The 2016 US Election Thread

Politics and other such topical creams.
Dr. Medulla
User avatar
Atheistic Epileptic
Posts: 115994
Joined: 15 Jun 2008, 2:00pm
Location: Straight Banana, Idaho

Re: The 2016 US Election Thread

Post by Dr. Medulla »

Rat Patrol wrote:
Dr. Medulla wrote:From a more cultural standpoint, age probably won't be a huge factor because Boomers as a generation have always defined themselves, and been defined, by their youthful energy (or at least we're talking perceptions). They were in a hurry to become political and cultural trendsetters and have always carried the reputation of being active. The notion of a Boomer being limited, especially by vitality runs counter to their narrative, and given the number of Boomers who dominate the media still, I doubt it's in their blood to make it an issue. The other thing is what James mentioned—Reagan. Just like JFK broke the taboo against Catholics, I think Reagan broke the taboo about being too old for the presidency (even tho the job is almost certainly more stressful and demanding with each successive administration). I'm not saying her age shouldn't give people pause—it and a zillion other factors should—but it likely won't.
Reagan was old in body and mind, though. In the same way McCain was (for very different reasons). It's just a different set of healthcare and "healthy habits" that generation came up in. Hillary didn't smoke for 30+ years and hone a fondness for scotch like every male who ran for the Preznitzee from Washington to Bush 41 did, and she spent her 20's and 30's after lead paint, asbestos, and discharging industrial waste into the river were categorically proven toxic and necessary of prevention, and ate oat bran and no doubt got warnings to watch her cholesterol and get enough calcium to prevent osteoperosis. Not to mention the multi-billions obsessive middle-class Boomers started spending ever since they turned 40 on rolling back the ravages of age and making there they have the best poop medication money can buy. It's not even remotely comparable how many miles were on the average odometer at 70 her generation vs. every previous generation. If it weren't for the sexist angle there'd probably be zero talk about age. I mean, Romney's 6 months older than her and nobody said boo about him being a month-plus away from 74 by the end of his second term (granted that would make him about 55 in "Mormon years").
This is separate from what I'm arguing, tho. I'm not talking about whether she is healthy enough or at greater risk of dying in office (well, I suppose to the latter, actuarial tables would say yes, but whatever). I'm only speaking to whether the electorate will think her age is an issue, and I don't think it will be for the reasons I stated.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

Flex
User avatar
Mechano-Man of the Future
Posts: 35802
Joined: 15 Jun 2008, 2:50pm
Location: The Information Superhighway!

Re: The 2016 US Election Thread

Post by Flex »

Finally, a chance for an old white person to run the country. Their time is now!

The idea of a Clinton or Bush running this country again makes me want to vomit.
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a bowl of soup
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a rolling hoop
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a ton of lead
Wiggle - you can raise the dead

Pex Lives!

Rat Patrol
User avatar
Unknown Immortal
Posts: 15431
Joined: 15 Jun 2008, 9:23pm
Location: A flat burning junkheap for twenty square miles

Re: The 2016 US Election Thread

Post by Rat Patrol »

Flex wrote:Finally, a chance for an old white person to run the country. Their time is now!

The idea of a Clinton or Bush running this country again makes me want to vomit.
Cletus Ginger Kennedy III only has 2 years to go till he's age-eligible...and he hasn't even been arrested for doing something pantsless while drunk behind the wheel yet!

Image

Dr. Medulla
User avatar
Atheistic Epileptic
Posts: 115994
Joined: 15 Jun 2008, 2:00pm
Location: Straight Banana, Idaho

Re: The 2016 US Election Thread

Post by Dr. Medulla »

Flex wrote:Finally, a chance for an old white person to run the country. Their time is now!

The idea of a Clinton or Bush running this country again makes me want to vomit.
You are going to be so thin by Election Day, mmm mmmm!
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

Silent Majority
Singer-Songwriter Nancy
Posts: 18702
Joined: 10 Nov 2008, 8:28pm
Location: South Londoner in the Midlands.

