WikiLeaks publishes searchable database of almost 20,000 emails from DNC.

[Thumpalumpacus]

[CapnAwesome]

And if one has to fight a defensive political campaign, Trump is probably the guy to fight against. He leads with his chin. He can't seem to help himself.

No doubt. I think this is Hillary's big opportunity -- let him run his mouth and wait for the inevitable bigoted statement/idiotic claim to come out. Trump will probably be good for two a week, y'know? If she can refocus the media onto those, she'll see her numbers rise again.

That strategy hasn't worked so far. Trump loves attention, even the negative attention. The media has already focused and fixated on Trump's bigoted and idiotic statements, both real and imagined. It doesn't make a difference. Honestly I think the left wing shot themselves in the foot years ago by crying racist and bigot at everybody who politically disagrees with them. At this point people who aren't part of the Democratic party just ignore it. I don't think that Democrats even realize that. I think Hillary should hammer Trump on the fact that he's not qualified for the job.

[CapnAwesome]

I think more then likely what you are describing in the future of the Republican party, rather then the Libertarian one. The Libertarians have some very extreme and unpopular things in their platform and it would be a daunting task to replace the Republican party. Social and religious conservatives are almost all old people with disproportionate power because old people turn out to vote and young Republicans do tend more towards soft L libertarian like you described. Fiscally conservative but socially moderate. Libertarians, or rather the libertarian party aren't fiscally conservative. They are fiscally Libertarian, which is very different. I don't think people in large will ever be on board with things like :

Abolishing the Department of Education
Abolishing the EPA
Abolishing all public health
Abolishing the Federal Reserve
Legalizing hard drugs
etc etc etc

How about, abolish the IRS. I could definitely be on board with that.

Well a conservative who wants to abolish the IRS typically wants to replace it with a national sales tax or flat tax. A Libertarian party member wants to replace it with nothing. I mean, I'm fiscally conservative myself, but there is a pragmatism that has to be in place as well. You can't have a big military, social security, medicare and no income tax. At least one of those three would have to be abolished completely and everything else slashed to the max if you were to get rid of income tax entirely.

[Thumpalumpacus]

No doubt. I think this is Hillary's big opportunity -- let him run his mouth and wait for the inevitable bigoted statement/idiotic claim to come out. Trump will probably be good for two a week, y'know? If she can refocus the media onto those, she'll see her numbers rise again.

That strategy hasn't worked so far. Trump loves attention, even the negative attention. The media has already focused and fixated on Trump's bigoted and idiotic statements, both real and imagined. It doesn't make a difference. Honestly I think the left wing shot themselves in the foot years ago by crying racist and bigot at everybody who politically disagrees with them. At this point people who aren't part of the Democratic party just ignore it. I don't think that Democrats even realize that. I think Hillary should hammer Trump on the fact that he's not qualified for the job.

Perhaps you're right -- it's not like the electorate is terribly discerning. But with Trump's mouth feeding the ammo, a good campaign manager could make a hell of a lot of hay from that sunshine. His comments tooday, for instance, inviting Russia to prowl more through her emails -- if I were running Hillary's campaign, first shot would be we've got a Presidential candidate urging a global rival to commit further espionage into American government systems.

Even an idiot can understand that sort of message. I'd beat Trump over the head with his appeal to a foreign power to manipulate American democracy, and I bet he wouldn't survive. We'll see if the Dems are going to go there.

He's giving hostages to fortune every time he opens his mouth with such unwise mutterings. He's already alienated minorities and women, and now in appealing to a foreign power he lays himself open to attack on the Patriotic American® front. His base of threatened white males might be intense in emotion, but they are a demographic bottleneck, and Trump's campaign doesn't seems to understand that. Intense emotions don't win elections, numbers do, and Trump has said one hell of a lot that he will have to answer for publicly in the debates. He'll need a truckfull of liver for all the bruises he's giving himself.

Don't undersell Hillary's team. They're as experienced as they come, and as cold-blooded as their boss.

