USA 2012: The Candidates!

Started by Calin Leafshade, Wed 20/07/2011 09:37:02

Previous topic - Next topic

Calin Leafshade

Good morning denizens of the internet.

I have been following the evolution(lol) of the republican candidates in the US and I would like some American perspective.

Michelle Bachmann appears to be something of a favourite for the republican candidate alongside Mitt Romney. I am of the opinion that *both* of these people are batshit crazy/unqualified. What do you think?

While I think it would be fun (in a trainwreck kinda way) if Ron Paul won I can't really see that happening and even if he did the senate would never endorse any of his ideas. (Amusingly I actually think that Paul is *right* about the unconstitutionality of things like social security and FEMA but thats another story)

The rest of the candidates are no-hopers and thus I don't care about them.

Discuss.

Tuomas

candidates for what exactly?

Calin Leafshade


monkey0506

I figure if the world's gonna end a month after voting, where's the point in it anyway? :=

Buckethead

Quote from: monkE3y_05_06 on Wed 20/07/2011 10:05:20
I figure if the world's gonna end a month after voting, where's the point in it anyway? :=

Maybe the end of the world will be caused by the fact that you didn't vote.  :=

monkey0506

So long as it entails He-Man traveling back through time to explain why it is imperative that I cast my vote to prevent our world from collapsing into a black hole which would traverse the dimensions between his and ours through the wormhole which he conveniently uses, thereby destroying not only our own planet, but the planet Eternia too, then you can count me in!

All I have to do is not cast my vote then He-Man will come pay me a visit then we'll travel back in time together so that I can cast a vote which will create a time-paradox whereby He-Man will never visit me which will result in my never casting a vote which will then loop infinitely across a point of time so small that the gravitational pull on the fabric of space-time will rip the entire thing to shreds and we will all become the Masters of the Universe! Neither bound by physical limitations or the boundaries of what we once knew as "time", we will have, as Jafar the Genie put it, "ABSOLUTE POWER!" It's pretty much a flawless plan. :=

Also, any other Dolph Lundgren fans in the audience? :D

LRH

The Republican party seems kind of strange right now. I've been following this whole debt ceiling crisis thing we've got going on here, and I'm not really sure what the hell is going to happen. From what I gather from the American Public in my neck of the woods, (which tends to lean slightly toward liberalism) people are getting extremely frustrated and out of touch with their government. We all want change, but all of the options seem limited. We're still stuck in a two party system until some more people wise up and vote for a third, so that kind of...well, sucks.

As far as Bachmann goes, I think she's an idiot. Her blathering about how horrible gay people apparently are did nothing for her cause for sure. Mitt Romney? I'm not sure. Everyone likes the whole "business man knows how to make us some MONIES" idea that seems to float around with his name (for some reason?) but he doesn't seem quite qualified enough...or down to earth enough for me. I don't really care for his proposed policies.


InCreator

#7
If that... thing becomes president of US

the world is as well as ended.

Look at her. Look at her eyes--!
"I WILL EAT YOUR SOUL"
This is how robot spies will look like if machines decide to rise and make human-like machines to infiltrate our species.

Now this dude looks much more like potential president:

Rich white guy with "perfect" smile. Looks exactly like I imagine a successful tycoon.
"Don't forget to buy a Mittâ,,¢ flashlight/trainers/condoms/whatever!"

I think he'll do.

Politics? I don't think majority of US voters vote for politics. Remember Bush?

monkey0506

I like how Romney is raising his hand, showing that he has placed his vote firmly in himself.

And for the record voters in Amerikaa don't vote. They beg and plead the Electoral College to give their points to whoever the news media has told them to fight for, and in the end the Electoral College gives the points to whoever paid them the highest tab. The liberal news media tells people to "vote" for the Democratic candidate, the conservative news media tells people to "vote" for the Republican candidate, all the while keeping people unaware that their "vote" means nothing. Every once in a while their is an exception where one of the parties is entirely bought out and the news media on that side just gives in. I mean, seriously, nobody wanted John McCain as President of the U.S., so even the conservative news media was sort of just "eh, we've put our hopes against Obama in...this guy?"

