Trump Immediately Flip-Flops on Debate Flip-Flop; Press Ignores, Talks About His Junk
KELLY: Welcome back everybody to the FOX News Republican presidential debate, live from the FOX theater here in Detroit. Let’s get back now to the questions.
Mr. Trump, your campaign website to this day argues that more visas for highly skilled workers would, quote, “decimate American workers”. However, at the CNBC debate, you spoke enthusiastically in favor of these visas. So, which is it?
TRUMP: I’m changing. I’m changing. We need highly skilled people in this country, and if we can’t do it, we’ll get them in. But, and we do need in Silicon Valley, we absolutely have to have.
So, we do need highly skilled, and one of the biggest problems we have is people go to the best colleges. They’ll go to Harvard, they’ll go to Stanford, they’ll go to Wharton, as soon as they’re finished they’ll get shoved out. They want to stay in this country. They want to stay here desperately, they’re not able to stay here. For that purpose, we absolutely have to be able to keep the brain power in this country.
(APPLAUSE)
KELLY: So you abandoning the position on your website…
TRUMP: … I’m changing it, and I’m softening the position because we have to have talented people in this country.
And last night, Trump issued this press release flopping his flip flop back to a flip:
Megyn Kelly asked about highly-skilled immigration [she asked about visas and the word immigration was not in her question — Ed.]. The H-1B program is neither high-skilled [this is a lie; see below — Ed.] nor immigration: these are temporary foreign workers, imported from abroad, for the explicit purpose of substituting for American workers at lower pay. I remain totally committed to eliminating rampant, widespread H-1B abuse and ending outrageous practices such as those that occurred at Disney in Florida when Americans were forced to train their foreign replacements. I will end forever the use of the H-1B as a cheap labor program, and institute an absolute requirement to hire American workers first for every visa and immigration program. No exceptions.
By the way, H-1B visas are for workers in a “theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge” and require “attainment of a bachelor’s or higher degree in the specific specialty (or its equivalent).” So of course Trump is lying again.
His campaign Web site says:
Raising the prevailing wage paid to H-1Bs will force companies to give these coveted entry-level jobs to the existing domestic pool of unemployed native and immigrant workers in the U.S., instead of flying in cheaper workers from overseas. This will improve the number of black, Hispanic and female workers in Silicon Valley who have been passed over in favor of the H-1B program. Mark Zuckerberg’s personal Senator, Marco Rubio, has a bill to triple H-1Bs that would decimate women and minorities.
QUICK ASIDE: In the CNBC debate, we had this exchange:
I think you called him Mark Zuckerberg’s personal senator because he was in favor of the H1B.
TRUMP: I never said that. I never said that.
END ASIDE
Aaaaand from the CNBC debate:
Mr. Trump, I want to go back to an issue that we were talking about before, the H-1B visas. I found where I read that before. It was from the donaldjtrump.com website and it says — it says that again, Mark Zuckerburg’s personal senator, Marco Rubio has a bill to triple H-1Bs that would decimate women and minorities. Are you in favor of H-1Bs or are you opposed to them?
TRUMP: I’m in favor of people coming into this country legally. And you know what? They can have it anyway you want. You can call it visas, you can call it work permits, you can call it anything you want. I’ve created tens of thousands of jobs, and in all due respect — and actually some of these folks I really like a lot — but I’m the only one that can say that. I have created tens of thousands of jobs, and I’ll be creating many millions of jobs if I’m given — if I’m given the opportunity to be president.
As far as Mark is concerned, as far as the visas are concerned, if we need people, they have — it’s fine. They have to come into this country legally. We have a country of borders. We have a country of laws. We have to obey the laws. It’s fine if they come in, but they have to come in legally.
Let’s recap:
Flip.
Flop.
Flip.
Floppity flop flop flop.
Nobody will care. Headlines: Donald Trump says his junk is big and all the other candidates will support him.
Have a nice day!
Glenn Kessler needs to fact check the critical issues.
Is Trump’s junk truly big?
First calls should be to the married women he slept with while John McCain was being tortured.
Patterico (86c8ed) — 3/4/2016 @ 7:50 amit’s a fair point, you know who’s underwriting conservative solutions, zuckerberg, schmidt et al,
narciso (732bc0) — 3/4/2016 @ 8:09 amyou know they would do to the same to cruz,
Sadly, America is well beyond doomed.
The apocalypse appears to be complete at this time.
I thought 2008 and 2012 were truly sad election cycles.
I was overly optimistic.
WarEagle82 (5bf75f) — 3/4/2016 @ 8:12 am@Patterico. It is my understanding that big men don’t usually mean big junks. God is a God of variety ; He doesn’t give one person everything. Someone may have a massive frame like the Donald but end up with a tiny little pinky. On the other hand, someone might be skinny and lean but be blessed with a huge junk. So I don’t believe Trump has a big junk in his Trunk! You can also tell by his tiny fingers. Lol!
The Emperor (7da220) — 3/4/2016 @ 8:24 amPatterico. It is my understanding that big men don’t usually mean big junks. God is a God of variety ; He doesn’t give one person everything. Someone may have a massive frame like the Donald but end up with a tiny little pinky. On the other hand, someone might be skinny and lean but be blessed with a huge junk. So I don’t believe Trump has a big junk in his Trunk! You can also tell by his tiny fingers. Lol!
The Emperor (7da220) — 3/4/2016 @ 8:52 amPeople don’t seem to know that there are already over a dozen work-permit programs.
People also don’t seem to know that it is perfectly legal to employ an illegal, as long as they went through E-Verify after you hired them.
The immigration laws are unenforceable by design.
Gabriel Hanna (64d4e1) — 3/4/2016 @ 8:56 amActually, most IT jobs, such as the ones at Disney, do not require 4-year technical degrees. Instead, they require extensive training and certification, along with hands-on experience. It’s closer to an apprenticeship-track trade rather than a college-based profession.
Kevin M (25bbee) — 3/4/2016 @ 8:58 am@Kevin M: if you want to load up on H1Bs for your IT department, you make a bachelor’s a requirement.
Gabriel Hanna (64d4e1) — 3/4/2016 @ 9:00 amThe way to stop H1-B abuse is to require that the imported workers be paid substantially more than their presumably unavailable US counterparts, and to end the practice of using H1-B workers to staff consulting companies.
Kevin M (25bbee) — 3/4/2016 @ 9:03 amGabriel–
Good point, except that Disney likely did not hire a single one of them. If they followed the normal dodge, they contracted with an overseas IT staffing company who had the H1-B visas and workers. This allowed them to ignore all the provisions in US law about protecting US workers. “Heck, we just outsourced. Not OUR fault these were H1-B workers!”
Kevin M (25bbee) — 3/4/2016 @ 9:07 am@Kevin M: Why not just abolish the H1B program? That would certainly put a stop to it. Why layer rules on rules and meta-rules and epicylces? Rules are the problem.
Gabriel Hanna (64d4e1) — 3/4/2016 @ 9:07 amAnyway, this is how you get unions.
Kevin M (25bbee) — 3/4/2016 @ 9:08 am@kevin M:If they followed the normal dodge, they contracted with an overseas IT staffing company who had the H1-B visas and workers.
I don;t see why an overseas company would need to have H1Bs, they can do IT work from their own country. But probably Disney did do something like that.
Gabriel Hanna (64d4e1) — 3/4/2016 @ 9:09 amWhy not just abolish the H1B program? That would certainly put a stop to it. Why layer rules on rules and meta-rules and epicylces? Rules are the problem.
Not going to disagree with you here, although you need a way to give overseas companies some ability to bring their people in when setting up shop here.
Ted Cruz has actually seen the light on this.
Kevin M (25bbee) — 3/4/2016 @ 9:11 amGabriel–
H1-B visas are awarded by lottery, based on the number of applications. Currently, most of the awards are going to Indian (etc) consulting firms which flood the agency with applications. They seem to find it useful. There is a limit to what can be done from Bangalore, and there are security concerns with external access.
Kevin M (25bbee) — 3/4/2016 @ 9:14 amAt work they put up a notice that a job was being opened for an H1B visa application process (some notice on the bulletin board). You can find accountants to do it for about 50-55K and it’s a sub group in financial reporting so accounting and finance majors would have no problem doing it. The visa notice says the reference salary is $39K. Considering it undercuts the normal market rate by about 15-30K (the position has a wide range of salaries within the team) it’s no wonder they can’t find ‘Murican’s willing to do the work!
allen (265a18) — 3/4/2016 @ 9:15 amWho cares that he’s changing his mind! He talks tough and he’s going to be a wall! He won the debate duh!
Patrick Henry, the 2nd (ddead1) — 3/4/2016 @ 9:15 amJust heard Beck’s interview of Levin from C.-PAC. It was a good interview. Mark is resolute and Glen while I like his support for Cruz. Glen has been shaky in the last few days. Not shaky in his admiration and support for Cruz, but acting out in desperation to hit Trump.
jrt for Cruz (bc7456) — 3/4/2016 @ 9:16 amTrump supporters will need to and like Cruz whether they will admit it or not. Cruz is the only one on that stage better than Trump and they know it. Very important the Cruz guide Trump supporters over to his camp and not piss them off as they are already so angry that they cant even see straight and think Trump will do what he says…
Gabriel–
H1-B visas are awarded by lottery, based on the number of applications. Currently, most of the awards are going to Indian (etc) consulting firms which flood the agency with applications. They seem to find it useful. There is a limit to what can be done from Bangalore, and there are security concerns with external access.
allen (265a18) — 3/4/2016 @ 9:20 amKevin M (25bbee) — 3/4/2016 @ 9:14 am
The H1Bs I work with are usually managing the projects and sending the details back to India for developers to work on during our off hours. Next day they check the overnight builds and communicate it back to business users. Just guessing off some project budgets I’ve seen but I’d say every person here is the face of about 5 grunts back home. I’ve heard some of the DBA guys talk about how awesome outsourcing is because they no longer have to do X grunt work, they get to do the “cool” stuff. They didn’t have any good answers when I pointed out that the grunt work is for new hires to get experience with systems and move up. How long would it be before the offshore guys move up into his job and he’s looking for work as a burger making robot tech.
5.Actually, most IT jobs, such as the ones at Disney, do not require 4-year technical degrees. Instead, they require extensive training and certification, along with hands-on experience. It’s closer to an apprenticeship-track trade rather than a college-based profession.
jrt for Cruz (bc7456) — 3/4/2016 @ 9:28 am…………………………………………………………………………………..
The first time I went to WDW was in 1997. I was 30 y/o. I have been there many times since. I stay at the same high end resort every time. In 2015 it was as if I was at a completely different resort. The parks are now dirty, with gangs of foreign groups…. No one speaks English, not even the employees. The employees are now rude, dirty. The food was very poor quality, and the cost 3 times that of 2012. WDW is dead and far from what Walt bad in mind for his resorts.
What can you say? Junk makes headlines, a politician flip-flopping is man bites dog. But is that the media’s fault or their just giving the people what they want? (Visions of the Idiocracy movie…)
Tillman (a95660) — 3/4/2016 @ 9:34 amTrump was a disaster last night.
Doesn’t matter.
He has as big a cult of personality as Obama did and will likely win just the same. Expect Kanye West to run in 8 years and win the Democrat nomination.
njrob (846371) — 3/4/2016 @ 9:39 amNothing left to do but put all opponent’s junk in Trump’s trunk.
Colonel Haiku (741b4a) — 3/4/2016 @ 9:41 amGabriel–
Yeah. No one wants to do the software assurance, the logic verification, the board layout, etc. but that’s what you MUST DO in order to be able to design stuff that can be laid out, or verified, or debugged, etc.
We turn all of these people out from our engineering schools and then we find creative ways not to hire them. Perhaps, in a growing, robust economy, instead of one where everyone is afraid of risk, all these folks could be accommodated. But that’s not what we have under Obama.
Kevin M (25bbee) — 3/4/2016 @ 9:48 am“WOW: Trump Pulls Out Of CPAC.”
Colonel Haiku (741b4a) — 3/4/2016 @ 9:51 am@Kevin M:No one wants to do the software assurance, the logic verification, the board layout, etc.
At the salary being offered… as allen points out:
The visa notice says the reference salary is $39K. Considering it undercuts the normal market rate by about 15-30K (the position has a wide range of salaries within the team) it’s no wonder they can’t find ‘Murican’s willing to do the work!
Warren Buffet would pick your asparagus if you paid him enough.
Gabriel Hanna (64d4e1) — 3/4/2016 @ 9:52 amThe way to stop H1-B abuse is to require that the imported workers be paid substantially more than their presumably unavailable US counterparts, and to end the practice of using H1-B workers to staff consulting companies.
and
At work they put up a notice that a job was being opened for an H1B visa application process (some notice on the bulletin board). You can find accountants to do it for about 50-55K and it’s a sub group in financial reporting so accounting and finance majors would have no problem doing it. The visa notice says the reference salary is $39K. Considering it undercuts the normal market rate by about 15-30K (the position has a wide range of salaries within the team) it’s no wonder they can’t find ‘Murican’s willing to do the work!
Require a company to pay a $15,000 fee for processing one of these overseas “high-tech” visas, then make the annual renewal of the visa subject to a $5,000 fee. Allow the employee to split the cost with the worker by deducting half of the fee from the worker’s salary. See if that doesn’t lead companies to determine that they can find citizen workers after all.
JVW (9e3c77) — 3/4/2016 @ 9:57 amIt’s a YUUUUUGE mistake to think that just because there’s a plan posted on Donald Trump’s campaign website he’s actually read it.
Steve57 (1ace39) — 3/4/2016 @ 10:01 amSteve–
You mean he didn’t WRITE it?
Kevin M (25bbee) — 3/4/2016 @ 10:04 amThe H1B program sounds like our version of the EU’s open border program. Switzerland isn’t in the EU, but their foolish bankers have signed onto a number of bi-lateral agreements with Brussels that implement portions of the toxic EU utopia. One of those is the free movement of labor. In 2014 the Swiss voters rejected this, and now Brussels and the Swiss elite are scrambling to try and finesse a deal that will fool the Swiss voters into thinking the problem is solved, while actually letting everything continue as is. However, over 25% of all the people living in Switzerland are immigrants and they have depressed wages and eliminated job opportunities for the average Swiss worker. So the problem isn’t one of optics and hope and change. Nor is it sufficient to pretend that the problems can be put off to some time in the distant future. It is a savage reality for those who think of themselves as Swiss citizens right now.
