Patterico's Pontifications

4/9/2016

Considering Donald Trump’s Brand Of Populism

Filed under: General — Dana @ 12:58 pm



[guest post by Dana]

Over at the Federalist, Robert Tracinski gives warning as he considers Trump’s self-styled populism:

Traditional conservative populism is: the elites think you’re rotten, but the joke’s on them because you’re actually better than them. You’re honest, hard-working, salt-of-earth people with heartland values, unlike those corrupt, effete, cynical jerks. This was often exaggerated and could amount to reverse snobbery, but there sure was something to it.

Trump’s version of populism is different. His message is: the elites think you’re rotten, so you might as well give up trying to be good. You’re never going to be politically correct enough, so throw out all standards of decency. They’re going to hate you anyway, so you might as well be what they hate you for. It’s an appeal to popular vice instead of popular virtue.

That’s the root of what’s awful about Donald Trump’s campaign: instead of offering voters a better version of themselves, he wants them to be the worst version of themselves. He wants to rise to highest office by dragging everybody else down.

Many commenters here believe that Trump followers are not nearly as much about “making America great again” as they are about taking revenge against any number of targets which include party elites, Democrats, political correctness, and the MSM. And if that requires a thuggish mentality, then so be it. All through the campaign, we have witnessed Trump skillfully stoke those flames of anger to his advantage. His obvious lack of understanding regarding any number of actual issues with which Americans are concerned seem to matter little to his followers. His obvious unfamiliarity with conservatism and its roots doesn’t matter either. And why would his supporters care given that they remain unfazed by his blatant inconsistencies, outright fabrications, and unethical behavior? They are angry that they have been ignored, betrayed, and unfairly pushed up against a wall and made to cry uncle. So here we are. As one commenter observed about Trump and his supporters: They are relying on one bully to destroy the other.

I think that conservatives (i.e. Cruz supporters) are just as angry and frustrated as Trump supporters. I know I am. But the difference, of course, is that Cruz supporters have chosen to go a different route in an effort to regain that which has been lost and that which is at odds with Trump and his supporters: solid conservative principles and ideals underpinning and influencing the decisions made by government on behalf of the American people. Therefore, by default, achieving this goal cannot include sacrificing decency or virtue. And holding fast to those qualities is no more a weakness than is thuggish behavior a strength.

–Dana

205 Responses to “Considering Donald Trump’s Brand Of Populism”

  1. Hello.

    Dana (0ee61a)

  2. Excellent post, Dana. And the “take home” lessons are quite apt. The things that confuses and saddens me is how these angry folks think that Trump will do anything to improve the situation.

    I think they want to burn everything down.

    Problem is, it’s hard to build a world for your children in the ashes.

    It’s also much easier to complain than to come with with constructive approaches.

    Many people voted for Obama because they wanted to prove to themselves they were not racist. Nothing else mattered to them. Trump supporters are just so angry they want to prove to themselves they aren’t the establishment.

    It’s all narcissism.

    I still think Klavan puts it best:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsHUPqhAGrk

    Again, I appreciate the time and effort you put into these posts, Dana.

    Simon Jester (88d4a0)

  3. Mr. Trump inspires ferocious volumes of thumbsucking

    happyfeet (831175)

  4. Trump is about getting even. He not only admits it, he brags about it:

    “Get even,” Trump said to the cheering crowd. “When somebody screws you, screw them back in spades. I really mean it. I really mean it. You’ve got to hit people hard and it’s not so much for that person, it’s other people watch.”

    DRJ (15874d)

  5. in spades is how you should screw them back yes yes

    and then burn it down like a plague house!

    and then after that hook up with a european supermodel!

    the mixtape’s got a little Hank little Drake

    happyfeet (831175)

  6. Dana,

    I consistently visit both pro-Trump and pro-Cruz sites your hypothesis is dead on.

    So many on the pro-Trump side want the other side to pay for perceived slights, real or imagined, and will burn anyone else to get there. It’s how they can go from being Cruz supporters to believing every lie in the book about him.

    It’s about their own self esteem. Good luck reaching any of them.

    njrob (b85f5b)

  7. #3, it appears, Mr. Feet, you are applying suction to areas other than thumbs.

    Simon Jester (88d4a0)

  8. hah Mr. Jester did an innuender!

    happyfeet (831175)

  9. There is no principled Conservative Trump voter. If you are a Trump supporter, you have thrown any supposed Conservative principles in the garbage heap. Interestingly enough, that’s the very same place I have thrown you.

    John Hitchcock (9c4e7b)

  10. An innuendo, Mr. Feet, is an Italian suppository.

    I merely heaped scorn on how you support a person clearly in opposition to the things you say are your goals.

    At least you aren’t fooling anyone. Well, maybe yourself.

    I’m glad there are folks willing to fight to keep this nation from being in the hands of HRC. Trump ain’t it…and you know it.

    Simon Jester (88d4a0)

  11. my goal is for the R establishment to come to Jesus Mr. Jester and start behaving like at least semi-adjusted normal american people

    this is all I’m asking for and Mr. Trump he got the inclination to do this for us

    happyfeet (831175)

  12. So Hillary is your candidate. Got it.

    Simon Jester (88d4a0)

  13. All Trump has the inclination for is worshipers, dude.

    Simon Jester (88d4a0)

  14. So Hillary is your candidate. Got it.

    nonono this is a misnomer

    don’t get it twisted picklehead

    happyfeet (831175)

  15. Trump is about people releasing the monsters of their id. Didn’t work out so well for the Krell.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  16. “The Krell were originally frog-like in nature with two long legs and a big tail. They were never shown, but it was indicated in the original screenplay that the ramps between the steps were designed to accommodate their dragging tail.”

    that reminders me of those cool driveways what have the lil staircase in the middle

    you see them in the hills sometimes there in LA

    love that

    happyfeet (831175)

  17. “You are either part of the solution, or you are part of the problem”
    –Eldridge Cleaver

    Trump offers no solutions.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  18. Mr. Trump is the embodiment of a new american epoch. Let’s fire it up let’s go get this thing stuck!

    happyfeet (831175)

  19. my goal is for the R establishment to come to Jesus

    And they effing HAVE. Do you think they WANT to support Ted Cruz? I, for one, want an 8×10 glossy of Mitch McConnell kissing the ring. What candidate would you have in mind MORE in tune with Tea Party principles than Ted Cruz? Oh, sure, we could both do with less religiosity, but you’re the one who said “come to Jesus.”

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  20. OMG, Kevin, did you see this?

    http://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-tweet-time-magazine-2016-4

    Mr. Trump is smart? Sigh.

    Simon Jester (88d4a0)

  21. (and hint: Trump and Jesus do not both belong in this sentence.)

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  22. OMG, Kevin, did you see this?

    Let the mocking Photoshops begin.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  23. If anyone wants, here’s a suggestion.

    http://www.toledoblade.com/image/2008/07/04/800x_b1_cCM_z/Larry-Harmon.jpg

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  24. i’m a never forgive his indecent and flagrant kim davis butt-snuffles Mr. M

    but if he’s the nominee I’d rather him win than hillary

    but that’s pure economic self-interest speaking

    i don’t think electing a snooty harvardtrash phony with a harvardtrash goldy sacky in tow, a phony who’s got a weakness for indulging in obscene butt-snuffling proclivities is the recipe what a decency-starved failmerica is hungry for

    happyfeet (831175)

  25. jesus wept

    happyfeet (831175)

  26. Watch for it…

    Trump/Cruz 2016

    Heads will explode, but at a brokered convention the GOP could lose 30% of its voting base by removing Trump from his earned #1 place.
    So the GOP will make a deal with Cruz in exchange for the VP seat and full backing in 2024 Presidential election.
    Cruz will take it.

