Smart Republicans.... there are a few.

[Minimalist]

The Dems have their divisions, too.  But they don't seem to hate each other..beyond a few spoiled-rotten Bernie fans.

[Minimalist]

Could Drumpf REALLY be this stupid?

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/08/03...ar-weapons

Trump asked 3 times in an hour national security briefing why we can't just use nuclear weapons

MSNBC's 'Morning Joe' host, former Republican congressman Joe Scarborough, recalled an incident live on air in which he claimed "several months ago, a foreign policy expert went to advise Donald Trump and three times he asked about the use of nuclear weapons."
Scarborough made the comment in a discussion about why Donald Trump does not have any foreign policy experts advising him. Former CIA Director Micheal Hayden was asked who in the intelligence community is advising Trump, to which Hayden responded, 'no one.'
Scarborough added he was told that Trump specifically asked, "'If we have nuclear weapons, why can't we use them?'"

And all across 'Murrica, Drumpfucks are shouting "Hell, Yeah.... 'Murrica!!!!  Nuke 'em."

[Minimalist]

It's a busy morning....

http://www.rawstory.com/2016/08/trump-is...candidate/

‘Trump is getting nuttier and nuttier’: Campaign operative unloads on his ‘irrational’ candidate

The Trump campaign has sprung several leaks in the past day, as campaign operatives have unleashed their frustration with the candidate to NBC News, ABC News and CNBC.
Now the  has scored an interview with an unnamed Trump operative who says that his candidate is going completely off the rails.
“Trump is getting nuttier and nuttier,” the operative told the publication. “I did not think he’d be great in a general election, and thought there’d be episodes of paranoia/irrationality, but this is surprising for me.”

When the NY Post throws him under a bus you know things are reaching critical mass stage.

[Minimalist]

Told you it was a busy morning....

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/senior-go...d=41089609

Senior GOP Officials Exploring Options if Trump Drops Out

Republican officials are exploring how to handle a scenario that would be unthinkable in a normal election year: What would happen if the party's presidential nominee dropped out?

ABC News has learned that senior party officials are so frustrated — and confused — by Donald Trump's erratic behavior that they are exploring how to replace him on the ballot if he drops out.

I'm sure they could come up with enough money to buy him off.

[CapnAwesome]

I hope there are rules, but the folks that decide which national polls to use aren't sharing what the rules are, as far as I can tell. They certainly don't announce which polls will be used to make the determination in advance.

Well, it looks like you are right and the presidential debate commission gets to select which polls are used to determine the 15% role. There are no set polls and it's arbitrary. So even if Gary Johnson does get to 15% in 4 polls, they could just choose different polls where he isn't getting 15%

The other criteria to get in set by the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) is that a candidate must be polling at least 15 percent in five national polls, said polls not specifically named.  

But those polls will, according to the CPD, "be selected based on the quality of the methodology employed, the reputation of the polling organizations and the frequency of the polling conducted. CPD will identify the selected polling organizations well in advance of the time the criteria are applied."

http://reason.com/blog/2016/05/25/gettin...presidenti

[Thumpalumpacus]

It seems to me that the Wall Street Republicans have a couple of options if the GOP breaks apart: they could go Libertarian (not a bad fit, really, since it doesn't seem that they are on board with the social conservative agenda except to secure needed votes) or they could be absorbed into the Democratic party, at least so long as the party resists being pulled leftward by the progressives.

I don't think they'll defect to the Democrats. After the Bern, business-types will likely be gunshy of allying with a party that cae pretty close to nominating a social democrat as its standard-bearer. I see the Libertarian scenario as much more likely given the resonance between small government and unregulated markets.

But where does that leave the social conservatives and Tea Party people?

I think they'll continue their, ahem, unholy alliance. Though the Tea Partiers are nominally small-government, they seem to favor abortion restrictions, which might be the thin reed by which each faction can justify allying with the other. I think these two factions will continue a rump Republican Party, but it's entirely possible they too could fly apart, though over which issue is not clear to me.

Are they what the GOP effectively becomes? If so, they will cease to be a force in Presidential elections, but they may continue to wield disproportionate influence in certain state legislatures and in the federal House and Senate seats representing such states. Somehow, I find this even more disturbing.

Indeed -- local elections have much more bearing on real-life issues we face than do Federal elections, a fact especially noticeable when you live in a conservative state, as I do.

[Thumpalumpacus]

You keep on voting on your treadmill as you have for decades, and bemoaning the fact that things aren't changing.

Changing?  I just want to avoid them going over a cliff.  I have no more grand visions.

That still requires a change of course. Why would you keep the steering wheel in the same hands, then?

I get that Hillary is the lesser of two evils, and as I've said before, if the Texas race is that close I'll pinch my nose and vote Clinton in an anyone-but-Trump vote. But so long as it remains a wide margin in one's state, I'd urge anyone reading to vote third-party so that we can raise the visibilityof all alternatives.

This isn't about grand vision, this is about grass-roots, one-vote-at-a-time slogging. If you don't have that energy, that's okay. But don't piss on those who do, lest you become an obstacle to the change you know needs to happen.

And you know it needs to happen.

[Minimalist]

I get that Hillary is the lesser of two evils

See, I don't buy that horseshit.  She's competent.  Drumpf isn't.  Drumpf is crazy.

[Thumpalumpacus]

I count four major constituencies in the GOP and they are all at odds with each other: the religious right/social conservatives, the Wall Street Republicans, the White Nationalists, and the intellectual conservatives (like Will). There will be GOP people still in office ten years down the road, but social conservatism and white nationalism are over or almost over as a ticket to the presidency. They helped the GOP get its current power, but they are killing it in its present form.

I think the white-power tribe is so miniscule as to be irrelevant in the context of electioneering. They don't bring enough votes to justify any candidate espousing their odious views, except perhaps David Duke, and even he has to tamp down his sentiments.

I also think the intellectual conservatives such as Will are a dying breed. There was a story on NPR yesterday about William Buckley Jr. I remember being bored to tears as a boy on Sunday mornings when my dad would watch his show, but later, after recovering from my infatuation with Objectivism, I came to appreciate that while I didn't agree with his every stance, he certainly was one hell of a thinker.

At least, he sounded like one to this redneck, what with that accent and all.

Interesting that you don't reckon the Tea Partiers significant. Is there a reason you omitted them?

[Thumpalumpacus]

I get that Hillary is the lesser of two evils

See, I don't buy that horseshit.  She's competent.  Drumpf isn't.  Drumpf is crazy.

That's why she's the lesser of two evils.

What you don't seem to get is that she's more business-as-usual.

I reiterate my urge: If you don't have the stomach for battle yourself, at least don't chastise those still trying to do so. Surrender all you want, but don't sow defeatism ... victory has never come from that.