2020 US General Election Thread IX: One Month and Counting

[Page]

Antifa's just an idea, obviously.

As if we needed more proof that Joe Biden is nothing more than a Trojan horse for the radical Left. Donald Trump has condemned neo-Nazis and white supremacists on multiple occasions. Biden, tellingly, failed to condemn far-left rioters and extremists in Portland, Kenosha, and elsewhere, nor did Chris Wallace challenge him to do so in the first debate.

"Antifa's an idea." My goodness.

You are not nearly so clever as you think in pointing out a supposed double standard because you're missing a key fact: Far-right groups and white supremacists idolize Trump and hang on to his every word. Antifa does not do that with Joe Biden in fact most antifascists despise Biden for being a neoliberal, capitalist, and imperialist. So demanding Biden condemn left-wing groups who hate him and have no respect for him is pretty stupid, as he doesn't have any influence on these groups.

[Aureumterra III]

Holy shit so I just finished watching the Snapchat Good Luck America interview with Madison Cawthorne (who will be the youngest member of Congress when elected)

He said something along the lines of "the old establishment Republicans have caused the rise of the far-left, and that is understandable. We as Republicans need to realize that there are poor people in this country, who genuinely can’t work their way up, and we need to focus on them. I represent the younger generation of Republicans, who recognize that there are problems in this country and people who are unable to pull themselves. We recognize these problems while still loving God and out country"

When asked about same-sex marriage, he responded with "The government shouldn’t be involved in marriage anyways"

I hope this is a trend among younger Republicans, I may not have lost faith in this country just yet

Basically the Republicans are actually turning fascist?

[Repubblica Fascista Sociale Italiana]

Holy shit so I just finished watching the Snapchat Good Luck America interview with Madison Cawthorne (who will be the youngest member of Congress when elected)

He said something along the lines of "the old establishment Republicans have caused the rise of the far-left, and that is understandable. We as Republicans need to realize that there are poor people in this country, who genuinely can’t work their way up, and we need to focus on them. I represent the younger generation of Republicans, who recognize that there are problems in this country and people who are unable to pull themselves. We recognize these problems while still loving God and out country"

When asked about same-sex marriage, he responded with "The government shouldn’t be involved in marriage anyways"

I hope this is a trend among younger Republicans, I may not have lost faith in this country just yet

Basically the Republicans are actually turning fascist?

No, third positionist, if this is a trend, of course

[No State Here]

Holy shit so I just finished watching the Snapchat Good Luck America interview with Madison Cawthorne (who will be the youngest member of Congress when elected)

He said something along the lines of "the old establishment Republicans have caused the rise of the far-left, and that is understandable. We as Republicans need to realize that there are poor people in this country, who genuinely can’t work their way up, and we need to focus on them. I represent the younger generation of Republicans, who recognize that there are problems in this country and people who are unable to pull themselves. We recognize these problems while still loving God and out country"

When asked about same-sex marriage, he responded with "The government shouldn’t be involved in marriage anyways"

I hope this is a trend among younger Republicans, I may not have lost faith in this country just yet

Basically the Republicans are actually turning fascist?

I agree the government shouldn’t be involved in marriage, but I’m afraid this economic populist rhetoric will translate to higher taxes and more restrictions on ease of business

[Zurkerx]

Trump was described as "lethargic at the fundraiser and is currently experiencing mild symptoms right now. So yes, it's the real deal:

President Trump is showing symptoms of the novel coronavirus, but mild ones, according to two people familiar with his condition.

The president, who said on Thursday night that he had tested positive for the virus, has had what one person described as coldlike symptoms. At a fund-raiser he attended at his golf club at Bedminster, N.J., on Thursday, where one attendee said the president came in contact with about 100 people, he seemed lethargic.

A person briefed on the matter said that Mr. Trump fell asleep at one point on Air Force One on the way back from a rally in Minnesota on Wednesday night.

A White House official said that as of Thursday night, the president’s treatment plan was still being discussed. So was a possible national address or a videotaped statement from the president to demonstrate that he was functioning and that the government is uninterrupted.

