2016 Election Thread

[Craig Arko]

I stopped watching CNN awhile ago.

I pretty much follow the BBC and AP these days.

[Mike Sixel]

I don't watch at home......but it comes on in airports and sometimes I look at CNN on my phone. I'll switch from EVER doing that if they pay him.

[TheLeviathan]

CNN would get some serious kudos if they respond to that demand with a "meh".

[drjim]

CNN would get some serious kudos if they respond to that demand with a "meh".

And half the ratings.

[Hrbowski]

 

Today's headline:

 

Trump mulls debate boycott unless CNN donates $5M

 

 

Or.........

......the moment we find out if CNN will negotiate with terrorists. 

 

 

http://cdn.makeagif.com/media/4-07-2015/pipu1m.gif

Trump is a sick lunatic. I don't think that CNN treats any differently than any of the other candidates on the stage with him, so I don't see why he should get any favors.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

 

Trump is a sick lunatic. I don't think that CNN treats any differently than any of the other candidates on the stage with him, so I don't see why he should get any favors.

Agree he is, agree he shouldn't get any favors. I don't know if Trump will eventually play it off as a joke or what. We'll see. 

[TheLeviathan]

 

And half the ratings.

 

Maybe, but it's a bluff on Trumps part and imagine the way the rest of the field could rip him for a cable news network basically scoffing at him despite all that bluster.

[formerly33]

 

Agree he is, agree he shouldn't get any favors. I don't know if Trump will eventually play it off as a joke or what. We'll see. 

He won't. His literal existence on this planet is a joke itself, yet he seems to take it all seriously.

 

And yeah, he shouldn't get any favors. But CNN will pay it since he'll go up in popularity (sigh, America) if they don't. I hope the other candidates have some pretty snarky remarks about him at the debate.

 

http://cbsnews2.cbsistatic.com/hub/i/r/2015/10/22/16d2f87e-c9a1-4f8e-8ee4-9a69e55d020e/thumbnail/620x350/d877213cccc9a493a41ea190bbffda31/donald-trump-speech-620-getty-491877616.jpg

 

Look at that face! Would anyone vote for that? Can you imagine that, the face of our next president?! I mean, he's a member of the superior sex, and I'm not s'posedta say bad things, but really, folks, come on. Are we serious??

 

//and by the way, as sarcasm is sometimes interpreted strangely on the internet, the comment about the superior sex is utterly and completely tongue in cheek.

[DaveW]

So Trump wants to "ban all Muslims" from even ENTERING the US now.

Holy ****, I honestly can't respect anyone that supports him at all anymore.

 

 

[Mike Sixel]

Even Dick Cheney came out and said Trump was wrong.....Dick bleeping Cheney.

[Mike Sixel]

Preach racism, and government is evil, and politicians are evil, and hate speech, and lie after lie, you get Trump. that's the natural outcome of this.

[drjim]

 

Preach racism, and government is evil, and politicians are evil, and hate speech, and lie after lie, you get Trump. that's the natural outcome of this.

 

That's partially true.

 

I think Trump is more the result of promises unfulfilled and the current system failing to address problems/concerns/fear of a significant part of the population. Both parties are absolutely complicit in this.

[Mike Sixel]

I think it is "funny" how one part of the bill of rights is SO IMPORTANT that it is harder to buy cough syrup than a gun......but freedom of religion isn't important at all to many of those same people. People that claim the constitution is inviolate (as if it has never changed) and that THAT is what we are fighting for.

[Mike Sixel]

Paul Ryan's refusal to say bad things about Trump's position on this (and many senators also) reminds me how much the party left me, more than I left the party. It's sad, really.

[Squirrel]

 

Paul Ryan's refusal to say bad things about Trump's position on this (and many senators also) reminds me how much the party left me, more than I left the party. It's sad, really.

Sadder yet is those who publicly support him. And the media that gives him coverage because of ratings and not what is right. Trump is Hitler incarnate. He is feeding on the ignorance, complacency and fear that this country has become, and not what it was built on.

[Craig Arko]

 

Sadder yet is those who publicly support him. And the media that gives him coverage because of ratings and not what is right. Trump is Hitler incarnate. He is feeding on the ignorance, complacency and fear that this country has become, and not what it was built on.

I am certainly getting a Europe in the 1930's vibe around this election. Hope it ends better.

