Quote :

"The party chose to be obstructionist during Obama's terms."

I think that's half true. Many were very obstructionist, because many Republican voters aligned with that thought. (Hence the Tea Party). Many of those Republicans in power didn't subscribe to the ideas of the Tea Party, but for their own survival, went along.

In the last few years, I think we saw some in the party (Boehner, Ryan) agreeing with the President in order to get things past. That was very unpopular.

So I think that's where Trump's popularity came from. He saw he had a way to exploit people, and he's done a good job of it. Again, he knocked out some pretty heavy hitters in the establishment.

I also think Hillary is doing the same thing on the left, but she's exploiting her gender to bring in the "any woman will do" crowd, regardless of her numerous faults.

8/12/2016 10:24:25 AM

Quote :

"the DNC itself showed us that not everyone on the left is a staunch supporter of her, and many those those who supported burned Bernie are jumping to stein"

Is this true? Stein is polling between 2 and 4 at most. Many is quite an overstatement.

8/12/2016 10:24:39 AM

did you watch any of the DNC (or watch videos outside of the convention hall)?

8/12/2016 10:26:22 AM

To say that not everyone on the left supports Hillary is one thing. To say "many" are jumping to Stein is a bit misleading. Everyone I know of who supported Bernie either moved to Hillary or, strangely enough, Gary Johnson (that is my move).

8/12/2016 10:48:15 AM

^^ honestly no. I pay attention to data. Not anecdotal evidence or appeals to emotion.

8/12/2016 11:07:02 AM

I just saw this one:

Quote :

"For fuck's sake, man, the Supreme Court literally decides what rights we do and don't have, and you're honestly trying to say that they don't have any effect on restricting rights."

They don't, directly. No Supreme Court decision makes our guns go away. It can, as you say (and I clearly indicated) open the doors to legistlators taking guns. But we can do something about legislators, ie, vote them out of office. Trump was speaking as though a couple of Supreme Court justices and it's game over, so stopping Hillary is our last hope. But it isn't. The courts are a necessary condition, but they aren't sufficient.


---

Quote :

"Another point. I wonder if certain republicans stayed out of this presidential election because they thought Clinton would be a stronger candidate. Without the email scandal. Save their best effort for 2020/2024."

I strongly doubt it. Even without the scandal, Hillary was clearly running into a lot of issues. There's deep antipathy towards her on the right, which has been laying the groundwork to defeat her since her husband was President. She was going to be old. She was going to be running for the Dem's "third term" in the office, and voters don't often give those out.

No, I think part of the reason we saw so many GOP candidates was because they all hoped that this would be relatively easy pickings. And just in general, any Republican presidential hopeful has to know that time is not on their side, demographically speaking. The longer you wait, the fewer white males there are relative to everybody else.

Quote :

"So what's the theory here...he's just going this to elevate his brand?"

My sincere belief at this point is he literally just needs the attention, that vast swaths of the GOP and media are just indulging his full-blown narcissistic personality disorder.

It makes no sense as a business move. I don't even think he cares about the power of the office, except insofar as it glorifies himself. He's running for President because he is addicted to seeing his name everywhere.

8/12/2016 11:22:14 AM

^ I'll buy that. It's the saddest option, but makes sense.

8/12/2016 11:40:47 AM

WTF

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/08/trump-heaven-president-pastors-226923

Trump says the only way he can get to heaven is by becoming pres.

Quote :

"Donald Trump called on evangelical pastors to help him win the presidency this November, which he said is “maybe the only way I'm going to get to heaven.” “For evangelicals, for the Christians, for the everybody, for everybody of religion, this will be, may be, the most important election that our country has ever had,” Trump told a “Pastors in the Pews” meeting of evangelical leaders in Orlando. “And once I get in, I will do my thing that I do very well. And I figure it is probably, maybe the only way I'm going to get to heaven. So I better do a good job.”"

8/12/2016 1:07:11 PM

Quote :

"I pay attention to data. Not anecdotal evidence or appeals to emotion."

Should have clarified. I was referring to the interviews of the Bernie supporters outside the great wall of the DNC.

