2020 Presidential Election -- Biden v Trump: Sleepy Joe vs Dopey Don [Results begin on page 409]

[Brisketexan 105,171]

No one knows what gaslighting is, it’s just the trendy political term du jour. 4 years ago it was kompromat. Before that it was gravitas.
Fortunately these things eventually run their course when the next one shows up.

The next trendy term should be “muledick.”

Make it so, Surly.

[Wulaw Horn 19,136]

7 minutes ago, Dahobbs said:

We don't allow children to vote. I don't see the difference. And, actually, at least children have some personal interest in the future of the country. A 98 old does not. I'd probably set the cut off at 75. 

75 to just vote?  That seems a little young to me. What’s the age on your DL when you have to start coming in again and take tests and make sure you can still drive?  That would be the age I’d set it at. Hell- that might be younger than 75 but that strikes me as 80 or something like that. 

Sidenote- if the world our founders lived in saw a bunch of people live into their 80’s and 90’s I think they might have set an upper age limit on candidates and voting the way they did set a lower limit. I’m not sure they ever expected average life expectancy to reach 80. Living until 80 then was relatively unusual. 

[Wulaw Horn 19,136]

5 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

The next trendy term should be “muledick.”

Make it so, Surly.

Every now and then you completely and totally redeem yourself. Usually in 140 characters or less. 

[SydneyCarton 48,131]

12 minutes ago, thepop said:

 

I've pondering the run up for the popular vote a lot lately. The Electoral College is going to be what it is, but I mean, what could the popular vote advantage actually be for Biden even if we're looking at a tie in the electoral college? 10 million people? Considering how close Texas, Georgia, NC, Florida (well FL was close last time) are, as well as flipping black Michigan, PA, Wisky...I mean Hillary had 3 million more votes. Could Biden have 10 or 15 million more votes and still end up tied?
 

That would be a hell of an interesting story and spin for legislators to consider. A real come to jesus moment for maybe the last few republicans that have any notion of morality. 

[Mrs Whiggins 13,050]

The choice, however, is between this, which I have posted below, a transcript of the answer to a question by an audience member at a Biden rally in North Carolina last week. No teleprompter, off the cuff. I'll post the link to the video at the bottom. Sorry it's all caps but I copy/pasted it. I get it, it's long but it's the difference between an intelligent transition (from COVID response to the economic outlook) to a meandering one. Look at the thought processes going on here:

