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[Frumple]

Ah. Yeah, that makes more sense, n. They usually hammer each other pretty hard in the primaries though, don't they? Least they have the last few I can recall. Going at it even harder should be... amusing. And messy.

And wierd, that sort of asshat politician doesn't run for president, they buy presidents. Or just enough of congress for their desires. It's usually significantly cheaper to just graft in whatever you want instead of bleed money actually running for president, especially if their only option is to run independent. Because those folks really aren't that stupid -- they're well aware running third party means they're not going to get president, and that no amount of money is going to change that. The folks that do that generally aren't doing so to actually try to win, they're running to get their message heard on a larger stage. And folks like the Koch critters don't need their message heard on a larger stage, they just need the right people bribed generously donated to.

[wierd]

I suppose that's true, but I was more angling on the "How DARE they tell me NO!" angle.  Psychopathy is alarmingly prevalent in that demographic, and warring egos have done similar things through history.  Depending on who gets the primary nomination, there could yet be fireworks there.

[RedKing]

Yeah, the Kochs didn't get filthy rich by wasting money tilting at windmills. If the don't get the candidate they want, they'll either corrupt him/her with influence/money, or spend a lot (but not ridiculous for them) money opposing them at every turn with astroturf movements like the Tea Party and Birthers and policy institutions and thinktanks like ALEC, Heritage and AEI.

In a lot of ways, Obama has been a godsend for the hard-right conservatives. Their demonization of him and of Obamacare was a big part of the Red Tide that has swung state legislatures heavily Republican across much of the country. And with Congress doing jack-all most of the time, state legislatures are where the real shit is going down.

So who knows, having a buffoon like Trump in office might be a net boon for Democrats. Give him a year or two to hang himself with his own tongue, and you could see a Blue Tide sweeping the country and ushering in a new era of progressiveism. (And we'll all get magical unicorn ponies too....)

[nenjin]

So who knows, having a buffoon like Trump in office might be a net boon for Democrats. Give him a year or two to hang himself with his own tongue, and you could see a Blue Tide sweeping the country and ushering in a new era of progressiveism. (And we'll all get magical unicorn ponies too....)

The damage that idiot could do to the country isn't worth it, IMO. At the least, he'd introduce gridlock that'd make Obama look like the most successful president in history.

[mainiac]

For one, they'd have to stage huge petition drives to even get on the ballot in most states.

That's really more of an asset then a liability.  If you couldn't get a huge petition drive you weren't going to win anyway.  If you can get a huge petition drive it's fantastic publicity.

[misko27]

Trump is cool because he is

• Fabulously wealthy, to the point where he simply does not need to care about fundraising at all. He can shout "Death to Israel!", "Triple Taxes!", and "Legitimate Rape!" all the ding-dong day, completely alienate every single conservative group that exists, and still have all the money for his campaign he could ever want.
• Extremely good at self-promotion, to the point that that seems to be all that he does with his time.
• Wealthy enough that he will never run out of steam: until he actually loses the nomination, he has no fear of fundraisers abandoning him.
• A constant drain on oxygen: Trump will never shut up, never lay low, and has the media resources to still speak and be heard even if the other media start to ignore him.
• Able to set the stage for the issues with his endless, endless talking.
• An underdog; expectations for him are so low that any success will make him look much stronger then people think. A couple zings, a couple clever comments during the debate, and suddenly no one will be able to make him go away (or rather, even less able then before).

The DNC on Trump:

Today, Donald Trump became the second major Republican candidate to announce for president in two days. He adds some much-needed seriousness that has previously been lacking from the GOP field, and we look forward hearing more about his ideas for the nation.

[MetalSlimeHunt]

I'm reminding you all once again that Donald Trump's hair is real. Supposedly he pays 10K a year to maintain it.

[Bohandas]

... As one of the forums resident Republicans, I am watching the Primaries evolve with... I don't know how I feel. Trump interests me in that he seems to have the confidence and gusto that other politicians seem to lack. He's about as graceless as a rock, but at this point the rock is looking more appealing than the alternatives.

When in living memory has there ever been a Republican candidate that was more appealing than a rock? I don't think we've had a decent Republican since Lincoln.

EDIT:
Modern politics have actually convinced me that Caligula was not insane. If Rome's politicians were anything like ours han a horse would make a better senator than most.

