Trump

[Vrede too]

George Will Jumps From Sinking Ship That Is The GOP

Longtime conservative columnist George Will is wiping his hands clean of the Republican Party.

“This is not my party,” Will told PJ Media on Saturday. The Washington Post writer said a Democratic presidency would be better than the alternative offered by Donald Trump ...

Whoa.

[O Really]

BFD. Sure, it makes a statement as to the detestable level of the Trumpster, but other than that....
Is Will going to back Hillary? Is he going to vote for the Dem for his Member of Congress or Senate? Is he going to do anything through his writing or effort that will help lessen the Republicans' hold on state houses and Congress? I don't think so, Homey.

[Vrede too]

Have you had your coffee yet?

True, it probably won't have all that much impact. However, there are few people I can think of that are still active that have been so prominent in the GOP for so long - remember when Will analyzed Reagan's 1980 debate performance without disclosing that he had assisted Reagan's debate preparation? - and I see it as a striking symptom and symbol of "the detestable level of the Trumpster".

[O Really]

I had indeed had coffee. That's a higher morning priority than most anything else. But here's why I waved off Will's announcement: It doesn't matter much how you're registered, it matters how you vote. And most of those registered "independent" or "unaffiliated" still vote pretty much the same every election. So unless Will is willing to get behind somebody or some group that has a reasonable chance of making a difference (yes, that includes you, Bernie. No that does not include you Libertarians and Greens), then his proclamation means nothing. Even if he causes other Republicans to disavow the party and become "unaffiliated," who are they going to vote for? I can remember when moving from R to D or D to R wasn't that unusual. Even the Trumpster used to be a D. Charlie Christ went from R to D to W(hatever)fairly recently. Mostly though, nobody who is a D is going to be an R anymore, and certainly nobody who has supported most of the R's for the past 10 years isn't going to be a D. The only reason for party registration in the first place is to help in campaigning and filter voters in primaries. If I made the rules, I'd probably have one combined primary with D's, R's and Weirdos all running for the top three spots and then those run for the job. Sure, in some places, you'd get all R's or whatever in the top three, but in places like that what realistic chance does the D have anyway?

[Vrede too]

I agree with all that except that if I made the rules, I'd probably go with a parliamentary system where greater numbers of political interests can be voted for and have a chance of seeing some representation rather than making things murkier by removing all labels or primary options within those labels. Weirdo lives matter.

I was just teasing you over your "BFD ... Homey" tone. I'm shocked by Will's public declaration after all these decades, even if we both see that it doesn't matter much in the big picture.

[billy.pilgrim]

I had indeed had coffee. That's a higher morning priority than most anything else. But here's why I waved off Will's announcement: It doesn't matter much how you're registered, it matters how you vote. And most of those registered "independent" or "unaffiliated" still vote pretty much the same every election. So unless Will is willing to get behind somebody or some group that has a reasonable chance of making a difference (yes, that includes you, Bernie. No that does not include you Libertarians and Greens), then his proclamation means nothing. Even if he causes other Republicans to disavow the party and become "unaffiliated," who are they going to vote for? I can remember when moving from R to D or D to R wasn't that unusual. Even the Trumpster used to be a D. Charlie Christ went from R to D to W(hatever)fairly recently. Mostly though, nobody who is a D is going to be an R anymore, and certainly nobody who has supported most of the R's for the past 10 years isn't going to be a D. The only reason for party registration in the first place is to help in campaigning and filter voters in primaries. If I made the rules, I'd probably have one combined primary with D's, R's and Weirdos all running for the top three spots and then those run for the job. Sure, in some places, you'd get all R's or whatever in the top three, but in places like that what realistic chance does the D have anyway?

George will ceased to be a voice of anything when he said that being a rape victim is now a “coveted status” on college campuses

[O Really]

Following the attack on the Istanbul airport, Trump said Turkey should follow his plan to keep Muslims out of the country.

[GoCubsGo]

Following the attack on the Istanbul airport, Trump said Turkey should follow his plan to keep Muslims out of the country.

He also said that if them Turks would have been concealed carrying they coulda plinked those suicide bombers before they did some real damage.

[JTA]

Following the attack on the Istanbul airport, Trump said Turkey should follow his plan to keep Muslims out of the country.

