With his latest gaff on banning Muslims, I’m really starting to rethink Trump. For starters, like him or not, he’s no dummy, as much as he sounds like one. His poll numbers slip, out he comes with more bombast. But the thing that’s really got me thinking, is that the content of what he says and especially the outrage it stirs up are by design. I mean he gives cover to right wingers, who even though they are the same as him ideologically, can condemn him. And he gives fuel to Dems too. At first I thought he’s just being the Donald. But the more obvious things become, the more pronounced, I’m starting to wonder if this isn’t all part of a plan to derail the Repubs. He reminds me of the “rabbit” in track and field. The guy who sprints out way ahead, sets the pace, then eventually drops out, never intending to complete the race.
There’s no conspiracy, Trump is “derailing” the GOP simply by exposing the chasm between establishment republicans and the meat-and-potatoes right.
Its been building up for a long time.
You missed my point. Of course he’s derailing the GOP. I’m asking is it by design? For crying out loud in the last debate he went on about how Iraq was a debacle and all that money could have been better spent at home fixing infrastructure! That’s practically liberal commie crap.
Trump and Putin now appear to have a bro-mance going on. I wonder why Putin would want Trump to be POTUS.
Trump and Putin now appear to have a bro-mance going on. I wonder why Putin would want Trump to be POTUS.Maybe Putin will offer Trump a position in the Kremlin. I can't think of a better place for him. Lois
But think about it…he’s a salesman first and foremost. He’s all about “the Deal”. So at some point after he decided he wanted his next prize to be being potus, he made a calculation about in which party would he have the best chance. Regardless of his views, he’s widely perceived as a greedy capitalist, so the Dem party was (roughly) out of the question. So he went Republican. So that’s the group he needs to do the sales job on first. Have you ever met a salesman? You love bowling? He loves bowling. You think hockey’s for sissies, so does he. Master salesmen know what to say to win you over. And that’s what he’s doing. BUT he’s also a greedy business person, so getting into another world war doesn’t make business sense, and he knows it. Iraq was a waste, and he knows it (we all do). And he senses people know it too, so he says it. Anyway…that’s why I say this whole thing is a ruse to get into office. After that, who knows what’ll happen BUT I have a feeling it won’t resemble what we think. Or maybe it will. Like I said, I’m torn.
It seems an ultimate irony, to me, that Hillary has a seemingly unshakeable reputation as being untrustworthy, among those who support Trump, while Trump who has a history of promoting false narratives, and, regularly contradicts himself, often, in the space of a few sentences, is given a free pass no matter how outlandish he becomes.
Thus, I think it would represent a victory of the highest magnitude of thought based on “what one wants to believe” over thought based on “analysis of evidence”, were Trump to become POTUS.
Yes, Trump is skilled at identifying what his audience wants to believe, and feeding into that, in order to get their support. So much so that he has a shot at becoming POTUS. Like a less benign version of “The Music Man”, he declares that we have Migrants right here in River City, and that starts with “M”, and that rhymes with “Them”, and that stands for Muslims (and Mexicans).
But he has shown that he is not benign.
But think about it...he's a salesman first and foremost. He's all about "the Deal". So at some point after he decided he wanted his next prize to be being potus, he made a calculation about in which party would he have the best chance. Regardless of his views, he's widely perceived as a greedy capitalist, so the Dem party was (roughly) out of the question. So he went Republican. So that's the group he needs to do the sales job on first. Have you ever met a salesman? You love bowling? He loves bowling. You think hockey's for sissies, so does he. Master salesmen know what to say to win you over. And that's what he's doing. BUT he's also a greedy business person, so getting into another world war doesn't make business sense, and he knows it. Iraq was a waste, and he knows it (we all do). And he senses people know it too, so he says it. Anyway...that's why I say this whole thing is a ruse to get into office. After that, who knows what'll happen BUT I have a feeling it won't resemble what we think. Or maybe it will. Like I said, I'm torn.Yes. I thought they were gonna run him off the stage the other night when he said we "had no victories". But he said it. And he knows no one will argue with him on it because it's true! Yes Cuthbert, I have the same feelings about Trump. Your post here is dead-on. He's the salesman out of expediency right now. And his statements and actions are directed at a certain customer base. For now. There can be no doubt the GOP has no idea what to do about him. They want him out, but they realize he might run away with this. In which case, then what do they do? Could be there is no "they" anymore. "They" are dying off and new paradigms are coming into the GOP.
You missed my point. Of course he's derailing the GOP. I'm asking is it by design? For crying out loud in the last debate he went on about how Iraq was a debacle and all that money could have been better spent at home fixing infrastructure! That's practically liberal commie crap.Its not by design, he just happened to come around at the right time and said what a lot of republican voters are thinking - and that caused the GOP establishment to reveal what they're thinking!
