2019-2020 US Election Megathread III: Biden VS Biden

[San Lumen]

I'm starting to think she might do this. She gets a good showing in early states, takes the last bit of air out of Biden the same way Clinton and Giuliani and Dean lost momentum in early primaries after being front runners, and with her leading as people's second choice she gets the bump as candidates throw in the towel...she might just pull this shit off. I wonder if they're trying to figure out what to offer Biden to bow out gracefully. Obviously not the Vice Presidency again.

Wait, is that even possible? Is there a term limit on the vice presidency?

There are no term limits on a Vice President so he can be selected again to be VP. However, I seriously doubt she would do that given his age, mental health, and the fact she wants someone more ideologically closer to her. Not to mention, adding a younger person on the ticket will help too, like a Buttigieg, Stacey Abrams, Klobuchar, or someone else.

https://www.history.com/news/election-1 ... presidents

I think Buttigieg would be a great VP.

[USS Monitor]

Also, and this is breaking, Bernie Sanders undergoes procedure for artery blockage. While he's relatively healthy, I suspect the likes of Trump and others will use his age to show his "health problems". Regardless, let's hope he gets better.

Age and health really are an issue with some of these candidates. But I wouldn't wish harm on Bernie. Let's hope he gets better.

There are no term limits on a Vice President so he can be selected again to be VP. However, I seriously doubt she would do that given his age, mental health, and the fact she wants someone more ideologically closer to her. Not to mention, adding a younger person on the ticket will help too, like a Buttigieg, Stacey Abrams, Klobuchar, or someone else.

https://www.history.com/news/election-1 ... presidents

I think Buttigieg would be a great VP.

I would love a Warren/Buttigieg ticket.

[Loben The 2nd]

Also, and this is breaking, Bernie Sanders undergoes procedure for artery blockage. While he's relatively healthy, I suspect the likes of Trump and others will use his age to show his "health problems". Regardless, let's hope he gets better.

Age and health really are an issue with some of these candidates. But I wouldn't wish harm on Bernie. Let's hope he gets better.

I think Buttigieg would be a great VP.

I would love a Warren/Buttigieg ticket.

hell by some metrics it would be the most diverse ticket ever.

[Cannot think of a name]

I would love a Warren/Buttigieg ticket.

I wouldn't hate it.

[Major-Tom]

Praying for Bernie's speedy recovery.

Also, on a totally unrelated note, anyone know how someone can donate their living, beating heart? Asking for a friend.

Through the Bernie website, you could write "my actual heart" in lieu of, say, $27. Bernie needs our energy!

[Cannot think of a name]

Ha ha...ha...haha...ha...

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday appeared to revel in the ongoing political maelstrom in the U.S., jokingly admitting to plans for future election meddling.

When asked whether Russia would interfere in the 2020 election cycle, Putin leaned into the microphone onstage and mimicked a whisper: “I’m going to tell you a secret. Yes, sure. We’re going to do that. Don’t tell anybody.”

Shut the fuck up, dude.

The rest of it, just to be clear his context:

The quip at the Russian Energy Week panel elicited laughter and applause as Putin discussed why he believes the allegations made by former special counsel Robert Mueller, who concluded that Moscow mounted an aggressive effort to disrupt the 2016 presidential election, were untrue.

“The fact that myself and Mr. Trump have a close relationship doesn’t mean that it’s in any way affecting the current political environment within the U.S.,” he said. “We see that (the United States) is trying to use any pretext to attack Mr. Trump, and now they’re even trying to use Ukraine.”

He maintained that while he has a good relationship with Trump “built on trust,” Russia did not interfere in the 2016 presidential election, citing focus on issues within his own country.

“We have our own problems,” he said. “We invest immense resources into implementing our own goals in our own country. Why would we interfere anywhere?”

[Loben The 2nd]

Ha ha...ha...haha...ha...

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday appeared to revel in the ongoing political maelstrom in the U.S., jokingly admitting to plans for future election meddling.

When asked whether Russia would interfere in the 2020 election cycle, Putin leaned into the microphone onstage and mimicked a whisper: “I’m going to tell you a secret. Yes, sure. We’re going to do that. Don’t tell anybody.”

Shut the fuck up, dude.

dont think thats going to intimidate him much.

[Cannot think of a name]

Ha ha...ha...haha...ha...

Shut the fuck up, dude.

dont think thats going to intimidate him much.

Well. That certainly put me in my place.



Moving on...
An actual Warren plan I'm not really that big a fan of.

Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren today proposed a steep new tax on “excessive” lobbying.

Corporations and trade associations would face levies of as much as 75 percent on the money they spend lobbying the federal government. Warren said the idea is designed to simultaneously reduce the power of lobbyists while also generating billions in revenue that she says would be earmarked for shoring up federal agencies that face "significant lobbying activity" and support offices for Congress like the CBO.

