The 2016 Presidential Candidates Thread

[little maggie]

from wiki, "Sanders has said he is "proud to be Jewish" but "not particularly religious", and is not actively involved with any organized religion."

Doesn't matter what religion he does or doesn't practice. He's still a Jew.

 

[Joel W.]

Yes, I guess that will only matter, to those that let it matter.

I don't care and I am pretty sure he was born in NY (american in my book) and has the certs to prove it, not that anyone will ever ask him for them. lol

 

[lwien]

Doesn't matter what religion he does or doesn't practice. He's still a Jew.

Huh? What about a Jew who converts to Christianity? A born again Jew?

 

[HillaryClinton]

This is how the #IowaCaucus works. A tie is solved tossing a coin @HillaryClinton wins pic.twitter.com/yZDTUKFJXQ

Everybody calm down. @HillaryClinton obviously just put in more time practicing her coin flips than @BernieSanders. #IowaCaucus #coingate

 

[grokit]

Rand paul is the only candidate that would even think about going up against the israeli lobby. And then he would hold a press conference by an aircraft carrier, after they showed him the error of his ways !

 

[little maggie]

Huh? What about a Jew who converts to Christianity? A born again Jew?

Bernie is not a born again Christian. Anti semitism is still alive and well in the US. Plus there are a lot of people who may not rationally believe what they learned as children but I grew up in a city where Catholic children were taught that Jews killed Christ.

 

[HillaryClinton]

Hold the phone, I was just on the phone with Christ, dude is fine, he was going on about corn nuts and how they are the perfect high snack.

All bless(blaze) him.

 

[lwien]

Bernie is not a born again Christian.

Never said he was. I was just responding to your statement in a very general way.

Anti semitism is still alive and well in the US.

Being Jewish myself, I totally understand that.

I grew up in a city where Catholic children were taught that Jews killed Christ.

Wrong. It was the Romans who killed Christ. Fucking Italians !!!

Ok, I think it may be best to get off of the religious discussion and get back to politics, eh?

 

[howie105]

It might be wise (suspect its back channelling already) to see what Sanders wants or will settle for so a deal can get made. Sanders is still fulfilling one of the roles of the outsider, that is motivating a block of voters the mainline candidate can't or won't position themselves for. Best case Sanders bows out and throws a significant part of his support behind the mainliner, worst case he runs off the reservation and opens his own casino. However I don't see any indication of that happening so its wait and see.

 

[howie105]

Apologies for the double post my browser, OS and the sites aren’t working as I had hoped.

 

[cybrguy]

That probably describes a majority of American Jews. In an ideal world none of this would matter but in the America we live in it kinda does. My suggestion: let's have a woman prez next, which is already a big step and a useful one (and would give her some interesting leverage) and after that we can have a Jewish president.

How bout a Jewish Latina Woman? Lets see how many boxes we can check...

Republicans are BIG on diversity as we all know. Here, have a look at their MODERATE and how much he appreciates religious freedom.

Obama makes first-ever mosque visit, draws ugly fire from Rubio


By Steve Benen
2/3/16, 2:30 PM ET
Obama to Muslim Americans: ‘You fit in here’
President Obama yesterday made his first visit to a mosque since getting elected, delivering remarks at the Islamic Society of Baltimore, and in the process showing some real leadership on an important issue.

“f we’re serious about freedom of religion – and I’m speaking now to my fellow Christians who remain the majority in this country – we have to understand an attack on one faith is an attack on all our faiths,” the president explained. “And when any religious group is targeted, we all have a responsibility to speak up. And we have to reject a politics that seeks to manipulate prejudice or bias, and targets people because of religion.”

It was a message of inclusion and respect, a defense of religious liberty, and an explicit reminder to Muslim Americans that they are part of the fabric of the nation. “If you’re ever wondering whether you fit in here, let me say it as clearly as I can, as President of the United States: You fit in here,” Obama said. “You’re right where you belong. You’re part of America, too. You’re not Muslim or American. You’re Muslim and American.”

Watching this, I was struck by a few things. The first was how genuinely heartening it was to see a sitting president reach out to a minority community with warmth and gratitude. The second was that Obama was doing exactly the opposite of what terrorist groups like ISIS want – since their entire message is built on the lie that the West will never accept Muslims as friends and neighbors.