[CapnAwesome]

That strategy hasn't worked so far. Trump loves attention, even the negative attention. The media has already focused and fixated on Trump's bigoted and idiotic statements, both real and imagined. It doesn't make a difference. Honestly I think the left wing shot themselves in the foot years ago by crying racist and bigot at everybody who politically disagrees with them. At this point people who aren't part of the Democratic party just ignore it. I don't think that Democrats even realize that. I think Hillary should hammer Trump on the fact that he's not qualified for the job.

Perhaps you're right -- it's not like the electorate is terribly discerning. But with Trump's mouth feeding the ammo, a good campaign manager could make a hell of a lot of hay from that sunshine. His comments tooday, for instance, inviting Russia to prowl more through her emails -- if I were running Hillary's campaign, first shot would be we've got a Presidential candidate urging a global rival to commit further espionage into American government systems.

Even an idiot can understand that sort of message. I'd beat Trump over the head with his appeal to a foreign power to manipulate American democracy, and I bet he wouldn't survive.  We'll see if the Dems are going to go there.

He's giving hostages to fortune every time he opens his mouth with such unwise mutterings. He's already alienated minorities and women, and now in appealing to a foreign power he lays himself open to attack on the Patriotic American® front. His base of threatened white males might be intense in emotion, but they are a demographic bottleneck, and Trump's campaign doesn't seems to understand that. Intense emotions don't win elections, numbers do, and Trump has said one hell of a lot that he will have to answer for publicly in the debates. He'll need a truckfull of liver for all the bruises he's giving himself.

Don't undersell Hillary's team. They're as experienced as they come, and as cold-blooded as their boss.

We don't have to see if they'll go there. They already started the Trump is in bed with Russia thing weeks ago and indeed the media outlets that lean left are rolling with that story hard. I'm sure that originates from Clinton. I think it's probably a fleeting non-issue though. Maybe some voters will care, but I don't really see it catching hold.

You are right that Hillary Clinton, campaign wise is a lot tougher, a lot wealthier and a lot smarter then anything Trump went up against in the Primaries. But don't write him off in the debates. That was a big mistake the Republicans made. They thought they'd hammer him in the first debates, but Trump has way more TV experience then every other candidate put together, including Hillary. He dominated the Republican debates in a way that no other candidate has. He wasn't necessarily making good points, but I bet that everybody at home was just waiting to see what he said next. He knows how to look good on TV and he's good at dragging people down into the mud with him. Clinton has to be very careful in the debates. To think she has them locked up is a big mistake. She might want to talk about policy, but that might bore a general election audience with limited understanding of the issues. We know what Trumps going to do, sling mud, be disrespectful, be vicious and insulting. The people who don't want Trump to be president want their candidate to be better then that. When Marco Rubio tried to imitate Trump (by making small penis jokes about him) you saw his poll numbers collapse. On the other hand, it's going to be hard for Hillary to stand there and be respectful and presidential and some of her die hard followers will want her to sling mud  so it's going to be a hard tightrope for her to walk to come out of those debates looking good.

[SteelCurtain]

[Thumpalumpacus]

You're missing the point, though, Cap. Trump has given the patriotism card up.

Patriotism has for the last fifty years been the Republican selling point. Now you have a Republican nominee asking the Russkies for help? "Donald Trump will make America great again -- with Putin's help!" "When the election is on the line, who does Trump ask to help? [b]Another country's hackers.[/i]" It's a Willie Horton moment, if the Dems know what to do with it.

[abaris]

You're missing the point, though, Cap. Trump has given the patriotism card up.

Patriotism has for the last fifty years been the Republican selling point. Now you have a Republican nominee asking the Russkies for help? "Donald Trump will make America great again -- with Putin's help!" "When the election is on the line, who does Trump ask to help? [b]Another country's hackers.[/i]" It's a Willie Horton moment, if the Dems know what to do with it.

Isn't that at least bordering on treason? Asking a foreign power to look into and publish classified communication of a former member of government.

[ReptilianPeon]

[SteelCurtain]

And the President took it right back.