Tuesday, May 31, 2016
CONSERVATIVES MELT DOWN.
++David Frum pens a must-read article in The Atlantic "The Seven Broken Guardrails of Democracy" where he eviscerates Trump and his supporters and ponders how the conservative movement can ever be rebuilt. Frum expresses astonishment over how everyone from fiscal conservatives to the religious right just folded like kleenex. Frum pointed out that Trump's biggest foreign policy speech was given with the Russian ambassador in the audience but no representative from a single American ally.
++Fred Malek, perpetual Republican operative, writes in the Washington Post on why TRUMP must stop attacking fellow Republicans.
++Michael Gerson won't give up in his fourth straight anti-Trump article "The Most Depressing Moment of the 2016 Race." He was talking about "the Future of the GOP" Marco Rubio bowing down to endorse Trump.
++ Charles Pierce had some good fun with Mark Halperin pretending to have an exclusive of Bill Kristol's surprise conservative choice. It turns out Kristol may have persuaded David French, a staff writer for the National Review and an Iraqi war veteran, to run against Trump.
++Eugene Robinson could not resist mocking Trump's Rolling Thunder Review performance and the series of lies he told,including the one about thousands couldn't get in. As I reported there were no one else there. It was a sad sack affair with 5,000.
++You may have missed David Brooks' column on why #Never,Ever Trump".
++Fred Malek, perpetual Republican operative, writes in the Washington Post on why TRUMP must stop attacking fellow Republicans.
++Michael Gerson won't give up in his fourth straight anti-Trump article "The Most Depressing Moment of the 2016 Race." He was talking about "the Future of the GOP" Marco Rubio bowing down to endorse Trump.
++ Charles Pierce had some good fun with Mark Halperin pretending to have an exclusive of Bill Kristol's surprise conservative choice. It turns out Kristol may have persuaded David French, a staff writer for the National Review and an Iraqi war veteran, to run against Trump.
++Eugene Robinson could not resist mocking Trump's Rolling Thunder Review performance and the series of lies he told,including the one about thousands couldn't get in. As I reported there were no one else there. It was a sad sack affair with 5,000.
++You may have missed David Brooks' column on why #Never,Ever Trump".
PRINCETON ELECTIONS CONSORTIUM STATE POLL SNAPSHOT
++Evaluating 65 state polls, Princeton Elections Consortium says that the election will be Clinton 336 Electoral Votes,TRUMP 202 Electoral Votes. The meta-margin of polls is +4.2%. Hillary is now at 70% probability of becoming President.
++Go read the very long analysis at PEC.
++Go read the very long analysis at PEC.
Sunday, May 29, 2016
TRUMP THOUGHT THE ROLLING THUNDER RALLEY WOULD BE LIKE "I HAVE A DREAM SPEECH"
++According to Bloomberg News,Donald Trump thought the Rolling Thunder rally in Washington yesterday would have people lined up from the Lincoln Memorial to the Washington Monument. He said he was prepared to give his version of Martin Luther King's speech but that hundreds of thousands couldn't get into town.
++I didn't see anyone trying to get in. More evidence he may be sick.
++I didn't see anyone trying to get in. More evidence he may be sick.
TRUMP'S GRIEVANCE TOUR.
++Donald Trump ,instead of doing a victory laps and uniting his fractured party, decided to use his first stops after sewing up the nomination to attack two Republican women governors--Nikki Haley and Susana Martinez, his vanquished competitors, Mitt Romney, and he complained about the judge on the Trump University case whom no one knew about until then and called out Hillary Clinton on her appearance.
++The Washington Post just printed a front page story on this grievance tour and how bizarre and erratic Trump seems.
++Anyone for my sick thesis?
++The Washington Post just printed a front page story on this grievance tour and how bizarre and erratic Trump seems.
++Anyone for my sick thesis?
TRUMP's BIZARRE ATTACK ON GOVERNOR SUSANA MARTINEZ.
++Martinez refused to attend Trump's rally in New Mexico and was promptly attacked by Trump. Martinez said that she opposed his idea of a wall with Mexico.
++So why did Trump attack the first Hispanic head of the GOP's Governors' Association----drumroll, for resettling a whooping 20 Syrian refugees in the state. He went on to say if he was governor these Muslims wouldn't be resettled there.
++But a governor doesn't get to say. The federal government assesses the number of refugees per state. But it is a bizarre and off-the-wall reason to criticize Martinez when she already disagrees with you on the big ticket items.
++So why did Trump attack the first Hispanic head of the GOP's Governors' Association----drumroll, for resettling a whooping 20 Syrian refugees in the state. He went on to say if he was governor these Muslims wouldn't be resettled there.
++But a governor doesn't get to say. The federal government assesses the number of refugees per state. But it is a bizarre and off-the-wall reason to criticize Martinez when she already disagrees with you on the big ticket items.
Did You Ever Think--He's Just Sick?
++Remember Karl Rove raising questions about Hillary Clinton's health because she had a concussion? Why don't we talk about the very real possibility that Donald J. Trump, who will be 70 on election day,really is sick?
++There have been three articles over the months on obscure political website and on Salon that raised this issue. The impulsiveness,the out of left field nastiness,the ever changing positions, the bizarre incoherent interviews. He has insomnia which Ariana Huffington warned us about and is obsessively tweeting people in the dead of night. His notorious thinskinness has gotten even thinner.
++Fred Trump may have left Donald more than his millions. Fred died of Alzheimer's in 1999. What's to say Donald doesn't suffer the same thing at an early stage? Commentators have remarked he hasn't taped one of his reality shows in years and he seems fixated on a number of ideas or themes but when pressed sometimes can't even remember what he has said. Everybody had thought they are gaffes or simply misremembering but those who say he has Alzheimer's believe this is a symptom of his disease.
++One little give-away is his always wearing a blue blazer even when his staff tells him it's hot short-sleeve weather. I always thought Romney was beginning to show signs also with his walk. Curious that Trump picked it up also by saying Romney walks like a Penguin.
++We tend to give Trump the benefit of being a billionaire for his flying to a campaign event and then flying home. But what if it is more than this?
++One writer said someone could not get away with what Trump says unless he's crazy or mad. Maybe Trump is both showing the uglier sides of dementia.
++A long-time gossip columnist in New York reminisced about the Donald and said he was basically an open, honest guy. You just had to mention how much he was worth. But the same gossip columnist remarked how dark Donald has become and that his wit has turned nasty.
++The Republicans have nominated your crazy uncle but that's no reason not to insist on an independent assessment.
++There have been three articles over the months on obscure political website and on Salon that raised this issue. The impulsiveness,the out of left field nastiness,the ever changing positions, the bizarre incoherent interviews. He has insomnia which Ariana Huffington warned us about and is obsessively tweeting people in the dead of night. His notorious thinskinness has gotten even thinner.
++Fred Trump may have left Donald more than his millions. Fred died of Alzheimer's in 1999. What's to say Donald doesn't suffer the same thing at an early stage? Commentators have remarked he hasn't taped one of his reality shows in years and he seems fixated on a number of ideas or themes but when pressed sometimes can't even remember what he has said. Everybody had thought they are gaffes or simply misremembering but those who say he has Alzheimer's believe this is a symptom of his disease.
++One little give-away is his always wearing a blue blazer even when his staff tells him it's hot short-sleeve weather. I always thought Romney was beginning to show signs also with his walk. Curious that Trump picked it up also by saying Romney walks like a Penguin.
++We tend to give Trump the benefit of being a billionaire for his flying to a campaign event and then flying home. But what if it is more than this?
++One writer said someone could not get away with what Trump says unless he's crazy or mad. Maybe Trump is both showing the uglier sides of dementia.
++A long-time gossip columnist in New York reminisced about the Donald and said he was basically an open, honest guy. You just had to mention how much he was worth. But the same gossip columnist remarked how dark Donald has become and that his wit has turned nasty.
++The Republicans have nominated your crazy uncle but that's no reason not to insist on an independent assessment.
FASCISM--The Discussion
++Just a warning,the ADL has alerted Americans that the Norwegian group, Sons of Odin, has now set up shop in the United States and claim 26 branches. Talking Points Memo has a good article on them and their efforts to stir up anti-Muslim sentiments. One example was in Montana where there was no effort to resettle Muslim refugees,they created a whole network of people protesting this non-existent action.
++We blogged about Jonathan Weisman,editor of the Washington Bureau of the New York Times,forwarded Robert Kagan's op-ed from the Post about fascism coming to the United States. The Weisman was inundated by anti-Semitic tweets.
++Today he writes in the Sunday Times about "The Nazi Tweets of 'Trump God Emperor'". Weisman goes in detail about the Jewish journalists who have experienced everything from a "candelabrum made of six million to photoshops of authors in concentration camp garb. Julia Ioffe was one of the first to suffer the anti-semitic barrage from Trump supporters who took umbrage of her profile of Melania Trump in GQ magazine. Melania said the author deserved it. Conservative Bethany Mandel had so much vitriol hurled at her, she bought a gun.
++Weisman retweeted the choicest attacks on him An official at Twitter encouraged him to block the anti-Semites and report then to Twitter but he preferred to preserve them for a database of hate. He kept the image of a smiling Mr. Trump in a Nazi uniform flicking the switch on a gas chamber containing his photoshopped face.
++Weisman says we have heard nothing from Mr. Trump,no denunciation , no broad renouncing of racist, anti-semitic support, no sympathy for its victims.
++Weisman points to the Republican Jewish Coalition "abhorring the abuse of journalists,commentators,and writers, whether it be from the Sanders, Clinton or Trump" campaign.
++So we go to Peter Baker's frontage piece in the New York Times on "Rise of Trump Tracks Debate Over Fascism". Baker reports that to Trump supporters these accusations are unfair smear tactics to tar conservatives and scare voters. They say it is easier to delegitimize his support than to acknowledge widespread popular anger at the failure of both parties to confront the nation's challenges. (I am sorry I am obtuse .I simply don't get this meme about both parties and failing to meet the nation's challenges."
++But Baker admits that there is a discussion around the globe about the revival of fascism--which is generally defined as a governmental system that asserts complete power and emphasizes aggressive nationalism and often racism.
++Traditional parties in Europe have been challenged by nationalist movements during economic crisis and the influx of migrants. Baker also points to the ongoing feuds within Israel, which is leaning even more to the right.
++Baker's article is a good and long read. He quotes Robert Paxton of Columbia about the whole spectrum of these parties form right-wing nationalism,illiberal democracy and populist autocracy.
++Baker reviews the complaints that Trump is a fascist , which his wife denies. But he notes that Trump was slow--very slow--to denounce white supremacist David Duke and praised Vladimir Putin and promised to be his friend. And that he has not denounced his supporters anti-semiticism or the neo-Nazi support for his campaign.
