Who is going to win this election in November?

[JeffinOakland]

The very idea that anything that isn't white, Christian, straight, traditional, patriarchal and spoken in English is "unamerican".

 

[auntiehill]

^Exactly. Backwards-looking revisionism--in love with the all-white, all-male controlled, all-straight, all-Christian America which never actually existed in the first place. They seem to labor under the delusion that "Leave It to Beaver" was documentary. This group can't cope with the fact that the country is moving forward--socially, technologically, culturally, economically. They are angry about being left behind but they, in many cases, are the very ones who put themselves there in that position in first place. Their fear, hatred, ignorance and incredibly narrow view of the world is what put them there.

 

[HaventGotALife]

The very idea that anything that isn't white, Christian, straight, traditional, patriarchal and spoken in English is "unamerican".

Who anointed them the keeper of American culture?

So, if I dress myself in the American flag, watch Fox News and have a twitter account, frame a copy of the Constitution, buy a shotgun and display it under my Constitution, and have my barefoot wife, in a flower-print house dress, cook me a hamburger and apple pie, serve it up on a checkered table cloth, crack a cold one, say "AMERICA!" and "IN GOD WE TRUST!" like I am cheering for a sports team, and ignore her to watch my favorite baseball games, I can run for President?

That's all it takes to be an American?

How about a commitment to freedom--in all its forms--like being against banning a religion (Islam) or a immigrants from a country (Mexicans) from the United States (Donald Trump)? Or understanding that you cannot say "I will defend the Constitution...except for that part about having 9 unelected judges determine if laws are Unconstitutional, or not? (Ted Cruz)" How about defending ALL of the Bill of Rights, the ones that give "criminals more rights than victims," to protect the innocent, accused of a crime? How about READING the Federalist Papers, STUDYING the case-law surrounding the Constitution, and knowing more about American history, than what is said during a Fourth of July celebration? How about knowing more about World History than what is stated in the Bible and more about Democracy, than what you learned in 2nd grade?

What about American Values of Freedom, Optimism, Hard Work, Equality, Justice, Intelligence, Prudent Use of Force, Fiscal Responsibility, Never Trusting Power, and Cooperation?

I want a mind--the smartest kid in whatever room he or she walks into--in that office. I want someone with a track-record and nerves of steel. I want someone who can see the whole picture on the world stage, uses diplomacy before guns to solve any problem, has the vision for a brighter tomorrow in this country, and can manage a team of smart people. I want someone who works tirelessly, and has the arrogance, he or she can make this world a better place in 4-8 years. I want someone who knows how to bring people together. I want communication skills. I want someone who loves this country, and ALL the people, that reside in its borders. I want someone with compassion and empathy. I want someone who understands that they are not God, they are not always right, and assemble a team that sees things in their blind spots. I want someone in that office who is a leader. Because that is what a great President does, and I am in-search of the next, great President.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

But that would go against "right wing" thinking wouldn't it?

Isn't it all about capitalism and "adapt and survive?"

What Gov Kodos said:

Extreme right wing thought generally has a strong thread of xenophobia and distrust of anything that smacks of internationalism.

 

[LS650]

I feel sorry for American voters. A nation of 330 million people, and these two are the best the two mainstream parties could put forward..?

Awful.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

I feel sorry for American voters. A nation of 330 million people, and these two are the best the two mainstream parties could put forward..?

Awful.

People need to stop using this false equivalency like they're remotely comparable choices. Yes, Hillary has a lot of problems, as have many other presidential candidates in the past, but she's a proven public servant and there's not a possibility that she'll destroy the country if she becomes President, unlike Trump.

Trump is so far beyond the pale of what has come before in terms of instability, bigotry, incapability to perform the job, willful ignorance of world and domestic events and laws, terrible and vague policy proposals, disloyalty to political supporters and American values, and narcissism and lack of empathy. He's not qualified to be president of a lemonade stand, much less a country.

 

[Pingfah]

Yes, in many ways they never had it easier. No hand wringing over this one, for anybody with even a shred of common sense.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

People need to stop using this false equivalency like they're remotely comparable choices. Yes, Hillary has a lot of problems, as have many other presidential candidates in the past, but she's a proven public servant and there's not a possibility that she'll destroy the country if she becomes President, unlike Trump.

Trump is so far beyond the pale of what has come before in terms of instability, bigotry, incapability to perform the job, willful ignorance of world and domestic events and laws, terrible and vague policy proposals, disloyalty to political supporters and American values, and narcissism and lack of empathy. He's not qualified to be president of a lemonade stand, much less a country.

Quoted for truth. I agree completely.

 

[fonzob1]

I find it interesting that Hillary did not address the national debt in her speech at the DNC. I wonder what her policy to handle the issue will be if she is to become President.

 

[MANT!]

Something I agree with wholeheartedly

From Jim Wright.

https://www.facebook.com/Stonekettle?fref=nf&pnref=story

was severely on the fence before this, because I really had big reservations about HRC. But I must admit - while I still have my reservations about HRC..."


Let's stop right there.

You SHOULD have reservations about Clinton.

Even if you're a huge Hillary Clinton fan. You should have reservations.

