Since I watch Morning Joe every morning, I know that one of the biggest complaints that Republicans have had of Donald Trump is that he can’t stop tweeting. They’ve never had a presidential candidate like this, a guy who behaves like a 13-year-old on social media. The GOP establishment asks itself all the time, “Why can’t this guy get off Twitter?” And Donald Trump is like a human whack-a-mole of ineptitude: even if he gets off Twitter for a few days, that means he’s saying stupid sh-t in interviews or in the middle of a speech. So, with all of that in mind, what the hell does this mean?
They will soon be calling me MR. BREXIT!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 18, 2016
Does he mean that he’ll be getting credit for Brexit, which he didn’t even understand or know about a week before the Brexit vote? Is he saying that Brexit is amazing and he’s amazing, thus he’s Mr. Brexit? Does he think Brexit is a person, and if so, that Mr. Brexit is somehow going to make America great again? Or does Mr. Brexit mean that Trump is cutting and running from his own presidential ambitions? WHAT IS THIS RIDDLE?
Meanwhile, as I’m sure everyone has heard by now, Trump demoted his campaign manager Paul Manafort (after Manafort’s web of conspiracy with Russia grew even larger). It would be good news, except that Trump hired Stephen Bannon as CEO of the campaign. Within minutes of Bannon’s hiring, everyone was like, “Oh, isn’t he that white supremacist from Breitbart News?” Yes. He is. Bannon’s hiring is being called a “victory for alt-right white supremacists.” And that’s coming from people who worked with Bannon in the conservative media. The idea, it seems, is that Trump’s people are just going to “let Trump be Trump.” Or in this case, let Mr. Brexit be Mr. Brexit.
Oh, there’s video of Mr. Brexit too.
.@realDonaldTrump: I think I will be called "Mr. Brexit"https://t.co/DKLi8kFFhN
— FOX & Friends (@foxandfriends) August 18, 2016
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Has everyone watched this? Because it is amazing.
http://gawker.com/top-trump-attorney-on-universally-terrible-poll-numbers-1785424597
Everyone is wrong except them. Polls mean nothing and are rigged, they are the only “truth” in this campaign. (Insert extreme sarcasm)
Says who?
Says his supporters. One of them tried to provoke me the other day into admitting that Trump has ‘tapped into’ something and is very popular and it’s only the media that is bringing him down.
Sure. Tapped into what- hatred and bigotry? I don’t call that ‘populism.’
Were they rigged when trump was ahead?
@WATP, it was a joke mocking the guy in the interview.
I was listening to CNN on my drive home yesterday and heard this. I was laughing so hard.
Yuck…all around
Remember how everyone was shocked when Brexit actually happened, despite the fact that no one thought it would, because some thought their votes didn’t count and didn’t take it seriously? That’s what he means. That no one will take him seriously but will be shocked when he actually wins. In his mind, at least. It’s a scary thought, but I have faith and I don’t think he’ll win. Just VOTE, please.
I hate… I… I hate his face. So much.
Yes, I think that’s what he means too. He surely doesn’t mean that the ignorant racists who vote for him will do so as a protest vote against the establishment, and then instantly regret it when they realise they’ve destroyed their own country?
I believe you’re correct, although that’s an awfully complex thought for him. I was thinking he just thought the word was fun to say.
This. After somebody explained Brexit to him ,he thought it would be fun to say.
Well, he is a salesman of sorts, after all.
Agreed. He means that everyone is discounting him (and the people who’ll vote for him) but he’ll win in a “shock” result.
Hasn’t he been saying this for a week or two now? That the pollsters are somehow missing the demographics that’ll vote for him?
Well, he doesn’t understand the electoral system then, because it’s not a referendum. Even if it were held today, he’d lose even the popular vote.
Shambles – you are correct. He means that he is going to be a triumph over the established order. So, also, add in a flavour of “little person wins out over the unaccountable elites”.
As with Brexit, there seems to be no actual plan – fantasy walls aside – over what he would actually do with this victory. Aside from spend four years willy-waving while everybody else walks off in disgust. Which is what our leading Brexiteers seem to be doing currently.
Exactly! It’s not just about me disagreeing with everything he says, he really has zero clue as to how to make effective change In America. Everything he’s proposing is going to make the economy worse not better
The willy-waving is strong with this one.
I would like to believe that because it makes sense but part of me believes there is no sense left and this moron thinks the US is part of the EU or he wants to take it further and pull the US out of NATO and the UN.
