US Politics Thread |OT| THE DARKEST TIMELINE

[brawndolicious]

In other news of corporate duplicity:

http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2015/09/obama_administration_orders_vo.html


The Volkswagen diesel emissions scandal is I think going to hurt them more than the Toyota floor mat or Takata air bag scandals (even though no one died because of this).

Half a million vehicles recalled. And the most likely fix will be a software one that gives the car worse mileage/power than when it was new.  Way to flush one of the biggest brands in the world down the toilet. All because they focused on diesels rather than hybrids.

They programmed the engine to know when it was being smogged and to accordingly not pollute as much.

<insert car mag cliche about "Teutonic" engineering>

Small deisels are fun though so hopefully they get their act together. They are going to lose billions on this as well as environmentalist credibility  obviously so it could open the door to some competitors. Mazda hasn't been willing to bring over their diesel sedans yet due to the performance impact it would take to meet US regulations.

[Shadow Mod]

70 bucks?

Halloween is such a ripoff.

[Howard Alan Treesong]

70 bucks?

Halloween is such a ripoff.

I know, and for an outfit that'll be on the floor within 10 minutes...what a waste

[Dickie Dee]

Triumph please wear this the next time I see you

(Image removed from quote.)

[Rufus]

In other news of corporate duplicity:

http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2015/09/obama_administration_orders_vo.html


The Volkswagen diesel emissions scandal is I think going to hurt them more than the Toyota floor mat or Takata air bag scandals (even though no one died because of this).

Half a million vehicles recalled. And the most likely fix will be a software one that gives the car worse mileage/power than when it was new.  Way to flush one of the biggest brands in the world down the toilet. All because they focused on diesels rather than hybrids.

Germany cry emoticon overdue.

[Human Snorenado]

Triumph please wear this the next time I see you

(Image removed from quote.)

[Tasty]

[HyperZoneWasAwesome]

Sooooo much schadenfreude.'

“I did not get a heads up,” said Richard Roberts, a pharmaceutical executive, who hosted Walker in his New Jersey home only three weeks ago and gave $100,000 to Walker’s super PAC in June. Walker has visited the Roberts residence three times in the last year-and-a-half.

Roberts previously gave $100,000 to fight the 2012 recall, making half his contributions after he’d received a threating email for his donation through his company.
“I felt like I’d gone to the wall for him,” Roberts told POLITICO. “Yes, I was surprised that he didn’t consider me to be within his inner circle, to give me a heads up, to trust me.”
Walker’s biggest political patrons, the Ricketts family, which has contributed $5 million to his super PAC, felt similarly blindsided, according to an adviser to the Walker campaign. Todd Ricketts, who has been among Walker’s most aggressive fundraisers, did not get a call until later Monday afternoon.

[Kara]

Sooooo much schadenfreude.'

“I did not get a heads up,” said Richard Roberts, a pharmaceutical executive, who hosted Walker in his New Jersey home only three weeks ago and gave $100,000 to Walker’s super PAC in June. Walker has visited the Roberts residence three times in the last year-and-a-half.

Roberts previously gave $100,000 to fight the 2012 recall, making half his contributions after he’d received a threating email for his donation through his company.
“I felt like I’d gone to the wall for him,” Roberts told POLITICO. “Yes, I was surprised that he didn’t consider me to be within his inner circle, to give me a heads up, to trust me.”
Walker’s biggest political patrons, the Ricketts family, which has contributed $5 million to his super PAC, felt similarly blindsided, according to an adviser to the Walker campaign. Todd Ricketts, who has been among Walker’s most aggressive fundraisers, did not get a call until later Monday afternoon.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1115243

[Great Rumbler]

Sooooo much schadenfreude.'

“I did not get a heads up,” said Richard Roberts, a pharmaceutical executive, who hosted Walker in his New Jersey home only three weeks ago and gave $100,000 to Walker’s super PAC in June. Walker has visited the Roberts residence three times in the last year-and-a-half.

Roberts previously gave $100,000 to fight the 2012 recall, making half his contributions after he’d received a threating email for his donation through his company.
“I felt like I’d gone to the wall for him,” Roberts told POLITICO. “Yes, I was surprised that he didn’t consider me to be within his inner circle, to give me a heads up, to trust me.”
Walker’s biggest political patrons, the Ricketts family, which has contributed $5 million to his super PAC, felt similarly blindsided, according to an adviser to the Walker campaign. Todd Ricketts, who has been among Walker’s most aggressive fundraisers, did not get a call until later Monday afternoon.

