Trump for dictator?

[Rommie]

I thoughtthis endorsement of Hillary Clinton was awesome. She's the second worst thing to happen to America!

[Cyborg Girl]

@Rommie

Different tastes, I guess. I found O'Rourke insulting, inaccurate, and not very funny.

(And Ben Domenech's nearby article about Trumpism is... disgustingly smug. Maybe the "culture war" was about piety for him, but for a lot of people it was about survival.)

(Perhaps the Daily Beast is not the paper for me...)

[geonuc]

@Rommie

Different tastes, I guess. I found O'Rourke insulting, inaccurate, and not very funny.

I agree with you.

[Swift]

@Rommie

Different tastes, I guess. I found O'Rourke insulting, inaccurate, and not very funny.

I rarely have read his stuff (it has been years) but I thought that was pretty much his schtick (insulting trying to be funny). I didn't even finish the piece, it was so not funny or interesting.

I think he is right about somethings, I'm voting for Hillary, but I'm not happy about it (and no, Bernie wouldn't have made me happy either).

[SciFi Chick]

I think he is right about somethings, I'm voting for Hillary, but I'm not happy about it (and no, Bernie wouldn't have made me happy either).

Out of curiosity, if it's not too prying, is there anyone out there who you would be happy to vote for? Do you just dislike Bernie's personality or his positions politically? I'm just wondering, now, where you stand on the political spectrum?

[Swift]

I think he is right about somethings, I'm voting for Hillary, but I'm not happy about it (and no, Bernie wouldn't have made me happy either).

Out of curiosity, if it's not too prying, is there anyone out there who you would be happy to vote for? Do you just dislike Bernie's personality or his positions politically? I'm just wondering, now, where you stand on the political spectrum?

It is not too prying.

I think I would be happy to vote for Elizabeth Warren, though I'm not sure if she would make a good president. I wish she was my Senator.

I've always been impressed with Cory Booker, back to when he was Mayor of Newark (he is now Senator from New Jersey).

I'm sure there are plenty of others; I don't keep up with politics like I used to.

I'm not sure what I don't like about Bernie, I actually voted for him in the Ohio primary, as much as a statement as anything else. I think a lot of his positions are fantasies and even with a more favorable House and Senate would be very difficult; with the current House and Senate, they are worse than wishful thinking. And some of his positions I oppose, like his position on gun control.

I know a lot of his appeal was his wild ideas, but I'm entirely too practical for that. I'm less interested in what you would like, and much more interested in what you are going to do.

I also didn't find his personality appealing, though I didn't hate him either. I don't need a eccentric Jewish grandpa with crazy hair and crazy ideas for President; I could play the role myself.

I generally vote for people based on their positions; it doesn't matter if I like them or not, just how they are going to vote. They are not my buddies.

I don't know that there is a single word description for where I stand on the political spectrum. I'm probably generally left of center, particularly on social issues, but I also am generally pro-trade. I think there are a lot of wrong-heading things that "the left" believes in that I don't (don't get me started on GMOs or nuclear power).

[SciFi Chick]

I don't know that there is a single word description for where I stand on the political spectrum. I'm probably generally left of center, particularly on social issues, but I also am generally pro-trade. I think there are a lot of wrong-heading things that "the left" believes in that I don't (don't get me started on GMOs or nuclear power).

Fascinating. It sounds like we pretty much agree except that I was on board with all the wishful thinking.

[Swift]

Here is Politifacts current rating of Donald Trump statements (percentage and count):

http://www.politifact.com/personalities/donald-trump/

True (4%)(8)
Mostly True (10%)(20)
Half True (15%)(31)
Mostly False (16%)(32)
False (37%)(76)
Pants on Fire (18%)(36)

Seems to center around Mostly False to False.

For comparison, here is Hillary's

http://www.politifact.com/personalities/hillary-clinton/

True (23%)(52)
Mostly True (28%)(62)
Half True (21%)(48)
Mostly False (15%)(33)
False (12%)(26)
Pants on Fire (2%)(4)

I'd call that centered around Mostly True to Half True.

