Consider These
[guest post by Dana]
I wanted to bring to your attention several interesting items I read this week.
First, former NBC and CNN anchor Campbell Brown has written a revealing piece about why she believes that TV news is responsible for the rise of Donald Trump. (Because they’ll do anything for ratings, even if it means handing over complete editorial control):
I really would like to blame Trump. But everything he is doing is with TV news’ full acquiescence. Trump doesn’t force the networks to show his rallies live rather than do real reporting. Nor does he force anyone to accept his phone calls rather than demand that he do a face-to-face interview that would be a greater risk for him. TV news has largely given Trump editorial control. It is driven by a hunger for ratings—and the people who run the networks and the news channels are only too happy to make that Faustian bargain.
…
Trump gets about six appearances on the major networks for roughly every one his rivals Ted Cruz or John Kasich get. In fact, Trump’s exposure has been three times greater than that of Cruz and Kasich combined. He received 50 percent of the exposure when there were more than a dozen candidates—a percentage that has only grown. Of course, by now, you’ve all also read the figure of close to $2 billion worth of free media the New York Times cited for Trump’s TV bonanza. And that story was back in March. No campaign’s advertising budget can compete.
So yes, I believe Trump’s candidacy is largely a creation of a TV media that wants him, or needs him, to be the central character in this year’s political drama. And it’s not just the network and cable executives driving it. The TV anchors and senior executives who don’t deliver are mercilessly ousted. The ones who do deliver are lavishly rewarded. I know from personal experience that it is common practice for TV anchors to have substantial bonuses written into their contracts if they hit ratings marks. With this 2016 presidential soap opera, they are almost surely hitting those marks. So, we get all Trump, all the time.
Second, Jay Nordlinger observes that some things are simply unbridgeable:
There is a gap between people who think that Donald Trump ought to be president, or is fit to be president, and those who don’t. And that gap, I’m afraid, is unbridgeable.
Very likely. The clearest evidence at this time of just how unbridgeable is the gap between Trump’s brand of populism and Cruz’s unwavering conservatism is that many voters, in good conscience, will not be voting for Trump in the general election if he becomes the party’s nominee.
Third, there was rioting at the Trump rally in Southern California this week as hundreds of rioters attempted to shut down the speech of a presidential candidate as well as destroy both private and public property:
…stomping on cars, hurling rocks at motorists and forcefully declaring their opposition to the Republican presidential candidate.
Traffic came to a halt as a boisterous crowd walked in the roadway, some waving American and Mexican flags. Protesters smashed a window on at least one police cruiser, punctured the tires of a police sport utility vehicle, and at one point tried to flip a police car.
One Costa Mesa police officer was struck in the head by a rock thrown by a protestor, authorities said.
About five police cars were damaged in total, police said, adding that some will require thousands of dollars’ worth of repairs.
This nicely sums up up the collective idiocy:
“I’m protesting because I want equal rights for everybody, and I want peaceful protest,” said 19-year-old Daniel Lujan, one of hundreds in a crowd that appeared to be mostly Latinos in their late teens and 20s.
“I knew this was going to happen,” Lujan added. “It was going to be a riot. He deserves what he gets.”
Of course the MSM worked hard to soften the image of the rioters and their political motivations. It’s almost as if the media believes if anyone should have their rights to speech curtailed, it’s Trump.
And lastly, demonstrating that she is a natural at this sort of thing, Hillary Clinton, on the semi-heels of having offended the black community, has now added Native Americans to her list of Offended Minority Groups. This latest offense took place during an interview when she was asked about Trump and his criticisms of her and she responded:
*I have a lot of experience dealing with men who sometimes get off the reservation in the way they behave and how they speak.
Clinton’s National Political Director Amanda Renteria tried to smooth things over:
About the use of an expression today that has some very offensive roots…Divisive language has no place in our politics. @HillaryClinton meant no disrespect to Native Americans. She wants this election to be about lifting people up, not tearing them down.
No comment from Elizabeth Warren.
For the record, consider if Clinton’s comment had been made by any of the male candidates in the running:
I have a lot of experience dealing with women who sometimes get off the reservation in the way they behave and how they speak.
Imagine the furious accusations of sexism that would come, only to be followed by any number of Hillary women cards being played in righteous anger!
–Dana
Hello.
Dana (0ee61a) — 4/30/2016 @ 12:06 pmgotta love that trump bump
the dog is wagging his tail!
happyfeet (831175) — 4/30/2016 @ 12:16 pmThere’s a built-in consolation prize in a Trump vs. Hillary contest. One of them will lose.
nk (dbc370) — 4/30/2016 @ 12:21 pmoh my goodness that so glib what you said haha one of them will lose
srsly?
hillary is no good she’s evil she attracts pee-flies
we have to stop her ask not what you can do for Mr. Trump ask what you can do to stop the nasty pee-stanky old lady
oh my goodness her heavy pant-suited thighs go squelch squelch squelch as they draw nearer and nearer
can you hear them????
are you even listening?
happyfeet (831175) — 4/30/2016 @ 12:27 pmThanks for helping her arrive, Mr. Feet.