    By the way, this is all because the GOP leader Priebus thought the GOP had a deep bench, when it turned out to be just a wide bench. They were all on Dick Vitale’s All-Airport team. They looked good in the Airport… in the game, not so much
    Priebus should have run bracketology after the second debate and shaved the field down to 8 saying get out now or you will never get a dime from us.
    Then next down to final four of Trump Cruz Rubio and Kasich.
    Toss Rubio and Kasich. Let Cruz and Trump slug it out.
    But no. Trump is here in this spot for a number of reasons, but he was given traction by an age old strategy of divide and conquer.
    A 17 person field is way to easy for a guy like Trump. The opposition is divided into 16 pieces and so Trump made himself into the media star and carved out his 35% and let everyone else scrap about in single digits. Too easy.

    steveg (fed1c9)

  27. As far as being angry and lashing out, Trump’s repeated suggestions about using nuclear weapons should be understood in that context. If America ever decided to lash out and “burn it all down” we could have a heck of a bonfire.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  28. Trump/Cruz is exactly the kind of forward-thinking innovation what’s so very elusive in these latter days of failmerica

    happyfeet (831175)

  29. Kim Davis was within her rights, hf. She was an elected official with as much right to assert her moral beliefs as Governor Brown was in not defending Prop 8. Defend one of them or neither.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  30. she’s nepotistic hillbilly trash who thinks the office is her and she is the office

    just like harvardtrash think the presidency is theirs and they are the presidency

    happyfeet (831175)

  31. Trump/Cruz? It will never, ever happen. It would not gain Trump a single vote, and just end Cruz’ career.

    More likely is Clinton/Trump. At least that way you have two Democrats. Or Trump/Kasich for the same reason.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  32. kasich is for old people who like to play uno in their rvs at the koa

    happyfeet (831175)

  33. I forgot to say that without Cruz, GOP loses 15-20% who won’t vote for Trump unless Cruz is on the ticket.
    Right now that is the only path to victory vs Hillary.
    Take away the fierce Trumpkins and Cruz alone gets pasted by the Dem machine.

    It won’t be Trump/Kasich and it won’t be Cruz/Kasich
    Trump/Rubio gains nothing and I think this is a divided enough year that the runner up at the convention will be needed on the Ticket to win against Hillary.

    The voter loss math says if Cruz is chosen, a good deal of Trump’s will sit out the election.
    Ditto for Cruz.

    God help us

    steveg (fed1c9)

  34. Spot on, Dana. The frustration that so many feel about lack of employment opportunities, callous disregard for and breaking of the law and the perpetrators getting away with their crimes or receiving minor slaps on the wrist, political correctness run amok, downward spiral of the culture toward the LCD, expansion of the state… all of this is palpable and understandable, indeed, the reality is felt by many if not most here. But it is compounded when there is a much better choice than Trump.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  35. my goal is for the R establishment to come to Jesus Mr. Jester and start behaving like at least semi-adjusted normal american people

    If that were so, happyfeet, being of sound mind, one would not look to one so clearly without a sound mind to lead.

    Dana (0ee61a)

  36. Anyone who thinks that Trump and Cruz have any point of agreement is a complete and utter fool.

    The only thing they both want to do — the wall — they want to do for different reasons. Cruz wants to build the wall because it is apparently the only way to stop illegal entry, and he’s a rule of law kind of guy. Trump wants to build a wall because he’s a racist prick who hates brown people.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  37. Dana it’s time to throw the deck of cards in the air

    happyfeet (831175)

  38. Cruz would not sully himself. Who wants to be second banana to Cheeta?

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  39. in Mr. Trump’s America the whole republic would be banana Mr. M

    happyfeet (831175)

  40. It’ll be a serious question asked of Cruz going into the convention and Trump will understand voter math well enough to agree.
    Cruz may not agree, but his career will be over if he doesn’t do it. The GOP will actively campaign against him in every race going forward until they force him out into some law firm where he’ll make millions a year

    steveg (fed1c9)

  41. Two things can happen at the convention.

    1. Trump wins on the first ballot.

    2. Trump goes home a loser.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  42. be real

    if team r has a failed convention it’s game over for those fetus-humping losers

    happyfeet (831175)

  43. Also the disaster on every front: social, economic, foreign and domestic policy, that mark the Obama legacy. He will be leaving this nation and the world, in a much, much worse condition than he found it in January 2009.

    And it’s of his making.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  44. pretending like Mr. Trump hasn’t tapped into something potent and real?

    that’s Jeb Bush level analysis right there

    happyfeet (831175)

  45. Cruz and Trump share an ambition.

    You hold Cruz to that standard?
    That he’d not sully himself?

    I can tell you have a fierce belief in Cruz and I give a nod to that, but I don’t have that type of belief in Cruz at all.
    Politicians always sully themselves just as sure as a baby pooping in a diaper

    steveg (fed1c9)

  46. he GOP will actively campaign against him in every race going forward

    I really don’t know what color the sky is on your planet but this is just silly. The GOP does not want Trump on the ticket. They will do damn near anything to avoid it. If, somehow, Trump gets the bound delegates to win on the first ballot (the odds are poor), then there are a number of options, but none of them have a happy GOP behind Trump. Some have an alternative GOP candidate running in some or many states. None have people who oppose Trump drummed out of the party.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  47. Matter of fact, even if Trump has the numbers going into the convention, I expect that any number of “bound” delegates will decide they must vote their conscience and accept whatever punishment state law provides. There is no Convention rule demanding that delegates vote as bound.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  48. Cruz wants to build the wall because it is apparently the only way to stop illegal entry, and he’s a rule of law kind of guy. Trump wants to build a wall because he’s a racist prick who hates brown people.

    I agree with your first sentence, Kevin M, but I have neither seen nor heard Trump do anything in regard to hating brown people. As a matter of fact his businesses have employed thousands of brown people, and black and yellow too. You really need to stop screaming racist at every person you disagree with. It’s just so leftist. Also neither you or I know Trumps motivation in building a wall but my guess would be because it makes him a pop idol, not because he’s a racist. Trump is too busy loving Trump to hate anyone.

    Imam Hoagie ™ (e4fcd6)

  49. steveg,

    The Vice presidency isn’t worth spit as a stepping stone to the presidency. As a matter of fact it is a hindrance. It is nearly impossible to get that 3rd term in a row. The last two sitting VPs to be elected President were George H W Bush and Martin Van Buren.

    Cruz’ ambition would best be served as far as possible from the clusterfu**.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  50. Trump attracts racists, he encourages racist followers, he sets people against each other on the basis of color and ethnicity, he fails to disown them even though he knows damn well who they are, and he hire these folks only because they are cheap.

    But you’re right. I don’t know that he hates brown people. Sorry.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  51. 43.Also the disaster on every front: social, economic, foreign and domestic policy, that mark the Obama legacy. He will be leaving this nation and the world, in a much, much worse condition than he found it in January 2009.

    And it’s of his making.
    Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 4/9/2016 @ 2:22 pm

    It’s also the best kept secret from the people the media has kept since Vince Foster, Colonel.

    Imam Hoagie ™ (e4fcd6)

  52. I agree with that, Kevin M. Trump does seem to attract racists like Sanders attracts commies. It’s their nature. Witch is why Cruz has the better plan and the more American plan.