What an mishmash of economic recipes. On the one hand the elites tell us that we are a consumer society, and the road to prosperity is to encourage spending. So the Swiss are now charging depositors a small percentage for the privilege of putting their money in Swiss banks. The idea being that people will spend more freely since they won’t benefit from earning interest on what is quaintly called “savings”. On the other hand, the citizens of Switzerland are being driven out of the work force by immigrants, so they won’t have money to spend, let alone put in a bank. And the immigrants who are taking these jobs, what will they do? More than likely their families reside elsewhere, and a fair percentage of their pay is probably deposited in banks outside Switzerland.
This is a foretaste of what is happening here, albeit in a more leisurely fashion. We have the same myopic focus on increasing consumer spending, but we burden our younger workers with six-digit student loans the day they enter the work force. These new “consumers” have limited access to credit, as do we all, and they are not going to be doing much to prime pump once they’ve maxed out of their fifth credit card. And now they are going to be driven out of work by imported workers. And we wonder why Trump so easily finds a ready audience seeking a more hopeful view of reality.
It is amusing that Kevin thinks this will result in an increased interest in unions. My view is that this should make us all more concerned over a bigger union, our Republic. We are already members of this union. But it is up to us to protect our rights as citizens within this union. Leaving it up to yet another elite, call them union bosses, to protect our interests is layering yet another folly on three generations of foolishness.
BobStewartatHome (e34c16) — 3/4/2016 @ 10:07 am18. WDW caters almost exclusively to South Americans. The dark weird loud ones are Brazilians and the light snotty ones are Argentians. I would prefer DL on a cold low-cholo day.
urbanleftbehind (5eecdb) — 3/4/2016 @ 10:12 amI was more disturbed by the assertion that of course the Army would follow his orders if he gave them an illegal order.
aphrael (3f0569) — 3/4/2016 @ 10:17 amGlenn Kessler needs to fact check the critical issues.
Is Trump’s junk truly big?
First calls should be to the married women he slept with while John McCain was being tortured.
And any number of people on the street he opens his raincoat for.
nk (dbc370) — 3/4/2016 @ 10:19 amGabriel – I assume as a matter of course that there *are* actually jobs which require technical skills which are simply unavailable.
The companies which need to fill those jobs would be happy to pay a price premium above and beyond what they’d pay a citizen, just to fill the position.
On the other hand, the companies which are abusing the system to get cheaper semi-indentured labor by *claiming* to require unavailable skills without actually doing so *would not* be happy to pay that price premium, so they’d stop.
Which means Kevin’s suggestion is a great way to return H1-Bs to their theoretical intended purpose.
aphrael (3f0569) — 3/4/2016 @ 10:21 amKevin M – at least on the software dev side (as opposed to the network admin side), certification isn’t considered to be particularly important. What’s important is hands-on experience — EXCEPT at the interview stage, where they always ask about really high end information theory concepts that you don’t actually use in most day-to-day programming.
aphrael (3f0569) — 3/4/2016 @ 10:25 amTrump has reneged on the Sessions Immigration plan. Sessions looks awful in my eyes for this, much more than Trump does. We all knew Trump was lying through his teeth on immigration from day one, but Sessions had some credibility on immigration, and as far as I’m concerned has none now.
Dustin (2a8be7) — 3/4/2016 @ 10:25 amDustin – cut him some slack; the fact that he got taken in by a con man who has taken in a huge percentage of the Republican party isn’t per se a reason to revoke all of his credibility on everything.
aphrael (3f0569) — 3/4/2016 @ 10:28 amSessions still has credibility on immigration. What he lacks is good judgment on whom to trust to implement his immigration policied.
DRJ (15874d) — 3/4/2016 @ 10:39 amOf course, there may be more to the Trump-Sessions relationship thanimmigration. Sessions has a issues when it comes to civil rights and race.
DRJ (15874d) — 3/4/2016 @ 10:44 am“Glenn Beck: If I Got Close Enough To Trump, ‘The Stabbing Just Wouldn’t Stop’”
http://dailycaller.com/2016/03/04/glenn-beck-if-i-got-close-enough-to-trump-the-stabbing-just-wouldnt-stop-audio/#ixzz41xf3qNVj
sound awake (4f316e) — 3/4/2016 @ 10:44 am“Psychologists and massage therapists are reporting ‘Trump anxiety’ among clients”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/how-do-we-know-america-is-anxious-about-a-president-trump-shrinks-and-massage-therapists/2016/03/03/e5b55a22-e0bb-11e5-846c-10191d1fc4ec_story.html
sound awake (4f316e) — 3/4/2016 @ 10:45 am“Jim Webb: I won’t vote for Clinton, but I may for Trump”
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/03/jim-webb-no-hillary-clinton-220255#ixzz41xfQk7X9
sound awake (4f316e) — 3/4/2016 @ 10:46 amart suggesting imitation,
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2016/03/02/house-of-cards-season-four-episode-four-nine-talking-points-incl/
narciso (732bc0) — 3/4/2016 @ 10:47 amthat was right up with the attack on rehnquist back in 1986, that’s when the dems decided to go mad max on gop nominees,
narciso (732bc0) — 3/4/2016 @ 10:52 amThe ACLU gives him [Sessions] an “anti-civil rights” sticker. The Human Rights Campaign dubs him an unambiguous “anti-gay rights” legislator with a 0% record on gay issues. And the NAACP labels him firmly “anti-affirmative action”.
These are not negatives. Why would a guy with his head on so straight support a loon like Trump?
nk (dbc370) — 3/4/2016 @ 10:54 amYou’re more generous than I am.
The fact that he helped con a large percentage of the part is a reason to revoke his credibility because it means I do not trust him.
Sessions might as well have endorsed Obama as far as I am concerned.
Dustin (2a8be7) — 3/4/2016 @ 10:57 amTrump has reneged on the Sessions Immigration plan. Sessions looks awful in my eyes for this, much more than Trump does. We all knew Trump was lying through his teeth on immigration from day one, but Sessions had some credibility on immigration, and as far as I’m concerned has none now.
Yep, the real loser here is Jeff Sessions. I would love to know what’s going through his mind right now and if it has dawned upon him that he has completely been played by a master hustler.
JVW (9e3c77) — 3/4/2016 @ 10:58 amHas ropelight been banned, or does he just not have the guts to discuss this?
L.N. Smithee (1ed226) — 3/4/2016 @ 11:01 amtories here and across the pond, squander the opportunities.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/eureferendum/12182988/Lord-Tebbit-Cameron-should-step-down-if-Britain-votes-to-leave-EU.html
narciso (732bc0) — 3/4/2016 @ 11:02 amJVW, he already knew who he was endorsing. When Sessions helped Trump with his platform that was one thing. Months later we all know who Trump is.
We also always knew that the conservative movement was stuffed with pretenders, using the cause for their own benefit, rather than sincerely hoping to reform our country. The Tea Party in its infancy became an obvious political strategy for fakers.
Rubio’s the best example of a tea party pretender, but there are more. Trump has shown us a few of them. Not surprisingly, the ones who were really good at the prime-time stuff are often the least authentic.
Cruz will never have a reality show or be sought for audio-book narration, but at least he means what he says.
Dustin (2a8be7) — 3/4/2016 @ 11:04 amI agree with Dustin and JVW that Sessions is the biggest loser, espeically in Alabama. He’s lucky he won’t face reelection until 2020. Maybe he hopes to get a position in a Trump Administration.
DRJ (15874d) — 3/4/2016 @ 11:04 amPatterico
Trump only likes sleeping with women whose husbands don’t get captured.
Since I have your attention let me ask you a question:
Rush has been talking today about how Trump was being prosecuted up on stage. Kelly, Cruz and Rubio are all lawyers.
Do you think some of Trump’s popularity is due to the fact that he isn’t a lawyer?
pinandpuller (a12946) — 3/4/2016 @ 11:08 amI hate to be so negative. I was so negative in the last primary and I got nothing for it except being unhappy. Life is too short and it’s a very, very pretty day in Austin. Just swam three miles and I feel like I’m ten years younger than I did yesterday.
I hope Sessions proves me completely wrong by taking a stand on his endorsement. He knows that would open him up to Trump’s nastiness, and as Session has worked with Trump I am sure Trump has some mud to sling (he seems to always have something horrible to say about anyone he has ever dealt with).
Wish you all a great day!
Dustin (2a8be7) — 3/4/2016 @ 11:12 amHere’s what I said about Sessions cozying up to Trump on August 19, 2015:
L.N. Smithee (1ed226) — 3/4/2016 @ 11:12 amthat’s looking at only one side of the table:
http://www.computerworld.com/article/2900126/ted-cruz-the-presidential-candidate-who-wants-to-increase-the-h-1b-cap-by-500.html
if we’re going to be honest,
narciso (732bc0) — 3/4/2016 @ 11:13 amJVW, he already knew who he was endorsing. When Sessions helped Trump with his platform that was one thing. Months later we all know who Trump is.
We also always knew that the conservative movement was stuffed with pretenders, using the cause for their own benefit, rather than sincerely hoping to reform our country. The Tea Party in its infancy became an obvious political strategy for fakers.
Look, let’s not play the conservative parlor game of taking the first opportunity to write off anyone who crosses us on any issue. Sessions remains a stalwart with clear vision on immigration and other issues very important to us. Heaven knows why he decided to cast his lot with That F***in’ Guy, but I would like to believe in redemption and that he can be made to see the error of his ways, acknowledge a mistake, and make amends.
When all of this is over the pieces of the shattered conservative coalition are going to have to be put back together, and is going to include outreach and reconciliation to people who were conned by the carnival barker. We don’t do ourselves any favors by locking and barricading the door and taking satisfaction that we remained pure as the driven snow.
JVW (9e3c77) — 3/4/2016 @ 11:14 amBefore we string up Sessions maybe he just read the electorate in Alabama and signed on with the stronger horse in Alabama and at least seems to be trying to influence Trump from the inside. If Trump succeeds we’re gonna need Sessions and others in Congress pushing Trump from the inside and the outside to restrain his crazy train from hooking up with his progressive cronies.
crazy (cde091) — 3/4/2016 @ 11:16 amunpersoning is the new thing, now coburn who endorsed rubio, how did that work out again, was friends with obama, who he threw under the bus when bill ayers came up, like I say it was a tactical play, like thurmond endorsing nixon in ’68, something roger stone would have reminded trump about, of course, newscorp had it been around then would have been all for rockefeller,
narciso (732bc0) — 3/4/2016 @ 11:19 amLN Smithee,
I imagine DRJ’s probably right that Trump has been making a ton of promises. He’s a deal maker. Find out what they want and get the best deal. he doesn’t believe in positions, but he believes in winning. The entire primary he’s been so nasty to other republicans that it’s been clear he has no intention of tapping any of them for his VP slot. Now there are hints he’s looking at democrats for VP, and it seems like a pretty clever strategy.
I wonder if Rubio had some kind of deal with Trump up to a month ago, and then realized it was bravo sierra. Since then he’s fought like it’s personal, which is unlike Rubio.
Dustin (2a8be7) — 3/4/2016 @ 11:21 amso an actual piece of legislation weighs more in the balance then a proposal, this is why the attacks on newt over some of his doodlings re romney’s actual injuries to the body politic, seemed off kilter,
narciso (732bc0) — 3/4/2016 @ 11:22 amjust as with mike castle pushing for cap n trade, and actual suppression of free speech, oddly that didn’t matter over macho grande,
narciso (732bc0) — 3/4/2016 @ 11:25 amI’ve never considered myself a purist except on one thing: integrity. If you have some views I don’t like, and all of them do, that’s fine. Just be honest about it. There are ways to change your mind that aren’t dishonest, too.
But it is important that when we take on this task of gluing the coalition back together that we learn which pieces were weak links.
A political coalition derives its power from the people, not the leaders. We don’t need Palin, for example. Trump couldn’t even win Alaska. Fakes that build themselves into king makers, patting themselves on the back all day until that moment they betray the cause… they aren’t the movement. They directed the movement to themselves instead of the other way around.
It’s not about being pure. It’s about being practical. You do not rebuild with broken parts. Or actually, that’s basically how the GOP has been handling it since the mid 90s and it’s still broken, unmysteriously.
JVW, should Sessions do that, he has more than redeemed himself. He’s shown he was never in the wrong, just as most of Trump’s supporters aren’t in the wrong, and obviously want the best for our country and don’t realize how they have been deceived.
Dustin (2a8be7) — 3/4/2016 @ 11:28 amin retrospect, guiliani would have been a better choice then mccain or romney, we rolled snake eyes there, and similar in 2012, the dice was fixed of course, but we might have gotten to an inside straight,
narciso (732bc0) — 3/4/2016 @ 11:30 amTam on Rubio’s attempted slam on Trump.
SPQR (a3a747) — 3/4/2016 @ 11:40 amOoops, here’s the link
http://booksbikesboomsticks.blogspot.com/2016/03/stubby-fingered-vulgarian.html
SPQR (a3a747) — 3/4/2016 @ 11:41 amremember he is being advised by tpaw’s top man, conant, who is full of blanc mange,
narciso (732bc0) — 3/4/2016 @ 11:48 amSince its supposedly illegal to target terrorist’s families what’s the difference between that and “accidentally” killing 15 people at a wedding with a drone strike?
When do the impeachment hearings and war crime tribunals kick off?
pinandpuller (0845e7) — 3/4/2016 @ 11:50 amsilly rabbit, that only happens with republicans, also if you intentionally misread european court decisions, which yoo relied upon,
narciso (732bc0) — 3/4/2016 @ 11:56 ama possible reason is trump didn’t campaign in alaska, neither did the huntress, but she is so visible you wouldn’t know that or frankly care,
narciso (732bc0) — 3/4/2016 @ 12:21 pmWhen Trump is President we are cutting all funding to Los Angeles until he not only unemployed and his pension is taken away.
Joe (dd7c5e) — 3/4/2016 @ 12:30 pmI have heard interviews with former Disney employees who said that their severance was contingent on their remaining to train the workers who would replace them, and that the incoming workers were not all going to remain in the United States. Some of them would be returning to India to work remotely. Mind you, this is the same Disney company that has just made a BILLION dollars out of the latest edition of Star Wars.
L.N. Smithee (1ed226) — 3/4/2016 @ 12:34 pmnarciso: Trump will never accuse you of being on your period since you never use them.
L.N. Smithee (1ed226) — 3/4/2016 @ 12:36 pmNot even on National Grammar Day!
Leviticus (efada1) — 3/4/2016 @ 12:47 pmWatch Trump: What’s the Deal? The suppressed 1991 documentary on the Prima Donald found at TrumpTheMovie.com. It shows how even decades ago, Trump’s philosophy was to get the meanest, most intimidating lawyers available (his family’s was the pugnacious Roy Cohn) and guard a sense of plausible deniability with your life. This is how he disclaimed responsibility for the illegal Polish workers brought in to build Trump Tower and will likely be key to defense of Trump “University.”
