This is for discussion of all 2016 campaign candidates and issues

Is Former Texas Governor Rick Perry the first candidate to fall?

Indicted Rick Perry Quits Paying His Staff Because His Campaign Is Going Broke

The only current candidates, with any percentage in polls, to not obviously bought and paid for are Trump and Sanders. ALL the others, to one degree or another, have their super pacs, and millions from large donors who, as Trump has said; "are expected to perform for those giving the money". I listen to the talking heads and not a one of them have even mentioned this simple fact yet they continue to wonder why so many candidates are not polling well. I would suggest that people are simply sick and tired of all the ranked candidates being beholden to whoever.

In the same vein I would also suggest that the two major democratic senators; Menendez and Shumer, voting against the Iran deal are more interested in their cozy relationship with Israel than an interest in what makes sense. These two should be unelected and encouraged to move the the country that actually has their loyalty.

How about this: http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2015...ost-american-jews-support-iran-deal.html

Bernie not only does not accept corporate donations, but he won't sling mud at the other candidates-A man who will run on the issues!

And for some comedic relief:

YAY! Someone finally speaking the truth. (I meant, of course, Bernie) not the Palin.

Feel The Bern!

The mudslinging and bad behavior has already begun.
No, not the mudslinging between the candidates, the mudlinging between the various supporters on social media.

Already liberals are demonstrating how easy they are to beat by exhibiting behaviors not previously seen in right wing groups, threats to stay home and not vote if their candidate doesn't get the party nomination, threats to vote for Republican candidates...
Hillary people are bashing Bernie people, Bernie people are bashing Hillary people and all this despite the fact that Bernie has publicly stated that he will not play the negative card on his female opponent.

I had to leave the Facebook "Bernie Believers" group for just that reason.
I got tired of being accused of being a Hillary mole and tired of the constant whining.

Jeffery~You are correct. Although I have seen some ask that we do not bash Bernie, Hillary or each other, I do not see a lot of cooperation. I actually had one group say that if Hillary doesn't get the nomination he will commit suicide, and he said he will blame all those who vote for other candidates in the Democratic Primary. A lot of people then told him he was playing right into the hands of the GOP. He then changed his tune, but I thought he was an idiot.

I think we could stand the loss of one vote, if it removed such an idiot from the gene pool. There is such a thing as "common good" that helps both Democrats and Republicans. Everything is not a zero-sum game.

True

I think I will post this on that group!

Latest poll standings for GOP candidates:

2016 Republican Presidential Nomination

Latest poll standings for Democratic Candidates:

2016 Democratic Presidential Nomination [b][/b]

Rick Perry first to exit 2016 Republican presidential race

Another one bites the dust.

Color me shocked. Maddie predicted it this week.

I hope that the rest follow shortly.

Kinda says it all. Give 'em hell, Bernie.

Nice to see some familiar folks. Campaign season, and I thought I'd say hello. Lived in Burlington in the '80s, and I remember Bernie campaigning door-to-door.

I got an invite to the Democratic debate in Las Vegas. Wondering if I should go.

I "entered" a drawing for round trip plus attendance. I figured I'd be cheap, as I'm already here/there.

Absolutely!!! Hit the slots too while you're there and take in a Cirque show.

Give 'em hell, NW!

Hekate! It's good to see you again.
This campaign cycle has gone a bit boring on us after promising to rival Comedy Central and the NFL in entertainment value.
Donald Trump has shewed the entire field of various unqualified and even less interesting candidates back into the woodwork from which they came.
The press is doing a pretty good job of promoting a horse race where none exists in regard to the Democratic side of things, alternately ignoring Sanders then pointing out that he leads is some polls by double digits.
At this point I'm just in a holding pattern, I'd like to see a Social Democrat like Sanders elected but find it unlikely since he has intentionally limited his financial resources. Drawing crowds and shaking hands will not work as well as millions of dollars spent on television and radio ads.

The Repubs have offered a new proof to the paradox of Hilbert's Hotel:
How many morons can you fit on a stage?
An infinite number, apparently.

I, and many others, have noted the swing to extremism, particularly in the Republican party since the advent of Newt Gingrich. The current bevy of GOP presidential candidates demonstrates this in spades. Here's a new, potential, explanation: How the House has made the Senate more polarized.


I don't think it is inconsequential that the of the candidates are Senators with some pretty extreme views. It also makes me wonder if Governorships follow the same pattern of radicalization. It's sort of self-reinforcing.

I think the pattern is much less pronounced on the D side, as even Sanders, although self-identified as aa "Social Democrat" is still, all in all, pretty mainstream.

Ben Carson thinks the Constitution prohibits Muslim fathead people from being President. Presumably the category includes all non-Christians.

Carson litmus test

I’m sure it does. I’ve long wondered who might be elected first as POTUS.

A person claiming to have no religion or a Muslim. As it stands today on the national level a person who does not claim to be a practicing Christian has zero chance of being elected.

You do have the very occasional proclaimed atheist being elected in some small local election somewhere. In a cave in Vermont perhaps.

I think Ben Carson has demonstrated his complete lack of qualification to hold elected office. Period. Any elected office.

I listened to part of the Commonwealth Club yesterday, featuring Dr. Carson. For the most part, he espouses all of the temious and shallow right-wing "positions" on the issues. The business model is to first state a broad assumption that is flawed (lower taxes on investment capital stimulates the economy, for instance), then proceed to elaborate on how America will be wonderfully transformed by it in a few short days.

I found it interesting that Carson was every bit as egotistical about his "accomplishments" as Trump is, given the opportunity to Bogart the spotlight without competition. Bennie is sacrificing himself for our good to run for President. Like Jesus...

And we all know how that ended...

Not to put too fine a point on it, but this is the most unqualified group of candidates put forth in my lifetime, and not because they are Republicans (although that doesn't help). It's like they took bits and pieces of Mitt Romney and Barack Obama and tried to run on just that. Freshman Senators (x3), Rich (Trump, Fiorina), "business leader" (Trump, Fiorina - and Carson tries to claim that too), marginal governor (Walker, Huckabee, Perry, Bush, Jindal, Pataki). Oh, and the perennial "also ran" (Perry, Huckabee, Santorum). The only "qualified" candidate, really, is Kasich (national legislator and executive), and we can see how popular he is.

On the Dem side, Clinton qualifies, as, like Kasich, having been a multi-term legislator and executive. Bernie Sanders, though I love him, has no executive experience, nor does Murphy. Biden, should he run, checks all the blocks, too. At least the Dems have "serious" candidates.

In a persistant, strange, multi-millennial religion?

Actually derivative...

The older I get, the less respect I feel for "religion". Much of that disrespect is in how it is being used and abused, from faux "religious" candidates to genuine nutjobs, from arrogant county clerks who abuse their own citizenry to fanatical warriors who destroy antiquities and murder innocents. The infection of the current campaign with "religious" rhetoric is sickening. How can religion maintain any respectability in this environment? Especially when rooted in such questionable soil (yes, that especially includes Christianity).

On the bright side, this is driving young Americans and future voters away from religion.

I've never understood how something that relies on dogma in order to justify its existence can survive at all. But I guess that's just me...

Careful not to step in any dogma shiit.

Scott walker out of the race. Another one bites the dust!!!

It's official! Scott Walker Ends Presidential Campaign

Good riddance! Two down, 215 to go...

As for WHY he dropped out: Scott Walker: What Went Wrong? And this is from the decidedly conservative National Review. Among their conclusions:

Rubio Team Moves Immediately to Capitalize on Walker Flameout ... the vultures circle.

Labor tap-dances on Walker's political grave ... The enemies exult.

Why Scott Walker Failed... The pundits eulogize and explain.

Could it maybe have been... he wasn't a very good candidate? He got elected in off-elections - all three times. Could it be pending indictments? Could it be he wasn't even going to win Wisconsin? Scott Walker's popularity dips in Wisconsin

All of the above plus he has the personality of a fungal infection!

I think most of us saw this coming. Same with Rick Perry.

Can't say I ever thought it would be Trump to knock out the one percenters though.

Ted Cruz appeared on Late show with Stephen Colbert. It was illuminating. He is TRULY a charlatan. He misquoted the Constitution, and raised the same misdirected issue about "five unelected judges". Of particular note was his misdirection about his support. He claimed his support came from 175,000 donors, but the reality is 95%+ came from $million plus donation from a few very rich donors. NYTimes What I haven't been able to find is how many individual donors each candidate has.

i did not see it but did read the synopsis on colbert site.

his reference to 5 unelected judges was to the 5-4 voting pattern which has been the standard for some time now. he obviously does not like what the 5 who are against his positions are saying (when they are against his positions).

bit how did he overlook the obvious as a Constitutional "scholar" and not see the issue is not about "marriage" par se but about equal rights which the Constitution does address?

The current Republican presidential candidate field looks like this:

Jeb Bush
Ben Carson
Chris Christie
Ted Cruz
Carly Fiorina
Jim Gilmore
Lindsey Graham
Mike Huckabee
Bobby Jindal
John Kasich
George Pataki
Rand Paul
Marco Rubio
Rick Santorum
Donald Trump

Who do you think will be the next to drop out?

I think it will be Jindal.

I think Jindal is a good bet, but Pataki has no cash, and has burned through almost all SuperPAC support (what little he had). It may be a race there. Jindal was an also-ran when he started, but has evangelical support. Pataki doesn't even have that. My son was disappointed Walker dropped out because he diluted the field. Surprised me, because he hates talking Politics.

Pataki would be logical too. But I think hubris may keep him in the race a little longer. Jindal is the proverbial snowball's chance in hell.

And now we have Carly liar pants on fire.


Huff Post

The Letter

That, and of course, the fact that she took "liberties" with reality in her debate performance. Carly Fiorina won the GOP debate, but fact checkers will have a field day. In fact, they did! Fact-checking Carly Fiorina's debate claims.

Carson digs a hole over Muslims.... and keeps on digging! Ben Carson Can’t Change Subject After Contentious Muslim Remark

Scott Walker's exit sets off Republican feeding frenzy

How Ted Cruz Gave Away The GOP’s Muslim Strategy

National Review???? ..... i was effectively banned from site for providing facts .... yes those onerous facts .... and a different perspective .... talk about sheeple .... but i digress

the folks at NR have been told AGW is a hoax and therefore it is reality ..... so when Fiorina says etc etc it is not a lie unless we compare to the actually facts

remember, at this time she is only trying to become the REPUBLICAN nominee, thus she will say what is necessary to endear herself to them and win the primary .... me conservative .... everyone else liberal ...ugh

Marcotte has herself been seduced by conspiracy. Conservatives are not smart enough to implement a plan to entrap anyone. When they talk about Muslims and political office it is what they believe. It is not a part of some intricate plan. These folks are for the most part very simple in what they believe

It is however an interesting take that this is a larger euphemism directed against Pres Obama. I did not get that from the current discussion because I never thought Pres Obama was a Muslims and would therefore not be included in the discussion but from Sen Cruz' remarks , he makes it clear the president should have been included. But again, it is not some conspiracy. This is what these folks believe and once the seeds of duplicity have been planted, it can not be eradicated from their minds.

Yesterday I happened to catch a couple of Dr Carson supporters convey the meaning of his remarks. Someone in Dr Carson's campaign responded and it was clear he was a Muslim bigot. The other was a conservative operative who managed to change the facts and thus responded to a straw argument.

His contention is no Muslim can be president since they would not support the Constitution first. Suppose that should be the test for office. If so then at least half of the current crop of republican candidates should not be running as they profess their allegiance to a higher authority than the Constitution. Why, even Dr Carson is one of those people.

Dr Carson is I believe one of those typical conservatives who use the "right" words to rationalize to themselves they believe in the Constitution but it is a sham. He has Muslim associates; he tolerates them but they can not run for office. He justifies his position by pointing to his irrational fears.

He represents the most insidious aspect of religion. The belief only he is right.

What kills me is that these GOP candidates think they are being subtle.

As subtle as an elephant in heat.

Jeb! Is sounding like the least dangerous Republican candidate.

But...


He'd better learn what multicultural means - this sounds either xenophobic or just plain dumb.
Multicultural DOES NOT mean that every group lives in its own "isolated pocket". It DOES MEAN accepting and integrating other cultural values into the heterogeneous mix of what is called "American" culture. (Some would argue that that is an oxymoron.)
It also means tolerance and inclusion.

CNN

"Least dangerous" does not mean "not dangerous."

he failed the purity test

and the IQ test

Yep. Dr. Carson and Kim Davis disqualify themselves from public office and public service.

And how about those people who pledge to and worship Grover Norquist? Disqualified, according to Dr. Carson.

Wow. That would knock out a lot of GOP office holders.

Christian Law, or U.S. Law? The founders were clear on this... even though you can't find it anywhere in the Constitution, bastardized quotes taken out of context by some of the signers who you have never heard of provide irrefutable proof that the Constitution is based upon the Ten Commandments given to Moses on some stone tablets found beneath a Burning Bush (is that why the Bush family is so popular?). Some say there were fifteen Commandments, but Moses was unable to carry three heavy stone tablets and dropped one, shattering it into uselessness (God should have invented paper sooner, though it likely would have fared poorly under a burning bush, now that I think of it - there's that infinite wisdom again...).

Anyway, only a moron would not recognize that U.S. Law is derived directly and sanctimoniously, from the Bible.

Does anyone remember which page the "no Gods before me" clause is on? The sticky note seems to have fallen out of my Constitution...

Who's paid for your candidate? Super PACs, attack ads and million-dollar donors

LA Times .

Very enlightening...

It amazes me that the people who want to wrap themselves in the Constitution to justify their abhorrent behavior and claims know the least about it.

They cherry pick it just like they do the Bible.

They've pretty much never learned reading comprehension.
I guess kindergarten was too subversive for them.

A worthy read: Sanders and Trump Offer Two Roads Out of Establishment Politics—Which Will We Follow?

The "working class" in America includes both the "working poor" and the "middle class". In other words, 90% of the American populace. Workers in the US have been screwed forever, but particularly since 1980. It has been a focused disadvantage since Ronald Reagan, but both parties have participated in deregulation and trade policies that favored big business, and tax policies that favor the "investment class" - those with significant enough assets to earn substantial portions of their income from investments. (Full disclosure, I am one of them.)

The "playing field" tilted decidedly with "trickle down" economics and the deliberate devaluation of labor, including open hostility toward unions and social safety-net programs. Voters have been sold a false bill of goods, and, sadly, bought into it big time. Derisive terminology and divisive politics have become the rule.

But here's the reality: we have lots in common. Black lives do matter, and most people recognize injustice when they see it. Immigrants want what we all want, and are willing to start from the bottom to get there (as long as they can start). We all want as much freedom as we can get within safe borders and with security if we stumble. (It's easier to strive if there is a net to catch you - even Donald Trump has relied on the safety net to make it.) Everyone wants to get ahead and wants a fair shot at getting there.

That is where the focus should be this election year (and every election year). That is what made America great, and what will allow us to lead in the future. What we need is leaders who recognize that.

Carly Fiorina defends waterboarding

Here we go again.

If you superimpose Dick Cheney's face over Fiorina's, it's almost an exact match.

Predictions:* the GOP field is not likely to be winnowed much further until February (excepting maybe Jindal and Gilmore). After the three earliest States there will be a large exodus. Santorum, Pataki, Carson, Fiorina, and maybe even Christie, will drop out. Huckabee and Paul will be clinging to life with a hope for a "southern strategy" and unique constituencies. Theirs are "issues" candidacies, not real contenders (as is Graham's).

