2020 US Election (Part One)
- Thread starter Lexicus
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Berzerker
Deity
Kamala Harris is in trouble, she called the 'attack' on Justin Smollett a modern day lynching. Seems the guy was in danger of losing his job on the show "Empire" so he paid Nigerian brothers to fake an attack on him. He told police a couple of white dudes in MAGA hats yelling racial and gay slurs at him were the culprits. Who was the woman in South Carolina who drowned her kids in a car and told the cops a black man carjacked her? Ty Google - Susan Smith
Estebonrober
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Yea this is looking bad for Smollett, but reacting to it the way Harris did is not a big deal considering you take a story at face value. If he thought he could get away with such a hoax even that speaks to the climate that has been made in this recent election cycle. Finally comparing a black man faking an assault with sever racist overtones to a woman who literally drowned her own children is ridiculous. One is far worse than the other, I leave you to figure out which one that is.
innonimatu
the resident Cassandra
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You are really going to have a redo of Clinton x Sanders and Clinton x Trump thing, arent't you? With the same outcome 
I was hoping Trump would be forced to play his last possible card, some universal health care law. But if the past repeats itself he'll just ride through the election.
I was hoping Trump would be forced to play his last possible card, some universal health care law. But if the past repeats itself he'll just ride through the election.
Berzerker
Deity
Yes, I know murder is worse than faking assault. The crimes need not be identical to show how these people used racism to hide their crimes.
adcarrymaokai
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What's the story?
Estebonrober
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He might have faked an assault on himself with a couple of co workers.
https://variety.com/2019/biz/news/jussie-smollett-felony-false-report-1203142874/
adcarrymaokai
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Lol, what a curious case. So he may be facing years in prison for just lying, even though plenty of people walk away for free when actually committing crimes? Perjury should obviously be punishable, but I don't quite trust our "justice" system in general. I also want to point out that the police is known to plant drugs/firearms into people's possessions to conduct false arrests, so it's not like I would trust the police, either.
Dying to see how this one unfolds, though. If he faked it, then his career is over.
PS: Also, quite hilarious to think that all the outrage it sparked on the Internet might be over false alarm.
metalhead
Angry Bartender
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Between expressing support for reparations and now this, I'm quickly becoming convinced that Warren should be the nominee. It's one thing to say you want to do a bunch of things. It's much more important that you show commitment to finding a way of actually doing them, commensurate with the other party's trashing of norms and rules.
GoodEnoughForMe
n.m.s.s.
There are some areas she has honestly sort of outflanked Bernie on, and she's presenting big, kill the rich ideas in simple ways that communicate to people, with the details behind them for those who want them (I feel like usually we get one or the other). I've turned around on her ever since she went to Iowa and opened her speech in January - again, in Iowa - with the racial wealth gap and housing gap, something she has been speaking about in the south for yeaaaaars. The DNA thing was so badly misplayed I still am supremely annoyed with her, but her agenda is really bold.
GoodEnoughForMe
n.m.s.s.
It's something she'll have to navigate for better or worse. Klobuchar still is getting heat for treating her staff horribly. Which is horrible! It says a lot when you are an ******* to your employees. But there is another candidate with a bit of a reputation for being angry/mean/yelling with staff and ignoring them, and while it was maybe not quite as severe as Klobuchar, it also got almost 0 play time, because he's a guy.
I heard one pundit on the news (CNN IIRC) that usually these "false reports to police" cases, while felonies, are generally not prosecuted, or treated with a slap on the wrist. But in this case they want to send a message, so they may throw the book at him.
Because this is what we want our men in politics to embody:
And this is what we want our women in politics to embody:
The above are the two statues that flank the base of the entrance to our national archives (where the original US Constitution, Declaration of Independence and Magna Carta are displayed). They didn't put them statues up for no reason bub.
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Lexicus
Deity
We aren't "held up" on the DNA thing, she's my second choice in spite of the DNA thing. Having the issues out in the primary is what the primary is for, saying that argument and debate help the Republicans is not helpful
GoodEnoughForMe
n.m.s.s.
I missed part of this! https://splinternews.com/2020-democrats-are-starting-to-back-reparations-1832796099
I knew about Warren's housing plan, which is Good, didn't realize Harris had made a statement in support of reparations too. I'm honestly happy doing so isn't politically destructive, particularly for a non-white candidate, which I think it would have been as recently as 2016.
I knew about Warren's housing plan, which is Good, didn't realize Harris had made a statement in support of reparations too. I'm honestly happy doing so isn't politically destructive, particularly for a non-white candidate, which I think it would have been as recently as 2016.
metalhead
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Yeah, the stated support for reparations is a huge deal. And not only that, she also proposes policy aimed at providing redress for decades of government redlining. I'm not a huge fan of home-buying assistance as the vehicle for that, I think renters should get assistance too. But still, it shows she has made some effort to understand the issue.
I'm over the DNA thing. It annoyed the hell out of me too, but it's history now - which I'm betting was exactly the intent of doing it 2 years before the election. It still reflects poorly on her, but in the grand scheme of things it's pretty small potatoes compared to the flaws in some of the other candidates.
I'm over the DNA thing. It annoyed the hell out of me too, but it's history now - which I'm betting was exactly the intent of doing it 2 years before the election. It still reflects poorly on her, but in the grand scheme of things it's pretty small potatoes compared to the flaws in some of the other candidates.
Lexicus
Deity
How is Warren or Harris' stated support for reparations a big deal? This is an honest question. I understand that to some degree support for reparations has always functioned as more of a signal than an actual policy commitment, but do either of them have any kind of outline for an actual concrete reparations policy that could work or is it just signalling to black voters that they will take their concerns seriously?
In Harris' case given her record and the already-evident waffling on Medicare-for-All I think we can dismiss it as posturing, but what about Warren? Imo, the DNA thing might be relevant here: remember that when the chips were down she allowed Harvard to tout her as a diversity hire at the expense of actual PoC. What does that say about her commitment to justice for black people in this country?
In Harris' case given her record and the already-evident waffling on Medicare-for-All I think we can dismiss it as posturing, but what about Warren? Imo, the DNA thing might be relevant here: remember that when the chips were down she allowed Harvard to tout her as a diversity hire at the expense of actual PoC. What does that say about her commitment to justice for black people in this country?
GoodEnoughForMe
n.m.s.s.
To be honest most policy is sort of posturing from candidates - cabinet appointments and judicial appointments are probably way more important for someone who can't pass legislation. I suppose Obamacare is the best recent example of a bully pulpit and even that was a cluster-we-know-what. Buuuut I appreciate that understanding of the issue it suggests people have, particularly given that Warren has made the racial wealth gap an issue of hers for the last 6-7 years.
Warren does have a concrete housing plan, she announced it awhile ago, with a specific aim on black Americans and victims of housing discrimination and redlining. She has numbers and everything. Harris is a bit more nebulous right now.
Warren does have a concrete housing plan, she announced it awhile ago, with a specific aim on black Americans and victims of housing discrimination and redlining. She has numbers and everything. Harris is a bit more nebulous right now.
Lexicus
Deity
Sure, but I don't think it's unreasonable to try to figure out whether the posturing signals genuine commitment to an issue if not to a specific policy.
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