L.N. Smithee (1ed226) — 3/4/2016 @ 12:50 pmSo trump has reversed himself on torture
narciso (a0e373) — 3/4/2016 @ 1:20 pmFacts are interesting things but narrative is more important, that’s how a certain voldemort has been able to skull around for the better part of four decades
narciso (a0e373) — 3/4/2016 @ 1:22 pmi like all these different policies. Plus i like how when Trump is president you’ll be able to count on the good policies.
Will be such a nice change I think over what we have now.
Let’s do this.
happyfeet (a037ad) — 3/4/2016 @ 1:46 pmWhich ones are the good ones, Happyfeet?
JD (112444) — 3/4/2016 @ 1:49 pmhappyfeet, let’s not.
Cruz Supporter (102c9a) — 3/4/2016 @ 1:50 pmBut I swear, I’m not ‘against’ Orange People, per se. (LOL)
the good policies are the ones that will make America great again JD
whereas the bad policies but us on the wrong path
happyfeet (a037ad) — 3/4/2016 @ 1:51 pm*put* us on wrong path i mean
happyfeet (a037ad) — 3/4/2016 @ 1:52 pmI will again sing Jeff Sessions’ praises on the day he withdraws his endorsement of Trump.
Until then, he’s a sucker and a coward, and while that doesn’t make him an awful person or a bad conservative or wrong about everything else, it does make him a sucker and a coward.
Chris Christie, though — he’s dead to me. I’d oppose him always, on everything, for as long as he lives.
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/4/2016 @ 1:54 pmHappyfeet – you just stated one of Hillary’s plans – do less bad, and more good. Since Trump’s positions depend on the time of day, I would prefer to know exactly which ones you are referring to.
JD (112444) — 3/4/2016 @ 1:56 pm@ narciso: There aren’t many of us around who still remember Rocky, huh?
My dad, who was merely a third-generation Texas Republican, adored Eisenhower (but hated MacArthur, the consequence of being a Navy man in the Pacific in WW2), and believed in Goldwater, and was a fan of Ronald Reagan dating back to the 1964 election based on Reagan’s campaigning for Goldwater. My dad was never very fond of Rocky, but did prefer him to Nixon, whom my dad believed (correctly) to be brilliant and amoral.
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/4/2016 @ 1:58 pmwell i don’t have all the specifics yet I’m as curious as you are what President Trump is gonna do
there’s a lot about this whole President Trump thing you just have to take on faith
happyfeet (a037ad) — 3/4/2016 @ 1:59 pmSo, Sessions has been snookered by Trump on immigration. Well, it happens to everyone it seems. Consider Rubio and the Gang of 8. Cruz himself will “enforce the law” but there’s always the possibility that the law might change.
Kevin M (25bbee) — 3/4/2016 @ 1:59 pmIf I see Jeff Sessions get up knowingly repeat Trump’s lies — which is exactly what Chris Christie is doing, whenever he stops licking himself and scratching the fleas — then I’ll feel even more betrayed by Sessions. There’s a limit to how betrayed I can feel about Christie because I never thought he was a true conservative to begin with; I just didn’t think he was this craven.
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/4/2016 @ 2:00 pmnonono there is no snookering just varying different policies with respect to the best way to move forward Mr. M
it’ll be so nice to see America moving forward again
happyfeet (a037ad) — 3/4/2016 @ 2:00 pmthere’s a lot about this whole President Trump thing you just have to take on faith
The man’s word is his bond, eh?
Kevin M (25bbee) — 3/4/2016 @ 2:00 pmBy definition, everyone who falls for a con man is a sucker. I think Trump is a con man but plenty of people disagree. I guess we’ll have to wait and see who is right.
DRJ (15874d) — 3/4/2016 @ 2:01 pmSunnin’ in kapalua
Colonel Haiku (699618) — 3/4/2016 @ 2:03 pmwhere teh wahinis do teh hula
Teh Trumpster’s got no class
and he can kiss my mammajammin’
Sunburnt ass
Walkin’ on DT Fleming beaches
Colonel Haiku (699618) — 3/4/2016 @ 2:04 pmLookin’ at teh peaches
i’m not blaming people for being cynical it’s understandable
happyfeet (a037ad) — 3/4/2016 @ 2:05 pmChristie isn’t craven, exactly. He’s simply an opportunist. I think he has calculated badly and is going to be out of politics before year’s end, but I don’t see him as a coward. Butt-kissing toady, perhaps, but he expects he will be rewarded for that. I doubt Blofeld cares what he expects.
Kevin M (25bbee) — 3/4/2016 @ 2:06 pmSo Obama and Putin are at an important conference in bucolic French Countryside and Putin asks Obama to go on a private stroll to discuss each others position. Obama says fine.
As they are walking down the roads they come across a sheep farm and both notice a poor sheep with its head caught in a barbed wire fence. Putin turns to Obama and says “we Russians are strong and we take advantage of weakness when it presents itself.” Putin walks up to the sheep, takes off his pants and has his way with the sheep as Obama watches.
When Putin finishes he pulls up his pants and walk back to Obama. He looks at a puzzled Obama and says “now your turn.” Obama walks up to the fence, drops his pants and sticks his head into the barb wire fence.
Rodney King's Spirit (3adc86) — 3/4/2016 @ 2:09 pmMr. Smithee (#72), you’re right about Trump’s strategy for picking lawyers. I have personal stories I could tell about that subject that are indeed specific to Donald Trump, but it would upset some of my former partners, so I can’t.
But I will say this, with complete confidence: I always love to see lawyers of the sort whom Trump hires show up on the other side of the lawsuits I’m handling. They’re all aggression, no brains — and that makes them noisy chumps, just like their principal. A nice chunk of my career income has been based on manipulating and then vanquishing those raging bulls.
Among the many hundreds of lies Trump told on stage last night was his claim that he “never settles.” It would be much closer to the truth to say that he “always settles.” If you look at the biggest litigation he’s ever been involved in — the four waves of corporate bankruptcies through which he’s dragged the entire empire handed down to him by his rich daddy — you’ll see that he’s come out very, very poorly in every one of them. He hasn’t used bankruptcy strategically (like, e.g., his hero Carl Icahn does). He’s not a shark, he’s chum, and the sharks have fed on him in bankruptcy court, carrying off what assets remained, and leaving the unsecured creditors who’ve relied on the Trump name — i.e., the suckers — with less than a penny on the dollar.
When it suits him, Trump claims to be the “comeback kid,” the holder of a Guiness World Record for purposes of which he lied about — exaggerated — the amount of his own defaulted indebtedness. He’s claimed to have come back from being $10B in the hole, which is as ridiculous as his claim that he’s now worth $10B. On his very best day in his entire career, he could have never gotten people to loan him anywhere remotely close to that kind of money, and for good reason.
But he has indeed — through scams like Trump University, which is reported to have taken in over $40M (thanks DRJ) — rebuild several tiny fortunes into fairly large ones.
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/4/2016 @ 2:12 pm“Among the many hundreds of lies Trump told on stage last night was his claim that he “never settles.” It would be much closer to the truth to say that he “always settles.””
– Beldar
The latter being closer to a universal truth (for both plaintiffs and defendants) than anything specific to Trump.
Leviticus (efada1) — 3/4/2016 @ 2:23 pmIf I see Jeff Sessions get up knowingly repeat Trump’s lies — which is exactly what Chris Christie is doing, whenever he stops licking himself and scratching the fleas — then I’ll feel even more betrayed by Sessions.
Agreed. I want to believe that Sessions is now experiencing a heavy dose of buyer’s remorse (endorser’s remorse?) and plans to lie low now that the Alabama primary is done with.
JVW (9e3c77) — 3/4/2016 @ 2:24 pmGiuliani is not only another New York liberal (he was the candidate of the Liberal Party) he’s also a, well, Italians are sensitive about the F-word so I’ll say “authoritarian”. He has no regard for civil liberties. And he’s a bully, just like Elliot Spitzer. Gets off on hurting people. I voted against him every chance I got, and I would vote against him for president.
Milhouse (87c499) — 3/4/2016 @ 2:35 pmSessions can lie low all he wants — his usefulness to Trump is done.
DRJ (15874d) — 3/4/2016 @ 2:36 pmHow about the fact that it is an accident. And there’s nothing illegal about killing innocent people in war, only about targeting them. Targeting a legitimate target of high value, knowing that innocent bystanders will also die, is perfectly legal.
Milhouse (87c499) — 3/4/2016 @ 2:39 pmThought experiment: Trump drops out of CPAC so the only news that comes out of the convention is that … Trump dropped out. He knew he would never be the fan favorite but this way he’s still the story.
DRJ (15874d) — 3/4/2016 @ 2:41 pmSessions can lie low all he wants — his usefulness to Trump is done.
You’re probably right, though Sessions probably could be of some help in border states like Arizona, New Mexico, and even California.
JVW (9e3c77) — 3/4/2016 @ 2:44 pmhad my first one of these today
i’m definitely a fan i think
they’re kinda pricey but they’re very tasty and i guess they’re healthy too
got mine in burbank here
i had no idea this was a thing
happyfeet (a037ad) — 3/4/2016 @ 2:47 pmGeraghty’s Rule — “All statements from Barack Obama come with an expiration date. All of them” — also applies to Trump. It’s just that the expiration date may be measured in milliseconds rather than hours, day, and weeks.
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/4/2016 @ 2:49 pmTrump is flipflopping on expecting the military to follow illegal orders. I guess his extensive high school military training finally kicked in. Hopefully his supporters are as quick to change positions as Trump has been.
DRJ (15874d) — 3/4/2016 @ 2:49 pmExclusive video of Jeff Sessions watching last night’s debate.
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/4/2016 @ 2:50 pmI inadvertently proved Beldar’s point at comment 103. You’re welcome, Beldar.
DRJ (15874d) — 3/4/2016 @ 2:50 pmCarson is speaking at CPAC and his current topic is who people should support. He focused on a candidate’s experience, family, colleagues, and devotion to country … and then they cut away so I don’t know who Carson likes.
DRJ (15874d) — 3/4/2016 @ 2:53 pmCPAC is a buncha poopers
they should be disbanded cause all they do is alienate people who they coulda been really good friends with
happyfeet (a037ad) — 3/4/2016 @ 2:53 pmDRJ: Thanks for that link! Moe Lane gets it.
I’ll just note that whenever the Trump Campaign issues a written statement, like this one, disavowing or clarifying something Trump has said, we have no assurance that Trump’s even read it, much less that he agrees with it, much less that he won’t flip-flop again.
This is useful, though, to show that Trump’s defenders here — who continue to argue that yes, it’s okay to murder children if their daddies are terrorists, because how else can we deter them? — are truly sick.
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/4/2016 @ 2:54 pmWould Trump promise Carson the position of Surgeon General in exchange for an endorsement? Of course. Deals are what Trump does. Would Carson accept? I think so.
DRJ (15874d) — 3/4/2016 @ 2:56 pmWould Trump promise Carson the position of Surgeon General in exchange for an endorsement? Of course. Deals are what Trump does. Would Carson accept? I think so.
He ought to hold out for Secretary of HHS. And maybe some comped rooms at the Atlantic City Taj Mahal (unless that’s already gone belly-up).
JVW (9e3c77) — 3/4/2016 @ 2:59 pmNone of this matters – at all. Not at all, none of it. It isn’t going to change support for Trump one iota. Over and over again, one thing after another, none of it has made a bit of difference, yet again and again Cruz’s supporters (here and elsewhere) have jumped on each and every supposed damning event like a duck on a June Bug.
You’re missing the point. It isn’t a secret, the key to Trump’s continuing success has been mentioned many times before. Yet Trump’s detractors continue to direct their fire at the wrong direction. I offered to reveal the problem to Steve, I believe it was, and thus to one and all, and got no takers. All he has to do is ask me nicely.
ropelight (6354c4) — 3/4/2016 @ 2:59 pmRomney flip flopped his way to irrelevancy. At best he was a below average one term govna. With hacks like Gruber doing kid dirty work, he should not be talking about anyone. This prince could not even beat mccain. Crapped his pants running against dead Ted the killer drunk from Massachusetts. Liars the lot of them. Kill your base and make love to obama.
mg (31009b) — 3/4/2016 @ 3:12 pmI agree. Nothing will change someone’s opinion when they are emotionally invested in a person or result.
DRJ (15874d) — 3/4/2016 @ 3:13 pmOf course it’s not a secret. The key to Trump’s continuing success is that well known saying about how “there is one born every minute.”
Roscoe (d9df47) — 3/4/2016 @ 3:16 pmAnd, the beat goes on, and on, and Trump only gets stronger. At some point using your head instead of lashing out emotionally might begin to sound like a pretty good idea. Maybe.
ropelight (6354c4) — 3/4/2016 @ 3:23 pmGetting told to “use your head” by a Trump supporter is like getting told to “use your eyes” by Stevie Wonder.
Leviticus (a8efb0) — 3/4/2016 @ 3:25 pmOh, I know the secret to his “success,” but it’s not really a secret. It was said out loud by David Hannum. H.L. Mencken also said something along those lines.
I can see why Trump appeals to you: You have the same air of “I have the answer that everyone has been searching for! But before I condescend and bless the rest you with it, you’ve gotta kiss my [ring].”
L.N. Smithee (1ed226) — 3/4/2016 @ 3:26 pm“Donald Trump is right about defense spending – and that should scare you”
Donald Trump could be the only presidential candidate talking sense about for the American military’s budget. That should scare everyone.
“I’m gonna build a military that’s gonna be much stronger than it is right now,” the real- estate-mogul-turned-tautological-demagogue said on Meet the Press. “It’s gonna be so strong, nobody’s gonna mess with us. But you know what? We can do it for a lot less.”
He’s right.
As Trump has pointed out many times, Washington can build and maintain an amazing military arsenal for a fraction of what it’s paying now. He’s also right about one of the causes of the bloated budget: expensive prestige weapons systems such as the Littoral Combat Ship and the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
“I hear stories,” Trump said in a speech before the New Hampshire primary, “like they’re ordering missiles they don’t want because of politics, because of special interests, because the company that makes the missiles is a contributor.”
In the age of terrorism and Islamic State bombers, the prevailing political wisdom holds that appearing soft on defense can lose a candidate the general election. For many of the 2016 presidential candidates, looking strong means spending a ton of cash. Even if you’re from the party that holds fiscal responsibility as its cornerstone.
But Trump doesn’t care about any of that. In speech after speech, he has called out politicians and defense contractors for colluding to build costly weapons systems at the price of national security.
During a radio program last October, for example, Trump called out the trouble-ridden F-35. “[Test pilots are] saying it doesn’t perform as well as our existing equipment, which is much less expensive,” Trump said. “So when I hear that, immediately I say we have to do something, because you know, they’re spending billions.”
