2016 US Presidential Election Pt. III

[Axver]

My favourite part of the whole pyramid thing is that THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS FUCKING WROTE DOWN WHAT THE PYRAMIDS WERE FOR.

It's not like this is some unfathomable mystery about which people have debated.

Fuck me.

I'm also amused to read some of you here suggesting this is actually one of his less crazy claims, because among those I know here in Australia who follow US politics, this has got amazing traction as one of the most hilariously insane things an American politician has said. People can't stop sharing it on my Facebook feed and it was the punchline to almost every joke at work yesterday.

 

[corianderstem]

My favourite part of the whole pyramid thing is that THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS FUCKING WROTE DOWN WHAT THE PYRAMIDS WERE FOR.

Was it in the Bible? Or a big book called "How To Operate Good on Brains"? If not, he doesn't think it counts.

 

[Kieran McConville]

Hey, the ancient Egyptians wrote the book on trepanning.







(ok, they probably didn't)

 

[bono_212]

Was it in the Bible? Or a big book called "How To Operate Good on Brains"? If not, he doesn't think it counts.

It's not even like the Bible talks about the pyramids...

 

[Diemen]

I'm also amused to read some of you here suggesting this is actually one of his less crazy claims, because among those I know here in Australia who follow US politics, this has got amazing traction as one of the most hilariously insane things an American politician has said. People can't stop sharing it on my Facebook feed and it was the punchline to almost every joke at work yesterday.

I think it's probably that, while it's not really any less crazy than his other comments, it's certainly less offensive and dangerous than his other comments.

You say the pyramids are giant grain silos? I can laugh that off as inane idiocy. You say that no bullet riddled body is worse than losing gun rights? Yeah, I can't laugh that off as easily.

 

[Mack_Again]

Does Bible ever talk about separating conjoining twins?

 

[Axver]

I think it's probably that, while it's not really any less crazy than his other comments, it's certainly less offensive and dangerous than his other comments.

You say the pyramids are giant grain silos? I can laugh that off as inane idiocy. You say that no bullet riddled body is worse than losing gun rights? Yeah, I can't laugh that off as easily.

Looking from overseas, I think it's that the widespread resistance to gun control in the US makes remarks like that not seem too extraordinary - they fit in a pattern (a baffling pattern) of the US failing to do shit about its awful gun culture. The pyramids remark? That seems to have come out of absolutely nowhere, the sort of absurdity nobody would even think of. Plus perhaps it has something to do with us having a more secular culture, where even mainstream religious claims can be risky for politicians, so something like this would be political suicide.

 

[Irvine511]

I think it also highlights the enormous and ever widening gulf between the Republican base -- maybe 20% of all voters -- and the rest of the US, let alone the rest of the developed Western world. The GOP itself is an anomaly -- no other developed nation has a mainstream party so far to the right, or, it appears, so divorced from facts.

If Ben Carson ran against Hillary, she'd probably win close to all 50 states.

Based upon the reaction to the CNBC debate, it seems the GOP isn't going to run against the Democrats, but the media. Specifically, the caricature of the media that exists in the minds of their voters.

The present crop of candidates are a result of a party that now treats politics as a reality show and a means to sell a brand, and thereby books and appearance fees.

I expect it to get more outrageous, because that's the only way to break through. Carson gained traction after his comments about a Muslim being fundamentally unqualified to be president. Fiorina gained traction only after she straight up lied about seeing a video of the imaginary fetus.

It's sad. Especially when we take recent studies that show that life expectancy for lower income whites is actually falling. There's a terrifying resemblance to early 1990s post-Soviet Russia amongst the states that have been devastated by the enormous growth in income inequality since the 1980 election. It doesn't surprise me that such candidates gain traction with desperate people looking for someone to blame. That's what the GOP offers -- blame and resentment.

In the meantime, Obamacare, for example, continues to make the ranks of the uninsured plummet. While not perfect, my hope is that the actual, imperfect solutions to problems offered by Democrats will take hold, and petty cultural resentments offered by these grifters will burn out.

 

[Vlad n U 2]

I think it also highlights the enormous and ever widening gulf between the Republican base -- maybe 20% of all voters -- and the rest of the US, let alone the rest of the developed Western world. The GOP itself is an anomaly -- no other developed nation has a mainstream party so far to the right, or, it appears, so divorced from facts.

It depends somewhat on how lenient you are with the tag 'developed' nation, but in a number of Eastern European countries this level/degree of right wing politics is 'normalised' and mainstream (I immediately thought of Poland's PiS party that had won recent parliamentary elections, and in their specific context are essentially like the GOP, that's just one example). Although in Europe, mainstream parties are not as firmly grounded in the political sphere in the sense that it's possible for a party to completely collapse and/or change name - which is something we don't see here in Australia or the US, of course.

It's sad. Especially when we take recent studies that show that life expectancy for lower income whites is actually falling. There's a terrifying resemblance to early 1990s post-Soviet Russia amongst the states that have been devastated by the enormous growth in income inequality since the 1980 election. It doesn't surprise me that such candidates gain traction with desperate people looking for someone to blame. That's what the GOP offers -- blame and resentment.

