# The Democrats Emergency Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 5, 2019, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrats-emergency-thread/843006 "2019-11-05T01:12:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2019, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrats-emergency-thread/843006/101 "2019-11-06T02:41:51Z")
More signs of the coming End of the World[sup]TM[/sup]. May I present Governor Beavis (D) of Kentucky and, his friends at the Democratic-controlled VA senate. Mwahahahahaha! ---
**Author:** ![SamuelA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@SamuelA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SamuelA)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2019, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrats-emergency-thread/843006/102 "2019-11-06T02:43:27Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > Sure, I can think of a lot of reasons. Another one might be that they don’t consider anything he’s done to amount to “high crimes and misdemeanors” that merit removal from office. Which begs the question, what is? For a Republican Senator, investigating the person who might be a threat to “your man” in the Oval Office is not a crime, it’s behavior to be encouraged. Executive privilege means the President can break laws when necessary, right? If Trump shot Biden on 5th avenue, is that really High Crimes? I mean, really? Biden was probably guilty of something. If Trump took some money from Putin and also took Putin’s side in an international dispute around the same time, is that really a misdemeanor? C’mon, who wouldn’t take money from the Russians? Besides, he’s a billionaire. It’s not like he needed the money. He just grabbed it to see if he could and would have sided with the Russians anyway. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2019, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrats-emergency-thread/843006/103 "2019-11-06T03:07:43Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > And stronger and ideologically harder-core. > People tend to badly discount the resiliency of parties and movements. Nixon was a flaming liberal compared to the Rs that followed him – at least, he did things like creating the EPA, which subsequent Republicans have tried to throttle. Perhaps in his heart, Nixon might have done truly vile things such as Reagan, the Bushes and Individual-ONE have but his mom raised him better than that. Or the spectacle of Tailgunner was somehow a sobering lesson. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2019, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrats-emergency-thread/843006/104 "2019-11-06T03:52:13Z")
> [@SamuelA](#): > > Which begs the question, what is? That’s easy. \*\*\*Benghazi! * * * I have gotten to the point with the Trump defenders that I’ve boiled everything down to one response. “So you wouldn’t care if Obama had done it, too, right?” ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2019, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrats-emergency-thread/843006/105 "2019-11-06T04:10:24Z")
I like them all. I would vote for any of them. I don’t see why the hell people are so picky given what we have in office right now. I know “anyone but Trump blah blah lesser of two evils blah blah” but none are evil and I’m not about to hold someone’s age against them. I like Biden. I like Warren. Even though they’re pushing stuff that’s quite a bit more liberal than the other guy I liked. It will all be balanced out in congress anyway so it doesn’t make that big of a difference which Democrat as far as the ones in the running right now go. Mostly because I realize it’s all about teams. Politics is gonna be about the party. Republicans know this. Why is it so hard for Democrats to understand? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2019, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrats-emergency-thread/843006/106 "2019-11-06T04:18:58Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > Sure, I can think of a lot of reasons. Another one might be that they don’t consider anything he’s done to amount to “high crimes and misdemeanors” that merit removal from office. Yeah, that might have worked, before they Impeached Clinton for far less. I said that was gonna bite them in the ass, and I am right. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2019, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrats-emergency-thread/843006/107 "2019-11-06T04:35:51Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Yeah, that might have worked, before they Impeached Clinton for far less. I said that was gonna bite them in the ass, and I am right. At least Clinton committed an actual crime. And why would that “bite them in the ass”? Clinton wasn’t removed from office and neither will President Trump be removed from office. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2019, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrats-emergency-thread/843006/108 "2019-11-06T05:17:38Z")
Lessee, lying about a blowjob is an impeachable crime. Especially if you pretend to be a puritan **cough cough** Newt\*\* cough cough. Actually attempting to blackmail a country that desperately needs money and weapons to fend off our Russian enemies from further annexing their land in return for investigating your opposition Presidential front runner is A-OK. Sad ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2019, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrats-emergency-thread/843006/109 "2019-11-06T05:48:26Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > At least Clinton committed an actual crime. And why would that “bite them in the ass”? Clinton wasn’t removed from office and neither will President Trump be removed from office. Actually no. He did lie, but lying isnt always perjury. Clinton didnt commit perjury. It is going to bite them in the ass as they picked a very minor crime- perjury- as a “high crime”. Now collusion, etc all can be “high crimes”. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2019, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrats-emergency-thread/843006/110 "2019-11-06T06:56:14Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Actually no. He did lie, but lying isnt always perjury. Clinton’s crime was that he failed to tell them “_Fuck Off! This has nothing to do with anything, you desperate worms._” I lost a bit of respect for him, letting those twits play him like that. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2019, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrats-emergency-thread/843006/111 "2019-11-06T08:54:17Z")
