[POLL] United States Presidential Elections 2016

[Northstar]

When are the two final party candidates announced usually? I know all the voting needs to be done first though.

Candidates are officially announced at the conventions, the Republican one is July 18-21 and the Democratic version is July 25-28.

 

[Johnnypenso]

When are the two final party candidates announced usually? I know all the voting needs to be done first though.

Primaries begin in February 2016, conventions in June and July.

 

[GTPorsche]

https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/...ose-to-front-runner-trump-in-latest-iowa-poll

Not that it matters any... they're all poor choices.

 

[Dotini]

http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/traitor-his-class_1020527.html
What Trump offers is permission to conceive of an American interest as a national interest separate from the “international community” and permission to wish to see that interest triumph. What makes him popular on immigration is not how extreme his policies are, but the emphasis he puts on the interests of Americans rather than everyone else. His slogan is “Make America Great Again,” and he is not ashamed of the fact that this means making it better than other places, perhaps even at their expense.

His least practical suggestion—making Mexico pay for the border wall—is precisely the most significant: It shows that a President Trump would be willing to take something from someone else in order to give it to the American people. Whether he could achieve this is of secondary importance; the fact that he is willing to say it is everything. Nothing is more terrifying to the business and donor class—as well as the media and the entire elite—than Trump’s embrace of a tangible American nationalism. The fact that Trump should by all rights be a member of this class and is in fact a traitor to it makes him all the more attractive to his supporters and all the more baffling to pundits.

 

[Liquid]

Has he yet addressed how his businesses themselves have outsourced work to other countries, taking work away from America?

It gets reposted every single day and I don't know what the official response to it is.

 

[Swagger897]

I don't know what the official response to it is.

There isn't one...

 

[Johnnypenso]

Has he yet addressed how his businesses themselves have outsourced work to other countries, taking work away from America?

It gets reposted every single day and I don't know what the official response to it is.

I can give you his answer. Trump maximizes his profits under the system currently in place, same as most capitalists. He's advocating for changing the system. Different system, different decisions.

 

[Sanji Himura]

I can give you his answer. Trump maximizes his profits under the system currently in place, same as most capitalists. He's advocating for changing the system. Different system, different decisions.

Agreed. During the seven years (give or take) that we had under Obama, the man is responsible for outsourcing more American jobs than any president in history. Ford, the car company, is starting up a plant in Mexico as we speak because the taxes are cheaper for corporations than they are here in the US, and Ford is the only car company that didn't take the bailout for auto makers.

So what does that mean? Hypothetically speaking, if Ford were to open a new plant anywhere in the globe, here are the top 10 countries to AVOID based on corporate tax rate alone:

1. United States: 40%
2. Cameroon: 38.5%
3. Japan: 38.1%
4. 7 countries @ 35%
5. Brazil: 34%
6. Venezuela: 34%
7. Belgium: 33.99%
8. France: 33.33%
9. Jamaica: 33.3%
10. Colombia: 33%

Already in that list, you have 3 of the G8 (With, from the highest, Germany at 29.65%, Italy at 27.5%, Russia at 20%, the UK at 19% and finally Canada at 15% (and more) remaining.), so the big question is why the high taxes? The answer, at least in the US, is debt. We have over $18 trillion in debt, and only growing.

 

[huskeR32]

During the seven years (give or take) that we had under Obama, the man is responsible for outsourcing more American jobs than any president in history.

You have a source for this?

 

[Touring Mars]

Nothing is more terrifying to the business and donor class—as well as the media and the entire elite—than Trump’s embrace of a tangible American nationalism. The fact that Trump should by all rights be a member of this class and is in fact a traitor to it makes him all the more attractive to his supporters and all the more baffling to pundits.

One thing (most of) the GOP candidates have in common is the fact that they are all trying to paint themselves as separate from the 'elite', not one of those 'career politicians' or 'bureaucrats in D.C.', and 'a new kind of Republican'. It's wearing a bit thin... But somehow, Trump is managing to convince people that he really is the outsider candidate, but with the necessary clout, influence and readiness to really shake things up, even though to most people he is the very epitome of the 'elite' (if not the Establishment). He's managing to put himself in the enviable position that he can say whatever he wants and it's not going to do him much damage... the other candidates are, in comparison, walking on eggshells, one ill-advised comment away from oblivion. He's also making other candidates look bad if they oppose him, and even worse if they try to mimic him...Walker talking about a wall between Canada and the US is an embarrassingly awful example.