++Paxton saw similarities and differences In Trump and Hitler and Mussolini."His message about an America in decline and his us-against-them pronouncements about immigrants and outsiders echo Europe in the 1930s. On the other hand,Trump has hardly created uniformed, violent youth groups. "
++Volker Perthes, the director of then German Institute for International and Security Affairs, read Bob Kagan's piece and said "All the phenomenon he describes are raising concerns but I would still not call Trump or his campaign fascist".
++Charles Grant ,the director of the Center of European reform in London, distinguished between far-right nationalist parties like Le Pen;s National Front in France and actual fascism.
++Grant said," Historically,it means the demonization of minorities within society to the extent that they feel insecure. It means encouraging the use of violence against critics. It means a bellicose foreign policy that may lead to war, to excite a nationalist feeling. It takes xenophobia to extremes. And it is contemptuous of the rules-based liberal order."
++ And Stanley Payne ,professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin, says that we are seeing the emergence of a new kind of politics maybe best called right-wing populist nationalism. Roger Eatwell of the University of Bath in England calls it "illiberal democracy", a form of government that jeeps the trappings of democracy without the reality."
++But Baker concludes the article with a quote from Lilia Shevtsova, a political scientist in Moscow, says that neo-fascism in liberal societies stems from crisis and dysfunction while in illiberal countries like Turkey and Russia it reflects an attempt to fill the void left by the failure of Western notions to catch on.
++That the issue has been raised front and center in our election year should trigger alarm bells. To have a candidate endorsed by the KKK,the neo-Nazis, the white supremacists without any criticism by that man should worry people.
++We blogged about Jonathan Weisman,editor of the Washington Bureau of the New York Times,forwarded Robert Kagan's op-ed from the Post about fascism coming to the United States. The Weisman was inundated by anti-Semitic tweets.
++Today he writes in the Sunday Times about "The Nazi Tweets of 'Trump God Emperor'". Weisman goes in detail about the Jewish journalists who have experienced everything from a "candelabrum made of six million to photoshops of authors in concentration camp garb. Julia Ioffe was one of the first to suffer the anti-semitic barrage from Trump supporters who took umbrage of her profile of Melania Trump in GQ magazine. Melania said the author deserved it. Conservative Bethany Mandel had so much vitriol hurled at her, she bought a gun.
++Weisman retweeted the choicest attacks on him An official at Twitter encouraged him to block the anti-Semites and report then to Twitter but he preferred to preserve them for a database of hate. He kept the image of a smiling Mr. Trump in a Nazi uniform flicking the switch on a gas chamber containing his photoshopped face.
++Weisman says we have heard nothing from Mr. Trump,no denunciation , no broad renouncing of racist, anti-semitic support, no sympathy for its victims.
++Weisman points to the Republican Jewish Coalition "abhorring the abuse of journalists,commentators,and writers, whether it be from the Sanders, Clinton or Trump" campaign.
++So we go to Peter Baker's frontage piece in the New York Times on "Rise of Trump Tracks Debate Over Fascism". Baker reports that to Trump supporters these accusations are unfair smear tactics to tar conservatives and scare voters. They say it is easier to delegitimize his support than to acknowledge widespread popular anger at the failure of both parties to confront the nation's challenges. (I am sorry I am obtuse .I simply don't get this meme about both parties and failing to meet the nation's challenges."
++But Baker admits that there is a discussion around the globe about the revival of fascism--which is generally defined as a governmental system that asserts complete power and emphasizes aggressive nationalism and often racism.
++Traditional parties in Europe have been challenged by nationalist movements during economic crisis and the influx of migrants. Baker also points to the ongoing feuds within Israel, which is leaning even more to the right.
++Baker's article is a good and long read. He quotes Robert Paxton of Columbia about the whole spectrum of these parties form right-wing nationalism,illiberal democracy and populist autocracy.
++Baker reviews the complaints that Trump is a fascist , which his wife denies. But he notes that Trump was slow--very slow--to denounce white supremacist David Duke and praised Vladimir Putin and promised to be his friend. And that he has not denounced his supporters anti-semiticism or the neo-Nazi support for his campaign.
++Paxton saw similarities and differences In Trump and Hitler and Mussolini."His message about an America in decline and his us-against-them pronouncements about immigrants and outsiders echo Europe in the 1930s. On the other hand,Trump has hardly created uniformed, violent youth groups. "
++Volker Perthes, the director of then German Institute for International and Security Affairs, read Bob Kagan's piece and said "All the phenomenon he describes are raising concerns but I would still not call Trump or his campaign fascist".
++Charles Grant ,the director of the Center of European reform in London, distinguished between far-right nationalist parties like Le Pen;s National Front in France and actual fascism.
++Grant said," Historically,it means the demonization of minorities within society to the extent that they feel insecure. It means encouraging the use of violence against critics. It means a bellicose foreign policy that may lead to war, to excite a nationalist feeling. It takes xenophobia to extremes. And it is contemptuous of the rules-based liberal order."
++ And Stanley Payne ,professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin, says that we are seeing the emergence of a new kind of politics maybe best called right-wing populist nationalism. Roger Eatwell of the University of Bath in England calls it "illiberal democracy", a form of government that jeeps the trappings of democracy without the reality."
++But Baker concludes the article with a quote from Lilia Shevtsova, a political scientist in Moscow, says that neo-fascism in liberal societies stems from crisis and dysfunction while in illiberal countries like Turkey and Russia it reflects an attempt to fill the void left by the failure of Western notions to catch on.
++That the issue has been raised front and center in our election year should trigger alarm bells. To have a candidate endorsed by the KKK,the neo-Nazis, the white supremacists without any criticism by that man should worry people.
Saturday, May 28, 2016
Nate Silver "No, The system is not "rigged"against Sanders
++Nate Silver at 538 goes to great lengths to explain that Hillary Clinton is winning because more Democrats want her as the nominee--that's in terms of popular vote and delegates.
++Nate goes into the caucus versus primary debate and demonstrates that Sanders benefited from caucus and Clinton benefits from closed primaries to Democratic voters.
++Nate also shows that Hillary's delegate lead if you factored all this in the equation would be about 400+ compared to 250+ at this stage.
++For Sanders to declare a piopular mandate is a long stretch.
++Nate goes into the caucus versus primary debate and demonstrates that Sanders benefited from caucus and Clinton benefits from closed primaries to Democratic voters.
++Nate also shows that Hillary's delegate lead if you factored all this in the equation would be about 400+ compared to 250+ at this stage.
++For Sanders to declare a piopular mandate is a long stretch.
D.R. TUCKER
++D.R. Tucker reminds us that Hillary Clinton clinches the nomination by winning New Jersey and not so much California.
++Writing in the Washington Monthly, Tucker raises questions about the sanity of Sanders' strategy to disrupt the Democratic convention and the strange move to get old-time Democrats removed such as Ed Rendell and Barney Frank. It is one thing to debate the platform but to add non-Democrats to the committee.
++Tucker warns the Sanders' crowd that purity often elects Republicans as the Sanders team seems hell-bent on doing. Tucker snorts at the anti-establishment rhetoric by the Sanders' spokespeople and wonders what their end game is.
++Jos Marshall at talking points yesterday mused about the slap over Debbie Wasserman Shultz. True he says all the House Democrats hate her but is this really the best time to remove her.
++Harry Reid said that despite the Burn Baby, Burn rhetoric of the Sanders' campaign that Bernie has reassured him that he will work too united the party.
++But Tucker raises the question "How?If you have hired lawyers to disrupt the convention and challenge everyone's credentials?"
++Writing in the Washington Monthly, Tucker raises questions about the sanity of Sanders' strategy to disrupt the Democratic convention and the strange move to get old-time Democrats removed such as Ed Rendell and Barney Frank. It is one thing to debate the platform but to add non-Democrats to the committee.
++Tucker warns the Sanders' crowd that purity often elects Republicans as the Sanders team seems hell-bent on doing. Tucker snorts at the anti-establishment rhetoric by the Sanders' spokespeople and wonders what their end game is.
++Jos Marshall at talking points yesterday mused about the slap over Debbie Wasserman Shultz. True he says all the House Democrats hate her but is this really the best time to remove her.
++Harry Reid said that despite the Burn Baby, Burn rhetoric of the Sanders' campaign that Bernie has reassured him that he will work too united the party.
++But Tucker raises the question "How?If you have hired lawyers to disrupt the convention and challenge everyone's credentials?"
CHAIT: "TRUMP CAMPAIGN AN "ABSOLUTE STRATEGIC AND MANAGERIAL GARBAGE FIRE."
++Jonathan Chait in New York magazine summarizes what we know from the New York Times and the Washington Post about Trump's campaign. By the way, it is likely that Trump will pay himself back from Superpac money for his "self-funding " campaign.
++Chait writes," By all accounts, it is the most organizationally and strategically inept campaign for a successful major-party nominee in recorded history. "
++Trump has absolutely no idea what he's doing. The staff is too small and are at war with itself. Trump has a disdain for data and works from the gut. He is fixated on competing in New York and California. He attacks fellow Republicans without reason, having already won the nomination. His Superpac donors are confused about where to make their donations.
++Chait writes that Trump "hasn't abolished the rules of politics."
++In sum,"Fortunately , many of the same qualities that would make Trump epically dangerous in the presidency--his impulsive ignorance, blustering arrogance,and contempt for data, also make him unlikely to obtain it.
++In his meetings on the Hill, Paul Manafort said that Trump would primarily depend on rallies for his general election campaign and everything he has said was open to be changed--except the Wall.
++Late this afternoon, the Mexican-American judge on the Trump University case ordered that the documents be revealed to the public.
++Chait writes," By all accounts, it is the most organizationally and strategically inept campaign for a successful major-party nominee in recorded history. "
++Trump has absolutely no idea what he's doing. The staff is too small and are at war with itself. Trump has a disdain for data and works from the gut. He is fixated on competing in New York and California. He attacks fellow Republicans without reason, having already won the nomination. His Superpac donors are confused about where to make their donations.
++Chait writes that Trump "hasn't abolished the rules of politics."
++In sum,"Fortunately , many of the same qualities that would make Trump epically dangerous in the presidency--his impulsive ignorance, blustering arrogance,and contempt for data, also make him unlikely to obtain it.
++In his meetings on the Hill, Paul Manafort said that Trump would primarily depend on rallies for his general election campaign and everything he has said was open to be changed--except the Wall.
++Late this afternoon, the Mexican-American judge on the Trump University case ordered that the documents be revealed to the public.
TRUMP IS BROKE!
++Paul Manafort met with Senate Republicans and told them the Trump campaign may only have enough money to run ads through June and by the July convention it will be bust. Manafort said Trump then will depend on the RNC donor base to fund the general campaign.
++If the networks stopped giving him free time, it would be the end.
++I saw an interview with the RNC spokesperson on CNN saying that they had beefed up their manpower in the swing states. Not true. They would love to but they haven't as yet.
