Political Discussion Thread (With Rules)

[Markdoc]

It is technically not illegal to purchase convention delegate votes: http://www.kitv.com/story/31633427/could-republican-convention-delegates-be-bought-legally-maybe

 

The GOP convention could seriously be worthy of pay per view. There might as well be a trial by combat provision.

 

If they have pay per view AND it's legal to purchase convention delegate votes they could have a ticker running allowing people to bid in on a vote by SMS for their favoured candidate. You know, the more I think about it, that's a perfect match for today's GOP. Decide the candidate by direct purchase! Let the market decide!

 

cheers, Mark

[Simon]

And....Markdoc will now be joining the ranks of moderated users.  

Consider this a warning for all: if you don't see what's wrong with his post, I would STRONGLY suggest that you not participate in this thread.

[sinanju]

He's already backed out of the RNC loyalty pledge during CNN's Town Hall on Tuesday.

 

Given that the Republican Party has made it pretty clear that many of them would prefer a Hillary victory over Trump, and that they're doing everything in their power to derail his campaign and/or to deny him the nomination at the convention, I see no reason why he should feel bound by that pledge. 

[megaplayboy]

I am still far from certain that the average disgruntled Trump (or Cruz) supporter will reliably pull the lever for down ticket Republicans, if they feel like their guy got the shaft by the national party.

[Iuz the Evil]

What happens when you are moderated? I'm wondering what that is. I get the idea around banned. Fairly intuitive really ("sent to Chile" has been on many board rules).

 

Are your posts reviewed ahead of time? Who does that (mods, Simon)? Is this permanent or for a fixed time?

 

Hadn't heard that one before.

[Ragitsu]

http://www.ibtimes.com/political-capital/oil-companies-donated-clinton-foundation-while-lobbying-state-department-2348832

[Old Man]

Wisconsin: Cruz beats Trump by about 15 points, and Sanders beats Clinton by about 13.  Trump is falling off the pace.  He could still reach 1237 by exceeding expectations in New York and California.  More likely, he'll miss and go into the convention with more delegates than anyone else, but still less than 1237.  Anything can happen at that point--the only guy the establishment might hate more than Trump is Cruz.

 

Sanders continues to meet but not exceed expectations while the clock runs out.  If he were a football team he'd need to win out the last six weeks of the regular season, by at least a touchdown, to make the playoffs.  Not impossible, but not likely unless Clinton shows up in the Panama Papers.

[megaplayboy]

There's a better than 50-50 chance that the Democratic race will be over later this month. If Sanders fails to beat Clinton in NY, and/or he loses most states on the following Tuesday, he's effectively done, with no realistic way to catch up. Hopefully he will eke out a win in NY, so my vote in MD the following week will mean something.

[Simon]

What happens when you are moderated? I'm wondering what that is. I get the idea around banned. Fairly intuitive really ("sent to Chile" has been on many board rules).

 

Are your posts reviewed ahead of time? Who does that (mods, Simon)? Is this permanent or for a fixed time?

 

Hadn't heard that one before.

Your posts are reviewed by a moderator prior to being viewable by the public.

[Iuz the Evil]

Your posts are reviewed by a moderator prior to being viewable by the public.

Cool, thanks. Hadn't heard of that before

[Ragitsu]

There's a better than 50-50 chance that the Democratic race will be over later this month. If Sanders fails to beat Clinton in NY, and/or he loses most states on the following Tuesday, he's effectively done, with no realistic way to catch up. Hopefully he will eke out a win in NY, so my vote in MD the following week will mean something.

 

Even if the worst comes to pass, your vote will still mean something...just something a bit different.

[Old Man]

As it becomes less and less likely that Trump will reach 1237, we're starting to hear more about the truly Byzantine rules of the GOP convention.* The latest is that the eventual nominee must have won at least eight states--a condition which only Trump has met so far. I'm unclear as to how many states Cruz has won, but he's definitely not up to eight yet, and I'm not sure if he's likely to win any of the remaining contests.

 

* Seriously these guys make the rules to Star Fleet Battles look like pickup sticks by comparison.

[Ragitsu]

[Christopher R Taylor]

Not the leadership we need, but probably the leadership we deserve

 

[Lord Liaden]

I guess it's on to New York, now. We'll see if things get any clearer then.

[sinanju]

As it becomes less and less likely that Trump will reach 1237, we're starting to hear more about the truly Byzantine rules of the GOP convention.* The latest is that the eventual nominee must have won at least eight states--a condition which only Trump has met so far. I'm unclear as to how many states Cruz has won, but he's definitely not up to eight yet, and I'm not sure if he's likely to win any of the remaining contests.

 

* Seriously these guys make the rules to Star Fleet Battles look like pickup sticks by comparison.

 

Yeah, I heard about that. I also heard that the Republican Party will be having a meeting prior to the convention...at which they could change the convention rules. And they very well might. If Trump is the only candidate who's won eight states, they could drop that requirement so as to make it kosher* to choose another nominee.

 

*For certain values of 'kosher' of course. The Trump crowd are likely to see that as a huge FU to their candidate, and to them. And they wouldn't necessarily be wrong. But quite aside from the overt desire of the GOPe to nominate anybody but Trump, logistically if Trump doesn't win on the first ballot and other candidates are offered, they wouldn't technically be viable under the current rules.

[Old Man]

Upon further review I may be wrong about Cruz--Wisconsin might have been his ninth state.  I'm not sure if I misheard NPR or what.  However, what I didn't mishear is that voters today are pretty much out of patience for political games, and are unlikely to understand how the winner of the popular vote and the candidate with the most delegates can not be the nominee.

[Ternaugh]

The 8-state rule is a leftover from Ron Paul's people trying to take over the convention in 2012. Both Trump and Cruz are trying to use it to block John Kasich from being nominated during any of the rounds of voting at a contested convention.

[Hermit]

Huh. Bernie goes to the Vatican?

 

I wonder if this will effect the American Catholic vote

[Ragitsu]

Huh. Bernie goes to the Vatican?

 

I wonder if this will effect the American Catholic vote

 

Will he be taking Birdie Sanders along?

[wcw43921]

Huh. Bernie goes to the Vatican?

 

I wonder if this will effect the American Catholic vote

 

 

It could be.  I had heard this was an attempt by Sanders to court Latino voters.

[wcw43921]

"John Podesta, Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman, says it’s time for the U.S. government to release any evidence it has about the existence of alien forms of life in outer space."

 

The Article At USA Today

 

Soooo--does anyone think this could snag Clinton a few more votes?

[Old Man]

It could be. I had heard this was an attempt by Sanders to court Latino voters.

No, the Vatican invited Bernie, not the other way around.

[Lord Liaden]

"John Podesta, Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman, says it’s time for the U.S. government to release any evidence it has about the existence of alien forms of life in outer space."

 

The Article At USA Today

 

Soooo--does anyone think this could snag Clinton a few more votes?

 

I'm not up on the size of the tin-foil-hat constituency.

[Bazza]

The UFO community may be gullible but even they have limits. That the Clintons would release this information to the public, might as well be an Onion article.