The Obama Presidency - 2008 & 2012

[stevew]

Originally Posted by Galaxy

Am I alone in thinking that the US needs to move towards a Parliamentary System of government?

Not with the way they draw districts

[albionmoonlight]

The sense I get is that you have two types of Americans, notwithstanding what labels we put on ourselves.

People who follow politics, almost all of whom have chosen a side.

People who don't follow politics.

I can't think of anyone I know offhand who I say "follows politics" who is not pretty firmly in one camp or the other.

[Solecismic]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

I can't think of anyone I know offhand who I say "follows politics" who is not pretty firmly in one camp or the other.

You don't know me any more than offhand, but now you can't say that any more.

I was disturbed by the NYT op-ed. The implication was that you're a racist if you disagree with the president in any way.

[flere-imsaho]

Originally Posted by Solecismic

I was disturbed by the NYT op-ed. The implication was that you're a racist if you disagree with the president in any way.

That's one way to read it.

Another way is that reasonable people are running out of explanations for why the Republican establishment and Republican lawmakers (which is how the editorial identifies them, not "anyone who disagrees with the president") so completely, relentlessly and destructively opposes absolutely everything and anything Obama tries to do, even when it puts the country itself (i.e. default) at risk.

Maybe you answer that, huh?

[JPhillips]

Originally Posted by Solecismic

You don't know me any more than offhand, but now you can't say that any more.

I was disturbed by the NYT op-ed. The implication was that you're a racist if you disagree with the president in any way.

I'll give you that there are largely three camps, Dem, GOP, and right leaning independent. The data from Pew shows that at a national level. You seem to fall firmly in the last group.

But I'd bet that the basic idea of people highly engaged in politics being ideological is seen in most if not all democracies. The two seem to go hand in hand.

[Solecismic]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

I'll give you that there are largely three camps, Dem, GOP, and right leaning independent. The data from Pew shows that at a national level. You seem to fall firmly in the last group.

But I'd bet that the basic idea of people highly engaged in politics being ideological is seen in most if not all democracies. The two seem to go hand in hand.

I think people tend to focus more on where they disagree than where they agree. I share some traits with the right, but I also share some traits with the left wing and many where I strongly dislike both wings.

People also want to arrange people into groups. It must be genetic, and I'm not being sarcastic. I can think of evolutionary advantages to the strategy.

I probably seem like a right-leaner right now because I disagree with Obama on practically everything he's done as a president.

[JPhillips]

I just stumbled on the Jade Helm 15/Walmart/Martial law conspiracy.

Wow.

[Thomkal]

Seems like Conservative Republicans will try anything to prevent gay marriage from being legalized-including trying to stop the Supreme Court from even ruling on it:

GOP Rep. Has An Idea For How To Stop The Supreme Court From Affirming Marriage Equality

[ISiddiqui]

I'm sure that President Obama would sign that bill .

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

I'm sure that President Obama would sign that bill .

Oh yes i"m sure Just frustrating to see Congress work on stuff they know will get vetoed just so they can say I tried.

[Kodos]

They're only interested in passing bills that most people don't want.

[Edward64]

I think the AG is a thankless job. When was the last time one of them really was loved?

Senate Makes History By Confirming Loretta Lynch As U.S. Attorney General

WASHINGTON -- Loretta Lynch was confirmed as U.S. attorney general on Thursday after months of GOP delays, making history by becoming the first African-American woman to hold the post.

Lynch was confirmed in the Senate 56 to 43. All Democrats voted for her, along with 10 Republicans: Kelly Ayotte (N.H.), Thad Cochran (Miss.), Susan Collins (Maine), Jeff Flake (Ariz.), Lindsey Graham (S.C.), Orrin Hatch (Utah), Ron Johnson (Wis.), Mark Kirk (Ill.), Rob Portman (Ohio) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.).

Sen Ted Cruz (R-Texas), one of Lynch's loudest critics, was the only senator to miss the vote. Hours earlier, he railed against Lynch for being "unfit" for the job.
:
:
Republicans who opposed Lynch, who until now was the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, conceded they didn't doubt she was qualified for the job. Instead, they voted against her because of their anger over Obama's recent executive action on immigration, which would provide deportation relief for up to 1.8 million undocumented immigrants. The matter is currently tied up in a lawsuit. Lynch will defend the policy in her new role.

[bob]

Does this turn into the next scandal?

Cash Flowed to Clinton Foundation as Russians Pressed for Control of Uranium Company

Log In - The New York Times

[Dutch]

Originally Posted by bob

Does this turn into the next scandal?

Cash Flowed to Clinton Foundation as Russians Pressed for Control of Uranium Company

Log In - The New York Times

Is Clinton a Democrat? If Yes, then don't worry about it. Just preface all articles with "Republican outrage" or "Conservative Critics say" and the crisis is averted.

[NobodyHere]

Rumors are swirling that Michigan Governor Rick Snyder will be part of the Republican primaries.

I can see the wing of the party that wants a "sane" candidate getting behind this guy, however he's going to have to answer question about why he signed off on Obamacare medicaid expansion.

