Can’t believe there isn’t a thread about Trump for POTUS. Here it is. What do you think? The news reported that in Fox News’ poll he was #1. Honestly I have mixed feelings about him. On the one hand maybe he’s god’s gift to the Dems. On the other, maybe he’s just brash enough to win, which would stir things up so much as to cause the change I’ve said the US needs…would get so bad that no one will ever vote Repub again without thinking twice. Or third option, love or hate him, he always bounces back to rich, knows how to play the game of business (even if he’s a scumbag at it). Maybe he actually could do some good. One thing I think of when he spouts off about birth certificates, Mexicans, etc. is that if he’s nothing else, he knows how to win a crowd over. He’s not an idiot…he knows exactly what to say to get certain results, and all this crap talk he’s engaged in has to be done with frothing up the base in mind.
Like Jesse Ventura here in MN, George W ala Dick Cheney, and much of Reagan’s staff, Trump would be manipulated by his handlers. They would use his personality as a tool and he would not be aware of it. I’m not worried about him winning at this point, nor am I worried about any Republican, yet.
I just have such a hard time believing that anyone takes him seriously. Perhaps that’s a strategic error on my part.
Take care,
Derek
Donald is an interesting and entertaining wild card. Though, despite his name, he will not ultimately prove to be a trump card. On the plus side, he is appealing, in general, to the extent that he is not beholden to outside money. This is also advantageous for him as he, unlike all of the other candidates, does not need to spend massive amounts of time and energy on fund raising. (And he does not seem to me, to have any “handlers”. He appears to be saying whatever he wants, whenever he wants.)
Also, it is a plus from the perspective of progressives, I think, that when his blustering is obviously bigoted, and his poll numbers subsequently go up, it highlights that he is revealing what is really in the hearts and minds of his followers. (Concealed bigotry, IMO, is more pernicious than blatant bigotry.)
If I thought that there were a real chance that he would ever be POTUS, my enjoyment of his entertaining aspects, would turn to dread. Narcissistic blowhard, that he is, he would make our country the laughingstock of the world, were we to elect him. His apparent expertise in making money, going bankrupt and making money again, does not demonstrate that he has the skills to lead the world’s most powerful nation. Creating monetary wealth for one’s self, it seems to me, is a rather simple task that many people are capable of, compared to the skillset and demeanor and social drive necessary to be a decent POTUS.
Really… Donald Trump is a silly spectacle. Just enjoy the show that he provides. Our election cycle would be so much more boring without him.
Donald is an interesting and entertaining wild card. Though, despite his name, he will not ultimately prove to be a trump card. On the plus side, he is appealing, in general, to the extent that he is not beholden to outside money. This is also advantageous for him as he, unlike all of the other candidates, does not need to spend massive amounts of time and energy on fund raising. (And he does not seem to me, to have any "handlers". He appears to be saying whatever he wants, whenever he wants.) Also, it is a plus from the perspective of progressives, I think, that when his blustering is obviously bigoted, and his poll numbers subsequently go up, it highlights that he is revealing what is really in the hearts and minds of his followers. (Concealed bigotry, IMO, is more pernicious than blatant bigotry.) If I thought that there were a real chance that he would ever be POTUS, my enjoyment of his entertaining aspects, would turn to dread. Narcissistic blowhard, that he is, he would make our country the laughingstock of the world, were we to elect him. His apparent expertise in making money, going bankrupt and making money again, does not demonstrate that he has the skills to lead the world's most powerful nation. Creating monetary wealth for one's self, it seems to me, is a rather simple task that many people are capable of, compared to the skillset and demeanor and social drive necessary to be a decent POTUS. Really... Donald Trump is a silly spectacle. Just enjoy the show that he provides. Our election cycle would be so much more boring without him.All good points except for one thing, we did have George W. Compared to him Trump's a genius and a real go-getter. I do think it'd be interesting if he became potus because I'd be curious to see how he'd change once in office. As far as the US being a laughingstock, uh, it already is. We're that rich bully with all the fancy toys who everyone is afraid to call names to his face, but secretly laughs at.
Like Jesse Ventura here in MN, George W ala Dick Cheney, and much of Reagan's staff, Trump would be manipulated by his handlers. They would use his personality as a tool and he would not be aware of it. I'm not worried about him winning at this point, nor am I worried about any Republican, yet.That's my theory, that as soon as one is potus, he or she is "paid a visit". And that's why sort of honestly I almost want him to win. Then we'd see if my theory is correct...if he sticks to his guns so to speak or after his "visit" he stears in the familiar direction, same as everyone since Reagan, i.e. since the handlers as you call them took over.
In an article from the NYTimes about Trump]:
‘“Finally here’s somebody who has some common sense and is not just pandering to people," said Tom Mosier, 77, of Bisbee, Ariz., which is along the Mexican border.’
Irony ain’t just something you do to shirts.
Take care,
Derek
I’m glad Trump is shaking things up.
His comments about immigration are awesome, and if the election was right now I might vote for him just because of that.
It baffles me that he can say such incredibly stupid things. I have to believe that he either has some ulterior motive or he believes that pandering to bigotry and hatred might just get him elected. It worked for Hitler after all.
