Virus thread, the political one.

[davids]

Apparently even the priests of this church were tear gassed to allow for this mascarade.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local...bbd_story.html

Another local St. John's, not this one. Just to be factually accurate.

But. There is no floor to his craven self-interest. Let the Rector's words sum this up:

I literally COULD NOT believe it. WE WERE DRIVEN OFF OF THE PATIO AT ST. JOHN’S — a place of peace and respite and medical care throughout the day — SO THAT MAN COULD HAVE A PHOTO OPPORTUNITY IN FRONT OF THE CHURCH!!! PEOPLE WERE HURT SO THAT HE COULD POSE IN FRONT OF THE CHURCH WITH A BIBLE! HE WOULD HAVE HAD TO STEP OVER THE MEDICAL SUPPLIES WE LEFT BEHIND BECAUSE WE WERE BEING TEAR GASSED!!!!

[ides1056]

this is worth reading:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opini...g/?arc404=true


Resignation with honor.

[guido]

this is worth reading:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opini...g/?arc404=true


Resignation with honor.

Indeed. Except, where was he for the past 3.5 years?

[Colinmclelland]

Attachment 115598

Hopefully history will confirm this photo op as the moment he jumped the shark.

[BBB]

The "stable genius" jumped the shark a long time ago. Too bad there are millions of brainless morons who will vote for him again no matter what.

[mzilliox]

they will do it to spite everyone, knowing deep down its a dumb choice, and for some reason not caring enough about the rest of humanity to not make a knowingly dumb choice.. because thats how they are, selfish.

[johnmdesigner]

In other news, outdoor dining is coming to your area.

Twitter

[Corso]

Yes, this post here is about ME. Fair warning.

You all know I voted for Trump because he was not Hillary, and I voted Party.

I've defended him here as I feel he's been treated unfairly from before he won. Still do.

I've never been a mega red hat guy - but many still think I am. I'm not. Never was. Just conservative in nature.

I started a thread in the past asking folks to share info on the candidates running against him--it turned into a Trump-bash-a-thon, instead of sharing true opinions on the others. No matter, In the end it's Biden(WTF?). Can't believe he's the option.

Anyhow, with the President recently lashing out agains General Colin Powell, I guess that's my tipping point (combined with everything else). I wish Powell ran. Always liked and respected him.

You may say "THATS your last straw?" Funny thing is, yeah, it is. IN ADDITION TO MANY OTHER THINGS.

I won't be defending the President here anymore. Voting for Biden - man, that won't be easy for me, as Joe "tough guy-I'm a Senator" has never been on my "good" list.

I guess we'll have to see who is VP choice is, as I don't think Joe's health is solid.

I may just write in a fellow Solonista. We'll see.

Anyhow, thank you for letting me vent a bit on this. I won't be joining in on Bashing Trump, enough folks do it already, my addition isn't needed.

[ides1056]

I am okay with how you voted. I saw Hillary on the stage with Henry K and Albright and spat up bile. Trump is the anti-Christ to me, though, so I picked the lesser evil.

What I want after November is a functioning government. That is all. No more fuckyou government.

I'd vote for Fiona Hill. She'd kick my ass, but I would happily ask how high if she said jump. Marie Yovanovich as well.

Vent away. We all have reason.

And to answer Guido's query: I expect he was doing all he could to keep the right side up until it was no longer possible to work from the inside. I respect that.

[72gmc]

I believe the current president is what he was. I also believe the opposition party is not making it as easy to choose against him as they should, then or now.

With respect to the virus, it seems to have outlasted the attention span of the current administration. It needs to be handed over to the professionals. I’m guessing a new administration will be necessary for that step.

[Matthew Strongin]

I believe the current president is what he was. I also believe the opposition party is not making it as easy to choose against him as they should, then or now.

With respect to the virus, it seems to have outlasted the attention span of the current administration. It needs to be handed over to the professionals. I’m guessing a new administration will be necessary for that step.

You're right about needing a new administration to actually do something of value, but that's pretty depressing considering January 20, 2021 is a long way away when in the middle of a pandemic (and a general shit storm, but this is the virus thread).

Regarding the choice, I don't think there's a democrat that would ever make it "easy" for most long-time republicans to vote the other side of the ticket. You could say the same about democrats voting for a republican. That probably speaks to the fundamental differences of core values between the two parties. Biden is far from my first choice. But he'll do two things that are critical. He'll return a sense of decorum and normalcy to the function of the office that can let the administration get on with the business of governing rather than spending all its time managing the man at the top. And, much more importantly, he'll appoint people to positions of leadership that are reasonable adults committed to the charter of their departments and the needs of the people. As much handwringing as we all, myself very much included, have done over Trump's absurd behavior, the most insidious thing he's done is destabilize the offices that are actually charged with running things. Climate change deniers running the EPA, for instance, will have far longer lasting impacts than Trump's daily bs. Or, to cross with the Minneapolis thread, Barr running DOJ is far worse in reality than Trump being too much of a coward to come out of his bunker to try to console the nation. So, no, Biden isn't a great choice for Dems who want to see real progress...but I'm not sure he makes it any easier or harder for Republicans to vote for than anyone else.

