2016 Republican Presidential Clown Car Begins!

Discussion in 'Politics' started by joepistole, Jan 30, 2015.

  1. Tiassa Let us not launch the boat ... Valued Senior Member

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    Cowardice as a Cure

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    Haven't you heard? Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI), of all people, is field-testing a possible cure:

    Scott Walker has been criticized for dramatically changing his stance on immigration: First, he supported granting citizenship to the millions of undocumented workers already in the country. Then he was opposed to it and acknowledged that his position had changed. Then there were reports that he had privately expressed support once again. Now he wants all undocumented workers to return to their home countries and legally apply to enter the U.S. -- and has suggested further limits on legal immigration.

    So that's why during a Tuesday evening interview on Fox News, host Bret Baier asked Walker: “If you’re willing to flip-flop… on such an important issue like this, how can voters be sure that you’re not going to change your position on some other big issues?”

    Walker responded: “Well, actually, there’s not a flip out there" ....

    .... “A flip would be someone who voted on something and did something different," Walker said. "These are not votes... I don’t have any impact on immigration as a governor. I don't have any impact as a former county official. I would be if I were to run and ultimately be elected as president."


    (Johnson)

    We might note that while Mr. Walker offered a pathetic rejection of a flip, he said nothing about the flop.

    For obvious reasons.

    But the Republican field should take note; this argument is fairly flexible, and since none of the candidates have ever been president, any can reasonably argue that they haven't flip-flopped.

    As I noted between heaves of laughter:

    It was, what, all of two days ago Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI) described himself as “the most scrutinized politician in America”, and while that claim might justly find widespread derision, we would also beg leave to accommodate the cowardly Badger long enough to remind that he does himself no favors on that count by saying stupid things ....​

    On a similar note, Mr. Walker also wants to run as the potential first president without a college degree, and it's true I don't think the lack of a college degree should be disqualifying. However, there is a difference between being a president without a college degree and an uneducated asshole, and it would seem the Wisconsin profile in cowardice otherwise known as Governor Walker is not smart enough to comprehend the difference.

    This could put a hitch in his presidential delusions.
    ____________________

    Notes:

    Johnson, Jenna. "Scott Walker: Flip-flopping only happens when you take votes". The Washington Post. 20 May 2015. WashingtonPost.com. 25 May 2015. http://wapo.st/1F6YMnM
     
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  3. Tiassa Let us not launch the boat ... Valued Senior Member

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    Something About Rape Culture

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    I ... I ... I mean ....

    Right:

    Walker told Loesch that criticism he received about the ultrasound bill was merely an attack from the “gotcha” media, and that he was in fact just trying to provide women with “a cool thing.”

    “The thing about that, the media tried to make that sound like that was a crazy idea,” he said. “Most people I talked to, whether they’re pro-life or not, I find people all the time that pull out their iPhone and show me a picture of their grandkids’ ultrasound and how excited they are, so that’s a lovely thing. I think about my sons are 19 and 20, we still have their first ultrasounds. It’s just a cool thing out there.”

    “We just knew if we signed that law, if we provided the information that more people if they saw that unborn child would make a decision to protect and keep the life of that unborn child,” he said.


    (Blue)

    Really?

    So ... we should use force of law to insert foreign objects into women's vaginas because ... it's cool?

    I had previously reserved Mr. Walker's place in the Clown Car as the Cowardly Clown, owing to his self-victimization by taking passes on obvious questions. Yet he's willing to open up and tell us that using force of law to insert foreign objects into a woman's vagina for no medical purpose whatsoever is "just a cool thing out there"?

    Hello?

    What the hell just happened?

    So which one is he now? The Molesting Clown? The Pervert Clown? Honestly, I thought that latter would go to Rick Santorum. Oh, wait, he's the Frothy Clown.

    What the hell just happened?
    ____________________

    Notes:

    Blue, Miranda. "Scott Walker: Ultrasounds Should Be Mandatory Since They're 'A Cool Thing'". Right Wing Watch. 26 May 2015. RightWingWatch.org. 28 May 2015. http://bit.ly/1AAYucV
     
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  5. Kittamaru Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Adieu, Sciforums. Valued Senior Member

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    I'm confused by that one Tiassa - I thought ultrasounds were done over the belly... there are internal ultrasounds?
     
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  7. joepistole Deacon Blues Valued Senior Member

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    Republicans have seen fit to require women seeking abortions to submit to a transvaginal ultrasound. That isn't the normal sonogram pregnant women receive. It is an invasive procedure where the ultrasound device is inserted into the vagina.

    http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003779.htm

    http://americanpregnancy.org/prenatal-testing/ultrasound/

    http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/mic...ng-transvaginal-ultrasound-before-an-abortion
     
  8. Kittamaru Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Adieu, Sciforums. Valued Senior Member

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    ... wow, what the actual fuck...
     
