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Post by Cranky on Feb 28, 2016 5:13:02 GMT -5
The Republican party is going to let Trump be their presidential candidate? Have they lost their marbles? The guy is about the very worst presidential candidate in living memory and given Clintons weakness, they have a near guarantee to take the white house with Rubio, but nope, they have to shoot themselves in the head. I get the "protest vote", but which part of compromise candidate are they not getting? Which part of no Republican in the White house for another 4 years....or 8 years....or within their lifetime are they missing? Which part of this is going to be catastrophic for the Republican party are they missing?
I'm not thrilled that we elected our Little Prince, but it's a million times better then Greeks, twice voting in honest to goodness commies and wondering why their economy went from basket case to Mogadishu Lite. Or the Americans who are about to choose between an untrustworthy power monger and a bad hair piece.
Politics....sheesh......
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Feb 28, 2016 23:24:51 GMT -5
... Rex Murphy is brilliant ... |
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Post by Cranky on Feb 29, 2016 6:49:50 GMT -5
I partially agree with Rex, but i think he glossed over one of the major reasons. American politics are becomming increasingly polarized and those currently on the outside are willing to bring it, well, actually burn it to the ground.
It started when the internet became the means to join and express ones "anger" about politics. It fed and polarized both sides of the spectrum to a degree that simply was not possible before the internet. One had to be pretty committed to find like minded people and literture/media. Now, click a button and all the garbage of the world is right there....to incite to whatever level. Worse still, there are political players who deliberatly use the net to profit and push their agenda. Any number of sites will confirm ones political bias....or hate.
If that's not bad enough, main stream media is also getting into the act. Advertisers will favor the media that sells to a profitable target audience. You want the millenial market? Play to their wants, needs and politics. Needless to say, you can't hide the bias and what happens that those who don't agree feel ever more left out and marginalized....and angry.
Trump is the product of a multiple issue protest vote and damn the consequences. Not much different from Greeks voting for communist, The "I'm fed up and i wont take it anymore and I'm willing to burn the whole thing down" vote. Which of course gives rise to ever more extreme politicians and power mongers ready to feed on it with inane populist rhetoric.
It's no different in Canada, but nowhere near the American level of vitriol. At least not yet. All we need is some economic stress and tone deaf politicians playing to their target audience while ignoring the "made in Canada" center.
Anywho....I'm hoping the Republican brain trust figure out a way to get rid of the clown before he turns politics into an even more dangerous, free for all circus. Particularly in a country that had a civil war...and the populace armed to the teeth.
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Post by BadCompany on Feb 29, 2016 8:50:03 GMT -5
The internet is perhaps the greatest invention in the history of the world. Not only does nearly everyone have unprecedented access to just about any information they could possibly want to have, but everyone has a voice, to share whatever information they could possibly want to share. The power to win friends and influence people has never before been so easily accessible.
On the other hand, the internet may be the worst invention in the history of the world. Not only does nearly everyone have unprecedented access to just about any information they could possibly want to have, but everyone has a voice, to share whatever information they could possibly want to share. The power to win friends and influence people has never before been so easily accessible.
Human beings were not really designed for critical thinking. I mean, we can do it, but it's not just that easy. It's a whole lot easier to simply make a few key decisions, and then follow whoever happens to seem to have the same ideas. And if they agree with me on x,y, and z, then I guess it makes sense that I should agree with them on a,b and c, right? Through necessity humans evolved with a pack mentality.
I have this app on my phone, called Pocket. Which I LOVE. For those that don't know it, this app allows you to save any article you want to the e-reader of your choice (in my case a Kobo, though it could be a Kindle). So while I'm browsing the internet, or Twitter, or whatever, if I see an article that seems interesting, but which is really too long for the 47 minutes I spend sitting on the can (twice daily!), then I just click “Save to Pocket” and I can read it later on a bigger screen, at my leisure. Like during my nightly three hour bubble bath. Like just about everything in the internet world now, it also has targeted advertising; it's “Recommended for you” feature. Which very quickly I came to notice sure seemed pretty specific. See, I really got into that whole “safe area” thing on US college campuses, and thought that these kids were pretty entitled, sheltered, and naive. So I read a lot of articles that talked about how US colleges kids were pretty entitled, sheltered, and naive. Until one day I realized that I had never heard the other side. I just assumed my opinion was correct, and through confirmation bias I, well, confirmed my biases.
