May Politics - General thread

[neverfstop]

www.nytimes.com/2024/05/08/us/rfk-jr-brain-health-memory-loss.html
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claimed during a 2012 divorce case deposition that doctors found a dead worm in his brain. He's also said he experienced cognitive problems

[neverfstop]

Dems rescue speaker Johnson and override MTG's vote to vacate

www.cnn.com/2024/05/08/politics/house-rejects-greene-motion-to-vacate/index.html

he House voted swiftly Wednesday evening to kill Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s effort to oust Speaker Mike Johnson from his leadership post.

The resounding vote in Johnson’s favor – which came with the help of Democrats – brings to an end the most serious challenge to the speakership the Louisiana Republican has faced, at least for now.

As he navigates a razor-thin majority, the failed ouster effort gives Johnson the opportunity to argue it is time to move on to other issues, though support from Democrats may open him up to more criticism from his right flank.

[neverfstop]

I don't know if we still have an active Israel/Gaza thread, but there seems to be some possible movement in the status - IDF took over a Rafah border crossing but it wasn't a full invasion, Biden put a hold/pause on some military shipments to Israel, Hamas seemed to accept a ceasefire deal but it then went sideways & wasn't what Israel had offered? The Daily covered most of the details this morning, but it's a rapidly evolving situation. www.nytimes.com/2024/05/08/podcasts/the-daily/israel-gaza-middle-east-plan.html

[pixy0stix]

Bannon loses appeal re: Jan 6 contempt case, will go to jail - www.politico.com/news/2024/05/10/appeals-court-upholds-steve-bannons-conviction-for-defying-jan-6-probe-00157301

[neverfstop]

Former President Trump drew a rally crowd of 80,000 to 100,000, according to a city official's estimate, near the boardwalk in the Jersey Shore town of Wildwood in deep-blue New Jersey yesterday.

Why it matters: The beachfront gathering was designed as a show of force at a critical moment for Trump, who faces 88 felony charges in four separate criminal cases with the election six months away, AP reports.

apnews.com/article/trump-new-jersey-president-trial-gag-order-59a8073e5a22f7a1e13f1461e9998419

[neverfstop]

Trump May Owe $100 Million From Double-Dip Tax Breaks, Audit Shows
A previously unknown focus of an I.R.S. audit is a dubious accounting maneuver that effectively meant taking the same write-offs twice on a Chicago skyscraper.

www.nytimes.com/2024/05/11/us/trump-taxes-audit-chicago.html?unlocked_article_code=1.rU0.xRth.sLQqIirKu2ys&smid=url-share

[basilosaurus]

Hannibal Lecter, the late great. blah blah coming over for dinner.

What in the ever loving fuck was that?!

[wawa]

I have to figure out who the fuck I'm voting for in the "biggest" primary maryland has had in a long ass time.

Most notably....need to figure out who has the best chance of taking out our annoyingly popular "centrist" republican ex-govenor in the senate race and I truly do not know what the right answer is.

www.cnn.com/2024/05/11/politics/maryland-primary-angela-alsobrooks-david-trone/index.html

[picksthemusic]

Apparently the WA GOP has registered two 'other' Bob Fergusons on the ballot for Governor to confuse voters.

www.theolympian.com/news/local/article288456215.html

www.king5.com/article/news/politics/state-politics/30-candidates-3-bob-fergusons-running-replace-gov-inslee/281-514d1dda-856a-4825-9342-dac1e7cf3833

Oh, and they also basically are taking out the word 'democracy' from all of their party platforms. Even Rachel Maddow got on that one.

www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/the-wa-gop-put-it-in-writing-that-theyre-not-into-democracy/

www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrd4NHagmEo

[Bernadine]

May 13, 2024 9:45:15 GMT -5 wawa said:

I have to figure out who the fuck I'm voting for in the "biggest" primary maryland has had in a long ass time.

Most notably....need to figure out who has the best chance of taking out our annoyingly popular "centrist" republican ex-govenor in the senate race and I truly do not know what the right answer is.

www.cnn.com/2024/05/11/politics/maryland-primary-angela-alsobrooks-david-trone/index.html

Same, ugh, I still haven’t made up my mind. I don’t really want to vote for Trone, but Alsobrooks has had zero outreach to my county, and I don’t think her chances of winning are good if she doesn’t run a full state campaign like Wes Moore did.

[mala]

Trone's ads are pissing a lot of people off here. Inluding most of our circle. It feel like he's trying to buy his way in.