On the Dem side, Murray and Chafee will bow out. Sanders will have done well enough in New Hampshire and Iowa to keep it a race and continue to push Clinton to the left. Clinton will find that to not be such an uncomfortable place to be, as she has been shoring up her bona fides on that side consistently already (Keystone, immigration, etc.).

By mid-March, Clinton will have cleared the field, begun to pivot to the General election, and be gearing up for the Convention and establishing the juggernaut of a campaign. The GOP field will still be in flux. Trump may bow out by April, or may take his marbles to an Independent run. Rubio and Bush will be slugging it out for the establishment mantle, with Kasich clinging to relevance. Huckabee may finally run out of money and give inb with a sanctimonious speech about the importance of "values". Cruz will be riding the "outsider" money train and continue being the obnoxious a-h he always is (all the way to the Convention) where he will be a disruptive, destructive force hampering his party's chances in November.

* Bookmark this so you can laugh at me come May.

Dutifully bookmarked

I suggest that we waterboard both Dick Cheney and Carly Fiorina. Just as a matter of principle.

Bobby Jindal, Rand Paul Reportedly Preparing To Exit Presidential Race

My bet is Jindal is next on the chopping block.

She reminds me of a rabid mongrel

I think many forget we rode this train last cycle. Outsiders zoomed to the front early, flashed, then burnt out. People love a challenger until the campaign gets down to brass tacks, then they go all "establishmenty." That is why Clinton and Bush (and Romney and McCain in previous cycles) have the advantage. Obama was the exception that proved the rule, and mostly because of his exceptional organizing prowess. This year is different because of the money, so Cruz and Huckabee, Trump and Fiorina, maybe even Paul, can stick around longer, but they won't gain traction. They will peak around 20-25% - enough to disrupt the race, but not to win it.

I'm betting on a Jindal announcement soon.

The next big Republican scandal is going to explode today.
Kevin McCarthy, the heir apparent to Speaker of the House, admitted that the entire Benghazi scandal is nothing but a taxpayer funded hit job on Hillary.



I don't think it occurs to the man that if you essentially admit that your entire party just put up the Benghazi scandal as a taxpayer subsidized witch hunt, you've discredited your entire party.

Poll: Donald Trump still on top as outsiders Fiorina, Carson rise

On another thread we have a great discussion going about the meaning of John Boehner's resignation, and I almost posted this there, but I think it is important for this broader discussion. Meet the Four Kinds of GOP Voters. The premise of the article, in trying to understand the polling strength of various candidates, is that the Republican electorate is not homogeneous, but made up of discernible types:

The GOP’s “True Believers” - what we used to call "died in the wool" - "aren’t for turning or wooing, at least not easily." They are the fervent acolytes for particular candidates, and won't change until their candidate is gone - if even then.

"The second category of GOP voters is the “Buckley Voters,” so called because they tend to follow the “Buckley Rule” and support the most conservative candidate they see as plausibly winning the presidency in the fall of next year." We see a lot of this in polls asking who is "most electable." "Buckley Voters are real deal small government, big defense, pro-life and pro-religious freedom conservatives, but they insist on being able to reach 270 electoral votes. They want, more than anything, another Reagan." [oh, GOD no!]

"That third category of voters are what I call 'center-right governing conservatives.'" These are the "old line" conservatives who are actually interested in passing legislation, and effective government. They, unfortunately, are the least "passionate" of Republican supporters, perhaps the "silent majority" - but not the influential majority.

Finally, there are the “Uniques.” "They are in this election to support a candidate for a unique reason or because of that candidate’s specific platform." Think of Graham (who also appeals to the "governing conservatives" bloc), and Rand Paul's libertarian-Republicans. They tend to be "single issue" voters, so it is hard for them to trust other candidates that don't focus on that issue.

In approaching this analysis, it is important to remember this is coming from a Republican advocate, not some left-wing critic. There are parallels on the left as well. I know that I am in the "governing Democrat" mold, even if not technically a Democrat. I am most interested in good policy.

Another great find, NWP!

Jon Stewart is sometimes more respected as a serious journalist than people who do TV journalism for a living on American TV and cable news.
Maybe it's time we started giving a little grudging respect to CRACKED for the print version?

#5. He Blames A Specific Group Of Immigrants For All Our Problems (And Promises To Eliminate Them From Our Society)
#4. He'll Sell His Hate As Hope For The Poorest Citizens In This Country
#3. Don't Think Concentration Camps, Just Think Prisons
#2. Not Taking Him Seriously Makes Him More Dangerous
#1. He Used To Keep A Copy Of Hitler's Sequel To Mein Kampf By His Bed

5 Ways Donald Trump Perfectly Mirrors Hitler's Rise To Power

Freud would have a field day with this one


The unstoppable truth...

Daily KOS

The moron speaks...


Democrats pounce as Bush defends 'stuff happens' remarks


Emphasis is mine.

CNN

Rand Paul’s long, hard week of explaining why his campaign isn’t over

It doesn't say much for the vigor of a campaign when a candidate has to insist he hasn't quit.

Poll: In Bobby Jindal vs. Hillary Clinton, Louisiana voters say they want the Democrat

and what does it say when the incumbent Governor would lose his own Republican State to an unpopular Democrat?
Oh no! He's doomed:  Bobby Jindal camp denies they’ve lost ‘Duck Dynasty’ endorsement

Meanwhile: Campaigns start too early? Well, not Jim Gilmore’s.

I think that a lot of candidates are forced to start early in order to garner the funds they need to run a campaign.

Was The Second Debate The Beginning Of The End For Donald Trump?

The Donald is a dead duck...

Yes, and they are replacing this nut for one of the assortment in the Clown Bus.

Yeah, a regular trail mix.

Campaign trail mix.

Looks like Democrat supporters are more intelligent that Republican supporters, if grammatical skills are any indication.

Grammar study

Chaffee, Sanders, and O'Malley supporters lead the pack, Trumpites are at the tail...

Probably why the Republicans are not that upset at losing education funding.

Aww who needs ducashion, shucks

Ben Carson does not understand what the debt ceiling is:

Ben Carson on the debt ceiling

Fake medical school diploma: $1000. Ben Carson, priceless...

I have actually been impressed with the lack of acumen of the GOP field - economics, foreign policy, domestic issues, all seem to be beyond them. They don't, collectively, understand any issue of substance. It's really quite amazing.

This guy is a neurosurgeon, for God's sake. Is he some kind of medical idiot savant? Or maybe just not interested in politics?

I heard him on MarketWatch and his interview answers were pitiful.

Exactly what Republicans want in a President.

But seriously, is this truly the best that Republicans have to offer the nation?

Maybe he gave himself a lobotomy upon retirement.

Clinton investigation is a partisan attack and it's not just Kevin McCarthy who thinks so.

Will the Bengazzie Boogie and Emailgate become assets against the Republicans in Hillary's campaign for President?

That's all they have ever been. Note the timing of the committee's press releases and plan for release of its report.

It wouldn't be the first time Republicans have had half baked politicized schemes blow up in their faces.

And it probably won't be the last.

Heads up guys. News flash:
Charles Koch - yeah that Koch - said in an interview on CBS:
"I'm a liberal "

Bwahahahaha!

If Issodhos were here he would agree - a Classical Liberal, as defined by Ludwig Von Mises, with absolutely no relevance to the meaning of the word today.

This prediction surprised me: Which Republican presidential candidate will drop out next? Maybe these two.

What ever happened to Issy?

How Bernie Sanders turned himself into a serious presidential contender


I think the reality is that more Americans support his ideas than what any of the other candidates are pedaling. The problem is with labels. Labeling is killing him, and will put a ceiling on his chances. But, I believe his ideas will take hold and inform the election. My wife and son are already ardent supporters.

Let's call a spade a spade here NWP. His "labeling problem" is of his own making. He has labeled himself a Socialist and in this day and age it is anathema to any chance he has of election.
Republicans and Democrats alike should and do fear Socialism. Particularly that of the Marxist/Leninist variety where government controls the means of production which is ostensibly "owned" by the workers.
It is seen by economic theorists, such as Marx, as a cure for the ravages of unregulated Capitalism. We're seeing some of these problems today as the United States enters a new "Gilded Age" where the wealthy control more and more of the finite assets available to the population at large and use this wealth to obtain more and more of these assets until there is not enough left for the lower classes to survive.

From the article linked to your post:

Bernie Sanders is not a Democratic Socialist.
He is a proponent of Social Democracy. There is a huge difference.

From Wikipedia:

Also from Wikipedia:

I think Sanders used it in the Northern European sense, and, really, we are all Social Democrats in that sense. But you are right that that is the self-imposed label that dooms him. He is trying, however, to get that meaning adopted by the mainstream to take away its sting. Ours is a Social Democratic Republic (and Representative Democracy), but most people don't recognize it for what it is.

I was hoping that Campaign 2016 would get its own Forum header INDEPENDENT of Campaign 2012 and not just a thread.
Maybe later.

I think you're right, Jeffery. We have over 20 candidates to keep track of and only the single thread to do it in. It's going to get pretty jumbled over the next year. For instance, Trump's Trumpet belongs under the Campaign 2016 header. Phil was our last official administrator and that duty should have fallen to him but since he is MIA and SkyHawk has not been heard from here or anywhere else for a very long time I suspect he has retired from his position as Chief Engineer of Administrative duties. He was the one who actually knew how to twiddle the knobs and tweak the settings. I honestly don't recall whether lowly moderators are given the power to add forums.

I agree with a forum rather than just a thread, but don't know how/if I can do it. Inquiring.

I have a PM to Doug to make this an independent forum.

Been watching the Democratic debate. It is remarkable how much more intelligent these folks are that the Republicans.

I am not a Clinton fan, but she is acquitting herself very well - I was afraid she would suck.

Still like Bernie the best.

I don't care much for Webb.

Anderson Cooper: Hillz, how can you be president of America if you can't be president of EMAILS?


Hillary: Here are my emails, which were legal. Read them. READ THEM! And oh, also, ANDERSON, did you watch the news last week about how the whole "email" thing was just a big Republican bullshiit scam to tank my presidency? AND LOOK WHO'S STILL HERE, BITCHEZZZZZ.

Lincoln Chafee asked Anderson not to be so rough with him.


(BET ALL THE BOYS SAY THAT TO COOP #GAYJOKE)

Coop: How will you be different from Obama?


CHAFEE: Wars, wars, all the wars. I am sad about the wars.


O'MALLEY: I would be a real Democrat unlike that impostor, or something.


CLINTON: Boys have a penis and girls have a vagina.


SANDERS: All the socialist words you know and love.


WEBB: I'm a boring Marine. Argle, bargle, I'm really a Republican on most issues.

To be sexist, but pragmatic, Clinton finally got a hairstyle that works.

Now that I think of it, so did Sanders...

I didn't feel any need to watch the debate. Chaffee and Webb are less than window dressing,

This is all you really need to know at this point...

Clinton 48.3% Leads the polls by 18.2%

Sanders 25.1%

Biden(who isn't running) 17.4%

Webb .9%

O'Malley .4%

Chaffee .3%

Real Clear Politics

Webb appeals to the Very Conservative Democrats who simply can't stomach the GOP and a few veterans. O'Malley and Chaffee, whatever their stances on the issues, essentially appeal to no one.

Joe Biden is a good man, but as Vice President he cannot break with President Obama's policies during the campaign. His two terms as Vice President were the pinnacle of a long and illustrious career. At 72 he should retire and enjoy the rest of his life, doing speaking engagements, fundraising, and driving his Corvette whenever and wherever he wants. He has seen enough misery in his life and does not need the added weight of the Presidency to drag him down from what should be a long and pleasant retirement.

There is a bit of a horse race forming up between Clinton and Sanders but over the course of the next year Bernie's "small donor only" funding is liable to prove insufficient as the primaries begin in earnest and demands for staff salaries, travel, and radio and television air time add up.
We may see Sanders narrow the gap but most of the 17% currently allocated to Biden in the polls will swing more heavily towards Clinton once it becomes clear that Vice President Biden is not going to run.

Right now Clinton, in my estimation, stands at about a 60% chance of winning the nomination compared to 40% for Bernie. I expect these numbers to hold true throughout the campaign.

I would also note here that should Clinton win the nomination and select Sanders as her running mate the Democratic Party might see an amazing turnout come November 2016. The Clinton's are masters at political triangulation and I'd be willing to bet that Bubba and Hilly have at least discussed this privately.

I bet they didn't use email to do it, either.

My son suggested the same idea(and he is not well informed on politics). I without thinking agreed but have had some time to think about it.

If the Dems went with left and lefter they would essentially limit their possible and probable voting groups to liberals only. So unless there is a huge Democratic Party turnout it sounds more like a recipe for failure than an opportunity to win the WH.

If they can find a centrist who can appeal to everyone to the right of Sec Clinton, they would be in a much better position to win. This is fairly standard general election politics and in this case it really makes sense.

Here's one handicapper discussing VP choices:
Top 15 Hillary Running Mates for 2016

My prediction is for an up-and-comer, like Cory Booker, Duval Patrick, or Julian Castro. Indeed, Castro will be a star at the Convention whether or not he is the first Hispanic nominee. With him on the ticket, I see a huge turnout and a Dem blowout. Millenials, Hispanics, and liberals would love that combo, it would castrate (pun intended) Rubio or Bush's infiltration of the Hispanic population, and would install a front-runner for the 2024 race.

Clinton does not show her age as much as the men who are competing against her (and as much as the GOP youngsters hope), and the combination of a younger VP and an experienced Presidential candidate will have some of the same synergy that Obama/Biden had.

Las Vegas odds makers still have Hillary winning the November 2016 general election and Jeb Bush as the Republican POTUS nominee.

Shouldn't this be filed under Campaign 2016?
This is why we need Campaign 2016 to be its own forum header, not just a discussion thread.

But anyway, did anyone else notice that ALL the polls had Bernie as the winner while all the cable news anchors said Hillary won?
I'd like to take real ACTUAL anchors, tie them around their necks and drop them in the Pacific where they could actually do the job an anchor is supposed to do.

Reading CNN's OFFICIAL poll which had Bernie as the winner at EIGHTY PERCENT and then hearing the talking heads oozing and suppurating for Hillary reminded me of when the Carter administration sent emergency supplies of wheat to the Soviet Union because they were experiencing crop failures.
Meanwhile the nightly "Vremya" newscast had the anchors chortling about their magnificent bumper crops and "great benefit to Soviet people from collectives."

Fact checkers have trouble finding misstated "facts" during first Dem debate - conservatives shake their tiny fists in fury and scream: Liberal media bias

Whoa there cowboy! Madame Clinton is a moderate.
She aint no lefty at all. Bernie Sanders' considerable success running further left than The Green Party is proving that there are a lot of Democratic voters who find Clinton far too conservative for their tastes.
I'll admit that she's way left of any of the Republican candidates but that puts her pretty much dead center on the right/left scale.
Clinton will not pull a single vote from anyone registered as a Republican. Moderate Democrats will all dutifully vote for her just as they will for Bernie Sanders if he should win the nomination. My thought is just that a lot of Progressives might stay home next November if Bernie is no longer in the picture.
I don't think it will matter one whit though. Whoever she chooses, she will still win the General Election against any of the Republican Insane Clown Posse. But if she wants to pull in the lefties and Millenials in droves Bernies as a running mate would do it. Julian Castro is a nice choice too but, I think she's already got the Hispanic vote locked up anyway.

Oh, and I mean no disrespect to the real Insane Clown Posse

Where's God when shiit goes down?

