The American Politics Thread!

[TeamAudra]

1 minute ago, Hamza Tufail said:

I think I should have clarified what I meant. I can't the video right now, but he basically said if he becomes the president, Jeanette Nunez will be the next gov. He said he trusts her a lot, and she's gonna continue his work exactly the way he did.

 

I think what he said in the end is an endorsement for her.

I think she automatically becomes Governor if he vacates the office. I don’t think he gets to decide. 

[Hamza Tufail]

2 minutes ago, TeamAudra said:

I think she automatically becomes Governor if he vacates the office. I don’t think he gets to decide. 

Yeah, but he praised her a lot. I don't think in an election he will endorse anyone by taking their names, but he'll say enough stuff to let others know who his fav is. But maybe I'm wrong. Maybe he doesn't do that either.

 

I personally like Marco Rubio as well. He's a good senator, but I think he'll be a good chief executive as well.

[mercfan3]

4 hours ago, TeamAudra said:

I’m certainly no Iowa fan, but I even tuned in to watch a couple of the tournament games, just to see what the hype was about. Everyone who watches basketball knows who she is. How do mess that up? 
 

Nikki probably didn’t watch any of those games. She’s just pandering. 
 

she’s phenomenal, though I’ve got my Paige Bueckers colored glasses on. 
 

btw, if Haley messes up Paige’s name in CT, she’ll be escorted out of the state and not allowed back.

Edited December 31, 2023 by mercfan3

[Hamza Tufail]

This was so fun to watch.

 

 

[Hamza Tufail]

18 hours ago, TeamAudra said:

This is insane. Some woman is going to get hurt bad. 
 

 

[TeamAudra]

21 hours ago, mercfan3 said:

she’s phenomenal, though I’ve got my Paige Bueckers colored glasses on. 
 

btw, if Haley messes up Paige’s name in CT, she’ll be escorted out of the state and not allowed back.

Who? 

 

I’m kidding. I know who she is. Minnesota produces a lot of great high school basketball players, and she’s one of them. Unfortunately, most do not stay. 
 

Chet Holmgren 

Jalen Suggs 

Tyus and Tre Jones 

Gary Trent, Jr. 

 

Just to name a few more recent ones. 

I’m actually more of an NBA fan, honestly. We have a good team this year. Anthony Edwards is the next superstar. 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 1 by TeamAudra

[TeamAudra]

3 hours ago, Hamza Tufail said:

Since we’re talking about basketball…imagine biological males being able to play against females in the WNBA. A border line NBA player, or even an average college player who isn’t even close to being NBA material would absolutely dominate the league. This is one of those 80-20 issues for Republicans, but some are still too scared to take a strong stance. 

Edited January 1 by TeamAudra

[mercfan3]

1 hour ago, TeamAudra said:

Since we’re talking about basketball…imagine biological males being able to play against females in the WNBA. A border line NBA player, or even an average college player who isn’t even close to being NBA material would absolutely dominate the league. This is one of those 80-20 issues for Republicans, but some are still too scared to take a strong stance. 

The sports convo is interesting in itself. 
 

I think the trans movement has some problematic elements to it, and one of those is who it centers - which tends to be trans women. 
 

imo, unless the trans woman is highly skilled, her participating in a team sport - where yes, physicality matters, but really skills and intelligence can matter more, imo it’s unlikely to impact the best women’s players. Because the best women’s players are bigger than the average man anyway. (The aforementioned Bueckers played one on one vs Suggs her whole life) 

 

Furthermore, it’s just unlikely to happen at the highest level - it’s rare for a trans woman to be an athlete. Where it is a problem for cis girls is in high school. 
 

 

however this is where the problem lies - the most likely trans athlete is a trans man. Who will most certainly be harmed, at some level of whatever sport he played, if forced to play with the gender they transitioned to. 

So to me, forcing the athlete to play with their transitioned gender actually will end up hurting trans athletes more too. (And in fact, the WNBA recognized this, as a trans man is still employed on a team).

 

which is why I say sometimes the trans movement focuses too heavily on one of its demographics..

[TeamAudra]

59 minutes ago, mercfan3 said:

The sports convo is interesting in itself. 
 

I think the trans movement has some problematic elements to it, and one of those is who it centers - which tends to be trans women. 
 

imo, unless the trans woman is highly skilled, her participating in a team sport - where yes, physicality matters, but really skills and intelligence can matter more, imo it’s unlikely to impact the best women’s players. Because the best women’s players are bigger than the average man anyway. (The aforementioned Bueckers played one on one vs Suggs her whole life) 

 

Furthermore, it’s just unlikely to happen at the highest level - it’s rare for a trans woman to be an athlete. Where it is a problem for cis girls is in high school. 
 

