|
|
Post by daneaux on Jul 5, 2019 9:58:10 GMT -6
I watched enough of it to remember why I don't watch these "debates".
We need a really hardassed moderator who will not only turn mics off at three minutes, but one who will turn it off if the candidate is not answering the question that was asked.
I get so sick of hearing things like "Well, I think the question we SHOULD be asking is..."
This system is nothing more than a shell game with tough-guy Savanah Guthrie there as the enforcer.
|
|
|
|
Post by Mahatma__Ganhdi on Jul 5, 2019 17:51:27 GMT -6
If it were a discussion format like I laid out then the questions would be different and the format would not allow for a change of subject since there is no opportunity to shout down the other participants.
A question about a very specific problem is not a great question because there are so many specific problems that the chances are the candidate has not thought about addressing that specific thing. So they go back to a very general statement that they rehearsed to fit into a 30 second sound byte.
In a discussion, they have the opportunity to lay out a philosophy for dealing with a set of problems and then can bring in specifics they are familiar with.
I liked the Frontline format.
|
|
|
|
Post by okie on Jul 6, 2019 16:40:12 GMT -6
I agree.
The debates are just a red herring festival.
|
|
|
|
Post by daneaux on Jul 8, 2019 10:00:44 GMT -6
I like the discussion format, too.
But I'm afraid that most voters don't have the attention span to actually listen to a candidate express the details of their plans. I really don't think that most folks understand how important it is that we get an opportunity to separate the campaigner from the candidate. It takes a very specific set of skills to get elected and those don't necessarily make for a good President. In fact, they sometimes make for a very bad President.
The discussion format would definitely be an opportunity to know what kind of President they would really be. Trump would have fallen flat on his face.
|
|
|
|
Post by drlefty on Jul 8, 2019 11:18:21 GMT -6
The Jeffery Epstein arrest on sex trafficking could get interesing for Trump
|
|
|
|
Post by daneaux on Jul 8, 2019 14:40:39 GMT -6
Swalwell is the first Dem out.
Not a big surprise. Too impeachy.
|
|
|
|
Post by daneaux on Jul 23, 2019 8:49:38 GMT -6
I read the entire Mueller report.
No one who reads it can honestly conclude that the President did not obstruct justice. At least 4 of the instances where Mueller suggest that there might have been collusion are well founded in all the required aspects of Obstruction of Justice. ANYONE else who did what he did would be in prison.
Congress has a Constitutional duty to begin impeachment hearings.
It could cost the Dems the House and get Trump re-elected but that is a political calculation that is over-ridden by their oversight duty.
If you don't read anything else, read the Appendix where they list the questions asked and Trump's responses. Suddenly his memory is just terrible and he answers that he doesn't remember at least 30 times.
Except for one instance where he doesn't remember what a meeting was about but he remembers that it was not memorable.
How is that even possible?
One of the reasons that Meuller cites that he couldn't conclude that there was collusion with the Russians is the lack of willing witnesses. Trump's answers are an illustration of what he got when he was able to get any response at all.
McGahn, Priebus, Sessions, and even Steve Bannon are all heroes for stopping him from firing Mueller.
|
|
|
|
Post by Mahatma__Ganhdi on Jul 23, 2019 13:41:40 GMT -6
So if the two options are 1) impeach and lose the House and get Trump re-elected. 2) Don't impeach and possibly flip the Senate and White House.
The moral argument is take a necessary evil now to spare yourself a more perilous evil in the future.
|
|
|
|
Post by okie on Jul 24, 2019 21:42:28 GMT -6
You should be able to impeach a fascist President. If we cannot impeach on the grounds that Trump is a fascist, we need to re-examine the definition of high crimes and misdemeanors.
Trump is a fascist. Fascism as an ideology has these traits. If you have legitimate definition you prefer, fine, let’s have it.
1. Ultranationalism: This is a no brainer MAGA alone is an ultranationalistic slogan reminiscent of Hitler’s rise to power. Trump himself on multiple occasions has described himself as a nationalist.
2. Militarism: Here again, difficult to deny... Trump has threatened nuclear warfare. He continually advocates for a huge military parade down Pennsylvania Ave. trump regularly claims to know more than the military Generals.