[cartman]

Originally Posted by Dutch

Is Clinton a Democrat? If Yes, then don't worry about it. Just preface all articles with "Republican outrage" or "Conservative Critics say" and the crisis is averted.

Or even Fox News doesn't buy into it.

Fox’s Chris Wallace confronts ‘Clinton Cash’ author: ‘You don’t have a single piece of evidence’

[Dutch]

Then you have your answer.

[cartman]

Obama brought out his 'anger translator' last night at the White House Correspondent's Dinner.

[ISiddiqui]

KHALEESI IS COMING TO WESTEROS!!

That was hilarious. Sorry Joe, looks like Obama is backing Hillary .

[Edward64]

That was pretty good.

I know its tradition and that everyone political/press is fair game but I am amazed at how bold some of the jabs are. I can't help but feel there would be some lasting bad feelings.

[NobodyHere]

Bernie Sanders is now set to enter the Democratic Primaries. This should make things interesting on the democratic side.

Bernie Sanders To Launch Presidential Campaign

[JAG]

Quite a ways from mayor of Burlington, VT.

[JPhillips]

Jade Helm conspiracies are my new addiction.

The TX Governor has the state guard monitoring whether or not the military is planning a takeover of Texas and now Rand Paul says he'll look into the possibility of a military takeover.

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

Jade Helm conspiracies are my new addiction.

The TX Governor has the state guard monitoring whether or not the military is planning a takeover of Texas and now Rand Paul says he'll look into the possibility of a military takeover.

Rand Paul is thinking of taking over Texas?

[Grover]

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

Bernie Sanders is now set to enter the Democratic Primaries. This should make things interesting on the democratic side.

Bernie Sanders To Launch Presidential Campaign

I'm all in with Bernie.

[larrymcg421]

I love Bernie, but he can't/won't win.

[Edward64]

Good news if true.

Isis leader incapacitated with suspected spinal injuries after air strike | World news | The Guardian

The leader of the Islamic State (Isis), Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, remains incapacitated due to suspected spinal damage and is being treated by two doctors who travel to his hideout from the group’s stronghold of Mosul, the Guardian has learned.

More than two months after being injured in a US air strike in north-western Iraq, the self-proclaimed caliph is yet to resume command of the terror group that has been rampaging through Iraq and Syria since June last year. Three sources close to Isis have confirmed that Baghdadi’s wounds could mean he will never again lead the organisation.

Isis is now being led by a long-term senior official, Abu Alaa al-Afri, who had been appointed deputy leader when his predecessor was killed by an air strike late last year.

[NobodyHere]

Bad news for Chris Christie

David Wildstein, Ex-Port Authority Director, Pleads Guilty « CBS New York

[flere-imsaho]

Originally Posted by Edward64

I think the AG is a thankless job.

I'm reasonably sure you get "thanked" by the millions of dollars you make once you leave the job.

Originally Posted by bob

Does this turn into the next scandal?

Cash Flowed to Clinton Foundation as Russians Pressed for Control of Uranium Company

You mean lobbying?

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

Rumors are swirling that Michigan Governor Rick Snyder will be part of the Republican primaries.

I can see the wing of the party that wants a "sane" candidate getting behind this guy, however he's going to have to answer question about why he signed off on Obamacare medicaid expansion.

Broadly-speaking, I think it might be that "sanity" thing.

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

Bernie Sanders is now set to enter the Democratic Primaries. This should make things interesting on the democratic side.

Why? I love Bernie, but he has no chance and is not going to change the conversation a lot on the Democratic side.

[Dutch]

Originally Posted by Edward64

Good news if true.

Isis leader incapacitated with suspected spinal injuries after air strike | World news | The Guardian

Poor little fella...what's with all these ISIS leaders leaving the job so quickly? Good rogue terror state leadership is so hard to come by these days.

Keep up the good work, US military.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

Bad news for Chris Christie

David Wildstein, Ex-Port Authority Director, Pleads Guilty « CBS New York

I'm not convinced that Christie ordered it or had specific knowledge beforehand. I can believe some over zealous underlings did it and maybe told Christie afterwards.

Regardless, it doesn't seem Christie has any momentum now. The below link shows how much he has dropped since 2014

RealClearPolitics - Election 2016 - 2016 Republican Presidential Nomination

[Edward64]

Not sure the problems in the exchanges run by the state is a poor reflection of Obamacare itself but glad that the healthcare.gov system is stable/smooth enough where some states are considering dropping their own systems for it.

Almost half of Obamacare exchanges face financial struggles in the future - The Washington Post

Nearly half of the 17 insurance marketplaces set up by the states and the District under President Obama’s health law are struggling financially, presenting state officials with an unexpected and serious challenge five years after the passage of the landmark Affordable Care Act.

