Donald Trump

The Donald might get my vote for Dancing with the Stars in 2017, but not for POTUS in 2016.

If they were my only choices, I don't know who I would support between Cruz and Trump.

I think if you're fiscally conservative but socially liberal, Trump might be your best choice. It's a shame he's racist.

I won't have a chance to chose between Trump and any other Republican, due to timing of the primary. It will already be decided. But there is no way in hell I would vote for Hillary. Never.

JS69, I suspect that your political views and mine aren't all that different, but I can't vote for Trump for President. As a longtime conservative/libertarian (increasingly the latter, radicalized by the failed presidencies of W and Obama), I don't trust Trump to be on the side of freedom in any respect. If I absolutely had to choose between Trump on the one hand and any conceivable Democrat on the other, I suppose I would have to vote for Trump as the [somewhat] lesser of two evils. Fortunately I don't have to choose between these vile alternatives.

Vote Libertarian!

I'm a libertarian but their candidate has no chance. It voting libertarian would have the same effect as voting for the ice queen.

I'm not shy John. America voted for a socialist president that is clearly anti american and pro everyone else (twice!). Might as well give Trump a chance

I never thought I'd say this, but I wish Obama could get one more term. The thought of Hillary or Trump as our next president depresses me. I'm no fan of Obama, but he's for sure better than Trump or Hillary.

Mikeya- anti American? I know you're a passionate righty, but could you try to be a little objective?

John, I think the grass is talking. In all of my voting years I have never felt so utterly depressed about my choices for President. Do I choose felonious, military-hating, citizen-abandoning Hillary; egotistical, foul mouthed, unprincipled Donald or nutcase Ted. Bernie Sanders is no bargain either, but at least there seems to be humanity and a desire to do right there.

I could never support a POTUS candidate who was so bad at running his business that he had to declare bankruptcy not once, not twice, not three times, but 4 times.

Everyone makes mistakes, so I could see 1 time and learn from it. But 4 times is someone abusing the system for their own personal benefit.

You really want this guy in charge of our countries finances?

FUCK TRUMP !! NO LUBE !! Let's all say: HEIL TRUMP !!!

Trump is ignorant, arrogant and unqualified. Americans want to be entertained by Jerry Springer instead of considering serious issues.

I believe you.

RE: Trump

It's hard for me to get behind some of the other GOP candidates. I just support someone who is socially conservative (meaning: against gay marriage and against abortion, and wants to shove church-y crap down my throat). Can't Americans have free will.

Personally, like Larry, I'd rather see a Barak Obama 3rd term as well. I never understood the ire he generated among the GOP (I'm GOP myself, I have been since I declared when I turned 18 and voted for Bob Dole). I much prefer Obama to anything currently running this cycle. With that said, I think Hilary will win, and that's because he's the candidate who's in the middle and most Americans are centrist. I'd be happy with Hilary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, or Donald Trump as President. All have their flaws, but the other candidates are more flawed than those three, IMO.

I'm still torn between voting Trump or voting Kasich in the Ohio primary in a few days. :/

All of the Republican debates except for the one that Trump skipped have very closely resembled the Jerry Springer show so on balance jackslash is correct. Trump is a train wreck, if he were actually to become president it would be a disaster.

I run with a fairly conservative group of friends and no one supports Trump

Most on TUSCL don't seem to support Trump

I agree he would be a disaster

So how the heck does he keep winning?

the remaining candidates on both sides are all a bit scary. I don't see a good choice - that has any chance - right now.

The more I see Trump debating - the more he concerns me. He shouldn't use that sort of tactic - and it won't win him any allies in Washington.

To answer your question - if it's between Trump and Hillary - I would vote for Trump. Sorry - but my vote would be to stop another Clinton from getting into the White House. That's not a good reason - and yet it's the only one I've got right now.

The gop is ducked either way. If trump is nominated there's no way he's going to win a general election. If they do a brokered convention and kick trump out of the gop, well.. That's probably their best choice to keep Clinton or Sanders out of the white house. I don't believe even trump supporters are stupid enough to think he will actually win a general election.

*fucked

It really doesn't matter who the president is. We could have Donald Duck as president instead of Donald Trump and things would be fine. I used to care a lot until I realized that it really doesn't matter. My life will go on pretty much the same no matter who wins. Yes I could even life a happy life with Hillary Clinton as da pres.

