TheMightyEthan Posted February 3, 2016 Report Share Posted February 3, 2016 Nope, party leadership and candidates are distinct, though obviously the presidential candidate typically has a lot of influence in the party. *Edit - For example, though Obama is POTUS Debbie Schultz is Democratic party chair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. GOH! Posted February 3, 2016 Report Share Posted February 3, 2016 If there is a sitting President from a party, then s/he is kind of the de facto "party leader," although the actual business of running the party always falls to the chairmen (or chairwomen) of the Republican and Democratic National Committees, popularly called the DNC and RNC. The DNC is led by Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, who is currently a Representative to the House from curséd Florida.The RNC is chaired by the delightfully-named Reince Priebus (relevant: http://shortn.me/kEbm),who is just a conservative jerk and never has held elected office. The chairs are not always former or current elected officials. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted February 3, 2016 Report Share Posted February 3, 2016 They tend to be the de facto party leader when they're newly elected, or when they have good approval ratings, but a sitting president with low ratings can have a lot of trouble trying to "lead" their own party. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thursday Next Posted February 3, 2016 Report Share Posted February 3, 2016 I see. Cheers for the clarification. Does the "Party Leader" set policy? Or are they more administrative in their leadership? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted February 3, 2016 Report Share Posted February 3, 2016 I believe the party votes on the major planks of their platform at the party convention? I'm not 100% sure how that works. Presidents when elected typically have their own platform that they campaigned on, so they will have their own agenda that will align with the party platform to varying degrees. That's where the de facto leadership comes in, because especially a newly elected president will have some momentum behind them to get support from the party for at least some of their goals, whereas an unpopular president may have trouble gaining support even from their own party. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. GOH! Posted February 3, 2016 Report Share Posted February 3, 2016 Generally the primary delegates to the national convention that pick the presidential nominees every four years set the national party platform for the next four years. But the RNC/DNC ultimately decide the party's stance on various issues, although state parties may differ on their focus and stance. Individual elected party members are also given leeway on how far to stray from party dogma so they don't piss off their constituents (like Dems out West being allowed to be pro-gun and Republicans in some areas being allowed to speak in favor of gay marriage). I get the sense the RNC is much more of an enforcer on specific policy positions than is the DNC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister Jack Posted February 4, 2016 Report Share Posted February 4, 2016 O'Malley is actually from my state. I almost feel like a loser by association. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCP Posted February 8, 2016 Report Share Posted February 8, 2016 Ok I haven't been following this election that closely. Why is a man born in Calgary, Alberta running for president? Does this mean me, a man born in Vancouver, BC, can run for president? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted February 8, 2016 Report Share Posted February 8, 2016 I believe it's much in the same way I had a lot of friends born in Germany when younger: Their parents are British. I imagine that while he was physically born out of America, his parents are likely American so he's American by default. My understanding is the rules on what kind of level of citizenship you need to become president has never been properly tested in court, so who knows. Could always threaten to burn the whitehouse down again if they don't make you president. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted February 9, 2016 Report Share Posted February 9, 2016 Yeah, his mom was an American citizen, and by statute anyone with at least one citizen parent is a US citizen, provided that parent has been to the US at least once in their life. The Constitution requires that in order to be president you must be a "natural born citizen", and it's never been decided whether that includes someone like Cruz who has citizenship from birth under a statute rather than under the Constitution itself (which grants citizenship to anyone born in the US). 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted February 9, 2016 Report Share Posted February 9, 2016 So sorta via HotHeart. Peter Serafinowicz (voice of Darth Maul alongside other film and TV roles) decided to re-dub Donald Trump as an upper-class British guy. (incidentally Donald Trump sounds kinda weird and I don't think his mouth connected to the rest of him, cos it moves really weirdly.) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mal Posted February 10, 2016 Report Share Posted February 10, 2016 (edited) It's great and all to make fun of Donald Trump but let's dispel with the notion that Barack Obama doesn't know what he's doing. He knows exactly what he's doing. Something something changing of core American family values for the worse... something something... but here's the bottom line: the notion that Barack Obama doesn't know what he's doing is just not true. He knows exactly what he's doing. Edit: Bernie took NH by quite the large margin. I think the complacent Bernie supporters are up and about after Iowa. Edited February 10, 2016 by MaliciousH 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted February 10, 2016 Report Share Posted February 10, 2016 Okay someone explain the "Barack Obama doesn't know what he's doing. He knows exactly what he's doing." thing. Iv'e seen it around a bit, I would take a guess given context it's something Trump has said without fully paying attention to what he is saying (or how it would be taken). