Donald Trump - Merged

[JMO]

Has anyone else read the blistering piece by his former adviser that resigned from the campaign?  Awesome. 

http://occupydemocrats.com/2016/03/28/trumps-top-strategist-just-quit-wrote-brutal-open-letter-trump-voters/

[sawasdee]

8 minutes ago, JMO said:

Has anyone else read the blistering piece by his former adviser that resigned from the campaign?  Awesome. 

http://occupydemocrats.com/2016/03/28/trumps-top-strategist-just-quit-wrote-brutal-open-letter-trump-voters/

All I can say is ....WOW! And this is from an insider in his campaign. PLEASE let it have enormous publicity, on network tv, in the serious press, and - yes - on the net. She is telling it like it is from an insider point of view, and what she describes is not only despicable, but also unelectable if people know the truth.

[felinefundie]

1 minute ago, sawasdee said:

All I can say is ....WOW! And this is from an insider in his campaign. PLEASE let it have enormous publicity, on network tv, in the serious press, and - yes - on the net. She is telling it like it is from an insider point of view, and what she describes is not only despicable, but also unelectable if people know the truth.

I don't think a lot of people will care too much about it if they see that "occupy democrats" is in the url. Granted, it has been picked up by other fluff article-type places, but it'll still just be considered liberal propaganda. Which is unfortunate because I read the letter and she doesn't endorse any particular party, in fact, it's pretty clear she's a conservative. And it really is a great and eye-opening piece that Trump supporters SEVERELY need to read. 

Also, if she does get a lot of mainstream publicity from this, the Donald will most likely try to sue her. Because free speech is only okay if it's racist in some way and not against him. 

[sawasdee]

15 minutes ago, felinefundie said:

I don't think a lot of people will care too much about it if they see that "occupy democrats" is in the url. Granted, it has been picked up by other fluff article-type places, but it'll still just be considered liberal propaganda. Which is unfortunate because I read the letter and she doesn't endorse any particular party, in fact, it's pretty clear she's a conservative. And it really is a great and eye-opening piece that Trump supporters SEVERELY need to read. 

Also, if she does get a lot of mainstream publicity from this, the Donald will most likely try to sue her. Because free speech is only okay if it's racist in some way and not against him. 

Can she disseminate this without the Democrat label? It needs to be read, and the fact that she IS a conservative lends it more gravitas. This is an important article from a conservative insider, detailing how Trump's 'campaign' seems to work. And how his policies boil down to 'what is good for Trump'.

He is very frightening. He steamrollers opposition by shouting them down, not by reasoned argument. And let us not forget him saying he would pay legal fees for any supporter who fell foul of the law - perhaps by beating them, or targeting them for violence outside the meeting hall.

Does anyone remember a candidate offering to pay legal costs for illegal acts in the last 50 years?

I am in my sixties, and I have not been so scared by politics in my entire life - and yes, I was at antiwar demos in London in the 60s (I was actually at CND marches in the 50s in my pram!), at pro miner demos in the 70s and 80s, at anti apartheid demos at the same time, and many more. I stood in Trafalgar Square outside South Africa House as part of the permanent vigil. I felt then we had a chance to fight back, but he reminds me too much of politicians from an earlier part of the twentieth century, when protest led to violence, and clampdowns on protesters - and eventually the outlawing of protest.

He is VERY frightening!

I wrote my undergraduate thesis on the rise of dictators in the 1920s and 1930s. Too many echoes.

[apple1]

I read the entire piece. I have a short response.

Ms. Cegielski,

What took you so long to see this? It's too late; you helped create (not the Donald - he did that himself) the current Republican disaster. Own your piece of it.

Unfortunately, this won't make the disaster go away.

[caszandra]

@sawasdee, I'm with you, the man scares me and what he could do if god forbid he actually won. The excuses are already happening to explain away the letter, this quote comes from a Trump supporter in the comments under the article.

This woman was a Cruz mole in Trump's camp and was fired.

 

In other news Trumps campaign manager has been charged with assault. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-35919863

[felinefundie]

1 minute ago, sawasdee said:

Can she disseminate this without the Democrat label? It needs to be read, and the fact that she IS a conservative lends it more gravitas. This is an important article from a conservative insider, detailing how Trump's 'campaign' seems to work. And how his policies boil down to 'what is good for Trump'.

He is very frightening. He steamrollers opposition by shouting them down, not by reasoned argument. And let us not forget him saying he would pay legal fees for any supporter who fell foul of the law - perhaps by beating them, or targeting them for violence outside the meeting hall.

Does anyone remember a candidate offering to pay legal costs for illegal acts in the last 50 years?

I am in my sixties, and I have not been so scared by politics in my entire life - and yes, I was at antiwar demos in London in the 60s (I was actually at CND marches in the 50s in my pram!), at pro miner demos in the 70s and 80s, and many more. I felt then we had a chance to fight back, but he reminds me too much of politicians from an earlier part of the twentieth century, when protest led to violence, and clampdowns on protesters - and eventually the outlawing of protest.

