Yesterday was an excellent day if you’re a casual follower of American politics. One of America’s two major political parties is in total meltdown mode, and as an outsider (a Democrat) looking in, the meltdown is both terrifying and hilarious. I’ve been saying from the start of this Donald Trump-phenomenon that Donald Trump is all of the GOP’s chickens coming home to roost. He is the representation of every fascist-leaning thought and policy they have ever had. He is the representation of every racist inclination, policy, thought and action that they have ever had. He is the representation of their foreign policy at this point, which is to yell and bitch and throw tantrums. The GOP has earned their orange, tantrum-prone fascist baby, and watching them deal with it has been glorious.
So, it feels like the Establishment Republicans have only realized in the past week or so that Donald Trump could really end up being the GOP nominee. And they’re panicking. They’re throwing money at Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz. They’re setting up PACs. They’re threatening to shut it down at what will likely be a brokered GOP convention. And then yesterday, 2012 GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney came out to Mean Girl the sh-t out of Trump.
While there were no lies detected about Donald Trump in Mitt Romney’s speech, his speech did remind me how much I always disliked Mitt(ens) Romney, and it made me wonder why Romney sought Trump’s endorsement back in 2012, when Trump was at the height of his racist Obama-Birther nonsense. Anyway, this was the Establishment GOP’s big moment, and they were hoping that Mean Girl Mitt would change hearts and minds. Except that Trump came out after Mitt and bashed him right back, in the crudest way possible:
And you know what? Donald Trump’s numbers went up yesterday. I think Joe Scarborough even joked that if they wanted Trump’s numbers to go down, Mitt Romney should have endorsed him. It’s true. And I can’t believe I’m agreeing with Joe Scarborough.
All of that set up the “showdown” at last night’s GOP debate, where there were only four clowns left standing (Trump, Rubio, Cruz and Kasich). Except for Kasich, the dudes were just yelling and bitching at each other for hours and it was messy and juvenile. Donald Trump was even talking about the size of his orange clown stick. So I totally laughed when this happened:
#GOPdebate pic.twitter.com/SGW200luN8
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) March 4, 2016
How many more of these do we have to sit through? Asking for a friend. #GOPdebate pic.twitter.com/AxGFlerSRW
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) March 4, 2016
Well played, Hillary.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Dear Americans,
Please please please please don’t let that FOOL become president.
The idea of that man having so much power at his fingertips scares the living daylights out of me, and many of us out here in the rest of the world.
– The Real Snazzy
His own party is plotting to sabotage his nomination by brokering their convention.
I don’t care how it gets done… I mean I’m Canadian, so technically I am safe, but we do share a pretty long border:-) I don’t understand what has happened to the US. Some of my fondest memories are of living in the States (Seattle and SF) and watching it all unravel is scary.
That almost scares me even more. Rachel Maddow was showing footage from the Democratic Convention in 1968, where the establishment anointed a candidate against the voters’ wishes. There were riots in the convention hall that bled onto the streets and because of the splintered party dynamics, Nixon won the election.
Drumpf’s popularity is built on rage and at his rallies, violence is par for the course. If the party does something like this, I shudder to think what will happen. I don’t know where the Republican Convention is to be held this year, but if I lived there I would get the hell out of town that week.
That would result in a giant shit show but I kind of hope it happens lol, just so I can see the republican party tear itself apart.
The convention this year will be in Cleveland, July 18-21 (really early). Not a good time to visit the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
If I were a Republican strategist this is exactly what I would do. Neelyo is right, it would be tantamount to throwing that election but it also forces the party to splinter, which is fantastic. You can finally ditch the crazies, the bigots and hopefully the religious right, and reset as the party of fiscal conservatism. I personally still wouldnt vote Republican because I believe the State should care for the most vulnerable, but I know a lot of people would be more comfortable voting for them. A lot of people dont want to stand with homophobes, xenophobes, mysogynists and racists even if they hold a lot of the same ideological views.
Its throwing one election to win back those voters and protect the partys future. Another plus, they can ensure that lunatics cant hijack the party ever again. Also, extra points to Neelyo for “Drumpf”. I too refuse to name this evil by his brand name.
@naya: as long as Rove and Limbaugh, etc consider themselves the Republican kingmakers, they’re never going to ditch the crazies. Ever since Dubya, there’s money to be had in appealing to the far right, and somehow that’s been confused for the population you MUST pander to in order to be a successful Republican candidate. It’s hamstrung the last two Republican presidential nominees (both McCain and Romney were more moderate and got into trouble when they were pressured to appeal to the more conservative party line).
” as long as Rove and Limbaugh, etc consider themselves the Republican kingmakers, they’re never going to ditch the crazies.”
So true. Talk radio and TV pundits have stoked the bigoted fires for so long, and the GOP supported it with a wink and a nod. Now, the listeners want to hear their actual candidates saying the same extremist things that their talk radio hosts do, and the GOP establishment doesn’t know how to put the genie back in the bottle. They created this monster, and now it is running amok.
They are saying that but in no way will they have a brokered (doesn’t meet delegate number) or contested (if the RNC challenges him after he has the numbers) convention. It would blow up the Republican party and turn it into ashes. Donald will win Florida and probably California, that is all he needs if he adds some of the midwest. He can still win if he looses a few. They’re putting on a show, so we believe they have tried everything to stop him. Meanwhile the insiders are probably gloating behind the scenes that they may have a chance of winning the general. They know they can’t like him in public. Its all for show. Worked in DC for sometime, and this is how things work.
Bridget and Tiffany — It actually goes farther back with Limbaugh — the most money he ever made was during the Clinton years. Fox News, Limbaugh, Beck, Coulter and the lot thrive on listeners complaining. Trump has zero chance at winning the general, which means at least 4 years of Hillary. Limbaugh and the gang see dollar signs. That’s their motivation and that’s all they’ve ever been motivated by — money.
Isabelle — I think there might be a brokered convention and the reason is this: Republicans lose this election no mater what, whether with Trump as nominee or whomever is drafted at a brokered convention as nominee. Why not go down in flames with someone the vast majority of Republicans can get behind thereby setting yourself up for a legit re-set. So you lose the Trump voters — who cares? You need to shed yourself of those people anyway to have a fighting chance in the 21st century.
@Kate: I know that Limbaugh has been around for a long time, but the Republican party has changed A LOT in the last 16 years, and a lot of that is directly laid at the feet of the W. Bush style politics (“us or them”). And since then, Rove and Limbaugh have legitimately been power players behind the scenes in their party (Rove controls a lot of money).
@Isabelle: I disagree that Trump really has the ability to win the general, since he’s made the critical mistake of only appealing to white men. That’s been the downfall the last 2 presidential elections for the Republicans: they need to pull in another group en mass, either women, Latino voters, black voters – in order to win. Hence Cruz running.
I’m in Iowa and have watched Trump pretty closely from the beginning. (I did not vote for him.) Don’t be so sure he won’t win the general election. A candidate has to connect emotionally with voters to get them to turn out. Trump does this. Hillary does not. I’m not sure if fear of Trump is enough to get her elected.
As an American I’m terrified. I’m also disgusted that so many people are supporting this fool!!! It says a lot about us…and it’s depressing as hell.
I’ve been daydreaming that there are secret meetings going on behind closed doors on how to take this scum bag down (sounds like it’s really happening.) But then what? President Cruz or Rubio? That’s just as terrifying.
You’re daydreams are real. They are holding such meetings. They know Cruz or Rubio aren’t strong enough. They can amend the nomination rules before the actual convention vote. The party leadership will choose somebody without input from actual voters and will expect the delegates to go along. Ryan has already said he expects delegates to do as he says.
I agree. At first I was saddened but now I am angry and disgusted by the Republican party and Trump supporters. There’s nothing like sabotaging democracy in your “fight” against the “establishment” and I truly feel that Trump is a threat to democracy. The Republicans frankly need to suck it up now because they’ve created this – Cruz stood next to Trump for months not attacking him (thinking he was immune) so I have no sympathy for him now. The real problem is going to be Clinton and once Trump starts in on her …. it will not be pretty.
Trump is not my America – we deserve and should demand better!
Cruz and Rubio are FAR worse IMO.
“Trump is not my America”
^^Yeah he’s not my America either.
Or my friends’ America.
Or my family’s America.
But apparently we don’t count, or at least we don’t when it comes to generalizations about the United States.
@Kitten, Mitch McConnell made it very clear that we don’t count when he announced three weeks ago that he planned to ignore that we chose somebody to nominate Supreme Court Justices until January 2017 and would continue to collect his paycheck and benefits while failing to do his job of holding nomination hearings and votes.
Agree with EM who summarized it beautifully in just a few words:
“Trump is NOT my America.”
Don’t even get me started on McConnell–I’m already in a bad mood today. As an aside, I always really enjoy your political commentary, Lilacflowers. You remind me that I need to get back to caring about politics.
Trump is a nightmare. He’s definitely NOT my America.
I am Canadian so I don’t know how this might work, but I keep hearing rumours that Bloomberg might join the race…could that happen?
@Kitten, thank you! Meanwhile, our own governor seems to be in the midst of a painful breakup with his own party. Poor Charlie.
Drumpf, Cruz, Rubio, Carson, Ryan, and McConnell are not my America.
@Woodstock_Schulz, Bloomberg plans to run as an independent IF Sanders wins the democratic nomination. He’s a Clinton supporter. To get his name on ballots in November , he may have to file paperwork this month in some states. He can do that and just wait to see who gets nominated and withdraw if it is Clinton.
“It says a lot about us…and it’s depressing as hell”
So true. It’s like those old soap operas where they would say things like “this century, the role of America will now be played by Canada. America is out sick with the extremist fringe”.
Agree @kiteen. Trump is a salesman and won’t do half the stuff he says he will do. He also has backed up planned parenthood, universal health care and believed the Iraq war was based on a lie. Cruz means every single bit of it and wants a Theocratic country ruled by god and is a war hawk that wants to bomb countries, boots on the ground with no negotiation. Cruz reminds me of all the religious fanatics in Stephen King novels.
“He also has backed up planned parenthood, universal health care ”
He’s changed his mind on universal health care already. People act like Trump’s flexibility is less threatening than others. But really, he will sell the country to the highest bidder.
This just happened
http://www.politico.com/blogs/2016-gop-primary-live-updates-and-results/2016/03/donald-trump-cpac-2016-220263
Trump was supposed to give a speech Saturday morning. A group of conservatives were planning to walk out en masse for a bathroom break during his speech.
So Bloomberg is just as much of a d ick as the rest of them? Why am I not surprised?
I’m terrified as well. What started as a joke has steamrolled before my bewildered eyes. I just can’t believe there are this many Americans (including some of my family) that are backing this asshat.
As an American, I’m disgusted and horrified. I can only imagine what the rest of the world is thinking about us right now. I pinky-swear promise, we’re not all nut jobs. Pray for us LOL!!!
Trump is the embodiment of everything they have been implying for years. He is their Monster. And now they can’t control him or his hooting, hollering, racist followers. The repubs have appealed to the “backwash” as Colbert so truthfully put it, and the backwash has taken over.
Yep! This is just a giant s*#t show and we’re al being forced to watch. On one side, we have a racist, sexist hate monger. On the other side we have a (imo) truly evil woman who couldn’t care less about the well being of our country or it’s citizens. I have a lot of friends who are voting for Bernie Sanders…Really? We are so screwed…
The GOP needs to do everything possible to stop Trump getting the nomination. He is a disaster. And, it is so very sad how many people have fallen for the lies and empty promises that fly from this man’s lips.
Some of you US citizens will certainly know the details better than I do – but: what, precisely, are the regulations regarding Electoral College Delegates? As far as I recall, it varies from state to state. Therefore, Drumpf could get the nomination and the delegates, but then the delegates do have some leeway to vote as they please. Some states *require* the delegates to vote the party line, other states have no regulations in that regard whatsoever. Wouldn’t it be interesting to see Repub. delegates crossing party lines to block Drumpf? That could happen.
Also: I just read that the authorities in Cleveland have ordered/organised a s***-load of anti-riot gear. Be afraid. This could get really bad.
I keep hoping to wake up and find out this is all a bad dream.