It will take a while for the GOP pack to thin out, but 2/3rds of the GOP candidates need to take a long, hard look in the mirror and give up now. Only when the pack is down to maybe 2-3 serious candidates will it become clear who can take on Trump and win. Right now, however, I can't see any of them managing it.

In other news...

 

[FoolKiller]

Every time I talk **** about Rand, though, I'm reminded of how John McCain was dead in the water but eventually wound up the nominee. Fingers crossed.

McCain had the media support. He was their chosen. I'm still not sold on it not being Bush this time around.


My dream election for pure entertainment value would be Trump/Palin(maybe Bachman) vs Biden/Warren.

Penn Jillett described Biden's sudden emergence in the media as the crazy uncle at Thanksgiving dinner asleep on the couch when someone comes in and says, "Uncle Joe, Donald's in there talking a bunch of crap and he's eating the pie before dinner!"

And Uncle Joe sitting up and saying, "There's pie? I'm coming!"

 

[Sanji Himura]

You have a source for this?

It is meant to be taken as a generalized opinion and not as any stated fact. Besides, there are plenty of news sources around that say that one company or another is taking their manufacturing jobs out of the USA.

I can also point to the unemployment rate too. In 2008, according to Tradingeconomics.com, the unemployment rate hovered around 5%, peaked during the recession (2009-2010) at around 10% and has fallen gradually to its current level at 5.3%. You might be thinking this defeats your point, but that is wrong. Obama, and most presidents in the 20th Century, have cooked the numbers as far as the unemployment rate is concerned to only include people that are unemployed and are currently seeking jobs instead of counting all people who are unemployed. That is why for every quarter of Obama's presidency the initial numbers were released lower than they would be (revised up) compared to Bush (he revised down). It made him look good economically. By the way, during the 2008 recession, the average true unemployment rate hovered around 14-15%. During the Great Depression, unemployment was only 8%.

 

[ryzno]

I know this thread is for 2016 but I had to share this.
God help America...

http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/31/politics/kanye-west-2020-running-for-president-vma/index.html

 

[Sanji Himura]

I know this thread is for 2016 but I had to share this.
God help America...

http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/31/politics/kanye-west-2020-running-for-president-vma/index.html

My dad brought that up this morning while listening to Glenn Beck. If anything, that 2020 nonsense is a misnomer. If Hillary stumbles, he is going to run.

 

[TenEightyOne]

...Obama, the man is responsible for outsourcing more American jobs than any president in history.

It is meant to be taken as a generalized opinion and not as any stated fact.

So not true then. Thanks for clearing that up.

 

[Sanji Himura]

So not true then. Thanks for clearing that up.

If we take the unemployment rate for the last ten years, obviously, Obama has lost more net jobs than Bush did. In fact, the unemployment trend that Bush had during the 2008 Presidential election, that number would be sub 4.5% throughout his remaining term. I also want to put emphasis from an earlier post that I made:

Obama, and most presidents in the 20th Century, have cooked the numbers as far as the unemployment rate is concerned to only include people that are unemployed and are currently seeking jobs instead of counting all people who are unemployed. That is why for every quarter of Obama's presidency the initial numbers were released lower than they would be (revised up) compared to Bush (he revised down).

Every president wants to look good economically. The issue is always the first thing on voter's minds when they go to the polls. That is half the reason why people who don't actively seek out a job are left out of the unemployment rate. It doesn't look very good to any president if the unemployment numbers are revealed to be at 15% for a year straight. By cooking the books in this manner, it plays a very dangerous game with both the stock market that predicts those trends and, especially if you are a republican in office, the media at large because of the spin that they can put on them.

 

[Joey D]

I know this thread is for 2016 but I had to share this.
God help America...

http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/31/politics/kanye-west-2020-running-for-president-vma/index.html

He can't be any worse than the options we currently have.

 

[huskeR32]

Obama has lost more net jobs than Bush did.

That really depends upon how one goes about attributing blame for the Recession. Clearly, I don't need to ask where you've decided to place most of it.

especially if you are a republican in office, the media at large because of the spin that they can put on them

What is it with this persecution complex about the media that all conservatives have?

It is meant to be taken as a generalized opinion and not as any stated fact.

Then don't state it as a fact.

--

EDIT:

During the Great Depression, unemployment was only 8%.

Do you have a source for this?

 

[TenEightyOne]

That is half the reason why people who don't actively seek out a job are left out of the unemployment rate.

It's way less then half. Non-jobseekers are normally in that status because of an inability (rather than a sheer unwillingness) to work.

