Are political threads allowed?

  • My fear that once Trump is re-elected, he will want the two term limit for the presidency abolished. After all, it has now become a fact that if a president does something to get himself re-elected because he believes it is in the ' national interest' then surely that national interest would allow him to be president for as long as he likes. It is a very slippery slope these Republicans have embarked upon. ' Do you know what you have done'.

    Why does this sound so familiar to me as a German.

  • The original question had to do with whether there was a place on this board for political threads. I think an equally pertinent question would be, is there a place for political disagreements?


    As to the views expressed so far -- at least those relating to American politics -- I can frankly say the following (with all due respect to the people who've posted) as an American:


    (1) They're drastically out of sync with what's seen by a large (and growing) segment of typical Americans -- people who can't just be written off as "ignorant," etc.


    (2) They're very much in sync with what's reported in popular American media, which many here have observed to be severely biased and not particularly trustworthy.


    I'm not interested in getting into any sort of mud-slinging match. I just wanted to point out that there's generally more to the story than one may be getting from popular media.

    Little known fact: Before the crowbar was invented...


    ...crows simply drank at home.

  • Is there a place for political disagreements?

    The mods will give a definitive answer but for what it's worth, my answer is absolutely yes, conducted within forum rules of course.


    I think I've probably said this elsewhere - I despair at the decline of public discourse in the last few years. There are faults on both sides, whether those sides are left or right, reps or dems, leavers or remainers, pro or anti Scotland independence, pro or anti 'woke', etc etc etc. In all cases debate in the broadcast, print and social media have become bitterly entrenched and more widely opposed than I can remember.


    I know I've been guilty of lashing out at those I disagree with and have made a conscious effort to rein that in, take a breath, think, then either leave it or come back with a measured response inviting calm discussion. Sadly, it mostly doesn't work and I still receive vitriolic, dismissive replies but sometimes we manage to have a reasoned conversation and even reach some level of understanding if not actual agreement.


    Here in the UK Johnson, one of the most divisive PMs ever, speaks of healing and bringing the nation together. But superficially laudable as that sounds, I don't see how it can be achieved.

    Abandon all reason

  • I base my opinions on the state of American politics by watching its president and his cohorts performing on the political stage. Unless those people have been replaced by CGI characters, then I feel that my opinions have some validity.

  • I base my opinions on the state of American politics by watching its president and his cohorts performing on the political stage. Unless those people have been replaced by CGI characters, then I feel that my opinions have some validity.

    Given how biased and downright dishonest much of the media is, "replaced by CGI characters" isn't as far from reality as you'd think. There's a reason one American political party consistently gets portrayed in popular media in a much better light than the other, and that reason has everything to do with who owns most of the popular media.


    (Not that the president is unlike a CGI character himself, but that's another story...)

    I'm genuinely curious to know who/what a typical American is.

    Perhaps a better phrase would be "normal American." Still not sure how to define that for you, though.

    Little known fact: Before the crowbar was invented...


    ...crows simply drank at home.

    Edited once, last by DecomposingMan ().

  • Given how biased and downright dishonest much of the media is, "replaced by CGI characters" isn't as far from reality as you'd think. There's a reason one American political party consistently gets portrayed in popular media in a much better light than the other, and that reason has everything to do with who owns most of the popular media.


    ...



    Well, FOX does claim to be the most watched news channel in the US.

    It's clear both CNN and FOX present facts with a political spin, though to my observation FOX is much more blatant in that respect.


    If you filter out the talking heads on these news channels, an independent observer can certainly assess Trump's merits on his words alone, his portrayal of events and of his own achievements. not to mention the division within the country he seems to fuel and thrive on.

  • I personally don't watch much news on any channel. I find that I can get a much more complete picture from online sources.


    At any rate, I'm not a wholehearted supporter of Trump (or any politician, really). There are clearly many valid criticisms that could be directed at him, as a personality. I'm far more concerned about his political opponents, and frankly can't imagine how any marginally informed person could take their side on anything.

    Little known fact: Before the crowbar was invented...


    ...crows simply drank at home.

    Edited once, last by DecomposingMan ().

  • I have a few friends from the USA and I can throw in what I know of their views on Trump.


    One of my friends says she voted for Trump mainly because she was against Hillary Clinton.


    Another friend says she never goes voting because she hates dealing with politics, but she says had she voted she had given her vote to a third candidate because with Clinton and Trump there was no serious option.


    Another friend was a Bernie Sanders supporter, with him being dropped she gave up on voting.


    That last friend has a friend who is a very vocal Trump supporter and who was against Obama beforehand for all kinds of reasons and who seems to view Trump as the best that could happen to the US.


    Out of these four Americans only one appears to be a fan of Trump, all the others saw him as just as bad or just slightly better than Hillary. For me and my European friends the surprise in this is what a strongly negative image Hillary Clinton seems to have, here Trump is generally regarded as the absolute worst case, everything else would have been better, so it's hard to grasp how people could see him as the "littler evil".

  • My perspective from here in the UK :


    While I detest Trump, my heart sank when HRC was the Dem nominee as it seemed to me Brand Clinton was stale and past its sell-by date.