Here's something to consider...
All of you naysayers may very well be right, America may not be ready for a democratic socialist after all.
But does it really matter when the next ten years will see HALF of ALL human jobs become obsolete on a GLOBAL scale?
Moore's Law, the economies of scale, advanced robotics and artificial intelligence are all going to converge and make half the global workforce irrelevant in the next decade.
COUNT ON IT.

Someone please tell me how a fully unregulated, darwinist/dickensian capitalist system is going to be relevant in an environment like that?
Fish can argue all day long about why water is important and essential but if the pond dries up and they haven't adapted like this critter, they're gonna die.

Walking Catfish

So my suggestion to all who are certain that democratic socialism cannot possibly work in America is, tell us all how you intend to fix capitalism then, fix it to account for an age in which employment and paychecks from the private sector are not always a reality for half the global workforce.

That is some pretty significant demand destruction and it doesn't stop there.
In TWENTY YEARS almost NINETY percent of all human labor will cease to exist.
But by then we most certainly will have made the adjustments to the economy or the adjustments will be made for us whether we like it or not.

Jeb Bush Has A Plan To Replace Obamacare; Here's What's In It

A velvet-covered sledgehammer. And this is what passes for "policy" amongst Republicans. What a joke. A sad, sick joke.

Jeff, I think America might be ready for "democratic socialism" but not for a jewish 74 year old lefty from Brooklyn (the accent brings back such memories, as I was born in Brooklyn). I know that Obama's election may have done a little to change that, but it is much easier to vote for a half-black christian with a Harvard tie.
Another point that may be relevant is:
I don't think "democratic socialism" solves the problems you and I both think need to be solved. It does little or nothing to change capitalism, and therein lies the rub. The capitalist economic system is based on the exploitation of the working (or middle) class. Yes, the proletariat has changed a lot since Marx's day, but the system he sought to replace has only gotten worse.
I don't think the European examples are a good comparison. The U.S. is far too controlled by right wing forces and the republican (as opposed to parliamentary) system is made for gridlock, as we can see.
Change in North America will have to be a lot deeper and rely on much better education than what currently exists.
Electing a progressive President, while better than letting the Tea Party have its way, is not going to change much. It may help future generations to understand that there are REAL alternatives to the savage brand of capitalism that we live under. That would be a great accomplishment - if it were to happen.

Maybe an indicator of a trend - our local TEA Party just officially disbanded - they ran out of enthusiasm for the "cause"...

The reality is that both Clinton and Obama are capitalist-driven democrats, and little will be accomplished along that line. Sanders cannot manage much in the way of change because a) he is too old, and b) he is too impatient. Elizabeth Warren could be a real force for change, even though she, too, is not "young" - and may yet be, if the Dems retake the Senate. She is the right kind of innovator because she understands both the power and corruption of capitalism. I thought that Obama was going to be that kind of an agent for change, and the ACA is a good example of how it can be done - work within the system to show the benefits of a change in paradigm. His education initiative is also working to affect that - as the discussion has already turned on how far to go rather than should education be cheaper? A similar debate is occurring over the minimum wage. In Tacoma the debate is whether to go to $12 in 2 years, or $15 in one. But no one is really arguing against raising the minimum wage (on the local level - in Congress it is quite different, where the Chamber of Commerce is in charge).

That is one of the things that too many people miss about how Obama has managed change in his administration. People now take health care as a given, and now we are just dickering over the price. The same with sexual orientation and same sex marriage. Education is the the next big hurdle. Imagine how much the real-world economy will improve with those three issues resolved: education will be less of a drag on incomes, more multi-income families will be created, and fewer medically-induced bankruptcies will take place.

The TEA-infused Republican party is fighting a rear-guard action and are losing miserably. The population has abandoned them nearly entirely, but we'll just have to see if the electorate has too. It will take both of those to change the political system which is far, far more conservative (in every sense of the word) than either. Sadly, the judiciary will be the last institution to change, as the damage to it has been even greater than to the Congress.

I think that Bernie Sanders would run into a lot of opposition from the Republicans in both houses, but not as much as President Obama has. I agree with NWP[b][/b] about Elizabeth warren. In fact, if it was a Warren/Sanders ticket, I would be on Heaven!

The technological forces I described above don't give a damn because they are poised to lay waste to the economic output of the middle class, thus creating the kind of demand destruction only seen in catastrophic natural disasters or nuclear winter.
The owners of capital do not seem to realize that they have unleashed the Kraken, and they might as well be running outside and yelling at a tornado.

Huckabee Suggests Poor People Should Be Sold Into Slavery For Stealing


Slavery? What pathetic louses these two people are. And prisons taken over by Progressives??? More like prisons for profit by corporations.

Jails are a Pagan invention? I wonder what sort of documentation they have to back up that claim? Everything that occurred in the Bible took place in a very small region of the Middle East. Detention facilities were probably somewhat rudimentary at that time and so crucifixion, stoning, the cutting off of hands, and selling one's daughters into slavery for canoodling behind the camel pens were far more common punishments. Roughly the same handling of ne'er do wells as is found in the Torah and the Quoran. I suspect that the jailing of prisoners became more popular when Christian kings built castles and fortresses with dungeons and such.
Is this what republicans mean when they say they want to take our country back? Back to the Dark Ages? At least we Pagans have evolved somewhat since those times. Christians seem to be unable to cope with modernity.

Probably the same documentation they had to prove that Obama was born in Kenya and is a Muslim. Morons.
This brand of christianity has so little to do with Yeshua that it is a "sin" to call it christianity.

In one sense they are right, since prisons existed 2000 years before Jesus was born. "The beginning of prisons can be traced back to the rise of the state as a form of social organization. Corresponding with the advent of the state was the development of written language, which enabled the creation of formalized legal codes as official guidelines for society. The most well known of these early legal codes is the Code of Hammurabi, written in Babylon around 1750 BC. The penalties for violations of the laws in Hammurabi's Code were almost exclusively centered on the concept of lex talionis ("the law of retaliation") where people were punished as a form of vengeance, often by the victims themselves. This notion of punishment as vengeance or retaliation can also be found in many other legal codes from early civilizations, including the ancient Sumerian codes, the Indian Manama Dharma Astra, the Hermes Trismegistus of Egypt, and the Mosaic Code." So, one could also note that prisons were part of the Judeo Christian tradition.

It was actually Plato that first came up with the idea of using prisons as reformatories. But it was Christians of the 18th Century that promoted the idea of "Penitentiaries", "based on religious ideas that equated crime with sin, and saw prisons as a place to instruct prisoners in Christian morality, obedience and proper behavior. These later reformers believed that prisons could be constructed as humane institutions of moral instruction, and that prisoners' behavior could be "corrected" so that when they were released, they would be model members of society." So, in the larger sense, as with so many things espouse on the extreme right, they are diametrically wrong.

And there is no "rehabilitation" with the onset of prisons for profit. Just more corruption as with that judge who was just sentenced to 28 for abusing the system

US judge receives 28-year jail term for his role in kids-for-cash kickback

Jim Webb to drop out of Democratic presidential primary

I never thought that Jim Webb had much of a chance at the Democratic nomination. I don't think that he'll do any better for the Independent one, either.

Can Justin Trudeau run for President? He'd not be the only Canadian in the race.

Some RWNs are claiming that if Webb runs as an Independent that it will split the Leftie vote. I think it's more likely that he would split the Rightie vote to some degree.

I agree.I think that most Democrats will vote for either Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton. They will vote Blue, before voting Independent. But Jim Webb may draw the more moderate Republican vote, with all the nutjobs running for the GOP spot.

In the most recent Gallup poll American voters are 27% Republican, 27% Democrat, and 43% Independent. A record high for Independents. When asked which way they "leaned" Independents were split pretty much evenly bringing the total to 45% Republican and 44% Democratic.
That leaves 11% of the voters up for grabs. source

Even Republicans are not excited about their candidates. Once they've made a decision which one gets to run in the general election it's hard to imagine that American voters at large are going to be particularly thrilled with the idea of voting for a Trump/Carson/Bush/Cruz/Rubio.

The Democratic field is far more mainstream and is addressing the issues that, poll after poll, say Americans are more interested in than the divisive social issues predominating the Republican discussion.

If Webb has the financial backing to continue his run as an indepent it's far more likely he'd do more damage to Republicans than Democrats. I don't see him as a game changer in any event though.

There's a conservative nut job that wrote today that Jebb Webb will now go Independent and split the Dem ticket.

I replied to said nut job that Jim Webb hardly has any Dem attention, and a Rep split is more likely if Webb goes independent.

I tell you, the right wingers are nuts and in their so-called analysis, they always get things backwards.

Well said. Thank you!!

Yup, saw Gregor's post before yours.

Jim Webb never had the votes to take from the Dems and if he does run as an independent he'll probably do a lot worse than Nader with Dems. With the Republicans on the other hand...

Biden decides against 2016 presidential bid

WaPo

I am glad that Joe Biden has decided not to run. I liked him as a VP, but I still think that Bernie Sanders is a better choice-the BEST choice.

I agree, and I get the feeling that his heart was really not in it. And from the grueling strain that we know it causes on any serious candidate, your heart really has to be in it.

I think that he is just to grief =-stricken over his son's death. Life has not always been kind to this man when it comes to his family. I hope that he can find some peace.

Lincoln Chafee ends Democratic bid for president

Did he ever have a chance?

No, not really.

Yeah, I didn't think he did. To be honest, he was so far off of my radar that I was really only reminded of him after I saw a part of the debate.

Jeb Bush campaign in reboot mode as salaries, staff cut

Portents?

One can hope

Hillary did very well at the Benghazi hearings, she deserves credit for that.
If we start getting a sense of who she would pick to be in her administration, that would be a very good thing possibly.
If she picks the usual establishment people, that's a BAD thing.
In the meantime, we have a YEAR, and besides presidential politics, we need to get serious about recruiting game changers for Congress and we need to set about rooting out the cons in local government, city and state.
SEVENTY percent of city, state and local govt is now DOMINATED by the Republican Party, did you folks know that?
That means you could put Jesus Christ and Buddha on the ticket and it wouldn't even matter at the local level.
You could put the Caped Crusader and Superman in the White House and your town is still going to be fellating the same old ALEC backed Koch-suckers.
So....Hillary...okay, maybe we have to give her a chance....so....Bernie, what a wonderful miracle it would be...and then comes January 20th and you turn around and some jackleg con-tard is in your governor's mansion or sitting on your city council intoning about how we must give more tax cuts to the rich and cut services as if NOTHING CHANGED!!!
Do you folks see what I am getting at?

He has a short time to try and at least overtake Ben Carson.

Lincoln Chafee has also dropped out of the Democratic race for President.

Linclon Chafee Drops Out Of Democratic Primary Race

I think Marco Rubio is now the front runner for the GOP nomination, and apparently the betting markets think so too. NYT

I think Clinton's Benghazi appearance and experience (and political machine) will easily win her the Democratic nomination (sorry, Bernie). And I think Trump and Carson will flame out once voters start getting serious. Rubio has the backing of GOP establishment donors, now, as JEB!'s star is fading.

When it comes to brass tacks, though, the electorate will go with expertise over youth. Rubio is telegenic, youthful and well-spoken (he is a lawyer, after all), but he is callow, has spending skeletons in his closet, has little political experience and will have immigration issues to walk back (that his base will not like). Clinton will keep him on the defensive, and he'll never gain traction.

If Rubio does manage to beat out Trump and Carson, I agree that he will have a hard time winning or gaining anything, no matter who the Democratic nominee is.

Agree. He's not a possibility. Just an empty suit, no substance.

The only thing Rubio has going for him is that he's not quite as nutty as Trump, Carson, Cruz, Santorum or Lindsey(did I miss anyone?). And he is less callous or shallow than Fiorina or Kasich(but not by much). But Either Sanders or Clinton(or my dog Twinkie) can run circles around him and beat him three ways to Sunday in a head-to-head match up for the Presidency. Unless the Koch brothers back him and somehow cheat at the polls.

As Ben Carson slowly moves more into the spotlight, a bit more information is being highlighted. Personally, I get the sense that Carson is living in a partial fantasy world, that his strange closed eyes and slow speech are signs of metal aberration and not "thoughtfulness" (his thoughts, when he finally gets them out, are a jumble of shallow far right theories mixed with murky religiosity). And his story of having a violent temper as a teenager, attempting to stab his best friend but luckily breaking the knife on his buddy's belt buckle, then going into a fortress of solitude like state, emerging as Buddha... I suspect that is 98% boolshit.

Ben Carson

I think you're right. Not just right wing wingnut but total certifiable whacko.
Why am I not surprised?

do not know about that but i suspect he currently has anger problems. I have watched him in interviews and when the questions point to his gaffes his reaction is one of someone about to explode but then regains control. He obviously believes his beliefs and opinions are the only correct ones to have ... how can that be? ..... for he is the quizat haderach

for all the issues he has made extreme claims the one which gets me is his inability to understand his own position. He stated because Muslims do not believe the Constitution is the highest authority they should be disallowed from becoming president (and consequently any office which requires an oath to to uphold the Constitution to take office) and yet he believes God is the highest authority. Why doesn;t that disallow him for public office???

We have always had extremists apply for office but this election cycle says more about Americans by exposing the level of ignorance in America.

Carson reaches these absurd conclusions because he engages in what philosophers call "unreasoned beliefs" or "implicitly grounded" beliefs. In order to simplify his thought processes, he skips a few steps in the logical construction by "assuming" certain conditions. One of the assumptions is that "God" is an American Christian - so of course there is no conflict between the Constitution and Christianity because the Constitution is a Christian construct. It is a sloppy habit of thinking that strikes most politicians, although not just based upon Christian precepts. Most politicians believe that their thoughts are shared by their constituents, even if empirically that is demonstrably wrong. In another thread, for example, I pointed out that Ted Cruz was elected by only 625,000 voters out of 26 million - yet, he behaves as if his iconoclastic views represent not only all Texans, but all Americans. Most Americans (if polls are even slightly accurate) believe in same-sex marriage, gun control, Social Security, universal health care, and global climate change, among many other "mainstream" issues. That, however, does not influence the politicians.

Hillary Clinton, I believe, will win, because she is representing the views of most Americans in her positions. That, I think, will overwhelm the gerrymandering, the false narratives, etc. Bernie Sanders, too, is doing well because he is striking many of the same chords. Trump is doing well among the party base because he is appealing to their narratives - but those narratives only apply to about 30% of the GOP primary voting base. That is the ceiling of support that he and Carson will achieve.

This is SOP for conservatives i.e. assuming the conclusions of predetermination. Suppose I told my math profs my proof of a complex theorem was just IO (intuitively obvious). What was the basis of my proof? O .... I believe it is true

When these folks are pressed they use the get out of jail free card i.e. I believe it is true ..... really!!!!! .... and that is suppose to let them off the hook

Modern conservatives have abandoned rational thought in favor of a theology of irrational memes.

Trump did well tonight, I thought. He didn't get all cray-cray. Jeb told Marco to go to work because he's missing too many Senate votes. Ted went on to be a crybaby and used up his time to rant on regarding the MSM instead of answering the question.

Didn't watch. Exceeded my tolerance level.

They've taught me that even clowns can be boring...

Mike Huckabee claimed at last night's debate that he's run up against the "Clinton Machine" and is still alive to tell about. Huckster is playing on the RWing paranoia that those who cross the Clinton's some how end up dead.

...but, Mike Huckabee has never run in an election - not for president, for not governor, not for undersecretary of the PTA - against a Clinton. Never. Not once.

Huckster is your typical Rwingnut liar extraordinaire to pull something out of his piehole and say it as it were true.