  9. joepistole Deacon Blues Valued Senior Member

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    Yeah, I mean what can you say? I guess Republicans have some pretty kinky law makers in their party leadership.
     
  10. Schmelzer Valued Senior Member

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    The whole american democracy would be better named hypocracy. It is a show for the poor. The candidates are all big business candidates, the differences are show on unimportant (but emotional) questions, regarding the questions which are really important the elections change nothing at all.

    For example, it is almost certain that the winner of the elections will make a more dangerous foreign policy. WW III will become more probable. At least AFAIK all the republicans are in favour of war, and Hillary Clinton is in this connection even worse than the average republican.
     
  11. joepistole Deacon Blues Valued Senior Member

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    I think your assessment is overly sour. There are some very left of center Democrats running this time around, but they really don't stand much of a chance. I think Hillary is less of a corporate stooge than her husband and probably has more balls to boot. We will have to see. If a Republican wins, then all bets are off. It's time to run for the hills. There will probably be more wars and economic crisis. It would be wise to pack up and move to Canada legally or otherwise.
     
  12. joepistole Deacon Blues Valued Senior Member

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  13. Tiassa Let us not launch the boat ... Valued Senior Member

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    American Guignol

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    Yeah.

    The thing is that this isn't healthy. It's repressed kink.

    Gov. Walker has tried damage control↱, going back to the airwaves on the same show in order to try a peculiar sleight of rhetoric, pointing to the lack of any specific prescription of method in the legislation. This is dishonest for a couple of reasons. Superficially, conservatives once upon a time tried to play off the misogyny question by citing that this was just the method that was used for this purpose because it was the better method, excuse the fuck out of them. But more substantially, this is the medically prescribed method for this purpose; the legislation is requiring a medically unnecessary application of the procedure.

    What he is defending is emblematic of rape culture: We are going to use force of law to stick this in your vagina in order to persuade you.

    I mean, holy shit!

    This is what Gov. Scott Walker is defending as "just a cool thing out there".

    And why?

    Because he "just knew if we signed that law, if we provided the information that more people if they saw that unborn child would make a decision to protect and keep the life of that unborn child".

    To persuade women.

    I mean ... holy shit!

    Remember that the present celebration of conservative culture that keeps blowing up in flaming tatters does so for a reason; it is a celebration of a social conservative identity politic that orbits ownership culture and sexual issues. Of course the closet cases will break. Of course the molesters will tumble out. Of course the sins both petty and substantial will spill out as the cup runneth over.

    But this is what it comes to. It's on the table in our presidential contest. Huckabee is standing by the molester; Walker is out in some insanely terrifying realm. I mean, it's almost fun watching Cruz stumble all over himself with tinfoil and insurrection, but this is genuinely dangerous stuff. What Mr. Walker is pushing is ... I mean, he's polling well. This forced insertion as just a cool thing out there is playing well in conservative circles. Huckabee and Carson alike are polling better than Rand Paul.

    We're in for a show. Something of American guignol, to be certain, but this is starting to look like one of those cycles.
    ____________________

    Notes:

    RealClearPolitics. "2016 Republican Presidential Nomination". 2015. RealClearPolitics.com. 31 May 2015. http://bit.ly/1BAxgP3

    Benen, Steve. "Walker can’t stop celebrating medically unnecessary ultrasounds". msnbc. 29 May 2015. msnbc.com. 31 May 2015. http://on.msnbc.com/1GJxol3
     
  14. Little Bang Registered Member

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    The truth must always be what you want. Reality hurts to much.
     
  15. Tiassa Let us not launch the boat ... Valued Senior Member

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    The Fight He Wants

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    It occurs to me↱ that for all the basic, low-effort politicking Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker wants to dodge in his pursuit of the Republican presidential nomination, it seems strange that he would choose a contentious issue to make a desperate and undignified stand over.

    But for some reason, the Cowardly Clown wants to have this fight.
     
  16. Little Bang Registered Member

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    Question, why would a women get pregnant with an unwanted child?
     
  17. joepistole Deacon Blues Valued Senior Member

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    Jeb Bush and Rick Perry are slated to announce their candidacies on June 15. I guess we will see if Rick Perry's new glasses add 50 points to his IQ as his wife now claims. His says Rick has been studying really hard to this time around. So we will see if Perry's newly acquired glasses have made in smarter in the coming days and months.

    I guess we should remember, Perry is from Texas just like Baby Bush. Apparently they have a different IQ standard in Texas.
     
  18. joepistole Deacon Blues Valued Senior Member

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  19. joepistole Deacon Blues Valued Senior Member

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    How Perry got rich:
    "Gov. Rick Perry's boots must have some sturdy straps. In the mid-1980s, when he began serving as a Texas state representative, he earned roughly $45,000 per year. He spent the next couple decades in government jobs. And now? Unlike most of us, Perry hasn't yet filed his 2010 tax return. But his net worth is in the low seven figures -- in fact, he earned over $1 million dollars in 2007 alone, although he made just $150,000 as governor, a job that tends to take up all of one's time."

