Trump vs Hillary 2016

Quote: Nareed

One for the GOP would be a nice gesture as well. They may need it soon.

Let's not forget about people's desire for change. If Hillary is elected it will be the first Democrat POTUS to follow a retired Democratic POTUS since the civil war (the only two Democratic presidents to die in office, FDR and JFK, did not retire).

William Harrison was "Democratic-Republican" but died before the civil war,

Quote: YeahBaby

Vomited on to screen a bunch of half-literate gunk about the debate

With political insight like that, America is safe again.

Quote: Pacomartin

William Harrison was "Democratic-Republican" but died before the civil war,

In the old days, when a politician flip-flopped, they bragged about it :)

Which reminds me, good names for the new party the GOP establishment can set up:

The Weathervane Party

The Flip-Flop Party

The Whig party (No clue what a Whig is)


And if it's the base that moves out, they only have one feasible name: the National Socialist Workers Party

Quote: Nareed

In the old days, when a politician flip-flopped, they bragged about it :)

The Democratic-Republicans were the main opposition in the first party system to Federalist party.

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The Whig party (No clue what a Whig is)

The Whigs were a name for the American Patriots (or rebels, depending on your view of history), who took their name from the constitutional monarchist Whig party in England, which in turn got it's name from a derisive term for the people against the restoration because James II was a Roman Catholic.... a whig came from whiggamore - a cattle driver or herder.

Quote: TheCesspit

The Democratic-Republicans were the main opposition in the first party system to Federalist party.

I know. the smiley indicates a joke.

Maybe we need emojis here now (whatever they are<w> (I know what they are)).

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a whig came from whiggamore - a cattle driver or herder.

I didn't know that.

Cattle-driver would be a good name for a political party, though.

Quote: Nareed

And that says something very bad about the Republican candidates in the primaries this last cycle.

I disagree. I think Rubio, Fiorina, Christie, Jeb, or Kasich could have beat Hillary. Or at the very least made it a tight, close race that would have Hillary sweating til the bitter end.

So why didn't any of those candidates beat Trump in the primaries? Trump benefitted from having a huge field-- 16 candidates to divide the non-Trump vote. He benefitted from his years of experience playing a ruthless business tycoon on reality TV and pro-wrestling. He benefitted from a media industry that loved giving him free publicity. (He appeared on Fox & Friends weekly even before he declared his candidacy.) And he was a breath of fresh air-- he didn't stick to rigid GOP ideology on trade or Iraq or Planned Parenthood, and whenever he said something crazy, he always refused to apologize. (This stubborn refusal to apologize gave the illusion of strength & courage; he's not strong or courageous, he's an asshole).

Also, a lot of the voters in the Republican primary were racist idiots, which tended to help Trump.

Quote: reno

I disagree. I think Rubio, Fiorina, Christie, Jeb, or Kasich could have beat Hillary.

Rubio and Kasich, maybe Cruz as well. The rest, not so much. Jeb would have every bad decision made by his brother brought up; he made many (granted many were bad decisions in hindsight). Fiorina is inexperienced and unschooled in politics and policy, and her tenure at HP was far from stellar. Christie has a bad image problem, and scandals of his own.

I don't think we'll see another Bush in the White House until Jeb's and George W's children grow up and go into politics, if they go into politics.

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Or at the very least made it a tight, close race that would have Hillary sweating til the bitter end.

Oh, that they were all capable of. They're not Trump.

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So why didn't any of those candidates beat Trump in the primaries?

Yes, why didn't they? The Access Hollywood tape was poison and would have rallied the evangelicals and most of the religious wingnuts as well.

The theory I take most seriously is that they didn't take Trump seriously. Every presidential season you get one or two oddball candidates who achieve some popularity, excessive media coverage, and even win a primary or two. Eventually they implode because they are all sizzle and no steak, and are never heard from again. They're what I call "silly season candidates," after an expression from old-time newspapers regarding the dearth of serious news during the summer. By the time they took him seriously, he'd won a great deal of support and several primaries/caucuses.

And still they didn't find that tape of Trump bragging about sexual abuse?

But I will claim credit. Trump is a silly-season candidate.

The reverse is also true: other potential Democratic candidates would have had a much easier time defeating Trump. You know, candidates with actual favorable ratings with the electorate at large. Clinton's unfavorable ratings flat-out state she can't be elected president, except she's running against a man with even worse ratings.

BTW, if you ever meet McCain or Romney, try asking "I bet you wish you'd waited 8/4 years, eh?" (depending on which one you ask). I'd bet even money that question will haunt them to their graves.

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(This stubborn refusal to apologize gave the illusion of strength & courage; he's not strong or courageous, he's an asshole).

I think he's what an asshole calls someone they think is a real asshole :)

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Also, a lot of the voters in the Republican primary were racist idiots, which tended to help Trump.

Alas, I've learned that bigotry and idiocy do not go together. If they did, there'd be no problem.

Quote: reno

I disagree. I think Rubio, Fiorina, Christie, Jeb, or Kasich could have beat Hillary. Or at the very least made it a tight, close race that would have Hillary sweating til the bitter end.

I don't think Kasich had enough love within the Republican party outside his own area to get the nod. In fact, if Trump didn't run, I'm not sure how the result ends up with anyone but Cruz as the nominee...

The Reps needed someone with the straight talking of Trump, which many like, with the ability to prepare for deeper conversations, and not have the hubris of thinking he can play someone else's game first time on the court. I'm still concerned that the polls maybe wildly wrong and Trump wins (13% is not 0%), so I'm not going to gloat and smirk at the right. They may still get their man.

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Also, a lot of the voters in the Republican primary were racist idiots, which tended to help Trump.

They are low information voters, as some like to call them.

Quote: TheCesspit

I don't think Kasich had enough love within the Republican party outside his own area to get the nod. In fact, if Trump didn't run, I'm not sure how the result ends up with anyone but Cruz as the nominee...

It's hard to say when the campaign played out so strangely. Usually the early forecasts are off. In '08, it seemed to be Clinton vs Giuliani. We got Obama vs McCain. Hell, prior to that campaign, how many people even knew of Obama?

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I'm still concerned that the polls maybe wildly wrong and Trump wins (13% is not 0%), so I'm not going to gloat and smirk at the right. They may still get their man.

Barring something disastrous like Clinton dropping dead, or a really damaging revelation (and maybe not even that), it's all over but the shouting, and Trump's epic tantrum on Nov. 8th (I hope I can stay up that day). I'd bet, too, that in the realm of damaging revelations, more is left to air about Trump than Clinton. I mean, the GOP has been on her case since 1991, and, unlike her husband, she has stayed in the public eye and politics since 2000.

The way things are, the GOP may lose the Senate (sparing McCain his cup of Kool-Aid for at least two years). Keep in mind Trump's been telling his Trumpkins not to vote for GOP candidates who've displeased him. So even in states he wins by a large margin and there's plenty of red turnout, the Democrats may win in a Senate seat. Doesn't that beat it all?

It's Trump's version of "bringing you all down with me." That he's singularly suited to doing.

The best part of the Presidential election cycle
The Al Smith dinner
Can Trump be funny?

Some of the best jokes from the dinner

W
"This is an impressive crowd. The haves and the have-mores. Some people call you the elite. I call you my base,"

JFK
"I had announced earlier this year that, if successful, I would not consider campaign contributions as a substitute for experience in appointing ambassadors. Ever since I made that statement, I have not received one single cent from my father