Presidential Primaries Megathread: (Election'16 V.3)

[Eviora]

Well, the obvious difference with regards to taxing really rich people is that having a few people hoard so much wealth does hurt others. But, anyway, I can't say I care much for "playing politics". Trying to put a spin on your less pleasant opinions to gain votes... it's effective, of course, but no wonder people think so poorly of politicians. You make it sound like they're supposed to be deceptive. Fortunately, not all of them are. Another point in Mr. Sanders' favor. =p

[Chase]

This -is- following a post in which I was actually advocating Rubio, so please keep in mind that I'm not standing up for Cruz because I feel his opposing voter blocs are being mean.

My point though - is that hatred being used incorrectly causes misinformed voters. I'm not trying to say that you should or shouldn't vote for a guy because his opponents and their voters are painting an ugly falsehood, but in the spirit of fairness - for every candidate - I take pride in setting the record straight. In this community where almost everyone and their dog will lean liberal - that means I take the stump to defend conservatism and try to enlighten people of the intricacies of how this election and it's candidates really work.

I want more voters to be informed - not driven to hysteria over campaign promises and good 'Berns' their man or woman dishes out to other candidates.

As for autonomy Americans are given a right to elect representatives that provide their concerns representation - as well as when the times come - vote in referendums and participate in the legislative process. I don't care either way on the issue - but I do think that Obergefell v. Hodges' ruling by the SCOTUS only provides that the current Judicial opinion on the matter is that any state banning same-sex marriage is a violation of the 14th Amendment - (which doesn't define marriage, but does define - according to the ruling in this case - that prohibiting and not recognizing marriages -is- a discriminatory practice, thus making the act of doing such unconstitutional.)

There's two qualms with this. This means that firstly, all a conservative President has to do to overturn this cases' decision is wait for a state to ban the practice -AND- for one liberal leaning Judge's term to expire so that they can throw a more conservative Judge on the bench - or a Judge to flip decisions without having to wait to replace a Judge. Reversal has happened before in the case of Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas - where segregation in schools was no longer a constitutional practice, overturning the upheld "separate but equal" ruling of Plessy v. Ferguson.

Secondly, it means that the constitution only weakly at best impacted the decision back in June - which means that the amendment is the next step pro-LGBT groups need to push for, before conservatives are able to turn the tables.

"If you are among the many Americans—of whatever sexual orientation—who favor expanding same-sex marriage, by all means celebrate today’s decision... But do not celebrate the Constitution. It had nothing to do with it." - Justice John Roberts

Another person's right to vote for a candidate or a referendum isn't an infringement on another person's rights. Ardor to defend the right of the people - not the Court - to decide the fate of ANY issue is never misplaced. Sure, you can disagree with a person and that is part of the right of autonomy that you do have - but to call it hatred when it isn't is just outright misleading.

[Eviora]

Well, I think it's abundantly clear that we're not going to come to any agreement on this issue, so instead of pressing the matter and making myself even more upset (something I have a knack for) I'll just go do something else. There are still 49 primaries to go - I'm sure this topic can host plenty of more interesting discussions than another pointless debate between the two of us.

[Chase]

I suppose we could do that.

On the Democrats end - Hillary has seen better days. Earlier this week she was asked a question about being in anyone's pocket and she denied it - an answer that was so ridiculous someone on the news set broke out into laughter.

On top of being made to look like a fool by the media, the DNC has decided to schedule four more primary debates - a move that is clearly proof that Sanders is a legitimate contender and that just maybe, this race isn't going to be gifted to Clinton by default after all.

---

The Republicans get a chance to beat up on each other tomorrow in New Hampshire in another debate - and somehow, Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina didn't make the cut. This debate stage - according to hosting network ABC - required that the candidates place in the top three in Iowa, or in the top six in several national and NH polling. The Fiorina camp, along with several other candidates such as Ted Cruz and Ben Carson, badgered the RNC over the decision.