Not quite as rapid and as immediately devastating, though, more like a consistent slow burn.

 

[Mack_Again]

I am scared if anyone from Republican wins, because these people would not care about academics and education and all that; as an aspiring guy who wants to stay in academia, those people who have skeptical attitude toward science is pretty pretty detrimental to me; plus, I believe that progressivism is important for this ever-changing world. We need to change in some way or another to change social structures to adjust changes so that we can share our wealth. But it's true that if I weren't this liberal, I might think Bernie is insane.

 

[Bluer White]

I am scared if anyone from Republican wins, because these people would not care about academics and education and all that; as an aspiring guy who wants to stay in academia, those people who have skeptical attitude toward science is pretty pretty detrimental to me; plus, I believe that progressivism is important for this ever-changing world.

The R's would probably close down all our public schools.

 

[Irvine511]

The R's would probably close down all our public schools.

Or at least change the textbooks.

 

[martha]

The R's would probably close down all our public schools.

They'll change them into charter schools.


Sent from my iPad using U2 Interference

 

[Irvine511]

I should probably amend my "farthest right in the Western world" comment to apply to economics and (maybe) religion. It's absolutely true that Europe has far right nationalist parties that have no equivalent in the US. The GOP isn't nearly as anti-immigrant as the UKIP, for example. But then, it's hard to draw straight lines between a 2-party system and a nation with multiple parties.

 

[Vlad n U 2]

Additionally, there's a sort of common phenomenon throughout many mainstream parties in Europe where in the instance of a rise in popularity of a far right party - the mainstream right party drifts further to the right to try and regain that popularity, and as a result the goalposts of the mainstream are moved in that direction.

 

[the iron horse]

Can I interrupt this current "love fest" on how smart the left is compared to the stupidity of the far right?


Please explain why this ideology is stupid.

Classical liberalism is a political ideology that values the freedom of individuals — including the freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and markets — as well as limited government.

 

[LuckyNumber7]

Can I interrupt this current "love fest" on how smart the left is compared to the stupidity of the far right?





Please state why this ideology is stupid.



Classical liberalism is a political ideology that values the freedom of individuals — including the freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and markets — as well as limited government.

I don't think anyone was targeting ideology. They're targeting the idiots that represent it. If you haven't noticed, zero of the front runners have avoided saying incredibly unintelligible things, several times.

PS, none of them are true classical liberals. Rand Paul is the closest thing, and it's a gimmick. They all lack the social expectations of a classical liberal.

Limited government is not necessarily something that you can you can certainly tour as representative of individual freedom. In some cases it creates it, and in some cases it enables individuals to control others.

 

[Vlad n U 2]

I don't think anyone was targeting ideology. They're targeting the idiots that represent it.

Don't know about you guys, but I was definitely targeting far right ideology as well as its adherents - naturally.

And is classical liberalism a far right ideology? Although I oppose it all the same, in my posts I mostly had nationalism and general reactionary values on my mind.

 

[LuckyNumber7]

Don't know about you guys, but I was definitely targeting far right ideology as well as its adherents - naturally.



And is classical liberalism a far right ideology? Although I oppose it all the same, in my posts I mostly had nationalism and general reactionary values on my mind.

Sorry, I probably should have said something more along the lines about the perceived "love fest" and liberals being smarter.

It's because they don't say stupid things. Here, in the United States, that "love fest" is about how fucking stupid the leaders of the far right are. Not about what people think about classical liberalism. Nobody has to think about classical liberalism here anyways -- none of the leaders are classical liberals. And the only people who aren't morons on the right (despite whether or not you agree with their ideology) don't even touch the radar.

PS I also hate nationalism.

 

[PhilsFan]

Can I interrupt this current "love fest" on how smart the left is compared to the stupidity of the far right?


Please explain why this ideology is stupid.

Classical liberalism is a political ideology that values the freedom of individuals — including the freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and markets — as well as limited government.

Corporations unchecked by government regulation have consistently hurt this country and don't deserve your sympathy or your political support.

 

[Bluer White]

The present crop of candidates are a result of a party that now treats politics as a reality show and a means to sell a brand, and thereby books and appearance fees.

Books and appearance fees, and global initiatives.

 

[Oregoropa]

Sorry, I probably should have said something more along the lines about the perceived "love fest" and liberals being smarter.

It's because they don't say stupid things.

Barack Obama - ‘If You’ve Got a Business — You Didn’t Build That. Somebody Else Made That Happen’

'Over the last 15 months, we’ve traveled to every corner of the United States. I’ve now been in 57 states? I think one left to go.'

"I bowled a 129. It's like- It was like the Special Olympics."

“I don’t know what the word is in Austrian.”

"The point I was making was not that Grandmother harbors any racial animosity. She doesn't. But she is a typical white person..."

“Our nation honors its unbroken line of fallen heroes and I see many of them in the audience here today.”

Joe Biden - "In Delaware, the largest growth of population is Indian Americans, moving from India. You cannot go to a 7/11 or a Dunkin' Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent. I'm not joking."

"I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that's a storybook, man."

