Politics & Current Events

[CyHawk_Cub]

This tweet is a reminder that I intended to get this book. Anyone here read it yet?

[CubinNY]

It's horrifying to see the GOP deny reality.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

The left is going to regret letting the primary get to stupid levels of attention way too early in the process. Someone like Kamala Harris should be able to fiddle around with the idea of a presidential run, drop out two months for the Iowa Caucus, and have nobody but the nerdiest of beltway politico dweebs notice it happened. Instead, we've got full-blown social media fights over whether it was her own fault or the media's, she's gonna have to overcome this loss to restore her reputation, and the whole "she's a cop" thing will never go away.

All that's gonna happen with this absurdly overcooked primary is that a bunch of prominent Democrats have 25% of the party hate them, and the winner is going to be someone we're all sick of arguing about and have no real momentum heading into the election.

[Derwood]

Jesus Christ, how is Jim Jordan on THIS committee too?

[Derwood]

[Sammy Sofa]

she's gonna have to overcome this loss to restore her reputation, and the whole "she's a cop" thing will never go away

Who cares?

[Hairyducked Idiot]

she's gonna have to overcome this loss to restore her reputation, and the whole "she's a cop" thing will never go away

Who cares?

An annoyingly high percentage of the Democratic base. Not a majority, but enough to make things stupid from here on out.

[Sammy Sofa]

she's gonna have to overcome this loss to restore her reputation, and the whole "she's a cop" thing will never go away

Who cares?

An annoyingly high percentage of the Democratic base. Not a majority, but enough to make things stupid from here on out.

I'm still confused; what does Harris' "restoring her reputation" after she ran a godawful campaign and ran away without any kind of a plan from her own political/justice system history as fast as she possible could have to do with the rest of the election? She had next to no traction or any kind of a driving base.

[minnesotacubsfan]

Who cares?

An annoyingly high percentage of the Democratic base. Not a majority, but enough to make things stupid from here on out.

I'm still confused; what does Harris' "restoring her reputation" after she ran a godawful campaign and ran away without any kind of a plan from her own political/justice system history as fast as she possible could have to do with the rest of the election? She had next to no traction or any kind of a driving base.

yup. I have a friend who is a Bernie Bro and is pissed that she left, saying she could have siphoned more votes from the Biden/Warren/Buttgieg group, right down to the end, allowing Bernie and Tulsi to win. Which is bonkers because she had, like, no support to begin with.

[JudasIscariotTheBird]

yup. I have a friend who is a Bernie Bro and is pissed that she left, saying she could have siphoned more votes from the Biden/Warren/Buttgieg group, right down to the end, allowing Bernie and Tulsi to win. Which is bonkers because she had, like, no support to begin with.

Bernie AND Tulsi? Like, as a ticket?! Wtf.

[JudasIscariotTheBird]

Not that today's hearings are going to move any needles, but things went pretty well, imo. I think the Dems came off as reasonable and made good arguments, the witnesses were pretty strong, and the Republicans were often completely bonkers. A highlight (smug blinky-smirk lady in the background is killing it, btw):

[OleMissCub]

Mayor Pete is gonna end up with the nomination isn't he?

You can't win the democratic nomination without the Black vote. And Pete ain't getting the Black vote.

Well the (white) Bernie Bros are certainly doing their bit to make sure he doesn’t.

[Banedon]

The left is going to regret letting the primary get to stupid levels of attention way too early in the process. Someone like Kamala Harris should be able to fiddle around with the idea of a presidential run, drop out two months for the Iowa Caucus, and have nobody but the nerdiest of beltway politico dweebs notice it happened. Instead, we've got full-blown social media fights over whether it was her own fault or the media's, she's gonna have to overcome this loss to restore her reputation, and the whole "she's a cop" thing will never go away.

All that's gonna happen with this absurdly overcooked primary is that a bunch of prominent Democrats have 25% of the party hate them, and the winner is going to be someone we're all sick of arguing about and have no real momentum heading into the election.

I know it's your schtick to doom boner over some weird horsefeathers, but this is pretty high up the list. The Harris thing will die down way before Iowa. She'll endorse someone, she'll get to be a large figure in the Senate trial of Trump, and that "she's a cop" thing will be a good thing, not a bad.

A lot of us are going to be disappointed in how this Democratic primary turns out, but it will have jack to do with Kamala Harris dropping out at the beginning of December.

[minnesotacubsfan]

yup. I have a friend who is a Bernie Bro and is pissed that she left, saying she could have siphoned more votes from the Biden/Warren/Buttgieg group, right down to the end, allowing Bernie and Tulsi to win. Which is bonkers because she had, like, no support to begin with.

Bernie AND Tulsi? Like, as a ticket?! Wtf.

Yuuuup. They’re both rebels who’ve taken on the established democratic leadership. Stick it to the man!


Also, several people have brought up Tulsi’s “bedroom voice”. I don’t think they’ve ever met a Hawaiian

[JudasIscariotTheBird]

yup. I have a friend who is a Bernie Bro and is pissed that she left, saying she could have siphoned more votes from the Biden/Warren/Buttgieg group, right down to the end, allowing Bernie and Tulsi to win. Which is bonkers because she had, like, no support to begin with.

Bernie AND Tulsi? Like, as a ticket?! Wtf.