LOL @ Lilac. Mind you, I am no fan of NATO.
But seriously: it’s exactly the same as the Brexiteers. They ran a horrible, racist, pie-in-the-sky campaign and the second they won, they all ran away because the truth was that they had NO PLAN FOR BREXIT aside from all the racist, pie-in-the-sky stuff that they knew perfectly well was both racist and pie-in-the-sky.
Same goes for Trump. He’s got a wall he can’t build. An immigration policy that couldn’t be enacted. And no other proper policy plan at all. Even if you agree with his politics (if you can actually decipher what his politics are or even if they actually exist behind the racist bluster), he has no actual concrete plans for implementing them.
@Sixer I agree with your analysis!!
Really I don’t know why think he’s for the little people and anti-establishment. This man is a millionaire and stiffs his workers. Why do you think things will go your way if you installed him in the white house? If he had it his way, he’d paint the white house gold – historical preservation be damned.
Ugh I wish he would go away.
Please vote! Don’t get complacent because all the polls are saying she’s going to win. There is so much at stake with this election.
Yes, this. A white nationalist as his campaign manager? Am I living in 1930s Germany? As a Jew who knew people who survived the camps or fled Europe this scares the ever loving crap out of me. If Trump is elected, my plans for retiring outside the US get moved up immediately.
Adding to this, there are actual Jews that support him. Go figure.
I know a Hispanic lesbian who is a HUGE Trump supporter. My brain has no idea how to begin to understand that…
I have met Jewish Trump supporters. For them, it is strictly an issue of Israel. The Democratic Party has, recently, allowed itself to become slightly (and I do mean very slightly) more critical of Israel’s policies, especially those with the settlements in the West Bank. For example, Bernie Sanders openly called them on it. Some people take this as a threat and are voting Trump because of it. But that’s the only reason I can discern for why they support Trump.
Well Ivanka is Jewish (she converted) and she and her hubby are supporting him. I think the hubby’s family was offended.
What I find scary is the amount of older Americans saying they just aren’t going to vote because they don’t like either. I was shocked at a larger gathering recently where people kept saying this. Then my parents and a few relatives also are saying this. I’m truly scared.
Yeah I just saw a depressing FB post by a woman acquaintance with three kids, 18-23 years old, and she said neither she nor her kids were voting because the choices were so terrible. I was appalled that they can’t seem to comprehend what the implications of not voting are.
I’d actually disagree with this. If you follow Trump’s insane train of logic he’s been trumpeting loudly how he never said we should go into Iraq (he did) and how he’s been against every major military surge into another country (he’s also been tweeting about this very recently) and as a result people will look back on the decision of going to war and say he was right all along.
Please note this is a man who declared Obama FOUNDED Isis recently.
You all are giving too much nuance to his thoughts.
He’s still on his wall and getting Muslims kick (all topics he’s fervently talked about recently) and as early as last month he had no actual clue what Brexit meant. In this context he’s using it to mean the people deciding they don’t want to engage with Muslims/Immigrants are the ones supporting him and that’s the causes he’s supporting.
He actually has been quite and repeatedly vocal about losing, he knows he’s going to lose, he isn’t expecting any Election Day surprises, now at this point he’s building up the image that he never wavered from his political goals (insanity) and any failings in his becoming President were because of ‘crooked Hilary’ and election tampering.
I think everything you just said is 100% accurate! However, I’m still going to vote. for HIllary. and I’m really OLD.
I tried reading his Hannity interview yesterday and had to stop after his claim that “I have the biggest heart”. It was not only a complete word salad lacking a single complete, coherent sentence, but it was also revolting – full of lies, outrageous claims and more lies. In the same paragraph he accuses Obama and Hillary of not watching the beheading videos released by ISIS (he has zero knowledge or proof whether they watched them or not), commenting how horrible they are, but then cheerfully admits that he didn’t watch them because they are “too much”.
I try to not comment on an election not my own but dammit, if you see a neighbour repeatedly try to light his house on fire, you try to do something… as a Canadian, this is pretty much how I feel, and hope I never get to wake up to see that the madman has set the whole world on fire. Please, my American friends, go vote!! Don’t let the Drumpf goon squads that he wants to patrol the voting booths intimidate you.
I think he just spews words out without thought…
But I DO think it is important to keep that scenario in mind. I am terrified that people will be overly confident in Hillary’s winning and stay home thinking their vote doesn’t matter anyway.