He is VERY frightening.

I agree. I don't have any memories of really ever being able to fight back, though. The first election I remember was in 2000, and it didn't really seem like the people had much of a choice in that one (if what I remember from my highly political mother is accurate, it didn't seem that way, at least).  This is the first presidential election I'm able to vote in, and I am legitimately terrified. 

 I don't think there is a single other person who is as likely as Trump to destroy our constitution and our basic rights during his presidency. Trump loves to silence people. The first amendment will be the first to go, followed quickly by most of the rest. Soon, we'll be left with just our second amendment rights, which, ironically, were mostly included IN CASE of dictator-run government so that the citizens would have a means of protecting themselves against the government. That won't really be the case these days, unfortunately. Of course, this is a dystopian view of things and hopefully even if he does win the presidency the bureaucratic processes will temper his crazy a bit before anything becomes law. But the fact that a completely dystopian future is less of a sci-fi fantasy and more of a less-probable-but-still-possible eventuality says a lot as to how scary he actually is. 

*takes off conspiracy theorist hat*

[AmazonGrace]

Here's a link without democrats in the title 

http://www.xojane.com/issues/stephanie-cegielski-donald-trump-campaign-defector

 

(Not sure it's any better for some supporters as there's sex , fashion and booze in the topics heading and people might think it's just some fluff.)

[sawasdee]

You do know he claims he has only one advisor on all topics - himself!

I have said above too many echoes of 20s/30s dictatorships.

These came about because too many people DID NOT VOTE.

Please, please, please, get your friends and family to vote . This may be the most important election since 1948 in the US.

[AmazonGrace]

 

Interesting. He can raise the dead? 

[sparkles]

So maybe I was right after all when I said Trump really didn't want to be president, he was just in it for the ego stroking. It could be that all of this is part of an orchestrated meltdown and he'll eventually bow out, claiming to take the "high road." Who knows? The only thing predictable about Trump is his unpredictability. Whatever else, he's certainly done a number on the Republican party AND the country as a whole. I'm sure he's positively orgasmic over all of this though.

[Ali]

This is an interesting article about Trump's support from evangelicals:

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/where-is-trump%E2%80%99s-evangelical-base-not-in-church/ar-BBr52QJ?li=BBnb7Kz

Quote

But evangelical support for Cruz and Carson, who are grouped because of their close association with evangelicalism and moral conservatism, was higher among those who attend church more frequently. In contrast, Trump did best among evangelicals who are never, almost never or only occasionally in the pews.

Quote

Trump performed worse among devout evangelicals than among non-devout evangelicals.

I was a little shocked that he was getting so much support from evangelicals, but this explanation helps to clear it up for me.

Quote

A considerable literature on religion and politics suggests that evangelicals who attend worship services irregularly tend to have less formal education and lower incomes than more devout evangelicals. They tend to care less about moral and cultural issues and vote more on the basis of economic concerns. In some cases, they are less tolerant of religious and racial minority groups.

 

[EyeQueue]

7 hours ago, sawasdee said:

<snip>

He is very frightening. He steamrollers opposition by shouting them down, not by reasoned argument. And let us not forget him saying he would pay legal fees for any supporter who fell foul of the law - perhaps by beating them, or targeting them for violence outside the meeting hall.

Does anyone remember a candidate offering to pay legal costs for illegal acts in the last 50 years?

 

I'm no legal scholar, but isn't this similar to "you can't cry 'fire' in a crowded theatre" type thing? Isn't he basically inviting precisely these types of attacks, and can't he be helped responsible if something does happen?

It sure seems like crying "Fire!" in a crowded theatre to me.

A theatre full of whack jobs.

ETA: I just looked at this nitwit's Twitter feed. Does any human being use "I" or "me" or "mine" or "my" more frequently than this narcissistic a-hole uses it? I'm not exaggerating when I say he appears to think he's God.

[Howl]

I read this woman's letter with a very critical eye.  She calls herself a policy wonk

Quote

Almost a year ago, recruited for my public relations and public policy expertise,

and yet it took her this long to see Donald Trump for who he really is?  In her line of work, she could hardly have been a political naif.  Or maybe it didn't really matter to her initially because he was supposedly a protest candidate (see the end of my post) who never intended  to get the nomination and she had a high paying, high profile job.  Or something.  Perhaps at this point she also needs to explain away her position because he really is that vile and it's now a career liability to be associated with him, so smart move for her. 

But, as a political communications operative, she knows how to lay out her argument, starting by being sympathetic to her intended audience and getting them to identify with her:   "I was once like you..." and then going on to explain how she became disillusioned.  

Whatever her motives, I do appreciate her laying out exactly what's at stake here and I hope the letter gets Yuuuuuuge traction among Trump supporters.  