I like your signature! ; )
-TheRealPinky
😀
Jesus, do I ever agree with you. We have a nice quiet Canada that I am sure some of you are actually thinking about running too. I would too, in your position. Trump is the embodiment of all that is hateful, dishonest and ignorance in its purest form. I am actually worried for your country.
me too! I deal with many Americans through my work, and generally they are just regular people. I’m scared of what is going to happen to their country. People can say all they want that he wouldn’t win a a general election, but I seem to recall them saying the same thing about the nomination too…
Dear Normal Americans – please do what you can to stop this! You’re scaring the crap out of your neighbours.
I’m Canadian as well, with American friends. In the past they despaired and threatened to flee to Canada if Baby Bush was elected. They didn’t, but it’s clear so many are demoralised. Trump and his ilk have got to be making them crazy.
Completely agree. I think what some people in our country fail to understand is that Trumps rhetoric has already done damage to the US regardless who is elected POTUS. The leaders of other countries will always pay attention to our presidential campaigns/elections because we are a major player. That is fact not arrogance. Our president is their peer who they will be dealing with so of course they are going to want to know their thinking. Trump has been making really horrific statements for quite some time and doing so loudly. It is right that people inside and outside of our country should be concerned. He is a liar and scam artist. There are videos taken during his rallies of POC being beaten, actually thrown down and stomped on, and cursed by his supporters and dragged out by security. I saw in one photo a supporter wearing a shirt with the slogan “Make racism great again”. There is video of Trump encouraging security and supporters to throw out protestors. The really scary part is that these people are not going to go away. They feel they have been given a platform.
THIS, Cran. I want a president who will protect our country against ALL danger. I also want a president who can do that without making all Americans look like hateful psychos.
Please, do not think he speaks for Americans. He speaks for idiots, racists, bigots, and misogynists, not Americans. I’m terrified of this man. I’m petrified of the possibilities. I’m disgusted that ANYONE supports him and my stomach turns at the mere sound of his voice. I implore you, I am NOT alone in these feelings and I greatly worry that other countries will feel he represents me and those I love.
lol at Trump and his barroom bravado. . Both the GOP and Dems are stacked with bought politicians who won’t pass anything that their corporate masters don’t want passed. So Trump or no Trump it’ll be business as usual. However if the GOP power brokers override the will of the voters and cheat Trump out of the nomination there’ll be hell to pay.
I don’t think Drumpf speaks for America either, so its so shocking that he has won all those primaries. It shocking to see that that many Americans want Drumpf as president. It’s like they made up their own mind who Drumpf is and no matter what he says or does, it doesn’t knock that fantasy version of him down.
BTW – Trump reminds me of those RAW wrestlers who only need to walk around the ring to make the crowds go nuts.
But…”He speaks for idiots, racists, bigots, and misogynists, not Americans.”
He speaks for American idiots, racists, bigots and misogynists. Those are Americans, too.
Snazzy, completly agree, I just hope they realise it before its too late, the man is a complete buffoon, I actually dont think he is the full shilling.
@snazzy and the test of the world, I’m so fkn sorry. I have no idea what has happened to this country. The GOPs chickens have come home to roost and it’s fkn ugly.
Willard Mittens has always been delusional. Drumpf’s response was so predictable.
And Paul Eddie Munster Ryan thinking he could ORDER people how to vote on Tuesday was truly risible. You hold a seat in Congress because thousands of people voted for you in Wisconsin, little Eddie. That’s nothing compared to the millions who have already voted for Drumpf and the millions who voted Barack Obama into the presidency. Get a grip.
Oooh, I have missed the Paul Ryan bit from yesterday. Looking up now…
It was Tuesday morning. Also check out Lindsay Graham’s whiny meltdown from Tuesday night. His screaming about others being liars and dishonest was hilarious, given how dishonest he himself is.
I miss Jon Stewart’s Lindsay Graham impressions so much.
I tend to feel buffered from the insanity that comes from the Rethuglicans (the crazy right, not the mild, fiscal conservatives) since I live in Massachusetts. But color me surprised when the majority of the independent votes here in Mass. came out for Trump. Yikes! Shows you how mentally challenged an angry straight white male can be!! Male hormones = Hell!
@BostonGreenEyes, Trump drew the Scott Brown contingent but lots of those who switched party (and there were tens of thousands here) did so to prank vote
Like feces’ flinging monkeys on parade, the republican primary marches on.
I don’t think there’s anything they can do to stop Drumpf at this point and Mitt Romney was probably the worst surrogate to make the case against him considering he inherited his wealth, he didn’t release his tax returns, etc. Based on that speech, I’d say Mitt doesn’t know the meaning of irony.
Looool that comment was my laugh of the morning😂
They can stop him by making a rule change in their nomination process. The party leaders have told the others not to pull out of the race in order to continue pulling delegates from him. That’s why Carson hasn’t actually stopped his campaign or removed his name from any ballots; he has just stopped wasting money on campaigning. They’re in total meltdown and little Paul Ryan is angry that the voters didn’t follow his orders Tuesday.
No rule change is needed if he doesn’t have 1237 delegates.
Very true, Kate, which is why party leaders are telling Cruz, Rubio, and Kasich to stay in the race. Every delegate they win is one less for Drumpf.
I wondered if Romney were looking for an opening for his party establishment to bring him back but at this point he’d have to strap Trump to the roof of his car and take him on a little trip.
If the party brought out John McCain front and center, it might have worked a little better, or at least been harder to ridicule.
Who Are these people, loved your allusion to Romney’s road trip!!
McCain is too liberal for Drumpf supporters to listen to
Also, Mittens praised Trump to the heavens after Trump him endorsed him during the last presidential race. Two-faced, liar, & power- & – greed-monger is Mittens.
Agree. He is two-faced. So glad Romney lost 2012. Once he made the comment about not supporting the 40+ %, I thought what a jerk! You do not deserve to be president.
Yup. Shut up, Mittens. No one wants to hear from you, and YOU’RE NOT HELPING.
Romney calling another a phony is just extra rich in irony. The Republicans became unhinged when they allowed the tea party to hijack their party. In my lifetime they have been the party of rich white men who don’t want women to have a say.
I will stand back & clap as the GOP implodes upon itself & burns
I thought the same thing. When I saw that I thought “pot meet kettle”.
They made Dong jokes in a national debate! Comparing dong sizes! How are these fools on stage and what has happened to the Republican party?
What are your thoughts on Hillary? Do you trust her? Do you trust her if she is the leader of our country?
This whole thing would be hilarious if it weren’t so scary. If they don’t get someone else to the forefront before the convention, it’s going to be like Mad Max ThunderDome in there.
I can’t stand Romney, but at the same time a part of me appreciates him standing up and saying this publicly. It’s probably too little too late though, they’ve all been sitting quietly and watching their own creation destroy everything up until now.
I would have appreciated him more if he said it a few months ago. Saying it now – when it is virtually too late for anyone else to gain the delegates needed to win prior to the convention, is just posturing, in my opinion. Despite what he says, I think he is hoping desperately for a “Draft Mitt” movement at the convention. All Mittens did yesterday was further rile up Trump’s crazy supporters. The only chance for the GOP is if Kasich somehow, someway, gains traction to get a significant share of delegates and that Trump does not come close to the number needed to win. Otherwise, I fear out country will have a 50/50 chance of a crazy fascist as President.
The Canadians may decide to build a huuuuge wall to keep Americans from stampeding North — toward a hopeful future.
It’s not quite 100% over-although yea, the pickings are starting to get really slim. While Trump ‘won’ states, he did by really slim margins. Cruz is 61% on target to get delegates as well-Rubio is 46% It’s a uphill climb, but totally doable.
Michigan, ohio, and Florida are winner take all states. Rubio is prob going to win Florida. Kacich is looking likely to win Ohio. So it’s all still very much up in the air.
5.30.8 has a really good tracking system for delegates.
http://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/election-2016/delegate-targets/
Any chance that these Republican would be so exasperated at the prospect of Trump winning that they would turn around and vote for Hillary? I’m thinking the Republican shit show is exactly what Hillary needs to win since, I’m sorry to say, otherwise I don’t find her very convincing.
Would more centrist Republicans vote for Clinton? Maybe — because she actually is a Republican from the old school.
And make sure Americans pay for that wall Mumzy!
I thought that Romney made some great points but the timing was wrong – it may have very well backfired. Clearly there isn’t a strategist in the Republican party; they say that Trump supporters are the most established out there and are NOT going anywhere. Therefore, they need to try to get to the independents and “establishment” attacking Trump right before the debate was not going to do it.
Not sure if this will work but for the next phase Trump v. Clinton, I hope that every time Trump goes low, she stays on the high road because quite frankly Trump is master of the low. I think that the Republicans should have always combatted his low/nasty/racist/ comments with an “America is better than that” come back.
How “nasty” can he afford to get with Hillary though? Once he is nominated, the stakes are infinitely higher. Its no longer about beating the establishment but about appearing presidential. I cant see independents voting for a man who alludes to a rivals menstrual cycle or calls her ugly, can you? Or maybe, they would. The whole world has gone mad after all.
@Naya – Clinton is the epitome of establishment to all those pi**ed about establishment. And what I’ve observed is that some voters don’t actually care about presidential which is horrifying.
I found this quote which is so relevant with Trump’s success:
“As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.” ― H.L. Mencken
Oh I agree, Drumpf supporters are lost causes. I’m talking about independents, and Dems who are unethisiastic for her and prefer Bernie
EM Great quote!
EM,,
That quote gave me shivers because the reality is here. (Here I thought it happened when Reagan ran for pres; an actor, no way!!!
It definitely took balls to get up there and say that sh*t. Whether you like Romney or not, he’s an articulate, intelligent guy. Or maybe he just seems like the only sharpened pencil in the box because the rest are a bunch of morons.
…well, except for Kasich. He seems ok.
Kasich has mastered the moderate sane guy, but when you really look at what he has done is OH he is actually worse than Cruz and Rubio, because why they talk a good game, they are mostly talk, Kasich gets shit done. And not in a good way. As Governor he has signed the most stringent ant-abortion legislation anywhere in the Country. And he is a sneaky mo-fo because he buried all of his legislation in huge budget bills. One of the bills he passed was prohibiting rape crises counselors from referring women to abortion services.
What he is is very smart, he has been able to paint himself as the sane candidate, the republican candidate that you can feel good about picking. And then he will come in and sneak attack you.
KWM – Oh no! I really walked away from the debate thinking how rational Kasich seemed and wondered by the GOP was not pushing him as an alternative to Trump.
I thought the same on Kasich until I saw the piece Samantha Bee did on her new show about him and the anti-choice laws he has put through.
How sad is this group that Romney seems good by comparison.
He is sane, but he’s still a pretty conservative republican. If that’s your thing, then he’s your guy. He’s not my guy though.
Why do all these candidates get off on attacking women’s rights? What’s in it for them? Don’t they have more important issues to direct their aggressive ignorance to? If the right to choose were an actual constitutional right applied across all states women wouldn’t have to worry every time a Republican looney tune is pushed forward. Second of all, can somebody explain to me why is Romney so disliked. I haven’t followed him but from this video he seems particularly well informed and pointing to real economic issues (many of which the other candidates failed to address) and even relatively moderate on social issues (am I wrong?) Why is Trump calling him a drop out?
@Kitten, Mitt Romney is equally as racist and hateful as Donald Trump, he’s just a typical seasoned politician so he appears more polished. He’s also smart enough to try to be sneaky about it. In 2012, his presidential bid all but fell apart when he was caught on video talking sh-t about minorities and calling 47 to 49% of Americans lazy, welfare dependent deadbeats. His comments really turned a tide in American with the way that many Americans feel about the Republican party, as most people believe it was an inside view of how Republicans truly feel about minorities….especially since they treat Romney like he is their messiah. He is just as f*cked up as the rest of them. As a matter of fact, his nerve to stand up and denounce Trump when he’s been equally as hateful is pretty amazing and hypocritical.
I’ve been left with the same impression of Kasich, Like ” the Adult” the Less Assh*le of the Assh*le bouquet
“Why do all these candidates get off on attacking women’s rights? What’s in it for them”
They don’t care, but this is a wedge issue which is a very important to their religious conservative supporters. US is a very religious country.
@melior, this is why I could never be a US conservative/Republican, despite having voted for the Conservatives consistently in the UK. A true conservative wants to preserve the status quo and protect existing lives, which means being pro-choice. I am appalled by the Republicans (and I know plenty) who are completely socially liberal in their private lives, and can pay for their daughters to have private health care, and yet will happily deny such care to poor women because all they care about is lower taxes.