We all appreciate it.
Simon Jester (923d12) — 4/30/2016 @ 12:34 pmGreat post.
DRJ (15874d) — 4/30/2016 @ 12:40 pmi stand athwart squelchy fat thighs yelling STOP
happyfeet (831175) — 4/30/2016 @ 12:40 pmThis case seems easy. The government authorities intended to punish the officer for what they perceived to be his political speech/position. It turned out he wasn’t making a political point but that shouldn’t matter if their intent was to punish him for political reasons.
DRJ (15874d) — 4/30/2016 @ 12:49 pmThere has certainly been a usefulness to Trump: he has confirmed that the Republican Party is very little about conservatism, in spite of what they would have us believe.
And, if anything, Trump’s appearance has clarified to the GOP what the party really stands for (such as it is). Its members have apparently lost sight of that truth, and instead tried to talk themselves into believing they were something they simply aren’t.
And now that Trump also wants to change the party’s platform, will we see the GOP agreeing to that as well?
Dana (0ee61a) — 4/30/2016 @ 12:52 pmThis is why I consider Trump worse than Hillary. She actually stands on her party’s platform and pushes it with great consistency. Trump doesn’t adhere to the party platform, but is erratic and unpredictable (which his loyalists see as a feature, not a bug). Combine that with his anger and thirst for power, and it’s a potent and dangerous mix. With that, he also makes it up as he goes. Not only the rules, but his own “platform,” and even more problematic he changes his mind and his “platform” in a New York second. It’s subject only to his whims at any given moment, and if there are efforts made to hold him accountable, they never make a difference.
How is that good for the individual, let alone the nation at large?
You know what kind of leader is angry, impulsive, unpredictable, and makes it up as he goes, while simultaneously mowing down any objectors with his readied iron fist?
Dana (0ee61a) — 4/30/2016 @ 2:01 pmDouble standards, they’re what’s for breakfast.
njrob (10dafc) — 4/30/2016 @ 2:05 pmSpeaking of double standards:
women 31% more likely to receive a bachelor’s degree than men.
But remember folks, it’s all about the war on women, unsafe spaces and sexual assault.
njrob (10dafc) — 4/30/2016 @ 2:09 pmI realize it all comes full circle with Trump, leading right back to his supporters. They are simply a-okay with submitting to an erratic, impulsive, uninformed authoritarian with his own demonstrated best interest at heart. And I don’t think there is anything that will dissuade them from the path they are on, and are determined to take us all down. Save for 4 years of ensuing destruction and disaster, of course.
Yet even then…
Dana (0ee61a) — 4/30/2016 @ 2:15 pmfwiw:
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2016/04/trump-gets-the-zizek-endorsement.php
you say you want someone who will deport the criminal aliens, that will keep the islamists at bay, and who will more often than not, appoint conservatives to the court, and hold iran to account,
narciso (732bc0) — 4/30/2016 @ 2:21 pmWhat I find to be completely unsupportable is this idea that electing a Big Government Crony Capitalist Corruptocrat Leftist from the party that is supposed to oppose all that will somehow increase the power of Conservatism as a direct and complementary result. There is not one iota of logic in that Trump-worshiping belief.
John Hitchcock (5f6751) — 4/30/2016 @ 2:25 pmwhat I find unsupportable is any gesture toward maleficient or melissandra, or any other manifestation of red queen, and no I don’t see any point to any self identified conservative,supporting the Cristina Kirchner of the ozarks,
narciso (732bc0) — 4/30/2016 @ 2:44 pmThe mainstream media — defined at its very most broad here to include basically all money-making-through-advertising media — is orgasmic over Trump, and giddy about the prospect of a Trump vs. Hillary general election train wreck, and giddy about the ratings that would ensue from another national crisis on the order of Watergate or the Clinton Impeachment.
It’s as easy to hate them for their glee as it is to hate vultures and jackals.
But they’re simply feeding an appetite. The most depressing part of this election cycle, for me, is contemplating just how broad and ugly that appetite is. The most encouraging part of this election cycle, for me, is contemplating how many good people are left who don’t, at least yet, share in that ugly appetite. And some of them write comments here! 😀
Beldar (fa637a) — 4/30/2016 @ 3:16 pmI am willing to bet that the MSM will find it’s collective nerve to face Trump down somewhere around the middle of August. After that, they well be doing all those things they aren’t doing now, particularly finding all that dirt and sleaze oozing out of the Trump empire.
