As for Secretary of State, she didn't have any major accomplishments because Obama didn't want her to.
Except for the part where she was a major player in the killing of Osama Bin Laden. And being the primary author on the Iran Sanctions that actually bought them to the table for the current deal - and if you think getting Russia, China, the EU, and basically every other modern industrialized nation on board with those sanctions was a cakewalk not worth mentioning, then you've no clue what you're talking about. And she laid the groundwork for normalization of relations with Cuba. Oh, and that one time where she brokered a cease-fire between two nations that have hated each other to the core since their inception, in one of the most troubled and consistently conflicted regions in the world. And pushing the ratification of the START treaty, which improved rights for women not just in the US, but around the world.
So, yeah, pretty uneventful really, not much going on. What a snoozefest.
Also, you're xenophobic twit and I don't know why you're even still here. The only thing we're feeling from you isn't the bern, it's the boredom. We've heard it before, mate, try something novel, something we haven't seen before. Like, bringing up some of Bernie's policies, or why he'd be a good President, without resorting to attacking Hillary.
Also, you're xenophobic twit and I don't know why you're even still here. The only thing we're feeling from you isn't the bern, it's the boredom. We've heard it before, mate, try something novel, something we haven't seen before. Like, bringing up some of Bernie's policies, or why he'd be a good President, without resorting to attacking Hillary.
This election is inflaming even the most civil parts of my internet, and we haven't even reached Iowa. It's gonna be a long eleven months...
Her record in the Senate and Secretary of State is that of a realpolitiker and excellent diplomat. Sanders on the other hand has a long history of fighting for lost causes and not rallying much support for them. I trust that Clinton will be able to do everything she says, which is why I'm not voting for her. There would be some, maybe many, positive things that Clinton could accomplish, but she also has made a lot of remarks about advancing the War on Terror that frighten me.
That's a fair assessment. Bernie does get shit done, but being president would hamstring many of his best methods of getting shit done.
How much does Bernie actually accomplish? I like that he campaigns for what he wants, but he has also introduced lots of non-starter legislation. He's an uncompromising idealist, and I like his ideals, but politics is about compromising with other people to get incremental forward progress.
I'm a Bernie fan, I really am, and I'm likely to vote for him. But he will be totally ineffective unless there is a massive sweep of Congress too.
I'm a Bernie fan, I really am, and I'm likely to vote for him. But he will be totally ineffective unless there is a massive sweep of Congress too.
That's the case for Clinton, as well. We're revisiting the Reconstruction-era gridlock, but this time it's extremely petty. The vacancy of the position of Speaker of the House gave me a brief period of hoping the next four years could be different, but Ryan's remarks on the subject indicate that he has no intention of ending the gridlock. Until we get a Henry Clay type to whip the GOP into shape, no meaningful progress can be achieved in Congress.
I'm a Bernie fan, I really am, and I'm likely to vote for him. But he will be totally ineffective unless there is a massive sweep of Congress too.
If my hardcore Bernie-supporting American friends - present company excluded - and the ones I see on reddit are any indication, then obviously if Bernie gets in then there will also be a giant sweep of congress too, and he'll be able to do whatever he's promised so far.
Nobody as of yet has actually put forward any method, numbers, or indication whatsoever that this is anything but wishful thinking, but that seems to be the current party line among the bulk of Bernie supporters that I interact with.
And his best tactic, looking at his track record, seems to be adding amendments for bills to get what he wants. Many of his better moments - at least, that come some time in the last 15 years - seem to have relied on that method.
I think the understanding of the power of the President is pretty shit. A 2014 study found that less than %40 of Americans actually know the three branches of government. That's lower than voter turn out. Just think about that for a minute. Look at the difference between voter turnout in Presidential election years versus mid term elections (a term that itself demonstrates the American obsession with the Presidency). Despite having more influence over them, Americans vote less in their Congressional, Gubernatorial, and local elections. They don't understand how the system works, but they know that the President is the face of America and they feel very strongly about that. Magnify that by the fact that Bernie attracts a younger crowd, a demographic that hasn't been paying attention to politics for very long, that hasn't had time to learn, that maybe hasn't even voted in a Presidential election before (what up). I think the same is the case of many GOP candidates. Trump couldn't get the registry of Muslims through Congress, but his people believe in it anyway.
I don't know what the most sad part of this tweet is. Is it that Kasich is so desperate for voters, he considers Jeb a threat? Is it that Jeb, who can't even get an endorsement from his own father, is being picked on by one of the real candidates? Or is it that someone on the Kasich campaign figured that the snake owners are the vital demographic for securing the nomination? This tweet begs more questions than it answers, really.
The Establishment tier, Bush, Christie, Rubio, Kasich all are fighting for the backing of the establishment to knock the other one out so they can lose to the Cruz/Trump/Carson Wackjob tier.
If he runs, and the parties nominate Trump/Cruz and Sanders, I predict no majority at the Electoral College and the whole thing gets thrown to Congress. As a Jacksonian, I disdain this likelihood but predict it none the less.
You guys realize that primaries actually don't mean anything. If the republican or democratic party wanted to put someone else in at the convention they can just do that.
You guys realize that primaries actually don't mean anything. If the republican or democratic party wanted to put someone else in at the convention they can just do that.
Under what circumstances would it be politically advantageous to openly undermine the popular will like that?
Oh, Speaking of Nate Silver and FiveThirtyEight, they just started publishing a new Election podcast, hosted by Jody Avirgan, same bloke that hosts their regular "What's the point?" show. Find it here.
I don't think we can definitively say that the current establishment's failed until Trump wins a significant number of primaries. But indicators do point to the Republicans needing to significantly re-evaluate their platforms and base.
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So, yeah, pretty uneventful really, not much going on. What a snoozefest.
Also, you're xenophobic twit and I don't know why you're even still here. The only thing we're feeling from you isn't the bern, it's the boredom. We've heard it before, mate, try something novel, something we haven't seen before. Like, bringing up some of Bernie's policies, or why he'd be a good President, without resorting to attacking Hillary.
I'm a Bernie fan, I really am, and I'm likely to vote for him. But he will be totally ineffective unless there is a massive sweep of Congress too.
Nobody as of yet has actually put forward any method, numbers, or indication whatsoever that this is anything but wishful thinking, but that seems to be the current party line among the bulk of Bernie supporters that I interact with.
And his best tactic, looking at his track record, seems to be adding amendments for bills to get what he wants. Many of his better moments - at least, that come some time in the last 15 years - seem to have relied on that method.
On a lighter strain of this thread...
I don't know what the most sad part of this tweet is. Is it that Kasich is so desperate for voters, he considers Jeb a threat? Is it that Jeb, who can't even get an endorsement from his own father, is being picked on by one of the real candidates? Or is it that someone on the Kasich campaign figured that the snake owners are the vital demographic for securing the nomination? This tweet begs more questions than it answers, really.
Maybe: http://www.npr.org/2016/01/23/464112456/former-n-y-billionaire-mayor-bloomberg-eyeing-possible-white-house-bid
The Republican Party may be Failing