Trump cheats at golf - the ONE and ONLY politics thread

I think the best option probably is for everyone to stay in, in an effort to keep him below the delegate count needed to win on a first ballot, and hope you can beat him in an open convention.

But, like trying to shoot the moon in hearts, it's a long shot, that will either pay off handsomely, or fail spectacularly.

 

You're such an asshole.

 

But, despite what people are saying, Trump is running as a common sense candidate.

He's not running an ideologically pure campaign. He's praised Planned Parenthood - repeatedly - for God's sake.

The split that Trump is causing doesn't run cleanly between conservatives and common sense Republicans. The folks most upset by Trump are those whose apple carts he's turning over; politicians, consultants, lobbyists, and businesses used to cheap labor.

Is that the "common sense" wing of the party?

 

I don't disagree with you, but it's his perceived extremism on third-rail issues that the party is worried about. I wouldn't call Trump a Tea Partier, ideologically. But he embodies its spirit, and draws a lot of those voters. He's dominating in the South, for example. I think that the establishment party is probably tired, at this point, of having to pander to the Southern base. It's tired of race-baiting, to be blunt.

 

I should add that the fact you don't realize it's people like you who are ruining the discourse in this country is a big part of the problem.

 

Hillary has to love Trump. The ease with which he has dominated the news cycle means no one is talking about how worthless and shitty she is as a candidate/person. I'll certainly vote for Trump over Clinton. Easy choice.

As for the GOP establishment, its biggest issue isn't any single issue. It's not developing any talent. As I alluded to earlier, you've had 8 years of the perfect foil in the WH, and the best the party can come up with in this election cycle are Rubio and Cruz?

A good candidate cures all (temporary) ills. Reagan, Clinton, Obama ...

Having said that, a lot of traditional Republicans would appreciate a leadership with a litttle backbone and some fiscal responsibility.

 

What the party needs to do is figure out how the Dems became so successful at it.

 

I had YF in my pool, but you would have run a close second.

I'm not talking about the Dems right now. I'm talking about the Republicans. And their decades old "Southern strategy" has brought them to this point. Trying to pivot to the other side doesn't change that fact, as clever as it might feel.

 

Four or eight years ago, who were the people being groomed by the Republican party? Or....who seemed like the up and comer who would be ready for 2016? I remember hearing Rubio, right? Who else? And what happened to them?

 

Party got bogged down in capitulation.

 

Or maybe it means liberals are willing to change their principles for politics. That's the more likely case.

 

The whole #NeverTrump campaign really pisses me off, and shows how misguided some party leaders are.

The way to beat Trump was to run, and attract more primary voters than Trump.

Mitt Romney let Jeb Bush scare him away from running.

The party treated Trump like a joke, concerned only with securing a loyalty pledge from him.

They got the pledge, and now even that is blowing up in their face, as they don't want to be pledged to supporting Trump.

Trump famously doesn't employ his own pollsters, yet he, and not the professional politicians, was able to identify the issues that resonated with Republican primary voters, and independents who have come to vote for him in open contests.

And, let's not pretend it's because the party found issues like immigration or trade to unseemly; too much of a pander to "southern" voters. They didn't run on those issues because they didn't understand how vital they were to voters. They live in a bubble. They think these issues have been settled, and the moneyed interests that fuel their campaigns are of one mind on these issues.

And, in fact, it's these issues more than anything else, that has the establishment terrified of Trump winning.

They'd rather lose to Hillary than rethink their position on issues, or even how they've handled, and communicated about these issues.

Even if you do think that Trump would be a disaster for the party, I'd love to here the explanation of how 8 years of Hillary, following 8 years of Obama, is a better alternative.