You should have reservations about Trump -- even if you are a flag-waving gun-humping make-America-great-again Stormtrumper.

Those of you who seem to think Bernie Sanders is perfect and without flaw, you people should have reservations too. If you don't, you're verging on glassy-eyed religious belief -- and that ought to scare the hell out of you.

If you don't have reservations about the people who want to run this country, then you really don't understand what Citizen means.

In a healthy democracy, you should have reservations about EVERY potential leader.

As a responsible citizen, you should regard every candidate, especially yours, with healthy -- HEALTHY -- skepticism. And you should know the difference between healthy skepticism and fanatical intransigence, between skepticism and conspiracy theory, and you should be able to adjust your perception based on new data as necessary even if it cuts against your grain.

As a responsible citizen, it is your duty to demand answers to the tough questions at every single opportunity. And you should demand it of your surrogates as well. That -- that right there -- is the entire and only reason for Freedom of the Press as enumerated in the First Amendment. This is something those running modern media seem to have forgotten in large regard. Any politician who is offended and outraged by being questioned in detail by the press is categorically unfit to hold office in our republic.

As a responsible citizen, you should view every promise made by every candidate, ESPECIALLY yours, as probable bullshit until proven otherwise by actions. You should demand of your candidate full and detailed plans for keeping those promises once in office, including the consequences. (Note: it is also your duty as citizens to have a realistic grasp of reality and understand when promises can't be kept for pragmatic reasons and not be a goddamned child about it).

As a responsible citizen of the Republic, you should have reservations about your candidates. Every single one. Every single time.

You don't owe these people anything else.

THEY owe YOU.

As a citizen of the United States of America, your loyalty should be to your fellow citizens, to your nation, to humanity, to civilization, and to the ideals incorporated into the Constitution, not to individuals, not to political parties, not to demagogues of whatever stripe -- this is a republic, not a monarchy.

If you have reservations about somebody who wants to run this country, GOOD, you should.

That's the first step to making this world a better place.

 

[danellis]

No 3rd-party candidate has ever won an American election, and very few have even made a dent. They don't have a chance.

Forgive an ignorant Brit, but how exactly do elections work in the US? Is it even possible for a third-party nominee to end up as President?

While I'm asking noobie questions: who gets to vote in the primaries? Is there anything to stop, say, Reagan voting in a Democratic primary to try and weaken them come the General?

dJE

 

[Locutus of Bored]

So, let's see what the Hateful Cantaloupe has been up to lately:

First he threw a crying infant out of his rally, because there's only one crying infant allowed to speak at a time.

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Then he refused to endorse Paul Ryan and John McCain against their Republican primary challengers despite both of them reluctantly endorsing him, because they've both had to act as public apologists for his horrific behavior which petty wimp Trump can't stand. Trump also took another dig at McCain's support for veterans, which might mean something if it weren't coming from a draft-deferring for fake injuries asshole who withholds charity funds raised for veterans by the public through his fraudulent foundation.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...ryan-john-mccain-republican-primary/87970700/
http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/20/opinions/neiweem-trump-mccain-veterans/

Then he treated being given a Purple Heart by a veteran with all the respect of catching a Pokemon:

"Something very nice just happened to me. A man came up to me and handed me his Purple Heart," Trump told supporters at a campaign event here. "I said to him, 'Is that like the real one or is that a copy?'
"I always wanted to get the Purple Heart. This was much easier," Trump said.
Trump then pocketed the decoration after the veteran left the stage.
The New York Times reported Monday that Trump received multiple student deferments and a medical deferment for a bone spur during the Vietnam War, successfully avoiding getting drafted into service.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/02/politics/donald-trump-purple-heart/
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/purple-heart-recipient-blasts-trump/story?id=41075856

So, Trump always wanted to be wounded in combat, or does he just not understand what the Purple Heart is awarded for? I'm going for the latter. But hey, why should the potential President of the United States know basic facts about the soldiers he will be commanding?

Then Trump said if his daughter was sexually harassed at work (and she has been, by her own creep father/boss) like Roger Ailes harassed female Fox News anchors, she should just quit her job and go elsewhere. This was followed by Patrick Bateman Eric Trump victim blaming women who are sexually harassed in the workplace by saying if they were stronger they wouldn't have let it happen to them.
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2016/08/02/3804114/trump-sexual-harassment-advice/

Then after treasonously trying to get the Russian government to subvert the election process by hacking his rivals, Trump starts putting out feelers about how the election is rigged to cover his ass if he loses, to draw in disaffected Bernie Bros, and to stoke his already angry and violent base to action:
http://www.vox.com/2016/8/2/12342600/trump-rigged-clinton-steal-election

Also, still no tax returns from Trump. Does he not want us to see his debts that the Russians are financing for him?

 

[Gov Kodos]

Forgive an ignorant Brit, but how exactly do elections work in the US? Is it even possible for a third-party nominee to end up as President?