Thanks for the feedback
Not only have the chickens come to roost with Trump, they’ve taken the henhouse hostage. This has become so surreal I’m starting to think this is an elaborate prank on Trump’s part, that one day — hopefully soon — he’ll say “just kidding” and bow out of this joke of a race.
The only thing scarier than Trump are the people who openly support him. Terrifying.
When this whole clownfest started my husband was completely amused by it. I kept telling him it’s scary, and he’d wave it off and say just wait until it gets serious and you’ll see him disappear like snow in the spring.
Well, he is now coming around to my way of thinking – it is not funny at all, it is downright scary that so many Americans believe that this idiot, who has lied through his teeth repeatedly, who contradicts himself repeatedly, who has bankrupted business repeatedly to get out of paying his debts, who has slapped his name on bad properties that ruined decent people, who wouldn’t know values and morals if they bit him in his orange a*s, can actually lead their country. Never mind his lack of credentials – I always believed that an intelligent, well-educated, decent person with common sense would make a good politician. He unfortunately lacks any of these qualities. What he has is a string of model wives and ex-wives, a history as a liar and the ability to yell louder than the others. That’s it.
I’ve been having legitimate anxiety attacks about this!
Side note: he debate last night was better Han any reality show you could ever watch. EVER. I haven’t laughed so much in a while.
I was convinced he would fade away, too, and cannot believe he’s managed to get this far. I really overestimated the intelligence of the American people, apparently.
Maybe I’m in denial but I still believe even if he does become the nominee, there is no way he’ll win the general election.
I don’t believe he’ll take the general, either.
But the depth of his appeal is . . .striking. I’m doing my best to understand what it reveals about America. I honestly never expected this.
You can say he will never win the general, but twice as many Repubs are coming out to vote as Dems so far. This tells me that maybe people, like my lifelong Dem mother, are not enthusiastic about Hillary and are staying away from the vote. Her state Colorado voted for Bernie, he is very big with the youth vote. Do you trust Hillary? I used to like her and looked forward to a woman as President, but she has pulled some dubious stunts in the last couple years and I can’t back her.
This is one of those moments when someone in the crowd (not the Establishment) needs to point out that the Emperor isn’t wearing any clothes.
Drumpf’s nature being what it is, it’s possible that, in time, he’ll simply self-destruct. He’ll go a step too far. People will question him.
But I don’t know. His supporters are VERY tired of the status quo, they appreciate his outlandishness and they seem willing to forgive his many transgressions. I think he has appealed to a portion of the electorate and their support of him is solid.
This guy has formidable reality-tv skills. He’s learned what people want and how to appeal to it.
The people who can see through him will never support him.
But are we a majority in this country?
I don’t know.
I initially thought this. I was also very confident that my fellow citizens would throw him to the curb so obviously I’m not playing the lottery anytime soon.
Trump is a narcissist and there is no way he will back out considering how close he is to becoming President – I actually think he has Narcissistic Personality Disorder.
Also a sociopath. He’s just a major criminal in an orange skin instead of an orange jumpsuit.
@hmmm – I like to refer to him as the orange Kanye West.
There are supporters that have said they don’t care they are angry and they will vote for him anyway because he is not a politician and says what he thinks. Also that he is beholden to no one and funds his campaign with his own money. These are really loans to his campaign that are repaid with the donation he receives. He hasn’t had to spend much to date because his bluster gets him huge press coverage.
He does seem narcissistic, however, he has shown compassion towards health care and does not want anyone to “die on the streets” due to being without health care. That is very compassionate. The other Republicans do not feel that way. For that reason, I do not think he is a complete narcissist. A true narcissist wouldn’t have compassion for the needy (like Mitt who didn’t want to serve 49% of Americans).
@JP
“he has shown compassion towards health care and does not want anyone to “die on the streets” due to being without health care. That is very compassionate”
That does sound very fine. I’m all for that. So, does he have a practical plan, a policy on it? Can he demonstrate his compassion with a plan and a promise? Or is it all just ‘feelz’?
@hmmm, Trump posted his health care reform plan the other day. It is identical to that of Cruz and countless other Republicans. It does absolutely nothing to protect those of us with pre-existing conditions. It relies on “free market principles,” which do not work in a market where the majority of consumers are actually corporations partially purchasing a product that will actually be consumed by employees; deregulates the health insurance industry on the mistaken notion that regulations are what is keeping the best health plans from operating in all states (the top three highest rated health plans over the past decade are all licensed in the two states with the highest level of regulation so that theory is total bunk); and emphasizing health savings accounts with high deductible (starting at over $10,000) catastrophic insurance – which tend to lead to bankruptcies and dead people.
@lilacflowers
Yeah, that’s really compassionate (said no one ever).
He’s not compassionate or caring about health care. Donald’s older brother Freddy died an alcoholic at the age of 43. When their father died, 19 years later, the will (which Donald helped draft) cut Freddy’s children out of the will. Fred III’s wife went into labor right after Fred Sr. died, and gave birth to a child with cerebral palsy. The Trump family promised to take care of the child’s medical bills. Freddy’s children contested the will, saying that Fred Sr. suffered from dementia at the time the recent will was signed, and that Donald had influenced him to sign it. Donald angrily cut off all medical support for the handicapped child. If he doesn’t care about his own relatives, why would anyone think he’d care about anyone else?
Is it mean I hope Trump is the nominee? 😂😂
– the real original kay
What is up with these “Original so and so” tags? Is this a running joke. Are we tagging our comments now? Someone please explain …
Because people troll under already-taken names. It happens all the time around here. If you don’t have a Gravitar, then saying “The Original” is a way of distinguishing yourself from whoever is trolling under your name.
I just did it in honour of the Original Pinky 🙂 I think Pinky started doing it because there was another Pinky posting who’s views were not like the Original Pinky’s 🙂
Putting the “Original” or other tags in ones post, is something that’s usually done when more than one poster shares the same screen name.
LOL, @Snazzy. 🙂
Kitten – Thanks. I was sure what was going on!
You guys are making me laugh!
-TheRealPinky
I did it for the real pinky too because I think it’s cute. 😂😂
I hate this election.
Me too. This one’s just brought out the worst in everybody and everything. Thank you, Citizens United, trickle down economics, tax exemptions for churches, media consolidation, neoliberal trade pacts and the NRA.
I’m not even American and this makes me cry.
It’s terrible. I’ve never been less excited about a presidential candidate.
While I’ve had my problems with Obama’s presidency, I really miss that excitement that I had when he was running.
Yeah, great campaign. Shitty president. Can’t believe people still get sucked in by these snake oil salesman no matter how many times they’ve been duped.
History is going to judge Obama very, very kindly.
Tina ~ History will not be kind. His inexperience was plain to see and he was in way over his head. Trillions in debt? I hate that my new grandbaby will have to deal with the fallout of that long after I am gone.
Don’t listen to me, listen to the Wall Street Journal (hardly known for its left wing views), which says, “Compared to seven years ago, the long-term budget outlook has gotten better, not worse, thanks to slower health-care inflation and, more important, much lower interest rates.” http://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-debt-burden-its-gotten-a-bit-less-bad-1454520325
Mittens can’t even mean girl correctly.
Joking aside, while it is nice to see the extreme right try to deal with the monster they created, I am by no means feeling secure about November. I feel Democrats continue to underestimate Trump and that it will come back to haunt everybody come election time. Too many people are either writing him off as a joke, being apathetic about voting or just throwing tantrums that their candidate isn’t getting the attention they deserve (and this goes for both Sanders and Clinton fans). The left is settings themselves up for an implosion and it scares me-there is too much at stake.
Me too. It ain’t over till it’s over. The whole thing costs too much and drags on too long.
recent piece in the NYT suggests Democrats know to take him seriously. Luckily, they’ve had the opportunity to learn from the Republicans’ mistake.
I’m having trouble envisioning a Hillary-Drumpf matchup. He has superficial media skills that she lacks entirely. He’s a bully and I don’t think she’s ever been up against anyone who will approach her in the way he will. She’s head and shoulders above him in terms of her policy knowledge & experience, but I wonder what percentage of the electorate cares about that.
Even though she is the establishment darling, a great deal of the electorate care that Hillary is a warmonger among other things, and won’t come vote for her in droves. Don’t kid yourself the Democratic party is pulling dirty tricks behind the scenes with the more than willing help of the media to get rid of Bernie Sanders too. One example, look how they add the super delegates on to the counts to make her look way more ahead than she actually is. That’s totally egregious.
As for electability, they don’t talk about the fact that polls show Bernie would beat any one of those republican clowns… Hillary none except perhaps Trump in a coin toss.
It’s going to be very difficult for Trump to debate Hillary. Think of the kid gloves with which Joe Biden had to handle Sarah Palin in 2008. People like to think that Biden lacks subtlety, but he’s a master of the art compared to Trump. Trump’s going to say something (or, more likely, many things) that are horribly offensive. He cannot deal with women.
What gives me comfort is that to win, any Republican needs to get 40% of the Hispanic vote. Trump’s racist remarks guaranteed him hardly any Hispanic voters. The math isn’t there for him to win.
Trump’s pitch is anti-establishment, right? (I do realise this is hilarious coming from a man who inherited billions). So it really doesn’t matter what Romney, or anyone else from the GOP establishment says or how well they say it, just the act of speaking against him will up Trump’s numbers. I mean truly, it’s a genius USP. Bloody scary, but genius.
I am pretending the US election isn’t happening. I am equally pretending the UK EU referendum isn’t happening. I am sitting on the top of a hill in the back of beyond and pondering going survivalist. Or something. Can survivalists keep the internet? That’s the only question I’m going to worry about.
We can all be anti-establishment survivalists and then we get to keep the internet….
Perhaps we could arrange some kind of Celebitchy commune and intranet?
I think that is an excellent plan. All buildings where I live have nuclear bunkers – we can set up in one of them and wait for all of this to pass
Maybe Lilacflowers could provide for us her Veranda!! Complete with Colin shoring up the victuals!!
i dont post a ton, but can i pretty pretty please join??
@BostonGreenEyes, the veranda awaits. We just need a safe place to put it.
Anyone can join!
Lilac – behind my sustainable house?
@Sixer, Mark Strong and Matthias Schonaerts will be along soon to deal with the security and construction issues.
I know, it’s like when early environmentalists sounded nice but a lot of us (perhaps not you, Sixer) thought it didn’t really mean *us* and it turns out even their alarmism was right. Now is it going to be the same for the survivalists? I hope not.
It’s definitely a “wake me when it’s over” year except it’s essential for all to participate.
I would like it noted that I’ll be the hippytastic kind of survivalist in a nice little Hobbit house. Not the gun-totin’ weirdo kind of survivalist. Just in case in you were worrying about me!
Drumpf knows how to get publicity without spending a dime. It’s terrifying. Brilliant, but terrifying. My hubs and I were discussing it last night and came to the conclusion that Americans are so fed up with the establishment they’re willing to substitute entertainment for it. (Well, some Americans). Reality television is coming back to bit us in the @$$, and if we don’t watch out the king of those idiotic shows will be our president. (Vomits)
The hatred of the establishment has turned people to Dumpf and Sanders. I’m just hoping it leans to Sanders.
I think you and your husband have nailed it.
I was watching CNN yesterday when they announced Romney’s take on it. The lead up was like sports announcements, with the announcers squealing like little girls. And I realised, this is all entertainment now….
Anyone out there think that we’re not living a dystopian dream now?
Nah trump is like herpes. He will always keep coming back
I hope he gets the nomination since I don’t believe he could ever win. Cruz scares me more to be honest and I think he would have a better chance of winning the final election. So go Drumpf! Make sure Americans get another Democrat in the white house.
Cruz clearly believes that all vaginas are evil.
This. He’s a deeply disturbed guy. Truly.
Yes lilacflowers & Kitten, Ted Cruz is a very disturbed individual. Even his own party would rather pick Drumpf than him.
His own family can’t stand him.
Did you see what Lindsay Graham said about Cruz? “If you murdered Ted Cruz in the Senate, and the trial was held in the Senate you would not be convicted”
His party HATES him. The establishment wants Rubio.
Cruz is the scum of the earth. What’s scariest to me is that Trump is actually the least crazy of the Republican contenders. As I read in a post written by Kitten up above, Cruz and Rubio are even scarier than Trump.
EVERYONE seems to hate cruz. how does this guy think he can successfully run for president?
