2016 Elections

[O Really]

Being an asshole can sometimes be effective. Being a stupid prima donna, never.

[O Really]

Burning the Bern...
http://www.gocomics.com/tomtoles

[Vrede too]

8th-Grader accurately and hilariously impersonating POTUS candidates at graduation speech. Longish, but worth it.



Genius!

[Vrede too]

Found online:

WATCHING REPUBLICAN LEADERS trying to defend their support of Trump is truly sad and pathetic. It's like watching the battered victim of an abusive relationship attempting to explain why they are still living with their abuser.

Perfect metaphor.

[JTA]

Found online:

WATCHING REPUBLICAN LEADERS trying to defend their support of Trump is truly sad and pathetic. It's like watching the battered victim of an abusive relationship attempting to explain why they are still living with their abuser.

Perfect metaphor.

[billy.pilgrim]

Found online:

WATCHING REPUBLICAN LEADERS trying to defend their support of Trump is truly sad and pathetic. It's like watching the battered victim of an abusive relationship attempting to explain why they are still living with their abuser.

Perfect metaphor.

Shaking Christie’s hand, Trump leans in and whispers, “Get on the plane and go home. It’s over there. Go home.” Christie at first continues waving, then simply says “Okay” and walks towards the exit.

[Vrede too]

JTA -

It was stunning seeing how fast Christie acquired that PTSD stare.

[Vrede too]

In 2012 Mitten was wounded by GOP candidates staying in longer than they otherwise would have thanks to fat cat Citizens United GOP money.
In 2016 fat cat Citizens United money created the GOP Klown Kar with the result being presumptive nominee Trump.
Now, Hillary is rolling in fat cat Citizens United money and Trump is so far behind he may never catch up.

I still strongly oppose Citizens United, but the karma is delicious.

[rstrong]

I still strongly oppose Citizens United, but the karma is delicious.

It's a mixed bag karma-wise.

GOP donors lost a fortune on Romney. They lost a fortune this election cycle on Jeb!, with even less to show for it. And then more on the rest of the clown car.

But a big part of the reason is that Obama and Hillary went to the right, and attracted much of the money. Hillary is essentially the Republican in the race, the logical choice for GOP donors who want a return on their investment. They can't trust in a return on their investment from Trump even if he wins.

Between Hillary's policies, friends and Citizens United money, it's a wonder the Republicans don't draft her to represent them, and have her run against Bernie.

[Vrede too]

... it's a wonder the Republicans don't draft her to represent them, and have her run against Bernie.

That would be an interesting national election. The electorate is more con than the Dems, but the cons hate Hillary that much more.

[rstrong]

That would be an interesting national election. The electorate is more con than the Dems, but the cons hate Hillary that much more.

Yeah, but money trumps all. Hillary's war chest is 32 times that of Trump - a candidate whose main claim to being qualified is that he's rich.

And $45 million of his war chest - the bulk of it - is money that he LOANED his own campaign. This is causing donors to hold off on contributing because they don’t want their money to go towards paying himself back.

And of the money his campaign is spending, much of it goes to Trump's own businesses. $700,000 to Trump Tower in New York. More than $130,000 to Trump Restaurants. More than $100,000 to his own payroll company. He's not spreading it around.

Dump Trump, and the Republican Party loses the Tea Partiers anyway. The "establishment Republicans" - the adults - could learn to "reconsider" Hillary if she brings her war chest, donors and pre-Tea Party Republican policies with her.

[Vrede too]

Bernie (D) vs. Hillary (R) probably wouldn't slack on the money, either. He's done amazing with small donors. With diehard Dem fat cats, too, who knows?

[rstrong]

I'm still eagerly awaiting Trump's choice of running mate. Will he go with someone who will give his ticket an air of competency? Or will he go with a Palin, Carson or disliked-by-his-colleagues Ted Cruz as insurance against impeachment?

[Seth Milner]

I'm still eagerly awaiting Trump's choice of running mate. Will he go with someone who will give his ticket an air of competency? Or will he go with a Palin, Carson or disliked-by-his-colleagues Ted Cruz as insurance against impeachment?

Are you still calling out names in your sleep? I think you're secretly lusting after this Palin chick! nttawwt. Those other two . . . well, that's your personal stuff.