Confirmation bias, also called confirmatory bias or myside bias, is the tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms one's beliefs or hypotheses, while giving disproportionately less consideration to alternative possibilities.
Which basically just describes the internet, and our current Western political system.
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Post by franko on Feb 29, 2016 9:36:04 GMT -5
Human beings were not really designed for critical thinking. I mean, we can do it, but it's not just that easy. It's a whole lot easier to simply make a few key decisions, and then follow whoever happens to seem to have the same ideas. And if they agree with me on x,y, and z, then I guess it makes sense that I should agree with them on a,b and c, right? Through necessity humans evolved with a pack mentality. critical thinking? I'd just like to see some people think, period. |
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Post by Skilly on Feb 29, 2016 9:42:24 GMT -5
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Feb 29, 2016 17:41:41 GMT -5
I partially agree with Rex, but i think he glossed over one of the major reasons. American politics are becomming increasingly polarized and those currently on the outside are willing to bring it, well, actually burn it to the ground. Actually, I think he addressed that by suggesting that had real, professional politicians had the spines to do their jobs in the first place, guys like Trump wouldn't have been taken seriously ... I'm not sure how glossed over any areas, certainly not intentionally ... This is quite good ... the "Access to Information Era" can be a negative tool as well as a positive one ... They've been in the act since before the internet ... it was back in 70's-Ottawa when I realized that the owners of the Ottawa Citizen were traditionally Liberal ... the Ottawa Journal eventually went under, but it provided a more conservative opinion ... Sun Media is traditionally right-wing ... There aren't enough true "made in Canada" people out there, HA ... as you already pointed out, (the majority) of people have been polarized ... Yes, Rex Murphy pretty much said this in a different way ... had there been enough professional politicians who actually addressed some of the issues you've cited, buffoons like Trump wouldn't be a factor ... by the way, I know of one effective politician who's getting the job done ... be sure to check out Ruth Ellen Brosseau ... she never showed up for any debates and she couldn't speak French very well but she was elected by a very pissed off electorate ... the thing is she's been reelected because of what she brings to the people in her riding ... people voted her in again because she connects to them ... she has the same modest roots ... and there was a reason the NDP under Jack Layton did so well in 2011 ... people especially in Quebec had had enough of the traditional lip service ... The American political process is a joke on the international and internal stages ... what do you have after Trump? ... Jeb Bush? ... mark my words, he's got the money to get in eventually ... on the other side is Hillary Cinton and Bernie Saunders who kind of reminds of the American version of Layton ... Cheers. |
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Post by seventeen on Feb 29, 2016 18:53:48 GMT -5
Human beings were not really designed for critical thinking. I mean, we can do it, but it's not just that easy. It's a whole lot easier to simply make a few key decisions, and then follow whoever happens to seem to have the same ideas. And if they agree with me on x,y, and z, then I guess it makes sense that I should agree with them on a,b and c, right? Through necessity humans evolved with a pack mentality. critical thinking? I'd just like to see some people think, period. I for one, think critically of many people. |
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Post by Cranky on Mar 1, 2016 10:59:28 GMT -5
The internet is perhaps the greatest invention in the history of the world. Not only does nearly everyone have unprecedented access to just about any information they could possibly want to have, but everyone has a voice, to share whatever information they could possibly want to share. The power to win friends and influence people has never before been so easily accessible. On the other hand, the internet may be the worst invention in the history of the world. Not only does nearly everyone have unprecedented access to just about any information they could possibly want to have, but everyone has a voice, to share whatever information they could possibly want to share. The power to win friends and influence people has never before been so easily accessible. Human beings were not really designed for critical thinking. I mean, we can do it, but it's not just that easy. It's a whole lot easier to simply make a few key decisions, and then follow whoever happens to seem to have the same ideas. And if they agree with me on x,y, and z, then I guess it makes sense that I should agree with them on a,b and c, right? Through necessity humans evolved with a pack mentality. I have this app on my phone, called Pocket. Which I LOVE. For those that don't know it, this app allows you to save any article you want to the e-reader of your choice (in my case a Kobo, though it could be a Kindle). So while I'm browsing the internet, or Twitter, or whatever, if I see an article that seems interesting, but which is really too long for the 47 minutes I spend sitting on the can (twice daily!), then I just click “Save to Pocket” and I can read it later on a bigger screen, at my leisure. Like during my nightly three hour bubble bath. Like just about everything in the internet world now, it also has targeted advertising; it's “Recommended for you” feature. Which very quickly I came to notice sure seemed pretty specific. See, I really got into that whole “safe area” thing on US college campuses, and thought that these kids were pretty entitled, sheltered, and naive. So I read a lot of articles that talked about how US colleges kids were pretty entitled, sheltered, and naive. Until one day I realized that I had never heard the other side. I just assumed my opinion was correct, and through confirmation bias I, well, confirmed my biases. Confirmation bias, also called confirmatory bias or myside bias, is the tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms one's beliefs or hypotheses, while giving disproportionately less consideration to alternative possibilities.Which basically just describes the internet, and our current Western political system. I invited all the HabsRus poster to share your bubble bath. Hope you don't mind..... I agree on confirmation bias and it was the background meme of my post. One of the things I didn't touch on was that's not only the internet now, it's also social media that feeds the stupidity. One can follow ones favorite hater every thought, 24/7. And just for good measures, you can organize a meet at the local KKK or fabricated outrage rally at a moments notice. On balance over the last 20 years, the intelligent, moderate middle is getting book-ended by the extremes. I would argue that it's feeding on itself and growing, but even if one can argue that it was always there, at least it had limited to no means of expression/organization. Readily available media for confirmation bias breeding ever more tribalism. I think it's going to get worse....a lot worse.... |
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Post by Cranky on Mar 1, 2016 11:20:15 GMT -5
The American political process is a joke on the international and internal stages ... what do you have after Trump? ... Jeb Bush? ... mark my words, he's got the money to get in eventually ... on the other side is Hillary Cinton and Bernie Saunders who kind of reminds of the American version of Layton ... Cheers. I like Rubio. Unfortunately, he's going to get the usual anal examination and negative spin from some the biased media. There was nothing wrong with Romney either. Biased media.....well, CTV was starting to lose ratings so their solution was to appeal to a younger segment of the market. So from their programming to their news, they shifted to target millennials. Rogers is going to pay big dollars to advertise their new stupidity expensive I-phone to whom? A retiring baby boomer who is happy with a positively archaic i-phone 3? Again, blame the internet for all this. The old print and airwave media is losing out to the internet and the only thing they can counter with is to be more focused on a narrower, targeted market. Out with the old soft bias, in with the new and much more profitable hard bias. |
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Mar 1, 2016 11:48:19 GMT -5
The American political process is a joke on the international and internal stages ... what do you have after Trump? ... Jeb Bush? ... mark my words, he's got the money to get in eventually ... on the other side is Hillary Cinton and Bernie Saunders who kind of reminds of the American version of Layton ... Cheers. I like Rubio. Unfortunately, he's going to get the usual anal examination and negative spin from some the biased media. There was nothing wrong with Romney either. Biased media.....well, CTV was starting to lose ratings so their solution was to appeal to a younger segment of the market. So from their programming to their news, they shifted to target millennials. Rogers is going to pay big dollars to advertise their new stupidity expensive I-phone to whom? A retiring baby boomer who is happy with a positively archaic i-phone 3? Again, blame the internet for all this. The old print and airwave media is losing out to the internet and the only thing they can counter with is to be more focused on a narrower, targeted market. Out with the old soft bias, in with the new and much more profitable hard bias. Man, I haven't watched CBC or CTV in a long, long time ... the American news agencies are a joke too ... they just pump people full of enough fear that clowns like Trump really do look like saviors ... the internet? ... a friend of mine recently told me that the internet is generally a negative place and I wholeheartedly agree with that ... Cheers. |
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Post by Polarice on Mar 1, 2016 12:42:39 GMT -5
I was talking to some American friends the other day and the conversation led to Trump. They commented that a lot of Americans are very tired to having to be politically correct all the time. They feel they are loosing the America they grew up loving. Immigrants are coming over looking to change their country to suit them. The promises that trump is making to bring back the old America is very attractive to them.
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Mar 1, 2016 14:32:24 GMT -5
I was talking to some American friends the other day and the conversation led to Trump. They commented that a lot of Americans are very tired to having to be politically correct all the time. They feel they are loosing the America they grew up loving. Immigrants are coming over looking to change their country to suit them. The promises that trump is making to bring back the old America is very attractive to them. Bumped into three Americans who were on a fishing vacation in North Bay ON last summer ... I mentioned Trump and I got three thumbs up ... Cheers. |
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Post by seventeen on Mar 1, 2016 16:00:38 GMT -5
Gotta start calling him Donald Drumpf. Prick the balloon.
