Political Roundtable Part IX

[AFM]

Watch on YouTube

[fishercob]

While it will be summarily dismissed by some, it is highly noteworthy that the Washington Post editorial board published a non-endorsement of Trump, particularly when they did.


Donald Trump is a unique threat to American democracy

DONALD J. TRUMP, until now a Republican problem, this week became a challenge the nation must confront and overcome. The real estate tycoon is uniquely unqualified to serve as president, in experience and temperament. He is mounting a campaign of snarl and sneer, not substance. To the extent he has views, they are wrong in their diagnosis of America’s problems and dangerous in their proposed solutions. Mr. Trump’s politics of denigration and division could strain the bonds that have held a diverse nation together. His contempt for constitutional norms might reveal the nation’s two-century-old experiment in checks and balances to be more fragile than we knew.

Any one of these characteristics would be disqualifying; together, they make Mr. Trump a peril. We recognize that this is not the usual moment to make such a statement. In an ordinary election year, we would acknowledge the Republican nominee, move on to the Democratic convention and spend the following months, like other voters, evaluating the candidates’ performance in debates, on the stump and in position papers. This year we will follow the campaign as always, offering honest views on all the candidates. But we cannot salute the Republican nominee or pretend that we might endorse him this fall. A Trump presidency would be dangerous for the nation and the world.

Most alarming is Mr. Trump’s contempt for the Constitution and the unwritten democratic norms upon which our system depends. He doesn’t know what is in the nation’s founding document. When asked by a member of Congress about Article I, which enumerates congressional powers, the candidate responded, “I am going to abide by the Constitution whether it’s number 1, number 2, number 12, number 9.” The charter has seven articles.

Worse, he doesn’t seem to care about its limitations on executive power. He has threatened that those who criticize him will suffer when he is president. He has vowed to torture suspected terrorists and bomb their innocent relatives, no matter the illegality of either act. He has vowed to constrict the independent press. He went after a judge whose rulings angered him, exacerbating his contempt for the independence of the judiciary by insisting that the judge should be disqualified because of his Mexican heritage. Mr. Trump has encouraged and celebrated violence at his rallies. The U.S. democratic system is strong and has proved resilient when it has been tested before. We have faith in it. But to elect Mr. Trump would be to knowingly subject it to threat.

The party’s failure of judgment leaves the nation’s future where it belongs, in the hands of voters. Many Americans do not like either candidate this year . We have criticized the presumptive Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, in the past and will do so again when warranted. But we do not believe that she (or the Libertarian and Green party candidates, for that matter) represents a threat to the Constitution. Mr. Trump is a unique and present danger.

[AFM]

A little off topic, but I thought I'd interrupt our arguing with something all of us can laugh our asses off at. This is one of my all time favorite videos.

Video starts at 4:30

Watch on YouTube

[montestewart]

Oldie but goodie

Watch on YouTube

[AFM]

A little off topic, but I thought I'd interrupt our arguing with something all of us can laugh our asses off at. This is one of my all time favorite videos.

Video starts at 4:30

Watch on YouTube

28:00 on is too funny

[dckingsfan]

I did love Michelle Obama's speech - she's the bomb!

[bsilver]

A little off topic, but I thought I'd interrupt our arguing with something all of us can laugh our asses off at. This is one of my all time favorite videos.

Video starts at 4:30

Watch on YouTube

28:00 on is too funny

I found it troubling because his point of view is so wide spread. There are millions of Americans who believe that the purpose of the 2nd amendment is protect us from tyranny, and that this tyranny is not just some amorphous concept, but that the source of the tyranny will be duly elected governments such as the O'Bama administration.

[fishercob]

Ho hum. Just a major party Presidential nominee inviting a foreign government to break the law. No big deal.

[tweet]https://twitter.com/ABC/status/758327323888201729[/tweet]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/JeffreyGoldberg/status/758319903900364804[/tweet]

[Ruzious]

I'm getting so tired of people buying into fear - fear that the economy will fall apart if we help such and such, fear of being attacked leading us into a war that was absurdly costly in so many ways, fear of a black guy down the street, fear of a Moslem family in the neighborhood, fear of compromise in politics. Is this the way we want to live?

[AFM]

A little off topic, but I thought I'd interrupt our arguing with something all of us can laugh our asses off at. This is one of my all time favorite videos.