 

however this is where the problem lies - the most likely trans athlete is a trans man. Who will most certainly be harmed, at some level of whatever sport he played, if forced to play with the gender they transitioned to. 

So to me, forcing the athlete to play with their transitioned gender actually will end up hurting trans athletes more too. (And in fact, the WNBA recognized this, as a trans man is still employed on a team).

 

which is why I say sometimes the trans movement focuses too heavily on one of its demographics..

I’m not talking about unskilled, undersized biological males suiting up against the WNBA. There are plenty of male college players (and maybe even some still in high school) who would dominate, just due to their size, strength, speed, and jumping ability. 
 

I just used the WNBA as an example. It would be an issue at every level. I’m sure there’s a 10 year old girl somewhere who could star on her local boys Little League team, but those examples are pretty rare. Protecting them from injury isn’t the only issue here. There is the potential of lost opportunities for the female athlete if they lose out to someone with this unfair advantage. It’s just wrong. 
 

EDIT: I actually don’t have a problem with girls competing against boys on youth or high school teams. That happens quite a bit. One example off the top of my head is the Team USA Women’s hockey goalie, Maddie Rooney, who played goalie for the boys hockey team at a high school here in MN. She’s good enough to be in the Olympics, she’s probably good enough to compete against high school boys at a position where physicality isn’t as much of a factor. If she were good enough to play in the NHL, I’d be fine with that too. 
 

 

 

 

Edited January 1 by TeamAudra

[mercfan3]

Of course if a great basketball player transitions it would be an issue, but I guess my point is I just think it’s super unlikely to happen…and that it is much more likely to have a trans man at an elite athletic sport. (Though I agree, it would happen at a high school level, which is unfair)
 

and as much as I agree that it’s not a problem if women want to and can compete with men - I just think it’s unfair to force someone with the biology of a woman to compete against all biological men. The WNBA player I mentioned is 5’9. If we were to force him to compete against professional men, he’s out of a job. 
 

and my point is, for whatever reason, the trans movement only focuses on the feelings/wants of trans women (because like you said, women who can compete against men, usually do. So why would a trans women be different?), as opposed to the actual harm/lost opportunities for trans men. 

[TeamAudra]

1 hour ago, mercfan3 said:

Of course if a great basketball player transitions it would be an issue, but I guess my point is I just think it’s super unlikely to happen…and that it is much more likely to have a trans man at an elite athletic sport. (Though I agree, it would happen at a high school level, which is unfair)
 

and as much as I agree that it’s not a problem if women want to and can compete with men - I just think it’s unfair to force someone with the biology of a woman to compete against all biological men. The WNBA player I mentioned is 5’9. If we were to force him to compete against professional men, he’s out of a job. 
 

and my point is, for whatever reason, the trans movement only focuses on the feelings/wants of trans women (because like you said, women who can compete against men, usually do. So why would a trans women be different?), as opposed to the actual harm/lost opportunities for trans men. 

I got dizzy reading that.  Let’s keep this simple. If you were born with a penis, you should not be competing against those who weren’t. If you weren’t born with a penis, but think you are good enough to compete against those who were, have at it. My position on this isn’t even remotely unpopular. It’s just common sense. It seems like we mostly agree on those basic points, but we are coming at it from different angles. 
 

 

[Hamza Tufail]

 

 

 

Maybe that's why DeSantis is saying that Media is trying to create their own narrative that is showing in the national polls. And that's why he says that Iowa can change the whole trajectory, and conservatives all over the US will start thinking about DeSantis.

[TeamAudra]

1 hour ago, Hamza Tufail said:

 

 

 

Maybe that's why DeSantis is saying that Media is trying to create their own narrative that is showing in the national polls. And that's why he says that Iowa can change the whole trajectory, and conservatives all over the US will start thinking about DeSantis.

The average voter doesn’t know much about any of the candidates, except for Trump. And since he has 100% name ID, that’s going to show up in the  polls. I think DeSantis has to win Iowa (or at least a very close 2nd), and if he does, his campaign will get a massive infusion of free media. It’s still an uphill climb from there, but it would give him a fighting chance. I also think if he doesn’t win the nomination, he’ll be back in 4 years. 

[Hamza Tufail]

2 minutes ago, TeamAudra said:

The average voter doesn’t know much about any of the candidates, except for Trump. And since he has 100% name ID, that’s going to show up in the  polls. I think DeSantis has to win Iowa (or at least a very close 2nd), and if he does, his campaign will get a massive infusion of free media. It’s still an uphill climb from there, but it would give him a fighting chance. I also think if he doesn’t win the nomination, he’ll be back in 4 years. 