Like so many Trump plans, the specifics are hazy. But on this issue, he’s got the right idea.
In a political climate full of fear of foreign threats and gung-ho about the military, it could take a populist strongman like Trump to deliver the harsh truth: When it comes to the military, the United States can do so much more with so much less.
http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2016/03/02/trump-is-right-about-defense-spending-and-that-should-scare-you/
sound awake (4f316e) — 3/4/2016 @ 3:27 pmropelight, would you please disclose to me the problem that you offered to reveal to Steve, and thus to one and all?
Leviticus (a8efb0) — 3/4/2016 @ 3:27 pmI don’t know if Trump can win the Presidency but if he does, it will be interesting to see what he does. I don’t think anyone can reliably say what he will do. No wonder Trump appeals to conspiracy-minded folks.
DRJ (15874d) — 3/4/2016 @ 3:35 pmPlenty of army types hated Dugout Doug with a passion, too. It was an equal opportunity thing.
The Australians were surprised by this; when MacArthur was flown out of Mindanao to Australia the JCS put him in charge of the Southwest Pacific AOR and the Aussies completely bought into MacArthur’s PR. Then the troop build-up began and they were amazed to discover that the GIs didn’t share their admiration for MacArthur. In fact, almost to a man the troops despised him.
Neither side was exactly right of course. MacArthur wasn’t the coward the troops thought he was; he had demonstrated that in combat prior to WWII. He certainly didn’t demonstrate any concern for the troops fighting anywhere in the Philippines, and especially those on Bataan, though. And he was vain, having an extremely high regard for his own person, who wouldn’t hesitate to grab the credit for things his subordinates or even forces he had nothing to do with (like Halsey’s in the COMSOPAC AOR) had accomplished. So he never deserved the reputation that preceded him to Australia.
I don’t blame your dad for despising him, Beldar. Frankly I think he got a lot of people killed needlessly. Nimitz wanted to cut straight across the central Pacific to Taiwan (Formosa then) and cut the Japanese off from the resources in their southern captured territories, then pivot north and defeat Japan directly, bypassing the Philippines entirely. Saving it for later, so to speak, and it’s hard to imagine that Japanese forces there wouldn’t have surrendered along with their government any more than those in China, Manchuria, or Southeast Asia which also hadn’t been directly defeated by allied forces (they hadn’t even seen an American or ANZAC soldier in those areas).
MacArthur insisted that the main thrust be from the south through the Philippines, mostly because of his self-regard again; he had promised, “I shall return.” That was really the only thing driving the deal. I really don’t think MacArthur’s ego was worth all the blood, sweat, and tears that cost.
Steve57 (1ace39) — 3/4/2016 @ 3:42 pmThe more I see Trump with the waving finger in the air, the more metrosexual he looks to be.
jrt for Cruz (bc7456) — 3/4/2016 @ 3:42 pm“The No. 1 Way Trump Could Strengthen U.S. Security If He Wins The Presidency”
A professor at the State University of New York says that if Donald Trump secures the Republican nomination for president, he has a 97% probability of winning the general election. That projection is based on a model the professor developed that reportedly has predicted every general-election outcome but one over the last hundred years.
So when candidate Trump complained at the Oklahoma State Fair last September that his Republican opponents want to “start World War III over Syria,” that wasn’t just rhetoric. Now that the forces of another nuclear power are engaged there, the possibility of escalation cannot simply be dismissed. The same is true of Ukraine, where Trump has shown much more restraint than his rivals and some Democrats by describing Russian aggression there as “Europe’s problem.”
He’s right, if the goal is to protect America. Becoming militarily engaged in a place that is barely a one-hour plane ride from the Russian capital is fraught with danger — maybe nuclear danger. Similarly, his repeated insistence that Washington needs to try to get along with the government of Vladimir Putin is only reasonable, given the fact that Washington’s best and brightest have conferred upon the Russian leader an unfettered capacity to destroy America.
It is truly absurd that other GOP candidates like Ted Cruz fret publicly over the nuclear threat posed by Iran — a country that has no nuclear weapons and no way to deliver them against distant targets — while almost totally ignoring the overwhelming danger posed by Russia’s nuclear arsenal. President Putin stated a year ago that he was ready for “the worst possible turn of events” during the Ukraine crisis of 2014, and considered putting his nuclear forces on alert. Nobody in Washington seemed to notice.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/lorenthompson/2016/02/29/the-most-important-fix-president-trump-can-make-to-americas-military-posture/#5d124ead74a7
sound awake (4f316e) — 3/4/2016 @ 3:43 pm#117, Liviticus, contrary to your assertion, I didn’t tell anyone to “use your head” although you might consider giving it a try. I suggested that continued failure to grasp Trump’s success might, just might, overcome the sophomoric urge to lash out emotionally, and lead to alternative methods of reaching an accurate understanding. As can be seen by subsequent comments my expectations have proved unfulfilled.
#120, ditto, of course I would have, but that was before LN Smithee chimed in. Now, I suspend my offer. However, I’ll be reviewing that decision over the next few hours.
ropelight (6354c4) — 3/4/2016 @ 3:46 pmGetting told to “use your head” by a Trump supporter is like getting told to “use your eyes” by Stevie Wonder.
Leviticus (a8efb0) — 3/4/2016 @ 3:25 pm
Don’t be hatin’ on the blind peeps, Leviticus.
Colonel Haiku (e66a17) — 3/4/2016 @ 3:51 pm“An Establishment In Panic”
Rubio, however, seems not to have detected the moral threat of Trump, until polls showed Rubio being wiped out on Super Tuesday and in real danger of losing Florida.
Mitt Romney has also suddenly discovered what a fraud and phony is the businessman-builder whose endorsement he so avidly sought and so oleaginously accepted in Las Vegas in 2012.
That the Beltway elites, whose voice is the Post, hate and fear Trump is not only undeniable, it is understandable.
The Post beat the drums for the endless Mideast wars that bled and near bankrupted the country. Trump will not start another.
The Post welcomes open borders that bring in millions to continue the endless expansion of the welfare state and to change the character of the country we grew up in. Trump will build the wall and repatriate those here illegally.
Trump threatens the trade treaties that enable amoral transnational corporations to ship factories and jobs overseas to produce cheaply abroad and be rid of American employees who are ever demanding better wages and working conditions.
What does the Post care about trade deals that deindustrialize America when the advertising dollars of the big conglomerates are what make Big Media fat and happy?
The political establishment in Washington depends on Wall Street and K Street for PAC money and campaign contributions. Wall Street and K Street depend on the political establishment to protect their right to abandon America for the greener pastures abroad.
While the depth and rancor of the divisions in the party are apparent, so also is the opportunity. For the turnout in the Republican primaries and caucuses has not only exceeded expectations, it has astonished and awed political observers.
A new “New Majority” has been marching to the polls and voting Republican, a majority unlike any seen since the 49-state landslides of the Nixon and Reagan eras.
If this energy can be maintained, if those throngs of Republican voters can be united in the fall, then the party can hold Congress, capture the While House and reconstitute the Supreme Court.
Come the ides of March, the GOP is going to be in need of its uniters and its statesmen. But today, all Republicans should ask themselves:
Are these folks coming out in droves to vote Republican really the bigoted, hateful and authoritarian people of the Post’s depiction?
Or is this not the same old Post that has poured bile on conservatives for generations now in a panic that America’s destiny may be torn away from it and restored to its rightful owners?
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-03-04/establishment-panic
sound awake (4f316e) — 3/4/2016 @ 3:57 pmSteve, you just don’t get it. If it was a matter of evidence it would be a no-brainer, but it isn’t about evidence, obviously. Here’s a hint: the question is more important than the answer.
ropelight (6354c4) — 3/4/2016 @ 3:58 pm“I would have, but that was before LN Smithee chimed in. Now, I suspend my offer. However, I’ll be reviewing that decision over the next few hours.”
– ropelight
Yeah, don’t bother on my account. I was giving you an opportunity to demonstrate your mendacity. L.N. Smithee had you pegged.
Leviticus (a8efb0) — 3/4/2016 @ 4:03 pm@ Steve57: My dad adored Chester Nimitz, and for exactly the reason you pointed out. His ship, the Zeilin, was part of the invasion of Luzon in the Philippines. When I tried to get him to tell me about that invasion in particular, he was very conflicted. He’d toured the captured areas ashore during a return trip (the source of about 90% of his wartime photos, which I still have), and he’d seen the horrors of the Japanese occupation, and the relief of the islanders that MacArthur had, famously, returned. But he felt like that really didn’t hasten the end of the war, or spare the lives that could have been spared by concentrating on Nimitz’ island-hopping strategy.
Of course, Donald Trump fully understands about how important stuff like this could be to you, or to me, or to other veterans and families of veterans: Donald Trump learned it at military school, I’m sure. Now excuse me, I have a coughing fit to finish before I go yell at those kids on my lawn.
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/4/2016 @ 4:04 pmsound awake, it’s not insane. It’s just that no one asks the right questions of he candidates. You’re right, though. That needs to change.
The fact is bluster aside Putin, and the Chinese, are eminently deterrable. They’re not insane nor are they stupid, and they know full well the gaps and weaknesses in their capabilities. Obama’s weakness invites their aggression. As the saying goes, the Russians keep probing with the bayonet until they hit steel.
Currently they’re weighing their options. Do they grab all they can immediately and risk putting someone they don’t want in the Oval Office, or hold off and possibly squander the opportunity?
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Russian tanks in Tallinn, Vilnius, and Riga after the conventions depending on how things shake out.
Steve57 (1ace39) — 3/4/2016 @ 4:05 pmI know, ropelight. I never got the David Cassidy thing either.
Steve57 (1ace39) — 3/4/2016 @ 4:07 pmropelight, you might have missed my question in another post’s comments, so I’ll re-post it here, with the time-tenses and languages tweaked appropriately to take account of Trump’s subsequent waffle:
Did you express support for Trump last night despite his then-willingness to murder the families of terrorists (on no grounds other than that they’re the family of terrorists)? Or did you express support for Trump in part because of that?
Despite or because?
Please be a man and give the one-word answer, but of course say whatever else you want to by way of explanation or mitigation.
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/4/2016 @ 4:08 pmDonald Trump flip flops
mg (31009b) — 3/4/2016 @ 4:11 pmhttp://www.cafepress.com/+custom_flip_flops_orange,1000708828?utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=1000708828&utm_source=msn&utm_campaign=sem-cpc-product-ads&utm_content=search-pla
“A Muslim Upbringing and Terrorism”
I have been working with children and adolescents for 15 years and as an experienced psychologist I have both theoretical and practical experience with the development of children’s personality. Having counseled more than 150 Muslim children and their parents, my clear conclusion is that Muslims in general raise their children very differently than non-Muslims. Even though all children are innocent babies when they are born, they can develop into violent and hateful fanatics when they grow up, if confronted with certain psychological circumstances.
Many have asked themselves: Why do so many Muslims become terrorists or sympathize with the terrorists? The answer does not only involve theology, but also psychology.
The question is if there are aspects of the way children are raised in Muslim culture that promotes a mindset that makes people more prone to become terrorists or to use terrorist like tactics such as using fear and violence in order to further a case that is directly against basic human rights, basic human values in general and the law.
My professional experience from working with criminal and non-criminal Muslims is that the general Muslim way of educating children contributes to the psychological development of such a mindset.
http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/86352/muslim-upbringing-and-terrorism-jamie-glazov
sound awake (4f316e) — 3/4/2016 @ 4:22 pm“Religious Muslim boys more violent, study says”
A study that shows boys growing up in religious Muslim families are more likely to be violent seems set to reignite the debate over religion and integration, a media report said on Sunday.
The study, which involved intensive questioning of 45,000 teenagers from 61 towns and regions across the country, was conducted by Christian Pfeiffer of the criminal research institute of Lower Saxony.
http://www.thelocal.de/20100606/27673
sound awake (4f316e) — 3/4/2016 @ 4:28 pmI’ll just say that the I think the issue of Trump is very simple, and many of his critics here have I think responded in ways which seem inappropriate and completely unhelpful from a practical perspective.
But I have nothing more to say than what I have already said,
MD not exactly in Philly (deca84) — 3/4/2016 @ 4:31 pmDo I need to repeat it, or would it be old and boring if I did?
“British women filmed ‘urging young girls to join Islamic State terrorists in Syria'”
The Channel 4 documentary, captured on hidden cameras over the course of a year, also captures people promoting ISIS ideology
A shocking documentary has exposed a group of British women as Islamic State sympathisers who are urging young women to leave the UK and travel to Syria.
Captured on hidden cameras over the course of a year, the chilling footage shows the women using slurs when talking about Jewish people and proclaiming that they “do not submit to the law of any country, any nation”.
The documentary, called ISIS: The British Women Supporters Unveiled which airs on Channel 4 tonight at 9pm, also shows women glorifying jihadis and promoting extreme ISIS ideology both online and directly to young women.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/british-women-filmed-urging-young-6887691
sound awake (4f316e) — 3/4/2016 @ 4:31 pm72 LN Smithee
Oh I know everyone hates all lawyers and congressmen, exept their own.
But the last two president and first lady lawyer couples got their law licenses pulled, do you really want that to happen to poor Ted Cruz(BTW is his wife a lawyer too?)?
Oh, that reminds me: Cruz and Rubio didn’t release their entire tax returns. Did Ted tithe his full 10%? Does anybody know?
We know Hillary used to itemize Bill’s charitable underwear donations.
pinandpuller (a12946) — 3/4/2016 @ 4:32 pm#134, Yes, Beldar, I missed yor question, although it’s so similar to so many others, I quite possibly would have ignored it had I seen it. You do recall my request at #169:
Beldar, you’ve referred to Trump’s supposed willingness to murder (children) the families of terrorists. Are you prepared to back that up, or is it just an ass-pull on your part? I’m not persuaded Trump used those words you put in his mouth.
You’re one of the few who constantly obsess about killing children.
I’ve expressed my support for Trump for weeks on end, yesterday was no exception. Surely that can’t come as a surprise to you.
ropelight (6354c4) — 3/4/2016 @ 4:33 pm“Relatives Of Muslim ‘Disneyland Family’ Attended Same ‘Army of Darkness’ Mosque As San Bernardino Terrorists”
The British Muslim family banned from entering the U.S. this week were on their way to meet relatives in California who prayed at the same mosque as terrorists Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik, who murdered 14 people in San Bernardino this month.
American security agencies have also confirmed the brothers “hit positive for terror checks”.
http://www.breitbart.com/london/2015/12/25/relatives-muslim-disneyland-family-attended-army-darkness-mosque-san-bernardino-terrorists/
sound awake (4f316e) — 3/4/2016 @ 4:37 pmBeldar
Please let us know if you will be on with Jake Tapper sunday demanding that Sessions repudiate Trump. If you do, get there early enough for a soundcheck.
pinandpuller (0845e7) — 3/4/2016 @ 4:38 pmDespite or because, ropelight?