++NBC reported that the Republicans in Florida are getting anxious because at this time in a general election they should have all the manpower in place. Part of the problem is, as the New York Times reported, the TRUMP campaign is in total disarray. There have been three Superpacs created for the campaign but Trump has not told donors which he prefers.
++Charlie Cook says Keep to the fundamentals. The polls aren't meaningful yet.
++Politico says that Trump's campaign is dwarfed by Clinton's. The last FEC filings showed that Trump spent less than a third as much as Clinton's campaign--$57 million to $182 million. He has 1/10th the staff --70 to 732. A fraction of the offices--$101,000 on rent to $38,000.
++Trump spent $2.7 million on advertising to Clinton's $12 million on digital and broadcast media.
++Sanders was the biggest spender at $207 million . Sanders has $5.8 million in the bank to Clinton's $30 million.
++Clinton has the tremendous advantage in analytics, polling and building models of likely voters and turnout plans.
++Trump has spent $31,000 on direct mailing compared to Hillary's $398,000.
++Manafort said they wanted to use Rick Scott and Cory Gardner's approach to Hispanics. Manafort said that Hispanics on the coasts were "radical" but they were more persuadable in the Midwest because they shared the same values with Trump. (Cough).
++But Hillary's edge means that she is already and set on the ground in Florida,Ohio and Pennsylvania, which Trump has to win to have a shot.
++That is why the TRUMP campaign is entertaining John Kasich as vice president and Hillary Clinton's Sherrod Brown. I like Brown--a persistent,low-keyed progressive.
++Of course that depends on whether Trump can afford to campaign.
++If the networks stopped giving him free time, it would be the end.
++I saw an interview with the RNC spokesperson on CNN saying that they had beefed up their manpower in the swing states. Not true. They would love to but they haven't as yet.
++NBC reported that the Republicans in Florida are getting anxious because at this time in a general election they should have all the manpower in place. Part of the problem is, as the New York Times reported, the TRUMP campaign is in total disarray. There have been three Superpacs created for the campaign but Trump has not told donors which he prefers.
++Charlie Cook says Keep to the fundamentals. The polls aren't meaningful yet.
++Politico says that Trump's campaign is dwarfed by Clinton's. The last FEC filings showed that Trump spent less than a third as much as Clinton's campaign--$57 million to $182 million. He has 1/10th the staff --70 to 732. A fraction of the offices--$101,000 on rent to $38,000.
++Trump spent $2.7 million on advertising to Clinton's $12 million on digital and broadcast media.
++Sanders was the biggest spender at $207 million . Sanders has $5.8 million in the bank to Clinton's $30 million.
++Clinton has the tremendous advantage in analytics, polling and building models of likely voters and turnout plans.
++Trump has spent $31,000 on direct mailing compared to Hillary's $398,000.
++Manafort said they wanted to use Rick Scott and Cory Gardner's approach to Hispanics. Manafort said that Hispanics on the coasts were "radical" but they were more persuadable in the Midwest because they shared the same values with Trump. (Cough).
++But Hillary's edge means that she is already and set on the ground in Florida,Ohio and Pennsylvania, which Trump has to win to have a shot.
++That is why the TRUMP campaign is entertaining John Kasich as vice president and Hillary Clinton's Sherrod Brown. I like Brown--a persistent,low-keyed progressive.
++Of course that depends on whether Trump can afford to campaign.
Friday, May 27, 2016
Chicken Trump Bows Out Of Debate With Sanders
++Trump was going to debate Sanders to raise money for women's health. Forget about it.
++ Trump says there is no drought in California and he will let the water flow to the farmers like in Chinatown.
++Trump says he wants a statue of himself in Washington.
++Trump says he will build the Keystone pipeline and reverse the Paris climate accords.
++Trump told Mark Halperin he would not rule out using tactical nuclear weapons on ISIS. And he reiterated his stance on torture because people have to learn to "respect us."
++Trump won't choose a woman or minority as Vice President because that would be pandering.
++The Neo-Nazis are backing Trump big time at Stormfront.com.
++Meanwhile across the world, the leader of the free world Barack Obama called for a "moral revolution of tolerance" so we can avoid the destruction of Hiroshima in the future. Obama was better received than Abe of Japan. Obama mentioned the victims of the A-bomb attacks by citing women and children, thousands of Koreans and even American POWs. He called for a world free of nuclear weapons.
++ Trump says there is no drought in California and he will let the water flow to the farmers like in Chinatown.
++Trump says he wants a statue of himself in Washington.
++Trump says he will build the Keystone pipeline and reverse the Paris climate accords.
++Trump told Mark Halperin he would not rule out using tactical nuclear weapons on ISIS. And he reiterated his stance on torture because people have to learn to "respect us."
++Trump won't choose a woman or minority as Vice President because that would be pandering.
++The Neo-Nazis are backing Trump big time at Stormfront.com.
++Meanwhile across the world, the leader of the free world Barack Obama called for a "moral revolution of tolerance" so we can avoid the destruction of Hiroshima in the future. Obama was better received than Abe of Japan. Obama mentioned the victims of the A-bomb attacks by citing women and children, thousands of Koreans and even American POWs. He called for a world free of nuclear weapons.
Thursday, May 26, 2016
Wednesday, May 25, 2016
While President Obama was in Japan.
++Donald Trump said,"Maybe we have to leave. Maybe Japan will have to defend itself."
My Type Of Woman
++Check out Democratic Underground's clip of Elizabeth Warren's speech on why Donald Trump can not become President of the United States. Classy lady who disembowels the short-fingered vulgarian.
State IG Criticizes Clinton and Powell For Private E-mail Servers.
++The right-wing blogosphere wants nuts today when the State Department's IG said Clinton's use of a private email server was wrong and that she was late to give State her emails.
++Josh Marshall thinks it is a nothing burger except to the frothing right. Dana Millbank was also not impressed. He points out Hillary already apologized and no classified documents were sent by her and that no foreign power hacked it.
++But "Crooked Donny" Trump, the short-fingered greedy vulgarian, couldn't get his e-mail straight. He emailed his plans to attack Hillary over Whitewater to Politico. He thought the recipient was a Republican operative of the same name.
++Josh Marshall thinks it is a nothing burger except to the frothing right. Dana Millbank was also not impressed. He points out Hillary already apologized and no classified documents were sent by her and that no foreign power hacked it.
++But "Crooked Donny" Trump, the short-fingered greedy vulgarian, couldn't get his e-mail straight. He emailed his plans to attack Hillary over Whitewater to Politico. He thought the recipient was a Republican operative of the same name.
Tuesday, May 24, 2016
Mike Gerson's Third Shot At Trump
++With Trump raising the Vin Foster suicide again--"It's fishy"--Gerson's column yesterday in the Washington Post "The Trump Train Is Fueled by Conspiracy" is timely.
++His column leads with a review of a film on the Ebola virus and out response to it. As he writes, Republicans and conservatives stood out and not in a good way. Leading the charge was Trump who said ,"Ebola is much easier to transmit than the CDC and government representatives admit." But The health officials were not lying and Trump encouraraged "a distrust of institutions that borders on conspiracy."
++Trump also said that vaccines lead to Autism and undermined the consensus on vaccinations that builds up "herd immunity" and saves lives of children.
++Who else is plotting against us? Well,the Mexicans " send the bad ones over because they don't want to pay for them."
++Blacks account for 81% of homicides, a white supremacist tweet that Trump supports.
++The United States government was behind 9-11 and Trump will find out who really kicked down the World Trade Center.
++He questioned how Antony Scalia died with a pillow over his head. Gerson practically loses it--"Does he think liberal ordered a hit on Scalia?"
++Gerson reminds us that Trump emerged in conservative circles by questioning Barck Obama's citizenship and the legality of his presidency. He said he had "excellent people" looking into this. What did they find?--Nothing but Trump doubled down on his contention.
++When asked to repudiate the vicious anti-semiticism of some of his supporters, he said, "He didn't want to offend his fans."
++Gerson warns: "Every Republican official endorsing Trump should know this is the company he keeps. This is the company you now keep."
++His column leads with a review of a film on the Ebola virus and out response to it. As he writes, Republicans and conservatives stood out and not in a good way. Leading the charge was Trump who said ,"Ebola is much easier to transmit than the CDC and government representatives admit." But The health officials were not lying and Trump encouraraged "a distrust of institutions that borders on conspiracy."
++Trump also said that vaccines lead to Autism and undermined the consensus on vaccinations that builds up "herd immunity" and saves lives of children.
++Who else is plotting against us? Well,the Mexicans " send the bad ones over because they don't want to pay for them."
++Blacks account for 81% of homicides, a white supremacist tweet that Trump supports.
++The United States government was behind 9-11 and Trump will find out who really kicked down the World Trade Center.
++He questioned how Antony Scalia died with a pillow over his head. Gerson practically loses it--"Does he think liberal ordered a hit on Scalia?"
++Gerson reminds us that Trump emerged in conservative circles by questioning Barck Obama's citizenship and the legality of his presidency. He said he had "excellent people" looking into this. What did they find?--Nothing but Trump doubled down on his contention.
++When asked to repudiate the vicious anti-semiticism of some of his supporters, he said, "He didn't want to offend his fans."
++Gerson warns: "Every Republican official endorsing Trump should know this is the company he keeps. This is the company you now keep."
Monday, May 23, 2016
Asian-Americans Like Clinton,Not So Much Trump.
++Asian-Americans voted for Obama in 2012 73%-26%,a higher percentage than Hispanics. But their 2014 exit polls showed them divided by party roughly 50-50.
++Ed Kilgore at New York reads the new Asian-American/Pacific Islander national poll. Democrats are now favored oiler Republicans by 66 to 19. President Obama's approval rating is 67-23%.
++Trump is at 19-61% approval. He is best among the Vietnamese at 22 to 57% and worst among the Koreans at 10 to 80%.
++Hillary Clinton stands at 62% approval--26% disapproval rate. Even among younger Asians, she is at 55 approve-32% disapprove. And Bernie is at 48 to 22%.
++Kilgore points out the importance of this data because Asians, one of the fattest demographic groups used to vote Republican. With their support for Hillary Clinton, it is good news for her in California.
++Ed Kilgore at New York reads the new Asian-American/Pacific Islander national poll. Democrats are now favored oiler Republicans by 66 to 19. President Obama's approval rating is 67-23%.
++Trump is at 19-61% approval. He is best among the Vietnamese at 22 to 57% and worst among the Koreans at 10 to 80%.
++Hillary Clinton stands at 62% approval--26% disapproval rate. Even among younger Asians, she is at 55 approve-32% disapprove. And Bernie is at 48 to 22%.
++Kilgore points out the importance of this data because Asians, one of the fattest demographic groups used to vote Republican. With their support for Hillary Clinton, it is good news for her in California.
MOODY'S ANALYTICS PREDICTS PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION.