YES. THERE WAS A BIG PLAN TO DO IT. THERE'S A MODAL PLAN. FIRST OF ALL, THE CARES ACT, WHICH PASSED OUT OF THE HOUSE AND SENATE, WHICH WAS A TOTAL OF $2 TRILLION OVERALL, TWICE, WAS SUPPOSED TO PROVIDE WHAT THEY CALLED THE MAIN STREET LENDING PROGRAM. FOR FOUR MONTHS, IT DIDN'T LEND A PENNY. NONE OF THE MONEY WENT OUT, NUMBER ONE, BECAUSE YOU GOT 20 REPUBLICANS IN THE SENATE WHO SAID THEY DON'T WANT TO DEPEND ANYTHING ON ANYTHING, FOR REAL. THE PRESIDENT WHO HAS, AS I SAID, FIRED THE INSPECTOR GENERAL, SO YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE THE MONEY'S GOING FOR CERTAIN. SECONDLY, ON THE EARLY PROGRAM FOR SMALL BUSINESSES. THE SMALL BUSINESS IS DEFINED OF FEWER THAN 50 EMPLOYEES. NOW, MOST SMALL BUSINESSES THAT ARE NEIGHBORHOOD SMALL BUSINESSES ARE 10 OR FEWER EMPLOYEES. WHAT I PROPOSE IS WE FOCUS ON MAKING SURE THAT THE MONEY GOES DIRECTLY TO THOSE BUSINESSES THAT IN FACT PROVIDE FOR BEING ABLE TO KEEP THEIR EMPLOYEES ON THE PAYROLL FOR THE 10 OR FEWER EMPLOYEES. THAT'S A PRIORITY, AND THEN 50 AND UNDER. HERE'S WHAT'S HAPPENED. WHAT'S HAPPENED IS THAT NOT ONLY HAS THAT NOT OCCURRED, A LOT OF THE MONEY HAS GONE TO VERY BIG BUSINESSES THAT DIDN'T -- I MEAN, THEY MAY NEED IT, BUT THEY DIDN'T NEED IT TO STAY ALIVE. EVEN WHEN THEY GOT IT, WHAT DID THEY DO? THE COMMITMENT THAT I PROPOSED, AND WE THOUGHT WE HAD DONE, IS THAT RIGHT NOW, IF YOU GET A GOVERNMENT BAILOUT, QUOTE, UNQUOTE, "LOAN TO STAY ALIVE," WHAT YOU CANNOT DO IS TAKE THAT MONEY AND EITHER BUY BACK YOUR OWN STOCK AND, OR INCREASE YOUR SALARIES WITH THAT MONEY. IT'S TO KEEP PEOPLE EMPLOYED, KEEP THEM ON A PAYROLL. SECONDLY -- AND THAT IS WHAT A LOT OF THE BUSINESSES HAVE DONE. THEY BUY BACK THEIR OWN STOCK, INCREASING THE NET WORTH OF THE PEOPLE WHO OWN THE STOCK, AND IN FACT, PAY THEIR SALARIES BASED ON STOCK THEN. THEY SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO DO THAT, NUMBER ONE, WITH GOVERNMENT MONEY, BAILING PEOPLE OUT. SECONDLY, A LOT OF YOU DON'T KNOW THE CIRCUMSTANCE. NOW THERE'S NO NATIONAL STANDARDS AS TO HOW TO OPEN. HOW DO YOU OPEN SAFELY? PRESIDENT SAYS, "JUST PUT UP A SIGN, COME ON IN." WELL, YOU KNOW YOUR EMPLOYEE. BEYOND YOUR EMPLOYEES, YOUR CUSTOMERS ARE GOING TO GO, "I DON'T KNOW. I MEAN, DOES EVERYBODY HAVE TO HAVE THE MASK? DO THEY HAVE DIVIDERS IN THE RESTAURANT? TELL ME HOW THE SANITARY CONDITIONS ARE WORKING." WELL, WELL, YOU NEED MONEY TO PAY FOR ALL THAT STUFF. THAT'S WHY WE PROPOSED TO HAVE A MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR PROGRAM WHERE BUSINESSES ARE ABLE TO GET THE MONEY, NOT BORROW THE MONEY, GET THE MONEY TO BE ABLE TO OPEN IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS PANDEMIC, INCLUDING FIXING THE TESTING FIASCO. YOU SHOULD BE IN A SITUATION WHERE YOUR EMPLOYEES CAN, IN 24 HOURS, GET A TEST TO DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT THEY'RE POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE. YOU NEED TO DO THAT FOR YOUR OWN PROTECTION, AND THE PUBLIC LIKES TO KNOW THAT IS PROTECTION THAT THERE ARE PROTECTION AGAINST ANYTHING THAT HAPPENS WITHIN YOUR RESTAURANT. THE BOTTOM LINE IS THE MONEY IS ALREADY THERE. THE PRESIDENT IS JUST NOT RELEASING IT. DEPARTMENT IS NOT RELEASING THE MONEY. IT'S ALL DONE IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO KEEP THE ECONOMY MOVING. RIGHT NOW, WE HAVE OVER 30 MILLION PEOPLE ON UNEMPLOYMENT, OVER 30 MILLION IN UNEMPLOYMENT. HOW IN GOD'S NAME ARE WE GOING TO GENERATE ECONOMIC GROWTH UNLESS WE CAN FIGURE OUT HOW TO KEEP THESE PEOPLE BACK AND HELP YOU GET BACK IN BUSINESS? IT'S THE SAME WAY WITH SCHOOLS. HOW MANY SCHOOLS ARE NOT OPENING BECAUSE THERE ARE NO NATIONAL STANDARDS SET? NO NATIONAL STANDARDS SET. FOR EXAMPLE, THERE IS AN OUTFIT -- AM I TELLING YOU TOO MUCH? YOU WANT ME TO STOP?

 

And now, compare to this:

This twitter account is by a doctor. Preface: he is biased in that he believes Trump has an apparent cognitive decline. I believe the doctor exaggerates and that some of Trump's vagueness is his typical conman ruse of not getting pinned in the corner, but the truth is, Trump cannot do much beyond bloviate general repeated talking points nowadays. Period.

Link to Biden video:

https://www.c-span.org/video/?476085-1/joe-biden-campaigns-charlotte-north-carolina

[RomaVicta 29,947]

How about making the restriction related to a diagnosis of dementia? Disenfranchising based on a prejudiced generalization about the old is draconian.

How much discernment does it take to make this year's choice? How much comprehension to does a citizen need to sort sound bite campaigns for the most powerful office in the free world? How many fucking idiots are voting across the entire age spectrum.

Resentment of the older and blaming them for all the imperfections we have today is, frankly, adolescent. It's the same as when America became desperately worried in the 50s and 60s that a huge number of teenagers were juvenile delinquents and hoods. 

My father was mentally competent until his death at 86. Depriving him of the vote would have been anti-democratic in the extreme.

In other news, Biden is past his best days. He's by far the better choice for the country. 

[The Dog 44,071]

6 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

Could Biden have 10 or 15 million more votes and still end up tied?

No.

[Hank Chinaski 6,315]

3 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

A real come to jesus moment for maybe the last few republicans that have any notion of morality. 