8/12/2016 2:13:23 PM

Quote :

"They don't, directly. No Supreme Court decision makes our guns go away. It can, as you say (and I clearly indicated) open the doors to legistlators taking guns. But we can do something about legislators, ie, vote them out of office. Trump was speaking as though a couple of Supreme Court justices and it's game over, so stopping Hillary is our last hope. But it isn't. The courts are a necessary condition, but they aren't sufficient."

Wouldn't a "necessary condition" as you describe it be something that "has an effect on restricting rights?" If the SC says "the Constitution doesn't protect right X, so can pass laws that regulate X out of existence," wouldn't that have an effect on restricting that right, as opposed to the SC saying "the Constitution DOES protect right X, so you can't pass laws that regulate X out of existence?" Of course it takes Congress to go in and seal the deal, I wasn't arguing against that. But the Supreme Court makes it possible. If they rule that we don't have an individual right to own a firearm, as the judges Hillary would pick would most certainly rule, then the next Congress with Democratic supermajorities in both chambers with a Democratic President WILL act on it. And unless the Court has massively shifted back to one that actually recognizes the plain meaning of the 2nd Amendment, then, yes, it's all over.

8/12/2016 7:23:49 PM

^grumpyGOP basically saying we dont need to wear a seat belt, just dont crash


these sassy trump videos are slightly funny:
https://youtu.be/urv4S-M-8cg

[Edited on August 13, 2016 at 9:04 AM. Reason : f]

8/13/2016 8:59:16 AM

^^

Quote :

"“Like most rights, the right secured by the Second Amendment is not unlimited. From Blackstone through the 19th-century cases, commentators and courts routinely explained that the right was not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose… …Although we do not undertake an exhaustive historical analysis today of the full scope of the Second Amendment , nothing in our opinion should be taken to cast doubt on longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings, or laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms.”"

Man, what anti-2nd amendment asshole wrote that.....

8/13/2016 2:38:18 PM

Quote :

"There are two theories for why Donald Trump won’t release his tax returns (which every presidential candidate since Jimmy Carter has done). One theory is they’d show how indebted he is to Russian oligarchs and, indirectly, Putin, thereby confirming fears that they own him. The other is he hasn’t paid a dime of income tax for years. That seems likely. The only of his tax returns ever made public – in 1978, 1979, and 1984 – showed no income taxes paid. It’s perfectly legal because: 1. Real estate developers like him enjoy a special loophole letting them use paper losses to offset ordinary income. 2. They can also deduct “depreciation” on their properties – the fictional idea that real estate loses value over time. 3. Another loophole lets them avoid taxes when they sell properties at large profits if they then use the proceeds to buy other real estate. 4. Developers often make minimal down payments and use as much debt as possible to finance their purchases -- with interest payments on that huge debt also tax deductible. 5. Trump’s businesses also deduct all their expenses, which are likely to include most of his living and travel expenses because they’re so intertwined."

https://www.facebook.com/RBReich

8/13/2016 5:47:11 PM

^billionaire real estate moguls paying no income tax another reason we need #fairtax

8/14/2016 7:10:40 AM

Most Americans appreciate not getting shafted with income tax when they sell their home and buy another one. Let a corporation perform a 1031, and suddenly it's an evil tax loophole.

I think a LOT of Americans that owned property through 2008 are fuming at your concept that real estate never depreciates.

8/14/2016 1:00:17 PM

Those tax deductions also encourage the housing market. Traditionally a major way the middle class can build wealth. Getting rid might not be the best idea. Perhaps tax when total deductions get to millions etc.

8/14/2016 1:07:29 PM

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/daily-202/2016/08/15/daily-202-can-trump-chairman-paul-manafort-survive-new-ukraine-revelations/57b0ec7ccd249a2fe363ba20/

More Putin connections to Trumps team

8/15/2016 9:48:14 AM

How big a deal is this? It's plainly obvious Trump has surrounded himself with pro-Russia people but is that in and of itself dmagerous?

8/15/2016 10:19:35 AM

yeah its not like he took millions of dollars then helped them seize control of the world supply of uranium or anything





[Edited on August 15, 2016 at 10:24 AM. Reason : like you know who]

8/15/2016 10:22:15 AM

This story?

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/jun/30/donald-trump/donald-trump-inaccurately-suggests-clinton-got-pai/

[Edited on August 15, 2016 at 10:36 AM. Reason : Liebrul media. I know.]

