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2020 Presidential Election 3: We're Down To Old White Men...And Fucking Kanye.


GreyhoundFan

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6 hours ago, GreyhoundFan said:

I saw someone point out that it's also during hurricane season.

If a big ass hurricane hits I'm changing my position on the existence of God to a firm yes.

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4 hours ago, mamallama said:

If a big ass hurricane hits I'm changing my position on the existence of God to a firm yes.

No, sorry not sorry. The Republicans need to have their convention indoors. If they expect school children and teachers to return to classrooms this fall then they need to show up and pack in close together. Since they think this whole thing is fake, they don't need to wear masks, just like I can see some elementary school and middle school and even high school students deciding to take off their masks and aggressively cough in someone's face.

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Parscale replaced? Who could have predicted it? Oh, wait... everybody.

LOL, just read he fired Parscale on Facebook first because Twitter was down. 

Edited by fraurosena
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6 hours ago, Smee said:

Still no word on a VP candidate for Biden? When do they usually make these decisions?

Often it's right before the convention.

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30 minutes ago, GreyhoundFan said:

Often it's right before the convention.

Do you know when that will be? 

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On 7/15/2020 at 11:02 AM, GreyhoundFan said:

Not surprised:

 

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Kanye West will appear on the Oklahoma presidential election ballot after filing the necessary paperwork, but confusion remained on Wednesday as to whether the rap superstar was still in the race, amid reports he was ending his short-lived campaign.

A representative for West filed the necessary paperwork and paid the $35,000 fee to run as an independent candidate Wednesday afternoon, which was the deadline for a spot on Oklahoma’s 3 November presidential ballot, said the Oklahoma Board of Elections spokeswoman Misha Mohr.

West was one of three independent presidential candidates to pay the filing fee prior to the deadline, she added. The others were the concert pianist Jade Simmons and the cryptocurrency entrepreneur Brock Pierce....   

The filing came a day after New York magazine’s Intelligencer quoted West adviser Steve Kramer as saying “he’s out” and noting that the staff he had hired were disappointed.

However, TMZ reported that the West campaign had filed a “Statement of Organization” Wednesday with the Federal Election Commission, stating that a Kanye 2020 committee would serve as principal campaign committee for a West candidacy.....   West, who has said he has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, told the magazine that he would model his White House on the fictional land in Black Panther if he won the presidency, adding: “Let’s get back to Wakanda.”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jul/15/kanye-west-oklahoma-ballot-2020-presidential-campaign?    

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I just... nope, I got nothing.

I've never heard of Jade Simmons or Brock Pierce. Are the Green Party or any other smaller third parties running anyone this time around?

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9 hours ago, Smee said:

I just... nope, I got nothing.

I've never heard of Jade Simmons or Brock Pierce. Are the Green Party or any other smaller third parties running anyone this time around?

Howie Hawkins is the 2020 Green Party candidate. Jo Jorgensen is the Libertarian candidate. And of course, we have Kanye of the Birthday Party (Rufus help us), who has made it onto the ballot in OK.

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"‘I do not want to take Kanye West seriously. But I know that we have to.’"

Spoiler

Around this time four years ago, when a bombastic reality TV star was blowing up preconceived notions about politics as usual, pollster Terrance Woodbury had what can only be described as a premonition.

Who else could upend American politics like Donald Trump had, Woodbury wondered? Who could be so brazen, unexpected, reckless and effective? Who could capture votes, mainstream media attention and social media hits? Only one name came to mind.

“I was convinced that person was Kanye West,” Woodbury said.

His colleagues cackled then. Now they’re taking a closer look at the very real impact West could have on the 2020 presidential election.

But like so many citizens of Presidential Election Town — journalists, commentators, strategists, data analysts, etc. — when it comes to West, Woodbury is of two distinct minds.

“I do not want to take Kanye West seriously,” said Woodbury, a partner at HIT Strategies, a political research firm focused on women, minorities and millennials. “But I know that we have to.”

And that’s the core of the conundrum called Kanye in 2020.

He’s a Grammy-winning musical genius. He’s a MAGA hat-wearing booster for President Trump. Wait, no — he took the hat off. But he still thinks Trump is pretty great. West’s music — sounding like an exposed nerve at times and a blood-slicked blade at others — has spoken to the black community’s triumphs and tragedies. Then he said that the 400 years of enslavement African Americans endured sounded “like a choice.” He has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. He proudly does not take his prescribed medication.