I am glad he brought Brexit back into the conversation, actually. It’s a good cautionary tale.
Thank you, you nailed it. That’s exactly what he means. Such a scary thought.
This has to be ploy to get HRC elected. Or unreal levels of idiocy.
I’ve been clinging to this belief with everything inside of me.
The problem is that even if it’s true, his supporters are still genuine and terrifying.
Since he threw his bad weave into the ring, I have vacillated between him being an active, voluntary, hidden surrogate for HRC vs. him just being a manipulatable tool who Bill Clinton ego- stroked into running. I still cannot decide, but playing the tool exposes him to incredible public criticism- something the celebrity narcissist cannot tolerate- so I’m leaning toward willing cohort in the takedown of the republican party, given his prior long held liberal & at times downright progressive stances -which is a bit frightening as it suggests patience, strategy, shrewdness, and real venom; that he is maybe not the complete boob I thought he was.
This election cycle is horrible, just horrible.
Trump is running for himself, not the democrats.
Trump is running because his career is flagging, he’s gone bankrupt repeatedly, nobody will lend him any more money (except Russian oligarchs), he’s battling literally hundreds of lawsuits which he will not win including some class actions from employees and contractors he stiffed, the list goes on. I think he’s doing this to try and make himself look relevant again (more like trying to polish a turd), not because he actually wants to BE President.
Narcissism is classified as a mental disorder for a reason.
Vanna- I doubt that getting Hillary elected is a motivation for him, even though a few years ago he was singing her praises. He isn’t that altruistic and it would be political suicide for the Democrats to have anything to do with such a scheme. More likely it’s all about money and not just the $$$ he’s scamming from the campaign. Some increasingly credible sources are saying that he decided to run for President as a negotiating tool to get more money from the tv network for either an existing show or a new one he was pitching. Michael Moore has been saying that also in a slightly veiled way, talking about overhearing things at places where people who would be directly involved would be.
I think he just intended to run in the primary and make a decent showing for publicity and then it all got away from him when he actually won, since he was tapping into a significant racist anti-immigrant base that doesn’t trust regular politicians but for some reason trusts a rich guy who stiffs contractors and employees and drives businesses into bankruptcy after getting gobs of money for himself. I don’t think he planned to win the primary- he was claiming it was rigged, until he won (and he said that directly).
That would also explain why he isn’t trying hard to win the general election but does try hard to stay in the news. He probably has mixed motives by now – doesn’t really want the job but thinks it would be pretty cool to be actually elected. He may be entangled with Russian creditors also, so he might be thinking it would be a way to get them off his back (hence all his pro-Putin, anti-NATO talk). One unanticipated backfire is that it’s negatively affecting his brand because he’s actively alienating enough people who ordinarily would be customers. His bad business practices also are becoming better known. His kids seem to have all scurried off on vacation, we’ll see if they quietly disengage from his campaign or get back into it. This affects their money prospects also. People are starting to ask stores to stop selling Ivanka’s lines, for instance, because they are so irritated by the name Trump. This feeling is also reflected in sales.
So we might be risking an accidental fascist in the White House… This is the weirdest and scariest election I’ve ever seen. Regardless of his original motives, Trump has unleashed the worst in us and it won’t easily go back into relative hiding.
Brexit – from NAFTA.
NAFTA has been so misrepresented. The fact is that the biggest reason behind the decline of manufacturing jobs in the US is automation. Machines now do jobs that humans used to do.
There has been some outsourcing, but that is also driven by American consumer demand. It’s not totally a bad thing, it is more of a draw. Air conditioners no longer being made in the US means some people loose jobs, but at the same time, that outsourcing also means that elderly people in our country can buy air conditioners for $100 to protect them from the dangers of overheating in the worst of the summer. Bad for workers, good for elderly. We want to get $5 tube socks at Target, which require someone to be paid an unlivable wage and other conditions that our labor laws do not allow. If Americans want manufacturing jobs to come back, we need to be willing to spend more on goods.
Americans don’t truly care about manfaturing and they prove it everytime the shop. If they cared then LPA, The Row, etc would be the biggest brands in America but they aren’t H&M is and people buy their $8 H&M with a coupon because they care about bulk and cheap. Not where it is made. It’s a talking point but when consumers actually get to “speak” they speak loudly and it isn’t for “made in America” and it hasn’t been since the 80s.
