2016 USA Presidential election thread I: The warm-up

[Tyrath]

This trump-obsession is silly.

As Republican nominees drop out of the race, do you really see a lot of people going, "Well, now that Santorum's out, I guess I support Trump." Or, "Well, Perry was my number one guy, but Trump was a close second." Because I sure as hell don't.

The problem with this line of thinking is that he is a lot of people's #1 right now and people like Santorum and Perry have like 1% or less. It won't affect anyone.

[NinjaLotter]

What liberal Democrats are getting wrong here is they don't understand Republican voters. They think the Republican voter is the same thing as the Republican politician. Or you think it's the same thing as what the Republican voter might be in one of the early primary states, where people dance around with snakes.

The voters weren't very happy with Bush's 2nd term, weren't very happy with the anointment of McCain as a nominee, and weren't very happy with the anointment of Romney. Embarrassingly low turn out, even against `Obama the Destroyer`
There might as well be two Republican parties, and that isn't any reference to libertarians. Nor is this: People were tempted to go with Ron Paul in 2008. Enough people were tempted to go with him to give him the nomination in 2012, but Fox and conservative talk radio destroyed him, people got cold feet, and Romney was hoisted up with a lot of hesitation.

There's been a very real, deep rooted disdain for the Republican establishment for Republican voters, so much that the party as its projected on television is completely shallow and in serious danger of becoming truly irrelevant. Republican voters that aren't from South Carolina, and under the seemingly mindless age of whatever, fucking hate people like Santorum, Graham, McCain, etc. They're fucking toxic outside their stupid states.

Trump absolutely locked in X amount of support for his immigration positions that will never abandon him, and maybe that number is his current place in the polls.
That said, there's a serious "FUCK YOU" undertone to the Trump support as well.

Basically the Republican party is comprised of multiple ideologies and perspectives that all have to share the same tent, and the smallest voice in that tent, and most despised, happens to rule it.

The party isn't some monolithic group-think, which is apparently what a lot of people here seem to think, and that's why none of you seem to understand Trump's (so far) unwavering support.

[Marootsoobutsu]

The problem with this line of thinking is that he is a lot of people's #1 right now and people like Santorum and Perry have like 1% or less. It won't affect anyone.

But he's no one's #2. He's #1, or he's dead last, and there's really no inbetween. And I really have a hard time seeing him garner much more support than he already has amongst actual voters. When the bigger dogs start dropping out, their supporting base just isn't going to go to Trump. And the closer we get to meaningful votes, the more Trump has to lose. So Santorum and Perry are 1% or less-- there's a dozen 1% or less guys, I don't see ANY of them going to Trump. When it comes down to two of the three of Bush + two others, it's going to be a massive shove to one of those three when one drops and endorses not-Trump. He's a distraction, he's spectacle, but he's not actually relevant.

Since NL's crapping up this thread, I'll football analogize: Donald Trump is Peyton Manning: gaudy numbers, gets all the talk, wins all the meaningless stuff, but doesn't ever actually win anything that matters unless he's not the focus AND the other side is pitching Rex Grossman. Trump can't handle not being the focus, so that part of the equation's out.

Trump doesn't have a game plan that doesn't revolve around him devouring the media's attention, but when the big dogs come out to actually play-- when the spectacle has run its course-- he has no further fan base to grab, and all of his support can vanish in an instant in a myriad of scenarios. I know BG doesn't love Republicans, but really: disrespecting your opponents this much is a perennial Democratic mistake. Neither Republican leadership, nor voters, are actually as idiotic as you seem to think they are.

[Serra]

I'm not reading NL's post because.. well duh. But here's the short way of putting it:

Welcome to the primaries: where candidates have to appeal to the party extremes at the expense of alienating the independent and moderate voters, making themselves non-viable in the general election.

[Sho]

What liberal Democrats are getting wrong here is they don't understand Republican voters. They think the Republican voter is the same thing as the Republican politician. Or you think it's the same thing as what the Republican voter might be in one of the early primary states, where people dance around with snakes.

The voters weren't very happy with Bush's 2nd term, weren't very happy with the anointment of McCain as a nominee, and weren't very happy with the anointment of Romney. Embarrassingly low turn out, even against `Obama the Destroyer`
There might as well be two Republican parties, and that isn't any reference to libertarians. Nor is this: People were tempted to go with Ron Paul in 2008. Enough people were tempted to go with him to give him the nomination in 2012, but Fox and conservative talk radio destroyed him, people got cold feet, and Romney was hoisted up with a lot of hesitation.

There's been a very real, deep rooted disdain for the Republican establishment for Republican voters, so much that the party as its projected on television is completely shallow and in serious danger of becoming truly irrelevant. Republican voters that aren't from South Carolina, and under the seemingly mindless age of whatever, fucking hate people like Santorum, Graham, McCain, etc. They're fucking toxic outside their stupid states.