Kevin M (25bbee) — 4/30/2016 @ 3:32 pmCoincidentally, Beldar, tonight is the annual correspondent’s dinner wherein the media and the White House reaffirm their BFF status. And we’re being told to expect some “swagger” from the president. Of course, Republicans are on the chopping block – apparently because they’ve given the president so much to work with. Not mention in the article, however, is Hillary Clinton giving 147 FBI agents a helluva lot more to work with.
Dana (0ee61a) — 4/30/2016 @ 3:37 pmgack, and it’s going to be larry wilmoore the emcee, a talentless hack,
narciso (732bc0) — 4/30/2016 @ 3:49 pmnow this hack, which some seem to have some use for,
https://www.yahoo.com/tv/last-week-tonight-enlists-sesame-street-to-warn-141513698.html\
politics is downstream from culture,
narciso (732bc0) — 4/30/2016 @ 4:12 pmThat hack is perfect for a crowd of their nature.
mg (31009b) — 4/30/2016 @ 4:22 pmThis just in. Violent riots erupt at world pacifist league as rival factions demand unity and peaceful protests.
Do these people know The Onion is supposed to be PARODY????
WarEagle82 (5bf75f) — 4/30/2016 @ 4:34 pmthis tale, had a very satisfying ending to the correspondent’s dinner, think kingsman,
http://www.amazon.com/Rasputins-Shadow-Raymond-Khoury/dp/0451468171
narciso (732bc0) — 4/30/2016 @ 4:36 pmthe onion was bought by chaim saban of univision,
narciso (732bc0) — 4/30/2016 @ 4:36 pmI see all the electorate bashing and wonder instead, how did the GOP become so arrogant, devoid of principle, treacherous, and stupid that they made a blowhard Democrat like Trump look like a reasonable choice?
fnord (5335c6) — 4/30/2016 @ 5:00 pmthe onion was bought by chaim saban of univision,
Their idea of “humor” is calling Republicans names.
Kevin M (25bbee) — 4/30/2016 @ 5:18 pmAs mentioned above – and I think needs re-stating – Hillary will – and has – defended liberalism and the Democratic Party and its agenda – it’s past, present and future She won’t toss aside Obama or prior policies. Yes, she is personally corrupt; but she is willing to go to the end defending the party.
Trump will do none of this. For him the Republican Party is simply a utility, a vehicle to use for his own interests. Once it’s no longer useful he’ll toss it aside like a piece or property. He cares not a bit about conservatism or the party or any ideology other than that which will serve his interests. He is his own party, his own ideology.
To his supporters – who view both parties as corrupt and useless – this is a positive since they view him as putting country above party and politics (which are again thoroughly corrupt anyway). He’s the proverbial “man on horseback” albeit without the military background. His supporters don’t see the danger in this; or they are so disgusted with the “establishment” that he can’t be any more of a danger than what we have.
As Nordlinger points out, the two sides on this cannot come together since they are seeing completely different men.
This will, I’m afraid, end up very badly for the country. We can only minimize the damage.
SteveMG (16d5b9) — 4/30/2016 @ 5:55 pmClinton clearly misspoke when she said “…off the reservation…”
I’m sure she meant to say “…off the plantation…”
Tom (1e059e) — 4/30/2016 @ 5:56 pmSuez is an interesting parallel to consider, in retrospect the brits dodged a bullet, if nasser had fallen, the brotherhood would have filled the gap nearly 50 years earlier,
narciso (732bc0) — 4/30/2016 @ 6:01 pmClinton clearly misspoke when she said “…off the reservation…”
I’m sure she meant to say “…off the plantation…”
Either way, I don’t see it as worth going on the warpath. What I’m really after is Trump’s scalp. I’ll bury the hatchet with Hillary if Trump is the GOP nominee.
nk (dbc370) — 4/30/2016 @ 6:08 pmlike dealing with the papandreou, who welcome the plo to athens, that worked out wonderfully btw,
narciso (732bc0) — 4/30/2016 @ 6:13 pmHappy Vietnam Victory day everyone!
ho (211ccd) — 4/30/2016 @ 6:39 pmJust so you know, all those media guys and gals giving Trump that publicity are doing it to get Hillary elected. If he gets the nomination they’ll trot out the big guns.
Glenn (5a4596) — 4/30/2016 @ 8:13 pmpravda had more detachment,
https://twitter.com/jtLOL/status/726602287938953216
narciso (732bc0) — 4/30/2016 @ 8:38 pmthere’s a touch of irony here, see if you spot it,
http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-gop-convention-pete-wilson-endorses-ted-cruz-for-president-1462043091-htmlstory.html
narciso (732bc0) — 4/30/2016 @ 9:29 pmEverybody in the country save for the ~35% or so of the GOP that is kookoo for
Bill H (dcdd7b) — 4/30/2016 @ 10:56 pmCocoa PuffsTrump have known that for some time. Try explaining that to a Trump supporter. Gowan, I dare you.It’s been done, many times and many ways. There’s no point; they are immune to facts, logic, and particularly conservative principles. The Putin appeal overwhelms everything else.