West is a frustrating puzzle for fans and critics alike. The pieces look like they should fit together to form a cohesive picture, but some are too jagged, others too smooth. And none can be simply left in the box.

After announcing his candidacy via Twitter on the Fourth of July, the roller coaster that is West’s path to the White House began.

Could he even run? The deadline to get his name printed on the ballot in several states had already passed. On July 8, West called Forbes magazine — whose validation he seemingly craves because of the publication’s billionaires list — to talk policy. The resulting interview is a brain dump of bizarre ideas involving the fictional country of Wakanda and Tesla chief Elon Musk.

The next day, TMZ reported that West’s family (read: the Kardashian machine) was concerned that he was in the throes of a manic episode brought on by his bipolar disorder.

Later, New York magazine reported that Steve Kramer, a New York-based campaign consultant who said he had been working with West, declared that the rapper was officially “out” of the race. But about the same time, Ye was hitting send on a Twitter video showing the superstar registering to vote for the first time. And on Wednesday, West filed the Federal Election Commission paperwork required to appear on the ballot in Oklahoma.

Is your head spinning? Are your eyes rolling? Fair enough. But — according to Chris Redfield — we still can’t ignore Kanye West.

Redfield is the research director at Redfield & Wilton Strategies based in the United Kingdom. On Tuesday, his firm released results of the first national U.S. poll with West’s name included as a candidate in the November election. Of the 2,000 registered U.S. voters polled, 2 percent said they would vote for West.

“Most don’t take him seriously and don’t think he is actually going to run. That it’s just [West] injecting himself into a public debate,” Redfield said.

But publicity stunt or no, it would be a mistake, added Redfield, to simply discount the “College Dropout” hitmaker.

As a rule, the polling firm pays close attention to third-party candidates because of their potential to shake up the status quo. That was the calculus at Redfield & Wilton for adding West into their data research. So, for as long as it is officially possible for West to be in the race, the firm will be tracking his progress.

“We measure all the variables that could have an impact,” Redfield said. “It would be a mistake not to at least look at the prospect of what happens if he does run.”

That’s the major question: What could happen? What do the next four months of political discourse look like if West continues to flirt with a presidential run?

Even with the leaks in cultural capital because of his own combustible comments about slavery, Trump and the 13th Amendment, West is still viewed by some as a powerful symbol of protest.

His first real political moment came in 2005. From the stage of a live Hurricane Katrina telethon fundraiser, the rapper went completely off script (or did he?) and declared, “George Bush doesn’t care about black people.” That was almost a decade and a half ago. But West’s singular ability to tap into the roadblocks and rapture of his community is still apparent in his art.

His recent video “Wash Us in the Blood” is an exhibition of both black celebration and black pain. There is police brutality, pulpit praise and gangsters walking through prison halls. Next to those images West’s pixelated face appears on screen rapping about fake news, the holy spirit and how misunderstood he is.

Pollster Woodbury said the video is a visual manifestation of what he has been hearing in political focus groups recently.

According to Woodbury’s research, 60 percent of black men younger than 50 think Democrats take black voters for granted. Woodbury asked those voters why they would choose a third-party candidate. The answer? To send a message to both parties.

“That’s Kanye’s entire political message — that no one is delivering for black people,” Woodbury said.

At a recent focus group with young voters, Woodbury heard a black man in Milwaukee express a sentiment that the pollster could have sworn was also a West quote.

“He said, ‘My mama voted for Democrats, my grandmother voted for Democrats, my granddaddy voted for Democrats . . . and my ’hood has been the same for 50 years. So why the hell would I keep voting for Democrats?’ ”

“I have to wonder if Kanye is repeating what young people are saying or if they are repeating what he is saying. I think he’s going to inspire some very cynical voters frustrated with Democrats and Republicans,” said Woodbury, who added that there are “young people in this country that trust Kanye West more than they trust politicians.”

Not all young people are tempted to trust West. Chance the Rapper was roasted online last week when he wrote a tweet that seemed to support West’s campaign and asked: “are you more pro biden or anti ye and why?” Chance got his answer in a slew of replies about why people back former vice president Joe Biden over West.