I'm an Independent, and a Centrist. It's not hard to understand the mindset of the conservative Republican, especially during this era. The reality is that the establishment has moved very far to the right while the electorate has more or less stayed in place or become slightly moderate on specific topics, (such as Same Sex marriage, education). Republicans... REAL Republicans, aren't idiots, have good ideas, and are actually receptive to moderate ideas.. However, the establishment is so motivated by special interest groups they almost never get any good candidate that isn't the run-of-the-mill conservative that we've seen since Reagan. Despite this, one can't imagine that the Republican electorate will forgo their ideals because their candidates are shitty -- they'll vote along the party line, regardless of the candidate.

Trump absolutely locked in X amount of support for his immigration positions that will never abandon him, and maybe that number is his current place in the polls.
That said, there's a serious "FUCK YOU" undertone to the Trump support as well.

Basically the Republican party is comprised of multiple ideologies and perspectives that all have to share the same tent, and the smallest voice in that tent, and most despised, happens to rule it.

The party isn't some monolithic group-think, which is apparently what a lot of people here seem to think, and that's why none of you seem to understand Trump's (so far) unwavering support.

I can't speak for everyone in here, but I don't think in such a manner. Indeed, I've actually spoken about Republicans a few pages back.

[Mertron]

is there still room on the trump train

choo choo you fat pigs

[thetruepandagod]

is there still room on the trump train

choo choo you fat pigs

there is always room friend


Also obligatory picture for the state of current republican party.

[Dimmauk]

This is the best part



I WOULD LOVE TO SEE HOW TRUMP WOULD HANDLE THIS.

[D44kpunk]

"god given potential" RIP atheist vote, most people can't see past social issues.

or maybe she's always been openly christian, i honestly pay 0 attention to Hillary so my bad if so

[notorious bum]

Amateurs. It's no surprise that they initially wanted to keep that meeting unreported. They could have pinpointed specific policies, votes, and quoted her own words to use against her, instead they went with the vague "why u don't understand u like racism?" that pervades social media today. BLM is in the process of eating its own as far as the alleged official chapters and the so-called leaders today. Shit is depressing to see. Just take a look at these humble future civil rights leaders of today:

[Sho]

BLM is a sham movement that will get absolutely nothing done, just as Hilary stated. They won't change hearts, nor will they get anyone to take them seriously. Hillary was also completely right by stating that not everyone will acquiesce and suddenly not be racist; you have to be a truly ignorant group to believe that something like that is possible. However, you can change laws and eventually people who are so hateful will just have to deal with it (like Same Sex marriage, marijuana laws in some states).

BLM is just a bunch of whiners and complainers who strive to whine and complain and hope something comes of it, while the rest of the nation will look upon them as a news blip then move onto the next thing. What's more hilarious is the fact that they feel they can truly do something on their own, without the assistance from politicians and more so that of other races in the country, in particular Caucasian Americans. The entire "You don't tell us what to do, and we won't tell you what to do" exchange is the most shortsighted thing ever to listen to from any protest movement ever. It's like dude didn't realize that he's even talking to a very powerful woman who has the potential bring about radical change if elected.

[Serra]

Since announcing his campaign in late June, Donald Trump has quickly leapt to the top of the Republican field, leading recent polls nationally, in Iowa and in New Hampshire. And now, for the first time in CNN/ORC polling, his gains among the Republican Party have boosted him enough to be competitive in the general election.

The poll finds Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton ahead of Trump by just 6 points, a dramatic tightening since July.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/19/politi...ers/index.html

[tyven]

Amateurs. It's no surprise that they initially wanted to keep that meeting unreported. They could have pinpointed specific policies, votes, and quoted her own words to use against her, instead they went with the vague "why u don't understand u like racism?" that pervades social media today. BLM is in the process of eating its own as far as the alleged official chapters and the so-called leaders today. Shit is depressing to see. Just take a look at these humble future civil rights leaders of today:

wat the fuck does that tweet even mean

[Ragnus]

...missing the tea?

[Sho]

Peep the second video. If not the fact that the protester sounded like a complete idiot throughout the entire interview, she finishes up by judging the caster's race and bashing the Obama administration. This is the reason why the BLM movement is a joke and a sham. I hope they fizzle out and return to obscurity as soon as possible. These idiots don't speak for all African-Americans.

[tyven]

...missing the tea?

apparently also spilling the tea

[Dimmauk]

Yeah but did yall check out Hillary's canned focus group answers?

[thetruepandagod]

Can we just get a whites in blackface/BLM thread already?

http://imgur.com/gallery/PEvMe8j

[Dantrag]

BLM has an odd KKK-ish feeling to it... At least some of the outliers(i don't even know if it's fucking outliers at this time. They fucking super racist and think because they're black they're special).

[Mertron]

Can we just get a whites in blackface/BLM thread already?

http://imgur.com/gallery/PEvMe8j

dolezal'd