Portland, Oregon

Portland, Oregon

Thursday, May 5, 2016

Taking It Back

I'm taking back what I said the other day about stepping back from politics. No way am I backing off now!

I really didn't plan to hang around for all the ugly stuff but I figure it's going to be beyond anything we've witnessed before in politics.

Given Trump's talent for getting free media exposure do you think he'll be able to win against Hillary?

Some people think there are times in history when an unstoppable movement occurs. President Obama's election in 2008 was viewed by many as such a movement. Do you think we're seeing that with Trump?

I lived in Texas when George W. Bush was first elected governor. It wouldn't have mattered if Ann Richards had walked on water that year the state was going for Bush. Look how that turned out.

Hillary and Trump both have higher negatives than any candidates in history. Do you think that will make a difference?

Hillary is still under investigation but she's always under investigation for something. I don't even pay any attention anymore, I just figure it's the Republicans after Hillary again. What about Trump? He's also under investigation. Will the Republicans find a way to block him being their candidate?

Trump's people have said they don't believe Hillary has been properly vetted. Will it be one witch hunt after another against her? Hard to imagine anyone who's been vetted more often than Hillary Clinton.

What about Bernie? Any chance he could win the Democratic nomination? I know, I know, the pundits say no but they also said there was no way Donald Trump would be the Republican Nominee.

Do you think the next President is almost sure to serve only one term?

It looks to me like this may be an 'everybody pile on Hillary' election. About the only thing Republicans and Trump have in common is their hatred of Hillary.

How do you win against a guy who doesn't play by the rules, anybody's rules?

9 comments:

  1. Your last sentence---how do you win against someone who doesn't play by the rules---is what has me worried the most. I've never seen so many high profile people in either party say they won't support the presumed nomination of their party like the Republicans are doing now. He could do something like refuse to debate Hillary and keep on with the twitter wars instead so people can't see them side by side answering in depth questions. That will only hurt Hillary.

    What really worries me is that so many people are willing to ignore (or don't know) how much Trump lies and how little he actually knows about how government and international diplomacy actually works. It worries me that so many people seem to want to support racism, going against international law to torture people, who wants to reverse decades of trying to get rid of nuclear weapons. These are people living among us and I really thought higher of the collective morals and ethical base of our country. I'm really shocked about that. I know people are angry with our do-nothing house and congress but electing a thin-skinned, unpredictable person with the temperament of wasp whose nest was hit with a stick is not the answer.

    As for Bernie, his path to getting enough delegates is very narrow but I think he's staying in to: 1) keep his supporter from going over to Trump, 2) to give him a position of power at the convention when it comes to hammering out their platform which will help keep his fan 'blue', and 3) to put him in a better position to turn his followers over to Hillary.

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    1. I totally agree with your assessment of Bernie. I hadn't thought about the idea of Trump refusing to debate Hillary. Wow. Side by side, in a by the rules debate, she would clean Trump's clock. Trump goes nuts on Twitter with the most outlandish things you can imagine. I'm curious to see if after this mess is over the political pendulum will begin to swing back to the left like it began to swing right after the chaos of the 60s. Will we see violence again as we did in the 60s? We've survived turbulent times before and we may be headed for more. I'm watching Republicans, taking notes and names, in hopes I'll begin to see someone previously unknown to media person rise and lead in bringing some order to this situation. It certainly won't be Reince Priebus.

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  2. I know I lose sleep over the possibility of Trump as our president. I'm amazed at my Republican friends who dislike Trump but say they'll vote for him. If I don't like a candidate, I don't vote for him or her. The thought of Trump's refusing to debate Hillary, which had never occurred to me, will now give me even less sleep at night.

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    1. The thought of Donald Trump now receiving classified briefings makes me livid. How far is the Republican party going to have to go before someone steps up to lead, or they explode and cease to be? They worry about Hillary not being trustworthy with classified material but they're okay with Trump receiving classified briefings. Insane.

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    2. A guy who was once high up in the CIA---you'd know his name if I could remember it---said that our government officials are worried about what Trump would do with classified stuff because he talks off the cuff so much and could say things that would endanger lives and missions. BUT he said there is 'classified' and there is 'CLASSIFIED' and the president does have some discretion over how much of the latter a candidate gets. So in theory Trump more than likely won't get as much red meat in his classified briefings as what Hillary already gets due to her status as an x-Sec. of State. That's comforting but what if he wins?

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  3. Ah, this will be painful. I have always thought the charges against Hillary were "trumped" up by the republicans long before Trump even got in the mix. They don't want a woman president any more than they wanted a black one. I am putting politics on the back burner for now. I just hate all the hateful rhetoric and don't care to listen. Thank goodness for fast forward on the remote. Can't wait for Nov.

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    1. I hear you. I still plan to continue what I'm already doing, not watching TV or reading newspapers. My interest now is not so much in either candidate but it what may be happening to our political two party system. I'm going to be watching Republicans to see how they deal with this situation. I'm going to be watching Democrats to see if they're learning from this. The rhetoric between the candidates is going to be the most vile we've ever experienced. I'm hoping I can push that to one side and focus on what's going on in the parties and Congress. We'll see how successful I am.

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  4. it has occurred to me that donald Trump now has a 50% chance of becoming our next president. We Have no idea which Trump will show up at any given moment. We do know that he is not a conservative Republican.
    What concerns me the most is the disillusionment expressed by my son and his cohorts, 35 to 45 year olds. For the most part they are Sanders supporters, and they do not like Hillary and think Obama sold them out. As idealists, they struggle with compromise and incrementalism. And yet, as a "mature' adult, I know that it is through compromise and steady, small steps that real change happens and allows us all to get along. They want more, and something better.
    Trump supporters have to be the most selfish, uninformed lot ever. And yet they make up a large part of our population. That's what makes me worry.

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    1. "The squeaky wheel gets oiled"saying I think applies to Trump and his supporters. They make the most noise so they're the ones being heard. Apparently in our society you don't get heard unless you shout. A lot of our young adults have not dealt much with incrementalism. If they want something they get it, apparently not thinking that credit card payment is incrementalism. I keep thinking trying to figure out how things got so bad with the Republican party. I know they did it to themselves in growing a new generation fed on hate and anger dealt out by Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly and the like. I also think real Goldwater type republicans have been disappointed with so many of their Presidents. None have turned out to be as conservative as they talked before election. They like to worship Reagan but even he is a disappointment because he raised taxes, expanded government and left all the social programs in place. The most important thing he did for Republicans was restore their hope, but for real conservative action, not a lot better than the rest. Their party just seems so angry. They seem to have lost hope for tomorrow. That's sad but I certainly hope the rest of us are not going to have to pay a severe price for their mistakes.

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