I don't trust Washington and its politician, but the idea of Trump as president scare me. I like that he doesn't answer to anyone, so are dictator. I think even if he become president and decide to do everything his way, he'll just be block by people in Congress by both parties.

He is only candidate that many world leaders have voiced against, so I doubt that he can do much with foreign policy. The only one I think he can get along with is probably Putin, so unless we're heading toward communism that does us no good.

Trump talks so much about making America great again, but he make fail businesses and get sue for fraud, declare bankruptcy multiple time, send work oversea to China. I think if he's the president, he'll be the first president to bankrupt America.

I'll vote for him if he turn the Whitehouse into the biggest strip club with the most beautiful girls and take care of the tab and I'm allowed to go there anytime I want.

If elected, Trump will find out just how little power the President has. Most presidents only have to worry about half of Congress opposing them. Trump will have to deal with all of them.

It will be one of the few times when "bipartisan" comes to actual fruition in Congress. They'll block his legislation, defund his initiatives, override his vetoes, make his executive orders unenforceable, use the first excuse to impeach him they can, and block and stymie him in any way they can.

I'm going to be dead serious because Trump scares the shit out of me. Vote for anybody but Trump. Dominic77, if you're really in Ohio please vote Kasich!

Remember that Trump isn't a brilliant businessman. He inherited money and connections from his father. Nothing wrong with that, but people think he's a business genius. Where is the evidence for that? As warhawks said, he's gone bankrupt four times. He knows how to game the system, but a business genius he is not.

His recent success has been as an entertainer. He is good at that job, and that's why he keeps winning. He entertains morons and they vote for him.

Remember, Trump is not a conservative. The shit he says is a mixture of crazy right wing shit and crazy left wing shit. And if you're centrist, like I am, saying a mixture of crazy right wing stuff and crazy left wing stuff doesn't make you centrist. It makes you crazy. The problem is that very little of what he says isn't crazy.

With Trump I see two possibilities. First, he's lying. Second, he's surrounded himself by sycophants for so long that he really is crazy and he's telling the truth. I actually lean toward the "he's lying" side, but that doesn't make me want to vote for him. And the possibility that he's telling the truth scares the shit out of me.

Anybody but Trump 2016!

Dominic77, out of curiosity why do Kasich, Rubio, and Cruz scare you?

Cruz scares me a bit because I think he believes the socially conservative crap. And he doesn't know which fights to pick. Hint, if you're a first term senator it's not with your majority leader.

But Kasich and Rubio? They'll move to the center on social issues during the general election. They may be a bit more socially conservative than you'd like, but Kasich is hardly a radical social conservative. Rubio is a true politician. He won't push policies unless they are likely to get him reelected. Neither will shove church-y stuff down your throat.

Who knows what Trump will do?

I say Kasich > Rubio > Clinton > Sanders > Cruz >>>>>>>>>> Trump

Any vote not cast for the republican nominee helps Hillary. I will be voting Republican.

My preferences Kasich Rubio Flagooner Trump Cruz .. .. .. .. .. SJG Clinton

Kasich Rubio Cruz Trump Hillary Sanders

There's, that's my order.

I would have Sanders higher on the list, but I think he thinks taxing the fuck out of everyone will solve all the problems of the USA.

In reality, if Hillary was president I don't see much of a difference between her and the current administration.

Special interests groups! Trump will also be influenced but way less than any other candidate because he can create his own special interests as he has already done in business. JS69 I liked how you pointed out how the liberal media shames anybody from "white" America to speak out against current liberal policies, or anything different than the opinions Nina has. It's the pissed off voters from the past decade that are rallying around Trump.

It's true it doesn't matter much who gets in because he/she will just be a puppet to our beurocracy, but we might as well be proud of who we're looking at in the White House. A legalized citizen as hot as Trump's wife is a great role model for someone aspiring to be great. That is the kind of examples we want to see, not a repeat of Bill Clinton sniffing around and plotting his next murder with Hillary backing him up.

Saturday Night Live is also extreme liberal based. I couldn't even laugh at the skit they did about Trump supporters being all from the KKK. They're political slant is so obvious being a New York/East Coast media driven machine I understand, but even the SNL Update guys are always throwing jabs against conservatives in a demeaning way, but they not once demonize the left. It's so blatant it's the only times I disrespect SNL, which is when they get blatantly biased doing comedy. They should be willing to bag on the Democrats and portray them as being just as evil, but they don't. The comedy directed at Hillary is just fluff. Donald is less racist than liberals. Liberals have always been most racist people whenever they don't get their way they play the race card.

