After Rupert Murdoch and Jerry Hall, another match made in heaven
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After Rupert Murdoch and Jerry Hall, another match made in heaven
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/poli...icle-1.2091124
Since Palin's back in the spotlight I wanted to refresh our collective memories about her speech giving ability sans teleprompter. It's only a 58 second clip so please watch. Holy shit!
This is from Palin's speech honouring Trump
“He is from the private sector, not a politician – can I get a ‘Hallelujah!’ Where, in the private sector, you actually have to balance budgets in order to prioritize, to keep the main thing, the main thing, and he knows the main thing: a president is to keep us safe economically and militarily. He knows the main thing, and he knows how to lead the charge. So troops, hang in there, because help’s on the way because he, better than anyone, isn’t he known for being able to command, fire!”
What is "the main thing"?
Here it is... :whistle:Quote:
Originally Posted by martin48
Attachment 909776
There is no SECOND CHOICE after Trump. .......Cruz, Rubio, Carson, Christie.............The Republican Establishment is drinking heavily.
I think all those ILLUSIONS they've been peddling to the masses have bit them on the ass.
If Hillary can avoid getting indicted, I'm predicting a cakewalk to the White House.
It gets better and better
Donald Trump is ‘nominated for Nobel Peace Prize’ for 'vigorous peace through strength ideology'
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/pe...-a6850636.html
I would say on the Republican side, the race now is to see who can get Jeb's DONORS.
Trump's got ten months to explain to his admirers how he's going to humanely drag 11 million Illegals back to El Border.
Even Fox listeners have a limit how much they'll swallow.
You're right on the money there, Bush has dropped out.Quote:
Originally Posted by buttslinger
It's true - politicians rarely have a respectable moral compass: Exhibit A - combination of hurt feelings and naked thirst for a cabinet position create this: http://www.nytimes.com/video/us/poli...ald-trump.html
That's huge! They'll have to widen the cabinet doors for that one.
The New York Times in the past week has produced two articles, one of which exposes the rift on policy between Trump and the GOP in Congress; the other on the state of despair in the GOP over Trump's success.
The former notes the cleavage between Trump and the GOP on issues such as illegal immigration, eminent domain, planned parenthood, Israel and energy. In the other article, the institutional shortcomings of the party are exposed, to the extent that it appears to have no real respected or authoritative voice not taking part in the election who can distance the party from Trump.
That Trump appears to have got ahead of Rubio by receiving Chris Christie's endorsement should in fact raise eyebrows the other way, given that Christie once mocked Trump as a 'childish whiner who couldn't be President', and, best of all 'Showtime is over. We are not electing an entertainer-in-chief'. No wonder Atlantic City is in decline.
Who knows, looking ahead, we may yet be allowed to ponder a President Ryan in the White House, albeit not a Jack one.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/25/us...pgtype=article
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/28/us...can-party.html
What has me baffled are the rules the RNC has for selecting their Presidential candidate at the National Convention. Using a byzantine form a proportional representation still makes it possible for Trump to arrive at the Convention with the majority of delegates from the Primaries and Caucuses, but lose at the Convention as those delegates can switch their vote after the first ballot and there is a contest between two or three candidates. I have included the Rules and Regulations of the GOP where you can lose yourself in admiration at the ability of this party to strangle the English language, or take this snippet from the Wikipedia explanation-
Texas is the second-most populous state and a GOP stronghold. Its delegation would consist of 155 members, as follows:
- Texas is allowed 10 delegates under the at-large rule.
- The chairperson of the Texas GOP, the state national committeeman, and the state national committeewoman each count as one delegate, for a total of three delegates.
- Texas has 36 members in the House of Representatives; thus, Texas is allowed 108 delegates (36 * 3) under the House membership rule.
- As Mitt Romney carried Texas in the 2012 United States Presidential Election, and as Texas has 38 electors (36 House members plus its two Senators), Texas is allowed 4.5 delegates under the at-large provision plus an additional 22.8 delegates (38 * 60%), for a total of 27.3 (4.5 + 22.8), rounded upward to 28 delegates.
- Texas is allowed the following additional delegates as follows:
- One additional delegate as the current Governor of Texas (Greg Abbott) is Republican.
- Of the 32 current members of the House, 20 are Republicans; thus, one additional delegate under this provision.
- As both houses of the Texas Legislature are controlled by the GOP (98-52 in the Texas House of Representatives and 20-11 in the Texas Senate) and both chambers are presided over by a Republican (Joe Straus as the Speaker of the House and Dan Patrick as Lieutenant Governor, which presides over the Senate), two additional delegates (one for having any chamber meeting the criteria, and one additional for having both chambers meet the criteria).
