Will The GOP Split?
When you spend as much time as I do paying attention to politics, you hear all sorts of far-fetched predictions. Most of these never come true. Some do (see: Donald Trump, Republican presidential candidate). But some of these are interesting to speculate about, whether or not you think the chances that they'll come true are very high or not. Which leads me to today's subject: will the Republican Party survive, post-Trump, or will it splinter into two factions?
Now, admittedly, this a perennial thought -- for both parties. Divisions are sometimes stark between party factions, and sometimes the internal arguments get downright vicious (civil wars are always the bloodiest, in other words). When they do, the prediction that the party is on the brink of permanent division always pops up. And then never goes on to become reality.
Is this time different? It certainly feels different, that's for sure. I have previously seen a political party run away from its own presidential nominee (1996, Republicans, Bob Dole), but even then Republicans weren't openly denouncing their candidate -- or even publicly stating that they couldn't support him at all. That is new. Some Republicans have been denouncing Trump from the very beginning, some began when he looked like he was going to wrap up his party's nomination, and some only began last weekend, after the disastrous Billy Bush tape went public.
USA Today has counted all of them up, and now reports that fully one-fourth of Republicans who hold high office have now dumped Trump. The numbers get even larger if you include former officeholders (who aren't ever going to face re-election again). That is flat-out unprecedented, folks. Paul Ryan has told his party's House members that it is "every person for him- or herself." That's not unprecedented (see: Dole), but it isn't exactly normal. The Republican National Committee has apparently spent zero dollars on broadcast advertising since Trump became their nominee. The schism within the party is wide, and deep.
Now, normally parties regroup after an election, bury any remaining hatchets in a show of unity, and then attempt to move forward. Many Republicans not currently backing Trump are hoping this happens the way it usually does, post-Trump. This may be unrealistic, or a downright fantasy. Because even if Trump goes gently into that good night (apologies to Dylan Thomas), his supporters will remain in the GOP ranks. They're not going anywhere, to put it another way.
If Donald Trump actually wins the presidency (four weeks is a long time in politics, and anything at all could happen), the likelihood of a permanent party split would probably shrink. Republicans in Congress would unify in the attempt to define Trump's agenda themselves. They'd figure that Trump would likely sign just about anything they could pass -- and they might actually be right about that. Trump isn't really invested all that deeply in most of his campaign promises, and he's shown he's about as flexible as can be on his various policy stances, so a Republican Congress could indeed be fairly successful at steering the policy agenda -- as long as they tossed Trump a few bones, such as (perhaps) building his beloved border wall. The prospect of passing all their pet legislation would be a strong unifying force, and people like Paul Ryan would argue that it was time to stand together and take control of the agenda. That would likely be a convincing argument to most Republicans in Congress.
But should Trump lose (as is increasingly likely to be the case), the party's division is not just going to fade quickly away. How Trump handles a massive electoral loss would influence this, of course. He could gracefully concede (hey, anything's possible, right?). He could claim the whole thing was rigged, and refuse to stop fighting (he loves suing people, remember). Or he could do what many already suspect would be his next step and create a new media empire to challenge Fox News -- from the right. This might be the worst possible outcome for the Republican Party, because it would give the Trump supporters a gigantic megaphone to continue to rally their cause. And a big part of that cause will be placing blame for Trump's loss at the feet of all the Republicans who didn't wholeheartedly back Trump.
Could the Republican Party survive this? Or would it split into two parties as a result? Could a "Radical Republicans" party leave the GOP and back pro-Trumpian candidates from that point on? Or would the shoe be on the other foot -- would "Reasonable Republicans" (or perhaps "Real Republicans") have to be the ones who left the GOP to form their own party? Either way (and whatever party names they decide upon), will the Republican Party as we know it today survive Donald Trump?
While it's impossible for me to predict the chances of such a major political shift, at this point it has to at least be considered a possibility. Trump has gotten as far as he has by being a master at stoking fear, anger, and resentment among millions of Republican voters. If he loses, my guess is that they're going to be even angrier afterwards. They are not going to be in any sort of unifying mood, to put it mildly. The GOP tried to paper over the whole Tea Party phenomenon after the 2012 election, but all of their prescriptions for improving their party's presidential chances were utterly ignored (the infamous "autopsy" document). This time around, any attempt to suggest that maybe Trump lost because his ideas are abhorrent to more people than support them is not going to be any more effective than when the party leaders attempted to point this out back in 2012.
The so-called deplorables (they've even now embraced this label themselves) may have reached a level of disgust with their own party's leadership that cannot be reconciled in any way other than forming their own political party. Whether they complete their takeover of the Republican Party brand or whether they create their own moniker, the division may run too deep this time for any unity effort to possibly fix.
Political parties change over time, as they adapt to the shifting realities of public opinion. For instance, I haven't heard much GOP politicking on gay rights or marriage equality this time around (outside of North Carolina's bathroom fight, that is). Republicans lost that battle, and then they realized that it was a huge losing issue for them in the future as well. Smart Republicans just stopped talking about it altogether out on the campaign trail. When's the last time you heard a GOP candidate proudly proclaim his support for marriage being defined solely as "between a man and a woman," after all? That sort of talk has all but disappeared, these days. So parties can and do evolve, when forced.
But that only has happened because the realization that the issue was such a losing one sank in among Republican politicians. It's going to be much harder for GOP politicians to do the same on Trump's signature issues. Especially if he's out there with his own television and media empire, continually fanning the xenophobic flames. Republicans trying to convince their own voters that these issues are losing ones among the general public will have a hard time doing so, and even that's being charitable.
Even if you remove the xenophobia from the equation (if that were even possible), Trump has awakened a sleeping giant -- blue-collar workers who are finally figuring out that the standard Republican answer for everything ("We're going to give your boss another big tax cut!") has just not made their lives better and is not going to make their lives better in the future. The same blue-collar workers that were once called "Reagan Democrats" may become "Trump Republicans" no matter what the party elites have to say about it. They may begin demanding some actual policies to improve their lives -- which would be about the only positive long-term result from Trump's campaign. Perhaps the Trump Republicans will become the "Workingman's Party," although to successfully do that they'd have to broaden their policy ideas beyond just "stop all immigration and pull out of free trade deals."
Right now the Republican Party elites are pretty confident that they'll be able to put the genie back in the bottle after the dust settles from the election. They're complacently telling each other they'll be able to reconstruct the party after Trump departs, and rework it so that it will be much more competitive and appealing in the future. But there's a big problem with this scenario -- not only would they have to marginalize the more reactionary (read: Tea Party) of their own officeholders, they'd also have to somehow remold a large segment of their own base voters. This may prove to be impossible to achieve.