Oh and you’re also right about the machines.
Exactly Tiffany. The Brexit thing for many people meant the same, too many jobs going abroad and too many immigrants doing low paid jobs in Britain. Fact is jobs are not coming back, low paid jobs will not be done by British people and goods wouldn’t even be bought if produced in UK because too expensive. Add to the mix that lots of British counties lost subsidies from the EU and you see how entirely flawed the Brexit idea was and is.
I think Trump saying he wants to Mr Brexit equals saying “Look how good I am to make people vote against their own interests whilst believing in absurd chimeras…”
People need good paying and secure jobs in order to spend. When they feel they could lose their jobs in an instant, they are more likely to be frugal. Health care expenses have also driven people into heavy debt, especially since the insurance companies have been relentlessly pushing up deductibles and premiums (mine was going up 30% to 35% per year before I had to drop it entirely until the Affordable Care Act kicked in). Most credit card debt in the USA is due to medical expenses and unemployment-related emergencies.
The simple jobs are disappearing fast, so education is important both for getting the newer types of jobs and retraining when a job is lost. People who can’t read well and who can’t fill out application forms easily are at an increasing disadvantage.
Yep, there will not be more jobs in the U.S. because businesses will not stop outsourcing. I say this because Americans are not willing to pay more for products made in the U.S. what you said. :-). That is the main reason why I think trump is full of poop. He and his family businesses are not going to pay minimum wage or more in the US when they can simply outsource and make more profit.
@Jwoolman- there is truth to some of that. That yes there are some who go to cheaper stores because it is a necessity but the vast majority of americans do it because they like to by in bulk, they like to have a huge amount of merchandise. They don’t buy one good piece they like to buy 10 cheap items, because they want a lot.
Again some are worried about jobs and have financial issues, but a lot of this is spending habits and behaviors of our consumers. I am not saying we couldn’t make the trade agreements better, we absolutely could and we should look at our policies to make sure that we are working better for the people not the companies but this idea that consumers have huge issues when our American made brands aren’t the biggest.
@K: I fully support buying less and buying well-made and American, but you are off your rocker if you think The Row – $500-2000 price tags per piece – should be the biggest brand in America. It used to be that clothes were more expensive, union made, but the average person could afford them, if not in the insane and unsustainable amounts people buy them at nowadays. My new suite of appliances – all American made – cost just under $3K, and we’ll be paying that off for a while.
@Betsy The Row was a brand that popped into my head and no it wouldn’t be one of the biggest but i was looking at something earlier and it stuck so I used it. But the reality is to be made in America you aren’t going to get things that are under $198 (clothing wise)
I don’t even know what to say about him anymore. *Shakes head*
What I DO know, is that it’s scary as shit that this man had an actual classified security briefing today.
This is not a drill, people.
Mr. Prexit – exiting the PResidential Election.
My first thought, too…
He’s a train wreck . I honestly don’t know anyone in my life who is voting for him. We all laugh at his absurdity. He’s a really bad joke, but then last night I see the car in front of me with a Trump sticker and I swear I gave the guy the weirdest look. I can’t even hide my disdain . It was instinct . Meanwhile , this idiot is coming to my town at the end of the month and the protest is already at a fever pitch that they pulled the rally and had to find another place to hold it. His politics and himself are not welcomed in my town which makes me love where I live so much more.
I am very glad I don’t live in a swing state. Those poor people are deluged with ads and messages and can’t escape his gross face and voice. I live in a solidly blue state so we don’t get the targeted attention, thankfully.
My state too. Solid Blue, thankfully . There are always going to be a few crazy people though. I live in a progressive , open minded state and it’s where I’ll stay….lol!!
I live in solid blue New York but he thinks he can win- we get Hillary ads I am assuming they are national. We are getting anti Hillary now too. I am like this doesn’t matter we are BLUE!!!
God, my phone won’t stop ringing, and I have to assume the unknown numbers are pollsters or political robocalls. I just tell the kids not to answer unless it is a recognized number.
I do see a few Rump signs and bumper stickers, as well as the occasional “Don’t tread on me” flag & Confederate flag. Amazing how people will vote against their own self interests so easily when someone stokes their inner prejudices and hatred.
Where do you live, if you don’t mind me asking. I sadly and terrifyingly see Trump bumper stickers and yard signs everywhere I am (Long Island) and I am seriously looking to make a move.
Portland Oregon . The land of staunch progressive, sane people and proud.
