I'm a little disappointed at not seeing Nikki Haley among the defectors. I mean, I don't like her politics, but she's better than most Republicans, from where I'm sitting she's about the only hope they have in the immediate future, and she's been as clear as a Republican can be that she knows racism and sexism are a dead end for the right. She should be taking the opportunity now that party discipline has been thrown out the window.
I don't think a lot of people will appreciate me saying this, but regardless of whether what he's been doing and saying is right or wrong, this week must be taking a huge toll on his mental health. I really and sincerely hope, just because he is a human being, that he's able to make it through this. Not politically, but as an individual. I don't think many individuals could take even a fraction of this public scrutiny in stride. This has got to be killing him inside and that's genuinely sad.
I may not feel bad for trump, but I can feel bad for anyone who DID want to vote republican and now feel like they have zero options. There are a lot of disenfranchised people in the US right now, even more than usual.
I respectfully disagree. This is a man who actively endeavored to assume the highest office in the land and actively encouraged violence against his detractors and opponents. I have less sympathy for him than I do for syphilis. John Oliver pointed out that he's the only real estate developer anyone can name; that he has licensed his name for money illustrates that "public scrutiny" is not something he eschews. This entire debacle has been for, by and about Trump's benefit. That he is now hoisted on his own petard is not something to be pitied; it should be a Guy Fawkes Day-level celebration of the character assassination of a character that never merited recognition.
I know and I think it's important that we, asgood people, make it clear that this type of mentality is unhealthy and unwelcome and if Hillary wins we will have dodged a huge bullet as a country. There's just this part of me that really feels sorry for him all of the sudden. I think all of my fear and worry about him is being replaced with pity.
TOP TEN REASONS WHY KB WOULD HAPPILY STUFF DONALD TRUMP IN A MEAT GRINDER 10) I've been aware of the jackass since the '80s and have never seen anything I've liked 9) He perpetuates the notion that victimization of clients and boorish winner-take-all negotiations are business virtues 8) He's like a terrible parody of The Great Gatsby, where Gatsby is recast as the Jersey boor that is never quite hip enough to get into Studio 54 so overcompensates for the rest of his life 7) For decades he's argued he knows about business because he flirts with politics and politics because he flirts with business but has no demonstrable acumen in either theater 6) If one cop/lawyer procedural were made out of each one of his lawsuits his lawsuits would exhaust the bibliography of the genre from now through the first few seasons of Perry Mason 5) He has accomplished nothing with his wealth other than making others poor 4) He has debased public political discourse for a generation and mobilized the hatred of physically dangerous groups for no reason other than to stoke his own ego 3) He revoked life-saving medical payments from his nephew after his older brother died of alcoholism-related illness 2) He took a stultifyingly generous investment from his father, bankrupted himself twice and even with all his success, made less money than if he'd invested in savings bonds 1) He has inspired a vulnerable and precarious segment of the American public to believe they should be less, not more. I hope he dies in prison. Alone. Of ass cancer.
It's frustrating to me that it seems so self-evident that his presidential bid is exactly what he's done his whole career: make a lot of money at the expense of others. There's no doubt that he (a) won't be president come January, and (b) will be a whole lot richer for it. I fail to understand why this isn't obvious to everyone.5) He has accomplished nothing with his wealth other than making others poor
I'll not try to argue that I have too much faith in people, despite all evidence the world has given us that the people of the world don't generally deserve faith. I can't make a good argument that a policy discussion would better inform anyone, but I can make an observation that a lack of a policy discussion certainly won't better inform them. There are so few instances that masses of people are paying attention to politics like they are during a presidential debate, that it would be nice if they could tune in and find interesting things to think about. That they don't probably reinforces their notions about how pandering and wishy-washy politicians are. The few big name politicians I've met in person have been fabulously well versed in policy. You wouldn't know it from seeing their ads and news appearances.
Have you seen the Daily Show piece on what happens when you allow people to bet on elections? It's pretty amazing.
I hear you, and I hear what you are saying. But I'm not sure he is aware of the blowback in the way we are. We don't like him, so we actively look for things wrong with him. He doesn't think he's a bad guy, so all the cronies around him who keep cheering for him, aren't transmitting the message WE see, to him. He lives now - and always has lived - in a little Trumpian bubble. He is surrounded 24x7 by sycophants who think he walks on water, and actively build him (and his ego) up. I don't know the man personally, of course, but I expect far less of the anger/vitriol/etc actually penetrates his protective bubble. So, yes, if he saw the thrashing he is getting from those of us on the left, then he might feel a bit beaten, and defeated right now. But I honestly think he doesn't sees the vast majority of that stuff, and - even if he did - cognitive dissonance would help him deflect it. We all live in our own bubble. Those of us who seek to grow, look for perspectives outside our bubble, looking in. Those who are not interested in growth look within the bubble for validation.
I understand your sympathy but the man has no one but himself to blame for this folly. Does he deserve to eat a bullet? No. Does he deserve to finally be struck down as the narcissistic pig he most definitely is? I hope so. We came far too close to the edge with this tire fire of a candidate and for the first time in months I will sleep well tonight.
I think you can rest easy knowing that he doesn't care at all. It's how he's gotten this far. I mean, I disagree beyond that, in the sense that I don't care if it's hurting him mentally because he's such a shitty person. But I can also say that how we both feel about it doesn't matter, because I can say with almost 100% certainty that it isn't affecting him whatsoever.
Sorry for a stupid, sort of related question. From what I understand the presidential election is in 2 parts the popular vote and the electoral vote. The popular vote chooses the 538 electors and they in turn vote for the president and vice president. The electors are split into either the Senate (100 - 2 per state) or the House of Representatives (438 varies by state). In the popular vote, do you know whether the candidate(s) you vote for are standing for the Senate or the House of Representatives or not? How is that decision made? Whether en elector will sit in the Senate or House of Representatives.
To elaborate on bfv's point: There are 538 electoral votes. They are proportioned to the states according to their number of senators (2 per state) and representatives (varies by population; adjusted after every 10-year census). Each electoral vote is decided by the winner of the popular vote in the elector's district. In most states, it is winner take all; if a state has five electoral votes and the republicans only win one district, all five electoral votes go to the democrats. I believe New Hampshire and one other state allot their electoral votes proportionally. This is how George W Bush lost the popular vote by 2 million votes but won the electoral college; he won the recount in Florida by 238 votes, thereby swinging all 29 of Florida's votes to Bush.
The house and senate are elected directly, the ballot contains a list of candidates for each office and you pick the one you prefer. The candidate who wins the vote gets the office. The electoral college is only for the president. The ballot also contains the names of the candidates for president, but what you're really voting on is whose party gets to pick the electors that will pick the president.
McCain is ditching him, in a move that surprises no one: http://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=774F9EE9-B0F1-4CC6-8659-945EB6E09A5F