"When the stock market crashed, Franklin Roosevelt got on the television and didn't just talk about the princes of greed. He said, "look, here's what happened."

“If we do everything right, if we do it with absolute certainty, there’s still a 30% chance we’re going to get it wrong.”

“There’s never been A day in the last four years I’ve been proud to be his Vice President. Not a single day.”

Jill Biden - “Many of my students don’t know that I’m second lady of the United States… because, you know, it’s a community college.”

Hillary Clinton - “We are going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good.”

"We landed under sniper fire

"We have a lot of kids who don't know what works means. They think work is a four-letter word."

Al Gore - 'During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet.'

Harry Reid - 'Seniors love getting junk mail. It’s sometimes their only way of communicating or feeling like they’re part of the real world.'

About Obama 'light-skinned African American with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one'

Nancy Pelosi - "Every month that we do not have an economic recovery package 500 million Americans lose their jobs."

Bill Clinton - "African Americans watch the same news at night that ordinary Americans do."

 

[bobsaget77]

Barack Obama - ‘If You’ve Got a Business — You Didn’t Build That. Somebody Else Made That Happen’



'Over the last 15 months, we’ve traveled to every corner of the United States. I’ve now been in 57 states? I think one left to go.'



"I bowled a 129. It's like- It was like the Special Olympics."



“I don’t know what the word is in Austrian.”



"The point I was making was not that Grandmother harbors any racial animosity. She doesn't. But she is a typical white person..."



“Our nation honors its unbroken line of fallen heroes and I see many of them in the audience here today.”



Joe Biden - "In Delaware, the largest growth of population is Indian Americans, moving from India. You cannot go to a 7/11 or a Dunkin' Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent. I'm not joking."



"I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that's a storybook, man."



"When the stock market crashed, Franklin Roosevelt got on the television and didn't just talk about the princes of greed. He said, "look, here's what happened."



“If we do everything right, if we do it with absolute certainty, there’s still a 30% chance we’re going to get it wrong.”



“There’s never been A day in the last four years I’ve been proud to be his Vice President. Not a single day.”



Jill Biden - “Many of my students don’t know that I’m second lady of the United States… because, you know, it’s a community college.”



Hillary Clinton - “We are going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good.”



"We landed under sniper fire



"We have a lot of kids who don't know what works means. They think work is a four-letter word."



Al Gore - 'During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet.'



Harry Reid - 'Seniors love getting junk mail. It’s sometimes their only way of communicating or feeling like they’re part of the real world.'



About Obama 'light-skinned African American with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one'



Nancy Pelosi - "Every month that we do not have an economic recovery package 500 million Americans lose their jobs."



Bill Clinton - "African Americans watch the same news at night that ordinary Americans do."

Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

 

[BVS]

Faux pas and out of context lines aren't the same as not understanding basic facts and logic like grain silos or women can't get pregnant from rape or being a birther. And their not understanding facts and logic is part of their platform, it's not just a slip up.

Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

 

[bobsaget77]

Faux pas and out of context lines aren't the same as not understanding basic facts and logic like grain silos or women can't get pregnant from rape or being a birther. And their not understanding facts and logic is part of their platform, it's not just a slip up.

Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

Sure buddy...keep telling yourself that. Anytime the liberals screw up it's always "out of context" or "demonizing". The democrats can do no wrong.


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

 

[Oregoropa]

-57 States

-His grandfather also liberated Auschwitz. Wow, didn't know he was in the Red Army.

-Gave a whole speech honoring a Navy Corpsman. Pronounced the common military term "Corpse-Man"

Our Constitutional Law Professor President sure has a great grasp of history. Must have aced those History courses at Occidental. Ooops, his records are sealed. We'll never know. Most transparent administration in history.

 

[LuckyNumber7]

Lol, a flurry of questionable lines. I love the first one, because you're trying to make Obama look stupid, but you look stupid for lacking the full sight to be able to see what that means.

Now let's talk about how Mexicans are rapists and murderers. Or how Joseph built the pyramids so he could store grains.

This conversation is unbelievable. You're the reason why people think republicans are illegitimate. I don't side with either party, and I can absolutely see that this is the case. Democrats, 99.9999% of the time, are less flat out fucking stupid.

 

[BigMacPhisto]

The Bush camp is now threatening the Rubio campaign that they'll spend $20 million to discredit the guy. I'm not sure what their actual demands are in the first place...like for Rubio to drop out or something?

Shows that they still don't think Carson or Trump are credible challengers. Most interestingly, they plan to attack Rubio on his abortion stance because he's against them "even in cases of rape"...they figure plenty of Republicans disagree, but also that many of them would consider Rubio un-electable in the general because of that stance (the same thing I've argued here about Carson).

 

[Oregoropa]

Lol, a flurry of questionable lines. I love the first one, because you're trying to make Obama look stupid, but you look stupid for lacking the full sight to be able to see what that means.

Hold on, I'm on Amazon right now. Where can I find the 'bullshit' goggles you wear ?

 

[LuckyNumber7]

Hold on, I'm on Amazon right now. Where can I find the 'bullshit' goggles you wear ?

Great response. Lots of support. Excellent evidence. Keep it up.