Can Trump Still Win?

[Austin Ellen]

Oh you know I like you too sugar. But there are just 2 candidates and I had to pick one!!!!
Sending you a big kiss..xoxo

Originally Posted by stikiwikit

No,Trump will implode and the process is well on its way. He was "hoist by his own petard" and will not finish the race when he see the stats show him the clear loser.

Although Hillary is a criminal, she is not as stupid as Trump and much more politically savvy.

Ellen, I like you. Why are you breaking my heart like this?

[Little Monster]

Originally Posted by stikiwikit

No,Trump will implode and the process is well on its way. He was "hoist by his own petard" and will not finish the race when he see the stats show him the clear loser.

Although Hillary is a criminal, she is not as stupid as Trump and much more politically savvy.

Ellen, I like you. Why are you breaking my heart like this?

Nah, Hillary is not a criminal, she's a human being and humans make dumb bone headed mistakes all the time. Emails...pssshhhh gimme a damn break, that ain't shit. What is criminal though is raping an underage girl, and that is exactly what Mr. Trump has done. He keeps screaming about emails at the same time he continues to avoid releasing his tax returns. obviously he himself has something to hide

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lisa-b..._10619944.html

http://www.snopes.com/2016/06/23/don...-rape-lawsuit/

[Clearmyname]

I certainly hope he does not or the entire world is fucked

[helenasweets]

Originally Posted by Little Monster

Nah, Hillary is not a criminal, she's a human being and humans make dumb bone headed mistakes all the time. Emails...pssshhhh gimme a damn break, that ain't shit. What is criminal though is raping an underage girl, and that is exactly what Mr. Trump has done. He keeps screaming about emails at the same time he continues to avoid releasing his tax returns. obviously he himself has something to hide

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lisa-b..._10619944.html

http://www.snopes.com/2016/06/23/don...-rape-lawsuit/

Or..and what I wish the press would focus on is the fact that illegal immigrants are front and center of his platform and yet he hired undocumented Polish workers to tear down the department store which would become Trump towers. No payroll records were kept, not social security was taken out. They were told they would be paid $4.00 or $5.00 and hour for working 12 hour shifts, and then were paid irregularly if at all. They then did work without even rudimentary safety precautions. It ended up in federal court where, it seems, a lot of his business dealings do.

Or, that his dad's company, of which he was a manager, was sued for racial discrimination by the federal government For not allowing black people to rent there. Not once, but twice. Documented over and over again, complete with sworn testimony from property managers and many undercover operations. And then, instead of just taking his comeuppins (it was the early 70s, I'm sure was not an uncommon practice), He couldn't just pay the fine and change the practice with the understanding that the times they were a changin', but he recruited the help of opportunistic, commie chasin, chronically being federally investigated, Roy Cohn, to waste thousands of tax payer dollars to fight a fight which, A) had been investigated for years and was unwinnable and B) mounted a defense that was an embarrassment to the whole judicial process, even citing that the prosecution's jealousy of Donald Trump was a motivating factor. I mean really.

And Trump University? I mean why is that not enough? It's a garden variety bait and switch for which he was the front man. It is fraud, no two ways about it.

I have no allegiance to Hillary Clinton, I'm a grown, damn person. I don't need to completely identify with a political persona. But, I'm with you Little Monster, they are not equally bad. that's just a false equivalence and lazy thinking. Every time I read of a Hillary "scandal", when you dig deeper there's nothing really there. It's not that bad. A lapse in judgement or something that could have posed a problem,T but there's real no proof that it actually did. Trump's issues are completely different.

[pussycat]

Originally Posted by BugleBoy

Trump's antics were funny and great for the press to exploit when he was perceived by many to be a marginalized character running along with 16 other guys/gals for the nomination. I don't think anyone thought that he could ever get the nomination in the first place, and now that he has it, he is being judged by both the right and left media on a new set of criteria.

Does he have the intelligence, stones and judgement to be President of the US and de facto leader of the free world. Sadly, he may be coming up considerably short when compared to others that have been major party nominees and past Presidents--not that they have all done so spectacularly.

