>7. Try to keep similar topics to one thread; duplicates will be locked.
That was the 2013 version of the rules, but it's still enforced as it's generally considered a requisite for the post to be considered not of low quality. Duplicates are locked all the time, not just for political discussions opened outside of the general. /meta/ analysis indicates many if not most users prefer political discussion be contained to one thread if not banned entirely. It is for these reasons that I report political threads to remind the mods that they ought to be locked or merged. Happy birthday Hitler.