And third, I found myself thinking, “Even the most unhinged, right-wing Republican is going to have a hard time disagreeing with the president’s efforts to bring people together.” Apparently, I underestimated what Marco Rubio is capable of. The Washington Post reported on the senator’s response to the Obama’s remarks.

“I’m tired of being divided against each other for political reasons like this president’s done,” Rubio said. “Always pitting people against each other. Always.”

“Look at today – he gave a speech at a mosque,” Rubio continued. “Oh, you know, basically implying that America is discriminating against Muslims. Of course there’s going to be discrimination in America of every kind. But the bigger issue is radical Islam… t’s this constant pitting people against each other – that I can’t stand that. It’s hurting our country badly.”
​

Remember, we’ve been told repeatedly that he’s the smart one in the GOP field.

On the surface, it’s stunning that Rubio could believe remarks explicitly crafted to bring people together was actually a speech that deliberately tried to pit Americans against each other. It’s as if the Florida senator has the listening comprehension skills of a third grader.

But it’s also disappointing. Rubio is supposed to be better than this. There’s probably nothing the Senate Republican can do to shake pundits’ affection for him, but his comments yesterday should lead to some reflection on the part of his media cheerleaders: Is Rubio really the amazing new leader you think he is?

The Boston Globe’s Michael Cohen noted in response to Rubio’s condemnation of Obama’s remarks, “Honestly, in a political world that was borderline sane, this comment would be disqualifying.” New York’s Jon Chait added, “Obama and Rubio follow very different theories of the proper treatment of social minorities. One of those men is president of the United States, and the other has no business holding that position.”

 

[lwien]

Lots of positive stuff here at FC about Bernie, but as with everyone, there's always a flip side:
http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/04/politics/bernie-sanders-veterans-affairs-delays/index.html

 

[Joel W.]

Bernie is not a born again Christian. Anti semitism is still alive and well in the US.

I'd say racism is alive and well in the US also and yet we did managed to elect and then re-elect a black man as president.

Bigotry is alive and well in the US also but yet we now allow gay marriage in all the states.

Now, the presidential race is between an old Jew and a fierce female. IMO, no matter who gets elected, we all win I think and we should be proud of this fact!

The times are a changing! Bigotry and racism are being out numbered by tolerant youths as the old racists/bigots die off.

 

[lwien]

The times are a changing! Bigotry and racism are being out numbered by tolerant youths as the old racists/bigots die off.

Wish I could say the same thing for our European friends for it seems that there, it's the youths that are the most vociferous racists.

But yeah, I'm sad to say that it's my generation that needs to go for things to improve in this area.

 

[howie105]

I'd say racism is alive and well in the US also and yet we did managed to elect and then re-elect a black man as president.

Bigotry is alive and well in the US also but yet we now allow gay marriage in all the states.

Now, the presidential race is between an old Jew and a fierce female. IMO, no matter who gets elected, we all win I think and we should be proud of this fact!

The times are a changing! Bigotry and racism are being out numbered by tolerant youths as the old racists/bigots die off.

With respect racism and bigotry has existed throughout history and it is still running hot and strong around the world. Racial paranoia is an easy tool to manipulate people with and I doubt it will ever be laid aside. It really falls to the individual to be answerable to their own better nature.

 

[Joel W.]

All my grandparents were racists/bigots, my parents were less racists/bigots than their parents but they did not teach me to hate, like their parents did.

I don't consider myself a racist or a bigot at all and I will be teaching my children the exact same way.

It's all in how we were raised I think..

 

[howie105]

All my grandparents were racists/bigots, my parents were less racists/bigots than their parents but they did not teach me to hate, like their parents did.

I don't consider myself a racist or a bigot at all and I will be teaching my children the exact same way.

It's all in how we were raised I think..

Once upon a time Muslims were not as hated a group in this country as they are now, in the past the nation didn't have a bone to pick with the Japanese for the most part till the war. Fear and the sought after response can be one incident and a few news cycles away at times.

 

[Joel W.]

Fear and the sought after response can be one incident and a few news cycles away at times.

Only if you buy into the fear!

 

[grokit]

Wish I could say the same thing for our European friends for it seems that there, it's the youths that are the most vociferous racists.

If we had thousands of new syrian refugees clamoring at our borders every single day, we would likely react the same or worse. The way things stand over there now, someone like trump could be elected.

 

[His_Highness]

I also believe that bernie would do better in the general election than hillary would, one big reason is that the youth vote is highly motivated to support him. I realize that some of you have a different opinion.