Worth noting, Carly beat out two "establishment" candidates in Ohio governor John Kasich and New Jersey governor Chris Christie in Iowa. Both Kasich and Christie will be able to enter the stage on Saturday night.

---

This up-coming debate should be make-or-break for Ben Carson. If you were to ask me who the real evangelical representative in the field of candidates remaining is, it would be him over the pro-war Cruz. He should have some fire in the belly too - as he's already accused Cruz's camp of wrongfully spreading lies that Carson planned to suspend his campaign during the Iowa caucuses - which influenced voters in the state.

Carson isn't polling as badly as some of his opponents - and while it's not likely he'll win - it -is- likely he could run again in the future and would value as much experience as he can get. I would rather see him pick up some more funding and make due on his way to Cleveland than fall off the ballots throughout the race.

In order to do that though, he can't be passive and twiddle his thumbs at the podium during the debate. Pressing Cruz -and- Rubio would be huge for him with regards of getting some NH support, as well as hurting someone in Cruz who is generally after the same types of voters.

Of the three who absolutely have a shot at the presidency, it's Ted Cruz himself that will need to show his mettle. He's at a significant disadvantage to Trump - who is a northeastern resident and isn't nearly as evangelical or assuredly right reaching - and Rubio - who appeals to the moderate anti-Trumpers better than Cruz does. New Hampshire is a state that will care more about fiscal matters than anything else - with regards to the states Republican party members.

[Chase]

I apparently missed last nights Democratic debate in New Hampshire - and BOY was it a doozie. This is the first debate Bernie and Hillary squared off against each other one and one.

Hillary brought the boxing gloves, and because of it, it's probably one of the most effective debates she's ever participated in. From the first question - Clinton established herself as the "Progressive" that "would" get things done, challenging Sanders on previously voting against the Brady Bill among other issues.

Most of this debate is centered on putting the label of "Progressive" on the right candidate.

Sanders is a pretty humorous guy - and it was very clear the New Hampshire crowd was behind him - although people couldn't help but give Hillary props. Clinton however didn't do as well here in distinguishing herself from the "establishment" - even when raising the point that she is trying to run the highest office in the land as a woman.

Bernie focused quite heavily on slapping Super-PACs on his opponent and being "the people's" candidate - and struggled very much on talking about the issues because of it.

It was a beautiful fight.

[Chase]

Tonight's Republican debate in Manchester, New Hampshire was hosted by ABC - and it featured a couple of interesting things.

• Trump being mostly controlled throughout the debate - but getting into scraps with Florida governor Jeb Bush - going so far as to gesture a shush and telling him to be quiet - as well as the audience sitting in the debate hall, whom he charged was filled with donors from special interest groups after they booed him for telling Bush to shut up.
• Florida Senator Marco Rubio taking an absolute beating from Bush and fellow governor Chris Christie (NJ), and seemingly imploding during the first half of the debate, resorting to repeating the phrase "Obama knows what he's doing" four or maybe even five times.
• Ted Cruz having a "good" debate despite pestering from an apparently salty Trump over Iowa and having to apologize to retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson over circumstances between the two's campaigns.

-my personal- ranking of how the candidates fared.