    Imam Hoagie ™ (e4fcd6)

  53. George Wallace did not hate black people, btw. I know several blacks who lived in Alabama at the time who told me that. There was always lots of work for blacks on government projects in Alabama. However, it was politically necessary for him to support segregation and “out-ni***r” his opponents.

    Just the same, that does not make him a saint.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  54. maybe Mr. Trump should dump Melania and hook up with Iman

    she’s single now you know

    happyfeet (831175)

  55. He likes them a lot younger. Malia will be 18 in July.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  56. he likes them smart too both Melania and Imam speak like five languages, which is many

    happyfeet (831175)

  57. *Iman* i mean i hate this keyboard it puts the m right next to the n

    happyfeet (831175)

  58. Yes, but he should avoid getting an immigrant right now. Bad optics.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  59. Well, Hoagie hasn’t seen the prenup yet. It might be worth it.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  60. immigrants ain’t so bad it’s them illegal foodstamper ones

    happyfeet (831175)

  61. I am never trump. But also will not be persuaded with Cruz as vp. No more nose holding

    S harms (d253aa)

  62. i’m sorry you feel that way

    happyfeet (831175)

  63. Good point concerning Trump’s brand of populism. One big thing missing is the critical fact that Trump would further trash the constitutional limits on the office of the President if elected. He would be as much of an autocratic imperial president as Obummer – just coming from a different perspective. Is there any doubt that Trump would unlawfully use the IRS, DOJ FBI, etc. to punish those that cross him? Is there any doubt that Trump would implement just as disastrous, feckless & incompetent foreign policy – running roughshod over a supposed independent DOD/Pentagon/Joint Chiefs? Populist Trump supporters with any foresight & love of country have to realize that any joy they might get from thumbing their noses at their left-wing & establishment oppressors will be short-lived by the further long-term damage Trump will do to constitutional limits. The only way the right-wing/conservative populists can achieve their long-term goals is by supporting a candidate committed to a much smaller & less intrusive government that adheres to the limits of the constitution. Trump is surely not that man – no matter how satisfying it is to watch him stick it to the MSM/SJW/PC/ruling elite crowd. Ted Cruz is the only candidate that may possibly provide the needed rollback to a smaller federal government.

    Trumps of Doom (329966)

  64. Trump would further trash the constitutional limits on the office of the President if elected.

    trashed is trashed

    there is no further trashed

    hello

    happyfeet (831175)

  65. I find it very hard to believe that Trump could unify the party as nominee, and his VP choice is lipstick on a pig. I don’t know if the party can be unified if he is NOT the nominee, but it seems like the only chance. His entry has been unfortunate and disruptive, although it is not clear that Cruz would be where he is without Trump getting the eGOP’s minds right. But it was never going to be Jeb!

    It should be noted that Cruz’s candidacy is also populist — the small government, strong defense, local control, bourgeois populism of the Tea Party.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  66. hf,

    If someone trashes your place, you can pick stuff up, live among the ruins, or invite the nearest motorcycle gang over to party. Cruz, Hillary, or Trump in that order.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  67. The Trump supporters I know closely are solid middle class. Doctor, architect, cop, nurse. With kids in college. Complaining about affirmative action and “their kids’ scholarships” going to immigrants. Seriously. Their problem with the Combine (R+D=C) is that it’s not maintaining their comfort zone. So they can hoard, and feed, and sleep, and play in a smoothly-running Americaland Resort.

    nk (dbc370)

  68. “Down to the Nightclub Caucus” Trump Tower of Power

    It’s Saturday night and I’m just hangin’ out
    Lookin’ for a political party
    Trump is talkin’ jive and Cruz is cold
    Maybe only one thing to do
    (Down to the caucus) Ooh, the women be blue haired, wrinkled and gritty
    (Down to the caucus) He go Trump-ty, Trump-ty, Trump
    (Trump City)

    Sittin’ by the hall floor checkin’ it out
    Watchin’ the man with teh squirrel hair
    He’s got the slick talk and the yuge ego too
    And a big ol’ bag of tricks
    (Down to the caucus) Ah, ha, you can get what you want
    If you know how to find it
    (Down to the caucus) Ooh, he be slick, slick, slick

    Ooh, the people be Trumpin’ (At Trump City)
    The joint be jumpin’ (At Trump City)
    Old ladies be sumpthin’ (At Trump City)
    Hey, while the hands be pumpin’
    ‘Said the hands be pumpin’
    The beat be somethin’
    Ow! One time y’all!

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  69. 67.The Trump supporters I know closely are solid middle class. Doctor, architect, cop, nurse. With kids in college. Complaining about affirmative action and “their kids’ scholarships” going to immigrants. Seriously. Their problem with the Combine (R+D=C) is that it’s not maintaining their comfort zone. So they can hoard, and feed, and sleep, and play in a smoothly-running Americaland Resort.

    Then the Trump supporters you know, nk, worked hard to get an education and became a doctor, architect, cop and nurse and want a good education for their children. Yep, that’s solid middle class. As for them “complaining” about affirmative action did you consider they may be right? How many scholarships are diverted to people who didn’t earn or deserve them simply because they were the victim du jour and “entitled”? And if they mean scholarships going to illegal immigrants then I agree with them. Why should illegals be able to attend college here at taxpayers expense? When you mock the smoothly-running Americaland Resort you bypass the fact that it was the promise to these people that if they went to school, got an education, worked hard, saved (or hoarded as you call it), obeyed the law and paid their taxes they would live in an Americaland Resort. Or at least not be mocked by the right and the left and called all kinds of names from racist to stupid because they upheld their part of the deal. Now they are strangers in their own country and are looking around wondering what happened and why they are suddenly the bad guys. Can you blame them?

    Imam Hoagie ™ (e4fcd6)

  70. well what’s the difference, with what happens here,

    https://twitter.com/DRUDGE/status/718880067833561088

    narciso (732bc0)

  71. i just want peace and prosperity in our time Mr. M

    tick tock picklehead

    happyfeet (831175)

  72. No, I do not blame them, Hoagie. But I cannot help comparing them, and myself, to my parents, in-laws, aunts and uncles, who were born in a capital “D” Depression and fought Nazis and Communists. Call me a self-hating Baby Boomer.

    nk (dbc370)

  73. and the communists are in govt, and they don’t allow us to fight the equivalent of the nazis, for the better part of a fifteen years.

    narciso (732bc0)

  74. Conservative principles – you need to define that.

    Before we can have a conversation.

    papertiger (c2d6da)

  75. Mr. Trump inspires ferocious volumes of thumbsucking

    happyfeet (831175) — 4/9/2016 @ 1:18 pm

    Happyfeet, I have no idea if that was a Freudian slip, bra and panties on your part or not, but that was probably the most honest assessment of Trump you’ve ever given. Very concise. Well done, I think.

    Bill H (dcdd7b)

  76. He means petulance on the part of guys like me who resent the Combover for all the attention and support he’s getting.

    nk (dbc370)

  77. Populist is a demeaning word used by the self absorbed. It’s spoiled children’s prattle for when you lose playing by the rules in a fair contest, and want to change the rules to make yourself the winner afterward.