I may have the best of both worlds – I live in Canada away from TV bombardment and bumper stickers but as a dual citizen vote in a swing state.
We’re supporting the Dems in the swing state. There’s plenty that can be done to support the swing states even if you live in a “safe” state, and in either case you still have to get out the vote.
” There’s plenty that can be done to support the swing states even if you live in a “safe” state”
YES!!! This!
I drove through a small town and I saw lawn signs.
I think Trump means he’s going to get the U.S. out of trade agreements with other countries (or re-negotiate them) and he’s making that some sort of parallel with Brexit. It’s hard to tell because he’s bonkers. I’m just taking a wild guess.
And if you really want a bigger picture of who is now running his campaign, check out these headlines from Breitbart News.
https://mediamatters.org/blog/2016/08/17/breitbart-news-worst-headlines/212467
As pointed out on Twitter, this d-bag now has access to all the Republican National Committee’s contributor & voting data.
Ugh, those made me ill.
Go, Donald! Here’s some more rope!
And it’s ‘phenomenon’, you illiterate twat.
I have a feeling he might also be referring to his dreadful plan about making Muslims leave the country as well as getting out of NAFTA. I despise this man so very much. I already have anxiety issues and the possibility of this p*ss poor excuse of a human being our future leader has me afraid.
Exactly. He’s not alluding to it being about the Presidential election he’s alluding to his feelings on immigrations and how he was pushing these ideals (i guess you can call xenophobia an ideal) that we do need to vet all incoming immigrants and ensure only the good ones come in.
The first debate is scheduled for September. Personally, now that he has Bannon, I totally think Trump is going to show up. I think he’s going to go in and get as dirty, nasty as he possibly can. He’s going to bring up Vince Foster and Monica and the blue dress and Paula Jones and every nasty thing he can think of and just make a joke of himself. My husband and I have a bet running because my husband totally thinks that if he really has to debate Hillary, he’s going to drop the b or c-words at some point because he’ll get flustered and just go off.
And if Ben Shapiro is calling this guy out, you know it’s bad. Shapiro is pretty arch-conservative himself. It’s worth mentioning that after Shapiro left the organization, they published a hit-piece on him that – get this – used his late father’s pseudonym in the byline (not making this up). They’re that petty and bad.
Shapiro: Trump is a turd tornado.
The man has an ear for alliterations.
when you consider the level of composure of each candidate, I’d agree with your possible scenario.
Clinton, like her or not, has AMAZING composure, even when she was being harassed/grilled by congressional committees.
Drumpf, on the other hand, can be “baited with a tweet”.
she’ll stand there and give the “really?…” look while he goes apoplectic.
“she’ll stand there and give the “really?…” look while he goes apoplectic.”
I just pictured that scenario in my head and got a good laugh. Thanks for that, I need it after reading about twat waffle Trump way too much this week.
Oh Id take that bet! He has already made mention to the “blue dress” at a rally I think saw it on Katy Tur Twitter (but could be wrong) so Monica will be coming up in the debate. Poor girl it has been 20 years let her live her life. I’m seeing something along the line of you couldn’t satisfy your husband so he had to go to Monica how can we believe you can satisfy the needs of America. Basing this on pervious comments? And his excuses for his affairs.
And yeah when she starts to make him look like the idiot he is no way he won’t call her a b*tch or c*nt.
if he reads it,you might just have given him an idea?
he already tweeted and deleted that comment about Hillary not satisfying Bill so he went to Monica- twitter screen grabbed it. He had the idea.
But honestly between him and this new guy it will come up. I mean this new guy thinks Paul Ryan, Paul Ryan is a secret agent for Obama and Clinton. So they are crazy.
I think it’s because this Bannon guy believes that there is a huge majority of people that believe like the readers of his site. And the polls did show Brexit was going to happen they just dismissed them if I’m remembering correctly.
So basically Brexit and the people who voted for it line up with that alt-right view that Bannon and Trump have. I think that is what he means. He truly doesn’t understand our electorate.
That being said everyone HAS TO VOTE!!
Incorrect. The last polling on the Brexit vote showed it being defeated. That is part of the reason the large ‘Yes’ vote was so shocking for them.
Though as they’ve gone back to examine their polling they’ve found flaws in it which don’t really reflect the way we do our American polling.
They didn’t properly gage first time voters. They didn’t gage people who didn’t routinely vote. They made assumptions about the feelings of individuals when they should have looked for more concrete proof etc.