1. Donald Trump - The business tycoon had a night in which he got to stand in the center of the stage and go largely unchallenged, as the target was not on his back. Even when Gov. Bush pegged him on using personal reasoning behind his backing of imminent domain, Trump was able to command the room and again re-assert himself as the front runner - without seemingly acting like a jerk. Somewhat. His best moment was pointing out the amount of special interest support in the audience, shaming the debate hall in response to being booed.
2. John Kasich - Due to Rubio's first half implosion the Ohio governor found himself in a great place to connect to the large moderate undecided voter base remaining in the state. Kasich went mostly unchallenged as well, and his best moment of the night went from empathizing with the right's fondness for local police forces, while also highlighting that over-aggression and discrimination is -indeed- a problem, showing he had a proven plan in place to address both sides of the issue.
3. Jeb Bush - One of the two thorns in Marco Rubio's side tonight, Jeb had his strongest debate of the night due to being able to capitolize on the seemingly total offensive NJ Gov. Christie was employing to sell his campaign as well as further damage the Florida Senator's. His best moment though, came from also taking on Trump on property issues, which is an extremely important issue that he sides with many New Hampshire residents on. He may have been told to be quiet by his seemingly personal bully in Trump, but he won a lot of respect here.
4. Ted Cruz - Ted Cruz was able to get a majority of his debate some traction after overcoming early adversity. From the beginning, Ben Carson was able to point out the unfortunate tactics used by his camp in stating to Iowans that Carson was going to drop out, and he was not safe taking barbs from a retaliatory Donald after upsetting him in Iowa. Any time he was able to get an issues speech off the ground, it was a solid showing that propelled him to the middle tier of performance.
5. Chris Christie - The New Jersey Governor is coming out of the debate in the bottom half of the candidates - but don't mistake this as having a bad night! Christie brought the branding iron to Marco Rubio and utterly made him look like a fool - his low showing though, was not distinguishing himself as a better alternative and perhaps coming off as a bit edgy, which won't help him in a state that suddenly has a lot to look at in the next three days. Best moment was actually a moment of humility though - admitting he had tried taxing the top percent of earners in his state only for it to not be an effective decision.
6. Ben Carson - Carson was a media victim in this debate. He repeatedly told the moderators that he input on several issues and wasn't asked or offered many chances to speak. His best moment though was hammering home the point of "real ethics" vs. "Washington ethics" - and getting Ted Cruz to apologize to him on stage. Carson provided enough substance - and more importantly has enough money, to keep his camp alive - and could be justified in doing so with a surprise top 5 finish on Tuesday.
7. Marco Rubio - He was able to recover for a clean second half of this debate, but he was public enemy number one on the stage. He seemed robotic and incapable of responding to challenges by the governors in the room and appeared to be the least ready to be elected, despite being viewed by many as the most presidential.

---

In short - there were no clear winners in this debate, so expect anything on Tuesday - but Marco Rubio was a very, VERY big loser.

[Maelstrom]

Ok, well these are my thoughts and opinions as I sit watching the debate on yt.

starting with: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEKAFZgxwbw

Wait, why are New Hampshire and Iowa important again? I fell off the political trail for a while and I'm wondering why two inconsequential states, as far as population and economy go, are heralded as important? I have a sneaky suspicion that suspect statistics are to blame.

Why does Ben Carson not know when to go up to one of several identical podiums when his name is called? An aide is clearly shown behind the curtains urging him to just go on and take a spot. The social intelligence is not strong with this one. Even after they specifically call him out to stage after every other candidate was called forward after him. Hell, he made Trump look like a good guy for waiting for him.

Then the people hosting made up some lame excuse about the excitement in the room being so loud as to why he didn't come out when called the first time. At this time, one would expect the candidates to be familiar with the whole stage and debate process but it turns out that this isn't so. Does this bode well for Carson's ability to learn and adapt? Fuck no. Whatever script he was waiting for didn't go as he planned and he ended up looking like a moron. Way to think on your feet.

First question is for Trump, why we should be comfortable with his finger hovering over the big red nuclear disaster button. He tries to claim that he has worked for years and years as a people person, in a bipartisan way. He talks in a vague way about his stances on immigrants and muslims and how he is somewhow the go to guy. Despite the fact that these two issues alone make him completely unvotable by the democratic side of the nation.

We have more vague language. "We have to have a temporary something because something is not good." Tell us in detail, oh brave one. And then he says he was one of those people who said not to go to Iraq way back in the day or it would destabilized the people.

He then goes on to say that he will make the military bigger and stronger than the other candidates so that no one will ever mess with us.

I'm sorry, ISIS is too fucking afraid to mess with us, the second largest standing military in the world. Clearly, getting even bigger is the best course. The US has a standing military of about half the size of China's, despite being about 1/4 the population size. Someone tell ISIS to be afraid. Because Trump says they should be. But only if we're number 1 largest. That one spot move will make a difference and make terrorists shake in their sandals.