I agree that Cruz is worse than Trump but still it’s not fun seeing Trump still get so much support. As I said above, I thought he’d be gone by now. Cruz, too.
Rubio might be scarier. He’s a puppet and doesn’t even realize it.
I know about a dozen people who prank voted for Drumpf Tuesday. They were democrats or independents who switched to Republican to vote in the MA primary (record numbers of voters did it) to vote for Trump because they want the Republican meltdown to continue and they believe he won’t be a viable candidate in November.
Seriously? Wow, I don’t agree with that approach at all! However, I WAS very surprised that MA voted for him. Perhaps a lot of people in the state did that? I think that Trump will unfortunately be a very viable candidate in November. He is a revolting person.
There are some in the democratic party that are worried that a Trump v Hillary battle will end in a Trump win. Hillary’s weakness is a lot of skeleton in her closest back to the days of Bill being the Governor. Trump has already shown he has no moral compass and is willing to play very dirty. They think he can bring up stuff that they have never fully answered for.
They feel they could get Republicans on the fence to vote for Bernie easier than they can to vote for Hillary. I know quite a few who have said if it comes down to Trump v Hillary they will vote for Trump.
I feel like people are really underestimating the candidates. How many supporters Trump can actually get and how many supporters Hillary can convert. Democrats need to be worried about their voter turn out 30-50% less depending on state, while the republican nut job numbers are up.
It is not a joke, and the Democratic Party needs to take a long look at what they need to do to get people out. It is a very scary but real scenario that Hillary v Trump could be a Trump win.
Us Southern Dems do it too. But we call it “subversive voting”
@KWM There’s no way Trump would beat Clinton in a general election. I’m shocked he’s gotten this far but a Trump nomination will energize the democratic party. They’ll put everything into getting Clinton elected ,it will work too.
@lilacflowers, and if he is a viable candidate in November? Then they’ve literally thrown their votes away on a madman? That’s a really stupid plan.
“Democrats need to be worried about their voter turn out 30-50% less depending on state, while the republican nut job numbers are up”
I think there are a large number of democrats who have their favorite between Hillary and Bernie, but would vote for the Democratic candidate no matter who wins the nomination. This “happy either way” feeling might lead to lower primary numbers, but I think in the general election they will be dependable voters. Especially against a Trump or other extreme candidate, with a Supreme Court nomination on the line, I think the Dems will be just as passionate as the GOP during the general election.
So basically they cheated
Cruz’s college roommate is on Twitter and he is hilarious.
I wish I had your faith. Over the weekend I was at a party and I cannot tell you how many people said I cannot vote for Clinton so if Trump’s the other guy that’s how I’m voting or they will write in a candidate/not vote (which ultimately help Trump).
Trump was right when he said it will be the election with the highest turnout and it will come down to the fight for every vote … we know racists are coming out of the woodwork to vote for Trump but can Clinton gather enough voters especially when she is so terribly unpopular (or so it seems) with the independents?
Oh man, that is so sad. Sounds like a reactive, emotional vote to me, as if your acquaintances have lost their minds (i.e. reasoning skills).
Am I the only one think Donald has a good chance of winning the general, especially if the FBI does file charges against Hilary? Where I work the men love him and some are voting for the first time in years. We aren’t talking about white men either, as the only base that likes him. Also he will bring out the independents that haven’t voted in years. That is why the numbers are higher than usual in the primaries, he is drawing out independents. The so called independents that are really conservatives that want the destruction of how government operates. Think he has a better chance than Cruz, the religious boogeyman creeper.
I live in Texas and I know plenty of people who will vote for Trump. People are in denial if they think Trump cannot win. He is a populist candidate and on the other hand people underestimate how many people outright loathe Hillary,
Hillary is a very bad politician, she has no charisma and no convictions, and that is a fatal flaw for a politician. She will lose against Trump.
Hillary pretty much has won the election. My 8th grade daughter said to me yesterday that we are finally going to have a female President.
Yes, she’s our next President.
GNAT, how do you feel about that? I know you are not a fan
Edit: Sorry, posted this before I saw your comment below 🙁
I might have to vote for her and it kills me. But I can’t vote for Trump. If you take her character out of the equation, which I hate to do, I think she would be a better president. I think I would be a better president. Or my houseplant would be a better president. He just can’t be president. Even if I have to vote for Hillary. Gah!
@GNAT: right there with you. Not a Hillary fan, but of course I’m going to have to vote for her. Ugh. What a horrible election year-and what a sad commentary on the state of our country.
I cant wait for the debates between him and Hillary, I hope she wipes the floor with him, because no matter what Hillary is a smart women and knows how to speak politics.
Hillary has by no means won the election. 90% of the country does not trust her. My Democrat friends are very unenthusiastic about her. She is not a lock. It would be very dangerous to assume so.
Romney’s other mistake was releasing talking points ahead of the speech. It had all his best barbs-and gave Donald time to prepare and start the tweet offensive.
I’m actually pretty nervous about this whole GOP thing. My worry is that they’ll end up brokering the nomination, trump will still run, split the hop voters, and there won’t be a person with the needed votes/electoral numbers to win the presidency. Esp with a large number of Bernie voters saying Bernie or nothing or that they’ll vote for trump out of spite if Hilary wins. (WHY?!) Which means it goes to the house to decide. Which since it is controlled by a large evangelical base means that Ted Cruz will win. And I have to say-Ted Cruz and his zealots and desire to turn the country into a theocracy scares me more than trump. Oh they both scare the crap out of me, it’s just trump scares me less.
This election cycle is out of control.
I hear you but I don’t think Sanders supporters will vote for Trump out of spite. They are smart enough to know that a President Trump would be far, far worse than Hilary.
Penn Jillette had a great quote, as he’s been out telling his thoughts about knowing & working with (for?) Trump, saying that while he is by no means a big Clinton supporter, “If it comes down to Trump and Hillary, I will put a Hillary Clinton sticker on my f*#%ing car.”
That pretty much sums it up for me. Hope other Sanders supporters feel the same. Learned my lesson in the 2000 Presidential election.
Oh heck no, if it’s between Hillary & Trump.. Instead of Bernie & Trump.. It’s Hillary. Trump wins I see 2 classes, the rich & the poor. The poor will be slaves & there will be bread lines. I don’t trust Trump. Will never trust him. My mom barely survived Hitler & WW2, Trump gives her flashbacks & scares the heck out of her. 🙁
I hope so Esmom but some of them are anti establishment voters, not Democratic voters who simply like Sanders more than Clinton. The arguments among Democrats are pretty heated, too, just not at the epic levels of the Republicans.
I know, but still I’m hoping reason will prevail among the Democrats and most will set aside their grievances and support the nominee.
“Esp with a large number of Bernie voters saying Bernie or nothing or that they’ll vote for trump out of spite if Hilary wins.”
That is so crazy to me. They’re oh so passionate about what Bernie stands for, but if they can’t get their man they want to essentially destroy everything and go directly against what he stands for anyway?
A Ted Cruz presidency scares me much more than a Trump presidency does. THAT is a threat to our society. Even if we humored him and even heard out his plans for his presidency, has anyone heard about his tax plan? To abolish the IRS and cut taxes down to nothing more than a post card sized form? Experts say that not only would it never work/be a complete disaster, but it would provide tax cuts for the rich, rip off the poor, and leave enormous deficits. Donald Trump is not the only crazy person.
And Cruz’s stupid comments asking people to “prayerfully” do things. That kind of bullshit needs to STAY OUT of our White House. The biased Evangelical stuff has no business in our politics. He also clearly hates women.
Meh, it’s just mostly poor losing and hurt feelings. Yes, some jerks will sit out – even if, in large enough numbers, a Trump presidency could conceivably blow up the country – but most will get over their hurt feelings, realize what a tragedy could befall America with Cruz or Trump in the White House and vote Democratic.
Soapbox comment: some of these allegedly super liberal voter Bernie supporters could do the real left the favor of voting in more than just presidential elections. I speak only of the ones I know personally here, and not of the general population. Off soapbox.
This sounds more like the cult of personality than anything. If you have the courage of your convictions, you’re not going to default to the other side because you didn’t get your way. The latter sounds more like a tantrum than a mature response.
I think people are largely surfing on a wave of emotion than rationality. Just like Germany did.
@Betsy, we all do ourselves tremendous favors when we vote in all elections, not just the presidential elections. Have a problem in your neighborhood that you need addressed by the mayor or city council? When you call or email, be aware that they will check to see if you have voted in recent elections. They can’t tell how you voted but they will know that you do vote and could vote against them next time around if they don’t help with your problem.
I am glad Trump is the nominee (and he will be the nominee) over Ted Cruz, who I think is a sociopath who actually believes what he says instead of spewing any old crap to see what sticks. Certainly, a Donald Trump presidency would be very dangerous, but I think a Ted Cruz presidency would be much much worse, especially for women.
I agree with everything that you’ve said about Cruz. I think that he is a deeply disturbed man who will follow-through on all of his frightening campaign promises.
I am at a loss as how he made it this far think that line of thinking. Serious chills.
Really who is voting for Trump and Cruz? Who are these people??? It’s just insane.
Both Donald Trump and Ted Cruz are slimey characters.
Sociopaths don’t believe what they are saying- they are “flexible” just like Trump; they don’t believe in anything but themselves and their skillz. Sounds like Cruz is a garden variety fanatic. Trump is the dangerous one.
He definitely does seem to fit the sociopath description. It’s going to be a very long and ugly summer.
Meanwhile, THE Clinton staffer who put together Hillary’s home brewed email server was granted immunity to testify in her FBI INVESTIGATION. Both parties are a hot mess right now…but only one candidate is looking at prison time.
The path to the White House this year is especially long, tortured, expensive and suspenseful. I voted in Canada last year and even the 11-week federal campaign was too long (it’s usually 6 weeks but the now-ex PM called the election early, a big miscalculation). Be nasty and brutish, but do keep it short.
You’re deluded if you think Hillary will be indicted. Hillary is nothing if not “establishment.”
Who cares if she’s ‘establishment’? Clearly you do.
Are Colin Powell and Condi Rice also looking at prison time? Because they handled email the same way when they were in the same job – and they started two wars while doing so.
And Tom DeLay has been screaming that indictment of Hillary is imminent for two decades now.
This!
at maximum there will be a scapegoat and Hillary will get away with it. no consequences for people like her.
Spy magazine used to call Trump “the thick fingered vulgarian”. Trump hasn’t changed. Scary time in the States, indeed.
I’m glad Romney finally called him out. It’s not ‘mean girling’- it’s the frightening, embarrassing truth.
This whole thing is a scary sh*t show or a really bad movie.
I don’t find this funny at all. Our next president is going to be a crook and a liar or a total buffoon. It’s sad. We democrats had Hillary stuffed down our throats without being consulted, because, you know, it’s her “turn.” Because that’s how we choose the leader of the free world. By whose turn it is. Then the Republicans offer us a spectrum of buffoonery ending with the biggest buffoon of all winning. It’s a joke. A sad, pathetic joke.
I couldn’t agree more. This whole thing is depressing as hell.
I feel bad for Dems because their party has been a mess for so damn long now. It’s really sad to see…
Does it seem like the republican grass roots has more weight than the democrat grass root voters? Trump is to the repubs as sanders is to the dems but it seems like the democratic party establishment and important media like NY times and NPR have a blatant bias toward Clinton. In one way, I feel like the republicans have a more egalitarian process for choosing their candidate than the democrats.
Gerrymandering at the local level has prevented more democrats from getting experience at the lower levels, to work their way up. There are consequences to elections, and the GOP was able to do things of great consequence when they were put into positions of power.
It is like NPR was listening to our conversation. This article goes over reasons the dems are struggling.
http://www.npr.org/2016/03/04/469052020/the-democratic-party-got-crushed-during-the-obama-presidency-heres-why
I thought this section was especially well written: “There is Presidential Election America, where turnout is diverse. The electorate is younger, browner, more single, more secular — more Democratic. Then there’s Midterm Election America, where the electorate is older, whiter, more rural, more church-going — in other words, more Republican. What’s great for Republicans and bad for Democrats is that the vast majority of the governorships and state legislative seats are elected in the midterms. And those positions are the seed corn for a party — they’re the farm teams for higher-level offices. Right now the Democrats are at a very low ebb.”
There is still Sanders who people can vote for, no?
yes!
I’m voting for him even if he doesn’t have a chance. Probably will never get to vote for anyone like him again in my lifetime.