I deliberately phrased the question this time so it exactly tracks the question Trump answered last night. Don’t object to answering it by trying to point to a different question (which you also never answered.)
Answer this one.
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/4/2016 @ 4:39 pm@ pinandpuller (#143): I faxed a letter a couple of weeks ago to Sen. Sessions urging him to endorse Ted Cruz. I’m almost certain I also posted his, and Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton’s, fax numbers here in comments on Patterico.com, in fact. I urged Sen. Sessions not to endorse Donald Trump. I’m sure some staffer duly compiled that into their regular summaries on his incoming letters; mine would have been in the large and less-carefully-tended stack of “non-constituent letters,” but I doubt they just trash-canned it.
There’s no point to me sending another letter to Jeff Sessions, whose intelligence and judgment I have previously thought very highly of. If it’s not obvious to him that Trump just suckered him, I would be very surprised and even more disappointed. But I expect he’ll lie low, as DRJ and others have predicted, and that he’s unlikely to try to help Trump outside Alabama.
If Tapper does phone me, though — which I agree is unlikely; it would much more likely be Hugh Hewitt — I’ll prepare thoroughly and arrive early.
Tapper’s more likely to call Patterico; I gather they have a Twitter acquaintance at least, and probably more. 😀
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/4/2016 @ 4:45 pmBeldar, what was the question you say Trump answered last night, and what was his answer.
ropelight (6354c4) — 3/4/2016 @ 4:53 pm99 Millhouse
Interesting. Could you tell me when we declared war on Yemen?
But as far as Trump goes, he is being kind of stupid.
He shouldn’t be telling everyone he’s intent on breaking the law. He needs to set up “buffahs”, and then when 15 terrorist relatives get blown up at a wedding he can say,”Did I do that?”.
And if he sends in SEAL Team 6 to kill a high value target he can tell everyone about it and put our military families at risk for reprisal, oh wait…
pinandpuller (a12946) — 3/4/2016 @ 4:55 pmYes, you did tell us you had faxed Cotton and Sessions encouraging them to endorse Cruz.
MD not exactly in Philly (deca84) — 3/4/2016 @ 4:59 pmThe parallel I see is thebcrimean war, where recklessness of the Aberdeen encouraged czar nicholas, but add nuclear weapons to the mix.
narciso (732bc0) — 3/4/2016 @ 5:02 pm109 Beldar
Its ok to “murder” the children of terrorists if its an “accident”.
Nudge nudge wink wink say no more!
Just like its ok to “murder” Branch Davidians and aspirin factory night watchmen.
pinandpuller (a12946) — 3/4/2016 @ 5:10 pmNixon might have called the mad man strategy, and we know Roger stone is aware of this.
narciso (732bc0) — 3/4/2016 @ 5:13 pmEven Trump disagrees with Trump, now. Ropelight is still out here defending the small-handed Oompa Loompa.
JD (112444) — 3/4/2016 @ 5:21 pmIn retrospect, it’s hilarious that guys like the Cassidy brothers (David and Shaun) and Leif Garrett were heart-throbs. Long before the age of androgyny and metrosexuals, they looked like prepubescent teenage girls themselves — especially if they took their shirts off.
L.N. Smithee (1ed226) — 3/4/2016 @ 5:29 pmBeldar
I like how you think Trump is lying and flip flopping about everything but visiting reprisals upon terrorists and their families.
What makes you think he would do it?
Aren’t all the generals going to refuse his orders even if he does follow through?
pinandpuller (928ad9) — 3/4/2016 @ 5:30 pmRopelight
I want you to repudiate what Trump said about murdering terrorist’s children, even though he’s a liar, doesn’t seriously mean it and is going to deny he ever said it.
pinandpuller (0845e7) — 3/4/2016 @ 5:35 pmYou will find some ambitious officer that will, like that one they forced out of the war college for considering draconian scenarios.
narciso (732bc0) — 3/4/2016 @ 5:36 pmSay what you want about Trump, he makes his mouth run on time.
nk (dbc370) — 3/4/2016 @ 5:36 pmBeldar
You known Hugh Hewitt, despite being a third rate talk show host, said he’d get behind Trump if he’s the nominee. How does that make you feel?
I wonder if Hugh has an 88 tatooed on his arm because, you know, only white supremacists would vote for that guy.
pinandpuller (0845e7) — 3/4/2016 @ 5:48 pm“Child suicide bombers in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict”
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Child suicide bombers in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict refers to the exploitation of children to carry out suicide bombings by Palestinian militant groups. Minors have been recruited to attack Israeli targets, both military and civilian, especially during the Second Intifada from 2000 to 2005. This deliberate involvement of children in armed conflict has been condemned by International human rights organizations.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_suicide_bombers_in_the_Israeli%E2%80%93Palestinian_conflict
sound awake (4f316e) — 3/4/2016 @ 5:50 pm“Islam’s Suicide Bombers Preparing
Children For Martyrdom”
ISLAM’S SUICIDE BOMBERS
Islamic terror groups are preparing to use children – some as young as eight years of age – as suicide bombers.
They have also drawn up plans for young women – many in their teens – to use strollers packed with high explosives.
http://www.rense.com/general20/ch.htm
sound awake (4f316e) — 3/4/2016 @ 5:53 pm“Al-Qaeda’s Female Suicide Bomber Death Cult”
Islamic feminism at its finest.
That terrifying function is, unfortunately, ideally suited for women given Islamic restrictions against searching females. Those taboos often allow Muslim women to hide explosive-laden suicide vests underneath their burqas and pass undetected through security checkpoints.
It should be noted that while women are highly valued by jihadists as human projectiles, children and the mentally impaired used in that same capacity are equally prized by Islamist terrorists.
The Taliban, in particular, has a predilection for utilizing youthful suicide bombers given that nearly ninety percent of the estimated 5,000 suicide bombers trained in Pakistan are under the age of 16. As Pakistani Taliban commander Qari Hussain once explained, “Children are tools to achieve God’s will, whatever comes your way you sacrifice it.”
http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/164065/al-qaedas-female-suicide-bomber-death-cult-frank-crimi
sound awake (4f316e) — 3/4/2016 @ 5:55 pmsaid he’d get behind Trump
You don’t ever want to be in front of Trump. He may have just popped a little blue pill.
nk (dbc370) — 3/4/2016 @ 5:55 pm“ISIS Creates Army Of Child Suicide Bombers, Uses Booby-Trapped Baby In Training Mission”
Just last week, Islamic State sent a 14-year old boy on a suicide mission. The child, Mar Hadid Al-Muhammadi, drove a truck filled with explosives into a Kurdish checkpoint near the city of Hasakah in Syria. Fifty Kurdish fighters were killed in the explosion. ISIS posted pictures of the boy on social media that were taken moments before he went on his suicide mission.
ISIS also used children to execute Syrian government soldiers in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra at the beginning of July. In a video published by Islamic State after the massacre, children are shown with their victims moments before the executions in the Roman amphitheatre in Palmyra.
http://www.westernjournalism.com/isis-creates-army-of-child-suicide-bombers-uses-booby-trapped-baby-in-training-mission/
sound awake (4f316e) — 3/4/2016 @ 5:57 pmRense is six cups of crazy, where the far right and the Marxist left meet.
narciso (732bc0) — 3/4/2016 @ 5:59 pm“Children as Suicide Bombers in Islamic Countries”
One Pakistani recruiter of child suicide bombers describes these children as “tools provided by God.”
Another Muslim cleric in a madrassa [Islamic boys’ school] describes child suicide bombers as “a gift from Allah that we have an unlimited number willing to be sacrificed to teach Americans a lesson.”
The recruitment process of child candidates for suicide bombing missions is sophisticated and nuanced. Initially, a “spotter” will select a youngster out of a group for closer scrutiny. A “watcher” will be assigned to observe the daily routine of the child. The boy’s family will be “checked out” to determine its probable reaction to its child’s potential recruitment. If nominated, the child will usually be given a number of reliability tests. The nominee, for instance, may be assigned to report on the daily activity of a suspected political or religious adversary. The boy might be ordered to visit a mosque more frequently, especially at prayer times. Finally, the child will be encamped in land controlled by the terrorist group where he is placed under the “protection” of an older recruit.[8] So begins the isolation from parents, siblings, and the friends “on the block.” His trainers, spiritual guide, and fellow martyr candidates become his new and constant companions and his surrogate family.
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/4701/child-suicide-bombers
sound awake (4f316e) — 3/4/2016 @ 6:01 pmHerein lies the problem, we aren’t allowed to infer patterns from clan affiliation, training records other sources of recruitment, hence San bernardino, paris, ceuta.
narciso (732bc0) — 3/4/2016 @ 6:04 pmTrump knows how to excite right wing crazies.
DRJ (15874d) — 3/4/2016 @ 6:04 pmYes this is how they think of any hobbit, wacko birds, wing nuts, etc.
narciso (732bc0) — 3/4/2016 @ 6:07 pmpinandpuller – if you aren’t going to bother to educate yourself on what Trump claimed in the debate, and many times prior, why bother arguing about it?
JD (112444) — 3/4/2016 @ 6:13 pmJesse James was a month shy of sixteen when he rode with Quantrill in the Lawrence, Kansas massacre. Teenagerism is a Western phenomenon (and a recent one at that). In most of the world, children are considered children until they’re about twelve and then they’re expected to start taking on adult duties. Simply put, outside the West, children blow up faster.
nk (dbc370) — 3/4/2016 @ 6:14 pmSound awake – all that copy pasta is highly educational. Are you related to Finkelbomb?
JD (112444) — 3/4/2016 @ 6:16 pm“Why I’m Scared of Widows & Orphans”
“But they’re just widders and orfinks”? Well, those words had barely finished dribbling out of Obama’s mouth before the wife in the San Bernardino shooting proved that women can be mass murderers, too. If he had been paying more than the most condescendingly superficial attention to the situation in France (or even Kenya, where his own father was from, for Christ’s sake), he would have already known that female terrorists aren’t half bad at killing good-hearted mammals.
As for toddlers, unless something goes terribly wrong, they generally reach combat age in surprisingly short order. How time flies, as your aunt used to say every time you got taller. One week they’re reading the children’s illustrated Koran; the next they’ve got a big-boy suicide vest.
So these kids grow up feeling like they belong to neither culture. If there are enough Muslim kids in an area, they band together. And do you remember what you were like when you were an adolescent? Whether it’s punk rock, lip gloss, drinking games, NASCAR racing, or Islamic fundamentalism, kids will compete to see who can be the most extreme version of what their friends are into. When they’re into jihad, well . . .
Sure, we feel bad for the widows and orphans who aren’t going to suicide-bomb anybody. But a majority of them are still carriers of a sixth-century nut-job battle ideology that a land pirate cooked up to justify his rapey feelings. And I feel worse for the victims of those who take the unpleasant prophet at his word than I do for any innocent widow who passes such a blatantly retarded and fear-based creed on to her kids. As Michel Houellebecq got dragged to court for saying, Islam is the stupidest religion. Charity ends when people start blowing us up because they’re too brainless to think of a better way to get to heaven.
Like all ideologies, this one is a virus, socially and stupidly spread; but this particular disease has the advantage of being peppered with threats against apostates from an all-powerful deity who makes the Old-Testament God sound like Winnie-the-Pooh. I can understand how people fall for it, but I can’t endorse being killed for not falling for it myself. We Islamophobes have repeated till we’re blue in the face that there are plenty of resources and space for the refugees available in Saudi Arabia, where they have as much blood on their hands as we do; the Saudis are more culturally compatible with the widows and orphans than we are, as well; but who wants to do jihad in a territory that’s already Muslim?
Unfortunately, it seems like caution will not prevail; instead caution will be shouted down as extremism, and, as though it made sense, our government will continue dumping in thousands of people who have various reasons to hate us. And large swathes of the public will still not realize what this means: that most of the people who govern us also hate us—or at the very least, they’re indifferent.
A government that doesn’t care about the lives of foreign citizens is bad, but considering the overall history of the world, it’s not particularly bad; you could even say it represents a normative dose of human evil.
But a government that’s just as glib about its own citizens’ lives is completely psychotic.
http://www.counter-currents.com/2015/12/why-im-scared-of-widows-and-orphans/
sound awake (4f316e) — 3/4/2016 @ 6:16 pmAnd, the beat goes on, and on, and Trump only gets stronger. At some point using your head instead of lashing out emotionally might begin to sound like a pretty good idea. Maybe.
But support of Trump IS an emotional lashing out. It is impervious to facts, logic or nearly anything Trump or anyone else says or does. Trump says he’s going to do X, and you guys all say “YEAH TRUMP’S GONNA DO X!” Then he decides he’s not going to do X, and it’s all “YEAH TRUMP’S NOT GONNA DO X!”
And we shake our heads and you lot come along and tell us we’re irrational.
Kevin M (25bbee) — 3/4/2016 @ 6:18 pmYes the link usually suffices,
narciso (732bc0) — 3/4/2016 @ 6:20 pmYeah, Kevin, it must be frustrating. You just can’t figure it out. Why would anyone support Trump when for you it’s crystal clear how unacceptable a Trump nomination would be, much less as a candidate opposing Hillary Clinton.
I sympathize. You’re not irrational, you’re stupid.
ropelight (6354c4) — 3/4/2016 @ 6:26 pmi copy and paste because thats all im allowed to do here
you see im a crazy mad psycho drugged out idiot trump supporter who has voted straight republican tickets since 1988 whos not going to just vote republican like whats expected of me by the gop elite like some drone so i got labeled by the regulars here as a sock puppeting troll who doesnt know anything about anything and never will because all i do is emotional lashing out and im impervious to facts and logic
so thats what i do now i troll the thread with copy and paste
and i do it with fervor and reckless abandon
and i actually add something useful to the otherwise boring points made by the regualr anti trump people here who are steadfast supporter of republican politicians who scream at the top of their lungs DONALD TRUMP SUCKS HE SUCKS FOR AMERICA HE SUCKS FOR THE PARTY …but…if hes the nominee i will back him
sound awake (4f316e) — 3/4/2016 @ 6:28 pmTell me lies, tell me lies, tell me sweet little lies
nk (dbc370) — 3/4/2016 @ 6:33 pmhttp://abcnews.go.com/Politics/75-million-donations-helping-trumps-funded-campaign/story?id=37403906
At least you are honest about trolling. Thx.
Trump – I’m going to target civilians!
JD (112444) — 3/4/2016 @ 6:33 pmSupporters – YeeHaw!
Trump – the military will follow my unlawful orders
Supporters – hell yeah!