But I 100% agree people should vote.
Thank you, I remember hearing something about the polling that made me think they had some idea or hints it must have been that error in the way the polled.
I have to say the media here has been pretty consistent asking about hidden trump votes etc.
Also Brexit is an up and down vote right? Thank god for the electoral college.
But seriously people need to vote!
@K
In *theory* the result of the British referendum would be advisory but because the British PM agreed to implement it before the result now we’re stuck with this trainwreck of abysmal proportions…..
Even Nigel Farage was on record as saying he totally expected to lose. IIRC, the polls showed it pretty close but in favor of Remain. I think that’s why it was so shocking.
Breitbart is for all the far right wing nut conspiracist theory Repubs. It’s for all those Trump diehards that only watch Faux News, read Breitbart, and listen to Rush. They believe nothing else.
Trump’s campaign is a mess.
Brexit – something people didn’t understand, voted for anyway, immediately regretted, and something sure to cause great pain for the country in the future? Yeah, that sounds about right.
In the UK, the pound has dropped to its lowest in years, nothing good is coming out of it, they should of stayed in the EU, and I think alot of people are regretting they voted out, lets hope this doesnt happen in this election.
Stupid man is using Brexit in the wrong context.
Following the Trump train of crazy he’s been tweeting more and more about how he’ll ‘vet’ and specially investigate every single immigrant before they’re allowed in the country and that if they come from countries that have radical terrorism issues then they will not be allowed in the country at all.
Now he’s using Brexit to mean a large number of people voted because they too didn’t want immigrants and had xenophobic ideas are exactly similar to him.
Except…he didn’t know what Brexit was last month, and last week he said Obama founded Isis, and now he’s hiring a white supremacist to help his campaign. He’s swinging widely and even his fellow Republicans are seeing him lose (something he’s doing as well, apparently he has stopped all spending on the ground game and any campaign or polling offices trying to get him elected in each state are grassroots efforts by citizens or conservative groups of those states – of course people are still donating to him so guess where that money not being spent on his campaign is going?)
Yep that’s exactly what I was saying earlier. And the criteria used will be haphazard and applied so unequally.
He has been hoarding money from the campaign for months. The donations from June and July haven’t been spent IIRC.
There are still some of the Republican establishment like Paul Ryan that hasn’t repudiated him yet which is sickening.
If I lived in the US and had to choose a candidate it would be Gary Johnson. Hilary is a lying crook and Trump…..well there are no words.
Well, the Republicans and Donald Trump say that Hillary is a “lying crook” but that doesn’t mean she is. Politifacts is one investigation into candidates and here’s what they say after examining her record: http://www.politifact.com/personalities/hillary-clinton/
Then look at Trump: http://www.politifact.com/personalities/donald-trump/
Then look at Obama: http://www.politifact.com/personalities/barack-obama/
If you’re okay with Obama, you’ll be okay with Clinton. Don’t expect any political candidate, especially at that level, to pass a purity test. But it doesn’t mean she’s a “lying crook.” That’s just a right-wing meme and the left-wing has fallen for it, sadly.
Gary Johnson may seem amiable but he would abolish a lot of government agencies and regulations that make living in the USA bearable, more secure and productive.
Enough with the bs about Hilary being a lying cro*k.
Politifact has confirmed she is one of the most honest politicians out there even more so than Mr Sanders.
I find that rather comical. “Honest politician” Gary Johnson in my opinion would make a far better president than either Hillary or Trump.
@Joanie
Elaborate. What policies of Johnson’s are you in favor of and why do you think the change would improve our current system of functioning as a country?
He’s had a successful business career, he’s pro education, against the war on drugs, wants to legalize marijuana plus he comes across as flexible and open minded as well as common sense. This isn’t an ego trip for him. He’s also partially paid his way. Those are just a few examples. Read his biography. I don’t think he’s perfect but he’d do a better job in my opinion. He’s a well rounded guy compared to Rump and Hillary.
@Joanie
Thank you for the reply but you didn’t really answer my question.
Which policies of Johnson are you in favor of and why do you think implementing them would help our current system? Johnson is pro-education and wants to ensure that helps our country but eliminating the Department of Education and allowing each individual state to define its teaching standards? He’s not just pro-marijuana he’s pro all the drugs, including heroin and meth.
