tariffs - because it was Trump doing it - have gone radio silent now that Biden has left them in place.)

So do you think China has fair trade with the US? You are aware they subsidize industries like steel then dump it on the American market and destroy our steel industry that can't compete with subsidized prices. Perhaps Biden continued the tariffs because they worked and help restore fair competition with China.

Trump is a brilliant marketer, he knew what he was doing with his racial rhetoric on the campaign trail in 2016. I recognize as a Republican that Democrats will always default to calling us racist because 1) that's what they do and 2) they think it gives them cover for their own racism. That said, Trump knew what he was doing with his rhetoric. My concern was (and still is) that he's creating a new young generation that will be anti-Republican and politically active because of it.

Those were the two biggest reasons for 2016.

What specifically did he say? You are being too vague.

 

[Hawkeye10]

So do you think China has fair trade with the US? You are aware they subsidize industries like steel then dump it on the American market and destroy our steel industry that can't compete with subsidized prices. Perhaps Biden continued the tariffs because they worked and help restore fair competition with China.



What specifically did he say? You are being too vague.

Between corruption of the tax code, regulations intended to pick winners, and subsidies America does not any longer do free trade either.

 

[cawacko]

So do you think China has fair trade with the US? You are aware they subsidize industries like steel then dump it on the American market and destroy our steel industry that can't compete with subsidized prices. Perhaps Biden continued the tariffs because they worked and help restore fair competition with China.



What specifically did he say? You are being too vague.

Admittedly I'm being lazy here but I could post numerous articles with data that showed how the trade war and tariffs hurt workers, consumers and the economy. (I understand there are issues in China and the appeal of Trump's rhetoric that we're going to take it to them. But the policy solution he chose brought negative results.) There's some generalization here but historically Republicans have been more open to free trade than Democrats (unions tend to support tariffs and in the past of course private sector unions were a huge part of the Dem base). Now we've seen a change in that with the America First #MAGA folks supporting that position as well. (Democrats complained because they didn't like Trump doing it but it wasn't the policy they were against.)

Regarding his racial rhetoric I had this discussion with a friend once and this friend said Trump hasn't said a single thing that would even border on being considered insensitive or racist. That's a big bridge to climb so I just left it alone. I'm from Oakland, CA so maybe I view things a little differently. My issue with his rhetoric politically is it being tied to the party and I think it's played a role in the losses we've suffered since 2016 and potentially longer term.

 

[ExpressLane]

Admittedly I'm being lazy here but I could post numerous articles with data that showed how the trade war and tariffs hurt workers, consumers and the economy. (I understand there are issues in China and the appeal of Trump's rhetoric that we're going to take it to them. But the policy solution he chose brought negative results.) There's some generalization here but historically Republicans have been more open to free trade than Democrats (unions tend to support tariffs and in the past of course private sector unions were a huge part of the Dem base). Now we've seen a change in that with the America First #MAGA folks supporting that position as well. (Democrats complained because they didn't like Trump doing it but it wasn't the policy they were against.)

We are going to have to agree to disagree on trying to save our steel industry. If we lose our domestic steel industry we are screwed.


]

Regarding his racial rhetoric I had this discussion with a friend once and this friend said Trump hasn't said a single thing that would even border on being considered insensitive or racist. That's a big bridge to climb so I just left it alone. I'm from Oakland, CA so maybe I view things a little differently. My issue with his rhetoric politically is it being tied to the party and I think it's played a role in the losses we've suffered since 2016.

So no racial rhetoric that you can point to?

How about do you disagree with any of these?
1. No new foreign wars
2. Trying to control illegal immigration
3. Energy independence
4. Conservative SCOTUS justices.
5. Abraham Accords
6, Mexico Canada trade agreement.

 

[Dutch Uncle]

Admittedly I'm being lazy here but I could post numerous articles with data that showed how the trade war and tariffs hurt workers, consumers and the economy. (I understand there are issues in China and the appeal of Trump's rhetoric that we're going to take it to them. But the policy solution he chose brought negative results.) There's some generalization here but historically Republicans have been more open to free trade than Democrats (unions tend to support tariffs and in the past of course private sector unions were a huge part of the Dem base). Now we've seen a change in that with the America First #MAGA folks supporting that position as well. (Democrats complained because they didn't like Trump doing it but it wasn't the policy they were against.)

Regarding his racial rhetoric I had this discussion with a friend once and this friend said Trump hasn't said a single thing that would even border on being considered insensitive or racist. That's a big bridge to climb so I just left it alone. I'm from Oakland, CA so maybe I view things a little differently. My issue with his rhetoric politically is it being tied to the party and I think it's played a role in the losses we've suffered since 2016 and potentially longer term.

Agreed. Trump's trade war with China was a bogeyman to stir up the idiots. It was simply blaming the Chinese for purely American business practices. It wasn't the Chinese who allowed American businesses to move out of the country and have offshore banking, it was primarily the Republican Party.

Americans can't keep up in a modern world by making jeans, hammers or pottery. Americans can only keep up by educating them for 21st century technology jobs.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/stuart...war-cost-us-company-stock-prices-17-trillion/
Trump’s Trade War Cost U.S. Company Stock Prices $1.7 Trillion

Donald Trump often measures his performance in the White House by how the stock market performs. Unfortunately, by that measure, his trade war with China has failed. New research by economists from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and Columbia University found U.S. companies lost at least $1.7 trillion in the price of their stocks due to increased U.S. tariffs against imports from China.

