JaneAusten

Now I think Mike Pence is a radical wingnut but I know he's basically a Koch brother puppet. Maybe even he realizes how dangerous Trump is to our county and has briefed them. I honestly didn't think the Koch;s would care honestly unless there is another motivation. I guess the investment in retaining the senate is more important.

This is like the 2016 version of Watergate. Will the Justice Dept end up finding the Koch Brothers in cahoots with the Russians behind all this? Would not shock me one bit.

Once upon a time I respected Joe Scarborough. Never liked him. But he's been as guilty in the breaking apart of the GOP. I watched him slobber over Scott Walker several times, a true puppet of the Koch Brothers, and despite Walker's claims about how fantastic Wisconsin's credit rating became under him, his record in Wisconsin is atrocious. But I am laughing. He's asking the GOP to dump Trump because he's a democrat now? LMAO ok.

John McCain's granddaughter endorces Clinton. I guess she's still stinging from the remarks Trump make about her grandfather. http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/289801-mccain-granddaughter-comes-out-in-support-of-clinton This may be the closest Clinton ever gets in getting a McCain endorsement since he is in a tough re-election battle of his own. I don't believe for a second she would come out in favor of Clinton without his blessing.

I am sure most of you saw this last night, but the speech by the Muslim Gold Star family, who's son was killed in Iraq and was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously. Very powerful stuff. Perhaps the most moving speech of the convention IMO But typical Fox News. They cut into it and didn't show it to their viewers. https://mediamatters.org/blog/2016/07/28/fox-news-plays-benghazi-commercial-over-khazir-khans-anti-trump-speech-democratic-national/212012 Show less

I think they made the case for Hillary incredibly well. And while her speech was not a masterpiece(she's never going to be a Bill Clinton or Barack Obama) but she did the most important thing I think she needed to do. She sounded presidential.

Michael Bloomberg to speak at DNC tonight http://www.wsj.com/articles/michael-bloomberg-to-woo-independents-in-convention-address-1469647760

UGH. This idiot is endorsing Trumps comments about Russia? Unreal. Dr. Jill Stein @DrJillStein Maybe if Bill Clinton hadn't had Larry Summers destroy Russia's economy & turn democracy to oligarchy, US-Russia relations would be better.

I don't think it's a shock to see higher ratings. And lets be honest people, while the small outliers of the Bernie or Bust group are still having a temper tantrum for the most part, it's been handled and has been a non factor. And weren't a lot of the conventions of old, where the candidate wasn't in some cases decided until the actual convention, chaotic. I actually don't think covering them and giving them attention is a bad thing. It shows that people can disagree and protest in a productive way. Most of the Bernie supporters are on board because they know they got a lot accomplished, got much of the platform changed, and if they stick with their "movement" will likely continue to build and be key players going forward. The small percentage of protesters IMO have been a non factor. Fortunately the convention has had enough starpower and powerful speeches and moments to overshadow it IMO. Ratings? Who did the RNC have? Many prominent republicans didn't show up, hell John Kasich the Governor of Ohio was even in Cleveland and refused to attend. I doubt Scott Baio, Rudy Gulianni, and Duck Dynasty are a bigger draw than the POTUS, FLOTUS, 2 former POTUS's(Carter appeared last night on remote), and the sitting VP plus A class celebs(Meryl Streep last night too). 2 former Republican presidents were MIA at their convention. What does that tell you?

I have to admit Trump's ties to Russia have been suspect. Members of the GOP, including his VP pick, are coming out and distancing themselves from his comments. Paul Ryan said Putin is a "thug" that can't be trusted and there would be consequences if it was discovered Russia hacked into anything that could potentially disrupt our election process. I do wonder if the GOP knows Trump is going to implode and already have a strategy in place when that happens. I firmly believe if the day comes when he is elected, he's going to do something to jeopardize our national security, leading to grounds for treason and impeachment. In fact I guarantee that's what they are counting on. I'd have more respect for these people if they would discredit him now and let him handle everything himself. It shows the dysfunction and implosion of their own party that they seem to be afraid of doing that.

The speech he gave 4 years ago was great but the agenda behind what he did last night was a lot different and he was masterful. He spoke from the heart and he told the story of his time with Hillary and her own service in a funny and engaging way. For all the people who have been up on that stage telling stories, no one did it better. I think he's a master storyteller and last night it felt like he was talking to me personally telling me a story. Anyone who has doubts(and trust me I have had them) about his ability to put his own interests aside, he answered them last night. And he did something that's been difficult for her to do and others in describing her. He humanized her and made her relatable. That bit about their first home being 1100 square feet, no air conditioning, and an attic fan may sound like nothing but it's those touches he adds that really makes it sound like they are like everyone else. And describing her almost "geeky" like, the young college student with the big dark thick glasses who had her head in a book when he first saw her did the same thing. It was different but IMO he's never been better.

The ending of that was inspiring. He was fantastic.

Silverman was great actually. I thought she treaded the line between being a Bernie supporter and Hillary endorser incredibly well and got a lot of applause and cheers for it from I think everyone.

Interesting I just read something, I don't know if anyone is talking about this. The Trump camp didn't give a crap about the RNC platform as I think we all know and didn't have any interest in providing any input. Of course he doesn't because he's not really a republican. BUT his camp did insist on a section that talked about a softer relationship with Russia. It was in the Washington Post. I'll have to find the link. Not that the platform means squat but honestly their beloved Ronald Reagan would NEVER agree to this or trust the Russians. The man respected Gorbachev but never trusted him.

Oh it must depend on the markets because I haven't seen any anti Trump Clinton ads here. I did see the one today with the kids watching Trump on TV. First one I have seen. That one is scary and effective. But I like the idea of simplification. That stuff sticks with people. And honestly I would love the answer to what would happen if we don't pay our debts because I really have no idea what would actually happen. I think trump thinks you can just screw other countries like he has screwed vendors and it's no problem. The US will just file bankruptcy.