I've often wondered how America could change from a democracy into a fascist dictatorship. Frankly I thought it impossible, but Trump has changed my mind. I am not comfortable how he threatens anyone who speaks up against him. If he had the FBI as his personal secret police, I fear for our freedoms.

As usual we have no good candidates to choose from. i can tell you that EVERYONE I work with supports Trump. They have some issues with him but the overall tone is "he can't do any worse than what we've had". I still think he'll drop out at some point but we'll see. I think if he does get elected they'll be more presidential vetoes than at any time in history. He won't play games with either side. One good thing that could come from all this is that both sides of the aisle would have to work together on everything for once.

Draft Elizabeth Warren! In the 1968 presidential race Louis Abolafia ran and had as a campaign poster a photo of himself sitting nude on a cake of ice saying, "I have nothing to hide". Vote Louis Abolafia!

After all the analysis, a Non Trump vote leads to a Hillary presidency via all the permutations so you either like Hillary and business as usual or vote Trump, warts and all. I try to ignore all the fud being thrown in.

seaboardrr: The last two election cycles had excellent candidates. Obama, McCain and Romney were all good candidates and all 3 are/would have been good presidents. Clinton rubs people the wrong way but she'll be an okay president as would Cruz or Kaisch. You may disagree with their policies in a few areas, but government will function and America will continue to prosper with any of them as chief executive.

The only "bad" candidates are Sanders and Trump. Which is ironic since I support Sanders.

I would say:

Carson Kaisch Trump Rubio Shadowcat Juice Osama Bin Laden Saddam Huesain Jimmy Carter Bill Clinton The Bouncer at Platinum Plus Hillary Sanders

Without getting into the fray, just note that "PredictWise" predictwise.com has Hillary's chance of getting the DEM nomination at 95% and the 2016 President going to Hilary at 66%.

By doubling down on racism and xenophobia (anti-Muslim, anti Mexican) the Republicans have all but thrown the election away.

Take your pick.

politics1.com

I think anyone who thinks Donald Trump will (A) win the general election, and (B) make a good president, is thinking without either logic or sanity, or both.

What a joke.

Rockstar - why do you lump Sanders & Trump as "bad"? It appears that there's a large portion of the electorate who are totally fed up with the current situation of Congress stymieing every move the executive branch attempts and Congress unable to agree on the time of day. I worry about international relations if Trump takes the reins as well as economic policy. From what I've heard Trump hasn't yet put forth a cogent tax plan and his proposals to levy import duties on China and Mexico can only lead to trade wars which will appear to have dire consequences for manufacturing in the U.S. Sanders' proposals sound better to me in that Wall Street regulation and heavily taxing obscene profits from hedge fund management being used to lessen the tax burden on low and middle income Americans will increase consumer demand and have secondary benefits. His proposal to subsidize PUBLIC colleges by eliminating tuition isn't all that radical in that it doesn't include fees and expenses. Anyone who has attended public college knows that tuition is just a portion of the cost. Plus, the current US Dept of Labor estimates that 80% of new jobs which will be created in the next decade will not require a bachelor's degree, but will require some post-secondary education (Associates or certificate). Private schools will continue to do as they have done. Harvard's $34 Billion endowment will still allow the College to admit whoever they choose. Realistically it still looks like we'll have 2 candidates running for POTUS: one who may be defending herself against Justice Dept charges and the other giving depositions in many Civil suits , both during the height of election season. What a clusterfuck!

Gawker: I label both bad for different reasons. Trump is bad for all the reasons you stated, plus he'll never put his country before personal considerations. He only cares about himself and his image. Even the Obama haters have to concede his motivations are professional.

Sanders is a bad candidate because he's blowing as muck smoke as Trump as far as policies go; he's just attacking a different aspect of 'what's wrong with America'. Both will expand government, increase the deficit and have no way to pay for it. At least Clinton's proposals make economic sense.

If I actually thought Sanders could win, I might just hold my nose vote for Hillary in the primary. But like the Trump supporters, I'm tired of 'business as usual' and Sanders is the first liberal alternative to that since Kennedy. I'm no Hillary fan, but like the people who say, "Anyone but Hillary" I say, "Anyone but Trump". Even Sanders. Naturally, he's almost un-electable so that's way I said Sanders is a bad candidate.

Rockstar, your 1st paragraph described Obama also.

