The 2016 Presidential Election Trainwreck

[Applejack]

Right. And Rubio is actually beating Hillary head to head. These polls are of course pretty meaningless at this point but I was countering the assertion that it's only Republicans that would support Trump. This probably says more about what a flawed candidate Hillary is than anything about Trump.

That's one of the frustrating things about this whole circus. If the Republicans put up someone competent and not crazy they'd win.

Wait, how are you countering the assertion that "only republicans would support Trump?" The polling data suggests that it doesn't matter who you pick for the Republican ticket, that person will get 40% of the votes. Does Trump have a lot of bipartisan support?

[Omaha 680]

Wait, how are you countering the assertion that "only republicans would support Trump?" The polling data suggests that it doesn't matter who you pick for the Republican ticket, that person will get 40% of the votes. Does Trump have a lot of bipartisan support?

To get over 40% of the electorate as a Republican you have to get a significant number of non-Republican votes. Obviously very few Democrats would vote for him, but the polling suggests a healthy chunk of Independents would prefer Trump to Hillary. That surprises me even if it's just hypothetical pre-primary polling.

[Applejack]

To get over 40% of the electorate as a Republican you have to get a significant number of non-Republican votes. Obviously very few Democrats would vote for him, but the polling suggests a healthy chunk of Independents would prefer Trump to Hillary. That surprises me even if it's just hypothetical pre-primary polling.

Not according to Pew. http://www.people-press.org/2015/04/...y-affiliation/

edit: crap, I can't embed the picture because my computer skills are zilch (help Uncle Ted). It's the affiliation (lean right or left) of the American public. About half way down.

[BlueK]

A friend of mine was one of the ones kicked out last night. In one video, you can hear a supporter yelling "Light the mother fu#*er on fire!"

According to a Trump supporter at my work, this craziness in Vegas was just staged by the media to try to make Trump look bad. You'd probably have more luck having a meaningful political conversation with a dog or cat than with a hard-core Trump supporter.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

Just saw on Twitter that Ben Carson referred to the RNC chairman as Reince "Pubis."

So awesome.

[All-American]

Trump thinks he's got this wrapped up.

[creekster]

Trump thinks he's got this wrapped up.

He clearly does. He feels impermeable. I can't stand him.

[creekster]

One of the things that drives me crazy about Trump is how smug he is about his poll numbers. He seems to find justification for whatever craziness he utters by the fact that he has a lead. So when Jeb rightly expressed skepticism about trump's policies Trump's first line of defense is that he is polling much higher than bush. The fact that some portion of people are deluded or amused or hoodwinked by him does not mean his ideas have merit.

I much preferred the days of Lincoln when it was considered gauche to even acknowledge that you might be a candidate, let alone campaign for such an appointment. Trump turns it on its head and finds reason in his conduct by his poll results.

[Jeff Lebowski]

One of the things that drives me crazy about Trump is how smug he is about his poll numbers. He seems to find justification for whatever craziness he utters by the fact that he has a lead. So when Jeb rightly expressed skepticism about trump's policies Trump's first line of defense is that he is polling much higher than bush. The fact that some portion of people are deluded or amused or hoodwinked by him does not mean his ideas have merit.

I much preferred the days of Lincoln when it was considered gauche to even acknowledge that you might be a candidate, let alone campaign for such an appointment. Trump turns it on its head and finds reason in his conduct by his poll results.

This is a well-written 4am post.

[Moliere]

The 2016 Presidential Election Primary Thread

The debate last night was very well done. Wolf does a good job moderating and the questions were substantial. Quite a difference in production from the circus that CNBC produced.

Trump is dumb and pretty much everyone else said so last night. He'll still rise in the polls. I can't believe he defended is strategy of killing the families of terrorists. Strange.

MJ thinks Cruz is a woman trapped in a mans body. I kind of agree. If he were liberal he'd probably be transgendered by now. I'm still just flat out weirded out by him. I'm also not sure yet if I can vote for him over Clinton.

Rubio is great. He's sticking with some of his moderate principles even if it hurts him now in the primaries. He's not an idiot on immigration like Cruz and Trump. I really, really want Rubio to win. He'd make a very good president.

Bush actually looked good last night but it's too little too late. He's turned into the attack dog in that he's the main person to bash Trump, and he makes good points in doing that. The Chaos Candidate line was good as was the one where he said something like "you can't insult your way to the presidency".

Carson is just horrible on anything that requires real experience. He clearly knows nothing about foreign policy. I still don't get his popularity. His moment of silence during the opening was awkward.

Fiorina should drop out. She's a decent debater but has no chance.

Kasich has morphed into a bumbling fool. He was bad last night. I still don't understand why he thinks the government should be able to unencrypt our files. He also needs to tie his hands down. I do love him as a VP pick since it's clear he's smart and capable and moderate.