Sorry, but the illusion that we actually choose the leadership in this country has long since been broken for me. It's all about one thing, and one thing only: Who's got the most money?

It's sort of like a really exclusive restaurant or theme park. Give it a few years and they'll be selling the tickets by the dozen.

InCreator

#9
I wouldn't let neither of them near nuclear suitcase (if such thing exists outside Tom Clancy's imagination/24 series)

But honestly, first time seeing those names and hearing about USA 2012.
E: Checked all local news outlets - not a word so far. Guess we don't care  :P 2012 is far away too

Tuomas

There's something on the newspaper today, so now I know what you're talking about. But it doesn't really interest me all that much yet.

Dualnames

Worked on Strangeland, Primordia, Hob's Barrow, The Cat Lady, Mage's Initiation, Until I Have You, Downfall, Hunie Pop, and every game in the Wadjet Eye Games catalogue (porting)

Snarky

#12
Quote from: monkE3y_05_06 on Thu 21/07/2011 06:18:56
And for the record voters in Amerikaa don't vote. They beg and plead the Electoral College to give their points to whoever the news media has told them to fight for, and in the end the Electoral College gives the points to whoever paid them the highest tab. The liberal news media tells people to "vote" for the Democratic candidate, the conservative news media tells people to "vote" for the Republican candidate, all the while keeping people unaware that their "vote" means nothing.

Didn't we go through this utter bullshit argument around the last presidential election, when someone else claimed it didn't matter because the Electoral College would just pick whichever candidate they wanted anyway?

If that were the case, why would the winner of the election be announced right after the general election, weeks before the Electoral College cast their votes (a ceremony that is in reality a mere formality)? There are many valid criticisms to make of the American electoral system, but complaining that the Electoral College is corrupt and not accountable to the popular vote is not one of them.

To Calin's question (though I don't live in the US any more, I heard a lot about Romney, Bachmann and the other candidates when I was there), Romney is clearly well-qualified on paper to be president, but last time around he left everyone with the impression that he doesn't stand for anything and is prepared to change his mind on any issue for political advantage, and I think that will sink him in the primaries. Bachmann's resume is slimmer, she has achieved nothing in office, and she certainly belongs to the batshit-crazy conservative fringe of the party, but people say she's a savvy political operator. She'd have no chance in the general election, unless things were to go even more spectacularly wrong for the US in the next year, but as VP-candidate she'd probably be more credible than Palin was (though with the whole "founding fathers ended slavery" thing, the media narrative is already starting to turn her into Palin 2.0).

I don't know that much about Huntsman or Pawlenty, but from what I've heard they appear to be serious, mainstream Republicans you could imagine as president. They might stand a chance against a weakened Obama. And I think once the field narrows down, the negatives against Romney and Bachmann are going to boost at least one of them to a decent shot at the nomination.

I think the best bet for the GOP is to pick a pair of candidates that look competent and trustworthy and aren't too extreme, who can play on populist anger without seeming like populists and can convince Americans that they know how to fix things without providing too many details about the painful choices they'll have to make. Then it all depends on how the economy is doing and whether the country is sick of Obama. (But then again, I'm not your typical American voter, so my intuition could be completely off.)

mkennedy

The other day I had a dream that I was trying to predict the 2012 elections with a crystal ball and it told be that Bachmann would win. Whether it was referring to the primary or general elections I'm not sure. While she could conceivably win the primary lets hope for all our sakes that she would lose the general.

Khris

I just want to say how absolutely hilarious I'd find the whole political circus in the US if it couldn't have such drastic consequences on the entire world.