…from today: > [@The Morning Call](#): > > “ES&S has assured the county and the Pennsylvania Department of State that it is assessing and diagnosing what caused the issues with the machines,” the news release stated. > > Red flags with the results were apparent as even the earliest returns rolled in. Democrat Abe Kassis initially had zero recorded votes with multiple precincts reporting. > > … > > With 105 of 155 precincts reporting, Democratic candidate Abe Kassis had received just 164 votes. Democrat John Morganelli had 28,582 and Republican Victor Scomillio had 17,185. > > … > > County Executive Lamont McClure said he believed the issues with the machines were limited to the judicial race, but poll workers across Northampton County flagged questionable results in at least six other municipal races. > > … > > John Simpson, a judge of elections for Lower Nazareth 2, said he was sure the results printed off the machines in his precinct were incorrect because they recorded zero votes for Kassis. **Simpson said he personally cast at least one vote.** > **[Northampton County to rescan ballots after GOP chair calls for recount: ‘We...](https://www.mcall.com/2019/11/06/northampton-county-to-rescan-ballots-after-gop-chair-calls-for-recount-we-have-a-hanging-chad-moment/)** > > Northampton County officials are rescanning ballots cast countywide after questionable results were reported by newly implemented voting machines Tuesday, prompting the head of the county Republica… There are numerous ongoing emergencies going on right now and there will be continuing to be emergencies leading right up to next elections. Those emergencies revolve around voting machines, the integrity of the next elections, voter suppression, unfettered propaganda and the weaponization of social media. I believe all of these things are going to have a bigger impact on the next election than who the Democrats actually choose to run. There really are more important battles to be won. Its why people like Stacey Abrams, who received a lot of pressure to stand as a candidate this year, declined the opportunity to continue the fight against voter suppression. If you are worried about the next elections (and you have very reason to worry about what will happen in 2020) then I think there are things you can do that aren’t “hoping for a miracle.” ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2019, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrats-emergency-thread/843006/112 "2019-11-06T08:59:58Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Clinton’s crime was that he failed to tell them “_Fuck Off! This has nothing to do with anything, you desperate worms._” I lost a bit of respect for him, letting those twits play him like that. …Clinton deserved to be impeached. His treatment of Lewinsky back then and even his treatment of Lewinsky now was nothing short of disgusting. If Clinton had told them to “fuck off” then he would have been every bit as bad as Trump & co’s behaviour now. I can at least give him a bit of credit for that. ---
**Author:** ![SamuelA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@SamuelA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SamuelA)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2019, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrats-emergency-thread/843006/113 "2019-11-06T12:17:12Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > …Clinton deserved to be impeached. His treatment of Lewinsky back then and even his treatment of Lewinsky now was nothing short of disgusting. If Clinton had told them to “fuck off” then he would have been every bit as bad as Trump & co’s behaviour now. I can at least give him a bit of credit for that. Wait, what? So, uh, what about Trump now? Does he deserve to be impeached _now_? Or does the laundry list of his sexual transgressions - I’m talking about the ones he admitted to and/or paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for - not matter? I guess technically right now he rants on twitter all night instead of fucking another porn star. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2019, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrats-emergency-thread/843006/114 "2019-11-06T12:47:45Z")
> [@SamuelA](#): > > Wait, what? > > So, uh, what about Trump now? Does he deserve to be impeached _now_? …ummm, yes? I’ve been calling for Trump’s impeachment since well before it got trendy on these boards. > [@](#): > > Or does the laundry list of his sexual transgressions - I’m talking about the ones he admitted to and/or paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for - not matter? Of course they fucking matter. > [@](#): > > I guess technically right now he rants on twitter all night instead of fucking another porn star. What the fuck are you talking about? ---