Okay, sure. It makes lobbying more expensive. So...it means that big money lobbiests will spend more and smaller groups who use lobbying as a way to petition government get priced out at a certain level. It's the ones on the big end, with the money to burn, that abuse the system and those are the ones that view fines and fees and judgements as the price of doing business.

It's one of those things that I think we get lost on, where what the idea has become, how it gets used, is bad but the central idea is not.

The stock market is rife with abuse and serves itself, but at its principle it is a chance to spread risk in investment while giving regular workers a chance to build their finances and benefit from investment. The idea isn't to burn Wall Street to the ground, it's to return it to that core principle, protect that average investor so that someone who works on maybe a fixed income or not necessarily a growth job and can put aside some money can use that to improve their lives through investing and companies can find the capital they need.

Lobbying is how you petition government. That you can send someone to represent your needs to government isn't inherently wrong, but that access can and has been abused. I don't think this stops it, it just adds a line item on the ledger of those who would abuse it while making it more difficult for those who use the system the way it was intended.

[Valrifell]

Yeah, a "lobbying tax" sounds nice and progressive onnpaper but it's actually a real bad idea.

[Nea Byzantia]

Sanders cancels all campaign events until further notice and undergoes surgery for chest pain and artery blockage.

So what happens I wonder, if Bernie kicks the can?

[Cannot think of a name]

Sanders cancels all campaign events until further notice and undergoes surgery for chest pain and artery blockage.

So what happens I wonder, if Bernie kicks the can?

We mourn, there are retrospectives about the life of service that he led, people say nice things about him and the affect he's had on the discourse over the last few years, and then the election continues.

[USS Monitor]

Sanders cancels all campaign events until further notice and undergoes surgery for chest pain and artery blockage.

So what happens I wonder, if Bernie kicks the can?

Then he's out of the race. Pretty simple.

Let's hope he doesn't kick the can, though. I don't want him dead.

[Gormwood]

Ha ha...ha...haha...ha...

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday appeared to revel in the ongoing political maelstrom in the U.S., jokingly admitting to plans for future election meddling.

When asked whether Russia would interfere in the 2020 election cycle, Putin leaned into the microphone onstage and mimicked a whisper: “I’m going to tell you a secret. Yes, sure. We’re going to do that. Don’t tell anybody.”

Shut the fuck up, dude.

The rest of it, just to be clear his context:

The quip at the Russian Energy Week panel elicited laughter and applause as Putin discussed why he believes the allegations made by former special counsel Robert Mueller, who concluded that Moscow mounted an aggressive effort to disrupt the 2016 presidential election, were untrue.

“The fact that myself and Mr. Trump have a close relationship doesn’t mean that it’s in any way affecting the current political environment within the U.S.,” he said. “We see that (the United States) is trying to use any pretext to attack Mr. Trump, and now they’re even trying to use Ukraine.”

He maintained that while he has a good relationship with Trump “built on trust,” Russia did not interfere in the 2016 presidential election, citing focus on issues within his own country.

“We have our own problems,” he said. “We invest immense resources into implementing our own goals in our own country. Why would we interfere anywhere?”

Putin's only going with the flow. After all his sugar baby Donny said it was okay the first time around and he's counting on it again.

[Gormwood]

So what happens I wonder, if Bernie kicks the can?

We mourn, there are retrospectives about the life of service that he led, people say nice things about him and the affect he's had on the discourse over the last few years, and then the election continues.

And people will ironically and unironically say the healthcare system was rigged against Bernie. Then the other candidates fight for the Bernie Bros.

[Zurkerx]

We mourn, there are retrospectives about the life of service that he led, people say nice things about him and the affect he's had on the discourse over the last few years, and then the election continues.

And people will ironically and unironically say the healthcare system was rigged against Bernie. Then the other candidates fight for the Bernie Bros.

Or believe he was intentionally killed. Them conspiracy theories are bound to pop up.

Yeah, a "lobbying tax" sounds nice and progressive onnpaper but it's actually a real bad idea.

It's a terrible idea and one I don't see passing at all. There are better ways to restrict lobbying, especially among the big cash ones.

[Gormwood]

And people will ironically and unironically say the healthcare system was rigged against Bernie. Then the other candidates fight for the Bernie Bros.

Or believe he was intentionally killed. Them conspiracy theories are bound to pop up.

With the DNC being the popular suspect.

Yeah, a "lobbying tax" sounds nice and progressive onnpaper but it's actually a real bad idea.

It's a terrible idea and one I don't see passing at all. There are better ways to restrict lobbying, especially among the big cash ones.