[Brock Beauchamp]

A few weeks ago, I began ignoring a certain GOP candidate... In this context, I'll refer to him as "Voldemort".

 

He's a sideshow. If we stop paying attention to him - particularly the media and voters left of center - he'll go away. He's not going to win the nomination. He has absolutely no chance of becoming our next President.

 

By continuing to give his drivel our valuable mindspace, we're only feeding the beast. His supporters - largely cork-on-the-fork stupid and entirely uninformed - merely dig in their heels in support of this monster every time someone on the left starts bashing him.

 

We should stop playing the game. Stop giving the idiot more publicity.

[Willihammer]

Well he is going to win the nom and has a better chance at the general than most people think. Ignoring him won't make him go away. The only thing that is stopping him is more compelling candidate and I'm not sure there's one yet including Hillary.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

Well he is going to win the nom

No, he's not. He's going to be skewered once the nomination process really gets underway.

 

Remember, states like NY, CA, MN, OH, OR, WA, MA, FL, etc. get to vote along with the crazies and their electoral points will dominate the outcome. States like CA, NY, MN, etc. will not vote for Voldemort. States like OH will go to Kasich and FL to Rubio, provided they're still in the running.

 

Too many people are getting worked up over early polling results. Four years ago, guess who won Iowa?

 

Rick Scrotorum.

 

Eight years ago, guess who won Iowa?

 

Mike Huckabee.

 

How'd that work out for them in November?

[Willihammer]

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/president/us/general_election_trump_vs_clinton-5491.html

 

Trump within MoE or leading in 3/6 polls dating back to mid-November.

[Willihammer]

No, he's not. He's going to be skewered once the nomination process really gets underway.

 

Remember, states like NY, CA, MN, OH, FL, etc. get to vote along with the crazies and their electoral points will dominate the outcome.

 

Too many people are getting worked up over early polling results. Four years ago, guess who won Iowa?

 

Rick Scrotorum.

 

Eight years ago, guess who won Iowa?

 

Mike Huckabee.

 

How'd that work out for them in November?

I think the polls in this case are telling a truer story mainly that the most compelling candidate is leading whereas I would say in '12 and '08 Iowa picked the "wrong" guy. Say what you will about Romney and McCain but they were more compelling candidates than Scrotum and Huckabee by a long shot. There is nobody more compelling than Trump in this field currently, that becomes more obvious by the day.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/president/us/general_election_trump_vs_clinton-5491.html

Trump within MoE or leading in 3/6 polls dating back to mid-November.

So what? Early poll results are comical when looking in hindsight. This happens every four years.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nationwide_opinion_polling_for_the_Republican_Party_2012_presidential_primaries#2011_polls

 

In November of 2011, Newt Gingrich and Hermann Cain were leading most of the polls.

 

Neither of them even managed to win Iowa.

[Brock Beauchamp]

This early in the process, people are a mix of uninformed and radical. It happens on both sides of the aisle.

 

As we approach the "real" nomination season, everyone swings toward the middle. That leaves people like Voldemort out in the cold, as they went so far off the cliff to cater to the uninformed radicals that they can never get back to the middle.

 

I expect to see Rubio, Christie, Kasich, or another guy more centrist get the nod for the run at the White House. GOP voters may be increasingly radicalized but they're not entirely stupid. They're not going to nominate a guy who will lose the general election in Reagan/Mondale fashion.

[Mike Sixel]

fivethirtyeight has article after article on the polls.....and what the might mean this year compared to previous years....

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

fivethirtyeight has article after article on the polls.....and what the might mean this year compared to previous years....

Have they started writing about it? Cool. I checked in occasionally but they hadn't written anything of substance that I could find... But it's been at least a month since I checked.

[Willihammer]

This early in the process, people are a mix of uninformed and radical. It happens on both sides of the aisle.

 

As we approach the "real" nomination season, everyone swings toward the middle. That leaves people like Voldemort out in the cold, as they went so far off the cliff to cater to the uninformed radicals that they can never get back to the middle.

 

I expect to see Rubio, Christie, Kasich, or another guy more centrist get the nod for the run at the White House. GOP voters may be increasingly radicalized but they're not entirely stupid. They're not going to nominate a guy who will lose the general election in Reagan/Mondale fashion.