[Vrede too]

I'm still eagerly awaiting Trump's choice of running mate. Will he go with someone who will give his ticket an air of competency? Or will he go with a Palin, Carson or disliked-by-his-colleagues Ted Cruz as insurance against impeachment?

Normally, competent people will sign on to even a sure loser of a ticket just to enhance name recognition and gravitas. Any Trump VP candidate will be tainted for life.

[neoplacebo]

I'm still eagerly awaiting Trump's choice of running mate. Will he go with someone who will give his ticket an air of competency? Or will he go with a Palin, Carson or disliked-by-his-colleagues Ted Cruz as insurance against impeachment?

I think he will choose Christie; I formed this opinion a couple of months ago and am sticking with it.

[Seth Milner]

I'm still eagerly awaiting Trump's choice of running mate. Will he go with someone who will give his ticket an air of competency? Or will he go with a Palin, Carson or disliked-by-his-colleagues Ted Cruz as insurance against impeachment?

I think he will choose Christie; I formed this opinion a couple of months ago and am sticking with it.

Same here. The first time I saw Christie standing behind Trump at a rally with a nonchalant look on his face, my first thought was that he was Trump's choice despite the bickering and yelling back and forth in the debates. I think Hillary will choose a woman; more notably that Democratic senator what's-her-name that's been laying into Trump.

[neoplacebo]

Yeah, I think if they give him the nomination, it'll be Trump / Christie against Clinton / Warren. I guess we'll see before much longer in any case.

[Vrede too]

I don't want Warren to become the VP nominee. Hillary already has the Northeast sewn up and Warren is too effective as a Senator to be relegated to the sidelines. It would be sad to see her voice stifled by having to defend the way more moderate POTUS Hillary line.

Can you imagine what Warren could do, for example, as chair of the Committee on Banking, Housing, & Urban Affairs in a majority Dem Senate, which is a real possibility thanks to Trump and the GOP chaos? She could even pay special attention to your BoA, neoplacebo.

Now we know about Trump's pick:

[Vrede too]

Bernie’s wish list: which of his demands will be met at the convention — and which won’t

... Replace DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz ...

I agree.

Reduce the role of superdelegates

In Sanders’ words: “We also need obviously to get rid of superdelegates. The idea that we had 400 superdelegates pledged to a candidate some eight months or more before the first ballot was cast is, to my mind, absurd. And we need to also make sure that superdelegates do not live in a world of their own but reflect the views of the people of their own state.”

... Superdelegates are, for the most part, sitting governors, senators, and House members. They want to attend the convention and participate in the debates over the rules, the platform, and other issues. They want to have a say in the direction of their party. And they don’t want to have to run against their own constituents, which is the only way they could become regular old pledged delegates....

I get this rationale, being an elected Dem should matter. Plus, superdelegates provide a fail safe if, purely hypothetically , a presumptive nominee gets indicted or scorched by the FBI after the primaries.

Make the Democratic Party platform more liberal ...

POTUSes routinely ignore platforms. I'd prefer 'Make Hillary more liberal', through extracting commitments on policy and appointments directly from her.

Reform the Democratic voting process

In Sanders’ words: “We need real electoral reform within the Democratic Party. And that means — among many, many other things — open primaries. The idea that in the State of New York, the great State of New York, 3 million people could not participate in helping to select who the Democratic or Republican candidate for president would be because they had registered as an independent not as a Democrat or a Republican is incomprehensible.”

Odds: Not going to happen. Most Democratic Party regulars — aka delegates — want to strengthen the Democratic Party. They want to attract converts. But while allowing non-Democrats to vote in a Democratic primary might get voters invested in the candidate they support, it won’t get them invested in the party. It doesn’t help the party identify regular voters; it doesn’t build loyalty to the ticket.

Right now, some states have open primaries; others are closed. It’s up to each state party — the organization paying for the primary, incidentally — to decide which system it prefers. It’s almost impossible to imagine these delegations voting in Philadelphia to abandon their autonomy in favor of a 50-state open-primary requirement....

Not sure. I can see state Dems deciding for themselves and it's mostly easy to switch registration ahead of time, though in some states it's way too far ahead of time (right, Ivanka?). It is convenient for me that NC has open primaries, I've voted both GOP & Dem depending on the races involved.

I'd add an implication to the wish list: Making it clear that to millions of Dems 'GOP Lite' is not acceptable.