++Moody's has correctly predicted every election since 1980 using a model that involves home prices,unemployment rate, gas prices.
++They predict Clinton at 332 and Trump at 206 electoral votes.
++They also say that President Obama will have a higher rating than Reagan did at they end of the Cold War.
++They predict Clinton at 332 and Trump at 206 electoral votes.
++They also say that President Obama will have a higher rating than Reagan did at they end of the Cold War.
Sunday, May 22, 2016
Saturday, May 21, 2016
"The Mind Of Donald Trump"
++This issue of the Atlantic has an article by psychologist Dan P. McAdams on the mind of Donald J. Trump and its implications for his presidency. McAdams had previous written about George W.Bush's redemptive psychology, ne'er do well son who makes good. Mc Adams tells us this psychological self-images like President Obama laying claim to the history of the black movement or Hillary Clinton going rom Goldwater girl to Secretary of State--a feminist story--all frame how to understand these people and their actions they take as politicians.
++McAdams says that "Trump's personality is certainly extreme by any standard and particularly were for a presidential candidate;many people who encounter the man--in negotiations or in interviews or on a debate stage or watching that debate on television--seem to find him flummoxing. "
++Mark Singer interviewed Trump for the New Yorker in 1990s and came away believing that a leading candidate for the President of the united States had managed to achieve something remarkable," an existence unmolested by the rumbling of a soul".
++Mac Adams says that Trump is more of an actor than Reagan. He is always acting and in his article he tries to discover the inner narrative that makes Trump tick.
++McAdams says that "Trump's personality is certainly extreme by any standard and particularly were for a presidential candidate;many people who encounter the man--in negotiations or in interviews or on a debate stage or watching that debate on television--seem to find him flummoxing. "
++Mark Singer interviewed Trump for the New Yorker in 1990s and came away believing that a leading candidate for the President of the united States had managed to achieve something remarkable," an existence unmolested by the rumbling of a soul".
++Mac Adams says that Trump is more of an actor than Reagan. He is always acting and in his article he tries to discover the inner narrative that makes Trump tick.
Adam Gopnik "The Dangerous Acceptance of Donald Trump."
++ Read the article in the latest New Yorker.
++"…under any label Trump is a declared enemy of the liberal constitutional order of the United States---the order that has made it,in fact,the great and plural country that it already is…
"" He announces his enmity to America by word and action every day. It is articulated by his insistence on the rightness of torture and the acceptable murder of noncombatants." (Gopnik also mentioned Trump's suggestion he could eliminate his enemies by questioning the ownership of the papers they worked for.)
++"The American Republic stands threatened by the first overtly anti-democratic leader in its modern history,an authoritarian with no grasp of history, no impulse control,and no apparent barriers on his will to power….
++"If Trump comes to power,there is a decent chance that the American experiment would be over."
++Gopnik explains this by citing what happens in countries where Trump's take over and how the scars permanently maim the country and its ability ever to recover.
++"…under any label Trump is a declared enemy of the liberal constitutional order of the United States---the order that has made it,in fact,the great and plural country that it already is…
"" He announces his enmity to America by word and action every day. It is articulated by his insistence on the rightness of torture and the acceptable murder of noncombatants." (Gopnik also mentioned Trump's suggestion he could eliminate his enemies by questioning the ownership of the papers they worked for.)
++"The American Republic stands threatened by the first overtly anti-democratic leader in its modern history,an authoritarian with no grasp of history, no impulse control,and no apparent barriers on his will to power….
++"If Trump comes to power,there is a decent chance that the American experiment would be over."
++Gopnik explains this by citing what happens in countries where Trump's take over and how the scars permanently maim the country and its ability ever to recover.
Only The Women, the African-Americans and Hispanics Will Save Us.
++It seems the Latinos are holding up their part of the bargain. A Fox News poll shows Hillary Clinton with 62% to Trump's 23%. Trump has a 74% unfavorable rating. He looks now that he will do worse than Mitt Romney's dismal 27% of Hispanic vote.
"Donald Trump: A Dangerous Man"
++The essay/interview was produced by the Atlantic Council from an interview with senior diplomat Nicholas Burns, who is now an adviser to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, by Ashish Kumar Sen.
++The Atlantic Council is a decades old organization that is composed of policy-makers,think tank experts, and former diplomats who encourage the deepening of relations between the Unites States and Europe, or more precisely the NATO members. That this interview was in their publication if major because it is circulated both here and abroad.
++Burns summarizes Trump's foreign policy speech he gave on April 27th. Burns points to his threatening NATO and questioning its viability. He also blasts Trump's statements about our alliance with South Korea and Japan. Burns says he is for diplomacy but what kind of diplomacy does Trump want when he insults the Mexicans and the Muslims all over the world.
++Burns: "The ideas that he is putting forward are dangerous to America and what he revealed to me he is a dangerous leader. He doesn't appear to have the in-depth knowledge--about the world, history, economics,politics--that any serious presidential candidate should have. He lacks the nuance and sophistication that say Eisenhower and George H.W. Bush --just to single out two Republican presidents had. It's that maturity and judgment that was so important to the Oval Office that all of our Presidents have to have. He doesn't appear to have any of it."
++"….Trump's speech was a categorical denunciation of all of American foreign policy since the end of the Cold War. He said it was a series of failures. He said he was the only person--his words,not mind--who could turn the situation around. He ,in effect,indicted all of our past Presidents, Republicans,and Democrats,since the end of the Cold War,all our Secretaries of State and Secretaries of Defense. It takes someone with a very big ego,and probably someone who is very naive and doesn't understand global politics, to make such a categorical judgment. The speech was a series of threats and ultimatums.
++"…He appeared in the speech, and in the past several weeks on the campaign trail,to be munch tougher on our democratic allies--Britain,France,Germany,Japan,South Korea,than on Russia and on China. That obviously is a miscalculation on his part."
++ "Donald Trump says "American First" would be a banner that he would use. He would want to rethink that..to call your self "American First" indicates that he is unaware of that history or doesn't care. (Burns goes on to explain the sorry history of America First and its appeasement of Nazi Germany." It is indicating of the campaign that they don't seem to understand this very important episode of American history."
Burns then takes questions about what current policy is in a variety of areas.
++The Atlantic Council is a decades old organization that is composed of policy-makers,think tank experts, and former diplomats who encourage the deepening of relations between the Unites States and Europe, or more precisely the NATO members. That this interview was in their publication if major because it is circulated both here and abroad.
++Burns summarizes Trump's foreign policy speech he gave on April 27th. Burns points to his threatening NATO and questioning its viability. He also blasts Trump's statements about our alliance with South Korea and Japan. Burns says he is for diplomacy but what kind of diplomacy does Trump want when he insults the Mexicans and the Muslims all over the world.
++Burns: "The ideas that he is putting forward are dangerous to America and what he revealed to me he is a dangerous leader. He doesn't appear to have the in-depth knowledge--about the world, history, economics,politics--that any serious presidential candidate should have. He lacks the nuance and sophistication that say Eisenhower and George H.W. Bush --just to single out two Republican presidents had. It's that maturity and judgment that was so important to the Oval Office that all of our Presidents have to have. He doesn't appear to have any of it."
++"….Trump's speech was a categorical denunciation of all of American foreign policy since the end of the Cold War. He said it was a series of failures. He said he was the only person--his words,not mind--who could turn the situation around. He ,in effect,indicted all of our past Presidents, Republicans,and Democrats,since the end of the Cold War,all our Secretaries of State and Secretaries of Defense. It takes someone with a very big ego,and probably someone who is very naive and doesn't understand global politics, to make such a categorical judgment. The speech was a series of threats and ultimatums.
++"…He appeared in the speech, and in the past several weeks on the campaign trail,to be munch tougher on our democratic allies--Britain,France,Germany,Japan,South Korea,than on Russia and on China. That obviously is a miscalculation on his part."
++ "Donald Trump says "American First" would be a banner that he would use. He would want to rethink that..to call your self "American First" indicates that he is unaware of that history or doesn't care. (Burns goes on to explain the sorry history of America First and its appeasement of Nazi Germany." It is indicating of the campaign that they don't seem to understand this very important episode of American history."
Burns then takes questions about what current policy is in a variety of areas.
Friday, May 20, 2016
Carlton Varney Said If Downing Of Egyptair Was Terrorism It Helps Trump.
++Seconded by Charles Krauthammer who basically said that a terrorist attack nearer the election will award Trump the presidency because of his bigoted stand against Muslims. Krauthammer does admit that is Hillary can deal with it in the calm way Obama dealt with the economic collapse in 2008 the odds favor her.
Nicole Wallace Asks Trump Whether He Will Accept Bernie Sanders As Vice President
++Trump said it was an interesting question. He said Bernie and he have in common the idea that the United States is getting ripped off in trade deals. But Trump can make the deals better; Bernie can't.
++Trump said that Bernie is likely going to lose the primaries to Hillary because the system is rigged. But then Bernie should run as an independent.
++Trump said that many Sanders voters will back Trump in November.
++Trump said that Bernie is likely going to lose the primaries to Hillary because the system is rigged. But then Bernie should run as an independent.
++Trump said that many Sanders voters will back Trump in November.
The Famed Ken Starr May Be Fired As President Of Baylor For Covering Up Sexual Assaults.
++Ken Starr who badgered Monica Lewinsky, appears to have covered up over a dozen sexual assaults by Baylor football players. The story first broke on ESPN and Starr now is subject to a Special Investigation.
Prop 8 Lawyer Ted Olson Will Join the Human Rights Campaign Against HB2 or the North Carolina Bathroom Bill.
++What this means is that he will be submitting an amicus curiae brief in the DOJ's case against North Carolina. It's not like he will argue against the case in court.
DAVID BOAZ at The Daily Beast On the Johnson-Weld Ticket
++Since the Romney-Kristol anti-Trump candidate hasn't panned out, the libertarians on Memorial Day weekend are to nominate Gary Johnson and Bill Weld. Boaz says this is the first time two governors have been on a ticket since Tom Dewey and Earl Warren in 1948.
++The two men are appealing to moderate Republicans and those disgusted with Donald Trump. The beauty is that the libertarians are on all fifty ballots, something a third candidate couldn't manage. However,the best showing of the Libertarians was 1980 when David Koch ran as vice President and funded the party. They got 1% of the vote nationally.
++Presently Johnson is polling at 10% in some polls but he has no monster donors. Boaz fantasizes that the ticket will do in Alaska,Maine, New Mexico and Utah.
++The idea is to drive the election into the House presuming neither Trump or Clinton can get to 270. There the anti-Trump forces believe they can draft a more reasonable Republican nominee. In the House,really?
++The two men are appealing to moderate Republicans and those disgusted with Donald Trump. The beauty is that the libertarians are on all fifty ballots, something a third candidate couldn't manage. However,the best showing of the Libertarians was 1980 when David Koch ran as vice President and funded the party. They got 1% of the vote nationally.