    That’s how I define it. How do you define it?

    papertiger (c2d6da)

  78. And the worser part of it is that I spill that resentment unto Trump supporters whom, in other circumstances, I’d be on decently good terms with. But if I didn’t vent, I’d burst. Haven’t Bill Clinton and the Mau Mau debased the Presidency enough?

    nk (dbc370)

  79. I had the privilege of sending a few dozen communists to the great politburo in hades in Vietnam, nk, so I know the feeling. Now I wonder what all the blood and sweat and tears were for. I’m so disappointed in my generation it’s beyond contempt. The democrats decided back in the 60’s that being a crime syndicate paid better than being an actual political party. The similarities between todays democrats with their governing by force ideology and their PC and newspeak crap bears such a resemblance to the Italian fascists in the 40’s it’s scary. And I was big on civil rights back then. The marches, the “gatherings” and sit-ins in Rittenhouse Square and such. Then I woke up to reverse discrimination and quotas and race based hiring and realized they were just discriminating a different way. And it was always the left. The constant din of “change” and the constant parade of victims mostly caused by the previous policies of the left to help the same “victims”.

    Imam Hoagie ™ (e4fcd6)

  80. Conservative principles – you need to define that.

    Not that Trump has any this week that he will necessarily have next week.

    To me they would be:

    Small government, as local as possible.
    Strong defense. This includes an active foreign policy in today’s world.
    Low taxes.
    Free enterprise.
    Rule of law.
    Adherence to the Constitution and Bill of Rights.
    Respect for the rights of citizens.
    Secure borders.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  81. Both Cruz and Trump are populists. Just very different sorts.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  82. 80.And the worser part of it is that I spill that resentment unto Trump supporters …

    Ain’t that the truth. We need to remember when Cruz gets the nomination we’re gonna need these Trump supporters to defeat the Hildebeast. I try and let them know it’s Trump I don’t like, not them. I may question their judgment but you know what, nobody’s perfect. They’re imperfect, I’m imperfect and together we can beat the Beast!

    Imam Hoagie ™ (e4fcd6)

  83. Conservative principles – you need to define that.

    First off just having principles is a Conservative principle. But Kevin M’s list looks good. Perhaps adding Property rights even though it’s in the Constitution I think it deserves special mention.

    Gotta go, Svenghoulie is on Bride of Frankenstein (Boris Karloff, Elsa Lanchestor 1939).

    Imam Hoagie ™ (e4fcd6)

  84. Cruz is a much better choice… a better man, but, again… if it comes down to it, I will be voting for Trump. Better to vote for a candidate who may disappoint you than sit idly by and watch one elected who will surely disappoint and continue on the path that takes the country down the tubes and destroys western civilization in the process.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  85. Gainful work
    Respect for one’s elders
    Respect for the flag
    Respect for the rule of law
    Solicitous* of women

    *No, it means something completely different from soliciting

    nk (dbc370)

  86. Trump wants to build a wall because he’s a racist prick who hates brown people.

    That sounds like the type of blah-blah from liberals or leftists who love to stereotype anything that isn’t full of bleeding-heart hypocrisy (eg, “the undocumented need our love and compassion! To say otherwise is mean, racist and bigoted! It’s purely coincidental that I won’t be living anywhere near where they live, and purely coincidental that I won’t be sending my own kids to schools where the undocumented send their kids.”*

    Keven, I wouldn’t wonder what was behind your statement (and forget whether it was prompted by a dislike of Trump or not, or any other candidate, for that matter) if in the other thread about New York values you hadn’t made the claim — chock full of politically correct sappiness — that illegal immigrants from Mexico are actually better than legal ones.
    __________________

    * Case in point: the super liberal couple currently in the White House and the schools they enrolled their two daughters in, first in Chicago and then in DC.

    Mark (0f444a)

  87. 85, yes, property rights.

    Also, a government that stands behind the promises it has made for what it has already taken.

    Veterans, Social Security, anything where it has taken from the people, promising a return. It may want to change the rules going forward, and no one is entitled to the deal someone else got, or even to the current deal continuing under the same rules, but they are entitled to what they’ve already paid for.

    This does NOT include things that are unconnected to a payment. Welfare could stop tomorrow. But send a guy off to war and promise you will take care of his wounds, and by God you had better do that.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  88. (yes, yes, I know it’s not a contract, legally)

    It’s simply a blood oath.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  89. KevinM

    You are right.
    It is a sacred blood oath

    I was angered to near tears when I read that 7 regional VA heads simply fudged the numbers to say that they were up to speed on taking care of vet problems. I’ll bet they cashed those bonus checks anyway.

    Blood oath and blood money. They should be in prison.. Instead they’ll get steady increment raises and retire nicely with good medical and dental care. Something the vets they screwed will never see.
    Special circle of hell

    steveg (fed1c9)

  90. I don’t see anything on your list when it comes to one man one vote.

    papertiger (c2d6da)

  91. Revenge – you call it. I call it standing up for yourself when you have been wronged.

    Ted Cruz is perfectly willing to hide behind women and take cheap shots at his opponents woman when people aren’t likely to see him over there behind the skirt flaps.

    papertiger (c2d6da)

  92. Ted Cruz is so disgusting how he hides

    they should call him harvardtrash ted the hidey hider

    uck

    what a cowardly phony

    just be who you are and let the chips fall where they may ted

    you’ll like yourself a small amount more better i promise

    happyfeet (831175)

  93. It was his country
    But it done him wrong

    nk (dbc370)

  94. papertiger’s absolutely right; any Presidential candidate who takes cheap shots at a woman is undeserving of the GOP nomination.
    Therefore, The Mr Donald should stop the bleeding from his wherever, and abort his campaign effective immediately.

    Cruz Supporter (102c9a)

  95. *everyone* needs to stop bleeding for their whatever

    like yesterday

    happyfeet (831175)

  96. You can get 100 lawn signs for $99.00. https://www.signsonthecheap.com/
    What do you think?

    Vote for the old broad,
    it’s important
    ….
    Dump Trump

    nk (dbc370)

  97. i love trump i hate pee lady

    i’m happyfeet and i approve this message

    happyfeet (831175)

  98. Mr happyfeet, you and Heidi Cruz have something in common. Neither of you will be voting for The Mr Donald!

    Cruz Supporter (102c9a)

  99. the pikachu and the heidi united will never be defeated

    happyfeet (831175)

  100. Ted Cruz is perfectly willing to hide behind women and take cheap shots at his opponents woman when people aren’t likely to see him over there behind the skirt flaps.

    papertiger (c2d6da) — 4/9/2016 @ 9:07 pm

    This is ridiculous. You are perpetuating a lie. You know as well as I that Ted Cruz has not hidden behind women nor taken cheap shots at Mrs. Trump. Either substantiate your claim with incontrovertible evidence supporting your claim, or understand that I (I won’t speak for others) will know you are intentionally and dishonestly smearing Cruz, and therefore any further comments from you will be viewed with suspicion and you will no longer automatically be given the benefit of the doubt. To the contrary, I will operate on the premise that your comment is dishonest and work my way back. That is, If I wanted to expend such energies. Which I don’t.

    Dana (0ee61a)

  101. So if the populism of the day spits on their hands, hoists the black flag and begins slitting throats, is that the bad populism? Cos I read that on top of the ace of spades website every time I click my way over there.

    Jcurtis (057749)

  102. You are perpetuating a lie.

    No more than when Ted Cruz lies that he knows Trump was behind the NE story. But you already know that.

    Thanks to #NeverTrump retards and the GOP establishment, this election is already lost. And with it the country. Enjoy Hillary and the Hillary nominated Supreme Court, and the ever-increasing liberal carnival that awaits. You did your part.

    Old Reader (08f24c)

  103. https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/topten

    BRENDA DELGADO
    Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution – Capital Murder
    REWARD: The FBI is offering a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading directly to the arrest of Brenda Delgado.
    Date(s) of Birth Used: June 18, 1982
    Hair: Black
    Place of Birth: Mexico
    Eyes: Brown
    Nationality: Mexican
    Height: 5’5″
    Weight: 145 pounds Sex: Female
    Race: White (Hispanic)
    Occupation: Dental Hygiene Student

    There was some question about where she was from, what citizenship she has, that sort of thing.

    papertiger (c2d6da)

  104. No it’s not. Cruz pac pays off Fiorina’s pac which is the same mailbox as Liz Mair’s pac.

    Skill at the shell game to throw others off the track isn’t a trait I find admirable in anybody, much less political candidates.

