The new forums will be named Coin Return (based on the most recent vote)! You can check on the status and timeline of the transition to the new forums here.
The Guiding Principles and New Rules document is now in effect.
USA Presidential Election 2016: A Day at the Racist
Sterica
YesRegistered User, Moderator mod
YesRegistered User, Moderator mod
The country that brought you bagel bites is having an election! For president! It's the head of the USA's executive branch, and arguably the most powerful position that any one person on the planet can hold. This kind of election only happens once every four years, so you gotta enjoy it while it lasts! Let's have a good time and talk about all the hilarious ups and downs of this election season. Warning: sometimes it may be less hilarious, and more soul-crushing!
Things to Consider Before Posting
Previously in the POTUS Thread...
July kicked off the general election, with both parties holding their conventions and formally nominating their respective candidates. Outsides of some incidents here and there, the nomination process went as expected, with Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump representing the Democratic and Republican parties respectively. Sorry to anyone really hoping for some contested or brokered convention fun, but the parties aren't the kind to rock the boat. The DNC convention was, however, something of a nightmare thanks to Wikileaks confirming that the party WAS biased against Bernie Sanders and doing what they could to skew public opinion towards Clinton. This kicked off a mess that helped agitate Sanders delegates and concerns about Clinton's damn emails. Again. It didn't help that the source of the leak was perhaps Russia, or that Trump bizarrely requested more hacking.
In polling news, Trump managed to surprise everyone by coming out of his convention with a lead over Clinton, surprising many who had Trump at very dismal predictions for winning. Unfortunately this was not meant to be, as Clinton received a strong convention bounce that eroded Trump's lead and basically put her at a high not seen in over a month. It's too early to say how much of this is just convention bounce that may fizzle out, but that Trump picked a fight with one of her convention speakers, a father of a slain Muslim soldier, probably helped her out. Yeah, Trump has a serious problem with his campaign right now, to the point where Republicans are insisting he go back to the drawing board and try something new. At the very least, Trump claims to have narrowed the money gap between himself and Clinton thanks to convention fever bringing in the donations.
Would you like to know more? Read the previous threads...
In the Blue Corner...
"Crooked" Hillary Clinton
68 Years Old
Former Secretary of State and Senator
Strengths: Large war chest and campaign apparatus. Has the support and was personally involved in the administration of two of the most popular living presidents, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. That both are charismatic speakers and good campaigners doesn't hurt. Primary showed high support from PoCs and women. Promoting one of the most liberal campaign platforms the DNC has ever seen, which made motivate the base. Good taste in hot sauce.
Weaknesses: Still something of a hawk despite repenting for her Iraq vote. Seems slow to come around on certain issues until it's politically advantageous for her to do so. Not all that charismatic herself, with high unfavorability numbers. Leaked emails may lead fewer Sanders supporters to cross over than originally expected. Personally flew to Benghazi and killed four American while their crying families watched.
"Para Español Votar" Tim Kaine
58 Years Old
Senator, Former Governor of Virginia and DNC Chair
Strengths: A fairly popular governor of Virginia, a state that still considered a battleground. Did missionary work in Honduras, becoming fluent in Spanish and providing even more appeal to Hispanic voters. Despite more conservative personal beliefs, he has high ratings with Planned Parenthood and a dismal NRA rating. Such compromise may be a plus in the eyes of moderates. Pinchable cheeks.
Weaknesses: Your white dude politician, which isn't going to inspire much excitement. Despite voting record, personal beliefs may be a turn-off to the base. He's a Jesuit, which weirds out older evangelicals for reasons only known to older evangelicals. Possibly covered up the murder of his brother, Abel.
In the Red Corner...
Donald "Gold Star" Trump
70 Years Old
he's allowed to run
Strengths: Has no shame, which enables him to spout off outrageous shit that would have sunk any normal candidate months ago. Charismatic, generating lots of hype from the base. Promises to shake things up when his opponent is promising more of the same (which has been kinda meh). Lies like a goddamn champ. Wise decision in focusing on a hat-based campaign.
Weaknesses: All style; no substance: his agenda collapses when exposed to facts. Cannot shut the fuck up, which is a problem when you decide to double down on attacking a gold star family. Party is still fractured, and refusal to endorse some major names will not be changing that soon. Lost the Hispanic vote in June 2015 and is never, ever going to get it back. A man so insecure he refuses to admit that he's bald at seventy years old.
Mike "The Serious One" Pence
57 Years Old
Governor of Indiana
Strengths: Appeals to Republicans nervous about this Trump guy. Provides the social regressive religious guy that the base was pining for. Capable of providing damage control when the Donald mouths off yet again. More quiet and serious, so will not threaten to take the spotlight from Trump. [Insert Humorous Positive Trait Here]
Weaknesses: Not the most popular governor. Homophobic dude is not going to appeal to moderates: the country has largely moved on from rudimentary LGBT rights. No candidate ever won by denying the people cake.
FAQ
Who are our tragic third-party candidates?