++Presently Johnson is polling at 10% in some polls but he has no monster donors. Boaz fantasizes that the ticket will do in Alaska,Maine, New Mexico and Utah.
++The idea is to drive the election into the House presuming neither Trump or Clinton can get to 270. There the anti-Trump forces believe they can draft a more reasonable Republican nominee. In the House,really?
RIPLEY'S BELIEVE IT OR NOT
++Moderates are a stunning 31% of the Republican Party. They are heavily college-educated and accept science and are concerned about climate change. It is the one bloc in the party that accepts the current sexual revolution. They are, however, conservative on taxes,immigration and regulation. I thought they had gone the way of the Do-Dos.
++I missed it but Peggy Noonan wrote a column about the creation of a new centrist party coming out of the GOP and disaffected Democrats. Ed Kilgore ridiculed this in an article for New York. He says no new political parties come out of a center and that there is no centrist Democrats who are disaffected.
++Greenberg, the Democratic pollster, said that "progressives" have to know how to manipulate the three civil wars going on within the GOP to maximize the gains during this year. One bloc to pick up is the "moderate " Republicans. Nearly 10% of GOP said they are voting for Hillary. Greenberg says that millennials know their values are at stake and will come out against Trump in big numbers because they know the score. Your mouth to God's ears. And he says all polling shows that African-Americans and Hispanics believe--rightfully--they are under attack.
++I missed it but Peggy Noonan wrote a column about the creation of a new centrist party coming out of the GOP and disaffected Democrats. Ed Kilgore ridiculed this in an article for New York. He says no new political parties come out of a center and that there is no centrist Democrats who are disaffected.
++Greenberg, the Democratic pollster, said that "progressives" have to know how to manipulate the three civil wars going on within the GOP to maximize the gains during this year. One bloc to pick up is the "moderate " Republicans. Nearly 10% of GOP said they are voting for Hillary. Greenberg says that millennials know their values are at stake and will come out against Trump in big numbers because they know the score. Your mouth to God's ears. And he says all polling shows that African-Americans and Hispanics believe--rightfully--they are under attack.
Mike Murphy, GOP Strategist on Donald J. Trump
++ "I think he is a stunning ignoramus on foreign policy issues and national security, which are the issues I care about. And he's said stupid,reckless thing after another,and he's shown absolutely no temperament to try to learn the things that he doesn't know, and he doesn't know just about everything--The guy has a chimpanzee-like understanding of national security policy."
New Anti-Trump ADS
++The AFL-CIO is out with one :Trump Bad For Working Americans" that highlights his statements with salaries "too high" and bragging about how rich he is.
++"The Con Man", which was produced by the DNC, shows Trump speaking about his "very successful companies" and him introducing them with a stamp bolting each one out as bankrupt or a fraud.
++"The Con Man", which was produced by the DNC, shows Trump speaking about his "very successful companies" and him introducing them with a stamp bolting each one out as bankrupt or a fraud.
Paul Krugman: "Obama's War On Equality."
++Paul Krugman thinks that Obama may have put more than a modest dent in American inequality. But his actions aren't trivial either.
++The Obama administration issued new guidelines on overtime pay, which will benefit an estimated 12.5 Million workers.
++With the obamacare tax on the wealthy and the expiration of the high-end tax breaks of the Bush era,the taxes on the top 1% have risen alot to the level of the Reagan era.
++Obamacare provides aid and subsidies to lower income working families.
++Paul Krugman also warns against Trump's via to repeal Dodd-Frank because he does credit with tightening the regulations on banks and Wall Street.
++The Obama administration issued new guidelines on overtime pay, which will benefit an estimated 12.5 Million workers.
++With the obamacare tax on the wealthy and the expiration of the high-end tax breaks of the Bush era,the taxes on the top 1% have risen alot to the level of the Reagan era.
++Obamacare provides aid and subsidies to lower income working families.
++Paul Krugman also warns against Trump's via to repeal Dodd-Frank because he does credit with tightening the regulations on banks and Wall Street.
A Slight Response To Cohen's Op-ed.
++Cohen talks about a 50-year consensus in foreign policy and a policy of supporting democracy and human rights. He chides Obama for not following the freedom agenda of George W. Bush and accuses Obama of having similar ideas to Trump.
++I reject that. But more important ,it seems to me, is that you severely damaged the bipartisan consensus when the W administration adopted the policy of "pre-emptive war" that upended a whole military doctrine and, from personal experience,by torturing people at Gitmo and Abu Ghraib you destroyed America's credibility to voice human rights concerns about others.
++I reject that. But more important ,it seems to me, is that you severely damaged the bipartisan consensus when the W administration adopted the policy of "pre-emptive war" that upended a whole military doctrine and, from personal experience,by torturing people at Gitmo and Abu Ghraib you destroyed America's credibility to voice human rights concerns about others.
ELIOT COHEN'S COLUMN AGAINST TRUMP FROM THE NY TIMES.
++Cohen is a neocon and has supported various Republican candidates for years. He served as counselor to the State Department from 2007 to 2009.
++For a short clip of why Donald Trump is not qualified to be President,you should watch Hillary Clinton yesterday on CNN.
++But this from Mr. Cohen: "He rejects what he terms "ideology" in foreign policy including longstanding Americanb commitments to democratically elected governments and civil liberties. He admires Mr. Putin, thinks free trade is a synonym for bad deals, and scoffs at a unique American role as guarantor of world order."
++"Republican foreign policy veterans like me who have vehemently opposed a Trump candidacy have done so on multiple grounds, beginning with his disdain for the norms of the constitution. But we also believe that Trumpism in foreign policy is dangerous because of its belligerent nationalism , self-absorption, disdain for allies and comfort with authoritarian leaders of the day."
++"Mr. Trump's temperament, his proclivity for insult and deceit and his advocacy of unpredictability would make him a presidential disaster --especially in conduct of foreign policy ,where clarity and consistency matter."
++"….his proposals to discard both law and basic decency through the extensive use of torture and by barring Muslims from traveling to the United States are preposterous:in practice ,they would be catastrophic."
++Now Cohen argues that both Obama and Trump threaten the bipartisan consensus on foreign policy that has been operative since 1950. He grudgingly supports Hillary but claims the left-wing of the Democratic Party also poses a threat. So he's looking for a third candidate.
++So Cohen wants to restore a neoconservative foreign policy but his criticisms of Trump are worth repeating.
++For a short clip of why Donald Trump is not qualified to be President,you should watch Hillary Clinton yesterday on CNN.
++But this from Mr. Cohen: "He rejects what he terms "ideology" in foreign policy including longstanding Americanb commitments to democratically elected governments and civil liberties. He admires Mr. Putin, thinks free trade is a synonym for bad deals, and scoffs at a unique American role as guarantor of world order."
++"Republican foreign policy veterans like me who have vehemently opposed a Trump candidacy have done so on multiple grounds, beginning with his disdain for the norms of the constitution. But we also believe that Trumpism in foreign policy is dangerous because of its belligerent nationalism , self-absorption, disdain for allies and comfort with authoritarian leaders of the day."
++"Mr. Trump's temperament, his proclivity for insult and deceit and his advocacy of unpredictability would make him a presidential disaster --especially in conduct of foreign policy ,where clarity and consistency matter."
++"….his proposals to discard both law and basic decency through the extensive use of torture and by barring Muslims from traveling to the United States are preposterous:in practice ,they would be catastrophic."
++Now Cohen argues that both Obama and Trump threaten the bipartisan consensus on foreign policy that has been operative since 1950. He grudgingly supports Hillary but claims the left-wing of the Democratic Party also poses a threat. So he's looking for a third candidate.
++So Cohen wants to restore a neoconservative foreign policy but his criticisms of Trump are worth repeating.
NYT TWEETS KAGAN ARTICLE ABOUT TRUMP'S FASCISM--THEN HE GETS THE RESPONSE.
++He was bombarded with anti-semitic tweets that barely are repeatable. The example is that "After they Mexicans and the Muslims,your people are next."
Thursday, May 19, 2016
Israel To Form Most Right-wing Government In Its History.
++ I have been absent from the Israeli scenic for a few months but noticed that J Street urged President Obama to forward a proposal for a two-state solutions and that the government of Francois Hollande forwarded the idea of convening an international meeting on a peace solution. Bibi naturally opposed this and the meeting was indefinitely postponed.
++What I missed was John Kerry, Tony Blair and the Egyptian President pushing Israel to form a national unity government. This was a real possibility as the foreigners pressed Herzog to join it. Well,that fell through in the last few days.
++To avoid calling for new elections, Bibi offered Avigdor Lieberman the position of Defense Minister, making the Israeli government the most right-wing in its history. Lieberman is hated by the Palestinians, the Israeli Arabs and the Left.
++So expect fireworks and all movement toward peace to end.
++What I missed was John Kerry, Tony Blair and the Egyptian President pushing Israel to form a national unity government. This was a real possibility as the foreigners pressed Herzog to join it. Well,that fell through in the last few days.
++To avoid calling for new elections, Bibi offered Avigdor Lieberman the position of Defense Minister, making the Israeli government the most right-wing in its history. Lieberman is hated by the Palestinians, the Israeli Arabs and the Left.
++So expect fireworks and all movement toward peace to end.
Mike Malloy Says Fascism Is Here.
++Mike Malloy,the left-wing talk show host, tells his listeners that fascism will be OK for white heterosexual Americans but not anyone who is an ethnic group or havens a different sexual identity. He said that Trump will probably win an overwhelming landslide after watching his countrymen's behavior for several years.
++He said the white power people can forget it because whites between the ages of 30 and 45 are the only demographic group whose life expectancies are falling. The reasons for this are drug use, suicide, and alcoholism and they aren't coming back. He warned the militia people they can forget about fighting the state because Trump will seize their guns and shoot them down with drones.
++He said white Americans will enjoy fascism because it will bring law and order for a time. It's only after a few years that people will get disgruntled.
++Mike Malloy has always been on the depressing side of things but like the white supremacist Trump delegate who said,"Now we can openly talk about race",now we can openly talk about fascism.
++He said the white power people can forget it because whites between the ages of 30 and 45 are the only demographic group whose life expectancies are falling. The reasons for this are drug use, suicide, and alcoholism and they aren't coming back. He warned the militia people they can forget about fighting the state because Trump will seize their guns and shoot them down with drones.
++He said white Americans will enjoy fascism because it will bring law and order for a time. It's only after a few years that people will get disgruntled.
++Mike Malloy has always been on the depressing side of things but like the white supremacist Trump delegate who said,"Now we can openly talk about race",now we can openly talk about fascism.
Small Government, Family Values Legislators In Louisiana
++want to pass a law regulating the weight and age of strippers. I'm sure this is meant to protect the "children" or the little boys who want good-looking strippers.
Stave King calls For Civil Disobedience To Prevent "Sweaty Woman".