Ted Cruz believes that Trump isn't the kind of temperament you want with that kind of responsibility that is the infamous red button. I agree. If he says one extreme thing and does another, as Chase so aptly put, you can't trust him with anything. That pretty much disqualifies a person as a candidate, not doing or at least attempting to do as he says. And what he says he'll do is bullshit.

He goes on to claim that Obama is unwilling to acknowledge the enemy we are facing. What with the Paris attacks and whatnot, we should be doing something. Right? I mean, we couldn't be playing into those terrorist hands by dropping more bombs and causing further enmity and hatred in a region that has begun to hate us because we dropped bombs on lots of people, right? I mean, firsthand survivor accounts are all lies, right? Making moves that clearly plays into the media savvy hands of our enemies is exactly what we want to do.

I mean, really, conservatives are in touch with the feelings and ideas of people outside the bible belt, right? Right? *dies laughing*

He claims that the current administration and Clinton have not acknowledged, much less dealt with the Islamic terrorist threat. When terrorist organizations attack and all but beg to be attacked in return, only Republicans would choose to attack head on without asking why. Because our military has been dropping bombs directly and supporting the war indirectly for a long time now clearly counts as 'nothing being done about it' to Republican candidates.

Rebuild the military, the air force, the navy, the army, and the marines to keep us safe... Here's a man who is unfamiliar with numbers as far as manpower (see number 2 largest military in the world above) goes or as far as cost to the nation. I'm not sure whether I dislike him for overestimating our foes or underestimating our troops. Oh wait, I do know. Fucking scare tactics, man...

Cruz is asked directly about his words saying that Trump is not level-headed enough to lead the country. He pawns off his answer to the republican voters, saying that they will decided who amongst the candidates is level headed and qualified enough to do the job. They already knew that- way to dodge the question and not man up to your own words.

He mentions that it is important to know when to engage enemies and when not to. His criticism of the US post-Paris attack action shows he is does not have that capability.

OMG, Trump just called out Cruz for not answering the question. Wtf, I shouldn't be giving Trump respect points but here I've done it twice...

Then he goes on to say generic bs about how 'we're gonna win with Trump' and how Trump makes others back down. Says the guy who vowed he wouldn't be a part of these debates. I want specifics, not generic motivational poster platitudes.

To be continued as I watch the rest of the debate...

[Maelstrom]

Part 2 of 4:

Starts out asking Casing about his comments about some other guy being liked and that changing traditional conservatism.

He talks about how he cut taxes more than anybody in the country. I wonder who he cut taxes for. I'm curious. I also have to wonder what state projects he stopped or slowed to do so. Highway renovation perhaps? I don't know. What I know is that taxes pay for one service or another. What I wonder is what got cut in order for him to reduce taxes responsibly.

Okay, surplus budget, balanced budget. Sounds good. Doesn't say how though.

He says he wants to help the troubled as well as the others. The drug addicted, the developmentally disabled, the working poor, the minorities, etc. That's a huge difference from what I remember conservatives caring about. Because at its core, that's socialism and conservatives ain't about that life. No details about how though, so I remain skeptical. But I want to know more about this guy now.

Trump responds to claims that he isn't a true conservative. His main answer at the beginning is we want to conserve our money. Conserve our wealth. Those two things are his first and foremost thought and answer. That sounds like a conservative to me. He talks about worrying about where we go and how we spend as a country. And that there are people who have no idea how to conserve or save our country. Spoken like a billionaire, he talks about economic gain without mentioning the distribution of that wealth, or rather the lack thereof.

more to come later, I need to sleep.

[Chase]

Iowa and New Hampshire are the first two states to vote in the primary races for both sides of the aisle. There's nothing terribly significant about these two states except for the fact that this is when voting begins and usually when the playing field begins to filter itself out if there's more than two candidates. Essentially, both states are the litmus tests for a presidential hopeful's campaign.

