***Official Political Discussion Thread***

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You need to see the video of this, dwalk31 dwalk31 ?

What, exactly, is your standard for racism?

Okay, I admit I’m grasping on that one.
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You're taking this whole "Devil's Advocate" routine a bit too literally.

I would be interested in your list of smacks in the face as it relates to Biden. Or, are you saying that he is some perfect candidate?
I don't believe anyone is saying that Joe Biden is "some perfect candidate" - and that includes Joe Biden.

I have a little trick I use when selecting between two imperfect options that apparently hasn't occurred to you: choose the better one.


- I disagree with him on the statues and they need to come down, period.
You defended Roy Moore with far greater zeal than the simpering little sighs you squeak out when pressed on this.

- Disagree with the birther theory, and it is indefensible, period.
Just not enough to vote against him.

- Obviously white nationalists in an administration are problematic. Surely you don't think this is the first administration with white nationalists in it, do you? Would you say Obama/Biden had none?
Would you say that Obama/Biden had more or White Nationalists in more prominent positions?

-He also said this Attorney general was not mentally qualified to be attorney general. And requested his resignation. Also, the DOJ is independent.
"The DOJ is independent?" That's the best defense you're capable of crafting?
Presidents are able to nominate and terminate an AG.

If Sessions is an incompetent racist - and he is - fault him and the incompetent racist who appointed him.

Do you need a refresher on why Jefferson Beauregard Sessions was an especially galling choice on Trump's part? Did you not read Coretta Scott King's 1986 statement to the Senate, regarding Sessions' attempts to intimidate Black voters in Alabama?

Are you, champion of criminal justice reform, on board with re-electing a man whose first choice for Attorney General attempted to resume the War on Drugs, sought an increase in capital punishment, and, while Attorney General of Alabama, even went so far as to propose mandatory death penalties for those twice convicted of drug trafficking?

Is that in line with your values? That's how you voted.

- As stated above, the DOJ is independent. You realize he is under investigation by them, right?
If you're disgusted by the '94 crime bill - and you should be - I have terrible news for you about Bill Barr.


Barr has been described by the ACLU as "an ardent champion of mass incarceration." He literally wrote "the case for more incarceration" in 1992.

As an NAACP Legal Defense Fund report phrased it,

"As U.S. Attorney General from 1991 to 1993, Mr. Barr was a central architect of the out-dated, draconian “tough on crime” approach that fostered the “war on drugs” and so-called “law and order” policies which have caused incarceration rates in the United States to more than triple since the 1980s. This rapid increase is largely attributable to the increased incarceration of non-violent drug offenders over the last three decades. Criminal justice policies like the ones developed by Mr. Barr led to this incarceration rate surge and continue to drive racial inequality and poverty, creating barriers to opportunity and devastating communities of color."

His actions in the wake of the Rodney King verdict are especially pertinent to recent events (emphasis mine):

"Mr. Barr has insisted the unrest in Los Angeles following the beating of Rodney King in 1991 underscored the need for a tough-on-crime stance. Mr. Barr maintains that what followed the acquittals of the officers who assaulted Rodney King “was not civil unrest or the product of some festering injustice,” but “was gang activity, basically opportunistic.” Mr. Barr acknowledges his role in preparing a plan “overnight” to send over 2000 federal officers—FBI, SWAT, a border patrol special operations group, U.S. marshals, prison special operations, etc.—to Los Angeles to make clear that, in his own words, “we’re not going to tolerate any of this stuff out in the streets.” Mr. Barr told President Bush that an alternative to his plan to send in the federal officers would be to send in “the regular army.” Mr. Barr stated, “We had just gone through an exercise two years earlier in St. Croix, so I was very familiar with how to use regular Army in a domestic situation.” Mr. Barr regrets that DOJ did not pursue federal indictments against people in the Los Angeles community during the uprising."

That goon squad of unidentified, unaccountable storm troopers Barr set loose on protesters in Washington that you couldn't manage to comment on? It's not new for him.

And when you vote for Trump, you are voting for Attorney General William Barr. You are voting for this. OWN THAT.

- Disagree with your reasoning here. He has denounced white supremacy, repeatedly
So he's not throwing red meat to White Supremacists when he repeatedly defends Confederate symbols and posts dog whistles about "thugs" and "animals?"