I think you might be conflating a thought process with regional biases - basically an evangelical bias in Iowa and SC. That was the case in 2008 and 2012 with Huckabee and Santorum both evangelicals whereas McCain and Romney were not. Today, the fact that Trump is leading in evangelical states and dominating in NH should tell us something about how things are different this time.

[mikecgrimes]

I think I'd put Christie among Rubio Cruz and as much as I hate to say it Trump as the 4 favorites at this point.  I doubt Rubio has what it takes to overcome those three, but he's best positioned if he is that good of a politician.  I'm to biased for Cruz and against Trump to honestly eveluate either's true chance at this point.  As for Christe any momentum at all and he's taking off it's just a matter of him finding that momentum.  If Trump starts out hot before the field starts to clear and then gets passed late by the "true winner" with other candidates winning a few states we could see this go to the convention.

[drjim]

 

A few weeks ago, I began ignoring a certain GOP candidate... In this context, I'll refer to him as "Voldemort".

 

He's a sideshow. If we stop paying attention to him - particularly the media and voters left of center - he'll go away. He's not going to win the nomination. He has absolutely no chance of becoming our next President.

 

By continuing to give his drivel our valuable mindspace, we're only feeding the beast. His supporters - largely cork-on-the-fork stupid and entirely uninformed - merely dig in their heels in support of this monster every time someone on the left starts bashing him.

 

We should stop playing the game. Stop giving the idiot more publicity.

 

I agree on the feedback loop of media. He is certainly a perfect storm of the current age in that sense. I wouldn't dismiss him so easily, and if he doesn't get the nom, doesn't mean he won't run as a third party.

 

I used to think he was good for race in that he forced conversation to a place that the parties wouldn't take it (in a somewhat positive sense), but now he is taking it to a much, much darker place.

 

But I will still push back a little in your characterization of his followers. They generally are less educated, less religious, lower income, but somewhat moderate (outside of immigration). You can dismiss them as stupid if you want, but they are a significant part of the country, they are currently getting crushed from a variety of directions, and neither party is doing anything to speak to their concerns. What do you propose they do as an alternative?

 

Trump didn't emerge from a vacuum, he emerged from a very real and very ignored reality of our country.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

I think you might be conflating a thought process with regional biases - basically an evangelical bias in Iowa and SC. That was the case in 2008 and 2012 with Huckabee and Santorum both evangelicals whereas McCain and Romney were not. Today, the fact that Trump is leading in evangelical states and dominating in NH should tell us something about how things are different this time.

I read something recently that 75% of the people in Iowa - much less the rest of the country - haven't even begun to think about the election or haven't made a decision who to support yet.

 

The people who have made a decision and are vocal on both sides of the aisle in support of either Voldemort or Sanders are the most extreme elements of their respective parties. They do not reflect the viewpoints of the big, quiet middle. That big middle will start to weigh in around February and the polls will start to change dramatically when it happens.

 

And Voldemort is going to have a very active enemy that will start to throw around its weight in the coming months. That enemy is the Republican Party itself. The movers and shakers of the GOP know a Voldemort nomination will reduce their party to a laughing stock in November and they will do everything in their power to stop that from happening. That means governors refusing to support Voldemort. That means Senators and Representatives throwing their support to establishment candidates. That means big party money going to support the likes of Rubio, Christie, whomever.

 

The two party system of this country doesn't only prevent a third party from rising to power. It also prevents anti-establishment candidates to gain traction if the party doesn't like them. And the party hates Voldemort.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

But I will still push back a little in your characterization of his followers. They generally are less educated, less religious, lower income, but somewhat moderate (outside of immigration). You can dismiss them as stupid if you want, but they are a significant part of the country, they are currently getting crushed from a variety of directions, and neither party is doing anything to speak to their concerns. What do you propose they do as an alternative?

 

Trump didn't emerge from a vacuum, he emerged from a very real and very ignored reality of our country.

Oh, I fully agree people who support the man feel slighted in some way.

 

But I still believe they're stupid, as they've routinely voted against their own interests for the past several decades.

 

I'm not sure what outcome these people expected as we rolled back taxes, deregulated corporate and financial sectors, weakened labor rights, and created a system that slowly eats away at the middle class.

 

Yet here we are, arguing over Muslim refugees. What is happening with Voldemort is the very definition of demagoguery. While the country goes to hell in a handbasket around us, we're talking about immigrant rapists (and some, I assume, are good people).