- As both United States Senators from Texas are Republicans (John Cornyn and Ted Cruz), and as both have been elected within the past six years, two additional delegates.
The Texas delegation would thus consist of 10 + 3 + 108 + 28 + 1 + 1 + 2 + 2 = 155 members.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republ...nvention#Texas
https://s3.amazonaws.com/prod-static..._S14090314.pdf
Ironically the GOP extracted from Trump the promise that he won't abandon the party and make an independent run; the 'great' deal-maker should've negotiated in return a commitment from the GOP that they wouldn't abandon him.
It will be interesting to see what Donald Trump's promise means if the delegates switch their vote after the first ballot. As much as I think Trump would be the worst possible president, he would have an argument to run as an independent if the GOP ignored the will of their constituents.Quote:
Originally Posted by trish
I don't know anything about the labyrinthine process Stavros outlined above (perhaps I should take a civics class...or perhaps parties should adopt a nomination process that is more straightforward and sensible).
I'm not sure what the point is of having an alternate contest at the convention, except to reconcile the difference between what Republican voters and Republican leaders want. Perhaps it was designed this way with people like Trump in mind, who might win the vote of party members but not move the party in a direction the leadership is comfortable with. But couldn't such a person always cannibalize votes as a third party candidate?
If Trump has the prerequisite delegate count and is somehow denied the nomination then the GOP will get a shellacking in November that will exceed the '64 Goldwater contest. It's precisely the perception of establishment "fixing" that has made the Trump candidacy viable and has made the opposition look so pathetically weak.
Until yesterday, when I watched the whole of Mr Romney's diatribe against Mr Trump, I had never heard of Trump Steaks ($199 for a pack of 12 burgers? Seriously?) Trump Vodka, or Trump Ice and had only vaguely heard of Trump University, so I have found a breakdown of the various Trump businesses for those who want to know, and it is here-
http://www.businessinsider.com/trump...4-10?op=1&IR=T
Most people in the UK reckon he's a senile twat..........Quote:
Originally Posted by rodinuk
here in the UK, Trump is a euphanism for fart.........Quote:
Originally Posted by Stavros
Last night on the BBC2 Newsnight programme, there was an item in which Donald Trump's (alleged) relationship with the New York Mafia -specifically, the Genovese clan- was explored, including an interview first aired in 2013 with 'The Don' which was cut short by the wise guy when the questions got a bit too hot, particularly in relation to a man called Felix Sater, his former adviser of whom 'the Don' claimed he wouldn't know if he saw him in a room. In the programme it was alleged that the concrete for Trump Tower in Manhattan was purchased from a firm owned by 'Fat' Tony Salerno of the Genovese crime family, although the S&A company was jointly owned with the Gambino family, headed by 'the Don' Paul Castellano.
The links will whet your appetite. Maybe it is a pity neither Ted Cruz nor Marco Rubio refused to endorse Trump should he win the nomination, but at what point will these allegations become part of the campaign to prevent 'the Don' from becoming 'the President'?
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/wo...w-8695855.html
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/07/31/po...ump-mob-mafia/
Im a londoner and secretly hoping he gets in. The world will be totally different and more interesting for one thing. America would be at war home and abroad. At home, a war against illegals, latinos, mexicans who will have to prove they are not illegals once the wall has started to be built. The same with muslims who maybe in interned just to make sure they are not terrorists at the borders as well as at home. The will be more black deaths by cops and security , because he wont support at all 'black lives matter' beleiveing instead 'all lives matter' so cops would get a green light to do as they please with stiffer sentences for rioting blacks. America will start more wars and invasions abroad and guantanamo bay is more likely to be expanded
All sounds good to me. Why not take Britain out of the EU as well, then the EU will start to fall apart. We can all have those European wars, like in the old days, then who cares what's happening in the US.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NRT
I think NRT is about "spot-on". Why are so many American citizens giving this psychopath the belief he could actually govern the US?
How "fucked-up" is the US for people wishing him into power? I've never visited the States but I would love to, not sure if I would dare if this "nutter" was in charge though! Would I be allowed in?:yayo:
Here's the answer
I like him. He is actually smarter than you think. If Donald Trump is President and the UK come out of the Euro then I will think all my Christmasses canme at once!!!
Chloe x
Trump won the primary in my home town. I walk down the street, greet my neighbors and a shiver runs down my spine.