Even if Donald Trump fades from the GOP spotlight entirely, there are a whole lot of ambitious Republican politicians very closely watching his campaign's success. Even if he doesn't win the presidency, Trump certainly did a bang-up job of capturing the party's presidential nomination. What these politicians are all wondering is: "Could someone with far less personal baggage than Trump ride that wave all the way to the White House?" Laying the path to achieve this would mean filing the rough edges off of Trump's agenda and repackaging it with a more-electable candidate. Which would mean pushing Trump's agenda starting right away, in next year's Congress. After all, it worked wonders for Trump, right?
Even if the Republican Party doesn't actually split into two, and even if Trump disappears from public life, there is still going to be a rather large Trump wing of the GOP. Millions of voters aren't going to just forget their grievances or resentment. They'll be open to a new champion who mirrors Trump's appeal (again, without his personal baggage). The division within the GOP is now running too deep for too many people to just smile and bury the hatchet afterwards. And if Trump further fans the flames after the election and places the blame for his loss on Republicans who didn't sufficiently support him, his supporters are going to be in no mood for any party unity any time soon -- unless that means unifying around their own party, completely separate from the Republican Party.
-- Chris Weigant
Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant
I think probably no split, but I do hope that they rename it the Trump Party.
I'm not so sure it's a slam dunk that Trump will start a new media empire. He's going to be embroiled in some legal problems, his brand is severely tarnished which has lead to problems with his various properties, etc. He's losing money in Scotland, his new hotel in D.C. is mostly empty.
He's getting so unhinged he may end up in the psyche ward before this is over. Or just after.
If he does put something together I suppose his deplorables will follow him. But I suspect his cable station or whatever will not receive the undeserved "benefit of the doubt" which FOX has been, for too long, extended. I think other media and power centers will not legitimize it.
Establishment Repubs-who-aren't nazis can probably hang onto the the party name, etc. They have money and know-how. They will need to cut loose the zomboids and resign themselves to being small for awhile. My guess is the zomboids will pull back from politics altogether. Some of them will join up with white supremacist groups, and/or militias and the like. I'll bet a lot of them will wake up and wonder what they hell they've been doing, after the buzz wears off. Some will be violent and will end up in jail or dead.
Paula [2],
I no longer think that Trump TV will materialize either. It would cost a lot of money that he doesn't have. TrumpBartAiles Media is more likely.
I agree that there are probably a few Republican Tea Party businessmen who are looking at Trump and saying - I can do that and I've never been interviewed on a bus by Billy Bush (so to speak).
This brings us back to how close Trump and Sanders could have been (anti-establishment, anti-elite, anti-globalization).
Eliminate the racism, play up the "what have the politicians done for us" message, and maybe a Mark Cuban type who can appeal to all generations.
[3} John: Yep.
"Could someone with far less personal baggage than Trump ride that wave all the way to the White House?"
I think someone could ride a wave to the White House, but not exactly the "Trump" wave of opportunism and con artistry. I cannot for the life of me understand why people buy into his utter bullshit. Trump keeps using this bogus excuse that he never thought of running for president before and that he was a private citizen, yet the truth rarely passes his lips. He's been a globalist all his life and still is one, and he's convinced the uneducated rubes he's against it... sheer opportunism and a long con he's been plotting for decades.
In 1995, Ross Perot formed the Reform Party of the United States of America after he received almost 19% in his 1992 run for the presidency. Perot won the 1996 nomination of the Reform Party but received far less of the vote in his second run for the White House. In 1999/2000, Trump ran for president for 4 months on the Reform Party ticket and qualified for 2 primaries, both of which he won. Trump suspended his campaign on February 14, 2000, when he was polling at 7% behind Bush and Gore.
Now whenever his many misdeeds are aired in public, Trump the total fraud explains that he never considered running for president before and that he's running for the people now... blah, blah, blah. What a load of total rubbish!
Enough people are going to always see through a guy like Trump and identify him as the fraud he is. I also think Neil is absolutely right in his suggestion about a Mark Cuban type. I also think Mark Cuban himself might run, and he's the real deal, everything that Trump pretends to be... who will work his ass off 24/7/365 if he decides he can power through the cesspool that is going to be left in Trump's wake.
I think the GOP has already split, and it's a mere formality when they will make it official. Much like the Democrats endured in the 1960s, the GOP is going to have to rid the party of the stench of racism one way or the other if they ever want to occupy the White House anytime soon.
Here's an interesting article from a Bush speechwriter that says pretty much the same thing:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-gop-is-history-what-about-the-country/2016/10/13/7821a2a0-9168-11e6-9c85-ac42097b8cc0_story.html?utm_term=.6bf5aed14d8b
-CW
John [3]
It won't be a TV network, Ailes' exit contract with FoxNews forbids him from creating a new news network.
Honestly, I am still waiting for Trump's Russian connection to be exposed, which would kill the Trump brand deader than dead! Trump's only input for the Republican Party's platform was to change the promise to help the Ukraine defend against Russian aggressions to say that the U.S. would not interfere. Manafort lied to reporters when he said Trump had nothing to do with striking the pro-Ukraine language. If a direct link can be made between Trump and Putin, Trump's brand will do only slightly worse than Benedict Arnold's brand does these days!
USA Today has counted all of them up, and now reports that fully one-fourth of Republicans who hold high office have now dumped Trump. The numbers get even larger if you include former officeholders (who aren't ever going to face re-election again). That is flat-out unprecedented, folks.
Like I have always said...
Support for Hillary is 1000% Party Loyalty and is ideologically based..
Support for Trump is 1000% patriotic and is SOLELY based on patriotism and love of country..
If you hate America and want to see a one world globalist world run by corporations, you support Hillary Clinton..
If you love this country and want to see it back on top where it has been, then you support Donald Trump..
It's really that simple..
Michale
Hey Michale -
It's clear you'll be voting for Trump for president. But I'm curious - who are you voting for in your Senate Race? Rubio, Murphy, or some other option? And why?
It's funny..
Didn't you have a GOP IS SPLITTING commentary a few months back?? :D
Michale
It's clear you'll be voting for Trump for president. But I'm curious - who are you voting for in your Senate Race? Rubio, Murphy, or some other option? And why?
Another serious discussion question, which I normally love... Hope you follow up, unlike the last one.. Yea, SF Bear, I am looking at you..
I can't in good conscience vote for Rubio... The fact that he threw Border Patrol agents (an LEO group that I have a special affinity for) under the bus just pissed me off to no end...
So Rubio is out..
Murphy is just another quintessential politician like Hillary.. Couldn't move ahead as a Republican, so he switched to Democrat and started toeing THEIR Party line...
So Murphy is out...
Stanton is a politician in the model of John Kerry.. Joined the military and then turned against the military and threw his fellow soldiers under the bus to further his own agenda...