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Post by seventeen on Mar 1, 2016 16:07:05 GMT -5
I was talking to some American friends the other day and the conversation led to Trump. They commented that a lot of Americans are very tired to having to be politically correct all the time. They feel they are loosing the America they grew up loving. Immigrants are coming over looking to change their country to suit them. The promises that trump is making to bring back the old America is very attractive to them. Well, unless those Americans are indigineous peoples (and even they had someone else before them, probably), those Americans had ancestors who were immigrants themselves and changed the country to suit them. Not that such a reasonable argument would ever go over well anyway, but it points out the bias in people. The US is a melting pot. Get over it. I seriously wonder what Drumpf would do in office? He can't just fire the Senate or House, so he wouldn't get his way. He could spout all he liked but a president's powers are limited. I think there's a fair chance he'd just quit. He doesn't seem like the kind of guy who could tough anything out. He's a bully, and they're typically cowards. I'd certainly hate to see him making any kind of foreign policy decisions. It wouldn't take 6 months and the US would be at war with someone, probably Putin. Nah, I think he'd just get frustrated and quit. |
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Post by Skilly on Mar 1, 2016 16:19:06 GMT -5
I was talking to some American friends the other day and the conversation led to Trump. They commented that a lot of Americans are very tired to having to be politically correct all the time. They feel they are loosing the America they grew up loving. Immigrants are coming over looking to change their country to suit them. The promises that trump is making to bring back the old America is very attractive to them. They claim it's politically correctness they don't like ... I fear it's something else entirely. I mean, David Duke, is supporting Drumpf and Drumpf claims he knows nothing about him or white supremacy. Yeah, right. Drumpf is constantly changing his stance on everything yo suit who he is talking to, and offering no policy whatsoever. And the right wing nuts in the US don't care, they just want "their America" back. Remember the last time the US led the way to build a wall between countries? That didn't work out so well ... |
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Post by seventeen on Mar 1, 2016 16:31:05 GMT -5
We're up to two, Skilly. I see a wave of momentum building to call Mr Drumpf's hand.
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Post by Cranky on Mar 1, 2016 17:13:54 GMT -5
I was talking to some American friends the other day and the conversation led to Trump. They commented that a lot of Americans are very tired to having to be politically correct all the time. They feel they are loosing the America they grew up loving. Immigrants are coming over looking to change their country to suit them. The promises that trump is making to bring back the old America is very attractive to them. He IS connecting with the the protest vote, but he's un-electable. Which means that the protesters are backing a dead horse....and going to get even MORE of what they are protesting about. Perceived or real. Harper was not my ideal prime minister, but he was more of what I wanted in key economic/political issues...while dead to me on some social issues. So I compromised and voted for him. Compromise. Greater good. But this is just zipping over these delegates head. These idiots are looking for the proverbial shotgun to blow things up politically and completely ignoring the fact that they will never, NEVER get their shotgun passed the much greater volume of independents. Which part of the 20% of the electorate does not get to decide are they missing? Which part of compromise are they not getting? Back Rubio and they had a guy that saw some of the same issues the way they see it and most likely the next president. Back Trump and all you get left is the hot air.....and even more of the same. Tonight it's all over. Their actions tonight will cement what they don't want or like for a generation. In fact, FAR more of what they don't like/want. They are just too stupid to see it. |
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Post by Cranky on Mar 1, 2016 17:25:09 GMT -5
I was talking to some American friends the other day and the conversation led to Trump. They commented that a lot of Americans are very tired to having to be politically correct all the time. They feel they are loosing the America they grew up loving. Immigrants are coming over looking to change their country to suit them. The promises that trump is making to bring back the old America is very attractive to them. Well, unless those Americans are indigineous peoples (and even they had someone else before them, probably), those Americans had ancestors who were immigrants themselves and changed the country to suit them. Not that such a reasonable argument would ever go over well anyway, but it points out the bias in people. The US is a melting pot. Get over it. I seriously wonder what Drumpf would do in office? He can't just fire the Senate or House, so he wouldn't get his way. He could spout all he liked but a president's powers are limited. I think there's a fair chance he'd just quit. He doesn't seem like the kind of guy who could tough anything out. He's a bully, and they're typically cowards. I'd certainly hate to see him making any kind of foreign policy decisions. It wouldn't take 6 months and the US would be at war with