[benjipwns]

Walker must have burned through that cash like mad. The SuperPAC had only spent $2 million out of its $20+ million through mid-August.

Wonder if he decided to hold it for 2018. (Wisconsin has no gubernatorial term limits.)

[Brehvolution]

Sooooo much schadenfreude.'

“I did not get a heads up,” said Richard Roberts, a pharmaceutical executive, who hosted Walker in his New Jersey home only three weeks ago and gave $100,000 to Walker’s super PAC in June. Walker has visited the Roberts residence three times in the last year-and-a-half.

Roberts previously gave $100,000 to fight the 2012 recall, making half his contributions after he’d received a threating email for his donation through his company.
“I felt like I’d gone to the wall for him,” Roberts told POLITICO. “Yes, I was surprised that he didn’t consider me to be within his inner circle, to give me a heads up, to trust me.”
Walker’s biggest political patrons, the Ricketts family, which has contributed $5 million to his super PAC, felt similarly blindsided, according to an adviser to the Walker campaign. Todd Ricketts, who has been among Walker’s most aggressive fundraisers, did not get a call until later Monday afternoon.

You can take a conservative out of a presidential race, but you can't take out the con in conservative.

[tiesto]

Peace, Walker.

[Joe Molotov]

I wonder how much money PD is out?

[Phoenix Dark]

Walker must have burned through that cash like mad. The SuperPAC had only spent $2 million out of its $20+ million through mid-August.

Wonder if he decided to hold it for 2018. (Wisconsin has no gubernatorial term limits.)

PAC money is useless right now because ad purchases aren't going out. Walker's team was wasting actual campaign money. Same problem Romney and now Bush have: overpaid staff and polling. But Walker's team must have been doing something else as well. They had like 8mil in campaign money...how they couldn't last until Iowa is blowing my mind.

Someone posted a story about how some ugly news was about to drop, and Walker bailed before it could hurt him.

[Brehvolution]

Someone posted a story about how some ugly news was about to drop, and Walker bailed before it could hurt him.

Walker is in the picture with Cameron and his junk is right next to Cameron's. #crossingswords

[benjipwns]

https://www.yahoo.com/politics/a-thrifty-marco-rubio-is-poised-to-capitalize-on-129618229986.html

Marco Rubio’s top campaign adviser couldn’t contain his glee at the prospect of discussing the presidential candidate’s Spartan spending habits on the day Scott Walker dropped out of the Republican primary, in part because of profligate spending.

“We’ve run such a lean campaign at times, taken knocks for it. But keeping control of the budget is such an important thing,” said Terry Sullivan, campaign manager for Rubio, the U.S. senator from Florida.

At an event hosted by Google and the National Review at Google’s Washington headquarters near Union Station, Sullivan boasted how every staffer has taken a pay cut to work for Rubio, how they sell bumper stickers and yard signs rather than giving them away, how Rubio flies commercial 95 percent of the time he travels (the other 5 percent is on a private jet) and how he, Sullivan, personally monitors every significant purchase.

“Every expense of over $500 in the entire campaign, I sign a piece of paper on. It is a giant pain in the ass,” he said, clearly pleased. Moments later, he said, “It’s working. It creates a culture and a mindset that’s very different.”

“It’s a state of mind. We’re all here for one person. It’s Marco. It’s not about us,” Sullivan said.

This fiscal discipline was a reason for bullishness on a day when Walker had to admit to his aides that the “finances just aren’t there,” having hired 90 staffers in a premature buildup. Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry withdrew last week, also for money reasons. Perry’s campaign had hoped for $4 million and budgeted for around $2.5 million but ended up raising only a little bit more than $1 million from donors.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., meanwhile, has raised very little money and has barely registered in the polls but has been able to stay in the race so far because, as his campaign manager Christian Ferry said Monday at the Google event, “We’re running a small, disciplined, flexible mobile campaign that we can afford.”

Graham’s campaign staff numbers about a dozen, Ferry said. “That’s the campaign we’ve had planned from day one,” he said.

By contrast, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush raised the most money of any candidate in the first half of 2015 but also has a bigger campaign than Rubio and is now facing questions from restless donors about why he has been unable to stop current frontrunner Donald Trump. Bush’s campaign has said they are running a “lean” campaign, but recent reports have indicated some reductions in staff pay and an increase in Bush’s travel on commercial airlines instead of private jets.