[Fudge Nuggets 19,209]

27 minutes ago, Dahobbs said:

We don't allow children to vote. I don't see the difference. And, actually, at least children have some personal interest in the future of the country. A 98 old does not. I'd probably set the cut off at 75. 

Look up the average lifespan across the country by sex and if you will pass that age during the next president's term you are ineligible to vote.

[4th&Five 41,571]

10 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

I've pondering the run up for the popular vote a lot lately. The Electoral College is going to be what it is, but I mean, what could the popular vote advantage actually be for Biden even if we're looking at a tie in the electoral college? 10 million people? Considering how close Texas, Georgia, NC, Florida (well FL was close last time) are, as well as flipping black Michigan, PA, Wisky...I mean Hillary had 3 million more votes. Could Biden have 10 or 15 million more votes and still end up tied?
 

That would be a hell of an interesting story and spin for legislators to consider. A real come to jesus moment for maybe the last few republicans that have any notion of morality. 

I think Biden wins by 5-7 million votes. 

[RomaVicta 29,947]

8 minutes ago, Mrs Whiggins said:

The choice, however, is between this, which I have posted below, a transcript of the answer to a question by an audience member at a Biden rally in North Carolina last week. No teleprompter, off the cuff. I'll post the link to the video at the bottom. Sorry it's all caps but I copy/pasted it. I get it, it's long but it's the difference between an intelligent transition (from COVID response to the economic outlook) to a meandering one. Look at the thought processes going on here:

It's pretty clear that Biden's best strategy is to allow Trump to ramble as much as possible and then point out in some ways subtle and not so subtle, "This guy says I'm mentally incompetent?"

It would amuse me if he could time it to say along with Trump, "like no one has ever seen before." I'd like to see what that would do to the Donald, but it's probably to risky to plan. It would have to be off the cuff. I would pound Trump with that phrase.

We've got unemployment like no one has ever seen before.

We've got a plague killing people like no American living has ever seen before.

We've got a president in debt to god knows who, like no one has ever seen before.

Then let Trump bloviate and lie about the Obama record. Skewer Trump for being a constant liar.

Then stick to issues.

[Dahobbs 17,627]

12 minutes ago, RomaVicta said:

How about making the restriction related to a diagnosis of dementia? Disenfranchising based on a prejudiced generalization about the old is draconian.

How much discernment does it take to make this year's choice? How much comprehension to does a citizen need to sort sound bite campaigns for the most powerful office in the free world? How many fucking idiots are voting across the entire age spectrum.

Resentment of the older and blaming them for all the imperfections we have today is, frankly, adolescent. It's the same as when America became desperately worried in the 50s and 60s that a huge number of teenagers were juvenile delinquents and hoods. 

My father was mentally competent until his death at 86. Depriving him of the vote would have been anti-democratic in the extreme.

In other news, Biden is past his best days. He's by far the better choice for the country. 

Any more draconian than not allowing those under 18 to vote? What is the difference? The elderly are just like the young in that they are less likely to be mental competent to vote even if some individuals could be responsible voters.  Let's just take the first and last 17 years of life and disallow voting. I wouldn't want it to be based on a test or anything like that because it would be easily abused. Age is simple, objective, and (mostly) an irrefutable fact.

Edited September 29, 2020 by Dahobbs

[Revolution512 1,492]

Joe can’t pull that off. Just let that idiot keep talking himself out of the presidency. It’s the easiest strategy ever needed.

[thepop 4,409]

2 weeks till we can vote in Texas.

[ultimaton 2,982]

32 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

I've pondering the run up for the popular vote a lot lately. The Electoral College is going to be what it is, but I mean, what could the popular vote advantage actually be for Biden even if we're looking at a tie in the electoral college? 10 million people? Considering how close Texas, Georgia, NC, Florida (well FL was close last time) are, as well as flipping black Michigan, PA, Wisky...I mean Hillary had 3 million more votes. Could Biden have 10 or 15 million more votes and still end up tied?
 

That would be a hell of an interesting story and spin for legislators to consider. A real come to jesus moment for maybe the last few republicans that have any notion of morality. 

They'd spin it the same way they spun it in 2016 (and Trump is still at it 4 years later):

“I think I did win the popular vote in a true sense,” Trump told Ingraham. “I think there was tremendous cheating in California. There was tremendous cheating in New York and other places.”

Edited September 29, 2020 by ultimaton

[Eastwood 4,394]

6 minutes ago, thepop said:

2 weeks till we can vote in Texas.

I'm going to wait until the 19th. Texas Republicans have sued Abbott over extending early voting to the 13th. My concern is that they will determine some time after the extension period that any vote cast during the extension was void. I have the ability to wait until the 19th, so I'm removing all doubt that my vote will count.