someone, probably Putin. Nah, I think he'd just get frustrated and quit. Trump is NOT backed by the majority of Republicans. They see him exactly for what he is. He had about 30% of the delegates when he started, which in a field of a dozen, is a majority. On a field of two, that makes him a joke. The problem was and is that you have other power mongers now thinking that it's better to make peace with him then to get into his cross hairs. Are you kidding me? I rather they blood let and get rid of him before he does even more damage. Permanent damage. Going back, Trump threatened to start a third part and split the right vote. They thought just to let him run and his brand of crazy he would fizzle out. It happened before with the religious vote. But nope. His bs stuck on the wall. Now, they have an even bigger problem on their hands. One that threatens the entire party. I have Republican friends in the US who are apoplectic at what is happening. They want Trump out of the party at whatever means possible. For them, the threat of Trump starting his own party would serve to purge the extreme end of the Republican party. Something they majority would welcome. Unfortunately, the power mongering elite let it happen.........because they underestimated just how far and how long a clown act can stay alive. Elite? Which part of communist winning two elections in Greece with 24% of the vote could they not see and fear? |
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Post by CentreHice on Mar 1, 2016 20:05:06 GMT -5
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Mar 1, 2016 21:23:56 GMT -5
I have Republican friends in the US who are apoplectic at what is happening. They want Trump out of the party at whatever means possible. For them, the threat of Trump starting his own party would serve to purge the extreme end of the Republican party. Something they majority would welcome. Unfortunately, the power mongering elite let it happen.........because they underestimated just how far and how long a clown act can stay alive. Elite? Which part of communist winning two elections in Greece with 24% of the vote could they not see and fear? Now that's interesting ... imagine Donald Trump starting up his own party ... what a business opportunity ... he'd sell indulgences shares if he felt he could make a buck on it ... the Republicans were on their way down before Obama took the reins and they only have themselves to blame for that ... I don't mind hearing the right-wing side every so often, but you can only pump so much fear into people before they just get tired of hearing about it ... the Democrats are slightly better ... Obama has done some very good things domestically but he's a bit of a putz on the international stage ... his economy is doing very well but the US doesn't have the international clout it used to ... I think that might hurt them eventually but this would be reversed under the Republicans ... they wouldn't have allowed Russia to have walked into Crimea or Ukraine ... however, their economies are probably the biggest victims of their own foreign policy ... Cheers. |
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Post by jkr on Mar 2, 2016 18:25:42 GMT -5
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Post by Cranky on Mar 2, 2016 23:38:35 GMT -5
MSN is hardly a neutral site, but still, Christie just ended his political career as a Republican....or a dog catcher. WTF was he thinking? Backing the clown has zero upside and yet. Rumours are, well rumours, that he's going to retract his support at a convention where in theory, it could be fatal. |
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Post by BadCompany on Mar 3, 2016 10:18:09 GMT -5
Christie may have been trying to position himself as a potential VP running mate for Trump. Trump did say he wanted a "politician" as his mate, an insider to the political system. That could have been Christie's logic. Heck, it may have been the GOP establishment "strongly encouraging" Christie to do so, just so they can maintain some relevance, and perhaps just a little bit of control should Trump actually win...
... which I actually think is a distinct possibility. Not because I think the American public actually wants Trump as President, but that outside forces might be salivating at the opportunity to influence the election. I'm thinking of ISIS, and Vladimir Putin.
I can see ISIS launching as many terrorist attacks inside the US as they can, which would influence the voters to turn towards the Republicans. Rightly or wrongly the right is always seen as being better able to deal with these sorts of things. Given that ISIS has as it's stated goal a desire to draw Western forces into a climatic Middle East battle (to thus bring about the apocalypse and salvation for all believers), having a wing-nut in charge who promises just that would be ideal for them.
Putin I could see getting involved because he's probably the most Machiavellian world leader around these days. He's positioned himself to re-take Syria as a satellite state, and he's been sabre-rattling at both the Baltic States (which one article I read said he could re-take within 36 hours) and perhaps more dangerously, Turkey. Turkey may be a NATO ally, but is Donald Trump really going to rush to the defense of a Muslim nation? Not sure what Putin's end-game is in this regards (the Dardanelles??), but having a de-stabilized America can only help him from a geo-political angle.
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Post by seventeen on Mar 3, 2016 11:30:32 GMT -5
Hopefully, someone will slip Putin a dose of Polonium. He's the greatest danger to 'us', than anything else in the world.