I’m hoping that even if bernie doesn’t win the nomination, the country as a whole is moving away from corporate controlled politics. I’m hoping this is part of a transition towards a more egalitarian society where basics like healthcare, living wages, reproductive rights for women and a less militarized culture become accepted as normal and necessary.
Ah, never thought of it like that- Hilly is to the Democratic nomination what Leo was to the Oscars. I agree too that the Dems are in a bad way. We need more people like Barack Obama but who are securing seats as Governors, who are in both the House and the Senate. I am going to miss Obama big time.
I mean…she currently has a slight margin in delegates 609-412 (I’m not counting the super delegates). So it’s not just the DNC saying ‘it’s her turn’. People are actually voting for her. She polls much better with minority voters.
I’m not saying it’s over by a long shot-but it’s not like Hilary is just heir apparent. She’s putting up actual results.
Exactly. The idea that she is being appointed and not voted for isn’t supported by the caucus and primary results.
I hear you, but I’m talking about at the beginning of the race, when some people poked their heads up to say they might be interested. They were told to step down. Only Bernie had the guts to stand up anyway. Oh, and that guy from Maryland that I keep forgetting is even in the race.
Yes to all this GNAT. I really thought this whole Trump thing would end weeks ago, I can’t believe anyone with a brain would elect that moron. And I’m all for a woman being president, but not this one. America deserves a lot better than this trainwreck of options we are being offered. I was just thinking last night that it would be so nice to have a candidate( man or woman) with some dignity, moral backbone, and actual love of Country. Sadly it seems those days are gone, and we are left with this reality tv level embarrassment of an election process
Clinton has much of the establishment on her side, whether it’s the media, the
DNC ( http://usuncut.com/politics/debbie-wasserman-schultz-hillary-clinton/ )
feminist icons saying ridiculous anti-women things about Bernie supporters, super pac/ corporate donors ,the list goes on. With that level of establishment support, of course she is going to garner a lot of votes. Despite all of this, Bernie continues to gain supporters and amass as much contributions as Clinton, from individual donors. This is what a grass roots movement looks like.
Some of us like Hillary and are excited to vote for her. Like me, for example. Pretty much all the crap that gets thrown at Hillary has its roots in partisan nonsense.
I don’t know what the significant beef is with Hillary given how there is always a beef with politicos. Or is it that it’s because she’s a woman?
If I were an American I would vote for her. Not only because she’s a woman but because she understands the lay of the land and will make a good statesperson. Damned with faint praise, I know, but that’s all America has got at the moment and she’s not crazy like the Republican rest.
^^^^
Forgot to add- AND she’s a Democrat with all the convictions that entails.
BTW, I think Obama has been a wuss.
Hillary is a warmonger for one, a Wall Street bankers insider for another. An incompetent diplomat who alienated many foreign leaders during her secretary of State tenure and she has no convictions to speak of.
I guarantee you that there is not a foreign leader other than possibly Kim Jong-Il and Vladimir Putin who would prefer Trump to Hillary.
that entire trump video was him talking about business.
it seemed less like a politically-related event and more of a big town-hall-like meeting for his employees.
and that is EXACTLY what would happen if he ran a country.
the country would become a business
we would become his employees
and the employees who brownnosed him would benefit over those who did not.
and he would fire and sacrifice each employee for financial and personal gain WHEN (not if) it came down to it.
he would throw us to any other threatening power to save himself.
I feel sick.
I think I’m moving to England. I’ve already got a two week trip planned in June, so maybe I can pitch a tent in Sixer’s backyard or something???
I might have my survivalist Hobbit house built by then! I’ll include a room for you!
“he would throw us to any other threatening power to save himself.”
I feel this way too. Just as he sought out thousands of immigrants on work visas to work in his Florida club, hiring less than 6% of the American workers that applied for jobs. He is focused on his own benefit. He has NO public service experience. He only knows how to run business, but government is not a business. Sometimes government has to do work for the good of the people, not because it will turn a profit. Government has responsibility, business is just to make a profit. He doesn’t know how to work on behalf of the greater good.
He does not know how to run a business. If he did, he would not have driven so many of his companies into bankruptcy. But I agree on your other points, government is not a business, it has a very different agenda and purpose. It must serve all the people, not a small bunch of shareholders.
I wonder if Romney’s speech will have the opposite effect? Regardless, because both R and D’s seem to be ganging up on Trump, the election may be fixed and Clinton will win.
If he continues to win primaries, any GOP nominee other than Trump would completely lack legitimacy. Clinton risks a similar problem if superdelegates are credited for her nomination.
I don’t foresee the Dems being nearly as angry and hostile as the GOPs at a brokered convention. If Trump gets it I think defeating him will void any concerns anyone has about the suprdelegates and focus more on keeping Trump out of the White House.
The Democratic convention will end in a coronation of Clinton, but will voters turn out in a general election to vote for an establishment candidate against a populist? The general election is all about voter turn out. Maybe disgust for Trump will do the trick, but so far it doesn’t seem to matter what outrageous things he says. We also haven’t seen Trump try to move to center and act presidential yet. Sanders would actually generate voter enthusiasm in his own right, and he is a foil to Trump by virtue of not being overly thirsty for power (SNL Hillary impressions).
W’s presidency lacked legitimacy. Legitimacy doesn’t mean much to the GOP
“Clinton risks a similar problem if superdelegates are credited for her nomination.”
But she has been doing very well in the primaries and caucuses. If she wasn’t, I could see that being a problem, but she’s currently doing very well.
Sam,
I don’t buy the ‘establishment’ v whatever (not revolutionists, for sure). It is NOT about the establishment. It is about democracy of a sorts v fascism/theocracy not populism.
My decision on whether I want kids or not will come down to who our next President is. I am 27.5 and im not bringing a child into Trump USA
You should be scared to live in a country where there are people who are actually voting for him…a LARGE amount of people. Now that is frightening.
I am so sorry. Every citizen deserves so much better and not to be frightened.
Dear American friends,
As an Italian who survived Berlusconi’s era I know how you feel, and mostly I know what is like to have a multibillionaire clown as your headstate…
My best wishes for you.
I can only imagine what it was like in Italy during the Berlusconi years… Ick. Earlier this week, my husband and I were chatting about the similarities between Trump to Berlusconi…
The real deal it wasn’t during the Berlusconi years (it’s awful being mocked world wide, trust me) it was AFTER: after you realize the politics has become a thing for clowns, it has changed the media approach, in a very dangerous way: you don’t have a real debat about what’s your purpose to solve tha nation problem, you have people yelling at each other. You have people, common people who are used to this kind of politic, and choose their party like it is a football team.
Awful.
” you don’t have a real debate about what’s your purpose to solve the nation problem, you have people yelling at each other. ”
It sounds exactly like the US politics to me. Nobody is interested in solving nation’s problems because it usually means giving up something and nobody wants to give up anything, they want to take it from the other side, or paint the other side as the cause of everything. People no longer see each other as part of single nation working towards the single goal but see each other as us vs. them.
Eleanor, I love Italy as a country and your’e culture is amazing, I always felt so sorry for you when Berlosconi was president he really made a fool of himself . I was wandering is Matteo Renzi well liked in Italy and doing a good job, he seems to be to me, but I was just wondering from you Italians yourself, do you like him.
@Nicole: I don’t know. Renzi is more and “old school” politician, he knows how to communicate, he has diplomatic skills (sort of, except his knowledge of foreign languages) so this is an improvement: at least you don’t have to feel ashamed everytime there’s an international summit !
From a practical point of view I don’t know, it seems things are a bit better now, but I have the feeling he talks only thorugh slogans and not much more.
Old school politician…you know ?
Lately I was very disappointed because he hasn’t said anything in public, about the Regeni’s murder for example, the phd Cambridge student killed in Egypt (awful story, really), only our foreign minister talked, why ? Because Italian’s governement in these days is signing economic deals with Egypt, and I fear we will never know what’s happened to that poor boy.
So my opinion is so and so, for now.
Eleonor,
Very wise, prophetic and scary words. Thank you.
Trump isn’t completely bad on foreign policy. At least he realizes that the efforts by both parties to overthrow dictators in Iraq, Libya, and Syria were a very bad idea.
So which is worse, Trump needlessly taunting Mexicans, Muslims, etc., etc., or H. Clinton’s repeated advocacy for the wars and power vacuums that lead to ISIS?
Sigh.
Oh come on now, you cannot be serious! You forgot Trump’s foolproof plan to defeat ISIS which mostly involves bombing civilians …and he admits this!! Even before he’s in power he’s destroying what little good will America had left. Hillary’s no prize at all but…why am I bothering, I cannot even believe your statement in real.
I guess it depends on whether or not you believe Trump’s bluster is sincere. Promising to bomb the Muslims to hell plays well with GOP primary voters.
You can’t believe my statement. I can’t believe there are still interventionist hawks like Hillary Clinton in 2016. Do you think that ISIS, Al Qaeda, Al Nusra, etc. can actually be defeated using American soft influence (good will)? That kind of naivete about the Middle East is what created the problem in the first place: why George W. thought he could replace Saddam Hussein with a Jeffersonian democracy, why Sec. of State Clinton persuaded Obama to oust Gaddafi, and why the Obama administration has been helping Syrian “moderates” fight Assad. The American method of foreign intervention creates Islamic extremism. The only proven way to fight it is the method Russia used in Chechnya: (1) indiscriminately bomb everyone, (2) set up a brutal but loyal puppet (Kadyrov), and finally (3) shower the area with money. Since Americans don’t have the stomach for those levels of collateral damage, we should just stay out of the mess and not make it any worse.
Well…unfortunately it has been Americas plan for a longtime to bomb and drone. We’re already doing this and arming rebels that we have no idea their true intention. Obama has droned/bombed more areas than Bush.
@isabelle
Unfair comparison. I don’t think drones were much of thing back in Bush’s day.
@isabelle and hmmm
I view drones as being similar to guillotines. They both are more humane technologies than their respective predecessors, but they ironically lead to more killing. A guillotine is preferable to an executioner’s axe, but it made the mass killings of the Reign of Terror possible. Drones eliminate the risk to pilots and reduce collateral damage, but because of this, it is politically easier to order drone strikes than manned missions.
I think the limited use of drone strikes for a clear humanitarian objective, such as stopping an ISIS advance towards Yazidis, is fine. I do have a big problem when they are used to topple governments.
I’m still holding out on my theory that this is just a ruse to fracture the GOP and Trump will pull out at a critical time, after painting the rest of the nominees as clowns and handing the election to Hilary. My gut says this is giving the angry fanatics enough rope to hang themselves and their party. Because the alternative is too terrible to think about.
I’m a Sanders supporter, for the record.
Im with you. I keep saying in the back of my mind that Trump is just trolling everyone (this just has to be a big joke) and after the primaries are done he’ll either back out or be so reprehensible that he will hand it over to Hillary. I dont want her either since I am a staunch Sanders supporter as well. It wouldnt surprise me if thats his game all along. They said he contributed to her campaign over 10 times and he is part of the 1% that she seems to protect so maybe they’re both in on it together. He knows the type of crowds he draws.
I just wish more ppl would actually do actual research on him even tho there are many videos and such busting all his claims. he has never been a successful business man, he just plays the debt game and then declares bankruptcies to dismiss his debt. I live on the east coast and you dont have to look far around here to know someone in the construction industries that got screwed out of payments for work on his properties. Im in Pa and a friend grandfather’s company got screwed out of millions after working on his properties. he never paid them so that co. was out all of the payroll and supplies money they covered while the work was being done only to get screwed out of MILLIONS. these were NOT small jobs. that is the only reason he has the money he does b/c he doesn’t pay his bills.
To be fair, they are all trolling. Does any politician believe things they say or things they promise?
I will never forget or forgive Obama’s “transparency” pledges. Transparency my foot!
We cannot know what a politician will do because they almost never what they promised.
The only thing we can hope for is that the system of checks and balances will prevent from going something completely crazy,
I don’t want to hear “but Hillary did…”. Yes I know. And the world doesn’t care anymore. If she’s the other candidate you vote for her. None of this third party candidate crap. If you vote third party or abstain you are as guilty as the Trump voters. “But Hillary!…” Stop. I know. But you’re at the point where it is not about improving your country but saving it. Sorry but for her legion of faults it looking like she’s now your only chance for the rest of the world number not to write you off.