[JimmyJames 12,271]

So Rudy effectively admitted on Fox today that trump has dementia and snorts Adderall. Interesting. 

[Wulaw Horn 19,136]

40 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

I've pondering the run up for the popular vote a lot lately. The Electoral College is going to be what it is, but I mean, what could the popular vote advantage actually be for Biden even if we're looking at a tie in the electoral college? 10 million people? Considering how close Texas, Georgia, NC, Florida (well FL was close last time) are, as well as flipping black Michigan, PA, Wisky...I mean Hillary had 3 million more votes. Could Biden have 10 or 15 million more votes and still end up tied?
 

That would be a hell of an interesting story and spin for legislators to consider. A real come to jesus moment for maybe the last few republicans that have any notion of morality. 

There’s no formula but most people I’ve read seem to think that 5% in the popular vote would make it pretty implausible to get a different winner in the electoral college. What’s 5% of 150 million votes- about 7.5 million?  That’d be my over/under. 

And 4% in the popular vote isn’t really likely, nor is 3% to yield a different EC result but it’s plausible. 5% + starts to strain credible scenarios. It really depends upon how many votes come out of California though as to where that number sits, as California is so populous and so anti Trump. 

Edited September 29, 2020 by Wulaw Horn

[Voldemort86 2,259]

55 minutes ago, thepop said:

 

An interesting way to analyze this is that we’ve seen Trump lose voters or support in nearly every state except Florida. The reason his numbers in a Florida are the same is a combination of stubborn old folks out of touch with reality and the trump campaign / Russian troll farms taking advantage of the fact that many Cubans in south Florida get all of their news from Facebook only. They are flooding their Facebook feeds with lies that Biden is a socialist and that they will have to hide their kids in the closet if Biden wins because rape will be rampant all over the country. 
 

but...... if you apply that he’s lost support in Iowa, North Dakota, Georgia, Arizona, and Ohio which it’s pretty clear he has.  What the hell is wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania going to look like for him? He only won those states by about 70,00 votes.

 

Biden should be widely seen as a heavy favorite several weeks from now if we get through the debates and these numbers hold.

[Voldemort86 2,259]

11 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

There’s no formula but most people I’ve read seem to think that 5% in the popular vote would make it pretty implausible to get a different winner in the electoral college. What’s 5% of 150 million votes- about 7.5 million?  That’d be my over/under. 

And 4% in the popular vote isn’t really likely, nor is 3% to yield a different EC result but it’s plausible. 5% + starts to strain credible scenarios. It really depends upon how many votes come out of California though as to where that number sits, as California is so populous and so anti Trump. 

California turnout will be very high since they are mailing all registered voters a vote.

[Wulaw Horn 19,136]

6 minutes ago, Voldemort86 said:

An interesting way to analyze this is that we’ve seen Trump lose voters or support in nearly every state except Florida. The reason his numbers in a Florida are the same is a combination of stubborn old folks out of touch with reality and the trump campaign / Russian troll farms taking advantage of the fact that many Cubans in south Florida get all of their news from Facebook only. They are flooding their Facebook feeds with lies that Biden is a socialist and that they will have to hide their kids in the closet if Biden wins because rape will be rampant all over the country. 
 

but...... if you apply that he’s lost support in Iowa, North Dakota, Georgia, Arizona, and Ohio which it’s pretty clear he has.  What the hell is wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania going to look like for him? He only won those states by about 70,00 votes.

 

Biden should be widely seen as a heavy favorite several weeks from now if we get through the debates and these numbers hold.

Yeah- this is spot on. It’s not just that it is his to lose- he’d have to do something spectacular to blow it. 

[SydneyCarton 48,131]

20 minutes ago, ultimaton said:

They'd spin it the same way they spun it in 2016 (and Trump is still at it 4 years later):

“I think I did win the popular vote in a true sense,” Trump told Ingraham. “I think there was tremendous cheating in California. There was tremendous cheating in New York and other places.”

Yeah, but that doesn’t explain the vote gains we’d be looking at in all the red states I mentioned. The math and on turnout as a percentage compared to 2016 is straight forward. The big gains will be the lure number of voters voting blue in Texas, Georgia, NC, Arizona. That’s where the score gets run up. 

[Wulaw Horn 19,136]

1 minute ago, SydneyCarton said:

Yeah, but that doesn’t explain the vote gains we’d be looking at in all the red states I mentioned. The math and on turnout as a percentage compared to 2016 is straight forward. The big gains will be the lure number of voters voting blue in Texas, Georgia, NC, Arizona. That’s where the score gets run up. 

Yeah but you can’t gain a ton of

votes in those states, relative to Trump, without flipping those states and having Biden win those electoral college votes. There’s a ceiling on how many votes can be flipped and still have to worry about the electoral college and it’s just not all that many. 