Many of the online exchanges are wrestling with surging costs, especially for balky technology and expensive customer call centers — and tepid enrollment numbers. To ease the fiscal distress, officials are considering raising fees on insurers, sharing costs with other states and pressing state lawmakers for cash infusions. Some are weighing turning over part or all of their troubled marketplaces to the federal exchange, HealthCare.gov, which now works smoothly.
:
But for the recently completed open enrollment period, sign-ups for the state marketplaces rose a disappointing 12 percent, to 2.8 million people. That compared with a 61 percent increase for the federal exchange, to 8.8 million people, according to Avalere Health, a consulting firm. States with the smallest enrollment growth are among those facing the greatest financial problems.
:
When the ACA was enacted, Democratic governors pressed to create their own exchanges to signal their support for the law and to assert their own authority. Republican governors refused to set up exchanges as “a sort of badge of honor in opposing Obamacare,” said Larry Levitt, a senior vice president at the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. But now, decisions probably will be made on more pragmatic grounds. “It will come down to more of a dollar-and-cents decision,” he said.
:
Even if some state exchanges wind up handing the reins to HealthCare.gov, doing so is not free. Each exchange would have to be made compatible with the federal marketplace at a cost of about $10 million per exchange, Wadleigh said

[Dutch]

It makes great fiscal sense to roll these services up to the federal level. Makes the feds look good and cuts states payroll costs. A few people at the state level are gonna need to start looking for work elsewhere, but that's nothing that welfare and Obamacare can't handle till they get on their feet again.

[flere-imsaho]

+1 to Dutch.

[Dutch]

It was slightly in jest, but given the way things are it does make sense.

Edit: To clarify my poke at putting people on welfare/Obamacare was in jest...enterprising and standardizing stuff that can be standardized was not in jest.

[flere-imsaho]

We'll get you to the dark side yet, Dutch.

[Edward64]

I just don't see Carly as a contender. Wonder if she is positioning for VP consideration or 2020. Either way, just don't see a ground swell of support for her. Probably just ego.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/04/politi...ons/index.html

Carly Fiorina puts her time as CEO of Hewlett-Packard at the center of her qualifications for high office, but her critics quickly pounced on that record as she announced her campaign for president Monday.

Soon after Fiorina officially announced Monday morning that she would be running for the 2016 Republican nomination, social media began to buzz about carlyfiorina.org, a site criticizing the layoffs she oversaw at HP. The Democratic National Committee also took a similar shot at Fiorina's HP tenure.

The distraction resulting from carlyfiorina.org and the DNC assault is the earliest sign of the challenge the former Silicon Valley executive will face over her business record. Fiorina has never held public office (she unsuccessfully ran for Senate in California five years ago), making her chief executive experience at HP one of her strongest assets. But her critics are determined to also make it one of her biggest liabilities.

On carlyfiorina.org, white text against a black background reads: "Carly Fiorina failed to register this domain. So I'm using it to tell you how many people she laid off at Hewlett-Packard. It was this many." The words are followed by 30,000 sad faces, each one meant to represent an HP employee laid off under Fiorina's watch.

Scroll all the way down to the bottom and there's this: "And what does she say she would have done differently? 'I would have done them all faster.' --- Carly Fiorina." The quote is from an unflattering 2005 Fortune magazine profile of the former HP executive.

[RainMaker]

How does someone who ran a major company into the ground become a viable candidate for President? Like isn't there a successful female CEO that they could run instead?

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

How does someone who ran a major company into the ground become a viable candidate for President? Like isn't there a successful female CEO that they could run instead?

Oh please that's socialist talk. The fact is she netted a $40 million golden parachute after ruining a company, unlike those thousands of schlubs that simply got laid off. That's proof that she was successful by Republican standards.

[albionmoonlight]

Non-ironic headline: Pentagon Denies Plot to Take Over Texas : Political Wire

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

Non-ironic headline: Pentagon Denies Plot to Take Over Texas : Political Wire

For some reason the words "I'm not a dingo" are coming to mind...

[Easy Mac]

Of all the places the government actually wants, Texas is pretty low on the list.

[JPhillips]

Wal-Mart has now clarified that it's stores are not military distribution and/or civilian detention centers connected to a military takeover.

I really can't get enough of Jade Helm conspiracies.

[cartman]

Too bad Bubba Wheels isn't still around. I'd love to hear his take on JADE HELM.

I finally figured out what JADE HELM stand for: Just Another Dumb-ass Exercise Helping Expose Lunatic Minds

[NobodyHere]

Chuck Norris joins Ted Cruz (and others) in ‘Operaton Jade Helm’ conspiracy watch - The Washington Post

Chuck Norris knows this isn't a training operation because no amount of training will help you fight Chuck Norris.

[jeff061]

So what's the deal with all these mouth breathing fools? Am I missing something or do we now finally have a full blown Idiocracy state?

[miked]

When you have a sitting governor and senator riling up people, this will happen. As Jon Stewart said last night, newsflash Texas, the USA already does control your state (along with the other 49).

[JPhillips]

I think I found a day better than Pumpy Day!

[NobodyHere]

Mike Huckabee is joining the republican circus.

Has a politician ever stepped away from politics for 8+ years and then won the presidency?

[ISiddiqui]

I think the longest is Nixon, who was out of politics for 6 years.

Though Huckabee isn't even close to the politician Nixon was.