2016 Election Thread

[nicksaviking]

 

Trump just made his closing statement and this was it.  Yes I'm a Democrat, I always have been, I always will be one, but my supporters are stupid so good luck.

 

Doesn't this sentence just prove that the Republican party expects everyone to fall in line and be compliant with every ideological position or they'll be blacklisted from the party?

 

God forbid, someone who identifies as a Republican has one moderate to liberal idea.

[drjim]

 

The person leading in the polls should not continue to debate close to voting. It will always hurt them more often than not.

 

I agree with this. The dustup with Fox/Kelly is just a ruse to get out.

 

And he is going to spend the time leading up to the debate helping wounded veterans and then as soon as the debate starts he'll be live tweeting in response - all the criticisms of his opponents and won't have to face them. And the media will still be almost exclusively focused on him. And he'll likely go up another 5 points.

 

I'm starting to wonder if he is a mastermind and we're all just living in his world.

[TheLeviathan]

This isn't masterminded though, he's done this same sort of thing for the last few months on a smaller scale.  This isn't some sort of brilliant move - he might spin it that way to his own success - but the source of this is his remarkable ability to be deeply butthurt for being called out on the jack-a** things he says.

[drjim]

 

This isn't masterminded though, he's done this same sort of thing for the last few months on a smaller scale.  This isn't some sort of brilliant move - he might spin it that way to his own success - but the source of this is his remarkable ability to be deeply butthurt for being called out on the jack-a** things he says.

 

I more take the position that he probably doesn't care a whole lot for getting called out, but might find it politically advantageous to make it seem so.

[mikecgrimes]

 

Doesn't this sentence just prove that the Republican party expects everyone to fall in line and be compliant with every ideological position or they'll be blacklisted from the party?

 

God forbid, someone who identifies as a Republican has one moderate to liberal idea.

 

I don't expect anyone to fall in line.  I do think if you want to use the only ballot line the Republican party gets you better be able to make a convincing case that you are not a Democrat.  This was going to be the first time ever my kind of candidate was going to have a great shot, but depending on how things go and what Trump's politics actually are the best chance to have a meaningful change of direction can be thrown away.  It's one thing if a Kasich or Bush beat Cruz and Rand Paul, but for Trump to do it is hard to tolerate.  Whats worse is Trump has cowards in the media eating out of his hand for now.  I get that he's entertaining and you want to just let him go and say whatever he wants to say, but the 8th time you let him take over your program you would think someone would cut him off and ask a meaningful question when he started rambling on about polls.  

 

Hopefully Monday night Trump his supporters and the media get the reality check I hope for when he falls hard.  I'm ready to make my prediction although Thursdays debate with or without Trump could change this.  Cruz 38 Bush 16 Rubio 13 Trump 11.  

[mikecgrimes]

 

 

I agree with this. The dustup with Fox/Kelly is just a ruse to get out.

 

And he is going to spend the time leading up to the debate helping wounded veterans and then as soon as the debate starts he'll be live tweeting in response - all the criticisms of his opponents and won't have to face them. And the media will still be almost exclusively focused on him. And he'll likely go up another 5 points.

 

I'm starting to wonder if he is a mastermind and we're all just living in his world.

 

Is it even legal to make a major public "charitable" gift 3 days prior to the Iowa Caucus.  I would imagine the same people that suggest Cruz might not be eligible could give Trump some good legal advice on his attempt to bribe the voters.

[TheLeviathan]

I more take the position that he probably doesn't care a whole lot for getting called out, but might find it politically advantageous to make it seem so.

Given his base....doesn't a dust-up with Fox News make the least sense?

 

Trump has had a very thin skin for awhile. I'd suggest that if there is any masterminding here it's that he feels Kelly will double down and really expose him. His strongest asset is basically being Teflon - vague proclamations and promises, vague insults as retorts, and never letting anyone pin him down. Kelly already has once, he's afraid of it happening again.

[drjim]

 

Given his base....doesn't a dust-up with Fox News make the least sense?

Trump has had a very thin skin for awhile. I'd suggest that if there is any masterminding here it's that he feels Kelly will double down and really expose him. His strongest asset is basically being Teflon - vague proclamations and promises, vague insults as retorts, and never letting anyone pin him down. Kelly already has once, he's afraid of it happening again.