How would those specific policy changes help the current system of US government? Because it sounds like different for the sake of being different while introducing a boatload of new flaws to an overworked system. What happens to our under privelaged have no national guidelines they must all mandatorily follow? What happens when certaib states elect to stop teaching anything they don’t like and begin lessons on how the South won the Civil War? Likewise how do we address drug trafficking and a spiking crisis in drug use by legalizing even more drugs, many of which truly have no medical benefit for people and even in the cleanest circumstances are deadlier to consume with far more destructive and addictive results?
The smear campaign against Hillary started when she tried to get some health care reform going while her husband was President. Insurance is a very high profit industry and her problem was not that she was crooked but that she was potentially too effective. Follow the money before believing such things.
We barely got the Affordable Care Act passed and many insurance companies responded by narrowing the network for exchange policies, collecting huge subsidies for policies that wouldn’t deliver except in an emergency. If Hillary gets elected, I hope she pushes hard for extending Medicare downward. The insurance companies start getting wild with premiums and deductibles when people are in their fifties, as a way to push them out of the pool after decades of paying into it. Her first downward shift of Medicare would start about then, which would be quite a relief.
People of different political beliefs who have actually worked with Hillary seem to routinely come away from it with very positive feelings about her. They don’t call her a liar and a crook, instead they say she works hard and listens to a wide variety of views. Before assuming that the smears are accurate, check out her record and also look at the results of investigations into her activities. She keeps getting cleared even by her enemies. At some point you have to accept that they can’t find anything real because there’s nothing there to find. So they’re left with baseless accusations, figuring that if you repeat a lie often enough then people start assuming it must be true and “common knowledge”.
…do you actually know anything about Gary Johnson’s policies?
Just to sum it up he wants to privatize everything he can and eliminate as many available public resources as possible right down to schooling.
Don’t buy into propaganda, it’s the cheapest tool of persuasion.
It’s like people who gush about Jill Stein casually ignoring her anti-vaccination policies and repeated use of pseudo-science in her campaign.
Johnson does come off as, as my dad would say, “A genial feller.” I think there are two camps of Libertarians: 1.) the ones who simply are like “F you, I got mine” and 2.) the ones who genuinely think that government is inefficient, corrupt, etc. and not in a position to help. Johnson is in Camp 2. I think he really genuinely thinks that government hurts people and that the private sector will be able to respond better. Which – okay, I can see some of his points – government certainly can be corrupt and unwieldy and seas of red tape. But it goes too far. I have tried to really wrap my head around Libertarianism and I never can. Do they not like having paved highways? Or libraries? Or police? Or anything else the government funds?
However, if forced into a Johnson vs. Stein contest, I’d pick Johnson, solely because he actually has government experience and (above that) he hasn’t pandered to anti-vaccine people.
Libertarians to me have always pushed this idea that if you eliminate all the rules people will behave better simply because it will be in their best interest. That we know is untrue and goes against most of human history.
You’re right that their ideas do come from the place of – alright, the government is struggling to serve its people how do we fix that? – but then it all goes too far to the point you’re handing out prescriptions for heroin and assuming that won’t cause any problems at all.
War on drugs not working? Legalize ALL the drugs! Well, sure okay, that will certainly lead to a lot less prosecutions and taking up room in prisons but doesn’t seem to address the public health aspects of drug abuse, overdosing, and violence/crimes related to drugs.
Hillary – two “L”s, by the way – is not a criminal, a lying crook and she is far brighter than Gary Johnson. Since you’re not an American, his desire to dismantle mph of the government and privatize wouldn’t bother you, but for those of us here who’d have to suffer through the ill effects of privatization, I’ll thank you to do a little more research.
Hillary is brighter than Gary Johnson? That’s debatable. I don’t agree with some of his policies esp some of his ideas on privatization. I was pro Hillary but after watching her in the debates and some of her interviews she doesn’t come across as genuine to me or possess integrity. Talk is cheap. She’s been caught lying too many times. And you’re correct. I don’t live in the US but the rest of the world has to live with the ill effects of who becomes president. George Bush comes to mind and he was voted in twice!!
Joanie – as a fellow non-American, I nonetheless found this an interesting read: http://www.vox.com/a/hillary-clinton-interview/the-gap-listener-leadership-quality
Hillary Clinton has NOT been “caught lying” too many times.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/mar/28/hillary-clinton-honest-transparency-jill-abramson
K2, that was an interesting read. Thanks for sharing.