Edited September 29, 2020 by Wulaw Horn

[Dbeasy 15,074]

Just a reminder for the inexplicably undecided's, this election is not about idealogy, it is an election about competence vs. incompetence, incompetence that could have serious negative ramifications for this country in four years if this idiot is re-elected.  Here's just a short list of Trump's Greatest Hits:

Health Care – F     Has promised and failed to deliver something better than Obamacare for 4 years.  Absolute failure.

Immigration – F     Has failed to resolve any of the immigration issues the country faced when he entered office. The wall has been and is a joke that he’s lied about now for four years.

China – D     Taking on China was a good idea. The way he has done it is a complete failure. He’s had to provide billions in farm subsidies to American farmers while making little to no progress. His tariffs have resulted in either higher prices to Americans for products, or US companies having lower profitability as a result of having to absorb tariffs.  The impact on China’s economy due to tariffs has been very limited, which is why no progress has been made in four years.

Economy/Tax Cut – D     While the tax cut helped spur the economy, it was completely irresponsible because it ballooned our debt during an economic expansion period, when the country should be putting its debt on firmer footing. It was completely irresponsible fiscally. It was also far too beneficial for the wealthy, further widening an already serious wealth inequality gap.

Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq – F     Fumbled those issues so badly military leaders resigned.

Quality of Administration Talent – F     The leaders of most agencies are completely unqualified for their positions. Dept of Education, etc. Most competent talent has not only left (white house cabinet leaders, staff, generals, etc), many or most of them have no come out in support of Biden, showing how incompetent Trump truly is.

Relations with Allies – F     He is the joke of all of our allies. They understand all of his immense flaws. Unintelligent, narcissistic, easily manipulated, etc.  No one respects him.  No one.

Leadership and Integrity – F     He lies constantly, he whines, he calls people names, he’s belligent, he’s thin-skinned, he’s superficial, he thinks he’s better than everyone else. He makes ridiculous claims about his capabilities, like “stable genius”.  He’s the worst human being and no one with those characteristics can lead effectively. He is a joke to everyone who hasn’t been conned by him. Has pitted people against each other by inflaming racial tensions, democrat vs republican, etc.  He’s a disaster. He’s a grifter who has steered contracts to friends, family, donors and himself. 

North Korea – F     Got completely played by Kim Jong. No results.

Russia – F     Is being totally played by Putin, has not effectively protected Belarus or Ukraine. Has done nothing about election meddling or other issues. His campaign coordinated with them on the election.

COVID – F     He did take a few decent actions like shutting down the border, but his ridiculous refusal to lead on mask-wearing and social distancing, and other issues, has caused the results we now see, the highest number of deaths in the entire world and a virus that still isn't under control.

Trade – D     No measurable improvement.  Re-did NAFTA with no real improvement.

 

[Pig Bellmont 8,719]

8 minutes ago, Dbeasy said:

Just a reminder for the inexplicably undecided's, this election is not about idealogy, it is an election about competence vs. incompetence, incompetence that could have serious negative ramifications for this country in four years if this idiot is re-elected.  Here's just a short list of Trump's Greatest Hits:

Health Care – F     Has promised and failed to deliver something better than Obamacare for 4 years.  Absolute failure.

Immigration – F     Has failed to resolve any of the immigration issues the country faced when he entered office. The wall has been and is a joke that he’s lied about now for four years.

China – D     Taking on China was a good idea. The way he has done it is a complete failure. He’s had to provide billions in farm subsidies to American farmers while making little to no progress. His tariffs have resulted in either higher prices to Americans for products, or US companies having lower profitability as a result of having to absorb tariffs.  The impact on China’s economy due to tariffs has been very limited, which is why no progress has been made in four years.

Economy/Tax Cut – D     While the tax cut helped spur the economy, it was completely irresponsible because it ballooned our debt during an economic expansion period, when the country should be putting its debt on firmer footing. It was completely irresponsible fiscally. It was also far too beneficial for the wealthy, further widening an already serious wealth inequality gap.

Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq – F     Fumbled those issues so badly military leaders resigned.

Quality of Administration Talent – F     The leaders of most agencies are completely unqualified for their positions. Dept of Education, etc. Most competent talent has not only left (white house cabinet leaders, staff, generals, etc), many or most of them have no come out in support of Biden, showing how incompetent Trump truly is.

Relations with Allies – F     He is the joke of all of our allies. They understand all of his immense flaws. Unintelligent, narcissistic, easily manipulated, etc.  No one respects him.  No one.

Leadership and Integrity – F     He lies constantly, he whines, he calls people names, he’s belligent, he’s thin-skinned, he’s superficial, he thinks he’s better than everyone else. He makes ridiculous claims about his capabilities, like “stable genius”.  He’s the worst human being and no one with those characteristics can lead effectively. He is a joke to everyone who hasn’t been conned by him. Has pitted people against each other by inflaming racial tensions, democrat vs republican, etc.  He’s a disaster. He’s a grifter who has steered contracts to friends, family, donors and himself. 