    Bet Ted is great at three card monty.

    papertiger (c2d6da)

  105. The con man always wants you to believe his is of the highest virtue.

    Think about what Ted presents for public fodder with an objective eye.

    papertiger (c2d6da)

  106. Beldar

    1 of 12
    Click ‘Next’ to View Gallery

    divot (31009b)

  107. #102: Dana, you are on the right track. A tiny bit of moderator discretion applied steadily might get this blog back on track. As it stands, a good portion of the discussion is devoted to telling lies or attempting to repudiate them. Your proposed theme for today’s dialogue has been dragged into the gutter for no apparent reason. On the other hand, the lies provide proof of your premise.

    BobStewartatHome (7b7fb2)

  108. Don’t buy the premise but whatever…

    Rodney King's Spirit (db6706)

  109. Here you go, papertiger. Watch it all the way through. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heasnJY8HMM

    nk (dbc370)

  110. Tiger, careful big fella, see Dana’s comment at #102. Repent of your sins, or according to her you’re in danger of being drummed out of the Book of the Month Club, or worse, loosing your 5th amendment rights.

    ropelight (769908)

  111. Remember this weekend, Trumpkins: This is the weekend your guy showed that he’s a lazy, bored amateur who thinks he’s entitled to win without bothering to campaign.

    He didn’t bother to show up in Colorado. Just quit. Did not try.

    He’s a clown, but you’ve had plenty of warning signed that he’ll lose. When he does lose, remember this weekend, because when you’re whining about how he got cheated, this weekend is the proof that he just didn’t bother to compete.

    Beldar (fa637a)

  112. Many commenters here believe that Trump followers are not nearly as much about “making America great again” as they are about taking revenge against any number of targets which include party elites, Democrats, political correctness, and the MSM. And if that requires a thuggish mentality, then so be it. 100% true but the only way to beat liberals is to use their tactics against them.
    I am cruz supporter but will support whoever nominee is except kasich because he is a big government gop who will get crushed,
    The trump campaign is also highlighting the media bias at its best, they are afraid of him breaking up the cabal in DC, the DC establishment must be defeated before we can take on liberalism, Cruz or Trump accomplish that

    fran (da3dfc)

  113. When Trump gets wiped out in November, the Fan Boys will blame everyone except their cult figure for the loss.

    Cruz Supporter (102c9a)

  114. Beldar, remember that every time you unfairly denigrate Trump or insult his supporters the chances diminish your candidate can accumulate enough votes to win. Your instinct for public self-destruction overrides your political preferences and will hamper Ted Cruz’s candidacy. You might what to ask yourself why your urge to insult dominates your stated political objectives.

    ropelight (769908)

  115. Odds are if Trump were to actually win the nomination and saw his polling numbers remain as bad as they are right now versus Hillary, his natural inclination would be to simply try to co-opt Hillary’s agenda for the remainder of the campaign, because in Trump’s mind, that would be how to get the angry swing voters back on his side.

    Trump’s populism has always involved gauging whatever it is the swing voters are angry about, and then using his media platform to pretend he got their first and is far angrier than them about whatever they’re angry about — and if a few years later, they’re angry about something that’s 180 degrees opposite what they were angry about before, Trump’s angry about that now, too.

    For the people who may have come to Trump’s campaign for his immigration or tariff comments but are now in love with his angry, that may be all that’s needed, and they’ll stay with Trump no matter what position he takes (and as his attack two weeks ago on Scott Walker showed, Trump when mad has no problem defaulting to progressive talking points, as when he went after Walker for endorsing Cruz by claiming Walker hurt Wisconsin by failing to raise taxes).

    John (5e3422)

  116. Nailed it!

    Great piece.

    Alec j (def15e)

  117. ropelight makes a good point in #115 when he suggests that everytime Donnie Trump and his Fan Boys insult their opponents, they do further damage to Donnie’s candidacy.

    Cruz Supporter (102c9a)

  118. papertiger 105,

    I think you missed this comment I left last month about the Mercer (not Cruz) donation to Fiorina:

    The Ted Cruz PAC Keep The Promise I was set up by NY financier Robert Mercer to benefit Ted Cruz. It gave $500,000 to a Carly Fiorina PAC on June 18, 2015, triggering an FEC inquiry. Mercer has supported Cruz, Jindal and Fiorina. The donation to Fiorina’s PAC came at a time when her PAC was low on campaign funds.

    The FEC gave the Keep The Promise I PAC until October 21, 2015, to clarify the donation and has taken no further action since then, so the inquiry must have been resolved to the FEC’s satisfaction. As mentioned at the first link, this is not unprecedented. A Michele Bachmann PAC gave money to Mitt Romney in the 2012 campaign.

    Under the terms of Cruz’s Keep The Promise family of PACs, the donors retain control of the funds and can do with them as they please.

    I hope this helps you understand. It would be illegal for Cruz to direct a PAC to do anything. In addition, Mercer had already supported Fiorina and Jindal, and it would not be unusual for him to continue that support using the money from his self-directed PAC.

    DRJ (15874d)

  119. That cuts both ways, Cruz Supporter. That’s why I tone down the “nasty” when I talk to or about Trump supporters since I actually want them to join us when Cruz wins to defeat Hillary! I figure if I haven’t called them stupid, racist ba$tards for three months they’re more apt to do so.

    Imam Hoagie ™ (e4fcd6)

  120. #120 Hoagie,

    Do you really believe that anyone here would actually sit out the election in November simply because a supporter of a rival in the GOP primary insulted them in the comments section of a blog?
    I don’t.
    The fate of the republic trumps personal vanity. Or at least it ought to.

    I think all this “I might not vote for Cruz in November because one of his supporters called me a jerk several months ago” is just a smoke screen by fragile Trump Fan Boys who laugh and giggle everytime their cult hero tells a female reporter she’s bleeding from her wherever, yet who can’t stomach a little return fire.

    Cruz Supporter (102c9a)

  121. I think Trump supporters would sit out because they want to get even. It’s who Trump is and who they are. But they would do it no matter what was said here. By the way, Kasich is helping Trump now.

    DRJ (15874d)

  122. bottom-feeding clickbait site Hot Air says there’s a naked picture of sleazy harvardtrash Ted and his goldy sacky on display in europe and everyone is super disgusted

    happyfeet (831175)

  123. oh wait no that’s a picture someone done of Mr. Trump to where they’re just making pretend he doesn’t have any clothes on

    click click click goes the trolley

    click click click goes the bell

    happyfeet (831175)

  124. Do you think the owner of this site (and others) will refuse to vote for Trump in the general election if he wins the GOP nomination?

    ropelight (769908)

  125. Mr. P lives in California his vote in the general doesn’t really mean anything in the big picture

    happyfeet (831175)

  126. #125 ropelight,

    Patterico and others may not vote for Trump in the general election due to ideological concerns.
    But it won’t be because a Trump supporter called them a jerk in the comments section.

    Cruz Supporter (102c9a)

  127. Mr happyfeet, you just quoted ‘The Trolley Song.’
    Do you have the 1904 World’s Fair on your mind?! (LOL)

    Cruz Supporter (102c9a)

  128. Do you really believe that anyone here would actually sit out the election in November simply because a supporter of a rival in the GOP primary insulted them in the comments section of a blog?
    I don’t.
    The fate of the republic trumps personal vanity. Or at least it ought to.