He has enough achievements, so he would easily come back in 2028.

 

I still don't know why, but I have a gut feeling that he will win Iowa, and come in 2nd place in New Hampshire and South Carolina (Trump will be #1). And from there onwards, it'll be a two person race. 

 

Btw, Fox news isn't doing justice to him. All they're doing is Trump and just Trump. One of the twitter users said that he had to tell one of his friends that DeSantis is still in the race. His friend thought DeSantis has backed down because all he hears on media is Trump.

[TeamAudra]

1 hour ago, Hamza Tufail said:

He has enough achievements, so he would easily come back in 2028.

 

I still don't know why, but I have a gut feeling that he will win Iowa, and come in 2nd place in New Hampshire and South Carolina (Trump will be #1). And from there onwards, it'll be a two person race. 

 

Btw, Fox news isn't doing justice to him. All they're doing is Trump and just Trump. One of the twitter users said that he had to tell one of his friends that DeSantis is still in the race. His friend thought DeSantis has backed down because all he hears on media is Trump.

That’s why I stopped watching Fox News. Even if they were unbiased, they wouldn’t tell me anything I don’t already know. I stopped listening to talk radio too. 

[Hamza Tufail]

This is unbelievable. The audacity to call Ron pro China... Is she even serious? Glad that Laura called her ad stupid. She's one of the few ones that I trust on fox. She loves Trump, but she's been kind to DeSantis as well this whole primary, and have tried to expose both Nikki and Vivek.

 

 

Edited January 3 by Hamza Tufail

[TeamAudra]

@mercfan3

 

Speaking of Caitlin Clark…

 

Did you see what she did to Michigan State tonight? Holy shit. 
 

I just happened to have ESPN on and saw the highlights. She’s insane. 
 

It’s not enough to score 40, but this….

 

That’s why you don’t F up her name in Iowa when you’re running for President. 
 

 

 

 

Edited January 3 by TeamAudra

[mercfan3]

Look at all those Iowa fans that Nikki didn’t endear herself too. 
 

Caitlin is amazing for women’s sports. There are a ton of super marketable wcbb players soon to be professional - the NIL and their play is going to make them so much more money than their predecessors. 

[TeamAudra]

Nikki admitting she has no shot in Iowa. 
 

 

[Hamza Tufail]

If she doesn't come in second in Iowa (which she won't), it'll impact her in NH and SC as well even if Sununu has endorsed her. 

[Hamza Tufail]

One thing I've noticed is, that in all of her events, almost all of her attendees are old people; Baby Boomers and Gen X. But in DeSantis events, I see many Millenials and Gen Zs as well.

[Hamza Tufail]

 

 

 

 

 

[TeamAudra]

5 hours ago, mercfan3 said:

Look at all those Iowa fans that Nikki didn’t endear herself too. 
 

Caitlin is amazing for women’s sports. There are a ton of super marketable wcbb players soon to be professional - the NIL and their play is going to make them so much more money than their predecessors. 

I like how she acted like she’s been there before after she hit that shot. Clearly happy, but she didn’t freak out over it. She wanted the last shot, and expected to make it. I actually hate Iowa, but it’s hard not to be a fan of her. 
 

Yeah, she’s making massive bank for a female college basketball player. I’ll bet it’s over a million a year now. Way more than what she’ll make in the WNBA. She has one more year of eligibility left too, so it will be interesting to see what she does. I’d probably stay at Iowa for another year.  There’s no guarantee she’ll get that kind of endorsement money right away (or ever) in the WNBA. 

Edited January 4 by TeamAudra

[TeamAudra]

Yep, she was mocking the Iowa caucus here, and the audience knew it too. I can practically guarantee her internal polling shows her getting hammered in Iowa, and she doesn’t have much of an organization there. If she thought she had a shot to be competitive, she wouldn’t have made this joke. 
 

 

[Hamza Tufail]

Bob Vander Plaats recently said that the support DeSantis has in IA right now is much better than what Ted Cruz had at this point in 2016.

 

 

There are two possibilities. 

 

1). He is lying, and Trump is the overwhelming fav as the polls say.

 

2). What he's seeing on the ground is completely diff from what the polls say, and DeSantis indeed has a lot of support there.

 

I think everyone should note that in the last three GOP primaries, every single candidate that Bob endorsed has gone on to win the Iowa Caucus — And Ron not only has his endorsement, but he's been endorsed by Gov Kim Reynolds, 42 Iowa state legislators, 120 county level chairs, 120 Faith leaders, and 26 Iowa Sheriffs). Of course, that doesn't guarantee you a win in the overall primary... but... things are diff now. Trump has a lot of legal troubles.

Edited January 4 by Hamza Tufail