Think Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush-1, Bill Clinton, Bush-2 and Obama. None were particularly well suited, Reagan and Bush-1 both did well. Bill Clinton was an accident brought to us courtesy of Ross Perot and I still haven't figured out how Bush-2 or Obama made it to the White House. But in the end, we are still trucking on the world stage.

WRT to Hillary and the Democrats, they have a lot to answer for and the overall pickings appear pretty slim for the US getting a qualified person in the White House this time. That is someone we can trust and someone who knows how to act presidential in the face of the pending national and international world crises that the 45th President will be tasked with solving.

Neither candidate has shown me they are ready to take the reins of government.

I also don't think a third party nominee has a prayer in ousting either one of the two major party candidates. We are faced with a Hobson's Choice where neither of the alternatives are palatable and there is not a viable third way at this point. Which bad choice is most palatable--neither choice is great.

But hey, we are all still here in spite of politics in the past; and the USofA still keeps trucking along with the Congress and SCOTUS balancing out the Executive in our government as the founders planned. Not efficient, but workable no matter who gets elected.

I agree.

As for Trump's ignorance about public affairs to me that's a positive because all the orthodoxes shared by politicians are wrong. Their shared ideas about NATO, trade, criminal justice and everything else are founded on nothing. What happens to people when they become politicians is they adopt a set of orthodoxies which they never examine. No one in the media ever examines them either. That's how we get these terrible mistakes like the Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq and all these other mistakes. It's because politicians and journalists are afraid to question orthodoxies. Trump questions everything and asks to see the proof. He knows nothing and he knows he knows nothing. That's why he might be able to make positive reforms.

[Austin Ellen]

CNN news poll out today- Trump tops Clinton 45% to 43% - we are gonna see some excitement now. Buckle your seat belts - and enjoy the ride. Trump,Trump,Trump!

[SpeedRacerXXX]

Originally Posted by Austin Ellen

CNN news poll out today- Trump tops Clinton 45% to 43% - we are gonna see some excitement now. Buckle your seat belts - and enjoy the ride. Trump,Trump,Trump!

Again, that is the POPULAR VOTE. We do not elect the POTUS based on popular vote. Trump has made little to no inroads on the electoral vote. Trump still trails by rather large margins in Virginia, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. Trails by smaller margins in Ohio and Florida. These are the key battleground states. Trump must move 63 electoral votes from the blue column to the red column. Not impossible but highly unlikely.

[esskay]

How awesome would it be if he lost more red states like Texas? Considering that there are more and more CA people living here, it might happen!!!

[pussycat]

Hilary is outspending Trump on media like 80 to one in many markets. If Trump pulls this off without spending anything on media, and by spending ten percent or less on his total campaign, then what will that say about American politics! Trump is a revolutionary and a force of nature because the public is screaming for relief from these corrupt and venal politicians. Trump has his faults but he's a citizen who has never held public office, and that's what makes him the necessary person at this time. When he takes office he will make plenty of mistakes and missteps but he won't be a demonic creature from hell like all the others with their billion dollar campaign budgets.

[helenasweets]

Originally Posted by pussycat

Hilary is outspending Trump on media like 80 to one in many markets. If Trump pulls this off without spending anything on media, and by spending ten percent or less on his total campaign, then what will that say about American politics! Trump is a revolutionary and a force of nature because the public is screaming for relief from these corrupt and venal politicians. Trump has his faults but he's a citizen who has never held public office, and that's what makes him the necessary person at this time. When he takes office he will make plenty of mistaBekes and missteps but he won't be a demonic creature from hell like all the others with their billion dollar campaign budgets.

What about him do you see as being revolutionary? I understand, I'm trying to, this uniform dislike/disgust for people who hold public office. I don't personally feel that, but I'm trying to understand what that is. What policies do you think are revolutionary?

[David.Douchehurst]

Originally Posted by helenasweets

What about him do you see as being revolutionary? I understand, I'm trying to, this uniform dislike/disgust for people who hold public office. I don't personally feel that, but I'm trying to understand what that is. What policies do you think are revolutionary?

Well, fer one thang, blowing e'erythang up an' watchin' it burn!
Thet's always bin a part o' e'ery hysterorical rev'lution, an' it'll be part o' this one, too!
It's time ta hit tha re-set butt'n an' let the chips fall whar they may!