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-Cases settle for tons of reasons. As a business owner, you--of all people--should realize business incentives of settlement that have nothing to do with liability/guilt.

Out of the total of 14,000 units that The Times says the Trump family owned in 1973, 68% of their holdings fell under the settlement.
The Trumps segregated a small group of non-white tenants into a few of their properties, maintained a single building with just over half minority residents and virtually excluded minorities from 24 New York City buildings of the 36 total project covered in their 1975 settlement with the federal government which covered a mind-boggling 9,500 apartments.
The average unit size across their portfolio of buildings covered in the federal settlement was 263 units per project.
Five of the Trump buildings affected had no minority residents whatsoever, and more than half of the buildings had less than ten minority residents.
A former Trump superintendent named Thomas Miranda testified that multiple Trump Management employees had instructed him to attach a separate piece of paper with a big letter “C” on it — for “colored” — to any application filed by a black apartment-seeker.

-Was the record deportation appalling under Obama/Biden... think about it.
I don't support mass deportations, but that's a pretty egregious deflection from child separation.

Nice talking point, though. I won't ask where you found it:

-I am adamant about due process and have spoken against this repeatedly. And have said I disagreed with this.
Yes, you've been quite vocal about "due process" rights on NikeTalk.... beginning with Roy Moore. You did not mention it prior.
Every hero has an origin story.

- You realize Obama instituted travel bans from many of the same countries? Or was that different?

-I've been team Kaep from the jump. This is indefensible. He has since changed his stance on Kaep. Obama changed his mind on same-sex marriage. People evolve. In this case, I am glad he changed for the positive.
From the jump? I'll have to take your word for it. You didn't show up in the Kaepernick thread until page 326 to co-sign something Charles Barkley said about Black students engaging in anti-intellectual bullying: https://niketalk.com/threads/colin-kaepernick-is-righter-than-you-know.652983/page-326#post-28840584

You spent more time defending Trump's criticism of Kaepernick than Kaepernick himself, and as of March, 2019 you ventured into the Kaepernick thread only twice: once to decry anti-intellectual bullying and once in response to an @ mention to call Kaepernick a sellout and announce that you'll no longer boycott the NFL.


Let's talk about "evolution" for a moment - something your ideological kin don't believe in, unless of the "social Darwinist" variety.

If Joe Biden finally acknowledged criticism of the '94 crime bill as valid and expressed an openness to support reparations, would you:

A) interpret that as a sign of genuine growth and progress
B) dismiss it as cynical pandering and continue to call him the architect of modern mass incarceration?

Or is that different?

- Hearsay. I can say that the founder of Niketalk told me the same thing. Hint: that doesn't make it true. That is why I said a tape would be helpful, for me.
On its own, perhaps, though we're not in court and you're obviously and admittedly not a trial attorney. As it stands, you're claiming that Trump's former casino manager, building manager, personal attorney, and Apprentice "mentees", are, along with countless others, all lying about Donald Trump's racism (under oath, in some cases), but the man who's currently told 19,128 lies (not including last night's speech) since taking office, who claimed that he sent private investigators to Hawaii who couldn't "believe what they’re finding" about the former President's past, windmills caused cancer, global warming is a hoax perpetrated by China, personally saw "thousands" of Muslim people in New Jersey were cheering on 9/11, that he didn't know (or barely met) Lev Parnas, Prince Andrew, Jeffrey Epstein, George Papadopoulos, and Stormy Daniels, rented almost exclusively to White tenants, assembled an overwhelmingly White administration, has inspired the loyalty of White Supremacists around the world, and cannot for the life of him utter the phrase "Black Lives Matter", is telling the truth about being "the least racist person there is anywhere in the world?"

Good luck selling that one.


Incidentally, in 2016 Trump boasted that, "At the end of four years, I guarantee you I will get over 95 percent of the African-American vote. I promise you."

How's that working out?


- Im not familiar with this one
If only you'd clicked on the link I included, you could be. There's video of this, too - the one form of evidence you're willing to accept. If you still aren't familiar, it's by choice.

-I am not as in tune with the white supremacists' preferences. I'll take your word for it. But again he has denounced white supremacy and racism, repeatedly.
To paraphrase Malcolm X, it's not by coincidence that members of an orchestra all play the same song.