I tend to agree with you. I’m no Hillary fan but we’re out of options now.
Even I agree, and I loathe Hillary with every fiber of my being. But if she runs against Trump, I’ll vote for her. Then I’ll probably vomit.
I agree Kitten… If no Bernie, as much as it kills me I’m voting Hillary. All I can say at this point is whatever God we all believe in (those that do).. May he or she help us all if Trump wins the White House..
Very sad but very true. The choice is clear now and Trump and Cruz make this imperative that people vote for America’s future and forget party allegiance or petty comparisons.
If DT ends up going against HC, personal dirt and low blow insults will really be flying. However, anyone who has been around long enough to recall Donald as a tabloid fixture knows he has no business throwing stones.
“But you’re at the point where it is not about improving your country but saving it.”
Wow, that gave me chills because it is so very true. You really drove the point home.
“But you’re at the point where it is not about improving your country but saving it.”
Truest words I’ve seen since this entire clusterf*ck of an election cycle began.
I can’t tell you how worried I am for you guys that Drumpf will be your next president.
I disagree. All this short sighted lesser of two evils BS has only made things worse. It’s time to play the long game and think beyond one or two election cycles. In fact a lot of progressives I know say that the Democrates aren’t the lesser of two evils they’re the more effective evil. They also believe that the Democrates are the biggest obstacle to having a truly progressive mainstream policitally party and that the Democratic Party is the place where progressive causes go to die. It drives me insane that when you talk to people one on one most of them know that it’s a rigged game and that political process is a sham but our collective stupidity sees us continuing elect traitors.
“In fact a lot of progressives I know say that the Democrates aren’t the lesser of two evils they’re the more effective evil.”
I strongly disagree with this. The dems have their flaws, but they aren’t the party working to restrict citizens’ voting rights. They aren’t the party that is enacting legislation that restricts women’s access to health care. They aren’t the party that blocks funding for Veterans programs. They aren’t the party that tries to defund education or head start programs. There is a HUGE difference between the “evil” of the two parties. They are absolutely not one and the same.
” the Democratic Party is the place where progressive causes go to die.”
Also disagree with this. It should be amended to say “CONGRESS is the place where progressive causes go to die”.
Until democrats and progressives start turning out at midterm elections, where Representatives in congress are elected every two years, they will never get legislation that represents their values. If people only vote every four years in the Presidential election cycle, they are allowing conservatives and more centrist democrats to be elected to write the legislation that creates our laws. The President can only sign what the legislative branch presents to them. The only way to unrig the game of financial corruption is to start in Congress and at the legislative level. Democrats shouldn’t be mad at the party, they should be mad at themselves for not turning out in 2010 and 2014, when the census was taken and district maps were redrawn and governors and legislators were elected.
You’re splitting hairs, Tiffany. The two party system is a two headed snake. Instead of just looking at the superficial differences between the GOP and the Democrats have a look at the fundamental similarities.
The Democrats support American imperialism. The Democrats support a system that’s rigged to favour the rich at the expense of the poor. The Democrats support the failed war on drugs. The Democrats support inadequate responses to tackling climate change. Most high profile Democrat candidates pay lip service to being religious. Most high profile Democrats worship the almighty dollar.
But don’t worry, Wall Street Hillary ( the establishment candidate) seems to be on track to getting the nomination. But it’s a testament to how on the nose the she is when it takes a fascist and a self described socialist to make her look like a moderate.
Millions of people are sick of the establishment, which is why they’re voting for Trump, because rightly or wrongly he has been identified as the anti-establishment candidate, so it’s not just about voting for Trump, it’s about voting against the establishment. A lot of people don’t care about the criticisms of Trump because they just look at the people who are criticising him and think “We’ll if you don’t want Trump to win then I’m voting for him.” Trump is a lot like a Kardashian in that negativity towards him only makes him stronger.
Make no mistake the republican establishment would prefer Wall Street Hillary elected before Trump because she represents business as usual. Trump on the other hand would represent a changing of the guard within the GOP which is why the GOP powerbrokers don’t want him to win.
Sanders says a lot of good things but he’d probably just turn out to be Obama 2:0
It truly is a sad state of affairs.
The differences between the Democrats and Republicans are only superficial if they don’t affect you. (This mostly applies to white affluent men).
Both parties favour the ruling class which is mostly made up of white affluent men. Both parties are the enemies of the poor.
But only one party is the enemy of women.
I used to laugh at Trump’s antics because I really didn’t think he would go anywhere. I thought more people had common sense than actually do.
But I am not actually surprised because the GOP have earned their fascist Frankentrump by playing on bigotry and giving isolationist crackpots a modicum of legitimacy for decades. Now the beast is unleashed.
They have allowed the loonies in and now they are taking over.
Mitt was the savior? just makes you realize just how out of touch the Republican Party really is.
The Republican Party is imploding. Karma? They only have themselves to blame.
To paraphrase a proverbial phrase, they sowed the wind and are now reaping the whirlwind.
I honestly don’t know how they are surprised. I think they thought they could keep throwing the low information types a bone or two during the election cycle and then drop them once in office. They wanted division between the right and left but underestimated the outcome. They were arrogant and now it’s a disaster.
They loaded up the basement with TNT, Trump is just the one that went down there with a match. THey brought this on themselves, you can only pander to the madhouse for so long before they take over.
Yep, hoisted by their own petard. The scary part is that now the whole presidency is at stake.
this just isn’t serious. I don’t care if he’s nominated or not, he’s just not serious. The GOP is freaking out because Trump is a guaranteed loss. So it’s just…not serious.
I think it’s lack of critical thinking being taught in schools and the proliferation of home schooling that’s created so many Trump supporters.
Most Americans are taught by experience not to ask questions. You ask uncomfortable questions that go against current orthodoxy – you are a troublemaker and you lose your standing, your reputation and your future very quickly. And that is on both sides – conservative and liberal. You have to pick a camp – conservative or liberal, you can’t stand on your own anymore.
Americans lost the art of dialog and discussion and too quickly go on the attack, logic is overruled by emotions . You see it on the social media very clearly, and also right here on CB, Without dialog and respect of both sides our society is very polarized and Trump is a symptom of that.
Yep, yep and yep. “Logic is overruled by emotions.” Just like in Germany.
Unfortunately true. Because of this political correctness has gone overboard to the point of not allowing real conversations that could move us all forward. It’s also made some people so angry they have thrown aside all humanity and decency to rebel against the idea of it. Critical thinking is losing to knee jerk overwrought emotion in the extreme.
There is no middle place of giving and taking and not hearing but listening anymore.
It’s like Americans are hostages in a very dysfunctional relationship and don’t know how to get out of it.
Yes, Drumpf is scary but what about the others? Cruz and Rubio are not much better. I hate the choices we have but the Republican party did this to themselves. They built their party of fear and hate and look what it got them. Drumpf as the #1 candidate. I think people are tired of the ‘establishment’ and the media telling them what to think.
I hate the media now. NBC and CNN, and the likes are telling us Hillary is the winner. They went on about Drumpf giving money to the clintons, what what about all these “journalists” who have given money to the Clinton Foundation. No one is impartial and giving us the news. Its all opinions. UGH. I wish there was at least one person I liked from the candidates.
I found it sort of refreshing that they briefly changed the subject from padlocking uteruses to measuring peens. Finally, some truth in advertising. They’re just 8th grade boys, lonely, insecure, and won’t someone love their peens??
Eighth grade is more fitting than what I was thinking. These debates are like a competition for chief playground bully.
Ha! Thank you for making me laugh, I really needed it. I can’t believe how lowbrow and vulgar the GOP elections have become. Accusing people of peeing their pants and having small members? You are right, it is just so 8th grade!
I think you nailed it, Bettyrose. You need to be a pre-eminent commentator on TV. I would watch and listen 🙂 And rally the gang.
They really are fussed about peen issues, aren’t they? LOL Like, MAJORLY fussed!
Size of the peen is irrelevant if it doesn’t work or if its owner doesn’t know how to use it properly.
LilacFlowers – Don’t these man-children have enough problems without you accusing them of being incompetent in the bedroom?! 😉
I’m from Argentina, and we’ve had a new President for a few months now. He belongs to the most conservative and corporation-friendly section of politics, and I know Trump is very, very fond of him. So, dear American people, please vote wisely.
As a Republican who thinks that Donald Trump is a dangerous megalomaniac, I’m pretty offended by your characterization of Republicans. Sure we have racists and fascist in our party, but so do Democrats. Our PR campaign is just way worse.
Is Donald Trump even a true Republican? I don’t even know what he believes in since he flip flops on every issue, but I know he’s donated to the Clintons and Al Sharpton. I think we can all agree, not only should Donald Trump not be President, but he shouldn’t even be allowed to own vocal chords.
I think Trump’s success unfortunately paints a bad picture of the GOP as a whole. As a dem, I want to believe that it is only a small fraction of the GOP that agrees with his bigotry, but when he keeps winning by big margins, I can’t help but listen to the GOP voters when they show me who they are at the ballot box (to borrow from Maya Angelou). Citizens speak with their votes.
It would indeed be funny if the possibility of Trump winning the actual election was nil. But since there is now a good chance that he might, I am no longer laughing:(
It’s not our fault Republicans allowed the extremist to out shout the moderate reasonable people and become the face of the party. Mitt Romney actually cozied up to Ted Nugent who is a known nut job. Allowing Palin to remain relevant and cow towing to Limbaugh and Beck not mention the birthers and bigots is their fault and theirs only. It’s not the media and it’s not the liberals, this is a self made nightmare.
I posted in the wrong place but agree with drnot above.
Speaking of “out shouting”. Trump is a belligerent, bellicose bully who never shuts up. Which, to me, represents the tenor of our times- aggressive loudmouths dominate. Watching the “debate” last night with the others, he scored the highest percentage of talkativeness. In others words, he dominated by sheer volume. That is NOT debate.
I get the feeling that this is an IQ test for the USA.
And we are failing.
@Zip: That is, what many people here in Germany think – it is not an election, it is the American IQ test…..
I was wondering why there were so few running for the D nomination? It started with three, right? Is that the fewest in all American history? It seems unusual only three D’s ran for President. Maybe many D’s felt they couldn’t compete against Clinton? And on the R side, there were several running but no one really notable… what happened? Many politicians taking early retirement?
On “R” side the establishment expected either Christie or Bush to win. The fall of the “house of Bush” is rather remarkable and unexpected.
On the “D” side I also think most people thought running against Hillary was pointless. She is the ultimate insider. Running and losing against her wasn’t worth the damage they were going to do to themselves inside the Dem party.
Well, I think it’s showing people are fed up with the career politicians who promise so much and do nothing. So many are so busy badmouthing Trump they overlook Dems aren’t offering anything better. A woman that couldn’t succeed as Secretary of State and is up for possible indictment for her e mail scandal and should be for her foundation scandal or a socialist man that thinks he can give away things when there’s nothing left to give. I see Trump as a diversion while the real issues are forgotten.
Could not agree more.
I have not missed voting in a local, state, primary or presidential election since I could vote. This is the one election where I cannot find anyone to vote for.
Ugh, yeah. This isn’t looking good, from any angle. I worry.
How did she not “succeed” as Secretary of State? What are the standards, and were others measured by them?
Sorry hmmm, I was typing while you were writing. I agree, how was Clinton a failure as Secretary of State? She didn’t lead the US into war, as Bush’s SoSs did. Despite all efforts to prove anything at all, she has proven again and again that she did nothing wrong in Libya. So how did she fail?
I have been waiting and waiting for someone to challenge this and no one has, so here it is. “Dems aren’t offering anything better?” Clinton is better than Trump in just about every conceivable way. In what ways, other than lies and demagoguery, is Trump better than Clinton? He shifts in the wind and is a liar and a charlatan. He is an exceptionally poor businessman who has made his money through fraud and chicanery. He is demonstrably racist and sexist. He has offended all of the US’s closest allies except Canada. He is an embarrassment to your country.
And let’s not forget that he started out with Daddy’s millions. That must have been tough.
There’s a strong element of white privilege in being able to find Trump amusing at all. If you’re a visible minority, this must be genuinely terrifying to watch unfold.
I don’t doubt for a moment this clueless, narcissistic cheeto would, one day, decide that rounding up people who annoy him and putting them into camps would be a good idea.
“There’s a strong element of white privilege in being able to find Trump amusing at all.”
That is a very good point, thank you for making it. It did not occur to me, and it is something that should be considered.