[wawa]

my fellow marylanders - are any of you in the district with me where you're ALSO getting literally DAILY elfreth mailers? it's OUT OF CONTROL.
so much fucking mail.

[macmars45]

picksthemusic I need western WA to save central/eastern WA from the red trumpers. Democrats can't win in my city but as long as they can win in western WA it'll be okay. I'm in the land of pro trump protestors on street corners before the 2020 election getting all the honks and support... unfortunately.

[Bernadine]

May 13, 2024 16:18:47 GMT -5 wawa said:

my fellow marylanders - are any of you in the district with me where you're ALSO getting literally DAILY elfreth mailers? it's OUT OF CONTROL.
so much fucking mail.

I’m not, but I’m really interested to see who wins. Elfreth has been a HUGE help to some of our BOE candidates already, and even though my county is a very small part of that district.

[minzy]

I early voted last week since I wasn’t sure I would be in Maryland today. So many candidates in almost all of the contested races. I considered the Apple ballot for school board and then spent an hour googling the rest of them and just made my best guess.

[wawa]

May 14, 2024 5:57:08 GMT -5 Bernadine said:

May 13, 2024 16:18:47 GMT -5 wawa said:

my fellow marylanders - are any of you in the district with me where you're ALSO getting literally DAILY elfreth mailers? it's OUT OF CONTROL.
so much fucking mail.

I’m not, but I’m really interested to see who wins. Elfreth has been a HUGE help to some of our BOE candidates already, and even though my county is a very small part of that district.

I am annoyed at the amount of money being spent on her behalf (the PAC money is weird, not that she can control that), but she seems like she WORKS. Doing that politician hustle in a way that actually means getting things done, not just shaking hands and making appearances. The sheer volume of her record at the state level is pretty impressive for a freshman.
I do love that.

Such a huge field though.

[Bernadine]

May 14, 2024 9:34:27 GMT -5 wawa said:

May 14, 2024 5:57:08 GMT -5 Bernadine said:

I’m not, but I’m really interested to see who wins. Elfreth has been a HUGE help to some of our BOE candidates already, and even though my county is a very small part of that district.

I am annoyed at the amount of money being spent on her behalf (the PAC money is weird, not that she can control that), but she seems like she WORKS. Doing that politician hustle in a way that actually means getting things done, not just shaking hands and making appearances. The sheer volume of her record at the state level is pretty impressive for a freshman.
I do love that.

Such a huge field though.

She does! And she promised to continue to help our BOE candidates whether she wins the primary or not.

[Vespasia]

wawa I decided to vote for Alsobrooks. I just can't get behind a rich white dude buying himself a Senate seat. I'm also icked out by the "I don't need someone who looks like me, I need someone who will fight for me" narrative of some of his ads.

I will absolutely support him in then general if need be, but I am hoping I won't have to.

[Bernadine]

May 14, 2024 9:56:17 GMT -5 Vespasia said:

wawa I decided to vote for Alsobrooks. I just can't get behind a rich white dude buying himself a Senate seat. I'm also icked out by the "I don't need someone who looks like me, I need someone who will fight for me" narrative of some of his ads.

I will absolutely support him in then general if need be, but I am hoping I won't have to.

I decided the same.

[wawa]

May 14, 2024 12:31:50 GMT -5 Bernadine said:

May 14, 2024 9:56:17 GMT -5 Vespasia said:

wawa I decided to vote for Alsobrooks. I just can't get behind a rich white dude buying himself a Senate seat. I'm also icked out by the "I don't need someone who looks like me, I need someone who will fight for me" narrative of some of his ads.

I will absolutely support him in then general if need be, but I am hoping I won't have to.

I decided the same.

tritto. and for exactly the same reason.

At the end of the day there is VERY little daylight between them on policy, and so it comes down to the fact that the tone of his campaign gives me the ick.

[mala]

May 14, 2024 14:14:20 GMT -5 wawa said:

May 14, 2024 12:31:50 GMT -5 Bernadine said:

I decided the same.

tritto. and for exactly the same reason.

At the end of the day there is VERY little daylight between them on policy, and so it comes down to the fact that the tone of his campaign gives me the ick.

Same.

[dreamcrisp1]

I don’t know if this is 100% relevant but Macklemore dropped a new single and it’s so good. It’s about Palestine. But in it he basically says “fuck Biden, won’t be voting for you in the fall.” And I know for a fact this is a sentiment of many people calling for an end to the genocide. Yet Trump won’t be better.

Anyways, give it a listen. He’s donating all proceeds from the song to UNWRA.