Luke Stywalker (1a71c1) — 5/1/2016 @ 2:19 amnot vote in good conscience?
Hillary Wants To Make It Illegal to Criticize Her (Powerline blog)
Populist?
There you go again. Cloaking your threats and fit of peak as ethical, when what you really mean amounts to “I’ll burn this mother down if I don’t get my way.”
papertiger (c2d6da) — 5/1/2016 @ 3:50 amWell Stompy McFootstomper.
That’s not a tone to get a deal done or persuade.
papertiger (c2d6da) — 5/1/2016 @ 3:55 ampapertiger just found out what Citizens United was about. Or did he? That’s an informed voter, folks.
nk (dbc370) — 5/1/2016 @ 4:48 amWhiny McDuckface wants to repeal New York Times vs. Sullivan so he can go after anybody who criticizes him.
Two New York slimes in the same Depends.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Times_Co._v._Sullivan
Kind of a shaky cross for you to climb up on. The New York Times pleas to continue printing provably out right defamatory lies about government officials without retraction. That was the only burden put on the Times. No fines. No monetary award for the victim.
Just a statutory obligation to correct the record when they’re caught red handed in a lie.
That ruling is twitchy at best.
papertiger (c2d6da) — 5/1/2016 @ 5:22 amIt’s how The National Enquirer, Roger Stone, Trump and you got away with the adultery stories about Cruz, too. And no, New York Times v. Sullivan and its progeny, particularly Firestone, does not mean what you think Wikipedia says it means.
nk (dbc370) — 5/1/2016 @ 5:28 amme? That’s a libel.
I’m going to hold my breathe for the retraction.
papertiger (c2d6da) — 5/1/2016 @ 5:38 amnk just in case you’re scouring the back threads for some utterance of mine supporting your assertion.
Let me save you the trouble.
The only thing I remember saying about Cruz and his alleged bevvy of mistresses, had to do with my belief that he does his business in the missionary position with the lights off.
So search terms; “missionary position, lights off, papertiger”.
That should save you some time.
papertiger (c2d6da) — 5/1/2016 @ 6:00 amMaverick have red queen the tool that Carlos slim employed, therein lies the difference.
narciso (d8c19d) — 5/1/2016 @ 6:07 amActually, papertiger, I was rolling some cigarettes. Until Trump’s sister signs a bill overruling the 1,000 year old common law privilege for things said between two people in a person to person discussion (nothing to do with Sullivan) I’m not worried that you’ll sue me for defamation.
But for purposes of discussion, you were not the one bringing up John Edwards and saying that we should believe the Enquirer garbage? It was someone else?
nk (dbc370) — 5/1/2016 @ 6:11 amIt is what has evolved, ask Robert McFarlane.
narciso (d8c19d) — 5/1/2016 @ 6:15 amLet me get a breath. ::woof::
Yeah I even went so far as to berate some other blogger (I think it was the conservative treehouse, but maybe not) about phone records from a DC madam, supposedly proving that Ted was a customer.
Lost in the archives of time.
It’s all bs as far as I know. For the record.
papertiger (c2d6da) — 5/1/2016 @ 6:34 amIf I misdisremembered you for ripelight, I kind of apologize. Kind of, because you picked the company you keep. But I am glad I did not call you a picklehead.
nk (dbc370) — 5/1/2016 @ 6:42 amThat deserves a qualified, limited, to be revoked at the user’s discretion, thanks back at you, nk.
I’ll add I don’t think you’re such a bad sort, given the confines of who you are.
papertiger (c2d6da) — 5/1/2016 @ 7:03 amWhat that episode points out how selective a gatekeeper the press is, they named cutter and some obcscure Bush official.
narciso (d8c19d) — 5/1/2016 @ 7:09 am#49, nk, yes, I mentioned John Edwards as a reminder the National Enquirer has printed truthful stories other media have refused to touch for political reasons. No one can deny the Enquirer’s revelations about Edwards proved accurate.
I don’t tell others what to believe. No one should believe anything. Telling others what they should believe is about the most outrageous transgression on the freedom of individual thought I can imagine. It’s how murderous inquisitions and their instruments of conformity operate. Note the similarities between the Inquisition’s use of the National Razor and ISIS’s ceremonial beheadings. Both enforce a Reign of Terror necessary to compel allegiance to totalitarian dogma on pain of death.