So Stanton is out...
So, I am going to vote for my lovely wife for FL Senator....
Michale
Enough people are going to always see through a guy like Trump and identify him as the fraud he is. I also think Neil is absolutely right in his suggestion about a Mark Cuban type. I also think Mark Cuban himself might run, and he's the real deal, everything that Trump pretends to be... who will work his ass off 24/7/365 if he decides he can power through the cesspool that is going to be left in Trump's wake.
I'll remind you of this glowing recommendation of Mark Cuban when he decides to run for POTUS on the GOP ticket..
Then ya'all will turn on Cuban just like ya'all turned on Trump.. :D
"And so it goes.... and so it goes..."
-Billy Joel
Such is the life of Party slaves and drones.. :D
Michale
Paula-2 and JFC-3
Another thing to factor into Trump TV is his business model. He licenses his name and Trump Inc. takes on a limited management role. All for a (hefty) fixed fee or percentage of the gross. Trump puts in zero monetary investment. Zero risk! Just a guess on my part, but the value of his brand is suspect right now. At least among the smart money.
Remember the Palin network? It foundered quickly. She had very little to say that she hadn't already said. Trump will have this problem too. The territory of an ex-candidate is much smaller.
I think the Apprentice Franchise is now an artifact too. Trump has Cosby-ed himself. Americans love to be repelled by a sex scandal.
Perpetual 3rd Party Candidate, filling seats at small rallies, selling trinkets, raising money for "The Cause?" That could be a way forward for the Donald. Watch out Newt, he'll eat your lunch! If you eat at Mickey D's.
As for the GOP split, there is now a Tea Party Base, and an Establishment Political Business trying to retain and expand offices. I think it will be easier for the base TP base to hire new management than for the Establishment to find a new base. This could work quite well on the state and local level for the TP It does now, it's just that the core TP demographic isn't breeding fast enough and isn't interested in outreach. So, it shrinks going forward.
Who gets custody of the elephant and the stationary. I think that's what we are talking about here.
Picking up -15, I should of thought of this earlier, but the analogy to the modern GOP may be Dos Equis. Whoever takes over the GOP business needs to find a new "most interesting man". Crazy is interesting for a while, but not in the long term, because there is actual power to be exercised within a constitutional and institutional structure, both of which are pretty much cast in re-enforced concrete.
Yes, I am pretty much assuming Trump is gonna lose... and yes, he just could win, somehow, some unlikely way how.
The Friday NYT summary is out, and the six electoral college simulations are showing that Trump has something in the region of a 10% chance of winning the General Election. A 10% chance is the Political Equivalent of the Schwarzschild radius in astrophysics...your campaign collapses into a Black Hole and you end up on the cover of Time Mag (It STILL Exists!) as a cartoon meltdown. Donald no longer controls the news cycle, the news cycle controls Don. Sic semper tyrannis baby!
One has to wonder why Hillary has gone into hiding if she is doing so well??
HILLARY GOES INTO HIDING
http://www.theamericanmirror.com/wheres-hillary-no-public-events-1019-debate/
My guess is that the WikiLeaks and the BILL IS A RAPIST protesters are REALLY taking their toll and Hillary's health is going bad...
Michale
The Friday NYT summary is out, and the six electoral college simulations are showing that Trump has something in the region of a 10% chance of winning the General Election. A 10% chance is the Political Equivalent of the Schwarzschild radius in astrophysics...your campaign collapses into a Black Hole and you end up on the cover of Time Mag (It STILL Exists!) as a cartoon meltdown. Donald no longer controls the news cycle, the news cycle controls Don. Sic semper tyrannis baby!
TRUMP IS TOAST prediction #632
Accurate predictions to date: ZERO
:D
Michale
White House Watch
White House Watch: No Sign of Allegations Fallout Yet
At the close of a week that began with him trailing by seven points, Donald Trump still holds a slight lead over Hillary Clinton in today’s White House Watch survey despite a flurry of news reports alleging a history of sexual harassment on his part.
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections/election_2016/white_house_watch_oct14
When are ya'all going to get reality???
Ya'all have been ***WRONG*** at every turn when it comes to Trump...
EVERY..... TIME......
"These are the facts of the case. And they are undisputed"
-Captain Smilin' Jack Ross, A FEW GOOD MEN
:D
Michale
More Than 1 Million in Obamacare to Lose Plans as Insurers Quit
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-10-14/more-than-1-million-in-obamacare-to-lose-plans-as-insurers-quit
Wait!!??? Wasn't TrainWreckCare supposed to GET Americans insurance???
Another indication of Democrat and Odumbo incompetence...
Michale
Ya'all can censor the facts and avoid reality all you want...
But that won't change the facts OR change reality...
Hillary is a scumbag rhymes-with-bitch that doesn't deserve to be President..
It's that simple...
Michale
Listen,
Honestly, I am still waiting for Trump's Russian connection to be exposed, which would kill the Trump brand deader than dead!
As usual, you crow about Trump's fantasy Russian connections and totally ignore Hillary's established and factual Russian connections..
That's why it's impossible to take anything you say at face value.
Bigotry and Party slavery rules everything you comment...
Michale
And we come to find out that it was Camp CLinton who was pushing the OBAMA IS A MUSLIM narrative...
Paul et al- We've reworked the Obama message into the survey, as requested. But on the list of negative facts we need to cut ONE since we separated out gay adoption and his use of cocaine. Please send your suggestions. Thanks!
* 1 Obama (owe-BAHM-uh) was the only candidate at a recent event not to cover his heart during the national anthem and he has stopped wearing an American flag pin.
* 2 Obama (owe-BAHM-uh) benefited from a land deal from a contributor who has been indicted for corruption.
* 3 Obama (owe-BAHM-uh) would personally negotiate with the leaders of terrorist nations like Iran and North Korea without preconditions.
* 4 Obama (owe-BAHM-uh) voted against allowing people to use handguns to defend themselves against intruders.
* 5 Obama (owe-BAHM-uh) plans to raise taxes by 180 (one hundred and eighty) billion dollars a year to pay for his government-run health care plan
* 6 Obama (owe-BAHM-uh) voted repeatedly against emergency funding bills for U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
* 7 Obama (owe-BAHM-uh)'s father was a Muslim and Obama grew up among Muslims in the world's most populous Islamic country.
* 8 Obama (owe-BAHM-uh) is ranked as one of the ten most liberal members of the Senate because of his support of issues like gay adoption.
https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/7860
No wonder Hillary is in hiding!! :D
Michale
This week, liberals have been repeating their frequent claim that voter fraud doesn’t exist. A recent Salon article argues that “voter fraud just isn’t a problem in Pennsylvania,” despite evidence to the contrary. Another article argues that voter fraud is entirely in the imagination of those who use voter ID laws to deny minorities the right to vote.