To Carson's credit - the ABC crew seemed to have lots of other technical issues at the beginning - like Gov. John Kasich not even being introduced in the first place.

I got the feeling that Trump gave a few acceptable answers in this debate when I was watching - but he didn't start out particularly strongly in the very early going.

Kasich is probably going to be the guy that I think you think wins this one, Mael. If he doesn't "sound like a Conservative" to you - it's because he was strategically going after moderate voters.

This debate had two things that I -did- appreciate though, the "other guys" stepped up big in this debate, and it was a very issues oriented debate. Several talking points were addressed.

[Eviora]

I've gotta give it to Ted Cruz - he made Hillary look like a stickler for the truth in that debate.

[Deleted User]

I've gotta give it to Ted Cruz - he made Hillary look like a stickler for the truth in that debate.

All politicians lie.

Ted Cruz is a politician.

∴ Ted Cruz lies.

Hillary Clinton is a politician.

∴ Hillary Clinton lies.

Bernie Sanders is a politician.

∴ Bernie Sanders lies.

They all lie, simple as that. People only notice the lies of the ones they dislike though.

[Chase]

*le bump*

Just a friendly reminder that tonight is the night New Hampshire is won on both sides of the presidential race. On voting days - around 8:00 Eastern, be sure to check out the first post of this thread for information on the day's votes as they are ongoing. You may use further posts to talk about the race.

I'll also leave the states results up as we run across America, so it will be cool to follow along - even if you weren't with us from the start.

Should also have a running delegate count?

[Chase]

I'll edit the first post again when all the raw votes are in - but here's your possible standings. It's worth noting that Ted Cruz, Jeb Bush, and Marco Rubio are still waiting for the dust to settle and determine a Bronze finish in New Hampshire.

Starting with the Democrats:

Bernie Sanders - 60%

Hillary Clinton - 39%

How do you want to respond from losing what was essentially and in many cases literally a coin toss? Absolutely clobbering your singular opponent in kind in the next state up. The Bern was able to tap yet again into the Youth vote - which is a voter bloc that transcends others such as minorities and women - in an 80/20 decision. Sanders even beat Hillary in her niche voter bloc - women. It's time to take this man seriously if you already were not.

Donald Trump - 35%

John Kasich - 16%

Ted Cruz - 12%

Jeb Bush - 11%

Marco Rubio - 10%

Chris Christie - 8%

Carly Fiorina - 4%

Ben Carson - 2%

Jim Gilmore - >1%

Speaking of taking candidates seriously, enough with the dumping on Trump as joke candidate. The Donald now has a win under his belt, which several of the remaining names would have liked to have. Trump benefit from "the Governators" rampant attacks on a previously surging Marco Rubio, ending with a rather "kamikaze-esque" bully pulpit assault from Christie. He also tapped into the very large amount of independent voters in the state.

Five random thoughts.

Trump's getting better at this campaign thing.

Outside of his usual vitriol stump speech about how "America doesn't win anymore" and how he's going to "make America great again", Trump said this in his victory address:

"We learned a whole lot about ground games last week, didn't we?"

For those of you that don't know, there are two major parts of campaigning outside of the fundraising aspect. Performing well in debates, and having some form of good ground game. Before Iowa, Trump didn't do much of any of it - already a billionaire, already is enough of an entertaining personality to somewhat skate through debates (although he's not bad in actually debating anyone), and instead of putting his team to work or barnstorming, Trump banked on his popularity to do all the work.

His populism didn't reach out to everyone in the Hawkeye State however - enabling Ted Cruz, who is a solid debate participant and has arguably the best ground game in the country - to pull the upset a week ago - and deny Trump his first major political victory. It also hurt that he was a no-show in that state's debate.

This time, Trump did it right across the board. He called out Cruz on not answering a question and didn't back down at the debate he most definitely showed up at. He established a ground game of his own, and the rallying was a little bit more pungent in New Hampshire. The result was his first win - one in which he doubled up the runner-up John Kasich's total vote percentage.

