Trump for dictator?

[Sigma_Orionis]

Right now half the fun of Trump winning in the primaries is watching the GOP trying to figure out what to do with the Frankenstein they have created. Do they dare try to kill the monster? They spent so much time whipping up all this anger and now they have lost control.

Given the growing list of "mainstream" Republicans endorsing Trump, I suspect that for the most part they will embrace their monster, or at least go along with it. How the electorate reacts to that, particularly in more contested senate and house races, may be interesting to watch.

One thing I think that may be interesting to watch is how "presidential" Trump becomes, now that he has basically secured the nomination. On the one hand, if he continues to shoot his mouth off as he has, he will continue to alienate significant segments of the population (though some in those segments still seem to support him no matter what he says ). On the other hand, if he becomes more presidential/mature/mainstream, he may alienate his supporters who like the big-mouthed asshole-pimp, and no one who he pissed off will suddenly believe he has changed his ways. If forced to guess, I would guess that he'll remain the same, but humans are an alien species to me <shrug>.

Interestingly a lot of the big money has refused to endorse Trump. NPR reported the other day that if you follow the $$ it is going towards Congressional races and other levels. And if you read the articles about the upcoming Republican convention it seems that the big corporate sponsors are not exactly enthusiastic either. Plus, Trump is pretty much acting like the narcissist he is about embracing the GOP. Pretty much what he claims is that he is a conservative but he is not a republican. I guess they should of thought of that before they let me run as a Republican.

This might have to do with Big Money's reluctance to endorse Trump:

US election: Trump in apparent reverse on taxes for rich

[code monkey]

hang onto your hats, people. how has he defined 'rich'?

[SciFi Chick]

hang onto your hats, people. how has he defined 'rich'?

I don't know, but he counts himself as rich.

[Cyborg Girl]

So, one of Trump's would-be delegates was a no-shit white nationalist. No, I mean, really no-shit.

http://www.npr.org/2016/05/11/477695548 ... p-delegate

William Daniel Johnson is affiliated with the American Freedom Party, identified as an extremist group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. The Los Angeles attorney is known for proposing an amendment to strip U.S. citizenship from nonwhites. His existence on the list was first reported by Mother Jones.

How does a guy like this even become an attorney... WTF.

Oh, also

After Johnson's name appeared on a Trump delegate list published this week by the California Secretary of State, the campaign blamed a computer error and said it had taken immediate steps to remove him.

Call me a cynic but I somehow doubt this is true.

[SciFiFisher]

So, one of Trump's would-be delegates was a no-shit white nationalist. No, I mean, really no-shit.


How does a guy like this even become an attorney... WTF.

He passed the bar.

[vendic]

It's a very low bar to pass.

[Thumper]

Actually, he's probably pretty smart.

[geonuc]

A person's political views in no way affect their ability to obtain a law degree and pass a state bar exam. It's an inherently non-political process, although law professors tend to favor progressive politics.

[Swift]

So, one of Trump's would-be delegates was a no-shit white nationalist. No, I mean, really no-shit.

I would be completely shocked if he was the only one.

[SciFiFisher]

Well.... This is another fine mess Ollie. A few weeks or months ago I was almost sure that the GOP would go for a brokered convention and leave the Donald out in the cold. Boy, was I wrong. It seems that whatever passes for moderate in the conservative house these days is too afraid to stand for principle. Or they don't believe their own people will vote for a conservative moderate.

And on the left we have Bernie who refuses to concede defeat or announce that he is running as third party candidate.

The fun continues!

My ability to predict the American political process is clearly in need of some work.

[Cyborg Girl]

Ahahaha this is rich. Anti-establishment, right.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/pol ... story.html

I hope that Trump, Bondi, and Abbott all end up in prison.

"When I want something I get it," Trump said at an Iowa rally in January. "When I call, they kiss my ass. It's true."

Burn in Hell, you bastard.

[Sigma_Orionis]

Well, imagine that.

[Cyborg Girl]

OMG it just keeps getting worse. How does "not paying workers" sound?

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/poli ... /85297274/

The actions in total paint a portrait of Trump’s sprawling organization frequently failing to pay small businesses and individuals, then sometimes tying them up in court and other negotiations for years. In some cases, the Trump teams financially overpower and outlast much smaller opponents, draining their resources. Some just give up the fight, or settle for less; some have ended up in bankruptcy or out of business altogether.

Trump and his daughter Ivanka, in an interview with USA TODAY, shrugged off the lawsuits and other claims of non-payment. If a company or worker he hires isn’t paid fully, the Trumps said, it’s because The Trump Organization was unhappy with the work.

“Let’s say that they do a job that’s not good, or a job that they didn’t finish, or a job that was way late. I’ll deduct from their contract, absolutely,” Trump said. “That’s what the country should be doing.”

I still think prison would do rather nicely for him.

[Ikyoto]

I recient;y sawa picute of Trump supporters and saw the exact fanatical wide eyed look as people at one of Hitler's rallies.

