lol, context. You mean spin.

Nope, I mean context. We can't just throw it out because you amusingly decide to start with some conclusion that's ideologically satisfying in your little bubble, and then awkwardly attempt to work your way backwards.

You're projecting. Again.

I noted the other day that Walker was going to unveil his version of an "Obamacare" alternative, and unsurprisingly it was comprised of the exact proposals I predicted (because these theoretical Republican proposals always are). He also sprinkled in some other Republican favorites (block granting Medicaid) that only increase the challenges of improving healthcare in the country.

So far the early consensus is that Walker gets credit for at least cobbling together these often-recycled ideas and throwing his support behind them, but health policy experts were quick to note that his plan if implemented would dramatically increase the uninsured population, would be more expensive than the ACA (and would also increase the deficit, unlike the ACA), and would come with much fewer consumer protections than what people are becoming used to now. Rubio attempted to steal the spotlight by writing an Op-Ed about his alternative for the dreaded Politico, but it was even shorter on specifics than Walker's plan and it (over)relied on the meaningless rhetoric ("patient-centered," "more freedom for states," "getting rid of excess regulations") that has kept the party from being able to actually develop a workable alternative like they've been promising to do these past 6 years.

Edit: There were also dueling immigration reform proposals from Trump and Walker. Widely panned, to say the least.



LOL, the delusion. You never fail to entertain.

At least you finally smartened up and abandoned the nonsense you were pushing earlier in the thread, whether it was about Rand Paul's disastrous organization or about the discredited conspiracy theories regarding the IRS.

This post was edited by Pollster on Aug 19 2015 07:08am

Today was "your plan is more unworkable than my plan" day. The dreaded Politico did the number-crunching on Trump's immigration proposal and estimated a ~$160 billion price tag on the low end. That's pretty large for something that seems mostly unworkable. 538 weighed in on everything Trump gets wrong in his proposal: http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/everything-donald-trumps-immigration-plan-gets-wrong/

Trump's finally holding a town hall and he spent most of his time focusing on Jeb, who was 20 miles down the road doing the same thing: http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/251532-trump-and-bush-go-to-war-in-new-hampshire

Rubio's healthcare plan is finally getting the attention it deserves for just how far it would go: http://blogs.rollcall.com/white-house/rubiocare-upend-traditional-insurance/?dcz=

CNN's methodology could save Rand Paul's spot on the stage, and keep Carly Fiorina off of it: http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/251481-cnn-criteria-threatens-fiorinas-chance-at-main-debate-stage

Someone is finally picking up on what I've been saying about Cruz for months: http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-08-18/ted-cruz-shouldn-t-be-underestimated-al-hunt-explains-

Carson becomes the 9th (NINTH!) Republican hopeful to take aim at the 14th amendment: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/ben-carson-birthright-citizenship

http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/8/19/fbi-treating-clinton-emails-as-a-potential-criminal-investigation.html

Shots fired. Solid source too.

Exciting development. Is it me or does it seem like this presidential race is more dramatic and interesting than some of the previous ones. Trump debacle, Hillary with the emails what will happen next!?11!?

Who needs television we got real life drama

This post was edited by ofthevoid on Aug 19 2015 09:03pm

Run Joe, run!!!

No one has any idea if the source is solid, unless you're talking about Al Jazeera being the source of the reporting. The New York Times is a pretty solid source of reporting and they flat out got it wrong, like that article notes.

I could see the investigation eventually being treated as a criminal matter, especially on account of government over-classification, State not prohibiting Powell or Clinton from setting up what they did when they asked, and so many Clinton statements (and the predictable, sloppy parsing of those statements). I'm not sure whether or not the probe, if it transitioned over from an administrative query, would ultimately be a positive or a negative. The sheer attention that the words in boldface command showed how potentially damaging it could be (it hasn't shown up in public opinion yet, though), but if it was taken up and then Clinton was cleared of any criminal wrongdoing then that would essentially end this as a substantive matter in a way that it can't really end now, now that circular logic has taken over.



I'm pretty safe in assuming that as media and modern campaigning keep changing each new presidential race is going to get more exciting. It's compounded by race-specific features and this one has a shit ton of those: open race, one party has the largest field in history, and the media's demand to create a horse-race narrative guarantees the pushing of every angle that makes the Democratic nomination look competitive.

Add onto that the fact you have an actual celebrity running, who is currently leading in polling and who is guaranteed to say or propose something fringe/bold/outrageous/random. Then there's the political dynasty, and his strengths and weaknesses that perfectly allow the media to focus on the fissures in the GOP. And Hillary Clinton is running, which ensures a hysterical press corps and a hostile relationship with a campaign that then provides the opportunity for endless meta commentary.

It's easily the "biggest" race ever. 2008 didn't own that title for long.

Jeb's Super PAC has a couple hundred thousand mailers hitting IA/NH today. He made some news yesterday when he voluntarily used the characterization "anchor baby." That's pretty derisive language that hasn't made it into mainstream campaigning yet, but Trump introduced it and now the field is responding naturally. Jeb's trying to play it off but there's a chance this is his "self-deportation" moment, even though he's not going full 14th amendment truther like most of the field: http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/gop-primaries/251583-jeb-i-dont-regret-using-term-anchor-babies

On that note, welcome Cruz to the party. He's #10 I believe. http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/ted-cruz-ending-birthright-citizenship-view-i-have-long-held-n412766

Jeb calls in G.W.B. to do some fundraising: http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/fundraising/251573-george-w-bush-makes-fundraising-pitch-for-jeb

Marquette Law has Clinton leading both Jeb and Walker in WI: http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/polls/251589-walker-trails-clinton-by-10-in-wisconsin

Kevin Drum of MotherJones has the best "Emailgate" story today: http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2015/08/emailgate-continues-be-nothingburger

As far as the legal side of that story, State will now be in a dialog with the FBI over the server: http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/251587-judge-orders-state-to-coordinate-with-fbi-about-clinton-server