    I did not say anyone here would sit out the election, Cruz Supporter. I was speaking in general. But I do know there is at least two specific people here who would not return the favor if the results are reversed.

    If you believe the fate of the Republic should trump personal vanity, it’s the Cruz supporters that need the lesson. And I also didn’t say the Cruz supporters called Trumps people a “jerk”. They’re called racists, bigots, stupid, cultists and mindless followers. They wish it was just “jerks”.

    Did you see the fake Boston Globe cover at Drudge? All that hate by the media, Hollywood and the left in general will be directed to Cruz and us as soon as The Donald is beat. We need their help to win is all I’m saying and instead of arguing with me about how rotten and nasty and alienating our Cruz supporters are being or not being perhaps toning it down a notch to beat Hillary! would be a better idea.

    Hoagie ™ (e4fcd6)

  129. Patterico and others may not vote for Trump in the general election due to ideological concerns.
    But it won’t be because a Trump supporter called them a jerk in the comments section.

    You’re saying that “Patterico and others” are more ideologically in tune with either a lying, grifting socialist or an out and out communist than a fool like Trump? So, knowing full well either democrat candidate will push the United States over the cliff of centralized government never to return they wouldn’t vote for moron who actually might stumble in the right direction? And while doing so hand both Congress and the Supreme Court to the commies? Hey, this is an idiotic buffoon, not Lucifer guys. Lucifer is running the other team. Get a grip.

    Hoagie ™ (e4fcd6)

  130. oh my goodness poor harvardtrash ted is gonna wilt like a stinky cabbage in the hot hot sun when the media finally turns over the rock and takes a hard look at him and his goldy sacky

    and his negatives are already so high in spite of all the benign coverage so far

    and he’s already shown how just one snarky tweeter can make him wet his pants

    so there it is

    if failmerica has to choose between two candidates that smell like pee, do you really think they’re gonna pick harvardtrash ted

    it’s a conundrum like when you have to pick between seeing a stupid failmerican star wars movie and getting a colonoscopy

    happyfeet (831175)

  131. Hoagie,

    You and I just happen to disagree on a few of these points—that’s fine.

    Cruz Supporter (102c9a)

  132. Cruz pac pays off Fiorina’s pac which is the same mailbox as Liz Mair’s pac.

    And Netgear rebates go to the same PO Box as ASUS rebates and Dell rebates. I guess they are all the same company!

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  133. Liz Mair is a scummy trash bag

    but she’s illustrative of the values of the perverted paul ryan establishment

    happyfeet (831175)

  134. the DC establishment must be defeated before we can take on liberalism, Cruz or Trump accomplish that

    You do realize that Trump is a big government authoritarian, don’t you? He say’s he’s a right-of-center statist, but his history says he’s a left-of-center statist. But it’s always “statist.”

    Liberal vs conservative is SO 20th century.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  135. I hate invasive apostrophes.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  136. I figure if I haven’t called them stupid, racist ba$tards for three months they’re more apt to do so.

    I’ll stop in July.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  137. So was nixon, scary isn’t it.

    narciso (b2e077)

  138. I will point out that the Colonel and I had a lot of cross words with his (persistent and way tiring) cheerleading for Mitt Romney in 2012. I preferred Gingrich at the time, and thought that Romney was too wooden and, well, rich, to connect with voters. He certainly had trouble closing the GOP deal.

    Then he won, and I got on board. Maybe Gingrich would have been a better candidate, maybe he would have been worse. Certainly Romney had more discipline. But I never had any problem getting on board no matter how annoying the Colonel was.

    Then again, I never doubted that Romney was qualified. And even though I thought the other candidates in 2012 were not, none of them were so massively and profoundly unqualified as Donald Trump. And there is the problem we have.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  139. So was nixon, scary isn’t it.

    Nixon also had a first class mind, and was probably the smartest person to serve as president in the 20th century. A Shakespearean tragic figure.

    Say what you will about The Donald, “first class mind” is not at the top of the list.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  140. harvardtrash mitt didn’t get the job done hey let’s try harvardtrash ted this time

    happyfeet (831175)

  141. Mr. P lives in California his vote in the general doesn’t really mean anything in the big picture

    But I thought Yhe Donald would win in California.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  142. #132 DRJ–

    It doesn’t matter. Cruz will completely control the Convention rules committee as many pledged Trump delegates don’t support Trump.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  143. the key factor in november is the economy not Mr. Donald or that pee-stanky old woman

    but the perverted paul ryan Rs don’t have their eye on the ball

    they too busy looking at Liz Mair’s sticky pictures of naked Melania

    happyfeet (831175)

  144. So, happy, did harvard turn your application down or something?

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  145. that is pure speculations on your part Mr. M

    you better than that

    happyfeet (831175)

  146. Boston Globe — News from the future (PDF)

    https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/2797782/Ideas-Trump-front-page.pdf

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  147. yes, i often have better speculations

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  148. Mr happyfeet, if Melania hadn’t accepted money for being photographed with her clothes off, there wouldn’t be any photos to talk about.
    Really, it all means that Heidi Cruz is a jerk for working at Goldman Sachs when she should have accepted that lucrative job offer from McDonald’s.

    Cruz Supporter (102c9a)

  149. Trumpkin shills, like the ones who lie here so regularly and so enthusiastically, aren’t ever going to vote for anyone but Trump. It makes me laugh when they threaten to boycott the GOP.

    Ordinary Trumpkins — the mere suckers, as distinguished from those who are trying to help Trump sucker others — might redeem themselves, but only if they get over their hurt feelings when it’s pointed out that their candidate is a fraud. But if they don’t, they don’t. It’s impossible to point out that a con man in a con man without at least impliedly insulting his marks. Trumpkins are no more immune from having their judgment questioned than New York Democrats are immune from criticism because two of the 9/11 planes crashed there.

    The undeniable fact remains: This weekend, Trump didn’t even try to win a single delegate in Colorado. When he loses, I’m sure the Trumpkin shills here will be at the front of the line whining and screaming, “We wuz robbed!”

    Beldar (fa637a)

  150. Everyone and everything is very poisoned or full of ill will right now, from one end to the other, of all stripes, from the political to the religious, from the racial to the sexual. The amount of resulting socio-political (and economic) corruption and decay is astonishing.

    The occupant of the Oval Office made an absurdly lame excuse today for his predicted likely successor’s irresponsible use of top-secret emails. The home-mortgage industry is also being ginned up by him to allow for a variation of the “liar loan” situation of over 8 years ago, which triggered the crash of the stock market in 2008.

    There are combative, inflammatory mutterings of Donald Trump on one side and pro-politically-correct-spewing liberals on the other. And, per below, we in the US, with examples like that of Nidal Hasan in the US military or what exists on the typical American college campus in 2016, aren’t all that much better from the lunacy in other parts of the Western World.

    Everything seeped in a culture that is becoming (ironically enough in this era of PC censorship) cruder and coarser by the minute—eg, an article currently linked at drudgereport.com about how unhinged the TV industry is becoming to attract viewers.

    breitbart.com, April 2015: Glasgow Police have threatened social media users, ordering them to be “kind” and not “hurtful” unless they want to “receive a visit…this weekend”. Using the witty acronym ‘THINK’, and the hashtag #thinkbeforeyoupost, they cautioned people to consider whether something is true, hurtful, illegal, necessary or kind before sending.