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/09/scott-walker-quits-2016-takeaways-213907

Several senior Republicans with knowledge of his campaign said the 47-year-old Walker — who won two elections and survived a recall effort without the help of national consultants — was simply too confident in his own abilities and often acted, ineptly, as his own campaign manager.

“The impression I had,” said one veteran GOP operative, “was that Scott was making it up as he went along.”

...

But angry as Walker was — his super PAC was named “Unintimidated” — he just wasn’t quite angry enough.

Liz Mair, a former Walker aide who was fired earlier this year, took to Twitter on Monday to enumerate the mistakes her one-time boss had made — and said he often seemed overmatched by the velocity and information overload inherent in a modern presidential campaign.

At the top of her list: “Not educating himself fast enough on issues outside governor's remit” and “Not training himself out of tics incl[uding] instinctively answering 'yes' and 'absolutely' to things, comparing lots of things to union fight.”

...

The two Republican debates — which might have served as a safety net for his free-falling candidacy — were unmemorable, and his bland passivity at last Wednesday’s otherwise raucous showdown proved fatal.

On a night when Carly Fiorina rose, instantly, from the ranks of also-rans to second or third place, Walker found himself shut out of the back-and-forth — logging a mere eight minutes of talk time, compared with Trump’s 20 despite his best efforts to interrupt.

“He was a terrible candidate, but he also got Trump-ed,” said one Walker ally.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/09/21/how-donald-trump-destroyed-scott-walkers-presidential-chances/

But, that calculation was pre-Trump. From the day Trump entered the race in mid-June, Walker struggled to find his footing in a race in which the "star" was no longer Jeb Bush -- a relatively conventional opponent -- but rather an entertainer who would say and do anything to draw attention.

As Trump went from a novelty act to the star of the presidential campaign, Walker's 'Joe Average'-schtick began to feel like an echo of a race that was no longer being run.  Crowds packed in cheek-to-jowl to listen to Trump regale them with the famous people he knew and the "big" deals he had cut. Walker just kept telling the same story about how he got his sweaters at Kohl's.

A "bigness" gap emerged -- never more so than at the two debates, the first in Cleveland and the second last week in California.  Walker, despite his relative prime position on the stage -- a vestige of the national polling bump he got after that speech at the Iowa event way back in February -- seemed diminished when standing among his rivals for the nomination.  And it wasn't just Trump whose persona towered over Walker; Bush, Marco Rubio, Carly Fiorina and Chris Christie all just seemed -- and I know this is a loaded word --more presidential than Walker.  In the second debate last week, Walker spoke for the shortest period of time of any candidate on the stage; his campaign complained about the lack of speaking time but part of running for president is being able to butt your way into conversations and making moments. He did neither.

Speaking of making moments, the Walker campaign did everything it could to find a moment in which his supposed "true self" showed through. But, even when they found one -- Walker shouting down a protester at the Iowa State Fair seemed like it might do the trick -- the candidate could never repeat the performance. It was a one-off rather than a trend.

[studyguy]

Little over a week till the inevitable shut down.
 

[benjipwns]

Looks like Romney's campaign is doomed:

Q25 (Republicans) If the Republican candidates for
President were Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Ted
Cruz, Carly Fiorina, Mike Huckabee, Mitt
Romney, Marco Rubio, Donald Trump, and
Scott Walker who would you vote for?
Jeb Bush 6% .........................................................
Ben Carson 17% .....................................................
Ted Cruz 10% .........................................................
Carly Fiorina 14% ...................................................
Mike Huckabee 6% ...............................................
Mitt Romney 7% ....................................................
Marco Rubio 7% ...................................................
Donald Trump 24% .................................................
Scott Walker 4% ...................................................
Someone else / Not sure 5%

[HyperZoneWasAwesome]

I'm sure that Walker and Perry's flameout due to financial campaign mismanagement is surely not at all reflective of how well their respective statewide administrations handle budgeting as well.