Yet as the election approaches, more and more cases of voter fraud are beginning to surface. In Colorado, multiple instances were found of dead people attempting to vote. Stunningly, “a woman named Sara Sosa who died in 2009 cast ballots in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013.” In Virginia, it was found that nearly 20 voter applications were turned in under the names of dead people.
http://thefederalist.com/2016/10/13/voter-fraud-real-heres-proof/
Like I said...
If Democrats attempt to cheat or steal the election by fraud.... There will be blood...
Michale
“Everything he said was so vulgar. I couldn’t listen to his nonsense for an entire night so I asked if I could be moved,” Krisebom told the Mail.
“He talked about big breasts, small breasts, how one was better than the other and the differences between them,” she recounted. “His main focus was breasts and the sizes of women’s bodies. Fat women were not real women in his opinion.”
http://www.rawstory.com/2016/10/supermodel-vulgar-sexist-trump-spent-white-house-party-ogling-women-and-talking-about-breasts/
Hey CW
It seems to me that a focus on the more likely scenario would be more interesting.
Hillary winning with your college educated Republican women and the neocon demographic, and maintaining the status quo so beautifully exposed in the emails we've seen thus far (more coming) could trigger a revolt by the Left.
Bernie's lame platform excuse that ignores that the platform is regularly ignored and his repeating of Obama's lame "looking forward not back" excuse may satisfy some long enough to maintain the Not Trump demographic through the election, but if Hillary stacks Treasury with Wall Streeters and State with neolibcons, and continues the assault on public school teachers by Education, keeps nuclear, fracking and pipelines going through Energy, and can't even get or doesn't even try to get any "pragmatic progressive" advances through Congress, the division on the left may be the more interesting story.
In your column the
"sleeping giant -- blue-collar workers who are finally figuring out that the standard (Democratic) answer for everything ("We're going to vote with, and not veto, the Republicans giving your boss another big tax cut but give you some crumbs too!") has just not made their lives better and is not going to make their lives better in the future"
holds true as well.
The union roots of so many blue collar workers makes it possible they will back a Bernie type without all the baggage too, so if Hillary doesn't evolve (and quickly) against the agenda her Big Money donors want, the current and real trouble on the left could just as easily cause a split.
A
BTW- I won't hold my breath, but a column on your take on how the Wikileaks release would have influenced the Dem primaries would be interesting.
It's funny..
Every time there is a WikiLeaks Podesta email dump, Hillary's media arm releases another Trump "victim".....
It's uncanny.... :D
And yet, Trump is out there in rallies of tens of thousands of patriotic Americans..
And Hillary is in hiding.. Or maybe she is at the factory getting her bolts tightened.... :D
Michale
BTW- I won't hold my breath, but a column on your take on how the Wikileaks release would have influenced the Dem primaries would be interesting.
Yea, it would....
But I wouldn't hold my breath..
We saw what happened with a hysterical and fanatical Weigantian went on a profanity laced rant when CW had the un-mitigated GALL to properly award Hillary a MDDOTW award..... And only ONE Weigantian had the integrity to defend CW and slap down the fanatic and tell her to chill out...
Who wants to invite that kind of abuse just to stick with the facts??
Well, besides your's truly, of course.. :D
Michale
Yea, it would....
But I wouldn't hold my breath..
....either... :D
Michale
I think everybody so far who has commented has part of what is going on. America is and has been in the midst of a lot of changes that has everyone unsettled, including a very important demographic one. Where America used to be a center-right nation, we have become more of a center one, if not center-left yet.
Even Michale is partially correct. Though Trump is clearly neither the answer or the solution that he makes him out to be. Like we all talked about so long ago now, Trump did tap into some of the same basic thruths that Bernie Sanders did.
Those truths being that too many politicians, that a lot of people have finally woken up to, went into the heartland of America, promising all kinds of things, and then went back to Washington and did absolutely nothing to really improve the lives of the people who just voted them into office. Instead they focused on tax cuts for their rich donors and policies to help huge corporations, regardless of what those meant for the welfare of the actual people who were their constituents.
The danger for Hillary Clinton is that she not fall into the same trap of making billionaire political contributors and corporations her main priority over actual voters. She needs to be more Franklin Delano Roosevelt and less Mitt Romney.
The Republican Party's problem is that while it used to be all about small government and small taxes, the establishment twisted that into ever increasing economic prosperity for its rich donor class at the expense of everyone else.
Trump's big mistake has been to take that anger and instead of charting a new course, take the path already laid down by previous Republican politicians and make it it worse by funneling it even more into cultural and racial resentment and grievances, i.e. Reagan's welfare queen etc. even as the USA rushes headlong towards a future where we become a minority majority population. In other words, white identity politics and more dog whistles, without offering any real, workable concrete solutions that can be put into actual practice, instead of just nice sounding slogans, i.e. build that wall or deport all those not like us.
Then he further compounds the problem by getting lost in the woods by feeding into the people who are in the Clinton conspiracy business, i.e. lock her up. This is the stuff of an alternate reality universe.
The implications are then even more dire, if and when Trump loses, of what is done to the body politic of the USA with all of those Trump supporters, if Trump refuses to make the usual concession speech where he grants to the winner legitimacy by saying he lost fair and square and instead says the election was rigged.
That might be a far more important problem that whether the Republican party itself splits or not. We have already had a small taste of that with the denial surrounding Obama's legitimacy, and obstruction to his governing. This could potentially be far worse.
More than likely, as far as parties go, we will be left with a much smaller, rump Republican party centered on Trump supporters and Tea Party types, which can no longer win Presidential elections on a national level, and a growing group of Independent voters who can no longer stomach what the Republican party has become, but who can't quite bring themselves to join the Democratic tent yet, for quite some time.
http://www.cnbc.com/2016/10/09/wow-clinton-just-succeeded-in-sounding-less-honest-than-trump-commentary.html
Hillary confirmed the validity of the Podesta Email dumps *AND* sounded less honest than Trump...
A two-fer!!! :D
Michale
"That might be a far more important problem that whether the Republican party itself splits or not. We have already had a small taste of that with the denial surrounding Obama's legitimacy, and obstruction to his governing. This could potentially be far worse."
Michale posted: "If Democrats attempt to cheat or steal the election by fraud.... There will be blood..."
As Michale just provided the proof of by beating the dead horse of supposed massive voter fraud. Alternate reality universe indeed.
[33] John M:
Michale posted: "If Democrats attempt to cheat or steal the election by fraud.... There will be blood..."
As Michale just provided the proof of by beating the dead horse of supposed massive voter fraud. Alternate reality universe indeed.