Quote

I sat in Trump Tower being told that the goal was to get The Donald to poll in double digits and come in second in delegate count. That was it. The Trump camp would have been satisfied to see him polling at 12% and taking second place to a candidate who might hold 50%. His candidacy was a protest candidacy.

But I also think this is absolute total and complete bullshit.  A protest candidate (Bernie Sanders, for example) cares deeply about and is knowledgeable about......something.  Donald Trump, from day one, was and remains, a VANITY candidate.  He has no concept of domestic or foreign policy or even politics. Zip. Zero. Nada.   When she says this, 

Quote

I sat in Trump Tower being told that the goal was to get The Donald to poll in double digits and come in second in delegate count. That was it.

it confirms what I always assumed:  Donald Trump was running either a long con or a short con strategy.  It was always meant to consolidate his business stature and increase his leverage -- it wasn't about being president.

[Justme]

I know a few Donny supporters. They have a few things in common.

They HATE Obama. I mean with a passion. They have hated him from day 1. They pretty much hate the Democratic party and think they bring in "illegals" solely for the purpose of more Democratic votes. They don't see how a "normal" person could possible vote Democratic.

They hate all Muslims. They think they should be banned from our country. (While championing their right to guns, free speech, and the constitution.) I've tried to talk to some reminding them that you can't paint everyone with the same brush. And that it's like saying the KKK represents all Christians. Reply: It is not!!!

Donny has truly brought out the "ugly" in a lot of folk....

 

[Howl]

2 hours ago, Justme said:

Donny has truly brought out the "ugly" in a lot of folk....

This.  So sad for our country. 

[samira_catlover]

Folks, no matter what your political affiliation and/or country of residence: Borrow or buy a copy of the novel It Can't Happen Here (Sinclair Lewis)---it is absolutely terrifying to see parallels.

[apple1]

Best line from last night:

Trump: "But he started it..."

Anderson Cooper: "That's a 5 year old's answer."

Yay for Anderson.

[sawasdee]

http://us.blastingnews.com/news/2016/02/donald-trump-kicks-out-30-black-students-from-campaign-rally-for-standing-silently-00816077.html

WTF? Isn't this discrimination? And isn't that illegal? And WTF were Secret Service agents doing removing people for the crime of being silent while black?

FFS - this is getting worse and worse.

And have you seen his latest pronouncement on abortion rights?

http://us.blastingnews.com/news/2016/03/donald-trump-considers-punishment-for-women-with-abortions-send-to-illegal-places-00856759.html

Moving himself more to the evangelical right.......

[47of74]

And now Trumpenfucker is showing what a pig he can be;

thonline.com/news/national_world/article_de13618c-5c5f-5f25-bda1-893a616fc1d9.html

Quote

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump said today that women who get abortions should receive "some form of punishment" if abortion is banned, without elaborating on what that punishment should be.

In a heated exchange with MSNBC host Chris Matthews at the taping of a town hall in Green Bay, Wis., Trump described himself as "pro-life with three exceptions." He has said many times that he is in favor of exceptions in the case of rape, incest and when the life of the mother is at risk.

When asked whether abortion should be banned, Trump replied, "There has to be some form of punishment."

Pressed by Matthews on the nature of that punishment, Trump responded, "I haven't determined what the punishment should be."

 

[samira_catlover]

And less than three hours later, Trump reverses his statement. For crying out loud, I'm getting windburn from the alternating hot-air gusts!

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/31/us/politics/donald-trump-abortion.html

>>Gov. John Kasich of Ohio, one of Mr. Trump’s rivals for the Republican nomination, also promptly disagreed.

“Absolutely not,” Mr. Kasich told MSNBC, when apprised of Mr. Trump’s remarks. “I do have exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother, but of course women shouldn’t be punished.

“Look, you know — I think probably Donald Trump will figure out a way to say that he didn’t say it or he was misquoted or whatever, but I don’t think so,” Mr. Kasich added. “I don’t think that’s an appropriate response, and it’s a difficult enough situation than to try to punish somebody.”<< (bolded emphasis mine)

Think Kasich nailed it on this.

[SpoonfulOSugar]

I keep hoping that *THIS* (whichever this, this is) will be enough to finally move people away from Trump in a big way.  And, alas, he's even more Teflon than Reagan.

What will it take to get people over him?

[Mela99]

How is this real life!?

[doggie]

Well everyone is against trump on this even pro lifers and the GOP this guy just pissed off almost everyone man it must be a new record. The guy has no clue about what to say.

[Ali]

1 hour ago, SpoonfulOSugar said:

I keep hoping that *THIS* (whichever this, this is) will be enough to finally move people away from Trump in a big way.  And, alas, he's even more Teflon than Reagan.

What will it take to get people over him?

I am beginning to think that nothing will get his supporters to turn on him. I was just listening to one of his supporters on CNN. Her name is Kayleigh. I can't remember her last name, but she is on CNN all the time. She excused his statement about abortion by claiming he was just confused and she said he had a really good policy on abortion. I really don't get how he could get away with as much as he has.