US General Election 2016

RE: Petty

The Democrats are probably ideologically closest to the Lib Dems in terms of UK political parties (though US parties have less ideological consistency to begin with), but in terms of being the left half of a (mostly) two party system, their equivalent to Labour. They went through a similar drift to the right under Clinton as Labour did under Blair.

Pettytyrant101 wrote:Much to the horror of the Blairites that make up most of the Parliamentary Party who like Blair believe Labour cannot win from the left in England.

Sounds like the problem that both parties are having in the US. The mainstream of both parties don't trust that the base, or a candidate that strongly represents the base can bring home the bacon.

Had no idea England was so conservative, what with the NHS and all. Thanks for that explanation.

bungobaggins wrote:Had no idea England was so conservative, what with the NHS and all. Thanks for that explanation.

Conservative is a relative measure.  A lot of the Tories could pass for Blue Dog or even centrist Democrats in the US.  It was Cameron (the Conservative Prime Minister) who pushed through marriage equality in England and Wales. He had a lot of pushback from his party on this issue though of course.

bungobaggins wrote:The candidates were asked to describe Hillary Clinton in two words (tough stuff, right? ), and Perry says "I've got three: Good at email." It really reminded me of George W. for some reason.

That's a good one, yeah.

Watching the crop of GOP contenders the past two cycles really drives home the effectiveness of Bush's own folksy brand of charisma. I feel a little bit bad for having made fun of his malapropisms so much. He (and Perry too) can at least come across naturally when speaking.

Yeah, it was really a sight to behold. Perry up on stage, doing pretty well; good personality and an overall positive attitude. And then there's Lindsey Graham who looks and sounds like he's being led to his execution.

I actually kind of feel bad for Perry.  Hopefully someone in the primetime debate will bomb hard and he can nab their spot for the next round.

Yeah, I felt the same way.

http://time.com/3987454/democratic-debates-hillary-clinton-martin-omalley/

I'm really not wild about Hillary as a candidate, and I'd like to hear what the other candidates have to say in a debate format.

ARRGGGhhHH! I just discovered that by "Fox News" was meant the cable channel, which of course I don't have. I was SO looking forward to Trump the Chump up on the debate stage. Now my heart is broken....

http://www.hulkusc.com/watch-fox-news-live-streaming/

Link courtesy of Bungo I think.

And just in time to Halfy!

Here we go. Hopefully I don't fall asleep, as this is usually when I turn in when I'm working in the morning.

I've got 2 hours- how long do these things last? About a week Im assuming going on how many of them there are.

The previous debate was over an hour, maybe an hour and a half I think. No idea on this one, though. I'll probably fall asleep soon, finish it tomorrow after work.

edit: I dont give a shit about facebook, get to the fucking debate.

Fuck the crowd- its not a rock concert where you name check the gig location for a cheap cheer- its a political debate get to the bloody politics

the link isn't working for me!

Oh! Oh! came up! I feel like a just caught a lifesaver after a near drowning.

Mmmm odd when it works for me and Im in Europe...... welcome to the debate Halfy!

Great turnout there.

There was about 20 people in the audience during the JV debate. Also, who the fuck is Ben Carson.

Its like a rock concert Where's your decorum? Its all sooo American! (which is the polite way of saying crass!)

lol aiming for Trump right off the bat

Trump roundly booed right out of the gate.

bungobaggins wrote:Also, who the fuck is Ben Carson.

Retired neurosurgeon with an amazing rags to riches story who has in recent years become very outspoken regarding conservative and Christian causes.

Trump opens with bribery- Ill make the pledge if you nominate me.