You have to be careful with unemployment numbers.

 

[huskeR32]

You have to be careful with unemployment numbers.

So true. Which is why this post smells an awful lot like cow manure to me.

 

[ryzno]

He can't be any worse than the options we currently have.

He's not lol. But if you don't think you get enough of the Kardashians everyday. Wait till Kim's the First Lady. And you know Kris will be there every step of the way.
We don't need rich, fame hungry, reality stars(yes that includes "the fart man" himself), running this country.

 

[DustDriver]

http://www.vier.be/deidealewereld/videos/kanye-president/1203769
Video is in English, and funny

 

[GTsail]

During the Great Depression, unemployment was only 8%.

What are you smoking???

And can I have some???

Do you have a source for your 8% number?

According to Wikipedia:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Depression the unemployment rate went up to around 23-24%

 

[A2K78]

[93][/URL] In the U.S., massive war spending doubled economic growth rates, either masking the effects of the Depression or essentially ending the Depression. Businessmen ignored the mounting national debt and heavy new taxes, redoubling their efforts for greater output to take advantage of generous government contracts.

WWII made the depression worst as oppose to making it better seeing how it sucked resources from the economy. On the issue of employment, given the fact that the majority of human capital was busy fighting the war overseas this lead to a drop in unempolyment.

What finally brought America out of the depression was the market, of course they never teach this stuff in school.

 

[Swagger897]

Anyways, we can make a numbers thread if that's what y'all are into...

The other thing I have to say is Biden. I never viewed him as someone who could make it into the next chair either, after spending 30+ years in the Senate. He does seem to have quite a liking towards international affairs, however, more recently some have not been in the best of light.

I see him almost like an older version of JFK. A northerner (Not like it's a bad thing. I see no difference between the two groups since half all of my family was born well above the MD line, and I was born down here in GA..) who is also Catholic, which surprisingly, has not yet been mentioned in the media from what I've seen.

I dunno... no one ever took him seriously I guess, and it will be a shame if Obama actually endorses Clinton over Biden..

 

[Tornado]

Biden doesn't have anything that Hilary doesn't already have much "better." That goes towards the negative aspects too, but if he actually runs it would almost certainly be a repeat of what happened when he ran against Hilary in 2008. She was theoretically farther down the food chain when she was part of the Obama administration than he was, and even then he was completely ignored even when he actually attended political functions while she was followed.

During the seven years (give or take) that we had under Obama, the man is responsible for outsourcing more American jobs than any president in history.

Not all of the drone strikes can be against Americans.

 

[TenEightyOne]

I see him almost like an older version of JFK. A northerner (Not like it's a bad thing. I see no difference between the two groups since half all of my family was born well above the MD line, and I was born down here in GA..) who is also Catholic, which surprisingly, has not yet been mentioned in the media from what I've seen.

Maybe he's keeping himself visible whilst stalking the melee that is the "main" race right now... from a foreigner's view (in my opinion) this is the scrappiest run-up in memory. The candidates seem cartoonishly mad and each evoke bad parts of the American stereotype. One can only wonder what the silent middle-ground-America* thinks of it all. A sensible candidate might wait to step over the bodies and into the spotlight once the clamour is over.

*There must be one

 

[huskeR32]

WWII made the depression worst as oppose to making it better

Why has this thread suddenly become Sanji Himura and A2K78's alternate history tour?

Certainly, the notion that WWII almost single-handedly ended the Depression is an oversimplification. But to run all the way to the other side and claim that it actually hurt the economy is a little absurd.

The jobs created as a result of the Lend-Lease Act, for example, or the influx of gold into America from Europeans looking to get their holdings out of unstable countries, were both events that certainly had a positive effect on our economy, and would not have happened were it not for the war.

What finally brought America out of the depression was the market, of course they never teach this stuff in school.

And without the aforementioned influx of gold, it's likely that American confidence in the market would have taken a lot longer to recover, which in turn would have led to less investing, and a longer recovery time.

As is usually the case, the truth lies somewhere in the murky middle where a lot of different factors converge. Your claim is as much of an oversimplification as the one you are rebutting. That may be one reason they don't "teach this stuff in school."

 

[mister dog]

Very very important we keep a 'moderate' democratic presidency in the US. The situation with ISIS is to delicate to have someone that is more balls than brains lead the fight. Imagine if someone like Trump dictates foreign policy

 

[Dotini]

HILLARY: "Bill, how LONG am I going to be in here?!"

BILL: "At this point, WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE?"