The disclosure upended the presidential race in an instant, inviting significant questions about his cavalier attitude toward the pandemic and the future of his campaign just 32 days before the election.

Mr. Trump, who for months has played down the seriousness of the virus and hours earlier on Thursday night told an audience that “the end of the pandemic is in sight,” will quarantine in the White House for an unspecified period of time, forcing him to withdraw at least temporarily from the campaign trail only 32 days before the election on Nov. 3.

Trailing in the polls, the president in recent weeks has increasingly held crowded campaign events in defiance of public health guidelines and sometimes state and local governments. When he accepted the nomination on the final day of the Republican National Convention, he invited more than 1,000 supporters to the South Lawn of the White House and has held a number of rallies around the country since, often with hundreds and even thousands of people jammed into tight spaces, many if not most without masks.

His dramatic disclosure came in a Twitter message just before 1 a.m. after a suspenseful evening following reports that Mr. Trump’s close adviser Hope Hicks had tested positive.

Gov. Philip D. Murphy of New Jersey urged people who attended Mr. Trump’s Bedminster fund-raiser to get tested and said that the state was using contact-tracing to try to find them.

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2020/10/02 ... oronavirus

Also, RNC Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel has tested positive for the virus too; she's been staying at her home since this past Saturday after a family member tested positive.

[Ifreann]

Antifa's just an idea, obviously.

As if we needed more proof that Joe Biden is nothing more than a Trojan horse for the radical Left. Donald Trump has condemned neo-Nazis and white supremacists on multiple occasions. Biden, tellingly, failed to condemn far-left rioters and extremists in Portland, Kenosha, and elsewhere, nor did Chris Wallace challenge him to do so in the first debate.

"Antifa's an idea." My goodness.

You are not nearly so clever as you think in pointing out a supposed double standard because you're missing a key fact: Far-right groups and white supremacists idolize Trump and hang on to his every word. Antifa does not do that with Joe Biden in fact most antifascists despise Biden for being a neoliberal, capitalist, and imperialist. So demanding Biden condemn left-wing groups who hate him and have no respect for him is pretty stupid, as he doesn't have any influence on these groups.

If Biden told anti-fascists to stand back and stand by, they'd tell him to fuck off, not start furiously printing those words on every conceivable kind of merch.

[Nobel Hobos 2]

his staff were aware of her positive test and tried to hide it despite her showing symptoms

I read it more as "members of her staff helped hide her symptoms" not that the test result was hidden from the President. Who would do that?

[San Lumen]

Holy shit so I just finished watching the Snapchat Good Luck America interview with Madison Cawthorne (who will be the youngest member of Congress when elected)

He said something along the lines of "the old establishment Republicans have caused the rise of the far-left, and that is understandable. We as Republicans need to realize that there are poor people in this country, who genuinely can’t work their way up, and we need to focus on them. I represent the younger generation of Republicans, who recognize that there are problems in this country and people who are unable to pull themselves. We recognize these problems while still loving God and our country"

When asked about same-sex marriage, he responded with "The government shouldn’t be involved in marriage anyways"

I hope this is a trend among younger Republicans, I may not have lost faith in this country just yet

I really hope Cawthorne loses. Last i heard he was trailing in polls.

[Picairn]

Antifa's just an idea, obviously.

As if we needed more proof that Joe Biden is nothing more than a Trojan horse for the radical Left. Donald Trump has condemned neo-Nazis and white supremacists on multiple occasions. Biden, tellingly, failed to condemn far-left rioters and extremists in Portland, Kenosha, and elsewhere, nor did Chris Wallace challenge him to do so in the first debate.

"Antifa's an idea." My goodness.

Antifa is an idea which many great men subscribe to, such as Eisenhower.

[Zurkerx]

his staff were aware of her positive test and tried to hide it despite her showing symptoms

I read it more as "members of her staff helped hide her symptoms" not that the test result was hidden from the President. Who would do that?