Yuuuup. They’re both rebels who’ve taken on the established democratic leadership. Stick it to the man!


Also, several people have brought up Tulsi’s “bedroom voice”. I don’t think they’ve ever met a Hawaiian

horsefeathers haoles.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Who cares?

An annoyingly high percentage of the Democratic base. Not a majority, but enough to make things stupid from here on out.

I'm still confused; what does Harris' "restoring her reputation" after she ran a godawful campaign and ran away without any kind of a plan from her own political/justice system history as fast as she possible could have to do with the rest of the election? She had next to no traction or any kind of a driving base.

The fact that you have any sort of opinion on how Harris ran her campaign is precisely the problem. That's not something anyone should be having to worry about at this point.

[JudasIscariotTheBird]

An annoyingly high percentage of the Democratic base. Not a majority, but enough to make things stupid from here on out.

I'm still confused; what does Harris' "restoring her reputation" after she ran a godawful campaign and ran away without any kind of a plan from her own political/justice system history as fast as she possible could have to do with the rest of the election? She had next to no traction or any kind of a driving base.

The fact that you have any sort of opinion on how Harris ran her campaign is precisely the problem. That's not something anyone should be having to worry about at this point.

[Sammy Sofa]

I'm still confused; what does Harris' "restoring her reputation" after she ran a godawful campaign and ran away without any kind of a plan from her own political/justice system history as fast as she possible could have to do with the rest of the election? She had next to no traction or any kind of a driving base.

The fact that you have any sort of opinion on how Harris ran her campaign is precisely the problem. That's not something anyone should be having to worry about at this point.

Yeah, that one was a bit...odd. Like it's Kyle's version of trying to create some sort of gloomy riddle while hopped up on cough syrup.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

In my middle-agedness, I don't have the energy to keep this up for 10 pages, but I'll be darned if it's not making me feel a little nostalgic.

[jersey cubs fan]

Pete's supporters should be embarrassed

[Transmogrified Tiger]

That leads into the practical question I'm curious about, is how you more progressively tax capital. It's very clear that the Gates and Bezos' of the world need to pay more, but even setting aside the IRS/enforcement angle, I have a harder time picturing the specifics of how you more equitably tax assets without some significant working class downsides. I can see how you can create laws to prevent future billionaires from being created through worker protections and distributive requirements, but that's a less immediate solution.

Apologies for the self-quote, but I thought this was a very interesting proposal to help with the practical question: https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019 ... ital-gains

Wyden’s proposal would change the way the US tax code affects property that’s increased in value. Right now, our capital gains system taxes upon “realization”: the time the asset is actually sold. If I bought a painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat in 1977 for $50 and then sold it today for $100 million, I’d pay a 23.8 percent tax (lower than the typical top tax rate) on the $99,999,950 gain at the time of sale. The same goes for stocks and bonds, for other investments, for real estate (though your first $250,000 in gains on a home are tax-free), etc.

Wyden would change to a “mark-to-market” system. That is, for wealthy Americans who report income above $1 million or assets above $10 million for three consecutive years, taxation would no longer be tied to when people sell their stocks, artwork, or houses. It would instead happen every year that the asset gains in value. If I hold stock worth $20 million one year and it increases in value to $23 million the next year, I would pay tax on that $3 million gain when I file taxes that year.

Now, this is an easy change to make for liquid assets like stocks and bonds. It would be harder to put into effect for assets like real estate, privately held businesses, and artwork. Those kinds of assets aren’t always reassessed in value every single year.

For those, Wyden’s plan would apply a “lookback rule” so that when they are sold, they are taxed the same amount as they would have been if they had been taxed every single year as they grew in value. That, effectively, would mean a much higher overall tax rate than they currently face under the capital gains tax.

[Sammy Sofa]

Pete's supporters should be embarrassed

I'd swear, if they weren't so cartoonishly ridiculous, I'd think this was a crafty, well-engineered plot by the GOP to sneak in one of their own as a Democratic presidential candidate. Like, even have Gabbard run interference so nobody pays attention until it's too late.

[CyHawk_Cub]

Look, the best way to pay back the donor class that has heavily invested in him is to spout Republican-lite talking points couched in a calm, reasonable demeanor.

[CyHawk_Cub]

[NOLA]

Pete's supporters should be embarrassed

I'd swear, if they weren't so cartoonishly ridiculous, I'd think this was a crafty, well-engineered plot by the GOP to sneak in one of their own as a Democratic presidential candidate. Like, even have Gabbard run interference so nobody pays attention until it's too late.

Oh, FFS. He's a moderate Democrat who's pandering to his audience trying to win a nomination. He's gone from single digits in the polls to a contender mainly because he's tried to paint himself as an alternative to Biden in the moderate lane, and it's largely worked to this point. He's running for President and this is plain politics, agree or disagree with his policies.

And FFS part two, you guys with this "just as bad as a Republican" narrative need to stop. Call out Mayor Pete's policies, campaign for Bernie, whatever. On one page of this thread you'll criticize a Dem candidate for using Republican talking points in a debate, yet the next page you're doing the GOP's work in calling any moderate Democrat a phony. Just stop. FWIW, I'm still leaning Warren, but I'll happily vote for Pete in a heartbeat.