++King (R. Iowa) said that Americans should engage in civil disobedience against the unconstitutional "bathroom" regulations by President Obama, who is going out the door anyway. King said that his daughters won't shower at their gyms because of it and the law must be resisted to prevent a rash of "sweaty women".
++More ominous is that he said that these movements like the transgender rights groups must be investigated for where they got their ideas. He said the U.S. Council of Human Rights only agreed to this because they had nothing else to do.
++However Eleana Ros-Lehtenan, the first Hispanic woman elected to Congress,surprised Republicans by backing President Obama's ruling. She has a transgender son and spoke eloquently that transgender people must be fully recognized and they suffer from depression and suicidal thoughts. And if these policies can help them so much the better.
++More ominous is that he said that these movements like the transgender rights groups must be investigated for where they got their ideas. He said the U.S. Council of Human Rights only agreed to this because they had nothing else to do.
++However Eleana Ros-Lehtenan, the first Hispanic woman elected to Congress,surprised Republicans by backing President Obama's ruling. She has a transgender son and spoke eloquently that transgender people must be fully recognized and they suffer from depression and suicidal thoughts. And if these policies can help them so much the better.
TREY GOWDY OF #BENGHAZI! COMMITTEE ADMITS FAKING CLINTON E-MAILS.
++The CIA alerted both sides to the #Benghazi! committee that Hillary Clinton's emails released by Trey Gowdy to make Hillary look guilty were fake. The Chairman admitted he had manufactured evidence.
++The House Democrats have demanded the Committee be closed and Harry Reid has written Reice Preibus of the RNC calling on him to reimburse the American taxpayers for the cost of the committee.
++Stay tuned. This comes after Gowdy admitted after several different investigations had concluded the same that there had been no stand down order and our military could not have rescued the victims in time.
++The House Democrats have demanded the Committee be closed and Harry Reid has written Reice Preibus of the RNC calling on him to reimburse the American taxpayers for the cost of the committee.
++Stay tuned. This comes after Gowdy admitted after several different investigations had concluded the same that there had been no stand down order and our military could not have rescued the victims in time.
Don't Worry Says Trump Surrogate.
++Buffalo congressman Chris Collins (R.-N.Y.) said that people shouldn't be concerned about some of Trump's ideas because the Wall and mass deportations will be "Virtual".
Refusing to Release Own Taxes,TRUMP Demands VP candidate to submit theirs.
++His spokesperson Baghdad Barbie said "that's the natural process. That's the way it has always been done". Why not the Donald's? "Because these people are running for President."
++ See the Guardian's article this morning on even if Trump loses, democracies right now have a demagogue problem.
++On the "fascism question", all--all extreme-right leaders in Europe from Sweden to Serbia openly support Trump. That should tell you something.
++ See the Guardian's article this morning on even if Trump loses, democracies right now have a demagogue problem.
++On the "fascism question", all--all extreme-right leaders in Europe from Sweden to Serbia openly support Trump. That should tell you something.
Pundits Go Full Bore Against Bernie
++Charles Pierce, Ed Kilgore, Rude Pundit, Josh Marshall as well as the political writers of the major newspapers have turned sharply against Bernie Sanders after the fracas at the Nevada Democratic Convention and Sanders' tone-deaf statements shortly thereafter.It's so bad that even Wonkette.com has endorsed Hillary Clinton.
++For the full-array, visit the Daily Kos and read their "Abbreviated Pundit" blog this morning wall-to wall anti-Sanders.
++The more objective are concerned that Sanders is feeding his supporters a lie that the nomination process in the Democratic party is "rigged" and that the establishment--a term which has grown weak recently--structurally favored Hillary Clinton.
++But pundits point out that the process is rigged in Sanders favor since the primaries are not winner-take-all and are proportional.
Ed Kilgore says Hillary's advantages were baked in the cake. Besides Clinton has many million more votes than Sanders and is only less than 100 delegates to the nomination, which is inevitable with proportional primaries and also closed primaries.
++The press is keen to point out that Sanders was not quick to criticize his own supporters. The more democratic writers say that Bernie is exploiting his followers by not telling them that there is no path to the nomination and upholding the basic integrity of the process, which could be changed after discussion, but was not an obstacle to his campaign.
++The concern is that Sanders is not making the noise to heal the wounds of a long-fought battle and to start acting toward party unity. Party activists are concerned failure to do so puts Clinton at a disadvantage in the general election against Trump.
++But read them--I haven't seen this much unanimity among Democratic pundits in a while.
++For the full-array, visit the Daily Kos and read their "Abbreviated Pundit" blog this morning wall-to wall anti-Sanders.
++The more objective are concerned that Sanders is feeding his supporters a lie that the nomination process in the Democratic party is "rigged" and that the establishment--a term which has grown weak recently--structurally favored Hillary Clinton.
++But pundits point out that the process is rigged in Sanders favor since the primaries are not winner-take-all and are proportional.
Ed Kilgore says Hillary's advantages were baked in the cake. Besides Clinton has many million more votes than Sanders and is only less than 100 delegates to the nomination, which is inevitable with proportional primaries and also closed primaries.
++The press is keen to point out that Sanders was not quick to criticize his own supporters. The more democratic writers say that Bernie is exploiting his followers by not telling them that there is no path to the nomination and upholding the basic integrity of the process, which could be changed after discussion, but was not an obstacle to his campaign.
++The concern is that Sanders is not making the noise to heal the wounds of a long-fought battle and to start acting toward party unity. Party activists are concerned failure to do so puts Clinton at a disadvantage in the general election against Trump.
++But read them--I haven't seen this much unanimity among Democratic pundits in a while.
Wednesday, May 18, 2016
Ruth Marcus--Another Take On Trump
++ Ruth Marcus in the Washington Post deals with Trump "Stonewaller,shape-shifter, and liar."
""She opens with the exchange between ABC's George Stephanopoulos and Trump over whether he would real ease his tax returns. George asks "Don't you think the voters have a right to see them before making a final decision?. Trump says he doesn't think so. FYI-Hillary Clinton has released 32 years of tax returns. I couldn't do that,I don't have them anymore.
++Marcus' point is that the voters have a right because the person chosen helps steer the nation's finances. My point would be that this particular person has to release their taxes because he has virtually no political experience and it one additional aid to measure him on.
++She deals with Trump the shape-shifter and his ever changing positions."Yet Trump's "flexibility" is unsettling because it does not rest on an existing edifice of long-expressed convictions and recorded votes. When everything is a starting point , how are voters supposed to judge --or guess--where Trump might end up?"
++"Trump's campaign is a vast policy desert, so declaring that the sparse fronds of detail are eminently negotiable erases any confidence that voters know what they are getting."I would suggest it also allows voters to later claim they didn't know what he would do.
++Trump is a liar. Here Ruth Marcus wants not to seem so rash. But she goes on about Trump acting as his publicist and denying it . If he's willing to lie about some inconsequential than he's capable of lying about big stuff. Well, he did. He lied about Muslims in Jersey City cheering as the towers came down on 9-11.
++She concludes with,"Knowingly electing one who lies while trying out for the job would be a tragic mistake."
But her paper's owner Jeff Bezos lamed out in responding to Trump's threats against the Washington Post and Bezos himself. "I didn't think that's how a presidential candidate should act."
""She opens with the exchange between ABC's George Stephanopoulos and Trump over whether he would real ease his tax returns. George asks "Don't you think the voters have a right to see them before making a final decision?. Trump says he doesn't think so. FYI-Hillary Clinton has released 32 years of tax returns. I couldn't do that,I don't have them anymore.
++Marcus' point is that the voters have a right because the person chosen helps steer the nation's finances. My point would be that this particular person has to release their taxes because he has virtually no political experience and it one additional aid to measure him on.
++She deals with Trump the shape-shifter and his ever changing positions."Yet Trump's "flexibility" is unsettling because it does not rest on an existing edifice of long-expressed convictions and recorded votes. When everything is a starting point , how are voters supposed to judge --or guess--where Trump might end up?"
++"Trump's campaign is a vast policy desert, so declaring that the sparse fronds of detail are eminently negotiable erases any confidence that voters know what they are getting."I would suggest it also allows voters to later claim they didn't know what he would do.
++Trump is a liar. Here Ruth Marcus wants not to seem so rash. But she goes on about Trump acting as his publicist and denying it . If he's willing to lie about some inconsequential than he's capable of lying about big stuff. Well, he did. He lied about Muslims in Jersey City cheering as the towers came down on 9-11.
++She concludes with,"Knowingly electing one who lies while trying out for the job would be a tragic mistake."
But her paper's owner Jeff Bezos lamed out in responding to Trump's threats against the Washington Post and Bezos himself. "I didn't think that's how a presidential candidate should act."
The Libertarians Advance
++Gary Johnson,the former Governor of New Mexico, has asked William Weld,the former Governor of Massachusetts,to be his vice president on the libertarian ticket.
++Johnson said the two of them have enough credibility to provide those disenchanted with the both parties a reason to vote. Good Luck.
++Johnson said the two of them have enough credibility to provide those disenchanted with the both parties a reason to vote. Good Luck.
The Best Analyses Of TRUMP COME FROM NEO-CONSERVATIVES.
++Charlie Chaplin sad his biggest regret was making "The Great Dictator". Odd, a powerful great film. But he sad it was one thing to make audiences laugh at Adolf Hitler and another to warn them about him. He said he failed to deliver the adequate warning.
++"This is How Fascism Comes To America." Robert Kagan joins the fray. He doesn't mince words. Trump has anything to do with ideology. nothing to do with the Republican Party. It is allegiance to him and him alone. If he makes it to the White House, he will owe no one anything.
++Kagan says that Trump offers his attitude, an aura of crude strength and machismo. He displays disrespect for the niceties of democratic culture that he claims produced natural weakness and incompetence.
++Kagan reminds everyone Fascism doesn't begging with an ideology or policy proposals . Trump's program is "Get tough with foreigners and people of nonwhite complexion." He'll deport them ,bar them, get them to knuckle under, make them pay up or shut up."
++Trump "is simply and quite literally an egomaniac."
++He details the various approaches people have to Trump--embrace him, distance themselves from him, try to copt him. His detailed descriptions of these different approaches is excellent.
++Trump has tapped into a "mobocracy". Kagan says conservatives have warned against the state taking over liberties but this time he says it is the situation that DeTocqueville warned bout: people, exited, angry and unconstrained,that might run roughshod over institutions created to preserve freedoms.
++How does fascism come to the United States? Kagan runs through the fascist regimes and includes Putinism. He says a "television huckster, phone billionaire,text book egomaniac with a national political party falling in line." He says if you expect Republicans to pull him back than you don't know the Trump supporters who have nothing but contempt for the party.
++Kagan reminds us that less than 5% of the electorate has voted for Trump. But warns that if wins the election , a majority would have voted for him. Do you think he could become humble then?