North Korea – F     Got completely played by Kim Jong. No results.

Russia – F     Is being totally played by Putin, has not effectively protected Belarus or Ukraine. Has done nothing about election meddling or other issues. His campaign coordinated with them on the election.

COVID – F     He did take a few decent actions like shutting down the border, but his ridiculous refusal to lead on mask-wearing and social distancing, and other issues, has caused the results we now see, the highest number of deaths in the entire world and a virus that still isn't under control.

Trade – D     No measurable improvement.  Re-did NAFTA with no real improvement.

 

Your grades on China and Trade are too generous because you fail to mention the tens of thousands of family owned farms that have gone bankrupt as a direct result of shitty policies. Like most Trump bailouts, it goes to big businesses and not the people that need the money. 

[SaucyJack 3,498]

1 hour ago, Dahobbs said:

Any more draconian than not allowing those under 18 to vote? What is the difference? The elderly are just like the young in that they are less likely to be mental competent to vote even if some individuals could be responsible voters.  Let's just take the first and last 17 years of life and disallow voting. I wouldn't want it to be based on a test or anything like that because it would be easily abused. Age is simple, objective, and (mostly) an irrefutable fact.

 

[NorthLoop 14,218]

26 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

Yeah- this is spot on. It’s not just that it is his to lose- he’d have to do something spectacular to blow it. 

Something tells me we'll see a weird ass monkey wrench thrown into this thing in the next month. Like one of them strokes out on stage, or gets shot at. Fuckin 2020 man. 

[yoladu 4,094]

11 minutes ago, Dbeasy said:

Just a reminder for the inexplicably undecided's, this election is not about idealogy, it is an election about competence vs. incompetence, incompetence that could have serious negative ramifications for this country in four years if this idiot is re-elected.  Here's just a short list of Trump's Greatest Hits:

Health Care – F     Has promised and failed to deliver something better than Obamacare for 4 years.  Absolute failure.

Immigration – F     Has failed to resolve any of the immigration issues the country faced when he entered office. The wall has been and is a joke that he’s lied about now for four years.

China – D     Taking on China was a good idea. The way he has done it is a complete failure. He’s had to provide billions in farm subsidies to American farmers while making little to no progress. His tariffs have resulted in either higher prices to Americans for products, or US companies having lower profitability as a result of having to absorb tariffs.  The impact on China’s economy due to tariffs has been very limited, which is why no progress has been made in four years.

Economy/Tax Cut – D     While the tax cut helped spur the economy, it was completely irresponsible because it ballooned our debt during an economic expansion period, when the country should be putting its debt on firmer footing. It was completely irresponsible fiscally. It was also far too beneficial for the wealthy, further widening an already serious wealth inequality gap.

Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq – F     Fumbled those issues so badly military leaders resigned.

Quality of Administration Talent – F     The leaders of most agencies are completely unqualified for their positions. Dept of Education, etc. Most competent talent has not only left (white house cabinet leaders, staff, generals, etc), many or most of them have no come out in support of Biden, showing how incompetent Trump truly is.

Relations with Allies – F     He is the joke of all of our allies. They understand all of his immense flaws. Unintelligent, narcissistic, easily manipulated, etc.  No one respects him.  No one.

Leadership and Integrity – F     He lies constantly, he whines, he calls people names, he’s belligent, he’s thin-skinned, he’s superficial, he thinks he’s better than everyone else. He makes ridiculous claims about his capabilities, like “stable genius”.  He’s the worst human being and no one with those characteristics can lead effectively. He is a joke to everyone who hasn’t been conned by him. Has pitted people against each other by inflaming racial tensions, democrat vs republican, etc.  He’s a disaster. He’s a grifter who has steered contracts to friends, family, donors and himself. 

North Korea – F     Got completely played by Kim Jong. No results.

Russia – F     Is being totally played by Putin, has not effectively protected Belarus or Ukraine. Has done nothing about election meddling or other issues. His campaign coordinated with them on the election.

COVID – F     He did take a few decent actions like shutting down the border, but his ridiculous refusal to lead on mask-wearing and social distancing, and other issues, has caused the results we now see, the highest number of deaths in the entire world and a virus that still isn't under control.

Trade – D     No measurable improvement.  Re-did NAFTA with no real improvement.

 

would be nice during the debate if Biden could give a similar abridged rundown... kind of like rapid fire.

 

[Guest Lobo]

17 minutes ago, Dbeasy said:

Just a reminder for the inexplicably undecided's, this election is not about idealogy, it is an election about competence vs. incompetence, incompetence that could have serious negative ramifications for this country in four years if this idiot is re-elected.  Here's just a short list of Trump's Greatest Hits:

Health Care – F     Has promised and failed to deliver something better than Obamacare for 4 years.  Absolute failure.