[studyguy]

Looks like Romney's campaign is doomed:

Q25 (Republicans) If the Republican candidates for
President were Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Ted
Cruz, Carly Fiorina, Mike Huckabee, Mitt
Romney, Marco Rubio, Donald Trump, and
Scott Walker who would you vote for?
Jeb Bush 6% .........................................................
Ben Carson 17% .....................................................
Ted Cruz 10% .........................................................
Carly Fiorina 14% ...................................................
Mike Huckabee 6% ...............................................
Mitt Romney 7% ....................................................
Marco Rubio 7% ...................................................
Donald Trump 24% .................................................
Scott Walker 4% ...................................................
Someone else / Not sure 5%

Suprised Huckabee and JEB! are polling around the same. Figured Huckabee was dead in the water but would ride it out for endorsements on shit later, but JEB! is looking pretty ass too.

[studyguy]

[brawndolicious]

I know Jeb is thinking that he has to drag along until super Tuesday at least. Dropping out when there's any hope would feel like an endorsement for Trump.

One side effect of the field narrowing is that Trump and whatever candidates are left will get more media attention for any stupid thing they say.

[benjipwns]

What Do Donald Trump Voters Actually Want?
30 of the billionaire real-estate developer’s backers offer individual explanations for their support.

I have been a liberal practically all of my life (29 years). I am an atheist, and my first ever Presidential vote was cast for John Kerry. I more or less despised George Bush, and even though I leaned toward Hillary in 2008, I voted for Obama in 2012. I support gay marriage, legalization of marijuana, and many other liberal positions.

I do, however, believe that our country is in a terrible position and on a terrible track. Trump strikes many of my nerves, but one of the most accurate and dangerously true statements he has made is that "America doesn't win anymore." I agree. The world is rising while America falls. America and its leaders seem resigned to this fact. Rather than stiffening their spine and fighting to make America a prosperous nation for all, they simply talk, go through the motions, throw out a few "red meat" issues to keep their respective bases satisfied, and continue to concede American jobs and economic strength to the rest of the world.

To friends and family, I have long railed against the fact that America uses Presidential rejects and other back-bench political cronies as their chief negotiators. John Kerry (yes, the man I voted for) was out-negotiated time and time again by his Russian counterpart. And now, it appears that the same thing has happened once again with the Iran negotiators. This all ties back to the same fundamental thread: politicians have failed this country, leading to one loss after another.

I do not believe that I am a racist, sexist, homophobic, or any other negative label that has been affixed to Trump supports. Rather, I feel that political correctness has run amok in this country, and we now live in a society where every blogger and Twitter user is searching for the slightest offense so they can try to ruin another human (famous, or not). The average person is afraid of expressing any controversial opinion in a public forum for fear of being "exposed," made viral, and ruined, personally and/or professionally. It is heartening to see someone as confident and impervious to criticism as Trump standing up to this ever-present mob…and winning! People tend to support the underdog. Most media outlets have attacked Trump with so much vitriol that they have turned him into a sympathetic figure.

Yes, I really do feel that Donald Trump has the interests of America at heart. He has already made his money and lived a life of glamour and fame, and another few billion dollars won't have any real impact on his quality of life. Rather, I genuinely believe that Trump feels the need to fight for the country he loves. There once was a time when people could actually feel proud to be Americans, and Trump comes from a generation that experienced that feeling. Now, many are embarrassed to be associated with this country. Jobs are being outsourced with reckless abandon and this country is literally being hollowed out. Economic statistics do no justice to this reality, and the average American knows this to be true.

Trump supporters feel that a confident, strong-willed leader is needed to right the ship and to fight back against the perpetual decline this country has experienced for the last two-plus decades. And to be honest, I feel that Trump is our only hope in this next election. This is coming from someone who voted for Obama in the last election! Anyway, that's my story and the main reasons why I support Trump. I didn't plan out this response for days or try to make this all-inclusive, but this should give you a fair idea of why I, a liberal, support Donald Trump for president.

Thanks for your article. I’m quite a fan of your writing and The Atlantic. I figured I’d take you up on your offer to discuss why I am voting for Donald Trump, if I get the opportunity. I live in New Jersey and usually by the time the primaries get around to me both tickets are decided. Still, I plan on voting for Trump if he is the Republican nominee and will likely pull the lever for him if he runs as an independent.

A bit about my background so you don’t think I’m some sort of fire breathing know-nothing. I am a 39-year-old who earns well into the six figures as a communications executive for a hospital. I have had a long career in journalism and public relations. I have been married to my first and only wife for 12 years; she’s a nurse at a local hospital. I have two boys, aged 10 and 8. One has ADHD (my 10 year old) and one has autism (my eight year old), so I’m plugged into the disabled community. I am a devout Christian and attend a local Methodist church in my area that typically has about 450 people on a Sunday morning across two services. I’m white.

