Election 2020

[Sour Masher]

I actually tried to re-enlist. Had just turned 40 so they said no--And I even had a Top secret clearance and spoke Arabic with an Iraqi dialect specialty.


You have no idea how happy I was they said no about 6 months afterward.

Wait, you have top secret security clearance and speak Arabic with an Iraqi dialect?!?

[gcstomp]

BTW, my view is most people are mostly inherently good. Most people, maybe 1/4 of a billion or so americans, are the combination of us citizen, legal age, no major felonies, and generally good heart, 1/4 of a billion americans would make a better president than trump. Biden is in that 1/4 billion americans who generally would strive to do good, as in when confronted by cdc that there is a once in a century pandemic that is going to ravage the country with hundreds of thousands of dead, would say, hey lets follow guidance of the experts. In fact, Biden is on record as early as january when this was a weeeee baby virus, of saying as much.

trump is a uniquely dark hearted vain, self serving, anti science, thin skinned individual to be president, or to lead anything that may impact health and safety of populace.

[gcstomp]

Not sure what you think you read teen, but to keep it simple as you seem distracted. I could point out literally dozens of instances of trump ripping into out allies, weakening long term alliances, and never saying a critical word regarding russia, but that is besides the point.

I could point out pt 2 of mueller report was a step by step roadmap of russia involvement, with us participation, with full buy in by trump and family, but again, to what end. And the level of detail is down to who, on what date, was sitting in what chair, it is irrefutable, but meaningless in context of a senate that refuses to do its job. That is besides the point.

The stay on target message is there exists a bad person in office, with literally hundreds of instances to affirm this is just a dark hearted person, and a decent reluctant person running to dethrone the mad king. Every effort , every utterance you make that whatabouts trumps actions, or diminishes biden, this places you squarely in cross hairs of acting to further evil in this unique point in our history.

[GwynnInTheHall]

Wait, you have top secret security clearance and speak Arabic with an Iraqi dialect?!?

I did have one, not anymore but I can still read, write and speak Arabic a bit, it has been over 25 years since I used it regularly.

[Teenwolf]

I am confident old Joe won't be starting a war over the next four years. And hopefully both Dems and Republicans have learned their lessons from the Iraq War.

Why do you think Joe Biden wouldn't start any wars when he claimed TODAY, that he plans to increase military spending! What does he need the increased spending for when there's multiples crises happening at home? Your country is on fire right now, and Biden's bringing a water gun.

Trump won '16 because he claimed to be anti-war and he stipl does. He talks all the time about "ending dumb wars"... the fact that Trump can beat any Democrat on ANY issue to the left, thats pathetic. Trump will have multiple fronts to out-flank Biden to the left. Just wait until he writes a giant stimulus check right before the election and Democrats have to cry about him buying the election. That would be a brilliant move, so i doubt Trump does it, but that play is an option for him.

[Sour Masher]

Why do you think Joe Biden wouldn't start any wars when he claimed TODAY, that he plans to increase military spending! What does he need the increased spending for when there's multiples crises happening at home? Your country is on fire right now, and Biden's bringing a water gun.

Trump won '16 because he claimed to be anti-war and he stipl does. He talks all the time about "ending dumb wars"... the fact that Trump can beat any Democrat on ANY issue to the left, thats pathetic. Trump will have multiple fronts to out-flank Biden to the left. Just wait until he writes a giant stimulus check right before the election and Democrats have to cry about him buying the election. That would be a brilliant move, so i doubt Trump does it, but that play is an option for him.

There should be massive Defense cuts, but I knew they wouldn't come with Biden, sadly. However, in going to the source, not the spin, I don't see anything in his comments where he says he will increase military spending at all, just that he won't make major cuts to it. He was clearly trying to tap dance on this issue while talking to pro-military journalists, but at no point does he say he will increase overall defense spending. The closest he comes is at one point he says he has talked to some advisors that think spending in some specific areas should be increased, but even then, he doesn't say he will do that.

