The GTP Unofficial 2020 US Elections Thread

[Biggles]

Oh don't get me wrong, I think a certain percentage of the American public will look past that.

I think it's likely that the vast majority of men, certainly of the age of Biden & Trump, have made inappropriate comments to women at times & many have engaged in some kind of unwanted physical contact. That's not the same thing as "sexual assault" though & certainly not equivalent to rape.

 

[Joey D]

I think it's likely that the vast majority of men, certainly of the age of Biden & Trump, have made inappropriate comments to women at times & many have engaged in some kind of unwanted physical contact. That's not the same thing as "sexual assault" though & certainly not equivalent to rape.

Do you not understand what sexual assault is? Because comments like this make me think you don't.

 

[Biggles]

Do you not understand what sexual assault is? Because comments like this make me think you don't.

I'm not sure what you're implying? But when the word"sexual assault" comes to be used to describe anything from sniffing somebody's hair to violent rape, it ceases to become a very useful term.

 

[Joey D]

I'm not sure what you're implying? But when the word"sexual assault" comes to be used to describe anything from sniffing somebody's hair to violent rape, it ceases to become a very useful term.

I'm implying that you somehow don't think what Biden did on camera is considered sexual assault. In the eyes of the law, he did commit sexual assault when he touched another party without their consent and they felt uncomfortable by it. Is it the same degree as rape with penetration? No, of course not, but it's still sexual assault, it's still illegal, and Biden should still answer for it.

 

[Biggles]

I'm implying that you somehow don't think what Biden did on camera is considered sexual assault. In the eyes of the law, he did commit sexual assault when he touched another party without their consent and they felt uncomfortable by it. Is it the same degree as rape with penetration? No, of course not, but it's still sexual assault, it's still illegal, and Biden should still answer for it.

This is where I disagree with you - at least based on video clips of Biden that I have seen. Again:

I think it's likely that the vast majority of men, certainly of the age of Biden & Trump, have made inappropriate comments to women at times & many have engaged in some kind of unwanted physical contact.

I would call that "sexual harassment" not sexual assault. I'm not sure what Biden's intentions were - it's possible that they were not sexual in nature - it's very difficult to judge his intentions. If they made the women uncomfortable it's inappropriate & wrong. But I think it's a long step from that to make the assumption that he's

the type that wouldn't take "no" as an answer from any girl he tried to make a move on, and it wouldn't surprise me if we found out he cheated constantly on his wife with much, much younger women (like 20-year-olds, not 10-year-olds)

The law isn't supposed to make assumptions based on "type".

 

[DesertPenguin]

I just had the horrible thought that if this pandemic continues long enough then the election might be postponed a year? I mean can they really get everyone to do absentee ballots?

 

[Joey D]

This is where I disagree with you - at least based on video clips of Biden that I have seen.

This is a first-hand account from someone sexually assaulted by Biden (language warning): https://www.thecut.com/amp/2019/03/an-awkward-kiss-changed-how-i-saw-joe-biden.html

I would call that "sexual harassment" not sexual assault. I'm not sure what Biden's intentions were - it's possible that they were not sexual in nature - it's very difficult to judge his intentions. If they made the women uncomfortable it's inappropriate & wrong. But I think it's a long step from that to make the assumption that he's

It's past sexual harassment. Sexual harassment is about insinuating, saying things, making advances, etc. Sexual assault is physical, which is exactly what Biden did with smelling hair, inappropriate touching, and unwanted kissing. Regardless of his intentions, if the victim didn't want it, and it happened, then it's assault. It's not in the same degree (as in legal degrees) as penetrative rape, but it's still assault. Pretty much every crime has different degrees of seriousness, but they all get labeled the same way.

The law isn't supposed to make assumptions based on "type".

The law isn't making an assumption. Biden is literally on camera committing sexual assault, he's been at the focal point of several controversies over it, and it's not like it's exactly hidden. Only this most recent allegation is being swept under the rug.

Based on how Biden conducts himself and the photographic evidence backed up by first-hand accounts, that's what leads me to believe he's probably worse then what's being shown and why nothing would really surprise me if it surfaces. I'm not saying convict him on opinion, but there are more than just opinions that shows he's guilty.

====

I just had the horrible thought that if this pandemic continues long enough then the election might be postponed a year? I mean can they really get everyone to do absentee ballots?

