2016 Presidential Horse Race

[Ndaccountant]

That's a big if. If Trump had avoided offending just about every group except angry, white males he would be a serious candidate, but he wouldn't be the Republican primary favorite. His rhetoric blames females, blacks, Hispanics, the LGBT community, and many others for the economic condition of the angry white male. That has been the Republican line for quite awhile. Trump just said it louder and without expressing any regrets about who he offended in the process, including members of his own political party.

We just have a different interpretation of what is going on. I see Trump capitalizing on a populist movement that threatens the political establishment. He articulated that populism thru poorly chosen words (at least from a political standpoint). This isn't solely a white male down on luck movement. It's true there are more white males than any other demographic, but dismissing the populism as "angry white males" is not completely accurate. Consider the following:

5 myths about Trump supporters - POLITICO

And a study by the RAND Corporation found that GOP voters who agree with the statement that “people like me don’t have any say about what the government does” were 86 percent more likely to support Trump than any other candidate.

Read more: 5 myths about Trump supporters - POLITICO
Follow us: @politico on Twitter | Politico on Facebook

That is populism at it's core.

 

[wizards8507]

Noooo no no no no no no no no.

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"The key to winning is choosing to do God's will and love others with all you've got. Sacrifice, discipline, and prayer are essential."

Sound like Trump to anyone? Not me.

 

[NorthDakota]

Noooo no no no no no no no no.

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"The key to winning is choosing to do God's will and love others with all you've got. Sacrifice, discipline, and prayer are essential."

Sound like Trump to anyone? Not me.

Lou has spoken and shown us the way...do not question him.

 

[NDgradstudent]

His rhetoric blames females, blacks, Hispanics, the LGBT community, and many others for the economic condition of the angry white male.

That must be why he won Greenwich, CT.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

I completely disagree. I'm with George Will on this one. If Trump is the nominee, it's in the best interest of the party and the country to lose to HRC in a landslide. A Trump presidency will be the end of the GOP.

The GOP as it has existed for the past several decades is already dead. The outcome of the general won't change that.

 

[gkIrish]

The sad thing about all this is that Ron Paul was 4 years too early. Ron Paul is Bernie Sanders in terms of personality and passion and character but minus the bad policy positions. The country wasn't ready for Ron 4 years ago, but they are now. Rand is similar to his father but he didn't have the charisma and passion his father did.

 

[Buster Bluth]

The sad thing about all this is that Ron Paul was 4 years too early. Ron Paul is Bernie Sanders in terms of personality and passion and character but minus the bad policy positions.

Like legalizing heroin, returning to the gold standard, eliminating five federal agencies, eliminating foreign aid, selling all federal lands and eliminate the capital gains taxes...?

I think the Ron Pauls of the world are useful Congressfolk but a libertarian in the White House is yet another recipe of disaster.

 

[gkIrish]

Like legalizing heroin, returning to the gold standard, eliminating five federal agencies, eliminating foreign aid, selling all federal lands and eliminate the capital gains taxes...?

I think the Ron Pauls of the world are useful Congressfolk but a libertarian in the White House is yet another recipe of disaster.

I don't think any of these are bad ideas. Difficult to implement, maybe, but not inherently bad ideas.

As far as legalizing heroin, his position (which is the same for many issues) is that it should be up to the states to decide if its legal. He was quoted as saying that most people wouldn't just start using heroin if it were legalized, and he is correct. It's all about personal liberties, man.

Anyway not interested in getting into a Ron Paul debate, I just wanted to express that I think the country was ready for someone like him because he is very similar to Bernie.

 

[Irish YJ]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Honored to have received the endorsement of Lou Holtz - a great guy! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/INPrimary?src=hash">#INPrimary</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Trump2016?src=hash">#Trump2016</a> <a href="https://t.co/AeGyODb37O">pic.twitter.com/AeGyODb37O</a></p>— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/727225626575421440">May 2, 2016</a></blockquote>
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The General, Gene, and now Lou.

 

[Irish YJ]

I don't think any of these are bad ideas. Difficult to implement, maybe, but not inherently bad ideas.

As far as legalizing heroin, his position (which is the same for many issues) is that it should be up to the states to decide if its legal. He was quoted as saying that most people wouldn't just start using heroin if it were legalized, and he is correct. It's all about personal liberties, man.