“We already tried the dumb celebrity thing and it failed,” replied writer and comedian Akilah Hughes. “He didn’t even file the paperwork right like your friend didn’t do the homework and we aren’t gonna make him the teacher.”

The issue of trust is also a significant one when it comes to discussing West and his relationship with the media, especially in those moments when he is spewing the most bizarre headlining and head-scratching quotables.

“My issue is you can’t report on Kanye without also always mentioning that this man is diagnosed bipolar and off his meds,” said Bassey Ikpi, a mental health advocate and author of the book “I’m Telling the Truth, But I’m Lying.”

The mistake the media makes, added Ikpi — who is vocal about her own bipolar diagnosis — is divorcing West’s most grandiose and off-the-wall proclamations from mental health. Being bipolar amplifies one’s personality while also removing one’s filter. It’s not an excuse for West’s behavior, she added, but a reason for it. So, while he’s telling Forbes magazine that vaccines are the “mark of the beast” and Planned Parenthood does “the Devil’s work,” there should be a parallel conversation about his mental health.

“It contextualizes what he says and why he’s saying it,” Ikpi said.

At this point in the narrative, the question of whether the media can or should ignore West is almost irrelevant. The 43-year-old music and fashion mogul is one of the most famous people on the planet right now. Millions buy his shoes, listen to his music, hang on his every tweet. He has one of the loudest bullhorns on the globe. Add to that Kim Kardashian-West’s own political muscle in criminal justice reform. Add to that her family’s collective social media influence. And West’s reach goes even further.

What’s more, to sway the vote in certain battleground states, West doesn’t need millions to write in his name, more like thousands, according to Woodbury. Eleven thousand votes in Michigan could change the color of that state in November. Six thousand people flocked to West’s Sunday Service concert in Detroit in September with less than a day’s notice.

The voters West could sway are the “none of the above” cohort, said Democratic strategist Jamal Simmons, who thinks West’s candidacy could help Trump.

“Trump’s play is to make the election as messy as possible in the hope that he’s got enough votes here and there,” Simmons said. “For him, the more chaotic, the more likely people will choose not to participate. And if Kanye is telling people it’s a mess and you can’t trust either one of them, that is actually a Trump message.”

West probably won’t be the next president of the United States. But could the rapper play a role in determining who is?

Third-party candidates have long been the boogeymen (and women) of American politics. Ralph Nader was blamed for shaving enough votes from Al Gore to cinch the extremely close election for George Bush. Jill Stein was seen as a thorn in Hillary Clinton’s side during her presidential runs. And no one can forget Ross Perot. None of these names made it to the White House, but they had an impact.

“People want to dismiss the irrational. It sounded irrational five years [ago] that Donald Trump would be president. It’s only crazy until someone pulls it off,” Woodbury said.

 

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Kanye West Held His First Campaign Presidential Rally in South Carolina, And It Went As Well As You’d Expect
 

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At another point, Kanye railed against Black iconography used by white organizations, specifically citing Harriet Tubman as an example. “She didn’t free the slaves, she had them go work for other white people,” he remarked.

During one of the most surreal moments of the rally, Kanye began crying after revealing that his wife, Kim Kardashian, had considered an abortion prior to the birth of their first child. Between tears, Kanye said that if it had not been for a “vision of God,” he would have allowed his first child to be “murdered.”

When a young woman took the stage to challenge Kanye on his views of abortion, Kanye maintained that he was not against abortion. Instead, he said America needs to do a better job supporting pregnant women and proposed giving every pregnant woman $1 million in order to see their pregnancy through, prompting laughters from the audience.

[Yeah, that's never going to happen - though I bet it would stop some abortions!]

I wonder how Kim feels about that being shared with the world? Also: did he just say he forced his wife to give birth??

Any diety, please grant me patience.

I don't think Kanye can win, but I do think he along with other 3rd party candidates can split the vote enough to muddy the waters. Haven't got the faintest idea who he would appeal to, but I know there are those who would like to send a message... and those who would think it's a joke.

Feeling pretty over celebrities thinking they can just be POTUS.

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13 hours ago, AmericanRose said:

Feeling pretty over celebrities thinking they can just be POTUS.