Well, it's definitely his staff given these parts:

The New York Times reports Trump advisers knew it was likely that Hicks had contracted the coronavirus Wednesday when she publicly began exhibiting symptoms during a presidential campaign trip to Duluth, Minnesota. After the rally, Hicks reportedly quarantined for the return flight to Washington on Air Force One, and on Thursday, a test officially confirmed what senior White House officials already knew. The White House, however, hoped it could keep Hicks’ diagnosis from becoming public, Trump aides told the Times. It’s hard to overstate how closely Hicks works with the president and how intertwined their days reportedly are. Instead of taking precautions to protect those around him, however, Trump basically did nothing different. Instead of laying low, he traveled; instead of isolating, he met with people at campaign events; instead of protecting those around him, he knowingly risked spreading the virus further.

From the Washington Post:

After White House officials learned of Hicks’s symptoms, Trump and his entourage flew Thursday to New Jersey, where he attended a fundraiser at his golf club in Bedminster and delivered a speech. Trump was in close contact with dozens of other people, including campaign supporters, at a roundtable event.

The president did not wear a mask Thursday, including at the events at his golf course and on the plane, officials said. He was tested after he returned to the White House, but he also appeared on Sean Hannity’s TV show from the residence by telephone.

It wasn’t just Trump who carried on, potentially harming those around him—it was the rest of his staff, too. And they knew about Hicks; they knew what was coming. Press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, who was also on the plane to Minnesota with Hicks, held a briefing with reporters without wearing a mask as if nothing was wrong. The utter carelessness of it all is staggering. And it obviously starts at the top with a president that derides mask-wearing as a sign of weakness.

So yeah, his staff hid it as well and were aware at least, not the President himself. As to why, they didn't want to cause panic: it wouldn't fit the narrative that “the end of the pandemic is in sight.”

[Nobel Hobos 2]

Basically the Republicans are actually turning fascist?

I agree the government shouldn’t be involved in marriage, but I’m afraid this economic populist rhetoric will translate to higher taxes and more restrictions on ease of business

"Economic populism" is lower taxes and higher spending. It's probably impractical although big deficits haven't broken anything yet.

Republicans in the 90's arguably followed low-tax/low-spending but it would be an exception. Reagan, Bush II and Trump have all presided over tax cuts and spending increases: economic populism.

[Northern Davincia]

You are not nearly so clever as you think in pointing out a supposed double standard because you're missing a key fact: Far-right groups and white supremacists idolize Trump and hang on to his every word. Antifa does not do that with Joe Biden in fact most antifascists despise Biden for being a neoliberal, capitalist, and imperialist. So demanding Biden condemn left-wing groups who hate him and have no respect for him is pretty stupid, as he doesn't have any influence on these groups.

If Biden told anti-fascists to stand back and stand by, they'd tell him to fuck off, not start furiously printing those words on every conceivable kind of merch.

I doubt that, but at least we now agree that Antifa is something else beyond mere "anti-fascism".

[Nobel Hobos 2]

I read it more as "members of her staff helped hide her symptoms" not that the test result was hidden from the President. Who would do that?

Well, it's definitely his staff given these parts:

The New York Times reports Trump advisers knew it was likely that Hicks had contracted the coronavirus Wednesday when she publicly began exhibiting symptoms during a presidential campaign trip to Duluth, Minnesota. After the rally, Hicks reportedly quarantined for the return flight to Washington on Air Force One, and on Thursday, a test officially confirmed what senior White House officials already knew. The White House, however, hoped it could keep Hicks’ diagnosis from becoming public, Trump aides told the Times. It’s hard to overstate how closely Hicks works with the president and how intertwined their days reportedly are. Instead of taking precautions to protect those around him, however, Trump basically did nothing different. Instead of laying low, he traveled; instead of isolating, he met with people at campaign events; instead of protecting those around him, he knowingly risked spreading the virus further.

From the Washington Post:

After White House officials learned of Hicks’s symptoms, Trump and his entourage flew Thursday to New Jersey, where he attended a fundraiser at his golf club in Bedminster and delivered a speech. Trump was in close contact with dozens of other people, including campaign supporters, at a roundtable event.