This sums it up. The rules don't apply. You can now be the silliest looking guy in the room , but still have have the balls to insult everyone on their appearance. You can be totally rude and everyone calls it refreshingly un-PC. You can have zero answers to any questions...as a matter of fact, not even bother to brush up and learn ANY policy what-so-ever.Quote:
Originally Posted by trish
You can basically just be a fourth grader:
http://nypost.com/2016/03/17/donald-...reading-level/
That's rilly not raising the bar very high! :hide-1:Quote:
Originally Posted by sexyasianescorts
FACT: The Republicans have used their position to suck the blood out of everything they could reach for the last 25 years.
Politically speaking, it is no lie that The Republicans have been the cause of every single bad thing that is happening now, even the weather.
Bur fear not, the power of love is greater than the love of power. And Karma is saying Trump exists because the GOP was already on it's back gasping for air. Ted Croz??? Are you kidding me?
There is nothing wrong with business. There is nothing wrong with Wall St. Nothing a Criminal Court couldn't solve.
The Heavy Lifting for Hillary is going to be grabbing Republican Hearts and Minds while the price is so low. There's going to be a lot of disillusioned Republican voters this Thanksgiving. Hillary should start appearing at speeches with a side-arm and Bible. And reduce the price of gas to a dollar a gallon. You would see lots of Americans marching in the New Democratic Parade.
To my perverted Brit Distant Cousins:
The USA is roughly the same size and the same population as all of Europe. While being in charge of all of Europe would be impossible for one man (except almost Hitler) Americans do have the luxury of being quite a powerhouse on those rare occasions when Bernie's Vermonters see eye to eye with Cruz's Texans.
I have no doubt that Melania's panties are sopping wet after meeting all those rich powerful men, and being on TV, and dreaming of redecorating the White House.
I'm thinking of that scene from Goodfellas when the John Gotti character takes the Joe Pesci character into a garage to make him a made man. What happens between Trump and the GOP is going to be great TV. There will be blood.
An interesting statistic from the New York voting with regard to Donald Trump (link to quote below):
As of 1 April, there were only 2.5 million registered Republican voters in the state of New York (less than half the number of registered Democrats), and last night, just 480,000 of those Republicans voted for Trump.
The long and winding road to Cleveland...
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2...elegate-counts
Perhaps the Guardian is trying to down play it... but that's a lot.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stavros
Considering usual voter turnout , especially in primaries where many voters already know what the results are likely to be (New York is a pretty easy State to guess the results in...normally.)
Roughly the turnout for the Democrats was about the same, percentage wise -
http://www.bustle.com/articles/15573...ores-of-voters
If you then look at the results, Trump actually did better much better than Clinton. He won every county except Manhattan (which surprised me a tiny bit) while Hillary Clinton predominantly won New York City, and a handful of others -
http://www.nytimes.com/elections/results/new-york
A fair comment and correction to perceptions and stats, which are not my strong point anyway. Thanks. Not sure it gives Trump much chance against Clinton if they face off in November. A lot can happen between now and then.
Here's my quick anectodal observation of the now inevitable Clinton-Trump contest.
Many of my friends and family might not be so eager to admit their Trump preference in public discussion. There's still a certain stigma attatched to being "Trump people." But the polls might underestimate the sheer rage of the electorate towards anything status quo. These surveys show Hillary with an advantage that might not show up on Election Day in November
Do you think that voter turn out for Trump may swing states his way? If the campaign is toxic, as I think it could be, that might provoke more people to vote than usual, so that indeed it could be closer than polls currently suggest. I think another rogue factor is people switching their vote from one side to the other, as I think Trump appeals to some Democrats but some Republicans might either note vote or even vote for Hillary. Hard to say as Trump still has to get through the Convention. Guess it all depends on how determined the RNC is to block his nomination or create an impasse for a 'White Knight' to emerge.
Voter turnout might be a real wildcard in this one. Emotions for and against Trump are running on hyperdrive and it's hard to figure which side will be motivated the most.
The New York Times has been reporting on the Trump campaign's search for funds for the General Election, on the basis that as Trump funded his own campaign for the party nomination, he thinks the Party should stump up money for the General Election campaign. What I wonder, and I don't know the answer to this, is whether or not Trump's 'grassroots support' will translate into 'grassroots organization'. The question is, how far do 'boots on the ground' help win Presidential elections? We are familiar with the way in which Obama won the 2008 election, and Trump, who owes his fame to The Apprentice rather than any record of success in business, has name recognition, but it has already been noted in the Primaries that his organization on the ground was inferior to Ted Cruz's campaign. I wonder if at election time, there is face-to-face canvassing by candidates and their supporters, if this is more likely for local officials or Congressional representatives and Senators, and if the Presidential hopeful can piggy-back on them.