Trump regularly proposes military solutions to political problems.
3. Glorification of Violence: Trump has called for and praised violence his Rally attendees, the police, and dog whistle support for white nationalists.
4. Fetishization of masculinity: Trump makes a very big deal about his fitness and mocks men he sees as deficient in virility, size or handicapped.
5. Leader cult: One word: Rallies. Who does that without a call to a piece of legislation. Trump is his own cult of personality claiming everything he does as the best, greatest, biggest, etc.... Trump hold Rallies because Trump.
6. Lost-golden-age syndrome: Make America Great Again is definitive of this ideal. Claiming to take us back to some imaginary golden age.
7. Self-definition by opposition: Trump constantly rails against politics as usual, against political correctness, against elites of all kinds (including, curiously, business elites), and he has made a habit of vilifying minorities. His followers praise him because he is not a politician.
8. Hierarchical party structure and tendency to purge the disloyal: Trump has dismissed more staffers than any President in history and he has done it in two years. He demand loyalty even from congress and the judiciary which are supposed to be his equal and check. This is not to mention the FBI (Comey) and CIA.
9. Suppression of an independent Press: Trump defines the media as “the enemy of the people” on several occasions and illegally barred a major media correspondent from the White House. Trump has advocated for a national media run by himself.
10. Favoring totalitarianism: Trump by virtue of all the previous points adds up to totalitarianism. Trump praises dictators as “strong leaders”. Several times he had publicly mentioned serving beyond two terms.Trump is a fascist. He checks every box. America is not a fascist regime because our agencies have held tight, but if he has his way he will. He is critical of every agency that checks him whether it is congressional, judicial, or the press.
Recently, Trump ordered border patrol agents to hold fast regardless of the courts decisions.
Trump is a fascist. Fortunately he is not very smart so he is not good at it and America is not ripe for it. There is no “great” period for us to return to.
My only fear is his removal from office (however it comes) and the actions of his loyal base. He threatened during the 2016 that the campaign was rigged and would only accept the results if he won.
“Trump is a fascist."
|
|
|
|
Post by Mahatma__Ganhdi on Jul 25, 2019 5:04:49 GMT -6
Trump isn't a fascist, he only plays one on TV.
|
|
|
|
Post by daneaux on Jul 25, 2019 7:33:01 GMT -6
"The moral argument is take a necessary evil now to spare yourself a more perilous evil in the future."
Clearly.
That's why I am writing to Democratic Members of Congress to tell them that not only do they have a duty to begin impeachment and that we have their backs come election day; but that if they ignore this imperative, we don't.
|
|
|
|
Post by daneaux on Jul 25, 2019 7:37:45 GMT -6
I don't think we can impeach a Fascist just because he's a Fascist anymore than we could impeach a Socialist just because he's a Socialist.
We can impeach either because of acts they take.
Maybe there are a whole bunch of closet Fascists out there who have not committed crimes because of their beliefs. They are no more guilty of a crime for their thoughts than a Cubs fan is. Maybe even less so.
Maybe there is a program that convinces Fascists that they are not Fascists just like the ones that convince s that they are not .
|
|
|
|
Post by daneaux on Jul 25, 2019 7:39:14 GMT -6
Christopher Wray, Director of the FBI, has not read the Mueller report.
|
|
|
|
Post by okie on Jul 25, 2019 9:38:48 GMT -6
Trump isn't a fascist, he only plays one on TV. I think you give him too much credit. |
|
|
|
Post by okie on Jul 25, 2019 9:43:17 GMT -6
I don't think we can impeach a Fascist just because he's a Fascist anymore than we could impeach a Socialist just because he's a Socialist. We can impeach either because of acts they take. Maybe there are a whole bunch of closet Fascists out there who have not committed crimes because of their beliefs. They are no more guilty of a crime for their thoughts than a Cubs fan is. Maybe even less so. Maybe there is a program that convinces Fascists that they are not Fascists just like the ones that convince s that they are not . Socialism and fascism is not a very good comparison. Fascism and Stalinism is more apt. |
|