    The ominously totalitarian tone of the tweet will come as little surprise to those familiar with Scottish police who have form on the matter. Just weeks ago columnist Katie Hopkins was investigated by the force. A Scottish nurse had been treated for Ebola and the television personality joked: “Sending us Ebola bombs in the form of sweaty Glaswegians just isn’t cricket”.

    Police Scotland received a series of complaints and thousands of people signed an online petition calling for action to be taken over the “racist tweets”. However, a spokesman later declared: “An investigation has been carried out and on this occasion no criminality has been established”.

    In February this year Scottish Police arrested a 41-year-old man under the Communications Act after receiving a report of a supposedly “offensive” comment made on Facebook regarding Syrian migrants.

    A police spokesman was unequivocal, that any harsh criticism of the Muslim influx would not be “tolerated”. Inspector Ewan Wilson from Dunoon police office told the Guardian following the arrest:

    “I hope that the arrest of this individual sends a clear message that Police Scotland will not tolerate any form of activity which could incite hatred and provoke offensive comments on social media.”

    I don’t know how any decent, sensible person running for the presidency can survive the onslaught in 21st-century America and today’s increasingly debased Western civilization.

    A series of Hobson’s Choices and Catch-22s are coming up ahead, so everyone had better buckle up.

    Mark (0f444a)

  151. Beldar, has the Orange Spray Tanned One ever taken responsibility for a bad decision he has made? I’m curious. It’s just hard to wade through his word salad.

    Simon Jester (674666)

  152. after Mr. Trump sent his famous Ugly Heidi tweet he later said he wouldn’t do that again if he could go back and do it different

    he probably feels sorry for her cause of all the news about Ted

    but it’s nice of him how he acknowledges when he makes bad choices

    happyfeet (831175)

  153. money.cnn.com, April 9, 2016: When readers open up the section, they’ll see a full-page editorial on page two titled “GOP Must Stop Trump.” The editorial says Ted Cruz would be “perhaps more dangerous” than Trump and asserts that the party should rally behind Mitt Romney or Paul Ryan at the convention instead.

    ^ This is the type of loony liberalism that’s roiling over the US in 2016.

    I can take the snubbing of Trump (he deserves a lot of it), but when Ted Cruz is set up as another supposed bogeyman, that irks me to no end. Even worse, there are some Republicans who are mouthing the exact same crap as that which is coming from the word processors of the leftists running things like the Boston Globe.

    This will not end well.

    Mark (0f444a)

  154. Jeez, pyrofeet. Trump never said he was sorry. He’s never wrong, even when he contradicts himself.

    This is because he isn’t serious. He is lazy, vulgar, and embarassing.

    Sort of like you.

    No wonder you like political arsonists.

    Simon Jester (324897)

  155. “Yeah, it was a mistake,” he told columnist Maureen Dowd. “If I had to do it again, I wouldn’t have sent it.”

    happyfeet (831175)

  156. Keep on snufflin’. That’s really all you do these days.

    Snuffle, snuffle, snuffle.

    Simon Jester (324897)

  157. Happy: “Mr. The Donald, it’s nice to see you.”

    Donald: “Happy, you may be wondering why I called you up to my hotel room.”

    Happy: “I’m game for anything, Mr. The Donald: supporting Democrats, changing political positions, lying about other people. You say jump, and I’ll say ‘how many flies do i need to eat.'”

    Donald: “I need help with my spray tan and toupee maintenance, happy.”

    Happy: “Glad to help, Mr. the Donald. What’s good for Mr. The Donald is Good for the USA, like in Li’l Abner.”

    Donald: “Just keep on snuffling, happy. I’m counting on you.”

    Simon Jester (324897)

  158. he’s magnificently disruptive just when the stagnant corrupt Team R chambermaids are most in need of disruption

    i love him so much he’s a plum lolly

    happyfeet (831175)

  159. And more seriously, Mr. Feet, have you noticed that Trump wouldn’t even say that both his own wife and Heidi Cruz are fine people?

    And here is his mature outlook:

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-explains-doesnt-apologize_us_55f434cce4b077ca094f4bf5

    Admitting to a mistake is not an apology. But you know that.

    http://dailycaller.com/2016/04/02/trump-says-it-was-a-mistake-to-retweet-unflattering-picture-of-ted-cruzs-wife/

    That’s the sign of a really classy and mature person. The kind of person I want in charge of the Big Red Button.

    Simon Jester (324897)

  160. Wow. Did you just say you loved Trump like a lollipop? I hope not.

    NTTIAWWT

    Simon Jester (324897)

  161. lol heidi isn’t a fine person she’s a sleazy harvardtrash goldy sacky what traded her government experience for a high-paying job she had no manifest qualifications for and in return for getting slopped like the prize pig she’s too cheap to donate a dime to charity

    nasty nasty goldy sacky how does your garden grow

    happyfeet (831175)

  162. It would make sense for Mr happyfeet to refer to The Mr Donald as a lollipop because all of his supporters are suckers.

    Cruz Supporter (102c9a)

  163. Well, I must admit that Mrs Trump seems demonstrably qualified for her job, and I am unable to judge the pay rate.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  164. Apologies are difficult. And they are the sign of a mature person.

    http://www.forbes.com/sites/sungardas/2014/03/13/how-to-apologize-the-right-way-an-apology-actually-has-three-parts/#6b8c8b903ec7

    When people get angry, and to be very serious, I think Trump reacts more than he thinks. Because he is superficially facile and talks like Foghorn Leghorn on meth, he has a history of saying deeply crappy things.

    To Trump, it is clear that saying he is sorry is a sign of weakness.

    Yet he has no trouble changing his position on many topics.

    So I submit he is profoundly infantile, despite his family’s wealth.

    Simon Jester (324897)

  165. Heidi Cruz actually has very impressive credentials, both academically and professionally. We’ll all hold our breath waiting for Mr happyfeet to admit that to us.
    Meanwhile, he wants to see The Mr Donald canonized a Saint for simply saying “excuse me” once when he sneezed in public.

    Cruz Supporter (102c9a)

  166. This a great example of pyrofeet’s odd hypocrisy.

    1. Trump scams the system for money; he is a genius.

    2. Heidi Cruz gets a job based on government service, and is reviled in a vulgar way.

    Nothing new here. Mr. Feet doesn’t like the ladies much, historically.

    The smart move (and neither Trump nor Mr. Feet are acting intelligently, though I am sure they both are) is to quit talking about wives, and start talking about issues.

    Except that takes study, and not just flapping one’s gums.

    You don’t have to be bilked by Trump University to know that.

    Simon Jester (324897)

  167. At #150, Beldar observed:

    The undeniable fact remains: This weekend, Trump didn’t even try to win a single delegate in Colorado. When he loses, I’m sure the Trumpkin shills here will be at the front of the line whining and screaming, “We wuz robbed!”

    Maybe that’s because he doesn’t need Colorado’s delegates. Trump’s new delegate wrangler, Paul Manafort, is negotiating with Marco Rubio for the VP spot in exchange for his delegates. It’s called the 172 Plan.

    If they’re able to come to terms it won’t be Trump’s supporters whining and screaming, “We wuz robbed.”

    ropelight (769908)

  168. Beldar, remember that every time you unfairly denigrate Trump or insult his supporters the chances diminish your candidate can accumulate enough votes to win. Your instinct for public self-destruction overrides your political preferences and will hamper Ted Cruz’s candidacy. You might what to ask yourself why your urge to insult dominates your stated political objectives.

    Something isn’t right there. Guy needs to step away from the blogs and politics and reflect on what he’s become.