It's been messed up for black folks in America under administrations from both sides. I'm sorry it is more in your face now. It has been in mine.
More "in your face?"

Why would anyone say that when the Black unemployment ra- oh... there goes that talking point. Don't worry, you still have three left.

Racism has been on these shores from the time of European invasion, but the absence of novelty does not diminish the scale or scope of the problem - nor the way that Trump has energized White supremacists.

I'm glad - truly - that you haven't been personally affected by the rise in hate crimes under Trump - or, as you're so fond of pointing out, the economic impact of COVID-19 that has disproportionately impacted Black Americans and Black-owned businesses.
I'm quite certain that you don't assume your own personal experiences in these respects to be monolithic.


Voting for Joe Biden doesn't put you on some higher moral ground in my opinion.
A sea slug occupies higher moral ground than Donald Trump or his enablers - in my opinion.

And my tax comment was about basic math, not my sole motivation for voting.
So, to recap, you said - quite clearly - "Right there with the logic of people who got a smaller refund so they think that their tax liability increased. I would probably be a super progressive if that was the reality."

You didn't say "I wouldn't be very impressed with the tax cuts, either, if that was the reality." You said "I would probably be a super progressive if that was the reality."

I guess the lesson is we should just stop listening to you.

But you want to gloss over the crime bill and mass incarceration because of 4 years of Trump? When Biden has been in politics for over 40 years and THIS is where we are?

Give me a break.
THIS is where we are because of voter suppression. THIS is where we are because of racism, sexism, heterosexism, and xenophobia. THIS is where we are because of bigots and those who support and enable them for personal gain, whether material or egotistical.

Joe Biden is part of that - and so is Donald Trump. I don't know of anyone in this thread who considered Joe Biden their first (or second) choice among potential Democratic nominees. That doesn't mean there are no meaningful differences between Biden and Trump administrations, however.


Don't kid yourself, you couldn't even commit to supporting Stacy Abrams over Brian Kemp in a hypothetical scenario.

No one here would be surprised if Joe Biden selects Susan Rice, Stacy Abrams, or Kamala Harris as his running mate and you still support Trump/Pence.
No one here would be surprised if the Donald Trump Apprentice mixtape comes out in October, complete with racial slurs, and you still support Trump/Pence.

In that regard, and perhaps only that regard, you are consistent.


And the question is not whether Obama, Hillary or Biden would sign the bills, the question is whether they could force the senate republicans to vote for it. Trump can. That is the difference.

Trump has proven the ability to get these measures past the senate in the way that other administrations could not.

Yes, I would prefer a watered-down prison reform bill to no prison-reform bill. Perhaps you prefer no bill at all?
This is a highly speculative premise at best. Compare consent decrees issued under the Obama administration vs. the Trump administration, look at the information I shared regarding Trump's AG picks, and tell me with a straight face that Donald "Bring Back Our Death Penalty, Bring Back Our Police" Trump is the last best hope for criminal justice reform, that Donald "when the looting starts, the shooting starts" Trump is the Great White Hope for police reform.

There is an alternative.


The Democrats are within striking distance of retaking the Senate - especially if current polling trends persist.

It is Republicans - not Democrats - who are currently standing in the way of basic police reforms like revising qualified immunity.

The Democrats' police reform bill, while inadequate, is objectively stronger. Read both bills.


What is your strategy here?

You oppose progressive candidates like Ilhan Omar who support the criminal justice reforms you claim to seek, and instead lend your support to conservative politicians who seek to roll back existing civil rights protections, like the Voting Rights Act of 1965, to promote minority voter suppression and all you have to show for it is their eventual and begrudging support of a watered down and deeply compromised criminal justice reform package that the previous administration would have signed if not for - wait for it - Republicans.

Your only defense appears to be that we should settle for the milkiest of milquetoast bills because that's the best we can do. With that attitude, perhaps.


If you have your way, you'll be in here four years from now lauding the candidacy of a mayonnaise popsicle over AOC because "Trump signed the Beat but Don't Kick Act of 2022."
 
Don’t worry. Others will continue to respond to delk and hijack this thread. Ignore the guy if his logic is as twisted as I think it is
I hope that at some point Delk gets responses like Trump gets people to his rallies.

The shtick will get old and people will tire, eventually.

As I've said before, people find clowns funny at first but nobody wants a clown around when things get serious.
 
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