Then guilty as charged because I think it’s hilarious.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Uk4c2uoOF3o
This is not the kind of mean girl-ing where Mitt can really shine.
I picture him more as the cattily laughing that trump “still goes to whistler” type.
WHY the Republican party thinks that Mitt Romney is of any value will never cease to amuse and puzzle me. It’s very rich to see the man that blew his own presidential campaign with his own hateful, racist remarks pointing the finger and calling someone else unfit to be president or racist. Does anyone else remember the secret video made public featuring him talking to financial backers and calling 47 to 49% of Americans lazy, dependent welfare deadbeats”?? The intense backlash that followed was considered by many to be a peek inside what the Republican establishment feels about minorities. This was enormous news in 2012. If the Republicans back that guy, what’s their problem with Trump? Honest question here, because the hypocrisy is astounding. What, they can only support a bigot that gets their seal of approval?
For the record, I’m not supporting Trump with this post. As a matter of fact, I feel like we’re getting screwed by everyone in this election because I have no interest in any candidate. The Democrats are equally as guilty, because let’s not forget that they’ve tried their best to side with Clinton and haven’t really given Sanders much of a fair shot from the beginning. I’m dreading November.
I like how the Republican party is self-destructing. It’s just going to make it easier for a Democrat to win. Also, I love the “how can I move to Canada” hashtag that’s been going around. Well sorry, but if Trump wins, you Americans can’t just skip on over to Canada. Immigration doesn’t work like that. You should stay in America and talk some sense into the idiots that want to vote for Trump. You live in a great country, but some of your citizens are INSANE. I have heard many non-Americans say that if Trump wins, they will not be visiting America. That is going to destroy your tourism revenue. Not good.
“Self-destructing,” yes, that is the word that describes it all. My brother was in Europe for several weeks last summer and said the European countries really like Obama. So I assume they will be anti-Trump.
Romney doesn’t disagree with a thing Trump says, he’s just mad that he’s not being more genteel in his racism. Maybe he’s jealous that stuff that is comparatively less outrageous torpedoes people like him while Trump is vaunted for it.
So does this means Mittens and Drumpf won’t be sharing a box at the Patriots home opener?
Out of that complete disaster of a debate, there was only one candidate on that stage that came out looking decent and that was Kasich. Moderate or not.
http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/presidential-campaign/271525-only-kasich-nomination-can-save-the-gop
The politicians are merely puppets dancing to the multinationals who fund them. Multinational companies only care about the bottom line, not people. This is a world wide problem.
You are right. The US is pretty much an oligarchy masquerading as a democracy/ republic.
I can’t disagree. I think that is true of most of the world.
And yet the media glorify Western democracy and freedom. Yeah. Sure.
I think the touted democracy is actually totalitarian in its think speak.
It’s depressing that Mitt’s main argument is that Trump will mean a Democratic win in November, not the fact that a such a childish, bigoted bully could sit in the White House and wreak havoc on America, its reputation and the ripple effect it would cause all over the world. They care more about losing an election to “those guys” than the good of the country.
It’s so frustrating to see the proudly ignorant not realize or care how much their vote means to the rest of the world. They’re more concerned with getting one over the “brown guy who’s getting a sweet ride.” Funny enough they’re the ones who beat their chest about “God Bless America,” not realizing it was in spite of fools like them that America became a global superpower. Now that the sun is setting, they want to blame everyone but themselves. That’s what Trump is capitalizing on.
Finally, to echo what others have said here: if Hillary gets the nomination over Bernie (who I support personally), please PLEASE don’t throw your vote away. Just because your guy doesn’t win, it’s no excuse to take your ball and go home. Even my uncle, who has voted Republican in every election, said he will hold his nose and vote for her if Trump is the nominee.
The GOP has gone off a cliff and it’s absolutely their own fault. I’m a liberal all the way, but I do believe there’s a place in civil discourse for the Republican party of Teddy Roosevelt and Dwight Eisenhower. I hope that party comes back and leaves the racists in their dust like the Democrats did in the 60s. They do not embody American values and they deserve no seat at the table. It sickens me the way the GOP has pandered to them just to win.
I will vote independent if Bernie is not nominated. I am not going to give my vote to someone as corrupt and incompetent as Hillary and validate it. If Dems don’t value our vote and think we will vote for Hillary then they will have to deal with fallout.
I don’t think Hillary is any better than Trump, they are two apples from the same tree. Hillary just hides it better.
I though Bush W was going to be a disaster and he was. And he was elected twice. But that is what Americans wanted. And they don’t seem to have learned from it. Now they are ready to vote for Trump. But if that is the will of the people what can you do.
Farhi
I completely agree with you. People are so blinded by the fact that “it’s time for a female president” that they aren’t even realizing that Bernie is the BEST candidate for president. It’s so frustrating. It’s like no one even cares to listen to what each candidate is saying…unless you’re Trump. The media loves to report on every little thing he says. This is a f*cking election and people need to take it seriously.
I look at their ages (Sanders and Clinton) and think more Democrats are drawn to Hillary because she’s younger.
@ Citresse
Yeah I know Bernie’s age may work against him, but all presidential candidates get full physicals. He passed. So there should be no issue there. It’s also interesting to note that a lot of young people are supporting Bernie.
word
Bernie is intelligent and a good speaker but I was surprised he’s running considering he’ll be 75 in September. If he wins, surely he’d be the oldest American President in history. If he picks a good VP choice compared to Hillary he may have a chance. That leads me to wonder; can Hillary choose Bill as a VP choice? I mean, can a former President later serve as VP? Wow- that would be unusual.
This entire race for President is bizarre. I can’t believe it sunk so low on R side to include comments alluding to Trump’s manhood. Even worse when Trump answers to it during last night’s debate.
@ Citresse
I don’t think Hilary wants her husband to be VP lol. Plus VP is just a person who sits around and waits in case something happens to the President. You’re only allowed to do two terms so no way would Bill be allowed to do three (if something were to happen to Hilary). What is interesting is when Hilary wins and has to sit at THAT desk in the oval office lol…how awkward will that be? I truly feel like the only thing Bernie has against him is age. His policies seem right on with what most people want, especially young people. He’ll do a fantastic job as president but I’m not sure he’ll get enough votes.
“I don’t think Hillary is any better than Trump” What? How can any rational person think that? Hillary is an intelligent, rational person and Trump is a racist, sexist demagogue who is also, not incidentally, fascist. Bernie may be better than Hillary, but Hillary is sane and Trump isn’t. The US presidency comes with an enormous amount of power. I beg you, don’t give it to him.
If Trump wins it is on Republican voters first, then it is on Dem’s party leadership who sabotaged Sanders and somewhere down the line on the number 100 million something is me. Hillary won’t be a good president. Neither was Obama, neither was Bush. All of them are incompetent. I believe Hillary will do more harm than Trump, it is down to the lesser of 2 evils for me. But I won’t vote for him, I think he is a sociopath, I think Hillary is too, though. I will simply won’t vote for Hillary.
Anyway, it is the Congress who has the most power not the president. A president can’t do much without the Congress.
@Citresse, a President who has served two terms cannot serve as Vice President. A President who has served only one term (Carter, Poppy Bush) could serve as Vice Presidents. Former Presidents have served in Congress after their term (John Quincy Adams) and on the Supreme Court (Taft). So, it wouldn’t be unprecedented for the next President to appoint Clinton or Obama to the Supreme Court – although there may be ethical conflicts in place barring Hillary from appointing Bill.
@Farhi,
“I don’t think Hillary is any better than Trump, they are two apples from the same tree. Hillary just hides it better.”
You haven’t shown the similarities to convince us. Unless you do so, it’s merely an uninformed, massively emotion ridden opinion.
“Even my uncle, who has voted Republican in every election, said he will hold his nose and vote for her if Trump is the nominee. ”
You know, sometimes that’s the way life is. Better to stand up for you convictions than to let the familiar devil dance.
If you accept nothing else, acknowledge this: the President appoints the next Supreme Court justice. I think it should be this President, but no matter whether it is this president or the next one, he or she will have an indelible effect on the USA. I hope it is Clinton (if not Obama) who will have that effect.
(Meant to be a reply to Farhi above).
Okay so I actually see the Trump thing as positive. I know, this sounds nuts, but here’s the deal:
He’s not a religious fanatic.
He’s a horrible person and would make a heinous president, but he won’t win. People (me among them) have been screaming for Republicans to take their party back from the theocrats for a long time now. A theocrat is one thing Trump isn’t. And it’s the Republican party, of course they’re racist jingoist Islamaphobes. Someone who isn’t, has zero chance with them; Trump’s just more honest about it.
But he’s not against women’s rights to the extent most of the leaders of his party are, and (weird as it is considering who he is) he’s not in the pocket of corporations as much as the rest of his party is. Plus, not a right-wing religious nutcase. Fascist, yep, but minus the theocrat part. I think it signals that people are sick of fundies dominating our political process, and that is a good thing.
He won’t win the presidency. Not that we can sit back and relax — but get out the vote, and we’re going to have a Democratic president next year. While the Republican party stares at their own ashes.
He’s a party of one, Trump.
But he’s still a racist…don’t forget.
Clinton is just a pro-choice Republican.
Emily – agree with you.
No offense but there is nothing positive about Trump v.2016. I am disgusted by the tactics he’s employed and more disgusted that he has shown how broken a lot of Americans are.
Trump supporters are so wrapped up in their own twisted sense of grievances that they love his bias, bigotry and coarseness. It frees them to articulate their most base, shameful instinct. They feel bad about themselves- so America is ‘not great’ anymore. Trump allows them to blame others for that bad feeling- and on and on…. I cannot see the positive in any of this and Trump is 100% at fault for stoking this for his presidential reality show.
Excellent point, EM. Trump disinhibits the behaviour of his supporters. He has given them licence to be their basest selves.
At least it’s entertaining. Imagine if we had to sit through presidential debates between Mittens and Clinton. Ugh
This is one of the best articles I’ve read about the rise of Trump:
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/the_revenge_of_the_lower_classes_and_the_rise_of_american_fascism_20160302
Mitt really wants to hold Donald down and cut Donalds hair!
It’s how he rolls.
Pretty much everything Mitt said applies to most elected republicans for the past 30 years!
Remember what happened to the last guy who wanted to cut Donald’s hair?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UZ1L013k5Hw
No
The Republican Party has sunk lower than I ever could have imagined. That last debate was a trainwreck. What a joke they’ve become.
And, yes, I am Team Hillary and proud of it.
Jayna, If I was living in the US ( I am Irish) I would vote for Hillary too, I dont get why some people hate her so much, compared to Trump who is a horrible man in every way.
I would definitely vote for her but I’m Canadian. At least she is the far lesser of two evils if that’s how people feel. I still think that because she is a woman she is held to a different standard.
All I recall is that there was a proposed Clinton Care before Obama Care. Of course, she got nowhere, but I remember.
Mitt is looking a little orange himself in that header photo
I lean more towards the conservative side of politics. I’m wondering and please do enlighten me-if liberals hate intolerance and hate republicans for their ‘backwards ways’ why is it that they are SO intolerant of republicans and anyone who disagrees with them. Some of the comments I see from leftists are horrifying and downright mean. There seems to be a major disconnect. I look at politics objectively and I don’t let my views blind me. I can see issues with both parties and I’m mature enough to not spew nasty comments about people I disagree with. It just baffles me. The comments on here regarding republicans are just as mean as what is being complained about. There are people that will vote Trump but I don’t call them “stupid” or “idiots;” I refuse to insult them because I don’t like intolerance. Please think about what you’re saying and if it hypocritical to your beliefs. Rather than putting people down try to understand them.
On another note, I would like to clarify something. American conservatism DOES NOT equal fascism. The FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES behind the two are polar opposites. Fascism falls in the same category as socialism and communism. The european right and American right are two different things. Just remember equating conservatives and fascists is a poor, faulty, non factual argument. So, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE for the love of God stop it, it hurts my brain to continuously read ‘fascism=republicans”.
” Fascism falls in the same category as socialism and communism. ”
Absolutely incorrect. Though I’ve heard this line before (Hitler was a socialist. Ha, what a canard). European fascism had populist appeal and to a degree a state hold over key economic sectors.
Nevertheless, European fascism and American conservatism have many aspects in common: appeal to tradition and a vague golden age, rabid nationalism, support in religion, misogyny, and demonizing the “other” (based on religion, ethnicity or race).