Repeat for weeks until some adult in his organization tells him it is really illegal
Trump – I’m against targeting civilians
Supporters – hell yeah leader !!!! Anyone that disagrees is crazy and not Republican and loves Hillary and hates America
“Obama administration-41 men targeted but 1,147 people killed: US drone strikes – the facts on the ground”
Finally, on 15 October 2010, Hellfire missiles fired from a Predator or Reaper drone killed Hussain, the Pakistani Taliban later confirmed. For the death of a man whom practically no American can name, the US killed 128 people, 13 of them children, none of whom it meant to harm.
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/nov/24/-sp-us-drone-strikes-kill-1147
sound awake (4f316e) — 3/4/2016 @ 6:35 pmI would certainly like to know what you think it is, ropelight.
Patterico (86c8ed) — 3/4/2016 @ 6:36 pmKevin, I apologize, you’re not stupid, you’re just asking the wrong question.
ropelight (6354c4) — 3/4/2016 @ 6:36 pmDoes Trump think his supporters are crazy? Would they care?
DRJ (15874d) — 3/4/2016 @ 6:37 pm“Obama Has Killed More People with Drones than Died On 9/11”
And people are targeted for insanely loose reasons. As the New York Times reported in 2012:
Mr. Obama had approved not only “personality” strikes aimed at named, high-value terrorists, but “signature” strikes that targeted training camps and suspicious compounds in areas controlled by militants.
But some State Department officials have complained to the White House that the criteria used by the C.I.A. for identifying a terrorist “signature” were too lax. The joke was that when the C.I.A. sees “three guys doing jumping jacks,” the agency thinks it is a terrorist training camp, said one senior official. Men loading a truck with fertilizer could be bombmakers — but they might also be farmers, skeptics argued.
And then there are “double taps” … where the family members, friends or neighbors who try to rescue someone hit by a drone missile are themselves targeted for assassination.
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2015/01/american-drones-killed-civilians-bombing-cambodia-vietnam-war-died-911.html
sound awake (4f316e) — 3/4/2016 @ 6:38 pmBill doggie pointed out something the stone strikes have been in a narrow box in the tribals, anywhere else they have free to operate.
narciso (732bc0) — 3/4/2016 @ 6:41 pmCertainly, Patterico, the key to Trump’s appeal is that his candidacy will destroy the GOPe’s hold on the candidate selection process. After Trump, win or lose, the party elite will never again be able to force turn-coat candidates on Conservative voters. No more Bob Doles, no more John McCains, no more Jeb Bushes.
No more promises to overturn ObamaCare and then turn around and fund it, no more America last trade deals, no more leaving brave Americans fighting for their lives in the lurch, no more welcome mat along the Mexican border, etc, etc.
I could go on, but you get my drift and I don’t want to keep you waiting.
ropelight (6354c4) — 3/4/2016 @ 6:44 pmRoggio, the truth remains if a hvt galls into our hands again like zubeydah what is to be done, waterboarding is out, so what’s next.
narciso (732bc0) — 3/4/2016 @ 6:46 pmNo one seemed to ask for me to repeat what I’ve said, but it seems germane to the conversation, so I’ll say it one last time…
the key to Trump’s appeal is that his candidacy will destroy the GOPe’s hold on the candidate selection process.
I think that is far too complicated and strategic.
And people blasting trump and Trump supporters are being too complicated and nonstrategic.
People are ticked for being ignored, for the Repub politicos not doing what the said they would do, for seeing the obvious ignored and being chastised when they try to bring it up.
And they are so sick of it, they are willing if somebody will promise to do one thing, just one fricken’ thing, that seems like it should be obvious, to say it and perhaps mean it, as no one else has.
And that started with a real border with real security and a seriousness about at least no more illegal immigration.
Don’t blame Trump, blame the GOPe,
but there is no organized strategic thinking, on the whole, about “destroying the GOPe”.
And how to address Trump supporters? Like this:
MD in Philly (at the moment not in Philly) (deca84) — 3/4/2016 @ 7:12 pmhttps://www.facebook.com/sassefornebraska/posts/561073597391141
It’s worse than I thought, the derangement.
Let me try to talk ropelight down of this ledge.
Of course you’re right, ropelight. After Trump the party elite will never be able to force turn-coat candidates on “Conservative voters.”
Why the f*** should they when you’ll so eagerly and voluntarily embrace turn-coat candidates. Go ahead and jump, ropelight.
(Changed my mind about talking him off that ledge.)
I mean, like Donald Trump, Donald freakin’ Trump, is a step up from Bob Dole.
Next up, ropelight rejects Carly Fiorina as a turncoat candidate, a corporate sell-out; prefers Lady Gaga and her “meat dress” as the “true conservative choice.” Film at 11.
Steve57 (1ace39) — 3/4/2016 @ 7:19 pmBob Dole was permanently crippled fighting Mussolini. Trump quotes Mussolini.
ropelight sez…
Bob Dole is the turn-coat.
Steve57 (1ace39) — 3/4/2016 @ 7:22 pm169 JD
Why would I educate myself on what Trump said if its all lies?
pinandpuller (928ad9) — 3/4/2016 @ 7:25 pmHis bravery is undoubted, but his political judgement as a minion of ethanol is less than desired.
narciso (732bc0) — 3/4/2016 @ 7:26 pmJohn McCain* earned a DFC attacking his target in North Vietnam before getting shot down and captured. He could have made it back, maybe. Dunno. But he completed his mission.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump was scoring with married women.
ropelight sez…
Donald Trump is the true conservative choice.
*It truly pains me to have to appear to play up John McCain but he did what he did. And if I am to maintain any semblance of integrity I have to acknowledge it no matter how much I want the guy to
go awayretire with honor.http://valor.militarytimes.com/recipient.php?recipientid=23680
http://valor.militarytimes.com/recipient.php?recipientid=23680
Steve57 (1ace39) — 3/4/2016 @ 7:31 pmSo maybe your recognize them again when he recycles them.
Steve57 (1ace39) — 3/4/2016 @ 7:33 pmPatterico, let me expand a bit on my comment at #184. In the past, election after election, the GOPe’s ability to leave conservatives with no choice but to vote for the Republican party’s moderate candidate was a reality. They thought they could thumb their noses at conservative and take their votes and their support for granted – and they were right.
Conservatives had no place inside the big tent, no seat at the table, and no place to go. The party bosses laughed at us, laughed at our principles, laughed at our patriotism, laughed at our love of country, laughed at our commitment to the constitution, fair play, and equality before the law.
Now, the shoe is on the other foot. The party elite can either get on-board or get the hell out of the way. The dictatorship is over. American conservatives are free at last.
ropelight (6354c4) — 3/4/2016 @ 7:33 pmHurray GOPe, given that left to your own devices you have delivered us a rabid leftist.
Steve57 (1ace39) — 3/4/2016 @ 7:41 pmropelight – in what universe is Trump a republican, much less a conservative? It is far easier to make the case he is a liberal based on his words and actions, coupled with his disdain for the 1st Amendment, egomania, and authoritarian impulses.
JD (112444) — 3/4/2016 @ 7:43 pmA rabid lunatic leftist opportunistic authoritarian New York sleazeball businessman.
Yeah, you showed GOPe, ropelight.
Steve57 (1ace39) — 3/4/2016 @ 7:44 pmSorry fellas, I support Trump. You support an ineligible candidate. I’m looking forward to March 15th while you tremble in fear the majority of voters will reject your candidate again.
ropelight (6354c4) — 3/4/2016 @ 7:50 pmBut, I don’t tremble in fear. You and the rest of your cohorts at the Nuremberg Rally* have a great time, and maybe, probably, you’ll win. But I’ll live out of my canoe and camp under a bridge before I join you.
*The Clinton/Sanders campaigns are no less worshipful toward their fetish objects. Not that I expect leftists like Leviticus to acknowledge the obvious.
Steve57 (1ace39) — 3/4/2016 @ 7:58 pmI’m looking forward to March 15th while you tremble in fear the majority of voters will reject your candidate again.
ropelight (6354c4) — 3/4/2016 @ 7:50 pm
ropelight,
you have now earned an equal standing with President Barack Hussein Obama,
in that my main question is whether or not
you really believe what you say?
or
you know it is nonsense even as you say it?
the only fear I have, though I am not trembling with it, is whether our choice will really be between Clinton and Trump.
MD in Philly (at the moment not in Philly) (deca84) — 3/4/2016 @ 8:09 pmnarciso (732bc0) — 3/4/2016 @ 7:26 pm
Are you referring to Sasse? I’d never heard of him until I came upon this stand of his.
MD in Philly (at the moment not in Philly) (deca84) — 3/4/2016 @ 8:11 pmBack to Birtherism. Good Allah.
JD (112444) — 3/4/2016 @ 8:11 pmWhat does ropelight get out of this?
MD in Philly (at the moment not in Philly) (deca84) — 3/4/2016 @ 8:13 pmDo we get enough out of it to keep bothering?
MD, of course I believe what I say, don’t you?
ropelight (6354c4) — 3/4/2016 @ 8:14 pmHey!? When Trump said his “package” was YOOOOOOOOOOOGE. Did anyone ask Obama if that was true??
Gus (a084f0) — 3/4/2016 @ 8:15 pmNo dole, my query about sasse was another.
narciso (732bc0) — 3/4/2016 @ 8:16 pmGus, Melania might have different ideas about who is “So-Cialis-t” this election season.
nk (dbc370) — 3/4/2016 @ 8:17 pmJD, you can call it any dirty name you want, I call it being faithful to the Constitution.
ropelight (6354c4) — 3/4/2016 @ 8:17 pmAnd you’re chasing squirrels, riffing on economic policy as with military ethics, like practicing sociology out loud is a risky deal
narciso (732bc0) — 3/4/2016 @ 8:19 pmSince we know red queen’s server was not hacked by foreign parties, it’s odd the one who did, is being extradited here.
narciso (732bc0) — 3/4/2016 @ 8:21 pmropelight,
MD in Philly (at the moment not in Philly) (deca84) — 3/4/2016 @ 8:24 pmyou cannot be serious about being concerned with the Constitution and want Trump
if you really think you are,
you need to see someone and maybe take appropriate medication
Trump has displayed a blatant disregard and opposition to the fundamental practice of free speech and has said he would abuse executive power the same as Obama
in my book those are more important issues than quibbling over whether there are 2 or 3 types of American citizen.
191 Steve57. I am no John McCain fan, vis a vis his Senatorial Service, but SIR, I commend you.
Gus (a084f0) — 3/4/2016 @ 8:29 pmJohn McCain was an honorable Navy Pilot, Serviceman and POW. GOD BLESS JOHN McCAIN. I mean it.
My GreatGrandad, whom I am named for, DIED OCT 23, 1918 and was buried in Damascus. GOD HELP HIS WAR GRAVE NOW!!! My GRANDAD was wounded Oct 23, 1942, El Alemein Egypt, imprisoned for 2 years and crippled. My Father served in Korea USAF, and is buried, with my Mother at Arlington National Cemetery. My youngest brother served as a USAF PILOT, with valor and is currently State Dept Diplomatic Security…high ranking. My Nephew was wounded USMC in Anbar province, Dec 2004. Purple Heart plus another 10 month deploy. I GET IT. John McCain was a FANTASTIC example of an AMERICAN SERVICEMAN/OFFICER and he did his duty in SPADES. We as a nation have been DEGRADED to Rodham and her philandering bastard husband, and MOSCOW vs SERVICE, and Bernie Sanders, a PATHETIC piece of crap. We have John Kerry, a man with NO SCRUPLES nor Principles, Johnnie Apple SEED Edwards, and Joe Biden on the LEFT We have TRAINED the LEFT and our CHILDREN, that the MILITARY IS SHYTE. Yes Kerry was and is SHYTE. McCAIN…..WAS NOT.
Then we have RODHAM and another of her LIES. She tried to sign up for the MARINE CORPS. What a total load of B#llshi+. Anyone who believes that needs to have a KENNEDY Lobotomy dones
Narciso, you are smart as hell. Has it never occurred to you that SNOWDEN has gotten a PASS for a reason???
Gus (a084f0) — 3/4/2016 @ 8:31 pmMD, to me it’s not quibbling, it’s the bedrock foundation of our republic. Lots of young men of my generation swore to defend the Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic. Some of us took it seriously, so of course I’m serious about presidential eligibility.
If you can’t understand that it’s you who should see someone helpful.
ropelight (6354c4) — 3/4/2016 @ 8:35 pmShirley, you are not serious.
Lots of young men of my generation swore to defend the Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic. Some of us took it seriously, so of course I’m serious about presidential eligibility.
What a bunch of crap. If you cared one bit about the Constitution you would not back someone who wants to put a B.K type lawfare practitioner in the WH and let him play with the rules of the game.
MD in Philly (at the moment not in Philly) (deca84) — 3/4/2016 @ 8:41 pmThe rest of us don’t care what you call it. You’ve convinced us. Whatever you call it, it’s not remotely close to the truth. Call it the Moon Goddess of Narnia if you like.
Steve57 (1ace39) — 3/4/2016 @ 8:44 pmGus @211, respecting a man is one thing. Liking him or voting for him is another.
I respect John McCain.
Steve57 (1ace39) — 3/4/2016 @ 8:48 pmI support Donald Trump. Why not just accept the fact that a majority of GOP voters prefer Trump? It ought to be obvious by now.
ropelight (6354c4) — 3/4/2016 @ 8:58 pmBecause they don’t, ropelight, voters 2:1 don’t like Trump,
MD not exactly in Philly (deca84) — 3/4/2016 @ 9:05 pmCarry on with your delusions/dishonesty.
G’nite.
Where has Trump received a majority?
MD – it is a fundamentally unserious position he posits where he created a whole new class of citizens.
JD (112444) — 3/4/2016 @ 9:05 pmUhh, ropelight, it’s because no majority of GOP voters prefers Trump.
Do you know or even suspect what the meaning of the words you use may happen to be?
Please define “majority.” While you’re at it, define “conservative.” No fair looking at a dictionary, just off the top of your head.
Steve57 (1ace39) — 3/4/2016 @ 9:06 pmAnd he loses to Billary in the same polls they use to claim his popularity.
JD (112444) — 3/4/2016 @ 9:06 pmUnderstood JD,
MD not exactly in Philly (deca84) — 3/4/2016 @ 9:15 pmThe thing is, there has been another commenter who thinks essentially the same thing about what a “natural born citizen” is, but the person acknowledges that the accepted working understanding is different, and doesn’t perseverate on the issue.
I don’t mind having a different understanding of the term, what is quite annoying is the slanted argument over who is serious about the Constitution.