The truth is the truth wherever it can be found. And, attacking the messenger is among the common tactics of fools and deceivers.
ropelight (670a04) — 5/1/2016 @ 7:56 ampapertiger,
You seemed to think Trump was behind the adultery story here:
And then:
You and I were both convinced Trump was behind the Enquirer story in March, weren’t we?
DRJ (15874d) — 5/1/2016 @ 8:29 amThis should make your day, ropelight:
DRJ (15874d) — 5/1/2016 @ 8:32 amThat was pretty early in the NE story. I had only read what was reported on this blog at that time. (still haven’t seen the NE story from the source btw)
If I was misled at first, it was due to a naivety regarding the voracity of your candidate. With a fuller understanding of the whoseits and whatfors, my position is that Donald Trump doesn’t cause the sunrise through collusion with reporters, despite the assertions of his opponent.
papertiger (c2d6da) — 5/1/2016 @ 8:54 amFirst impressions can be wrong. At first, I thought Trump had something positive to offer but I was wrong.
DRJ (15874d) — 5/1/2016 @ 9:04 amI am willing to bet that the MSM will find it’s collective nerve to face Trump down somewhere around the middle of August.
“Some people are visiting from a dimension where Trump hasn’t been constantly compared to Hitler for 6 mos straight.” – Pax Dickinson
scrutineer (bcbde2) — 5/1/2016 @ 9:11 amThis will, I’m afraid, end up very badly for the country. We can only minimize the damage.
I see only a set of Hobson’s Choices and Catch-22s out there. Nothing good that’s plausible or realistic, everything bad whichever way the proverbial cookie crumbles.
Republicans either support Trump but somewhat dislike Cruz, or support Cruz but strongly dislike Trump (ie, polls indicate a somewhat larger number of Republicans will vote for Cruz if Trump isn’t on the ballot than the other way around), and both sides are so dug into their respective positions that odds are against reactions changing much or at all over the next 6 months.
*Most crucially*, all of this is set against the backdrop of both the current very liberal, very US-loathing president and his notoriously very liberal, very corrupt former cabinet member who wants to follow him into the Oval Office receiving fairly decent ratings in opinion polls (certainly compared with and higher than those of George W Bush, particularly during his last year in office) or at least being the go-to or by-default person as judged by much of the conventional wisdom throughout the media and public.
It’s the latter that is the warning sign of how debased the country has ended up, the canary in the coal mine. If liberal trends and various mishaps associated with major Democrats really bothered enough of the public, two of the most prominent Democrats in the nation wouldn’t be eliciting as much soft-hearted emotion as they’re getting. The current president would instead be at a disapproval level no less negative than that of Bush’s, and his former Secretary of State would never rate as one of the world’s most admired women.
Other opinion polls reveal that a large, apparently growing percentage of younger Americans feel better about socialism than capitalism — crony or otherwise — much less the increasingly feel-good attitudes among Americans of all ages towards ongoing liberal social-cultural trends, full of political correctness gone berserk.
So, yes, this will end badly.
Mark (fb60e8) — 5/1/2016 @ 9:20 am#54, DRJ, I noticed Heidi’s statement yesterday and decided not to make an issue of it, discretion got the better of me. I knew what she meant and didn’t want to use her inexperience in political gotcha games as a club to beat up her husband.
I’ll leave that to Cruz supporters.
ropelight (670a04) — 5/1/2016 @ 9:33 amYeah, ropelight took the high road, like when he pimped the National Enquirer smears and lies for days.
JD (6f0ad7) — 5/1/2016 @ 9:37 amYes, JD, I took the high road. You take the low road and you can live with your ugly inclinations. Congratulation on knowing yourself.
ropelight (670a04) — 5/1/2016 @ 9:45 amProjection, thy name is ropelight.
JD (6f0ad7) — 5/1/2016 @ 9:48 amDelusion your name is JD.
ropelight (670a04) — 5/1/2016 @ 9:49 amRopelight’s high road is called Jamaica Gold.
John Hitchcock (5f6751) — 5/1/2016 @ 10:37 amWe’ll take the High Road
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 5/1/2016 @ 11:04 amAnd he’ll take teh Low Road
And he’ll be in Trumpland afore ya
Do you suppose these rioters realize how Republican primary voters are likely to react to their hijinks? What are the odds that Trump is paying them to behave like that?
Milhouse (87c499) — 5/1/2016 @ 11:11 amGeorge Soros is paying for the Rent a riot crowd.
ropelight (670a04) — 5/1/2016 @ 11:14 amI pass up a chance to take a cheap shot at Ted Cruz and when DRJ mentions the missed opportunity Cruz’s self-appointed intolerant attack dogs insist my restraint is somehow unprincipled. It’s the exact same sort of dishonest crap they’ve been pushing for months -> no one of integrity can possibly support Trump.
