TRUMP 2016

[Aimless]

No, he's only defending the guy who went after a dead soldier's mother and religion.

Yeah but Lewk's defending a guy who's defending...

[Aimless]

And from what I can tell this isn't just about party unity. It's probably also about sucking up to Trump.

[Lewkowski]

And from what I can tell this isn't just about party unity. It's probably also about sucking up to Trump.

Could be.

[Loki]

Wow you sure have gotten a lot more liberal in the last 8 years.

Trump was incredibly dumb here, he does that a lot. He's not a good candidate. That being said for politicians who are pushing for party unity they are going to back Trump, I'm not going to hold them in contempt for making a decision that Trump is better than Clinton.

No, the Republicans have gotten much crazier. I won't even say conservative. Can't even be trusted on trade and national defense anymore.

Everyone knows Trump says dumb things. But if you're a Republican, you should keep quiet. At the very least, don't support some of his dumber statements.

[Loki]

http://www.thedailybeast.com/article...nnon-hire.html

Not content to hire from Putin's friends, Trump is now hiring from white supremacist circles.

[Lewkowski]

http://www.thedailybeast.com/article...nnon-hire.html

Not content to hire from Putin's friends, Trump is now hiring from white supremacist circles.

How dare you attack a veteran and the family of a current military service member!

[Aimless]

What?

[Lewkowski]

What?

Read my previous exchange with Loki, it has all the context you need.

[Aimless]

http://wonkette.com/605699/jeff-sess...ent-black-kids

Everyone knows coloured kids don't play checkers! DEATH!!

[Aimless]

http://www.thedailybeast.com/article...ed-blacks.html

Jesus...

[Aimless]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...corner/?update

Clinton for president!!

[Loki]

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epo...tein-5952.html

For the "Trump has no chance of winning" people.

[RandBlade]

Clear and consistent Clinton leads, if you trust polls. Even Texas Dallas Morning News has endorsed Clinton.

[Loki]

Yeah, because if this election has taught us one thing, it's that Republican voters care about Republican elites.

And the trend has gone from Clinton up by 5-7% to Clinton up by 1-2%.

[Lewkowski]

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epo...tein-5952.html

For the "Trump has no chance of winning" people.

I picture you curled in a fetal position saying "I warned everyone! I warned them! They said Trump had no chance and see what happened? SEE WHAT HAPPENED?" :0

[Loki]

Well, my money is still on Clinton, but people need to be vigilant. We can thank the Electoral College (which strongly benefits Democrats at this point) for that.

[RandBlade]

Though my analysis that Trump is a dead candidate walking (barring a change) is precisely because the Electoral College has been taken into account. You can't dismiss the Electoral College and then reintroduce it as an "ah-ha" afterwards, that is why Clinton is a much stronger favourite than her 2% lead belies.

[Loki]

All it takes is for the polls to be wrong 3-4%, unlikely, but far from unheard of.

[Aimless]

http://www.vox.com/2016/9/8/12847184...o-gary-johnson

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...hat-is-aleppo/

Oh Gary. Oh Gary.

Fortunately, Americans are willing to go to great lengths in the defense of mediocrity. And, to be fair, Gary says he'd have the best advisors, just the best people around him

[Aimless]

And is Matt Lauer all right? Like, is he getting enough sleep? Eating enough vegetables?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...-donald-trump/

[LittleFuzzy]

http://www.vox.com/2016/9/8/12847184...o-gary-johnson

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...hat-is-aleppo/

Oh Gary. Oh Gary.

Fortunately, Americans are willing to go to great lengths in the defense of mediocrity. And, to be fair, Gary says he'd have the best advisors, just the best people around him

We are. My first thought when I heard about this was "well, Aleppo isn't Damascus. . ." Then I remembered that, oh yeah, he's the Libertarian candidate. Those guys don't really care if it's outside the US, they're all "beacon on a hill" types.

[Veldan Rath]

http://www.vox.com/2016/9/8/12847184...o-gary-johnson

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...hat-is-aleppo/

Oh Gary. Oh Gary.

Fortunately, Americans are willing to go to great lengths in the defense of mediocrity. And, to be fair, Gary says he'd have the best advisors, just the best people around him

I love how the press really doesn't care about Gary Johnson until he makes a mistake.

With all the crap Hillary and Trump have said...this is a campaign ender?

[Lewkowski]

I love how the press really doesn't care about Gary Johnson until he makes a mistake.

With all the crap Hillary and Trump have said...this is a campaign ender?

