Acquitted but still impeached ... Trump thread 99

[TheClaws]

I’ll tell you a funny story. I’m a member of a very right-wing US politics online discussion group for kicks. The moderator of the group controls - and gets involved in - every discussion. (I should say the membership of this group is over 50K and the number of posts a day is generally 30 or so.) She’s also a typical Trumpian in that she reels off the standard “lamestream mass media” etc lines” and she mutes anyone who disagrees with her.

Anyway, I took her on eventually. She said that the Democratic candidates wanted to get rid of the Constitution. To this, I replied Trump flouts the Constitution on a regular basis. “What? Provide examples!” she replies. “Emoluments clause,” I replied. “That’s just one.”

GUYS. SHE HAD NOT HEARD OF THE EMOLUMENTS CLAUSE.

She then just spat something about she doesn’t read mass media lies and that’s why she didn’t know and muted me.

AIBU?

Previous thread: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3776378-Happy-Impeachment-Next-step-is-removal-Trump-thread-98

So far the delegate count is:

Sanders 60
Biden 54
Buttigieg 26
Warren 8
Klobuchar 7

1,991 delegates needed to win the nomination.

Note: the delegates are required to vote for 'their' candidate during the first round of voting, even if that candidate has suspended their run. If there is no clear consensus on the first round of voting, delegates are free to vote for whomever they choose in subsequent votes.

Super Tuesday, 14 states have their primaries. This is also (IIRC) the date they count American Samoa and US citizens abroad.

The states are spread from the East Coast to the West. Results should start rolling in around 7-8 PM EST. California has the largest number of delegates at stake, returns here may start rolling in around 11 pm-midnight EST, although our Sec'ty of State has said that due to the large number of mail-ins and the sheer number of voters CA may not have a final result for days.

Tally-ho! Yoiks and awayyyyy!!!

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/mar/01/super-tuesday-guide-us-elections

www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-coronavirus-flu-vaccine-us-pandemic-meeting-leonard-schleifer-a9371286.html

www.justsecurity.org/68988/when-the-abnormal-becomes-typical-clinging-to-memories-of-normalcy-three-years-into-the-trump-administration/

So far its been Biden tonight

True Leaannb, but Calfornia has 419 delegates. It could tip the scales the other way by itself even though it's not a 'winner take all' state.

NYT declaring California for Sanders.
I am not really, I sort of get it at a loss to understand why the leading Presidential hopefuls are so bloody old? (No offence to oldies, I am one, but Obama had energy and didn't look as if he was going to drop dead any second!) Also, why the Democrats might be so naive as to actually put a so-called "Socialist" (a right-wing centrist anywhere else!) such as Sanders up against Trump at this crucial moment in the USA's history?
My apologies if this has already been asked and answered, I've been too depressed (by world politics) to keep up with these threads.

Good questions. Lots of reasons but old white guy = familiar and safe plus Biden has experience as VP, association with Obama. Always done well on the numbers.

Sanders -- supposedly offering a 'radical' new politics which will change the ways things work even though he is, himself, another old white guy. Might draw out people disaffected with the system, younger voters and those who don't usually vote.

Not exactly Corbyn but the are some parallels.

www.motherjones.com/politics/2020/02/jaime-harrison-lindsey-graham-senate-south-carolina/

WH transparency as usual.

No video or audio on coronavirus briefing.

www.businessinsider.com/white-house-barred-audio-video-coverage-coronavirus-briefing-2020-3

The old Three Wise Monkeys approach.

Biden seems to have won the South ... I think I saw some statistics that suggested that the youngest voters hadn't turned out.

I hope the election itself is different.

As someone who did vote yesterday, here's why I think the primary process didn't draw so many voters where the election itself will.

I considered not voting in the primary, because I genuinely didn't know who to vote for. I'd be happy with any of the candidates who were on the ballot yesterday.

As it happens, I voted yesterday mainly because we had a statewide referendum vote about school vaccine exemptions, and that really did feel like it mattered. While I was there I also voted for Liz Warren, but I could just as easily have voted for any of the other remaining candidates.

When it comes to the election, I absolutely will be voting against Trump. That vote really will matter. I think the turnout is going to be massive.

Bloomberg is suspending his campaign. In a way, I'm a bit surprised. He certainly has had no problem throwing good money after bad up to this point. I've always felt it was a bit of a 'vanity project' for him anyway.

Apparently he's going to endorse Biden. That's not a surprise.

www.washingtonpost.com/politics/mike-bloomberg-drops-out-of-presidential-race/2020/03/04/62eaa54a-5743-11ea-9000-f3cffee23036_story.html

I'm glad you decided to vote in the primary Lobster. I believe that we should vote whenever we can. Even for county dog-catcher.