Makes you wonder why he is running at all???

I'm wondering why any of them are running. If this field is the best Republicans have to offer for the highest office in the land then the party has indeed hit rock bottom.

I bet you edited that hole...

The Huckster has a rather unique backstory. But then again it's not like The Donald has ever run for dogcatcher either.

The unique aspect here is neither has the slightest idea of how the US government is supposed to work, or care.

He's just running off his mouth.

[
Pie was my first choice.

Yeah...no kidding.

RNC pulls out of Feburary 2016 NBC debate.

Here are the CNBC debate questions - what are the RNC POTUS candidate crybabies whining about?


Linky Dink

[To all candidates] So in 30 seconds, without telling us that you try too hard or that you’re a perfectionist, what is your biggest weakness and what are you doing to address it?

Mr. Trump, you’ve done very well in this campaign so far by promising to build a wall and make another country pay for it. Send 11 million people out of the country. Cut taxes $10 trillion without increasing the deficit. And make Americans better off because your greatness would replace the stupidity and incompetence of others. Let’s be honest. Is this a comic book version of a presidential campaign?

Dr. Carson, let’s talk about taxes. [Goes through Carson’s tax plan.] So what analysis got you to the point where you think this will work?

This one is for Senator Rubio. You’ve been a young man in a hurry ever since you won your first election in your 20s. You’ve had a big accomplishment in the Senate, an immigration bill providing a path to citizenship the conservatives in your party hate, and even you don’t support anymore. Now, you’re skipping more votes than any senator to run for president. Why not slow down, get a few more things done first or least finish what you start?
Governor [Bush], the fact that you’re at the fifth lectern tonight shows how far your stock has fallen in this race, despite the big investment your donors have made. You noted recently, after slashing your payroll, that you had better things to do than sit around and be demonized by other people. […] Ben Bernanke, who was appointed Fed chairman by your brother, recently wrote a book in which he said he no longer considers himself a Republican because the Republican Party has given in to know- nothingism. Is that why you’re having a difficult time in this race?

Ms. Fiorina, I — I’d like to ask you a question. You are running for president of the United States because of your record running Hewlett-Packard. [Goes through why Carly’s record at HP sucks old beaver twats.] [I]f you looked at your competitors, if you looked at the overall market. I just wonder, in terms of all of that — you know, we look back, your board fired you. I just wondered why you think we should hire you now.

Senator Cruz. Congressional Republicans, Democrats and the White House are about to strike a compromise that would raise the debt limit, prevent a government shutdown and calm financial markets that fear of — another Washington-created crisis is on the way. Does your opposition to it show that you’re not the kind of problem-solver American voters want? [This, by the way, is when Cruz sang his big solo about the lamestream media.]

Senator Paul, the budget deal crafted by Speaker Boehner and passed by the House today makes cuts in entitlement programs, Medicare and Social Security disability, which are the very programs conservatives say need cutting to shrink government and solve our country’s long-term budget deficit. Do you oppose that budget deal because it doesn’t cut those programs enough?

Governor Huckabee, who is here on the stage, has said that [Chris Christie] and others who think this way are trying to rob seniors of the benefits that they’ve earned. It raises the question: When it is acceptable to break a social compact?

Mr. Trump, let’s talk a little bit about bankruptcies. Your Atlantic City casinos filed for bankruptcy four times. [Blah blah blah.] Bankruptcy is a broken promise. Why should the voters believe the promises that you’re telling them right now?

Dr. Carson, in recent weeks, a number of pharmaceutical companies has been accused of profiteering, for dramatically raising the prices of life-saving drugs. […] Should the government be involved in controlling some of these price increases?

Governor Christie … General Motors paid more than $1 billion in fines and settlements for its ignition switch defect. One hundred and twenty- four people died as a result of these faulty switches. No one went to jail. As a former prosecutor, do you believe the people responsible for the switch and the cover-up belong behind bars?

Governor Bush, in a debate like this four years ago, every Republican running for president pledged to oppose a budget deal containing any tax increase even if it had spending cuts ten times as large. A few months later, you told Congress, put me in, coach, you said you would take that deal. Still feel that way?

Mrs. Fiorina, in 2010, while running for Senate … you called an Internet sales tax a bad idea. Traditional brick and mortar stores obviously disagree. Now that the Internet shopping playing field has matured, what would be a fair plan to even that playing field?

Senator Rubio, you yourself have said that you’ve had issues. [List of why Rubio is A Idiot who is bad with his own personal moneys.] In terms of all of that, it raises the question whether you have the maturity and wisdom to lead this $17 trillion economy. What do you say?
Governor John Kasich, you’ve called for abolishing the Export Import Bank, which provides subsidies to help American companies compete with overseas competitors. […] If subsidies are good enough for Ohio companies, why aren’t they good enough for companies trying to compete overseas?
Senator Cruz, working women in this country still earn just 77 percent of what men earn. […] I just wonder what you would do as President to try and help in this cause?

Dr. Carson, we know you as a physician, but we wanted to ask you about your involvement on some corporate boards, including Costco’s. Last year, a marketing study called the warehouse retailer the number one gay-friendly brand in America, partly because of its domestic partner benefits. Why would you serve on a company whose policies seem to run counter to your views on homosexuality?

[To Carson] This is a company called Mannatech, a maker of nutritional supplements, with which you had a 10-year relationship. They offered claims that they could cure autism, cancer, they paid $7 million to settle a deceptive marketing lawsuit in Texas, and yet your involvement continued. Why?

Senator Rubio, Wired magazine recently carried the heading, “Marco Rubio wants to be the tech industry’s savior.” [You support H1B immigration visas, your Republican friend Jeff Sessions says they are bad.] Why is he wrong?

Mr. Trump, let’s stay on this issue of immigration. You have been very critical of Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook who has wanted to increase the number of these H1Bs.

Senator Cruz … You’ve been a fierce critic of the Fed, arguing for more transparency. Where do you want to take that? Do you want to get Congress involved in monetary policy, or is it time to slap the Fed back and downsize them completely? What are your thoughts? What do you believe?

Dr. Carson, you told The Des Moines Register that you don’t like government subsidies, it interferes with the free market. But you’ve also said that you’re in favor of taking oil subsidies and putting them towards ethanol processing. Isn’t that just swapping one subsidy for another, Doctor?

Governor Huckabee, you have railed against income inequality. You’ve said that some Wall Street executives should have gone to jail over the roles that they played during the financial crisis. Apart from your tax plan, are there specific steps you would require from corporate America to try and reduce the income inequality?

Governor Bush, the tax reform bill that Ronald Reagan signed in 1986 cut the top personal income tax rate to 28 percent — just like your plan does. But President Reagan taxed capital gains at the same rate, while you would tax them at just 20 percent. … [W]hy would you tax labor at a higher rate than income from investments?

Governor Kasich, let’s talk about marijuana. We’re broadcasting from Colorado which has seen $150 million in new revenue for the state since legalizing last year. Governor Hickenlooper is not a big fan of legalization, but he’s said the people who used to be smoking it are still smoking it, they’re just now paying taxes. … [I]s this a revenue stream you’d like to have?
Mr. Trump … Marco Rubio has a bill to triple H-1Bs that would decimate women and minorities. Are you in favor of H-1Bs or are you opposed to them?
Mr. Trump, you’ve said you have a special permit to carry a gun in New York. After the Oregon mass shooting on October 1st, you said, “By the way, it was a gun-free zone. If you had a couple of teachers with guns, you would have been a hell of a lot better off.” Would you feel more comfortable if your employees brought guns to work?

Governor Huckabee, you’ve written about the huge divide in values between middle America and the big coastal cities like New York and Los Angeles. […] The leading Republican candidate, when you look at the average of national polls right now, is Donald Trump. When you look at him, do you see someone with the moral authority to unite the country?

Mrs. Fiorina, you were the CEO of a large corporation that offers a 401(k) to its employees. But more than half of American have no access to an employer sponsored retirement plan. […] Should the Federal Government play a larger role in helping to set up retirement plans for these workers?

[To Kasich] Most people can’t get a college degree without going into debt. Over 40 million Americans have student loans and many of them cannot pay them back. This country has over $100 billion in student loan defaults. […] What will you do to make sure that students, their families, taxpayers, won’t feel the economic impact of this burden for generations?

Governor Bush, daily fantasy sports has become a phenomenon in this country, will award billions of dollars in prize money this year. But to play you have to assess your odds, put money at risk, wait for an outcome that’s out of your control. Isn’t that the definition of gambling, and should the Federal Government treat it as such?

Governor Christie, you’ve said something that many in your party do not believe, which is that climate change is undeniable, that human activity contributes to it, and you said, quote: “The question is, what do we do to deal with it?”. So what do we do?

Senator Paul, among the leading conservative opponents to the creation of Medicare back in the 1960s was Ronald Reagan. He warned that it would lead to socialism. Considering the mounting cost of Medicare, was he right to oppose it?

Governor Bush, Mr. Trump says that he is capable of growing the economy so much that Social Security and Medicare don’t have to be touched. Do you want to explain how that is going to happen, Mr. Trump?

[To Carson] You’ve said that you would like to replace Medicare with a system of individual family savings accounts, so that families could cover their own expenses. Obviously, that would be a very controversial idea. Explain how that would work, exactly.

Hmmm... There were some unprofessional gratuitous snarks in there, but by-and-large those are genuine questions of legitimate interest, mostly crafted out of the candidates' own campaign trail remarks.

Exactly. Question #6 to Ted Cruz, was answered as a tirade against the media by Ted Cruz. Clearly, Cruz had rehearsed his speil ahead of time and then had the audacity to begin his answer when the one minute was up - at which point the mods said: Too late dumb ass, you wasted your opportunity to answer the question about debt.


( I loosely paraphrased the mod part. )

It's all theater - and it's all Bullcrap - Grade A, Prime American Bullcrap, but Bullcrap nonetheless. Asking these spindle-heads questions is tantamount to asking a cripple to walk by putting one foot in front of the other.

There is a marked difference between the Republican "debates" and the Democrat "debate" (none of these things are really debates).

During the D-bate I actually learned a few things, such as rationales behind policy positions and past decisions, and was able to assess the various candidates' knowledge and experience to some degree.

The R-bates, however, are all about attacks on each other, hyperbolically denigrating the D's, or blaming the media. I have only the vaguest conception of their platforms, except their ideologic talking points. The prevalent GOP strategy is all about playing to the crazies - how telling is it when a party seeks to gain power by commandeering a majority of the votes of the most ignorant and delusional among us?

I agree! While watching the R-bates, it seemed like a reality show on Fox Network. The D-bates were more like watching a news program that was informative.

Such mean questions! ~ Donald Trump

Jeb Bush is desperately trying to restart his flagging campaign. I hear conflicting rumors of him dismissing his staff, yet he has revamped his slogan and now proclaims that Jeb Can Fix It! No word at all of any other candidate dropping out, even if their numbers are extremely dismal.

This is a crazy wave in politics -- the fascists are winning elections, Carson leads Clinton in polls, it is time for the complacent to get off their butts and start voting, if nothing else.
In a way I am fortunate because I am old. But those of you 25-60 have to live with this crap for many years. Good luck.

Apparently Ben Carson is the only one who remembers his violent tendencies in his youth that were cured by a great effort of personal will and a miracle from God.

Brian Williams Syndrome?

CNN Investigates Ben Carson’s Stories of Childhood Violence, Finds No Evidence

Now, I am not suggesting that Ben is batch!t crazy...

Yes I am!

The only thing that Jeb has ever fixed was the Florida election where he made his brother win.

Baltimore PD also said that his story of being held up at a Popeye's Chicken restaurant doesn't check out.

Baltimore PD: Ben Carson Is A Liar, No Record of Him Being Robbed At Gunpoint In Popeyes

...and had Supreme help.

Perhaps voices told Ben that all of this was true.

Well he is claiming that the pyramids are really granaries.

Carson's theory: Egypt's pyramids stored grain

I believe that the more exposure Ben Carson gets, the lower his chances become. It is funny that Trump called Bush the low energy candidate. If Bush is low energy, Carson is comatose.

Carson's calm soothing voice has a sleepy effect on me...

There's a theory out there that he's not really running at all.
I think the only people doing well in the polls are the ones who aren't really running.
Very interesting

Apparently Amazing Ben was also offered a "scholarship" to the U.S. Military Academy by none other than General Westmoreland hisself.

Ben calls the people reporting on his lies liars - in his own words...

Bernie Sanders: A Swing and a Miss in the South

Dear Bernie:
For the most part, I would have to say that you knocked it out of the park tonight in South Carolina but despite your stellar performance in answering the questions and addressing the issues of the day, you struck out on the one most important issue that defines YOUR campaign.
You had a golden opportunity to address the elephant in the room, in the place where the elephant lives. I am talking about the divisive perception that too many Americans have regarding democratic socialism.
I don’t know if I should hold you responsible, or Rachel Maddow, or both of you, but the chance was there and neither of you grabbed it, and believe me, at this point in time, it needed grabbing.
You could have defined democratic socialism in such a compelling and forthright way that, after tonight, NO southerner would ever be able to use it as a radioactive tag again.

Have you been in Vermont so long that you aren’t aware of the image problem your brand of economics has? This is a serious problem and a serious question because in the South because for almost four decades, Republicans have owned the debate and you have serious work to do.
Want examples? Is that the problem? Do I have to come down there and help you?
I actually think that I could, and I don’t say that to toot my own horn but frankly I would have thought better minds than mine would have seized on it by now, but the silence is deafening.

So here goes, I will pretend that I am Bernie Sanders and I’ve just had this tossed at me:

“Mr. Sanders, we are in the Deep South, a part of the country that has, for the last forty years, positioned itself squarely against liberal economic policy. How do you, a self-described democratic socialist, think that you can square your ideas with this region, and with those in the rest of the country, who may have misconceptions about democratic socialism?
Clear the air for us on why you think it is the solution to our malaise.”

(Now here I go, remember, I am pretending to be Bernie Sanders, please be kind as this is not something I would normally believe I am qualified to do.)

“It’s very simple, Ms. Maddow.
America, particularly the South, has had a long and fruitful relationship with democratic socialism for many years. Nearly ALL of the economic policies enacted by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt were, by their nature and by their definition, democratic socialism.

When Roosevelt was inaugurated in 1932, nearly half the rural homes in the South had no running water and no electricity. Johnny Cash grew up in a home in Arkansas lit by kerosene lamps and they got their news and entertainment on a radio powered by batteries.
So did Loretta Lynn, the Coal Miner’s Daughter. The entire region lagged behind the rest of the country in terms of modernization of even the most basic necessities of civilized living.

Roosevelt's Rural Electrification Program was a part of the Works Progress Administration and the Tennessee Valley Authority was the result of a clear mandate to bring the heartland of the South into the twentieth century so that southern Americans could enjoy the fruits of modern life and modern health and efficiency.

The WPA and the TVA revolutionized industry, raised the standard of living and strengthened the South's entire economic outlook and hastened its recovery from the Great Depression.
And that is just one aspect of democratic socialism. The rest are rather obvious, public schools, the Interstate Highway System, water conservation and purification projects, Farm Bureaus, telecommunications, the NASA Space Program; all of these and more are and were part of the democratic socialist commitment to the large majority of middle class Americans, and if you grew up in the postwar years between 1947 and 1980, you benefited from the very same social and public goods that bore first fruits for both southerners and all Americans everywhere.

So in essence, democratic socialism is not by any measure, a foreign or dangerous economic policy, quite the contrary, democratic socialism corrected the greatest economic injustices brought on by the looming multiple failures of unfettered capitalism of the pre-crash years of the early twentieth century.