8/15/2016 10:36:11 AM

^^

Quote :

"You fall head over heels in love with every single conspiracy theory you hear concerning the Clintons (especially those that concern the "Hildabeast")"

You could dispute this by showing posts of you not going all-in on every single Clinton conspiracy theory, or at least applying a shred of critical thinking to these stories...

Oh wait.

No you can't.

8/15/2016 10:43:00 AM

They must be tantalizing.

Like her foreign policy record is abysmal and there are legitimate concerns with her handling of sensitive information but the most noise comes about these. Even from the candidate for president.

It's baffling.

8/15/2016 10:44:59 AM

Quote :

"billionaire real estate moguls paying no income tax another reason we need #fairtax"

no - it's why we need to eliminate the loopholes they use to weasel out of paying taxes. we don't need this "fair tax" bullshit that will still end up benefiting the rich and be a regressive tax on the poor

8/15/2016 10:46:49 AM

yeah, we need the regressive fairtax to stick it to rich people

wait a second, that doesn't sound right...

8/15/2016 10:50:40 AM

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/15/us/politics/paul-manafort-ukraine-donald-trump.html?_r=0

Secret Ledger in Ukraine Lists Cash for Donald Trump’s Campaign Chief

Quote :

" ... Handwritten ledgers show $12.7 million in undisclosed cash payments designated for Mr. Manafort from Mr. Yanukovych’s pro-Russian political party from 2007 to 2012, according to Ukraine’s newly formed National Anti-Corruption Bureau. Investigators assert that the disbursements were part of an illegal off-the-books system whose recipients also included election officials. ..."

Guy seems more crooked than Hillary ever was.

8/15/2016 12:34:59 PM

Wasn't Trump down with Hillary in 07? She was probably in on it, too.

8/15/2016 3:24:03 PM

Trump going to deport the religious right? I'm in if that's the case..

8/15/2016 6:06:40 PM

he's in milwaukee right now meeting with cops but how funny would it be if he came out and said black lives matter?

8/16/2016 12:05:22 PM

Didn't the Milwaukee sherrif rail against BLM at his RNC speech?

8/16/2016 12:45:51 PM

thats what i heard

8/16/2016 12:57:57 PM

https://m.facebook.com/DonaldTrump/posts/149598435099986

Lol, he isn't even trying.

This post by Trump directly contradicts what he says every single day about Libya. Does he know how the internet works?

8/16/2016 2:07:24 PM

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/17/us/politics/donald-trump-roger-ailes.html?_r=0

Trump being advised by Ailes.

8/16/2016 3:13:11 PM

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2016/08/16/donald_trump_has_spent_nothing_on_general_election_tv_ads.html

8/16/2016 3:58:06 PM

Quote :

"I think that's half true. Many were very obstructionist, because many Republican voters aligned with that thought. (Hence the Tea Party). Many of those Republicans in power didn't subscribe to the ideas of the Tea Party, but for their own survival, went along. In the last few years, I think we saw some in the party (Boehner, Ryan) agreeing with the President in order to get things past. That was very unpopular. So I think that's where Trump's popularity came from. He saw he had a way to exploit people, and he's done a good job of it. Again, he knocked out some pretty heavy hitters in the establishment. I also think Hillary is doing the same thing on the left, but she's exploiting her gender to bring in the "any woman will do" crowd, regardless of her numerous faults."

Mentioning Trump knocked out heavy hitters...

Maybe i have a hard time finding heavy hitters in the candidate pool for Republicans. I would view a heavy hitter as someone who can rally the party and bring in some independents. From what I have seen you're either not extreme enough or so extreme that it gets scary. Is it possible for republicans to moderate the electorate? Or does the party have to be slave to what the people feel even if it gets into crazytown?

8/16/2016 4:20:35 PM

Michael Moore's theory: http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/trump-self-sabotage-campaign

8/16/2016 4:53:22 PM

Moore is really good at re-framing history through his perspective. But like all of his "documentaries", there is a lot of lose ends from that version.

8/16/2016 5:13:33 PM

I might be wrong here but I didn't think Trump could "move his show" as Moore claims. It wasn't his to move, he was simply the host.

8/16/2016 5:15:42 PM

Quote :

"THURSDAY, AUGUST 18, 2016 - ?CHARLOTTE, NC Donald J. Trump ?Charlotte Convention Center 7:30 PM stars Donald J. Trump will be holding a rally at the Charlotte Convention Center. Doors open at 4:30 PM"

I think this guy is gonna make it now.

