The Political Discussion Thread

[SoulReaver]

Trump and the Republicans are playing the long game here, and playing it very well.

Charles KOCH & the elites are playing the long game & they're playing Trump very well

I've said this before, but I cannot overstate the importance of the the judiciary, which is by far the most powerful branch of govt., able to override any other branch.

ah but what if a state's executive, or the president himself (not this one obviously) simply refuse to apply the Scotus rulings?
say with the approval of the People - ad hoc referendum etc. - which would give the refusal some legitimacy

The Democrats really shot themselves in the arse with their character assassination of Kavanaugh. If they had not pulled that stunt, they very well could have taken the Senate too, and have been much better off.

utter bollox like I said it motivated a lot of Dems to vote as well (especially among women who make up more than half the electorate & didn't like the idea of a drunk predator being rewarded instead of punished) so you've no idea how it affected the votes one way or another
like I said the system's designed in favour of the GOP anyway (long long before Kavanaugh was heard of the Dems knew that winning the Senate was a very long shot)

[Gatefan1976]

The Dems never had a prayer of getting the Senate with or without your made up conspiracies

yup.
Best they could hope to do is get close and pave the way for 4 years down the track, and they managed that.

[Gatefan1976]

sur they can - either by courts (no longer an option unlike under Obama) or by next president only

so it hinges on 1) next presidential election being unrigged by Government, 2) King Don not declaring martial law before elections to postpone them sine die and 3) the Dems winning

1: Doesn't really need to be rigged, it already was 8 years ago.
2: A) Congress has to approve the use of US military forces within it's own borders.
2: B) If the citizens of the USA stand for that, they deserve everything they get.
3: Possible, but I can see trump winning in 2020, but loosing the senate this time around and the Dems maintaining the house. Then I expect them to gerrymander the crap out of the map as was done in 2010 and block him at every turn.

else his EO's will be de facto laws

As were Obama's.

btw do you really see King Don stepping down even if he does lose?

I said this 2 years ago right after his election (when many ppl thought he'd quit. lol)

I expect the secret service will give him little choice by that point. However, I could see it getting to the point of kicking the squatter out.

[Chaka-Z0]

As were Obama's.

Sure he did, but Obama didn't rule by Presidential decree, that's the difference. If Trump could have all the power he wants, he would become something very similar to a Dictator.

I expect the secret service will give him little choice by that point. However, I could see it getting to the point of kicking the squatter out.

The secret service would never do that.

[Chaka-Z0]

I've been trying recently to learn as much as I can on the early 20th century (WW1-WW2) and was watching a documentary last night.

So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is...fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.
-Franklin D. Roosevelt

Really interesting quote, and even if its about 70+ years old, I found it very relevant to describe the actual situation in the US. This is the man that carried the US out of isolationism post 1929, when the world went to sh*t.

Fear of the fear itself (immigration, fake news, etc.)... is exactly what I believe Trump is feeding on, wouldn't you agree?

[Gatefan1976]

Sure he did, but Obama didn't rule by Presidential decree, that's the difference. If Trump could have all the power he wants, he would become something very similar to a Dictator.

Umm, he did to a degree, BUT at a lower rate than any post WW2 President.
I get your point however.

The secret service would never do that.

They are answerable to congress, not the president.

[Gatefan1976]

I've been trying recently to learn as much as I can on the early 20th century (WW1-WW2) and was watching a documentary last night.



Really interesting quote, and even if its about 70+ years old, I found it very relevant to describe the actual situation in the US. This is the man that carried the US out of isolationism post 1929, when the world went to sh*t.

Fear of the fear itself (immigration, fake news, etc.)... is exactly what I believe Trump is feeding on, wouldn't you agree?

Of course.
There is a reason why the US, and it's presidents got to be "the shining city on the hill".

[Chaka-Z0]

They are answerable to congress, not the president.

Of course they are, but in reality, secret services of most countries pretty much do whatever they want, legal or not.

Just look at what the CIA's nasty history, especially in the 20th century. They literally kidnapped US citizens to experiment on. Some were given LSD to see how they'd react, in the hopes of creating ''super soldiers''. Some soldiers on the battlefield in WW1 were also given drugs. Some were put in cells and were forced to listen to psycho music 24 hours a day to see if it was an effective method of extracting information, turns out most of these test subjects went totally nuts.

This is not tinfoil material, this is actual stuff that happened as can be seen in declassified files. It's no wonder that many in the US are conspiracy theorists, the US govt have a history of cover-ups and lying to the people.

[Gatefan1976]

the S.S. are not part of the CIA

[Chaka-Z0]

the S.S. are not part of the CIA

Well, technically any intelligence agency can be considered as S.S. since the nature of their work is classified and the most sensitive files are not even disclosed to congress. All these organizations also work in close proximity with each other, including the military intelligence agencies. You would be surprised how many of these organizations exist under various names.

For instance in Canada we have CSIS (Canadian Security and Intelligence Services) which are considered as the S.S. for Canada, but technically they are an intelligence agency.

[Annoyed]

ah but what if a state's executive, or the president himself (not this one obviously) simply refuse to apply the Scotus rulings?
say with the approval of the People - ad hoc referendum etc. - which would give the refusal some legitimacy

Not once, but twice, by direct referendum at the polls, the voters in Calif. rejected the idea of the state recognizing gay marriage. The flaming liberal 9th Circus court overrode the will of the voters both times.

As I keep pointing out, "the most powerful branch of government".

[SoulReaver]

Not once, but twice, by direct referendum at the polls, the voters in Calif. rejected the idea of the state recognizing gay marriage. The flaming liberal 9th Circus court overrode the will of the voters both times.

As I keep pointing out, "the most powerful branch of government".

yea I know it's the supreme deep state but that doesn't answer the question (at all)

what if the executive refuses to enforce a Scotus decision?

[Chaka-Z0]

yea I know it's the supreme deep state but that doesn't answer the question (at all)

what if the executive refuses to enforce a Scotus decision?

What if the democrats mount a coup against the standing government?

Extreme scenarios that will never happen in the US.

[SoulReaver]

What if the democrats mount a coup against the standing government?

Extreme scenarios that will never happen in the US.

cept ignoring a Scotus ruling wouldn't be a first

[Chaka-Z0]

He will pull a Palpatine.......I'm calling it now.

Meanwhile another mass shooting

https://www.pe.com/2018/11/08/police...thousand-oaks/

You would think after all these terrible tragedies that the 2nd amendment fanbois would've understood, but no. Legally bought weapon again.

cept ignoring a Scotus ruling wouldn't be a first

When would be the first? I have very limited knowledge of US politics