The GTP Unofficial 2020 US Elections Thread

[UKMikey]

Now, seriously, Trump needs to sell the west coast to Canada. I really like where I am, physically. What do you think @ryzno, you wouldn't miss California if we peaced out, would you?

My US geography sucks... wouldn't the Alaskans object?

 

[Milouse]

There are good arguments in favor of Trump in these 5 minutes.
The last one is a checkmate.

Spoiler: Language warning

Better quality where available:

Spoiler: Language warning

 

[McLaren]

Lindsey Graham makes an oof.

After being asked about what legislation he proposed to end police brutality, he said he believed in law enforcement reform and that while the people behind the killing of George Floyd "was wrong and people should pay the price," he went on to say that "what is happening in America... is a war on the police itself."

"Do I believe that our cops are systemically racist? No. Do I believe that South Carolina is a racist state? No.," he said. "To young people of color, to young immigrants, this is a great state.

"I care about everybody, if you are a young African-American, an immigrant, you can go anywhere in this state, you just need to be conservative not liberal."

https://www.newsweek.com/lindsey-gr...rison-1538026?amp=1&__twitter_impression=true

 

[Tornado]

Considering he's publicly begged for campaign donations multiple times in the past month or so you'd think he'd put more of a muzzle on it.

 

[ryzno]

You've nearly convinced me to move to Canada. Seriously, I feel like everything you describe is a better system. It naturally fosters ideas like uhh...ideas, consent, dialogue, compromise, accountability. Not only that, but minority parties actually have real political power unlike our entrenched god-awful 2 party system. The USA will never move away from it's rigid framework but it's not hard to see its limitations. If "US versus THEM" is the mantra that precedes a slide into some form of authoritarianism, it shouldn't have been hard to see it coming a long way back.

Now, seriously, Trump needs to sell the west coast to Canada. I really like where I am, physically. What do you think @ryzno, you wouldn't miss California if we peaced out, would you?

I'd miss the cute little Chicanas, the West Coast rappers and y'alls sports teams.

There are good arguments in favor of Trump in these 5 minutes.
The last one is a checkmate.

Spoiler: Language warning

Can't see it in America...

 

[FuriousDemon]

Lindsey Graham makes an oof.

https://www.newsweek.com/lindsey-gr...rison-1538026?amp=1&__twitter_impression=true

That’s insane.

 

[Milouse]

@ryzno , tweet edited.
But you may not like the video.

 

[TB]

Judge shot down Abbott's order.

https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2020/10/09/politics/texas-ballot-drop-boxes/index.html

Couldn't agree more with this:

"Frankly, it ought to be a shock to all of us that such a ruling is even required," Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa said in a statement.

 

[UKMikey]

There are good arguments in favor of Trump in these 5 minutes.
The last one is a checkmate.

It was almost worth listening to all of those people to hear the guy at the end's argument for Trump.

Did you hear the lady filming Klepper on her phone when he told that guy who didn't believe in mail-in ballots that Trump mails his vote in? You could hear her shouting "That's different..."

 

[ryzno]

Off topic but has anyone else been receiving this when reloading a page? I've been receiving it for the last few days.

 

[Milouse]

Did you hear the lady filming Klepper on her phone when he told that guy who didn't believe in mail-in ballots that Trump mails his vote in? You could hear her shouting "That's different..."

I missed that detail. "Fake media" should probably be recorded to be exposed, i guess.

Ironically, my post got moderated for the profanities in the video, despite the constant flow of polite obscene messages in american politic.

 

[Biggles]

You've nearly convinced me to move to Canada. Seriously, I feel like everything you describe is a better system. It naturally fosters ideas like uhh...ideas, consent, dialogue, compromise, accountability. Not only that, but minority parties actually have real political power unlike our entrenched god-awful 2 party system. The USA will never move away from it's rigid framework but it's not hard to see its limitations. If "US versus THEM" is the mantra that precedes a slide into some form of authoritarianism, it shouldn't have been hard to see it coming a long way back.

Now, seriously, Trump needs to sell the west coast to Canada. I really like where I am, physically. What do you think @ryzno, you wouldn't miss California if we peaced out, would you?