[code monkey]

pj O'Rourke was funny years ago. I stopped reading him when his essays became nothing but bile filled screeds. this essay shows me that I've not missed anything.

[Cyborg Girl]

bile filled screeds

Code: Select all

s/b/v/
s/filled /
s/eds/aming/

IMO anyway.

[geonuc]

Al Franken for President in 2024 (after President Clinton's two terms).

[Thumper]

I vote for Joe Walsh every election.

[Swift]

Al Franken for President in 2024 (after President Clinton's two terms).

Great idea, we'll finally have the Al Franken decade we were promised 30 years ago.

I vote for Joe Walsh every election.

I can't imagine Joe wanting to be President, he's too smart for that.

They say I'm crazy but I have a good time
I'm just looking for clues at the scene of the crime
Life's been good to me so far

[Thumper]

How Ya Doin'?

[Swift]

How Ya Doin'?

Well, you learn something new everyday. Of course Joe has become much smarter since then.

[Thumper]

It was a running gag in the '80's and '90's that he was running for president. But yeah, since he's cleaned up and gotten smarter, I haven't heard him mention that desire in a while.

[pumpkinpi]

Al Franken for President in 2024 (after President Clinton's two terms).

[Thumper]

And gosh darn it, people like you!

[Parrothead]

I seem to recall during Bill Clinton's presidency, some of Hillary's involvement led to calls of Billary in the WH. Uhm, if Hillary wins and Bill gets involved in some way, will it be Hillbilly in the WH. ?

Looks like the choice stateside ain't much better than those we had in Canada.

Like I've probably stated before and what I say for stateside elections: Opus and Bill!

Don't know if it will be tracked, but I'm just wondering if there will be a number of cases where people choose to cast their ballots, opting not make a choice for President.

[SciFi Chick]

Don't know if it will be tracked, but I'm just wondering if there will be a number of cases where people choose to cast their ballots, opting not make a choice for President.

Since voting isn't mandatory here, most likely what will happen is that people who opt out just won't vote at all, and they'll keep a rough track of it by calculating how many registered voters voted and how many didn't.

[SciFiFisher]

I saw my first bumper sticker for Trump today.

Right here in the monolithic bastion of liberal land known as California. Although to be fair it is Northern CA. And it is not quite as "monolithically liberal" as it is further south starting around San Francisco and onwards.

[SciFi Chick]

I saw my first bumper sticker for Trump today.

Right here in the monolithic bastion of liberal land known as California. Although to be fair it is Northern CA. And it is not quite as "monolithically liberal" as it is further south starting around San Francisco and onwards.

Turns out California is not that liberal. I remember when they voted against gay marriage. I think Hollywood is liberal, but not so much California.

[SciFiFisher]

I saw my first bumper sticker for Trump today.

Right here in the monolithic bastion of liberal land known as California. Although to be fair it is Northern CA. And it is not quite as "monolithically liberal" as it is further south starting around San Francisco and onwards.

Turns out California is not that liberal. I remember when they voted against gay marriage. I think Hollywood is liberal, but not so much California.

It has very large pockets of liberalism. San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Hollywood for example. And they are mostly progressive democrats. We have a Democrat for Governor and the legislature has a majority of D representatives. But, there is also a sizable contingent of Republican and/or very conservative people here too.

I think the successful passing of Proposition 8 as an example of the conservatives winning here was a case of low voter turn out. Especially for the more progressive voters. I have no real evidence but I suspect it was a case of “that couldn’t possibly pass here so we don’t need to get the vote out to stop it”.

At the same time the conservatives pulled out all the stops. I think they felt that if they had a constitutional amendment in place before the courts ruled it would be a fiat accompli. And that the liberal and LBGT communities would be stopped cold. And they would have gotten away with it too if it weren’t for those mettling judges.

[Swift]

I saw my first bumper sticker for Trump today.

I don't recall seeing one yet, but then I haven't seen more than a couple of Hillary ones either. I have seen some Trump lawn signs for a while.

[Rommie]

I think the thing about California people forget is how big it is. Sure, it goes Democrat, but outside of the coastal cities there are regions that are far, far bigger than some states that are very agricultural and very conservative.