The Eternal Side Eye, Portugal has decriminalized all drugs. Look at their statistics re health care, drug use and crime. It surprised me. That’s an area where I agree with Gary Johnson. The war on drugs is a complete failure and unfair to those who have used soft drugs and have been thrown in the clink for years. Big cost!
He’s going to win. At this point, if the campaigns really thought the polling data was accurate, the Repubs would DO anything to beat Hillary. They know Trump is winning; just talk to his supporters, nothing he does is wrong. I think all of you will be very surprised at who wins this election and by how much.
He doesn’t have the support though. He has supporters I’m not going to deny that and they will support him blindly and to the bitter end. The reality is in this day and age in the United States you cannot win the presidential election without the minority vote. They are no longer the “minority” and their votes count! He ‘ll lose for the same reason Romney lost, he didn’t have enough minority votes. The only site to pay attention to when it comes to poles is Nate silvers fiveeightythree.com. what was once minority groups are coming out in droves registering to vote as well as getting their citizenship so they can vote against him.
Also double A++ to you Kaiser for your “human whack a mole of ineptitude”, damn funny and so true!
You know the republicans didn’t thing the polling data was right with Romney right? They were shocked on election night when Obama won even when all the polls said Obama was up. They just couldn’t believe it, and for the record most republicans believe the polls that’s why they are asking to stop funding. They also don’t want Hillary to win but they don’t want Trump to win more.
Hey look, really every poll says Trump is going to lose yet all I hear is fear in Hillary supporters. If he really is down that much, why the panic? Why all the hate for the Trump supporters? The visceral language of the left describing Trump supporters is so mean. If your team is winning, and up by 50 at half, why the fear?
Curtis – because anything can happen between now and November 8, and the cost to our country and the world if Trump and Pence win is enormous. So it’s a combination of recognizing how volatile and misleading polls can be plus the huge risks involved if Hillary doesn’t win. This is a very unusual election.
Why the hate for Trump? He wants to dismantle the constitution. He wants to target and hurt minorities, his policies and speeches line up with HITLER. I am sorry but I have issues with that, it offends me.
I am not nervous about him winning. I am nervous about what he says next and what it does to the fabric of our country, not to mention to global security. We have already seen hate crimes increase because of Trump, last weekend an Iman and his friend were murdered in Queens after prayer because of the Muslim hate Trump has created. American children of Mexican decent have been harassed at school and terrorized. I won’t declare a winner because the election isn’t over and I am not hearing a lot of fear, just that people don’t want to get assume it is over and not vote. I take my civil liberties seriously, I take my right to vote seriously (people died so I could) so I want people to take it seriously and vote.
@Curtis – it’s measuring the end game. Most of the CB commenters here are very intelligent and well-read and it shows in their responses, which are measured and fact-based, not based on a knee-jerk, emotional reaction. Now as far as visceral reactions, just read a few of Trump’s comments before commenting again.
Curtis, it’s highly unlikely I’ll get into a massive car smash tomorrow but I still buckle my kids into the most expensive, advanced car seats I can possibly afford. It’s not only the risk that dictates fear levels; its the consequence if the worst happens. That’s why, despite Trump really being a better opponent than a sane Republican from the perspective of winning a Democratic White House, people are so afraid. Because he is such a hideously awful candidate.
1. No.
2. Several prominent Republicans came out and publicly said he’ll lose.
3. Trump himself is no longer spending money in states that have him polling as battleground or losing, his supporters are not able to get the resources they need to even promote him.
4. Good to see you and your poor grasp of politics back again Curtis.
The E S-E: Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Very good!
I think it means all of the things–pulling out of trade agreements, backing out of NATO and pulling an upset win. But considering he didn’t know what BREXIT was shortly before it happened, he probably doesn’t know it stands for BR(itain) EXIT but thinks it’s a term for what happened.
He is mr brexit. He’s going to morally and economically ruin America and make it the laughing stock of the world
Just like brexit.
Yeah, this Brit was thinking I couldn’t disagree with that title. It’s shorthand for an awful lot of obscenity filled, racism fuelled disaster.
It looks like he knows now that he isnt going to win, but he wants to go out in a blaze of glory, so I thinks he is going to get really nasty in the next couple of months, and wont care what he says or does, and I think he is going to give Hillary a really bad time in the debates, but I think Hillary can handlle it, hope she stays cool as a cucumber, and really gets under his skin, because I agree he could call her some unsavoury names if he gets rized up.