    The Atlantic piece below explains how Perry got rich while serving as an elected official.

    http://www.theatlantic.com/politics...ot-rich-while-working-government-jobs/244342/
     
  20. Tiassa Let us not launch the boat ... Valued Senior Member

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    Quotable Spaghetti

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    "It's not nation-building. We are assisting them in building their nation."


    Spaghetti meet wall meet worthless atheism joke↱.

    No, really, this is presidential quality?
    ____________________

    Notes:

    Walker, Hunter. "Marco Rubio just made another confusing comment about his Middle East policy". Business Insider. 4 June 2015. BusinessInsider.com. 4 June 2015. http://read.bi/1FxwG6d
     
  21. joepistole Deacon Blues Valued Senior Member

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    Ki
    Reminds me of the last Republican POTUS.
     
  22. Tiassa Let us not launch the boat ... Valued Senior Member

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    Yeah, but what would we call them? Marcisms? Rubisms? Farts?
     
  23. Tiassa Let us not launch the boat ... Valued Senior Member

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    Clown Car Cut

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    Niall Stanage↱ drew the short straw over at The Hill, and thus brings us the following update, as of Thursday:

    The 10 Republican candidates who would be included as of now are, in descending order of average poll rating: former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.), Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, retired neurologist Ben Carson, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Sens. Rand Paul (Ky.) and Ted Cruz (Texas), New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, businessman Donald Trump and Perry.

    This is actually one of the more interesting aspects of the GOP field, and legitimately so. That is to say, any time we see so large a troupe of candidates certain questions arise regardless of the point that most of them are either incompetent or corrupt beyond viability.

    To the other, though, we also get to watch this happen:

    If the debates were held right now, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry would be the lucky 10th person — though just by the skin of his teeth.

    Perry's average showing across the most recent five nationwide polls, excluding one from the Democratic firm Public Policy Polling, is 2.4 percent. Former Sen. Rick Santorum (Pa.) and Ohio Gov. John Kasich both average 1.6 percent and would be forced to sit out the debates.

    Businesswoman Carly Fiorina would also miss the cut as things stand, with her average of 1.4 percent support. That would leave the GOP with 10 men on the stage, an image party leaders might want to avoid ....

    .... “If you're left out of two or three debates, and let's say you're Bobby Jindal, a governor in office, or Rick Perry, the former governor of the biggest Republican state in the country. … Well, then you're viewed as a second-tier candidate, and it is much harder to get support or to raise money,” noted Ed Rollins, a veteran GOP strategist.

    “Or you could have Gov. Kasich, who has had an extraordinary run in Ohio, left out of the debate in Cleveland,” he added.

    This is actually a genuine conundrum, and again I would reiterate that such considerations are easily occulted by the magnitude of buffoonery about the GOP field. Still, though, look at who are getting trounced in all of this.

    Then again―

    Dan Judy, a Republican strategist whose firm, North Star Opinion Research, is affiliated with the Rubio campaign, compares CNN’s decision to “having a big boys’ table and a kids’ table.”

    “As a Republican, I do not want the focus the day after to be what happened at the kids’ table — the food that got smeared on the walls and the drinks that got spilled — rather than the gourmet fare on offer at the adults’ table,” he said.

    ―even Republicans are aware of the quality control risk. Even as such, Mr. Judy might well prefer worrying about the also-rans than trying to figure out what to do with Rubio, Walker, Carson, Huckabee, Paul, Cruz, or Trump. The danger of gourmet fare being wasted is actually quite high. That is to say, c'mon, it's not like Christie, Perry, and Bush are exactly safe bets.

    Part of the problem, of course, is that the GOP finds itself in an unfortunate corner where they also need to talk around certain superficial issues that shouldn't be noteworthy except, well, these are Repbulicans.

    Yeah. Perry and Kasich? Those are politically persuasive states. Louisiana? Let's face it, Jindal's importance is part of their diversity pitch. When it comes to policy outlook, he lags behind. When it comes to his own warning about being the Stupid Party, he is setting an example of what not to do. Jindal is a joke, and yet Rollins is not wrong; excluding him is a risk. And Ms. Fiorina? Certes, we all know she's not the one; this ain't happening. But from the Republican perspective there is, indeed, a straightforward optics problem with excluding your only female candidate. These are unfortunate considerations, but the Republicans have pretty much done that part to themselves.

    For now, though, what is that saying about the soft bigotry of low expectations?

    One wonders what will emerge as Republican presidential timber.
    ____________________

    Notes:

    Stanage, Niall. "GOP's top 10: Who's making the debate cut". The Hill. 4 June 2015. TheHill.com. 6 June 2015. http://bit.ly/1cEbOlG
     

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