The Doonesbury "Say What?" thread

[lordlundar]

"Twelve years after we were attacked by al-Qaeda, twelve years after 3,000 Americans were killed by al-Qaeda, President Obama now asks us to be allies with al-Qaeda."
—Sen. Rand Paul

And if Obama had taken the "kill them all!" approach that Rand and similar are calling for the same people would call him an extremist and insane and The US should stay out of it.

[lordlundar]

"Come talk to me, Obama. I don't hate your guts."
—

Dennis Rodman, offering to be a diplomatic conduit to Kim Jung-un

I swear, when Rodman's ego finally pops, it will take out half the planet.

[lordlundar]

"New shooting at the Navy headquarters in Washington -- Lone shooter and 7 corpses. No one is surprised. American exceptionalism."
—Russian parliament member Alexey Pushkov, in a tweet

Now this is disgusting. Instead of extending sympathy he goes for the cheap shot. Is it any wonder why people think the Cold War isn't dead yet?

[lordlundar]

“The front we’re fighting at now is not a front where the Syrian army is at war with the people. [....] The current war in Syria is that of Islam versus the nonbelievers. Good versus evil. We are ‘good’ because Iran’s supreme leader is on our side. The front is supported by Hezbollah. The fighters are Iranian, Hezbollah, the Iraqi and Afghan mujahadeen and others. The opponents are Israel, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar, funded by the Emirates. Plus America, England, France and Europe.”
—Iranian commander

Hoo boy, this can't end well.

[lordlundar]

"It is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time. The dogmatic and moral teachings of the church are not all equivalent."
—Pope Francis on abortion, gay marriage, and contraception

Have I mentioned lately that I like this Pope? It's always fun watching the fundies lose their minds.

[lordlundar]

"Does anybody remember Charlie Sheen when he was kind of going crazy... And he was going around, jumping around saying 'Winning, winning, we're winning!' Well I kind of feel like that, we are winning. And I'm not on any drugs."
—Sen. Rand Paul

Depending on who you talk to, that could be debatable.

[lordlundar]

"Among those who oppose Obamacare, only 30 percent say they understand it, while 69 percent say they don't. But among those who support Obamacare, 45 percent understand it while 53 percent don't."
—from Greg Sargent analysis of recent Washington Post / ABC News poll

I can't really refute this. Whether you back it or not, the mess that is the ACA is not easy to understand.

[Andara Bledin]

I can't really refute this. Whether you back it or not, the mess that is the ACA is not easy to understand.

The question becomes: How many have actually tried?

[TheHuckster]

"Among those who oppose Obamacare, only 30 percent say they understand it, while 69 percent say they don't. But among those who support Obamacare, 45 percent understand it while 53 percent don't."
—from Greg Sargent analysis of recent Washington Post / ABC News poll

I can't really refute this. Whether you back it or not, the mess that is the ACA is not easy to understand.

And to be honest, I find it more disturbing that one can possibly "support" something they don't understand. Those who are unable to support it because they can't understand it at least have what I'd consider a valid reason to not support it. How can anyone support something they don't even understand?

[HYHYBT]

The parts I do understand are a major improvement over the previous system, and those complaining have demonstrated zero interest in doing anything other than tossing the whole thing out and having nothing, rather than keeping the good and fixing any problems that may exist.

[lordlundar]

"Was intended to stir public anger, to get everybody out there with their pitchforks and their hangman nooses, and all that -- sort of like what we did in the Deep South [decades ago]. And I think it was just as bad and just as wrong."
—AIG CEO Robert Benmosche, on the uproar over using bailout money for bonuses

"It seemed like a good idea the time, but we forgot that when they get the pitchforks and nooses, they aim them at us."

[lordlundar]

"Everyone in America knows Obamacare is destroying the economy."
—Sen. Ted Cruz

The only thing that is destroying the economy in regards to the ACA is employers saying "I can't afford it" while making another 100+ million profit for that quarter.

[lordlundar]

"I don't know what all the scenes are, but I've seen how this movie ends. We will end up not shutting the government down, and we will not defund Obamacare."
—Sen. John McCain

This I'm not so sure on. IF the republicans are as determined to shut down the ACA as they claim to be, shutting down the government is a viable option for them.

[Nekojin]

"I don't know what all the scenes are, but I've seen how this movie ends. We will end up not shutting the government down, and we will not defund Obamacare."
—Sen. John McCain

This I'm not so sure on. IF the republicans are as determined to shut down the ACA as they claim to be, shutting down the government is a viable option for them.

Not really. There are too many Republicans who are backing away from the brinksmanship being orchestrated by the party leaders. I don't think they actually have ammunition in this weapon that they're threatening with.

And this may well be the thing that ends up splintering the Republican Party, if the extremists are intent on punishing the moderates who don't support them in this effort.

[s_stabeler]

not to mention, it's a weapon that frequently backfires. Funnily enough, the American people are rarely impressed by a party withholding Supply (Supply Bills are bills that fund the government) for petty reasons ( and no matter your opinion on Obamacare, withholding the money the government needs to run is not justified as a response. it's meant for getting rid of a government that is trying to cling on despite having no support. Literally, it's saying "we'd rather have no government than you in charge") and each time the Republicans pull this stunt, their poll ratings plummet.