Election 2020

[Steve 2.0]

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right?

No ONE calls me sincere and gets away with it.

[revo]

Federal courts have found congressional maps to have been unfairly drawn to benefit Republicans (wow, go figure!) in Ohio & Michigan, and the Supreme Court is also hearing similar cases for North Carolina and Maryland.

[The Feral Slasher]

If Cruz runs against Trump, that will prove the man has no soul. (and I'm an atheist).

How would it prove u are an atheist ?

[Steve 2.0]

How would it prove u are an atheist ?

You start with the fact that the area of a circle is equal to pi times the radius squared. Then use the speed of light to convert to Canadian....carry the one....QED.

[revo]

NYC mayor Bill De Blasio to announce he’s tossing his hat into the crowded field.

[Teenwolf]

Joe Biden praises Dick Cheney as a "decent man" because he was personally helpful with Bidens WH transition. Weeks after praising Mike Pence with the same phrase, "decent man". Can anybody think of a clearer symbol of Biden's futility than being set straight about Dick Cheney by Walter Mondale?

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwj1wOHV8YHiAhXrRt8KHZ5VCZYQzPwBegQIARAC&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newsweek.com%2Fjoe-biden-likes-dick-cheney-praise-war-criminal-walter-mondale-vice-president-1413456&psig=AOvVaw0CqxmiRzJic3f5J1JQ7xzS&ust=1557059737741115

Biden made the now-controversial remark in October 2015 at the "Walter Mondale: A Living Legacy" event held at George Washington University and sponsored by the University of Minnesota's Trachtenberg School of Public Policy & Public Administration.

"First of all, I really like Dick Cheney for real. I get on with him, I think he's a decent man..." Biden said, in a discussion regarding advice between vice presidents. He also noted Cheney was "extremely helpful" regarding the "legal parameters" and "functioning" of holding that office.

Biden said during the event that Cheney was an extremely "powerful" vice president and had his own national security team. Biden added Cheney "had a very different relationship with President Bush" than Biden did with during his two terms with President Barack Obama

The honoree of the 2015 event, Walter Mondale, who was vice president under President Jimmy Carter and later the 1984 Democratic Party presidential nominee, subsequently separated himself from Biden's opinion of Cheney.

The pair discussed several topics, including their sadness about how Hubert Humphrey was treated and their potential advice to future vice presidents. But Biden's comments regarding the deeply unpopular Cheney irked many progressive and liberal factions of the Democratic Party who have long criticized Biden as an "old guard" corporate moderate.

"This is a problem. A decent man doesn't mislead a country into a misguided war that kills thousands of American GIs and leads to the deaths of hundreds of thousands civilians," wrote Mother Jones' David Corn Thursday.

"Y’all come get your dude. He went on and on about how much he likes Pence too. Disgusting," wrote Shaun King.

[revo]

On this Derby Day, latest national poll shows Biden "moving like a tremendous machine!":

2020 Democratic Presidential Nomination	Harvard-Harris	Biden 44, Sanders 14, Warren 5, Harris 9, Buttigieg 2, O'Rourke 3, Booker 3, Klobuchar 2, Yang 0, Inslee 0, Gabbard 0, Castro 0	Biden +30

[Judge Jude]

https://www.factcheck.org/2019/05/video-bidens-false-claim-on-tax-cuts/

I rarely bother with factcheck.org anymore because I figure it's mostly catching Trump's thousands of lies. but I just found one that surprised me, so what the heck:

"In this week’s fact-checking video, CNN’s Jake Tapper examines a false claim by former Vice President Joe Biden that “all of” the tax cuts signed into law by President Donald Trump “went to folks at the top and corporations that pay no taxes.”

“$2 trillion tax cut last year. Did you feel it? Did you get anything from it? Of course not. Of course not. All of it went to folks at the top and corporations that pay no taxes,” Biden said during his first official campaign speech on April 29 in Pittsburgh since announcing his third run for president.

But as Tapper points out, although polls show that most people think the Trump-backed tax law, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, didn’t result in a tax cut for them, the reality is that for most people, it did.

The Tax Policy Center estimates that about 65 percent of households paid less in federal income tax in 2018 under the TCJA than they would have paid under the old tax laws, while about 6 percent paid more. Among those who got a tax cut, it averaged about $2,200. The business-backed Tax Foundation estimates 80 percent of those filing federal income taxes saw some sort of a cut in 2018 as a result of the TCJA,while about 8 percent saw a tax increase.

It’s true that corporations got a big tax cut, and that those with higher incomes reaped greater benefits. A higher percentage of high-income taxpayers got a tax cut, and that tax cut was, on average, greater than the tax cuts for those with lower incomes (both in dollar amounts and as a percentage of after-tax income). But still, as we said, most people got some kind of tax cut in 2018 as a result of the law.

