The Politics Thread

[quartermainefan]

I think Bernie came to honestly believe he could win, and it is tough to realize you can't.   Also, he is not a true democrat and the party did do some nonsense against him to make sure Hillary would win (the debates airing on saturday nights opposite sports so nobody would see them, the questionable results in Ohio, the whole superdelegate thing where he would win states yet come out with less delegates).   If not for the specter of Trump I could see and partially understand him saying "screw you" and running a third party campaign.   Add that to Hillary's lifelong penchant for appearing sneaky and unethical, and there you go.

 

Trump, well, there have been a lot of ugly cases where people gravitate to a so-called Strongman, and people are people no matter what country.   Despite his bleached hair and puffed combover, he somehow plays as being macho and manly--just what angry disenfranchised people would be looking for as they seek to blame everyone else for their lot in life.   He has a cult of personality that no amount of reasoned discussion can seem to cut through.   Whatever the problem is, he'll fix it--just don't ask him how.    To be honest I am surprised Trump hasn't sought out Bernie to be his VP, as that would be an unstoppable ticket.

[Vee]

Trump and Bernie are two sides of the same coin - both attract the same disaffected far ends of our political spectrum, which are not as far off from each other as they think. Both the far right and left want unilateral, sweeping change regardless of due process or law to enact unrealistic goals that would not work in practice without careful execution, all to fundamentally alter a nation that wants something more nuanced. That's why we hear from some (not all) Bernie voters now claiming they will vote Trump, that's why there's always been an older, white, racist or misogynistic bent to the worst of the far left fringe that's attacked both Obama and Hillary for lack of ideological purity. And both Bernie and Trump were candidates who never meant to get far, have no idea how they'd govern, no interest in figuring out, and are too egocentric to stop for the good of the country.

 

As for Hillary, I believe most polls claiming it's a real close race with Trump are outliers slanted to the right, like Rasmussen. There's also a real interest for the media in pretending, as always, that this is a horse race. IMO it will not be close; it will be a landslide. But in order to preserve that, Bernie's mania must be neutralized.

 

 

Uh, no. I welcome that nonsense.

Edited May 20, 2016 by Vee

[DRW50]

I think a lot of people underestimate how many people hate and fear Hillary (although truth be told they would hate and fear any Democrat running - money men and the media would ensure it - but with Hillary it kicks up a few more notches, because many in the middle and on the left have never liked her either), and a lot of people, driven by a media blinded by their delusion that the Republicans are Strong Fathers who will make America feel special and important and would therefore cast Trump out because they are supposed to be the party of integrity and tough choices and so on, underestimated just how willing the GOP base and the establishment would line up behind Trump once they realized they had no choice. They want to win. That's all they care about. They don't care about losing to send a message. Only Democrats like to do that. The only ones in the bigot brigade who care about that are a fringe group of the social conservatives, and even they won't do that due to SCOTUS. 

 

It's going to be a very close race, and I don't believe there will be any coattails for Democrats either. 

Edited May 20, 2016 by DRW50

[DramatistDreamer]

I try not to get too ahead of myself, as things can change really fast.  World events can intervene and it can upend thinking.  

 

Even though I haven't read it, I know that some are deriding this op-ed article dismissing polls but frankly, I thought everyone knew the weakness of polling.  It's usually a very small sampling and with quite a noticeable margin for error.  I still remember being alarmed yet dubious of the polls which predicted a Romney win over Obama with a healthy margin 2012.  When the actual results came in, those same prognosticators were left scratching their heads and asking "How did we get it so wrong?!

 

For now, I'm going to wait and see how things look by the summertime, after the primaries have concluded and each party has had its convention, as well as what world events occur in the meantime.

Edited May 20, 2016 by DramatistDreamer

[Vee]

Team Trump gets into a public screaming match with itself.

[DramatistDreamer]

We knew that the Sanders campaign was having money issues because of all the staffers that were fired but it seems that his money problems may be here to stay:

 

Money is becoming a challenge for Bernie Sanders

 

[Juliajms]

Here's some good news about HRC's campaign advantage.

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/05/trumps-campaign-dwarfed-by-clintons-223438#ixzz49I79jAFJ

[DramatistDreamer]

Interesting Op-Ed by a Princeton Poli-Sci Professor on the aspect of Sander's supporters, (particularly the young ones) not truly supporting his policies.

 

Do Sanders Supporters Favor His Policies?

 

 

[ReddFoxx]

Trump made a joke and Sanders took it seriously.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2016/05/26/report-trump-was-joking-about-debating-bernie.html

[DramatistDreamer]

 

 

There are what I can only refer to as Berniebros all over social media championing this Fox News debate.  Had HRC done this, she would've been called presumptuous and getting ahead of herself but since it's sanctimonious shouty Bernie, I guess it's okay?

Edited May 26, 2016 by DramatistDreamer

[DRW50]

Media darling Marco yet again proves how utterly craven he is:

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2016/05/27/marco-rubio-tried-to-defend-his-about-face-on-donald-trump-twitter-didnt-buy-it/?tid=pm_politics_pop_b

 

The rise and fall of Salon (a site that is not only almost impossible to navigate, and ugly as hell to read, but full of absolute nonsense that makes Daily Beast look like Edward R Murrow reincarnated):

 

http://www.politico.com/media/story/2016/05/the-fall-of-saloncom-004551

[DramatistDreamer]

Salon has been pretty bad for quite awhile, cannot remember the last time I ventured onto that site.  HuffPo also better watch their step for different reason- their site just seems like such a bother to load.

 

This news out of Trumpville may be much ado about nothing but I hope it's true- apparently the campaign is in a bit of chaos with paranoia reigning and GOP operatives worried that Trump is no longer in it to win it:

 

Donald Trump’s Campaign Stumbles as It Tries to Go Big

 

 

[DramatistDreamer]

A long but engaging article/interview examing some reasons why HRC's campaign has been so difficult.  I do think it's worth repeating that, polls aside, the tone of a primary is vastly different from that of the general election.

 

Hillary Clinton’s Campaign Was Never Going to Be Easy. But Did It Have to Get This Hard?

[Vee]

Trump's veteran donations are a disaster.

 

More from the NYT.

Edited June 1, 2016 by Vee

[Vee]

Hillary takes the gloves off with Trump. The Internet loves it.