Well, that’s just not so, and the majority of GOP voters agree.
ropelight (670a04) — 5/1/2016 @ 11:15 amIndeed. I’m surprised it had to go to the Supreme Court, and I’m astonished that Hot Air has qualms about it. I was under the impression that it’s long-settled law that what matters is the state’s intention, not what actually happened. For instance there have been many cases of discrimination based on perceived race, or perceived sexual orientation, and as far as I know there has never been a case where the defendant prevailed on the grounds that he’d guessed incorrectly.
Milhouse (87c499) — 5/1/2016 @ 11:18 amAt this rate they should rename it a spinster’s degree.
Milhouse (87c499) — 5/1/2016 @ 11:23 amAnd been thoroughly defeated.
Milhouse (87c499) — 5/1/2016 @ 11:40 amAnd so does Trump. So how is that a reason to choose between them?
Milhouse (87c499) — 5/1/2016 @ 11:42 amObama jokes about Trump’s experience meeting world leaders like Miss Sweden, Miss Argentina and how he’ll close Gunatanamo because he’s good at “running waterfront properties into the ground” and the best Trump can do in response is talk about his world-class waterfront properties, yada, yada? You have to be kidding me, Ropelight. The guy is served a hanging curveball by the moronic Chris Wallace and THAT is what he comes up with?!?!
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 5/1/2016 @ 11:48 amI think that was kind of you, ropelight.
DRJ (15874d) — 5/1/2016 @ 12:07 pmA particularly dishonest Trumpkin shill lied, again, at #68 above when he wrote that “the majority of GOP voters agree” upon Trump.
In fact, candidates other than Trump have won over 14 million votes (Cruz 6.9M, Rubio 3.5M, Kasich 3.7M), compared to Trump’s 10.0M.
Trumpkins shills like this one lie reflexively, all the time, and they count on their lies being accepted as truth simply because the Trumpkins repeat them so frequently. They’re completely unreliable, and unhinged from reality.
Beldar (fa637a) — 5/1/2016 @ 12:21 pmWait. I thought “plurality” and “majority” were synonyms.
Leviticus channeling Idiots (6ea25f) — 5/1/2016 @ 12:59 pmropelight,
Hey there, retired dude who doesn’t want kids on his lawn…
The “majority” of GOP primary voters have not voted for Trump, as you claim.
I know. Math is hard. But please stop lying. Will you?
Cruz Supporter (102c9a) — 5/1/2016 @ 1:16 pmropelight just asserts weird facts to serve his agenda.
Cruz Supporter (102c9a) — 5/1/2016 @ 1:24 pmThis is the same guy who believes that the Bush Family conspired with the Hinckley Family to have President Reagan assassinated. Based on nothing.
I’m just going to go ahead and spam a link to this thread. (I’m allowed to spam my own blog!) I have a new recording of one of my old songs at this post. It’s a three-minute, upbeat, fun song. Check it out.
Patterico (86c8ed) — 5/1/2016 @ 1:38 pmIt’s not based on nothing. Hinckley’s father was a Bush supporter and Hinckley’s brother had a lunch date scheduled with Neil Bush the day after the shooting, which they called off. You add those two facts up and it’s hard to draw any other conclusion. The lunch date is the clincher.
Gerald A (7c7ffb) — 5/1/2016 @ 2:30 pmhold tight friends for the Trumpocalypse is upon us.
If you think the Hispanic vote will stop it short of 1237, let go of that false hope. Hispanics register Democrat. There are whole districts in Hollywood with just one or two registered GOP voters.
papertiger (c2d6da) — 5/1/2016 @ 3:14 pmYou get Scott Baio, that’s three delegates. Good for three. Jon Voight, three more.
Sorry. Los Angeles(and pretty much everything South of Fresno) equals Hollywood to me.
papertiger (c2d6da) — 5/1/2016 @ 3:19 pmDo you suppose these rioters realize how Republican primary voters are likely to react to their hijinks? What are the odds that Trump is paying them to behave like that?
Apply the same logic to the #NEVERTRUMP crowd, or possibly Cruz himself. I mean are we really supposed to believe that Heidi simply misspoke when she said Ted is an immigrant? That this was some innocent mistake where under pressure of speaking in public she might have conflated the terms immigrant and Hispanic? Maybe Trump paid her off. Waitaminutewaitaminutewaitaminute…Maybe Heidi is the one fooling around with Trump and Trump pushed that National Enquirer story to throw everyone off the scent! You gotta admit it worked! When George Soros is organizing significant numbers of Dems to cross over to vote in open GOP primaries and supposedly hard-core “conservatives” are threatening to vote for Hillary over Trump, I suppose anything is possible.