It's not just the West coast, it's the North East & parts of the Mid-West (because people there are so nice). I would say that it's not far-fetched to say that people who live in those areas have more in common with Canada than with the Red states.

But really, my insight is that when you have a "perfect system" it justifies whatever behaviour because the system gives you cover. A great example of that is the current SCOTUS situation. It's pretty clear that the Republicans should defer the appointment of a new justice ... but the system allows them to push forward anyway. Should the Democrats win the presidency & win back control of the senate they may be tempted to "pack the court". Another bad faith move to counteract the Republican's bad faith move.

 

[Famine]

Ironically, my post got moderated for the profanities in the video, despite the constant flow of polite obscene messages in american politic.

That's not irony. Irony is when words are used to convey a meaning that is not the literal definition of the words themselves. In this case that would be something like me saying "Oh yes, that was a perfectly acceptable video for you to have posted without warning anyone it was full of swearing".


We have rules about this sort of thing here on GTPlanet, precisely because we don't want to be as ugly as the lowest common denominator (or Facebook). They're right here:

You will not use profanity in the forums, nor link to content which contains offensive language without sufficient warning.

And they are enforced consistently.

Anyone clicking on your video - which was straight embedded with no warnings whatsoever - would have lasted about 30 seconds before the first expletive came blasting out of their speakers, to be heard by any family member (or child) at home on an otherwise pleasant Saturday, or by their co-workers or boss in the office.

 

[Milouse]

@Famine
I understand what justifies the moderation of my videos.
I'm using GTP forum in part because of its good moderation.
For some reason i don't even notice profanity in american English, it's like it's part of the regular language, so it didn't crossed my mind there was a problem on a sequence supposed to be aired on TV. But I understand that it is my problem, not this US forum.

The irony i'm referring to is a situational irony (a cultural norm that GTP reflects Vs a reality). I'm sticking with that word: the war on profanity of these last decades didn't appease the american society.
I should have been more explicit that i was pointing out the norm that partly lead to GTP rules, not the GTP rules.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

I'd miss the cute little Chicanas, the West Coast rappers and y'alls sports teams.
Can't see it in America...
View attachment 963879

All that would stay the same, Canadian teams already play in US-based professional sports leagues!

My US geography sucks... wouldn't the Alaskans object?

Not sure what would change for them. They could tag along I guess.

 

[Imari]

My US geography sucks... wouldn't the Alaskans object?

I'm sure both of them would be very grumpy.

 

[UKMikey]

Not sure what would change for them. They could tag along I guess.

I was going by Wikipedia.

The West Coast or Pacific Coast is the coastline along which the continental Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. As a region, this term most often refers to the coastal states of California, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Coast_of_the_United_States

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

I was going by Wikipedia.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Coast_of_the_United_States

Maybe technically, but I think Alaska is not generally considered "west coast" it's more just "Alaska".

 

[Tornado]

lol when someone says "The West Coast" 0 out of 0 times are they using it to also mean "Alaska." Nice try Wikipedia.




Edit:

PACK IT IN BIDEN. YOU LOST THE ONLY VOTE THAT COUNTS!

 

[Liquid]

lol when someone says "The West Coast" 0 out of 0 times are they using it to also mean "Alaska." Nice try Wikipedia.

"West Coast" is a reference in relation to the contingent 48 only, is it not? I mean, if you're adding Alaska to that you might as well chuck in Hawaii too. Hawaii is pretty far west.

 

[CodeRedR51]

Judging by how many Trump 2020 signs and flags I have seen spread across the 3 states of Arizona, Utah and Colorado this week, I have a bad feeling we're stuck with him for another term.

 

[Joey D]

Judging by how many Trump 2020 signs and flags I have seen spread across the 3 states of Arizona, Utah and Colorado this week, I have a bad feeling we're stuck with him for another term.

I wouldn't pay too much attention to Utah. I assume you were in the southern part which is pretty much 100% Mormon and thus overwhelmingly anti-abortion. This means they'll vote Republican no matter who it is.

 

[UKMikey]

lol when someone says "The West Coast" 0 out of 0 times are they using it to also mean "Alaska." Nice try Wikipedia.