I've pasted the relevant bits below. I'm not defending him on supporting an incredibly bloated Defense budget, but he is very obviously speaking to the MIC here and trying to assure them major cuts are not coming, which, again, I lament, but, again, why lie about what he said? I don't agree with him, but let's stick to what he says, which is bad enough, and not make false claims to make him sound even worse. Also, it is important to understand the context of who he said it to and why--his words are in direct response to a question of concern about massive defense budget cuts, which is what the right is saying will happen (and I really wish they were telling the truth this time, but they are not, but anyone who expected major spending cuts on defense from Biden was delusional--it sucks, but it is what it is, and suggesting he will spend even more than Trump on Defense is dishonest).

I highlighted the most damning quote below, but I don't see how anyone can reasonably take that to mean "Joe Biden plans to increase military spending." Again, not defending him on his back to the status quo of only having a defense budget 5x bigger than it should be rather than one that is 6x bigger than it should be, but that is all I am getting from these comments: https://www.stripes.com/news/us/bide...-cuts-1.644631

"I don’t think [budget cuts] are inevitable, but we need priorities in the budget,” Biden said.

Biden said, however, that the Defense Department desperately needs to innovate in emerging technology such as beefing up its cyberwarfare capabilities and unmanned aircraft.

“We have to focus more on unmanned capacity, cyber and IT, in a very modern world that is changing rapidly,” Biden said. “I’ve met with a number of my advisors and some have suggested in certain areas the budget is going to have to be increased.”

[Sour Masher]

I would also be remiss if I did not bring up the fact that even under Trump our Defense Budget, as incredibly, undeniably bloated as it is, is not as big a piece of the GDP pie as it has been in the past--it's actually still under half of what it averaged in the bad old days of the 1960s-1980s. The good ol' US of A has had a massively bloated defense budget for many decades, sometimes even more massively bloated than it is now.

Certainly one could and should argue that past mistakes should not excuse current ones, and that we are no longer fighting a Cold War, which help account for the GDP high points, and we should have kept cutting much more than we have--I'd like to see the Defense Budget under 1% of GDP, ideally. But the point is, this is a many decades old problem that will not be addressed by Joe Biden in any significant way. That sucks. But lamenting that fact and pining for the candidate Biden beat that would have addressed this long standing issue does us no good in the current moment. And stretching the truth to suggest Biden will bloat the budget even more than Trump does active harm.

Biden may not be the candidate progressives wanted, but he is the candidate we all have to beat who is so clearly the so, so, so much worse alternative to Biden, that I can't believe we are still doing this. I am having flashbacks to 2000 when most of those I was in grad school with voted Nader in protest to being stuck with Al Gore. Al Gore was a centrist that would not have enacted meaningful changes either, but look what those "this will show them" votes left us back then. We cannot afford to play games like that right now. We cannot allow pining for the perfect be the enemy of the good right now. Electing Joe Biden to replace Donald Trump is a good every single person on the left, whether middle left or far left should 100% agree on right now.

[Teenwolf]

How does it hurt Joe Biden's chances to view him critically, while still recognizing that Donald Trump is a threat to humanity that needs to be ousted? I've already stated that as much as I loathe Joe Biden, I would not only vote for him, i would mask up to vote in person. I recognize the importance. So can you please stop implying that I'm advocating for anybody not to vote Biden? Its settled. He is our only pathetic piece of shit hope, and I would rather see him sloppily kissing his adult grandchildren daily than be forced to endure another term of the ongoing Idiocracy. Clear enough?

I appreciate your measured response to Biden courting the MIC players. I just think once Biden is elected, you'll need to constantly whip him to do anything good. He's already unveiled his cabinet full of wall street fuckwads who screwed over the country in the '08 recession. You're heading towards a recession of a magnitude possibly 10x that of 2008. You'll need to beat the hell out of Biden to not cave to his swamp creature cabinet to give beaucoup corporate welfare and crumbs to real people. Occupy Wall Street is going to look like a picnic once the eviction moratoriums run out, 40 million face homelessness, and Biden is offering peanuts. Just prepare mentally that the battle to getting anything only starts with electing Biden. He is a status quo manager. In a time of crisis, that won't suffice.