Democratic socialism, quite simply, was very much responsible for the greatest rise of American prosperity in the entire history of the nation, and its success has never been matched by anything that conservatives have done since the Reagan era began in 1980, and frankly, I believe that it is time for Americans to open their eyes and face the fact that they have been sold a 35 year old false promise of prosperity which was never meant to be theirs but rather, meant to for their corporate superiors and for the owners of capital itself.

Democratic socialism is a course correction that America took already, and it is time for America to remember that nothing succeeds like success, and democratic socialism already has that record of success, one just has to look at history to see it."

Your thoughts and criticisms are welcomed, and if you believe in what I wrote, please feel free to share.
Jeffery Haas

Please send that excellent bit of speechifying to candidate Sanders. If he has anything on the ball at all he will hire you on the spot fot more!

I agree, that was an excellent defense of the success of social Democracy. I also agree that the public has been sold a false bill of goods since Reagan (and even Goldwater). That groundwork needed to be laid now, especially with Paul Ryan as Speaker.

I also wanted to highlight the stupendously dishonest complaining of the Carson and Trump campaigns against the press. While I didn't like either the CNN or Politico pieces, the questions they raise are legitimate - how honest, really, is Carson? Is Trump really a good manager, or just a crooked real estate magnate? Do either of their platforms make sense? We are fast approaching the point of the election when votes are going to be cast so hard questions need to be asked. If there is validity to the stories Carson has told, where are the witnesses? Where is the corroboration? Can he be trusted? I, personally have little doubt that, like Brian Williams, his memories are shaded by what makes a good story, rather than accuracy. How much is just pure imagination? Is he, like Ronald Reagan, remembering a past that never was? I would want to know if my president was going senile before he took office.

I'm a little tired -no, very tired- of the deflection game. It's time to answer the danged questions. If you can't, or can't take the heat, drop out - but don't blame the messenger. Hillary Clinton has had to respond to some pretty stupid questions, but also address some pretty serious issues. She, I think, has acquitted herself well. None of the GOP candidate have done nearly as well.

Ben Carson’s most controversial beliefs and statements

and this guy is qualified to be President why? Seriously?

"God" spoke to him and told him to run. For realz!

Who is crazier - Ben Carson, or the people who can't see that he is crazy?

There are at least two certifiable crazies in this race. Ben Carson is just one of them.

I am of the mind that he is SERIOUSLY mentally ill (not just Republican crazy).
I can't recall a coherent sentence that this man has uttered.

some anecdotal is in order

yesterday while listening to a local conservative talk show, the host mentioned Dr Carson and the story from politico and his conclusion was, anyone who "lies" or embellishes stories would never be elected [as president] and ergo ergo

what struck me as odd was the fact he never mentioned the crazy stuff Dr Carson says as the real cause for not being elected. My conclusion was their candidates could say anything but could not lie. I suppose that makes sense to a conservative but I still hear the ringing in my ears.

Ted Cruz fits this, as does Mike Huckabee.

Dr, Carson has now admitted(or at least his campaign has) that he lied about applying and/or getting accepted to West Point. Also, CNN is questioning the veracity of his claim that he stabbed another boy when he was 14. And the Baltimore police have said they can find no record of his claim of being held up at a Burger King in that city. It seems that Ben Carson has a lot of mental delusions.

Holy krap.
Fred Reed has written about how top gun fighter pilots always have an
"I Love Me" room in their house or apartment....you know, with the obligatory shot of the pilot in the jet going straight vertical, the picture of the pilot standing next to his rig, the medals, the awards...it's all there in that room, and that's as it should be, because you gotta have something to toot your own horn.
But the ENTIRE HOUSE???????
Wow, that takes it to a whole new level. More than a little creepy.
HUMILITY? You ain't gonna find any in a house that is built as a shrine to yourself!

Ben Carson's house: a homage to himself – in pictures

Why is it that those with the biggest egos are those with the least reason to have one?

I think Ben Carson and Donald Trump are both a product of the ideas that the Republican Party has promoted over the past couple of decades: "Government IS the problem." "Government can't do anything right."

Neither one has ever been elected to any public office, and this fits the idea because if they had been elected, then they would be "politicians", another Tea Party suspect class.

Neither one of them has any experience working within an organization with complex rules like the executive branch, or working with a contentious institution like Congress. If elected they would be totally incompetent, probably getting impeached within the first year.

Their candidacies may be the ultimate Republican threat to shut down the government.

The slate of GOP candidates demonstrated why I feel the party is such a threat to the country's well being. The thought of any of them having executive authority is soul numbing.

The fact-checking of Ben Carson's life story will not hurt him among his supporters, who are vehemently opposed to facts.

---Andy Borowitz

I suppose that if they can't convince others of their "greatness" they have to try to convince themselves.
That way they have a captive audience.

And now I wonder about how many of those "achievements" are lies?

Looks like Rubio has met his Tar-Baby...

Marco Rubio got some 'splainin' to to do.

Ben Carson caught in another lie: Says he thought the offer to attend West Point was given when he had dinner on Memorial Day with General Westmoreland in Detroit when Ben Carson was 17. General Westmoreland's spokesman says the general was not even in Michigan on that Memorial Day.

Ben Carson admits he lied about Wes...tories about troubled childhood are true

Here's how it was in 1973, when I was appointed to the U.S. Naval Academy by Senator Frank Church.

Admission to the military academies is by appointment, anyone interested in going to one of them must apply to their Senators or Congressperson, who each are allocated one appointment. A couple of other ways in are if you are the child of a serviceperson who received certain high honors (don't remember what they all are offhand, though one is to be dead from war), Presidential appointments, or, if you are already enlisted, you can petition your commanding officer for a nomination.

Appointees become employed by the United States and are paid 1/2 the salary of the lowest commissioned officer, get room and board, and the four year education is "free" (it is not a liberal arts education...). The deal is that you promise to serve five years after graduation (you can resign during the first two years and avoid the five-year commitment, however, you have to pay back some of the costs). I quickly learned I had made a serious life-mistake and processed out at three months.

I'm waiting for someone to fact check Carson's claim that West Point says "four year scholarship" anywhere on its website. That would constitute a lie about a lie (speaking of the Tar-Baby).

Trump is not winning in the business world.

Trump losing investor trust.

HA HA!

BAMZ! is ruining it for GOP fund raising. The last time we had a Republican administration, the GOP were finally seeing the fruits of their deregulation: skyrocketing unemployment combined with a drastic, almost catastrophic loss of jobs around the country. Big banks, with their risky bets, helped the Republicans bring Americans together...in unemployment lines and soup kitchens.

Now BAMZ! is dividing the country by exposing the Republicans as liars who swear he is ruining America by his longstanding tradition of creating jobs to push his partisan agenda of economic recovery. Bad BAMZ, bad!!!

During the last Republican administration, unemployment numbers were up to 10%. Employment rolls decreased in 11 out of 12 months in 2008, some months by as many as 800,000. And just when Americans were coming together in unemployment lines, BAMZ! sought to put a stop to it by lowing unemployment numbers. Unfair!!!! What are the Republican POTUS candidates supposed fund raise on now?

Very bad Librul college's take on the recovering economy linky dink

i like to say .... ego without portfolio

but this guy has accomplished some things which "ordinary" folks would never be able to do

perhaps more appropriate would be ego extending beyond his portfolio

I won't ask what Ted Cruz is doing down there on his knees, and he won't have to tell me.

Muslims pray five time a day. Perhaps that makes them over qualified...no?

Ted Cruz...on his knees...commander-in-chief....don't ask, don't tell = bj's for Jesus, no?

Jury convicts all 8 defendants in Clay vote-buying case


AND

KY Election Officials Arrested, Charged With 'Changing Votes at E-Voting Machines'

Kentucky has been very naughty!

Kansas also has been having some voter troubles.

Kris Kobach seeks to block release of voting machine paper tapes



Hmmm, it seems that the political party most worried about voter fraud is the same party committing the fraud.

It's not the first time. SEE: November 2, 2004 11:16 pm EST (...to be exact )

That was in 2009. I can't find the disposition of those cases.

And the beat goes on... Vote Buying Is at Center of Kentucky Judge-Executive Case Then, to top it off, the guy hired one of the other vote-buyers to be his "administrative assistant" after his prison sentence ended. The irony of all this is that - as was noted earlier in the thread - the POINT of the ACRU (the source for these stories) is, consistent with the ROT, to undermine confidence in election results, in support of bogus election-fraud suppression efforts. But, the net generally catches Republicans. The ACRU is meant to sound like the ACLU, but is, in fact, the opposite (ya gotta read the fine print: "Since the 2010 elections, 15 states have put common-sense laws in place to help prevent cheating — but too many have not. In 2011, measures requiring photo ID were approved in 14 states, but five were vetoed by liberal governors.")

Thanks for your link NW_P. That link led to other links with the actual news stories. The article from Brad's blog does't yield any information from the MSM on Google.

The Donald equates Ben Carson's self-admitted thuggery as a youth to a pathology akin to child molestation.

There's nothing inherently wrong with requiring photo ids for all voters. As soon as you get a photo id into the hands of everybody in the state, then we can implement it. Until then, keep trying to pass out those IDs.

I think a good ID system could actually benefit some down-and-outers, because they could get some benefits with ID.

The problem is getting photo ID to all eligible voters. Now you have asshats in Alabama closing almost all DMVs just to prevent the populace from acquiring photo ID.

That was my point. We get the courts to put off implementing the photo ID requirement until AFTER everybody has an ID. Logically, that is perfectly reasonable unless your intent is voter suppression. (Which would of course be illegal.)

With Republican state spending priorities, that will probably be never.

All the Democrats have to do to defeat Republicans is show their agenda priorities: take away voting rights, take away personal liberties, take away your jobs, take away any social security or welfare benefits, then spend what little budget is left to line the pockets of the wealthiest donors of the donor class. Does it never strike their supporters as odd that the party treats then with such contempt?

It has been shown-again and again. The Republican base refuses to see that. So what the Democrats need to do is SHOW UP AND VOTE! In EVERY election. Get registered and then VOTE!

If you do not vote, then you have no right to complain.

Trump surges among likely Republican primary voters: Reuters/Ipsos poll to 42%

Yahoo News

SNL skewers Ben Carson: Young Ben Carson

Carson on China in Syria: ‘My Sources Are Better’ Than Obama Admin

...if you say so, Ben.

not only are his sources better but he has two frontal lobes which he uses as the fount of his genius .... may he continue to rub them together to get a spark

Ann Coulter said yesterday: "Donald Trump has been elected as President" in response to the dismal news from Paris. Great news to me, since everything Anne Coulter says is completely wrong.

from Politico .... " some Carson advisers did not think the Republican presidential candidate has a good grasp on foreign policy" ..... (Dr Carson's spokesperson said it was a hit piece and not true)

Unfortunately, people have heard what Dr Carson's foreign policy positions are, and did not need to read it from Politico. This is just the tip of the iceberg.

Carson has backtracked on his "sources" statement now, saying that it was "tongue in cheek".

And in other news not much worth mentioning Piyush "Bobby" Jindal has withdrawn from the presidential race saying that it was "not his time".

His disapproval rate as Governor of Louisiana has reached 70% and a Democrat in the governor's race is leading the Republican candidate by double digits.

Piyush's parents immigrated to the U.S. 45 years ago and promised li'l "Bobby" that he could be anything that he wanted to be when he grew up. So Piyush became a state governor, then he wanted to be POTUS.

The problem is, that polling at less than 1% won't get you to the WH. At this point, not even the Tooth Fairy™ would vote for Jindal. So much for those "you can be anything" dreams parents tell their kids.

His record as governor was a disaster. Things like this don't go unnoticed by voters. Obama is hated in Louisiana, but polls show that Jindal is hated even more. Other governors in the presidential race are also finding it hard to find any traction with voters. Scot Walker is also out, Jebbie might as well be, Chris Christie is going nowhere and Huckabee was never really in except among a few evangelicals. John Kasich might actually be the best among them and nobody cares a whit about him.
We will soon see the next phase of the Republican Primary Entertainment Extravaganza where Carson unravels under the weight of his own stupidity, Ted Cruz steps up his game and everyone continues to tread softly around Donald Trump.

Then the voting will begin and we'll find out what's really going on. So far we've just heard what the polls and pundits say. The voters get the final word.

More like "foot-in-mouth".

Jindal was the most perceptive of the GOP candidates...

He Went There:

Trump Crosses the Nazi Line


A-137862

That was my grandfather's "special ID badge", courtesy of Auschwitz.


We know where this is going, don't we?
Concentration camps, final solutions, holocausts.
And here's a word for everyone who simply can't help that they hate Muslims...I am not a big fan of Islam because I'm not big on any organized religion anymore, but here's something you Muslim-haters might not have considered:
Once the Trump-Reich is done with the Muslims, (hypothetically) what makes you think they would stop there?
Sorry, it just doesn't work that way, look at history for God's sake.
Why do you think Martin Neimoller wrote that poem, the one that says, "First they came for the.....(etc)?"

Fascist regimes, especially ones founded atop an already established and entrenched oligarchy, ALWAYS turn into dictatorships and those dictatorships become increasingly paranoid, which means that they are compelled to PURIFY the population more and more, narrowing the group of those deemed worthy to exist. The paranoia gets driven by the increasingly HORRIBLE economic conditions endured by the general population so the regime requires more and more scapegoats.
Do you see how this is working? It's like rats in a cage, it's very very simple.

So, things inside the regime get worse and worse, first the Muslims, then the next group, then the next group, and on and on until it's YOUR GROUP.
So maybe I can't convince you to do away with your irrational hatred of Muslims, I don't give a s*** if you have mental issues, I am not your doctor, but just know that a fascist regime like Trump's will never run out of scapegoats, so once they run out of Muslims, they will just create a new group of "muslims", and they might not necessarily BE MUSLIMS, you get it?
They might be YOUR group.

Maybe another candidate needs to go one better?
How about Chris Christie? Ted Cruz?
Cruz is a Texan so maybe he could propose a "Shoot All Muzzies On Sight" law.

Or maybe Trump could use some visual aids?



Nazi Concentration Camp Badges

I saw what Trump has proposed several times on Facebook. My very first thought was how Hitler made a ll the Jews wear yellow six-pointed stars with the word "Juden" on them. It also reminded me of when the US rounded up all the Japanese(American-born or not) and stuck them in concentration camps. Trump is a dangerous man-even if he is a idiotic blowhard.

Had to share some comic relief:

http://giphy.com/gifs/obama-vs-cruz-with-a-tank-xTiTnFLfW4c3viXIxG

Hey, how come the Czechs and Poles all had to wear the gay inverted orange triangle? Were the Nazis implying they were all secretly gay?

And what if you were something like a gay Jewish Pole? What badge did you get then?

CENSORED! &*(@__)#*^^^@#$

Everyone wore inverted triangles. The color denoted your category, and letters mostly nationality. It was all very, very organized. Jews got TWO triangles, because they were special.

I don't think we have as much to worry about with Republicans because they are not organized. But they might just go for the badges thing. They're all about labels.

Marco Rubio has unveiled his plan to kill all the terrorists to death:


Apparently 'whatever' means no meetings though. Mr. Senator-In-Name-Only missed the The Aftermath of Paris: America's Role ( Senate.gov ) meeting so that he could go to California again and collect more monies so that he can possibly be Commander-In-Chief - because raising more money is more relevant to being Commander-In-Chief than going to some boring Senate meeting on ISIS/L, man.