Jill Stein is running on the Green Party ticket, and Gary Johnson (with running mate Bill Weld) is the Libertarian candidate. There's other perennial candidates, such as Vermin Supreme, but I'd be here all day rattling off those.
What's a battleground?
A state that is polling more or less in the middle is considered a battleground. Because solidly Republican or Democratic states would require too much time and money to make even a dent in polls, candidates focus on the handful of states that are feasible to turn. Now, this doesn't mean that voting in a "stronghold" state is pointless. After all, many battleground states were at one point or another considered reliable votes for one party or the other, and people do pay attention to shifts in polls even if the overall outcome hasn't quite changed yet.
States "in play" this election include Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
When are the debates?
September 26, 2016
October 4, 2016 (VP)
October 9, 2016
October 19, 2016
When is Election Day?
November 8th, 2016
How long do I have to register to vote?
It varies by state
November 8th is kinda busy for me. Can I vote early?
It varies by state, although some states don't allow for early voting at all.
I want to vote from a safe distance. What are my options for citizens abroad?
This should help you out.
Note that this should also be useful for people who are still in the States but will be in another state/city/etc from wherever they're registered come election day.
Things to Consider Before Posting
- Resist the urge to dogpile unpopular sentiments. If it's really inflammatory then report it.
- Just because somebody is/isn't voting doesn't mean they are personally responsible for the downfall of democracy.
- This is SE++ so don't get hung up on derails.
Previously in the POTUS Thread...
July kicked off the general election, with both parties holding their conventions and formally nominating their respective candidates. Outsides of some incidents here and there, the nomination process went as expected, with Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump representing the Democratic and Republican parties respectively. Sorry to anyone really hoping for some contested or brokered convention fun, but the parties aren't the kind to rock the boat. The DNC convention was, however, something of a nightmare thanks to Wikileaks confirming that the party WAS biased against Bernie Sanders and doing what they could to skew public opinion towards Clinton. This kicked off a mess that helped agitate Sanders delegates and concerns about Clinton's damn emails. Again. It didn't help that the source of the leak was perhaps Russia, or that Trump bizarrely requested more hacking.
In polling news, Trump managed to surprise everyone by coming out of his convention with a lead over Clinton, surprising many who had Trump at very dismal predictions for winning. Unfortunately this was not meant to be, as Clinton received a strong convention bounce that eroded Trump's lead and basically put her at a high not seen in over a month. It's too early to say how much of this is just convention bounce that may fizzle out, but that Trump picked a fight with one of her convention speakers, a father of a slain Muslim soldier, probably helped her out. Yeah, Trump has a serious problem with his campaign right now, to the point where Republicans are insisting he go back to the drawing board and try something new. At the very least, Trump claims to have narrowed the money gap between himself and Clinton thanks to convention fever bringing in the donations.
Would you like to know more? Read the previous threads...
In the Blue Corner...
"Crooked" Hillary Clinton
68 Years Old
Former Secretary of State and Senator
Strengths: Large war chest and campaign apparatus. Has the support and was personally involved in the administration of two of the most popular living presidents, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. That both are charismatic speakers and good campaigners doesn't hurt. Primary showed high support from PoCs and women. Promoting one of the most liberal campaign platforms the DNC has ever seen, which made motivate the base. Good taste in hot sauce.
Weaknesses: Still something of a hawk despite repenting for her Iraq vote. Seems slow to come around on certain issues until it's politically advantageous for her to do so. Not all that charismatic herself, with high unfavorability numbers. Leaked emails may lead fewer Sanders supporters to cross over than originally expected. Personally flew to Benghazi and killed four American while their crying families watched.
"Para Español Votar" Tim Kaine
58 Years Old
Senator, Former Governor of Virginia and DNC Chair
Strengths: A fairly popular governor of Virginia, a state that still considered a battleground. Did missionary work in Honduras, becoming fluent in Spanish and providing even more appeal to Hispanic voters. Despite more conservative personal beliefs, he has high ratings with Planned Parenthood and a dismal NRA rating. Such compromise may be a plus in the eyes of moderates. Pinchable cheeks.
Weaknesses: Your white dude politician, which isn't going to inspire much excitement. Despite voting record, personal beliefs may be a turn-off to the base. He's a Jesuit, which weirds out older evangelicals for reasons only known to older evangelicals. Possibly covered up the murder of his brother, Abel.
In the Red Corner...
Donald "Gold Star" Trump
70 Years Old
he's allowed to run
Strengths: Has no shame, which enables him to spout off outrageous shit that would have sunk any normal candidate months ago. Charismatic, generating lots of hype from the base. Promises to shake things up when his opponent is promising more of the same (which has been kinda meh). Lies like a goddamn champ. Wise decision in focusing on a hat-based campaign.
Weaknesses: All style; no substance: his agenda collapses when exposed to facts. Cannot shut the fuck up, which is a problem when you decide to double down on attacking a gold star family. Party is still fractured, and refusal to endorse some major names will not be changing that soon. Lost the Hispanic vote in June 2015 and is never, ever going to get it back. A man so insecure he refuses to admit that he's bald at seventy years old.