The president did not wear a mask Thursday, including at the events at his golf course and on the plane, officials said. He was tested after he returned to the White House, but he also appeared on Sean Hannity’s TV show from the residence by telephone.

It wasn’t just Trump who carried on, potentially harming those around him—it was the rest of his staff, too. And they knew about Hicks; they knew what was coming. Press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, who was also on the plane to Minnesota with Hicks, held a briefing with reporters without wearing a mask as if nothing was wrong. The utter carelessness of it all is staggering. And it obviously starts at the top with a president that derides mask-wearing as a sign of weakness.

So yeah, his staff hid it as well and were aware at least, not the President himself. As to why, they didn't want to cause panic: it wouldn't fit the narrative that “the end of the pandemic is in sight.”

You said staff hid a positive test result (presumably from Trump). The first source has it that "the White House" -- ie including the President -- considered hiding Hicks' positive test result from the public, on Thursday.

"...officially confirmed what White House officials already knew" by the first source is rather deceptive. What they strongly suspected by observing symptoms, isn't knowing.

If Trump himself had a positive test I think that's something the public has a right to know, within a day or so. If it's any of his family or staff, I think it should be optional. It's arguable I suppose, on the personal privacy versus public accountability spectrum.

[Repubblica Fascista Sociale Italiana]

Holy shit so I just finished watching the Snapchat Good Luck America interview with Madison Cawthorne (who will be the youngest member of Congress when elected)

He said something along the lines of "the old establishment Republicans have caused the rise of the far-left, and that is understandable. We as Republicans need to realize that there are poor people in this country, who genuinely can’t work their way up, and we need to focus on them. I represent the younger generation of Republicans, who recognize that there are problems in this country and people who are unable to pull themselves. We recognize these problems while still loving God and our country"

When asked about same-sex marriage, he responded with "The government shouldn’t be involved in marriage anyways"

I hope this is a trend among younger Republicans, I may not have lost faith in this country just yet

I really hope Cawthorne loses. Last i heard he was trailing in polls.

Why? He would be heading a shift in the GOP moving economically leftwards, wouldn’t you want that?

[Northern Davincia]

I really hope Cawthorne loses. Last i heard he was trailing in polls.

Why? He would be heading a shift in the GOP moving economically leftwards, wouldn’t you want that?

A third-positionist GOP would be too much to handle.

[Organized States]

Antifa's just an idea, obviously.

As if we needed more proof that Joe Biden is nothing more than a Trojan horse for the radical Left. Donald Trump has condemned neo-Nazis and white supremacists on multiple occasions. Biden, tellingly, failed to condemn far-left rioters and extremists in Portland, Kenosha, and elsewhere, nor did Chris Wallace challenge him to do so in the first debate.

"Antifa's an idea." My goodness.

Antifa is an idea which many great men subscribe to, such as Eisenhower.

Indeed.

[Page]

If Biden told anti-fascists to stand back and stand by, they'd tell him to fuck off, not start furiously printing those words on every conceivable kind of merch.

I doubt that, but at least we now agree that Antifa is something else beyond mere "anti-fascism".

If you doubt that, you have clearly never met an antifascist and/or antifa which might totally be a different thing whatever.

Let me introduce you to one.

Hi, nice to meet you, I'm a radical leftist and antifascist who has no respect for Biden and if for some reason he told me "stand by" I would in fact probably say fuck off.

[Thermodolia]

I really hope Cawthorne loses. Last i heard he was trailing in polls.

Why? He would be heading a shift in the GOP moving economically leftwards, wouldn’t you want that?

San Lumen hates the economic left wing with a passion. He’s been known to publicly support firing striking Union workers

[Ifreann]

If Biden told anti-fascists to stand back and stand by, they'd tell him to fuck off, not start furiously printing those words on every conceivable kind of merch.

I doubt that, but at least we now agree that Antifa is something else beyond mere "anti-fascism".