I don't really follow US politics, but every time Bachmann or some other nut case ends up on youtube due to some utterly inane statement I shake my head in disbelief, given the absurdity of it all.
If a politician in Germany publicly uttered something even halfway as far in the crazy zone they'd get absolutely shredded in the media and laughed out of office. Yet in the US, they seem to do this on a daily basis and get away with it.
Or take somebody like Bill O'Reilly; I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that nobody here in Germany would seriously watch a German version of him except for shits 'n' giggles, let alone of people like Glenn Beck. The fact that people like them manage to be on the air in big networks for years is something I somehow still haven't fully processed.

I also want to say that by German standards, the Democrats are Conservatives and the Republicans are right-wing extremists.

I just hope the Democrats win this, they still seem to be the least evil.

Bror_Jon

Quote from: Khris on Tue 26/07/2011 13:33:25
I just hope the Democrats win this, they still seem to be the least evil.

Yeah. It's like choosing between poop and poop pie. At least the poop pie has good crust, but it's still mainly shit.
Quote from: monkey_05_06
I officially love you good sir, Always and Eternally.

bicilotti

Quote from: Khris on Tue 26/07/2011 13:33:25
I just want to say how absolutely hilarious I'd find the whole political circus in the US if it couldn't have such drastic consequences on the entire world.

I don't really follow US politics, but every time Bachmann or some other nut case ends up on youtube due to some utterly inane statement I shake my head in disbelief, given the absurdity of it all.
If a politician in Germany publicly uttered something even halfway as far in the crazy zone they'd get absolutely shredded in the media and laughed out of office. Yet in the US, they seem to do this on a daily basis and get away with it.
Or take somebody like Bill O'Reilly; I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that nobody here in Germany would seriously watch a German version of him except for shits 'n' giggles, let alone of people like Glenn Beck. The fact that people like them manage to be on the air in big networks for years is something I somehow still haven't fully processed.

I also want to say that by German standards, the Democrats are Conservatives and the Republicans are right-wing extremists.

I just hope the Democrats win this, they still seem to be the least evil.

Must... resist... obvious joke... must resist...

Radiant

Quote from: Khris on Tue 26/07/2011 13:33:25
I just want to say how absolutely hilarious I'd find the whole political circus in the US if it couldn't have such drastic consequences on the entire world.
It's kind of funny to read that an English minister of finance is telling the American republicans to stop blocking their government finances with filibusters for their own political gain...

LUniqueDan

Please.... Bici... please... dooooo

Quote from: Khris on Tue 26/07/2011 13:33:25
I just want to say how absolutely hilarious I'd find the whole political circus in the US if it couldn't have such drastic consequences on the entire world.

It sums my position too. Palin, Bachman or any other look-alike teabaggers as President will be tha best non-stop show of running gags in mankind history but... the real-world consequences will  be soooo bad. (Can't we had this BEFORE the Manhattan Project ?)

While I'm being relatively far-left, the most charismatic imao is Ron Paul. He  has some cool points during the last rep. convention (*cough* I also need 1 C64-style drawing of an albinos crocodile - thanx *cough* ) But so far he's the olny potential candidate who seems to have read about world politics, at least more than the others who seems to keep their world views from superheroes comic-books of the 50's.

Obama was... desappointing. I guess this is typical of western politic. Cool guys like Obama can olny get elected in weird times and once they are there, the bad situation prevent them to do anything...
"I've... seen things you people wouldn't believe. Destroyed pigeon nests on the roof of the toolshed. I watched dead mice glitter in the dark, near the rain gutter trap.
All those moments... will be lost... in time, like tears... in... rain."

Ali

Quote from: Radiant on Tue 26/07/2011 14:43:09
It's kind of funny to read that an English minister of finance is telling the American republicans to stop blocking their government finances with filibusters for their own political gain...

I guess you mean Vince Cable? To be picky he's the Business Secretary, not the Chancellor. He ought to be the Chancellor, but he's not.

Out of interest, are you saying it's ironic because British politicians are guilty of the same?

SMF spam blocked by CleanTalk