 

I'm not sure his base is all that into Fox News compared to say Cruz and Rubio.

[drjim]

 

Is it even legal to make a major public "charitable" gift 3 days prior to the Iowa Caucus.  I would imagine the same people that suggest Cruz might not be eligible could give Trump some good legal advice on his attempt to bribe the voters.

 

I'm sure people would line up to slam Trump for helping out wounded vets.

[TheLeviathan]

 

I'm not sure his base is all that into Fox News compared to say Cruz and Rubio.

 

I'm speculating, but I would bet it is.

[mikecgrimes]

 

Given his base....doesn't a dust-up with Fox News make the least sense?

 

 

If his base was who the left and media wanted to project his base to be then of course.

[DaveW]

 

If his base was who the left and media wanted to project his base to be then of course.

[Squirrel]

 

Given his base....doesn't a dust-up with Fox News make the least sense?

Didn't you hear? His base is mostly Democrats and they don't watch Fox News so it matters not.

[Squirrel]

 

 

If his base was who the left and media wanted to project his base to be then of course.

This gets tired. This is your own perception, not actuality.

[drjim]

This gets tired. This is your own perception, not actuality.

Maybe, maybe not. I suspect his base, such as it is, is primarily people who aren't all that engaged in politics on a day to day basis and probably don't watch much of any cable news.

 

I don't buy it's Democrats either, as nice as it would be for a Cruz supporter to think.

[TheLeviathan]

Given that he's on O'Reilly tonight and actively on Fox and Friends, Hannity, and the other shows....I think it's safe to say he's appealing to the audience of Fox News.

[Craig Arko]

Should have just looked here.

 

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/173165

[nicksaviking]

I don't expect anyone to fall in line.  I do think if you want to use the only ballot line the Republican party gets you better be able to make a convincing case that you are not a Democrat.  This was going to be the first time ever my kind of candidate was going to have a great shot, but depending on how things go and what Trump's politics actually are the best chance to have a meaningful change of direction can be thrown away.  It's one thing if a Kasich or Bush beat Cruz and Rand Paul, but for Trump to do it is hard to tolerate.  Whats worse is Trump has cowards in the media eating out of his hand for now.  I get that he's entertaining and you want to just let him go and say whatever he wants to say, but the 8th time you let him take over your program you would think someone would cut him off and ask a meaningful question when he started rambling on about polls.  

 

Hopefully Monday night Trump his supporters and the media get the reality check I hope for when he falls hard.  I'm ready to make my prediction although Thursdays debate with or without Trump could change this.  Cruz 38 Bush 16 Rubio 13 Trump 11.

 

I don't get how someone loves Cruz and hates Trump. They're radicalism is nearly identical, they mostly differ in media savvy and hair.

 

And if Trump is secretly a Democrat what's the plan? He gets the Republicn nomination and then withdraws from the presidential bid the last week of October? You understand how that sounds I hope.

[diehardtwinsfan]

 

I thought Fox's statement had more funnies, honestly:

 

 

Maybe Trump should offer to debate with the Dems to start a bidding war.   

 

That said, the primaries the debate schedule and the DNC/RNC need to be reigned in.  The system should be regulated and broadcasted on CSPAN.  It's a total sham that the networks can profit of the provocativeness of the debate, it creates an systemic incentive to favor the likes of Trump.    

 

What is a total sham is that they don't give candidates equal time and don't allow them to all answer the same questions.

 

Kind of hard to figure out where people stand when all the important questions go to the 2 or 3 hand picked guys while everyone else gets asked what they think about the color of the White House. 

[diehardtwinsfan]

 

This isn't masterminded though, he's done this same sort of thing for the last few months on a smaller scale.  This isn't some sort of brilliant move - he might spin it that way to his own success - but the source of this is his remarkable ability to be deeply butthurt for being called out on the jack-a** things he says.

 

Sorry, but he is a mastermind.  The guy, like it or not, is smart. He knows that there's a huge number of very unhappy voters and he knows what will tickle them in a way that benefits him.  I'm not a fan of Trump, to be clear, but he's not an idiot.  He knows what will give him his power, and only God knows what he will do with it once he gets it (and I really do fear that, b/c I think he's both smart and crazy). 