Bernie will need to fasten his seat belt, because the road from here isn't so kind.

The Democrats will be moving on to Nevada next - a state that is much more representative of most American states than the previous two campaign destinations. Here, Hillary Clinton polls much better due to a voter bloc Bernie doesn't have quite yet.

Minority voters.

It's not like Sanders is going down without a fight. Later today, Sanders will be in Harlem to talk to Al Sharpton, a civil rights activist. However, the Black vote has been a long staple of the Clinton coalition, going all the way back to the days of Bill Clinton in the White House.

It's also not like Sanders doesn't have any hope - as the black vote is one that is going to be separated by generation much like the female vote is. However, the Bern may have to take his lumps in some of these Southern states before finding more traction.

For now though, the guy can rest easy, and enjoy being in the presumable limelight.

Strictly as a campaigner, Ted Cruz deserves more respect.

You can say what you want about the Texas senator, and you may be right. He's a liar. He's not liked. His smile also looks like he's hiding some other disappointment. He's a Texan...

But the guy's put up one hell of a fight, especially against establishment candidates in his own party. New Hampshire wasn't supposed to be an experience he can taut, but he may finish on the leaderboard anyway if he can survive the late tallying against trailing Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio.

He's essentially the Anti-Bernie, and in the Granite State, that would be enough to get you booed off the stage.

Cruz however, was able to pick up lots of endorsements from sitting legislators in the state - which is an underscored part of the campaign buzz. Especially in a state like New Hampshire where nobody really cares. That will go a long way in preserving his ability to run all the way to the convention. He also tapped into the former base of Rand Paul supporters - who needed a home after their golden boy exited before reaching New Hampshire.

All of that, paired with his exceptional force on the ground and his money situation, has Cruz sitting pretty despite being the most "Conservative" flavored candidate out there. A friendlier future appears in the Palmetto State - South Carolina is next for the GOP field.

Hillary doesn't care about New Hampshire's result.

..and she likely won't have to for a little while, with the next states up looking mighty appetizing.

Christie should be down for the count after suicide bombing the Rubio camp to no avail.

Yes, one of the winners of last Saturday was indeed a governor. It wasn't Christie, who made the biggest impression during the campaign by sending his rival into a tailspin after holding a lot of momentum from the past week.

Essentially, Chris Christie needed to do more than play offense, because while his attacks worked, the fallout votes didn't go to him.

[Greed_Demon]

What I love most about the democratic election is watching Hilary crash and burn as people who once supported her are leaving for Bernie. You can just tell she knows its over for her. She might as well do the planet of the apes submissive gesture at Bernie right now.

Also for the republican side we all know trump AKA Scrooge Mcduck has got this. Who the hell is going to stop this man? seriously the people just eat his words up.

Edited February 10, 2016 by Greed_Demon

[Eviora]

What I love most about the democratic election is watching Hilary crash and burn as people who once supported her are leaving for Bernie. You can just tell she knows its over for her. She might as well do the planet of the apes submissive gesture at Bernie right now.

Also for the republican side we all know trump AKA Scrooge Mcduck has got this. Who the hell is going to stop this man? seriously the people just eat his words up.

I think you're jumping to conclusions on the Hillary thing despite being a supporter of Bernie. (I'm quite happy he won, though!)

[Greed_Demon]

I think you're jumping to conclusions on the Hillary thing despite being a supporter of Bernie. (I'm quite happy he won, though!)

HOW?! shes being exposed for the shill she is! If people are dumb enough to vote for her obviously corrupt crypt keeper looking ass then this county deserves to fall. You think she can beat trump? FUCK NO! Bernie is the only one with a chance to make this a close and interesting vote.

[Chase]

I think Hillary certainly has the potential to be in trouble - not because Bernie is going to beat her in the primary, but because beating Bernie may mean she has to lose some electability come November.