There was a time in my life where I was intimately familiar with politics and enjoyed engaging in all the arguments. I think my interest stopped right around 2008 because everything started to get really nasty. I read somewhere that family members weren’t speaking to each other over political disagreements. I have one brother. He voted for Obama; I voted for McCain. We disagree politically, but he’s the only brother I have and we love each other as brothers do. I cannot imagine our political preferences coming between us. It was also around this time that I started noticing political discourse going from intellectual to downright nasty at all levels, with people losing jobs over their political views in extreme cases.

Politically you could say I’m conservative, but the truth is I no longer care about the liberal vs. conservative arguments. What I want is a country that works and will continue to work for my kids and their kids. Our current elected leadership seems to have no other interest except defeating the opposition, and then when that happens, holding their position through excessive demonizing of their opponents.

So why do I support Trump? Because he’s an authentic leader. I think he’s just what the country needs right now to wake it out of its stupor. We’ve got serious problems, but we spend all our time shouting about whether gays should be allowed to marry. Neither liberals nor conservatives have solid ideas about how to move us forward, and the lack of civility in our discourse prevents them from working together. What results is a paralysis that might be amusing if there wasn’t so much to be done.

Why do I think Trump would be better?

He’s led large organizations before. There hasn’t been much examination of his business beyond his bankruptcies and the fact that he inherited large sums. However, by all accounts he leads an enormous, diversified organization that is worth billions. This requires leadership. Leadership, by the way, is different from knowledge. When you lead a large organization you set vision, goals and expect results. You do not know every detail of every level of your organization. You can’t. The world is too complicated. You delegate and empower. You can get information when you need it and the president has no shortage of people ready to educate him on issues.

He’s a negotiator. I think this part has been under-discussed, and is probably his greatest asset. He’s spent his whole life and career making deals and negotiating deals. In his own words, he negotiates to win. This is a skill, and it’s one that we should learn to value. The current presidential dichotomy has us either electing a liberal or conservative with clearly defined policy views that are not open for negotiation. How does that move us forward? We need to get creative and we need to negotiate.

I believe Donald Trump will be able to do that.

Let me now deal with what I think the main objections to his candidacy have been:

One, he has no political experience. While he doesn’t have any elective experience, it’s not true that he doesn’t have any political experience. He’s been leading a large organization and working with officials constantly; this requires political deftness that frankly might be better than what our current elected officials have to offer.

Two, he doesn’t have specific policy positions. This is a standard negotiating technique. You don’t show your hand publicly. Frankly, I like this better than electing a doctrinaire liberal or conservative who is going to Washington with predefined policy ideas that are rooted in solid philosophies and not open for debate.

Three, he’s a rude blowhard. There is some merit to this. It is abundantly clear that Trump loves the spotlight, and he does say things that make you shake your head and groan. He clearly loves attention, but while this is a flaw I’m not sure it’s a fatal one.

Take the Megyn Kelly flap. I think her question was misguided. It focused on his public statements. I would ask if he has ever been sued for sexual harassment by any of his employees. So far, no one has stepped forward to say that Trump was ever sexually inappropriate toward them, and if there were any out there I am sure they would have been found by now. When The Apprentice was in its first couple of hit seasons, one of the executives at the judging table was a woman. He’s also raised a daughter, Ivanka, who by all accounts is a solid business executive in her own right who loves her father. His woman problem is a bit overblown, I think.

And he did make a good point during the debate. We’ve got serious problems in this country; we shouldn’t be making a big deal over the prospective president’s tone.

So why Trump? It is not because he is a Republican candidate or because he expresses conservative positions. It is not just because he is a political outsider and speaks his mind with no apologies. I support Trump because he is the picture of American greatness. Donald Trump's grandfather, Friedrich, emigrated to New York City from Germany in 1885 and, from humble beginnings (he worked first as a barber), began working toward the American Dream. Fast-forward 100 years later and Donald Trump is the inheritor of a strong work ethic and the richness that is possible only in a free country. Not only is he the inheritor, but he is the embodiment.