**Author:** ![SamuelA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@SamuelA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SamuelA)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2019, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrats-emergency-thread/843006/115 "2019-11-06T13:06:09Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > What the fuck are you talking about? Trump, as President (and a 73 year old man), apparently isn’t getting it in with porn stars right _now_. Or if he is, the press haven’t spotted the parade of adult video stars trooping in and out of his white house bedroom. And you would expect for them to be waiting in ambush with telephoto lenses hoping to catch a glimpse of this. So he’s not committing [High Crimes and Misdemeanors](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_crimes_and_misdemeanors) of this particular kind while President. The [Harvard Law](https://harvardlawreview.org/2018/12/high-crimes-without-law/)Review article quoted by wikipedia states: Most people, including a majority of the House of Representatives, interpreted the phrase to refer not to literal crimes or misdemeanors but to any serious abuses of presidential power. By this definition, if Trump pays a porn star to have sex with him from his personal funds, that probably wouldn’t count. Even if he explicitly makes the payment in a way that makes it clear it is prostitution, it’s not using the power of his office. He could do this as a private citizen any day of the week. Lewinsky, however, by using his authority as her boss to sexually harass her, this is a grey area. However, Lewinsky didn’t claim harassment and in the civilian world their relationship was perfectly legal though many corporations today would terminate managers who engage in it. ---
**Author:** ![Monocracy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monocracy/32/4493_2.png) [@Monocracy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monocracy)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2019, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrats-emergency-thread/843006/116 "2019-11-06T13:08:27Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > In the mid 1970s, a Republican President left office in disgrace. The VP who took over for him lost a rather close election, and the Rs were back in the WH only 4 years later. This seems different, but even so, parasites rarely go easily. There is a big difference. Trump has a fanatical following. He is a cult leader. He had about 30% of Republicans at the start of the primaries. Most of the rest jumped on the train when he clearly had the nomination. Republicans are followers. Does anyone think he will go quietly into the night if he is forced from office? Yes, most conservatives will jump ship and latch back onto the establishment Republicans. But how many won’t? How many will be mad at Republicans for ditching their boy Trump? Will it be 10%? 20%? more? Republicans are already a slight minority compared to the Democrats. They can’t afford to lose any more voters. This is why Republicans can’t dump Trump. No matter how bad it gets, no matter how much evidence piles against him, no matter how many people he shoots on 5th Avenue, they have to back Trump to the end. This was seen in the impeachment inquiry vote, it will be seen in the formal impeachment vote and it will be seen in the Senate. Republican politicians have no choice. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2019, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrats-emergency-thread/843006/117 "2019-11-06T13:15:43Z")
> [@SamuelA](#): > > Trump, as President (and a 73 year old man), apparently isn’t getting it in with porn stars right _now_. Or if he is, the press haven’t spotted the parade of adult video stars trooping in and out of his white house bedroom. And you would expect for them to be waiting in ambush with telephoto lenses hoping to catch a glimpse of this. > > So he’s not committing [High Crimes and Misdemeanors](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_crimes_and_misdemeanors) of this particular kind while President. The [Harvard Law](https://harvardlawreview.org/2018/12/high-crimes-without-law/)Review article quoted by wikipedia states: > > Most people, including a majority of the House of Representatives, interpreted the phrase to refer not to literal crimes or misdemeanors but to any serious abuses of presidential power. > > By this definition, if Trump pays a porn star to have sex with him from his personal funds, that probably wouldn’t count. Even if he explicitly makes the payment in a way that makes it clear it is prostitution, it’s not using the power of his office. He could do this as a private citizen any day of the week. > > Lewinsky, however, by using his authority as her boss to sexually harass her, this is a grey area. However, Lewinsky didn’t claim harassment and in the civilian world their relationship was perfectly legal though many corporations today would terminate managers who engage in it. …I’m sorry,but with all due respect, but what the fuck are you talking about? ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2019, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrats-emergency-thread/843006/118 "2019-11-06T13:25:27Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > At least Clinton committed an actual crime. Ah. I wasn’t aware that the criminal codes had been updated to remove extortion from the books. > [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > Sure, I can think of a lot of reasons. Another one might be that they don’t consider anything he’s done to amount to “high crimes and misdemeanors” that merit removal from office. So even though bribery is specifically mentioned as grounds for impeachment, its next-door neighbor, extortion, would have been A-OK with the Founders? ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2019, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrats-emergency-thread/843006/119 "2019-11-06T13:27:07Z")
Getting back to the thread topic: after last night, I’m not exactly feeling the emergency here. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2019, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrats-emergency-thread/843006/120 "2019-11-06T13:30:26Z")
> [@SamuelA](#): > > Lewinsky, however, by using his authority as her boss to sexually harass her, this is a grey area. If you’re going to go there, this reminds me that we know who Monica Lewinsky is only because Ken Starr’s henchmen threatened her with a long prison term if she didn’t cooperate with them. _ **Lock them up!!!** _ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrats-emergency-thread/843006.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-democrats-emergency-thread/843006.md?page=7)