Anyway not interested in getting into a Ron Paul debate, I just wanted to express that I think the country was ready for someone like him because he is very similar to Bernie.

I'm good with most of those ideas too.
And I mean, who doesn't like heroin?

Kidding on the heroin part, but we could do with whole lot less government, and a whole lot less foreign aid. And there's a lot of taxes we can do without. Death tax and capital gains are a great place to start.

 

[Legacy]

The GOP as it has existed for the past several decades is already dead. The outcome of the general won't change that.

We just have a different interpretation of what is going on. I see Trump capitalizing on a populist movement that threatens the political establishment. He articulated that populism thru poorly chosen words (at least from a political standpoint). This isn't solely a white male down on luck movement. It's true there are more white males than any other demographic, but dismissing the populism as "angry white males" is not completely accurate. Consider the following:

5 myths about Trump supporters - POLITICO

That is populism at it's core.

Maybe the GOP can figure out a way of marginalizing the angry, disaffected GOP voters, possibly depriving them of their voting rights. Or isn't that what the convention is for?

They just have to figure out the way to survive the first ballot and then let the party regulars decide for Cruz.

Trump flops in Arizona delegate fight
The GOP front-runner flashed more strength than ever in the shadow primary — but still suffered stinging defeats.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Maybe the GOP can figure out a way of marginalizing the angry, disaffected GOP voters, possibly depriving them of their voting rights. Or isn't that what the convention is for?

They just have to figure out the way to survive the first ballot and then let the party regulars decide for Cruz.

Cruz would only be slightly less disasterous for down-ticket Republicans this November. And his polling numbers don't indicate he'll be much more competitive than Trump in the general either.

Win or lose, Trump has indelibly stamped his name on the GOP. Whatever comes after will be a significantly different party than the one Trump seized upon.

 

[NDinL.A.]

A part of me died when I heard about Holtz.

And I have a friend at Trump's rally, and he told me that Digger is going to endorse him tonight. Digger and Bobby Knight I get - two gigantic egotistical assholes supporting another gigantic egotistical asshole. Makes sense. But Lou? All that nonsense he talks about treating others with respect, and treating women with respect (I've heard him speak several times) - all garbage now. Unbelievable.

 

[BGIF]

"Racist, Ignorant Rubes" For Trump Adds Another

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Honored to have received the endorsement of Lou Holtz - a great guy! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/INPrimary?src=hash">#INPrimary</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Trump2016?src=hash">#Trump2016</a> <a href="https://t.co/AeGyODb37O">pic.twitter.com/AeGyODb37O</a></p>— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/727225626575421440">May 2, 2016</a></blockquote>
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...

I don't care if Whiskey thinks it's a tactical error to dismiss them as ignorant rubes because that's exactly what they are. They're no better than #OccupyWallStreet or #BlackLivesMatter.

...

 

[Buster Bluth]

I don't think any of these are bad ideas.

They're all very bad ideas.

 

[MJ12666]

I'm voting for Trump and my only hope is that none of those who are so intellectually superior to me who are posting on the broad don't live in NJ and cancel out my vote.

 

[woolybug25]

I'm voting for Trump and my only hope is that none of those who are so intellectually superior to me who are posting on the broad don't live in NJ and cancel out my vote.

Oh you poor guy.

 

[MJ12666]

Seriously you guys really need to chill out a little. No matter who wins they will most likely have no impact on you life and none of them will be able to get even a quarter what they are proposing through the congress if anything. While it is entertaining to watch there is no reason to get so wrapped up in this that you cause yourself mental and possibly physical anguish.

 

[MJ12666]

Oh you poor guy.

Thanks I appreciate the sentiment.

 

[Polish Leppy 22]

Imagine a Lou Holtz pep talk for Trump in the fall.

 

[Irish YJ]

Seriously you guys really need to chill out a little. No matter who wins they will most likely have no impact on you life and none of them will be able to get even a quarter what they are proposing through the congress if anything. While it is entertaining to watch there is no reason to get so wrapped up in this that you cause yourself mental and possibly physical anguish.

Truth.

Be careful MJ, this thread is mostly a land of higher taxes, big spending, no government is ever big enough, tolerance (but intolerance for your opinion and most people's faiths), special interests, free stuff for law breaking border hoppers, and a place where intellectuals hold their values above all others. Just be happy the government is there to fix everything (except the potholes on my street) for us.

 

[Irish#1]

I'm good with most of those ideas too.
And I mean, who doesn't like heroin?