The last gasp of a dying campaign and it's deranged fans.
My question for Michale: would you leave your daughter or granddaughter alone with Trump? Assuming they are somewhere in his preferred age-range of 13-25? And assuming they are attractive enough? Because, you know, they have to meet his standards. But if they were good-looking and between 13-25 -- would you leave them alone with that man?
This is why the APA are seeing record levels of anxiety about this election.
https://mobile.twitter.com/David_EHG/status/786284584501522432
GOPLifer closed down his blog and has a new one. You might like it. Here is a sample post
http://politicalorphans.com/real-things-that-are-happening/
[36] Repubs with consciences. Good for him.
Paula,
My question for Michale: would you leave your daughter or granddaughter alone with Trump?
I refuse to answer unless you give me your word that you will follow up..
I have been fooled twice now...
I ain't about to be fooled again...
Michale
[36] Repubs with consciences. Good for him.
Repubs who think like I do. Good for him
There... Fixed it for you.. :D
Michale
JM,
As Michale just provided the proof of by beating the dead horse of supposed massive voter fraud. Alternate reality universe indeed.
Which proves my point perfectly that ya'all refuse to accept ANY reality other than what coincides with your Party enslavement..
Voter fraud is real.. It is well documented...
But you can't believe it because your Party slavery doesn't let you...
"We are at war with East Asia.. We have always been at war with East Asia."
-1984
Ya'all are simply drones, incapable of any independent thought.. The Party is all...
Michale
The Trump accusations were just phony accusations pushed by a mexican national who owns part of the NY Times..
There is NOTHING about the accusations that are believable...
Michale
Michale wrote:
"Voter fraud is real.. It is well documented...
But you can't believe it because your Party slavery doesn't let you..."
Michale, if ANYONE were REALLY SMART, about trying to win a Presidential election through some kind of fraud, they would not even bother with trying to rig any kind of voting AT ALL.
They would simply concentrate directly on the ELECTORS of the ELECTORAL COLLEGE themselves. There is NO Federal law or Constitutional requirement that Electors vote for whoever wins a majority of the popular vote of their state, and 21 states by their own state laws, do NOT require that they do so either.
So, why go to all that trouble of trying to forge thousands or millions of fraudulent ballot votes when you can just concentrate on the 538 Electors instead???
“Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets,” Trump’s son, Donald Jr., told a real estate conference in 2008, according to an account posted on the website of eTurboNews, a trade publication. “We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia.”
So I guess this must be more of that "locker room talk" that the Trumps are so fond of. Trump never assaulted those women that he bragged about assaulting, and Donnie Jr. was discussing Russian assets that they didn't actually have.
Michale wrote:
"The Trump accusations were just phony accusations pushed by a mexican national who owns part of the NY Times..
There is NOTHING about the accusations that are believable..."
And so it begins, racism and denial rear their ugly heads, along with "kill the messenger" and not the message, as Trump supporters turn on the media for reporting things they don't like and don't want to hear, the facts and the truth be damned.
Or, as late night host Seth Meyers put it so succinctly:
“When people ask why women wait to report sexual assault, that’s why, because instead of believing them, you question their motives,” he said.
“Stop pretending there’s an optimal time for women to go public with these kinds of allegations,” he added. It’s not like if you do it within the first 24 hours, you get a parade and an iTunes gift card.”
"So, why go to all that trouble of trying to forge thousands or millions of fraudulent ballot votes when you can just concentrate on the 538 Electors instead???"
I bet you don't have an answer to that one....
And so it begins, racism and denial rear their ugly heads
You mean, like the bigotry and denial ya'all have exhibited over the Podesta emails???
Michale
“When people ask why women wait to report sexual assault, that’s why, because instead of believing them, you question their motives,” he said.
“Stop pretending there’s an optimal time for women to go public with these kinds of allegations,” he added. It’s not like if you do it within the first 24 hours, you get a parade and an iTunes gift card.”
And yet, ya'all denigrate and attack Bill Clinton's accusers for those EXACT reasons..
Ya'all are supposedly intelligent people..
Yet, you are doing the EXACT same thing that you attack others for...
It boggles the mind that ya'all are so oblivious to it...
Like I said..
Until you hold Bill Clinton accountable for his rapes and his sexual assaults, you simply have NO MORAL FOUNDATION to attack Trump for any of it...
Michale
Your candidates husband RAPED a woman and sexually harrassed a bunch more..
And then your candidate tried to DESTROY those women..
And ya'all DEFEND her... It's DISGUSTING...
How do ya'all SLEEP at night...
Michale
Yea... That's what I thought..
Ya'all are willing to overlook rape and YEARS of sexual assaults and harassment by your candidate's husband and YEARS of your candidate destroying women's and children's lives, SOLELY to serve your own Party slavery...
I really can't think of anything more disgusting than fanatics willing to condone the rape and sexual assaults of women, SOLELY to support a political candidate...
Your candidate may win this election..
And all it will cost ya'all is your integrity and your morality...
Hope it's worth it.. :^/
Michale
If ya'all are wondering how we got to this point, how we got to such rank and disgusting hyperbole, I can pinpoint the EXACT moment for ya'all...
It was the point where a Republican candidate for President made the conscious and patriotic decision to put AMERICAN lives before the lives of thugs, scumbags, murders, rapists and terrorists and the entirety of the Left Wingery decided that such a patriotic and altruistic decision demanded the comparison to a maniacal tyrant who brutally butchered 6 million jews...
THAT is how we got to where we are now..
Ya'all have ONLY yourselves to blame...
This is your world now, people... Hope you enjoy it... :^/
Michale
Not that I expect ya'all will accept ANY responsibility...
DENY, DENY, DENY and blame anyone and every one else...
It's the Left Wingery, the Democrat Party and the Weigantian Peanut Gallery way....
Michale
[12] Michale
So, I am going to vote for my lovely wife for FL Senator....
I'll keep an eye out for her in the polls... :)
Michale,
I'll remind you of this glowing recommendation of Mark Cuban when he decides to run for POTUS on the GOP ticket..
Wow... I say someone is the real deal and will work hard, and you call that a "glowing recommendation"? I can think of about 50 people who might run (regardless of party affiliation) who I don't think is a fraud and who will work hard, but you decide that is a "glowing recommendation" and you'll use it as ammunition when Mark Cuban runs for the GOP. I don't think Cuban would run on the GOP ticket... who knows?... but okay snowflake, you hang onto that "glowing recommendation." *LOL*
What's really got me laughing my ass off is the fact that you actually thought me or anyone here didn't already know exactly what you would do way into the future. You've got little worth reading that isn't the same old lame old cut and paste, snowflake, we all know that already. :D
AWFUL! Wikileaks Reveals Clinton Camp Was Posting FAKE “Sexist Trump Job Ads” On Craigslist
http://16004-presscdn-0-50.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/wikileaks-craigslist-ad-trump-hillary-575x331.jpg
This is what Hillary Clinton is doing *IN YA'ALL'S NAME*
And what is so absolutely pathetic about it is that YA'ALL wholeheartedly support such nasty and dirty tricks...