[vertical_doug]

Everything that happened, Trump's approval ratings have hardly budged.

It all rests on turnout and not turnout in California, New York, but Florida, Ohio, Michigan, etc . . .

If you look at the 538 Gerrymandering map, voting only needs to be suppressed in a few key areas.
It's possible for Biden to have an even larger popular margin of victory than Hillary and still lose the electoral college.

Wait to see if polling stations continue to disappear in key areas in Georgia, Wisconsin, Texas, Michigan...
That's about all it will take.

[choke]

Voting for Biden - man, that won't be easy for me, as Joe "tough guy-I'm a Senator" has never been on my "good" list.

I'd vote for Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov before I'd vote for Biden.

[Saab2000]

I may just write in a fellow Solonista. We'll see.

Just a reminder on my personal policy: If nominated I will not run. I elected I will not serve.

[theflashunc]

Everything that happened, Trump's approval ratings have hardly budged.

It all rests on turnout and not turnout in California, New York, but Florida, Ohio, Michigan, etc . . .

If you look at the 538 Gerrymandering map, voting only needs to be suppressed in a few key areas.
It's possible for Biden to have an even larger popular margin of victory than Hillary and still lose the electoral college.

Wait to see if polling stations continue to disappear in key areas in Georgia, Wisconsin, Texas, Michigan...
That's about all it will take.

That's not entirely true. All of his fundamentals are trending in the wrong directions right now:

Trump’s job approval falls amid racial unrest, while Biden jumps to 14-point lead - POLITICO

Trump’s approval rating — his worst in CNN polling since January 2019 — has diminished considerably since May, when 45 percent of Americans said they approved of his job as president. His disapproval among Americans has increased by 6 percentage points, from 51 percent in May.


Trump’s electoral fortunes have also apparently faltered over the past several weeks. Among registered voters polled, 41 percent say they would be more likely to cast their ballots for him compared to the 55 percent of voters who prefer Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.

[vertical_doug]

That's not entirely true. All of his fundamentals are trending in the wrong directions right now:

Trump’s job approval falls amid racial unrest, while Biden jumps to 14-point lead - POLITICO

Trump’s approval rating — his worst in CNN polling since January 2019 — has diminished considerably since May, when 45 percent of Americans said they approved of his job as president. His disapproval among Americans has increased by 6 percentage points, from 51 percent in May.


Trump’s electoral fortunes have also apparently faltered over the past several weeks. Among registered voters polled, 41 percent say they would be more likely to cast their ballots for him compared to the 55 percent of voters who prefer Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.

I care about the sum of 50 local pols, not a national pol.
The presidential election is not a national pol.
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com...tricting-maps/

[thollandpe]

I'd vote for Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov before I'd vote for Biden.

He said, "Fascism is capitalism in decay".


Also, somebody cut off his nose to spite his face.

[72gmc]

Regarding the choice, I don't think there's a democrat that would ever make it "easy" for most long-time republicans to vote the other side of the ticket. You could say the same about democrats voting for a republican.

Well, easier. The general outcomes people want--security, employment, health--are still common across parties, it seems. The lesson of 2016 is the allure of the outlier for a large segment of voters. We're still looking for someone to unite us behind a plan for this virus, and maybe a lifelong establishment person is disqualified from the start with those people. Maybe the VP pick helps with that.

[theflashunc]

I care about the sum of 50 local pols, not a national pol.
The presidential election is not a national pol.
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com...tricting-maps/

No, but what the national polling is indicating is even these calcified views of the President -- who's operated in an incredibly narrow approval range over the last 3 years -- is wavering and moved. He's losing what little of the Moderate Republican base exists with this. Hell, Mitt Romney was at a BLM protest this weekend for Pete's sake. And by all indications his internal polling shows an even worse view on the ground with evangelicals, white working class voters who love Biden, etc etc. Biden's within a point in Texas and the Trump camp is running ads in Arizona, which hasn't gone blue in a Presidential election since Pearl Jam was on modern rock radio.

Did it take 130,000+ dead from a pandemic and Great Depression levels of economic suffering to get it to move? Yeah, which is depressing in it's own right, but the figures are moving and they're all bad for him at the moment.

[BBB]

Just a reminder on my personal policy: If nominated I will not run. I elected I will not serve.

Ha! I could see the SAAB Presidential twitter feed reading "And if you don't ride with a 130-140mm slammed stem, you're a loser..."