"Among those in the bottom income quintile — those with income less than $25,000 — 27 percent got a tax cut, while only 1.4 percent got a tax increase, the Tax Policy Center estimates.

But the vast majority (82 percent) of middle-income earners — those with income between about $49,000 and $86,000 — received a tax cut that averaged about $1,050."

the New York Times reported that a survey conducted for the newspaper in early April by the online research platform SurveyMonkey “found that just 40 percent of Americans believed they had received a tax cut under the law. Just 20 percent were certain they had done so.” In all of the polls, Democrats were more likely than Republicans to believe they did not get a tax cut.

In their April 14 story, “Face It: You (Probably) Got a Tax Cut,” New York Times reporters Ben Casselman and Jim Tankersley blamed the public misconception on Democratic messaging.

“To a large degree, the gap between perception and reality on the tax cuts appears to flow from a sustained — and misleading — effort by liberal opponents of the law to brand it as a broad middle-class tax increase,” they wrote."

[Mithrandir]

https://www.factcheck.org/2019/05/vi...m-on-tax-cuts/

I rarely bother with factcheck.org anymore because I figure it's mostly catching Trump's thousands of lies. but I just found one that surprised me, so what the heck:

"In this week’s fact-checking video, CNN’s Jake Tapper examines a false claim by former Vice President Joe Biden that “all of” the tax cuts signed into law by President Donald Trump “went to folks at the top and corporations that pay no taxes.”

“$2 trillion tax cut last year. Did you feel it? Did you get anything from it? Of course not. Of course not. All of it went to folks at the top and corporations that pay no taxes,” Biden said during his first official campaign speech on April 29 in Pittsburgh since announcing his third run for president.

But as Tapper points out, although polls show that most people think the Trump-backed tax law, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, didn’t result in a tax cut for them, the reality is that for most people, it did.

The Tax Policy Center estimates that about 65 percent of households paid less in federal income tax in 2018 under the TCJA than they would have paid under the old tax laws, while about 6 percent paid more. Among those who got a tax cut, it averaged about $2,200. The business-backed Tax Foundation estimates 80 percent of those filing federal income taxes saw some sort of a cut in 2018 as a result of the TCJA,while about 8 percent saw a tax increase.

It’s true that corporations got a big tax cut, and that those with higher incomes reaped greater benefits. A higher percentage of high-income taxpayers got a tax cut, and that tax cut was, on average, greater than the tax cuts for those with lower incomes (both in dollar amounts and as a percentage of after-tax income). But still, as we said, most people got some kind of tax cut in 2018 as a result of the law.

"Among those in the bottom income quintile — those with income less than $25,000 — 27 percent got a tax cut, while only 1.4 percent got a tax increase, the Tax Policy Center estimates.

But the vast majority (82 percent) of middle-income earners — those with income between about $49,000 and $86,000 — received a tax cut that averaged about $1,050."

the New York Times reported that a survey conducted for the newspaper in early April by the online research platform SurveyMonkey “found that just 40 percent of Americans believed they had received a tax cut under the law. Just 20 percent were certain they had done so.” In all of the polls, Democrats were more likely than Republicans to believe they did not get a tax cut.

In their April 14 story, “Face It: You (Probably) Got a Tax Cut,” New York Times reporters Ben Casselman and Jim Tankersley blamed the public misconception on Democratic messaging.

“To a large degree, the gap between perception and reality on the tax cuts appears to flow from a sustained — and misleading — effort by liberal opponents of the law to brand it as a broad middle-class tax increase,” they wrote."

The part that i put in bold is what really irritates me. Why the fuck do the higher income earners get a higher percentage cut??? Oh wait, because, FUCK THE POOR!

[Judge Jude]

further explanation from that link:

"Some also confused a smaller tax refund this tax season with a tax increase. But as we explained in February, the size of one’s tax refund is separate and apart from a person’s tax liability. In response to the new tax law, employers began withholding less, meaning that some people may have been getting more in their paychecks throughout the year, but less of a refund after filing tax returns.

In a press release on April 11, H&R Block reported that through March 31, 2019, the size of its clients’ tax refunds was up 1.4 percent under the first year of the new tax law, while overall tax liability was down nearly 25 percent.

“This gap in outcomes has contributed to a confusing tax experience for anyone seeking to understand how the largest change to the tax code in 30 years, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), impacts them,” the tax preparation firm wrote. “That’s because while the average tax filer is better off, they’ve received a small amount of that benefit in their tax refund, which many people think of as their ‘bottom line.’ This creates an illusion about the real impact of tax reform.”