I don't believe that it's ever been my position that antifa is merely anti-fascism. Antifa is the political philosophy, the idea, we might say, that fascism should be opposed by any means necessary. And it should be obvious that adherents to such a philosophy have no interest in what liberals like Biden tell them to do. Liberals want civility, the negative peace that is the absence of strife, they want to invite fascists up on stage and debate the Jewish Question as if that will stop fascists from doing a fascism. "You have been defeated in the marketplace of ideas, Mr. Hitler, the traditions of civil discourse require you to desist immediately." Whereas the hacker known as ANTIFA™ would simply smash Hitler's face in with a bike lock.

[The Archregimancy]

Don't care if he lives or dies. He's got no sympathy from me.

The 200,000 dead he did nothing to prevent are the ones that have my sympathy. I pity Melania a bit. I also hope he didn't give it to Biden. But Trump? Don't care either way.

"It is what it is."

Under normal circumstances I would have let this go. There is nothing inherently wrong in noting a lack of sympathy over a political figure who's seen (rightly or wrongly) as having reaped the consequences of his political decisions.

These are not, however, normal circumstances, and in the current highly charged atmosphere we are likely to be stricter than normal over posts reacting to the US president's COVID diagnosis - especially given the proximity to the US election.

While Trollzyn's post is not gloating as such, I think the underlined sections can be reasonably construed as trolling under the current circumstances; like it or not, we do have Trump supporters using these forums.

*** Warning for trolling therefore issued. ***

And yes, we will apply a similar standard should Biden be diagnosed with coronavirus.

[Aureumterra III]

Holy shit so I just finished watching the Snapchat Good Luck America interview with Madison Cawthorne (who will be the youngest member of Congress when elected)

He said something along the lines of "the old establishment Republicans have caused the rise of the far-left, and that is understandable. We as Republicans need to realize that there are poor people in this country, who genuinely can’t work their way up, and we need to focus on them. I represent the younger generation of Republicans, who recognize that there are problems in this country and people who are unable to pull themselves. We recognize these problems while still loving God and our country"

When asked about same-sex marriage, he responded with "The government shouldn’t be involved in marriage anyways"

I hope this is a trend among younger Republicans, I may not have lost faith in this country just yet

He did get that part right

[Repubblica Fascista Sociale Italiana]

Why? He would be heading a shift in the GOP moving economically leftwards, wouldn’t you want that?

San Lumen hates the economic left wing with a passion. He’s been known to publicly support firing striking Union workers

It’s funny because his Democrat opponent, Moe Davis, is more economically neoliberal than him. I think that’s the first Republican in a long time to be further left economically than his Democrat opponent

[Zurkerx]

You said staff hid a positive test result (presumably from Trump). The first source has it that "the White House" -- ie including the President -- considered hiding Hicks' positive test result from the public, on Thursday.

"...officially confirmed what White House officials already knew" by the first source is rather deceptive. What they strongly suspected by observing symptoms, isn't knowing.

If Trump himself had a positive test I think that's something the public has a right to know, within a day or so. If it's any of his family or staff, I think it should be optional. It's arguable I suppose, on the personal privacy versus public accountability spectrum.

Ohh, I see what you're saying now. Still they had strong suspicion and should have taken extra precautions. The fact they didn't it appears is concerning though we did learn of Trump's positive test at 1 in the morning likely due to one of those rapid tests; we do know Kushner, Ivanka, and Barron tested negative as well as Pence and his wife. But given they are public officials in a governing capacity, and the fact it's important to know who's infected, I don't think hiding any positive tests, even among family members, is unacceptable in my view. This should especially be for other government officials, who are being tested currently right now.

[San Lumen]

I really hope Cawthorne loses. Last i heard he was trailing in polls.

Why? He would be heading a shift in the GOP moving economically leftwards, wouldn’t you want that?

I suppose thats not a bad thing.

[Thermodolia]

San Lumen hates the economic left wing with a passion. He’s been known to publicly support firing striking Union workers

It’s funny because his Democrat opponent, Moe Davis, is more economically neoliberal than him. I think that’s the first Republican in a long time to be further left economically than his Democrat opponent

I hope Madison Cawthorn wins because this is a much needed turn for the GOP if they want to stay relevant