Kidding on the heroin part, but we could do with whole lot less government, and a whole lot less foreign aid. And there's a lot of taxes we can do without. Death tax and capital gains are a great place to start.

That's one area I've always wished would be pared. We have certain commitments to have military bases in foreign countries, but we could probably cut foreign aid in half and solve a lot of our debt problems.

 

[pkt77242]

That's one area I've always wished would be pared. We have certain commitments to have military bases in foreign countries, but we could probably cut foreign aid in half and solve a lot of our debt problems.

What? Foreign aid is less than 1% of the budget. It does nothing to fix our debt problem (not saying that it could or shouldn't be lowered just that it is a very small amount).

Guess How Much Of Uncle Sam's Money Goes To Foreign Aid. Guess Again! : Goats and Soda : NPR

 

[Irish YJ]

That's one area I've always wished would be pared. We have certain commitments to have military bases in foreign countries, but we could probably cut foreign aid in half and solve a lot of our debt problems.

There are a lot of places though we don't need to "protect". Europe for instance needs to step up and start spending their money on their own defense. They also need to be burdened more when it comes to funding world police actions.

In terms of foreign aid, it's disgusting how much we put into countries with corrupt governments or whose people hate everything American.

 

[Irish YJ]

What? Foreign aid is less than 1% of the budget. It does nothing to fix our debt problem (not saying that it could or shouldn't be lowered just that it is a very small amount).

Guess How Much Of Uncle Sam's Money Goes To Foreign Aid. Guess Again! : Goats and Soda : NPR

I'd much prefer the $50bil/year go to US education. Or hell, the 50Bil would cover the Social Security deficit each year.

Nothing personal, but calling 50bil small change, or 1% of our budget irrelevant is why we are in the hole we are.

 

[MJ12666]

Truth.

Be careful MJ, this thread is mostly a land of higher taxes, big spending, no government is ever big enough, tolerance (but intolerance for your opinion and most people's faiths), special interests, free stuff for law breaking border hoppers, and a place where intellectuals hold their values above all others. Just be happy the government is there to fix everything (except the potholes on my street) for us.

lol - couldn't have said it better myself, but I really do enjoy reading this thread during my lunch. It is very entertaining and provides me the break that I often need. The only thing I can't figure out is how individuals can spend so much time writing posts when they presumably are working. I especially find it hilarious when the "corporations are screwing us and ruining the country" crowd get going while they collect a check from the same corporations that they disdain.

 

[pkt77242]

I'd much prefer the $50bil/year go to US education. Or hell, the 50Bil would cover the Social Security deficit each year.

Nothing personal, but calling 50bil small change, or 1% of our budget irrelevant is why we are in the hole we are.

You act like all foreign aid is bad. How about the money we spend fighting Ebola, AIDS, etc. we have under 35 Billion budgeted for next year in foreign aid. Could it be lowered, sure, should it all be erased, nope. Foreign aid is important.


Now some (not necessarily you) want to talk about closing military bases etc. then maybe but the military says it is actually cheaper to house soldiers overseas then here so that doesn't even help our spending

 

[Irish YJ]

You act like all foreign aid is bad. How about the money we spend fighting Ebola, AIDS, etc. we have under 35 Billion budgeted for next year in foreign aid. Could it be lowered, sure, should it all be erased, nope. Foreign aid is important.


Now some (not necessarily you) want to talk about closing military bases etc. then maybe but the military says it is actually cheaper to house soldiers overseas then here so that doesn't even help our spending

Not all aid is bad. 46.3 this year (Obama's budget), and pretty sure it isn't decreasing for 2017. Look at areas where most dollars are going. It isn't Ebola, Aids, etc.. It's the ME.

Foreign Aid in Obama’s 2016 Fiscal Budget

 

[GoIrish41]

That's one area I've always wished would be pared. We have certain commitments to have military bases in foreign countries, but we could probably cut foreign aid in half and solve a lot of our debt problems.

How much foreign aid do you think we provide? I think if you looked into it you would find it is a drop in the bucket

 

[Irish YJ]

How much foreign aid do you think we provide? I think if you looked into it you would find it is a drop in the bucket

Per above, 1% is not a drop in the bucket. It's also more than enough to cover the yearly social security deficit.

in short, one could say foreign aid is more important that our elderly who have paid into the fund their entire lives?