Tampa Bay.com

I am afraid we are going to have to do something permanent and very visible for the Syrian refugees. Like tattoo MUSLIM across their forehead...

That way they can't buy no gunz.

never forget

Dead Andrew's pithy blog must not like Hillz' polling numbers: EXCLUSIVE: Bill Rape Accuser Blasts ‘Evil’ Hillary: ‘Shame on you!’

(For conservatives who find everything on Brietbard truthful, the key word in the sentence above is "accuser." Just saying'... )

His ideas were termed socialism by the right and yet it was his ideas that triggered the greatest leap forward in living standards in American history.
Indeed the postwar era in the United States saw our manufacturing, education, health care, infrastructure, upward mobility, job security, and overall standard of living become THE ENVY OF THE ENTIRE WORLD.
We led the way in inventing new technologies, we led the way in defining human generosity and we led by example so well that EVERYONE in the world either wanted to come to America or BE LIKE Americans.

And nothing, NOTHING the right has done in the years since Reagan has EVER EVER duplicated that. It can't because the right wing doesn't offer anything except service to an aristocracy, and fear for the majority.

Conservatism has always had a welcome home as a function of liberal ideology.
Core values like thrift, long term goals and planning, moral grounding, thoughtfulness and common sense are all important conservative values that almost all liberals possess and possess proudly.

But conservatism as a standalone political ideology IS DEAD.

Sanders channels FDR

Here in Portland, I see nary a Hillary bumpersticker. Bernie stickers? All over the place.

Hope springs eternal.

Conservatism has always claimed virtues it never possessed and a coherence never evident.

Exactly!

I am frankly disturbed by the tenor of the campaign this year. Not so much on the Dem side, which is less crowded, but the blatant bigotry that seems to keep Trump and Carson at the top of the R polls. I really don't get it. We haven't seen this level of open hostility since George Wallace and Joe McCarthy. I don't think that is anywhere near an exaggeration. It appears that there are a number of others who agree with that assessment. The New York Times Just Compared Donald Trump To 'Joseph McCarthy In 1950'; Donald Trump and 21st-century McCarthyism; Donald Trump’s creeping fascism needs to be rejected - and these are relatively conservative editorial boards (I didn't include WSJ because Rupert Murdoch apparently hates Trump).

If the shoe fits!

It seems that Ben Carson is fading in the campaign and even Donald Trump is slightly losing ground for his claims that thousands of Muslims cheered directly after 9/11. Cruz is improving. While Trump is morphing into Joseph McCarthy 2.0, Cruz is morphing into Torquemada, Along with Huckabee.

We're a year of from the election and I'm already weary. I thought the last election was bad, but nothing beats this year. Well, nothing in my lifetime. At least when Reagan ran he promised hope but sowed deception. This year, the candidates are skipping the first half and just promoting deception as policy. Really, which GOP candidate has been honest? The level of vitriol and outright lying is appalling.

Precisely!

That, my friend, is WILL! The solutions are myriad, only needing the WILL to implement them.

The Donald is the Exemplar of Will, which explains why he is the Right Wing favorite.

I will not let the campaign ruin my day. Mr. Scoutgal made me bacon and eggs for breakfast(and did the dishes! ) and we are leaving shortly for my daughters where we will have the Thanksgiving feast-and most important-see our grandson!

Oh, I'm enjoying watching the Republican candidates immensely! As they hack away mercilessly at each other, at all minority groups, at everyone who isn't a Christian, to cement their ties with America's stupidest, most racist, bigoted, misinformed voters they are also making it impossible for themselves to win in the general election.
I think Republicans know it, probably even the candidates know it. With every ridiculous statement, with every lie, with every mistake they are giving the election to The Democrats.
There isn't a serious contender among them.

Right on!

I couldn't agree more. What amazes me, though, is what passes for a "serious contender". Ben Carson? Donald Trump? Carly Fiorino? Ted Cruz? Really!!?

Marco Rubio, while seriously lightweight, at least sounds like he wants to be taken seriously. Kasich is actually qualified, but doesn't stand a chance because he can't be heard. Bush was a has-been before he was. Ditto, Christie, who lost the East Coast A-hole slot to Trump. Thankfully Walker and Jindal are out, just because their ideas sucked so bad. Not a one has made a serious policy proposal in a year. I don't see that changing.

It’s “funny” in a way. The Republicans are doomed to try to out do one another delivering nonsense while pandering to their looney base. Whoever makes it to the finals has by then delivered enough recorded nonsense that they will be doomed in the general.

And if you read the comments following any article--there you go again--they are convinced they are on the road to a glorious and overwhelming victory. Their circular jerking echo chamber runs at around 180db.

So then we will likely have Ms. Clinton as POTUS, and an even more deranged and outraged House and (likely) Senate. Can that lead to anywhere good?

The contest amongst GOP candidates seems to be who can say the most outlandish things and gain favor with the ranks of the brain dead.
For pure entertainment value it beats any other show on TV.
From a political standpoint it is a testament to the bankruptcy of the system.

A Democratic win could possibly retake the Senate and narrow the gap slightly in the House. A very decisive win should convince at least a few more moderate conservatives that the path they have chosen is not one America chooses to follow them on.

Because they can't imagine that they are not actually a majority. As it turns out, the moral majority is neither moral nor a majority.

If anybody can out-maneuver a Republican House, I think it's Hillary. I suspect she was actually a lot of Bill's famed political prowess.

I just realized why Donald Trump has so much staying power (other than his billions of dollars). He is a walking, talking (and talking and talking) conspiracy theory. Conspiracists get more ardent the more evidence that is arrayed against them, and "The Donald" and "Dr. Ben" represent the font of anti-evidentiary platitudes. If you feel downtrodden, or paranoid, they are your candidates.

Now, when I started to write this, I was just expressing my opinion, but then I started reading other views. Turns out there is meat on them there bones. Trump No, Donald Trump supporters aren't actually everywhere. And may very well be the same people.

In other words, very, VERY low information voters. (In other, other words, the GOP base - or the basest of the base.) Together they make up the approximately same percentage as Hispanic voters.

And if you think "The Donald" is certifiably crazy, you have company there, too, among the psychiatric community. Clinical Psychologists Diagnose Don...t Pretty, Especially For His Supporters; Is Donald Trump Actually a Narcissist? Therapists Weigh In! To which my response is, "duh!" He is such a classic narcissist that he is used as a case study - I'm dead serious. (“He’s so classic that I’m archiving video clips of him to use in workshops because there’s no better example of his characteristics. Otherwise, I would have had to hire actors and write vignettes. He’s like a dream come true.” - Dr. George Simon)

So how dangerous is that? As one psychologist put it, “For me, the compelling question is the psychological state of his supporters. They are unable or unwilling to make a connection between the challenges faced by any president and the knowledge and behavior of Donald Trump. In a democracy, that is disastrous.” The same can be said of Ben Carson, who insists that the pyramids were created by Joseph to store grain (Ben Carson's unusual theory about pyramids), and espouses other crazy - I mean that literally - ideas. Why Ben Carson's Tenuous Relationship To Facts Is Helping, Not Hurting, His Campaign. To those who reject the narrative of the world that is based upon fact, support for a man who is more concerned with "narrative" than reality is a logical choice. For the rest of us it is a disaster.

Why Sir, I believe you have nailed it!

Have any of you seen the BLM (Black Live Matter) protester at a Donald Trump rally recently? He received a beat-down by Donald supporters before security intervened. I saw that video, and one thing stuck out at me, so I viewed the video again - besides the BLM protester, there was nary another black American supporter there.

For me, this confirms that Donald's supporters are a minority of the GOP (old, white) base and as Nate Silver points out, there are as many who support The Donald as there are who don't believe that we landed on the moon. It's always the same amount people - about 6 to 8 percent.

Not only are these people a fraction of the GOP base, they are the deluded fraction of the GOP base - but they think they are the majority of Americans. Priceless!!!

If you want to see this delusion by these extreme conservatives on full display, there is a very conservative Disqus blog that has a lot of these mentally ill deluded folks I'm talking about above gathered onto one blog.

Just peruse their comments, if nothing else - and bring popcorn - it's a hoot: Linky Dink

Simply watch the GOP candidates in front of cameras...

Cruz Condemns Colorado Shooting, Rejects Anti-Abortion Link

Carly Fiorina Calls Planned Parenthood Shooter a 'Protester,' Decries 'Left-Wing Tactics'. Messenger? What planet does she come from? HE KILLED 3 PEOPLE. What kind of a message is that? How is that a protest? BUT she didn't stop there! She went on to equate BLM protesters being shot by white supremacists with the shooter at the clinic.

Next, I suppose, that they will blame the San Bernadino rampage on government being too big and a protest against coddling the disabled. This is beyond idiotic, these people are truly, truly sick.

Cara Sneed-Fiorina is seriously messed-up in the head.

You’d think given how the "vast majority" of Americans agree with Fiorina, according to Fiorina, and want to murder Planned Parenthood with a rusty coat hanger, she ought to be more popular with the voters these days.

The bar for a Presidential candidacy has been set so low this season that I am not sure that it can be lowered. Ben Carson, Donald Trump, and Carly Fiorina have no business running for office, let alone the highest office in the land. Amateurs gave us the Iraq war fiasco, but these bozos don't think it went far enough! Donald Trump exults in being an ignoramus - and lies so frequently he doesn't recognize reality. Ben Carson is just an Ego attached to a body, and demonstrates that it doesn't take brains to be a brain surgeon. Carly Fiorina wouldn't know the truth if it bit her on the ... wherever.

If there is one thing that Barack Obama did wrong it is that he gave credence to inexperienced pols thinking they could be President. Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio don't have a clue what governing means, but because they won one election think that they know how to run a country.

But we can't really blame this parade of horribles on the overweening egos of the politicians - that has always been the case. No, we have to blame it on an electorate that isn't able to discern reality from fantasy. Some of that is engineered, but mostly it is the result of an electorate that doesn't really care. How do we get them to care?

Hard times...

And to that end: we implement the full monty of the Republican line:

1) Austerity measures that make it impossible (more than it already is) for anyone to save money.

2) Do away with Social Security, unemployment, welfare, Affordable care, medicare and medicaid, all of the so-called "entitlements".

3) Don't allow ANYONE to immigrate to this country. If you weren't born here and don't already live here get the hell out.

4) Don't allow women to make as much as men for the same work, don't allow them any form of healthcare and/or contraception.
No choice or control over their own bodies.
And while we're at it: just ban them from work altogether, that way they can be where they belong- barefoot in the kitchen.

5) Start a war with Iran and Russia (and maybe China too, that way we don't have to honor the trillions that they hold in US treasuries).

5) Everyone will have free reign to carry a weapon - even an assault weapon. Hell, even anti-aircraft weapons.

6) Do not allow minorities to vote. I would say reinstate slavery, but that will follow naturally from all of the above.

7) Do absolutely nothing about CO2 emissions, climate change etc.

Result:
This country will become the biggest shytehole on the planet. Then they'll learn (or die) whichever comes first.

I'm not for the dystopian approach, especially as I am entering retirement. I think the needed to be a less radical approach. I have previously recommended a full-bore PR campaign just extolling the virtues of democratic leadership. Dems are actually better on the economy and defense than Republicans ever have been. Quick, name the last successful GOP war President. Stumped? I thought so.

Would that your approach could work. Somehow it seems that people only learn after they get burned. No use telling them that fire will burn.
But on the dystopian front: Hollywood makes bundles selling that horse dung. You never know...

The stupidest thing is that Deer actually killed three people that had nothing to do with Planned Parenthood: One was a police officer and two were simply accompanying patients. Do you think maybe somebody should tell him he killed three innocent bystanders?

This has a lot to do with "fact free news". It used to be that if Walter Cronkite said it on the news, it was probably mostly true. Now people go on TV and pretend to be news and present any opinion as essentially equal, even about things that are not subject to opinion. So you see a story with one moron saying "the earth is flat" and one scientist saying "the earth is roughly spherical". A certain percentage of people (about the same percentage as Trump supporters) will decide to believe the flat-earth guy.

Maybe we need a big red band saying FALSE at the bottom of the TV whenever the story is BS and a big green band saying TRUE when it is objectively true. Then the morons could just follow the color coding, and only illiterate color-blind Americans would go in for mass shootings.

William Falk, the editor of The Week Magazine, had the following to say regarding the state of our union and the upcoming election.

Here’s a strange thought to chew on a year before the presidential election: The votes of 95 percent of Americans likely to cast ballots are already determined. People who lean conservative will vote for any Republican who emerges from the scrum (with the possible exception of the divisive Donald Trump). Ditto for people who lean liberal. New research by Michigan State political scientist Corwin Smidt confirms that the percentage of voters who are truly “independent,” swinging from party to party, has plunged from 15 percent in the 1960s to just 5 percent today. Crossing over party lines to vote for the other tribe’s presidential candidate has become unimaginable. As Jonathan Chait put it this week in NYMag.com: “The dominant fact of American politics is that nobody is changing their mind about anything.”

It wasn’t always this way. For much of the latter half of the 20th century, there were liberal-leaning Republicans and conservative-leaning Democrats. It was not impossible to find common ground. Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton both actively sought the votes of people who traditionally vote for the other party, and enjoyed great popularity partly as a result. But since 2004, polarization on immigration, climate change, abortion, religion, and social issues has become so acute that every presidential election seems to represent a major turning point, with the very definition of our nation at stake. Polls suggest that the gulf between the two parties is actually widening. Republicans loathe Hillary Clinton as much as they do Barack Obama; Democrats see Trump and Ben Carson as wackos and frauds, and have only slightly less contempt for the rest of the field. So here’s a safe if depressing prediction: The new president John Roberts swears in on Jan. 20, 2017, will be very quickly despised and distrusted by roughly 45 percent of the nation. Is this a democracy, or a dysfunctional family?
William Falk, Editor-in-chief


Not much I can add to that. I feel dispair.

Is there a difference?

To avoid despair, I go back to my last suggestion: an all-out DEM PR campaign. It's not as if they don't have the bona fides to support it. Social Security, Medicare, ACA, clean water, clean air, consumer protection, etc. - all Dem accomplishments. Balanced budgets, keeping America safe - actually Dems too.

I won't give into despair. I believe a GOP meltdown is more likely than a Democalypse.

Don't you love the smell of Republican Civil War in the morning?

The fact that they are ALREADY talking about a brokered convention means that The Donald is going to be ousted one way or another.
If he runs on an independent ticket, so much the better. He'll take away votes from whomever the nominee is.
It's a lose-lose for the Repubs.

The last time we had three candidates, we got a Clinton elected into Office. ,

Having stated the above, I am not a Hillary fan, I'd prefer Bernie and will vote for him in the primaries. I will vote for Hillz if she is the nominee over any of the R-clown bus riders.

First the RNC came for Donald Trump, then Ben Carson said: I think you want the other guy

Doctor Ben Carson would like you all to know he is not one bit pleased about these murmurings that the GOP establishment is plotting to deny the nomination to Donald Trump - or to Ben Carson, which could totally still happen, he thinks.

And by golly, if all those Washington Insiders who have never separated conjoined twins even once keep planning for a brokered convention, Carson said Friday, he will say goodbye to the Republican Party and let it collapse without him.

Talking Points Memo

With ya on that one, brother. As Scout very aptly said: I'll hold my nose and vote for Hillary.

Rick, if I recall correctly, you were supporter of Madame Clinton in 2008, or at least preferred her over Pres. Obama.