[pussycat]

Opposing free trade because it only results in massive and continuous trade deficits which are an outflow of wealth, just like the tens of billions leaving the country in drug revenues from illegals as well as the tens of billions they send to their families in their home countries. Politicians follow Academics believe it or not. And for decades now the orthodoxy in Academics has been that if there were total deregulation and free flows of labor, capital and products that every country benefit. But they were of course wrong, just as Academics and intellectuals are usually wrong. Instead what we got were colossal trade deficits, a hollowing out of the middle class, massive income inequality, wages down to zero, fifty million people on food stamps, and on and on. Most Economists are not worried about a 19 trillion dollar debt either because they claim it never has to be paid, but the interest is crushing, and once again they are dead wrong. When interest rates eventually go back to normal levels we will never be able to pay the interest on the debt, which at this rate will continue to grow and grow with no end. But there will be an end. At some point lenders won't want to purchase it anymore because it cannot ever be repayed. Funny how repayment is still a consideration of lenders if not these moronic Academic economists. And in foreign policy Trump is dead on when it comes to NATO. NATO kept expanding to include every fucking country right up to the Russians' borders, and NATO even wanted to absorb Ukraine. The Russians finally said enough is enough and that's when they started fighting back. Trump is actually intelligent enough to put himself in the shoes of someone like Putin and try to look at things from his point of view. No one else in the "foreign policy" community is able to do that. They just look at Putin's violent reactions and then sanction him. But everything he's doing is reactive because of these idiotic expansions of NATO. And if Lithuania or Estonia are attacked by Russia will NATO go to war with Russia to defend them??? Hell no. And Trump knows this and as much as says this.

Trump is no genius but he isn't contaminated with false orthodoxies which these experts and intellectuals don't have. I have no fucking idea if he can put his ideas into action. But all his ideas are opposed to the insanity of the orthodoxies, and for that reason alone his message must be supported.

[helenasweets]

Originally Posted by pussycat

Opposing free trade because it only results in massive and continuous trade deficits which are an outflow of wealth, just like the tens of billions leaving the country in drug revenues from illegals as well as the tens of billions they send to their families in their home countries. Politicians follow Academics believe it or not. And for decades now the orthodoxy in Academics has been that if there were total deregulation and free flows of labor, capital and products that every country benefit. But they were of course wrong, just as Academics and intellectuals are usually wrong. Instead what we got were colossal trade deficits, a hollowing out of the middle class, massive income inequality, wages down to zero, fifty million people on food stamps, and on and on. Most Economists are not worried about a 19 trillion dollar debt either because they claim it never has to be paid, but the interest is crushing, and once again they are dead wrong. When interest rates eventually go back to normal levels we will never be able to pay the interest on the debt, which at this rate will continue to grow and grow with no end. But there will be an end. At some point lenders won't want to purchase it anymore because it cannot ever be repayed. Funny how repayment is still a consideration of lenders if not these moronic Academic economists.



And in foreign policy Trump is dead on when it comes to NATO. NATO kept expanding to include every fucking country right up to the Russians' borders, and NATO even wanted to absorb Ukraine. The Russians finally said enough is enough and that's when they started fighting back. Trump is actually intelligent enough to put himself in the shoes of someone like Putin and try to look at things from his point of view. No one else in the "foreign policy" community is able to do that. They just look at Putin's violent reactions and then sanction him. But everything he's doing is reactive because of these idiotic expansions of NATO. And if Lithuania or Estonia are attacked by Russia will NATO go to war with Russia to defend them??? Hell no. And Trump knows this and as much as says this.

Trump is no genius but he isn't contaminated with false orthodoxies which these experts and intellectuals don't have. I have no fucking idea if he can put his ideas into action. But all his ideas are opposed to the insanity of the orthodoxies, and for that reason alone his message must be supported.