8/16/2016 5:23:31 PM

So Bernie fans went from "Trump is going to win and it's all Hillary/DNC's fault for rigging the primary", to "Sanders would be winning by a lot more than a couple points, it wouldn't even be close!", to finally "The only reason Hillary is going to win in a landslide is because Trump is sabotaging his own campaign.". You know, it wouldn't be hard to admit that Hillary was just always a better candidate than Sanders, ran a better campaign, and was better prepared to bludgeon Trump in the general. Also, water is wet, grass is green, etc.....

[Edited on August 16, 2016 at 5:38 PM. Reason : .]

8/16/2016 5:37:18 PM

when did sanders supporters say that trump would beat clinton, and why are you certain that sanders wouldn't also be leading by a similar or higher margin?

sanders polled better against trump, so i'm not sure why you think he wouldn't also have a huge margin. are you saying that no one from the party would have helped his campaign in the general so it would have been run poorly, are clinton supporter's that butthurt? and the trump sabotage story is from the establishment right, not sanders supporters.

you being so butthurt about sanders just once again proves how much of a mindless party stooge you are

[Edited on August 16, 2016 at 5:46 PM. Reason : actually hell, i wouldn't be surprised if the sabotage story was from the trump camp themselves beca]

8/16/2016 5:41:26 PM

^^ No one around here is really saying anything like that. Don't let that stop you from jerking off that D though.


[Edited on August 16, 2016 at 5:44 PM. Reason : ^^]

8/16/2016 5:43:15 PM

Michael Moore is the establishment right now? Also, I hold my party stooge label proudly because, in the (paraphrased words) words of James Carville: I'm still right, you're still wrong. Maybe one day you'll learn to hold all those Ls just as well!

8/16/2016 5:53:22 PM

michael moore didn't start that talking point, so still wrong

[Edited on August 16, 2016 at 6:47 PM. Reason : i mean fuck, national review had that story in april]

8/16/2016 6:40:13 PM

Quote :

" So Bernie fans went from "Trump is going to win"

I'm a Bernie fan and I never said that, but good job good effort all the same.

[Edited on August 16, 2016 at 6:46 PM. Reason : Protip: Next time don't lead with blatant bullshit. Bury it.]

8/16/2016 6:43:18 PM

http://www.breitbart.com/author/stephen-k-bannon/

lol, this guy was hired today as Trump campaign CEO.

Really pivoting to the center here... What does this signify is the complete transition of the GOP. The far right conspiracists have officially taken the reigns of the party. This is going to be a devestating next few months for Republicans.

[Edited on August 17, 2016 at 8:52 AM. Reason : X]

8/17/2016 8:48:48 AM

I never in my life would have thought Brietbart would have been this close to a presidency. They're not even a news outlet, they're a glorified local news comment section.

I don't see this helping Trump, but it's amazing we're even at this point.


https://www.exolymph.news/2016/08/16/reflecting-dystopian-san-francisco/

[Edited on August 17, 2016 at 10:36 AM. Reason : ]

8/17/2016 10:33:48 AM

if you haven't already read this, do it now

http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/graphics/2015-steve-bannon/

Quote :

"In the Bannon repertoire, no metaphor is too direct. His films are peppered with footage of lions attacking helpless gazelles, seedlings bursting from the ground into glorious bloom. Palin, for one, ate it up and traveled to Iowa, trailed by hundreds of reporters, to appear with him at a 2011 screening in Pella that the press thought might signal her entrance into the 2012 presidential race. (No such luck.) Breitbart came along as promoter and ringmaster. When I spoke with him afterward, he described Bannon, with sincere admiration, as the Leni Riefenstahl of the Tea Party movement."

8/17/2016 11:05:57 AM

^ fact-based isn't how I would characterize what Breitbart publishes. Or at least it's misleading, since you can build an illogical and irrational argument on facts.

8/17/2016 11:44:16 AM

8/17/2016 11:52:03 AM

So it looks like the Breitbart guy is playing the long game. He knows trump is going to lose, but trump is going to have eyeballs and an alliance with Ailes.

For a wannabe media mogul, this is good company to be in.

8/17/2016 12:45:45 PM