I like Bernie, I like everything he stands for, but I still think Clinton will be a more effective president. In 2008 I preferred Obama because I was afraid the Republicans were so united in their campaign against her that she would be defeated. Ultimately McCain's selection of Sarah Palin as a running mate pretty much doomed their chances of winning that time around so her electability was a moot point. All in all, I believe President Obama has done a fine job and I'm glad he has been our president rather than Hillary Clinton.
Things have changed though, in my opinion, she is the best candidate in the race to deal with the problems we face today and the grumpy Republican majority in Congress and to keep America moving forward.

While there is only one Bernie Sanders and we shall not see his like again in my lifetime, I simply don't believe he can enact all(or any of) the sweeping domestic changes he endorses.

I voted for BAMZ! in the 2008 primary. So, no was not a Hillary deciple then either.

I don't think so. She'll be a Repub lite (not the crazy, zombie, crypto-fascist wing).
My hope is that Bernie can make enough of a difference in the political discourse that she will have to wake up and smell the manure. But in the primary, he's got my vote.

Hillary won't fall far from the tree. Bill did give us NAFTA, the repeal of Glass-Steagall, and unregulated derivatives. Bill did broker the Easter Sunday accord and oversee economic development and growth in the U.S.

If I could vote in the primary I too would throw Bernie a bone.
But I can't and I'm not going to change my political affiliation just for this election. I'm an Independent and proud that I have never been associated with any particular political party.

Hillary may not be far enough left for some but I don't think the time is right for someone like Bernie. I don't believe Madame Clinton is by any means "Republican light". She's not as far left of the center line as Bernie but these days Republicans have veered totally off the road, across the ditch and are somewhere way out in the woods on the right hand side.

No matter which one of them gets the nomination I wont have to hold my nose to vote for either of them. I'll gladly vote for whichever candidate is running against the new National Socialist Party.

its somewhat early here, as my brain is trying to wake up but some stream along the way ....

based on current trends i see a situation of three blocks at the convention
1. the Trump
2. Sen Cruz
3. establishment (Rubio-Bush complex)

i see each block having about the same support and none giving an inch. how many times will they vote before everyone realizes the party is completely fractured and they can not present a candidate unless they broker for a single voice? either the establishment gives in to the crazies or vice versa.

the other day limbaugh was commenting about Fiorina's comment that if Trump was the candidate Sec Clinton would easily win but he poo pooed that by arguing if that were true then she, Fiorina, could do the same. Clearly he is clueless as the comparison is not equivalent. had he actually understood the difference he would understand the establishments quandary as they clearly understand the situation.

everyone's analysis is if Trump is the candidate Sec Clinton wins easily. the establishment has no choice but to broker the convention at the convention

The problem faced by the Republican establishment is that whichever candidate they choose from this long circus train, Madame Clinton will win easily.

Exactly, which is why I'm reading that the RNC is thinking about drafting Mitt.

And of course, if they don't pick Trump, off he goes into a Third Party run. The question then would be how many of his voters would also vote for Republican Senators and Representatives or if they would share his irritation with the Republican party. So a Trump run could result in a Democratic Congress for Hillary.

There's also the gender factor. How many women care more about gender than party affiliation? Hillary could end up with unprecedented turnout, just because women would have a chance to vote for the first female President. Does't every woman want to be able to tell her granddauhters she voted for the first female President? 50 years from now, we may not even remember what Republicans were, but we will still have gender.

It dawns on me, after reading a few articles like this one, that Bernie Sanders may have a better chance than I'm giving him credit for in garnering the Democratic nomination. I know a lot of people planning to vote for him in the primaries but expecting to vote for Madame Clinton in the general election.

It's entirely possible that there are enough of them to actually swing it his way.

On another note, regarding gender, millennials don't trust Hillary and Bernie's message resonates with them... But will they vote in sufficient numbers in the primary elections to make a difference? My youngest wants very much for there to be a woman elected to the Presidency, but she intends to vote for Bernie in the primaries.

Bernie has, without a doubt, won the internet. While mainstream media may not be giving him the coverage he deserves, I see far more coverage of Bernie on the internet than I see of Madame Clinton.

We may actually have a horse race folks.

Hey Greger!

This board needs someone to replace Donna. You up to the task?

That would certainly be refreshing. I was just about to post something about the lack of mainstream media coverage of our friend Bernie. You beat me to it

Feel the Bern!

There are rumors afoot around the internets that Donald Trump has begun a slump in the polls, giving way to the original batshite crazy Republican candidate Rafael Edward Cruz. You remember him....the freshman Senator out of Texas despised by his peers in Congress and originally given not a snowball's chance is South Texas of ever winning the nomination?
He's the establishment favorite now. Not because they deem him an establishment politician but because compared to Trump he is considered "controllable".

I'm still not really "feeling the Bern"

And I believe the ever present mistrust of Madame Clinton is misplaced and largely a product of Republican propaganda.

Given the richness of your cuisine, I'm surprised.

I have to agree

when embellished stories, tenuous accusations, misinterpretations of statements, and outright lies are removed from the conversation, there is just not much there, other than she was married to Pres Clinton.

I support the facts, not the propaganda

I agree as well. That's why this whole EIGHTH! Benghazi hearing is happening - 'cept Hillz 11-hour testimony made Trey Gowdy look like an idiot and he's not seeking re-election.

...and I'll take Trey Gowdy any day over rat-faced Darryl Issa.

Perhaps as president Hillary Clinton can make a lot more Republican congress members look like idiots and abandon their seats.

How about President Bernie and VP Hillz?

Or vice versa, depending on who gets the nod.

It won't happen though. Both are excellent choices for President, but I'm not sure either is Vice Presidential material.

RNC: Save us Ted Cruz, you're our only hope

RNC hopes Ted Cruz's raise in poll saves them from The Donald
CNN.com

I'm told there is a problem with this topic. This is a test. This is only a test. If this had been a real letter bomb your fingers would be missing.

And I THINK we are back ON THE AIR...welcome back to Campaign 2016 everyone.

And to start back up, let's address the current brou-haha over Hillary supposedly getting an equal number of delegates even after Bernie beat her soundly in NH.

The fact is, these are superdelegates and although most of them already pledged to Hillary, the fact is, they CAN change their mind anytime. At this stage, Obama was in the same position.

Clinton Did NOT Win Equal Delegates in New Hampshire

After Sanders' Big Win in New Hamps...ith Superdelegates. Here's Why It's B.S.

After Sanders' Big Win in New Hampshire, Establishment Figures Want to Scare You with Superdelegates. Here's Why It's Bulls***

It appears to be fixed. Glory Hallelujah.

If Bernie Sanders should keep winning in the primaries there is a good chance some of the superdelegates will swing his way. However, neither of those scenarios is really likely.

What does everyone think of the whole brouhaha surrounding Clinton getting an equal number of NH superdelegates despite getting CRUSHED by Sanders?

New Hampsha is a small state. It really can't have all that many delegates anyway. If Bernie is gonna grab the gold ring he's gonna need repeat performances in a bunch of other states. I really don't foresee it happening but I will be pleasantly surprised if it does.

And Major Kudos go out to Moderator Haas for his brilliant effort in getting this forum working correctly.

Same shyte different day.

Superdelegates are not REQUIRED to stick with a specific candidate even if they are pledged?
If another candidate arrives at the convention packing an overwhelming majority, even superdelegates have to respond to the will of the people?

Is that what you're saying?

It sucks.

32 Delegates. Clinton got 9 Super Delegates out of it, then they split the remainder 50/50.

Yay!!! We now have a tech dweeb for Moderator. It's about time!!11!!!!!1!!1!1!!! Tech dweebs rule!!!!1!!

Huzzah!

If I actually pronounce it "Noo Hampsha" I might turn into a "chowda-head".

Aww shux, tain't nuthin. I used to help run a forum devoted to camera stuff and it was UBB, so everything looked sort of familiar.
I probably killed that camera forum about a half dozen times figuring it out so basically I already made all the screwups years ago.

Just a bit of self-horn-tooting, I have done a bit around here before

That was you? I thought it was all magic!

Don't think for one minute, Phil, that we don't appreciate your efforts around here. You've been steady as a rock for years.

Phil, you KNOW we Ranters love you more than we love our luggage.
If you didn't know, now you do.
I am just a bottle washer and a tire jockey, and as can be seen by the evidence, STILL IN NEED of massive amounts of guidance, which you supplied just a mere two days ago.

So for the record, allow me to send all those flowers I got over to Phil, NWP, Skyhawk, Greger and of course our head honcho Doug.

I am deeply grateful for being allowed to toggle the switches and jiggle the handle on the machinery but I am the least experienced at the ART of moderating and the credit for that goes decidedly to the above and many others who may no longer be with us.

Marco Rubio is pretty sure that his unique strategy of not winning any states will help him carve a path to the nomination.

You just need more candidates to drop out, and Rubio will ascend to the lead. All those minor candidates should drop out now. By staying, they are just hurting their party. A court decision that disqualifies Cruz would put Rubio in the lead too.

Of course, I could be wrong. Just depends on how racist the old white men are. Could be they won't vote for a Hispanic. But he doesn't seem all that Hispanic. Just look at the sharp suit and tie!

Vicente Fox:

Now that Rick Perry's indictments have been set aside, he thinks he has a chance (again!) at being POTUS in 2016 because of a brokered GOP convention.

Linky Dinky

On the subject of who would be more likely to advance an agenda as President - Clinton or Sanders - the following was posted on a local blog by a guy I know:

Hillary comes from a tradition of finding the areas of commonality and striking a compromise with your opponents. (Lookup Bill Clinton triangulating.) I've never heard that about Bernie Sanders.

And in fact the positions they are taking right now reflect this difference. That is why many people think Clinton will be more likely to accomplish stuff.

I think my friend agreed, but the devil is in the details of the "stuff".

Loggy, I am quite enamored of your blogger friend and would love to read more from him.

10-4.

He doesn't post very often, but when he does he has a knack for getting to the core of things.

Come on, mate...give us some details!

He's married.

Errrr....I wasn't saying I was enamored in a sexual way.
I realize that I have a lot of gay friends, Loggy, but please know I am hetero and happily married to Mrs. Haas.




Maybe I used the wrong words, maybe it's a budding bromance but I assure you the only fluids I would like to exchange with your buddy would be Budweiser.

I just want to read his blog fer Criminey's sake.

Dammit Rick, this is all YOUR fault!

I see, you're only interested in him for his mind!

I may have used inappropriate terminology - Alan doesn't have a blog, he just posts once in a while on a local community forum. I have quoted him here before when he has written something I thought worth sharing, and will continue to do so, but don't hold your breath between posts.

The guy's a genius, and it's okay if you want to keep him to yourself!
Don't ever let Rick find out though.

And I wanted to take this opportunity to thank EVERYONE at Capitol Hill Blue.
I don't know where to post this so anywhere will do.
It is BECAUSE OF Capitol Hill Blue's members that my wife, Karen Mitchell Haas, has finally become intensely politically aware and awake.

Truth be told it began about two or three years ago but today it is in full flower.
When we first got together my political involvement annoyed her so much that I actually worried that it might split us up. She even told me that even though she loved me deeply and found me fun to be with, my political rantings drove her crazy.

Well, I am proud to say she is now INFECTED.
She hardly ever types...MS is something that has messed up her hands so when she does type it's with one finger but she reads EVERYTHING, and she is now an avid reader of CHB and has been for a while now.

Don't be surprised if she decides to join someday.

What did I do? ,

And I bet she loves the ACA provision about insurance companies having to take everybody! I sure do. It came along just in time for me. Without it I would be uninsured and looking at $1000000 medical bills for all those MRIs and muscle tests.

When Republicans talk about killing Obamacare it is a matter of life and death for me.

Actually Congress screwed Karen and her fellow veterans anyway.
The ACA says that parents are allowed to keep their kids on their policy till age 26, right?
Karen, as a 100 percent disabled service connected veteran, was allowed to keep Daryl and Brianne on her VA coverage, using CHAMPVA, till they were eighteen.

Then when the ACA passed we were first told they would be allowed to stay till 26 but Congress "forgot" to pay attention to the loophole, thus the VA is actually NOT IN COMPLIANCE with the ACA because the ONE GROUP - - 100 percent disabled service connected veterans, STILL lose coverage for their kids at age eighteen, so we had to buy outside coverage for both kids instead of keeping them on the CHAMPVA plan.

The loophole was brought up in Congress in 2010 and we were promised they would fix the loophole but of course Republicans filibustered and the motion got tabled, and never revisited again.

Brianne is relatively healthy, but Daryl is a "million dollar kid" who would have perished in infancy had it not been for the Clinton efforts at passing the S-Chip program in the 1990's, so Daryl must thank President Clinton for saving his life.

Karen's exposure to spent nuke sub fuel and other radioactive compounds stored at the defunct Naval Radiological Laboratory in Hunter's Point is the cause of Daryl's five major heart defects, which closely mimic "Chernobyl Heart Syndrome", found in parents of children who were living in close proximity to the damaged Chernobyl nuclear reactor in 1986.

In essence, Karen is not only an MS patient, she's also an "atomic sailor" much like the old soldiers who got accidentally dosed during the early nuclear tests at the Nevada Test Site or at the H-bomb tests at Bikini Atoll.

We are currently gathering all the names of all sailors and civilian contractors who worked or served at Hunters Point in the last forty years in an effort to launch a class action lawsuit.

I'm guessing that the Republicans will, sooner or later, take a shot across the bow at Veteran's Benefits in a BIG way, and attempt to cut benefits and privatize medical services.
A nice fat class action lawsuit might help defray the loss of both, the way I figure it but I am aware of the fact that these things take time, which is why we started our project back in 2008.

What I gather from your own personal experience, Jeff, is that Republicans love the military when they are warriors taking other country's resources, but don't like them once they come home, treat them differently, and rather could care less about them.

Shameful!

Yeah, no kidding!

And it is hard for me to comprehend how ALL the folks at the Dallas VA can be SO wonderful, because either all of them are liberals, or they are the few remaining GOOD conservatives still living in Texas.

We're really proud of the terrific job that the LONG BEACH VA is doing but I am on record as also praising the Dallas VA for being instrumental in helping Karen in the very beginning and all through our ten years living in Texas.

You'd think that, being in a red state, the Dallas VA would be horrible...the Memphis VA certainly was a horror story! But Dallas stands out as one of the GOOD things about Texas and we still owe them big time for helping Karen.

I have heard nothing but praise for VA Hospitals, in every state. BTW those are federal employees, so I don't think the state matters much. (I'm prejudiced: I met my wife when we were both working in research at the VAH in San Diego.) It can take a while to be accepted, but once you are in the care is very good.

I also have to say: Your wife's exposure at Hunter's Point may have been accidental, but all those sailors off Bikini and soldiers in New Mexico were exposed on purpose. The government wanted to know exactly what would happen to troop effectiveness in the event nuclear weapons were used on the battlefield.

We did a lot of very stupid things back then, mostly because we didn't know any better. Of course, they used to sell Radium Water as a cure-all too!

Why Democrats Should Beware Sanders’ Socialism

Very worth reading, if you think Sanders is the solution.

We are suffering from Republicans redefinition of everything progressive and Liberal as Socialist, but there is a huge difference.

I found the article to be a muddle of theoretical/philosophical musings intermixed mixed with fairly rigid Big S and Big L word definitions sprinkled with a few speculative anecdotal "for instances".

For instance, the proposed tax on financial transactions being a probable depressant on "investing" - for one thing, unlike Mr. Trump, Sanders does not have the superpower to create laws unilaterally that will fix everything, and what are now his rather generically detailed proposals would have to be worked out in the sausage-making process, resulting, in a perfect world, of better crafted legislation.