Again, I have to ask...
How do ya'all sleep at night!???
Michale
Sorry Michale but you have officially spun out. "Your candidates husband" is a rapist?? Your CANDIDATE is a rapist. His own wife said so in a sworn deposition, after which she was forced by Rapin' Donald to walk it back. And the only blood flowing will be Trump's brownshirts if they show up to burn a cross on my property. Better tell them to wear their Kevlar robes that night. You seem to think good liberals don't possess skill with firearms but you are certainly mistaken.
[33] John M
"That might be a far more important problem that whether the Republican party itself splits or not. We have already had a small taste of that with the denial surrounding Obama's legitimacy, and obstruction to his governing. This could potentially be far worse."
Michale posted: "If Democrats attempt to cheat or steal the election by fraud.... There will be blood..."
As Michale just provided the proof of by beating the dead horse of supposed massive voter fraud. Alternate reality universe indeed.
Or just plain old spooky stalking:
http://www.redstate.com/sweetie15/2016/10/14/dumb-trump-protester-protests-dumbly/
Openly armed Trump supporter stares into Democratic candidate's office for a few hours.
[15] TS,
Who gets custody of the elephant and the stationary. I think that's what we are talking about here.
Newt will take the elephant; he already has a nice collection. :)
Speedo,
Sorry Michale but you have officially spun out. "Your candidates husband" is a rapist?? Your CANDIDATE is a rapist.
Yea??? And you can PROVE that, right??
Of course you can't...
His own wife said so in a sworn deposition, after which she was forced by Rapin' Donald to walk it back.
Yea, yea, yea.. Ivana Trump has officially, willingly and ENTHUSIASTICALLY recanted that claim..
Has Juanita Broaderick??
No, she has not..
And the only blood flowing will be Trump's brownshirts if they show up to burn a cross on my property.
You mean, like the Democrat Party did?? You DO know that the KKK was founded by Democrats, right???
You seem to think good liberals don't possess skill with firearms but you are certainly mistaken.
They don't... Liberals are pussies who are afraid of guns...
Michale
Or just plain old spooky stalking:
http://www.redstate.com/sweetie15/2016/10/14/dumb-trump-protester-protests-dumbly/
Openly armed Trump supporter stares into Democratic candidate's office for a few hours.
Funny how you never mention the assaults and attacks on Trump supporters, eh??
Or how you claim to ask a serious question and then bail when the answer is not to your liking...
But, of course, you use a wussy filter that's going to cost CW.COM hundreds of dollars in donations, so you won't even see this... :^/
Michale
And the only blood flowing will be Trump's brownshirts if they show up to burn a cross on my property.
Ooooooo tough talk from some limp-dicked Left Winger snowflake with no scrot and who needs a "safe space" to protect him from "micro agressions".. hehehehehehehe :D
Michale
What's really got me laughing my ass off is the fact that you actually thought me or anyone here didn't already know exactly what you would do way into the future. You've got little worth reading that isn't the same old lame old cut and paste, snowflake, we all know that already.
And yet, you hang on my EVERY word...
I called you on your BS and, as I predicted, you ran away.... :D
You are so predictable... My favorite chew toy, sweet cheeks.. :D
Michale
"Liberals are pussies that are afraid of guns?" Maybe you should make the trip here with your klanboys and find out the facts. I'm a Texas liberal with extensive firearms training and a wide variety of firearms to choose from. Come on over, prove me wrong. Pussies like you will only hide behind pussy-grabbers like DT, threatening women and girls but fearful to confront a well-armed full grown man except with your keyboard.
Michale: Re: Bill Clinton. During his presidency I followed the Republican effort to bring him down. In that effort numerous accusations were lodged against him and his wife. Those accusations started from activities in Arkansas, and were fueled and funded by Richard A Scaife, and carried out by a group of operatives, some of whom now work for Trump.
Bill Clinton is a confessed philanderer. The only real thing all the efforts to take him down actually landed was Monica Lewinsky, and she was an adult, she actively pursued him, she was encouraged to pursue him by Linda Tripp, who was in turn being lead by Lucieanne Goldberg, who was connected to the nest of vipers involved. Monica's activities are on the record. She had a great big crush on her Boss and her Boss was an attractive and charismatic man at the height of his power. There has never been a whiff of force or lack of consent by either party in that affair.
But what of the other women?
First, let's just take a minute to notice that these three women, being paid by Breibart btw, are the same women being paid/instructed/found/courted by Scaife and his minions back in the day. Let's also notice that, while new women are coming out daily accusing Trump of groping/accosting, spanning pretty much his entire adult life, that hasn't been happening with Bill Clinton. It's just the original cast of characters.
And that's the problem. Because I don't know, and neither does anyone else, whether Bill Clinton raped Juanita Broaderick. Wiley and Jones have accused him of harassment. But all of their stories were riddled with discrepancies and Juanita Broaderick filed an affidavit with Ken Starr stating there was no rape. Robert Fisk, who took over for Ken Starr, said Wiley was a pathological liar. Etc.
I'm not interested in going back over all of that. At the time those allegations were being thrown around, they were entangled in a whole series of OTHER allegations and all of them turned out to be garbage.
So, although the accusations were certainly troubling, eventually I came to believe these women's accusations were garbage too. If they hadn't been in it for the money -- and money was changing hands -- if they hadn't been working hand in glove with a bunch of ratf@#kers, they may have survived with some credibility. But, in the end, pretty much 90% of the American public decided they supported Bill Clinton and not his accusers.
Now, since that time, after Bill and Hillary had to go through their humiliation in front of the world, and decide what to do with that marriage, we've never had a whiff that he's been unfaithful. We've never had a whiff that he's been a sexual predator. And if ever there was a time when an aggrieved woman might get some value out of coming forth and lodging an accusation, it hasn't happened.
Furthermore, Bill Clinton's public persona lines up perfectly with a man who might cheat on his wife simply because he's a charismatic man who attracts women and he is weak in that area and gives in. But the impression you get from Bill is that he likes women and he likes sex.
Trump's public persona lines up perfectly with a sexual predator, someone who combines a bone-deep sense of entitlement with a deep insecurity, a roving eye, and an apparently twisted view of sexuality. The impression you get from Trump is that he sees women as objects to be used and he has no sense of their personhood.