[Vespasia]

Holy crap, Alsobrooks is projected to win. I guess being rich doesn't guarantee that all your dreams will come true.

I'm going to actually have to get off my butt for once and campaign for her in the general if this actually happens.

[Bernadine]

May 14, 2024 21:17:12 GMT -5 Vespasia said:

Holy crap, Alsobrooks is projected to win. I guess being rich doesn't guarantee that all your dreams will come true.

I'm going to actually have to get off my butt for once and campaign for her in the general if this actually happens.

They called it!

And Elfreth, too.

Time to get to work!

[mrsukyankee]

May 14, 2024 15:55:13 GMT -5 dreamcrisp1 said:

I don’t know if this is 100% relevant but Macklemore dropped a new single and it’s so good. It’s about Palestine. But in it he basically says “fuck Biden, won’t be voting for you in the fall.” And I know for a fact this is a sentiment of many people calling for an end to the genocide. Yet Trump won’t be better.

Anyways, give it a listen. He’s donating all proceeds from the song to UNWRA.

I get protest voting. And I also like to point out Brexit. Protest voting when the alternative will likely be worse is lunacy. We got the worse and it has been awful for the country. I hope that protest voting doesn't mean that the US ends up with Republicans winning everything for the US and democracy dies. (instead, perhaps, encourage people who support your views to get into politics as all levels and make changes from the ground up?)

[basilosaurus]

May 15, 2024 2:55:11 GMT -5 mrsukyankee said:

May 14, 2024 15:55:13 GMT -5 dreamcrisp1 said:

I don’t know if this is 100% relevant but Macklemore dropped a new single and it’s so good. It’s about Palestine. But in it he basically says “fuck Biden, won’t be voting for you in the fall.” And I know for a fact this is a sentiment of many people calling for an end to the genocide. Yet Trump won’t be better.

Anyways, give it a listen. He’s donating all proceeds from the song to UNWRA.

I get protest voting. And I also like to point out Brexit. Protest voting when the alternative will likely be worse is lunacy. We got the worse and it has been awful for the country. I hope that protest voting doesn't mean that the US ends up with Republicans winning everything for the US and democracy dies. (instead, perhaps, encourage people who support your views to get into politics as all levels and make changes from the ground up?)

But, in a situation like we're in now, should the awful happen, that is, tfg getting elected due to electoral college, I want a massive population win for Biden. In smaller local elections that might be hyperpartisan, sure, go for it. I'd actually love if it made more third parties viable. That's not going to start at the top and trickle down. Hey, where have I come across that theory before?

[mrsukyankee]

May 15, 2024 3:54:07 GMT -5 basilosaurus said:

May 15, 2024 2:55:11 GMT -5 mrsukyankee said:

I get protest voting. And I also like to point out Brexit. Protest voting when the alternative will likely be worse is lunacy. We got the worse and it has been awful for the country. I hope that protest voting doesn't mean that the US ends up with Republicans winning everything for the US and democracy dies. (instead, perhaps, encourage people who support your views to get into politics as all levels and make changes from the ground up?)

But, in a situation like we're in now, should the awful happen, that is, tfg getting elected due to electoral college, I want a massive population win for Biden. In smaller local elections that might be hyperpartisan, sure, go for it. I'd actually love if it made more third parties viable. That's not going to start at the top and trickle down. Hey, where have I come across that theory before?

We're having similar issues here - there are so many people putting down Labour and saying they won't vote for them in the next election (and for good reason) but the next election is truly between Labour and the Tories and if people vote 3rd party, then the Tories could sneak in. I despair. And I hope that if no one makes it to 'first past the post' that a few parties can agree to make a coalition to bring it forward (my ideal would be Labour and Green or Lib Dems). If the Tories get in again, this country will end up becoming a place only for the very rich to put their money as it won't be taxed and the poor will die at higher rates than they already do now (which is higher than at any time in recent modern history). I don't want to conservative parties in either country to rule.

[neverfstop]

www.cnn.com/2024/05/15/politics/joe-biden-debate/index.html

“Donald Trump lost two debates to me in 2020. Since then he hasn’t shown up for a debate. Now he’s acting like he wants to debate me again,” Biden said in a direct-to-camera video released Wednesday.

[terpsfan]

And now we have a M4L-er going to be on the ballot for our BOE in general. Grrrrr…

[neverfstop]

Looks like Trump agreed to a June 27 debate on CNN....we'll see if they can agree on terms and he actually shows up.