It looks like at least one of those zero times, it's the Census Bureau making the distinction. I've said several times that my US geography sucks though, so I'm not going to argue the point with Americans.

"West Coast" is a reference in relation to the contingent 48 only, is it not? I mean, if you're adding Alaska to that you might as well chuck in Hawaii too. Hawaii is pretty far west.

They do, and call them the Pacific States according to useless Wikipedia.

 

[nobuffalo]

I've only really used the term to refer to California, Oregon, and Washington.

 

[Danoff]

My wife and I received our ballots today. Also family friends in CO received theirs. Colorado uses the "BallotTrax" system, which emails you when your ballot has been mailed to you (so I knew it was coming). It also emails you when the ballot is accepted and you can see whether there was any kind of signature verification problem with it.

We intend to fill it out well in advance of the deadline.

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

My wife and I received our ballots today. Also family friends in CO received theirs. Colorado uses the "BallotTrax" system, which emails you when your ballot has been mailed to you (so I knew it was coming). It also emails you when the ballot is accepted and you can see whether there was any kind of signature verification problem with it.

We intend to fill it out well in advance of the deadline.

I got my ballot about a week ago. The card that said the ballot was sent out came days after I got the ballot. And as far as I know, we don't have a tracking system. I suppose I'll get some kind of card when the ballot has been received, or not.

 

[Danoff]

I got my ballot about a week ago. The card that said the ballot was sent out came days after I got the ballot. And as far as I know, we don't have a tracking system. I suppose I'll get some kind of card when the ballot has been received, or not.

It looks like you folks are using an absentee ballot system. One could hope that they'd have beefed up the notification system in anticipation of big usage this year but... it's not exactly shocking to hear that they didn't. Absentee in a lot of states has only been used for a tiny number of votes. It's going to get leaned on heavily this year.

The system in colorado is entirely mail-in, so there is some major investment in infrastructure for it. Everyone gets a mail-in ballot for all elections. If you want to vote in person you hand over your mail-in in person when you vote and it gets destroyed. If you vote in person, your mail in ballot is deactivated in the system. Likewise, if you mail one in, you can't vote in person. And they can electronically sort it out if you have a dispute.

In 2016, we had over 70% voter turnout. Only 7% of voters voted in person.

 

[Joey D]

I should be getting my ballot in the mail next week. It's nice to be able to sit at home and do it since some of the Constitutional Amendments we're voting on will require some research. Also, while I know who I'm voting for with regards to the president and our governor, I still need to be able to research out all the representatives and what not.

And like Colorado, a majority of people here in Utah vote through the mail since it's significantly easier. I typically just drop my ballot off though since there's a drop box at the city hall.

 

[Danoff]

I should be getting my ballot in the mail next week. It's nice to be able to sit at home and do it since some of the Constitutional Amendments we're voting on will require some research. Also, while I know who I'm voting for with regards to the president and our governor, I still need to be able to research out all the representatives and what not.

And like Colorado, a majority of people here in Utah vote through the mail since it's significantly easier. I typically just drop my ballot off though since there's a drop box at the city hall.

Utah is screwing with my voter turnout theory:

The states that have ballots mailed to all voters have some of the highest turnouts in the nation (not the highest 5 interestingly). But Utah is stinking the place up coming in 2nd to last in voter turnout ahead of only Hawaii (which also mails ballots to everyone).

 

[huskeR32]

Once again, it turns out that if the Republicans are ginning up fear about the Democrats doing something illegal, it actually means they're doing it:

The California Republican Party is facing scrutiny after setting up unofficial ballot drop-off boxes at various locations in Southern California and advertising their locations via social media posts, the Orange County Register reported first, an action that state officials said is in violation of California law.
...
“Operating unofficial ballot drop boxes — especially those misrepresented as official drop boxes — is not just misleading to voters, it’s a violation of state law,” California Secretary of State Alex Padilla told the Washington Post.
...
While the Republican party is using the 2016 California law— that allows voters to designate a person to return their ballot for them— to defend its use of the ballot boxes, the party previously slammed the law and earlier this year sued Governor Gavin Newsom over the practice.