[Sour Masher]

I appreciate your measured response to Biden courting the MIC players. I just think once Biden is elected, you'll need to constantly whip him to do anything good....Just prepare mentally that the battle to getting anything only starts with electing Biden. He is a status quo manager. In a time of crisis, that won't suffice.

I agree with this, on many issues. Not all issues, though. It is easy to forget, because of the things Biden will not change, just how much of an impact the progressives have had on his platform. Biden is a moderate, and his main aim is to return much that Trump has made worse back to pre-Trump levels, but if you compare his platform to Clinton and Obama, you can see that on some issues, like the aforementioned minimum wage, and healthcare, and the environment, progress is being made. You are disappointed because you keep comparing what he will do vs what Sanders would have done (or would have tied to do--he would never have been successful in enacting everything he wanted). If you compare Joe Biden's stated platform with that of previous presidents, I think you will be less disgruntled. It is progress on many issues, and at least he might be prodded to even more progress than that, with activism like you talk about, which, of course, Trump would not be.

[Teenwolf]

I agree with this, on many issues. Not all issues, though. It is easy to forget, because of the things Biden will not change, just how much of an impact the progressives have had on his platform. Biden is a moderate, and his main aim is to return much that Trump has made worse back to pre-Trump levels, but if you compare his platform to Clinton and Obama, you can see that on some issues, like the aforementioned minimum wage, and healthcare, and the environment, progress is being made. You are disappointed because you keep comparing what he will do vs what Sanders would have done (or would have tied to do--he would never have been successful in enacting everything he wanted). If you compare Joe Biden's stated platform with that of previous presidents, I think you will be less disgruntled. It is progress on many issues, and at least he might be prodded to even more progress than that, with activism like you talk about, which, of course, Trump would not be.

Americans as a whole believed Obama would govern as a progressive, but that was all bullshit. Thats why progressives like me are pissed off. He promised serious structural changes and instead delivered for the financial sector, increased foreign wars, and accurately proclaimed that his views align with moderate Republicans. Obama coasted because of charisma, but Biden trying the same shit will not be well received. If progressives are unable to force Biden to deliver anything of substance for people in need, look forward to President Tucker Carlson in 2024. Thats how you got Trump in the first place, its a direct result of Obama's failures. Don't repeat history.

[Gregg]

Americans as a whole believed Obama would govern as a progressive, but that was all bullshit. Thats why progressives like me are pissed off. He promised serious structural changes and instead delivered for the financial sector, increased foreign wars, and accurately proclaimed that his views align with moderate Republicans. Obama coasted because of charisma, but Biden trying the same shit will not be well received. If progressives are unable to force Biden to deliver anything of substance for people in need, look forward to President Tucker Carlson in 2024. Thats how you got Trump in the first place, its a direct result of Obama's failures. Don't repeat history.

That and lack of good candidates for both sides.

[revo]

538.com has Biden's odds of winning at 76%, the highest it's been since July 5.

[Sour Masher]

538.com has Biden's odds of winning at 76%, the highest it's been since July 5.

Great number...but I am afraid to ask what they had the odds of a HRC win on this day in 2016.

[revo]

Great number...but I am afraid to ask what they had the odds of a HRC win on this day in 2016.

HRC 60%

Look, obviously they, along with everyone else, was totally wrong in 2016. By mid-October 2016, 538.com had HRC with an 88% chance of winning. I'm in the camp that they undercounted voters in certain battleground states, and hope they've corrected it over the last 4 years. Obviously, they've been on the mark in the 2018 midterms as well as many other important races. It was a tragic failing that I hope has since been corrected.

[Sour Masher]

HRC 60%

Look, obviously they, along with everyone else, was totally wrong in 2016. By mid-October 2016, 538.com had HRC with an 88% chance of winning. I'm in the camp that they undercounted voters in certain battleground states, and hope they've corrected it over the last 4 years. Obviously, they've been on the mark in the 2018 midterms as well as many other important races. It was a tragic failing that I hope has since been corrected.

Me too. They weren't really off nationally is the frustrating thing--she did beat him by millions of votes. But they were enough off where it mattered for the result to be totally shocking to anyone that trusted the poll.s