This could actually work for Turkey though. You see, Turkey is ~97% Muslim. If you remove all the Muslims, Turkey will be so sparsely populated that the remaining population will be unlikely to ever meet another human being.

Violence = solved.
Trump = genius.

[Vrede too]

Since I've found so very little to support Trump on:

Cities Bill Trump for the High Cost of Rallies

I detest Trump as much as anyone, but as long as he followed the law he should only be responsible for the excess costs directly attributable to his sleazy practice of over-promising rally seats.

That's how the 1st Amendment works - we all pay for it regardless of who exercises it because free speech is that important to a healthy society. If localities can do this type of billing, the most marginalized will be hurt the worst, not billionaires.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming:

Mike Ditka declines Trump invite to speak at RNC convention

You know that you're a real asshole when even Mike Ditka, Mike Tyson, Ben Roethlisberger and Don King are keeping you at arm's length.

[O Really]

It's not really a First Amendment issue. The Trump campaign is a private organization, and the city allows it (under whatever contract they have) to use it for their event. It's not unusual for cities to bill the sponsor of an event for excess security that might be necessary. If such potential cost wasn't in the contract, then bad on them. They got out-negotiated by the Trumpster. But free speech or not, a private person or organization can't rent city property for their riot and not incur more costs than a knitting convention.

[Vrede too]

Slippery slope, I've fought and won against a city that was trying to impose outrageous insurance requirements for a tame event. Trump is not legally (morally is a different issue) responsible for what Trump opponents choose to do. An easy way to suppress dissent would be to price groups out of being able to gather with spurious "security" billing.

[O Really]

The Trumpster's campaign may not be liable for what his fans do, but it's still a risk management issue. Abuses can always be litigated, but the principle of charging more for risky tenants or for damages caused by the tenants isn't unreasonable. I'll bet not all music groups pay the same for security or insurance.

[Vrede too]

I think the bills are more for what Trump's opponents did than his fans, and tenancy is different from speech. If Trumpettes tore up the arenas, that would be billable.

You're the lawyer, though, and I'm just a lay civil libertarian. So, maybe I'm wrong. We'll see.

[Vrede too]

Now Jews.

Trump sparks online firestorm with anti-Clinton tweet featuring Star of David

Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump drew widespread rebuke on Saturday with a tweet featuring a Star of David while accusing rival Hillary Clinton of corruption.

The star, a symbol of Judaism, was on a backdrop of $100 bills and paired with a Fox News poll in which a majority of respondents described Clinton as corrupt. Next to Clinton’s face was a red Star of David bearing the words “Most Corrupt Candidate Ever!” ...

Tweets:

you are no longer invited to my bar mitzvah keep your savings bonds

I've been ticked that Trump hasn't been giving us his handicapped imitation lately. At least he's making up for it with Stars of David.

Hmm! What could Donald Trump possible be evoking with the raining money and Star of Davi

Trump's new anti-Hillary ad is a pile of money overlaid with her face & a star of David. Wonder what the message is?

I'm an atheist. Born Jewish. But when I see Trump's anti-Muslim scare tactics or anti-Jewish optics, it's all evil and needs to be named.

Let's imagine that it was inadvertent, it still speaks to the idiocy of the people Trump hires.

Donald Trump’s list of endorsers is a who’s who of extremists—and it’s a big red flag.

[Vrede too]

Let's imagine that it was inadvertent ...

Then again:

Donald Trump's "Star of David" Hillary Clinton Meme Was Created by White Supremacists

Still idiocy, just not inadvertent.

[O Really]

He keeps pandering only to the "poorly educated" racists and islamaphobes and doesn't even bother with trying to attract mainstream voters. Incredible. But good.

[Vrede too]

Trump said at the meeting that he has yet to attack (Sen. Jeff) Flake (R-AZ) hard but threatened to begin doing so. Flake stood up to Trump by urging him to stop attacking Mexicans. Trump predicted that Flake would lose his reelection, at which point Flake informed Trump that he was not on the ballot this year, the sources said.

[GoCubsGo]

I just don't get it.
https://gma.yahoo.com/donald-trump-says ... ws-topstor

[Vrede too]

Let's be generous and say that he meant the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution. I wasn't aware that the procedure for electing the President and Vice President needed Trump's protection.