There are so many differing opinions and statistics, and so much higher math, I tend to get stymied when reading about trade issues. However, I think it's unfair to, and I tend to dislike the broad brush strokes of a delegitimizing politic, of which the very broad assumption that intellectuals and academia are almost always wrong is a part. Of course, policy follows research. As it should be. Also of course, not all research holds up over time and, especially in areas of economics where what once worked won’t always work. . People do tend to cling to ideas that have outlived their usefulness, and I do agree that examining the trade orthodoxy is good. I don’t think that getting into a trade war with China will benefit anyone. I don’t hear Trump say much but introducing tariffs, and that’s what that will lead to. '

The disparity between capital that can go where it pleases and a labor market that can’t, is beset with an entrenched inequality from the get go. From what I have understood about trade, usually there is a net gain for countries involved, the problem is that there is also a net loss in terms of income inequality. Why would we not then start looking at ways to address a more progressive labor policy across countries? Trade does create a certain amount of geo-political stability, might we also, by addressing and regulating for issues of income inequality through labor protection, keep the stability born of economic ties and also mitigate some of the issues it creates? This is where institutions like the WTO come in handy. Does it have to be a zero sum game?



NATO doesn’t expand itself willfully or annex countries. Countries apply to become a part of NATO. No one forces them to. The Ukraine is a complex issue, but for brevity’s sake, the Ukraine applied to become a part of NATO in 2008. Then, when pro-Russian Victor Yanukovych was elected in 2010, the official Ukranian stance was to stay non-aligned with the west in that way. It wasn’t until AFTER 2014 when he was ousted and Russia offered it’s “support” in the Ukraine that the country renewed its interest in joining NATO. That’s a sovereign country’s decision. Should NATO not consider their application because of Russia? Russia was iced out of NATO, for sure. Cold War bitternesss ran deep, I guess. In light of recent events, probably will prove to be a big blunder by the west. But, we didn't create Putin's autocratic behavior there. I would seriously question the Russian narrative of going in to protect Russian speaking and leaning citizens there. Wasn't that the same argument Hitler used when invading the sudetenland? I think constructing NATO as the perpetrator and Putin's Russia as the victim of NATO expansion is extremely shortsighted and that's probably the understatement of the year. The Kremlin oligarchy is entrenched corruption and nothing but. I don’t know why any American would offer any idealogical support to the blatant human and civil rights abuses happening in Russia right now. The burgeoning reforms created in the 1990s were all but destroyed under his regime. He eviscerated the media, being journalist there is a very dangerous profession, shuts down dissent of human rights and other civil society organizations, lines his and other's pockets with corporate raiding, colludes with crime organizations, the list goes on. I hate to keep bringing up Hitler because its something of an overused trope, but there is something of a playbook for imperialist designs, squashing opposition and basically creating an information ghetto where dissent is deadly. They appear to be doing it.

I"m usually not much of a conspiracy theorist, but I think he (putin) and the kremlin oligarchy are truly dangerous and much more sophisticated and discursive than their communist counterparts. Expansionist designs? I don't know. But whatever the goals are it doesn't bode well for a lot of the ideas that most western democracies hold dear. Interesting website regarding this below.

http://www.interpretermag.com/the-me...ure-and-money/

[Mr.BobDabolina]

Think about it. Trump is forcing an Evolution within the Republican Party itself. With all of his anti-American, anti-Muslim, anti-Mexican, anti-gay, and anti-female jargon he has alienated every single thinking person. And unwittingly he is forcing the Republican Party to rise above this nonsense and regain the power and authority they once held.
In times like these it is easy to forget that it was the Republican Party who abolished slavery, created equal rights among races, created equal rights for women, and almost single-handedly strengthened our military to make us the worlds most powerful country. Instead of seeing those things all we can really see right now is a bully with no experience who has done nothing for our country ever in his life. A bully who picks on people based on their religion or country of origin. A bully who loves to make outlandish ridiculous promises that neither he nor anyone else could possibly fulfill.
Just wait until the big debates. He will be left speechless once again and stand there making his silly childish facial expressions and have no true rebuttal for anything Hillary Clinton says.
Don't get me wrong, I do not find Hillary Clinton to be the savior of our nation. But as fucked up as everyone wants to portray our country we are still the greatest country on the earth.

[Austin Ellen]

Yup, she stuck her foot in her month. Actually, her liberal -holier than thou - attitude came out. Well, she couldn't hide it forever.