Donald Trump for president?

[saevel25]

On the right we have the Christian Taliban

Really? That is an idiotic statement if I've ever heard one. Lets just associate a whole political party with a terrorist organization that hijacked airplanes and ran them into buildings.

on the left we have the New Socialist Party and neither of them care one bit about their constituents

Here is another idiotic statement. You do realize that nearly the political parties lie on the right side of the economic and government ideology. No one is even close to socialism, the far left and upper right. Really the US Centrist position is pretty far right in terms of economic freedom and pretty accepting of government control in our lives.

Still, it isn't even close to socialistic. Stalin, Marx, and Lenin would laugh their heads off if you ever listed any US liberal as a socialist. The only candidate to ever come close to being an actual socialist was Ralph Nader.

It would be within Trumps character to spend the next 6 months destroying the GOP and then drop out and support Hillary in exchange for some favorable tax credits or construction contracts when she's elected.

A bit of a stretch. You could say that he's could actually help the GOP by forcing the other GOP candidates to distance themselves from the very comments and stances they tend to get stuck on in an election. Usually the best GOP candidates are more centrist in American politics, yet they get bashed because they have to go get those far right voters to get through the primaries. In the end this nails them in the actual elections.

[acerimusdux]

Trump never has and never will be a democrat.  You guys are now being paranoid.

Trump was a registered Democrat from 2001-2008. Has been increasingly supporting more conservative and Republican causes since about 2009.

Prior to 2001 though, he was active in the Reform Party, which started with Ross Perot's 1992 campaign. I don't think he's a plant, I think he's basically an economic nationalist. He has always favored more protectionist trade policies, tighter immigration policies, supported auto industry bailouts, etc.  He's not really that socially conservative, I don't think he's a fan of the religious right.

[acerimusdux]

Really? That is an idiotic statement if I've ever heard one. Lets just associate a whole political party with a terrorist organization that hijacked airplanes and ran them into buildings.

Al Qaeda was the group who hijacked airplanes.  Taliban were the ones who imposed Sharia law in Afghanistan. And I think he meant to refer to one faction, not an entire party.  So I think the analogy would be to those who want to impose their religious opinions on others through the force of law.

Here is another idiotic statement. You do realize that nearly the political parties lie on the right side of the economic and government ideology. No one is even close to socialism, the far left and upper right. Really the US Centrist position is pretty far right in terms of economic freedom and pretty accepting of government control in our lives.

That looks like an extremely unbalanced scale, to me.  From a historical perspective, nearly every modern Western Democracy is going to be extremely Libertarian on the social scale. It defies explanation to catagorize nearly every U.S. Politician as "authoritarian".

Likewise, I don't think the U.S. is quite as free as that on the economic scale. In the U.S. we're free from most government intervention in our lives, until it comes to the economic issues. But there, we have taxes, we have regulations, Social Security, welfare, etc.  I think we're actually much more collectivist than that chart suggests on the Socialism to Liberalism scale, and much less authoritarian otherwise.

[rkim291968]

D onald Tr ump !

[Mac62]

Quote:

Originally Posted by saevel25

Really? That is an idiotic statement if I've ever heard one. Lets just associate a whole political party with a terrorist organization that hijacked airplanes and ran them into buildings.

Al Qaeda was the group who hijacked airplanes.  Taliban were the ones who imposed Sharia law in Afghanistan. And I think he meant to refer to one faction, not an entire party.  So I think the analogy would be to those who want to impose their religious opinions on others through the force of law.

100% correct on all counts.

[rkim291968]

My latest thought on Trump ...

"He was war hero because he was captured."   Others and I are wondering what Trump think of those who were wounded or killed.   They are heroes b/c they were wounded and killed?

It was ok for some Republicans and others to like Trump's comment on Mexico.  After all, Mexicans are not our own.  Who cares if Trump trashed them.  But McCain is our very own - a hero to most, and respected by many regardless of their political view.   IMO, this time, Trump has gone too far for his own good.  I'd bet even some supporters of Trump is rethinking their allegiance.   The next poll will tell.

[GaijinGolfer]

My latest thought on Trump ...

"He was war hero because he was captured."   Others and I are wondering what Trump think of those who were wounded or killed.   They are heroes b/c they were wounded and killed?

It was ok for some Republicans and others to like Trump's comment on Mexico.  After all, Mexicans are not our own.  Who cares if Trump trashed them.  But McCain is our very own - a hero to most, and respected by many regardless of their political view.   IMO, this time, Trump has gone too far for his own good.  I'd bet even some supporters of Trump is rethinking their allegiance.   The next poll will tell.