The Trump swine are using these three women purely as pawns in their game. The three women are probably enjoying their return to the limelight, and enjoying the dough they're gettting/have gotten in exchange for trying to re-hash all the old slime. The fact that they've aligned themselves with this unbelievably unsavory crew doesn't increase their credibility, at least, not with people beyond the Trumpers.
I can't speak for younger people who didn't follow the original stories when it was all going down -- no doubt some of them are troubled because they don't know the history. But I do and, in the end, I've concluded Bill Clinton's worst sin was philandering. I believe his affairs were consensual and not forced.
Maybe you should make the trip here with your klanboys and find out the facts.
I don't have any klanboys, unlike you and your fanbois :D
I'm a Texas liberal with extensive firearms training and a wide variety of firearms to choose from.
Yea, I am sooo scared.. :D
Come on over, prove me wrong.
You know where I live... You made the challenge, put up or shut up, scrot-less boi... :D
Pussies like you will only hide behind pussy-grabbers like DT, threatening women and girls but fearful to confront a well-armed full grown man except with your keyboard.
Son, I have over two and a half decades as military, security, LEO and FSO under my belt...
I know, I know.. You think your stint with the boy scouts makes you a man's man...
But you're a Left Winger.. That right there makes you afraid of guns and even more afraid of those that use them for a living...
But hay.. Prove me wrong.. if you have the balls...
You made the challenge.. Now back it up... IF you have the balls..
Which we BOTH know you don't... :D
But don't worry.. I am sure yer fellow limp-dicked Left Wingers here will protect you...
BBWWWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA :D
Michale
but fearful to confront a well-armed full grown man except with your keyboard.
Says the ball-less wonder who is "confronting" a well armed and well trained man from the safety of his keyboard..
BBBWWWAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA :D
Michale
But I do and, in the end, I've concluded Bill Clinton's worst sin was philandering. I believe his affairs were consensual and not forced.
And you would have no problem letting Bill Clinton take out your daughter or your granddaughter?
That says it all.... :^/
Party Uber Alles
Michale
I would have no problem whatsoever allowing a daughter or granddaughter be alone with Bill Clinton. I do not believe he is predatory. Period.
[36] neilm,
GOPLifer closed down his blog and has a new one. You might like it. Here is a sample post
http://politicalorphans.com/real-things-that-are-happening/
Wow... That says it all. Thanks for posting this.
I would not allow any young woman or girl (assuming it was up to me) be alone, or even near, Donald Trump. Period.
You?
I would not allow any young woman or girl (assuming it was up to me) be alone, or even near, Donald Trump. Period.
But you WOULD allow them to be alone with Bill Clinton..
Like I said...
ANYTHING for PARTY....
Despicable....
I am certainly glad I am not so enslaved...
Michale
Steedo???
What happened??
I scare you??
Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you so much... I should have realized how sensitive and fragile you snowflakes were...
My apologies...
Michale
You haven't answered Michale: would you allow your wife/daughter/granddaughter be alone with Donald Trump?
Paula,
Bill Clinton LIED about doing Monica...
Why do you think he would tell the truth on all the other rapes and sexual assaults???
Oh that's right..
Party enslavement requires you to believe him....
Michale
Still haven't answered the question Michale: would you allow your wife/daughter/granddaughter be alone with Donald Trump?
You haven't answered Michale: would you allow your wife/daughter/granddaughter be alone with Donald Trump?
Sucks when someone doesn't answer your questions, don't it? :D
Welcome to my world....
Frankly, someone who would turn over young innocent women to a sexual predator like Bill Clinton??
I am not sure I even WANT to have a conversation with someone like that...
No, wait... I am sure...
I don't...
Michale
And there we have it: Michale can't bring himself to answer the question. I suspect he wouldn't allow his female loved ones to be alone with Trump but he's damned if he's going to admit it to me.
It would be good if he admitted it to himself.
Steedo???
What happened??
I scare you??
Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you so much... I should have realized how sensitive and fragile you snowflakes were...
My apologies...
Geeee, I really feel bad I might have hurt Steedo's feelings...
He seems to have run away...
Pretty much par for the course for the WPG snowflakes...
I hope he'll be OK... He might need some counseling... :D
Michale
Paula,
Knowing there is a person out there who would actually send their children to be alone with a PROVEN sexual predator like Bill Clinton???
Someone who puts Party ideology and loyalty BEFORE the safety and well-being of their own children???
I simply CANNOT imagine such a deranged and depraved person actually exists..
But considering what I have seen here on CW.COM the last few months???
I am beginning to realize the depths and depravity that PARTY UBER ALLES pushes people to....
Michale
Michale (or rather, son) I would not fear you if you were in my living room with my scrot teabagging you. Typical Repub punk, thinks he's tougher, smarter and better than everybody just like your boyfriend DT, you probably yearn to blow Putin just like Rapin' Donald. Despite your "two-and-a-half decades" of shaking down hookers your lack of fitness to serve in law enforcement is obvious. No class, no control, no ability to de-escalate. Try not to soil yourself next time you arrest some threatening dark-skinned schoolgirl.
Brave Sir Robin ran away
Bravely ran away away
When danger reared its ugly head
He bravely turned his tail and fled
Yes, brave Sir Robin turned about
And gallantly he chickened out
Bravely taking to his feet
He beat a very brave retreat
Bravest of the brave, Sir Robin!
BBBWWWWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA :D
Michale
Oooo Steedo...
You keyboard warrior you... :D
Like I said.. A liberal pussy who wets himself at the mere mention of guns and weapons... :D
You know where to find me, son....
No scrot???
Yea, that's what I thought....
Michale
[59] Michale
Or how you claim to ask a serious question and then bail when the answer is not to your liking...
I asked who you were voting for and why; and you answered. What am I supposed to do, argue with you about it?
I asked who you were voting for and why; and you answered. What am I supposed to do, argue with you about it?
Oh, I dunno...
Maybe a "thank you" for answering... Or a "Hmmmm That's interesting" or a "But what about...." ...
Or hell, here is a REALLY radical thought... Make a comment about my comment without a personal attack..
WHOOOAAAAA RADICAL CONCEPT, EH!!!
Ya know.... Something civilized and mature....
But I guess Weigantia is too far gone to expect civility and maturity, eh??
And yea, I agree.. I am not blameless...
But I have the maturity and civility to admit it.. Unlike everyone else who never takes ANY responsibility for ANYTHING.... :^/
Ya know, forget it.. It's a moot point...
Michale
[83] Michale
Ya know, forget it.. It's a moot point...
No worries! :)
And I thought the comment section on YouTube could be bad...
Got a private request to knock it off and I would like to apologize to the group for my excesses. Yes, Michale, the apology includes you if you will have it. Been a long campaign. That said, forgive my ignorance but what is the WPG mention? Also, you never said whether you reviewed Die Hard 3 for the Clinton/Trump reference. May the road rise to meet all our feet.
