Quote:"The most effectual means of preventing [the perversion of power into tyranny are] to illuminate, as far as practicable, the minds of the people at large, and more especially to give them knowledge of those facts which history exhibits, that possessed thereby of the experience of other ages and countries, they may be enabled to know ambition under all its shapes, and prompt to exert their natural powers to defeat its purposes." --Thomas Jefferson 1779

Looks like we fucked that up, Tom.

Fucked that up real good.

Jefferson was no fan of big banks, he got screwed by them and when he died he was in dept.

You're far too pessimistic, Min. This isn't the general election yet. There are always going to be loonballs and if anything, they help sound the alarm against a guy like Trump.

You know one of reasons Romney did so poorly in 2012? It was how badly he fared with the Hispanic vote. Trump will do even worse. He may do a little better with the black vote because the guys tend to be sexist but not much assuming Hillary is the Democratic nominee. The blacks love the Clintons. He may do better with white, sexist males but Hillary will do even better with females than Obama did. Trump has no chance at all in the general election. Don't fear him. Embrace him as the guy who will shake up the Republican party, wake them up to the fact that they have to change their ways.

Jefferson was right. Trump isn't the future of the Republican party (and certainly not the nation). He's the canary in the coal mine that sounds the warning that something is seriously wrong. He'll force the Republican party to change. You aren't viable as constituted if the only people on your side are lunatics.

Quote:Embrace him as the guy who will shake up the Republican party, wake them up to the fact that they have to change their ways.

They learned that last time but the lesson didn't stick.  It can't stick when all you have left voting in the primaries are racist assholes.  And we have plenty of them.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/article...16797.html

Quote:CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal called on the Republican Party to "stop being the stupid party" on Thursday as GOP leaders promised fundamental changes to help stave off future losses.
In the keynote address at the Republican National Committee's winter meeting, Jindal said the GOP doesn't need to change its values but "might need to change just about everything else we are doing."
"We've got to stop being the stupid party. It's time for a new Republican Party that talks like adults," he said. "We had a number of Republicans damage the brand this year with offensive and bizarre comments. I'm here to say we've had enough of that."

BTW, when he got out on the trail Jindal was just as stupid as all the other shitheads.  They can't change.  They are prisoners to their own bullshit.

I suppose it's too late to be harboring a hope the race will be between Biden and Kasich . . .

(February 28, 2016 at 3:06 pm)vorlon13 Wrote: I suppose it's too late to be harboring a hope the race will be between Biden and Kasich . . .

Two establishment politicians.

I like Biden.

(heh, heh)

There you have it. Politics turned into a TV show.

If you're right, Min, Democrats have nothing to worry about. You can't win a general, national election if you're only attractive to idiots. There's the bell curve thing. The majority can't be geniuses but they can't be idiots either. You can't win being the party of stupid.

You CAN win if you're stupid but you're a good con artist. GWB managed to win this way but only barely and against two uncharasmatic Democratic candidates. Trump is not so good a con artist because a lot of people can see him for what he is. He is easy to expose. He's smarter than GWB but it's much more obvious that he's a lunatic. He's nowhere near as good a politician.