Mikey02: We'll always have to disagree on that. I give Obama pretty high marks as president; I grade him a B+. Clinton got an A- from me as did Reagan, W got a D-, Bush Sr. a B, Ford an A-...Carter a D. So you can see I'm trying not to be TOO partisan...

Me neither, I didn't think much of Bush W's administration

In fact, I might write in Megan Kelly for president

You can make money during a bankruptcy. Trump is doing it. For example: A business can buy thousands of $5 items on credit, you sell them for $2 cash, you hide the money, and then you declare bankruptcy and void your debt. Trump is gaming the system folks.

For those of you who want Obama to have a 3rd term, I respectfully think you don't understand the long term damage he is doing to the economy. Listen to the screams of the poor and middle class when some of these hefty Obamacare fines kick in once Obama is out of office.

I would vote for Trump. Yes, there is a chance he might throw a tantrum and decide to Nuke Canada, but there is probably a bigger chance that he could make more favorable trade agreements and possibly bring back some manufacturing jobs that other Presidents have chased away.

Who are we kidding folks? Most of us would vote for a guy in either party who would make extras legal in the VIP rooms!

(This message has been brought to you by the "FriendsofJohnSmith for president Club")

Pontiac: The rebound of the economy under Obama the last 8 years has been nothing short of spectacular. You may claim it wasn't him (even as you blame him for it being less than your expectations) but the numbers speak for themselves. Unemployment slashed almost in half, the deficit is lower, and government overall has far less employees than it did when Obama took office. Or doesn't FOX "News" report these things?

For the most part I agree with John Smith. It probably doesn't matter who is President. Conservatives feared Obama - but is much really different in most of our lives? Bernie's policies scare the hell out of me but Congress wouldn't pass his agenda.

But Trump? I fear he could really piss off the wrong enemy.

Most people are not political-heads nor part of the political establishment.

A lot of people feel that most politicians are in-it for themselves and that the political establishment is bought while the middle-class is getting shafted. Trump is kinda giving a big middle-finger to the political establishment and this resonates w/ lots of people that feel they’ve been getting the short-end of the stick (kinda the enemy of my enemy is my friend kinda thing).

Choosing another politician for many will be business as usual w/ another bought candidate – Trump seems to be his own man and perhaps people are seeing him as an alternative to the same-o same-o bought politicians that people are disillusioned with.

I think Trump’s bark is worst than his bite; he is not stupid – for him to get to where he is he’s had to negotiate w/ people including local governments and even foreign governments when doing business deals overseas.

Obama is the best President of my lifetime, the equal of JKF and LBJ!

SJG

What makes anyone think that Trump is not his own special interest group ? BTW I don't believe that he really wanted to be president to begin with, I think this whole thing grew beyond his ability to control.

Rockstar the recession is a cyclical event. Obama didn't wave a magic wand and save us all. As far as everyone beIng better off under Obama, i would just ask you to look around. Good jobs are hard to come by and wages are stagnant. Most people aren't better off than they were 7 years ago. The country isn't getting better. I'm only better off because I have money and strippers will perform more extras for less money. I will give Obama credit for stripper desperation.

Yes, part-time and low paying jobs have increased dramatically under Obama but I feel this is just American coming out of a recession. Obamacare is a job killer. Ask someone who has a business.

The budget deficit is increasing at a slower rate. This is due to Obama being blocked by Congress. That total federal debt has increased exponentially.

Have I addressed all of the stale talking points you reproduced? I would rather talk about naked chicks giving head in the VIP.

Asking if America is better off now than 8 years ago is an issue conservatives have avoided like the plague. And for good reason! Maybe FOX "News" is a wet blanket, but almost all of us are better off!

Pontiac, by making the case that a Democratic president with a Republican congress had shrunk the deficit is a good reason to vote Democratic. Look what happened under W!!!!

At least Bloomberg is off the table...he's finally decided not to run. Now let's get Rubio & Sanders to throw in the towel, so we can focus on the main event candidates (Trump, Cruz & Clinton).

"I don't believe that he really wanted to be president to begin with, I think this whole thing grew beyond his ability to control"

+1 twentyfive

My thoughts too. I think he just got in the race to make a statement, never expecting to win. I still think at some point, he's gonna say "WTF happened" and drop out and go back and run his businesses.

^^^ So Trump is "The Candidate"?