While I'm asking noobie questions: who gets to vote in the primaries? Is there anything to stop, say, Reagan voting in a Democratic primary to try and weaken them come the General?

dJE

Is it even possible for a third-party nominee to end up as President? Sure, but election rules and regulations so vastly favor Republicans and Democrats, especially at a national level, that it's very unlikely.

who gets to vote in the primaries? Eligible voters. The primaries are where candidates for the party's presidential hopeful are chosen. Generally, you have to be registered as a member of the party to vote in the party's particular primary.
https://votesmart.org/education/presidential-primary

Is there anything to stop, say, Reagan voting in a Democratic primary to try and weaken them come the General? Death?

But seriously, the primaries have no effect on the general election other than selecting the candidates. All eligible voters can vote for any candidate they wish including writing in one of their own choosing in the general election.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

I find it interesting that Hillary did not address the national debt in her speech at the DNC. I wonder what her policy to handle the issue will be if she is to become President.

“I think that our rising debt levels poses a national security threat. And it poses a national security threat in two ways. It undermines our capacity to act in our own interests and it does constrain us, where constraint may be undesirable. And it also sends a message of weakness internationally.”
8 September, 2010: Clinton remarks on the national debt at the Council on Foreign Relations

“There’s just a pattern here, where the other side continues to use the same old tired policies. They don’t work and then Democrat presidents have to come in and fix what was broken. I have this old-fashioned idea that, you know, you ought to look at the evidence and if you look at the evidence at the end of Bill Clinton’s two terms, we had the longest peace-time expansion in American history, with 22 million new jobs, a balanced budget and a surplus that would have paid off our national debt had they not been so rudely interrupted by the next administration.”
3 July, 2015: Hillary Clinton remarks at Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H.

 

[fonzob1]

“I think that our rising debt levels poses a national security threat. And it poses a national security threat in two ways. It undermines our capacity to act in our own interests and it does constrain us, where constraint may be undesirable. And it also sends a message of weakness internationally.”
8 September, 2010: Clinton remarks on the national debt at the Council on Foreign Relations

“There’s just a pattern here, where the other side continues to use the same old tired policies. They don’t work and then Democrat presidents have to come in and fix what was broken. I have this old-fashioned idea that, you know, you ought to look at the evidence and if you look at the evidence at the end of Bill Clinton’s two terms, we had the longest peace-time expansion in American history, with 22 million new jobs, a balanced budget and a surplus that would have paid off our national debt had they not been so rudely interrupted by the next administration.”
3 July, 2015: Hillary Clinton remarks at Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H.

Bill Clinton did have help from a Congress that stiff-armed federal spending. But, even so, you are suggesting that Bill Clinton's economic policies will equate to Hillary Clinton's economic policies? I recall similar claims made about Obama's economic policies when he was running in 2008, but his policies fell way short of making a dent in the national debt.

I think our debt will be a sticking point for many voters this time around, and Hillary didn't even mention it during her acceptance speech. Still a lot of opportunity for both candidates to get ahead during the debates though.

 

[JeffinOakland]

If Clinton can stay on point and not let herself be baited, she should be fine. This ain't her first rodeo.

 

[Tora Ziyal]

I want a mind--the smartest kid in whatever room he or she walks into--in that office. I want someone with a track-record and nerves of steel. I want someone who can see the whole picture on the world stage, uses diplomacy before guns to solve any problem, has the vision for a brighter tomorrow in this country, and can manage a team of smart people. I want someone who works tirelessly, and has the arrogance, he or she can make this world a better place in 4-8 years. I want someone who knows how to bring people together. I want communication skills. I want someone who loves this country, and ALL the people, that reside in its borders. I want someone with compassion and empathy. I want someone who understands that they are not God, they are not always right, and assemble a team that sees things in their blind spots. I want someone in that office who is a leader. Because that is what a great President does, and I am in-search of the next, great President.

Amen! Beautifully said. (The only small thing I might phrase differently myself is that I want someone who has the confidence, not arrogance, that he or she can make the world better, etc. Picky distinction, I know, but arrogance comes with some negative baggage.)

Forgive an ignorant Brit, but how exactly do elections work in the US? Is it even possible for a third-party nominee to end up as President?

Possible, but not likely. What the so-called third parties need to be doing now in order to be viable at the national level in a few years is working on getting elected at the local and state levels. I'm actually planning to vote Green for mayor of my city this year. First time I've voted third party. But nationally I'm #BernieSupporterForHillary.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/08/18/trump-s-oreo-boycott.html

He is not a very nice person

 

[Kai "the spy"]

Maybe it's all just an act and Trump is really the greatest Dadaist performance artist ever.

 

[J.T.B.]

I recall similar claims made about Obama's economic policies when he was running in 2008, but his policies fell way short of making a dent in the national debt.

Message for you:

THERE WAS A GLOBAL ECONOMIC CRISIS STOP
REPUBLICANS IN CONGRESS SUCCESSFULLY OPPOSED FURTHER STIMULUS BILLS STOP
US PUBLIC SPENDING CUT DURING GREAT RECESSION FOR FIRST TIME IN MODERN MEMORY STOP
ECONOMISTS AGREE FIGHTING DEFICIT SHOULD BE DONE WHEN ECONOMY STRONG STOP
BUT GOP CONGRESS ACCOMPLISHED MISSION AND DENIED PRESIDENT WIN STOP