“It’s reasonable to assume that a tax cut would mean your refund will increase, but that’s not necessarily the case,” explained Kathy Pickering, executive director of The Tax Institute and vice president of regulatory affairs at H&R Block, in the press release. “The IRS updated how employers calculate how much tax to withhold from paychecks, which means you could have been getting all your tax cut – and then some – in your paychecks.”

[Bernie Brewer]

https://www.factcheck.org/2019/05/vi...m-on-tax-cuts/

I rarely bother with factcheck.org anymore because I figure it's mostly catching Trump's thousands of lies. but I just found one that surprised me, so what the heck:

"In this week’s fact-checking video, CNN’s Jake Tapper examines a false claim by former Vice President Joe Biden that “all of” the tax cuts signed into law by President Donald Trump “went to folks at the top and corporations that pay no taxes.”

“$2 trillion tax cut last year. Did you feel it? Did you get anything from it? Of course not. Of course not. All of it went to folks at the top and corporations that pay no taxes,” Biden said during his first official campaign speech on April 29 in Pittsburgh since announcing his third run for president.

But as Tapper points out, although polls show that most people think the Trump-backed tax law, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, didn’t result in a tax cut for them, the reality is that for most people, it did.

The Tax Policy Center estimates that about 65 percent of households paid less in federal income tax in 2018 under the TCJA than they would have paid under the old tax laws, while about 6 percent paid more. Among those who got a tax cut, it averaged about $2,200. The business-backed Tax Foundation estimates 80 percent of those filing federal income taxes saw some sort of a cut in 2018 as a result of the TCJA,while about 8 percent saw a tax increase.

It’s true that corporations got a big tax cut, and that those with higher incomes reaped greater benefits. A higher percentage of high-income taxpayers got a tax cut, and that tax cut was, on average, greater than the tax cuts for those with lower incomes (both in dollar amounts and as a percentage of after-tax income). But still, as we said, most people got some kind of tax cut in 2018 as a result of the law.

"Among those in the bottom income quintile — those with income less than $25,000 — 27 percent got a tax cut, while only 1.4 percent got a tax increase, the Tax Policy Center estimates.

But the vast majority (82 percent) of middle-income earners — those with income between about $49,000 and $86,000 — received a tax cut that averaged about $1,050."

the New York Times reported that a survey conducted for the newspaper in early April by the online research platform SurveyMonkey “found that just 40 percent of Americans believed they had received a tax cut under the law. Just 20 percent were certain they had done so.” In all of the polls, Democrats were more likely than Republicans to believe they did not get a tax cut.

In their April 14 story, “Face It: You (Probably) Got a Tax Cut,” New York Times reporters Ben Casselman and Jim Tankersley blamed the public misconception on Democratic messaging.

“To a large degree, the gap between perception and reality on the tax cuts appears to flow from a sustained — and misleading — effort by liberal opponents of the law to brand it as a broad middle-class tax increase,” they wrote."

So what you’re saying is that the Democrats spun this, like they claim Trump and Barr spun “No Collusion.” Whodathunkit. Politics as usual, liars all.

[nots]

So what you’re saying is that the Democrats spun this, like they claim Trump and Barr spun “No Collusion.” Whodathunkit. Politics as usual, liars all.

I don’t know of very many folks still clinging to the ‘collusion with Russia’ meme. Mueller pretty clearly debunked that. I think what the Dems are still claiming (and what you meant to say) was Trump and Barr spinning ‘no obstruction’.

[Teenwolf]

On this Derby Day, latest national poll shows Biden "moving like a tremendous machine!":

2020 Democratic Presidential Nomination	Harvard-Harris	Biden 44, Sanders 14, Warren 5, Harris 9, Buttigieg 2, O'Rourke 3, Booker 3, Klobuchar 2, Yang 0, Inslee 0, Gabbard 0, Castro 0	Biden +30

Whoa, another old folks home went to Biden, really?!!

You ignored my post about the last poll under-sampling younger voters (if you call under 50 'younger voters'). So what's this, the straw poll from bingo night?

[Bernie Brewer]

I don’t know of very many folks still clinging to the ‘collusion with Russia’ meme. Mueller pretty clearly debunked that. I think what the Dems are still claiming (and what you meant to say) was Trump and Barr spinning ‘no obstruction’.

That is correct, my outrage was mis-focused.

[revo]

Whoa, another old folks home went to Biden, really?!!

You ignored my post about the last poll under-sampling younger voters (if you call under 50 'younger voters'). So what's this, the straw poll from bingo night?

What?

49% of this poll was <age 50, with the vote pretty evenly spread among the demographics.