... Honestly I have mixed feelings about him. On the one hand maybe he's god's gift to the Dems. On the other, maybe he's just brash enough to win, which would stir things up so much as to cause the change I've said the US needs...would get so bad that no one will ever vote Repub again without thinking twice.Once when I was younger and more innocent, I too believed that the clear-cut disaster that was our Shock'nAwe War for Profit - would wake up Republicans - think twice about the direction this country was taking the world. But no. :down: Then they re-elected Cheney/Bush, and learned how to ignore every piece of contrary evidence there was. It was my first wave of hard realization of the utter hopelessness - but, it's like a big project when it totality overwhelms, block it out and focus on the immediate and my own next steps, doing that well as I can and then going on to the next day. As for Trump he'd probably be controlled, hate it, and melt down. I wonder who the VP will be? :lol:
The Huffington Post will no longer report on Donald Trump’s campaign.
“It’s not that Trump is truly a statesman who ought to be regarded as such. But he is a political phenomenon that tell us much about a significant slice of the American public: Republican voters. It is indeed a drop-dead serious matter that a large bloc of GOPers—perhaps a plurality, depending on which poll you prefer—would entrust this nation to Trump. And the fact that Trump’s demagoguery is prevailing at this early stage of the Republican presidential race is a measure of how far the tea party shift in the party has gone—and how this ideological extremism has developed deep roots within the GOP.
“Trump is not a problem for the Republicans because of his excessive, made-for-headlines, provocative (or racist) pronouncements. (He’s gone from birther to Mexican-basher.) He’s a problem because one out of six or so Republicans are exclaiming, “Yeah, what he said!” If Trump were polling at the same level of, say, Ohio Gov. John Kasich (2 percent), he certainly would deserve minimal notice. But his muscular showing in Republican voter surveys—which will land this media-savvy say-anything egomaniac on the GOP debate stage—is a sign that tea party extremism (which often comes with a racial component) still grips the Republican party. He’s not a carnival barker outside the tent. He holds sway over one of the rings of the GOP circus. The center ring? Maybe not. But for years, the Republicans have exploited and banked on paranoid, angry, and resentful tea party-ish voters. They played footsie with the irrational Obama-haters who believed in death panels and all the secret-Muslim-socialist-born-in-Kenyan-dictator-take-away-your-guns-let-illegals-in-and-destroy-America crap. This is how they gained control of the House and then the Senate.”
David Corn in the Huffington Post
The most interesting aspect of Trump’s ill fated candidacy to me, is that now he has become a lightning rod for an unpalatable portion of the GOP base, is he helping/hurting the Republicans or the Democrats? He has donated much to past democratic candidates and concerns. The only thing that is always clear about him is that he can never be trusted, but he is predictable, most of the time. I prefer to look at politicians in terms of their predictability rather than trust. I think most of us do. We vote based on what we think the candidates will do in hypothetical circumstances that effect our pet issues.
Like Jesse Ventura here in MN, George W ala Dick Cheney, and much of Reagan's staff, Trump would be manipulated by his handlers. They would use his personality as a tool and he would not be aware of it. I'm not worried about him winning at this point, nor am I worried about any Republican, yet.That's my theory, that as soon as one is potus, he or she is "paid a visit". And that's why sort of honestly I almost want him to win. Then we'd see if my theory is correct...if he sticks to his guns so to speak or after his "visit" he stears in the familiar direction, same as everyone since Reagan, i.e. since the handlers as you call them took over. That would be a tremendously expensive and destructive lesson, and one the whole country would have to pay for. Be careful what you "sort of honestly almost want". I'd rather we just speculate as to what he'd do if he should win the election, which he will not do, IMO. There is always a subgroup of morons who would back Hitler if he were running for president--nearly all Republicans, too. Lois
Donald is an interesting and entertaining wild card. Though, despite his name, he will not ultimately prove to be a trump card. On the plus side, he is appealing, in general, to the extent that he is not beholden to outside money. This is also advantageous for him as he, unlike all of the other candidates, does not need to spend massive amounts of time and energy on fund raising. (And he does not seem to me, to have any "handlers". He appears to be saying whatever he wants, whenever he wants.) Also, it is a plus from the perspective of progressives, I think, that when his blustering is obviously bigoted, and his poll numbers subsequently go up, it highlights that he is revealing what is really in the hearts and minds of his followers. (Concealed bigotry, IMO, is more pernicious than blatant bigotry.) If I thought that there were a real chance that he would ever be POTUS, my enjoyment of his entertaining aspects, would turn to dread. Narcissistic blowhard, that he is, he would make our country the laughingstock of the world, were we to elect him. His apparent expertise in making money, going bankrupt and making money again, does not demonstrate that he has the skills to lead the world's most powerful nation. Creating monetary wealth for one's self, it seems to me, is a rather simple task that many people are capable of, compared to the skillset and demeanor and social drive necessary to be a decent POTUS. Really... Donald Trump is a silly spectacle. Just enjoy the show that he provides. Our election cycle would be so much more boring without him.All good points except for one thing, we did have George W. Compared to him Trump's a genius and a real go-getter. I do think it'd be interesting if he became potus because I'd be curious to see how he'd change once in office. As far as the US being a laughingstock, uh, it already is. We're that rich bully with all the fancy toys who everyone is afraid to call names to his face, but secretly laughs at. Those are fair counterpoints (except for wanting to see how Trump's being POTUS would change him. That would be like doing an experiment to see the effects of nitro glycerin when you add a number of random other chemicals to it.). That we once elected the dumber of the Smother's Brothers to be POTUS should be a lesson that we should not, now elect Carrot Top.