Okay, conservatism is about LESS government. LESS government interference in people’s lives. What about fascism is LESS government? Hitlers policy was national socialism. Socialism with strong nationalism. Yes nationalism is more conservative but that fact ALONE means nothing. Find a conservative who wants more govt control. State schools, limited religion, higher taxes, state controlled industry etc. these are NOT conservative PRINICPALS. They are progressive principals and are so w/o regard to where they fall on a political left /right spectrum. Also, racism, misogyny, etc are not limited to conservatism or the far right. Another lazy argument.
Conservatism is different from libertarianism which is different from fascism. Libertarianism is about non-interference in people’s lives, which means you have to take liberal abortion as well as legalised marijuana as well as gun ownership. Conservatism is about the status quo and not wanting to change things without a good reason. Fascism is about the preservation and strength of the state.
Ron Paul is a libertarian. Chief Justice John Roberts is a conservative. Donald Trump is a fascist.
@LLamas, one only need walk into the halls of Congress to find a conservative who wants more government controls of women’s bodies, who we marry, and what is taught in our schools.
I posted something about this up thread. American society is very polarized and intolerant. there is no dialog. People are self-selecting and self-segregating. If you are a conservative you go to Fox and get your confirmation bias there. If you are a liberal you go to MSNBC and get it there (and as you probably figured out by now CB has majority very liberal posters) . Instead of debating the best solutions to a problem people attack each other, it always turns into us vs. them. And that is destroying the country, it is not a small thing.
Everything gets blown out of proportion in this age of social media, everything goes viral. It is like a mob. And I am sucker for an underdog (for which I get wrath of posters on CB quite often) , I just can’t stand it anyone attacked by so many people at once . A recent example was Stacey Dash. I just can’t handle it . Agree or disagree with her, most people cannot handle mass disapproval, it can lead to depression and suicide. I fell pity for everyone who gets on the receiving end of the twitter outrage. Another was Sam Smith. The poor guy just got a little bit mixed up at his Oscar’s speech.
Thank you for your reply. It does frustrate me, I much prefer intelligent debates where one can learn. I agree that society is polarized and I believe that this polarization is what’s causing this very unusual presidential race where we have a socialist and trump running. People are flocking to the extremes and we will continue to further this with the us v. them mentality.
LLamas – you thoughtfully express your views, and I appreciate that. Obviously you are an intelligent person. Although we have differing points of view and can point fingers at each party, I will say I unfortunately do know many, many Republican racists. It’s very depressing hearing their prejudices. I’m glad you don’t encounter that.
I agree with your response, but I also think that the reason why this is happening is because all our media outlets exist to socially engineer responses and most publications are the mouthpieces of governments and political parties. There is no such thing as an unbiased newspaper.
And when newspapers -on the rare occasion- go against governments, they are shut down. Look at what happened this weekend with the Turkish government shutting down a newspaper. This is not an east-west thing. It’s a trend that is global.
I don’t care for the Republican principles of catering to Christian religious nut cases, being prejudiced and racist. The Democrat party embraces all. I see the Republican party as the party of intolerance. Look at Rush Limbaugh and Fox News. They constantly spew bias and hatred. Enough is enough with the Republicans devaluing those they are prejudiced against. Both parties have flaws, but the Republicans have arrogantly shoved and bullied their opinions down our throats. You have not seen Bernie or Hillary act so disgustingly.
Yes, though, my point was that some leftists can come across as extremely intolerant to those that do not share the same views. Both parties have people who are intolerant and this is merely a fact. Rush Limbaugh and Fox News are both bias sources. I do not know a single republican who is racist. To be a Devils advocate, is it okay to lump all republicans in as racists? Is it okay to ignore their principles of anti-large government simply to belittle them? No. For a thought expiriment, take radical Islam, it is very easy to say the vast majority of Muslims are not radical. But if someone were to substitute Muslims in place of Republicans there would be outrage because they’ve been generalized as negative and so on. This is my point.
LLamas – you thoughtfully express your views, and I appreciate that. Obviously you are an intelligent person. Although we have differing points of view and can point fingers at each party, I will say I unfortunately do know many, many Republican racists. It’s very depressing hearing their prejudices. I’m glad you don’t encounter that.
Everything you wrote is a feeling and not a fact, so it’s hard to have a discussion. I can’t prove you wrong about your feelings, because they are yours.
I can only ad, when you go to watch the news or your usual sources of political information, note how often the message is more about a feeling than anything else.
I suggest that this is the reason the political debate is polarized in our country. Because there is no source for news that isn’t 1,000% ramped up emotions with virtually no facts added.
THIS – you nailed it! ^^^
I keep thinking about the Nazi’s approach to propaganda – tell a big lie and keep repeating it and people will believe it. This is exactly how the US news cycle is. It is really brainwashing 101 – they pick 2-3 things and keep repeating them non-stop 48 hours a day until nobody questions their interpretation anymore. All US media outlets do that. There is no analysis, only emotionally charged interpretations fed to the public.
For this reason I only read UK news outlets for the news such as the Guardian and BBC. They still allow some of the old fashioned political analysis, even though they too love to tell us what we are supposed to think.
Farhi,
I agree with you. It is all about emotion.
I live in Canada which has benefited from socialist governments (e.g., universal health care). Socialism is NOT fascism. Seriously, why foment misinformation in such a blatant way? An agenda perhaps?
I am voting for Bernie. I won’t vote for the criminal Hillary. If we end up with Drumpf that is on you.
Donald Trump has been consistently right about one thing and one thing only; every empty suit that the GOP holds out as a potential President is a smarmy, weasley, low-energy, consultant-created loser with no message and no ideas because the GOP is officially a failed party.
If only that were enough to govern the country, Trump would be a brilliant President.
Your definition of brilliant must be different than mine.
Looking at the election from the UK.
What Trump has done is present himself as he is and not as a fake plastic politician. And I think people appreciate that. No surprises.
How many times have we voted for someone who appears to be one thing, then turns out to be everything you despise. I am thinking of Tony Blair who took the UK into an illegal war in Iraq; Sent the armed forces there I’ll equipped just to be In with Bush. Most people who voted for him feel they were conned and that he belongs in the international criminal court in The Hague.
Politicians lie and say all sorts to get your vote while hiding behind an image.
I look at obama and in terms of foreign policy with his ongoing 7 wars he is no different to bush, he just presents himself better.
Hillary Clinton is a war monger just like bush also. But democrats refuse to see it . People on here who are scared of Trump need to look closer at Hilkary. Who laughed at Ghaddafi being killed and cause libya to be a failed state. She also supported the destruction of Syria.
Trump is the only one who has spoken out against more war.
The current migrat crisis with thousands of people coming into Europe is caused because of wars supported by obama and Hillary in libya, Syria, Yemen, afghanistan, Somalia, Iraq and ukraine.
I am in Europe and I would rather a U.S. president become isolationist because they cause too many wars around the war.
Good analysis. I completely agree and my main objection against Hillary is exactly those foreign policy disasters she is responsible for.
Also, good point about Obama, who is very likeable and smooth but his policies and actions are not that different from Bush W. under him the US turned into a more of a police state than it ever was. And he ran a campaign promising “transparency”. We can’t trust anything a politician says, we can only judge them by their prior actions.
Trump does NOT present himself as he is. He is a fairweather friend. He moves the goal posts. He believes in nothing but himself and $$$$$. It’s so obvious if you look at his history. He sure as heck doesn’t care about other human beings. He caters to the rabble. It’s not like he actually believes any of it but it suits his purposes.
I am also in the UK. Obama is different to Bush in innumerable ways: for instance, he is pro-choice (which has significant effect, just look up what the global gag rule means). You and I have the luxury of not caring about this but he introduced Obamacare, which has benefitted Americans significantly (and which all Republicans fought tooth and nail and some of whom are still fighting). He put Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan on the Supreme Court. The economy has recovered, which is due in no small part to his sensible policies. He bailed out the motor industry. He has made life better for millions of Americans.
Yes, Hillary was wrong about the Iraq war, as was Tony Blair. (Obama wasn’t). But the people who really bear the blame for that war are George Bush, Dick Cheney and (I’m sorry to say) Colin Powell. Not to mention the media. I was there. I remember it. I remember Hans Blix telling us there were no WMDs. But the media all fell in line and used their not inconsiderable power to convince us that if we didn’t support the war, we were traitors. It was an awful, awful time.
But Hillary is smarter than anyone except Obama. She will make a great president.
The disaster that is Syria is pretty much on Hillary’s shoulders. It happened on her watch and it rivals Iraq.And that is just a small part of what happened on her watch as a secretary of state.
Hillary is arrogant and unqualified. So is Trump.
The disaster that is Syria is 100% Bashar al-Assad’s fault. If any foreigners have responsibility for the present state of affairs, they are Putin and Erdogan. Hillary is a very far way down the list.
The fact that Syria is at war has much, much less to do with the USA/West than the Iraq conflict. The Iraq war happened because Bush and Cheney decided they wanted to get rid of Saddam Hussein, and decided to use the 9/11 attacks (which were caused by Saudis, not Iraqis) as an excuse. The Syrian civil war happened because Assad is a dictator and his own people wanted to get rid of him.
I know the US news media doesn’t report these things. But you need to know them.
Agreed, Tina. Syria has been at war for a long time. It’s easy to blame Hillary.
And to go back to the original statement, the poster said that Obama is no different to Bush in terms of foreign policy. I focused on domestic policy in my response above (although the global gag rule is significant enough) but it’s also not true for foreign policy.
Obama has not pushed the US into any conflicts where it had no business being, as Bush did (Iraq). The US president did not start the Arab Spring, and does not and cannot control the rise of unrest in countries like Syria and Libya. He can only attempt to use the influence that the US has for good. His “war-mongering” has been limited and strategic. It hasn’t been entirely successful, but that’s largely due to the fact that without a major ground offensive (which no one wants), there is only so much that can be done.
And what Obama has done is significant and is much better than Bush. In particular, the deal with Iran, which John Kerry of course negotiated but is very much part of Obama’s foreign policy, is a landmark step that will prove a greater contributor to peace than just about anything else he could have accomplished.
For those who are in the “Bernie or nothing” camp, please ponder this: it’s not only one Supreme Court nomination at stake. In the next 4 years, we can reasonably expect 3 more aged justices to be replaced (Kennedy, Ginsburg, Breyer). Not a given, but a possibility. Now imagine 4 justices nominated by a conservative president or by Trump, whatever he is.
Yes. And Alito and Roberts are going to live for a long, long time.
Trump can’t win without the Latino vote, the black vote, the woman vote and Minorities.
He’s managed to alienate about everybody but white guys.
He attracts white supremacy people.
If by any fat chance he were to win the white house it wouldn’t take long for him to be impeached.
Because he does not know how to do the actual job of president.
He has no clue how anything works.
And like any person hired for a job they do not how to do, he’d be fired.
No pun intended.
Something very frightening I’ve noticed in the last few days is the blatant distortion of facts, particularly with Cruz regarding poll numbers, Donald not “knowing” the KKK guy. I can’t understand how purple are supporting and listening to blatant liars, who when confronted with video evidence of their lies, still refuse to face reality.
I’m noticing these things with right wing family and their crazy ass Facebook posts here in Canada too, it’s frightening the things that are made up and spread around. And people BELIEVE it.
It’s all a farce, all of it. democracy is a sham you got serious money and the media you’ll win.
It’s a system of means of control the illusion you have power. I don’t know if it truly worked historically speaking but it defintely doesn’t work in America, judging by the last couple of decades.
I can’t stand people who do strategic voting, vote for the best candidate. Hilary trump same difference.
The GOP is desperate and understandably so, but why in the world do they think bringing out this piece of moldy white bread would do one thing to change the minds of Trump fans. He couldn’t get traction twice in runs for the White House and wasn’t even the ballpark of Trump’s popularity but do they think if he comes out and calls Trump out for what everybody already knows he is that his supporters will suddenly care? It’s crazy but it is scary. Please Hillary pull this out! The Republicans underestimated him from the get-go and dismissed him as somebody who would never get this far, and I don’t want that to be the case with general election voters.
That Hillary tweet is amazing, though!!
This is what I’m afraid of, lots of people agree that Trump and Cruz are nutballs. I live in Ohio and trust me, we’ll be traveling at high speed in wicker if Kasich wins.
#MAKEDONALDDRUMPFAGAIN