    Old Reader (08f24c)

  169. Trump’s campaign has been in many ways utterly incompetent on working the state delegate system. He realizes this and has tried to remedy it. Looks like it’s already happening (See Cruz getting screwed in Michigan). But it seems like some of CO GOP engaged in dirty tricks like removing pro-Trump delegates from rosters, so it’s not purely a matter of working within the rules, either.

    Old Reader (08f24c)

  170. You’re living in a fantasy world, Dana.

    Denise (d76d0f)

  171. It’s all gone quiet over there.

    ropelight (769908)

  172. Not much to say, ropelight, except we aren’t sure what Trump and his supporters will do when he loses.

    DRJ (15874d)

  173. Team Trump has threatened to harass delegates at the Convention in Cleveland. Roger Stone specifically said that they’d publish the hotel room numbers of delegates if things appear to not go the way they like.
    That’s an Alinsky tactic.

    With that in mind, it’s not difficult to believe that Trump bullied that woman in New Jersey with eminent domain, and has bullied vendors who’ve serviced his various projects and businesses.

    Cruz Supporter (102c9a)

  174. It’s up to supporters how they respond, but if past performance is any indicator of future performance, I’d say that a counter-puncher, like The Donald, will get even.

    ropelight (769908)

  175. And now Trump is throwing a hissy fit because he didn’t show up and didn’t learn the rules:

    The people of Colorado had their vote taken away from them by the phony politicians. Biggest story in politics. This will not be allowed!

    Sad!

    Dana (0ee61a)

  176. well except for the people of Colorado did have their vote taken away from them by the phony politicians

    happyfeet (831175)

  177. I think ropelight foresees it accurately in #175 when he speculates that Trump will attempt to get even.
    It’s one thing for Trump to respond by working harder to win the nomination. But “getting even” sounds like something that James Caan’s character would attempt to do in ‘The Godfather.’

    And that’s not the temperament we want in a President.

    Cruz Supporter (102c9a)

  178. And that’s not the temperament we want in a President.

    I know. A President who wanted to get even could never be as good as one who goes around the world apologizing and bowing to every tin hat dictator. I mean, after all we have a well deserved reputation for being wussies we must protect.

    Hoagie ™ (e4fcd6)

  179. #179 Hoagie,

    Being President requires using the military in a strategic fashion—not an impulsive vainglorious fashion. So, no, we don’t want a hothead President Sonny Corleone threatening to bomb Lithuania because its Minister of Tourism failed to kiss the ring during a state dinner at the White House.

    Cruz Supporter (102c9a)

  180. When the debates began the GOPe conspired with FOX NEWS (Megyn Kelly took the lead) to force Donald Trump to openly declare his support for the party’s eventual nominee (they feared a Trump third party and wanted to nip that notion it in the bud).

    Now, because so many Americans have voted for Trump, the tables have turned. Now, all the original candidates (14 or so) already out of the race have a self-imposed obligation to support the party’s nominee. Cruz and Kasich have recently found excuses to waffle a bit on their pledge, but they’re still in the race so talk is cheap till push comes to shove. Then will take their measure.

    As for Trump getting even, it’s his nature to hit back, we’ve seen it. It’s one of the qualities we supporters like in him – he won’t take any crap. We respect that in a man. It’s exactly the temperment we want in our President.

    ropelight (769908)

  181. it is striking how they miss, that this brushfire is not about trump, it’s about the 30-40
    % he has energized,

    narciso (732bc0)

  182. cruz, may well have announced the wall first, however mcconnell buried that under a blanket,

    narciso (732bc0)

  183. ropelight, no.

    We want someone who has an even temperament—not a get even temperament.
    Besides, how does one ‘get even’ after losing in Colorado? What does that even mean? He didn’t say, “We’re going to fight harder to win the nomination.”
    So what does ‘get even’ mean, in this particular context? Does it mean he’s going after Ted Cruz and his family? Or is he going after the chair of the Colorado state GOP?

    We already have a Alinsky gangster in the White House. We don’t need another one.

    Cruz Supporter (102c9a)

  184. Trump is playing with the big boys now. It’s not really a variant of his beauty contests and reality show. “Getting even” for him will mean his nose bleeding all over Cruz’s fist. Metaphorically speaking. And in world affairs, God forbid, all over Putin’s fist.

    nk (9faaca)

  185. His “You’re fired” shtick may impress morons and may have worked in scripted settings with would-be D-listers but it will only get his wrinkled butt kicked by a person of substance. By a twelve-year old girl even.

    nk (9faaca)

  186. But don’t take my word for it. Think of any instance where he has behaved “manlier” than a crybaby shouting insults and threats at the “mean” boys AND GIRLS on the other side of the playground.

    nk (9faaca)

  187. And it’s the exact same petulance coupled with impotence that is the hallmark of his supporters.

    nk (9faaca)

  188. We’re talking about the same guy who wanted to “get even” with…Megyn Kelly.

    Cruz Supporter (102c9a)

  189. For those not paying attention, we’re talkin’ ’bout DRJ’s comment at #173:

    Not much to say, ropelight, except we aren’t sure what Trump and his supporters will do when he loses.

    DRJ (15874d) — 4/10/2016 @ 6:09 pm

    ropelight (769908)

  190. The Trump supporters will suck their thumbs and wait for another “savior to rise from these streets”. Trump will suck his thumb and tweet insults.

    nk (9faaca)

  191. ropelight,

    Roger Stone expects Trump Fan Boys to react in a “get even” kind of way. Why else would he say they’ll publish the hotel room numbers of delegates at the Convention in Cleveland if things don’t go the way they like?
    He expects Trump Fan Boys to “get even” with the delegates.

    Cruz Supporter (102c9a)

  192. When the debates began the GOPe conspired with FOX NEWS (Megyn Kelly took the lead) to force Donald Trump to openly declare his support for the party’s eventual nominee (they feared a Trump third party and wanted to nip that notion it in the bud).

    Now, because so many Americans have voted for Trump, the tables have turned. Now, all the original candidates (14 or so) already out of the race have a self-imposed obligation to support the party’s nominee.

    Note: the obligation was “forced” on Trump but is “self-imposed” on everyone else.

    One person has renounced it: Trump. Guess Mr. Winner is no longer so confident of winning. Loser!

    Patterico (86c8ed)

  193. Sad!

    Patterico (86c8ed)

  194. Or do you think that happyfeet will oil up “Old Betsy” and join Bloody Bill Papertiger’s Raiders to “set things right”?

    nk (9faaca)

  195. I think, nk, the thing that bothers me the most is that if Trump had hired competent people who—well—bothered to read the rules, then we would be hearing how brilliant he is.

    Fact is, he is a lazy vulgar sloganeer.

    He makes Foghorn Leghorn sound like Einstein.

    Simon Jester (324897)

  196. we have to set things right or, barring that, burn it down

    those are two distinct choices what we have

    but whatever we choose, it’s an after breakfast thing not a right now thing

    happyfeet (a037ad)

  197. oh my goodness failmerica’s cia pooftertrash don’t even acknowledge a higher authority anymore

    that sorta argues for burning it down huh

    happyfeet (a037ad)

  198. we didn’t start the fire
    it was always burnin’ since the world’s been turnin’ (LOL)

    Cruz Supporter (102c9a)

  199. #168 Wouldnt Trump Nation prefer a less-Univision friendly Cuban if the gatekeepers insisted on a Cuban?

    urbanleftbehind (5eecdb)

  200. This is a good video

    It’s “Die Whitey Die”

    https://www.youtube.com/user/AmericanswithLeDuff

    steveg (fed1c9)


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