I too thought that Trump got in the race perhaps just to make some points/waves and that he would not want nor need all the hassle that comes w/ being president – but he has doubled-down and has put-in a lot of effort and he has tried to run b/f; so perhaps he is serious – plus he is also 69 y/o and probably sees this as his “last great deal” (at least in his mind) – sooner than later he was probably passing the reigns of his business to his kids which are already involved in his business.

To PontiacGuy- Not to hijack this thread or to start an argument but you are wrong about jobs. I own a construction industry business and I am constantly trying to fill semi skilled positions we are willing to train good people and starting hourly rates are $12-$14 yet we cannot fill positions. I don't know where you are I assume you are in Michigan I am in Florida your experience is very different from mine.

^^^ That's because trade schools aren't being promoted enough, and too many kids are wasting time getting a psychology, liberal arts, or philosophy degree.

More people going to trade schools does not mean more people getting jobs, if that is what you mean mikeya02.

SJG

Financial Meltdown youtube.com

Mikeya is correct work that involves labor is ignored by these folks. They'd rather get a handout than actually lift a tool.

If you paid a competitive wage like $20 an hour, you could fill your labor needs. This is conservative supply/demand theory in action. Why blame liberals????? You are the victim of your own ideology.

Manufacturing jobs produce other jobs. If someone makes something, someone needs to sell it; someone needs to deliver it, etc. During the Obama years the number of manufacturing jobs has increased every quarter. POTUS does have an impact on job creation and on other aspects of our economy despite the obstruction of Congress.

I pay more than that, don't be so quick that is a starting salary for someone with no experience to train they get periodic raises usually 3-4 months until they are at $16-$17 per hour than it is subject to a semi annual review after 2 years employment with healthcare and vacatin pay along with 9 paid holidays a year that is top of the line here in Florida you have no idea. My top people make over $60k annually with benefits if you don't think that's good enough you are crazy that puts my bids in line with much larger companies that are multi-state operations you just don't know what you are talking about.

That reply was to Rock.

BTW Rock if you had any idea what the labor situation was in the southeast you would never make assumptions like that.

25:
I'm glad to hear you are hiring. I'm from Pontiac, Illinois. There is very little manufacturing around here except for Catapillar. Maybe it is regional but things here are stagnant and many people have given up looking for jobs.

I don't know what job producing qualities you people think Obama has enacted. He raises taxes, everything is over-regulated, he borrows too much money and the debt has skyrocketed. Obama has never owned a business and never worked any job that wasn't political in nature.

I'm not arguing, but I don't see what policies he has promoted that make you think he is responsible for anything positive in the economy.

As a company owner 25, I would like to hear your thoughts on Obamacare. I have a friend with a construction company and he was telling me how he has to keep his business small, work people less than full time and, reduce benefits just to keep his bids competitive due to the poor economy and Obamacare.

I didn't say that I thought it was Obama's fault. It is a trend, jobs requiring labor are going unfilled in many parts of this country there are many reasons for this bout Rockstars logic is not correct. We pay competive wages yet people just don't want to do this work. This subject is so complex if you want to explore it farther PM me and I will be glad to expand for you.

My thoughts on The American affordable care act are that it was a con job. If they wanted to provide health care to all,eliminate the insurance companies from the equation, 30% of all health care dollars go directly to insurance companies as overhead and profit. This is one place where Bernie Sanders is correct if we stopped paying premiums to insurance companies and instead paid a tax to expand Medicare to all citizens we would save a bundle if it was done competently. Unfortuneatly our government entities do not have a history of providing service competently. I don't know what the answer, is but I have no confidence in either political party, or any of these candidates to come up with a real solution.

^Yes. I think that was part of Obama's original proposal: --> "Effective immediately, make Medicare available to everyone, period." -->

But that sank among the conservative congressmen and women who wanted to the keep the free market option, for people willing to pay full freight (i.e., status quo, for well-off people). I understand the rationale (it's very American --> work hard, get more money/wealth, get better health care using your acquired wealth), but the private sector option does not contain costs. Too much goes to the insurance industry and to hospitals (as facilities charges), if my medical bills are anything to go by. Much of the cost is not for the doctors (many of whom, I feel, DO justify their salaries and wages).

It doesn't help that people think that single payer = socialized medicine.

The ACA & PP Act, as it stands, the "compromised one" is a "con-job." I wished the original vision of "Effective immediately, make Medicare available to everyone, period" would have been the one we got. That one, might have, had some chance in containing costs. It might have.