Immigration – F     Has failed to resolve any of the immigration issues the country faced when he entered office. The wall has been and is a joke that he’s lied about now for four years.

China – D     Taking on China was a good idea. The way he has done it is a complete failure. He’s had to provide billions in farm subsidies to American farmers while making little to no progress. His tariffs have resulted in either higher prices to Americans for products, or US companies having lower profitability as a result of having to absorb tariffs.  The impact on China’s economy due to tariffs has been very limited, which is why no progress has been made in four years.

Economy/Tax Cut – D     While the tax cut helped spur the economy, it was completely irresponsible because it ballooned our debt during an economic expansion period, when the country should be putting its debt on firmer footing. It was completely irresponsible fiscally. It was also far too beneficial for the wealthy, further widening an already serious wealth inequality gap.

Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq – F     Fumbled those issues so badly military leaders resigned.

Quality of Administration Talent – F     The leaders of most agencies are completely unqualified for their positions. Dept of Education, etc. Most competent talent has not only left (white house cabinet leaders, staff, generals, etc), many or most of them have no come out in support of Biden, showing how incompetent Trump truly is.

Relations with Allies – F     He is the joke of all of our allies. They understand all of his immense flaws. Unintelligent, narcissistic, easily manipulated, etc.  No one respects him.  No one.

Leadership and Integrity – F     He lies constantly, he whines, he calls people names, he’s belligent, he’s thin-skinned, he’s superficial, he thinks he’s better than everyone else. He makes ridiculous claims about his capabilities, like “stable genius”.  He’s the worst human being and no one with those characteristics can lead effectively. He is a joke to everyone who hasn’t been conned by him. Has pitted people against each other by inflaming racial tensions, democrat vs republican, etc.  He’s a disaster. He’s a grifter who has steered contracts to friends, family, donors and himself. 

North Korea – F     Got completely played by Kim Jong. No results.

Russia – F     Is being totally played by Putin, has not effectively protected Belarus or Ukraine. Has done nothing about election meddling or other issues. His campaign coordinated with them on the election.

COVID – F     He did take a few decent actions like shutting down the border, but his ridiculous refusal to lead on mask-wearing and social distancing, and other issues, has caused the results we now see, the highest number of deaths in the entire world and a virus that still isn't under control.

Trade – D     No measurable improvement.  Re-did NAFTA with no real improvement.

 

Do you even fucking Fortnight, Bro?  TWO WEEKS!  JUST GIVE HIM TWO MORE WEEKS!  

[immamac 42,877]

I wish that Joe Biden would say: "shut up, bitch" to Trump so so so bad.

[thepop 4,409]

10 minutes ago, Eastwood said:

I'm going to wait until the 19th. Texas Republicans have sued Abbott over extending early voting to the 13th. My concern is that they will determine some time after the extension period that any vote cast during the extension was void. I have the ability to wait until the 19th, so I'm removing all doubt that my vote will count.

If this happens, it doesn't matter when you and I vote.

[Gap03 3,308]

2 minutes ago, immamac said:

I wish that Joe Biden would say: "shut up, bunker bitch" to Trump so so so bad.

FIFY.

[Jiggy-Z 3,433]

I will be heading to my local rock gym tonight for a few hours of hard bouldering and watching my kids crush routes that I can only dream about completing.  I will then drive home, have a late dinner, and "unfurl the surl" for post debate analysis. Profit.

[Pancho 44,877]

oh how I really want one of these mofos to try to come to my polling place. 

 

[thepop 4,409]

Same. Please send some moron to my polling place.

[thepop 4,409]

Quinnipiac has been very Biden friendly FYI

 

[Ghost of LL 15,539]

1 hour ago, Voldemort86 said:

An interesting way to analyze this is that we’ve seen Trump lose voters or support in nearly every state except Florida. The reason his numbers in a Florida are the same is a combination of stubborn old folks out of touch with reality and the trump campaign / Russian troll farms taking advantage of the fact that many Cubans in south Florida get all of their news from Facebook only. They are flooding their Facebook feeds with lies that Biden is a socialist and that they will have to hide their kids in the closet if Biden wins because rape will be rampant all over the country. 
 

but...... if you apply that he’s lost support in Iowa, North Dakota, Georgia, Arizona, and Ohio which it’s pretty clear he has.  What the hell is wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania going to look like for him? He only won those states by about 70,00 votes.

 

Biden should be widely seen as a heavy favorite several weeks from now if we get through the debates and these numbers hold.

Don't underestimate WhatsApp.  That shit is huge in the Spanish-speaking community, and its even worse than Facebook.

[Rougarou 594]

25 minutes ago, Ghost of LL said:

Don't underestimate WhatsApp.  That shit is huge in the Spanish-speaking community, and its even worse than Facebook.