++I applaud neoconservatives like Kagan, Max Boot and Eliot Cohen of providing the intellectual framework for fighting against Trump. While their efforts were misplaced about the "freedom agenda",they did understand the basics of our democracy,just not other's cultures and political systems.
++I wonder just how persuasive they can be with their intellectual arguments since Trump is about Emotion and deeply repressed white anger.
++"This is How Fascism Comes To America." Robert Kagan joins the fray. He doesn't mince words. Trump has anything to do with ideology. nothing to do with the Republican Party. It is allegiance to him and him alone. If he makes it to the White House, he will owe no one anything.
++Kagan says that Trump offers his attitude, an aura of crude strength and machismo. He displays disrespect for the niceties of democratic culture that he claims produced natural weakness and incompetence.
++Kagan reminds everyone Fascism doesn't begging with an ideology or policy proposals . Trump's program is "Get tough with foreigners and people of nonwhite complexion." He'll deport them ,bar them, get them to knuckle under, make them pay up or shut up."
++Trump "is simply and quite literally an egomaniac."
++He details the various approaches people have to Trump--embrace him, distance themselves from him, try to copt him. His detailed descriptions of these different approaches is excellent.
++Trump has tapped into a "mobocracy". Kagan says conservatives have warned against the state taking over liberties but this time he says it is the situation that DeTocqueville warned bout: people, exited, angry and unconstrained,that might run roughshod over institutions created to preserve freedoms.
++How does fascism come to the United States? Kagan runs through the fascist regimes and includes Putinism. He says a "television huckster, phone billionaire,text book egomaniac with a national political party falling in line." He says if you expect Republicans to pull him back than you don't know the Trump supporters who have nothing but contempt for the party.
++Kagan reminds us that less than 5% of the electorate has voted for Trump. But warns that if wins the election , a majority would have voted for him. Do you think he could become humble then?
++I applaud neoconservatives like Kagan, Max Boot and Eliot Cohen of providing the intellectual framework for fighting against Trump. While their efforts were misplaced about the "freedom agenda",they did understand the basics of our democracy,just not other's cultures and political systems.
++I wonder just how persuasive they can be with their intellectual arguments since Trump is about Emotion and deeply repressed white anger.
MY ROOT CANAL
++Since I have had so many,it was just a humdrum affair. But I did ask my dentist whether he knew that average Americans could not afford one. He said yes and explained that his costs were primary equipment,lab tests and materials for implants. He said you could get exactly the same materials and equipment at one-third the price overseas. He cited Brazil where he had recently been. He mentioned the new tourist trade to Central America to get implants are a cut-rate that justify the plane fare.
++He told me that if he imported these materials or the equipment into the country he would have his dentist license revoked. Congress at the behest of medical equipment manufacturers put a law in prohibiting such practices and mandating penalties.
++I countered that his profession lobbied to have dentistry excluded from "Obamacare" Smiling, he said that was great. So you now have half his office with financial planners and people who cut their bones in the financial industry.
++He said he gave one free dental clinic per month. Primarily he said he did alot of extractions. "Some of these people have been in pain for more than two years." So these clinics were for people too far gone for preventive care.
++At least all the technicians were Ethiopian women, who are amazingly beautiful.
++He told me that if he imported these materials or the equipment into the country he would have his dentist license revoked. Congress at the behest of medical equipment manufacturers put a law in prohibiting such practices and mandating penalties.
++I countered that his profession lobbied to have dentistry excluded from "Obamacare" Smiling, he said that was great. So you now have half his office with financial planners and people who cut their bones in the financial industry.
++He said he gave one free dental clinic per month. Primarily he said he did alot of extractions. "Some of these people have been in pain for more than two years." So these clinics were for people too far gone for preventive care.
++At least all the technicians were Ethiopian women, who are amazingly beautiful.
Tuesday, May 17, 2016
TRUMP TODAY
++Donad J. Trump said he would dismantle Dodd-Frank,renegotiate the historic PARIS ACCORDS ON CLIMATE CHANGE and meet personally with the North Korean leader to persuade him to give up nuclear weapons.
Monday, May 16, 2016
PRIORITIES USA HAS BOUGHT $120 Million Aire Time For Anti-Trump ads in Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania
++This is more than Jeb Bush's Superpac spent on his campaign. Hillary Clinton wants to inoculate herself in swing states before the general election.
++At this stage it is a calculated gamble whether this far from the election ads matter. Or if they matter at all.
++At this stage it is a calculated gamble whether this far from the election ads matter. Or if they matter at all.
TRUMP'S VICE PRESIDENT--THE NEWT.
++Between the two of them,they have had 6 wives. But Newt is heavily campaigning to become Trump's vice president. He says he has kept in touch with Trump through emails over 5 years. He has been supportive of his foreign policy views and praised an op-ed by Trump to the press.
++We are taking ancient people here. Trump would be the oldest person who ever took office in a first term. Newt is not far behind. Newt says he has to consult with Callista, his wife about whether she wants it.
++The Trump campaign is zeroing on the 1990s and wants to make Bill Clinton's sexual record a blot against Hillary. His campaign is already circulating gossip from that era that has been proven wrong multiple times but so has much that Trump has said. Without much effect.
++Newt adds authenticity to this live of attack since he generates many of the stories himself.
++The downside is that Newt has an ego as large as Trump's and the question is whether he can shrink like Chris Christie under Trump's gaze.
++Both men can be pyrotechnic with their rhetoric and Newt can go mano-a-mano in the area of Bizarre ideas. Trump's Wall to Newt's Vision of colonizing the moon. This would be a trip.
++The reagan coalition has been basically shattered and the Overton Window has collapsed allowing anything to become mainstream. For the Republicans it would be like Ole'Times when the party had reached a majority. It now is at 23% of the electorate.
++Marco Rubio claims he doesn't want it. John Kasich is looking at 2020. Ted Cruz ,I believe,has said no because he has "launched a new conservative movement". Heaven help us.
++Since this is a white man's campaign, why not Trump and Newt. For reasons that have escaped me from the beginning,the GOP decided not to have any outreach and didn't soften their stances on reproductive rights. So that are betting that over 70% of white males will vote for them and they will win.
++So if your old white and male, TRUMP-GINGRICH makes sense. It doesn't do anything for you in the general election but you can at least, blame everybody for your problems. As John Cleese said,"Extremism makes you feel good."
++We are taking ancient people here. Trump would be the oldest person who ever took office in a first term. Newt is not far behind. Newt says he has to consult with Callista, his wife about whether she wants it.
++The Trump campaign is zeroing on the 1990s and wants to make Bill Clinton's sexual record a blot against Hillary. His campaign is already circulating gossip from that era that has been proven wrong multiple times but so has much that Trump has said. Without much effect.
++Newt adds authenticity to this live of attack since he generates many of the stories himself.
++The downside is that Newt has an ego as large as Trump's and the question is whether he can shrink like Chris Christie under Trump's gaze.
++Both men can be pyrotechnic with their rhetoric and Newt can go mano-a-mano in the area of Bizarre ideas. Trump's Wall to Newt's Vision of colonizing the moon. This would be a trip.
++The reagan coalition has been basically shattered and the Overton Window has collapsed allowing anything to become mainstream. For the Republicans it would be like Ole'Times when the party had reached a majority. It now is at 23% of the electorate.
++Marco Rubio claims he doesn't want it. John Kasich is looking at 2020. Ted Cruz ,I believe,has said no because he has "launched a new conservative movement". Heaven help us.
++Since this is a white man's campaign, why not Trump and Newt. For reasons that have escaped me from the beginning,the GOP decided not to have any outreach and didn't soften their stances on reproductive rights. So that are betting that over 70% of white males will vote for them and they will win.
++So if your old white and male, TRUMP-GINGRICH makes sense. It doesn't do anything for you in the general election but you can at least, blame everybody for your problems. As John Cleese said,"Extremism makes you feel good."
KOS goes to the bridge too far--Endorses Elizabeth Warren for Vice President.
++Previous Kos had poo-poohed Elizabeth Warren as Vice President because she could get more accomplished as a Senator in a Democratically-controlled Senate. Bernie Sanders can as head of the Budget Committee.
++But Elizabeth Warren is a tough lady to put down now that she is in a twitter war with Trump. Charles Blow in today's New York Times downplayed the effectiveness of Warren's war with Trump because Trump has no shame.
++But Elizabeth Warren caught the eye of Hillary Clinton with her willingness to do battle with the billionaire. She said that she wanted a fighter for her vice president.
++Joe Biden who said he would have made a great President also came out and said he would have chosen Elizabeth Warren as his running mate. The two had met several times during the conversations of a Biden run.
++Two women. Seems too much. I was for Governor Richardson in 2008 to run with Barack Obama. But that would have been too much for the country to absorb.
++Most of the talk around Clinton's choice rotates around various Hispanic members of congress and a head of a department in the Obama administration.
++But for the economic issues Elizabeth Warren knows her stuff and has accomplished much already. Trump tries to downplay her by calling her "Pocahantas" and saying she hasn't done much in the Senate. This can be easily disproved if the Mighty Democratic Wurlizer would start start churning out the message.
++For the Clinton cord, Warren is actually hawkish, not as much as Hillary. But she would hold her own in a debate.
++The supporters of Bernie Sanders love Warren and she could be the hook to get the millennials enthused. But the optics of two women over 65 might be too much. But Kos' change of mind is worth considering.
++But Elizabeth Warren is a tough lady to put down now that she is in a twitter war with Trump. Charles Blow in today's New York Times downplayed the effectiveness of Warren's war with Trump because Trump has no shame.
++But Elizabeth Warren caught the eye of Hillary Clinton with her willingness to do battle with the billionaire. She said that she wanted a fighter for her vice president.
++Joe Biden who said he would have made a great President also came out and said he would have chosen Elizabeth Warren as his running mate. The two had met several times during the conversations of a Biden run.
++Two women. Seems too much. I was for Governor Richardson in 2008 to run with Barack Obama. But that would have been too much for the country to absorb.
++Most of the talk around Clinton's choice rotates around various Hispanic members of congress and a head of a department in the Obama administration.
++But for the economic issues Elizabeth Warren knows her stuff and has accomplished much already. Trump tries to downplay her by calling her "Pocahantas" and saying she hasn't done much in the Senate. This can be easily disproved if the Mighty Democratic Wurlizer would start start churning out the message.
++For the Clinton cord, Warren is actually hawkish, not as much as Hillary. But she would hold her own in a debate.
++The supporters of Bernie Sanders love Warren and she could be the hook to get the millennials enthused. But the optics of two women over 65 might be too much. But Kos' change of mind is worth considering.
STUPID PARTY MATH VS. MYTH--IT IS NOT MY FATHER"S REPUBLICAN PARTY.