Michale,
And yet, you hang on my EVERY word...
I actually do read everyone's posts. :) Do you think that makes you "special"? *LOL* Ignorant House Troll :D
I called you on your BS and, as I predicted, you ran away.... :D
I'm still waiting for you to explain how it's Democrat voter fraud because a registered Republican voted 6 weeks after his death in a county where the County Clerk is a Republican.
You are so predictable... My favorite chew toy, sweet cheeks.. :D
You calling ANYONE here predictable, snowflake? Ouch. I need a Band-Aid... one of the teeny round ones. :) *ROTFLMAO*
Got a private request to knock it off and I would like to apologize to the group for my excesses. Yes, Michale, the apology includes you if you will have it. Been a long campaign. That said, forgive my ignorance but what is the WPG mention? Also, you never said whether you reviewed Die Hard 3 for the Clinton/Trump reference. May the road rise to meet all our feet.
My apologies as well... I am not in the best frame of mind as I just discovered I will have to have surgery on my arm to repair a torn tendon... So, between the pain, the pain killers and my foul mood, it was not the best time to be commenting and I should have known better...
So, my sincerest apologies to you and to others I undoubtedly offended... I was WAY out of line..
Barring the outbreak of WWIII or an attack on the country by Godzilla, I'll be taking the weekend off...
"Short of the outbreak of World War Three, the ship sinking... being attacked by a giant octopus, I'd like to be undisturbed for the next thirty minutes."
-Gene Hackman, CRIMSON TIDE
Michale
Maybe it is time for a cheerier note:
1966 vs. 2016
1966: Long hair
2016: Longing for hair
1966: KEG
2016: EKG
1966: Acid rock
2016: Acid reflux
1966: Moving to California because it's cool
2016: Moving to Arizona because it's warm
1966: Trying to look like Marlon Brando or Liz Taylor
2016: Trying NOT to look like Marlon Brando or Liz Taylor
1966: Seeds and stems
2016: Roughage
1966: Hoping for a BMW
2016: Hoping for a BM
1966: Going to a new, hip joint
2016: Receiving a new hip joint
1966: Rolling Stones
2016: Kidney Stones
1966: Screw the system
2016: Upgrade the system
1966: Disco
2016: Costco
1966: Parents begging you to get your hair cut
2016: Children begging you to get their heads shaved
1966: Passing the drivers' test
2016: Passing the vision test
1966: Whatever
2016: Depends
[78] Dodgeman: I answered you directly. But you still haven't answered the question. Of course the answer is you wouldn't leave a woman alone with Trump unless you hated her. You know it. Everyone here knows it. Even you have limits to what you'll excuse Sniffles for. At least, maybe you really don't care that he climbs all over women at will because you don't know them and you think rich guys get to do what they want.
But I don't think you'd feel that detachment if he did that to someone you care about.
Trumpies: http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/10/14/1582579/-BREAKING-3-domestic-terrorists-arrested-for-planning-attack-on-Kansas-Muslim-Somali-community
FBI has been working on this for 8 months -- they were planning to plant 4 bombs in suburban Kansas to kill refugees.
I am actually reading comments on FB by women who are saying all this Donald Groping stuff is triggering horrible memories for them, causing them to feel anxiety and depression. They are being advised to stop engaging in social media or watching TV until this election is over.
That is one of the many things Sniffles has given us -- an awakening of bad memories and increases in anxiety among vulnerable women.
Paula [63]: Very nice synopsis. My girlfriend (at the time) and I got very interested in the impeachment, and were at one point sleeping in shifts so as not to miss any of it, so I take some pride in my knowledge of petty details, and you've accurately summarized the highlights.
Do you remember that GOP house members who were wavering on the Clinton impeachment were being taken off the floor and being shown a dossier on Broderick? When the attempt to remove Clinton finally failed in the Senate, some GOP operatives tried to push the Broderick story, but all of the holes in her story doomed it to just a couple of news cycles.
[93] Balthasar: I don't remember that event specifically, but I remember the stories fell apart, one by one.
The terrible thing -- A terrible thing -- was this was how the rightwing learned how to conduct the politics of accusation. If you have no compunction you can just accuse someone of anything and, even if they're eventually cleared, they're tainted.
They've been doing it ever since.
[93] Balthasar: What do you think? As I said in my comment, no one except the two of them know what happened so we can't know for sure. But I have just never gotten the impression that there's a completely different Bill Clinton from the public man. Its not like people pop up saying "oh, he seems like a nice guy but he was horrible to work for" or things like that. I buy "Bill the Philanderer" 100%; I don't buy "Bill the rapist".
Paula, Balthy
63, 93
I think that's a good synopsis too, though serial philanderer, liar, and hypocrite would be included in the final historical judgment of Bill Clinton.
If I recall correctly, there were unprosecuted but credible claims of abuse of power involved in the cover-ups surrounding the earlier incidents in Arkansas, and I think most people would throw perjury in as well even though I think the hair-splitting allowed Bill to avoid the charge.
Trump is definitely in a different, disgusting category. Though, to be fair, he hasn't been convicted of anything, and I wouldn't be surprised if some of the women telling their stories about Trump were motivated by financial factors involving the media. I say that with absolutely zero evidence... it's just based on historical probability... and I only mention it because you raised that factor with Bills girls.
I don't think either of these men are admirable, as they both acted as if they would never face any consequences due to their power and wealth, which is a trait they share with far too many involved in funding our politics and creating our policies... and one that is seemingly tolerated in our culture since people like me who rail against it are in the minority.
A
Paula [95]: I'm not going to sugar-coat it; Bill should have known better than to do anything sexual with Monica at the time, because she just might have been sent in to compromise him. I thought that was pretty dumb.That said, as you said, it was consensual, and certainly not worth making a federal case out of.
But Bill never had any great number of accusers. Jones, and later Broderick, were found by the Arkansas Project, Lewinsky and Willy entered the picture by way of Linda Tripp, Lucianne Goldberg and Justice Watch/Ken Starr. And that's it. The press scoured the country looking for more, and couldn't find any.
Trump's problem is that there is no collusive left-wing project for him to point at, unless one is supposed to believe that the NYT, People Magazine, the Palm Beach Post, and Gloria fu*king Redfern are all working together, somehow.
So you're absolutely right. Bill was no predator, he was a horndog, without that many notches on his belt.
On the other hand, one gets the feeling that the accusations that we've seen about Trump are only the tip of the iceberg, and that perhaps things we don't want to know are still out there.
As Maher pointed out last night, Trump had a pick-up line for 12-year-olds: "in a few years I'll be dating you." Really.