Mike "The Serious One" Pence
57 Years Old
Governor of Indiana
Strengths: Appeals to Republicans nervous about this Trump guy. Provides the social regressive religious guy that the base was pining for. Capable of providing damage control when the Donald mouths off yet again. More quiet and serious, so will not threaten to take the spotlight from Trump. [Insert Humorous Positive Trait Here]
Weaknesses: Not the most popular governor. Homophobic dude is not going to appeal to moderates: the country has largely moved on from rudimentary LGBT rights. No candidate ever won by denying the people cake.
FAQ
Who are our tragic third-party candidates?
Jill Stein is running on the Green Party ticket, and Gary Johnson (with running mate Bill Weld) is the Libertarian candidate. There's other perennial candidates, such as Vermin Supreme, but I'd be here all day rattling off those.
What's a battleground?
A state that is polling more or less in the middle is considered a battleground. Because solidly Republican or Democratic states would require too much time and money to make even a dent in polls, candidates focus on the handful of states that are feasible to turn. Now, this doesn't mean that voting in a "stronghold" state is pointless. After all, many battleground states were at one point or another considered reliable votes for one party or the other, and people do pay attention to shifts in polls even if the overall outcome hasn't quite changed yet.
States "in play" this election include Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
When are the debates?
September 26, 2016
October 4, 2016 (VP)
October 9, 2016
October 19, 2016
When is Election Day?
November 8th, 2016
How long do I have to register to vote?
It varies by state
November 8th is kinda busy for me. Can I vote early?
It varies by state, although some states don't allow for early voting at all.
I want to vote from a safe distance. What are my options for citizens abroad?
This should help you out.
Note that this should also be useful for people who are still in the States but will be in another state/city/etc from wherever they're registered come election day.
Sterica on
+10
This discussion has been closed.
Posts
an amazing testament to creativity and human spirit in the face of adversity.
an unpleasant reminder of the mechanism by which our fellow humans put monsters to despair.
and all at the saaaame time.
I mean, it seems like a harder hill to climb for Trump than Clinton. Unless this is just wishful thinking on my part.
Now, this could have been a much closer election, but Trump's gonna Trump.
Is this irony? This feels ironic.
I feel like when ever he says Short circuit we flood his feed with pictures of Johnny 5
Trump NEEDS to get Florida (doable), Indiana and Ohio, as well as, say, Arizona and New Mexico
Objectively speaking he would need to broaden his message, run an impressive electoral operation, not commit any gaffes, and bet on a democratic civil war with Bernie supporters
As it is now, the race is pretty much over
Turn.
Spit.
All the things.
I would post the appropriate West Wing video, but I am on mobile.
Shame! Shame!
QEDMF xbl: PantsB G+
https://www.paypal.me/hobnailtaylor
Meanwhile he hired the British marketing firm Cambridge Analytica who ran the pro-Brexit ads in the country by largely appealing to nationalism, anti-immigration, and racism.
Once again, he Makes America Great Again by.... not hiring Americans and taking jobs he could create here out of the country. Huh. Something doesn't add up.
// Switch: SW-5306-0651-6424 //
Right now I'm just going to hope for a lot of positive down ticket races!
On the other hand, those guys actually succeeded at what they were hired to do, so it might add up to something.
Literally impossible to refute or disprove because any source that contradicts it must either be naive or biased
Bill Clinton couldn't get a blowjob without getting caught but he could certainly arrange for the murder of dozens of random people with the hits continuing to this very day
http://www.audioentropy.com/
But vagrant dont you see! Because all his stuff is produced outside america, and trump is a savvy business man, it means all savvy businessmen have to produce things outside america. So elect trump, so he can tell all these businesses that they're gonna have to produce in america again. And never you mind how much more expensive that will make tons of goods.
Almost every time this happens the team loses regardless of whether I actually change or not
I agree, Vote Ana 2016!
(wrong thread friend)
Hillary: D.Va (I PLAY TO WIN!) or maybe Mercy (actual progressive policies to heal broken communities)
Trump: Torbjorn (racist and obnoxious)
Stein: Lucio (the healing power of music? That's not scientific at all!) or Zarya (Agent of Russia). She would be Mei for the environmentalist aspects if she didn't keep letting this other stuff overshadow!
Johnson: McCree (Wants to return America to the old west)
I feel bad for typing that.
Chris Christie is a less charming Roadhog.
Ted Cruz is Reaper
gaze into the face of fear
Pence is Torbjorn, seems ok on the surface but has some terrible views of you pay attention to what he's saying.
There's one thing about Obama that I really utterly hate. Everything suddenly became a sports analogy when he became president. We don't have business plans or SOPs, we have "playbooks", literally everything at work is part of the "playbook", managers are always "coaches", projects are "game plans", streamlined processes are "race tracks"
the fourth quarter is the third period
REALLY?
e: excuse me I meant the more semi official term of "racing tracks" given the obvious problem with the term race tracks
However, the ring will never leave your finger, and you will be unable to ever describe to another living person what you see.
how terrible