On March 1, 2018, Donald Trump moved forward with his first significant step in a trade war with China by imposing tariffs on steel and aluminum, which included tariffs on Chinese imports. In July 2018, the Trump administration imposed 25% duties on imports from China, followed by 25% tariffs on more products from China in August 2018, and a 10% tariff on $200 billion worth of goods from China in September 2018. In 2019, more tariffs followed. The tariffs had an impact on U.S. company stock values because, it turns out, tariff increases are a form of industrial policy that lose money for U.S. companies and investors.

“We find that U.S. and Chinese tariff announcements lowered U.S. aggregate equity prices in our sample of close to 3,000 listed firms by 6.0 percentage points: a $1.7 trillion reduction in market value for our sample of listed firms,” according to new research by Mary Amiti, an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and Sang Hoon Kong and David Weinstein, both economists at Columbia University. The study noted that 3.4 percentage points of the 6.0 percent decline in equity prices “can be attributed to the common effects” [effects that matter in general to companies] and “2.6 percentage points can be attributed to the differentially poor performance of firms importing from, exporting to, or selling in China.”...

...What should we learn from the research about the impact of the trade war with China? “An important lesson for policymakers is that the trade war had a much broader and larger impact than what one might surmise based on the relatively small share of firms importing or exporting to China,” said Weinstein. “Since much of the escalation of the trade war occurred in 2019, a substantial portion of the estimated negative impact on investment growth rates is going to be felt this year.”

 

[Dutch Uncle]

How about do you disagree with any of these?
1. No new foreign wars
2. Trying to control illegal immigration
3. Energy independence
4. Conservative SCOTUS justices.
5. Abraham Accords
6, Mexico Canada trade agreement.

1. Trump caved to Putin and Kim then tried to blackmail Ukraine.

2. The wall is virtually useless and serves mainly for something the stupid can look at. What's needed is Immigration Reform and locking up business owners who hire or harbor illegals.

3. How? By nationalizing oil? Anyone smarter than a fucking moron knows that the oil companies are free to sell to the highest bidder. Yes, even to China. The only savings Americans see is the difference in transportation costs.

4. To control women and minorities. You must be so proud, Herr Doktor.

5. Great. Other Presidents made deals with other Arab nations. Trump did nothing to stop Iran, Qatar and state-supported terrorism.

6. Awesome. Trump is a Globalist.

 

[cawacko]

We are going to have to agree to disagree on trying to save our steel industry


]




So no racial rhetoric that you can point to?

How about do you disagree with any of these?
1. No new foreign wars
2. Trying to control illegal immigration
3. Energy independence
4. Conservative SCOTUS justices.
5. Abraham Accords
6, Mexico Canada trade agreement.

I do my best to not take a 'because I voted for someone I must support everything they do' or 'because I didn't vote for someone I must be against everything they do'. There were certain things Trump did that I liked. I didn't stop being a Republican because I didn't vote for him. But my concerns in 2016 were the same in 2020. My Reagan style of more laissez-faire, pro trade and pro immigration is not en vogue right now with the America First #MAGA crowd. Will it come back? I hope so but not holding my breath at the moment. And character does matter. Politicians aren't perfect and I don't expect them to be but Trump's style isn't for me.

Living where I do and having to deal with liberals all the time and taking their often holier than thou sh*t, I don't find particular joy in having differences with fellow Republicans over our Presidential candidate. But that's not enough to make me support Trump.

 

[ExpressLane]

I do my best to not take a 'because I voted for someone I must support everything they do' or 'because I didn't vote for someone I must be against everything they do'. There were certain things Trump did that I liked. I didn't stop being a Republican because I didn't vote for him. But my concerns in 2016 were the same in 2020. My Reagan style of more laissez-faire, pro trade and pro immigration is not en vogue right now with the America First #MAGA crowd. Will it come back? I hope so but not holding my breath at the moment. And character does matter. Politicians aren't perfect and I don't expect them to be but Trump's style isn't for me.

Living where I do and having to deal with liberals all the time and taking their often holier than thou sh*t, I don't find particular joy in having differences with fellow Republicans over our Presidential candidate. But that's not enough to make me support Trump.

So still no racial rhetoric? Ok here is my stance on immigration. We allow over 1 million green card permanent residents and new naturalized citizens to immigrate to America each year. We vet them pretty closely. I see what is happening now as people muscling their way to the front of the line. I think it is very bad for America to have millions of unvetted people entering the country and the first thing they do is break our laws. Also I'm not opposed to increasing the amount of J visa providing the J visa holder returns home when the visa expired.

 

[Dutch Uncle]

So still no racial rhetoric? Ok here is my stance on immigration. We allow over 1 million green card permanent residents and new naturalized citizens to immigrate to America each year. We vet them pretty closely. I see what is happening now as people muscling their way to the front of the line. I think it is very bad for America to have millions of unvetted people entering the country and the first thing they do is break our laws. Also I'm not opposed to increasing the amount of J visa providing the J visa holder returns home when the visa expired.

Nice to see your pin-headed views are only getting more narrow, Herr Doktor.

Why are you against Immigration Reform? Why are you against locking up the big businesses that entice illegals with jobs and shitty hovels as a form of indentured servitude?

Did your family melon farm used to have slaves and now use illegals as cheap labor?