My kids have been hearing how important voting is along with open conversations and debates since they were old enough to have ears. They are well aware that as a family we tend to lean more toward democratic ideals but until the conversation below we hadn't talked about who we liked in the primaries.

With the above in mind here's a snipit from a recent conversation with my kids (2-mid to late 20s) and some of their close friends (4)...this conversation began with one of their friends asking if my wife and I were following the primaries this year.....My wife answered that she was for Hillary. I steered clear of who I'm currently leaning towards and said 'I'd like to hear who you are considering voting for'....

Each of them said Bernie. Here's the responses...right, wrong or indifferent when I asked 'Why Bernie'? The top 2 responses were...
- It's time we had a National Healthcare System like other countries.
- The top 1% within the top 10% need to pay substantially higher taxes and need to have their ability to influence the country as whole lessened.

When I said 'Do you think a Jewish Socialist can win and make a difference'? The responses were:
- We already have socialist programs for things like social security, medicare and public schools that are working and good for America.
- I don't care that he's Jewish. (None of these kids are religious for what that's worth)

When I asked how they felt about raising taxes to pay for socialist programs the responses were:
- Bernie is going to tap corporations and the top 400 richest people in America the hardest.
- The amount my taxes will go up will be more than offset by how little I will pay for healthcare.

I'm not debating the accuracy of what these kids think. Nor am I saying they represent their demographic. Just that I was surprised by 6 millennials who were leaning toward Bernie. Call me a stereotypical thinker but I at least thought the young ladies would lean toward Hillary. As for Hillary the standard lines were uttered...Lack of trust, too establishment oriented and she has taken too much money from those she needs to reign in.

 

[howie105]

Only if you buy into the fear!

Fears are one of man's most powerful drivers and everyone has them. So while I agree its a question of managing ones fear buying in on fear has a head start because of the way most folks are wired. More importantly those who use fear to their advantage tend to be pretty good at packaging it.

 

[whereskarlo]

If we had thousands of new syrian refugees clamoring at our borders every single day, we would likely react the same or worse. The way things stand now over there, someone like trump could easily be elected.

Things are bad in Europe is all I can say. Media and politicians constantly dark or censor information about crimes or misbehavior by these syrian refugees. There's been IS slogans and threats of decapitation in Sweden on the walls of Assyrian (Christian) businesses.

Everyone is scared to be labeled a racist which is sickening. If an arab immigrant misbehaves it's considered racist to call him out, as if it wasn't racist to give them special treatment in front of the law based on their nationality and skin color. People are fed up with political correctness in Europe and leniency. I also think Trump would do great here, everyone in a society should be but to the same standard and scrutiny, no matter who they are or where they come from.

 

[lwien]

Things are bad in Europe is all I can say. Media and politicians constantly dark or censor information about crimes or misbehavior by these syrian refugees. There's been IS slogans and threats of decapitation in Sweden on the walls of Assyrian (Christian) businesses.

Everyone is scared to be labeled a racist which is sickening. If an arab immigrant misbehaves it's considered racist to call him out, as if it wasn't racist to give them special treatment in front of the law based on their nationality and skin color. People are fed up with political correctness in Europe and leniency. I also think Trump would do great here, everyone in a society should be but to the same standard and scrutiny, no matter who they are or where they come from.

I know that this is getting way off topic here but your post brings up a question that I've pondered for some time. Europe has always had an assimilation problem as compared to the US and it's been this way way before the Syrian refugee issue. Why is that?

Edit: I guess one of the reasons could be is that the US is a relatively new country totally made up of immigrants (not withstanding the Native Americans) which can't be said for European countries, eh?

 

[CarolKing]

Religion can be the greatest instigator of hate whether you are Muslim or Christian or some other religion. The Republican Party is turning into the party of hate and fear.

I believe almost any republican would be better than Donald Trump. The "the emperor has no clothes". I think folks will see that. He has no idea what it takes to be president of the United States and he doesn't have it in him. He's not up to the task. He's a big baby and a sore loser.

 

[lwien]

ygui

Religion is the greatest instigator of hate whether you are Muslim or Christian. The Relublican Party is turning into the party of hate and fear.

I believe almost any republican would be better than Donald Trump. The "the emperor has no clothes". I think folks will see that. He has no idea what it takes to be president of the United States and he doesn't have it in him. He's not up to the task.

I guess the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree, eh? ...http://gothamist.com/2016/01/22/guthrie_trump_racist_dad.php