WTP (094b61) — 5/1/2016 @ 4:31 pmMy last name ends in a Z so I should not need moderating or censoring for what im about to say.
Then those Hispanics are stupid. I get into shouting matches with people about how vapid their Hill v. Bernie internal debates are when they have means, however time consuming, of truly blocking Trump. But the ones I know in NWI, which I believe is just a matter of picking a ballot upon entry into the polling place, given no alternatives, prefer Trump to Cruz because of jobs jobs jobs. I also think it’s less the Cuban thing than the changed from Catholic to Southern Baptist thing.
urbanleftbehind (d3ea16) — 5/1/2016 @ 4:33 pm“The one thing both sides agree upon is that Trump is being carried to the nomination by a wave of heroin addicts from the hill country. These snaggletoothed losers are angry at having been out-competed by the dusky fellows in foreign lands. Left out of the global nirvana, where well-scrubbed boys and girls take up positions in the media and think tanks, these hapless losers are lashing out by supporting Trump. It’s the revolt of the hillbillies.
There’s another thing both sides agree upon. Modern Progressives and Buckley Conservatives both hate the people to their Right. As Progressives have relentlessly dragged the Overton Window to the Left, The Buckleyites have sprinted after them, fearful of being lumped in with the rabble to their Right. The window has been dragged so far to the Left that the number of people “on the right” is looking like a swelling majority. To the people peering out from their think tanks and limousines, however, we’re on the verge of mob rule.
All of the wailing and gnashing of teeth over Trump disguises the fact that the American Left is collapsing. One place you see it is with their candidates. Hillary Clinton is a world class screw up planning to run as an old hen clucking about the men, with a mild whiff of lesbianism to spice it up. No wonder the 2000 year old man is giving her a run for her stolen money. The Left has nothing to offer so it coughed up these geriatric hairballs from the 1970’s.
In theory this should be good news for the Buckleyites, but that’s not been the result. Decades of trading away everything to the Left for a chance to guide foreign policy has left the Buckleyites incapable of winning fights over cultural and economic issues. They have been surrendering for so long, it is now their default response. Worse yet, they have been trained to scold the rest of us about the need for compromise whenever the Left assaults a part of the culture.
There’s another piece to this. Over the last quarter century, politics for both sides have become incredibly lucrative and largely unimportant. They risk nothing as money flows into Washington no matter which side is ascendant. When 90% of incumbents win reelection, there’s never really much at stake for them. For the metastasizing pundit and think tank class, politics has been reduced to theater, like the battles at those medieval themed restaurants. Winning is not important. Putting on a good show for each other is what matters to them…”
http://thezman.com/wordpress/?p=7297
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 5/1/2016 @ 4:37 pmI miss Rubio.
Victoria (448f3e) — 5/1/2016 @ 4:58 pmI miss Mays and Clemente.
mg (31009b) — 5/1/2016 @ 5:31 pmWell, Mr Tiger, anything north of SLO is Frisco to me.
Kevin M (25bbee) — 5/1/2016 @ 5:39 pmIt’s not based on nothing. Hinckley’s father was a Bush supporter and Hinckley’s brother had a lunch date scheduled with Neil Bush the day after the shooting, which they called off. You add those two facts up and it’s hard to draw any other conclusion. The lunch date is the clincher.
You forget that Bush was meeting with the Trilateral Commission at the time. Clearly, he had the green light.
Kevin M (25bbee) — 5/1/2016 @ 5:41 pmHas Ted Cruz pulled his campaign out of Indiana? His campaign manager is telling media officials the full focus will now be on California.
The move comes after the latest polls show Cruz 22 points behind Trump.
ropelight (670a04) — 5/1/2016 @ 8:03 pmI dunno, r;pelight. What does Stefan Molineux say?
nk (dbc370) — 5/1/2016 @ 8:09 pmnk, I didn’t know who Stefan Molineux was so I looked him up on Wikipedia. That’s all I know about him. If he has some insight into Cruz abandoning Indiana please share it.
ropelight (670a04) — 5/1/2016 @ 9:01 pmStefan Molyneux is basically a god to Christoph.