The more Sanders throws some legitimate punches, it's seemed that Hillary's response is to drift more to the left herself. This isn't a bad move for her in the short term, because she has voter blocs locked up that Bernie may not reach already - but it does mean she isn't seen as the neoliberal that can steal from the right side of the board. Earlier in the thread, I commented that Clinton's biggest strength over Sanders was that she is much more appealing to moderates and independents than Sanders is - and if she begins to feel the Bern and leave the middle, it opens the door for her Republican opponent to make a play they may not have been able to make in November beforehand at those voters.

Let's say it's Trump-Clinton, because I do believe that's currently the most feasible scenario at this point in time (The GOP establishment lane is still too crowded to deal with Trump effectively, making him a much more viable candidate than he perhaps should be, while Sanders forces Clinton to re-shuffle her platform.)

Bernie will then give the Republicans a lot of footage on Clinton leaving the middle of the spectrum than they would have prior to Sanders' success - and this means that the dirt is on Clinton's blouse after winning her primary. Instead of Trump going up against a very election ready Democrat, he's going up against a battered nominee who would then have to scramble back to regain those voters she would have been able to count on having before.

Meanwhile, Trump has the much easier path of beating his establishment than Bernie does his. Bernie has been climbing an uphill battle the whole time, as the Democratic Party seemed almost ready to give Hillary a coronation weeks ago. Donald has been able to out-talk, out-show, and outlast a very large field of candidates that do very little to distinguish themselves, giving him a very nice edge in this race from the start.

Trump wouldn't have to about-face after winning the nomination - whereas Clinton most definitely would if she would win hers. That's why Sanders is causing the Democratic establishment trouble - and it's probably in their best interest to support him as much as they can.

[Deleted User]

http://www.isidewith.com/

after you take the near 100 question quiz, scroll down past the candidate percentages and click on that to expand. For whatever odd reason, Marco Rubio isn't displayed? #Illuminati ?

[Felicity]

So Trump is also vying for the support of the weeaboo demographic. How effective this ploy is only time will tell. I for one am conflicted.

https://www.facebook.com/fakyuscrub/videos/928302987266988/

[Chase]

So - this is a pretty neat thematic read out you can get from the link Mike shared on his spectrum post.

Anthropocentrism is a pretty big deal to me. When we're looking for a President of the United States - the bottom line is that we're representing the people - human beings - of this nation, and that their needs should be met first before the needs of those in the future.

Globalization is a little bit of a surprise - but not too much. I do think we should support currencies like Bitcoin and allow for the entire world's economy to be boosted. America is a little bit too far past the perch of isolationist paradise, and I believe it's easier to globalize than it would be to revert inward - and subsequently let those who oppose us follow.

Elitism is a relief personally. The more "Populist" candidates in this year's election are Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders, and Ted Cruz, who tap into the country's less experienced albeit much more passionate grassroots movements. Rather than being a "pro-establishment" person due to the experience issue however, I am more-so just looking for someone who can do the job justice.

Tough Love is a natural tendency of mine, and it's one I feel has it's place sometimes, and sometimes doesn't. When I took the quiz (answering all of the bonus questions) I got a close match to Marco Rubio - a guy who is accused of not being tough in some areas but is so in others.

Deregulation allows the ceiling for all Americans to be higher, and thus incentivizes hard work. As someone who is adamantly stubborn against the notion of having to rely on the government - let alone have them oversee the nation's economy - I do indeed feel it is more beneficial than a regulated economy.

Capitalism is one of the most successful economic systems in history and it attributes that success to it's incomparable efficiency. It's major drawback is that ... it doesn't stress wealth distribution? Yes, I am proud of this result - not because I want to be a super rich guy someday who pays low taxes, but because if I make enough on my own, I don't -NEED- the government to change the game in order to give to the poor. There's a difference between something being broken, and something being on top shelf. If it's not broken, don't fix it.