Trump would crush Hillary like he crushed JEB. It’s Cruz or Rubio who would lose to Hillary, all she has to do is bring up the eligibility issue and sit back while the media destroys the GOP candidate with an argument he can’t refute.
ropelight (6354c4) — 3/4/2016 @ 9:15 pmWe are having a WONDERFUL time, just ate a GREAT meal at Merriman’s Restaurant in KAPALUA, teh WIFE ordered teh BEST CHEESEcake I’ve ever EATEN, it had COCONUT crust.
Colonel Haiku (e66a17) — 3/4/2016 @ 9:19 pmMD, there’s nothing slanted about my position on eligibility. It’s straight forward. Cruz supporters ignore the plain meaning of the words our Founders enshrined in the constitution because they idolize the Cuban pretender. It’s a case of putting personal preference above the interests of the nation. It borders on a crime against America.
ropelight (6354c4) — 3/4/2016 @ 9:20 pmI CRUSHED a FILET and tomorrow morning we’re gonna SNORKEL and I HOPE I don’t get EATEN by a SHARK.
Colonel Haiku (e66a17) — 3/4/2016 @ 9:22 pmLike that.
MD not exactly in Philly (deca84) — 3/4/2016 @ 9:22 pmG’nite-really.
Colonel, use the same technique the surfers at Waikiki use to avoid shark attacks. Always make sure someone with whiter skin than yours is close by. The sharks see them first.
I found out the hard way when the locals gladly welcomed me to hang out with them waiting for good waves. It was only later that I found out their kindness was self-serving.
ropelight (6354c4) — 3/4/2016 @ 9:28 pmI would like to take a break from focusing on ropelight to shift our gaze to Leviticus.
As an example of the complete lack of principle and faithlessness of the left.
Notice that he occasionally does a drive by. And, to be honest, occasionally has a point, when observed in vacuum.
But not once will the guy ever acknowledge the sins of the left even when they are far worse.
The man is entirely faithless and lacking in integrity.
Steve57 (1ace39) — 3/4/2016 @ 9:37 pmYou wouldn’t be bragging or anything, would you, coronello?
Anyways this weekend I may finally take a chainsaw to the last of the broken limbs of the trees felled by the high winds over the winter of 2015/16, littering the independent principality of Steve57.
Followed by drinks and dancing and an open bar in the Armada lounge.
Bet you wish you were here, coronello.
Steve57 (1ace39) — 3/4/2016 @ 9:44 pmropelight, I gave you links. I quoted the transcript lines already.
You pretend you can’t find that when it suits you.
You’re pathetic, but it’s truly preaching to the choir to point that out anymore. The last tiny shred of doubt I had about your moral vacuity is now thoroughly dispelled.
This ends all of our direct conversations. I’m going to ignore anything you direct to me, but I’ll continue to call you out on lies.
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/4/2016 @ 9:45 pmRopelight is a mud fort anyway. He stands for nothing other than I WANT TRUMP and there is really nothing to discuss. It’s like reasoning with a child about wanting a candy bar.
Kevin M (25bbee) — 3/4/2016 @ 9:47 pmAnd … it’s because. We know.
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/4/2016 @ 9:47 pmThe words “BEST CHEESEcake I’ve ever EATEN” and “it had COCONUT crust” do not belong together outside the bowels of H3ll.
Steve57 (1ace39) — 3/4/2016 @ 9:53 pmThere comes a time when expending any more ordnance on a sinking ship is just beating a dead horse. It’s dead, dead, deader than dead.
Which is why I shift my focus back to Leftiticus. Ever notice how he demands brutal honesty from us conservatives while delivering nothing remotely resembling the same?
The word hypocrisy comes to mind.
Steve57 (1ace39) — 3/4/2016 @ 9:59 pmBeldar, you say you provided links and quoted the transcripts. I’ll have a look in the morning, it’s after 1pm EST, I have guests, and I’m on the way to bed. Tomorrow will have to do.
ropelight (6354c4) — 3/4/2016 @ 10:07 pmWe’re doing okay here, Steve… one more night here and then we head to Hana. I haven’t been here since’79, so we’re making the best of it.
Colonel Haiku (e66a17) — 3/4/2016 @ 10:11 pm@237, good to hear, coronello. We have stockpiled sufficient ball, shot, black powder, primers, olive oil, red wine, grain, goats, deli lunch meats, craft beers, and whale oil to hold out until you come back. God willing and the creek don’t rise.
Just. Don’t. Linger.
The zombies are at the gates.
Or, at least, spread the Kona around.
Steve57 (1ace39) — 3/4/2016 @ 10:23 pmBy the way, what is it about Drudge and Trump? Synergy, or something more?
Kevin M (25bbee) — 3/4/2016 @ 10:23 pmIn Ted Cruz’ speech at CPAC today, as he was casting doubt on Donald Trump’s sincerity and consistency (or lack of both) on immigration, Cruz referred repeated to the “Gang of Eight Bill.”
Not the “Rubio-Schumer Gang of Eight Bill,” which is how I’ve heard him refer to that before.
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/4/2016 @ 10:27 pmHmm, okay. During the interchange with Hannity after his CPAC speech, Cruz & Hannity were discussing whether there likely has been a federal grand jury convened in the saga of Hillary!’s server. Hannity asked Cruz to explain, as someone who’s been in a law enforcement role (factcheck says: True, the Texas Solicitor General defends criminal convictions on appeal, btw) what the likely implications are of the DoJ granting immunity to the server monkey.
Cruz surprised me. He didn’t answer in a lawyerly way at all. Instead (my transcription, starting at 26:52):
The Leavenworth line was surely planned, and it was typical of Ted Cruz’ attempts at jokes. They all come out like “Dad jokes,” even though they’re not. It’s the delivery, the comic timing (or lack thereof). There’s lots of wry humor and irony in his arguments — things that are clever-funny, not hah-hah funny — but the man can’t tell a joke at all, and has trouble telling a funny story (although he’s better at personal anecdotes than at set-piece jokes).
But the “orange is the new Democratic blue” line got a genuine roar of laughter from the CPAC audience. I’m not sure why — like a good softball host, Hannity started the laughter. But it caught on, and turned into a standing ovation.
It’s as close as I’ve seen to Cruz being able to pull off comedy. I think it may have been a freak event.
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/4/2016 @ 10:57 pmWell, yeah, I’ve finished now. I commend the video to you all; Cruz was in fine form and I heard some lines I haven’t heard before, some of which were clearly extemporaneous.
But he tried to tell the “I don’t even smoke” joke about the “Blacklisted and Loving It” photo, and although he’s clearly practiced it some more, it fell flat again.
People close to him insists that he has a great sense of humor and can be very funny in private. But I don’t think they got points for that in college debate — in fact, I think they probably took off for it there — and likewise, as I’ve heard him acknowledge, it’s almost always a terrible idea for a lawyer to use humor in arguing to a court.
(My version of the rule is: There are two rules about humor at oral argument. Rule #1: Any joke the judge tells is funny. Rule #2: Any joke told by anyone else is a ridiculous gamble whose downsides outweigh the upsides by about 10,000%.
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/4/2016 @ 11:13 pm@ Kevin M: For Drudge, it’s the same as for all the media.
Eyeballs. Clicks. Page views. Popularity. Trending on social media. Buy my ads, advance my career.
The only thing Trump is genuinely good at is defrauding people, but part of that is being able to get other people to carry your bags and do the heavy lifting for you. He’s had the media wrapped around his finger for months.
Too bad that can’t possibly translate to governing. Pres. Trump would continue to be at the top of every day’s newscast, but it’s like the difference between watching a train wreck in progress and watching them fish body parts out of the crashed train afterwards. From the latter, people can and do turn away.
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/4/2016 @ 11:17 pmExcuse me. Excuse me. Hey, HEY you, just hush. Excuse me.
I meant to say: His YUUUGE finger, on his very large and manly hand.
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/4/2016 @ 11:18 pmthe key to Trump’s appeal is that his candidacy will destroy the GOPe’s hold on the candidate selection process. After Trump, win or lose, the party elite will never again be able to force turn-coat candidates on Conservative voters. No more Bob Doles, no more John McCains, no more Jeb Bushes.
Well, to a great degree they don’t have that now. Take the cases you mention.
Bob Dole was the nominee because Bob Dole made damn sure that everyone knew that Bob Dole was going to be the nominee. Much like Hillary this time around. It wasn’t the RNC so much as Dole himself who lined up all the ducks and made it real clear that no one had better cross him. I voted for the LP that year because I couldn’t vote for Gingrich. I get you point, but I dispute that it was the RNC.
McCain vs Romney. Again I don’t see that as anything but the runner up in 2000 having an advantage in 2008, with Romney the new guy. As it turns out Romney would have been a far better candidate (much younger and and an economic expert at a time when we needed one). As it stands the doddering old fool who knew nothing about economics almost beat Obama. I really don’t see where the “GOPe” had its hand in. They would have been just as happy with Romney.
Jeb. There is no universe where Jeb was going to win. He tried to push everyone aside at the outset and MITT(!) called him on it. It wasn’t Trump who did Jeb in, it was Jeb who did Jeb in. Wrong man at the wrong time. The GOPe tried all it could but there were just no takers. Kasich did better.
Kevin M (25bbee) — 3/4/2016 @ 11:24 pm“Do you know”, she replied quietly, “that I detest you more utterly than I ever have detested a human being in my life? Your lies, your tricks, your vanity — your everything!”
“But I’ve broken ground with you, Mary”, grinned Speedy. “In your whole life you never have thought so much about any man in any one day.”
nk (dbc370) — 3/4/2016 @ 11:46 pmOn the road to Hana, lucky you Col.
mg (31009b) — 3/5/2016 @ 12:49 amOne of my sisters lives on the N. shore of Oahu. Cafe Haleiwa for breakfast if your on the N.shore.
No, the opposite is true. As a result of Trump, the RNC will move to change the nominating rules to make it impossible for insurgent or populist candidates to win in the future. They will be successful because they still control the nominating process, and President Trump will support the changes because he will be an incumbent who wants to protect his Presidency.
DRJ (15874d) — 3/5/2016 @ 4:44 amBeldar, Good morning. I’ve looked at your comment at #134. It contains only one link to your question on the Open Debate thread at #417. There, I find no links and no transcript.
My request you provide directions to that information is reasonable. I’m willing to respond to your question but first I need to satisfy myself you’ve accurately represented Trump’s position. So, respectfully, provide directions to the information requested if you still want my reaction.
ropelight (368256) — 3/5/2016 @ 5:48 amSo, DRJ, if you acknowledge that Trump will be our next President (#248) why do you oppose his nomination?
ropelight (368256) — 3/5/2016 @ 5:53 am#250 ropelight wrote,
“So, DRJ, if you acknowledge that Trump will be our next President (#248) why do you oppose his nomination?”
Oh, ropelight, if you’re a passenger on an aircraft that’s nose-diving, wouldn’t you be opposed to it crashing and burning?! (LOL)
Cruz Supporter (102c9a) — 3/5/2016 @ 7:48 amTrump’s appeal is similar to that of the late Marion Berry. His core supporters are people who feel ignored and disrespected by other politicians (and society in general) and who tend to see attacks on him as attacks on them.
James B. Shearer (0f56fb) — 3/5/2016 @ 7:53 am210 MD
Aren’t the Constitutional remedies for an Executive Branch overeach things like the Legislative and Judicial Branches asserting and taking back their powers?
The congress under Cryin’ John took impeachment off the table.
I don’t think John Roberts ruling Obamacare a tax was exactly judicial restraint over the Executive Branch.
I know that Ted Cruz and likely Donald Trump (AG Chris Christie) would stop selectively enforcing laws they don’t like (ie Obama: DOMA, marijuana and illegal aliens).
What sense do you you, or anyone else here have, that Ted Cruz would sign a bill recinding the War Powers Act? How about abolishing the EPA or DOE? How about overturning the NFA and that other piece of garbage Reagan signed in 86 (IIRC)?
The only reason we have the ATF is that the government didn’t want to lay anybody off after they overturned Prohibition. Do you see President Ted Cruz, Constitutionalist, turning back those powers of the Executive?
pinandpuller (0845e7) — 3/5/2016 @ 8:05 amBecause he is a small handed man with no principles, a blowhard, and an authoritarian leftist.
JD (34f761) — 3/5/2016 @ 8:05 amPinandpuller – that was an impressive list of straw people and false choices.
JD (34f761) — 3/5/2016 @ 8:07 amAnd ignorance (much more likely than deliberate lies when talking about Trump supporters). The ATF has existed since the time of George Washington. The NFA was enacted in 1934, not by Reagan. DOMA was sent bye-bye by the Supreme Court in Windsor and Obergefell. And … meh, I don’t even ….
nk (dbc370) — 3/5/2016 @ 8:32 amropelight,
I don’t have a crystal ball that lets me see who will be President. I was responding hypothetically to the best case scenario for your theory. However, no matter what happens, the RNC is going to enact new nominating rules to limit the chances of future insurgent/populist candidates. It is in its interest to do that, and it will.
Thus, whether Trump is nominated and wins the general election, or Trump is nominated but doesn’t win, or if Trump isn’t the nominee, the RNC will change the rules to make it more likely it will have moderate nominees in the future — just as the DNC did after McGovern.
The RNC will do it no matter who is nominated so the only question is “Who will stop it?” A President Trump would have no grudge against the RNC, and he would have every reason to stop insurgencies because he would be the incumbent. Trump’s goal as President is to make deals with Washington politicians. The only Republican who has said he wants to stop the Washington Cartel is Cruz, and the only person who could conceivably stop the RNC from changing the rules is President Cruz.
I will grant you one thing, ropelight. You have learned to argue like Trump by changing the subject instead of responding to the merits of a discussion. You think you win when you do that, just like Trump, because you avoid having to commit yourself to any specific position. You may never have to directly respond here but at some point Trump will have to debate on the merits. Also, at some point, people here will tire of your tactics and you will find no one is listening to you.
DRJ (15874d) — 3/5/2016 @ 8:59 amYou realize the RNC changed the rules 4 years ago to try to help moderate candidates, don’t you? That’s why we have early red state elections that are proportional, with moderate blue state elections as winner-take-all. It didn’t work this year because this is a wave election, but not every election will be that way and the RNC will change the rules even more now.
It’s like going to a casino. Sometimes you win but in general the casino wins because it has a structural advantage.
DRJ (15874d) — 3/5/2016 @ 9:10 amAll true. But try telling ropelight how that turned out.
Steve57 (1ace39) — 3/5/2016 @ 9:38 amropelight, you’re voting for the Kwame Kilpatrick of reality TV for President.
Steve57 (1ace39) — 3/5/2016 @ 9:39 am#257, DRJ, thank you for your mostly polite response. I appreciate your efforts, but I disagree with your main premise. Trump’s win will shatter the current RNC’s power. President Trump will be the de facto leader of the Republican Party, and the old dragons will be swept aside as real conservative local and regional rise to leadership positions.