To Dominic it not only was a con job it was pure and simple pandering to the insurance companies. It was an unconscionaable give away pure quid pro quo to the donor and lobby class. I would go as far as to call it a criminal act. But with the millionaires in congress and the senate who would expect anything better from this band of thieves and prostitutes.

Usually much of the impetus against welfare and public assistance programs is simply the desire to keep wages low.

This was what sunk Richard Nixon's Family Assistance Plan.

SJG

To twentyfive, thanks for the additional notes. You, too, SJG.

In the SC primary, I voted for John Kasich. He has experience in solving issues and I heard things went well with his solutions. He also pestered me the least with all the phone calls, junk mail, and stupid PAC campaign calls in the prior week. Well maybe that part was a tie between Carson and Kasich. Carson was too soft spoken and no real political experience.

All the others are acting like clowns. I'll vote for any Republican over Hillary. I've already resigned myself to the fact that I'm not going to change anything but I will still vote. I'm thinking maybe Trump can work a deal with the Republicans in congress to cut some spending and cut some EPA regulations that have shut down the coal mining industry costing over 100,000 jobs plus cut out some other crap that Obama as enacted as dictator of this country. However if the people want to elect Obama's queen, Hillary, then I believe she'll go to war with everyone she feels like. I think she will be worse than Trump if elected. I guess we may see.

He's dangerous. He's a big mouth and a full blown racist/sexist. It's not just his comments about Mexicans and Muslims, he's said nasty things about women and black people too and many comments go back years. He's an entitled jerk who never worked for anything yet expects to receive the best. He claims to bring more jobs back but he's mostly hired immigrants and has outsourced. He would be worse than Jerry Springer who actually was in politics and is likable. I've never liked Trump, he's always had a better than thou attitude. He has no political experience of diplomatic experience or anything that would help, just being a businessman who went bankrupt several times (and rich because of his dad). Anyone who would vote for him needs to have his head examined and is either uneducated or racist.

This doesn't mean I like any of the other candidates either. I just hate Trump and it goes back years. I never watched the Apprentice because of him. I'm debating whether to vote as a Republican (I am independent who has leaned Democratic)and vote against him or vote Democratic (I like Sanders better but I don't like many of his ideas) or not vote either one and vote non partisan. In the general election if it's Clinton vs Trump I'll vote Clinton because while I don't like her and think she is corrupt I HATE Trump. If it's another Republican vs Clinton I may vote for the Republican. Anyone is more experienced than Trump, including me (I am actually an elected official on a local board).

I'm politically conservative with libertarian leanings. I also am not a fan of Trump, I don't believe or trust the guy, but I absolutely 100% know that Clinton is a world class liar! It's plain as day to me when I watch her talk and how she always averts her eyes when she's lying and I can't understand why many people don't perceive it. Slick Hillary. Sanders wants to turn us in to a third world country. I liked Rubio but now I have doubts, same with Cruz.

Kasich is my Governor, I'm not a big fan and in some ways he's not conservative enough for me but he's still better than the other options. When he was in Congress I thought he would be a good Presidential prospect but he's mellowed some over the years. In spite of that Kasich has the most overall experience of all the candidates and he is my choice although I don't see him going the distance.

It will probably be between Trump and Clinton and there is and never will be any way that I would support Clinton. No matter who the nominees are I think the lesser of 2 evils will be the Republican.

I'd normally agree but I think Trump is the worst of the bunch. I just hope the Republicans can figure out something this late in the game to prevent that. They should have taken him more seriously early on and had less nominees.

This is one of the best discussions I've read on TUSCL.

If Trump did become president it would be a four year fiasco until the establishment found a reason, any reason, to impeach him which they know doubt would. When I ask Trump supporters why they support him, they struggle to come up with specific reasons. They most frequent reason given is because Obama sucks or something. When I tell them Trump is advocating killing innocent women and children of terrosts as a deterrent, they don't believe me. When I ask them what specifically Trump would do to magically solve all these problems, they start talking about how much Obama sucks. Funny as shit.

Trump was a disaster in last nights debate. When the juvenile insults are removed and the candidates are forced to talk specifics, Trump appears lost.

And I do believe it matters who is president. If Trump did get elected, I believe most of our lives would be tangibly impacted for the negative. The freedoms we would have to give away to enable him to murder innocents, round up 12 million illegals, torture people would be life changing for all of us. Just baffling how this maniac has come as far as he has.

“… When I ask Trump supporters why they support him, they struggle to come up with specific reasons …”

What good is having specific reasons w.r.t. most conventional politicians if they rarely follow thru on what one believes about them.