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Mar 3, 2016 12:17:14 GMT -5
I feel badly for the American voters ... I thought the federal political landscape in Canada was a mess, then I look at the choices our friends to the south have and I don't feel so bad (for us) ... it's not about professional politics in the US anymore ... as an outsider looking in, if you don't have the ca$h, you're not going to have a chance and that's too bad for many professional politicians ... now if they wanted to get serious about turning their country around, why not look at the success California governor, Jerry Brown, has had in his tenure ... the knock against him is that he's 77 years old, but he's still moving forward with the job ... imagine what he'd do in the Whitehouse ... Christie may have been trying to position himself as a potential VP running mate for Trump. Trump did say he wanted a "politician" as his mate, an insider to the political system. That could have been Christie's logic. Heck, it may have been the GOP establishment "strongly encouraging" Christie to do so, just so they can maintain some relevance, and perhaps just a little bit of control should Trump actually win... ... which I actually think is a distinct possibility. Not because I think the American public actually wants Trump as President, but that outside forces might be salivating at the opportunity to influence the election. I'm thinking of ISIS, and Vladimir Putin. I can see ISIS launching as many terrorist attacks inside the US as they can, which would influence the voters to turn towards the Republicans. Rightly or wrongly the right is always seen as being better able to deal with these sorts of things. Given that ISIS has as it's stated goal a desire to draw Western forces into a climatic Middle East battle (to thus bring about the apocalypse and salvation for all believers), having a wing-nut in charge who promises just that would be ideal for them. I like the theory because it's plausible and I'd go as far to say that it's being implemented in a few European countries right now ... it doesn't take a bomb to go off in order to stir the public ire ... just be a pain in the a$$ every moment you get and eventually you'll get the reaction you want from people ... it's a stategy they could use for just about any liberal-minded western society ... for what it's worth, if he does get into office, I don't see him as having the wherewithal to deal with something like this ... he's got the rhetoric and the money to back it up ... he's a wannabe and that's where I see Trump, anyway ... One theory for falling oil prices is to put the pressure on Russia's oil-based economy in retaliation to going into Ukraine/Crimea ... I don't know if that's actually the reason for it, but I also think Putin went into Crimea, Ukraine and Syria mainly because of a Whitehouse weakness ... he knows that Obama doesn't have the desire or the stones for dealing with something like this ... to be fair to Obama, I don't think the American public would have stood by for another military deployment so soon after being duped on Iraq (hands up, I was one of them) and also when they still have troops in Afghanistan (another broken promise some American friends like pointing out to me) ... however, it may not have taken a full military deployment to have stopped Putin ... had he stood up to him before Crimea, we might not be having this conversation ... ref Turkey: NATO already told Turkey that they won't support them in an armed conflict with Russia ... leaving the Muslim reference out of it, Trump would have to go against NATO in order to support Turkey and I don't think he'll do that ... unless there's a buck to be made, of course ... Cheers. |
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Post by Cranky on Mar 3, 2016 14:54:45 GMT -5
Christie may have been trying to position himself as a potential VP running mate for Trump. Trump did say he wanted a "politician" as his mate, an insider to the political system. That could have been Christie's logic. Heck, it may have been the GOP establishment "strongly encouraging" Christie to do so, just so they can maintain some relevance, and perhaps just a little bit of control should Trump actually win... ... which I actually think is a distinct possibility. Not because I think the American public actually wants Trump as President, but that outside forces might be salivating at the opportunity to influence the election. I'm thinking of ISIS, and Vladimir Putin. I can see ISIS launching as many terrorist attacks inside the US as they can, which would influence the voters to turn towards the Republicans. Rightly or wrongly the right is always seen as being better able to deal with these sorts of things. Given that ISIS has as it's stated goal a desire to draw Western forces into a climatic Middle East battle (to thus bring about the apocalypse and salvation for all believers), having a wing-nut in charge who promises just that would be ideal for them. Putin I could see getting involved because he's probably the most Machiavellian world leader around these days. He's positioned himself to re-take Syria as a satellite state, and he's been sabre-rattling at both the Baltic States (which one article I read said he could re-take within 36 hours) and perhaps more dangerously, Turkey. Turkey may be a NATO ally, but is Donald Trump really going to rush to the defense of a Muslim nation? Not sure what Putin's end-game is in this regards (the Dardanelles??), but having a de-stabilized America can only help him from a geo-political angle. It's hard to imagine how the clown is going to win when 70% of the Rebublicans think he is a clown. 