Lord yes. I'm praying Kanye comes down off this manic episode really fast - fast enough not to screw up the election. And I really hope people who know Kim in person are pointing out to her - she's his next of kin, she's his wife, it's part of her responsibility to see when he's off the rails and get him some help. I don't want to put it all on her, and frankly if I was her I'd have dumped that thorn in my side years ago, but he is obviously in need of mental health care and as his wife, she's the one most likely to be able to help him get it. 

I don't want to discriminate against people with mental health issues, I struggle with depression myself, but really we can not have a person with untreated bipolar disorder screwing up the election process. 

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I don't know what's going on with Kanye, and Kim seems to pick her battles when it comes to dealing with him.  But I do think that Trump hasn't gone off on West because someone pointed out to him that Kanye could be used to split the vote.

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Whoa, I knew George Will was anti-twitler, but he's announced he'll be voting for Biden:

 

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Kanye's twitter rants are showing signs of delusion and paranoia. This is just sad. He needs to be protected from himself. 

 

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32 minutes ago, fraurosena said:

Kanye's twitter rants are showing signs of delusion and paranoia. This is just sad. He needs to be protected from himself. 

It is very sad. I reminds me of Britney Spears very having an extremely public mental breakdown. Her family was eventually able to help her and she seems to be doing okay now, so I hope someone in his life can get him real help. 

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4 hours ago, formergothardite said:

It is very sad. I reminds me of Britney Spears very having an extremely public mental breakdown. Her family was eventually able to help her and she seems to be doing okay now, so I hope someone in his life can get him real help. 

I agree.

However... this particular issue of Kanye's is not just affecting Kanye. It has the potential to affect the election, and therefore affect an entire country full of people for 4 years. I hope Kanye gets some help, and is willing to accept that help (he openly refuses to take his pescribed medication for bipolar disorder). But that needs to happen NOW. For everyone else's sake, not just Kanye's.

There were enough people willing to vote for Trump to put him in office. If enough people are willing to vote for Kanye to throw the electoral college, the entire country might be screwed. I think many people who are informed, educated, and interested underestimate the number and power of those who are uninformed, undereducated, and who get the entirety of their political news information during one 20-minute span while getting ready for dinner. Often from Fox. 

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2 hours ago, Alisamer said:

However... this particular issue of Kanye's is not just affecting Kanye. It has the potential to affect the election, and therefore affect an entire country full of people for 4 years.

Agree.  I'm concerned that the Kanye circus, after he (presumably) drops out, will leave Trump looking less unfit in comparison.

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13 hours ago, fraurosena said:

showing signs of delusion and paranoia. This is just sad. He needs to be protected from himself. 

I believe he is bipolar and I think that I read that he likes his manic state because he feels alive and medicine gets rid of that euphoria.  It is heartbreaking though for the country, Kim, and their children. TMZ has more.

https://www.tmz.com/2020/07/09/kanye-west-bipolar-disorder-episode-president-forbes-interview/

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I have a good friend who is bipolar. She takes meds that normally keep her okay, but about every five years, the meds stop working and she has to transition. It's about six months of awful. She told me that those periods are hell to her because she is so out of control. I can't stand Kanye, but hope his family is able to convince him to get the help he obviously needs.

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Frankly I don’t care if Kanye is bipolar. People will take this as an excuse for his behavior and won’t take his actions and what he says seriously enough. It’s dangerous. We all know too well what happened four years ago.
Kanye has been supporting 45 for a long time and I believe he candidates for president to help Fuckopotamus win the election.

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23 hours ago, formergothardite said:

It is very sad. I reminds me of Britney Spears very having an extremely public mental breakdown. Her family was eventually able to help her and she seems to be doing okay now, so I hope someone in his life can get him real help. 

Having just listened to the “you’re wrong about” episode on Courtney Love/Kurt Cobain, I worry that this is going to end up with Kanye dead and Kim blamed for failing to have him sectioned (which I believe she’s been trying to do).

When I was in a mental health ward there were a few other patients there with bipolar and I remember one explaining how awful it was after the comedown to hear about things they’d done while manic. She said it wasn’t her and it was humiliating to know her family and friends had seen her behaving in that way.

However, as heartbreaking as it is to watch, this has so much potential to damage an entire nation. I really really hope it ends before it has a chance to go any further.

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