The only problem with Trump's comments about immigrants though is that hes just wrong and he wont admit it.  It kind of makes me laugh when people say Trump speaks the truth because theres been numerous studies that show immigrants are actually much less likely to commit a crime than anyone else is.  Hey, why let the facts get in the way though, right?

With his McCain comment you have to wonder what he was thinking.  Id love to see Trump's service record or what hes ever done for veterans.  A couple of my Facebook friends have shared some of Trump's posts since his original McCain comment and its pretty disgusting.  Trump really needs to think before he speaks and learn to admit when hes wrong.

[boogielicious]

Quote:

Originally Posted by boogielicious

Trump never has and never will be a democrat.  You guys are now being paranoid.

Trump was a registered Democrat from 2001-2008. Has been increasingly supporting more conservative and Republican causes since about 2009.

Prior to 2001 though, he was active in the Reform Party, which started with Ross Perot's 1992 campaign. I don't think he's a plant, I think he's basically an economic nationalist. He has always favored more protectionist trade policies, tighter immigration policies, supported auto industry bailouts, etc.  He's not really that socially conservative, I don't think he's a fan of the religious right.

I stand corrected. Thanks.

I really think Donald Trump's party is the Donald Trump Party i.e., whatever is best for Donald Trump.

[saevel25]

I stand corrected. Thanks.

I really think Donald Trump's party is the Donald Trump Party i.e., whatever is best for Donald Trump.

Pretty much this.

[Mr. Desmond]

I think Trump represents extremist elements of the GOP and their frustration with politicians who have shown an inability to solve problems the way that would like problems solved. And they like an authoritarian figure like Trump who gives them simple extreme answers where complex solutions are needed. Some people want simple  such as "kick them back to Mexico, Bomb ISIS off the earth, one tax rate,  tax credits for health care..."

(Editorial comment: there is a time for simplicity, complexity and the in between -- it's recognizing  the balance given the situation that is key)

[saevel25]

I think Trump represents extremist elements of the GOP and their frustration with politicians who have shown an inability to solve problems the way that would like problems solved. And they like an authoritarian figure like Trump who gives them simple extreme answers where complex solutions are needed.

That doesn't win you the presidency. Basically he'll lose all the minority vote. He'll probably lose the woman vote as well. If he gets the republican primary he'll be demolished by the democrat. The more extreme you are in the primary the harder time you have against the democrat because now the centrists, usually independent voters come into play. The reason why Romney lost is because he is more of a centrist republican, but he had a hard time against Obama because the primary forced him to be more towards the extreme right and he couldn't back away from some stances he took.

[Elmer]

The only problem with Trump's comments about immigrants though is that hes just wrong and he wont admit it.  It kind of makes me laugh when people say Trump speaks the truth because theres been numerous studies that show immigrants are actually much less likely to commit a crime than anyone else is.  Hey, why let the facts get in the way though, right?

With his McCain comment you have to wonder what he was thinking.  Id love to see Trump's service record or what hes ever done for veterans.  A couple of my Facebook friends have shared some of Trump's posts since his original McCain comment and its pretty disgusting.  Trump really needs to think before he speaks and learn to admit when hes wrong.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/07/20/what-donald-trump-was-up-to-while-john-mccain-was-suffering-as-a-prisoner-of-war/

I find it funny that many people cheer for Trump when he goes after Mexicans, but make excuses for his comments about McCain. I have heard people say "it was only 30 seconds of a 30 minute interview".

Does not matter, trump is a silver spoon who got a deferment. I maynot be a political fan of McCain, but I respect the hell out of him.

Then again I do find it funny that the same people I know that are defending McCain and waving the flag for the soldiers were the same people who jumped on board swift boating John Kerry!

[acerimusdux]

That doesn't win you the presidency. Basically he'll lose all the minority vote. He'll probably lose the woman vote as well. If he gets the republican primary he'll be demolished by the democrat. The more extreme you are in the primary the harder time you have against the democrat because now the centrists, usually independent voters come into play. The reason why Romney lost is because he is more of a centrist republican, but he had a hard time against Obama because the primary forced him to be more towards the extreme right and he couldn't back away from some stances he took.

Great point. Funny thing is, I'm not sure Trump is even all that extreme at heart, ideologically. I think he's just so combative, he's going to come across that way, regardless of what position he takes.  Not a guy who knows how to "soft sell".

As for the general, I think Hillary would be beatable with the right candidate. If you look at her favorable/unfavorables, they are worse than Obama's.