Think about the greatness of the American 20th Century. Think about Fred Astaire or Michael Jackson enchanting the world with dance. Think about John F. Kennedy or Ronald Reagan inspiring the world with leadership. Think of Babe Ruth, Martin Luther King Jr., Fred Rogers. The American 20th Century was a great one. Now think about the American headlines of today. What do you think of? War? Poverty? Political division? What are celebrities like today? Do we see greatness in America still on a daily basis or even in the movies? The Trump Family is the picture of the American Dream, and I believe Donald Trump is an honest man. When Donald Trump says that he wants to make America great again, I believe him. He has written books for all to read but that is not enough. He wants to lead.

Granted, Donald Trump cannot promise greatness among us as a society or a country. However, he can promise to be a leader for greatness, and he is fitted to do so.

Trump's foreign and domestic political positions are important and they matter. I am an independent voter and look forward to hearing more about his intentions as the political season rolls along. However, am I sold on his leadership? Yes, I am. Do I believe his courage? Yes, I do. I am relieved that he is not the traditional politician and is not speaking on behalf of his donors. The political system is broken and we need a true outsider to change the way things work. Yes, I know about those pictures with Hillary Clinton. Trump has always been a businessman first and has maintained an abundance of relations. This is a man with a huge network.

Trump is not the caricature that pundits would have you believe. Trump did not build his economic empire just with luck. As a Trump supporter, if I could ask anything from the American people, it would be respect. Please have respect for the family and fortune of this man. This is not just a man, this is the American Dream.

You raise some good points in your article, especially when you refer to his two ex-wives. I hadn't thought about that. I also read the previous article you wrote about Trump, and I thought that it was also well thought out, and you sound like a decent person and you aren't putting me down because I support Trump (I have 3 degrees - B.A., Ed. M., M.A.).

When Barack Obama was elected, I cried for the country. We were doomed. I was not a McCain supporter but I voted for him anyway. I have been holding my nose and voting Republican for the past 40 plus years. George H.W. Bush lied to us when he said he wouldn't raise taxes. Bill Clinton lied to us when he said that he didn't have sex with that woman, and in the OVAL OFFICE of all places - that's my House, not his house.

Al Gore was the bathtub ring around Bill Clinton and he was smug and sanctimonious at the debates, and so G.W. Bush was a better choice and maybe he would govern as a conservative and be like Reagan. Then everything went to hell. Then we got Obama who governs against the will of the people––I do not think Obama loves America and I think he is trying to destroy this country. Whatever did the Democrats see in Obama? Well, maybe that's what we see in Trump. Maybe he is our version of Obama. Maybe everything you say about Trump is true.

But I know that Trump, unlike Obama, loves America. Trump has never lied to me whereas all of the other Republican politicians (like McConnell & Boehner) have. They don't fight for my side. They cave to Obama ahead of time. Nobody fights for my side. Trump fights. Trump wins. I want an Alpha Male who is going to take it to the enemy. I am tired of supporting losers. I used to vote for President based on their positions. Now I am going to vote for President based on emotion. I want a strong man to be president, an Alpha male, somebody who is going to rip the other side a new one. I am tired of losing the fight before we even have a fight. That is why I support Donald Trump. Ted Cruz is my second choice. Never Jeb!

It is not that Trump supporters necessarily trust Trump to be their champion or that he can be relied upon to deliver better than other politicians. It is the confidence that he can't do worse (and just might do better). In the meantime, his supporters relish the contempt he shows toward the mainstream media and politicians (a contempt which is shared not just by Tea Party conservatives, but many educated liberals and independents). I am a Bernie Sanders supporter. But if I had to vote for any Republican, it would certainly be Trump. In a face off between Hillary Clinton and Trump, I again would vote Trump. While he might not deliver on his promises, he would certainly be a bull in the China shop of contemporary American politics, which has long needed destroying and rebuilding.

[Brehvolution]

Remember when Mitt said that if Obama was re-elected no one would be able to find a job.

And now the unemployment level is the lowest in years and Mitt is the one without a job.

[ToxicAdam]

Re: Trump supporters

Your basic Tea Party supporter. Older white guys who want to be angry and shout angry things about how things are changing and not what they used to be.

[benjipwns]

My favorite reason:

Two, he doesn’t have specific policy positions. This is a standard negotiating technique. You don’t show your hand publicly. Frankly, I like this better than electing a doctrinaire liberal or conservative who is going to Washington with predefined policy ideas that are rooted in solid philosophies and not open for debate.