Re: The 2016 US Election Thread

Post by Silent Majority »

Rat Patrol wrote:
Dr. Medulla wrote:From a more cultural standpoint, age probably won't be a huge factor because Boomers as a generation have always defined themselves, and been defined, by their youthful energy (or at least we're talking perceptions). They were in a hurry to become political and cultural trendsetters and have always carried the reputation of being active. The notion of a Boomer being limited, especially by vitality runs counter to their narrative, and given the number of Boomers who dominate the media still, I doubt it's in their blood to make it an issue. The other thing is what James mentioned—Reagan. Just like JFK broke the taboo against Catholics, I think Reagan broke the taboo about being too old for the presidency (even tho the job is almost certainly more stressful and demanding with each successive administration). I'm not saying her age shouldn't give people pause—it and a zillion other factors should—but it likely won't.
Reagan was old in body and mind, though. In the same way McCain was (for very different reasons). It's just a different set of healthcare and "healthy habits" that generation came up in. Hillary didn't smoke for 30+ years and hone a fondness for scotch like every male who ran for the Preznitzee from Washington to Bush 41 did, and she spent her 20's and 30's after lead paint, asbestos, and discharging industrial waste into the river were categorically proven toxic and necessary of prevention, and ate oat bran and no doubt got warnings to watch her cholesterol and get enough calcium to prevent osteoperosis. Not to mention the multi-billions obsessive middle-class Boomers started spending ever since they turned 40 on rolling back the ravages of age and making there they have the best poop medication money can buy. It's not even remotely comparable how many miles were on the average odometer at 70 her generation vs. every previous generation. If it weren't for the sexist angle there'd probably be zero talk about age. I mean, Romney's 6 months older than her and nobody said boo about him being a month-plus away from 74 by the end of his second term (granted that would make him about 55 in "Mormon years").
Actually, it's true that the few family members I have over seventy are a lot more hard living than the average rich WASP and probably feel their age more.
a lifetime serving one machine
Is ten times worse than prison


www.pexlives.libsyn.com/

Wolter
User avatar
Half Foghorn Leghorn, Half Albert Brooks
Posts: 55432
Joined: 15 Jun 2008, 7:59pm
Location: ¡HOLIDAY RO-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-OAD!

Re: The 2016 US Election Thread

Post by Wolter »

Silent Majority wrote:
Rat Patrol wrote:
Dr. Medulla wrote:From a more cultural standpoint, age probably won't be a huge factor because Boomers as a generation have always defined themselves, and been defined, by their youthful energy (or at least we're talking perceptions). They were in a hurry to become political and cultural trendsetters and have always carried the reputation of being active. The notion of a Boomer being limited, especially by vitality runs counter to their narrative, and given the number of Boomers who dominate the media still, I doubt it's in their blood to make it an issue. The other thing is what James mentioned—Reagan. Just like JFK broke the taboo against Catholics, I think Reagan broke the taboo about being too old for the presidency (even tho the job is almost certainly more stressful and demanding with each successive administration). I'm not saying her age shouldn't give people pause—it and a zillion other factors should—but it likely won't.
Reagan was old in body and mind, though. In the same way McCain was (for very different reasons). It's just a different set of healthcare and "healthy habits" that generation came up in. Hillary didn't smoke for 30+ years and hone a fondness for scotch like every male who ran for the Preznitzee from Washington to Bush 41 did, and she spent her 20's and 30's after lead paint, asbestos, and discharging industrial waste into the river were categorically proven toxic and necessary of prevention, and ate oat bran and no doubt got warnings to watch her cholesterol and get enough calcium to prevent osteoperosis. Not to mention the multi-billions obsessive middle-class Boomers started spending ever since they turned 40 on rolling back the ravages of age and making there they have the best poop medication money can buy. It's not even remotely comparable how many miles were on the average odometer at 70 her generation vs. every previous generation. If it weren't for the sexist angle there'd probably be zero talk about age. I mean, Romney's 6 months older than her and nobody said boo about him being a month-plus away from 74 by the end of his second term (granted that would make him about 55 in "Mormon years").
Actually, it's true that the few family members I have over seventy are a lot more hard living than the average rich WASP and probably feel their age more.
I don't know about that. Most of the rich WASPs I know drink a loooooooooot more than just about anyone else I know.
”INDER LOCK THE THE KISS THREAD IVE REALISED IM A PRZE IDOOT” - Thomas Jefferson

"But the gorilla thinks otherwise!"