 

This makes me wish that the Republicans didn't go all out against Ron Paul in the last two elections.  They pushed sensible out of the equation.  Guys like Trump are what is left for any person calling themselves Republican and actually wants change; and sadly, I think he's going to win.  I won't vote for him, but he's your next President. 

 

 

[TheLeviathan]

Trump is smart.  He is also terribly thin skinned.  This is about being butthurt.

[mikecgrimes]

 

And if Trump is secretly a Democrat what's the plan? He gets the Republicn nomination and then withdraws from the presidential bid the last week of October? You understand how that sounds I hope.

 

From Clintons perspective beat him, from Trumps perspective win and have 4 years of fun while never bothering to pretend to be a Republican again.

[DaveW]

Trump is smart. He is also terribly thin skinned. This is about being butthurt.

Relevant? http://www.theonion.com/article/donald-trump-stares-forlornly-at-tiny-aged-penis-i-28589

[nicksaviking]

From Clintons perspective beat him, from Trumps perspective win and have 4 years of fun while never bothering to pretend to be a Republican again.

The "never bothering to pretend" is the most accurate part of this statement. Give it up, he's one of yours whether he's full of crap and running solely for attention or not.

[mikecgrimes]

 

The "never bothering to pretend" is the most accurate part of this statement. Give it up, he's one of yours whether he's full of crap and running solely for attention or not.

 

You will find out Monday that he clearly is not one of ours.  The media is bending over backwards for him, but that doesn't mean Republicans will support a life long Democrat. 

[Squirrel]

You will find out Monday that he clearly is not one of ours.  The media is bending over backwards for him, but that doesn't mean Republicans will support a life long Democrat.

 

Trump is not a life-long Democrat. Why don't you do a little research.

[DaveW]

So part of me is beggining to think the best thing that could happen to this country would be the following:

 

1. Trump Wins the GOP nomination

2. Sanders wins the Dem nomination

 

Neither of these guys are going to get any real votes from the middle or anyone close to the middle, and honestly as a democrat I would never vote for Bernie either. His tax plan is a freaking joke: and the USA is not set up to be socialist http://www.vox.com/2016/1/22/10814798/bernie-sanders-tax-rates (I know it works in Canada and the UK, but it can't work in the US at this stage) And his idea of making college free for everyone is a disaster, this country needs LESS people going to college, not more.

 

3. Bloomberg runs as an independent and actually wins a good chunk of states.

 

I don't think Bloomberg could win enough to gain the presidency in that scenario, but it might be just enough to begin to crumble the corrupt and broken two party system we currently have, Bloomberg actually would make a great president and I would prefer him over every single other candidate besides HillDawg.

 

 

[Brock Beauchamp]

I wish there was a candidate who was slightly more moderate than Sanders and less distasteful than Hillary. I like Bernie - I like him a lot - but mostly as a senator. He's the left version of Rand Paul; a guy who sticks to his principles whether you agree with them or not and makes a stand on important issues everyone else ignores.

[nicksaviking]

 

I wish there was a candidate who was slightly more moderate than Sanders and less distasteful than Hillary. I like Bernie - I like him a lot - but mostly as a senator. He's the left version of Rand Paul; a guy who sticks to his principles whether you agree with them or not and makes a stand on important issues everyone else ignores.

 

I like Bernie, but the issues he sticks to are basically all of the fiscal variety. Every time foreign policy comes up he changes the topic.

 

Also the socialist angle is going to hurt him in the big picture. The only way a guy like him gets into the White House is if he gets on the ticket of a more moderate Democrat who ends up having 8 fairly popular years, then runs with name brand recognition the following election.

 

That's a long wait, so basically not Bernie, someone much, much younger.

[DaveW]

 

I wish there was a candidate who was slightly more moderate than Sanders and less distasteful than Hillary. I like Bernie - I like him a lot - but mostly as a senator. He's the left version of Rand Paul; a guy who sticks to his principles whether you agree with them or not and makes a stand on important issues everyone else ignores.

Yeah, I like Bernie as a senator as well. But I DONT like his a president, and I don't think he would make a very good one either.