Video starts at 4:30

Watch on YouTube

28:00 on is too funny

I found it troubling because his point of view is so wide spread. There are millions of Americans who believe that the purpose of the 2nd amendment is protect us from tyranny, and that this tyranny is not just some amorphous concept, but that the source of the tyranny will be duly elected governments such as the O'Bama administration.

Sounds like something a hatchet man of the New World Order would say! 1776 will commence!!

[tontoz]

Ho hum. Just a major party Presidential nominee inviting a foreign government to break the law. No big deal.

[tweet]https://twitter.com/ABC/status/758327323888201729[/tweet]

He is just mocking Hillary. Pretty tame by his standards.

[stevemcqueen1]

Trump's refusal to release his tax returns means he's hiding something serious.

[tontoz]

Trump's refusal to release his tax returns means he's hiding something serious.

Most likely it means he isn't as rich as he pretends to be. He is the king of exaggeration.

[bsilver]

Trump's refusal to release his tax returns means he's hiding something serious.

George Will says it's because it will show Trump's connections to Russian oligarchs. I would guess it's something more mundane like not paying much in taxes.

Will's been so anti-Trump lately, wonder if Fox will try to get rid of him.

[Wizardspride]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/NBCNightlyNews/status/758326038158045184[/tweet]



[tweet]https://twitter.com/keithboykin/status/758319222447570944[/tweet]

[Wizardspride]

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-elections/donald-trump-russia-implies-vladimir-putin-uses-the-n-word-to-describe-barack-obama-a7158721.html

Donald Trump implies Vladimir Putin uses the 'n' word to describe Barack Obama

The election campaign plunged has plunged to new a level of accusation and toxicity when Donald Trump claimed Russian leader Vladimir Putin had no respect for Barack Obama and appeared to imply he used a racial epithet to describe him. He also appeared to encourage Russia to hack the emails of his rival Hillary Clinton.

Speaking to reporters in Florida and asked about the controversy surrounding the Russian hacking of Democratic National Committee emails, Mr Trump said that Vladimir Putin had neither respect or affection for Mr Obama. He implied that he had heard the Russian leader use a racial slur to describe the US president.

“I was shocked to hear him mention the N-word,” Mr Trump said. “You know what the n word is.”

[Induveca]

Ho hum. Just a major party Presidential nominee inviting a foreign government to break the law. No big deal.

[tweet]https://twitter.com/ABC/status/758327323888201729[/tweet]

He is just mocking Hillary. Pretty tame by his standards.

Exactly. The guy knows how to get press, even during the DNC he's on the front page of every major news site right now!

And if you actually read what he said he's sarcastically mocking Clinton for deleting 33k emails she didn't want the Feds/anyone to read.

Pretty amazing troll job.

[DCZards]

Exactly. The guy knows how to get press, even during the DNC he's on the front page of every major news site right now!

And if you actually read what he said he's sarcastically mocking Clinton for deleting 33k emails she didn't want the Feds/anyone to read.

Pretty amazing troll job.

Here's to hoping that Trump continues to say stupid stuff.

[Ruzious]

Ho hum. Just a major party Presidential nominee inviting a foreign government to break the law. No big deal.

[tweet]https://twitter.com/ABC/status/758327323888201729[/tweet]

He is just mocking Hillary. Pretty tame by his standards.

Exactly. The guy knows how to get press, even during the DNC he's on the front page of every major news site right now!

And if you actually read what he said he's sarcastically mocking Clinton for deleting 33k emails she didn't want the Feds/anyone to read.

Pretty amazing troll job.

But Trump's sarcasm is at the Beavis and Butthead level of sophistication. He's a caricature. Every day, he puts out more cartoonish material. Not sure how that's a positive - other than on the entertainment side.

[dckingsfan]

I really think he is just baiting Hillary, Obama and Bill to get into a twitter war with him. He will win that war and it doesn't cost him anything.

If they don't respond he has to win the debates because Hillary will definitely outspend him on media buys.

If I were Trump - I would agree to debate the 3rd party candidates for several reasons:
- more free media
- Trump is good in multi-candidate forums
- lead tightens in polls where there are third party candidates

If I am Hillary, I just bludgeon Trump with Media buys, minimize the debates and try to stay out of trouble.