++The Guardian tried to say Trump supporters were not racist and Islamophobic--sort of. It was a piece by outsiders that didn't release the stakes of our election. They reported on two of their reporters attending Trump rallies in Indiana and said he never dealt with the Wall or his registering Muslim comments by stressed trade deals, NAFTA and other elements of his protectionist platform.
++But StupidParty Math gives you a broader idea of the Party TRUMP now heads.
++49% believe ACORN stole the 2012 elections. It was dissolved in 2010.
++51% are birthers.
++57% believe Obama is a Muslim.
++66% believe Obama is a socialist.
++Only 24% believe Obama is the anti-Christ.
++68% do not believe in evolution.
++58% believe global warming is a hoax.
++65% believe higher taxes on incomes over $400K affect them directly.
++67% believe video games are a greater threat than guns.
++75% believe Iraq gave massive aid to Al Qaeda. (This was after 2012.)
++63% believed even in 2012 that Saddam had WMDs.
++67% believe Saddam attacked us on 9/11.
++44% believe armed insurrection is necessary to protect freedoms.
++71% believed in the "Skewed" polls before the 2012 elections.
++84% still approve of George W. Bush. This is why I was surprised Trump could get away with saying Bush didn't protect us on 9-11 in the South Carolina primary.
++Now make of these facts what you will. But the extremes have taken over the Republican Party.
++But StupidParty Math gives you a broader idea of the Party TRUMP now heads.
++49% believe ACORN stole the 2012 elections. It was dissolved in 2010.
++51% are birthers.
++57% believe Obama is a Muslim.
++66% believe Obama is a socialist.
++Only 24% believe Obama is the anti-Christ.
++68% do not believe in evolution.
++58% believe global warming is a hoax.
++65% believe higher taxes on incomes over $400K affect them directly.
++67% believe video games are a greater threat than guns.
++75% believe Iraq gave massive aid to Al Qaeda. (This was after 2012.)
++63% believed even in 2012 that Saddam had WMDs.
++67% believe Saddam attacked us on 9/11.
++44% believe armed insurrection is necessary to protect freedoms.
++71% believed in the "Skewed" polls before the 2012 elections.
++84% still approve of George W. Bush. This is why I was surprised Trump could get away with saying Bush didn't protect us on 9-11 in the South Carolina primary.
++Now make of these facts what you will. But the extremes have taken over the Republican Party.
Josh Marshall Also Caught Breibart's "Renegade Jew"
++Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo picked up the slur of Bill Kristol. It seems David Horowitz, now of the anti-Muslim Right,is a TRUMP delegate from California. Marshall doesn't know how Horowitz religiously identifies himself. Well, he used to be very proud of his son for being a member of the IDF.
++But Marshall reminds us that Horowitz has gone from the extreme Left to the extreme Right, seemingly to find the right pose to get mad at people.
++This reminds me of Monty Python's reasons to adopt extremism. It makes you happy and everyone is to blame. If the "other" didn't do those awful things, you could show you were a decent human being. Apparently, that fits David Horowitz. The next accusation will be that Bill Kristol is a member of "J" Street.
++But Marshall reminds us that Horowitz has gone from the extreme Left to the extreme Right, seemingly to find the right pose to get mad at people.
++This reminds me of Monty Python's reasons to adopt extremism. It makes you happy and everyone is to blame. If the "other" didn't do those awful things, you could show you were a decent human being. Apparently, that fits David Horowitz. The next accusation will be that Bill Kristol is a member of "J" Street.
"The Renegade Jew"
++I am used to seeing George Soros blasted on right-wing websites but it is a first to see Bill Kristol, he of awesomely bad predictions and the editor of the neoconservative magazine Weekly Standard , to be called "The Renegade Jew" --in fact that's the title,in Breibart for a piece by David Horowitz, formerly of Ramparts fame and now a born-again Zionist.
++Kristol's religious identity is never mentioned in the piece. But his efforts to recruit a candidate to compete with Trump is and Horowitz said that put Kristol in league with Obama.
++Why? Because Trump said he was against the Iran deal. And by almost siding with Hillary means you tolerate those who are for it.
++Go figure.
++Kristol's religious identity is never mentioned in the piece. But his efforts to recruit a candidate to compete with Trump is and Horowitz said that put Kristol in league with Obama.
++Why? Because Trump said he was against the Iran deal. And by almost siding with Hillary means you tolerate those who are for it.
++Go figure.
Sunday, May 15, 2016
DAVID FRUM'S DREAM IN THE ATLANTIC
++Before I talk about Frum's fantasy about Trump being elected, we have to agree on some facts. 54% of the electorate for the 2016 election are women. Women hold a 23% approval rating for Donald Trump. Today's Sunday Times runs a story that interviewed 50 women who have come across Trump in a variety of ways . But Reince Preibus says "People don't care about how Trump treated women." Except people includes women.
++Trump called Elizabeth Warren "Pocahantas" in this morning's phone call with Maureen Dowd,his secretary. It was a twofer,insulting Indians and Elizabeth Warren who has been getting the better of him on twitter.
++So Frum ignores all this and says that Hillary, she who is to be blamed,set herself up for defeat by criticizing Bernie Sanders on guns,thereby losing Ohio and Pennsylvania. After courting the Hispanics,polls show that Hillary wins Latinas by a wide margin but the guys by not as much. He doesn't report that Trump is likely to do less than Romney among a part of the population the GOP needs 47% to win.
++Frum, the inventor of the Axis of Evil,says that Hillary's messaging will be poorer than Trump's--I fear this and the millenials will stay home after Sanders loses. This will enable Trump to win with the male vote.
++Gee,I never thought about that. Frum is delusional.
++Trump called Elizabeth Warren "Pocahantas" in this morning's phone call with Maureen Dowd,his secretary. It was a twofer,insulting Indians and Elizabeth Warren who has been getting the better of him on twitter.
++So Frum ignores all this and says that Hillary, she who is to be blamed,set herself up for defeat by criticizing Bernie Sanders on guns,thereby losing Ohio and Pennsylvania. After courting the Hispanics,polls show that Hillary wins Latinas by a wide margin but the guys by not as much. He doesn't report that Trump is likely to do less than Romney among a part of the population the GOP needs 47% to win.
++Frum, the inventor of the Axis of Evil,says that Hillary's messaging will be poorer than Trump's--I fear this and the millenials will stay home after Sanders loses. This will enable Trump to win with the male vote.
++Gee,I never thought about that. Frum is delusional.
Saturday, May 14, 2016
TRUMP FACES DAUNTING MAP.
++Dan Balz of the Washington Post reviews local election experts on where they see the electoral college vote.
++Larry Sabato of the Crystal Ball out of the University of Virginia said that a year ago it was 247 leaning or solid for Democrats , 206 leaning or solid for Republicans and 85 toss-ups.
++Now,Sabato, says there are no toss-ups. It is Clinton 341 to Trump 191.
++The Cook Report has 304 leaning or solid for Clinton,190 for Trump and 44 Toss-ups. These are four states: Iowa, New Hampshire,Ohio and North Carolina.)
++Rothenberg and Gonzalez Political Report has 263 leaning or solid Democrat,206 leaning or solid Republican. The rest are toss-ups. Colorado,Florida,Ohio and Virginia.
++The only roads to victory for Trump is to hold all the Romney states and flip Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania. Then he wins.
++Larry Sabato of the Crystal Ball out of the University of Virginia said that a year ago it was 247 leaning or solid for Democrats , 206 leaning or solid for Republicans and 85 toss-ups.
++Now,Sabato, says there are no toss-ups. It is Clinton 341 to Trump 191.
++The Cook Report has 304 leaning or solid for Clinton,190 for Trump and 44 Toss-ups. These are four states: Iowa, New Hampshire,Ohio and North Carolina.)
++Rothenberg and Gonzalez Political Report has 263 leaning or solid Democrat,206 leaning or solid Republican. The rest are toss-ups. Colorado,Florida,Ohio and Virginia.
++The only roads to victory for Trump is to hold all the Romney states and flip Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania. Then he wins.
TRUMP's MONEY GAMES
++In her "Potomac Watch" at the Wall Street Journal,Kimberley A. Strassel goes after the Donald for doing his "switcher" on the self-fubnding campaign. While he pummeled his primary competitors as "puppets" of large donors, he plans to actively court these same donors for a $1.5 Billion general election campaign against Hillary Clinton. He promises to erect "a world-class finance operation".
++Strassel blames Trump for this because he did not lay down the groundwork necessary for the general election. She believes the decision may now prove his biggest hurdle to the White House.
++She says that in hindsight Trump's decision to "self-fund" was brilliant politically but foolish. Besides,she writes,of the $47 million pent through March,$11 million came from other people's money and $36 million was a loan from the candidate which he expects to get from the fund-raising for the general election.
++Stroessel said it was always true that Trump didn't expect to cover the general election budget with his own money--because he is simply not that rich.
++She thinks his tax returns will show accounting vehicles and deductions that will make him look "tax-dodgerish". And he writes that he is imply not "liquid-rich".
++She believes his "self-funding" mirage is sheer political malpractice. She writes about how parties gather information and build databases for funding and get-out-the -vote efforts . But Trump bragging about first time votes,never harvested the information about them. He felt such data was over-rated.
++Stroessel points out that it's nine weeks to the convention and Trump needs cash as of yesterday. Major GOP donors are still on the sidelines and he has approved a SuperPac.
++Meanwhile Steady Hillary has raised more than $213 million. Her Superpac has banked another $67 million and she has started a joint fund with the DNC which has already raised $60 million. And Trump is just starting.
++Stassel writes that Trump costed through the primaries on over $2 billion in free media. She doesn't think he'll get the same in the general. Let's hope not.
++Strassel blames Trump for this because he did not lay down the groundwork necessary for the general election. She believes the decision may now prove his biggest hurdle to the White House.
++She says that in hindsight Trump's decision to "self-fund" was brilliant politically but foolish. Besides,she writes,of the $47 million pent through March,$11 million came from other people's money and $36 million was a loan from the candidate which he expects to get from the fund-raising for the general election.
++Stroessel said it was always true that Trump didn't expect to cover the general election budget with his own money--because he is simply not that rich.
++She thinks his tax returns will show accounting vehicles and deductions that will make him look "tax-dodgerish". And he writes that he is imply not "liquid-rich".
++She believes his "self-funding" mirage is sheer political malpractice. She writes about how parties gather information and build databases for funding and get-out-the -vote efforts . But Trump bragging about first time votes,never harvested the information about them. He felt such data was over-rated.
++Stroessel points out that it's nine weeks to the convention and Trump needs cash as of yesterday. Major GOP donors are still on the sidelines and he has approved a SuperPac.
++Meanwhile Steady Hillary has raised more than $213 million. Her Superpac has banked another $67 million and she has started a joint fund with the DNC which has already raised $60 million. And Trump is just starting.
++Stassel writes that Trump costed through the primaries on over $2 billion in free media. She doesn't think he'll get the same in the general. Let's hope not.
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