Legally it can't be pushed back that far and it's all outlined in the 20th Amendment:

The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms of Senators and Representatives at noon on the 3d day of January, of the years in which such terms would have ended if this article had not been ratified; and the terms of their successors shall then begin.

...

If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the term of the President, the President elect shall have died, the Vice President elect shall become President. If a President shall not have been chosen before the time fixed for the beginning of his term, or if the President elect shall have failed to qualify, then the Vice President elect shall act as President until a President shall have qualified; and the Congress may by law provide for the case wherein neither a President elect nor a Vice President elect shall have qualified, declaring who shall then act as President, or the manner in which one who is to act shall be selected, and such person shall act accordingly until a President or Vice President shall have qualified.

Essentially if it's not complete by January 20th, then it goes to succession which would end up super messy.

 

[Swagger897]

I'd say for someone that wants to write a wall of text and not know the definition to that which they are opinionated against, it would be wise to search just exactly what that word truly means rather to base it off of their own opinion, no?

Harassment can include “sexual harassment” or unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature.

Let me Google that for you


edit: and I'm going to share my opinion on it... if it is 'offensive' to someone, there is nothing stopping them other than their own mind to say "stop." That should be all the evidence needed to prove whether something was against what they considered unwanted or not.

But then again I'm not a lawyer, nor am I making assumptions of actual law...

 

[Biggles]

This is a first-hand account from someone sexually assaulted by Biden (language warning): https://www.thecut.com/amp/2019/03/an-awkward-kiss-changed-how-i-saw-joe-biden.html



It's past sexual harassment. Sexual harassment is about insinuating, saying things, making advances, etc. Sexual assault is physical, which is exactly what Biden did with smelling hair, inappropriate touching, and unwanted kissing. Regardless of his intentions, if the victim didn't want it, and it happened, then it's assault. It's not in the same degree (as in legal degrees) as penetrative rape, but it's still assault. Pretty much every crime has different degrees of seriousness, but they all get labeled the same way.



The law isn't making an assumption. Biden is literally on camera committing sexual assault, he's been at the focal point of several controversies over it, and it's not like it's exactly hidden. Only this most recent allegation is being swept under the rug.

Based on how Biden conducts himself and the photographic evidence backed up by first-hand accounts, that's what leads me to believe he's probably worse then what's being shown and why nothing would really surprise me if it surfaces. I'm not saying convict him on opinion, but there are more than just opinions that shows he's guilty.

This thread has taken a bit of a depressing & pointless detour IMO. I would pose this simple question:

If there was a candidate in a position to win who espoused all your favoured libertarian positions, but had a history of hair-sniffing harassment (or worse) ... would you vote for him?

I don't find Biden a very impressive candidate, but he might be the appropriate candidate to beat Trump at this time. I would see him as a stop-gap figure, very unlikely to serve a second term & relying on the people around him to form & carry out policy. Nothing wrong with that IMO - preferable to a narcissistic ego-maniac who wants to control everything & is unable to accept any criticism from anyone either inside or outside his administration.

So ... you've got the choice of an old, slightly senile, middle-of-the-road hair-sniffer or an old, megalomaniacal, authoritarian pussy-grabber ... or (potentially) an old, cranky, non-harassing socialist. Take your pick.
,

 

[Danoff]

If there was a candidate in a position to win who espoused all your favoured libertarian positions, but had a history of hair-sniffing harassment (or worse) ... would you vote for him?

I think, to an extent, Biden and Trump are both features of the two-party fallacy. You have to remember that the reason there is so much tolerance for nose-holding in the US voting booth is because of the Konos/Kodos issue.

Not the Biden and Trump are Konos and Kodos. I can definitely tell them apart.

 

[Dotini]

Biden is a zombie, a pathetic, pitiful, shambling shell of a man who used to be a skilled and electable if old-fashioned flesh-pressing politician.
I would say there is almost zero chance he could be inaugurated as US President.

 

[jjaisli]

Biden is a zombie, a pathetic, pitiful, shambling shell of a man who used to be a skilled and electable if old-fashioned flesh-pressing politician.
I would say there is almost zero chance he could be inaugurated as US President.

I once thought similar thoughts about Trump. And yet, he won the election.

 

[Dotini]

I once thought similar thoughts about Trump. And yet, he won the election.