Do you even Hindi, bro? WhatsApp is a billion strong with my Hindustan brothers who are surprising in their political stripes (the ones here in Texas, at least, I've found).

Edited September 29, 2020 by Rougarou

[Captainant 27,688]

31 minutes ago, Ghost of LL said:

Don't underestimate WhatsApp.  That shit is huge in the Spanish-speaking community, and its even worse than Facebook.

WhatsApp IS facebook, just with a different mask on. FB bought them back in 2014

[heso 2,813]

16 hours ago, Biff Tannen said:

Call the fucking news. I’m not kidding. Even if not nefarious, it will expose the shit show. 

 

16 hours ago, thepop said:

You've only called 3 times? I'd be calling nonstop or going in person.

 

Called a couple more times today and finally got through. The lady I talked to sounded frazzled and seemed like she had answered my question many times recently. Their staff of 11 people is completely overwhelmed by the number of voter registration applications and said that repeated database crashes have further hampered them. She said they’ve gotten over 15,000 applications but didn’t specify the time frame. For reference that’s a little over 1% of the population of the county. She said they have to have them all processed by October 18th so they’ll do whatever it takes to get it done by then. 

[Macanudo 12,999]

2 hours ago, Eastwood said:

I'm going to wait until the 19th. Texas Republicans have sued Abbott over extending early voting to the 13th. My concern is that they will determine some time after the extension period that any vote cast during the extension was void. I have the ability to wait until the 19th, so I'm removing all doubt that my vote will count.

Good to know.   I was planning on going Day 2 or 3 of early voting.   Guess I'll wait until the 21st or 22nd.

[Biff Tannen 45,694]

2 hours ago, Eastwood said:

I'm going to wait until the 19th. Texas Republicans have sued Abbott over extending early voting to the 13th. My concern is that they will determine some time after the extension period that any vote cast during the extension was void. I have the ability to wait until the 19th, so I'm removing all doubt that my vote will count.

 

15 minutes ago, Macanudo said:

Good to know.   I was planning on going Day 2 or 3 of early voting.   Guess I'll wait until the 21st or 22nd.

 

 

From the pinned voting thread:

 

[Voldemort86 2,259]

20 minutes ago, Macanudo said:

Good to know.   I was planning on going Day 2 or 3 of early voting.   Guess I'll wait until the 21st or 22nd.

Don’t trust anything with that crook Ken “Indictment” Paxton and Allen West involved.

[hobbes2702 13,049]

2 hours ago, Dahobbs said:

Any more draconian than not allowing those under 18 to vote? What is the difference? The elderly are just like the young in that they are less likely to be mental competent to vote even if some individuals could be responsible voters.  Let's just take the first and last 17 years of life and disallow voting. I wouldn't want it to be based on a test or anything like that because it would be easily abused. Age is simple, objective, and (mostly) an irrefutable fact.

Making it harder for more Americans to vote is the last thing we should do.

[Eastwood 4,394]

8 minutes ago, Biff Tannen said:

 

 

 

From the pinned voting thread:

 

That's his response, so now we have to wait and see how it all shakes out. It will get bumped to the front of the line, but my concern is that it won't be 100% resolved until just before election day, causing a flood at the polls of people who need to come back and cast the vote again, creating even more strain on polling locations.

[Biff Tannen 45,694]

2 minutes ago, hobbes2702 said:

Making it harder for more Americans to vote is the last thing we should do.

Well, only one party wants to do that.

[Biff Tannen 45,694]

Just now, Eastwood said:

That's his response, so now we have to wait and see how it all shakes out. It will get bumped to the front of the line, but my concern is that it won't be 100% resolved until just before election day, causing a flood at the polls of people who need to come back and cast the vote again, creating even more strain on polling locations.

There should be a law that any election related lawsuits (good god, what are we doing?) have to be resolved before early voting starts or something.  I'm going to vote a few days after early voting starts to let the crowds die down.  If the Rs fuck with our votes after it starts, well I guess we just have to riot.

[hobbes2702 13,049]

5 minutes ago, Biff Tannen said:

Well, only one party wants to do that.

Apparently not since we have people advocating on this thread for preventing olds from voting.

[TexEx15 17,547]

6 minutes ago, hobbes2702 said:

Making it harder for more Americans to vote is the last thing we should do.

Yep.  We need to focus on ensuring factual information is the only information allowed on things like social media.  There needs to be a complete crackdown on things like Russian troll farms and disinformation campaigns.  There needs to be reform that addresses the issues we face today in 2030 and beyond not back when adds were all TV and radio.  “I’m joe Biden and I approve this message.” is outdated.

[Biff Tannen 45,694]

1 minute ago, hobbes2702 said:

Apparently not since we have people advocating on this thread for preventing olds from voting.

wat