Stating Trump’s faults IMO by no means legitimizes the other candidates which in the eyes of many are a greater evil by virtue of most of them being bought by the special interests.

I've asked people why they are supporting Trump and they either say "because he hates Muslims, Mexicans etc (insert group)" or because "he's a businessman" (not realizing he has gone bankrupt many times) or because they hate Obama (usually because he's biracial, or born in Kenya or a Muslim or the other things said about Obama). Some have even said because they liked him on the Apprentice. Do these sound like intelligent people? At least with the other candidates one can point to their accomplishments or views.

Papi- You are so right that stating, Trumps faults in no way legitimizes the other candidates, what a sorry state of affairs this country is in that the best that either party can nominate are a bunch of science deniers on one side and big spending, give it all away on the other. I find it amazing that anyone can support any of these folks, why we cant get some new blood, with fresh ideas involved in our political process. And until we can get the money out of the process this is the only way it can be, the fact that Donald Trump is self funding gives me little comfort it just proves how corrupt our system has gotten when in order to make a statement that can be heard, takes millions and millions of dollars. The last presidential election cost over a billion dollars, with that thought in mind, how can we get our country back to some semblance of normalcy, when these guys are able to raise and spend, this kind of money to apply for a job that only pays $400K annually. I will quote Trump and include him in my statement "These guys are terrible"

The problem is there are third candidates but to vote for them is to basically throw away votes. Last time I voted for Gary Johnson from the Libertarian Party but most won't.

I'm honestly not suprised. To keep it simple, it boils down to two catagories, either you have the mindset to help those less fortunate (Bernie Sanders) or your a fend for yourself kind of guy (Donald Trump). Plus all you care about is hoes....and more hoes. Trump won't deny you ANY of that hell, he might remove a lot of things that help the less fortunate leave their situation which will definitely favor you more. Just means more work for me to get people to vote for Sanders.

I had hoped at one time that Trump was smart and all that talk about deporting people etc etc was just that, talk to get the largest republican voting block, the group angry at the status quo. It still wouldn't surprise me if before he decided to run, he made a deal or bet with the Clinton's, heads I win, Tails you lose, sort of. Hillary wins and he already donated to her so it's good business for him, He wins the election with all the crap he's said, she was going to lose to someone anyway. Now I'm not so sure. He might believe all his talk. He can backtrack though if he gets the nomination claiming he is flexible and didn't realize it would cost billions to deport all the illegals, etc etc. No way am I voting for Hillary though. I don't even think my vote amounts to much, South Carolina has voted Republican for decades in the national election.

I saw a highlight video on YouTube yesterday of Bernie sticking it to Hillary. It was funny. It was like they were an old couple arguing. Hillary felt the bern. I don't care at all for Bernie's policies nor many of hillary but I find them more entertaining than the republican clowns at times.

I'm probably more qualified than Donald. I was President of my local homeowners and got out of it for this year but I know the current President. I know he's too old to stay president for too long. I got a feeling who's going to get nominated again as if I have nothing better to do. Someone from the middle class will never be president of the US with our current system.

predictwise.com

Incredible and surreal as it sounds, it's all over at this point and the OP will get his wish for Trump as the Republican nominee. Trump's gonna win Indiana and will go on to get most of the California delegates, too. What a gift to the Democrats. Trump will get slaughtered in the general election, the Dems will get to appoint up to five supreme court nominees over time, the Dems will take over the Senate.

Simply amazing...

Like flagooner, I'm just going to shut my eyes, pinch my nose, and vote for whichever candidate has an R next to their name. American democracy sucks, but no one has found a better system of government yet.

Trump presents a much tougher challenge for the ice queen than anyone else because he is willing to attack her bluntly in the areas where she is sensitive and vulnerable. This will only get worse for her when the FBI recommends indictment and the democratic administration refuses to indict her for purely political reasons.

National polls at this point don't mean a whole lot. Nevertheless, I do think it is noteworthy that there are now polls showing trump beating Hillary.

dailymail.co.uk

I'm not saying trump is clearly going to win. Nobody knows who will win because there are so many unknowns in the upcoming race particularly with a wild card like Trump involved. However there are many reasons to believe that the race will be a close one.

dailymail.co.uk

He will still clearly lose in the electoral college to Hillary by about 100.