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. GOH! Posted February 10, 2016 Report Share Posted February 10, 2016 (edited) Trump dubbed by Peter Serafinowicz in a posh British accent. Absolutely hilarious. Here's another: Edited February 10, 2016 by Mr. GOH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredEffinChopin Posted February 10, 2016 Report Share Posted February 10, 2016 (edited) Okay someone explain the "Barack Obama doesn't know what he's doing. He knows exactly what he's doing." thing. Iv'e seen it around a bit, I would take a guess given context it's something Trump has said without fully paying attention to what he is saying (or how it would be taken). It's a talking point that Marco Rubio repeated in three consecutive mic-ups nearly verbatim in the last Republican debate. It was doubly embarrassing because it wasn't even close to relevant to the discussion/question (depending on which leg of the spectacle we're talking about) at hand. It was triply embarrassing because opponent Chris Christie called him out on his first repeat of the talking point... and then again on the second repeat of it. It wasn't the only time Christie very effectively took it to Rubio's doorstep during that debate, but it was certainly the most memorable. There are some videos that cut it up for you, but it's all in one block, so I've just timestamped the full debate for you in case you would like to see it unfold (it begins at 13:10, in case the timestamp doesn't work for anyone). Here. Edited February 10, 2016 by FredEffinChopin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hot Heart Posted February 10, 2016 Report Share Posted February 10, 2016 Hypothetical here. Most Americans who plan to vote Democrat, which of the Republican candidates would you prefer to run for President? I don't mean this as an, "I hope they choose this clown, so they lose" pick, but more of an, "If we have to have a Republican president, at least it's this person..." Because, quite frankly, they all seem goddamn terrible people. Maybe Christie was slightly more left-leaning, but I hear he has withdrawn now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted February 10, 2016 Report Share Posted February 10, 2016 Gun to my head? Kasich, or maybe Christie before he withdrew, just because they're the least crazy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mal Posted February 10, 2016 Report Share Posted February 10, 2016 Christie since he's kind of a known quality. He might close a bridge or highway and toss a governor or senator under a bus. He's not a nice guy in power but he seems typical... too typical. Too expected. Honestly, while it might be terrifying but Trump or any Tea Party like people. Like here you go, here's the Presidency. Let us see what you can do. At worst it would be absolutely terrible but it might give the country a big slap in the face. Best outcome... we get a genuinely nice surprise. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredEffinChopin Posted February 10, 2016 Report Share Posted February 10, 2016 Kasich. He's the most earnest, and has expressed the greatest interest in matters of governance.. He's not nearly as morally repugnant as most of the other candidates in a social sense, and also seems to be the single Republican candidate who understands the importance of (or at very least the appearance of) an inclusive and rational rhetorical approach to selling his stances, rather than running around screaming with a pitchfork. He also campaigns on his own merits, rather than against the Obama administration and his primary opponents. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted February 10, 2016 Report Share Posted February 10, 2016 It kinda says a lot that I don't recognise a single name you've mentioned. It's sorta "Trump and 6 others" for Republicans and "Sanders and Clinton" for the Democrats. Also @GOH: Scroll up a bit 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMightyEthan Posted February 10, 2016 Report Share Posted February 10, 2016 You haven't heard Rubio and Cruz? They're the ones who are kind of considered to be vying with Trump most effectively. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hot Heart Posted February 10, 2016 Report Share Posted February 10, 2016 I hadn't heard much from Kasich or Christie (before he tore Rubio a new one) because most of what I've seen in terms of coverage is along the lines of how Jeb Bush (who "PIN numbers his own name") is a loser, Trump is a dangerous idiot freak and Cruz is a dangerous freak. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanb Posted February 10, 2016 Report Share Posted February 10, 2016 Ted Cruz more recently for winning that caucus thingy, and yeah Jeb Bush for being an ex-presidents son/brother. But the general gist is "Trump and 6 others". Oh and Carson for being a weird evangelical. I don't know much of Cruz but he seems like if he caught his skin on something it'd pull off and reveal the lizard/robot endoskeleton beneath. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. GOH! Posted February 10, 2016 Report Share Posted February 10, 2016 (edited) I think Kasich would be the least bad GOP president of the current bunch, but they'd all pick atrocious Supreme Court justices who would turn America into a libertarian paradise, i.e., financial oligarchy. More than it already is. Christie would have been an AWFUL president and the man should not hold any elected office. It's amusing he was out-bullied by Trump. Edit: @Dean I even liked your post and I am almost certain I encountered those videos here first. A friend shared it on Facebook today and I put it in here without thinking. Edited February 10, 2016 by Mr. GOH! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mal Posted February 13, 2016 Report Share Posted February 13, 2016 (edited) So Justice Scalia is dead. Unless there's a massive grid lock the confirmation of a new justice, Obama gets to have another. Edit: The Republicans can lining up for war... Edited February 13, 2016 by MaliciousH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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