I think poor old Joe could win the election, I don't see a problem with that. But it might be ideal if we could nominate, elect and inaugurate a dead body on the grounds that a President who does exactly nothing would be better than the alternative.

 

[Joey D]

If there was a candidate in a position to win who espoused all your favoured libertarian positions, but had a history of hair-sniffing harassment (or worse) ... would you vote for him?

No. If they're violating the rights of others, as in sexually assaulting them, they'd be a pretty terrible libertarian candidate or at the very least a hypocrite.

So ... you've got the choice of an old, slightly senile, middle-of-the-road hair-sniffer or an old, megalomaniacal, authoritarian pussy-grabber ... or (potentially) an old, cranky, non-harassing socialist. Take your pick.

I mean there are many choices for president. 1,056 people filed FEC documents to run for office as of yesterday. For whatever reason people think there should only be choice A and choice B instead of seeing that there are literraly a thousand choices. While most of those aren't even remotely known by the general public, probably 20 of them would actually have a shot if people cared to look past the two-party system. Ideally, the US would have around six major parties competing for Congress and the Presidency. It would solve the issue of Republicans and Democrats being more or less the same with some minor differences that really don't change the balance of the country that much.

But since we are in a mostly two-party system, out of the three people remaining, I'd take Sanders. While I agree with almost nothing he stands for, as a person he seems alright and I think he'd at least be able to act professionally. Also, unlike Biden he doesn't show signs of dementia and every time I hear him talk, he sounds sharp and on point. Plus with the way Congress is, the likelihood of Sanders getting anything radical passed is pretty much nil.

I can definitely tell them apart.

Yup, one's a skinny old man who's off his rocker, has bad hair, a fake tan, likes to get "fresh" with women, and probably doesn't understand how the Constitution works while the other is a fat old man who's off his rocker, has bad hair, a fake tan, likes to get "fresh" with women, and probably doesn't understand how the Constitution works. Oh and the fat guy doesn't understand steak and commits the cardinal sin of eating it well done with ketchup...I can't believe my tax dollars pay for that travesty.

 

[Biggles]

No. If they're violating the rights of others, as in sexually assaulting them, they'd be a pretty terrible libertarian candidate or at the very least a hypocrite.

Moral turpitude/hypocrisy couldn't happen with a libertarian? Oh the sweet naïveté.

But since we are in a mostly two-party system, out of the three people remaining, I'd take Sanders. .

Fair enough. But then you come down to the reality that if Biden wins the nomination you are left with a choice between Biden & Trump - the hair-sniffer vs. the pussy grabber. Of course, if you live in Utah you can always vote for your libertarian candidate, as your vote isn't likely to make a difference anyway, but if you still lived in Michigan & you vote mattered, who do you pick?

 

[Joey D]

Moral turpitude/hypocrisy couldn't happen with a libertarian? Oh the sweet naïveté.

I didn't say it couldn't happen, I said they'd be a terrible libertarian candidate and I wouldn't vote for them.

Fair enough. But then you come down to the reality that if Biden wins the nomination you are left with a choice between Biden & Trump - the hair-sniffer vs. the pussy grabber. Of course, if you live in Utah you can always vote for your libertarian candidate, as your vote isn't likely to make a difference anyway, but if you still lived in Michigan & you vote mattered, who do you pick?

A vote for a third party always matters because if they get at least 5% of the vote, they're eligible for public campaign funding in the next election cycle, which is huge.

In Utah, I'll probably vote Libertarian depending on who the candidate is. Right now it looks like Jacob Hornberger, which I only know a little about. Once they make their selection, I'll worry about it more. If I still lived in Michigan, I'd probably also probably cast my vote the same way. Neither Trump or Biden are good candidates and I wouldn't vote for them. I don't subscribe to the idea of the lesser of two evils because, at the end of the day, you're still left with evil.

 

[Swagger897]

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/31/us/politics/trump-approval-rating.html

Independent perspective of Trump

 

[Liquid]

If covid spirals out of control, is there a chance the election could be delayed or postponed?

I'm fairly up to date on election protocol for a non-USian but I'm unaware of anything to do with Presidential elections being delayed and the knock-on effects that can have on the term in office under the 25th Amendment.

 

[Joey D]

If covid spirals out of control, is there a chance the election could be delayed or postponed?