Not to sound conspiracy-like but in general the press loves big government. Be it of the Trump variety or the Clinton variety. People using power, the reigns of government to do big things interest them. People suggesting government do less... well those crazy people need to be laughed at! Gary doesn't stand a chance (even before this) but I do think the press appreciates the chance to make a mockery of him.

[Veldan Rath]

Not to sound conspiracy-like but in general the press loves big government. Be it of the Trump variety or the Clinton variety. People using power, the reigns of government to do big things interest them. People suggesting government do less... well those crazy people need to be laughed at! Gary doesn't stand a chance (even before this) but I do think the press appreciates the chance to make a mockery of him.

I'm gonna go less with the love big gov argument, and go with they are just in the bag for Hillary and are horrified that he is taking votes away from her. Every percentage point matters.

[wiggin]

We are. My first thought when I heard about this was "well, Aleppo isn't Damascus. . ." Then I remembered that, oh yeah, he's the Libertarian candidate. Those guys don't really care if it's outside the US, they're all "beacon on a hill" types.

This really bothers me, actually. Clinton, and to a lesser extent, Trump, represent foreign policy as dictated by a relatively bipartisan consensus in the postwar period. While there are obviously some subtleties that distinguish different philosophies, by and large most of the US political elite have embraced a vision of America as the indispensible nation that underpins postwar global security. It is at heart divorced from isolationism, even if on occasion our public mood swings back in that direction. Libertarians explicitly disagree with this consensus, instead advocating for a much more limited role for the US in the world. One would imagine, then, that they have a very good handle on the many crises brewing and would have a carefully thought out logic for US inaction rather than engagement (be it military or otherwise).

This isn't to say that they're wrong - in many cases the most prudent action might indeed be disengagement from a quagmire. But the point is that prudence requires knowledge and analysis, and just waving one's hands and using vague language to articulate and defend a fundamental shift in the US international posture is not going to cut it. I have often been disappointed with libertarians for their rather simplistic view of foreign policy, and Johnson is no exception. In one way, Trump actually shares some similarities here - he seems to be focused on transactional relationships with other countries, something that I think libertarians might be able to get behind (otherwise, though, I suspect they part ways in much of his other rhetoric). But the world can't be distilled down to a simple profit/loss ledger, nor can it be rationalized by a few pithy statements. It's messy, and complicated, and I wish that libertarians were able to impress me with their handle of these issues.

[Veldan Rath]

Gary is not an isolationist, but a non interventionist.

Again, this is what should cause his campaign to crash and burn?

This is also a city that the NY Times couldn't get right when trying to 'correct' him (twice),and a former ambassador and a rep to the UN as they were dog piling.

[wiggin]

Gary is not an isolationist, but a non interventionist.

Again, this is what should cause his campaign to crash and burn?

This is also a city that the NY Times couldn't get right when trying to 'correct' him (twice),and a former ambassador and a rep to the UN as they were dog piling.

I don't think this is a death knell for his campaign, any more than the much more obvious deficiencies in Trump as a candidate are. Most of the American public would probably have a similar response to a question about Aleppo. My issues is a broader one with libertarians - they are proposing a fundamental rethink of the way we pursue foreign policy but don't have a lot of substance to back it up.

[LittleFuzzy]

Gary is not an isolationist, but a non interventionist.

Again, this is what should cause his campaign to crash and burn?

This is also a city that the NY Times couldn't get right when trying to 'correct' him (twice),and a former ambassador and a rep to the UN as they were dog piling.

Oh get real, Veldan. His campaign isn't crashing and burning, it never started moving in the first place. You just had the prop fall off an obvious derelict, nothing more.

[Hazir]

I don't think this is a death knell for his campaign, any more than the much more obvious deficiencies in Trump as a candidate are. Most of the American public would probably have a similar response to a question about Aleppo. My issues is a broader one with libertarians - they are proposing a fundamental rethink of the way we pursue foreign policy but don't have a lot of substance to back it up.

Why so negative? You could try it this way 'New foreign affairs are new foreign affairs and we're going to make a success of them'. Soon enough all problems will go away and you can bring peace between the Jews and the A-rabs.

[Veldan Rath]

Oh get real, Veldan. His campaign isn't crashing and burning, it never started moving in the first place. You just had the prop fall off an obvious derelict, nothing more.

Then why are all the pundits cackling over this? Why was everyone bitching that he was taking votes from thier candidate if he wasn't going anywhere? In the mountain states he is polling high teens low 20's without the press talking about him.

Until now that is.