I don't know the media just turns their head and laughs. Well at least they did. I haven't seen anyone really challenge him head to head. Those debates were a joke and the media let him run all over them. And we know the democrats have a track record of complacency IMO.

I am sure it will be but the democrats better get off their asses and start attacking the other side. Playing Mr. Nice Guy hasn't gained them anything and I am sure there is more dirt(emails) the Russian hackers will release. No one can tell me that there is nothing in terms of Trumps connection to Russian financiers that can be dug up and leaked. Something needs to be done to discredit this man that can stick with Americans.

Someone needs to explain to me why HRC has now hired her on.

She should have been out ages ago. Can we get Howard Dean back?

I am just going to wait until the end of next week before I get really worried. I hope the media really steps up in the fall and starts really treating Trump not like a ratings bonanza but the danger that he is to our democracy. The only pleasing part of this is that he has basically destroyed the republican party so maybe just maybe something new can come along for true conservatives(not the bible thumpers) that people who I would consider true conservatives can embrace. I'd almost feel sorry for people like Lindsay Graham or John McCain, etc if I didn't believe they indirectly contributed to this entire movement themselves by blinding themselves to what their party was turning into. I do think there could be more foreign driven leaks and nothing would make the Russians happier than to see the leader of the west destabilized and potentially taking a lesser role in NATO.

He's a safe pick that comes with zero drama and perhaps they wanted that. I don't think it will hurt her but I don't think it's going to help her either. I do second the thought that is the fear of Trump enough to get people inspired to get out and vote or will they just not bother. A more inspired(and riskier) pick might have been able to help address that. His being the VP pick isn't going to change my mind but then I made up my mind on Clinton a long time ago, so no matter who she picked wouldn't change my vote. They need to nip the TPP issue in the bud and both come out against it. If they don't they risk losing Michigan, Pennsylvania, and even perhaps Ohio, although they might have a secret ally in Kasich there. Oh lord. So if he ends up elected as President is he still allowed to fund super pacs? Unreal. And the entire Cruz thing at the convention was staged to work that way, so why he would now go after Cruz is beyond me. Cruz did exactly what Trump expected and probably wanted.

Yes I know he has but he's also talked about Trump's unpopularity and I just don't think Trump has the ability to shift that because he is who he is and no campaign manager is going to be able to tame his tongue and control his narcissistic tendencies. It does surprise me that people, even Nate Silver, don't know why Hillary is allegedly unpopular. She's a woman. If her name were Howard Clinton I doubt many people would care about any of this. Bill Clinton himself is proof of that. If anyone was Teflon to all the mudslinging it was him. A local political analyst in the Chicago area wrote an in depth analysis back in 2008 of why getting elected would be harder for a woman than for an African American male, even with the population in the US indicating there are more women than men. This was before the primary was pretty much decided. I'm not suggesting Obama had it easy by any means, but the attacks on Hillary during the primaries was overdone IMO by the media. I still believe that is the case and that women are judged, particularly by other women, much more harshly than men are and not forgiven anywhere near as easily. It's why I actually feel a good solid and bold VP pick would help Hilary. And I still don't think the safe white guy is the answer.

It's to the media's advantage to make the race seem closer than it is. Polls can be skewed based on how questions are asked to get the desired response. I think both Obama's elections are a testament to that. Both races ended up being far more lopsided than the media and most pollsters would lead anyone to believe. If Nate Silver comes out and says the race is neck and neck based on his analysis I'd believe it. But he's the only one. Now that doesn't mean that the democrats should take anything for granted and I guess time will tell/.

I might be a bit worried but I also don't think the election will be that close. I remember all the pollsters(barring Nate Silver) claiming the Romney - Obama race was much closer than it turned out to be. Obama won easily as Silver predicted. And Hillary's handicap is that she's a woman period. For all of the so called "crimes" of the Clintons, name me any other politicians who could have withstood 20 years of attacks and still be viable public servants. Bill Clinton left office more popular after the Ken Starr BS than before he was elected the second time. I doubt the Bush family doesn't have skeletons(where are those 20 million emails deleted from the RNC server that Bush and Cheney used while Bush was president). Nor have they had anyone as venomous as the GOP after them. And for all those claiming they aren't going to vote for "crooked" Clinton there are as many establishment republicans out there who feel the same way about Trump. Why is no one factoring these people in and are just talking about so called democrats who are voting for Trump but ignore the many party republicans who won't vote for Trump?. A former college classmate who lives in Utah is a neurosurgeon now and has voted republican his entire life and he finally told me he just can't do it this election. He was toying with voting for Gary Johnson, but he's really afraid of a Trump win so his vote is going to Hilary. Same issue with a friend of mine who runs a small business in Indiana who is a lifelong republican who won't vote for Trump and trust me when I say that adding Pence did NOTHING to encourage him any further particularly because Pence has a number of issues that have impacted him and many republicans there feel he's out of touch. It's no where near a lock for Hilary but I do think she would have had difficulty and challenges no matter what due to her gender anyway.

I don't know. I think Hillary needs at least Ohio and perhaps Kasich's dislike for Trump and the fact that my guess is that the republican establishment in Ohio is going to work against him might be enough. But those are the states Obama won in both elections and in the contest against Romney, won those states and that was the difference in the electoral votes. In a year where outliers have gained a lot of support(Trump and Sanders) I just don't think playing it safe is a great idea. And I think Kaine has some scandal surrounding him too. The only one who I think might be relatively clean is Vilsack who was very popular and very blue collar. I do hope the team running comes out against the TPP. That would definitely help solidify some support in those few rust belt swing states.