[Phoenix Dark]

Remember when Mitt said that if Obama was re-elected no one would be able to find a job.

And now the unemployment level is the lowest in years and Mitt is the one without a job. (Image removed from quote.)

dat participation rate tho

[Trent Dole]

My favorite reason:

Two, he doesn’t have specific policy positions. This is a standard negotiating technique. You don’t show your hand publicly. Frankly, I like this better than electing a doctrinaire liberal or conservative who is going to Washington with predefined policy ideas that are rooted in solid philosophies and not open for debate.

I like my leaders to have no idea what their doing!

[Rufus]

My favorite reason:

Two, he doesn’t have specific policy positions. This is a standard negotiating technique. You don’t show your hand publicly. Frankly, I like this better than electing a doctrinaire liberal or conservative who is going to Washington with predefined policy ideas that are rooted in solid philosophies and not open for debate.

[Joe Molotov]

My favorite reason:

Two, he doesn’t have specific policy positions. This is a standard negotiating technique. You don’t show your hand publicly. Frankly, I like this better than electing a doctrinaire liberal or conservative who is going to Washington with predefined policy ideas that are rooted in solid philosophies and not open for debate.

[benjipwns]

I guess that would make Carly the Useless Chick.

Who's the Muscle, the Looks and the Brains then?

[Howard Alan Treesong]

if we are making dumb predictions on the record I'm gonna go with Rubio getting the eventual nomination

[Barry Egan]

Peace, Walker.

[Tasty]

Voters Look On In Horror As 3 New Republican Candidates Appear In Place Of Scott Walker

MADISON, WI—Overcome by a profound feeling of dread and helplessness as the GOP field multiplied before their eyes, voters at Scott Walker’s press conference yesterday, in which the Wisconsin governor announced he was exiting the presidential race, reportedly looked on in horror as three new Republican contenders appeared on stage in place of the former candidate. “The moment Scott Walker said he was suspending his campaign, there they were, smiling and waving to the crowd—it was incredibly frightening,” said local resident Jordan Ottinger, who recalled the wave of terrified gasps that washed over the room when those in attendance began to realize that the clean-cut middle-aged men in suits who suddenly showed up behind Walker were each accompanied by a full staff of aides and supporters holding campaign signs.

“They just materialized, fully formed and already talking about conservative values. The scariest thing is that Walker was clearly defeated, but these candidates look fresh and strong, like they might have enough money and support to keep campaigning all the way to the primaries. My God, what do we do?” Sources confirmed that the crowd then began screaming and scattered in fear as the three new candidates descended from the dais and attempted to shake their hands.

[benjipwns]

The Harlan Crow Library is in a wing of Crow’s mansion. It holds thousands of rare books, manuscripts and artwork related to American politics, science and literature. It has a small stage where children can perform or act out skits, Crow said. A full-time librarian and a part-time librarian work at the library, he said.

“I have what I hope is a very fine collection of manuscripts and books pertaining to American history. And to the extent that I can share that with people from the area in a way that is educational and enjoyable, then I feel like I’ve done a good thing,” he said. “And that has been and continues to be what I want to do.”
…

Over the past 40 years, Crow has collected thousands of documents, manuscripts and works of art that span centuries. “Many people have their own hobbies and have vocations,” he said. “American history is mine.”

Among his favorites, Crow counts an Abraham Lincoln syllogism about the evils of slavery, a copy of Poor Richard’s Almanac and a letter written in 1493 by Christopher Columbus, after his first trip to the New World. The collection has paintings by Renoir and Monet and by Winston Churchill, Adolf Hitler and Dwight D. Eisenhower.

A sculpture garden includes likenesses of Churchill and Margaret Thatcher, the late British prime minister.

It also has busts of dictators, including Russian communist leader Vladimir Lenin, Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu and Yugoslav dictator Josip Broz Tito. Crow has said the collection is not intended as a celebration of repressive regimes but to preserve a part of world history.

…
Crow said he enjoys sharing pieces of history with friends, scholars and students. He said he’s always searching for new treasures, with the help of dealers and auction houses. On a recent trip to England, he discovered a document printed in July 1776 as ordered by the Constitutional Convention. He plans to add it to the collection.

Making the notion that Crow has any ties to Hitler even more absurd is the fact that his mother, Margaret Crow, was nearly killed by the Nazis.