Patterico (86c8ed) — 5/1/2016 @ 9:04 pmThanks, Patterico, I get the picture.
ropelight (670a04) — 5/1/2016 @ 9:19 pmIt was more in the way of “Don’t believe
everythinganything you see from the media — print, broadcast, or internet — about Cruz or Trump”. My guess is that they’ve been instructed to fully unsheathe the claws.But, yes, also a dig at the very strange bedfellows Trump has attracted. Molyneux is not a nice person.
nk (dbc370) — 5/1/2016 @ 9:19 pmSo you tried to associate me with him?
ropelight (670a04) — 5/1/2016 @ 9:28 pmYou are associated with him, whether you accept it or not.
nk (dbc370) — 5/1/2016 @ 9:33 pmNo, I’m not, and your continuing efforts to smear me are beyond immoral. You should be ashamed of yourself.
ropelight (670a04) — 5/1/2016 @ 9:40 pmIf telling you that you are keeping bad company is smearing you …. If telling you that you are supporting a huckster who is all things to all men is smearing you …. If telling you that you are blinding yourself to those aspects of Trump that make him attractive to the Christophs, the Molineuxs, the Richard Spencers, and the David Dukes is smearing you ….
nk (dbc370) — 5/1/2016 @ 9:46 pmYou aren’t trying to tell me anything. You’re trying to smear me, as usual. You can’t stand the fact that Donald Trump has a wide appeal to conservative voters and so you look for ways to denigrate those who support him. You aren’t fooling anyone. You’re a little man with a diseased soul, and you spew hatred to keep from looking at the pathetic mess you’ve made of yourself.
ropelight (670a04) — 5/1/2016 @ 10:01 pmInstead of yelling at each other, let’s talk about how great my song is!
Patterico (86c8ed) — 5/1/2016 @ 10:02 pmI might take offense at that if I thought that you would remember having said it an hour from now.
nk (dbc370) — 5/1/2016 @ 10:04 pmSorry, Patterico, we cross-posted.
nk (dbc370) — 5/1/2016 @ 10:05 pmI’ll remember your smear a lot longer than that.
ropelight (670a04) — 5/1/2016 @ 10:13 pmropelite,
If you’re opposed to alleged “smears,” then why do you support Trump? He’s the biggest smear-artist of them all.
Cruz Supporter (102c9a) — 5/2/2016 @ 12:23 amPower is not only what you have but also what you appear to have. — Alinsky Rule whatever
The Trump tweet machine puts out lies to show the Badgerhead winning. Trumpadoodoos read them and come here to crow. When we tell them to go peddle their papers, we’re making their “victory” sour. And that makes them sad.
nk (9faaca) — 5/2/2016 @ 6:47 amCome see the violence inherent in the system, everybody. ropelight’s being repressed.
Leviticus (efada1) — 5/2/2016 @ 7:12 amjust adding the bud light,
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections/election_2016/trump_41_clinton_39
narciso (732bc0) — 5/2/2016 @ 7:32 amI’m not being repressed, I’m being smeared. nk is attempting to associate me with a Canadian blogger I’ve never heard of (see comments 91 to 100) who is apparently Christoph’s guru. It’s a dirty underhanded smear. And now you want to step into nk’s pile of dogsh*t. Like I’m surprised. It’s where you belong.
ropelight (6e22d2) — 5/2/2016 @ 9:47 amropelight,
Trump, not you, has belatedly disavowed the support of a racist and recently welcomed the support of a convicted rapist. Trump forces you to disavow these people because you are stuck with them as his supporter.
DRJ (15874d) — 5/2/2016 @ 10:06 amsadly this is the reality,
http://www.steynonline.com/7521/captain-quantum-says-i-got-nuttin
narciso (732bc0) — 5/2/2016 @ 10:14 amYou’re dead wrong about that DRJ. Nothing about my support for Trump obligates me to disavow anyone, friend or foe. I’m not about to take on the responsibility to disavow anyone else who supports him. That would be idiotic.
ropelight (6e22d2) — 5/2/2016 @ 10:50 amI don’t blame you for feeling that way, ropelight. Every candidate has questionanble supporters but Trump makes it harder on his supporters when he welcomes and applaud endorsements from people like Tyson.
DRJ (15874d) — 5/2/2016 @ 11:25 amWow, Trump gets endorsed by a guy who has a history of mistreating women. What a shocker!
Cruz Supporter (102c9a) — 5/2/2016 @ 11:52 amCruz has supporters as deranged as you, nk, and Kevin. What a shocker!
ropelight (6e22d2) — 5/2/2016 @ 12:52 pmWow, Trump gets endorsed by a guy with a history of mistreating women and biting other men’s ears. That’s just…sad!
Cruz Supporter (102c9a) — 5/2/2016 @ 1:03 pmAnd I hear that Mike Tyson also endorsed Trump. (LOL)
Guilt by association. A common tactic of the weak minded. Lou Holtz must be tossed on the fire as well, I suppose.
WTP (094b61) — 5/2/2016 @ 6:35 pm“I am a Prussian aristocrat and an officer in the Wehrmacht. I have never been a member of the Party and I do not want to be put in the same category”.
nk (dbc370) — 5/2/2016 @ 6:51 pmYes, not only TV, all the media is resposible, social network, internet websites… what The USA do affects all the world, just really sad :/
gmail account login (d85d40) — 5/27/2016 @ 10:28 am