It’s too late for the old Guard to change the rules legitimately, the revolution is already so far advanced it can’t be denied, only betrayed. The only way the current GOPe can stave off excommunication is to deny the people’s choice of candidates now and try to put in a ringer (JEB) at a brokered convention – which will only convince fence sitters of their thorough corruption. They’re dead if they do and dead if they don’t.
Democracy has come at last to the GOP and it’s come in the form of The Donald. Like it or not Trump is the future president of the USA.
ropelight (368256) — 3/5/2016 @ 9:43 am…as real conservative local and regional leaders rise to leadership positions.
ropelight (368256) — 3/5/2016 @ 9:46 amThe Clinton/Sanders campaigns are no less worshipful toward their fetish objects. Not that I expect leftists like Leviticus to acknowledge the obvious.
– Steve57
I will actually gladly acknowledge that one, and am disturbed by it.
Leviticus (e8e29b) — 3/5/2016 @ 9:53 amNow I understand what motivates Trump voters. They hate the Republican Party elites and will slash and burn everything to stop them. They and Trump are General Sherman and the GOPe is the South.
I get it. I sympathize with it. I think the cure is going to hurt Trump’s supporters more than anyone, so we are fortunate they are willing to give up everything for him.
DRJ (15874d) — 3/5/2016 @ 9:53 amI was polite to you, ropelight. You have a problem with the truth. You see it as disrespectful.
DRJ (15874d) — 3/5/2016 @ 9:55 amDRJ, you are always polite. And it’s interesting to watch how the Followers of the Orange Toupee criticize Republicans for not following through on their promises…while championing someone who is the Poster Brat for Hypocrisy.
The last few cycles, I have seen this get worse and worse. I keep hearing how folks who have >90% approval from ACU called “RINO”s and worse. All in the pursuit of single topic purity. So here we are. Seriously looking at Biff Tannen for President.
Me, I have *never* understood worshiping *any* political figure.
But it seems as if the electorate now wants to bow before their betters 24/7/365.
Except they have that backwards, sadly. Or should.
Simon Jester (b3375c) — 3/5/2016 @ 10:03 amAnd where are all these Trump acolytes running for leadership positions? Where are the legions of down-ballot candidates embracing Trump in every State?
DRJ (15874d) — 3/5/2016 @ 10:04 amMy son calls him Biff Tannen, too. Heh.
DRJ (15874d) — 3/5/2016 @ 10:05 amAnd I do not believe the Orange Haired One will be elected President. Can you imagine the full court press on this character once nominated? What do you think will happen if he calls HRC a name on television?
I strongly suspect this is all a scheme to get HRC elected, bad candidate though she is. Her own awful record kind of pales, doesn’t it?
Simon Jester (b3375c) — 3/5/2016 @ 10:05 amI need to watch it again. Biff for President.
DRJ (15874d) — 3/5/2016 @ 10:06 amHere you go, DRJ: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4m848bh1iY
Simon Jester (b3375c) — 3/5/2016 @ 10:10 amDRJ, read the concluding paragraph in your comment at #257. Then reverse the names and assume it was me addressing you. If you can then claim I was being polite to you with a straight face, we can go into it a bit more.
I’ve always liked and respected you, I’d like to continue to do so.
ropelight (368256) — 3/5/2016 @ 10:10 amAnd more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9c1k_m6POA
Simon Jester (b3375c) — 3/5/2016 @ 10:11 amWhich is why I shift my focus back to Leftiticus. Ever notice how he demands brutal honesty from us conservatives while delivering nothing remotely resembling the same?
– Steve57
What the heck are you talking about? I don’t “demand” anything from anyone and I’m not here to “deliver” anything for anyone. I’m plenty hard on the left, and I’ve got years and years of comments on this blog to prove it. Do your homework before running your mouth.
Leviticus (a8efb0) — 3/5/2016 @ 10:23 amRopelight
I just watched an interesting video about Heidi Cruz’s involvement in something called Building a North American Community-sponsored by the Counncil on Foreign Relations.
I also didn’t know that Ted was involved in W’s Florida recount fight. Seeing as how Mr Constitution Ted would work for W maybe he would saddle up as Trump’s VP.
Another interesting aspect of the video was how W, Harper and Fox furthered the North American Union started by Old Ironsides Reagan and continued by Bush Senior and Clinton.
Could that be why Vincinte Fox is convinced that there will not be a wall built?
Ted sounded pretty strident about deporting illegals but if we join Canada and Mexico in a full union then we will be like Europe where, until recently, borders were meaningless.
I tune in to Cruz fanboy Beck now and then and I know he hammers Agenda 21 pretty hard but I’ve never heard anything about Building a North American Community, have you?
I wonder how the intellectual over emotions folks think about all this. I’ve never got the impression that Trump wants to turn over the US to the UN.
pinandpuller (c16705) — 3/5/2016 @ 10:32 amHowever, no matter what happens, the RNC is going to enact new nominating rules to limit the chances of future insurgent/populist candidates. It is in its interest to do that, and it will.
And it is ironic that the folks who claim that they HAD to do this to free up the process — which was free enough that they COULD mount an insurgency, which was free enough that Romney was not a sure thing in 2012, which was free enough that only Trump’s candidacy has narrowed the field by March — will instead be responsible for closing it down lest this kind of disaster repeat.
People talk about how terrible these debates have been, with puerile name-calling and avoidance of issues and resorting to the most base attacks. And how easily we forget the one excellent debate when Trump was boycotting. That should tell everyone just how awful this sh1t-magnet of a candidate is. Bo Griz with money. Never again!
Kevin M (25bbee) — 3/5/2016 @ 10:41 am#275, penandpuller, Ted Cruz is ineligible for the VP spot for the same reason he’s ineligible for the presidency – he’s not a natural born citizen of the US, Cruz was born in Canada to a Cuban father.
ropelight (368256) — 3/5/2016 @ 10:49 amYou realize the RNC changed the rules 4 years ago to try to help moderate candidates, don’t you?
They’ve been doing that for years and it hasn’t been working well. In particular, the move towards open primaries to “broaden the party.” I expect a rather severe reaction to that after Trump loses. The real response to the Trump insurgency (and to the RNC’s attempts to tame the conservatives that Trump’s followers purport to oppose) will be to tighten the primary rules to exclude independents and particularly Democrats. Wherever possible same-day party declarations and/or registrations will be rejected.
There are lots of court precedents that state that parties must be given control over their nominating procedures so long as they are not discriminating for reasons other than ideology.
Kevin M (25bbee) — 3/5/2016 @ 10:54 amSigh. This from the person who hates it when folks repeat all of the dishonesty from the Orange Toupee.
What a strange world.
Simon Jester (5d10b2) — 3/5/2016 @ 10:54 amI keep hearing how folks who have >90% approval from ACU called “RINO”s and worse. All in the pursuit of single topic purity. So here we are. Seriously looking at Biff Tannen for President.
And now we have a candidate who is probably exactly that “A Republican in Name Only” running an insurgency against life-long Republicans, railing against the Republican Party itself, and calling everyone else “RINOs”.
Who knew we lived in such an age of creative irony?
Kevin M (25bbee) — 3/5/2016 @ 10:58 amTed Cruz is ineligible for the VP spot for the same reason he’s ineligible for the presidency – he’s not a natural born citizen of the US, Cruz was born in Canada to a Cuban father.
I’m going to call this “Ropelight’s Law”
Whenever, in a discussion of presidential candidates, someone brings up the topic of “Natural Born Citizens” regarding a person who was a citizen at birth, the discussion is over and the person making the Birther claim has lost.
Kevin M (25bbee) — 3/5/2016 @ 11:02 amI know, Kevin M. Weird world.
Simon Jester (5d10b2) — 3/5/2016 @ 11:04 am256 Nk
The Treasury Deparment has existed since 1788. The BATF since 1972.
I was actually mixing up the NFA with the Gun Control Act of 1968. The legislation Reagan signed in 1986 was the Firearm Owners Protection Act which made it impossible to register any new machine guns. Consequently it made existing machine guns incredibly valuable.
I was just pondering, in a rambling sort of way, whether Ted Cruz would do anything (along with Sasse,etc) to roll things back with things like Second Ammendment, to a more Originalist’s time.
Trump is the only one to propose abolishing the EPA and Dept of Education.
pinandpuller (928ad9) — 3/5/2016 @ 11:06 amThat’s good to know. It had begun to strike me that while your shots at Trump were well placed, if we were to apply the same criteria to the entire field of nominees from both parties your shots shouldn’t be limited to Trump.
I try to be fair, I really do. If I’m going to hold Hillary! to a standard, then I’d hold myself to the same standard, and my preferred candidate as well. None of that “It’s different when we do it” crap.
Which brings me to my favorite subject; why Hillary! belongs in prison. The DoS is trying to muddy the waters about Hillary!’s email by making it appear that Collin Powell and Condoleeza Rice also had classified on their emails (which is quite a feat, since as even the DoS has to acknowledge Rice didn’t use email during her tenure).
There’s just one problem.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/executive-order-original-classification-authority
The DoS can say all it wants that what’s in Colin Powell’s unclas email really should have been Confidential or Secret. IF the DoS originated that information, then as the OCA Colin Powell had the only say and the final say on whether it was classified or not. Nobody can gainsay the SecState when the decision is the SecState’s to make.
On the other hand, the SecState can’t gainsay the DCI if the the CIA is the originator of the intel. Or a foreign government; if a foreign government shares what they deem to be classified information then we classify that information at whatever level is our equivalent to their classification system.
Whoever originates the intel controls the intel.
So if the DoS originated the intel during Colin Powell’s tenure, and Colin Powell says he onsidered that information unclas, that’s it. It was unclas. Hillary Clinton had the same authority.
On the other hand, if CIA or NGIA or NSA or DoD originated the intel and deemed it TS neither Colin Powell nor Hillary Clinton would have had any reason or any standing to dispute the issue. Those department or agency heads have the final authority.
As far as I’m concerned, the answer is try to indict them all. See how it shakes out. It’s not “different when we do it.” What’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. If Rice and Powell are as guilty as Clinton they belong in jail. I don’t care if they’re Republicans or Democrats.
My reasons for thinking the cases against Rice and Powell are BS while the case against Clinton is valid have nothing to do with who is a Republican or Democrat. It has to do with who as an OCA has the authority to do what. But the attempt is telling, a window into the psychology of the age. Because the leftists at DoS are personally invested in Hillary! they project that conservatives must be equally invested in Powell and Rice. So they point the threat of prosecution at their heads and say, if our girl is going down so are your people.
Thinking that will put a halt to everything.
Not expecting the answer, go ahead, do your worst. I don’t care. And I really don’t. If Powell and Rice violated the Espionage Act they deserve to go down just as much as Clinton.
You do realize that Clinton did violate the Espionage Act, Leviticus? It’s not a partisan thing. The criteria are very clear. As they need to be, because we have twenty somethings who handle classified information and when I was in the Navy we didn’t want to send them to prison because the rules were unclear. We made them clear.
I also didn’t ask them what their political affiliation was and no one asked me mine.
There is no VRWC against Hillary Clinton. Not on this.
http://www.ussnautilus.org/undersea/cromwell.html
FDR Democrat? I don’t know and I don’t care. He died rather than reveal the secrets that were entrusted to him. He did his duty and Hillary! did not.
Steve57 (1ace39) — 3/5/2016 @ 11:15 amTry this, ropelight:
I can try to see myself through other peoples’ eyes and I can take criticism. Can you?
DRJ (15874d) — 3/5/2016 @ 2:04 pm“President Trump will be the de facto leader of the Republican Party, and the old dragons will be swept aside as real conservative local and regional rise to leadership positions.”
Delusional. Let’s start with the basic fact that Trump is a leftist, not a conservative.
JD (e4a094) — 3/5/2016 @ 2:11 pmDRJ, it’s that pesky old Constitution and legal system that is the problem. I just had to laugh.
Unicorns are better for some people, particularly when they prance across bridges made of rainbows.
Thanks for going to the trouble to respond to that drumbeat silliness.
Simon Jester (5d10b2) — 3/5/2016 @ 2:22 pmI’ll give the Trumpkins credit for one thing, nominating a Dem as the candidate for Republican Party will rip the party apart.
Which makes your bleating for people to support your idol all the more hysterical. You are pushing someone that you know many will not support. But your childish temper tantrum doesn’t allow you to see past your want of more candy and vulgarity.
JD (e4a094) — 3/5/2016 @ 2:25 pmWTH are you talking about? The only president who lost his law license was Bill Clinton, and no first lady has ever lost hers. Both 0bamas are on inactive status just like any lawyer who retires or takes a break from practising; why pay the higher fees for active status, and keep up with CLE, when you’re not using it? If they ever decide to go back into practise they can resume active status whenever they like.
Milhouse (87c499) — 3/5/2016 @ 8:52 pmWe’re not at war with Yemen. But on 11-Sep-2001 President Bush announced that we were at war not just with the specific people who were involved in that day’s attacks but with the entire Islamist terrorist network that included them. (He didn’t use the word Islamist, but everyone knew that was what he meant.) We are at war with them no matter where they are, whether in Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria, or Chicago.
Milhouse (87c499) — 3/5/2016 @ 8:59 pmyes it’s another theatre in the war on terror,
narciso (732bc0) — 3/5/2016 @ 9:01 pmNo, murder is not OK if it’s an “accident”. It’s only OK if it is a genuine accident, without scare quotes. Which it was.
That was not an aspirin factory, it was Osama bin Laden’s base.
Milhouse (87c499) — 3/5/2016 @ 9:01 pmindeed it was,
http://www.weeklystandard.com/the-pope-of-terrorism-part-i/article/7079
narciso (732bc0) — 3/5/2016 @ 9:10 pmWhat difference do you think it makes how many Americans can name someone? Since when was that a criterion for the legitimacy of a target? How many Americans could have named Yamamoto before we killed him? And how many others did we kill to get him? How many innocent Frenchmen did we kill when we bombarded Normandy on D Day?
Milhouse (87c499) — 3/5/2016 @ 9:26 pmSo what? We killed many more people in WW2 than died at Pearl Harbor. Since when is that the appropriate metric?
Milhouse (87c499) — 3/5/2016 @ 9:27 pmMillhouse
I will admit that my ill informed, lame joke fell kind of flat but your statement that Clinton was the only president to ever lose his license was laughably wrong.
I only say that having done some research and found that your “namesake” Nixon was disbarred in New York after he refused to perjure himself over Watergate.
Clinton surrendered his Supreme Court license and got his AR license suspended.
I’d call that a tie.
pinandpuller (c16705) — 3/8/2016 @ 1:06 pm