She survived the sinking of the British SS Athenia, which was the first British ship attacked by the Nazi U-boats. Crow owns multiple artifacts from the SS Athenia, as well.

 

[Kara]

A Ceausescu bust.

[benjipwns]

That's laughter of jealousy, I can tell with you.

[benjipwns]

JOEMENTIUM

Which one of the following Democrats would be your first choice for president? (Read list and rotate.)
33 Hillary Clinton
25 Joe Biden
24 Bernie Sanders
2 Jim Webb
1 Martin O’Malley
- Lincoln Chafee

[Joe Molotov]

A Ceausescu bust.

Get executed on Christmas Day for being a shitty dictator, brehs.

[ToxicAdam]

Pentagon-trained rebels in Syria are reported to have betrayed their American backers and handed their weapons over to al-Qaeda in Syria immediately after re-entering the country.

Fighters with Division 30, the “moderate” rebel division favoured by the United States, surrendered to the al-Qaeda-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra, a raft of sources claimed on Monday night.

Obviously we just need to try again. Next time it will work.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/11882195/US-trained-Division-30-rebels-betrayed-US-and-hand-weapons-over-to-al-Qaedas-affiliate-in-Syria.html

500 million dollar program. lol

[Joe Molotov]

arming moderate elements

money

[Barry Egan]

Sanders not even able to beat Phantom Biden  :'(

[Kara]

arming moderate elements

money

Makes you long for the days of Iran-Contra when we armed psychopaths from the get-go.

[studyguy]

When religious figures aren't conservative enough for your conservative agendas.

[Madrun Badrun]

Isn't 'commie pinko' a clash of terms? 

[studyguy]

It's an oxymoron, but it sounded good to McCarthy era communist witch hunters so it somehow survived into today. Honestly I wonder how long conservatives can keep pushing their communist red scare terminology when generations have grown where the issue is irrelevant unless they're drinking deep from that conservative tap.

Like after a certain age calling someone a communist seems like you'd get only one kind of reaction:

[Brehvolution]

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/646716373473853442

[Joe Molotov]

Trump reached peak crazy too early, now he's got nothing left attract attention to himself. RIP Trump campaign.

[ToxicAdam]

He's like the Energizer Bunny of nonsense. Never doubt his ability to keep going ..

[Phoenix Dark]

You're probably right TA but this is the first time he's seen a significant drop polling wise. Maybe it's just that other candidates are gaining and Trump will still be on top - but with 20% instead of 30%. Or maybe we're about to see the end.

I still don't think he'll win one contest.

[Great Rumbler]

[Brehvolution]

If you find yourself to the right of the pope, maybe Christianity isn't for you.

[Human Snorenado]

If the Pope shouldn't lecture us on politics, maybe it's time for politicians to shut the fuck up about morality and religion.

[I'm a Puppy!]

Honestly, I thought it would be an anti-capitalistic rant rather than the climate change thing.

[Human Snorenado]

Honestly, I thought it would be an anti-capitalistic rant rather than the climate change thing.

He's talking before Congress tomorrow, bet he goes in on income inequality then.

[Joe Molotov]

There won't be a vacant fainting couch left in the place, nor a single pearl left unclutched.

[studyguy]

I mean how ugly can the Pope going to congress really get? 
I'm curious as to what we'll see and hear coming out of it, I fully expect Fox News to call down this catholic facist communist hellbent on spreading liberal misinformation about pseudoscience climate change, but the rest of the republicans? They won't actually act like insufferable children will they...?

spoiler (click to show/hide)

They prob will
 

[close]

[jakefromstatefarm]

Catholics in the United States don't particularly give a shit about the pope, at least not enough to significantly affect their party allegiances; why would the moral majority evangelicals who run the GOPs religious wing be any different?

spoiler (click to show/hide)

There's an interesting discussion in here somewhere about the formation of American nationalism during the great awakenings and the framing of the papacy as an illiberal institution committed to foreign subterfuge but I don't know enough about it/couldn't find a way to shoehorn it in

[close]

[Phoenix Dark]

The funny thing about all of this is that if you dropped Jesus in America right now, outside of telling Gentiles to fuck off he'd be...preaching against greed, serving the poor, taking care of each other, etc.


There couldn't be a better indicator of how effective the 1970s merging of conservatism and Evangelical fuckery has been. Abortion, Israel, and now gay marriage are the only issues of importance to these people.