Nina - I hope you are right. But, at the beginning of the campaign I would have eagerly bet 1000 that he would be one of the first to drop out. Wrong. Homey has come this far, hard to predict what will happen. The whole Trump craziness has baffled me from the start. Comedian Louis CK wrote a serious piece on this phenomenon that I think captured it perfectly. Worth a read if anyone is as baffled about this BS as I am.

Liberals are running scared now. More women voters are thinking Trump when they see the hot ladies supporting him; his young wife and lovely daughter. Women want to associate with a man who can win, and he's a winner!

Hillary can't even finish off a horribly rigged Dem nomination fight against a guy who is an avowed socialist. Now that Trump is the presumptive Republican nominee and can turn his attention solely on her, things are going to get interesting. And those who are ready to write Trump off in a general election are being very foolish - he has already brought record numbers to the Republican primary polls and his popularity cuts deeply into the working class ranks that Dems typically rely upon. He now has 6 months to attack her and to woo the voting blocks in which he is weakest.

Hillary has finished off the nomination. Trump appeals mostly to uneducated angry white dudes , and they are all on the Republican side.

GOP is in disarray.

Great night to be a Democrat!

We just won the Presidency! The vote count on the Senate is close, but probably will be 50-50 when the dust settles. The Republicans will keep the House thanks to gerrymandering, but will lose seats.

A toast to secret Democratic Agent Trump and 8 more years of peace and prosperity!

Boys, Trump is going to wipe the floor with her. Hillary is about as popular as a canker sore and trusted about as much as we trust strippers to safeguard our wallets. ;)

Of course, if liberals were smart enough not to take that spoon fed editorial crap they get from the likes of MSNBC as gospel, such as that carnage down the ticket nonsense, then they wouldn't be liberals. After all, we know which party is the one that draws the uneducated vote - and indeed relies upon it.

I look forward to Obamacare's repeal, among many other fine acts, which will all be coming to a country near you starting in January. :)

If Donald Trump gets his ass kicked, then Nina and others can say that they told me so. And if it's close, or if Trump wins, then I'm sure you guys will have the integrity to admit that I was right.

I am convinced that Trump has the momentum and could well win. Nevertheless, it feels mighty uncomfortable to agree with Rick.

No no I'll certainly take the magnanimous route and avoid any told-you-sos in the event Trump gets his ass kicked.

Lol

Momentum is bullshit in politics. It's all demographics. There aren't enough uneducated white men anymore. The young and non white coalition that elected Obama twice has only grown since then.

They only vote once every four years, otherwise the Senate would have a permanent democratic supermajority.

It will be a record voting turn out this election, and Trump will win the popular vote. The only question will be if the electoral vote follows, and if not then we could have an even more divided country between the intelligent crowd (non-liberals) and unintelligent (liberals). Think who vote liberal..... Those who can do, those who can't vote democrat.

There was a map on some news website showing the electoral votes, and it showed Hillary winning. The one thing that surprised me was Florida. They had Flordia going to Hillary. In this map, whoever won Florida would win the election. As a note, this map had Hillary winning Pennsylvania and Trump winning Ohio. All the other large states are as you'd expect.

There is 6 months until the election - plenty of time for Trump to woo women and others. I just don't buy the current projections. Trump has brought voters out in record numbers and has a lot of appeal across the aisle with the working class. In fact, he has already done something that nobody assumed could be done, which is to win the Republican nomination despite the stark opposition of the RNC. Meanwhile turnout for Democratic primaries is down - by a lot - from previous years. I just don't think that the Democrats' base is going to be energized during this upcoming election.

Fuck Chump and the Euro he rides on.

I still think this election is unpredictable, using Ricks logic about Democratic turnout, I believe Hillary has almost twice as many votes as Trump.

I'm unconvinced that the ACA will go anywhere, regardless of who is elected. The fascist components of the law will appeal to both Trump and Clinton. Sanders will believe it doesn't go far enough.

Republicans in general talk a big game, but, especially southern republicans, many of whose constituents have medical care now that they didn't before, aren't going to upset the apple cart and divest themselves of the means by which they can be perceived to be "tough" on business.

Some provisions might be repealed or modified, however the law will remain largely intact for the foreseeable future.

Lol, there's never a consensus on who was a bad president, and who was a good president, because the liberals and conservatives don't agree on anything. The conservatives will say Obama is the worst president ever. The liberals will say Obama is the best president ever. The conservatives think Trump would make a good president. The liberals are threatening to leave the country if Trump is elected. Gotta love them politics! Lol.