But when we get to the nitty gritty of the campaign, I think you'll see that she's really well positioned on the issues. On foreign policy, where voters typically prefer Republicans, she can legitimately claim to be more of a hawk than most Democrats, and she's now got experience as Secretary of State to boot. On the deficit, another issue Republicans can usually run on, she'll claim to be a deficit hawk as well, claim some credit by association for the Clinton years when it was eliminated, and bring out the old reliable "we both have plans to cut the deficit, but theirs will cut Social Security, health care, education, yada yada...." basically pivoting to all of the issues on which voters on the whole prefer Democrats.

Republicans need a candidate who can do the same for them on their most vulnerable issues. Mitt Romney's biggest problem last time was the fact that the income inequality issue was a big one in that campaign, and one of the biggest Republican weaknesses, and he came across as an out of touch Wall Street billionaire. He was moderate on some issues, but the wrong candidate for that particular election.

[newtogolf]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/07/20/what-donald-trump-was-up-to-while-john-mccain-was-suffering-as-a-prisoner-of-war/

I find it funny that many people cheer for Trump when he goes after Mexicans, but make excuses for his comments about McCain. I have heard people say "it was only 30 seconds of a 30 minute interview".

Does not matter, trump is a silver spoon who got a deferment. I maynot be a political fan of McCain, but I respect the hell out of him.

Then again I do find it funny that the same people I know that are defending McCain and waving the flag for the soldiers were the same people who jumped on board swift boating John Kerry!

The problem with Trump is he loves the sound of his own voice so much he doesn't filter what he says.  The reason he went after McCain is because McCain has moved left and against the GOP on key issues.  Trump forgets he's not on the set of Apprentice when he does these live interviews and they can't just cut out the stupid things he says and do it over.

He needs to start writing his speeches and talking points so he stays on point and doesn't get diarrhea of the mouth which has now gotten him into trouble at least twice.

[saevel25]

On foreign policy, where voters typically prefer Republicans, she can legitimately claim to be more of a hawk than most Democrats, and she's now got experience as Secretary of State to boot.

Who also had that whole Bengazi and Email thing. I think her campaign will try to keep her away from that as much as possible.

On the deficit, another issue Republicans can usually run on, she'll claim to be a deficit hawk as well, claim some credit by association for the Clinton years when it was eliminated.

She can't claim any credit to that budget. Heck Bill was only partially responsible for that budget. He is just lucky enough to sign his name to it. If you want the guy who really constructed that budget look at John Kasich, republican governor of Ohio. He was the chairman of the house budget Committee who was the lead architect for that budget in 1997. He's the guy who helped bridge house republicans and Clinton to get that budget passed.

[danL]

With American politics we're always left to choose between a turd sandwich and a giant douche, and thanks to the electoral college our choice literally does not matter or have any bearing on the presidency. Anyone who thinks elections are anything more than a company buying a president, you're clueless. What ever happened to the poll test? You should have to identify in writing 10 points that your selected candidate supports. If you fail that test, your vote does not count. I know many presidents that would never have been elected if we'd enact this very simple preventative measure for the spreading of ignorance.

[acerimusdux]

Who also had that whole Bengazi and Email thing. I think her campaign will try to keep her away from that as much as possible.

Yes, but I think it's mostly noise. Anyone who has been around awhile will have those things.

She can't claim any credit to that budget. Heck Bill was only partially responsible for that budget. He is just lucky enough to sign his name to it. If you want the guy who really constructed that budget look at John Kasich, republican governor of Ohio. He was the chairman of the house budget Committee who was the lead architect for that budget in 1997. He's the guy who helped bridge house republicans and Clinton to get that budget passed.

But the budget was already pretty much in balance by 1997. The 1997 bill in fact, according to CBO projections, made things worse in 1998 (by $21 billion), and only better in the years following. So it was responsible for some of the surpluses after 1998.  But the 1993 bill was far more important in actually reducing the deficit and getting to surpluses by 1998.

In any case, arguing the details over who really deserves credit won't matter much. On the optics, the "I was there when we did this in the 1990's" is simple and effective.

[rkim291968]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rkim291968

My latest thought on Trump ...

"He was war hero because he was captured."   Others and I are wondering what Trump think of those who were wounded or killed.   They are heroes b/c they were wounded and killed?

It was ok for some Republicans and others to like Trump's comment on Mexico.  After all, Mexicans are not our own.  Who cares if Trump trashed them.  But McCain is our very own - a hero to most, and respected by many regardless of their political view.   IMO, this time, Trump has gone too far for his own good.  I'd bet even some supporters of Trump is rethinking their allegiance.   The next poll will tell.

The only problem with Trump's comments about immigrants though is that hes just wrong and he wont admit it.

Yup, I wasn't defending his Mexican comments.  Far from it.   I was projecting the mindset of those who support Trump with "Mexicans are not out own" above.

I eagerly await Trump's next blunder.