Dr. Medulla
User avatar
Atheistic Epileptic
Posts: 115994
Joined: 15 Jun 2008, 2:00pm
Location: Straight Banana, Idaho

Re: The 2016 US Election Thread

Post by Dr. Medulla »

Wolter wrote:
Silent Majority wrote:Actually, it's true that the few family members I have over seventy are a lot more hard living than the average rich WASP and probably feel their age more.
I don't know about that. Most of the rich WASPs I know drink a loooooooooot more than just about anyone else I know.
One of the things that suburbia offered in the postwar years was the option to hide your vices. Poor people got drunk on stoops on the street. When they had screaming matches, all the neighbours could hear it. Owning your own home, with a yard as a buffer, meant you were insulated from your neighbours. You could be a drunk in your home or in the backyard. That's what being middle class meant—the ability to hide your vices.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

Rat Patrol
User avatar
Unknown Immortal
Posts: 15431
Joined: 15 Jun 2008, 9:23pm
Location: A flat burning junkheap for twenty square miles

Re: The 2016 US Election Thread

Post by Rat Patrol »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
Wolter wrote:
Silent Majority wrote:Actually, it's true that the few family members I have over seventy are a lot more hard living than the average rich WASP and probably feel their age more.
I don't know about that. Most of the rich WASPs I know drink a loooooooooot more than just about anyone else I know.
One of the things that suburbia offered in the postwar years was the option to hide your vices. Poor people got drunk on stoops on the street. When they had screaming matches, all the neighbours could hear it. Owning your own home, with a yard as a buffer, meant you were insulated from your neighbours. You could be a drunk in your home or in the backyard. That's what being middle class meant—the ability to hide your vices.
WASPs get drunk alone...in the living room, with the TV on, on bourbon not beer. Or wine if it's the stay-at-home wife. The only ones who bear witness to the vice are each other and each other's psychological scars. But yes...this was (and sorta is if you're from older money) an expected vice of the upper crust and Ivy Leaguers. Which is why all pre-Clinton, non-Carter Preznits came in with a lot of miles on their internal organs and artfully concealed strain within their immediate families.

Chuck Mangione
Spitting Image
Posts: 6746
Joined: 17 Jun 2009, 10:45pm
Location: Up your boulevard.

Re: The 2016 US Election Thread

Post by Chuck Mangione »

Still hope she runs. Like it or not, a woman would be pretty cool to have for a president. Cool as fuck, even.

Silent Majority
Singer-Songwriter Nancy
Posts: 18702
Joined: 10 Nov 2008, 8:28pm
Location: South Londoner in the Midlands.

Re: The 2016 US Election Thread

Post by Silent Majority »

Chuck Mangione wrote:Still hope she runs. Like it or not, a woman would be pretty cool to have for a president. Cool as fuck, even.
I'd really, really enjoy it from a historical, women's lib perspective. Though, if the last eight years have taught us anything, we'll see women getting more oppressed than anytime since the 1960s and (somehow) much more visible, virulent sexism.
a lifetime serving one machine
Is ten times worse than prison


www.pexlives.libsyn.com/

Rat Patrol
User avatar
Unknown Immortal
Posts: 15431
Joined: 15 Jun 2008, 9:23pm
Location: A flat burning junkheap for twenty square miles

Re: The 2016 US Election Thread

Post by Rat Patrol »

Goddamnit, Chuck.

Image

Chuck Mangione
Spitting Image
Posts: 6746
Joined: 17 Jun 2009, 10:45pm
Location: Up your boulevard.

Re: The 2016 US Election Thread

Post by Chuck Mangione »

Rat Patrol wrote:Goddamnit, Chuck.

Image
Image

Dr. Medulla
User avatar
Atheistic Epileptic
Posts: 115994
Joined: 15 Jun 2008, 2:00pm
Location: Straight Banana, Idaho

Re: The 2016 US Election Thread

Post by Dr. Medulla »

Chuck Mangione wrote:Still hope she runs. Like it or not, a woman would be pretty cool to have for a president. Cool as fuck, even.
This surpasses anything Hoyston have ever put forth for pure awfulness.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

Chuck Mangione
Spitting Image
Posts: 6746
Joined: 17 Jun 2009, 10:45pm
Location: Up your boulevard.

Re: The 2016 US Election Thread

Post by Chuck Mangione »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
Chuck Mangione wrote:Still hope she runs. Like it or not, a woman would be pretty cool to have for a president. Cool as fuck, even.
This surpasses anything Hoyston have ever put forth for pure awfulness.
:cool:

Flex
User avatar
Mechano-Man of the Future
Posts: 35802
Joined: 15 Jun 2008, 2:50pm
Location: The Information Superhighway!

Re: The 2016 US Election Thread

Post by Flex »

I sympathize with ya, Chuck. I get the historical piece, for sure. It's just hard to overcome the overall disgust with the neo-liberal warhawk program. And the dynasty aspect.
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a bowl of soup
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a rolling hoop
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle like a ton of lead
Wiggle - you can raise the dead

Pex Lives!

Post Reply