I make this point because I have been canvassed for vote by a party worker twice in the last 30 years, I think outside of marginal constituencies in the UK nobody bothers to canvass any more, and all we get is one leaflet and the assumption that if you want to know who the candidate is you find them online.
Will 2016 be the first truly 'electronic' election?
From an 'Exclusive' report in today's Telegraph in the UK (the quote is from the second link):
A Telegraph investigation has revealed how Donald Trump signed off on a controversial business deal that was designed to deprive the US Government of tens of millions of dollars in tax. The billionaire Republican presidential nominee approved a $50 million investment in a company – only for the deal to be rewritten several weeks later as a ‘loan’.
Experts say that the effect of the restructuring was to skirt vast tax liabilities and court papers seen by the Telegraph allege that the deal amounted to fraud.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016...ps-presidenti/
Full story is here-
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016...deprive-us-of/
I don't know if this is a deal breaker or something Trump will shrug off and kick into the long grass. One wonders if in the worst case scenario, both Mrs Clinton and Mr Trump could spend most of their Presidential campaigns in court-rooms rather than debating rooms...this is shaping up to be a most curious election -for non-Americans.
Interesting article (the longer one). It seems most experts think it was an equity investment labeled as debt to avoid taxation.
But it says that the tax avoidance was not Trump's but the partners of Bayrock. I have a feeling that the onus of this would not fall on him....it does show either a somewhat negligent or a dishonest character but he's unlikely to be held liable and his campaign will probably be unaffected.
What I find fascinating is how a man who has spent literally decades courting the establishment and is both a proven liar and the son of a millionaire can successfully present himself as anti-establishment. It's like Nigel Farage over here claiming he's a man of the people and worried about immigration. Not only is he privately educated, he's an ex-stockbroker (neither of which come with any working class creds) and married to a German, who, as an immigrant, would, if he got his way, be denied entry to the UK. His own wife? Wtf?
Trump is so much a part of the establishment that I'm staggered that even he can claim so brazenly that he's against it. Yet millions of Americans are falling for it. I'm not in any way trying to resurrect the old nonsense about all Americans being thick, because that's absurd, what I'm saying is I don't understand how a man can so blatantly present one image whilst standing for something else and yet still be the front-runner. "I'm a peaceful man, I absolutely do not condone violence, but if you oppose me I'd love to punch you in the mouth and I'll not only bomb ISIS I'll commit a war crime by bombing their families too, oh shit someone's coming for me, run awaaayyy!!"
For some reason, everything normal has been turned on its head and makes no sense whatsoever.
It is, however, deeply disturbing that your two front runners are such clearly flawed and worrying characters. I'm no fan of Trump, but Clinton strikes me as equally dangerous from the opposite perspective - someone who will both say and do anything for power, who seems to regard anything but her own succession as somehow against nature.
What's happening in the world? It's not just an American problem, look at what happened in the Austrian elections at the weekend, look at what's happening in Poland right now, look at the rise of the far right in France and Spain and even Germany again (and if that's not scary I really, really don't know what is!)
A useful clarification, as I imagine Trump has advisers and lawyers and knows what is beyond the law and what lies inside it however obscure the dividing line might be, and presumably with regard to both Trump and Clinton their enemies will hope that if they throw enough shit at the fan some of it will eventually stick, though one wonders if there will ever be an extensive debate on real policy issues like education and housing. It is not about whether or not one likes them, but whether or not they can be proven to have broken the law. Wait and see is all we can do.Quote:
Originally Posted by broncofan
The nuanced reply would be that Trump for all his White House and DC dinners is outside the political establishment, indeed, has no experience of political office, as was true of Ross Perot whom few people remember, probably for a good reason. The interesting consequence is that if Americans are exhausted with a system that has failed them, with machine politicians who slot into Republican or Democrat and do broadly the same thing, and thus vote Trump for real change, what happens when Trump also fails to deliver, on jobs, on security, on economic growth? I suspect the key election for the USA will be in 2020 by which time either the centre will have produced responsible politicians with popular appeal and realistic visions, or the extremes will come into play. Although there is more violence than usual on the campaign trail (or so it seems), nothing so far has come close to the Democrat Convention in Chicago in 1968, albeit that was held during the Vietnam War at a time when the US population was beginning to turn against it. But yes, there is an ugly tone to much of this violence and it is worrying that Trump is not distancing himself from it. But over the next month or so he is going probably to move to the centre and sound less frightening than at the start of his campaign.Quote:
Originally Posted by makerandmodder
The latest 24 HR news cycle is Obama claiming foreign leaders are "rattled" about the prospect of a Trump presidency. Trump's predictable response is essentially 'hell yah'
I can only hope Obama stops the pro-Trump rhetoric