Christie is getting better, but he has one drum and he beats it over and over. He thinks a governor needs to be president. Sure, whatever. Go eat another Krispy Kreme.

Paul did well, but he won't ever win.

[imanihonjin]

The debate last night was very well done. Wolf does a good job moderating and the questions were substantial. Quite a difference in production from the circus that CNBC produced.

Trump is dumb and pretty much everyone else said so last night. He'll still rise in the polls. I can't believe he defended is strategy of killing the families of terrorists. Strange.

MJ thinks Cruz is a woman trapped in a mans body. I kind of agree. If he were liberal he'd probably be transgendered by now. I'm still just flat out weirded out by him. I'm also not sure yet if I can vote for him over Clinton.

Rubio is great. He's sticking with some of his moderate principles even if it hurts him now in the primaries. He's not an idiot on immigration like Cruz and Trump. I really, really want Rubio to win. He'd make a very good president.

Bush actually looked good last night but it's too little too late. He's turned into the attack dog in that he's the main person to bash Trump, and he makes good points in doing that. The Chaos Candidate line was good as was the one where he said something like "you can't insult your way to the presidency".

Carson is just horrible on anything that requires real experience. He clearly knows nothing about foreign policy. I still don't get his popularity. His moment of silence during the opening was awkward.

Fiorina should drop out. She's a decent debater but has no chance.

Kasich has morphed into a bumbling fool. He was bad last night. I still don't understand why he thinks the government should be able to unencrypt our files. He also needs to tie his hands down. I do love him as a VP pick since it's clear he's smart and capable and moderate.

Christie is getting better, but he has one drum and he beats it over and over. He thinks a governor needs to be president. Sure, whatever. Go eat another Krispy Kreme.

Paul did well, but he won't ever win.

What was the deal with the karate chop hands?

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

Kasich the bumbling, smart, capable, fool for VP! He should hire you for his campaign Moli.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

The debate last night was very well done. Wolf does a good job moderating and the questions were substantial. Quite a difference in production from the circus that CNBC produced.

Trump is dumb and pretty much everyone else said so last night. He'll still rise in the polls. I can't believe he defended is strategy of killing the families of terrorists. Strange.

MJ thinks Cruz is a woman trapped in a mans body. I kind of agree. If he were liberal he'd probably be transgendered by now. I'm still just flat out weirded out by him. I'm also not sure yet if I can vote for him over Clinton.

Rubio is great. He's sticking with some of his moderate principles even if it hurts him now in the primaries. He's not an idiot on immigration like Cruz and Trump. I really, really want Rubio to win. He'd make a very good president.

Bush actually looked good last night but it's too little too late. He's turned into the attack dog in that he's the main person to bash Trump, and he makes good points in doing that. The Chaos Candidate line was good as was the one where he said something like "you can't insult your way to the presidency".

Carson is just horrible on anything that requires real experience. He clearly knows nothing about foreign policy. I still don't get his popularity. His moment of silence during the opening was awkward.

Fiorina should drop out. She's a decent debater but has no chance.

Kasich has morphed into a bumbling fool. He was bad last night. I still don't understand why he thinks the government should be able to unencrypt our files. He also needs to tie his hands down. I do love him as a VP pick since it's clear he's smart and capable and moderate.

Christie is getting better, but he has one drum and he beats it over and over. He thinks a governor needs to be president. Sure, whatever. Go eat another Krispy Kreme.

Paul did well, but he won't ever win.

Christie is a dark horse. And I think he's barely viable for the nomination -- Trump, Cruz, Rubio and Christie. He has a chance in New Hampshire and he can, at times, do that "straight talk" which seems to be endearing people to Donald F-ing Trump.

I also think that Christie would be the best president of those four, and I don't think it's very close. Being the US Attorney for a federal district, especially the one where Christie was at, is a fairly substantial position. Rudy Giuliani was a US Attorney before he became the mayor of New York. Now Christie has been the governor of New Jersey for 5-6 years.

Rubio would be the best candidate of the four and I think he would possibly be an ok president. We haven't had a truly self-made president since Bill Clinton, so that would be a nice change.

[I.J. Reilly]

We haven't had a truly self-made president since Bill Clinton, so that would be a nice change.

Out of curiosity, who/what "made" Obama?

[Color Me Badd Fan]

This is not an original thought, but Trump has a fairly consistent pattern. He finds himself slipping in the polls, and people get a little Trump fatigue and then he says something outrageous to get the media spotlight back on him. Ted Cruz pulls ahead of him in Iowa at around the same time of the San Bernardino shooting. Trump's next move is to say something outrageous that will appeal to the part of the population that is wary of the PC pussyfooting done by the past two administrations re radical islamic pathologies. The media spotlight then returns to Trump and it stops Cruz's momentum.

I think a big part of this Trump thing is simply his ability to manipulate the amount of media coverage he and the other candidates receive. He's been in the media spotlight for over 30 years.