    Before the 16 election Huey Morgan said he was asked who, if he had a gun to his head, he woud vote for. He said he'd take the bullet.


    He also said that in Europe, people simply didn't get the depth of dislike for HRC in the US.

    Abandon all reason

  • Again, this is my distant perspective but I think the Dens have a real job on their hands.


    The timeline has been:


    Trump can't possibly be the nominee! (he was)


    He can't possibly win! (he did)


    He can't possibly last! (he has)


    His words and actions will quickly get him removed (they've made no difference)


    He'll be impeached and removed from office (er...)


    Next up: he can't possibly win a 2nd term! (watch this space)


    The Dems have been like rabbits frozen in the headlights. They have no idea how to deal with him. And so far, I can't see any of their candidate nominees making a dent on him. But Americans, please correct me if I'm wrong.


    The temptation with such a deeply unpleasant person is to attack the man, but I don't believe that plays with his supporters, rather it bolsters them. They will just love anything they see as annoying the liberals.


    The Dems have to win on the issues, not the personality. Unless something major happens, such as the economy tanking, Trump is probably on track for his 2nd term.

    Abandon all reason

  • I have a few friends from the USA and I can throw in what I know of their views on Trump.

    Quite an interesting range of viewpoints there. I'd say my own position is less pro-Trump per se than it is anti-Democrat.


    The reasoning behind my position can perhaps be most succinctly summed up like this: When Fidel Castro died, Trump denounced him as the oppressive tyrant he was. But many Democrat politicians mourned Castro and had nothing but praise for him.

    Little known fact: Before the crowbar was invented...


    ...crows simply drank at home.

  • When Fidel Castro died, Trump denounced him as the oppressive tyrant he was. But many Democrat politicians mourned Castro and had nothing but praise for him.

    Trump also doesn't denounce Putin as the scheming tyrant he is (he's praised him more than once), and does denounce entire nations of people eg Mexicans.


    I'm not saying those Dem politicians' stance on Castro is right, or Trump's was wrong. But with the state of politics at the moment - and I'm including here in the UK - we are effectively left trying to juggle who is the least wrong and unpleasant, amid the hard polarised opposing factions on either side, each believing the other is evil incarnate.

    Abandon all reason

  • I personally don't watch much news on any channel

    Then how you can make such bold claims about their dishonesty and bias?


    By the way, here's a recent comment from a "normal" American: One of the things I miss most about Barack Obama is his sense of humor. Trump’s only idea of being funny is to give mean and demeaning nicknames to those who oppose him. It’s an index into the man’s unpleasant character.


    The above was said by Stephen King. A man who is neither dishonest nor biased. Just a normal American.

  • I hate liars and it appears Trump can't speak without lying. Washington fact checkers claim he averages 15 lies a day in 2020; now totaling more than 16,000 lies since taking office. Trump apparently believes he can weather an impeachment trial through sheer repetition of easily disproven falsehoods. He has no respect for our military and uses them as props. He befriends dictators, and I wouldn't be surprised at all to find out they are advising him on everything from the 2020 election to foreign policy and beyond. At his State of the Union address last week, he gave the Medal Of Freedom to the most divisive, racist political hack in the country (excluding Trump himself, of course), Rush Limbaugh. This is absolutely shameful when you see who past recipients of this medal are: John Glenn, Neil Armstrong, Mother Theresa, and many more upstanding selfless human beings. I'm praying for a miracle in the 2020 election. Anyone but Trump. I could go on and on about why Trump is not qualified to be President of the United States. I get tired trying to figure out how so many Americans can get sucked into his lies.

  • Then how you can make such bold claims about their dishonesty and bias?

    Why do you think I stopped watching them? Because I saw some of their whoppers exposed to the light and didn't want to hear from them any more.


    I do still sometimes see short bits of the news shows or see articles from the paper, and it usually doesn't take long to see examples of their bias. And there's other ways to find out what they're saying without inviting them into my living room.


    Anyway, I think now I'll stick with the Genesis-related topics around here. Political discussions just get too ugly.

    Little known fact: Before the crowbar was invented...


    ...crows simply drank at home.

    Edited 2 times, last by DecomposingMan ().

    • Official Post

    I have a problem with political discussions in music forms for good reasons. We do have this kind of thread in our German forum as well, and it tends to escalate from time to time.


    Please stick to facts and don't use strong language. And never insult someone in this community. Thank you

  • Has this got ugly?! I think it's been OK so far with people simply stating their views and being fairly uncontentious.


    One of the things I like about this type of forum is that you have a mix of the on-topic stuff and a range of other topics. I realise politics threads can get heated but I think this one has been relatively calm to date.

    Abandon all reason

  • Has this got ugly?! I think it's been OK so far with people simply stating their views and being fairly uncontentious.


    One of the things I like about this type of forum is that you have a mix of the on-topic stuff and a range of other topics. I realise politics threads can get heated but I think this one has been relatively calm to date.

    Presumably Christian is just heading off any kind of unpleasantness at the pass. As you say, everyone has been civil thus far. When the current issue seems to be intolerance of the views of others, such civil discussion should be encouraged and applauded.