[Bauglir]

The DNC on Trump:

Today, Donald Trump became the second major Republican candidate to announce for president in two days. He adds some much-needed seriousness that has previously been lacking from the GOP field, and we look forward hearing more about his ideas for the nation.

Wow. It's like... I can actually feel the sarcasm oozing out of my screen. Amazing.

When in living memory has there ever been a Republican candidate that was more appealing than a rock? I don't think we've had a decent Republican since Lincoln.

Well, now that Nixon is out of the running with a fury that would alarm a 20th level barbarian, I guess... Eisenhower?

[mainiac]

When in living memory has there ever been a Republican candidate that was more appealing than a rock?

Well the Maryland 1st district had a decent Republican Congressman but he lost to a primary challenger in 2010.  He was one of the last to go.  Only 5 years but it feels like a different era.

[Zangi]

When in living memory has there ever been a Republican candidate that was more appealing than a rock? I don't think we've had a decent Republican since Lincoln.

Well, now that Nixon is out of the running with a fury that would alarm a 20th level barbarian, I guess... Eisenhower?

Reagan is more appealing then a rock, but not to most people on this forum.

[Bauglir]

Once again, I am forced to concede a Reagan point. The man had charisma, I grant him that.

[Zrk2]

So Donald Trump used a Neil Young song in his announcement. Which is funny for many reasons:

1. That's a song about how terrible being poor in America is.
2. Neil Young never lets people use his music to sell stuff.
3. Neil Young is the polar opposite of Trump on just about every issue.

Seriously. What did he expect to happen? I've never once heard of Neil Young backing down from anything.

[Aqizzar]

Old, but Watergate isn't the reason Nixon is enjoying a special place in hell right now, this is.

Thanks for the link.  Many times in the past I've called myself a supporter of Nixon for being a remarkably level-headed politician in an unlevel time and that his politics at least have been vindicated by history.  Then it turns out the hippies were right all along and Nixon really was personally making sure the Vietnam War kept going to maintain his own relevance.  Welp, count me in on Nixon bashing from now on.

At least LBJ is still a tragically conflicted political Sisyphus.  Sure he basically created the Vietnam War, but he was also more responsible than any one other person for getting the Civil Rights Act and Medicare passed at the only time in history they could have happened.  Would have been cool to see him literally swoop down over the riots to reclaim the office he'd abdicated in the name of national stability.  Chicago might have burned down in the process.


In other news, for those who haven't heard: Pope Francis has been organizing an initiative to get the Vatican involved in international climate change activities, and some of his high holy press releases or whatever the Pope makes have been leaking out in the public, wherein he will begin calling climate change a moral dilemma for which humanity must hold itself accountable.

If you were wondering what the reaction would be from the American political party that holds both religious (Christian) principle and refusal to believe in climate change of any kind as its modern foundational principles.  As you probably could have guessed, the reaction is blatant hypocrisy.

When you talk about unpredictable science, I have to ask where's the nexus between that and the theology of the Vatican? ... I've studied the science … and I doubt the pope is going to embrace my position. But this is science, not theology.

I don't agree with the pope. ... I'm not a Catholic, but I've got a lot of friends who are, who are wondering: Why all of a sudden is he involved in this? I don't have the answer for that. ... I can't crawl in his mind. He has the right to say anything he wants, but that doesn't change the lack of science.

The church has gotten it wrong a few times on science, and I think that we probably are better off leaving science to the scientists and focusing on what we’re really good at, which is … theology and morality.

I hope I’m not going to get castigated for saying this by my priest back home, but I don’t get economic policy from my bishops or my cardinals or my pope. ... And I’d like to see what he says as it relates to climate change and how that connects to these broader, deeper issue before I pass judgment. But I think religion ought to be about making us better as people and less about things that end up getting in the political realm.

The Republican Party of 2015: Criticizing the Pope for being too reliant on 'unpredictable' science and too involved in topical political issues.  Government policy needs the guidance of religious principle... provided the religion agrees with the politics.

I left out Rush Limbaugh deciding the Pope is secretly a Marxist agitator because who gives a fuck what he thinks.

[Arx]

The Republican party has steadily been drifting away from mainstream Christianity for quite a long time now. Those responses are disappointing but entirely unsurprising.