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September 30, 2016 06:27 AM UTC

Friday Open Thread

  • 24 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

“I am a proud member of the ‘Party of No!'”

–Mike Coffman

Comments

24 thoughts on “Friday Open Thread

  1. Aaron Blake of the WA Post:

    While you were probably still sleeping, the 2016 Republican presidential nominee encouraged all of us to check out a "sex tape" and offered a baseless conspiracy theory about his opponent helping the woman from the alleged sex tape get citizenship so she could take him down.

    And in doing so, Donald Trump did everything Hillary Clinton could have hoped he would, drawing out a now-week-long story about Alicia Machado, making things up, and — above all — reinforcing all of those very real questions about whether he has the temperament to be president.

  2. You cannot fix stupid.

    Everyone agrees the Drumpf™'s winningest moments in Monday's debate were when he talked about jobs and trade.

    So, what did The Donald® talk about on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday? Why, Alicia Machado, of course.

    And, now on Friday morning he tweets:

    1. Did Crooked Hillary help disgusting (check out sex tape and past) Alicia M become a U.S. citizen so she could use her in the debate?

    2. Using Alicia M in the debate as a paragon of virtue just shows that Crooked Hillary suffers from BAD JUDGEMENT! Hillary was set up by a con.

    3. Wow, Crooked Hillary was duped and used by my worst Miss U. Hillary floated her as an "angel" without checking her past, which is terrible!

  3. Harry Reid talks the tough truth on Obama and Republicans' Frankenstein monster:

    "President Obama is the first President to be denied a hearing on his budget. He's the first President to be denied a hearing on a Supreme Court nominee. President Obama is the first President asked to show his birth certificate," Reid said on the floor.

    "President Obama is the first President to face over 500 filibusters here in the Senate. In this Republican Senate, President Obama will receive fewer nominees confirmed than any President in many many decades. Republicans have not done their basic work of government."

    The comments were part of a string of political speeches Reid has given on the floor in recent months, as the general election has approached and Congress' productivity has come to a screeching halt. During his speech, Reid blamed Republican obstructionism and political games for laying the groundwork for Donald Trump as the GOP nominee.

    "They would have us believe that Trump just fell out of the sky and somehow mysteriously became the nominee of the party, but that's not the way it is," Reid said. "Everything that he's said, stood for, done in this bizarre campaign that he's run has come, filtered up, from what's going on in the Republican Senate."

    "Trump is the monster Republicans built. He is their Frankenstein monster. They own him," he said.

    Yet this truth is undercut when you have wimpy-assed Democrats pining for the "good old days" (which haven't been for decades) of Bipartisan Unicorns of Policy Love in the senate. It's weak and it betrays the voters who hired them to do another job completely.

  4. Aside from the self-inflicted wounds of the Machado kerfluffle, Trump's bad week continues on other fronts as well. His campaign manager confirmed that Trump spent $68k investigating whether it was worth ignoring the Cuba embargo back in 1998 – itself a violation of the embargo . And investigation into Trump's charitable foundation revealed that it's not even properly licensed to solicit donations. Ouch!

  5. I see Governor Hickenlooper supports the increase in the cigarette tax.

    At the Jeffco Democratic County Committee meeting Tuesday night, that was a contentious issue. After lively debate, the central committee voted to oppose it. It's one of those rare occasions when Democrats come out in opposition to a tax increase. (FYI, your truly vote to endorse the tax increase.)

    Amendment 69 also sparked lively debate. At the end of it all, the county committee voted to take no position on it. The safe way to go….

    1. I'm very conflicted on the cigarette tax.  Tax is already very heavy, if you include the federal tobacco settlement, and it's quite regressive in its impact.  On the other hand the damn things kill people and insanely high taxes do discourage use.   I'm probably a no vote but open to argument.

      1. On the other hand the damn things kill people and insanely high taxes do discourage use.

        That is precisely the argument.

        The disincentive point:  It really won't change behavior for older people who have been smoking for decades will continue to do so regardless of the price. But by upping the price of the stuff, the price combined with the social stigma (you have to go outside to smoke) may make some kids think twice before starting. It's easier to stop when you first start – or never begin in the first place – than to quit after smoking for decades.

        The high taxes point and where they will go:  someone pointed out that there are billions of additional health care costs resulting from tobacco-related illnesses. This tax increase goes towards mitigating those costs. Let's call it a user fee in Reaganomics lingo.

      2. My thinking is similar to yours on this. Something about using taxes to try to coerce people into doing what's good for them makes me uncomfortable. With cigs we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that they kill. OK. But look at all the other things doctors and nutritionists have told us were bad for us over the years only to reverse course.

        I can remember when nuts and avocados were bad because they were fatty, then good because they're good fat.  How my mom nagged me for years to stop letting my husband have eggs for breakfast because of the cholesterol and now they say eating eggs has nothing to do with it. Meat bad, carbs good, no the other way around. Paleo, Mediterranean, Atkins, whatever. 

        Through it all I have stubbornly eaten what I like which happens to be mostly pretty healthy stuff and rich indulgences in moderation. I would not have appreciated taxes to discourage me from eating whatever was supposed to be "bad" for me. Even though cigs are definitely bad I'm not sure I'm comfortable with using punitive taxes to "convince" people. Also leaning "no" but could be swayed.

        1. Exactly, BC.   And as far as the health costs of smoking goes, smoking also saves many billions in Social Security benefits.   My late, Great Friend Sue O'Brien started smoking as a teen, paid her taxes for 45 years and died from lung cancer at 64, never drawing a dime from Social Security.   So, to say smoking raises health care costs isn't really true.   It kills you earlier.   The last time I looked, we all die some time and every day we live after retirement costs the medicare and social security funds a lot of money. Early death from sm0king is a human tragedy, but not easily reduced to an abstract fiscal impact on the federal or state budget.

            1. Good info. Thanks. It's true plenty of smokers do live well beyond 65 and use up plenty of health resources on the way as they suffer from all sorts of health problems and chronic conditions including but certainly not limited to cancer and heart disease. I'm still keeping an open mind.

  6. The budget is my issue with it. We have all of this crap in the constitution that strangles the legislature's ability to budget and then wonder why there's never enough money to do what's necessary. "Oh, we know! Let's go raise taxes on an unpopular group that 80+ percent of people disapprove of. Most people won't be affected and we can give another middle finger to those that will.” Try raising liquor taxes like this and see how that goes. 

      1. 1970s vintage music from Billy Joel:  "I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints. The sinners have more fun."    (song:  Only the Good Die Young). 

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