In the real world, nothing will happen because of the sausage-making process, but at least we would be shifting a bit of our collective consciousness to the fact that much of what happens on Wall Street, that is now naively accepted under the rubric of "investing", might become better understood to be what it really is - a substantially rigged gambling game - harmful to a healthy and productive economy.

Sanders will get virtually none of his grand Socialist, or even democratic socialist, schemes enacted if he is elected President. Raising red flags about what Bernie would do to this country is another fantasy apocalyptical red herring meme, just when what we need is to break free of our ignorance.

I think of Bernie as more of a Socratic teacher who is trying to break down our crystallized cultural thought habits, including our stale definitions of words - like capitalism, liberalism, socialism - and bring us into a more open and solution oriented mode of understanding and addressing our rather yuuge set of problems.

I don't know if I'm ready to compare Bernie to Socrates.

As the author points out, all of Bernie's big plans require enormous tax increases. Now, as a Democrat, I don't really have a problem with increasing taxes here and there to accomplish important goals. But to our Republican controlled congress the only important goal is to decrease taxes. The irresistable force would meet the immovable object and while there might be a lot of grunting and groaning gong on from both sides of the aisle the result would essentially be an enormous clash of ideologies and a stalemate of Biblical proportions.

But from the looks of things we'll never see it happen anyway and so all this chatter about socialism becomes pretty much a moot point.

At one time in American history, the wealthy paid taxes, now a days, not so much.



Source

Posted on Facebook today:

funny:C'mon guy, tell us how you really feel...

I guess I'm just a pragmatist. Both Trump and Sanders have unrealistic goals, to the point of insanity. Why bother electing somebody who can't fulfill even one tiny bit of their campaign promises, and you know that? Do you really like government not to be able to do anything? That seems like the last 6 years to me. I'm tired of it.

Well, that's three of us pretty much on the same page.

I didn't have much time to come up with a better comparison, the point is that Bernie is questioning the roots of some of our problems and bringing them out in the open for examination.

Madame Clinton is not.

They are both addressing essentially the same issues. She wants to make college more affordable. He wants to make it free.
She wants to build on the ACA. He wants to dump it and start over. Women's rights, racial equality, LBGT rights, higher wages, regulation of Wall Street, immigration etc. etc. All the normal liberal progressive issues. She wants to take the slow and steady route, he wants it all at once.

Agreed: Her plans require at least a Democratic Senate and some arm-twisting in the House (both well within the realms of possibility). His plans require not only a Democratic Senate and House, but a very liberal Democratic Senate and House.

Don't forget, the ACA has no public option and kisses Big Pharma butt because of some Democrats who were very resistant to the bill. We have a number of fairly conservative Democrats in Congress. Even with a simple majority of Democrats, we can't pass things like raising top tax rates to 70%.

In case one missed this:

Will Trump Upend The G.O.P.?

Trump fever, Trump panic in the G.O.P. On the eve of Super Tuesday, we’ll look at the political battle shaking the party.

http://www.npr.org/podcasts/510053/on-point-with-tom-ashbrook

Not sure Bernie wants to "dump the ACA" and start over, if only because he's aware of the difficulties that would arise from a scorched Earth approach. He does want to put something else together and TRANSITION to it when it's ready.

Bernie is an advocate of "Medicare For All". While I agree that it's probably the best plan overall I just don't think it's going to happen during the next administration. It will involve some pretty massive tax increases and the destruction of a lot of for profit private insurance companies while growing government to take the place of the private companies.
As long as there are Republicans, as we know them, it aint gonna happen.

Did anyone listen to that podcast I linked?

Actually, Medicare contracts with these same insurance companies to handle all the claims. They just do it for much less profit than they rake in from regular insurance plans.

So all it would take is shifting the employer contributions that now pay for health insurance directly into Medicare. The insurance companies would still be handling the same number of claims, they would all be Medicare claims instead of both kinds. And they would not be too happy with their lower profits. They make 20% of every health care dollar on regular policies. I think on Medicare they only get 5%.

it still does not solve the problem

premiums of any kind are a result of the cost of payouts .... thus if the cost drivers are not held in check it would not matter if it is medicare or private insurance i.e. the premiums still go up

the government addresses the problem by lowering payouts which may, in itself, be a cause of rising doctors costs

the challenge is to find an economic solution which manages rising costs at an acceptable level .... ACA attempts to do that, but like an octopus trying to walk on land, it gets in its own way

while medicare increases the pool size, which should have a reduction in premiums as a short term effect, it still will not inherently reduce cost drivers, which in the long term continue to cause premiums to rise at the same rates

I listened to most of it, Big I. Intriguing that some see Trump for the lying, unethical salesman that he is while others see value and competence. Blows me away.

Bernie and Hillary are both beating Trump handily in a new poll.

What is it that Clinton will be able to accomplish with R majorities in the House and Senate?

In a nutshell, the same sort of things that President Obama has accomplished.
A lot can be done with executive orders as long as the President is working within existing law. The Supreme Court decides if the executive order is overreaching. With a more liberal supreme court Hillary's executive orders would more easily pass muster.

Most of Bernie's plans require new legislation and tax increases.

I bet Bernie could learn to do executive orders.

He could, but I imagine it would break his spirit. He wants to lead a revolution, which means having a Liberal Democratic majority in both Houses of Congress so he can pass all his bills to reform America into a Social-Democratic utopia.

I think Clinton's goals are a bit more modest. Of course, she would like a Democratic majority Congress but has the temperament to work with Republicans too. Heck, she was a Young Republican for Eisenhower!

Good article about why Trump now:
Obama Didn't Create Trump

Eisenhower these days would be viewed as a far radical leftist. I mean, the federal gummint building an interstate freeway system?

That borders on Communism --don’t it?

That's the strange thing: Only a Great Country could tackle something like the US Interstate Highway System. Does that mean Donald Trump wants to make America the kind of country that can take on big government projects?

Like an enormous wall along our southern border?

I guess we'll have to do it, since the Mexicans refuse to pay for it.

Interesting that Republicans actually DO want Big Government to take on Big Projects. (Just as long as a Republican is doing it, and they get Haliburton to hire all non-union labor.) Seems a bit New Deal to me.

Lets assume Trump wins the general. Which he won’t. But for “fun” let’s say he does.

I could see him attempting to rebuild failing infrastructure and not necessarily The Wall. He might be able to drop the wall idea by proclaiming it unfeasible. Hey-- he can and does say anything and everything that pops into his head. And he is “The Builder” right? A hotel here, a golf course there, and then bridges to everywhere.

All new infrastructure would be required to have a huge T be slapped on the sides in red, white, and blue.

It would certainly be a wild and unpredictable adventure with Trump at the helm. But it’s not going to happen.

Trump's new book: The Art of the New Deal: Lubing America with Snake Oil.

Bend over, America!

Looks like Hillary's Southern Strategy is working well - running as Mrs. Bill gets a lot of votes!

The deep red down-there regions of the Confederate states of AmeriKKKa sure likes them some Mrs. Bill Clinton!

I think most Democrats in the deep south are Black. Hence the support for Hillary, since they LOVE Bill.

Oh, there's a heap of us Southern Democrats left that are white.
We like Mr. Bill aplenty too, and look forward to having him as the first First Gentleman.

I thought two-time loser Mitt was going to tell us that the family dog still travels on the roof of the family station wagon. Good ol' Mitt only told us how the Republicans suck and especially Donald Trump.

Mitt sounds like he wants his ass kicked a third time, and this time by a lady.

http://www.dailykos.com/stories/201...when-you-realize-George-Carlin-was-right

Hilarious:
Obama Caused Trump

Bobby Jindal blaming Democrats for electing a serious, thoughtful, law professor. Because of course, Republicans had to do "the opposite thang" and support Trump.

Hillary's dirty trick

Clinton plays fast and loose with the facts to trip up Sanders at the last debate. I don't care for that sort of behavior.

Expect more of the same when she becomes president. Also too, there'll be scandals du jour if the Clinton tradition continues. Seems that scandals and the name "Clinton" go hand and hand...

From the article...


Not exactly playing fast and loose with the facts. This is politics, not Sunday School.

Half true, except for the part that Sanders didn't vote for, which funded the auto bailout, didn't say it was going to be for the auto bailout. Then Sanders did vote for the auto bailout, which didn't pass. "Half true" is not accurate. It was an intentional lie.

You can say "this is politics, not Sunday school", if you think like Ma_R. But you can also say that it is dirty play for the sake of winning. Which I had hoped was behavior limited to the Rs.

I am not favorably impressed.

It's not the first time that Hillary has told a whopper.

It has never and will never be limited to one party or the other.
Bernie is, perhaps, more honest than most but this graph from Politifact has them pretty much rated the same.
Which would mean that Bernie has probably told some whoppers along the way too.
Scroll down to see the graph

I don't subscribe to the Republican fueled meme that Madame Clinton is inherently dishonest. Neither do I believe, as as extreme progressives do, that Bernie is above reproach.

Bernie voted against the money that eventually went to the auto industry. Why? Because Bernie doesn't compromise. Everything is a black or white issue to him.

Limbaugh touched on the Sec Clinton honesty meme today .... his story is people continue to comment that at any moment X (the FBI is the current entity) will reveal the truth of her lies and file charges .... he continued by saying for 20 some years there has never been any one who can prove she is a liar .... he of course continued with the conspiracy theory that because DoJ etc etc even if the truth was found out

it of course never occurred to this cretin, there may not be anything to the continued conservative memes if no one has produced the proof after 20 years

I wonder if Limbaugh will ever face a Joseph McCarty moment? When someone will call him out to the carpet for his endless and misleading self serving rants. And then leave him twisting in the wind.

Likely not. Limbaugh’s ego is made of diamond impregnated titanium. And he will certainly “know” the truth. As it spills out from his huge pie hole.

Nuh-uh...

Limbaugh is an entertainer. He can't even be sued for libel or defamation....

Really?

But people do believe what they say. Fervently. And they spread it far and wide until even Democrats have heard it so many times that they believe it too. Hillary Clinton is not a serial liar. She's a politician campaigning for the highest office in the land. Bernie Sanders is no saint either. Doesn't matter to me which one you like or which one you vote for, just so you vote for one or the other of them.....

See! No compromise. Same with fracking. He'd ban it outright. She'd make it safer. We are not at a point where we can abandon fossil fuels yet.
I don't think Bernie could ban fracking. But Madame Clinton COULD make it safer.

Free college....He can't do it. But she can work to reduce interest rates and strive for more scholarships and grants for those who can't afford college.

Medicare for all. Not gonna happen. But states can be coerced into accepting expanded Medicaid.

I like everything Bernie stands for and believe that it will all ultimately happen. But not in the next eight years.

Not following. The subject was Sanders voting for the auto bailout, or not. He did. Clinton lied.

Besides, taking a harder line does not exclude compromise, it just moves the potential endpoint of compromise.

He voted against the bill that bailed out the auto industry.
Because he would not compromise and also bail out Wall St.

He took the hard line and voted for the stand alone bill that did not pass.

The art of the possible....

I don't think the auto bailout was part of the TARP bill. GW Bush used TARP money for it on his own.

Backfire?

Wasn't Clinton up by double digits in Michigan a few days ago?

This is shaping up to be the most consequential race in decades.

I remember it really pissed off the Republican rank and file. They were calling GM "Government Motors" and swearing they'd never buy another Chevy. More likely it was Obama rather than Bush.

Maybe folks are getting off their asses finally and surging for Bernie. He's got a ways to go but it's still a horse race.

Isn't it great to live in such interesting times....

Bush used TARP for the auto bailout in December 2008

Funny. When the "compassionate conservative" finally does something compassionate the other conservatives hate him for it.

J. Swift would not be surprised...

Like the second amendment, they only paid attention to the second half.

GOP establishment creeps toward Cruz

If Sen Cruz is the GOP nominee and the Democratic nominee has a "heart attack" we will have a president whose sole intention is the destruction of America and to lay the foundation for Armageddon .... go Trump

Ted Cruz really creeps me out too. Apparently, creeps his daughter out as well:

If such a thing can be said, Cruz is far worse than Trump.

Actually if you think about it the 2000 election may have been equally consequential. Except "we" lost that one and the consequences were horrendous.

With a President Al Gore it's entirely possible that the 9/11 attack may not have happened. The Afghan and Iraqi wars certainly wouldn't have happened, nor the Great Recession. Perhaps we would not have had our first black president but may have avoided the TEA Party and the radicalization of the Republican Party altogether. Al Gore is an environmentalist and would have supported efforts early on to fight global warming and would have embraced renewable energy sources. Perhaps Hillary Clinton would be our president now and Donald Trump nor Ted Cruz would even be candidates in this election.
Perhaps we'd be poised today to elect Senator Obama as our next President.....

It can be said...and it's true.

SNL Cold Open 03/13/2016

limk

Sigh, except the bottom line was not Nixon.
The bottom line was Eugene McCarthy, and the ultra left were threatening to sit out the vote if HHH won the party nomination. He did, they did, and with Wallace sucking away swing votes we got Richard Milhous Nixon as the president.

Trump isn't Wallace on steroids because Trump isn't a third party candidate.
If and when he BECOMES one, then the article will be making a valid point but right now we are in uncharted territory.

Maybe some folks are concerned about the Old Dog/New Tricks thing?
I agree, by the way, Bernie is house trained.

Break his spirit? I think a 74 year old man who was broke almost up till he turned 40 knows a thing or two about broken spirits.
Moving into the White House fish bowl will only confirm what that tough old codger already knows.
Painting him as some looney fantasy character is silly.
Besides, everyone knows that the role of Rainbow Farting Unicorn was taken by Jill Stein a long time ago.

HINT: I think RR needs to add the Rainbow Farting Unicorn emoji.
What say Ranters, should we expand our emoji menu? Is it okay with the big honchos? Might be fun!

This adorable little old lady shouldn't be at a Trump rally, she should be at home teaching her parrot the N-word:

Trump may have violated federal law by promising his former rival "Sleepy Ben" a plum position in the administration of the Trump States of America in exchange for his endorsement.

Ben Carson pisses on whatever dignity he may have had left and endorses Donald Trump for president

Candidate Trump may be a lot closer to a jail cell than Hillary Clinton.

Something that Trump may have done already in this campaign: On Florida primary day, clues to power of Hispanic vote

I just heard that a lot of Florida voters are being turned away because they are registered independent and didn't know they couldn't vote in the primaries. These are apparently first time voters, at least in the primaries, or they would already know this.
It's not too great a stretch to imagine that most of them would have voted for Bernie Sanders.

I think this may be the "oh shoot" moment for Donald Trump: Independents in Florida can't vote for him!

But regular registered Republicans can vote for Rubio. Donald loses the celebrity factor.

Just announced that Clinton and Trump won here.

No surprise.

Donald Trump Independents? No such thing. Anyone who would vote for that cretin would have registered Republican.

Welp, it's Hillz v The Donald this November.

Sad face for Bernie.

We are genuinely facing an existential moment in elections. Do we really want to become a third world country?

It says a lot about this country when Hillary Clinton is the lesser of two evils to be our President.

Bernie tried.

Whatever...

It was a long shot at best anyway, Rick. I'm extremely pleased that Bernie was able to run and that he got young people excited about politics. He also proved that a genuinely progressive candidate has a chance at grabbing the gold ring. Bernie pulled Madame Clinton farther to the left than she would have gone without his competition and showed her it was okay to proudly run on progressive measures.

Bernie Sanders, while he may not have become President, has become instead a genuine hero.

I hope he continues his campaign through to the end. His supporters deserve it.