When it comes to the election, I absolutely will be voting against Trump. That vote really will matter. I think the turnout is going to be massive.

From your lips to God's ear. I honestly feel that this will be the most important election of my lifetime.

I think the turnout is going to be massive.

I sure hope so, if voter suppression and gerrymandering aren't too bad.

I had just seen Bloomberg's news. He did say that his main aim was to defeat Trump. Supposedly.

Biden is a safe candidate, not surprised he has support in the South. Less so in California.
But to beat Trump, the Democrats need the South and the more conservative states. California is almost a given.

Dems must stand together whoever becomes the selected candidate. Please, please don't repeat Labour's (UK) disastrous in-fighting!
www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/03/joe-bidens-super-tuesday-wins-against-bernie-sanders/607429/

His (Sanders) collapse among Democratic partisans came after recent full-throated attacks on “the Democratic establishment” in his rallies and media appearances. Sanders has often sounded more as if he believes he’s leading his movement in a hostile takeover of the party than a merger with it. (In his speech last night, he backed off only a half step, targeting his criticism at “the political establishment” rather than Democrats by name.) “It turns out that shitting all over the party you want to win the nomination of is a bad strategy,” said one Democratic pollster who is not affiliated with any campaign but requested anonymity to comment candidly on the race.

I don't think it's so much the Democrats (or Labour supporters) but the swing voters that are the issue. Of course that a party in disarray doesn't offer much confidence that they can lead the country.

www.usnews.com/news/elections/articles/2020-03-04/voter-turnout-surges-in-several-key-super-tuesday-states-boosting-joe-biden

More rumblings.

www.rawstory.com/2020/03/prominent-republicans-mock-trumps-legal-claims-in-supreme-court-brief-and-debunk-presidents-absolute-immunity/#.XmATnOouUEM.twitter

Irresponsible for the leader of a country to not only contradict his health agency, but then spout misinformation that could lead to deaths.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar 1hr

Trump to Hannity on WHO saying coronavirus death rate is 3.4%: "I think the 3.4% number is really a false number. Now this is just my hunch, but based on a lot of conversations ... personally, I'd say the number is way under 1%."

Astoundingly irresponsible.

twitter.com/atrupar/status/1235409660104015873?s=21

Aaron Rupar @atrupar 1hr

In this clip, Trump:

1. Denies WHO's coronavirus death rate based on “hunch"
2. Calls coronavirus "corona flu"
3. Suggests it's fine for people w/ Covid-19 to go to work
4. Compares coronavirus to "the regular flu," indicating he doesn't get the difference

twitter.com/atrupar/status/1235411751950221312?s=21

Yes.

No surprises here either.

www.politico.com/news/2020/03/02/hillary-clinton-email-deposition-118800

edition.cnn.com/2020/03/04/politics/joe-biden-congress-investigations/index.html

'(CNN)Senate Republicans are sharpening their investigations involving former Vice President Joe Biden and his son's work at a Ukrainian energy company, just as the former vice president surges in the Democratic presidential race and reemerges as the front-runner for his party's nomination.'

The trouble is, he is right in some ways. There isn't a lot of evidence for the 3.4% figure, and in any case 3.4% of what? The entire population? (panic now.) Those of the population who contract covid-19? (an unknown number.) Those of the population who both contract covid-19 and have it badly enough to know they have it? (more reasonable but still unknown.) Those of the population who have been tested up to now, and who tested positive? (a very small proportion indeed of the population at large.)

From my point of view, there have been 96,268 confirmed cases so far, and the population of this country is (give or take a few thousand) 66,000,000. It isn't a huge proportion even of our population -- and the USA has 600,000,000, and the world has 7 billion, into which the covid victims vanish.

Of that 976,268, 3,304 have died and 53,713 have recovered.

www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

Drat; a 7 snuck into 976,268 and ought not to be there.

But the point is, yes 3,304 is fairly close to 3.4% of 96,268, but it's nothing like the whole story, because "getting covid-19" is not a death-sentence nor in fact even something an individual may necessarily be sure about.

I don't wish to discuss Coronavirus here, but I don't think a President should argue figures with the WHO or his own experts, particularly claiming it's a "hunch".

(BTW, the death rate in the US, for confirmed cases it's almost 7%, so the global figure seems good by comparison)

This will be a test of the health system in the US. I can't remember if it has been pointed out earlier, but it may well affect the elections, hard hitting those who want to get rid of Obamacare.