Could be there is no "they" anymore. "They" are dying off and new paradigms are coming into the GOP.good point
With his latest gaff on banning Muslims, I'm really starting to rethink Trump. For starters, like him or not, he's no dummy, as much as he sounds like one. His poll numbers slip, out he comes with more bombast. But the thing that's really got me thinking, is that the content of what he says and especially the outrage it stirs up are by design. I mean he gives cover to right wingers, who even though they are the same as him ideologically, can condemn him. And he gives fuel to Dems too. At first I thought he's just being the Donald. But the more obvious things become, the more pronounced, I'm starting to wonder if this isn't all part of a plan to derail the Repubs. He reminds me of the "rabbit" in track and field. The guy who sprints out way ahead, sets the pace, then eventually drops out, never intending to complete the race.You had to RETHINK him??? Actually, I think he is a dummy. Only a dummy woud say the asinine things he says. Lois
The biggest challenge today are both parties bias against the bill of Rights. Democrats want the remove much of the legally established precedents of citizens to bear arms with gun control. Republicans want to establish a Christian based, or biased, law in the US. ISIS wants to do both, except they want Muslim law rather than Christian. Best to you all.If we continue with the misinterpretation of the Second Amendment, Isis, or any enemy, won't have to do anything. All they'll have to do is wait until we self-destruct. We're well on our way already. Lois
The biggest challenge today are both parties bias against the bill of Rights. Democrats want the remove much of the legally established precedents of citizens to bear arms with gun control. Republicans want to establish a Christian based, or biased, law in the US. ISIS wants to do both, except they want Muslim law rather than Christian. Best to you all.If we continue with the misinterpretation of the Second Amendment, Isis, or any enemy, won't have to do anything. All they'll have to do is wait until we self-destruct. We're well on our way already. Lois Yeah, the 2nd amendment says something about a well organized militia. No one seems to pay much attention to that. Meanwhile, every Joe Blow, criminal, crazy person, and terrorist can get their hands on guns, as easy as pie. That doesn't seem very well organized or militia-like to me. And Americans are freaked out about terrorists, when what terrorists do pales in comparison to the number of deaths and the devastating costs of debilitation due to gun violence that is on-going in America. Now that's just quite stupid.
The biggest challenge today are both parties bias against the bill of Rights. Democrats want the remove much of the legally established precedents of citizens to bear arms with gun control. Republicans want to establish a Christian based, or biased, law in the US. ISIS wants to do both, except they want Muslim law rather than Christian. Best to you all.Tightening up the laws pertaining to gun control doesn't in any way mean tampering with the Second Amendment, which initially was meant to ensure that a militia army could be cobbled together to protect the country. There have been many attempts to limit the use of military grade firearms e.g. After the Kennedy assassination, and the assault weapons ban and now we see the result of a "no holds barred" sale of weapons to practically anyone who has the cash. Also, yes the Republicans have been pulled to the far right by the ultraconservative wing and this will probably lose them the White House and possibly the Senate and hopefully the moderates will be able to pull them back to the center. In order to remain a viable national party they will have to court the minority voters (soon to become the majority) to make their party politically relevant. ISIS's agenda is clear however. They mean to bring down the West and establish a caliphate in the Middle East. Of course They won't be able to unite a fragmented religion and the whole plan will eventually collapse into internecine warfare killing thousands of Muslims and costing the Western Nations billions of dollars and more lives lost to contain them. Cap't Jack
The biggest challenge today are both parties bias against the bill of Rights. Democrats want the remove much of the legally established precedents of citizens to bear arms with gun control. Republicans want to establish a Christian based, or biased, law in the US. ISIS wants to do both, except they want Muslim law rather than Christian. Best to you all.If we continue with the misinterpretation of the Second Amendment, Isis, or any enemy, won't have to do anything. All they'll have to do is wait until we self-destruct. We're well on our way already. Lois Yeah, the 2nd amendment says something about a well organized militia. No one seems to pay much attention to that. Meanwhile, every Joe Blow, criminal, crazy person, and terrorist can get their hands on guns, as easy as pie. That doesn't seem very well organized or militia-like to me. And Americans are freaked out about terrorists, when what terrorists do pales in comparison to the number of deaths and the devastating costs of debilitation due to gun violence that is on-going in America. Now that's just quite stupid. That's right, and not one candidate, Democrat or Republican, has the backbone to even address the issue. They are that afraid of the NRA.
Sometimes I wonder half-seriously why the Government doesn’t do too much about weapons in the hands of citizens. Is it because buried away somewhere
in our defense doctrine is the concept of a massively armed citizenry.
All things considered this would be a serious factor that any aggressive nation would have to consider in an attempted land invasion.
There’s no doubt about it.
And knowing what we do know about the US of A’s commitment to defense…
For those of you who aren’t aware there is such a thing as the CMP. The Civilian Marksmanship Program.