70% of 25% of the overall voter base stay home, that's 18% of the overal voters turnout. Effectivly, even though they know it's Clinton time, they preffer that to permanent clown damage. The original problem with letting the clown through the door is that he appeals to a segment of their base. The Republican elites figured that he can take 10% of their 25% overall hard core if he started a party. So they counted on the clown and his mouth fizzling away, like clowns before him. Problem is, they underestimated how far that minority will go to air their grivience with the Republican party. So they are going to punish the party by......destroying any chance they will ever have of some of theie issues addressed. Not this lifetime or the next. It's not unprecedented. That is the exact same mentality that Greeks had when they voted for the cafe communist. In my area, life long right of center voters voted for those clowns through a range of stupid justifacation that went from, to punish the establishment to "it can't get any worse". Yes it can. Greece is now as econmically viable as a banana republic. Maybe less. Ask the voters who voted for them and you get...denial. It's not their fault. It's never their fault. If they were heard before, they wouldn't of done it. Tell the same to support the hair piece clown, explain how their actions will permanantly shift the US towards the policies they despise and you will get the same the same "it's not my fault, they caused it. It's a cry to feel relavent. To be heard. They feel empowered. Essentially, they are reliving their terrible twos. Their struggle for relevance and independence by saying no....is by voting no. Crazy. |
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Post by Cranky on Mar 3, 2016 15:25:11 GMT -5
I feel badly for the American voters ... I thought the federal political landscape in Canada was a mess, then I look at the choices our friends to the south have and I don't feel so bad (for us) ... it's not about professional politics in the US anymore ... as an outsider looking in, if you don't have the ca$h, you're not going to have a chance and that's too bad for many professional politicians ... I think you don't think highly of Rubio but he's better then the clown or Ms. GimmePower.....by leaps and bounds. He's not very committed to the social end of conservatism and rather put it to the side for the greater good. He's more in line with Harper on many fronts. If they can drown the clown, he is going to be the next president. If they can't, it's going to be bad or nightmare. |
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Mar 3, 2016 16:39:11 GMT -5
I feel badly for the American voters ... I thought the federal political landscape in Canada was a mess, then I look at the choices our friends to the south have and I don't feel so bad (for us) ... it's not about professional politics in the US anymore ... as an outsider looking in, if you don't have the ca$h, you're not going to have a chance and that's too bad for many professional politicians ... I think you don't think highly of Rubio but he's better then the clown or Ms. GimmePower.....by leaps and bounds. He's not very committed to the social end of conservatism and rather put it to the side for the greater good. He's more in line with Harper on many fronts. If they can drown the clown, he is going to be the next president. If they can't, it's going to be bad or nightmare. It's not that I dislike him, HA, but I haven't heard his name nearly as often as I have Hitlery Clinton or Donald-lacking-Trump ... heck, I've heard more of Bernie Saunders than I have of Rubio ... you sure he's got enough money to win ... just askin' ... Cheers. |
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Post by Cranky on Mar 3, 2016 17:06:42 GMT -5
I think you don't think highly of Rubio but he's better then the clown or Ms. GimmePower.....by leaps and bounds. He's not very committed to the social end of conservatism and rather put it to the side for the greater good. He's more in line with Harper on many fronts. If they can drown the clown, he is going to be the next president. If they can't, it's going to be bad or nightmare. It's not that I dislike him, HA, but I haven't heard his name nearly as often as I have Hitlery Clinton or Donald-lacking-Trump ... heck, I've heard more of Bernie Saunders than I have of Rubio ... you sure he's got enough money to win ... just askin' ... Cheers. Billions. Democracy is dead, welcome to big money, special interests and manufactured outrage. He's US version of Harper Lite. May not go over very well in Canada, but for the US, he's center right. Vs clown heavy and power lust. Sanders is left of NDP for Canada and downright commie for US middle America. Give or take a trillion.... If i was in the US, I'd be doing everything possible to help Rubio-Carson ticket. They are not "pure bred" politicians like Clintons nor fully bathed in ideology nor see themselves as entitled to power....coughTrudeaucough. i can see them spending sleepless nights agonizing over their decisions...just like the enormity and complexity of their decisions should be. Real people worrying that millions and billions of people lives rests in their hands. . |
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