[Cyborg Girl]

So, I had figured the Clinton/Star of David thing was a stupid accident, but apparently not:

https://mic.com/articles/147711/donald- ... premacists

Mic discovered Sunday that Donald Trump's Twitter account wasn't the first place the meme appeared. The image was previously featured on 8chan's /pol/ — an Internet message board for the alt-right, a digital movement of neo-Nazis, anti-Semites and white supremacists newly emboldened by the success of Trump's rhetoric — as early as June 22, over a week before Trump's team tweeted it.

Somehow I'm completely unsurprised at the idea of Trump and his people hanging out on 8chan, a venue which incidentally is also known for hosting images of child rape ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8chan#Controversies ).

Likewise, how's this for holy wowza racist:

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter ... e-victims/

Nice, openly lying about homicide stats to make it look like black Americans are more violent. (And also cribbed from a white supremacist Twitter account.)

[Swift]

I think Trump has a fairly high probability of winning the general election.

[grapes]

There's that "convention boost"

'Course, to me, 1% would be fairly high

[Swift]

Actually, I wasn't talking about the convention boost (I haven't even seen if there has been one).

For several weeks Trump and Clinton are running essentially tied in the polling (and yes, I understand how polling is a very inexact science at best). The fact that even 40% of Americans think he should be elected means to me he has a chance.

I've seen some pretty ordinary people show support for Trump. For example, people I know on Facebook are defending Mrs. Trump's speech and already using "the media lies" and "the liberal media is picking on her" as rallying points.

People have a phenomenal ability to put mental blinders on and narrow their focus to just what the want to see. I thought all of Trump's obvious lies, his various bankruptcies (both moral and financial), and all the hate speech he spews would start to drive people off, but they are not. People who already hate him can't hate him more, and the rest are still supporting him ("well, at least he is honest and tells us the 'truth'"). I don't think there is a single thing he could say or do, short of biting heads off of puppies, that would drive his supporters away.

And whether we wish to admit it or not, there is a darker side to the American psyche. We have gone through some pretty dark periods (Joe McCarthy, pre-WWII isolationism, late 19th century imperialism, not to mention lynchings and legalized discrimination and hating every new immigrant group back to the Germans and Irish). Appealing to that undercurrent has always been a way to get votes.

Lastly, Hillary Clinton is a remarkably unlikable person. Sure, I'm going to vote for her, but one of those two are going to be the next president and pretending there are other choices doesn't make it so. But I think in many ways people are going to be voting against someone in this election, not for them. Mainstream Republicans have shown a greater ability for blind delusion and will mostly get out and vote against-Clinton, even if they don't like Trump. I'm unconvinced that Democrats and Independents will get out and vote against-Trump, if they are not particularly fond of Clinton.

Sorry if I've stepped on anyone's toes. But heck, I've demonstrated zero ability to understand the American electorate, so don't listen to me.

[grapes]

Sure, I'm going to vote for her, but one of those two are going to be the next president and pretending there are other choices doesn't make it so.

I'll go on the record as saying there's a fairly high probability that neither will win the general election. Just call me an optimist.

[Swift]

Sure, I'm going to vote for her, but one of those two are going to be the next president and pretending there are other choices doesn't make it so.

I'll go on the record as saying there's a fairly high probability that neither will win the general election. Just call me an optimist.

You're an optimist, by my definition of an optimist:

Optimist - Looks at empty glass and says "someday it will contain a beverage"
Pessimist - Looks at a full glass and says "yes, but what happens after we drink it?"

By the way, just to be clear, there are other candidates for the presidency, such as Gary Johnson, the Libertarian party candidate, but I think it is a safe bet that they have virtually zero chance of getting elected.

[grapes]

Yeah, I don't think the Libertarians or the Greens will win in November

[SciFi Chick]

But I do think a lot of people who hate Clinton will vote Green, and they'll be accused of getting Trump elected. I think the people voting for Trump will get Trump elected. I'm pretty sure he won't destroy the world, but we will be an absolute laughinstock on the world stage.

[grapes]

Trump folk are flailing at damage control, even while a staffer admits the plagiarism (she offered her resignation, they declined), they insist that the similarities were just coincidental. Some people have what can be called a tin ear, they can't recognize the difference (or the similarities) because of the whooshing sound in their heads.


http://m.journalnow.com/news/elections/ ... 8783f.html


ETA: and, it gets weirder: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the ... echwriter/

Was McIver an employee, or not?

[Sigma_Orionis]

Let's just say that the BBC had a grand ole time with that

[grapes]

The other controversy, whether Melanie Trump unfairly appropriated the "look" from Caitlin Jenner, can be easily settled. Here is an interview from 2011, where she not only displays the look, but discusses her husband's presidential asperations and his demands to see Obama's birth certificate.

http://www.ew.com/article/2011/04/21/me ... nt-birther