I'm fairly up to date on election protocol for a non-USian but I'm unaware of anything to do with Presidential elections being delayed and the knock-on effects that can have on the term in office under the 25th Amendment.

Legally it can't be postponed by much. The president has to be elected by January 20th or it goes to succession, meaning Pence or Pelosi could get it depending on how it's interpreted.

What will probably happen is that the electoral process will be longer than just one day. While many states already do this, I could see it being implemented nationally. So instead of just one day, you'd have a week or two in order to vote with every registered voter receiving a ballot by mail. Best guess is that it runs the first two weeks of November with us knowing the winner sometime around Thanksgiving.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

Legally it can't be postponed by much. The president has to be elected by January 20th or it goes to succession, meaning Pence or Pelosi could get it depending on how it's interpreted.

What will probably happen is that the electoral process will be longer than just one day. While many states already do this, I could see it being implemented nationally. So instead of just one day, you'd have a week or two in order to vote with every registered voter receiving a ballot by mail. Best guess is that it runs the first two weeks of November with us knowing the winner sometime around Thanksgiving.

Wouldn't that just be the most Nancy way of becoming president.

 

[Darla Starch]

The Berninator is dropping out, and so the ONE TRUE NOMINEE is left.

 

[Liquid]

The DNC.

 

[Leo Thorne]

Bye-Bye Bernie

 

[PeterJB]

So after all the fuss about having more diversity and a young, fresh face in the White House it's whittled down to two old white men in varying degrees of mental decline. Should be entertaining.

 

[GranTurNismo]

May as well just cancel all upcoming debates, the conventions, and even the election itself. Trump already won. Why waste the time and resources.

 

[jjaisli]

So after all the fuss about having more diversity and a young, fresh face in the White House it's whittled down to two old white men in varying degrees of mental decline. Should be entertaining.

May as well just cancel all upcoming debates, the conventions, and even the election itself. Trump already won. Why waste the time and resources.

I can understand the skepticism and doubts about the DNC, especially after 2016. But it should be abundantly clear to everybody at this point, that majority of democratic primary voters WANTED Joe Biden. I didn't. And I wasn't exactly enamored with ANYBODY vying for the democratic nomination. But I think Joe, despite all of his faults, can likely pull in enough independents and moderate Republicans, in a way that an Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders never would. I'm not exactly thrilled with the prospect of a Joe Biden Presidency. And I suspect that we're going to be in for at least 2 years of economic woe and turmoil after the Covid-19 fall out that will make it tough on any candidate. But at this point, anything would be an improvement. And I think there are enough people out there who feel the same way.

 

[FerrariF1GT]

May as well just cancel all upcoming debates, the conventions, and even the election itself. Trump already won. Why waste the time and resources.

To be honest, I don’t think Bernie had much of a shot to begin with. If you look past what social media says about him (let’s be honest, that doesn’t really reflect what the majority of people think), he hasn’t really done well compared to the more moderate candidates. Really, the average person doesn’t care about who’s in office as long as they have the necessities. They probably don’t vote at all. Low standard, I know, but it is what it is.

I don’t agree with much of Bernie’s proposals, but I like that he’s willing to get people to vote, and as Joey is saying he’s definitely a better communicator than Biden. But I’d take anybody over Trump at this point, and I think Biden has the best shot at it given the state of the much-flawed party system. Knowing Biden’s history, flaws, and recent (credible) rape allegations, it’s going to be a tough battle, but I believe that resilience, rather than giving up in the face of adversity, will prevail.

 

[Chrunch Houston]

Trump call for a 14.25% wealth tax for those that have over $10 million!

 

[Dotini]

Biden done? Hillary our next president?

A woman who accused Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden of sexually assaulting her when she worked for him in 1993 has filed a formal criminal complaint with the Washington, DC, police about the alleged incident, Business Insider has learned.

Tara Reade says she told police that Biden assaulted her in a Senate corridor, shoving his hand under her skirt and penetrating her with his fingers. She was a staffer in his Senate office at the time. The statute of limitations for the alleged assault has passed.

https://www.businessinsider.com/for...a-reade-files-sexual-assault-complaint-2020-4

 

[BobK]

Biden done? Hillary our next president?



https://www.businessinsider.com/for...a-reade-files-sexual-assault-complaint-2020-4

So? He's a Democrat and they are permitted to do these things.