The Office of the Director of Civilian Marksmanship (DCM) was created by the U.S. Congress as part of the 1903 War Department Appropriations Act. The original purpose was to provide civilians an opportunity to learn and practice marksmanship skills so they would be skilled marksmen if later called on to serve in the U.S. military. Formation was precipitated by adoption of the M1903 Springfield rifle as the national service arm. Civilians experienced with popular contemporary lever-action rifles were unable to sustain an equivalent rate of fire from the unfamiliar bolt action M1903 rifle.This basically boils down to a Government entity through the auspices of armories, distributing US Military weapons very cheaply to civilians. This entity is still active today. It has gone through changes since it's inception. It was actually a pretty decent program for people who wanted to engage in the sport of shooting. It fostered responsibility and sportsmanship and safety. Due to people obtaining military-type weapons independently and privately it's probably become obsolete. Just food for thought...
Sometimes I wonder half-seriously why the Government doesn’t do too much about weapons in the hands of citizens. Is it because buried away somewhere in our defense doctrine is the concept of a massively armed citizenry. All things considered this would be a serious factor that any aggressive nation would have to consider in an attempted land invasion. There’s no doubt about it. And knowing what we do know about the US of A’s commitment to defense… For those of you who aren’t aware there is such a thing as the CMP. The Civilian Marksmanship Program. The Office of the Director of Civilian Marksmanship (DCM) was created by the U.S. Congress as part of the 1903 War Department Appropriations Act. The original purpose was to provide civilians an opportunity to learn and practice marksmanship skills so they would be skilled marksmen if later called on to serve in the U.S. military. Formation was precipitated by adoption of the M1903 Springfield rifle as the national service arm. Civilians experienced with popular contemporary lever-action rifles were unable to sustain an equivalent rate of fire from the unfamiliar bolt action M1903 rifle. This basically boils down to a Government entity through the auspices of armories, distributing US Military weapons very cheaply to civilians. This entity is still active today. It has gone through changes since it’s inception. It was actually a pretty decent program for people who wanted to engage in the sport of shooting. It fostered responsibility and sportsmanship and safety. Due to people obtaining military-type weapons independently and privately it’s probably become obsolete. Just food for thought…It was a viable program for 1903 but not for 2015 Vy. Remember that we, the U.S. That is, had just come out of a war which we were Ill prepared to fight and our weapons were antiquated compared to the Spanish equipment, e.g. They had Mauser rifles and we had the Krag-Jorgenson, a badly made weapon. That's BTW why we switched to the '03 Springfield; we borrowed the bolt action mechanism from the Mauser. Also, most of our army was militia while theirs was professional. We defeated them with a superior navy and sheer numbers. Today we have the World's most highly trained and expensively equipped military force ready to be deployed anywhere. We no longer need civilian training programs to cobble together a militia force. IMO there are too many John Waynes with gun permits strapping on their assault rifles before they go off to Walmart. I would rather see them file into the local recruiting office and join up if their motivation is to protect the country from foreign invaders. Fear mongering and NRA money keep fanning the flames of the gun industry. Cap't Jack
It was a viable program for 1903 but not for 2015 Vy. Remember that we, the U.S. That is, had just come out of a war which we were Ill prepared to fight and our weapons were antiquated compared to the Spanish equipment, e.g. They had Mauser rifles and we had the Krag-Jorgenson, a badly made weapon. That's BTW why we switched to the '03 Springfield; we borrowed the bolt action mechanism from the Mauser. Also, most of our army was militia while theirs was professional. We defeated them with a superior navy and sheer numbers. Today we have the World's most highly trained and expensively equipped military force ready to be deployed anywhere. We no longer need civilian training programs to cobble together a militia force. IMO there are too many John Waynes with gun permits strapping on their assault rifles before they go off to Walmart. I would rather see them file into the local recruiting office and join up if their motivation is to protect the country from foreign invaders. Fear mongering and NRA money keep fanning the flames of the gun industry. Cap't JackWell it was a viable program all the way up until recently. 25 years ago perhaps. The program is still active today as well. Reading your reply here I get the feeling that you read my post as some sort of defense for a heavily armed population. I'm only pointing out all the facets of why the US is the most heavily armed civilian pop. in the world. People need to know how society is set up and the history of guns in America to begin to defeat the problem.
There are two general camps with in the republican party–the evangelical vote and then the group who really just care solely about money and power. Trump is not attracting the evangelical vote at all (Cruz and Rubio are getting that) and this I believe is what is causing all the strife in the GOP. The GOP has just become very accustomed to the evangelical politicians dominating the spotlight for the past few years (Bush, Palin, Santorum all excited this group and got the spotlight). Then, we had Romeny who was mediocre and could not really win over the evangelical vote and now Trump cannot either…the divisions within the party are coming to light as religion declines among voters within the republican party and this is now being reflected in polls (i.e. Trumps fame)…the party is going to start putting less emphasis on religion conservatism and the focus is going to be capitalism. But the last three standing will be Trump’s version of the GOP vs. Cruz/Rubio–the evangelical side.
Here’s an excellent article on the Second Amendment,