Traditionalism is a flavor of human being. As one that doesn't believe in the concept of subjective morality, I would prefer we stuck to morality as opposed to immorality as a nation. I don't exactly know why this directly opposes Progressivism - other than the issues at large bring up conflicts of free exercise vs. equality. I do lean towards defending free exercise, because liberties shouldn't be lost in order to level the playing field by any means. Equality is best obtained by pulling the oppressed up to us, not falling down to them.

Laissez-faire is a good thing to be weakly in favor of. Keynesian - or the opposite suggesting that government economic intervention is positive long-term - policies have had some success, such as Franklin Delano Roosevelt's "New Deal" - but in assistance to the New Deal was a more global economic boost - World War II. I'd agree with this assessment as I've always given America's involvement in the war due credit for pulling it out of the Depression.

Decentralization is a very, very, VERY big deal to me. A decentralized government firstly provides more power to citizens at the local level, who know better what their area needs than the national government. Secondly, it reduces the influence of big government and allows local governments more lawmaking ability, which adds to the flexibility of the State and Local levels. Win-Win.

Small Government is more ideal than Big government because of the aforementioned "power to the people" in the blurb about Decentralization, along with less ability to be be wasteful and bureaucratic.

[Chase]

Our prez hopefuls are now in Nevada and South Carolina....and it's gettin' ugly down south.

Let's start with with the fallen tributes. Our Republican nominees are now down to six after Chris Christie's camp suicided in the New Hampshire debate, Carly Fiorina's camp died outside of the debate building of frostbite because ABC wouldn't let her in, and Jim Gilmore's camp seemingly re-animated itself to "formerly announce" what we assumed was the case the first time we saw this man on the ballot.

Our survivors are front runner and rich asshole Donald Trump, values-man and apparently pornography director and part-time liar Ted Cruz, The Boy In the Recently Busted Bubble Marco Rubio, George W. Bush, and discount Morgan Freeman. (Jeb and Ben Carson)

The Republican candidates converge upon the Palmetto State, home of the Gamecocks, a bunch a Christian folk, and an insatiable crowd of people that aren't going to want to hear the issues talk first or to play paddy cake.

This state is the political Salty Spittoon - and you all know the question they want answered. How tough are ya?

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They usually say whatever happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. That won't be the case in the left-wing burlesque show that is the Democratic race.

Hillary Clinton has come full circle after getting out-done by her counterpart Bernie Sanders up north, and now the strategy seems to be putting on the same glitter, feathers, and high heels as the democratic socialist. How do you beat Bernie Sanders? Become Bernie Sanders.

Foolproof. The debate held earlier this week was all about who was the better progressive, with Hillary borderline dancing on ripping off Sanders' policy points straight from his website.

[Deleted User]

The crowd in the GOP debate is obviously completely establishment and/or PAC lobbyists for Jeb and Marco. It's amusing. They've resorted to booing others on just about everything, and cheering Jeb like he just won the superbowl singlehandedly on one leg and a bad back.

[Chase]

It's your friendly neighbor election maniac here to bump this thread because it's democratic caucus day for Nevada and republican voting day for South Carolina!

- See how it's faring in the first post of this thread yeah?

[Eviora]

Well, Trump is looking more and more inevitable as the Republican nominee by the week. Poor Jebby - I almost feel sorry for the guy. I predict that the cynicism will be strong with this country this year~

[Deleted User]

Well, Trump is looking more and more inevitable as the Republican nominee by the week. Poor Jebby - I almost feel sorry for the guy. I predict that the cynicism will be strong with this country this year~

If anything, this is beneficial to the trump opposition. Most of the Jeb voters will like shift to one of the two primary Trump alternatives (I'm saying most will go to Rubio). He'll probably close the gap by almost 4%. Trump likely won't get any of those voters because of how well documented it is Jeb despised Trump.

I don't feel bad for Jeb, he wanted to win exclusively with PAC funds. Spent $80 Million in advertisement for all in all a very weak campaign. He was like the awkward kid in class. His dropping from the race is honestly overdue at this point.