At least Warren hasn't been proven to be inflexible and could change the idea. An actual proposal is better than nebulous promises.

[Cannot think of a name]

Or believe he was intentionally killed. Them conspiracy theories are bound to pop up.

With the DNC being the popular suspect.

It's a terrible idea and one I don't see passing at all. There are better ways to restrict lobbying, especially among the big cash ones.

At least Warren hasn't been proven to be inflexible and could change the idea. An actual proposal is better than nebulous promises.

Yeah, I mean, make no mistake, it's not a "Well that's it for Warren & me" thing. I'm bound to disagree with her on a few things. And hopefully by the time she's in office she'll have a better idea.

[USS Monitor]

With the DNC being the popular suspect.


At least Warren hasn't been proven to be inflexible and could change the idea. An actual proposal is better than nebulous promises.

Yeah, I mean, make no mistake, it's not a "Well that's it for Warren & me" thing. I'm bound to disagree with her on a few things. And hopefully by the time she's in office she'll have a better idea.

I expect that proposal to get lost in the shuffle.

[Major-Tom]

Yeah, I mean, make no mistake, it's not a "Well that's it for Warren & me" thing. I'm bound to disagree with her on a few things. And hopefully by the time she's in office she'll have a better idea.

I expect that proposal to get lost in the shuffle.

Probably. She wakes up and pisses plans, tbh. And that is wonderful, to have a candidate who has detailed and intricate policy proposals, but I suspect many of the more niche ones will ultimately be lost, as you said.

[Gormwood]

Let the howling begin!

Joe Biden's 2020 gun safety plan would reinstate assault weapons ban

The big picture: Biden's plan would ban the manufacture and sale of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, but it would not call for a mandatory assault weapons buyback program as Beto O'Rourke has proposed.

• Instead, it gives those who own such guns two choices: sell the weapons to the government or register them under the National Firearms Act.
  
  Other policies in Biden's plan:
  
  
• Mandating universal background checks for all gun sales, except for gifts between close family members.
• Closing the "boyfriend," "hate crime," "fugitive from justice," and "Charleston" loopholes in the current federal background check system.
• Ending the online sales of guns.
• Incentivizing states to implement gun licensing programs of their own.
• Calling on Congress to appropriate $50 million to accelerate research on causes and prevention of gun violence at the CDC and NIH.
• Prohibiting the use of federal funds to arm or train educators to use guns in schools.

[Valrifell]

Let the howling begin!

Joe Biden's 2020 gun safety plan would reinstate assault weapons ban

The big picture: Biden's plan would ban the manufacture and sale of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, but it would not call for a mandatory assault weapons buyback program as Beto O'Rourke has proposed.

• Instead, it gives those who own such guns two choices: sell the weapons to the government or register them under the National Firearms Act.
  
  Other policies in Biden's plan:
  
  
• Mandating universal background checks for all gun sales, except for gifts between close family members.
• Closing the "boyfriend," "hate crime," "fugitive from justice," and "Charleston" loopholes in the current federal background check system.
• Ending the online sales of guns.
• Incentivizing states to implement gun licensing programs of their own.
• Calling on Congress to appropriate $50 million to accelerate research on causes and prevention of gun violence at the CDC and NIH.
• Prohibiting the use of federal funds to arm or train educators to use guns in schools.

Suddenly several lifelong Republican posters will come out of the woodwork, "I was gonna vote for Biden!" they will say, "I swear! That is, until he pulled this!"

[Ngelmish]

Let the howling begin!

Joe Biden's 2020 gun safety plan would reinstate assault weapons ban

Suddenly several lifelong Republican posters will come out of the woodwork, "I was gonna vote for Biden!" they will say, "I swear! That is, until he pulled this!"

More likely the line will be that this proves Democrats are going to lose tons of gettable votes... despite the fact that the votes they lose over proposals like this are already baked in as, "Not Democrat."

[Telconi]

Let the howling begin!

Joe Biden's 2020 gun safety plan would reinstate assault weapons ban

Suddenly several lifelong Republican posters will come out of the woodwork, "I was gonna vote for Biden!" they will say, "I swear! That is, until he pulled this!"

Implying anyone is surprised by this.

[Gormwood]

Suddenly several lifelong Republican posters will come out of the woodwork, "I was gonna vote for Biden!" they will say, "I swear! That is, until he pulled this!"

More likely the line will be that this proves Democrats are going to lose tons of gettable votes... despite the fact that the votes they lose over proposals like this are already baked in as, "Not Democrat."

And they'll act like weapon registration is the same as mutant registration.

[Galloism]

Let the howling begin!

Joe Biden's 2020 gun safety plan would reinstate assault weapons ban

Great. I love failed policies that we've proven don't actually help.